Marrying a Stranger

 Learning honest holiness from Peter and Paul

06/29/2021

Mt 16:13-19 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

I used to think that happily married couples would never fight. I believed that healthy marriages consisted of two people who smiled all the time, held hands, said only sweet things, and kissed all day. Only an unmarried priest would think like that. I saw the first episode of the T.V. series “The Marvelous Mrs. Mazel,” where she went to bed with all her make-up on, lipstick, and her hair looking perfect. Before her husband woke up, she re-did all her make-up, lipstick, and hair. So, he thought that is how she always looked; he never saw his real wife.

When couples come to get married in the Church, they take a personality test called FOCCUS. It is a series of true or false statements about their preferences and personalities. I try to tell them there are no “right or wrong” answers, but there are only “honest and dishonest” answers. Try to be honest even if the other person may not like it. In other words, take the risk of telling the other person how you really feel. Why?

Well, because the worst thing that could happen on your wedding day is that you marry a stranger, someone you do not really know. On the other hand, if you are really honest, you will be blessed to marry someone who knows the real you – warts and weaknesses and all – and still wants to spend their life with you. Sadly, Mr. Mazel had married a stranger, someone he really did not know.

Today we celebrate the great solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, the two great pillars of the Church. They are indeed paragons of virtue, apostolic zeal, and heroic sacrifice, both dying as martyrs in Rome. Every year on June 29th, the pope blessed and bestows palliums – the woolen cloth worn around an archbishop’s shoulder – on the new archbishops the pope appointed in the past year. Archbishops are called to imitate the life and love of St. Peter and St. Paul.

But we should not think Sts. Peter and Paul were perfect in some superficial sense, like Mr. Mazel thought his wife was perfect because her make-up and lipstick and hair were never out of place. We should not think that Peter and Paul never fought like all healthy married couples do in fact fight. In other words, they were not strangers to each other; they were honest and even disagreed with each other.

If I had chosen the scripture readings for today’s Mass – thank God I did not – I would have included Galatians 2:11, where Paul takes umbrage with Peter. We read: “And when Cephas (another name for Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.” How is that for honesty in a relationship? And Peter does not pull any punches when he talked about Paul. In 2 Peter 3:16, he jabs: “In [Paul’s] letters there are some thing hard to understand.” That is the understatement of the century.

Peter and Paul, therefore, were not some ideal apostolic duo that never disagreed or argued or even fought, walking around Rome smiling, holding hands and bestowing their apostolic blessings. Rather, it is precisely their honesty that was the cornerstone of their holiness. They were not strangers to each other, they loved each other honestly, and that is how they built up the Church.

Maybe the example of Sts. Peter and Paul will help us not to be scandalized by the behavior of our bishops recently. They hotly debated an upcoming document on the Eucharist and who should receive Holy Communion. We may naively think – like I used to think about married couples – that all bishops should always be in perfect agreement and hold hands and sing “kumbaya” at their meetings.

But that would be a superficial and false unity, like how Mr. Mazel looked at the Marvelous Mrs. Mazel. Rather, we should pray each bishop has the courage and conviction to express his conscience in the general assembly. Let us pray they are honest like Peter and Paul who sometimes took of their gloves and took it outside. Only with that kind of honest holiness can the Holy Spirit keep the Church on course.

The worst thing that can happen on your wedding day is you marry a stranger. And the worst thing that can happen to Christians is we remain strangers to each other and to Christ.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Earliest Ears

Learning about the faith from St. Irenaeus

06/28/2021

Matthew 8:18-22 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

It is amazing the time we take to know certain famous people and can even quote them. For instance, Dc. Daniel and I discovered we love the same sort of movies and can quote lines from them and know who starred in them. That is what we really learn in seminary. Fr. John Connell has the uncanny gift of knowing the number one song for the past 50 or 60 years. You can tell him your birthday and he will tell you which song was number one on the charts the week you were born. Real Razorback fans can quote sports stats all day long until the Hogs come home. People know the 46 presidents of the United States from George Washington to Joe Biden, their order and their time in office.

How sad, therefore, that more Catholics do not know saints as well as they know Brittany Spears and Bubba Watson. Today I want to tell you a little about St. Irenaeus of Lyons, one of the early Church Fathers, and one to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for many modern Catholic beliefs and practices. We should know the lives of the saints and be able to quote them as well as we know and quote movie stars, rock bands, and sports figures.

St. Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey, in 130 A.D., only 100 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was actually ordained a bishop by St. Polycarp, who was the disciple of St. John, the Beloved Disciple, the one who leaned on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper. Do you remember the old telephone game little children play, where someone whispers in your ear, and you try to whisper the same thing to someone else, and they pass it on, etc.?

Well, Jesus whispered his heart-beat (his love) into St. John’s ear, who whispered it into St. Polycarp’s ear, who whispered it into St. Irenaeus’ ear. The earlier you hear the whisper, the more accurately you hear the message. The reason we should study St. Irenaeus is because he was one of the earliest ears to hear the Good News.

St. Irenaeus also helped develop the canon (the official list) of the New Testament, especially the four gospels. In the early Church, there were circulating a number of gospels, besides the ones we know today: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In his famous work, “Adversus Haereses” (Against the Heresies), Irenaeus wrote that there are only four true gospels and virtually ended the debate.

He argued: “For since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principal winds, while the Church has been scattered throughout the world, and since the ‘pillar and ground’ of the Church is the gospel and the spirit of life, it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing incorruption on every side.” In other words, we can thank St. Irenaeus for our standing at Mass when the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are proclaimed. We can trust what he teaches because his was one of the earliest ears to hear the whisper of the Good News.

