Hating for Jesus: Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

08 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by in cross, discipleship, following Jesus

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Courtroom scene from “Amistad”
The film “Amistad” is based on the true story of a Spanish slave ship that ends up washing ashore in New England after the slaves kidnapped from Africa were able to mutiny and take control of the ship.  The United States of America had just been established as a country and therefore was quite weak on the international scene.  The plight of these slaves becomes a political hot potato and a legal battle as the current presidential administration would like to send them back to Spain and not rock the boat with the Spanish monarchy while others are fighting for their freedom.  “Are these men free and if not, who do they belong to?” becomes the primary question. 
To help ensure that it gets its way the president’s administration sees to it that a young, up-and-coming judge is assigned to the case.  The president’s man on the case makes it known to the judge (who happens to be a Catholic) that if he finds in favor of Spain and in support of the Administration then his career is set.  For a young judge and a Catholic in Protestant New England this is his ticket!  The case begins and as things progress you begin to notice that the conscience of the young judge is prodding him to the point where you see him enter a church the night before the final judgment is to be given in the case.  He walks in, blesses himself with holy water and goes to knell in prayer before a crucifix.  The next day, to a packed courtroom, the judge finds in favor of the slaves, thus ensuring their freedom and return to Africa.  The president’s man stares at the judge and walks out of the courtroom.  By siding with the slaves the judge knows he had destroyed his career and all his aspirations but he knows it was the right thing to do.  
It is a serious thing to follow Christ and it should not be entered into lightly because to follow Christ means to go where he has gone and it means to embrace the cross just as he embraced it.  This is why our Lord in today’s gospel (Lk. 14:25-33) gives us the image of the builder and the king contemplating battle.  Both men had to truly consider and calculate out what they were contemplating.  It is a serious thing to follow Christ. 
In many ways to follow Christ means to break with how one has lived in the past, how one has lived relationships and how one has gone about all facets of one’s life.  This is why our Lord gives us these very powerful and stark words of “hating” ones mother and father, brother and sister in order to truly follow him.  The power of the word means that everything, every part of one’s life must be re-oriented by and toward one’s relationship with Christ.  Nothing can be left out or hidden away.  But to follow Christ never leads to anything but more life and more love.  As one turns to Christ in his or her life, one is able to love family, neighbor and even the stranger in a deeper and more authentic way.  
The judge giving his verdict
The judge in the story of Amistad witnesses this graced dynamic of truly following Christ.  Just as he comes to “hate” what others have promised him – the success and the power, even probably everything he had worked for and aspired to up until that moment – he is able to know an authentic joy in doing that which was the right thing to do.  He gained a joy that no one could ever take away and he gained new brothers and sisters in the freed African slaves!  
Paul in his letter (Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17) is calling Philemon to the same graced dynamic on behalf of the newly baptized, runaway slave Onesimus.  According to the law of the time Philemon was perfectly in his rights to have Onesimus killed but Paul is saying that now through Christ things are different and he is inviting Philemon to “hate” the old ways of retribution and violence and now recognize how everything must be oriented toward Christ and turned toward Christ in his life.  …Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.  So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me. 
It is a truly serious thing to follow Christ.  In fact, it is the most serious thing one can ever do.  All things which separate us from Christ must be “hated” so true life in all of its depth and breadth might be found and known.

Syria and Peace

07 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by in Culture of Encounter, dialogue, encounter, peace, President Obama, Syria

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In each of the four gospels we have the account of Jesus at the end of his earthly ministry in the garden of Gethsemane when the crowd comes to arrest him.  We are given the scene of one of his disciples either preparing to draw a sword and defend Jesus against the encircling mob or actually drawing the sword and severing the ear of a servant who was present.  John’s gospel specifically identifies the zealous disciple as Simon Peter. 

For our purposes here it is helpful to reflect on Matthew’s account.  

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.  Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I shall kiss is the man; seize him.”  And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Hail, Master!”  And he kissed him.  Jesus said to him, “Friend, why are you here?”  Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.  And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place: for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” 

This disciple (whether it was Peter or not, I cannot say) was not a bad man.  He had a love for Jesus.  He did not want to see Jesus hurt nor an injustice toward Jesus committed.  He wanted to defend the master and teacher who had done nothing but preach God’s love and mercy and the coming of the Kingdom.  His motives were honest, yet from our Lord’s reaction we can see that his action fell short of the mark and he did not yet fully understand what the Lord was about.   

