Perfect Timing

Setting our watches by Jesus sense of time

02/04/2020

Mark 5:21-43 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 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?” 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.” While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

Have you seen that billboard sign as you drive through Dora to get to I-40? It displays a Scripture citation, 2 Peter 3:8-9, and simply asks one question: “Are you ready?” Well, I got fed up with being a typical Catholic who doesn’t know any bible verses, and finally looked up those two enigmatic verses. St. Peter, the first pope, wrote: “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” The following verse continues: “The Lord does not delay his promises, as some regard delay, but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” In other words, the sign is suggesting everyone should go to confession, repentance,” a Protestant style of confession.

What intrigues me most about that sign and the scripture is the term “delay.” I don’t know about you, but it often feels like God’s answers to my prayers seem delayed, or at least not on my schedule. God’s timing, however, is always perfect, even if it does not coordinate exactly with my own timing. A man approached a fortune teller and asked: “Are there golf courses in heaven?” The fortune teller replied: “Well, I have good news and I have bad news.” The guy asked, “What’s the good news?” She said: “The good news is the golf courses in have are beautiful beyond anything you could imagine!” The man exclaimed: “That’s wonderful!” She continued: “The bad news is you’ll be teeing off at 8:30 tomorrow morning.” Sometimes we want God to be on time, and sometimes we want God to take his time. God’s timing does not always match our timing, still his timing is always perfect.

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus seems “delayed” on his way to heal the daughter of Jairus, and his daughter is on the verge of death. Along the way, Jesus is distracted and apparently delayed by a woman with a severe hemorrhage with which she has suffered for 12 years. When he stops to heal her, Jairus’ daughter expires and dies. Jesus is too late to help her, like I often think Jesus’ answers to my prayers are often too late to help me. Jesus, however, answers: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” We know how the rest of the story ends: Jesus raises the little girl back to life. The point is that Jesus is never too late, but that doesn’t mean he will always arrive on our schedule. We must wait for him with patience and faith, believing his timing is always perfect.

May I suggest a simply spiritual exercise that may help us tune into Jesus’ timing, and step according to his schedule? Try to be fully present in the here and now, paying attention to the people and places, the opportunities and obstacles that face you in this moment, not yesterday or tomorrow. In order to do that, we must stop being preoccupied with the past, and try not to fret about the future. Indeed, in a very real sense, the present moment is all we really have to do anything with, while the past and the future lie beyond our grasp. Of course, it’s healthy and holy to remember the past, and productive and prudent to plan for the future. But sometimes we become to engrossed win the pastor or so focused on the future that we miss the miracles happening right before our eyes. Indeed, that was what caused Jesus’ delay in the gospel: our Lord was laser-focused on the people right in front of him.

I have a habit of teaching our altar servers a little trick to make them better servers. I tell them: “The secret to being a great server is to think ahead. Don’t just think about what you’re doing at that moment, but try to think about the next think you have to do. What is the next thing the priest needs you to bring to him?” Now, that advice might make them very good servers, but it might also make them very poor Christians. Why? Well, because they would miss the miracle of the Mass unfolding right before their eyes. If might be good for them, and for me, if they were “delayed” every now and then.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

That's My Story

Sharing our faith story with others

02/03/2020

Mark 5:1-20 Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned. The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened. As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

Have you ever been frustrated by nontransferable tickets? As you probably know, nontransferable tickets are those you cannot give to someone else or resell once you have purchased them. I was reading about this frustration of nontransferable tickets on an online community forum called “stubhub community.” One person wrote: “I have two tickets to DMB in Tahoe on September 16, 2019. Unfortunately, we cannot go, and ticketmaster does not allow transfers.” By the way, “DMB” stands for Dave Mathews Band. Another person piped in with this complaint: “I’m looking to sell 4 tickets to Twenty-One Pilots in New Orleans on the 19th. Ticketmaster says they’re nontransferable.” And so on and so forth the list of unhappy people stuck with this concert tickets serenaded their sad songs. Incidentally, I would happily buy the Dave Mathews Band tickets, but those who bought Twenty-One Pilots tickets deserve to be stuck with them.

Concert tickets, though, are not the only things that are nontransferable; so, too, is our unique and unrepeatable relationship with Jesus. Each one of us has been perfectly loved by the Lord, and we have loved him in return (much less perfectly), in an utterly singular and special way that it is nontransferable. Like that popular saying: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” We really don’t have a choice but to stick with our story of relating to Christ, like those poor people on the “stubhub community.” We cannot transfer the grace we have been given to someone else.

