Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

"Padre Pio"

Lectionary: 452

Consider your ways! You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed; And whoever earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it.

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways! Go up into the hill country; bring timber, and build the house That I may take pleasure in it and receive my glory, says the LORD.

Periodically, I introduce the subject of "Recovering the Sacred" to Veterans who are seeking freedom from addictions and attend a spirituality discussion. I begin with the thesis that violence destroys the sense of the sacred. Millions of Catholic boys attended excellent Catholic elementary and high schools, but were drawn into the Vietnam conflict. Many never returned to the practice of faith. Despite the traditional support of the military branches for America's religions, they could not reconcile their experience of war with their faith in a loving God. 

Other people lose their faith as children of alcoholic parents. If they recover any sense of security within themselves they do so by avoiding the religious trappings and manifest hypocrisy of their early experience. Divorce, abortion, and encroaching poverty have also taken their toll. 

Finally, a nation firmly committed to overwhelming power and the fiction of its innate goodness will not hear a chastening word of God. They want to hear only how blessed and favored they are.

In today's first reading, the prophet Haggai urged the returning exiles to rebuild God's temple first and then embellish their barren homes with the nicer things of a settled existence. They had recouped enough to provide the basics of food and shelter, but could not seem to build a nest egg, a cushion against catastrophe.  

Through his prophet, God insisted their efforts would always be futile until they offered the traditional sacrifices in a proper place of worship. The new temple might never resemble Solomon's spectacular edifice but the effort would please the LORD who provides for all our needs. 

As the world with the United States at its head, continues to widen the gap between wealth and poverty, we would do well to Recover the Sacred. 

The sense of the sacred is like learning to taste a new flavor. When I went to Louisiana in 1988, I was immediately treated to a meal of crawfish. I certainly tasted the spices but could not detect the crawfish. It simply eluded me. But after several crawfish feasts and a few years I learned to recognize and love the distinctive flavor. It's no wonder Louisianan expats trek so often back to Cajun country! The food is like nowhere else!  

The holy is like that. We have to learn and relearn the flavor of God, especially when we're assailed by violent images day and night in every possible medium. It takes time and patience; and we must gently, firmly set aside all temptations to cynicism. We learn patience with people who seem to be a bit fanatical in their reverence for God for we would join their company. We learn from them and choose carefully what gestures we'll practice, rituals we'll attend, and prayers we'll recite. We learn to gentle our language and carefully choose our entertainment. There is value in every form of art but some art is trash. 

We especially learn reverence for people. Jesus insists that we must love our enemies and that certainly means we speak only the truth about them. We do no need to debase ourselves as we wait on the Lord to judge the Earth and all its people. 

Cultivating the sense of the Sacred prepares us for that Immortal Banquet when we gather with people of every race and nation at the Lord's table. Could there be anything worse than sitting down at such a board and discovering God has served us tasteless food? 

Rather, we will taste and see the goodness of the Lord, and delight in juicy, rich foods and pure, choice wines on that holy mountain.