HOMILY FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing! 

Prophets have never been terribly popular.  Prophets have the uncanny knack of sticking their noses in places where a lot of people would rather not have them.  Prophets often tell people what they should hear rather than what they want to hear.  Prophets confront the status quo and challenge us to uncomfortably listen to our ‘better angels.’ 

No wonder that prophets down through the centuries gained the popular epithet from their listeners to resoundingly ‘shut up!’  Jeremiah suffered that classical response of so many prophets when he was literally thrown into a pit.  His message from the Lord was just too much for his audience to bear.  ‘Shut up!’ 

Sisters and brothers, the great cloud of witnesses that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of those great prophetic voices of God’s good news down through the centuries, often suffered the same fate, literally or metaphorically, that Jeremiah endured.  These men and women were afire with a passion for speaking the truth of the Gospel.  They wanted to emulate Jesus and set the world on fire with his liberating message of the Father’s unconditional love for all humanity, empathy for the human condition, life-renewing compassion and forgiveness. 

Friends, if there ever was a time when this prophetic message is needed, it is, indeed, the present moment in which we live.  Our world is torn apart by a divisiveness that is rooted in a ‘me first’ mentality that is the absolute antithesis of the Gospel ethic of Jesus.  We have world leaders, narcissistically concerned about ‘what’s in it for me?’ where the perennial values that have traditionally made our country ‘good and great’ are traded for a transactional ethic that is devoid of goodness.   

The common good has been traded for a victimizing and demonizing of those who do not agree with us, the marginalized are viewed as an inconvenient drain on society and immigrants are all painted with the same insidious broad-brush strokes of thugs, parasites, rapists, murders and drug crazed addicts. 

We desperately need that fire on the earth that Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel.  A purifying fire that renews in our hearts the very essence of Gospel truth.  A fire that will refine our hearts with a renewed compassion for the dignity of all God’s people.  All of us are pilgrims and immigrants longing for our true homeland where God’s unfailing mercy and unconditional love are the hallmarks. 

HOMILY FOR THE 19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen. 

What is faith? Do some folks have more faith than others? How can I increase my faith? 

Friends, there is probably no better definition of the reality we call ‘faith’ than the one we find in the Letter to the Hebrews quoted above.  However, defining faith and living out faith are two radically different things. 

So much of a priest’s life is engaging with the ‘faith-questions’ of the people he has served over the years.  A common question that has been posed to me down through the 51 years of my priestly service, asks something like this, “Father, I have doubts and wrestle with faith-questions.  Does that mean I’m not a good Catholic?”  Sound familiar? 

My response down through the years has sounded pretty much the same.  Faith and doubt naturally coexist.  The vast majority of Catholics, if they are truly honest with themselves, wrestle with their faith.  Is that a bad thing?  On the contrary, this is a normal and natural part in the maturation of faith and making it our own rather than the faith of someone else.  Young people often carry into their adulthood the faith of their parents.  While the Sacrament of Confirmation would normally mark the making of faith one’s own as the sacrament that completes our Christian Initiation, sadly and paradoxically, it often marks one’s exit from the Church, or at least the active practice of faith. 

So many parents agonize over this reality and ask the question ‘why?’ They wrestle with, ‘I did everything for my son or daughter to grow up in the faith; sent them to Catholic school and insured they went to Mass every Sunday.  And now, I feel like such a failure.  They left the Church.’ 

My friends, a vibrant and courageous faith that can sustain us in the present age cannot be the faith of others but it must be OUR faith.  Such ‘sabbaticals’ from the active practice of the Catholic faith should not be viewed as ‘leaving the Church.’  Often, times of questioning and doubt are necessary prerequisites in making faith our own.   

Often, it can be a crisis in life, or a moment of renewed commitment such as marriage, that can catapult one back into a faith that had laid dormant for years.  The work of the Christian community is always to fan the embers of newly found faith into a reality that can spiritually sustain us in our friendship with Jesus and his Church as adults. 

Does that mean that all doubts will fade away when we make faith our own?  Absolutely not!  Doubts in our faith can often be the catalyst for our faith to grow and mature as we gain deeper insights into the mysterious world of God touching our lives.  I dare say, that without doubt, faith can stagnate and grow weak.  Doubt can be a motivation for us to study, reflect, ponder and savor the reality of love that stands at the heart of all faith, God’s love for us and our love for God. 

Do some folks have more faith than others?  I suppose so.  However, such envious preoccupations are, in the end, a waste of time.  The Good Lord gives the exact amount of faith that each person needs as he invites our love, trust and surrender to his loving purposes in our life. 

In the end, faith is intimately bound up with the hopes that sustain us in this life to the life that will come when there will be no need for either faith nor hope, since what we have longed for will be ours for all eternity, love unending.

Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.” 

It was a simple text message I received this last week from a couple I’ve known for over 40 years.  It said, “I have sad news, Martin died in his sleep last night.  Pray for him.”  I was utterly shocked since I had just had lunch with this couple last year and he was in perfect health.  His wife, Marianne, a woman of deep faith, understandably devastated at this completely unexpected death, accepted this moment with characteristic surrender to the loving will of God.  I don’t know if I would be so accepting. 

Brothers and sisters, so much of our life’s preoccupations are concerned with things that from eternity’s perspective are of little worth or consequence.  There’s so much wisdom in the words of the first lesson in today’s Eucharist from Ecclesiastes:

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities!  All things are vanity!

From God’s perspective there is only thing that is necessary in life’s pilgrimage and that is following the roadmap that St. Paul gives to the early Christians in Colossae where he reminds them that they have been ‘raised with Christ’ and are therefore challenged to ‘seek the things that are above.’  He then gives a litany of very practical behaviors for one who is privileged to bear the name of Christ if they wish to gain the eternal reward of heaven: 

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and the greed that is idolatry.
Stop lying to one another,
since you have taken off the old self with its practices
and have put on the new self… 

Buried within this list is the simple admonition to stop lying to one another!  Friends, the daughters and sons of the Father are called to live daily in the truth.  We are to shun the one who is called ‘the father of lies’ so that we can let the truth shine forth in our lives. 

And what is that truth?  It is the profound reality that you and I have no earthly city here.  Rather, we are all immigrants yearning for our true homeland that is in heaven with all the holy ones who have gone before us. 

It is this reality that should be uppermost in our minds rather than ‘storing up treasures for ourselves.’  Rather, each day that is before us is an opportunity to grow rich in what matters to God.  Friends, that is not vanity but rather eternal wisdom!

EUCHARISTIC RESERVATION IN THE POST-CONCILIAR CHURCH

One of the most seminal theological times for me in my early priesthood was the opportunity to do post-graduate studies in Liturgical/Sacramental theology at the famed University of Louvain.  Founded in 1425, in the 1960’s due to the linguistic wars taking place in Belgium, the University split with the ancient campus in its historic setting in the town of Leuven where classes were conducted in Flemish and English, and a ‘new’ University built near Leuven in the French speaking section of the country called Louvain la Neuve. I took classes in English in Leuven.

