Hermeneutics, Anyone?

Understanding how to practice the art of interpretation

05/19/2025

John 14:21-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, "Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. "I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name-- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

I love visiting families for supper, because that is a great way to get to know my parishioners and for them to know me. But sometimes I need help translating a foreign language they speak, and I don’t mean Spanish or Vietnamese. A small child will speak to me in their own made-up language and I cannot understand them. They sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher: “Wa-wa, wa-wa, wa-wa.”

But amazingly, an older sibling knows this arcane language and translates for me what their little brother is saying. Have you ever had this experience? The older sibling is practicing the art of hermeneutics, or interpretation and translation. They take an incomprehensible message and make the meaning plain. And I am convinced this is one of the greatest skills a person can possess.

In the first reading today we get a clue where the word hermeneutic originated, namely, with the Greek god Hermes. Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey in Lystra and Paul speaks to a cripple and heals him. And St. Luke notes: “They called Barnabas ‘Zeus’ and Paul ‘Hermes’ because he was the chief speaker.”

You see, the god Hermes was a messenger from the gods on Mt. Olympus to mortals on earth. He was not merely a mailman, though, he was really an ambassador, who made sure the message was not only delivered but also understood, and indeed, received with joy or sorrow as the contents warranted. The people of Lystra thought Paul was “Hermes” because he did the hermeneutics of explaining their apostolic mission, like an older brother interprets his little brother’s baby talk.

If you give it a little thought, you will quickly see how we find ourselves in the role of Hermes quite frequently, that is, practicing the art of hermeneutics. For instance, anxious and worried parents call me and beg me to talk to their teenage son who is into gangs or drugs.

The parents want me to be their ambassador, their Hermes, and deliver their message of love, concern, and succor. Why? Well, because when the parents talk to their teen, they sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Wa-wa, wa-wa, wa-wa.” There is no communication bridge between parents and teenagers.

Often couples come to me for marriage counseling because their communication has broken down. They both speak English but they cannot hear or comprehend what the other party is saying. Like Hermes carried messages from Mt. Olympus to earth, so I feel I carry the feelings, hurts, and hopes of struggling spouses to each other. Good hermeneutics requires careful attention to what someone does not say as well as what they do say.

And if we read the gospel in this light we see the Holy Trinity itself need two effective Hermes to serve as Ambassadors from heaven to earth. How so? First, Jesus says: “Yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.” And later he adds: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name – he will tech you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

In other words, the eternal source of wisdom, love, and grace is God the Father. And he wants desperately to communicate his infinite glory with us mere mortals. But when he speaks, he often sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher, or that toddler in the family I visit. God's naked words are incomprehensible to mortals.

Therefore we need two Hermes – the Son and the Spirit – to interpret, translate, deliver, and even embody the Father’s good news. This is the indispensable task of hermeneutics, and you and I are inevitably engaged in it. And if I may say so with due reverence, not even God can avoid it. A little hermeneutics, anyone?

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Bible on Four Walls

Understanding the design and beauty of the new altar

05/17/2025

In 2000, Bishop Robert Barron wrote an obscure little book called, Heaven in Stone and Glass. He lamented that we live in “iconoclastic times” explaining that “our church buildings have become largely empty spaces void of imagery and color, places where people gather but not places that, themselves, tell a story.” In semianry we called them “Pizza Hut churches.”

Instead, Barron insisted, a church building should basically be like a book, indeed, a catechism. He went on: “In their windows and towers, vaults, naves, roses, labyrinths, altars, and façades, these Gothic churches…teach the faith and focus the journey of the spirit.” In other words, every time we walk into church it should feel like we entered the Bible on four walls.

And I would like to share with you how our new back altar and new statues also “teach the faith and focus the journey of the spirit.” I will structure this homily in the form of FAQ’s, that is, frequently asked questions that people have posed lately about our recent renovations.

First, how long did it take to develop the design and construct the back altar? We worked with a company called King Richards for the past 16 months to design, build, ship, and install the new altar. As you know, the arrival was delayed due to shipping, so it took 4 months longer than we planned.

Second, what material is the altar made from? A company in Carrara, Italy built the altar out of two colors: pink and white, to match the pink and white in the current altar, and communion rail. You will notice we reversed the color scheme: instead of a pink frame with white panels, the new altar is white frame with pink panels. Mark Twain once observed: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” So, the two colors of our altars don't repeat, but they do rhyme.

