Perpetual Priest

Homily recordings move ...

2011-09-04T08:13:00.002-04:00

Effective today and moving forward, the audio recordings of my Sunday and Holy Day homilies will be posted on our parish website rather than on this blog. We recently (two days ago!) launched a redesigned parish website that now allows mp3 files to be uploaded and posted directly to the site rather than going through a third party. I hope to return this blog to more regular reflections moving forward, but to find homily recordings, visit here:

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church - Homilies

Citius, Altius, Fortius

2011-08-28T10:25:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Jeremiah 20.7-9 Psalm 63 Romans 12.1-2 Matthew 16.21-27

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

We can be faster, higher, and stronger – not in comparison to others, but through the grace of God, in reaching for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Liturgical Catechesis Homilies

2011-08-25T08:59:00.003-04:00

Over the past several months, I have preached an ongoing series of homilies on liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, coming to Catholic churches in the United States on November 27, 2011. These homilies have not dealt with the Roman Missal directly as much as they have been on the liturgy in general, helping us understand and appreciate the Mass more and more. Below are collected links to audio (mp3) recordings of all of these homilies. They were recorded at Sunday Masses at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in New Albany, Indiana, and include the gospel reading of that day along with the homily itself. As we begin to make final preparations for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, my hope is that we can continue to explore the beauty and richness of the Mass in the life of the Catholic Church.

The Mass as Source and Summit of our Faith (8th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)

The Structure of the Mass: The Pattern of Emmaus (Third Sunday of Easter, Year A)

The Sign of the Cross (Ascension of the Lord, Year A)

The Penitential Act (First Sunday of Lent, Year A)

The Breaking of the Bread (18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)

The Blood of Christ (Holy Thursday, text only - no audio)

The Final Blessing (Second Sunday of Lent, Year A)

Liturgical Hospitality (Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A)

The Trinity and the Liturgy (The Most Holy Trinity, Year A)

The Eucharist Stays the Same (The Body and Blood of Christ, Year A)

Full, Conscious, and Active Participation in the Mass (19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)

The Richness of the Roman Missal (21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)

The Richness of the Roman Missal

2011-08-21T12:56:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 22.19-23 Psalm 128 Romans 11.33-36 Matthew 16.13-20

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily, part of a series of liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.

Same Mass ... Different Words ... Deeper Meaning

Tearing Down Walls

2011-08-14T12:53:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 56.1, 6-7 Psalm 67 Romans 11.13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15.21-28

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Fifty years ago Saturday, a concrete wall covered with barbed wire was erected in the middle of Berlin, Germany. For almost thirty years, this wall separating communist East Germany from democratic West Germany was a symbol for the whole world of the deep divisions that had been created by different views of power, government, economy, and even religion. And even though the wall was toppled over twenty years ago, there are still deep divisions in our world – new ways that we continue to separate ourselves from one another. From the violent reaction to a multi-cultural Norway to the famines in Africa that widen the gap between the poor and the rich, the starving and the well-fed – it might seem like that the literal and figurative walls of separation are growing longer, higher, and stronger all over the world.

Our challenge and our call as Christians is to recognize where these walls exist and find a way around them. Scripture could not be any clearer … in Isaiah, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples;” … in Romans, God shows his mercy to all people, Jew and Gentile; … in Matthew, Jesus recognizes the faith of a foreign woman, greater faith from this outsider than from many of the insiders he had encountered. Our Church is a catholic Church, which means that it is universal – for all people – because God is for all people. Regardless of politics, or convenience, or economy, or personal preference – our challenge and call as Christians is to be a people that has no divisions, a people that welcomes everyone, a people that does not create walls to keep people out, or to keep people in. Because God does not build walls; He tears them down. God doesn’t separate people based on income, race, or country of origin; He brings people together. And we must do the same thing.

Participating in the Mass - Body, Mind, and Spirit

2011-08-07T10:21:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
1 Kings 19.9a, 11-13a Psalm 85 Romans 9.1-5 Matthew 14.22-33

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

What does it mean to participate in Mass? – say the responses, sing the music, pay attention to what’s going on? When we come to the Mass, we are called to participate fully, consciously, and actively. Why? Because it’s the best way we know to encounter God.

The Breaking of the Body of Christ

2011-07-31T10:12:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 55.1-3 Psalm 145 Romans 8.35, 37-39 Matthew 14.13-21

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

When we're broken, Jesus doesn’t necessarily put all the pieces back together; sometimes he does, but sometimes he refashions the pieces and forms them into something new, something that we never would have imagined before.

Solomon and Harry Potter

2011-07-24T10:18:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
1 Kings 3.5, 7-12 Psalm 119 Romans 8.28-30 Matthew 13.44-52

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

The greatest temptation of the modern world is believing that we can conquer death on our own – that we don’t need God and we don’t need anyone else. The ultimate message of the Harry Potter books and movies is that love wins, and the love of family and friends is the only thing that is lasting in life. The Christian gospel takes that one step further – God is love, and the one who shows us ultimately what it means to have sacrificial love is Jesus Christ.

Listening to the Wisdom of God

2011-07-17T10:16:00.004-04:00

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Wisdom 12.13, 16-19 Psalm 86 Romans 8.26-27 Matthew 13.24-43

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

We are so inundated with information, that this information starts to shape how we think – act – live. And if the information we see and hear and absorb day after day is filled with hatred, judgment, division, and stubbornness – well, then we’re going to start thinking and acting and living the same way. How can we sort out the wheat from the weeds – truth from fiction – good from evil?

Seeds, Soil, and the Sower

2011-07-10T15:35:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 55.10-11 Psalm 65 Romans 8.18-23 Matthew 13.1-23

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Where do you fit into this parable? Are you like the seeds? Or are you like the soil, and if so, what kind of soil? Or are you like the sower?

The Eucharist Stays the Same

2011-06-26T10:16:00.003-04:00

Homily for The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Year A
Deuteronomy 8.2-3, 14b-16a Psalm 147 1 Corinthians 10.16-17 John 6.51-58

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

There is one thing that has always been at the heart of the Mass, no matter the language, the time, or the place –bread and wine are taken, blessed and consecrated, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to become the Body and Blood of Christ – the Bread of Life and the Cup of Eternal Salvation. It is this Eucharist that has strengthened and supported the Church each and every day since Christ gave it to us. The same Eucharist that has become present at every Mass in every place in every time.

Paying Attention to the Trinity

2011-06-19T10:14:00.001-04:00

Homily for The Most Holy Trinity, Year A
Exodus 34.4b-6, 8-9 Daniel 3 2 Corinthians 13.11-13 John 3.16-18

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Especially if you’re not used to the Catholic Mass, it’s almost like the Church has designed the Mass knowing that people’s minds wander, that we get distracted, that we might even be bored, and that chances are pretty good that at least once during each and every Mass we go to, we’re going to be caught not paying attention.

The Holy Spirit and Change

2011-06-12T10:23:00.001-04:00

Homily for Pentecost Sunday, Year A
Acts 2.1-11 Psalm 104 1 Corinthians 12.3b-7, 12-13 John 20.19-23

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

The Holy Spirit is God’s gift
To keep us grounded
To help us navigate the waters of change
To help us adapt
To strengthen us
To reassure us
To give us hope
To guide us in the right direction

The Sign of the Cross

2011-06-05T10:18:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Ascension of the Lord, Year A
Acts 1.1-11 Psalm 47 Ephesians 1.17-23 Matthew 28.16-20

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

This homily is part of an occasional series of liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.

When we walk into a church and use holy water to mark ourselves with the sign of the cross, we’re supposed to remember that we have been baptized – each of us, individually. And then when the Mass begins and the priest leads the assembly in making the sign of the cross, he uses the name of God in which we were baptized – the formula Jesus himself gave us as he ascended into heaven – the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And once again, we’re supposed to think about baptism.

The Spirituality of Travel

2011-05-29T12:39:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Acts 8.5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66 1 Peter 3.15-18 John 14.15-21

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Would you like to take a trip to Samaria? It’s Memorial Day weekend – summer is here – which means it’s time to travel – to take a vacation – to visit family and friends – to get away from it all – or, if you’re not planning on going anywhere, then someone is surely coming here – to visit you, or to visit your town, your church, your local park. But would you like to join Peter and John on their trip to Samaria, or do you have your own plans?

Heaven on Earth

2011-05-22T10:21:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Acts 6.1-7 Psalm 33 1 Peter 2.4-9 John 14.1-12

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

We have a long way to go – as individuals and as a human race. But the more each of us can follow Jesus – the way, the truth, and the life – the more earth will be like heaven, and the more ready we will be whenever that day comes and Jesus comes back to take us to the place he has prepared.

The Bible Guarantees It

2011-05-15T12:47:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Acts 2.14a, 36-41 Psalm 23 1 Peter 2.20b-25 John 10.1-10

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

So what do we know for sure? What is guaranteed? That Jesus is Lord. That he is life and resurrection, the way and the truth. That he gives us his Body and Blood. That he died and rose from the dead for our salvation. That the world will know his followers by the love they show one another; the proud will be punished; but God forgives our sins. And we know for certain that the Lord will come again.

The Pattern of Emmaus

2011-05-08T10:22:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year A
Acts 2.14, 22-33 Psalm 16 1 Peter 1.17-21 Luke 24.13-35

This homily is part of an occasional series of homilies on liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

If we say that the Last Supper was the first Eucharist, then what happened on the road to Emmaus and in that city close to Jerusalem was the first complete Mass as we know it today. Because the Mass is not just about receiving communion, although that is its high point. The Mass has a structure – an order – a ritual – that we see for the first time in a Christian context on the road to Emmaus.

Sitting in Front of the Resurrection

2011-05-01T10:23:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, Year A
Acts 2.42-47 Psalm 118 1 Peter 1.3-9 John 20.19-31

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

The Christian story is a story told in the image of a frail, elderly man – unable to walk on his own – sitting in the shadow of the resurrection, a reminder that death has been conquered – pain and sorrow have been vanquished – sin has been destroyed – now, in this life, and in the life to come. We may not be able to see it clearly, but this we believe – because God himself has promised us.

Witnesses, not Spectators

2011-04-24T14:53:00.002-04:00

Homily for Easter Sunday, Year A
Acts 10.34a, 37-43 Psalm 118 Colossians 3.1-4 Matthew 28.1-10

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

If you believe the news these days, the most important thing going on in the world is the upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Now, I don’t always believe the news, and it seems to me that there are many more pressing issues in our world than a spectacularly planned display of pomp and circumstance in Westminster Abbey. But for whatever reasons, royal weddings have always captured the hearts and imaginations of people all over the world. And it’s hard to ignore all the hype.

One official this week talked about the attitude of people who watch or take part in the royal wedding. He said, “We have to be witnesses in an active sense: the kind of witnesses who really support what's going on. To be a witness is more than to be a spectator, and I hope that'll be part of people's experience at the time of the wedding.” (Archbishop Rowan Williams, quoted in Episcopal News Service, www.episcopalchurch.org) And believe it or not, today’s celebration of Easter should about the same thing.

It’s so easy for us Christians to be spectators. It’s so easy for us to look at things like the death and resurrection of Jesus, even saying that we believe in them, as if we’re watching TV or a movie; we think for a moment about Jesus, then we move on with our lives. It’s so easy for us to hear the commands to love one another and think, I really should do that, and sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. It’s so easy for us to come to church, sit and stand and kneel, maybe sing along on some of the songs, watch what’s going on in the sanctuary, and then go back to our daily lives, and nothing’s changed. We’re spectators, not witnesses.

Think of what it would have been like if Peter and Mary Magdalene and all the others had only been spectators at the resurrection, watching what happened, and then getting back to their lives. We certainly wouldn’t be here today. But they weren’t spectators – they were witnesses. A witness tells other people what they saw. Peter and Mary Magdalene were so transformed by witnessing the resurrection of Jesus that they spread the good news – they ran to tell people about it. And those people told others, who told others, all the way to us today who heard about the resurrection through someone else.

It’s probably true that the royal wedding will get more news coverage this week than any Christian celebrations of Easter. But what really matters is what happens in personal relationships and in people’s hearts, not in the media. We can be witnesses to what we have seen and heard today – witnesses to new life through Jesus Christ – witnesses to a God who loves us more than we can imagine – witnesses to love and forgiveness and peace in a world desperately in need of God. And that witnessing will really transform the world.

Blood of Christ, Fill All My Veins

2011-04-21T21:58:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, Holy Thursday
Exodus 12.1-8, 11-14 Psalm 116 1 Corinthians 11.23-26 John 13.1-15

Tonight’s Mass is one of the few times when the Church tells the priest specifically what he is supposed to preach on. It’s right in the Sacramentary – the official book of prayers used at the Mass. So you’d think that putting together a homily for Holy Thursday would be pretty easy and straightforward. Here’s what we – the priests – are supposed to do – and what you are supposed to hear: “The homily should explain the principal mysteries which are commemorated in this Mass: the institution of the eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ’s commandment of brotherly love.” That’s all. No big deal. Just explain the greatest mysteries of the faith in one, brief homily. Pretty simple. But not really.

To help tie all this together, there’s an image that is woven throughout our Scripture readings tonight – and really all during this Holy Week. It’s the image of blood.

Think back to tonight’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. The Israelites are told to take the blood of the Passover lamb and put it on the lintel of their doors and their doorposts. The Israelites were familiar with using blood in ritual ceremonies; animal blood was used to cleanse and purify people or things, to set them aside as holy – claimed by God. And so the blood on their doorposts also marked them – set them apart – as God’s children.

Then think of the Responsorial Psalm; it too talks about blood, but in a different way. We sang that the cup we drink is a sharing – a communion – in the blood of Christ. This Eucharist, this meal unites us to Jesus Christ himself through his blood. It’s the same in the second reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians – Jesus speaks of the blood of a new covenant, a covenant that God has made with us, his people; a covenant that establishes a relationship between us and God, a relationship that is based in the blood of Christ.

But now think back to a passage we heard earlier this week, on Palm Sunday, from the Passion Narrative according to St. Matthew. Here, too, we hear about blood – Christ’s blood – but in a way that is often misunderstood. There is a line in Matthew’s Passion Narrative, when Jesus is on trial before Pilate, and certain representatives of the Jewish people cry out: “His blood be upon us and our children” (Mt. 27.25). This verse has been used by some people to put responsibility for the death of Jesus on the Jewish people. But that’s really a misunderstanding of what is being said. Remember how the Jewish people thought of blood – it was not used for vengeance or punishment, it was a sign of purification and cleansing. It was a sign of being set apart – claimed by God. And in the light of the gospel, the blood of Christ takes on an even deeper meaning.

Pope Benedict reminds us that the blood of Christ is a sign of love; the blood of Christ has been poured out for us in love and has marked us a children of God. (See Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. II: Holy Week, Ignatius Press 2011, p. 187-188) Jesus was handed over to death for our sake. His blood is more precious than anything else in the whole world because it shows how much he loves us. And we all need that love; we cannot cleanse ourselves; we cannot purify ourselves; we cannot save ourselves – Christ must do it for us. As followers of Christ, we are proud to say that the Blood of Christ is upon us, and we hope and pray that it will be upon our children as well; because it is only through the Blood of Christ that we are saved.

So think now of those things we remember on Holy Thursday. Tonight, we remember the institution of the Eucharist – the gift of sharing in the blood of Christ. When we eat Christ’s body and drink his blood, we share in his life; Jesus’ blood runs in our veins. The more we receive the Eucharist, the more Christ lives in us and we live in him. Tonight we remember the institution of the Priesthood. As priests we have the humble privilege of bringing the Eucharist to the world. By a power not our own, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we make the Blood of Christ present today. And everything that we do reminds the world that we cannot save ourselves; only the Blood of Christ can save us. And tonight we remember the command to love one another as Christ loves us. And how does he love us? – to the point of death. True Christ-like love is being willing to lay down your life for another. True Christ-like love is being willing to shed our blood for our fellow human beings, because Christ has shed his blood for us.

That’s who we are as Christians – men and women saved by the Blood of Christ, gathered together around a table to share a meal through which that same blood runs in our veins, giving us the strength and the courage to love all people so much that we are willing to shed our blood for them, because Christ has already shed his blood for us.

A 14th Century prayer says it well. It’s called the Anima Christi and was translated by Blessed John Henry Newman into English.

Soul of Christ, be my sanctification;
Body of Christ, be my salvation;
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins;
Water of Christ's side, wash out my stains;
Passion of Christ, my comfort be;
O good Jesus, listen to me;
In Thy wounds I fain would hide;
Ne'er to be parted from Thy side;
Guard me, should the foe assail me;
Call me when my life shall fail me;
Bid me come to Thee above,
With Thy saints to sing Thy love.

May the Blood of Christ – this night and always – be upon us, upon our children, and upon the whole world.

Who are you in the Passion Narrative?

2011-04-17T10:26:00.002-04:00

Click here to listen to or download an audio recording of the Proclamation of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew.

From a Homily by St. Gregory Nazianzan
"If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with your death. Enter paradise with Jesus, and discover how far you have fallen. Contemplate the glories there, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in his blasphemy.

"If you are a Joseph of Arimathea, go to the one who ordered his crucifixion, and ask for Christ’s body. Make your own the expiation for the sins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus, like the man who worshipped God by night, bring spices and prepare Christ’s body for burial. If you are one of the Marys, or Salome, or Joanna, weep in the early morning. Be the first to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself."

The Miracle of the Seeds

2011-04-10T10:24:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A
Ezekiel 37.12-14 Psalm 130 Romans 8.8-11 John 11.1-45

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

No matter how long our hearts have been dormant – God can breathe new life into us and give us the grace we need to be loving and compassionate to everyone we meet. No matter how much time we have spent gratifying our own desires and turning away from our faith, God can set us on the right path and give us the guidance and strength we need to trust in him. Miracles happen every day. And there is nothing more miraculous than life coming from death.

Liturgical Hospitality

2011-04-03T10:18:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A
1 Samuel 16.1b, 6-7, 10-13a Psalm 23 Ephesians 5.8-14 John 9.1-41

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

I wonder today, how can we be more inclusive? How can we open our eyes to see Christ in all people, not just the people we’re used to? How can we remove our blindness to people who will look to us for a reflection of God’s love?

Face to Face Encounter

2011-03-27T10:23:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year A
Exodus 17.3-7 Psalm 95 Romans 5.1-2, 5-8 John 4.5-42

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

There is no technology or app that can take the place of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. He wants to meet us in person, face to face, to give us what we need to follow him.

Sent Forth by God's Blessing

2011-03-20T13:28:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent
Genesis 12.1-4a Psalm 33 2 Timothy 1.8b-10 Matthew 17.1-9

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Blessings ask God to be with us and guide us in whatever we are undertaking. So the blessing at the end of Mass is really not a signal that the Mass is over, but a blessing over all the people who will be taking the presence of Christ into the world, the people who have listened to God’s word, reflected on how God is calling them to live, have been strengthened by the community, and are now sent forth on a mission – a mission to live as disciples of Christ.

What do you do with silence?

2011-03-13T10:20:00.002-04:00

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A
Genesis 2.7-9; 3.1-7 Psalm 51 Romans 5.12-19 Matthew 4.1-11

There’s a lot that can happen in the short moment of silence at the beginning of Mass. If we know what it’s about – if we’re ready for it – and if we’ve gotten in the habit of reflecting on our personal relationship with God and our relationships with other people – if we use that silence to remember God’s love and mercy for us, always, then we’ll be in good shape spiritually for the rest of the Mass.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

A Cross of Ashes

2011-03-10T10:00:00.003-05:00

Homily for Ash Wednesday, Year A
Joel 2.12-18 Psalm 51 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.2 Matthew 6.1-6, 16-18

These 40 days of Lent are a time to remember that we are not God, but that we desperately need God's grace, and we need to transform our lives day by day to become the people God has called us to be. The simple cross of ashes placed on our foreheads tells us everything we need to know about who we are, who God is, and how we are called to live.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Preparing for the Roman Missal: Schema for Liturgical Catechesis

2011-03-08T12:19:00.003-05:00

As of today, there are 264 days until the implementation of the English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal!

Many of us who have been preparing for this implementation are hoping to be able to make it a time of general liturgical catechesis - helping people understand what the Mass is all about and why we do what we do. This can be done in homilies, in faith formation programs, in small group discussion, and in weekly meetings. For several months, I had been looking to see if anyone had taken the Sunday and Holy Day lectionary readings for this year and made connections from these readings to the liturgy and the Roman Missal. I never really found what I was looking for, so I decided to try to put something together myself.

At the bottom of this post you will find a link to what I have come up with so far - a Schema for Liturgical Catechesis. There is an introduction in the document itself that explains it in more detail, but the basic idea is that this Schema takes the lectionary readings for Sundays and Holy Days from the First Sunday of Lent through Christmas and makes suggestions for how to use these readings as a springboard for liturgical catechesis and formation for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. There are probably other connections that can be made that are not included here, but it is a start.

I plan to use this Schema especially for homilies, but there are many other possibilities. And while there is something in the Schema for every week from now through the end of December, it provides a lot of flexibility to pick and choose topics or dates that might be most beneficial for your community. I have also shared this Schema with LTP (Liturgy Training Publications), and it is posted on their website: http://www.revisedromanmissal.org/. Feel free to use it as you can and to pass it on to anyone else who might be able to use it. And let me know if you have anything to add.

Click here to view or download the Schema for Liturgical Catechesis.

What are you doing for Lent this year?

2011-03-06T10:18:00.003-05:00

Homily for the Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
Deuteronomy 11.18, 26-28 Psalm 31 Romans 3.21-25, 28 Matthew 7.21-27

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Reflections on Bishop Coyne's Ordination

2011-03-03T15:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Wednesday, March 2, I joined with about 1,000 people to witness and join in the celebration of the ordination of Bishop Christopher Coyne, the newly-appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Held at St. John the Evangelist Church in downtown Indianapolis - the church where my parents were married almost 40 years ago - it was an inspiring and moving experience, the first time a bishop has been ordained in Indianapolis since 1933!

