There is much talk today about how we live in such polarized times as a country (red states vs. blue states, this group vs. that group) and as Church (traditionalists, orthodox vs. liberal – however you may wish to define any of these terms) but what more polarized time (at least in our country’s history) could there have been than immediately after the Civil War? 

The day we observe today came about as an opportunity to heal divisions and regain unity.  Memorial Day has much to teach us both as a nation and as Church (for whether we like it or not all the baptized are members of the Body of Christ.) 

Polarization does not serve the unity of the Church.

In the polarized context of our times I think it all the more important to give a listening and truly attentive ear to what Blessed John Paul II wrote in his famous encyclical on the priesthood, “Pastoris Dabo Vobis” (“I Will Give You Shepherds”).

John Paul specifies that priests are to be “men of communion”.  He plants this understanding right in the very communion of the Trinity.

“The priest’s identity,” as the Synod Fathers wrote, “like every Christian identity, has its source in the Blessed Trinity”, which is revealed and is communicated to people in Christ, establishing, in him and through the Spirit, the Church as “the seed and the beginning of the Kingdom”…  

In this way the fundamentally “relational” dimension of priestly identity can be understood.  Through the priesthood which arises from the depths of the ineffable mystery of God, that is, from the love of the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s gift of unity, the priest sacramentally enters into communion with the Bishop and with other priests, in order to serve the People of God who are the Church and to draw all mankind to Christ in accordance with the Lord’s Prayer:  “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one … even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:11,21). 

Pope John Paul II, later in his encyclical, then goes on to reflect on the value of communion in the human formation of priests.

Future priests should therefore cultivate a series of human qualities, not only out of proper and due growth and realization of self, but also with a view to the ministry.  These qualities are needed for them to be balanced people, strong and free, capable of bearing the weight of pastoral responsibilities.  They need to be educated to love the truth, to be loyal, to respect every person, to have a sense of justice, to be true to their word, to be genuinely compassionate, to be men of integrity and, especially, to be balanced in judgment and behaviour…

Of special importance in the capacity to relate to others.  This is truly fundamental for a person who is called to be responsible for a community and to be a “man of communion”.  This demands that the priest not be arrogant, or quarrelsome, but affable, hospitable, sincere in his words and heart, prudent and discreet, generous and ready to serve, capable of opening himself to clear and brotherly relationships and encouraging the same in others, and quick to understand, forgive and console (see also 1 Tim 3:1-5, Tit 1:7-9).  People today are often trapped in situations of standardization and loneliness, especially in large urban centres, and they become ever more appreciative of the value of communion.  Today this is one of the most eloquent signs and one of the most effective ways of transmitting the Gospel message.

I believe it extremely important that today priests be known as “men of communion” and I believe that Blessed John Paul II also believed this.  I think that the above quotes testify to this. 

The words found in the last sentence quoted are truly powerful and bear great weight.  In a time of polarization and isolation; being a “man of communion” is indeed one of the most eloquent signs and one of the most effective ways of transmitting the Gospel message.

The Church, by its very nature established in the heart of the Trinity, must be a place of communion and priests must strive to serve communion. 

In all times and seasons, we as Church set our lives not by the limits and sad resignations of this world (i.e. polarization) but the truth and communion of the Kingdom of God.   

At one point in his ministry our Lord tells us, “Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.”  There is an intrinsic power and truth to words that must be respected.  Words convey reality.  John at the very beginning of his gospel gives us a glimpse into this profound connection of words and reality when he writes,

To respect words and their conveyance of reality is to show respect to the very foundation of reality.  To manipulate words is to seek to manipulate truth and to instead choose falsity and illusion over reality.  The manipulation of words is itself a violent act.  It is an act of self-centered pride ultimately doomed to frustration and failure precisely because it is based in falsity. 

These conversations have led me to the essay, “Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power” by Josef Pieper.  I would like to share a few quotes from his essay that I believe are worthy of note and consideration. 

Pieper then goes on to flesh out the interpersonal character of speech by the use of a negative:

Further Pieper writes,

Pieper then carries this through to a prophetic warning,

The degradation, too, of man through man, alarmingly evident in the acts of physical violence committed by all tyrannies (concentration camps, torture), has its beginning, certainly much less alarmingly, at the almost imperceptible moment when the word loses its dignity.  The dignity of the word, to be sure, consists in this: through the word is accomplished what no other means can accomplish, namely, communication based on reality.

