St. Augustine National Cemetery

A few years ago Diane and I spent a long weekend in St. Augustine, Florida. We stayed at the St. Francis Inn, an absolutely wonderful B&B, and enjoyed ourselves just roaming around the small city and seeing the sights. We did all the typical touristy things, popped in and out of galleries, stopped by the local winery, and sampled the food in several of the restaurants. But no meal could compare with the breakfast at our B&B. It was exquisite.

Among the many places we visited was one of the nation's smallest national cemeteries, the Saint Augustine National Cemetery. I was especially interested in visiting the cemetery because it contains the graves of the soldiers who were ambushed on December 28, 1835 by a large force of Seminole Indians. Led by Major Francis Dade, 108 soldiers perished. Only two or three soldiers and an interpreter managed to survive the attack. The actual battlefield -- the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park -- is located in Bushnell, Florida, right here in Sumter County, just a few miles from our home. Diane and I had visited the battlefield on several occasions, but never the cemetery where these men were all interred. The Florida Indian War lasted seven years from 1835 until 1842. The bodies of the slain soldiers had been buried at the site of the battle, and it wasn't until 1842 that the soldiers' remains were reinterred in St. Augustine.

The soldiers were buried in three mass graves, each marked by an unusual, large pyramid-like stone. An obelisk and memorial plaque also mark the site. In the below photo the three pyramids are visible in the background, behind the obelisk. I've also included a close-up of one of the pyramid markers.

These days the Florida Indian War is likely viewed by many as being eminently politically incorrect, but these men were all U.S. Army soldiers who were fulfilling their duties to protect the settlers in the Florida territory. (Florida didn't become a state until 1845.) Anyway, I refuse to cancel them and will instead include them among all those who gave their lives in service to our nation. It seemed only fitting to remember these men, as we remember so many others, on this Memorial Day.

Due to its size and age, the St. Augustine National Cemetery is "full" and conducts no new internments, so if, like me, you're an aging veteran, you have to choose another. But the cemetery is truly worth a visit if you're ever in St. Augustine.

Memories of Heroes I've Known

I had to run  a few errands this morning and happened to be wearing an old Navy ballcap. When I entered the local hardware store, the young lady who greeted me said, "Thank you for your service, especially today on Memorial Day." And when I went to the check-out area, another young woman said pretty much the same thing. Now, I realize they were being wonderfully patriotic and were also expressing thanks for the years I spent in the Navy, so I just smiled and said, "Thanks. But today remember those who didn't return."

Today, Memorial Day, is not a day to honor veterans. We do that in November. And it's not a day to express delight in a three-day weekend or the opportunity to welcome the coming of summer by rolling out the barbeque grill. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, a day to honor some very special people: men and women who sacrificed their lives in the defense of our nation and its sovereign citizenry. In fact, I've never been happy with the decision by Congress back in 1968 to move Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday of May. Making a three-day weekend out of what should truly be a sacred day -- a secular holy day, if you like -- just seemed to de-emphasize its meaning, to water it down. 

I'd like to think that for most Americans Memorial Day is also a day of prayer, a day in which we offer prayers of thanksgiving for the gift of these heroes. Because that's what they are. They are God's gift to the rest of us, for through their sacrifice we continue to reap and share the bounty of this unique nation. God has certainly blessed us and it's so very sad to see so many today who, through remarkable ignorance, despise the nation founded on the principles that enable them to express their hatred publicly without fear of retribution.  

Today I remember many men I knew and some few whom I counted among my friends. Most were Naval Academy classmates (Class of 1967) who lost their lives in Vietnam or during training in preparation for combat. I count the following among my friends. If you click on their names, you can read their stories. 

Henry Wright, 21, a dedicated Marine officer, the first of our classmates to lose his life in Vietnam on February 6, 1968. 

Hal Castle, 23, a fellow helicopter pilot, shot down in South Vietnam.

Bart Creed, 25, an A-7 pilot, shot down over Laos. 

Jim Hicks, 26, Guido Carloni, 24, and Tom Lange, 25, each lost his life in an aircraft accident during training for deployment to Vietnam. 

And then there was Ron Zinn, 26, my brother Jeff's West Point roommate, class of 1962. Ron, who treated me like a kid brother, was a world-class race walker and died in a 1965 firefight in Vietnam. 

Chuck Jeffries, 28, killed in an ambush by communist insurgents in the Philippines in 1974.

And I have to add another friend who survived combat tours in Vietnam. Classmate Mike Smith, 40, astronaut and space shuttle pilot, died in the Challenger disaster. 

There were many, many others, classmates and shipmates, far too many to mention here, but all remain in my prayers. Take some time today to remember those you have known who gave their lives so you could live the life you have lived.

Incarnations of Christianity

Note: As I finished writing this post, I realized it was far too long, but rather than edit and compress it, I decided to leave it alone in its original, unorganized state. 

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One of the more interesting aspects of my ministry as a parish deacon is to fulfill the role of what the late Tom Wolfe called “flak catcher.” Some parishioners apparently feel more comfortable approaching a deacon with their complaints and concerns than taking them directly to the pastor. I suppose I can understand that. The deacon might be clergy, but he’s generally, and erroneously, viewed as a kind of part-timer. After all, when we’re not wearing vestments, we deacons look like everyone else. Maybe we’re seen as more approachable because we, too, have families, work for a living, and live in the local community. 

