A few years ago, I made a trip in Germany;
and I remember driving on the highways there.
I don’t speak German, but I did know the names of the places
I was going; and I could tell the speed limit.
The signs in Germany did their job very well –
they got me where I was going.
I’m talking about signs because the readings today talk about signs.
Elisha performs a sign, which points to what Jesus himself did later.
And in the second reading,
Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, in effect, they are a sign,
by how they live their lives.
All that was clear enough,
but here’s something you may not have realized.
For the next five Sundays we will hear Jesus himself teach
about the Eucharist, from Chapter six of the Gospel of John.
That decision by the Church, to give so many Sundays to this,
is also a sign: of how very important the Holy Eucharist is.
Vatican II called the Eucharist
the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium 11).
Well, when I say that, who disagrees? No one, right?
Now, let me back up to my trip to Germany.
There were a couple of times when I was looking for a particular city,
but I didn’t see the name on the highway signs.
That’s because the signs point you to the next place;
And then after you reach there, the next place.
But where I was going was a ways down the highway.
And because I am not familiar with the territory,
that threw me off a few times.
I-75 is exactly the same. As you go south from here, it’s all “Dayton”;
then it’s all “Cincinnati,”
and only south of there will you see “Lexington.”
So we have the signs in the Scripture,
but they don’t take us the whole journey.
How can that be? Because Jesus wants us to receive the Eucharist!
That requires the Holy Mass and that requires the Church.
Christ founded the Church in order to give us the Eucharist.
The Eucharist – Jesus’ Body and Blood, his own self –
Is not, of course, a sign; but the destination!
It is to Jesus himself, to union with him,
that all the signs should point.
Now, here’s where you and I come in.
Up to this point, you could sit there and say, that’s all good stuff!
But here’s the punchline:
You and I are signs. Let me say that again: You and I are signs.
And we can either be good signs –
that point the right way – or bad signs, that warn people off.
Last week I talked about bad shepherds, including bad bishops.
We might as easily have talked about prominent Catholics
in Hollywood or business or politics who give bad example.
As we know, people will say: I’m not going to be Catholic,
Look at the bishops, look at those phony politicians!
But the answer is to give them another sign to look at.
A convincing sign. A sign that is bright with the Holy Spirit.
That sign is your life. Your family life.
People aren’t stupid. We all know there are fakes everywhere.
But that just makes us want something real all the more!
Now, if you are still with me, then let me give you two ways
to be credible, powerful signs that point people the right way.
The first is to be a penitent. A repentant person.
One thing we don’t need to convince anyone of,
is that there is corruption in the world, even in the Church.
But what we can do is show – not just tell – others that, for our part,
we are not full of pride, but we are sinners trying to grow in holiness.
In short: go to confession. Make a habit of confession.
We all have excuses. They are all bogus.
If Catholic churches started filling up with people going to confession,
do you think that would be a powerful sign?
And, I might just remind you that if we are aware of a mortal sin,
we must go to confession before receiving Holy Communion.
The second way you and I can be a powerful sign is by our reverence,
at Holy Mass and specifically, in receiving Holy Communion.
Now, I want to be very clear: many here are doing that.
Many who visit St. Remy will comment on the reverence.
Many of you are an inspiration to me by your love for the Eucharist.
“But”: you knew that was coming.
Some of us I do want to challenge.
Some folks come to communion like it’s a concession stand.
Or a drive-through: grab-and-go.
Stop and realize:
You are approaching your God, who made you,
and who became human precisely so he could die on the Cross for you.
And God is giving himself to you.
The bishops decided some years ago
that we would approach standing, rather than kneel.
Honestly, I wish they hadn’t done that.
But we do what they directed us to do.
At the same time, they also said something most people forget:
That everyone should show a sign of reverence.
Kneeling itself is perfect; and some of you do kneel.
Others genuflect. Awesome.
Not everyone can do that, so can you bow?
Can you make the sign of the cross?
And in that context, doesn’t receiving on the tongue make sense?
It is an act of great humility and submission – to Christ.
I know I will hear from folks who will say, for this or that reason,
they don’t receive on the tongue. I understand.
But those exceptions don’t apply to most of us.
I’ll say it again: you are receiving the Lord, your God!
Jesus’ plan was for the Church – for each of us –
To be signs pointing to him.
Never more needed than today.
What others fail to do we cannot control.
But you and I can decide how powerful a sign we will be.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Why don't we have better shepherds? (Sunday homily)
Have we heard about bad shepherds? Do we know what that is like?
Of course we do.
No matter what you think of President Donald Trump,
I think we can agree that he would never have been elected
in a “normal” election year;
that is, if many, many Americans
hadn’t thought things were deeply off track.
And in these continuing strange times,
it seems to me you and I are seeing many more –
in politics, in government, in the media –
being exposed as very unreliable shepherds.
Meanwhile we are again seeing reports of clergy, specifically bishops,
who failed as shepherds. Failing two ways: in some cases,
preying on the sheep, being more wolves than shepherds;
and in other cases, knowing about wrongdoing
and not being bothered to act.
It seems to me that as bad as it is when you have leaders –
And I mean either the Church or government, or business, anywhere –
who are corrupt, who prey on those
they are supposed to protect or serve;
or who are dipping into the treasury for their own enrichment;
or who are in cahoots with those who do…
As bad as that is, that is not the major problem.
A far greater problem is complacency.
There is a bishop, a cardinal in fact, from the East Coast
who is now being widely accused of disgusting behavior,
preying on adults. That’s bad.
But more concerning is that apparently, this was an “open secret.”
And when people would summon the courage
to make a complaint, their reports were dismissed.
Complacency. Disinterest. Staying in your own lane.
Call it whatever you want;
but this allows worse corruption to fester.
And let me be a little tougher.
It isn’t just the higher-ups who don’t like the squeaky wheel,
the whistle-blower, the person who is airing out all the dirt;
NO ONE likes it! NO ONE wants to hear it.
I’m not talking about gossip; that, we like!
Because we can just listen and not have to do anything.
No, I’m saying that when someone comes forward, and says,
there is a real problem, and you have to do something about it:
No, we don’t like that one bit.
Let me give you an example from right here in Russia.
A couple of years ago, the school and the parish together
sponsored a speaker to come in
and talk about the dangers on the Internet.
Part of it was during the school day; the kids had to attend,
so of course the gym was full.
Part two was in the evening, for the parents.
Attendance was voluntary. Guess what happened?
I’m glad for those who showed up. And I realize people are busy.
But do you think those are the only reasons the gym was mostly empty?
Am I wrong to think that too many people
just don’t want to deal with it?
And if someone thinks I’m overstating the problem of explicit material online, let me tell you:
in a few short years,
this has rapidly become one of the top problems priests deal with.
Marriages are ending over it. Many more are deeply wounded.
And the thing is, if you are over 40, or even over 30,
There is a world of Internet activity and applications
that you simply cannot conceive of.
And if you don’t live in that world, you have no idea
what kind of warped messages are reaching out to our children.
Do you know the average age for exposure to these things?
Eleven years old, and dropping. All with a click of a finger.
Fifty years ago this year, Blessed Pope Paul VI
issued an encyclical called Humanae Vitae,
which mean, “Of Human Life.”
People remember it because he restates and explains
the Church’s constant teaching that marital acts
must always be open to the gift of life;
and therefore, all the various tactics and pills
and other things that people have done, down through the ages,
to make conception of a child impossible –
all these methods are gravely immoral; they are mortal sins.
That’s what people remember, and that there was a great rebellion.
Many experts, many prominent Catholics, professors and so forth,
and many priests and even some bishops, either openly rebelled;
or else, they treated the Pope like a leper.
They were so smart, and the Pope and the Church, so out of touch.
But here’s the thing. That letter, Humanae Vitae, was about much more
than what folks remember.
It is about what it means to be a human being, made in God’s image;
created and loved by God and destined for eternity.
Pope Paul did not issue that letter because he was looking for ways
to make life more complicated, particularly for married couples.
At the time, everyone was advising him to go the other way.
Or else, just don’t say anything. Just let it go.
Which, by the way, is what lots of priests did for years; and still do.
And, to be fair, that’s what lots of Catholics wanted them to do.
But Pope Paul could not do that. He had a duty,
not to tell people what they wanted to hear,
but what they needed to hear.
And the thing is, what he said –
again, about a lot more than contraception,
that’s only part of his letter…
What Pope Paul said was absolutely prophetic.
He predicted that if the Church’s ancient teaching were rejected:
human life would become cheaper – and we have widespread abortion;
Women would be degraded: look at the “Me Two” movement.
Moreover, there is a straight line
leading from rejecting Humanae Vitae,
to the profound confusion we now face over what marriage even is –
can it be two men or two women? –
and now the even deeper blindness of people
no longer knowing what it even means to be a man or a woman.
It is all a package deal.
God created humanity to be partners in his work.
But humanity doesn’t want that high calling; it is too demanding.
The problem is that when we lose God, in the end, we lose ourselves.
And that is what is happening right now, before our very eyes.
I began by talking about shepherds who fail, either in gross ways,
or else in being complacent.
But what I want to say is that as terrible as that is,
that can’t be an excuse for our own response.
With all that is dismaying, you and I can take courage
from the Providence of God that has given every family,
every one of us, resources that were impossible even 20 years ago.
People will say to me, “I wish you say more about this or that.”
I’d like to, and maybe I will; but I have limited time.
But you don’t have to wait for me.
Just for example, Formed.org: it’s available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year.
Our parish has a subscription.
The code you need to use is on our website.
And there’s much more that’s freely available online.
Pray for your shepherds, in the Church, in government,
our schools, business, colleges, the media.
You and I always need courage, but oh how badly we need it now!
Well, there it is: it isn’t just those other people who need courage. Every one of us does.
In the end, the shepherds are us.
Of course we do.
No matter what you think of President Donald Trump,
I think we can agree that he would never have been elected
in a “normal” election year;
that is, if many, many Americans
hadn’t thought things were deeply off track.
And in these continuing strange times,
it seems to me you and I are seeing many more –
in politics, in government, in the media –
being exposed as very unreliable shepherds.
Meanwhile we are again seeing reports of clergy, specifically bishops,
who failed as shepherds. Failing two ways: in some cases,
preying on the sheep, being more wolves than shepherds;
and in other cases, knowing about wrongdoing
and not being bothered to act.
It seems to me that as bad as it is when you have leaders –
And I mean either the Church or government, or business, anywhere –
who are corrupt, who prey on those
they are supposed to protect or serve;
or who are dipping into the treasury for their own enrichment;
or who are in cahoots with those who do…
As bad as that is, that is not the major problem.
A far greater problem is complacency.
There is a bishop, a cardinal in fact, from the East Coast
who is now being widely accused of disgusting behavior,
preying on adults. That’s bad.
But more concerning is that apparently, this was an “open secret.”
And when people would summon the courage
to make a complaint, their reports were dismissed.
Complacency. Disinterest. Staying in your own lane.
Call it whatever you want;
but this allows worse corruption to fester.
And let me be a little tougher.
It isn’t just the higher-ups who don’t like the squeaky wheel,
the whistle-blower, the person who is airing out all the dirt;
NO ONE likes it! NO ONE wants to hear it.
I’m not talking about gossip; that, we like!
Because we can just listen and not have to do anything.
No, I’m saying that when someone comes forward, and says,
there is a real problem, and you have to do something about it:
No, we don’t like that one bit.
Let me give you an example from right here in Russia.
A couple of years ago, the school and the parish together
sponsored a speaker to come in
and talk about the dangers on the Internet.
Part of it was during the school day; the kids had to attend,
so of course the gym was full.
Part two was in the evening, for the parents.
Attendance was voluntary. Guess what happened?
I’m glad for those who showed up. And I realize people are busy.
But do you think those are the only reasons the gym was mostly empty?
Am I wrong to think that too many people
just don’t want to deal with it?
And if someone thinks I’m overstating the problem of explicit material online, let me tell you:
in a few short years,
this has rapidly become one of the top problems priests deal with.
Marriages are ending over it. Many more are deeply wounded.
And the thing is, if you are over 40, or even over 30,
There is a world of Internet activity and applications
that you simply cannot conceive of.
And if you don’t live in that world, you have no idea
what kind of warped messages are reaching out to our children.
Do you know the average age for exposure to these things?
Eleven years old, and dropping. All with a click of a finger.
Fifty years ago this year, Blessed Pope Paul VI
issued an encyclical called Humanae Vitae,
which mean, “Of Human Life.”
People remember it because he restates and explains
the Church’s constant teaching that marital acts
must always be open to the gift of life;
and therefore, all the various tactics and pills
and other things that people have done, down through the ages,
to make conception of a child impossible –
all these methods are gravely immoral; they are mortal sins.
That’s what people remember, and that there was a great rebellion.
Many experts, many prominent Catholics, professors and so forth,
and many priests and even some bishops, either openly rebelled;
or else, they treated the Pope like a leper.
They were so smart, and the Pope and the Church, so out of touch.
But here’s the thing. That letter, Humanae Vitae, was about much more
than what folks remember.
It is about what it means to be a human being, made in God’s image;
created and loved by God and destined for eternity.
Pope Paul did not issue that letter because he was looking for ways
to make life more complicated, particularly for married couples.
At the time, everyone was advising him to go the other way.
Or else, just don’t say anything. Just let it go.
Which, by the way, is what lots of priests did for years; and still do.
And, to be fair, that’s what lots of Catholics wanted them to do.
But Pope Paul could not do that. He had a duty,
not to tell people what they wanted to hear,
but what they needed to hear.
And the thing is, what he said –
again, about a lot more than contraception,
that’s only part of his letter…
What Pope Paul said was absolutely prophetic.
He predicted that if the Church’s ancient teaching were rejected:
human life would become cheaper – and we have widespread abortion;
Women would be degraded: look at the “Me Two” movement.
Moreover, there is a straight line
leading from rejecting Humanae Vitae,
to the profound confusion we now face over what marriage even is –
can it be two men or two women? –
and now the even deeper blindness of people
no longer knowing what it even means to be a man or a woman.
It is all a package deal.
God created humanity to be partners in his work.
But humanity doesn’t want that high calling; it is too demanding.
The problem is that when we lose God, in the end, we lose ourselves.
And that is what is happening right now, before our very eyes.
I began by talking about shepherds who fail, either in gross ways,
or else in being complacent.
But what I want to say is that as terrible as that is,
that can’t be an excuse for our own response.
With all that is dismaying, you and I can take courage
from the Providence of God that has given every family,
every one of us, resources that were impossible even 20 years ago.
People will say to me, “I wish you say more about this or that.”
I’d like to, and maybe I will; but I have limited time.
But you don’t have to wait for me.
Just for example, Formed.org: it’s available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year.
Our parish has a subscription.
The code you need to use is on our website.
And there’s much more that’s freely available online.
Pray for your shepherds, in the Church, in government,
our schools, business, colleges, the media.
You and I always need courage, but oh how badly we need it now!
Well, there it is: it isn’t just those other people who need courage. Every one of us does.
In the end, the shepherds are us.
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Ho-humming Jesus (Sunday homily)
So, this is a pretty striking reaction to Jesus.
He is healing people, casting out demons,
and teaching people about God, offering forgiveness and offering hope.
