Today I celebrate 15 years of ordination. I am celebrating it! As I look back on the last 15 years of being a Catholic priest, I look at one heck of a journey. There have been extraordinary highs and gut wrenching lows. The seminary did the best it could to prepare me with a base of knowledge, spirituality, and human formation to help me meet the road as it unfolded over the years. To be honest, I came out of the seminary all wild eyed and ready to proclaim, serve, and restore. I came in with a profound ( or so I thought at the time) desire to serve. I thought I knew it all and what the people wanted. I thought. It is not that I was horribly wrong or off base, it is just that I had no idea of the magnitude of what lay ahead. Thankfully, God has always moved my heart to engage Him and His people and to keep trying to adapt without losing anything of a true Catholic priestly identity. That openness has lead to a wealth of epiphany moments. I wish to share some of the bigger ones.
1: What I actually know about God, faith, and Catholicism is little. It is not through lack of trying. I am a rather well read person who always believes there is always more that I can and need to learn. Content wise, I probably do know more than the average person, but is like being a scientist, the more you study the more we know how little we know. It is a given that we simply cannot come to know everything about God; we struggle with just the tidbit He gives us through Divine Revelation. 15 years of preaching on the Scriptures almost everyday and I still am amazed at how many layers there are and how much more there is just on the surface. 15 years and I have yet to grow tired of preaching and studying the Scriptures because it is like a multi-faceted gem with an infinite numbers of sides; each begging to be examined and integrated. The depths and power of faith, I have come to find out, will go as deep as we allow them. Because it is based in God, the experience of faith and grace is boundless. The more I experience, the more I know that is still left unexamined. The depths of the theology, philosophy, logic, and wisdom present in Church teachings is profound. Some of the greatest minds of history help in reflecting upon Christ and what the Christ event fully means. I am a smart guy, but I am not St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Chrysostom, or any of the other great minds that have populated our teaching landscape. I read the writings of the great Fathers and mystics and realize just how little I know. I like to think that my desire to keep knowing and delving deeper into the mysteries of the faith is pleasing to God. It is a lifetime endeavor. It is a perpetual challenge.
2: The People of God don't need another Savior. We already have one. The Catholic Church existed long before I became a priest and will be here long after I depart from this life. My role is to point to THE Savior. I have found out that this is far from easy. It is more than using the right sequence of words, it is by living a correct example. That is difficult for me. I think the easiest trap for any cleric to fall into is that trap of hypocrisy. It is easy to preach love, mercy, forgiveness, patience, love of God and love of neighbor; it is much harder to live, especially knowing that my parishioners have the right to be able to see me living that example. It has meant that I have had to wildly reign in my temper, a temper that has gotten me into much trouble. The first time I lost my patience with a parishioner, it hit me after I was done of the potentially devastating effect of the Roman Collar. I became aware that when I lost my patience, it just wasn't me as a person, but it came across as the entirety of the Roman catholic Church, if not Christ Himself, coming down on the person. I shudder to think how many people I might well have driven away, how many vocations I might have crushed, how many good souls were rightfully scandalized. I look back at those 2 or 3 incidents and still feel deep regret and sorrow. As I have grown, my temperament has settled and my anger is usually saved for people who cut me off in traffic (and yes, I know I must work on that as well).
3: I am called 'Father' for a reason. This realization has grown so much stronger over the past few years. When we started Camp Maccabee some years back, it was with the understanding that all the same things needed to be a good dad and husband were also needed to be a good priest. Archbishop Flynn told me that in a one on one conference during a retreat my 1st year in theology. that conversation was probably one of the most significant of my life. It took me almost 20 years to unpack that. My role in a parish is that of a father. It is my duty to provide from the wealth of our faith and to lead others into a deeper relationship with the God who entrusted me with their care. The same can be said of dads and their children. It is my duty to nurture and maintain union built upon stewardship and selflessness, so that each member of the parish knows they are loved, wanted, and needed as part of this parish family. I use the term 'parish family' not in some sappy sense of forced fellowship of people who would otherwise have no connection, but in the same dynamic that Christ did when He used familial terms to describe the relationship He has with us, we have with the Father, and that we have with each other. It is not my job to dominate. It seems it would be easier if I tried that, but I know it would undo everything and drive off wide swaths of the family entrusted to my pastoral care. It is a constant source for internal dialogue and external whining. I know that I am far from being that ideal father.