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place: for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” 

Our Lord, even as he faced his own death, shows us that there is another way; that we do not have to give in to the sad and tired logic of violence, war and retribution.  In Christ and in the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom there is the ever new possibility of peace, restored relationship, honest encounter and even friendship.  As Pope Francis, a disciple of Christ Jesus, recently said in his Angelus message, “War never brings peace.  War begets war!  Violence begets violence! … Peace is a treasure of all humanity!”  Jesus reveals to us that there is truly another way – there is an ever-new logic of dialogue and encounter.   

We have all been witnessing the increasingly brutal cycle of violence in Syria.  All of us have been horrified by the gratuitous loss of life and the new revelation of the apparent use of chemical weapons by government forces.  We all want to “do something” to stop this horror.  No person, honest in his or her humanity, can deny that this is just plain wrong and evil.  

President Obama and the members of Congress (like that disciple in the garden of Gethsemane) are good people.  They are good people who want to “do something” to end the violence that is ripping Syria apart.  But more violence is not the answer that is needed at this moment.  A different way is needed and the gospel points out this way. 

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place: for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”  

There is another way and we need to give this other way a chance!  The work of diplomacy, negotiation, humanitarian aid and dialogue is neither a sign of weakness nor a form of isolationism.  Dialogue is the furthest thing from isolationism – it is the willingness to truly seek out and encounter the “other” wherever and whoever he or she might be.  The way of encounter acknowledges that we share a common humanity with shared hopes and dreams!  The way of violence denies a common humanity.  Violence and resorting to the mechanism of violence to achieve ones goal is, in fact, the true isolationism.  It is, in essence, stating, in very stark ways, “My way or no way!”  It is also (and I believe that this is at play in the current situation) a way of assuaging ones tranquility and sense of having “done something” while not really having to encounter the other because when we encounter we might ourselves have to change.  The thought of bombing Syria can be likened to the decision that the only way to solve the domestic abuse situation next door (which everyone in the neighborhood is painfully aware of) is to throw some hand grenades through the front window!  What is the priority here?  Is it the good of the Syrian people and the country of Syria or is it our own peace of mind?  True encounter demands that the good of people always comes first, even above our own sense of tranquility.    

Violence begets violence.  War begets more war.  God calls us to a new way.  When we were lost in sin and turned away from God; God came to encounter us, God came to seek out our friendship.  Peace belongs to everyone and is ever possible because when we had turned our backs on God, God came to us in peace.  This is the “serene and sure vision” of religion that must be brought to our world and brought to all people, including those good people who out of a desire to “do something” would draw the sword.  How often must we draw the sword?  How many times?  When will it end?   

At the Meeting of Prayer for Peace in Sarajevo (September 11, 2012) Professor Andrea Riccardi – founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio – offered these words.  (The “serene and sure vision”, I would hold, is the vision of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and it is what we have to give to the world and it is a vision our world desperately needs.) 

Let us look at the future without fear!  Let us prepare the future in friendliness among peoples.  Let us look at the future without being paralyzed by past fears!  We need courage and hope to prepare a future of life together in peace.  Let us forfeit all prejudices, the preaching of hatred.  We can build the future, educating women, men, the youth to peace: for only peace is holy, and living together reveals the will of God and the equality of all people.  Equality that is rooted in God himself.  For whoever kills a man, but also whoever hates or despises a human being, strikes God himself!  Religions can be foreseeing.  We can convey a new conviction to everyone, a conviction developed in contact with the sorrows of many and the experience of peoples: war is evil, violence can never be justified in God’s name.  Dialogue can help resolve insurmountable problems.  We have a serene and sure vision: it is an ancient and very new vision.  We are a reference point – the spirit of Assisi is – in the plurality of our religions: a reference point of peace. 

Before we rush to “do something”, before we rush to bomb Syria, let us spend some time with our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane and let us learn his way. 

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
The mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it.
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!  (Is. 2:1-5)

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!     

Teach us how to pray – Teach us how to love: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in authenticity, freedom, love, love of God, love of neighbor, prayer

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In order to love one must be free.  Love can neither be forced nor contrived.  For love to be authentic it must be freely given and freely received.  This is love’s dynamic and yet, just as love depends on freedom love, itself, makes us freer.  In John’s first letter we are told that perfect love casts out all fear.  Love creates true freedom.  In this Sunday’s second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians we are reminded of this salvific fact.  Christ, out of love, took on our sinfulness, “obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.” 

In Christ we have been set free but this is not a freedom to do whatever we please.  This is not authentic freedom rather; it is a misuse of freedom.  The freedom we gain from the love of Christ is the freedom to enter more deeply into honest relationship with God and with one another.  This freedom begins in the very knowledge that in Christ we are loved beyond measure – each and every one of us.   