“And they took offense at him.”
We know this kid, they said; he grew up here.
We know his family. Who does he think he is?
Ho-hum, they said.
Their hardness of heart “prevented” Jesus from performing miracles;
not because he was literally incapable of doing so –
he is God, he can do what he likes –
but rather, because there was no point.
The point of his healings and his teaching are the same:
to open people up to the supernatural life God offers them.
But they were closed off; his miracles would do them no good.
It is shocking to think of people reacting this way.
But let me ask you: if you could have just 5 or ten minutes with Jesus,
in which he would do for you what he offered those people,
Would you rearrange your schedule to meet with him?
I think a lot of us are saying, of course I would!
So then I ask you: what do you think happens in the confessional?
I know: a lot of people get discouraged because they go to confession, and they don’t get better.
But maybe the sacrament is keeping you from getting worse –
did you ever consider that?
Saint Therese the Little Flower made a point on this somewhere:
That the reason we don’t quickly overcome our sins
is because that would lead us to massive spiritual pride,
which can send us to hell just as easily.
So it is God’s mercy that we spend our lives wrestling with sin,
rather than one confession and done.
It really is this simple: what do you think happens in confession?
Do you believe Jesus is there, with all his power and his mercy?
Do you believe that?
For that matter, do you believe the Holy Mass is a miracle?
Because that is what it is.
Actually, two miracles; two miracles happen in every Mass;
and we all witness them.
The first miracle is that God brings us to Calvary,
to the Sacrifice that Jesus offered on the Cross.
The Mass is the Cross; the Mass brings us to the Cross.
When you and I are at Mass, we are right there with Jesus.
The second miracle is the change of bread and wine
into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity –
the true, real Presence of Jesus our Lord.
And, now that I think about it, there are three miracles.
The third one is that you and I,
in receiving the Eucharist in a state of grace –
meaning, we are not conscious of a mortal sin
that we have not yet brought to confession…
I say again, when we receive the Eucharist in a state of grace,
we are united with Jesus. We have union with God.
When I say it aloud, it is astounding; it’s shattering.
I can’t help wondering,
how in the world do we ho-hum these wonders?
How does it happen? And yet, we do.
I don’t mean you; I mean me.
I stand at this altar, day by day.
I give out God’s mercy in the confessional, and I’m glad to do it;
but I confess to you, I am not overwhelmed enough.
Not nearly enough.
It wasn’t just the hometown neighbors of Jesus who ho-hummed him;
And by their “yeah, so what?” attitude, closed the door to miracles.
No; it wasn’t just them.
I don’t want to be those people. Do you? Do you?
“Jesus, I dare to ask: break down the barriers, break my heart open!
Please keep me, please keep these your flock,
from being numbered among those
about whom you are ‘amazed at their lack of faith.’
Please, Lord, in your mercy, may these words not be said of us. Amen.”
He is healing people, casting out demons,
and teaching people about God, offering forgiveness and offering hope.
“And they took offense at him.”
We know this kid, they said; he grew up here.
We know his family. Who does he think he is?
Ho-hum, they said.
Their hardness of heart “prevented” Jesus from performing miracles;
not because he was literally incapable of doing so –
he is God, he can do what he likes –
but rather, because there was no point.
The point of his healings and his teaching are the same:
to open people up to the supernatural life God offers them.
But they were closed off; his miracles would do them no good.
It is shocking to think of people reacting this way.
But let me ask you: if you could have just 5 or ten minutes with Jesus,
in which he would do for you what he offered those people,
Would you rearrange your schedule to meet with him?
I think a lot of us are saying, of course I would!
So then I ask you: what do you think happens in the confessional?
I know: a lot of people get discouraged because they go to confession, and they don’t get better.
But maybe the sacrament is keeping you from getting worse –
did you ever consider that?
Saint Therese the Little Flower made a point on this somewhere:
That the reason we don’t quickly overcome our sins
is because that would lead us to massive spiritual pride,
which can send us to hell just as easily.
So it is God’s mercy that we spend our lives wrestling with sin,
rather than one confession and done.
It really is this simple: what do you think happens in confession?
Do you believe Jesus is there, with all his power and his mercy?
Do you believe that?
For that matter, do you believe the Holy Mass is a miracle?
Because that is what it is.
Actually, two miracles; two miracles happen in every Mass;
and we all witness them.
The first miracle is that God brings us to Calvary,
to the Sacrifice that Jesus offered on the Cross.
The Mass is the Cross; the Mass brings us to the Cross.
When you and I are at Mass, we are right there with Jesus.
The second miracle is the change of bread and wine
into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity –
the true, real Presence of Jesus our Lord.
And, now that I think about it, there are three miracles.
The third one is that you and I,
in receiving the Eucharist in a state of grace –
meaning, we are not conscious of a mortal sin
that we have not yet brought to confession…
I say again, when we receive the Eucharist in a state of grace,
we are united with Jesus. We have union with God.
When I say it aloud, it is astounding; it’s shattering.
I can’t help wondering,
how in the world do we ho-hum these wonders?
How does it happen? And yet, we do.
I don’t mean you; I mean me.
I stand at this altar, day by day.
I give out God’s mercy in the confessional, and I’m glad to do it;
but I confess to you, I am not overwhelmed enough.
Not nearly enough.
It wasn’t just the hometown neighbors of Jesus who ho-hummed him;
And by their “yeah, so what?” attitude, closed the door to miracles.
No; it wasn’t just them.
I don’t want to be those people. Do you? Do you?
“Jesus, I dare to ask: break down the barriers, break my heart open!
Please keep me, please keep these your flock,
from being numbered among those
about whom you are ‘amazed at their lack of faith.’
Please, Lord, in your mercy, may these words not be said of us. Amen.”
Sunday, July 01, 2018
A homily about pornography (without using that word; Sunday homily)
This past week I was in northern Kentucky,
at a conference with other priests.
Maybe you saw in the bulletin what it was about.
If you didn’t, let’s put it this way:
it was about the dark side of the Internet.
This is a very big problem.
For many people, for a lot of people, it is an addiction.
This was not a vacation. We were looking at some heavy science
and talking about some tough things, and how a priest can help.
And then, during the week, I look at the readings for this Mass.
They are about God giving life, and healing;
raising someone from death to life.
It seemed to me to be providential.
So let me go back to the word I just used: addiction.
This is something a lot of people simply don’t understand;
Even about themselves: “I don’t know why I do this.”
If this isn’t you, it is really hard to understand.
How can someone wreck his or her life over alcohol
or gambling or over dark stuff on the Internet?
I don’t know that I’m going to explain this adequately,
But what you must understand is that this isn’t about will power.
It isn’t about not praying enough, or some easy trick.
It goes a lot deeper.
Here’s what I learned this week about indecent materials –
and, you do know I’m talking about something specific,
but I’m being delicate?
So here’s part of what I learned.
This is about connecting with people.
If we don’t have the right kind of human connections,
we will seek out the wrong kind. False kinds. Empty connections.
And to turn it around: if we are hooked on the wrong kind,
The answer, the thing we need, is the right kind of human connection.
When a lot of us were children,
we had one phone the whole house shared.
And we had one TV, with 3, 4 or 5 channels.
When you watched TV, it was together.
Today, everyone has his or her own telephone;
And you can watch TV on it. We’re all disconnected.
So why be surprised that instead of human connection,
we connect with apps, with games,
and with other things we don’t want others to see.
So let’s talk about what happened in the Gospel.
A man comes to Jesus; his daughter is very ill.
What does Jesus say? I will come to her.
But then something odd happens along the way.
A woman in the crowd reaches out and touches Jesus.
And then Jesus, knowing she had been healed, decides to call her out.
Why not just let her go on her way: she was healed after all.
If you were her, would you want the spotlight put on you?
Everyone’s eyes staring at you?
It’s kind of harsh. Why would he do that?
There was something more that woman needed
than just to have her bleeding problem stopped.
She had a problem that must have been embarrassing;
It separated her from others.
Perhaps this woman felt shame, ugly, unwanted and unloved.
She was disconnected from others, and she had been for 12 years.
She didn’t just need the blood problem fixed;
She needed her connection with others restored.
To be loved, and know it. That’s the healing the woman needed.
Jesus wasn’t embarrassing her; he was pulling her from the shadows.
Then she told Jesus the whole truth.
One of the most healing things you and I can do
when we have something we feel shame about, some dark habit,
is to tell someone.
Being all alone with that gives it power.
Remember: what we need is to connect the right way.
Jesus wanted that woman to know she wasn’t just a stranger;
she was family. He called her “daughter.”
That’s the connection. You are a beloved child of God. And so am I.
I don’t know all the answers, but I have some good ideas.
But if you want to talk, and get it out,
I’m really good at listening and not repeating things.
That is what priests do.
And I think I can help you find help.
And I’m going to remind you that no matter what separates you,
what you think makes you totally outside, totally off, unworthy,
is just not big enough that God won’t say to you,
you are beloved son, you are my beloved daughter.
God created this world to be a place of life.
He made you and me to be “imperishable.”
And he came into the world – he became one of us –
To raise us back to life.
You are the one to whom Christ is speaking in the Gospel.
You are the child, he says, “is not dead but asleep.”
And to you, his most loved child, he says, “Arise!”
at a conference with other priests.
Maybe you saw in the bulletin what it was about.
If you didn’t, let’s put it this way:
it was about the dark side of the Internet.
This is a very big problem.
For many people, for a lot of people, it is an addiction.
This was not a vacation. We were looking at some heavy science
and talking about some tough things, and how a priest can help.
And then, during the week, I look at the readings for this Mass.
They are about God giving life, and healing;
raising someone from death to life.
It seemed to me to be providential.
So let me go back to the word I just used: addiction.
This is something a lot of people simply don’t understand;
Even about themselves: “I don’t know why I do this.”
If this isn’t you, it is really hard to understand.
How can someone wreck his or her life over alcohol
or gambling or over dark stuff on the Internet?
I don’t know that I’m going to explain this adequately,
But what you must understand is that this isn’t about will power.
It isn’t about not praying enough, or some easy trick.
It goes a lot deeper.
Here’s what I learned this week about indecent materials –
and, you do know I’m talking about something specific,
but I’m being delicate?
So here’s part of what I learned.
This is about connecting with people.
If we don’t have the right kind of human connections,
we will seek out the wrong kind. False kinds. Empty connections.
And to turn it around: if we are hooked on the wrong kind,
The answer, the thing we need, is the right kind of human connection.
When a lot of us were children,
we had one phone the whole house shared.
And we had one TV, with 3, 4 or 5 channels.
When you watched TV, it was together.
Today, everyone has his or her own telephone;
And you can watch TV on it. We’re all disconnected.
So why be surprised that instead of human connection,
we connect with apps, with games,
and with other things we don’t want others to see.
So let’s talk about what happened in the Gospel.
A man comes to Jesus; his daughter is very ill.
What does Jesus say? I will come to her.
But then something odd happens along the way.
A woman in the crowd reaches out and touches Jesus.
And then Jesus, knowing she had been healed, decides to call her out.
Why not just let her go on her way: she was healed after all.
If you were her, would you want the spotlight put on you?
Everyone’s eyes staring at you?
It’s kind of harsh. Why would he do that?
There was something more that woman needed
than just to have her bleeding problem stopped.
She had a problem that must have been embarrassing;
It separated her from others.
Perhaps this woman felt shame, ugly, unwanted and unloved.
She was disconnected from others, and she had been for 12 years.
She didn’t just need the blood problem fixed;
She needed her connection with others restored.
To be loved, and know it. That’s the healing the woman needed.
Jesus wasn’t embarrassing her; he was pulling her from the shadows.
Then she told Jesus the whole truth.
One of the most healing things you and I can do
when we have something we feel shame about, some dark habit,
is to tell someone.
Being all alone with that gives it power.
Remember: what we need is to connect the right way.
Jesus wanted that woman to know she wasn’t just a stranger;
she was family. He called her “daughter.”
That’s the connection. You are a beloved child of God. And so am I.
I don’t know all the answers, but I have some good ideas.
But if you want to talk, and get it out,
I’m really good at listening and not repeating things.
That is what priests do.
And I think I can help you find help.
And I’m going to remind you that no matter what separates you,
what you think makes you totally outside, totally off, unworthy,
is just not big enough that God won’t say to you,
you are beloved son, you are my beloved daughter.
God created this world to be a place of life.
He made you and me to be “imperishable.”
And he came into the world – he became one of us –
To raise us back to life.
You are the one to whom Christ is speaking in the Gospel.
You are the child, he says, “is not dead but asleep.”
And to you, his most loved child, he says, “Arise!”
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Who's your guy: John the Baptist or Hugh Hefner? (Sunday homily)
Last week was Father’s day.
But it occurs to me that today’s feast is a really good day
to talk to and about fathers, to and about men.
Does it seem unusual to have a saint’s day on a Sunday?
That’s because it is.
Why John the Baptist?
Jesus himself tells us elsewhere in Scripture:
“I tell you, among those born of women,
no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
What made John so great? Two things.
First, because he was the final link in the long chain of hope.
That chain began immediately
after Adam and Eve were corrupted, when God promised a Savior.
The links were sustained through wandering and darkness,
through slavery and deliverance, through exaltation and exile,
all the way down to John. But John, unlike all the rest,
not only promised a Savior, someday;
he was uniquely able to say:
Here! Now! Behold the Lamb of God!
And second, John was utterly faithful to his mission.
He understood it wasn’t about him.
“I must decrease,” he said: “Jesus must increase.”
Every word, every breath of John’s life was about Jesus: “There he is!”
Go follow him, John told his own followers.
Men, you and I live in a strange time.
The proper role and responsibilities of men
have never been more needed; and yet never more denigrated.
We hear about so-called “toxic masculinity.”
In schools, if boys act like boys, they are punished.
In too many homes and neighborhoods, men are mostly absent.
And, yes, there is such a thing as “toxic masculinity,”
although it’s not what some radical voices claim.
Here’s what I think is a toxic masculinity:
The idea that men should just have what they want.
There was a man named Hugh Hefner,
who had a philosophy which boiled down to,
the thing that matters most is you, and your fulfillment.
Sacrifice and self-denial are for suckers.
He published a magazine and promoted a lifestyle for decades.
He played a huge role in promoting easy divorce
and contraception and living together without marriage;
and he loved that first bookstores, and then the Internet,
became filled with obscene materials.
He thought redefining marriage and family was awesome.
Why am I talking about Hugh Hefner?
Many of you have never heard of him.
But this one man played a huge role
in shaping the world you and I now live in.
And though they don’t know it,
millions of men and boys are following in the path he charted.
Because it is really appealing to be able to live that way.
Meanwhile, there is all the wreckage.
There is a reckoning happening, and we see it every day:
People are being brought to account – in politics,
in entertainment, in the Church, because they lived for themselves,
and they left a lot of casualties behind.
From Monday to Thursday morning of this week,
I will be in northern Kentucky with other priests,
learning from experts about the plague of pornography.
A man in our parish said it best only last week:
This stuff comes straight from the pit of hell;
And if it was sold in cans, it would outsell Coca-Cola.
Being all about self and all about right now is so easy.