Literally in the center of the old University town stood the collegiate church of St. Peter’s. Built in the 15th century, it was the principal church of the University town.  Unique to this beautiful Gothic Church is the Medieval Sacrament Tower where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved.  This positioning of the Sacrament, not on the High Altar but near it, reflected the divergent practice that was commonly replaced in the post-Tridentine Church with the Tabernacle affixed to the High Altar.  Such a positioning was not always the practice in the Church. 

Eucharistic Tower in St. Peter’s Collegiate Church, Leuven, Belgium

Eucharistic Reservation in the Early Church 

Scholars of liturgical history tell us that the earliest places for the reservation of the Sacrament were in homes that were often freed from persecution. The primary reason to this day for Eucharistic reservation is that those who cannot be at the Eucharistic celebration due to illness can be taken communion from the reserved Eucharist. I’m sure many of us remember the charming story of St. Tarcisius, a young layperson, taking communion to others during the time of persecution and dying in martyrdom to safeguard the Eucharist.

Alexandre Falguière, Saint Tarcisius

  As the Church eventually emerged from being persecuted to receiving status within the state under Constantine and the legitimate practice of Eucharistic adoration ensued in our theology of the Eucharist, Eucharistic reservation varied in this early churches and Basilicas.  The emergence of a permanent place on the principal Altar housed in an ornate Tabernacle gradually became the norm.

Baroque Tabernacle in a Church in Germany

 An alternative ancient practice was reserving the Eucharistic presence in an ornate and enameled dove suspended over the Altar of Sacrifice. 

Eucharistic Dove suspended above the Altar

 With the development of a heightened Eucharistic Piety, it was only natural that in time greater prominence would be given to the consecrated element of bread now reserved in elaborate Tabernacles such as can be seen in St. Peter’s Church in Leuven.  It was during this time, especially from the 12th century on that the development of Eucharistic processions especially connected with the pious custom of “40 Hours Devotion” developed and continue to this day with a renewed resurgence.

40 Hours devotion at St. John Cantius in Chicago

 Sadly, superstitious practices also crept into the piety of the Eucharist at this time, such as gazing at the Eucharist during the Elevation of the elements during mass would suspend time and hence, one would not age! 

To curb such superstitions, the Council of Trent in her subsequent reform of the Missal that eventually witnessed the Missal of Pius V, brought standardization to the Eucharistic ritual and practice.

First edition of the Missal of Pius V

 With the rise of Jansenism that took an overly pessimistic view of human nature, the practice of frequent communion diminished. So much so that the Church was forced to legally require that all Catholics in good standing had to receive the Eucharist at least once a year – the Easter Duty.   

It was Pope St. Pius X who encouraged frequent and even daily communion and lowered the age of First Communion to 7 or 8, the age of reason that is the practice today. 

To encourage even more frequent communion, Pope St. John XXIII prior to the Second Vatican Council mitigated greatly the Eucharistic Fast, from the old fast from all foods and liquids from midnight until communion to a three hour fast before communion with water never breaking the fast.  That was even mitigated by subsequent Popes to a one hour fast from solid food prior to communion. 

Eucharistic Presence and Reservation after the Second Vatican Council 

The Great Ecumenical Council (1962-1965) called for by Pope St. John XXIII was a Council of renewal and reform in the Church.  In keeping with the ancient maxim, ecclesia semper reformanda est (the Church is always in the process of reforming), the Council was one of twenty-one moments in the Church’s history that called for reform and renewal to enable the Gospel of Christ to ring out with greater clarity in the times in which the Church found herself. 

The first major issue that the Council dealt with was the reform and renewal of the Sacred Liturgy – the public worship of the Church.  This conciliar reform in worship was preceded by nearly one hundred years of scholarship that revealed ancient sources to our common liturgical life.  This ressourcement of ancient sources to our liturgical tradition was called The Liturgical Movement.  While the Liturgical Movement had a variety of goals, common elements in time emerged: 

·      A recapturing of worship as a communal experience of all God’s Holy People

·      A move toward a vernacular liturgy moving away from celebrations in a language little understood by people today

·      A move from a preoccupation with the ‘static’ presence of the Lord in the Eucharistic elements to a renewed appreciation for the ‘dynamic’ presence in the Eucharistic celebration – the Mass. 

In December 1963 the Council solemnly promulgated the first of the eventual 16 formal documents, Sacrosanctum Concilium, on the reform and renewal of the Sacred Liturgy.  This document received the overwhelming approval of the council fathers with only 4 dissenting votes! (2147 votes in favor, 4 against, 2 invalid votes)

Council Fathers in the Aula of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Second Vatican Council

 That document set in motion liturgical and canonical legislation that would eventually witness the first practical fruits of the Council, the most obvious with the gradual introduction of a vernacular liturgy. 

The Liturgy Constitution and subsequent legislation also witness changes in church architecture to support a liturgy now reformed and renewed, that is, facilitating communal worship verses a clerical priest-centric liturgy. 

The move from an emphasis on the dynamic presence of Christ in the Eucharistic celebration verses the static presence in the Eucharistic elements led to some practical changes in church architecture and sanctuary arrangement. The most obvious and evident change was a move from a fixed altar at the far East end of the nave to a free-standing altar to accommodate Mass facing the people. 

Liturgical legislation prohibited a tabernacle affixed to the principal Altar to a separate area of reservation.  The separate area of reservation could take three forms: 

·      Eucharistic reservation in a separate chapel clearly identifiable from the main area of the church.

·      A separate area in the church proper that would be clearly visible and properly ornamented away from the sanctuary

·      An area behind the altar  

Sacrament Chapel in Christ Cathedral

It is important to note that the post-concilar documentation does not give priority to these areas but leaves it up to the Diocesan Bishop and Pastor to determine what would be most fitting in the local setting. 

By way of example, when Bishop Tod Brown became Bishop of Orange in 1998 he mandated that all new churches built in the Diocese of Orange have a separate Eucharistic chapel to house the Blessed Sacrament enabling intimate prayer and adoration.  If that could not be done in existing churches, the Blessed Sacrament was to be moved to a properly ornamented area to the left or right of the sanctuary.  It was not to be in the sanctuary area proper nor behind the principal altar.

Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano

 His successor, Bishop Kevin Vann, has approached this delicate area from a different perspective, respecting the decision of the pastor and the pious sensitivities and desires of his parishioners.   

Why was the post-conciliar legislation adamant about no longer reserving the Blessed Sacrament on the principal Altar?  The language of the liturgy is the language of symbol.  Hence, symbols in our liturgy reveal and disclose theological meaning. 