4: The people don't need to know what I think, they need to know the truth. So many times people have been confused because clerics have come down like Moses from Mt Sinai with their own slant or opinion on the teachings of the Church. It creates great confusion and invites division. My opinion saves no one. My opinion is not synonymous with Divine Revelation. My opinion can dilute the Gospel. I will be held responsible for that. I am well aware of that. In fact, it frightens me. One of my pet peeves is being lied to because when I am lied to, I can not make reasonable or correct decisions; it is hard to build decisions on a lie. If I dilute the Gospel, I present a deceit and force other people who may not know better to build decisions on those deceits. The reason I read so much is because I want to be as sure as I can that I am presenting the truth and giving those entrusted to my care a solid foundation. Sometimes the truth can be challenging and provoking. In fact, the vast majority of the time it is. The truth always provokes us to a deeper and greater relationship with God and with one another. The truth challenges our bad habits and favorite sins. I cannot tell people a deceit in hopes of not hurting their feelings, or not making them angry with me, or in hopes of not losing money in the collection. It is hard and the temptation to take the easy road and say what people want to hear (or what I want to hear) it ever-present.
5: I wouldn't give this up for anything. Even in the incredibly dark days of 2002 when the sex scandals broke and priests that I not only knew, but admired as well, I had no intention of leaving. There were days when I was weary. There still are. There are still days of great frustration, but isn't that true for everyone? However, those days are greatly outnumbered by the great days, the powerful days, and the truly spiritual days. The schedule can be grueling. Being constantly in an unwanted spotlight is aggravating at times. I still get nervous preaching and teaching. I still feel somewhat inadequate in some of my pastoral duties. I am okay with that in that I have only been doing this for 15 years. I know that I am far from the perfect priest and perfect pastor; I still have much to learn and much to grow. I am not a finished product. That said, I can say I have tried my best most of the time. I sincerely hope that as time passes that I will progress deeper and become a better pastor. Despite every struggle that I have faced, am facing, and will face, I love the challenge that being a priest in this society. I love that I have to keep my own weaknesses in check with God's grace. I love that I have learned much and still have much to learn. I love that there will be never a reason for me to grow cold or apathetic. I am interested in what the next 15 years bring, what I will learn, how I will develop, and how I can better be what God has called and created me to be. I am okay with the fact that I will never grow wealthy by earthly standards. I am okay with the fact that this society will probably never respect me. I am okay with knowing that if I am a good priest there will be much sacrifice that lays ahead. I look forward to the future and I am happy in the present. the best thing that I have learned is that God is ever generous with His grace and mercy with anyone who willing to at least try to rise to the challenge of the Gospel. Here's to many more years of learning. growing, and deepening.
Showing posts with label service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label service. Show all posts
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Transference, Barney, and Rebellion: Things to avoid in following God's will
The readings for this week have been so wonderfully apropos for this week where we as a Church remember vocations and pray for them during Vocations Awareness Week. Hopefully this isn't news to you. The first reading are from I Samuel, with yesterday's being the call of Samuel. This reading happens to be the 1st reading for this weekend. While the young Samuel is mistaking the call of God for the voice of the priest, Eli, finally Eli understands that God is calling the boy and tells Samuel to respond with "speak, Lord, you servant is listening." What a bold statement! This statement is supposed to be at the heart of every Christian every day. The responsorial psalm for that day (and coincidentally this weekend as well) has the response of "Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will." Again, another simple statement that should be at the center of how we live. Were every Catholic to really capture this, all of the problems we experience within the Church would simply dry up. Vocation crisis? Gone! Scandals within the Church? Never would have happened? Numbers of practicing Catholics dwindling? Not any more? I could go on and on with this list, the upshot is that if we were to live out these two simple sentences, there would profound change and great good. So why isn't it happening?