Perhaps more than anything, for me, the most meaningful aspect of the ordination was that it was a true gathering of the Church - 16 bishops, including one cardinal; about 160 priests; numerous deacons and deacon candidates; representatives of the Knights of Columbus, the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher, the Knights and Ladies of Malta, and other fraternal and charitable organizations; religious sisters and brothers from Indiana and as far away as Switzerland; lay men and women from every corner of our Archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Boston, and other places - all gathered together for the same purpose: to witness the 2,000 year-old tradition of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands to ordain a successor of the apostles, a new shepherd for the Church. In one place, at one time, the community of the Church was gathered together in prayer - representing so many more people praying from their homes or workplaces - thanking God for his presence among us and for giving us shepherds after his own heart.

In his homily at the ordination, Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, talked a lot about unity and the role of a bishop to bring about and preserve unity in God's flock. He reflected on the importance of bringing about unity in a divided world through faith and charity. There is so much that divides us - both within the Church and in the secular world - and it seems harder and harder to find any source of unity. To have the vision and leadership of shepherds whose primary task is to be humble servants of unity is a great gift. In his remarks at the end of the ordination liturgy, Bishop Coyne spoke of the importance of putting our house in order - building on the good things that are happening in the parishes and Catholic organizations - becoming truly welcoming places of prayer, formation, and service. Then, we can do the hard work of evangelizing - spreading the gospel throughout the world, especially to people for whom faith is not an important part of their lives. And through that work, we strive to bring all people together in the one family of God. This is the work God has put before us.

There was a great spirit and energy at yesterday's ordination - the Church that is the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is excited about our new auxiliary bishop, and we look forward to the gifts and blessings that will flow from his ministry among us. Bishop Coyne places great emphasis on preaching, liturgy, and teaching, and he has wide-ranging experience in communications - including blogging. We welcome him with open arms and pray for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit as he begins his ministry as a bishop. And his episcopal motto is a good one for all of us to remember: "Trust in the Lord."

Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, prays the prayer of consecration during the ordination of Bishop Christopher Coyne.

Source and Summit: The Mass and the Roman Missal

2011-02-27T10:20:00.003-05:00

Homily for the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 49.14-15 Psalm 62 1 Corinthians 4.1-5 Matthew 6.24-34

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

The Mass is the most important thing we do as Catholics. It is here at the Mass that we gather together as a community to bring our prayers and needs to God. It is here at the Mass that we listen to God’s word in Scripture and begin the process of applying Scripture to our daily lives. It is here at the Mass that we remember we are part of God’s family, a family that includes people of every race, language, and way of life. It is here at the Mass that we are reminded of the need to serve one another and are given the strength to do that service. It is here at the Mass that we are nourished by Christ’s Body and Blood, the sacrament of grace that unites us to God and to one another more than anything else we can do. If all we do as a Church is celebrate the Mass, and celebrate it well, then we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. But if all we do is celebrate Mass, and this celebration doesn’t impact the way we act away from here, the way we treat one another, the personal relationship with God that is developed through prayer – if all we do is come to Mass, then we’re missing something. That’s why the Second Vatican Council called the Mass the source and summit of our faith. It is the high point of what we do as a Church – the summit of Church life – but it’s also the source of service, love, prayer, and community leading us from this table to be God’s presence in the world. But sometimes we don’t completely understand or appreciate what the Mass is all about.

Over the next year or so, we’re going to be spending a lot of time looking at the Mass – breaking down the parts of the Mass, trying to understand why we do what we do, looking at the words we say, the postures and gestures we make, the approach we bring to this celebration of the Eucharist. We’ll look at everything from why there’s a blessing at the end of Mass to the role of silence in the liturgy, from the purpose of the petitions or prayers of the faithful to meaning of the sign of peace, from why we stand and sit and kneel to the meaning of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Of course, this isn’t the only thing we’re going to be doing as a parish over the next year, but you’ll notice a theme in homilies, faith formation programs, Bible studies, and meetings. The Mass is so important that every once in a while it’s good to step back and think about what we do and why we do it.

But this focus on the Mass is something that will happen not just here, in this parish, but in every Catholic parish across the United States. And it comes as part of a specific context. You may have read in the bulletin or The Criterion that there are some minor changes coming to the texts of the Mass in English. Starting nine months from tomorrow/today, on November 27, we will be using a new English translation of the prayers of the Mass. These prayers are part of what’s called the Roman Missal, the book that contains the texts for all the parts of the Mass except the Scripture readings: the dialogues between priest and people, the prayers the priest says, and the common prayers like the Gloria, the Creed, and the Holy, Holy, Holy. These prayers are the same in every language around the world – it’s part of what makes the Church universal. In order to keep the prayers as faithful as possible to their origin and to one another, each language translates these prayers from a Latin original. About ten years ago, a new version of the Latin book of Mass prayers was published, and since then, bishops, scholars, and linguists have been working on translating these prayers into English. It’s this new translation that will be used starting this coming November 27.

Most of the prayers themselves are the same, but the rules of translation have changed since the 1960s, the last time these prayers were translated into English, and the translators have gotten better at translating. The new translations are closer to the original Latin; they bring back Scripture references that are hidden in the translation we’re using now; they are more accurate theologically, helping us understand the depths of the faith; and they have more of a cadence – a rhythm – when they’re proclaimed in public. Really, the changes are minor – but in many ways the new translation is more beautiful and meaningful than the translation we’re using now. And there is a lot that’s not changing – the translation of Lord’s Prayer isn’t changing, several of the responses aren’t changing, the Scripture readings aren’t changing, and the order and structure of the Mass itself isn’t changing. But it will take some getting used to new words, and it will take some preparation to help us understand why some of the prayers we have been praying for 40 years will sound different.

After spending a lot of time looking at these new translations, I’m convinced that it’s really nothing to worry about – and if Jesus tells us not to be anxious about what we are going to eat or what clothes we’re going to wear, we certainly don’t need to be overly anxious about changing some of the words we say at Mass. But it is important, and it is giving us an opportunity to better understand and appreciate the most important thing we do as a Church – the celebration of the Mass. We have a group of parishioners who are working on designing a period of formation and study, especially for next fall, as we prepare to implement the revised Mass texts at the end of November. There will be many opportunities to learn about the new translations and ask questions between now and then. But before we start talking specifically about the new translations, we’re going to focus on the Mass itself. As St. Paul says, we are “stewards of the mysteries of God.” And while there are great mysteries that we celebrate at the Mass, it doesn’t have to be mysterious. It’s the source and summit of everything we do as Catholics. Here, at this table, from the book of Scripture, in the midst of this community, we meet God and we learn how to love. And there’s nothing more important than that.

Love Your Enemies

2011-02-20T10:32:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Leviticus 19.1-2, 17-18 Psalm 103 1 Corinthians 3.16-23 Matthew 5.38-48

To follow Jesus – to be what we call today a Christian – means loving all people, especially your enemies. All the rest is important, but if we don’t love our enemies, then there’s nothing that sets us apart.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

I Love Us

2011-02-13T10:26:00.002-05:00

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordiary Time, Year A
Sirach 15.15-20 Psalm 119 1 Corinthians 2.6-10 Matthew 5.17-37

God has already said how much he loves each of us. Saying, “I love you,” back to God is good, but it’s not enough. We have to learn what it means to say, “I love us,” I love the relationship that God and I have developed, I love the good that I can choose because of what God has given me, I love the union of humanity and divinity that can be found in the depth of my heart.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

The Broken Record Gospel

2011-01-30T10:18:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Zephaniah 2.3, 3.12-13 Psalm 146 1 Corinthians 1.26-31 Matthew 5.1-12a

People whose lives are focused only on themselves really don’t want or need God’s blessing. But for those of us who try to live for others and for God, for those of us who seek true humility, peace, justice, and love – we know we need God’s help, and we pray for his blessing on our lives. Because we can’t do this work of becoming holy on our own.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Pope Benedict XVI on Digital Media

2011-01-26T16:43:00.002-05:00

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE BENEDICT XVI

FOR THE 45th WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY
Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age
June 5, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On the occasion of the 45th World Day of Social Communications, I would like to share some reflections that are motivated by a phenomenon characteristic of our age: the emergence of the internet as a network for communication. It is an ever more commonly held opinion that, just as the Industrial Revolution in its day brought about a profound transformation in society by the modifications it introduced into the cycles of production and the lives of workers, so today the radical changes taking place in communications are guiding significant cultural and social developments. The new technologies are not only changing the way we communicate, but communication itself, so much so that it could be said that we are living through a period of vast cultural transformation. This means of spreading information and knowledge is giving birth to a new way of learning and thinking, with unprecedented opportunities for establishing relationships and building fellowship.

New horizons are now open that were until recently unimaginable; they stir our wonder at the possibilities offered by these new media and, at the same time, urgently demand a serious reflection on the significance of communication in the digital age. This is particularly evident when we are confronted with the extraordinary potential of the internet and the complexity of its uses. As with every other fruit of human ingenuity, the new communications technologies must be placed at the service of the integral good of the individual and of the whole of humanity. If used wisely, they can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth and unity which remain the most profound aspirations of each human being.

In the digital world, transmitting information increasingly means making it known within a social network where knowledge is shared in the context of personal exchanges. The clear distinction between the producer and consumer of information is relativized and communication appears not only as an exchange of data, but also as a form of sharing. This dynamic has contributed to a new appreciation of communication itself, which is seen first of all as dialogue, exchange, solidarity and the creation of positive relations. On the other hand, this is contrasted with the limits typical of digital communication: the one-sidedness of the interaction, the tendency to communicate only some parts of one’s interior world, the risk of constructing a false image of oneself, which can become a form of self-indulgence.

Young people in particular are experiencing this change in communication, with all the anxieties, challenges and creativity typical of those open with enthusiasm and curiosity to new experiences in life. Their ever greater involvement in the public digital forum, created by the so-called social networks, helps to establish new forms of interpersonal relations, influences self-awareness and therefore inevitably poses questions not only of how to act properly, but also about the authenticity of one’s own being. Entering cyberspace can be a sign of an authentic search for personal encounters with others, provided that attention is paid to avoiding dangers such as enclosing oneself in a sort of parallel existence, or excessive exposure to the virtual world. In the search for sharing, for “friends”, there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself.

The new technologies allow people to meet each other beyond the confines of space and of their own culture, creating in this way an entirely new world of potential friendships. This is a great opportunity, but it also requires greater attention to and awareness of possible risks. Who is my “neighbour” in this new world? Does the danger exist that we may be less present to those whom we encounter in our everyday life? Is there is a risk of being more distracted because our attention is fragmented and absorbed in a world “other” than the one in which we live? Do we have time to reflect critically on our choices and to foster human relationships which are truly deep and lasting? It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives.

In the digital age too, everyone is confronted by the need for authenticity and reflection. Besides, the dynamic inherent in the social networks demonstrates that a person is always involved in what he or she communicates. When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals. It follows that there exists a Christian way of being present in the digital world: this takes the form of a communication which is honest and open, responsible and respectful of others. To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one’s own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgements that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically. Furthermore, it is also true in the digital world that a message cannot be proclaimed without a consistent witness on the part of the one who proclaims it. In these new circumstances and with these new forms of expression, Christian are once again called to offer a response to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is within them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).

The task of witnessing to the Gospel in the digital era calls for everyone to be particularly attentive to the aspects of that message which can challenge some of the ways of thinking typical of the web. First of all, we must be aware that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its “popularity” or from the amount of attention it receives. We must make it known in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable or diluting it. It must become daily nourishment and not a fleeting attraction. The truth of the Gospel is not something to be consumed or used superficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response. Even when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith!

I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible. This is not simply to satisfy the desire to be present, but because this network is an integral part of human life. The web is contributing to the development of new and more complex intellectual and spiritual horizons, new forms of shared awareness. In this field too we are called to proclaim our faith that Christ is God, the Saviour of humanity and of history, the one in whom all things find their fulfilment (cf. Eph 1:10). The proclamation of the Gospel requires a communication which is at once respectful and sensitive, which stimulates the heart and moves the conscience; one which reflects the example of the risen Jesus when he joined the disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). By his approach to them, his dialogue with them, his way of gently drawing forth what was in their heart, they were led gradually to an understanding of the mystery.

In the final analysis, the truth of Christ is the full and authentic response to that human desire for relationship, communion and meaning which is reflected in the immense popularity of social networks. Believers who bear witness to their most profound convictions greatly help prevent the web from becoming an instrument which depersonalizes people, attempts to manipulate them emotionally or allows those who are powerful to monopolize the opinions of others. On the contrary, believers encourage everyone to keep alive the eternal human questions which testify to our desire for transcendence and our longing for authentic forms of life, truly worthy of being lived. It is precisely this uniquely human spiritual yearning which inspires our quest for truth and for communion and which impels us to communicate with integrity and honesty.

I invite young people above all to make good use of their presence in the digital world. I repeat my invitation to them for the next World Youth Day in Madrid, where the new technologies are contributing greatly to the preparations. Through the intercession of their patron Saint Francis de Sales, I pray that God may grant communications workers the capacity always to carry out their work conscientiously and professionally. To all, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 24 January 2011, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales

BENEDICTUS XVI

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Christ the Same

2011-01-23T10:16:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 8.23-9.3 Psalm 27 1 Corinthians 1.10-13, 17 Matthew 4.12-23

If we can train ourselves to think first of the ways we are like one another, the many things we have in common, if we can become “united in the same mind and in the same purpose” (1 Cor. 1.11), then we will do a much better job of accomplishing what it is God has set out for us.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

It's Not About Me

2011-01-16T12:54:00.003-05:00

Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 49.3, 5-6 Psalm 40 1 Corinthians 1.1-3 John 1.29-34

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this week's homily.

Fr. Christopher Coyne appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis

2011-01-14T12:43:00.002-05:00

Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB (right), introduces Bishop-Designate Christopher Coyne during a Press Conference at St. John Church in Indianapolis on January 14, 2010.

On Friday, January 14, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Christopher Coyne as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He will be assisting Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, in the administration and pastoring of the Archdiocese. Fr. Coyne is a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and is currently serving as pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church in Westwood, Massachusetts. This is an exciting day for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and we look forward to welcoming Bishop-designate Coyne to our local church!

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) you may be interested in:

What is an auxiliary bishop? Each diocese has a bishop who is called the ordinary, or diocesan bishop, the chief shepherd of the diocese. When pastoral needs suggest it, additional bishops can be appointed to assist the diocesan bishop in his ministry. An auxiliary bishop “assist[s] the diocesan bishop in the entire governance of the diocese and take[s] his place if he is absent or impeded” (Code of Canon Law, 405.2).

How will the new bishop relate to our current archbishop? Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, remains the diocesan bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and is the chief shepherd of the diocese, with full pastoral and administrative responsibility for the diocese. As an auxiliary bishop, Bishop-designate Coyne will serve as Vicar General of the Archdiocese, second in leadership after the Archbishop, and will help Archbishop Daniel in his ministry. He will be able to assist in some pastoral functions that are reserved to bishops, like celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation, as well as other duties designated by the Archbishop.

Why have an auxiliary bishop now? Over the past few years, Archbishop Daniel has battled cancer and other health issues. The presence of an auxiliary bishop will allow the many responsibilities of a bishop to be shared among two people.

Have we had an auxiliary bishop before? The last auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis was in 1933-1934, when then-Bishop Joseph Ritter, a New Albany native, served in this capacity. Upon the death of Bishop Joseph Chartrand, Bishop Ritter became the diocesan bishop. He was later named Archbishop of St. Louis and a Cardinal. Bishop Denis O’Donaghue also served as auxiliary bishop in Indianapolis from 1900 until he was named bishop of Louisville in 1910.

Does an auxiliary bishop automatically succeed a diocesan bishop when he leaves the office? No. An auxiliary bishop does not have a right to succession when the diocesan bishop retires or dies. He remains as an auxiliary bishop, although he could be raised to the position of diocesan bishop or transferred to another diocese through a papal appointment. A coadjutor bishop does have automatic right to succession, but that is a different office and title than auxiliary bishop.

When will our new auxiliary bishop be ordained? Bishop-designate Coyne will be ordained a bishop on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at St. John Church in downtown Indianapolis.

What do we know about our new auxiliary bishop? Bishop-designate Coyne is 52 years old and has served as a priest for 25 years. A native of Boston, he has a background as a pastor, teacher, liturgist, and communications coordinator. He holds a doctorate in liturgy from Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. In the Archdiocese of Boston, he has served as a parish pastor, media spokesperson, director of the Office of Worship, and professor of liturgy and homiletics at St. John Seminary in Brighton, MA. A media-savvy priest, he has a blog and has recorded a number of videos for CatholicTV.com, especially on issues of liturgy. He is new to Indiana – his only visit to the state before his appointment was to the University of Notre Dame – so we have a chance to show him some Hoosier hospitality!

God Chooses Us

2011-01-09T10:22:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord, Year A
Isaiah 42.1-4, 6-7 Psalm 29 Acts 10.34-38 Matthew 3.13-17

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily. Like last week, this homily was preached from an outline, so there is no full text to post.

Following the Star to Holiness

2011-01-02T13:22:00.002-05:00

Homily for the Epiphany of the Lord, Year A
Isaiah 60.1-6 Psalm 72 Ephesians 3.2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 2.1-12

I did not write a full text for this week's homily, but rather preached from an outline - an experiment in a different method of preaching than what I am used to. So there is no full text for the homily, just the sound file below.

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Creating a Holy Family

2010-12-26T14:17:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Sirach 3.2-6, 12-14 Psalm 128 Colossians 3.12-21 Matthew 2.13-15, 19-23

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

One of my Christmas traditions each year is to watch the movie The Nativity Story. If you’ve seen this movie, you know it is a beautiful depiction of the familiar gospel story of the birth of Jesus. One of the things I’ve always loved about this movie is that it gives equal attention to both Mary and Joseph. So much of the time, Joseph gets forgotten or left out of Christmas carols, stories and celebrations. But he’s always there, silently watching over Mary and Jesus, humbly accepting the role he never asked for as foster-father of his Savior. In the movie The Nativity Story, we are given a glimpse of what it might have been like for Joseph as he struggles to understand and accept God’s will for his life. But even more, we see the gentle, sincere love he has for Mary as they make the difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. At one point on the journey, they are running low on bread. Joseph divides what little they have not between him and Mary, but between Mary and the donkey carrying her, both of whom need strength more than he does. It’s a simple sacrifice, but it shows great love and kindness.

It’s this sacrifice and love that make the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph a holy family. St. Paul could have been speaking of them when he wrote to the Colossians, about a family that was filled with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness; a family grounded in love, filled with peace, and thankful for God’s blessings. It is in this context that we hear the final lines of this reading, about wives being subordinate to their husbands, husbands loving their wives, children obeying their parents, and fathers not provoking their children. We can get hung up on the subordination, but what St. Paul is really saying is that a holy family is one in which each person puts the needs of the other people in the family ahead of themselves. A holy family is one in which the husband puts his wife first, before his own wants and needs; a holy family is one in which the wife puts her husband first before her own wants and needs; a holy family is one in which children appreciate the love of their parents and the parents respect their children. A holy family has put aside all selfishness, pride, jealousy, and greed and has made the love of Christ the center of everything they are and everything they do.

The challenge for us is that we’re each called to be part of a holy family; it’s not just a title for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. And with so many things these days threatening marriage and family, it’s harder to conceive of a family at all, let alone a holy family. The sad reality of divorce, attempts to redefine what marriage is, TV and movies that lack examples of successful families, a consumer mentality that focuses on having more things rather than on learning to love – all these things and more make it harder and harder for anyone who tries to live as a holy family. What we can do is look to the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and learn from them. We can learn what it means to sacrifice. We can learn what it means to love. We can learn what is means to grow and mature together. We can learn what it means to make Christ the center of our family life. It doesn’t always work out the way we think it should, and it definitely won’t work if any one member of a family refuses to try. Everyone has to be on the same page, working to achieve the same goal. Our families won’t be perfect – they can’t be as long as we’re human. But they can be holy if we want them to be.

Living from the Manger

2010-12-26T08:13:00.001-05:00

Homily for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Christmas is a time for family and friends. It is a time for giving generously and receiving humbly. But most of all, it is a time to celebrate the birth of one child many ages ago, a child who guides us still today.

Holy Child within the manger, long ago yet ever near;
Come as friend to ev’ry stranger, come as hope for ev’ry fear.
As you lived to heal the broken, greet the outcast, free the bound,
As you taught us love unspoken, teach us now where you are found.*

It is this child who brings us here today. Every student and every teacher I know looks forward to Christmas break. These days are a time to break from our normal routine, to set aside our studies or our lesson plans so we can have time to spend with family and friends. But just because there’s no school on the days around Christmas doesn’t mean we stop learning. And even those of us who haven’t set foot in a classroom in years can still learn, and should still learn, from a master teacher, from the child whose birth brings us together today, the child in the manger, whose life, death, and resurrection teach us all we need to know about who we are and who God is. And these are lessons that are worth repeating year after year.

Once again we tell the story how your love for us was shown,
when the image of your glory wore an image like our own.
Come, enlighten with your wisdom, come and fill us with your grace.
May the fire of your compassion kindle ev’ry land and race.

Sixty years ago today (yesterday), the first Mass was held at the newly-formed Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in New Albany. 300 families called this parish “home” back in 1950, and over the years they grew and developed into a vibrant faith community, worshipping God day after day, serving one another and the local community, educating and forming thousands of young people, and always “keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Hebrews 12.2). Sixty years after that first Mass, we have grown to over 1200 families, with over seventy ministries and organizations. It’s a busy place around here, and much has changed in the last 60 years. But some things haven’t changed. Today, we still look at the little child in the manger to be our example, we still look to the man he became hanging on the cross as our redeemer, we remember his resurrection from the dead as our hope and promise. And we pledge to follow Him wherever we go.

Holy Child within the manger, lead us ever in your way,
So we see in ev’ry stranger how you come to us today.
In our lives and in our living give us strength to live as you,
That our hearts might be forgiving and our spirits strong and true.

This Christmas, and each day, may Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, continue to guide us and strengthen us, so we may always “live the Gospel, celebrate meaningful worship, and call one another to prayer, Christian Service, and fellowship” (OLPH Mission Statement).

*Lyrics from Carol at the Manger, text and music by Marty Haugen.

