Family and Friends

Loving our family as the friends God chooses for us

05/18/2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Welcoming Distractions

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

05/17/2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Givers and Takers

Learning the difference between happiness and joy

05/16/2018

Acts of the Apostles 20:28-38 At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that he acquired with his own Blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Today I would like to teach you the difference between two words that seem the same but are as different as night and day; indeed, they are a wide apart as heaven and earth. The two words are “happiness” and “joy.” Now, most people would say happiness and joy are basically the same, but I believe they are decidedly different. Happiness is what you feel when you receive something; joy is what you feel when you give something.  Happiness is short-lived and shallow, and what most people on earth pine for; but joy lasts longer is deeper, and what the saints and angels in heaven enjoy. Happiness makes you more human, joy makes you more divine.

I learned the difference between happiness and joy in eighth grade. That Christmas I received a bike from Santa Claus, and I was very happy, especially because my bike was faster than everyone else’s in our neighborhood. That same Christmas, I made straight A’s on my report card (for the first time and the last time!). Now, I didn’t study hard and make good grades for me – I could care less about grades back then – but I did that for my parents, to make them happy. That was my Christmas present to them. I’ll never forget the feeling of giving versus receiving: happiness is shallow and short-lived, joy is deeper and divine. Heck, I can still feel today the joy of giving my parents that report card so many years ago, and I’m a little embarrassed how giddy I got over that bike.

This difference really defines all people into two camps: givers and takers. There really are only two kinds of people in this world: givers (who feel enduring joy) and takers (who seek fleeting happiness). This distinguishes saints and sinners: saints seek joy, giving to others, whereas sinners seek happiness, taking from others. This distinguishes children and adults: children seek happiness (they want to receive Christmas presents) but adults seek joy (they want to give Christmas presents). This also differentiates immature Catholics from mature ones. Immature Catholics go to Mass seeking happiness and complain: “I didn’t get anything out of the Mass.” Mature Catholics go to Mass seeking joy and say: “I’m glad I got to give an hour of my time to Jesus.” Have you started noticing these two kinds of people in the world – givers and takers? Have you started noticing which of these two kinds of persons you are becoming?

The whole book of the Acts of the Apostles is the story of Paul who discovered this same difference between happiness and joy, and how he underwent the transformation from being a taker into a giver. As a Pharisees, he was a taker – he took the lives of men, women and children who professed Christianity. He believed that killing them would make him happy. But after his conversion to Christ, he became a giver and was ready to give his life for others and Jesus. He only wanted joy. He explains his attitude to the Ephesians in Acts 20, saying: “In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort (he was a tent-maker) we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.” In other words, Christians should always seek joy not happiness, to be givers not takers.

As we come to the conclusion of another year at Trinity, the ninth graders demonstrate what they seek and what kind of persons they are becoming. They have prepared a gift for their teachers. That may seem like a small thing, but it hides a huge lesson. When they give this gift, I hope they feel what I discovered back in eighth grade: the profound difference between happiness and joy. One is shallow and short-lived, but the other is deeper and even divine. The same transformation that St. Paul experienced in the Acts of the Apostles, our ninth graders have hopefully experienced over their three years here at Trinity Junior High. You arrived here as takers and hopefully you leave as givers; you came here as children but hopefully you depart from here more like adults; you came here only knowing happiness but we hope you graduate from here having discovered joy.

By the way, I believe I misspoke early when I said the difference between joy and happiness is like that between heaven and earth. It’s actually more like the difference between heaven and hell. Heaven is filled with givers who only want joy, but hell is full of takers who think they will be happy. I’m very proud of our ninth graders who have chosen to be givers and feel joy of Jesus. This is why we say Trinity not only prepares you for Harvard, but for Heaven.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Focus on Water

Living our baptismal relationship focusing on Jesus

05/13/2018

Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

A man went to the pastor of his church and said, “I won’t be attending church anymore.” The pastor, puzzled, asked, “May I ask why?” The man answered, “I see people on their cell phones, texting and typing during the service, some are gossiping, some I know are not living right, some are sleeping, some are staring at me. They are all hypocrites!” The pastor was silent, but after a pause spoke: “Can I ask you to do something for me before you make your final decision?” The man replied, “Sure, what is that?” The minister continued: “Next Sunday, shortly before the service starts, take a glass full of water and walk around the church two times while carrying that glass of water. Take care not to let any water spill out of the glass.” The man said confidently: “Yes, I can do that!”

