Strangers and Soldiers

Losing our humanity in the abortion debate

06/26/2022

Lk 9:51-62 When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to rest his head.”

On Friday, June 24, the United States Supreme Court in the case of “Dobbs versus Jackson Women’s Health Organization” issued a decision overturning the 1973 Roe versus Wade and the 1992 Planned Parenthood versus Casey decisions that provided legal protection for abortion. Legalized abortion became the law of the land in 1973, and in 2022 it is no longer the law of the land. June 24, 2022 is a historic day in our nation’s history, no matter what side of the abortion debate you stand on.

Now, I am personally pleased by the high court’s ruling. Why? Well, any nation that cannot protect its most vulnerable citizens – and no one is more vulnerable than an unborn baby – cannot claim to be a great nation. It is providential perhaps that the decision was issued on June 24, this year the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and normally the Birthday of John the Baptist. It happens that six of the nine Supreme Court Justices are Roman Catholic, so the timing may not have been entirely accidental.

When I was in the seminary in Maryland, a classmate of mine was adamantly prolife. He encouraged me to go with him and a group of seminarians to a nearby town, called Hagerstown, and pray the rosary in front of an abortion clinic. To be completely honest, I really did not want to go. One Saturday morning I was looking for an excuse not to go, when my friend placed his hand on my arm, looked me squarely in the eye and said: “They’re killing babies, John, let’s go.”

Hard to argue with that, I thought, so I went. As I stood on the sidewalk, feeling very awkward and a little scared, I would see an occasional lady walk into the clinic, usually with someone else. I never approached anyone or said anything because I don’t like confrontation. But I just repeated my Hail Mary’s for those ladies and their babies.

I began to notice, though, that the ladies who were going into the clinic also looked nervous and scared, kind of like me. In other words, they really did not want to be there, just like I did not want to be there. Every now and then I would catch the eye of a young lady and we would lock eyes for a moment and see the mutual fear and uncertainty in each other’s faces, and we know we both wanted to be a million miles away from there.

We felt like enemy soldiers looking at each other from across the front lines and wishing we were anywhere but there. And we were indeed pawns in a vast war. The prolife side calls this a “war on the unborn” because babies are attacked. The prochoice side calls this a “war on women” because women feel attacked. Just like during the American Civil War, the North called it the “Civil War” but Southerners called it “The War of Northern Aggression”. Each side see the war through its own eyes and finds its own justifications.

But for a split second when our eyes locked, it felt like time stood still, and momentarily, we did not think about the war, we just saw two human beings. I saw a young lady whose eyes were filled with shock, uncertainty, guilt, fear and sadness. For her part, she saw a young seminarian clutching his rosary, looking spooked, surprised, sad, afraid, angry, and nervous. Who knows, we might have been friends if we had met in any other time and place, maybe even best friends.

But on that day, we stared at each other as strangers and soldiers in a war we did not fully understand, and did not really want to fight. And that is what happens in every war: we lose a little of our humanity. But for a split second of grace we got our humanity back. And that is the true toll of every war that has ever been waged on earth. More than the loss of life – which is tragic – is the loss of our humanity, which may be worse. The first affects our body, the second touches our soul. When we lose our humanity, there are no victors in the war.

So, on June 24, 2022, a battle in this war was won by the prolife side, waging the “War for the Unborn”. And a set-back was suffered by the prochoice side, fighting the “War for Women”. But this outcome of the Supreme Court decision only means that the theater of the war will move from the Supreme Court to the chambers of Congress: just like World War II was fought sometimes in the European theater, and at other times in the Pacific theater. That great war also made us lose our humanity. How so? We stopped looking at German and Japanese as fellow human beings, but only as “Krauts” and “Japs”. That loss of humanity was the real casualty of war, and in that sense, both sides lost.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am very grateful to God for the recent Supreme Court decision. And I pray many babies will be saved because of it. But I also pray for all those young ladies who feel they have no choice but abortion, like that lady I locked eyes with in Hagerstown 30 years ago. For a very small second we saw each other as two people, not as two pawns in a war. Wars always entail heavy losses, not just the body count, but also the soul count, like when we lose of our humanity. That’s what they mean when they say: “win the battle but lose the war.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

An Archangel’s Attitude

Traveling from the Old to the New Testament

06/23/2022

Lk 1:57-66 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.

Today’s gospel tells us how Zechariah got his voice back and named his son “John”. But do you remember how he had lost his voice in the first place? He didn’t lose it cheering loudly for the Hogs. He questioned the archangel about how his elderly wife could conceive and have a child. Now, Mary had also questioned the angel about how she could conceive being too young, but without losing her voice. Instead, she sang the Magnificat, and glorified God with her voice and suffered no punishment. What’s the diff? I have a little theory about the difference in the archangel’s attitude toward Zachariah and Mary. Would you like to hear it? Well, you’re about to.

First let me set the social stage. Zechariah was serving in the Jerusalem Temple, and offering incense in the Holy Place, one of the most prestigious actions a Jewish priest could perform. In a sense, Zechariah was at the peak of Jewish society. Mary, on the other hand, was on the lowest rung of the social ladder. She was a woman (strike one), she was very young (strike two), and she was unmarried (strike three) and you’re out of high society. Zechariah was at the peak and Mary was in the pits of first-century social circles.

Now notice the attitude of the archangel toward both of these unlikely saints. When Zechariah questions Gabriel, the archangel responds with authority and rebuke: “I am Gabriel who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk…because you did not believe my words.”

We see quite a contrast in Gabriel’s attitude and answer to Mary, who also doubts and questions. In her case, the archangel respectfully says: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God…The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” In other words, Gabriel should have shown more respect toward Zechariah, the priest, and been more punitive toward Mary, who had no social standing. Why this curious contrast in the attitude of the archangel?

The answer, I believe, lies in the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament represents the old creation. In the original creation, angels ranked higher than men and women. So if you dared to question the authority of an angel, you were put in your place. Like if you question a police officer who pulls you over, your ticket will be worse. He ranks above you in terms of the law. Not so in the New Testament.

In the new creation that hierarchy is turned upside-down, and human beings rank higher than angels. And who is “Exhibit A” of the new creation of the New Testament? Mother Mary is, who was conceived without sin in the womb. When the angel is talking to Mary, it’s like a boy scout talking to the Queen of England. In other words, the archangel’s attitude went from being a police officer to being a boy scout. Gabriel had not only traveled from Jerusalem to Nazareth, he had crossed over from the Old Testament to the New Testament. And that made all the difference in the world.

