Grandparents Day

Learning the love of God through grandparents

07/26/2021

Mt 13:31-35 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” He spoke to them another parable. “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.

One of my favorite events of the school year is “Grandparents’ Day,” when all the grandparents visit the school and their students. And by the way, it is a great school fundraiser, too, because we can sell anything and grandparents will buy it for their grandbabies. But why is that? Well, grandparents experience a love for grandchildren that is almost more intense than a parent’s love for a child.

One new grandmother commented: “I thought I could never love another person more than I love my own children. And then I had grandchildren.” She discovered a deeper level of love when she became a grandmother. And grandparents never think they have too many grandchildren (even if parents may think that). After my parents had grandbaby number eight, my father simply stated: “Keep them coming!” Easy for him to say.

I am convinced the love of grandparents is so special it provides a unique window into the love of God. Of course, God is depicted as a loving and wise Father throughout Scripture, which is a perfect portrayal both in philosophy and theology. But social-speaking, especially in today’s society, a grandparent’s love may be closer to the mark. Why?

Well, because many modern parents have simply checked out of their role and responsibility and the grandparents are raising their grandchildren. Have you seen this? An entire generation of mothers and fathers have abdicated their roles as primary providers for their children.

As a consequence, presenting God as Father may seem scary for some modern children, whereas a grandparent fills that role more regularly and even religiously. Our grandparents have donned the mantle of primary providers for their grandchildren, and they reflect the love of God beautifully.

Today, July 26, is the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and therefore, the grandparents of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Now, we do not know much about this couple; indeed, the two genealogies of Jesus in Mt 1 and Lk 3 do not mention them. Even their names come to us from tradition and not from Scripture.

But one thing we do know is that they were grandparents and therefore they loved their grandchildren almost more than their own parents did. Now, this following observation I am about to make is pure speculation, but I cannot help but wonder what happened after the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced the conception of Christ. Is it impossible to image that even after Mary uttered her faith-filled “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum,” (May it be done to me according to your word), she ran home to her parents and asked their input?

And maybe St. Joachim answered her like my father, who said, “Keep them coming!” Of course, he meant more spiritual children not natural children in Mary’s case. In other words, the grandparents of Jesus told Mother Mary what St. Mother Teresa often said, “Saying there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers.” May Mary saw a first glimpse of God’s love in the love of Jesus’ grandparents, Sts. Joachim and Anne.

My friends, I believe we need the love of grandparents and the intercession of Sts. Joachim and Anne, especially in the area of abortion. In other words, only if we love babies in the womb like grandparents do will we overturn the law of the land legalizing abortion.

I suspect this law is symptomatic of the deeper generational abdication by parents to be the primary providers of their children. If we as a society allow parents to relinquish that role, how can we ask them not to have access to abortion as well? They are two sides of the same coin of selfishness.

Perhaps we should pray intentionally and intensely for the Supreme Court that agreed to hear the recent Mississippi case restricting the availability of abortion so that law becomes more common in our country. What is truly at stake is not a woman’s right over her own body, but the possibility to glimpse the love of God for each new human life.

And maybe the best chance we have to love babies as God loves them is to watch our grandparents and not so much our parents. May Sts. Joachim and Anne help us overturn abortion as once they helped their daughter, Mary, to also choose life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Smarter than Einstein

Seeing how priests give themselves to people

07/25/2021

Jn 6:1-15 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.

We priests want to give the people the best we have. And I like to think the best I have is a well-prepared homily. But I recently I heard this curious compliment about a pastor’s preaching that made me think twice. At the conclusion of Sunday service, worshippers filed out of the sanctuary and greeted the minister. A young visitor shook the preacher’s hand, thanked him for the sermon and said, “You know, I think you must be smarter than Einstein.” Pleasantly surprised the minister responded, “Why, thank you!”

As the week went by, the minister began to wonder why anyone would deem him “smarter than Einstein.” So, he decided that if the visitor returned, he would ask him to explain. The following Sunday the minister was glad to see the man back in church. After the service, he asked, “Exactly what did you mean when you said that I must be smarter than Einstein?” The visitor replied, “Well, they say Einstein was so smart that only ten people in the entire world could understand him. But I’m not sure anyone can understand you!” Fr. Daniel says that my homilies are “high theology,” which is his way of saying I am smarter than Einstein.

In the gospel today Jesus also invites his apostles to give the people the best they have in feeding the multitudes. Seeing the size of the crowd, Philip exclaims in exasperation: “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food could not be enough for each of them to have a little.” But then a little boy brings forward five barley loaves and two fish, which is all Jesus needs.

Philip was thinking he had to find the finest food to feed the people, like some priests and preachers think they have to come across “smarter than Einstein.” But Jesus just wants us priests to give the people ourselves. How so? Well, I will never forget how Archbishop Fulton Sheen explained the twofold meaning of the words of consecration at Mass that change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

When the priest says “This is my Body,” the primary meaning is that he is speaking in the Person of Christ, and therefore that bread becomes the body of Christ. But the secondary meaning is that the priest speaks in his own person, and therefore that bread symbolically becomes his own body. In other words, we are not here to give people primarily stellar sermons, but sacrificial service, that is, our lives lived in love for you.

