Eyes and Ears

Learning to listen before we speak

04/22/2024

Jn 10:1-10 Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

Recently I have enjoyed reading Bishop Robert Barron’s book “The Great Story of Israel.” Piggy-backing on a Jewish rabbi, Bishop Barron offers this insightful remark: “Jonathan Sacks famously distinguished between the ancient Greek culture, which is ordered to the visible, and the ancient Jewish culture, which is ordered to the audible. If the eye is the principal organ for Greek wisdom – and indeed the centrality of Plato’s eidos (form) indicates this – then the ear is the principal organ for Jewish wisdom” (p. 116).

By the way, my dog Apollo is a great example of this because he relies on his ears far more than on his eyes. His name Apollo, therefore, is rather ironic, since even though it is a Greek name, he is a far better Jew than a Greek.

In the gospel today Jesus also emphasizes the ear in following the Good Shepherd. He says: “The Good Shepherd walks ahead of his sheep, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will turn away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” In other words, the Christian religion, built on the foundation of Judaism, is also principally based on hearing more than seeing.

To use an analogy, Christians are like submarine captains who must navigate deep under water not by sight but by sound, by sonar, by listening. But the prerequisite to listening is silence. We must stop talking in order to hear. In other words, silence, in order to activate our sonar system, is the first step of all sound prayer, to hear the Good Shepherd and follow him.

May I draw out one practical application of prioritizing the ear over the eye (and the mouth), which goes beyond the scope of religion and touches all relationships? Every week I work in the marriage tribunal with the ministry of annulments. I read cases of sadly failed marriages that end in divorce and investigate whether or not there is enough evidence to grant an annulment.

As I read through the testimony of both the former husband and former wife, almost invariably the breakdown of the marriage was caused by poor communication. And I would argue further that the first step of good couple communication – like the first step of prayer – is not speaking but listening, to close your mouth and open your ears. It’s easy to talk, which usually devolves into shouting and yelling, than to attentively listen to what another person shares.

In John’s gospel this morning, he also notes the tragedy of failing to listen, writing: “Although he used this figure of speech” – that a sheep hears and recognizes the shepherd – “they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.” How often in couple counseling the wife will complain: “He’s not listening to what I am trying to tell him!” Or the man will lament: “She never listens to what I am trying to say!”

And sometimes they try to drag me into the argument. “Fr. John would you go and talk to my husband, maybe he will listen to you!” “Fr. John would you talk to my wife?” People think the solution to poor communication is more “talking.” How refreshing it would be if a wife came to me and said: “Fr. John, would you listen to my husband? I can no longer hear what he is trying to tell me.”

The first step of all good religions, and all healthy relationships, is to listen not to talk. Foster a spirit of silence and listening to others and to God. You are the captain of a submarine and must navigate by sonar and silence, not by sight or shouting.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Eyes and Ears

Learning to listen before we speak

04/22/2024

Jn 10:1-10 Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

Recently I have enjoyed reading Bishop Robert Barron’s book “The Great Story of Israel.” Piggy-backing on a Jewish rabbi, Bishop Barron offers this insightful remark: “Jonathan Sacks famously distinguished between the ancient Greek culture, which is ordered to the visible, and the ancient Jewish culture, which is ordered to the audible. If the eye is the principal organ for Greek wisdom – and indeed the centrality of Plato’s eidos (form) indicates this – then the ear is the principal organ for Jewish wisdom” (p. 116).

By the way, my dog Apollo is a great example of this because he relies on his ears far more than on his eyes. His name Apollo, therefore, is rather ironic, since even though it is a Greek name, he is a far better Jew than a Greek.

In the gospel today Jesus also emphasizes the ear in following the Good Shepherd. He says: “The Good Shepherd walks ahead of his sheep, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will turn away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” In other words, the Christian religion, built on the foundation of Judaism, is also principally based on hearing more than seeing.

To use an analogy, Christians are like submarine captains who must navigate deep under water not by sight but by sound, by sonar, by listening. But the prerequisite to listening is silence. We must stop talking in order to hear. In other words, silence, in order to activate our sonar system, is the first step of all sound prayer, to hear the Good Shepherd and follow him.

May I draw out one practical application of prioritizing the ear over the eye (and the mouth), which goes beyond the scope of religion and touches all relationships? Every week I work in the marriage tribunal with the ministry of annulments. I read cases of sadly failed marriages that end in divorce and investigate whether or not there is enough evidence to grant an annulment.

As I read through the testimony of both the former husband and former wife, almost invariably the breakdown of the marriage was caused by poor communication. And I would argue further that the first step of good couple communication – like the first step of prayer – is not speaking but listening, to close your mouth and open your ears. It’s easy to talk, which usually devolves into shouting and yelling, than to attentively listen to what another person shares.

In John’s gospel this morning, he also notes the tragedy of failing to listen, writing: “Although he used this figure of speech” – that a sheep hears and recognizes the shepherd – “they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.” How often in couple counseling the wife will complain: “He’s not listening to what I am trying to tell him!” Or the man will lament: “She never listens to what I am trying to say!”

And sometimes they try to drag me into the argument. “Fr. John would you go and talk to my husband, maybe he will listen to you!” “Fr. John would you talk to my wife?” People think the solution to poor communication is more “talking.” How refreshing it would be if a wife came to me and said: “Fr. John, would you listen to my husband? I can no longer hear what he is trying to tell me.”

The first step of all good religions, and all healthy relationships, is to listen not to talk. Foster a spirit of silence and listening to others and to God. You are the captain of a submarine and must navigate by sonar and silence, not by sight or shouting.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Childhood Memories

How we never forget the day of First Holy Communion

04/21/2024

Jn 10:11-18 Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."

There are some childhood memories we never forget. They are indelibly etched on our souls, as if chiseled on stone like the Ten Commandments were. Let me share two such memories for me that taught me how much God loves me. The first was when I was seven years old. My family left India and immigrated to the United States. I have shared this before about how traumatic that event was for little seven year-old Fr. John, because I felt like I had lost everything I knew.

But that trauma also taught me a great truth: even though I lose everything and everyone I know, I will never lose God. I often return in my mind to that experience of loss but also of gain, like a deep well where I can continue to draw the water of eternal truths. Have you endured any childhood traumas that taught you undeniable truths? They are unforgettable, and that is a good thing.

My second childhood memory occurred a year later when I was eight years old. My family had set up camp in Hillsboro, Texas. It was the day of my First Holy Communion. I can still picture perfectly in my mind kneeling in the front pew – because my last name starts with “A” so I was first in line! – feeling both super-nervous but also super-excited. My tie felt really tight around my neck and I thought I would choke on Jesus! But Jesus was very nice and easily dissolved in my mouth and I had no trouble swallowing my Savior.

