Daily Homilies

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2012-01-29T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012912.cfm

Moses spoke to all the people, saying:
"A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.

The Book of Deuteronomy contains a promise that is completely different from the messianic hope expressed in other books of the Old Testament, yet it is of decisive importance for understanding the figure of Jesus.

Thus begins Pope Benedict's first volume of his wonderful Jesus of Nazareth. He continues:

The object of this promise is not a king of Israel and king of the world -- a new David, in other words -- but a new Moses. Moses himself, however, is interpreted as a prophet.

The Holy Father's book opened my eyes to the ministry of Jesus as prophet. Further reading of Abraham Joseph Heschl's The Prophets deepened my understanding of Jesus and the role of the Church in the world today.

It seems the people in Capernaum were equally unprepared for a prophet when Jesus "taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." They were "astonished" at his teaching.

I take that word astonished to mean more than conventionally pleased or surprised. It wasn't simply that they had known this fellow Galilean for many years and never expected much of him. Rather, his countenance and his words and then his authoritative healing of the possessed man, opened a portal into an entirely unexpected reality:

This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Christians are people who live with one foot in this world and the other in a world so wonderfully strange that our neighbors can hardly imagine it. We see things they cannot see, and expect things they would never dream. Our senses are trained and disciplined by the Word he has spoken to us. Our imagination is colored by the stain glass windows in our churches; and our ears, tuned to the song of angels. We cannot regard people and events of this world with the usual lens of competition/enemies/survival. Rather, we see the world as God's creation and its people as cherished but distressed children of Our Father. Our mission is not to overcome them as enemies but to welcome them even when they fear and despise us.

In today's second reading, Saint Paul teaches us more about this "kingdom" in which we live.

I should like you to be free of anxieties.

This freedom, as he goes on to say, means we don't have to conform to the expectations of others, including their expectations about marriage, for instance. Whereas others were:

eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

we have the choice to follow the Spirit of God as we make our daily choices and lifelong commitments.

We also have the freedom to hear the prophetic judgments of God concerning our moral behavior. We need not endorse the killing of incarcerated criminals or the invasion of defenseless nations. As a prophetic people we know the mind of God on such matters and may speak up to protest such mindless, counter-productive behaviors. We have seen that Saint Paul's admonition --

Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them.

Ice-covered rocks jut out
from hillsides at the Mount

-- leads more surely to peace with our enemies than any other way.

This is the way the New Moses teaches us; he is the Prophet whom the Lord our God has raised up for us.

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church

2012-01-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012812.cfm

How the mighty are fallen.

They woke him and said to him,
"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
He woke up,
rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!"

From the Book of Psalms

Psalm 37.7:Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
Psalm 39.2:I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
Psalm 46.10:‘Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.’

The Teacher may have addressed his word to the wind and sea but it certainly fell upon the disciples as well:

They were filled with great awe....

Or as we used to say in Kentucky, "Well shut my mouth and call me Silent."

During the Sabbath rest of the weekend it is good to practice silence. Let my opinions cease their clamor for a while. Let me cease worrying and watch in wonder as the panorama of life flows before my eyes.

That behavior might serve us well, too, as we hear today's story of David and the prophet Nathan. Surely some will object to an innocent child's fatal illness because of his father's reprehensible sin. Is God so malignant that he punishes the innocent for the sins of the wicked?
Lord, let my judgment of your ways be still. Let me abide in your presence confident of your mercy for the unborn and the new born, for the innocent and the helpless.
On Monday we will hear that Bathsheba's child died despite the anxious prayers of his parents. It was a hard lesson for David, one which he did not forget as the madman Shimei rained curses, dirt and rocks upon him. He wisely declared:

Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.
Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction
and make it up to me with benefits
for the curses he is uttering this day."

Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-27T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012712.cfm

A familiar site
to hikers at MSF

(The kingdom of God) is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."

I suppose that, as a young priest-friar, I often came to the dinner table or the evening conversation with a hangdog look of frustration and disappointment. I say this because I remember hearing often statements like, "You never know. You might have done more good than you suppose."

Perhaps Jesus' disciples were feeling the same way when he gave them his parables of the sleeping farmer and the mustard seed.

Blessed John Duns Scotus, one of the greatest of Franciscan philosopher/theologians encouraged his friars with a similar teaching: Whereas the works we human beings do on our own are often frustrating and fruitless, the works we do in obedience to God are touched with infinite blessings. They contribute irresistibly to building the Kingdom of God. If their specific effects don't appear to the searching eye, their roots run deep beneath appearances.

And that is what we're all about, not satisfying our own needs or accomplishing our own agenda but contributing to Jesus' work of salvation.

To live by faith is to believe that Jesus' sacrificial life and death cannot be frustrated. It is to let all of our efforts be subsumed into his grand work. Furthermore, to live by faith is to allow my identity, so dear to me, to be dismissed and my name to be forgotten in preference to the Holy Name of Jesus.

Revelations give us one such image:

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power,for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’ (Revelations 4:9-11)

In the unlikely event I am given a crown for all my good works, I will certainly toss it on the massive pile before the Lamb of God, confident that he knows its worth.

Memorial of Saint Timothy and Saint Titus, bishops

2012-01-26T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012612.cfm

I actually took this picture!

For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.

The advent of the Internet, digital cameras, video recorders and Facebook admirably demonstrates the truth of Jesus’ teaching. The distinction between public and private, which seemed cast in iron in the mid-twentieth century, has dissolved; even as the same people who display their soiled linens in social networks for friends and relatives decry this unexpected development.

Police, teachers, parents, ministers and anyone who works even remotely with the public must carefully choose their every word, deed and facial expression – thoughts are still exempt – because someone nearby may be recording their behaviors.

This glare of exposure, which seemed to begin in Richard Nixon’s Oval Office, has served us well in many ways. Crimes which once went undetected and unpunished are now exposed and addressed; self-righteous persons who cloaked their mischief in robes of authority are stripped in public. Priests, bishops, Boy Scout leaders and football coaches must submit to penetrating examinations to preserve their reputations. Parents, relatives and neighbors must demonstrate their virtue if they would associate with children.

For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.

Before this Revelation– this Apocalypse of private information -- a thoughtful Christian might wring her hands and cry, “Isn’t it awful?” and “That’s not how it used to be!” But she might also accept the challenge as an invitation to deeper integrity.

How comfortable am I with the shadow side of my nature? Am I willing to expose this secret side of my life to my spouse, a personal friend, a priest confessor, or a counselor? Are there things in my past that I choose to forget, rather than seek God’s pardon and atonement? Does the memory of past sins inspire me to greater gratitude for God’s saving mercy? Do those memories teach me greater compassion and patience with young people who have yet to experience the superabundant love of God in the impenetrable depths of their simple little souls?

The scriptures bear ample testimony to the revelations that will come on Judgment Day. No one should be so foolish as to think she will have no cause for shame. Rather, we plan to acclaim the Mercy of God who proves his Righteousness by the forgiveness of our sins.

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Apostle

2012-01-25T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012512.cfm

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,
but brought up in this city.
At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law
and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

The story of Saint Paul's revelation and subsequent conversion teaches us much about the Christian way of life, and provides a cautionary tale about zeal. The Apostle described his former way of life not as sinful; that sinful story appears only in a later Pauline epistle which scholars suspect he did not write. Rather he recalled his strict education in the Law of Moses and his zeal for promoting that interpretation.

His encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus gave him an entirely new understanding of the Mosaic Law and redirected his zeal into unexpected new channels.

The Church's long experience of zeal and the Holy Spirit teaches us wariness about zealotry. We are always glad to see someone turn away from a foolish, destructive way of life. We are delighted to share our joy and vision with those whom the Lord sends us. We are eager to be inspired by their energy and insight.

And we also encourage them to allow us to test every spirit before they get carried away. Conversion is a process -- painstaking, arduous and demanding. Perhaps one of the hardest lessons is that deep suspicion of one's own impulses.

The "convert" -- that is one who has truly turned away from sin and wants to live by the Gospel -- will first have to square off against the habits of a lifetime which were, in fact, destructive and sinful. They will almost certainly include one or more of the "seven deadly sins:" wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. These habits abide in one's actions, speech and thoughts. They hide in one's memories, especially the resentments. Through the practice of penance, usually within a community of penance such as a 12 step group or a small prayer group, and with the assistance of mentors, spiritual directors and devout friends, the convert recognizes the roots of evil within the self.

Saint Paul called that self "the old man." He was old not in the sense of aged but in sense of belonging to Adam and his fallen ways.

Then, as one's thoughts, words and deeds are purified, the practice of obedience leads to humility.

But expect relapses and discouragement along the way. The Old Man does not give up easily.

And expect help and support from the Church of the redeemed. That community -- ever ancient and ever new -- may not be fun but it is joyful.

And take to heart Saint Paul's encouraging words to his Thessalonian friends:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. (I Thessalonians 5: 17-24)

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

2012-01-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012412.cfm

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

Of all the Evangelists, Saint Mark draws the sharpest divide between Jesus and his family. At best, they play a minor role in all the gospels.
But Mark's gospel accentuates the isolation of Jesus and his total surrender to the One who has only whispered to him. When Jesus was baptized, according to Mark, only he heard the reassuring word:

And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

That reassuring voice would not be heard again even in Gethsemane. In the beginning of the Gospel Jesus is like a roaring lion out of the wilderness, untamed and irresistible. Thousands flock to him for his teachings and healing while the Pharisees helplessly wring their hands.
But in the end he will be abandoned by his nation, people, family and disciples. Neither the law nor his religion will sustain him; not even God will assist him as he cries to heaven:

‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

And yet "He is the king of glory." A suffering psychiatric patient recently reminded me of the horror of the cross. This devout Catholic Veteran is appalled at what he has seen in war. In its brutality he saw the suffering face of Jesus and he has not yet recovered from the trauma. It simply does not "fit" into what he had come to expect of life.

In our prayer and practice of faith each of us must integrate agony and ecstasy to discover the glory of the cross. That's more easily said than done.

Monday, Weekday in Ordinary Time

2012-01-23T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012312.cfm

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.

The state flag of the Commonwealth of Kentucky has a picture of two men, a well-dressed statesman and a roughly dressed frontiersman, shaking hands. The inscription reads: "United we stand; Divided we fall." It reflects the direct, simple wisdom of Jesus Christ.

Abraham Lincoln reflected on this parable when he considered the plight of the United States in 1858. He saw what others were not willing to see; and he said what others dared not say. He gave that “House Divided” speech upon being nominated by his party to the U.S Senate; and, because of it, lost to Stephen Douglas. However, the speech made his fame and eventually propelled him into the presidency.

Jesus' words to his opponents sound like common sense, as if he were a teacher speaking to quarreling children. Their accusation of him is utter nonsense. "How can Satan drive out Satan?" he demands. But common sense, along with truth, is often the first casualty of war. Maddened with envy and fear, people lose touch with reality and say whatever inanities come to mind.

This principle -- "a divided house cannot stand" -- should govern our actions night and day. In every quarrel we should remember "This conversation is not about who is right or wrong; it's about respect for my neighbor."

A recent Catholic newspaper forecasts a resurgence of the pro-life movement and its likely impact on the elections in November. I am appalled by abortion, as is most everyone I know, but I cannot support a movement which has no realistic aims and threatens only to sabotage what should be a civil conversation. A constitutional amendment to ban abortion would be no more effective than our present laws against drug abuse, illegal weapons or illegal immigration. Into what already-overcrowded prison would we put all the women, men, parents of women, doctors, nurses, and international airlines who knowingly perform and abet illegal abortions?

We can find ways to encourage responsible sexual behavior, parenting and moral behavior. We might find ways to build a culture that prefers moral character to consumption and wealth. But a legal shortcut to moral behavior is no more effective than a "war" on terror.

I believe the abortion issue lies at the very heart of the red/blue line in American society. President Nixon and his advisers, who had no particularly strong feelings on the issue, decided to use abortion as an issue to separate Catholics from the Democratic party. They effectively drove pro-abortion people out of the GOP and drew anti-abortion people into it; and defined the issue as a fault-line in American society. Since then the two-party system has divided the United States into red and blue states, conservative and liberal politics, and "us versus them." (As in "We will take the country back.")

In the meanwhile, abortion has become an international epidemic. Only some Muslim nations still ban it.

