Cat in the Cartoon

Honoring and praying for presidents past and present

02/17/2025

Mark 8:11-13 The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

I saw a funny cartoon recently that seemed apropos for Presidents Day. A dog and a cat both arrived in heaven and are sitting on the floor looking at God who is seated on his glorious throne. God first turns to the dog and asks: “How did you live your life on earth?” The dog answers: “I fetched sticks, I obeyed my owner, and I barked at strangers who walked by.”

Then God turns to the cat and asks: “And how did you spend your life on earth?” The cat looks at God and says, “You’re sitting in my seat.” Anyone who owns a dog or a cat knows how true those two answers are. Dogs love to obey others while cats love to order others.

And this little cartoon is related to Presidents Day because in a sense every president feels a little like that cat. Obviously, no United States president is God. Still, the office of the president includes tremendous power – even if limited to the executive branch – and enormous respect (bordering on reverence) by the people, at least those who voted for him.

In other words, like the cat you have to have a pretty big ego to want to sit in the principal seat of the Oval Office. Like the cat in the cartoon the president is there to issue orders, like executive orders, and to run the country.

As you may know, Presidents Day was originally known as Washington’s Birthday, or simply celebrated in honor of George Washington, our first president. But later it was broadened to include all presidents, past and present. This date in February was chosen because it was the Monday closest to Washington’s real birthday on February 22, 1732.

But Presidents Day is also unlike the dog and cat cartoon because all the U.S. presidents have shown a healthy reluctance of serving too long. They tend to agree with the 19th century English historian Lord Acton, who believed: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That is, too much power can go to your head and make you lose your sense of being a president.

Hence, after Franklin Delano Roosevelt served 4 terms, the office of president could only be occupied by the same person for two terms. After all, we had fought the Revolutionary War to win freedom from monarchy – the rule of a king – and we did not want to return to that potentially tyrannical form of government.

Perhaps on this Presidents Day it would be helpful to recall another story about animals, not just a dog and a cat, but an entire farm. Back when I was in elementary school, our 8th grade teacher, Nancy Govang (whom I had a huge crush on) read to us a small allegory book called Animal Farm by George Orwell, written in 1945.

It was about a farm in which the animals revolt against their human masters – again kind of like the cat in the cartoon. The animals are led by a pig named Napoleon, who eventually manages to rid the farm of humans and establishes the rule of animals. Their revolutionary motto is: “Four legs good, two legs bad.”

But little by little the pigs in charge start to imitate the humans whom they had evicted. First the animals start to trade crops with their human neighbors. Then the pigs move into the house where the humans lived. Then, they start wearing human clothes and eat at the table where the people had dinner.

Toward the end, two horses are looking through the dining room window where the pigs and people are sharing a meal together. And as the horses looked from the faces of the pigs to the faces of the people, they could not tell them apart. In other words, the pigs had become exactly like the people they had fought to overthrow.

The pigs, therefore, had illustrated the truth of Lord Acton’s proverb: “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Maybe we should hang a plaque with Lord Acton’s proverb over the doors to the Oval Office, and keep a copy of Animal Farm on the Resolute Desk.

In the gospel today, Jesus notices in the Pharisees a little of the spirit of the cat in the cartoon. They demand he perform a sign (a miracle) to prove his divine status. But Jesus refuses to reduce God’s miracles to the level of cheap parlor tricks to amuse dinner guests. You see, the Pharisees wanted to usurp God’s throne and his prerogatives. They wanted to order others, not to obey others, and they certainly did not want to obey Jesus.

Today on Presidents Day, we pray for the men – and perhaps one day the women – who occupy the Oval Office and serve as presidents of the United States of America. May each of them remember where we came from and the wars we fought to get here. And not get so comfortable sitting in the president’s chair that when they get to heaven, they say to God like the cat in the cartoon: “You’re sitting in my seat.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Music to My Ears

Sharing Bishop Taylor’s letter on immigration

02/16/2025

This weekend I want to share Bishop Taylor’s recent letter on immigration. To those who support our immigrants his letter will sound like “music to your ears”. To those who oppose our migrants, his letter may sound like “nails on a chalkboard”. So, for those of you for whom this letter will sound like nails, let me tell you what I do when I deal with people I don’t get along with.

I say a prayer for them, just one Hail Mary, when they’re really getting under my skin. And that Hail Mary does not just make me stop and take a deep breath. It helps me to see them as God sees them. And God see all of us – you and me, too – like small children who don’t know our right hand from our left. In other words, praying for someone fills my heart with compassion for that person.

The bishop addressed his letter “To all people of good will,” meaning to everyone, Catholics, non-Catholics, Republicans, Democrats, anyone with ears to hear. The bishop writes: “As you know, the contentious issue of immigration continues to dominate the public square, often without any serious consideration of what Jesus and our Christian faith has to say about this matter.” By the way, do we think about immigration as just a matter of politics or rather as a matter of faith? The bishop is saying immigration is very much a matter of faith.

The bishop continues: “It is my hope that our elected officials will have the courage and wisdom to do what is right, to do what Jesus would do – to do the loving thing. You may feel there is nothing you can do to change politicians’ minds. But the place to begin is with ourselves, our own hearts and our own parishes, and our own discomfort in dealing with another culture and immigrant group. And to not forget about the human dignity and the human rights of the other person.” You see, the bishop is trying to move the conversation from the political to the personal plane, and highlight our obligation to love each person.

He continues: “As you know, I’ve written a pastoral letter which you can download from the Diocese of Little Rock website. I have preached and taught on this issue throughout my time here as your bishop. And so, I don’t want to rehash all the Catholic principles that must be taken into account.

“Rather, I want to appeal to your hearts – to the reality that we are all brothers and sisters – including the 1/3 of Arkansas Catholics who worship in Spanish in 43 of our parishes. And right now, this Spanish speaking part of our body is hurting and living in fear.”

By the way, do you know that 50% of Immaculate Conception parish is Hispanic? There are as many people crammed into our two Spanish Masses as there are in the 4 English Masses every weekend. When we hear all the rhetoric about mass deportations, IC parishioners may be among the ones who might be deported. How can we not care what happens to them?

Bishop Taylor continues: “If you are living in fear today, I want you to know we stand in solidarity and in prayer with you. And if you’re not familiar with the parts of the body of Christ who are living in fear, I implore you to pray for them and try to find ways to get to know them. Find ways to help your fellow believers feel welcomed.” Hey, wait, the bishop just stole my line about praying for people you don’t get along with. I guess a bishop can do that.

Then the bishop quotes the parable of the sheep and goats: “In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us at the last judgment he will say to his chosen ones: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me…As often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me.’ And to others he will say, ‘As often as you neglected to do it to one of these least ones, you neglected to do it to me.’”

The bishop continues: “I could go into all the theological reasons behind the Church’s teaching on the rights of migrants, and all the arguments as to why our current immigration system is deeply broken. For example, many of us are under the mistaken impression that people who want to migrate to the United States can easily do so by getting in line. But for most people there really is no line, which is why circumstances forced them to come here without papers.

Then bishop gets more specific: “And anyone who’s tried to navigate the system can tell you how bureaucratic, complex, inconsistent, and expensive it really is – and that’s for people who have financial means and family or highly skilled employment-based connections!” By the way, my family came from India to the United States in 1976, and it was not easy nor was it cheap.

