Why is the Church sticking to her guns? Behind the reason to fight the HHS mandate.

editor's note: This fight with HHS and the Administration is beyond mere politics or even mere religious freedom...it strikes at the heart of our beliefs.  Hence, the beliefs themselves must be addressed.

    Over the past year or so, I have studied more and more the teachings of Blessed John Paul II concerning love, marriage, and human sexuality.  They flow from the book “Love and Responsibility’ he wrote long before becoming the pope.  The teachings that flowed from this revolutionary book designed to explain Catholic moral teaching on human sexuality and marriage, was an answer to the common acceptance of most Catholics to artificial contraception, and the lesser acceptance of abortion, divorce, and such.  These teachings are the basis of a program called Theology of the Body.  Whereas most Catholics and non-Catholics would characterize incorrectly Catholic sexual moral teachings as a litany of ‘that shall nots’ and a belief that women should be baby factories, Blessed John Paul II comes from a different angle; an angle that wants to see the creative and inherent beauty of human sexuality as something to be treasured and respected as a part of the respect owed to the individual as whole.  For Blessed John Paul II, the mystery of God is written into our very bodies and into the totality of our entire being.  He points out how all Church teaching on sexuality flows from this positive vision of the inherent dignity and integrity of the human person.    Hence, the Church’s teaching on sexuality, now under incredibly heavy fire, flow entirely from the complete respect for the integrity and dignity of each human person; a person to be respected on all levels of their beings, including their sexuality.
    When God commands humanity upon its creation to ‘be fruitful and  multiply’, it is a command flowing from the fact that God wants us to participate in His power to create new life born from love.  The tools of that power are holy and special and to be treated as such.  However, over time two camps developed that got this wrong.  One was a type of puritanical misunderstanding which saw the human body and sexuality as evil, lesser, and ugly…something to be ashamed of and avoided.  The other was one that saw human body and sexuality as a mere means to an end where the individual was served to self-seeking ends.  Both reduced this great and wonderful gift of God to something tawdry and shameful, as if the divine gift to create new life born from mutual self-giving love was a divine mistake.  It is about the nature of love, particularly marital love, that the Bl. John Paul II wanted to recapture.  For him, the body was not an ugly and shameful thing, nor was human sexuality.  Both are gifts from God to be respected and loved.
    Catholic teachings on human sexuality flow from the use of that sexuality in the manner for which it was given; to be an act that is mutually self-giving (not self-taking) love and from which will naturally flow a stronger union and the possibility of new life.  The Church does not believe that sex is solely for ‘baby-making’ but neither is it only for pleasure.  The church sees the human person as an integrated whole: mind, soul, and body.  Anything that takes away from the dignity of that integrated whole is seen as problematic if not outright dangerous.  From this understanding flows our teachings on artificial birth control (which does not respect the integrity of the body, mind, or soul), pre-marital sexuality (which simulates an act for a reason for which it wasn’t given),  pornography ( a complete breakdown of any respect for any part of the human person)and the other teachings about the correct use of human sexuality.  These flow from high ideals to be sure, but does not all of our teachings?  Self-giving love is the very foundation of all actions, words, motivations, teachings, and actions found in our Scriptural teachings and in the teachings that flow with and from them.  The same foundation must be present for all.  This is why the Church cannot back away from her teachings on birth control and other sexual teachings; to do so is to strike at the very foundation of that self-giving love of God from which our common lives flow!  Self- giving love (aka agape) is the rock upon which our faith is built, it is the very nature of God, and hence to be the very foundation of our own human lives.
    This stands in stark contrast to how the world views the human person.  History over the millennia shows that humanity has viewed itself more as a herd animal (albeit a highly developed one) that operates on little more than instinct.  Our culture, especially from the 1960’s and on, has seen sexual expression as a basic right to be followed without any real sense of respect for others and as a function of animal instinct.  This was an over reaction to the equally wrong ‘shame and angst’ version of human sexuality.  We went from ‘if it feels good it must be bad’ to ‘if it feels good, do it’ without stopping anywhere in the sane middle to ask what are the deeper issues.  When the sexual revolution of the 1960’s broke wide open, it brought startling repercussions:  an increase in unwed pregnancies (in some communities the norm), abortion, abortafacients  (the pill, the morning after pill, RU-486,  IUD),  a myriad on new and fatal STD’s (HIV-AIDS being the scariest of these), and helped to contribute to the assault and destruction of the family unit in this country.  This was as Pope Paul VI wrote in his letter on human sexuality, “Humanae Vitae” which was widely panned by secular leaders and even some religious leaders but was all too correct on what would happen if the contraceptive mentality were to take hold.  Both Paul VI and Bl. John Paul II knew that God wanted so much more for His people.  The Church, in her teachings, knows that God does want what is the absolute best for us because of His self-giving love for us!  That does not mean it will be easy. 
    Catholic teaching always wants to flow from the self-giving love of God and challenge us to make that love our own way of doing things.  This is why the Church will not back down from this fight with the administration even if 100% of Catholics disregard the teachings on contraception.  We hold to those high ideals and challenge ourselves to reach them through God’s grace.  I know not all that have used contraception did so with expressed evil in mind, but as a practical solution to a problem they have.  Most people think the church teaches what she does about sexuality because it views sexuality as shameful.  Quite the opposite is true.  Because we view human sexuality as so precious and special, we want to protect its integrity as we would any other part of the human person.  When we fail to treat that sexuality with respect, as happened in the clerical sexual scandals of the last 50 years or so, it brings confusion and pain.  We are capable of better all around!
    For this reason, we have been using the Theology of the Body series in our Middle School, Confirmation Class, and marriage preparation classes.  Because this teaching wants to appeal to our higher, stronger, and better selves, we are using it extensively.  Items on this are also available in our parish library.  Remember, as Catholics we always strive through the grace of God to be the best version of ourselves.  That includes the use of our sexuality as well.

