Law and Life

Welcoming the stranger and respecting the law

09/27/2020

We now turn our attention to the fourth topic to consider as conscientious Catholics before voting this November, namely, immigration and welcoming the stranger. We have already touched upon several sensitive subjects the last three weekends, such as abortion, racism and marriage and LGBTQ persons. But in some ways, immigration is a little more personal for me, since I am an immigrant from India and I have had to navigate the whole legal process of entering the country. One of the toughest questions I was asked at the immigration exam was whether I would take up arms to defend this country from foreign invasion. Suddenly, the thought flashed through my mind of the U.S. and India going to war, and possibly shooting a soldier from India. I hesitated for a moment, but don’t worry, I answered correctly that I would defend this nation. Now, I pray every day that the U.S. and India never go to war!

Being an Indian immigrant makes me acutely aware of the importance of both sides of this difficult debate: welcoming the stranger and respect for the rule of law. On the one hand, welcoming the stranger has long been a distinguished part of our national history. Indeed, most of us were immigrants or children of immigrants, especially here at Immaculate Conception Church. We are happy someone welcomed us when we were the strangers. But on the other hand, we Americans have a great respect for the rule of law, which maintains our equality as citizens because we are all treated the same before the law. The law not only asserts we are “created equal” but ensures we stay that way. One blessing that brings so many immigrants to this country is precisely the rule of law, which is egregiously abused or entirely absent in their home countries.

The U.S. bishops equally emphasize both “welcoming the stranger” and “respecting the rule of law.” In their document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” they wrote: “The Gospel mandate to ‘welcome the stranger,’ requires Catholics to care for and stand with newcomers, authorized and unauthorized, including unaccompanied immigrant children, refugees and asylum-seekers, those unnecessarily detained, and victims of human trafficking” (no. 81). That comprehensive description covers virtually everyone who steps foot on our shores, or even on our riverbanks. We warmly welcome all the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” because we were once huddling too.

The bishops also insist on comprehensive immigration reform, that is, new laws. Why? People respect the rule of law when those laws are good. But if the laws themselves are broken and ineffective, it is hard (and at times unreasonable) to respect them. An unjust law is no law at all. Thus, the bishops continued in the same paragraph: “Comprehensive reform is urgently necessary to fix a broken immigration system and should include a broad and fair legalization program with a path to citizenship; a work program with worker protections and just wages; family reunification policies; access to legal protections; which include due process procedures; refuge for those fleeing persecution and violence; and policies to address the root causes of migration.” In other words, Congress has the unenviable but urgent task to make the laws of our land conform to the lives of desperate immigrants. When they succeed in their task, it becomes easier to both respect the rule of law and welcome the stranger at the door.

It is imperative to remember that laws can and do change. Human laws are not divine laws. The Constitution was written on paper, the Commandments were chiseled in stone. If you want to read a brief history of the evolution of immigration laws – which have changed dramatically over 250 years – I highly recommend John F. Kennedy’s book “A Nation of Immigrants.” Kennedy himself was a great grandson of immigrants fleeing the devastating potato famine in Ireland (like many initial IC parishioners). He embodied what immigrants and their descendants could achieve in the US if given the chance. Kennedy insisted immigration laws should be fair and flexible, and then concluded: “With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience.” That is exactly what the Catholic bishops ask, too.

Another insight into the relationship between law and life was made by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, our former bishop in Arkansas. He once commented with a smile: “John, there are laws and then there are laws.” He did not elaborate but I took him to mean that sometimes we select which laws to obey and which ones to skirt. I hate to admit this in public but I usually drive on the interstate 5 to 7 miles per hour above the speed limit. I’m sure no one else does that. But one law I cannot tolerate people breaking is the rule that the left lane is for passing only.

I remember once when someone was cruising slowly in the left lane with a long line of cars behind them. I became so angry, that I passed the person in the right lane, got in front of them, and slowed down to 50 miles per hour forcing them move over to the right hand lane. I casually violate the “speeding law” but I cannot stand anyone breaking the “left lane law.” Be careful of a “hidden hypocrisy” when we complain about the violation of immigration laws while we blithely break other laws. If we fix our broken immigration laws, we won’t have to pick which ones to obey. The whole controversy about immigration is at root a concern about making just laws.

In 2015 Pope Francis visited the United States and spoke before a joint session of Congress. Behind the pope sat two prominent Catholic politicians: Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner. During his speech, the Holy Father pointed to the full-faced figure of Moses, the ancient law-giver in the Old Testament, and observed: “Moses provides us with a good synthesis of your work (meaning the work of Congress): you are asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human life.” Notice how the Holy Father tied together the two terms “law” and “life.” The law exists to safeguard life. The pope was prodding Congress to pass legislation – including new immigration laws – that would inspire more Americans to both “welcome the stranger” and “respect the rule of law.”

If you watched that speech you noticed how visibly moved John Boehner was. At one point he wiped his eyes and nose with his handkerchief. Clearly the pope's words touched his heart. In fact, it made such a deep impression on him that the next day Boehner announced his resignation as Speaker and from the House of Representatives. The pope did not tell Boehner to resign. But he awakened his conscience so Boehner could make that decision. That is how these homilies work. They are not intended to tell you how to vote, but to awaken your conscience so you can make a better decision.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Surprised by Suffering

Embracing our crosses and following Christ

09/26/2020

Luke 9:43B-45 While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Suffering always surprises us, even us Christians who know we need to carry our cross. The scriptures remind us repeatedly to “pick up your cross and follow me, if you would my disciple be.” But in more practical terms, many people’s personal motto is: “maximize pleasure and minimize pain.” I’ll never forget how forcefully this hit home for me as a seminarian many years ago. I was about 22 years old and having a really hard time in the seminary.

I was plagued by doubts about my vocation. I decided to visit with Msgr. Hebert, my spiritual director at the time, and what he said was so simple and yet so shocking. He said, “John, this is your cross, learn to carry it.” I couldn’t believe it, and yet it was so obvious. I knew Christians had to carry their cross, but I somehow believed that was for others, not for me. Msgr. Hebert gently corrected me that all Christians carry crosses, even the one named John Antony.

Gospel passages like the one from this morning in Luke 9:43-45 make me feel a little better about my incomprehension because I am in good company, namely, the company of the apostles. We read: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men’.” And how did they react to that shocking news of Jesus impending suffering and death, and soon their own? Luke explains: “But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it.”

Maybe the main reason they were following Jesus as Messiah was they felt he was the One who would “maximize their pleasures and minimize their pains.” That was the common conception of the Christ in those days. Could that be the reason we are following Jesus, too? If that is our motivation, that Jesus will maximize pleasure and minimize pain, then no wonder the lesson to carry our cross comes across to us so shockingly.

Two scripture passages provide a little perspective for carrying our Christian crosses. Romans 6:23 says: “The wages of sin is death.” That passage is referring to Gen. 2:17, where God warned Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed his command not to eat of the tree of knowledge, they would die. But because they did eat of the forbidden fruit, and committed the original sin, death entered human history. By the way, what is “suffering” but “death in installments”? Every suffering is a “little death.” So that is the first reason death and suffering surprises us, even though it shouldn’t. Death is a consequence of sin; originally Adam’s sin, and more lately our own.

The second passage is Heb. 2:14-15, which is a little more complex quotation. We read: “Through death, Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.” In other words, the devil does have the power to hurt us physically, and even kill us. We see a dramatic example of this in the life of Job in the Old Testament. It was the devil who inflicted his injuries.

