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Hell 2.0 and why I think I was sent there

18 Thursday Jul 2013

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What happens to Hell once people stop believing in God or when religion is pushed to the edge of people’s lives?  The late Fr. Andrew Greeley once noted that when the Church drops something others seem to pick it up.  In Church, we do not talk so much about Hell anymore.  Therefore, has “Hell” been picked up and adapted to a secular, post-modern world?  If so, what are the punishments of this secular Hell and who might be consigned to its sufferings? 
I found myself ruminating on these thoughts recently following an interaction I had with a young woman regarding an aspect of Church teaching.  The young woman was not a fan and she eagerly made her disdain known regarding both the teaching and the Church.  I have been a priest long enough now to recognize when blinders are up and it is just not possible to get anywhere and I have learned to curb my effort rather than spin wheels.  At these moments I take a form of comfort in the knowledge that people even walked away from Jesus himself. 
But, this does not mean that I myself cannot reflect upon such encounters and learn from them.   
Two things struck me from the above mentioned encounter.  The first was the realization that, in her own way, this young woman who had no time for religion or Church because of its perceived judgmentalism toward different peoples and attitudes was, herself, condemning me to a form of Hell.  The second is that I realized that this young woman was operating out of a profoundly impoverished and even stunted understanding of God’s grace in life.  I would like to spend some time exploring these two realizations because, sadly, I think this young woman is not alone in her attitude and perception.   
The worst thing one can do in our society today is to be viewed as saying “no”  or raising questions concerning another person’s perception of life, how they wish to live and even how they view reality.  The second worse thing is to say that it is possible to “be more”, to rise above and live by a different set of standards other than the standards of the world.  From my work in college campus ministry I have realized that one of the worse things you can do in the eyes of our younger generation (especially if you are an older adult) is to be seen as judging others.  This almost pre-conscious aversion to judging others invokes a sharp reaction of disdain, which can even border on belligerence, in the younger generation.  God forbid that one try to put forward the notion that making judgments and key distinctions is a part of an authentic life and that it is possible, and even necessary, to judge actions while not pretending one has a full understanding of the core identity of another person. 
In our encounter, I saw myself making reasoned judgments and key distinctions.  The young woman saw me and the institution I represented as retrograde artifacts of a prejudiced bygone era – hence, my being condemned to “Hell” in her eyes.  Now, how was I condemned?  She shut me and the Christian perspective off easily and completely.  For her, my lived faith had nothing whatsoever positive to offer.  How was I punished?  Ridiculed (both my beliefs and myself) and treated with indifference.  These are the favored condemnations and punishments of the secularized Hell and you do not have to look very far in order to see how they are being played out on all levels of our society – from the daily encounter, to the classroom to the television and movie screen. 
Interestingly though, I left this encounter feeling profoundly sad for this young woman.  She, it seems to me, has chosen the lesser and more impoverished part and she does not even realize it.  People are afraid of God’s grace these days and people are afraid that life can indeed be transformed and transfigured.  Despite all of our hero-worship we are afraid to rise above and live by a different set of standards.  Maybe this is exactly why we are addicted to hero-worship.  It allows an easy-out where we, ourselves, do not really have to change or be different.  Our time will be judged on its failure to love.   
The Church says it is possible to live differently and this scares the world.  The Church can say this because the Church truly accepts the radical transforming reality of God’s grace.  For a good number of people (if they even acknowledge God) grace is seen as external.  God created, we sinned, Jesus came to save us and show us how to live and now it is up to us to do so.  “Father God” remains way up in heaven and we have now been given all the means necessary to live rightly down here on Earth.  Grace has become so diminished within and so overused and even cheapened without (i.e. a means to get ones needs met) as to be practically nonexistent in the lives of people.  Unless … there is a perceived big, flashy “Paul on the road to Damascus” moment!  Then, grace bursts in, subjugates the human will and sets things right!  Neither of these two extremes is the Catholic understanding.  Grace can move in surprising and striking ways but more than likely its presence is subtle and neither will grace overcome and subjugate the human will.  Grace is a daily encounter and a working with our human will and effort.  God chooses to not force us along the way but to walk with us; bringing us deeper and deeper into the fully authentic life.  Grace that is allowed within does make it possible to live by a different standard and can make possible that which, on the outset, seems impossible. 
It is possible to live an authentic life!  Grace makes it possible.  But when transforming grace is denied from the outset then life and existence become mean, narrowed and impoverished.  We starve ourselves even as we sit right before the great banquet table!  It has been said that the only regret in life is to not have been a saint and it is true.    
Saints are not possible without transforming grace and hearts open to accepting grace.  We are meant to be saints.  My sadness for this young woman as we ended our encounter was that she, in fact, was walking away from who she is meant to be.  I pray for her and for all the others like her.  I pray that God in his infinite mercy and judgment will heal her and bring her to the truth of her very self.  May God bless us all on our journey and may God ever walk with us and share his love in our very hearts!     



