Administration's Attack on the Church

If you haven't heard or read about the Obama administration's recent decision to require Catholic organizations -- schools, colleges, hospitals, etc. -- to provide what are euphemistically called "women's health services" to all employees in their health-care plans, then you must have spent the past few weeks hiding in a cave. These services, which include artificial contraception, abortifacients, sterilization, etc., are, of course considered  morally abhorrent by the Catholic Church. President Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have decided to set aside the First Amendment of our Constitution and grossly infringe on the religious freedom of Americans in general and the Catholic Church in particular. This should disturb all Americans, regardless of their religious affiliation, but I'm particularly pleased to see our bishops rise up and condemn this decision.

I had intended to write more about this issue, but this morning, while checking of few of my favorite websites, I came across a wonderful video of Fr. Robert Barron addressing the subject. I've included it below and hope you'll take a few minutes to watch it.

In case you aren't familiar with Fr. Barron, he produced the magnificent video series, Catholicism, which I recommend highly both to Catholics who want to learn more about their faith and to others interested in the Catholic Church. Here's a direct link to his website: www.wordonfire.org.


I also suggest you watch the video of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan addressing the same subject. Archbishop Dolan is also the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. For some reason I was unable to embed the video in this post, but here's a link: Conscience Protection

Are You a Child of God...or of Someone Else?

Anthony Esolen,who teaches Renaissance English literature and Western Civilization at Providence College, is one of those remarkable men -- a true Renaissance man -- without whom the world would be a duller and darker place. I got to know Professor Esolen and his lovely wife only casually when I worked at Providence College back in the mid-1990s, and I have been following his academic and literary career and enjoying his work ever since. I could fill this post with praise of him and his writings, but there's really no need. Let me just say I have never read anything he wrote that I didn't enjoy and from which I didn't benefit. I can say that about only a handful of writers. If you, too, want to share in this benefit, jump over to amazon.com and check out his books. I have been particularly enlightened by his remarkable translation of Dante's Divine Comedy and his wonderful book, Ironies of Faith.You might also visit his website: Anthony Esolen

I mention Professor Esolen because of his essay published today on TheCatholicThing.org. In this brief essay he protests against the world's view of the child as a thing lacking true worth and human dignity. Although this is nothing new, today it takes on new meaning because of its near universal acceptance among those who wield the power to spread this evil. I encourage you to take a moment now to read his essay.

He concludes his essay with a reference to Jesus' admonition to become like a child. As a deacon, I'm often asked about this teaching of Jesus, which for many seems to be one of the more perplexing, and consequently most ignored of His teachings. It occurs in a scene found in all three of the synoptic gospels. For example, in Matthew's Gospel we read:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" [Mt 18:1-6].

Mark describes a similar scene:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea [Mk 9:32]...And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them [Mk 10:13-16].

...and in Luke, we find:

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" [Lk 18:15-17].

In the ancient world children had few if any rights. Indeed, a child was less a "he" or a "she" and more an "it". A child was totally dependent on the will of his parents and other elders. A child was in a sense unimportant in his present reality, and important only in his potential. We can see this manifested in the behavior of the disciples who rebuke those who would bring children to Jesus for His blessing. You can almost hear them say, "Why are you wasting His precious time with these unimportant children? He's got better things to do." Jesus, of course, will have none if it and not so subtly contrasts the self-importance of the disciples, who seem to have assumed a combined role of bodyguard and social secretary, with the enforced humility of the child.

The adults in the scene have active roles while the children are passive creatures, pushed forward by their parents and pushed away by the disciples. The child's humility is, in some sense, forced on him simply because of the nature of his relationship with adults. They have all the power while he has none. One translation of  Jesus' words does not use the word "humility" but instead reads, "Whoever considers himself of little account like this child..." And so Jesus is telling the disciples that they must become by deliberate choice what the child is out of necessity. This isn't a suggestion on His part, but a requirement: "...unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

The adults in the scene are certainly not acting as if they are "of little account"; rather, they are trying to control the children, each other, and Jesus Himself. One wonders if the disciples came away from this encounter with a true understanding of what Jesus was telling them. Probably not. Jesus was always turning the world of those around Him upside down, always taking the accepted wisdom and reversing it to reveal the truth. This did not make people happy.

This, I believe, is why these particular words of Jesus are so often ignored. Like the adults in this scene from the gospels, to obey Jesus too many of us would have to upend our entire world. "Unless you turn..." Unless you turn away from the wisdom of the world, unless you turn from all that you thought was right and turn instead to the source of all truth, unless you turn to Me with the same joyful heart of this child on whom My hand rests, unless you reclaim the innocence, the humility proper to your very being, unless you do this you will not enter My Kingdom.

The First Shall Be Last (James Tissot)

For many who listened to Jesus, and for many today, this is a hard saying. To reclaim one's childlike innocence in a world ruled by sin and materialism, is too much to ask. To accept voluntarily the humility that is proper to our nature, the humility we force on the child, is contrary to how we understand the world and its works. To become impoverished like the child, to become "poor in spirit", is to sacrifice our independence. It is to be like Mary, who prayed, "He has looked upon the lowliness of His handmaid."

And so, like the disciples, we watch perplexed as Jesus takes a child -- a real child, not some abstract notion of humility or innocence -- and places this little person, this real live human being, this child of God "in the midst of them." He then places this child above them, "for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Once again, the least becomes the greatest, and we are given a choice. This is what Jesus always does. This is His message. You have a choice. You can follow me and live, or reject me and die. You can live as a child of God or you can join forces with the devil. He never offers a middle-of-the-road alternative.

Today, as Professor Esolen eloquently describes, we have purged those in the womb who commit the modern sin of inconvenience. And those who survive? We squeeze their innocence from them, one drop at a time. Instead of turning and becoming like them, we force them to become like us. The guilt of the world is not a pretty thing to see, and we must pray that we heed Christ's warning: "...but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Work and Leisure

Pope Benedict, in a recent address, touched on the dignity of human work and the associated need for leisure so one can rest, spend time with one's family, and devote time to divine worship. I've included a brief video (below) of the pope's comments.

Listening to the pope I couldn't help but realize how society has changed so drastically in just a few decades. When I was a child very few businesses were open on Sunday. The Lord's Day was still considered a day of rest, a day to worship God, a day which we were commanded to "keep holy." Today, however, it's hard to tell Sunday from any other day. Just go to your local shopping mall. Okay, the stores may open a few hours later on Sunday, but they will open nonetheless.

Here in Florida some stores that sell alcoholic beverages make customers wait until noon before they can purchase them on Sunday. A few weeks ago Dear Diane sent me to Sam's Club to buy some items for the soup kitchen. It was 11:30 a.m. Sunday. (Yes, I know, I should have done it on Saturday, but I forgot. And it was for the soup kitchen, which should mitigate my guilt a little.) Anyway, I was in the checkout line and the man ahead of me had four bottles of wine among his purchases. When the checker told him he couldn't purchase them until noon, he began to rant and take it out on her. The poor girl was almost in tears. I tried to quiet him down with some nice, soothing and meaningless words, but that only caused him to turn his attention to me -- very unpleasant. Eventually he regained control and agreed he'd have to buy the wine some other time.