Of course, what most parishioners don’t know is that deacons really can’t do much about most of their concerns. The big issues are decided by the bishop, the pastor handles how the parish will implement those decisions, and we deacons, quite appropriately, do what we’re told. After all, the word deacon derives from the Greek word, diakonia, which means service, especially the service of those who carry out the commands of others (that's us). When I find myself in that flak-catching role, I try to ease the parishioner’s concerns, explain the Church's or the parish's position, and, if necessary, refer the parishioner to someone who might be able to do something about it.

Anyway, I get phone calls. Not long ago two very different people called me on consecutive days with related, but different concerns. One caller wanted to know why we couldn't celebrate an occasional Latin Mass. He brought up his dissatisfaction with the Novus Ordo Missae; i.e., the new order of the Mass promulgated after the Second Vatican Council. He prefers the traditional Latin Mass, now called the extraordinary form, which he believes the Church has abandoned. I explained that both forms are equally valid. I also tried to convince him, as the great theologian Romano Guardini said, that it is the faithful, not the rubrics, which determine the faithfulness of a liturgy, whether extraordinary or otherwise. I then told him that although the vernacular is in general use throughout the world, the Church still prescribed Latin as the primary language for Mass. In fact, all translations derive from the Latin Roman Missal. I added that I, too, had a particular fondness for the traditional Latin Mass, the Mass I grew up with and in which I participated as an altar boy back in the 1950s. But he remained adamant and couldn’t understand why the Church had to change.

The second call was from a seasonal parishioner – what some call a "snowbird" – whom I will kindly describe as a “progressive” Catholic. He, too, had a liturgical question that eventually morphed into a complaint. He was unhappy with the pastor of his New York parish — “always preaching about abortion but rarely about social justice.” I think sometimes he calls just to test me, to see if he can get me to argue with him. Surprisingly, though, I kept my cool as I explained that to preach on abortion, the killing of millions of the most innocent among us, is to preach the very essence of social justice. Our conversation wandered among a variety of subjects and when I mentioned that some Catholics longed for the Latin Mass, he laughed and said, “Just a bunch of lost souls, trapped in the errors of the past. Just wait until we ordain woman. That’ll drive them over the edge.”

These two calls got me thinking about the Church over time. Was it wrong earlier – "the errors of the past" – and correct now, or was it correct in the past and wrong now? After thinking about this for a while, I concluded that the correct answer to each part of this double-barreled question is “No.” Certainly members of the Church, even an occasional Pope, have been guilty of error, and worse. After all, ordination at any level does not guarantee holiness. Called to holiness, deacons, priests, and bishops all remain sinners. Only the Church itself remains holy. And the Church knows this. In fact, one of the recent changes to the English translation of the Roman Missal reflected this internal awareness. The English translation of the congregation’s response to the priest’s prayer preceding the Eucharistic Prayer (a response we altar servers used to call the Suscipiat) was changed to more accurately reflect the original Latin:

“May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of his holy Church.” 

For years, ignoring the original Latin, this response had not included the word, “holy.” Could that omission in a prayer repeated by millions over several decades had an impact on the Church and its holiness as perceived by the faithful? An interesting question.

This leads us to infallibility, which is a magisterial gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift granted to the pope and to “the body of bishops when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium.” [See CCC 891.] But many of the details, the nitty-gritty of how we worship, are not immutable. Infallibility simply does not apply. Over the centuries the Church has often changed what it considers non-essential and managed to adapt its approach to the ever-changing political, social, even economic conditions it encounters in the world. But throughout its life, the Church has continued to do God’s redeeming, sanctifying work through the infallible Magisterium and the grace-filled efficacy of the sacraments. 

Because the Church was divinely instituted by Jesus Christ [Mt 16:18], it is transcendent. But because it must do God’s work in the world, it is also incarnate. The Body of Christ lives partly in the world and its history is one of adaptation to many different Christian cultures: Palestinian and Aramaic, Greek and Roman, Byzantine, Medieval, Baroque, Late European, Modern, and today’s emerging global Christianity. The problem occurs when we try to identify the Church with just one of these forms, in effect telling it to become static in its approach to the world. 

The Church cannot be identified with any given race, culture, or society. The true Christian is no more Greek or Roman than Italian or American or Chinese or Indian. The Church, then, freed from its attachment to any specific civilization or society becomes enriched by each culture in which it thrives. God certainly blessed the Church when Western civilization embraced Christianity, but this is just one of many incarnations of the Faith on earth. The Christian message, the Good News of Jesus Christ, because it comes from God, and not from man, must transcend all cultures and societies.

Sacred history began not with Abraham, but with creation. Indeed, God began His formal revelation in time with the words of creation:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" [Gen 1:1].

Actually...with the Word of creation, for the Person of the Redeemer is Himself the Creative Word of God. 

All that preceded Christianity cannot be dismissed simply as wrong! God is present throughout time, revealing Himself in ways we cannot grasp. The nature religions, Hinduism, Buddhism...all had their roles to play in the world's sacred history. 

Judaism, especially, through which God revealed Himself personally and more deeply over time, paved the way for the fullness of revelation. The covenant with Noah held firm, revealing God’s will for humanity, until it was superseded by the covenant with Abraham. This, too, held firm, reinforced by God’s covenant with Moses, and later with David, a covenant that included a promise.  With Jesus Christ, with the Incarnation, that promise and all that came before is fulfilled. 

Just as sacred history passed through all of human history, the Church has and will continue to do the same. The Church of the future, that emerging global Church, will in its own way incorporate the varieties of human civilization. The deposit of faith and the sacramental life cannot change, but so much of what we do, how we pray and worship, undergoes frequent and often rather radical change. 