Pull Them In!!! Catholics and evangelization

On April 15th, 1912, in the early hours of the morning, the luxury liner the ‘Titanic‘ hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean.  Of the 2240 passengers and crew aboard the vessel, 1514 died that night.  One of the main problems was that the vessel did not have near enough life boats.  When inquiries happened as to why more life boats were not available, the main reasons were that the builders had such great faith in the technology of the time and  had such great faith in the strength of the vessel,  that they thought it unnecessary to have the needed number of lifeboats to accommodate the entire manifest of passengers and crews.  When the lifeboats were launched that night, many were two thirds full.  After the Titanic sank, only two of the boats went back to pick up any survivors whose groans could be heard in the now stillness of the night.  Many died that night of hypothermia in the ice cold waters of the North Atlantic.  While many would not be able to be saved, some could have been, but as the majority of lifeboats stayed away, we will never know who would have survived after being pulled out of the water.
    For many centuries humanity has become enamored by its own power, wealth, and wisdom.  In our society, we are continually chasing after the newest technology, the newest research, the newest gadget, all in the hopes that these things will someone how make us better, safer, and happier. Faith is seen as a crutch, the spiritual equivalent of a security blanket, for those who have not yet grown to maturity and is regulated to the status of a pious hobby.  Like the builders of the Titanic, we believe our wisdom is sufficient to the task and that it will keep us from harm.  Yet, this society is one of the most dysfunctional in history.  There are so many who are wandering, floating, and even drowning among us.  So many, upset with the hole left when the money and power are either not forthcoming or are unable to fill the emptiness, will numb that emptiness with sex, narcotics, alcohol, risky behavior, and other such things that leave them ‘damaged goods’.  Sometimes, those wanderings have taken them to very dark places and the scars and mistakes are readily visible.  It is easy to look from our perch in the lifeboat and wonder if we want ’that type’ in the boat with us.  It is easier to focus so much on me and Jesus that we forget that when He was asked to teach us how to pray He directed to us to pray OUR Father.  No one was created to be outside the lifeboat; no one was created to be condemned.  We should be no more comfortable leaving these people floating out in the harsh world than we would be comfortable in letting a person float in the North Atlantic.
    The major reason why the boats stayed away from the survivors was fear.  Based on testimony after the fact, the reason the other 16 boats didn’t go back to pick up survivors was for fear than they would be caught in the suction of the sinking ship as it plummeted to the ocean floor and out of fear of being swamped by desperate survivors who knew they were only moments from death if they remained in the ocean.  Fear can prevent us from doing what is foolish but, more often than not, prevents us from doing what is necessary as well.  As followers of Christ, we are never to be ruled by any fear of anything of this world.  When we see someone struggling with life, we respond as Christ would: with hand outstretched.  So many times we back away from the job of evangelization, that is, the spreading of the Gospel, because we are scared of the response.  We may fear rejection.  We may fear anger.  We may fear getting in one of those “you Catholics…(worship Mary and the Saints, believe you earn your way into heaven, are led by nothing but pedophiles) and either feel we lack the knowledge or just don’t want to get into a fight.
    There also has to be a country club mentality that needs to be defeated.  On the Titanic, those who were of lower classes and rode in 2nd and 3rd class died in far greater numbers and percentage than those in 1st class.  While 63% of the 1st Class passengers survived, only 43% of 2nd class, and 25% of 3rd Class (which compromised 2/3 of the total passengers) survived.  It is easy to look at those outside our faith or who have dropped away and see them in a way that asks whether their joining/re-joining actually adds to who we are.  It is easy to treat those who are related somehow better than those who are not.  This is just human nature: we prefer to stick to the familiar and shun away from that which is different.  In the Scriptures, Jesus did not pick and choose who got to hear His message.  He healed all who asked.  He frequented the homes of sinners, tax-collectors, and other assorted riff-raff by the standards of His day.  He showed no fear in calling all those who were in need of His help and grace.  As Catholics, we must reach out for all in need of a home.  Like Christ, we don’t reach out for people so as to leave them there, but to lift them up from the ashes into a new life infused by God’s grace.  It does not matter whether they come from the right families, the right socio-economic class, the right race, or whatever else we use as separating influences to sort the invited from the uninvited.  Evangelization isn’t about picking the ‘right ‘people as if were picking pledges for a fraternity; it is about reaching out for all who are seeking, letting them know that we have a Father who desperately wants them home.  Because we are called to mimic the love of Christ in all things, we can never see anyone as beyond help or beneath us to help.  We cannot be in a lifeboat who will not go back to pick up the drowning because it is captained by fear.  By the grace of God, we are called to be better than that!
    My questions to each one reading this are simple: who will you give the chance to join us?  Who will be part of our faith because of your outreach?  How will you be the way that God reaches out to a lost soul?  Who will you invite?  Who gets into the lifeboat because you reached out?  Fear nor disinterest are options for those who follow Christ.  Only looking to my own salvation is unbecoming for those who have received the gift of new life from God.  By God’s grace you have been pulled into the boat.  Maybe you are one who needs to be pulled into the boat.  Either way, in the lifeboat you and those around you belong.  This is something we can measure concretely.  There is no shortage of those flailing in the sea drowning in the emptiness of materialism, sin, and addiction.  It is to such that God reaches out.  In the task of evangelization, a task we are given by virtue of our baptism, the target is anyone who seeks, anyone who needs to find their way home, and anyone who needs the safety and security of being pulled into the lifeboat.  Identify them.  Pray for them.  Model the faith for them.  Invite them!

