See the World

Imitating the evangelistic zeal of St. Francis Xavier

12/03/2024

Mark 16:15-20 Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

In 1942 the U.S. Navy rolled out a new recruiting slogan which stated: “Join the Navy and see the world!” The slogan appealed to people’s sense of adventure and curiosity about the different cultures, countries, and continents of the earth. Almost exactly 400 years before that, in 1540, St. Francis Xavier used that slogan as his personal motto to travel the globe and make Christian converts: “Join the Jesuits and see the world!”

St. Francis Xavier was one of the first seven men who banded together with St. Ignatius of Loyola to form the evangelization juggernaut called The Society of Jesus, or more simply, The Jesuits. Or, as we diocesan priests affectionately call them, “The Jebbies.”

Now, the Jesuits are known for many spectacular achievements, especially numerous secondary schools (one boys high school in Dallas is called “Jesuit”), and colleges like Boston College, Georgetown, all the Loyola Universities, and of course, Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH is named for St. Francis Xavier.

And the best known Jesuit today is, naturally, Pope Francis. Who, by the way, is not named for St. Francis Xavier (a fellow Jesuit), but rather for St. Francis of Assisi, because the Holy Father wants to emphasize the Seraphic Doctor’s love for God’s creation. But besides all that copious claim to fame for the Jebbies, St. Francis Xavier demonstrated that the heart of a Jesuit is not only to see the world but to convert the world to Christ.

I am personally indebted to St. Francis Xavier because of his missionary work in India and the far East. Of course, the flag of Christian faith had been planted in Indian soil and in Indian souls long before Francis Xavier by St. Thomas the Apostle. I remember asking my father many years ago how long our family had been Catholic. Lots of people ask me that question because India is not known for Catholicism but for Hinduism.

My father proudly answered, “Our family has been Catholic for 2,000 years, since St. Thomas the Apostle brought the faith to our country.” But it was the zeal of St. Francis Xavier that reignited the fire of faith in India. And also tightened the connection to the pope in Rome. The Jebbies were always fiercely faithful to the pope in Rome; indeed, they take a fourth vow of obedience to the pope.

But Francis Xavier did not stop in India. He wanted to see the world, so he traveled to China and even to Japan. It is often said that no one evangelist has converted more souls to Christ than St. Paul the Apostle. True enough. But St. Francis Xavier would be a close second. I recently counted all the people, places, and activities St. Francis Xavier is the patron saint of and it was over 55!

For example, he’s the patron of India, of Japan, of China, the Philippines, of Pakistan; he’s the patron saint of navigators, of missionaries, of the foreign mission; he’s the patron saint of Australia, of Cape Town, South Africa, of the Apostleship of Prayer, and the dizzying list goes on and on. Become a Jesuit and see the world, indeed.

In the gospel today we hear Jesus enunciating that slogan for all his followers, not just the Jebbies. He urges: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” In other words, there are eternal consequences when we do not convert souls for Christ.

Folks, even if you have never felt the desire to become a sailor and join the Navy, or becomes a missionary and join the Jesuits in order to see the world, every Christian must do his or her part to win more souls for Christ. For instance, you can pray for missionaries, or help in a second collection for mission churches, like when we take up a second collection for Fr. Samy’s home diocese, or even study the life and legacy of relentless missionaries like St. Francis Xavier.

Think about it: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ left the pleasure of Paradise to venture into this mission field called Earth, to suffer and die to save us. Jesus was the first Missionary. We, too, must have a love for all those who do not yet know the Lord and win more souls for Christ. The one thing we absolutely must not do is ignore this missionary mandate to see the world, at least vicariously.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Bishop’s Book

Some observations about Bishop Taylor’s recent letter

12/02/2024

Bishop Taylor asked that the following letter be read at all Masses this weekend. He discusses two important topics: a change in Holy Days of Obligation, and the urgent issue of immigration in light of the recent presidential election. I would like to share Bishop Taylor’s letter, and intermittently offer some commentary and explanations.

Bishop Taylor: "My brothers and sisters in Christ, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast of the United States and is a Holy Day of Obligation. For a period of time, when this feast fell on a Monday or a Saturday, as it does this year, it was not obligatory."

