Limbo

Here's a great article about how John Paul II and Benedict have eliminated the concept of Limbo and a little bit about why. I love the line "...people should not think the changed focus is a lightweight embrace of warm, fuzzy feelings." See, that's why I don't hug!

Immaculate Conception

Since the death of John Paul II, I've felt very close to his spirituality. He felt a very close connection to Mary, an aspect of my own spirituality that I'd never felt before. He even attributed being saved from death to Mary.

I see this Immaculate Conception as a beginning of this spirituality in my life. I heard in the reading Mary's powerful role in reconciliation today. Her statement, "May it be done to me according to your word." undoes Adam and Eve's evasive statement's. Mary's trust in God is the example to all of us that, despite the difficutlties, we must we willing to submit to the will of God.

J P II loves you...shouldn't we too?

I read other catholic blogs to get an idea of what is being written. Some of the priests tend to be more conspiracy theorist than I am but I they almost always have somthing that I'd have missed otherwise. Here's one great example

JPII article

Now, I will admit that I am probably a little biased in this matter. I feel a special connection to John Paul the great, perhaps more after death than during his life. I've been reading his autobiography and some of his writings and I find them to be profoundly rooted in prayer. But even if I didn't believe that, I can't believe that people think that, since John Paul didn't do their pet project, he wasn't holy.

Gay Priests and LIES

I've been reticent to comment on the new document from the Congregation for Catholic Education because I was waiting to hear what "commentators" would say about it. I've heard the common misconceptions. People like William F. Buckley think priests need to have sex in order to be healthy...as long as it's heterosexual sex. Some give the relativist, "I don't believe that" attitude. Some believe the church is putting it's foot down on the sexual abuse crisis or call gay people evil. All of this is wrong and I'll show you why.

The vatican, in it's typical way, didn't root this in politics or sociology or anything secular. The vatican said, "By means of the sacrament of orders, the Holy Spirit configures the candidate to Jesus Christ in a new and specific way: the priest, in fact, sacramentally represents Christ, the head, shepherd and spouse of the Church...The candidate to the ordained ministry, therefore, must reach affective maturity. Such maturity will allow him to relate correctly to both men and women, developing in him a true sense of spiritual fatherhood towards the Church community that will be entrusted to him."

Further, "In the light of such teaching, this dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture.' Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women."

The argument, as far as I can tell, could be briefly stated in the following statements;
1. A priest is configured to Christ and must, therefore, mirror Christ.
2. Christ was not gay.
3. A priest cannot be gay.

This has nothing to do with married priests. This has nothing to do with the sexual abuse crisis. This has to do with the unique notion of priests "in personae Christi" (in the person of Christ). That's all.

winter storm warning

As I drove today to hear confessions at the grade school across town, go to the hospital, and inquire about a cover for my hitch, I heard that parts of the stat of Iowa are under a snow advisory. In a month and a half, I'll be ready for the snow to be finished and still have two and a half months of snow left. But, for tonight, I'm happy that the snow is coming if for no other reason then because it forces me to slow down.

more time

I'm supposed to be working on this paper about religious freedom. The problem is that I don't have the right materials to do it. I know, I know. Another excuse. But, I'm not giving up. I'm hoping to get a couple of good books via interlibrary loan and have it done by Christmas. I've kind of become fascinated because, in many ways, this topic has changed a great deal in the last few decades, at least in the church. For several popes the idea of religious freedom was rediculous. For John Paul II, it was the cornerstone of his papacy. I think, in many ways, it is the future of the church and a necessary aspect at that.