My friends, there is a very important lesson we can learn from the attitude of the archangel. That is, are we still stuck in the old creation of the Old Testament, or have we traveled that long road to the new creation of the New Testament? In other words, what is our attitude toward people? Sometimes we judge people by their social standing: are they wealthy, are they beautiful or handsome, are they successful, talented or powerful? We are quick to show great respect and deference to people of high social standing.

But if we find people who are poor and homeless (strike one), or they are uneducated or unkempt (strike two), or they are awkward and socially inept (strike three), they’re out. We avoid them, or worse, we belittle them. When we do that, we are still stuck in the old creation of the Old Testament, where angels act like police officers and we fear them and obey them, and we look down on those below us.

But if we travel like Gabriel from the old to the new, we see things differently. Those we may think at first sight are the nobodies of the world may actually turn out to be the highest and holiest of the saints in heaven. Every day at 12 noon, we pray the Angelus while the church bells ring. We say: “The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.” When we say that, we should remember the attitude of that archangel toward Mary, and see people and treat people accordingly.

Praised be Jesus Christ! 

Complaint Department

Seeing our own faults as we complain about others

06/20/2022

Mt 7:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

The higher up you go in any organization, the more you become the complaint department. When someone has a problem in the school, for example, they want to complain not just to the principal but to the pastor. If someone has a complaint in the parish, they want to go over the pastor’s head to the bishop. If someone doesn’t like something the bishop says or does, they write a letter to the pope. And if they don’t like something the pope does, they write to his mother and complain to her. We all know a man’s boss is his mother, just ask her.

It is always easier to go over someone’s head and complain about them rather than have an uncomfortable and awkward conversation with the individual with whom we have a beef or an ax to grind. I wonder how many hours a day our poor bishop must spend responding to emails and letters of Catholics complaining about us problematic priests. CEOs get the corner office so they have a nice view while dealing with all the sour grapes people throw at them.

But sooner or later everyone gets to be the complaint department, and listen to other people’s aches and pains, problems and issues. Here are three things I’ve learned that you might try when you are the complaint department for your family and friends. First, a friend of mine said that whenever her sister calls her, and it’s obvious she is upset, she asks: “Okay, do you want to vent, or do you want to find a solution?”

Sometimes people complain because they just want someone in authority to listen to them. We find some satisfaction in getting things off our chest, and that talking itself is the solution. So, the first tool of being the complaint department is to listen with empathy. What does that mean? It means not only hearing the facts, but also paying attention to feelings: their fears, their sadness, their anger, their frustration. When you hear someone complaint, the first thing to ask is: does this person want to vent or to find a solution?

The second suggestion is to invite people who complain to pray for the person they are complaining about. That may seem like a pious platitude – “Oh, just pray about it!” – but prayer changes things, and it changes us. Whenever I get sideways with a staff member or feel family frustrations, I stop and say one Hail Mary for that person. Immediately my temperature starts to cool down.

Of course, we are praying that God will bless them and change them and help them with whatever we think their problem is. But notice what is happening to us: we are not complaining, we are praying. Maybe that’s why God sends troublesome people to us: to teach us to pray. And what does prayer produce? It causes us to see differently, we begin to see the world through God’s eyes and see other people like he sees them.

And how does God see them? Like his little children “who do not know their right hand from their left” (Jon 4:11). Just like parents are very forgiving of their own children’s mistakes – they will forgive them a million times – so too is God with our errors. When we pray, therefore, we start to see others like that, and that is a second useful tool of the complaint department.

And the third thing is what Jesus says in the gospel today in talking about wooden beams and planks. And this is the hard part. Whenever someone gets up our dander and we feel they are totally wrong and have to be stopped because they are going to ruin the world, realize there is a much bigger weakness in us that threatens to ruin the world.

Naturally, we must at times recognize sinful behavior and call a spade a spade. Jesus says as much in Mt 18, his Ecclesiastical Discourse on fraternal correction. Still, all correction should be carried out with a profound awareness that there is something as bad, or worse, in me that I am missing (my plank), as I try to point out your problems. The third tool of the complaint department is to include yourself in the long list of woes and worries of the world.

So, next time you get a promotion as a principal, or pastor, or pope, realize you are also now the complaint department. That is why you get the corner office and get paid the big bucks.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Grace in Gray Hair

Looking forward to our eternal youth

06/15/2022

2 Kgs 2:1, 6-14 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here; the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you,” Elisha replied. And so the two went on together. Fifty of the guild prophets followed and when the two stopped at the Jordan, they stood facing them at a distance. Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, which divided, and both crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am taken from you.”

We don’t like to think about it, but we are all getting older. So, let me ask you: are you growing older gracefully? Someone sent me this funny email about getting older, and maybe you can relate. It said: “I have everything I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later. I don’t have to go to school or work. I get an allowance every month. I have my own pad. I have a driver’s license and my own car. The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant and I don’t have acne.”

It went on: “I didn’t make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row. I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment. Now it feels like a small vacation. The biggest lie I tell myself is “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it”. I don’t have gray hair, I have “wisdom highlights”. I’m just very wise. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees.”

Okay, here’s the end of the email: “Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven’t met yet. Why do I press 1 for English when you’re just going to transfer me to someone I can’t understand anyway? Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice. At my age “Getting lucky” means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for.” In other words, the author of the email is trying to look on the bright side of getting older. He’s hoping for some grace in the gray hair.

The first reading today is one of my favorite episodes in the Old Testament. Why? Because Elijah teaches Elisha how to find the grace in the gray hair. 2 Kings 2 relates how Elijah was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot. But before his departure, he says to Elisha, his apprentice: “Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am taken up from you.” Notice Elijah is not trying to recreate his youth as he gets older, like the author of the email wished for.

Rather, Elijah has his eyes fixed not on earthly youth of the past, but on the eternal youth of Paradise. That is the real grace in the gray hair: not in avoiding school and work, or getting an allowance, or daily nap time, or not fearing pregnancy. But the wisdom to understand that real life has yet to begin, like a baby in the womb about to be born. Those thoughts are our “wisdom highlights,” how we grow old gracefully.

My friends, the grace in the gray hair is found by looking forward to heaven instead of looking backward to our childhood and youth. Let me share a few insights about what our bodies may be like in heaven offered by Scott Hahn. He wrote: “In heaven, our bodies will do whatever we want them to do, and they will do it perfectly: they will dunk basketballs, do pirouettes, leap tall buildings and fly through the air.”

