Sunday Reflection - The Ascension of the Lord

Was Jesus’ ascension, which we celebrate today, a conclusion or was it a beginning?  Clearly it was both.  The ascension was the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly life.  But Mark, the writer of today’s gospel, saw it also as a beginning. “The Lord worked with them,” he writes, “and confirmed the word through the accompanying signs.”           

Those final words of today’s gospel look not backward, but forward.  For Mark, and all the New Testament writers, Jesus’ ascension inaugurates a new age: the age of the Church.  In and through his Church Jesus continues now the work he began during his earthly life.   And the Church, of course, is all of us -- all the baptized.  Jesus’ parting command, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature,” given to his original disciples, is given to us today, no less than to them.           

Even in what is often called our post-Christian and secular age the way we number the years still reflects the fundamental Christian belief that we are living in a new age which belongs to Jesus Christ.  We designate the years before Christ’s birth with the letters “B.C.” — before Christ.  The years since then are called “A.D.”  Those letters do not mean not “after Christ.”  They stand for the Latin words, “anno Domini,” which mean “in the year of the Lord.”  These are the years that belong to him, who is the Lord of history.  This is the final age, at the end of which Jesus Christ will come again: not in weakness and obscurity, as he came at Bethlehem, but in power and glory.  That was the angel’s message at the end of our first reading: “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you seen him going into heaven.” 

That is picture language, of course: poetic imagery to suggest something beyond the power of human language to describe.  The gospel too is using picture language when it says that Jesus “took his seat at the right hand of God.”  This does not mean that Jesus is in a certain place, but that he exercises a certain function. He is our prophet, our priest, and our king.  A prophetis not someone who foretells the future, but rather a person who speaks for God.  Jesus spoke for God during his earthly life.  In the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, Jesus said: “You have heard the commandment, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  What I say to you is: anyone who looks lustfully on a woman has already committed adultery with her in his thoughts.” (Mt. 5:27f)  In that and other such passages Jesus was not interpreting the law.  He was speaking as the Lawgiver — he was speaking for God.  Jesus continues to exercise this prophetic ministry through his Holy Word, and the teaching of his Church.  

Jesus is also our priest.  We human priests are only his representatives.  It is Jesus for instance, and Jesus alone, who has power to forgive sins in the sacrament of penance.  Jesus is the true celebrant of every Mass.  When we pray, we approach God through Jesus.  That is why we conclude our prayers with the words “through Jesus Christ”, in the power of his Holy Spirit.  

Today’s second reading speaks of Jesus as kingwhen it says, again using picture language, that God has “put all things beneath [Christ’s] feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church, which is his body ... “

The Church is the sphere where Christ’s kingly rule or universal dominion is acknowledged.  The world in which the Church lives rejects its true king, and suffers in consequence the turmoil, chaos, and anguish reflected daily in the newspaper headlines and on TV.  The Church’s task, which means the task of every one of us who arethe Church, is to expand the sphere in which Christ’s rule is acknowledged.  We do so not so much by words (for words are cheap), as by the contagious force of our own example.  

Jesus commands us, as he commanded that little band of disciples on a Galilean hillside two thousand years ago, to “go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”  In the measure in which we try faithfully to fulfill this command, Jesus continues to do what he promised to do when he gave the command: to confirm it by “signs.”  In the pre-scientific world of the first century, there were signs appropriate to that age.  Mark mentions them: the power to drive out demons, to speak new languages, immunity to deadly snakes and poisons, the power to heal the sick.  

Today’s signs are different: the worldwide example and inspiration of a Mother Teresa, of Pope John Paul II, who soldiered on to the end despite bodily weakness, attracting at successive World Youth Days larger crowds than any rock star.  The century just closed brought us the sign of some twelve thousand “witnesses for Christ”: women and men all over the world who, in the bloodiest of all centuries in recorded history, gave their lives for Jesus Christ.  “The age of the martyrs has returned,” Pope John Paul II said as the twentieth century drew to a close.  In a great ecumenical service at the turn of the millennium in Rome’s Coliseum, where many martyrs shed their blood for Christ in antiquity, the Pope joined other Christian leaders in commemorating these twelve thousand witnesses to Christ.

Impressive as their witness is, and the other signs I have mentioned, perhaps the greatest of all today’s signs, confirming the gospel message given to us by Jesus at his ascension, is simply this: that after so much failure by Christians down through the centuries, and by the Church’s leaders and members in our own day; after so many frustrations, after so many betrayals, and after so many defeats in the struggle to fulfill Christ’s missionary command — nevertheless, after twenty centuries, so many, all over the world, are still trying to be faithful.  That, my friends, is the true miracle of the feast that gathers us here this day, the gift and grace of the Ascension.

Sunday Reflection - The Gospel must be preached!

In the Fall of 1974, just a few short months after my ordination to the priesthood, Pope Paul VI held one of the important post-conciliar synods, bringing together episcopal leadership from around the world to reflect on the critically important theme of ‘evangelization’ in the Church today.  The following year, Paul VI, issued his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi,that presented a marvelous theological rationale for rediscovering this important gospel dynamic in our contemporary church.

The words, “evangelist”, “evangelize”, “evangelization” were somewhat late in becoming part of our Catholic faith vocabulary.    In fact, if we Catholics would have used these terms 40 years ago, I’m sure someone might have questioned how truly Catholic we might be! Those were Protestant words to describe what Protestants do!  We Catholics were far more comfortable with words like sacrament, commandments, sanctifying grace and hierarchy.   Yet, the words “evangelize” and “evangelization” are an important part of our heritage of faith. These words speak to a fundamental and essential dynamic of what it means to be Catholic in our world.

These words speak of the dynamic that could characterize what we have been hearing about in our first readings on the Sundays of the Easter Season taken from the Acts of the Apostles - the spirit filled action of the early church as it “shared with passion” the good news of Christ with others.

That good news - rooted in the life and ministry of Jesus was now given the ultimate stamp of legitimacy through his resurrection. The good news that proclaimed the unconditional love of the Father made real in the presence of the Anointed one - the Messiah.

In the power of his resurrection, Jesus has now given his followers a mission.  That mission is to be the living presence of his on-going Good News to the world.   In other words, the Lord empowered them and us to be a community of “evangelization”, handing on the legacy of his good news to every generation throughout the world.

But how do we do this?  God’s word this day gives us an insight as to how we can carry on this legacy of being “evangelizers” to our world today.

First, in our reading from Acts, Cornelius was attracted to the Good News because he saw something in Peter and the early Christian community that he himself wanted.   There was an irresistible attraction in the words that Peter spoke and the life of the community that touched his heart with the presence of the Lord.   Quite simply, evangelization occurs when people see the Lord alive and active in the midst of our parish communities -when people see and experience “good things” happening in our midst.

Second, that which attracts people within our parish communities is not so much talk about God but rather the love of God manifested in the quality of our lives lived together.  Actions do indeed speak louder than words -   It is through the dynamism and power of love that most people come to see the face of God in our world.    When a Christian community is divided by factions, jealousy, envy and detraction it becomes a stumbling block rather than a doorway leading to the presence of the living God in our midst.  Yet, when that same community struggles to feed the poor, offer compassion to the outcast, reverence the most vulnerable in our midst and struggles to live the law of love - then we evangelize in the most profound way by putting a human face on the love of God.