The bishop continues: “But all those arguments aside, what Jesus is challenging us to do here regarding immigration is to let him share his heart and mind with us. All that I’ve said in the past really boils down to Jesus’ call for us to love as he loves, without fear, trusting in God’s providence.” In other words, the bishop is asking us: do we have the Heart of Christ for immigrants?

He continues: “One of the most distinguishing features of our Catholic faith is that we are called to be ‘universal’ in fact as well as in name. This means that there must be no dividing lines within our parishes, no second-class parishioners – all are welcome, no exceptions. But there’s more to it than that.

He goes on: “You and I are being offered a unique and privileged opportunity to share the mind and heart of Jesus Christ, the same Jesus whom we honor with so many images of the Sacred Heart, his heart visible, crowned with thorns and on fire with love. And that’s who he now invites us to be, Christ for others.

And then the bishop concludes with this, saying: “In this, God will use us to be not only a light to our nation (enlightening others about human rights, about truth, about life), but also more importantly a source of love, love that banishes fear, love that brings hope and healing, and in this way become a model for what all of American society is called to be. /s/ Anthony B. Taylor, Bishop of Little Rock.”

Let me end on a personal note. As I said my family emigrated to the U.S. because we had money and someone sponsored us. But if my family had been poor, I never would have come to the U.S. I would not have been raised in Little Rock and discover a priestly vocation in high school. And I would not have been your pastor for the last 11 years. To some of you that may sound like nails on a chalkboard, but to others, it might sound like music to their ears.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A Family Affair

Loving God and loving our neighbor

02/11/2025

Mark 7:1-13 When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, 'If someone says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.

In the Catholic Church we do lots of gestures at Mass that have a twofold purpose, both practical and spiritual. For example, we use incense at Mass because there are references to incense being offered by the angels in heaven in Ps 141 and Rv 8. That is the spiritual purpose of incense at Mass: we imitate on earth the angelic ministry in the heavenly liturgy.

But incense also serves a very practical purpose: its sweet aroma is not only appealing, it covers other not-so-pleasant odors. For instance, at the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela in Spain there is a huge, life-sized thurible that billows out incense filling the whole church with smoke. Why? Because the church is also filled with pilgrims who just walked 500 miles and had not taken a bath in weeks!

We see another spiritual/practical gesture when the priest washes his hands in the middle of Mass. Have you noticed that hand washing? Its spiritual side is captured by the words he whispers: “Lord, wash away my iniquities; cleanse me from my sins.” That ablution (washing), in other words, is a reminder of Baptism when water washed away our sins.

But it also served a practical purpose, at least in the past, when people offered not cash or checks (or Venmo) during the collection and at the presentation of the gifts, but brought forward eggs, and chickens, and other natural, farm products. The priest washed his hands because they were literally – and not just spiritually – dirty. I saw this little saying in a bathroom recently: “Wash your hands and say your prayer, Jesus and germs are everywhere.”

In the gospel today we see that Catholics inherited this twofold tradition from our Jewish ancestors. But Jesus teaches the Jews that they have so over-emphasized the spiritual meaning of liturgical gestures that they have all but forgotten the practical meaning. In a sense, the Jews have stressed the love of God (the spiritual) to the detriment of love of neighbor (the practical).

Jesus cites two examples: scrupulously washing hands, and the practice of qorban (giving to the Church while neglecting your parents). While these practices began with good intentions as reminders to balance both love of God and love of neighbor – they had deteriorated to an exclusively one-sided relevance. You could love God while ignoring your neighbor, or at its extreme application, you could love God even while hating your neighbor. That hypocrisy is what Jesus condemns.

We can see a family application of this delicate balance of love of God and love of neighbor, the spiritual and the practical sides of faith. That is, we often find it easy to love our parents but we fight bitterly with our brothers and sisters. But what do parents want more than anything in the world? They want their children to love each other.

How hypocritical it sounds in the ears of mom and dad when a son or daughter cozies up to them and says, “I love you mom and dad, but I cannot stand the sight of my sister!” That is exactly how the heart of our heavenly Father feels when we cozy up to him in prayer, at Mass, at Adoration, during the rosary, and whisper to God, “I love you Lord, but I cannot stand so-and-so.”

We cannot pit the love of God against the love of neighbor. They are two sides of the same coin of Christian faith. In other words, if you cannot love your neighbor, then you do not truly love God. Why? Because your neighbor is your brother and sister, and we are all children of God. Our faith is a family affair. And all good parents want their children to love each other.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Hearts in Sync

Adjusting our hearts to beat with Jesus’ Heart

02/09/2025

Mark 6:30-34 The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

I just want to share a few thoughts on a touching phrase in the gospel this morning. We read: “When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” The beautiful phrase I want to zero in on is “his heart was moved with pity.”

Last week I was visiting my parents on Friday and stopped to talk to their neighbor who was enjoying the warm weather to trim his trees. He shared his concern about immigrants and the mass deportations. He said these migrants are not here to do anything criminal but only feed their families and work hard.

And then I thought I saw tears welling up in his eyes when he shared, “My heart breaks for them.” Ron attends the Methodist Church and said he could tell his pastor was struggling the previous Sunday in his sermon to be more vocal in support of immigrants because he feared push-back from some of his congregation.

And I immediately thought: “Whew! Good thing I don’t have to worry about that in the Catholic Church!” But Ron’s loving heart beat with the same rhythm as Jesus’ tender heart because both hearts were moved with pity for the vast crowds.

But I believe this snapshot of our Savior’s heart is his basic disposition toward humanity at all times. What do I mean? Well, ever since Adam and Eve first disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, Jesus’ heart began to feel pity for humanity. At that moment onward we became spiritually like sheep without a shepherd because we wandered away from the Shepherd, God.

Then throughout the Old Testament and even after he comes in the New Testament, Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for us. Why? Because even though he has come to be our Good Shepherd, we prefer to be the lost sheep wandering away and live sinfully like sheep without a shepherd.

And so too throughout the 2,000 year history of the Church, while there are some saints who stay close to the Shepherd, like Ron, the vast majority of Christians prefer to be sheep without the Shepherd and Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for them.

By the way, if we kept reading in Mark 6, the next episode is Jesus feeding the vast crowd with the miraculous multiplication of loaves. That is a clear reference to the Eucharist, when Jesus will feed not 5,000 but all humanity with himself. And what is the Eucharist but Jesus giving us a taste of his own heart? You see, Jesus wants our hearts to beat in rhythm with his heart, like my parents’ neighbor, Ron’s heart does.

This coming Lent I want to offer you an opportunity to get your heart to beat in sync with our Savior’s heart. I will share five presentations on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body on Monday evenings at 6 p.m. The pope-saint’s teaching is vast and deep and rich, and we will hardly do it justice in five presentations. People are spending their lifetime studying it, and it will be well-worth our efforts.

The Theology of the Body was originally a book of 532 pages the pope wrote while he was still the cardinal-archbishop of Krakow, Poland. And I believe he is trying to update and modernize the language of faith so it makes more sense to our modern minds and feels more compelling and moving to our modern hearts.

But at the heart of the pope’s teaching is the human heart itself. How so? Well, first he explains why our hearts are out of sync with Jesus’ Sacred Heart, and second he shows us how to get our hearts back in sync with Jesus’ heart.

Basically, John Paul wants to give us a heart ablation by curing the irregular heartbeat we suffer from because of sin and help our hearts beat more like Jesus’ heart. The Theology of the Body is a spiritual heart ablation: it will hurt but then it will heal.