Third, what do the symbols in the new altar mean? Like Bishop Barron said, the altar tells a story, and these symbols play a prominent role in the book of Revelation. The alpha and the omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and Jesus declared himself the Alpha and the Omega in Rv 22:13.

Incidentally, the Italian company sent us an extra marble Alpha and Omega. So I am going to put the Alpha on my office door and rhe Omega on the associate priest’s office door. So everyone knows who the Alpha priest is in this parish.

And in the middle panel is a Lamb sitting on a book with seven seals. Rv 5 speaks of Jesus as the Lamb who alone is worthy to open the seven-sealed book. And by the way, the seven seals signify the seven sacraments, which open up God’s graces to us, and Jesus alone unlocks.

Fourth, how did we decide on the other design features for the reredos? The central cupola directly above the tabernacle mimics the exterior of our church roof directly above the central transept. You have to step outside to see that.

The six niches with pointed arches framing the candles connect the altar with the pointed arches atop the stained-glass windows. The arches are not arbitrary but intended to make the altar harmonious with the original design of our Gothic church. The new altar should feel like it could have been the old altar.

Fifth, where did we get the statue of St. Patrick? King Richards designed it in their studio – with our input – carved out of wood. Then they painted it to match the statues of Mary and Joseph on rhe other end of the sanctuary. Why St. Patrick?

Well, I want to pay a debt we owe to our Irish forebearers who built this church. Sunday after Sunday we walk into this magnificent Gothic church, and we can easily take it all for granted. But the sacrifices they made yesterday made possible this Bible on four walls we enjoy today.

Sixth, why did we move the Sacred Heart statue to where the tabernacle was? That altar to stage-right (your left) was designed deliberately for the Blessed Sacrament because of the gold in-laid stone background. In art, gold always signifies divinity, like a golden halo symbolizes divine grace that makes a saint holy.

So, the only statue that could legitimately stand before the sign of divinity was the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and not a saint, not even the Blessed Virgin Mary. And honestly, I think the Sacred Heart looks stunning there and now four statues artfully balance the entire sanctuary.

Seventh is the million-dollar question on everyone’s mind: when are we going to raise the crucifix on the back wall? We originally designed the new altar to reach 3 inches below the feet of Jesus on the crucifix. But it ended up taller than we expected. But I am not entirely disappointment. Why not?

The new altar should dominate the sanctuary because it is the focal point of the architecture of the whole church. As Bishop Barron remarked: “It focusses the journey of the spirit.” We will raise the crucifix by 18 inches, so Jesus’ Body will be clearly visible from everywhere in the church. So, stay tuned, our sanctuary will soon be even more glorious.

In the gospel today, Jesus exclaims at the Last Supper, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Jesus was speaking, of course, of the glory of his impending death on the cross, by which he fulfilled God’s will and demonstrated the infinite depth of his love for us.

But on a much smaller scale, Jesus is also glorified in this new back altar, and his Sacred Heart beams enthroned and surrounded by gold. May all who enter this church feel inspired to glorify our Lord and Savior in the Blessed Sacrament and love our neighbor as he loves us. Welcome to our Bible on four walls!

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Theology Meet Reality

Learning how to balance deep faith and real life

05/14/2025

John 15:9-17 Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you:  love one another.”

We have profound and mind-blowing theology in the Catholic faith. But sometimes that high-soaring theology has its wings clipped, and comes down to earth to meet reality. I see this every day in my work in the marriage tribunal, where we deal with annulments. The Catholic theology on marriage is grand and awe-inspiring; indeed, Christian marriage reflects Christ’s love for his Bride, the Church.

And yet individual couples can experience excruciating problems like alcoholism, mental, emotional, and physical abuse, infidelity, etc. The dream of marriage becomes the nightmare of divorce. It is the unenviable task of the tribunal to bridge the gap between the beautiful theology of marriage (until death do we part) and the rude reality of a broken marriage (until divorce do we part). I call annulments “making lemonade,” when life throws you lemons, make lemonade.

