Birth and Breasts

Appreciating our natural and supernatural mothers

10/09/2021

Lk 11:27-28 While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

There is probably no one on earth who will love you quite like your mother. I say this with all due respect to dads, of course, who also love their children but in different ways. For example, only a mother actually carries you in her womb for nine months before you ever see the light of day. She loved you long before anyone else ever even saw and loved you. Then, she alone endures the pains of childbirth, although often she wishes she could share that privilege with her husband.

And then she alone nurses the baby at her breast, feeding the child with the best milk and nurturing him with her look of unconditional love. It is said a baby’s eyesight can only focus between six inches to a foot, about the distance between a baby and a mother’s face while the baby is nursing at her breast. Baby and mother exchange very loving looks.

In the gospel today, someone – she must have been a mother – is moved by this same maternal privilege in relation to Jesus. She spontaneously exclaims: “Blessed is the womb that carried you, and the breast at which you nursed.” This woman was keenly aware that few people on earth ever love someone as much as their mother.

So, if it is a question of loving Jesus, then no one loved him more than his own mother, who carried him in her womb, gave birth to him and nursed him at her breast. Jesus, at least in his human nature, discovered the look of unconditional love in the eyes of his mother Mary, as she held him at her breast. Her loving eyes were the first things our Lord focused on.

But Jesus uses this exclamation of maternal love to shift the conversation onto a spiritual plane. That is, Jesus tries to teach the people the value of doing God’s will that will be nurtured in us by another mother, namely, Mother Church. Our spiritual mother, the Church, also carries us in her womb for nine months (like she does for RCIA candidates), and gives us birth in the waters of baptism.

Jesus explicitly ties baptism to birth in his conversation with Nicodemus in Jn 3, where he insists we must be “born again.” And then Mother Church will nourish us with her milk which is the Eucharist, the food of eternal life, as our Lord explains in Jn 6:51, “He who eats my flesh will live forever.” A mother’s milk is made of her own substance; her food is herself.

But beyond birth and breast-feeding is hearing and observing God’s word and will. I am always amazed by my parents, who often tell me: "Son, take care of your parish first.” (Aren’t you glad to hear that?) I know they would love for me to come to Springdale and spend time with them. My mom always throws up her arms and gives me a big hug whenever I walk in the door. No emperor ever had a better welcome reception.

Still, both my mom and dad would insist that these earthly obligations are secondary to my spiritual obligations as a priest. That is, as a priest of Mother Church, I must be a model of that unconditional love of a mother and give birth to new children of God by baptism and nurse them with the milk of the Eucharist, the Body of Christ. My parents know well that more important than the womb that carried me and the breasts that nursed me is my hearing the word of God and observing the will of God.

Today, take a minute to thank your mom for being the face of unconditional love for you. It was her womb that carried you and her eyes that gazed loving on you as she fed you with herself. But also thank God for the gift of Mother Church, who also gave you a spiritual birth in baptism and feeds you with the Flesh and Blood (the spiritual milk) of the Eucharist. And how blessed will you be if both your natural mother and your supernatural mother teach you to “hear the word of God and observe it.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Eating Elephants

Learning the perfection of the Lord’s Prayer

10/06/2021

Lk 11:1-4 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

How do you eat an elephant? Easy: one bite at a time. In other words, you don’t look at the bigness of the beast but on the smallness of the bite. And I should know because I am from India and we eat lots of elephants. Just kidding. I adopt the same approach to the study of the Scripture, that is, rather than be overwhelmed by the bigness of the bible, I try to see the smallness of each book, and break it down into bite-sized sections. For instance, you can divide the whole bible into the Old Testament (46 books) and the New Testament (27 books).

Each individual book can be further broken down. For example, Isaiah has 3 distinct divisions: First Isaiah (cc. 1-39), Second Isaiah (cc. 40-55), and Third Isaiah (cc. 56-66). The same goes for the Acts of the Apostles, which can be subdivided into two major halves. The first half is about the person and prestige of St. Peter (cc. 1-12), and the second half is more about the missionary meanderings of St. Paul (cc. 13-28). See how eating elephants is easy peasy?