Simple truths gained in Ireland

17 Monday Jun 2013

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Statue of St. Benedict, Glenstal Abbey

Spiritual truths and lessons come our way via many different means.  As I continue my pilgrimage around Ireland I am becoming more aware of this fact.  I would like to share three spiritual truths I have gained in the past two days … none of which were spoken.
 

The first spiritual truth was gained at Glenstal Abbey.  Glenstal is a Benedictine monastery of around thirty-eight monks.  If I remember Fr. Cuthbert (the cellarer of the community and our pilgrimage group’s guide) correctly, the monastery began in the mid-1800’s when a landowner’s estate was purchased and given to the community.   Even though built in the 1700’s the estate was constructed to resemble a twelfth century fortress.  Currently the monks run a boys’ boarding school that will soon be made co-ed.  Fr. Cuthbert shared that the school is currently ranked first in the country. 
On the main lawn of the complex (in between the school and the monastery) stands a statue of St. Benedict and to his mouth is pressed his right index finger.  I have seen this image at every Benedictine monastery I have visited and the lesson is the same: in silence and contemplation is found a sure pathway to God.  Benedictine monasteries live this truth so much so that even the very physical space of every monastery (at least the ones I have been to) seems shaped by the value of silence and not just silence as the absence of noise but silence open to and even pregnant with the presence of God. 
We need this silence in our lives.  St. Benedict and all his monastic sons and daughters teach us this truth.  We might not be able to live at a monastery but each of us can seek for and even build this type of silence into our lives.  We can step away from the computer and turn off the music and television.  We can step away from a relentless string of activities and projects.  We can build time enriched by prayer and Scripture into our daily routines.  If we take St. Benedict at his “hush” then we will be blessed for it.
Shrine of Our Lady of Knock
The apparition of Our Lady of Knock appeared on August 21, 1878.  For two hours an image of Our Lady appeared on the outside wall of a small, rural parish.   The Blessed Mother was accompanied by St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist.  In the vision she gazed upon on altar on which stood a lamb.  Behind the altar stood a large cross and around the altar and lamb shimmered angels.  Fifteen people testified to witnessing this vision and the Church has accepted their testimony as valid.  Although not as famous as Lourdes, the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock brings pilgrims from around all of Ireland and also all the world.  Today it is a beautiful complex and place of prayer.
I must admit that I have been pretty ignorant of this apparition of our Blessed Mother until my visit to the shrine today.  Mary did not speak during this vision.  What she did though was gaze upon the Lamb upon the altar.  Mary always points to Christ and some have speculated that this apparition, which came after the great famine which truly decimated the country of Ireland, was a gift of hope to this poor and suffering people.  Christ is the lamb of sacrifice who has taken on all the sufferings of our world.  In the midst of our sufferings and even the most unjust pains of our world we can find comfort and consolation in the witness of our Blessed Lady – someone fully acquainted with suffering – and know that our sufferings are not lost to an impersonal and uncaring universe but are somehow caught up in the very dying and rising of Christ.

The Abbey of Ballintubber has been called the “Abbey that refused to die”.  Located on a site where St. Patrick was reputed to have baptized people and a small church was established; the abbey itself was constructed in 1261 A.D.  Despite King Henry ordering all abbeys and monasteries closed in 1542 A.D., Oliver Cromwell destroying most of the structure in 1653 A.D., the penal times when the Catholic Church was outlawed in Ireland and the Great Famine, the Eucharist has continuously been celebrated at the abbey since its founding in 1261 A.D.  Even when there was no roof on the structure, people would still gather for Mass and the celebration of their faith.