Talking with my parents’ neighbor Ron last week I saw a poignant example of a man whose heart beats in sync with Jesus’ Sacred Heart. If you are suffering from an irregular heartbeat – like most of us are – come learn to love with the Theology of the Body. Then our hearts, too, will more often be moved with pity when we behold the vast crowd who were like sheep without a shepherd.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Sandwiches

Seeing sandwiches in the gospel and in our lives

02/04/2025

Mark 5:21-43 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” He went off with him and a large crowd followed him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, Who touched me?” And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

Are you hungry this morning? You know you should fast for an hour before Mass, so you would need to get up before 6 a.m. to eat anything. Apollo and I always eat breakfast together so he waits for me to come back from Mass so we can have our bacon and eggs together.

It used to be the rule that you should not eat anything from midnight on before you receive Holy Communion. In any case, the point is you should feel a little hungry when you arrive at Mass. Why? Because God alone can satisfy your greatest hunger, namely, for him, and fasting reinforces that theological point.

We are all in luck this morning because St. Mark has prepared a spiritual sandwich to satisfy our hunger in the rather long gospel from Mark 5:21-43. What do I mean? Well, the reason it is so long, and even looks like Mark got distracted in the middle of telling his story, is because the whole pericope is one piece called a chaism, or more commonly, a Marcan sandwich.

That is, just like a sandwich has two pieces of bread with the meat in the middle, so this passage begins with the story of Jairus’ daughter and ends with the same story, with the meat in the middle of the woman with the hemorrhages.

And the clue that connects the two seemingly distinct and disjointed stories is that Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old and the hemorrhaging woman suffered for 12 years. In other words, the chaism is intentional; the two stories are intimately interconnected.

But this episode is really a sandwich within a sandwich because the story of the hemorrhaging woman is itself a chaism or sandwich. How so? Well, if you study the story carefully, you will see the same elements are repeated at the beginning and at the end.

For instance, she suffers at the hands of doctors but is healed at the hands of Jesus. She approaches Jesus at both the beginning of the story and also at the end of the story. She says, “If I but touch his clothes,” and Jesus asks, “Who touched my clothes?” Her blood no longer flows out of her, but Jesus power flows out of him.

And again the meat is in the middle, namely, the verse, “She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.” In other words, Mark’s main point is that Jesus really can heal us and make us whole if we put our faith in him like this woman did.

By the way, you have heard a lot of my homilies in the past eleven years. This is my 12th year as your pastor, like the 12 years of Jairus’ daughter and the hemorrhaging woman! You have suffered for 12 years hearing my sermons! And have you noticed how many of my homilies are like a sandwich too?

That is, I begin with a joke or story, then talk about the Bible and faith, and usually return to the original story or joke at the end. My sermons, like a good sandwich, have the meat in the middle (although you only remember the joke!). I go to your house and you feed me steak, and you come to God’s house and I feed you a sermon sandwich. Who gets the better deal?

By the way, have you noticed that life is a lot like a sandwich, too? We begin life and end life in very similar circumstances; we depend on others to take us places, we can’t talk or think very well, we wear diapers, we cannot drive a car, we struggle to walk steadily on our feet.

And maybe that is as it should be because Jesus said, “Unless you become like a little child you cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Mt 18:3). But when it comes to eating the sandwich of life, what matters is not the meat in the middle but the dessert at the end, that is, heaven. Only then will we no longer be hungry.

Praised be Jesus Christ

Dogs and Tricks

Learning to cherish traditions and customs of faith

02/03/2025

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

Yesterday I discovered that you are never too old to learn something new. Apollo smiled and said to me: “I guess old dogs can learn new tricks!” As you know, yesterday, February 2, was the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas. That is because people often bring candles to church to be blessed that day. They light the candles during storms to remind them that Jesus is present, in all the storms of their life.

Now, do you know how to say “Candlemas” in Spanish? It is “Candelaria.” Here is the Eureka moment for me. We have a deacon in our parish whose name is “Candelario” which is the masculine form of the word “Candelaria,” And do you know when Dc. Candelario’s birthday is? You guessed it: February 2, the feast of Candelaria or Candlemas. We have a deacon in our parish named Dc. Candlemas! I have been in this parish for 11 years and I just learned that. Old dog, new trick.

But there is also an intimate connection between yesterday’s feast of the Presentation, or Candlemas, and today’s feast of St. Blaise. The candles we blessed yesterday are used in blessing people’s throats today. Even though we blessed throats yesterday, I will also bless throats after Mass this morning, in case anyone missed it yesterday, or wants to be blessed on the actual feast of St. Blaise.

This connection between candles and cures can also be seen between the palms of Palm Sunday and the ashes of Ash Wednesday. People typically bring their dried palm branches to church in the weeks preceding Ash Wednesday to have them burned. Why? So they can become the ashes we place on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday.

We find yet another beautiful connection between brides and baptisms similar to the candles and palm branches. Even though it is uncommon today, in the past brides would cut off some material from their long wedding dress, usually the long train. From that white wedding dress they would sew the baptismal gowns for their babies.

Now, that was not just a practical consideration in order not to waste good material; there was also present a clear theological symbolism. When a baby is baptized it is sacramentally incorporated into the Church, which is the Bride of Christ. What better way to signify that a baby becomes a bride than by dressing it up in a wedding gown?

And that, too, is why the baptismal dress – which by the way boys and girls alike wear – is usually 20 sizes too big for the baby! Sometimes the baby gets lost in the dress and we can't find him for two days. It is supposed to mimic the wedding dress, which, when you include the train, is way oversized for the poor bride. Our faith is so rich, but we lose touch with that wealth when we forget our traditions and customs and feel instead that whatever is the latest must be the greatest.

And some of the latest stuff is pretty great. Still, we often suffer from a kind of chronological snobbery by which we look down our noses at our predecessors and the past and believe we moderns are obviously more enlightened. In some ways we are smarter, but in the most important matters, like faith and culture and morality, we are not. We are just new dogs trying to learn their old tricks.

Today’s gospel from Mark 16:15-20, the conclusion of the second gospel, gives us the scriptural basis of today’s feast of St. Blaise. The last line of the gospel reads: “But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” The reason we bless throats on the feast of St. Blaise is because as a bishop Blaise preached the gospel and one day healed a small boy who had a fish bone caught in his throat.

That healing was the “accompanying sign” that the Lord worked to underscore Bishop Blaise’s words of preaching. Always remember: we don’t come to have our throats blessed because we think the candles possess some magical curative powers. We come to have our throats blessed because we believe we have a loving Savior who desires our health and happiness. Our faith is not in the candles, our faith is in Christ. And faith in Christ is the only trick that any dog – new or old – needs to learn.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

When Life Begins

Appreciating the value of Catholic high schools

2/02/2025

Luke 2:22-32 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in  peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

One of the most vexing questions is when does life begins? Here is a humorous answer. A minister, a priest, and a rabbi were discussing when life begins. The minster argued eloquently that life begins at birth. The priest insisted that the teachings of the Church made it clear that life begins at conception. The rabbi replied: “You both have it wrong! Life begins when the last child moves out and the dog dies.” My apologies to Apollo for that joke!

But if you were to ask Bruce Springsteen when life begins he would tell you life begins, and probably ends, in high school. In his popular song “Glory Days” he describes the best times in life are enjoyed in high school. The Boss sings: “I had a friend was a big baseball player / Back in high school / He could throw that speed ball by you / Make you look like a fool. /

“Saw him the other night at this roadside bar / I was walking in he was walking out / We went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks/ But all he kept talking about was…Glory days / Well, they’ll pass you by / glory days / In the wink of a young girl’s eye, glory days / Glory days.”

