tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-141689562024-03-17T22:59:18.292-04:00Bonfire of the VanitiesI resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified
-- St. Paul, I Corinthians 2:2Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.comBlogger2459125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-19553118723433599112024-03-03T10:30:00.000-05:002024-03-03T10:30:00.122-05:00Not rules but relationship (Sunday homily)<p><i> The first reading is about God’s Law: </i></p><p><i>God’s Ten Commandments, God’s “Rules.” </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Rules are necessary, like it or not.</i></p><p><i>And while we all love to complain about rules, </i></p><p><i>the truth is, we actually LOVE rules. </i></p><p><span style="white-space: normal; white-space: pre;"><i> </i></span></p><p><i>Why do I say that? Because people will ask me a question,</i></p><p><i>and I’ll try to explain the Church’s teaching, </i></p><p><i>and you know what people come back with?</i></p><p><i>“Just give me the rule, Father!”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>As I said, rules are useful.</i></p><p><i>To quote the late Father Michael Seger, </i></p><p><i>who taught moral theology at the seminary in my time:</i></p><p><i>“Rules exist to protect values”:</i></p><p><i>“Thou shalt not kill” protects the value and dignity of human life.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>All that said, life is always more than rules!</i></p><p><i>God came to earth, becoming one of us, </i></p><p><i>to invite each of us into a relationship with him.</i></p><p><i>To know him – not only as Creator, and as Savior, which he is –</i></p><p><i>But just as much as a brother and a friend.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So now, let me pose a question,</i></p><p><i>And I hope you’ll work it over in your mind:</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Is your Catholic Faith mainly about following rules?</i></p><p><i>Getting to Mass on time; keeping the communion fast;</i></p><p><i>no meat on Fridays during Lent;</i></p><p><i>not going too far on a date, and so forth;</i></p><p><i>and if you break a rule, then get to confession before communion.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking down rules, I’m saying, go further!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If your faith is mainly about rules? You’re missing it!</i></p><p><i>Our Faith is mainly, crucially, about a relationship!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>God is a Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.</i></p><p><i>So God is – within Himself, in a way we can’t quite explain – </i></p><p><i>a relationship.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Life is a relationship. </i></p><p><i>A relationship enabled you to exist.</i></p><p><i>You never have been an island all to yourself, and you never will be.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Maybe the reason God created the world this way </i></p><p><i>was so that his invitation to a relationship with him </i></p><p><i>would be amplified and re-echoed in everything we experience; </i></p><p><i>to give us every advantage, to have courage to believe, first, </i></p><p><i>that a relationship with God is possible…</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And then to find it easier to follow the path he gives us </i></p><p><i>to that relationship – so we would be successful.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We like rules because they are simpler.</i></p><p><i>Relationships are much harder.</i></p><p><i>Lots of people are married – happily, it would seem –</i></p><p><i>yet they don’t talk very much; </i></p><p><i>they don’t spend much time alone as a couple. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Lots of our children need to talk to their parents: </i></p><p><i>so many of our girls are lied to about their value;</i></p><p><i>so many of both boys and girls are looking at stuff on their phones </i></p><p><i>they know is poison, but they don’t know how to stop.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Kids: no one in the world loves you as much as your mom and dad.</i></p><p><i>Talk to them!</i></p><p><i>Parents, you know they are scared: so you take the first step.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Relationships take work but they are worth it.</i></p><p><i>True for friends and family, most true with the God who made you,</i></p><p><i>and who died on the Cross to save you,</i></p><p><i>to have a relationship with you forever.</i></p><p><span style="white-space: normal; white-space: pre;"><i> </i></span></p><p><i>Those money-changers Jesus confronted that day?</i></p><p><i>They must have been so confused, because, after all:</i></p><p><i>They were following all the rules!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Don’t just follow the rules: know God!</i></p><p><i>Talk to him, discover him; make friends!</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-51800696857983233082024-02-27T15:10:00.004-05:002024-02-27T15:10:52.677-05:00We Catholics should stop calling priests 'father.' Here's why.<p> ...Because we don't really believe it. </p><p>Do <i>bishops</i> believe priests are fathers? </p><p>Then why do they move priests around, as if they are branch managers? Priests are encouraged not to get attached to any particular parish; to expect to move on after a set term. Their brother priests encourage this and take it as normal.</p><p>Do priests believe it? Some of us do, but as I explain in this post, I starting to think I'm in the minority, perhaps a small minority. </p><p>Do <i>the faithful </i>believe their pastors are <i>fathers? </i></p><p>Sad to say, but I think far fewer really believe it than we realize. We expect a father to take care of the needs of the family, to lead, to protect and to provide. We love when dad tells us what we like to hear, but what happens if he says something we don't like? Everyone knows what happens.</p><p>When father says, to take care of our family, things need to change? He will be given a hard time. He will be treated as the enemy.</p><p>Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the current project of reorganization and renewed evangelization, Beacons of Light. </p><p>For all the flaws in the planning and execution, it is founded on a completely sound theological understanding: that the pastor is a father, who has a spousal relationship to his community, which is commonly called a "parish." What few realize is that the terms in Latin for parish priest and parish are cognates (which I explain <a href="https://frmartinfox.blogspot.com/2024/02/is-canon-law-most-essential-thing-for.html">here</a>), meaning that an essential part of the definition of a parish is it's relationship to a priest; a parish priest is a unifying feature of a parish.</p><p>Therefore, the arrangement of a single priest being pastor twice, three times, four times or more -- meaning, he is "father" to multiple families -- is not normal, and should not be tolerated except as a temporary expedient. For decades, this abnormal arrangement was the solution for not enough priests who were equipped to be pastors. And now, as the situation became increasingly unworkable, the Archdiocese stopped addressing the problems in a piecemeal way, and did a comprehensive re-working: Beacons of Light. </p><p>Based on projections of what number of parishioners and pastor-capable priests would be available for the next couple of decades, our parishes were re-grouped into 57 "families," with the plan that, after several years' transition, each of the multi-parish families would be reformed legally into united entities under church law, while maintaining multiple churches and campuses, if this is feasible. Why 57, and not 52 or 63? As mentioned, it's based on projections of both lay participation and priestly resources, not just for the next 5 years, but much further out.</p><p>So now the fight is on in many places, and what people are keying in on is the change in the legal structures. But back to my earlier point: this change reflects the sound insight that a "parish" is the pastor -- the father's -- family. One father implies a oneness of the family.</p><p>What would happen with a natural family in this situation? Supposing a man, with his own family, became aware his nieces and nephews lost their parents; it fell to him and his wife to provide for them. How would the family arrangements change? </p><p>Would anyone consider it acceptable to say that the arrangements of the initial family should continue undisturbed, while the cousins would continue living in their home, with dad shuttling back and forth? Would it not be the case that only rare circumstances would justify that?</p><p>It may seem strange to American readers to consider such a hypothetical, but in much of history, and much of the world today, it is all too real to have children lose their natural parents, and either relatives take them in, or...what? And what is formed is a new family; maybe people call it a "blended" family, but how many families are there? </p><p>One.</p><p>Now, let's look at Beacons of Light. It takes for granted this principle: that a parish community is centered around a priestly father. </p><p>In theory, this unity might carry over into the unity of the physical home; but given the practical issues involved, this point is not really being pressed. Yes, I know many people are certain that's the hidden agenda, and if you believe that, no denial of mine can be strong enough to convince you. </p><p>All I can do is repeat what I've said: only an extremely stupid archbishop and parish priest would force the closure of beloved church buildings over the objection of the people who are ready to use them and pay for them. Even those who suspect me of being lazy and selfish like priests supposedly are, do not accuse me of being extraordinarily stupid (only run-of-the-mill stupid).</p><p>The oneness of the family may need to deal with certain practical realities, but the principle of oneness should prevail, yes? So with the natural family, and so with the spiritual. Hence, if sad to say, spiritual families that used to have their own father must now "share" a father with another family, then isn't it obvious and necessary that they operate as one, enlarged family, rather than try to function as two (three, four, seven) families, and the father must make a pretense of being two, three, four, or seven fathers?</p><p>In many cases, the objections to the Beacons project center on trying to keep what has been lost: people want their parishes to be stand-alone, with their own pastor. That would be wonderful, but given the demographics of our priests for the foreseeable future, and the particular demands of being a pastor, that isn't possible.</p><p>The back-up plan being advanced is to say, well let's keep each parish stand-alone, but the priest can shuttle from location to location, being the pastor in each of the sites. Some people think that's a new idea, but it isn't; it's what was tried in many places, in our archdiocese, for the past 30 years. It seems to work because we priests didn't tell you otherwise. We didn't tell you because we figured it wouldn't change anyway, so what was the point?</p><p>Where it seemed to work, what happened either was the priest simply didn't do a lot of things a pastor really ought to, like long-term planning, because he was shuttling, shuttling, shuttling. Or, the priest simply abdicated his responsibility as a leader to others. Truly being, not *a* father, but two fathers, three fathers, five fathers? That is simply impossible; what seems like success is a masquerade, only now the masks are coming off.</p><p>But I've been told my insistence on the fatherhood of the pastor -- including a spousal relationship -- is all wrong, even by the most faithful Catholics. And I can't help noticing that much of the resistance in the northern part of the diocese is centering not on maintaining the priestly relationship, but the legal structures. As I explained in a <a href="https://frmartinfox.blogspot.com/2024/02/is-canon-law-most-essential-thing-for.html">February 5 post</a>, the conclusion of one of the very fine, very faithful Catholic laymen up north who is fighting Beacons was that canonical-legal structures are essential to what make up a parish, but the familial-fatherly relationship of the priest? This was not highlighted in <a href="https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/a-plea-for-parishes">his article</a>.</p><p>Now, I hasten to explain, the author didn't deny the importance of a pastor; but I would argue his article takes it for granted; and the main thing is, he doesn't address my point at all, namely: what happens to the family when the family must share dad with several other families, all attempting to be <i>separate</i> families. The key thing these good people are insisting on is the <i>separateness</i>.</p><p>They seem to want, if they can't have stand-alone parishes, each with their own pastors, then the "clustering" model in which a father must be father two, three or five times over. </p><p>My conclusion: is that we just don't really believe it when we call priests "father." In which case, let's stop doing that, and call them them something else. </p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-52889029874386894672024-02-25T09:00:00.000-05:002024-02-25T09:00:00.150-05:00Who needs this? (Sunday homily)<p><i> There are a lot of puzzles in the readings today. </i></p><p><i>What do we make of them?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Mystery number one: </i></p><p><i>why would God tell Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>To work it out, let’s eliminate the impossible.</i></p><p><i>First: God did NOT want Abraham to sacrifice Isaac; </i></p><p><i>God had no NEED for Abraham to do that. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So where did this even come from?</i></p><p><i>Remember, Abraham has been on a long journey of faith.</i></p><p><i>Slow growth, two steps forward, one step back. Sound familiar?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So it’s also very easy to understand why Abraham would get to a point where he’d say, I’m finally ready! Let me show you!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It was Abraham who needed the test.</i></p><p><i>And so, just at the last moment God says, </i></p><p><i>“I know now how devoted you are.” </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>God didn’t learn anything he didn’t already know. </i></p><p><i>But what do you suppose it meant for Abraham </i></p><p><i>to hear those words from God? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Now let’s turn to puzzle number two: </i></p><p><i>what is the transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospel about? </i></p><p><i>What does it mean?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Jesus knows who he is. The Father knows who he is. </i></p><p><i>But do Peter, James and John? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This happens after Peter has said to Jesus, </i></p><p><i>“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” </i></p><p><i>And yet, when the Lord reveals to Peter </i></p><p><i>that he will be crucified, Peter is aghast; he can’t accept that.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>An ancient tradition holds </i></p><p><i>that this event happened 40 days before Jesus was executed; </i></p><p><i>that’s why we read it every year on the second Sunday of Lent.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This revelation of Jesus’ glory was something the Apostles needed. </i></p><p><i>They needed to hear from heaven: “This is my beloved son.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So now let’s deal with puzzle number three.</i></p><p><i>The glory that Jesus unveils was always there, but usually hidden.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Now that we’re thinking about that, </i></p><p><i>are there more glories hidden in plain sight? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Well, you and I know there are.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We might think of Creation around us</i></p><p><i>Whether you’re a scientist, or doctor, or a gardener,</i></p><p><i>Or a parent, gazing at your own children,</i></p><p><i>The more you look, the more glory you find.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We might think of the building-blocks of our Catholic Faith:</i></p><p><i>The sacraments, the Mass, and our prayer.</i></p><p><i>On the surface, they may seem ordinary.</i></p><p><i>I remember saying as a boy: “Mass is boring!” </i></p><p><i>And not appreciating the peace and power of the Rosary.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When you and I are baptized, we didn’t look any different.</i></p><p><i>Yet we were clothed in the glory of the Lord –</i></p><p><i>the exact same glory the Apostles were shown.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When Holy Mass happens, on the surface you see a familiar building, priests and servers and readers and everyone else, very ordinary.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And yet, on this altar, Good Friday and the Resurrection happen!</i></p><p><i>At this altar, you and I are surrounded by the angels and saints, </i></p><p><i>who fall down in adoration along with us!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The Holy Eucharist is not just a thing; </i></p><p><i>not just a bit of bread or a sip of wine, no!</i></p><p><i>We are offered the gift of Jesus’ own self, </i></p><p><i>his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Jesus gave this moment to the Apostles, because he knew the dark trials just ahead, a few weeks.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What fear or anxiety are you facing?</i></p><p><i>Perhaps you are standing with someone in agony,</i></p><p><i>The way Mary, Mary Magdalene, the Apostle John and others</i></p><p><i>stood at the foot of the Cross?</i></p><p><i>Are you facing darkness and trial? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I, too, need to see the hidden glory. </i></p><p><i>God didn’t need it, we need it so we remember the glory that is ours, </i></p><p><i>to face the trials ahead for each of us.</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-3367741279706540442024-02-24T14:16:00.009-05:002024-02-24T16:43:09.149-05:00Why can't non-Catholics come to communion? Exodus gives the answer<p>This question comes up a lot and most Catholics, including most clergy, feel awkward about the subject. It seems to many -- including Catholics -- to be rude and uncalled for. Most of us struggle to explain the matter.</p><p>Explanations that don't result in hurt feelings are best, but that option isn't always available. What follows is offered both to be kind and to be clear. Pray for both me as the messenger, and yourself as the recipient!</p><p>Several short answers:</p><p>- To receive the Holy Eucharist is -- for Catholics -- a profound act of faith, that presupposes suitable preparation, and actually being a Catholic or in communion with the Catholic Church. (An exception is available for some Christians who are extremely close to communion with the Catholic Church, that is, Orthodox and other Eastern Christians. Ask if you want to know more.)</p><p>- Someone might object, but you make it sound like only Catholics take it so seriously. I'm not attempting to speak for other Christians' approach to the matter, because we Catholics should not presume to speak for others in this matter. We can only profess <u>our</u> faith. That said, I can observe that what others profess <u>is</u> different in non-trivial ways; and, if you ask, other Christian traditions will themselves affirm, their and our beliefs on this subject are different in non-trivial ways.</p><p>- When someone seeks to participate in a <u>Catholic</u> sacrament, why is it unreasonable for Catholics to expect that person to approach it according to a <u>Catholic</u> understanding (as opposed to an Evangelical or Protestant or other understanding)? I don't mean people have to believe what we believe. I mean, we ask people to engage with Catholic sacred matters, in the way that <i>we</i> would have them be engaged with, not as might seem appropriate in other traditions. Turn it around: would it not be supremely rude for us Catholics, attending, say, a Presbyterian worship service, to approach a ritual or custom on our own terms, regardless of what our Presbyterian hosts hold to? Think about it.