Chilling and Challenging

Understanding Jesus' tough teachings for priests

08/26/2024

Mt 23:13-22 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’ Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.”

I love to read and study the Bible. But there are some chapters that I wish had been left out because they are so chilling and challenging. Thomas Jefferson, our third president, actually created his own more palatable version of the Bible by taking a razor blade and cutting out the teachings and miracles of Jesus he believed were not authentic.

What was left when Jefferson finished his editing process is now called “The Jefferson Bible.” I am not so smart as Jefferson to know what Jesus should have or could have said or done but “The Fr. John Bible” version of Scripture would definitely leave out today’s gospel from Matthew 23. Why?

Jesus levels seven bone-chilling woes against the Jewish leaders, the scribes and Pharisees. But notice how today’s gospel begins: “Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples.” In other words, even though Jesus is talking about the Jewish leaders, he directs his words to the future Christian leaders.

In a sense, it may be too late for the Jewish leadership to change – they are stuck in their sinful ways – but they can still serve as an object lesson for what the Church’s hierarchy should avoid. Even though the woes are leveled at the scribes and Pharisees, they are intended every bit as much for deacons, priests, and bishops.

These seven woes can be summarized by the statement, “practice what you preach.” That was the critical failure of the scribes and Pharisees and that was the one weakness Jesus did not want to see in his priests. But sadly, we modern clergy don’t fare much better than our Jewish predecessors.

I will never forget a brief exchange with an older priest shortly after I was ordained. I was a newly minted priest and attending the ordination of a classmate from the diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. I was talking excitedly to a young priest in line next to me about our hopes and dreams of being priests.

An older priest in front of us evidently overheard our conversation, and turned around and remarked: “One day you will go into church, open the tabernacle door, put your head inside and weep for your sins and beg Jesus to forgive you.” Wow, talk about a sacramental buzz-kill.

But that wise priest perfectly summarized Matthew 23 for me. And to be honest there have been days when I become so keenly aware of my sins and short-comings as a priest I do feel like putting my head inside the tabernacle, crying, and begging Jesus to forgive me.

Who is truly worthy to wear this Roman collar? Who feels he has any right to stand behind the altar and pronounce the words of consecration over mere bread and wine and call upon the name of the Lord? Jesus’ seven woes and that priest’s stern warning make it clear that no man stands behind the altar because he feels worthy, but only because has been called.

My friends, it can be tempting at times to put us priests on a pedestal and sing our praises. We do this at the Taste of Faith when we applaud and support our seminarians – so sometimes there is good reason to do that. In fact, last Friday a college student sent me an essay she had written on leadership and used me as her model of a great leader.

I was humbled and turned red when I read it, not that you could tell. And maybe this homily would be my response to her effusive compliments of my leadership abilities. Her essay reminded of the Bette Midler song “From a Distance.” “From a distance you look like my friend, even though we are at war.”

So, back to Matthew 23, and Jesus’ seven woes to us priests. Please pray for us priests, not that we be perfect, but that at least that we be humble and not think we are perfect. Jesus did not mince words when he expressed exactly what he expects from us. And don’t be startled if one day you walk into church and see me with my head in the tabernacle.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Grim Reaper or Miracle Max

Seeing the full effects of the Anointing of the Sick

08/23/2024

Ez 37:1-14 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and led me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. How dry they were! He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.” Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. Then the LORD said to me: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life. Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.

Probably the most underrated of the seven sacraments is Anointing of the Sick. Everyone loves to receive Baptism, and come to Holy Communion, and of course Holy Matrimony. But everyone dreads the Anointing of the Sick. You know, sometimes when I visit a patient at the hospital and people see me walking by, their worried looks seems to say: “Oh no, some poor soul is about to leave this earth. There goes the Grim Reaper!” And there’s some truth to that because the traditional name for the Anointing of the Sick is Extreme Unction or “Last Rites.” So, you had to be practically on your deathbed to receive it.

But that is not the case today. The purpose of the Anointing of the Sick is to provide healing and hope, strength and peace. For example, earlier this week I anointed a man who had some serious heart issues. His calcium levels were extremely high, so he was going to the Heart Hospital in Little Rock for a heart catheterization. After the procedure yesterday, though, his wife texted me very excited to report, “Great news! I just spoke to the doctor and Kevin has NO BLOCKAGE!”

She sent another text a little later to add: “The doctor told me that is not what he was expecting at all and was pleasantly surprised.” And by the way, that is not the first time the Anointing of the Sick has resulted in a miraculous healing. So don’t call me the “Grim Reaper,” instead call me “Miracle Max,” from the movie “The Princess Bride,” who healed the Dread Pirate Roberts who was only “mostly dead.” The Anointing of the Sick, therefore, is a sacrament of peace and strength, healing and hope.

Today’s first reading is taken from the marvelous 37th chapter of Ezekiel and I believe it can shed a lot of light on the Anointing of the Sick. Ezekiel beholds a valley of dry bones, and he wonders if there is any hope of recovery for those bones. And like Miracle Max, God answers, “See, I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.” And so it happens: the bones are brought back to life.

But then God says to Ezekiel: “Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit…come O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.” Such prophesying is exactly what the priest does when he extends his hands over the sick persons’ head. He calls forth the life-giving Holy Spirit into the sick person.