That too was an unforgettable day because I became one with Jesus in such an intimate way that it can only be compared to how a husband and wife become one on their honeymoon night. How is that even possible? Well, just like the two become one flesh in marriage, so Jesus and I become one Flesh in Mass. That is why little boys and girls dress up like a bride and groom at their First Communion. To make the connection clear between marriage and the Mass. That was an unforgettable experience – chiseled on my soul like on a stone. And that is a good thing.

How providential, then, that on this Sunday we should celebrate so many First Holy Communions. Why is that? Well, because today is not only the fourth Sunday of Easter, but also Good Shepherd Sunday. Hence, the gospel reading is always taken from John 10, the eloquent portrayal of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. One distinctive characteristic of the Good Shepherd how he knows us. Jesus says: “I know mine and mine know me.”

But notice the knowledge Jesus means here is deeper than head knowledge, like we know that 2 plus 2 equals 4, or we know that Arkansas is located north of Mississippi. It is rather biblical knowledge like when Adam “knew” Eve and she conceived and bore a son. Or, when Mary asked the angel: “I do not know man” so how can I become the Mother of God? In other words, when the Good Shepherd knows his sheep he really means he wants to become one with us as a Husband and wife. The best descriptor of the Church is as the Bride of Christ.

Do you remember that dreamy song called “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole? I believe it captures what happens on the day of First Holy Communion. Listen to these lines: “Unforgettable, that’s what you are. / Unforgettable, though near or far / Like a song of love that clings to me / How the thought of you does things to me / Never before has someone been more / Unforgettable in every way / And forever more, that’s how you’ll stay / That’s why darling, it’s incredible / That someone so unforgettable / Thinks that I am unforgettable too.” That is, what really happens at our First Holy Communion is that not only does Jesus become unforgettable to us, we become unforgettable to him! We are chiseled on his soul as if on stone.

The day of our First Holy Communion we make childhood memories that we can never erase. And Jesus can't either. They are forever chiseled in our souls as if on stone. They are a deep well where we can constantly return and draw the water of profound truths. Jesus told the Samaritan woman who came to draw water at a well: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14). And that is a very good thing.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Hunting Habits

Learning how Jesus’ death gives us life

04/20/2024

Jn 6:52-59 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Living on the Western frontier of Arkansas puts us in close contact with Oklahoma and several Indian Nations, like the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Muscogee. And we can learn a lot from them, especially their hunting habits. In an article I read recently about the Plains Indians, there was this fascinating observation: “Every part of the buffalo was used in some aspect of Native American life: the hide for clothing and teepee covering, the sinews for bow strings, the bones for cutting and digging implements, the bladder for water bags, the tannin in the brains to tan the hides so they would be soft and pliable.” And then the author of the article drew this profound conclusion: “For the human being to live, he had to slay his prey.”

But there is another Indian tradition that is even more extraordinary and even a little eerie. Some Native American tribes, after killing their prey, actually cut the heart out of the animal (bear or buffalo) and would eat the heart still dripping with blood. Why did they do such a gory thing? They believed that gesture would communicate to them all the admirable qualities of the animal. Human beings would receive the animal's bravery, its strength, its agility, etc.

I know that sounds gross, but we super sophisticated, scientific Americans believe virtually the same thing when we say: we are what we eat. Or to put it more colloquially: a minute on the lips and a lifetime on the hips." In other words, what we eat shapes us in profound and permanent ways. Food shapes our bodies but also shapes our spirits.

I think this Native American custom can shed some light on today’s gospel from John 6. Jesus says rather shockingly to the Jews (and to us!): “Amen, amen, I say to you unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you.” Now, try to hear those words through Native American ears. We would hear: “For the human being to live, he had to slay the bear.” Similarly, our sins crucified Jesus on the cross, and therefore we are the true cause of his death. We slayed Jesus the Bear. But now his Flesh and Blood are truly present in the Eucharistic Bread and Wine.

And just like Native Americans ate the “heart” of their prey to receive its admirable qualities (speed, strength, agility), so we Catholic Christians receive Holy Communion to become more like Christ. In other words, Communion is a “minute on the lips but an eternal life-time on the hips,” meaning our bodies will rise from the dead and live forever like Jesus. Think about it: what we eat, especially here at Mass, truly shapes our bodies as well as our souls.

Boys and girls, I don’t know how many of you have gone hunting before. In some families going hunting is a rite of passage and a special time for bonding between a father and a son or a daughter. I remember as a small kid I was shooting a bee-bee gun in a field close to our house with some friends. We decided to see if we could hit a bird in a tree about fifty yards away.

They all missed but I winged the bird. He fell to the ground and I went to inspect the suffering I had inflicted. A friend came up and put his fingers around the bird’s neck and snapped off his head to stop the suffering. That was the right thing to do even though it may sound cruel. But I have never gone hunting again because I felt so bad for that unnecessary death.

But even if you don’t like to hunt like me, every time we come to Mass we adopt some of the Native American hunting habits. How so? Spiritually-speaking we witness the death of Christ due to our sins and hence, this is called the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. But it is an unbloody sacrifice because Jesus died 2,000 years ago and is now risen in glory. We don’t kill Jesus again.

Nonetheless, like the Native Americans believed: “For the human being to live, he had to slay the bear,” in our case, the Bear is Jesus. His death is our life. Further, if we want to receive all the virtues and strengths of our divine Prey – Jesus’ holiness, his courage, his tenderness – we must eat his Flesh and drink his Blood, which is what we do in Holy Communion. In other words, at every Mass we reenact the hunting habits of the American Indians.

We can learn a lot from the Native Americans who lived on this land before the European colonists arrived. They can even give us a penetrating insight about the very heart of our faith, namely, the Eucharist, the Flesh and Blood of our Savior.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Lunch and Life

Learning to rely on God for everything in the Eucharist

04/17/2024

Jn 6:30-35 The crowd said to Jesus: "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to Jesus, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

Around lunchtime someone at the church office always asks: “What’s for lunch today?” My response is invariably: “Manna from heaven!” That is, someone always brings the priests lunch, or there will be leftovers from dinner the previous night, or I will heat up one of Peggy Brandebura’s Jenny Craig frozen dinners – yum, yum! Or, I pull out one of my literally hundreds of gift cards to local restaurants and pick up a sandwich or salad or hamburger. But the point is that I try to have a total reliance on divine providence to provide lunch for me every day.

But my further and deeper prayer is that this attitude of trust really seeps into every crack and crevice of my life so that I rely on God, not just for lunch but for everything – my food, my clothing, my shelter, my friends, my health, my rest, my peace, etc. In other words, the manna is a symbol for my whole life, and just like I do not worry about where lunch is coming from, so I try not to worry about where life is coming from either. Put simply: lunch and life all come from God.

In the gospel today, Jesus begins in earnest his Bread of Life Discourse in John 6. The people quote Exodus 16 saying, “He (meaning Moses) gave them bread from heaven to eat.” But Jesus corrects their understanding by adding: “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven…I am the bread of life.” That is, the people are just thinking about lunch, like our church office staff does every day.