</p><p>- Part of our Catholic understanding is that we should be faithful to the teaching of Christ himself, passed to us through the Apostles, both in what is handed down (Tradition) and written down (Scripture). </p><p>- What Catholics practice in this matter is faithful to Scripture and Tradition. If anything, we Catholics in the 21st century are, if anything, <u>less</u> rigorous than the early Christians; the practice of "open communion" has zero justification in either Scripture or Tradition, as we see it; so we don't do it.</p><p>- We Catholics think that the Eucharist is one of those really central matters, where what is really important is not avoiding awkwardness, but introducing everyone to the truth of Jesus Christ. That includes a faithful presentation of his teaching about the nature of the Church, and her sacraments, above all, the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. We do no one any favors when we shrug and say, do what you like, and thus fail to teach and practice what Christ and his Apostles taught and practiced.</p><p>- The Holy Eucharist was one thing about which Jesus was willing to have people be upset with him (John 6:60-66). Was he wrong?</p><p>Now, let me share a longer answer, based on the reading from Exodus (12:37-49; 13:11-16) in today's Office of Readings, which is part of the Liturgy of the Hours.*</p><p><i>The <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Israelites</span> set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the children. A <span style="color: red;">crowd of mixed ancestry</span> also went up with them, with livestock in great abundance, both flocks and herds.</i></p><p><i>The dough they had brought out of <span style="color: red;">Egypt</span> they baked into unleavened loaves. It was not leavened, because they had been driven out of <span style="color: red;">Egypt</span> and could not wait. They did not even prepare food for the journey.</i></p><p><i>The time the <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Israelites</span> had stayed in <span style="color: red;">Egypt</span> was four hundred and thirty years.</i></p><p><i>At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this very date, all the armies of the LORD left the land of <span style="color: red;">Egypt</span>.</i></p><p><i>This was a night of vigil for the LORD, when he brought them out of the land of <span style="color: red;">Egypt</span>; so on this night <span style="color: #2b00fe;">all Israelites</span> must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.</i></p><p><i>The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: This is the Passover statute. No <span style="color: red;">foreigner</span> may eat of it. However, every slave bought for money you will <span style="color: #2b00fe;">circumcise</span>; then he may eat of it. But no <span style="color: red;">tenant or hired worker</span> may eat of it.</i></p><p><i>It must be eaten in one house; <span style="color: #2b00fe;">you</span> may not take any of its meat outside the house. You shall not break any of its bones.</i></p><p><i>The <span style="color: #2b00fe;">whole community of Israel must celebrate this feast</span>.</i></p><p><i>If any <span style="color: red;">alien</span> residing among <span style="color: #2b00fe;">you</span> would celebrate the Passover for the LORD, all his males must be <span style="color: #2b00fe;">circumcised</span>, and then he may join in its celebration <span style="color: #2b00fe;">just like the natives</span>. But no one who is <span style="color: red;">uncircumcised</span> may eat of it.</i></p><p><i>There will be <span style="color: #2b00fe;">one law for the native</span> and for the <span style="color: red;">alien</span> residing among you.</i></p><p><i>“When the LORD, your God, has brought you into the land of the <span style="color: red;">Canaanites</span>, just as he swore to <span style="color: #2b00fe;">you and your ancestors</span>, and gives it to you, </i><i>you will dedicate to the LORD every newborn that opens the womb; and every firstborn male of your animals will belong to the LORD.</i></p><p><i>Every firstborn of a donkey you will ransom with a sheep. If you do not ransom it, you will break its neck. Every human firstborn of <span style="color: #2b00fe;">your sons</span> you must ransom.</i></p><p><i>And when <span style="color: #2b00fe;">your son</span> asks you later on, ‘What does this mean?’ you will tell him, ‘With a strong hand the LORD brought <span style="color: #2b00fe;">us</span> out of <span style="color: red;">Egypt, out of a house of slavery</span>.</i></p><p><i>When <span style="color: red;">Pharaoh</span> stubbornly refused to let <span style="color: #2b00fe;">us</span> go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the <span style="color: red;">land of Egypt</span>, the firstborn of human being and beast alike. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD every male that opens the womb, and why I ransom every <span style="color: #2b00fe;">firstborn of my sons</span>.’</i></p><p><i>It will be like a sign on your hand and a band on your forehead that with a strong hand the LORD brought <span style="color: #2b00fe;">us</span> out of Egypt.”</i></p><p>There's a lot here, but I want to focus in on one key theme. To help you see it, I used two colors for highlighting.</p><p>The Passover is the defining act of sacrifice and worship uniting the House of Israel. Notice the language: "it must be eaten in one house." Now, this means that each Israelite would gather in his home, or that of a neighbor, to share a lamb, and this was to be done by all Israelites, in many houses; and yet, they are all, in a real sense, one "house" of Israel: "The whole community of Israel must celebrate this feast." Elsewhere, the Lord says that anyone who fails to take part is "cut off."</p><p>Notice the language I color-coded: blue for the House of Israel, the "you" to whom the Lord speaks; the "us" that is brought out of "Egypt, that place of slavery." Hence, Egypt and the surrounding nations are not "us." They are the "alien" and "foreigner." </p><p>(This is not a racial or nationalistic thing, by the way; later in the story of God's People journeying to the Promised Land, there's some issue raised about the race of Moses' wife; it is Moses' sister, Miriam, who sniffs at her sister-in-law's skin color. Note that God's response is to give Miriam ultra-white skin, via leprosy! And yet, down to the present, some want to read the Bible's language about Israel's election in this way; the New Testament certainly gives a complete refutation of that mistake.)</p><p>No, the point of this language is this: to partake of the Passover is to be part of the family. We might think of an ordinary family meal in any home. </p><p>When I was a boy, I would often be at a friend's house, or a friend would be at our house. I might wish to be invited to dinner; and I might be so ill-mannered as to drop hints. But my parents taught me that one waits to be invited, doesn't expect it, and doesn't get pouty about not being invited. And also, I was brought up to give that invitation; but to ask mom first. We were welcoming, but our family meal was an important moment for our...<i>family</i>.</p><p>In the case of the Passover, this is the most solemn, most profound "family meal." And, as with our daily family meals, a visitor can likewise be invited to join. But notice what is necessary: he must be "circumcised"! A little more serious than washing ones hands!</p><p>The point here should be obvious: it isn't about the bit of skin down there; rather, it's about that individual crossing a threshold from being "alien" to being part of the family, the House of Israel. In other words, participating in the Passover isn't a casual thing, it isn't appropriate for someone who is "transient," that is, just passing through. Rather, one must belong. </p><p>And regardless of the ritual and process of belonging, that transition from outsider to belonging is, first and last, a journey of faith; a point Saint Paul in particular would make in his letters. And, of course, for Christians, it's no longer the ritual of circumcision; but rather, baptism, and the profession of faith that belongs with it. </p><p>Here's where someone will say, ok then, that means anyone who is baptized should be able to come to Holy Communion! </p><p>Yeah...but no, sorry. Here's why.</p><p>Sticking with the Passover, we might look to Numbers chapter 9; there we learn about some who couldn't take part in the sacrifice because they were "unclean." That simply refers to their readiness for participation in worship; it isn't a moral judgment. </p><p>In that case, it had to do with some men who had handled a corpse, which presumably meant they'd assisted in someone's funeral, which is a good deed. Even so, for reasons we won't delve into here, God specified that various things or actions rendered someone "unclean," and he also gave the means to become "clean"; for our purposes, we might substitute "unready" and "ready," i.e., for sharing in worship.</p><p>So notice: not everyone who belongs to the Household was necessarily "ready." If this is true in merely ceremonial matters, surely it is true in matters of faith and morals? Are these less important than externals? Surely not! So what might render someone "unready"?</p><p>Well, to begin with the mere ceremonial: having fasted before eating the Passover. We Catholics observe an hour's fast; it used to be longer and stricter. </p><p>Further, one is expected to be in a state of grace, that is, not conscious of a mortal sin. We might recall the Lord Jesus' command: if you realize your brother has something against you, first go be reconciled to your brother, then present your gift at the temple. </p><p>And, thirdly, there is the thorny yet serious question of actually sharing the faith -- the oneness of the household. It is sad, but not all those who are baptized share that oneness. This is the reality of divisions among Christians. It is a scandal. It must be overcome; not merely ignored.</p><p>But here's the certainly wrong answer: to say these differences aren't real and don't matter -- which is what one says by sharing the Eucharist regardless of those differences!**</p><p>Here is a Christian who believes the bread and wine are "transubstantiated" into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. This Eucharist is a communion in his death, and the Mass is a communion in that sacrifice; hence the Mass is a true sacrifice. This is what Catholics believe and profess. I will not speak for Orthodox and Eastern Christians, but at least as Catholics understand it, the Orthodox/Eastern understanding is the same in essence, if not in articulation.</p><p>Next are Christians who use similar language of "Body" "Blood" and "sacrament," yet if you delve deeper, you will find they insist that the Eucharist is not actually Jesus' own self, but some sort of representation thereof. Some of these will likewise reject any talk of the Mass being a true sacrifice. And what reveals the parting of ways is that these Christians will draw back from adoring the Eucharist; they will call that idolatry. And, if the Eucharist is not to be identified with the Second Person of the Trinity, they are correct. That this difference is a little obscure does not make it unimportant.</p><p>Next are Christians who will explicitly reject language of sacrifice and they will be clear that what they receive is merely bread, merely wine (or grape juice). They affirm the "elements" change not at all. The revealing sign of this belief is that after their worship is ended, the remaining bread and juice is put back in the cupboard; or else disposed of as any other ordinary food leftovers might be.</p><p>We could go on, and speak of those who honor Jesus, and are baptized, and yet they do not believe Jesus is God; their baptism, it turns out, cannot be identified with Christian baptism. And there are other curious movements and traditions. </p><p>But after sorting through all the different groups that have, sadly, splintered apart, what it all comes down to is this: what does it mean to say, we are <u>one</u>? The Passover is the act of "one household," both in the instance of a group, at home, gathering around a lamb, and in the sense of the entire People, united in this communion. </p><p>There is no way to take this as seriously as clearly the Lord did in Moses' time, and as he did with his Apostles, and then say, "y'all just come on in, we won't ask any awkward questions about whether you really are -- or even want to be -- part of the Household of Jesus." </p><p>The Scriptures themselves make this so clear; and it was clear enough at the beginning, because all evidence is that the first Christians observed the Passover of Jesus, that is, the Eucharist, with essentially the same sense of belonging and oneness that we see in the Passover of old, which prefigures the Eucharist.</p><p>To be blunt: would it not be fair to turn around the burden of proof? And say to those who insist, despite ample evidence of Scripture and Tradition and history, that the Eucharist must be open, "Prove it, please"? Provide something from Scripture, something from the early Church, to support what you ask for.</p><p>And, I might add: not only "ask for," for yourselves, but insist on imposing when you attend a Catholic Mass! </p><p>People will say, oh Jesus was willing to eat with anyone! And that's true. But that is irrelevant to the Eucharist, because the Eucharist is rather more than lunch or dinner. Show me where Jesus celebrated the Eucharist with any and all.</p><p>In fact, in the few times we observe Jesus actually celebrating the Eucharist -- i.e., certainly on Holy Thursday, but also if you wish, on Easter, with the two he met on the road to Emmaus -- notice that those who participated were invited. They were presumed to be disciples. When did Jesus say, everyone come on in, I'll share the Eucharist with you? </p><p>OK, there's my case from Exodus. What do you say?</p><p>* The Liturgy of the Hours, or Daily Office, is part of the Church's public, that is, shared prayer; all are welcome and encouraged to share in this prayer; clergy are obligated to offer these prayers daily. Ideally we do so with the faithful, but in practice, we do so on our own.</p><p>** And, I might just add, how offensive! Obviously, my fellow Catholics and I don't agree with our fellow Christians who cannot assent to the Catholic Faith in its fullness (including, but not limited to, what we believe about the Mass and the Eucharist); but I wouldn't dare to dismiss their objections as trivial. It is awkward, yes, but not <i>insulting</i> to say, "we have differences, and they are substantial." What is insulting is to trivialize those differences, for which people (of their traditions, and of ours) have paid a high price, even their lives.</p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-57267408742987716202024-02-18T09:30:00.001-05:002024-02-18T09:30:00.133-05:00The most important day of your life (Sunday homily)<p><i> What do you think was the most important day of your life?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Was it the day you were born? </i></p><p><i>Or maybe when you graduated from school? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Or when you met your sweetheart? Or when you were married?</i></p><p><i>Maybe you have four or five most important days: </i></p><p><i>when each of your children was born?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Was mine when I was ordained as a priest?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>No: as very special as all those are, </i></p><p><i>none of those was the most important day of your life. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The most important day of your life – and mine – </i></p><p><i>was the day we were baptized;</i></p><p><i>because that is when you and I received eternal life!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I were joined to the life of the Holy Trinity</i></p><p><i>and we became citizens of heaven.</i></p><p><i>That changes everything.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What does that have to do with the flood in the first reading?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The flood washes away all that is hostile to the life of God; </i></p><p><i>everything that separates and distracts us from God.</i></p><p><i>And that is what baptism does, too.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So how do we get from a flood to the desert?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When you wash away everything that commandeers our attention, </i></p><p><i>all the urgent that isn’t important -- when all that is gone, what’s left? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What’s left is the essential confrontation </i></p><p><i>between good and evil that we see in the Gospel,</i></p><p><i>with all the distractions and illusions stripped away.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Above all, notice it is Jesus facing the devil – not us. </i></p><p><i>He’s squaring off in the battle each of us faces.</i></p><p><i>Jesus confronts our enemy on our behalf.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What happened when we humans faced the devil </i></p><p><i>the first time, doing it for ourselves? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That was our first parents, in the Garden.</i></p><p><i>They lost, and our hope was destroyed.</i></p><p><i>So, as St. John Henry Newman said, </i></p><p><i>“A second Adam to the fight and to the rescue came.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The confrontation comes day by day, the choice between</i></p><p><i>Embracing the truth of ourselves as God created us to be,</i></p><p><i>Versus the illusion of making ourselves our own gods;</i></p><p><i>but we never need face our ancient foe alone. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That’s what Good Friday and the Cross are about. </i></p><p><i>Jesus had a choice; he said, let the cup pass, if possible;</i></p><p><i>but if not, Father, thy will be done! </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Once again, that is what baptism is about:</i></p><p><i>you and I being joined to Jesus: we take up his cross;</i></p><p><i>and he takes up the battle on our behalf.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>(That’s why we recall our own baptism today, </i></p><p><i>and why we will do that in a solemn way in six weeks on Easter.)</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Someone once told me, always have an action item in a homily.</i></p><p><i>So here it is: you have six weeks of Lent </i></p><p><i>to discover the power and reality of your own baptism – </i></p><p><i>the most important day of your life.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Go to confession: return to the purity of your baptism.</i></p><p><i>Remember the vows made for you. Make them again for yourself.</i></p><p><i>On the day of your baptism, you were set on the path toward heaven. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This time of Lent is our opportunity to recheck our heavenly GPS</i></p><p><i>And make sure you and I are still headed the right way.</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-36919069416166751702024-02-11T09:30:00.000-05:002024-02-11T09:30:00.134-05:00What's leprosy got to do with Lent? (Sunday homily)<p><i> Skin diseases might be an odd thing to talk about at Mass. </i></p><p><i>But the point is that illnesses like these do more than make us sick. </i></p><p><i>They separate us from others. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Four years ago when we had the lockdowns in reaction to Covid, </i></p><p><i>among other things, many of us discovered </i></p><p><i>just how destructive isolation can be.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That’s why Jesus told the man to go show himself to the priests, </i></p><p><i>so there would be no question of his freedom to return to the temple.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Ash Wednesday is this week. </i></p><p><i>This is a good time to set the tone for our Lent.