On the other hand, doing what John the Baptist did –
and for that matter, what his father Zachariah
and mother Elizabeth did – that is really hard.
Remember, they were elderly when God’s invitation came.
Zachariah was very reluctant. Not me! I’m too old, it’s too late.
A lot of grandparents are picking up the slack these days,
because a lot of mothers are carrying a double load alone.
So men, we’re in a mess.
Almost 80 years ago, our world was in a pretty bad place.
And the Greatest Generation stepped up.
So many of our fathers and grandfathers answered the call.
Most of them were never recognized,
and probably played a role that, at the time, seemed so small.
My father served in the Air Corps, working on B-17s.
He never bragged about any of it,
I’m guessing because he knew pilots and crews
that never came back; and he knew how lucky he was.
No one person won that war; but we needed every single one.
And men – boys – we need you now.
A spiritual Pearl Harbor, a moral 9-11 is happening right now.
The battlefield isn’t far away: it’s our homes and each of our hearts.
And if you wonder what your mission, what your purpose is,
It is like Zachariah who said, “His name is John” –
Meaning that father gave his son to the Lord’s service.
It is like John who said, this is all about Jesus, that’s why I’m here.
And John never had an easy day in his life
and he ultimately paid with blood.
But his was the path of glory!
Men, boys: choose that path!
It most likely isn’t going to be some great moment;
it’s a long chain of little moments,
most of which only you will know about.
A choice of Christ and others over self.
That path may mean being a priest. I love being a priest.
But if not, be a husband and father. Give life; change lives.
And if you’re inspired to do great things,
Then be willing to do small acts of faithfulness
while you wait till your moment comes.
This coming Friday we’ll have our 3rd annual Men’s Prayer Walk.
All men, all ages are welcome. We’ll meet in the parking lot
between my house and the school at 5:30, we’ll have transportation,
we’ll go out to Russia-Houston Road and Route 48,
and walk out toward and past Houston for about an hour.
Then we’ll come back and have fellowship.
What will that accomplish?
We will be praying for this parish and this community.
Our walking around the parish boundaries
signifies our role as protectors and providers.
If it’s only us, probably it means very little.
But it will be us and the Holy Spirit,
bearing witness to the Lamb of God.
And when we do that, anything can happen.
But it occurs to me that today’s feast is a really good day
to talk to and about fathers, to and about men.
Does it seem unusual to have a saint’s day on a Sunday?
That’s because it is.
Why John the Baptist?
Jesus himself tells us elsewhere in Scripture:
“I tell you, among those born of women,
no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
What made John so great? Two things.
First, because he was the final link in the long chain of hope.
That chain began immediately
after Adam and Eve were corrupted, when God promised a Savior.
The links were sustained through wandering and darkness,
through slavery and deliverance, through exaltation and exile,
all the way down to John. But John, unlike all the rest,
not only promised a Savior, someday;
he was uniquely able to say:
Here! Now! Behold the Lamb of God!
And second, John was utterly faithful to his mission.
He understood it wasn’t about him.
“I must decrease,” he said: “Jesus must increase.”
Every word, every breath of John’s life was about Jesus: “There he is!”
Go follow him, John told his own followers.
Men, you and I live in a strange time.
The proper role and responsibilities of men
have never been more needed; and yet never more denigrated.
We hear about so-called “toxic masculinity.”
In schools, if boys act like boys, they are punished.
In too many homes and neighborhoods, men are mostly absent.
And, yes, there is such a thing as “toxic masculinity,”
although it’s not what some radical voices claim.
Here’s what I think is a toxic masculinity:
The idea that men should just have what they want.
There was a man named Hugh Hefner,
who had a philosophy which boiled down to,
the thing that matters most is you, and your fulfillment.
Sacrifice and self-denial are for suckers.
He published a magazine and promoted a lifestyle for decades.
He played a huge role in promoting easy divorce
and contraception and living together without marriage;
and he loved that first bookstores, and then the Internet,
became filled with obscene materials.
He thought redefining marriage and family was awesome.
Why am I talking about Hugh Hefner?
Many of you have never heard of him.
But this one man played a huge role
in shaping the world you and I now live in.
And though they don’t know it,
millions of men and boys are following in the path he charted.
Because it is really appealing to be able to live that way.
Meanwhile, there is all the wreckage.
There is a reckoning happening, and we see it every day:
People are being brought to account – in politics,
in entertainment, in the Church, because they lived for themselves,
and they left a lot of casualties behind.
From Monday to Thursday morning of this week,
I will be in northern Kentucky with other priests,
learning from experts about the plague of pornography.
A man in our parish said it best only last week:
This stuff comes straight from the pit of hell;
And if it was sold in cans, it would outsell Coca-Cola.
Being all about self and all about right now is so easy.
On the other hand, doing what John the Baptist did –
and for that matter, what his father Zachariah
and mother Elizabeth did – that is really hard.
Remember, they were elderly when God’s invitation came.
Zachariah was very reluctant. Not me! I’m too old, it’s too late.
A lot of grandparents are picking up the slack these days,
because a lot of mothers are carrying a double load alone.
So men, we’re in a mess.
Almost 80 years ago, our world was in a pretty bad place.
And the Greatest Generation stepped up.
So many of our fathers and grandfathers answered the call.
Most of them were never recognized,
and probably played a role that, at the time, seemed so small.
My father served in the Air Corps, working on B-17s.
He never bragged about any of it,
I’m guessing because he knew pilots and crews
that never came back; and he knew how lucky he was.
No one person won that war; but we needed every single one.
And men – boys – we need you now.
A spiritual Pearl Harbor, a moral 9-11 is happening right now.
The battlefield isn’t far away: it’s our homes and each of our hearts.
And if you wonder what your mission, what your purpose is,
It is like Zachariah who said, “His name is John” –
Meaning that father gave his son to the Lord’s service.
It is like John who said, this is all about Jesus, that’s why I’m here.
And John never had an easy day in his life
and he ultimately paid with blood.
But his was the path of glory!
Men, boys: choose that path!
It most likely isn’t going to be some great moment;
it’s a long chain of little moments,
most of which only you will know about.
A choice of Christ and others over self.
That path may mean being a priest. I love being a priest.
But if not, be a husband and father. Give life; change lives.
And if you’re inspired to do great things,
Then be willing to do small acts of faithfulness
while you wait till your moment comes.
This coming Friday we’ll have our 3rd annual Men’s Prayer Walk.
All men, all ages are welcome. We’ll meet in the parking lot
between my house and the school at 5:30, we’ll have transportation,
we’ll go out to Russia-Houston Road and Route 48,
and walk out toward and past Houston for about an hour.
Then we’ll come back and have fellowship.
What will that accomplish?
We will be praying for this parish and this community.
Our walking around the parish boundaries
signifies our role as protectors and providers.
If it’s only us, probably it means very little.
But it will be us and the Holy Spirit,
bearing witness to the Lamb of God.
And when we do that, anything can happen.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Separating families at the border
This is what appears in Saint Remy Bulletin this Sunday.
What is all this talk about immigration and families? In recent weeks, there’s been a furious back-and-forth in the media and in Washington about what the government is doing at the borders, and how this affects families with minor children. I’ve seen a lot of yelling, not a lot of clarity. So last week, I tried to dig into this to understand better, particularly as our U.S. bishops have weighed in. This won’t be an expert explanation. But here’s what I think is going on.
Millions of people come to our country every year, both legally and illegally. Most who enter illegally are seeking nothing more than a better life, but some are engaged in crime or even terrorism. The task of our government in sorting out the honest and dishonest isn’t easy; and virtually everyone admits that we as a nation need a better handle on these issues. Politicians of both parties have been promising to address the problems of illegal immigration for decades, but without consensus.
When people attempt to enter this country illegally, several things can happen. If they are met right at the border, they are turned back. But if they are found already inside the country, then that is a violation of the law. In addition, they may be found to have broken other laws as well. At this point, they are either arrested and prosecuted, as anyone else would be, or else they are sent out of the country again. In all this, some will need food and medical attention, and I’m very confident they get it. Some of these folks will ask for asylum in the U.S., which our laws will grant under various conditions. When such a request is made, there is a legal process for determining whether that person qualifies for asylum.
Here’s the first hitch: the border control agents who deal with these issues have their hands full, as do the judges who have to decide these requests; so there are waiting periods until these things can be decided. So what happens to the illegal aliens requesting asylum? Really only two things can happen: they can either be held in custody, or else they can be released on their honor, and told to report on such-and-such a date for their court hearing. It should be obvious what the problems with either approach are. If you go back 30 years or so, you’ll find both approaches tried by both Democrats and Republicans. At the moment, President Trump has opted not to release such asylum-seekers, but rather to hold them in custody.
Here’s the second hitch: sometimes – many times? – these individuals come with underage children. Maybe they are their own children, or maybe they aren’t. Again, this presents the border control agents with many issues. They have to know whether the children are actually with their own relatives, and whether there is anything improper going on. But assuming they’ve answered these questions, then the issue is, do they take the children into custody as well? Or do they only take into custody the adults? Or do they just let the folks go free? This is what the current dispute is about. (Update: as this bulletin went to press, the President signed an order aiming to prevent family separations; but this isn’t over.)
If the government only takes the adults into custody, then the children have to go elsewhere; perhaps into foster care, or perhaps with relatives. But obviously, this means separation from their parents, and we can all imagine how frightening this is.
Here’s what our bishops have said. Let me quote a June 13 statement from Houston Archbishop Daniel DiNardo, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
At its core, asylum is an instrument to preserve the right to life. The Attorney General's recent decision elicits deep concern because it potentially strips asylum from many women who lack adequate protection. These vulnerable women will now face return to the extreme dangers of domestic violence in their home country. This decision negates decades of precedents that have provided protection to women fleeing domestic violence. Unless overturned, the decision will erode the capacity of asylum to save lives, particularly in cases that involve asylum seekers who are persecuted by private actors. We urge courts and policy makers to respect and enhance, not erode, the potential of our asylum system to preserve and protect the right to life.
Additionally, I join Bishop Joe Vásquez, Chairman of USCCB's Committee on Migration, in condemning the continued use of family separation at the U.S./Mexico border as an implementation of the Administration's zero tolerance policy. Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma. Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral."
Of course, the bishops know there are many responses to their concerns. Every year, many thousands of adults who have minor children are arrested, convicted and incarcerated for various crimes; and this, too, results in “family separation.” My guess is that Archbishop DiNardo would say that he wants to minimize that as well. And then, most people would distinguish between someone who is incarcerated for a theft or a violent crime, versus people who are fleeing desperate situations, even if they do enter this country illegally in the process.
Others are saying, but shouldn’t the bishops simply be happy that this administration is doing many positive things on pro-life and religious freedom? My guess is that the bishops are, indeed, happy; but that doesn’t mean they remind silent when they have concerns. Nor should any of us.
Archbishop DiNardo and Bishop Vasquez, among others, are trying to give voice to varied points of view among their fellow bishops, and among many Catholics. I think the bishops are trying to be a voice for the right balance between border security and compassion for people who are seeking a better life.
What is all this talk about immigration and families? In recent weeks, there’s been a furious back-and-forth in the media and in Washington about what the government is doing at the borders, and how this affects families with minor children. I’ve seen a lot of yelling, not a lot of clarity. So last week, I tried to dig into this to understand better, particularly as our U.S. bishops have weighed in. This won’t be an expert explanation. But here’s what I think is going on.
Millions of people come to our country every year, both legally and illegally. Most who enter illegally are seeking nothing more than a better life, but some are engaged in crime or even terrorism. The task of our government in sorting out the honest and dishonest isn’t easy; and virtually everyone admits that we as a nation need a better handle on these issues. Politicians of both parties have been promising to address the problems of illegal immigration for decades, but without consensus.
When people attempt to enter this country illegally, several things can happen. If they are met right at the border, they are turned back. But if they are found already inside the country, then that is a violation of the law. In addition, they may be found to have broken other laws as well. At this point, they are either arrested and prosecuted, as anyone else would be, or else they are sent out of the country again. In all this, some will need food and medical attention, and I’m very confident they get it. Some of these folks will ask for asylum in the U.S., which our laws will grant under various conditions. When such a request is made, there is a legal process for determining whether that person qualifies for asylum.
Here’s the first hitch: the border control agents who deal with these issues have their hands full, as do the judges who have to decide these requests; so there are waiting periods until these things can be decided. So what happens to the illegal aliens requesting asylum? Really only two things can happen: they can either be held in custody, or else they can be released on their honor, and told to report on such-and-such a date for their court hearing. It should be obvious what the problems with either approach are. If you go back 30 years or so, you’ll find both approaches tried by both Democrats and Republicans. At the moment, President Trump has opted not to release such asylum-seekers, but rather to hold them in custody.
Here’s the second hitch: sometimes – many times? – these individuals come with underage children. Maybe they are their own children, or maybe they aren’t. Again, this presents the border control agents with many issues. They have to know whether the children are actually with their own relatives, and whether there is anything improper going on. But assuming they’ve answered these questions, then the issue is, do they take the children into custody as well? Or do they only take into custody the adults? Or do they just let the folks go free? This is what the current dispute is about. (Update: as this bulletin went to press, the President signed an order aiming to prevent family separations; but this isn’t over.)
If the government only takes the adults into custody, then the children have to go elsewhere; perhaps into foster care, or perhaps with relatives. But obviously, this means separation from their parents, and we can all imagine how frightening this is.
Here’s what our bishops have said. Let me quote a June 13 statement from Houston Archbishop Daniel DiNardo, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
At its core, asylum is an instrument to preserve the right to life. The Attorney General's recent decision elicits deep concern because it potentially strips asylum from many women who lack adequate protection. These vulnerable women will now face return to the extreme dangers of domestic violence in their home country. This decision negates decades of precedents that have provided protection to women fleeing domestic violence. Unless overturned, the decision will erode the capacity of asylum to save lives, particularly in cases that involve asylum seekers who are persecuted by private actors. We urge courts and policy makers to respect and enhance, not erode, the potential of our asylum system to preserve and protect the right to life.
Additionally, I join Bishop Joe Vásquez, Chairman of USCCB's Committee on Migration, in condemning the continued use of family separation at the U.S./Mexico border as an implementation of the Administration's zero tolerance policy. Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma. Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral."
Of course, the bishops know there are many responses to their concerns. Every year, many thousands of adults who have minor children are arrested, convicted and incarcerated for various crimes; and this, too, results in “family separation.” My guess is that Archbishop DiNardo would say that he wants to minimize that as well. And then, most people would distinguish between someone who is incarcerated for a theft or a violent crime, versus people who are fleeing desperate situations, even if they do enter this country illegally in the process.
Others are saying, but shouldn’t the bishops simply be happy that this administration is doing many positive things on pro-life and religious freedom? My guess is that the bishops are, indeed, happy; but that doesn’t mean they remind silent when they have concerns. Nor should any of us.
Archbishop DiNardo and Bishop Vasquez, among others, are trying to give voice to varied points of view among their fellow bishops, and among many Catholics. I think the bishops are trying to be a voice for the right balance between border security and compassion for people who are seeking a better life.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
About the Cardinal McCarrick situation: I am angry
Over the past two days, I’ve been digesting the news about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired Archbishop of Washington. What is that news? Well, it’s in two parts:
- The first part was that he has been “credibly” accused of abusing a minor about 50 years ago.