And what is the devil’s nuclear weapon against us? It is suffering and death, which in turn cause us to become his slaves so that we can avoid the suffering he causes. But Jesus shows us how to be free of his tyranny by the maxim: “take up your cross and follow me, if you would my disciple be.” That is, when we embrace suffering we take the devil’s nuclear warhead out of his hands and blow it up in his face. When we are willing to embrace suffering – our cross – we are no longer slaves to Satan or to sin.

Folks, think about all your aches and pains, all your ailments and problems. All the adolescent anxieties, all the family feuds, all the senior senilities, and so forth. Are you hoping Jesus will just help you “maximize your pleasures and minimize your pains” and relieve you of all those crosses? Well, let me share a little advice I learned back in the seminary from a wise priest: "This is your cross, learn to carry it." But more than that, you will take the devil’s greatest weapon – suffering and death – out of his hands and defeat him with it. Then, as it says in Rom. 8:21, you too will enjoy “the glorious freedom of the children of God.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Blended Brothers

Understanding how the family of Jesus becomes our family

09/23/2020

Luke 8:19-21 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

                Some people think that “blended families” are a modern and recent phenomenon, but they are in fact quite ancient. The name is what is new. I would suggest to you that Jesus himself hailed from a blended family. But first, what is a blended family? That is where parents who have children from a previous marriage marry each other and form a new family. The most famous blended family is probably the “Brady Bunch.”

Do you remember their theme song? Here’s the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls, all of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls. It’s the story of a man named Brady, who was busy was three boys of his own. They were four men, living all together, but they were all alone.” And you know the rest of the story. The rest of the story, which made the sit-com both endearing and enduring, was the sibling rivalry, the jealousy, and one very saintly housekeeper named “Alice.” In other words, it is not easy to unite a blended family but in the end it can become something very beautiful.

All four gospels refer to the “brothers of Jesus,” and Matthew 13:55 adds that Jesus had “sisters.” Today’s gospel from Luke 8 reads: “The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to see him but were unable to join him because of the crowd.” Now, the reason we Catholic Christians do not accept the simple face-value meaning of “brothers of Jesus” as being other children of Mary and Joseph is to protect Mary’s perpetual virginity. From the early centuries of the Church, Christians have held firmly that Mary had no other children besides Jesus. Interestingly, the great Protestant reformers, Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Wesley professed faith in Mary’s perpetual virginity, too.

Let me briefly outline three theories suggested by early Church Fathers about how Jesus came from a blended family like the Brady Bunch. St. Epiphanius argued that St. Joseph had been previously married, and brought the so-called “brothers of Jesus” into his second marriage with Mary. In that scenario, these men would be “half-brothers,” although not really by blood, because Jesus is not the “Son of Joseph,” but rather the Son of God. St. Jerome, who translated the bible into Latin from Greek and Hebrew in the early 5th century, believed that Mary had a sister named Mary – who names two daughters both “Mary”?? – and she was the wife of Clopas. The so-called “brothers of Jesus” in this scenario would be Jesus’ cousins.

A third explanation was proposed by Hegesippus, in which Clopas was St. Joseph’s brother, and therefore the “brothers of Jesus” would, in this telling, have been Jesus’ “cousins” but again not technically “cousins” by blood because Jesus was not really the “Son of Joseph.” Did you follow all that? My underlying point is twofold: (1) Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no other children besides our Lord, and (2) the Church has held this belief from the beginning, even though we have different explanations to demonstrate its plausibility.

Folks, there is one important practical point for us in this explanation of Jesus’ blended family in Nazareth. We, too, are called and incorporated into Jesus’ divine Family of the Holy Trinity by virtue of our baptism. By baptism we are “adopted” into the Family of God and therefore, we, too, become the “brothers and sisters of Jesus,” like it says in the gospels. But the blended family in this case is not that of Mary and Joseph, but the blended Family of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, our baptism makes Jesus “a brother from another mother,” as we say these days. Our Mother is the Church, who gives birth to us by “water and the Holy Spirit.” Jesus has a lot of “brothers and sisters.”

You might want to go back and watch some reruns of the Brady Bunch. Why? It is not just the story of a lovely lady and a man named Brady. It also gives us a clue into the story of Jesus’ blended family of Nazareth. And ultimately, it helps us grasp the story of our life in heaven with the Blended Family of the Holy Trinity.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

I Must Decrease

Putting attention on others and Jesus

09/22/2020

Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

There is a noticeable tendency among the spiritually mature to speak less about themselves and more about others, and especially about God. When they do speak about themselves, it is typically in unflattering terms by pointing out their own faults and failures. They are reluctant to use the pronoun “I” unless it is to share what they have done poorly.

Many years ago in another parish we were interviewing for the job of development director. The various candidates submitted cover letters with their resumes. Obviously, in a cover letter you have to “sell yourself,” but this particular person used the pronoun “I” 16 times. I didn’t pay much attention to that until one of the people on the interview committee pointed out how self-centered that sounded. We did not offer him the job mainly because of how he came across in the cover letter. The spiritually mature tend not to “sell themselves,” they are “selling Jesus” in the sense that they want people to fall in love with the Lord.

Today is the feast of St. Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, and it is easy to spot this spiritual tendency of humility in him. The gospel story is Matthew telling the episode of his own call to follow Christ. Notice the lack of the first person singular pronoun “I.” We read: “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the custom’s post.” The apostle could have written: “One day Jesus passed by while I was sitting at my custom’s post.” But he demurred.

What’s even more compelling is that none of the four gospels identifies the author. Even though modern bibles place the title “Matthew,” “Mark,” “Luke” and “John” at the beginning of each gospel, not one of the early manuscripts records such a title. The Greek title “Kata Matthaion” (According to Matthew) is a later addition. In other words, it is based purely on Church tradition that we have any clue who wrote which gospel. Why? That is how much they wanted their own personalities to fade into the background and have Jesus’ personality shine in the foreground. As St. John the Baptist said in John 3:30: “He must increase and I must decrease.” Just like someone pointed out to me how much the pronoun “I” can be overused and indicate pride, so the canonical gospels like Matthew insist on how much the pronoun “I” should be underused and thereby indicate humility.

My friends, the practical lesson for us today is to pay more attention to how we talk, especially about ourselves. The place where pronouns become very pronounced is in marriage counseling, especially when the couple is experiencing problems, and the words “I” and “You” become charged with emotions. Usually each person uses the first person singular like that man in his cover letter applying for development director. They acknowledge, and at times exaggerate, all the things they have done right, all the sacrifices they themselves have made, and all the injuries and injustices they themselves have suffered. On the contrary, the other spouse is the wrong-doer. In other words, “I” am innocent and “you” are guilty. And then they turn to me and say in effect: And now Fr. John, we want you to pronounce judgement: convict the guilty and acquit the innocent.”

How different is the attitude of the apostles like Matthew in the canonical gospels. When they bother to talk about themselves, which is rarely to never, they only point out their own deficiencies and difficulties. And I am convinced that would be the most productive place to start all marriage counseling: to use the pronoun “I” sparingly, and when you do, use it only to share your own struggles and selfishness. Maybe the golden rule of marriage counseling should be the words of St. John the Baptist: “I must decrease, and he must increase.” That is, I must try to see Jesus in my spouse. That would the sign of someone who is spiritually mature.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Remarkable Relics

Venerating religious and regular relics

09/14/2020

John 3:13-17 Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Catholics are routinely criticized for our veneration of relics and religious objects, like rosaries, statues, and medals. Just look around at our beautiful church filled with items that catch the eyes, and you can see why we might be susceptible to such reproaches. Naysayers say Catholics not only admire these material things, we adore them, investing them with value they do not naturally possess as just wood or purely plaster or plastic. My answer to such anti-Catholic complaints is to point out we do exactly the same thing in many other areas of life, for example, in sports.