Finally, we sometimes think that evangelization is always for someone else.  It is only when we humbly acknowledge that evangelization must begun with “me”- with ourselves - that our lives can indeed become a witness to the Gospel of Christ.    The life long journey of every Christian in realizing that perfection is really a matter of daily conversion - a daily acknowledgment that without God in our lives and the daily struggle to make the Lord the number one priority of our lives, we will never experience the “joy” that St. John spoke of in today’s Gospel - a joy that is complete.

May our reflection on God’s Holy Word this day continue to deepen our commitment to be a people where the Good News of Christ is alive and well because it can be seen and experienced in our love for one another.

Sunday Reflection - The Greatest Virtue

In his book, The Road to Character, the American political and cultural commentator, David Brooks, writes of a dramatic shift that has taken place in our society from one that was, in many respects, characterized by the virtue of humilityto what he refers to as the present-day selfieor ‘Big Me”generation and its narcissistic preoccupations.  In this thoroughly engaging work, he speaks of what he refers to as resumévirtues and eulogyvirtues.  “Resumé” virtues are all those gifts and talents that we have acquired over the years that help us to be successful in the things that we do in our occupation - entrepreneurial skills, gifts and talents that help us to not only compete but excel in our particular occupations in life.  These are the things that we meticulously put down on a resumé if we are looking for a job.

“Eulogy” virtues, on the other hand, are the things that will be said about us after we die. They are virtues that have shaped us, hopefully, to be women or men of character.  Eulogy virtues exists at the core of our being - kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed in the course of our lives.  In the end, it is, of course, these ‘eulogy’ virtues that ultimately will determine what has, down through the ages, been the hallmark of a man or woman of character.

My friends, it is precisely the nurturing of eulogy virtues that God’s word speaks to this day.  During the Easter Season, readings from the letters of St. John to the early communities of Christians invariably focus on the foundational Christian virtue of love. Over and over again, like a great litany of affirmation, we hear St. John telling his listeners to ‘love one another.’  Tradition has it that as an old man his audience would anticipate his familiar theme as they waited once again to hear the words of one who had known the Lord as the beloved disciple.  

The ultimate test of our character as Christians is beautifully set before us in today’s Gospel.  The depth and authenticity of that character, quite simply, will be determined by how well and often we have let ourselves be rooted deeply in Jesus.  Using the familiar imagery of the ‘vine and branches,’ Jesus calls us to ‘remain in him as I remain in you.’

At the heart of our Catholic faith is nothing less than divine communion with the Lord of creation.  As Catholics we have nearly two millennia of rich and elaborate doctrinal belief.  Our theological heritage spans the centuries and fills volumes of learned tomes.  However, as St Thomas Aquinas, said, all of it is straw in comparison to the love that you and I are called to have with Christ.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you,

ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.

By this is my Father glorified,

that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

My brothers and sisters, when the inevitable sun sets on our earthly journeys and the time will come when we will be remembered, let us hope and pray, that the greatest tribute that might be given to us will be captured in the simple words, “He or she loved the Lord and His people!”

Reflections on A Higher Loyalty by James Comey

There are certain books that one reads that have a way of staying with you for the rest of your life. I remember reading All the Presidents Men in the wake of the Watergate debacle.  The authors' masterful work chronicling of this dark chapter in our American history continues to resonate in my memory.

It was that prescience of a book ‘staying with me’ that I felt after reading James Comey’s, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership. Much ink has already been spilled and innumerable interviews with the author in the media, that might prompt folks to just skip reading what they probably figure is now an ‘old story.’ If you are tempted to do this, I would strongly urge you to resist that temptation.  The book is well worth your time and effort.

While the media and the pundits, of course, immediately gravitate to the ‘juicy’ stuff – and, in all candor, it is quite juicy – the book, as Comey continues to underscore, is essentially about reflections on what constitutes ethical leadership and what he has learned, over his many years in leadership positions, constitutes the qualities of authentic leadership that flows from a person of integrity and character.

This is actually a topic that has interested me for many years in light of my own years in pastoral leadership and what I have gleaned through experience to be the qualities that make for leaders of ethical integrity and time-tested virtue.

The book, in many respects, is a personal memoir, in elegant prose, that undoubtedly was prematurely ‘birthed’ because of the events surrounding the author’s unenviable involvement as FBI Director in the 2016 Presidential Campaign and his eventual firing at the hands of Donald Trump.

However, in the earlier chapters of the book, he speaks of personal crisis moments in his life that left indelible marks in shaping his character as a future leader.  One pivotal example was as a young High School student, both he and his brother were held hostage in their home by a notorious burglar and town rapist, with their lives threatened.  Comey speaks of how every day for over five years after that traumatic event, he would think of that terrifying moment when he and his brother were almost killed.  

As is often the case for leaders, crisis moments can be the catalyst for an inner transformation to see with defining clarity what one’s future calling might be. And so, it was for Comey, from that defining moment to times when he was both the recipient as well as the perpetrator of cowardly bullying, a life in service to justice and the rule of law was set in motion.  

As he put it:  Being an outsider, being picked on, was very painful, but it made me a better person. It instilled in me a lifelong hatred for bullies and sympathy for their victims. Some of the most satisfying work I did as a prosecutor, in fact, was putting bullies of all kinds in jail, freeing good people from their tyranny.

Fast forward to the 2016 Presidential Election, Comey, as FBI Director was faced with the consummate Catch-22 situation in regard to Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server as Secretary of State.  With the eventual discovery that this unsecured server had indeed held classified and confidential material, an investigation ensued.  Much has been and will continue to be written, speculated and judged about the propriety of how Comey handled this situation, both in mid-campaign as well as days before the election.  As a Hillary supporter, I was livid with rage at what Comey did that undoubtedly tipped an extremely close election to Trump.  In retrospect and having ‘heard Comey out,’ while I still wished that normal FBI protocols had been followed, i.e., nothing should have been said until after the Election, the explosive nature of this Election with two highly unpopular and flawed candidates, could indeed have thrown into question the legitimacy of Hillary win.  History must be the judge.

The last quarter of his book zeroes in on the now infamous relationship between Comey as the then FBI Director and the President-elect and soon to be sworn in 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.  The author weaves a depressing tail of duplicity, mafia-like solicitation of loyalty, boorish and crass behavior and eventual character assassination as Trump attempts to subvert the sovereignty of the institutional rule of law as the ‘forest fire’ of his Presidency continues to wreak havoc on our beloved Republic.  This is what happens when ethical leadership is sacrificed at the altar of narcissistic pragmatism, unmoored from the institutional values that have truly and authentically made our Country great.  He concludes:

Donald Trump’s presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation. We all bear responsibility for the deeply flawed choices put before voters during the 2016 election, and our country is paying a high price: this president is unethical and untethered to truth and institutional values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and about personal loyalty. We are fortunate some ethical leaders have chosen to serve and to stay at senior levels of government, but they cannot prevent all of the damage from the forest fire that is the Trump presidency. Their task is to try to contain it. 