Folks, may I suggest that we also adopt this approach when we peek at the Lord’s Prayer (today’s gospel) but only in the opposite direction? That is, the Lord’s Prayer is already the bite-sized summary of the whole Christian faith. The second-century writer, Tertullian said that the Lord’s Prayer is “truly a summary of the whole gospel.” St. Thomas Aquinas added: “The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers.” And a modern theologian commented colorfully: “The Lord’s Prayer is simple like a shallow pool for small children to splash around in but also big like the ocean to drown elephants.” Sorry to be so tough on elephants today: first I’m eating them and now I’m drowning them.

One reason Aquinas argued the Lord’s Prayer was so “perfect” is because it contains seven petitions, and seven is the number of perfection. The first three petitions concern God, and the last four address our own needs. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The first series of petitions carries us toward God; for his own sake: thy name, thy kingdom, thy will” (no. 2804). It adds a little later: “By the first three petitions, we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope, and set aflame by charity” (no. 2806). In other words, the first part of the Lord’s Prayer is designed to help us grow in faith, hope and love. How perfect is that?

But the second section of four petitions is equally elegant and even Eucharistic. The Catechism continues: “The second series of petitions unfolds with the same movement as certain Eucharistic epicleses…give us…forgive us…leads us not…deliver us” (no. 2805). But by far my favorite of the seven petitions is the fourth one, where we say: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Why?

The Catechism provides the answer again: “The specifically Christian sense of the fourth petition concerns the Bread of Life: the Word of God accepted in faith, the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist” (no. 2835). That is, we are asking our heavenly Father to feed us his beloved children with heavenly Bread, the Body and Blood of his Beloved son, Jesus. The old adage teaches: you are what you eat. So, if we eat the Body of Christ, we will become the Body of Christ.

You know, I must really be hungry this morning because I am talking a lot about eating: first eating elephants and now eating the Eucharist. But I believe we are all hungry for something, or better yet, for Someone, and that Someone is Jesus. We will be hungry for him no matter how many elephants we eat. He is the answer to every prayer and especially to the seven petitions of the Our Father. If the Our Father is the summary of the whole gospel, then Jesus himself is the summary of the Our Father. And that is why it is called the “Lord’s Prayer.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Because We Forget

Trying to remember the Lord who loves us

10/05/2021

Mt 11:25-30 At that time Jesus answered: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

I don’t usually cry during movies, but one had me balling like a baby. Did you ever see the movie “The Notebook” starring Ryan Gosling and Rachael McAdams? It is about a young couple that falls in love one summer, and through lots of twists and turns, finally ends up married and living in their dream home. By the end of their life, they are both in a nursing home, and the man visits the woman every day and reads to her from “the notebook.”

Sadly, though, she has dementia and cannot recognize her husband who comes to see her. While she was still mentally sharp, though, she had written the notebook about their romance and life together. By the time the man finishes reading the notebook, she suddenly recognizes him and they dance for five minutes, before she sadly forgets again. I am not going to tell you how it ends, but be sure to have a box of Kleenex if you do watch it.

I mention the movie “The Notebook” because today is the feast of St. Faustina, also known as the “apostle of divine Mercy.” She was a Polish nun who only lived for 33 years (just like Jesus) and she also wrote a record of her romance with Jesus. Most people know her writing as “The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in my Soul.” But do you know what she called her writings? She called it “The Notebook.” If you read the Diary you will see that she refers to different parts as “the notebook.”

I don’t know how long Racheal McAdams’ Notebook was but St. Faustina wrote six notebooks totaling 477 pages of written text. St. Faustina’s notebook (or Diary), like that in the movie, is also about a love affair, with wild twists and turns, that eventually ends in a mystical marriage, and the happy couple end up living in their dream home, the Father’s Mansion in heaven. The first time Jesus got her attention was when she was only 19 and on the way to a dance with her sister.