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I’m going to tell you something you may not believe, but’s it’s true. </i></p><p><i>Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation.</i></p><p><i>It really isn’t! And yet, our churches will be filled. Why?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Ash Wednesday – and Lent as well – </i></p><p><i>is one of those times when we realize </i></p><p><i>our spiritual journey isn’t solitary. We are part of a family.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Notice, we all do certain penances together:</i></p><p><i>Fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday,</i></p><p><i>and abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent.</i></p><p><i>Our students and our families will do things together.</i></p><p><i>There is power in that “together,” isn’t there?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>As we go into Lent, I want to highlight </i></p><p><i>some of the opportunities we have – together – </i></p><p><i>to grow closer to Christ. That’s what it’s all for.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There are still forms in the pews for the Catholic Ministries Appeal, </i></p><p><i>if you want to contribute.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We’re offering a retreat for men and one for women in a few weeks. </i></p><p><i>You’ll see various materials provided at the doors of church.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Please watch the bulletin for many added times for confession.</i></p><p><i>As in Advent and last Lent, we’ll have confessions </i></p><p><i>every Monday and every Tuesday evening, </i></p><p><i>and on Thursday and Saturday mornings, in addition to our usual times. </i></p><p><i>And we’ll have times on Good Friday.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When we go to confession, we do that individually; </i></p><p><i>and yet, even there, we’re together in a way.</i></p><p><i>I’m in that line; you are; your parents, your children, </i></p><p><i>Archbishop Schnurr, Pope Francis – all of us.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There’s another part of this. Lent is not only about holiness; </i></p><p><i>it is also about reconciliation. </i></p><p><i>Remember, we call confession the sacrament of reconciliation.</i></p><p><i>The leper, being cleansed, </i></p><p><i>was also able to be reconciled with the community.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When we go to confession, as hard as it can be to tell our sins, </i></p><p><i>that is still, really, the easier part.</i></p><p><i>The really hard part is what we do next – </i></p><p><i>after we are absolved, after we do our penance.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The really hard work comes next. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Who do you know who is owed an apology? Seek them out.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What concrete steps are you prepared to make, </i></p><p><i>in order to be different toward others?</i></p><p><i>Seeking out someone to be reconciled with?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>People say, “Oh, that’s just my nature, I can’t help it.”</i></p><p><i>O c’mon!</i></p><p><i>Being Irish or German or Scottish or whatever is not an excuse.</i></p><p><i>Change is hard; but we can do it, if we really want it, with God’s help. </i></p><p><i>It’ll still be difficult, but you and I can make it happen.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If you want a powerful conversion experience, </i></p><p><i>ask the Holy Spirit to awaken you </i></p><p><i>to how your sins affect other people.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If you are making fun of other kids, or bullying them, at school?</i></p><p><i>If you are drinking too much, too often? </i></p><p><i>Being dishonest? Not doing a full day’s work? </i></p><p><i>Those pictures on the Internet? They are real, flesh-and-blood people.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>In other words, none of our moral failures are really “private”; </i></p><p><i>our actions and omissions affect others, one way or the other.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So as we go into Lent, be mindful of the people around you.</i></p><p><i>How you and I can either be a negative influence – or a good one.</i></p><p><i>Lent – repentance and conversion – is something we do together.</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-42618016137603689702024-02-07T16:31:00.001-05:002024-02-07T16:32:09.610-05:00Parish priest as supervisor<p>One of the things not well understood about parish life, and this includes not only by the general public, but by parish employees, and the priests themselves, is the importance of the pastor as a <i>supervisor.</i></p><p>I know enough to know how much I don't know!</p><p>Other people are far more expert in the field of employee supervision and motivation; nevertheless, a pastor has this role to play, and if he ignores it or neglects it, it will not only bring him tears, but tears to everyone. This failure comes back everywhere:</p><p>1) Employees who aren't effective and sometimes even destructive.</p><p>2) Other employees who are demoralized and scandalized by #1.</p><p>3) Parishioners who either have a vague, or more definite, sense that something is wrong and get frustrated and impatient for change.</p><p>4) A pastor who instead of responding in the right way, responds badly, or, for fear of doing the latter, avoids the problem. </p><p>One of the realities of parish life is that not all priests are going to be good at this, and some will never get even to adequate. Maybe they are at fault for not working harder at it; but when priests are already working hard (despite the conviction of some that we are lazy and selfish), it's understandable that they would focus on their areas of strength and greater comfort, and put off learning to be a better supervisor to "someday."</p><p>Most parishioners will probably never know about the problems, or perhaps only get the slightest glimpse; and if the pastor is doing it well, while parishioners will benefit, they mostly will not connect the dots between the parish going well, and the pastor playing this part well. It will be hidden.</p><p>The beginning of this process is in hiring the right people the right way. But then, almost all pastors inherit a staff in place, and can go a long time between hiring decisions. I had the unique opportunity in coming to this family of parishes to do a lot of hiring. Thank God and his people here who helped me, and I think the hiring process worked out very well.</p><p>In this family of parishes, we reorganized three mostly independent parish staffs into an integrated one. The changes this worked in our parishes haven't completely rippled through, but there was a real burst of disruption early on. One reason things are going better than they might is precisely because we made really good decisions in planning the new staff arrangement, and in filling the positions. We have some bumps, but far fewer, I think, than there might have been.</p><p>Consider this: when I got here, the three parishes had about 25 employees, outside of those in the school. Pretty much all of them were mine to supervise. After rearranging things, I have eight people who report directly to me. This does not count the four other priests and the seven deacons; they don't "report" to me, but sustaining a collegial relationship with them has a lot of similarities; and it would be perhaps equally as neglected, as the employed team members would have been, without a change.</p><p>I am able to meet or confer over the phone with all those eight; I can do a lot better job for them, and that includes helping them do the exact same thing for the rest, who are getting more attention and feedback from their immediate supervisor.</p><p>Why am I talking about this? Two reasons.</p><p>First, people should know what being a pastor is like. You deserve to know what you're paying for.</p><p>Second, in the context of the Beacons of Light reorganization project, I think it bears some consideration of the hidden costs of resisting reorganizing things, as many are doing. They want their parishes to stand alone; they want the pastor, who is pastor in two, five or six other places, to keep things familiar. You have no idea the short- and long-term costs of this, and I don't mean just or even mainly for the pastor. Your beloved parish will pay a price.</p><p>Feel free to ask questions.</p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-49474625987092237272024-02-05T15:06:00.004-05:002024-02-05T15:34:52.738-05:00Is canon law the most essential thing for parishes?Many of my friends are circulating on Facebook an article at Crisis by another mutual friend, which addresses the current Beacons of Light project with the title, <a href="https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/a-plea-for-parishes">A Plea for Parishes</a>. <div><br /></div><div>Before I say any more about the article or its author, I want to be as clear as I can. The author is an admirable Catholic husband and father, whom I respect immensely. I consider him a friend, I believe he would say the same. I do not like that we disagree on Beacons of Light, but such things happen, and they need not jeopardize the fundamental relationship. I intend to pay him the compliment and respect of engaging with the case he's making, in hopes that as "iron sharpens iron" according to Scripture, he and I and all of us can get further toward our shared goals of living faithfully and fully the Christian life here, on the way to There -- that is, Kingdom come.<div><br /></div><div>So here's the question that arises as I have read and reflected on his article. </div><div><br /></div><div>*** And, trigger warning: if you find my analytical or rhetorical approach to be at sharp angles to your own way of thinking, that is a feature, not a bug; that experience is often how we come to see things differently. Nothing here is a veiled "attack" or attempt to intimidate, despite what a commenter on another post the other day maintained. So, if my approach causes you upset or provokes only emotion, then please consider that this post, or me, is not your "cup of tea" and drink no more. ***</div><div><br /></div><div>OK, back to my constructively intended provocative question:</div><div><br /></div><div>Why should the legal-canonical structures involved in the complex reality we all call "parish" be the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_qua_non"><i>sine qua non</i></a> of parish life? Why is the legal structure the irreducible component on which the whole reality rests? </div><div><br /></div><div>To be more provocative: it seems that my friend has -- certainly unwittingly -- made the argument that not even the pastor is as important as the canon- and civil-law structures.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is that really where we want to end up? </div><div><br /></div><div>Let me fill this in, this may take a bit I'm sorry.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mr. Schmiesing begins with the shocking and depressing scene of a beloved and beautiful church -- a repository of tradition and memory, a truly sacred place -- being obliterated. This is horrible. And for those who don't know me, in my 21 years as a priest, of which 18 were as pastor or administrator, I've devoted great energy and time to the maintenance and improvement of the physical structures, the churches above all. I can show you the wounds, so to speak, that I've incurred in this effort.</div><div><br /></div><div>The point seems obvious: if we don't sustain parish life, the wrecking ball is coming, one way or another. And essential to sustaining parish life as lovingly described are the underlying legal structures.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me pause here to clarify something important about our language. When we use the term "parish," there are actually many realities involved. Previous to this post, I've specified three; today I'm going to add one or two more. This will take a few paragraphs, then back to the Crisis article.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those five realities (or is it four? See below), as I see it, are, not necessarily in this order:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. <b>The physical place</b>. When we say, "I go to X Parish," we almost invariably mean, that is the name of the church where we pray and take part in the sacraments, where the school, or religious education program, where members of the family are taught the faith, and where any number of other activities important to the aspect that follows, take place. So let us summarize this meaning as <i>"parish-place."</i></div><div><br /></div><div>2. <b>The people</b>. A parish is not merely a place, but it is a place, as Mr. Schmiesing persuasively argues.</div><div><br /></div><div>That said, what happens when, sad to say, a tornado comes through and flattens the beloved shrine and related buildings. Is that the end of "the parish"? No. If there is no desire to rebuild, then the "parish," understood fully, was already dead. A living parish will act instinctively and with great drive, to rebuild the physical place. Less traumatically, that community of people that corresponds to the place, will often agree to make additions to the physical place, adding a school, or a gym, or play fields or even expand (and in due course, modify and dare I say, to some degree, "destroy") the old church. Sometimes such changes can bring tears, but in the best cases, the outcome is judged better. Let us summarize this aspect as <i>"parish-people."</i></div><div><br /></div><div>3.<b> The legal entity. </b>I take it as a given that most Catholics, when they refer to a parish, even "their" parish, they are not thinking primarily of legal structures. Yet this is a very important aspect and I hasten to point out, this plays a central role in the argument Mr. Schmiesing is making. </div><div><br /></div><div>By legal structure, I mean this: under canon (i.e., church) law, a parish is a defined reality which also exists, in some fashion, under civil law. It acts together, it has rights, it can engage in business transactions, it can buy and sell property. I am not a canon lawyer and I don't wish to delay this post by running off to copy down sections of canon law. It's not necessary to do that, in order to demonstrate that this aspect of a parish is real, is it? If you want to explore this subject at length, I suggest you go searching online for the <a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/cdc/index.htm">Code of Canon Law</a> and for various experts who provide commentary on the same. For now, let us shorthand this aspect as <i>"parish-corporation."</i></div><div><br /></div><div>(4) Here's where I add what might be a fourth element, or merely a part of the third, or yet another to follow: the <b>ecclesial relationship</b>. As real as "parish" (in all its facets) is, it never exists without the larger reality of the diocese and the worldwide church. So until I can figure out a better terminology, may we summarize this as <i>"parish-limb,"</i> as in a parish is to the whole Church as a limb is to a whole body? </div><div><br /></div><div>And let's note, necessarily in passing, that insofar as the parish can only be understood in relation to the whole Church, then we are necessarily talking about a reality rooted in the teaching of the Church, the tradition of the Church, both with upper- and lower-case Ts, and ultimately, rooted in the Holy Trinity. There are theological truths involved that necessitate certain limits on our possible approaches. </div><div><br /></div><div>5. Here's what I was going to list fourth when I started the list, until number 4 occurred to me. While number 4 might be better subsumed under another item, this one stands alone all the same: <b><i>parish-priest</i>. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to idle away some hours, spend some time investigating the following Latin words: <i>paroecia </i>and <i>parochus</i>. These are the words used in Canon Law (and I bet lots of other writings of the Church) for "parish" and "pastor," respectively, or perhaps more precisely, "parish priest," because the term pastor is used by the church for both a parish priest and for a bishop. </div><div><br /></div><div>But here's what I invite you to discover and digest: these Latin words are cognate; they come from the same root. It's not the case in English: priest and parish; priest derives from Greek <i>presbyter</i> and parish from Latin <i>parochia</i>, and -- ding, ding! -- guess where <i>paroecia</i> and <i>parochus</i> come from? </div><div><br /></div><div>This etymology unveils a truth rooted deep in our Catholic Tradition: that, in a real sense, the parish <i>(paroecia)</i> essentially relates to, and is even, at a certain point, identified with, the priest who is pastor <i>(parochus)</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is expressed in church law by designating the pastor, and only the pastor, as the one who can act for the "juridical person" of the parish-corporation; or, in his absence, the "vicar" who stands in his place. Church law often directs the parochus to seek counsel or even cooperation from others, such as a pastoral or finance council, and even the bishop, nevertheless, the parochus never drops out of the parochial picture; if he drops dead, someone else -- a vicar or a temporary administrator -- MUST take on his role. </div><div><br /></div><div>At the risk of sounding egotistical, there is no <i>paroecia</i> without a <i>parochus</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>We might think of the family as an analogy; of course a family can have an absent father, an alienated father, a deceased father; and this is a wound; but there is no family without a father having been part of it at some point. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course there can be temporary or abnormal expedients: the vicar (i.e., associate pastor), neighboring pastor, or a retired priest, can step in as needed. But these are temporary and abnormal, note well! <u>Which means they should not be treated as the enduring, i.e., "normal" practice</u>!</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, let's go back to Mr. Schmiesing's article and the whole battle over Beacons of Light.</div><div><br /></div><div>My friend is arguing passionately and persuasively for maintaining individual parish-corporations that are centered around parish-places, because they are so necessary to the continued existence of the parish as people. And he talks also about the importance of the parish-priest. </div><div><br /></div><div>But here's what he doesn't adequately address.</div><div><br /></div><div>The sad reality is that not only today -- but for decades leading to today -- it has not been possible to center our existing parish-places, parish-people, parish-corporations, around an individual parish-priest. </div><div><br /></div><div>For decades, there has been a gradual shift from the reality envisioned by Catholic tradition and law, to an unhealthy, abnormal "normal": having multiple-personality pastors.</div><div><br /></div><div>When a priest is asked to be pastor of parish A, and at the same time, pastor of parish B, and C (etc.), he is no longer one pastor; <u>he is three pastors</u> (or more, as the case may be). This is true, whether you who read these words understand the reality or not. </div><div><br /></div><div>Or, if you wish, you can think of a parish in such a "cluster" arrangement as having not a whole pastor, but a half- or third-pastor, which is true yet not the full story, which is worse; because it fails to convey the real and insuperable problem of being a pastor to more than one <u>separate</u> parishes; akin to being a <u>parent</u> to more than one <u>separate</u> families. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to reiterate that I believe Mr. Schiesing and those who hear their concerns expressed in his eloquent plea are seeking, in essence, what I am seeking; the glory of God and the salvation of souls. And, to state again, I agree with him about the tremendous, even essential, value of a parish.