A True Legacy for our Youth

A few days back I saw the following posting on Facebook, which I reposted, and have thought a great deal about consequently: " We need to teach our daughters how to distinguish between a man who flatters her and a man who compliments her .... a man who spends money on her and a man who invests in her .... a man who views her as property and a man who views her properly ..... a man who lusts after her and a man who loves her ..... a man who believes he is God's gift to women and a man who remembers a woman was God's gift to man.....And we need to teach our boys to be THAT man.”  It captured a pre-occupation that I have had for several years now.  We live in a society that teaches our young men that women are something to be manipulated into sexual activity, dominated in life, and discarded when it is no fun anymore.  It has started teaching young women the same thing about how to treat young men.  Furthermore, it teaches women that they merely have to settle for the best that they can hope to get and, if anything, treat their boyfriend or spouse to be as a reclamation project, the human equivalent of a fixer-upper.  I have rarely seen this end well.  As I have told young couples in marriage preparation, “Marriage is not a magic wand that makes all the deficiencies of your future spouse evaporate into the ether.”    By the same token, a man who would not make a good husband will not make a good priest either.
    Our children get swamped with the negative messages about human relationships and sexuality.  The way to reverse the damage is a two pronged approach: to point out and limit their diet of a poisoned message and replace it with a healthy life giving message.  Our parish and our families must act in union with each other to accomplish this.
    On the parish level, we are doing the following.  As all our 9th graders are boys this year, we are using the book, “Be a Man” by Fr. Larry Richards as the text for their education this year.  The book is a great study on what being a Catholic man is about and how being a Catholic man directly effects everything, including how we, as men, treat and view women.  It encourages an embrace of manly virtue and a courageous and selfless lifestyle.  With our confirmation students, we are using Theology of the Body for Teens with Chris Everet to talk about the same issues in a way that they understand that their being a good Catholic reflects in every avenue of their life.   We gave the parents the parents’ handbook so that they may follow up what we do in class.   I cannot encourage this enough.  I am contemplating getting the Theology of the Body for Jr. High, so that we may be able to begin this positive life affirming message earlier.  If anyone would like to help pay for the program, which would be several hundred dollars, and help buy a copy of it for the parish library. I would greatly appreciate it.  The Theology of the Body for Teens is already in the parish library and is frequently out.  Each have a 10-12 lessons set of DVDs, parents guides, and workbook for the youth.  I started using the Theology of the Body for Marriage as the primary tool for our engaged couples.  I really believe that this positive message paired with what I have been saying from the pulpit will hopefully at least provide a lot of seed which we hope will take root.
    On the diocesan level, we began summer camps for our young men and women (camps Maccabee and Siena, respectively) to help our youth understand what it means to be a young Catholic woman or man.  The topic is often brought up in our youth rallies and Confirmation Reflection Days. We believe, as a diocese, that every cent invested in our diocesan youth is a cent invested in the well being of our youth and their futures.  The well being of their future directly effects all of us as these youth will provide the next generation of priestly, religious, and lay leaders.  Giving them all that we can to promote a healthy self-identity and a healthy way of treating one another only bodes well for our collective futures.