At the dance, she heard Jesus saying to her: “How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting me off?” Without telling her parents, and without any real plan or preparation, she boarded a train for Warsaw, about 85 miles away. All she took with her was the dress she was wearing and her love for Jesus. She approached several convents until one Mother Superior finally accepted her on probation, until she earned enough money to pay for her habit. Lucky Mother Superior!

Why did St. Faustina write her Diary? I would suggest to you it was for the same reason that Rachael McAdams wrote her Notebook. That is, it was not because St. Faustina had dementia but because you and I have dementia. What do I mean? Well, St. Faustina is not only chronicling her love affair with Jesus but also trying to trigger our muddled memories and help us to remember our own love affair with Jesus.

And in our best moments in prayer – at Mass when a homily really hits us, or a scripture passage jumps off the sacred page, or in Adoration we feel we could stay with Jesus forever like Peter, James and John on Mt. Tabor at the Transfiguration – for a few fleeting moments we remember who we are, and what our life has been all about, and who our real romance has been with, and that we are headed for a mystical marriage with our Beloved and to live in our dream home in heaven. And then we dance with Jesus. But then, just as suddenly, we forget again, and go back to life as before, and do not know the Lord.

Folks, can I give you a little homework today? I know you are busy and do not have time. But really, you do not have time for anything else more important. Do three things today: watch the movie “The Notebook” (and have Kleenex handy), read a few pages from the real Notebook of St. Faustina, her Diary, and then go to Mass to receive Holy Communion. Jesus said in the words of consecration over the wine: “Do this in memory of me.” Why did he say that? Because we forget.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Francis Four Loves

Learning how to love like St. Francis of Assisi

10/04/2021

Mt 11:25-30 At that time Jesus answered: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Sonand anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

There is probably no saint more popular than St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day we celebrate today October 4. As soon as my parents moved into their new home in Springdale, they placed a statue of St. Francis in front of their home. St. Francis is cherished by Catholics and Protestants alike, and loved by all Christians. Children gravitate to his goodness because they naturally share his love of nature. Little boys and girls easily could call creation, “Brother Sun,” and “Sister Moon.” Most people know the basic bio of this Italian saint: he was born in 1182 and died on October 3, 1226. He lived in Assisi and founded a religious order called the Order of Friars Minor, or “Franciscans.” But let me share four things about Francis with which you may not be so familiar. Four things that Francis loved.

First, did you know Francis had a girlfriend and a wife? One day as a young man, a friend asked Francis if he was thinking of marrying, and he replied: “Yes, a fairer bride than any you have ever seen.” He meant, of course, Lady Poverty, that is, the virtue of strict simplicity. Even though Francis grew up in a wealthy family, he abandoned his wealth to marry Lady Poverty. One day Francis’ father, deeply disappointed in his son, took him before the bishop of Assisi and demanded that Francis return the money he had given away to the poor. According to tradition, Francis removed all his clothes to give back to his father and stood before everyone naked like Christ on the Cross. The bishop was so moved he put his own robes on Francis. Francis loved Lady Poverty.

Second, did you know Francis is the one who made the first Nativity scene? In 1223 Francis asked Pope Honorius for permission to do something “for the kindling of devotion” to the birth of Christ. So, he built a manger, placed hay inside as a bed for Baby Jesus, and put an ox and a donkey on either side to watch over the newborn King. That was the first Nativity scene. Seventy years later, in 1291, Pope Nicholas IV, a Franciscan pope (good to have a Franciscan in high places), ordered that a permanent Nativity be built at Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major). By the way, inside St. Mary Major is the actual “crib of Christ” from Bethlehem, under the high altar of the church. I saw it with my own eyes. So, give Francis credit for the Nativity.

Third, did you know that Franciscans are the protectors of the Holy Land? In 1217 Francis made the Holy Land part of the responsibility of his order by erecting the “Custody of the Holy Land,” or the “Province of the Holy Land.” If you visit the Holy Land today and go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, who will greet you and explain its history and holiness? It will be a humble Franciscan friar who was sent there by St. Francis. So, if you ever make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, say a prayer of Thanksgiving to St. Francis who sent his brothers to watch over it and to welcome you.