The Altar of Sacrifice that symbolizes Christ himself is the privileged place in every church where the Eucharistic celebration takes place.  Through this celebration the sacrifice of Calvary is renewed as a lasting memorial and the Lord’s greatest gift to his Church is realized – his real substantial presence, Body and Blood, soul and divinity in the consecrated elements of bread and wine.

It would be symbolically anomalous to enact so great a mystery by the power of the Holy Spirit in every Eucharistic celebration when at the same Sacred Table, the fruit of that celebration is already present in the Tabernacle.  The Church in her liturgical legislation wants to clearly delineate the difference between the dynamic Real Presence that comes to us through the Eucharistic celebration that is both meal and sacrifice and the static Real Presence that is the fruit of that celebration and worthy of adoration as well as taken to those unable to be present for the sacred mysteries.

Reflection for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”

The virtue of hospitality was and continues to be one of the most prized virtues among our Jewish sisters and brothers. Guests to one’s home or country were to be treated with the utmost care and civility.   

The great sin in today’s first lesson from the Book of Genesis, has virtually nothing to do with the pretext of the centuries-old rationalization for the vilification of gay people but everything to do with the grave sin of inhospitality – the honored guests were ‘abused’ by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah rather than treated with hospitality. 

The God of both the old and new law is a God of gracious hospitality for all who come to the Lord hungering for healing, mercy and compassion.  God’s gracious hospitality towards his people, the work of his hands, is beautifully summarized in the prayer that anchors so much of our Christian spirituality, the Our Father. 

When we call upon our loving Father in prayer, he always responds with what we most need in his gracious hospitality – the daily bread of love, compassion and mercy. 

And who is worthy of so great a gift?  The late and beloved Pope Francis often said in response to that question in his native language – Todos, todos, todos – All, all, all. 

And so, we in turn by virtue of our Baptism, our putting on Christ, are to practice this same hospitality in our own life.  It is indeed the hallmark of authentic Christianity, to welcome the stranger and treat them as we would treat Christ himself. 

The ancient Rule of St. Benedict that orders the life of all Benedictine monks and nuns throughout the world says simply that ‘all guests are to be welcomed as Christ!’ This was powerfully brought home to me many years ago when I visited as a guest the great French Abbey of Solesmes, famous for the restoration of Gregorian Chant.  As the guests were ushered into the refectory or dining hall for lunch, the Abbot was at the door of the refectory with a beautiful silver pitcher and basin and he washed the hands of all guests as we entered.  The power of this simple gesture has remained with me all these years. 

Brothers and sister, we are called to be a people of hospitality. To do otherwise in our lives as Christians is truly unworthy of the great calling that is ours as sisters and brothers of the Lord.

Politics or Prophetic

When is a homilist being political and when is he being prophetic? I’m using the term ‘homily’ in the broadest sense to include speaking not only within a liturgical setting but engaging with the moral dimensions of the present political moment through social media. 

Many are familiar with the well-publicized sermon of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C., at the prayer service at the beginning of the Trump administration with the President, Vice-President and many in the new administration in attendance at the National Cathedral.  Was Bishop Budde being prophetic and speaking a needed truth to power in her remarks or was she being political when she said? 

“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives. 

And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples. 

Have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.” 

While there are some who judged her to be blatantly political, I join with many in our nation who applauded her remarks as a needed and prophetic defense of the countless immigrants and marginalized persons in our land at the hands of the demagoguery and scapegoating that are rampant in the present administration. 

Was Pope Francis being prophetic or political in his recent letter to the Bishops in the United States decrying the mass deportation of immigrants that has been a hallmark of the new administration?  Border czar, Tom Homan, a ‘good’ Catholic, clearly felt it was a political attack and shamefully told the Holy Father to “stick to the Catholic Church…” 

In the face of the clear moral threats to Gospel values that many of this administration’s executive orders present, a growing number of clergy are faced with an understandable dilemma.  Do we raise our voices and exercise a prophetic witness to the perennial moral imperatives that our Church cherishes and defends, or do we remain silent for fear that we will be perceived as abusing the ‘pulpit’ in a partisan or political manner? 

Fortunately, we have a sterling example in our Holy Father himself who has not shied away from raising his voice as Universal Pastor of the Church in rebuking and correcting mischaracterizations of fundamental Catholic moral principles, vis a vis the immigrant, the poor and the marginalized. 

A priest friend of mind was so nervous in addressing these topics homiletically that he lost sleep the night before he preached!  A deacon friend of mine has written a thoroughly Gospel based objection to the moral depravity of many of the executive orders of the present administration yet hesitates to make his comments public out of fear of crossing the line from being appropriately prophetic to being politically partisan. 

“Fear is useless, what is needed is trust,” as the Lord himself reminds us in the Gospels.  In my humble opinion as a priest for over 50 years, the present moment demands the courage of Pope Francis and Bishop Budde.  While there are a number of Catholic Bishops who have courageously spoken of the implications from a Catholic social ethic of a number of the executive orders, as well as the Conference of Bishops, the personal statements of Cardinal Cupich have been quite focused and strong. 

There is no question that indiscriminate massive deportation of immigrants has raised multiple ethical issues. Pulling funding from USAID that has provided 50% of the budget for Catholic Relief Services, the primary outreach arm for international aid for the American Bishops, is going to have dire consequences with moral implications.  People are going to die. 

The PEPFAR program initiated by President George W. Bush and funded by American dollars through USAID that provides life-saving HIV drugs for people in Africa, will now be virtually dismantled with the closure of USAID.  People are going to die. 

Proposed massive cuts to Medicaid that provides medical treatment for the poor and marginalized of our country in order to provide tax cuts primarily for the wealthy will have a disproportionate impact on the poor and marginalized.  People are going to die. 

As witnessed by our Holy Father and leaders of our Church, ministers of the Gospel cannot remain silent.  If ever there is a time for prophetic courage, now is such a time.  Ministers of the Gospel are ordained not to preach what people want to hear but what our people need to hear about the truth of the Gospel that always liberates, heals and is there especially for the poor and marginalized.  If some perceive this to be “political,”so be it.  Fear is useless, what is needed is trust and courage!