Now, with all due respect to the minister, priest, and the rabbi, I have to agree with the Boss’s answer that life begins in high school. Why? Well, because in so many ways that is when a young person becomes awake and aware of themselves and the world around them.

For instance, in high school we begin to discover who we are – our talents and strengths, our weaknesses and failures, our interests and maybe our purpose in life. Moreover we relate to others on a whole new level, like falling in love with your high school sweet heart. In short we begin to really live on the natural level.

Now, what if, in addition to this beginning of life on a natural level, you also experienced a beginning of life on the spiritual level? What do I mean? I am talking about having a profound encounter with Christ. And that is exactly what can (and should) happen in a Catholic high school.

That is why I am so passionate – some would say obsessed – about promoting them, like designating this weekend “Catholic high school Sunday.” We will have representatives from Subiaco Academy and Ozark Catholic Academy speaking at the 10 a.m. and 12 noon Spanish Masses today. In other words, Catholic high schools exist to teach us that life does not begin until we know Jesus Christ.

As you know, we have not had a Catholic high school in Fort Smith since 1973. It was truly tragic when St. Scholastica Academy closed in 1968 and St. Anne’s High School was shuttered in 1973. But today we have safe and reliable transportation from Fort Smith to two outstanding Catholic high schools: Subicao Academy to the east and Ozark Catholic Academy to the north in Tontitown.

Both schools offer an excellent college preparatory education, a wide array of extracurricular activities and sports, and a strong “esprit de corps” of student life. But for my money, the real edge for these schools is that they introduce their students to the best Friend they will ever have, namely, Jesus Christ. And Jesus gradually teaches us that as great as the natural glory days of high school are – like throwing a fast-ball pitch – the supernatural glory days will be far greater.

One friend captured the immense value of Catholic high schools saying this: “A Catholic high school is essentially the Catholic Church’s youth ministry program.” In other words, just like Protestants pour millions of dollars into high-powered, high-technology youth ministry programs, so we Catholics pour millions of dollars into our high-powered, high-theology Catholic high schools. You see, all Christians agree that teens need to know Christ.

This weekend we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord also known as “Candlemas.” Why is it called that? Well, because today Jesus is presented in the Temple and righteous Simeon prophesies that Jesus is, “a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” We bless candles as symbols of Christ, the Light of the world, and Israel’s glory.

And today’s feast suggests a subtle but significant connect with Catholic high schools. How so? Well, in those 4 years many young men and women hear a call to the religious life, to be a priest or nun. Why do you think Subiaco monks run an all-boys high school? Why did the St. Scholastica nuns run an all-girls high school? They are recruiting the next generation of monks and nuns. They are not dumb; they know when life begins.

But Jesus is recruiting in every Catholic high school, too. And that is where he caught me. I felt called to priesthood in high school and entered the seminary after graduation. That is why they call me “a lifer.” You see, this too is part of celebrating the Presentation. Each Catholic high school shines the light of Christ into the heart of its students.

And every high school student who pursues a religious vocation in effect grabs that blazing Torch of Christ’s light and shines it on the world today. The Presentation, in other words, provides the highest raison d’être for why Catholic high schools exist: to teach that life only begins when we know Christ, and that our glory days are still to come.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Acorn

Learning to be honest and transparent with others

01/30/2025

Mark 4:21-25 Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

I heard a Taylor Swift song recently that had a great line in it which I want to use for my homily. Now, I promise not to get all my theology from T. Swift, but every now-and-then she stumbles on a real winner. It’s like the criticism Protestants leveled at the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation: even a blind sow can find an acorn once in a while. I apologize to all the Swifties for just comparing her to a blind sow.

In her very catchy new release called “Cruel Summer,” we hear these languish lyrics: “I’m drunk in the back of the car, / And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar / Said, ‘I’m fine’ but it wasn’t true / I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you.” Did you catch that last line – it was “the acorn” that she stumbled onto. That is, true love does not deal in deceptions but demands transparency, vulnerability, honesty. That is what made the summer so cruel: keeping secrets in love.

In the gospel today we hear that Jesus does not want to experience that cruel summer either, that is, he does not tolerate his disciples being deceptive or secretive with him or with the world. He states: “For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing secret except to come to light.” In other words, there is no room in our relationship with Jesus for a kind of clandestine Catholicism, or as one theologian put it: stealth Catholicism.

If we choose to follow Jesus we should not hide our faith – like Peter did when he denied our Lord three times – but accept the consequences of being openly seen and known as a Christian. Think about it like this: if we were put on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict us? Jesus sings to us like Taylor Swift: “I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you.”

Another relationship where this is no room for secrets is in our marriages. And I try to emphasize this when young engaged couples come to me for marriage preparation. I will never forget a priest from Brooklyn who taught us in the seminary that when such couples come to meet with us, “They lie, they lie, they lie!” Well, I don’t really care if they lie to me, but I encourage them not to lie to each other.

One of the instruments we use to help them get to know each other better is a personality survey called FOCCUS. It gives them a long list of statements and they have to answer “Agree” or “Disagree” or “Undecided.” I tell them that there is not right or wrong answer, but only an honest and less-than-honest answer. That might sound like an easy thing to do, because we all think, “I am an honest person.”

But sometimes we are tempted to be a little less than honest because we don’t want to hurt the other person’s feelings if they knew what we really thought. So we hide our feelings and keep little secrets. But I tell them the worst thing that can happen to you on your wedding day is that you marry a stranger.

On the other hand, the best thing on your wedding would be if you can look at each other and say, “I know you are not the knight in shining armor, but I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.” How wonderful for someone else to know me – the real me that hides behind all the masks – and still want to spend their life with me. Maybe I should just play that Taylor Swift song when couples come for marriage preparation: “I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you.”

As you approach the altar to receive Holy Communion, ask Jesus for the grace to be more transparent, vulnerable, and honest in all your relationships, especially in your relationship with Jesus. Of course it is silly trying to keep secrets from our Lord, who knows us better than we know ourselves. Maybe we are all the blind sow hoping to stumble on that one precious acorn called authentic human love.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Cows Can Fly

Learning to cherish our precious Catholic schools

01/28/2025

Matthew 23:8-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: "Do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

How fortunate that we are celebrating this all-schools Mass during Catholic Schools Week on January 28, the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. Why is that so fortunate? Well, because St. Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint of students, like you! That means he prays for you to do well in school. And you can ask for his prayers before a test, in case you forgot to study. Now, raise your hand if you have ever forgotten to study for a test? Now you know who to ask for help when you’re desperate!

Let me tell you a story about St. Thomas when he was just a student himself in a monastery studying to become a monk. And it will also teach us something beautiful about Catholic schools. St. Thomas was a big boy when he was young and also very quiet. He watched and listened but he was zip-lip. You see, Thomas knew why God gave us two eyes and two ears but only one mouth.

Can you guess why? So we would look and listen a lot more than we talk. Well, one day Thomas’ classmates decided to play a prank on him. They saw him walking down the hall, and they stood by a window staring at the sky and pointing with their fingers. They yelled to Thomas, “Br. Thomas, Br. Thomas, come and look! There are cows flying!”