In summary, unless the Mueller investigation concludes unambiguously that there has been clearly impeachable offenses perpetrated by the President, I agree with Comey that partisan attempts to impeach Trump would, in the end, be counterproductive and could exacerbate the toxic divisions in our Country.  For, it is the truly ‘institutional’ antidote to this virulent virus that must now be vigorously pursued.  More and more citizens, especially Millennials, are coming to know that democracy demands their engagement, their vote, now more than ever.  I am heartened by the passion of so many, especially the youth of our Country, who still believe in the possibility of political leadership that is tethered to the values of respect for the truth, the dignity of all God’s children, freedom of a responsible and conscientious press, vigorous debate with civility and the belief that no one, not even a President, is ever above the law.

Sunday Reflection - Good Shepherd Sunday

My brothers and sisters, each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter with its beautiful gospel of the “Good Shepherd”, the universal Church celebrates “World Day of Prayer for Vocations”. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has continued this important tradition of calling on Catholics throughout the world to pray on this day for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  Because of our gospel theme of the “good shepherd”, it is natural for us to focus on the important role of priests and religious in the life of the community of believers.

On May 25th of this year,  I will celebrate my 44thAnniversary as a priest.   I am often asked the question, “Why did you become a priest!”  My response down through the years has always begun with sharing the story of how I first sensed the call from God to serve in the priesthood through the example of the good religious sisters that taught me in grammar school.  I remember as a young child admiring the joy and happiness that these wonderful women reflected in their lives.  They were excellent educators but far more important they were women who obviously loved the Lord and felt called to do his work of bringing the good news of Jesus to their students.

My friends, at the heart of every vocation to the priesthood and religious life, is the call to bring the “good news” of Jesus to the world in which we live.  Our gospel today presents us with the wonderful image of the good shepherd who was especially concerned about reaching out to find the lost sheep so that they could be brought safely back to the sheepfold.

In the gospels, Jesus reminds us that it is not those who are well who need a doctor but rather those who are in need of the healing art of a physician.  And so it is for every priest and religious.  While we are called to make sure that God’s Holy people are nourished by the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy in the sacraments of the Church, we are especially called to be attentive to those who are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives.  A priest or religious in our Church today is particularly attentive to those have wandered far from the love of Christ and are in need of hearing, through us, the Lord calling them back to friendship with him.

One of the greatest joys in my life is to experience renewed hope and joy in those who have been far from the Lord and perhaps through a good confession, or return to the active practice of their faith when their marriages have been blessed, once again experience the living presence of Christ in their lives.

Jesus reminds us in the gospels that “the harvest is rich but laborers are few…”  We are all aware that as our Catholic communities continue to grow in numbers we often have an insufficient number of priests and religious to serve the many needs of God’s holy people.  This is particularly true within our own ever-growing Diocese of Orange. It is said that the first seminary is the family.  For it is within the family that a young person first comes to know the presence of God through the gift of loving parents and comes to understand the Lord’s call to service of our sisters and brothers.  It is for this reason that I especially appeal to all families to nurture a positive environment in your homes for a possible vocation to the priesthood and religious life to grow.  Do you speak positively about priests and religious in your homes?  If you see that you son or daughter is serious about growing in their friendship with Jesus, have you ever mentioned the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood or Religious life to them?   In your daily prayer at home, do you add a frequent intention for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life?

My sisters and brothers, St. John in his first letter, that we have heard today, speaks of the love that the Father has bestowed on us in being called children of God.  The family of the Church needs good and holy priests and religious to guide and shepherd the flock of Christ.    May we continue to pray for an increase of vocations as well as offer sincere prayer for all those who labor, particularly in challenging circumstances, to bring the good news of Christ to our world.    Who knows, there could very well be a future priest, religious or even bishop reading these reflections today who could benefit from our encouragement, love and prayers!

Sunday Reflection - Someone with skin on!

There was a little girl named Allison who always had a hard time going to bed.  And this night was no exception.  After a story and prayers and a drink of water and a visit to the bathroom, Allison was tucked in and the lights were turned off - but not for long. “Mommy,” she called out in a pitiful voice.  “I can’t go to sleep; I’m afraid of the dark.”  Now, Allison,” her mother replied patiently, “There’s no reason for you to be afraid.  You know that God is always right there with you.”  “I know, Mommy,” said the little girl.  “I know God’s here. But I want somebody with skin on!”

Little children aren’t the only ones who get scared in the dark.  We all get scared in the dark times, and we all need someone to hang onto - someone with skin on.  Jesus understands that, as he makes so clear in today’s Gospel from the latter part of the 24th chapter of Luke.  “I’m not a ghost,” Jesus says to his friends.  “I’m very real; I’m here; and you can count on me. So don’t be afraid.  I’ll always be here for you, closer than your breath, closer than your heartbeat.  I’ll always be here, even when its very dark.”

Jesus’ words comfort his friends and calm them and that’s good. But it isn’t enough so far as the Lord’s concerned.  He wants more for them and for us - a lot more than just peace and quiet.  He wants to transform them and us into new people with a radically different way of looking at the world and one another. Jesus wants to transform us into people who understand what it means to be made in God’s own image and what it means to be entrusted with the gift of seeing that in one another.  Jesus wants to transform us all into people who understand that our greatest joy, our lastingjoy - is to be found in building the human family and bringing one another to wholeness in the sight of God.

He wants to help us see that the cost of being transformed - and being transformers - is always high, but the cost of not being transformed, the cost of staying mired in ourselves and stuck in our fears is higher still.  For that choice leaves us with little or nothing of the only joys that truly warm the heart and enliven the spirit.

Our being transformed is God’s hope and desire for us, God’s will for us. And it will happen and continue happening for each of us, if we trust in God’s presence which is closer than our breath, if we draw strength from the love which is closer than our heartbeat.

God wills us to be whole and be filled full.  How can we settle for anything less?

Sunday Reflection - The Power of God's Mercy

In the great Jubilee Year 2000, Pope St. John Paul II canonized a mystic Polish nun to whom in the course of his priesthood he had great devotion and love.  Her name was Faustina Kowalska.   Sr. Faustina popularized a pious devotion that emphasized God’s loving mercy over his just judgment.  In time, as the devotion and prayers associated with this devotion spread, it greatly impacted the life and ministry of a young Polish priest by the name of Karol Woytila.  In his own life Fr. Karol experienced time and time again, the loving mercy of God that carried him through the early death of both his mother and father as well as his only brother, the ravages of the Nazi occupation of his beloved homeland during World War II, to the eventual rise of communism that would replace one type of political tyranny with another in Poland.  Through it all, the loving mercy of God would carry this priest onward to eventually becoming a bishop and then to the amazement of the world, to be elected as the Bishop of Rome in October 1978, the first non-Italian in 455 years.

The span of his papacy left its indelible mark on the Church as he extended his visible presence throughout the world as the most traveled Pope in history. Amid the phenomenal years of his lengthy papacy, John Paul endured an assassination attempt and then, in his final years, bore courageously, the ravages of Parkinson’s disease – a disease that slowly robbed him of his once robust vitality. Yet, it was the loving mercy of God that carried him heroically and courageously through each of these chapters in his life.