- The second part is that this has occasioned stories about many more allegations of sexual activity on his part with priests and seminarians; meaning that it involved preying on subordinates.
Now, I don’t know if any of this is true. I hope none of it happened; but reading about this has made me sick in my stomach, and angry. Angry at the crimes themselves, if they happened; but even angrier at what seems to have been an “open secret” for many people for so many years.
Given what I’ve been reading, some of which was published at least eight years ago, it seems clear to me that this really was a pretty open “secret.” Which means that all the bishops – in Newark, in New York, in Metuchen, New Jersey and in Washington, D.C. – who are now issuing statements of “sadness” and “shock” – surely knew that McCarrick had been accused of misconduct before. We learned yesterday that at least two allegations, involving adults, had resulted in settlements. What else is there?
Someone might say, but this whole scandal business is old news. Where have you been, Father Fox?
Where I’ve been is living with it. I remember where I was in 2002, when so much of this fecal matter hit the fan in the U.S. I was in the seminary, preparing for my final year. I was interviewed by the local paper for my reaction to the awful things we were all hearing about. And I remember what I said: that all I could do was strive to be a good, holy priest. Of course, there was and is more I can do; but that was my answer as a seminarian.
So why is this making me so angry, 16 years later? Because it is 16 years later, and we’re still dealing with cover-ups!
Every day – every single day – as a priest, I live with the consequences of the abominable crimes committed by a small number of priests and bishops, but which were facilitated by many bishops, either by active connivance, or by neglect, or by covering it up. This gets called a “priest” scandal, but that omits the obvious fact that there was a failure of oversight. Without excusing any priest’s crimes, I think the failure of oversight was more culpable, since it so often meant one perverted priest causing such a wide path of destruction.
Let me pause my rant here and say something about silence. If anyone wonders, I have not been silent. As a priest, I am required by law, and by Archdiocesan policy, to report any information I receive (outside the seal of confession) to proper authorities. In my 15 years as a priest, I have been given such information many times; and every single time I have reported it both to local law enforcement, and to the Archdiocese. There are ways this whole process is awkward, and I can go into that if desired. Many times the information was very sketchy, so I doubt what I passed along was much help; but I reported it.
At no time have I been aware of any priest or seminarian engaging in any misconduct – other than, of course, something I learned in the news media. Sometimes people voice suspicions, but I can’t take that seriously when there is a total absence of facts.
I mention all this simply because someone might be thinking, well, what about you, Father Fox? Have you been part of this culture of silence? This is my answer.
So back to the main theme of my rant. I’m angry about what looks like a continuing culture of silence. Look: I respect confidentiality. People need and expect a priest to be able to keep his mouth shut. People confess their sins to God, in the presence of a priest, only because they are assured we remain silent, and that is right. People come to us, outside the confessional, with troubles and embarrassing problems, and they only feel safe doing that because they count on our discretion. And they should be able to do that. I am very good at keeping secrets.
But that’s not what this is! This is something else. If I were a bishop, and this sort of information reached my ears, I would look into it. I wouldn’t wait for someone to find me; I’d find those who could give me first-hand information. It would be my job to make it easy for them to share their stories. What’s more, I would do what I could to get someone in Rome to take an interest as well.
Maybe the bishops who knew about these McCarrick stories did all these things. But very honestly, I doubt it. And if I were advising the bishops in the dioceses directly affected by all this, I would tell them: “Do you want people to believe you? You need to address whether you knew about all these stories, and how you responded to them. People are going to be very dubious that you could be utterly unaware of all these allegations.”
The whole Church suffers from these crimes and the wounds they cause. One of the wounds is that people lose trust and become cynical. Maybe I am naïve; maybe it’s just that I’ve been focusing on my parish and my ministry, and I usually don’t want to dabble in gossip and innuendo. But today, this really has me upset, and I believe our bishops, and those in Rome who are concerned with these things, absolutely must answer the concerns of the faithful about how much of this covering-up is still going on. Get all the poison out. The pope knows there are perverts in high places; he himself referred to a “gay lobby” in the Vatican. (And just to be clear, while a lot of this is homosexual corruption, not all of it is. There is heterosexual corruption too.) So it’s time to answer the question:
What are we doing about it?
There are so many other thoughts, but it will exhaust me to write them all down, and it would exhaust you to read them. It breaks my heart to think of people wondering if their priest is some sort of pervert, preying on kids. I recall the time an individual came to me, and revealed he had been abused by a priest, many years before, in that same parish. It broke my heart, and I begged him for forgiveness. Last night the seminarian staying here this summer and I took our “MC”s – that is, the older altar boys who lead the others – out for wings as a thank you for all they do. Does anyone think there was anything improper? It makes me ill to think of it.
How much of a problem are we talking about? Priests are men, prone to all temptations. Greed is surely a temptation, as is unholy ambition. So is the desire for approval. I am tempted to laziness, to seeking too many comforts, to gluttony, to pride and wrath and arrogance, and to lust. The story goes around of a man in confession asking the priest, “Father, do you ever get old enough that you don’t experience lustful thoughts?” “Yes,” the priest assured him – “about 30 seconds before you die!”
Maybe I am naïve, but I do believe most priests try to be faithful. But I am sure some are living in situations that are gravely immoral, either with wealth gotten through theft or deception, or with a girl- or boyfriend on the side, or with other perversions. I can imagine the rationalizations. And I have no doubt that some number of clergy have looked the other way regarding others’ misdeeds, either because of fear, which is somewhat understandable, or because of cynicism or laziness, which is far less so. Many more priests are wrestling with sin, just as you are, and trying their best with prayer and spiritual direction and the sacraments to overcome them.
Inevitably, someone will say, “This is why I left the Catholic Church!” or, “This is why you should!” That makes no sense to me. I was raised Catholic, I left at 19 and came back at 29. I came back not because I thought the Church had especially holy bishops and priests; no, not even because I thought the ordinary person in the pew was especially holy. No, I chose to re-embrace my Catholic Faith for one very simple reason: I became convinced that Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church, and I wanted to be in the Church that is his mystical Body.
It is not “okay” that the Church has so many wounds; but it is not a new problem. Rather, it is a very ancient problem. Jesus himself dealt with it from the very beginning. Throughout the history of the Faith, we always have individuals who cry out against the sins of Christians, clergy, religious and laity. It is almost a constant. And yes, many movements that broke away from Rome did so precisely because of immorality and corruption. Tell me: has any that made its own way conquered these problems? Show me.
While I was writing this, I heard the church bells ring three o’clock, telling me I needed to get over to lead the Divine Mercy chaplet and then hear confessions. To my surprise, there was a long line waiting for me. In between penitents, I found myself wondering why there was so many, unusual for a summer afternoon. Then a thought occurred to me: is God telling me something? I want to marinate in my anger, but perhaps caring for others is a better route.
So I come back to what I told that reporter in 2002: my best response to all this is to strive all the more for my own holiness. I am a sinful man, but I am trying to be faithful. Other priests too, many heroically. Pray for us and let us help each other in holiness. It may not seem fair, but while corruption taints other parts of the Body, the one thing no one can stop you and me from doing is to contribute that much more our own prayer and penance.
- The first part was that he has been “credibly” accused of abusing a minor about 50 years ago.
- The second part is that this has occasioned stories about many more allegations of sexual activity on his part with priests and seminarians; meaning that it involved preying on subordinates.
Now, I don’t know if any of this is true. I hope none of it happened; but reading about this has made me sick in my stomach, and angry. Angry at the crimes themselves, if they happened; but even angrier at what seems to have been an “open secret” for many people for so many years.
Given what I’ve been reading, some of which was published at least eight years ago, it seems clear to me that this really was a pretty open “secret.” Which means that all the bishops – in Newark, in New York, in Metuchen, New Jersey and in Washington, D.C. – who are now issuing statements of “sadness” and “shock” – surely knew that McCarrick had been accused of misconduct before. We learned yesterday that at least two allegations, involving adults, had resulted in settlements. What else is there?
Someone might say, but this whole scandal business is old news. Where have you been, Father Fox?
Where I’ve been is living with it. I remember where I was in 2002, when so much of this fecal matter hit the fan in the U.S. I was in the seminary, preparing for my final year. I was interviewed by the local paper for my reaction to the awful things we were all hearing about. And I remember what I said: that all I could do was strive to be a good, holy priest. Of course, there was and is more I can do; but that was my answer as a seminarian.
So why is this making me so angry, 16 years later? Because it is 16 years later, and we’re still dealing with cover-ups!
Every day – every single day – as a priest, I live with the consequences of the abominable crimes committed by a small number of priests and bishops, but which were facilitated by many bishops, either by active connivance, or by neglect, or by covering it up. This gets called a “priest” scandal, but that omits the obvious fact that there was a failure of oversight. Without excusing any priest’s crimes, I think the failure of oversight was more culpable, since it so often meant one perverted priest causing such a wide path of destruction.
Let me pause my rant here and say something about silence. If anyone wonders, I have not been silent. As a priest, I am required by law, and by Archdiocesan policy, to report any information I receive (outside the seal of confession) to proper authorities. In my 15 years as a priest, I have been given such information many times; and every single time I have reported it both to local law enforcement, and to the Archdiocese. There are ways this whole process is awkward, and I can go into that if desired. Many times the information was very sketchy, so I doubt what I passed along was much help; but I reported it.
At no time have I been aware of any priest or seminarian engaging in any misconduct – other than, of course, something I learned in the news media. Sometimes people voice suspicions, but I can’t take that seriously when there is a total absence of facts.
I mention all this simply because someone might be thinking, well, what about you, Father Fox? Have you been part of this culture of silence? This is my answer.
So back to the main theme of my rant. I’m angry about what looks like a continuing culture of silence. Look: I respect confidentiality. People need and expect a priest to be able to keep his mouth shut. People confess their sins to God, in the presence of a priest, only because they are assured we remain silent, and that is right. People come to us, outside the confessional, with troubles and embarrassing problems, and they only feel safe doing that because they count on our discretion. And they should be able to do that. I am very good at keeping secrets.
But that’s not what this is! This is something else. If I were a bishop, and this sort of information reached my ears, I would look into it. I wouldn’t wait for someone to find me; I’d find those who could give me first-hand information. It would be my job to make it easy for them to share their stories. What’s more, I would do what I could to get someone in Rome to take an interest as well.
Maybe the bishops who knew about these McCarrick stories did all these things. But very honestly, I doubt it. And if I were advising the bishops in the dioceses directly affected by all this, I would tell them: “Do you want people to believe you? You need to address whether you knew about all these stories, and how you responded to them. People are going to be very dubious that you could be utterly unaware of all these allegations.”
The whole Church suffers from these crimes and the wounds they cause. One of the wounds is that people lose trust and become cynical. Maybe I am naïve; maybe it’s just that I’ve been focusing on my parish and my ministry, and I usually don’t want to dabble in gossip and innuendo. But today, this really has me upset, and I believe our bishops, and those in Rome who are concerned with these things, absolutely must answer the concerns of the faithful about how much of this covering-up is still going on. Get all the poison out. The pope knows there are perverts in high places; he himself referred to a “gay lobby” in the Vatican. (And just to be clear, while a lot of this is homosexual corruption, not all of it is. There is heterosexual corruption too.) So it’s time to answer the question:
What are we doing about it?
There are so many other thoughts, but it will exhaust me to write them all down, and it would exhaust you to read them. It breaks my heart to think of people wondering if their priest is some sort of pervert, preying on kids. I recall the time an individual came to me, and revealed he had been abused by a priest, many years before, in that same parish. It broke my heart, and I begged him for forgiveness. Last night the seminarian staying here this summer and I took our “MC”s – that is, the older altar boys who lead the others – out for wings as a thank you for all they do. Does anyone think there was anything improper? It makes me ill to think of it.
How much of a problem are we talking about? Priests are men, prone to all temptations. Greed is surely a temptation, as is unholy ambition. So is the desire for approval. I am tempted to laziness, to seeking too many comforts, to gluttony, to pride and wrath and arrogance, and to lust. The story goes around of a man in confession asking the priest, “Father, do you ever get old enough that you don’t experience lustful thoughts?” “Yes,” the priest assured him – “about 30 seconds before you die!”
Maybe I am naïve, but I do believe most priests try to be faithful. But I am sure some are living in situations that are gravely immoral, either with wealth gotten through theft or deception, or with a girl- or boyfriend on the side, or with other perversions. I can imagine the rationalizations. And I have no doubt that some number of clergy have looked the other way regarding others’ misdeeds, either because of fear, which is somewhat understandable, or because of cynicism or laziness, which is far less so. Many more priests are wrestling with sin, just as you are, and trying their best with prayer and spiritual direction and the sacraments to overcome them.
Inevitably, someone will say, “This is why I left the Catholic Church!” or, “This is why you should!” That makes no sense to me. I was raised Catholic, I left at 19 and came back at 29. I came back not because I thought the Church had especially holy bishops and priests; no, not even because I thought the ordinary person in the pew was especially holy. No, I chose to re-embrace my Catholic Faith for one very simple reason: I became convinced that Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church, and I wanted to be in the Church that is his mystical Body.
It is not “okay” that the Church has so many wounds; but it is not a new problem. Rather, it is a very ancient problem. Jesus himself dealt with it from the very beginning. Throughout the history of the Faith, we always have individuals who cry out against the sins of Christians, clergy, religious and laity. It is almost a constant. And yes, many movements that broke away from Rome did so precisely because of immorality and corruption. Tell me: has any that made its own way conquered these problems? Show me.
While I was writing this, I heard the church bells ring three o’clock, telling me I needed to get over to lead the Divine Mercy chaplet and then hear confessions. To my surprise, there was a long line waiting for me. In between penitents, I found myself wondering why there was so many, unusual for a summer afternoon. Then a thought occurred to me: is God telling me something? I want to marinate in my anger, but perhaps caring for others is a better route.
So I come back to what I told that reporter in 2002: my best response to all this is to strive all the more for my own holiness. I am a sinful man, but I am trying to be faithful. Other priests too, many heroically. Pray for us and let us help each other in holiness. It may not seem fair, but while corruption taints other parts of the Body, the one thing no one can stop you and me from doing is to contribute that much more our own prayer and penance.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
The Kingdom comes, we know not how (Sunday homily)
There was a particular line in the Gospel that you could easily miss:
A man scatters “seed on the land” and sleeps and rises,
“and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.”
Did you hear that? “He knows not how.”
Perhaps you say, but we do know; we know how to prepare the ground;
we know what kind of seed to plant, how to fertilize it and when;
and we know when to harvest.
The point Jesus is really making
is that the process of growth happens in its own way and own time.
No matter what we think or want, we aren’t in control.
We plant the seed, and then we wait.
This is one of the hardest lessons to learn in life,
and the most necessary:
recognizing what we can do, and what we cannot.
The farmer isn’t in control, but he is not passive.
We have a role to play – focus on that.
There are about 200 people in this church right now,
And if I were to ask for a show of hands,
I think I’d see most of them go up on this question:
Have you ever thought of ways that the world – or this country –
or our Church – or your place of work –
would be better? If only they did what you suggested?