The following Sunday, he obediently came to church with a glass filled with water and, as instructed, walked around the church two times. He came back to the pastor and beamed proudly: “It’s done, and not a drop of water fell out!” The pastor asked him these questions: “Did you see anybody on their cell phones? Did you see anyone gossiping? Was anyone living wrong? Did you see anyone sleeping or staring at you?” The man answered a little annoyed, “Well, no, I didn’t see anything because I was so focused on this glass and trying not to let any water spill out.” The pastor concluded: “When you come to church you should be just that focused on God so you don’t fall yourself. You should come to church to look at God, not to look at others. Just like you focused on the water, so you should focus on God.

Right up to the moment of his Ascension, Jesus was trying to teach this same lesson to his apostles, with very little success by the way. Even after listening and learning from Jesus for three years, they were still more worried about what others were doing instead of focusing on their own discipleship. They were looking at others instead of looking at God. That’s what was behind their question to Jesus - how he was going to deal with all the evil-doers - when they asked: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other words, when will you rout those ruthless Romans and restore the Davidic Kingdom, so we can be the rulers and set things right? Jesus sounded a lot like that wise pastor dealing with his disgruntled parishioner when he answered: “It is not for you to know the times and seasons the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That is, don’t worry about whether the Romans are texting or gossiping or sleeping or living right. Instead, worry about what you are doing to live your faith and share your faith. Keep your focus on God, not on others.

This Sunday we have four children receiving their first Holy Communion. If I asked them today: do you see people on their cell phones? Are the texting or gossiping? Are they living right? Are they hypocrites? What do you think they would probably answer? They would likely say: “I am not worried about them! I am happy for me! Today I get to receive Jesus in Communion for the first time!” They are laser focused on God, not on others. What a great example for all of us.

At the core of Christianity is a profound personal relationship with God. That relationship is born in water, the holy water of baptism that, in a sense, we carry around in our souls. We should not let even a drop of that spiritual water spill out of our hearts. In order to achieve that, we must be laser focused on that water, the sign of our rebirth in Christ, like that man walking around the church before the service. True disciples are always focused on their relationship with Jesus, living their faith and sharing their faith. When we focus on God, rather than worrying about others, that’s when we have the best chance to change the rest of the world.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Care and Correct

Practicing tough love avoiding the sledgehammer and soft serve ice cream

05/12/2018

Acts of the Apostles 18:23-28 After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples. A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

One of the hardest things to do in human relationships is correct someone you love, but eventually everyone must. We priests are not immune from this interaction of tough love, even if we wish we were. Sometimes we correct others but sometimes others correct us. This past weekend I received a healthy dose of correction. I must have been pretty tired by the last Mass of the day at 5 p.m. and I misspoke a couple of times. During the announcements at the end of Mass I inadvertently said our Mother’s Day Novena will begin in “September.” Someone in the congregation shouted out loud, “May!” I said, “ Oh, yeah, right.” Then at the reception after Senior Mass, several people laughing said, “Fr. John, in your homily you said, ‘At Trinity, we eat students to beat their swords of war into ploughshares of peace.” Apparently, I was very hungry and ready to eat even a few students! I was embarrassed by my errors but also grateful that they pointed out those mistakes. When you love someone you help them to learn, you don’t leave them to flounder in their failures. John Maxwell, the leadership guru, often repeats: “Care enough to correct.”