A third practical point deserves mention about St. Irenaeus. He stressed that the best way to know you are following the true and orthodox Catholic faith is to be in union with Rome, and the successor of St. Peter, the pope. During the 2nd century, there was a wide-spread heresy called Gnosticism that was confusing countless Christians, and it may be confusing not a few Christians today. St. Irenaeus strongly urged his people to stay close to the pope in order to stay close to the true faith.

We need to hear and heed that message today, when many voices on social media claim to have the corner on Catholicism and why they are right and everyone else is wrong. Instead of tuning in to modern-day messengers, turn in to one of the earliest ears to hear the Good News. St. Irenaeus tells us to trust Pope Francis, if we want to be true Catholics.

Today, June 28th, we celebrate the feast of St. Irenaeus, the disciple of St. Polycarp, who was the disciple of St. John, who was the beloved disciples of Jesus Christ himself. Instead of quoting the latest tweet from Labron James or Tucker Carlson, maybe we should read and repeat something we find in the writings of St. Irenaeus. After all, his was one of the earliest ears to hear the whisper of the Good News.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Laugh or Cry

Seeing death in light of Jesus’ resurrection

06/27/2021

Mk 5:21-24, 35b-43 Jesus crossed again in the boat to the other side of the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded.

Sometimes when you go through a really hard time, people say, “Laugh or cry.” For all of you who are going through a hard time, here is a little humor to help you laugh rather than cry. A priest, an alcoholic and an engineer are sentenced to death by the guillotine. The priest steps up and the executioner asks, “Would you like to die face up or face down?” The priest answers, “I want to face up to the heavens.” The executioner says, “Okay,” and he releases the blade, which comes down swiftly, but stops suddenly only an inch from the priest’s neck. Given the miracle, the priest is allowed to go free.

The alcoholic steps forward and is asked which direction he wants to face. He answers, “I want to face up, too, to remember the glorious drinking days.” Again, the executioner releases the sharp blade, which comes down but stops suddenly just one inch from the man’s neck. Another miracle, and the alcoholic is also released. The engineer comes forward and is asked which way he wants to face. He scratches his head and says, “Face up, I guess.” Just as the executioner is about to release the blade, the engineer shouts: “Wait! Wait! I found the problem!” As they say, “laugh or cry.”

In the gospel today, Jesus also faces a very serious situation, namely, death, but he does not take it too seriously. Why not? Jesus wants us to understand there is something even more serious (and more powerful) than death, and that is faith. When Jairus, the synagogue official, receives news that his sick daughter has died, Jesus assures him: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” In other words, faith in Jesus will prove to be stronger than death. And Jairus believes.

But when Jesus declares to the people mourning that the little girl is only asleep, they ridicule him. They thought he was telling a bad joke about something as serious as death. When Jesus raises the little girl back to life, though, he shows how faith is stronger than death. How so? Well, because people of faith will enjoy eternal life, and by comparison, death is almost a joke. St. Paul virtually taunts death in 1 Co 15:55, saying: “Where, or death, is your sting? Where, o death, is your victory?” When we face the frightening prospect of death, faith helps us to laugh rather than cry.

This past week death really hit us hard with a one-two punch and pulled out all the stops. You have heard, of course, of the devastating collapse of the condominium in Florida that has killed 9 people so far, leaving over 150 missing. It is hard to believe such a collapse could occur with all the engineering and expertise we have at hand today. We need an engineer to shout, “Wait! Wait! I found the problem!” And we certainly weep with those who have lost loved ones; those who have felt the full force of the fear that death awakens in us.

Much closer to home, our parish is mourning the deaths of the Drushal family: Jill, Charles and 10 year-old Renate, who would have been in 5th grade this coming year. Our neighbors to the south in Greenwood are also grieving the loss of Aaron and Landry Gamble. Aaron Gamble was the new principal of Greenwood High School. The funeral for the Drushal family will be Monday morning, with three caskets lined up in the middle aisle. I must say that death has really out-done himself this time.

Today Jesus’ words to Jairus are directed to each of us in a special way: “Do not be afraid; just have faith” and “Why all this commotion and weeping. They are not dead but asleep.” We are still numb from the shock and sadness, and we may be tempted to ridicule Jesus like those mourners in Jairus’ house. Jesus words about "the little girl being asleep" strikes a stinging cord when we think about little Renate. But I want to share with you another example, an example of remarkable faith.

On Wednesday afternoon, after the Gamble funeral in Greenwood, Aaron Gamble’s parents, Jay and Rhonda, who are devout Catholics, stopped by I.C. for a brief visit. They knew the Drushals attended I.C. and they sat in my office and told me they felt very sorry for the Drushal family’s loss. And they asked me to convey their condolences to them. Instead of focusing on their own pain and grief, they thought of others, especially the Drushals.

I was deeply humbled and moved by their gesture. As I listened to them speaking slowly, softly and with serene faith in Jesus, tears welled up in my eyes. I answered, “I would be honored to do that.” Jay and Rhonda Gamble embody what Jesus meant when he said, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” They would not have ridiculed Jesus when he said, “They are not dead, but only asleep,” because they are looking forward to the resurrection of their son and grandson.

People sometimes says, “Laugh or cry” when life gets especially hard. And maybe they mean more than they realize. Death dealt our community two great blows last week and we are still reeling from them. Being people of faith, though, we know there is something stronger than death, namely, faith in Jesus. And when we put our full faith in Jesus, the “resurrection and the life,” death almost becomes a bad joke.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Happy Land

Making a pilgrimage to our hearts

06/25/2021

Genesis 17:1, 9-10 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: “I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless.” God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.” God further said to Abraham: “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai; her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.” Then Abraham said to God, “Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!” God replied: “Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly.