If a first-century Roman Christian had tried to introduce the Rosary, I suspect it would have been summarily rejected. The time and place and culture simply weren’t right. But by the 13th century God knew the world needed this prayerful devotion and, through Mary, St. Dominic introduced it to the Church. Today we see the growth of the Divine Mercy chaplet thanks to God working through the life of St. Faustina. 

Devotions evolve over time, as do many elements of sacramental and other rites. Next Tuesday I will baptize a baby girl using the newly revised rite: the Order of Baptism of Children. Over the past quarter-century I've baptized a few hundred little (and not so little) ones, using the earlier rite. Both rites were valid because they center on "the water and the words." The other elements of the rite support our worship and our catechesis. Through them, parents and godparents, and all who witness this sacrament, come to share in and better understand God's miraculous work as He adopts this new Child. Sin is remitted, the grace of the Holy Spirit fills the soul, and the Church accepts a new member. None of this has changed, nor will it ever change. 

I should remind my two callers of this. 

"Make disciples of all nations," Jesus commanded. He didn't tell us what language to use in our worship, for He understands all language. Nor is the Church to be measured solely on its success in improving people's social conditions. Important as they are, these things are secondary.  The essential work of the Church is the liberation of the soul from spiritual bondage...its salvation.

Arundel Castle and Mary Queen of Scots

A few years ago Diane and I enjoyed a wonderful two-week vacation in the UK, followed by a trans-Atlantic cruise back home to Florida. Other than a few days in London, we spent most of those two weeks in the south of England. We established our HQ in the Hampshire village of Chawton, and from there roamed about the countryside from Kent to Somerset. 

Arundel Castle from the Gardens

On one of those day trips we visited Arundel Castle in West Sussex. (If you like, you can read the 2013 blog entry describing our visit there: Across the South.) The castle, which dates back to 1067, the year following William's Norman conquest, has been a home for the Duke of Norfolk for quite some time, about 400 years. The Duke also holds the title of Earl of Arundel and is apparently the top dog among the English peers. The current Duke, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, is the 18th Duke of Norfolk and like his ancestors has managed to keep the Catholic faith. One of those ancestors, Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke, was executed in 1572 by Elizabeth for being a bit too friendly with Elizabeth's cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. With a family history littered with such events, you have to hand it to the Fitzalan-Howards for persevering in the faith.

The Duke and his predecessors have actually done a wonderful job of restoration and maintenance of the castle and its grounds. Diane and I were truly impressed and enjoyed our visit. Of course we took the tour, which included everything from the ancient Keep to the lovely Fitzalan Chapel. We were even permitted to view a few of the bedrooms in which some very important people have occasionally slept. The castle also houses a nice gift shop and a restaurant where one can grab a quick bite. 

With COVID waning, Arundel Castle is once again open for visitors. Sadly, though, some recent visitors came for more than the tour. They came to steal, and their theivery resulted in the loss of some priceless objects. One of these is the gold Rosary that Mary, Queen of Scots, held in her hand as she was executed at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587.

Mary, Holding Her Rosary at Her Execution

Other items stolen include coronation cups, also gold. This leads some to believe the thieves chose these items for their gold value and not for their historical significance. How very sad if these priceless artifacts are simply melted down for their metal value. Of course, the thieves' only alternative is to sell them on the black market to collectors who really aren't all that concerned about how they were obtained. Perhaps some good soul knows something and will lead to the recovery of the items. But as my mother used to say, "They're only things, so don't get too attached to them."

If you're interested, you can read about the theft here: Theft at Arundel Castle

I expect the castle's security has been raised a level or two, but I would still recommend a visit. Oh, yes, don't neglect the garden tour, especially when all is in bloom. And the town of Arundel is also quite nice. As I recall we had an excellent meal at one of the downtown pubs and enjoyed shopping at a local bookstore. All in all, a delightful day. We came away with some nice items, all paid for in the castle gift shop.

Homily — Memorial: Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (May 24)

Readings: Gen 3:9-15; Ps 87; John 19:25-34

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Today we celebrate a rather new feast, the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Although instituted in 2018 by Pope Francis, it has its roots in apostolic tradition and in the witness of the Chrch Fathers.

For example, St. Augustine wrote that "The Virgin Mary...is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer...She is clearly the mother of the members of Christ...since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head."

And, then, in the year 431 the Council of Ephesus gave Mary the title, Theotokos, a Greek word meaning “God Bearer” or “one who gives birth to God” or as we say today, “the Mother of God.” By giving her that title, the council didn’t mean that Mary was the Mother of God from eternity. But because Jesus Christ is true God and true man, and Mary gave birth to Him, she is, therefore, the Mother of God in time.

It’s the misunderstanding of the Church’s long-held teaching on this relationship between Mary and Jesus that has led some Christians to think that we Catholics worship Mary as some sort of goddess. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. From the reality of this relationship, we can fulfill her prophecy in the Magnificat and can call Mary the “Blessed Mother.”

Today’s reading from Genesis sets the stage at the very beginning when God promises redemption to our first parents, whose prideful disobedience brought humanity to its fallen state.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” [Gn 3:15].

It is these words to Satan that the Church has long called the proto-Evangelium or “first Gospel” because they point to the Redeemer who will enter into the world through a new Eve, through Mary. It was a promise fulfilled when Gabriel told Mary:

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” [Lk 1:31-33].