Obedient Listening

2010-12-19T13:04:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A
Isaiah 7.10-14 Psalm 24 Romans 1.1-7 Matthew 1.18-24

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Anyone can be a saint. Anyone can be holy. But to do that, we have to change. This Advent, we have been reflecting on how we can become holy, how we can become saints. We started on the First Sunday of Advent by hearing the story of St. Augustine, who reminded us that wanting to be holy doesn’t depend on who we are or what our life has been like; it simply takes a change of heart. On the Second Sunday of Advent, we reflected on the necessity of being welcoming and hospitable to everyone we meet. Last weekend, on the Third Sunday of Advent, we heard the call from St. Paul to not complain about one another, and we looked at the great power of words to both encourage and harm the people around us. Today, we hear one final lesson in the Scriptures, one more challenge to help us become holy: like Joseph, we must listen to God and be obedient to him. This last lesson might be the hardest part of trying to become a saint, especially for us today.

The first part is to listen to God – and the more noise we have in our lives, the harder it is to pick out God’s voice from all the many voices that compete for our attention. To hear God’s voice we have to spend time in prayer, reading Scripture, and growing in our faith – and then we have to tune out everything else and find silence. It’s not that God only speaks in silence, but that’s when it’s easiest for us to listen, because nothing else is competing for our attention. To become holy, we have to listen to God, we have to find some silence in our lives and spend quality time in prayer.

But then we have to take the next step. Joseph didn’t just listen to what God had to say, he obeyed God, even when God was asking him to do something he didn’t want to do. To do that takes courage. It takes faith. But most of all it takes trust. If we trust that God always has our best intentions in mind, if we trust that he will never abandon us, if we trust that he will always lead us toward joy and happiness, then we will follow him and obey him always. And the more we come to know God, the more we learn to trust him. When we see all the great things he is able to do, when we feel the outpouring of his love and grace, when we can trace the ways he has directed our lives, even through hardships and suffering – when we see what God has done, then trust becomes natural.

You might say that’s the difference between someone who is truly holy and someone who’s still working on it. A really holy person, a saint, trusts in God all the time. Most of us aren’t there yet. We want to trust God, but we have a hard time doing it. We have a hard time figuring out God’s plan, especially understanding the reason for the sufferings and trials that are in our paths. But if we really want to be holy, we have to work hard each day on listening to God, trusting in him, and obediently following his will for our lives. Because the truth is that God is in control, God is in charge of our lives. And if we learn to trust, then with God’s grace, we will find peace and joy in this life, and eternal happiness in the life to come.

The Words Among Us

2010-12-12T10:26:00.002-05:00

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A
Isaiah 35.1-6a, 10 Psalm 146 James 5.7-10 Matthew 11.2-11

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

We live in a time when it is commonly accepted that people can say whatever they want, whenever they want. Of course there are good things about this freedom of speech, and I would never want us to get rid of this fundamental freedom. But as Christians, we want to be holy – we want to be saints. And so we have a responsibility to look at the words we say and prudently, prayerfully decide whether those words are appropriate, truthful, and necessary. We might think about the jokes we tell and whether they are appropriate conversation for Christians who want to be holy. Or we might need to remember the second commandment, to not take the name of the Lord in vain. And there are times when we need to speak up for the truth, speaking especially for the rights of human beings who can’t speak for themselves.

But in today’s reading from St. James, we hear about one of the most common and destructive ways of using words. The apostle tells us, “Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged.” And how often we complain. That person’s driving too slow. Doesn’t anybody know how to drive any more? Or: This person’s always late – doesn’t she know we’re in a hurry? Or: Whoever made this coffee just doesn’t know what they’re doing – it tastes like colored water. Now, sometimes these things are true. But the question we have to ask ourselves is: why are we saying something? Is it privately, to the person involved, genuinely wanting to help them to be a better person? Or is it behind their back, to a group of friends who don’t even know the person we’re talking about? Or is it said to people who do know the person and the situation, and we’re trying to affect other people’s opinions. And that brings us to a particular type of complaining: gossip.

Complaining that a person is always late is one thing. But it’s pure gossip when you tell the rest of your dinner guests that the person is probably late because you heard they were having an affair with someone at work. So is telling your friends at the coffee shop that the reason the coffee is so weak is because you can tell just by looking at her that the waitress is on drugs and the poor thing probably can’t even figure out how to measure the right amount of coffee. Gossip uses words to injure or destroy a person’s reputation. A lot of the time, gossip is based on hearsay – and rumors of what someone said that they heard someone else say can spread like the wind and can change as quickly as the weather in Indiana. Sometimes, the gossip might be true – and we might think it’s ok to tell other people something as long as it is true. But truth spoken to the wrong person in the wrong way can do just as much harm as lies. And neither truth nor lies need to be shared when they injure another person. So why do people gossip? A lot of the time, people gossip because it makes them the center of attention – everyone wants to talk to them, because they know all the juicy news about people. Or they might be intimidated by other people and want to tear down their reputation. Or it might just feel good to gossip – you don’t have to watch soap operas when you can talk about all the messes the people you know are in – and we can avoid working on our own faults by spending our time talking about the faults of others. And of course, people often gossip simply because they get lured into it – once one person starts talking about other people, it’s hard to stop.

So what are we as Christians to do? The first thing is to recognize how important and significant words are. Every word that comes from our lips has an impact on other people. As Christians, we are called to speak prudently, truthfully, lovingly – not selfishly or falsely. When other people around us gossip or complain or tell inappropriate jokes or whatever it may be, we can walk away or stop the conversation where it is. But we also have to look at ourselves. Much of the time, the words we speak that hurt others are really a mask for our own weaknesses. And we don’t think about how our words impact other people. Our goal as Christians should be to build up one another with our words and actions. If you have a problem with another person – go directly to that person, as Jesus tells us in the gospels. If you’re tempted to judge someone, remember that there is only one judge – God the Father. We’re here to help one another get to know God – to help one another become holy. Remember, anyone can be a saint. But to do that we have to change. Our words have to become more and more like the words of Christ. It's not easy. But with God's help, we can do it.

A Welcome Change

2010-12-05T10:26:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A
Isaiah 11.1-10 Psalm 72 Romans 15.4-9 Matthew 3.1-12

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Anyone can be a saint. Anyone can be holy. But to do that, we have to change. We can’t be content with the ordinary. We can’t be content with the world as it is. For these next three weekends of Advent, I’d like to reflect on three different ways we can change in order to become more holy, in order to prepare our hearts and souls to welcome Christ at Christmas. We start this week with St. Paul writing to the church in Rome. St. Paul tells us that we must “welcome one another … as Christ welcomed” us (Romans 15.7). The first way we can change is to be more welcoming and hospitable to the people we meet.

On the one hand, the season of preparation for Christmas is almost naturally other-focused – we spend our time writing cards and notes to send to friends and family, we shop for gifts for our loved ones, we attend family and office parties. Many of us even help provide Christmas cheer to people who are struggling in whatever way, by participating in programs like our own Operation Santa Claus or working with any of a number of other community organizations. But these very things that are meant to help us focus on other people can easily get turned inside out. We lose our patience or our temper waiting in check-out lines or in bumper-to-bumper traffic. We divide people into categories based on how much they mean to us – and whether they will get a gift or a card or nothing at all from us this Christmas. And we get so busy with the things we have to do or we want to do, that we don’t even notice the person we shut the door on, or the co-worker we ignored in the parking lot, or the lonely neighbor who really only wants someone to visit and to share a pot of coffee. How can we be welcoming and inviting this Advent? How can we let other people know that we want them a part of our lives, and we want to be a part of their lives?

It might start right here at church. Maybe you see someone here you don’t know – or someone who has sat in the next pew over from you for years, but you don’t know their name. Say hello – introduce yourself – help them feel welcome. Hospitality at church is not just the job of the greeters – we are all called to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us. Beyond here, you might find a chance to be welcoming for a family member or friend or neighbor who doesn’t go to church regularly. Invite them to join you for Christmas Mass. If you know a Catholic who has been away from the Church for a while, invite them to Catholics Returning Home, which will start right after Christmas. Or if you know someone who is not able to get to church, take them a bulletin and a poinsettia and some cookies, and help them to still feel welcome in your life and in the life of the community. These are pretty simple things, but they make a world of difference. But of course being welcoming doesn’t happen just at church. If you have someone in your family who is always left out or ostracized, take the courageous step to invite them to dinner or to the family Christmas gathering. Or if you know someone who’s going to be alone on Christmas, invite them to share some time with you or your family. It’s not always easy to do those things, but we are called to see Christ in every person, no matter who they are and what our relationship with them has been like. For most of us, it takes a change of heart or change of mind. And it definitely takes a deliberate choice to step out of our own little bubble and look around us. Remember, anyone can be a saint. But to do that, we have to change. We have to open our hearts to welcome all people as Christ welcomes us.

Week One Talks: November and December

2010-12-02T09:08:00.002-05:00

On the first Wednesday of each month, our parish hosts a full-community faith formation evening called Week One. Part of our One Church, One Faith: Total Parish Faith Formation Program, these evenings bring together about 200 parishioners of all ages for a shared meal, faith formation in age-appropriate groups on a common topic, and night prayer. Each month, I spend the faith formation time with the adults giving a presentation/discussion on the topic of the night. The talks for the past two months were recorded, and they can be listened to or downloaded by clicking on the links below. Both talks are about one hour in length. Feel free to pass the links on to anyone else who might be interested.

November Week One Adult Faith Formation Talk - The Saints

December Week One Adult Faith Formation Talk - The Liturgical Year

No Ordinary People

2010-11-28T12:55:00.001-05:00

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A
Isaiah 2.1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13.11-14 Matthew 24.37-44

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

We Christians are pretty ordinary people. We have regular jobs and families, we work hard to make ends meet, we struggle with temptations and failings, but we always try to be the best person we can be. It’s a pretty ordinary existence, not much different from anyone else we might encounter along the way. But, on the other hand, there is something about who we are as Christians that is not ordinary. We are different, or at least we should be.

Take Aurelius, for example. Aurelius was a pretty normal person, by the world’s standards. His mother was a Christian, but his father didn’t really have anything to do with God or church. Aurelius’ mom wanted her children to have the same faith that she did, but it really wasn’t that important to them. Aurelius, himself, didn’t have much time for God. He was busy with school, where he was a good student, and with his friends – and he had a lot of friends. He and his friends liked to have a good time, and they enjoyed what you might call the things of the world. By age 18, Aurelius had fathered a child outside of marriage. He loved the child, but he wasn’t really sure whether he loved the child’s mother. But they moved in together and lived together for many years, although they never got married. Eventually, Aurelius moved to a bigger city where he could get a job that paid more money and came with more prestige. He was living a pretty ordinary life by the world’s standards – it was the kind of life that everyone around him wanted to have – he wasn’t tied down by marriage, but he had the benefits of a regular companion; he had a secure job that gave him the money and power he needed to enjoy life; and with no religious faith, he wasn’t held back by things like prayer, morality, and the prospect of eternity. He was living the good life. Or so he thought.

Over the course of several months, Aurelius started to get restless with his life. He had everything he needed, he was living the way society said we should live, but something wasn’t right. Something was missing. One afternoon, while sitting in a garden reading, he heard a voice say: “Take up and read.” He wasn’t sure if the voice was just inside his head, or maybe from some kids who were playing in the yard next door. But there was a Bible sitting on the table next to him, so he picked it up, opened it to a random page, and starting reading. This is what he read: “Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13.13-14).

That moment changed his life. Over a period of time, Aurelius learned more about this Jesus and what it meant to become like him. He learned that Christians are ordinary people who are not content to let the world control their lives, but instead they let Christ be in control. He learned that the emptiness in his heart came from the fact that he was making decisions based on what satisfied his own desires – he didn’t really think about anyone else. And he learned that no matter what his past life had been like, Jesus could transform his heart and give him the grace and strength to become a Christian – not just an ordinary human being, but an extraordinary child of God. And that’s exactly what happened.

By the way, this is a real story. Aurelius was born in northern Africa in the middle of the fourth century and after his conversion to Christianity became a bishop and one of the most important theologians the Church has ever known. His last name was Augustinus. We know him better as St. Augustine. Anyone can be a saint. But to do that, we have to change. We can’t be content with the ordinary. We can’t be content with the world as it is. We must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” This Advent, may our lives truly be changed.

Thanksgiving Help

2010-11-27T12:25:00.001-05:00

Homily for Thanksgiving Day
1 Kings 8.55-61 Ephesians 1.3-14 Matthew 11.25-30

Hopefully, by now, everyone knows what they’re going to be doing today. Whether you’re in charge of the turkey – which might already be in the oven – or simply baking a pumpkin pie; whether you’re playing host for your family or you’re the person everyone agrees doesn’t need to cook anything, because they know from past experience that your efforts at cooking haven’t been that successful. Or you might even have that great blessing of not being responsible for anything other than eating and watching some football. At least, by now, you should have a pretty good idea of what Thanksgiving Day is going to look like. But in case something goes wrong – if the turkey gets burned or the mashed potatoes get runny – if you realize you forgot to buy an essential ingredient or even if the cable TV goes haywire – don’t worry. It’s never been easier to get help and advice. Because, of course, there’s an app for that. Just go to the Food Network app on your smart-phone to fix your culinary disaster. Or check Facebook for updates on how to roast your Butterball Turkey. Or call the 800-number for the Crisco Pie Hotline, or just check their website. But whatever you need this Thanksgiving, it’s just a click away. Solutions for our Thanksgiving problems are right at our fingertips. And with the technology that is all around us, getting that help has never been easier.

But at the end of the day, when the leftovers are in the fridge and everyone has gone home, when we finally realize that, yes, we will be hungry again and we will need to eat tomorrow, when our eyes and fingers are tired of all the technology the world has to offer, when we find life burdensome and we need some real advice and some lasting guidance, there is only one place to turn. Here, in this church, we start our day of thanks in the presence of God. And at the end of the day, each day of our lives, we turn to him again. Because we know that it is God alone who will fill us and guide us and give us rest. When we labor and are burdened, we come to our Lord. When we need direction in our lives, we seek God’s wisdom. When we realize how blessed we are, we give God thanks. There’s not an app for that – and it really isn’t any easier today than it was for our ancestors in the faith – but it is what we do as Christians. We turn to God. We ask for his help. And we give him thanks. It’s that simple.

New Church Year Resolutions

2010-11-21T10:24:00.002-05:00

Homily for Christ the King, Year C
2 Samuel 5.1-3 Psalm 122 Colossians 1.12-20 Luke 23.35-43

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Think for a moment about the kind of Christian person you want to be … maybe you want prayer to be the most important part of your day, or to be a loving and kind person to everyone around you, or to be generous with what you have, sharing with people who are in need. What kind of Christian person do you want to be? What are some goals for your life as a follower of Jesus Christ? Think about that … And now the really important question – how are you doing in becoming that person? I imagine for most of us that the ideal is a far cry from the reality. We have some work to do to become the Christian we are called to be.

Today’s Feast of Christ the King is an ending – it’s the last Sunday of the church year, before beginning again next weekend with the First Sunday of Advent. It’s sort of like a church version of New Year’s Eve, reflecting back on the past year and looking forward with hope to the year to come. And today/tonight we might even take a cue from what many people do at the end of the calendar year – now is a good time to put our life in order, even to make resolutions about how we can spend the coming year becoming better people, better Christians, better human beings. As busy as the next month will be with shopping and decorating, family get-togethers and concerts, baking cookies and going to Christmas parties – as busy as the next month is going to be, we will enjoy it the most and will make it the most fruitful time it can be by taking some time for ourselves, taking some time with God, and really preparing our hearts to welcome Christ at Christmas. This week between Christ the King and the First Sunday of Advent might even be a time to make some resolutions for our spiritual life for the new church year. And St. Paul can help guide us.

In writing to the Colossians, St. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ should always come first in our lives – he created everything that exists, he gives us life and redemption, he holds everything together in one body. As we begin a new church year, we can look at our lives, even our daily schedule, to see how much we acknowledge the fact that Christ is our King, that our relationship with him comes first in our lives. What is our prayer life like? Is Mass on Sunday or Saturday evening the first priority when we decide what we’re going to do for the weekend? And do we participate in Mass fully and actively? Then, on a different level, we can look at how well our words and actions reflect the life of Christ. Are we generous with what God has given us? Do we avoid gossip and lies and slander? Do we try to bring unity and peace, rather than division and conflict? Are we people of love and kindness and compassion, rather than people of hatred and bitterness? Do we treat each person we meet as if it were Jesus himself? Do we take care of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, eating and drinking in moderation with appropriate exercise and physical activity? Do we help lead other people to God?

It sounds sort of like an examination of conscience, and I guess it is. It’s an opportunity to make New Church Year Resolutions. Because Christ is among us – as our Lord and King – but our hearts are not always ready to welcome him, and our lives do not always lead other people to follow him. So think about it. Think about what you can do in the coming days and weeks and months to become the Christian person you want to be – the Christian person God has called you to be – so that at the end of our lives we may be welcomed into the joys of God’s kingdom.

The Bishops and Social Networking

2010-11-16T08:33:00.003-05:00

There's no homily on here this week because this past weekend we had a parishioner survey at all the Masses during the time of the homily. The survey, conducted by CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University), is an important part of a Pastoral Planning process that we are now going through that will help us identify 3-5 goals for our ministry and parish life in the next few years.

One part of this survey asked parishioners about the effectiveness of various methods of communicating - from word of mouth to the Sunday bulletin to our website to Facebook (it might even be the first Catholic survey to ask specifically about parishioners' use of Facebook!). Our parish leadership is conscious of the changing way people communicate these days, and we want to figure out how we as a parish can best connect with people. Along those lines, the US Catholic Bishops meeting this week in Baltimore heard a report yesterday about social media and its importance in ministry. Below is the full text of the address, given by Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana (thanks to the Whispers in the Loggia blog for posting the text).

Social media: Friend or Foe, Google or Hornswoggle?

Thank you for this time today.

I often hear people, both in my work and in my circle of friends, who dismiss social media as frivolous and shallow. Who can blame them?

Twittering.

Status updates.

Blogs.

The very words used by the practitioners seem to beg for ridicule. Their light-hearted twisting of the language suggests that these are the latest fad in a culture that picks up and drops fads quicker than the time it takes me to figure out my cell phone bill.

I am here today to suggest that you should not allow yourselves to be fooled by its appearance. Social media is proving itself to be a force with which to be reckoned. If not, the church may be facing as great a challenge as that of the Protestant Reformation.

That sounds like more hyperbole, doesn’t it? But the numbers are compelling.

There are more than 500 million active users on Facebook. If it were a nation, only India and China would have more citizens. The American Red Cross reported that it raised more than $5 million dollars, $10 at a time, through a text messaging service. One out of eight MARRIED couples in the United States say they met through social media. It took 13 years for television to reach 50 million users. After the iPod was introduced, it took only nine months for 1 billion applications to be downloaded.

Pope Benedict XVI calls the world of social media a Digital Continent, with natives, immigrants, and even missionaries. He encourages Catholics, especially our priests, to approach this culture of 140 characters and virtual friendships as a great opportunity for evangelization. We are asked to respect the culture of these Twitterers and Facebookers, and to engage on their terms to bring Christ into their “brave new world.”

The opportunities can be incredible. As I stated previously, the participation in this new form of media is staggering. Media ecologists and other communication experts cite several reasons for the phenomenal growth:

a low threshold of investment, both in user knowledge and finances, especially given its reach
the opportunity for immediate dialogue and conversation that transcends geographical and other physical barriers
and the speed in universal adaption.

Let me give you one example. The USCCB started a community on Facebook last August. There are now 25,000 ‘fans’ associated with that community. Every day, USCCB staff provides at least four items of information to those 25,000 people: the daily Scripture readings, news releases, links to information on our marriage and vocation websites, and other information. Furthermore, if those 25,000 are like the average profile of a Facebook user, they have 130 friends, or contacts, on Facebook. With one click they can share the information they receive from USCCB. If only 10 percent of the USCCB fans share what they receive from USCCB, we are reaching 325,000 people. Multiple times a day. All it costs us is staff time.

And these are not just young people. Almost half of Americans classified as the baby boomers – born between 1947 and 1964 – have a Facebook account. Social media may have started with the younger generation, but it is now a very useful tool to reach Catholics of all ages.

Although social media has been around for less than 10 years, it doesn’t have the makings of a fad. We’re being told that it is causing as fundamental a shift in communication patterns and behavior as the printing press did 500 years ago. And I don’t think I have to remind you of what happened when the Catholic Church was slow to adapt to that new technology. By the time we decided to seriously promote that common folk should read the Bible, the Protestant Reformation was well underway.

Because it is so different from mass media and mass communication, social media is creating a new culture on this Digital Continent. Young people use it as their first point of reference. In other words, they’re not even going to their email to get information. The news, entertainment, their friends – are all coming to them through their mobile devices and through their social networks. The implications of that for a church which is struggling to get those same young people to enter our churches on Sunday are staggering. If the church is not on their mobile device, it doesn’t exist. The Church does not have to change its teachings to reach young people, but we must deliver it to them in a new way.

When the Church does attempt to evangelize the Digital Continent, it has some serious challenges to overcome. Most of us don’t understand the culture.

One of the greatest challenges of this culture to the Catholic Church is its egalitarianism. Anyone can create a blog; everyone’s opinion is valid. And if a question or contradiction is posted, the digital natives expect a response and something resembling a conversation. We can choose not to enter into that cultural mindset, but we do so at great peril to the Church’s credibility and approachability in the minds of the natives, those who are growing up in this new culture. This is a new form of pastoral ministry. It may not be the platform we were seeking, but it is an opportunity of such magnitude that we should consider carefully the consequences of disregarding it.

Secondly, the Church cannot abandon legacy communication outlets while it invests in the new media. Although the baby boomers may be going to Facebook to stay in contact with their grandchildren, they still use newspapers, radio, television and books. Those media have attributes and strengths that social media does not. Not to mention the fact that most financial donors to the Church still rely on these legacy media. So the Church needs to continue investing in those efforts, while also investing in social media.

Finally, if as bishops you acknowledge that social media is not the latest fad, but a paradigm shift, please accept the fact that your staffs – and perhaps you as well – will need training and direction. In the past, the church would often build new parish structures, knowing that people would recognize the church architecture and start showing up. On the Digital Continent, “if you build it, they will come” does not hold true. It takes careful strategizing and planning to make social media an effective and efficient communication tool, not only for your communications department, but for all of the church’s ministries. We digital immigrants need lessons on the digital culture, just as we expect missionaries to learn the cultures of the people they are evangelizing. We have to be enculturated. It’s more than just learning how to create a Facebook account. It’s learning how to think, live and embrace life on the Digital Continent.