That is what I did (imitating Ezekiel) last Tuesday evening with Kevin Hesslen when I laid my hands on his head. In other words, the priest who administers the Anointing of the Sick is not like the Grim Reaper coming to cut down a human life. But rather like Miracle Max who sees people as “only mostly dead,” and announcing how the Holy Spirit can restore us to life.

Now, even though the Anointing of the Sick sometimes produces a miracle of physical healing, it nonetheless retains its chief purpose, namely, to prepare us for eternal life. That is, there is healing with a small “h” and then there is Healing with a capital “H”. What do I mean?

Well, every time someone is healed, like Kevin was of his heart issue, we know that there will be some other health crisis to face in the future. Such healing is temporary, a stop-gap measure, we’re just stemming the hemorrhage for a while. Sometimes I am called to the hospital when a patient is about to die and I administer Extreme Unction, the Last Rites.

But that tear-filled moment is when our eyes of faith should open as wide as possible in order to see the ultimate Healing (with a capital H). Like Ezekiel prophesied as well: “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I hope your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!” That ultimately Healing will occur on the great day of resurrection when God will raise our bodies from our graves.

In other words, true healing is not when we enjoy earthly life, but when we finally enjoy eternal life. And that is the really healing wrought by the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and how it gives peace and strength to those who suffer. Put differently, the Anointing of the Sick transforms the Grim Reaper into Miracle Max.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Easiest Job in the World

Comparing the priesthood with parenthood

8/21/2024

John 21:15-17 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."

The easiest job in the world is being a priest, and yet, the hardest job in the world is also being a priest. I learned about this paradoxical nature of the priesthood a couple of years into the ministry when I had to conduct a capital campaign.

I was pastor of St. Joseph’s in Fayetteville, and we had to raise $2 million. Our capital campaign committee – called the Core Team – drove to Little Rock to meet with Msgr. Hebert, my first pastor, who I felt knew everything.

He prepared a delicious lunch for us along with packets of information on how to conduct a campaign. But the basic message I took away from that meeting was that Msgr. Hebert said, “John, if you take care of your parishioners, they will take care of you and the parish.”

In other words, a successful campaign does not require bells and whistles, catchy slogans, or shiny brochures, just a loving and dedicated pastor. But of course, I promptly ignored his advice and have run 4 marathons and written three books to guilt people into giving me all their money. Being a priest is the easiest job in the world because all you have to do is just love your people.

In the gospel today, St. Peter finds out why being a priest is also the hardest job in the world, namely, we priests are selfish sinners. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and we all remember why. It was penance for the three times Peter denied our Lord the night he was betrayed. And three times Jesus tells Peter to “feed my sheep.”

In other words, what makes being a priest so hard is not conducting a capital campaign but conducting ourselves properly as followers of Christ. And nothing has hurt the success of the Church like the sins of priests. Just think of the devastation caused by the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

In a sense, the easiest job in the world is being a priest because all we have to do is simply love our people, “feed my sheep.” But it is simultaneously the hardest job in the world because priests have to live by a higher standard, namely, be another Christ, an example of Jesus the Good Shepherd. But far more frequently we act like the hired hand who runs away when the sheep are in danger.

There is an almost perfect parallel in this respect between priesthood and parenthood. That is, being a parent is also both the easiest, while also the hardest, job in the world. Why is that? When we get married and beget children we suddenly reach new heights of love, almost effortlessly.

One friend of mine says, “Having a baby is induced maturity.” Babies grow us adults up. Almost overnight we become more patient and kind and self-sacrificing. And that induced maturity is to help us love our children better, or to put it in priestly language, “to feed my sheep.” In that sense, being a parent is easy-peasy.

But parenting can also be the hardest job in the world. How so? Well, not only when children hit the “terrible twos” and throw temper tantrums, or when teens begin to rebel against authority and assert their independence. Mom and dad have to battle their own sinful tendencies like overwork, ambition, greed, gluttony, laziness, pride, ego, etc.

Many, many times while growing with my brother and sister, I remember my parents complaining, “The only thing we want is to see our three children not fighting and loving each other.” And I always wanted to fire back, “Well, all we children want is to see our parents not fighting and loving each other.” It goes both ways, and that is why parenting is the hardest job in the world.

So, mom and dad, you and I find ourselves in the same pickle. We have the easiest job in the world because all we have to do it love our children, “feed my sheep.” And we have the hardest job in the world because all we have to do is not screw things up. But that is exactly what we do, and we do it often.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Squirrel in the Synagogue

Seeing why we should never leave the Church

08/19/2024

Jn 6:51-58 Jesus said to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." 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."

There was once a small town experiencing an over-population of squirrels. The Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about their squirrel infestation. After much prayer and consideration, they concluded that the squirrels were predestined to be there, and they should not interfere with God’s divine will.

At the Baptist Church, the squirrels had taken an interest in the baptistery. The deacons met and decided to put a waterslide on the baptistery and let the squirrels drown themselves. The squirrels liked the slide and unfortunately knew instinctively how to swim, so twice as many squirrels showed up the following week. See what happens when the deacons are in charge?

The Lutheran Church decided they were not in a position to harm any of God’s creatures so they humanely trapped their squirrels and set them free near the Baptist Church. Two weeks later the squirrels were back when the Baptists took down their waterslide.