This is the last week that Dc. Daniel Wendel will be with us and I want to thank him and give him a public pat on the back. In one year when Dc. Daniel is ordained as a priest, Jesus will say to him what he said to his apostles: “You give them something to eat.” Behind his words is the double-meaning of the words of consecration when the priest says: “This is my Body.” That is, each priest – and soon Dc. Daniel – must become the food that feeds the people, just like the Eucharist does.

Here are three items on the menus of the meal that future Fr. Daniel will serve to his parishioners. The first item is “irrepressible joy.” He explained in an Arkansas Catholic article how joy led him to the priesthood, saying: “The joy of priests was infectious to me. I had a joyful disposition about me and just seeing priests with that same joy was very attractive to me.”

You cannot be in the same room with Dc. Daniel and not immediately notice his beaming smile and ready wit. It’s like hanging out with Jerry Seinfeld who notices the humor in any situation, no matter how mundane or morbid. And I am convinced Dc. Daniel’s joy will bring healing to many hurting hearts. Why? Because laughter is the best medicine. Joy is food that fills you with healing and wholeness.

A second item on Fr. Wendel’s personal menu will be a spirit of friendship and fraternity. He explained why friendship is so crucial for his faith: “The fraternity and community that has been formed is incredibly helpful. I saw seminarians as real, not as guys sitting in their room praying and reading the Bible all day. You get to see the other great parts. We get together to watch the Hogs. It makes it so you have this fraternity around you that is real and authentic. You can see I don’t have to give up my whole world and everything I enjoy to do this.”

How many Catholics are longing for their parish community to be filled with the energy, enthusiasm and excitement that future-Fr. Wendel will bring to his people? At morning Mass Fr. Wendel will “call on the Lord,” and at evening at home Fr. Wendel will “call the Hogs.” Fr. Wendel will show the world a real and authentic Christianity, and nourish people with the friendship that feeds his own faith.

A third item on his menu will be his love for sports. This summer Dc. Wendel has taught me a lot about hockey, and his love for the St. Louis Blues. He religiously wore his Blues jersey as we watched the Stanley Cup. He played Lacrosse in high school and goes to Mercy Fitness to lift weights. I joke that he secretly sneaks off to Andy’s for frozen custard and he rarely makes it to the gym.

Dc. Daniel also spoke about why sports is so important: “Sports has a lot to teach young kids. We are never working alone. Hard work pays off.” By the way, he went bowling with the youth group and was bowled over, saying, “They have like 99 bowling lanes! That’s insane!” He may not remember much about his summer in Fort Smith, but Dc. Daniel will never forget Bowling World! Sports can teach us about spirituality.

My friends, Jesus has ordained all of us (in a general sense) to feed each other and the world; after all, it was a little boy (not one of the apostles) who brought the loaves and fish. In other words, there is a third level of meaning of the words of consecration that applies to each Christian, that is, each of you can also say, “This is my body, which is given up for you.” Dc. Daniel will feed us with joy, friendship and love of sports. I will feed you with sermons that are smarter than Einstein. What will you feed others with?

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A Significant Stretch

Seeing how our stretched hands invokes the Holy Spirit

07/21/2021

Mt 12:46-50 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

One of the simplest but most significant gestures of the sacraments is the extending of the hands. Have you noticed that gesture? But first let me illustrate its importance in daily life. An elderly man lay dying in bed when suddenly he smelled the sweet aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, his favorite.

With a superhuman effort he lifted himself out of bed and crawled downstairs on his hands and knees. Finally arriving, gasping and panting, in the kitchen, he made one last heroic effort and stretched out his hands toward the nearest cookies. Then suddenly smack! His wife hit his hand with a spatula, saying, “Stay out of those cookies; they are for the funeral!” So, we stretch out our hands to chocolate chip cookies.

Our two scriptures today, Ex 15 and Mt 12, describe how Moses and Jesus also stretch out their hands. And their hand-stretching is very significant. We read in Ex 14:21, “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so it turned into dry land.” Thus, when Moses stretches out his hand, God controls the forces of nature to save the Israelites.

In Mt 12, someone says that Jesus’ family was waiting outside to speak to him. How did he react? Matthews notes his gesture as he replied: “And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother.’”

Jesus was also exerting diving power over nature when he extended his hands over the people, like Moses. His outstretched hands transformed his human family into his divine family. Pay very close attention whenever anyone stretches out their hands in the scriptures. They are not reaching for cookies; they are revealing the power of God.

With this biblical backdrop, we can see why stretching of the hands is so significant in the seven sacraments. In baptism the pries stretches his hands over the water like Moses stretched his hands over the Red Sea and that water will save a baby like the water saved the Chosen People. In Confirmation the bishop stretches out his hands over  young people and urges them to do God’s will in their lives like Jesus stretched out his hands over those who did God’s will in his day.

In the Eucharist the priest stretches out his hands over the bread and wine on the altar, and the altar server usually forgets to ring the bell. In confession the priest stretches out his hands over the penitent and washes away his or her sins by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Anointing of the Sick, the priest extends his hands over the sick and sometimes they are healed in both body as well as in soul.

In Holy Orders the bishop stretches his hands over a man, a mere mortal, and transforms him into another Christ, an “alter Christus.” In other words, we can see why the stretching of hands is so significant in the sacraments if we first recall how powerful this gesture was in the scriptures. And this gives another layer of meaning to St. Jerome’s classic comment, “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Now we can say “ignorance of scripture is ignorance of the sacraments.”

