Hitting the Sauce

Seeing our special sauce but not depending on it too much

05/24/2018

Mark 9:41-50 Jesus said to his disciples: "Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another."

Everyone in the world is born with a special sauce they can add to give flavor to the banquet of humanity. I first learned about this special sauce business from my brother, Paul. Several years ago a headhunter (that’s a professional recruiter) wanted to talk to Paul about taking a job at another company. In the course of their conversation, the headhunter abruptly asked: “So, what’s your special sauce?” He went on to explain that Paul’s special sauce is what my bother adds to a company to make it more successful, and usually it’s something no one else can add (hence it is special). Ever since my brother told me that I’ve often wondered what my own special sauce is. I’ve concluded it’s my ability to schmooze meals at people’s homes so I don’t have to cook. I’m still waiting for my first call from a headhunter.

But I’ve also discovered that our special sauce can also be a weakness, not only a strength. That is, we can depend on it so much, it becomes a crutch and other parts of our personality fail to flourish. As an extreme example take Adolph Hitler. He was undoubtedly an electrifying speaker and a charismatic leader, whatever you may think of his politics and principles. But that special sauce of speaking and leading blinded him to other aspects of life and human nature. Did you know Hitler was born to a devout Catholic mother who baptized him as a Catholic, and in 1904 he was confirmed at the Cathedral in Linz, Austria, where the family lived? Hitler, however, sort of got drunk on his special sauce and rejected his faith and his family. When we depend too much on our special sauce, there can be devastating consequences.

In the gospel of Mark chapter 9, Jesus is also working like a headhunter recruiting his apostles, and helping them to discover their own special sauce. But Jesus also teaches them not to rely too heavily on it, not to hit the sauce too much and get drunk on it. In a somewhat cryptic passage, Jesus warns: “Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” Jesus, too, knows each person is born with a special sauce – he refers to it as “salt” – to enrich the banquet of humanity. But he’s smart enough to see how sometimes we can rely too heavily on it and cause it to “become insipid,” lose its flavor. We become drunk on it and it becomes our downfall, like with Hitler. Be aware of your special sauce, but don’t let it blind you to the bigger picture of loving your neighbor and loving God.

May I suggest three ways you can discover your special sauce and deal with it in a non-destructive way? First, pray asking God to know what your gifts and talents are. Since God gave them to you, he will know what they are better than anyone else. It’s urgent you discover them because the banquet of humanity will be missing an essential ingredient until you do. Second, be careful not to lean too heavily on your special sauce once you discover it. Don’t get drunk on it like Hitler did. Take me as an example: now some people run the other way when they see me coming because they know I’m just looking for a free meal! Third, get to know people who are different from you – or maybe even people with whom you deeply disagree – and try to see their special sauce, too. It might be hard at first, and it requires a little humility, but because God created each person with some special sauce (some salt and flavor), no one walks around empty-handed. Each individual is an ingredient in the banquet of humanity.

By the way, all the talk about special sauces and banquets is making me really hungry! Anyone free for dinner tonight?

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Heavy Lifting

Acknowledging our dependence on our parents and on God

05/23/2018

James 4:13-17 Beloved: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit"– you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that." But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

There’s an old saying that goes: “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Do you know what that means? You can easily see in your mind’s eye how when an apple falls from a tree limb, it lands close to the tree that produced it. In the same way, children end up being strikingly similar to their parents. Some of you have your father’s eyes or your mother’s smile, or even your grandfather’s laugh. Thanks to my parents, my skin is brown and I can speak with an Indian accent while shaking my head. So much of who you are and who you will become originated with your mom and dad, just like apples depend on the trees they fall from.

But your parents are not responsible for everything you are, God the Father also has a hand in your life and personality. Your ability to be holy, your desire to pray, your capacity to believe in angels and heaven, your whole spiritual self comes from God. Just like the sunshine and rain from above are also needed for a tree to produce an apple, so God’s grace helps you to be who you are, not just a “good person,” but also a “holy person,” not just a good American but a good Christian.