Mary, then, knew from the first that this child of hers was the “Son of the Most High.” But in the years that follow, she is given only glimpses of what it will all lead to: the visits of shepherds and Magi, the prophecy at the Presentation, the long trek to Egypt, the Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem – in each event Mary finds herself in the dark, but in every instance, she ponders these things in her heart.

She need not fully understand it all, and how could she understand? And so, she ponders. She steps away from the crowd, seeks the quiet of contemplation, and savors all that has been revealed to her. She ponders, she returns to the source, to that day when the angel proclaimed her to be, “full of grace” [Lk 1:28], to that day when her heart overflowed.

And in that pondering, Mary teaches the Church how to pray, how to accept God’s will, how to abandon oneself to God’s love. The pondering heart of Mary focuses solely on Jesus. “Do whatever He tells you” [Jn 2:5], she commands at Cana, for Mary is single-hearted. She trusts in God, just as she trusted when Gabriel asked for her response.

At the foot of the Cross, that same trusting, pondering, immaculate heart begins to understand the crucifixion of her Son. It is then that Jesus gives her to the Church and to the world. It’s a double commissioning, and the order is important.

“Woman, behold, your son” [Jn 19:26], Jesus tells His Mother, commissioning her, giving the Apostle, giving the Church, to her.

Only then does He say to the Church, to that faithful Apostle, “Behold, your mother” [Jn 19:27].

With these words, the Mother of God becomes Mother of the Church. Now her prayerful heart is focused on you and me, interceding for our salvation. And as Mother of the Church, she intercedes too for unity among Christians.

I’m convinced that it will be through Mary, through her prayerful intercession that the unity Jesus Christ prayed for in the upper room will finally arrive. Fifty years ago, we never heard of Protestants praying the Rosary, but no longer. Today thousands join in this prayer of intercession. And just a month ago, as Diane and I drove through South Carolina, we passed a church with the surprising name: Virgin Mary Baptist Church.

Yes, indeed, Mary, Mother of the Church, is active interceding for the salvation of all. It is she whom we honor today, Theotokos, the Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us. 

And please pray for me today on the 24th annversary of my ordination. As the old saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun..."

Atheism and Down Syndrome

Richard Dawkins — I know you’ve heard of him...you know, the outspoken atheist biologist from Oxford — has once again come out and said something worthy of note. And again his target is babies born with Down syndrome. This time he advised parents who discover their unborn child has Down syndrome to “abort it and try again.” His reason? “It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.” He then added, “It seems to me to be plausible that if a child has any kind of disability, then you probably would increase the amount of happiness in the world more by having another child instead.” (You can read an article addressing Dawkins' comments here.)

I know several wonderful people born with Down syndrome and, believe me, their presence in the world has added significantly to the overall happiness of humanity, certainly to that part of humanity that knows these people. (By the way, in a later interview Dr. Dawkins admitted not knowing anyone with Down syndrome.) But we shouldn’t be too hard on Professor Emeritus Dawkins. After all, he’s a committed atheist, so his position is really a logical outgrowth of his worldview. Any true atheist must take a utilitarian approach to everything, even matters of life and death. If we are simply the products of a cosmic biochemical lottery, humanity’s survival would seem to demand we do all in our limited power to ensure only the most “perfect” among us live — you know, to keep the human race pure. Hmmm...I think I’ve heard something like this before. Anyway, in this sense Dr. Dawkins is merely being consistently atheistic. 

But even a true atheist can make philosophical errors. Dr. Dawkins, for example, speaks of the immorality of permitting Down syndrome children to be born, and yet how can such a concepts as morality and immorality even exist within the atheistic worldview? Where, indeed, would morality come from? Certainly not from God or natural law or even cultural traditions. Or perhaps, for the true atheist, morality is like truth, a kind of movable feast, a flexible concept simply adjusted to fit changing situations. How did Pope Benedict XVI describe it? Oh, yes, the “dictatorship of relativism.” (You might want to read Benedict's homily on the subject, preached to the Church's cardinals. Here the link: Pope Benedict XVI: 4/18/2005.)

It must be hard to be an atheist, always having to adjust what you believe and how you view the world, based on the changing appetites and designs of humanity. How blessed you and I are, people of faith who believe in a loving God who not only created each of us in a unique act of love, but then revealed His will for us so we can live happy, fulfilled lives in this world and spend an eternity of happiness with Him in the next. Pray for Richard Dawkins. God desires the salvation of all.  

Persecution of Christians in the Congo

I haven’t written much about this subject lately and for that I apologize to my tiny but loyal corps of readers. It’s not that I’ve ignored the problem of the continued persecution of Christians, but other, largely political, and certainly less important, issues have just grabbed my attention. That should not have happened, so today I thought, as an act of repentance, I should pass along news of some of the more horrendous persecution suffered by Christians in other parts of the world. Living here in the United States, where religious persecution is far more subtle, we can easily overlook the fact that elsewhere so many suffer so very much.

Today’s news comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a place largely ignored by most American news media. If you are geographically challenged, see the map I’ve included below. The DRC is a large Central African nation that has been plagued by Islamic terrorists who have brought death and destruction to many of the country's people. Bishop Paluku Sekuli Melchizedek of Butembo-Beni, a diocese in the north-eastern part of the country, not far from Uganda, stated that the terrorists have been wreaking havoc in the northern part of his diocese. 