Of course you have. It’s what we do.
“If only the Reds would do this and this…”
“If only the Pope…” If only, if only.
How’s that working out? They never call me!
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we shouldn’t give input.
You’ve heard me ask many times for your feedback and suggestions.
I value it. And even if Congress and the President don’t want it,
they need it, and it’s our duty as citizens to give it.
Rather, my point is that like the farmer, we can vote, we can speak up,
we can give what we give,
but in the end, the outcome will be beyond our control.
And the point Jesus is making is that the working out of his Kingdom –
the salvation of souls and the transformation of society –
Will surely and certainly come, but not as we wish or can even imagine:
We know not how.
That requires patience.
That requires humility.
And that is the challenge of hope,
because hope isn’t about what we see,
but on the contrary, hope is when we can’t see.
So if there’s something that has you worried:
The pope, the President, the direction of the country;
Your company, your family…
Jesus says: prepare the ground; plant the seed.
Pray; work. Sleep and rise.
It will sprout and grow of its own accord; you know not how.
Then sometimes you and I are the seed.
God plants us. We don’t know what’s going on.
“What am I doing here? It’s dark! Wait, now it’s wet!
Oh, I don’t like that; I don’t want to be wet; I’m wet all over!
“Wait – what’s that? What is that? Oh, that smells really bad!
What is God doing to me?
“Oh now I’m moving; I’m going somewhere.
And I was just getting used to that place;
but now, I’m getting pushed up somewhere.
Oh, it’s bright, bright, too bright, oohhhh! Ow!”
And so it goes.
There is a plan. You and I have a part to play;
and the difference you and I can make,
both in being the seed God plants,
and in the seeds we plant,
can be tremendous once we accept the fact
that God’s work will happen, though we know not how.
A man scatters “seed on the land” and sleeps and rises,
“and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.”
Did you hear that? “He knows not how.”
Perhaps you say, but we do know; we know how to prepare the ground;
we know what kind of seed to plant, how to fertilize it and when;
and we know when to harvest.
The point Jesus is really making
is that the process of growth happens in its own way and own time.
No matter what we think or want, we aren’t in control.
We plant the seed, and then we wait.
This is one of the hardest lessons to learn in life,
and the most necessary:
recognizing what we can do, and what we cannot.
The farmer isn’t in control, but he is not passive.
We have a role to play – focus on that.
There are about 200 people in this church right now,
And if I were to ask for a show of hands,
I think I’d see most of them go up on this question:
Have you ever thought of ways that the world – or this country –
or our Church – or your place of work –
would be better? If only they did what you suggested?
Of course you have. It’s what we do.
“If only the Reds would do this and this…”
“If only the Pope…” If only, if only.
How’s that working out? They never call me!
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we shouldn’t give input.
You’ve heard me ask many times for your feedback and suggestions.
I value it. And even if Congress and the President don’t want it,
they need it, and it’s our duty as citizens to give it.
Rather, my point is that like the farmer, we can vote, we can speak up,
we can give what we give,
but in the end, the outcome will be beyond our control.
And the point Jesus is making is that the working out of his Kingdom –
the salvation of souls and the transformation of society –
Will surely and certainly come, but not as we wish or can even imagine:
We know not how.
That requires patience.
That requires humility.
And that is the challenge of hope,
because hope isn’t about what we see,
but on the contrary, hope is when we can’t see.
So if there’s something that has you worried:
The pope, the President, the direction of the country;
Your company, your family…
Jesus says: prepare the ground; plant the seed.
Pray; work. Sleep and rise.
It will sprout and grow of its own accord; you know not how.
Then sometimes you and I are the seed.
God plants us. We don’t know what’s going on.
“What am I doing here? It’s dark! Wait, now it’s wet!
Oh, I don’t like that; I don’t want to be wet; I’m wet all over!
“Wait – what’s that? What is that? Oh, that smells really bad!
What is God doing to me?
“Oh now I’m moving; I’m going somewhere.
And I was just getting used to that place;
but now, I’m getting pushed up somewhere.
Oh, it’s bright, bright, too bright, oohhhh! Ow!”
And so it goes.
There is a plan. You and I have a part to play;
and the difference you and I can make,
both in being the seed God plants,
and in the seeds we plant,
can be tremendous once we accept the fact
that God’s work will happen, though we know not how.
Sunday, June 03, 2018
What a Gift! (Corpus Christi homily)
One value of today’s feast is to help us
avoid taking the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood for granted.
When someone grows up in a family with lots of advantages –
when you and I grow up in a country with so many advantages –
there’s a danger of not realizing how different life
is without all those blessings.
We Catholics have such riches in our Faith, in the saints,
in our many ways to pray,
in the teaching office held by the pope and the bishops,
in the sacraments, and above all,
in the real, true presence of Jesus in the Mass and the Eucharist.
And here in Saint Remy, we have the blessing of a beautiful church,
and a tradition of reverence.
This is a good time to talk about these blessings
and how we maintain and cultivate them.
Let me start with our church.
It is well designed and beautifully adorned.
That doesn’t just happen.
We’ve all been in places where folks made bad decisions.
Happily, people before us here made good decisions.
But what makes the most difference is you.
Your silence, your desire for reverence, is huge!
I can tell you, I’ve been in churches where this has been lost;
Where people are visiting and talking as they would anywhere else.
Nothing wrong with visiting – but it destroys prayerfulness.
Again, I admire how folks pay attention to how you dress in church.
It’s not a matter of wearing fancy clothes,
but of mindfulness and modesty.
This is a good time to talk about how we receive Holy Communion.
You know that there are two options:
receiving on the tongue, or in the hand.
What you may not know is that receiving on the tongue
is the norm in the whole world, outside the U.S.
And when permission was given to receive in the hand,
It was given with some expectations.
First, that someone has both hands free.
So, for example, sometimes someone will come for communion,
and will be using one hand to hold a child, or to lean on a cane.
In those cases, if he or she puts out one hand, I’ll whisper,
“I’ll put it on your tongue.”
The other expectation was that in receiving communion with our hands,
we wouldn’t lessen our reverence for the Body of Christ.
Receiving on the tongue naturally invites reverence.
When we receive in the hand, it is easier to slip into a casual approach.
So to those who wish to receive the Eucharist in the hand,
how about lifting your hands up high? Make your hand a throne.
If I gave you a fragile crystal bowl, worth thousands of dollars,
How would you carry it?
How precious do we consider the Sacred Body of Jesus to be?
Also, lifting up your hands makes it easier
for those who are distributing Holy Communion.
Now, let me say something to those who follow
the traditional practice of receiving on the tongue –
which, as I said, I believe in very strongly,
and I warmly encourage everyone to embrace.
I don’t know how to say this without making you laugh, but—
you really have to do two things to make this work:
first, you really have to open your mouth.
And you have to stick out your tongue.
This is the only time that’s not rude to do.
This next item applies to many of our younger parishioners:
when you come to communion, however you receive it, you have to stop. Be stationary.
Parents, you know what I mean.
And I know, parents, you have a lot to manage,
but I’d be very grateful if you can help your children
remember these things,
especially in lifting up their hands and standing still.
Earlier I described someone who grows up with great advantages.
That really is us.
After every Mass, we pray the St. Michael Prayer.
We are praying it for our fellow Christians who are persecuted.
The other day I saw an item about a priest,
Father Randall Roberts, who described “his experiences
as an Air Force chaplain in Saudi Arabia
where any public Christian activity is punishable by imprisonment.”
The soldiers would spread the word that the priest
was to celebrate Mass “in a remote area –
an abandoned recreation shack encircled by a chain-link fence.”
Somehow, a foreign worker, one of millions in the country,
Came by, and “pressed himself against the other side of the fence.”
Here’s what Father Randall saw:
He appeared to be straining his whole body – or at least his heart –
through the chain-link fence, like water through a filter…
The sheer ecstasy in his face from being present
at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – though not able to move closer –
is an image that will be indelibly etched in my heart until I die.
I wasn’t there, but now, I will never forget that image.
And I hope you won’t, either.
Pray for that man, and the many millions like him,
who are starving for what is so easy and available for us.
What a Gift you and I have been given!
avoid taking the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood for granted.
When someone grows up in a family with lots of advantages –
when you and I grow up in a country with so many advantages –
there’s a danger of not realizing how different life
is without all those blessings.
We Catholics have such riches in our Faith, in the saints,
in our many ways to pray,
in the teaching office held by the pope and the bishops,
in the sacraments, and above all,
in the real, true presence of Jesus in the Mass and the Eucharist.
And here in Saint Remy, we have the blessing of a beautiful church,
and a tradition of reverence.
This is a good time to talk about these blessings
and how we maintain and cultivate them.
Let me start with our church.
It is well designed and beautifully adorned.
That doesn’t just happen.
We’ve all been in places where folks made bad decisions.
Happily, people before us here made good decisions.
But what makes the most difference is you.
Your silence, your desire for reverence, is huge!
I can tell you, I’ve been in churches where this has been lost;
Where people are visiting and talking as they would anywhere else.
Nothing wrong with visiting – but it destroys prayerfulness.
Again, I admire how folks pay attention to how you dress in church.
It’s not a matter of wearing fancy clothes,
but of mindfulness and modesty.
This is a good time to talk about how we receive Holy Communion.
You know that there are two options:
receiving on the tongue, or in the hand.
What you may not know is that receiving on the tongue
is the norm in the whole world, outside the U.S.
And when permission was given to receive in the hand,
It was given with some expectations.
First, that someone has both hands free.
So, for example, sometimes someone will come for communion,
and will be using one hand to hold a child, or to lean on a cane.
In those cases, if he or she puts out one hand, I’ll whisper,
“I’ll put it on your tongue.”
The other expectation was that in receiving communion with our hands,
we wouldn’t lessen our reverence for the Body of Christ.
Receiving on the tongue naturally invites reverence.
When we receive in the hand, it is easier to slip into a casual approach.
So to those who wish to receive the Eucharist in the hand,
how about lifting your hands up high? Make your hand a throne.
If I gave you a fragile crystal bowl, worth thousands of dollars,
How would you carry it?
How precious do we consider the Sacred Body of Jesus to be?
Also, lifting up your hands makes it easier
for those who are distributing Holy Communion.
Now, let me say something to those who follow
the traditional practice of receiving on the tongue –
which, as I said, I believe in very strongly,
and I warmly encourage everyone to embrace.
I don’t know how to say this without making you laugh, but—
you really have to do two things to make this work:
first, you really have to open your mouth.
And you have to stick out your tongue.
This is the only time that’s not rude to do.
This next item applies to many of our younger parishioners:
when you come to communion, however you receive it, you have to stop. Be stationary.
Parents, you know what I mean.
And I know, parents, you have a lot to manage,
but I’d be very grateful if you can help your children
remember these things,
especially in lifting up their hands and standing still.
Earlier I described someone who grows up with great advantages.
That really is us.
After every Mass, we pray the St. Michael Prayer.
We are praying it for our fellow Christians who are persecuted.
The other day I saw an item about a priest,
Father Randall Roberts, who described “his experiences
as an Air Force chaplain in Saudi Arabia
where any public Christian activity is punishable by imprisonment.”
The soldiers would spread the word that the priest
was to celebrate Mass “in a remote area –
an abandoned recreation shack encircled by a chain-link fence.”
Somehow, a foreign worker, one of millions in the country,
Came by, and “pressed himself against the other side of the fence.”
Here’s what Father Randall saw:
He appeared to be straining his whole body – or at least his heart –
through the chain-link fence, like water through a filter…
The sheer ecstasy in his face from being present
at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – though not able to move closer –
is an image that will be indelibly etched in my heart until I die.
I wasn’t there, but now, I will never forget that image.
And I hope you won’t, either.
Pray for that man, and the many millions like him,
who are starving for what is so easy and available for us.
What a Gift you and I have been given!
Sunday, May 20, 2018
The Fire (Pentecost homily)
As you’ve heard me say nearly every Sunday during Easter Season,
Easter is all about heaven. That’s why Jesus died and rose,
in order to create for us a future with him.
So now we come to Pentecost,
which is, if you will, the final “ingredient.”
If you are fixing a recipe, you have to put in the last ingredient;
if you don’t, then it won’t work.
Likewise, without Jesus giving the Holy Spirit,
his plan for us would fail.
We receive the Holy Spirit first in baptism;
If our parents made that decision for us,
Then later it falls to us to ratify that choice.
Our language about this can be misleading.
We talk about “receiving” the Holy Spirit;
But that’s not nearly strong enough.
We also “receive” a text on our phone:
We glance at it and go on our way.
But surely that’s not what we’re talking about here, right?
Better would be the language the Bible uses:
The Prophet Ezekiel talks about dry, dead bones coming to life.
Saint Paul talks about a new birth.
Elsewhere in the Gospel of John, Jesus told Nicodemus:
“you must be born again.”
Or else, take notice of the detail from the book of Acts:
“Fire appeared, and … came to rest on each one of them.”
The key thing about fire is this: unless you contain it,
and it will transform everything it touches.
That is the reason Jesus gives the Holy Spirit:
so that we will be transformed;
so that we will be changed entirely, and become heavenly.
We use the expression, “playing with Fire” –
but God the Holy Spirit is not a plaything;
God does not share Himself with you,
in order to be put on the shelf, or in your pocket,
or worn around your neck like a religious medal.
Quite graciously, the Holy Spirit offers us a partnership;
but only with you or me as the junior partner.
If we seek to contain the fire of the Holy Spirit,
we will quite simply extinguish it.
The Holy Spirit is not an accessory or a hobby or a part-time thing.
When Moses brought the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai,
he said that they had been written by the “finger of God.”
In the Gospels, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit in this way,
which makes sense, because the Holy Spirit gives us the power
to obey the law of God written in our hearts.
Now, let me illustrate the two ways we can go:
Either to silence God’s voice in our hearts; or to let God change us.
how this works,
although I’m going to use a pretty rough image, I’m sorry.
As most of us know, there are some very dark places on the Internet,
providing a flood of images that are both beguiling and poisonous.
And don’t let my delicate language deceive you.
If you think what I’m talking about is only a little bit naughty,
and just here or there, I’m sorry, but that is not the case.
It is a massive flood and it is filthier than you can imagine.
People are consuming this sewage, and coming back daily for more.
Here’s the thing: no one who first sees these things is ever blasé.
The reaction is always the same:
we know in our gut that it is very wrong.
That is God’s Law written in our hearts: that is our conscience.
So: if everyone knows it’s wrong, why is it everywhere?
Why is smut such a major economic engine of the Internet?
The answer is because people fight the Holy Spirit;
Instead of nourishing and strengthening their conscience,
they ignore it, turn down the volume, shout over it.
They put out the Fire.
Look at this terrible crime at the high school in Texas,
unfortunately, not isolated, but another on a list of such crimes.
Everyone wants to know what the problem is;
We all want to explain it.
The problem of evil isn’t so easy; I don’t want to oversimplify.
But I submit to you that at least one part of it we can identify.
We’d like to say these criminals are just delusional;
but what do the people involved say?
“He was entirely normal.” Not crazy.
So let me ask you: do you think these people,
who do these horrible things, to their family, their classmates,
were nourishing their conscience – or in the habit of smothering it?