In the gospel of Mark, we see a perfect example of the nontransferable quality of our story with our Savior. Jesus heals a man possessed by a “Legion” of unclean spirits because there were so many of them. When the townspeople arrive and hear of the miraculous healing, how do they react? Mark records: “They begged him to leave their district.” What a surprising reaction! One would expect them to be pleased and even ask Jesus to stay and perhaps perform more miracles, and yet, “they begged him to leave.” In other words, the grace given to the previously possessed man was nontransferable. The people could not cash in on the grace of the miracle that Jesus performed, and come to faith. They would have to purchase their own “ticket” to a relationship with Jesus, one that is always unique and repeatable with each person. Still, what did the cured man do? Mark adds: “They the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis (Decapolis means “ten cities) what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.” That is, the man was saying to anyone who would listen: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!” Our relationship with the Lord is always particular to each person; it evinces this nontransferable quality to it, so that we cannot give it to someone else. Our faith story always sticks to us.

Today is the third anniversary of the passing of my nephew Noah. He was a sophomore studying at Baylor University. Would you mind if I shared a few memories of his story with Jesus? Even though our story always sticks to us, in the end that’s all we have to share with others, like the man in the land of the Gerasenes. I re-read my homily from Noah’s funeral three years ago, and I want to share these three memories.

First, Noah’s maternal grandmother, Tessie Auntie, recalled that Noah loved to pretend playing a priest at Mass at home, when he was a small boy. He would hand pieces of potpourri like Communion wafers to each family member seated on sofas. He invited his little brother, Isaac, to participate, but only as the deacon. Isaac could be Dc. Chuck while Noah would be Msgr. Scott Friend. When you direct the play, you always cast yourself in the leading role.

Another recollection was how Noah always pushed his friends forward, out of their comfort zone. One friend, Chris, remembered Noah gave him the courage to speak in front of the youth group; something Chris was terrified of. One of Susan’s (Noah’s mom) most cherished memories was seeing Noah and his track team holding hands and praying before meets. Noah was a normal guy in many ways, but he never stopped encouraging, pushing, uplifting and never resting.

The third memory is the advice Noah gave to his girlfriend Izzie on how to study in college. He wrote: “(1) Always sit in the third row in class. It’s close to the front but not all the way there. It’s the sweet spot. (2) Text your boyfriend every day. He will always have something nice to say about you. (3) Smile as much as you can. It makes you approachable to anyone, and your smile is gorgeous.” Now, that’s pretty good advice, not only for Noah’s girlfriend, but for all of us.

Sometimes, we wish we could go back and change Noah’s story. We wish we could give him some of the grace that has been so generously lavished upon us, and maybe things would have turned out a little differently. But that’s when we have to go back to the beginning of his homily and remember those sad people on stubhub stuck with their nontransferable tickets. We cannot give to others the grace that has been uniquely granted to each of us. Each person’s relationship with the Lord is special and singular and…nontransferable. In the end, all we can truly say is: “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. And my story is sticking to me.” Still, Jesus also said to the healed man, and he says to us: “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Don't Be Stupid

Shining the light of Catholic Schools

01/30/2020

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.”

On Tuesday, Fr. Martin and I drove down to Shreveport, Louisiana for the ordination of Msgr. Francis Malone as the new bishop of that diocese. He was the pastor of the “other” Christ the King Church in Little Rock. Bishop Malone has a deep love for Catholic education and for Catholic schools. At the end of every school year, for instance, right before the students would leave for summer vacation, Bishop Malone gave them the same two pieces of advice. First, he said don’t do anything stupid, and second, he advised don’t take any unnecessary risks. That’s good advice. If a bishop can say “stupid” in a Catholic school, maybe a lowly priest can too and not get in trouble.

Well, many of Bishop Malone’s students and teachers from Christ the King School attended his episcopal ordination and they made him a “big card” to congratulate him, containing two pieces of advice, First, they said don’t do anything stupid, and second, they advised, don’t take any unnecessary risks. That’s pretty good advice for students preparing for summer vacation, and also for bishops preparing for leading a new diocese. It is actually good advice for each of us to follow every day.

