The Heart of the Matter

One more pro-life thought before voting

Here's a thought-provoking video to spur us to reverence life even more than we do, even in the most difficult of circumstances: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qILw1iFzmIE

A different kind of Halloween

We had no kids at school today, Halloween, because it was a teachers in-service day.  Yesterday we had a ball with the kids parading in their Halloween costumes.  But that was yesterday.  Today I went to the home of a significant developmentally disabled adult.

Little did I know it would be such a thoroughly enjoyable time.  Teresa is her name.  She is 40 years old, one of four siblings.  Her parents love her and have set her up in her own home with a consistent set of caretakers coming to live with her for a day at a time.  Teresa is so comfortable in her own skin that when she has had enough of her visitors, she simply waves her hand in a good-bye motion.

Her caretakers give her their time and investment in doing crafts and games and trips in the car.  Every Friday she is brought to the noonday Mass.  Because she makes noises and walks about and flails her arms and hands, the folks at that Mass "take no never mind," meaning that Teresa is fully accepted in this Eucharistic community.

Every year Teresa's mom invites me to come to Teresa's Halloween party.  This is the first year I was able to make it.  I think I got much more out of this visit than anyone else there.  In a world where we tend to evaluate people by their looks and skills and intelligence, we can miss the little ones that Jesus tells us we should imitate if we are to enter heaven.  I think the Lord's purpose in the lives of people like Teresa is to teach us all how to love more easily.

How to interpret Halloween

Halloween is one of those age old holdovers from centuries past, like the song "Ring Around the Rosie," which started being sung during the Black Death of the 1300's.  Why, you may ask?  Because the pustules of the disease looked like a ring around a rose-colored spot. 

There's much discussion about the origins of Halloween.  For instance, Halloween is old English for All Hallows Eve, the Feast of All Hallows being the Feast of All Saints, which is still celebrated on November 1st.  And the Eve-ning before being October 31st.  Ah, yes, there is some Celtic pre-Christian background, and who knows what else, behind the ghosts and monsters and vampires.

The key insight on why Halloween has survived is, I think, this: there's something fundamentally healthy about making fun of those things we are most afraid of.  As soon as we bring humor into our most fearful moments, that's when we capture some semblance of control over those very scary things, like death, and blood and gore and things that go bump in the night.

So, this Halloween, enjoy the fun!  And let's not be so pious that we forget to have fun.

Homily for Sunday, October 26, 2008 (Thess. 1: 1-5)

Love!  That’s it: love!  Love God with everything you’ve got; and love whoever is in your path.  Love!  But prove your love, not by words, but by deeds.  Let everything within you be marked and sealed by love.  Let your every action be one of justice, which is the practical application of love.  Be especially attentive to the widow, the orphan, the poor and anyone who is oppressed by injustice.

            Since this is the jubilee year of Paul the apostle, let’s look at love through the lens of First Thessalonians. What can we learn from Paul? 

A little background first.  1 Thessalonians was the first written piece of the New Testament, written about 23 years after the first Pentecost.  The Lord had foretold that He would come again in glory; and many members of this still young Church expected Him to return in glory during their lifetime.  Now, members of the Church were beginning to die.  There was no sign that Jesus was about to return soon.  This was a major crisis for the early Church; and this instigated the writing of the New Testament. 

Last Sunday we heard how Paul began this letter reminding the people of the power with which they originally received the Good News of Jesus Christ, reminding them of their work of faith, and labor of love, and the endurance in hope they had already shown, and reminding them that they are loved by God.

            In today’s selection we hear how the Thessalonians had received the Gospel in great affliction, but with the joy of the Holy Spirit.  What was the affliction?

            In the Acts of the Apostles we see that Paul and Silas had left Philippi and arrived at Thessalonica after having been beaten with rods!  A longer look at the Acts of the Apostles will show that everywhere the apostles went they faced opposition to be point of being beaten with rods, scourged with whips, thrown into prison, and verbal abuse.  Why?