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I wonder, however, is how can a parish be healthy if what is demanded of the parish priest is unhealthy? Or, worse, fundamentally flawed at the root because it's contrary to what is intended?</div><div><br /></div><div>Mr. Schmiesing asks for "pastors willing to do the impossible"; but is it a lack of willingness; or capacity? Is it truly wise to build a plan on people doing what is actually, literally, impossible? </div><div><br /></div><div>I have been two pastors in a prior assignment -- i.e., pastor of one parish while also pastor of another. Today, I am three pastors. It is not a matter of how much work I am prepared to do. It is a matter of not knowing how to be three distinct people. One answer is that this is a failure of mine, I readily grant. But are those who urge me to keep trying prepared to consider this: that perhaps one man simply cannot be multiple pastors and we are not considering the destructiveness of continuing to demand that?</div><div><br /></div><div>I do not mean only destructive of the priest, although this is true and very often is dismissed as the priest being whiny or selfish or lazy. But setting that aside, have you considered the destructive effects on the cherished reality Mr. Schmiesing and all of us want to protect and strengthen: the fruitful nourishing of faith in the context of a "parish"?</div><div><br /></div><div>Here I'll bring in a reality we all take for granted but not yet mentioned: the familial, and therefore, spousal, relationship of the pastor to his parish. There is a reason we call priests "father." Do we mean it?</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been told that we really don't: by those who object to Beacons and also, by fellow priests, who see the moving-on from a pastorate as just one of those things, inevitable and even desireable. When I moved on from being pastor, twice, it was wrenching for me. Was I a fool to see those communities as my family? Would I be wiser to give up on that familial/spousal understanding, and see myself instead as just another professional with a job description heavy on executive and administrative responsibilities?</div><div><br /></div><div>But if we do mean it -- and Mr. Schmiesing's article seems to take the fatherhood of a priest for granted -- then what can we possibly do with a situation where a father of a family must now take on a second family, and a third, and so forth. I mean this question in the full sense of every word: how does he do that?</div><div><br /></div><div>How does a natural father do it? Does he maintain multiple households, preventing excessive mingling? Does he schedule himself to spend time in each? I am asking seriously: I do not see how this works. I think it necessarily is an artifice, jury-rigged, unnatural and unwholesome, not merely for the father, but for everyone. I marvel that there seems to be little public reflection on this point, other than people telling me I'm wrong to treat my fatherhood as real. It is tempting to agree as it solves many problems. Yet I can't put all the pieces together with that conclusion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me put it this way.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you identify with Mr. Schmiesing's cry of the heart that the parish reality he describes must be protected and not changed, then I must point out that your complaint is not with changes being undertaken today, or proposed for the next several years. No! You are rightly protesting changes that have been underway for decades, as the traditional reality of a parish centered, not only on buildings, people and legal structures, but also on a priest, has been gradually remodeled and ceased to exist in much of the diocese long before 2022.</div><div><br /></div><div>A great portion of those who protest Beacons of Light are not asking for the traditional model back (because they concede that such is almost certainly impossible). Rather, they are preferring one hybrid over another. Instead of attempting a parish model with modified <i>legal</i> structures, resulting in a single parish-corporation intended to sustain multiple parish-places and parish-people groupings, they insist the legal structures must be sacrosanct; but at the enduring expense of the relationship to the priest. </div><div><br /></div><div>Canon law is a more essential substrate to parish life than the priest. That is the argument being made.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the last time, I don't believe Mr. Schmiesing believes or intends this. But this seems to be the outcome of his argument, and I'm highlighting it for the mutual benefit of all.</div></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-50870181275975602002024-02-04T12:00:00.000-05:002024-02-04T12:00:00.137-05:00A homily on sloth! (Sunday homily)<p><i>We’ve all heard of the seven deadly sins, I hope?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Just to remind you, they are: </i></p><p><i>pride, envy, wrath, greed, gluttony, lust; </i></p><p><i>and there’s one more we don’t talk about much: sloth. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What is sloth? It is more than merely being lazy.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This is the sin of indifference; of not caring.</i></p><p><i>It can poison our zeal for the things we need to do:</i></p><p><i>Praying, going regularly to confession, being faithful to our obligations,</i></p><p><i>and providing for the needs of others.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Saint Augustine talked once about this life being a journey.</i></p><p><i>Sometimes, as for Job in the first reading, </i></p><p><i>it is a “drudgery,” and a lack of hope.</i></p><p><i>When Job speaks of “months of misery,</i></p><p><i>and troubled nights,” </i></p><p><i>lots of people can identify with that.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That discouragement can be lead to a “why bother” sort of attitude, </i></p><p><i>And that is a form of sloth. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Thinking about being on a journey:</i></p><p><i>Not so much in February, but – sometimes we’re driving home, </i></p><p><i>and it’s a beautiful day and you love the scenery along the way.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Or – more usual in February – it’s sleet and snow, </i></p><p><i>and you’re white-knuckling it as you slip-and-slide along I-75.</i></p><p><i>Either way, remember: </i></p><p><i>the point of the drive home isn’t the drive, but home!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And this is where a rough ride through storms </i></p><p><i>is actually less bad than a beautiful drive. Why?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Because one of the spiritual dangers each of us face –</i></p><p><i>on our “drive home” to heaven –</i></p><p><i>is that we fall too much in love with things along the way, </i></p><p><i>and forget where you and I are headed.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That, too, is a kind of spiritual sloth:</i></p><p><i>gradually falling in love with this world and all it offers,</i></p><p><i>can make us gradually forget our first love, who is Jesus Christ.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Either way, sloth is simply not caring; </i></p><p><i>either from being too sad; or from being too comfortable.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>One way to identify sloth in our lives:</i></p><p><i>Are you or I so content with where we are, </i></p><p><i>that we’re not actively thinking about what’s next.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So there’s the problem. What do we do about it?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Well, these readings give us some remedies.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Notice Jesus is busy taking care of other people.</i></p><p><i>If it seems like you’re carrying the weight of the world,</i></p><p><i>if you are tempted to feel sorry for yourself,</i></p><p><i>one of the best remedies is to check in with people who need help.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There are lots of ways to help. </i></p><p><i>And if you are looking for how to make a difference, </i></p><p><i>contact Jennifer Zwiers, our Director of Care. </i></p><p><i>Her mission is to help our family of parishes go higher and farther </i></p><p><i>in helping all the needy in our community. There’s more to do!</i></p><p><i>Another remedy for sloth is what Paul does: he keeps to his task.</i></p><p><i>He says, I’ve got a job to do. Maybe I feel like it, maybe I don’t – </i></p><p><i>but I get down to work all the same.</i></p><p><i>Paul remembers why he’s doing it: he’s thinking of home; of heaven.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>A third remedy: when you’re discouraged and tempted to slack off, </i></p><p><i>That’s when you double-down. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If you don’t want to get out of bed to go to the gym,</i></p><p><i>what does your workout buddy do? He texts you, “Get out of bed!”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You don’t feel like praying? That’s when you pray more.</i></p><p><i>Someone will say, “but I don’t feel like praying!”…</i></p><p><i>So what? Feelings are all that important.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I’m talking to our kids right now, are you listening?</i></p><p><i>I’ve got a secret to tell you, are you ready?</i></p><p><i>A lot of times, your dad and your mom </i></p><p><i>don’t feel like getting up at 5 or 6 am to go to work. </i></p><p><i>They don’t feel like making supper.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>They don’t feel like helping you with your homework</i></p><p><i>or leading the family Rosary.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But they push ahead: it’s not about feeling. It’s about love.</i></p><p><i>Love is a choice, not a feeling; we choose to love God,</i></p><p><i>We choose to care for people around us, whether we feel it…or not.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It’s nice to have the good feels; but lots of times, that doesn’t happen.</i></p><p><i>Just keep going. We’ve got a journey ahead of us. </i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-15488928232841108242024-02-04T09:28:00.000-05:002024-02-04T09:28:36.948-05:00Another provocative question about Beacons of LightIf you are in an airplane and the plane crashes and you and the other survivors are in the middle of unfamiliar landscape -- maybe a forest or a desert -- you have several options, perhaps more than you realize at first; but very likely, all are variations of bad. The one option you do not have is to roll back the tape and be back in the sky, in the plane, jetting toward your destination. <div><br /></div><div>What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>One option that is almost certainly not preferable is to attempt to mimic the foreclosed possibility, say: everyone getting back in their seats, and having the pilot sit in the cockpit, and the flight attendants roaming the aisles, as if everyone was back in a better situation. That is to say, if what you want to do is recreate the desired-but-unavailable option, you are probably not choosing well. That is not to say that staying in the plane would be a worse option; it might actually be the best of all undesirable choices. But proceed with realism about what really is available, and what is not, and what the risks and benefits are of the various choices.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you aren't sure what this has to do with Beacons of Light, ask. Better than assuming the answer and then attacking me, the messenger, for what you imagined I mean.</div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-70885496314977200922024-02-03T12:42:00.005-05:002024-02-04T09:10:09.165-05:00Do you think your priests are lazy and selfish?<p>It is a serious question.</p><p>In the context of the Beacons of Light project, in which the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is presently immersed, there are many decisions and steps being taken, to address two shortages:</p><p>a) People in the pews in many parishes, and</p><p>b) Priests suitable to be pastors.*</p><p>Some people deny that there is a shortage of pastor-capable priests; or they dispute that the specific tasks demanded of a <i>pastor</i> are really that demanding; any priest should be able to do it. Or, they dispute that a priest is even needed to administer a parish, it can be done by others. Or, they dispute that reorganizing things will do anything helpful.</p><p>Or, they ignore all these issues and simply oppose the changes because of the bad effects they foresee.</p><p>Most upsetting to many is the plan for the legal structures of parishes to be reorganized: so that, where there were multiple stand-alone parishes, there will be a combined parish, that will include multiple churches and other facilities, or for lack of a better word, "campuses," that correspond to the previously stand-alone, legally separate, parishes.</p><p>Nothing I'm saying here is dismissive of the concerns. So let's, please, not get sidetracked into reactions such as, "why don't you care?"</p><p>Which brings me back to the question posed by my headline: Do you think your priests are lazy and selfish?</p><p>It really is a serious question and here's why I'm posing it.</p><p>Your priests are telling you:</p><p>1) They cannot and will not continue with arrangements in which they are tasked with being multiple pastors. The "cluster" model, where a priest is named pastor of parish A, while being pastor of parish B, parish C, and so forth, with each parish a legally distinct administrative entity -- is wholly unworkable. It is BAD.</p><p>2) Being pastor is demanding in particular ways, even if that's not obvious to you; so not any priest can do it. That is no more a knock on those priests than saying that not all players on a team can be the pitcher or the wide receiver is a knock on those athletes.</p><p>3) The idea of having priests no longer be the administrator of parishes leads places the laity do not want. It may lead places our Lord does not want. In any case, such alternatives have not been well articulated.</p><p>4) The consequences of delaying and denying are worse than you think.</p><p>5) The Beacons of Light project is certainly not perfect, and there are plenty of legitimate criticisms. Still...</p><p>6) The two basic tasks -- reorganizing things to facilitate effective administration, and pivoting to evangelization -- are the best ways forward.</p><p>Again, this is what your priests are telling you. The Archbishop is telling you this. Why do you think?</p><p>Do you think we are lazy or selfish? Are we all stupid?** If not, then what?</p><p>I get that people don't like this. Neither do I. I very much get that many people really don't understand the realities of administering a parish, so they don't see why a priest would be so emphatic about the "cluster" model. But why is dismissing my observation the right answer? I submit the better response is to ask and listen. Especially to find out what I mean by points 3 and 4, because realize: that if these points are valid, the resistance to Beacons of Light may have worse consequences than people understand; wouldn't knowing the costs better make a whole lot of sense?</p><p>Finally, attack the messenger if you wish, but that's basically answering the question in the headline with a yes. What else is it?</p><p><b>Update, 2/4:</b></p><p>An anonymous commenter (or two) does not like this question. S/he claims it is an "attack" and an attempt to silence people.</p><p>May I suggest contemplating the following. Sometimes people -- say, teachers in a classroom, or speakers giving a talk -- will ask questions that are designed to be "provocative" in the best sense, meaning to provoke thought; to induce the listeners to approach the matter from a different angle.</p><p>You may not like the provocative question; you may not understand it. There are many ways to respond. You can ask more questions for clarity, or simply shrug it off. But telling the speaker who is posing a provocative question to shut up is missing the point.</p><p>Also, about anonymity: I choose not to disable anonymous comments, yet I tell you, if you choose to be anonymous, that hurts your cause. It's not necessary to sign up for anything in order to be non-anonymous. All you need to do is include a name or pseudonym with your comment. I don't care about your real name; you can be Daffy Duck for all I care. But when a series of anonymous comments are posted, how many actual people are involved? How does anyone know? Don't hide behind anonymity.</p><p>____________________</p><p>* A fellow priest adds this clarity: it isn't precisely a question of being capable of being a pastor anywhere; but having enough who are capable of being pastor in the great majority of parishes. The tight availability of priests for pastorates means mismatches, and the problems that arise are what I have in mind. Strictly speaking, Father X might be capable of being pastor in certain parishes, but not in many, or even most, others. This becomes a huge problem when your "bench" (to use a sports analogy) is extremely thin.</p><p>**I will be the first to acknowledge <i>some</i> are stupid, lazy <i>and</i> selfish. But all of us?</p><p><br /></p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-74231302046489050872024-02-02T14:33:00.003-05:002024-02-02T14:33:42.800-05:00Why have a Catholic school? (Catholic Schools Week homily)<p><i> This week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. </i></p><p><i>Since we are a Catholic school, naturally that’s a big deal!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Someone might ask us, why have a Catholic school? </i></p><p><i>Why not just have public schools?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The main reason is that we as Catholics </i></p><p><i>understand the role of a school in a special way. </i></p><p><i>The difference may seem slight to many, </i></p><p><i>but it makes all the difference.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We believe that education isn’t just about lots of individual things,</i></p><p><i>It’s about the whole picture.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Who knows what a jigsaw puzzle is?</i></p><p><i>You know: it has lots of pieces, sometimes hundreds of pieces.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Some pieces by themselves might be kind of interesting; </i></p><p><i>but most are just blobs – you can’t figure out what they are.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But you know what you get when all the pieces are together:</i></p><p><i>A face, or a building, or an airplane.</i></p><p><i>In other words, it’s when you get the pieces in place that you see it.</i></p><p><i>But notice, it’s not only at the end.</i></p><p><i>No, usually when you get about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the pieces in place, </i></p><p><i>you say, “aha! I know what this is!” </i></p><p><i>And you hurry to finish it.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That is how Catholic education works.</i></p><p><i>We don’t only study the pieces; we bring them together.</i></p><p><i>So with our school. You study mathematics, reading, art; </i></p><p><i>you spend time in the classroom, </i></p><p><i>or you go out in nature, or you learn how to play at sports.</i></p><p><i>Or, you take time to send notes to people in nursing homes.</i></p><p><i>And you take time to pray and to worship God.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It’s all part of one picture, piece-by-piece.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We have a Catholic school because we want the whole picture, </i></p><p><i>which includes the Father who created us, </i></p><p><i>the Son, Jesus, who came to die for us, </i></p><p><i>and the Holy Spirit who brings us all together.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The God who gives himself to us in the Bible and in the Sacraments, </i></p><p><i>shows himself to us in history and chemistry.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Some people say God only belongs in church, not in the classroom. </i></p><p><i>But in our school, everything belongs to God.