Sometimes people suggest that I should lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. If I did, would you “jump on that train” as Dc. Daniel likes to say? But I hesitate to head there because the Holy Land is not a very happy land. Have you ever wondered why the Palestinians and the Israelis are constantly in conflict? Some experts believe the controversy goes back to 1947 and the first Arab-Israeli War. Others argue it goes back to 621, when Mohammed made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and even ascended to heaven briefly. The golden dome you see in pictures of Jerusalem is the mosque that commemorates that pilgrimage. Even Mohammed makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land but not Fr. John.

But I am convinced that the real roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict are buried deep in the book of Genesis, and we get a glimpse of it in our first reading from Genesis 17. You already know the story of Abraham according to Genesis. That same story, however, according to the Quran (the holy book of Islam) is different in three radical respects. First, Hagar is not merely a slave of Abraham, she is also his wife. Genesis never says Abraham married Hagar but the Quran does. That is a big difference.

Second, Ishmael is the favored first-born son and therefore receives his father’s special pride and sure protection. According to the Quran, Abraham and Ishmael together built the mosque, the huge black cube called the Kaaba, in the middle of Mecca. All devout Muslims turn toward Mecca when they pray, toward that Cube. And third, Abraham did not almost sacrifice Isaac as an act of faith in God, but according to the Quran, Abraham almost sacrificed Ishmael. Therefore, the son who inherited the “faith of father Abraham” was not Isaac but rather Ishmael, the father of the Arabs and Palestinians.

The deepest roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict, therefore, are not political or economic or social or military. Rather, they are only discovered in the family feud that goes all the way back to 1800 B.C. and the family of Abraham. The reason the Holy Land is not a very happy land is because of the old saying, “no one fights like family.” The Arab-Israeli conflict is at bottom about two half-brothers, both claiming to be the favored son of the Father of Faith.

May I suggest two other family feuds to bring this message a little closer to home? Those who live in glass houses should not throw rocks. Have you ever wondered where all the denominations and divisions in Christianity come from? Are Christians not all half-brothers and sisters who fight but also claim a common ancestor, namely, Jesus Christ? In 1054 the Catholics and Orthodox Churches split from each other.

In the 1500’s, the Protestant Reformation split the Church into hundreds, and now thousands, of feuding factions of faith. In Spanish, we call Protestants “hermanos separados” (separated brothers and sisters) to show that spiritually-speaking, we are really hostile half-brothers no less than Ishmael and Isaac. In other words, Christians can boast of no moral high ground as we watch the Arabs and Israelis in their constant conflict. We are rowing down the river of history in very much the same boat.

Here is the second practical application. Do we really need to peer into our neighbor’s windows to see fighting brothers and sisters? We find lots of in-fighting in our own families. Besides all the good and noble reasons my family immigrated to the United States we also find hidden the less heroic motivation to get away from toxic family and friends. Most immigrant families will find the same sad saga in their own history.

Abraham took both Hagar and Ishmael to the desert, to the future site of Mecca, to flee the jealousy of Sarah, who felt her son, Isaac, should get preferential treatment. In other words, the reason Abraham moved his wife and son to Saudi Arabia is very similar to why my family moved to the United States almost four thousand years later: a family feud. My family’s holy land of India was not a very happy land.

So, I still hesitate to lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land because to this day it remains not a very happy land. Perhaps a more pertinent pilgrimage we should all take is to the holy land of our own hearts. When we get there, we should pray for peace: among Arabs and Israelis, among denominations of devout Christians, and among our own feuding family members at home. Then, at least the holy land of our hearts might also be a happy land.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Woof, Woof

Learning to be priests, prophets and kings

06/23/2021

Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.”

All leaders of whatever stripe have to wear three hats, or play three roles, namely, priest, prophet and king. How so? Well, leaders are "priestly" because they call people to live for something bigger than themselves, hopefully for God. They play the part of "prophets" when they correct bad behavior. And they wear the crown of "kings" when they help people to live together in harmony.

Now, the funny thing is, no leader ever masters all three roles. They may be good at two, but never all three. Some are great kings and priests but poor prophets. Others are excellent prophets and kings, but mediocre priests. Can you see this dynamic in the priests who have been your pastors over the years, and in the priest who is speaking to you now? For me personally, the hardest hat to wear is the prophetic one. I hesitate to call people out and correct them when they do something wrong.

I will never forget a homily Msgr. Hebert preached about failing to be a good prophet. He said he had neglected preaching about the evil of contraception for many years. He quoted Isaiah 56 where such prophets are compared to dogs who do not bark. And then do you know what he did? Msgr. Hebert actually barked like a dog: “Woof! Woof!” I think he started some of the small children; he certainly startled me! Let me apologize, therefore, if I have failed to bark and warn you about going astray from the gospel. It is hard to play the part of a prophet.

In the gospel today, Jesus, too, suggests that it will not be easy to be a good prophet. He cautions: “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but underneath are ravenous wolves.” Jesus uses the metaphor of “sheep’s clothing” to mean the same thing as Msgr. Hebert’s “mute dog.” That is, false prophets want to appear peaceful and placid and not make people uncomfortable or convicted.

I am convinced that being a true prophet is one of the many strengths of our own Bishop Taylor. He often tells us priests: “If you are getting along with everyone, you are probably doing something wrong.” Both John the Baptist and Jesus were the two greatest prophets of all, and both were killed for it. It is always hard to play the part of a prophet.

My friends, we really need to pay for our country’s bishops who are wrestling with the role of playing the prophet today. Have you followed the news of the biannual meeting of bishops held in June and November each year? This June (last Saturday) they voted 165-55 to draft a document on the Eucharist. They stated that Catholic politicians who are openly and defiantly pro-abortion should not receive Holy Communion. They did not mention anyone by name, of course, but you can guess who they had in mind. The final document will be released in November when they meet again.