He goes on: “If you want to stand in a green meadow in heaven, all you have to do is think that thought, and you’ll be there. If you want to see your great-great-great grandpa in heaven, you will…instantaneously, as soon as you want to see him. Essentially, your body will travel at the speed of your thoughts.”

Finally, he adds, and this is really good news for those of us who are getting older: “The bodies that frustrate us with their weakness, cripple us with illness and injury, and slow us down with age will become matter infused and suffused with glory. They will be capable of feats that even the most powerful superheroes would never attempt in comic books.”

In a sense, that is what Elijah was looking forward to as he climbed aboard his final fiery chariot ride: the eternal youth of Paradise. He was looking up to heaven, not glancing back to earth. We are all getting older, but are we all growing older gracefully? That depends on the choice we make: are we looking backward to earthly youth or looking forward to eternal youth?

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Lost and Found

Being found by the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua

06/13/2022

Lk 10:1-9 The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"

Today, June 13, is the feast day of another one of my many patron saints. Some of us need more than one patron saint because we keep getting lost and need lots of shepherds. Let me share a few fun facts about this extraordinary saint and perhaps he will become one of your favorite saints, too. Firstly, he was a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi, and joined the Franciscans shortly after they were founded. That is, he lived in the 13th century – he died in 1231 – and Francis put him in charge of the novices to train them in preaching and teaching.

The thirteenth century was a veritable season of saints, with the world blessed by the likes of St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Albert the Great, to mention some of the more well-known. If I had a chance to live in any century of human history, I would pick the 13th century in order to meet these great saints.

The second notable thing about St. Anthony was his gift of preaching. In fact, when his body was exhumed from the grave 30 years after his death, only his tongue was perfectly preserved. It is on display in the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy, if you want to see it. Preaching is an important talent for all priests to possess. Why? Well, what are the two things people always complain about in church? They bemoan the poor preaching and the so-so singing.

Preaching and singing may not be the most important part of the Mass, but they are nonetheless critical to help people enter more fully into the mystery of the Mass. They are like good appetizers that whet our appetite for the main course, the Holy Eucharist. Today, pray to St. Anthony to help poor preachers like me to not put people to sleep when we pound the pulpit.

A third fun fact about St. Anthony, and the one most people turn to him for, is he is the patron saint of lost items. Quite often someone will misplace their keys, or their cell phone, or their wallet. And the first thing we do is ask for St. Anthony’s intercession. This tradition began when St. Anthony himself lost one of his prayer books, the Psalter, or the Book of Psalms. Actually, a Franciscan friar had taken it with him when he decided to leave the monastery for good.

St. Anthony prayed for the book’s return. A few days later the former friar came back to return the book but he also retuned to the religious life in the monastery. You see, St. Anthony didn’t just want his book back; he wanted his brother back. In other words, St. Anthony’s intercession is not really to help you find your keys or your phone or your wallet. What is really lost is you and me; we are the lost sheep that Jesus, the Good Shepherd is trying to find.

This finding of the lost is why we read from Lk 10:1-9 as our gospel this morning. St. Luke wrote: “The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.” So, yes, keep praying to St. Anthony for lost items. But realize one thing: he is praying for the return not so much of lost things but of lost people, the lost children of God’s family, meaning me and you.

By the way, have you ever noticed the beautiful statue of St. Anthony of Padua in our church? It is easy to miss because it is right by the main doors of the church, and when we walk into church, we should be looking, first and foremost, for Jesus. But I think it is providential and perfect that he is perched by the doors of the church. Why? Because every time someone walks through the doors and into the church, St. Anthony’s prayer are answered and the lost sheep is found.

"Dear St. Anthony, please come around: something is lost and it cannot be found.” And that something lost is me.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

I in Team

Seeking team glory rather than personal glory

06/12/2022

Jn 16:12-15 Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

You have no doubt heard the old maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.” What does that mean? Well what makes a team so powerful is precisely because individuals on a team sacrifice personal glory so the team can win collective glory. No coach understood that maxim or taught it better than Coach John Wooden, the head basketball coach at UCLA. During his time as coach, the UCLA Bruins won 10 national championships, including 7 of those back-to-back. More impressive still, he won 88 consecutive games without one loss. In other words, the secret to being a great team is humility: you give up individual glory to gain even greater team glory.

Several years ago I demonstrated how teams always defeat individual talent with an exercise Coach Wooden taught his players. It was during a school Mass at St. Joseph in Fayetteville. During the homily, I had two basketballs in my hands. I asked for two volunteers from among the students. Then I asked all the students: “Who is the best basketball player in our whole school?” All the students shouted: “Grant Koch!” (By the way, Grant plays baseball for the Pittsburg Pirates today; he’s a great athlete.) So, I invited Grant to come up, along with the two volunteers.

I positioned one volunteer next to me and gave him a basketball. Then I told the other volunteer to go stand at the door of the church, which was about 100 feet away. Then I put Grant on my right side, and handed him the other basketball. Then I told them the rules: when I say “Go!” volunteer A will throw the ball to volunteer B. Also when I say “Go!” Grant should start dribbling the ball as fast as he can toward the church doors.

The point was to see who got the ball to the doors first. When they were ready, I said “Go!” I’ll give you one guess who got the ball to the doors of the church first. Obviously, the two volunteers did. That is why John Wooden won so many national championships: not because he had the best talent, but because he had the best team.

This Sunday is traditionally called Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the central mystery of our Christian faith, namely, the Holy Trinity. It is an unfathomable mystery because we cannot possibly comprehend how God can be one in substance and yet three in Person: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One way to approach this great mystery, I believe, is through the maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” How so? Well, the Holy Trinity is the greatest team of all time, even better than the championship Lakers, Celtics and Bulls combined. Why? Because each divine Person is willing to sacrifice personal glory for team glory.

Listen to Jesus words in the gospel of John and the selfless team-play of the Holy Trinity. Jesus says: “The Holy Spirit will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears.” Notice how the Spirit does not say what he wants, but what he has been told to say. The Holy Spirit is not a hot dog. Jesus goes on: “The Spirit will glorify me because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” Again, notice how Jesus himself is happy for the Spirit to take what is his because Jesus is not a ball-hog.

And finally, Jesus adds: “Everything the Father has is mine.” That is, even what the Father has really belongs to the whole divine Team. The Father is happy to pass his basketball to Jesus. In other words, the Holy Trinity does not care about individual glory, only about collective glory. I think Coach Wooden would really love today’s feast of the Most Holy Trinity.