I share this because I believe we live in a time when language is being abused and manipulated.   The temptation in this is to return “like for like.”  But here is where the above quoted teaching of our Lord is essentially important for the disciple.  When so many seem to prefer the choice of illusion over reality; disciples, all the more, must make sure that our yes means yes and our no means no.  Ours is and must be a different choice.
 
By so doing we will all the more stand out and our words, rather than just being “mere monologue” that might have flash but really accomplish nothing, will harmonize with the very truth of creation and even share in the very power of that truth.    

Today might be the day.  You never know.  Our Lord himself said he knew neither the day nor the hour but we Christians hold that our Lord will return in glory and we look toward this day.  Recently a Christian movement has gained some attention by its prediction that today (May 21, 2011) is the day.  They might be right but these predictions have occurred before.  In fact, the man purporting to have now cracked the code that today is the day has predicted Judgement Day before but obviously that prediction was incorrect and based on lack of information as he later stated. 

What is interesting is the attention that this prediction has received.  I think that this attention is speaking to some interesting dynamics present in our day and age.  Here are a few as I see them.

In our American mindset we like to figure things out.  We are very pragmatic as a people.  This is a part of our national strength and character.  Our country has accomplished some great things because of this strength.  The problem though is that we easily apply this mindset to faith and Scripture as though it all were a code to be puzzled through and this, I think, misses the mark.  As a wise professor once told me, “The paschal mystery is not a puzzle to be figured out and solved but a mystery to be lived.  As we live the mystery we are brought to greater and greater understanding and deeper discipleship.”  Maybe instead of viewing the Bible as a hidden code to be cracked (which I personally think demeans Holy Scripture) we should see it as a sacred space of encounter and relationship between us and God and us and our neighbor.  My take on faith is that it is not about figuring out a certain date as it is about learning how to live as our Lord lived which means living and embracing the paschal mystery in our own lives.

I believe that fear is a factor in all of this.  The world is changing and whenever there is change we get uncomfortable.  The weather patterns are changing.  Global warming is an all but accepted fact.  Pope Benedict in his writings acknowledges this.  Global warming does not so much mean that things will just get a little warmer but that weather will become more extreme (i.e. the recent tornadoes in the southern states, more severe flooding and more severe draughts).  Recent earthquakes have rattled our collective consciousness.  The economic meltdown has demonstrated that commerce is not the all-solid foundation we once believed.  Gauging our greatness on our ability to consume might be becoming a thing of the past.  Those Muslims who once resided on their side of the world now live in the house up the street and next door there is now a homosexual couple.  Christianity is now just one other voice in a largely secular society.  For many, the world as they know it is ending.  Surely our Lord must be returning soon to save his chosen!  As Christians, we cannot be meant to live in a world like this!  But, maybe now is the time when Christians, rather than being taken from the world, are meant to be more than ever in the world – living the paschal mystery in love and not in fear speculating on dates.

Sincerity also has a role to play here.  I believe the man who has made this prediction and the people of this movement are very sincere.  They believe that this is the day and, again, they may be right.  But sincerity does not always equal truth.  One might be very sincere but completely wrong.  But we do not always catch this in our day and age.  Partly due, I believe, to a decrease in and de-emphasizing of critical thinking.  If one is sincere enough, feels enough, believes enough then it must be so!  Well … no, not really.  Sincerity itself does not equal truth.

Finally, a yearning for sacred time.  Yesterday, as I was driving down the interstate and reflecting on this I found myself indeed yearning for the return of the Lord.  We, the Church, are the bride and we do indeed yearn for the return of the bridegroom.  The world is limited, it is marked by sin and all its effects and it does become wearisome.  As Christians we are meant to yearn for the fulfillment of all ages and for more than this world has to offer.  The prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus” is an honest prayer spoken from the heart of the Christian.  Any prediction of the end time taps into this honest yearning in the heart of the Christian.

Today at 6 p.m. I will be in the middle of saying Mass – not a bad place to be when the world is supposed to end.  It may happen today.  It may not.

Whenever it does happen (either the end of the whole world or the end of my own little life) I hope my Lord finds me in faith and hope, with a song in my heart – not worried about determining a date but more focused on living and embracing the paschal mystery.