But there is one more sacrament that I did not mention yet with a significant stretching out of hands, namely, marriage. When does the priest stretch out his hands over the couple? Well, he does that at the Nuptial Blessing. But, he is not the main minister of Matrimony. Who is? The couple themselves are; the priest is a fancy, liturgical flowerpot.

The groom gives the sacrament of marriage to the bride and the bride gives the sacrament of marriage to the groom. So, when does the minister of the sacrament stretch out his or her hands? Well, first when they reach for each other and kiss each other at the end of the wedding. But more meaningfully, when they reach out for each other and consummate their marriage on their honeymoon. And I would venture to guess that is a lot better than reaching for chocolate chip cookies.

In every sacrament, therefore, as we find sprinkled throughout scripture, is a significant stretching out of hands.” That miraculous moment is called the “epiclesis” in Greek, literally the calling down of the Holy Spirit. The power of the third Person of the Holy Trinity transforms the human into the divine, the earthly into the heavenly, and the temporal into the eternal.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Seasons of Signs

Showing signs instead of seeking them

07/19/2021

Mt 12:38-42 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

One of the most natural and normal things to do is seek some sign of a person’s love and commitment. Have you ever sought a sign from someone? Here are some familiar examples. A girl will seek a sign of a boy’s commitment before she agrees to marry him, like a dazzling diamond ring. No bling, no bride.

A college or university will seek signs of a student’s academic achievement, dedication and discipline before they award a full, four-year scholarship. Bishops want to see signs of a man’s commitment, apostolic zeal and sacrifice in 8 years of seminary before ordaining him as a priest. In all these areas of life it makes sound sense to seek a sign of love and commitment.

But there is another arena in which seeking such a sign is neither right nor reasonable (and downright rude), namely, as our parents grow older. Let me use myself as a prime example. When I go home to visit my parents, I notice they are not as physically fit as they were in their prime. Our conversations sometimes take the slower and more scenic route to arrive at our final destination. And I feel frustrated and sad. Why? Well, because I still seek signs of their youth and vitality, that they will still take care of me like they used to. I feel like a college admissions dean demanding from them signs of hard work, dedication and academic acumen.

What I am discovering, though, is that in the parent-child relationship there is a sort of “season of signs.” What does that mean? Well, parents lavish signs of their love and commitment on their children by bringing them into the world, by feeding, clothing and educating them, by midnight medical emergencies, by driving them to football, cheer, volleyball, tennis games, in short, by working tirelessly so their children would have a better life than they did.

That is what my parents did for me – and much more than that. So, how dare I ask for still more signs of their love? No. Their season of signs is over and my season of signs has begun. It actually began a while back but I did not notice it. In other words, in the parent-child relationship there is a subtle moment that can easily slip by us when children should not seek signs from their parents but rather children should show signs of love and sacrifice for their parents. That is the changing of the season of signs.

In this broader background we might make more sense of our gospel today. The scribes and Pharisees seek a sign from Jesus, but our Lord replies no more signs will be given them, other than the sign of Jonah. Why? Well, because Jesus has come to sort of “conclude” God’s season of signs with the greatest sign of his love and commitment to humanity, namely, the death and resurrection of Jesus.

As Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the whale, so Jesus would spend three days and nights in the belly of the earth. In other words, the whole Old Testament was the season of signs of God the Father to his children, like my parents lavished signs of their love for me and my siblings for fifty years.

And now notice the subtle shift our Lord suggests. The season of signs is now on the apostles’ shoulders. And what is the rest of the story of the New Testament? It is the apostles – and first deacons, too, by the way – showing signs of their love, commitment and dedication to God and the gospel.

The transition from the Old to the New Testament is a lot like the changing of the season of signs I am experiencing with my parents. They have shown more than their share of signs of love for me; it is my turn to shoulder the seasons of signs for them and others. And that is why the Pharisees and scribes were way out of line to ask for a sign.

Folks, it is good to seek signs in certain situations and circumstances, but not in all. Our relationship to God is that of a child to a parent, where he has given us everything, including his own Beloved Son as signs of his love. Be careful, therefore, in asking for yet another sign from God. Maybe he is asking for a sign from us.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Vacation from Hell

Loving our neighbor on earth and in heaven

07/18/2021

Mk 6:30-34 The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Summertime is vacation time. When people ask me when I am going on vacation, I jokingly answer: “Well, my vacation will start when other people leave town.” In other words, my vacations have as much to do with getting away from certain people as it does with going to certain places. It is like that old saying, “The only thing better than seeing family come is seeing family go.” Have you ever been on a vacation with people that when you returned home you felt like you needed a vacation from your vacation?

C. S. Lewis adapted this desire to ditch people as the basis of hell in his book “The Great Divorce.” The book begins in a Gray Town, where people are always arguing and fighting. And if they really cannot stand each other, they can instantly move away from each other as far as they please. Lewis was literally describing a “vacation from hell.” But by painting hell as a place to “get away from it all,” and especially get away from particular people, he was actually advocating the opposite point. How so?

He was implicitly arguing that heaven is where we will enjoy each other’s company not try to escape it. If hell, therefore, is where we get away from other people, then heaven is where we get closer to other people. Put simply, the difference between heaven and hell is the love of neighbor.

In the gospel today, we see the apostles in need of a little vacation. Maybe it was summertime and they had just returned from peaching, teaching and healing. Jesus notices their exhaustion and says: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” In other words, Jesus sensed (like me) that the apostles’ vacation would start when everyone else was gone. A priest friend once joked, “It would be great being a priest, if it wasn’t for all the people.”

