Many non-Hispanic Catholics are consciously or unconsciously asking that question today as we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. Despite the fact that St. John Paul II proclaimed her the Patroness of America. As he said in Ecclesia in America "the Virgin of Guadalupe is venerated as Queen of all America." The Pope's decision to refer to America in the singular is critical to understanding the importance of today.
At Tepeyac, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared with the face of an indigenous woman. In the words of St. John Paul II, "an impressive example of perfectly inculturated evangelization." Throughout the centuries each time she has been sent to appear, she has always been perfectly inculturated and so able to perfectly, by her presence, communicate God's message of love and salvation offered to all people – one Mother, many apparitions. In my home growing up it was often mom who had to serve and the great reconciler. And so,whether our nation is known for speaking English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish; today's celebration calls us to pause and pray that we can see beyond our national identities, and geographic separation and seek unity. All children of one Father, one Lord and Savior, and one Mother through whom he took on our humanity.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Happy by choice
Most of us think of happiness as a reaction. Medical experts can tell us all about the chemical responses our brain has to certain stimuli and the chemicals that are released that make us feel happy. The problem with this kind of happiness is that it locates the source outside of us. There must be a stimulus.
As many of you know for the last six months I have been wrestling with a back problem that has left me in more constant pain that ever in my life. I have a whole list of what it isn't, but we still don't know what it is. So we manage the symptom as best we can. I share that not for sympathy but for context.
In the Church's calendar today is Gaudete Sunday, from the text of Phil 4:4.
Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.
You can see the irony.
But the more I prayed over it, the more I came to understand. St. Paul can tell us to rejoice always because joy is not a reaction. It is a choice.
How many people, particularly at the holidays, look at their lives and feel themselves robbed of the people and things that once gave them joy by relocation, lost loved ones, injustice done to them or just work that seems pure drudgery? For many "Merry Christmas" seems either a distant memory or something they have never know.
The good news is that in a single verse St. Paul gives us the formula. He tells us to rejoice always but he also tells us where to find the joy — in the Lord.
To find the joy regardless of circumstance we must pray, and in that prayer we must lose ourselves, abandon ourselves completely in the Lord. Because when we abandon ourselves we also abandon our pain, our suffering, and our loss. When we abandon ourselves in this way, we are free to be enveloped in the love of Christ. Then we are able to see the world around us through His eyes. And when we do, we see the signs of His love and presence all around. Trees, lights, decorations, music, cards, presents, family and friends are nice when we have them. But even when some or all of that is taken away, a true Christian can rejoice and say "Merry Christmas."
Joy has one true source Love, and the most perfect love comes from God. So
Rejoice in the Lord always.
As many of you know for the last six months I have been wrestling with a back problem that has left me in more constant pain that ever in my life. I have a whole list of what it isn't, but we still don't know what it is. So we manage the symptom as best we can. I share that not for sympathy but for context.
In the Church's calendar today is Gaudete Sunday, from the text of Phil 4:4.
Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.
You can see the irony.
But the more I prayed over it, the more I came to understand. St. Paul can tell us to rejoice always because joy is not a reaction. It is a choice.
How many people, particularly at the holidays, look at their lives and feel themselves robbed of the people and things that once gave them joy by relocation, lost loved ones, injustice done to them or just work that seems pure drudgery? For many "Merry Christmas" seems either a distant memory or something they have never know.
The good news is that in a single verse St. Paul gives us the formula. He tells us to rejoice always but he also tells us where to find the joy — in the Lord.
To find the joy regardless of circumstance we must pray, and in that prayer we must lose ourselves, abandon ourselves completely in the Lord. Because when we abandon ourselves we also abandon our pain, our suffering, and our loss. When we abandon ourselves in this way, we are free to be enveloped in the love of Christ. Then we are able to see the world around us through His eyes. And when we do, we see the signs of His love and presence all around. Trees, lights, decorations, music, cards, presents, family and friends are nice when we have them. But even when some or all of that is taken away, a true Christian can rejoice and say "Merry Christmas."
Joy has one true source Love, and the most perfect love comes from God. So
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Friday, December 9, 2016
Light and Truth
Mark Twain is purported to have said, "A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots." And that was long before the internet. There appears to be, in our wounded human nature, something that makes us willing, almost anxious, to hear bad things about people we don't like. It is not new. In the gospel today we hear,
John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Spin as we call it is as old as sin itself. 21st century technology has simply provided this evil inclination in us with new tools. Now we can all be publishers, but as Christians we have a particular responsibility to the Truth. After all, we claim to be followers of the one who is The Way, The Truth, and the Life. When the candle is given at the Rite of Baptism, the minister says, "...[he/she] is to walk always as a child of the light."
Among the titles for Satan are: Father of lies, and Prince of Darkness.
Before we post, share, tweet or retweet; we should always ask ourselves, "Am I sure this is the truth?" And then when we are sure it is true, we still need to ask, "Does it add to the light or the darkness?" Many thing can be true, and still be words of darkness. If we tear down rather than build up, if we open old wounds rather than bind them up, the we are still working for the darkness.