This past month the USCCB Communications Department, at the direction of the Communication Committee, conducted a survey of diocesan communication directors which focused on their use of social media and their needs.

An executive summary is available to you on the table outside, and it is posted on the password-protected website for the bishops. The survey showed that your staffs have a strong desire to engage new media – only two percent of the responders say that they personally avoid using social media. But it came across loud and clear that they want help in engaging. They want to be enculturated in this missionary world.

I hope you are relieved to learn that, when asked what they needed to use social media more effectively, they didn’t say more money. They are looking for staff who are trained – or can be trained – in the use of social media, however.

You may also be happy to hear that they don’t need you to learn how to use Twitter or Facebook. They do need a vision and leadership from you. Is this something that is important to you? Is it a tool that they should be using to reach young people and others who are unchurched? Do you want them to be developing ways to integrate social media into the diocese’s communication and evangelization planning? What about fundraising? How much attention should they be giving social media and how do you want to use it?

Depending upon the skills and experience of your staff, they are also seeking support from you as they work in social media. This could be translated as any or all of the following: your affirmation of their efforts, including allowing discussion/dissension/dialogue on your diocese’s social media; financial resources for training; and the permission or direction to devote a specific number of hours of their work week to social media. That final item could mean a discussion with them about what do they not do to make room for that time in their day.

When the Communication Committee decided to ask for this time on the agenda, we made it clear to the USCCB Communications Department staff that the presentation should include not only why it was important for bishops to take social media seriously, but also what USCCB would provide to help them and their staffs. The survey provided some direction for us in that regard, but not as much as I had hoped. When asked to identify the single most important issue facing them in the area of social media, no clear answer emerged. The two most common answers were the need for more staffing and resources and the need to identify how to most effectively use social media.

When they were given a list of seven possible resources and asked to rate them as being most useful to their diocesan efforts, nearly six out of ten chose all seven resources as useful or very useful.

What we have been able to discern from these responses is that there is a realization that, even though many dioceses may be beginning to use social media, the church’s communication professionals are not devoting the time or expertise that it deserves.

By committing to ongoing analysis and research, continued compilation of best practices and guidelines, and education and training opportunities, the USCCB Communications Department intends to assist their colleagues and to support your ministry as bishops on the Digital Continent. They welcome the challenge and hope that we can one day have all of you as our friends on the USCCB Facebook page.

Talking About Death

2010-11-07T10:19:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
2 Maccabees 7.1-2, 9-14 Psalm 17 2 Thessalonians 2.16-3.5 Luke 20.27-38

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

It’s hard to talk about death. Most of us are pretty good about ignoring conversations that get anywhere close to the possibility of talking about death, either our own or another person’s. Even at funeral home visitations, most people talk about the life of the deceased, not their death. Funerals themselves are often called celebrations of life. And, of course, for us Christians, any talk of death must be accompanied by talk of resurrection, the new and eternal life that Christ won for us. We cannot talk about death without talking about resurrection. But, a lot of the time, we talk about resurrection without really talking about death. Because it’s hard to talk about death, for all of us.

Today’s scriptures give us two different approaches to this kind of talk. The Maccabees brothers in the first reading very openly embrace their impending death, because they see their death as a martyrdom, dying for their faith, a witness to the love of God. As one brother said, “We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” These brothers saw death as a door to resurrection, and they were not afraid to pass through that door. They could talk about death openly because they had courage and hope – courage to face suffering and the unknown moment of dying, and hope that God would be with them through it all, leading them to eternal life. But the Sadducees in the gospel reading, approached things differently. They didn’t believe in the resurrection and tried to trick Jesus into denying it as well. They were so consumed about trying to get Jesus to talk about the details of eternal life that they really ignored even talking about death. Not believing in the resurrection makes it even harder to talk about death. It is hard to talk about death; but it is a reality we will all face, sooner or later, and it is good to be able to have a conversation every once in a while about how we are approaching our own moment of dying.

Now, this isn’t meant to be morbid, or to lead us to always have death on our minds. But as Christians, we can have this conversation informed by Scripture and our faith, so that we can get to the point of having the same courage and hope as the Maccabees brothers. This week we are especially mindful of the 58 men, women, and children who were killed at a Catholic church in Baghdad last Sunday as they were attending Mass. None of these people entered the church that day expecting it to be the day of their death. But we pray that they had courage and hope in the face of death, a courage and hope informed by their faith. Could we say the same for ourselves, here, today?

At the end of today’s gospel, Jesus says that God “is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Our faith tells us that death is a reality, but that it is not permanent; it is a transition. Our faith tells us that we must live each day as if it were our last here on earth, ready for that moment of death at any time. Our faith tells us that our task here on earth is to help other people do the same thing, to come to know the love of God that will give them peace and comfort at the moment of death, because they have hope in the resurrection.

And so the conversation comes around to this question: are you ready to die? Or, to put it another way, are you ready for eternal life? If we recognize what death is, then we can approach it with courage and hope, because we know that it is not the end. And, who knows, we might even be able to talk about death, even our own death, because we know that it is a glorious moment of transition from one way of living to another. And not even death will separate us from the love of God.

All Saints and All Souls Homilies

2010-11-03T10:22:00.002-04:00

Click on the links below to listen to or download audio (mp3) files of two homilies preached this week, for All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2).

All Saints Day Homily - I want to be a saint!

All Souls Day Homily - The Light of Resurrection

Have you seen Jesus?

2010-10-31T10:17:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 11.12-12.2 Psalm 145 2 Thessalonians 1.11-2.2 Luke 19.1-10

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

Have you seen Jesus today? Here is here, I assure you, but have you seen him? Of course, we aren’t like Zacchaeus, we can’t simply climb a tree to get above the crowd and see Jesus from there; we won’t find Jesus in the flesh walking along our roads, inviting himself to our homes. But he is here – in this church, in the words of Scripture, in the Eucharist, in all of us who have been called and commissioned to follow him. But have you seen him?

You might say that the purpose of the Church is to help people see Jesus in their lives, and once they find him, to learn how to follow him. As a Church, we do this in three main ways – by proclaiming the word of God, by celebrating the sacraments, and by exercising the ministry of charity. First, we proclaim the word of God through the way we interact with one another, the way we speak to one another, they way we respect human dignity. We proclaim the word of God by being people of love and hope, truth and honor. But as a Church we also have more formal ways of proclaiming God’s word – especially in our faith formation programs, our Catholic schools, and our efforts at evangelization. That’s the first way we can help people find Jesus. But it doesn’t stop there. Second, we celebrate the sacraments. None of us can follow Jesus on our own – we need the support of a community, we need the strength of the Eucharist, the forgiveness of Reconciliation, the wisdom of Confirmation. In the sacraments, we encounter Jesus Christ himself, and we receive the gifts – the grace – we need to be a people of faith. That’s the second way we help people find Jesus, through the sacraments. And finally, we help people find Jesus by exercising the ministry of charity, by serving the basic human needs of our brothers and sisters, whether by serving in a soup kitchen, comforting the grieving, or upholding the dignity and value of human life, from conception to natural death. To proclaim the word – to celebrate the sacraments – to exercise the ministry of charity – that is what it means to be Church, to help people find Jesus Christ and follow him.

The thing is, we can’t do it alone – as a priest and pastor, I can’t do it alone. As a parish staff, we can’t do it alone. As our shepherd and leader, Archbishop Daniel can’t do it alone. We need your help. We need the gift of your time to pray for people who are looking for Jesus, to visit those who are sick or dying, and to mentor our young people. We need the gift of your talents to teach in our faith formation programs, to cook for our funeral lunches, and to proclaim the Scriptures at Mass. And we need your treasure to make our Catholic schools affordable, to educate seminarians and deacon candidates, and to provide material resources for single mothers and families in poverty. Some of these things we do here at our parish – like our bereavement programs and our St. Vincent de Paul Society. Other things can only be accomplished at the Archdiocesan or deanery level – like seminary education or the work of St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities. But all of this ministry, we do together – because no one person can do it alone.

This week, you should receive in the mail detailed information about our parish and archdiocesan ministries and how we are inviting you to be involved. It’s called Christ Our Hope: Compassion in Community. Please, take some time to pray with this information and ask God how he is calling you to share your time, talent, and treasure in the coming year with both your parish and Archdiocesan community. Next weekend, we invite you to bring your completed intention card to Mass and place it before the altar. And remember, it’s all about helping people see Jesus – giving them a tree to climb, if they need it – and supporting them along the way as we proclaim God’s word, celebrate the sacraments, and exercise the ministry of charity. Archbishop Daniel and I can’t do it alone. We need your help.

The Humility of a Sinner

2010-10-24T10:27:00.002-04:00

Homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Sirach 35.12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34 2 Timothy 4.6-8, 16-18 Luke 18.9-14

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

Think back to the last time you judged someone. Unfortunately, it’s something we all do with some frequency. It might have been last night, when you were out to eat or going shopping and you made a mental judgment about a stranger you walked by – perhaps about the person’s appearance or behavior. It might have been this morning as you were listening to the daily news, judging the latest instant celebrity or politician running for office. Or it might have been just seconds ago, when you passed judgment on someone else sitting right here in this church, maybe even in the very pew you are sitting in, judging their attitude or their reverence or something you heard someone else say they heard from a friend about this person. When was the last time you judged someone, and why did you do it? Keep that in the back of your mind.

Now take the Pharisee in today’s parable. He certainly passed judgment on the tax collector he saw at the Temple – he even tried to judge the whole of humanity, calling the entire human race greedy, dishonest, and adulterous. Now, the Pharisee probably was a good person – he probably did fast and tithe, he did his best to avoid greed and dishonesty. But look at the way he judges – he judges others in comparison to the good person he is, to all the great things he has done right. This particular Pharisee boasts of what he has accomplished – personally, by his own efforts – and he judges everyone else by how they have failed to be as good as he is. It’s not just a judgment, it’s a comparison. The tax collector, on the other hand, is a sinner, and he knows it. And even more, he knows that he needs God’s mercy. And he’s not comparing his sins to anyone else.

So think back to the last time you judged someone. Why did you do it? How did you do it? My guess is that it probably involved comparing them to what you would do or the way you act – since, in our minds, we are such a better person than they are. But if we think some more, we’ll realize that we are just as much in need of God’s mercy and guidance as anyone else. Thank goodness, God is here for each one of us.

Pilgrimage Pictures - The Favorites

2010-10-18T20:50:00.005-04:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this fall's Pilgrimage to Germany and Switzerland.

Gardens at Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany

Medieval home, Rothenburg, Germany

Hohenschwangau Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Abbey and Village of Einsiedeln, Switzerland

Water Tower, Mannheim, Germany

Pray Always

2010-10-17T10:22:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Exodus 17.8-13 Psalm 121 2 Timothy 3.14-4.2 Luke 18.1-8

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

This week, the entire world watched as a real-life example of perseverance, persistence, and hope was played out in the mountains of Chile. As the 33 miners who had been trapped underground for 69 days were brought to the surface, one by one, there were cries of joy and the tears of answered prayers. Not only the president of the country but also the local bishop was there to welcome the miners to the surface, and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was proudly displayed in the rescue camp. In recent weeks, so many people all over the world had responded to the call of Jesus in today’s gospel, to “pray always without becoming weary” (Luke 18.1). Persistence in prayer – this is what it is all about.

Of course, we know from our own experience that constant prayers do not always result in the happy ending that we are looking for. Sometimes we feel like we’ve never prayed harder in our lives, but in the end, it seems like the prayer hasn’t made a difference. But I think we often have a false understanding of what prayer does. Prayer does not make everything right; prayer does not make our lives perfect. Prayer does connect us with God, and the more we pray, the more persistent and constant our prayer becomes, the more we are united with God’s will and God’s presence. Persistence in prayer keeps our faith alive. Persistence in prayer holds us up with the strength of God. Persistence in prayer gives us hope and peace, no matter what the outcome of the situation we’re praying for. Persistence in prayer helps us see the miracles God is working in front of our eyes. And believe me, prayer does make a difference, because when we pray always, we begin to see things the way God sees them. And that can be a true blessing.

The Gift of 40 Hours

2010-10-10T10:14:00.001-04:00

Homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
2 Kings 5.14-17 Psalm 98 2 Timothy 2.8-13 Luke 17.11-19

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

Do you ever feel like Jesus in this gospel story? You’ve worked hard, put in a lot of time and effort on a project or family get-together, done a great job at whatever you do, maybe even worked little miracles; but it seems like no one recognizes what you’ve done, no one appreciates who you are, or at least the vast majority, even 90% of the people around you, barely know you exist. Or maybe you feel like the lepers – cast out, ostracized from society or from the in-crowd, ignored because somebody considers you to be different. Or maybe sometimes you feel like the one Samaritan leper – God is the center of your life, you remember each day to thank God for his blessings, you come to church each week – but when you look around, you realize that you’re in the minority. Where’s everyone else? So many people don’t go to church, don’t pray to God. Or you might be like the nine cleansed lepers who did not return to thank Jesus – there are so many things you want to do, your life is so busy; or that busy-ness wears you out so much that prayer and thanksgiving is the last thing on your mind. Most of us can find someone to relate to in this story. It’s all focused on our relationships – with God, with other people, and with ourselves. And it all starts with an encounter with Jesus Christ.

In the 1500s in Italy, a new form of prayer began to develop that quickly spread all over the world. It’s a form of prayer that is also centered on an encounter with Jesus Christ, not physically, but in the Eucharist. It was called the 40 Hours Devotion. The basic concept of this devotion is a continuous period of prayer and Eucharistic Adoration over 40 consecutive hours. These 40 hours symbolize the time Jesus spent in the tomb, after his death on Good Friday until his resurrection on Easter Sunday morning. The Eucharist would be exposed in a gold vessel, called a monstrance, and people would come to the church any time they could, day or night, to spend time in prayer. There would be some formal times of prayer – like the rosary or the stations of the cross or the liturgy of the hours – but most of the time, the church would simply be open for personal prayer in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord.

It has been many years since we have had a 40 Hours Devotion here in our parish, but in just a couple weeks, we are renewing this annual time of intense prayer and adoration. It starts a week from Wednesday. From 5 pm on Wednesday, October 20 through 9 am on Friday, October 22, there will be prayer and Eucharistic Adoration here in the church. A full schedule can be found in today’s bulletin. I personally invite every parishioner, every person here, to spend at least one hour in church in prayer during that time – you can come on your own schedule, day or night. To make sure we have at least two people here all the time, there are sign-up sheets in the church vestibule this weekend and next weekend. We also encourage you to join us at 7 pm each of the nights of the 40 Hours Devotion for Evening Prayer and preaching in a style similar to a parish mission. But, most importantly, you are invited to take advantage of this time of prayer to deepen your faith, to pray for those in need, and to strengthen our community.

And that brings us back to today’s gospel. If you feel like Jesus in this gospel – worn out and tired from the hard work you put in each day – come, rest in the presence of Christ. If you feel like the lepers, on the outskirts of society – come, spend time with the one person who loves and guides you always. If you’re like the Samaritan, already a person of prayer – then come, pray for those whose relationship with Christ is floundering or hidden. If you feel like the other lepers, so busy that an hour of quiet prayer seems impossible – then come in the middle of the night, or early in the morning, when there are no other demands on your time. No matter where you find yourself in your relationship with God, these 40 Hours of prayer can be a gift – a gift of time, a gift of prayer, a gift communion with our Eucharistic Lord.

Gathering of the Faithful in Oberammergau

2010-10-06T15:32:00.002-04:00

Yesterday evening, I returned from a 10-day pilgrimage to Germany and Switzerland, traveling with the Saint Meinrad Alumni Association. It was a wonderful time, with many highlights and memories - and more stories and pictures will be forthcoming. But, to start, a reflection on one aspect of the highlight of the trip - the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. In 1633, the people of this small village in Bavaria, not far from the Austrian border, vowed that if they were spared the effects of the plague that was devastating central Europe, they would put on a Passion Play every ten years to honor the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The town was spared, and this year saw the 41st presentation of the Oberammergau Passion Play.

Over the years, people have come from all over the world to be a part of this production. And it was this universal reach that especially touched me during our days in the village. It was almost as if the focus of the entire Christian world was on this small village in southern Germany. On the day we attended the Passion Play - the 99th of 100 performances this year - we saw innumerable people we knew: our own Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, of Indianapolis, and several other people from Indianapolis traveling with him, including my kindergarten principal and a priest friend from Indy; a group traveling from Batesville, Indiana, with several people I knew; a group traveling from Evansville, Indiana, with many people from St. John Parish in Newburgh, where my traveling companion, Fr. Jason Gries, had served as associate pastor a few years ago; a priest from Wisconsin who also studied at Saint Meinrad, two years behind us, along with Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, the former bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming, whom I had met last December while in Cheyenne for the ordination and installation of their current bishop, who was my predecessor as pastor at OLPH; the tour escort who had been with my pilgrimage In the Footsteps of St. Paul last summer; and many more. And we also met many new people, from Italy and Japan and all parts of the United States and Europe. And of course, there were our local hosts, Dieter and Rose Marie Dashuber, in whose home Fr. Jason and I stayed - Dieter is a native of Oberammergau and was one of the high priests in the Passion Play.

The focus of all these people was on the same thing - a remembrance of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Fittingly, we marked the day of the Passion Play by also having Mass at the local parish Church of Ss. Peter and Paul, at which Bishop Ricken presided and several of us priests in attendance concelebrated. The whole experience was a massive gathering of the faithful in a small German village to remember a vow made over 350 years ago and the Lord whom we all worship and whose saving death and resurrection has given us life. And, really, the Christian world was focused not on this particular village, but on the man on the cross, who rose from the dead. He is the one who brings us all together each time we gather to pray and celebrate the Eucharist - whether in Oberammergau or in our own parish church. Sometimes it's good to have a reminder of the universality of our faith!

On Pilgrimage

2010-09-24T09:28:00.002-04:00

This afternoon, I leave with 24 other people on a pilgrimage with the Saint Meinrad Alumni Association to Germany and Switzerland. The two highlights of the trip will be the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany, and a visit to Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland. At some point, I plan to post reflections and pictures here on this blog and on Facebook - either during the trip, if I can find good internet connectsions, or once I return. In the meantime, pray for safe travels, and I plan to return on October 5!

Meeting in Prayer

2010-09-19T10:16:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Amos 8.4-7 Psalm 113 1 Timothy 2.1-8 Luke 16.1-13

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

There is so much in my mind this weekend, as we gather here to pray. Maybe it’s a symptom of the digital age, a result of the speed of information and news crossing the globe and projected into our lives in so many ways. There is much to reflect on – there always is – but this week seems especially full. On a global level, the real-life drama of the 33 miners trapped in Chile continues to unfold, and we continue to see the effects of hurricanes, floods, and oil spills all over the world. Here is the US, a final round of primary contests means that the news and campaigning for this fall’s election has begun in earnest. In the religious world, of course, the highlight of the week has been Pope Benedict’s monumental trip to England and Scotland, meeting with both Queen Elizabeth, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, and victims of clergy sexual abuse, to name a few. And here on the local level, we have been shocked by the news that a much-loved local priest has been diagnosed with cancer. Here, today, around this table of the Eucharist, we’re not going to solve the problems of the world – we can’t free the trapped minors, or determine the results of elections, or bring about the unity of Christians. Here, today, gathered as a Christian community, we’re not going to find a cure for cancer. But what we can do is pray.

St. Paul gives us an outline for prayer in his First Letter to Timothy. We are to pray first for everyone – for all people throughout the world, especially those who are in need. Then, we are to pray for government leaders – for kings, as St. Paul says, but also for presidents and governors and members of congress and any other person with authority. And, finally, we are to pray for ourselves, that we may lead a “quiet and tranquil life.” It’s one of the most important things we do here, as a Church, or wherever we gather. It’s even our duty, to remember one another in prayer, to commend one another to the grace of God. Because it is prayer that we meet. It is in prayer that we meet God, that we try to make our will and God’s will come together. And it is in prayer that we meet one another, both here on earth and in the life to come, as prayer spans the miles and even the barrier of death to unite us in the same purpose and the same posture before our Lord. In prayer, we meet God, we meet one another, and united together, we can face anything that comes our way.

And so this week, there is much to pray for – maybe more than other weeks, from one perspective, but not necessarily. All the prayers that have occupied our hearts are brought here to this table, where we lay them before our Lord and Savior. We pray for a greater understanding and unity among Christians, that we may work together for the good of all people and the peace of our world. We pray for Fr. Mike Hilderbrand and the countless people in our families and community who suffer from cancer and other diseases. We pray that the men and women elected to public office consider first and foremost in their decisions the dignity of the human person, from the child in the womb to the family living in poverty to the elderly and retired. We pray for each of us, that we may become more and more like Christ each day. Through these prayers, we grow as individual Christians and as a Church. Because it is in prayer that we meet Christ and one another.

Wabash, Nouwen, and the Pope in the UK

2010-09-16T13:35:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I spent part of the day at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, for orientation for the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program, which I will begin participation in come January. As part of the orientation, we were asked to read and reflect on Henri Nouwen's book on pastoral leadership, In the Name of Jesus. Nouwen's take on the specific way pastoral ministers are called to lead is that they do so in the background, by developing the habits of prayer, forgiveness, and theological reflection. This vision of leadership is not marked by personal accomplishment, being the most relevant person in a community, or widespread acclaim; rather, the Christian pastoral leader strives to direct people to the person of Jesus Christ, who is the true leader in any Christian community.

It is with those thoughts in mind that I read the transcript of the interview Pope Benedict XVI gave to a group of reporters earlier today while in flight to the United Kingdom. Here's one particular question and answer that struck me:

Q. - The UK, like many other Western countries - there is an issue that you have already touched on in the first answer –it is considered a secular country. There is a strong atheist movement, even for cultural reasons. However, there are also signs that religious faith, particularly in Jesus Christ, is still alive on a personal level. What can this mean for Catholics and Anglicans? Can anything be done to make the Church as an institution, more credible and attractive to everyone?