As we continue to bask in the glory and hope of the Feast of the Resurrection, we hear the very first words of the risen and glorified Christ as he greets his followers who are imprisoned in their fears and doubts in that upper room. He first speaks the word, ‘Peace’ to them.  From our all too human perspective we could easily imagine how Jesus after suffering the cruel and torturous death of a common criminal on the cross, might have spoken the word, ‘Revenge’ to vanquish all those complicit in this cruel crime. But no, Jesus speaks a greeting of peace and then goes on to speak of ‘Forgiveness,’ as he imparts the ability to grant that soul-healing reality to his followers. “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…”

As Isaiah the prophet reminds us, “God’s ways are not our ways.”  While it is so common for us in the face of the cruelties of life to focus on what our ethical tradition calls ‘retributive’ justice, where retribution becomes the hallmark of justice, crudely interpreted in ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ mentality, Christ has come to teach us a new way of living.  For the justice of Christ is restorative.  It is a justice rooted in his unfailing love and unconditional mercy to heal and make new. Countless stories in the New Testament lay before us the image of Jesus as he responds to the dark side of humanity. In the midst of the ugliness of humanity’s sinfulness, Jesus refuses to let any person be defined by their darkest moments.  In the eyes of the Savior each and everyone one of us is worthy by virtue of God’s amazing grace of forgiveness and God’s unfathomable mercy and love.  For it is a mercy and love that is there to restore, renew and make whole, the original glory with which each of us have been created as a beloved child of God.

So central is this foundational theme of God’s restorative mercy and love to the Good News of Christ, that, in 2015, Pope Francis solemnly proclaimed an Extraordinary Holy Year of God’s Mercy. In the document announcing that special Holy Year, our Holy Father stated that the church’s"very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.”  Pope Francis stated that "It is time to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters.” "Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope."

In many respects, for us as Christians, every year should be a ‘year of mercy’ as we are called to enflesh the good news of Christ for the transformation of our world.  

Continuing our Easter rejoicing and grateful for the call that we have received from the Risen Lord to be signs of God’s mercy and hope in our broken world, let us pray for the courage to take up this challenge anew. Let us pray for the grace and the strength to resist the all too easy temptation toward revenge and retribution in the face life’s cruelties.  Faithful to the one whose name we bear as Christians, may we, like our Christ, let mercy, forgiveness and understanding be the healing that our broken world so desperately needs as together we work to renew all things in Christ our Risen Savior.

Reflection - Easter Sunday

A story is told of a religion teacher preparing her class for the upcoming Easter celebration. She gave an empty plastic egg to each child in her religion class -- including Philip, a boy with Down's Syndrome. They were instructed to go out of the church building onto the grounds and put into the egg something that would remind them of the meaning of Easter.

All returned joyfully. As each egg was opened there were exclamations of delight at a butterfly, a twig, a flower, a blade of grass. Then the last egg was opened. It was Philip's and it was empty!

Some of the children made fun of Philip. "But, teacher," he said, "teacher, the tomb was empty."

A newspaper article announcing Philip's death a few months later noted that at the conclusion of the funeral eight children marched forward and put a large empty egg on the small casket. On it was a banner that said, "The tomb was empty."

My brothers and sisters, the simple insight of this small child has captured the heart of our faith which prompts our reflection this morning. The tomb was indeed empty and from hence forth death would be robbed of its power forever and would paradoxically be the path to eternal life.

Christ is Risen, he is Risen indeed. And for us who are the inheritors of this 2000 year legacy of belief, the promise of transformation and unending hope is given to us.

In a world whose shadow side can be cynicism, despair and hopelessness; perhaps for some this Easter morning burdened with inner stress, doubt, or unnamed fear, the message of hope and the promise of transformation may sound just too good to be true. Yet, it is true for those who are willing to surrender to the power of the One who lives with us still as Risen Lord and Savior.

For the power of this day extends beyond the freshness of a spring morning, the new clothes that we wear with pride, the Easter brunch or dinner shared with family and friends. The transforming power of this day is rooted in a love that is stronger than death, a love that a cross and tomb could not contain, a love that reaches out with outstretched arms to all whose hearts are restless until they rest in the Risen Lord.

And so, my friends, “The tomb was empty” vanquished by the power of love. “Let us keep this feast with sincerity and truth” - for in it lies our hope and our light in the midst of whatever darkness we may ever have to face. And that, brothers and sisters is Good News this Easter morn.

The Easter Proclamation - The Exsultet

The quintessential chant of the Paschal Triduum is, without a doubt, the great hymn of exultant praise, the Exsultet or, more properly, the Praeconium Paschale, that is sung at the beginning of the Great Vigil of Easter.  Liturgical scholars date this ancient hymn in praise of the Risen Lord to as early as the 5th century.  The ancient Sacramentaries of the Church, or books containing the liturgical texts for the Mass, give witness to its universal presence in the Vigil liturgy by the 7th century.

This melismatic (elaborate) chant is most properly sung by the deacon of the liturgy.  If a deacon is not present, or his musical skill may not be up to the task of singing this challenging piece of music, it may be sung by a priest or even a layperson – so important is its sung form in the Vigil liturgy.  It would be absolutely abhorrent for it to ever be recited!

In 1973 as a Deacon, I first chanted the Exsultet when I was assigned as a weekend Deacon in my 4th year at St. John’s Seminary to St. Margaret Mary parish in Lomita.  The pastor had a deep appreciation for Church music and chant and asked me if I wouldn’t mind chanting this ancient text in its original Latin form.  I gladly obliged.  It was an unforgettable experience that has remained with me as a grateful memory these 45 years.  In the course of my active ministry, I was blessed to chant this Easter praise for nearly every year of my priesthood, until my singing voice ‘gave up its ghost’ several years ago!

There is an ancient maxim in our liturgical lexicon that I have made reference to in previous posts, that is, the law of prayer shapes what it is we believe – (Lex orandi statuit legem credendi).  And so, for the faithful Christian, the true meaning of Easter – what it is we believe about the Resurrection of Christ – is encapsulated in the text of this marvelous and stunning chant.

While the present English version of this chant that was incorporated into the revised, 2011, translation of the Roman Missal, is one of the more successful efforts at what is generally a literal and less than poetic translation of the original Latin text, the following, is the ICEL translation from the Missal that was completed in 1998 but, sadly, never saw the light of day.  In my humble opinion, it captures the vibrancy and depth of meaning of this ancient proclamation of Easter Praise. 

For those who might be fascinated by this topic, I present two video renditions of the Latin chant.  The first, seen at the beginning of this post, is a beautiful, rather straight forward rendition that was done at the Papal Easter Vigil some years ago. The Deacon chants it with precision and in the traditional fashion.  The second, that concludes this post, was done at the Abbey of Fontfroide in France.  It is done by a priest who chants it with an emotion and intensity (with some emotional chant liberties! – I think he’s a Spaniard!) that befits the beauty and meaning of the text.