    As I alluded to earlier, parents must be partners with the Church in this.  When your children were baptized, you vocally accepted the responsibility of bringing them  in the ways of the faith.  This is more than giving them a set of data to memorize, but instructing them in a relationship based in the love of God and neighbor.  Parents should be and can be the most effective teachers in their children in the ways of the faith.  What is provided in the home will be one of the primary nourishments of our youth.  This means several things.  First, I would assume no loving parent would purposely feed their children poison, even if that poison tasted good.  Poison is poison regardless of the way it tastes. We have to monitor what our children ingest in this culture as most of it is poisonous.  For example, I can think of two shows off the top of my head that are or were very popular: Two and Half Men and Sex and the City, both built on the premise that the opposite sex is something to be manipulated, used, and dumped at will.  So many shows on TV have the same message as do many of our movies.  The same message is dominant in music, regardless of the genre.  A steady diet of these things does have an effect on our youth in showing them what the world considers normative behavior.  It can be no surprise that our youth will act out on these premises and find out that the consequences of that acting out cannot be wrapped up quickly and without lifelong harm.  I know it is not popular, but parents must be as vigilant with what their children entertain themselves with as much as they would with what their child eats.  Poison should be recognized for what it is and dealt with accordingly.
    Along these lines, we should make sure that our youth are warned about the great scourge that is pornography.  Pornography, by its very nature, teaches to reduce another human being to a thing for self-satisfaction.  It is a cancer.  Because of the internet, it is also all too readily available.  Pornography isn’t bad because the human body is something ugly and sinful, it is wrong because the human body is good and beautiful; pornography debases that beauty, robs the dignity of another (even if they are offering up that dignity), and teaches the person to turn themselves and others into nothing more than a means of pleasure.  It is a devastating lesson that has horrible long term results.  Parents should treat porn with the ferocity they would treat a criminal trying to break into their home to harm their children.  Porn can have no harbor in any Catholic home!  I know they may not like it, but monitor what your child sees on the internet.  There are far too many wolves more than happy to expose your children to truly awful things.
    What we teach our children is the legacy they will pass on to their children.  We should want what is best for them and protect them from what would harm them.  Let us work together towards this common good so that we raise godly young men and women.  No woman or man should have to settle for anything less that the dignity that God has created them to experience.   Let us protect that dignity and raise our youth to do the same.

Toning down the rhetoric

In writing this post, I am getting that 'hypocrisy vibe alert' for I know that have been as guilty as the rest in participating in the to be mentioned behavior, but as of late, I have refrained from the behavior for the most part. I say for the most part because the St Louis Cardinals underachievement is rising to new heights.  The problem though is angry rhetoric.  There seems to be no shortage of it.  There seems to be no arena in which it is not just common but is now the norm.  Within the halls of our churches, the halls of governance, the halls of industry and finance, and within the lives of everyone, especially the famous, we feel the right and necessity to castigate at will.  Whether it is US representative telling a whole group of her fellow Americans to go to hell, the in kind responses to her, the accusations leveled at bishops for being too this or that,  the ripping apart of some starlet's personal choices, the constant stream of abuse we level at any authority figure, or any group to which we do not belong, we have turned our society into a dysfunctional group of busybodies where looking for anyone else's faults is the norm and displaying them for all to admire as if it were a museum gallery exhibit  is the goal.  The great melting pot has turned into a saga that makes the Lord of the Flies look like the Von Trapp family.  We have become a society of Mrs Kravitzes screaming "Abner, Abner" with such frequency that it feels like cat claws on a chalkboard.