A. - I would say that a Church that seeks to be particularly attractive is already on the wrong path, because the Church does not work for her own ends, she does not work to increase numbers and thus power. The Church is at the service of another: she serves, not for herself, not to be a strong body, rather she serves to make the proclamation of Jesus Christ accessible, the great truths and great forces of love, reconciling love that appeared in this figure and that always comes from the presence of Jesus Christ. In this regard, the Church does not seek to be attractive in and of herself, but must be transparent for Jesus Christ and to the extent that she is not out for herself, as a strong and powerful body in the world, that wants power, but is simply the voice of another, she becomes truly transparent for the great figure of Christ and the great truth that he has brought to humanity. The power of love, in this moment one listens, one accepts. The Church should not consider herself, but help to consider the other and she herself must see and speak of the other. In this sense, I think, both Anglicans and Catholics have the same simple task, the same direction to take. If both Anglicans and Catholics see that the other is not out for themselves but are tools of Christ, children of the Bridegroom, as Saint John says, if both carry out the priorities of Christ and not their own, they will come together, because at that time the priority of Christ unites them and they are no longer competitors seeking the greatest numbers, but are united in our commitment to the truth of Christ who comes into this world and so they find each other in a genuine and fruitful ecumenism.

What a great perspective for all Christians to reflect on! The full text of this press conference can be found here.

"A man had two sons ..."

2010-09-12T10:20:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Exodus 32.7-11, 13-14 Psalm 51 1 Timothy 1.12-17 Luke 15.1-32

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

A man had two sons. The man’s name was Abraham. His sons’ names were Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac was born to Abraham’s wife, Sarah, in her old age, and he was chosen by God to be the father of a great people, the Jewish nation. Into the Jewish people, a man was born named Jesus, the Son of God; and that was the beginning of the Christian family. Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, was born to a slave, Hagar, but he, too, was destined to be the father of a great nation, a people that many generations later would be called Muslim. Abraham loved both of his sons – each in a different way. And through them, his descendents became greater than the stars in the heaven or the sands on the shore of the sea.

A man had two sons. So began a story told by Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, a story told to a group of Pharisees and scribes, tax collectors and sinners. We don’t know the name of the man in the story, or the names of either of the sons, and that’s really not important. What’s important is the love that the man has for his sons, an unconditional love for each of them, a love that leads him to share what he has with them, a love that celebrates and rejoices when the younger son returns home after wandering away. We all know this man, this father, or at least we try to know him as Our Father. Because we are all his sons and daughters.

A man had two sons. It’s been almost two-thousand years since Jesus told his story. This man’s name was David, and he worked as a computer programmer on the 97th floor of Tower One at the World Trade Center in New York City. We’ll never know exactly what happened with David after the airplane hit the tower where he was working on the morning of September 11, 2001, but we do know that David never returned home to his wife and his two sons. His family still tells stories about how he could fix things in creative ways – like using pieces of car tires to patch up a pair of old, worn work boots. And they remember how much David loved each of them. Their lives were changed after that day nine years ago, and the family will never be the same. And there are many other families like them.

A man had two sons. This last man is symbolic, he represents the human heart. One side of the heart, one “son,” is love, mercy, and humility; the other is hate, jealousy, and pride. And they both live within each of us. We have the capacity to hate, we have the ability to put our needs first, always and everywhere. But we also have a heart to love, a soul to forgive, and a desire to seek peace. With God’s grace, we can be formed into his children, with the same characteristics of our heavenly Father, to the degree that we reflect his love. Or we can turn our backs from the one who made us and instead cultivate the self-seeking idols of pleasure, ambition, and power. It’s a choice that we must make – love or hate, mercy or jealousy, humility or pride. Only one path leads to life. Only one path leads to joy. Think about it. What will be the end of your story?

Jesus and Anger

2010-09-05T10:20:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 9.13-18b Psalm 90 Philemon 9-10, 12-17 Luke 14.25-33

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

It seems to me that if there is one emotion that is prevalent in our society these days more than anything else, it’s anger. We are an angry people, all around. Think about it. The struggling economy of the past few years has made virtually every US citizen angry at someone – we’re angry at politicians or corporate executives or banks for the mess we think they have gotten us into. At the same time, we find ourselves angry over things like the oil spill in the gulf, or health care reform, or the proposal to build a mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan – whatever side of that issue you fall on. And our anger isn’t just directed at public controversies – it’s right in the middle of our personal relationships. Children are angry at parents whose marriages have fallen apart or who focus so much on work or play that they’re never home. Friends get angry with one another so easily over petty things. We’re angry at the doctor who’s always running late, at the teacher who seems to treat our child unfairly, at the coach who should have retired years ago, at the child away at college who never calls home. And when there’s so much anger in the air, it becomes almost natural to take out that anger on the drivers around us on the road who aren’t driving the way we think they should – or the cashiers in the grocery store who just don’t understand that we’re in a hurry – or the family member who constantly has to listen to us vent about everyone who makes us mad. We don’t have to look very far to see that anger is all around us.

Now, it’s true that some anger is justified. And it’s also true that anger is an emotion, a natural response – which means that, in and of itself, it’s neither good nor bad. It’s just there. But when anger becomes our dominant emotion – when it gets so powerful that we’re angry all the time – when anger turns into a deep seated rage or hate – well, then anger starts to control our lives. And that is not a good thing.

And on the surface, today’s gospel doesn’t seem to help. It sounds like Jesus is telling us – even requiring us – to be angry, to hate. And even more, he’s telling us that in order to follow him, we must hate our family and even our own life. Those are harsh words. And it doesn’t make sense coming from the same person who always tells us to love all people, all the time. What’s going on here?

It’s really all about priorities. If you think about it, anger most often comes when things don’t go our way, when something happens that is not the way we think it should happen. Sometimes we’re right and justified in that anger, sometimes we’re not. But the emotion itself comes from putting ourselves and our priorities and our desires first. The people or things we are angry at are less important than what I want. And I think that’s what Jesus is getting at. To follow him – to be a disciple – we have to put Jesus and his priorities first all the time. Everything and everyone else must be less important than Jesus. To hate our family or our own lives is not to be angry at them because of what they have done, it’s to recognize that they are less important in our lives than Jesus Christ. It’s all about priorities – Jesus first, then everyone else, ourselves included.

So what about all that anger? I bet, if we really put Jesus first in our lives, then most of the unproductive, pent up anger that has become so dominant in our society will go away. And once we calm down the powerful feelings of anger, then we will be able to work together constructively and peacefully to heal the brokenness in our families, in our relationships, and in our country. It’s all about priorities: Jesus first, then others, then yourself.

I Am Not God

2010-08-29T10:21:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Sirach 3.17-18, 20, 28-29 Psalm 68 Hebrews 12.18-19, 22-24a Luke 14.1, 7-14

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.

If you’ve heard me say this before, I apologize; but there are some things that are worth repeating, so they sink in. And if you’re here expecting a long and elaborate homily, I apologize; but sometimes, the more concise the message, the better we can try to live it out. Today, it’s all about humility. The greatest human fault is trying to do everything ourselves, or trying to control our lives and the lives of others to the extent that we try to become God. But you are not God; I am not God. We are never going to be perfect; we are never going to accomplish everything we set out to do; we are never going to please everyone. We always try our best, we use the gifts God has given us to the best of our ability. But at the end of the day, we are not in charge. We do not control our own destiny. I am convinced that if everyone in the world would get up each morning, look themselves in the mirror and tell themselves: “I am not God,” then the world would be a much better place. Try it and see what happens.

This Sunday's shortened homily was accompanied by two announcements at the end of all Masses: 1) I have been appointed an adjunct Spiritual Director at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, beginning in September; and 2) I have been accepted into the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program, beginning in January 2011. Both new endeavors involve limited time away from the parish and will complement my ministry as pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. For more detailed information on exactly what is involved, check out next Sunday's OLPH bulletin, which will be found on the parish website by the middle of this week.
- Fr. Eric

A New Formation Year: One Church, One Faith

2010-08-26T14:12:00.004-04:00

Along with the beginning of school each fall, we in parish life also start a new formation year. At the parish where I serve as pastor, we call our comprehensive faith formation program One Church, One Faith. Last night, we began the formal gathering of this year's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), a new adult Bible Study group met for the second time (they're using The Great Adventure Bible Timeline), and the catechists for our parish faith formation program for prechool through eighth grade met to prepare for the year. This coming Wednesday, September 1, we officially launch our total parish faith formation program with Week One, a full-community gathering with a free, simple supper, catechesis for all ages, and night prayer. It's good to be getting back into the regular routine!

Even though it seems like people's lives are busier than ever before, it's refreshing to see so many people committed to ongoing formation in their faith. To me, offering these faith formation opportunities is one of the most important things we do as a parish. And especially important is the fact that we do it together - for people of all ages and all backgrounds - not in isolated groups. The Week One gatherings bring together people who are inquiring about the Catholic faith, as well as people who have been members of this particular parish for almost sixty years; young children who are just learning their prayers are there together with their parents and grandparents; people with no formal classroom education in the faith and those with degrees in theology learn from one another. And it's not just about what we learn - it's about building a Christian community, praying with one another, and sharing a meal with our sisters and brothers in Christ.

So if you're in the New Albany area, I invite you to join us at OLPH for any of our faith formation programs, but especially for Week One, held from 6:00-8:00 pm on the first Wednesday of every month, starting Sept. 1. This month, we will be exploring "What Do Catholics Believe: The Creed." And if you're not in our area, find a faith formation program at a church near you. There are great opportunities out there, and we can all find ways to grow in our faith and in our relationship with God as we journey together toward God's Kingdom.

Life in the Kingdom of God

2010-08-22T13:14:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Isaiah 66.18-21 Psalm 117 Hebrews 12.5-7, 11-13 Luke 13.22-30

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) recording of this homily.

How the world has changed since the days of the prophet Isaiah! 2500 years ago, the prophet envisioned caravans of horses and chariots, mules and camels, bringing people to Jerusalem to pray in the house of the Lord. Today, we’d be hard pressed to find even a single, working chariot, outside of historical reenactments, and as for camels – well, in this part of the world, not many people know how to ride them around the block, let alone all the way to Jerusalem. Even the last five years have seen monumental changes in how we travel, how we communicate, and how we are connected to the world around us. Today, if we wanted to go to Jerusalem, we might buy an electronic ticket through the internet connection on our cell phone, drive a car that gets 50 miles per gallon to the airport, where we would board an airplane to take us to the Holy Land, with a lay-over in Paris; and once we got there, our guide would be waiting to take us by comfortable coach to the site of the ancient Temple, the house of God. And hopefully a stubborn mule wouldn’t block the road as we drove through the Holy City.

It’s so much easier today to connect with people on the other side of the world – it’s one of the many blessings of technology. We know people from east and west, from north and south, because we’ve been there – we’ve traveled the roads and met people along the way. And if we haven’t been there in person, every day we see people and places and events from all corners of the world just by watching the news or even catching the latest movie. But as easy as it is to think globally, to know what’s going on all over the world, the same technology that connects us can also isolate us. In a caravan of camels, people from different families and different towns talked to one another as they traveled together. But in a caravan of cars, we’re each in our own private space, either as individuals or as small groups. The cell phones that make it so easy to talk to the person across town or across the country or across the globe, these same cell phones can turn people in toward themselves when they spend all their time texting their five closest friends, who might even be sitting right next to them. And the news we watch or read telling us about the flooding in Pakistan, or the conflict in the Middle East, or the earthquake recovery in Haiti – well, most of the time, we just follow that news in the privacy of our own home, with no personal connection or stake in what is going on over there.

In the Kingdom of God, things are different. In the Kingdom of God, there is a personal connection between people from east and west, north and south – a connection that’s made possible not by technology, but by the God who brings us together. In the Kingdom of God, community is much more important than privacy. In the Kingdom of God, there is no separation, no isolation, no favoritism – everyone there has traveled the same path – through the cross of Christ – and everyone has gotten there not because of the plans they made, but at God’s invitation. And, believe it or not, the Kingdom of God isn’t found only in heaven. It’s right here. Or at least it should be.

The Place for Musicians in a Church

2010-08-11T15:33:00.003-04:00

We have been spending a lot of time at my parish preparing for a renovation of the music area in our church. This project is being funded by a Capital Campaign, and is the final of several construction projects to come as a result of this campaign. Yesterday, our Director of Liturgical Music Ministries, a parishioner who is also the head of the architectural firm we are working with, and I presented the proposed design to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis Church Art and Architecture Commission. This group gave us some good, positive feedback and gave us the approval to move foward with the project.

In the meantime, I have thought it might be good to look back at the guidelines we have from the Church for such a project, and really these are very few. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says, "The choir should be positioned with respect to the design of each church so as to make clearly evident its character as a part of the gathered community of the faithful fulfilling a specific function. The location should also assist the choir to exercise its function more easily and conveniently allow each choir member full, sacramental participation in the Mass" (GIRM 312).

A document specifically for the Catholic Church in the United States, Built of Living Stones: Guidelines on Art and Architecture, has a little more to say:

"Because the roles of the choirs and cantors are exercised within the liturgical community, the space chosen for the musicians should clearly express that they are part of the assembly of worshipers. In addition, cantors and song leaders need visual contact with the music director while they themselves are visible to the rest of the congregation. Apart from the singing of the Responsorial Psalm, which normally occurs at the ambo, the stand for the cantor or song leader is distinct from the ambo, which is reserved for the proclamation of the word of God. ... The placement and prayerful decorum of the choir members can help the rest of the community to focus on the liturgical action taking place at the ambo, the altar, and the chair. The ministers of music are most appropriately located in a place where they can be part of the assembly and have the ability to be heard." (BLS 89-90)

Especially in renovating an existing church, the challenge of designing a separate space for the choir or cantor as a leader of sung prayer, while also recognizing their participation as members of the assembly, can be challenging. I think we have come up with a good solution, with the guidance of our architects and parish musicians, and in the next week or so we will be able to share the designs with our entire parish. This Thursday evening we present the project to our Pastoral Council for their review and approval. We hope to have the project completed by Christmas.

The Source of Our Faith

2010-08-08T10:19:00.001-04:00

Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 18.6-9 Psalm 33 Hebrews 11.1-2, 8-19 Luke 12.35-40

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) recording of this homily.

It seems like it’s almost fashionable these days to give up on faith – or at least to give up on religion. Popular novelist Anne Rice, who made a well-known return to the Catholic faith of her childhood, has publicly announced that she has given up being a Christian. A new billboard on a Louisville interstate tries to get you to join a group made up of people who don’t believe in God. Atheists in Europe have lobbied churches, asking that their names be erased from baptismal registers, because they want to be de-baptized, to completely disassociate themselves from a faith of any kind. Scandals, disappointments, and disillusionment have led people away from an organized practice of their faith. It would be so easy, it seems, to stop all this business of faith.

“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11.1), we hear today from the Letter to the Hebrews. Most people spend their lives looking for this “evidence of things not seen” – trying to find faith, seeking a reason to believe, searching for evidence for God’s existence and action in our lives. And many of us find this evidence – reasons to have faith. But if that is the only way we think about faith, then we’re missing an important part of what it is. Because faith, first of all, is a gift. In the heart of every human being, there is a natural longing for God – we didn’t put it there, God himself put it there. At baptism and through the other sacraments, God strengthens the faith that is already inside us, giving us the grace – the tools – to be able to find what we are longing for – to be able to develop a relationship with God. Faith doesn’t start with us – it begins as a gift from God. And then we must work to develop it.

But if faith is a gift, then we can’t really get rid of it. No matter what we do, no matter how far we stray away from God, even if we try to leave faith behind, that gift never leaves us. There will always be a longing deep in every human heart that can only be satisfied by God. It’s how we’re made. And really, there’s a great comfort in that, there’s a great comfort knowing that faith is a gift and not just something that we have to find on our own. It takes a lot of pressure off of us, and it transfers the focus to God, who can do far more than we could ever hope or imagine. People give up on faith today because the individualism of our society tells us that we have to figure it out ourselves. And when we lose patience trying to put together a perfect life for ourselves, based on what we think is our relationship with God – then it’s easier just to give up. People give up on faith today because we have forgotten how to trust; we don’t know how to turn our lives over completely to someone else.

But true faith can never die. True faith will never disappear. Because true faith does not come from us – it comes from God. What we need to do is get out of the way, and let God bring our dormant faith to life.

Getting Ready for Heaven

2010-08-01T10:33:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Ecclesiastes 1.2, 2.21-23 Psalm 90 Colossians 3.1-5, 9-11 Luke 12.13-21

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) version of this homily.

Well, it’s happened again. In case you haven’t heard, there is a new prediction of exactly when the world is going to end, and according to this particular interpretation of biblical prophecy, we don’t have much time. News media started picking up this story this past week, when bus benches in Colorado Springs and other cities starting having an advertisement on them. “Save the date!” it says. “Return of Christ: May 21, 2011.” As it turns out, there is a group of biblical scholars who believe that they have interpreted messages formerly hidden in the Bible that guarantee to give us the exact dates for all of the events associated with the end of all things. According to their calculations, Christ will return on May 21 of next year, the dead will be raised, and the final period of judgment will begin, with the complete end of the world coming five months later, on October 21, 2011.

As Catholics, we join with the overwhelming majority of Christians in saying that it is foolish to engage in this kind of speculation – Jesus himself is very clear that we will not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man returns. And, besides: the people who propose October 21, 2011 for the end of the world are at complete odds with another group that has said that the world will end on December 12, 2012. It’s enough to confuse any Christian. But, regardless of what we think of these dates, we must be prepared, all the time – whether for our own death or for the coming of Christ. If either event were to happen today, would you be ready? And probably the better question to ask: how do we prepare ourselves for what comes beyond this life?

Jesus and St. Paul give us two ways of looking at this. The point of the parable of the rich man is that we should become rich in what matters to God, not in what matters to ourselves. Or, as St. Paul writes to the Colossians, we are to seek what is above, not of what is on earth. So what does that mean? With God, love is the most important virtue and the greatest gift. And the same should be true for us. When we love – a true, genuine, selfless love – when we love God or our family, friends and strangers, then we get closer to heaven here on earth. But when we do the opposite of love – when we are ruled by hate or anger, or even by indifference – then we start to separate ourselves from God, and we become less prepared for an eternity in His presence. Another example: in heaven, there’s no such thing as private property or personal possessions. Of course, things are different here on earth. Whenever our personal possessions – our things – identify who we are, we become more and more earthly. But to be rich in what matters to God, we can certainly still have our own possessions, but these things cannot identify us. Instead, we are called to possess generosity, hospitality, compassion – when people identify us based on our virtues, then we are rich in the things of God.

So I don’t really know whether May 21, 2011, will be judgment day – and, frankly, I don’t really care. The key question is not when will Christ come, but how ready will we be. Because the Christian way is to live constantly prepared for Christ’s coming, to seek what is above day by day, to become rich in what matters to God. I imagine most of us aren’t ready – we have some work to do. But with God’s grace, we will be ready to be with Christ in glory, whenever that day comes.

Getting Rid of the Heat

2010-07-25T10:17:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Genesis 18.20-32 Psalm 138 Colossians 2.12-14 Luke 11.1-13

Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) recording of this homily.

It seems like one of the top things on everyone’s mind these days is the heat – as we all know, it’s been an unusually warm summer in many parts of the country. We can’t get rid of the heat, and most of us are tired of it. So what do we do instead? We talk about. There are probably more conversations about weather on a given day than on any other topic. And with a long stretch of oppressively hot temperatures and high humidity, our conversations eventually get around to ways to beat the heat, or at least to avoid heat stroke. We remind one another to drink plenty of water, to keep our bodies hydrated. We try not to mow the grass in the heat of the day, and we search out any opportunity for air-conditioned comfort. And if we do go outside, we are reminded to use sunscreen and to limit our time in the direct sunlight. The good health of our bodies depends on taking appropriate action when the temperatures rise. We could ignore all these ways to beat the heat, but then our health and well-being would suffer. It’s as simple as that.

The same thing is true for our spiritual well-being. Even though the extremes of temperature or humidity can’t directly affect our spiritual lives, there are plenty of things in the world that can scorch our souls or freeze our consciences. The ongoing temptation to have the latest gadget can quickly harden our hearts. The excitement of an entertainment-based society can confuse our moral compass. The temporary pleasure of instant gratification can turn our souls away from what lasts forever. Just like good hydration and adequate rest are essential for our bodies to survive a heat wave, we need something to help our souls survive the spiritual void that exists around us. And the answer is as simple as prayer.

Prayer keeps us connected to God. It reminds us that God cares for us like a father, that his kingdom is right here among us. In prayer, we can ask God for the help we need in our daily lives – we can ask God for strength or wisdom, for guidance or peace. Prayer keeps our souls nourished and helps us take the focus off ourselves. With prayer, we can keep our spiritual lives grounded in the love of God, and the distractions of the world seem a lot less tempting.

So if you find yourself struggling with what’s going on in your life, or if it seems like the lure of the world is getting a hold of you, check out your prayer life. It can make a difference even if we only take 5 minutes a day to talk with God. Take that time to think through your day, and to thank God for whatever blessings you have been given – and there is always something to be thankful for. Then ask God to help you in whatever way you need him – and we always need God’s help. Spend some time in silence, then pray in the words Jesus himself gave us. It’s that simple – say “thank you,” ask for help, listen, and then pray. And if we spend even a fraction of the time praying as we do talking about the weather, then we will be well on our way to finding what our soul is looking for.

Homily Audio File Test

2010-07-24T14:04:00.002-04:00

I am working on recording my Sunday homilies to be able to post the audio files on the web so people can listen to them. This is a test to see how the system works. Click on the name of the homily below to be redirected to the audio file.

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 18, 2010) - How to deal with stress like Mary of Bethany

Guidelines for Social Media Ministry

2010-07-21T16:54:00.003-04:00

In what is quickly becoming one of the most blogged documents of the US Bishops - as it should be - the social media world is filled with references to the brand new Social Media Guidelines publiushed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Filled with practical advice on how to effectively minister through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., it even quotes from Wikipedia and has inbedded links to websites from the Vatican to the Federal Trade Commission. And it seems to complement the piece published in last week's Criterion, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, in which other priests, seminarians, and I shared how we use social media in our ministry. Says the new guidelines:

"Social media can be powerful tools for strengthening community, although social media interaction should not be viewed as a substitute for face-to-face gatherings. Social media can support communities in a myriad of ways: connecting people with similar interests, sharing information about in-person events, providing ways for people to engage in dialogue, etc. A well-considered use of social media has the ultimate goal of encouraging true friendship” (43rd World Communications Day message [2009]) and of addressing the human longing for meaningful community."