But the Catholic Church came up with a more creative strategy. They actually baptized and confirmed all the squirrels and made them members of the Church. Now, they only see them at Christmas and Easter. Not much was heard from the Jewish synagogue. They took the first squirrel and circumcised him. They haven’t seen a squirrel since.

I mention that joke because in the gospel today Jesus says something rather scandalous that has the effect of running off a lot of people like the townspeople tried to run off the squirrels. He insists that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” In fact, if you read a little further, you discover that by the end of John chapter 6 thousands of followers depart and it appears only the 12 apostles are left.

In other words, remaining faithful to Jesus takes a kind of squirrely persistence that we call faith. Just like those pesky squirrels would not leave that small town no matter how hard it was to stay, so we too should not abandon the Catholic Church, no matter how tough her teachings may sound and they make us feel like leaving.

Just think of many of the difficult doctrines of Catholicism. For instance, if you are a Catholic democrat, you might be put off by the Catholic Church’s unwavering prolife position. A woman should not choose an abortion because it is not her body, it is her baby. But if you are a republican Catholic you might wince when the Catholic Church insists that immigrants have a right to move to another country to escape persecution or to provide for their families.

Other teachings that run us off are not political but personal. For example, if you are divorced and remarried you have to get an annulment before you can receive Holy Communion again. Annulments have run off lots of Catholics, and I bet you know some of them. Missing Mass on Sunday is a mortal sin and you should go to confession before returning to Communion. Confession runs off Catholics.

The Catholic Church does not condone same-sex marriage but only monogamous, life-long marriage between a man and a woman. Catholic marriage runs off some people. Some women are angry that women cannot become priests, and the priesthood runs them off. And some priests leave because they don’t like celibacy, and maybe they feel like that squirrel in the synagogue.

In the face of all these compelling reasons to leave the Church, why would anyone want to stay? Well, ironically, the best reason to stay is Jesus’ tough teaching today on the Eucharist. How so? Well, we know that Jesus is the answer to all our problems and we encounter him most fully in the Eucharist. That is, no matter how many things try to run us off, we come back for Communion.

I began to understand this when I was still in high school in Little Rock. During the summer months I would get up early and go to Mass at the Carmelite monastery on 32nd Street. Now, morning Mass was at 6:30 a.m. and I almost always arrived a few minutes late. There were only about 6 elderly people in the chapel, so it was hard to sneak in unnoticed. And Fr. George Tribou would glare at me over his glasses as he began the Penitential Rite.

I remember thinking: “Hey, I just brought the average age of this congregation down about 50 years, so give me a break, Jake!” But what would make a virile, red-blooded, healthy teenager get up at 6:15 a.m. and drive across town to attend Mass with a bunch of octogenarians, and a priest who never even gave a homily? There’s only one explanation, faith in the Eucharist. In other words, no matter how hard it would be to follow Jesus – and it’s hard to follow Jesus at 6:30 a.m.! – I was hungry for the Eucharist.

My friends, if you start listing the reasons not to come to Mass, you will quickly come up with a long list, and our society will be happy to add a number of new items. But there is one compelling reason to stay and that is Communion. You will not find the Eucharist anywhere else in the world. And the Eucharist is really the only Thing – rather the only One – we are looking for. Heck, even some teenagers know that, and maybe even some squirrels.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

The Ark and the Woman

Seeing parallels between the Ark, Mary, and our mothers

08/15/2024

Rv 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”

Do you have a keepsake box where you store your most valuable possessions? Many people have a special sealed box at home where they keep jewelry or other sentimental valuables. Someone gave me a ornate box last month on my birthday to keep my rosary in which is very important to me. Other people have a safety-deposit box at a bank with their will or life insurance policy, etc.

Here at the church offices, we actually have an entire room that is virtually a vault where we keep our sacramental registers, that is, our parishioners’ baptismal, marriage, and death records. Or, as I like to say, when our parishioners were “hatched, matched, and dispatched.” In other words, we all guard special things in special keepsake boxes

Well, not all such boxes are made of wood or metal, silver or gold. One such box is made flesh and blood and carries the most precious cargo of all. Can you guess what that keepsake box is? It is a mother’s womb. The most beautiful keepsake box in the world is our own mother. Why? Well, because for 9 months she carried the most precious cargo of all, you and me. Truth be told, our mothers carry us for a lot longer. Our mothers are far more valuable than platinum, silver or gold, indeed, they are priceless.

The first reading today from the book of Revelation also talks about a keepsake box that on closer inspection turns out to be a woman, in fact, she is a pregnant mother. We read: “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve starts.”

You see, the Ark of the Covenant was the Old Testament keepsake box in which the Israelites transported their most cherished possessions: the miraculous bread, Aaron the high priest’s staff, and the Ten Commandments. But in the New Testament, the true Ark of the Covenant turns out to be a pregnant mother, Mary because she carried Jesus in her womb. And Jesus is the miraculous manna, the true high priest, and who alone can help us keep the Ten Commandments. In other words, Mary is the true and eternal keepsake box in the Scriptures and that is what John saw when God’s temple in heaven was opened.