Most of us will never be that person; but the point is,
when we start down the road of ignoring God in our hearts,
wherever you and I end up, we won’t be the person we were.
And it won’t be sudden: it will be series of small, easy steps.
Now let me make the point in a different way.
Let me tell you about Bernard Nathanson.
He played a key role in legalizing abortion,
Which has cost untold millions of lives.
He himself was responsible for 75,000 abortions.
And he was an atheist.
However tightly he shut out the voice of God,
over the years, he would see and hear people praying outside the abortion facility he ran.
Someone—many someones—prayed for his conversion.
Many someones talked to him about the Lord—
And many someones showed him the example
of living like a Christian.
After a long time, Bernard Nathanson
stopped committing abortions—
Some time later, he became a pro-life advocate.
Then, he started going to Mass.
And after many years, he was baptized and confirmed
And received the Body and Blood of the Lord.
So you see, it can go either way.
Now, there’s bad news and there is good news.
First the bad news:
If you want to put out the Fire of the Holy Spirit, you can do it.
There is darkness beyond the darkness; and we can decide to like it.
OrThe good news is that* we can undo the damage.
The Fire can be kindled anew.
But it only works if you let God be in charge.
The habit of “no,” “not now,” “that’s too much!” and “later,”
can be – and must be –
replaced with “yes, Lord” and “whatever it takes!”
and “now is the time.”
The place to rekindle the Fire is first in the silence of our own hearts,
and then in the sanctuary of the confessional.
I wish I could tell you that it takes only one good confession,
and then the Fire runs wild, and all our battles are won.
But that rarely happens – because that would mean
we conquered one set of sins, only to be consumed by spiritual pride.
No, it is a painful mercy that conversion usually takes great patience.
What happens is that you and I are a kind of “reverse fire fighter.”
The task of our local Russia volunteer fire department
is gradually to contain and kill a fire.
The bigger it is, the longer it takes.
But our job – with the Holy Spirit –
is to help the Fire spread into every corner of our lives!
It takes time and daily choices: will I let the Fire of God go here?
And here? And even here?
Will I unwrap my fingers gripping tightly this vice,
this inordinate love, and let it be consumed and transformed?
It starts with a single “yes”; followed by about a million more!
* I made these changes after the 5 pm Mass.
Easter is all about heaven. That’s why Jesus died and rose,
in order to create for us a future with him.
So now we come to Pentecost,
which is, if you will, the final “ingredient.”
If you are fixing a recipe, you have to put in the last ingredient;
if you don’t, then it won’t work.
Likewise, without Jesus giving the Holy Spirit,
his plan for us would fail.
We receive the Holy Spirit first in baptism;
If our parents made that decision for us,
Then later it falls to us to ratify that choice.
Our language about this can be misleading.
We talk about “receiving” the Holy Spirit;
But that’s not nearly strong enough.
We also “receive” a text on our phone:
We glance at it and go on our way.
But surely that’s not what we’re talking about here, right?
Better would be the language the Bible uses:
The Prophet Ezekiel talks about dry, dead bones coming to life.
Saint Paul talks about a new birth.
Elsewhere in the Gospel of John, Jesus told Nicodemus:
“you must be born again.”
Or else, take notice of the detail from the book of Acts:
“Fire appeared, and … came to rest on each one of them.”
The key thing about fire is this: unless you contain it,
and it will transform everything it touches.
That is the reason Jesus gives the Holy Spirit:
so that we will be transformed;
so that we will be changed entirely, and become heavenly.
We use the expression, “playing with Fire” –
but God the Holy Spirit is not a plaything;
God does not share Himself with you,
in order to be put on the shelf, or in your pocket,
or worn around your neck like a religious medal.
Quite graciously, the Holy Spirit offers us a partnership;
but only with you or me as the junior partner.
If we seek to contain the fire of the Holy Spirit,
we will quite simply extinguish it.
The Holy Spirit is not an accessory or a hobby or a part-time thing.
When Moses brought the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai,
he said that they had been written by the “finger of God.”
In the Gospels, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit in this way,
which makes sense, because the Holy Spirit gives us the power
to obey the law of God written in our hearts.
Now, let me illustrate the two ways we can go:
Either to silence God’s voice in our hearts; or to let God change us.
It is a massive flood and it is filthier than you can imagine.
Here’s the thing: no one who first sees these things is ever blasé.
So: if everyone knows it’s wrong, why is it everywhere?
Look at this terrible crime at the high school in Texas,
unfortunately, not isolated, but another on a list of such crimes.
Everyone wants to know what the problem is;
We all want to explain it.
The problem of evil isn’t so easy; I don’t want to oversimplify.
But I submit to you that at least one part of it we can identify.
We’d like to say these criminals are just delusional;
but what do the people involved say?
“He was entirely normal.” Not crazy.
So let me ask you: do you think these people,
who do these horrible things, to their family, their classmates,
were nourishing their conscience – or in the habit of smothering it?
Most of us will never be that person; but the point is,
when we start down the road of ignoring God in our hearts,
wherever you and I end up, we won’t be the person we were.
And it won’t be sudden: it will be series of small, easy steps.
Now let me make the point in a different way.
Let me tell you about Bernard Nathanson.
He played a key role in legalizing abortion,
Which has cost untold millions of lives.
He himself was responsible for 75,000 abortions.
And he was an atheist.
However tightly he shut out the voice of God,
over the years, he would see and hear people praying outside the abortion facility he ran.
Someone—many someones—prayed for his conversion.
Many someones talked to him about the Lord—
And many someones showed him the example
of living like a Christian.
After a long time, Bernard Nathanson
stopped committing abortions—
Some time later, he became a pro-life advocate.
Then, he started going to Mass.
And after many years, he was baptized and confirmed
And received the Body and Blood of the Lord.
So you see, it can go either way.
If you want to put out the Fire of the Holy Spirit, you can do it.
There is darkness beyond the darkness; and we can decide to like it.
Or
The Fire can be kindled anew.
But it only works if you let God be in charge.
The habit of “no,” “not now,” “that’s too much!” and “later,”
can be – and must be –
replaced with “yes, Lord” and “whatever it takes!”
and “now is the time.”
The place to rekindle the Fire is first in the silence of our own hearts,
and then in the sanctuary of the confessional.
I wish I could tell you that it takes only one good confession,
and then the Fire runs wild, and all our battles are won.
But that rarely happens – because that would mean
we conquered one set of sins, only to be consumed by spiritual pride.
No, it is a painful mercy that conversion usually takes great patience.
What happens is that you and I are a kind of “reverse fire fighter.”
The task of our local Russia volunteer fire department
is gradually to contain and kill a fire.
The bigger it is, the longer it takes.
But our job – with the Holy Spirit –
is to help the Fire spread into every corner of our lives!
It takes time and daily choices: will I let the Fire of God go here?
And here? And even here?
Will I unwrap my fingers gripping tightly this vice,
this inordinate love, and let it be consumed and transformed?
It starts with a single “yes”; followed by about a million more!
* I made these changes after the 5 pm Mass.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Heaven: we already have it. Claim it (Ascension homily)
All during Easter season my homilies have talked about heaven,
because that’s why Jesus came, suffered, died and rose –
to open up a future for each of us to be with him forever.
So how appropriate that here we are, and what are we talking about?
Jesus ascending to his throne in heaven.
That said, this feast of the Ascension
is not simply about Jesus himself returning to heaven;
if that’s all it were, then where is the hope?
Rather, Jesus goes, as he said, to prepare a place for us.
It’s about you and me going to heaven.
So let’s talk about this.
First, I want to make a small but important point.
Notice that this happened 40 days after Jesus’ Resurrection.
So this really should have been observed last Thursday.
But some 30 years or so ago, most bishops in this country
decided that it would be beneficial to observe this on Sunday,
so more of the faithful could participate.
That’s why this is happening on Sunday.
Nevertheless, I think it’s important to explain something
about our Christian Faith, and I want to do it in big, bold letters:
we are not just telling stories.
Our Faith is built on facts: Jesus was born, he was crucified,
he died and he rose from the dead, in a particular place and time;
People witnessed all these things, and they were prepared to die –
very painful deaths – rather than deny what they saw.
Our Faith is built on facts; and if these things did not happen,
We are all wasting our time here.
But back to the main theme:
You and I see Jesus return to heaven,
and it means you and I are going there.
More than that: it means, in a real sense, we are already there.
Howso? Because you and I are part of Jesus.
How many ways does Jesus have to make this clear?
He calls himself the Bridegroom, and the Church is his Bride.
Jesus calls himself the head, and we are his body.
He is the Vine, we are the branches.
As Saint Paul describes in the second reading,
we share the same Holy Spirit,
and all the explosive power and life
that comes from having God’s Spirit within us.
The point I want to make is that there really is no separation.
The Body of Christ is not a dead body, scattered here and there,
but a living Body – intact and full of life.
So the conclusion is inescapable: if Jesus is in heaven (and he is),
then in some true sense, so are we!
Now, just to be clear: you and I have heaven, we have it now;
but we can lose it. So it’s something you and I must grab and hold on to.
That insight is what set off Saint Paul.
In the second reading, you can hear how excited he was about this.
Readers will often complain in the sacristy
that Paul wrote these long sentences – and they are right.
But if you think about it, that’s exactly what happens
when someone is erupting with excitement.
It’s an explosion of words.
Saint Paul realizes: he – and each of us – is already in heaven!
Or, maybe to put it another way, you and I already have heaven;
we just don’t realize it.
The difference between really grasping that, and not,
is the difference between being an on-fire, all-in, filled-with-joy Saint of God,
And being a bored, sometime pew-sitter,
who can’t wait to get out of church
because he or she can’t see what it’s all about.
Some of you are here, right now. Maybe you’re half-listening right now!
That’s OK, I’m not offended; but for about 90 seconds,
WAKE UP! WAKE UP! Listen just for 90 seconds, OK?
Jesus is real, Jesus is here, and what he offers is pure life.
There’s a smorgasbord of life laid before you;
yet you can still starve if you can’t be bothered to reach out for it.
That’s not your parents, that’s not your wife or husband;
It’s not my fault, or someone else’s, who failed you. THAT’S ON YOU.
It’s totally normal to be in a situation where you don’t get it.
It’s confusing, or boring, or whatever. Everybody goes through that.
Whatever you love, whatever gets you excited, still takes effort.
You have to put some work in.
So this notion that when it comes to your Faith,
someone has to do it all for you, cut up all your food in little pieces?
Feed it to you? Sorry, that’s bogus. That’s an excuse.
Do you like steak? I like steak.
And if someone puts a hot, juicy steak in front of me,
I’m not going to say, “Oh, no one cut it up, so I can’t eat it! So unfair!”
Dude: I’m eating it if I have to use my bare hands!
My point being that when what I just told you sinks in:
You and I are already in heaven – just claim it!
Then you’re going to grab that steak and chow down.
It’s yours. Claim it! Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from it!
If you are in school, and you go to religious education,
and something doesn’t make sense?
Ask and keep asking! “No, tell me again.”
Here’s a “problem” no one has ever brought me:
“We have a student who keeps demanding more.”
Or, “Father! In front of church,
we have parents and senior citizens picketing!
They are demanding more opportunities to learn their Faith.”
Don’t get me wrong: our parishioners are great
for seeking to grow in the Faith.
The argument I’m making is that no one should be going hungry.
There’s plenty here, and if anyone isn’t getting enough;
if there’s something I can do, our parish can do, that we’re not?
Please, just tell me. “Father! We need…we want…” Tell me.
We will find a way. You are already in heaven.
Heaven is already yours. Come and get it!
Jesus told his disciples – he told us – to ask for more, and keep asking.
“Ask and you shall receive,” he promised. Hold him to that promise!
He will absolutely keep it.
because that’s why Jesus came, suffered, died and rose –
to open up a future for each of us to be with him forever.
So how appropriate that here we are, and what are we talking about?
Jesus ascending to his throne in heaven.
That said, this feast of the Ascension
is not simply about Jesus himself returning to heaven;
if that’s all it were, then where is the hope?
Rather, Jesus goes, as he said, to prepare a place for us.
It’s about you and me going to heaven.
So let’s talk about this.
First, I want to make a small but important point.
Notice that this happened 40 days after Jesus’ Resurrection.
So this really should have been observed last Thursday.
But some 30 years or so ago, most bishops in this country
decided that it would be beneficial to observe this on Sunday,
so more of the faithful could participate.
That’s why this is happening on Sunday.
Nevertheless, I think it’s important to explain something
about our Christian Faith, and I want to do it in big, bold letters:
we are not just telling stories.
Our Faith is built on facts: Jesus was born, he was crucified,
he died and he rose from the dead, in a particular place and time;
People witnessed all these things, and they were prepared to die –
very painful deaths – rather than deny what they saw.
Our Faith is built on facts; and if these things did not happen,
We are all wasting our time here.
But back to the main theme:
You and I see Jesus return to heaven,
and it means you and I are going there.
More than that: it means, in a real sense, we are already there.
Howso? Because you and I are part of Jesus.
How many ways does Jesus have to make this clear?
He calls himself the Bridegroom, and the Church is his Bride.
Jesus calls himself the head, and we are his body.
He is the Vine, we are the branches.
As Saint Paul describes in the second reading,
we share the same Holy Spirit,
and all the explosive power and life
that comes from having God’s Spirit within us.
The point I want to make is that there really is no separation.
The Body of Christ is not a dead body, scattered here and there,
but a living Body – intact and full of life.
So the conclusion is inescapable: if Jesus is in heaven (and he is),
then in some true sense, so are we!
Now, just to be clear: you and I have heaven, we have it now;
but we can lose it. So it’s something you and I must grab and hold on to.
That insight is what set off Saint Paul.
In the second reading, you can hear how excited he was about this.
Readers will often complain in the sacristy
that Paul wrote these long sentences – and they are right.
But if you think about it, that’s exactly what happens
when someone is erupting with excitement.
It’s an explosion of words.
Saint Paul realizes: he – and each of us – is already in heaven!
Or, maybe to put it another way, you and I already have heaven;
we just don’t realize it.
The difference between really grasping that, and not,
is the difference between being an on-fire, all-in, filled-with-joy Saint of God,
And being a bored, sometime pew-sitter,
who can’t wait to get out of church
because he or she can’t see what it’s all about.
Some of you are here, right now. Maybe you’re half-listening right now!
That’s OK, I’m not offended; but for about 90 seconds,
WAKE UP! WAKE UP! Listen just for 90 seconds, OK?
Jesus is real, Jesus is here, and what he offers is pure life.
There’s a smorgasbord of life laid before you;
yet you can still starve if you can’t be bothered to reach out for it.
That’s not your parents, that’s not your wife or husband;
It’s not my fault, or someone else’s, who failed you. THAT’S ON YOU.
It’s totally normal to be in a situation where you don’t get it.
It’s confusing, or boring, or whatever. Everybody goes through that.
Whatever you love, whatever gets you excited, still takes effort.
You have to put some work in.
So this notion that when it comes to your Faith,
someone has to do it all for you, cut up all your food in little pieces?
Feed it to you? Sorry, that’s bogus. That’s an excuse.
Do you like steak? I like steak.
