Second Sunday of Advent: 2018 God uses the lowly to humble the proud

Friends

Peace be with you.

Tomorrow/today is a very important day for the church in Mexico and all of Latin America really. It is the feast day of St. Juan Diego who was a simple peasant under Spanish rule and who, while walking to Mass, found himself visited by a woman dressed like an Aztec princess who identified herself as “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God." When St. Juan Diego recounted this story to his bishop, the Bishop was understandably skeptical. He told St. Juan Diego he needed to ponder over what he was telling him to decide if he thought it was legitimate or not. The next day, Mary appeared to Juan again and sent him to the Bishop with a gift that knocked the cleric to his knees: fresh roses that wouldn’t have grown this time of year in their climate and her image fixed on Juan’s cactus-based coat in such that way that does not seem to have been painted and has lasted five hundred years despite being made with materials that typically last 10-15.

Why would Mary appear to Juan Diego? Why appear in Mexico? Why not come slightly farther north to a country that would eventually be a world superpower and convert the colonies from the beginning? Imagine how much different things would be if she had just waited a little while and been Our Lady of Philadelphia or New York or even our Lady of Bellevue/Springbrook. Yet, that is often not the way things work.

It is within this context that we hear of Jesus’ cousin, St. John the Baptist. St. Luke, situates the beginning of John’s ministry both in time and in contrast. In other words, he lists the names of these leaders so that the hearer will know what year it takes place and will have a reminder of the corruption of those leaders as well. It’s sort of like the opposite of what happened at President George H.W. Bush’s funeral this week when everyone kept looking back on his years as president as though they were the best years ever. Luke is using these names to remind people of the murder and corruption these men did. He does this so he can contrast St. John the Baptist, who is speaking truth to power. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that St. John the Baptist was a political revolutionary or a competitor with Caesar and Pilate and all those folks. I’m saying the exact opposite of that. The truth he spoke was about the fulfillment of the Old Testament Prophecy spoken in our first reading about God leveling mountains and filling valleys to prepare for his coming. St. John the Baptist called on people to be prepared for the coming of the Lord

At the time of St. Juan Diego, Spanish Franciscan missionaries had been working to convert the people of Mexico for 20 years with very little success. Because of this one revelation, approximately 90 million Latin American people would be converted in the next 10 years, a feat only possible through the action of God. And that happened, not through the most powerful of subjects or to the most powerful country in the world but to a peasant less in dignity by most of European people in a country that has always struggled to provide adequate resources for its citizenry. Why would God do such a thing?



To remind us that human power pales in comparison to the power of God, that human wisdom seems like foolishness compared to the wisdom of God, and the good things we prize on earth seem pathetic compared to the great things God wants for us. In this world where powerful people seem to constantly want all of our attention in order to have a greater control of our lives, we remind ourselves that God’s plan is always better human plans. We just need to be humbly open to the way God appears in our lives.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time -B

Friends

Peace be with you.

I’m going to go out on a limb and admit something that may be kind of hard to hear: I am wounded. Now, I’m not going to sit up here and admit anything untoward. This is not a Jimmy Swaggart “I have sinned” moment for me. But, I will admit to you that I have had experiences in past assignments that really made me question whether I wanted to be assigned to a parish ever again and, even, whether I could continue to be a priest. By the grace of God, that last part passed and I settled back into my plan to be an active priest for fifty years, retire for one year, and then die. But, those hard experiences are wounds that I know I bring into this assignment.

I’m not sharing this for your pity. I would guess we all have wounds from past bad experiences if we took the time to think about it. The strangest thing for me is that I can remember a time in my own life when I would have never thought I would stand in front of you and admit that weakness. When I was in seminary, I used to look at the priests knew and think that he should just make a darn decision and everyone in the parish would respect what he would say. And then, for the 10 years that I was an associate pastor, I would get very frustrated when the pastors with whom I worked would do something with which I disagreed or something that went against church teaching, especially if they were doing so because they felt like their parishioners wanted it done that way and they didn’t want to have to take the time to explain why they should do it the right way, let alone having to take a tough stance against people who simply do not understand the whole point of the gospel. I look back on that associate pastor and realize how easy leadership looks when you’re not the one who is the leader.