Now, here’s the sad part of our story. We usually don’t realize how much we depend on our parents and on God. Sometimes we think we fell straight out of the sky being this smart and good-looking. Let me tell you when my dependence on God finally clicked for me. Scott Hahn tells the story of going jogging one morning. He ran by a house where a man was mowing his lawn, but his 3-year old son was playing with his toy lawn mower and disturbing the dad, crossing in front of him. Hahn was curious how the man would resolve the dilemma, so he circled around the block. When he came back around, he noticed now the father had picked up his son in one arm, and was pushing the mower with his other arm. The small boy, meanwhile, had both his hands on the real mower, and a huge, beaming smile on his face. Why? Well, the boy thought he was really mowing the lawn himself. Of course his father was doing all the real work, the heavy lifting, but the boy didn’t realize it. We are often like that small boy, too, thinking our accomplishments are our own, instead of giving thanks to our parents and to our God, the tree from which we apples fall. Perhaps humanity’s greatest failing is forgetting who does the heavy lifting.

The letter of James sharply reminds us whom we should thank for our blessings. St. James, one of the two Sons of Thunder, writes: “You should know better than to say: ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there and make a lot of money!...You should say, ‘If the Lord lets us live, we will do those things.’” In other words, don’t forget you are an apple that has fallen from a tree, that your talents were given to you by your parents.  Only because your parents have given you so much will you be able to make a lot of money one day. But furthermore, everything you have, and all you are, is a gift of God, especially the gift of faith and holiness. In a word, do not forget who does the heavy lifting in your life; indeed, it is always God who lifts you up high, like the father who lifted up his son so he could mow the grass.

Tonight, thirty-four students are graduating from Immaculate Conception School, and you have already accomplished some pretty amazing feats even in your fairly brief life. For instance, Asher Ellis won the Georgraphy Bee for the past two years, and placed 6th in state. Carson Lane was the School Spelling Bee Winner, and he beat me on a Quiz Bowl question.  (I’m not sore about that at all.) Our Quiz Bowl team placed second at the Trinity Invitational and Michael Freitheim was selected for the All-Star game. The coveted Covenant Awards went to Mary Albertson, Ella Pennington, Jose Manjarrez and Maxwell Martin. The girls basketball team has gone undefeated all four years at I.C. and the boys basketball team won the league championship this year. In the City Wide Track meet, the sixth grade boys placed 3rd and the girls placed 6th. But do you graduates realize how much these achievements have to do with your parents?  Those talents came from that tree.

But here are some abilities that come more directly from God. We had three new students join our class – Dorian Cordero, Eddy Rezindez and Ali Rodriguez – and the whole class made them feel comfortable and welcome and it seems they’ve been here since kindergarten. The sixth graders were responsible for organizing Christmas baskets for needy families. They love serving the poor. Our graduates serve at Mass and see it as a privilege and not a punishment. Holiness and helping others are hallmarks that you came from God, because you are like him. When you do these things you are God-like, because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Boys and girls, in a few minutes you will come forward to receive these diplomas in your hands. As you grab hold of these diplomas, remember the little boy who grabbed hold of the lawn mower thinking he was mowing all by himself. You earned this diploma today, and you will achieve anything good in your life to come, only because Someone (God) is lifting you up and holding your in his arms. Someone else is always doing the heavy lifting. Be sure to give him the glory.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Humility’s Greatness

Seeing humility as the heartbeat of heaven

05/22/2018

Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men  and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

Sometimes I hesitate to tell people that I love country music; I say it sort of sheepishly, half-embarrassed. I am afraid people might look down on me or think I’m slow or simple or from the backwoods or a hillbilly. But I love it because the lyrics often touch themes of the everyday experiences of everyday people – people like you and me – and not just the rock-stars and the super-famous or the super-rich. But country music does more than that, I believe it even echoes some of the holiness of heaven, especially the virtue of humility. I really think humility is the heartbeat of heaven, and you can hear that beat in country music songs. Country music singers may not always be humble themselves, but they do sing songs that extol humility, and they probably secretly wish they were a little more humble, too.

One song that hit a homerun on humility was Tim McGraw’s recent hit, “Humble and Kind.” The refrain goes: “Hold the door say please say thank you / Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie / I know you got mountains to climb but / Always stay humble and kind. / When the dreams you’re dreamin come to you / When the work you put in is realized / Let your self feel the pride but / Always stay humble and kind.” Anyone who hears that song immediately gets it: no matter how great you are, the humble person is somehow even greater, in an unrecognized sort of way. The humble person’s greatness will be recognized not on earth, but only in heaven, kind of like the humble people who listen to country music.

