Mark Twain once remarked that the reports, present in his day, of the imminent demise of the Catholic Church were similar to being invited to a funeral that keeps getting postponed. 

The numbers are still coming in but in the United States this last weekend it looks like tens of thousands were received into the Catholic Church.  For 2010, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reports that there were over 43,000 adult baptisms and more than 75,000 people received into full communion with the Church in the U.S. alone (this also does not count the over 830,000 infant baptisms reported for that year).  It is safe to assume, I believe, that the numbers for 2011 will be consistent with this trend. 

What seems to be striking for commentators this year is the wide variety of people who are entering the Church.  There are people from all walks of life and all socio-economic-cultural distinctions and people brought up in different faith traditions (Christian and non-Christian) and ethnic groups.  People are entering the Church individually and also as families. 

One newly minted Catholic – since last Easter Sunday – who is receiving attention is Abby Johnson.  Mrs. Johnson is a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who had a conversion after witnessing an ultrasound-guided abortion in fall of 2009.  She is the author of the bestselling book “Unplanned”.

These men and women have been studying, learning, reflecting and praying about entering the Church for months through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program present in Catholic parishes.  Ahdija Cheumbike Baker (a former Muslim) from New Orleans, LA remarks on the value of an extensive preparation program for entrance into the Church, “If I had gone to a church that gets you in and out in 45 minutes, I probably wouldn’t have changed my religion; but at St. Peter Claver I feel a deep connection.” 

We celebrate with these new members of the Church!  They witness to us the vitality and true life of the Christian faith and we pray that they will now continue to grow in their Catholic faith.  For them (as for all of us) Easter of 2011 rather than being the end of a journey is really just a beginning…

In this post’s title I wrote “plus one” for a valid reason.  This coming Sunday at our last spring semester Mass, Shawn Stewart will be baptized, confirmed and receive first communion at the Catholic Center!  Shawn and I have been meeting for months now in preparation but his more fundamental preparation and witnessing of the faith has been through all the Catholic friends whom he has known over his life.  Please keep Shawn in your prayers as this Sunday approaches.

The Church continues to be church…

Christ is risen!  Very truly he is risen! 

For about a week now I have been humming, “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” – the traditional hymn associated with Palm Sunday.  The hymn is usually sung after the distribution of palms and as the congregation enters into the church calling to mind our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem. 

Since Ash Wednesday we as the Church have been preparing for the celebrations of the upcoming week. 

At the end of the Mass though I do share some words regarding what we as Church will be about this next week.

In our diocese, the Tuesday of Holy Week is when we celebrate the Chrism Mass at the cathedral in Knoxville.  At the Mass the whole diocese comes together under the unity of our bishop and the oils to be used in sacramental celebrations throughout the next year are blessed and distributed – the oil of the sick, the oil of the catechumens and the sacred chrism.  Also, at this Mass, both the priests of the diocese and the bishop recommit ourselves to service within the Church.

I also note that the season of Lent ends with the beginning of the celebration of the Lord’s supper on Holy Thursday.  (We fast and abstain on Good Friday because it is “Good Friday” not be because it is another Friday in Lent.)  Actually, with the beginning of the Holy Thursday Mass we enter not only into the shortest season of the year – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil – but also one celebration.  This is testified to by the fact that we as a community make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Holy Thursday celebration and do not make it again until the conclusion of the Easter Vigil Mass.  As Catholics, we begin and end prayer with the sign of the cross.  The fact that we do not make the sign of the cross as church again until the end of the vigil demonstrates that these three days are to be seen as one celebration marking the life, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord.

At the conclusion of the Holy Thurday celebration the sanctuary of the church is made bare and the Blessed Sacrament is removed in preparation for Good Friday when all creation is in hushed silence in remembrance of our Lord’s suffering, death and three days in the tomb. 

At sundown on Holy Saturday, the Easter fire is lit and the Easter Vigil begins.  The Church throughout the world gathers to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection!  The paschal candle (representing the light of Christ) is blessed and processed into a darkened church and as the procession makes it way along; all those who are present light their own candles from that of the paschal candle (the light of the resurrection grows).  Once gathered in the church the community of the faithful hear readings from all of Sacred Scripture, reflecting the whole scope of salvation history which proclaims God’s goodness and works; culminating in the resurrection of Christ by which death itself is vanquished!  Men and women who have been preparing for months to receive the sacraments and enter into the Catholic Church are welcomed into the fullness of the Body of Christ through sacramental ritual following the homily.  Communion is shared and the church once darkened is now fully lit, reflecting the splendor of the risen Christ in the lives of his people – the church gathered in worship!