The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were many but at the heart of these sins was the abuse of relationship, particularly the abuse of the visitor, the stranger.  This sin is brought out all the more in contrast to the passage directly preceding that about Sodom and Gomorrah (last Sunday’s readings).  In last Sunday’s passage Abraham welcomes the three visitors, he honors his relationship with them and he treats it as a sacred reality to be respected.  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah, on the other hand, do not.  Their sin is great and grave.   

It is easy to judge Sodom and Gomorrah and hold ourselves superior but I wonder if one of the factors of their sinfulness is a factor also present in our own day and time – a life lived in distraction.  John Garvey, in an article he wrote entitled, “A Tree Full of Monkeys: Why the Soul Needs Silence” makes a good observation: 

It takes effort to be clear about the moment we are in.  It requires taking time … We need, through practice, to be made aware of what is wrong about ordinary waking circumstances; it takes effort to do this … it matters, especially in a time when distraction and ideological reinforcement matter more to the culture than sober clarity does.  This inattention disrupts our lives at every level – religious, political, aesthetic … Prayer (silence) can begin to make us feel what is directly underfoot, can help us begin to understand where we really are, in the presence of the sacred… 

A life of distraction, a life of inattention inhibits freedom and therefore hinders growth in true love and honest relationship and (if left unchecked both in lives of individuals and of society) can be a contributing factor in the abuse of others – those who are indeed our brothers and our sisters.  For this we will each have to give an accounting before the judgment seat of God.  To love, one must be free.  A distracted life is not a free life. 
 
It is worthy to note that in this Sunday’s gospel (Lk. 11:1-13), after our Lord gives us the Our Father, he goes on to further explain prayer by use of three images specifically based in relationship and attentiveness – the attention of one friend to another in need, the willingness to trust in relationship with God and therefore to ask, to seek, to knock and the attentive love of a father to the needs of a child.  Let us not fool ourselves.  Love can easily and sadly be compromised on all levels and in many ways.  The mind can easily become a “tree full of monkeys”.  The soul needs silence and prayer not just for sanity but also to safeguard freedom, honest relationship and attentiveness to the needs of the other. 

The disciples’ request, “teach us to pray” is another way of asking, “teach us how to love.”

Hell 2.0 and why I think I was sent there

18 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

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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!     



"Culture of Encounter = Culture of the Good Samaritan", Pope Francis’ Wisdom

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Culture of Encounter, Culture of the Good Samaritan, encounter, Encounter with Christ, gospel