A Time of Choosing

Those friends who follow my posts on Facebook don’t have to guess where my political leanings may lie. Ever since Donald Trump descended the golden escalator spewing his anti-immigrant bile, I have been an avowed anti-Trumper. Since my posts are not public (I’m not insane!), occasionally a Republican friend and supporter of Trump asks the question: “Since Trump is anti-abortion, how can you support a pro-choice candidate?” This is a question that is often asked of sincere Catholics and others who understand and accept the gravity of abortion from a Catholic ethical perspective. Perhaps, the following apologia for why one who supports the seamless dignity of all life, from ‘womb to tomb’ may support a Democrat for President and not Donald Trump:

Neither the Republican nor Democrat Presidential candidate and their respective platforms reflect perfectly Catholic moral values. Both are gravely deficient. As a Democrat, I of course, do not accept their entire platform, specifically on abortion. However, I find equally despicable and morally bankrupt Donald Trump’s stance on capital punishment, which is contrary to Catholic ethics, demonization of immigrants, ridicule of climate change as a hoax, demonization of anyone who disagrees with him, his threatening the integrity of the Constitution which is the very essence of our democracy. Most of all, political leaders must possess both the character and moral center to lead with integrity all the people entrusted for the common good. Donald Trump, in my opinion and that of countless women and men who worked with him in his prior administration, is totally bereft of character and integrity.

As Pope Francis so rightly has pointed out, when we are faced with conflicted moral and political choices, it comes down to a matter of personal conscience in determining which candidate and platform proportionately on the whole will support Catholic values. I am not as naive as to question that some conscientious Republicans, arrive at a good faith conclusion that Trump and the Republican platform best represents that. And I would only ask that Republicans and Trump supporters afford me the same courtesy, aware that I too have weighed the proportionate values and disvalues and have arrived in good conscience at a different conclusion.

However, I categorically reject those who state that voting for a Democrat means one is supporting abortion and, hence, all Democrats directly cooperate with intrinsic evil and are guilty of grave sin and should even refrain from communion! This important distinction is clearly articulated in the USCCB’s statement, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.

In an important letter written to an American cardinal when he was Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stated:

“A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate’s permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia. When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons.”

While single issue voters exist, I far more believe that it is the full complement of political decisions that a candidate may support that either support, compromise or violate Catholic ethical principles that inform the conscientious Catholic voter to choose which candidate, overall, best reflects Catholic ethical principles. That decision remains in the inviolate area of personal conscience.

I find it interesting when I encounter folks who say they ‘despise Trump’s character’ but since he’s against abortion, they have no other choice than to vote for him. The Nazi laws enacted by Hitler for the Third Reich outlawed abortion as a crime for Aryans and was strictly enforced. I would certainly hope that if Hitler were alive today, nobody would vote for him because he was against abortion!

More on Harrison Butker's Commencement Address

Far too much ink has been spilled to date over Harrison Butker’s recent commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.  I was going to refrain from commenting; however, a number of folks were asking me what I thought and so here goes. 

I’m a firm believer in the ‘big tent’ theory of who we are as a Church.  In other words, there’s a lot of room for all different kinds of folks on the ideological spectrum – so called liberals, conservatives and centrists. Whatever floats your spiritual boat is just fine with me as long as you’re not trying to throw some out of the boat!  

I’m sure Harrison Butker is a great guy and a fantastic kicker in a sport I have little interest in.  I do, however, have a great interest and more than a bit of theological background in the Church that I have served for 50 years as a priest.  It is from that perspective that I offer my comments. 

Benedictine College is a very traditional boutique Catholic College.  The President obviously invited Butker to reinforce their particular ideological perspective on the faith.  No surprise here.  I’m sure, as was reported, his words were well received, and a standing ovation was given to him at its conclusion.  No surprise. 

To conclude, however, that Butker’s words represented orthodox Catholic theological belief is wrong.  They did not. Butker, or whoever drafted the talk for him, obviously had several theological and liturgical axes to grind and grind they did! 

As a liturgist, I took grave exception to the following section of his talk: 

“I attend the TLM because I believe, just as the God of the Old Testament was pretty particular in how he wanted to be worshipped, the same holds true for us today. It is through the TLM that I encountered order and began to pursue it in my own life. Aside from the TLM itself, too many of our sacred traditions have been relegated to things of the past, when in my parish, things such as ember days, days when we fast and pray for vocations and for our priests, are still adhered to. The TLM is so essential that I would challenge each of you to pick a place to move where it is readily available.” 

Now, to imply – and I’m being diplomatic here - that the unreformed Mass of Trent, a la the Missale of 1962, is how God wants to be worshipped today, disregards the liturgical reforms of an Ecumenical Council, the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the most recent Instructions of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reigning in the wholesale use of the pre-reformed rites!  This is hubris at a totally new level but sadly reflects the dissident ideological perspective of not a few Catholic traditionalists.  This is NOT the teaching of the Catholic Church. 

Such views reinforce a sad comment recently shared with me by a young person in our parish.  When asked why he wasn’t seen at Mass, he stated, I go to the real Mass at St. Michael’s Abbey.  Now, my good friends at the abbey would be the first to disabuse this young fellow from such nonsense, I would hope!  Yet, Pope Francis is right to be gravely concerned that such sentiments are being reinforced either overtly or tacitly at the TLM.  Such comments by a popular football star given at a Catholic College certainly reinforce such heterodox opinions. 

I’m going to stop here because I’d like to make the excellent and thorough response of Henry Karlson in his May 21 post in Patheos my own.  It is excellent.  Tolle et lege! Read here

A LEGACY AT HOLY FAMILY PARISH

It is said that important turning points in life beg reflection.  As I will shortly celebrate my 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood, reflection on the graces and blessing that have filled my life are uppermost in my mind and heart. 

Two parishes and its people especially come to mind that so profoundly have shaped the contours of my priesthood, Holy Family in Orange, and Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano.  I began my priesthood at Holy Family parish in the summer of 1974 and returned in 1988 as the third Rector of the then Cathedral Church of the relatively young diocese of Orange.  In 2003, our third Bishop, Tod Brown, named me as the 34th pastor of our historic mother church in the Diocese, Mission San Juan Capistrano, where I served until my retirement 10 years ago in 2014 due to my challenging neuromuscular condition. 

It had always been my goal as a pastor to let beauty speak powerful of the presence of God.  Our Catholic heritage has a lengthy tradition of celebrating and venerating the arts as the locus of God’s presence.  As a seminarian I was always drawn to the artistic and musical heritage that powerfully shapes our life of worship.  In post-graduate studies at the University of Louvain in Belgium, my area of concentration was the sacramental life of Church where sign and symbol become the powerful language of worship. 

One of the great moments in my pastorate at the Mission occurred when I was able to architecturally complete the sanctuary of the Basilica with the addition of what is now known as the “Great Retablo.”  Working with the Spanish firm of Talleres de Arte Granda, the long-awaited project was completed and installed in the Spring of 2007. Countless visitors and pilgrims from around the world continue to marvel at the beauty of this artistic enhancement to the Basilica Church.

Far smaller yet of no less artistic value was my acquisition through the generosity of an anonymous donor to mark the Great Jubilee Year 2000, of a new Tabernacle for Holy Family Church, our historic Cathedral Church.   