Now, Scripture scholars point out many parallels between the Ark and the Woman but let me just share one important connection for our feast of the Assumption. The Ark in the Old Testament was made of a durable material called “acacia wood” which was petrified and therefore virtually indestructible.

And the Assumption celebrates the fact that God would not allow Mary’s body to decompose in the grave but raised her body to heaven. In other words, Mary’s bodily Assumption was already prefigured in the acacia wood the Israelites used to build the Ark of the covenant.

My friends, we all wish we could keep our mothers with us forever. My parents live in Springdale. And I love being able to text or call my mom daily, and I always look forward to visiting her on Fridays. She always greets me with a big bear hug. She’s almost as excited to see me as she is to see my dog, Apollo! As much as I love my mom, though, I know one day I will lose her.

There is only one Son who has the power to keep his mother with him forever, and that is Jesus. And that is the meaning of the Solemnity of the Assumption that we celebrate today. The only Son who could raise his mother Mary to be with him forever in heaven did exactly that. If you could do that for your mom, you would too. Why? Because that woman is the most precious keepsake box in the world.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Homilies We Hear

Remembering the life and death of St. Maximilian Kolbe

08/14/2024

John 15:12-16 Jesus said to his disciples: ""This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.""

Some homilies we hear we never forget. They leave a deep and lasting impression on our souls, and inspire us to be saints. Other homilies we forget as soon as the priest stops preaching. Archbishop Peter Sartain remarked in his funeral homily for Cardinal Francis George that the cardinal gave a few remarks one Sunday at the end of Mass that were very memorable, while the archbishop’s homily that Sunday was very forgettable.

I heard one homily in 8th grade that I have never forgotten, and it continues to inspire me today, 41 years after I first heard it. I was sitting in a school Mass at St. Theresa’s in Little Rock and Fr. Thomas Keller was our pastor. During most school Mass homilies I was counting the lights in the ceiling of the church. But that day in 1983, Fr. Keller described in detail the martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe, an obscure Franciscan priest in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

What caught my attention then – and has never left it – is that Kolbe volunteered to take the place of a married man who was going to be starved and then killed. The man had a wife and children, and St. Maximilian Kolbe saved his life so he could return to his family. Pope St. John Paul II had canonized St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1982, the year before Fr. Keller delivered that memorable homily. And the man who was saved by St. Maximilian was present at the canonization Mass.

I believe one reason Fr. Keller’s homily moved me so deeply was because he, like St. Maximillian Kolbe, had a passionate love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr. Keller promoted a devotion to the “Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary.” St. Maximillian Kolbe promoted a devotion to the Immaculata, or the title of Mary as the Immaculate Conception. That is, both men were convinced that the fastest road to Jesus was through Mary. And conversely, the fastest way to spread the Kingdom of Christ was through the prayers and intercession of Mother Mary.

St. Maximillian Kolbe composed a prayer of consecration to the Immaculata, and I want to share it with you. Perhaps you might use it personally. Let me just recite the first half of the consecration: “O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother. God had willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (Fr. John), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, all of my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.”

And how providential that St. Maximillian Kolbe would die by lethal injection of carbolic acid (after being starved) on August 14th, the day before the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into heaven! In other words, this humble devotee to the Blessed Virgin Mary would always be venerated the day before her own great feast. They are united not only in spiritual devotion, but also in liturgical celebrations. And that is the way St. Maximillian Kolbe would have wanted it. His life leading others to Mary because Mary's life leads the world to Jesus.

In the gospel today, Jesus unveils what makes his own Sacred Heart skip a beat, namely, love for his friends even to the point of death. Our Lord taught: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And St. Maximillian Kolbe’s heart beat according to the same rhythm. Only when a homily awakens that kind of love in our hearts – not only to live for our friends, but even to die for them – does a homily become very memorable rather than very forgettable.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Fountain of Youth

Seeing the full significance of the Eucharist

08/12/2024

Jn 6:41-51 The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father nd learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Have you heard the old proverb, “A minute on the lips and a lifetime on the hips”? It means, for example, you might enjoy the taste of a chocolate donut for a minute but you will carry the hundreds of calories from that donut around on your hips for a lifetime. While that saying may be a bit of an exaggeration, it points to something undeniably true: what we eat, ingest, and consume produces lasting effects on our bodies.

Have you heard about Bryan Johnson, the tech millionaire who is trying to stop his body from aging and even become younger by receiving plasma transfusions from his 17 year-old son? Bloomberg news reported this back on May 22, 2023. In a sense, Johnson acknowledges that old adage: what we put into our bodies can have a lasting impact. But he believes that his teenage son’s plasma may be “the fountain of youth.” Heck, he hopes it might even be the key to unlocking the door to eternal life on earth.

In the gospel today, Jesus also picks up on this proverb of “a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips,” but gives it a novel twist. Jesus says: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will life forever.” In other words, in Jesus’ reckoning it is not by receiving transfusions of a teenager’s plasma that will help someone to live forever, but by receiving the Bread that is the Body of Christ in Holy Communion. You see, Bryan Johnson ask the right question but he gives the wrong answer.