If we are ever to make headway against the plague we must reunite the house. We should find ways to make abortion unnecessary because we have fastened our ambitions to moral character rather than acquisition, and dedicated our zeal to holiness instead of freedom.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

2012-01-22T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012212.cfm

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away. (I Cor 7)

Mandatory celibacy for priests has become a controversial issue in the last half century. Perhaps it always was; perhaps it is meant to be controversial.
Its historical origins are shrouded by that same controversy. Is it a bad idea imposed on an unwilling cadre of priests by the authoritarian church? Or a personal calling heard in the depths of one's heart? Is it an appropriate response to the gospel, or a peculiarly inappropriate response?
Celibacy certainly has roots in the New Testament, although it's virtually unknown in the Old. Saint Paul speaks of his own commitment to Christ and the freedom his single state allows him when he wrote to the Corinthians

Indeed, I wish everyone to be as I am, but each has a particular gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. (I Cor 7:7)

In that very passage (verses 1-8) we find a significant clue to the history of celibacy. Some Greek Christians, given to stoicism by their philosophical traditions, supposed that Christian husbands and wives should live together as brothers and sisters, in celibacy. Saint Paul, with his deep understanding of human nature, was skeptical. He gave them permission to practice that way of life under three conditions: temporarily, by mutual consent, and for the sake of prayer -- but then return to one another, so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
6Couples do that today when one goes on retreat for a few days. It's really nothing unusual. Indeed, absence and abstinence make the heart grow fonder.
Some married couples who are experiencing severe strains in their marriage may also find his advice helpful. Perhaps their sexual relationship has been less than satisfying for one or both of them; and they need time to reconsider everything about their mutual covenant. They seek counsel, spiritual direction, growth and maturity, freedom from compulsions and obsessions. Perhaps one or both must find sobriety, sanity and serenity through a twelve step program. The fear of sexual abstinence is itself a symptom of a diseased relationship. Wealthier couples might take time to live apart from one another, in separate homes, until they have rediscovered their freedom to love and be loved. In isolation each must seek that purity which God gives to his people, (without interference from a third party!)

But further reading of Saint Paul's teaching points to a deeper meaning of celibacy, especially as millions of men and women have practiced the Gospel throughout its history:
Life-long celibacy is founded on the principle that no relationship in this world can match the satisfaction that God has promised to his faithful people. The celibate person, who usually lives within a community of celibate persons, is a quasi-sacramental sign that the best is yet to come.
A recent book making the rounds in the Catholic Church, asks Why Are Priests Happy? I spoke with my spiritual director the other day and we agreed that we are extraordinarily fortunate. After making the initial commitment to this way of life -- which is indeed challenging! -- we find our lives are so much simpler than that of married men and women. Although we can't enjoy the pleasure of grandchildren sitting in our laps and whispering in our ears, we often find ourselves surrounded by flocks of other people's grandchildren, eager to hear stories of Jesus and Mary. Their innocence and eagerness and beauty are balms to the aches of old age. Their piety is reward enough for the sacrifices we have made and nearly forgotten. Indeed we have inherited a hundred fold (Mark 10:31).

The Carmelite abbess, Mother Tessa Bilecki has written,

"Celibacy makes no sense at all unless it issues from love. Sex makes no sense at all unless it issues from love. Both sex and celibacy are about love, and I have learned how to be a better lover, a universal lover, as a result of celibacy. I have learned to count on God totally, unequivocally and unconditionally as a result of celibacy. Whereas if I were not celibate, there would be the temptation to rely on someone less than God for ultimate fulfillment.
"I would not trade celibacy for anything. It's really the heart of my life. I believe that there is a qualitative difference in my relationship with God as a result of being celibate because I have to count on him alone. When my spiritual director suggested to me that I might be called to celibacy, I literally screamed and ran away. I was absolutely horrified. It was the last thing in the world I wanted.
"And now I'd be horrified if somebody said, 'Now you have to get married.' I couldn't bear it, because of the joy that I know from living a life of celibacy."

She has also written, though I could not Google the quotation, that married love is red-hot and celibate love is white-hot.

Celibacy is not for everyone. Saint Paul knew that very well and understood that every Christian must respond to God's call in her own and his own particular way. But it remains an enormous gift to the Church. It will abide within the Catholic tradition until the end of time, and will remain as an offer to all Christians, Catholic and Protestant.

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

2012-01-21T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012112.cfm

Sunset on the lake at MSF

I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother!
most dear have you been to me;
more precious have I held love for you than love for women.

During those few "peaceful" years between the Vietnam and Gulf Wars vague suggestions floated about that David and Jonathan were more than "just friends." Perhaps there was a homosexual component to their relationship. Didn't David say, "more precious have I held love for you than love for women?"

I find it sad that people would so willfully misread a man's expressions of grief. King David was a ferocious man, given to intense love and hate. His grief for his son Absalom is one of the most affecting passages in the scriptures. People say things in sadness, as they express intense emotion, that may not be taken literally.

At the graveside of her brother a woman once whispered to me, "I'm all alone. There is no one to care for me." In fact she had children and grandchildren and a large caring family. But a fellow who happened to be standing by and overheard her words thought she was insulting her family. He seemed not to know the language of grief.

Secondly, David's anguished words describe the bond of warriors who fight side by side against a common enemy. Perhaps we understand that better today, as hear our Veterans speak of "the band of brothers" and "I've got your back." Men who have been forged into a fighting unit by their basic training and battlefield experience, who have patrolled hostile territory, survived innumerable skirmishes and faced death repeatedly must feel a palpable affection for one another that no woman would dare to challenge. I cannot doubt that David's love for Jonathan was more precious than sexual love. His words need no further interpretation from a contemporary notion about sexuality.

Our Christian tradition also recognizes in David a prototype of Jesus. His affection for Jonathan depicts Jesus' intense affection for each one of us, for whom he has fought and died. This is more than a spiritual feeling; this is an intense, earthy emotion that groans in pain.

We see that more clearly in John 11, as Jesus approached the grave of his friend Lazarus. He did not pause to think, "I've got everything under control. I'll fix this up with my divine power to raise the dead. Then they'll know that I am God." Rather, he was staggered by the horror of death and groaned aloud.

...he became perturbed and deeply troubled....

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb

As John tells the story, there were mixed feelings around him. Some were moved by the spectacle of Jesus' grief. "See how he loved him." they said. Others were more skeptical. “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

But Jesus was not thinking about himself. Attuned to the Holy Spirit that guided his impulses, he offered his own life in exchange for Lazarus. Saint John shows this by the sequence of events that immediately followed: Jesus called his friend from the grave, and a group of bystanders raced in Jerusalem,

"But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done."

He had signed his own death warrant.

Hearing of David's grief for his former king Saul and his friend Jonathan -- perhaps I should say overhearing because this is such an intense drama -- we understand all the more clearly the sacrifice that Jesus offers for each one of us.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-20T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012012.cfm

Dusk on the water

He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him....

I am sure I heard a teacher in high school, university or theology remind me that we are all “vessels of clay.” Certainly, I have heard that gentle word in many sermons. So why does it always seem like a new insight to me?

The fellows Jesus chose for apostles were certified vessels of clay, right down to the scoundrel Judas. Some of them he nicknamed Sons of Thunder. He was probably teasing them for their loud voices and louder opinions. Other apostles, like Peter, are remembered fondly for their shortcomings. In his gospel, Saint Mark summarized his estimation of the group with his terse remark, “They all deserted him and fled.” (14:50). Has a worse censure ever been pronounced?

But St Mark reminds us the apostles were appointed “that they might be with him,” (which is just the opposite of deserting and fleeing). Being with Jesus is the vocation of every Christian. Before we do anything, speak or think anything, we should abide with Jesus.

Martin Luther, echoing Saint Paul and much of the Christian tradition, insisted that we are saved by faith alone. But the word faith often implies doctrines, beliefs and opinions. After five hundred years of division over Martin Luther's teaching, I would suggest another word: fidelity. By that I mean persistent, courageous cleaving to the person of Jesus. We take shelter in the shadow of his wings; we hide in the safety of his Heart.

Fidelity is not holding an opinion; no one is saved by his opinions. Rather, because we are vessels of clay, we cling to Jesus as our friend and champion.

I love you, LORD, my strength,

LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,

My God, my rock of refuge,

my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold!

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!

I have been delivered from my enemies. Psalm 18

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-19T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011912.cfm

Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:
"They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.
All that remains for him is the kingship."
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.

As the former director at our retreat house in Minnesota, I know the strange effect of authority. It embeds deep within one's identity, wrapping itself around neurons and axons to be integrated into one's nervous system. Because it is so deeply embedded, it is hard to let go even when you’re sick and tired of it.

Saul was not sick and tired of it. He was an able warrior and a capable leader, enjoying the respect of his soldiers. If he was little more than a warlord in a lawless land, he nonetheless preferred fighting to farming. He had the popular support of the Hebrews and the religious authority of the Judge Samuel to back him up. Or so he thought. His popularity was eroding as David's grew stronger; and Samuel was never enthusiastic about surrendering some of his religious authority to a secular king in the first place. He had anointed Saul as king only under divine obedience. But when Saul violated certain religious taboos Samuel quietly transferred his support to David.

As Saul felt his privilege slipping away he fell into the madness of envy. Perhaps David recalled that insanity many years later when he composed Psalm 51: Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit.

Saint Francis also felt the intoxicating effects of authority. He had not set out to found an Order, but young men and women found him. They flocked to him by hundreds and thousands. Reassured by Church authorities that he should promote this movement, Francis labored intensely to show them his vision. His first dozen followers seemed to "get it" and he was very happy with them. That early group, including Saint Clare of Assisi, practiced poverty, penance and obedience and discovered the freedom of owning nothing and relying completely on God. Had they all been spurned by the people around them and starved for lack of popular support, Francis would have been very happy to die with them.
But the Church's needs were greater than his initial vision could include. The Church needed well-educated, well-trained preachers to move throughout Christendom; they had to reintroduce Jesus Christ to a religion that celebrated itself without reference to its Lord. Student friars needed food, shelter and warmth to maintain their studies. They could not live in the streets and sleep in barns like the first friars, and still attend classes by day. They needed books and they would develop erudition.
Francis resisted that impulse mightily until he was finally set aside by the friars and allowed to go his way. He could not and would not leave the community, of course, but his leadership would be only by writing and speaking. He would inspire rather than direct.
It was no easy transition for him. Some biographers think he suffered the disappointment for about two years, until he was given the stigmata. That "imprimatur" reminded him that God was still in charge and would direct the community despite his helplessness. The stigmata became a kind of living death for Francis, even as the wounds of Jesus appeared only after his death. There was no further possibility of his directing anything or anyone. He had become little more than an undead relic for the church.

He told the parable of the corpse. If you take a corpse out of its coffin, set it on a throne, put a crown on its head and a scepter in its hand, it will be no happier than it was in the coffin. That's the attitude leaders should bring to their ministry. They act in obedience only, despising any "perks" that might accompany the job. Relieved of responsibility they shed no tears; in fact they are downright grateful for the freedom of being under obedience again. Hopefully, in the meanwhile, they might have learned -- if they did not know -- the true practice of obedience.

Tragically, Saul never attained that freedom. He would die on the battle field, far from his vassal David, who might have saved his life.

Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-18T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011812.cfm

An angel by MSF Lake

Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored.

Ordinarily, in the scriptures, stretching out one’s hand is a warrior’s gesture. The hand wields a sword, club or stone to smash the enemy. Here are several verses from the Book of Exodus, for examples:

So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. 3: 20
I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 6:6
The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.’ 7:5
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand towards heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt.’ 9.22

Today’s gospel begins with a man who suffers a withered hand. He seems defenseless against his enemies, vulnerable before anyone who might take advantage of him. His only defenses are the Lord and his willingness to obey the Lord’s command.

So when Jesus orders him to “Stretch out your hand” he does so willingly. And with the gesture he and Jesus strike down their enemies.

But it is a healing gesture too. His hand would not be healed if he did not obey the Lord. Saint Luke emphasizes that with his repetition of the word stretch in two consecutive sentences.

Perhaps he did not even see the conspiracy against Jesus. Aware of Jesus’ authority he might not have sensed the growing tension in the room. But by stretching out his hand this obedient disciple shattered the pious pretensions of the wicked and unleashed their diabolical rage. Out of control, they set to work – on the Sabbath – to destroy the Lord.

Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbott

2012-01-17T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011712.cfm

What is over the horizon?

Not asman sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks intothe heart.

Living in a time of tremendous change, we are confrontedrather often with the unexpected and the unforeseen. In retrospect we might supposewe should have seen it coming – the burst of the housing bubble, Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme, or the nine-eleven attackon the United States,for instance; and some people will declare they did see it coming and they did soundthe alarm but no one was listening. But the future, especially in our time, islargely unforeseeable.

Short of predicting the sun will rise tomorrow morning, it’shard to know what might happen. But even movements of the sun, if the Portugueseat Fatima are to bebelieved, isn’t always predictable.

Today’s Bible readings remind us of that unpredictability in troubled times. When Samuelwent to Bethlehem to anoint anotherking no one suspected what he was up to. For that matter he didn’t know whatwould happen. But “Samuel did as the Lord had commandedhim”; he anointed the least of Jesse’ssons, a shepherd-boy named David.

Once again God would demonstrate that he can do the unexpected with unpromisingmaterial. Saint Paul was well awareof God’s amazing capability when he said:

For I amthe least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle,because I persecuted the church of God. (I Cor 15:9)

He also reminded the Corinthians of how unlikely they were as God's servants:

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.

In fact we find in the scriptures a pronounced tradition of choosing the lesser and the least: Abel over Cain, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over his brothers, and the Hebrews over the Egyptians.