Disagreements are a part of life.  How we should proceed as a country, as a church, and as a parish will always be there.  Each of the three have guiding principles that act as parameters for behavior and direction.  For us as Americans that guide is the US Constitution and its attendant amendments.  We may disagree  on its application.  But that disagreement can be handled civilly.  Do we actually think that yelling, name-calling, accusations and counter accusations about motivation will help anything?  We can really believe the cacophony of mobs will bring any peace?  Mob rules have never ended well, whether it is the French Revolution,  the Russian Revolution, the rise of Hitler, or even the bitter fruit we are seeing rising out of the Arab revolts in which minorities, particularly Christian minorities (Egypt, Iraq for example) are being persecuted.  There are ways to settle differences peacefully without bludgeoning each other to death.  There is no necessity for us to resort to hateful rhetoric, destructive behavior, or anarchy to get our feelings known. There is a different way. For we Catholics, it flows from our Catholic Faith.

As the country has the Constitution to ground the discussion, so we have the teachings of the Church and the Gospel.  Whereas we can amend the Constitution over time, the beauty of Catholic teaching is that it need not be amended, only applied.  The basic tenet of Catholic teaching is simple, it flows from the only commandment that Jesus gave us: Love one another! We are to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbor (that is anyone) as ourselves. Love, when used in the New Testament, is almost always translated from the Greek word 'agape', which means divine love.  What separates divine love from the other types of love is that it is completely selfless, attending to the needs of another.  Agape is willing to take on personal sacrifice and suffering for the good of another, to bear wrongs patiently, and show kindness. (cf I Corinthians 12-13). All of the Church's many teaching all flow from the question as to what does it look like to love God and our neighbor, recognizing the two are inseparable. Thus, it is from that vantage point of agape that we enter into discussion.  We also need to realize that discussion is more often not about persuading others to act as I see fit all the time, but to learn why things are where they are.  This is especially true when it comes to why the church does things the way it does and teaches what it does.  So many times we come in with our guns half cocked waiting the opportunity to fire instead of coming in with an attitude of understanding.  How we think this will produce anything but ill will and division is beyond me.  When we come in with the predisposition that the other party has intentionally wronged me and personally attacked me, there will be no room to listen or act fairly.

Therein lies the genesis of the problem.  This need for hateful and divisive rhetoric comes from a very dark place in the human soul: that the world must circle around me.  When we feel that it is everyone else's job to do as I want and see things as I see them, it is an obvious tip off that agape is not where I am coming from.  It is clear that my base is looking out for me and not for the other.  We can get so wrapped up in vested interests that we have no option but to feel frustrated and thus launch into hate filled rhetoric, presumptions of another person's malevolence, or personal attacks.  It is easier to deal with someone else's greed than to deal with my own, to decry someone else's inflexibility rather than deal with my own, and to be enraged about someone else's disrespect than to deal with my own.  If we hope to move discussion beyond such things, it will be in taking the focus off of 'me'. When we can look at problems and dilemmas from a vantage point of what is best for us or in what will be helpful for others, it will open our eyes, tone down the rhetoric, and open our ears to another.  When we address the true wrongs that we see, and we must, it always must be from the vantage point of inviting the person doing wrong to conversion of heart.  True conversion never comes from the end of a gun or the business end of a bat.  It does not come from accusations, yelling, taunting, or other un-christian like behavior. It comes from a genuine love and concern for the person, in wishing and wanting good for them.  Will it always work?  No.  But that does not excuse us from doing so.

The bottom line is this: Do unto others as you would have them unto you!  If you would not like your every fault and failing laid out for all the world to see, then don't do it to someone else!  If you do not want presumption of malevolence when you do err, don't do it to someone else!  If you want people to listen and understand, then afford others the same!  If you want people to treat your selflessly, then do the same for them!  If you wish to be the recipient of agape, then be the giver of it as well.  Whether that is within our families, workplaces, schools, parishes, churches, businesses, or governance, if we are true to the faith we claim, then agape must be our starting point for any discussion or correction.