Abbey of Ballintubber

As with all churches and ruins of churches in Ireland (because they are considered holy ground), the Abbey of Ballintubber is surrounded by a cemetery.  All the graves face east.  They face the rising of the sun and, by this, give silent witness to our Christian hope in the great day of resurrection.  These countless graves and indeed the very witness of this “abbey that refused to die” teach us that there will be a day of resurrection and that all wrongs will be righted and that we, as Christians, live by hope and not resignation.  We live our lives today already in the dawning light of the great day of resurrection!
Lessons offered quietly and in truth.  They speak to our hearts and they bring comfort, consolation and hope.

A visit to Glendalough

16 Sunday Jun 2013

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(I am currently on an eleven day diocesan pilgrimage to Ireland.  Our pilgrimage group is visiting different religious and cultural sites in the central and southern part of Ireland.  The following is a reflection on our visit to the ruins of the monastic city of Glendalough.) 

Glendalough is a glacially-formed valley in Ireland that is within an hour’s drive outside of Dublin.  The name means “glen of the two lakes”.  The glen is remarkable for its peacefulness and beauty.  In the sixth century, St. Kevin arrived in the glen seeking a life of prayer, penitence and contact with nature.  The reputation of the holy man grew and other people came to the glen seeking Christian community.  A monastic city grew and thrived there for centuries.  Scholars estimate that at its height around one thousand souls lived within the monastic city with non-monastics (merchants, tradesmen, etc.) living outside its walls and pilgrims arriving continuously from all over Ireland and Europe.  The monastic city became a center of faith, learning, peace and life within the dark and often violent times of the middle ages.  The city was destroyed around 1368 A.D. by British troops and now all that is left are the stone ruins of a once thriving faith and cultural center.
 
Today, as I toured Glendalough and learned its history, I was reminded of the stunning mosaic above the main altar in the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome.  In the center of the mosaic is the cross of Christ and from the cross sprouts branches calling to mind the saying of Christ that he is the branch and that we are the branches and that the cross is indeed the “tree of life”.  Within the twists and turns of these branches are found different images of culture and life: artists at work, people performing music, laborers, people learning and many more such images.  The mosaic testifies that life flows from the cross of Christ and that it is life that both transforms and builds culture.  The monastic city of Glendalough was a living testimony of this truth.  In a savage and brutal time a man began a community that, informed by the Christian faith and the light of the Gospel, developed learning and truly aided humanity.  I would say that Ireland and in fact all of humanity is in a better place because St. Kevin and his followers took the light of the Gospel seriously and, by so doing, raised the human condition. 
The monastic city of Glendalough and the mosaic of San Clemente remind us that Church and faith build culture.  This is an important memory for Christians as we live in a time steeped with revisionist history and agendas seeking to cast the Catholic Church solely in negative and demonizing terms.  These tendencies portray the Catholic Church as an impediment to human progress rather than the catalyst that it has historically been and also continues to be.  History records that St. Kevin’s faith, and the vision of the monastic city, brought light and hope to a truly dark and dangerous time.  This is just one example of a multitude throughout history and around the world.
We, as Christians, must be prepared to do the same today.  I would even go so far as to say that we cannot but do so because it is within the very makeup of who we are.  The mosaic of San Clemente demonstrates this almost organic connection between the proclamation of the Gospel and the growth of human learning, light and hope.  God is the source of all knowledge, light and truth; therefore, to encounter Christ is to encounter truth and light.  It is easy to tear down.  It is not easy to build.  The Christian faith builds culture and life and this work shines forth even more brilliantly and truly when the surrounding ethos has nothing to truly offer the deepest yearning of the human heart. 
Does this mean that we need to seek out our own Glendaloughs and retreat from the troubles of our age?  First, I would say that some men and women are called to the monastic and eremitic witness but not the majority.  Second, I would say that St. Kevin and monastics and hermits of all times do not “hide away” from the human condition but rather, have the courage, guided and impelled by grace, to enter fully into the human condition.  The community founded by St. Kevin became a faith and cultural center precisely because it grew into a community of authentic humanity.  A “growth” made possible by the light of the Gospel.  The Gospel leads to true humanity; the “world” (despite loud protestations to the contrary) is what often fears the human condition.  
What do we Christian do in this age and every age?  We cling to the light of the Gospel and we allow this light to develop an authentic humanity that is clearly distinguishable from the shallowness of a worldly ethos.  The Christian monastic living in a monastery separated from the rush of the world is called to do this as well as the Christian disciple living in the non-stop movement of a major city.  The light of the Gospel leads to an authentic humanity which, in turn, creates a human space where life can be found and true friendship can be encountered.
Today, we each need to be a “St. Kevin” – trusting in the light of the Gospel and living an authentic humanity.            

