Homily: 25th Anniversary

Note: It seems hard to believe that my ordination to the permanent diaconate was 25 years ago today. I and 20 other men were ordained by Sean O'Malley, then the Bishop of Fall River, at St. Anthony's Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Yes, it was a wonderful day, followed by so many other wonderful days. 

Ordination Day, May 24, 1997

I thank God for calling me to the diaconate, and I thank Dear Diane for her decades of love and support. Without her deep faith, I'd still be stumbling around looking for the path God desired for me. I also thank the late Fr. Gerald Shovelton, who was my pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich, Massachusetts. Fr. Gerry somehow recognized God was calling me and guided me throughout the years of formation and afterwards. It's always helpful to have a few saintly people in your life.

This morning I assisted at daily Mass celebrated by another Fr. Gerry -- Fr. Gerry Cunningham -- who said too many kind things about Diane and me and made the Mass even more special than it always is.

My homily follows...

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Readings: Acts 16:22-34; Ps 138; John 16:5-11

After 25 years as a deacon, I’ve come to realize that 25 years really isn’t all that long. I think this has something to do with my age. After all, I was past 50 when I was ordained. The second realization is that I’ve learned a lot in those 25 years, and I trust I’ve changed at least a little. You'll have to check with Diane for the truth of that. 

Perhaps I should really say, I’ve been changed, because I’ve really done very little myself. That’s the odd thing about vocations; they always begin with God’s call. We merely respond. In truth, though, I have two vocations.

The first is my vocation as husband. This was a calling I really couldn’t avoid. You see, I knew I would marry Diane the first moment I met her. It might have been a blind date, but I saw the future clearly.

The second was my vocation as a permanent deacon. For over 20 years I’d thought about the diaconate, on and off, mostly off, until my pastor told me he was certain God was calling me. Diane and I talked about it, prayed about it, and finally responded and accepted it. After years of formation, I was ordained and then we faced the humbling reality of allowing God to blend these two vocations.

I didn’t always listen to God, and made a lot of mistakes, but He’d always call me back. As you might expect, I occasionally made the big mistake, believing it was my vocation, my ministry. Of course, it’s not. God calls. We respond…or try to. Then His Spirit, the Advocate, as Jesus called Him in the Gospel, leads, and guides, and continually surprises.

Most of us, if we’re faithful Christians, want to follow Christ. But too often we actually think we can plot the correct path all by ourselves. Not only that, we want to be honored and praised for doing so. I suppose we want the fruit; we want others to recognize and accept the proof of our right thinking, of all the good we do. Do I have to tell you that this is totally, completely wrong? 

I recall a bishop once remarking how he admired those who developed successful ministries. And then we place his words alongside those of St. Therese as the 24-year-old saint lay dying: “My ministry will begin -- after my death.”

Even bishops can be wrong…sometimes.

Just consider Paul and Silas in today’s reading from Acts – arrested, stripped, flogged, imprisoned...I don’t know about you, but I suspect I’d be feeling pretty bad about things if that happened to me.

But what did they do? They prayed together and sang hymns into the night. Then an earthquake opened the prison doors and removed their chains. Did they escape and run? Nope, instead they evangelized their jailor who was about to commit suicide. He actually took them to his home, tended to their wounds, and he and his family were all baptized.

Do you see the deep faith of these two men?

Do you see that the ministry of evangelization, the primary work of the Church, was not something they did? It was the fruit of their prayer, something God did through them. They thought not of themselves, but only of God. It wasn’t their ministry; it was God’s work…Opus Dei. And they were simply filled with joy that God would use them no matter the cost to them.

Even after 25 years, I’m still a long way from that kind of faith.

Let me tell you a secret. We deacons can be a complaining lot, especially when we get together. The Church, you see – or at least parts of the Church – even after 50 years, still hasn’t figured out exactly what to do with us. And so, we groan and moan about not being used as we believe we ought.

But then I remember what the word deacon means. It means servant, one who serves others not himself. We’re called to be servants, but servants to whom? Quite simply, we’re called to serve God’s people, all God’s people. That’s right, anyone and everyone. By doing so, we serve God and His holy Church.

When it’s put that way it’s pretty straightforward, but it demands a level of humility that escapes most of us. I've always thought of humility as the foundational virtue, the virtue without which all other virtues simply cannot be. My father had a funny line about humility. He used to say, "Humility's a strange commodity; once you know you have it, you just lost it."

In a sense, that’s the second secret. 

I’d been a deacon only a few years when a priest I knew asked if I’d speak to some seminarians who were only a year or two from ordination. 

Surprised, I asked him, “Speak to them? On what?”

“Oh, on the permanent diaconate, of course.”

Well, in the midst of my little talk, I revealed that second secret. You see, I’d spent years as a layman in our parish and knew a lot of the parishioners. I also knew that many were far holier than I was or would ever be. And yet as a deacon I was called to serve them, to counsel and encourage them, to pray with them, to preach to them, to teach them.

That’s when I realized I could do none of that. That was all God's work, perhaps done through me thanks to His Holy Spirit. You see, those young seminarians, once ordained to the priesthood, would likely be assigned to a parish where they knew very few people. It would take those holy young priests a while to recognize and accept that those they served would often be far holier. But God always seems to call us from our weaknesses, doesn’t He? For it’s then He is most productive.

Brothers and sisters, open your hearts and souls to the work of the Holy Spirit in your lives. Let the Advocate do His work.

God still uses earthquakes, little events to shake up our lives, to cause us to turn to Him in faith and hope, so we can see the needs that surround us. You and I may not be imprisoned, but so many in our world are locked up, living in prisons of their own creation. You may be the one whom God chooses to set them free.