God reserves the right to surprise and the wisest are those who look to the future with great hope and no particular expectation.

Monday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-16T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011612.cfm

No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."

The 19th century naturalist and philosopher, Charles Darwin, supposed that life evolves on this planet, usually from simpler to more complex forms. A hundred and fifty years later, we know that it sometimes revolves; that is, it undergoes a revolution.

Today's story from the First Book of Samuel recalls such a moment in Israelite history. For over two hundred years the twelve Hebrew tribes, settled in the high country of Palestine, had maintained their tribal identities despite the pressure of Canaanite and Philistine enemies. Periodically, when the pressure was too much, their "judges" called them together to fight. But mostly they kept to themselves; their homes and gardens too poor for the lowland dwellers to bother them.

During Samuel's judgeship, however, the times were changing; the Philistines threatened to wipe out the hill people. The people wanted Samuel to name a king to bind them together, to conquer their enemies and to establish a stable kingdom, with defensible borders and a prosperous economy. This ideal kingdom was not going to evolve out of their present arrangement; it would require some significant, sudden changes. Blood would be shed; many would be disappointed; and the venture might succeed.
The evangelists and authors of the New Testament knew their faith in Jesus was something unprecedented. Other religions worshiped gods and some worshiped men, but none claimed their god was a man who lived among us, was crucified, buried and rose from the dead -- within living memory. Despite the efforts of their Jewish and pagan contemporaries, they knew this new religion could not fit into old religious beliefs. They would only burst the old religious rituals and doctrines and all would be lost.
Christians today have enormous confidence that our faith in Jesus will survive for many more generations within whatever new forms appear. Our doctrines about him -- that he is True God and True Man -- will also endure. In fact they will thrive as people discard the old ways that could not sustain them in an age of the Internet, nano-technology, micro-surgery and so forth. Christianity will flourish because it is founded upon a man who is neither a philosophy nor a fabricated myth.
As that man ate our food, drank our water and breathed our air, so will his Gospel thrive as long as human beings eat, drink and breathe.

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

2012-01-15T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011512.cfm

A flower-like fungus

The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.

Each morning for the past several years, along with some morning stretches and the Liturgy of the Hours, I sit on a “prayer bench” for a half-hour and breathe. It's really quite simple -- breathing is -- and wonderfully satisfying. But unless you suffer COPD or someone has water boarded you recently, you might not notice how satisfying it is to breathe.

With this simple exercise I want to pay attention to my breathing – in, out and pause; in, out and pause. When I breathe I notice the body God has given me. Were I to write a “theology of the body” I would start with the experience of breathing.

From the exercise I learn that I am a creature of earth, in communion with all the animals, plants, fungi and assorted other life forms of this planet. I learn also of communion with Jesus who walked the same earth, drank the same water and breathed the same air in which I live.

Sometimes, as I breathe I remember the cycles and rhythms of the earth; my breathing is only one of many cycles. There is my heart beat, somewhat faster than my breathing; and the circadian cycle of sleep, a slower revolution. The winds encircle the earth as they suck moisture from the sea and deposit it on land. They bring endless cycles of rain and drought, along with tons of minerals, sea salt, topsoil, seeds and eggs of every description.

Beyond the atmosphere are the cycles of the moon, which drags the tides hither and yon; and the solar year with its four seasons; and the sun’s stately processional around the Milky Way.

Everything changes continually. My body too is rotating through its cycle from infancy to old age. One day my family, friends and friars will return it to the earth from which it came. My nieces and nephews will breathe this lovely air when I have long sense died. It's fun to watch them growing up.

Cyclic life moves through these components of dirt, air, water and sunshine. As I breathe I take part in all that motion. I remember Saint Peter's remark on Mount Tabor, "Rabbi, it's good to be here."

With his confident knowledge of God, Saint Paul insists this body is "for the Lord." No one knows how that "resurrection of the body" might occur. But as I hope the Lord will find me worthy to save -- salvageable? -- I hope he will restore my breathing in eternity. Perhaps I will wake up one day to discover I am breathing his Easter Spirit though my bodily breath has ceased. I'm sure I will still enjoy the four winds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the change of seasons, and the Sun's processional around the Milky Way.

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-14T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011412.cfm

O little town....

Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
"Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

A utilitarian might answer the Pharisees’ question with, “Jesus wants to save their souls. That’s why he eats with tax collectors and sinners.”

But perhaps he just prefers their company. There is something divinely attractive about people who are “damaged goods”; they have lost their pretenses.

I have sometimes said to grieving persons in the confessional, “If you get to be forty years old and haven’t screwed up big time yet, you’re not even trying.” I certainly did more than my share, with six weeks in a psychiatric hospital and eight months in psychiatric rehab. Turning forty didn’t seem to improve matters much; I needed another twenty years and another round of psychiatric care before I turned sixty. The episodes of mental illness are easy to talk about compared to the load of sins I deposited with my confessors. You don’t want to hear about that. (Or maybe you do, but you won’t.)

The truly religious person is the one who hesitates at the church door saying, “May I come in?” She feels reassured by the recitation of the Confiteor, and the other penitential expressions. She understands the centurion’s exclamation, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” She is wonder struck when she hears the Collect on January 1:

O God, who through the fruitful virginity of the Blessed Mary

Bestowed on the human race

The grace of eternal salvation,

Grant, we pray

That we may experience the intercession of her,

Through whom we were found worthy

To receive the author of life….

Our sinner did not think it possible she might be found worthy to receive the author of life, but she has experienced the intercession of Mary, the saints and all the Church. Broken by disappointment in herself and others, she has seen the wounds in his hands, feet and side and decided this man may be trusted. He too is damaged goods. She is happy to sit down at table with him, even as the Pharisees chatter outside.

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-13T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011312.cfm

Christmas Eve suspense

But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"
-he said to the paralytic,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.

From everything I hear and from my own experience, I have become convinced that

· every problem has a spiritual component;

· that component is often not addressed; and

· the problem cannot be resolved until the spiritual component has been addressed.

By all problems I mean health, financial, relational, marital, military, economic, educational, sexual and so forth. Need I add religious?

Some years ago I lived in a religious community that experienced serious financial problems. Although we consumed as much as ever, we weren’t paying our bills. We just kept getting further behind. Of course we grumbled about the problem but it wasn’t changed until one member conducted an “intervention” with the leader. He said, “Here’s what I think is going on….” It never became clear where the money was going, or how it was mismanaged, but the spiritual issue was addressed and the problem disappeared.

Many people suspect the United States is in decline. Some demanded greater security – more police, stricter laws, bigger prisons, higher walls, stronger military, etc -- even before the infamous 9/11 incident. They never consider where their insecurity lies, deep within their own hearts. Some worry our children are falling behind: they’re cheating in school; they're not challenged; they have too much stuff, etc.; but adult citizens never consider their own attitudes toward learning and continuing formation. They do not see how their idleness sets the standard for their children.

Nearly everyone has some health issues but they want chemicals to fix the problem long before they reexamine their lifestyle, and most sickness in American is caused by lifestyle. “Better living through chemistry” inevitably spreads from legal prescription medicines to illegal prescription medicines, and then to illegal, recreational drugs. Police are warning seniors not to keep medicines where adult grandchildren can get at it.

Someone developed a breathalyzer to lock the car against drunk drivers; parents install devices in their cars to track children’s movement: typical mechanical fixes to spiritual problems.

In today’s gospel Jesus sees what no one else can see: the paralyzed man has a spiritual problem. He needs to hear a word of forgiveness from God. I have watched more than a few patients sail through surgery, rehab and healing after receiving a kind word from God.

Interestingly, the Pharisees would stifle that. They’re the same people who snort in disgust when we propose the practice of virtue instead of their mechanical, chemical, legal, and militaristic fixes.

Jesus tells us repeatedly, the kingdom of God is in your midst. We have only to let it happen. But it might help if we quit looking for shortcuts.

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

2012-01-12T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011212.cfm

If you saw yesterday's photo
you'll recognize his parents.

The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

The story of Israel's defeat at Shiloh might be comical if it were not so tragic. Thirty thousand men were killed in this huge catastrophe. Many centuries later it must give us pause; it is certainly a sobering, instructive story.

Despite their wonderful father, Eli, his sons Hophni and Phinehas were worthless. They jockeyed for leadership among the Israelites though they lacked both the skill and integrity to be worthy of the honor. When they volunteered the use of Israel's most sacred shrine as a weapon against their enemies, God decamped. He would not be used in such a callous, irreverent fashion.

Hophni and Phinehas had supposed God would have no choice but to defend Himself. A few days later the ark returned of its own accord, drawn by two faithful, long-suffering milk cows to Shilow, after being marched in a disastrous display through Philistine cities. The Philistines had discovered it was too dangerous to keep in their own camp when their temple was demolished, their cities, decimated; and their flesh, afflicted with tumors. (I Samuel 4-6)

Those with little knowledge of God often suppose they might use him to advance their own particular causes. They suppose that "God is on our side" when they engage in warfare. They think that God must surely bless their project for it's the right thing to do, even when they stand to profit by its success.

They consider God a useful object that can be manipulated for their own ends. But God, the creator of all things, is not a thing to be manipulated. In fact, to put it bluntly, God is not a thing at all; and therefore beyond the reach of all manipulation.

A secular age finds this unfathomable. It reifies everything, rendering it useful for its own purposes. "Facts" are marshaled to fit every scheme. As one pundit remarked, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Science attempts both to prove and disprove God's existence. I met one intrepid doctor who intended to prove by experimentation that prayer is effective. He ordered his doctoral students to set up experimental seeds; some would be prayed over; and others, not -- to see which would germinate.

But Truth is not so easily disintegrated into facts to fit neatly into test tubes. When they attempt such experiments they discredit the whole theory of "facts." They ram their entire Enlightened philosophy like a rocket powered car into the immovable escarpment of Reality. At the end of the day, Truth remains as an enormous mystery towering over every human endeavor.

The debacle of Shilow reminds us that God acts as assistant to no one, but stands ready to assist us in every undertaking he bestows upon us.

Wednesday of the First Week In Ordinary Time

2012-01-11T00:30:00.000-05:00

My nephew and his
high school sweetheart
or perhaps
an updated image of a youthful
Jesus and his Church

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011112.cfm

The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."

I am sure I’ve reflected on “Here I am” often in this blog, but just as a good meal need not be original to be satisfying, so does a good word bear repeating.

“Here I am” is a good word for the eleventh day of a new year. It has kinship with yesterday’s word, immediately; it is, in fact, Samuel’s immediate response to God.

If we were reflecting on any other relationship Samuel’s eagerness might not be so hard to imagine. In most restaurants – and in all good ones – you’ll get an immediate response as you enter and whenever you need attention. Banks tellers, too, are eager to greet anyone who enters. (Eye to eye contact disarms would-be bank robbers.)

When I was a boy if Dad woke me up at four in the morning and said, “We’re going fishing.” I was up in a flash. (Otherwise, forget it!)

Is it really so difficult to cultivate that attitude toward God? I think it comes with a deeper acquaintance with God. If we approach religion with apprehension about what God might ask of us, we’ll have no eagerness. But God wants our love and affection even before he wants our obedience. Gradually we learn to trust him, and that he wants nothing but what is good for us. It’s the rare bird he sends off to darkest Africa, if there is such a place anymore.

Daily prayer with the church and alone; study of the scriptures and the lives of the saints, conversation with reliable persons; learning to make ordinary sacrifices with a generous and willing spirit: in all these ways and more we become acquainted with God. Eventually we realize that God asks nothing of us he would not give of himself; and he has in fact given infinitely of himself even as he asked but little of us.

Long before you say “Here I am” to God, you will know God is near to you, closer than the blood in your veins, more dear than your mother’s smile.

Tuesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time

2012-01-10T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011012.cfm

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The Kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the Gospel."

Saint Mark's gospel opens with Jesus' rushing out of the wilderness, shouting at people as he goes:

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

We can only imagine the reception he received, "What? Now? OMG!" He insisted there is no time to spare and no time to waste. Act now! Answer God's call now! The fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John did just that. They dropped their livelihood and followed the Lord.
Saint Mark's gospel, which we will hear on the Sundays of this year, is dense with immediacy. I understand that it is written in Greek in the present tense, though it is usually translated to English in the past tense. "Now! Now!" he says.
He also uses the word immediately often, especially in the first few chapters. I wish I were scholar enough to detail all those instances. (I never studied Greek in the seminary and,despite six years of instruction, never learned Latin. As they say, Education is wasted on the young.)
Historians, scripture scholars and psychologists might reinterpret today's gospel to suggest the four disciples who dropped their nets and followed him actually had some prior knowledge of him. Perhaps they had heard him speak in the synagogue. Perhaps they had met in seminars with him and were only waiting for the moment when he might suddenly announce "Let's go!"
Perhaps so, but that historical rereading misses Saint Mark's point. The Gospel always demands an immediate response, even if that is only "Ponder this and prepare to act." This immediacy is a constant note of the Old and New Testaments, and is contained in Abraham's response, hineneh! Here I am!
Jesus will show great impatience with those who put off his call: "Let the dead bury the dead." he says to one fellow who had a funeral to attend. (Mt 8:22; Luke 9:60) And "He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9: 62)
This immediacy makes our Christian life intense and personal. We feel both joy at the nearness of the kingdom of God, and dread of the impending judgment.
Practically speaking, it means, "Be alert for every opportunity to do good, and every opportunity to avoid evil." Both are always close at hand.
Each morning we should pray, "Lord help me see clearly those opportunities as they appear." And each evening, we should pray, "Lord, forgive me for not seeing them clearly today. Thank you for tomorrow, and another day to choose your mercy."