At the conclusion of the Easter Vigil the community once again marks itself with the sign of the cross bringing an end to the celebration of the Triduum and a beginning to the celebration of the Easter season! 

The readings for this past Wednesday’s Mass have much to say about true freedom. 

The first reading (Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95) recounted the story of the three young men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) thrown into the furnace for refusing to bend their knees in homage to the false idol of the king.  “Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I have made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments…”  Yet, even though thrown into the furnace, the three youths were preserved by the grace of God and became a witness even unto the king.

The Gospel reading (John 8:31-42) also invites us into a reflection on true freedom.  It is important to note that our Lord does not locate freedom within our own narrow wills (doing whatever we want) but rather in a lived relationship to truth and obedience to God.  “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free … Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.  A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains.  So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.”

We might tend to think of the story of the three youths as a quaint story of the past, vivid in detail for children’s Bible study, but my experience has demonstrated that there are many “musical instruments” calling us in our day and age to bend the knee in homage to a whole host of false idols … and there are many people more than willing, it seems, to bend the knee.  My experience also has shown me that these people who so easily bend the knee tend to also be the ones who so vocally both proclaim and demand their freedom to do whatsoever they please.  Yet our Lord points out, “everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin”.  Freedom is not gained when truth and God are abandoned, what is really attained is a mass conformity that lies under an illusion of freedom – it is, in fact, a form of slavery. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stand out because they would not bend their knees.  They would not fall down in an automatic conditioned response to the powers of their time.  The truth had set them free and they were the only ones truly free enough to make a free choice.  We do not remember those who bend their knees to the powers of their time.  We remember those (free in relation to truth and obedience to God) who choose to not bend the knee and remain standing.  These are the ones who have fought the hard fought fight.  They cannot bend their knee because they have come to know their own and everyone else’s true worth.  They will not deny the truth and because of this they are truly free. 

“If you remain in my word … you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek him, seeking me.
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of thee.

Thou didst reach forth thy hand and mine enfold;
I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea.
‘Twas not so much that I on thee took hold,
As thou, dear Lord, on me.

I find, I walk, I love, but oh, the whole
Of love is but my answer, Lord, to thee!
For thou wert long beforehand with my soul;
Always thou lovedst me.

It is interesting to note how in this gospel passage of the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) Jesus is met with confusion, contradiction, shock, grief, regret and fear (a whole gamut of reactions) as he journeys toward the tomb of his friend.  The disciples do not understand – thinking Lazarus was only asleep.  Both Martha and Mary at separate instances remark, “Lord, if you had been here…” voicing the regret so common at the death of a loved one.  The weeping of the crowd and the tears of the family giving expression to the death of hope when faced with the starkness of the tomb.  “Why roll back the stone?  It will be awful and certainly useless.”  Is all of this not the human condition as we stand before the tombs of our lives and all the tombs of our world?

But the gospel message is this: Christ enters into all of this.  Our Lord does not deny any of these reactions to death and to the tomb.  Neither does he ask us to pretend that these reactions on our part do not exist.  We are fearful before the tombs of our world!  We are lost and confused!  Death does not make sense!  We do know grief and regret!  Our Lord does not deny any of this but what he does do is that he comes to us in the very face of the tomb and all that it stirs up within us and asks, “Do you believe?”  Not, “Believe and you will never know hurt nor loss nor pain.” but “Even now when faced with the tomb, do you believe?”


Sr. Helen Prejean and members of the Catholic Center community


This last week Sr. Helen Prejean gave a lecture on the death penalty at ETSU.  Sr. Helen has devoted her life and energy to ministering to people on death row as well as the families of victims of unimaginably horrific crimes.  This little Cajun nun with a broad smile and an easy-going nature stands before the tombs of our world.  How does she do that?  Where does she find the strength?  As I listened to her talk I heard her say in her own way that she has met Christ on death row and that she as a disciple has given her own answer to his question, “Do you believe?”