But Jesus was careful they did not thereby conclude that absolute peace comes from avoiding people (like the people in Lewis' hell). Hence, when our Lord sees the needy crowd, we read, “His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” Jesus wanted to teach his apostles, too, that while they may need a vacation to recharge their batteries, they may never take a vacation from their vocation, which is the love of neighbor.

Cardinal John Henry Newman was asked rather sarcastically by Bishop Ullathorne, “Who are the lay people anyway?” (meaning they do not matter much.) To which Newman answered: “Well, the hierarchy would look very silly without them.” Escaping people is the business of hell; encountering people is the business of heaven, which is the love of neighbor in a nutshell.

My friends, may I suggest three simple ways we can make the people business our own business and prepare for heaven rather than hell? First, pray for the people you would like to take a vacation from: the coworker who causes you countless problems, the in-laws who act more like out-laws, the politicians, the pundits, even the priests who get under your skin and push your buttons. Know any people like that? When you think about them, pray one Hail Mary and ask God to bless them. Why? You will be taking one step closer to the heavenly Jerusalem, and one step away from that Gray Town.

Secondly, be careful using social media as a means of expressing your disagreement and dissent. Bishop Taylor recently issued his decision regarding Pope Francis’ letter about the Latin Mass. It was reasonably and respectfully worded, and I support it.  But I was deeply saddened by the lack of respect shown to our bishop in people’s comments and criticisms.

How often we feel too comfortable and over-confident hiding behind a computer screen to say scathing things we would never say face to face. Dc. Daniel Wendel mentioned he gave up social media last Lent and never went back to it. What a great idea. That may help him (and us) to take a step closer to heaven and another away from hell, as we learn to love our neighbor.

And thirdly, try to find the good in the people you want to take a vacation from. And once you find their good qualities, send them a compliment. Tell them you are impressed by them. And even if circumstances do not let you communicate directly with them, at least acknowledge their gifts to yourself and even praise God for them.

After all, God is the author of all their gifts and talents, just like he is the author of our abilities also. St. Therese of Lisieux is reported to have said, “One drop of mercy would empty out hell.” May be if we show a little mercy to those who make us miserable, at least that drop of mercy may help to keep us out of hell.

Folks, have you gone on vacation yet? Well, what are you waiting for? Remember, my vacation can only start when you leave town. But seriously, be careful your vacation is not only about getting away from people. There is no vacation from our Christian vocation, which is always the love of neighbor. Why? Well, because that is the basic difference between heaven and hell.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Knowing Names

Seeing how knowing names creates relationships

07/15/2021

Ex 3:13-20 Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; this my title for all generations.

One of the most natural things to do when you meet someone is ask their name. But that can also be a little awkward. Why? If you are like me, you often forget a name as soon as you hear it. Sometimes people are so pleased when I do remember their names. I have to remind them: “A teacher always remembers the trouble-maker’s names first.” So, don’t be too happy if I know your name.

Another aspect of knowing someone’s name, and a deeper one, is that knowledge gives you a certain "power" over that person. When I call you by name, you immediately sit up and give me your attention. Parents not only know their children’s name, they bestow that name upon them as a first gift when they are born. Hence, parents have almost all authority over their children because they give them their name.

By the way, that is also why children should not call their parents by their name – Paul, Susan, Anthony or Mary – because children do not enjoy that level of authority over their parents. Therefore, both knowing and not knowing (or not using) someone’s name reveals the underlying relationship between two persons. Put simply: names tell us who's who.

In the first reading from Exodus we hear one of the most extraordinary encounters of the Old Testament, and it involves exchanging names. Moses meets God in the burning bush of Mt. Horeb (which is the same as Mt. Sinai), and does the most natural human thing. He asks God for his name. How did God answer? We read: “God replied, ‘I am who am.’ Then he added, 'This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.’” That is an odd name to say the least.

Last night I read the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible commentary on Ex 3:14. It gave a reason for this ambiguous answer. It said: “Still another view interprets the name as God’s refusal to be defined: he is who he is, not who any man defines him to be.” It continued: “Such a rendering would stress God’s transcendence and sovereignty.” In other words, God is saying to Moses that he is not like any other dude or deity he might meet in the desert and know his name.

Indeed, God is in the position of a parent in relation to Moses, his child, the one he has brought into being. God not only knows Moses' name, he can change his name, as God often does in the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. God, on the other hand, remains unnamed and thus unknown, and therefore Moses wields no authority over him. Moses may call God “Dad,” but he may never know his personal name. Knowing and not knowing a name reveals the relationship between two persons.

My friends, all this business about knowing names carries one very critical consequence. Even though we may know someone’s name, and even enjoy some level of authority over them, that person still remains a mystery and even a miracle. That is, we will never wield total authority over another person. Why not? Well, each human person is created in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1:27) and therefore, we too are “transcendent and sovereign” like God who refused to give Moses his personal name at Horeb.

This is why parents do not have total control over their children (as much as parents would like to control their children), even if they do bestow their name at birth. There is a hidden and holy side of that child that no parent knows nor controls. Only God knows each person’s true name, and he will bestow it upon us in heaven, as it says in Rv 2:17.