Last year, on July 17, 2019, Mark McGwire’s bat, used during his famous 1998 season to reach a record 70 homeruns, was auctioned off for $26,896. Paying that much money for a 34 inch, 32 oz. long piece of wood made from an Ash tree seems like admiration reaching the heights of adoration. But we know Cardinal fans do not worship their players no matter how much they might admire them. Notice, however, that what made McGwire’s bat so special, indeed, worth nearly $27,000, was that he touched it and used it to achieve an amazing feat: a new homerun record. And that is the basis of Catholic veneration – not worship, mind you – of relics: someone we admire (one of the saints) touched a material item and God’s grace made their whole life an amazing feat of holiness.

September 14 we venerate one of the most remarkable relics of all: the Cross of Christ. The cross, you might say, is the piece of wood that Jesus used to hit the spiritual homerun of our salvation. That’s why we venerate the true cross, because Jesus touched it, and for Catholics, that’s not worth $27,000; it is priceless. The history of this veneration stretches all the way back to the early centuries of Christianity. In 326 St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where she discovered the true Cross and had the Church of the Holy Sepulcher built on the site.

According to tradition all three crosses of Calvary were recovered, Christ’s Cross, but also the crosses of the two thieves. In order to test which one belonged to Jesus, each cross was touched to a woman who was deathly ill. The Cross that caused the woman to recover completely was deemed to be the Savior’s. One third of the Cross was left in Jerusalem, one third deposited in Rome at the church called “Santa Croce” (Holy Cross), and one third taken to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). We Catholics venerate the Cross of Christ because our Lord touched it and performed the amazing feat of our salvation. Indeed, with the Cross, he ushered in “a new heavens and a new earth” as we read in Rev. 21:1.

My friends, take a minute today to notice all the little material things we daily invest with immense value and hold dear to our hearts, the little personal relics of our lives. We cherish our wedding rings, and if we lose them we lose sleep until we find them. We prominently place pictures of our grandparents and our grandbabies where everyone can see and admire them. We carry special notes and letter that special people have sent us over the years in wallets or purses, or even in safety deposit boxes. All this veneration of these material things – made merely of metal or plastic and paper – is very natural and normal for human beings. Why? They were touched by someone we admire and they used it to achieve an amazing feat, that is, to show us they love us.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Why Women Weep

Appreciating the gift of tears and Mother Mary

09/16/2020

John 19:25-27 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Today I am going to talk about something that I have very little personal experience of, namely, why women weep. It’s not very smart for a man to wade too deeply into the ocean of a woman’s world, but I’ve never had much common sense with women, which is probably why I am a celibate priest. But I think there are two basic reasons why women weep: (1) a woman cries when she is extremely happy, and (2) a woman sheds tears when she is extremely sad. And on some really rare, but profoundly precious moments, she feels both happy and sad simultaneously and she weeps.

Last Saturday I celebrated a wedding of a beautiful couple at Immaculate Conception Church. After the ceremony, the bride told me: “You almost got me to cry during your homily.” I replied, “Well, if the bride doesn’t cry at her wedding, the wedding doesn’t count.” But she did shed a some tears during her vows, so it counted. And of course, women cry at funerals, and at times when they come to me for counseling. Now, women don’t like to cry because it messes up their make up. But I tell them I consider it a huge compliment when a women cries with me because it means she can feel vulnerable with me and she trusts me.

But do you know the real benefit of crying and releasing those emotions? It means you will live longer. If you look around in church on Sunday, which do you see more of: little old ladies or little old men? There are far more little old ladies. And that’s not just because the little old men are playing golf; those little old men are playing golf in heaven. That’s why the proper word is “widow” because the more common reality is women who have lost their husbands. The derivative word is “widower” because men who outlive their wives are rare and more exceptional.

Why do women live longer than men typically? When a woman weeps, she releases the tension between the body and the soul caused by life’s difficulties, and returns to equilibrium and inner harmony. You always feel better after a good cry. However, since men tend not to weep, that inner tension between the body and soul builds up until the body and soul get sick of each other and say good-bye. What is it called when the body and soul separate? That is called death. But since women weep, they keep the body and soul happier with each other and they stay together longer. What is it called when the body and soul stay together? That is called life. Why women weep has everything to do with life and death.

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows, and we contemplate why Mary might have wept. Mary is the perfect woman, even conceived without sin, so her weeping would teach us the most beneficial effect of shedding tears. There are two gospel options for today, and I had a really hard time deciding which one to use, it almost made me cry! But I didn’t cry, of course, because I am a stubborn man, who will die soon. I chose the John 19 reading because it suggests how Mary lived the rest of her life.

We read: “And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” The nameless disciple, as you know, is St. John the Evangelist, who wrote that gospel. Do you know how Mary died? Surprisingly, she did not die at all. Rather, at the end of her earthly life, she was assumed, body and soul, into heaven. Her body and soul always stayed in perfect harmony because Mary never committed any sins (thanks to God’s grace). But I also believe Mary enhanced that harmony by shedding many tears, from the time Jesus was born, till the day he died, and later for the Church he established. Maybe Mary sheds tears of joy in heaven as she watches over us today.

Boys and girls, take two seconds today and ask yourself when was the last time you cried. Did you feel it was a bad thing to cry and try to stop yourself? Or, maybe you were trying to comfort someone else who was crying and you said: “It’s going to be okay, please don’t cry.” But I would suggest to you that tears are a good thing, both happy tears and sad tears. I always tell people in counseling: “It’s okay to cry,” and then the faucet turns on full blast! Remember why women weep: their tears heal the harmony between body and soul, and that’s why they live longer than men.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Wonder Women

Appreciating the role and dignity of women

09/18/2020

Luke 8:1-3 Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

I would like to say a word about women today because the gospel of Luke ch. 8 takes a minute to mention women, too. Do you know where the word “woman” comes from? In the bible it says that after God had created Adam, he created Eve. When Adam beheld the beautiful Eve and he exclaimed: “Whoa, man!” But St. Luke and I are not the only ones who have stopped to wonder about women, so did St. John Paul II. On August 15, 1988, the feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven, John Paul II wrote “Mulieris Dignitatem,” “The Role and Dignity of Women,” a kind of compendium of his whole theology of the body. If you are searching for a summary of the pope’s famous theology of the body, that encyclical is excellent. I love the pope’s phrase “feminine genius.”

Also, anyone who criticizes Catholics saying women should help run the Church – and thinks they aren’t already doing that – has not stepped inside the church offices lately. Fr. Daniel, Dc. Greg and I are way outnumbered by women, whose dedication, devotion and drive is nothing short of inspiring. If you stop by the church and note the gender of the employees, you, too, may exclaim: “Whoa, man!”

What does the gospel of Luke say today? In the beginning verses of chapter 8, St. Luke mentions three women. We read there: “Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Suzanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.” Let me say a word about each of these women. Pope St. Gregory I in 591 suggested that Jesus expelling seven demons out of Mary Magdalene symbolized freeing her from the seven deadly sins. Hence, she became a loyal disciple of Jesus, and all four gospels record her resolute devotion even to standing at the foot of the Cross, when the other followers had fled.