My friends, what are the teams you belong to, and do you seek individual glory or what is best for the whole team? Let me mention two teams we all belong to. The first team we are all "born" into, that is, our families. That is the first team where we should learn to sacrifice personal glory for team glory. How?

Go to vacation together. Eat supper together. Don’t hide in your room and play videogames (like I used to as a teen). Attend Mass together. Sadly, some families have “ball hogs” who do not put the team first, but put themselves first, and try to go it alone. When we spell team with the letter “I”, we seek individual glory rather than team glory. But we end up getting a lot less glory.

The other great team we belong to as Catholics is the Church, and in a special way to our particular parish. But again, we need to ask: do we insert an “I” in how we spell “team”? For instance, sometimes, people ask me: “Fr. John, do you like the pope?” I always answer: “I am a Catholic, so of course, I love the pope!”

I know they are asking about controversial comments he may have made. But notice how that question can also drive a wedge between the players on our Catholic team. It’s like they’re saying: don’t pass your ball of your support and love to the pope. But one player, no matter how talented, will never be able to dribble a basketball faster than two players can throw a basketball.

As we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, remember the old maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” At least that is the way the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would spell the divine Team we call the Holy Trinity. When we seek team glory rather than individual glory, we will find a lot more glory in the bargain. Just ask John Wooden.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Gender Roles

Understanding God’s plan for gender and sex

06/06/2022

Responsorial Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7 R. (3) Glorious things are told of you, O city of God. His foundation upon the holy mountains the LORD loves: The gates of Zion, more than any dwelling of Jacob. R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God! And of Zion they shall say: One and all were born in her; And he who has established her is the Most High LORD.” R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God. They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled: “This man was born there.” And all shall sing, in their festive dance: “My home is within you.” R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.

It is a very sensitive subject today to talk about gender roles: whether you should refer to people as “he” or “she” or “they”. And this topic causes a lot of people a great deal of anxiety and angst, so what I am going to say, please know it comes with great love, respect and above all, prayer. Why prayer? Well, while we as individual persons are struggling to understand gender – being masculine or feminine – God also has an understanding of what gender means. And I am convinced we will only find true and lasting peace in our own life, and in our human community, when we bring our understanding closer to God’s understanding.

Have you ever noticed how we assign a gender to inanimate objects? If you have ever owned a boat, did you give it a name? Most likely, the name was feminine. Even if the name was masculine – like the "Pequod" of Captain Ahab – the ship itself is always referred to as “she”. We often refer to our cars with a feminine pronoun, saying: “Check out my car: she is a beauty!”

The reason we apply the feminine gender to ships and cars is because they possess mother-like qualities. They protect us, they carry us, they nurture our communal life on the stormy seas of life. In other words, even if people are puzzled by whether or not they themselves are masculine or feminine, there is a sort of “natural gender” we bestow on inanimate objects because gender sheds light on their purpose and why they exist.

Did you notice the gender in our Responsorial Psalm today where it talks about the “City of God”? See if you can tell which gender – masculine or feminine – the Psalmist applies to the City of God. We read in Ps 87: “Glorious things are said of you, O city of God! And of Zion they shall say: ‘One and all were born in HER; And he who has established HER is the Most High God.” Did you catch the gender of the City of God? Of course you did because I made it painfully obvious. In other words, it is not just boats and cars that have these feminine, motherly qualities, so do cities, especially the City of God.

But notice now we are not just talking about natural gender that comes from the natural world. This is a supernatural gender that comes from the Bible, the inspired Word of God. The Bible is not just what man thinks, but far more importantly, the Scriptures convey what God thinks. And in the end what God thinks is what will matter because that is how things will be eternally.

If you have followed me this far, maybe you will take one more step with me. The City of God in the Old Testament was not only a “mother”, she was also a “metaphor”. What does that mean? Well, ultimately the City of God that Psalm 87 describes will be fully realized, in glorious splendor, as the Church in the New Testament. John sees this City-Church in Revelation 21:2, where he says: “I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a BRIDE adorned for HER husband.”

Let me ask you again: did you catch the gender of the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven? Of course you did, because again I made it painfully obvious. The eternal city is a “she”, indeed, she is a “bride”, ready to marry her husband. This is the testimony of Sacred Scripture regarding gender roles: the Church is the new Jerusalem, the City of God, and she is a Bride adorned for her husband, Jesus.

So, will there be gender roles and identities in heaven? And by the way, we will be in heaven a lot longer than we will be on earth, so that matters more, infinitely more. Yes, each human person will be male or female in heaven, just like God created them in Gn 1:27: “God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Nonetheless, beyond being individually male and female, we will be collectively female (a Bride) because that is our deepest identity in relation to Christ, our Savior but also our Spouse. And that is why Mother Mary is the perfect model of the Church. She shows us while we are still on earth, what and who we will be in heaven: the City of God, a Bride adorned for her husband. That will be our truest gender and our deepest identity because that is what we will be for eternity.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

All’s Well

Seeing how the Holy Spirit authors our life

06/04/2022

Jn 21:20-25 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?” It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

In 1623 Shakespeare published one of his lesser-known plays that was a comedy called “All’s Well That Ends Well”. Have you read it? Well, why not? It was a rather bizarre romantic comedy that had a happy ending. Shakespeare’s point, I suppose, was that no matter how strange life is, what matters most is how we end things: hopefully we end on a happy note.

They also taught us this in the seminary when we write homilies: all homilies are well that end well. And one way to end a homily well is to return to the theme with which you began. In other words, you create two “bookends” – a beginning and an end that are similar. That produces the effect of tying the whole homily together. When a homily ends where it began, it sort of comes full-circle, and you don’t have a lot of loose threads or loose thoughts, and in that way, “all’s well that ends well.”

Our readings today are really the endings of two books of the bible: the Acts of the Apostles and the gospel of John. But did you notice how they ended? They followed the advice of my seminary homiletics professor: at the end, go back to the beginning and create two bookends. And this is exactly what both Luke and John do. How so?

At the beginning of Acts of the Apostles, we have the Ascension of Jesus. There, before he rises to heavenly glory, Jesus says: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And by the time we get to Acts 28, Paul has arrived in Rome and preaches the Good News. “Rome” symbolized the whole world, the “ends of the earth”. In Acts “all’s well that ends well” because Luke goes back to the beginning.

How does the gospel of John end in chapter 21? Again, John, a good homilist and preacher, goes back to the beginning. His gospel opened with showing Jesus was God, and a man named John the Baptist came to give testimony to him. And how does John’s gospel end? He touches the theme of Jesus’ divinity, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world could contain the books that would be written.”