</i></p><p><i>All of it is God’s gift to us.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>One of the glories of education is the realization </i></p><p><i>that you and I have not yet fully discovered </i></p><p><i>how wondrous God’s Creation truly is! We never finish.</i></p><p><i>It’s hard to believe that not that long ago,</i></p><p><i>We didn’t have cell phones, or any telephones!</i></p><p><i>We didn’t have the Internet or airplanes, or automobiles!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It was only when I was a second-grader </i></p><p><i>that human beings first dipped their toe into outer space, </i></p><p><i>landing on the moon.</i></p><p><i>Perhaps when our second-graders are my age, </i></p><p><i>Human beings will travel to another star?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The greatest thing God ever created, however, is not out there.</i></p><p><i>It’s here. It’s you. It’s me!</i></p><p><i>The human being, each of us, is God’s masterwork.</i></p><p><i>We know this, because he said so: we’re made in his image,</i></p><p><i>And we are the ones Jesus died for.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I don’t know how high our human abilities can soar.</i></p><p><i>Unlocking these gifts is what our school exists to do,</i></p><p><i>but just as much, to put it all together, so we see the face of God.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>In the first reading, David’s mistake isn’t obvious.</i></p><p><i>The reason he ordered all the people to be counted </i></p><p><i>was to use that as a measure of how strong his Kingdom was.</i></p><p><i>But here’s what he forgot: numbers are useful, to a point.</i></p><p><i>The real strength of his Kingdom was God, and he forgot that.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I want to challenge you, girls and boys.</i></p><p><i>And: I want you to challenge me!</i></p><p><i>Not just me, but [our principal], and all our parents and teachers.</i></p><p><i>Here’s the challenge: how high can we soar?</i></p><p><i>How deep can we dive, to discover the mystery of God and Creation?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I wish I could go to Mars! Maybe you will.</i></p><p><i>I wish I could paint like DaVinci or play like Lady Gaga.</i></p><p><i>Maybe you will.</i></p><p><i>Maybe you’re the next Einstein or Venus Williams, </i></p><p><i>or Pope John Paul II?</i></p><p><br /></p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-3133903561240140852024-01-28T12:00:00.000-05:002024-01-28T12:00:00.128-05:00God will speak. Share in the prophetic work. (Sunday homily)<p><i> There is a key detail about the first reading </i></p><p><i>that occurs in the verses just before what we heard today.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Moses warns the people: don’t go after soothsayers, </i></p><p><i>don’t conjure up ghosts. You don’t need to do that. </i></p><p><i>Rather, Moses said, God will give you a prophet.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This is a very important principle underneath our entire Catholic Faith. </i></p><p><i>So simple that people miss it. But it changes everything. And it is this:</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Our God is on our side. </i></p><p><i>You and I don’t have to find some magic code to unlock his secrets. </i></p><p><i>God wants to reveal himself. And he has!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>He not only wants to light up the path for us, he already has!</i></p><p><i>Jesus says, in another passage, “I am the way.” </i></p><p><i>You and I don’t slash our way through a dangerous forest.</i></p><p><i>No: we are given a big, beautiful highway, well lit, well marked.</i></p><p><i>Stay on it, all the way to heaven.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Not only need we not consult fortune-teller,</i></p><p><i>You and I absolutely must not do that. </i></p><p><i>Why not? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Well, first, since God says he doesn’t talk to us that way,</i></p><p><i>Then if you try to “dial up” God through a séance, </i></p><p><i>then who are you really talking to?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You could be messing with spiritual evil.</i></p><p><i>Notice how Jesus handles demons. He doesn’t chat. He silences them!</i></p><p><i>The devil is a liar. Why would anyone want to seek his advice?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The second reason we don’t mess with horoscopes </i></p><p><i>is because of what we’re truly trying to do:</i></p><p><i>which is to manipulate God.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There’s an ego thing here. </i></p><p><i>We humans don’t want to be told to wait, or be patient, </i></p><p><i>To be left out of the “inside story.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That’s why people love gossip. And why we spread it, </i></p><p><i>so people will think we’re wired-in. </i></p><p><i>And that does so much damage.</i></p><p><i>You know works better, but we never want to say:</i></p><p><i>“I’m not that important; I don’t know anything!”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But Moses’ point – God’s point – </i></p><p><i>is that you and I truly on the “inside” to the extent we need to be. </i></p><p><i>We’ll get all we need.</i></p><p><i>So: Moses promised us prophets, and the final fulfillment of that </i></p><p><i>is Jesus Christ, who is not merely “from” God, he IS God!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But here’s how we go to the next level. </i></p><p><i>You and I aren’t merely along for the ride.</i></p><p><i>Jesus puts you and me to work in his prophetic ministry.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When you and I were baptized, we became part of Jesus, </i></p><p><i>and therefore, we share in his prophetic authority, </i></p><p><i>his kingly and his priestly authority. What does that mean?</i></p><p><i>Well, in the second reading, Paul explains </i></p><p><i>that even whether you or I get married, or remain unmarried, </i></p><p><i>is part of this prophetic task. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Sometimes we want to have it both ways. </i></p><p><i>When someone else is deciding, you or I might get our back up, </i></p><p><i>and insist on telling that person how to do it. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But then, if the one in charge says, OK, can you help with this? </i></p><p><i>Some people say yes, but others will back away and say </i></p><p><i>“oh no, that’s not my job!”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Jesus includes you and me in the whole project. </i></p><p><i>We really are “insiders.” You want to be a prophet? </i></p><p><i>Learn your faith, and be ready to share it.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Moses told us the true prophet says what God says. </i></p><p><i>So if you and I want to be true prophets, </i></p><p><i>we unite our message with what God speaks </i></p><p><i>through the Body of Christ, the Church. </i></p><p><i>Jesus gave his prophetic authority to the Church as a whole.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And if you haven’t figured it out, let me connect the dots. </i></p><p><i>The “Beacons of Light” project underway in our parishes, </i></p><p><i>together under the patronage of Saint John Paul, </i></p><p><i>is about being – together – a prophet to our community. </i></p><p><i>That’s what Archbishop Schnurr means when he keeps saying, </i></p><p><i>and I say it too: we are going to focus on evangelization, </i></p><p><i>more and more and more.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I, and everyone, from age 1 to age 101 and beyond, </i></p><p><i>must get out of the mindset that we’re just…”absorbing.” </i></p><p><i>We’re just along for the ride. No!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There’s urgent business of saving souls and changing lives. </i></p><p><i>Jesus is on the move, and we’re moving with him. </i></p><p><i>There’s work to be done, </i></p><p><i>and everyone, without exception, has a part to play.</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-28116956219455032292024-01-23T16:40:00.005-05:002024-01-23T16:40:51.855-05:00My version of the Archbishop's homily on the CMA (Sunday homily)<p><i> Jesus has an urgent message in the Gospel. It can even be startling. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Imagine sitting at the dinner table, </i></p><p><i>You’re talking about sports or the events of the day, </i></p><p><i>and a family member stands up and blurts out, </i></p><p><i>“The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent!”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Something like that might be laughed off.</i></p><p><i>But if we take it seriously, it’s not change around the margins. </i></p><p><i>It’s a total transformation. A new life.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So, for such a message not to be waved off </i></p><p><i>requires a certain depth of credibility on the part of the messenger.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Notice the two things I am highlighting:</i></p><p><i>-<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus’ call to us to change ourselves and to help others change, </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>-<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Our own credibility as messengers for Christ.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That’s a good segue into our annual Catholic Ministries Appeal. </i></p><p><i>This is the weekend all parishes in the Archdiocese </i></p><p><i>highlight this project. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Many times you hear an audio message from Archbishop Schnurr. </i></p><p><i>I personally prefer to build my homily around his message.</i></p><p><i>The good parts came from him; any clunky parts are what I added!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The Catholic Ministries Appeal is something </i></p><p><i>the entire Archdiocese does, together, </i></p><p><i>doing so much to offer help and hope,</i></p><p><i>far beyond what any of us could do alone.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And the many good works of this fund </i></p><p><i>are what show our world that we don’t just talk a good game; </i></p><p><i>this demonstrates that we live it. </i></p><p><i>That makes us credible witnesses for the Light of Christ </i></p><p><i>in a world of many dark places.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Through the Catholic Ministries Appeal you and I support: </i></p><p><i>Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio; </i></p><p><i>Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley; </i></p><p><i>hospital, campus, and prison chaplaincies; </i></p><p><i>the Center for New Evangelization; St. Rita School for the Deaf; </i></p><p><i>Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology; </i></p><p><i>and our retired priests and senior clergy. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This is how you and I serve hundreds of thousands of meals </i></p><p><i>every year to the hungry, </i></p><p><i>and provide a life-changing education at St. Rita School for the Deaf.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Last year, we welcomed seven people in prison, into the Catholic Faith. Our hospital chaplains, in their outreach, </i></p><p><i>made more than 40,000 visits to patients and families.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If you have a family member in college, </i></p><p><i>our campus ministries are helping them live their faith </i></p><p><i>at a challenging time in their lives.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We ordained seven men to the priesthood last spring, </i></p><p><i>along with fourteen men as permanent deacons. </i></p><p><i>More than 50 seminarians are studying for our archdiocese, </i></p><p><i>and we have more than 100 retired priests, </i></p><p><i>many of whom, like Father Tom Shearer, </i></p><p><i>are staying active and providing invaluable help. </i></p><p><i>The one-day Genesis pre-Cana retreat for engaged couples </i></p><p><i>offered throughout the year was made possible by </i></p><p><i>the Center for the New Evangelization. </i></p><p><i>The same Center also brings Totus Tuus </i></p><p><i>to our parishes each summer for our children.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>To repeat: this $5 Million fund is a way we, together, </i></p><p><i>can shine the light of Christ in our community, </i></p><p><i>showing this community we are serious about following Jesus.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Last year’s CMA campaign reached new heights in lives changed. </i></p><p><i>On behalf of Archbishop Schnurr, </i></p><p><i>thank you to everyone who helped in the past, </i></p><p><i>and thank you for your continued involvement. </i></p><p><i>If you have not donated to the CMA in the past, </i></p><p><i>please consider joining thousands of others this year</i></p><p><i>in supporting these worthy ministries.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Ultimately, this is an opportunity to give a response, </i></p><p><i>not to the Archbishop, but to God. </i></p><p><i>This is one practical way you and I say thank you, </i></p><p><i>and make a difference. </i></p><p><br /></p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-67726173388703314532024-01-14T09:30:00.020-05:002024-01-14T09:30:00.250-05:00'Stay close, stay quiet' (Sunday homily)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pitzviews.blogspot.com/2016/01/when-lord-calls-samuel.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="800" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIKKqPkqKtlmnCzssnzISm6t6f-xX12YEgH-gzwu-9SKv-70BHRHBVxQs2RpM95W3-dmbWu_FzeaeqLjEmthxyq9gq2J3pmS_8B-AvcxxXrSPg9ZjPuE26ic6nLHoBy53AOJdhFgzb4ITSWsSkMRitC69K8VKlnKDVT9W2cWT3Ez-qN0JHLMg/w400-h272/Samuel%20in%20the%20temple.jpg" title="Click on picture for its source" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="https://pitzviews.blogspot.com/">Source: The Pitzviews Blog</a>) </span></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p><i>If you want to boil down these readings to a few key words, </i></p><p><i>how about this: “Stay close; stay quiet.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Samuel is in the House of the Lord. </i></p><p><i>God is speaking to him but he’s too quick to act; </i></p><p><i>he runs around, and Eli tells him: stay put, stay quiet. </i></p><p><i>That’s how Samuel begins to hear God and to know God.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I are all different. </i></p><p><i>Some of us are all action, no contemplation. </i></p><p><i>Others of us are always up inside our head, </i></p><p><i>and just getting out and volunteering at a homeless shelter </i></p><p><i>or visiting someone who is in trouble might help us rebalance. </i></p><p><i>You know who you are. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If God is nudging you, either toward more quiet, or more action, </i></p><p><i>Make Samuel’s words your own: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Now, let’s talk about the Gospel. </i></p><p><i>Did you find the reaction of the two disciples humorous? </i></p><p><i>When Jesus asks, what are you looking for? </i></p><p><i>Their answer seems odd: where are you staying? </i></p><p><i>We might imagine Jesus saying, </i></p><p><i>“uh, at the Holiday Inn, why do you ask?”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But it turns out, they ask the perfect question!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>They could have asked, “Who are you?” </i></p><p><i>Or, “What’s special about your teaching?” </i></p><p><i>Or, “what will it cost us to be your followers?” </i></p><p><i>But where Jesus is – and being with Jesus – is the perfect focus.</i></p><p><i>Staying close and quiet with Jesus will give them all the answers. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Here’s something we’ve all seen.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>A small child is in a crowd of people, lost in thought, </i></p><p><i>or looking around, assuming mom or dad is right there. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>After a bit, the child looks up with fright: </i></p><p><i>"Where's mom? Where's dad?!"</i></p><p><i>They’re only a few feet away, but it’s still a shock,</i></p><p><i>and the child scurries to grab mom or dad’s leg.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I are that child. It is so easy to focus on our own stuff, </i></p><p><i>and to lose track of how close we are to Jesus.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And since we’re not talking about physical nearness, </i></p><p><i>but nearness of heart, doesn’t that make it trickier to perceive </i></p><p><i>if we’ve drifted off? How do we know?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When it’s our physical health, how do we monitor it? </i></p><p><i>We learn to read the signs of our own body, and pay attention. </i></p><p><i>Maybe you check your forehead </i></p><p><i>or listen for any wheezing in your chest. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Also, we know better than to go only on what we learned as a kid. </i></p><p><i>Don’t we all try to read and learn more about our own health?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And at certain points, we go to the doctor for advice and check-ups. And if we don’t, you and I know that’s the wrong move.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Why be surprised that our spiritual health works in a similar way?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There are too many people who stopped learning about their faith after 8th grade. </i></p><p><i>Would you do that with your car, or your checking account?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And there is no substitute for regularly examining our conscience. </i></p><p><i>It’s going to be way more fruitful if we put in some real effort. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There are many resources available online, </i></p><p><i>just google, “Catholic examination of conscience.” </i></p><p><i>They usually take you through the Ten Commandments. </i></p><p><i>Do all ten, not just the ones you think you’re good at!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And that pairs with confession. </i></p><p><i>Apologies to all dentists, but not many of us </i></p><p><i>really enjoy getting that teeth cleaning. </i></p><p><i>It’s not better when you put it off!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And as the spiritual dentist, I can assure you:</i></p><p><i>going to confession is way, way, less unpleasant</i></p><p><i>than the pokey-pokey in your teeth and gums! </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If we prepare well, it’s a breeze. </i></p><p><i>If you and I keep coming, it will bear great fruit. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The greatest of that fruit is knowing </i></p><p><i>whether we’re staying close to Jesus, </i></p><p><i>and learning how to stay quiet in order to hear God speak. </i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-17500565567371152222024-01-12T11:31:00.001-05:002024-01-12T11:31:50.945-05:00Notes on 2nd Sunday readings<p>People often wonder about how priests do what they do. When I'm not too absorbed actually doing it, I do like to write about these things on this blog. Last year I found a little more time to do so; God willing, I will find still more in 2024.</p><p>Here is a window.</p><p>Today -- Friday -- I finally got around to looking at the readings for Sunday. I'd have liked to have done so earlier in the week, but alas! </p><p>One of my methods is to put fingers to keyboard, and type out thoughts about the readings. Thankfully, I can type reasonably fast (not as fast as a professional, but faster than many), so I can generate a lot of written thoughts in not too much time.</p><p>The next step is to reflect a bit on what I came up with, and out of it, draw some ideas or connections to develop further. The ultimate homily doesn't necessarily look a lot like the notes; it's a step toward the homily, which needs to be briefer, and in my judgment, more focused on what the hearer might conclude, or do, as a result of reflecting on God's Word. I have found a little exegesis goes a long way.