God love you.

It's All About Abortion!

"I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly" [Jn 10:10]

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For years, really for decades, I've believed that for the Left, the key issue, the issue that overrides all others is abortion. 

For them abortion is more important than pushing their Marxist economic plans through legislative and executive action.

Abortion is more important than destroying free markets through the fascist control of large corporations and the resulting destruction of small business.

Abortion is more important than infecting our educational system with their hatred of our nation and our Judeo-Christian religious and moral values.

Abortion is more important than exerting authoritative dominance over the lives of the people through a centralized, controlling healthcare system that delegates life and death decisions to faceless bureaucrats.

Abortion is more important than dismantling our military and our nation's ability to defend itself against hostile powers that are seen as allies in ensuring the Left's dominance of the people.

Abortion is more important than disarming our nation's citizenry so the people will be forced to submit to the Left's all-encompassing internal control.

Abortion is more important than their desire to suppress the basic, God-given rights of the people: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom to defend oneself and one's family...

Indeed, to the Left, abortion overrides all other issues because it's central to their primary goal: to replace God with themselves.

As faithful Christians we believe God created each of us in an individual act of love. We take the prayer of the Psalmist seriously:

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! [Ps 139:13-14]

Life, then, is a gift from God, a gift of creation. To destroy that life is not only to deny the gift, it is also to deny the Giver. Abortion, because it destroys the most innocent of all human life, is the most horrendous of sins. The Church, in the Nicene Creed, praises the Holy Spirit by extending to Him the title, "the Lord and giver of life." Can there be greater evil than the attempt to usurp His power by destroying life as soon as His gives it? 

One "power" is, of course, ultimately behind this abomination, this vain attempt to take unto himself the power of God, and that is Satan. Interestingly, over 50 years ago (1968), Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical, Humanae Vitae, warned that the contraception mentality would lead to many other evils. He predicted artificial contraception could lead to other, often more serious sins, that:

• Would "open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards" [HV, 17];
• Lead "a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods to forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection [HV,17];
• "...when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife [HV, 17];
• "...unless we are willing that the responsibility of procreating life should be left to the arbitrary decision of men, we must accept that there are certain limits, beyond which it is wrong to go" [HV, 17].

The Holy Father continued by reminding us that the family, the Church, and the civil community must remember that liberty has its limits. In his words:

"Everything therefore in the modern means of social communication which arouses men's baser passions and encourages low moral standards, as well as every obscenity in the written word and every form of indecency on the stage and screen, should be condemned publicly and unanimously by all those who have at heart the advance of civilization and the safeguarding of the outstanding values of the human spirit. It is quite absurd to defend this kind of depravity in the name of art or culture or by pleading the liberty which may be allowed in this field by the public authorities" [HV, 22]

Far too many today, Christians and others, seem to believe that freedom of speech should have no limitations. As a nation we long understood that the founding fathers believed the people have the power to limit even speech when it obviously fosters or actively encourages that which is intrinsically evil, especially those evils that strive to undermine the well-being of the people and destroy the very Constitution that enumerates their God-given rights. Today, because we openly deny the strong religious element in the foundation of our nation, we also publicly deny that good should be supported and encouraged and evil should be recognized for what it is and condemned.

Because real evil is allowed to flourish, we can expect to encounter more of the same. This is why, if the Supreme Court accepts the opinion of the leaked draft overturning Roe v. Wade, we will surely encounter much violence in our streets this summer. Keep in mind, as I have said before, the most violent people in our nation are those who support abortion, those who support the violent, painful, dismembering slaughter of the most innocent among us. Pray for them, and love them as God loves them, because only He can change hearts so filled with hatred. 

Satan, by the way, has made a crucial error. By leading so many to abort these unborn infants, he has created a powerful, heavenly army of grace-filled warriors who stand in God's Presence. They are no doubt devoted to praying for the end of abortion in our nation and throughout the world. And how good is that!

What's Happened?

For Dear Diane and me April and May have been strange months. 

The first thing that happened was a car accident. I was sitting at a red light when pickup truck smashed into the back of my wonderful Kia Sorento. As it turned out, the other driver was uninsured and because of the extent of damage and the age of my car (2011), the insurance company had to total the Sorento...so sad. I really liked that car and took excellent care of it, hoping I could drive it for a few more years. Anyway, we had to get another car, so on Tuesday we went to a local Subaru dealer and leased a new Outback. It cost me far too much, both the up-front and monthly payments, but we took the plunge. The car is very nice, really too nice and too luxurious for us, and with far too many bells and whistles that will no doubt take me weeks to figure out. We had thought about getting either a Forrester or an Outback, but this was the only car of either model in their current inventory. Supply chain problems have also affected the automobile industry.

Then, last weekend, right after we left home for a weekend trip to Pensacola (Diane's hometown), we got a call from a neighbor telling us a large branch (actually, a very large branch) had broken off the huge live oak tree in our backyard and fallen on top of our roof. I don't believe there's any severe damage, but I won't know for sure until someone gets up there and checks it out. (I'm too old and too smart to do it myself.) Right now, I'm trying to get someone to look at everything and give me an estimate on branch and possibly tree removal. It's all very tiresome and I expect it will be expensive. 

Oh, yeah, I also broke a tooth and have to find a dentist that takes our insurance. As I said, strange times.

But then I realize how well we have it compared to so many others and all these personal worries and concerns just fade into the background. It's probably a lot easier for a retired couple like us to cope with all the problems the world has tossed our way. Today's younger generations must not only deal with a challenging economic situation, but also navigate society's moral decay and its effects on families. 