And he also touches the topic of a man named “John” who testifies to Jesus: “It is this disciple who testifies to these things, and has written them, and his testimony is true.” In other words, a great book, like an effective homily, ends where it begins, it sort of comes full circle, and thus, “all’s well that ends well.”

My friends, how is the homily or the book of your life coming along? Are you at the beginning (a teen or twenty-something), or middle-aged and in the full-flower of manhood or womanhood (like me!), or in the autumn of your life enjoying your golden years and retirement? I have had conversations with elderly parishioners who really struggle with growing older.

They are facing their physical limitations, and loss of freedom. They often feel depressed and useless to themselves and to others. Maybe you have parents or grandparents that feel this way. In other words, they don’t know how to end the homily that is their life, or write the last chapter of their autobiography.

May I offer you the same sage advice that my seminary professor gave to me? Go back to the beginning and rediscover the main themes that run like a golden thread through your life. One way to do that is to try to remember your childhood: your home, parents and siblings, your old neighborhood, your friends, and elementary school. What were your first experiences of faith and religion? Share these stories with your children and grandchildren, or maybe write them down, in a diary or an autobiography.

Just like St. Luke went back to Acts chapter one to find material for chapter 28, and St. John returned to John one to complete John 21, so, too, we would do well to return to chapter one of our lives to see what we should write for the final chapter. Hopefully, we will discover that we have not been the only author of the homily or the book of our life. Rather, the real Author was the Holy Spirit.

In other words, your whole life was not some random collection of events and experiences, Shakespearean comedies and tragedies. The Holy Spirit has been writing your story with a divine plot: open your eyes and ears, your head and your heart, to see the real point and purpose of your life. The beginning will give you a clue to the end, and then you too can say: “all’s well that ends well.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Mom’s Homework

Praying for the unity of brothers and sisters

06/02/2022

Jn 17:20-26 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

Today, June 2, is my mom’s birthday, and I want to share a few thoughts about this wonderful woman. I asked her recently what she wanted for a birthday present and she immediately answered that she wanted all three of her children to be close, and love each other, and take care of each other. Of course, the reason she had to ask that is because we have not always done that: we have fought and fussed. So, I told her that would be my homework from now on: to keep in touch and try to take care of my brother and sister, and love each other.

Today’s gospel of John 17 is taken from Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” at the Last Supper. And what does Jesus pray for to his Father? Listen: “That they may be one, as we are one…that they may be brought to perfection as one.” In other words, my mom was not just echoing the prayer of every parent for the peace and harmony of their offspring. Much more, my mom’s prayer carried priestly overtones echoing the heart of Jesus. My mother loves us, her sometimes ungrateful children, like Jesus loved his sometimes ungrateful disciples.

Of course, this shared love between mothers and our Maker was uttered 6 centuries earlier in the prophet Isaiah, who asked rhetorically: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even if she should forget you, I will never forget you” (Is 49:15). That is, a mother’s love and our Lord’s love are virtually identical.

My mom grew up in Kerala, India, a coastal state in southwestern India. That area, along with the state of Goa, are arguably the most Christian areas of the country, where both the apostle Thomas and Bartholomew, and later, St. Francis Xavier evangelized and brought the Good News. That is how my mom first learned the high priestly prayer of Jesus.

My mom’s full name is Raichelamma, but she spells is “R-a-i-c-h-e-l’, and my sister’s oldest daughter carries that same name, spelled the same way. I think my niece is very proud to have her grandmother’s name, even it’s not normal. But her grandmother is not normal either: she is extraordinary.

My mom is the youngest of five children. She had 3 older sisters and one older brother who have all passed to their eternal reward. We pray for them when I say Mass at my parents’ home in Springdale. Because she was the youngest, my mom was the one who got to go to school the longest, and completed a degree in nursing. She wasn’t allowed to do the chores at home because she was supposed to study. I doubt she complained.

And it was my mom’s nursing degree that became the ticket for us coming to the United States. There has always been a dearth of registered nurses in the U.S., so our country has given great incentives to foreign nurses to come and practice here. That is why I am here: because my mom is so smart.

Looking back now, I don’t know how my mom did it all. She came to the United States alone and started working and living here to establish a home for us. My father came several months later, and then the three trouble-makers arrived. My mom often worked the night shift at the hospital because it was better pay. We always ate Indian food which takes a lot of time to cook because you make it from scratch.

She took care of the home and raised the kids, and she never complained about her trials and tribulations. She was far more concerned about her children’s trials and tribulations, and that is still her primary preoccupation today. She doesn’t complain about her physical aches and ailments, which are not a few. She just takes care of her family with an indefatigable and serene smile.

When I go to celebrate Mass at their home, like I did yesterday, my mom is the sacristan. She prepares the altar, she places the chalice with the purificator and pall with a precision that rivals the pope’s own sacristan in Rome. She knows exactly where the corporal goes, as well as how much water and wine I will need. Finally, she lights the candles and covers her head with a veil, like all devout women do in India. My dad is the lector who read the Scripture readings, and he rings the bells. Sometimes his hands shake, so he rings it a little more than she should.

And when everything is ready, it is time for me to do the homework that my mom gave me: to pray for my siblings, which is the same homework that Jesus gave me, and that he gave all of us: to pray for the peace and unity of our brothers and sisters, which means everyone.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

In Flanders Fields

Remembering the real meaning of Memorial Day

05/30/2022

Jn 16:29-33 The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

We Americans do different things to celebrate Memorial Day. Some people will visit National Cemeteries, where fallen veterans are buried, and decorate the headstones with American flags. That is why today is often called “Decoration Day”. Other Americans will stay home or go to the lake and grill hamburgers or hotdogs, and try to look more tanned. Sadly, such people also forget the real meaning of Memorial Day: a day to remember the dead soldiers who purchased our freedom with the price of their blood. Others only know that Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, and nothing more. And yet still others write poems or prose works to memorialize Memorial Day. May I share with you two such prominent pieces?

The first is a poem called “In Flanders Fields” by Lt. Col. John McCrae, as a tribute to his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer who died in World War I in Flanders. This poem also made poppies the unofficial flower of Memorial Day. Listen to these loving lines: “In Flanders fields, the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place; and in the sky / The larks, still bravely singing, fly / Scarce heard amid the guns below. / We are the dead. Short days ago / We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow. / Love and were loved, and now we lie, / in Flanders fields. / Take up our quarrel with the foe / To you from falling hands we throw / The torch; be yours to hold it high. / If ye break faith with us who die, / We shall not sleep though poppies grow / In Flanders fields.” That poem, “In Flanders Fields” was first published on December 8, 1915.