The Acts of the Apostles describes the healthy interactions of the members of the early Christian community, and even how they loving helped each other to learn from their mistakes. An eloquent speaker named Apollos is preaching and teaching, but his theology is still underdeveloped. It’s as if he’s had a couple of years of seminary studies but he’s not yet ready to be ordained a priest; he has more to learn. When he preaches only the baptism of John – which was the “baptism of repentance” rather than baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – how do some people correct him? We read: “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” Notice how their correction was discreet, “they took him aside,” not shouting out loud in the middle of Mass. Priscilla and Aquila cared enough to correct but did it with wisdom, grace and perhaps a touch of good humor. When you love someone, you help them to learn from their mistakes, not leave them in their messes.

We all must demonstrate love for others by caring enough to correct them. In these tough love situations, I try to strike a balance between the sledgehammer and soft serve ice cream. The sledgehammer is too hard and comes down heavy, but the soft serve ice cream is too soft and does no good. We have to be firm but not unfeeling. May I suggest you ask yourself these nine questions in order to help you strike this balance? They are offered by John Maxwell and each answer should be “yes.” (1) Have I invested in the relationship enough to be candid with them? (2) Do I truly value them as people? (3) Am I sure this is their issue and not mine? (4) Am I sure I am not speaking up because I feel threatened? (5) Is the issue more important than the relationship? (6) Does this conversation clearly serve their interests and not just mine? (7) Am I willing to invest time and energy to help them change? (8) Am I willing to show them how to do something, and not just say what’s wrong? And (9) Am I willing and able to set clear, specific expectations? Only if you can answer yes to these questions can you be sure your attitude and approach to tough love will be productive and fruitful. Otherwise, it will basically backfire.

We’ve all seen samples of both the sledgehammer and the soft serve ice cream, and we know neither works well. But the Bible offers us a way to balance both: caring and correcting. Indeed, this is the way of Jesus himself. And by the way, thank you to all of you who have had enough courage to correct me. I promise I will not eat you.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Messing with Mothers

Appreciating the wonder of the womb of our mothers

05/11/2018

John 16:20-23 Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you."

It’s always a risky business for a man to talk about pregnancy and giving birth for the simple fact that he has no clue what he’s talking about. If that man is a celibate priest and not married moreover, he should be doubly careful not to rush in where angels fear to tread. But I would still like to say something about child birth.

Pregnancy serves as a great metaphor and analogy. Writers sometimes refer to a “pregnant pause” meaning even though no words are uttered, that silent space is filled with new life and its birth is imminent, about to burst forth. The school where priests study is called a “seminary” which comes from the Latin word “semen” meaning “seed.” Our last year in the seminary we were called “expectant fathers.” We commonly refer to newly ordained priests as “baby priests.” Keep that in mind when Fr. Stephen Elser arrives in a few weeks. My coach who trained me to run marathons warned me: “Don’t get a big head when you run a marathon. A woman who has given birth can always run circles around you.” Every man has met his match when he’s messing with a mother.

Only one Man in the history of the world could speak about pregnancy and giving birth from personal experience. That is the God-Man, Jesus Christ. You probably have to be a God-Man to give birth because no mortal man could handle it! The long tradition of the Church has seen Jesus’ crucifixion, and especially the moment when water and blood poured out of his pierced side on the Cross, as a spiritual birth, when the Church was born from the womb of Christ. The water symbolized Baptism and the blood the Eucharist, the two central sacraments that give life to and continuously nourish the Church.

In the gospel, therefore, Jesus can speak on his own authority when he talks about pregnancy. Our Lord taught: “When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.” I remember a mother once commenting that only a man could be so stupid as to say a woman forgets her labor pains as soon as a baby is born because he’s never had a baby. That’s true, unless the Man in question happens to be the God-Man, Jesus. The Messiah’s mission was not only to “marry” the Church as his Bride, but also, analogously-speaking, to give birth to the Church as its Mother. When Jesus referred to his disciples as his “children” he meant it both figuratively, but also very much literally. St. Paul echoed the same spiritual truth when he wrote in Galatians 4:19: “My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you.” Jesus rushes in where angels fear to tread because he is greater than the angels, and also because he has given birth to the Church.