In the gospel of Mark 9, the apostles are arguing over who’s the greatest. They obviously listened to a lot of rock and roll, where people brag about how great they are. But Jesus must have listened to country music because he tells them: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” It’s as if Jesus were repeating Tim McGraw’s lyrics: “I know you got mountains to climb but always stay humble and kind.” Jesus didn’t want his apostles to be preoccupied with merely earthly success but much more so with heavenly greatness, and only the humble are great in heaven.  Jesus wanted the apostles’ hearts to beat with humility, which is the heartbeat of heaven.

Today we award diplomas to sixty-six ninth graders who’ve successfully completed Trinity Junior High School. On Sunday evening we enjoyed Awards Night where we congratulated our graduates on their achievements and accolades. This is undoubtedly a talented bunch of students! But this evening we want to stress the character and the heart of these students; what kind of persons they are becoming which rarely gets a medal or a certificate or a trophy. What I am most proud of about them is how humble they are growing; their hearts beat with humility. Humility doesn’t usually grab the headlines, therefore, I would like to say a word about how humble these graduates are.

Here are some examples their teachers shared with me. Kathryn Kaelin wrote a computer program to calculate the day of the week for a given day number. When the user of the program types in an error, Kathryn has enabled the program to carry on a 3-minute conversation with the user with phrases like “Come on! Work with me here!” That’ll help you feel more humble. Diego Zarate and Jaime Barroso wanted to learn how to fix computers and ended up fixing several Chromebooks for their classmates, who probably never knew it. That’s humble. Madelyn Eveld went on a field trip with the Earth Club to the Fort Smith Sanitary Landfill, and took pictures of the Trinity students in a giant dumpster. Madelyn is an excellent photographer and can see beauty everywhere! That takes a special kind of humility.

Lydia Reith has been carrying around a novel called “The Book Thief” all year. Every week Mrs. Hurst asks her what she thinks about it and if she’s finished yet. By the way, Lydia, you have to return the book or you don’t get a diploma. Lauren Redding is not afraid to ask for anything, like “Can we have an extra Tag Day?” or “Can we wear jeans during Spirit Week?” Or, she’ll go straight to Dr. Hollenbeck to ask. Clearly, Lauren needs to listen to more country music. Tommy Caldarera has never left Mrs. Hurst’s class for three years without saying, “Have a nice day, Mrs. Hurst.” Addy Plunkett is constantly performing her cheer moves, never disruptive, but you can see her mentally walking through the moves. She’s probably doing that right now!

The cheer and dance team helped with the Survivor’s Challenge Celebration Walk. They arrived early around 7 a.m. and excitedly supported the runners cheering them on the entire way. As they finished, the Trinity girls formed a tunnel and helped created a festive finish for the Survivors as they crossed the finish line. At cheer camp the 9th grade girls always remembered to come together and lead the team in prayer before meals and before each performance, asking Jesus to be with them and help them to do their best. The dance team helped to choreograph and perform a special dance in honor of the late Tara McCutchen, who had coached the dance team in previous years. It’s been inspiring to see how the graduates have surrounded Ben and Emily Forsgren and Josue Sanchez with love and support when they lost their mothers this past year. And I’m holding a cross made by Addison Sterling. The ninth graders gave hand-made crosses and beautifully designed cards by Madelyn Eveld, An Pham, and Mary Alex Cole to all the Trinity teachers at the last all-school Mass. All the ninth graders were living examples of being “givers” rather than “takers”, and that was a very humble thing to do.  Humility is beating in the heart of every Trinity graduate tonight.

Here at Trinity we are fond of saying that Trinity prepares you not only for Harvard but also for Heaven. The Awards Night Sunday showed that these graduates are well-prepared for Harvard. And receiving these diplomas tonight at the end of three years at Trinity says you’re well-prepared for heaven, because hopefully you have learned a little humility. We know you got mountains to climb, but always stay humble and kind.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A Man, a Woman and a Tree

Following the Spirit’s lead in the pivotal points in life

05/21/2018

John 19:25-34 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst." There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

The two most pivotal points in all human history occurred with a man, a woman, and a tree. The first was at the beginning of time with Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge and power; the second was in the fullness of time with Jesus, Mary and the Tree of the Cross. I say these two events were “pivotal points” because everything that followed after them was fundamentally changed: after the first event in Eden, the world moved toward sin and death, and after the second scenario on Golgotha, the world moved toward forgiveness and life.