She is also the first to witness the Lord’s resurrected body and announce the Good News to the apostles. Thus she is given the singular title of “Apostle to the Apostles.” That’s why Pope Francis raised her feast day on July 22 from a mere memorial to a full feast day. We can all look at Mary Magdalene and say, “Whoa man!”

Less is known about the other two women, but not nothing. “Joanna” is a name that means “Yahweh has been gracious.” And indeed God had been gracious to her since Jesus had healed her of infirmities as Luke says. The fact that she was the wife of Chuza, who was King Herod’s steward, means she was likely wealthy and could provide for Jesus and his disciples from her resources. Joanna is also mentioned in Luke 24:10 as one of the women who took spices to Jesus’ tomb. She had the money to buy the spices.

Joanna makes me think of all the wonderful women in the I.C. Ladies Auxiliary, who bring priests dinner on Tuesday evenings every week. The Ladies Auxiliary is our own Door Dash, Grub Hug and Waitr! Did you know the Ladies Auxiliary also pays for most of the church’s supplies for celebrating the liturgies all year: the candles, the books, the hosts, the wine, and the vestments? Every time you walk into this beautiful church, know there are wonderful women who support it out of their resources, and you might want to exclaim, “Whoa, man!”

My friends, if we take two minutes to think about the people who have profoundly shaped our faith, women will be a big part of the picture. No offense to my dad, but it was always my mom who insisted we pray every evening before going to bed. Most often when a young couple from two different denominations marry each other, it’s often the religion of the woman that takes precedence and prevails. The man often converts to the faith of his wife. Women tend to understand intuitively their need for God faster than men do (who are too busy being independent), and therefore their faith-life is often far advanced.

I believe that’s because women get that what’s most important in life is relationships – which is why they love soap operas – and they are ready for the revelation that God is not some Solitary Loner, as the Old Testament insists (cf., Deut. 6:4-8). Rather, God is a Trinity of divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the New Testament unveils. That is the heart of the feminine genius because it penetrates the heart of God, the Holy Trinity. And that is the real reason why Adam, when he first beheld Eve, exclaimed: “Whoa, man!”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Truth and Tenderness

Balancing marriage and care for LGBTQ persons

09/20/2020

Today we continue with the third homily in a series of homilies to help you vote with a clearer Catholic conscience this Nov. 3. The first homily was on abortion and prolife, the second one was on racism, and today’s topic is marriage and caring for LGBTQ persons. For those who are unfamiliar with the acronym LGBTQ, it stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and either queer or questioning.” You can find the text and audio of these homilies at the church website, www.icchurch.com under “Fr. John’s Voting Guide.” Just to reiterate: I am not here to talk about candidates; I am here to talk about Catholicism. The Church’s teaching refines our conscience, like calibrating an inner compass, to point true north. Spiritual true north, of course, is Jesus Christ.

Before diving head first into these deep waters, let’s dip our toes in by looking at love through the eyes of a child. Someone sent me these “definitions” of love by children. One small child wrote: “When my grandmother got arthritis she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So, my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when he got arthritis, too. That’s love.” Another one mused: “When a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. That’s love.” Another remarked: “When my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure it tastes OK. That’s love.” Lastly: “When you go out to eat and you give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. That’s love.” Seeing love through the eyes of a child may be the closest approximation to how God sees love, too.

I believe the beauty of Church teaching lies in the balance it strikes between truth on the one hand and tenderness on the other hand. Have you ever seen someone walking a tightrope with a long pole to keep their balance? The long balancing pole is the Church’s teaching that keeps us from falling, beautifully balancing both truth and tenderness. In their document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” the U.S bishops insist (on the one hand): “Marriage must be defended, recognized and protected as a lifelong exclusive commitment between a man and a woman, as the source of the next generation, and the protective haven for children” (no. 70). That’s the “truth end” of the balancing pole of Church teaching.

In the same paragraph, however, they likewise maintain: “This affirmation in no way compromises the Church’s opposition to unjust discrimination against those who experience ‘deep-seated homosexual tendencies,’ who ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity’ (Catechism, no. 2358).” This is the other end, the “tenderness end,” of the balancing pole. If we tip the pole too far to the truth side, we lose tenderness and fall off. If we tip the pole too far to the tenderness end and forget truth, we also fall off the tightrope. The beauty of Catholicism is the balance.

Let me share three real-life examples where I found it tough to balance truth and tenderness regarding marriage and LGBTQ persons, and see what you think. Many years ago, I was pastor in another parish and a lesbian couple invited me to their home for supper. I happily accepted. Incidentally, this was before same-sex marriage was legal. They were two lovely ladies, very kind and generous, attended Mass faithfully and even taught in the parish religious education program. At one point in the evening I needed to ask an awkward and uncomfortable question, namely, if a student asked about the Church’s teaching about marriage, could they answer with what the Church teaches? They both replied that they could, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Dessert tasted a lot better!

Now, notice I did not demand that they separate (they may be living chastely), nor did I refuse to give them Holy Communion at Mass (that's not the time for tug of war with Communion), nor did I excommunicate them from the Church (that's above my pay-grade), and finally I did not tell them they are going to hell (God alone decides that). Of course, if that dinner had happened today when same-sex marriage exists, and if they had taken the public step of civil marriage, diocesan policy would prohibit them from any formal teaching ministry. So, let me ask you: did I balance truth and tenderness, or did I tumble off the tightrope?

The second situation was a conversation I had with a mother and father whose daughter had declared that she was gay and intended to marry her same-sex partner. The parents were devout Catholics – obviously, since they were asking advice from their pastor! – and they wanted to know if they should attend the wedding. The parents felt like George Clooney in the movie “Oh, Brother Where Art Thou,” when he said, “Dang, we’re in a tight spot!” The parents deeply loved their Catholic Church and wanted to be good Catholics, but they also desperately loved their baby girl and wanted to be good parents. They didn’t want to turn their back on their faith or on their family.

My advice to them was to first and foremost assure their daughter that they loved her and that their love would never change, no matter what she did. They would always love her. However, that did not mean that they would always agree with her choices or decisions. Then, I added: if you can make it clear to your daughter that you are being present at the wedding to support HER, but also that you disapprove of the marriage itself, then I believe it is okay for you to attend the wedding. So, let me ask you again: did I balance truth and tenderness, or did I tumble off the tightrope?

The third scenario is the most complicated and controversial. A family came to seek my counsel because their teenage son was exploring his sexuality and felt more comfortable somewhere along the LGBTQ spectrum. I shared two thoughts with them. First, I said that in Gen. 1:27 God created each human person in his “image and likeness…male and female he created them.” In other words, the One who knows you best (better than you know yourself) is the One who created you, namely, God. As you explore your sexuality, don’t forget to ask God who he thinks you are. You are a child of God because God is your Father, and you are destined to be a child of God forever in heaven.

The second thing I mention to the parents is “don’t burn bridges.” That is, maintain a supportive, loving and open relationship with your children. Let them know that they can always come and talk to you about anything and you will listen and love them. Children grow, mature and change, and they need to know you are patiently waiting for them. Remember the “father figure” in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15? He never stopped loving his son, no matter how far he wandered away and no matter how he lived his life. The father welcomed him home with open arms: no twenty questions, no recriminations. You cannot control the behavior of your children, but you can control your own behavior, and imitate the actions and attitude of God. So, again, let me ask you: did I balance truth and tenderness, or tumble off the tightrope?