Br. Thomas lumbered as quickly as he could over to the window and the waiting brothers. But when he looked up at the sky, alas, there were no cows flying. Of course, his classmates were laughing and carrying on about how gullible and foolish Thomas was to believe cows could fly.

Then Br. Thomas turned back from the window, faced his classmates, and said calmly: “I would rather believe cows can fly than that brothers can lie.” What a great come-back! And the brothers who were laughing a minute ago were now silenced, embarrassed, and ashamed. By the way, his classmates had given Br. Thomas the nickname of the “Dumb Ox” because he was big and quiet.

But one day their teacher, St. Albert the Great, told the whole class: “You may call Thomas the Dumb Ox. But one day this ox will bellow so loudly his voice will fill the whole world.” And that is true. St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings spread all over the world, and even down the ages. We still read his books in the seminary, where we study to become priests.

Now I’m going to tell you how this story can teach us something beautiful about Catholic schools. Going to a Catholic school is a little like going to a monastery. Now, that does not mean you are not going to become a priest or a nun, but rather you are trying to become a saint and a scholar.

And sometimes you may have classmates who tease you, like the brother monks did to Thomas. When that happens, boys and girls, don’t get mad, and don't run away crying. But be kind and forgiving, like Thomas was, and even say a prayer for those who tease you. Always be kind to each other, because we don’t know what someone is feeling inside.

And the friends you make here in Catholic schools will be your friends for life. When students go to Northside or Southside high school, or Subiaco or Ozark Catholic Academy, they stick close to their friends from Trinity and I.C. and Christ the King. Boys and girls, ask yourself: who do I play with at recess?

Who do I sit next to at lunch? Who are my teammates in basketball, volleyball, or track? These friends are given to you by God to be your own Thomas Aquinas, a friend to help you go through life. And maybe that friend will teach you one that “it’s better to believe cows can fly than that friends can lie.”

This Catholic Schools Week let’s follow the example of the Dumb Ox, St. Thomas Aquinas, and open our two eyes and our two ears, and close our mouths – which won’t be easy for some of us – and discover what a blessing it is to go to a Catholic school. Here we meet our best friends for life, and especially our bestest Friend, Jesus.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

House We Live In

Praying and working for unity in the Church

01/27/2025

Mark 3:22-30 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

I am going to talk politics this morning but only as an introduction and an illustration to make a larger point. We just went through a contentious and controversial election cycle. It is clear that Donald Trump received roughly 77 million votes, and Kamala Harris about 74 million. And more importantly Trump won the majority of electoral votes which really determines who occupies the White House. But I don’t think anyone will disagree that our nation is very much a house divided.

Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous House Divided speech in 1858 while running for senator from Illinois (which he lost). But the future 16th president warned that a house or nation divided cannot stand the test of time. Indeed, that very hypothesis would be tested when Lincoln became president in 1861 and the Civil War erupted over the issue of slavery. Our house was not only divided, we were shooting and killing each other over that division.

For a brief period we were two nations. And there is even a small concrete monument on Rogers Avenue between the church and the rectory honoring Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. Yeah, there really is one. My prayer is that as we Americans grow farther apart, politically, socially, morally, and religiously history will not repeat itself. Or as Mark Twain cleverly put it, history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

Of course Lincoln borrowed the core words of his speech from what Jesus said in the gospel today: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Now, Jesus was not referring principally to secular kingdoms or houses, like the United States, but rather to spiritual kingdoms like the dominion of Satan and the Kingdom of God.

And here I believe is his main point. Satan’s kingdom is essentially and inescapably a divided kingdom and ultimately doomed to fall. Why? Well, because it began with a division and a mutiny from the Kingdom of God. Remember that Satan and all demons are fallen angels.

That is, they were originally law-abiding citizens of God’s kingdom, but became rebels and outlaws. What began as an attempt to divide God’s kingdom will inevitably suffer the same fate itself, namely, division and disaster. Satan was born from division, and his own kingdom will suffer division until there is nothing left to divide.

God’s kingdom, on the other hand, is not established on the principle of division or rebellion, but on the basis of unity and harmony. At the very heart of God’s kingdom, therefore, lies the divine source of its indestructible unity, namely, the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And this, by the way, is precisely why Jesus takes such umbrage with an attack on the Holy Spirit in the gospel. When people accuse him of being possessed by an evil spirit, and he calls it an unforgiveable sin. By denouncing the Holy Spirit as an evil spirit, they are casting aspersions and attacking the very source of the unity and harmony of the Kingdom of God, and saying it is equivalent to the dominion of Satan.

I am convinced this emphasis on the unity of the Kingdom of God is the main reason the Church pivoted at Vatican II from decrying all the divisions and differences between Christians - how Catholics are so unlike the other denominations - and rather turned to highlighting all the points of contact and similarities between Christians.

For example, we accept the baptisms of most other Christian denominations. When a Methodist or Presbyterian or Episcopalian wants to become Catholic, we do not re-baptize them. They are already validly baptized. We believe that when two baptized Christians marry each other, they receive the sacrament and the graces of Holy Matrimony.

Someday study the documents of Vatican II with this gospel passage in the back of your mind, and I believe you will see the golden thread that runs through all 16 documents. At this Mass let us pray for greater unity: in our country, in our Church, and in our own families. When we experience division and disorder we take a step toward Satan’s kingdom. When we enjoy unity and harmony, we stand firmly in God’s kingdom. A house divided cannot stand, but that is not the house we live in.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Isle of Saints and Scholars

Celebrating Catholic Schools Week at I.C., Fort Smith

01/216/2025

Luke 4:14-21 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

I recently came across a little cartoon that I am convinced was inspired by my dog, Apollo. Pictured are two dogs, one older, and the other a puppy, sitting in training school. In the distance a man stands offering a doggie treat. The older dog says to the younger dog: “They give you a lot of treats while they are training you. So, play dumb for as long as you can.” By the way, I took Apollo to the vet two weeks ago, and saw a sign that said: “My dog is not spoiled. I am just well trained.” All dog people sooner or later ask themselves: who is training whom???

This Sunday we begin Catholic Schools Week, and the students at Immaculate Conception never play dumb in school, but they certainly teach us adults a lot. For example, at the Sunday 10 a.m. Mass brave 5th graders Ben Harmon, Alivea Needham, and Valentina Araujo are reading at Mass, in front of a full church with over 500 people listening. Could I get a show of hands how many adults would get up and do that? Please don’t all raise your hands at once.

Or, this coming week the students will participate in a “Diaper Parade” and deliver bags of diapers to Heart to Heart Pregnancy Center and then sing for the staff and visitors. What a powerful pro-life witness! Or, another inspiring example, our choir – cleverly called the Treble Makers – love to sing at Mass. Who says “Catholics can’t sing?” These little guys love to belt it out.

In other words, our students never play dumb and they definitely are not spoiled. Rather, they are little saints and scholars in the making. And that should not surprise us one bit. Why not? Because this church and school were founded by courageous Irish priests and Sisters of Mercy whose homeland is called “The Isle of Saints and Scholars.” Do you remember why it is called that?

Well, because Ireland produced so many holy saints and brilliant scholars between the 5th and 9th centuries that they practically rescued Europe from the Dark Ages after Rome fell and the barbarians invaded. As I look into the eyes of our Immaculate Conception students I feel very hopeful they will keep America from the Dark Ages too. The next St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Finnian, and St. Columba are walking the halls of I.C. School today.

