Sunday Reflection - Service in Humility

Few Presidents in modern times have elicited the strong emotional reactions as President Donald Trump.  Either you are delighted in the unconventional and ‘tell it like it is’ manner that he exhibits with virtually every tweet or you have a strong visceral reaction of revulsion at his abrasive and ‘un-presidential’ demeanor.  There is no question that in the annals of American Presidents, President Trump will go down in history, for good or ill, as one who has broken the mold when it comes to the character and temperament for an American President.

Political analysts of the 2016 election have stated that it was the Evangelical Christian vote that catapulted Trump to win his relatively thin Electoral College majority.  The President’s late in life ‘conversion’ to the pro-life agenda as well as his vociferous commitment to naming a Supreme Court Justice ‘in the ideological image’ of Justice Antonin Scalia, a promise he kept, were extremely helpful in garnering the vote of this constituency for whom these values played a central motivating force.

In the shadow of the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther’s Reformation, Evangelical Christianity is that branch of the Christian Church for whom the word of God as found in the Scriptures presents the inerrant and foundational core of what it means to be a Christian.  Often viewing the word of God from a fundamentalist perspective, these sacred words are to be interpreted literally.  If the Book of Genesis states that creation took place in seven days, then who are we to say otherwise?  Evangelical Christianity often views the moral dilemmas of contemporary life from a simple or simplistic ‘black and white’ perspective.  Invariably, the defining criterion for virtuous living can be summarized in the simple phrase, “What would Jesus do?”

As we reflect on God’s word this Sunday, our Gospel taken from St. Matthew, presents a dramatic and stirring image of ‘what Jesus did’ when he encountered the duplicity and hypocrisy of the religious leadership of his time, the scribes and the Pharisees.  In contemporary parlance, the term ‘Pharisee’ is synonymous with hypocrisy.  Not so, at the time of Jesus.  Pharisees were the scrupulous keepers of the Law of Moses.  It was their responsibility to keep alive the flame of the Mosaic law that mediated God’s presence and ratified his covenant with them.  However, as is sometimes the case with ‘professional’ religious leadership, the law that they were to mediate to the people was far from their own hearts.  It was precisely this duplicity, this failure to let God’s word and law permeate and transform their own lives that prompted Jesus to righteous judgment against them.

For Jesus, religious integrity has nothing to do with titles and everything to do with conversion of the heart.  And, for Jesus, the first step in that conversion begins with the virtue of humility.  The word ‘humility’ comes from the Latin word for ‘earth’ or ‘soil.’  Humility, then, is a clear-eyed understanding that all that we have and all that we are comes by way of gift from the One who is the giver of all good gifts.  Humility is the virtue that acknowledges that, in the end, we are not the masters of the universe but rather, we are called to be stewards of all that comes to us by way of gift from the loving hand of our God. 

Hence, from Jesus’ perspective, the greatest leaders, whether religious or political, are ones that understand that their ultimate credibility will be determined in proportion to their ability to humbly serve the needs of others.  The greatest leaders in our world have invariably learned from their brokenness and have humbly acknowledged that greatness will inevitably be found in humble service of their sisters and brothers.

The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Reflections on All Soul's Day - November 2nd

In his fascinating and incredibly insightful book entitled, Being Mortal: Medicine and what Matters in the End, Dr. Atul Gawande speaks of the challenges that physicians struggle with when confronted with the inevitable human reality of death.  Trained to bring comfort and healing to the sick, often, the dying process in their patients and death itself are viewed as failure.  However, there is a growing consciousness today among physicians and care givers of the invaluable role that doctors and nurses can play in companioning their patients, providing comfort and dignity in this final chapter in life’s journey.  This companioning can be especially and movingly realized in those involved with hospice, a type of care and philosophy focused on helping the dying pass through this chapter in their lives with dignity, autonomy and with as little pain as possible.

My brothers and sisters, as we mark and celebrate this All Soul’s Day, the church calls us on this day of remembrance to continue to companion our loved ones who have died with our own grateful memories and prayers.  For all who have experienced the death of a family member, loved one or dear friend or acquaintance this past year, know that we continue to surround you with our prayers as you mourn the loss of a husband or wife, father or mother, a dear son or daughter, beloved grandparent or a dear and cherished friend.

Sooner or later most of us have the experience of watching a loved one move through his or her final days and then pass from this earth.  It can be a tremendously sad process for those who are about to be left behind and who know in advance the loneliness that will be theirs.  But in most cases, there’s a marvelous and touching grace-filled aspect of this process as well, and that is watching our dying friend progressively letting go of all sorts of things that don’t count, old baggage in the form of grievances, fears, doubts, and so much more.  It’s a grace for the bystanders to watch that happen, and it presses us to let go of our own baggage sooner rather than later.

Yet, even the best of us, even the saints, leave this life with at least a little bit of unfinished business and a bit of left over baggage.  And that’s why we Catholics pray for the dead.  Our prayers are not aimed at changing God’s mind about our departed friends.  God’s mind doesn’t need any changing.  His love for us is unchanging, and he’s always ready and waiting to welcome home even the worst of us.

No, our prayers are for the deceased themselves, that they will relax in the Lord and let the Lord help them let go of what remains of their old baggage, and help them finish what is unfinished in them.  For those whose hearts are loving and trusting of the Lord, it will come naturally to open their hearts and let the Lord in.  For those of us whose hearts are more ambivalent and in the habit of withholding trust, the work will be more difficult.

So, my friends, on this All Souls Day, hold in prayer all the deceased whom you love, and look to your own heart, that it may be open and welcoming to each of God’s people now.  This day and every day are dress rehearsals for that final day when you and I will give back our heart to the One who gave it to us.

May our heart be true and open and ready this day and always.

Sunday Reflection: Faith and Good Works

This coming Tuesday, October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day, we will mark the 500th anniversary of a turning point moment in the History of Christianity in the Western World.  On that day in 1517, a little-known Augustinian Friar and professor of theology at in the relatively obscure college town of Wittenberg, Germany, by the name of Martin Luther, nailed 95 objections or theses to the door of the collegiate chapel.  These theses were points of contention that Luther had with the prevailing theology of the Roman Catholic Church.  To be more precise, they were pointed objections to a caricature of Catholic theology that was being popularized among the poorly educated folk in Germany.  At the heart of these objections was the popular practice of making indulgences available for an ‘offering’ and thus obtaining the remission of temporal punishment for the souls in purgatory, enabling them to experience heavenly bliss.  In the all too crass popularization of these indulgences, the tenuously thin line between ‘offering’ and ‘selling’ was all too often crossed.  For the pious Luther, a man who had spent his life to this date wrestling with the Word of God, this practice was the very antithesis of the great conversion that had been percolating in his life. 

In the recently published biography of Luther by Eric Metaxas, the author tells the story of a good and pious man who sought to do God’s will but felt his life to be an utter failure in God’s eyes.  Endlessly confessing his sins, he continued to doubt that anything he did for the Lord was ever good enough.  He fasted, prayed endlessly, confessed his sins with greater frequency and yet, he was forever tormented by the spiritual and psychological angst rooted in the self-perception of his worthlessness. 

Luther lived at a time when few Christians were familiar with the Word of God in the Scriptures.  Prior to the invention of movable type, copies of the Bible were rare and more often than not, carefully guarded in monasteries.  Even the clergy were poorly educated in the Word of God and rarely preached to the people at Mass, a ritual that itself was done in a language totally incomprehensible by the common folk.

Luther as a university professor and specialist in Scripture, found himself more and more pondering the meaning of God’s Word that was now becoming more accessible through the invention of the printing press.  It was his pondering and wrestling with the Word that eventually led to the tectonic revolution of insight in his life, catapulting him to this moment of defiance at the doors of the University chapel. 

As we have heard in the conclusion of our first reading from the Book of Exodus, the Lord reminds his hearers that he is ‘compassionate.’ Compassion is the irrevocable hallmark of God’s nature.  Luther in his pivotal conversion moment, came to realize that no matter how many prayers, fastings, indulgences one might earn in life, they can never be a substitute for the utter gratuity of God’s unfailing and amazing grace, or unearned love, that is accessible by faith alone.  Hence, this notion of ‘faith alone’ – ‘sola fide,’ became the rallying cry for the revolution that would come to be known as the Reformation.