Why are they causing all this controversy? Why can’t the bishops just talk about peace and joy and love? Simple: they do not want to be "dogs that do not bark,” or false prophets in “sheep’s clothing.” They know well that if they are getting along with everyone, they are probably doing something wrong. It is never easy to play the part of a prophet.

One thing I am learning from Deacon Daniel Wendel this summer is how to be a happy priest, and even a happy prophet and a happy king. He said that holy humor and heartfelt happiness inspire him to be a priest. And I am convinced that will help us priests to be better prophets, too. Yesterday was the feast of St. Thomas More, who was beheaded by King Henry VIII for not agreeing to his divorce and remarriage, shades of St. John the Baptist. After a couple of years in the Tower of London, More had grown a long beard. As St. Thomas kneeled down about to be beheaded he asked the executioner, “Please keep my beard out of this. My beard did not commit treason.”

All leaders are called to wear the three hats of priest, prophet and king. And by the way, that includes parents, who must be priests, prophets and kings to their children in the domestic church of the home. But each leader only ever masters two of those three roles. Only Jesus was the perfect Priest, Prophet and King. If you are like me and struggle to be a prophet and are tempted to be a mute dog, remember a little holy humor. After all, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Woof, woof.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Service after the Sale

Praying for the men called to be fathers

06/20/2021

Mark 4:35-41 On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

Everyone loves to create something, but not everyone cares for what they create. This truth especially applies to men on this Father’s Day weekend. How so? Well, a husband can create a “house,” but it takes a father to convert a house into a “home.” Grammatically speaking, we might say the word “father” is not only a noun, but it is also a verb. The verb “to father,” therefore, means not only to create a family but to care for that family that he brings into creation. Only a father can transform a house into a home, and by the way, fathering is the harder part of being a man. Any man can be a husband; it takes a real man to be a father.

A couple of humorous examples may illustrate the difference between a husband and a father. After a young couple brought their new baby home, the wife suggested that her husband should try his hand at changing diapers. “I’m busy,” he said, and added: “I’ll do the next one.” The next time came around and she asked again. The husband looked puzzled and answered, “Oh! I didn’t mean the next diaper; I meant the next baby!” It is easy "to husband" to bring a baby into the world; it is much harder "to father" and to change his poopy diapers.

Here is the second example. A man and his wife were sitting in their living room and discussing a “living will.” The man said boldly, “Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug!” His wife got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all the beer. Do you ladies know any men who are in a virtually vegetative state at home? Such a man may become a husband, but he would never reach the high standards of a faithful father.

Our scripture readings today speak of how God is not only the Creator of all, but he is also the Father of all. That is, he cares for the creation he brings into being. In the first reading the book of Job applies “fatherly language” God, who not only creates but cares for his creation. We read: “The Lord answered Job out of the storm and said: ‘Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garments and thick darkness its swaddling bands?” Swaddling clothes are baby clothes. Remember how the baby Jesus was wrapped in “swaddling clothes” in Lk 2:12? Even though some husbands do not want to touch dirty diapers, God the Father cares for his creation by providing “swaddling bands,” the clouds and darkness that are the “diapers” of the deep sea.

In the gospel today Jesus imitates his heavenly Father, because “like father, like son.” St. Mark explains how when a violent squall came up and began tossing their boat around, Jesus who was asleep awakes and commands the sea with the same authority of the Creator, saying: “Quiet! Be Still!” And what happened? “The wind ceased and there was a great calm.” Jesus did not remain in the vegetative state of sleep like husbands on life-support of TV and beer, but awoke to care for his sons, the apostles.

To be sure, Jesus has come as the Husband all humanity, to marry his Bride, the Church. But he also “fathers” his family, like God the Father. That is why when Philip asked Jesus to “show us the Father,” he answered in Jn 14:9, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father.” In Jesus, therefore, we find both the holy Husband and the faithful Father, the Creator and the One who cares for his creation, the ideal Man.

On this Father’s Day, let me invite all the men here (indeed all of us) to catch the difference between being a husband and being a father, between merely building a house and manly building a home. I am convinced that it is a fundamental failure in fatherhood that has made abortion such a scourge on our society. Men are as responsible for every abortion as women are (maybe more so). Why? Well, because “it takes two to tango.” And often it is because the woman is left alone to shoulder the burden of the unplanned pregnancy that abortion appears as an appealing or maybe the only alternative. Abortion exists to a large degree because so many men are in a hurry to be husbands but failures at being fathers.

Another aspect of fathering that goes far beyond husbanding is fathering a family spiritually, that is, being the spiritual leader. Yesterday I celebrated the baptism of Sophie Higgenbotham. She is the baby daughter of a couple I married 9 years ago. When I baptize a baby of a couple I married, I call that “service after the sale.” At the end of the baptism, the priest blesses the father saying: “May [God] bless the father of this child. He and his wife will be the first teachers of their child in the ways of faith. May they also be the best of teachers.” In other words, what makes a father different from a husband is precisely “service after the sale.” That is, after your wife has “bought” what you are selling (she married you), you must provide tireless service for your family, especially in being a spiritual leader. To be a father, you must be the first and best teacher in the ways of faith.

On this Father’s Day, we thank God for all the men who have hit a homerun in being not only husbands but also fathers. But we also pray for those men who seem to strike out, those who struggle and stumble to live up to that high calling. Any man can be a husband; it takes a real man to be a father. After all, to be a father means to say, a little like Jesus said to Philip: “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Wealth is Weird

Learning wealth management from Jesus

06/18/2021

Matthew 6:19-23 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

Material wealth is a weird thing because it makes us act weird. Let me give you a couple of examples. I was speaking recently to a friend who has been a very successful businessman. He came from nothing and worked hard and expanded his company to multiple stores. He has tried to teach his children his own tireless work-ethic, but not been as successful with his children as he was with his company. He told me a truism for many parents who have significant wealth, saying: “The first generation earns it, the second generation spends it, and the third generation wastes it.” How many immigrants, like my own family from India, have seen the same pattern? Wealth is weird.