My first guess is a what I would call a simple case of transference. We become suspect when we hear that we are called to do God's will. We transfer onto God what He means by that with what we mean by that. We know that our wills can be awful self-centered. We know that we can want other people to do our will because it suits us to have them to do so. In this light, God comes across as a eternal me-monkey with a colossal ego that needs to be stroked lest He go all Rambo on you. We assume that God is every bit as self-centered as humanity and bristle at the idea of having to serve such a megalomaniac! However, God is not such. Instead of being self-centered, He is other centered, that is, he loves us and wants what is best for us now and for all eternity. He watches out for us and want to protect us. When He asks us to do His will, He asks us to be other-centered (that is to be truly loving) as He is and thus to watch out for the true good around us.
My second guess would be what I call the "Barney Syndrome". In this scenario we accept that God loves us. We even believe that God unconditionally loves us and wants what is best. Where the breakdown starts is that in believing these things we fail to make the jump that we are called to model out behavior on His. God becomes the Great Enabler. Instead of "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will", the response becomes "Turn the other way God, I want to do my will!" God's job is to rubber stamp whatever I want to do. Furthermore He is suppose to bless it as if I were doing His will! This God doesn't have a hell because everybody gets into heaven, unless, like, you know, you're like Adolf Hitler and stuff. The morality bar is set as low as needed to accommodate whatever it is I want to do. The problem here is that if we enter into a relationship with God, a relationship necessary for heaven, then the love goes both ways. As with a good marriage where the two spouses are actively concerned with the other person's needs , our relationship with God is bound on our looking out for God's will (which as above said, looks out for our good) as He looks out for what we need. God blesses this. God, however, is not one to taunted, ignored, or dismissed. He is not the great enabler. He allows us to make our choice about whose will we follow and then bear out the consequences of those choices.
My third guess is outright rebellion. In the story of Samuel, Samuel is given to the High Priest, Eli, because Samuel is called to serve the Lord. Eli has to sons who are priests as well: Phineas and Hophni. They were self-centered men who has the audacity to steal from God what was His during the sacrifices. Not only were they indifferent to God, they were outright hostile. Their response to God wasn't "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will" it was "Go away God, I am going to do my will." Phineas and Hophni push away the hand of God because they have no desire for a relationship with God, especially a relationship that will require them to change. Without God's hand, they are destroyed. This story is repeated over and over again. God does not want such things to happen, but He allows the consequences of our choices to happen if we are insistent upon it. On a slightly separate note: why we think as Americans, that we can push God out of the public sphere, routinely mock Him and those in relationship with Him, replace Him with materialism, lust for power, hedonism, and materialism, how we can surgically excise from any avenue of our school children's life, mock His existence, pile corpse upon corpse with our violence, abortion, and disregard for the basic needs of other and then have the audacity to demand that His only job, if He exists at all, is to make happy and bless whatever it is I want...just baffles me!
The point is that we are called to rise above transference, Barney, and rebellion and follow God in our lives knowing that His will is always oriented towards our collective best interest. There is no reason to be afraid. If we want the vocations we collectively need, it will be in having the faith to say "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will." If we want true peace in our parishes and to be free from scandals of all sort, then again, we will have to conform our will to God's. If we want true unity and peace in our country, it will come from living, actually living, the Gospel which calls us for defer to each other in imitation of Christ. If we want strong marriages and family life, then it will only be through this mutual submission of will for the good of others. God is not a rubber stamp to approve of a life divorced from His will, nor is he a giant purple doofus who enables reckless and selfish behavior, nor is He one who is to mocked. He wants what is truly good for us and leads us to peace. We have to want that to! How will you, the reader, live up to "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will" today? How will your life reflect that?
My first guess is a what I would call a simple case of transference. We become suspect when we hear that we are called to do God's will. We transfer onto God what He means by that with what we mean by that. We know that our wills can be awful self-centered. We know that we can want other people to do our will because it suits us to have them to do so. In this light, God comes across as a eternal me-monkey with a colossal ego that needs to be stroked lest He go all Rambo on you. We assume that God is every bit as self-centered as humanity and bristle at the idea of having to serve such a megalomaniac! However, God is not such. Instead of being self-centered, He is other centered, that is, he loves us and wants what is best for us now and for all eternity. He watches out for us and want to protect us. When He asks us to do His will, He asks us to be other-centered (that is to be truly loving) as He is and thus to watch out for the true good around us.