And I wonder if St. James and St. John ever had these same feelings. During their lives, they, along with Simon Peter, form an inner circle of Jesus’ apostles who are present for the transfiguration and other miracles when Jesus dismisses everyone but them. They are given the nickname “Sons of Thunder” in fact because they take action and, as we heard in the gospel, ask for favors before others can. They ask to be the leaders when Jesus leaves. He is, after all, starting to talk about leaving so let’s figure out the order of succession. I mean, let’s admit it. No one wants Jude bumbling around trying to find lost things all day as their leader. And I’ve got to believe everyone was at least a little ill-at-ease around Judas by this point. Why not get a little order around here?

After the death of Jesus, St. James intimately felt what it was like to drink the cup of Jesus. He would go as far as Spain in his evangelization, successfully converting many to the faith, before returning to Jerusalem, where the Son of Herod the Great, also named Herod, would personally martyr him. He truly was baptized into the same baptism of Christ’s death and rose with Christ to the glory of eternal life.

St. John is called upon by Jesus from the cross to become like a son to Mary, his own Mother. He and Mary eventually leave Jerusalem where he takes care of her until she is taken up body and soul into heaven. Then, he leaves to the town of Ephesis and eventually is exiled to the Island prison of Patmos where he writes the fourth gospel. As the only Apostle to die from “natural causes” he is like the lone survivor left to write down the story of Jesus’ from his perspective. And what is the perspective of this younger son of thunder? What is he most known for? Love. It is said that, towards the end of his life, St. John would constantly repeat the beautifully brief homily “Little children, love one another.” Love heals our wounds. Love transforms the way we view our enemies into friends. Love drives out the fear of an unplanned pregnancy. Love tells us that not every fight is worth fighting but that some are.

I think this is what Jesus is trying to get across to all the disciples at the end of this gospel passage and what I’m taking from it as well. I want to lead like Jesus lead, which wasn’t by global takeover or arrogant declaration. He led by becoming a servant of all. He led by serving the least among us. He led by dying and giving us his body and blood for our salvation. If only we can have that kind of fearless attitude of servant leadership. May it be so. Amen.

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B

Friends

Peace be with you. I’d like to do something a little different today. Instead of focusing on the gospel and finding a moral teaching from it, I’d like to explore that first reading from the 17th Chapter of the Old Testament Book of the Prophet Ezekial, in part because there is something beautiful that profoundly informs our understanding of God’s action in Jesus’ Christ. And, let me just admit from the get go that I am going beyond the three verses that we heard to incorporate the entire chapter because, as you’ll see, what we heard is kind of like hearing the punchline of a joke without hearing the entire thing.

But, before I get too particular, let me give a little historical context to the book. The book of Ezekiel was written during one of the most transformational experiences that the Jewish people experienced in history; the Babylonian exile. Oftentimes, we think of the Holocaust or the Jewish experience of slavery in Egypt as being central to Jewish history. And, while both of those experiences certainly are important, no less important is the time when King Jehoiakim allied with the country that formerly enslaved Israel, Egypt, instead of trusting that God would protect his people from a war mongering Babylonian leader named King Nebuchadnezzar. Because of this, the Jewish people lost the Temple, lost the Ark of the Covenant with the 10 commandments inside, and of course, lost the close relationship they had cultivated with God. Ezekiel was a priest during this time when there is no temple for the people to offer sacrifice. Instead, as he himself explained in the first few chapters of this book, God fed him a scroll and charged him to preach 25 “oracles”, one for each year he served as a priest.

This particular oracle starts with a proverb about an eagle plucking the top of a cedar tree and planting it beside the flowing waters of a river, an advantageous place for plants to survive in the desert. It should be noted that, because the palace of David in Jerusalem was built of Cedar, the people would have understood that Ezekiel is really talking about the Davidic descendant of the time, King Jehoiakim, as the top of the Cedar tree. However, another eagle comes to take the vine that resulted from the transplanted cedar tree and plant it in a fertile field. The proverb concludes by asking if it will survive as well in the field as it did located next to the sure water source of the river. The Lord explains that the second eagle represents Israel’s attempt to make the agreement with Egypt, which was unsuccessful and lead to King Jehoiakim’s death. In my opinion, we’re missing a pretty powerful explanation of the teaching of the first reading by skipping verse 20, “I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon to judge him there because he broke faith with me.” In other words, it was God’s plan all along to force his people into exile but, by aligning with Egypt, they were really fighting against God. God isn’t being vengeful here. It sounds like it but, in reality, he’s explaining to them that they had wandered away from the Lord and that, like the Father of the Prodigal Son, God let his people wander away. But, he was even providing for their basic needs, by planting them next to a river, in the hopes that they would return to him. That’s why in our passage for today God says that he will take the top of the Cedar Tree and plant it on a high mountain.