Learning from Eli and Samuel in the Church’s ministry to youth and young adults

01 Friday Feb 2013

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Eli and Samuel

On January 31st, the Church celebrated the Feast of St. John Bosco – a saint who devoted his life to helping young people.  This saint and his feast day has led me to reflect on my own experience of ministering to youth and young adults, especially in a time and culture that is “youth obsessed”.  We can readily see how this obsession is played out in all areas of society – the entertainment and news media industry, politics, sports, education, relationships – just to name a few.  Yet, my own reflection led me to wonder how might this obsession with youth bleed into and perhaps even negatively influence the Church’s ministry to youth and young adults as they seek to claim their own Christian faith and spirituality?

I will start by stating that one of the core convictions I have gained in my ministry with youth and young adults is that young people do not benefit from older people trying to act young; rather young people benefit when their elders remember their own age and are authentic to whom they, themselves, are.  
To use the language of Scripture: in our culture today, our young Samuels need the guidance of older and wiser Elis.  For any person involved with young people, 1 Samuel 2-3 is a must read.  I have returned again and again to this Scripture passage for wisdom and I have come to believe that Eli is an often unsung hero in Scripture.  I would like to use this encounter between the young Samuel and the elder Eli as a means to share some thoughts. 
 
In the second chapter of 1 Samuel we are told that the Lord had withdrawn his favor from the house of the priest Eli due to the corrupt actions of his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.  Yet the young Samuel “continued to grow both in stature and favor with the Lord and with men.” (1 Samuel 2:26)  In the third chapter we find the famous scene of the young Samuel hearing the voice of the Lord, mistaking it for the voice of the old priest and going each time to the sleeping Eli until finally Eli catches on to what is happening and instructs the young man in how to respond. 
 
For our purposes here I would like to focus more on Eli than Samuel.  There are four things that Eli does which are worthy of reflection and emulation.

  1. Eli has a relationship with the young Samuel while not pretending to be Samuel’s peer.
  2. Eli was a man of prayer who was able to eventually recognize what was occurring and give good instruction to the young man.  
  3. Eli put what was in Samuel’s best interest before his own.  
  4. Eli trusted in God.  

The fact that the young Samuel is comfortable in seeking out the elder Eli each time he hears the voice of the Lord witnesses to an established relationship between the two persons yet nowhere is there expressed any confusion between their differing roles.  Eli knows who he is and therefore he is comfortable in his own skin and he has no need to pretend to be something that he is not.  An approach to Christian faith and ministry that needs to abandon itself and our great Christian heritage in order to chase after the world in the hopes of being relevant lacks maturity and therefore any real depth of insight to offer a young person who is searching.  It might be flashy in the moment but beyond that there is just really not that much there.

   
What enabled Eli to be comfortable in his own skin and act out of his own authenticity was that he was a man of prayer.  Like any true discipline, the fruit of prayer is only born after the establishment of a hard-fought for habit and practice.  I would hazard to guess that what enabled Eli to finally recognize what was occurring for the young Samuel was a lifetime spent devoted to the often daily and mundane work of prayer.  An approach to Christian faith and prayer which seeks to manufacture “spiritual highs” at all times rather than developing the daily discipline of prayer is more about addiction than honest Christian spirituality.  Such an approach is in fact a disservice.  The life of Christian faith more often than not grows gradually and through daily habit.
 
Eli knew not only what the Lord’s call for Samuel meant for the young man, he also knew what it meant for him and his family.  Frankly, God’s calling of Samuel meant the end of the road for Eli and his own sons.  I do not think it out of place to believe that this thought must have crossed Eli’s mind along with the temptation to intentionally misguide the youth.  Yet, Eli did no such thing.  Eli put Samuel’s best interest before his and his own sons’ interest.  This will forever be in Eli’s favor.  To let go of self for the good of another takes a mature and wise heart.  My experience has been that wisdom is sorely lacking in our world today and one way that this can sadly be witnessed is when members of an older generation cannot let go of their own interests, needs and particular viewpoints in deference to what is in the best interest of the younger generation.  I would hazard to guess that one of the reasons behind many younger people no longer defining themselves as religious is their own experience of their elders’ inability to put the needs of others before their own.  The “elders” in this context tending to be a generation of people, I would think, that would more readily define themselves in terms of being “religious”.  When young people no longer define themselves as religious are they forsaking religion per se or are they reacting against impoverished examples of religion being lived which they have experienced?  True maturity is found in not always needing to put oneself first in order to seek and value the good of the other.  It is this type of maturity that truly aids the next generation as we witness in this encounter between the elder Eli and the young Samuel. 
  