There is another spiritual sense in which pregnancy can be seen as a metaphor, namely, our life on earth is like a womb and we are not truly born until we enter eternal life. Jimmy Stewart realized happily, “It’s a wonderful life” in Bedford Falls. But as good as Bedford Falls was, earthly life is only the Preface to the Book of Life that will be opened and read in Heaven. So I suggest that we not get too attached to the things of this world, like a baby shouldn’t grow too fond of her umbilical cord and the amniotic fluid. So much more is waiting outside of the womb of this world, a world of wonders that the unborn baby (you and I) can barely begin to fathom. Just like a baby is not born without shedding many tears and much travail, so we do not leave this world very willingly or very easily.

The Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas, urged his dying father to “rage, rage against the dying of the light.” But like a foolish man who should take care to talk about pregnancy, Thomas didn’t realize that the real light was only about to dawn for his dad.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Hidey Hole

Seeking Jesus in heaven the ultimate hiding place

05/10/2018

John 16:16-20 Jesus said to his disciples: "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me." So some of his disciples said to one another, "What does this mean that he is saying to us, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" So they said, "What is this 'little while' of which he speaks? We do not know what he means." Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Are you discussing with one another what I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy."

One of my favorite games growing up was hide and seek. Everyone knows how to play it, but let me rapidly review the rules. One person is designated as the seeker – he or she is “it” – while everyone else hides. And by the way, I hate to seek but always wanted to hide – that’s more fun! I sometimes use that skill today to hide from some parishioners! The person who seek must close their eyes and count to a certain number. For instance, they count to one hundred by increments of five: five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty, etc. When I was “it” and had to seek others, I would zip through the numbers like machine gun fire: five, ten, fifteen, etc. barely enunciating each number, so I could catch the kids before they could find their clandestine hidey hole. I love this game so much, I still play it when I visit families in their home, but I can’t get into good hidey holes like I used to, or if I do, I can’t get out!

In the gospel of John, Jesus seems to invite his apostles to a game of hide and seek. He says cryptically: “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” Clearly the apostles never played hide and seek because they are unnecessarily mystified by their Messiah’s meaning. But Jesus explains that like the game hide and seek, where one person is hidden out of sight momentarily but then found again, so too, Jesus’ death and resurrection will require him to be hidden in a tomb for three days and then be seen again. The apostles would have to seek and Jesus would get the fun part of hiding. In this case, the apostles would have to count for three days before they could find their Lord. On Resurrection Sunday, Jesus would let them find him.

But Jesus enjoyed playing this game so much, that would not be his final occasion. He played again at his Ascension into heaven – which we would normally celebrate today on “Ascension Thursday,” but the feast is transferred to Sunday. At the Ascension, Jesus finds the best “hidey hole” of all, namely, heaven. And this time the apostles must count for several years before they could find Jesus again. Could this be one reason why the apostles were unafraid and even anxious to die for Jesus, and the sooner the better? They knew Jesus’ hidey hole was heaven and martyrdom was the fastest way to find him there! In a sense, they were counting their remaining years fast, like I used to speed through the numbers when I had to do the seeking. Jesus’ Ascension reveals that the best hidey hole is heaven.

The longer I am a priest and the more people I meet, the more I discover how many people have lost a family member (even children) or a close friend prematurely, they died too early in life. Often the intentions for our Masses are offered for those deceased loved ones. I don’t want to sound uncaring or insensitive, but would it help a little to see their loss more like a game of hide and seek? Again, I don’t want to underestimate the pain of such loss, I’ve felt it too since my nephew died, but it gives me a little comfort and consolation to think he is hiding heaven (or purgatory) and I’ll see him again. The temptation, though, is to rush through the counting and try to see them again before they have had enough time to get into their hidey hole of heaven. Sometimes we refuse to let them hide by inordinately holding on to them.

But I’ve found that we don’t need to count fast at all; the years fly by like leaves in the wind (or maybe more like leaves in a tornado), and we soon come to the end of our own life. That’s the moment in which we too get to hide (that’s the fun part) and others have to seek us. Our whole Christian faith and our whole Christian life can be seen through the lens of the children’s game of hide and seek. Again we see why Jesus insisted: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!