And fourth, did you know St. Francis originally wrote the well-known hymn called “All Creatures of our God and King”? In 1225 Francis wrote a poem first entitled Canticle of the Sun,” or “Song of all Creatures.” It was based on Ps. 148, which sadly was not our Responsorial Psalm today. St. Francis is also said to have preached little sermons to animals and plants and birds and rabbits, and inspired them to praise their Creator, a little like how my homilies hope to get you to praise your Creator. But Francis’ sermons were more successful because the birds never fell asleep. Maybe Francis’ example is why people talk to their plants today?

Last Saturday Fr. Daniel blessed everyone’s pets in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. That gesture was a great reminder of this holy and humble friar named Francis. But he did more than love animals. He loved Lady Poverty, he loved the Nativity, he loved the Holy Land, and he loved “All Creatures of our God and King.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Ask the Experts

Understanding God’s plan for marriage

10/03/2021

Mk 10:2-16 The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Parishioners often ask me to address marriage and family life in my homilies. So, I decided to ask the experts about the meaning of marriage. Here is the sage advice of the rich and famous on marriage, who are clearly the experts on marriage, since they have so much experience. Erma Bombeck wrote: “People are always asking couples whose marriages have endured at least a quarter of a century for their secret for success. Actually, it is no secret at all. I am a forgiving woman. Long ago, I forgave my husband for not being Paul Newman.” Ann Bancroft advised: “The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they’re too old to do it.” Ann knows how to motivate men.

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates opined: “By all means marry; if you get a good wife or husband, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” (Like Socrates.) Comedian Bonnie McFarlane quipped: “I once gave my husband the silent treatment for an entire week, at the end of which he declared, ‘Hey, we’re getting along pretty great lately!’” And the famous Zsa Zsa Gabor stated wisely: “A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it.” Poor Zsa Zsa was married nine times. Folks, there you have the advice of the foremost experts in the field of love and marriage.

In the gospel today, the Pharisees also seek some expert advice about marriage and divorce and they ask the Expert on Everything, namely, Jesus. The Pharisees ask: “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" And they add that Moses permitted divorce, because who could be more an expert on God’s plan for marriage than Moses? But Jesus disagrees with Moses, saying instead: “Because of the hardness of your hearts [Moses] wrote you this commandment.”

And then our Lord quotes from Gn 2:24, God’s original plan for marriage, saying: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In other words, this is not Zsa Zsa Gabor’s advice, this is God Almighty’s advice about the meaning of marriage, and marriage means until death do you part.

Then Jesus summons some unexpected experts on marriage, namely, children. By the way, the second section of today’s gospel – where Jesus blesses the little children – seems somewhat unrelated or disconnected to the foregoing section on marriage. That is why it is an optional part that we can skip today. But for once in my life I did the longer reading! Why? Well, I am convinced that this second section is not unrelated but rather closely connected to the previous part about marriage. How so?

Well, who are the real experts on marriage? I would submit to you, it is the children, who intuitively grasp God’s plan for marriage in Genesis, namely, it is life-long, until death do you part. In other words, small children understand marriage better than Moses, because children do not want to see their parents divorce. Hence, Jesus states: “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child (who see things like life-long marriage) will not enter it.” If you want to ask the experts about marriage and divorce, ask your children.

My friends, I am convinced that the meaning of marriage is in deep crisis in our country. Here are six surprising statistics about the slow untying of the sacred knot of marriage. First, there are over 750,000 divorces granted in the United States every year. Second, the United States leads the world in the highest number of divorces, at roughly 50% of all marriages ending in divorce.