In the bishop’s words, “Armed groups are destroying schools and hospitals. Teachers and pupils are being killed. They are even killing the sick as they lie in their hospital beds. Not a day goes by without people being killed.” 

He also indicated concern about the mental health of people who survive these attacks. “Many people are traumatized. Many have watched as their parents were killed. There are many orphans and widows. Villages have been burned to the ground. We are in a state of utter misery. The people cry because they have reason to, but they carry a seed of hope within them. They have a natural resilience that is strengthened by evangelization.”

The bishop realizes that the government can do little because it suffers from a problem common to many African nations: corruption and incompetence. “The state as such does not exist,” Bishop Melchizedek added, “The reach of the government does not extend into the east, be it out of weakness or complicity.”

When it comes to Islam, the bishop pulls no punches. “Islam is being forced on us. Mosques are being built everywhere, even though no one needs them. [They] do not look like the traditional ones we are familiar with. Anyone who has been kidnapped by these terrorist groups and managed to escape from them alive has told the same story. They were given the choice between death and converting to Islam.” He also resists those who suggest developing a relationship with the Islamists: “What kind of relationship should we have with this form of Islam, which is not only a religion, but also a political movement linked with terrorism?”

The next time you feel a bit put out by the challenges of daily life or are upset that your pastor still wants you to wear a mask at Mass, maybe instead you can offer a prayer for the suffering Christians of the diocese of Butembo-Beni and thank God for their courage and their faith in the face of persecution.

Of course, the other question we should ask is, "Why do we rarely hear about this persecution of Christians throughout the world?"

Homily: Monday, 7th Week of Easter (Year 1)

Readings: Acts 19:1-8; Ps 68; Jn 16:29-33

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Did you happen to catch those words proclaimed in our first reading?

“…the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied” [Acts 19:6].

The Holy Spirit really likes to surprise us, doesn’t He? He takes our so very human, super-rational view of the world and overwhelms it with the supernatural. He wants us to realize that there’s far more to creation than the material world that surrounds us.

In the Talmud, the rabbis tell us it’s well we can’t see the spiritual world, for we would be overwhelmed by the presence of countless angels and demons, surrounding us, fighting for our souls. Interestingly, St. Thomas Aquinas seems to agree with them.

Yes, indeed, there’s far more to God’s creation than what we see with our eyes. And the Holy Spirit occasionally gives us glimpses into that reality. 

But He always gives us a choice, the same choice Jesus gave those who witnessed the miraculous “signs” of His divinity. We can either assume it’s all an illusion, perhaps some clever trick and just walk away…or we can realize we have witnessed and been blessed by the Presence of God Himself.

Just as Jesus performed the miraculous, all those signs, to give people a reason to listen to His Word, so too, did the Spirit give these new Corinthian Christians the supernatural gifts of tongues and prophecy. The people, having witnessed these manifestations of God’s presence, would then listen to Paul as he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the city’s synagogues.

Do you think all that speaking in tongues and prophesying are hard to accept? If so, you’re in good company. Many early Chirstians felt the same. 

Indeed, a few chapters earlier, back in Acts 10 some Gentiles began to speak in tongues and glorify God, and Peter decided that was reason enough to baptize them. But when some of his fellow Chirstians questioned thuis, Peter said:

“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?” [Acts 10:47]

Today, perhaps more than any other gift, we need the gift of prophecy in the midst of the Church, the Word of God proclaimed in truth. Of course, the question is: would we listen? Sadly, in our weakness too often we ignore or even distort that truth.

In our Gospel passage the apostles laid it on kind of thick, didn’t they? 

Oh, yes, Jesus, “we believe that you came from God” [Jn 16:30]. They acted as if they finally understood all that Jesus had told them. But, of course, they didn’t, and so, Jesus questioned the depth of their faith. How did He put it?

“…the hour…has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone” [Jn 16:32].

Oh, yes, these men, chosen by Jesus, had such deep faith and understanding that on that very night they deserted Him. The only one Jesus could count on was the Father:

“But I am not alone,” He told them, “because the Father is with me” [Jn 16:32].

For this is the core truth of the Trinity: where Jesus is, so is the Father, and so too is the Holy Spirit.

Because of the disciples’ human weakness, Jesus knew He couldn’t count on them until they’d received the Spirit.

Utlimately, it took our loving God’s greatest gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit, to bring the twelve back to Jesus, and to strengthen them, for they had been sent out “to make disciples of all nations…” [Mt 28:19] and they certainly couldn’t do that on their own.

How about you and me? As we prepare to celebrate the Spirit’s live-giving work at Pentecost, work that brought the Church to life through the minds and hearts of Mary and the disciples…How about us? Do we accept the Spirit and His gifts?

It’s through the work of the Spirit that the Church – and that’s not just the pope and the bishops, that’s you and me… It’s only through the Spirit  that we can accomplish God’s work in the world.

Pray to the Spirit, brothers and sisters. Pray to Him daily. He wants to do wondrous things in your lives. He will surprise you just as He surprised those new Christians in Corinth.

He is the Lord and the giver of life, and at every Mass the celebrant invokes Him to give us new life through the Body and Blood of the Lord. Through that new life we can join Him, helping Him as He does His saving work in the world.

Today Jesus offers us hope, a glimpse of light to overpower the darkness of our world:

We are not alone, He reminds us. God is with us, Jesus is with us, the Spirit is with us…now and forever.

Here We Go...

Our new president has been in office for 120 or so days, so maybe it’s time to take a look at the nation and see what’s happened on Joe Biden’s watch. 