Thankfully, many of the smaller, mom-and-pop retailers, and most non-retail businesses, still remain closed on Sunday. But I believe it's telling that the large retailers, those whose employees are probably among the lowest paid, are the same businesses that remain open seven days a week, thus depriving their employees from keeping the Lord's Day holy.

But even some highly paid employees in certain industries are expected to be "on the job" 7x24. In many companies for whom I consulted back during my working days, engineers and others regularly put in very long work weeks of 60 or 70 hours. This left little time for family or faith, and both suffered as a consequence. But for them work had become an end in itself. Lacking faith, it became their reason for being.

Some work, by its very nature, includes unusual demands. I recall my years as a naval officer and pilot when long days and nights were more the rule than the exception. And sadly, wars and rumors of wars don't stop just because it's Sunday. Police officers, firefighters, and those who keep our nation's infrastructure up and running are also required to work when most of us are resting. It requires strong, loving relationships and even deeper faith for families to withstand the stress this can generate.

Why these changes in our society? Well, I think the reason is pretty obvious. We've become much more materialistic, more acquisitive, more attracted to the so-called good life than were the generations that preceded us. We want it all, the big-screen TV, the Lexus and the Corvette, the country club membership, the second home in the mountains or at the beach, the vacations at the fancy resorts, the au pair to relieve us of childcare -- yes, we want it all and we don't want to wait for it. We don't even want to wait a half-hour to buy our wine on Sunday morning. And we certainly don't want that unplanned pregnancy and the costly child that will no doubt have a negative impact on the family's bottom line.

And businesses aren't stupid. They saw these developing "needs" and decided to address them in every way possible. They lobbied for the repeal of the old "blue laws" that shut the doors of many businesses on Sunday. They filled the coffers of our politicians' reelection campaigns and peppered them with appeals to their patriotism: "Don't you want our economy to grow? Don't you want to create more jobs? Dump these antiquated laws and good things will happen." The politicians listened. After all, such laws obviously violated the time-honored principle of separation of church and state. And so the laws were changed, and one more of God's Commandments became lost in all the noise of our modern society.

What does the Church say about all this? Among the many excellent sources of Church teaching on the subject is the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Published in 2004, and available online at the Vatican's website, it encompasses virtually all aspects of human life and the Church's associated teaching. I decided to see what it had to say about work and leisure. Regarding rest from work and keeping the Lord's Day holy, here are some direct quotes from the Compendium:

284. Rest from work is a right.[609] As God “rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had done” (Gen 2:2), so too men and women, created in his image, are to enjoy sufficient rest and free time that will allow them to tend to their family, cultural, social and religious life.[610] The institution of the Lord's Day contributes to this.[611] On Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligation, believers must refrain from “engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body”.[612] Family needs and service of great importance to society constitute legitimate excuses from the obligation of Sunday rest, but these must not create habits that are prejudicial to religion, family life or health.

285. Sunday is a day that should be made holy by charitable activity, devoting time to family and relatives, as well as to the sick, the infirm and the elderly. One must not forget the “brethren who have the same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from work because of poverty and misery”.[613] Moreover, Sunday is an appropriate time for the reflection, silence, study and meditation that foster the growth of the interior Christian life. Believers should distinguish themselves on this day too by their moderation, avoiding the excesses and certainly the violence that mass entertainment sometimes occasions.[614] The Lord's Day should always be lived as a day of liberation that allows us to take part in “the festal gathering and the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” (cf. Heb 12:22-23), anticipating thus the celebration of the definitive Passover in the glory of heaven.[615]

286. Public authorities have the duty to ensure that, for reasons of economic productivity, citizens are not denied time for rest and divine worship. Employers have an analogous obligation regarding their employees.[616] Christians, in respect of religious freedom and of the common good of all, should seek to have Sundays and the Church's Holy Days recognized as legal holidays. “They have to give everyone a public example of prayer, respect and joy, and defend their traditions as a precious contribution to the spiritual life of society”.[617] “Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day”.[618]

Wow! The Church pulls no punches in its treatment of the subject. Notice, too, that it places the onus not only on employers, but also on public authorities and on each individual Christian.

Perhaps as Christians we can, in some way, return to God's will for us in such matters by restraining our materialistic impulses and, as the Church instructs us, begin to once again "enjoy sufficient rest and free time" that is necessary if we are to take care of  our "family, cultural, social and religious life."


One more thought. If you haven't read it, pick up a copy of Josef Pieper's book, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Written over fifty years ago by the famous German philosopher, it prophetically explores the current crisis facing our civilization and provides a means for each person to avoid falling prey to its dehumanizing effects.

Off to Church. Our parish is offering a ten-week program based on Fr. Robert Barron's remarkable video series, Catholicism. So many people signed up for the course that we had to offer three separated classes each Tuesday: morning, afternoon and evening. I'm facilitating the afternoon session, and enjoying it immensely.

Capital Punishment

Not long ago, someone asked me, "You seem to be pretty conservative politically. How come you're against capital punishment?" I told him there was no quick answer, but that I'd write about it soon. And so I suppose this is my response.

It's been interesting experiencing the change in my own thinking regarding capital punishment. Thirty years ago I had no problem with the death penalty. As far as I was concerned, when it was applied in our country it was applied correctly, and usually only in cases of first-degree murder and treason. I had great faith in our legal system and the appellate process, and assumed no one would be executed unless he were truly guilty of the crime for which he had been sentenced. Admittedly this faith displayed a naivete common among non-lawyers, but I think most Americans held similar beliefs.

Of course today, as a result of DNA testing, we have seen that many people have indeed been convicted unjustly and  sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit. As a result we hear of a growing number of wrongly convected people being released after years in prison, often on death row. How many have actually been executed we will never know since no court or prosecutor is going to pursue such cases after an execution has been carried out. DNA testing made one thing certain: man's justice, as meted out by our courts, was often flawed. But my views on the death penalty changed before the advent of effective DNA testing.

Quite honestly, though, I rarely thought about the death penalty at all. It was simply one of those things I accepted. After all, wasn't it in the Constitution? Actually, the United States Constitution refers to capital punishment twice, both times in the Bill of Rights, in the 5th and the 8th Amendments. In the former it states:

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

Here the Constitution guarantees that no one can be held for a capital crime unless he has been indicted. It also states that you may not be executed -- "deprived of life..." -- without due process, which consists of proper indictment, trail and conviction. (Note: the 14th Amendment extended this restriction to the states.)

The 8th Amendment, although it doesn't specifically mention capital punishment, does address what it calls "cruel and unusual punishment." Here's the Amendment's entire text:

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

As you can see, the wording is pretty flexible and can easily lead to a range of interpretations and judgments. The forms of capital punishment considered usual in the 18th and 19th centuries -- hanging, firing squad, etc. -- would be considered unusual and probably cruel by most Americans today. And the forms of capital punishment common in the 20th century -- electric chair and gas chamber -- have in most instances now been replaced by some form of lethal injection which the state considers more "humane". As far as capital punishment itself being considered "cruel and unusual", today's Supreme Court has generally not intervened in death penalty cases.