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthias and witness another instance of theology meet reality. In Acts chapter one the 11 Apostles are concerned with the tragic end of Judas and replacing him. They pray for God’s help and choose Matthias so that the apostolic college is back up to 12 members, like the 12 tribes of Israel. And yet they never worry about keeping that number of bishops 12 ever again. Why not?

Well, the number of converts to Christianity explodes exponentially throughout Acts. On the day of Pentecost alone 3,000 people are added to the Church. That is, the reality of governing a fast-growing Church required the apostles to adjust the theology of having only 12 bishops. As of 2020 there are approximately 5,600 bishops world-wide in the Catholic Church.

We experienced another example of this soaring theology being grounded by earthly reality in the cardinals electing a pope. For centuries there were only 70 cardinals who helped the pope govern the Church. Why? That number referred to the 70 elders who helped Moses in the desert in Numbers 11, and to the 70 disciples Jesus sent to evangelize in Luke 10.

But Pope St. John XXIII increased that number of cardinals beyond 70, and all the subsequent popes have followed suit. Why? Because the reality of a culturally diverse and linguistically rich people of God calls for broader representation. The scripturally symbolic number of 70 elders had to give way to the complex reality of a world-wide body of believers. We now have a U.S.-born pope, from a country that was nowhere on the map during the Acts of the Apostles.

Of course, the hard part is knowing how to adjust our deep theology to the demands of an ever-evolving reality. Some people argue that when the winds of reality blow we should tack right and become more conservative. Others propose that the winds of reality require us to tack left and become more progressive. And of course, everyone is eyeing Pope Leo XIV to see whether he will tack the Church more conservatively or liberally.

But a better approach to dealing with theology meeting reality is to seek organic growth. That is, harness the best of the past while fearlessly forging new ways forward. Being authentically Catholic is always a matter of both-and and very rarely an either-or choice. So it is highly significant that today’s gospel is taken from John 15, the chapter on the vine and the branches.

There Jesus asserts: “Remain in my love.” That is, to remain in Christ’s love is to reside in his Church the true vine and not cut ourselves off from our roots while still putting forth new branches. Such growth is organic because it comes from within rather than cancerous growth that invades from outside. Organic growth is a basic rule for all healthy discernment, and bridges theology and reality.

On the Feast of St. Matthias, may the same Pentecostal Spirit be poured out upon us, especially when our high theology meets a low reality. May the Holy Spirit who helped the apostles to choose Matthias, but then not worry about keeping the apostolic band at 12, guide our own decision-making. Harness the past but look to the future with hope. And along the way you can enjoy some good lemonade.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A Special Shoutout

Cherishing our mother as voices of Good Shepherd

05/11/2025

John 10:27-30 Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Even though this is Mother’s Day weekend, I want to give a special shoutout to grandmothers. Why? Well, in some ways a grandmother’s love towers even taller than a mother’s love. One woman told me: “I never thought I could love anyone more than I love my own children. And then I had grandchildren.” So to all you mothers out there who think there’s no greater love than you feel for your kids: just wait.

Someone recently sent me a video about what a preacher learned from his grandmother. The preacher says: “My grandma always said: ‘You only have two things to worry about: whether you’re healthy or whether you’re sick. Now, if you’re healthy, you have nothing to worry about.’

“But if you’re sick, you have two things to worry about: whether you’re going to get better or you’re going to get worse. If you’re better, you got nothing to worry about. If you get worse, you got two things to worry about: whether you’re going to live or whether you’re going to die.’

“If you live, you’ve got nothing to worry about. But if you die, you’ve got two things to worry about: whether you’re going to heaven, or whether you’re going to hell. If you go to heaven, you’ve got nothing to worry about. But if you go to hell, you’ve got two things to worry about, namely, original or extra crispy.’”

My own grandmother came from India and lived with us in Little Rock while I was in elementary school. She taught me something about receiving Holy Communion that still shapes my faith today as a priest. She warned me not to chew the Host (the holy bread) when I put it in my mouth. Why not? Well, she said blood would come out because that is the Body of Christ.

Now, that is not going to happen. But back in elementary school that scared me almost as much as saying the only two things you must worry about is original or extra crispy. In other words, my grandmother taught me to receive Holy Communion with great care and devotion. I still don’t chew the Host as a priest. Grandmothers shows us their love by sharing their faith. That's why a grandmother's love is so great.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Hence, we always read from John 10, the locus classicus on the Good Shepherd. Jesus says today: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” And in the first reading from Acts people hear the Good Shepherd’s voice as he speaks through his apostles.