            You see, the ways of God are so terribly different from the ways of this world that the love the Gospel calls us to, is bound to be met with cries of: “Not true!”  “That way of life is impossible!”  “The Gospel is too difficult!”  “All those teachings are impractical and simply too idealistic!”  “And how dare you say that a mere human being is God Almighty!?”  And most damning of all: “Who cares?”

            When Paul and Silas began teaching about Jesus Christ, a rebellion broke out and Paul and Silas took refuge in the home of one man who became a believer: Jason.   The rabble stormed Jason’s home searching for the apostles and not finding them, the authorities imposed a heavy fine on Jason for even listening to them.  That very brand new church in Thessalonica faced testing and fear of reprisal for believing in Jesus Christ, for loving the Lord Jesus Christ, and for exercising that love in such a way that even though they were suffering they were filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

            Now comes the test of our love: do we love the Lord with so much of our mind, with so much of our heart, and with so much of our soul, that we would undergo such suffering for love of Him?  Does our heart beat with love of the Lord?  Is our mind filled with thoughts of our Beloved, the Lord?  Does our soul burn with desire for the Lord, like the psalmist says in Psalm 63, “Lord, I pine for you!”  Or in today’s psalm, Ps. 18:  “I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.”

            Paul says that the faith and love shown by the Thessalonians became a model for everyone who heard about them.

            My dear brothers and sisters, this is our call, especially to the members of this parish named after the love of God to be found in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Bringing the heart of Jesus to the heart of Boulder is our mission as members of this parish.  This mission means that the heart of every parishioner here burns with desire for the Lord, and every action among the members of this parish reflects the love of the Lord, especially in dealing justice for those who are unjustly deprived of it.  In doing this we will know the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Harry Truman - a 20th Century Cyrus

Did you know that Harry Truman saw a similarity between himself and the Persian emperor, Cyrus?  Cyrus was the figure lionized by the prophet Isaiah in this past Sunday's first reading at Mass, from Isaiah 45.  Cyrus was the Persian emperor who conquered the Babylonian empire in 539 BC.  The Jews, defeated earlier by the Babylonians, had spent 70 years in their "Babylonian captivity," that is, in their exile from the Holy Land, until Cyrus set them free and allowed them to return to their homeland.

In 1948 the State of Israel was established by Jews who had returned to the homeland after nearly 2000 years of another exile.  For a state to be duly recognized as a legitimate nation, other nations have to give recognition that the new state is indeed a nation.  The critical issue in 1948 was: would any nation recognize this new state?  There was a great reticence among nations to give their recognition, for the very same reasons that haunt the Palestinian-Israel battle to this day.

When Harry Truman was asked by American Jews to recognize the State of Israel, he had to weigh the pros and cons very seriously because the issue was fraught with trouble.  When he finally decided to give recognition, that very act by the most powerful nation on earth made the State of Israel sure and certain. 

When asked about this decision later on, he said that he saw himself as in the same position as Cyrus who enabled the Jews to return to their homeland.  He said, "I am Cyrus!"  Now, that was indeed making a connection between Scripture and the present day!

Sunday, October 19, 2008 (1 Thess. 1:1-5)

Do you remember when the Word was preached "in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction?"  This is what Paul begins with when writing his first letter to the Thessalonians.  This was the first written piece of the New Testament, written about 20 years after the death and reresurrection of Jesus.  The Lord had foretold that He would  come again in glory; and many members of this still young Church expected Him to come in their lifetimes.  Now, members of the Church were beginning to die.  There was no sign that He was about to return soon.  This was a major crisis for the early Church.  Another huge crisis was going to happen 10 years later when members of the Church started turning in their leaders when the persecutions began.  We'll save that crisis for another time. 

Paul begins this letter reminding the people who were now facing a great challenge to their faith, reminding them of the power with which they originally received the Good News of Jesus Christ, reminding them of their work of faith, and labor of love, and the endurance in hope they have already shown, and reminding them that they are loved by God.