Almost 50 years earlier, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln penned the Gettysburg Address as a commemoration of the fallen soldiers during the Civil War. The address is not strictly-speaking a poem, but it is about as close as prose gets to poetry in the English language, short of Shakespeare. It is a little long to quote in full in a homily, but I hope you will indulge me as I do. President Lincoln captured the spirit of Memorial Day like no one else ever has. Our 16th president wrote memorably:

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”

Honest Abe continued: “But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so bravely advanced.”

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” You cannot say it better than Lincoln.

Of course, we Catholics celebrate our own “memorial day” not on the last Monday in May, but every day we celebrate the Eucharist. How so? Well, at every mass, we “remember” that last great sacrifice of our Captain in the faith, Jesus Christ, who at the Last Supper, said: “Do this in memory of me.” But what makes the memorial of the Mass different from American Memorial Day is that it does not depend so much on us remembering Jesus, but on Jesus remembering us. That is why the Good Thief, hanging on the cross at Jesus’ right side asked: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42).

Like with everything else in our faith, what Jesus does matters far more than what we do. So, too, with the “memorial day” that is the Mass. In other words, Catholic “memorial day” is more about what Jesus remembers than what we remember.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Two Ascensions

Seeing how obedient suffering leads to heavenly glory

05/29/2022

Lk 24:46-53 Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into heavenly glory, where he is seated in power at the right hand of the Father. Last week the pope announced the “ascension” of Fr. Erik Pohlmeier, a priest of our diocese, to the glory of a bishop in the Diocese of St. Augustine, where he, too, will be seated with full priestly power. I think there are some striking parallels between these two ascensions into glory: the Ascension of Jesus and the ascension of Bishop-elect Pohlmeier. First, let me describe these parallels and second I will make a practical application to Christian life. That is, one day we will all hopefully experience an “ascension” into the glory of heaven. And both Jesus and Fr. Erik can show us the way to our own ascension.

First of all, how does a lowly priest ascend to the glory of becoming a bishop? How did Pope Francis pick Fr. Pohlmeier in Little Rock, Arkansas to be the new bishop of St. Augustine far away in Florida? Well, basically, it is a three step process that produces a list of names that lands on the pope’s desk. First, every bishop of every diocese keeps a list of the three priests in his diocese that he believes is “bishop material”: holy, humble, hard-working, and has a good sense of humor. When there is a vacancy in a diocese somewhere in the United States, that list is sent to the pope’s ambassador to the U.S., an archbishop, who resides in Washington, D.C. Being on a bishop's short-list in Arkansas is the first step.

The second step, then, is that archbishop conducts a super-secret investigation through questionnaires sent to people who know these priests. After reading all the results of his research, he orders and prioritizes the list according to his preference. Maybe Fr. Erik Pohlmeier was at the top of that list. That second step of being on the archbishop’s short-list occurs in Washington, D.C.

But the archbishop does not send that list straight to the pope. It must go through a third step, a department of the Vatican called the Congregation of Bishops. Sometimes they know the candidates on that list because some super-smart priests (like Fr. Pohlmeier) studied theology in Rome. So, the Congregation might rearrange the list, and put candidate number three in place of candidate number one, and move number one down to three. At that third stage poor Fr. Erik may have been bumped from the top spot to the third spot.

Then, finally, this list lands on the pope’s desk, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis picks Fr. Erik to be bishop, even though he may have ended up number three. Why? Well, because he is the pope! And he is free to choose anyone he desires. Jesus, too, went through three steps before his Ascension. First he spent 30 years growing up in Nazareth. For his second step, he spent 3 years preaching and teaching in Galilee. And for his third step, he spent 3 days dying and rising in Jerusalem. A priest’s names goes from Little Rock, to Washington, DC, and then to Rome, like Jesus went from Nazareth, to Galilee to Jerusalem. And then they experience the Ascension.

That is the formal, standard process for ascension as a bishop. But there is also an informal (and more important) process that requires faith and suffering. What do I mean? Well, Fr. Erik has been a very obedient priest and it has not always been very fun or easy. Do you know how many hats he was wearing when the pope picked him to be a bishop? Bishop Taylor recently wrote this: “Bishop-elect Erik T. Pohlmeier is relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, Diocesan Director of Continuing Education of the Clergy, Theological Advisor, Diocesan Director of Faith Formation, and Diocesan Director of Permanent Diaconate Formation.”

Basically, he was pastor of one of the largest parishes of the diocese and had four diocesan jobs as well. But wait, that’s not all! The bishop continued: “He is relieved of his responsibilities as member of the following boards: Clergy Personnel Board, Presbyteral Council, and College of Consultors.” In other words, Bishop Taylor could count on Fr. Erik to do whatever he needed, no matter how heavy or hard the work-load. And Fr. Erik obediently said, “Yes”.

In the same way, Jesus obediently carried out his Father’s will no matter how heavy or hard the work-load. And there was nothing heavier or harder than carrying the Cross. Jesus said to his disciples today: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.” And that is the informal (and more important) process of faith and suffering that precedes the Ascension. That suffering obedience is the real reason Jesus ascended into heavenly glory, and the real reason why Fr. Erik Pohlmeier rose to episcopal glory.

I bet you can already begin to see the practical application to the Christian life of these two ascensions. In other words, if we hope to enjoy our own ascension into heavenly glory one day, we, too, must be ready to embrace the Father’s will through faith and suffering. Where do we find the Father’s will? We find it in doing what the bishop asks of us. We find it by doing what our parents ask of us. We find it by doing what our wife asks of us. We find it by doing what our husband asks of us. In short, we find the Father's will by doing what others ask of us instead of our own will. That is why we pray “thy will be done”, and not “my will be done”.

The pope may never call you or me to be a bishop of a diocese. But one day Jesus will call each of us home to heaven. And we, too, will be able to answer promptly like Bishop-elect Pohlmeier, “Yes!” IF we have walked by faith and obediently suffered here on earth.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Downpayment on Dreams

Seeing how Catholic schools help students dream big

05/24/2022

Jn 16:5-11 Jesus said to his disciples: “Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”

Many years ago I heard this song by the band Brooks and Dunn, called “Only in America”. It made me think of school students, and this evening in a special way of our graduating eighth graders. It started like this: “Sun coming up over New York City / School bus driver in a traffic jam / Staring at the faces in a rear view mirror / Looking at the promise of the Promised Land.” It continued: “One kid dreams of fame and fortune / One kid helps pay the rent / One could end up going to prison / One just might be president.” The refrain of the song adds: “Only in America / Dreaming in red, white and blue / Only in America / Where we dream as big as we want to.”