Here is another example. Bill was at his family reunion when his cousin Earl asked him, “You look terrible. What’s the problem?” Bill answered: “My mother died in June and left me $10,000.” Earl said sadly: “Gee, that’s tough.” Bill continued: “Then in July my father died leaving me $50,000.” Earl reacted: “Wow. Both parents gone in two months. No wonder you’re depressed.” But Bill went on: “Then, last month my Aunt Sylvia died, and left me $15,000.” Earl shook his head saying: “Three family members in three months. How sad!” Finally, Bill concluded: “Then, this month nothing!” Material wealth is weird because it makes us act weird.

In the gospel today Jesus shows us a very different approach to wealth management. He teaches his disciples how wealth might not make you weird and act in selfish and sinful ways, like the third generation of wealthy families. Jesus says in his Sermon on the Mount: “But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there also your heart will be.” In other words, if wealth makes us weird, then we must change our understanding of wealth from earthly wealth to heavenly wealth, from material riches to spiritual riches, from the human economy to the divine economy.

And probably no one learned our Lord’s lesson better than St. Paul, who said in the first reading today (taken from 2 Corinthians): “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weaknesses.” That is, real and lasting wealth is found in our weaknesses, because there we find the true treasure of God’s grace. We start storing up treasure in heaven.

Ever since I arrived at Immaculate Conception seven and a half years ago, I have been endlessly edified at how our parishioners understand wealth, meaning wealth has not made you weird! Put more positively: material wealth has helped you grown spiritually rich because you know that your true treasure is in heaven. What do I mean? When I arrived here we were already undertaking a $3 million campaign to renovate our campus. $2 million was spent to restore the elegant and historic St. Anne Convent. You wanted to preserve the spiritual legacy of the Sisters of Mercy and so rather than tear down the building you used your wealth to keep you from becoming materially weird, showing you are spiritually wise.

Whenever someone passes away in our parish, like J.T. Schluterman or Dale Keller last week, the church office is flooded with Mass intentions. People donate $10 per Mass, even though Masses are free, and in a real sense priceless and no one could afford them! But notice what people are doing: exchanging their human economy in order to participate in the divine economy. Each Mass contributes to the process of purification called Purgatory, and as Jesus said: “Stores up treasure in heaven.” Instead of asking what did the deceased leave us, we worry about what we can leave them.

And my personal way to trying to keep material wealth from making me weird is to support Catholic schools. I know what a blessing it was for me to be able to attend Catholic schools because it nurtured the seeds of my priestly vocation. And so I happily support our Catholic schools by writing books and conducting campaigns for scholarships for poor students (like I was). Why? Well, because Catholic schools exist to teach the same lessons as the Sermon on the Mount: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.”

Folks, I am pleased to report that wealth is not making at least Immaculate Conception parishioners weird. Why? Because you have learned like St. Paul that real and lasting wealth in found in weaknesses, because there we find the true treasure of God’s grace.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

God in the Grammar

Becoming passive to God’s grace

06/14/21

Matthew 5:1-12 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Good writers positively prefer the “active voice,” while they assiduously avoid the “passive voice.” Are you familiar with those two grammatical constructions? See if you can tell which is better: active or passive voice in these two sample sentences. Here is the passive voice: “The Diamondhogs were beaten by North Carolina in the Super Regionals.” That does not sound very good, does it? Now, here’s the active voice: “The Razorbacks came back in the final inning to beat the Wolfpack.” See how much better active voice sounds? Good grammarians (as well as Hog fans) always prefer “active voice” over “passive voice” because the construction is clearer and more cogent.

The bible, however, shows a decided preference for the passive voice rather than the active voice. Indeed, in the sacred scriptures we discover a unique grammatical construction called “the divine passive.” In the typical passive voice in writing the subject of the sentence is being acted upon by someone else, like the Hogs being beaten by the Wolfpack. In the divine passive of the bible, however, human beings are the subjects who are being acted upon by God. And what is most fascinating is that God is not even mentioned at all. He is implied and hidden.

We find perhaps the most eloquent example of the divine passive in today’s gospel from Matthew 5, the “Sermon on the Mount.” See if you can hear the “divine passive voice” in the Beatitudes; see if you can find God in the grammar. Jesus said: “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Did you noticed how the subject of the sentence, "the Blessed" (me and you), are being acted upon by an invisible Agent who is not mentioned, namely, God?

God will comfort those who mourn; God will give the inheritance of land to the meek; and God will show mercy to the merciful. In other words, good writers end up being bad theologians. Why? Well, because they miss the divine passive voice; they miss God in the grammar. This is one reason St. Augustine - who studied rhetoric, that is, good grammar - initially turn up his nose at reading the bible. He thought the bible’s proclivity for the passive voice was bad grammar; that is, until Augustine discovered the divine passive voice (God’s grace) in the Bible and in his own life. Someday, read St. Augustine's "Confessions" if you want to see the irresistible power of the passive voice.

Folks, let me point out just two practical applications of learning about the divine passive for us today. In 1899 Pope Leo XIII wrote a letter called “Testem benevolentiae nostrae” to Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore. Among other concerns, the Holy Father warned of an over-activism in the spiritual life, which he called “Americanism.” (Yeah, Americanism.) That is, we Americans, perhaps prodded by the Puritan work ethic, tend to over-emphasize what we do to grow as Christians and de-emphasize God’s grace. We say things like “God helps those who help themselves.” That may be good grammar, but it is bad theology. The divine passive reminds us that God, the invisible Agent, is acting on us and making possible anything good we ever do. The divine passive helps us to avoid the heresy called “Americanism.”