Fr. John: In the past most US bishops were well-intentioned in providing these exemptions from attending holy day Masses. Why? Well, because if you miss a holy day of obligation, it is a mortal sin, like missing Sunday Mass. So, out of pastoral concern for their flock, bishops removed the obligation so there was no sin: eliminate the cause and there is no effect.

Bishop Taylor: "However, the Vatican recently clarified that even when a Holy Day of Obligation is transferred to a Saturday or Monday, there remains the obligation to attend Mass on that day. Elsewhere in the United States a few bishops have made an exception for their diocese, lifting the obligation. We have not done that here [in Arkansas]."

Fr. John: The bishop is the chief guardian of the liturgy in his diocese and therefore we see some differences in liturgical practice from diocese to diocese. Each bishop exercises his prudential judgment for what is best for his flock. That is what it means to be a successor of the Apostles.

Bishop Taylor: "In Arkansas the obligation remains. As with any Holy Day of Obligation, individual priests can exempt individual persons from the obligation for a just reason, but there will be no blanket exemption of the diocese or of individual parishes here. One reason is that this feast is the patronal feast of the United States, and our painfully divided country is in need of more prayer and more help from the Blessed Mother’s intercession than ever before."

Fr. John: So, that is the first point of his letter, and Bishop Taylor is fully within his rights to implement fully, and not dull the cutting edge, of the recent Vatican decision that attendance at Holy Day of Obligation Masses should not be exempted. Put simply, there are no more "two-fers" where attending one Mass on Sunday satisfies the obligation for the Holy Day as well. Now, Bishop Taylor turns to his second subject, the thorny topic of immigration.

Bishop Taylor: "One such area where help from heaven is needed is in the area of immigration, about which there is much division and heated rhetoric about massive deportations."

Fr. John: Then the bishop notes the various ways we can approach this touchy topic of immigration, and his own contribution to help Catholics understand the issue more thoroughly.

Bishop Taylor: "This not just a political matter as some would have it, but also a moral matter, a human rights matter about which our Catholic faith has much to say. Back in 2008 I issued a pastoral letter on the human rights of immigrants, in which I address what our faith has to say 1) about immigration as a basic human right, 2) about the reason for national borders, 3) about the rule of law and its limits, and 4) about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. An electronic version of this pastoral letter can be downloaded from our diocesan website – dolr.org. The original print version is available by simply contacting the diocese."

Fr. John: Let me say two things about immigration. First, Bishop Taylor released his pastoral letter the first year as our bishop in 2008. I read it and I was blown away by his extensive research and keen insights about immigration. It’s not a pastoral letter; it’s a pastoral book. Even if you disagree with the bishop’s conclusions about immigration, at least read what he has to say. Don’t be ignorant but be informed. Like the popular meme states: “You can’t fix stupid.”

And second, many Catholics are justifiably angry and frustrated with how our current Catholic president ignores, or out-right fights against, Church teaching about abortion. He champions abortion on demand, and conscientious Catholics are rightly appalled. But Catholic politicians who completely ignore and even undermine Church teaching about immigration must also be held to the same standard, that is, whether or not they uphold Catholic doctrine and practice. Abortion and prolife are simpler and easier issues to wrap our minds around, while immigration is like an octopus with many tentacles to wrestle with.

And it should be said unequivocally that there is a hierarchy of human rights, meaning not all rights have equal weight and importance. The right to life is the primary and principal human right, and the foundation of all other human rights. A dead man doesn’t need rights. Nonetheless, both prolife and immigration are moral and basic human rights issues, and Catholics should be outraged whenever either issue is politically skirted.

Bishop Taylor: "This is not the only matter about which we need to pray for the intercession of the Blessed Mother on this our patronal feast of the Immaculate Conception, but it is a big issue about which our faith has something to say. It is my hope that by entrusting to the Blessed Mother this and other matters we face as a nation, we will heal divisions and find solutions truly worthy of the Lord. Sincerely in Christ, Anthony B. Taylor, Bishop of Little Rock."