</p><p>So here are the notes I generated this morning, over the course of about 75 minutes. Now I have to do the next step. You'll see the homily and you can draw your conclusions.</p><p><u>Notes on the readings</u>…</p><p>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What does it mean to say, “Samuel was not familiar with the Lord…the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet”? This could be a commentary on Eli’s witness and example; yet I think it is saying something more. While we certainly do learn about God from other people, both those who are poor witnesses and those who are faithful ones, nevertheless, each of us must come to know God directly. You can’t be someone’s friend through a third party; you become a friend directly.</p><p>2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There’s something amusing about how both Samuel and Eli react to God’s prompting on Samuel’s heart. Notice Samuel springs to action, just like a teenager or young man might. Eli is slowing him down, just as an older man might. But also: Eli is an experienced priest of God – yet it takes him a while to figure out what’s going on! Again, is this a commentary on his spiritual life (which would fit with other details in the rest of the book)? We might hope that Samuel, by his zeal, helps awaken Eli to his identity, parallel to the opportunity that arose when Samuel’s mother met Eli.</p><p>3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eli gave Samuel excellent advice: be still. There is a time for action, but also a time for inaction. If you and I know ourselves, we will realize which way we tend to go. If you are more of a sit-still-and-reflect sort of person, you may need to stir yourself to more action. Getting out of your head, and out of the house, could be the best thing for you. Go volunteer. Turn off the TV or the Internet and all the talkers who don’t know nearly as much as they want you to think they know. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked. However, some of us tend the opposite way: we are all action, not so much contemplation. Follow Eli’s advice and sit still and face the silence. God will speak, although he may make you wait.</p><p>4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Notice what the text concludes about Samuel: the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. What a strong statement! If you were a salesperson, wouldn’t you like every single pitch you make to bring a sale? How is it that Samuel’s word was so powerful? The answer does not lie in Samuel’s merit. While Samuel is an exemplary individual, he like everyone else is a beneficiary of God’s grace. You and I are always tempted to think, it is up to us to win God’s favor, to gain God’s help. Wrong! We start with God’s favor; God’s help precedes every possible move any of us make toward God. </p><p>5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So why does God give Samuel this strong endorsement? I suggest two answers. First, because Samuel stayed close to God. Think of our Lady. She is utterly trustworthy as an example and guide solely and precisely because she is so intimately united to her Son, and thereby, to the Holy Trinity. Maybe the reason Samuel’s words were always effective is because he only repeated what God himself said. Look at our Savior in his temptation: note he merely quotes Scripture. Jesus is the Word Incarnate: anything he says, even, “good morning” is the Word of God! Yet in humility and as an example to us, and as a way to deny the enemy any information he is not entitled to, Jesus simply quotes the written word. If the Incarnate Son would take that approach, then you and I would do well to take note. </p><p>6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The second possible reason for Samuel’s word to be always efficacious is the need of God’s People. This reminds us of how God operates with the Church and her sacraments. The pope, and the pope with the bishops, have the charism of teaching infallibly. The sacraments are intrinsically powerful and efficacious. This is for the benefit of the faithful. God does not need the Church to be infallible – we do.</p><p>7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Psalm 40 and its refrain are an obvious match to the first reading. But we might note something in the text about sacrifice and oblation: “Sacrifice or offering you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; then said I, ‘Behold I come.’” People point to this and other passages in order to argue sacrifice has no place, and sometimes they argue there’s a contradiction at work in Scripture. But St. Paul, who called us to present ourselves as a “living sacrifice,” and our Lord, who can be seen both relativizing sacrifice, and yet offering himself as the supreme sacrifice, surely knew these Scriptures better than those who make these arguments against sacrifice! So let’s resolve it.</p><p>8.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The right answer is this: God indeed commanded sacrifice -- for our benefit. God doesn’t need sacrifice; but human beings need to offer it. Further, the sacrifices instituted in the Old Testament were a preparation for the sacrifice of the Cross, which is made present for all humanity, in all time, through the Holy Mass. </p><p>9.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And yet, the sacrifice itself – whether of lambs or the Lamb of God – is not an end in itself. Jesus offered himself on the Cross not because some “law” forced him. God could forgive and reconcile humanity any way he chose. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that because of the infinite worth of the Son, any suffering of his, however slight, would have been sufficient to atone for all sins. So, a scraped knee! All sacrifice, including THE Sacrifice, are in service of the great goal of healing the breach between God and Creation. In God’s judgment, it was the best way.</p><p>10.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Subordinate to that: our offering of sacrifices, our penances and self-denial, likewise are not ends in themselves. They are worthwhile only to the extent they are truly united to Christ in his supreme obedience. So we might recall the words of Samuel, later in this same book: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the LORD’s command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, to listen, better than the fat of rams.”</p><p>11.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Saint Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians point to many realities. First, we can make an easy and obvious connection: the best way you and I can “glorify” God in our bodies is precisely to “offer” ourselves as a living sacrifice. God understands that our penances help us, but above all, he asks obedience. </p><p>12.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Saint Paul is emphasizing here that our bodies are just as much a part of our response as our souls and our wills. There has always been a temptation to treat our bodies as merely “shells” and that how we use our bodies isn’t all that important. So we might misuse our bodies, not such a big deal; it’s the “spiritual” sins or virtues that matter more. But you and I are kidding ourselves if we think we can be physically lax yet be spiritually sharp. God created us as a union of spirit and body; both are “us.” In the end, we get our bodies back, new and improved. That’s the Resurrection. Note that we don’t escape our bodies to live eternally as disembodied souls. That will be our existence for a while, but the goal is the complete restoration and glorification of Creation, including us, as body-spirits.</p><p>13.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, it is likely Paul is referring particularly to sexual immorality; still, Paul would shake his head if anyone thought his points pertained solely to that. It is all of a piece. If we do not obey God when it comes to our sexual capacity, how does that help us obey God when it comes to any other capacity of ours? Chastity teaches us to put others first, to be generous, and to know how to set our own desires, even the strongest ones, aside for true love: which is seeking the best for others. Some people want to say, oh I’m fine with all “the Church’s” teachings about morality in general, but on sex it’s just all so outdated and not relevant! It’s all of a piece, and it all originates from the Creator, not the Church; and the Creator never gets outdated or irrelevant!</p><p>14.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The truly startling thing that Paul says is so frequently missed: he tells us that your body, my body, is Christ’s Body! We are all one body. Again, we want to marginalize this as merely a metaphor but Paul couldn’t be more insistent, and rightly understood, more LITERAL. Recall again the great project: to restore Creation; and now let’s note the difference the Incarnation makes: God (while still being uniquely God) has become – in the Son – part of Creation! “One Body.” Every time you and I choose either vice or virtue, Jesus is included!</p><p>15.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now we come to the Gospel, and how many interesting connections we can make! John the Baptist has the briefest cameo, fitting because he is the Voice who proclaims the Word, and then recedes, the servant having fulfilled his mission faithfully and to the full. He is another Samuel: was any word of John’s without effect? Samuel had the unhappy mission of instituting a flawed, doomed kingdom, with Saul. John has the happy mission of ushering in the true King! </p><p>16.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And of course, don’t miss John’s effective word: “the Lamb of God.” He could have called him king or prophet or priest; yet he summarized who Jesus is as “Lamb of God.”</p><p>17.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>His followers get the point; they immediately follow Jesus, which John wanted to have happen.</p><p>18.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Their response to Jesus asking, “what are you looking for,” is comical: “Where are you staying?” I wonder if they were just perplexed and didn’t know what to say, and this is what comes out. And yet they lurched unwittingly into a profound insight: their question is actually the best one of all!</p><p>19.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Consider what they might have asked: “What is your teaching?” Or, “Who are you?” Or, “What will it cost to follow you?” But in fact, their question really is the best. If you and I seek where Jesus is – we stay with him – we will learn all we need. We will discover who he is. We will recognize not only the cost, but what we are prepared to give; and either depart as some do, or see it through to the end, as Peter and all (but one) Apostle did. How did Samuel always have effective words to give; perhaps because he stayed where the Lord was, and absorbed his words. How happy would you and I be if, at the end of our lives, people said of us: all Martin – or Susan or Tom – was about was the Lord!</p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-53674237076018268742024-01-07T09:00:00.001-05:002024-01-07T09:00:00.139-05:00See the Light, be the light (Epiphany homily)<p><i> This is going to sound hokey, but: </i></p><p><i>the title of my homily is: “See the light – be the light.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We start with the Magi, these Wise Men, </i></p><p><i>these seekers, in the Gospel. </i></p><p><i>They saw the light. </i></p><p><i>A star caught their attention, and they followed it.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>God has a lot of ways to get our attention. </i></p><p><i>It may not have happened to you, but it has happened to a lot of us. </i></p><p><i>A lot of folks here can remember a time when God set them straight, </i></p><p><i>turned them around, answered a prayer. </i></p><p><i> </i></p><p><i>When I was 19, I was in my first year of college, </i></p><p><i>and I was at a point in my life </i></p><p><i>when I was starting really to ask questions about God, </i></p><p><i>about being a Christian. And I was going to a Bible study. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And out of the blue, I heard Christ speak in my heart. </i></p><p><i>I can’t really put it into words, but it was clear: </i></p><p><i>he was calling me to follow him, </i></p><p><i>just like he did with Peter and Andrew, James and John and others.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That was my experience; other people have different experiences.</i></p><p><i>One way or the other, God gets your attention.</i></p><p><i>For these Seekers in the Gospel, it was a star. </i></p><p><i>They saw the light, and they followed it.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And that light brought you here, whether you realize it or not.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But notice what the other readings talked about. </i></p><p><i>Isaiah told us that the Light would shine first on his people, Israel. </i></p><p><i>But then, the light would shine to the world. </i></p><p><i>How does the Light reach the whole world? That’s your part, and mine.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The Magi did their part; later the Apostles, </i></p><p><i>and those who knew them; </i></p><p><i>and generation by generation, the light has been passed to you.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I am speaking right now to our kids – you have to listen now!</i></p><p><i>Kids, teens: do you realize what happened when you were baptized? </i></p><p><i>The priest or deacon handed a light – a lit candle – to your godparent. </i></p><p><i>And that godparent’s job, with your parents and family, </i></p><p><i>is to get that light of faith into your hands, </i></p><p><i>so it’s not theirs, but yours.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That candle stands for the light you and I receive in baptism, </i></p><p><i>and no matter what any other people may do – or not do –</i></p><p><i>nothing can extinguish that flame. Only you and I can do that.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When we’re kids, or in our teens, we might say:</i></p><p><i>Oh, mom and dad didn’t tell me, they didn’t push me.</i></p><p><i>And you know what? </i></p><p><i>There is always something more mom or dad could have done. </i></p><p><i>That’s one of the heartaches of a parent: “I could have done more.”</i></p><p><i>But if you are hearing my words, even very young, </i></p><p><i>then the candle, the flame of faith, is already in your hands.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And you can make things happen if you really want to.</i></p><p><i>That goes for everyone here.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>One of the great gifts God gives us, is to rekindle that flame</i></p><p><i>when we go to confession. God wants us filled with light. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The fuel of that flame is the Holy Spirit.</i></p><p><i>You know what a saint really is? </i></p><p><i>An ordinary person like you, </i></p><p><i>who invites and allows the Holy Spirit to make that flame explode! </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Be that light. Let it happen in you.</i></p><p><i>You and I will not know, until eternity, </i></p><p><i>how even the smallest words or actions of ours </i></p><p><i>can set great things in motion. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When you are out and about, eating a meal, </i></p><p><i>don’t be afraid to make the sign of the cross and say grace. </i></p><p><i>It’s a small thing, but powerful.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Each of us has been at the store and </i></p><p><i>seen someone who was grouchy and difficult. </i></p><p><i>Maybe we were that grouch!</i></p><p><i>It can make a hard-working person’s just to add some kindness.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>A day’s worth, a week’s worth, of faithfulness and grace </i></p><p><i>can become a life’s worth of witness, </i></p><p><i>and it adds up to a blazing sign of God’s grace.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>You and I are here: we have followed the light, </i></p><p><i>whether we knew it or not, leading us here – in Jesus’ presence. </i></p><p><i>Ask him, invite him, to make you a light.</i></p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-39788549845003634772023-12-31T09:00:00.000-05:002023-12-31T09:00:00.145-05:00Measuring up to the Holy Family! (Sunday homily)<p> If you have been keeping track, </p><p>we heard about eight people in these readings: </p><p>Abraham and Sarah and Isaac; Simeon and Anna; </p><p>Mary and Joseph, and the Lord Jesus.</p><p><br /></p><p>Each one, in a different way, had faced hard blows. </p><p>Think of Sarah’s heartbreak in not being able to have a child. </p><p>Anna who lost her husband after only seven years of marriage. </p><p>Mary and Joseph having their lives turned upside down by God’s Plan.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, a simple lesson. You are not alone. </p><p>If you think your life is a mess; </p><p>or if you are discouraged, or even ashamed, </p><p>by the problems your family has, you are in good company.</p><p><br /></p><p>And I will make a further point. </p><p>When God asked these folks to take a step of faith,</p><p>Each of them could have said, “Not me!” for good reasons.</p><p>Too old! Abraham and Sarah could have said.</p><p>I’ve suffered enough, Anna could have said.</p><p>I have no experience, Mary could have said.</p><p><br /></p><p>On this feast of the Holy Family, </p><p>it is really important to remember that no family, </p><p>including the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, </p><p>fits the “ideal” – </p><p>that is, the ideal that is portrayed in happy stories, </p><p>or which we concoct in our own imaginations.</p><p><br /></p><p>No family is like that, because it does not exist!</p><p><br /></p><p>And the thing is, that’s an invented ideal; it’s not God’s.</p><p><br /></p><p>Realize that holiness is not something we will eventually get to, </p><p>after the holidays, after the bills are paid, </p><p>once things settle down at work, once the children are a little older, </p><p>when we have a little more financial security…</p><p>You get the idea? Later, later…</p><p><br /></p><p>No. The Holy Family is holy not in idyllic serenity </p><p>but in hectic, even frantic circumstances. </p><p>They have money problems. They are looking for housing. </p><p>Joseph is looking for work. </p><p>They face prejudice and gossip. Their taxes are too high. </p><p>The Romans push them around. They are in danger of death – </p><p>they have to flee to another country. </p><p>They are separated from friends and family. </p><p><br /></p><p>In the midst of all this, somehow they find time to worship; </p><p>Joseph, after a long day’s work, finds time to pray and listen to God.</p><p>Mary ponders all these things in her heart.</p><p>They find holiness not apart from, </p><p>but precisely in these circumstances.</p><p><br /></p><p>That’s how it was for the Holy Family, </p><p>and that’s how it is for you and me.</p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-75493680052630938842023-12-26T12:46:00.002-05:002023-12-26T12:56:17.353-05:00The many musical Christmases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnU0fohMJ7-FF5qWLQ6kVJkCf7eTFvRFqBi-OcAaaqMbwIINka7nDyO_qjeQClgnZBBKE6XmHPGd6SvK5y0-vWYrjpOgRvfO7h9SJxx4-uBrYgJqnE4vm3PZURndY1lVvtooBWARa4fOyXzhhYodQ6IPG0WVPoVLK1AxNXUx8721XXFxMYvdCK/s1600/Frosty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1236" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnU0fohMJ7-FF5qWLQ6kVJkCf7eTFvRFqBi-OcAaaqMbwIINka7nDyO_qjeQClgnZBBKE6XmHPGd6SvK5y0-vWYrjpOgRvfO7h9SJxx4-uBrYgJqnE4vm3PZURndY1lVvtooBWARa4fOyXzhhYodQ6IPG0WVPoVLK1AxNXUx8721XXFxMYvdCK/w494-h640/Frosty.jpg" width="494" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>During Christmas week, I especially like to listen to Christmas music, and I enjoy pretty much all of it. Relaxing after a particularly demanding few days, I am considering the taxonomy of Christmas music. Or, to put it another way, when it comes to music, there are many Christmases:<div><br /></div><div><b>Pelagian Christmas</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Pelagius was a figure from the early age of Christianity; he argued that our salvation depends, at least to some extent, on our own effort. This is heresy, yet there's a Pelagian in all of us, and this mindset shows up at Christmas time: "He knows who's naughty or nice..." ("Santa Claus is coming to town") and "I ain't getting nuttin' for Christmas" (because I ain't been nuttin' but bad).