Some of you may be sitting there thinking: “Fr. John, that homily was perfectly useless in telling me how to vote in November.” And you would be perfectly right. This homily was not designed to tell you how to vote; it was designed to help you think more deeply about difficult issues, to calibrate your conscience with Catholicism, so YOU might decide how best to vote in November. Let me end with a quotation from Josef Pieper: “Well, the considerations put forward in this essay were not designed to give advice or draw up a line of action; they were meant to make men think” (Leisure the Basis of Culture, 71). And if, by chance, this homily did not help you think, just think about girls putting on perfume and boys putting on cologne and going out to smell each other.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Regardless of Race

Overcoming racism in our hearts and in the world

09/13/2020

Today’s homily on racism is the second in a series of eight homilies I will deliver on important issues facing us in the upcoming election. Every Sunday in the bulletin you can find a copy of the previous Sunday’s homily in case you missed it. Last Sunday I touched on the topic of abortion and prolife, which is the bedrock belief not only of Christians but also of any just society. While it is the fundamental issue, prolife is not the only issue. Hence we turn today to racism which we can see convulsing our country from “sea to shining sea” making America not so beautiful. I will take most of my comments from the United States bishops’ pastoral letter on racism called “Open Wide Our Hearts” published in Nov., 2018.

I would like to begin with a little story of how I found a hint of racism in my own heart as a small boy. My family is from India, and my parents did an admirable job of teaching us children to adapt and acclimate to the culture and customs of our new country. For example, we spoke English and reduced our accents; we used a fork, knife and spoon instead of eating with our hands which we did back home in India; I loved pizza and burgers more than naan and curry (easy for a child), and so forth. But sometimes I think my parents were too successful in this inculturation. How so?

I attended St. Theresa Catholic School in Little Rock, and my classmates were predominantly of German descent. Our class was crammed with kids named Kordsmeir and Gangluff, Beck and Eukmann, Moix and our pastor was even Fr. Keller! But here’s the funny part: I worked so hard to blend in that I basically considered myself to be a little white German kid. No joke. This skewed self-understanding really hit home when we visited Kerala, India, the southern state my parents are originally from. I stared wide-eyed through the back window of the taxi, glancing at strange but handsome brown faces, and said to myself: “Wow, these people could be related to my parents!” Notice I did not say: “Wow, these people could be related to me!” Why didn’t I say that? Well, because I pictured myself as a little white German boy who attended St. Theresa Catholic School in Little Rock.

Now, naturally, my parents did not want me to look down on or denigrate our Indian heritage and roots; nonetheless, a small seed of racism had started to sprout in my heart, and I didn’t even know it. The United States bishops observed: “Racism can often be found in our hearts – in many cases placed there unwillingly or unknowingly by our upbringing and our culture” (Open Wide Our Hearts, 5). Obviously, my parents, my Catholic school and my friends all loved me regardless of my race. But it took me a long time to love myself in the same way, that is, regardless of my race. When we cannot love someone, even ourselves, because of race, that is called racism.

First let’s define racism and then apply it to two groups that have suffered severely from it, namely, Native Americans and African Americans. The U.S. bishops wrote: “Racism arises when – either consciously or unconsciously – a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard” (Open Wide, 3). I am really glad they included the phrase “consciously or unconsciously” because I felt some unconscious racism as a child. Before zeroing in on Native Americans and African Americans, the bishops identified a broad spectrum of the subjects of racist rancor: “Many groups, such as the Irish, Italians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Poles, Jews, Chinese and Japanese, can attest to having been the target of racial and ethnic prejudice in this country” (Open Wide, 10). Our own culturally diverse parish of Immaculate Conception, made up of a cultural tapestry of Irish, Italian, German, Hispanic, Laotian and Vietnamese immigrants has probably suffered our own fair share of racism.

I want to address the Native American experience of racism because in Fort Smith we live right on the border of so-called “Indian Territory.” In fact, this past week, Larry Foley, a journalism professor at the University of Arkansas, released a movie called “Indians, Outlaws, Marshals and the Hangin’ Judge.” Foley is adamant about addressing the atrocities the Native Americans suffered, but also shows sympathy for them from Judge Parker, who said: “Twenty-one year’s experience has taught me [the Native Americans] are a religiously inclined, law-abiding, authority-respecting people.”

But the U.S. government’s policy toward Native Americans was rife with racism. The bishops wrote: “These policies decimated entire communities and brought about tragic death. The results were massive, forced relocations of people, such as the forced removal of Cherokee people from the Southwest to the Western territories, along the ‘Trail of Tears,’ and of the Navajo in the ‘Long Walk’” (Open Wide, 11). In other words, when we glance back over our storied past and shared history as a nation, we see the embarrassing – indeed evil – exploitation of minority ethnic groups by the power and greed of majority groups, in a word, we see racism rear its ugly head. The bishops conclude: “When one culture meets another, lack of awareness and understanding often leads to grossly distorted value judgment and prejudice” (Open Wide, 13). We who live in Fort Smith don’t have to travel far to see the results of racism in our country.

Now, let me briefly touch on the Black experience of racism. Of course, we can be proud of the abolition of slavery after the Civil War, of the addition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and of the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But we still have a long way to go. The bishops write: “African Americans continue to struggle against perceptions that they do not fully bear the image of God, that they embody less intelligence, beauty and goodness. This reality represents more than a few isolated stories; it was the lived experience of the vast majority of African Americans for most of our national history” (Open Wide, 14). In other words, if we truly believe each person is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27), then on what basis do we discriminate because of a person’s race? Does one race bear “more” of the image of God than another race? That attitude and assumption is simply called racism.

The bishops also balance the explosive issue of racism and interactions with police. See if you agree with their assessment. They write: “We must admit the plain truth that for many of our fellow citizens, who have done nothing wrong, interactions with the police are often fraught with fear and even danger.” They continue, though: “At the same time, we reject harsh rhetoric that belittles and dehumanizes law enforcement personnel who labor to keep our communities safe. We also condemn violent attacks against police” (Open Wide, 5). Have you heard the old cliché, “Don’t let your confidence get ahead of your competence”? I am convinced that in the case of misuse of force by police, as well as violent attacks on the police by protesters, our “confidence” in what we believe runs too far ahead of our “competence,” that is, our common sense, in loving and respecting our neighbor. Both sides – protesters and police – need a healthy dose of humility, and let their competence (common sense) catch up with their confidence. Put simply: think before acting.

You will be happy to know I no longer think of myself as a little white German boy. I am happy to be related to all those beautiful brown people in India. I joke that when people return from their summer vacations to the beach, they really trying to “look more like Fr. John.” The white people want to look like the brown people, and the brown people believe they look like the white people. But maybe we should accept each other – indeed accept ourselves – just as we are, and love each other regardless of race.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Happy Birthday Mom

 Seeing the significance of the Christian calendar

09/08/2020

Romans 8:28-30 Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.

One of the best ways to study the Christian faith is to examine more closely the Christian calendar. The Christian calendar, or better, the liturgical calendar, tells us not only what days to celebrate what feasts – when to buy Christmas presents and when to hunt Easter eggs, etc. – but it also reveals deeper mysteries of our faith. The feast days, therefore, do not fall haphazardly or arbitrarily on the annual calendar. Rather, they are carefully choreographed to teach us something about being Christian.