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

2012-01-09T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010912.cfm

Some trees keep their greenery
until Spring

Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I once announced to the congregation that the Church instituted this feast day to celebrate the adult ministry of Jesus Christ and, hence, the adult responsibility of every Christian. My dear friend Father Camillus challenged me on that, "Where did you get that idea?"
"I made it up." I calmly replied. He roared with laughter at my presumption. It makes sense to me. Someone has written in Wikipedia:

The Baptism of the Lord is observed as a distinct feast in the Roman rite, although it was originally one of three Gospel events marked by the feast of the Epiphany. Long after the visit of the Magi had in the West overshadowed the other elements commemorated in the Epiphany, Pope Pius XII instituted in 1955 a separate liturgical commemoration of the Baptism.

In his revision of the calendar five years later, Pope John XXIII kept on 13 January the "Commemoration of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ", with the rank of a second-class feast.

A mere 14 years after the institution of the feast, Pope Paul VI set its date as the first Sunday after 6 January or, if in a particular country the Epiphany is celebrated on 7 or 8 January, on the following Monday.
Pope John Paul II initiated a custom whereby on this feast the Pope baptizes babies in the Sistine Chapel.
The feast marks the end of the liturgical season of Christmastide. On the following day the season of ordinary time begins.

Personally, I would like to see the three festive events (Epiphany, Jesus' Baptism and Cana) alternated over a three year period and blended into our three-year cycle of Sunday readings; and the next time the Pope calls me I'll tell him so. In the meanwhile I'll follow our Roman calendar.

Saint Mark's gospel is the only one that states so boldly:

Jesus came from Nazareth of Galileeand was baptized in the Jordan by John.

Luke would direct our attention elsewhere:

After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened.

And Matthew includes John's reluctance in baptizing the Sinless One:

John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.

Perhaps the Church also has been reluctant to recall Jesus' Baptism since John's baptism indicated one's repentance for sin, and Jesus was without sin.

Other scriptures will explain the mystery more fully: Jesus took upon himself the guilt and shame and punishment for our sin when he was baptized in the Jordan. Even as his courageous humility purified the water and rendered it holy, he was contaminated with our sin. The Letter to the Hebrews explains:

For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying,
‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.’
And again,
‘I will put my trust in him.’
And again,
‘Here am I and the children whom God has given me.’
Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.

All four evangelists agree that God the Father of Jesus enthusiastically endorsed Jesus' decision:

And a voice came from the heavens,"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

I take great comfort in this thought. Like many people, I would hesitate to worship a man who is so clearly better than me, a man who is utterly without sin and unwilling to be contaminated by association with me. How could I embrace a man who distances himself from me? He would certainly not embrace this wretched sinner who continually returns to his sins as a dog returns to his vomit. (2 Peter 2:22)

But by his Baptism Jesus has taken his stand with us before God. He has abandoned the heavenly privileges of luxury, purity and innocence to be with people like you and me. He has won my heart by his search for me, a lost sheep, and by his wading into the thorny fen of my guilt. Come let us adore him.

The Epiphany of the Lord

2012-01-08T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010812.cfm

A tree once lived here.

Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses....
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Describing the journey of the magi to worship the new born King of the Jews, Saint Matthew remembered Isaiah's prophecy. Their gifts of gold and frankincense recall the tribute captive nations would pay to Jerusalem. Later exegetes would go further, transforming the wise men into kings who walk by the shining radiance of Bethlehem's star. We can well imagine Mary and Joseph raising their eyes and looking about as the magi arrived. (Unfortunately few others did.) Since camels and dromedaries were as common then as 18-wheeled semis are today, and served the same purpose, the magi might well have had a few camels with them.

Isaiah promised a restoration of Jerusalem. As it had once been an important city under King David and King Solomon, so it would be again. The babies of the Diaspora would be carried in the arms of their nurses from afar as they returned; and the Jews would certainly proclaim the praises of the Lord. Saint Matthew saw Isaiah's prophecy fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. All nations would honor him in Jerusalem.

The Church calls this feast Epiphany, which means a revelation of God to the whole world. The magi represent the honor the entire world will certainly give to Jesus of Nazareth, whom we honored recently as Christ the King.

I look at it this way. All religions have myths about how the world came to be. These stories encapsulate everything they believe about life, its order and its structures. Usually these myths happened "a long time ago," somewhere before living memories began. But Christians celebrate the very fresh memory of Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, which is now in modern Israel. He traveled roads that are still familiar; he died outside of Jerusalem which is still a living city. The story of Jesus is our myth; it shapes the way we understand everything; but this myth really happened in our history.

Because it is a true historical event, it cannot be forgotten or erased. Because it is of signal importance, it will reshape all human history and every human life around itself. We have forgotten who invented the wheel and who melded copper and tin to make bronze -- these were "prehistoric" events -- but Jesus lived well within our history.

Someday that historic event will belong to everyone. My ancestors of two thousand years ago certainly never heard of Jesus. I suppose they were in present-day Ireland and Germany, a long way from Bethlehem. But eventually the story of Jesus was announced to more recent ancestors who believed in him. They in turn passed that word down the ages, so his story is now my story. I remember his life and death as if it happened only yesterday. I'm sure there are people in this world who have yet to be touched by the gospel; he has not yet entered their history.

To try another analogy: astrophysicists speak of four dimensional light cones, which spread through the universe. A star explodes. Half-way across the universe, no one sees it when it happens, although it is an enormous explosion. The brilliant light races at light-speed (of course) through the universe until observers see it -- as if it is happening right now. When did it happen? A long time ago? or just now? One thing is sure; it can't be replayed. If you see the light now, you see the event now. Look again a week from now and you won't see it; you'll see only what happened a week later, half-way across the universe.

When did Jesus appear in Bethlehem? When you saw the light. You saw it as it happened. The light-cone of the gospel finally arrived in your heart. Although it seems to take a long time, it will certainly, gloriously, and inevitably arrive in everyone's heart. However, not all will accept the light; some will reject it, as Herod did.

But to those who did accept him he gave powerto become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by man's decision but of God.

On this feast of the Epiphany we celebrate the Light that is speeding through our history and will consecrate the entire universe.

Christmas Weekday

2012-01-07T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010712.cfm

The path into the Valley of Saint Francis
passes by the foundation of a structure
that stood here once.

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,

and the mother of Jesus was there....

Following the extra long Advent the Christmas season seems to end abruptly. In its last three days we will hear the gospel of Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana, the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord. Their sequence is obviously not set by chronology; that would be Epiphany, Baptism and Cana. The Epiphany is a much loved, ancient feast in the Church, celebrated in the east with special festivities as the west celebrates the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas). Although we have dislodged Epiphany from January 6 and placed it on the first Sunday of the new year, it remains a point of unity between the eastern and western ends of the Church.

Today we hear the inaugural event of Saint John's gospel, the wedding feast of Cana. Readers should always notice the numbers in Saint John's gospel. They mean something.

One day John the Baptist gave testimony concerning "one among you whom you do not know";
the next day he saw Jesus and cried out, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
the next day two of the Baptist's disciples followed Jesus
the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee, along the way he found Philip and Nathaniel; and finally,
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Add those days up and you come to the seventh day, which is also the third day! "Seven days" recalls God's creation of the earth. The seventh day is the Sabbath when God and his people rest from their labor. The third day is often the end of a period of preparation or waiting in the scriptures; and, as every Christian reader knows, it is the day of the Resurrection. On this third day which is the seventh day Jesus and his mother attend the first day of a couple's life together. This event is filled with the satisfactions of seven, three and one.
It is a joyful day when every one drinks good wine. It becomes even more festive when Jesus gives them extraordinarily good wine. We will hear about that wonderful wine again on Pentecost when the disciples come streaming out of the Upper Room to announce the death and resurrection of Jesus. People will sneer, "They have been drinking new wine!" Indeed they are drunk with the new wine of the Holy Spirit, elated with a spirit beyond anything the world can offer.

Give them a few centuries and these mosses will
turn the cement back to dust,
and time means nothing to them.

The Wedding Feast of Cana is a joyous celebration tasting of freedom, bliss and open, expectant hope in the promises of God. Like any festivity among God's people, it is a foretaste and promise of good things to come. It's only shadows are the moments when "they have no wine" and Jesus' ominous word, "My time has not yet come." But those shadows should not cast a pall over our celebration. Cana is a time for joy; we're delighted to attend the nuptial with Jesus and his mother, for it represents the nuptials of God and his holy people.

Christmas Weekday

2012-01-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010612.cfm

A wintry afternoon at MSF

The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three that testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.

Americans are steeped in courtroom dramas from The Devil and Daniel Webster to Perry Mason and CSI; we should feel right at home when we hear Jesus in the Gospel of John speaking of the Paraclete and his testimony. The First Letter of Saint John also uses courtroom language as the author invites us to consider the "three that testify, the Spirit, the water and the Blood."

In the early part of the twentieth century the religious people in the United States rediscovered the authority of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal movement. People were swept up in ecstasy by the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues. A movement first among poor African-Americans, it often traveled by tie rods and box cars from city to city and village to village. By the end of the century even Catholics were getting the "Holy Ghost" in this new Pentecost.

Although my education renders me deaf to such popular disturbances, I have to admire the people who make heroic sacrifices as they announce the Good News about the Holy Spirit. I readily welcome their testimony; the Holy Spirit has changed lives and saved souls. Clearly this is the work of God.

We've also seen the testimony of blood in our time, as Christians are still murdered and martyred for their faith in Jesus. On Christmas Day last week a Catholic Church in Nigeria was bombed by a sectarian religious group demanding sharia law. More than fifty people were killed and many others maimed and injured. This is very painful to watch from the safety of the United States, and yet we know reprisals can only make matters worse.

Finally, the water testifies to the truth of Jesus Christ. The water is our continual practice of the faith by prayer and good deeds. As difficult as it is we must meet violence with gentleness and opposition with kindness. It they despise us and cannot honor us as brothers and sisters, we nonetheless love and honor them as children of Our One Father.

This threefold testimony is more powerful than a billion dollar public relations campaign, more healing than national insurance, and more peaceful a million man army.

Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

2012-01-05T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010512.cfm

Saint John Neumann

Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God.

Saint John’s first letter, like his gospel, draws a sharp distinction between good and evil. It is a line which runs through thoughts, words, deeds and people. Some are good; some are wicked. In today’s passage he lays down a heavy teaching about our relations with one another: anyone who hates is a murderer; anyone who denies compassion to someone in need does not have the love of God within him; we should love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

And then he concludes these sobering remarks with reassurance, “…if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God.”

No one is perfect; no one needs to claim perfection. We should strive daily to do the right thing; we should daily admit our failure and daily renew our efforts. Discouragement is a fruit of self-indulgence and we don’t have time for that. (Or not more than a few minutes each day.)

Saint John Neumann died on this day in 1860, at the age of 48. The bishop of Philadelphia, he oversaw the construction of hundreds of parishes in his diocese, helped religious women to establish their communities and created national parishes for Italian immigrants. He founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States, a foundation which remains extremely influential to this day. When he wasn’t hurling himself at good works he suffered the usual doubts, fears and misgivings of our human nature. Discouraged by violent opposition from the Know Nothings, he applied to Pope Pius IX for a transfer and was refused. A modest man, he was sure of his unworthiness to be a bishop. He complained that he could not carry himself with the gravitas a bishop should have. Rather, he lived simply among the poor Catholics who flocked to America.

Born in Bohemia, he is the only male citizen of the United States to be canonized.

Saint John Neumann teaches us how to set aside our anxieties and attend to the works of God. He reminds us that self-esteem is not half as important as the love of God and neighbor.

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

2012-01-04T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010412.cfm

Holly bushes at MSF

Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher),
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."

This is my favorite of all the vocation stories in the scriptures, and there are many. Beginning in the Old Testament with Abraham and proceeding to Moses and the burning bush, Samuel in the tent-shrine, and Isaiah in the temple; then Gabriel’s visit to Mary, the call of the fishermen and the call of Saul on the road to Damascus in the New Testament: we hear of God’s personal intervention in the lives of certain people. If these stories have always been important to our Church they are especially important today, to our western culture which accentuates the unique identity and experience of every single person.