And if someone puts a hot, juicy steak in front of me,
I’m not going to say, “Oh, no one cut it up, so I can’t eat it! So unfair!”
Dude: I’m eating it if I have to use my bare hands!
My point being that when what I just told you sinks in:
You and I are already in heaven – just claim it!
Then you’re going to grab that steak and chow down.
It’s yours. Claim it! Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from it!
If you are in school, and you go to religious education,
and something doesn’t make sense?
Ask and keep asking! “No, tell me again.”
Here’s a “problem” no one has ever brought me:
“We have a student who keeps demanding more.”
Or, “Father! In front of church,
we have parents and senior citizens picketing!
They are demanding more opportunities to learn their Faith.”
Don’t get me wrong: our parishioners are great
for seeking to grow in the Faith.
The argument I’m making is that no one should be going hungry.
There’s plenty here, and if anyone isn’t getting enough;
if there’s something I can do, our parish can do, that we’re not?
Please, just tell me. “Father! We need…we want…” Tell me.
We will find a way. You are already in heaven.
Heaven is already yours. Come and get it!
Jesus told his disciples – he told us – to ask for more, and keep asking.
“Ask and you shall receive,” he promised. Hold him to that promise!
He will absolutely keep it.
Sunday, May 06, 2018
What does it mean to be God's friend? (Sunday homily)
In the Gospel, three times we heard Jesus call us his friends.
“Friends” – that’s very striking. So let’s drill into that.
First of all, how do we even do that?
God is so beyond, how do we have a friendship with God?
I can’t invite God over to play Euchre; I can’t help God repair his barn.
This was the point of the Incarnation – of God becoming human.
Did the Apostles play cards with Jesus? I don’t know;
but they did help him with his work, and he with theirs.
They ate and drank and traveled and joked together.
God became human so that we humans could be friends with God.
But what kind of friends?
The Greek philosopher Aristotle –
who was great because of thought of so many things
before anyone else did –
figured out that there are three types of friends.
The first type are those who are merely “useful” –
so we might think of people at the stores we visit,
or who deliver things to us.
We might not really know them, yet we are friendly,
precisely because we do business.
The second sort of friend are those just for pleasure:
for example, others in a hobby or a club.
But true friendship requires more.
Aristotle said true friendship is oriented to what is good;
Friends love the good in each other, and love the same good together.
In short, what makes a true friendship is virtue.
If I seek what is good,
I am drawn to others who love those good things.
If I don’t have virtue in me, I won’t be drawn to them;
And they won’t be drawn to me.
What would we have in common?
Notice, this is what Jesus is telling us. He says,
“you are my friends if you do what I command you.”
In other words, love what I love.
See as good what I, your Lord, see as good.
If you have noticed, many of my homilies this Easter
have been about heaven.
Jesus’ death and resurrection are about bringing us to heaven.
And this Gospel is also about heaven.
A lot of people think gaining heaven is like passing a test.
I have to get the right answers. I have to know the right things.
I have to be good enough.
If I’m in a state of mortal sin and I die, I go to hell.
I better go to confession to get good enough again.
Now, it is absolutely true that if we are in mortal sin,
and we don’t repent, and we die, yes we will go to hell for eternity.
That is true, and it is frightening,
and that is an excellent reason to get to confession right away.
Nevertheless, it is still not about passing a test!
It’s about being friends with God.
That’s why we also call confession the sacrament of reconciliation.
And what did Aristotle say? Friends love the good together.
If you want to be a friend of God, love what God loves.
This is important, because if we are honest, we don’t always do that.
People will ask, why should someone go to hell
for this or that reason. And this is why.
Every day you and I face the choice: do I love the things God loves,
or do I love and do what I prefer, regardless of what God says?
Jesus is going his way, and he says, come with me, be my companion!
And what do we say?
How about, “Will it take more than an hour on Sunday?”
“Can we schedule it around these other priorities?”
Or, we might tell Jesus, “Maybe later; I’m busy right now.”
Or, how about, “Can I just meet you there?”
I suspect that’s where a lot of people are.
They won’t spend time with Jesus along the way,
they’ll just meet him “later” in heaven.
But what makes you think you will want to be with him then,
if you don’t want to be with him now?
Of course, that raises the question, can someone be in heaven,
even if they don’t know Jesus in this life?
There’s a longer answer, but here’s a manageable one.
When people seek the Good and live by it, they will discover,
in the end, that it was Jesus all along.
That’s for other folks, not us. We know who Jesus is.
No excuse for us. Jesus invites us to be friends.
Not once-a-week acquaintances.
Not someone we “do business with” – meaning, here’s my tithe, Lord,
now I expect a good harvest and no family problems this year.
As you know, I’ve been talking about our parish priorities –
although I haven’t mentioned them in a bit.
We’ve been focused on Lent and Easter.
Let me remind you of three of those priorities:
To provide a “better welcome” to those not part of our parish;
To foster “more disciples” –
that is, to help each other to know and serve Jesus better;
And to “seek out” those in our families and neighborhoods
who aren’t believers, or aren’t practicing, and draw them to Christ.
Here’s the thing: there’s no way anyone can do this
unless you are a friend of Jesus in that full sense.
My barber is a good guy – but I don’t tell everyone I meet
that they should go to my barber!
However: if he changed my life? Then I would!
So if it’s, “I go to church, yeah…it’s what I do…”:
That’s not very compelling.
On the other hand, how about:
“My life is better, my life has been changed, because of my Friend”:
that is a compelling story;
I want to hear that story, and so do many others!
Some days, honestly, I don’t even want you to see me up here.
What I mean is, it’s not about me.
Not about my words or funny comments.
Maybe I said something good, or maybe I said something “off.”
It doesn’t matter.
It’s really only about what Jesus himself said.
You hear him; his words:
“I want you to be my friend. Come with me. Join me.”
“Friends” – that’s very striking. So let’s drill into that.
First of all, how do we even do that?
God is so beyond, how do we have a friendship with God?
I can’t invite God over to play Euchre; I can’t help God repair his barn.
This was the point of the Incarnation – of God becoming human.
Did the Apostles play cards with Jesus? I don’t know;
but they did help him with his work, and he with theirs.
They ate and drank and traveled and joked together.
God became human so that we humans could be friends with God.
But what kind of friends?
The Greek philosopher Aristotle –
who was great because of thought of so many things
before anyone else did –
figured out that there are three types of friends.
The first type are those who are merely “useful” –
so we might think of people at the stores we visit,
or who deliver things to us.
We might not really know them, yet we are friendly,
precisely because we do business.
The second sort of friend are those just for pleasure:
for example, others in a hobby or a club.
But true friendship requires more.
Aristotle said true friendship is oriented to what is good;
Friends love the good in each other, and love the same good together.
In short, what makes a true friendship is virtue.
If I seek what is good,
I am drawn to others who love those good things.
If I don’t have virtue in me, I won’t be drawn to them;
And they won’t be drawn to me.
What would we have in common?
Notice, this is what Jesus is telling us. He says,
“you are my friends if you do what I command you.”
In other words, love what I love.
See as good what I, your Lord, see as good.
If you have noticed, many of my homilies this Easter
have been about heaven.
Jesus’ death and resurrection are about bringing us to heaven.
And this Gospel is also about heaven.
A lot of people think gaining heaven is like passing a test.
I have to get the right answers. I have to know the right things.
I have to be good enough.
If I’m in a state of mortal sin and I die, I go to hell.
I better go to confession to get good enough again.
Now, it is absolutely true that if we are in mortal sin,
and we don’t repent, and we die, yes we will go to hell for eternity.
That is true, and it is frightening,
and that is an excellent reason to get to confession right away.
Nevertheless, it is still not about passing a test!
It’s about being friends with God.
That’s why we also call confession the sacrament of reconciliation.
And what did Aristotle say? Friends love the good together.
If you want to be a friend of God, love what God loves.
This is important, because if we are honest, we don’t always do that.
People will ask, why should someone go to hell
for this or that reason. And this is why.
Every day you and I face the choice: do I love the things God loves,
or do I love and do what I prefer, regardless of what God says?
Jesus is going his way, and he says, come with me, be my companion!
And what do we say?
How about, “Will it take more than an hour on Sunday?”
“Can we schedule it around these other priorities?”
Or, we might tell Jesus, “Maybe later; I’m busy right now.”
Or, how about, “Can I just meet you there?”
I suspect that’s where a lot of people are.
They won’t spend time with Jesus along the way,
they’ll just meet him “later” in heaven.
But what makes you think you will want to be with him then,
if you don’t want to be with him now?
Of course, that raises the question, can someone be in heaven,
even if they don’t know Jesus in this life?
There’s a longer answer, but here’s a manageable one.
When people seek the Good and live by it, they will discover,
in the end, that it was Jesus all along.
That’s for other folks, not us. We know who Jesus is.
No excuse for us. Jesus invites us to be friends.
Not once-a-week acquaintances.
Not someone we “do business with” – meaning, here’s my tithe, Lord,
now I expect a good harvest and no family problems this year.
As you know, I’ve been talking about our parish priorities –
although I haven’t mentioned them in a bit.
We’ve been focused on Lent and Easter.
Let me remind you of three of those priorities:
To provide a “better welcome” to those not part of our parish;
To foster “more disciples” –
that is, to help each other to know and serve Jesus better;
And to “seek out” those in our families and neighborhoods
who aren’t believers, or aren’t practicing, and draw them to Christ.
Here’s the thing: there’s no way anyone can do this
unless you are a friend of Jesus in that full sense.
My barber is a good guy – but I don’t tell everyone I meet
that they should go to my barber!
However: if he changed my life? Then I would!
So if it’s, “I go to church, yeah…it’s what I do…”:
That’s not very compelling.
On the other hand, how about:
“My life is better, my life has been changed, because of my Friend”:
that is a compelling story;
I want to hear that story, and so do many others!
Some days, honestly, I don’t even want you to see me up here.
What I mean is, it’s not about me.
Not about my words or funny comments.
Maybe I said something good, or maybe I said something “off.”
It doesn’t matter.
It’s really only about what Jesus himself said.
You hear him; his words:
“I want you to be my friend. Come with me. Join me.”
Sunday, April 29, 2018
God's Big Plan (first communion homily)
Imagine you’re an angel,
And a long, long time ago, you have this conversation with God.
God calls you over for a talk.
He says, "I’m putting together a plan to save the human race.
My Son is going to earth, to become one of them."
"Wow, that’s pretty impressive!" you tell God.
"Wait, there’s more.
They’ll call him ‘Jesus’—and he will suffer and die—
and rise from the dead!
That’s going to show everyone the true evil of sin,
and also show them there’s a way out of sin, back to life!
"Wow, that’s awesome," the angel says to God.
"Yes, we think this will give the human race a totally new focus.
They’ll know they can be forgiven; and that they can change!
And, they won’t have to be afraid of suffering and death,
they’ll know they can share the very life of God!
"That will give them hope!"
"That’s a really great plan," you tell God.
"Well, there’s more.
We think it won’t work, unless the human beings
are part of it, not just spectators.
"See, a lot of folks will come long after
Jesus’ dies and rises again—and they need to be part of it, too!"
"Have you noticed," God says, "how the baby humans
want to touch everything?
And, everything goes into their mouths!
They love to eat!"
"So, I’m thinking: food!
Food could really help the human race get deeper
into what Jesus is going to do for them."
"I’m thinking of using bread and wine."
But you ask, "God, how can bread and wine save them?"
"Well, it can’t! Bread and wine are nothing
if that’s all they are!"
"So, would it be, like, a symbol? Like a picture on the wall?"
"No, a symbol can’t save them, either!
It has to be really BE Jesus, or else it’s nothing!
"What they need is to eat and drink the life, and love,
the suffering and dying, and rising, of Jesus!
Eat and drink it.
That’s how it’ll be real to them;
That’s they’ll experience Him being part of them,
and they’ll become part of Jesus!
"So," God says, "I want them to eat Jesus’ Body and Blood."
"But, God, that sounds kind of yucky…"
"Well, it is yucky," God says.
But Jesus is going to suffer and die—
it is his Body and Blood that will save them!
They need to understand that.
But—so they won’t be afraid, we will use bread and wine!
"It will truly be Jesus—because only Jesus can save them;
but it will still look and taste like bread and wine—
so it will be approachable, not frightening.
"This is how they will literally be united with Jesus!"
"Wow, God! That’s quite a plan!"
"Well, I’ve been working on it for all eternity," God says with a smile.
But you have another question.
"Gee, isn’t that a lot for them to understand, all at once?"
"You’re right," God says.
"That’s why they won’t do it just once.
They’ll need to receive Jesus over, and over, and over!"
"Even every day?"
"Yes, if they want to.
Certainly every Sunday: that’s the ‘maintenance plan’:
Mass every Sunday is how they’ll come to understand
what Jesus did for them.
"Plus, Jesus will be present in their churches, in the Eucharist.
They’ll know how real he is!
They’ll be able to bring their friends,
and say, ‘See? Jesus is here! Jesus is real!
We receive Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist!
"What’s more, sharing the Eucharist this way
will show them a new way of living.
"When they come together at Mass, it’ll be everyone—
rich and poor, black and white;
people who speak different languages;
grandparents, grownups, kids and babies;
healthy people, sick people—everyone!
"And they’ll realize that only in Jesus can the world be one!
And when they realize how much God forgave them,
they’ll find the strength to forgive one another."
So, finally, you ask:
"Why are you telling me— I’m just an angel?"
"Because you’re going to be a guardian angel!
"Way in the future, in a place called Russia, Ohio,
someone will be born that you’ll be responsible for!
"You will help that child grow up, and grow into,
the life and love of Jesus Christ!
And the Eucharist will be absolutely central to that!
"Guardian angel, you will encourage that child:
to come to Jesus in the Eucharist;
not just one time, but week after week, even daily!
"I’m going to give that child a hunger for the Eucharist;
I want you to keep reminding that child:
‘Jesus is my Food; Jesus is my Life.’
"So, let’s practice that, guardian angel:
‘Jesus is my Food; Jesus is my Life.’
"Guardian angel,
you whisper that into that child’s ear
every day of his or her life. Every day!
‘Jesus is my Food; Jesus is my Life.’
And a long, long time ago, you have this conversation with God.
God calls you over for a talk.
He says, "I’m putting together a plan to save the human race.
My Son is going to earth, to become one of them."
"Wow, that’s pretty impressive!" you tell God.
"Wait, there’s more.
They’ll call him ‘Jesus’—and he will suffer and die—
and rise from the dead!
That’s going to show everyone the true evil of sin,
and also show them there’s a way out of sin, back to life!
"Wow, that’s awesome," the angel says to God.
"Yes, we think this will give the human race a totally new focus.
They’ll know they can be forgiven; and that they can change!
And, they won’t have to be afraid of suffering and death,
they’ll know they can share the very life of God!
"That will give them hope!"
"That’s a really great plan," you tell God.
"Well, there’s more.
We think it won’t work, unless the human beings
are part of it, not just spectators.
"See, a lot of folks will come long after
Jesus’ dies and rises again—and they need to be part of it, too!"
"Have you noticed," God says, "how the baby humans
want to touch everything?
And, everything goes into their mouths!
They love to eat!"