During my time in Belgium as a post-graduate priest-student, I became acquainted with the German liturgical artist, Egino Weinert.  On my periodic excursions to Cologne, Germany, I would visit his shop near the famous Cathedral and marvel at his work in bronze and exquisite enamel. From simple plaques for sacramental occasions like First Communion, to elaborate Tabernacles and chalices, his work reflected the lost art of medieval champlevé enameling with a contemporary and ‘naive’ artistic quality. 

I came to find out that as a devout Catholic, Weinert was staunchly against the Hitler regime during World War II and even suffered imprisonment for refusing to give the Hitler salute! 

In 1999, I became aware that a large and beautiful Weinert Tabernacle became available for purchase.  In my desire to create a separate Blessed Sacrament area in the Cathedral at the urging of Bishop Brown, I began correspondence with the Weinert studio in Germany to eventually acquire the new Tabernacle.  It’s arrival and eventual installation by the Los Angeles marble firm of Carnevale & Lohr, was completed in 2000. 

Like stained glass in a Medieval Cathedral that taught the Gospel stories visually, so too, is the liturgical artistry of Egino Weinert.  Each piece visually proclaims the Good News of Christ.  Through child-like simplicity, the six enameled panels of this magnificent museum quality work of liturgical art, portrays Eucharistic theology in all of its multifaceted beauty. 

The front of the Tabernacle depicts the foundational event that anchors our Eucharistic theology, the Last Supper.

The first panel on the right depicts the gospel scene narrated in Luke 24 when the Lord encounters the two disciples on their way from Jerusalem to the small village of Emmaus.  They encounter the Risen Lord with the signs of his crucifixion on his hands and feet yet alive!  Their doubts are dispelled as their hearts burn in the presence of the Risen Lord.

The finely intricate following panel depicts the miracle of the loaves and fishes where from a few small fish and bits of bread brought by a child to be blessed by the Lord, the multitude are feed.

The back of the Tabernacle depicts another post-Resurrection appearance of the Lord to his disciples who find him preparing breakfast for them on the seashore and their eyes are opened as he feeds them with his Risen presence.

The following panel depicts the Lord and his mother, Mary, at the wedding feast of Cana.  At Mary’s request to save the bride and groom from the embarrassment of running out of wine, the Lord miraculously multiplies the wine with the very finest of wine.  I always loved this depiction by Weinert where he portrays the bridegroom with a bowtie!

The final panel depicts the Lord at the home of his dear friends, Martha, and Mary.  Martha is busy with hospitality, yet Mary is before the Lord in loving adoration.

I am pleased that one of the legacies of my time at Holy Family parish remains this beautiful and historic Tabernacle that visually and powerfully depicts the heart of the priesthood and our Catholic way of life.

Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis & Traditiones Custodes

Friends, as we celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Francis, Mike Lewis of “Where Peter Is,” offers an insightful retrospective of the successes and challenges of his his leadership as Universal Pastor of the Catholic Church.

At this time, I would like to offer my own “two cents” regarding what some in the more conservative camp see as a duplicity on his part in relationship to those attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. Having interacted with many of these folks over the years as the first delegate of our Diocese to implement and celebrate this mass under the initial concessions granted to Dioceses under Pope St. John Paul II, and having pastored a parish where the weekly celebration of the “usus antiquior” took place, and, having celebrated it myself, I hope I bring some practical experience to this issue.

One of the most critical reforms of the Second Vatican Council that brought home in a tangible and concrete way for every day Catholics of the both the letter and spirit of reform and renewal ushered in by the Council was in the Sacred Liturgy. The Council Fathers wanted to recapture the vibrancy of our life of worship that had become fossilized in a language and format that hindered the “full, active and conscious” participation of all the People of God. Its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy called for and mandated in the most authoritative way, the “reform and renewal” of our liturgical rites including its heart and center, the Mass. To more clearly articulate the maxim, “the law of prayer grounds the law of belief” (lex orandi statuit legem credendi), the subsequent decrees mandated by the Council shaped a reformed liturgy in continuity with the Tradition of Worship that has now become, over these past 50 years, the definitive expression of the Church’s life of Worship. It supplanted the older rites and forms that were desperately in need of revision to express the recaptured theology of Church that that the Council proclaimed.

The modest concessions to the “old rite” granted by Popes St. Paul VI and John Paul II, in no way were a compromise to the renewal and reform of the Sacred Liturgy mandated by the Council. However, Pope Benedict XVI in his Motu Proprio, “Summorum Pontificum,” in my opinion shared by many liturgical scholars, upended the modest concessions granted by previous Popes and set the unhistorical precedent of a “dual” liturgical expression within the Latin Rite, granting parity to the old rites with the new (Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form of the Eucharistic Rites). In fairness to Benedict, he granted such an extraordinary concession in the hope that those who had separated from communion with Rome over the neuralgic issue of the reformed liturgy might be reconciled leading toward greater communion in the Church. Sadly, the experience of Bishops around the world in their candid observations solicited by Pope Francis, shared the opposite conclusions to Benedict’s wide, expansive and, in my opinion, overly generous concessions.

A relatively small but highly vocal and contentious “separatist” mentality was growing, adhering to the older rites, especially in the United States. In my experience, I would hear from not a few folks following Benedict’s Motu Proprio, that they were attending the “real liturgy” rather than the English Mass. Additionally, the ecclesiology as well as the ecumenism of the Council were functionally rejected by many, though not all, of those who adhered to the older rite. In other words, Pope Francis' fear that this situation was empowering a failure to fully and whole heartedly "receive" the Conciliar renewal and reform was not misplaced.

For these reasons and with great courage knowing the inevitable push-back that he would inevitably encounter by his detractors, Francis issued his Motu Proprio, "Traditiones Custodes" (Guardians of Tradition), that would greatly restrict the overly-generous concessions granted by Pope Benedict for the use of the Traditional Latin Mass. Why? - To safeguard the integrity of the reform and renewal of the Sacred Liturgy mandated by an Ecumenical Council and to, in time, bring about a unity in practice in the Latin Rite to the normative liturgical rites, reformed and renewed by the Council. In other words, Francis is mandating a return to the genius of the Conciliar liturgical reforms that there be only one form to those Rites that express the "Lex orandi, lex credendi" of the Church.

Does that mean that Latin can no longer be used? Absolutely not. Every bishop, pastor and priest can prudently discern with pastoral sensitivity whether the reformed rites could be celebrated in their Latin Form for the benefit of the People of God. On the occasion when a priest might celebrate in the absence of a congregation, assuming he is knowledgeable of the Latin language, he is free to celebrate the reformed rite (Novus Ordo) in Latin without recourse for permission to the Bishop or Rome.

Additionally, a parish celebration utilizing the Novus Ordo in Latin, perhaps facing East, utilizing the Latin Chants for the propers of the Mass duly updated thanks to the Benedictine community of Solesmes in France, with the full participation of both schola and assembly is not only possible but praiseworthy as an expression of the timeless liturgical tradition and heritage of our Church.