Social Media is a magnificent invention it can literally unite the world. And nearly a third of that world professes in some way to be Christian. As we continue to light the candles of our advent wreaths, let us also be the one who work to transform social media into places of light and truth for all people.
John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Spin as we call it is as old as sin itself. 21st century technology has simply provided this evil inclination in us with new tools. Now we can all be publishers, but as Christians we have a particular responsibility to the Truth. After all, we claim to be followers of the one who is The Way, The Truth, and the Life. When the candle is given at the Rite of Baptism, the minister says, "...[he/she] is to walk always as a child of the light."
Among the titles for Satan are: Father of lies, and Prince of Darkness.
Before we post, share, tweet or retweet; we should always ask ourselves, "Am I sure this is the truth?" And then when we are sure it is true, we still need to ask, "Does it add to the light or the darkness?" Many thing can be true, and still be words of darkness. If we tear down rather than build up, if we open old wounds rather than bind them up, the we are still working for the darkness.
Social Media is a magnificent invention it can literally unite the world. And nearly a third of that world professes in some way to be Christian. As we continue to light the candles of our advent wreaths, let us also be the one who work to transform social media into places of light and truth for all people.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Trusting the Word
About once every decade Christmas falls on a Sunday, giving us the opportunity to celebrate four full weeks of Advent. This is one of those years.
Today's gospel takes us to the last words we say at mass before receiving communion, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." These words are the words of the centurion personalized. The centurion spoke of his servant who needed healing. We speak these words of faith, recognizing our own need for healing.
As a commander, he centurion in the Gospel understands the power of words. He speaks and something happens. As he says,
I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Even more so with the Word of God. The story of creation tells us he spoke and it came into being.
Each time we participate in mass and we repeat the words of the centurion, we should call to mind that we are the servants in desperate need to healing. The good news is that the medicine we need is the Eucharist. With the faith of the centurion we believe that when the priest spoke the words of Jesus,the bread and wine became His body and blood. And when we receive the Eucharist in faith, that grace can heal even those wounds we do not know we have.
On this first Monday of Advent, may we be the servant and the centurion, the one in need of healing, and the one with the faith to be healed. And so we pray, Come Lord Jesus.
Today's gospel takes us to the last words we say at mass before receiving communion, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." These words are the words of the centurion personalized. The centurion spoke of his servant who needed healing. We speak these words of faith, recognizing our own need for healing.
As a commander, he centurion in the Gospel understands the power of words. He speaks and something happens. As he says,
I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Even more so with the Word of God. The story of creation tells us he spoke and it came into being.
Each time we participate in mass and we repeat the words of the centurion, we should call to mind that we are the servants in desperate need to healing. The good news is that the medicine we need is the Eucharist. With the faith of the centurion we believe that when the priest spoke the words of Jesus,the bread and wine became His body and blood. And when we receive the Eucharist in faith, that grace can heal even those wounds we do not know we have.
On this first Monday of Advent, may we be the servant and the centurion, the one in need of healing, and the one with the faith to be healed. And so we pray, Come Lord Jesus.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Darkness and Light
Growing up Baptist, I knew nothing of advent wreaths and candles. The nearing of Christmas was marked by television: Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with the voice of Boris Karloff). And yes, even though I now know advent wreaths and candles, I still want my tv shows.
But after I was ordained I found out about another more obscure advent tradition, the Advent Nazi. It's a church version of Jerry Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. These are the people, often priests sometimes a lay person, who have been to one too many liturgical conferences, who want absolutely no Christmas in their Advent: no decorations, no music, no parties, none of it. While I understand the sentiment and hate the Christmas decorations the day after Halloween in stores, I don't think it's a battle we can win.
Where we can win is internally. If we look at the history of Advent we discover that it was originally a time of fasting, parallel to Lent. It was the early Church's counter-cultural response to among other things, saturnalia. While the pagans got drunk, the Christians fasted and prayed.
Today we begin a new liturgical year. Our Jewish brothers and sisters begin each year with a time of penance, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Perhaps this year we need to remember why we wear violet. We need to remember the penitential quality of Advent. We need to identify those parts of our own lives that still need conversion. In Advent, the days grow progressively darker, each one shorter than the one before. In the same way darkness can slowly creep into our own hearts. As we move through the days of Advent can we name the darkness in ourselves, so that Christ can wash it away and make room for his own marvelous light. Come, Lord Jesus!
But after I was ordained I found out about another more obscure advent tradition, the Advent Nazi. It's a church version of Jerry Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. These are the people, often priests sometimes a lay person, who have been to one too many liturgical conferences, who want absolutely no Christmas in their Advent: no decorations, no music, no parties, none of it. While I understand the sentiment and hate the Christmas decorations the day after Halloween in stores, I don't think it's a battle we can win.
Where we can win is internally. If we look at the history of Advent we discover that it was originally a time of fasting, parallel to Lent. It was the early Church's counter-cultural response to among other things, saturnalia. While the pagans got drunk, the Christians fasted and prayed.