For example, Acts 14:44 reads: “On the following sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” That is, people heard Jesus when the apostles opened their mouths. And Jesus the Good Shepherd did not stop speaking through substitute shepherds in the 1st century. He continues to do so right up to the 21st century by raising up our newest pope, Leo XIV, the first U.S. pope.

Among his many titles, perhaps his most esteemed moniker is “Vicar of Christ.” That is, Pope Leo XIV speaks on behalf of Christ the Good Shepherd. How providential, then, that on Good Shepherd Sunday we can utter the name of our papal shepherd at Mass again, which we have been omitting since Pope Francis died. Of course, every sentence that leaves a pope’s lips are not necessarily from Jesus.

But when Leo XIV speaks about faith and morals, our ears should perk up because Jesus is speaking to us today like he spoke to the people of Pisidia through the apostles 2,000 years ago. The Good Shepherd said unequivocally: “My sheep hear my voice” and Jesus makes sure we hear him by sending us holy shepherds, like our grandmothers and Pope Leo XIV.

Let me also give a special shoutout to my own mother on this Mother’s Day, because I frequently hear the Good Shepherd’s voice when she opens her mouth. When I was just ordained a priest, my mom told me: “Son, always wear your Roman collar wherever you go. It will keep you out of trouble.” Mothers know their sons better than the sons know themselves.

My mom is a registered nurse, and she takes very good care of herself. She eats sensible and balanced meals, she exercises by doing chair yoga and walking 10,000 steps daily, she drinks lots of water, and very little caffeine and only a few sips of wine. The older I get the more I see the wisdom of her ways: I try to eat better, I exercise by walking, but I’m still working on drinking fewer martinis.

Yesterday I visited my parents with my dog Apollo, and I mentioned that Apollo must follow some basic rules. He only eats dog food, no people food, he sleeps in his crate every night, he does not jump on people, and we pray before he eats. Suddenly, it occurred to me I raised Apollo exactly how my parents, especially my mom, raised me. Apollo always wears his Roman collar, too!

My friends, pay attention to how the Good Shepherd speaks to us and we can hear his voice today through the pope, the Bible, the sacraments, and the saints. But he also speaks to us tenderly through our precious mothers and grandmothers. I record my homilies and the first person I send them to is my mother. She always texts me back: “Wow, that was a fantastic homily!” My grandmother might say: “You only have two things to worry about.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Everything Comes to an End

Trusting in Jesus who alone gives us eternal life

05/06/2025

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

Yesterday I had a chance to visit one of our beloved parishioners, Stephanie Ferrari, at Mercy Crest. As you may know, she is the sister of Antoinette Beland, of happy memory. Our brief conversation ranged far and wide, from the conclave of cardinals, to the new altar in the church, to her health.

She’s quite happy at Mercy Crest, but she misses being able to come to Mass here at I.C. and worshipping God with her parish family. At one point, Stephanie made a very wise observation, stating with a smile: “You know, Father, everything comes to an end.”

I don’t remember exactly what prompted that comment, but I do recall being a little surprised by how happily she said it. Why? Well, sometimes the elderly can be angry, frustrated, or even depressed because of their chronic illnesses and the grief from lost loved ones. But I did not hear a hint of that in her voice.

Rather, her personality exuded calm, confidence, and even cheerfulness. She did not seem like a death-row inmate awaiting execution but more like a bride awaiting her wedding day. For Stephanie every celebration of the Mass was a foretaste of the “marriage supper of the Lamb,” namely, Jesus. Why did that make her so happy? Because “everything else comes to an end.”

In the gospel today we discover the foundation of Stephanie’s faith in the Eucharist. Jesus declares: “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” In other words, “everything – and everyone – comes to an end” except he or she who feeds on the Bread of Life, Jesus’ Body and Blood. And that eucharistic faith fills Stephanie with tremendous calm and confidence.

Even though Stephanie cannot leave the confines of Mercy Crest, she keeps up with the goings on of I.C. through Facebook. I have posted pictures of the progress on our new altar. And every time I do, Stephanie makes a comment. For example, on last Friday’s post, she remarked: “Thank you for the pictures. I am anxious to see all of it. Thank you for sharing.”