In each occasion humanity had come to a fork in the road of history, and like the poet Robert Frost reflected: “I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence: / Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” Frost’s lines are reminiscent of the opening of the medieval poet Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Florentine poet wrote: “In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost.” The pivotal points of the path of human history are always played out with a man, a woman and the wood of a tree.

The scripture readings from Genesis 3 and John 19 recount precisely these two pivotal points of history. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve reach out their hand to the Tree of Power, symbolized by the fruit promising to bestow knowledge and to make one god-like. In John 19, Jesus and Mary reach out their hand to the Tree of Penance, the fruit of which is obedience and humility, and which really makes one God-like. But noticed the presence of two spirits as well in the background of the story: the evil spirit of the serpent tempting Adam and Eve, and the Holy Spirit filling the hearts of Jesus and Mary, leading them to the Cross. After Jesus dies on the cross, what transpired? We read: “And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.” After Adam and Eve, humanity was like Dante, who regretted: “I came to myself in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost.” But after Jesus and Mary, humanity could repeat relieved with Robert Frost: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - / I took the one less traveled by, / And that was made all the difference.” Jesus and Mary chose the road less traveled by and saved the human race. In both instances, a man, a woman and a wood make all the difference in charting the course of history.

On March 6, 2018, Pope Francis inserted a new feast day into the Church’s liturgical calendar. He decreed that the Monday after Pentecost Sunday (hence, today) should be called the Memorial in honor of Mary, the Mother of the Church. Why did he do that? Well, because he’s just sitting around sipping cappuccino and didn’t have anything else to do.  No, it’s because the pope knows that sooner or later you and I will also come to pivotal points in our life, a fork in the road that will forever mark our destiny. And we basically have two role-models we can follow: the couple in Genesis or the couple in John, both of whom reached out their hands to a Tree: the first couple to the Tree of Power, while the second couple to the Tree of Penance. The pope placed this celebration strategically after Pentecost, the Feast of the Holy Spirit, so that Mother Mary, who flawlessly followed the Spirit’s lead, can show us how to do the same at pivotal points in our lives.

Indeed, today itself is a pivotal point in the liturgical year: we pivot from the fifty days of Easter (and wearing white) and turn toward the long march of Ordinary Time. (where we wear green). But this time will be anything but “ordinary”: it will be marked by pivotal points showcasing a man, a woman and a tree. When we too find ourselves facing two roads that diverge in a wood, may the Holy Spirit help us choose the Tree of Penance rather than the Tree of Power. That will make all the difference.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Phonetic Phenomenon

Hearing what the Spirit says to us and to others

05/20/2018

Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?

Have you heard about this phonetic phenomenon that is sweeping the nation? People listen to a pre-recorded word and they surprisingly hear two different words. Some hear the word “Yanni” while others hear “Laurel.” I heard about this while watching the NBA playoffs last week and the commentators were arguing over what they each heard: some heard “Yanni” and others “Laurel.” Charles Barkeley said he heard the word “Doughnut.” When I first heard the recording myself, it was clear the word was “Laurel.” I actually found myself getting annoyed with the people who insisted it had to be “Yanni.” They just needed to listen more carefully! I thought.

I decided to watch a Youtube explanation about this social experiment. The expositor explained that when someone speaks their voice carries a certain pitch, some pitches are high and other pitches are low. Women generally have a higher pitch and men lower pitch. But as we grow older our ears become attuned to lower pitches and it’s harder to hear the higher ones. Younger people heard the word “Yanni” while older folks (like me!) heard “Laurel.” The same video also shared a poll conducted on Twitter that revealed that 47% of the people hear “Yanni” and 53% heard “Laurel.” See, I was right! This social experiment fascinated me because people can hear the same facts (words in this case) in different ways depending on the kinds of persons they are, and how angry and argumentative we can grow over them, quite unnecessarily.

But a very similar phonetic phenomenon has happened before, two thousand years ago, on the Sunday of Pentecost. Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and ten days after his ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit descends like tongues of fire to touch the tongues of the apostles to speak as the Spirit prompts them. We read in Acts 2: “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” And what did they say? Some said, “Yanni” and others said, “Laurel.” Not really. Acts 2 continues, “the Jews in that area each heard them speaking his own language.” In other words, even though we don’t know exactly what the apostles said, it is obvious it was like today’s phonetic phenomenon: the same sound was heard by different people as different words. When the Spirit speaks through the apostles his pitch is accommodated to the dialect or language of each person. This is how the faith is transmitted down the ages: it depends more on the speech of the Spirit than the words of men.