Let's look first at the job situation and the statistics for April. According to the Department of Labor, there were 8.1 million job openings which, by the way, is an all-time record. The companion statistic relates to the number of jobs filled, and was a paltry 266,000, far short of the one million expected by the “experts.” 

I actually expected something like this simply because I have never seen so many small and mid-sized businesses with “Help Wanted” signs taped to their windows and doors. I’ve noticed this here in Florida and we saw the same thing on a recent trip to rural Georgia. Stores, restaurants, bars, contractors, gas stations, supply companies...the signs are everywhere. 

Business owners and managers all attribute the labor shortage to the extraordinary unemployment benefits now being paid to those who are out of work. As one owner told me, “People who make less than 40 or 50 grand would be fools to take a job. They get as much or more with unemployment, and get to stay home.” Thanks to President Biden, those benefits will continue into September, despite a booming economy. Interestingly, the Secretary of Commerce said, “The reason people aren’t getting back to work is fear.” She apparently presumes that Americans are afraid to return to the workplace because of COVID, even though anyone can now get vaccinated easily. 

And then there’s the rest of the economy. If you lived through the Carter years, you’ll remember inflation and how thrilled you were to get a 16% mortgage. Well, today the Consumer Price Index popped up at an equivalent annual rate of about 7%. And the Dow? It  dropped over 1,000 points in two days. If you live in the southeast, you might have noticed the long lines at gas stations because of the hacking of the Colonial Pipeline by a group of Russian criminals. They are indeed criminals but our smart spooks know they’re also supported by the GRU, Russian military intelligence. The President, of course, is taking a hands-off approach since he really doesn’t care much for pipelines. 

Under President Trump we achieved American energy independence, but during this pipeline crisis, we’ve had to buy gasoline from Canada. Guess who the Canadians buy much of their oil from? You got it...Russia. Gas prices today are at the highest level since 2014. 

Almost 50 years ago, when I was in graduate school I took a few courses in macroeconomics and microeconomics and learned all kinds of wonderful things about supply, demand, inflation, and other boring stuff. But based on the little I still remember, I expect inflation to continue and stick around for a while. 

The problem is, when the government gives lots of money to people and then tells them not to work, we end up with a bunch of folks who produce nothing but have real purchasing power. And then, when that same government hammers those who actually produce goods and services by subjecting them to higher taxes, you get even far fewer goods. The result? Lots of money chasing fewer goods, so prices rise and we get inflation.

Interest rates anticipate all this and will likely last for quite some time. The value of assets will drop. Major tax increases will probably, but not surprisingly, lead to less tax revenue. And while all this is going on, the Fed will continue increasing the money supply and buying bonds. Combine all of this with the administration’s wild spending and destructive energy decisions, and the long-term effects can be disastrous. 

Keep your eye on interest rates and the price of gold, then watch out for the crash of the dollar. We just might see a return to the ugly economy of 1979. Fortunately, I'm pretty poor and have nothing to invest, so I really don’t have to worry too much about all this. 

Of course, all of this ignores the chaos on our southern border as well as the administration’s weak foreign policy and the apparent abandonment of our only real ally in the Middle East, Israel. This week Hamas launched over 1,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel. And who supplied them with these weapons? Iran, the same terrorist nation to whom we gave a billion or more in cash thanks to the firm of Obama, Biden, and Kerry.

Iran is testing President Biden in Israel and doing the same with its Revolutionary Guard gunboats. This week 12 Iranian gunboats swarmed 6 U.S. ships and a submarine in the Strait of Hormuz. Our response? Warning shots. So long as we respond in weakness, they will act with increasing aggression.

None of this even considers our two greatest enemies whom Joe Biden considers mere competitors: Russia and Communist China, who by the way are both supplying weapons to Iran. 

How did the old curse go? May you live in interesting times.

Hans Urs von Balthasar - Last Interview

Over the years, writing in this blog, I've occasionally referred to a number of theologians whose work has had a particular influence on my thinking. Although Romano Guardini (1885-1968) was probably the most influential, there have been many others. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is certainly high on the list, as are Henri de Lubac (1896-1991), Jean Danielou (1905-1974), and Avery Dulles (1918-2008). Another is the Swiss theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), whom many consider perhaps the greatest of the 20th century's Catholic theologians. 

I first encountered von Balthasar about 35 years ago when someone -- I can't recall who -- gave me a copy of a book edited by two German Jesuits, translated by another Jesuit, and entitled, The von Balthasar Reader. Because even in those days I occasionally read some theology, I had certainly heard of von Balthasar. Although his name kept popping up in my readings, I had never read any of his work. The gift of this book was, therefore, a welcome treat. The theologian was still alive when I first turned its pages and began to sample his writings. As the title suggests, the book is an anthology, arranged thematically and designed to help the reader become acquainted with von Balthasar's thinking as expressed in his huge body of work.

Because I am neither patient enough nor smart enough to make my way through most of his writings with any degree of understanding, I found the Reader most helpful. And then a few year later, I picked up a copy of von Balthasar's little book, Epilogue, which he apparently wrote for people just like me. As he indicated in the book's foreword, it was "written to afford the weary reader something like an overview of the whole enterprise." By the "whole enterprise" von Balthasar meant his major theological trilogy -- The Glory of the Lord; Theo-Drama; and Theo-Logic -- each a multi-volume work that would have occupied me for several lifetimes.