But Jesus wants to expand and elevate their thinking so that they see that lunch is really a symbol for their whole life. And the bread he will give them – by which he means himself in the Eucharist – will be real life, that is, eternal life. In other words, while Moses’ manna will help you live on earth, Jesus’ Manna (the Eucharist) will help you live for eternity.

My friends, how do you look at the Eucharist, and coming to Mass? Everyone who comes here comes for different reasons, even priests do! Some people see Mass as a mere obligation. If I don’t go to Mass on Sunday I commit a mortal sin. So, I better go but I only see Mass as a necessary interruption to all the more pleasant things I would rather do on Sunday. Our most popular Mass on Sunday is 7:30 a.m. which is early and has no music. Short and sweet. We check the Sunday Mass box and get on with our day.

Other people come to Mass because they need something. They come to ask God for a special intention: the healing of a loved one who has cancer, help with a spouse who drinks too much, prayers for children and grandchildren to go to church again. The petition list is long and as diverse as the congregation that walks through the church doors.

But there is a third group of people who come to Mass for an utterly unique and other-worldly reason, namely, they see that little white Wafer not as lunch but as life. These people don’t just come to Sunday Mass to check a box. They don’t come merely to ask for some petition. They come because they have glimpsed that Mass is not an interruption to their day, but rather in a spiritual sense, the Mass is the highlight of their day and everything else is of far less importance. Or better, everything finds its true meaning and measure in light of the Eucharist.

Bishop Robert Barron expressed it eloquently describing the Manna of Exodus 16: “In this strange substance, we sense something of signal importance – namely, that even as God sustains his people physically, his ultimate purpose is to sustain them spiritually. Coming ‘from heaven,’ the manna is an evocation of the higher, supernatural life to which he is summoning his people” (The Great Story of Israel, 52). Changing metaphors: the Mass is the mountaintop while the rest of the day is down in the valley. That is how the saints see the Mass, and one day, that is how we will all see the Mass.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Where We Put Jesus

Trusting the sensus fidelium of the people of God

04/16/2024

Jn 6:22-29 [After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

There was unanimous excitement and agreement when I announced that we would move the tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament back to the middle of the sanctuary here at Immaculate Conception. Not one person thought that was a bad idea. But several people did ask me why on earth the tabernacle was moved to the side altar in the first place. Who ever thought that was a good idea? That decision was made in the years following the Second Vatican Council which was in session from 1962-1965.

The Council Fathers (pope and bishops) wanted to emphasize the importance of the Mass so they implemented a number of changes in a document called Sacrosanctum Concilium. Some of you look old enough to remember them. For example, the priest faced the people instead of facing east (ad orientem). And the Mass was celebrated in the vernacular (local) language instead of in Latin. Such changes were intended to promote the active participation of the people.

Another decision (not made at Vatican II but later), again in order to promote active participation, was to move the tabernacle to the side or to another chapel for private prayer. The thinking was that somehow Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament might be a distraction to the primary focus of the Mass, which is the celebration of the Eucharist, what the priest and people do as the Body of Christ. So, theologians distinguished between the “static presence” of Christ in the tabernacle versus the “active presence” of Christ during the Mass.

In hindsight, however, I believe that thinking was erroneous. The people of God have a profound spiritual sensibility when it comes to the Eucharist. The Catholic faithful can easily, and even eagerly, distinguish between private devotion (like praying the rosary before Mass) and the main attraction of the Eucharistic liturgy itself. This instinct for the faith by the faithful (called the sensus fidelium) was famously developed by St. John Henry Newman in his book “On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine.”

Newman gave this example: “Thus we talk of ‘consulting our barometer’ about the weather:- the barometer only attests the fact of the state of the atmosphere.” That is, the laity don’t make the faith, but they know it when they hear it. In other words, if the pope and bishops after Vatican II had consulted the Catholic faithful about moving the tabernacle to the side altar or to a private chapel, they would have heard a world-wide “No! Don’t do it!” But alas, they did it.

And so today, if the Pew Research Center reports that only 30% of Catholics believe in the true and real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, well, we only have ourselves to blame. How so? By moving our Lord to the side, we diminished his prominence in the church. That was not the intention, of course, but it was an unintended consequence nonetheless. So, when people cheer the return of the Blessed Sacrament to the center of the sanctuary – like the people cheered Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem – we see the sensus fidelium is still alive and well. That spiritual sensibility has not be entirely killed.

This morning we hear from John 6, the great Eucharistic chapter of the fourth gospel. John illustrates with the multiplication of the loaves and the Bread of Life Discourse what Matthew, Mark, and Luke recount in the Last Supper narratives. And here Jesus expresses the true spirit of Vatican II and the sensus fidelium of sincere Catholics when he says: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

And the Son of Man gives us this eternal Food in the Eucharist at Mass. But when our Lord is front and center in the sanctuary, we find it far more consistent with our faith in the Eucharist to worship him in the form of Bread. Of course we worship Jesus supremely in the Eucharist at Mass. But we want to continue to adore our Eucharistic Lord a lot longer than for just sixty minutes.

That is why Catholics come early for Mass and many people stay late after Mass is over. This is why our Hispanic prayer group wants Adoration all night long for the vigil of Pentecost. This is why Catholics sit and stare at what to the eyes of the world looks like a small white Wafer for 24-hour Adoration at St. Boniface. This faith in the Eucharist – both the active and static Presence of Christ – is the true sensus fidelium. And it will never be extinguished, no matter where we put Jesus.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Jesus and Juvenal

Seeing Jesus as our supernatural Bread King

04/13/2024

Jn 6:1-15 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

In your classes of Humane Letters have you crossed paths with a Roman poet named “Juvenal”? he coined a phrase that captured the depravity of the desires of the Roman people. He said simply, “All they desire is bread and circuses.” The common people, in other words, no longer dreamed of Roman glory or honor or virtue, but just wanted food and entertainment, bread and circuses.

In the movie “Gladiator”, Russell Crowe defeats his opponent, a big thug, in the Colosseum, and then throws his sword at Emperor Commodus, sitting in his box seat. The gladiator shouts into the crowds, “Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” Sometimes after a homily, I want to throw my Bible into the congregation and shout: “Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” That is, some people just come to Mass for “bread and circuses” and I feel like the circus monkey doing tricks to make people laugh and be entertained.

In the gospel today we see Jesus is worried about the same base desires of the people as Juvenal would be seventy years later. Remember that Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish around 30 AD while Juvenal would write his Satires around 100 AD. We read in John’s gospel: “Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king” – a bread king – “he withdrew again to the mountain alone.”

Then, after crossing the sea of Tiberias to the other side, Jesus will teach them the “Bread of Life Discourse,” that is, all about the Eucharist. In other words, the people should not just be seeking bread and circuses, but rather the Bread of Eternal life, namely, Jesus. But the Jewish populace, like the Roman populace, was satisfied with “bread and circuses,” food and entertainment.