When we look at our economy, we find increasingly high inflation exacerbated by growing shortages of needed products including basic food items, baby formula, diesel fuel, equipment parts, almost everything. The supply chain problems likely resulted from the draconian COVID shutdowns of our economy, combined with the so-called Green New Deal and incentives that have kept people out of work. These policies -- along with continued massive spending by the Biden administration, the total lack of an energy policy that reflects reality, and a Fed that for too long has provided cheap money -- resulted in the gift of high inflation and a depressed stock market.

Society's moral decay is a whole other matter that must be fought through courageous action and prayer. I'm nearing the end of my life -- not real soon, I hope -- but young families today must be very worried about the future. My only advice is to hold tight and vote for those who are willing to fight legislatively for the soul of our nation. Vote, too, for those who actually understand the roots of inflation and its solution: tax cuts, less intrusive regulations, true energy independence, and most important, decreased government spending. We have survived similar periods -- just ask Jimmy Carter -- and we will survive this too, provided American voters don't go stupid on us and the current Congress practices a little restraint during the final months of 2022.

Pray for our nation.

Thank God for WHAT?

Let me begin simply by repeating the chant of a large collection of pro-abortion screamers who were trying to disrupt worshippers at a Catholic church: 

"Thank God for abortion!" 

Yes, indeed, that's what they shouted at anyone and everyone within earshot. Of course, for someone who actually believes in God, such a chant is pure blasphemy, since it attributes an intrinsic evil to God. I have, however, become convinced that pro-abortion fanatics, and this also includes most of today's Democrat Party politicians, really don't believe in God. Oh, they talk about God as their biggest supporter, they attend church services and take advantage of the photo-ops, and they always refer to themselves as "devout." But it's all just talk, just smoke and mirrors...you know, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." 

The pro-abortion pols who claim to be Catholic apparently have no problem discarding Church magisterial teaching when it seems politically expedient to do so. We are left to conclude that they have raised their personal beliefs above the Word of God and the Church's deposit of faith. In other words, they have replaced the Living God with themselves, a bunch of little god wannabes. This is the great temptation to which those who crave power always fall prey: to become a god. 

Our Vice President, too, joined in the cacophony and in a recent speech repeatedly screamed, "How dare they!" She was all upset that any Supreme Court Justice, or any legislator, would try to prevent a woman from doing whatever she wanted to her body. Kamala Harris conveniently failed to mention that there's another body involved, and that the woman's decision to abort brings about this innocent person's violent death. Her near frenzied support of abortion is difficult to understand since she is a black woman and abortion providers have specifically targeted minority women. In truth the population of black Americans would be double its current numbers if abortion had not been legalized by the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Any black American who supports abortion is grossly ignorant, a pure Leftist ideologue, or just suicidal...or, more accurately, self-genocidal. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I believe the Left has made a crucial error by reacting as they have to the illegal leak of the court's draft majority opinion. All they have done is released the crazies who will show the rest of the country what complete weirdos the abortion-loving fanatics really are. I realize I will be criticized for labeling them, but I've always believed that telling the truth is a charitable act and should not be avoided when to do so would lead others to sin. Just check out these photos of current protests.

Yep, these folks will certainly convince all those average Americans to join the next pro-abortion protest in their quiet neighborhoods...yeah, right.

Lest we get distracted by all the weirdness in the streets, let's keep one thing in mind: abortion is the work of Satan and those who support abortion are joining in his evil work. Of course, ultimately, they will fail. They just don't know it. Pray for them.

And to alter that ugly chant slightly, let me quote the Catholic poet, Joyce Kilmer:

"Thank God for God."

Strange Skies - ET Phone Home

This morning., right before 6 a.m., Maddie and I left the house to take our morning walk. It was still about 3/4 of an hour before sunrise, but the eastern sky was starting to glow a bit. Venus and Jupiter were both showing off their brightness, and Mars and Saturn, farther to the south and higher in the sky, were dim but still visible. But what really amazed me was a weird cloud formation that looked like a heavenly portrait of one of those aliens the UFO-crazies claim abducted them. I've included the photo below:

It certainly doesn't look natural, does it? Makes one think a skywriter was out early this morning before he sobered up. I took the photo standing in our street looking due east. Venus and Jupiter are both visible to the right of the weird cloud. 

Anyway, lest you think aliens were sending us a coded message in the morning sky, when Maddie and I returned home I noticed a text from NASA (Yes, NASA sends me texts about all their launches and other doings) on my phone informing me of the launch of a spacecraft with the clever name, Falcon 9 Block 5. It had lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 5:42 this morning. We often observe these launches since our home here in The Villages is due west of Cape Canaveral. I'm pretty sure this early morning launch was the cause of our pre-dawn weird cloud formation. The upper winds in our lower atmosphere can do strange things to vapor trails and rocket exhaust. 

Sadly, I was hoping for something a bit more eerie, some unexplained phenomenon that the government would try to cover up; but alas it seems even ET in the morning sky can be explained.

Hope you like the photo though. Click on the photo for a full-sized view.

The Most Violant

We hear a lot about violence today. The Left screams about the so-called violence of January 6 "insurrection" at the Capitol; although from what I've read, nobody who took part was armed, so I'm not sure how they intended to overthrow the government. Of course, the Right tries to shout just as loud about the far worse summer of violence by the thugs who carried out the violent and often deadly dirty work of BLM and Antifa in the streets of our cities. But the most violent Americans of all are those who support abortion. They encourage or actively take part in the slaughter of the most innocent human beings among us, and they do so with almost indescribable violence. If anyone actually saw what is done to an unborn child during an abortion, I don't know how they could possibly support this unspeakable act of violence.