Viewing this moment from the perspective of the post-Conciliar, 21st century, we thank God that the division in the Body of Christ occasioned by the Reformation is more and more experiencing moments of healing and greater understanding.  Some years ago, we rejoiced in a joint declaration by both the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church, affirming a common understanding and appreciation for the priority of faith and God’s amazing grace in the process of salvation, with good works as a manifestation of what it means to be God’s redeemed people in Christ.  Rather than viewing ‘faith’ and ‘good works’ as a matter of ‘either/or,’ it is now understood as another example of the Christian, ‘both/and.’

In our Gospel reading today from St. Matthew, the Lord sets before us the Great Commandment, to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  One great writer opined that in this one phrase we have the essence of God’s holy word, the rest is merely commentary.

As we remember this turning point moment in the Christian Church, may it be an opportunity for us all to humbly acknowledge the brokenness that has so often characterized the human face of the Church.  Yet, out of that brokenness and with humility, may we come to an ever more deeper awareness of the Lordship of Christ and our own role as servants of the word.

Sunday Reflection: Making choices

The sum and substance of our lives are made up of a variety of choices that you and I make will make in the course of our lives.  At regular intervals in our Country, we have the great opportunity and privilege of making critical choices at the ballot box that will impact the course of our Country in the years to come.  Whether those choices deal with persons for public office, or choices that can impact State and National policies - these choices are important because of the potential impact they can have on who we are as a Nation.

God’s word today, particularly in the Gospel of Matthew, sets before us the familiar scene of Jesus being challenged to make a choice in his life.  A choice that his antagonists, the Pharisees and Herodians, were hoping would not only create a dilemma for Jesus but more importantly would potentially pit him against either the State or his co-religionists, his Jewish brothers and sisters.

With the insight and skill that our modern day presidential debaters perhaps wished they themselves had, Jesus uses the image of the denarius - the common coin of that time - to point out that the “either/or” question that he was presented with, could very realistically be answered “both/and”.  In other words, it was not a matter of either paying taxes to Caesar and compromising one’s religious commitments.  Rather, as children of the light - men and women of the Kingdom of God, we are called to be a leaven of righteousness in the world in which we live - influencing the political structures that are part of our lives with the values that come from God.

In the not too distant past, we Catholics were sometimes questioned as to whether we could play a role in the political life of our Country.  The first Roman Catholic to run for the office of the President in our Land, Alfred E. Smith of New York, was bitterly opposed primarily because of his Catholic faith and suspicions among many that he would be more loyal to the Pope than to his Country.  That same argument raised its ugly head when John F. Kennedy ran for the office of the President in the early 60's. For Kennedy, the turning point, however, occurred in a famous pre-election speech at a Baptist Convocation in Texas when he basically reiterated the substance of what Jesus stated centuries before to his detractors - pointing out the proper areas of responsibility for the State and for the Church. 

In recent years, however, the separation clause in our Constitution between Church and State has sadly been interpreted as almost an adversarial relationship between the two.   Hopefully as Catholics we approach and shape the political choices that we make based upon the values and convictions that flow from our Gospel beliefs regarding the importance of justice and equity; a consistent life ethic that sees the intrinsic value of all life from womb to tomb.  The decisions that we make as we mark our ballots are ones that balance the rights of the individual with our responsibility to be “our brother or sisters” keeper - insuring the basic dignity of all people especially the poor and the powerless.

As Catholics, we cannot abdicate our responsibility to be part of a civil and public discourse that challenges others to see the great issues that confront us in our Country in the light of the Gospel of Christ. 

As faithful citizens let us pray for the wisdom and insight to be good citizens of this land of freedom.   Good citizens who are willing to let the convictions and values we hold shape the choices we make in our daily life and in the life and destiny of our Country.

Sunday Reflection: Have you been saved?

Of all the theological terms that are frequently tossed around among Christians, the term salvation is one of the most misunderstood and misused of them all.  What does it mean to be saved?  I’m sure at one time or another we’ve been approached by an enthusiastic Christian of the evangelical fundamentalist variety who has recently had a dramatic experience of the Lord in his or her life.  Bursting forth with zeal they approach us with that fundamental question: Have you been saved?  or Have you received the Holy Spirit?  I have often told the story of a wonderfully holy yet bit naive woman who ran up to the late Cardinal Timothy Manning at a Confirmation.  She was bursting with her newly experienced charismatic fervor and asked the Cardinal, “Have you received the Holy Spirit?”  Without missing a beat or losing one once of episcopal composure, he turned to her and said, “Madam, I give the Holy Spirit.”

Confronted with these fundamental questions that touch at the heart of our Christian existence, God’s word to us this day provides a healthy and traditional guide for us to understand what salvation is really all about.  It challenges us to reflect on what it truly means to be gifted by the Holy Spirit in the Reign of God.

And so, what does it mean to be saved?  So often the notion of salvation is rather narrowly and simplistically understood as a dramatic turning point in one’s life.  It is often imaged as a highly emotional personal experience that brings one to acknowledging Jesus as one’s personal Lord and Savior.  This picture of salvation painted with broad strokes is classic among the Evangelical and more fundamentalist Christians denominations.  It flows from a Reformation tradition that saw the priority given to one’s personal surrender in faith to the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

Martin Luther’s classic maxim taken from Paul’s letter to the Romans placed salvation squarely on the shoulders of faith alone - sola fide.  It was faith alone that would bring salvation and justification to an individual.  This became the rallying cry of subsequent Protestant reformers.

The orthodox and traditional Catholic position on the question of salvation, however, balances this Reformation emphasis on faith alone with the concept of faith in action - living our faith through good works.  Historically, one could say that the Reformation was rightly reacting to a poorly articulated belief and almost magical understanding of the relationship between good works and faith.  Among the common folk and uneducated clergy of the time there reigned a belief that as long as you performed certain pious practices correctly, regardless of where your heart was with God, these external practices somehow guaranteed salvation.  This belief, however, was a gross caricature of authentic Catholic belief - an authentic belief that flows from the Word of God and refined down through the centuries by theological reflection.

God’s life giving word in the Scriptures calls all to share in the rich banquet of God’s life and love which Isaiah speaks of in symbolic terms.  No one is excluded from this invitation.  Yet, this invitation awaits a response - as do all invitations.  That response to the call of the Lord is ultimately rooted in our willingness to surrender in love and trust.  In other words, faith gives shape to our surrender to the Lord’s invitation.  It is our saying “yes” to share in his banquet of unending life and love.  Faith is grounded in a personal surrender to the Lord of our lives, Jesus the Christ.  And faith is lived fully when it is enriched, challenged and deepened by the Body of Christ which is the Church. 

The authenticating gauge, the truest test as to whether faith has truly taken root in our lives is the evidence we give that we truly wear the garment of the invited guest - the garment of righteousness.   Each day the Lord continues to invite us to let our faith be seen in action - through our care for the poor, through our moral choices, as well as the political decisions we make that are informed by Gospel values.  To be saved is not to isolate ourselves into a privatized “me and Jesus” world, but rather to open our lives in service of our brothers and sisters who like us have been invited to feast at the Table of the Lord. 

Sunday Reflection: Perfect love casts out fear

Once again, mass gun violence has scared our country with the senseless death of 58 people together with hundreds of others who were injured at a Country Western concert in Las Vegas this past Sunday.  The cold calculations of historical statisticians tell us that this was the largest mass killing in modern U.S. history.  Behind the chilling numbers lie the poignant stories of women and men who at one moment were reveling in the joy of music and friendship, then, in an instant, they were taken from us. 

Whenever one of these, tragically, all too commonplace shootings occur in our country, there are the predictable responses.  Second Amendment advocates cling ever more tenaciously to their weapons – a well ordered militia unto themselves; the silence of the NRA, waiting for the hysteria to blow over; the plaintive plea from a segment of congress advocating for a modicum of gun control laws, again.  However, nothing seems to change except for the deepening anxiety that is felt by a growing number of our brothers and sisters that feel the vulnerability of daily existence in a world gone mad.