May I suggest three simple but also spiritual applications of seeing Pentecost as a phonetic phenomenon: how the Spirit speaks his Truth through the words of men and women? First of all, it may help build bridges over the chasms that divide our nation. Each evening on the news, we Americans in heated arguments over gun violence and gun control, the topic of immigration and border security, even abortion and women’s rights. Some people are so entrenched in their opinions they cannot tolerate hearing the other side’s argument. They shout: “It’s clearly Laurel!” while the other side retorts: “It’s obviously Yanni!” I personally don’t think anyone is crazy for holding a particular opinion, but may have a sliver of the truth of the Spirit. Etienne Gilson, the brilliant French philosopher concluded that Christianity and Greek philosophy owed a debt of thanks to each other, even though they were sometimes seen as enemies. He noted insightfully: “If it is due to Scripture that there is a philosophy that is Christian, it is due to the Greek tradition that Christianity possesses a philosophy” (The Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy, 207). We have something to learn from everyone, even from those with whom we disagree, because the Spirit speaks through the words of men and women.

Secondly, be a little more patient and tolerant with how different cultures experience their faith and express it. It used to be prevalent to have “ethic parishes” – the Italian parish and the German parish and the Polish parish. Some believe Masses should be more bilingual while others believe all Masses should be in Latin again. I think they should all be in Hindi. We accepted the maxim that “good fences make good neighbors.” You stay on your spiritual side, and I’ll stay on mine. But remember the phonetic phenomenon of Pentecost. To some the Spirit says “Buenos dias!” to others “Bon jour!” to others he says “Laurel,” and to some “Yanni.” We each hear the Spirit through our own ears and our own hearts and through our own culture.

And thirdly, realize how you have evolved in your own faith journey with Jesus and how hopefully learned to hear the Holy Spirit better over the years, your ears have grown. Do you still feel you have the same faith you did ten years ago, or twenty years ago? I sure hope not! St. Paul reflected on his own experience in this regard 1 Corinthians 13:11, saying: “When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.” A child hears “Yanni” (the higher pitch) and a man hears “Laurel” (the lower pitch). As make progress in the spiritual life, as we mature as Christians, we hear more of what the Spirit says. We can only hear what we are spiritual mature enough to hear.

My friends, at this Mass, or even in this homily, everyone will hear the same number of words and the same syllables. But hearing the pitch of these words, and the truth they contain, will depend on you: your age, your faith, your virtue, and your humility. Just like at that first Pentecost, so too today, the Spirit speaks through the words of men and women, but “each one hears in his own language.” We all hear what we are able to hear, and that’s why some will only hear “Doughnut.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Family and Friends

Loving our family as the friends God chooses for us

05/18/2018

John 21:15-19 After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." He then said to Simon Peter a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."

My favorite definition of a family is the following: a family is made up of the friends that God has chosen for us. We all like to choose our own friends; that’s what makes them so special. But what if our family were the friends that God chose for us?  That would make our family very special, too. We should love our family members – brothers and sisters, mother and father, uncle and aunts – as if they were our best friends, because God gave them to us as our friends.

But do you know who is in your family? Now, families are formed not only by being born into one, but also by marrying into one. Do you know your mother’s maiden name? That’s the family she was born into, but then she married into your dad’s family. For example, our principal is named Mrs. Blentlinger. But does anyone know her maiden name? It’s Sieter. So she belongs to both families, the Blentlingers and the Seiters.

Now, I’ve done a little research and discovered our students are related to one another as family more than they might realize. Let me demonstrate this by showing who’s related to whom. When I call your last name, would you please come up and stand in the sanctuary? The Harper’s, the Hadley’s, the Coleman’s, and the Burgerler’s. All these people are related to each other by birth or by the bonds of marriage. These are the friends God has chosen for you. Now, let me call up the members of the families with the last names of Manjarrez, Araujo, Benavides, Galvan, Jara, or Ramirez. These people are all related to each other by birth or by the bonds of marriage. These people are the friends that God has chosen for you. Finally, the big one, let me invite those who have the last name of Mondier, Ciulla, McMahon,  Caldarera, Jackson, Reith, Wewers, Adams, Dart, Jackson, and Meyers. All these people are related to each other by either birth or by the bonds of marriage! These are the friends God has chosen for you.