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“And who is my neighbor?”
 What allowed the Samaritan to be neighbor to the man who fell victim to the robbers on the road to Jericho?  What enabled him to encounter this man in his need?  We are told that the priest and the Levite hurried by on the other side, possibly absorbed in their own concerns (too busy to be bothered) or out of a desire to remain ritually pure.  Whatever the reason, they chose to remain unengaged and removed and, by doing so, fell short of what it means to love ones neighbor as Christ here teaches.  
In contrast to the first two we are told that the Samaritan was “moved with compassion at the sight.”  Maybe he was a man acquainted with his own infirmity; maybe he was someone who knew by experience what it meant to be hurt and victimized.  Whatever the reason, the Samaritan allowed his heart to be touched by this man in his need.  This is what it means to be “moved with compassion”.  The Samaritan chose not to hurry by.  He chose to put whatever other cares he had at that moment on hold and encounter this man in his need.  The Samaritan made the choice to be neighbor. 
Maybe the proper question is not, “And who is my neighbor?”  Maybe the proper question is, “How do I become neighbor?”  Maybe the proper prayer is, “Lord, teach me how to be neighbor.”  
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is doing his best I believe to lead us as Church to the proper question and the proper prayer.  He is calling us as Church to the “Culture of Encounter” which, in essence, is the culture of the Good Samaritan.  Whether in visiting poor migrants on the tiny island or Lampedusa, washing the feet of prisoners on Holy Thursday, inviting the poor for a meal at the Vatican or challenging economic systems that deny the dignity of people and corrupt the earth; the Holy Father is calling us to take notice, to see the ones lying on the side of the road who are in need.  He is inviting us to be moved with compassion because he knows that this is what it means to be disciple and this is what it means to be Church and it is this type of Church that the world needs.  To paraphrase the Holy Father, “A Church closed in on itself; a Church that hurries by too busy to be bothered; is a sick and weak Church.”   
What does it mean to be a Church that notices, to be a Church living the gospel culture of encounter?  It means a lot.   
Parishes cannot be closed in, islands unto themselves.  Parishes must truly become centers of evangelization!  The focus of the parish must become outward looking in all aspects.  This is quite the shift, at least in the United States, where parishes have historically served as centers of religious and ethnic unity.  Maybe inward looking meetings and committees need to give way to the work of authentic ministry to and in the world?  Maybe time and energy spent on in-house church squabbles on all levels needs to be recognized as time and energy wasted when there is a world outside in need?  Is there place for the central focus of liturgy, prayer and community?  Certainly, and these aspects are essential and truly at the heart of Church but the energies that naturally flow from these essential aspects of church must then be channeled out into the world if they are to remain authentic, true and life-giving!  The energy of a river needs to flow forward!  When it becomes stymied then it becomes morose and dark, much like a swamp.   
Bishops, priests, religious and deacons cannot remain content to stay within the church walls – whatever form these may take.  This is more than just going outside, it means letting go of knowledge and expertise, which equates to letting go of power.  In the church, we know how things operate.  We have the answers.  “You want to get married?  Here, this is the marriage preparation process and what you have to do.”  “You want to learn about the Church?  Here, this is the program for you.”  Therefore, to step outside means to let go of power and to accept the risk of being vulnerable.  But, there is such a great multitude outside of the Church’s walls who just want us to come and be with them.  They do not expect us to know all the answers; they do not even want that.  They just want to be noticed and for us to be willing to meet their vulnerability in our own vulnerability.  This is the oil and wine that helps to bring healing and helps to bandage deep wounds.   
There is another part to his equation though.  Parishes and dioceses need to give their bishops, priests, religious and deacons the freedom they need to do this.  A gilded cage may be gilded but it is still a cage!  At the heart of every vocation to serve in the Church is the call to be a missionary who goes out into the world.  This is not a denial of the pastoral needs of the community but a healthy counter-balance that is essential, I believe, to the health and well-being of any vocation to serve.  For a community to so demand and absorb the energy and focus of the one who serves that he or she cannot even imagine the missionary dimension of vocation is a huge disservice both to the one who serves and to the needs of our world. 
The laity must step up but not in a “how the world does business” way, but in how we are all called by Christ to “do business” way.  It is no longer permissible for the laity to say, “Oh, proclaiming the Gospel; that is the job of the ones who make the vows to do that.”  Today, the Gospel must be proclaimed by all Christians; therefore, all Christians must be intimately familiar with and formed by the Gospel.  The Gospel calls all persons to discipleship and therefore, all members of the Church must have their thoughts, actions and attitudes challenged, purified and enlightened by the Gospel.  The laity in the Church can just as easily hurry by on the other side of the road as the priest and Levite did, but this does not lead to being neighbor.  The primary encounter for any Christian before all else is our encounter with Christ in the Gospel.  This is the encounter which must continuously guide and enliven all aspects of the life of discipleship and all members of the Church must continuously and daily seek this encounter.  Every day, personal time must be spent with Scripture, particularly time with the gospels. 
How do I become neighbor?   
Lord, teach me how to be neighbor.                           
 

The "How" of the New Evangelization

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in How, humility, New Evangelization, Proclaiming the Gospel

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I do not think that the New Evangelization is just about what we say as Christians, nor about what new technologies we use to proclaim the Good News but also about how and the manner by which we proclaim, “Jesus is Lord!” 
 
When it comes to the work of apologetics or promoting/debating the faith or current issues or even just day-to-day encounters for that matter, I must admit that I have never been one for witty, “in the moment” comebacks.  I think that this is due, partly, to the fact that my parents taught me from an early age not to regard a snarky attitude, in and of itself, as a sure sign of intelligence and also because I do not think that an exchange of one-upmanship in comments leads anywhere truly productive.  Such an exchange tends to produce more heat in friction than light to illuminate, I believe. 
 