It is to this ‘world gone mad’ that God’s holy word today comes as a soothing balm, to calm our hearts with its timeless admonition:

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The cynic might say, ‘easier said than done!” But, for those who have found in Christ the touchstone of their lives, these words come as a healing reminder that you and I are held in the everlasting embrace of a God who will never let the darkness of this world have a final say in our lives.

So often, the anxiety that you and I encounter, is tied to a desperate sense of meaninglessness or purposelessness that unsettles our restless hearts.  Undoubtedly, the opioid epidemic that is ravaging so many in our land is rooted in the desire to quickly fill that void, to provide the quick fix of fleeting pleasure and momentary escape.  However, as in all addictions, when that momentary pleasure passes, we are plunged deeper into the darkness.

God’s word does not promise that we will live lives free from anxiety but rather amid life’s inevitable challenges, we are assured of a companion who has walked that path himself – who knows our sorrows, one acquainted with our grief – and who will gift us with a peace that is rooted in his unfailing and unconditional love. 

One of the passages of scripture that has always been a source of strength, courage and comfort for me, is found in the First letter of St. John, where the author reminds us that, perfect love casts out all fear (1 Jn. 4:18).    So often the courage of the brave is rooted in their knowing that they are not alone, that they are sustained by the support of those who carry them in love.  Prisoners of war endure their unspeakable deprivations because they know that they are loved.  Where love is absent, despair abounds.  Where love is present, hope abounds.

God’s love for us, my friends, is perfect.   Surrendering to that truth can free us to face with courage and hope, the darkest moments of life’s journey:  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Honoring St. Junípero Serra

Few, if any of us, are unaware of the recent controversies surrounding the memorialization of Civil War leaders that has been center stage in newspapers and cable news stations recently.  While this controversy has elicited strong feelings on both sides of the political and ideological spectrum, it has also raised questions concerning the overall question of publically memorializing figures that have been part of the historic fabric of our Nation and State.

With that in mind, from time to time, the question is asked: Why memorialize Fr. Junipero Serra, whose history has been perceived by some, to be tainted because of his cooperation with the European colonization enterprise that in many respects, did violence to the indigenous Native American peoples and culture?

While historical scholarship based on evidentiary examples culled from Fr. Serra’s letters and eye witness accounts, attest to Fr. Serra’s championing with mercy and compassion the plight of the Indians at the hands of often belligerent and hostile Spanish colonizers, nevertheless, Serra was a man of his times and certainly not freed from humanity’s weaknesses and imperfections.

The Catholic Church in the memorialization of her saints and heroes, maintains a realistic perspective.  Saints are individuals, far from always being perfect, yet in their imperfections, strove to do God’s will, with courage, determination and humility.  The use of memorial statues and images of these saints, has been a time honored symbolic way of ‘remembering’ these heroes in the faith.  And in remembering them, particularly their steadfast willingness to let the light of God’s goodness and mercy overcome personal darkness and sin, they become exemplars for us, as we too, strive to live lives of integrity, goodness and holiness.

It is for this reason that we at Mission San Juan Capistrano, the seventh Mission founded by Fr. Serra, and at its heart, a Catholic institution that shares a vital part in the History of California, will continue to honor St. Junípero Serra in the manner and tradition of the Catholic Church, through appropriate imagery and statues.  We do this, not to underscore his humanity that, like all of us, was prone to weakness and sin, but to honor and venerate his sanctity, as an instrument of God’s unfailing goodness, mercy and love.

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Sunday Reflection - Hope will not leave us disappointed

The phenomenon of social media has more and more made its dramatic impact in the world and culture in which we live.  Originally envisioned as a technological means of enhancing communication among the peoples of communities, nations and the world, we are seeing in these latter days, it’s dark side.  Whether it’s influencing a National election by malevolent foreign forces leveraging its information power or creating witch-hunts labeling individuals latter-day heretics that should be silenced for their thoughts and perspectives, social media can be both a blessing as well as a curse.

My own introduction to the world of Facebook was slow in coming.  While an active pastor, the last thing in the world I wanted to contend with was another vehicle for people ‘coming at me.’  However, with retirement and the encouragement of friends, I slowly took my own tentative steps in this form of social media.  To my utter surprise, individuals whom I had come to know either in High School or in my early years in ministry, started requesting to ‘friend’ me.  In a relatively short period of time, my list of Facebook ‘friends’ exceeded 600!

While I have enjoyed my fair share of ‘dancing Chihuahuas’ as well as following along on the travels of friends and acquaintances, there are those, like myself, who see social media as a means of sharing strongly held convictions, whether they be in the realm of religion and theology or the messy world of politics.  Providing a forum for civil dialogue and engagement of the critical issues we face in the present moment, can be an important and positive gift that social media provides.  Sadly, however, social media more often than not, can reflect the tensions and divisions that appear to be exacerbated in recent years among ourselves, whether as people of faith or citizens of this land.

It is with this in mind, that today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, provides a touchstone of wisdom and sanity, shaping the attitude that we should always strive for in our relationships with our sisters and brothers.

Paul reminds his hearers and all of us who strive to daily ‘put on the Lord Jesus,’ to

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.

Following this passage, Biblical scholars tell us that St. Paul incorporates an ancient hymn into his letter that speaks of Christ, ‘pouring himself out’ in unfailing and unselfish love, as he embraced our humanity in the Christian mystery of the Incarnation.  The one equal to the Father in divinity, ‘emptied’ himself, taking on our human existence with all its joys and sorrows, hopes and disappointments, and ultimately embracing the instrument of death, the cross, so that liberation might be gifted to all through his redemptive love and mercy.  The heart of the Good News for Christians will be found in the humility of Christ, who refused to cling to his divinity, but out of self-less love, took on humanity for the life of the world.

It is precisely that same self-less and humble attitude that should characterize the quality of our daily relationships, one with another.  It is this attitude that should be the unspoken sign of the name we carry as Christians.

This past week as we have heard the pleas of our sisters and brothers in Puerto Rico, in the wake of their devastating hurricane, we have seen this selfless attitude of individuals ‘pouring themselves out’ for others, in countless simple and humble gestures.  Whether it is neighbors helping neighbors, first responders providing some solace to those in dire straits, or the countless relief agencies that have mobilized to provide assistance, all of this is a reflection of the humble service that Christ has called us to exemplify in our daily lives.

While it is so often easier for some to ‘curse the darkness’ – especially in the posts and tweets of social media, it is far better for us to be willing to ‘light one candle.’  And, in doing so, we become bearers of hope – a hope that in Christ, will never leave us disappointed.

Jubilee Church by Richard Meier

With the acquisition of the former Crystal Cathedral campus in 2012 by the Diocese of Orange, the Catholic Church in Orange County became the custodian of three iconic structures in American Architecture in the 20th and 21st century.  Dr. Robert Schuller’s first permanent sanctuary (1961) and later, the Tower of Hope (1968), were designed by the famous 20th century American architect, Richard Neutra.  As the congregation grew, Philip Johnson was engaged to design the signature structure on the campus, the famous Crystal Cathedral in 1981. Johnson is characterized by some as a post-modern architect and his Cathedral design incorporating a complete glass enclosure, was considered a ground-breaking approach in addressing sacred space.  The third significant architectural structure on the campus, the Cathedral Cultural Center, was completed in 2003. It was designed by Richard Meier. In 1984, he was awarded the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize and among his most famous architectural accomplishments are the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and the Getty Center here in Los Angeles.

To mark and celebrate the Grand Jubilee 2000, the Vicariate of Rome, held a competition as part of their Millennium Project, soliciting through competition, architects to design a Church reflective of the new millennium. Among those who submitted proposals were Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava and Tadao Ando together with Richard Meier.  Meier was awarded the commission.  To the best of my knowledge, it is the only Catholic Church that he has ever designed.  It is located on outskirts of Rome in the community of Tor Tre Teste.  Commonly known as the Jubilee Church, it is reflective of two significant architectural influences in Meier’s life, the Swiss-French architect, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, and the Hungarian-born, Marcel Lajos Breuer.  Both of these 20th century architects have left us signature church structures whose influence in the ecclesiastical architectural world continue to this day.  Le Corbusier’s famous Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France, continues to inspire contemporary architects of sacred space with its stark simplicity and bold lines. 