Well, isn’t it a relief that things have changed so much in 2,000 since those depraved Roman and Jews?! The populace of Northwest Arkansas, and especially here at Ozark Catholic Academy, doesn’t care for “bread and circuses” but only seeks virtue, holiness, service, and honor. Right? Hardly. C. S. Lewis described our desires starkly, writing: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.”

He continued: “[We are] like an ignorant child who wants to go to making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” You see, when Lewis uses the terms “drink and sex and ambition” he means what Juvenal did by “bread and circuses.” Instead of satisfying these base, animal, desires, Lewis points to the true Bread of Life, the Eucharist. Technologically and scientifically we may be far more advanced than our Roman and Jewish predecessors. But as for our shared human nature, we are the same or possibly worse.

Boys and girls, if there is one thing you are learning here at OCA, it is that there is more to life than bread and circuses, food and entertainment. Of course it’s great to live in Northwest Arkansas because of all the great restaurants (great food), and all the forms of entertainment, especially now that Coach Calipari is the new head basketball coach. But this school should force you to ask yourself everyday: is that all there is to life, just bread and circuses? If that is the height of our human desires than we are little better than the Romans and Jews of Jesus and Juvenal’s day.

By the way, have you ever wondered why the bread of the Eucharist is so small? Is it because the Church is so poor that we cannot afford to give each person at Mass a decent sandwich for Communion? No. It is because Jesus and the Church do not want you to look at our Lord as a natural Bread King, but as a supernatural Bread King. Have you ever complained: “Why is the Mass so boring?” That is another way of saying, “I am here to be entertained!”

The Eucharist is a test of faith. In other words, Jesus is not here to feed your face with lots of food or to be your circus monkey and give you endless entertainment. He is here to be your Savior. That test of faith in Jesus is the real test OCA is preparing you to pass by going to Mass several times a week The reason the Eucharist is so small is because it is a test. And not many people pass that test. “Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Mary and the Moon

Seeing how the natural reflects the supernatural

04/08/2024

Lk 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from Godto a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

One of the oldest symbols for the Blessed Virgin Mary is the moon. Just like the moon receives all its light, radiance, and beauty from the sun – it is dark and lifeless alone – so Mother Mary’s grace and glory is but a perfect reflection of the light of Jesus, the Son of God. I love to walk my dog Apollo at night while we pray the rosary together. I say the first half of the Hail Mary and he responds with the second half.

When I see the moon in the heavens following us, I think of Mother Mary and ask her prayers to help convert Apollo from a pagan god into a Christian. I think it will take a lot more rosaries for that canine conversion. Nonetheless, when I see the moon at night, I think of Mary because in looking at her, I see the light of her Son. Even at night the Son shines brightly.

This year we see another curious instance of how Mary is symbolized by the moon. There is not only a solar eclipse occurring today but it is also matched by a kind of spiritual eclipse. We know people will be outside today around 2 p.m. to see how the moon will entirely cover the sun on the natural level. Well, we see something similar happen on the supernatural level with the feast we celebrate today, the Annunciation.

The Archangel Gabriel announces that Mary will conceive the Son of God. At the moment Mary uttered her “Fiat” – let it be done to me – Jesus was conceived in her womb. Starting today, therefore, and for nine months Mary sort of eclipses Jesus the Son, who would grow and gestate hidden in her womb. Today we celebrate a supernatural eclipse when Mary (the moon) would overshadow Jesus (the Son).

It is a remarkable coincidence that this year the date of Easter fell very early, on March 31. Because of that early Easter the Church moved the Solemnity of the Annunciation to after Easter and it falls today, April 8. Normally, the Annunciation occurs on March 25 in order to correspond to the typical nine months a baby spends in his or her mother’s womb.

That is, March 25th is precisely nine months before December 25th, the Solemnity of Christmas, Jesus’ Birth. But this year, the year of the total eclipse of the sun, the solemnity was moved to April 8. As a result, the lunar cycle perfectly aligns with the liturgical cycle. Yet again, we see how Mary is symbolized by the moon.

There is another coincidence today worth noting, namely, the Vatican has released a new document emphasizing and defending human dignity. It is called “Dignitas Infinita” which means “Infinite Dignity.” It treats of a wide range of issues that violate basic human dignity, which is rooted in the reality that each person is created in the “image and likeness” of God (Gn 1:27). Each person is a child of God.

So, the Church condemns every kind of attack on such divine dignity like capital punishment, sex trafficking, slave labor, terrorism, organized crime, abortion, polygamy, aggression and violence against LBGTQ persons. But it also condemns surrogacy and gender theory. Regarding gender theory, the Vatican reiterates Church teaching and urges: "all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable (inerasable) sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected” (no. 59).

In other words, there is a growing cultural criticism of Church teaching today – both from the far right and from the far left – and Catholic Christians should eclipse that false light through the prayers of Mother Mary, and the true light of faith. It may be easier to convert Apollo to the true faith than many modern people. Today, on this unique day on which we see a solar eclipse in the sky and celebrate a spiritual eclipse in this sacrament, may our faith not be eclipsed by the trends and tides of our culture. Nature and supernature always work in tandem and shed light on each other, like the symbolism of Mary and the moon.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Divine Mercy

Understanding the meaning of God’s mercy

04/07/2024

Jn 20:19-31 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

This past Friday Fr. Cassian Elkins came to Immaculate Conception and gave a moving presentation on the devotion to the Divine Mercy. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and I want to share with you three insights from Fr. Cassian’s presentation that really impacted me. And then I will share a little news with you that I hope might make more sense in the context of the Divine Mercy devotion.

First, Fr. Cassian noted that the image of the Divine Mercy, as shown to Sr. Kowalska, depicted Jesus with two rays of light streaming from his heart, from his right side. Of the two streams of light, one was blue and the other red. The blue was symbolic of water and the red of blood, like the water and blood that gushed from Jesus’ side when the soldier pierced his side with a lance as we read in Jn 19:34.

But what I did not know is in that moment Jesus’ Body also remarkably resembled the Temple in Jerusalem. How so? Well, at the Passover, thousands of sheep were sacrificed on the altar in Jerusalem. Millions of gallons of blood from those animals flowed below the altar into a channel that then mingled with another channel carrying a stream of water from the Kidron Spring.

Both channels, therefore, with water and blood, flowed out from the right side of the Temple in Jerusalem on Good Friday. In other words, just as God’s mercy poured out on the Jewish people by the blood and water of the Passover lambs, so God’s mercy would pour out on all humanity by the Blood and Water of the Pascal Lamb (Jesus) that takes away the sins of the world.