Now that advice is good as far as it goes, but I don’t think it goes far enough. In other words, not only do we need advice on what “not to do” – like don’t do stupid stuff and don’t take risks – but we also need advice on what we “should do.” That is, what is the “positive content” of Christianity, not just the “negative side” of being a saint? Here’s where today’s gospel gives us a helping hand. Jesus says 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?” We all know the answer to that question.

Obviously, lamps are meant to be seen by everyone, and lamp light is especially useful when it’s dark outside. Lamps give us light so we can do good things – we behave a lot better when the light is on – and helps us overcome our fear of the dark. Jesus’ point is that just as he is the light of the world, who scatters sin and sadness, so we are called to be lamps in this world giving Jesus’ light to everyone we meet. Put simply, a Christian should seek not only to avoid stupidity, but also to aim for sanctity.

This week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week and each of our schools are letting the light of Christ shine in different ways. For example, on Monday, January 27, Christ the King School’s 4th, 5th and 6th graders went to the Community Services Clearinghouse to help sort expired cans, organize sacks for the sack lunch program, and make thank you cards for donors. The entire school is collecting canned soup this week to give to the Clearinghouse. Well done, and I’m very proud of you! Would all the CTK Eagles stand and be recognized?

At Immaculate Conception School, the entire student body joined in faith through prayer with a young man named “Blake” who is battling leukemia. One of the school parents brought Blake’s illness to our attention. The school conducted a blood drive dedicated to Blake and recorded a song encouraging him to “be bold, be strong, do not be afraid, because God is with you.” Would the I.C. Buffaloes please stand to be recognized? Great job, Buffaloes!

And last but certainly not least, Trinity Junior High on Monday welcomed speakers from Heart to Heart Pregnancy Center in their religion classes. They collected needed items for the pregnancy center. At lunch the students enjoyed a cupcake with a “baby shower theme.” And Tuesday, the students wrote thank you notes. Do you know whom they thanked? The thank you notes were for their parents for all they’ve done for them. These parents will not have to wait till their children turn 40 before they realize the sacrifices their parents made for them and say “Thanks!” Would the Trinity Buffaloes stand and be recognized?

Each school, in its own unique style and spirit, has been a bright lamp on a tall lampstand shedding the light of Christ far and wide in our community. Boys and girls, Catholic schools are not only here to teach you what not to do. Don’t do anything stupid, and don’t take any unnecessary risks. Those are important lessons. Ultimately, though, they are here to tell us what we should do, namely, be a burning lamp that shines the light of Christ to a sometimes dark and desperate world.

I hope you know what a blessing Catholic schools are. And I hope you will stay in Catholic schools for as long as you can. Why? So that the light of Christ will shine from your lamps not only this Catholic schools week, but also every week.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Best They Can

Learning to adopt a paradigm of compassion

01/27/2020

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.”

During dinner with a parish family last night, we started talking about Fr. Jon McDougal, a retired priest of the diocese. I am sure you will remember him. He has the singular distinction of having served in every parish in Fort Smith and Barling, and most recently, as chaplain of Mercy Crest retirement center. Everyone at the dinner table sang his praises, even though we all agreed he needs a haircut. One gold nugget of wisdom I have learned from Fr. McDougal is he often said: “Well, people are just doing the best they can.” I recall those words right when I am getting upset with someone for doing something I don’t like – usually my altar servers – and those words calm me down. Why? Well, maybe people are just doing the best they can, so it would be really unfair of me to expect them to do better than the best they can.

I’ll never forget an example of this by Stephen Covey, who wrote The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He called this change in thinking a “paradigm shift.” One day Covey was on a subway when a man boarded with his three small children. The man dropped into a seat with a blank stare on his face, while the children started behaving rambunctiously. Even though the man was dressed in a suit and tie, he was completely oblivious of his children, and his children were oblivious of the other passengers, who were getting visibly annoyed with their antics. Covey himself was losing his cool thinking: why doesn’t this man do something to control his kids? Can’t he see what a ruckus they are making, not to mention they could hurt themselves?

After several long minutes the man turned to Covey with an ashen look on his face and said feebly: “I am sorry for my children’s behavior. We just left their mother’s funeral, and I’m not sure how to carry on without her.” And he broke down sobbing uncontrollably. Obviously, that critical piece of information completely changed Covey’s thinking about the man and his disorderly children. Covey calls that change of thinking a paradigm shift. Fr. Jon McDougal calls that compassion: “People are just doing the best they can.”