This is how Paul sets up his letter so he can restore their confidence.  His special point is to evoke the memory they have of their first meaningful experience of coming to faith.  It was an experience of power, an experience of the Holy Spirit, and an experience of great conviction: no doubts, no hesitation.

The application for us today, when we feel weak in our faith, is to remember those moments in our past when we really, really believed, when we had a personal encounter with the Risen Lord, when we knew with certainty that our faith is true.  This is a very important spiritual task to do when we are in desolation, when we feel that our faith and hope and love are diminishing.  Pray like crazy, and remember!  Remember that time when we truly believed and ask the Lord to bring us back to that consolation.  Or, if not that, then at least to give us the endurance to live through whatever dark night the Lord may be letting us experience.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

In preparing for tonight’s RCIA class on the Holy Spirit, I came across what I have been long looking for: a coherent description of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The description comes from and early Church Father, Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662 A.D.)  Here’s what I found:

Wisdom – this gift of the Spirit leads to the kind of union with God that is totally beyond the comprehension of those who do not understand.  Indeed, in those who are found worthy of this gift, the very desire for it already becomes the fulfillment of Wisdom.  

Understanding – this gift of the Spirit brings a transport of the whole soul towards the things that are known; in other words, the soul does not abide in a denial of reality. 

 

Right Judgment (or Counsel) – this gift of the Spirit enables the individual to discern what is against us, that is, what is detrimental to our and others’ wellbeing.  

 

Courage (or Fortitude) – this gift of the Spirit strengthens us to do good when we could otherwise avoid the difficulty involved in doing good. 

 

Knowledge – with this gift of the Spirit we come to an accurate perception of the virtues, that is, clearly seeing what is divinely right.  

 

Reverence (or Piety) – this gift of the Holy Spirit (which is activated only by a regular and genuine prayer life) we gain a authentic knowledge of what we rightly should do in the various circumstances in our lives.  

 

Wonder and Awe in God’s Presence (or the Fear of the Lord) – this gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to reject evil.  

 

An added insight: these Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given for our own personal godliness, but rather so that we may exercise these gifts for the good of humanity (in helping the world be a more just society) and for the good of the Church (in assisting the Church to be a better reflection of the Kingdom of God).

Homily for Sunday, October 12, 2008 (Phil. 4: 12-14, 19-20)

Just last week we heard Paul tell us, “Have no anxiety at all.”  Yet, look at the week the world has gone through: Banks are failing, Wall Street is convulsing, IRAs are plummeting, major corporations are collapsing or are merging, and every weekend we hear of the absolute need for some new extraordinary measure on the part of government to take control, or bail out, or rescue, or resuscitate, lest utter economic havoc bring the world to a stop.  Every few days we are hearing that the economy is worse than anyone realized; and when we absorb that, we hear that if we thought it couldn’t get worse, it just did.  There's an economic train wreck straight ahead!

Yet Paul told us, “Have no anxiety at all.”   Do you remember that last week Paul told us that becoming free from anxiety necessitates having mental discipline?  He said it this way: “If there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” When a fear or worry comes along, we need to stop it, dead in its tracks.  This takes mental discipline.

This Sunday Paul goes into greater depth on how to live worry-free lives.  What does he tell us?

“I know how to live in humble circumstance; and I know how to live with abundance.”  As a society we have encouraged each other to live with abundance as if humble circumstances would never come along.  In fact, we have become a nation of people in massive debt, living beyond abundance into living far beyond our means.

Perhaps the downturn in the economy is good news!  Perhaps the Lord is telling us that this is when we can relearn how to live in humble circumstance, like our parents and grandparents, who lived during the Great Depression, who learned the meaning of a dollar, and the practice of saving and being frugal, and saving for a rainy day.  

“In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.”  As a society of which we are products, we only know how to live in abundance.  Look at the size of meals in restaurants, the size of the cars we drive, the amount of clothes in our closets, and the toys in abundance we give to our children at Christmas.  