What would you do if to remain in a place would almost certainly mean losing your life?  This is question found at the heart of the French film, “Of Gods and Men.”  The film is based on the true story of eight Cistercian Trappist monks living their lives in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria in the 1990’s.  The country is caught up in a violent and bloody civil war between a totalitarian regime and violent Islamic extremists.  The monks have lived in peace with their Muslim neighbors but there is violence all around and non-Muslims are being killed.  The monks know that it is just a matter of time. 

The film powerfully portrays the debate these men have both as a community and in their own souls about remaining or leaving.  These men are not super-heroes and they are not portrayed that way.  They are ordinary men who, through prayer and interaction among themselves and with the villagers – each come to the realization that he must remain. 

Late one night the extremists arrive.  Six of the monks are taken away to be used as hostages.  In the winter of 1996, the monks were killed. 

The men choose to remain – specifically, out of love for their Lord and their own calling and also out of love for the villagers and their need.  The men chose to remain.

Today, the church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday and one overriding characteristic of the Good Shepherd is that, come what may, the good shepherd remains.  He does not seek to save himself.  In the gospel account of Jesus’ passion we find that everyone else flees, everyone else seeks to save himself (the disciples run away, Peter denies Jesus, Pilate washes his hands of the matter, the religious establishment is concerned only with its own position) except our Lord.  Our Lord remains, our Lord does not seek to save himself.  Our Lord is the good shepherd.  The sheep hear and recognize his voice because in love he chooses to remain.  Because of this his voice is authentic and true; it cuts through all the noise, false voices and distractions of the world and it speaks directly to our hearts.

What is very moving (and beautifully portrayed) in the film is how the decision to remain is not unilateral and neither is it forced on anyone.  Each man makes his own decision to remain and it is the love found in the daily encounters (the daily life of the brothers themselves, the encounters with the villagers and their needs, the encounter with Christ in prayer) that led each one to that decision. 

The voice of the Good Shepherd speaks to our hearts through the love found in daily encounters.

We all know the temptation to flee; to save oneself above all else.  This temptation is there for each of us in a multitude of ways: the stress of relationships and pressures of work, the pain of illness, suffering and persecution, the fear of that which is different and unknown.  This temptation can seem so powerful and overwhelming.  What can enable one to remain in the face of it?  Love can, the love that we know and receive from our Lord in the everyday encounter.

The Good Shepherd speaks to our hearts and his voice is authentic and true.

I have been keeping an eye on the reports and commentaries regarding the “Slutwalks” that have sprung up recently and I find myself both interested in them but also put off. I am interested because I think that they  point to some current dynamics in our society. I am put off because I do not agree with a mentality that I believe is partly present in these demonstrations.

I agree that any form of violence against another person is wrong. I agree that victims should not be blamed for acts of violence perpetrated against them. I agree that people have the right to wear what they please without fearing any form of violence because of what they wear. I may shake my head and personally wonder what they are thinking (i.e. fleece pajama bottoms worn in public) but that is as far as another can go in the public commons. I also think that there is value in being prudent and there is space for the needed virtue of modesty (for both women and men) but, in the end, adults being adults can wear what they please.

But I find myself disagreeing with the stated goal of some in the movement to reclaim the word “slut”. I do not use the word. Neither would I call another person by this word because it is a derogatory from the get go. How can we “reclaim” that which is negative from the beginning? “Reclaim” to me means to restore something to its original meaning or purpose, often being seen as a positive. “Reclaim” as it is being used here seems to me to be the opposite; actually warping the word “slut” from it original context. It is like trying to concoct a virtue out of a vice. This seems an example of double-speak and language manipulation and, I believe, it points to a mentality present in the movement that I just cannot agree with.

An aim of the SlutWalk movement is to reappropriate the word “slut.” “I come from a frame of mind that language is powerful, and you can also change language,” said SlutWalk founder Jarvis, using the word “queer” as an example of a word that was once strictly pejorative but is now a common sexual identifier used by the LGBT community. (taken from “Slutwalks Sweep the Nation” by Laura Stampler, HuffingtonPost.com)

This mentality, it seems to me, is one of viewing sex and sexuality solely in terms of power paradigms and defining the core reality of the human person solely in terms of the material and sexual.

I would like to examine the second aspect first: defining the human person solely in terms of the material and sexual.