Today on the news I saw several videos of large groups of pro-choice protesters attacking police officers. To put this into perspective, over the years I made probably ten trips to Washington, DC to take part in the annual March for Life in January. And I also attended several similar marches in Boston and here in Florida. During all these marches -- or "protests" as the media labels them -- I never saw any violence from the pro-life participants. In fact, the only violence I ever saw or experienced came from pro-abortion protestors who tried to interfere with the marches. They often threw objects, including bottles, at the marchers and always accompanied these acts with screams of profanity-laced insults. Even more amazing, I never saw a pro-lifer try to respond in kind. Yes, indeed, to be pro-abortion -- and, folks, if you call yourself "pro-choice," you know full well that you're really pro-abortion -- is also to be pro-violence.

When our ostensibly Catholic President blathers about the wonders of abortion and how the Supreme Court is trying to take away this "sacred right," all I can do (after I try to avoid getting sick to my stomach) is pray for his immortal soul. That he would utter such drivel, really a stream of blasphemies, and then receive Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist...well, that is the ultimate blasphemy. Speaker Pelosi is no different, except she seems to be able to read her teleprompter a bit better than President Biden. In the end, though, she mouths the same talking points that try to change evil to good. And through their verbal attacks they encourage physical attacks. Just listen to their words.

Thank God for those five Supreme Court Justices who seem poised to overturn the unconstitutional and murderous Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973. I believe the Left made a huge mistake by leaking that draft of the court's likely decision. Too many Americans are ignorant of what abortion really involves and what the Left hopes to achieve. This controversy will not only force the truth out into the open, but also show the nation the kind of violent people who support this evil. Of course, the decision would simply return to power to the states where it would be decided by legislators and executives who are elected by the people. 

The pro-life view is simple to state and easy to understand: 

1. Life is sacred. 

2. An unborn child is a human life, the most innocent of all human lives. 

3. Abortion, then, is nothing less than the intentional slaughter of an innocent human life. 

Pass it on.

Homily: Saturday, Octave of Easter

Readings: Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118; Mk 16:9-15

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Today, as we approach the end of the Easter Octave, this eight-day celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, we find in it the perfect sign of hope. The Resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love. Could God provide us with any better guarantee of what He has in store for us?

What I have done for My Son, I will do also for you. As My Son is now with me in glory, so too will you come and dwell with us in eternal happiness. You need only do what the Son asks of you:

“Repent and believe in the Gospel.” [Mk 1:15]

Indeed, these words – “Repent and believe in the Gospel” – are among the first words of Jesus we encounter in Mark’s Gospel. As a writer Mark didn’t elaborate a lot, but just gave us the bare-bones facts. He begins his Gospel with a matter-of-fact statement:

“The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” [Mk 1:1]

No theological subtleties there. No, Mark gets right to the point of it all: Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and the Son of God. Mark seems to tell his readers: Keep that in mind as you read this Gospel and all will become clear.

The passage from today’s Gospel reading is no different and includes some of the final verses of Mark’s Gospel. The concluding verse of this passage is equally straightforward, with the risen Jesus telling His small band of eleven apostles:

"Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” [Mk 16:15]

No exclusions, no dispensations, no excuses. You and all those who follow you – and, that, brothers and sisters, includes you and me – must proclaim the Gospel always and to everyone.

Remember, these 11 apostles weren’t the most faithful of disciples. The death of Jesus had affected them deeply, leaving them with more doubt than faith. They’d shown they hadn’t understood Jesus’ references to His Resurrection. They even questioned the claims of Mary Magdalene and the two disciples from Emmaus. No, it took Jesus Himself to convince them; and even then, they were plagued by doubts. It was so bad Jesus actually chewed them out “for their unbelief and hardness of heart” [Mk 16:14] when He appeared to them

How about you and me? Do we really believe in Christ, even though we don’t see Him? Do we believe He is alive now and still at work to offer healing, forgiveness, hope, and life to all who seek him? Too often we find it hard to trust and believe.

Do we see Jesus and seek Him as He is now? Changed in appearance, He is alive in the beggar, the braggart, the bigot, in those who despise all that you believe. He’s present too in your family…yes. And in those who have turned away from Him and from you. Do we seek Him there, love Him and serve Him, grow as we search for Him, find Him again, and then go on to find Him still in others? 

Notice, too, that Jesus wastes no time, and gives the eleven that final command, His great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all the world. Matthew, in his Gospel, adds a bit more: 

“Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” [Mt 28:19-20]

But regardless of the which Gospel text we turn to, the command is much the same...and it’s kind of a scary command, isn’t it? Really, now, how much Gospel proclaiming have you and I done this week…this month…this year?

I suspect it was scary too for the disciples who actually heard Jesus say it. If His Resurrection was unexpected, this command was even more so. But then, just a few days later, we encounter the power of the Holy Spirit, and see how, in an instant, He can change minds and hearts. This power is manifested in the remarkable witness of the Apostles in today’s reading from Acts. Peter and John, these fishermen, these “uneducated, ordinary men,” were doing miraculous things in Jesus’ name while proclaiming the Gospel throughout Jerusalem. They did so because, in their words, 

"It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” [Acts 4:20]

And so, if you’re a little behind in your Gospel proclaiming, recall again those first words of Jesus: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” -- for they are the key.

Go to Reconciliation in repentance and let the Holy Spirit shower you with His grace. Open yourself up to Him in prayer. Ask Him to guide you, to help you proclaim the Gospel by living the Gospel.

 

Reflection: Divine Mercy Novena - Day 9

Before our wonderful cantors led us in singing the chaplet in day nine of the Divine Mercy Novena, I offered the following brief reflection:

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The other day, after writing a few words about an event in the Old Testament, I was reading a bit from St. Faustina’s Diary and was struck by what Jesus told her.