We need to learn to live with less, Paul would tell us today.  We need to come to a realization that all the many things we fill our lives with - ultimately do not satisfy.  If we don’t acquire this fiscal discipline, then when hard times come, we will let our happiness disappear along with our portfolio.  

Our security does not come from our possessions.  Our happiness does not come from our assets.  “Naked I came forth from the womb, and naked I shall return,” Job says.  

Do we not remember that when we were baptized in the waters of baptism we were sealed with chrism on the crown of our heads?  That anointing with chrism happened so that we would know all the days of our lives that we, no matter if we are rich or poor, are as valuable in the Lord’s eyes as anyone who would wear a crown, like a king or queen.

If that were not enough, we have been invited weekly to the great King’s banquet feast, even daily if we want to.  

But if we never really understood our dignity, if we never really absorbed the call to live as Christ in our world today, if we never really valued the Eucharistic banquet of life, then we are like the man not wearing the wedding garment.  We may receive the sacraments, but we don’t live as if they mean anything to us. 

If, on the other hand, we remember our baptismal dignity, and if we earnestly desire to undergo a life-long conversion of heart, to conform our minds more and more to the mind of Christ, then we will learn the disciplines we need so as to live as Jesus did, and as Paul did, who when faced with hard times could say, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.”

So fear not, my little flock, “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.”

50 years since the death of Pope Pius XII

Those of us who are old enough, remember Pope Pius XII who died on October 9, 1958.  He was the pope before, during and after World War II.  To learn more about him, click here.  What I share through this YouTube connection is a little Italian taste of what he was like, personally.  Even the reader who does not know Italian can be touched by the way he expressed himself.  Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8IpsH3XGtk 

Because of this pope's strong reaction to Communism a plot was put into place in the Soviet Union to destroy his reputation.  The plot worked so well that there is a huge difference between who the man actually was, and how he has been presented.  Read up on him.  It would be worth your while.

The moral dilemma of this year's election

How are you going to handle the moral conflict involved in voting in the presidential election this year?  

 

On the one hand, you have a choice that defends abortion as a morally neutral option, an option about which our Church teaches clearly that such a stance cannot be justified.  The foundational moral issue here is that acceptance of violence to the innocent is intrinsically evil - always. 

 

On the other hand, you have a choice that defends the life of the unborn but endorses a war that our Church has defined as not fitting within the circumstances of a “just war.” 

 

Moral choices almost always fall into the category of neither black nor white, but some shade of gray.  Maneuvering around the gray areas of morality takes a lot of skill and focus on discerning the will of the Lord.  There are frequently extenuating circumstances that ameliorate the severity of some bad choices.  However, our Church teaches that on a few issues, there are no circumstances that can soften blatant evil.  Abortion is one such issue.  The moral principle here is that killing innocent human life can never to be tolerated.       

 

One of the greatest disappointments in my life is that membership in the political party I used to love (because of its stance on caring for the less fortunate) requires an acceptance of violence to the innocent. 

 

So, my advice on making political choices is that as Catholics we cannot simply ditch what our Church is teaching about the sanctity of life in the womb.  After all, Jesus did say about the Church, “Whoever hears you, hears me.”

 

If you are presently “pro-choice”, your Church is asking you to rethink your stance.  Why?  Because acceptance of abortion as a morally neutral option is a stance that cannot be justified.  If you want to continue in your pro-choice stance, then realize that you are saying that you see an intrinsically evil option as morally neutral.  Is this really what you want to say before God when you meet Him face to face?

 

What if, after all of this, you are still pro-choice?  Where do you stand before God?  That will be for God to decide; but in the meantime, it will be for you to do your most honest best to hear what the Church is saying with respect and then resolve the matter within your conscience.   There are many issues that claim our moral outrage: war, poverty, and injustices of all kinds.  But the greatest outrage is violence to the unborn.