In the gospel today, the scribes who come from Jerusalem could use a paradigm shift in their thinking as well; that is, the paradigm of compassion. They harshly judge Jesus saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” Now, Stephen Covey did not think those churlish children on the subway were possessed by demons – he might have come close – still, the scribes needed a paradigm shift like Covey and reserve judgment until they had all the facts. The crucial piece of information they lacked was that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. And what made the scribes blind to that was their lack of compassion. They needed to learn from Fr. McDougal that “people are just going the best they can.” How differently the Jewish leaders would have treated Jesus – indeed, how differently they would have treated everyone – if they had adopted the paradigm of compassion.

Today’s takeaway from this homily, therefore, is to apply this paradigm shift into our own Christian attitude and actions. Ask yourself: do you tend to judge others by their appearance, their behavior, their background? To a certain degree, we all do that and we have to do that, for our own safety and peace. I believe, however, the real problem is when we stop there and dig no deeper to discover all the facts. We feel irritated like Covey on the subway and fail to find out that the poor man and his children are copying with unimaginable pain and loss. Repeat this line daily: People are just doing the best they can, especially when someone is really annoying you.

Perhaps we should have the same perspective of President Ronald Reagan in the 1984 debate with the younger Walter Mondale. When the announcer asked the older Reagan if his age would be a problem in being an effective president, Reagan gave this famous reply: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” What a brilliant response. Likewise, we should have a paradigm of compassion toward all those we meet, no matter how old they are, or how young they are. And if you were not very impressed with this homily, remember: people are just doing the best they can.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Stranger Than Fiction

Celebrating the Sunday of the Word of God

01/26/2020

Matthew 4:12-23 OR 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Let me share with you a story from a Catholic school religion class. Nine year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in his religion class that day. Joey began: “Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelite people out of Egypt.” Joey continued: ‘When Moses got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across the sea safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent B-52 bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.” His mom frowned and asked: “Now, Joey, is that what your teacher really taught you?” Joey answered, “Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it.” Have you ever heard the old adage, “Truth is stranger than fiction,” especially when we discover that truth in the Sacred Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit.

                In other words, of all the tremendous truths our precious children learn in Catholic schools, there is none greater than the truth of our faith, enshrined in the Bible. I am convinced that if you could take all the literary genius of John Grisham, Tom Clancy, James Patterson and J.K. Rowling and roll it into one, you could not conceive of fiction as fabulous as the truth you find in the Bible. And that is what our children learn in Catholic schools, and why I believe parents ultimately should send them to Catholic schools, if at all possible.

In the gospel today, we discover more truth stranger than fiction, because it is truth inspired by people of extraordinary faith. Jesus calls his first apostles Peter and Andrew, James and John. What’s so remarkable about this story is that our Lord’s lips utter such a gentle invitation, but these professional fisherman immediately drop everything – they drop their nets, they drop their jobs and they even drop their father – and follow Jesus without any objection, any question or any comment. It would be easier to believe Moses built a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea and had B-52 bombers blow it up to save Israel.

A little later in the same passage from Matthew Jesus flexes his divine limbs by healing all the sick. We read: “Jesus went around all of Galilee…curing every disease and illness among the people.” Just imagine that scene in your mind’s eye. Suddenly this obscure carpenter from Nazareth burst into the public square, calls fishermen to forsake their livelihoods and their lakes, and to follow him by faith. And at the tender touch of his calloused carpenter’s hands, he heals every disease and illness among the people. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, especially the truth seen through the eyes of faith on every page of the Holy Bible.

This same fabulous truth – stranger than fiction – found in the scriptures inspired Pope Francis to solemnly declare today the “Sunday of the Word of God.” The Holy Father wrote: “I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (today) to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the word of God.” In other words, the pope wants us to do three things today: love the scriptures, learn the scriptures, and live the scriptures (celebrate, study and disseminate). By the way, did you notice how we enthroned the Book of the Gospels next to burning candles immediately after the gospel was proclaimed? The pope said: “It is important that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word.” To say the bible has “normative value” means it becomes the standard by which we measure the authenticity of our Christian witness. Are we true Christians or not. In short, scriptures provide us with a Christian compass so we do not get lost in this wild world.