Here follows the ICEL 1998 translation:

Exult and sing, O heav’nly choirs of angels! Rejoice, all you powers in heaven and on earth! Jesus Christ our King is risen!Sound the trumpet, sing of our salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour, radiant in the brightness of your king! Lands that once lay covered by darkness, see Christ’s glory filling all the universe!

Rejoice, O mother Church, with all your children, resplendent in your risen Saviour’s light!Let our joyful voices resound this night!Let God’s people shake these walls with shouts of praise!

A deacon says:

Rejoice, beloved friends and heirs with Christ, standing with me in this wondrous light!Pray that God grant to me, a deacon of the Church, strength to sing this Easter candle’s praises.

A priest or cantor says:

Rejoice, beloved friends and heirs with Christ, standing with me in this wondrous light! Join me in seeking from God’s Holy Spirit grace to sing this Easter proclamation.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is truly right and justthat with full hearts and minds and voices,we should praise you, unseen God, almighty Father, and your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ ransomed us with his precious bloodand, by nailing to the cross the decree that condemned us, he paid to you, eternal Father, the price of Adam’s sin.

This is our passover feast,when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the nightwhen first you set the children of Israel free: you saved our ancestors from slavery in Egypt and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when you led your people by a pillar of fire: with your light you showed them the way and destroyed all the darkness of sin.

This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and in triumphant glory rose from the grave.

What good would life have been for us had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

O God, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave, you gave up a Son!

O necessary sin of Adam, destroyed by the death of Christ! O happy fault, which gained for us so great a Redeemer! O night truly blest! O night chosen above all others to see Christ rise in glory from the dead!

This is the night of which the Scripture says: ”Even darkness is not dark for you, and the night will shine as clear as the day!”

How holy is this night, which heals our wounds and washes all evil away!

A night to restore lost innocence and bring mourners joy! A night to cast out hatred! A night for seeking peace and humbling pride!

O truly blessed night when heaven is wedded to earth and we are reconciled with God!

Therefore, Father most holy, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, the solemn offering of your holy people.

Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honour of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning. Christ is that Morning Star, who rose to shed his peaceful light on all creation and lives and reigns with you for ever and ever.  AMEN.

Reflections on the Easter Vigil

Egino Weinert - 1920-2012

My friends, the rich and splendid liturgy of our Church once again draws us into the great mystery of the Risen one – Jesus the Lord – who has conquered death in His Glorious Resurrection and opened for each of us the gift and promise of eternity.  No longer are we to be like our ancestors of old, waiting in anxious anticipation for the anointed one who would save us from our sins.  No longer are we like the enslaved Hebrews in the land of Egypt, for in Jesus the Risen One, we are freed from anything that would ever hold us captive.   Tonight, in the Risen Lord, we remember and  celebrate again our own transformation in grace. 

As the light of our great Easter Candle enlightens the darkness of our assemby, it is Jesus the Risen one who will forever stand before us to enlighten our path and to guide us into the way of eternity. 

As we listen with grateful hearts and minds to the history of our salvation enshrined in the great stories found in God’s Holy Word tonight, that gift and grace is realized again tonight in our hearing.

As we sing our Alleluias and hear again the story of the empty tomb and the words of the Angel questioning why we are looking for the Risen One among the dead, the hope of generations of Christians is once again renewed.

As we, in a few moments, joyfully witness new Christians coming forth from the font of Baptism and fellow Christians received into Full Communion with our Catholic Family, we rejoice with the saints and angels in a Church that is ever ancient and ever new.

My sisters and brothers, may this graced time of celebration renew our faith in the One who has conquered death.  May it once again fill our hearts with hope in the face of whatever darkness we must struggle with in life.  For Christ is Risen.  He is Risen indeed.  Alleluia, Alleluia! 

Reflections on Good Friday

Icon written by Aidan Hart

We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection, until you come again.

My brothers and sisters our Eucharistic Acclamation, silenced on this singular day in the Church’s year of grace when the Eucharist is not celebrated, captures the heart of the mystery of our faith.

Through the paschal journey of the one who emptied himself to become one like us in all things but sin, the Lord Jesus has embraced even the human reality of death itself as he fulfilled the Father’s plan to draw all things to himself in his love.

We gather in this holy place, our altar stripped bare, the abiding Eucharistic presence of the Lord removed, sacred images taken away - leaving only one that rivets our minds and hearts to the profound mystery of a limitless love - the image of the cross.

Our Passion Proclamation this Good Friday is that which has been proclaimed on this solemn day from the earliest days of the Church - from the Gospel of John. A Passion narrative that proclaims not a victim but a victor who, with courage, embraces his destiny for the life of the world.

In a few moments the simple wooden cross will be lovingly borne into our midst, held high as the trophy of all those for whom the darkness of this world has been vanquished by the light and life of our victorious Savior. That cross has now become the sign of our victory with Christ over the power of sin and death. For this is the wood of the cross, on which hung the savior of the world.

As we venerate the wood of the cross, let us bring to that symbol of triumph, the challenges and difficulties, the pains and anxieties, the worries and sufferings of all those whom we both know and love as well as all those who suffer within the human family alone or abandoned. May they come to know the power and freedom of Him whose unconditional love is boundless and whose mercy is without end. Come, let us worship.

Reflections on Holy Thursday

On Easter Sunday,1939, the famous African American contralto, Marian Andersen, gave a spellbinding concert on the steps of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial.  The concert was originally scheduled for Constitutional Hall but, unfortunately, she was shamefully refused use of the Hall by its owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution, simply because of the color of her skin.  Without rancor, she began the concert by slowly closing her eyes and to a hushed crowd of over 75,000 and the millions listening on the radio, she sang “America,” mesmerizing her listeners into awed silence.

My sisters and brothers, the experience of exclusion, particularly if it is because of prejudice or unjust discrimination can indeed be a scaring experience that one can carry for the remainder of one’s life.  One of the most unsettling aspects of this kind of exclusion was experienced – in the not too distant past - by millions of our fellow Americans who were barred from sitting down and sharing a meal at lunch counters and restaurants simply because of the color of their skin.

To share a meal with another is far more than just satisfying a biological need.  To dine with others implies an openness to share one’s life with another.  Some of the most important moments in our life are shared in the context of a meal.  I suspect that for many of you who are married your engagement took place at the end of special meal.  Birthdays, significant anniversaries in our life, and even the celebrating of the life of our dear one’s who have gone to the Lord – are all often celebrated with a meal.  No wonder then that to be excluded from this moment can be so painful and scaring.

My friends, as we enter into the three holiest days in our Church’s Year of Grace, we do so by remembering that meal that has forever anchored our life of faith and shaped our identity as Christians.  Tonight, we celebrate with grateful hearts the gift of the Eucharist, given as a lasting legacy of the Lord’s abiding presence to His Church.  Just as the Passover meal marked the beginning of the great liberation for the people of the Covenant, so too, this meal speaks of the ultimate freedom that has been gifted to all God’s children by the saving blood of Jesus.