What enables this letting go is a profound trust in God.  Eli had such a trust.  Following upon God’s revelation to Samuel; Eli requests that the young Samuel inform him of all that had been spoken by the Lord, holding nothing back.  Samuel shares all, including the ending of Eli’s house.  Eli responds, “It is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him.” (1 Samuel 3:18)  Eli’s trust in the Lord was perhaps one of his greatest gifts to the young Samuel.  A faith obsessed with pursuing youth and relevancy lacks this depth of trust because it is a depth that can only be achieved by negation and passing through the dark night of the senses.  At this point, everything Eli had been about was negated yet he is able to offer this profound statement of trust in the Lord.  In the end, may God’s will be done.
A friend of mine once shared that it does the Church no good to chase after the world.  Yes, we live in the world and we must seek to encounter and dialogue with it but it does no good if we are co-opted and lose our own soul in the process.  Eli, I believe, has a lot to teach us about helping the young to find and know God while, at the same time, remaining authentic to who we ourselves are.     

Once again, to the "great shlep"

24 Thursday Jan 2013

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2012 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

This afternoon I will leave with eleven college students from the Catholic Center at ETSU to attend the national March for Life in Washington, D.C.  This will be the fifteenth time that I have attended the March.  Last year, after returning from the march a friend shared an editorial from a person who is pro-choice and who happens to have a comfortable office overlooking the march route.  She disdainfully referred to the march in her column as the “great shlep” – looking down on the march goers from her office window.  As you might imagine her article was not very complimentary.  In honor of her though, I now refer to the March (at least in my own mind) as the “great shlep”.

I googled definitions for “shlep” and this is what I found in the “Urban Dictionary website”:

“shlep”
1. To carry something heavy.
2. To carry something in a dragging fashion, as if tired.
3. To go somewhere, particularly somewhere far away or otherwise difficult to reach; often implies resentment of putting forth such effort.

The elevator was broken, so I had to shlep the TV set up five flights of stairs.
I shlepped my book bag behind me.
I shlepped all the way out here from downtown so you could tell me you feel like staying in tonight?

I think that the word fits.  The marchers do carry something heavy – they carry the conscience of a nation.  It is a conscience that is hurting yet not silenced.  It is a conscience that affirms that there is dignity to all human life which must be upheld.  It is a conscience which recognizes that whenever life is devalued in one area then all life is wounded and devalued.  It is a conscience which recognizes that there is great harm in abortion – to the beauty of a child lost, to the soul and psyche of the mother and the father and to society as a whole.

This year is the fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  The millions of lives lost is staggering.  In so many ways unimaginable.  We are tired yet we will continue the shlep.  Why?  Because it is the right thing to do.  History will judge every generation for what it stands for and as our knowledge grows regarding life in the womb I predict that future generations will look on ours and wonder how we could have ever allowed such a thing to happen; just as today we look on past generations and wonder how could slavery and the oppression of women have ever been justified.  As we have seen before; just because something is the law of the land that does not make it right.  Roe v. Wade is bad law which has wounded, weakened and impoverished the heart of our nation.

In the “great shlep” we are going somewhere – not just to our nation’s capital for a one day event but to the future, to the point where the dignity of all life (from natural birth to natural death) is affirmed and valued.  In the language of religion; we are marching to the Kingdom of God.  For me, the March for Life is a continuation of the civil rights marches of the sixties.  The paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the arc of history bends toward justice and that which is right.  This is the objective truth that energized and fortified the civil rights movement of the sixties and their great work and it is the same objective truth which emboldens the pro-life movement.  There is truth and it will not be denied and all which is untrue will eventually fall away.  We are marching toward the future.

So, once again, with prayer and humility I go to the “great shlep”.  If I happen to see a woman disdainfully looking down on me and the crowds from her office perch I will smile and wave at her and maybe one day she will come and join us.               

 

 
 
 
 

St. John, apostle and evangelist

27 Thursday Dec 2012

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St. John the Evangelist

Two days after Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist.  John is the apostle who stood by the Cross of Christ and received Mary into his home.  The gospel attributed to John was the last of the four canonical gospels to be written and contains the most explicitly developed and exalted understanding (Christology) of who Christ is.  This can be seen in the very first verse of the first chapter of John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John wastes no time in presenting the great mystery of Christ as fully God and fully human!