Now, let’s stop here for a second and think about to whom this is referring. Remember for a second that the Cedar Tree refers to a descendant of King David. It certainly could have meant King Zedekiah, the leader who would have been in charge while Ezekiel was writing this. The problem is that everyone agrees King Zedekiah was corrupt. He was too comfortable with Babylon’s idolatry and too comfortable being away from Jerusalem. This is one of those times where we disagree with our Jewish brothers and sisters and believe this points to a God who walked with them and, by the way, continues to walk with us, into a nation of sin so that he could rescue some of us from that sin. Jesus, therefore, becomes the low tree that is brought high for the mighty and powerful to marvel at. He is the one who makes the withered tree bloom.

Haven’t we all, at one time or another, found ourselves feeling in exile? Maybe God used to feel very close to us and, now, we feel more his absence than his presence. Maybe we don’t take the time we wish we would each day to pray. Or maybe we never have had that close feeling of the God who is our shelter and our strength. Ezekiel is reminding us that it’s never too late. God is searching for you. He sent his Son, Jesus, to show us his love and feeds us each Sunday with his body and blood. All we have to do is ask and God can come to let us know how much he loves us. What makes it difficult to complete trust complete in God?

3EA: Holding on to the certainty of the resurrection amidst the conversations and debates of our lives

Friends

Peace be with you. 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to celebrate the 50th Anniversary Mass of my Aunt and Uncle in Perry, Iowa. It was an honor to do that, not only because of the milestone of being with great people who have faithfully lived the sacrament of matrimony for fifty years but because the church my Aunt and Uncle attend, St. Patrick’s Church in Perry, is the same one my Grandma and Grandpa Schott attended and my Great Grandma and Grampa Haberer attended. There have been untold numbers of family baptisms, confirmations, first communions, confessions, and weddings in this sacred space. I generally don’t get nervous about celebrating Mass anymore but I was shaking at this one. Still there was something comforting as well. I told the congregation that, on top of the family members present, it felt like I was praying with generations and generations of family there.

Today’s gospel tells the well-known story of the encounter of two of the disciples with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Even though it’s probably one of the most recounted resurrection stories in the New Testament, there’s something about it that makes it very unusual. In most accounts of the resurrection, the particular gospel writer seems to go to great lengths to mention details that prove Jesus’ “bodiliness”. For instance, in the Gospel of Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary fall down and hold on to the feet of Jesus. And, right after this story of the Road to Emmaus, Luke tells of Jesus appearing to the disciples and eating fish with them. One of the main reasons for these “bodily” details was to prove the reality of the resurrection. Jesus did not come back as an angel or a ghost or a purely spiritual presence. Nor was the resurrection simply a result of nostalgic story-telling, sort of like if someone yesterday had shared a memory about Grandma and Grandpa volunteering at their parish. I may feel closer to them through knowledge of their actions but hearing the story doesn’t make them bodily present in such a way that I can touch them or eat and drink with them. The only way that the gospel stories of Jesus resurrection make any sense is if, as St. Peter said in the first reading, Jesus was not “abandoned to the depths of the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.”

That’s, in some way, what makes the story of the Road to Emmaus so strange. On Easter Sunday, two of Jesus’s disciples are walking back to a relatively unknown suburb of Jerusalem called Emmaus, probably after observing the Passover sacrifice and Sabbath rest. They approach an unknown stranger walking in the same direction and, as hospitality would have demanded, they invite him to walk with them. It says that their eyes are prevented from recognizing him. But why? Possibly because of grief and feelings of disappointment, as is evidenced by their statement that “we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel…” They go on, as would have been typical of the time, to completely discount the stories of the women who were witnesses of the angel and the empty tomb in a kind of first-century way of “mansplaining” away what their hearts, minds and eyes were foolishly unable or unwilling to see.