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mythical Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>It's fascinating how capacious Christmas is! It has plenty of room for themes that have developed their own rich traditions, but like a very old family tree, the junction point with the main line is very far in the past. Here I place "Frosty," "Rudolph," "Grinch," and the like.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cozy Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>This is where I place all the songs emphasizing family and home: "There's no place like home for the holidays," "The Christmas Song," and I think I just heard, "Cozy Christmas."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Party Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Lots of the music we love is just about celebrating, almost to a manic level: "Rock around the Christmas Tree," and "Jingle Bell Rock" come to mind; but what about, "Deck the Halls"? </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Weather Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Here's where all the songs that are really about the weather go, and probably number one is "White Christmas." I bet you can think of more?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Winter songs (not really about Christmas)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Did you realize how many songs we associate with Christmas, have nothing to do with it? "Sleigh Ride," "Winter Wonderland," "Baby, it's cold outside," "Let it Snow" all come to mind.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Romantic Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>This is a huge category, from the terribly unsubtle, "All I want for Christmas is you," to the lovely "Christmas Waltz." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sad Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>More Christmas music is sad, I think, than people notice. For example, "I'll be home for Christmas," (if only in my dreams), and "Blue Christmas." This overlaps with the romantic category: "Baby, come home!" Shall we put here, "Do they know it's Christmas"? I also put here, "I saw Mommy kissing Santa" -- think about it. Nat King Cole did one called, "The little boy that Santa Claus forgot."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Materialistic Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Here I put "Jolly Old Saint Nick," "Christmas comes but once a year"; but the definitive take must be, "Santa Baby." That said, Eartha Kitt's gem, or Chuck Berry's "Spending Christmas" are really wry commentaries on materialism, aren't they?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cynical Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>"Grandma got run over" might be number-one here. And you can do a search for "anti-Christmas songs" if you wish. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Jesus Christmas</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>And then, of course, there is the Reason for the Season, the Incarnation, for the salvation of humanity. These are still the chart leaders. Three that stand out to me are, "Of the Father's Love Begotten," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the World." But please don't fix the lyrics.</div><div><br /></div><div>Would you create any categories? Where would you put any songs you have in mind?</div><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-42545120330537391302023-12-24T23:00:00.001-05:002023-12-24T23:00:00.138-05:00Why are you here? (Christmas homily)<p><i> For almost everyone, </i></p><p><i>this time of year is a jolt of emotional caffeine.</i></p><p><i>Not only do many of us eagerly anticipate this season of cheer, </i></p><p><i>we make sure we gulp down every drop of it, </i></p><p><i>punctuating every “Ho” and ringing those Jingle Bells like a maniac.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Why do sensible people crawl around on their roofs, first in November, </i></p><p><i>and then again in January, to put up and take down lights?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Why do you and I load up our charge cards and our grocery carts? </i></p><p><i>There’s a reason ads for gyms and diets show up in January!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>People will say, oh the advertisers make us do it! They force us!</i></p><p><i>Gimme a break! Let’s be honest: We love it!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>My question is, why?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Not everyone’s answer will be the same.</i></p><p><i>For some, it is a way to combat </i></p><p><i>the gloom of darkening skies and poignant memories.</i></p><p><i>Others might simply ask, does having fun really need a reason?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So let me tighten the focus of my question.</i></p><p><i>Why should all this merriment include our presence here, tonight?</i></p><p><i>Why are you and I here?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Now, some might not want to admit out loud, that the truth is, </i></p><p><i>“mom” – or grandad or spouse – “made me come.”</i></p><p><i>Or, “it’s just what we do.” Or, “it’s for the kids.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But if you think about it, there’s still an unanswered “Why?”</i></p><p><i>Why is it “for the kids”? Why should anyone be here?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>See what a mean priest I am,</i></p><p><i>Making you do a little work before the celebration.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>In case it’s not obvious, or in case no one ever explained this:</i></p><p><i>The Christian Faith is founded on assertions of fact.</i></p><p><i>Not stories. Not theories. Not dogmas.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The bedrock underneath everything is summed up </i></p><p><i>in three words in the Creed we profess every Sunday; </i></p><p><i>and tonight/tomorrow, we kneel for these three words: </i></p><p><i>“And became man.” </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>God out there – somewhere! – came here, </i></p><p><i>became human flesh in the womb of Mary, </i></p><p><i>without the help of St. Joseph.</i></p><p><i>God became what we call a “fact.”</i></p><p><i>A material, physical, fact.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Either that happened, or it did not. </i></p><p><i>Either Jesus is God, “true light from true light,” </i></p><p><i>or he is just a tragic figure from long ago.</i></p><p><i>There is no half-way position here.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I understand why people might say, “I don’t believe it.”</i></p><p><i>Obviously, I don’t agree, but let’s recognize that</i></p><p><i>it takes a fair amount of courage to commit yourself, </i></p><p><i>to take a definite stance that, there is no God, there is no savior, </i></p><p><i>other than what we human beings might be able to do for ourselves.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But since I already started making you uncomfortable, </i></p><p><i>I will go a little further. </i></p><p><i>While it is certainly polite not to blurt out, </i></p><p><i>Over Christmas dinner, “I don’t believe in God!”</i></p><p><i>It doesn’t make sense to waffle on the question. </i></p><p><i>It makes no sense to say, “I’ll wait and find out!”</i></p><p><i>Would you take a job, or buy a house, that way?</i></p><p><i>“I’ll wait and find out!”</i></p><p><i>Why would anyone wait until That Day, </i></p><p><i>to think about, and prepare for, That Day?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>After all, why would God go to all this trouble – </i></p><p><i>Being born, one of us, living among us, going to the Cross, </i></p><p><i>dying a horrible death, rising from the dead, and along the way, </i></p><p><i>instituting the Church, the sacraments, and above all, </i></p><p><i>the Holy Mass to “do in remembrance of me” –</i></p><p><i>If everything would wash out just fine, in the end?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>God came here and became a fact for a reason.</i></p><p><i>And if there is a God, and he acts in time,</i></p><p><i>then you are here – on earth, and in this church – </i></p><p><i>also for a reason.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Either God came to give bad news… </i></p><p><i>In which case, “Boo-to-the-factor-of-Infinity-hoo!” </i></p><p><i>(this is a really SAD day!)</i></p><p><i>Or he came to give Good News:</i></p><p><i>In which case, don’t you want to know what that is?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>He actually gave us both bad and Good News:</i></p><p><i>Jesus came to tell us, to enter Eternity, you and I need to change;</i></p><p><i>and he came to offer us the grace to do that.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Don’t you want to ask for his help?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Here, you thought you were just coming to make grandma happy.</i></p><p><i>Little did you realize, God would meet you here tonight!</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-5475998157794423042023-12-24T14:40:00.009-05:002023-12-25T18:12:50.710-05:00Planning Christmas Dinner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />TOP* and I are planning dinner for Christmas. My mutual agreement, the menu is thus:<div><br /></div><div><b>Antipasto w/aperitivos</b> (yes, I know, this is a violation of Italian law):</div><div><br /></div><div>Mixed cured meats, cheeses and olives. I plan a Martini.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Main course:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Rib Roast</div><div>Sauteed asparagus</div><div>Baked potatoes</div><div>Gravy</div><div>Yorkshire pudding</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Dessert:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Apple pie a la mode</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Digestivos:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Limoncello, Tuaca or Kahlua</div><div><br /></div><div>To make this happen, some things have already been prepped. A very large rib roast was ordered (larger than I realized, we'll have more leftover than we'll eat), and has been rubbed down with Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, basil, thyme and rosemary. That went in the fridge Friday afternoon. (Sorry, no pictures, but when I park my car in the garage, I can't easily get to the garage refrigerator, and I'm enjoying my recliner at the moment before the second of three Masses today. Just another lazy priest.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Just now I made some Yorkshire pudding batter -- that took about five minutes -- and it's going to sit in the fridge overnight.</div><div><br /></div><div>I small discursus: one thing I've learned about cooking is to learn what things can substitute for other things, and other ways to improvise. Example: the recipe for Yorkshire pudding called for "whole milk." Except neither I nor TOP drinks milk, so there's none in the house. But we do have heavy cream (for coffee); so I improvised by using cream, plus some extra water to approximate milk; I bet it works, we'll see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3PSRispfvh3R_BMV4B5zqzV4Z_SM7BNlxjrwEYn12QFbozh2MGAsT7G3Ml8fnWXc5FBLkoHpS6EvmN2-QpLBopCzvqeusnV-OLr8MMk36ieZ09NvOvMTQhD4s9uh3eg0rLvnHZigo5NRgxxOijjlHb-MQvPbn1-MnGrF5xDR9PyZM1dw2hzs/s4656/IMG_20231224_141245499.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4656" data-original-width="3504" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3PSRispfvh3R_BMV4B5zqzV4Z_SM7BNlxjrwEYn12QFbozh2MGAsT7G3Ml8fnWXc5FBLkoHpS6EvmN2-QpLBopCzvqeusnV-OLr8MMk36ieZ09NvOvMTQhD4s9uh3eg0rLvnHZigo5NRgxxOijjlHb-MQvPbn1-MnGrF5xDR9PyZM1dw2hzs/w482-h640/IMG_20231224_141245499.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQA_BOAmDgwTsYPDA6XVwuxgXb61qkm__ks098AOSqoRrRgGB78CajLI2bLC1EQfY2YOmHzFxUkmwqvpIkJ5uIOCFQ9V0_mRKQFCoQMTlUmB-up5rAkZJ2pRFxWFFEI0x83uzcqavrMi-sXLgYEBnynW-w7T-lF9hioSLmqONymem5MNXQ_VMZ/s4656/IMG_20231224_141438421.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4656" data-original-width="3504" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQA_BOAmDgwTsYPDA6XVwuxgXb61qkm__ks098AOSqoRrRgGB78CajLI2bLC1EQfY2YOmHzFxUkmwqvpIkJ5uIOCFQ9V0_mRKQFCoQMTlUmB-up5rAkZJ2pRFxWFFEI0x83uzcqavrMi-sXLgYEBnynW-w7T-lF9hioSLmqONymem5MNXQ_VMZ/w482-h640/IMG_20231224_141438421.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I've printed out recipes for everything else (oh, you think I have all this stuff in my head? Hah!). They are on the counter, ready for tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div>My plan is "low and slow" with the roast, so that requires a "Critical Path" timeline to be worked out, which follows (revised slightly from print-out shown in photo above): </div><div><br /></div><div><div>8:30 am - start roast @ 150 degrees</div><div><br /></div><div>9:30 am - check roast before Mass</div><div><br /></div><div>11:30a<span> </span>- check roast after Mass</div><div><br /></div><div>2 pm <span> <span> </span></span>- check roast</div><div><br /></div><div>2:45 pm<span> <span> </span>- prep potatoes</span><span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>3:00 pm <span> </span>- remove roast, rest </div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>- oven to 400 degrees</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- potatoes in</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- fix antipasto</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- wine in fridge**</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> - prep asparagus</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> - finish gravy; keep warm</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span>3:30 pm<span> </span></span></span>- Evening Prayer</div><div><br /></div><div>4 pm<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- potatoes out -- in warmer</div><div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> - oven to 550 degrees</span><br /></div><div><span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> - sour cream, horseradish sauce out.</span><br /></span></div><div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> - m</span>ake drinks</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- Serve antipasto</span></div><div><br /></div><div>4:10 pm <span> - roast in to sear</span></div><div><br /></div><div>4:20 pm<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- roast out</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- yorkies in</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- fix asparagus</span></div><div><br /></div><div>4:35 pm<span> </span>- yorkies out</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- oven set for pie</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> <span> </span><span> </span></span>- pie in</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>4:35 pm<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Main course</div><div><br /></div><div>5:30 pm<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- pie out to cool</div></div><div><br /></div><div>6 pm - Dessert, coffee and digestivos <i>ad libitum.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>That's the plan, there's plenty of time between noon and 3 pm to get ahead on some things as I may be inspired. If things go well, I'll update with photos tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Update, 6:11 pm...</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The roast seems to be resting comfortably:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHGFZbKMyUlHzyWh-xZ4NH6VdX6aIg4WnnnLX-sXexdII9EdJ54Akqgej5PlZia1MgNSYz3sW-5NI0mr_WgXlnyiQGxJdAr7tnXPbrVcxWRJEokYXx1hj5puCz_4sbTkLr-GHjnWkPSTteW62WPTdZwl2IUH1lmot3ZaDaodQPqWArwPIcX0h/s4656/IMG_20231224_175333114.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3504" data-original-width="4656" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHGFZbKMyUlHzyWh-xZ4NH6VdX6aIg4WnnnLX-sXexdII9EdJ54Akqgej5PlZia1MgNSYz3sW-5NI0mr_WgXlnyiQGxJdAr7tnXPbrVcxWRJEokYXx1hj5puCz_4sbTkLr-GHjnWkPSTteW62WPTdZwl2IUH1lmot3ZaDaodQPqWArwPIcX0h/w400-h301/IMG_20231224_175333114.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>That's a six-bone roast; I didn't remember ordering that large a roast, but when I picked it up, it was all trussed up so nicely, I didn't want to untie it in order to slice it in half. We'll see what's left and freeze the rest if needed. FYI, I got a great deal on this: it was $9.99/pound when I ordered it; marked down to $7.99 when I went to pick it up. Rib roast or steak is normally between $15-17/pound. So when I ordered it, I got a whole loin, with the rest sliced up for steaks to put in the freezer. Perhaps people wondered why a priest was carting around so much beef at the store, but it was too great a savings to pass up!<div><br /></div><div><b>Update, 2:30 pm...</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The roast is closing in on the target temp, perhaps a little slowly, so I raised the oven temp.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, I've prepped everything else; the gravy is on a low flame to keep warm, the potatoes are ready to go in the oven when the roast comes out, and the asparagus is ready to sautee when the potatoes come out and the meat gets it's final sear, and then the yorkshire puddings go in.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkU1BTE9bkLQaBZlj5h4ZQ7ZPJrXAe84WCVNatshHe2ikiNLwCwPRi2H2nkjO0lW6W5os9a3IPJL-9bIBPcdzDYjEaelc8y30noIFOJCEuvRiGLd0L0Drsfwxt8eDf-znyKcvQyIfFQk1X2uDMXyF7SQJqzuf1io5rUJiZpbjjStrWdWsDA4R/s4656/IMG_20231225_135945544.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3504" data-original-width="4656" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkU1BTE9bkLQaBZlj5h4ZQ7ZPJrXAe84WCVNatshHe2ikiNLwCwPRi2H2nkjO0lW6W5os9a3IPJL-9bIBPcdzDYjEaelc8y30noIFOJCEuvRiGLd0L0Drsfwxt8eDf-znyKcvQyIfFQk1X2uDMXyF7SQJqzuf1io5rUJiZpbjjStrWdWsDA4R/w400-h301/IMG_20231225_135945544.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Update, 3:30 pm . . .</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The wireless meat probes weren't working all day, till a decisive suggestion by TOP worked: the meat came out of the oven around 114, now it reads 121, so we're in great shape. It'll go back in at the end for a sear. The potatoes are in the oven now, and it's time for Evening Prayer.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Update, 5:29 pm...</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>It all came together, a little messy but great. I was using a new set of wireless meat probes, and I hadn't quite figured them out. But in the end, they worked, and we had to speed up, then slow down, the roast, to get it to about 130 degrees. The yorkshire puddings had too much fat, so they were a little doughy, but I still loved them. The asparagus got a bit overcooked, but very tasty. The potatoes were perfect, and inebriated with butter and sour cream, they were sublime.</div><div><br /></div><div>The roast was a lovely rose color, leading me to think that 125 would have been better (meaning, *redder*). It's always tricky getting these devices to measure just exactly how *I* think they ought to. All the same, the roast was awesome, and TOP reminded us: $7.99.</div><div><br /></div><div>He's graciously handling the dirty dishes while the pie finishes in the oven. We wrapped up the remains of the roast; a small bit for the fridge, the bones, plus a full half of the roast, for the freezer. After taking care of God's People and praying our prayers, such a nice meal! Thank God for all his abundant blessings, above all, the Gift of His Son!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Update, 6:15 pm...