And so, the state -- that is, the law of man -- seems to think capital punishment is just fine, so long as it's not too "cruel and unusual". And quite honestly this had been my opinion as well. But what about the Church? What does it say? Well, here's what we find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm—without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself—the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent" [John Paul II, Evangelium vitae 56.]

And so the Church is telling us that today there is really no safety-related reason to execute someone, since we certainly have the means to protect society from the convicted criminal through effective incarceration. If this is the case, and I believe it is, our decision to execute the criminal is really based more on revenge than on safety. How often do we hear about the need for "closure" on the part of victims' families? What they really seek is revenge, because in the minds of many the death of the murderer will supposedly balance, if only partly, the death of the loved one. Regarding revenge, the Catechism says:

2302 By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill" [Mt 5:21], our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral.

Anger is a desire for revenge. "To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit," but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution "to correct vices and maintain justice" [St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theoligica II-II, 158, 1-3]. If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment" [Mt 5:22].

Pretty serious stuff. And the Catechism also reminds us that we should not take away from the offender "the possibility of redeeming himself." As anyone involved in prison ministry can tell you, personal conversion can take a long time for someone who has never known love, never received a kindness, never experienced anything in his life but hatred and sinfulness.

The Church reminds us, too, that being a Christian isn't always easy. We are called to "be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" [Mt 5:48] and that's a tall order. We are called to conform our law, as best we can, to God's Law. And perhaps, most importantly, we are called to reflect in our lives the prayer we pray daily when we say, "...forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." To forgive does not mean we neglect to punish those who are a threat to society, but can forgiveness and capital punishment coexist? Can the Christian say, "I forgive you. Now I'm going to kill you"? I think not.

What got me thinking about this 30 years ago wasn't the Catechism, which at that time had yet to appear, but abortion. I experienced this little epiphany one January during a March for Life in Washington, D.C. as Diane and I, along with several hundred thousand others, approached the United States Supreme Court. As we stood there peaceably, under the gaze of hundreds of U.S. Capitol Police, I realized there was something terribly wrong with a nation that allowed the killing of the most innocent and helpless of its people. Ironically, the Supreme Court's fateful Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 came not long after a 1972 decision that banned capital punishment and threw out most death penalties en masse. In other words, in 1973 the court decided that killing the most innocent Americans was fine, but executing those found guilty of capital crimes was unconstitutional. This remarkable contradiction, more than anything else, led me to question my own beliefs. (Of course, a few years later, in 1976, the Court decided that executions, after all, were okay.)

The legalization of abortion led me to wonder what else the courts could ultimately decide was worthy of the death penalty. And I believe it's important to realize that an abortion is really the imposition of the death penalty on an unborn infant because she committed the unpardonable offense of being inconvenient. You see, that's one of the more practical problems with capital punishment: once you allow it for murder and treason and terrorism and piracy, what's to prevent the state from adding a few more "crimes" to the acceptable list? Just this week, I read that the compassionate Islamic government of Iran has decided to execute two bloggers who it seems "spread corruption" through their blogs. Capital punishment for bloggers -- a radical Islamic form of political correctness. Unbelievable? No, believe it. Can't happen here? If you believe that, I suggest you ask your grandparents if fifty years ago they thought unrestricted abortion would ever be legal in this country. After all, the only modern country that had allowed it was Nazi Germany. Back in the fifties and earlier abortion was universally considered a most despicable crime. But once the Supreme Court weighed in on the issue, like sheep most of our nation went along with it, assuming the courts knew what they were doing as they interpreted the Constitution. Oh, they knew what they were doing all right, but it had little to do with the Constitution. Once you allow the camel to stick his nose under the tent, it's only a matter of time before he joins you in your sleeping bag -- a most unpleasant situation.

And so, those are some of the reasons I'm against capital punishment. I'm too tired today to write any more. And I miss Dear Diane who is away on a cruise with a group of her "girlfriends" and has left me alone to fend for myself. It's all very disconcerting.

God With Us

In recent years I've encountered a surprising number of people who claim to be agnostic. But when I question them about their beliefs, I discover they are actually something else. Unlike the agnostic who claims ignorance as to the existence of God, these folks believe in God's existence but see Him as a hands-off God. Their view of God is really a kind of variant on the watchmaker analogy. Within the complexity of creation they see the hand of the designer, but believe that, after designing the universe and setting it all  in motion, He simply sat back passively and observed the results. God, in other words, is content to watch it all play out but would not lower Himself to get involved in the daily messiness of His creation. And so, to their way of thinking, the universe just chugs along, apparently doing what God designed it to do.

Because of the complexity and vastness of the universe, they also believe that we human beings, living as we do in our infinitesimally tiny corner of that same universe, are truly insignificant and can really have no effect on God's creation. Nothing we do could possibly result in any measurable change. As they see it, God is unwilling, and we humans are unable, to get involved.

The god they envision is more like a model railroad enthusiast. After putting his little world all together, he enjoys watching everything run smoothly, just as he intended. We are like the tiny model people standing on the platform of the model train station, simply the byproducts of some grander process. Their god is not a loving god, and we are not loved into being. We are simply there.

This kind of thinking, at least from my own observation, eventually results in the same kind of despair I often encounter among atheists. Perhaps the only thing worse than believing in no God, is believing in a god who doesn't love, a god who considers us no more than cosmic flotsam.

I don't know why I seem to encounter these beliefs more frequently, but I suspect it's at least partly the result of what people are taught in school these days. Perhaps too all those books by prominent atheists like Richard Dawkins have had an impact, as had all that talk about intelligent design. I believe most people find it easy enough to reject doctrinaire atheism, but not so easy to accept an omnipotent God who loves us so much that He not only became one of us but also died for us. Belief in the latter puts a lot of pressure on us as individuals and as a people. After all, how does one respond to such love? Perhaps that's why so many choose not to believe it and create instead a god who demands little if anything of them.

Of course we Christians do not and can not hold such beliefs. Indeed, central to our faith is our belief in the Incarnation. As Christians we believe that God not only got involved, but got very personally involved, in His creation when He became one of us in the Divine Person of Jesus Christ. We also believe He prepared the world for this Incarnational event through His active involvement with many others who preceded Jesus' coming into the world. The story of God's relationships with these predecessors is for us the story of salvation history. It's a story of sacred covenants, one after another, with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. It's a story of God's relationship with a People, a People He chose, and from whom would come the Savior of the World, His only Son, Jesus Christ. And it's also a story of God's Church -- One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic -- as His lasting gift to all of humanity. For it is through the New Covenant Jesus made with His Church that God continually makes Himself present to us.