Having studied the unreformed rites, and here, permit me to speak with candor, particularly the Solemn Pontifical Mass utilizing the unreformed "Pontificale Romanum," it is particularly anachronistic and antiquarian in the 21st century to be celebrating a liturgy suffused with Byzantine court ceremonial, from the entrance of the Bishop in Cappa Magna (forbidden by a decree of Paul VI), ceremonial vesting of the Bishop at a 'throne,' replete with individual kissing of each of the innumerable pontifical vestments as ministers genuflect to the Bishop, the use of two miters, precious and gold, assisting ministers sitting at the feet of the presiding bishop, etc. One cannot help but wonder if this has more to do with an inordinate attachment to arcane ceremonial of another era rather than the noble simplicity of the Rites mandated by the Council. Such ceremonial sadly reflects a theology of the Bishop that is a far cry from that envisioned by the theology and spirit of the Council. He is not a Byzantine emperor but the servant of the community as successor of the Apostles in imitation of the Good Shepherd.

While EWTN and social media continue to decry what they perceive to be the heavy hand of Pope Francis toward the Traditional Latin Mass and its adherents, with the restrictions of its use in parish churches along with restricting permission for its celebration for priests ordained after the issuance of the Motu Proprio to Rome, Francis as the Pope of the Council will weather any storm to insure its doctrinal and liturgical legacy and reception among God’s people.

In Memoriam - Pope Emeritus Benedict

The death this morning of Pope Emeritus Benedict prompted a flood of memories for me.  On the bucket list of this liturgist was to be in the Piazza San Pietro for the election of a Pope.  While a student priest in Belgium in the late 70’s, I was fortunate to attend the inaugural liturgy marking the beginning of the pontificate of a relatively young John Paul II, having missed the election. 

I was pastor of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano when Pope John Paul II died in April, 2005.  The wheels of my mind began to turn realizing that this would probably be my only chance to fulfill a dream and be present for the election of a Pope.  Amazingly and, I’d like to think, providentially, I called Delta Airlines hoping that I could use miles to book a flight to Rome after calculating when the Conclave of Election would begin.  Miraculously, a flight was available!  I then booked a room in one of my favorite hotels near the Pantheon, Grand Hotel Minerva, for one week – all of this hoping that the Conclave of Election would not last too long so that I could be there for the inaugural mass of the new Pope. 

I remember distinctly at the International Terminal at LAX prior to my flight, seeing the TV monitors and the Cardinal electors processing into the Sistine Chapel to begin election of the successor to John Paul II. 

Landing in Rome some 12 hours later, I made my way to the hotel and immediately walked to St. Peter’s Square to witness the smoke from the third ballot of the Cardinals.  Gathering with tens of thousands in the square, the smoke was visibly black, no Pope elected.   

I ran into a group of priest friends from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who invited me to join them for lunch.  The excitement in the air was palpable.  After lunch, I returned to the hotel to try to get a bit of rest before returning to the square for the results of the 4th ballot in the late afternoon.  Too excited to rest, I decided to return to the piazza a bit early.  As I was walking down the Via della Conciliazione, the main thoroughfare leading to St. Peter’s, I could see folks running, some leaving their cars on the side of the road, and I realized something was about to happen. 

Tiered banks of media, the likes of which, I had never seen, circled the Piazza.  Quickly, the crowds grew to over a hundred thousand.  And then, we saw the white smoke coming from the small ancient chimney above the Sistine Chapel.  The crowds roared with excited anticipation.  The great bells of the Basilica began to ring out in jubilation. 

It was a bit of time between the white smoke and the eventual pulling back of the red curtains on the loggia window overlooking the square.  Finally, the Dean of the College of Cardinals emerged and proclaimed the ancient formula: Anuncio vobis, Gaudium magnum, habemus papam!  “I announce to you, great joy, we have a Pope!”  The declaration went on in Latin, yet when he spoke the word, Josephum, it was clear before he got to the last name, Ratzinger, who was elected.  The crowds erupted in wild excitement and jubilation.   

A few moments later, the new Pope, Benedict XVI, appeared to impart his first words and blessing to the city and the world.  The crowds, now filling the piazza were delirious with excitement and joy.   

Timing was on my side, and I was able to be present for Benedict’s inaugural mass in all its papal splendor.  It was a week that I will never forget. 

Rest in Peace, faithful servant of the servants of God.

Reflection for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him,
for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?” 

Our sacramental language as Catholic Christians is a language of signs and symbols.  Through bread and wine, water and oil, the spoken word and physical gestures, the grace-filled presence of the Lord in his unbounded mercy is experienced. 

Each year at the Holy Week Chrism Mass, the Bishop of every Diocese blesses and consecrates the oils that will be used in the sacramental celebrations throughout the year in his Diocese.  Oil of Catechumens is used as an ancient pre-baptismal anointing of the heart of those to be baptized.  Oil of the Sick is used as a comforting and healing balm in the Sacrament of the Sick.  Sacred Chrism is placed on the crown of the head of the newly baptized, on the forehead of those who are confirmed, on the hands of a priest on the day of his ordination and poured on the head of a newly ordained Bishop on the day of his ordination.  Sacred Chrism signifies that one is now set apart for a special mission as a Christian.  That missionary journey begins for every Catholic on the day of his or her baptism when, like Kings and Queens of old, the newly baptized is anointed on the crown of their head symbolizing the marvelous inner transformation that has taken place through God’s amazing grace.  One is now a Christian intimately bound to God the Father as his beloved son or daughter, with Jesus as his or her brother and all Christians as their family.  In essence, no Christian is ever a stranger to one another for we are all family – the family of God. 

With this unsurpassable dignity, the words of today’s Gospel taken from St. Luke should take on dramatic meaning.  Our Lord is giving us a litany, if you will, of the implications that such a dignity should call forth from each one of us.   

In an age, culture and society where incivility has risen to ideological hatred of our neighbor because they believe differently from what we believe, Jesus, once again places before us the sobering reminder that we will be judged by such hardness of heart.  There is no equivocation in the words of Jesus: 

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give, and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.” 

Every Lord’s Day is an opportunity for recommitment to the mission we received at Baptism when we were called not to be just ordinary Christian but extraordinary Christians practicing the love and mercy so generously shown us by the one whose name we bear.  Let us pray for the strength and courage to truly be what we are by grace this day and every day of our lives.

Reflection for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures… 

I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty and intricacy of our English language.  As many of you know, English has been influenced by several other languages, one of those languages is Latin.  My six years of Latin studies both in High School and Seminary College has peppered my vocabulary with a numbered of Latin root words in English as well as a fascination with how those words influenced our English language. 