As I have been pondering all of this I have been drawn back to the book, “The Cloister Walk” by Kathleen Norris. In her chapter on the Virgin Martyrs, Norris explores the case of Maria Goretti; an eleven-year-old girl stabbed to death in 1902 during an attempted rape. In the horrific violence of the moment this girl choose to be killed rather than raped. She was canonized in 1950. Norris writes this,

Maria Goretti, canonized in 1950, was the first virgin martyr declared such by the church for defending her chastity rather than her faith, and it’s easy to see this development in a cynical light; a perfect expression of a sexually uptight era. Indeed, a popular pamphlet of the time, written by an American priest, dubbed her “the Cinderella Saint.” But our cynicism blinds us to a deeper truth: a martyr is not a model to be imitated, but a witness, one who testifies to a new reality. And our own era’s obsession with sexual “liberation” blinds us still further, making it difficult to see the true nature of Maria Goretti’s witness, what it might mean for a peasant girl to “prefer death to dishonor.” We may make fun of someone so foolish – a male friend recalls with shame how he and his schoolmates snickered over Maria Goretti in the playground of his parochial school, not long after she was canonized – but such joking is a middle class luxury.

For Maria Goretti, the issue was not a roll in the hay. The loss of her virginity in a rigidly patriarchal peasant culture could have had economic and social consequences so dire that it might have seemed a choice between being and nonbeing. And is it foolish for a girl to have such a strong sense of her self that she resists its violation, resists being asked to do, in the private spaces of her body, what she does not want to do? (Here Norris shares how once when she was fifteen she herself was attacked by a man but was able to fight him off.) It happens more than we like to think, even to middle-class girls like me. But the poor are far more vulnerable; perhaps the scandal of Maria Goretti is the recognition that there can be bodily integrity, honor, and even holiness, among the poorest of the poor, that even a peasant girl of simple faith can claim an inner self, a soul that will make room for Christ but not a rapist. Not even a rapist with a knife.

What we resist seeing in late-twentieth-century America – where we are conditioned, relentlessly, by images of girls’ and women’s’ bodies as available – is the depth of that soul, and how fierce a young girl’s sense of bodily and spiritual integrity can be.

Yes, sexuality and sexual identity is powerful and are important aspects of who we are but sexuality is not the sole defining principle of the human person and neither is it the deepest core of who we are. The deepest core of who we are is not our sexuality but the fact that we are made in the image and likeness of God; the Imago Dei. Sexuality is not denied but held in proper balance and purpose only when this deeper reality of the human person is recognized and acknowledged.

Please read again the last sentence I quoted from Kathleen Norris – “the depth of that soul”. When we define the human person solely in terms of the material, an understanding that denies any sense of the spiritual, then we lose that “depth of soul” which the eleven year old saint witnesses to. Further, it seems to me that when the spiritual component of who we are is denied then it is very easy to fall into the belief that the sexual is our deepest core because in the sexual there is a sense of connection and transcending of self that cannot seemingly be found anywhere else in a material-only world. But this is not the case. The truth is that the fullness of bodily and spiritual intergrity is there, we just “resist seeing” the full possibilities of this and of connection with others and of transcending self.

The sin of our age is not that we have loved too much but that we love too little.

Now, let us look to the first aspect: viewing sex and sexuality solely in terms of power paradigms. I believe that this aspect is an understandable result of the denial of spiritual and bodily integrity.

It seems interesting to me that the more “casual” sex and sexuality becomes; the more it is reduced to just another weapon ready-at-hand for use in the culture and gender wars and the more there seems to be an effort to define the relation of men and women solely in terms of confrontation and antagonism.

(I also find it interesting to note how as the divorce rate climbs so too does the cost of weddings go through the roof!  Another topic for another post, but related I believe.)

In my reading of the commentaries and interviews regarding the slutwalks and also the watching of youtube videos, I have noticed that the word “power” is used quite often.  In fact, I would think that if one were to do a word cloud regarding slutwalks the word “power” would be present in very bold and large letters.  Why is this?

A sincere part of this is, I believe, that rape and sexual violence are abuses of power. To regain ones integrity in this sense is to regain ones power.  This is valid and an important part of the healing process.