The 19th century Jewish scholar Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch famously said, “The calendar is the catechism of the Jewish People.” That statement is even more true for us Christians and our calendar. In other words, the more you study and scrutinize the liturgical calendar, the more you learn your faith. Let’s consider how the calendar can be our “catechism” as we celebrate the Nativity (birthday) of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

First of all did you know there are only three birthdays we celebrate on the Christian calendar? Of course, you know that December 25 is the Birthday of Jesus. Today, September 8 is the birthday of Mary. But less familiar is that June 24 is the birthday of St. John the Baptist. The reason for John’s birthday being on June 24 is because of what we read in Luke 1:56, “Mary remained with [Elizabeth] about three months and then returned to her home.”

If Mary “traveled in haste” (Lk. 1:39) to visit her cousin Elizabeth immediately after Mary miraculously conceived Jesus, then that puts Mary’s pregnancy about 6 months behind that of Elizabeth. Why? Well, presumably, Mary remained with Elizabeth until she gave birth to John, which only took three months. Hence, John is born six months before the Birthday of our Savior. (All the women caught that calculation faster than the men, no doubt.) Can you see how the calendar serves as a sort of “catechism” revealing deep spiritual truths? These dates are not plopped down without a purpose.

Let’s examine a little more closely the birthday of Mother Mary through the lens of the liturgical calendar. Sept. 8 may seem a rather random dates blithely picked by some medieval pope, but it isn’t. Most pregnancies take roughly 9 months, and so what date is exactly 9 months prior to September 8? It is December 8th, which is the Immaculate Conception. When we recall that the Immaculate Conception is the conception of Mary (and not of Jesus, please people!), we see how much sense it makes to celebrate Mary’s birthday on September 8.

By the way, the roots of the Immaculate Conception can be traced all the way back to the 5th century in Syria. In other words, Mary’s Immaculate Conception, and her subsequent birthday 9 months later, are not random, arbitrary dates on a calendar, but reveal a rich liturgical heritage in the Church, going all the way back to her very beginnings. This is how the calendar serves as a catechism.

My friends, don’t we ignore our own calendars to our own detriment? If I miss my mom’s birthday on June 2 – which I never do! – I would feel horribly inadequate as a son. If I forgot my parents’ wedding anniversary on May 16, I might feel like I have forgotten my roots: their love (and God’s love) is the reason I exist. Likewise, I hope people will remember me on my birthday on July 12, and congratulate me on my priestly ordination anniversary on May 25. Incidentally, I will celebrate 25 years as a priest next year: my silver jubilee!

Why are these dates important to me and to you? Aren’t they just arbitrary or accidental moments on the calendar? Aren’t they just the purposeless points of the earth's orbit, spinning like a top on its axis and circling the sun like a whirling dervish? Not at all, our personal calendars tell us who we are, they reveal our roots, and they unveil our destinies. If we look really carefully at our calendars, they will teach us that we all originally come from God, and are eventually headed back to him. Paul taught the Romans the same truth: “All things work for good for those who love God” especially the key moments of birth, death, marriage and ordination. The calendar is our own personal catechism, revealing the deepest mysteries of our existence.

As we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us be extra attentive to the times and seasons of the Christian calendar. Calendars help us not to miss important birthdays, and they teach us not to miss a lot more than that.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Labor Dei

Offering our labors to God to become saints

09/07/2020

Luke 6:6-11 On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

Today is Labor Day in the United States. But do you know what the Latin word for “labor” or “work” is? It’s “opus.” Think of Beethoven or Mozart’s many symphonies referred to as “opus,” like Beethoven’s Opus #9. Their labor as a musician and composer is called their “opus.” Well, in 1931 a priest in Madrid, Spain was inspired by God to transfer this term “opus” from the secular realm to the sacred, to take it off the street and bring it into the church.

His name was “Fr. Josemaria Escriva” and the movement – actually the technical, canonical term is called a personal prelature – he launched was called “Opus Dei,” meaning the work of God. Opus Dei is a way of life where we transform our daily symphonies, our daily work to try to make beautiful music, and offer it to God. So, our own little “opus #9” becomes an Opus Dei, a work of God, or God’s work. Or, more precisely, God’s grace working through us.

Today on Labor Day we take a break from our daily labors, and so it’s an ideal day to reflect on why we should labor at all. What is the purpose of our toil and sweat and creativity and striving to succeed? It is just to make more money? It is only to be successful and beat all our competitors? It is just to leave a legacy and a huge inheritance for our kids? Is it just to make the world a better place?

Or, could there be a deeper dimension, indeed a divine dimension, to our labor, our daily opus? St. Josemaria Escriva answered emphatically, “Yes!” And that deeper divine dimension of labor is discovered when we offer our labor to God. We still work as hard, and smart and efficiently as possible, but our motivation becomes our faith. We work to please God, not to please (or impress) our neighbors. I am not just writing these homilies for you.

The remarkable insight of St. Josemaria – he was canonized a saint on October 6, 2002 – is that our labor doesn’t have to be a famous symphony to please God. Any and all honest work is acceptable to our loving Father in heaven. Think of when your little 3 year-old paints a picture but it’s just a stick figure and gives it to you as a gift, and you accept it with admiration and use it to adorn your refrigerator. So, too, our heavenly Father accepts all our work, our labor, our daily opus, but much more tenderly and lovingly. Maybe God adorns his heavenly refrigerator with all our “opus dei.”

In 2006 Scott Hahn revealed that he belonged to this movement called Opus Dei by writing a book about it called Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace. He described Opus Dei saying: “Opus Dei is a way of sanctification in daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian’s ordinary duties.” In other words, the way to become a saint was to go to work every day – to the factory, to your office, to your chicken farm, to your restaurant, to your university – and see your work as your "altar" where you offer your sacrifice to God, your daily opus.

And because everyone has to work, therefore, everyone can become a saint. That is, the deepest dimension of work, labor, is to become a saint. One of my favorite bible verses is John 5:17, where Jesus declares: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” Jesus was not only indicating that he had a certain work to complete (our salvation), but he was also suggesting that if we are going to be like him, we too have work to do. And our ordinary work can become our daily opus, an opus dei, a work of God, if we do it with the desire to offer it to God.

Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer and the beginning of the fall, and returning to school, and returning to work in the fall harvest. Maybe Labor Day gives us a moment to recall why we work in the first place: to offer something pleasing to God, like a little child who paints a stick-figure picture for his or her father. Scott Hahn wrote: “Our altar is our desktop, our workstation, the row we hoe, the ditch we dig, the diaper we change, the pot we stir, the bed we share with our spouse.” When we do all these activities for the glory of God we have found own our Beethoven’s Opus #9.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Art of the Possible

Discerning how to vote with a Catholic conscience

09/06/2020

I am going to do something I have never done before. I am going to deliver a series of homilies for the next 8 Sundays to address important issues before the general presidential election on November 3rd. The fastest way to lose friends and make enemies is to talk politics from the pulpit. I am about to talk about religion and politics in polite company, and you might not feel very polite after you hear what I have to say. Of course, I am not going to talk partisan politics – advocating one party over another – but rather I hope to present the high ideal of politics, once beautifully described as “the art of the possible.” That is, people working together, and even compromising at times, in order to promote the common good, and thereby achieve a higher common happiness.