Our students attend weekly Mass on Thursdays, and it is hands down my favorite Mass of the week because I get to speak to our budding saints and scholars. I often tell them that the most important classroom in our school is not the technology lab, nor the art room, nor the library, not even the cafeteria where we will serve Crispitos! Rather, the most important classroom is this church.

And when I ask them who the teacher is here, they know it is not Fr. Samy, or a deacon, or Fr. John. They will quickly tell you that our great Teacher, the One who teaches us all, is Jesus. You see, the same Jesus who instructed the Irish 1,500 years ago in County Wicklow and County Cork is still teaching his saints and scholars today from Country Sebastian and Country Sequoyah (in Oklahoma).

If you walk into our classrooms at I.C. School, you will immediately see catchy slogans with inspiring words. They are like the iconic words the Notre Dame Fighting Irish see and slap as they run onto the football field that says: “Play like a champion today.” Or the last lines a tennis pro sees before they walk onto center court at the U.S. Open: “Pressure is a privilege.”

Well, our teachers have decorated their classrooms and pulled out all the stops for our Open House Sunday from 11-12. Their rooms are filled with inspiring slogans and sayings. In the same way, Jesus, the Teacher, has adorned his classroom with images, and prayers, candles and kneelers, not so his students will play dumb or even to play like a champion, but so that they will play like a saint and a scholar in the game of life.

And good teachers know that the best ways to instruct is to teach by example. They say, “Watch me, and do it like this.” Therefore we read in the gospel today from Luke: “Jesus stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah” – and Ezra had done likewise in the first reading – so our students stand up at Mass to read from the scrolls of the Old and the New Testament. They imitate their Teacher, who says in effect, “Watch me, and do it like this.” Why should they imitate him?

Well, because like their Lord and Savior, our students by virtue of Baptism and Confirmation also have “the Spirit of the Lord upon them because he has anointed them to bring glad tidings to the poor.” And the poor are you are me. Folks, haven't you learned a lot from your children? All dog people, as well as parents, often ask: “Who is training whom here?”

In other words, the Holy Spirit’s anointing makes our students modern saints and scholars, and they are being trained for their great mission, namely, to save the world from the Dark Ages. And where are they being trained? Well, where else but on the Emerald Isle of Immaculate Conception School, the modern day “Isle of Saints and Scholars.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Put on This Planet

Understanding the importance of the age of twelve

01/21/2025

Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."

The prevailing wisdom of the day says that someone does not know their vocation – what they should do with their life – until they turn at least 30 years old. And that wisdom seems to be borne out by experience: people frequently switch majors in college, they change jobs multiple times for their occupation, and some even divorce and remarry by the time they are 30 or so. In other words, it takes people almost half their life to figure out why they were put on this planet.

But that was not the more traditional wisdom of the ages. St. Francis de Sales argued that a boy or girl knows by the age of 12 what their vocation – their God-given purpose for which he created them – is all about. St. Francis de Sales was an extraordinarily wise spiritual director and so his opinion carries a lot of weight. After guiding countless souls to sanctity, St. Francis understood keenly when someone knows why they are on this planet.

Another reason the age of 12 is so significant is what happens at 13? Hormones happen! That is, our minds and our hearts and even our bodies are flooded with a thousand powerful (and not always very pure) thoughts, feelings, and urges. In other words, our psyche will never again be at peace in order to understand the world and our place in it as well as when we were 12 years old. Life only goes downhill after 12.

And the third reason the age of 12 stands as the pinnacle of personal maturity is because of our Lord’s own example. Do you remember what he was concerned with at 12? We read in Lk 2:41-42, “Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was 12 years old, they went up according to festival custom.”

And later when his worried and anxious parents found him in the Temple and ask his reasons for ditching them, Jesus answers perfectly nonplussed as if he were doing the most obvious thing: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). It is as if Jesus were asking: “Isn’t it crystal clear to everyone what their vocation is – why we are put on this planet – by the age of 12?” At least it was crystal clear to our Savior.

I say all this as a prelude to better understand the brief life but long legacy of St. Agnes of Rome, whose feast we celebrate on January 21. She won two crowns at the age of 12, namely, the crown of virginity and the crown of martyrdom. I had a friend in seminary who had a deep devotion to St. Agnes. Every year he bought a huge cake for the whole seminary that was red velvet cake with white frosting. The red symbolized Agnes’ blood she shed and the white stood for her purity. Seminarians have some very strange ways of celebrating the saints.

Perhaps to outsiders the fact that we celebrate and cheer on a little girl’s death may indeed seem not just odd but outlandish, even something bordering on child abuse. But such a perspective comes to mind only because our own sensibilities have been scrambled by modern culture and the thought that “no one lives life to the full” until they know why they are put on this planet. And that can never happen before 30 or 40. But the older, ancient, and wiser viewpoint says a person knows that by the age of 12, and thus has virtually lived their whole life by then.

Not many years after St. Agnes’ martyrdom in the year 304, St. Ambrose would eulogize her in his Treatise on Virgins. Listen to how Ambrose praises Agnes’ maturity and fullness of life at such a tender age: “Too young to be punished yet old enough for a martyr’s crown; unfitted for the contest, yet effortless in victory, she shows herself a master in valor despite the handicap of youth.”

He continues: “In the midst of tears, she shed no tears herself. The crowds marvel at her recklessness in throwing away her life untasted, as if she had already lived life to the full. All are amazed that one not yet of legal age can give her testimony to God.” Then he concludes: “You could see fear in the eyes of the executioner, as if he were the one condemned; his right hand trembled, his face grew pale as he saw the girl’s peril, while she had no fear for herself.”

Why did St. Agnes have no fear for herself while the executioner felt as if he were the one condemned? Because Agnes knew by the age of 12 why she had been put on this planet - to glorify God by her martyrdom and virginity - while the executioner had no clue why he was here. The former had already lived a very full life, while the latter had not even begun to live.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Little Brown Boy

Overcoming subtle racism in our hearts

01/20/2025

Mark 2:18-22 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."

Do you know that I did not always think I was a little brown boy? I know that sounds silly – just look in the mirror and you can see who you are – but hear me out. I came from India when I was seven years old, and attended St. Theresa’s Catholic School in Little Rock. All my classmates were little white German kids with names like Kordsmeier, Beck, Gangluff, Euckmann, Moix, etc. There weren’t any other little brown kids in my class, so I began to think I must be like them, too.

And just looking in the mirror did not solve the problem. Just like people who suffer from bulimia or anorexia are often very skinny in reality, but when they look in the mirror they see themselves as over-weight in their minds. So, too, I am obviously a little brown boy but when I looked in the mirror I only saw a little white German boy. We often see what we want to see, not how things are in reality.

In high school my family went on a vacation to India, and I remember being shocked that all these Indian people looked like me. I remember saying incredulously to my brother, “Hey, we could be related to all these people!” I suddenly discovered that I am a little brown boy. And that is a good thing: to know who you are and feel proud of it. Why? Because that is who God made you. And as the very profound theological bumper-sticker says: “God don’t make junk.”

Today in the United States we honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As you know he was a champion of the civil rights movement, and was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. Two things stand out to me about his legacy: (1) he employed non-violent means to promote civil rights for people of color.

And (2) he delivered an iconic speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial called, “I Have a Dream.” How fitting that President Abraham Lincoln who promulgated the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves should be looking over MLK Jr’s shoulder as he delivered that speech. Here is how that speech began:

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But 100 years later, the Negro is still not free.” And then Dr. King went on to list the many ways African-Americans are still shackled in discrimination and injustice.

