October 2018 – Journeying Into Mystery

A prayer for discernment as we prepare to vote next week.

We are gifted in our nation with the right to vote. It has become all the more apparent that the mid-term elections coming up in one week are very important for us and for our nation. I personally believe that this election is a fight for the soul of our nation. Throughout the past 18 months, the ideals and the principles upon which our nation was founded has been under a deadly assault. The time has come for the citizens of our nation to push back and defeat the racism, the greed, the misogyny, and hatred that has infected our government. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have a beautiful prayer for us to pray as we discern for whom we are voting. I invite all to pray this prayer everyday in anticipation of November 6^th.

Prayer Before an Election

Lord God, as the election approaches,
we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city/state/country,
and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.
We ask for eyes that are free from blindness
so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters,
one and equal in dignity,
especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.
We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned,
Men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender.
We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.

We pray for discernment
so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word,
live your love,
and keep in the ways of your truth
as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles
and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.

We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

All Saints Day (and the poem, Portraiture)

In 2015, after another one of my surgeries, I was peering through the family photo albums, especially at night when Ruthie was away at work. I wrote this poem I entitled, “Portraiture.” Here is a little bit of that poem.

PORTRAITURE

Have you ever looked into
the eyes of a portraiture?
In these wells of the soul
lay the expressive depthso
of the human spirit,
the pain and sorrow,t
the hopes and dreams,
the love and the joy,
and peace and reconciliation.

On the picture boards
at wakes and funerals,
I peer into the eyes of
the deceased, trying to
catch a glimpse of what
they were thinking, what
they were feeling at the
various times of their lives
portrayed from infancy
through their school years,f
from courtship to weddings,
from young parenthood
to adolescent parenthood
to grandparenthood.

Generally late at night
when you are off to work,
I love to pour through
my photographs of you,
slowly, carefully savoring
the intricate pattern of
shading, highlighting
your cheeks, your smile,
and most especially,
your eyes,
your dark brown eyes,
in whose mysterious depths
resides the beautiful
portraiture of God.

In our church spaces we often have the “official photo album” of Church saints on display in the stainglass windows and statuary. As we look at our “Church family”, their images remind us of who they were when alive and much of what they endured in life. It is not often the “great accomplishments” of their lives we remember, but how they lived their faith in the everyday small stuff of life that intimately connects their lives to ours.

We have a less official photo album of the saints of the Church in our photo albums at home. I encourage you to take the time to view the family saints portrayed in your photo albums, on your computer, or on some digital cloud and look into the eyes of your family saints. Their lives are more intimately connected to ours than those of our official saints. If you gaze into the depths of their eyes, you will discover, as I did that night as I looked at a portraiture of Ruth, the beautiful mysterious portrait of God gazing back at you. At every celebration of the Mass, listen to the prayers immediately following the Consecration, and you will hear that ALL the saints of the Church, including your deceased loved ones, are remembered in the Eucharistic prayer. Celebrate the saints of your life not only on this All Saints Day but every day of your life. When we pass from this life into the next, they will be there welcoming us home.

Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

HOMILY FOR THE 29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Imagine for a moment sitting elbow to elbow with many people around a very long table. You are extremely hungry, and placed right in front of you is a plate heaped with all your favorite food. The only problem is that you can’t feed yourself because your fork, knife and spoon are over 2 feet long and there is no way for you to get the food into your mouth using your own fork, knife and spoon (and, no, you cannot use your fingers). What do you do?
This is a scenario used to illustrate the difference between heaven and hell. In both heaven and hell, very hungry people sit crammed next to each other around a very long table. There favorite food is heaped on the plate in front of them, but they cannot feed themselves because the fork, knife and spoon are too long. In hell, everyone remains miserable and hungry because they can’t feed themselves. In heaven, everyone is happy and well fed because they used their forks, knives, and spoons to feed the person sitting on the other side of the table. In hell, the self-centeredness and greed of Original Sin infects and starves those infected. In heaven, the effect of Original Sin is overcome as people serve one another.

The guiding principle of Original Sin is encapsulated in the phrase, “What’s in it for me?” We see this played out in our politics, in our economy, in people’s involvement in their community, in their schools, and in even their churches. The words self-sacrifice and commitment to others or the greater good that once was the hallmark of our nation, has now been replaced by self-service and self-advancement at the expense of the common good of all.