In the gospel today, do you recall where Thomas the Doubter wants to insert his hand to find faith in Jesus? It is no coincidence he wants to put his hand into Jesus’ side where the merciful Blood and Water washed the world. Thomas, of course, was not at the Cross, so all he had only heard were eye-witness accounts – the rumors – of the pierced side of the Savior, like the Temple. And Jesus says to Thomas, “bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving but believe.” That is, like Thomas 2,000 years ago, Christians today touch the fountain of mercy, the Eucharist and Baptism, symbolized by the Blood and the Water. That is where we, too, come to believe.

The second memorable image that left a deep impression on me was what Fr. Cassian’s grandmother taught him about touching the holy water when you enter church. She said that after you dip your fingers in the holy water, you should always let a few drops fall to the ground before you make the Sign of the Cross. Why? She said those few drops would descend to Purgatory and give refreshment and relief to the suffering souls in Purgatory. Grandmothers make the best theologians!

And I think that is a great custom for two reasons. First, it reminds us that God’s mercy pours out not only through the sacraments (like Baptism), but also through the sacramentals (like holy water). And whenever we bless others or ourselves with holy water, that blessed blue stream bursts forth from Christ’s pierced side again to save us.

And secondly, that gesture reminds us that most people go to Purgatory after death, not straight to heaven. I know it is common to comfort someone (or ourselves) after someone dies by saying, “Well, at least they are in a better place, and not suffering anymore.” I don’t say this out-loud, but I think in my mind: “Well…not exactly.” You see, when we die, we are not perfect, far from it.

We may have many disordered affections (bad habits) that need to be purged and purified and that process will not be painless. Every Lent when we give up some of our excessive pleasures we get a preview of coming attractions, namely, Purgatory. So when we let slip a couple of drops of holy water, we give a great deal of comfort to the poor souls in Purgatory. And we hope someone will let fall a few drops for us after we die, too.

Here is the third insight Fr. Cassian shared. God’s mercy does not consist in giving us what we want but rather what we need. We get our wants and needs mixed up all the time. That is what a good TV commercial is designed to do: make you think something you just want is something you need. And what’s more, the things we need are things we really don’t want, like salads and exercise and prayer and more milk and fewer martinis.

In this context I want to share with you what Fr. Bala and I will no longer be taking care of Our Lady of the Ozarks Shrine but rather the priests of St. Joseph in Fayetteville will have that pleasure. My Winslow vacation is over. That change will take place on June 17. No change is easy, but it can be an opportunity to ask ourselves about our “wants” versus our “needs”. God’s mercy consists in giving us more of what we need and less of what we want.

Fr. Cassian also shared the process of how gold is refined. He said the original gold nuggets are subjected to intense heat while the dross and the imperfections are slowly melted away. Fr. Cassian asked the goldsmith how he knew if all the dross had been removed, and he replied, “When I can see my reflection in it.” That is the process of the divine mercy, too. God turns up the heat in our lives – burning away our wants – until he beholds his own reflection in us. Divine Mercy brings forth the “image and likeness” of God in us.

                                                            Praised be Jesus Christ! 

Care to Share

Seeing the importance of sharing our faith with the world

04/06/2024

Mk 16:9-15 When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

I will never forget one of the most striking analogies I have heard used for the Catholic religion. Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a priest in New York, said: “The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is the underground Catholic Church.” Now, he was not saying we Catholics are a bunch of drunks – although there might be little too much truth in that suggestion. Rather, he meant that each step of the twelve steps finds a close correlation to the sacramental and spiritual life of Roman Catholics.

For example, steps one and two state: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (or drugs) – that our lives had become unmanageable.” And “[We] came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” If you look closely at those first steps, you see a surprising similarity to Baptism. Every baby or adult that is baptized admits they are a powerless sinner in need of salvation, and only a higher Power (namely, Jesus) can rescue them and restore them to spiritual health and holiness.

Or take Step 5, which requires: “[We] admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.” Now, can you think of a sacrament where Catholics tell another human being “the exact nature of our wrongs”? Of course you can, we call it confession. The closer you look at AA and the Roman Catholic religion, the more striking the connections and convergences.

The twelfth step reads: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Again, if you step back from the narrow context of alcohol and drug addiction and see this step in the larger arena of spirituality and salvation, we suddenly discover the twelfth step is a perfect summary of Easter Sunday! How so?

Well, if there is one thing the resurrected Jesus keeps urging his apostles to do is not only believe in the power of his resurrection, but also to go tell the whole world to experience it for themselves. In other words, just like an alcoholic is not yet free from his slavery and addiction until he has shared his story with others, so we Christians are not saved until we share our story of coming to Christ with others. Addicts have not beaten alcohol or drugs, and Catholic Christians have not defeated sin and Satan, until we invite others to the salvation party. Or as St. Paul puts it in Rm 8:21, “the glorious freedom of the children of God.”

My friends, this requirement to share our story is one reason I love to see so many small groups popping up in our parish. The Ladies Auxiliary, the Hispanic Charismatic Prayer Group, Bible studies, book clubs, the Sisters of the Heart, the Council of Catholic Women, the Friday morning Men of Faith, the Saturday morning breakfast club, an on-line Bible study, and the list goes on-and-on.

One critical feature of every small group – and it is perhaps its key feature – is each person has the chance to share their story. Yes, they read and study the Bible and listen to learned and wise theologians. But at some point those voices (and my voice, too) grow silent. And then the humble and childlike in the faith raise their voices and share. That is the moment when courageous Catholics complete the marvelous twelfth step of Christianity.

When I was a seminarian and later as a priest, I attended meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. They are always happy to have priests visit. As I looked at the faces of those seated in the circle of metal, folding chairs, I could always tell which people had reached the twelfth step. Those people had an irrepressible smile on their faces. They had tasted freedom from slavery, and the surging joy that is its side-effect, and they could not wait to tell other slaves about it. They wore on their faces Easter joy.

Our faces should shine similarly, or with even greater radiance! Henri de Lubac asked with great urgency: “Do the unbelievers who jostle us at every turn observe on our brows the radiance of that gladness which, twenty centuries ago, captivated the fine flower of the pagan world? Are our hearts the hearts of men risen with Christ?” (Drama of Atheistic Humanism, 122-23). Everyone who has completed the twelve steps of AA would reply: “Heck yeah!” And so should we Catholic Christians.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Rising Son

Preparing for the entrance exam for heaven

03/31/2024

Mark 16:1-7 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”

Have you heard the story about Forrest Gump going to heaven and meeting St. Peter at the Pearly Gates? St. Peter informs him that heaven is filling up fast and so he is administering an entrance exam to ensure people are ready for Paradise. Peter says: “I will ask you three questions. First, what are the days of the week that begin with the letter ‘T’?” Forrest thought a moment and answered; “Oh, that’s easy, those days are Today and Tomorrow.” Peter replies, “Well, that’s not exactly what I was expecting but close enough.”