This is why, for Catholics, the Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." This is why the Eucharist is at the very center of our Catholic Christian worship. It is through the Eucharist that God makes Himself really present to us. It is through the Eucharist that we can share intimately in the Divine life of Jesus Christ, becoming one with Him and, through that same Communion, becoming one with each other. Yes, we are a Eucharistic people and a Eucharistic Church, a Church formed through the installation of the Apostolic priesthood at the first Eucharist in the upper room in Jerusalem, and continued daily throughout the world by the successors of those same Apostles.

It's no accident that Jesus introduced the New Covenant at the Last Supper, the First Eucharist, with the words:

“Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you'" [Lk 22:19-20]

St. Paul, of course, is explicit when he describes the Eucharist:

"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself" [1 Cor 11:27-29]

And we find near unanimity of belief in the early Church when it comes to the Real Presence of Jesus' Body and Blood in the Eucharist. St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.), for example, preached the Real Presence again and again:

"That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God is the Body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend His Body and Blood, which he poured our for us unto the forgiveness of sins" [Sermons 227].

"What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the Body of Christ and the chalice [wine] the Blood of Christ" [Sermons 272].

"...I turn to Christ, because it is He whom I seek here; and I discover how the earth is adored without impiety, how without impiety the footstool of His feet is adored. For He received earth from earth; because flesh is from the earth, and He took flesh from the flesh of Mary. He walked here in the same flesh, and gave us the same flesh to be eaten unto salvation. But no one eats that flesh unless he first adores it; and thus it is discovered how such a footstool of the Lord's feet is adored; and not only do we not sin by adoring, we do sin by not adoring [Commentary of the Psalms 98:9].

Sadly, some of our Christian brothers and sisters reject this belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, a belief held by virtually all Christians, all members of the universal Church, for its first 1,500 years. The Reformation really did very little in the way of reforming the universal Church -- such needed reforms came soon thereafter but from within the Church itself. Instead, the reformers ended up creating a whole slew of splinter churches, each with its own set of beliefs and modes of worship. The result is today's countless denominations, each claiming to possess the truth. How did St. Paul put it?

"But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth" [2 Tim 3:15]

A thousand different churches cannot all be the "pillar and foundation of the truth." No, Jesus desired unity among His disciples, but we have shattered the unity of Christendom. No Christian can believe this is what Jesus wanted when, on that night of the first Eucharist, he prayed:

“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me" [Jn 17:20-23].

Even on that night, however, there was already disunity, a disunity that would lead to Jesus' arrest only hours later. And Judas wasn't the last. Even Peter, who would go on to lead the Church in its infancy, failed on that same night and denied that very Creative Word of God who had loved him into existence. The early Church was plagued by heresies, and most of these related to the very person of Jesus Christ. But the Church prevailed, just as it has prevailed through all the disruptions and calamities since. It has survived countless attacks from within and without and through it all kept the deposit of faith intact. 

Since Jesus' prayer is always efficacious, we can only believe that this unity for which He prayed will one day come to pass. This is why the Catholic Church has been so active in pursuing unity through a real ecumenism that, at its heart, protects the truth. How blessed is the world that Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have devoted so much of their papacies to the unity for which Jesus prayed. 

I really believe that the ever increasing persecution experienced by Christians throughout the world today will drive us toward each other and lead us ever closer to that desired unity. The Roman world watched Christians respond to persecution with joy, saw God's love shining through their lives, and wanted to taste whatever it was that brought joy from suffering. They ended up tasting it in the Eucharist, through which He remains with us. After all, he promised not to leave us -- "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" [Jn 14:18] -- and through the Eucharist He comes to us daily.

And so it will happen again as in the midst of it all, God continues to give us signs through the work of His Holy Spirit. And the Spirit blows where it wills...

All of this reminded me of Joan Carroll Cruz' book, Eucharistic Miracles, a wonderfully fascinating description of some of the Eucharistic miracles through which God has blessed the world and led so many people to come to know Him and believe.

Pray for unity.

God's peace...

Homily: Wednesday, 1st Week of Ordinary Time

Readings: 1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20; Ps 40; Mk 1:29-39

Our reading today from Mark’s Gospel is one of those passages that attacks and challenges us from every direction. That’s the way Mark introduces us to Jesus: rapid-fire and with no embellishment, he just presents us with the astonishing facts, one after another. And this passage is so full of the Good News of Jesus Christ that we run the risk of ignoring it all.

It was the Sabbath. Jesus had just come from the synagogue in Capernaum where He had amazed the people with His teaching. And then, right there in the synagogue, He had cast out a demon from a man possessed. As Mark tells us, “His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.” [Mk 1:28]

Leaving the synagogue Jesus and a few of His disciples enter the home of Peter and Andrew, where Peter’s mother-in-law lay sick. Without any fanfare, Jesus grasps her by the hand, heals her, and helps her to her feet. And what does she do? Restored to health, she serves. Jesus always heals more than the body. When He heals, He restores it all, body, mind and soul. For then we who have been healed can begin to serve, to serve life.

What happens next? Evening comes, and with the darkness come the marginalized: the sick, those plagued by demons – they are brought to Jesus and placed at His feet. Where else could they go? Shunned by the community fearful of their afflictions, they were dependent on their families and the charity of others. Rejected by their fellow man, they felt rejected too by God…until Jesus appears and calls each, touches each, showering them with God’s healing love.

Those who have been healed by Jesus, those who have been touched by the God-man in their midst, they see and experience the Good News first-hand. They see what God intends for those who are excluded and for those who do the excluding. It’s funny, isn’t it? So many of the healed recognize Jesus for Who He is. Later in Mark’s Gospel the blind man shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And the demons, too, recognize Jesus. That demon in the synagogue cried out, “I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” [Mk 1:24]


Yes, Jesus is known by the rejected and by His enemies. But what about the rest? What about His disciples? What about us?

The disciples loved the publicity Jesus was getting, and hoped to capitalize on it.  Their idea of Jesus’ mission was so very different, so very different from God’s plan. Jesus rises early and goes off to pray alone, in silence, to solidify His mission, to join His will to that of the Father. But the disciples want to drag Him away to the adulation of the people…for “Everyone is looking for you.” [Mk 1:37]

Knowing His Father’s will, Jesus ignores them and continues to spread the Good News throughout Galilee. “For this purpose have I come,” [Mk 1:38] He tells the disciples. Like so many of us, the disciples wanted a different Jesus, one who would revel in His successes, one who would accept the adulation and praise of the people. This failure in discipleship, this failure to understand the mission of Jesus Christ, crops up time and again throughout His public ministry.

We too must accept Jesus for who He is, for only then can we imitate Him, doing what He calls us to do. Only then can we rise from our brokenness and begin to serve. Otherwise we’re really no better than the demons, who recognize Jesus but refuse to serve.

What’s your mission? Like Jesus, do you go to the Father in prayer for understanding, to join your will with His? Let today be the beginning of a new awareness by us all that Jesus is with us in our ills and troubles, in our hopes and happiness, so that we, too, can pray, “Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will.” [Ps 40:8-9]

Homily: January 4 - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Readings: 1 Jn 3:11-21; Ps 100; Jn 1:43-51

“Come, follow me.” Now that’s a command Jesus directs not just to the apostles, but to each of us.