Today I want to point out that even though much progress has been made to end racial injustice, much work still remains to be done. One area to work on is overcoming the unconscious racism I felt when I first came to America. What do I mean? While I attended St. Theresa School I felt it was better to be a little white German boy instead of a proud little brown Indian boy.

And I think that feeling of unease with being ethnically or socially different still plagues our society. For example, sometimes I see African-American women who are newscasters on prominent networks and they wear their hair like white women do. Now, certainly everyone is free to wear their hair however they please.

I wish I could wear my hair like white women do! But might there not also be whispering a subtle and sinister voice in their heads that echoed what that little voice said in my head: “It is better to look like a little white girl than to look like a little black African-American girl.”

And by the way could that sinister little voice also echo – speaking slightly differently – in the heads of white Americans? Perhaps it says, “Why don’t those little brown and black boys and girls look, behave, talk, and think more like us white boys and girls?” In other words, besides the racism that lurks on the political and social levels, we can detect a subtle racism in our own hearts. We must recognize and overcome that interior racism, too. Why? Because “God don’t make junk.”

Let me share how MLK Jr ended his immortal speech: “And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all God’s children, Black men and White men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

No One Else to Eat With

Imitating Jesus who dined with sinners

01/18/2025

Mark 2:13-17 Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

One of the most paradigmatic actions of Jesus was to sit down to supper with sinners. Supper with sinners was paradigmatic because it was our Lord’s most consistent and consequential action. We hear a perfect example of this supper with sinners in the gospel today when Jesus dines with Levi, the tax-collector.

I would like to elaborate on 3 implications of Jesus’ most characteristic behavior for us Christians, that is, our lives should be marked by supper with sinners, too. Why? Well, the most sound rule of thumb for a follower of Christ is “imitatio Christi” “the imitation of Christ” or as we like to say today, “WWJD” – What would Jesus do?

George MacDonald applied this principle to suffering rather than to suppering, saying: “The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not have to suffer, but that their suffering might be like his.” So, here are three implications not of "suffering like Jesus" but of "suppering like Jesus."

First of all, Jesus always and only had supper with sinners. There was no one else to eat with! Whether Jesus was having breakfast in Nazareth with his foster-father Joseph (Mother Mary was the only sinless one at Jesus’ table), or letting his hair down during a loving supper at Martha and Mary’s home in Bethany, or a long supper with short Zacchaeus, or even the Last Supper with his apostles, Jesus inevitably sat down to supper with sinners.

Supper with sinners was not only ever paradigmatic, but it was all that was ever possible. So, when the Pharisees complain in the gospel today and ask his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” the disciples should have answered smartly: “Well, there is no one else to eat with!”

In other words, Jesus alone is the Holy One of God – which even the unclean spirits acknowledged – and everyone else he broke bread with were the unholy ones of God. Jesus was always and only suppering with sinners.

A second implication of Jesus’ paradigmatic action is that Jesus is still sitting down to supper with sinners today, and we call that supper the Eucharist. What do you think is happening right now at this Mass with you and me present with Jesus sharing Bread and Wine? Exactly what happened in the gospel reading today: Jesus is having supper with sinners.

Someone sent me this meme and it captures how Jesus suppers with sinners. It read: “If you’re having sex before marriage, go to church anyway. If you are a drug addict and trying to beat addiction, go to church anyway. If you were drunk all night the night before, go to church anyway. If you aren’t sure what gender you are, go to church anyway. If you can’t quit that disgusting habit, go to church anyway.”

It concluded: “Church is a hospital for the broken, the lost, the empty, the confused, the desperate, and the rejected.” Now, clearly, if you are not in the state of grace you should not receive Holy Communion. Nonetheless, you should go to church anyway. Why? Because Jesus doesn’t have anyone else to eat with.

A third implication of Jesus’ paradigmatic behavior of suppering with sinners is to look carefully at those we sit down to dine with at home. When you break bread with others, who is sitting across the table from you? Are they always people who look like you, think like you, act like you, dress like you, believe like you, talk like you, etc.

In short, are they the “saints” just like we like to think we are the “saints"? Do we try, therefore, not to invite the awkward uncle, the alcoholic aunt, the grandmother with dementia who always makes a scene? Like Jesus today, do we welcome so-called “sinners” and dine with them?

A few years ago when they opened Hope Campus, our church staff went to prepare a supper for the homeless. We cooked the food as per the instructions of the chef, we smiled and served the food as the homeless passed by with their trays, and we cleaned up the pots and pans before we left.

But we did not sit down to supper with them. What we did was great, no doubt, but I also think we missed a golden opportunity of grace, namely, to imitate Jesus’ paradigmatic behavior of suppering with sinners. Why? Well, because quite frankly, there is no one else to eat with.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Where Angels Fear To Tread

Understanding the activity of the angels in our lives

01/14/2025

Mark 1:21-28 Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are– he Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

I was talking to a local high school student recently who made the off-handed remark, “We don’t believe in demons any more. What the Bible describes as demons today we know are psychological or emotional illnesses and can be healed by science.” Have you heard that or similar comments before? And I do not think her comment is entirely wrong. But it is not entirely correct either. How so?

Well, some disorders in the past, in a pre-scientific age, may have indeed been psychological or emotional. But without the tools of psychology they were lumped in with spiritual maladies. But I would suggest to you that today we run the risk of the opposite danger: lumping all non-physiological disorders into psychological or emotional categories. If the pendulum had swung too far to the spiritual side in the past, it has swung too far to the scientific side today.

Keep this nuanced perspective in mind as you read today’s gospel. St. Mark records: “In their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit…Jesus rebuked him and said, ‘Quiet! Come out of him!’ The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.” Now, my high school friend would say those behaviors are symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, etc.

And perhaps she is right and St. Mark did not have the benefit of modern psychology so he just attributed the man’s erratic behavior to the work of an unclean spirit. But I would supplement that psychological interpretation by adding that in some instances people in the Bible were indeed possessed by unclean spiritual forces. This, as you know, is the perennial teaching of the Church, our faith.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states categorically: “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition” (n. 328). In other words, just as there are good angels that do God’s bidding, so there also exist unholy angels that try to thwart his plans.

Sometimes it’s easier to see how the evil angels undermine God’s grace in us by studying how our Guardian Angels enhance God’s grace operating in us. Recently I have enjoyed reading a book by the French theologian Jean Danielou called The Angels and Their Mission. He highlights how the early Church Fathers understood the activity of the angels.

He writes about our Guardian Angels: “They protect the soul against troubles from within and without; they reprimand and punish the soul that turns aside from the right way; they assist it at prayer and transmit its petitions to God” (p. 73). He summarizes these 3 angelic activities as peace, penitence, and prayer.

Have you heard that little voice in your head that tells you to read the Bible more, to stop in church and say a prayer, to invite Fr. John back over for supper? That is the voice of your Guardian Angel speaking. On the other hand, the voice that tells you to steal or lie or be unfair or cheat is the unclean spirit active in our lives. And as he did in the gospel, Jesus silences the voice of the unclean spirits through the grace of the sacraments like confession and the Eucharist.