Secondly, discovering the divine passive voice is one of the surest signs of growing in the spiritual life. When I go home to visit my parents my father often reminisces over his long life and his many blessings. At some point he always states: “God is the One who has made all this possible.” I have to confess that statement really irritates me more than a little because I want to correct him and say: “But YOU did a lot to make all those blessings possible, too, dad!”

But maybe my father can see something (or rather Someone) that I am blind to, namely, the divine passive voice in his life. My father can see God in the grammar of his life, acting on him and blessing him like Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount. If you are wondering if you are progressing in the spiritual life, if you are becoming a saint, just ask yourself if you prefer using the active voice or the passive voice when you talk about your relationship to God. The spiritually mature see more and more of what God does and less and less of what they do.

Next time you are reading the bible, see if you can catch the divine passive voice in sentences like in the Sermon on the Mount. More importantly, see if you can find the divine passive voice in your own life like my father can. It might make you wince if you are a stickler for good grammar. But it might make you smile if you are trying to be a saint. And it might make you feel a little better about the Razorback loss last night.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Sucker for a Summary

Finding a life verse to summarize our life

05/27/2021

Mark 10:32-45 The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I am a sucker for a good summary. My attention span is somewhat short, so I prefer people to share their stories succinctly and summarily rather than be lengthy and laborious. By the way, being the opposite of me is what makes Fr. Daniel such a great confessor. He takes plenty of time to listen patiently to each penitent, while I am usually rushing them through, saying, “Next!” I have learned to come early for mass to help hear the long line of confessions waiting for Fr. Daniel.

I move them through like chickens being plucked in a processing plant. When someone gets emotional in confession I want to repeat the words of Sgt. Joe Friday from the TV show “Dragnet,” and say soberly, “Just the facts, ma’am.” In other words, get to the point, which, by the way, may be exactly how some people feel about my long homilies. I need to preach what I want other people to practice.

Did you know that each of the four gospels also has a good summary verse, or as they say in French, a “precis”? That is, there is one verse that includes all the salient points of the whole gospel message. For example, Luke 2:32 is the end of Simeon’s prophecy as he holds the Baby Jesus, and he says: “A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” In other words, Jesus has come to save not only the Chosen People but also the Unchosen People, in sum, everyone.

The twenty-one chapters of John’s gospel can be summed up in the one verse of Jn 12:32. That is the end of the Book of Signs where Jesus declares: “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” Jesus crucifixion (being lifted up on the Cross) will be his glorification; his moment of apparent defeat is, in fact, his moment of utter triumph. That verse is the fourth gospel in a nutshell.

The gospel of Matthew, spread over twenty-eight chapters, can be condensed into Mt 16:18, where at Caesarea Philippi, Peter proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus returns the compliment, saying “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” Matthew’s gospel is often called “the gospel of the Kingdom,” and in Mt 16:18, we find Jesus establishing his Kingdom and appointing his first Prime Minister, St. Peter.

And that brings us to today’s gospel of Mark, where, I would argue, we find the summary statement, the vital verse, that encompasses all sixteen chapters of the second gospel. We read in Mk 10:45, “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.” You will recall that the disciples had just disputed about who was the greatest and Jesus gives them “Just the facts” about their faith, namely, leadership is for humble service, not for pomp and prestige. Mark would even preach what he wanted other people to practice by providing the shortest and most condensed gospel of all four of them.

My friends, have you ever thought that there could be a Bible verse that summarizes you whole life like those verses summarize the entire gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Our Protestant brothers and sisters call this their “life verse.” Have you ever heard of that? If you just focus on the New Testament, you will find 7,957 verses to choose from. Personally, I have narrowed my options down to three possible life verses.

Jn 3:30 where John the Baptist states humbly, “He must increase; I must decrease” helps me remember that my life as a priest is supposed to magnify Jesus and not myself. Rm 5:20 where Paul states, “Where sin abounds there grace abounds all the more,” reminds me that even though I struggle with sins, God’s grace will be more than sufficient for me to be victorious. And Ph 4:8 reads beautifully: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellent and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things,” helps me accentuate the positive. These verses touch my heart and inspire me to be a better Christian. They sort of summarize my faith life.

Yesterday I had the funeral for Aaron McMahon, the grandson of David McMahon, who started Belle Point Distributing. My funeral homily revolved around a one-sentence summary of Aaron’s short but meaningful 37-year life. I said he was “a man who was all heart.” That is, he put his whole heart into everything he did, and as a result, he lived more fully in 37 years than many people do who live to a hundred. What would the one-sentence summary of your life be? Perhaps a Bible verse can capture the core of your character and your Christianity. Or, you can leave it up to me to figure it out for your funeral homily. After all, I am a sucker for a good summary.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Come Back Home

Moved by crisis, commodity or community

06/06/2021

Mark 14:12-26 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

One of the perennial problems for parents, especially after their children move away, is how to get them to come back home. Some couples come up with creative solutions. For example, an elderly man in Phoenix called his son Bob in New York and said, “I hate to ruin your day, but your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough!” He continued: “I am sick of her! And I am sick of talking about this, so call your sister in Boston and tell her.” Then he abruptly hung up.

The son, Bob, frantically called his sister, who went nuts over the news. She immediately called her father and yelled, “You are NOT getting a divorce! Bob and I will be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a single thing. Do you hear me??” The father hung up the phone, turned to his wife, and said smiling, “It worked! The kids are coming for a visit, and they are paying their own way!” Now, that trick will only work on your children if they did not hear this homily.