Why does Stephanie get so excited about a new back altar? Simple: because this is a new home for our Eucharistic Lord, and we are enthroning him in the highest, holiest place in our church. Yes, it’s made of two different colors of marble, yes it is super expensive, yes that money could have been spent on many other worth-while projects.

But Stephanie knows as well as anyone that, as Jesus said in the gospel today: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Or, as Stephanie might put it: “Jesus alone satisfies our deepest longings. Everything else may satisfy for a while but eventually ‘everything comes to an end.’”

Another not unimportant side benefit of moving the tabernacle to the center is shoving the priests and deacons out of the center. The ministers will now be on the side while Jesus, whom we minister to, will occupy the principal seat. I shared with Cindy McNally yesterday how good it feels as a priest not to be in the limelight with all the eyes on me in church.

As if the reason you come to Mass were to see and hear me. If you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you won’t live very long. My entire role as a priest is to introduce you to Christ, so you can fall in love with him. And once I have served that purpose, I need to get out of the way.

Thus, Jesus said about John the Baptist: “He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s” (Jn 3:35-36). In other words, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, because everything else, even priests and prophets, come to an end. Only Christ will keep you calm and confident.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

New Dance Steps

Dancing with Jesus in the liturgy and through life

04/30/2025

John 3:16-21 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Now that we have begun in earnest the work of installing our new altar, I need to explain how things will flow differently at Mass. Everyone who participates in the liturgy as a priest, a deacon, an altar server, a lector, or extraordinary minister of Communion, engages in a sort of “liturgical dance”. We all knew the dance steps when our main Partner, Jesus, stood in the corner.

But now we must learn new dance steps because in two weeks Jesus will be in the front and center. In other words, our liturgical dance revolves around Jesus, just like our whole life is a dance with Jesus in the middle. And just like any good dancer, you don’t want to step on your partner’s toes.

First, let me explain where people will stand when the liturgical dance begins. As you can see already, the priests and deacons will move to your right – or stage left. That is where the priests, deacons, and one altar server will be seated from now on. Once the new altar is installed, Jesus in the tabernacle will move to the center of the sanctuary.

The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will then be moved to the spot the tabernacle just vacated. Why? Well, because there are gold inlaid stones that symbolizes divinity, and only the Sacred Heart statue would be appropriate there. And finally, a new St. Patrick statue will stand behind the ambo (or pulpit for you Protestants), perched above the preacher.

Now that we know where everyone will stand when the dance begins, let me teach you the new dance steps. When the altar servers, deacon, and priest enter the sanctuary, they will no longer bow to the altar and turn to genuflect to the tabernacle. Rather, because Jesus will be directly ahead we will only genuflect.

Why do we genuflect? Because we are entering the royal courtroom of the King. Once we have genuflected and acknowledged Jesus’ royal presence, we will only bow before the altar whenever we cross from one side of the sanctuary to the other. We will not genuflect each time.

On Sunday Masses we will have four altar servers (hopefully) rather than the three. As before, one server will carry the cross, two will carry candles and help prepare the altar, but a fourth server will sit next to the priest and hold the Roman Missal. Do you remember how one server did that before COVID back in 2020?

It was really liturgically improper to have the Roman Missal at the altar to begin the Mass. At least I won’t get in trouble with the pope – we don’t have one! During the weekday Masses without servers, the Roman Missal will be placed on a small stand in front of the priest’s chair.

What dance steps will the lectors have to learn? Well, since the lector has already genuflected before they sat down in their pew, they have acknowledged Jesus the King. So, when the lector enters the sanctuary, he or she simply bows to the altar, goes to the ambo to read, and then bows to the altar as they leave the sanctuary.

There should always be a “noble simplicity” to the movements of the liturgy. We should avoid all excessive jumping and gyrations. Formal participants of the liturgy are not there to express personal piety, but to help the people of God to pray. We should draw people’s attention to Jesus, not to us.

What new dance steps will the extraordinary ministers of Communion have to learn? Well, they can still line up at the foot of the altar during the Lamb of God like we currently do, and wait for the priest to drink from the chalice. That sip from the chalice will be their cue to bow to the altar, and enter the sanctuary.