What does all this mean? It means you should never marry anyone from Fort Smith! Actually, it means that we are all related to each other far more than we realize. We are family and that means we should love one another like best friends love each other, because these are the people God has chosen to be our friends through life.

Today, we want to recognize our students with “Covenant Awards.” But do you know what the word “covenant” means? It is means creating a family bond by swearing an oath. Just like a man and woman swear to love each other in marriage and create a new family, so God makes a covenant with us and makes us part of his family, and he becomes a part of our family. This is just like how Mrs. B is both a Blentlinger and a Seiter; she belongs to both families, so we all belong to our human family but also to God’s divine family. When we give these “Covenant Awards” to certain students it’s because they see how we all belong to God’s family as brothers and sisters, and love others as if they were the special friends God has chosen for them.

We all belong to God’s family by covenant and so we should love each other like best friends. A family is made up of the friends God has chosen for us.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Welcoming Distractions

Seeing red herrings of distraction as part of God’s providence

05/17/2018

Acts of the Apostles 22:30; 23:6-11 Wishing to determine the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the commander freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three. A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, "We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst and take him into the compound.

Much of our modern life is spent battling distractions. We find it hard to focus on one task because we’re pulled in a hundred different directions. For example, rarely have we gotten through an entire Mass without someone’s cell phone ringing and distracting us from Jesus. The reason why I get up at 4:30 in the morning to write homilies is because you are all asleep and won’t text or call me. We wish we could be like Henry David Thoreau, the American transcendental philosopher, who spent a year at Walden Pond, in order to live deliberately and less distractedly. We’d all like to transcend our distractions.

But when I was studying canon law, I learned that not all distractions have to be annoying or avoided; some can be used artfully and achieve great good. Have you ever heard of a legal distraction called the “red herring”? It’s not literally a fish but rather a legal technique used to distract the judge or jury from the main point of the argument. Some parents use red herrings all the time with their feuding families. One mother was tired of hearing her small children fighting and yelling the backseat of the car so she pointed out the side window and shouted: “Look, deer!” All the children immediately stopped to look. Even though there were no deer, the children were distracted enough to stop fighting, and even forgot the original argument. The family drove off in peace. Some distractions can be useful and help us get our focus back on track.

St. Paul uses a legal distraction – a red herring – in the Acts of the Apostles. He is on trial being judged by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Knowing the two religious sects vehemently disagreed on the question of the resurrection of the dead, Paul shrewdly says: “My brother, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.” When he said that, a huge argument erupted between the two groups and Paul was rescued from their midst. Paul was basically shouting like that mother chauffeuring the care of crazy kids, “Look, deer!” but in this case, “Look, the resurrection of the dead!” Paul successfully distracted the Jewish leaders from Paul’s own case. Paul used a legal distraction – a red herring – deliberately to achieve a great good, namely, his escape. Not all distractions are bad.

My friends, may I suggest to you how you can start to see distractions as helpful instead of harmful?  When people tell me they are distracted at prayer – while reciting the rosary, for example – I tell them to make the distraction the content of their contemplation. Tell God what you are distracted by and invite the distraction to be part of your prayer. Some parents see their children’s need for attention as an annoying distraction, but wise parents see such moments as golden opportunities to teach life lessons and spend precious time together. We may think an illness or a car accident or a financial set-back or marriage disputes are so many distractions from the tranquil life we are trying to live. But maybe they are not accidental at all, but as C.S. Lewis said, “the megaphones God uses to rouse a dead world.” God finally gets our full attention through so-called distractions. Man uses distractions to lead us away from the main point, but God uses them to bring us back to the main point, namely, his enduring love for us.

If we could reach the heights of holiness of the saints, we would realize that every moment is under the microscope of God’s perfect providence. There never were anything called “distractions” at all from his point of view, but all time and space is lovingly and wisely, slowly and gently, being orchestrated towards its final fulfillment in Christ. That’s why at the Easter Vigil Mass, the priest blessed the burning Easter Candle dispelling the darkness (and all distractions), saying: “Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all ages; to him be glory and power, through every age and forever. Amen.” In God there is no darkness or distractions (or red herrings), but only light and truth.

Praised be Jesus Christ!