Monthly Archives: August 2013

St. Augustine and Miley Cyrus

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in dignity, hypocrisy, image and likeness of God, Miley Cyrus, St. Augustine

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Feast of St. Augustine (Homily given at Notre Dame High School for the all school Mass)


The word “hypocrite” has its origins in a Greek word meaning “actor”.  If you have ever seen an ancient Greek play you will remember that all the actors wear masks, you never see an actor’s real face.  A hypocrite is someone who puts on a false appearance, someone who wears a mask.  Often, we use the term “hypocrite” in relation to people who put on a false appearance in terms of seeming to be religious or in terms of seeming to exemplify a certain virtue.  When hypocrisy is revealed we know how harmful it can be.  Jesus also knew this.  This is why in today’s gospel (Mt. 23:27-32) he chastised the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees.  But hypocrisy can come in a wide variety and in many forms.   

Some of you may have seen Miley Cyrus’ act at the MTV Video Music Awards recently.  I did not see the show.  Since I have moved to Chattanooga I have decided not to have a TV and even when I did have a TV I did not watch MTV.  (I remember when MTV first came out and when they actually played music videos.  Now, I don’t know what MTV is really about.)  Anyway, so many of my friends were talking about it the next day on Facebook that I pulled it up on YouTube and watched it.  Now, I do not necessarily have anything against Miley Cyrus.  She seems to be quite talented which, to me, makes it all the more sad that she felt she had to perform in such a way but as I watched her performance I was just struck by the hypocrisy of it all.  For whatever reason (maybe to move beyond her Hannah Montana image or to prove she is an adult) Miley chose to deny her dignity and on a national stage belittle herself and her worth. 
 
Ladies, because Miley Cyrus is a role model (whether she chooses to admit this or not), because she is someone you grew up with, she also belittled you.  This act fundamentally said that all you are is an object, something to be used for the pleasure of another.  That is a lie.  You are no one’s plaything.  You have a dignity and a worth and if others ever try to deny that then to hell with them! 
 
Gentlemen, this act also belittled you.  Basically, it said that this is all you are about and that this type of activity is all you want from a woman and that it is also all that you are capable of.  It said that there really is no dignity or virtue in being a man.  This also is a lie.  Don’t settle for this lie. 

So, MTV has Miley and her crew up on stage dancing around with stuffed bears on their backs.  (What was up with that?  Who thought that was a good idea?)  Who do we have?  Well, we have a crusty old bishop from North Africa! 

St. Augustine lived in a time very similar to our own.  The security and peace of the great Roman Empire was unraveling at the seams.  There were many voices in society and culture competing with one another and not connecting.  The social institutions were just no longer working.  In the midst of all of this; Augustine was asking the question, “Where do I find God?”  God was certainly not in the diminishing strength of the empire nor was God in the structures of society.  In the best sense of the term, Augustine turned inward and he realized, building on the very beginning of Scripture that we are each made in the image and likeness of God, that the best place to find the reflection of God was within our very selves.  That, by God’s grace, once we move beyond our fears and hypocrisies, we can recognize within ourselves a dignity that is truly undeniable because it is a reflection rooted in God himself!  Augustine, throughout his life, proclaimed the healing mercy of God’s grace and that how in receiving that mercy we are healed and our dignity is restored.  Augustine was no hypocrite.  He did not need to put on a false appearance.  He trusted in God’s love.    

So, after MTV and Miley we are today presented with Augustine – a crusty bishop from North Africa.  His words to us today: “Remember your dignity.  Don’t be a hypocrite.  Don’t settle.”         

Jesus, the Narrow Door and Humility: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Culture of Encounter, encounter, humility, the Narrow Door

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In today’s gospel (Lk. 13:22-30) Jesus is on journey toward Jerusalem, toward the cross and the resurrection, and he is passing through many towns and villages.  At one point someone asks him; Lord, will only a few people be saved?  The question witnesses to a common assumption of the time that salvation was dependent upon belonging to the “chosen people” or to the right group – be it social, religious or ethnic.  (The question might actually have come from someone troubled by this understanding and so he or she asks our Lord for his opinion.)  This raises a valid question for us; even if we might not say that salvation is dependent upon belonging to the right group, how often do we act and live our lives like this is so?  How often might we distance others from our lives or isolate ourselves from others who are different, who have very apparent needs that might make burdensome demands on my life and time (i.e. the poor, the immigrant, the mentally-handicapped, the elderly)? 

The Kingdom of God that Christ comes to inaugurate allows for no such separation nor limitations.  The Kingdom of God is found and revealed in the moment of encounter with the other in his or her need and likewise when we, ourselves, stand in need.   
Our Lord responds, Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.  Jesus then goes on to give us the image of the master of the house who locked the door to his house thus leaving some people locked outside.  Both “gate” and “door” are images of encounter – where walls and fences separate and divide, gates and doors allow for encounter and moving beyond supposedly set and rigid boundaries.  
Our Lord describes this gate as “narrow” in contrast to the way of self-focus which is very broad and open in our world.  It is easy to live life focused solely on self and on one’s own needs and in many ways we are encouraged to do this and even applauded for doing so.  Yet the gate of the Kingdom is here described as anything but open and broad.  It must be noted though that the narrowness of this gate is not due to a limited love on the part of God, nor a desire on God’s part that only a few be saved.  The gate is “narrow” in the sense that it requires a deflation of our egos in order to fit through!  Big egos, a life lived with a focus solely turned inward on self will not fit through this gate nor do such attributes even allow for honest encounter with God or even with another person in the first place. 
“While on this earth … humility,” wisely advised St. Teresa of Avila.  Cultivating humility in life allows for the letting go of self, of resentments, of pride, of indifference that is necessary in order to “fit through” and enter the narrow gate of encounter with another and the Kingdom of God.  
The narrowness of the gate into the Kingdom of God does not reflect any limit on the part of God’s love rather it points out those limits within our very selves that block real encounter with God and with one another.  
While on this earth … humility.  
Strive to enter through the narrow gate…    

The divisive love of Christ: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

18 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in compassion, God's love, love of God, love of neighbor, peace of Christ

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“Peace cannot exist without a strong and passionate love.”    