One can’t but help think of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose feast we celebrate today, and how she went from a life of comfort and privilege to one of sheer poverty in conformance to God’s Will.

Born on the eve of the American Revolution she followed Christ’s call into the Church and founded the Sisters of Charity. She also became the first American-born canonized saint.

Of course, unlike St. Elizabeth Seton, most of us aren’t mature enough spiritually simply to respond in faith. We need our questions answered: Where are you leading me? What exactly do you want of me?

Well, first of all, He wants us – that’s you and me – simply to listen and to respond. Just as the apostles listened to John the Baptist as he pointed the way: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The disciples listened and followed.

This is Jesus’ call, the same call God issued at the very dawn of salvation history when He told Abraham to  walk in my presence and be blameless. And fortunately for us, God takes the initiative. It’s He who calls Samuel in the night. It’s He who seeks out Abraham, our father in faith, and Moses, the lawgiver, and Paul, the persecutor of Christians. It’s He who turns to the disciples and speaks to them.

"Behold, the Lamb of God!"

Later on in John’s Gospel Jesus states this clearly: “It is not you who chose me. I chose you” [Jn 15:16]. But does Jesus tell them what’s in store for them? No, not yet. And like the apostles, responding as we do in our spiritual infancy, the true cost of our discipleship would probably be too much for us to bear.

Only Jesus knows the cost, the demands. But He keeps it all from the apostles...at least for now. That’ll come later, much later. For now He just asks them what they’re looking for. Why have they turned to the Lamb of God?

It’s here the disciples say something remarkable. Instead of answering Jesus’ question, they ask one of their own: “Rabbi, where are you staying?” His answer is brief, “Come and you will see.”

Jesus isn’t speaking of a house. He’s speaking of discipleship, for Jesus stays wherever His disciples are. He abides with them and within them. And so, to be a disciple of Jesus, to be a Christian, we must first respond to God’s call, as the apostles did, and we must do so in faith.

But that’s not all. We must live in Jesus Christ and He in us. In other words, we must follow Him wherever He leads us. And of one thing we can be sure. Following Christ always leads to the Cross. Now I don’t mean that, like Peter and Andrew, every Christian must suffer martyrdom, but there’s no discipleship, no following of Jesus, that doesn’t include His cross. To be a Christian, to be His disciple…How did He put it? You must lose your life to find it. Christianity preaches not only a crucified God, but crucified men and women, crucified followers.

“What are you looking for?” Jesus asks the disciples. And He asks each of us the same question. The answer, your answer, lies within the personal call He has issued to you.

See how He called Peter – weak-willed Peter, Peter, full of bluster and empty promises – He called Peter to be the head of His Church. What has He called you to do? "What are you looking for?" You’ll never know until you respond in faith.

“Come and you will see,” Jesus says. You will see only if you say yes to Him: yes to joy; yes to sorrow; yes to all His brothers and sisters – the weak, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the imprisoned.

"Come and you will see"…only if you say yes to God’s call to live the life of Christ.

“What are you looking for?” Jesus asks. What kind of disciple are you? Why don‘t we all take some time today answering that question.

Homily: January 1, Mary, Mother of God

Readings: Num 6:22-27; Ps 67; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21

There’s no need to exaggerate the role that Mary played in the story of our salvation. It’s a role and a story we’re all familiar with. The story of how Mary willingly and courageously accepted the remarkable mission God asked of her – how she agreed to bear the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

The gospels describe her role, especially St. Luke’s Gospel; for Luke paints the most vivid portrait of Mary…and what a portrait it is! He describes beautifully those scenes we all know so well: the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel at Mary’s home in Nazareth; the Visitation – Mary and Elizabeth greeting each other at the door to Elizabeth’s house; the birth of our Lord in the stable at Bethlehem; Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple; and then, years later, Mary and Joseph finding the young boy, Jesus, once again, in the Temple. Luke paints these scenes in rapid succession in the opening pages of his gospel…and then nothing, or almost nothing.

And while the gospels include a few other scenes, most are brief and fleeting. In Mark, for instance, we encounter Mary on the road, seeking Jesus in the midst of the crowds gathered around him. In John we see Mary at the wedding in the village of Cana, and we find her again at the foot of the cross. And then, in the Acts of the Apostles, Mary joins the disciples in the Upper Room as they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost, the day the Church was born.

These are all wonderful scenes! Marvelous events! But they give us just glimpses of the Mother of the Lord. And in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, we find a fleeting reference to Mary as a woman wrapped in the brightness of the sun. But, in truth, Mary is more often a woman wrapped in something else; she’s a woman wrapped in silence. Indeed, one of my favorite books about Mary is titled just that: A Woman Wrapped in Silence -- a woman wrapped in the silence of God.

Let’s take a moment tonight to join with Mary, to step into that silence, the deep silence of God on that day when, as a young girl, Mary was given a choice. Have you ever considered what that choice could have meant for her? It could have cost her reputation in her hometown of Nazareth. It could have ended her engagement to Joseph. It could even have led to her being stoned to death by an angry mob. After all it was the people of Nazareth who later tried to kill Our Lord.

We know the choice she was given. And, oh, are we ever grateful for the decision she made. But what I want us to contemplate this evening isn’t the choice she was given or the decision she made. What I want us to consider is the silence, the deep silence that preceded her “Yes.”

What did Mary see in that deep silence of God? Was it a silence so deep, a sorrow so profound, that it carried within itself the shock of every crime, every sin ever committed, every evil plot ever devised? Did that silence reveal to Mary all that her Son would bear as He carried that Cross to His death? Did she realize then that the sins of the world would be laid across His back and pounded through His hands and feet?

What was the color of that silence? Was it as black as the night? Like a night in some back alley? Or was it silver, like the flash of a knife or a sword? Or was it red, like the color of blood? Or blue, like a bruise on the skin?

And, remember, in the silence of that moment, the redemption of the human race hung in the balance. Was all this revealed to Mary in that instant when she pondered her decision and what it might mean? Did Mary peer into the sorrow of God? I’m sure she did, because God wouldn’t hide the truth from her; He would want her to know what she was agreeing to, what this would mean for her and for her Son.

And how fortunate for us that Mary was “full of grace” – so full of God’s amazing grace that there was room for nothing else. There was no room for doubt, no room for cowardice, no room for selfishness, no room for the sins that so often turn you and me from accepting Our Lord into our hearts. Only Mary, only the grace-filled one, could have the depth of faith and the courage to say “Yes” to God’s plan to deliver the world from the power of darkness, and from the evil that we do to one another.