Le Corbusier Church at Ronchamp, France

Marcel Breuer is the architect of the new Abbey Church at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN.  Designed at the time of the Second Vatican Council, it presciently incorporated the liturgical-theological themes that would be articulated in the Council’s first document in 1963, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.

St. John's Abbey Church by Marcel Breuer

During my last sabbatical in Rome in 2010, I had the opportunity of visiting this wonderful church and documenting the visit with a series of photos.  On first sight, the Church is in stark contrast to the Baroque splendors of the City of Rome.  Yet, its strong, bold lines envision the essential nature of any church structure, as the domus ecclesiae – or the ‘house of the church,’ or, the tent in which the Body of Christ gathers to render their praise and thanks in spirit and in truth.

Click images for the following slide show:

Reminiscent of many post Vatican II structures for worship, the principle of ‘less is more’ is operative in Meier’s design.  The unmistakable centrality of the Altar of Sacrifice, the place from which the Holy Word is proclaimed, and the modest place from which the priest presides, in persona Christi, stand out as the primary liturgical symbols. 

The incorporation of Romanesque and Medieval iconography presents a pleasing artistic eclecticism within this starkly modern setting.

Meier is a master of detail and designed sacred vessels that would be in artistic continuity with his contemporary architectural statement in service to sacred worship.

Sunday Reflection - Is your God too small?

There are certain books in most of our lives that have a way of staying with us because of the power of their message.  During my seminary days, I remember coming across a small paperback by the Anglican writer, J. B. Phillips entitled Your God is too Small.  Intrigued by the title I found in this small book insights that have served me well down through the years.

Phillips maintains that far too many people tend to view God in their own image and likeness rather than to realize that it’s the other way around - that we are made in God’s image and likeness.  In other words, in the course of our lives, there’s a tendency to make God look like us and how we interact with one another.  The example that I’ve always remembered is the image of God as the Resident policeman in the skies.  For those who hold to this image, their vision of God is like the cop who is ever so patiently waiting behind the shrubbery on a major highway pointing that machine at you that can detect if you’re going over the speed limit.  And if you are, he’s ready to reeve up the engine of his motorcycle with lights flashing ready to ticket you for the slightest infraction of the law.

Phillips uses this example not to belittle the fact that God does indeed challenge us to live moral lives, that we are indeed called to integrate Gospel values into our lives.  However, to see God solely in this role as the one who calls us to keep laws - then we’ve focused on only one aspect, one dimension of the richness of who God is to be for all of us.

So often these images that we fashion of God come out of our own experiences - positive or negative - of authority figures in our lives.  For the child nurtured in a loving, supportive and challenging family - God as Father and loving parent makes sense.  For a child whose family was massively dysfunctional, perhaps tragically scarred by abuse - the image of God as parent may conjure up the worst of images that can psychologically and spiritually cripple rather than bring freedom and wholeness.

It is for these reasons that our image of God needs to be periodically measured against God’s Word.  It is in divine revelation that God has shared with us the deepest and truest image of who He is for us in our lives.  The stories enshrined in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are like different facets in the brilliant diamond that reflects the God of our lives to us.

Matthew’s Gospel today is a perfect example of shattering an image of God that perhaps some of us may carry around with us.  Matthew presents us with the parable of the owner of an estate who pays laborers who worked only a portion of the day the same generous salary as those who worked all day.   From our human perspective that owner better hire a good attorney because he’s going to have an employee related suit on his hands!

The Good New in this Gospel, however, has little to do with labor relations but everything to do with a God of generosity, a God whose justice is radically different from the measured out and carefully weighed justice and generosity that so often characterizes our lives.

The mercy and generosity of our God is one that forgives not seven times, but seven times seventy times; it is one that offers a new beginning to a thief hanging next to him on the cross who opens his heart seeking forgiveness even at the last moment of his life; it is a God who dares to embrace the physically unclean knowing that at the heart - all of us are sons and daughters of His Heavenly Father; finally, it is a God who waits with open arms to throw a welcome home party for the prodigal son who in his foolishness thought he could get a better deal somewhere else, but in the end comes to his senses and returns home.

Is our image of God too small?  Have we limited the power of his mercy and forgiveness because of the hardness of our own hearts or our own poor self-image?  Let us pray for the wisdom and courage to let go of a God made in our own image so that we might surrender and experience the freedom of Him in whose image we are made.

Sunday Reflection - Forgive, seventy-seven times

Few if any of us will ever forget where we were on the fateful day, September 11, 2001.   Seared into our memories, for many of us we know exactly what we were doing or exactly where we were when we first heard the news.  I was reading the newspaper early that morning and ironically was saying to myself, “There really isn’t much happening in the news today”.  I then proceeded to say my morning prayers and prepare for mass.  Listening to NPR there was an announcement that a plane had struck one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York.  I turned on CNN to see the horror of it all unfold minute after minute.  Phones began to ring in the rectory.  School children were arriving – it was all happening so fast.  As the enormity of the sheer evil of that day grew hour by hour, it was like a bad nightmare for us all. A nightmare from which none of us, unfortunately, would awake.  9/11 has left its tragic mark on our collective psyche in this land of the free and home of the brave. 

In the shadow of our annual anniversary of 9/11, paradoxically and, I would like to think, providentially, God’s word sets before us a message that perhaps many of us don’t want to hear in the face of such dark evil.  It is, of course, a word of forgiveness.  A hard concept to swallow when every bone in many of our bodies would more naturally cry out for vengeance and retaliation.

My sisters and brothers, it is only natural for us all when we hear of stories that speak of incredible acts of human cruelty like 9/11, or cruelty toward children, the defenseless and innocent people of this world - that we recoil in horror and think, perhaps of retribution and retaliation.  It is in the midst of the darkness, of such evil talk, that to speak of forgiveness appears to be either super human or utterly foolish.

God’s word this day challenges us in the midst of humanity’s dark history of potential evil toward one another, to stop the senseless cycle of violence that so often begins and festers with burning anger and resentment in our hearts.

Are we to understand that in the face of such horror as senseless brutality toward the innocent, as Christians we are to do nothing but only forgive – seventy-seven times as we heard today in Matthew’s Gospel?  Such a conclusion, of course, would be a foolish caricature of the Christian message regarding both love and forgiveness.  Jesus challenged his followers to live lives of integrity and responsibility.  To protect and lay down our lives for another reflects, in the words of Jesus, “no greater love.”  Christian theology from its earliest days has always accepted the legitimate right of individuals and societies to protect themselves from harm, whether that be physical, spiritual or moral.  Societies and governments have the responsibility of protecting, maintaining and securing the common good.  Sometimes this requires the use of force or confinement of individuals that is proportionate to their transgressions.  

The Christian message of love sometimes requires what some today refer to as “tough love.” - the necessity to challenge or restrain the destructive behavior of others.  The difficult question, however, will always revolve around what are truly appropriate methods of “tough love?”  Is it forgiving and loving for a friend to enable the self-destructive behavior of an alcoholic by offering him or her a drink?  Is it appropriate for a spouse to call the police and press charges against a physically abusive spouse or is this a failure to love and forgive?   Is it authentic tough love to have your son or daughter who is perceived to be “out of control” taken in the middle of the night and sent to a rehabilitation boot camp in the South Pacific for months or are parents acting in a cruel and sadistic manner?  There are, of course, no easy answers to these questions, yet as Christians we must struggle - sometimes daily - to discern the legitimate balance between a forgiving and loving heart and our responsibility to be our brothers or sisters - keeper - that is, to challenge others to responsible behavior. 

In the midst of both a moral and “discipline-neutral” society, we Christians and especially parents are entrusted with a grave responsibility.  We are called to shape a society not on anger, revenge and retaliation, but rather one that is loving and forgiving enough to challenge its members toward responsible, mature and life giving behavior.  At times, this will indeed require tough love. Tough love within families and tough love within the family of nations to preserve the common good.   However, the transformation of hearts and in turn, society, is more often than not achieved by living lives that are characterized by compassion rather than judgment; forgiveness rather than retaliation; healing love rather than vengeance.  Let us pray for the wisdom to know the difference.