The EMCs will then proceed toward their left (stage right) and line up in front of the cryroom. As before, you will receive Holy Communion, help distribute Communion, and return to your places in front of the cryroom. When the priest or deacon places the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle and genuflects, the EMCs bow and then return to their pews. You do not need to bow again at the foot of the altar. Noble simplicity.

My friends, it will take some time for us to master these new dance steps and we will probably step on each other’s toes as we learn together. But that is the only way to learn a new dance. You know our former pastor, Msgr. John O’Donnell, was always the first on the dance floor, and the ladies loved to dance with him. So, now with our new altar in place, come dance with me.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

My Picks for Pope

Pondering who will be the next successor of St. Peter

04/29/2025

John 3:7b-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus: “‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to him, ‘How can this happen?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the  serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Have you picked your favorite cardinals to be pope yet? Bishop Taylor was here for confirmation Masses last weekend and I asked him if he had a favorite cardinal to become pope. He replied: “I don’t know who will be the next pope, but I know a few cardinals who I sure hope do not become pope!” But that answer still narrowed down the list from the 135 who will vote.

I have read several different articles on possible “papabile” – those cardinals that seem “pope material” – but all authors agree it is impossible to predict the outcome. Just like Jesus said in the gospel today: “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit alone knows who will be the 267th Vicar of Christ.

So, since it’s anybody’s guess who will be the visible head of the Church, let me share my own papabile picks. And we can divide the cardinals into two categories: Vatican insiders and Vatican outsiders. We sometimes divide U.S. presidential candidates along similar lines: those “inside the beltway” and those “outside the beltway.”

One of the Vatican insiders is Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the former Vatican Secretary of State. His role would be comparable to Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state. He was a close collaborator of Pope Francis, held one of the most influential offices in the Vatican, and has vast international exposure.

In other words, almost every Roman Catholic – and certainly every cardinal elector – has heard his name, so he is a known commodity. And theologically, he is moderate, neither a flaming liberal or a radical traditionalist. Parolin is on everyone’s short list of papabile, including all the articles I read.

One of my personal favorites is Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the retired archbishop of Vienna, Austria. When I was in seminary, I listened to 10 cds of him explaining the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church. And he was brilliant. He knows the Catechism forward and backward because he was the general editor when Pope St. John Paul II published it in 1992.

Even though Cardinal Schonborn is 80 years old, and cannot cast a vote in the conclave, he could still be elected. That is, he does not enjoy “active vote” to elect, but he still has a “passive vote” to be elected. And therefore, he is definitely pope material and was a front-runner back in 2005 when JPII died and in 2013 when B16 retired.

Now let me share two Vatican outsiders that are also pope material. One is Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines. Interestingly, he is both an insider and an outsider. Even though he comes from far away, he heads the Dicastery for Evangelization within the Vatican. Benedict XVI made him a cardinal over 12 years ago, and he is only 67 years old today.

That relative youthful age means he would potentially serve as pope for a very long time. But remember that John Paul II was a mere baby cardinal at 58 when he became pope. So I really like Cardinal Tagle's chances, and pray he might be our next pope. I know a lot of Filipinos here at I.C. who would flip out if Tagle were the 267th pope.

Finally, there are several strong cardinals candidates from Africa, but I prefer Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana. We should note that if elected, Cardinal Turkson would not be the first African pope. Why not? Well, back in the 5th century – from 492 to 496 – Pope Gelasius I served as bishop of Rome. The explosion of Catholicism in Africa, and a charming personality, make Cardinal Turkson a very viable papabile.

By the way, you may have noticed I did not include any of the 10 cardinals from the United States on my short list of papabile. I am not anti-American in praying for papabile. Rather, one handicap of American cardinals – which they share with the general population – is they are limited in the languages they speak, usually only English, Spanish, and Italian.

But the pope should be conversant in many languages, because he is the pope of the whole world. And the fact that the Church is Catholic means it is present everywhere and speaks all languages. It would be tragic if the Holy Father could not speak to his own spiritual children throughout the world.

So, those are my four papal picks, for what they are worth. Keep an eye on Cardinals Parolin, Schonborn, Tagle, and Turkson. But now that I have mentioned their names, they probably will not be the future pope. Why not? Because “the wind blows where it wills,” not where Fr. John wills.

Praised be Jesus Christ!