It's good to hear confirmation of what so many of us are trying to do with using social media in our ministry! One news report of the new guidelines says that someone called the USCCB asking for a hard-copy of the guidelines - and that they were denied, since it is an organic document that may be adjusted on the web as technologies change. How far we have come since the days of monks spending their lifetimes copying a single manuscript in a dimly-lit monastic scriptorium!

How to deal with stress like Mary of Bethany

2010-07-18T10:15:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Genesis 18.1-10a Psalm 15 Colossians 1.24-28 Luke 10.38-42

What makes you anxious? What are you worried about? Or is your life completely free from worry and anxiety? At its core, the story of Martha and Mary is not about a sibling rivalry; it’s not about whether a contemplative lifestyle is better than an active lifestyle. It’s about stress – it’s about anxiety – it’s about worry – and how we deal with those daily, human emotions. Are we like Martha, who is so worried about cooking dinner for Jesus and what she has to do, that she ends up angry at her sister? Or are we like Mary, who probably has anxieties of her own, but who lays those anxieties at the feet of Jesus and trusts in him to give her guidance and strength. And the most important question: does our relationship with Jesus affect how we handle stress?

It seems like the more technologically advanced our society becomes, the more stress we have. The busier we are, the more we worry about how things will turn out. The more we are focused on our own need to succeed or to be popular or to accomplish a certain set of tasks, the more anxiety rules our lives. The stress is going to be there – and certainly it is sometimes good to be anxious. The real test comes with how we deal with these feelings. The example that Mary gives us is to turn everything over to Jesus and to trust in him. For us, today, that means taking our anxieties to prayer, laying our lives before our Lord, and asking him for help. It means that when we come to Mass, we bring whatever baggage and burdens we might carry, and set them at the foot of the altar. It means that in the general intercessions at Mass, we beg God to hear not only the needs that are expressed vocally, but also the prayers in the depths of our hearts. It means that when we come forward to receive the Eucharist, we exchange the stress and anxieties of our bodies and souls for the Body and Blood of Christ, who truly can transform our hearts and lift our burdens.

So what do you bring today to this Mass? Are you worried about family members who have fallen away from the Church or who do not seem to have a meaningful relationship with God? Remember them in prayer before our Lord and Savior. Are you anxious about the coming school year – whether in grade school or high school, as a college student or parent? Here, today, and every day, ask the Lord for guidance and wisdom. Do the continuing challenges of job markets and insurance premiums and unemployment cause your heart to beat faster and your blood pressure to rise? Seek peace from the Prince of Peace and trust that he will never abandon you. Do you find yourself in broken relationships, or ones that are on the brink of tearing apart? Sit at the feet of Jesus in prayer and pour out your burdens upon him – ask him for help, ask him for strength, ask him for whatever you need.

In the gospel, Martha was so busy trying to do everything herself that she lost sight of the only person who could help ease her anxiety – not her sister, but her Lord. Here in this place, that same Lord is present. He is there whenever you pray to him, he is with you in the depths of your darkest struggles, he is there to celebrate your achievements. But most of all, he is ready to help you get rid of all your stress, all your anxiety, and all your worries. All we have to do is go to him with our needs, listen for his response, and trust in his guidance. That is the one thing necessary.

Criterion Article on Digital Ministry

2010-07-15T09:55:00.002-04:00

The Criterion, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, has an article this week on priests who use blogs and social networking in their ministry. In fact, this article may have led you to visit this blog! If not, check the article out: Online evangelists: Steering clear of digital dangers, priests use Internet to spread the Gospel.

St. Thomas Aquinas via Twitter

2010-07-14T17:27:00.002-04:00

I don't often borrow from other blogs, but this one is just too good to pass up, at least for those of us who are familiar with St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae. Dr. Kimberly Hope Belcher, a professor at St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, posted this on the Pray Tell Blog this week. I don't tweet, but if you do, check out the Summa!

Tweeting the Summa Theologiae?
Who would do that? [Oh, yes, I would.]

Obj 1: Twitter is inappropriate for any serious endeavor. The ST is a serious endeavor. Therefore it should not be tweeted.

Obj 2: 140 characters is not enough to get any real theology done.

Obj 3: People on Twitter are unlikely to appreciate the substance and depth of Thomas Aquinas’ great work.

Contra: “The Master of Catholic Truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but also to instruct beginners” (ST Prologue). Therefore http://twitter.com/summatheologiae.

Resp: I think it’s an interesting way to provide a taste of the ST to get people interested in the larger work. It has the potential to benefit two — no, three! — kinds of readers. First, those who are interested in the thought of Thomas Aquinas but are not sure what part of the work they would be most interested in reading. Second, those who read a part of the ST without its context but would like a larger picture of the work. Third, those who have no interest in the ST itself but are willing to slowly cruise through this greatly abridged version. Our lives will be enriched, I hope. (And if not, it was only 140 characters.)

Ad 1: Twitter is not just for frivolous pursuits, and although theology is a serious endeavor, it is one that can be relevant to every new medium of communication. [Also see ad 2.]

Ad 2: We’ll just have to see about that.

Ad 3: If you jump on and follow, that won’t be a concern anymore, will it? http://twitter.com/summatheologiae

What Would You Do?

2010-07-11T10:16:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Deut. 30.10-14 Psalm 69 or 19 Colossians 1.15-20 Luke 10.25-37

There’s a reality news show on television that raises real life ethical questions and puts people in these situations to see how they will react. The show is called, simply, “What would you do?” Perhaps you’ve seen it. One recent episode saw a man trying to drug his date by putting a powdery substance in her glass of wine while she was away from the table. Another episode had people witness gas theft from a filling station. The concept of the show is to use hidden cameras and actors to see how real, unsuspecting people react to these situations – would they say something to the woman whose drink was drugged; would they try to stop the attempted gas theft? And then, of course, beyond the people on screen – what would you do? It’s like a modern-day version of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

But one of the main differences between the gospel and the television show is that the gospel gives us a clear set of criteria for knowing how to act in these kinds of situations. We are to love other people as ourselves, Jesus tells us, and we are to treat them with mercy – with kindness and compassion. In other words, we are to treat everyone around us as people, created and loved by God, our brothers and sisters; not as objects to be manipulated, or as illusions to be forgotten, or as distractions to be ignored. Of course, as the TV show points out, there are many other things to consider. You might not want to make a scene, or you might be concerned for your own safety if you react to another person’s actions. But when it comes down to it, the human response, the Christian response, is to do whatever necessary to treat people with love and mercy, with kindness and compassion. It’s not easy, and most of us fail many times before we have the courage and the true faith to be like the Good Samaritan. But if we call ourselves Christian, then we must start developing the habit of treating people with mercy. For in doing that, we will inherit eternal life.

The Genius of the Roman Rite

2010-07-10T12:22:00.004-04:00

I got Keith Pecklers' new book this week, The Genius of the Roman Rite: On the Reception and Implementation of the New Missal. It's a historic overview of how the prayers and responses we use at Mass in the Roman Catholic Church have developed and been introduced over time. The latest development is a new edition of the texts of the Mass - the Third Edition of the Roman Missal of Vatican II - with the English translation being implemented most likely at the beginning of Advent 2011. The Vatican has given its recognition of the English translation for the United States, but we are awaiting the final published version from the Vatican. Pecklers' book is valuable because it places this new edition and translation in its context in the history of Mass texts for the Catholic Church. If you trace the entire history of these texts, you will find that there is always a continuity and a focus on a noble simplicity of texts.

A lot has already been done to prepare Catholics in the United States for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal - much of it behind the scenes and with priests and liturgy offices. Here at my parish, our liturgy committee has been preparing for over a year - we spent the past year reading and praying through all the new texts for the Order of Mass. This spring, I gave a presentation to all of our liturgical ministers on the history of the Roman Missal and the changes that are coming. Just a couple weeks ago, I attended a two-day conference in Louisville for priests, led by Msgr. Tony Sherman, the head of the US Bishops' Office of Divine Worship. And there will be much more to come.

While there will certainly be a time of adjustment when we implement these new texts, I'm looking forward to the opportunity it will provide for catechesis on the liturgy and how we as Catholics pray. So many of the changes have been done so that the Sciptural allusions in our Mass prayers - which are in the Latin version but were not in the last English translation - will be brought out. We will realize more and more how much of our prayer has its basis in Scripture. And there really is a noble simplicity in these new translations - it's not every-day speech, because we're not addressing an every-day person. We're addressing God, and we will be doing so in a humble, awe-filled manner that will both distinguish our prayer from the language of everyday life and help us to connect our lives of faith with what we do outside of Mass.

So much to do, and so many great opportunities for catechesis! At least we have a lot of time to prepare!

Media at the Service of the Word

2010-07-07T09:17:00.004-04:00

In a few months, this blog will be celebrating three years on the web. When I first started blogging, I had planned to publish texts of my Sunday and Holy Day homilies as well as regular reflections and thoughts on other areas of faith and Church life. Over time, the demands of ministry reduced the blog to being almost exclusively a place for posting homilies. Now, however, I hope to expand the use of this blog, in the spirit of Pope Benedict XVI's challenge to priests on this year's World Communications Day:

"All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of his saving grace in the sacraments. Gathered and called by the Word, the Church is the sign and instrument of the communion that God creates with all people, and every priest is called to build up this communion, in Christ and with Christ. Such is the lofty dignity and beauty of the mission of the priest, which responds in a special way to the challenge raised by the Apostle Paul: “The Scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame … everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? (Rom 10:11, 13-15).

Responding adequately to this challenge amid today’s cultural shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily involves using new communications technologies. The world of digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul’s exclamation: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16) The increased availability of the new technologies demands greater responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the Word, but it also requires them to become become more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts. Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word."
- Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the 44th World Day of Communication, May 16, 2010

So stay tuned for more regular postings on this blog as I continue to work to put "the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word."

Prayer for a Nation

2010-07-04T10:09:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Isaiah 66.10-14c Psalm 66 Galatians 6.14-18 Luke 10.1-12, 17-20

When George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States in 1789, the only Catholic bishop in the country at the time, Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, wrote a prayer for the occasion, a prayer for the country and her leaders. It is a prayer that has stayed with us through 44 presidents and over 200 years of a diverse people bound together by life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The reason Archbishop Carroll’s prayer is still valuable today is that it speaks to all people, of all times. It is not politically divisive; it is not allied with any particular ideology. It simply asks that God guide the leaders of our nation as they fulfill their duties. And it recognizes that true wisdom, real freedom, and lasting peace come not from governments or armies or business or technology, but from God alone.

In many ways, this is the same message that Jesus gives in today’s gospel. As he sends seventy-two followers ahead of him, they are to preach a message of peace, and they are to declare the presence of God’s kingdom. The faith of Jesus Christ is not a political faith – the kingdom of God is not identified with any one system of government or set of laws. God’s reign is universal, with no borders or boundaries. The kingdom of God is at hand for us when the poor of all nations are fed, when the strangers are welcomed, when the sick in mind and body find wholeness. The kingdom of God is at hand when there is peace and unity among all people, regardless of race or ethnicity, gender or social status. The kingdom of God is at hand when we seek guidance not just in human knowledge but in divine wisdom.

We really have something good going on here in the United States, a land that is based on respect and freedom, life and unity. But through the years, like any human structure, we get off track, we lose our focus; we turn away from the God who unites us and trust instead in the things that divide us: our jobs, our homes, our back accounts, our personal dreams. Through the years, we have strayed away from a society that was founded on a fundamental acknowledgement of a right to life. Through the years, we have laid aside the quest for building God’s kingdom here on earth while awaiting the kingdom of heaven; instead, we have focused more and more on what satisfies us as individuals in the here and now. We have a good foundation here in this country, but we need help and guidance to achieve that dream.

So we look back to the prayer of Archbishop John Carroll, the prayer written for the inauguration of our first president. His words speak to us still today.

Almighty and eternal God, assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides. May he encourage due respect for virtue and religion. May he execute the laws with justice and mercy. May he seek to restrain crime, vice, and immorality. Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government. May they seek to preserve peace, promote national happiness, and continue to bring us the blessings of liberty and equality. May we [all] be preserved in union and that peace which the world cannot give; and, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. We pray to you, who are Lord and God, for ever and ever. (“Prayer for an Inauguration,” Book of Blessings, para. 1965)

2010 State of the Parish Report

2010-06-27T10:21:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Each year on the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, I like to give an overview of the life and ministry of our parish, something of a State of the Parish Report. It is good every once in a while to step back and look at where we are – both at the successes and challenges of the past year and at the hopes and dreams for the coming year. First, a look at where we are and where we have been.

There are currently 1,172 registered households in our parish comprising approximately 3,368 people. Forty-five of those households registered in our parish during the past twelve months. During that same time period, since July 1 of last year, we have baptized 31 infants, married 15 couple, welcomed 9 adults into the Church through the RCIA, and celebrated 21 funerals. In looking over recent years, our baptisms were down this year, but we had almost twice the number of weddings as the year before. We are blessed to have a good number of young adults and young families in our parish, bringing us much life and vitality.

But, of course, a parish is much more than statistics. Among many highlights of this past year, we welcomed a new youth minister and part-time youth ministry assistant to the parish staff. A new Christian Service Commission was formed to help coordinate the many service ministries sponsored by our parish. A new Evangelization Committee was also formed and is currently in the process of evaluating the ways we spread the gospel both within and outside our parish. During the year, we sponsored a very successful Lenten Reteat for the Parish. We hosted a concert commemorating the 40th anniversary of the installation of our pipe organ. We welcomed back several priests who have been associated with the parish over the years to celebrate the Year for Priests. We also hosted four seminarians from Saint Meinrad School of Theology as part of their parish ministry formation program. In our school, we installed several interactive white boards, bringing the benefits of the latest technology to our classrooms, and we held our second annual Kingdom Builders’ Dinner, raising over $23,000 for need-based tuition assistance for our parish school.

But in my reflections, there were three clear highlights to our parish life over the past year. Last September, we launched the new One Church, One Faith Total Parish Faith Formation Program. The centerpiece of this program was Week One, an inter-generational evening of food, faith formation, and prayer held on the first Wednesday of every month. We averaged around 200 parishioners of all ages at these Week One gatherings, and plans are already underway for the second year of this program. Last October, our parish rejoiced as my predecessor as pastor, Bishop Paul Etienne, was named bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Several hundred people joined together to celebrated with him at a Mass and Thanksgiving Feast in November, and then around 50 parishioners made the journey to Cheyenne for his ordination as a bishop. Around the same time last fall, construction was completed on our new baptismal font and renovations to the church sanctuary, vestibule, and entry ways, all made possible by the Legacy for Our Mission Capital Campaign and financial gifts designated for this purpose. It certainly has been an exciting and productive year here at OLPH. But where do we go from here?

There are a few very clear projects that we are working on for the coming year. This fall, we hope to complete the final phase of renovations funded by our Capital Campaign – the renovation of the music area here in the church. The funds have been received, and we are currently finalizing the architectural drawings for this project. During the coming year, we will continue to work to expand such ministries as evangelization, youth and young adult ministry, Christian service, and health ministry – all of those groups are hard at work developing goals and plans specific to their areas of focus. This fall, we plan to hold a 40 Hours Devotion – forty hours of Eucharistic Adoration, with Masses and education focused on the prayer and worship life of our community. Later in the year, we will begin education for the new translations of the prayers we say at Mass, a transition that will be coming to all Catholic churches in the English speaking parts of the world in the fall of 2011. And we are currently beginning talks to bring back the Main Event in February 2011. The Main Event served as our major parish fundraiser for many years. After a two-year hiatus, we are hoping to bring it back this coming winter. Two parishioners have agreed to co-chair the event, and they are looking for volunteers to serve on the committee – if you have an interest, you can see me after Mass or send me a message.

But even more than our plans for these specific ministries, now seems to be a significant time to look at the overall vision and direction of our parish. A year ago, we concluded the implementation of the ENVISION parish planning process, which had identified five priority areas for parish ministry. As beneficial as any of our parish ministries and be in themselves, they will eventually flounder if they are not part of a larger plan. So we must continually ask ourselves: How do we intend to build God’s kingdom in this particular parish? What should be our areas of focus as we worship, spread the gospel, form one another in the faith, and serve the needs of our community? It is time once again to begin thinking about a strategic plan for our parish. In the short-term, two initiatives have already begun to help lay the groundwork. As a way to continue to get to know parishioners, I have opened up much of my July calendar to share meals with parishioners in their homes. After announcing my availability in last week’s bulletin, I now have only five dates still available in July – if you are open to having me join your family or friends for dinner, give me a call or an e-mail. Once the July dates are filled, I will continue to make time available into the future. During these meals and conversations, I hope to hear from you your ideas, dreams, and plans for the future of our parish ministries. We are also in the process of redesigning all of our parish communications, beginning with designing a new parish and school logo. Eventually, this redesign will affect everything from our parish website to the newsletter to the Sunday bulletin to letterhead and business cards. That’s happening right now. But beginning this fall, I have asked our Pastoral Council to begin a more formal process of strategic planning to help us prepare for the future ministry of our parish. This is an exciting time for our parish community, and I look forward to involving the entire parish in this process. But first of all, we must ask for God’s guidance and the prayers of Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, to guide our ministries and our service for the building up of His kingdom. So as we celebrate our parish feast this weekend, may that be our prayer: that God bless this parish and strengthen each of us to follow His voice, wherever he may lead.

Why be a priest?

2010-06-20T10:17:00.000-04:00

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Zechariah 12.10-11, 13.1 Psalm 63 Galatians 3.26-29 Luke 9.18-24

This weekend, we officially mark the conclusion of the Year for Priests, declared by Pope Benedict to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests. What the Holy Father hoped to accomplish during this past year was a renewed appreciation of the gift of the priesthood, both for priests themselves and for the Church as a whole. And at the same time, we hope to help young men today to see the priesthood more and more as a worthy calling and to help them open the ears of the hearts to learn if God is indeed calling them to this vocation. And so the question must be asked: why would a young man want to be a priest today? In a world so focused on personal accomplishment and material wealth, why be a priest? In a Church that has been wounded by the actions of a few men who have abused their priestly role, why be a priest? In a culture so focused on marriage and family, why be a priest?

Certainly the priesthood is but one vocation among many. As St. Paul reminds us today, when we are baptized, we are clothed in Christ, and there are many ways to live out our baptismal call to holiness. In one sense, the value of the priesthood is in its equality with the other vocations. It is not better to be a priest than to marry, it is not better to be in religious life than to live a sacred single life. When God calls, that call is a good thing – whatever he calls us to do. But the question still remains, if all vocations are equally important, why be a priest?

To answer that question, we need to know what the priesthood is as its own unique vocation. The priesthood is not a job or an office – it is a way of life. As priests, we structure our days so that we are serving not ourselves but serving the needs of others, whether in celebrating the sacraments or visiting the sick or teaching the faith or spending time with God in prayer. As priests, we have the humbling task of walking with people during their greatest joys and sorrows, always reminding them that Christ walks with them. As priests, we speak words that are not our own, words that come from the mouth of God himself as sins are absolved, lives are joined together, and ordinary bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.

Many people think that the priesthood is a lonely vocation – we have no wife or children, no family to go home to at the end of the day. But we do have a family, we have a parish family; we have good friends both within the priesthood and outside the priesthood. The calling of the priesthood is a call to live in relationship with God and God’s people. The calling of the priesthood is to keep eternity ever before our eyes and to help guide people to heaven, one by one. Of course, we priests can’t do that alone. We do this together with all the baptized, working side by side to build God’s kingdom here on earth in order to reach God’s kingdom in heaven. It is an awesome responsibility, to be a priest, but it made possible only through the grace and strength of God.

So why be a priest? Because if that is how God is calling a young man to spend his life, then God will give him what he needs to fulfill the role. Why be a priest? Because our world needs public witnesses to holiness, our Church needs the sacraments, we all need people whose lives are dedicated to reminding us how much God loves us. Why be a priest? Because it is a life of true joy and fulfillment. Why be a priest? Because God calls, and we must follow.

The Story as Creed

2010-06-13T10:15:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
2 Samuel 12.7-10, 13 Psalm 32 Galatians 2.16, 19-21 Luke 7.36-50

People often ask me what we as Catholics believe. But even more that what we believe, people often want to know how our beliefs impact the way we look at the world, how our beliefs guide the way we act and the decisions we make. It’s an important question, and it deserves a complete and honest answer. The most basic statement of what we believe as Christians is laid out in the Creed – belief in the Trinity; belief that God made everything that exists; belief in the Son of God who became man and who suffered, died, and rose from the dead; belief in the Holy Spirit, in the Church, in one baptism, and in eternal life. Christians have been praying this Creed in their liturgies for almost 1700 years. But that is just a beginning. For what we believe as Catholics, we could look to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a great resource that explains in detail Catholic teaching on the creed, liturgy, morality, and prayer. But for a different perspective, today’s gospel reading can give us a good overview not only of what we as Catholics believe but how those beliefs influence our outlook on life, the way we treat other people, and the way we look at the world. Virtually every significant point of our faith can be found in this story about a sinful woman and her encounter with Jesus at the home of the Pharisee.

This story has one person at its center – all the action and conversation is focused on the man named Jesus. So it is for us – everything we do as Christians is focused on Jesus Christ, the one we believe to be the Son of God. And like both the Pharisee and the sinful woman, we want to be near Jesus – we want to structure our lives so that we are in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That individual connection is crucial, it’s central to our faith – but it’s not everything. We also encounter Jesus in the midst of community – we get to know him, not by ourselves, but along with other people who are on the same faith journey. So it is in this story from Luke’s gospel – the people we hear about in the story do not have one-on-one encounters with Jesus, in isolation – they encounter Jesus as part of a group, and they learn from one another as well as from the prophet and teacher. Simon the Pharisee could not have learned about forgiveness without the presence and actions of the sinful woman and Jesus’ response. In our lives as Christians, we strive to develop both a personal and communal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God – everything we do is about him.