My friends, may I offer us three ways to implement Pope Francis’ urging to learn, love and live the sacred scriptures? First of all, send your children to Catholic schools, where they will be immersed in the scriptures. Here at Immaculate Conception School, our students memorize a bible verse each week. On Friday, they have a bible verse quiz. Our kids were doing that even before Pope Francis recommended it, so our kids are “more Catholic than the pope!” In a real sense, Catholic schools are large scale bible study schools, where the scriptures and the sacraments are at the core of all we study. My scripture professor in seminary loved to say: “There’s Scripture and everything else is commentary.” That’s true in every Catholic school: there’s scripture, and everything else we do is commentary.

Secondly, I suggest we take a page from the Protestant’s playbook, and find a “life-verse.” Have you ever heard of that spiritual practice? Basically you scour the scriptures until you find one verse that touches your heart deeply and inspires you profoundly. You memorize it. You repeat it daily. It slowly becomes your life motto. A life verse would be like the inscription on the coat of arms of a bishop. For example, the new bishop of Shreveport, Louisiana is a priest of our diocese, Msgr. Francis Malone. His episcopal motto on his coat of arms is derived from Psalm 116, “Accipiam calicem salutaris,” meaning “I will take up the cup of salvation.” If you have a life verse, you’re basically like a bishop.

And thirdly, dust off your bible and sign up for a bible study class. It’s not too late to make a New Year’s resolution; we’re still in the first month of January. Make a resolution to sign up and faithfully attend a bible study this year. Our parish offers so many options all week long: Sunday evening, at lunch during the week, in the evenings, even Friday morning at 6 a.m. the Men of Faith meet! The bulletin is virtually brimming with bible study opportunities. I’m sorry, but you really have no excuse.

Let me leave you with a moving quotation from St. Ephraim, the 4th century deacon and doctor of the Church, who wrote: “Who is able to understand, Lord, all the richness of even one of your words? There is more that eludes us than what we can understand. We are like the thirsty drinking from a fountain. The Lord has colored his word with diverse beauties, so that those who study it can contemplate what stirs them.” In other words, the truth of faith in the Bible is not only stranger than fiction, it is more sublime than fiction. And that is why the Bible is better reading than James Patterson.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

My Three Sons

Learning to be pro-life by being prolific

01/22/2020

Mark 3:1-6 Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

Do you know that I have three children? Oh no! What a terrible scandal! Relax. I am talking about the three books I’ve written called, “Oh, for the Love of God,” “Oh, for Heaven’s Sake,” and “Oh, Lord, Have Mercy.” Maybe all natural mothers will disagree, but it felt a lot like giving birth to a baby every time one of those books was published. For example, it took about nine months of pregnancy and gestation before each book saw the light of day. I agonized and prayed about each one’s name. I have pictures of each book hanging proudly in my office. And now each one has a life of its own, as people read and discuss them, even though their genes came from me. My life often feels like the old television show called “My Three Sons” starring Fred MacMurry, a widower raising three boys.

I mention giving birth to books today because the United States Catholic bishops have designated January 22 every year as “A Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.” In other words, today all Catholics are called to promote pro-life, especially the precious life in the womb. Why did they choose today? It was on January 22, 1973 that the United States Supreme Court, in the now infamous decision Roe vs. Wade, legalized abortion in all fifty states. It was a milestone in our history for many reasons, but I believe it marked the moment when we went from being a civilized to an uncivilized society. Why? We denied an entire class of people – unborn babies – of their humanity and said it would be okay to kill them. Put simply, abortion is worse than slavery. I’m sorry, I know I am not putting this point very gently, but it is impossible to make abortion antiseptic, clean and pretty. So, today we pray for the “legal protection” of unborn children and especially for the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and a return to being again a civilized society that believes babies are people, too, who enjoy the full protection of the law.

There are, however, many ways to be pro-life, and one way is to be “prolific.” Did you know that the two words “pro-life” and “prolific” come from the same root? Essentially, they both mean being fruitful, whether it’s by giving birth to babies, or by giving birth to books. In other words, I am convinced that the best defense is a good offense. Of course, I am not advocating abandoning defensive strategies to end abortion. When I was in the seminary, a group of us would gather every Saturday to pray the rosary at a local abortion clinic. Such strategies are good and effective. Those who feel called to do so, should not hesitate to do so-called “side-walk counseling.”