What a remarkable plan! It’s a plan of love, a plan arising from God’s hope that we will turn from our sinfulness and accept Him into our hearts. And it’s a plan of divine forgiveness, a plan founded on God’s desperate hope that His outrageous mercy might, someday, trump the power of addiction, the anger of revenge, the death of love and the violence of hate…

Tonight, then, as we worship here together on the vigil of this feast of Mary, the Mother of God, we pray for peace: peace in the world; peace in our country; peace in our cities and communities. We pray for peace in our homes; but most importantly, we pray for peace in our hearts.

1,600 years ago, at the Council of Ephesus, the Church gave Mary the title, Theotokos, which means God-bearer, and confirmed that, yes, because she is the Mother of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, she is truly the Mother of God. As the God-bearer, Mary brought Our Lord into the world, and presented Him as the Father’s gift to all humanity.

Icon of Mary, Theotokos, "God-bearer"

Brothers and sisters, let’s learn from her, and follow her example. When we receive the Eucharist this evening, when we receive the Real Presence, the Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, we too will become God-bearers. Just like Mary, we are called to carry Jesus to the world, to all the others in our lives.

And so, as we prepare to become God-bearers, let us join our prayers to the prayers of Mary. Let us pray that the darkness of sin will be overcome in this world and that the light of love — the way of Mary’s Son — will take hold in our hearts and the hearts of all.

Needed a Rest

My apologies to those who actually read this blog and have wondered why I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. The answer is simple: I needed a break. I've had a lot going on in my life recently and just had to pull away from all the busyness, sit back and take some time off. Since our children and grandchildren all remained up north in their own homes this year, the two weeks after Christmas seemed the perfect time to recharge my aging batteries.

Diane and I have also been doing a little early spring cleaning in an effort to clear away some of the "stuff" stored in boxes in the garage and attic, boxes we have never opened, filled with things we will likely never use. Several local thrift shops have reaped the benefits. It has been just the sort of mindless but productive manual labor that I needed.


Now that I'm back to normal -- more or less -- I hope to turn to the blog more regularly.

God's peace...

Christmas 2011

Over the past week or so I've come across several news stories, most related to Christmas, that I decided might be of interest to those who read this blog. I found these stories intriguing because they span the globe and don't really form a cohesive whole or obvious pattern. The events described depict our world in all its often contradictory strangeness, and show us how ill-advised it can be to draw general conclusions from single events. I'll refrain from making too many editorial comments and will let the stories speak or themselves, letting you draw your own conclusions.

Indonesia. Members of a number of Muslim groups attended Christmas Masses in Catholic churches and services in Protestant churches in an effort to discourage attacks by Islamic terrorists who have targeted these churches in the past. 1,500 members of one of these groups, the Muslim United Organization, actually patrolled Christian churches to protect them from attack. The result for Indonesian Christians was one of the most peaceful Christmas seasons in recent years. To read more: Muslim commitment ensures peaceful Christmas

Bethlehem and Gaza. This is the story of two Christmases, one in Bethlehem, a city in Israel governed by the secular Fatah of the Palestinian National Authority, and the other in Gaza, ruled by Hamas. This Christmas in Bethlehem, over 100,000 Christians from across the globe celebrated Christmas, worshiping the newborn Jesus in Manger Square. For Fatah Christmas is a real money-maker, and they also must accept that large numbers of Arab Christians still live in Bethlehem. But in Gaza, where all is controlled by the Hamas Islamist terrorists, there were no Christmas celebrations by the Christians living there. They know better. Any public display of their Christian faith can have dire consequences. Even the UK's leftist, pro-Palestinian Guardian found the plight of Gaza Christians worth addressing: Hamas cancels Christmas. To read more on the difference between these two celebrations: Bethlehem and Gaza

USA and Canada. From Toronto to Florida it's apparently become an "in thing" to steal the Baby Jesus from nativity scenes. The thieves seem to be interested only in the Baby Jesus and generally do not take the other statues in the nativity scenes. Although I have my suspicions, I won't hazard any guesses as to the motives behind these odd thefts and will let you decide for yourselves. Read more here: Baby Jesus thefts

Nigeria.  For the second straight year, Islamist terrorist have attacked Catholic churches in Nigeria at Christmas. This year 39 people were killed in the attacks; last year 32 were killed. And each year dozens more have been seriously injured. The group responsible for the attacks, Boko Haram, has as its goal the institution of Sharia Law throughout Nigeria. According to their spokesman, "There will never be peace until our demands are met. We want all our brothers who have been incarcerated to be released; we want full implementation of the Sharia system and we want democracy and the constitution to be suspended." I suspect such a group is not likely to engage in meaningful negotiation. To read more: Church attacks in Nigeria

Boston. The famed MBTA, Boston's subway authority, donned a Scrooge suit on Christmas night instead of the traditional "gay apparel", and reprimanded one of their dispatchers for programming the lyrics to "Deck the Halls" on the Park Street LED sign that normally displays only the date and time. Apparently the authority's authorities considered any display of Christmas spirit in the bleak underground world of the MBTA to be undesirable. Passengers, however, seem to disagree. Speaking of the cheery sign, one rider, Miriam Monlisa Gharavi, stated, “...it's probably one of the best things they’ve ever done. I can’t remember the last time the T made somebody smile.” To read more: MBTA Scrooges dispatcher

Vatican City. Pope Benedict XVI, in his final general audience of 2011, urged the faithful to focus on the truth and reality of Christmas and not so much on the often distracting externals. In his words, "Christmas greetings, which are exchanged in these days, must not lose their religious significance in today's society and the celebration must not be absorbed by external aspects that touch the heartstrings. Certainly, the external symbols are beautiful and important, provided they do not distract us, but rather help us to experience Christmas in its truest sense, which is sacred and Christian, so that our joy is not superficial but profound." The pope added, "Today - every day - we are invited to discover the presence of God's saving love in our midst. In the birth of Jesus, God comes to us and asks us to receive him, so that he can be born in our lives and transform them, and our world, by the power of his love. The Christmas liturgy also invites us to contemplate Christ's birth against the backdrop of his paschal mystery. Christmas points beyond itself, to the redemption won for us on the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection. May this Christmas fill you with joy in the knowledge that God has drawn near to us and is with us at every moment of our lives." To read his entire address: Papal Audience

Bangladesh. An interesting effort undertaken by a Buddhist has resulted in the construction of a hostel for that welcomes orphaned, abandoned and disabled tribal children, Buddhist and Christian, with the aim of educating them so they will have a significant impact on the future of the nation. Joined by several of his colleagues, the founder, Mong Yeo Marma, who spent much of his own childhood in an orphanage, has already built a Christian chapel and a Buddhist temple on the grounds of Hill Child Home. According to Mong Yeo, "This sense of frustration is something you carry inside you from when you are small. This is why this hostel is so important. It provides opportunities for these kids to grow up in an environment where they feel welcome and accepted for who they are, where they can explore, discover and develop their talents, to learn respect for and the value of women. Even the tribal children are the future of this country and education plays a fundamental role. Only when the entire population is educated, can there be a real development of the state. Education is the cornerstone of a nation." To read more: Bangladesh hostel

Yes, it's a strange, unpredictable world. Thank God for God, and the power of His love.