Now here is the novel twist that Jesus gives to that old truism. That is, when we eat something on the natural, biological level it becomes part of our body, because after all, we are what we eat. However, on the supernatural, sacramental level things are the opposite. When we receive Holy Communion, it would be more accurate to say, not that Jesus becomes part of our body, but that we become part of Jesus’ Mystical Body. A minute of Communion on our lips is an eternity on Jesus’ holy hips.

But also note this sacramental “fun fact” (as the kids say). The Jesus who is present in the Eucharist is NOT the Jesus who walked in Galilee healing the sick, doing miracles, and raising the dead. Instead, the Christ contained in Holy Communion is the resurrected and glorified Jesus whom the apostles, Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Saul the Pharisees saw after he rose from the dead.

That is, we receive the Resurrected and glorified Body of Christ in Holy Communion, and that is why we believe that our bodies will be resurrected and glorified like Christ’s Body! Bryan Johnson wants to live like a teenager by receiving his son’s plasma. We Catholic Christians, on the other hand, want to live like the Trinity by receiving the Flesh and Blood of Christ.

By the way, have you ever wondered how old you will be in heaven? Think about this: will people who die in their 90’s be 90 years-old in heaven forever - walking with a cane? Will a baby who only lives a few months and dies be forever a tiny baby in heaven - unable to stand, walk, or run? That doesn’t sound very heavenly, does it?

St. Thomas Aquinas brilliantly proposed that everyone who makes it to heaven – no matter at what age they die on earth – would have a 33 years old body forever. Can you guess why he said that? It is because Jesus was 33 when he died and rose from the dead. When we receive our Lord’s 33 year-old resurrected and glorified Body in Holy Communion, we, too, one day will be 33 forever. I turned 55 this year and 33 sounds pretty heavenly right now.

My friends, I would suggest to you that there is nothing selfish or necessarily sinful in Bryan Johnson’s search for the fountain of youth and to try to unlock the door to the eternal life. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that no one wants to die. Johnson’s only trouble is he has not found the right key to turn the tumblers and open the doors to eternal life. The right key to the fountain of youth is Holy Communion. And you even don’t have to be a tech millionaire to come and drink from it.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Worrying about the World

Imitating the lives of the saints to save the world

08/08/2024

Mt 16:13-23 Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Do you ever worry that the world is going you-know-where in a hand-basket? Recently, I have had intermittent conversations with people who are rightly fretting about the political divisions and discord in our country. The whole world is eying anxiously the escalating war in the Middle East.

Everyone has noticed the plunge in the stock market and fears a recession. Personally, I worry about the return of legalized abortion. And what on earth are we going to do with the approximately 600,000 frozen embryos that come from the procedure known as IVF? Looking at the world, we have plenty to pray about and do penance for.

Well, I believe God also worries about the world. And his solution is to send saints, planted like seeds to slowly transform the culture and make it more Christian. Today’s feast of St. Dominic is a perfect case in point. St. Dominic was born on August 8, 1170 in a time similar to ours full of political, religious, and moral upheaval. He established a new religious order that was neither monastic nor like the secular clergy, but a hybrid of both.

And these Dominicans would preach the fullness of the faith while also practicing intense prayer (promoting the rosary) and penance (embracing evangelical poverty). What St. Dominic started in 1215 is still going strong today. In other words, the saintly seed of Dominic had sprouted into thousands of Dominicans in order to save the world, and to make it more Christian.

We see Jesus is also worried about the world today, and his solution is to plant the seeds of saints in order to save the world. Jesus elicits from St. Peter a confession of faith in his divinity, and establishes him as “the rock” on which he would build his Church. This Church would be so strong and stalwart that Jesus declares: “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

Notice that Jesus’ solution to the world’s problems is not political or military or scientific. That is what his apostles expected. And why St. Peter takes Jesus to task about his suffering and death – what good would that do? the prince of the apostles was asking. Jesus remonstrates with him saying “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” That is, Jesus would save the world by raising up saints who practice unceasing prayer and bodily penance.

Okay, so what does this mean for us? Well, I think it means two things. First, it means we must keep our eyes on the saints that God is raising up today, and follow their lead. Read and reflect on the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta. Learn about the life and ministry of Pope St. John Paul II.

Be inspired by the courageous witness of Blessed Stanley Rother, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, who died in Guatemala caring for the poor in 1981. His bishop had told him to come home when the political climate was growing dangerous. But Fr. Rother replied, “The shepherd should not run away when the sheep are in danger.” Blessed Stanley Rother was shot and killed in his rectory by armed gunmen on July 28, 1981.

In other words, the real battle lines in the war for the world is not drawn in Washington D.C. and who occupies the White House. It is not determined in Palestine and whether there is a one-state or two-state solution. It is also not created in scientific laboratories concocting new ways to manipulate human nature in violation of the natural law.

Instead, the real battle is being raged in the lives of the saints, who work quietly like seeds planted in the soil of society, gradually transforming the world. And the second thing, therefore, is to recognize that God is calling each of us to become saints as well, dedicated to prayer (like the rosary) and penance (like the spirit of poverty). That is how you make the biggest difference when you find yourself worrying about the world.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Perfect Professors

Seeing how AI cannot replace human teachers

08/07/2024

MT 15:21-28 At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Have you heard about how AI or artificial intelligence is replacing many jobs? Recently, my brother and I have been discussing how AI might affect teachers and whether a robot teacher endowed with AI might do a better job in the classroom than a human teacher could. My brother works in IT and painted a startling picture of what an AI teacher might look like and do.