Third, even though recent statistics show a decrease in divorces, that is also due to the fact that more people choose to cohabitate rather than marry. That is, when cohabitating couples separate there is no divorce divorce, so it seems like fewer divorces. Fourth, the average length of marriage in the U.S. is 8.2 years. So if you celebrated your 10th wedding anniversary – congratulations, you beat the odds! Fifth, what is the main motive for divorce in the United States? 43% of people surveyed said “basic incompatibility,” but infidelity and money issues were also big factors.

Folks, I know this is a touchy topic and has caused a lot of heartache for many families sitting in the pews today. Catholics marry and divorce at the same rate as the rest of the population. I do not mean to come across flippant or insensitive or make you feel guilty, and I apologize if that is how I sound. But I believe that part of the problem is where we turn for advice about the meaning of marriage. That is, who are the experts we ask? A sixth surprising stat was people are 75% more likely to end their marriage if a friend is divorced. The Pharisees asked their friend Moses for advice, but he was mistaken about marriage, too.

Instead, I suggest we seek counsel from the Scriptures, from Church teaching, and especially from small children. Why? Because when it comes to marriage, we should ask the real experts, not those with the most experience.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Father’s Face

Understanding the ministry of Guardian Angels

10/02/2021

Mt 18:1-5, 10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

As a small child I loved to draw, especially nature scenes of landscapes: trees, birds and flowers, farmhouses, ponds and ducks. But do you know what I could never draw? I always failed in drawing faces. Either the eyes did not match, or the nose was too long like Pinocchio’s, or the smile was crooked. Maybe Picasso struggled to draw faces, too, so he made an art of depicting disfigured faces. My faces were prettier than Picasso’s!

I don’t know if C. S. Lewis drew faces as a child, but he was a master of painting faces with words. I will never forget how he described God’s Face at the end of his extraordinary essay, “The Weight of Glory.” Lewis wrote: “In the end that Face which is the delight or terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us either with one expression or the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised.”

God’s face, according to Lewis, can convey a twofold expression: one of delight or one of terror, kind of like the twin Mardi Gras masks, where one is comic and the other tragic. And what will trigger one expression or the other? Clearly, that will be the consequence of our conduct, while we walk in this world. On Judgment Day each of us will behold the Face of God, which will either beam with divine delight, or strike terror straight through us, far worse than seeing one of Picasso’s poor faces.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels. And Jesus tells us something astonishing about these angels. Jesus warns: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Now, which of the two faces of Lewis, comic or tragic, do you think the angels behold? Naturally, since they are in heaven, they behold God’s glorious Face. St. Augustine called that Face, “Beauty ever ancient, ever new.”

But the angels are also aware, far more than C. S. Lewis, that God’s Face can also have a look of terror. Perhaps even the blessed angels glimpsed “the terror of the universe” when the fallen angels turned against their Creator in their ridiculous rebellion recorded in Revelation 12. That divine Face conferred “glory inexpressible” on the good angels, and “shame that can never be cured or disguised” on the fallen angels that fateful day. The Guardian Angels know both expression, and their job, therefore, is to guard and guide us here on earth. Why? So in the end we behold the Face that is the delight and not the terror of the universe.

My friends, do you have a devotion to your Guardian Angel? Sadly, most Catholics feel little or no fondness or even awareness of angels, much less of their Guardian Angel. Most people who do think about them, may mount a little Guardian Angel pin on the visor of their car. Or, perhaps hang a painting of an angel watching over two small children crossing a rickety bridge over a raging river. Whenever I bless someone’s new car, I pray: “Father, send your angels to watch over them on the road, and may they follow Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, home to heaven.” And that is about all the attention the angels get.

Instead of just paying them a little lip service, I suggest we try to understand how the angels have the awesome privilege and aching pressure of beholding the Face of God. How so? Well, they know how our actions are changing the expression on that divine Face into either delight or terror. And therefore the angels pray fervently for us that someday that Face will confer on us glory inexpressible and not the other Fate.

I hope someday, with the help of my Guardian Angel, to draw the Face that is the delight of the universe. And maybe now even Pablo Picasso, who died in 1973, can paint a pretty face in paradise.

Praised be Jesus Christ!