This Sunday’s gospel (Lk. 12:49-53) presents us with this truth for our consideration.  Christ speaks here as with a sense of urgency!  I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!  What Christ brings to us is not a theory or a proposal but the very fire of God’s love!  This fire has a name: compassion.  At one point in Matthew’s gospel we are told that when Christ looked out on the vast crowd he had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  And how great is our Lord’s anguish until it is accomplished!  Our Lord burns with the love of the Father which is the love of compassion!   

Unfortunately, in our world, this love can be obscured and even suffocated.  The violence and indifference of our world can suffocate compassion.  Even we disciples can suffocate compassion when we turn from the invitation of our Lord to follow solely our own priorities and interests.  It is easy to resign ourselves to the world thinking, “well, that is just the way things are…”   

But, the Lord continually comes to us and says, I have come to set the earth on fire… Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.  True compassion, when lived and witnessed, shocks us because – if even just for a moment – it forces our gaze away from ourselves and toward another.   

This is the divisive peace that our Lord brings to the earth.  The peace of the gospel is not the world’s peace – peace as a nice, reassuring intimacy and justification for isolation.  Christ did not come to the earth to defend the peace of our little self-centeredness; rather, he came to hold forth the call of love for others, for compassion.  Christ did not come to defend the peace of the rich man who did not notice the starving Lazarus at his door, nor did Christ come to defend the peace of the priest and the Levite who avoided the man lying helpless on the road.  This is not peace.  Rather it is avarice, meanness, insensitivity and just plain sin.   

Peace cannot exist without strong and compassionate love! 

The peace that Christ brings is divisive!  It divides us from our self-centeredness.  It divides us from our insensitivity to the needs of others.  It divides us from attitudes of resignation and withdrawal.  It shifts our focus and our heart toward the other in his or her need.  It will not allow us to resign ourselves to a comfortable, yet ultimately life-denying, sense of isolation. 

The fire that Christ brings to earth is the fire of God’s compassion.  It continues to burn and it continues to purify! 
 
Lord, enkindle in us the fire of your love!  

(Some thoughts in this reflection are borrowed from Bp. Vincenzo Paglia’s reflection on this Sunday’s readings.)

The Assumption of Mary and authenticity

15 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Assumption of Mary, authenticity, discipleship, wholeness

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“King of the Hill” is a television cartoon series that tells the story of the Hill family.  It is a comedy but the episodes often make very good points to reflect upon.  There is one episode where Bobby (the Hill’s teenage son) happens to be at a skateboard park one day when he is introduced to a youth Christian evangelist.  This guy skateboards, he has tattoos and he plays in a Christian rock band.  He invites Bobby to his ministry and Bobby quickly gets immersed in it.  At first Hank and Peggy (Bobby’s parents) are thrilled.  Bobby is involved in church stuff!  But then they start to have concerns.  Bobby is staying out too late with this crowd but it is okay because “it is for the Lord”.  He begins to separate himself from his longtime friends.  He stops attending church on Sunday with his family because it is just too boring. 

Hank decides to talk to Bobby.  He goes to his room and notices Bobby’s toy box.  “What’s this?” asks Hank.  “Just a box of my old toys.” answers Bobby.  “Oh, yeah,” says Hank, “Here are the toy soldiers your mother and I bought you for your fifth birthday.  Here is that card game you got into in the sixth grade and here is your mitt from little league.”  Looking at all of this Hank then turns to his son and says, “Bobby, I know that you are caught up in the rush of this Christian group but I don’t want to see your faith become just another thing discarded and left behind in this box.” 
My dear friends; strive for the faith that endures!  Is there a place in the life of faith for energy?  Yes!  For enthusiasm?  Certainly!  Should we always strive to connect faith with where we are in life?  Definitely!  But faith is not a gimmick and a gimmicky faith really does not go very far.  It sputters out rather quickly often leaving one feeling abandoned and played.  Strive for the faith that endures!  Why is this important?  Because it is only the faith that endures that can lead one to authenticity. 
Mary, besides being the mother of Jesus and the Mother of God – a name which only she in all of human history can claim and also, besides being a disciple and someone in need of a savior – like each of us – was fully authentic.  Mary’s faith endured.  Mary’s faith endured the question of the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement.  Mary’s faith endured all those silent and probably extremely common silent years of Jesus’ life.  Mary’s faith endured the hurt of hearing her son ask, “Who is my mother?  … The one who does the will of my Father.”  Mary’s faith endured the pain of her son being mocked, whipped and put to death.  Mary’s faith endured the cross.  Mary strove for a faith that endured.  
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that Christ has been raised from the dead (body and soul) and that all of those who belong to Christ will also be raised from the dead – body and soul.  Mary already shares fully in this: body and soul … the fullness of who we are … the authenticity of who we are.  
In one form or another we are all cracked, in one form or another we are all broken, yet we all have deep within us a yearning for a wholeness that we cannot escape.  This is faith as the “remembrance of the future” (“memoria futuri”).  The yearning itself gives testimony to the truth that we are indeed meant for wholeness because why would we have a yearning for that which we could never possibly achieve?  The assumption of Mary reveals God’s answer to this yearning of the splintered human heart.  
In Christ, wholeness and authenticity is possible. 
We can begin to know it today.  We can begin to live it now.
Strive for the faith that endures!