But, I think there is another aspect present in the use of this term that connects to the mentality that I have made mention of.  In this sense, I would say that “power” is being used due to the fact that when sexuality is divorced from the deeper context of bodily and spiritual integrity (the Imago Dei) it quickly devolves into just another form of power politics.

Sexuality and power are linked.  We ought not be naive about this.   

There is a latent power in sexuality – the power to create, to connect and even (if just for a moment) transcend self – when held in relationship to the core reality of the human person, the Imago Dei, this power is focused, given purpose and directed higher.  It can even participate in the very mystery of creation.  When divorced from the Imago Dei this power has lost its purpose and focus and it cannot be called higher because there is nothing to call it higher!  Therefore, it quickly devolves into power politics – an empty shell of what it could truly be. 

The very frustration and vitriol given expression when sexuality is viewed solely in terms of power paradigms is itself a witness, I believe, to the error and fallacy of the resistance to see and acknowledge the Imago Dei in the human person and the possibility of bodily and spiritual integrity.

We frustrate ourselves when we deny the fullness of our anthropology.

Viewing sexuality solely in terms of power politics is a reduction and not an exalting of the latent power present in sexuality.

Can power politics create life?  I do not think so. 

The slutwalks will, I am sure, continue and the word “power” will be used for a variety of reasons. 

These are interesting times in which we live…

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’  And from that hour the disciple took her into his own house.”  (John 19:26-27)

As he is dying on the cross our Lord does a very tender thing; he finds a home for his mother and he gives his Church a mother. 

May God bless all mothers on this special day! 

There is a famous painting of the road to Emmaus experience by the artist Robert Zund (posted above).  In the painting you see three men walking through a towering forest.  Their backs are to you – almost as if the viewer is walking the path behind them.  The man in the middle (the risen Lord) is talking and gesturing while the other two are in rapt attention.  You can almost hear Jesus explaining the Scriptures and feel the breeze of the day as you enter into the scene. 

In my vocation work I have often thought that a good vocation/discipleship poster would be to cut out the images of the three men walking, then find some black and white photos of everyday life (i.e. a busy city street scene, people going to a ball game or attending a fair or festival, etc.) and splice (keeping proportions correct) the image of the risen Lord and two disciples into the heart of the crowd.  Then add a catchy phrase like: “The call continues.” or “Do you also want your heart to ‘burn within you’?”

Why the poster?  Because it is in the everyday that Christ comes to us and it is here in the Mass – in the opening of Scripture and in the breaking of bread – when our eyes are opened to recognize and name those moments when our hearts burned within us in our encounters with the Lord.  As disciples we need both and we are meant for both – not just one or the other (either the everyday or the liturgical). 

The Mass is the Emmaus road encounter.

But, the risen Lord comes to us.  This is important to note.  When we gather on Sunday for Mass, when all of our Emmaus walks converge, we do not just remember the past or tell stories of a time long ago.  Christ is here.  Christ in his grace and revelation opens the Scriptures to us.  Christ himself breaks the bread (his body and his blood) for us.  When we gather for Mass on our Emmaus road we do not just reflect on an idea.  Here, we encounter the risen Lord and he speaks to our hearts and he shares his very self. 

“Were not our hearts burning within us?” 

Maybe it is because the semester has finished here at the university and things are quiet at the Catholic Center and I am anticipating the slower pace of the summer months but my soul recently has been reflecting on the need to rest and recoup. 

I have noticed that in more than a few of his writings, interviews and reflections Pope Benedict talks about the danger of “activism”.  A danger that is very rampant in our day and age.  Activism is that tendency to think we always have to be active; we always have to be doing something if life is going to be worthwhile and we are going to “make our mark” in history.  Of all people certainly it is a pope who could be tempted to activism as he looks at the needs of the world and the pulpit he alone has to address those needs.  A pope, he notes, could continually be active – twenty four hours and seven days a week.  But, wisely the Holy Father cautions us and himself against this temptation and he does this because he is a humble man who knows that the job of Savior of the world has already been filled.  Activism (he knows) is rooted in hubris, in pride.  The antidote to activism is the humble realization that we are creature and not Creator and also the willingness to enjoy this realization. 