Reflections on the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross

There is a popular expression that begins with: I’d do anything for............ Usually, it is not meant too seriously, like a person might say, “I’d do anything for an In and Out Burger right now.” Well, I really don’t think the person would do anything even though an “In and Out Burger” does indeed merit great sacrifice.

Sometimes the popular expression, “I’d do anything for you,” is used as part of a marriage proposal. The sentiments are lovely, but the reality contains an awful lot of “excepts”. You know, like, “I’d do anything for you except let you control the remote, or except let your sister move in with us, or except miss today’s football game so we can go curtain shopping.” Or a wife might say, “I’d do anything for you except let you keep that lousy old college shirt, and your high school junk.”

The expression, I’d do anything for you was far closer to reality when you held your babies. People will do anything for their children because they love them so much. That might mean working two jobs, sitting through a dance recital (“Oh, good, my seven year old is only number 83 on the program”), and saving all you can for their college. There are few limits to what you would do for your children. Even when you choose some “me time” it is basically to help you be a better Mom or Dad.

The way you all feel about your children when you say, “I’d do anything for them,” gives us a faint idea of how God feels about us.

He’d do anything for us.

And he did.

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that all who believe in him might not perish but may have eternal life.

God gave his son to us as a Complete Gift. He was completely ours to treasure, to find the Father through, or, sadly, to ignore and even to put to death. And human beings did put Jesus to death in the most horrible way possible, execution through the torture that was crucifixion.

Today we celebrate this special feast, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Son joined the Father’s love in doing anything for us. The feast is the exaltation of the cross because it is a demand that we recognize that this symbol of death and misery has become one of life and victory.

Jesus’ death on the cross restored our capacity to have eternal life. The power of the Crossis that on the Cross, Life Destroyed Death, and Love destroyed hate.

This is totally counter cultural. Our culture asks us to accept the absurdity that physical might and financial strength are the signs of a powerful nation or a powerful person. But who were the most powerful people of the last century? Perhaps you might think Hitler, Stalin, FDR, or Churchill. I would disagree. Two of the most powerful people of the last century were both based in India: Mahatma Gandhi and Saint Theresa of Calcutta. Both were poor. Both were lovers of all that is right and just. Gandhi shamed the mighty British Empire into giving India independence. Saint Theresa shamed us all into recognizing our responsibility towards the poorest of the poor. The leaders of the world found that it was easier to deal with a powerful capitalist than it was to argue with Mother Theresa. We also should add Saint John Paul II to those who conquer through the cross. John Paul II’s life demonstrated the Power of the Cross.

We should never wear a cross as a piece of jewelry, even if we wear a gold cross. We should wear a cross as a sign that we are committed to Christ’s way, the way of sacrificial love. We should wear a cross as a sign that our ideal is to choose that which brings love into the world regardless of the personal cost. Love and love alone defeats hatred and, ultimately, death.

We should wear a cross as a personal reminder that even when the cost of one of our sacrifices seems terribly high and even when we can not see and may not see the good that has come from the sacrifice, we still have faith that the power of the Cross, the power of Sacrificial Love will prevail.

We should wear the cross as a sign of our commitment to a living faith and our hope that even if we die, as we all will, we will still share the eternal life of God.

We should wear the cross as a statement to ourselves and to others. The statement is simple: this is how God loved the world. 

Reflections on Magnum Principium

In a profoundly important and unexpected document issued on September 9, 2017 (see document), Pope Francis, corrected an ongoing neuralgic liturgical issue impacting the translation of liturgical texts.  While this might sound terribly esoteric, for the mass going Catholics who have had to endure the stilted, inelegant, unpoetic and slavishly literal, most recent revision of our mass texts, this decree will come as an incredible breath of fresh air. 

As a student of the liturgy for over 50 years, the tectonic call of the Second Vatican Council, permitting mass to be celebrated in the vernacular and not just in the traditional Latin language, was one of the most visible and well received changes ushered in by the Council.  Toward the end of the Council that spanned the years 1962-1965, the English-speaking Bishops, aware of the Herculean task of translating the myriad of revised liturgical texts into English, established an International Commission of liturgical, theological and linguistic experts, to draft the new English Liturgical texts for the various English speaking Episcopal Conferences of Bishops.  ICEL (International Committee on English in the Liturgy) under the leadership of its first Executive Director, Mr. John Page, provided an historically invaluable contribution to the English-speaking Church throughout the world, in their first and second generation translations of liturgical texts.  Not perfect, yet they strove to be faithful to the criteria articulated by Rome in its first document on guiding principles for translators (see Document, Comme le Prévoit) – it is the ‘meaning’ of these venerable texts that is paramount, and not just the slavish translation of ancient words and phrases. It was a guiding principle known as ‘dynamic equivalence.’ Early in the new millennium, however, influenced by an ongoing trend toward greater centralization of authority in Rome, as well as ideological tendencies that sadly witnessed a growing retrenchment toward pre-conciliar liturgical forms and even the broad permission, under Pope Benedict, of the use of the pre-Conciliar liturgical rites, (see Document, Summorum Pontificum), new criteria were issued guiding liturgical translators (see Document, Liturgiam Authenticam).  No longer would the criterion of dynamic equivalence be utilized but rather a slavish, word for word, reversion to the originating Latin text and syntax.  The history of the shoddy evisceration of ICEL and it's 'redirection,' is masterfully documented in the John Wilkins article, appearing in the November 28, 2005 issue of Commonweal, "Lost in Translation."

While Conferences of Bishops understandably reacted to this abrupt shift, the trend was set, and a mandate was given for a wholesale revision of the original translations utilizing the new criteria. The painstaking work that ICEL had already exercised in preparing their 'second generation' translation of the Roman Missal, was 'set aside,' in favor of the 'oversight' to English translations of the Mass and Sacraments by a newly created Roman committee called, Vox Clara. (See, "Revisiting Liturgiam Authenticam - Part I: Vox Clara," by Rita Ferrone). As a consequence, ‘one in being with the Father,’ gave way to ‘consubstantial with the Father,’ a direct transliteration from the Latin, that continues to mystify folks to this day. 

While the USCCB acquiesced to this change and dutifully implemented the new translation, a number of European Conferences of Bishops balked at the usurpation of their prerogative of having substantial oversight of their translations and revisions.  The German Episcopal Conference refused to utilize the new literal criterion and continued to use their older translation (see NCR article). Up to the last moment, before a final vote on the new translation by the USCCB, Bishop Trautman of Erie, Pa., vainly attempted to halt the steamrolling of a new and deficient translation on the American Church (see, "Last ditch effort to dump Mass translations," by Jerry Filteau, in Nov. 6, 2009 NCR). 

Tension continued and not a few Conferences of Bishops during their ad limina visits with Pope Francis, brought up their concerns with this issue and the implication it gave on minimizing the legitimate oversight of liturgical issues by National Conferences of Bishops, articulated by the Council.  With the Motu Proprio, Magnum Principium, that legitimate oversight has now been restored.  Does this mean another new translation of our Mass and other liturgical texts?  Don’t hold your breath!  However, the door is now open to begin the painstaking and meticulous work by liturgists, theologians and poets, in taking the profound meaning of our ancient prayer texts and giving new shape to them in an English translation that will be beautiful, and poetic and worthy of the language we call our own.

One possible pathway in reclaiming a translation that would be worthy of the principles articulated in Comme le Prévoit, namely, dynamic equivalency, and be respectful of the literally years of careful scholarship that ICEL  exercised in meticulously preparing a second generation translation of the Roman Missal, is to resurrect this monumental draft that was shelved in favor of the present turgid, inelegant, 'pony' transliteration from the Latin.  Time will tell.

Sunday Reflection - Love is stronger than death

My sisters and brothers, as much as we would like to wishfully think that the attrocities perpetrated by fanatical religious fundamentalists, as we approach the anniversary of 9/11, are wanning – we need only scan the headlines or listen to cable news to hear of the ongoing terror and attrocities perpetrated in the name of the fanatics’ twisted understanding of their religion. 