My second guess would be what I call the "Barney Syndrome". In this scenario we accept that God loves us. We even believe that God unconditionally loves us and wants what is best. Where the breakdown starts is that in believing these things we fail to make the jump that we are called to model out behavior on His. God becomes the Great Enabler. Instead of "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will", the response becomes "Turn the other way God, I want to do my will!" God's job is to rubber stamp whatever I want to do. Furthermore He is suppose to bless it as if I were doing His will! This God doesn't have a hell because everybody gets into heaven, unless, like, you know, you're like Adolf Hitler and stuff. The morality bar is set as low as needed to accommodate whatever it is I want to do. The problem here is that if we enter into a relationship with God, a relationship necessary for heaven, then the love goes both ways. As with a good marriage where the two spouses are actively concerned with the other person's needs , our relationship with God is bound on our looking out for God's will (which as above said, looks out for our good) as He looks out for what we need. God blesses this. God, however, is not one to taunted, ignored, or dismissed. He is not the great enabler. He allows us to make our choice about whose will we follow and then bear out the consequences of those choices.
My third guess is outright rebellion. In the story of Samuel, Samuel is given to the High Priest, Eli, because Samuel is called to serve the Lord. Eli has to sons who are priests as well: Phineas and Hophni. They were self-centered men who has the audacity to steal from God what was His during the sacrifices. Not only were they indifferent to God, they were outright hostile. Their response to God wasn't "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will" it was "Go away God, I am going to do my will." Phineas and Hophni push away the hand of God because they have no desire for a relationship with God, especially a relationship that will require them to change. Without God's hand, they are destroyed. This story is repeated over and over again. God does not want such things to happen, but He allows the consequences of our choices to happen if we are insistent upon it. On a slightly separate note: why we think as Americans, that we can push God out of the public sphere, routinely mock Him and those in relationship with Him, replace Him with materialism, lust for power, hedonism, and materialism, how we can surgically excise from any avenue of our school children's life, mock His existence, pile corpse upon corpse with our violence, abortion, and disregard for the basic needs of other and then have the audacity to demand that His only job, if He exists at all, is to make happy and bless whatever it is I want...just baffles me!
The point is that we are called to rise above transference, Barney, and rebellion and follow God in our lives knowing that His will is always oriented towards our collective best interest. There is no reason to be afraid. If we want the vocations we collectively need, it will be in having the faith to say "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will." If we want true peace in our parishes and to be free from scandals of all sort, then again, we will have to conform our will to God's. If we want true unity and peace in our country, it will come from living, actually living, the Gospel which calls us for defer to each other in imitation of Christ. If we want strong marriages and family life, then it will only be through this mutual submission of will for the good of others. God is not a rubber stamp to approve of a life divorced from His will, nor is he a giant purple doofus who enables reckless and selfish behavior, nor is He one who is to mocked. He wants what is truly good for us and leads us to peace. We have to want that to! How will you, the reader, live up to "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will" today? How will your life reflect that?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thoughts arising from an untimely death
This morning, we did at our school what we do every 1st Friday. WE move the Blessed Sacrament from the Adoration Chapel were it sits waiting for those to come in for Perpetual Adoration, into the main church and onto the main altar. During that time we make the opportunity for Confession for our grade school students as they come to spend some time in Eucharistic Adoration. Since I take the visiting priest’s confessional, as a courtesy to the other priest that comes to help, I have only the option of anonymous (behind the screen). Occasionally, a student will come in and step around the screen. That happened more than a few times today. One of the young men came around and stared right into my eyes the whole time. I was a bit taken aback. It was nothing he did. Last night I read an obituary of a young man from a former parish who had died in a freak tractor accident. They had a picture of the young man, and I swear, the boy standing in front of me could have been him 10 years ago. My head has been in the wake service of the young man to which I went a few days back. I had this sudden urge to take the boy, wrap him in bubble wrap, and tell his parents to never let him out of their sight. This preoccupied my mind as each student came in. The young man who had died had been in my instruction at one time. He was a fine young man who was mature and wise beyond his years more often than not. When I looked into the eyes of his parents at the wake and saw two people who had just lost their only son and just looked weary, it broke my heart. When I saw his grandmother, a very dear sweet woman, who also looked so very tired, and saw his aunt, who couldn’t stop crying, it just was heart wrenching. Although the pastoral care of this family belonged to another, these were people I cared about and to see them in such pain was troubling.