Watch

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to my favorite radio show, Car Talk on National Public Radio. If you’ve never heard it before, Car talk is hosted by these two very Boston/Italian sounding guys named Tom and Ray. Both know so much about cars that they seem like they’ve been working on them forever. Yet, Tom and Ray are also graduates of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology so they are very knowledgeable about a whole range of things. For instance, they’ll get questions about the electrical system that seem almost like a foreign language to me and I think to myself that I don’t know why I’m laughing since I really don’t understand what they’re saying. Then, the next person will call in and say, “Every once in a while, when I shift into drive, the car doesn’t move for a while” and I think to myself, “Transmission! I know it’s the transmission. See, I’m just as smart as Tom and Ray!” The other day, they got a question that was a little different than either of those. A person called up and asked about the country of Italy. They said that, in Italy, there are as many cars per capita as the U.S and as many drivers who drive as fast and as badly as most Americans. Yet, according to the caller, there is no road rage. The caller wondered why that was. So, Tom and Ray gave one for their listeners to come up with the answer. One of my favorites was the response of an Italian Cab driver who said, “Today, he cuts me off. Tomorrow, I cut him off.” However, the one that I think was the most honest, was that when Italians drive, they drive from one place to another, from home to the store. When Americans drive, we drive from one time to another, from 11:50 until Noon and anything that gets in my way of getting there on time is evil and it must be destroyed! So, instead, I get angry.

There is, obviously, something negative about this lifestyle. I saw it on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers put all their bargains out. On CNN, they showed a security camera of one such retail store that opened their doors early to a mob of people. As the mob poured in, one man slipped and fell sprawl out on the floor. And would you believe that no one stopped to help this man up? They were all too busy trying to make sure that they got their cheap DVD players and other deals to notice someone in need of help.

I think this is part of our American culture; being incredibly busy. Part of this is good. It’s good to use your gifts and talents to build up the body of Christ on earth. We are good at instilling this into the next generation. After spending the last few days with my family, I’m amazed to hear all the events that my brothers and sisters go with their children. They’re all in school and, of course, they come to church. But, they’re also involved in sports and music and other organizations. It’s seems like all we do is continue to add more and more clubs and organizations that students can be involved in all the way to college when, as a woman named Susan Lammers, one of the hall directors here at Iowa State, showed the campus ministers and peer ministers, there are four pages of them Iowa State students can join. They can be part of anything from the cigar club to a fraternity to the catholic student club to an athletic club. More and more stuff that gives us life and helps us to meet people, which isn’t all bad. But, it doesn’t get better when you graduate and go into the “real world.” Suddenly, you have to go to work and maybe get your kids to their different events and you have to pay bills and maintain a house. Life just seems to get more and more complicated

For me, that’s the wisdom that our earth and our church offers us at this time of year. Our earth gives us this great winter weather that almost forces us to slow down. I mean, let’s face it, who would want to sit and watch a football game when it’s near freezing temperatures? And, in the next few days, we may get those same freezing temperatures and snow and sleet that just make you want to stay home under a warm blanket with a nice book. The weather even encourages us to rest and take some time for ourselves.

And, as the weather is encouraging this change of pace, our church invites us to slow down as we begin the church’s new year this Advent season. We hear in the first reading that it’s important to stop our hectic lives and remind ourselves that, in the end, everything we do is the work of the Lord. We may think that we are doing great things but, ultimately, we are using simply God’s creation and the gifts and talents that God gave to us in order to do it all. And we hear in the second reading and gospel that, as Christians, we must slow down in order to wait for the coming of the Lord. Part of that means putting our life in order and remembering the obligations we have toward our neighbor. We must remember that we are always to be prepared to see Jesus come again and not succumb to the temptations that draw us away. This may be a good time to use the sacrament of reconciliation to be rid of those busy parts of our life that draw us away from being prepared for the coming of Jesus. So, take some time this Advent to watch and be prepared for his coming.

Advent Waiting

I've been reflecting all day on how hectic life is. We all need to slow down and be a little patient. In my homily, I've been talking about an image I saw of a door opening for "Black Friday" the day after Thanksgiving where we try fill our life up with all kinds of bargains. As the doors opened, the people rushed in and one man fell full sprawl on the ground and no one helped pick him up. They were all too busy getting their deals to stop and help another.

In the rush of this new church year, we must always look deep within ourselves and ask if we are ready for the coming of our savior. God won't care if you don't get that DVD player. God will care if we didn't love our neighbor.

Wasn't this easier in seminary?