“You are a witness of My mercy. You shall stand before my throne forever as a living witness to My mercy” [# 417]

and

“You are My delightful resting place; My Spirit rests in you [# 346].

Relating this to the Old Testament, I couldn’t help but apply it to the Patriarchs, Prophets, and others who were recipients of Divine Mercy.

In the Old Testament, we encounter some truly remarkable lives, lives bathed in God’s mercy. Consider the twins, Jacob and Esau: one, along with their mother, conniving and deceitful, and the other, arrogant and foolish. And yet Jacob, with all his blemishes and sins, becomes one of the great patriarchs of our Judeo-Christian tradition.

Perhaps Jacob’s sons offer us one of the best examples of sinfulness in need of mercy and forgiveness, when out of envy they plan the murder of their brother, Joseph, and eventually sell him into slavery [Gen 37].

We encounter this again and again. Consider David, the great king who also happened to be an adulterer and murderer [2 Sam 11] and David’s son, King Solomon, who neglected God's gift of wisdom, became enamored of foreign women (quite a few of them, actually), and turned to idolatry [1 Kgs 11]. Remarkably, these two kings, perhaps along with Hezekiah, Josiah, and a few others, were probably the best of the bunch.

So…What are we to think?

Well, in truth, we should thank God for the gift of the flawed men and women who fill the pages of God's Word. What a gift they are to us! In these broken, oh-so-human lives we come face to face with God's enduring forgiveness. We come face to face with God's mercy.

If you worry about your family being mildly dysfunctional, just take a closer look at Abraham's, or Isaac's, or Jacob's. Despite all their problems, all their sinfulness, God's mercy just overflows into their lives. And how good it is that God wants to shower you and those you love with that same outpouring of mercy.

Brothers and sisters, without God's mercy, we would be - what's the best word? - doomed!

Without God's mercy our sins would overwhelm us.

Without God's mercy, there would be no Incarnation, no redemptive sacrifice on the Cross, no Resurrection to offer us the hope of eternal life.

Without God's mercy there is no salvation; for the Incarnation is the supreme act of mercy, the supreme act of our merciful, loving God.

He becomes one of us, He lives with us, He teaches us, He forgives us, He heals us, He loves us, and He suffers and dies for us. He does all of this for our salvation. He does all of this so we can be healed.

That's right. Without God's mercy there can be no healing. And we are all, every single one of us, in need of healing, aren't we? What about you?

Are you in pain, physical pain, the kind that can scream at you, causing you to question God's love?

Do you suffer from illness, one of those devastating, fear-laden illnesses that makes prayer so very hard?

Have you been attacked by depression, or another spirit-draining affliction that seems to attack your very humanity?

Perhaps you are faced with a combination of many things, some little, some not so little, that overwhelm you and your ability to deal with them?

Or maybe you are simply afraid, afraid of the future, afraid of the unknown, afraid of death, and need the consolation of the gift of faith.

What kind of healing do you seek? What do I seek? But what about the healing we actually need? You see, brothers and sisters, I don't know the fulness of God’s plan for me, and I certainly don’t know God's plan for you...and neither do you. But I do know what He wants of both you and me.

He wants you, He wants me, He wants every single one of us to come to Him, to abandon ourselves to Him, to allow His will to move within our lives.

But it's never easy to set aside our own willfulness and abandon ourselves to God's will. When our wills dominate, we end up broken; and yet it's through that brokenness that God call to us.

And that’s when our need for His mercy, for His healing touch, is greatest.

 

Springtime Reading

Every so often, someone asks me: "What are you reading lately?" Most often the question comes from a friend or acquaintance who's visited our home and has taken a peek into my so-called den. Often enough this messy room shocks visitors who for some reason expect me to be more organized. I could include a photo but would prefer to avoid the embarrassment. I'd rather just drop a few hints and leave the rest to your imagination. 

Most of the walls of this room are hidden behind six tall overflowing bookcases. More books rise up from the floor in semi-neat stacks. The storage of books is a process of continual evolution and even a cursory look suggests no real system of organization. The result? Searching for a particular book usually turns into an adventure. I'm not proud of this, but organization takes time. Perhaps every couple of years, the chaos reaches a critical level and I devote most of a day to rearranging books by subject matter, separating others I intend to give away, and moving some to the many bookcases in other rooms of our home. This task, driven by necessity, is far from enjoyable. But it must be done because I lack the discipline to return books to their proper place and tend to stash new books wherever they fit. Yes, indeed, my lack of discipline and organization leads only to chaos.

But even chaos can bring its rewards. Yesterday, while looking for a particular book, I found another I had not yet read and had forgotten. Buried at the bottom of one of those stacks on the floor, it called to me, demanding to be read. Since I tend to have three or four books going at the same time -- something that Dear Diane finds strange -- I simply added it to my current reading.

When do I read? Whenever I have the time. Multiple ministries have no respect for personal schedules and make it difficult to set particular times for other activities, including reading. Fortunately, I read rather quickly, thanks to a speed-reading workshop I attended in graduate school back in the early 70s. Unless the book is a particularly dense theological or philosophical text, I can usually finish it rather quickly.

Anyway, if you are interested, here's a sampling of what I'm reading now, or intend to read, in the springtime of 2022.

Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? by Hans Urs von Balthasar (1986). 

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), one of the great theologians of the 20th century, wrote this book not long before his death. Although I first read this book in the mid-90s, its publication had already generated so much controversy, I wanted to read it myself and see what all the furor was about. And now, as I am much closer to the end of my life, I thought perhaps it was time to read it again.