"So, I’m thinking: food!
Food could really help the human race get deeper
into what Jesus is going to do for them."
"I’m thinking of using bread and wine."
But you ask, "God, how can bread and wine save them?"
"Well, it can’t! Bread and wine are nothing
if that’s all they are!"
"So, would it be, like, a symbol? Like a picture on the wall?"
"No, a symbol can’t save them, either!
It has to be really BE Jesus, or else it’s nothing!
"What they need is to eat and drink the life, and love,
the suffering and dying, and rising, of Jesus!
Eat and drink it.
That’s how it’ll be real to them;
That’s they’ll experience Him being part of them,
and they’ll become part of Jesus!
"So," God says, "I want them to eat Jesus’ Body and Blood."
"But, God, that sounds kind of yucky…"
"Well, it is yucky," God says.
But Jesus is going to suffer and die—
it is his Body and Blood that will save them!
They need to understand that.
But—so they won’t be afraid, we will use bread and wine!
"It will truly be Jesus—because only Jesus can save them;
but it will still look and taste like bread and wine—
so it will be approachable, not frightening.
"This is how they will literally be united with Jesus!"
"Wow, God! That’s quite a plan!"
"Well, I’ve been working on it for all eternity," God says with a smile.
But you have another question.
"Gee, isn’t that a lot for them to understand, all at once?"
"You’re right," God says.
"That’s why they won’t do it just once.
They’ll need to receive Jesus over, and over, and over!"
"Even every day?"
"Yes, if they want to.
Certainly every Sunday: that’s the ‘maintenance plan’:
Mass every Sunday is how they’ll come to understand
what Jesus did for them.
"Plus, Jesus will be present in their churches, in the Eucharist.
They’ll know how real he is!
They’ll be able to bring their friends,
and say, ‘See? Jesus is here! Jesus is real!
We receive Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist!
"What’s more, sharing the Eucharist this way
will show them a new way of living.
"When they come together at Mass, it’ll be everyone—
rich and poor, black and white;
people who speak different languages;
grandparents, grownups, kids and babies;
healthy people, sick people—everyone!
"And they’ll realize that only in Jesus can the world be one!
And when they realize how much God forgave them,
they’ll find the strength to forgive one another."
So, finally, you ask:
"Why are you telling me— I’m just an angel?"
"Because you’re going to be a guardian angel!
"Way in the future, in a place called Russia, Ohio,
someone will be born that you’ll be responsible for!
"You will help that child grow up, and grow into,
the life and love of Jesus Christ!
And the Eucharist will be absolutely central to that!
"Guardian angel, you will encourage that child:
to come to Jesus in the Eucharist;
not just one time, but week after week, even daily!
"I’m going to give that child a hunger for the Eucharist;
I want you to keep reminding that child:
‘Jesus is my Food; Jesus is my Life.’
"So, let’s practice that, guardian angel:
‘Jesus is my Food; Jesus is my Life.’
"Guardian angel,
you whisper that into that child’s ear
every day of his or her life. Every day!
‘Jesus is my Food; Jesus is my Life.’
Sunday, April 22, 2018
The Shepherd's path and same-sex attraction (Sunday homily)
What makes a good shepherd is that he leads the flock
safely to the right place.
We may not know where he is leading us, or why, but this we know:
You and I are safe listening to his voice.
Every parish priest, Archbishop Schnurr,
all our bishops, and the Holy Father in Rome: we are sinful men.
The best we can do is follow Jesus,
and point you in the same direction.
So in that spirit, I am going to talk about
something controversial and delicate.
Parents, I will do my best with my language.
I want to talk about the question of same-sex attraction.
I apologize that you don’t hear more from me on this,
but it’s a hard topic to address the right way.
There are so many questions I won’t be able to answer
in the time I have.
As I said a moment ago, we sheep don’t always know
why the path is the way it is. Sometimes it can be so hard;
Why does it need to be?
It is so much easier, it seems, for to go our own way.
But you and I do not see where those easy paths take them.
What we do know is that Jesus longs for us
to share his Resurrected life, in the New Creation.
Remember: the choices you and I make now shape our future.
When Christ says, “don’t go that way!”
He knows it will be an easy path, not to joy, but sorrow.
Let me make some quick points:
- As the Catechism says, we don’t really know why
some people experience attraction to the same sex (2357).
- As far as we know, most people do not choose this,
and for them, it is a trial.
- To feel these feelings is not a sin.
It isn’t a sin to want something; the sin is in the choice you make.
- But to want something that is morally wrong is a disorder.
So the Catechism says this desire is “disordered.”
You could also say “misdirected.”
And I might add, the same thing is true of gluttony, of wrath,
or sloth, or greed. Every one of us is “disordered”;
but some of our disorders are more socially acceptable.
Now, I want to address three broader points.
First, I want to talk about why this behavior is gravely sinful,
and why we cannot and must not approve of it.
Then I want to talk about how we came to be
where we are as a society.
And then I want to talk about how we respond.
So, first, why are homosexual acts a mortal sin?
Again, let me quote the Catechism.
“They are contrary to the natural law.
They close the sexual act to the gift of life.
They do not proceed from a genuine affective
and sexual complementarity” (2357).
Notice what I just said: “they close the sexual act to the gift of life.”
There are a lot of other things that fall under rubric, aren’t there?
So, if you’re wondering how we got where we are?
It’s because we’ve grown very accepting
of many other sins against the Sixth Commandment –
now this is just one more.
When we talk about Natural Law, what that means is this:
Even without looking at the Bible, or the words of Jesus,
we can see what is right and wrong.
Any high school biology text will tell you
what the parts of our bodies are made for –
and what they are NOT made for.
Natural Law points us in the right direction,
but God’s Word gives us even greater light.
Because this is not only about rejecting the gift of life;
it is also, truthfully, about rejecting the true vocation of love.
When I say that, I know that sounds harsh.
I can hear people – even in my own family – saying angrily,
“but gay people are just as capable of love as anyone else.”
And that is absolutely true.
But what I’m saying is this: that the advertising slogan is false.
It is false to say, “love is love.” No, it really isn’t.
I love coffee. I love my country. I love my parents; I love my friends.
If I were married, I would love my wife. And I would love my children.
But do I love them all with the same love? Of course not.
The love of a man and a woman is unique;
It can be mimicked, but only a man and a woman can enter into it.
Why? Because men and women are “complementary” –
that is, they complete each other. Again, this is an obvious fact.
This union – and no other – produces children.
And when this union is chaste – meaning,
rejecting all those other actions that are closed to the gift of life –
then, it calls forth from the spouses
the self-emptying that leads to life.
Remember what the Good Shepherd said:
“He who would save his life must lose it.”
I know what people say:
“But why not let people do what makes them happy?”
And the answer is, the Good Shepherd knows where that path leads,
and it isn’t to happiness.
When the Catechism says that same-sex acts
lack “genuine affective…complementarity,” It means this:
The proper and healthy love between two men or two women
is called friendship.
It can even rise to the loyalty of brothers or sisters.
This is virtuous – this leads to life.
But when a man tries to find in another man,
what can only be found in a woman, and vice-versa, they will not find it.
And they will delude themselves to the truth in the process.
So for anyone who experiences these feelings,
or maybe this is the challenge for someone you know:
I know what I’m saying is hard.
But the truth is,most all* of us face hard paths at different points,
in different ways.
One of the hallmarks of our time is the notion
that we’re entitled to avoid the hard path.
So we’re entitled to make an unwanted pregnancy “go away.”
So of course we want to “screen out” disabled people.
And if someone is in pain, or dying – just get rid of them.
But we are Christians: and Jesus said,
“If you would be my disciple, take up your Cross, and follow Me.”
That is the path to Life. For everyone.
So, how did we get here?
This didn’t start with the “gay rights” movement.
It started long before, as our society progressively forgot
what sex and marriage truly are.
Fifty years ago, it was the pill.
Before that, it was normalizing divorce.
Long before that, it was the double-standard about promiscuity.
And before that, it was the notion that freedom
is more important than the truth.
When we turned onto that path, the Shepherd warned us,
but as a society, we didn’t listen. That’s how we got here.
And that’s why, this path is going to take us worse places still,
until we finally turn back.
So, how do we respond?
Several points quickly:
Don’t be surprised, and don’t be discouraged.
There is a larger battle underway.
Ultimately, this is not our battle, but God’s.
This is finally about whether God is God, or we are our own gods.
You and I are called to be faithful.
Recognize the truth in what those we disagree with are saying.
There has been bullying and cruelty.
It happens in schools and playgrounds.
There is a legitimate need for tolerance, dignity and compassion.
The answer is not anger and ugliness,
but to point out that there is no real compassion without the truth.
You and I must bear witness to the truth, wrapped in love.
Anyone who is wrestling with these things, you can come to me.
I am chaplain for a group called Courage,
which a fellowship for men and women whose path in life
includes these feelings.
I will treat you with respect and love. I will not lie to you;
I will accompany you. I will listen to you and do all I can to help.
And everyone here, I plead with you: do exactly the same.
Your children, your neighbors, their friends, people around us
need to know who they can trust, who they can talk to,
who they are safe with.
They need the Good Shepherd;
and it is everyone’s job
to make him present in our deeply troubled world.
* I made this change after the first Mass.
safely to the right place.
We may not know where he is leading us, or why, but this we know:
You and I are safe listening to his voice.
Every parish priest, Archbishop Schnurr,
all our bishops, and the Holy Father in Rome: we are sinful men.
The best we can do is follow Jesus,
and point you in the same direction.
So in that spirit, I am going to talk about
something controversial and delicate.
Parents, I will do my best with my language.
I want to talk about the question of same-sex attraction.
I apologize that you don’t hear more from me on this,
but it’s a hard topic to address the right way.
There are so many questions I won’t be able to answer
in the time I have.
As I said a moment ago, we sheep don’t always know
why the path is the way it is. Sometimes it can be so hard;
Why does it need to be?
It is so much easier, it seems, for to go our own way.
But you and I do not see where those easy paths take them.
What we do know is that Jesus longs for us
to share his Resurrected life, in the New Creation.
Remember: the choices you and I make now shape our future.
When Christ says, “don’t go that way!”
He knows it will be an easy path, not to joy, but sorrow.
Let me make some quick points:
- As the Catechism says, we don’t really know why
some people experience attraction to the same sex (2357).
- As far as we know, most people do not choose this,
and for them, it is a trial.
- To feel these feelings is not a sin.
It isn’t a sin to want something; the sin is in the choice you make.
- But to want something that is morally wrong is a disorder.
So the Catechism says this desire is “disordered.”
You could also say “misdirected.”
And I might add, the same thing is true of gluttony, of wrath,
or sloth, or greed. Every one of us is “disordered”;
but some of our disorders are more socially acceptable.
Now, I want to address three broader points.
First, I want to talk about why this behavior is gravely sinful,
and why we cannot and must not approve of it.
Then I want to talk about how we came to be
where we are as a society.
And then I want to talk about how we respond.
So, first, why are homosexual acts a mortal sin?
Again, let me quote the Catechism.
“They are contrary to the natural law.
They close the sexual act to the gift of life.
They do not proceed from a genuine affective
and sexual complementarity” (2357).
Notice what I just said: “they close the sexual act to the gift of life.”
There are a lot of other things that fall under rubric, aren’t there?
So, if you’re wondering how we got where we are?
It’s because we’ve grown very accepting
of many other sins against the Sixth Commandment –
now this is just one more.
When we talk about Natural Law, what that means is this:
Even without looking at the Bible, or the words of Jesus,
we can see what is right and wrong.
Any high school biology text will tell you
what the parts of our bodies are made for –
and what they are NOT made for.
Natural Law points us in the right direction,
but God’s Word gives us even greater light.
Because this is not only about rejecting the gift of life;
it is also, truthfully, about rejecting the true vocation of love.
When I say that, I know that sounds harsh.
I can hear people – even in my own family – saying angrily,
“but gay people are just as capable of love as anyone else.”
And that is absolutely true.
But what I’m saying is this: that the advertising slogan is false.
It is false to say, “love is love.” No, it really isn’t.
I love coffee. I love my country. I love my parents; I love my friends.
If I were married, I would love my wife. And I would love my children.
But do I love them all with the same love? Of course not.
The love of a man and a woman is unique;
It can be mimicked, but only a man and a woman can enter into it.
Why? Because men and women are “complementary” –
that is, they complete each other. Again, this is an obvious fact.
This union – and no other – produces children.
And when this union is chaste – meaning,
rejecting all those other actions that are closed to the gift of life –
then, it calls forth from the spouses
the self-emptying that leads to life.
Remember what the Good Shepherd said:
“He who would save his life must lose it.”
I know what people say:
“But why not let people do what makes them happy?”
And the answer is, the Good Shepherd knows where that path leads,
and it isn’t to happiness.
When the Catechism says that same-sex acts
lack “genuine affective…complementarity,” It means this:
The proper and healthy love between two men or two women
is called friendship.
It can even rise to the loyalty of brothers or sisters.
This is virtuous – this leads to life.
But when a man tries to find in another man,
what can only be found in a woman, and vice-versa, they will not find it.
And they will delude themselves to the truth in the process.
So for anyone who experiences these feelings,
or maybe this is the challenge for someone you know:
I know what I’m saying is hard.
But the truth is,
in different ways.
One of the hallmarks of our time is the notion
that we’re entitled to avoid the hard path.
So we’re entitled to make an unwanted pregnancy “go away.”
So of course we want to “screen out” disabled people.
And if someone is in pain, or dying – just get rid of them.
But we are Christians: and Jesus said,
“If you would be my disciple, take up your Cross, and follow Me.”
That is the path to Life. For everyone.
So, how did we get here?
This didn’t start with the “gay rights” movement.
It started long before, as our society progressively forgot
what sex and marriage truly are.
Fifty years ago, it was the pill.
Before that, it was normalizing divorce.
Long before that, it was the double-standard about promiscuity.
And before that, it was the notion that freedom
is more important than the truth.
When we turned onto that path, the Shepherd warned us,
but as a society, we didn’t listen. That’s how we got here.
And that’s why, this path is going to take us worse places still,
until we finally turn back.
So, how do we respond?
Several points quickly:
Don’t be surprised, and don’t be discouraged.
There is a larger battle underway.
Ultimately, this is not our battle, but God’s.
This is finally about whether God is God, or we are our own gods.
You and I are called to be faithful.
Recognize the truth in what those we disagree with are saying.
There has been bullying and cruelty.
It happens in schools and playgrounds.
There is a legitimate need for tolerance, dignity and compassion.
The answer is not anger and ugliness,
but to point out that there is no real compassion without the truth.
You and I must bear witness to the truth, wrapped in love.
Anyone who is wrestling with these things, you can come to me.
I am chaplain for a group called Courage,
which a fellowship for men and women whose path in life
includes these feelings.
I will treat you with respect and love. I will not lie to you;
I will accompany you. I will listen to you and do all I can to help.
And everyone here, I plead with you: do exactly the same.
Your children, your neighbors, their friends, people around us
need to know who they can trust, who they can talk to,
who they are safe with.
They need the Good Shepherd;
and it is everyone’s job
to make him present in our deeply troubled world.
* I made this change after the first Mass.
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