At one time many people were satisfied to know someone who goes to church: “The wife prays enough for all of us!” Or a past experience of church was sufficient: “I was an altar boy at one time.” It seemed enough to be gathered into the fishing net of the church and (hopefully) not tossed out by his judgment.

But modern spirituality demands that everyone experience within herself a particular call to holiness. In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ first disciples are “looking for” something; but they don’t know what it is. They can only answer a question with a question, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” But clearly they are looking for something, as Jesus answers, "Come and see.”

Many of us were never asked, “What are you looking for?” or “What do you want?” Parents, teachers and ministers of religion simply told us what to want and what to seek. We felt assured that if we found what we were told to find and got what we were told to ask for – we’d be happy. Or at least, safe.
In those cases where we did not find and were not satisfied, we listened to someone else tell us what we want: a flat screen television or a flat belly; a successful career, Home and Gardens home and a trophy spouse.

Some people discover only late in life -- if ever -- that they have never discovered what they actually want. They never looked into their own hearts and waited for the answer to appear. Often those same people make unreasonable demands on others and are perpetually unhappy because they simply don’t know what they want, and they don’t know how to ask.

Jesus’ question is very important. On this fourth day of 2012, we might do well to withdraw to prayer and ask our inner depths, “What do you want this year? What are you looking for this year?” And then, after hearing a reply and articulating an answer, we might hear Jesus’ invitation, “Come and see.”

The Holy Name of Jesus

2012-01-03T00:30:00.000-05:00

A forty piece creche Brother Bob
found here at MSF

(Moses, hearing the voice of the Lord from the burning bush said to him) ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’

I chose this recommended passage from the Book of Exodus for the memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, which is observed not in the Roman calendar but in our Franciscan calendar. I think it remarkable that it starts with Moses’ question, “Who am I…?”

It raises the question, “Can I know who I am without knowing God?” The scriptures tell us often, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The wise person certainly knows her own name because she knows the One who gave her the name.

Recall that a name is all about relationship. If there were no relationships no one would need a name. A name often describes the relationship: I have:

a formal relationship with: the state, described by Kenneth William Bartsch;
another formal relationship with the Church, Fr. Ken Bartsch, OFM Conv;
a less formal relationship with the Franciscans, Friar Ken;
another relationship with the Veterans and VA staff, Father Ken;
another relationship with my own family, Kenny; and
there are several nicknames which (ahem) need not trouble us here.

In human relations it takes at least two to have a relationship, with each person having a name. And so it is with God; but the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) is mysterious and takes us into an entirely new dimension of relationship. There are severe restrictions on how the name should be used, and curses for those who misuse it. Those who enjoy a privileged relationship with God speak it reverently.

The scriptures tell us the name of Jesus was chosen by God and revealed to Mary and Joseph. Etymologically it means, “YHWH is salvation” and is akin to Joshua and Jesse. It was not an unusual name; in fact another Jesus appears in the New Testament (Acts of the Apostles 13:6); but clearly its meaning (salvation) resonates with Good News.

Wherever the disciples go, the Name of Jesus invokes the Presence of God, his shekina. With that name on their lips evangelizing disciples have nothing to fear. We find them in the Acts of the Apostles acting boldly as they free the imprisoned, heal the sick, raise the dead and defy both Roman and Jewish authorities.

In the picture above,
a little girl offers
baskets of fruit and vegetable

We keep this memorial on January 3rd in our Franciscan calendar because Saint Francis and the early friars revived the ancient tradition of praying in his name. Saint Bernadine of Siena encouraged the devout to add the word to the Hail Mary, immediately after “the fruit of thy womb.” He also introduced peace to cities torn by civil war with his "Holy Name societies."

In our time we have seen devotion to the Name revived in many quarters in America. His name is a gift for us, an extraordinary privilege. It is a song in our hearts, sweetness in our mouth and authority in our prayers.

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzen,

2012-01-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010212.cfm

Midday, midwinter sky
at MSF

Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

Key in "antichrist" in your Google search engine and stand back for 3,350,000 results in .18 seconds. Many of the results are about a recent movie that flopped, but you'll also find pictures of our president.

What I find fascinating about the "antichrist" in Saint John's First Letter is his reassurance, "many antichrists have come." In fact this fits the pattern of the apocalyptic messages of the New Testament which today's apocalypticists (aka conspiracy theorists) consistently overlook:

The New Testament authors don't deal in fear; more often than not they pooh-pooh the polemicists and urge them to pipe down their rhetoric. They use apocalyptic language not to scare their disciples but to reassure them, God is still in charge. Is there an anti-Christ? Don't worry about. We've seen plenty of them already. As the psalmist says (Ps 37)

Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,   and he will exalt you to inherit the land;   you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
I have seen the wicked oppressing,   and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. Again I passed by, and they were no more;   though I sought them, they could not be found.
Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,   for there is posterity for the peaceable. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;   the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

2012-01-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010112.cfm

Entering a new year!

When they saw this,

they made known the message

that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed

by what had been told them by the shepherds.

And Mary kept all these things,

reflecting on them in her heart.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his wonderful encyclical Mater Redemptoris, points to this and several other verses in Saint Luke's Gospel, when he reminds the Church we must practice contemplation. Those other verses:

But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:29)During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, (Luke 1:39 -- the phrase "in haste" can also be translated as "thoughtfully.")...and his mother kept all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51b)

Sharing Christmas stories last week Brother Paul told me of the excitement he felt as he played a computer-assisted game with his nephews. The whole family had great fun and he never noticed two hours had passed in the experience of a few minutes. Because he is a nurse he identified an "adrenalin rush" of excitement that seemed to make time stand still.

Paul and I spoke for a while of the addiction to adrenalin which is gaining recognition in the medical community.

Teenagers enjoy an adrenalin rush as they play computer games;
Soldiers feel an adrenalin rush when confronting an enemy;
Race car drivers are driven by the need for excitement as they challenge one another and the walls of the race course.
Returning veterans miss the experience of combat and sometimes recreate it on local highways;
Emergency room nurses feel the rush;
Criminals are swept into astoundingly stupid behavior as they commit their crimes;
EMT's, police and other emergency personnel are familiar with it;
and etc.

Perhaps Mary was caught up in that excitement as the Angel Gabriel returned to heaven. It drove her "in haste" to travel to the hill country; and, as she settled into the vigorous climb, transmuted into its very opposite -- a meditative state.

(Perhaps even bloggers and other writers feel the rush.)

But Mary also teaches us the art of contemplation, as she ponders these things in her heart. She is the first Christian and Evangelist as she announces the Good News to her kinswoman Elizabeth, and the first Christian contemplative.

Brother Paul and I also discussed the gift Franciscans and other religious communities must bring to our beleaguered nation. Surely we are called to live quietly in the midst of excitement, experiencing life in the depths of our hearts; even as we invite others to come join us in prayer.

Shortly after I was ordained I went out and bought a kitchen timer. It was a spring-driven device used to time processes in the kitchen. I sat the timer by me as I assumed a quiet sitting posture and waited on God's mercy. (It nearly blew my head off the first time it went off, and I learned to muffle the bell with an old sock.)

Nowadays I use my telephone's timer. I know I have nothing else to do, and certainly nothing more important to do, during the allotted time. I will just sit here and pay attention to God's presence. Sometimes I say one word of the Our Father with each breath for thirty minutes, repeating the prayer if necessary. If we usually say the prayer in two or three breaths, why should we not ponder it in the space of a few hundred breaths?

One time I prayed an agonizing patient through his pain with the Our Father, one breath per word, and he was almost miraculously cured by the technique.

With all our energy-saving, time-saving devices, we should have extra time to spend with God, if only we'll set aside our addiction to adrenalin, and let life happen quietly for awhile.

Happy New Year

The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

2011-12-31T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/123111.cfm

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

Everyone knows about endings and beginnings, and everyone knows about the cycles of life; but we need God's Revelation to show us that our lives with their beginnings and endings fold into the cycles of life. Despite the apparent emptiness of these endless cycles that create hopeful life and remorselessly destroy it, we are moving toward a Fullness that will be entirely satisfying.

Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, what God has ready for those who love him.

God's revelation is the Word who became flesh and lived among us. He is the same who, when asked "Where do you live?" said, "Come and see." It's not a place you can study from afar; you have to walk with him to get there, and abide with him even as he abides with us, on the way.

If we cannot study it from afar with our scientific telescopes, radars and spectrometers, we can hear of it within our hearts and know we belong there.

As we end a year and enter another, we dedicate ourselves once again to the sacramental life of the Church. Through Baptism, Eucharist, Marriage, Holy Orders (Deacons,Priests and Bishops) Reconciliation, Confirmation, and the Anointing of the Sick we come to know God in our cyclic life. We are sustained by daily prayers, readings, personal sacrifice and gratitude for the opportunity to do something useful. On Tuesday we'll go back to work and school again, refreshed as we always are by the life of grace, and ready to abide in this world with Jesus.

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

2011-12-30T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/123011.cfm

A flood plain in Cherokee park

The Lord took Abram outside and said,
"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

When Christmas and New Years Day fall on Sunday, the church calendar gets mooshed. The Feast of the Holy Family should fall on the Sunday between the holidays; this year we observe it today, on a Friday. Likewise the feast of the Baptism of the Lord will be squished into Monday, January 9, so that we can begin the “Second Sunday of Ordinary time” on schedule, January 15. (There is no “First Sunday of Ordinary time”, but that’s another story.)

This Feast of the Holy Family is a recent development. The Church, witnessing families destroyed by industrialization, war and changing mores, felt compelled to remind the world of the precious gifts of marriage, children and parents.

Like many priests, I come from an “intact” family. My parents married young and remained married until Dad died in 1980. My mother never remarried; she was quite sure none could replace her one and only husband. Between them there was never a shadow of infidelity or violence. Their integrity has given all of their children “a leg up” in life. There has been only one divorce among the ten of us – and we saw that coming on her wedding day.

Some people might suppose the priests coming from such irenic families might not understand troubled families, but I think it gives us an extraordinary ability. We can often detect pain and disappointment where the sufferers themselves might not be aware of it. I don’t suppose that absentee fathers and mothers are normal, or that parents are “sick” when they’re actually drunk. I don’t expect sexual or emotional violence is normal in every household. I don’t assume that one has never known a happy, safe environment. When someone describes the violence of his upbringing or tells me about his absentee parent I know there is deep pain, even if it is denied or brushed off.

Every child has a right to biological parents who are married to one another and actually love one another and their children. That is more than my opinion; it’s a belief based on solid experience.

Jesus felt the great sadness of our world because his earthly parents were so dedicated to one another. He grew up knowing they would spare no sacrifice for his sake, as they proved when they fled into Egypt to save him from King Herod. If the world was a dangerous place, his home was a safe place where a child could be foolish, playful and occasionally mischievous. Leaving that home he determined to make the world as safe a place as he had known in Nazareth. Because their sacrificial dedication was bred in his bones Jesus would not spare himself as he marched toward Jerusalem.

On this fifth day of Christmas, the world has already moved on to another celebration, but those who love Jesus Christ must pause to honor the Holy Family who gave him to us.

The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas

2011-12-29T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122911.cfm

Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you
but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
And yet I do write a new commandment to you,
which holds true in him and among you,
for the darkness is passing away,
and the true light is already shining.

Scripture scholars tell us Saint Luke was eager to reassure Roman authorities about the Christian movement. Romans looked askance at new religions; they could only mean trouble. A religion that spoke openly of deposing the lofty and raising the lowly was especially suspect. So Saint Luke grounds his narrative of Jesus’ life in the common practices of the Jewish people: he was presented in the temple like any other first born male child; he went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his parents, he spoke openly in Jewish synagogues.

Within a very short time, however, the Christian and Jewish religions would be irrevocably split apart to travel their separate paths until the end of time; and the Roman persecutions of Christians began.

In the meanwhile, we saw very clearly from Saint Luke’s account that Jesus has given us “no new commandment ... but an old commandment that (we) had from the beginning. If the new insight of Jesus seemed to sweep away the Jewish past, as the Second Vatican Council seemed to sweep away the old traditions of Catholicism, the Evangelist had to firmly anchor this new covenant (often called a testament) in the old covenant (testament).

But that thought only introduces today’s reflections. The gospel ushers us into the ecstatic joy of God’s entrance to the temple:

Lift up your heads, O gates;

be lifted, you ancient portals,

that the king of glory may enter.

Who is this king of glory?

The LORD, strong and mighty,

the LORD, mighty in war.

Lift up your heads, O gates;

rise up, you ancient portals,

that the king of glory may enter.

Who is this king of glory?

The LORD of hosts, he is the king of glory. (Psalm 24:7)

After the appalling gloom of yesterday’s Feast of the Holy Innocents, we thank God for the welcome Jesus received from the Jews: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the magi, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna and all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

2011-12-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122811.cfm

My homily of last year's Feast of the Holy Innocents is quite good. Click here if you'd like to read it. Following is my homily for this year's feast.