Married persons should also remember this about each other, especially when they think they really know the other person and what motivates them and what they care about. There is a side to your spouse that is like God at the burning bush, meaning it is “transcendent and sovereign.” And if you do not respect and revere that part of your partner, someone else will, and your relationship will be wrecked. One of the greatest failures of marriage is realizing how I both know my spouse, and how I do not know my spouse.

Next time you meet someone and know their name, do not feel too proud of yourself. Of course, it is good to call a person by name and it usually reveals a loving relationship. But there always remains far more unknown about a person than what you know, even when you know a name.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

More than Moses

Seeing how extraordinary the Eucharist is

07/13/2021

Ex 2:1-15a A certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,who conceived and bore a son.Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her maids walked along the river bank. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” “Yes, do so,” she answered. So the maiden went and called the child’s own mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will repay you.” When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

One of the main messages of the gospel of Matthew is comparing Jesus with Moses. Let me give you some examples and this is far from exhausting the parallels. Both Moses and Jesus were babies who had to be protected from the political powers of their day: Moses from Pharaoh and Jesus from King Herod. (That was our first reading from Exodus today.) Moses fasted for forty days and nights before receiving the Law, the Ten Commandments, and Jesus fasted for forty days and nights before giving the New Law, the 8 Beatitudes. Moses parted the Red Sea while Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee.

Moses gave the people manna to eat in the desert and Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the hungry people. And the highlight of the holy dynamic duo is the Passover. Moses instituted the first Passover by shedding the blood of the lamb to save the people from slavery, and Jesus fulfills the Passover by being the Lamb of God whose Blood was shed to save us from our sins. More examples could be multiplied like the loaves and the fishes. If you listen carefully to the readings at Mass for the next three weeks, you will hear readings from both Exodus and Matthew hammering home this parallel between Moses and Jesus.

Why was Matthew on a mission to show this close connection between Moses and Christ? Well, because no one in the history of Israel carried as much authority as Moses did. And so Matthew wants his readers (and you and me) to approach Jesus with the same awe, appreciation and amazement that they would have had for Moses. Put in modern parlance, imagine all the respect and reverence we have for figures like George Washington, Albert Einstein, Michaelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, maybe even Justin Bieber, etc. all rolled up into one person, and that is how the Jews looked at Moses.

He was the original “rockstar.” And Matthew’s point is that Jesus is not only like Moses, he is even more than Moses. Can you see why Matthew is at pains to create this parallel? No one in the Old Testament was as close to God as Moses – except maybe Adam and Eve before the Fall – and now we have Someone who is not only close to God, he is God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.

Matthew could find no better earthly example of a person who paralleled Christ, and so he used Moses. Indeed, Moses himself suggested this comparison when he said in Deut. 18:15, “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen.” In other words, even before Matthew made the comparison between Moses and Jesus, Moses made the comparison between Moses and Jesus.

Okay, so what does this mean for us today? Well, that same Jesus, who is much more than Moses, is precisely who we receive in the Eucharist in Holy Communion. Sometimes we can treat Holy Communion as something too commonplace, too casual. But when we remember the Mosaic background of the Mass – the manna in the desert, the Lamb’s blood of the Passover, the man who spoke to God face to face, and whose face glowed with God’s own glory – all of that, and even more than Moses, is what we approach at Holy Communion.

My friends, that is why the Church teaches we should not miss Mass on Sunday. That is why the Church insists we confess our mortal sins before receiving Communion. That is why the Church requires an annulment for those who are divorced and remarried before receiving Communion. That is why the Church prohibits non-Catholics from coming to Communion. That is why we kneel at the words of consecration at Mass. That is why some Catholics prefer to receive Jesus on their tongue instead of in their hands.

Why do we do all these things? Well, because here at Mass we meet the One who is more than Moses. And that is why Holy Communion should be anything but commonplace.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Born to Live Forever

Seeing we have more tomorrows than yesterdays

07/12/2021

Mt 10:34—11:1 Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Today, July 12, is my birthday, and it provides a perfect platform to reflect on the blessing of being born. But first let me clarify a common chronological confusion. Today I am completing my 52nd year of life; I am not beginning my 52nd year of life. Think about it this way: when I turned one year old, my first year of life was already behind me, it was not unfolding before me.

This is clearer if you know a little Spanish. The word for birthday in Spanish is “cumpleaños” which literally means “finished years.” So, on my 52nd birthday, I have finished 52 trips around the sun, not embarking on my 52nd trip. Our modern English parlance about age is a psychological sleight of hand to make us feel younger. Today, I turn 53, but some people may still say 52.

In my home country of India we traditionally try to connect birthdays with baptisms, like Jesus did with Nicodemus in Jn 3, where he described baptism as being “born again,” a new birthday. Baptism is our new and definitive birthday. In India we baptize baby boys eight days after they are born, building on the Jewish custom of circumcising a baby boy eight days after his birth (like Jesus was in Lk 2:21). I recently took out my old baptismal certificate to see when I was baptized, and it was actually nine days after my birthday, on July 21.

Why the discrepancy of the extra day? Well, the eighth day after my birthday that year (1969) fell on a Sunday, and the priest was too tired after all the Sunday Masses, so he said, “Come back tomorrow!” So, I was baptized on July 21, 1969, a Monday. My baptism was the day I was “born again,” indeed, it was the day I was born to live forever. I even had a baptismal candle present that I could blow out on my spiritual birthday. Baptism is our definitive birthday.