Providing for Future Generations

I have it heard so many times in the last year or so that the generation in school now will probably be the first generation in some time in American History who will not have it better than their parents.  Increasing debt, both personal and national, paired with slimmer job prospects, skyrocketing education costs, and moral decay are all conspiring against those in our future.  The cause of this comes from the same root: we do not sacrifice anymore. In a society that prefers to be served and not to serve, the "I want it all" attitude prevails.  Unfortunately other people, especially those placed in our care and those who will be placed in their care, will suffer the consequences. This same fact has plagued us in so many ways, in our world and in our church.

The unwillingness to sacrifice comes from a very dark place in the human soul, a place of rebellion against God.  It follows the attitude of Satan, whom in Paradise Lost John Milton writes: "Ego non serviam!" "I will not serve."  Sacrifice is necessary for service, but sacrifice is willing to put the needs of another before oneself.  It is seen in a good parent who willingly gives up pleasures they might enjoy, or even personal necessities, to make sure their child has what they need.  This isn't just a matter of things, but of time and energy as well. Where sacrifice is absent, however, absent also is the love of God.  Without the love of God, our projects are castles of sand built on sand on the shore of the sea. We are finding out in this culture that living for oneself is costing us dearly, not only cheating future generations, but also ending in our own destruction as well.  This society, a society that consumes like locusts to satiate its materialistic longings, is a society that shows all the marks of a society in decline: moral decay, promiscuous licentiousness,  an over emphasis on leisure and sports, the overindulgence of instincts, and a declining emphasis on the spiritual.   Too many people think all is lost so they might as well party till the fall comes.  This is nonsensical. 

The virtue of self-control and sacrifice, also known as temperance, helps us to be wise about the expenditure of our time and our energy and do so with the love of God infusing our efforts.  Thus temperance is where we begin.  How is it that I can use what I have to benefit others?  This is particularly the case in tithing.  In tithing, we make a sacrifice of self for the good others.  WE help out our local parish so that the mission of Christ might be able to come about in its fullness.  So many parishes limit what they do because the monies are not there to do so.  Unfortunately the group that needs it most is the group most often treated minimally: our teenagers.  So many times we reduce our Catholic stuff to maybe an hour for Mass on the weekend and maybe an hour for education ( if the teens are not in Catholic Schools) and presume that this is enough or that even this is a colossal burden. If we were to dedicate just the minimum time for masses every year, we are talking a maximum of 56 hours out of the 8760 hours of a year! (.006%!)  If we dedicate the normal time allotted for youth education (non parochial school students) one would add another 38 hours of the 3760 hours in the year for a grand total of 94 hours a year (1%) for their religious formation. That is what we provide for these youth to grow up to be holy young men and women?!  They will spend more time cleaning up, watching TV, playing video games, on sports, on school, on jobs, on sleeping, on partying.  Youth activities, even education, are commonly held in much lower esteem than school activities and trying to plan for church youth activities is like trying to steer a Cooper Mini through traffic  during the Indianapolis 500.  In case we are wondering why there is such a dearth in priestly and religious vocations....  It is time for some temperance.  That doesn't mean we quit doing these things, just in appropriate moderation that reflect our priorities as Catholics.  If a child never learns sacrifice and having to make hard choices based on good principles and priorities, they will be ill suited for the future.

How do I serve?  How do I encourage service?  How do I embrace sacrifice for others?  The more we get this and act on it, the better suited we are for the future.  We can see what living for yourself has wrought in this society.  We can do better.  Our faith demands better.  Maybe the sacrifice begins with getting our priorities straight.  there is a great saying by CS Lewis, " Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in, aim at earth and you will get neither." We are transient beings whose end is not here and now.  Whether we choose to believe that or not does not change this.Aim eternally and let your priorities reflect that!  If we do not, then not only will we lose eternal life but this life will be reduced to the nonsense and pain of greed and envy so prevalent in our world right now.  Find ways to serve. Find ways to serve as a family.  See the 94 hours as a jumping off point for an entire life and not hoop to jump through to satisfy an unfair God.  If we are to ever get the priests and religious we need, it will start from the nurturing of service.  If Jesus says about Himself that "The Son of Man came to serve and not to be served", can we as His followers profess any less?  Nurture service and its attendant sacrifice and we will be providing well for future generations in a way that stockpiles of wealth can never do.

Sir, step away from the club!