As we gather this Sunday, beginning a week that will bring us once again to confront the numbing memory of the 9/11 tragedy and the subsequent evils done in the name of misguided religious fanaticism, I am certain that many of us continue to wrestle with the meaning of that day that in many respects has so radically changed our nation and our world.    As in the past when faced with defining moments in history, each of us has seared in our memories where we were and what we were doing on that fateful morning.

As a people of faith, these events continue to assault our Christian sensibilities with the mystery of evil and the age old dilemma of trying to reconcile belief in a good and gracious God with such acts of senseless horror.   The mystery of human freedom with its ability to say a defiant “no” to the God of love and mercy may begin to tentatively give us an insight into the “why” of these moment.  These cruel and vicious acts were not God’s will but rather the madness of pathological religious fundamentalism - a fundamentalism that has a way of lurking in every great religion to infect its goodness with an intolerance and self-righteousness that believes that only a select few know the secret mind of God and all others must be damned. 

As we gather in faith this day - a faith that continues to be shaken in the face of such evil - we have prayed in our Responsorial Psalm, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”  What is the voice of the Lord saying to us through these painful events that seem to be unending?

Some years ago, the PBS program, Frontline, aired a segment entitled, “Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero.” It explored the religious dimensions of 9/11.   It pondered the difficult questions of how people of various faiths have attempted to reconcile this tragedy with their understanding of God.

In one particularly moving part of the program, a wife and mother whose husband was killed in one of the towers talks about visiting ground zero for the first time following the attack.  She said that paradoxically this place of such utter devastation and loss of innocent life had now become a place of incredible sensitivity, compassion and love.  Search and rescue workers would treat each small bit of human remains with incredible dignity and respect.  Each family member or friend who lost a loved one wouldexperience the embrace of warmth and compassion.  Each visitor overcome by the emotion and enormity of this event would be cared for by the thousands of volunteers who kept vigil at the site.  Ground zero became holy ground, a sacred place where the worst of humanity’s crueltybecame transformed by the renewing power of compassion and love.

My friends, in today’s Gospel we hear the words of Jesus, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  In the midst of the mystery of human suffering at ground zero, in the face of the unspeakable cruelty witnessed in the ongoing attrocities perpetrated in the twisted and perverse name of religion, Jesus is indeed present, reaching out through the simple gestures of compassion, love and support, to mourn with all those whose hearts are broken and to speak his promise that love is stronger than death.

My brothers and sisters, as we approach the solemn anniversary this week of our own tragic day that continues to live in infamy, as well as experience the ongoing madness of such evil in our world, may each of us in our own way not “harden our hearts,” but rather come to “hear the voice” of the Lord speaking to us in the course of these events.  May we be renewed in our resolve and courage to let the love that St. Paul speaks of in our second reading be the ultimate healing for a world held hostage by terrorism, intolerance and vengeance. 

Thoughts on the End of DACA

Being ‘short in stature,’ I know a thing or two about bullies.  Reflecting back on being ‘latitudenly  challenged,' I can remember my dad delaying buying me my first suit because, as he said, ‘let’s wait for the growth spurt!’  Well, it never came and I eventually got my first suit for my 8th grade graduation.  Despite what Randy Newman in his now infamous song, ‘Short People,’ had to say about us, we’re often the victim of bullying by those prone to such behavior – especially in grammar and middle school.  What I’ve learned over the years about bullies has been finely culled and curated by such experiences. 

Bullies are basically cowards.  Most if not all bullies mask their vulnerabilities by a pathetic narcissism.  They think that the world has to revolve around them and they do everything in their power, including intimidation by various cruel means, to feed that insatiable ‘I’ that has to be enabled at all costs.

Rather than using their intellect to persuade, encourage and to convince, bullies resort to one of the lowest and cheapest forms of intimidation, name calling, in their attempt to instill fear in their victims. Hey, shorty – your face is so ugly, Lyin Ted, Crooked Hillary, grandstanding Comey, etc.

I remember an expression – dicho- my mother used to use about bullies.  They are all singing but no opera! – sound and fury but no moral substance or fundamental integrity.  Bullies are basically unwilling to pay the price of intellectual honesty.  Lying becomes an easy way out of facing the truth and its consequences.

What prompted this reflection on bullies and cowardice is, obviously, Trump’s decision today to end the DACA program initiated by Executive Order by President Obama, to address the thorny legal status of children brought into this country by their immigrating parents and who have known no other country than the United States.  Their status and that of all immigrants with irregular legal status, should, of course, be resolved by a comprehensive immigration policy by Congress.  Inter-party conflicts with the ‘possibility’ (dare I say) of a tinge of racism, precluded this resolution.

DACA provided an extraordinary Executive redress from living in constant fear of deportation and the ability to ‘come out of the shadows’ to obtain work permits, enroll in Colleges and Universities, serve in the military, obtain Social Security numbers, DMV licenses, etc.  These young people, over 800,000, in order to comply with the Order’s conditions, freely gave over personal data about their families, addresses, etc., trusting that this would not be used in the future as a means of cruel entrapment.  These young people trusted that our Government would be true to its word.  And now, with today’s decision, these fine, upstanding, industrious, tax paying young people, are once again thrown into limbo with all the fear and intimidation that deportation to a strange and unknown land inevitably brings.

Why?  Why did Trump do this?  In his insatiable desire to erase the memory and legacy of his predecessor, he promised his fawning base that he would do it.  While one might at face value conclude that he is being ‘true to his word,’ that ‘word’ comes at the cruel and heartless expense of these young people who have become the unlucky pawns of a nasty game of inter-party rivalry and hatred.

Some have said that he did it in order to avoid the legal challenge to the original Executive Order by 9 States’ attorneys general.  As Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post opined, he could have easily spoken to them and as the great negotiator that he is, worked out a compromise of some sort. 

Tragically, this dilemma fell into the hands of a bully president who lacks the basic human empathy to transcend what his dwindling base may expect of him in order to forge a decision based on moral integrity – on what was right and good for these fine young people. It is indeed a sad day, that this decision has now been kicked down the line to Congress, an institution in our land that is hopelessly divided and that garners only 9% of America’s trust!  In the meantime, as the deportation clock begins to tick for thousands of these ‘Dreamers’, the nightmare of fear and intimidation begins all over again. "I love Dreamers!"  In light of today's decision, it's another example from this president of "All singing but no Opera!"

Sunday Reflection - We are called to carry the cross in love.

At the morning parade in Dachau on July 22, 1943, six prisoners were found to have escaped. Retribution was swift and brutal. Randomly selected, 12 people were hanged. As the other prisoners watched their twelve fellow inmates gasp for breath, someone in the crowd cried out, “Where is God?” Silence descended on the yard. The twelve bodies were now in spasm, jerking and struggling for breath. As everyone watched, the voice came again, this time more urgently, “Where is God now?”  “My God,” another voice yelled back, “my God is hanging there.”

This sort of thing is what today’s gospel is all about.  Christianity holds that God took our flesh, suffered, died, and was raised to life.

It is certainly true that we have domesticated the scandal of the cross, even to the point that, these days, it dangles from various parts of people’s anatomies. I often wonder, had Jesus been electrocuted, whether we would have little golden chairs around our necks? But while we have tried to tame the reality of Jesus’ torturous hours in Jerusalem, the reality of the cross in each of our lives cannot be so commercially soothed.

My friends, Christians are not meant to be smiling masochists. We are not meant to be lovers of pain–just bearers of it.

We are invited, by Jesus, to see the burden of suffering in our lives as an opportunity to be faithful to his example. It also gives us an opportunity to be in solidarity with all those who suffer in our world. This is easier said than done. My brothers and sisters, when we suffer in our daily lives, thoughts of others rarely come to mind easily, but it can be consoling to keep our suffering in context and know that we are not facing it alone.

The good news of Christ paradoxically encourages us to see that suffering can be an opportunity to grow in love. If we understand our crosses as our particular schools of love, then we learn more about ourselves and God and are able to help others carry their crosses as well.

Carrying our cross, however, is not just about bearing physical, personal, spiritual, or emotional pain; it can also be about the sharing of our gifts and talents, our love and compassion. In every gift, there is a burden. Following Christ’s example, we are called to share our gifts heroically, with anyone in need, even to the end.