Some have referred to religion as an “opiate for the masses” – a way to avoid the stark realities of existence.  True Christianity is not an opiate.  Are there false versions of Christianity?  Yes, it is easy to see them at work in our time.  In these false versions of Christianity true faith means worldly success, wealth, getting what you want and never knowing true suffering.  It promotes a praise/paid mentality – the more you praise, the more you get paid.  This false reading of the Scriptures does seek to reduce the Christian message to an opiate for the masses but it is not the true gospel.  (Also, in fairness, I would contend that there are also a plethora of secular “opiates for the masses” that are at work in our world.  Lets not fool ourselves – these secular opiates also, through their own mechanisms, seek to numb people to the stark realities of existence.)

True Christianity acknowledges the tombs of our lives and our world.  The disciple is able to go to the tomb and even there (in the very midst of all that the tomb stirs up within us) is able to live an answer to that fundamental question of our Lord, “Do you believe?”  And it is in the living of the mystery that the disciple is brought to an awareness that in our belief we will indeed see and know the glory of God. 

In our age of hyper-sexuality I would like to offer a few thoughts on celibacy and chastity.  I offer these thoughts as a publicly professed celibate of fifteen years and someone who has remained chaste throughout my life. 

We know the scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church as of late and we hear from some corners the (seemingly) automatic and almost knee-jerk equating of celibacy with sex abuse. 

Also, there are many voices in our culture that promote sexual acting out before marriage as the healthy norm and any attempt to curtail, moderate or even abstain from this acting out as unhealthy, repressive and deviant. 

To the first concern (and as a way of entering into this discussion) I would like to share some thoughts taken from a recent article by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City in which he shares an encounter in an airport.  (A link to the full article is found after the quote.)

As I (Archbiship Dolan) was waiting with the others for the electronic train to take me to the terminal, a man, maybe in his mid-forties, waiting as well, came closer to me.

“Are you a Catholic priest?” he kindly asked.

“Sure am. Nice to meet you,” says I, as I offered my hand.

He ignored it. “I was raised a Catholic,” he replied, almost always a hint of a cut to come, but I was not prepared for the razor sharpness of the stiletto, as he went on, “and now, as a father of two boys, I can’t look at you or any other priest without thinking of a sexual abuser.”

What to respond? Yell at him? Cuss him out? Apologize? Deck him? Express understanding? I must admit all such reactions came to mind as I staggered with shame and anger from the damage of the wound he had inflicted with those stinging words.

“Well,” I recovered enough to remark, “I’m sure sorry you feel that way. But, let me ask you, do you automatically presume a sexual abuser when you see a Rabbi or Protestant minister?”

“Not at all,” he came back through gritted teeth as we both boarded the train.

“How about when you see a coach, or a boy scout leader, or a foster parent, or a counsellor, or physician?” I continued.

“Of course not!” he came back. “What’s all that got to do with it?”

“A lot,” I stayed with him, “because each of those professions have as high a percentage of sexual abuse, if not even higher, than that of priests.”

“Well, that may be,” he retorted. “But the Church is the only group that knew it was going on, did nothing about it, and kept transferring the perverts around.”

“You obviously never heard the stats on public school teachers,” I observed. “In my home town of New York City alone, experts say the rate of sexual abuse among public school teachers is ten times higher than that of priests, and these abusers just get transferred around.” (Had I known at that time the news in in last Sunday’s New York Times about the high rate of abuse of the most helpless in state supervised homes, with reported abusers simply transferred to another home, I would have mentioned that, too.)

To that he said nothing, so I went in for a further charge.

“Pardon me for being so blunt, but you sure were with me, so, let me ask: when you look at yourself in a mirror, do you see a sex abuser?”

Now he was as taken aback as I had been two-minutes before. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Sadly,” I answered, “studies tell us that most children sexually abused are victims of their own fathers or other family members.”

Enough of the debate, I concluded, as I saw him dazed. So I tried to calm it down.

“So, I tell you what: when I look at you, I won’t see a sex abuser, and I would appreciate the same consideration from you.”  (http://blog.archny.org/?p=1127)

The statistics are there for all to see, the percentage of sex abusers among celibate clergy is not any higher and in most cases is lower than other professions and lifestyles.  To automatically determine celibacy as the determining factor in a priest who is a sexual abuser is similar to automatically assuming marriage as the determining factor for a married man or woman who sexually abuses another.  If we cannot say that the whole institution of marriage is corrupt because of the sins of some married persons then we cannot say that celibacy is inherently corrupt or deviant either.  It is not the state of life that is at fault in these cases; it is the failure to live them out authentically and truthfully.  This is important precisely because this is an extremely sensitive issue that cuts across all gamuts of society and is causing great pain and suffering, so we must be precise in our determinations.  Generalizations do no good in this regard; they muddy the waters and in fact cause more harm than healing in this wound affecting all of society.