When we turn 53 (or 52 if you like), it is tempting to look back over our history rather than fret about our future. Why? Well, we feel we have more yesterdays than tomorrows. But true as that may be on the natural level, it is false on the supernatural level. How so? Well, thanks to my baptism – being born again as a child of God – I have the hope of living forever. And therefore, the infinite number of years that stretch out before me entirely eclipses the short 52 years behind me. 52 years are the blink of an eye next to eternity.

This birthday business may help us make more sense of Jesus’ cryptic comment in today’s gospel, where he says: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Our life, therefore, should not be measured by earthly standards but by eternal ones. That is, if we believe that our baptism is more important than our birthday, we suddenly start to peer through a panoramic perspective in which 52 years weighs no more than dust on the scales of eternity. What does it matter to lose a few grains of this life to gain innumerable grains heaped high as heaven of endless life?

St. Ignatius of Antioch understood perfectly what Jesus meant about finding and losing life. He wrote on this way to Rome to be martyred and devoured by lions: “All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth.” St. Ignatius would not care if you thought he was 52 or 53 on his birthday. What mattered to that holy martyr was being born again in baptism and living (and dying) for God.

My friends, do you look forward to your birthday or do you dread it? Maybe you are like me and feel you have lot more yesterdays than tomorrows, and therefore you find yourself looking backward and fear looking forward. If so, let me invite you to find a copy of your baptismal certificate and figure out the date of your spiritual birthday, when you were born again by water and the Spirit. And celebrate your baptism more than you do your birthday.

Why? Well, because on that day you were born as a child of God, destined to life forever and enjoy the glory of heaven, our Father’s House. When we accept the reality that baptism is infinitely more important than our birthday, we will discover we have far more tomorrows before us than yesterdays behind us. Indeed, you will see that we have not even begun to live, even if you are 53 (or 52) like me.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Best of Both Worlds

Learning to balance both earth and heaven

07/08/21

Matthew 9:18-26 While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.

I once heard a helpful little phrase that captures "half" of the Christian ideal. It goes, “Don’t be so heavenly-minded that you are no earthly good.” Have you ever heard that phrase? It means we should not be so laser-focused on the next life that we forget the blessings and beauty of this life. Our earthly pilgrimage is indeed often a “valley of tears” (as we pray in the rosary).

But it can also often be a mountain top of life, love and laughter: family fun, enjoying wholesome entertainment, marveling at the majesty of nature. I love people’s pictures they post on social media of their summer vacations, which prove they are not “so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good.”

But that phrase needs to be balanced by the "other half" of the Christian ideal, namely, “Don’t be so earthly-minded that you’re no heavenly good.” What does that mean? Well, sometimes we can care so much for our earthly existence that it overrides and really obliterates any real hope of heaven. Sometimes our earthly blessings can blind us to our heavenly hope and extinguish our longing for eternal life.

Bishop Taylor warned us in his homily for the Jubilee Mass last week not be become “social workers in a Roman collar.” That is, while we work to alleviate suffering here on earth, our real purpose as priests is to get people to home to heaven. Thus we must balance both. Don’t be so heavenly-minded you are not earthly good, but also don’t be so earthly-minded you are no heavenly good.

We see this beautiful balance in Jesus’ ministry of miracles in the gospel today. He heals a woman suffering from hemorrhages and a little girl who has just died. Clearly, Jesus was not so heavenly-minded he was no earthly good. He healed the sick so they could enjoy earthly life and take summer vacations. On the other hand, Jesus almost always seeks a spark of faith on the part of the people he heals.

Thus, he says to the bleeding woman, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” In other words, Jesus was not merely a social worker in a Roman collar. He insisted on faith and keeping our eyes on heaven, even as he gives us strength to walk through this “valley of tears” called earth. The Christian idea – seen in full-flower in Jesus – requires balancing both the earthly and the heavenly, the best of both worlds.

My friends, the best way to balance both the earthly and the heavenly ends of the Christian life is with a rigorous and robust prayer life. Prayer helps us to keep one eye on earth and the other eye on heaven. How do you pray and how often do you pray? Here are some strategies of prayer that work for me, and perhaps they will be useful for you.

First, of course, we must not miss Sunday Mass. That is non-negotiable. If we skip Sunday Mass, then no other prayer will be of any help because the Sunday Eucharist is the “source and the summit of the Christian life” according to the Catechism (no. 1324). All prayer, and indeed, all grace, flows from the Sunday liturgy and returns back to it.

After Sunday Mass, maybe you could come to Mass one day during the week. I am so edified to see so many people come to Mass every morning of the week. Don’t you people have anything else to do? Just kidding. That daily Mass routine is a rigorous and robust prayer life. But do not go through the motions of the Mass mindlessly like going through the carwash. Pray with your whole mind, heart, soul and body.

Another personal prayer practice is as soon as I wake up, even before going to the bathroom, I sit on the edge of my bed and make the Sign of the Cross and pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be. And then I race to the restroom. That is very close to being so heavenly-minded as to be no earthly good. Every night before I lie down in bed, I sit on the edge of my bed and pray the Act of Contrition and ask forgiveness for all my sins that day. I hope to have some sweet dreams and no nightmares.