Peter continues: “Okay, the second question is how many seconds in a year?” Forrest furrows his eyebrows in thought, smiles and says: “Shucks, that’s twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd, and so forth!” Again Peter is surprised but lets the answer slide. He continues: “Okay, the third question: what is God’s first name?” Again, Forrest puts on his thinking cap, and then answers: “God’s first name is Howard.” Peter asks, “What makes you say that?” Forrest replies: “We say it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be thy name…”

In the gospel today, we see the real exam we have to take to enter heaven, namely, a test of faith, faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Three women are the first to be put to the test, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Girls are always the smartest in the class. But instead of St. Peter, it’s an angel disguised as a young man who administers the test. The angelic young man announces that Jesus has been raised from the dead and the three women are invited to believe without seeing. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene later but not the other two.

In a sense, what the young man was asking was a lot harder than the questions St. Peter put to Forrest Gump. Why? Well, because the answer would require a complete change of life. If Jesus has risen from the dead, everything has changed. How so? Because death is no longer the end of life but really the beginning. You know, we hear about the resurrection so much it no longer astounds us. We hear it too much and we contemplate it too little.

But the news of the resurrection blew the minds of the early Christians. Like the three women at the tomb, they were asked to believe without seeing. That is, Jesus only appeared to his apostles and a little more than “five hundred brethren at one time,” as Paul recounts in 1 Co 15:6. Now, if I had been Jesus I would have gone first to the house of Annas and Caiaphas and then to Pontius Pilate and to all the Jews, and said, “How do you like me now?” But he didn’t. In other words, Jesus wanted his followers to believe without seeing, which is what faith is. The early Christians passed that test, not only living for Jesus but dying for him.

Now, I want to share with you some news almost as exciting as the resurrection. We are going to launch a capital campaign to mark our 125th anniversary in this marvelous church, dedicated in 1899. One way we will do that is by building a new back altar (where the priest’s presently sit) and move the Blessed Sacrament to that new altar. Why? Well, that was the traditional place for the Blessed Sacrament, so Jesus would be the focus of faith for everyone who steps foot in this church.

But even more, traditional churches like I.C. were always built so the people were facing East. Again, why? Well, because of the small but significant detail in today’s gospel that says: “Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.” In other words, the rising sun (s-u-n) was seen as a symbol of the rising Son (S-o-n), namely, Jesus. And when the tabernacle with Jesus is sitting due east, the symbolism is suddenly unmistakable and evokes a response of faith.

Some people don’t like sitting in the front pews because the light through the stained glass is bright. They say, “The sun is too bright, I can’t see!” I answer: “No, now you can finally see.” C. S. Lewis put it perfectly: “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.” That is, faith in Jesus’ resurrection allows us to see everything else in a new light, the light of faith.

You will find in the pews some trifold brochures with the campaign details. Would you open it and look at the far right page? There, you will find the projects of this campaign. You will see that some projects touch the church, other projects affect the school, still others benefit the preschool, a few projects helps enhance the rectory, like the enlarged, fenced backyard – I’ll give you one guess who that’s for. And lastly, we will install solar panels for electricity for the entire campus. The total cost will be $3 million. We have about 2000 families in our parish, so if each family can pledge $1,500 over three years, we can reach our goal. Please take the brochure home to review later.

Msgr. O’Donnell, our former pastor, said, “We stand on the shoulders of giants.” Those giants built this church like a classroom of faith to help us prepare for the entrance exam for heaven. Every detail in this church is designed to evoke faith, even the direction you are all seated, facing the East, which is where the word “Easter” comes from. We are an Easter people because every time we come to church we face East, to behold the rising Son, the resurrected Christ. The East, the sun, everything is designed to help us believe without seeing, and pass the test of faith.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A Very Good Friday

Seeing why we call today “Good Friday”

03/29/2024

Jn 18:1—19:42 Jesus went out with his disciple across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM, “ they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”

People often ask me, “Why is today called ‘Good Friday’?” After all, Jesus died an agonizing death on the cross today. So, maybe we should call it “Sad Friday” or maybe “Bad Friday”, anything but “Good Friday”! And we have to fast from food and abstain from meat today which does not feel very “good.” Someone brought me a breakfast quiche yesterday, and I had a little this morning. But first I had to pick all the bacon out of it – the best part!

And when we walked into church a few minutes ago, we were greeted with the Lord’s absence rather than his Real Presence in the tabernacle, which was empty. The tabernacle doors were gaping open like a grave. By the way, I hope you did not genuflect before you got into your pew. Why not? Well, Jesus the King is not in his castle, before whom “every knee should bow in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth” as St. Paul taught in Phil 2:10. All these factors make this Friday feel far from “good.”

And yet this Friday is good in the most profound sense possible. First of all, this Friday is good because students get out of school today, and most businesses are closed today, especially here in Fort Smith. I saw on the news that the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market are both closed. That means that instead of thinking about “bulls” and “bears” people will be contemplating “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29).

In other words, a spiritual silence falls over our whole society, like the silence we hear at a cemetery. Only in the silence and stillness of their graves will some people finally stop worrying about this world and pay attention to Paradise. As William Wordsworth, the great Romantic poet, lamented: “The world is too much with us.” And Good Friday pushes the world away from us a little. These are some of the natural reasons why this Friday might be called “good.”

But the real reason that today is “good” is because of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus is the only reason anything or anyone is good. And Jesus did three really good things on this Friday. First, he defeated death, our ancient enemy. We are all afraid of dying but now we no longer have to be. We can smile in the face of death, as the martyrs did, who longed to die for Jesus. That is, death is no longer a “period” at the end of the sentence of life, but merely a “comma.” Because of Good Friday, life is only momentarily interrupted by death, and a glorious new life waits for us. That makes today a very good Friday.

The second good thing Jesus did was overcome sin and Satan. The devil threw the worst trials and temptations at Jesus and Our Lord did not flinch. Just like Jesus did the first time he was tempted by Satan in the desert. And the worst of the worst temptations was feeling abandoned by God. Jesus cries out in Aramaic, his native tongue, in Mk 15:34, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

When we are hurting the most we want to speak the language we were born speaking (that is what native tongue means), like a little child crying for his mother or father. By the way, that is why no one likes bilingual Masses! Jesus did not despair, however, he trusted totally in God saying in Lk 23:46, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” In other words, childlike humility and total trust is how we will overcome sin and Satan, too. That makes today a very good Friday.

And the third good thing Jesus did today was “make all things new.” Now, we will see this newness in full flower on Sunday: new water, new fire, new candles, new flowers, and even new Catholics! But we see it already budding on Good Friday. In Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” while Jesus is bloodied, beaten and falls the third time carrying the cross, he surprisingly turns to his mother, Mary, and says: “See, Mother, I make all things new.”