But I also invite you to be pro-life by being prolific with your gifts and talents with which God has blessed you. Maybe you are able to have multiple children, or as a friend of mine likes to say, she is a “fertile myrtle.” If her husband just walks by and brushes her arm, she gets pregnant. Those of us called to celibacy, however, can also be pro-life by being prolific by giving birth to books, or building a vibrant bible study group, or creating an engaging youth ministry program, or giving generously to charity and underwriting pro-life programs and causes. Basically, there are a billion different ways to build the “culture of life and civilization of love” as Pope St. John Paul II so beautifully put it.

Today, don’t just think of defensive strategies to promote the cause of life, but also offensive ones. Ask God to help you discover your gifts and talents, and then go be prolific with them. St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “To each the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” We manifest the Holy Spirit in our actions when we are prolific with our gifts and talents, and that is the best way to be pro-life. In the end the pro-life side will win. Why? Well, because we will be the side having more babies.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Ignorance of Isaiah

Choosing Old Testament saints for Hall of Fame

01/21/2020

Mark 2:23-28 As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

If you could choose any figure from the Old Testament to be your hero, who would you vote for? Imagine an Old Testament Hall of Fame like that for pro football in Canton, Ohio. Perhaps it would be a priest like the mysterious Melchizedek we meet in Genesis 14. Indeed even the ancient Abraham offers him a tithe from his winnings after the war against five kings. By the way, Melchizedek received my vote in seminary for the Hall of Fame because I wrote my master’s thesis on him entitled: “Who the Heck is Melchizedek?” Or, maybe your vote would land on a royal kingly figure like David or Solomon, Hezekiah or Josiah. These men not only wielded great power but also great wisdom and even more importantly, great love. Shouldn’t all leaders exhibit those three qualities? Or, you may feel one of the prodigious prophets would win your vote. Certainly you cannot go wrong with Isaiah or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel or Elijah, or the greatest of all, Elisha, who doesn’t get much fanfare in the scriptures, even though Elisha performs 16 miracles while Elijah performed only 8. Surveying the Old Testament serves up a sweeping smorgasbord of priests, prophets and kings we might vote for as our favorite figures of the Chosen People.

Our scriptures today, however, suggest who God the Father and God the Son would choose as their favorite Old Testament figure, namely, David. In the first reading, the prophet Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse to anoint a new king, as successor to Saul. Jesse presents seven sons to Samuel, but God rejects them all. Why? God explains his divine strategy to Samuel: “Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.” Sadly, don’t we often judge by appearances? Finally, Jesse brings forward his youngest son, a shepherd boy named David, and God chooses him because he is a man after God’s own heart.

In the gospel, Jesus shows his predilection for David by citing David’s kingly and priestly behavior even though it offended the corrupt high priest Abiathar. In the same way, Jesus’ behavior would offend the corrupt high priests in his day. We might say that King David served as Jesus role model and perhaps even his royal mentor. If both the Father and the Son are fond of King David, then that certainly says a lot for him.

My friends, as you attend daily Mass and hear the stories of these Old Testament saints and sages, don’t ignore them or conclude they are of no consequence. Don’t let these stories go in one ear and out the other, impatient to get to the New Testament and Gospel readings, to the stuff that really matters. These priests, prophets and kings laid the foundations upon which Jesus would build his kingdom. Revelation 4:4 mentions 24 elders who sit on 24 thrones before the Lord. Who are they? 12 of them are the apostles Jesus chose in the New Testament, and 12 are the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel that God the Father chose in the Old Testament. In other words, they are all important in heaven, and therefore they should also be important on earth.

Create your own Old Testament Hall of Fame, and induct those who capture your imagination and give you inspiration to be a better bible Catholic. And by the way, don't forget the wonderful women of the Old Testament, like Sarah, Abraham’s wife, Ruth the Moabite, Deborah the great Judge, Esther the Queen who saved all the Jews, to name but a few. Why is it perilous to pass over the Old Testament like yesterday’s newspaper and focus exclusively on the New Testament? Well, St. Jerome famously admonished us in his introduction to the book of Isaiah: “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Since he said that in reference to Isaiah in the Old Testament, clearly he meant both Old and New Testaments are vital to know Christ, both are equally inspired word of God. No doubt Jerome would have added Isaiah to his own Hall of Fame.

Praised be Jesus Christ!