Fr. John: Praised be Jesus Christ!

Perfect Push-Ups

Learning how to orient ourselves to Jesus and the end

12/01/2024

Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright  in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Have you heard of DonnaJean Wilde? Well, you should have because she’s a 59-year old grandmother who recently broke the Guinness Book world record for most push-ups in one hour. You better sit down to hear this. She performed 1,575 uninterrupted push-ups in one hour. I was listening to an NPR interview last week with DonnaJean Wilde.

The interviewer asked her if it was hard to keep the proper push-up form for an entire hour. DonnaJean replied: “Well, the Guinness Book says a proper push-up requires you to bend your elbow at a 90 degree angle. So, I just visualized myself doing that perfect push-up every time and I did.” That is, first her mind thought it, and then her body did it, after a lot of hard-work.

This Guinness grandmother was describing what Stephen Covey called his “second habit of highly effective people”, namely, to begin with the end in mind. He explained: “Habit 2 is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation. That is to say, DonnaJean Wilde had finished those 1,575 push-ups in her mind long before she did them physically on her living-room floor.

In the gospel today, Jesus invites his listeners to visualize where humanity is finally going, namely, toward the end of the world. Our Lord paints a rather dire picture, saying: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the starts, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.” But then he adds: “Some people will die of fright,” while “others will stand before the Son of Man.”

In other words, just like DonnaJean Wilde not only visualized 1,575 perfect push-ups but she exercised relentlessly to perform them, so too, Jesus urges his followers not only to visualize the end of the world, but to prepare for it by prayer, avoiding anxiety, and constant vigilance. That is, we cannot stop with the first mental creation, but must continue on to the second physical creation: cooperating with grace to grow in holiness.

Let me give you one urgent reason why these two creations (the mental and physical) are so important. On December 8, 2023 (just a year ago), Trend Magazine published an article called “America’s Age of Anxiety.” It stated starkly: “A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that 70% of teenagers said anxiety and depression were major problems for people their age.” Do you know any teens who are struggling with anxiety and depression? I bet you do, and so do I.

Clearly anxiety and depression are complex psychological and emotional crises, but I am convinced one significant factor is a feeling of disorientation and feeling lost, without a clear sense of who we are or where we are headed. Like Lewis Carroll joked, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there,” even a road that puts you in the ditch of depression.

But I am also convinced that modern anxiety goes hand-in-hand with modern atheism. How so? Well, when people forget about God, we also forget about who we are, namely, children of God. The German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche proudly asserted: “God is dead!” But if God our Father is dead, then that makes us existential orphans.

And orphans often suffer from deep anxiety. Why? Well, because, unlike DonnaJean Wilde, they cannot create that first, mental picture of who they are as children of God. Nor can they take the first step to become more like Christ, the first-born Child of God. Because that is the goal and purpose of life.

My friends, we are in the midst of a capital campaign called “Yesterday, Today, and Forever,” which is how Heb 13:8 describes Jesus Christ, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” It does not mean the campaign will last forever. And the cornerstone of the campaign is a new back altar which we will place in the center of the sanctuary. Why is that so significant? Well, because then Jesus will be directly to the “east” or to the “orient” of the church. Big deal, so what?

Well, “orient” (east) is where we get the word “orientation,” like when we go on a college orientation. That is, just like a college tour guide explains life on campus, so Jesus gives us an “orientation” and explains life in this universe: who we are, how we should behave, and when we will graduate (the end of time).

Without that orientation we would be lost, anxious, and depressed, which is how many people feel today. But when Jesus is in the East, the Orient, we know exactly where we are going and precisely how to get there. Jesus gave Thomas these directions when he said in Jn 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

Folks, we start the First Sunday of Advent – the January 1st of the new church calendar year – with a startling picture of the end of the world. Why? Well, because Jesus helps us create that first, mental picture of the goal of history and humanity.