Homily: Feast of Holy Innocents (Dec 28)

Readings: 1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Ps 124; Mt 2:13-18

More than any other day in the liturgical year, Christmas is a celebration of life. It’s the day we celebrate the remarkable gift of the Father – the gift in which He gives us His Son, Jesus Christ, by having Him share in our human life, by becoming one of us. On this day God sends Himself into the world. The Word is made flesh and dwells among us. He becomes Emmanuel – God with us. Yes, Christmas is a wonderful manifestation of God’s love for us. It shows how greatly He cherishes His gift of life.

Herod orders the slaughter of Innocents - Altamura Cathedral, Puglia, Italy

But in today’s Gospel reading we witness how man so often rejects this gift. Herod, so afraid of losing his earthly power, a power that cannot last, turns that fear into hate, and that hate into the destruction of innocent life. Like many of today’s political leaders, Herod foolishly believes he can defeat the will of God. Driven by fear and hatred, he becomes a mass murderer of the most innocent among his people.

Today we are faced with something very similar, but really something far worse. Since 1973 over 50 million of our nation’s most innocent have been slaughtered by abortion. And that’s just a small percentage of the global total. It’s time to stop this child-killing and put the Life back into Christmas.

And I’m convinced this won’t come about through politics. No, it will happen only when we as God’s People undergo a change of heart, when we all begin to lead the Christian life the Gospel calls us to lead.

Catherine Doherty, Servant of God and founder of Madonna House, phrased it best when she titled her book, The Gospel Without Compromise.

We can start by following St. Joseph and obeying God’s commandments – quite simply, doing what He tells us, even if He tells us to get up in the middle of the night and go to Egypt.

We are called also to love, and that means loving even the Herods of today’s world. Love them into God's kingdom by calling them to repentance, forgiving them, praying and suffering for them, and sharing the love of Jesus with them.

We, too, are called to repentance, to ask God to heal our apathy, our lack of faith. As John told us in our reading today, "If we acknowledge our sins, He Who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong" [1 Jn 1:9]. When we are right with God and His Church, when we repent and accept God's forgiveness, all things are possible.

You see, brothers and sisters, you and I aren’t battling people. No our real battle is with Satan. By prayer and fasting we can drive out the demons of abortion and hatred. 

And finally we can fix our eyes always on Jesus Christ. It is He who welcomes those innocents into the Kingdom, and it is He who can forgive those who took their precious lives. Only Jesus Christ, and the grace He showers on us through His holy Church, can save us from our sinfulness and from eternal death. Only Jesus Christ can give us the gift of life, eternal life…for He is the Lord of Life.

We must never forget that.

Late Night Questions

As I have aged, my sleeping habits have become less...well, habitual. Some nights I find myself waking at odd hours, unable to get back to sleep. I usually get up, tiptoe out of the bedroom, plop down in my nice comfortable easy chair, and read until I once again get sleepy. Tonight, however, my mind turned from the book I was reading and began asking itself a series of presumably rhetorical questions. And so I reached for the iPad and began to tap them into its memory, which is far more reliable than my own memory.

One would think that the true welfare of children is not a very high priority among pro-abortion politicians. Abortion, after all, has an obvious, fatal impact on the unborn child. Why, then, do so many pro-abortion politicians inevitably claim that the economic and social programs and policies they champion are all done "for the children"?

Why do so many seemingly intelligent people turn to socialism when it has been an abject failure whenever and wherever it has been tried? And why do an even greater number of people assume that the government will be the best provider of needed services when all evidence tells us otherwise?

In both business and engineering, I found that problems inevitably recurred unless their root causes were addressed and eliminated. Most people would agree that illegal immigrants don't flock to this country because life is better where they came from. Why, then, is all the attention focused on this side of the border when the root causes of the problem are the corrupt governments, dysfunctional economies, and oppression on the other side?

Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, was declared a national holiday over 140 years ago by both houses of congress and the president. The Supreme Court has not ruled this declaration unconstitutional. Why, then, do so many governmental entities, at all levels, attempt to prohibit employees and citizens from using the word "Christmas" in any public venue?

The First Amendment to our Constitution begins with the words, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Why have the courts expanded the "establishment clause" to include almost any mention of religion, while at the same time they have completely disregarded the second clause about prohibiting the free exercise of religion?

As dear Diane and I trimmed our tree and decorated our home in preparation for Christmas, I couldn't help but notice that almost every item -- ornaments, the large creche set, and most of the other decorations -- were made in China, a communist country with an official policy of atheism. What do the Chinese workers think when they design and make a ceramic Madonna or a Baby Jesus, or a rosary or crucifix? Does it cause them to question why so many people buy such things? I suspect so. Human beings are, after all, naturally religious and atheism is a rather modern aberration. I've, therefore, decided to pray for the conversion of all these workers, that the Holy Spirit will use these objects, these as yet unblessed sacramentals, to enlighten all those involved in their manufacture and lead them to the Way, the Truth and the Life.

At this point I've tired myself out once again...off to bed.

Holy Innocents

Tomorrow, December 28, is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, those children of Bethlehem who were murdered by Herod in his bizarre attempt to thwart God's plan. Matthew briefly describes the event in his Gospel:

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.

Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation: Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more." [Mt 2:16-18]

Slaughter of the Innocents - Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Matthew relates this horror in just three short verses. How many children were killed? Just a few? Less than a hundred? Several hundred? We don't know. Matthew provides no details, and we can be sure that Herod wanted no records kept of this horrendous act. Today, of course, we keep detailed, accurate records of our killing. Since 1973 our nation has allowed the slaughter of over 50 million of our most innocent, our unborn infants. You don't have to believe me. The federal government proudly publishes the abortion statistics every year. 

Herod's killing of the innocents was met with "sobbing and loud lamentation." Today's killings of innocents are met with a collective shrug. As one woman told me after a Mass in which I had preached a pro-life homily, "You and the Church are wrong. I think the girls should have a choice." 

I didn't mind her calling me wrong. Lord knows I've been wrong time and time again. But not the Church, not when it comes to matters of faith and morals, and not about something the Church has taught consistently for 2,000 years. Her words are simply symptoms of the disease that has infected so many of our citizens. It is a most diabolical form of political correctness, a willingness to be completely absorbed by today's culture of death and to condemn those who champion life. It stems from one thing: an especially insidious form of selfishness that declares openly and without embarrassment, "I am the measure of all things." For unless I believe this, how else can I deny God's will in favor of my own?

A few months ago, during a conversation with a friend, who happens to be a Protestant minister, he mentioned a woman who had applied for an administrative position in his church: "She made a point of telling me she was strongly pro-life. Well, as you can imagine, that eliminated her from consideration." I know I should have responded more strongly, and used the incident as a teaching moment, but I was too flabbergasted that he had said this to me. So I just said, "As you know, I'm a deacon in the Catholic Church. And so I, too, am strongly pro-life. Send her to us."