But there is more we can learn from this story. Our Christian tradition places a great emphasis on hospitality – we strive to be welcoming to all people, friend and stranger, just as the sinful woman welcomed Jesus with her tears and oil. We have a special concern for the outcast and those in need – people who are separated from mainstream society for whatever reason – the poor, the lonely, the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, the foreigner – we strive to see Christ in all people and to honor his presence in them. And we know the importance of forgiveness. We are a Church of sinners who want to be saints – but most of the time, we are sinners. We trust in the compassionate love and forgiveness that God shows us, and we try our best to show that same forgiveness to anyone who has wronged us. And everything we do comes sooner or later to a table. Jesus was never far away from a meal during his ministry. And we Catholic Christians are never far away from the supper of the Lord, the table of the Eucharist, where we are fed and nourished by Christ himself.

It’s not a creed, it’s not a catechism, but it seems to me to be a pretty good summary not only of what we believe but how we want to live. Day by day, we make Jesus the center of our lives – both personally and communally. We strive to be welcoming to all people. We have a special concern for those who are in need. We know that we are sinners, but through God’s grace and forgiveness we want to be saints. And along the journey, we are strengthened at the table of Christ’s Body and Blood. This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church, and we are proud to profess it by the way we live.

Oil and Water

2010-05-30T10:20:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year C
Proverbs 8.22-31 Psalm 8 Romans 5.1-5 John 16.12-15

The tragedy of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has dominated news reports over the past month. We still don’t know the full extent of the environmental and economic impact of this disaster, but we do know that it is one of the worst disasters in the history of our country. People are angry and frustrated at the slow speed of the clean-up efforts, and rightly so. The long-term effect on seafood, coastlines, marshes, and the ocean itself is not yet known. But one of the few things we do know is that the reason oil spills like this have such devastating effects is because of a very basic scientific fact – oil and water don’t mix.

The relationship between the three persons of the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – is an organic relationship; it is a relationship based on love. There is no division among these three persons – they are all one God. But when human beings enter the picture of the universe, things are different. It’s something like the combination of oil and water. Even though each of us human beings is created in God’s image and likeness, we go through most of our lives separated from God’s love. We let our emotions drive us – we become ruled by fear or anger or lust or greed. Our pride turns our gaze inward, so that we are always trying to make our own lives more comfortable or more fulfilling. We make decisions based on what makes us feel good. The more we succumb to selfishness or the need for emotional satisfaction, the more our relationship with God becomes like oil and water – we just don’t mix. If we’re so focused on ourselves, then it is impossible for us to welcome the love of God into our lives. God’s love – the love of the Trinity – is always there, but unless we break down the barriers that separate us, then we’re living on the surface, without much depth or substance. And a life separated from God has consequences that far eclipse even the most massive oil spill you can imagine.

But there is one major difference in this analogy. Oil and water will never mix – that’s a scientific fact. But we human beings can change our habits, our actions, and our attitudes so that God does become a major part of our lives. If the Trinity is based on love, then the way to open our hearts and souls to God is to learn how to love; to learn how to think first of others before we think of ourselves; to learn how to use wisely the gifts we have been given. And the good news is that God takes the first step in this learning process. He has already poured his love into our hearts – starting when we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God continues to pour his love into our hearts when we celebrate the sacraments, when we spend time in prayer, when we grow in our faith, and when we serve one another. Because in our very nature, we’re really not like oil and water – there is a connection between us and God – there is a part of God that always lives within us. Any separation that exists is man-made. And just like the unity of the three persons of the Trinity, God wants us to be one with him – in the water of rebirth, in the oil of anointing, in the Body and Blood of Christ, broken and poured out. So which will it be – oil and water, or united in the love of the Trinity?

Unity and Diversity in the Spirit

2010-05-23T10:23:00.001-04:00

Homily for Pentecost, Year C
Vigil: Genesis 11.1-9 Psalm 104 Romans 8.22-27 John 7.37-39
Day: Acts 2.1-11 Psalm 104 1 Corinthians 12.3b-7, 12-13 John 20.9-23

Every single person here is, in a sense, the same. We are all created in God’s image and likeness, we share a common human nature, we are all given the opportunity to know and love God. And yet every single person here is different. We each have a story that is only our own, a background that no one else shares, a personality and character that is unique and unrepeatable. The group of people gathered here today – in fact any group of human beings gathered together anywhere in the world – this group is both a collection of “I’s” and one big “We.” And what is really striking is that it is the Holy Spirit that brings us both unity and diversity. The Holy Spirit that lives within each person unites us to every other human being – making us one. But that same Holy Spirit blesses each person with different gifts and talents – making us unique. We’re the same, yet we’re different – all because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

This unity and diversity affects how we as Christians look at the world; it affects the decisions we make and the way we set priorities. At its most fundamental level, the unity of all people in the Holy Spirit leads us to a basic respect for life – because we are all the same in the eyes of God. And so that affects how we live. Our unity in the Holy Spirit calls us to ensure that all of God’s children, who are chosen and blessed from the moment of conception, are brought to birth and are given the love and care they need to grow and mature throughout life. At the same time, this unity calls us to end the massive inequalities that have been created in our society – inequalities based on race or nationality, wealth or level of success. The most malnourished child in Africa is the on the same level as the wealthiest bank executive in New York – they are both filled with the same Holy Spirit – and we must work make that spiritual unity a visible reality. And our unity in the Holy Spirit challenges us to treat the stranger sitting next to us in church the same way we treat our oldest and dearest friends. That’s simply how we look at the world. It’s not easy to do, it’s not always popular, but it is the Christian perspective, a fundamental unity of all people through the Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, we are also called to recognize our diversity, to celebrate the unique gifts and calling that each person is given by the same Holy Spirit. As Christians, we recognize that each person has a unique vocation – that some people are called to married life, while others are called to religious life; some people are called to a sacred single life, while some men are called to priesthood – we’re not all called to the live the exact same life, but we can help people discover their calling. We recognize the diversity in our own parish community when we give each member of our community the opportunity to use their unique gifts and talents for the good of the whole church. Those gifted in hospitality serve as greeters at Mass, while those gifted in writing serve on our newsletter committee; those gifted as teachers serve as catechists in faith formation, while those gifted in website design serve on our technology committee; and on and on and on. We all have gifts and talents, but not the same ones as the person sitting next to us. And yet we do all of those different things as part of one Church, one faith, built on the one baptism of Jesus Christ, and filled with the one Spirit of God.

That’s the way we look at the world as Christians – a world of both unity and diversity, brought about by the Holy Spirit. And our challenge – from the first Pentecost until the end of time – is to make the Holy Spirit visible and active in our world – the Spirit that makes us one, the same Spirit that makes each of us unique. Because we’re all the same in the eyes of God, but at the same time, we’re all different.

Taking the Gospel to the Digital World

2010-05-16T10:20:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Ascension of the Lord, Year C
Acts 1.1-11 Psalm 47 Ephesians 1.17-23 Luke 24.46-53

It’s easy to imagine why the apostles are just standing around after Jesus ascends into heaven, blindly looking up at the sky, wondering what they’re supposed to do next. For so long, they have been used to being followers. They have had Jesus with them to tell them exactly what to do and how to do it. And most of the time, they didn’t really have to do much themselves; they simply listened to Jesus preach or watched him do miracles. Now, he’s gone; he has returned to the Heavenly Father. And the apostles are left with a very specific task – but without their leader to show them the way. Their task – to witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ and to do that to the ends of the earth. They know what to do, but they don’t know how to do it. And so, for a moment, they just stand around and look up at the sky, trying to figure out what to do next.

In many ways, our task today is the same. We as a Church have an outstanding message – the message of a God who created us and loves us, who came to die for our sins that we might have eternal life, a God who sent the Holy Spirit to live in each and every human being and to give them life, dignity, value, and the ability to love. The Christian message has been transforming hearts for thousands of years. But there is another part of our task that is much more of a challenge. How do we communicate that age-old message in a way that is compelling, in a way that is able to be understood by people in the world of today, in a way that can lead them to Christ? Over the years, the Church has communicated its message in many different ways. Jesus himself used parables, stories that connected to the lives of the farmer, shepherds, fishermen, and travelers he met. St. Paul and many others in our history used writing to spread the gospel – they used letters or autobiographies or essays or newspapers that were circulated on paper. Medieval artists used stained glass windows to tell the story of the life of Christ. Archbishop Fulton Sheen used his famous television show to reach millions of people. These people all had the same message, but they adjusted the method to fit the people and the society and the technology of their time, to meet people where they were. And wherever the people of God gather, there we must take the gospel.

And that brings us to today. As a Church, we are being challenged in 2010 to take the message of gospel to a new place, to the world of social networking. We have had an internet presence for quite a while, and we’re getting pretty good at e-mail. But our latest challenge is to bring the gospel to the world of blogs and Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and texting and wherever else it is that people congregate in the digital world. These social networks can open up new opportunities for evangelization and catechesis, they can be today’s platform for the message that has been entrusted to us, a message of unconditional love and forgiveness, a message of truth and hope. Certainly nothing can replace face-to-face ministry and the personal sharing of our faith. And there is plenty about digital media and social networking that we must be cautious about. But, at the same time, we can only stand around for so long, looking at the digital world and wondering what we should do.

And so today, I have a challenge for all of us. As a parish, we have begun exploring ways to bring the gospel message to the world of digital media and social networking. Our webpage has great information on it, I have a personal blog where I post the text of my homilies, we have parishioner e-mail distribution lists, and we have a presence on Facebook. But there is so much more that we could do. The challenge is this – how can we, as a parish, expand our digital presence and find compelling avenues to proclaim the gospel message in new and creative ways? Alongside our traditional methods of communication, how can we use the latest technologies to introduce people to Christ and the Church? How can we put digital media at the service of the Word of God and even “give a ‘soul’ to the fabric of communications that makes up the ‘Web?’” (Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the 44th World Communications Day; January 24, 2010.) That is our task. And to do this, we need to work together. If you have ideas, send me an e-mail or a Facebook message, or even tell me face to face, and then we will put together a plan for digital ministry. We have a message to proclaim, a message that can change the world. And wherever the people of God gather, whether in person or virtually, it is our responsibility to be there to lead them to Christ.

True and Lasting Peace

2010-05-09T10:23:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 15.1-2, 22-29 Psalm 67 Revelation 21.10-14, 22-23 John 14.23-29

It’s graduation time for many colleges this weekend. Time to celebrate academic degrees and pray for jobs in which those degrees can be used. It’s also prom season for high schools, the last great celebration before final exams and summer jobs and musings about what the end of high school will bring. And of course it’s Mother’s Day weekend, when we honor everything that is great and loving about the women who gave us life and love and nurturing care. These weeks are always a busy time of year, a time when we get caught up in reflecting on the past and wondering about the future; a time of transition. And it’s also the time of flowers and cards and gifts – those visual symbols of our love or congratulations or respect. But it’s a different kind of gift we hear about in today’s liturgy.

As he prepares to leave his disciples, Jesus gives them a promise – he promises to give them peace. It is certainly a gift that could be used by anyone graduating from college or high school this year; it is a gift that any mother would long to have – whether in her own family or for the world as a whole. But what is this peace that Jesus promises to give? We often think of peace as the absence of conflict – and that is a kind of peace, a peace that the world tries to give. But true and lasting peace is a lot more than that. It is first of all a presence – the presence of the risen Christ. The peace that comes from Christ helps us know in the depths of our hearts that everything will work out well, that God will always take care of us. The peace that comes from Christ guides us to the calm and comfort that can be found even in the midst of noise and turbulence. The peace that comes from Christ helps us accept whatever direction our lives take, knowing that we are not alone. The peace that comes from Christ keeps our eyes fixed on the kingdom of God – both here on earth and in the life to come.

We’re going to face a lot of trouble and heartache in our lives – that’s a given. As a society, we continue to face war and terrorism and famine and struggle – from Times Square to our own backyards. The mothers among us worry that the broken relationships in their families often outnumber the ones that are structured the way we think – or we hoped – that they would be. This year’s college graduates are in for a long, hard road to find meaningful employment and the life that they have been waiting for. The world will try to get rid of all of those problems – and it will have some success. But most of the time, it won’t last. And so into this world enters Jesus Christ and his gift of peace. The peace that he gives us fills the voids and empty holes of our hearts with his presence. With Christ here among us, the troubles of life are much easier to bear; with Christ here among us, we have hope for the future; with Christ here among us, we know that God will take care of us each moment of every day. That’s what peace is about. That’s really what we need today and every day. There’s the peace that the world gives – a good peace, but a temporary absence of conflict. And there’s the peace that God gives – a loving presence at every moment of our lives – a peace that lasts forever because Christ will always be with us.

The Clarity of Anointing

2010-04-25T08:16:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 13.14, 43-52 Psalm 100 Revelation 7.9, 14b-17 John 10.27-30

At all Masses this weekend at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick was offered to those who have a serious illness or who are suffering the effects of old age. The following brief homily was preached prior to the Anointing.

Jesus is very clear today. There are no conditions … no exceptions. Anyone who hears his voice and follows him will never perish. Ever. No one can take his sheep out of his hand. No restrictions … no stipulations. When we follow the Good Shepherd, he will never leave us. No sickness or injury, not even death itself can separate us from his love. Of course, we must follow him; we must listen for his voice. But if we do that, he will always stay with us, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, through all of eternity. In a visible way, the Sacraments of the Church remind us of that. Today, as we offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, we remember that Jesus is with us in our suffering and pain, he longs to give us strength and peace. To be anointed with oil is to unite ourselves to Christ, who was anointed in his burial, conquered sin and death with his resurrection, and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always. To be anointed with oil in the sign of the cross is to mark us as children of God, blessed and broken, followers of the Good Shepherd who will never forget us. It is as clear as can be: follow Christ, and he will be with you always. And really, that’s all we need to know.

Following Christ: Repentance, Truth, and Love

2010-04-18T10:26:00.002-04:00

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 5.27-32, 40b-41 Psalm 30 Revelation 5.11-14 John 21.1-19

Like the massive cloud of volcanic ash blowing over Europe, the lingering effects of the clergy sex abuse crisis have been hovering over the Church once again in recent weeks. News of the sins – the crimes – the failings – of priests and Church leaders has spread around the globe, and we faithful followers of Christ are faced with a difficult reality and an even more difficult path ahead. Surrounded by reports that are mixed with truth and distortions, it can be hard for us to see where we are going. Consumed by shame and disgrace, we can easily lose heart. And when our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, endures personal attacks and even calls for his removal, many Catholics find themselves disoriented and stuck in the middle of the clouds. Nothing can excuse any form of abuse by anyone; nothing can excuse a cover-up or avoidance of allegations that could cause more children or adults to be put in harm’s way. But, at the same time, nothing can excuse a twisting of the facts or placing blame in the wrong place. In the midst of so much sorrow and confusion, to whom can we go? Where can we turn to find truth, love, strength, and perseverance? Where else, but to Christ himself.

At the very end of John’s gospel, Jesus once more invites Peter and the other disciples to follow him. He’s said this many times before. But this time, they have a better idea where they are going. To follow Christ means to go with him to the poor, the neglected, and the outsiders, as well as the rich, the powerful, and the influential, and to preach the same message of love and grace to them all. To follow Christ means to love as He loves, to be willing to lay down your own life for a friend. To follow Christ means to go with him to Calvary, to be willing to suffer the taunts and jeers and accusations of people who do not understand what you are doing. To follow Christ means being willing to forgive, just as he forgave the denials of Peter and the abandonment of the other disciples. And to follow Christ means to trust in his promise that the road to death is followed by a promised eternal life for those who are true to his name. Everything we do on this life is directed toward that single goal – the joy of heaven. When we fail to preach the gospel, we turn away from heaven. When we fail to love in an authentic way, we turn away from heaven. When we fail to respect the dignity of each person we meet, we turn away from heaven. But when we love, when we forgive, when we sincerely repent for our past failings, when we transform our hearts, then we walk together with Christ into eternity.

Our first task on that journey is to repent. Pope Benedict himself acknowledged that in a homily preached this past Thursday. The sins of a few have damaged all of us who follow Christ; together, we must recognize what is wrong in our lives, open ourselves to forgiveness, prepare to do penance, and allow ourselves to be transformed. We must forsake the past. Then, we must learn the truth – and not be afraid of what the truth is. We must not be overwhelmed by what the media tells us, but look for the complete truth as best we can. One piece of truth that has almost been hidden in recent days is the humble leadership that our Holy Father has used to guide the Church; the record shows that he has led the campaign to acknowledge the failings of priests and bishops and to purify the Church. More than anyone else, he is suffering greatly these days, and we pray that his courageous witness of truth will continue to guide us to Christ. Finally, we must learn day by day how to love. We must learn a type of love that is not about me, but about Christ. When we love God above all else, when we recognize the presence of Christ in every person on earth and love them the same way that we love God himself, when we love our enemies and those who hate us just as we love our friends – then we will be steadily on the path of following Christ and getting away from the cloud of doubt, of despair, and of death. Repent – learn the truth – and love. That is the path of Christ, that is the path to eternity. It is a road that we must walk together as a Church; it is a road that requires honesty and humility and strength. Together, then, if we dare, let us follow Christ.

He Is Everywhere

2010-04-11T13:09:00.003-04:00

Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 5.12-16 Psalm 118 Revelation 1.9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 John 20.19-31

It was found on the east side of the Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon’s portico formed the gateway from the hustle and bustle of the city into the Temple area itself. It was an area of the Temple where both Jews and gentiles could gather – and they did gather there every day to buy and sell, to catch up on the latest news of the town, to meet friends from other parts of the city. And so it was there, at Solomon’s Portico, that the apostles also gathered, where they would have a captive audience from both the Jewish community and the Roman empire. It was there that they cured the sick, there that they preached the gospel, and it was there that they baptized new followers of Christ. There, at Solomon’s portico on the east side of the Temple.

Not too far away in Jerusalem was the room where the disciples had gathered on the evening of the first day of the week, after the death of their master, when they had discovered that his tomb was empty. In that locked room, a room of fear and questions, the Risen Lord had appeared and breathed the Holy Spirit onto them. In that room in Jerusalem, the Church had its beginning, and the disciples left fear behind as they began to spread the good news of the Resurrection.

Many years later, one of those disciples, a man named John, was sent to a small, rocky island at the far eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea, an island called Patmos. It was a beautiful place, but a quiet place. At the time, the only people who lived on Patmos were there because they had been exiled for crimes against the Roman Empire. John had been sent there by the Emperor hoping that he would stop preaching about the man named Jesus. But in a small cave on a rocky hill on Patmos, John received a revelation. And he wrote down everything he heard.

From a locked room where peace cast out fear … to the gate of the Temple where Jews and gentiles gathered … to a cave on an island of exiles … the presence of the Risen Christ extended to every place in need of healing, in need of hope, in need of salvation. No place was too remote or too hidden, no place was too crowded or too noisy. Wherever was found a child of God, there too could be found the presence of the Savior, offering the gifts of peace, love, and guidance. So it was in those days, and so it is today. From the waiting room of an intensive care unit at a hospital in Louisville … to the lonely prison cell on death row. From a coal mine in West Virginia … to the site of a plane crash in western Russia. From the tables at a neighborhood coffee shop … to the pews of this church. From the dining room table set for one or twelve … to the car or bus ride to work, to school, to a job interview, to the unemployment office. The location doesn’t matter. When we need him most, the Risen Christ will be with us wherever we are. That is the promise of Easter; that is the promise of the Resurrection. So take comfort and rejoice – he is not among the dead, he is alive; he is not at rest in a tomb, he is here among us. Do not be afraid – look around and know the peace that God is ready to give you, wherever you are.

The Island of Patmos

Open on Sunday

2010-04-04T16:25:00.001-04:00

Homily for Easter Sunday, Year C
Acts 10.34a,37-43 Psalm 118 Colossians 3.1-4 Luke 24.1-12

This past week, I was at a local restaurant and noticed a sign hanging on the front window. The sign had a picture of a crucifix on it, with the announcement: “We will be closed this Sunday, Easter, so that our employees can spend time with their families.” I was really a bit surprised – pleasantly surprised. Because this doesn’t happen very much any more. Now there are a few businesses that have a corporate-wide policy that they are closed on Sundays – every Sunday. But they are fewer and fewer, and even closing on one Sunday out of the year – Easter Sunday – is becoming a rare occurrence. So what’s the deal? Why has Sunday become more a day for shopping and housework than for prayer, rest, and time with family? And why is Sunday important anyway? I won’t speculate today on why or how what we do on Sunday has changed over time, but on this Easter Day it is good for us to remember why Sunday is significant to begin with. And it all starts and ends with one thing – the Resurrection.

That Sunday morning so long ago, when the women came to the tomb and found it empty, was the turning point of all creation. From that Sunday morning, everything changed. No longer are we caught in the trap of sin, no longer does death control us. From that Sunday morning when Christ rose from the dead, the gates of heaven have been opened for us, death has been conquered, and sin has been destroyed. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead gives meaning to our lives – it tells us that we are not alone, Christ is always with us, and he longs to make us holy in this life and to bring us to himself in the life to come. When we remember that, when we remember the Resurrection that happened on a Sunday morning so long ago, we will want to celebrate our redemption each time the calendar turns to the first day of the week, the day of light, the day of joy, the day of Resurrection.

And how do we mark that day? The sign on the restaurant window this week said it well – we spend time with our families. We first of all spend time with our family of faith, with the family of God, when we make Mass a priority in our routines each and every Sunday. But we might also spend time with our earthly family, strengthening the bonds that tie us to our blood relatives and those who are like family to us. Or we might spend time on Sunday creating new families, visiting the sick or shut-ins, studying Scripture with a small group of people, or writing notes to loved ones who are distant from us. Somehow – in some way – Sunday should be different for us as Christians. A day for family, a day with God, a day celebrating the risen life that we have received. Really, it’s pretty simple. But it takes priorities and it takes intentional effort. And remember – no matter what else is closed on Sundays, you will always find the church open.