</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>TOP came through! He kept an eye on the pie, and when the fullness of time had come, brought hot pie with Graeters vanilla ice cream! La dulce finita est! It will soon be time for the digestivos...<br /><div><br /></div><div>*The Other Priest.</div><div>** I'm assured by experts that red wine should be consumed somewhat cooler than room temperature.</div></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-22929077205110222532023-12-10T12:00:00.000-05:002023-12-10T12:00:00.138-05:00Who is the 'mirror of eternity'? (Sunday homily)<p><i>You may have heard me say that Advent is mainly about eternity; </i></p><p><i>it is about Christmas only because Christmas </i></p><p><i>is a down-payment on eternity.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This helps us understand the readings. </i></p><p><i>They are looking ahead to eternity, and that may be confusing.</i></p><p><i>But, see, Christmas, too, is really looking ahead – not back.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This is easy to misunderstand, </i></p><p><i>especially because of how our society approaches Christmas.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Notice what happens every year.</i></p><p><i>We start seeing ads and TV specials hinting at Christmas </i></p><p><i>back in September, even August.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Once Hallowe’en is over, it’s all Christmas, all the time, for two months.</i></p><p><i>It’s relentless; everywhere; till we arrive at December 25, FINALLY! </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>See what we’ve done? We’ve turned Christmas into the climax.</i></p><p><i>But what if that’s all wrong?</i></p><p><i>Christmas isn’t the END; it’s the BEGINNING. </i></p><p><i>It is the down payment on the complete redemption of humanity; </i></p><p><i>on the New Creation, on what lies ahead for each of us.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>When Christmas happened, 2,024 or 2,027 years ago, </i></p><p><i>was the first, concrete beginning of salvation –</i></p><p><i>of a relationship with God being possible, of heaven being opened.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That explains the angels in the sky over Bethlehem.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If someone asks, why be a Christian, the short answer is, </i></p><p><i>because of the eternity Jesus invites us to.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Jesus came to fix what went wrong with humanity.</i></p><p><i>That’s why he was born; that’s why he died and rose.</i></p><p><i>That’s what our Catholic way of living is all about.</i></p><p><i>You and I join our lives to his, living in him, watching for him, </i></p><p><i>Till he comes again, if you will, to finish the job;</i></p><p><i>Not only for each of us, but for all Creation.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Our life is to be what Advent models for us:</i></p><p><i>Keeping our gaze on the far horizon of eternal life.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This is a good time to explain the ancient Christian practice </i></p><p><i>of giving up marriage for the sake of the Kingdom, </i></p><p><i>which lives on in priests and religious, of course. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Why should anyone give up marriage for the sake of the Kingdom?</i></p><p><i>So many people, especially in our time, simply do not understand it.</i></p><p><i>Nor do they get why anyone would take vows in religious life, </i></p><p><i>and enter a convent or monastery. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Is it because we think marriage is something bad? </i></p><p><i>Hardly: we call it a sacrament. Marriage is something very, very good.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And that is precisely the point. </i></p><p><i>There’s nothing noteworthy about giving up a bad thing. </i></p><p><i>But when someone gives up something extraordinarily good, </i></p><p><i>the natural question is, why?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And the answer is, they are awaiting something even better. </i></p><p><i>Eternity. Religious brothers and sisters, and priests, </i></p><p><i>embrace celibacy in order to be a sign of contradiction – </i></p><p><i>a sign of that “more” that lies ahead. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>In addition, those in religious orders take a vow of poverty as well;</i></p><p><i>And the point is that by living their consecration,</i></p><p><i>Their lives are lit by an other-worldly light. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It’s not that all Christians can’t do this. </i></p><p><i>Actually, what those who choose religious life do for each of us </i></p><p><i>Is to be an amped-up, intensified example for the rest of us,</i></p><p><i>Showing us in a hyper-vivid way what our lives are meant for.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>To be in religious life is to be a mirror of eternity,</i></p><p><i>so that people see in your life, not the ordinary things of this world, </i></p><p><i>but the New Creation that we hope for.</i></p><p><i>That explains the celibacy, the attire, and living in a community.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>How do you know if you are called to the religious life?</i></p><p><i>Well, if you find yourself longing for more: for more prayer; </i></p><p><i>for more Mass; for more than this world can offer; for more Christ:</i></p><p><i>Then this calling may be for you. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I want to remind you we have a second collection today </i></p><p><i>to benefit those retired brothers and sisters </i></p><p><i>who gave up so much of this world, </i></p><p><i>precisely to be a shining witness of what lies ahead.</i></p><p><i>You are always generous, thank you in advance.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>All the same, it is not only priests and religious </i></p><p><i>who are called to be a witness to hope. </i></p><p><i>Every single Christian – every one of us – </i></p><p><i>is asked by Christ to be such a mirror of eternity.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Those in religious life aren’t living as they do </i></p><p><i>merely to get themselves to heaven. </i></p><p><i>They do as they do to get all of us to heaven.</i></p>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-76304332394979575752023-12-08T08:00:00.000-05:002023-12-08T08:00:00.146-05:00The Immaculate Conception is hope for us (homily)<p><i>There is frequently confusion about what we are celebrating today. </i></p><p><i>I am determined to correct this mistake every chance I get.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Pop quiz: whose conception – whose beginning of life – </i></p><p><i>are we commemorating today? </i></p><p><i>Is it (a) Father Martin Fox? No.</i></p><p><i>Is it (b) Jesus Christ? No, because that would mean</i></p><p><i>he was conceived on Dec. 8 and born 17 days later. </i></p><p><i>So that leaves (c) "Someone else." And that someone else is Mary.</i></p><p><i>Mary's birthday is September 8; back up nine months: December 8.</i></p><p><i>It’s Mary who is conceived immaculately, or, without sin.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We mark Jesus’ conception on March 25, </i></p><p><i>nine months before Christmas.</i></p><p><i>So, again, the Immaculate Conception is about how Mary began her life.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If you’re wondering, then, why we use this Gospel, </i></p><p><i>it is because it most clearly points to Mary’s Immaculate Conception. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That’s in Luke’s choice of words – kecharitomene – </i></p><p><i>which we translate, “full of grace.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And the interesting thing is, to say Mary is “full of grace” </i></p><p><i>is actually not strong enough.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Here’s a more literal sense of what the Archangel Gabriel said:</i></p><p><i>Hail, You who have been, and now are, </i></p><p><i>perfectly, completely, and uniquely graced.</i></p><p><i>Get that? Mary was, and remains, </i></p><p><i>perfectly, completely, and uniquely graced by God.</i></p><p><i>There it is: Mary has been free from sin </i></p><p><i>from the very first instant of her life. </i></p><p><i>Otherwise, it would not be true </i></p><p><i>that she was “perfectly and completely” graced. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Then there is another detail that confirms this. </i></p><p><i>Later, Gabriel says, “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This unusual phrase refers back </i></p><p><i>to the place of worship God told Moses to create at Mount Sinai.</i></p><p><i>God insisted that tabernacle be prepared perfectly.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>How can we believe that God would have a higher standard </i></p><p><i>for a tent in the desert, than he would for Mary herself?</i></p><p><i>The tent is a foreshadowing; Mary is the true tabernacle.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Remember, the first Eve – in the Garden – was conceived without sin. </i></p><p><i>Would God do less for his own mother, Mary?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We might ask, what does all this mean to you or me?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This fills us with both confidence and joy.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>God went to a whole lot of trouble, a terrific amount of planning. Why?</i></p><p><i>You are the reason. And so am I.</i></p><p><i>You and I were chosen; we were destined.</i></p><p><i>This all wasn’t done for Mary alone, or for Jesus alone.</i></p><p><i>The whole point is our eternal happiness!</i></p><p><i>Never doubt that you matter to God!</i></p><p><i>Today’s feast is the proof!</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-88920345468954494782023-12-03T10:00:00.000-05:002023-12-03T10:00:00.135-05:00What Advent is really about (Sunday homily)<p><i> I want to make three points in this homily.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>First, I want to explain what Advent is really about – </i></p><p><i>it’s not exactly what you may think.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We often say Advent is about preparing for Christmas, </i></p><p><i>but that’s not exactly right. </i></p><p><i>After all, what do the readings we just heard </i></p><p><i>have to do with Christmas? It’s hard to see, isn’t it?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>That’s because what Advent is primarily about </i></p><p><i>is preparing for eternity; </i></p><p><i>and only about Christmas, </i></p><p><i>to the extent that Christmas, too, is also about eternity. </i></p><p><i>So look again at the readings – </i></p><p><i>doesn’t that explanation make a better fit? </i></p><p><i>This is all about eternity!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The second thing I want to call to your attention </i></p><p><i>has to do with the details of that first reading. </i></p><p><i>This is such a powerful passage, it is deeply moving: </i></p><p><i>God’s people are crying out to heaven for God’s grace:</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>“Why do you let us wander, O LORD…</i></p><p><i> why do you let us “harden our hearts”? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>They are asking for the help of God’s grace, to be converted! </i></p><p><i>It’s such a powerful prayer, isn’t it what so many of us pray? </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This prayer, this prophecy by Isaiah, do you know how it is fulfilled?</i></p><p><i>In the sacraments of the Church.</i></p><p><i>Beginning in baptism, the sacraments open us up </i></p><p><i>to all the graces we need to be saved, </i></p><p><i>beginning with the grace of conversion. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But this is not a one-and-done process.</i></p><p><i>Since that’s not how we creatures of time operate –</i></p><p><i>We grow in maturity, we change, we’re up, we’re down –</i></p><p><i>So, God in his goodness, works with our frailty.</i></p><p><i>Our conversion is a process and we get constant help.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Yet this prayer is our prayer: we want to want it!</i></p><p><i>We need the Holy Spirit to give us the desire, </i></p><p><i>to have that longing for conversion and holiness and heaven </i></p><p><i>to grow in us.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And our Faith, our sacraments, help us with this.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So, I’m going to suggest:</i></p><p><i>This Advent, decide you want to begin a new habit, </i></p><p><i>of coming regularly – if not frequently – to confession.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Sometimes people will object, </i></p><p><i>“but I don’t know what to say in confession!”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What can I say? Unless your daily life is like that of Mary and Joseph, </i></p><p><i>I’m guessing there’s plenty to say. </i></p><p><i>Start there, with how you get along with your family, your spouse, </i></p><p><i>your kids, your coworkers.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There will be extra opportunities during Advent, </i></p><p><i>on top of the five hours we regularly have each week for confessions.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And I want to say something more. </i></p><p><i>The other priests and I talk frequently </i></p><p><i>about offering more times for confessions on a permanent basis.</i></p><p><i>But here’s what we priests have no clue about:</i></p><p><i>What day, what time of day, would work for you,</i></p><p><i>with your busy schedule of work, or school, or family.</i></p><p><i>So, we guess, and add hours on this evening or this morning.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Your feedback would be very helpful. </i></p><p><i>Tell me if this or that time works. </i></p><p><i>The more information I have from you on this topic, the better.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Here’s the final point to make: </i></p><p><i>God wants to forgive us! God wants to forgive us!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Why do I make that point so strongly? </i></p><p><i>Because there are many who express great fear:</i></p><p><i>Maybe I didn’t confess my sins exactly right, </i></p><p><i>maybe I need to do it all over again.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And I want to ask: Do you think God is setting you up to fail? </i></p><p><i>Do you imagine God is playing tricks on you, </i></p><p><i>as if we were all in some cosmic game show – </i></p><p><i>and if you or I answer wrong, whoops! Oh, too bad!? </i></p><p><i>Stop and think about who you really think God is.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And so I repeat: God wants to forgive us. He wants to help us.</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-28034232944025636032023-11-26T12:00:00.002-05:002023-11-26T12:00:00.134-05:00Christ the King (Sunday homily)<p><i> We might wonder, why do we have this feast of Christ the King? </i></p><p><i> </i></p><p><i>This solemnity was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. </i></p><p><i>And it helps to understand the times.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>For some time, the trends in society </i></p><p><i>had been to denigrate the Church and the Catholic Faith. </i></p><p><i>A few years before, the most powerful nations </i></p><p><i>had all been drawn into the slaughter of the First World War. </i></p><p><i>And in the wake of that war, extreme movements were taking hold: </i></p><p><i>communism, fascism and militarism.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>And so the pope sought to remind the world who its true king is. </i></p><p><i>Not a Fuhrer, not a dictator, not an ideology.</i></p><p><i>As the pope said, “all men, whether collectively or individually, </i></p><p><i>are under the dominion of Christ. </i></p><p><i>In him is the salvation of the individual, </i></p><p><i>in him is the salvation of society.”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>A century later, our world still needs the same reminder.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>On the one hand, we have supposedly free societies – </i></p><p><i>including our own – where more and more people </i></p><p><i>are being shamed and harassed and punished </i></p><p><i>because they believe what Jesus teaches about marriage and family. </i></p><p><i>People are losing their jobs. </i></p><p><i>Business owners are being fined by government, </i></p><p><i>forced to shut up or shut down. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It is likely to get worse before it gets better.</i></p><p><i>On the other hand, in west Africa and elsewhere, we are witnessing </i></p><p><i>a ruthless effort to exterminate Christians in the name of Islam. </i></p><p><i>Thankfully there are some efforts to stop it, but not much.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The need to accept Jesus Christ as king is as great as ever!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So what does that look like?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The starting point is our own lives. </i></p><p><i>Is he king over how I use my time? My money? </i></p><p><i>Over my eyes, my hands, my words? </i></p><p><i>Do I use my body and talents according to his laws—or my own desires?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The truth, of course, is that I’m still fighting the battle in my own life; </i></p><p><i>and most likely, so are you. </i></p><p><i>The great tool we have in this is the sacrament of confession. </i></p><p><i>When you and I bow our egos and bend our knees in the confessional, </i></p><p><i>We renew our loyalty to Jesus, not vaguely, but very concretely – </i></p><p><i>in my life, today, right now.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Second is what happens in our homes. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>There’s no rule that says </i></p><p><i>you and I have to have a crucifix or an image of Jesus in our home; </i></p><p><i>but why wouldn’t we all wouldn’t want that?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Personally, I like having an image of Jesus or Mary in every room.</i></p><p><i>It’s not magic, but crucifix over the computer and the TV </i></p><p><i>can help us pause before we click. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But what best shows Jesus as king in our homes </i></p><p><i>is how you and I treat one another. </i></p><p><i>When our homes are places of prayer, forgiveness and peace, </i></p><p><i>Christ reigns – and people will want what they experience in us!</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Finally, we lift up King Jesus with the difference we make in the world. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The Gospel gives us a powerful measure: </i></p><p><i>how we treat those who are least and easily forgotten. </i></p><p><i>If Jesus were accepted as king of this world, </i></p><p><i>there would be no one hungry or naked or forgotten; </i></p><p><i>but as it is…our world is rather different.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>This is something encouraging about our family of parishes:</i></p><p><i>Whether it is blessings in a bag, the casseroles people prepare, </i></p><p><i>the tags on the Christmas trees in the foyer of church – </i></p><p><i>and there’s more that happens quietly – </i></p><p><i>these small acts please our Lord. </i></p><p><i>Helping out with a clothing drive or a soup kitchen </i></p><p><i>is a powerful antidote when we get discouraged or sad.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If you ever feel overwhelmed, take heart!</i></p><p><i>The Gospel doesn’t show the Lord saying to anyone, </i></p><p><i>“well done, you solved the whole problem.” </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Instead, we see Jesus commending those who did what they could; </i></p><p><i>and condemning those who passed by.</i></p><div><br /></div>Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.com0