We priests, who are spiritual fathers, are also worried about getting our children to come back home to the Catholic Church. And tragically, it takes a crisis – a divorce, a death or a disease – to bring children back to their spiritual homes. C. S. Lewis was right when he wrote: “Suffering is the megaphone God uses to rouse a deaf world.” In other words, when all is going well in our world – when we are warm and well-fed – we grow deaf to God’s words and wisdom. But do you recall what happened the day after September 11, 2001? The churches were packed with people. Why? We all ran back home, like Bob and his sister flew back to Phoenix.

Today’s feast of Corpus Christi suggests another way of bringing children back home, namely, the Eucharist, spiritual food. Just as families gather for Christmas and Thanksgiving, weddings and anniversaries, which invariably involve food, so our spiritual family gathers around a table at Mass. Indeed, we gather around two tables, in order to be fed by the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist. Psalm 34 urges us: “Taste and see how good the Lord is!” Why? The Psalmist is inviting us to come home to Holy Communion with God and with each other.

But I am convinced that if we want the meal of the Mass to bring us together and bind us together, we have to see the Eucharist not as a hot commodity but as a Holy Communion that creates a Holy Community. What does that mean? Well, the Body of Christ that is Communion should bring about the Body of Christ that is our community. But when we treat our Christianity like a commodity, we start to go shopping spiritually-speaking and end-up eating junk food in comparison to Holy Communion. Catholics, therefore, can live our Christian faith on three levels: (1) responding to a crisis, (2) buying a commodity, or (3) searching for Communion.

My friends, ask yourselves: why did I come to Mass today? Are you going through a crisis in your life and looking for help and hope? Sometimes we look at our religion like a pilot looks at his parachute. He is glad to have it, but he hopes he will never use it. A recent survey reported that more Americans describe themselves as “no religion” than any particular denomination. Often parents ask me what will it take to bring their children back to Mass? I give them the same answer as C. S. Lewis: “Suffering is the megaphone God uses to rouse a deaf world.” Sometimes only a crisis can make us come back home.

Or, could it be you came today because Christianity feels more like a commodity? You came here because you are “buying” what we are “selling” – a pretty church, uplifting music, a stirring sermon, etc.? Fr. Daniel recently taught me the four P’s of marketing: “product, place, promotion and price.” So, if you were to find another church with a better product, at a more convenient place, promoted by your friends, and at a better price, would you start going there? What drives us to church on Sunday is not Christianity but capitalism: product, place, promotion and price. Sadly, we have to sell spirituality to make Catholics come back home.

Or, are you here for the Holy Communion that builds a Holy Community? One of the lessons we have learned from the Covid pandemic is that people missed not only Communion but also our community. I am so happy to see the church full on Sundays, but also happy to see the other buildings full: people playing bingo on Monday, Bible study groups on Tuesday, the Ladies Auxiliary gossiping on Wednesday, the Men of Faith on Fridays talking sports (I mean spirituality), the Amistad group doing Zumba classes, and Virginia Ricketts who baked 1,500 cookies for Corpus Christi! That is how the Body of Christ (Holy Communion) we receive on Sunday makes us the Body of Christ (a holy community) Monday through Friday. As the cliché says: “you are what you eat.” Communion is the best reason to come back home.

The reason the Church celebrates Corpus Christi every year is to remind us not to come to church only in a crisis, or craving a commodity. Rather, come to Mass because this Holy Communion creates a holy community. And if that does not work, I am afraid there may be a crisis coming around the corner. Why? Well, because some parents will do almost anything to get their children to come back home.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Hot Mommas

Seeing how we are created in God’s image

06/01/2021

Mark 12:13-17 Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.

Have you ever noticed how we all have an image of ourselves in our minds that does not always correspond closely to reality? And what we choose to see and hear reinforces that reality. Let me give you an example. An 84 year-old man went to the doctor for a physical. A few days later the doctor saw him walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm. The next time the doctor saw him he asked how he was doing. The old guy said: “Great! I just did what you told me, ‘Get a hot momma and be cheerful!’” The doctor said, “I did not say that. I said ‘You’ve got a heart murmur. Be careful!’” The image we have of ourselves in our head rarely corresponds to the image of ourselves in reality.

In the gospel today, Jesus also talks about two images: the image of Caesar and the image of God. The Pharisees and Herodians ask about paying the census tax to Caesar. Of course, it was not an innocent question to ease their consciences about paying taxes to Caesar, but a trap to ensnare Jesus and have a reason to kill him. But Jesus uses the occasion to teach them about two images. The coin used to pay the tax carried the image of Caesar, so it belongs to Caesar, so give it back to him. In other words, pay the census tax.

But then Jesus points to another image – a deeper image, a divine image – namely, the image of God. In Gn 1:27 we learn that each person is created in “the image and likeness of God,” including the great Caesar. So, give to God what bear his image, that is, ourselves. And even Caesar belongs to God and owes to God his very being and existence.

It is funny how the Roman Caesars believed they were gods and wanted everyone in the Empire to worship them, like the 84 year-old believed the doctor said, “Get a hot momma and be cheerful.” The image in their heads did not relate to the one in reality. Jesus reminds them it is better to belong to God as his precious children than try to pretend you are god by building big monuments to yourself. Being a child of God is our true image.

My dear Ladies Auxiliary, it is so great to have you back at Mass and meeting weekly. Are you happy to be back and see each other in person? You haven’t changed a bit and look even younger than you did a year ago! Of course, we know we are all getting older, except for me, when I shaved my beard and I became 20 years younger. One of the many things I love about our Ladies Auxiliary is how you try to make the image of yourself in your head correspond to the image of you in reality, that is, you try to live as a daughter of God.