This past week we had innumerable examples of this kind of heroic and empathetic love, as we witnessed the rescues of so many from the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.  Often, without regard for their own safety, first responders as well as ordinary folks, risked their own lives to rescue their neighbors from the ravages of the rising flood waters.  The cross of Christ was not just a symbol, often worn around the neck, but exemplified in the very life-saving actions of these self-less men and women who understood, in their heart of hearts, that they were indeed their brother’s and sister’s keeper!

Some people complain these days that God is often presented as a big marshmallow, all sweet and soft. Today’s Gospel shows the edge involved in being a follower of Christ. I don’t know of a more demanding vocation in our world than that of taking up the cross of being faithful, loving and selfless.

And while we are invited to take up our cross and follow Jesus, we never do it alone. If we have the eyes to see it and the humility to accept it, Christ, literally hangs in there with us every step of the way.

So, my friends, let’s recall the first cross from which we take comfort as we bear our own crosses and those of others - “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Sunday Reflection - Sign of Unity in the Household of Believers

Some years ago, the late Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco, John R. Quinn, completed his fellowship as guest lecturer at one of the prestigious Colleges in Oxford, England.  To mark that occasion, he delivered a talk which some in our Church today have characterized as a watershed speech for the Church in this new Millennium. Others, however have characterized it as a voice of discontent and disobedience representing those forces which are out to undermine the authority of the Pope.   As Archbishop Quinn carefully prefaced in his thoughtful presentation, he was speaking as a loyal son of the Church in the spirit of Blessed John Cardinal Newman, the great 19th century apologist for the Catholic faith.    He was very mindful of Newman’s own maxim that to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.  He was also keenly aware that it is only out of self criticism done with respect and love that we are able to arrive at new insight and greater faithfulness to the Gospel as a Church.

What appears to have raised the eyebrows of conservative Catholics as well as fuel the hope of centrist and more progressive elements in the Church was Archbishop Quinn’s ever so careful critique of the Roman Curia and what he sees as overly centralized papal power in the Church at that time.  An overly centralized papal power that manifests itself in the apparent arbitrary appointment of bishops throughout the world with minimal consultation with local church leadership.  Historically, the naming and appointment of local bishops was very much the responsibility and prerogative of local clergy and hierarchy with, of course, the eventual approval of the candidate by the Holy Father.    Archbishop Quinn was respectfully questioning whether this trend toward limiting local involvement is both wise and helpful in our Church today.

The remarks of this scholarly Archbishop continue to fuel endless battles between those who feel that they are upholding the orthodoxy of the Church today and those who feel a prophetic call that constructive criticism is good and healthy in our Church.  In any case, God’s word to us this Sunday, particularly in our Gospel from St. Matthew offers an opportunity for all of us to reflect on of the distinctive elements that shape our lives as Catholic Christians.  That distinctive element, of course, is the role of the one whom we refer to as the successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, our Holy Father, the Pope.

Our Gospel today presents the classic text that points to the pivotal role that Peter, one of the twelve companions of the Lord, would play in leading the Christian community after the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord.  We should not miss the significance of the name change which occurs in today’s Gospel.  The changing of a person’s name by the Lord signifies an important new task, calling and responsibility.  In the Hebrew Scriptures, Abram’s name was changed to Abraham for he was to become “the father of many nations”.   In the 32nd chapter of the Book of Genesis, Jacob’s name was changed “Israel” and he would assume an important role in the History of Salvation.  And so, in this biblical tradition, Simon’s Peter’s name is changed to “the Rock” upon this rock the Lord would build his Church.

Since St. Peter, there have been 263 successors to the one whom the Lord had chosen to be the source of communion and shepherd leadership in His Church.  Tradition has it that St. Peter eventually journeyed to the center of the known world at that time, Rome, and there would become its bishop and eventually suffer martyrdom for following the Lord.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, succinctly describes the important and pivotal role that the Bishop of Rome and Universal Pastor of our Church exercises today:  The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, 'is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.

Over the centuries, regardless of either the great holiness or sadly at times, the personal sinfulness of some who have exercised this office in the Church, the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit continues to guide our Church in the way of the Gospel through the one whom we call, “Servant of the servants of God”.

Will the functions and roles of the papacy change in the future?  Will our desire to build bridges leading toward greater unity among Christian Churches sadly separated from us shape a different style of papal leadership in the future?  These are questions that will undoubtedly be pondered, as Archbishop Quinn did, in the years to come.   While some may see this as a threat, others will see it as a reflection of the living and dynamic quality of a Church that has continued to grow and be faithful to the Gospel for 2000 years.  

Thoughts on the "Amoris Laetitia" Controversy

There is a lovely Talmudic story that says, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, even God prays!  He prays that his justice may be tempered by his mercy!  In unpacking the recent controversy over the criticism by 4 Cardinals of the Church (3 retired and 1 now deceased) of Pope Francis’ post Synodal Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, perhaps that saying can provide a helpful point of reference in understanding what is going on here.

First of all, controversy of this nature is not new in the Church.  As the French say, the more things change, the more they remain the same!  One need only think of the controversy between Peter and Paul in the early Church over the question of whether one had to fulfill the requirements of the Mosaic Law before becoming a Christian.  Critique of authority can be the catalyst for new insight into our understanding of the mysteries of the faith.  However, it can also be demoralizing and destructive of the harmony that hopefully should characterize the household of believers. 

One of the thorny pastoral questions that continues to fester in our church is how to pastorally tend to those whose marriages have failed and are now living in second or subsequent marriages and desire to remain sacramentally active in the Church. 

In the perfect world, one would have recourse to those pastoral aids that the church has established from its very early existence and have developed over the centuries to address this question in a public fashion – namely, the church’s annulment process.  The annulment process is a declaration by church authority that after thorough formal and external or public investigation, the necessary elements that make a marriage to be a true and valid marriage from the church’s perspective, were defective or missing – thus, rendering the marriage invalid because marital consent – the ‘yes’ of marriage - could not build on a foundation that was missing. 

However, ask any priest involved with parish work and he will tell you, that there are always situations that fall outside of the ‘perfect world.’  One of the major challenges can be lack of adequate witnesses to substantiate the allegations of defective consent that are required by the matrimonial juris-prudence of the church.  This is especially the case in second marriages that have existed for decades and the parties’ first marriage may have taken place decades before.  Joe and Mary, now in their 50’s, 60’s or 70’s, who have been faithfully going to mass for decades but not receiving communion, knowing that the sunset years are ‘setting,’ desire to receive the Eucharist.  To presume that they have been living in adultery all these years is a tad bit harsh not to mention judgmental!  While mistakes indeed might have been made, one would think that a church whose ‘justice is tempered by mercy’ might find a reasonable accommodation for these folks who hunger for the Eucharist. 

The provisions of Amoris Laetitia, particularly # 300-305, attempt to provide an extraordinary path for these exceptional cases out of the church’s perennial ‘care for souls.’  It was not the objective of AL to change doctrine, specifically the church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, but rather to apply a time honored pastoral approach that would put the mercy and care of the individual’s spiritual need and hunger above that of the letter of the law so that the spirit of the law might flourish.  

This is not new in the Church.  Eastern and Orthodox Christians have practiced this approach for centuries, applying what they refer to as oikonomia or the ‘harmonious ordering of the household of believers’ applied to second marriages.  While the West has tended to be somewhat myopically focused on the virtually exceptionalness legality of the validity of first marriages, precluding the possibility of second marriages unless there is a process leading to a declaration of nullity – The East puts priority on the person and their spiritual hunger for sacramental wholeness over the rigidity of the law.  They permit a second and in some cases a third marriage with a ritual that is of a penitential character that opens the door toward reception of the Eucharist.

AL possesses something of the ‘flavor’ of this approach.  It also brings in the time-honored principle of conscience as the final determiner of how one stands before God.  While it is true that we are talking about a ‘well-formed’ conscience, this can occur in a variety of ways including wrestling with the moral conundrum of acknowledging the values that stand behind the law of the unbreakableness of marriage in the face of the existential reality of a time tested second marriage and the subjective desire for spiritual and sacramental wholeness with the Church.  AL speaks of an exceptional way in which the ministers of the church ‘accompany’ these individuals gradually through a penitential process leading to the eventual sacramental embrace of the church via the internal forum, or forum of conscience.  This is not some ‘snap’ decision undermining the church’s teaching from the Lord on the indissolubility of marriage but rather the application of the mercy of the Father toward his prodigal sons and daughters!