I share this because there can be a tendency to view apologetics and the new evangelization solely in terms of formulating the wittiest comeback line that will effectively put the other in his or her place while affording a sense of superiority to the crafter of said comment.  But in the entire gospel story I never find Jesus doing this.  Our Lord certainly had truth to speak, he knew how to challenge and his wit is demonstrated time and again throughout the gospels but his words never belittled the other nor did they divide and hurt.
If the new evangelization is to be true then we must not just look at what Jesus said but also how he said it.  This “how” just as surely as the “what” must inform all means of communicating the gospel message whether that be the classic one-to-one encounter or the tweet to the multitudes.
Jesus valued friendship, relationship and encounter.  I do not think that Jesus would disregard the social communication of today but he would view it as a means and not an end.  Social communication is at its best and it is fullest in service to the Gospel when it brings people to a deeper encounter and relationship with Christ and with one’s brothers and sisters.  Social communication used as a means to isolate oneself or others or social communication used as a protective wall over which to hurl incendiary verbal bombs is a disservice both to social communication and to the Gospel. 
Yes, our Lord taught and he performed miraculous signs but our Lord also proclaimed the Kingdom of God through his daily encounters with people and his willingness to enter into relationships and friendships.  Yet, it is easy to overlook this mode of evangelizing and also easy to take it for granted.  Christians can sometimes be a sour lot and people take notice of this and it does not help the Gospel cause.  Our Lord demonstrates both the importance of evangelizing through encounter, friendship and relationships and also that this form of evangelizing demands a “not so little” amount of discipline and a patiently acquired skillset.  Friendship takes work and it can be helpful to read the gospels with the focused intent of watching how our Lord interacted with people in order to learn a few things. (The prayer discipline of Lectio Divina is a great way to enter into these moments in Scripture.)  Below are some truths I have found from reflecting on the interactions of our Lord with others in the gospel story.  
Humility.  Jesus, we are told, did not deem equality with God something to be grasped but rather emptied himself of glory and took the form of a slave.  Much to the perplexity of the powers of the world that he encountered, Christ continuously took the road of humility.  Humility is essential in the role of authentic friendship.  Humility demonstrates a respect for the other person and an acknowledgement that he or she has something truly worthwhile to offer.  Psycho-social studies demonstrate how relationships are essential in forming the human person in his or her own identity.  (Sometimes I wonder how critical Jesus’ own relationships were in helping him to grow into an awareness of his own identity and mission.)  Humility is a path by which we enter into authentic relationships and a means by which we help one another grow into the full person God intends us to be.  Authentic friendships are not coincidence, they are gifts from God. 
Willingness to listen and be present to people.  In his encounter with the woman at the well our Lord demonstrates this discipline in spades.  Our Lord put aside his needs (we are told he was tired and thirsty) in order to encounter this woman and answer her thirst.  The ability to listen is not a weakness nor does it mean that I fully agree with what I am hearing but it goes such a long way in creating relationship with another.  Evangelization is not just proclaiming; it is also listening to the deep desires, hopes and hurts of our world.  True evangelization also means sacrifice, putting away one’s own need and agenda, in order to be truly present as God wants us to be present. 
Willingness to not manipulate or control.  Christ never manipulated others.  In fact, he let people walk away at different times in his ministry.  He often instructed people to, “tell no one” following a miraculous event and he specifically pointed out the person’s own role in a healing or miracle, “Your faith has saved you”.  Manipulation can never aid in bringing about the Kingdom of God.  Sadly, the Church has sometimes forgotten this truth but, I would also say, that manipulation is not the sole provenance of the Church.  Manipulation is rampant throughout all history and our world today whether it be social, political or economic.  To say “no” to the mechanics of manipulation is to be truly counter-cultural and to witness to the truth of the Kingdom that overcomes the sad politics of this world and this, I believe, is one of the truest components of the new evangelization.  The choice not to manipulate demonstrates a respect and care for the other even to the possibility of one’s own detriment.  It is a form of embracing the cross that our world just cannot comprehend, but it speaks volumes and touches hearts.  
Trust in God and others.  Truly, Jesus trusted in the will of the Father but he also trusted his disciples even as he was not naïve to their weaknesses.  He sent out the seventy-two and he commissioned the apostles.  Jesus does not need to micro-manage it seems.  Developing trust frees us in order to enter into authentic relationship both with God and with our brothers and sisters.  This is not an easy thing to do because trust has truly been wounded by sin but it is essential to any form of friendship and any form of true evangelization.  In the life of faith trust can be built through daily encounter with the Scriptures (primarily the gospels), reception of the Sacraments and lived faithful friendship in community and with the poor.  It takes work but it can happen.
An attitude of joy.  The word “rejoice” is found throughout Scripture and for very good reason!  In Christ, God has overcome sin and death!  Throughout his encounters with people, Christ demonstrates a deep and abiding joy in the Father and in the coming of the Kingdom. This joy speaks to the deepest yearning of the human heart and it is a joy that cannot be counterfeited because its origin is in God himself.  This has been and remains the greatest form of evangelization we Christians have – the joy that we have in the Lord!  Joy grows within us as we continually encounter the Lord!  We should never hide this light under a bushel basket.
I believe that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is fully aware of the importance of the “how” in proclaiming, “Jesus is Lord!”  Continually he witnesses this to us and by so doing is calling us to an awareness of this truly important but often overlooked aspect of the New Evangelization.  How we say something is just as important as what we say.