Take, for instance, the English word ‘tradition.’  It comes from the Latin word, tradere, which means ‘to hand over.’  Interestingly, it also is the historic root word for the word, ‘traitor,’ one who ‘hands over’ another.   

St. Paul in today’s second reading from his First Letter to the Church at Corinth speaks of how (He) hand on to you as of first importance what I also received… He then shares the very heart of the Gospel, the story of the dying and rising of Jesus upon which hinges the entire meaning of the Good News.  It is precisely this reality that remains for all ages the core Tradition of the Christian faith.  It is this Tradition that makes new and transforms our hearts with the power of the Risen Lord. 

In the course of my priesthood, I sometimes hear folks describe themselves as traditional Catholics, which makes me think to myself, well, what am I, chopped liver???  So often such self-definitions are deeply ideological driven, in one profound sense, we are all traditional Catholics for we have all received the precious Good News that has been handed down to us from one generation to another shaping us to be the Catholic Christians we are today. 

One wise person once said that Tradition is not so much wearing your grandfather’s hat but rather giving birth to a child!  I love that quote since it speaks of the dynamic quality of Tradition to creatively present that ‘which has been handed down’ anew for every time and culture. The eminent Lutheran theologian, Jaroslav Pelikan beautifully defines Tradition, not the ‘dead faith of the living but rather the living faith of those who have gone before us.’ 

Our Church has witnessed 21 great moments when that Tradition has been both defined and rearticulated for the women and men of every great epoch in which she has found herself.  We call these the 21 great Councils of the Church, beginning with the Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).  These Councils have witnessed to the beautiful Latin expression: ecclesia semper reformanda est – The Church is forever in a state of change and reformation! 

It is sad that there are those who cling to a nostalgic view of the Church where change and reform are alien.  Only living realities change and grow; dead things remain the same and wither and die. 

It is this living and dynamic faith in the power of the transforming love of Christ that inflamed the hearts of Peter, James and John in today’s Gospel to leave all things at the Lord’s call.  That same call continues to go out in every time and place, beckoning us to surrender to the incomparable gift that our living Tradition of Faith offers.  Deo Gratias!

Reflection for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love. 

If I had a dollar for every wedding celebration, I presided at in which the couple selected the beautiful lyric passage about love from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, that is our Second Reading today, I’d be a rich man!  Of course, on the day that celebrates and seals a couple’s love in the midst of the Christian community, there is no better passage that speaks of love’s power to uplift, heal, forgive and to make new than what we have in our second reading today. 

Love, mercy and compassion represent the heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  There is no way around it.  Upon these virtues lies the very heart of God our Father’s existence as expressed in his Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ.   

Not long ago, I met someone who introduced themselves to me as an ‘orthodox Catholic!’  Of course, underlying such a tribal label is the kind of judgmental hypocrisy that so often forgets the heart of the Gospel message of inclusion, love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. It is precisely this kind of ideological self-identity that is ripping our beloved Church apart.   It is exactly this kind of arrogance that is burning down bridges to so many who are seeking spiritual meaning and purpose in their lives within the rich tradition of our Church only to have doors slammed in their face with the not so subtle sign, ‘you are not worthy!’ 

I’m grateful that our Universal Pastor and Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis, understands well the heart of the Gospel of Compassion and Love and seeks every opportunity to be the bridge builder that the very ancient word, pontifex, from which we get the English word, Pontiff, implies.  Perhaps, that is why he is so vilified in social media by those who hyperbolically refer to themselves as ‘orthodox Catholics.’  Sadly, in all of the 47 years of my priesthood, I have never heard such disgraceful and hateful epithets hurled at the Vicar of Christ, tragically, even by a few who hold the office of Bishop. 

Perhaps, in these days where hurtful words seem to trip off our lips so easily, even by those who should know better, we all need to hear again the words of St. Paul, not just with our ears but most importantly with our hearts: 

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude, 
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. 

One of the ministries that I miss due to my neurological condition is preaching.  Over 40 years this was an aspect of my priestly ministry that I cherished.  Fortunately, in my seminary years I had a gifted professor of homiletics, Fr. Charles Miller, who imparted his rich knowledge in effectively preaching the Word to his students. 

I will never forget the sage advice of Fr. Miller when he said, “When you think you’re losing your audience, just interject a story, folks lovc stories!”  I remembered that advice throughout the years of my active priesthood.  Whenever I was preaching and could sense that folks were getting restless, I’d try to interject, ‘now, I’d like to tell you a story,’ and unfailingly, heads would lift and all eyes were back on me as they listened attentively to what would follow.  Yes, we all love stories. 

Perhaps, that is the reason why our First Reading in today’s Eucharist from the Book of Nehemiah captured so dramatically our attention.  It narrates the story of how the Law of the Lord, the Torah, had literally been lost.  In the excavations being done on the Temple in Jerusalem following the return of the Jews from their Babylonian captivity in exile, the Law of the Lord, the Torah, was found once again and the passage we have today dramatically tells the story of how Ezra the priest  proclaims anew that cherished Word of God to the People.   

Truly, the Word of God comes alive when that story becomes our story.  The Word of God comes alive when the meaning of that word is translated in the very quality in which we live our lives. No wonder, then, that it has been said that St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the word always and sometimes use words!”

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Epiphany

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother. 

There is more than a little coincidence that on Christmas Day, 2021, one of the most intriguing and complicated science experiments was launched into space to explore the outer regions of space.  The James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched into space from French Guiana, a joint venture of NASA and the European and Canadian Space Agencies.  Replacing the Hubble Telescope whose discoveries astounded astronomers, the James Webb Telescope, if all goes as planned, holds the promise of unlocking the secrets of the Big Bang Theory and the beginnings of the Universe as well as discovering a planet whose atmosphere might be ‘just right’ for life as we know it. 

There has always been something mystical, ethereal, cosmic and spiritual about the heavens.  Not only has its immensity, humbled us down through the centuries but even more importantly, it has fired the human imagination, its mysteries beckoning our exploration. 

No wonder, then, that on this Solemnity of the Epiphany, a celestial star plays a central role in guiding the royal searchers to the unexpected and utterly humble scene of Mother and child, cradled in her arms, her husband by her side.  Power meets vulnerability and bows in adoration. 

The Church down through the centuries sees this scene as symbolling-forth the in-breaking of God’s love in the flesh, that invites our humble pondering leading to adoration and worship. 

All worship is rooted in praise and thanksgiving of the God who is the giver of all good gifts.  No greater gift have we than the gift of the Father’s only Son whose arms are perpetually extended to us in unconditional love and mercy. 

On this Epiphany, let us, like the Kings of old, lay before the newborn King that which is most precious to us, our very lives, surrendered in faith and love.  And let that gift, we pray, be transformed so that we might be the light of Christ to a waiting world.