Some of the ways you have lived up to the image of God in you is how you support our priests. Thank you for the very generous gift to help me buy a new computer and monitor – my old eyes thank you, too! And thank you for the Masses offered for our newly ordained priest from our parish, Fr. Omar. Of course, you do so much more besides that, like bringing me and Fr. Daniel and Dc. Daniel Wendel meals every Tuesday, and paying for church supplies and other projects I request your help with.

In all these cases, like in the gospel, the crucial thing is not about whose image is on the coin (whose name is on the check), but whose image is on our soul, namely, God’s image. In other words, how we handle money demonstrates whether the image of ourselves in our heads corresponds very closely to the image of ourselves in reality. Are we really acting like a child of God?

Do you know whose image is on a one dollar bill, a five dollar bill, a ten dollar bill, a twenty dollar bill, a fifty dollar bill, and a hundred dollar bill? They are: George Washington (on the $1), Abraham Lincoln (on the $5), Alexander Hamilton (on the $10), Andrew Jackson (on the $20), Ulysses S. Grant (on the $50), and Benjamin Franklin (on the $100). But do you know whose image is on the soul of each of those great men? It is the image of God. Today, as they stand before God, face to Face in heaven, they know which image matters more. And now, finally, the image of themselves in their heads corresponds perfectly to their image in reality. Each man is cheerful and not one of them has a hot momma on his arm.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Humble Hispanic Man

Seeing the sacred in the simplicity of the sacraments

05/30/2021

Matthew 28:16-20 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

Can I tell you something that really bugs me about being Catholic? It is how super simple the seven sacraments are. They are so ordinary it is easy to overlook them, and feel they are overrated. For instance, we pour a little water over a baby’s head in baptism and it becomes a child of God. Oh, really? We whisper a few words over bread and wine and we behold the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass. Yeah, right. A smidge of sacred oil on your forehead confirms you as a soldier for Christ. Sure it does. If you were Jesus and you had one shot to leave the world the best you had, would you leave behind these seven, simple sacraments?

Why did Jesus institute the ordinary to convey the extraordinary, the temporal to signify the eternal, and the human to express the divine? Why not a little shock and awe when we celebrate the sacraments, like the ending of “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lord Ark.” Remember when the Nazis opened the Ark and awe-inspiring angels appear and turn the bad guys into dust and ashes? Maybe more would come if Mass was like that. But I suspect that if the sacraments were more spectacular we would take pride in them, like they are our prized possession (like the Nazis wanted to do), and we would love the gifts more than the Giver (God).

Instead, the sacraments are extremely earthly – water, oil, bread and wine – in order to teach us humility. Humility comes from the word “humus” which means ground or earth. Only those people who are down to earth are humble. In other words, the sacraments are not only for the humble; they are strategically set-up to humble us, that is, to overcome our pride. That is why so many Catholics who leave for college also leave the Church; they are too smart and sophisticated for the simplicity of the sacraments. They are too proud. Maybe the reason the simplicity of the sacraments bugs me so much is because it points out my pride. The shock and awe serves my ego.

This weekend we celebrate a milestone in the life of Immaculate Conception Church, namely, the priestly ordination of Omar Galvan, a young man from our parish. But if we are not careful we can overlook Holy Orders hidden in a humble Hispanic man. Do you remember how in 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel went to Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel? Jesse brought out his best and brightest boys. But God said: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have reject him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sm 16:7). Instead, God wanted to anoint David, Jesse’s smallest son. In other words, we like Jesse look for shock and awe, but God looks for the humble of heart, like King David and Fr. Omar.

Let me give you an example of how down to earth Fr. Omar is. When he was a 5 year-old, the Galvan family prayed the rosary every night, but Omar had other plans besides praying. He said: “I would sit next to my sister or brother and poke them in the side. I would even stop the rosary and tattle-tale on my sister who was falling asleep.” He went on: “I would sometimes throw little beans from across the room at my siblings because I was forcing them to suffer with me.” In other words, just as God called Saul the Pharisee the great persecutor of the Church, so God has called Omar, the great persecutor of his siblings. God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

Fr. Omar’s first priestly assignment will be St. Raphael in Springdale, the largest parish in our diocese with over 25,000 parishioners. He was asked which sacrament he most looked forward to celebrating as a priest. Most priests answer they want to say Mass or hear confessions. But Fr. Omar said: “This is going to sound really weird, but I am just in love with the sacrament of marriage.” He explained why, adding: “The sacrament itself shows God’s love in a perfect way. Two people love each other so much and their love becomes a third person in procreation, and that in itself is a beautiful image of God, the Holy Trinity.”

By the way, today is Trinity Sunday, one of the hardest Sundays to deliver a sermon because who can possibly explain the Holy Trinity? It is the mystery of mysteries. But because Fr. Omar is so down to earth, he can see the central mystery of our faith explained eloquently in something as mundane as marriage. That is how the humble can see the holy, while the proud only perceive what C. S. Lewis called “four bare legs in a bed.” Can you see the Most Holy Trinity reflected in your most lowly family? That is how God uses the human to express the divine.

Today we celebrate the Mass of Thanksgiving of a priest from our parish, Fr. Omar Galvan. And today we also give thanks as a parish. Why? Well, we see again the surprising simplicity of the sacraments, the lack of shock and awe. As you look at our newly ordained priest, Fr. Omar Galvan, do you see an “alter Christus” (another Christ), or just a humble Hispanic man in a Roman collar? When you look at your marriage, do you see a reflection of the Holy Trinity, or just "four bare legs in a bed"? Sometimes the simplicity of the sacraments really bugs me.

Praised be Jesus Christ!