The story reaches its confusing climax as the disciples reach their house, invite in this stranger and ask him to act as a rabbi blessing their meal. Using the same verbs that he used to describe the feeding of the 5000 and the last supper, Luke recounts that Jesus “took the bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him but he vanished from their sight.” Wait, what? Just when they could have fallen on the ground in prostration and grabbed onto his feet or just at the point that the Lord could have eaten the bread that was in his hands and given the it to his disciples to eat, he disappears. Why didn’t the Lord wait just a few seconds for something more bodily to happen then simply lifting some blessed pita bread off the table as proof that he was really resurrected?

Part of it is connected to chapter 3 of the Old Testament Book of Genesis. When Adam and Eve ate from the three of knowledge, it says that their eyes were opened and they recognized, in shame, that they were naked. Jesus is the reversal of the shame of Adam as he humbly accepted even death on the cross. The disciples’ eyes are opened to the reversal of this shame in the breaking of the bread. Yet, I’m also convinced that the messiness of this story points to a credibility of the witness. If there was a larger agenda driving each of these stories in such a way that they are not reliable, then it would have eliminated contradictory details like this. Instead, they remain, pointing to the reliability of the description of the event. The resurrection stories are not P.R. tales of fancy. They are actual stories of encounter with the risen Jesus, as it said in the second reading, “revealed in the final time for you who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory…”

I’d also like to highlight another possible reason why Jesus disappeared at the exact moment that his disciples recognized him, one that may drop this into the lap of we, his modern disciples. One way of thinking about it is that God refuses to be addictive. Faith, hope, and love, the three theological virtues infused in our being by God, may make us feel like “our hearts are burning within us” but they pale in comparison to the euphoria of drugs, alcohol, money, and power. When we have an experience of God, especially in the blessed sacrament, it can feel very fleeting and transitory and probably even of uncertain origin. We may recognize, in reflecting on the experience, that our hearts were burning within us, but that experience too will pass. The wisdom of this experience is in the sharing. The disciples had to share this experience with others. They ran 8 miles in the middle of the night to share their real experience of the risen Lord with the other disciples. They became his witnesses. Today’s world needs witnesses to the hope of the resurrection, not just from the professional church ministers but from all who respond “Amen” to their encounter with Christ in the breaking of the bread. How is God calling you to be his witness if your daily life?

The bodily resurrection of Jesus

Friends

Peace be with you. We have experienced the triumphant return of the word “Alleluia!” In today’s celebration. It’s been missing for the entirety of Lent as a way of preparing us for this celebration. Alleluia is derived from two Hebrew words; “hallel” meaning to praise, and “YaH”, which is the beginning of the name of God in the Old Testament revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. So, we may ask, what makes this day so special that we celebrate using an ancient foreign language? I was taught in seminary that the most solemn celebrations are those in which we are least likely to change. This makes sense when you consider that this celebration marks the central mystery for Christians, the holiest of holy days. Jesus is risen! He is truly risen.

However, recently, I was reading an article on the BBC website that said that a quarter of all British Christians do not believe in the resurrection at all. It went onto to say that almost forty percent of all Christians believe that the resurrection was a purely spiritual reality and didn’t involve his body. Now, I know that this was a survey of the British people, who tend to be less religious than Americans, but I would guess that Americans wouldn’t be entirely different than our British brothers and sisters, especially considering the fact that the account we just heard, both from the Gospel of Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles seems to take great pains in trying to explain why it was a physical, bodily resurrection.