Folks, develop some strategies for a serious spiritual life, and foster a relentless and regular prayer life. Why? Because then you will enjoy both the earthly and the heavenly, the best of both worlds as Jesus intended.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Meet the Parents

Sharing our love for Jesus with the world

07/06/2021

Mt 9:32-38 A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said,“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

I find it very hard – if not impossible – to convince people about the truth of Christianity. Have you found that hard also? It feels like trying to tell someone about "falling in love" but that other person has never himself fallen in love. Someone in love sees everything (including himself) differently, that is, through rose-colored glasses. Love makes the whole world look, well, lovely. Sometimes we go so far as to say “love is blind” because it actually causes you NOT to see something, like defects or deficiencies in the one you love.

Maybe that is why page after page of the New Testament talks about love. The inspired authors are not trying to convince us about the truth of Christianity. Rather, they are inviting us to fall in love with Jesus Christ. Each New Testament writer is saying, in his own unique way, let me tell you about this Person named Jesus, with whom I am madly in love.

And I hope once you get to know him, you will fall helpless in love with him, too. The authors, therefore, are like the young girl who brings her boyfriend home for the first time to meet her parents. She hopes they will love him almost as much as she loves him. Every Christian trying to tell the world about Christ finds himself or herself in the position of that young girl.

This perspective may help make sense of today’s gospel and Jesus’ miracles, and why people respond so differently. A mute man possessed by a demon is brought to Jesus, who miraculously expels the demon and restores the man to full health. Now notice the reaction of the crowds versus that of the Pharisees. The crowds are amazed and start to fall in love with Jesus. The Pharisees say skeptically: “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Pharisees were like the father who had just met his daughter’s boyfriend, and could see nothing good about him. I am reminded of that song by Rodney Atkins, where the father says: ‘Now y’all run along and have some fun / I’ll see you when you get back, / Bet I’ll be up all night / Still cleaning this gun.” In the case of Jesus, though, the Pharisees actually used their “gun” and crucified him. And Jesus willingly died for his girlfriend, his Bride, the Church.

In other words, the gospel of Matthew, indeed all the 27 New Testament books, are not interested in convincing us about the truth of Christianity. Rather, they are trying to tell us about Jesus, whom they love passionately, with the hope that we too will fall hopelessly in love with him.

My friends, the modern world has heard all the arguments for the case of Christianity, and they have not been convinced. If we tell them about miracles, they scoff in our face with scientific certainty that miracles cannot happen and they are only illusions for the gullible. If we present the historical record, they retort we have doctored and distorted the original documents. If we argue from the Bible and stack up Scripture quotations as high as the Empire State Building, they can come up with other Scriptures that veer in the opposite vein.

And so it goes for the arguments from reason, and from nature, and from beauty and so forth. The modern world – and perhaps not a few people in our own families – have heard the case for Christianity and they are left unconvinced. They stand in the position of that that skeptical father who is thoroughly unimpressed with his daughter’s boyfriend.

So, what recourse remains for us? We should do what that daughter does, and what all the New Testament writers do: we become shy, and we smile sheepishly, and we stammer, and we struggle to tell others about this Someone we love. And even more importantly, we tell them about how much he loves us.

I realize this may not be the most persuasive path to convince the world about Christianity. But that is not what we are supposed to do. Christianity is not in the first place a question about truth; it is a matter of love. Truth comes second. Therefore, Christianity only requires one thing from us, namely, that we ourselves fall in love with Jesus.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Amazing America

Finding God’s plan in a new country

07/04/2021

Mark 6:1-6 Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Sometimes you have to leave the old country and travel to a new country to find God’s plan and feel God’s providence. I will never forget the night we arrived in this amazing new country of America in 1976. I was seven years old and most of the trip was a blur in my little brain. I remember vividly, though, walking into a small apartment which was to be our new home in Brooklyn. I got “no sleep till Brooklyn” either.

There was no furniture in the room, and all I recall was seeing three toys against the far wall. One was a large airplane, the second was a life-sized doll and the third was a car that looked like a Yugo. Even though my parents could not afford furniture, they welcomed their children to America with three toys that were symbols of a future filled with hope and happiness.

My older brother ran and grabbed the airplane, my sister dashed directly to the doll, so I was left with the Yugo. Each toy, though, has turned out to be a harbinger of our chosen vocations. My brother now frequently flies on airplanes between Fayetteville and Atlanta, where he works for Home Depot. My sister is married with five children, so her practice with the doll perfected her care for children. And I drive my Yugo all over Arkansas as a priest. My car is my mobile office.

Sometimes I muse about what our lives would have been like if we had remained in India. Would I have become a priest if I had not experienced the people and the places that inspired my vocation? Would my brother have married Susan, a beautiful Indian lady, and had four children? I know my sister Mary would NOT have married, Dr. Anthony Gulde, a devout Catholic and a dentist, whom we affectionately call “the token white guy” in our family. Sometimes you have to leave an old country and come to a new country in order to find God’s plan and feel God’s providence.

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus also feels the need to leave the old and search for the new because of rejection in his hometown of Nazareth. The people recognize him as “the carpenter, the son of Mary,” and know his cousins by name, “James and Joses, Judas and Simon.” And they took offense at him. Why? Well, because “familiarity breeds contempt” as the old saying goes. Jesus responds by saying: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own king and in his own house.” Just like leaving India was part of God’s plan and providence for us, so Jesus leaves his native Nazareth.

Spiritually speaking, Jesus was leaving the old country of the religion of Judaism and entering the new country of the religion of Christianity. God the Father did not give his Son an airplane or a doll or a car to symbolize his life and legacy, but rather a cross. The cross, therefore, would be a harbinger of a future filled with hope and happiness, both for Jesus and for each of us.