Earlier today as I was surfing the Catholic web, I came across a site about priests and bishops who take admirable and courageous stands.  The lead was about a Bishop who attended a Mass outside of his diocese where the celebrant was not exactly the model of orthopraxy.  I looked at the comments offered and was shocked by the incredible lack of respect and the harsh judgment leveled not just at the offending priest, but the particular bishop, Vatican II, and other peoples.  It isn't a first.  Over the years I have noticed in the Catholic blogosphere a tendency to play a game I call "Pin the heresy on the cleric/pundit".  I have seen rivalries come about with each side's loyal minions rushing to the defense of their fearless leader.  It has gotten ugly.  I have seen it in parishes and dioceses as well.  I have seen it become the mainstay of some publications.  I cannot wag a finger, though, I have picked up more than a few mallets to play a rousing game of "Whack-a-cleric" myself.  But about a year back, it started to stir within me just how wrong this was.  There is a huge difference between being the Persona Christi and trying to be His replacement.

It is a fact that humanity in all its glory, in all its ugliness, in all its benevolence, and in all its cruelty can be found in every aspect of the Church on earth.  Why?  Because human beings populate the Church on earth (aka the Church militant).  As God  chose that His priests would be drawn not from among the angelic choirs but among human beings, there will be sin and foolishness co-mingled with holiness and sanctity.  Our call as Catholics is to correct charitably the offenses and cheer the sanctity.  I noticed on the aforementioned website that those who pummeled this particular bishop and priest did not leave positive comments in the places where other priests and bishops had taken heroic stands.  Yes, there are clerics and laypeople who do bad things, who manipulate the Gospel to another end, and who are con artists.  When we answer such behavior with a reaction more akin to a shark reacting to blood as opposed to a nurse responding to the same blood, we not only fail to address what needs to be said, but only make the situation worse. 

It make me sad when I see the "Oh, there's Michale Voris...hey, it's Mark Shea...Woah, there is Bishop so-and-so...Yee Haw...lookee..here come Fr so-and-so...let's string 'em up, get out the clubs, and have ourselves a Catholic pinata party!"  We can all sing a rousing rendition of "They'll know we are Christians by our clubs, by our clubs, yes they will know we are Christians by our clubs!"  Oh wait, that is not how the song goes?  My mistake!  That is the problem.  While we pummel each other and refuse to hesitate to strike our fellow Catholics, think about how that looks from the outside.  For those who hate us, all it does it give them ammunition for dismissing us as hypocrites.  For those searching, it makes them wonder why they would want to be part of such a group. It only deepens scandal.

I would invite all the various devotees and their fearless leaders in this hodgepodge of critique and counter-critique to do a lectio divina with any of the following: I & II Corinthians, The Farewell Discourse in the Gospel of John (ch 14-17), the Sermon of the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7), each of the Eucharistic Prayers, or the Letters of Pope St. Clement to the Corinthians.  In essence, spiritually put the club down, step away from it, take a deep breath, and remember, while you are not personally responsible for that guy or gal, you very much are responsible for what you do!  It is one thing to defend the faith, but any defense is based on a presentation of truth (see the writings of St Justin Martyr) rather than a personal attack on those for whom Jesus prayed, "Father may they be one, as you and I are one." (John 17:22)

The value of friends

Over the last few days, after spending a great deal of time mentally and spiritually unpacking the bomb dropped last weekend about the aforementioned young priest who is taking a leave of absence, it occurred to me that any priest could walk down a similar road without even noticing it until it is too late.  I got to thinking about what has kept me from walking down that road.  I the last post I stated the three things every priest needs to help keep a sense of opprobrium about himself (Spiritual Director, faithfully praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Brother Priests as friends).  I also started thinking about other things that have help keep me from collapsing in on myself over the years, especially around 2002 when things got very difficult because of the scandals surrounding the priesthood in this country.  here are a few.

It would be idiotic to believe that any of my stability would be present without the grace and love of God.  Although my appreciation of the depth of the Father-Son relationship I am called to have with God is still yet unfolding in greater clarity; I have found the solace of hope that comes from a deep set belief that our Father actually does want what is in our best interest.  When things have gotten especially difficult or confusing, I knew that I had to hold on for dear life to faith and to the relationship I have with God.  Without that relationship, I simply would not be able to operate in any sensible fashion.  It is with great anticipation that I look forward to watching that relationship continue to unfold and deepen.