I'm having trouble researching my project on religious freedom. I don't have a great library like the one St. Paul Seminary Had. I have found a few things that are helping but I may have to continue working on this when the students get back. I'll keep working, though, and make the final determination about that on Sunday. I also can't narrow down my topic. I need an advisor of some kind. This is hard work!

Homosexuality, the vatican, and celibacy

For the past two months, in various press circles, people have been "breaking the story" about a document that may or may not be released this Tuesday, one week from today. I've been hearing that it's going to come out "in the near future" for the last two months. I'm still waiting...

At first, it was reported that the document was going to ban all homosexuals from priesthood. Fear, dread, anger, discrimination, and all kinds of other feelings came out. Then, nothing happened. No document. Suddenly, a couple weeks later, the media changed its mind. The document was going to ban PRACTICING homosexuals and people involved in the homosexual agenda. A man needs to be celibate for three years before he is admitted to seminary and shouldn't advocate policies that are contrary to catholic teaching. (i.e. gay marriage, open homosexual lifestyle, etc.)

In the next few days, the people that hate the church are going to offer their opinions. Expect to especially hear from gay rights advocates (or, as I call them, "anti-family advocates"), pro-married clergy (or "anti-celibacy") advocates, and pro-women's ordination advocates to have a particular conniption fit in the next week. But, all along, remember that NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THIS DOCUMENT SAYS!!!! There was a rumor that it connected the sexual abuse crisis to homosexuality but no one knows that for sure. What they hate is celibacy. When you hear a commentator the media puts up to debate this issue yet again, they will bring up celibacy. Be forwarned because they will probably get priests to do the speaking.

Remember something as they are speaking: a real practicing celibate, which is the majority of priests, sisters, and brothers, are not sexual abusers, are happier and live longer than other people, and are called to live that life by God. Then, shut off the TV, Radio, or computer and go do something productive.

The Man in Black

I went to see the movie "Walk the Line" last night. It was very dark because it highlighted the tough times that Johnny Cash went through with drugs and alcohol. My favorite scene was when June Carter's father chased off Whalen Jennings (who was delivering drugs for Johnny) with a shotgun.

Here's what I learned: Johnny Cash never stood up for himself and never took any credit for anything until June made him. I'm still pondering this because it's more profound than a simple "stand up for yourself" message. It's about accountability and standing up for what is right instead of going through life as though you are affected by countless other uncontrolable variables.

I also learned that June Carter wrote the song "Ring of Fire."

Religious Freedom

Since I know work in a college setting, one of the things that has been brought back into my consciousness is the fact that students really do work here...and they work hard. I think that I'd blocked writing papers from my mind and the hard work that goes into that process. The students are on break right now for a week so I'm thinking that I'm going to do a project. I'm going to write an academic paper. And, considering the fact that I keep running into this whole religious freedom thing, I think I'll write it about the role of religious freedom in the catholic church.

I have no delusions of grandeur. I'm not writing something that will be worth publishing. But, it's my hope that, one week from today, prior to the seven o'clock mass, I will publish my findings on religious freedom on this blog so that any readers that do sit and read this thing can give me some of the same criticism that my students get.

I'll keep you posted throughout the week.

Pray for the church in china

A generation ago, it was not unusual for catholics to pray for the church in Russia. Little did we know that a Polish Pope would be instrumental in bringing about the collapse of communism and usher in an era of religious freedom that is still in the process of blooming in the former Soviet Union.

Now, we have a new problem. China, the last stronghold of communism, continues to persecute the one true church. China has even gone so far as to set up a puppet, false church and condemn the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church to the underground. Then, I read this on another blog...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VATICAN_CHINA_ARRESTS?SITE=NYONI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

So, we need to pray that when President Bush meets with Chinese leaders, at least part of what he will talk about deals with religious freedom and the ability of Church to evangelize freely.

Another "Wow" moment

These past couple of weeks, I feel like I've really connected with students and residents alike. My homily a week ago seemed to resonate with students who feel constantly attacked by fundamentalists on campus. I talked about how faith shouldn't be based on a book but on the totality of revelation which can only be understood in the church. Several students thanked me for it and commented that it was "about time" someone laid it out like that.