Further, not only does activism puff us up it also wears us down.  We cannot go twenty four and seven.  We need rest and specifically sabbath rest.  Paradoxically activism even warps the arena and space of rest.  Rest rather than standing on its own with its own value becomes, under the tyranny of activism, just an allotted time and space only begrudgingly allowed in order to rest up for more work!  The day off is allowed only in order that we might be better workers not because the day off itself (leisure) has its own value and its own nourishment that the human soul stands in need of.

Under activism rest itself becomes shallow, superficial and tiresome. 

Sabbath rest is different.  Here is a quote from the treatise, “Flight from the World” by St. Ambrose that helps to bring out the unique character of sabbath rest. 

Let us take refuge from this world. You can do this in spirit, even if you are kept here in the body. You can at the same time be here and present to the Lord. Your soul must hold fast to him, you must follow after him in your thoughts, you must tread his ways by faith, not in outward show. You must take refuge in him. He is your refuge and your strength. David addresses him in these words: I fled to you for refuge, and I was not disappointed.

Since God is our refuge, God who is in heaven and above the heavens, we must take refuge from this world in that place where there is peace, where there is rest from toil, where we can celebrate the great sabbath, as Moses said: The sabbaths of the land will provide you with food. To rest in the Lord and to see his joy is like a banquet, and full of gladness and tranquility.

Sabbath rest is “like a banquet … full of gladness and tranquility.”  Rather than emptying and depleting the soul; Sabbath rest nourishes and fulfills and it enables us to put things in proper perspective. 

We are made and meant for sabbath rest; for the banquet that nourishes, fulfills and restores relationship.  We are not made to just work and work and hopefully maybe catch a day off here and there. 

“The sabbaths of the land will provide you with food.” 

It would do us all well to be attentive to this truth.   

Thomas was not a bad man nor was he a mediocre disciple.  I believe that sometimes we can read today’s gospel (John 20:19-31) and think to ourselves, “Tsk, tsk if only you didn’t doubt and had more faith Thomas.”  But Thomas did have faith and he did have a great love for our Lord.  We need to remember that it was Thomas who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” when Jesus decided to go to his friend Lazarus despite the fact that the authorities were seeking to kill him.  These are not the words of a half-hearted disciple.  Thomas had great faith, he had great love for our Lord but he also had a broken heart.  The crucifixion and all of sin’s “No!” that it contained had broken Thomas’ heart.  All of Thomas’ love for the Lord, his hope and faith in the Lord had been broken by the wood of the cross. 

Thomas’ heart was broken.  So, when the other ten announced the Lord as risen (the Easter gospel); Thomas replied with his own “creed” (which is in essence a “non-creed”).  “Unless I see … unless I put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  This is the “non-creed” not of a man who is bad or mediocre but rather generous and loving yet profoundly and deeply broken-hearted.

There are many non-creeds in our world today proclaimed by people who are not bad people or even mediocre (quite the contrary) but people who are broken, who are hurting.  And there is a danger to the non-creed because it is limiting, it does close one in on one-self.  Life is limited and because of this isolation occurs – leading to further violence and further pain. 

But our Lord is risen.  In his divine mercy he comes to the disciples (even through the locked doors of their fear and isolation), he comes to Thomas and in the tenderest way reproaches Thomas and his non-creed.  In fact, in response to Thomas’ non-creed it could be said that our Lord speaks his own creed, “Peace be with you.”  As disciples we live in the ever-newness of the creed of our risen Lord.  In all times and all seasons, we cling and hold fast to it.  This is what we do and who we are as Church, we remain faithful.  “Peace be with you.”

Today, Shawn (a young man being received into the Catholic Church at the Center) through your baptism, confirmation, first communion and entrance into the Church step into this living creed of our risen Lord.  This is a new day, an Easter day for you!  We celebrate with you and we thank you because today you remind us that we are each only allotted so many Easters in our lives.  We are each given only so many days and opportunities to encounter the risen Lord and to step away from the non-creeds and into the fullness of our Lord’s peace! 

In a special way I want to say a word to your sponsors and your Catholic friends because in our meetings you have said, time and time again, that it is they who have been the strongest influence in your desire to join the Church.  Dear friends, please recognize this.  You have lived the creed for Shawn – the peace that only our Lord can give – through your friendship, through your love, through your faith, through your being family.  The creed we profess is not meant to be a static formula but a lived reality.  Let us all recognize this.

Our risen Lord gathers his family of disciples together and he speaks to our hearts. 

“Peace be with you.”