Every Fourth of July we Americans celebrate Independence Day. What precisely do we celebrate today? Among other things, we remember how our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) left the old country of England and arrived in this new country of America in order to find God’s plan and feel God’s providence. That is, their arrival in America was no accident. Just like Jesus could not work many miracles in the old country of Judaism, so our Founding Fathers could not work the miracle of a “constitutional republic” while in the old country of the British crown.

And, just like the Jews were offended by Jesus, so King George III was offended by the Colonials. Hence, we fought the Revolutionary War in 1776. Why? So that 200 years later in 1976, three children from India could come from our old country to this new country to find God’s plan and feel God’s providence in our own lives. And so, too, have countless other immigrants.

I am always moved when I read the last line of the Declaration of Independence, where Jefferson (who wrote the draft) punctuated the point about God’s providence. He penned these memorable lines: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” In other words, they were convinced this new Declaration was part of God’s plan for them, and would be the harbinger of a future filled with hope and happiness for all those who would arrive one day in this Amazing America.

My friends, let me invite each of you today to remember when your own family arrived in this new country and left your old country. After all, all Americans are immigrants, even Native Americans, who migrated from Asia over the Bering Strait some 15,000 years ago. Maybe your ancestors came from Germany or Vietnam or maybe even India. What family heirlooms are your harbingers of a future filled with hope and happiness? For me and my siblings it was an airplane, a doll and a Yugo, and for Christians it is the Cross.

If you cannot think of anything else, the Founding Fathers will gladly let you claim their own heirloom of the Declaration of Independence. That Declaration is the shared legacy of all who call this country our home. My fellow Americans, what makes America so amazing is that it is the new country where each of us who have left our old country can find God’s plan and feel God’s providence, as we await that “undiscovered country” called Paradise.

                                                                Praised be Jesus Christ!

Mastering Mercy

Learning both to receive and give mercy

07/02/2021

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.”

Everyone’s favorite feature of the Christian faith is mercy. Don’t you love mercy? But even though we are ready to receive mercy, sometimes we are very slow to share it. Consider this example. Mr. Green peered over his fence and noticed that the neighbor’s little boy was in his backyard filling in a hole. Curious what the youngster was up to, Mr. Green asked, “What are you doing, Jimmy?” Tearfully, little Jimmy replied, “My goldfish died, and I just buried him.” Mr. Green said, “That’s an awfully large hole for a goldfish, isn’t it?” Patting down the last little bit of earth, little Jimmy replied, “That’s because he’s inside your cat!” Mercy is easy to receive but it can be hard to hand out, even to a cat.

In the gospel today Jesus teaches the message of mercy but he does it in the context of calling St. Matthew, the tax collector. Why? Well, because Jesus always practiced what he preached. Our Lord quotes Hosea 6:6 saying, “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” And then to provide a practical case in point, Jesus calls a notorious sinner, the tax collector, Matthew, to be one of his closest companions. Indeed, Jesus goes a step further and has supper with Matthew and his friends, described as “many tax collectors and sinners.”

Jesus, the only Righteous One, could have condemned Matthew and the other sinners, like the little boy who buried his neighbor’s cat for eating his goldfish. Instead, he shows mercy in the most powerful way, not only forgiving the sin but by becoming intimate friends with the sinner. I cannot help but wonder if Matthew, the gospel writer, did not have tears in his eyes and a trembling hand as he wrote chapter 9 of his gospel and recalled when he first received mercy. The original autograph text of St. Matthew’s gospel would not have coffee stains but tear stains. The gospel of Matthew contains a core message of mercy, both lavishly given and lovingly received.

Today, our job is to look at mercy not only as ready recipients but also as eager givers. Here are some suggestions on how to mete out mercy. First of all, mercy should be the mantra of every marriage. What ultimately leads couples to disagreements, divisions, and finally divorce? Of course, there are many factors, but when you boil it all down, it is harboring hurts and not meting out mercy.

We, therefore, have a choice. We can stand like the self-righteous Pharisees and little Jimmy and condemn our spouse for his or her sins. Or, we can behave like Jesus, who ate with tax collectors and sinners, and even called them to be his intimate friends and apostles. Marriages not only allow us to be recipients of mercy, but also to share it with our spouse.

Secondly, on Tuesday I was in Little Rock for the Jubilee Mass and standing in line with the bishop and other priests before Mass started. We were talking about how we try to deliver a message in each homily but people hear something totally different. Then, the bishop added, “And some say, ‘I know someone who really needs to hear that homily!’”

That is, we are quick to see how others need to change and improve, while we are slow to see our own sins and failings. That critical and condescending attitude is also, at root, a lack of meting out mercy to others. Of course, it is good to share homilies, but its main message is for me and for you.

And thirdly, people often ask me what purgatory will be like, and of course, I really do not know. But I suspect that it will involve growing in the virtue of being merciful. That is, I believe we will somehow have to face all those people – yes including our ex-spouse – and extend to them the mercy, forgiveness and friendship that we withheld from them in this life.

As Jesus declared in another passage in Matthew’s gospel, the Sermon on the Mount: “Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny” (Mt 5:26); that is, until we have lavished mercy on every last person we have ever known. We will not get out of purgatory until we have mastered how to be merciful.

Praised be Jesus Christ!