St. Matthew explains this using an internal and an external dynamic. Internally, Mary Magdalen and the other Mary arrive at the tomb at dawn. Suddenly, there is an angel whose appearance causes an earthquake which, as one of my commentaries said, symbolizes that the bodily resurrection has repercussions that shake the very foundation of the world. Still, when the women peer into the tomb, they find it empty, with the only assurance of the resurrection being the word of an angel. Their reaction seems comical and contradictory. St. Matthew says, “…they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed,” How can you be afraid and joyful at the same time? Well, I know I was fearful yet overjoyed on June 22, 2002 as I walked from the rectory to the Cathedral for my ordination. I was fearful because I wondered why the church would choose a sinner like me to be a priest and yet I was overjoyed because God looked at my weakness and still called me. I would imagine brides and grooms know what it’s like to feel fearful and yet overjoyed on their wedding day. And I know that parents feel this when their child takes his first few stumbling steps worrying that he will flat on his face but overjoyed at seeing the development to the next stage of life. For Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, an empty tomb and the word of an angel provoked a kind of internal faith that Jesus had been raised. For others, it would have provoked skepticism about someone stealing his body but for these women it was a moment of faith.

Yet, Jesus isn’t satisfied with a purely spiritual, internal experience of faith for his first witnesses. As they are walking along the trail, Jesus appears to them in such a way that they are able to fall down and hold on to his feet. They couldn’t have done that with a ghost or a spirit, let alone with the angel they had just met who, despite being able to scare the heck of out a group of Roman soldiers guarding Jesus’ tomb, is purely spiritual in nature and, thus, immaterial. Jesus is physical because he has had a physical, bodily resurrection. This is further corroborated in the first reading during the speech by St. Peter when he identified Jesus as, “This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Again, ghosts, spirits, and angels don’t need to eat and drink but those of us with a body do. For this reason, Psalm 23 talks about heaven like it is a great banquet with God as a host, the kind of banquet that will put even the best Easter dinner to shame.

Believe it or not, this eucharist is a foreshadowing of that great banquet in heaven and our participation in the paschal mystery, the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. And, it’s good for us on this Easter Sunday to reflect on its internal and external ramifications for our life. Internally, are we praying daily to get into a relationship with God? At the chrism Mass this past Tuesday, the Archbishop reminded his priests of the importance of praying in front of the blessed sacrament to internalize what we eat and drink at Sunday. Pray to have the faith of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see common bread and wine as the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus. Read the readings before Mass to prepare and set aside all that distracts you. Yet, it also should have an outward expression of encountering Jesus. One of the best ways we do that is by coming to Mass weekly and participating with your fellow worshippers in the prayers at mass. Also, if you’re aware of a serious sin, to make use of the sacrament of reconciliation to physically prepare for Mass.



Both our internal and external preparation for Mass should send us out convicted to be Jesus’ witnesses to this world so badly in need of the hope given to us in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Today we proclaim a full-throated “Alleluia” as witnesses internally and externally to the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Alleluia! He is risen.

Good Friday ecumenical Service

John 19:28-29.
28. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”
29 There was a vessel filled with common wine.* So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.

Friends, peace be with you. Thank you to Pastor Chuck for inviting me to participate in this Good Friday reflection on the last seven words of Christ. My name is Fr. Dennis Miller and I am the chaplain of Loras College and Clarke University.
The fifth word, on which I will reflect with you, is “I thirst”, which is a translation of the Greek word “dispao”, used 17 times in the New Testament, including the story of the woman at the well in the fourth chapter of this gospel, the gospel of John. I believe that is a deliberate connection done by the gospel writer and I will explain that fuller in just a moment.
The Hebrew, Old Testament word that is the equivalent is “same” or “sama”, used a total of 23 times beginning in Exodus 17 when, at Meribah and Massah, the Israelites clamored against the Lord and his servant, Moses, for water. They thirsted in the desert and God provided for them water from a rock, which Moses struck with his staff. When I looked at other connections to the Hebrew word “sama” I found that if you simply add a “d” to the end, making it “samad”, the word means “joined in worship” or “yoked”. Which sort of makes sense in the normal way we think of thirsting. We thirst for God together as members of the body of Christ. That’s why almost all Christians believe that the first thing one does in order to call yourself a Christian is to be baptized in water, a kind of spiritual refreshment. And, indeed, in the gospel of John chapter 2, Jesus recognized the thirst that people had at a wedding in Cana and fulfilled that thirst by turning water into wine. You may remember that there was a certain reluctance in Jesus to perform this miracle, possibly in part because, especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus does not want to be seen as just another magical miracle worker. He is something different in the core of his being. He is the one who can fulfill the thirsty soul, not one who will water his followers like cattle yoked together in worship.
We thirst for Christ, yes. But today we hear that Jesus thirsts. He expresses this same sentiment to the Samaritan Woman in John chapter 4 verse 7. “Give me a drink”. This simple request marks the beginning of a profound experience of conversion for this foreigner to the Jewish faith. Jesus thirsted, but not for her water. He thirsted for her faith. And today, from the cross, Jesus turns to us and says, “I thirst”. He thirsts for us to know him as the living water who is greater than the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets. He thirsts for us to turn to him with our hurts and sins and to seek his healing and forgiveness. He thirsts for us to come to worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. He thirsts for us to come to know him as a brother and as a Messiah, as most high God and as a friend who knows us better than we know ourselves.
A reflection attributed to Saint Teresa of Calucutta reflected on this by saying, “God thirsts for you. Yes, that is the only way to even begin to describe God’s love for you: GOD THIRSTS FOR YOU. He thirsts to love you and to be loved by you – that is how precious you are to him. GOD THIRSTS FOR YOU. Come to him and he will fill your heart and heal your wounds. God will make you a new creation and give you peace, even in all your trials. GOD THIRSTS FOR YOU. You must never doubt God’s mercy, God’s acceptance of you, God’s desire to forgive, His longing to bless you and live his life in you. GOD THIRSTS FOR YOU. If you feel unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all. For God, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you. GOD THIRSTS FOR YOU. Open to HIM, come to HIM, thirst for HIM, give your life to the Lord and he will prove to you how important you are to his Heart. GOD THIRSTS FOR YOU.