It is important to keep in mind that Cardinal Burke who is leading the charge of the critics, is a brilliant ecclesiastical jurist – the law is his world.  In all candor, his years as a front-line pastor in a parish were few.  Francis, on the other hand, is a pastor par excellence.  He knows first-hand the pain that individuals have felt alienated from the sacramental life of the church.  Each of these men speak and lead out of the world views that have shaped their perspectives.

However, one is Peter and the other is not!  It is a tragedy that Cardinal Burke has made public this critique that can undermine the solidarity of the household of believers by questioning the orthodoxy of the Universal Pastor of the Church.  As Catholics, despite what this Cardinal or any Cardinal may posit, as Catholics it is the voice of Peter and his successors that continues to be the criterion by which the deposit of faith is maintained and developed for the good of the church and the care of souls.

The following short video by Bishop Robert Barron, presents an insightful summary of the approach taken by Pope Francis in Amores Laetitia as he upholds our belief in the integrity of marriage while reaching out with a shepherds love and mercy to those who have experienced the pain and heartache of marital failure. 

Civil War Memorials

As a Roman Catholic for 69 years, 43 of which as a priest, I know a thing or two about statues and images!  Hence, it is out of that perspective and the world of sacramental symbolism which is the language of the liturgical life of the church, that I offer ‘my take’ on the present Civil War monuments controversy. 

From the earliest centuries of the Church, images of Christ, Mary and the Saints have played an important role in touching the faith life and the imaginations of Christians.  Unlike our Jewish and Islamic sisters and brothers who have a prohibition against the use of ‘craven’ images, Christians, and we Catholics in particular, revel in the use of sacred imagery.  Whether it’s the gloriously luxuriant imagery in the ceiling of the Baptistery of the Duomo in Florence or the stately statues of Saints Peter and Paul in the Piazza of St. Peter’s in Rome, sacred imagery provides the catalyst for honor and veneration of those Holy Ones that Scripture refers to as ‘that great cloud of witnesses’ before the Lord. 

Baptistery of the Duomo in Florence

Images of Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, hold an altogether special place in the life of faith, since adoration belongs only to the Lord of life.  Mary and the saints are imaged so that honor and veneration may be rendered to these ‘heroes’ in the faith.  These are the ones who often walked through the crucible of suffering and even death for their belief in Christ, and are now honored as exemplars of what it means to truly be a disciple of the Lord.  Of course, it is not the wood, stone, plaster or mosaic that is rendered honor, but rather what these images ‘symbolize’ – the women and men who lived the Gospel life with extraordinary clarity and conviction. 

The raising up of monuments, images and statues of National heroes in our Country is part of the civil liturgy of our land.  We too invest great meaning in the symbols that we cherish and venerate in our beloved Country.  Whether it is our National Flag or the Statue of Liberty or the monuments to the pioneering heroes that have shaped the history of our country, these images touch our imaginations with the enduring values that have made us to be the people and nation we are today. It would be antithetical for us to honor those who have sullied the character and greatness of our Country.  Nowhere would one find in a public place of prominence, a statue or monument to Benedict Arnold!

There is no question that the great scar within our national consciousness was the Civil War that nearly shattered the ideal of our Founders of a ‘United States.’  Volumes have been written on the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’ of this devastating conflict that pitched brother against brother.  The tension inherent in our foundational documents between Federalism and State’s rights is often pointed to as the originating crux of this sad conflict.  However, one would have to be completely obtuse not to admit that the institution of slavery for whom the Southern states held as their prerogative and right, was the cancer that eventually metastasized into armed conflict.

Though the South surrendered and the slaves were emancipated by legal fiat, the ongoing belief that one race of people did not share the dignity and superiority of another, sadly and tragically has persisted down through the decades.

Historians have noted that Robert E. Lee, the commanding General of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, saw the foolishness in memorializing himself after the war and surrender.  He realized that the work of reconstruction and healing had to begin.  Aside from the understandable and honorable recognition of those who died on behalf of the Confederate cause and the dignified adornment of their gravesides and cemeteries, public and prominent recognition and memorialization of Confederate leaders did not take place, to any great degree, until the period of the ‘Jim Crow’ laws in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century. (See the following article, The Real Story Behind all those Confederate Statues.)   Another spike in public memorializations took place during the early 1950’s as a reaction to the Supreme Court ruling, Brown vs. Board of Education, striking down the specious ‘separate but equal’ accommodation in public schools.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to surmise that such public and prominent memorials to leaders of the Confederate cause who, in all candor, led a treasonous rebellion against United States, was intended as a not so subtle intimidation of African Americans.  Though emancipated by the law of the land, they continued to be deprived of the vote, together with the sad litany of degrading and humiliating practices that spoke loud and clear – you are not equal.

Symbols are powerful realities in our world and in our country.  To continue to ‘venerate’ in prominent public spaces those who led or participated in a treasonous rebellion against the unity of our Country, predicated on the demonic racist ideology that a whole class of people lacked the dignity and full humanity of another, is abhorrent in the 21st century.  Respecting the legal processes that are in place in the various states, these statues and memorials should be relocated to museums and other discrete areas where proper documentation and context can be given.  Yes, we can indeed learn from history while not glorifying it.  That’s my take.

Sunday Reflection - The God of Inclusivity

Few if any of us have remained unmoved by the unsettling experiences that took place last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.  The specter of Neo-Nazis and White Nationalists, marching at night with torches blazing and chanting, “Jew will not replace us!” is incomprehensible.  In an interview given days after the horrendous weekend, the Rabbi of the local Jewish congregation in Charlottesville, shared how in his fear that his sanctuary might be burned in a latter-day Kristallnacht, he reverently retrieved the Torah scrolls from the sacred Ark, least they be desecrated.  It is indeed hard to comprehend that in 2017, such terror should be elicited in good people of this fair land. 

The moral cancer at the heart of these days of terror was the sin of racism.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church spells this out: The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: “Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design. (# 1935)

Down through the millennia and to this very day, the Church has stood as a prophetic voice for the inherent and intrinsic dignity of all the members of God’s family.  While sadly, at times in history, some of her ministers have failed to forcefully proclaim this inalienable truth, it remains at the unwavering doctrinal core of our foundational ethic.  We are all made in the image of the Divine and, hence, each and every one of us possesses the potential of radiating that divine goodness to others.

God’s Holy Word that is set before us this Sunday reflects this foundational belief that is at the core of both Judaism and Christianity.  Isaiah the Prophet speaks of the hospitality that is afforded the ‘foreigner’ who joins himself to the Lord.  Often, the Prophets admonished the Israelite people to exercise mercy and hospitality on behalf of the foreigner, reminding them that they too were once ‘foreigners in a foreign land.’

That theme of hospitality and mercy continues in our Gospel passage today taken from Matthew.  Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman.  The Canaanites were not people of the Covenant and were often shunned, not unlike the Samaritans.  Breaking through such tribal restrictions, Jesus speaks to the woman.  Undoubtedly, sensing a kindly and receptive heart, she asks for a healing for her daughter.  The companions of Jesus were shocked at such bold confidence in the presence of the Master.  They want him to send her away.  But, Jesus would have none of it.  For the Lord saw through such meaningless class and ethnic distinctions to her heart of unwavering faith in him.  Her healing was granted by the Lord of Life.

In the wake of Charlottesville, I heard a former neo-Nazi on one of the news channels, sharing his own conversion story from racist hatred to acceptance of the dignity of all of God’s children.  He said that the catalyst for the dramatic about face in his life was the simple unsolicited kindness of an African American supervisor who took a mentoring interest in him as well as a lesbian co-worker who went out of her way to show him mercy, understanding and compassion.  Seeds were planted that began the questioning of his long-held assumptions – assumptions that had brought him nothing but havoc in his life.  Mercy and acceptance were the doors that opened for him a new life of seeing with new eyes the solidarity that holds all God’s children as sisters and brothers to each other.