Although I was (and still am) no theologian, I found the book to be thoughtful, measured, and scripturally sound. I could never understand why von Balthasar and his book became the target of so many attacks. God's plan for the salvation of humanity, particularly for the salvation of each individual, remains a mystery. Can we not hope for the salvation of all?

Von Balthasar examines sacred Scripture and brings to light many of the passages that encourage Christians to hope that God will bring all to salvation. He neither ignores nor denies the more "threatening" passages that obviously argue against this. In his follow-up "Discourse on Hell" (included in the book and written as a response to his critics), he simply says:

"I claim nothing more than this: that these statements give us a right to have hope for all men, which simultaneously implies that I see no need to take the step from the threats to the positing of a hell occupied by our brothers and sisters, through which our hopes would come to naught."

He goes on to write: 

"I do not wish to contradict anyone who, as a Christian, cannot be happy without denying the universality of hope to us so that he can be certain of his full hell: that was, after all, the view of a large number of important theologians, especially among the followers of Augustine. But, in return, I would like to request that one be permitted to hope that God's redemptive work for his creation might succeed. Certainty cannot be attained, but hope can be justified."

Von Balthasar then adds the following, suggesting the Church, in its wisdom, has long understood this:

"That is probably the reason why the Church, which has sanctified so many men, has never said anything about the damnation of any individual. Not even about that of Judas, who became in a way the representative example for something of which all sinners are also guilty."

I've just completed (I think) my third reading of this book and strongly recommend it, especially if you find the idea of God bringing all to salvation highly improbable or even impossible. As for me, I've always been a sucker for hope, the theological virtue that promises me so much more than I deserve.

Eliot and His Age, by Russell Kirk (1971). 

Russell Kirk (1918-1994) was perhaps the most eloquent, influential, and solidly conservative man of letters of the 20th century. I attribute the genesis of my own political beliefs to his book The Conservative Mind which i first read only months after its publication in 1960. At the time I was a high school junior who was searching for some solid foundational ground to support the beliefs I instinctively held. 

Kirk (photo left) was a prolific writer, and many of his books have pride of place in my personal library. I had known of his fondness for T. S. Eliot, with whom he shared a personal friendship, but I had never read this remarkable work. I'm now about halfway into it an already consider it essential reading for anyone truly interested in understanding the great poet's life and works, as well as the ideas that stimulated his timeless writings.

If you're a fan of Eliot (photo left), you'll know that his essays and other prose works are almost as important as his poetry. Indeed, his ideas are perhaps even more meaningful to our society today than when they were first written. Kirk, writing of Eliot's influence in the early 1920s, stated:

"Of missions to the masses, the twentieth century knew too many; Eliot's mission was to the educated classes. The drift toward Marxism, or toward some other totalist ideology, was apparent already among literary people: Eliot would offer them an alternative -- in philosophy and religion, in humane letters, in politics." [P. 81]

And while you're at it, pick up a copy of Eliot's The Idea of a Christian Society, a wonderful essay containing such profound gems as this:

"...in a society which has ceased to be Christian...I would remark that there are two points of view...The first is that a society has ceased to be Christian when religious practices have been abandoned, when behavior ceases to be regulated by reference to Christian principle, and when in effect prosperity in this world for the individual or for the group has become the sole conscious aim. The other point of view, which is less readily apprehended, is that a society has not ceased to be Christian until it has become positively something else...I believe that the choice before us is between the formation of a new Christian culture and the acceptance of a pagan one." [P. 10]

By the way, my copy is a first US edition (1940) for which I paid all of $2.00 in a used bookshop some years ago. 

Of yes, and don't neglect the great poet's poetry...perhaps more on this in some future post.

I'm running out of time (and steam) and still have two homilies to write for Mass and a Baptism on Saturday. Here's one more suggestion, a bit of a change of pace since it's a work of fiction.

There Are Doors, by Gene Wolfe (1988). 

Gene Wolfe (1931-2019) might well have been one of the best modern American writers of fiction. Sadly, his work tends to be overlooked because it is usually classed as science fiction. I suppose it is, but it's really so much more. Just the fact that I rarely read the genre -- except for books written by Wolfe -- might convince you to give him a try.

Every so often I find one of his books in a used bookstore or turn to Amazon and search for one I haven't read. This book is one of those Amazon purchases. A used copy, it arrived on our doorstep a couple of days ago and I just started to read it yesterday evening. It took only about 30 seconds to grab my attention, although after about 50 pages I realized it was too late to continue reading since I had to get up at 5:30 this morning. I'll probably finish it tonight.

Wolfe once wrote that "A great story...is one that can be read with pleasure by a cultivated reader and reread with increasing pleasure." Believe me, this describes Wolfe's stories perfectly.

If you've never read Wolfe, I would suggest turning first to his novel, A Soldier of the Mist (1987). (The link takes you to a double novel that includes this book and its sequel.) The novel tells a remarkable story set in 479 B.C., a time when "the gods walked the earth with men." The hero, a Greek mercenary soldier named Latro, suffered a head would in battle and became separated from his fellow soldiers. As a result of his wound, he experienced severe memory loss that included his ability to remember from one day to the next. He is forced, therefore, to live in a constant present. His only aid is a daily written record which he reads each morning to give his life some continuity. But his wound has also given Latro a gift of sorts: his sense can penetrate into the supernatural world that surrounds him. He can see and communicate with a wide variety of beings, from gods and goddesses to ghosts and demons.

Another of Wolfe's books that received a lot of critical attention is among my favorites: Pirate Freedom (2007). I just love the plot. It's a time-travel story of a Catholic priest, Father Christopher, who finds himself transported back in time to the age of piracy in the Caribbean. There he becomes Captain Chris, a rather successful pirate. An absolutely fascinating story -- I won't reveal the ending -- that examines the relationship among love, faith, and morality.