Today we begin a new liturgical year. Our Jewish brothers and sisters begin each year with a time of penance, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Perhaps this year we need to remember why we wear violet. We need to remember the penitential quality of Advent. We need to identify those parts of our own lives that still need conversion. In Advent, the days grow progressively darker, each one shorter than the one before. In the same way darkness can slowly creep into our own hearts. As we move through the days of Advent can we name the darkness in ourselves, so that Christ can wash it away and make room for his own marvelous light. Come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 7, 2016
It's not about quantity
Today's gospel ends with the famous,
If you had faith the size of a mustard seed.."
Most of us remember that part but not what causes Jesus to say it. He had just explained to his followers that if someone sins against them 7 times in a day and comes back each time and says "I'm sorry", they are expected to forgive. Their response is to ask for an increase in faith to enable them to forgive in this ways.
They think the problem is a lack of faith on their part. They think Jesus needs to give them more faith. Jesus understands that faith is not something to be quantified in that way. A mustard seed of faith is more than enough. After all it is a supernatural gift from God.
What is require in the gospel is not an increase in faith by Jesus, but a decision by the disciples, the decision to convert the faith they already have into action. The disciples want to put the ball in Jesus's court, YOU increase our faith. Jesus put the ball squarely in their court.
So it is with each of us. Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you have faith at least the size of a mustard seed. We have the faith, now we have to make the decision and the effort to put that faith into action, not by uprooting mulberry trees, but by forgiving and loving, not just loving God but loving our neighbor. For me, as a priest, the great question for tomorrow is not who will win but, will Christians behave like Christians.
If you had faith the size of a mustard seed.."
Most of us remember that part but not what causes Jesus to say it. He had just explained to his followers that if someone sins against them 7 times in a day and comes back each time and says "I'm sorry", they are expected to forgive. Their response is to ask for an increase in faith to enable them to forgive in this ways.
They think the problem is a lack of faith on their part. They think Jesus needs to give them more faith. Jesus understands that faith is not something to be quantified in that way. A mustard seed of faith is more than enough. After all it is a supernatural gift from God.
What is require in the gospel is not an increase in faith by Jesus, but a decision by the disciples, the decision to convert the faith they already have into action. The disciples want to put the ball in Jesus's court, YOU increase our faith. Jesus put the ball squarely in their court.
So it is with each of us. Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you have faith at least the size of a mustard seed. We have the faith, now we have to make the decision and the effort to put that faith into action, not by uprooting mulberry trees, but by forgiving and loving, not just loving God but loving our neighbor. For me, as a priest, the great question for tomorrow is not who will win but, will Christians behave like Christians.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
All Souls Day
Yesterday the church celebrated all those who have run the good race and are now in the presence of God interceding for us. Today the Church turns our attention to those who have yet to complete the last leg of the race.
I know that there are those who will deny the concept of purgatory because the word isn't in the Bible, or see it as old-fashioned or outdated. In reality, it is the necessary and logical consequence of justice.
We believe that justice is a part of natural law. It is more than a social convention. It is rooted in God who is the only perfectly just one. In God we find both mercy and justice perfectly balanced.
When we sin there is a twofold consequence. One that relates to our eternal salvation and the other the temporal punishment due in justice. When the child breaks your window with a baseball and says I'm sorry, in mercy, you may forgive him. But in justice he still owes you for the window. The person who has committed horrible crimes her whole life and converts on her deathbed is forgiven. But in justice there is still a price to be payed for the life of sin. And which of us can hope do die sin free?
The scriptures are filled with passages that remind us that our words must be linked to actions.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
For this reason, we not only ask for forgiveness but we also DO penance.
Today we pray for all those who have fallen asleep, that their final cleansing, their purgatory will be complete and they may enter the company of the saints we celebrated yesterday.
Today is also a reminder to each of us of the need not only to ask forgiveness but to do penance for the sins we have committed that we too may one day join the company of the saints in heaven.
I know that there are those who will deny the concept of purgatory because the word isn't in the Bible, or see it as old-fashioned or outdated. In reality, it is the necessary and logical consequence of justice.
We believe that justice is a part of natural law. It is more than a social convention. It is rooted in God who is the only perfectly just one. In God we find both mercy and justice perfectly balanced.
When we sin there is a twofold consequence. One that relates to our eternal salvation and the other the temporal punishment due in justice. When the child breaks your window with a baseball and says I'm sorry, in mercy, you may forgive him. But in justice he still owes you for the window. The person who has committed horrible crimes her whole life and converts on her deathbed is forgiven. But in justice there is still a price to be payed for the life of sin. And which of us can hope do die sin free?
The scriptures are filled with passages that remind us that our words must be linked to actions.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
For this reason, we not only ask for forgiveness but we also DO penance.
Today we pray for all those who have fallen asleep, that their final cleansing, their purgatory will be complete and they may enter the company of the saints we celebrated yesterday.
Today is also a reminder to each of us of the need not only to ask forgiveness but to do penance for the sins we have committed that we too may one day join the company of the saints in heaven.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)