My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

Saint Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus is dark; so dark one fears the night might suppress and defeat the morning. Can the birth of the Messiah justify the death of the innocents?

Often, when violence occurs, we blame the wrong people. The beaten wife blames herself for uttering the word that set her husband off. The abused child is told he brought the violence upon himself and believes it. A man commits suicide and family, friends and coworkers blame themselves or one another, but instantly "forgive" the dead.

Every since World War II people have blamed Pope Pius XII for not speaking out to save the Jews from the Shoah, although the Nazis took offence at all his irenic gestures and intensified their savage reprisals against Jews, Catholics and Christians. Bishops in Germany urged him to say no more.

Before an overwhelming tsunami of violence such as Herod’s massacre people suppose evil is an irresistible force of nature. It must overwhelm the light; and they blame themselves for setting it off. They conclude that God is to blame for the death of the Innocents.

During the Easter season we cannot fail to remember the crucifixion of Jesus. His victory would mean nothing without his passion and death. Similarly, at Christmas we remember the death of the innocents. Death and birth, despair and hope, cruelty and kindness, dark and light meet in the mystery of Jesus. If we believe his birth is worth risking even savage reprisals, it’s our Hope that drives us. Despite everything, we see in this darkness a twinkling glimmer of salvation. It will become a star burst of holiness to fill every darkened place with pure energy.

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

2011-12-27T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122711.cfm

What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life...

The Gospel challenges us in a thousand different way, which is to say it invites us in a hundred thousand ways. Each invitation is a challenge to set aside our foolish opinions, preferences and expectations and "Let God Be God."

One of those challenge/invitations that leaps out Saint John's epistles and gospel is the flesh and blood reality of grace. The Galilee, Nazareth and Jerusalem of our New Testament are not located in J.R.R Tolkien's Middle-earth. They are identifiable places in our very tactile world, which may be seen, looked upon and touched to this day.

Some scripture scholars have regarded John's Gospel as the most imaginary of the four gospels; they suggest the incidents, teachings and conversations of Jesus never actually happened but were created by his believing Church.

However, one of the world's foremost scripture scholars -- Pope Benedict XVI -- differs with those opinions. He finds these recorded conversations and detailed events quite plausible; and argues that the ancient Jerusalem church with its school of rabbis could remember and describe Jesus' presentations in detail many years later. He doesn't suppose that John's long chapters are verbatim accounts of Jesus' words, but they capture the spirit, manner and essence of Jesus' very teachings as he taught them.

I don't suppose that debate will ever be fully resolved but I welcome the Holy Father's corrective teaching. When some scholars suggest that Jesus' real teachings were not faithfully transmitted by the Church, Pope Benedict insists they were entirely accurate.

If the apostles failed in their mission, the Gospel has been lost and no one can be saved. The Catholic Church can never accept such an absurd teaching. Rather,

we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us

The Gospel abides in our world, even as Jesus abode with Mary and his disciples there in Galilee. It abides in senate halls, shopping malls, homes, jails, battle fields and classrooms.

Some "spiritual" people would like to create a spirituality which abides in the spiritual world, but not in our world. It is a place accessible to the vivid imagination via mescaline or LSD, dreams or transcendental meditation. We've seen these pseudo-spiritualities before; the gnostics were promoting them long before Jesus was born.
Saint John assures us we need not enter through these mystical pathways into another dimension of reality to find salvation. As Moses assured his people in the Book of Deuteronomy:

For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

The way of Jesus is really very near, as close as your husband, wife, children or parents. It is as near as your Church and the all-too-human Christians you meet there:

what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

Feast of Saint Stephen, protomartyr

2011-12-26T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122611.cfm

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Saint Stephen's feastday always follows immediately after Christmas and reminds us of the cost of discipleship. It might be a sobering event, but Stephen is the most joyous of martyrs. He rushes in where more cautious souls hesitate. His confidence in Jesus is infectious and enviable.

But the murder of a defenseless, innocent man cannot easily be described in cheerful terms. Death by stoning, as we have recently come to know from stories in Afghanistan, is dreadful. It is a mob action, a tearing away of every pretense of civility as people -- presumably both men and women -- scream curses and insults, push against one another in their rush to get at the victim, grab rocks of every size and hurl them at the victim, whose death comes slowly and uncertainly. How will they know when he is dead? Surely no doctor will step forward to say, "That's enough now." How long will it continue? I suppose, until the savagery of the crowd has abated. And what on earth could spur them to such violence? That is hard to imagine.

Meanwhile, others watched. The young man Saul, a devout scholar of the Law from Tarsus, witnessed the crowd and approved of their action, though he may have been sickened by the experience. Friends and fellow Christians of Stephen watched helplessly. Perhaps some felt "survivor's guilt." Could I have done something to prevent this? Should I have risked my life to defend him? Should I have died with him? But I have family who depend upon me. Why did he do this? Couldn't he have stifled the Spirit for a few minutes, until the crowd calmed down?

Saint Luke intentionally describes the death of Stephen as a reenactment of Jesus' death:

he was filled with the Holy Spirit, like Jesus
he saw the heavens opening and the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, as Jesus had predicted before the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:69, and Ps 110:1; Dn 7:13–14; Acts 7:56.); and
the mob covered their ears "lest they hear him" as, when Jesus was arrested a disciple struck off a man's ear, rendering him deaf.

Luke's narrative also follows the broad outline of the Mass, in that we hear Stephen announce the Word of God before he gives his own body for sacrifice.

But Saint Stephen's eager joy triumphs over all the horror of the story. On this second day of Christmas we honor Stephen and thank God that he has called some of our best people to follow more closely in the footsteps of Jesus.

Christmas Day, 2011

2011-12-25T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122511-mass-at-dawn.cfm

Beloved:
When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

This second reading for Christmas “Mass at Dawn” from the Letter of Saint Paul to Titus speaks to the adults in church. It celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit “whom he richly poured out on us.” Saint Paul often reminds his people that God has saved us “not because of any righteous deeds we had done, but because of his mercy...”

That, in a nutshell, is Christmas. Despite much of the worldly hype around the festival, this kernel of truth remains: Christmas is a blessing we have neither earned nor deserved. By most ordinary standards no one should receive gifts; by definition, no one deserves any. And yet we give gifts to celebrate God’s gift to us.

Much of our interaction with one another is touched by our fearfulness, our grief and regret and guilt. These ghosts plague our quiet intimate moments and cloud our smiles. Do they love me? Do they care about me? Have they forgiven me? Do they remember what I did to them? Do they know what I have done? Do they know where I come from?

Receiving gifts helps us to lay aside those fearful thoughts. Sometimes we might even say, “You didn’t have to” or “You shouldn’t have” or “I don’t deserve this.”

To which the giver replies, “But I wanted you to have this.” or “I want to give you this because I love you.”

If it’s a gift, that means I didn’t earn it and I don’t deserve it. I should only say “Thank you.”

Christmas is a gift. Let’s enjoy it.

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent

2011-12-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122411.cfm

The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.

Christians like to echo the confident Jewish trope, “The Word of the Lord endures forever.” I once heard a rabbi explain the kosher rules. They are based in part on Deuteronomy 14:21, “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.^”I suppose the rabbis have some historical explanation for the rule but that would be irrelevant beside the fact that it is God’s law. It must be obeyed.

But what if you live in a place where there are no goats? Can you ignore the law as irrelevant to your situation? Of course not! You must find a way to observe the law because God’s law is life and joy! It is our privilege and pleasure to live by his every statute, ordinance and command. And so the rabbis developed kosher laws. For instance, many Jews never cook meat in the same pan in which they have cooked milk.

This is not scrupulosity; it’s a way to show reverence to God’s word under all circumstances, precisely because “The Word of the Lord endures forever.” If it endures forever it obviously must be observed in every place, circumstance and time.

As Christmas arrives this evening, we hear this morning of God’s promise to King David, “…your kingdom shall endure forever before me.” This too is an eternal word, a promise that cannot fail to be fulfilled.

But some might argue, the kingdom of David was flattened by the Babylonian conquests in 597 and 586 BC. Though it had survived four hundred years since the death of David – a very long time by most standards! – forever is much longer. Is it possible that God’s word ran its course and expired in the sixth century BC?

Christians see God’s word fulfilled and the promise satisfied in the rule of Jesus Christ. By his resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand he has taken his seat upon the throne of David his father.

Because God has fulfilled his promise to David in Jesus in such a way -- beyond all reasonable expectations and infinitely above anything we deserve -- we trust God's promises: he will forgive our sins and vindicate our virtue; he will call each of us by name from our graves just as he called Lazarus; he will raise us up to eternal bliss and gather us with Mary and all the saints to rejoice in his presence.

Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent

2011-12-23T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122311.cfm

The recent fall at MSF

Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.

In his book Called to Communion, written before he was elected pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger speaks of the necessary and unbreakable link between morality, guilt and expiation. One who violates the moral law is guilty and must make atonement, or expiation. Denying or ignoring one’s guilt does not dissolve the link between them. Excuses, explanations, blaming, rationalizing, and diminishing the seriousness of the offense: none of these erase guilt and none can atone for wrongdoing. Every responsible human being, regardless of culture or background, is subject to the moral code. Claiming a different faith or moral code neither diminishes one’s guilt nor exempts one from its consequences.

The Prophet Elijah -- among the prophets, second only to Moses -- represents this stern law. He is the prophet who appeared with Moses, speaking to Jesus on Mount Tabor. If Moses presents the patient, merciful face of God, Elijah shows his punishing, uncompromising face. He is a terrifying figure in the history of Israel: he called down fire upon an army who were sent to arrest him; he commanded the heavens not to give rain and not a drop fell for three years; he challenged five hundred Canaanite prophets to a ritual dual and when they lost he personally cut their throats. You don't mess with Elijah! His return might be welcome if he is preparing the way for the Messiah, but it is nonetheless dreadful.

Christians understand John the Baptist as Elijah returned. He did not wreak havoc as Elijah had, but his message was fiery and his hearers knew he spoke truly of God’s righteousness. They trekked down to the Jordan River Valley and its muddy stream to hear his preaching, confess their sins and repent. They were happy to discover God's gentle mercy through John's baptism, especially as they recalled Elijah's savage ferocity.

In his gospel Saint Luke braids the disparate stories of Jesus’ and John’s birth into an unbreakable cable. The high point of this narrative is not the birth of Jesus but the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary, when the unborn Baptist dances for joy at the coming of the Messiah while the women sing God's praises.

Our salvation is also braided with our readiness to confess our guilt and make atonement. We know that by ourselves it is impossible. Our sins are too great; our merits too weak. But Jesus has offered himself in expiation for us; we have only to bring ourselves to his self-sacrifice to be swept into that redeeming whirlwind of mercy. Come, let us worship.

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent

2011-12-22T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122211.cfm

He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

"Patroness of Captive Nations"

During the past three years we have watched a chthonic movement of anger surface from both right and left ends of the political spectrum. The Tea Party movement and the Occupy movement have claimed to represent the real people, the overburdened middle classes and the forgotten underclasses. The response, inadequate but not without effect, has insisted there are no classes in America and claims class oppression and class warfare are suspiciously un-American.
They identify class struggle with Karl Marx and would purge our language of his insights. But other philosophers claim that since Communism has been both defeated and disgraced we can finally begin to examine Marxist thought more dispassionately. Perhaps he was onto something as he identified the ways in which the powerful manipulate "the System" to keep themselves in power.

The Bible never speaks of classes: rich, poor or middle. But it knows injustice, which begins with infidelity to God and appears as severe inequity between the rich and poor. Saint Luke's Gospel seems especially aware of the gap between the rich and poor. Where Matthew's Jesus blesses the "poor in spirit," (Matt 5:3) Luke's Jesus simply blesses the poor (Luke 6:20). The unbridgeable gulf between the rich man and Lazarus was set not by God but by the unfortunate rich man who languishes in parched torment. The story ends with his profound, intractable ignorance of God's ways and his endless, unmitigated suffering. (Luke 16:14-24) Yes, Virginia, there really is a Hell.

Mary's Magnificat, from Saint Luke's Gospel, also celebrates God's preference for the lowly, hungry and despised. It describes a young woman, invisible to Roman and Jewish authorities, who sings for joy at the irresistible advance of God's just mercy and merciful justice.

Despite the restricting control of many authorities, Mary still speaks to the poor, disenchanted and disenfranchised. I remember my own shock when I visited the Catholic Church in Cherokee, North Carolina and saw a stained glass window with Our Lady of Guadalupe and her title, "Patroness of Captive Nations." (I've linked a photo to this page.)

This unrest is embedded deeply in our religion. Although it has political and economic significance, it is essentially spiritual. God will never let Christians be satisfied with the way things are in our world; he will remind us continually that our systems have forgotten someone.

So long as there is sin there is injustice and only the Mercy of God can deliver us. But even that formula cannot excuse our inaction. We can only hope that our prayers with Mary for the coming of the Savior will liberate us from our privileges and lead us in her impoverished path of joyful freedom.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

2011-12-21T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122111.cfm

Hark! my lover--here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!