As I look out at the faces of our 8th grade graduates of Trinity, I am keenly aware that I am also looking at the “promise of the Promised Land”. Our students come from very diverse backgrounds, and they also have very diverse dreams of what their future will be like. We also hope that here at Trinity we have helped them to “dream as big as they want to.”

That was one reason my parents sent me and my brother and sister to Catholic schools: so that we could do whatever we desired and dreamed with our lives. My brother is a senior vice president of a major international retail chain. My sister is religious education teacher at her church and married with five children. And I am a priest and luckily not in prison. Catholic schools help students to dream big.

In the gospel today, Jesus is also in a sense graduating from this world and returning home to his heavenly Father. And as Jesus looks at the faces of his apostles seated at the Last Supper table, he can also see “the promise of the Promised Land.” Their dreams were diverse and their futures were full of hope and adventure. Heck, many of them would even end up in prison for their faith, and none of them would become president. Why?

Well, because their dreams were so big, they were bigger than this world. That is, they always dreamed of heaven, and the glory that awaited them there. Jesus was about to graduate from this world through his death and resurrection. But the apostles were also about to graduate from the first Catholic school, where Jesus was their teacher. And the divine Teacher had inspired them “to dream as big as they want to.” Catholic schools help students to dream big.

If there is one piece of advice that I could give our graduates this evening, it would be to dream big. That is why your parents made so many sacrifices to send you to a Catholic school. It was not easy for them to send you here. But they gladly embraced those sacrifices so you would have a great start, and in some ways, you will be ahead of your peers in high school. This school is a downpayment on your dreams.

But I would also urge you not to limit your dreams to this world, but also to include heaven. In other words, don’t just ask yourself, what is my biggest dream for my life? Also ask: what is God’s dream for me? What does God dream that I will become? God’s will is the biggest possible way our dreams can be realized, because there we will find the greatest joy, peace, love, and fulfillment.

Boys and girls, you are the promise of the Promised Land. And soon, the destiny of our world will be in your hands – God help us! Dream big, and don’t end up in prison.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Handing on Homes

Seeing the world as common heritage of humanity

05/23/2022

Jn 15:26—16:4a Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”

One of the things I love about living in Fort Smith is how the same house is handed on from family to family. That is, instead of always building a new home, people will buy, renovate, and inhabit an already existing home. Let me give you a few examples, and I hope the people won’t mind me mentioning their names. When I arrived in Fort Smith, I visited both Eddie and Betty Christian in their lovely home at the corner of Park and 66th Streets.

Since then, I have celebrated both their funerals, and now that same house belongs to Bill and Karen Hollenbeck, who love living there. Another house on Park Ave., at the corner of Park and Melrose, was originally the home of H. L. Hembree. But today, Daniel and Kelly Wilson live there with their kids. Even though the Wilson’s live there, it is still called “the Hembree house”.

Of course, the house I live in is not new either but has been handed down from pastor to pastor of I.C. Different pastors have added touches to suit their own tastes. For examples, Msgr. Tom Walsh added the downstairs bedroom suite which was affectionately called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. It has wood paneling and a fireplace to give it a cabin-feel. Fr. Greg Luyet renovated the kitchen area, because it was much in need of a face-lift.

And Fr. Daniel Velasco added more fencing in the backyard so his dog, Lola, could find a warm welcome, too. There is something wholesome and even holy about handing on a home. It shows that the heritage of humanity is much more common than we think. In other words, private property is for the living, not for the dead. And one day, we will all be dead.

I always think about handing on a home when I hear Jesus’ Farewell Discourse at the Last Supper in John’s gospel. How so? Well, Jesus is talking about his impending death and how he will hand on his home, the whole world, into the care of the Holy Spirit. We read Jesus say repeatedly: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.”

I always think of the work of the Holy Trinity in the Scripture like a relay race. God the Father runs the first leg in the Old Testament. God the Son, Jesus, takes the baton and runs the race in the Gospels. And God the Holy Spirit runs the race in the rest of the New Testament until Revelation, the end of time. But what is the "baton" they pass to each other? It is the world and all who live here. Just like the Christian house, and the Hembree house, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin have been handed on from one occupant to another, so the home of the world, in a sense, belonged first to the Father, and second to the Son, and third to the Holy Spirit.

In other words, the Scriptures see the whole world as God’s house, and we are all just temporary inhabitants. Even the divine Persons of the Holy Trinity hand on this common heritage from one divine Person to Another. That is why I believe that handing on a home demonstrates something wholesome and even holy: we imitate the work of the Most Holy Trinity.

My friends, take a little time today to think about where you live, especially if you moved into an existing home. Who lived there before you moved in? Were they the original tenants, or did someone before them build the house? When you moved into the house what improvements or renovations did you make to it? Maybe you added a downstairs bedroom, or gave the tired-looking kitchen a face-lift. Who do you think will have your house when you die and leave this world? Maybe your children will move in, but more likely it will be completely strangers, like the Hollenbecks, or the Wilsons, or Fr. John Antony.

In other words, when we reflect on the reality of handing on a home, we quickly see that the heritage of humanity is a very common one. The principle of private property is really only a very short-lived one, and that only while we are kicking up dust on this earth. Sooner or later, we realize that everything, even our beloved homes, does not belong to us, but is part of the common home handed on between the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Memory Lane

Seeing how the Holy Spirit steers our lives

05/21/2022

Acts 16:1-10 Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him, and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem. Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number. They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them, so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.

As Fr. Daniel prepares to depart for his first pastorate, I feel pensive about the path of my own priesthood. Did you know that in 26 years as a priest I have been in charge of at least 20 different positions and parishes? Would you mind taking a little walk down my memory lane with me? After two years as associate of Christ the King in Little Rock, I was made pastor of St. Edward’s in Texarkana in 1998. Those first two years as an associate were like my honeymoon: all fun and no frustration. But just like in every marriage, the honeymoon does not last.