Now, those words must have shocked Mary as her motherly heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. She only saw her world ending in the brutal death of her Son. Yet Jesus insisted he was making all things new. That quotation is taken from Rv. 21:5, and spoken by the glorious, resurrected Christ, who says serenely: “Behold, I make all things new.” That is, he opened the doors to that newness on Good Friday. When we join our pains and problems and perplexities to Christ’s suffering and death, we too taste a little of that newness. And that makes today a very good Friday.

So stop asking me why today is called Good Friday. Now you know.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

St. Judas

Seeing how God never gets tired of forgiving us

03/26/2024

Jn 13:21-33, 36-38 Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. When he had left, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later." Peter said to him, "Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times."

The gospel of John paints a dual portrait of Judas and Peter. They both deny and betray our Lord. One despairs, the other repents, and turns back to the Lord. I remember Archbishop Fulton Sheen saying that the great tragedy of the life of Judas is that he could have been St. Judas. In other words if he had had the humility to turn back to Jesus and say, “Forgive me, Lord,” his great sin of betraying Christ would have been forgiven instantly. What an amazing thought that even Judas could have been forgiven and saved.

This is the great beauty and grace of Holy Week, and one thing we can meditate upon this coming week, namely, there is always hope of salvation for all of us. That we can always turn back to the Lord, no matter how bad a mess we think we have made of our lives. Jesus forgiveness is always much greater than our sins.

I think this also gives us an insight into Judas’ mindset. He had this belief – and we too sometimes harbor it – that our sins are so big that God cannot forgive them. That is a great error, and leads to what the Church has taught as “final unrepentance.” That is, going your whole life thinking that I cannot be forgiven. My sin is so great that not even God can forgive me.

I believe this is what Jesus means when he refers to that one sin against the Holy Spirit that is unforgiveable. You know how everyone scratches their head wondering what that one sin could be that God could not forgive, especially against the Holy Spirit. Judas is the example of that one sin: final unrepentance, to die in the belief that my sins are so great God cannot forgive me. To despair. To think the Holy Spirit’s love has limits, and my sins have broken beyond those limits. That is the sin against the Holy Spirit: final unrepentance, despair, and Judas is the tragic example of it.

This is why one of my favorite Scripture passages is Rm 5:20, where St. Paul says, “Where sin abounds, there grace abounds all the more.” Sin may be big, sin may be terrible, but God’s grace is always much bigger. Pope Francis’ developed a famous saying when talking about mercy and forgiveness, “We get tired of asking God to forgive us. But God never gets tired of forgiving us.” We are the ones who run out of gas asking for mercy. He is not too tired to forgive us.

That is what happened to Judas: he got tired of asking God for mercy. But God was always ready, willing, and able to forgive him, even for betraying his Son. The great tragedy of Judas’ life is that he could have been St. Judas. Let not that be the tragedy of your life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

My Morning Ritual

Understanding how we are all responsible for Jesus’ death

03/24/2024

Jn 11:45-56 Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

I always do two things before I leave the rectory every morning. You, too, may have a morning ritual before you leave your house. I stop in the small chapel and I ask Jesus to bless the coming day, whatever may happen. And then I kiss a crucifix hanging in the hallway as I leave. But every time I kiss my finger and touched Jesus’ nailed feet, I think: “Lord, I love you. But I know it is my sins that nailed your feet to that terrible tree.”

In other words, by that kiss I am taking personal ownership for killing Jesus. I kiss Jesus like Judas Iscariot; but I am also responsible for killing Jesus like Judas Iscariot. I am not blaming someone else for Jesus’ death, because I know our Lord would have suffered and died for me if I were the only person who had ever lived.

In January of this year (2024), the U.S. bishops issued a pastoral note on antisemitism. Antisemitism is the ideology that the Jews alone killed Christ. The bishops wrote this about Good Friday, saying: “The Passion narratives are proclaimed in full so that all see vividly the love of Christ for each person. In light of this, the crimes during the Passion of Christ cannot be attributed, in either preaching or catechesis, indiscriminately to all Jews of that time, nor to Jews today…As the Church has always held, Christ freely suffered his passion and death for the sin of all, that all might be saved.”

I know it is hard not to hear that statement in the midst of the noise and nonsense of the current political climate. Are you siding with Israel, or are you siding with the Palestinians? The bishops are not interested in playing politics, but in saving souls, beginning with their own. The bishops’ pastoral note, in other words, tries to do the same thing as my morning ritual when I kiss the feet of Jesus: accept personal responsibility for being the cause of Christ’s saving death.

I mention all this today because we see a definite momentum shift, a turn, in the gospel in John 11. The Jewish leadership makes a conscious and collective decision to kill Jesus. We read: “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” That is, Caiaphas and the whole Sanhedrim were doing that day what I do every morning. Reaching out to kiss the feet of Jesus, but also reaching out to kill Christ. We read a little further: “So from that day on they planned to kill him.” In other words, we are all responsible for Jesus’ death.

My friends, as we begin Holy Week tomorrow with Palm Sunday, may I ask you to keep two thoughts in your mind. First, be aware of any antisemitism you hear, and steer clear of it. For that matter, be aware of any anti-Palestinianism you hear and avoid that, too. Honestly, I have not personally encountered antisemitism (perhaps it is more prevalent in large metropolitan areas).

Although there was a rather blatant account of antisemitism in Shakespeare’s play, “Merchant of Venice.” There a Jew named Shylock is depicted as greedy, a lover of money, and demanding his “pound of flesh” from innocent Antonio. You know, I love Shakespeare. But it is nearly impossible to read that play as not promoting antisemitism, even if it was unintentional.

The second thought to keep in mind this week is that the only person really responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion is me, and you. Our Lord’s death on the cross was the price he paid for my sins, and your sins, and the sins of the Jews, and the sins of the Palestinians, and the sins of the Russians, and the sins of the Ukranians, and the sins of the Republicans, and the sins of the Democrats, etc.

Put simply, no one is innocent of shedding the precious Blood of our Savior, not even Pilate who tried to wash his hands of responsibility for Jesus’ death. That is what I think when I kiss the feet of Jesus and walk out of the rectory every morning.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Slave, Son, Saint

Seeing how salvation really works in our lives

03/21/2024

Jn 8:31-42 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father." They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham.

What did Jesus come to accomplish in becoming a man, suffering and dying, and rising from the dead? Well, the short answer is he came to save us. We all know this because we see graffiti on overpasses that state: “Jesus saves.” But what is that salvation, the technical term is soteriology, that Jesus came to give us? Does Jesus just snap his fingers and save us? No, it took his 33 years of living, and three hours of dying on the cross to save us.

Now, can we just snap our fingers and accept that salvation? No, it will take our whole life and our death to allow Christ’s saving grace to seep into every crack and crevice of our souls. Salvation is really a three step process of going from slavery, to sonship, and finally sainthood. In other words, you cannot go from slave to saint by snapping your fingers. There is no shortcut to salvation.