It is always risky to introduce the topic of eroticism to religious people. Eros is too hard to manage, too destructive, and often downright terrifying. Some of us have had really bad experience with it, leaving only memories of shame and regret. Besides that, many religious people have outgrown and lost interest in their erotic impulse a long time ago. If it is still there it's usually overcome by weariness and blessed sleep.
But religion is not only for old people; some young people show occasional interests and they might be fascinated to learn of God's erotic interest in us.
I might add that Christmas is not entirely a children's celebration. If the yuletide ads for furs, jewelry and perfume mean anything, they indicate a lot of people have an erotic interest in Christmas. That extravagant gifts might lead to the conception of children seems of secondary interest to both consumers and merchants.

The appearance of today's first reading from the Song of Songs during this high holy season indicates the Roman Church has not entirely lost its fascination with the erotic traditions in our Bible. We often hear God described as the passionate, jealous lover of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem as the disinterested paramour with severe ADHD. The prophets describe God as provoked beyond all reasonable bounds by Jerusalem's adulterous behavior. We hear of his desperate intentions to lead her into the desert, to strip her of the gifts he has given her, to abandon her to the barbarous nations, to starve her into submission, and so forth. And yet, the prophets insist, he cannot abandon her. His love is too great; his word, too strong.
Occasionally, we also hear of her readiness to turn back to God and welcome his embrace.

And then there are the sensuous verses of the Song of Songs when the lovers seek and find one another. They seem like children playing games of hide and seek, but with adult emotions of excitement, arousal and dreamy languor.

The Spirit of Christmas is steeped in the eroticism of ancient, passionate memories of God. The Virgin Jerusalem is as desirable as ever; the Immaculate Heart of Mary still beckons, and the Church still prays with intense fervor for a consummate bliss beyond all description.

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

2011-12-20T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122011.cfm

Farewell to Victoria BC --
the last of my October vacation
photos

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.

Scripture scholars are quick to point out that Isaiah's original Hebrew word meant maiden or young woman, and not virgin in the sense we use it today, a woman with no sexual experience. But that factoid misses the point; Saint Matthew and Saint Luke wanted us to understand Mary's virginity has many dimensions and multiple meanings:

First, wecelebrate her innocence. We celebrate the Immaculate Heart of Mary and recall theBeatitude: Blessed are thepure of heart, for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8) Mary has truly seen God face to face. She has borne him, andnursed him at her breast, cleaned and clothed him, prayed and played with him.She taught him how to be a good boy and child of God, to speak the languageof her people and to revere their traditions. She has seen Godface to face even in his agony, as he died upon the cross.

A woman recentlytold me of her suffering as she listened to her son. He had recently suffered a personal tragedy and abruptly been transferred to a distant city. She could not see him ortouch him; she could only cling to his voice by telephone. Sometimes his painwas so intense he could only text her. Her heart was breaking for him and shecould only listen and listen again as the difficult days and weeks passed. Ihad to think of this wonderful mother as our own dear Mother Mary. She too agonized with her son as heendured God’s heartbreak beyond the walls of Jerusalem.

Mary’s innocent purity perfects the fidelity of the Jewishnation throughout their long historic covenant with God. The child of Joachim and Anna (according to ancient tradition), sheis theglory of Jerusalem, the great pride of

Israel

, the greatboast of the nation! (seeJudith 15:9)

Secondly, Mary’s virginity speaks of her desirability.Her innocence, beauty and intense piety are so charming that God must answer herprayers when she begs him to send the Messiah.

Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
   ah, you are beautiful;
   your eyes are doves.
Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
   truly lovely.

Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
   in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
   let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
   and your face is lovely. (Song of Songs)

Finally, Mary’s virginity is fertile, but there are two senses to this: first we honor fertility as potentially abundant. Fertile soil can bear a rich harvest, and a fertile woman can have many children. Mary's fertile virginity will bear innumerable children as Jesus commands her from the cross to "Behold your son" in each of us.
Secondly, her virgin fertility is miraculous, as she will bear the Son of God who has no human father. In her story we hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah fulfilled:

Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
   burst into song and shout,
   you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
   than the children of her that is married, says the Lord.
Enlarge the site of your tent,
   and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
   and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
   and your descendants will possess the nations
   and will settle the desolate towns. (Isaiah 54: 1-3)

During thefirst weeks of Advent we did penance with prayers, fasting and almsgiving. We areready now to hear the Good News:

Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
⁹ My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
¹⁰ My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
¹¹ for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
¹² The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land. (Song of Songs)

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

2011-12-19T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121911.cfm

for nothing will be impossible for God

You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

Christians – and this Christian in particular – have a tendency to bleakness. Sometimes we forget to rejoice. Aware of our sins and seemingly defeated by them, we have a hard time making the necessary stretch of faith that will free us from anxiety. In fact, occasionally, we take a furtive pleasure in our dourness, saying, “Well at least I take my faith seriously!”

But, as Qoheleth says, “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh;” and the wise know the time. This final season of Advent, as we hear the O-antiphons preceding the proclamation of the gospel, and as we hear the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke, is a time for rejoicing.

We can do no better than to read from the Gospel according to Saint Luke for his especially is the Gospel of Joy. There are hardly any shadows in its opening chapters. The only unfortunate note (which is often overplayed), is Jesus’ birth in a manger, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” But that made him easier to find when the shepherds came looking for him, and God wants above all to be available to us.

The angel gets it right when he tells the shepherds, “Do not be afraid for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

In a nutshell: Do not be afraid to rejoice! Nothing can go wrong; everything is in God’s hands; and God is still in charge. Why would anyone worry who has confidence in God? Who would not rejoice knowing God’s victory cannot be frustrated or delayed.

Inevitably we’re disappointed when our expectations don’t pan out. Our sadness in those moments only reminds us of who is God and who is not. And that realization expresses the very essence of human life; “I am not God; thank God!”

Do not be afraid to rejoice. In this holy season critics will still find reason to complain. As the little girl said, “Almost perfect, but not quite.” But we rejoice “in the sure and certain hope” that we will rise with him on the last day, and all will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

2011-12-18T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121811.cfm

To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen

Secrets appear both in the mystery religions of the Roman world and in apocalyptic literature, ancient and recent. You might remember there were several "Secrets of Fatima" which were addressed to the Pope and occasionally revealed by him. The Church insists that these "private revelations" cannot add anything substantial to the "Deposit of Faith;" they can only augment the faith we already know and love.
Secrets are one of several characteristics of apocalyptic religion. Others are the appearance of angels, virgin birth, and signs in the sky. In the ancient world signs in the sky were fairly common. If you're read the Iliad or other Greek literature you remember their reliance on comets, meteors (shooting stars), cloud formations and the flight of birds for everyday predictions. Without meteorologists and their satellites, people have always watched the heavens closely to see what tomorrow might bring.
But the heavens revealed far greater wonders to the Seer of Patmos as he wrote the Book of Revelation. These we will continue to read and interpret until the Second Coming of Christ.

Saint Paul and his apostolic colleagues were keenly aware of "the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested..." through Jesus Christ. They had been shown the key to all the prophetic writings of the Old Testament and eagerly announced it to anyone who would listen.

In today's gospel we hear of two women -- Mary and Elizabeth -- who celebrate the great secret that has been revealed only to them. The elder is pregnant with the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist; the younger is pregnant with the Lord.

How fascinating that

None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (I Corinthians 2:8)

Obviously, as our leaders struggle with a world-wide recession, they still know so little.The secret hides beneath their radar. It remains for us to announce our confidence in God to bring us through this financial/spiritual crisis.

The world around us -- especially the media -- has many ways to observe Christmas. One of them will appear this week, an annual series of editorials decrying the plight of the poor who "cannot celebrate Christmas" because they have no money to spend on gifts.

I remember visiting an elderly woman in Louisiana who had only one Christmas decoration, the card I had sent her. I'm sure she would be insulted by such a preposterous statement, had she been able to read the newspapers she could not afford. That home-bound, illiterate woman celebrated Christmas quietly, with more joy than most people in her neighborhood. She welcomed the sacraments of priesthood and Eucharist with all the hospitality Elizabeth showed to Mary.

Let's enjoy Christmas this year amid our concerns about the economy. But let us not insult the poor with our commiserating pity. Rather let us share their joy that the Savior of the World has been born among the poorest of the poor -- and revealed his secret to humble shepherds, impoverished elders, and homeless children.

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

2011-12-17T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121711.cfm

R. Justice shall flourish in his time and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time and fullness of peace for ever.

Because we think of time as linear -- past, present and future -- we have a hard time wrapping our minds around the scriptural understanding of time. It helps to remember the sense of time we might feel during the Mass, when we seem to enter through a “portal” into another dimension of time. Liturgy is, in a sense, timeless.

Around the altar we pray with the saints of all time and there is only one moment – this moment – which stands in the forever of now. The cross of Jesus Christ looms before us during the Mass even as he rises from the grave and ascends to heaven. He is born again on the altar and is also seated at the right hand of God. Attending the Mass attentively, we experience these incidents of now-ancient history as if they are right now. When the cantor asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” we answer, “Indeed I was.”

On this day each year we hear Saint Matthew’s proclamation: the Fullness of Time has come. He brings finality to the genealogy of Jesus with his numbers: three times fourteen generations, “the total number of generations.” His final statement and last word should be read with awe: “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.’

This is the moment of all time. Again, this is hard to wrap one’s mind around. Linear time is always going somewhere but it’s not going anywhere in particular. It marches from past through the present to the future, from banality to banality; and no moment has any particular significance – unless you think of this moment and yourself as somehow outstanding and of great, singular importance. (Good luck to you if you do!)

This reading invites us to enter the eternal timelessness of Christmas, which came to Earth with the birth of Christ but lives in eternity. We are as ready as we’ll ever be, having confessed our sins, done our penance and opened our hearts.O come all ye faithful….

Friday of the Third Week of Advent

2011-12-16T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121611.cfm

Let not the foreigner say,
when he would join himself to the LORD,
"The LORD will surely exclude me from his people."
The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
Loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants?
All who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
Them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;

We hear a clear reference to this passage from Isaiah in the Gospels, as Jesus cries out at the money-changers in the temple: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

The Jewish religion of Jesus' day invited non-Jews to come worship the Lord, as they do today. Their tradition is not nearly as aggressive as Christianity with its mission to "make disciples of all the nations." But they are well aware of the precious gift God has given them and willing to share it with anyone who feels called to join them.

In the above passage, Isaiah expresses this hospitality in a negative way: let no one think he should not even inquire about becoming a Jew. Or, in other words, let no one think the Jews are so snobbish they will not permit non-Jews to join them. Historians tell us, with ample evidence in the New Testament, that Jews did welcome others to worship the One God with them. When Christians did the same thing they were not reinventing the wheel.

So when Jesus flies into a rage upon entering the temple, he is not only appalled by the irreverence of the scene; he is shocked at the scandal they must be giving to foreigners. People have come from all over the world to see the beautiful temple and to worship with the Holy People of God. Arriving there at last, what do they find but a cacophonous din of money-changers and live stock merchants.

As of today we finish the first part of Advent and enter the more intense season of eager expectation. We will begin tomorrow to hear the "infancy narratives" of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. We have confessed our sins; we have done penance; we have prayed and given alms to the poor. Now we are ready to enter the sacred silence where we hear the sonorous words of Matthew:

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers....

Let us give no scandal to those who expect God's holy people to disregard the consumerism of Christmas with it's venality and anxiety and inevitable disappointment. Rather, let us lead them to the Light that shines in darkness.

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

2011-12-15T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121511.cfm

For he who has become your husband is your Maker;

his name is the LORD of hosts;
Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
A wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
But with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.

Recently, at the supper table, the friars fell into a most unusual conversation: we discussed theology. Lay folks might think this happens all the time; but alas, it’s actually quite rare. In any case we talked about the doctrines concerning Mary, the Mother of God. As you might suppose, I have opinions on the subject.

One of the friars mentioned the rather distasteful tradition concerning Mary’s anatomical virginity. How could she be a virgin technically after she gave birth? The question, though outlandish, is ancient. It is said of one saint: he was pondering the question when an angel appeared before him with a staff. The angel pointedly and angrily drove the staff into the ground. Instantly a lily sprang out of the ground as he said, “Before she gave birth!” A second lily appeared when he struck the ground again and said, “As she gave birth!” And a third, when he declared, “After she gave birth!” That settled the matter for that particular saint. She was indeed ever virgin.

Without a staff or blooming lilies I said to the friars, “That’s what happens when you make a historical fact of a theological doctrine!” I went on to say, “Mary’s virginity is about Jerusalem, the holy city.” I then explained my point as follows:

In today’s first reading, Isaiah describes Jerusalem as the castoff wife of God. This image fits the prophetic tradition which often described Jerusalem as the unfaithful wife; a tradition reaching from 9^th century BCE Prophet Hosea into the New Testament Book of Revelation.