In other words, we can accept and benefit from the great advances in psychology and psychiatry while also recognizing the unchanging truths of faith. When psychology tries to entirely dismiss spirituality, or spirituality tries to debunk all psychology, both over step their bounds. And perhaps that is also “where angels fear to tread.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

What Kids Should Do

Answering five questions about the Jubilee Year

01/13/2025

Mark 1:14-20 After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

This homily is way overdue but I wanted to respond to some questions swirling around like snow regarding the Jubilee Year, being a Jubilee church, and plenary indulgences. As you know, Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year beginning on Dec. 24, 2024 and ending on Jan. 6, 2026, and its title is “Pilgrims of Hope.” Then, Bishop Taylor designated Immaculate Conception in Fort Smith as one of the five “jubilee churches” in Arkansas. This a great honor for us, but also a great responsibility. Now, let me address 5 frequently asked questions about these matters.

First, what must a jubilee church do differently from other churches? Being a jubilee church means we have to provide: (1) regular Mass times (we have Mass every day), (2) frequent opportunities for confession (we have confessions on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), (3) regular times when the church is open for prayer, and (4) information about plenary indulgences. But jubilee churches are NOT required to designate a “holy door” for people to pass through. All our doors are holy!

Second, how do you obtain a plenary indulgence? There are 5 requirements to get a plenary indulgence. (1) Make a sincere confession; (2) receive Holy Communion in the state of grace not conscious of serious sins; (3) pray for the intentions of the pope and make a profession of faith (read the Creed); (4) make a pilgrimage to a jubilee church, and (5) be completely detached from mortal and venial sins. Notice the unique requirement to make a "pilgrimage" because this jubilee is called “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Third, since I.C. is a jubilee church, can we fulfill the pilgrimage requirement by simply coming to Mass at I.C.? I.C. parishioners fulfill the "letter of the law" (to visit a jubilee church) by coming to Mass here on Sunday. However, we would do better and fulfill "the spirit of the law" by making a pilgrimage and visit either the Cathedral of St. Andrew, or St. Edward Church (Little Rock), St. Joseph Church (Pine Bluff), or St. Mary Church (Helena).

Fourth, what does being completely detached from sin mean? That rigorous detachment from all sin mortal and venial means not only avoiding murder, adultery, and robbing a bank. It also involves a sincere and firm conviction to avoid telling small lies, complaining, procrastinating, wasting time, dressing immodestly, vanity, impatience, not praying frequently, not exercising, etc. Put positively, we should strive to be a saint every moment of our lives.

Fifth, is a plenary indulgence a short-cut to heaven? Here I must correct an exaggeration I made recently. It is not entirely correct to say a plenary indulgence is “ a get out of jail free card” (like I did in a homily a few weeks ago!). Why not? Well, on the one hand, it is true that it remits the punishments due to our sins for which we deserve purgatory.

But on the other hand, more than “get out of purgatory”, if you study the 5 conditions of a plenary indulgence, you discover these are really the necessary conditions to “get into heaven.” In a sense, a plenary indulgence is trying to get us to do our purgatory on earth, and that is why they are not easy, especially being detached from all sins, mortal and venial.

We cannot enter heaven still attached to our sins, bad habits, or vices. Only saints can pass through the Pearly Gates, the true and eternal Holy Doors. Remember the parable of the man who tried to crash a wedding party without the proper wedding garment in Mt 22:13? He was thrown out on his ear because he was not entirely purified and prepared. A plenary indulgence will not get you into heaven without also being a saint.

Let me add a final word about all this, and it is perhaps the most important. Ultimately, Pope Francis’ “Pilgrims of Hope” Jubilee Year and plenary indulgence merely follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, St. Peter, who wrote: “God’s divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion” (2 Pt 1:3).

In other words, we receive that "divine power" for holiness and becoming saints through a sincere reception of the sacraments, especially Mass and confession, which is the real purpose of a plenary indulgence and this Jubilee Year. Wise parents are always just trying to find clever ways to get their kids to do what they should be doing anyway.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Worth All the Points

Exploring how inspired authors play words with friends

01/07/2025

Mark 6:34-44 When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat." He said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?" He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see." And when they had found out they said, "Five loaves and two fish." So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.

Have you heard of one of the most popular games to play on your phone or Ipad or tablet called “Words with Friends”? Think of the classic board game called Scrabble but on steroids. Our ladies in the church office talk about it at lunch. One reason this game is so addictive is that you can play up to 40 different games simultaneously, and hook up with friends or even with perfect strangers. If you like toying with words, enjoy engaging with people in your spare time, and want to increase your vocabulary, this is the ideal game for you.

In the gospel today we see that the inspired authors of Scripture also played a sort of “words with friends.” How so? Well, they used different words to convey the central truth of faith that Jesus has come to save us and he saves us by giving us himself in the Eucharist as Bread and Wine.

For instance, today in Mk 6:41 we read about four key words that point to the Eucharist during the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Mark writes: “Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to [his] disciples to set before the people.” The four critical words with friends are taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.

If you skip ahead to the Last Supper, we read in Mk 14:22, “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them and said, ‘Take it, this is my body.’” In other words, St. Mark is playing a sort of Scriptural “words with friends” and his friends in faith (you and I) will see how much his words count because they touch the central mystery of our faith, namely, the Eucharist. Those 4 words are worth a lot of points.

Another word our inspired Scripture author friends used to spell the Eucharist was where Jesus was born, that is, Bethlehem. You probably know that the etymology of Bethlehem is literally “house of bread.” And it was no accident of history, or merely crowded inns, that caused Jesus to be born in a manger – a feeding trough for animals.

Rather, it was the fulfillment of Micah 5:1, which reads: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah least among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from old, from ancient times.” That is, Micah, one of our “words with friends,” had preprogrammed the hearts and minds of the people of God to expect that the Messiah would one day not only lead us but feed us. This Baby would become Bread, the Eucharist.

Well, you might ask, “What about the word ‘Eucharist’ itself? Where do our inspired friends use that word in the Bible?” I’m so glad you asked! We find it in Mt 26:27, describing Jesus at the Last Supper: “Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you’.” The English words “gave thanks” were originally written in Greek as “eucharistesas,” where we get “eucharist” meaning “giving thanks.”

When I celebrate Mass for my parents in their home on Fridays, after my dad receives Holy Communion, he says: “Thank you, Jesus, for coming to me. Wash away my sins with your Blood.” I think the longer we live and the wiser we get, we will begin to see everything in our life as a gift, especially the Eucharist.

And there will only be one thing left to say in the end: “Thanks,” in Greek “Eucharist.” Have you ever wondered why so many elderly people love going to Mass even during the week? It is not because they are making up for all the Masses they missed when they were young. They have figured out what life is really all about: everything is gift, and our job is just to give thanks.

And here is a final “word with friends” not originally from Greek but from Latin, namely, “Mass.” Where does that word “Mass” originate? It comes from the dismissal at the end of Mass, in Latin, “Ite missa est,” translated as “Go forth, the Mass is ended.” There are other options for the dismissal, like “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” Or, as Deacon Greg likes to say dramatically, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”

But I like this simpler dismissal because that is the way Fr. George Tribou always ended the Mass at Catholic High School. And when I use that form of the dismissal, it reminds me of him, and I feel I carry on a little of his enormous legacy. So this last “word with friends” – the Mass – did not come from an inspired author of Scripture, but from a very inspiring friend and mentor.

Folks, every time we come to church, be ready to play “words with friends” or a spiritual Scrabble on steroids. If you are good at this game you will be able to use words like “take, bless, break, and give,” or “Bethlehem,” or Eucharist,” and even “Mass.” All these words are used by our friends in faith to teach us about the central mystery of our salvation. And that mystery is worth all the points.

Praised be Jesus Christ!