He said, “Imagine a teacher who is smarter than Einstein, more compassionate than Mother Teresa, and better looking than Taylor Swift, and can sing better too!” Can you imagine a school populated by such perfect professors? What could possibly be better, or what could you offer that they could not?

I would like to suggest to you three ways a human teachers would be better than the perfect professor, the combination of Einstein-Mother Teresa-T. Swift. First of all, a human teacher has a soul that comes from God. That means the origin of a human being is the mind of God, whereas the origin of a robot AI teach is the mind of man. Catch the difference? Furthermore, that origin creates a sort of “glass ceiling of greatness” for the two kinds of teachers. What do I mean?

I love the Matrix movies. But I remarked to a friend that the Matrix movies can only be as great as the mind of the Wachowski brothers who created them. That is, their mind imposes a limit of excellence on that movie. Consequently, A robot teacher can only reach as high as Harvard, where as a human teacher can reach as high as heaven.

In other words, no matter how smart, sophisticated, or speedy the Einstein-Mother Teresa-T. Swift perfect professor might become, it will never possess a spiritual soul that shows it originated in God and that its ultimate destiny is heavenly glory. The significance of a spiritual soul and that God-given greatness is a lesson that only you, a human teacher, can impart. Why? Because you are an example of that greatness; an AI teacher is not.

A second lesson that only human teachers are capable of communicating occurs only in Catholic (or religious) schools, namely, prayer. And the highest form of prayer is what we are engaged in right now at this Eucharist. To pray is a quintessentially human activity, where we raise our minds and hearts to God so that we can commune with him.

And that is what happens in the most profound prayer of all called the Mass. Think about it: when we receive Holy Communion we become one with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and partake in his divinity. As St. Athanasius put it audaciously in the fourth century: “The Son of God became a son of man so that sons of men could become sons of God.”

The Einstein-Mother-Teresa-T. Swift perfect professor might mimic prayer, and kneel, fold hands and close its eyes, but it is utterly incapable of true prayer. Why? Well, first of all because (as I said) it lacks a spiritual soul that connects it to God, like a tether connects an astronaut to his space shuttle, the source of his life and existence. But secondly, because Jesus did not become human to save AI robots, but human beings.

Jesus seems to suggest the same thing in the gospel today: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to dogs.” That is, the words of prayer in the mouth of an AI robot teacher would be like spiritual food being thrown to the dogs. In a moment you human teachers are welcome to come forward and receive Holy Communion, and become one with God – surely, Food in the mouth of children.

But if an AI teacher were at Mass, it would have to stay in his pew, and it would not even be allowed to come forward to get a blessing at Mass. In other words, the possibility of prayer is a second lesson that only you, a human teacher, can impart, because prayer always remains outside the reach of these so-called perfect professors; spiritual food thrown to the dogs.

The third lesson that only a human teacher can teach will really require you to put on your thinking caps and concentrate hard to catch. It’s popular in education these days to focus on STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering, and math. And those are important subjects to be sure. But in some schools, especially Catholic schools, we insist on also including in the curriculum subjects like religion, poetry, music, and art (like painting and sculpture).

Why add these corny subjects; or at least why not relegate them to electives so students can skip them? Well, because these topics are designed to induce a shock that awakens us to what life is really all about. You see, religion, poetry, music, art help us to experience the most intense human emotions which are always associated with love and death. They shake us and wake us up to another dimension of reality.

Do you remember the movie “The Truman Show” starring Jim Carrey? It was a sort of reality TV show depicting the life of Truman Burbank whose every move was seen by millions of viewers. The creepy part was that Truman himself never knew he was on TV 24/7. Everyone around him was a paid actor, his parents, his friends, his coworkers, etc.

But do you remember what caused Truman to first start questioning and doubting his perfect life? He fell head over heels in love with Sylvia. That is, he experienced an existential shock, an emotional earthquake, cracking the foundations of his world, and awakened him to the fact that reality is more than what meets his eyes. By the way, doesn’t falling in love wake up a lot of guys to what life is really about, not just sports and stocks and sex? That emotional earthquake is what religion, poetry, music, and art try to produce in students.

And guiding students on the journey of being jolted can only be done by a human teacher. Why? Well, because only a human being can fall madly in love and be overwhelmed by the fear of death. That AI robot could never teach you about the beauty of love and the danger of death by its own example; only you can because you experience it profoundly. And as you know, example is the most effective teacher.

One last movie quote. In The Dead Poet’s Society, Professor Keating teaches his literature students: “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love these are what we stay alive for.” And that life lesson only a human teacher imparts but the perfect AI professor cannot: what we stay alive for.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Cameos of the Cloud

Learning to see the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit

08/06/2024

Mk 9:2-10 Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Even though the focus of the feast of the Transfiguration is Jesus and his dazzlingly white appearance, I want to draw your attention to the rather non-descript, although highly significant, cloud that was also present in that marvelous moment. To put it succinctly, the Cloud is the presence of the Holy Spirit because the Transfiguration is a deeply Trinitarian event. What does that mean?