Radical political correctness has also apparently commandeered our State Department. We hear little from our government regarding the growing persecution of Christians throughout the world. Communist governments, steeped as they are in radical atheism, have always persecuted Christians and will continue to do so. Persecution and oppression are the rule for Christians living in North Korea, China and Vietnam. But how often do we hear anything about this from either the mainstream media or the federal government? After all, China and Vietnam are trading partners, and North Korea? Well, we don't want to upset our diplomatic efforts to bring them into the fold of civilized nations. And so the barbarity continues.

And when it comes to the rapidly growing persecution of Christians in Islamic countries, we encounter a special form of political correctness that seems to say: Islam is good, Christianity and Judaism are bad. Well, pardon me! But I'm a Catholic Christian and I simply won't accept that.

This form of PC wants us to believe that the vast majority of Muslims disagree with the Islamist jihadist terrorists, aka Al-Quaida, Hamas, Salafists, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, et al. "Don't worry," we're told, "Islam will ultimately reject this aberrant behavior by a few extremists." And yet, as a result of the much praised "Arab Spring," a significant majority of the voters in Tunisia and Egypt voted for these "few extremists" who, among other things, intend to impose sharia law on their nations. It would seem the extremists have now become mainstream. When the governments of other nations with Muslim majorities are overthrown -- Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria... -- we can expect much of the same. Christians in these nations will have few options. They will either leave their homelands or they will suffer increased persecution.

Yes, today's innocents will continue to suffer, right here at home and throughout the world. Pray for them and for their oppressors.

St. John the Evangelist

Today, December 27, is the feast of St. John the Apostle. Here's a link to a wonderful essay on the legacy of St. John by Fr. James Schall, S. J., a Jesuit who teaches at Georgetown University and who, unknowingly, has been educating me through his writings for years:  “That Your Joy May Be Full”

Homily: Christmas Day

Readings: Is 52:7-10; Ps 98; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18

I can’t speak for you, but I find it hard to ignore the commercial side of Christmas, that part of Christmas our secular and materialistic culture wants us to focus on. Wrapped up in all the shopping and decorating and diners and parties, it's easy to forget why the Magi carried those original Christmas gifts to a newborn baby lying in a manger. Believe it or not, the true message of Christmas is not an order confirmation email from Amazon.com.

No, the true message of Christmas is the message we just heard, the message revealed to us in John’s Gospel: The creative Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us as the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. It’s the Archangel Gabriel’s message to Mary, when he said, "You shall name him Jesus and he shall be called Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us" and he “will be called holy, the Son of God.” It’s the message of a passionate God, the message of a God whose love for us is overpowering.

This is what we celebrate today: God’s fierce zeal for us, His commitment not to abandon us; for God is unwilling to leave us in the darkness of our own sinfulness, our own personal tyrannies. What we have in Christmas is a terrible desire on God's part to "be with us," to be part of the human condition: God with us in our entirety.

The Christmas message is that God simply won’t let us alone. God, the most passionate of Lovers, wants to be Emmanuel. And it’s this remarkable action on God’s part, this Divine decision to become one of us, that so many people find so troubling, so hard to accept.

Some years ago, in a diocesan newspaper up north, I read a story – I believe it was called a “Christmas Parable” – about a man who had come to the Church all the way from disbelief. I can’t recall all the details, but I’ll share what I recall.

The man was a good guy, a compassionate and caring husband and father, well liked by those who knew him. He just didn’t believe. His disbelief was simple. Deep inside, he couldn’t understand how this God of the Christians, this Creator of all that is, could allow Himself to become a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. What was the point of it all? Why would this all-powerful God become one of us? Why would this Creator of all that is do something so demeaning, so nonsensical? Christmas, the Incarnation, none of it made any sense to him. It all seemed pretty foolish.

One wintry Sunday, a few days before Christmas, he’d just returned home from taking his wife and children to church. He’d pick them up later when Mass was over. He sat at the front window of their home, enjoying the view of his property – several acres of rural countryside, snow capped trees, an ice-covered pond, the old barn he’d recently restored.

That’s when he noticed a small flock of birds flying in circles around his barn. They’d scatter, then land near the pond, and then a moment later take off again, only to circle the barn once more. They kept repeating this odd behavior as if they were looking for a safe place to hide from the wind and snow and freezing temperatures.

Eventually he threw on his coat, ran to the barn, flung open the big doors and tried to coax the birds into the barn. He waved his arms, ran back and forth between them and the barn…he tried everything, but the birds simply didn’t understand. He could almost see the wind and cold pressing down on them. “Stupid, damn birds,” he muttered to himself. “They’re afraid of me. If only I were a bird, they’d understand, and I could lead them to safety.”

And that’s when God’s grace entered his heart; for it was then that he suddenly understood why God had to become man. It was then he understood the love of the Father, Who sent His only Son to be one of us – a Son Who would guide us to the warm safety of His Father’s Heavenly Home. God became man to turn to us a human face, to speak words of comfort and reconciliation, words that we can understand. It’s this gentle birth we celebrate today, this gentle birth that heralds out salvation.

A few weeks ago at the soup kitchen, I sat down next to a mother holding her little baby girl in her lap. The baby’s name was Heather. As I sat down, Heather saw my smile and reached out her little arms to me. Naturally I picked her up and she just snuggled right up against me and buried her little head into my chest and her arms clasped over my shoulders.

My first thought was that, “Here’s a little baby that needed some hugging.” And then I realized how wrong I was. Heather had been perfectly happy being held by her mom, with whom I could never hope to compete. No she didn’t need my hugs. But she knew that I sure needed hers.

You see, brothers and sisters, in a very real way, little Heather is the meaning of Christmas. God with us. God with Heather. For that brief moment Heather is God’s love. Heather is Christmas. Heather is God's arms, God’s zeal, God’s passion for each of us.

God loves us despite our foolishness. He loves us with our broken lives, our selfishness, our tattered relationships, our foolish sins. God is two tiny arms determined to break into our lives.  God is a fierce little baby who makes no distinctions but embraces the least likely along with most likely.

This is what the feast of Christmas is about -- an enormously unrelenting love feast. Not a soft sentimental love, but a love as searing as any passionate romance. Christmas is God's fulfilled desire to be with us. This is what and why we celebrate.

For if God is not Emmanuel, if God is not with us, if God has not embraced our tattered lives, then woe to us. If God isn’t with us, there’s no hope, no light, only darkness and despair. And if that’s the case, we’re here tonight out of fruitless hope, or habit, or empty sentimentality.

But if we’re here out of love, if we’re here like ragtag shepherds to kneel and rejoice and let God take us in His arms, then we’ve caught the meaning of Christmas: Emmanuel, the passionate God, has had his way and has hugged us fiercely.

Brothers and sisters, when the wintry blasts of sin, suffering and death scatter our souls far and wide like those birds outside that barn, that’s when we need God the most. And that’s when Jesus comes to us to guide us to His Father’s loving arms.

There’s really nothing more to say this Christmas morning…except to wish each and every one of you, and all your loved ones near and far, a blessed and peaceful Christmas