And then we come to church every Sunday, facing East toward Jesus, and do our Catholic calisthenics: all the standing, kneeling, sitting, etc. That spiritual exercise is the second physical creation. Consequently, like DonnaJean Wilde, we have pictured the end and we have prepared for the end, so that in the end we can “stand before the Son of Man.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Greek to Me

Celebrating little thanksgiving every Sunday

11/28/2024

Lk 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

On this Thanksgiving Day, it is easy to count our many blessings and feel deeply grateful to God. We have so many. At the top of my list of blessings would be my faith in Jesus, my precious family, and my loyal, loving friends. I am even grateful for my 4,522 friends on Facebook, you know, the ones who really love me.

But today I want to say a word not about the blessings we see

but the blessings we are blind to. And I will use myself as a case in point. While I was growing up I hated foreign languages. I studied French at Catholic High School in Little Rock. But French is hard to pronounce, I made lots of mistakes in grammar, and I often felt foolish and embarrassed when I tried to say something, like a toddler learning his A-B-C’s.

When I started studying at the University of Dallas, you had to complete intermediate level of a foreign language to graduate. I felt I knew enough French to take that class my freshman year, and I barely passed the course. After my freshman year, I remember shaking a defiant fist at the universe and declaring: “I will never have to study a foreign language as long as I live!” Well, never say never. Why not?

Well, the year before my ordination the bishop sent me to Mexico for an immersion program to study Spanish. Let me tell you: there is not enough Tequila in Teotihuacan to drown my sorrows that long, grueling summer. I don’t know how you feel about foreign languages, but for the longest time I was blind to what a blessing they are.

Today, however, I love foreign languages. For instance, when I visit my parents in Springdale, I try to speak to them in Malayalam, my native tongue from India. Half of the parishioners at Immaculate Conception are Spanish speakers, and I enjoy to talking to them in their native language. It makes them feel very welcome in a foreign country.

In other words, God has slowly opened my eyes to see what a blessing learning another language is, and I feel deeply grateful to him today. So, in addition to the easy-to-see blessings of faith, family, and my 4,522 Facebook friends, I would add as a fourth blessing one that I was blind to: appreciating a foreign language.

Today I would like to help you open your eyes and perhaps see blessings you are blind to by looking at the gospel through the lens of a foreign language, namely, the Greek language. We know the story well of the 10 lepers from Luke 17. Only one leper returns to give thanks to the Lord, while the other nine are like I was in high school: blind to their blessings of being cured from leprosy.

In seminary I concentrated my theology studies on Sacred Scripture. Now one requirement to complete the Master of Arts degree was proficiency in either Greek or Hebrew. Oh no, another foreign language! And I discovered why people say, “It’s all Greek to me!” But here is how Greek can do some good.

Listen to how verse 16 – where the one leper returns to give thanks – sounds in the original Greek: “Kai epesen epi prosopon para tous podas autou euchariston auto, kai autos en Samarites” meaning, “And he fell on his face at [Jesus] feet giving thanks to him, and he was a Samaritan.” Sometimes people say, "If the King James Version was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!" Well, St. Luke wrote his gospel in Greek not in English.

But did you catch the Greek word that was translated into English as “giving thanks”? It was “euchariston” which is where we get the word “Eucharist” to describe the Mass, that is, what we do every Sunday. In other words, that recently healed leper ran back to celebrate “a little Eucharist” with Jesus. Why?

Well, because he was not blind to his blessings. Could this be one reason why so many Catholics do not go to Mass on Sunday? We are like the other nine lepers, healed and blessed in so many ways by Jesus, but we do not go back to him and celebrate “little Eucharists of thanksgiving” with him. We mistakenly think there is nothing to thank him for.

My friends, today, do not just thank God for the obvious, in-your-grill blessings. But think back over your life to blessings you were blind to: trying to learn a foreign language in high school, a teacher who was tough on you but who taught you a lot, a failed relationship where you grew in humility and grace, a lost job that taught you patience and perseverance, an illness that gave you a new appreciation for life, etc.

Here in the United States Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. But as Roman Catholics do you when we celebrate Thanksgiving? Every Sunday when we run back to Jesus like the one leper “kai epesen epi prosopon para tous podas autou euchariston auto,” meaning “we fall on our face at the feet of Jesus giving thanks to him.” That is, unless we are blind to our blessings.

Praised be Jesus Christ!