Many voices in our society claim that sexual activity before marriage is to be encouraged and seen as healthy (therefore promoted) where any attempt whatsoever to curtail or abstain from sexual activity is repressive, unhealthy and should be viewed with suspicion.  Often, proponents of this view will point to religion (specifically Christianity) and its guilt mechanism as the main culprit in an unhealthy and deviant denial of sexuality.

I agree that religion (here I will speak to Christianity, being that this is my own faith) has been used and continues to be used by some in an unhealthy repressive way in terms of sexuality.  But as a chaste and celibate person I believe this repressive use of Christianity vis-a-vis sexuality is in fact a misuse of the faith and demonstrates a profound misunderstanding in regards to what the Christian faith actually says regarding what sexuality is and also the truth of the human person. 

Christianity teaches abstinence before marriage for all persons precisely because it holds sexual intimacy as something profound and beautiful (not negative) – an utterly unique and intimate sharing of a man and woman that needs to be safeguarded, honored and protected.  Christianity also teaches abstinence before marriage because we deeply hold to the dignity of the human person.  To be very blunt in order to make an important contrast – we are not dogs in heat; we are human persons.  We are more than just pure instinctual and physical desire.  To recognize this does not deny the power or validity of these movements within our persons but locates them within a larger and needed context.  Further, because of the awareness of this larger context people are never to be used as mere objects for ones own pleasure.  Lets explore a recent occurance that I think demonstrates a breakdown of this larger context. 

Recently there has been a story (and video thanks to our digitalized age) of two college students having sex in public.  Now, are we made better by this or are we lessened?  Lets approach it this way and lets be honest, would we want our five year old niece or nephew watching this video or playing outside one day and seeing this?  If uninhibited sexual activity is the healthy norm then we should have no problem with a child seeing this type of activity.  But we do – our conscience reacts – now is that reaction repressive or is it an honest recognition that we human beings are made and meant for something more and better and that the context (or really lack of context) in which this activity occurred offends precisely because in fact it cheapens and makes squalid something meant to be beautiful?

The truth that I have come to realize is that celibacy and chastity, when authentically and truthfully lived, are not denials of living but are in fact expressions of passionate and authentic living.  Celibacy and chastity do this by witnessing to a great truth regarding sexuality and the human person that a casual approach to sexual activity can never attain to.  The truth being this: we are body and spirit.  Why would we do with our body what we are not ready to do with our spirit?  It is a question of authenticity.  Further, if body and spirit are ready to unite with another person shouldn’t it be held within a context that honors and nourishes that union?  Don’t we protect our most valued possessions?  Chastity does not negate sexuality, the opposite is in fact the case – it upholds the dignity of sexuality by upholding the dignity of the human person. 

But sometimes we stumble.  The physical passions can be very strong and sometimes we can sin against chastity.  As a confessor I recognize this and also as a human man who also knows temptation.  Here, our honest guilt must come into an honest encounter with God’s grace and mercy.  Forgiveness and healing is possible.  But it is important to note here the same assertion made above – our stumbling and sometimes less than authentic living out of chastity reflects on our weakness rather than on any presumed unhealthiness or deviancy of the chaste state. 
                    
A further thought on celibacy. 

I have come to believe that celibacy scares the holy bejeebers out of some people.  Why?  In the Christian understanding celibacy makes absolutely no sense apart from an awareness of the dawning of the Kingdom of God. 

His disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”  But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.  For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  Let anyone accept this who can.”  (Mt. 19:10-12) 

The celibate by his or her very life witnesses to something more than this world.  The celibate’s very life offered in this call of grace points to the dawning of God’s Kingdom where all sin, injustice, falsities, lies and oppression will be met and will be vanquished.  The Christian celibate foregoes marriage not because marriage and sexual activity are evil or of lesser value but because his or her very life is to be a witness to the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God in our world.  This is a frightening prospect for some people and some worldviews and well it should be.  For the believer it is the great hope and assurance.  Simply put, celibacy challenges worldly assumptions. 

I know that these are complicated issues and I know that we live in turbulent and confusing times.  I offer these thoughts in the humility of a disciple living his own life day by day calling upon God’s grace and mercy and also as a priest concerned for the true good of others and who grows weary of seeing others (especially our young people) sold a cheap bill of false goods that, in fact, end up hurting rather than liberating.