Since I am a Catholic priest and I am speaking to a Catholic congregation, I will present these important issues in the light of Catholic faith. For instance, when our Catholic faith shines on issues of abortion, marriage, racism, immigration, etc., how do we see them differently? I would suggest to you that we see these issues as they really are because it is the light of Christ that illuminates them, and reveals what is true and false in them. The Second Vatican Council taught: “Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light…Christ…fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (Gaudium et spes, 22). Just like we see everything most clearly when we bring it out under the bright light of the noonday sun, so Jesus, the Son of God, illuminates what is obscure and opaque in social, moral and political issues.

I am going to rely heavily, but not exclusively, on the U.S. bishops’ statement on political responsibility called “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” It was originally published in November, 2015 (prior to the last election), and republished with a new introductory letter in November 2019 (prior to this election). Here are the eight topics I will present and on which weekends (so you can plan accordingly): today (Sept. 6) I will address abortion and prolife, which seems the most fundamental of all issues. On Sept. 13 I will touch on racism that is riveting our country and the ripple effect it causes. On Sept. 20, I intend to broach the topic of marriage and family, with special attention to the care for persons in the LGBTQ community. On Sept. 27 I hope to address immigration and welcoming the stranger, especially the beautiful people from India!

On Oct. 4, I will discuss the environment and living together on this plant, our “common home” as Pope Francis says. How providential that October 4 is the feast of St. Francis, who called the sun his “brother” and the moon his “sister.” That is how close we should feel to creation. On Oct. 11, I will try to deal with the basic right to health care, because we really cannot live without it (pun intended). On Oct. 18, I will address global solidarity and our need to participate in the destiny of the world, rather than sit on the sidelines as spectators. Jesus warned: “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Lk. 12:48), and we Americans have been given a lot. Last but not least, on Oct. 25, I would like to share what the bishops have to say about religious liberty and Catholic education, especially how valuable our Catholic schools are.

I strongly recommend you read the U.S. bishops’ entire document on “Faithful Citizenship.” But here are a few of the points they made regarding abortion and being prolife. They wrote in the Introductory Letter: “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place in the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.” A little later the bishops emphasize why this issue is “preeminent” and stands head and shoulders above other issues: “The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed” (Faithful Citizenship, 28). In other words, the right to life is not “equal” to other rights: it is the bedrock and foundation of a just society. If you are dead, what good are any other rights?

However, the bishops were careful not to conclude that you must always support a politician or policy who adopts an “all or nothing” attitude regarding abortion. Sometimes incremental change – little by little – is more successful. The bishops quote St. John Paul II’s prudential advice: “When a government official who fully supports abortion cannot succeed in completely overturning a pro-abortion law, he or she may work to improve protection for unborn life, ‘limiting the harm done by such a law,’ and lessening its negative impact as much as possible (Evangelium vitae, 73).” Thus, the bishops concluded: “Such incremental improvements in the law are acceptable as steps toward the full restoration of justice” (FC, 32). That is, sometimes you have to take “baby steps” to help babies take their first steps.

The bishops also expanded their prolife stance to go beyond abortion alone. They insist: “Cloning and destruction of human embryos are always wrong. The purposeful taking of human life by assisted suicide and euthanasia is not an act of mercy, but an unjustifiable assault on human life. Genocide, torture, and the direct and intentional targeting of noncombatants in war or terrorist attacks are always wrong” (FC, 64). When we intentional take an innocent human life, therefore, we try to step into God’s shoes and decide who lives and who dies. And whenever we have “played God” in the past, disaster has struck.

And lest the bishops be accused of callously forgetting the desperate mothers who sadly choose abortion, they add: “We promote a culture of life by supporting laws and programs that encourage childbirth and adoption over abortion and by addressing poverty, providing healthcare, and offering other assistance to pregnant women, children and families (FC, 65). When I was in high school, I volunteered at Abba House in Little Rock, a home for unwed mothers run by Mother Teresa’s nuns. We tutored the children after school and helped with chores around Abba House. In other words, we build a culture of life, not only by voting for prolife candidates, but also by helping those around us to choose life. And if for some serious reason we cannot do the first, then we must do the second.

If you were waiting for this homily to tell you who to vote for, I’m happy to disappoint you. The purpose of this homily, taking a page from the U.S. bishops, is to shape and form YOUR conscience so YOU can better decide whom to vote for. But don’t decide who to vote for yet, there are still seven more homilies you need to hear! I know it’s not easy to discern and to read, to pray and to ponder, before making your decision. It’s a lot easier to let someone else do our thinking for us and tell us who to vote for. Henry Ford famously said: “Thinking is hard work, that’s why so few people do it.” We want someone to make elections easy, but they aren’t. It wasn’t easy for Jesus to carry his cross, and it should not be easy for us to carry ours. If casting your vote in November doesn’t feel hard like carrying your cross, then you’re probably not doing it right.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Age Defying

Entering into Jesus’ new and eternal creation

09/04/2020

Luke 5:33-39 The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Today’s gospel, Luke 5:33-39, has always been problematic and perplexing for me, and maybe for you, too. And that for a couple of reasons. First, it’s not clear which Jesus means is better: the new wineskins and the new wine, or the old wineskins and the old wine. The episode ends with Jesus concluding: “And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good’.” In other words, the old seems better than the new, but that seems to contradict the overall thrust of the passage.

Another point that produces perplexity for me is that I really love old wine, and I generally love old things. Every day I look in the mirror and I see an older Fr. John, especially with this gray beard, and I love old Fr. John. That’s probably one reason my mom wants me to shave it, though. Without the beard my face looks younger and baby-like, which in turn makes my mom feel younger, I suspect. I like old traditional things, like hand-written letters, actual newspapers where the ink comes off on your fingers, books where you can dog-ear the pages, and especially old wine. But in Luke 5:33-39, Jesus seems to reject all that “old stuff” in favor of “new stuff.” But is that our Lord’s real message and meaning? I don’t think so.

If you closely examine the Greek of the New Testament, you discover there are two distinct Greek words both translated into English as “new.” They are “kainos” and “neos.” In English both words are rendered as “new” as in new wineskins and new wine. But the meanings are wildly different. “Neos” means new in the sense of “recent,” like a new day, or a new Iphone or a new car. But with the passing of time, these new things will eventually become old things. They will be replaced by another new day, another new Iphone, and another new car. That’s “neos new.”

But kainos is a completely and even categorically new kind of newness. Kainos is new in the sense of eternal, new, fresh, everlasting. It will be fresh and new 100 years from now; it will be fresh and new one million years from now. Isn’t that what every age-defying cream and lotion promises, but is never able to deliver? Kainos is especially evident in the book of Revelation, as we would expect, since its subject is the newness of heaven. In Rev. 21:1, 2, and 5, St. John describes a new heavens and a new earth, a new Jerusalem, and finally Jesus says: “Behold I make all things new.” In each and every case, the Greek word for new is not neos, in the sense of recent, but kainos, in the sense of eternally new, never to be replaced, enduring forever.

Now, with that handy-dandy distinction between kainos and neos – eternally new versus recently new – let’s go back to Luke 5:33-39, and suddenly, the mystery and messiness evaporates. Jesus is not contrasting new wineskins and new wine with old wineskins and old wine, as if these new things were merely recent or modern, or trendy. The newness Jesus ushers in is not new today and old tomorrow. Rather, Jesus’ newness is eternally new, always fresh and always in the prime of youth. Kainos new is the newness of the new covenant and the New Testament. Kainos new is not just better than the old, it is even better than the new, in the sense of neos new!