I have also had the benefit of having great mentors.  Over the years, I know I have been blessed to have priests who took a personal interest in me and helped me along, even when I was not aware of it, and set a high standard for me to follow.  I think of Fr Fred Barnett who opened the door to me to re-enter the seminary and became my champion when things got difficult.  I think of Fr Jim Fuemmler and Fr Manus Daly who stood by me when things did not look like I would make it back in.  I think of Msgr. Don Lammers, my pastor at my first assignment, who encouraged me to use the gifts God gave me and let me get my sea legs while remaining just close enough in case I fell.  I think of the Spiritual Directors I have been blessed to have over the years who guided me along and challenged me when necessary and walked with me (sometimes carrying me) when life got difficult.  All of these men made  and continue to make me a better priest and I like to think that Fr Barnett prays earnestly for me from heaven.

I have also been blessed to have wonderful friends who have repeatedly opened their homes and lives to me, treating me as family.  Many took me in as I went through internship and seminary and were of great support.  Many have been parishioners in my assignments over the years who gave me a place to relax and get away from the day to day of being a pastor.  They have watched out for me, challenged me, prayed with me and for me, and have been there through illnesses, deaths, and most especially  helping me stay steady during the scandals.  I have enjoyed the outings, dinners, and chatting.  I think of nights like tonight where we had dinner and just shot the breeze in the back yard talking about all kinds of things.

I think also of the array of priest friends I have.  Some of these have been my confidants and have allowed me to do the same for them.  Others have extended their friendship and made themselves available for me to tap into their wisdom and insight.  Some of them have been just there for us to laugh and blow a little appropriate steam.  They have been invaluable over the years and of great comfort and spiritual sustenance.  They keep me honest and challenge to me a better person, a better priest, a better man, and a better Catholic.

As I sat with the young men of our diocese who are in the seminary, I thought that I could wish for them nothing greater that having this wide array of support and deep and abiding relationships.  I pray that they have and answer the call of grace for a deep relationship with God.  I pray that they are able to find wise mentors who will take a interest in their well-being.  I pray that they have such a wonderful array of lay and priest friends as I have been blessed with over the years.  IF any of those seminarians read this, cultivate such relationships; they will your rock.  To those who read this who fit into those above groups (and you know who you are), I offer a deep and heartfelt thank you.  May God bless you and I hope for the continual opportunities to return the favor of your friendships.  I am very blessed indeed because of the numerous people God has placed in my life and in the numerous people in whose lives I have been placed.

Who is to blame?

For the past several weeks, our elected leaders have been rattling the partisan sabers over the budget, the debt ceiling, and the deficit.  Politocal pundits of all stripes have weighed in trying to find and level blame on who is responsible for the grinding halt that is our federal governement.  Of course, Republican pundits blame the president and the Democrats; the Democrats blame the House and the Tea Party; the White House blames the Congress and vice versa.  Of course, on blogs. class warfare reigns and it is so common for groups to villify the rich or the poor, both leveling the same accusation of the other side being a group of greedy societal parasites. It has gotten ugly. 

Truth be told, though, at the end of the day it is the American voter who is ultimately to blame.  WE are a federal republic, we vote for those who make the decisions.  We elected every single representative, senator, and president their post.  We were the ones who sent the conflicted message to them that we want loads of freebies (which the DNC picked up on) but we don't want to pay for it (which the GOP picked up on).  WE allowed them to play every devisive card (gender, race, orientation, religion, social class, economic class) to cater votes.  We allowed them to replace real debate with a collection of 10 second sound bytes that were rhetorical fluff.  We allowed to demagouge instead of expalin their positions.  We allowed them to throw mud at their opponents, to slander and lie about their opponenets.  Worst of all we rallied around the question "How can my life be made better by this election" (Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago) instead of asking "How can this country and all its citizens be made better?".  How did we think this would end well?

All of these things are in direct opposition to our Catholic faith.  Our faith is based in love of God; that is, a love that by its nature looks out for the good of others.  St. Paul tells us that this love rejoices in the truth, is not envious, and seeks the good of the other.  There is no segment of this life in which the love of Christ is supposed to be absent.  If we are true to our call as Catholics, then we bring that love into our political decisions and demand that those we elect do so as well.  Wouldn't it be great if our elected officials collectively looked at what was really in the best long term interest of this country, even if in doing so the are sacrificing their political careers?  Wouldn't it be awesome if both we and the Congress we elect realized that wisdom and not demagoguery should prevail in our social discourse?  These things are entirely possible, but first we must demand the life of Christian love to be each of our way of life and elect those who will do the same: those who look out for the good of the entire population, not just the part they hope votes for them.