We are also blessed that Fr. Joseph Fessio, founder of Ignatius Press, knew von Balthasar and arranged to publish his work in English translation. Although back in my student days I minored in German, I certainly do not have the facility to read theology in the language. And so I've been able to sample other works of this great theologian, including another favorite, his introduction to the thought of Romano Guardini: Romano Guardini -- Reform from the Source.

Von Balthasar died at the age of 82 in 1988. Today I stumbled across a YouTube interview from 1984, apparently the last time the theologian was interviewed on camera. The interview lasts about an hour and was conducted in German, but the English subtitles make it understandable even if you have no German. In it von Balthasar provides insights into his early life and education, his theology, his becoming a Jesuit as well as his later decision to leave the order. He also offers his thoughts on the changes experienced by the Church and his relationships with a number of other theologians. If you're a fan of von Balthasar, you'll enjoy it. 

For some reason, I was unable to embed the video in this blog posting, so here's a direct link to the YouTube video:

Last Interview with Hans Urs von Balthasar

Women in Sacred Scripture

In recent months I've prepared a number of study guides for our parish's Bible Study program. The goal -- other than to keep me busy during these long months of semi-confinement at home -- is to encourage our nearly 100 participants to continue reading their Bibles until we can get together again in our weekly sessions. I receive occasional positive comments from our participants, and to date no one has panned my little guides, so I suppose that's good. I hope these small efforts have been beneficial.

Anyway, my recent studies include an updated guide for the Book of Ruth and a new guide for the Book of Judith. Currently I'm working on a guide for the Book of Esther, a task that's taking me a bit longer than I had envisioned. Esther, one of the more complex books of Sacred Scripture, is consequently more difficult to present in my usual fairly brief format. I hope to complete it this week, but other life-demands seem to interrupt me whenever I sit down to work. 

Although I didn't intend to focus on Biblical books centered on women, it seems to have worked out that way. In these books we encounter truly remarkable women who, despite numerous social, economic, and even religious barriers, achieved great things. Although they certainly set an example of personal courage and fortitude for women of every age, they were primarily women of tremendous faith. It was their faith and their trust in God that enabled them to overcome many seemingly unsurmountable obstacles. In every instance, the efforts of these women might have led to far better personal situations, but ultimately the end they sought was the greater glory of God. And in this they set the best example for all of us, women and men alike.

Every Christmas, at the Mass during the Night (what we used to call "Midnight Mass") we proclaim the genealogy found in the opening verses of the Gospel according to Matthew [Mt 1:1-17]. If I'm called to preach at that Mass, I like to draw attention to the women whom Matthew includes in the genealogy of Jesus. 

With the sole exception of Mary, the women mentioned by Matthew are all Gentiles: Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, Ruth was a Moabite, Bathsheba was a Hittite. Jesus' family tree, then, wasn't so purely Jewish, was it? Those Gentiles among His ancestors highlight the fact that He came from all of us and for all of us. 

And He came especially for sinners.  Again, consider those women. With the exception of Ruth, they, like the men who fill the pages of Scripture, were rather public sinners. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute to fool her father-in-law, Judah, and ended up giving birth to his twin sons. Rahab actually was a prostitute, and yet a faithful woman. And Bathsheba? From the roof of his house King David watched her bathing, invited her in, seduced her, and had her husband killed, so he could marry her. Solomon, their son, started right with God, but eventually joined his many wives in worshipping idols.

Yes, indeed, God's plan of salvation is universal. Humanity, and that includes every one of us, saints and sinners, men and women -- we're all called into the Family of God.

Recently Diane and I were reminded of one of these women mentioned by Matthew. We escaped for a brief vacation and spent several days in the hills of north Georgia. Visiting the town square of Clarkesville, Georgia, we bought a few items from a shop that supports a mission called "Rahab's Rope" dedicated to empowering women and children in the fight against human trafficking. The name of the mission comes from chapter two of the Book of Joshua in which Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, and an ancestor of Our Lord, helped the Israelite spies escape:

Then she let them down through the window with a rope, for she lived in a house built into the city wall [Jos 2:15].

Rahab, inspired by the Holy Spirit, acted courageously, and helped bring about the Israelite victory. The result: 

Because Rahab the prostitute had hidden the messengers whom Joshua had sent to reconnoiter Jericho, Joshua let her live, along with her father's house and all her family, who dwell in the midst of Israel to this day [Jos 6:25].

But human trafficking isn't something restricted to the third world. It's right here in the U.S.A. and is growing thanks to our now almost wide-open border. The drug cartels have discovered they can make additional millions from the unholy trafficking of women and children whom they essentially sell into slavery. While so many today seem focused on the slavery of our distant past, they ignore the very real, very vicious form of slavery that's right here, right now.

Homily: Saturday, 4th Week of Easter

The following is a homily I preached a week ago, but simply forgot to post.

Readings: Acts 13:44-52; Ps 98; Jn 14:7-14

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“Believe me," Jesus says.

Back in my Navy days, I sat through many, many briefings, and most were eminently forgettable. But I recall one intelligence briefing vividly. We were aboard an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam conflict, and after the intelligence officer briefed us on enemy missile emplacements, the admiral asked a question about the confidence level of the intelligence. Well, the young intelligence officer mistakenly answered the admiral’s question with a simple, “Believe me, Admiral.” I won’t tell you how the admiral responded. In one sense, though, he was like the apostle Philip in today’s Gospel passage from John.

“Believe me…” Jesus said to Philip, the apostle, and, of course, He says the same to each of us: “Believe me.”