Of course, we can’t bubble wrap our children and keep them forever at our sides. They grow. We always pray that they grow strong and wise and live up to their full potentials as human beings and as people of faith. We have to count on their learning those lessons well and being ready to answer for how they lived their lives when their day comes to pass from this world. We will fidget and groan as we watch them make mistakes and even mess their lives up entirely. But there is always a hope that tomorrow they will come to their sense. As this death this week reminded me, as does every funeral I have, all of us will come to a point where today is the last day of our life. So what do we do with it? We’ll not be able to pass though our days here without experiencing some pain, disappointment, and grief. It is part of life. It occurred to me this evening as I was pray Evening Prayer that while do not have any real control over when or how we die, we do have tremendous control over how we live. I got to thinking about what I would say to every student I have had over the years. It would go something like this.
I really believe that every single person that has ever been born has the deep inset desire to be remembered; a consequence of having made one’s mark in the world. What will be your mark? Will it be positive, negative, or barely visible? Will it change other people’s lives for the better or will other people be sorry they ever met you? I do not think anyone wants to be the person that makes other people’s lives hellish, but so often will do so because it is easier that make another person’s life better. You were born into this world, created by God, to make other people’s lives better and be a positive force for good. I know that is hard because it requires you to be selfless and exhibit self-control. I know the temptations to be selfish and out of control are overwhelming. I cannot speak to being a young lady, but I can to being a young man. I know the temptation to strip the dignity away from a woman is ever present. I know society expects you to be promiscuous even if it later condemns you for doing so. I know you are told over and over again that you have to rely on your physical prowess in sports to get anywhere in life. I know you are told that religion is for the stupid, for children, or for the women…but that men do not need a God other than themselves. I know you are tempted to party hard, drink hard, ingest whatever mind altering substance happens to be around. I know you are told to ignore whatever emptiness might come from this. I know as you get older that the definition of success comes from the accrual of power and wealth. I know you struggle with wanting to be a real man in a world that is quite content for you to remain a boy. Boys are easy to control. I know it because I have been there or still get tempted towards these things. I know it sucks and that it easier to give into rather than rise above it.
Remember, though, each of us is only given one chance at this life. We don’t get to redo it. What we have at the end of our lives is the finished product of our lives; an accumulation of our choices. Choose wisely, knowing that you are held responsible for what you do. Be selfless, courageous, and strong. Do not waste your life on numbing it. Make your mark in such a positive way as to make a permanent positive change. God gives you so many graces, charisms, talents, and abilities for this purpose; He expects a return on His investment. Be thankful for the blessings in your life; never allow envy or greed be what motivates you. Protect the dignity of those around you, don’t rip it away through lust. Treat your life and your faith as the precious gifts they are. While you gave neither of these to yourself, you are responsible for how you develop them. Please stay away from risky and dangerous behavior! In 14 years I have buried far too many young men and women and had to witness the crushing and haunting look of an inconsolable parent, mourning the loss of their child. I can assure you, that look will stay with you for awhile. So many times the deaths were completely avoidable. There are many people out there that actively care about you and are concerned for your well being; people who want to see each one of you grow up into a great and strong adult. I know, because I am one of them.
You have to want this for yourself. I know this. I have tried to fill the void we are born with so many things that the world says will work, but don’t. I have tried money, power, drinking, and other things to fill the void and they failed. I know faith has provided for me not only a firm foundation from which I can weather any storm and find comfort in the bleakest of moments, but helps me to become all that I am created to be. The man who has faith has nothing to fear, not even death. Faith is all that we get to take with us past this life, where our faith is and how we actively allowed it to be developed will be shown in how we acted. Choose well. May each person who reads live a long happy life. Be all that you are created to be and do not allow any fear of any person rule you. In the end you are answerable to God and God alone. May each of you hear when that time comes :“Well done my good and faithful servant.”