Here, I think it is helpful to distinguish the Church’s understanding of mystery as contrasted to our pragmatic American mindset.  Often, in our American understanding, we view mystery as a problem to be solved and then moved on from.  The Church’s understanding is different.  The Church invites us to view mystery as a reality to be lived and encountered.  As we continually live and encounter this great mystery we are brought to truer understanding and deeper conversion.  The mystery of Christian faith is not a problem to be solved and left behind but rather a living reality to continually be returned to and a reality which does not fail to nourish us. 

Perhaps this understanding of mystery (and specifically the mystery of Christ as fully God and fully human) is why the Church has placed this Feast of St. John just two days after our celebration of Christmas.  On Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of the Word made flesh; today we are invited to live and encounter this mystery whom we name Jesus, Lord and Savior. 

In light of this understanding of mystery, I think it appropriate to share a few verses from John’s gospel that might assist our prayer and reflection during these first days of the Christmas season.
(I would invite any who might read these words to spend some time in the practice of Lectio Divina with these words during these first days of the Christmas season.  Sit with these words from John’s gospel and note what strikes your heart.) 
The verses are from Chapter 1 of John:
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.  He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.  (John 1:9-14)
The Word came to his own home…  What a marvelous and also tender thing!  God created the world and prepared the people of Israel that He might have a “home” to come to.  Creation (and therefore we) are of primary concern to our God!  God is not content to let us be lost in sin and death so he prepares a home.  The Word becomes flesh!
“Home” is a powerful word, a word laden with meaning and symbolism.  John is opening for us a great truth of our Christian faith.   God, it seems, does not just want to save us and correct our erring ways while at the same time remaining distant and removed; rather He wants to make a home with us.  God wants to make a home with us!  This truly gives an added dimension to the manger scene!
How might this “home” be made?  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born … of God.  When we open our own hearts to receive Christ then our Lord enters and makes of our own hearts a home where he might dwell.  And as we receive Christ then he makes of our hearts a place of welcome (a “home”) for others.
The Church and the apostle John are giving us a great truth to chew on these first days of Christmas – the birth of Christ both makes possible our own birth and give us a true home.  As we encounter and receive Christ who is the Word made flesh then we, ourselves, are made children of God and members of the household of God! 
God comes to make a home with us!

Why I dislike the "Coexist" Bumper-Sticker

12 Monday Nov 2012

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Here are a few reasons why I dislike the “Coexist” bumper-sticker.
The narrative of the bumper sticker implies that all violence and injustice in our world today is the result of religious difference and that religion is just a source of violence.  This is patently untrue.  How much violence and injustice in our world today is actually linked to greed, power and pride?  These are not the sole provenance of the religious person but rather the weakness of all human conscience.  The dictates of religion when authentically lived actually seek to curb these baser human tendencies.  It should also be noted that the twentieth century was the bloodiest in human history and the majority of blood spilled was by ideologies that were anti-religion.
The bumper-sticker implies that all these religious traditions are fundamentally the same and that any person who seeks to honor his or her tradition uniquely and live by its teachings is some form of extremist.  Again, this is not true.  Lived faith does not equate to extremism.  Respect for one’s own religious faith does not automatically mean a demeaning of another’s faith tradition.  It has been my experience over and over again that one of the hallmarks of the truly religious man or woman is a deep respect for the dignity of the other person and his or her beliefs.  I would even go on to say that religion truly lived gives access to a deeper and more profound respect for the human person than that which is possible through a bland secularism because through religion one can recognize the presence of the infinite in the other person – a reality that is deliberately denied through secularism.
The bumper-sticker seeks to establish a background narrative that people of different faith traditions cannot talk with one another nor get along.  Not true.  A number of times I have been able to attend the annual Prayer for Peace gathering organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio.  This annual event carries on the vision of Bl. John Paul II who brought together the leaders of all the world’s great religions to dialogue together and pray for peace according to the dictates of their own religion.  The Prayer for Peace does not propose a bland synchronism nor a diminishing (in Bl. John Paul’s case) of Christianity but rather an authentic living of one’s own faith as the true path toward encountering the other and the true path toward peace.
The bumper-sticker implies that peace can only be imposed on religions from without.  This is not true.  Any honest study and knowledge of the world’s great religious traditions will show that the seeds of peace and reconciliation are found within religious tradition and it is there that these seeds must be cultivated and are being cultivated.
Like the book and subsequent movie, “Eat, Pray, Love”; the bumper-sticker implies that any true and acceptable practice of religion in today’s world (if one must practice religion) will consist in a sampling and “picking-and-choosing” approach to religions and religious tradition that is more about confirming what I like and my preferences and ideologies rather than being challenged by a truth greater than me that will enable me to overcome my sinfulness and grow beyond my weakness.  
What surrounds the arrangements of the symbols of religion that make up the bumper-sticker is the bland, empty vacuum of a shallow secularism.  This is what we are left with when religion is diminished and derided.  The bumper-sticker in fact proposes a diminishment of the human person by seeking to truncate the capacity for religion and the desire for the transcendent.  Humanity is reduced (not achieved) when religion is reduced.  For full disclosure I will share that I am not a secularist nor do I find secularism appealing.  
Has great harm been done in the name of God and religion?  Yes, it has.  I am not seeking to deny this.  What I am seeking to say is that these acts of violence in the name of God are not the essence of religion and are, in fact, themselves a sin against religion and God.  To summarily equate religion with violence is itself an act of violence and disrespect.  It is also a profound act of ingratitude toward all the good that religion has done and continues to do in the lives of individual people and in the history and contemporary culture of our world.
Finally, to quote a college student at the Catholic Center where I minister who probably better summarized in one sentence the fallacy of the “Coexist” bumper-sticker than all that I have tried to share above.  “The ‘Coexist’ bumper-sticker says that all religions are the same and that they are all equally unimportant.”
I agree.          