I was only in Texarkana for two months before the bishop called me and moved me to St. Joseph in Fayetteville. In those days, because of a shortage of priests, I was in charge of St. Joseph and St. Thomas Aquinas parishes. 10 months later I was sent to Washington, D.C. to study canon law, and I returned with a canon law degree and feeling very smart in 2000. I was made pastor of St. Edward’s in Little Rock, adjutant judicial vicar and vice chancellor for the Diocese. Promotions comes promptly in wartime, and any able-bodied man can become a general. In 2001, the bishop appointed me as vocation director to recruit seminarians for the priesthood. So, in the first 5 years as a priest, I had already been given 9 different appointments. Apparently, I couldn’t hold down a steady job.

In 2005 the bishop sent me as pastor to St. Raphael in Springdale. During my almost 5 years as pastor, I was also given the responsibility of St. Mary’s in Siloam Springs, and St. John the Baptist in Huntsville. In 2009, I was sent back to St. Joseph in Fayetteville, which I call my “second tour of Fayette-Nam”. During that second tour I was also made pastor of the new mission of Sts. Peter and Paul in Lincoln, AR, as well as judge on the marriage tribunal handling annulment cases. So, in the first 10 years of priesthood, I had been given 15 different assignments.

In 2013, I took three months off as a sabbatical to see if God was calling me to be a Carmelite friar – can you blame me? But in December 2013, I “came back” like Arnold Schwarzenegger and was assigned pastor of Immaculate Conception in Fort Smith. Can you believe I have been here almost 9 years? During my time here I was also give the mission church of St. Leo’s in Hartford, and then the mission of Our Lady of the Ozarks in Winslow. For a few months I was administrator of St. Boniface, while they were in-between pastors. I was also the chaplain for a year for the St. Scholastica Nuns. And I was made administrator of Trinity Junior High, which is now a middle school. So, in 25 years, as a priest I have held the reins of 20 different parishes and positions. Clearly, I am slowing down and slacking off now.

Never in a million years could I have guessed that path of priesthood, and it has been a big blessing to me. On my ordination day on May 25, 1996, I put my hands in the bishop’s hands and promised obedience to him and his successors. But I was really putting my life in the Holy Spirit’s hands, who has really been steering my life. This is what we read in the Acts of the Apostles in the first reading today: “They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia.”

In other words, the apostles interpreted every twist and turn in their missionary travels as the Holy Spirit steering them one way or another. In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke walks down memory lane of the apostles’ first pastoral assignments and they had a lot more assignments and appointments than me! But it was the same Holy Spirit guiding their lives as well as mine.

The same Spirit, I believe, guides the path of every Christian’s memory lane. Yesterday I celebrated the wedding of Alejandro and Ca Pacheco. As they said their marriage vows (which they said from memory and not at my prompting), they held hands, like I put my hands in the bishop’s hands almost 26 years ago. In a sense, they were putting their lives in each other’s hands, and letting go of control over the path of their own lives. From now on, their destinies would be inextricably united. They will walk through life together, hand in hand.

But in a deeper sense, they were putting their lives in the hands of the Holy Spirit, just like I did. Today, as they wake up in bed next to each other, husband and wife, they cannot imagine the adventure that is about to unfold before them. And maybe it’s a good thing they cannot imagine it, because if they could, they too might want to become cloistered Carmelites.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Hollenbeck for President

Experiencing a peaceful transition of power

05/18/2021

Jn 15:1-8 Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

One of the most admirable attributes of America is the peaceful transition of power when we elect the president every four years. In many countries and kingdoms that transition of power does not happen peacefully, but rather by revolution and rebellions, by protests and propaganda, by bloodshed and not the ballot-box. The reason that transition of power happens peacefully here in the United States is because we believe the real power belongs to the people, not to the person in office.

It is not Joe Biden or Donald Trump who is the most powerful man on earth. It is the United States voters who are the most powerful people on earth. President Lincoln said this same thing in his Gettysburg Address: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” In other words, power is not personal; it belongs to the people, and that is why transitions of power can be peaceful.

We are undergoing a peaceful transition of power here at Trinity Catholic School as well. Dr. Karen Hollenbeck is handing over the reins of power to Mr. Zach Edwards. And here at Trinity, too, this transition is happening peacefully. Why? Because we know that any power we have does not come from us, but from God. Dr. Hollenbeck put this beautifully in her letter, saying: “I felt called to be a Catholic school principal many years ago, and I feel called to return to the public school system as a counselor at this time.”

In other words, both Dr. Hollenbeck and Mr. Edwards know that the power of being principal is not personal, as if it belonged exclusively to them. Instead, that authority ultimately comes the Almighty, from God, it is a “calling”. It has been such a blessing to see how Dr. Hollenbeck has exercised that authority and power with such grace, dignity, care, and joy. I am going to vote for Karen Hollenbeck for president!

In the gospel today, Jesus reminds his apostles that they cannot do anything without him. That is, all their own apostolic authority and power proceeds from Jesus. Our Lord teaches: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” I think this is something Dr. Hollenbeck understands very profoundly, and something the apostles would understand only slowly.

That is, true power does not come from us: we are the instruments, like musical instruments in a band, like the piano or flute or saxophone. The real source of Power, the real Musician, is Jesus. Or change the metaphor and Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. All our good fruit, all our good music, is produced by him. Whether we are presidents or principals or apostles, power is not personal and that makes its transition peaceful.

Boys and girls, keep this lesson in mind because we all experience transitions of power sooner or later. For example, the eighth graders are going from being the “top dogs” here at Trinity to being the “runt of the litter” in high school. But I hope you don’t let that power of the top grade go to your head. You will lose that power soon, and have to remember that power is not personal, but only comes from Jesus. Fr. Daniel is about to experience the opposite transition. He will go from being an associate pastor to becoming pastor of a parish himself. He will be the big dog at Holy Souls.

This is one of the great struggles – perhaps the greatest struggle of all – of growing older: the transition of power. Our grandparents have handed their roles and responsibilities over to a younger generation, and it is not easy to let go of that power. Sometimes they had to hand over their car keys, and feel like a prisoner in their own home. They feel they are under house arrest. Sometimes they are losing their power to see, or to remember well, or to walk without a cane or have to use a wheelchair.

Perhaps our elderly parents should learn the lesson that Dr. Hollenbeck and Mr. Edwards are teaching us today: the peaceful transition of power. In other words, whatever power we feel we have – as president, principal, pastor or parent – was never really personal. It was never really ours. We are the instruments in God’s great symphony, and Jesus is the Musician, and the Holy Spirit is the wind blowing through the tuba and the trumpet and the trombone. And it is only when we remember that power is not personal that every transition, even the very last transition, can be peaceful.

Praised be Jesus Christ!