Of course, we can’t bubble wrap our children and keep them forever at our sides. They grow. We always pray that they grow strong and wise and live up to their full potentials as human beings and as people of faith. We have to count on their learning those lessons well and being ready to answer for how they lived their lives when their day comes to pass from this world. We will fidget and groan as we watch them make mistakes and even mess their lives up entirely. But there is always a hope that tomorrow they will come to their sense. As this death this week reminded me, as does every funeral I have, all of us will come to a point where today is the last day of our life. So what do we do with it? We’ll not be able to pass though our days here without experiencing some pain, disappointment, and grief. It is part of life. It occurred to me this evening as I was pray Evening Prayer that while do not have any real control over when or how we die, we do have tremendous control over how we live. I got to thinking about what I would say to every student I have had over the years. It would go something like this.
I really believe that every single person that has ever been born has the deep inset desire to be remembered; a consequence of having made one’s mark in the world. What will be your mark? Will it be positive, negative, or barely visible? Will it change other people’s lives for the better or will other people be sorry they ever met you? I do not think anyone wants to be the person that makes other people’s lives hellish, but so often will do so because it is easier that make another person’s life better. You were born into this world, created by God, to make other people’s lives better and be a positive force for good. I know that is hard because it requires you to be selfless and exhibit self-control. I know the temptations to be selfish and out of control are overwhelming. I cannot speak to being a young lady, but I can to being a young man. I know the temptation to strip the dignity away from a woman is ever present. I know society expects you to be promiscuous even if it later condemns you for doing so. I know you are told over and over again that you have to rely on your physical prowess in sports to get anywhere in life. I know you are told that religion is for the stupid, for children, or for the women…but that men do not need a God other than themselves. I know you are tempted to party hard, drink hard, ingest whatever mind altering substance happens to be around. I know you are told to ignore whatever emptiness might come from this. I know as you get older that the definition of success comes from the accrual of power and wealth. I know you struggle with wanting to be a real man in a world that is quite content for you to remain a boy. Boys are easy to control. I know it because I have been there or still get tempted towards these things. I know it sucks and that it easier to give into rather than rise above it.
Remember, though, each of us is only given one chance at this life. We don’t get to redo it. What we have at the end of our lives is the finished product of our lives; an accumulation of our choices. Choose wisely, knowing that you are held responsible for what you do. Be selfless, courageous, and strong. Do not waste your life on numbing it. Make your mark in such a positive way as to make a permanent positive change. God gives you so many graces, charisms, talents, and abilities for this purpose; He expects a return on His investment. Be thankful for the blessings in your life; never allow envy or greed be what motivates you. Protect the dignity of those around you, don’t rip it away through lust. Treat your life and your faith as the precious gifts they are. While you gave neither of these to yourself, you are responsible for how you develop them. Please stay away from risky and dangerous behavior! In 14 years I have buried far too many young men and women and had to witness the crushing and haunting look of an inconsolable parent, mourning the loss of their child. I can assure you, that look will stay with you for awhile. So many times the deaths were completely avoidable. There are many people out there that actively care about you and are concerned for your well being; people who want to see each one of you grow up into a great and strong adult. I know, because I am one of them.
You have to want this for yourself. I know this. I have tried to fill the void we are born with so many things that the world says will work, but don’t. I have tried money, power, drinking, and other things to fill the void and they failed. I know faith has provided for me not only a firm foundation from which I can weather any storm and find comfort in the bleakest of moments, but helps me to become all that I am created to be. The man who has faith has nothing to fear, not even death. Faith is all that we get to take with us past this life, where our faith is and how we actively allowed it to be developed will be shown in how we acted. Choose well. May each person who reads live a long happy life. Be all that you are created to be and do not allow any fear of any person rule you. In the end you are answerable to God and God alone. May each of you hear when that time comes :“Well done my good and faithful servant.”
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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.
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.
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