Rome visit

14 Sunday Oct 2012

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Today (Sunday, October 14th) I am heading to Rome for a week-long visit.  During the week I will visit with our seminarian Michael Hendershott studying at the Pontifical North American College and with the faculty at the seminary.  As Vocation Director, I visit each seminary our diocese uses at least once a year to check on our men.  I told Bishop Stika that this visit to Rome is a cross that I am willing to suffer.  Lol! 

Following the visit I will spend some days visiting with my friends in the Community of Sant’Egidio.  It will be good to catch up with them and join the community’s prayer. 

The day before my return I will be attending the canonization ceremony set for October 21st at St. Peter’s.  Six men and women are to be canonized, one of these being Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha who will be the first Native American saint proclaimed by the Church.  I was able to get a ticket that will allow me to participate in the ceremony by assisting with the distribution of communion.  I have never been to a canonization ceremony before and am excited for the opportunity!  Part of this being that my own family heritage is part Native American (Choctaw to be exact).

I am looking forward to a great visit!   

A life lesson

05 Friday Oct 2012

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A life lesson I have gained: 

If people speak ill of you and this leads to others avoiding you just because of what they have heard, then give thanks to God for the ones who speak ill. 

They are doing you a great favor. 

They are helping to sift out the fools from your life so you do not have to suffer them.

Rest in peace Mom

23 Sunday Sep 2012

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Around 12:40 a.m. this past Thursday morning, my mother Betty passed from this life into eternity.  She had been dealing with the effects of COPD for a number of years but things took a turn for the worse about a month and a half ago.  Last Monday was another crisis point and things quickly went downhill beginning Wednesday afternoon. 

I had stayed with my mom Tuesday night and was planning to do the same for Wednesday.  I had dozed off in my chair and it was the caregiver who woke me up to tell me that my mother had passed. 

The hospice nurse said that is often the case.  The one who is dying (it seems) actually waits until either the loved one(s) leaves the room for a minute or dozes off to pass.  A friend told me that he thought it might be my mother’s last gift to me – not having to see her struggle to take her last breath.  A mother’s love…

When I left my mom’s room at the health care center Thursday morning and drove home I was certainly burdened with sadness but I also had a sense of peace.  My mother had struggled and fought for so long and at the end she was in such pain, there really was no way that she could recover.  There is a peace in knowing that she is no longer suffering. 

I am confident that my mother knew the mercy and love of God when she departed this life and that she knew she was loved by her family and friends.  I told her that she had done a good job in raising her boys and that we were all okay and not to worry. 

I know that I will see my mother again because I know that our Redeemer lives. 

It still hurts though…

Rest in peace Mom.  You have earned it.  We love you.   

“May the angels lead you into paradise, may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you to the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”