Wolfe was a Catholic whose deep faith permeated his works, often in the most subtle ways that no doubt had a significant influence on many of his readers.

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In addition to the books mentioned here I'm currently reading a few others. Perhaps I'll take the time to mention them in the near future.

God's peace and happy reading.

Reflection: Divine Mercy Novena - Day 6

 At this time of year, our parish prays the Divine Mercy Novena, led by our deacons and ably aided by our wonderful musicians. I was asked to lead Day 6 and Day 9, and so today I led the first of these. I usually begin with a brief reflection on some aspect of Divine Mercy as revealed to us in St. Faustina's Diary. Here's the text of my reflection:

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Welcome to day 6 of our Divine Mercy Novena.

A few weeks ago, a parishioner came up to me after Mass. He'd just seen an announcement about this Divine Mercy Novena and remarked that Divine Mercy didn't seem to mix well with pandemics and wars.

As you might expect, I vehemently disagreed and suggested that God's mercy and our extension of it was exactly what our world needed. I realize it's been a difficult few years and we're all in a bit of a funk, and not just because of masks, vaccinations, testing, family separation, and all the rest. Far more painful has been the loss of many friends and loved ones. I know I miss them all and the older I get the more frequent these losses. But we take hope in the promise that, soon enough, we'll be with them again.  Yes, indeed, life and death continue, as does God’s love for His people. This, too, sometimes escapes us when we’re affected by grief.

Now, in the midst of the Easter season, we are also reminded of God’s great gift to the world: His Divine Mercy. The other day, reading a few pages of St. Faustina’s Diary, I came across these words of Jesus:

“You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it" [Diary, 742].

Meditating on this command from Jesus, I couldn't help but recollect all those times when I have been less than merciful, those times when I looked the other way rather than confronting another's need head-on. Sadly, there were far too many instances, too many to count.

There's nothing new about this command; indeed, if it were new, we would have every right to suspect the validity of the visions and private revelations experienced by St. Faustina. True private revelation can do nothing but confirm and reinforce divine revelation as found in sacred scripture and apostolic tradition.

And, of course, this same plea to mercy is stated explicitly in the Gospel:

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" [Mt 5:7].

When Matthew describes Jesus’ depiction of the final judgment, we will all experience [Mt 25:31-46], we encounter a judgment focused on the mercy we have extended to each other. As I reflected on Jesus' command, and on my own failure to obey it fully, I realized how grateful I am that we have a merciful God, who willingly forgives and forgets the sins of the repentant.

In other words, our personal failure to extend mercy to others can be overcome by God's infinite mercy when we come to Him in true repentance and a willingness to change, to undergo conversion. Without this gift of mercy and forgiveness none of us would be saved.

Today, as we pray together at the foot of the Cross, when we look up at our crucified Lord, do we tear open our very being? Listen to the prophet Joel, who revealed God’s will:

“Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment.” [Joel 2:13]

Do we rend our hearts exposing all to God’s merciful gaze?

Do we come to Him, ready to die to self and sin?

Praying the chaplet on this 6^th day of our novena, can we abandon ourselves to His Divine Mercy?

Joyce Kilmer, the Catholic poet, another of my favorites, was struck down by a sniper's bullet during World War One. But in the midst of his wartime experience, surrounded by the destruction and devastation and death in the trenches, he wrote a little poem called "Thanksgiving." 

     The roar of the world in my ears.
     Thank God for the roar of the world!
     Thank God for the mighty tide of fears
     Against me always hurled!

     Thank God for the bitter and ceaseless strife,
     And the sting of His chastening rod!
     Thank God for the stress and the pain of life,
     And Oh, thank God for God!

Brothers and sisters, that's exactly what we must do: just thank God for everything.

Thank God for the joys and the pains of our lives.

How did St. Paul put it?

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose" [Rom 8:28].

It’s all a gift, even when it's beyond our understanding.

Yes, thank God for His mercy which makes life itself livable. 

 

Homily: Saturday, 3rd Week of Lent

Readings: Hos 6:1-6; Ps 51; Lk 18:9-14

When we look over the broad scope of these 40 days of Lenten readings, perhaps the most common theme is repentance. Today's Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 51) is certainly an example of this. 

But the next most common theme is the call to humility. I suppose that makes good sense because I’ve always considered humility as the pre-requisite virtue, without which no other virtue can stand. After all, if we don’t possess a humble heart there’s only one other possibility: pride. And we all know where pride leads us. Just as humility is the foundation stone of the virtuous life, pride is the foundation stone of the sinful life.

Humility, you see, is nothing less than an acceptance of reality. Humility is the awareness that we are the creatures and God is the Creator. But more than that, humility is the joyful realization that God created you and me, each one of us, in individual acts of love. Humility is the shock of recognition, our breathtaking grasp that this love is supremely manifested in God’s humbling of Himself to become one of us, and give up His life for us. Indeed, can anything be more humbling than an awareness of our poverty before God? True humility also helps us avoid the ephemeral piety condemned in our first reading from Hosea:

"...like morning mist, like the dew that disappears early" [Hos 6:4].

Pride, of course, takes God out of the picture. It must. Pride, you see, is the inordinate love of self, the love of self above all else. How can one be filled with pride, then, and accept the greatness of God, a greatness far beyond our comprehension? In a very real sense, the prideful person substitutes himself for God, placing himself and his needs and wants above God and everyone else. If you are prideful, how can you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself? [Mt 22:36-40] You can't.