Well, all three divine Persons of the Holy Trinity were powerfully present even though only the Father and the Son are directly indicated in the gospels. It seems the Holy Spirit gets short-shrift, but that is only because we do not know how to look for him. In other words, just like we need “Eucharistic eyes” to see how the inspired authors of the Bible talk about the Eucharist in hidden but holy ways, so we need special eyes to see the power and presence of the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture.

For example, when Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt they follow a cloudy pillar of smoke and fire. That was the Holy Spirit. When Elijah is taken up into heaven in a fiery, cloudy whirlwind, it was the action of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus says he will return in glory at the end of time riding on the clouds, we should understand him to mean he will be seated on and surrounded by the Holy Spirit.

That is, when the Bible talks about a cloud – especially in pivotal events of salvation history – it really means the third Person of the Holy Spirit, not some fluffy, white cumulous cloud floating in the sky! So, too, today, when we read, “Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him,” we are meant to understand that Cloud was the presence of the third Person, the Holy Spirit.

Is it any surprise then that it was Moses and Elijah who appeared with Jesus at the Transfiguration? After all, they had two of the most profound experiences of the Holy Spirit in the form of a cloud! Train your eyes of faith to see more than meets the eyes when you read the Bible. Otherwise, you will simply skim the surface of the text and miss the deeper theological truths the Holy Spirit himself is trying to teach us.

As you know, the primary Author of the Bible is not human but divine, namely, the Holy Spirit who inspired the human author. Think of the Holy Spirit writing about himself in the Bible and describing himself in a somewhat clandestine manner like how Alfred Hitchcock made cameo appearances in his movies.

You have to look hard not to miss Hitchcock, Likewise, you have to learn to look hard not to miss the Holy Spirit, who makes his own cameo as a Cloud called in Hebrew the Shekinah glory Cloud, or as St. Peter called it, “the majestic glory” (2 Pt 1:17).

One last point about the Holy Spirit as the glory Cloud as he appears and acts in the liturgy. Every time we use incense at Mass that should evoke the scriptural symbolism of the Shekinah glory Cloud. Even though some people only complain and cough when we use incense, to the eyes of faith, we should see the Cloud of the Holy Spirit envelope the sanctuary. We should understand that our salvation is wrought not only by the power and working of the Father and the Son, but also by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.

At a funeral Mass, the last liturgical gesture is to incense the casket containing our loved one. And I remind people, “As the incense rises to heaven, our eyes of faith tell us our loved one also goes to heaven." In scriptural language, we might say that they are transported in a fiery, cloudy whirlwind like Elijah, and one day will be transfigured into glory like our Lord today. Pay attention to the cameos of the Cloud of the Holy Spirit.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

No Reason To Leave

Understanding and appreciating a priest’s superpower

08/05/2024

Mt 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." He said to them, "There is no need for them go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

This year Msgr. Jack Harris celebrates his 50th anniversary of priestly ordination. In an interview with the Arkansas Catholic newspaper he was asked how he decided to become a priest. He answered with his signature smile: “Well, I still haven’t made up my mind. There wasn’t any point at which it happened. I took a look at it, decided I’d come in and look around and never found a reason to leave.” And I’m pretty sure if he hasn’t found a reason to leave in 50 years, he probably will not find one.

Recently I received a random text message trying to give me a reason to leave the priesthood and pursue another career. It said, "Hi, I’m Joy from Robert’s Recruiting. Your background and resume have caught the attention of several online recruiters, so I want to offer you a job you can do from home and pays $1,500 weekly plus commission, making it easy to make over $10,000 a month.” Please don’t tell the bishop I have posted my resume online hoping to land a better paying job!

But if someone were to ask me why I wanted to become a priest I would reply because priests have a special superpower that Roberts Recruiting could never offer me, namely, transubstantiation. Do you know what transubstantiation means? It is the priestly power to transform mere matter – bread and wine – into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

And a priest exercises that power at the Mass when he extends his hands over the bread and wine (called the epiclesis) and then says the words of consecration. That is why we ring the bells at that moment and the priest genuflects on one knee. He kneels before his Lord and Savior, who one second earlier was in heaven, but now stands on earth on this altar.

And that is why parishioners at Mass are kneeling at that moment too. Roberts Recruiting could offer me a job making a million dollars a week, and like Msgr. Harrison said, it would still be “no reason to leave.” In other words, for me the real question is not “why would anyone want to be a priest?” But rather, “why would anyone NOT want to be a priest?”

If we look closely at the gospel today we see Jesus is teaching his apostles about this priestly superpower of transubstantiation. He multiplies the five loaves and two fish, but St. Matthew uses precisely the same four verbs that described Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper when he transubstantiated the bread and wine into his Body and Blood for the first time.

That four-word sequence – he took, he blessed, he broke, he gave – are charged with eucharistic significance. Whenever you hear them, you should immediately think of the priestly power of transubstantiation. When Jesus responds to their query about giving the people something to eat, he answers, “give them some food yourselves.”

And then he shows his first priests how to practice the power of transubstantiation by taking, blessing, breaking and giving. This is how Jesus’ priests would feed the people that day and every day that followed. In other words, Jesus was teaching them their special priestly superpower, and once they learned it, they too would find, as Msgr. Harris said, no reason to leave.