In the gospel today Jesus outlines these three steps of salvation. First, he helps the Jews to see they are slaves, saying: “everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.” And that includes everyone, even the Jews, but they vehemently deny it. Second, he insists they must become sons by adding: “A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains.” To which the Jews retort: “We were not born of fornication,” meaning we are not illegitimate but legitimate sons.

And finally Jesus teaches that only his disciples will reach sainthood: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” That is, what I am offering you, Jesus says in effect, which is salvation, will not be fast or easy. It will be long and arduous. But the end of the road will be a glorious resurrection.

I would like to illustrate what Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel with a book and a movie. The book is Addiction and Grace by a psychiatrist named Gerald May. This book completely changed my way of thinking about addiction. I used to think (and maybe you do too) that addicts were those enslaved to drugs or alcohol or other illegal substances. But in fact, May argues, we are all addicted to something: coffee, our work, our schedules, our clothes, even other people. May helped me see that a better word than addiction is attachment.

May wrote: “Addition makes idolaters of us all, because it forces us to worship these objects of attachment, thereby preventing us from truly, freely loving God and one another.” In other words, we are all, without exception, attached to something, or maybe even someone, and that is the source of our slavery. The first step of salvation, therefore, is identical to the first step of AA: to admit we are powerful (slaves) to some attachment. That humble acknowledgement is the first step on the long, hard road of salvation.

The second illustration comes from a Denzel Washington movie called “Flight.” He plays a very talented pilot who saves a plane full of people by actually flying the airliner inverted, that is, upside-down and safely crash-landing it in a field. The only fly in the ointment of his talents is that he was drunk while he did it. He is investigated for his negligence and finally confesses his deep addiction to drugs and alcohol.

While he is serving time in prison he gives his testimony to other inmates and says: “But at least I am sober. I thank God for that; I am grateful for that. And this is going to sound really stupid coming from a man who’s locked up in prison, but for the first time in my life I am free.” In other words, the salvation, the freedom, that Jesus has come to give us is not fast or easy. It is always a long, hard road to the resurrection.

Incidentally, when Captain Whip (played by Denzel) landed the plane in the field, he clipped the tower of a small church. And he landed close to a pond where people were wearing white robes and being baptized. I am convinced that baptism scene was where Captain Whip would also be born again. I love how C. S. Lewis begins his book The Problem of Pain with this quotation: “The Son of God suffered unto death not so that we would not have to suffer, but so our suffering could be like his.” And when our suffering is more like his, we too go from slaves, to sons, to saints.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Frontier Faith

Sharing the faith with all those we meet

03/17/2024

Jn 12:20-33 Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

This weekend is St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday, March 17, and it is especially meaningful for our parish since our founding fathers and mothers were Irish immigrants. You may know this parish was originally named St. Patrick’s and later changed to Immaculate Conception in the 1860’s. So, it seems fitting I should share some Irish jokes in honor of St. Patrick and the Fighting Irish. Someone sent these several one-liners recently.

One read a little on the serious side: “It doesn’t matter how big your house is, how much money you have, or that you wear expensive clothes. Our graves will be the same size. Stay humble.” Another one read: “The human brain is the most amazing organ. It works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from birth until you fall in love.” Yet another humorous one observed: “I always found it a bit confusing when the teacher would say: ‘Don’t get smart with me’.” Okay, here’s the last one: Every Irish woman’s dream. Her ideal man takes her in his arms, throws her on the bed…and cleans the whole house while she sleeps.” And now you know what all women really want, guys.

Back in 1999 our parish celebrated our 150th anniversary by publishing a book called “From the Foundation Up – the Story of a Frontier Parish.” The pastor then, Msgr. John O’Donnell (an Irishman!), noted in the Foreword: “In this our 150th year as a parish, and the 100th year of our magnificent church, we stand on the shoulders of giants! Those gallant and intrepid clergy, religious and laity who cut a wide path through this region and tamed the manners and morals of a people newly arrived on the frontier.”

Msgr. O’Donnell sure had a flair for the dramatic. What made the Irish truly giants were that they not only lived on the frontier of Europe – surrounded by ocean – but were also fearless in charging forward to the next frontier and sow the seed of faith there. That is, Irish Catholic immigrants planted the tree of faith here in Fort Smith 175 years ago and we have all eaten our fill from its fruits.

If we look closely at the gospel today we will also see a sort of frontier faith in action. How so? Well, at first sight looks what rather mundane, Jesus sees are remarkably momentous. Some Greeks ask Philip and Andrew to introduce them to Jesus. And Jesus flips out by exclaiming: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!” Jesus seems to be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but he is actually noticing an entirely new stage of the spread of the gospel. What do I mean?

Well, the fact that Greeks want to see Jesus means his message is spreading beyond the borders of Israel to the whole world. In other words, Jesus’ sharing the gospel with the Greeks was like how the “intrepid Irish cut a wide path and tamed the manners and morals of a people on the frontier.” If there is one quality Jesus wants his apostles to adopt from him, it is a frontier faith, unafraid to carry the Good News to the four corners of the world.

My friends, what are some of the frontiers of faith we find today? Sometimes we find the frontier not in some distant land but in our own home. We may have a spouse who doesn’t come to church, or children who are fallen away from their faith, or attend another church. Or, perhaps the frontier of faith is so close it is staring back at us in the mirror every morning, as we may have doubts or disagree with Catholic teaching. That is, sometimes we need to plant the flag of faith right in our living room at home, or in our own hearts.

And by the way, we learn the faith by doing the faith, practice makes perfect. Because sharing the faith on the frontier is always messy and imperfect. Fr. Daniel who used to coach me in tennis that I should play against people who are better and beat me. Why? Because only by losing do you really get better and learn. Although when I got home he asked me, “Why did you lose?” And I’m like, “What did you expect??” So, too, in sharing the faith Jesus sends us out beyond the borders of our abilities and certainly out of our comfort zone. We learn by doing, and we really learn by falling flat on our face.

Another frontier of faith is the culture we live in which is not just non-Christian but gradually growing anti-Christian. Have you noticed this? Now, don’t get me wrong. My family came here from India as immigrants: “America is great! We love America!” But does America love us Roman Catholics, especially when we take an uncompromising stand against abortion, against same sex marriages, in favor of welcoming the stranger at the border, and in caring for the environment?

Msgr. O’Donnell’s words about our Irish ancestors do not just point to the past, but are also prophetic about the future when he said: “With awesome courage, perseverance and sacrifice they built a veritable fortress of Faith and Catholicity in a time when the faithful were less than welcome and looked upon with disdain.” In other words, for 125 years this historic church has been standing at the head of Garrison Avenue, as if to say to everyone driving by, whether in a horse-and-buggy, or in a Lamborghini, “The Catholic Faith is here. And we are not going anywhere.” The fighting Irish built this marvelous church on this main street. Why? Because their hearts beat with a frontier faith.

Praised be Jesus Christ!