Reflection for Christmas

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, 
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child. 

Friends, as we gather to ponder the wondrous mystery of the Incarnation and attempt to ‘unpack’ its meaning for us this Christmas, we have no better guide than a 4th century Saint from Northern Africa, St. Athanasius.  As Bishop of the then thriving Christian city of Alexandria, from an early age, Athanasius pondered the great mysteries of the Christian faith.  At 23, he wrote his foundational theological work, On the Incarnation.  It is within this work that Athanasius gave the Christian Church the distillation of the meaning of the Incarnation when he wrote the simple yet utterly profound sentence: God became human so that humans can become God! 

For many, such a statement was completely shocking.  How could the created become the creator?  Yet, sisters and brothers, it is precisely such a divine exchange that lies at the heart of the meaning of Christmas.   

In the lowly and vulnerable child of Bethlehem, born of the young maiden, Mary whose husband was Joseph, God the Father brought to completion his redemptive plan for the human family.  That child cradled in the arms of his mother would, in time, be the fulfillment of the Father’s reconciling love as his outstretched arms would be suspended between heaven and earth on the cross for our salvation – a salvation that would be sealed in his glorious conquering of death in Resurrection and new life. 

However, today our eyes gaze on the utterly simple scene of a family cherishing its newborn child.  God so often uses the familiar and the unspectacular to manifest his wondrous presence, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear the subtle presence of the God of all ages.  Yes, God so often surprises us with his presence in the ordinary and yet profoundly important moments in life, the birth of a child, the surprise of love, and the unearned gift of forgiveness.   

The challenging question, however, of this Christmas and every Christmas is:  How will Christ be born in us?  How can we become worthy of the reality that we are by the grace of the Incarnation and becoming God!   

Each day becomes a precious opportunity for us to realize that reality by letting the Christ in us touch those around us with his mercy, love and forgiveness.  Let us pray for the grace of this gift beyond all others, this Christmas.

Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

“Blessed are you among women, 
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, 
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” 

While May has become the month dedicated to the Mother of God with charming May crowning’s and rosary processions, personally, I’ve always looked to the Advent Season as the preeminent time for Christians to both remember and celebrate Mary’s unique role in Salvation History. 

Not only do we have two significant Marian feasts in the month of December, Mary’s Immaculate Conception and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, dear to the faithful in the Americas, but we have the Advent readings from the Gospel of Luke that anchor Mary’s unique place in the communion of saints. 

Why do we Christians and more specifically Catholics and Orthodox Christians venerate Mary so highly? Isn’t such veneration near idolatry that detracts from the singular focus that we Christians should have on the son she bore? 

From the earliest days of the Christian community as witnessed by both Sacred Scripture and Tradition, Mary played an altogether unique role in the unfolding of the Father’s great plan to reconcile the human race.  Sacred Tradition tells us that from the very first moment of her conception, the Father was preparing this young Jewish maiden to play an instrumental role in His definitive breaking into human history.  Yet, God’s will for us through Mary was not forced upon her.  The mystery of the Annunciation reminds us that it was Mary’s ‘yes’ to the Father’s invitation to be the mother of his Son, that salvation dawned for all humanity. 

Our Gospel today recounts the cherished moment when Mary with child goes to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, unexpectedly pregnant in her advanced age with her son, John.  John, the last and greatest of all the prophets, ‘leapt for joy’ in his mother’s womb as Mary approached, keenly aware that salvation was dawning! 

My friends, as the great Feast of the Incarnation nears, may our hearts leap for joy as we welcome the God who makes his home with us, Emmanuel, as God breaks into our lives with his unconditional love and mercy.  He who is our way, our truth and our life.  He who is the Son of Mary.

Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent

“…the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, 
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…” 

Madman or prophet?  The contemporaries at the time of Jesus wrestled with that question as they heard of the preaching of one, John the Baptist, as he attracted both followers and detractors out in the Judean desert. 

Biblical scholars surmise that John could very well have been a member of a mysterious and highly devout Jewish sect, the Essenes, that arose around the time of Jesus.  From the Essenes, we now have the treasured Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered by a shepherd boy in one of the many caves near the Dead Sea.  These scrolls proved to be the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures. 

John witnessed to the yearning of the Jewish people that a Messiah would come to bring to fulfillment God’s promises to his people.   John, as the last and greatest of the prophets, was privileged to witness the coming of the Messiah, the anointed one of God, as he preached a message of conversion and repentance to his contemporaries.   

The line between prophet and madman is often clearly delineated in the message that is preached.  Madmen who fancy themselves as ‘prophets’ invariably point to themselves in a narcissistic obsession with self. Prophets, speak in the name of another and point the way to one whose loving kindness and mercy will bring a justice and peace to a fractured and torn world.  Prophets are bridge-builders and reconcilers not wall-builders sowing seeds of hatred and dissension. 

My friends, as our Advent Season unfolds, we give thanks for the witness of John who pointed to the anointed one and said, “He must increase, and I must decrease…”. As the remembrance of the dawning of our salvation nears in the great festival of the Nativity, let us heed John’s ageless call to turn our lives around as we embrace the living hope that is ours in the Babe of Bethlehem.

Reflection for the First Sunday of Advent

The days are coming, says the LORD, 
    when I will fulfill the promise 
    I made to the house of Israel and Judah. 

Promise making and promise keeping are at the heart of the liturgical dynamic of the Advent Season that begins this weekend.  The Church in the ancient rituals of this Season beckons us to remember the liberation promises that the Lord and His Christ have made and kept for his beloved people. 

I’ve always loved the Advent Season with its carols that speak of longing and hope and the wreath that marks the passing of these weeks as we prepare for the remembrance of the Lord’s Incarnation in the lowly stable of Bethlehem. 

The entire Hebrew scriptures with its bizarre twists and turns, fantastical stories of sin and grace, retribution and mercy, tells the story of promises made and kept.  At the dawn of creation, when our first parents turned from the loving presence of the Lord of Creation and listened to the false promises of the tempter, God would not and could not abandon his promise to heal the wound of humanity. 

After the great flood, Noah and his family saw the rainbow as a perpetual promise that never again would such devastation touch the human family. 

The Advent Season remembers and celebrates the promise made and kept that God would ultimately reveal his presence in one like us, with all the vulnerability of a child whose arms would be cradled by his loving mother and, in time, would be stretched out on the wood of the cross for the liberation of humankind. 

Sisters and brothers, as we remember and celebrate these promises made and kept by the God of mercy and unconditional love, let our hearts and lives overflow in gratitude for so great a grace and gift.   

However, with these promises made and kept comes a responsibility that we too will be signs and instruments of God’s own promises made and kept as we work for justice, as we strive to be a people of compassion and mercy, as we work to live the Gospel we profess by both our words and deeds.