Believe everything I have told you, everything you have witnessed. Believe, not only that the Father has sent me, but also that the Father and I are one.

Indeed, this call to believe, this call to faith, is a recurring theme in John’s Gospel. Toward the end of his Gospel, John makes this clear when he writes:

“But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name” [Jn 20:31].

In other words, our faith in Jesus is the foundation; and everything else, including eternal life itself, derives from it. Our faith, therefore, must be a living faith, one that carries God’s love into the world; otherwise, our faith is sterile, like an artifact or trophy displayed on a shelf – interesting but essentially useless.

But Jesus knows that for many of us childlike faith is beyond us, that in our adult sophistication, belief is cast aside, overpowered by the things of this world. Like the Admiral, the apostles needed and looked for proof. And well aware of their still weak faith, Jesus tells Philip and the others:

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves” [Jn 14:11].

Yes, even the apostles still doubted, didn’t they? Even the apostles, who’d listened to Him and seen all those miracles, those signs, John calls them – those signs of divinity -- even the apostles needed to be reminded they’d already seen the proof. Jesus then told them something truly remarkable:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” [Jn 14:12].

Your belief, He told the apostles, will manifest itself to the world, and will do so through your works. In effect, Jesus told them that what He had done as He ministered throughout Galilee, Samaria, and Judea will lead to even greater works. His work on earth was just the beginning of something much greater, and these words of His are aimed far beyond the apostles.

Jesus only occasionally interacted with Gentiles, but in today’s reading from Acts, Paul and Barnabas begin the Church’s active ministry to the Gentiles. The immediate result? Luke tells us:

“All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region” [Acts 13:48-49]. 

Greater works, indeed. It was a ministry that led to the conversion of much of the Roman Empire. And because it was God’s work, not simply that of Paul, Barnabas, and those who followed them, it turned apparent failure into success. It overcame all the human obstacles placed in its path: jealousy, hatred, pride, anger, despair, fear, and disbelief.

Jesus, in His risen Body, the Church, continues this great work today through all who believe, though His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, Church. And that, brothers and sisters, means you and me. We, too, have some greater work to do, work Jesus has placed in our hands.

But what have you and I actually done? Are we willing to turn away from the self and turn to others in dire need, to those who are ill, to the hungry, the despairing, the lost, the forgotten? Are we willing to suffer for proclaiming Jesus’ message of life and love to a world steeped in hatred and immersed in a culture of death?

Yes, God’s work always comes complete with a cross, but a cross that Jesus carries with us. And through the help of the Holy Spirit you and I can also believe the promise of Jesus:

“And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it" [Jn 14:14].

So let’s get to it!

May Day

Today, the first day of May, has a long, ancient history as a day to celebrate the arrival of Spring with festivals, maypoles, dancing and other fun activities. The May celebrations of the ancient Greeks focused on the goddess Artemis since she was the goddess of the hunt, the wild, childbirth, and other activities related to newness. I remember, back when I studied Latin in high school, having read that the Romans dedicated May to the goddess Flora, to whom they attributed new growth. They also celebrated with plays and Dionysian rituals that our Latin teacher wouldn’t describe. Knowing how the Romans liked to party, I’m pretty sure they probably overdid it. And I suppose many of these ancient traditions just continued in modified form, even as Europe became increasingly Christian.

But why do so many celebrate Spring in May when the season really begins, at least astronomically, in late March at the vernal equinox? I think the answer is obvious. Late March and all of April are simply not trustworthily spring-like. Winter just doesn’t like to leave when it’s supposed to, and if you’ve lived up north, you’ll have experienced many April snowstorms. May is really the first Spring month we can trust. And we don’t have to go back too many years to encounter winters without electricity and central heating. Winters in those pre-modern centuries were a lot colder, darker, and bleaker, so the promise of warm weather was the promise of real change, something to be celebrated. Back when I was a midshipman at the Naval Academy, we called those bleak days from January until the first touch of Spring the “dark ages,” and to us they seemed very dark indeed, especially for Plebes who were effectively held captive until Spring leave, which is Naval Academy speak for Spring break. 

Of course, as Catholics we celebrate our Blessed Mother during the month of May. This, too, has roots that extend back at least to late medieval times but really became more widespread during the past 300 years. Many parishes celebrate with a May Crowning in which a statue of Mary is crowned with a floral wreath and carried in procession. The month-long celebration also includes daily family recitation of the Rosary, and other Marian devotions. May is a special month to celebrate our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and our Mother. Given what’s happening in the world today, we need her intercession more than ever. 

 

Celebrating Stalin - Moscow May Day (2017)

 

In recent years, however, the first day of May has taken on other meaning. Just this morning I heard a newscaster say that “Today is May Day, when we honor workers.” Honoring workers is certainly a good thing, but I suspect this newsman is unaware of the origins of this version of May Day. May 1st was named “International Workers’ Day” by the Communists and socialists of the Second International in Paris in 1889. They called it “May Day” as a way to co-opt the traditional May Day. The Catholic Church, specifically Pope Pius XII, recognizing the problem that could arise by associating honest work with atheistic Communism, in 1955 made today a special feast day to honor St. Joseph the Worker as the patron saint of workers. He is certainly a fitting patron since he supported Mary and Jesus as a carpenter, and taught those same skills to Our Lord.

So go ahead and celebrate workers today, but do so by honoring St. Joseph and devote the rest of the month of May to honoring our Blessed Mother. Pray the Rosary daily this month, asking Mary to intercede for our broken world.