Theirs is a stormy relationship, to put it mildly. Most married couples, if not all, have their difficult moments. Everyone is occasionally distracted by impulses to infidelity, thoughts of divorce and fantasies of murder. But this relationship between God and Jerusalem, which last thousands of years, is especially – shall we say? – dynamic with endless cycles of reconciliation and peace. The Lord remains forever the faithful suitor to Jerusalem; and Jerusalem is all too frequently the unfaithful lover.

Keep in mind the sins are serious. They are not simply indifferent and tepid prayer; they are scandalous mistreatments of the poor and needy, exploitation of the helpless and cruelty to aliens. They are unholy alliances with foreign kings as if God were incapable of protecting them. They are behaviors which should be unheard of in God's Holy City.

At the end of a thousand years of this unbalanced, unstable relationship, Saint Matthew describes a city that has gone over totally to darkness. The city ruled by Herod the Great conspires to send an army and destroy the new-born king of the Jews. Only when the magi leave the city do they see the light as the star leads them to Bethlehem where they find “the child with his mother.”

In this Gospel Jesus appears as the Lord and his mother is the “virgin daughter of my people;” she is the New Jerusalem.

So when we speak of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are celebrating not only his divine fatherhood (since she “did not know man”), we are also wonder-struck by the City, once holy, condemned in sin, and now restored to holy innocence.

The long tempestuous marriage of God and Jerusalem has at last born fruit; the Virgin Jerusalem and God have born a child, who is Emmanuel.

But even that wonder might be irrelevant to us except for the promise of God: the Lord can and will relieve us – all of us and each of us -- of the guilt of all sin. God will purge our cynicism; God will make us holy, even as He is holy.

The friars that evening were not overcome with shock and awe by my exposition but perhaps you are. I certainly find it wonderful.

Memorial of Saint John of the Cross

2011-12-14T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121411.cfm

"Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

In the VA hospital I carry a manual of liturgical prayers for the sick and dying. It contains the rites for Communion to the Sick, Anointing, Viaticum, The Commendation of the Dying, and prayers for the dead. Among the gospel readings for that ministry, today's gospel is highly recommended. The passage describes not only the spectacular events of Jesus' healing but also the anxiety that John the Baptist felt as he was imprisoned in Herod's dungeon.

We should note that John's question is asked twice: once when he sends his messengers to Jesus and a second time when they arrive. Likewise, the answer is given twice: once when the Evangelist tells us what Jesus was doing, and again when Jesus replies. Repetition underlines the importance of the question and the answer for our faith.

However, the denouement is given only once: "And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

John, like all the disciples of Jesus, is waiting for the Lord to make his claim to Messiahship and to take his rightful throne. Especially because he is trapped in a fatal situation, he wants to hear from his cousin. So Jesus' reply intends both to reassure and to gently remind John to "have faith in me."

This waiting for the kingdom of God is serious business. It is the very life of the Christian and it seems to go on forever. During the earliest days of the Church, as the scriptures attest, people expected the Lord to reappear on the clouds of heaven. Beginning with the second millennium and the writings of Joachim of Fiore, every generation has contained at least some believers who fully expected to see the Judgement Day before they died. In the past year we have seen a world-wide billboard campaign announcing the End of the World, which was scheduled for May 21 and again on October 21. It didn't happen. Not for most of us anyway.

Some people will "take offense" at the delay of the Lord's day. They will suppose this waiting is some kind of fools' game manufactured by power-hungry clerics or greedy shysters.

I see the waiting as an essential element of our being Christian; and, on a deeper level, of our human nature. I am not familiar enough with world religions to know about those who share our sense of waiting. So I will posit that Revelation itself teaches us of this key to our human vocation. We know that the human creature has not evolved significantly in over a million years, but most of those wonderful people could not know the divine roots of their anxiety. They certainly must have shared our eagerness for justice, mercy, prosperity, security, compassion and so forth; but they could not know that God has also promised us these blessings. That was reserved for "these last days."

In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets;in these last days, he spoke to us through a son... (Hebrews 1:1)

Our calling is to wait on the mercy of God, and to prove ourselves worthy of it when That
Day arrives. Our calling also is to announce this promise to everyone who will listen. There are moments when some of us find the waiting unbearable and we try to force God's hand, even going so far as to name the date! That's embarrassing for the rest of us, but it serves to remind the world that the Day of the Lord will come. It does not delay, though some consider it delay

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, thatwith the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand yearslike one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as someregard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perishbut that all should come to repentance. But the dayof the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar andthe elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on itwill be found out. (2 Peter 8-10)

Tuesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time

2011-12-13T00:30:00.002-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011012.cfm

Saint Francis rests by a forest stream
at Mount Saint Francis

Because we observed the feast of the Baptism of Jesus yesterday, the lectionary offers a choice of readings; we may choose the readings of Monday or Tuesday of the First week of Ordinary Time. Last year I reflected on Mark's story of the demon's confrontation with Jesus, so I'll go with the second option: Mark 1:14-20.

Saint Mark's gospel begins with a very simple formula:

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

He has in fact invented a new literary form, the gospel. It is not an essay, article, biography or history; it is a gospel. He intends to present in this document the "Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." To do so, he compiles a collection of stories and teachings (called pericopes) and arranged them to suit his theological purposes (not chronological or historical.) He hangs them loosely on the framework of Jesus' travel from Galilee to Jerusalem.
We have already heard of the testimony of John the Baptist during Advent, so today's passage begins with verse 14 and the first words from Jesus' mouth:

"This is the time of fulfillment.The Kingdom of God is at hand.Repent, and believe in the Gospel."

There is a tremendous sense of urgency in Saint Mark's Gospel. He uses the Greek word for immediately often. In fact, as I understand, he tells the story in the present, rather than the past, tense to ramp up his sense of urgency, although translations usually render it in the past tense.

So when we hear Jesus crying out, "This is the time of fulfillment." we should have a feeling of shock. "OMG! Now?" He seems to be charging up the road from the desert (where he was with the wild animals) and is hurrying past the Sea of Galilee and the fisherman when he shouts at them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men!" and they do just that. "They left their nets and followed him."

With our practice of daily prayer and meditation we learn that sense of urgency. There is no time to waste; we haven't a second to lose. We must be continually alert to do good and avoid evil. The opportunity of this moment will never come again.

As we have finished the Christmas cycle and enter "ordinary time" we remember that ordinary is a relative word. It's not flat, or unimportant. It's rich with invitation, especially as we hear Jesus shouting at us, "This is the time of fulfillment.... Come after me!"

Tuesday of the

2011-12-13T00:30:00.001-05:00

Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr

2011-12-13T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121311.cfm

Vacationing Fathers
Richard, Don and Ken

Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near.

Visiting a family one time, several years ago, I heard the mother of the family invite a neighbor boy to go with them to the zoo. She told him to ask his mother for permission to go with them; to which the young man replied, “She doesn’t care.”

What a strange, terrible response. I suppose he meant it would be okay with her, but it literally meant his mother doesn’t love him. It was a common expression at the time; I don’t know if kids still say that of their parents.

God does care, and the scriptures say he cares intensely. When people care, they get emotional. They laugh with their loved ones' laughter and cry with their tears. They feel for one another. They fear for each other’s safety; they get angry at one another’s foolishness; they urge their loved ones to do the right thing. They even say, “How could you do this to me?” when the loved one does some harm to himself. It would be a strange kind of friend who didn’t get emotional with his loved one.

Some theologians have said we should not “anthropomorphize” God when we suppose he gets angry at our sins. In other words, we should not “create God in our own image.” They describe a more “superior” God who is so far above human beings we cannot imagine him. For that matter he is too far above the earth to care about its inhabitants.

That’s not the God we encounter in the Bible. He loves, blesses and enriches his chosen people; he promises them, “You shall be holy as the Lord your God is holy!” He will go wherever they go, and be with them forever.

But when they take all his blessings and ignore Him; when they make no attempt to be holy as he is holy; when their treatment of the poor, widowed, and orphaned create havoc: the Lord moves from disappointment to frustration and anger. God withdraws his protection because they have proven themselves no different from any other nation; and they are swept away by alien armies. And yet “His mercy endures forever.” He will gather them to his heart from the ends of earth.

Our God cares intensely; we have seen his care on the face of Jesus. He is delighted when people turn to him for healing and forgiveness; he is outraged when he sees us exploiting the weakness of others; he is touched to the soul by the courage and devotion of the lowly. A gentile centurion who recognizes Jesus' servitude to God astonishes the Lord. I think especially of his exclamation when he saw the poor widow donate a few copper coins to the temple treasury, “She has given more than all the rest!”

After reading the scriptures there can be no doubt about God’s emotional investment in us. He does care intensely. At Christmas we give our assent, we say Amen to his love, as we prepare the way of the Lord.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

2011-12-12T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121211.cfm

She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.

The "new world," ancient to its inhabitants but new to Europeans, had only been discovered when it was visited by a mysterious, heavenly stranger. A peasant catechist met her on his way to morning Mass. She directed him to tell the newly appointed archbishop to build a chapel on that very spot. Humble as he was Juan Diego managed an audience with the prelate who politely heard his request and sent him on his way. The monsignor had better things to do than act upon the behest of poor, indigenous converts.

Several days past and without Juan Diego's attending Mass since he was caring for an ailing uncle. When he did manage to get free he chose another route to avoid the beautiful woman. How could he explain to her that the important hierarch would not build a chapel anywhere near there? But she stopped him anyway and asked about the bishop's response.

When the poor man described his meeting with the bishop, the woman directed him to climb the hill and bring back a spray of roses, although it was too late in the season for roses. To his surprise he found a bush burning brilliantly with red roses. He brought a bunch to her and she arranged them in the tilde, a kind of scapular, he was wearing.

Once again he approached the bishop, but with the gift of roses. When the young man dropped the hem of his scapular the roses fell out. They were both astonished to find a brilliant image of the woman, Our Lady of Guadalupe, stained into its cactus fibers.

The archbishop directed the building of a small chapel and appointed Juan Diego as its custodian. The legend goes on to tell how hundreds of thousands of indigenous Americans came to see the image and to believe in Mary and her son Jesus Christ. Suddenly an evangelization which had been proceeding fitfully because the natives looked askance upon the foreigners ideas of religion, blossomed.
The woman in the image is not European. She has American features and native clothing. She stands in front of the sun and upon a crescent moon; clearly she has authority over the Aztec gods of the sun and moon. But she does not gaze out at the viewer; she bows her head in humility before a higher God. She is pregnant, about to give birth to "a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod."

Mary the Mother of God, is the first evangelist; she heard the good news from the Angel Gabriel and announced it to her kinswoman Elizabeth. Much to their surprise, she accompanied the first European settlers to America and worked with them to bring our faith to the "new" world.
On this feast day all of the America should rejoice with our Native American and Mexican brothers and sisters in the lovely gift of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Third Sunday of Advent

2011-12-11T00:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121111.cfm

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;

We often hear these delightful words echoed in various forms throughout the Gospels and in our liturgies. Mary felt the rush of the Holy Spirit upon her as the Good News drove her to Jerusalem and Elizabeth's house. Like Jeremiah, John the Baptist was anointed before he was born. Jesus felt the Spirit descend upon him. It drove him from the Jordan River into the desert where he fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then back to civilization and his ministry. He announced that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him in the synagogue at Nazareth. The Nazarenes welcomed him for a moment, before they decided to toss him over their nearby cliff.

The disciples in the Cenacle witnessed the anointing of the Holy Spirit in tongues of flame, and Saint Paul was unexpectedly anointed on his way to Damascus. Anointing is the sine qua non of Christian discipleship. If you don't have it, you shouldn't fake it.

In our Catholic traditions we celebrate that anointing in Baptism, Confirmation and priestly ordination. We also witness it during a bishop's ordination, especially as the inverted, open Gospel-book is held like a sheltering roof over his head.

Anointing sets us apart from other people. It is a burden too heavy to bear unless it meets a willing spirit within us. That inner spirit might declare with Saint Peter, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man." but the anointing does not readily retreat from those it has chosen.

I well remember the night about a month before I was ordained, when I suddenly realized what I was getting into. I was paralyzed with fear. "What am I doing here. This wasn't my idea! It was my mother's. Oh my God, how do I get out of this now, after thirteen years of preparation?"

And then I surrendered, "This was your idea, Lord. You will have to see me through."

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,in my God is the joy of my soul;for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,like a bride bedecked with her jewels.

The anointed must never forget where the "idea" came from. It is God who called me from long ago, even from my mother's womb, long before I had any notions of doing good. It is God who gathers us into the Church and reconsecrates us time and time again. The minute I forget that, or ignore it, or think that maybe I have an idea of my own that's worth pursuing, I lose the Spirit of God. I suspect it gleefully abandons me in the desert of myself to find out how ridiculous I am. I will soon learn what it feels like to be a lamb among wolves, or a cleaned and empty house vulnerable to the returning demon with his seven companions worse than himself. But...

The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

So long as we remain with the Lord we have no fear, even at the approach of judgement.