Then, this weekend, I preached about the strength of women and how women need to leave abusive relationships. Several women thanked me for it, including a few who had left abusive relationships.

I forget, sometimes, that my words do mean something. There are times when I even start to wonder if I should just shut up and sit down because no one is listening. I think that's why I try to remember that I can't preach self-help homilies (i.e. feel good about yourself) but I try to preach Christ and him crucified.

A brief note

At Saturday evening mass this weekend, right before the cantor began the responsorial psalm, I heard the tornado sirens go off. I knew that a tornado warning had already gone off in a couple of counties next to us so I knew it wasn't a crafty college student's joke. So, what do you do? Most of the time, we could stay put and be just fine. But, I decided that we had enough room to be comfortable in the basement and so, when the cantor finished, I turned on my lapel mic and invited people to move downstairs. Mass in the church hall/fallout shelter!

The strange thing is that, when I first arrived here, someone told me that the basement was the "interim church" until they built the current space. The original pastor here, a revered monsignor, is remembered as celebrating mass there. I couldn't help but hope that somehow Monsignor Supple was smiling that a cyclone...I mean tornado...caused us to move down to the old church for mass and was the opening act for the cyclones beating Colorado for the first time since 1983.

An important homily

Last week, the first reading said that fear of the Lord is the first stage of wisdom. This seems to make sense in the context of November, the month of fear. We begin this month by dressing up like ghosts and goblins and trying to scare each other and end it by maxing out our credit cards trying to buy love for Christmas. I’ve found it fascinating that, in the little bit of television I’ve been able to watch lately, there are two shows that deal almost entirely with fear. I’ve seen a couple of the so-called reality shows that put a family in supposedly haunted places in the middle of the night hoping that they will have some kind of frightening paranormal experience. Another kind of fear based show is, appropriately called “fear factor”; a show in which people see if they an overcome such fears as eating bugs, jumping between moving semi-trucks, or bungee jumping. So, this prompts the question, what is the difference between this kind of fear and fear of the Lord.

When I think of fear of the Lord, I think of Rosa Parks. A black woman in the 1960s knew that the law said she needed to give up her seat at the front of the bus to a white person and move to the back of the bus. Yet, Rosa Parks knew injustice when she saw it. Even though she, undoubtedly, feared the ramifications of her actions, Rosa also knew and understood that God calls us to do what is right. She didn’t bury her talent out of fear of a particular situation but stood up in the face of fear because she knew her God walked with her and gave her courage.
I also think of tiny, little mother Teresa whose life was lived in the fear of the Lord. We may picture her taking care of the lepers in the streets of Calcutta and seeing the face of Christ in each one. Yet, she also stood before powerful politicians and decried the scourge of abortion, saying that any culture that murders its most vulnerable is bereft of morality.

So, by fear of the Lord, I’m not talking about something that leaves us paralyzed. In fact, fear of the lord is synonymous with love of the Lord. Both fear and love of the Lord remind us that God has created us in his own image and put us in this world to live a life of justice. He has given all of us gifts and talents and, like the worthy wife of the first reading who works with her husband to bring up a God-fearing household, we are called to use them in love.

Yet, in our own country, there is much of the wrong kind of fear. Perhaps the most troubling use of this fear is through spousal abuse. I say this in light of the first reading as well as other scripture passages; oftentimes, men will use religious fear to control women and prevent them from seeking safety. Let me try to undo one such weapon of fear. It is often believed that the church believes divorce to be a sin. This is patently false. While the church, like everyone else, would hope that all marriages would be life-long relationships of mutual trust and self-sacrifice, we recognize that there are times when one spouse, usually the woman, must leave in order to be safe. There is no sin in doing this. Let me be clearer. If you are a woman whose husband physically hurts you or your children, you need to seek help. Call the police or go to a shelter or talk to a friend. Do whatever you need to do to feel safe. You can even talk to me after mass if it would be safe for you. The church wants you to be safe and God needs you to stand up to injustice and not bury your talents. God loves you and wants you to be loved.