In one of the most dramatic gestures of inclusion celebrated by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, on his first Holy Thursday as Universal Shepherd of our Church, few will forget the images of his gently washing and kissing the feet of the young people in the simple chapel at the detention facility for youth in Rome.  These were not the pure and perfect.  Breaking with the letter of liturgical law, our Holy Father washed the feet of a young Moslem girl.  There were recovering drug addicts and runaways.  He not only welcomed them but enabled them to experience the unfailing love of the Lord and his special love for those who are on the margins of our society.  No one was a stranger that evening at the Table of the Lord.

As we gather in faith this holy night to enter once again into these days of grace and blessing, no one is a stranger but all of us are called to drink deeply of the Lord’s mercy and love.

And the gift we are given this evening and every time we share this sacrificial meal, we are called to give to others. 

May the dramatic gesture of the washing of the feet of our sisters and brothers, which we remember this evening, be a reminder to us of what this holy meal calls us to do and to be in our world today – servants of God’s mercy and love for all. 

Sunday Reflection - Passion Sunday

My friends, we gather today on this Passion or Palm Sunday, to mark and celebrate the beginning of the holiest week in the Christian calendar.  I have often said that ‘to remember is to make present.’  And, to remember within the symbolic richness of our liturgical tradition, we indeed ‘make present’ the saving mystery of the Lord’s presence for the life of the world.

What we do today and especially during the heart of this week, the Paschal Triduum – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the glorious Easter Vigil – is no play acting.  This is not a time for creative parish liturgical committees to conscript donkeys for Palm Sunday, reenact Last Suppers or nail people to crosses! No, what we do this week is far more important, exquisitely more eventful than relegate these days to an extended Passion play.

As Catholic Christians, we firmly believe that when we enter the graced moments of our liturgical celebrations, Christ is truly present in a ‘sacramental’ way.  That term, ‘sacrament’ is multi-dimensional in meaning but at its core, it is the profound belief that through the ‘sign-language’ of these celebrations, the Holy and Divine, touches our lives, inviting us to be transformed and made new by the power of that presence.

And so, the ‘grammar’ of this week of weeks is taken up with palms held high in celebration, bread and wine, feet lovingly washed and caressed, wood venerated and kissed, fire blazing in the night and water and oil generously poured and the sound of our voices raised in both lament and exultation as we journey with Christ through life, death and resurrection.

As our Lenten itinerary of conversion reaches its culmination, our guide, as always, will be the living word of God in the Scriptures.  That word, today, speaks of the fickleness of human nature that one moment can cry, “hosanna” and the next, “crucify him, crucify him” to the one whom Isaiah points to as the ‘suffering servant.’

Both the darkness and glory of these days are so often mirrored in our own lives that are called to be constantly turning ever more closely to the Lord of our lives in conversion and renewal.

May this week and the liturgies that ‘make present’ Jesus, dying and rising, be opportunities for each one of us to ‘die and rise’ with him and so, be transfigured by the grace of these days. 

Theological Reflection on Holy Week and the Easter Triduum

At the heart of our liturgical year stands the week that is before us.  We call it “Holy” because through the liturgies of these days we celebrate the gift of our Redemption in Christ.  On Passion Sunday, or, ‘Palm Sunday as it is popularly called, we join the throngs who gathered in Jerusalem today to acclaim the “King” and “Anointed One.”  Yet, tragically, those “Hosannas” would quickly turn to “Crucify Him” as the Savior is led to the hill of crucifixion.  Yet, death would not and could not have the final say in the journey of Jesus to live out the will of His Heavenly Father.  The empty tomb stands as a perpetual reminder of the transforming power of love.  The Father’s love for His Only Son would see Him rise from the dead.  That is the deepest meaning of Easter, the feast that speaks of hope and promise for all who surrender their lives in faith to Him.

The Triduum of Easter is the three‑day celebration of Jesus' paschal mystery. It presents us with the central mystery of the Christian life, perhaps of life itself ‑‑ dying to rise, death to life. Even though the Church spreads the Triduum liturgies over three days (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil), what we commemorate is one single movement ‑‑ Jesus' passage through the pain, humiliation, and suffering of death to the glory and triumph of Resurrection and new life. Because Holy Week has so many implications for the Christian life, the Church savors its richness and complexity. The Church knows we need time, perhaps a lifetime, to make this dying and rising with Christ the central moving force in our lives.

The distinction of the Triduum cannot be emphasized enough. It is the year's principal liturgy, summarizing in marvelously rich celebrations what being Christian is all about. During these days, the Church's basic symbols are especially highlighted. These symbols appear again and again as we use them extensively to mark the passages of life and the ongoing flow of life. But their singular importance is underscored in the sacred Triduum.

HOLY THURSDAY

Traditionally, on Holy Thursday morning, there is the Chrism Mass that is held in the Cathedral of each diocese.  While this celebration in the Diocese of Orange for practical reasons is held on Monday of Holy Week and is at a larger parish church than our Cathedral, the Arboretum of Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, nevertheless its historical anchor was always the morning of Holy Thursday.  On this day the local bishop consecrates the oils used for baptism, confirmation, holy orders, and anointing of the sick. Later that day we commemorate the Last Supper ‑‑ the first Mass ‑‑ with a special Mass that also recreates the scene of Christ washing the disciples' feet.  With the beginning of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Lent officially is ended and we enter into the “three-fold celebration of the Easter Mystery”.

GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday is perhaps the most difficult liturgy of the Triduum, because it commemorates the gruesome death of Jesus Christ. The tendency might be to overemphasize death to the point of having a wake service or funeral for him with the pounding of nails and taunts of "Crucify him, crucify him." But we must remember this death is not once and for all. Jesus is alive. So Good Friday must be celebrated with an eye to Easter Sunday's Resurrection. It is the premier day to highlight dying to selfishness and sin in order to live a new life.

HOLY SATURDAY

Saturday (the Easter Vigil) is the crown of all liturgies. The Church outdoes itself tonight. This is what it's all about. This is what we celebrate in one way or another all year long. We light the new fire, proclaiming Jesus to be our light and our life. We hear the readings that tell the primal stories of who God is and of who we are and before that the exultant song proclaiming the night of nights when Jesus rose. We bless the waters of baptism through which new members are initiated into the Church. Along with these new members we celebrate the renewal of old members, insuring a Church alive and ever‑new. Finally, the Eucharist celebrates our coming together to nourish ourselves at the font of all life ‑‑ the Lord's table.

There are those who say all parish planning should start and end with the sacred Triduum. The key to an authentic and fruitful celebration of the Triduum is not to restage historical events but rather to renew what these events mean for our lives. The historical occurrences took place centuries ago. Now our goal is to recommit ourselves to dying to the old way in order to rise with Christ to a new life.

Latest Christ Cathedral Progress Video

I was gratified that my most recent post on progress to date on the Christ Cathedral renovation project was accessed and shared by over 2000 people!  Obviously, there is a growing interest in this historic project.

With that continuing interest in mind, I share with you the latest video update on the Cathedral progress produced by the Diocese of Orange.  Fr. Christopher Smith, the Cathedral Rector, explains what has been accomplished to date with some wonderful video footage.