In today’s readings, we hear Jesus declare that our present lifestyle of self-centeredness and greed is contrary to what God intended for humanity. In the Gospel, James and John place on display for us their own tendency to be self-centered and greedy. Believing that Jesus was going to create a political dynasty, they wanted in on the action. They wanted the highest positions in Jesus’ dynasty. When the other 10 apostles hear this, they get angry. Why? They want to get in on the action, too. Jesus then addresses the infection of self-centeredness and greed in his apostles. He tells them, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus is not only addressing the self-centeredness and greed present in his apostles, he is challenging them to confront the intent of their discipleship. Is the reason they are following Jesus based solely on the hope to possess positions of power and wealth in the dynasty they believe that Jesus will establish? What are the reasons that they have given up everything and are following Jesus?

Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus modeled for us what God had intended for humanity from the very beginning, namely, to live lives of loving service to one another. The writer to the Hebrews expresses it this way, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.” Jesus was tested many times to think of and place himself before others, but born without Original Sin, he was never infected with the self-centeredness and greed from which we all seem to suffer. This is demonstrated for us most vividly during the liturgies of Holy Week.

On Holy Thursday night, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Curiously, the Gospel for Holy Thursday is not about the Paschal meal we hear about in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Gospel for that night is from John. John focuses the Last Supper not on the Eucharist, but on Jesus washing the feet of his apostles. The very one through whom all creation came forth, gets down on his knees and washes the feet of those he created. After he is done, Jesus says to them, ““Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

This Gospel had a tremendous impact on St Francis of Assisi. St Francis saw that from the very moment of Jesus’ incarnation, Jesus’ life was spent giving and sacrificing himself to those he had created. All the miracles he worked, all that he suffered was always done out of love for the humanity he had created. St Francis observed that when Jesus had nothing else left to give us, he gave to us his very last possession, that being his last breath as he died on the cross.

Today Jesus asks us to examine the intent behind the actions, both bad and good that we do. When we do good things for others is the intent behind that good action, self-glorification, or recognition? Or, are the things we do for others based on genuine love?

The positive thing we can take away from our readings today is that we are not doomed to succumb to the self-centeredness and greed that infects our world. Look at the saints displayed in our stain glass windows and our statues here in church. This is our church family photo album. These people didn’t buy their sainthood through money and power. These people didn’t manipulate others in order to become saints. How did they become saints? They modeled their lives after the life of Jesus, their Savior. They killed the infection of self-centeredness and greed of Original Sin in their lives with the antibiotic of placing God and others first in their lives. They got down on their knees and humbly washed the feet of others. And, like Jesus, offered up their last breath in service of God and others.
“Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Jesus presents us with a choice to make. Using the opening scenario, we can choose to be among the damned and be miserable and starving by refusing to serve those around us at the table, or, choose to be among the saved, happy and well fed, by taking our long forks, knives, and spoons, and feeding the person those around us.

Bulletin reflection for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I guess this can be called the sequel to the bulletin reflection/homily that was published on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I have had the great experience of having a strong, intelligent and loving mother. I have the great experience of being married to a strong, intelligent and loving woman. I am proud that both of my daughters are equally strong, intelligent, and loving women.

The following is not meant to be a visceral response to the horrible treatment of Dr. Ford by the Republican senators of the Senate Judicial Committee and the subsequent public ridicule from the present occupant of the oval office. The following article is the result of a lifetime of wonderful, healthy relationships I have had not only with the females of my family, but with those with whom I have ministered in the Church.

Years ago, I was introduced to Jane Austen’s wonderful novel, Pride and Prejudice. The two protagonists of the novel, Elizabeth Bennett, and Mr. Darcy, are equal in spirit, in intelligence, and in tenacity. Mr. Darcy, possessing an inordinate amount of pride, has the freedom that males had at that time to make his fortune in the world. Miss Bennett is frustrated knowing that her future is dependent on being married to a man of wealth. It matters not that her future husband may be a completely unsuitable dotard. Darcy and Elizabeth, after much confrontation, find that they are the perfect match for each other, complete each other, and happily marry at the novel’s conclusion.

In the reading from Genesis, a couple of weeks ago, it was proclaimed that male and female are equally made in the image of God. One does not dominate the other. Both are equal. How does this impact our Church?

Prayer, whether it is prayed by male or female is equal in its power. Aside from the ministering of the sacraments, the ministry of both male and female in the Church is equal in its power to touch, to teach, and to heal the lives of others. Observe the number of women on our parish staff and the marvelous ways they enrich our parish. Observe the number of females who serve in our liturgical ministries at Mass. Within our Archdiocese, women are occupying positions of power and authority within the Chancery.

As Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett needed each other to be complete in Pride and Prejudice, so the evangelization and vitalization of the Church has always needed the Mary Magdalenes, Catherine of Siennas, and Teresa of Avilas. Speaking for myself, this is not the sole responsibility of a tired, old, male hierarchy. All who are baptized have been anointed priest, prophet and king. The Church needs the entirety of the baptized (male and female alike) to fulfill the mission entrusted to it by Christ! Mary Higgins, Laura Schoenecker, and others are offering wonderful opportunities for women to grow in their image of God. Our CCWs do vital and important ministry within our greater parish and need vitalized women of all ages to carry on the ministry begun so many years ago. I encourage all women to examine how they reflect the image of God, and how this reflection can be put to use in this very important mission of the Church.

God created man, and then had a better idea. A reflection on the scriptures for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It has been a wee bit busy the past several weeks. Here is the bulletin reflection for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I once saw a bumper sticker on a car that I found delightful. It was a reflection on the “Adam’s rib” story in today’s first reading. The bumper sticker said, “GOD MADE MAN, THEN HAD A BETTER IDEA.” At first glance, when hearing the first reading and the Gospel, one might think the readings are about the permanence of marriage. However, there is more to these readings than that. These readings speak to the importance of mutuality and justice in marriage.

The first reading establishes that from the time of creation God intended the marriage relationship to be one of mutuality. We are told in the 1^st chapter of Genesis that balance exists within God, for both male and female are equally made in God’s image. Adam could not exist in an isolated state. In order to live a balanced life, Adam needed Eve, who was different, but equally made in the image of God. One image of God does not dominate the other image of God. Rather, both male and female are mutual expressions of the one God.

In the Gospel, Jesus corrects the imbalance that had entered into human marriage. In the Jewish culture, and, many cultures of the time, males dominated females, especially in marriage. To have any level of support in order to live, women were utterly dependent on their husbands. As in all things of life of that time, women had no power or voice. Only husbands could divorce their wives. It was relatively easy for a Jewish husband to divorce his wife. She could be divorced for anything from burning the dinner to adultery. Divorce for the Jewish woman was as disastrous as death itself. Jesus’ proscription of divorce addressed the injustices and the absence of mutuality in the Jewish marriages of his time. Jesus exposes the Patriarchal prejudice of male dominating women as living in opposition to the oneness of God.

In Joan Chittester’s excellent book, “Heart of Flesh”, she states that God’s own image intends that both sexes live in an equal and mutual relationship. As a married clergyman, my greatest image and experience of God is my wife, Ruth. May I mutually be Ruth’s greatest image and experience of God. If both males and females see God’s image in one another, and honor God’s image, then, all sins, from sexual violence to divorce, will cease.

Pro-life means an embracing of ALL life.

The month of October has been designated by the Roman Catholic Church as “respect life” month. From the time the Supreme Court ruled on Roe Vs Wade, the term, pro-life, has been narrowly interpreted as referring only to the issue of abortion. However, the teaching of the Church is widening the meaning of pro-life to embrace ALL life issues, including capital punishment (recently declared a mortal sin in the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church), abrogating the earlier narrow teaching of the Church. The following is the article I submitted for the bulletin on the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time. It is largely composed from the teaching of Pope Francis I in his apostolic exhortation, “Rejoice and Be Glad.”

October is designated as “Respect Life” month by the Church. Many make the error of isolating “pro-life” to abortion and euthanasia. As Sr. Joan Chittester has said, “Pro-life is more than being pro-birth.” This is not a mere opinion. It is what Jesus taught. Pope Francis I, teaches this in his apostolic exhortation, Rejoice And Be Glad.

“In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel (vv. 31-46), Jesus expands on the Beatitude that calls the merciful blessed. If we seek the holiness pleasing to God’s eyes, this text offers us one clear criterion on which we will be judged. “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (vv. 35-36). (#95, Gaudete et Exsultate) “In this call to recognize him in the poor and the suffering, we see revealed the very heart of Christ, his deepest feelings and choices, which every saint seeks to imitate.” (#96, Ibid)

“Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person … Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection. We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty.” (#101, Ibid)

“We often hear it said that, with respect to relativism and the flaws of our present world, the situation of migrants, for example, is a lesser issue. Some Catholics consider it a secondary issue compared to the “grave” bioethical questions. That a politician looking for votes might say such a thing is understandable, but not a Christian, for whom the only proper attitude is to stand in the shoes of those brothers and sisters of ours who risk their lives to offer a future to their children.” (#102,Ibid)

To respect life means to fully embrace all life.

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