A good day

Yesterday it was in the seventies with beautiful sun and warmth. Today it's forty eight. They're predicting snow for next Tuesday. But, it's a great day.

Faith

Often, television portrays believers in one of two ways. Either we are sinister, using belief in God to cover up evil actions; like a terrorist, an abortion clinic bomber, or a pedophile priest. Or we are a simpleton, a moron. If you’ve ever seen the character of Ned Flanders on “The Simpsons” you know what I mean. Ned is the stereotypical geek. He has a winy, high-pitched voice and uses phrases like “didleyiddley” instead of swearing. But Ned also supports his church and his minister and he’s always the one sitting in the front row smiling and paying attention. Ned is that guy that is always willing to give a helpful hand to his neighbors, the Simpsons, even though they accept his help and then consistently throw him our of their yard. He’s the very definition of a simpleton.

I don’t think it’s always been this way. If you watch old movies, movies from the forties and fifties, you are more likely to notice that the only wise person was someone who believed in God. Today, it seems like you have to shut off your brain to have faith. I’m afraid we’ve confused something very fundamental, something that makes us different than other Christian denominations. In fact, the confusion is so widespread that I’ve even heard some priests get this wrong in homilies. The confusion centers around the idea of faith. Some people believe faith is a “best guess scenario.” In other words, you look around in search of proof and you can’t find any. However, the world’s wisdom need not correspond to God’s and vice versa. Some will even go so far as to say that man’s wisdom is the exact opposite of God’s. So, you, as an individual, need to eschew “Man’s wisdom” and make a “leap of faith” to have faith in God’s wisdom. Wisdom comes purely from the Bible because, as one hymn puts it, “Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.”

For Catholics, faith and wisdom are inseparable. If our faith contradicts wisdom then one must be in need of a new appropriation. To be truly faithful is to probe the depths of meaning with the particular gifts and talents given to us by God in search of wisdom. But it must be an authentic wisdom, the kind that was praised in the first reading today, not just knowledge. One can have knowledge but not be wise. Think of the scientist that knows everything about the human digestive track but would likely leave for work without wearing pants if a loving spouse didn’t lay them out each day. Or the sports figure who knows everything about the game of basketball but couldn’t put together a grammatically correct sentence of Ms. Manners had a gun to his or her head. These folks have knowledge but not wisdom.

A wise person grapples with difficult questions and is never satisfied by simple answers. He or she realizes that atheism is true futility, true foolishness. Instead, a wise person opens herself or himself up to the possibility that there is a God and then tries to get into a relationship with that God. They look at the Bible as a helpful tool that tells us stories about God and people’s relationship to God but recognize that it is not purely an historical document. They see the Bible as part of a larger tradition that has been handed onto us by the Holy Spirit from our ancestors and see in this our connection to Christ and, through Christ, to God, this chain of witnesses.

This affects, not only our intellect, but out very lives as well. We live life as though Christ could come tomorrow. Indeed, we live life as though Christ could come right now and we’d be ready for him. That means that we show love to our neighbors, especially those who are oppressed. We live life in order to reach out to those who are not wise in order to let them know where true wisdom resides, in the heart of Christ, the heart of the church. True wisdom is built on vigilantly waiting for God. It’s not we who believe and patiently wait for Christ’s return who are simple, it’s those who give up on God like the five foolish bridegrooms in the gospel did, that are simple. We who have the faith, hope, and love of Christ and await his return are the truly wise ones. We recognize that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

purgatory

On all souls, I got to talk about purgatory, sort of.

I noticed somethingin the readings that we read . Oftentimes, we have cheery visions of deceased family members. But, the more reflect on their lives, we remember their faults. We might remember a grandparents alcohol problem. Or the racist attitudes of our aunt or uncle. Purgatory gives us the hope that these sins can be purged from the person after death so that they can see God with a clear conscience.

This weekend, I'm going to talk about the gifts that women bring to the church. Please pray that I don't say anything stupid. Oh, and feel free to email me any suggestions about how not to do that.

All Souls

Purgatory

I got to talk about purgatory today

and I'm excited