In Mark 14:26, when Jesus at the Last Supper talks of drinking the new wine of the Kingdom (the Eucharist), he uses the word “kainos” meaning eternally new. And just so we don’t miss it, at Mass the priest emphasizes the kainos character of the Mass wine, saying: “This is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant.” The covenant in Christ’s Blood is not neos new, it is kainos new, it is eternally new, fresh and youthful. It will still be new a 100 years from now, and a million years from now.

My friends, we all worry about growing old. We try to hide the gray hair and the wrinkles and crows feet. We exercise and keep our bodies fit and looking young. And that’s a good thing because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:19. But there is another kind of newness besides a new car, a new phone or a new day, and that is the “new creation” which St. Paul mentions in 2 Cor. 5:17. That is “kainos new” and it is not just better than the old, it is even better than the new.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

An Innocent Incident

Seeing how Jesus’ healings lead to service

09/02/2020

Luke 4:38-44 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Today’s gospel story seems like an innocent incident of Jesus healing, but it is not at all. If we peer below the surface, we see the whole gospel in a nutshell, with a dramatic and decisive difference for Christianity and for the cosmos. Of course, who can forget Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s insight into this innocent incident? He joked that the real reason Peter denied Jesus three times was because Our Lord healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Only priests who don’t have mother-in-law’s can joke about them, so don’t try this at home.

I would like to look for a moment at Luke 4:39, where we read, after the healing: “She got up immediately and waited on them.” In other words, the healing had a hidden purpose: not only to restore to full health, but also to reinvigorate the healed person into a life of service. Healing, therefore, is for the purpose of service. We are not healed just so we can go back to life as normal, living for ourselves. We are healed, rather, so we can be more like Jesus and spend our life in service, or even give our life in sacrifice. Do you know of people who have prayed for healing, and then once healed, live with a new orientation and objective in life? Our church pews are filled with many such people.

But what’s the consequence for the entire cosmos from this healing? Medieval theologians taught the whole creation was organized and structured into a great Chain of Being or Hierarchy of Being: with God at the top and nothingness at the bottom. They explained this Chain had essentially seven levels or links: God, angels, man, animals, plants, minerals, and nothingness. And in some cultures this hierarchy of being is carried over into society, ranking people in society. For example, in my home country of India, an older brother (like my brother Paul) ranks above me. But priests rank higher than all siblings. So, when I was ordained a priest, I leap-frogged over him. See, how fun knowing the hierarchy of being can be? You can get back at your older brother.

But the coming of Christ effected a dramatic reversal of this hierarchy of being, basically turning it on its head. How so? Now, following the example of our Lord, the higher serves the lower, the stronger takes care of the weaker, the rich serves the poor, the smarter assists the slow of mind, and the healed (like Peter’s mother-in-law) wait on the needy and hungry. This up-ending of the Chain of Being can be summed up in Mark 10:45, where Jesus declares: “For the Son of Man [Jesus] did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Put more pointedly, Jesus, who is God himself, became a slave to those who should have been his slaves, that is, me and you. That is why immediately after being healed, Simon’s mother-in-law waited on them. She experienced not only physical healing but the larger (indeed, cosmic) healing Jesus was preforming on the whole of creation, so that the rightful rulers would become saintly servants, like Jesus himself.

What does this mean for us on a practical level? Well, for one thing, be careful what you pray for because you may get more than you bargained for! Peter’s mother-in-law only wanted to be free from her fever, but she ended up learning the law of love and became more like Christ who came not to be served but to serve. Likewise, when we pray for healing from cancer, when we ask help to find a job, when we pray for our children and grandchildren to be successful and happy, be careful. Why? Well, because Jesus answers those prayers by giving us not only that healing but also what we failed to request: the deeper healing of our hearts and the reversal of the hierarchy of being.

Could this also explain why Jesus says “no” to some of our prayers? He knows that once we are healed physically we might ignore the spiritual healing and go back to life like before. That is, we return to living for ourselves rather than living for others, indeed, even giving our lives for others. In Luke 12:48, Jesus gives another summary statement of the whole gospel, saying: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” Keep that warning in mind next time you pray for something. When Jesus answers your prayers, it is anything but an innocent incident.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Anointed Ones

Appreciating Jesus’ anointing and our own

08/31/2020

Luke 4:16-30 Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.

One of the most pregnant terms, but also one of the most provocative terms, in the whole Bible is “Anointed One.” We are blessed to have a recently “anointed one” in our midst at Mass this morning, Fr. Daniel Velasco. One of the principal points of priestly ordination is when the bishop anoints the priest’s hands with Sacred Chrism. And to underscore how unbelievably powerful that consecration with Chrism is, the bishop will kiss the new priest’s hands after the bishop receives his blessing. That was my favorite picture from Fr. Daniel’s ordination: the bishop actually kneeling in front of Fr. Daniel and kissing his hands. Don’t get used to that gesture, Fr. Daniel.

In the gospel today, Jesus returns home to Nazareth and quotes the passage in Isaiah 61 that prophesies the coming of the Anointed One. Notice how pregnant and provocative that title is for Jesus among his family and friends. Jesus applies the title for himself and the people want to catapult him off a cliff and kill him. Why did they react so violently and viciously? Well, it helps to know a little Old Testament background. The term “anointed one” is rendered in Hebrew at “meshiach,” and in Greek as “christos” and in English as “Christ.” Furthermore, three classes of people were anointed on the day they were installed in their office: priests (like Aaron in Ex. 28), kings (like David in 1 Sam. 9) and prophets (like Elisha in 1 Kgs. 19). There are 39 instances of the term meshiach, messiah in the Old Testament.

But when Jesus accrues the title Anointed One to himself, he is not say he is only a priest, or only a prophet, or only a king. No, not at all. Instead, he is actually claiming all three categories for himself: his priest, and prophet and king all rolled into one, the ultimate and last Anointed One. The Christos to end all christos’! This ultimately Messiah was what Isaiah was prophesying and predicting and if you read Daniel 9 carefully, the Messiah was scheduled to arrive 490 years after the Babylonian Captivity, which was the exact arrival of Jesus. No wonder the people wanted to put him to death: Jesus’ claim must either be true or false, but his claim cannot be ignored as if irrelevant. C. S. Lewis put it perfectly: Jesus is either the Lord, or a liar or a lunatic, but he cannot be dismissed as a good moral teacher. Can you hear how powerful but also how provocative this little term can be: Anointed One, Messiah, Christ?

Here’s the surplus, practical, take-away value for us Christians today. Did you know that the word “Christ-ian” comes from Christ and therefore you, too, are an anointed one? But do you know when you were anointed? It was at your baptism, when the priest anointed the crown of your head with Sacred Chrism. The exact same sacred oil used to anoint Fr. Daniel on August 15 was poured on your head as a baby. The priest said (as I’m sure you remember): “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so you may live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” In other words, you, too, are to be another anointed one (with a little “a”), another messiah (with a little “m”), and another christ (with a small “c”).

But here’s the rub as well. Just as it was provocative and perilous to be Christ in the first century, so too it will be for us in the 21st century. If we live up to our exalted calling of being another Christ (a true Christian), expect to meet with opposition. Sometimes that opposition will come from the left and liberal ideologies but sometimes that opposition will come from the right and the conservative culture. In other words, Christians cannot be reduced to align 100% with Republicans or 100% with Democrats. Faith transcends politics, so expect to be hated by both sides of the aisle, just like Jesus was.

Listen again to our Lord quoting that passage from Isaiah 61 and try to apply it to yourself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Jesus was either the Lord, or a liar or a lunatic, but he was not a Republican or a Democrat.

Praised be Jesus Christ!