From This Night to Eternity

2010-04-04T16:24:00.002-04:00

Homily for Easter Vigil, Year C
There is so much that happens in this liturgy tonight – so many symbols, so much beauty – that it can be difficult to grasp onto any one thing that dominates our Easter Vigil celebration. Is it the story of salvation history that we just heard through eight Scripture readings – from the creation of the world to the resurrection of Christ? Or is it the water and oil that will be used in a few minutes for baptism and confirmation? Or is it the bread and wine that later this evening will be sanctified by the Holy Spirit to become the Body and Blood of Christ? Or is it the light of a single candle shining to dispel the darkness of this night? There is so much here to draw our attention and to cause our spirits to soar. And when this night is over, and the candles are put out and the lights turned off and the books of Scripture put away and the Alleluia’s fade – what is left? From this day forward, the five people who are baptized tonight will always be baptized children of God. The adults who are confirmed will always have the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the Eucharist will continue to nourish us every time we gather around this altar. No matter where we go, the words that we hear and the Sacraments we celebrate will continue to lead us to Christ, risen from the tomb, the Son of God who has conquered death and opened for us the gates of paradise. The wisdom of God will give us strength and understanding, life and peace (Baruch 3.14). And when our lives come to their earthly end, we have the sure hope that “if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (Romans 6.8). The true greatness of this night is that it does not end when we go home. Christ is risen today – and every day. The Sacraments give us life – today and every day. The light of Christ scatters the darkness of this world – today and every day. There is much for us to celebrate here – not just tonight, but every night. For Christ risen from the dead lives in us each day and every night, leading us to the joy of heaven.

On This Holy Thursday

2010-04-01T21:34:00.003-04:00

Homily for Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper
Exodus 12.1-8, 11-14 Psalm 116 1 Corinthians 11.23-26 John 13.1-15

Why is tonight different from all other nights? How is this Holy Thursday Mass different from all other Masses? In many ways, tonight’s Mass is no different than any other Mass celebrated here or in any other Catholic church any day of the year. A portion of God’s people gather together for prayer. We read from the Scriptures and reflect on their meaning for us. We bring forward simple gifts – bread and wine and water – and the priest or bishop presiding asks, on behalf of the whole assembly, that the Holy Spirit sanctify these gifts so that they may become the Body and Blood of Christ. We sing, we pray, we sit in silence, we share God’s peace, we receive Christ into our very bodies, and we leave here strengthened for our task of mission in the world. All that happens not just tonight, not just on Holy Thursday, but at every celebration of the Eucharist. And yet, tonight is different.

Tonight, we remember. We remember the first time this great gift of the Eucharist was celebrated, on the night Jesus was betrayed, the night before he died. Tonight, we wash feet to remember our Lord’s command to serve one another and to allow us to be served by others. Tonight, we process with the Eucharist to a special chapel where we wait and watch and pray, with Jesus and his disciples. All that we do every year on Holy Thursday. But still, this year is different. This is the Year for Priests, a time when we especially remember the great gift of the priesthood, we priests who are at the service of Christ and his Church, whose lives are not our own. Unworthy though we are, sinners though we be, we have pledged our lives to bring Christ to the world, especially through the Sacraments; to help the people entrusted to our care to themselves become the hands, the feet, the voice of Jesus Christ in a world very much in need of compassion and love; to lead our people to heaven. This Year for Priests makes tonight’s Holy Thursday Mass a momentous anniversary both of the Eucharist and of the priesthood. But even with that, this year is different. Because in the eyes of many people in our world, the priesthood is no longer a trusted vocation. On this Holy Thursday, in this Year for Priests, we are a church under attack, a priesthood under attack. Some of it, rightly so; but much of it, misdirected and unwarranted.

Over the past few weeks, we as a church are confronted once again by the sins and crimes of a few who have broken the sacred trust that we have with our people. Tonight is not the time to dwell on specifics, but suffice it to say, one instance of sexual abuse is too many. We as a Church are saddened and angered by what has taken place all over the world, and we renew our concern for those affected and our resolve to take seriously our responsibilities to safeguard and protect all people, especially children, and to make sure that such abuse never happens again. As one bishop said this week, “People instinctively expect holiness in a Catholic priest, and are especially appalled when he does evil” (Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto at his Archdiocese’s Chrism Mass). When one child is harmed, we all feel the pain. When one priest fails, we all feel the pain. Tonight, as priests around the world celebrate this Holy Thursday Mass, we share some of jeers and taunts that Jesus met on his walk to Calvary. And yet we know that Christ is still with His Church. We know that the Holy Spirit still moves among us. We know that the grace of the Sacraments will still lead us heavenward. And so, with heavy hearts, we move forward, we strive for holiness day by day, we celebrate the Eucharist with faith and love, we wash one another’s feet, and we pray for the grace to show the true Christ to the world, the Christ of love and compassion, the Christ of forgiveness and mercy, the Christ of hope and joy. We will not stand back on this pilgrim journey, we will not turn away – we will walk with Christ to the end, by the grace of God.

And so on this night, I ask you to pray for me; pray that I may have the grace and wisdom to shepherd the people of this parish. Pray for all priests, that they may preach the gospel in truth and love. Pray for those who have suffered at the hands of clergy seeming to represent the Church, that they find healing and peace. Pray for our Archbishop, Daniel, that he may be guided by the Holy Spirit as he leads the people of our archdiocese. And pray especially for our Holy Father. It would not be too much of a stretch to say that Pope Benedict has done more than just about anyone else on this earth to purify the Church of those who have taken advantage of their position and committed crimes and sins against people who should have been able to trust them. His leadership as our shepherd has been questioned by many in recent days, in ways that have distorted the truth left all standards of objective journalism by the wayside, and he too is walking the painful road to Calvary this Holy Week. On this night, this Holy Thursday we stand together as one Church, one Body of Christ, wounded and broken on the cross, and yet confident in the power of the resurrection to make all things new. On this night, this Holy Thursday, we beg God to take away all pride and selfishness and to make us all holy, one heart at a time. May this night be different than all other nights because it is the beginning of our salvation.

Palm Sunday 2010

2010-03-28T08:02:00.004-04:00

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”

- Luke 19.38

"He emptied himself,taking the form of a slave."

- Philippians 2.7

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

- Luke 23.42

"If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with your death. Enter paradise with Jesus, and discover how far you have fallen. Contemplate the glories there, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in his blasphemy.

"If you are a Joseph of Arimathea, go to the one who ordered his crucifixion, and ask for Christ’s body. Make your own the expiation for the sins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus, like the man who worshipped God by night, bring spices and prepare Christ’s body for burial. If you are one of the Marys, or Salome, or Joanna, weep in the early morning. Be the first to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself."

- St. Gregory Nazianzen

12 Hours of Grace

2010-03-14T17:15:00.001-04:00

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C
Joshua 5.9a, 10-12 Psalm 34 2 Corinthians 5.17-21 Luke 15.1-3, 11-32

There is a story is told of St. Damian of Molokai. Born in Belgium, Fr. Damian was sent to Hawaii to serve as a missionary in the 1860s. He spent 16 years on the island of Molokai, a leper colony. For most of that time, he was the only priest on the island. Because many people were fearful of contracting leprosy, the residents of Molokai were never allowed to leave the island, and the only way to visit the island was to promise to never leave. In his journals, Fr. Damian wrote about the struggles of ministering on this island of disease and death. But his greatest personal struggle had nothing to do with the lepers in his care, the rejection by the local government, or the danger that he might himself contract leprosy – which he did. Fr. Damian’s greatest personal struggle was that, since he was the only priest on the island, he did not have the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation very often. Whenever a ship would come toward the island, Fr. Damian would run to the shore. As the ship passed by or threw boxes of supplies into the sea for the residents of the island, he would shout to the ship, asking if a priest were on board. On the rare occasions that a priest was on board the ship, he would ask if the priest would hear his confession. With the priest standing on the deck of the ship, Fr. Damian would shout his confession from the shore, with the priest shouting back his penance and absolution. This sacrament gave him the strength to minister to an island of dying people. And St. Damian’s greatest struggle on that island of death was that the Sacrament of Reconciliation was an infrequent grace.

Too many of us live almost in fear of the sacrament we call Reconciliation or Confession or Penance. We are afraid of what the priest might think of us, we are reluctant to admit our failings to another person, we don’t know why we can’t just go directly to God and bypass the ministry of the priest confessor. But the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not really about sin – it is about love. Look at the different reactions by the father and the older son in the familiar parable we heard today. The older son is fixated on his brother’s sins, swallowing up their father’s property with prostitutes, among other things. From his perspective, it is the sin that determines how his brother should be treated. He is angry at his father who sees things from a very different perspective. The father never once mentions the sins – he knows what they are, he knows that his younger son has come to him in humility to beg forgiveness. But the sins are not part of the father’s vocabulary. Instead, he shows unconditional love and compassion; he rejoices that his son who was lost has returned home. Their relationship is based on love, not on sin. And that is what we experience in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

There are two things that happen in this sacrament: God forgives our sins, first of all, but he also gives us grace. And how we need that grace! The only way we can be the holy person we are called to be is with God’s help. It is impossible to be patient all the time with a 2-year old or a 17-year old without God’s help; most often, they would say the same thing about their parents. It is impossible to be faithful to a life of prayer and service without God’s help. It is impossible to rid our lives of the Big Seven, the Seven Deadly Sins, without God’s help. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God has promised the grace and strength we need to overcome our sinfulness and to serve him with all our heart, our mind, and our soul. Remember, it’s not really about sin, it’s about love. God loves us so much he forgives us whenever we come to him. God loves us so much that he wants to help us love him back. And as we are reminded by a priest would spend up to 18 hours a day hearing confessions, St. John Vianney: “The good Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, he already knows that you will sin again, yet he still forgives you. How great is the love of our God: he even forces himself to forget the future, so that he can grant us his forgiveness!” Truly, how great is the love of our God!

This Thursday, here in this church, we are offering an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We’re calling it 12 Hours of Grace. From 9 am to 9 pm, two priests will be available constantly for this Sacrament. Short prayer services will be held three times during the day, but the church will be open and the priests available for all of those 12 hours. Come when you can – come as you are – to receive the healing grace of forgiveness and love. If you celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation every month or each year during Lent, join us sometime on Thursday. If it has been 30 or 40 years since your last confession, join us sometime on Thursday. You will find that there is no judging here, no confrontation, no fixation on sin – only peace, love, and joy in the great gift that God is ready to give us. We all need God’s love, we need his help and guidance to follow his light in a world of darkness. This Thursday will be a day of great rejoicing, because the old things will pass away, and God in his love will make everything new. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, whenever we celebrate it, we come to God as sinners, we leave as saints.

The Big Seven

2010-03-07T10:21:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year C
Exodus 3.1-8a, 13-15 Psalm 103 1 Corinthians 10.1-6, 10-12 Luke 13.1-9

Pride. Anger. Lust. Sloth. Greed. Envy. Gluttony.

The Seven Deadly Sins, they’re called, or the Seven Capital Sins. From these seven come all of our failures and our mistakes. From these seven, we become experts at turning inward toward ourselves. From these seven, the temptations of the world push God more and more out of our lives. We can all relate. We know the gluttony that comes with the third helping of ice cream as a late-night dessert or the constant munch of snacks throughout the day. We know the sloth of being able to change channels with the remote control without even looking at the buttons, because we spend so much time sitting and watching TV. We know the pride that convinces us that we deserve the good things in life, even at the expense of the people in Haiti or Uganda or even other parts of our own town. We know the anger that boils inside when we get behind the slowest person ever in the line at the grocery store. And if you think that you are immune from these big seven, then you must be dead or not human or so filled with pride that you have become spiritually blind. Simply because of our human nature, we constantly battle the Seven Deadly Sins.

Taken as a whole, what these big seven do to us make it difficult for us to bear fruit. If we are filled with envy, or jealousy, of other people’s possessions, then it is difficult for us to develop the habit of generosity; instead of confidently sharing what we have with others, we try to get more ourselves. Or if we are so lazy and slothful that we do not nurture our souls and spend time getting to know God, then it is difficult for us to commit to the effort to evangelize, to spread the Good News. In many ways, we’re like the fig tree in the parable Jesus tells us today. Our inward-focused lives keep us barren, unable to bear fruit, unable to work for justice, unable to love others in more than a superficial way. Our sin enslaves us, and it is often impossible for us to break free on our own. We need help.

And that’s where the gardener comes us. In the parable, the gardener convinces the owner of the fig tree to let it live, to give it another chance. During the next year, the gardener will fertilize it and nurture it and give it special care – everything that is needed for the tree to bear fruit. The gardener, of course, is Jesus himself. And he does the same thing in our lives. He provides the fertilizer – the grace of the sacraments – that we need to help us grow in holiness, humility, generosity, and love. He nurtures us with his word in Scripture, with the support of a community of faith, with the example of people who have succeeded in bearing great fruit for the Kingdom of God. By ourselves, we are doomed to destruction. But with the Master Gardener at work, we have everything we need to bear abundant fruit.

But there is a condition that the gardener gives to the owner. After the tree has been fertilized and nurtured, if it still does not bear fruit, it can be cut down. Christ offers us the grace of the sacraments and the support of the Church – he gives us everything we need to root out the big seven in our lives. But if we build a fence around us so that he can’t get in, or if we refuse to cooperate with his tender care for us, then our fate will be the same as the tree that does not bear fruit. On our part, we must open our hearts to God’s love. We’re still going to be human – we’ll still make mistakes – but the more we allow God in, the less the big seven will rule our lives, and the more fruit we will bear, as we look forward in hope to God’s kingdom.

The Power of Example

2010-02-28T10:17:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year C
Genesis 15.5-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3.17-4.1 Luke 9.28b-36

As baptized Christians, you and I are the most tangible and effective witnesses to the presence of Christ in our world. By living our faith, we can help bring peace, hope, joy and love to a world of suffering and pain. We can be the voice of truth in a world of doubt, the arms of compassion to a world in need. We can lead people to heaven by leading people to Christ. But we can also drive people away from God. We can make others suspicious of organized religion because of our hypocrisy. We can cause doubt and despair because of our failure to love. We can turn people off to Christ by the selfishness and greed of the lives we lead. Simply by the way we go about our daily lives, we can lead people to Christ or away from him. That is the power of human influence.

The story is told of a man many years ago who was in a long line at an airport, waiting for a shuttle to get to the terminal. Standing in front of this man was the late Cardinal Terence Cooke, archbishop of New York. One of the airport attendants came up to Cardinal Cooke and whispered to him that he could take him to the front of the line. Cardinal Cooke responded, “That’s very thoughtful of you and I appreciate it, but I can wait my turn.” That simple act of humility was noticed by the man standing behind the Cardinal in line, and it moved him so much that he began going to church, and eventually became Catholic himself.* Such a simple witness that can lead someone to Christ.

St. Paul knew the power of this witness. He urged the Philippians to imitate him and others who conduct themselves according to the model given us by Christ. He knew that the example of Christians most often is what would lead others to Christ. But, at the same time, the opposite is also true. People who call themselves Christian but occupy their minds with earthly things can lead people away from Christ. Professed Christians who are rude, haughty, greedy, and mean-spirited do damage not just to themselves but to the people around them. The worst kind of Christian is one who is Christian in name only but not in action. Of course no Christians are perfect – we’re far from it – but in humility we are called to do the best we can to be an effective witness to the presence of Christ in our world. If our friends or family members know that we go to Mass every weekend but also witness our constantly judgmental attitudes, then we have work to do in living as Christians. If our co-workers who have no professed faith have to put up with the anger and verbal abuse of a professed Christian, then it’s not likely that we will lead them to Christ. But if the people around us can witness our kindness, our love, our generosity, and our joy, then perhaps they, too, will want to know the God who is the source of all those blessings in our lives.

Ultimately, of course, it is Christ alone who saves us, it is Christ alone who draws people to him, it is Christ alone who leads anyone to heaven. But the simple fact of our human nature is that we often look to the people around us for an example to follow. In our Lenten journey, we strive to put aside all those things that distract us or the people around us from being able to follow Christ. And along the way we ask ourselves: what kind of a Christian example do we give?

*Story told by Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Priests of the Third Millenium and Called to Be Holy.

Fasting and Waiting

2010-02-21T10:20:00.001-05:00

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year C
Deuteronomy 26.4-10 Psalm 91 Romans 10.8-13 Luke 4.1-13

In an interesting quirk of the calendar, the season of Lent this year corresponds to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. And I think the one event can teach us about the other. Part of what seems to draw people to events like the Olympics are the stories behind the athletes. Especially in recent years, news coverage of the Olympic Games has focused more and more on the athletes’ personal lives, their struggles, their journeys, their triumphs and their failures. In many of these personal stories, there is an element of waiting. We hear about snowboarders who must wait for their sport to gain recognition and acclaim. We hear about skiers who must wait for an injury to heal before being able to reach for their dream. We hear about ice skaters who must wait four more years for another chance to prove themselves after a disappointing performance at the last winter games. And we hear about bobsledders and lugers who must wait for years to hone a championship technique in a difficult and dangerous sport. The stories of the trials and challenges and waiting of these Olympians is often what makes us most interested in the athletes as people, and not just as medal-winners. And it is here that the Olympic Games meets in a curious way the Christian observance of Lent.

Because, in a way, Lent too is about waiting. During these 40 days, we wait for Easter … we wait to celebrate the resurrection … some members of our community wait to be baptized or to join the full communion of our Catholic faith. But on an even deeper level, the waiting of Lent is seen best of all in the practice of fasting. Before he began his public ministry, Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. And so our Christian tradition has long made our 40-day Lenten journey a time of fasting. But what is fasting all about? Why do we fast from desserts or soft drinks or computer games or television? For the most part, the things we fast from are things that we typically enjoy. It’s pointless to give up chocolate if we don’t like chocolate and never eat it anyway. But it’s also pointless to give up Facebook if we spend the time that we would have been on Facebook instead texting people or on e-mail. We fast in order to create an emptiness in our lives, an emptiness that turns us away from ourselves and toward God. We fast in order to wait. We rid our lives of some earthly experience so that we can fill it with things that come from God. We fast from something that makes us happy now – temporarily – in order to wait for something that will make us happy forever. We fast from the things of earth in order to wait in joyful hope for the things of heaven.

That’s the wisdom that Jesus knew that the devil didn’t. The devil tried to tempt Jesus with things that would make him happy now – bread to eat, power over the kingdoms of earth, security from failure. But Jesus knew that none of those things bring true happiness – they bring passing pleasure, yes, but not true joy. Jesus knew that we can glimpse true joy here on earth, in serving and loving others to the best of our ability. We can glimpse true joy among family and friends and a community of faith. But for complete, endless joy, we must wait. We must wait until we are able to hand everything over to God. We must wait until all pride and selfishness has been removed from our hearts. We must wait for the time when we can say to our Lord – everything I have is yours. Fasting reminds us that we need to wait – that earthly pleasures will not bring us true joy. Because our hearts will only be completely filled in the glory of heaven.

The Snow Lay on the Ground

2010-02-17T14:53:00.001-05:00

Homily for Ash Wednesday, Year C
Joel 2.12-18 Psalm 51 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.2 Matthew 6.1-6, 16-18

Needless to say, we’ve had a lot of snow around here in recent days. Snow makes such a beautiful, clean blanket as it covers the world with its pure, white flakes. There is nothing quite like a snow-covered landscape – at least, until the snow gets dirty, and the pure, white mounds are mixed with salt and sand and dirt and earth and become more gray than white. As beautiful as snow can be by itself, so too can it turn ugly and unsightly the more we drive and walk and plow it away. But such is the way of life.

On this Ash Wednesday, we gather as a people to publicly recognize the dirt and grime that has built up on our souls. We are dust, we are sinners, we are far from perfect. The cross of ashes that is placed on our foreheads today reminds us of that. But underneath, we know that there is a glimmer of hope – there is a spark of the divine, the image of God himself that has been imprinted within each of us. The good news of the season of Lent is that we don’t have to stay dirty; we can wipe away the grime and find once more the pure light of God that has been given to us. The process of conversion is lifelong – it is not confined to these 40 days each year. But we focus on that conversion in a particular way as we move through the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of Lent. During these next 40 days, we make a concerted effort to turn away from ourselves and to turn toward God. During these next 40 days, we try to recover the grace of baptism that has been given to us. During these next 40 days, we strive more and more to recognize Christ in each person we encounter and honor the Spirit that lives in them.

Once it gets dirty, it is virtually impossible to restore snow to its original, clean, pure-white state. But for us, that transformation is possible. Through the water of baptism, we first became children of God. Now, as we journey toward the renewal of our baptismal promises at Easter, as we move forward on the path of Lenten conversion, the grace of God can rid us of everything that has darkened our souls over time. And once our sinfulness has been cleansed and wiped away, then we recover once again the purity of our baptismal identity.

St. Paul on Twitter

2010-02-07T10:18:00.001-05:00

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Isaiah 6.1-2a, 3-8 Psalm 138 1 Corinthians 15.1-11 Luke 5.1-11

St. Paul would be right at place in a headline-news world. With newspapers going out of fashion and in-depth investigative journalism on the decline, we find ourselves more and more focused on the headlines, the news bytes, the quick quotes that can summarize everything we need to know in just a few words. You might even say that St. Paul would be a natural on Twitter – one of the latest technological crazes, where you can use no more than 140 characters to say what you want to say. St. Paul would be a natural. Take today’s second reading, for example. St. Paul gives us a quick summary of our belief in Jesus. Put simply, Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to many. Only 123 characters – and that is pretty much all you need to know. The Twitter version of the gospel – only it wasn’t written by a 21st-century social networker; it was written by St. Paul himself.

Of course there is much more to the story, there is much more to know about why Christ needed to die for us, what his resurrection accomplished, and how he commissioned his disciples to preach the gospel during his appearances to them. The 73 books of the Bible are a good place to start. But there’s even more than that – we have 2,000 years worth of reflections and teachings on the Word of God. Even with all this material to reflect on, not to mention our own personal prayer and relationship with God, some good, brief, summaries of our faith can help us figure out what is most important in our lives and in our Church. And so, from today’s readings, I offer some Christian headlines – some gospel tweets – some short summaries of what is most important in our relationship with God:

From the prophet Isaiah: The earth is filled with the glory of God!
From St. Paul: All the good that I do is accomplished through the grace of God.
From St. Peter: Master, I trust in you.
From Jesus Christ: Do not be afraid.

Really, what else do we need? In these few short phrases we have a lifetime of material for reflection and personal growth in the Christian life. And sometimes, the fewer words we speak, the better.