Be assured, as progress continues, I will be posting updates on this Blog.

Progress Report on Christ Cathedral Renovation

It is hard to believe, that in less than a year, the monumental repurposing and renovation of the former Crystal Cathedral into Christ Cathedral for the Diocese of Orange, will be completed.  The Solemn Dedication of this herculean and historic project is set for July 17, 2019.

Thanks to Dr. John Romeri, Director of Music Ministries at Christ Cathedral, I’m happy to share these recent photos of renovation progress to date.

The expansive scaffolding in the interior of the Cathedral is required for the placement of the unique quatrefoils that will be in each of the cubes of the space frame.  The quatrefoils will regulate the amount of light coming into the Cathedral from the environment as well as providing added resonance for the interior of the Cathedral.  This element in the renovation process should be completed by late summer.

Click photos to access slide show:

The concrete floor space has all been poured for the sanctuary areas, Blessed Sacrament Chapel and Baptistery.  All of these flooring areas will be surfaced with beautiful marble.

The ample choir loft in the North Balcony, under the organ chambers that are being painted to be in artistic continuity with the interior color scheme of the Cathedral, will be expansive enough to accommodate over 100 singers, instrumentalists as well as the major organ console for the completely refurbished Hazel Wright Memorial organ. There will be a secondary console in the South Balcony.

The undercroft area will accommodate choir rehearsal space, an ample sacristy to accommodate the vesting of priests for large diocesan celebrations, storage as well as a future chapel, dedicated to St. Callistus, as well as a burial vault for the Bishops of Orange together with a columbarium.

Br. Martin Erspamer, OSB, a world-renowned artist from St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, has designed the monumental tapestry of Christ, Lord of the Universe, that will be suspended in the interior of the Cathedral to the right of the sanctuary.  This is one of the initial studies for this magnificent artistic element that will be crafted in Belgium.

The Bolivian sculptor, Pablo Eduardo, has been commissioned to design and craft four monumental bronze bas-reliefs that will depict the manifestations of Christ's Divinity from the Gospels:  The Adoration of the Magi, The Wedding Feast of Cana, The Transfiguration and The Resurrection.  He will also be designing the 14 Stations of the Cross that will be in a similar stylistic fashion and positioned at the foot of each of the transept balconies.  The following is an initial study for the 13th Station, Jesus is removed from the Cross:

Finally, the artistic centerpiece of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel will be the exquisite bronze and enameled tabernacle by the world-renowned liturgical artist of the last century, Egino Weinert, from Cologne, Germany.  The following video produced by the Diocese of Orange, presents a more detailed explanation of the tabernacle.  Please note, the video was produced prior to some additional changes to the interior Cathedral design.  The Sacrament Chapel will no longer be located in a dedicated space behind the area of the cathedra, but rather in a more ample and accessible space, opposite the Baptistery, on the Eastern side of the Cathedral.

Sunday Reflection - Death to Eternal Life

Several years ago, I read a fascinating book by Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland entitled How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter.   While some may consider this topic a bit of a "downer" for light reading, I must admit I actually found it quite a pager turner.   The inside notes on the book jacket gives one in a few sentences the purpose of this book.  It states that "there is a vast literature on death and dying, but there are few reliable accounts of the ways in which we die.  The intimate account of how various diseases take away life, offered in How We Die, is not meant to prompt horror or terror but to demythologize the process of dying, to help us rid ourselves of the fear of this 'unknown territory'".

In his work, Dr Sherwin Nuland who himself is a skilled surgeon and teacher of medicine, tells stories of how his own patients have had to struggle with this ultimate reality of human existence.  He speaks of those who gracefully accept this experience as an intimate part of the fabric of life as well as those who "fight it all the way".    In a thoughtful and provocative way, he states that medical science in many respects is unwilling to see death as part of the life cycle.  For physicians, the diagnosis of terminal illness is the ultimate defeat.  In some respects, it triggers massive denial not only on the part of family and friends of those who face the reality of death in their life, but also a denial among many physicians themselves for whom death itself remains the ultimate enemy of life.

All of us have undoubtedly been touched by the reality of death in our lives.  Perhaps it was the death of a parent, a spouse, a son or daughter or the painful and devastating experience of the death of a child or a close and beloved friend.  In each of these moments we taste the bitterness of human anguish, the emotional pain of being separated from those whom we have come to know and love in our lives.  There are no easy answers or glib phrases that can soften and shorten the grieving process.  It may sound terribly simplistic, but I often hear myself telling those in the midst of such grief that it will "just take time" and to be patient with oneself for the healing of the heart in the face of the grief of death cannot be rushed. 

God's word to us this day, however, sheds the light and freedom of the Gospel on the darkness of death and its frightening hold on us.  Jesus uses a natural image of a grain of wheat falling to the earth and appearing to die in order to capture the attention of his audience - in order to give hope to all those who must struggle with the mystery of death and dying in this world.  In order for that grain of wheat to ultimately become what God intended it to be, it must go through the passage of death.  It must give up one form of existence in order to be transformed into new life.  Jesus, of course, was speaking of what he himself was to face in his own passage through death to new life in resurrection.   He realizes that it was for this passage to glorification that he came.  Like the Romans who spoke of carpe diem - "seizing the day" - Jesus takes hold of this critical moment in his life  - this hour - in order that the great covenant relationship of his father with all of humanity might come to perfect completion. 

And so, for the Christian, our completion or fulfillment in life can only come about through our own passage with the Lord through the gates of death.   That is the paradox of the cross for every Christian.  From the first moment of our Christian journey in baptism to the eventual unfolding of life in death, we are signed with the cross.  For the man or woman of faith, it no longer is an instrument of cruel torture but rather becomes the sign of our ultimate glory and transformation because of the one who hung upon it.    

As we come to know the cross of Christ in our lives in the daily frustrations and anxieties that are a part of the human condition or in the fear we might carry in the face of our own mortality, let us be filled with hope because of the cross of Christ.  Let us come to realize that the critical question in life is not so much "How we Die" but rather "Why we Die" and its ultimate answer in Christ our Risen Savior.

St. Patrick's Day

One of my favorite hymns is the Breastplate of St. Patrick or, as it is sometimes referred to, the Lorica of St. Patrick.  Tradition has it that the text itself dates to the 5th century when Patrick was evangelizing the Celtic people in what is today known as Ireland.  The text is a magnificent prayer invoking the Trinity and the Lordship of Christ over the entire cosmos and every part of our lives.  May that, indeed, be our prayer this day.  Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Sunday Reflection - The gift and power of Divine Mercy

In a move that is so characteristic of Pope Francis, the Pope of God’s Divine Mercy, several years ago to mark the second anniversary of his election as Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, presided over a communal penance service in St. Peter’s Basilica.  Often in his pontificate, Pope Francis has spoken of the beauty and power of the sacrament of penance.  It is the sacrament that realizes so movingly the Jesus who came to save sinners.  It is the sacrament that epitomizes the God who, as eloquently stated in our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is rich in mercy.  When asked in an interview early in his pontificate how he would describe himself, to the surprise of many, he stated, “First, I am sinner!”  Indeed, my friends, we are all sinners who are in need of the unfailing mercy of our God.  At the end of the penance service, after hearing confessions himself, Pope Francis walked humbly to one of the priests hearing confessions and knelt before him to make his own confession, seeking God’s mercy and pardon.