Just consider today’s Gospel passage from Luke. It’s one of those clear, straightforward passages, a parable that exposes pride for what it really is, while at the same time allowing us to grasp the path to true humility.

First of all, Luke tells us to whom Jesus addressed this parable:  

“…to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else” [Lk 18:9].

In other words, to an audience of the prideful.

It’s also interesting that Jesus’ cast of characters includes only two men: a Pharisee and a tax collector. Jesus often castigated the one and the people despised the other. The Pharisee, while seemingly at prayer, took up a position of prominence. But note that he prays not to God but, as Jesus tells us, “…spoke this prayer to himself” [Lk 18:11]. And how does he begin this prayer offered to himself? “Oh, God…” Yes, indeed, as only the prideful can, he substitutes himself for God, even in prayer. He goes on to thank himself for being so much better than the rest of humanity, revealing a heart devoid of humility. And he especially scorns that sinful tax collector who stands far behind him praying humbly with head bowed.

Both the Pharisee and the tax collector are spiritually impoverished, but only one of them realizes it. The Pharisee’s pride prevents him from recognizing the truth about himself, while the tax collector’s humility leads him to a recognition of this truth. Listen again to His prayer:

“O God, be merciful to me a sinner” [Lk 18:13].

With these few words he acknowledges his total dependence on God and willingly exposes his true condition to the only one who can heal him.

Jesus also reminds us that only God knows our hearts, that we should resist making judgments based on our personal biases. Because of his humble prayer, the widely despised tax collector “goes home justified” while the esteemed and self-exalted Pharisee must still be humbled.

The Eastern Church has long encouraged praying a version of the tax collector’s prayer, revealed in a wonderful little book, The Way of the Pilgrim.

Called the “Jesus Prayer,” and prayed throughout the day to the very rhythm of the body’s breathing, it too is simple:

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Although prayed by the humble, I can think of fewer prayers more exalting.

Maybe we should all try that throughout the day for the remainder of Lent.

 

Generals, Admirals, Secretaries, and other Political Hacks

Note: I wrote the following post back in September 2021, but for some reason never posted it. This occasionally happens, usually because more pressing demands cause me to move on to something else and forget about other less important things, like blog posts. Anyway, while doing some PC housekeeping this morning, I stumbled on this forgotten unposted post. After reading it, though, I decided to post it. I  think it’s important to recall the Biden administration’s incompetent approach to national security typified by its hapless withdrawal from Afghanistan. The tragic event addressed below is simply one among many in which political considerations led to lies, attempted cover-ups, and finally to scapegoating and a refusal to accept responsibility. Given the administration’s current confusing and contradictory messaging regarding our support for a beleaguered and courageous Ukraine, it would seem those in charge have learned nothing from their past mistakes.

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Today America had the opportunity to witness a beautiful example of the politicization of our military. I actually feel a little bit sorry — certainly not a lot — for General McKenzie, USMC, the Commander of Central Command. It would seem the General drew the short straw to be the media flak-catcher for a tragic error that led to the death of seven children and three adults, all innocents, in Kabul by an “errant” drone strike on August 29. Of course, the press conference should have included the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the joint Chiefs, the ones who, along with the White House, waxed eloquently about how “righteous” the attack actually was. These comments were made even after there was some serious concern that perhaps a tragic mistake had been made. The whole truth would probably have remained forever trapped in that special classified file of blunders if someone hadn’t tipped off the New York Times. The paper ran with the story and forced the brass to admit the truth. But the top dogs had been subject to enough bad press lately, so let’s toss CENTCOM to the ravenous puppy dogs of the mainstream media.

In my not-so-humble opinion, were General McKenzie a man of honor he would have resigned long ago rather than go along with President Biden’s idiotic plan-less withdrawal from Afghanistan. It’s not like the results couldn’t have been predicted. They were indeed eminently predictable. Once the president set a definite departure date as his primary goal, those of us who haven’t yet eased into senility knew it would lead to disaster. But like most others at the highest levels in our modern military, McKenzie likely thinks he’s indispensable and his absence would really be missed. This, of course, is patently absurd. If I learned one thing during my years as a naval officer, it’s that I could always be replaced. Many equally or more competent people were always waiting in the wings ready to take over and correct my mistakes. Command, when rightly understood, is always a humbling experience.

The primary target of the drone attack was a man who worked for an aid organization and was trying to help others by taking water to their homes. This was apparently misinterpreted as a delivery of explosives. The error was made by our illustrious over-the-horizon warriors who sit in their comfortable chairs, staring at their computer screens, making life and death decisions with a joystick — okay, it’s life and death for others; in this instance a collection of nameless, faceless Afghanis. The ramifications of these fatal decisions? Other than the death of innocents, nothing else will happen. No one will even know who actually screwed up. As General McKenzie said today, the report of the investigation will be highly classified so don’t expect anything useful. And, of course, there will be no disciplinary action because, well, too many people signed off on the attack, too many people up the entire chain of command. And, anyway, we just had to do something big in Kabul, since so many people were complaining that we could no nothing. As it turned out, we could do something, something horribly evil. And, yes, it was evil because it was likely done under political pressure to create a success in Afghanistan’s capital city. Oh, yes, It will also demonstrate the effectiveness of our over-the-horizon capabilities that will obviate the need for all those pesky troops on the ground.

The release of the admission was well-orchestrated and offered during a Friday afternoon press conference. That’s about the only clever thing the administration did. Personally, I am sickened by the senior officers in our military. How many have resigned in protest during the past twenty years? I can’t think of a single one. Every one of these political hacks, promoted during the past decade, are not the kind of warriors we want in these critical positions. Sadly, I don’t see any change in the offing.