Except, of course, Judas, who left because he never appreciated that superpower. At the end of John chapter 6, the magnificent chapter on the Bread of Life Discourse, and John’s version of the multiplication of the loaves, we read, “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?’ He was referring to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot; it was he who would betray him” (Jn 6:70-71). Put in modern terms, Judas would have jumped on the job offer from Roberts Recruiting.

Yesterday was August 4, the feast day of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests like me and Fr. Samy. Since it fell on a Sunday this year, we did not celebrate it liturgically. But I do want to draw your attention to it in passing, and ask for his intercession and for your prayers for us poor diocesan priests. Why?

Well, because Robert Recruiting is not the only one trying to entice us to leave the priesthood. There are many such recruiters in this world. But once a priest understands his unique superpower called transubstantiation, we realize the full import of Msgr. Jack Harris’ words, “I still have not found a reason to leave.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Firefighter

Stoking the Yesterday, Today, and Forever fire

08/04/2024

Jn 6:24-35 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." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." So they said to him, "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."

Soon after I was ordained I developed a nickname as a priest and I became known as “The Firefighter.” Can anyone guess why they dubbed me the firefighter? Well, sooner or later, every organization has a raging fire – some major problem – and they send in the firefighter to put out. For several years, therefore, I was sent to problematic parishes to extinguish the pastoral fires and restore some normality. So that people were happy to come to church again.

I have been here at Immaculate Conception now for over 10 years as pastor. And to make sure I am not moved, I am starting a small fire so the bishop will leave me here in order to put it out. Now, it’s not a new problem that I am starting, but rather a new project, our Yesterday, Today, and Forever Campaign. That title it taken from Hebrews 13:8, which describes Jesus as “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Why that title? Well, because Jesus is the centerpiece of our campaign, who will have a new home in a stunning new marble altar in the center of our sanctuary. So, folks, I need you to throw the logs of your donations on this fire to keep it burning, so this firefighter will be here for at least three more years.

We began the Yesterday, Today, and Forever Campaign in June, so I want to give you an update for the last two months. We have raised in both pledges and donations $927,673, almost one million dollars! And I am pleased that so far 208 families have contributed. If you do the math, that’s an average gift of $4,600 per family. Every first weekend of the month we will take up a second collection for the YTF Campaign.

I know some people prefer to give anonymously so no doubt the actual number of contributors is much higher than 208. But remember that our goal is $2.5 million, so we still have a long way to go, more than halfway. If you have not already made a pledge or gift, please prayerfully consider doing so, or I will send my pit bull dog Apollo to pay you a visit. All firefighters should have a faithful dog to help them.

Some of our projects are already well underway or completed. For example, this summer we are adding an 18-month old classroom and new bathrooms in the preschool. In the elementary school – called “the big school” – we are replacing the flooring in the offices and teachers’ lounge and painting the interior walls. The exterior of the school is being water-proofed. The peeling metal trim on the rectory was replaced last week.

And we have ordered the fabric to refurbish the kneelers and we will also refinish the pews. We have ordered a brand new statue of St. Patrick that will take the place of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which we will move to where the tabernacle currently sits. We are paying for these projects as we receive the funds, so thank you to everyone who is helping keep the fire going and this firefighter busy!

But by far the most exciting and eye-catching project will be the new back altar for the Blessed Sacrament. After it is installed, it will almost feel like you’re walking into a new church. We are working with an Atlanta-based company called King Richard’s to build the back altar. However, the marble will come from a quarry in Ortisei, Italy. So, if any Italian parishioners are from Ortisei, would you ask your family to give us a break on the marble?

The actual sculpting of the marble will take 4 months, and another month to ship from Italy to Fort Smith. We will install it in January, 2025, when we don’t have any weddings scheduled, or a mother of the bride might throw me as a log on the fire. The marble altar will be made of pink “Botticino marble,” as well as cream-colored “Carrara marble,” which Michaelangelo used for his sculptures, like of the David in Florence. If you look closely, you will notice how the pink and cream colors will match our existing altars and communion rail.

The altar will weigh 6,600 pounds (over three tons), and be 10’, 6” tall, so the top of the altar will be 2 inches below the feet of Jesus on the crucifix hanging on the back wall. And a light will illuminate the central niche where the tabernacle sits. Jesus, the Light of the world, will be appropriately illuminated! My friends, I am convinced the new back altar will dramatically transform the interior of our gorgeous Gothic church and make it even more resplendent!

In the gospel today, Jesus says something that scandalized the Jews, but gave joy to his disciples. He said, “It was not Moses who gave bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true that comes from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus means, of course, that he himself is the “bread of God” which we receive every Sunday when we come up for Holy Communion.

My friends, that Eucharistic Bread is the heart and hope of this our Campaign, that is, we want to emphasize Christ’s teaching about the Eucharist. That is what we build because that is what we believe. And that is why we are putting the Blessed Sacrament in the middle of the sanctuary and moving the priests and deacons over to the side. Why?

Well, because we Catholic Christians come to Mass to worship Christ, not some priest with a cult of personality. You are here to see Jesus, not to see me, because someday I will be dead and gone. But our Lord will still be here, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” After all, a good priest is little more than a firefighter, trying to save the treasures in the midst of a fire.

Praised be Jesus Christ!