We have all heard the expression, “miss the forest for the trees.”  In other words, so often in life we can become obsessively concerned about the minutiae of ‘little things in life’ that we can miss the bigger picture of life itself.  As Catholics, we can at times become so preoccupied with this or that peripheral aspect of our Catholic faith that we can lose sight of the bigger picture of the sublime calling we have received to bask in God’s great mercy and forgiveness.

Our Lenten season is precisely the time for all of us to correct such short-sighted spiritual myopia and to step back and to realize what is it that stands at the heart and center of our faith.  That touchstone belief, is summarized in the simple yet powerful verse we have heard into today’s Gospel, John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 

At the end of his homily at the special communal penance service, the ‘Pope of surprises’ once again dramatically captured the attention of many by an unexpected announcement.  He announced an Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy that began on December 8th, 2015, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception that year, and concluded on the Feast of Christ the King in 2016.  No other Pope in the history of our Church has so underscored the preeminent theme of God’s mercy that it would be the focus of an extraordinary Holy Year!

He stated: I am convinced that the whole Church will find in this Jubilee the joy needed to rediscover and make fruitful the mercy of God, with which all of us are called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time. From this moment, we entrust this Holy Year to the Mother of Mercy, that she might turn her gaze upon us and watch over our journey. 

My friends, the wonderful good news about God’s unfailing mercy and love is the astounding fact that, as important as the Holy Year of Mercy was for our Church, that reality of amazing grace can never be circumscribed by one year alone.  Rather, God’s renewing mercy is there for each one of us, every day, for those who are willing to drink deeply of so great a gift of immense love.

In these final weeks of our Lenten journey and as we prepare to renew our baptismal commitment to the Lord at the Feast of Easter, may we all drink deeply of God’s mercy and forgiveness that has no end.  If it has been some time since we ourselves have been renewed and made whole by the grace of God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance, let us take the opportunity to seek out a time in these final weeks of Lent to make a good confession. 

We began this season of spiritual renewal with the words, Repent and Believe in the Gospel.  May we rejoice in knowing that by God’s love and grace, sinners though we are, we are made new by His unfailing mercy.

Sunday Reflection - Ideals or Values?

Holy God,
the folly of the cross
mocks our human wisdom,
and the weakness of the crucified puts worldly power to shame.

Banish from our hearts
every pretence of might and of knowledge,
that by the power flowing from Christ’s resurrection your people may be raised up from the death of sin and fashioned into a living temple of your glory.

Grant this through Christ, our liberator from sin,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever. 

Collect for the 3rd Sunday of Lent

Cycle - B -  Taken from the 1998 ICEL 

Roman Missal

In the never-ending array of polarizing political figures these days, Judge Roy Moore possesses a unique place.  When Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama was named the new Attorney General by President Trump, it triggered a special election in his home state for his replacement.  Judge Moore was not immune to controversy.  He had been removed as chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to relocate a monument of the Ten Commandments that he had prominently displayed in the Supreme Court building.  Being the darling of evangelical voters who sometimes view the ‘separation clause’ between Church and State, enshrined in our Constitution, as a mere suggestion, Moore was on his way to winning the election until a dirty little secret was revealed – his predilection to prowling malls as a younger man with the hope of dating teenage girls, which he, in fact did.  Despite denials, it was not enough to overcome the disgust of Alabama voters who eventually voted in Doug Jones as the new Senator.

While legal scholars may debate the appropriateness of this judge’s decision to enshrine a portion of God’s word in his courtroom, there is no question that among realists in today’s world - something has gone dangerously wrong with our moral compass.

One need only look to at the tragic litany of mass shootings that have become epidemic in our country, from Sandy Hook to Parkland, from the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando to the Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas,  a sense of basic morality - a respect and reverence for the most fundamental principles of what constitutes a moral way of life - have been cauterized out of the consciences of the perpetrators of these horrendous acts.

“A moral way of life” - what does that exactly mean for us who have been called into covenant with the Lord and redeemed by the cross and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ?

In and of itself, morality, has to do with how we “ought” to live our lives in response to both ideals and values in our lives. As members of the human family, written within our hearts is the basic moral principle “to do good and avoid evil”. That basic principle of the natural law however has been filled out with exacting specificity in God’s Revelation which we find in the Scriptures.

As Catholic Christians, our moral vision is built upon God’s Word. It is that word that shapes both the ideals by which we live our lives as well as the values that practically determine the choices and decisions we make that are moral, good and life giving to others.

What is the difference between a moral ideal and a moral value? A moral ideal tends to be a distant moral goal which in the abstract we may reverence, but in the daily messiness of human existence we are unwilling to pay the price it often asks of us. For instance, when Lucy in the Peanuts cartoon strip announces, “I love everyone, it’s just people I can’t stand”, she acknowledges the ideal of altruism - loving everyone - but unfortunately, it hasn’t become a value for her in living her everyday life.

It is very tempting for all of us to live our lives out of ideals which we safely give lip service to but are unwilling to embrace as functional values that impact our daily choices and moral decisions in life. When moral ideals become an inconvenience for us, they are safely locked up in the recesses of our conscience only to be paraded out when convenient or expedient.

In 1993, the Best Picture of the Year went to Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film dramatically and movingly tells the story of the fall of the Warsaw Ghetto at the hands of the Nazi’s in their diabolical scheme to exterminate as many Jews as possible through their concentration camps.  Yet, some righteous individuals, did what they could to save a remnant of these doomed children of Abraham from this awful fate.  That film continues to haunt so many who have seen it with the question: How could this have happened? Wholesale genocide might be marginally understandable in the dark recesses of primitive cultures removed from the civilizing influences of so-called Western Civilization. But this gaping wound in the history of humanities inhumanity took place in the Christian and highly cultured environment of Western Europe. Its diabolical genesis and methodical planning emerged from the minds of men many of whom were baptized and raised in the Catholic faith and formed in cultures imbued with centuries of Christianity.

For them and their accomplices, the Gospel of the living Christ and its call to a change of heart, never went beyond a lifeless ideal which in time lost its power to inform moral choices and became completely corrupted. The reality of sin and selfishness, the arrogance of unbridled power, and vicious scapegoating, expediently took the place of the law of God.

In today’s Gospel, inflamed with the passion for all that the Temple stood for, Jesus throws the money changers out. This place which symbolized God’s gracious and abiding presence with his people, was now being used in a way that was never intended by God. Jesus tells them, “Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

For those who are tempted to use Religion as a pretext for persecution, condemnation of others, inquisitions and pogroms, Jesus’ words to us this day provides a sobering examination of conscience for what we sometimes do in the name of Religion - a Religious faith that can lose its moral moorings.

As our Lenten journey continues, let us pray for the gift and challenge of moral integrity in our lives as Catholic Christians. A moral integrity that is willing to pay the price of letting the ideals of our faith become a living reality in the values that inform our decisions and choices in life.