First Sunday of Lent - C: What can we not give up?

My Dear brothers and sister in Christ

Peace be with you. The question most associated with Lent is, of course, what did you give up? We tend to associate this time most closely with fasting. In my Ash Wednesday homily, I emphasized that the reason we fast during lent is not to lose weight but, rather, to make room for God in prayer and make room to be more loving to others. In the last few years, on Ash Wednesday I’ve noticed a few comments from my friends who no longer practice Catholicism but still remember what we do during lent saying that they are going to give up going to church or give up being a christian for lent. Now, of course, these statements aren’t meant to be taken seriously. Still, I think there’s something in them that our readings from today’s Mass are inviting us to reflect on.

The first reading and gospel both talk about an experience in the desert. The first reading described a creedal statement that the Israelites would have made when offering a portion of the first picking of their crops to God. Basically they say that God guided them into Egypt when they were near death and made them so abundant that the Egyptians were afraid of them and persecuted them. So he guided them through the dangers of the desert to the abundant land they were about to occupy. Basically, Moses is reminding them that, even though they may be afraid to give over the first picking because of the uncertainty of knowing that there will be other pickings and, thus, more food, when they trusted him before he didn’t let them down. Moses is inviting the people into an anamnesis, a way of remembering similar to the way Jesus invites us in each Eucharist to be part of the last supper. History comes alive and we share in the experience of those who came before us. We are invited to “Do this in anamnesis or memory of Jesus.”

The gospel, likewise, tells the familiar story of the Jesus in the desert. If you look at the organization of the temptations, you may notice that St. Luke organizes them differently than St. Mark and St. Matthew. For them, it goes bread, temple, world. For St. Luke, he starts with bread but then puts all the kingdoms of the world before they end in Jerusalem at the Temple. It’s clearly not a memory slip on the part of this evangelist. He is using the temptations in the desert to model the taunts of the soldiers while Jesus is hanging on the cross. Like the devil, they will invite Jesus to care for his own welfare, to make use his power over the government and to subvert the power of God. It’s particularly significant that St. Luke ends at the Temple in Jerusalem, so that Jerusalem becomes the place of culmination. One commentary I read had this beautiful explanation as to why St. Luke puts it last. “On that high place of the Temple, the devil takes the texts of the Torah to offer the dizzying suggestion that Jesus test his sonship against the promise of God to protect him. How clever? For what is the radical obedience of the servant except something very close to just such a blind leap? But Jesus does not succumb to this spiritual vertigo. He returns to the.. text of Deuteronomy ‘You will not test the Lord your God’: not only to rebuke the tempter but also to state the conviction of authentic faith.”

On Ash Wednesday, I said that the point of fasting is to make room in our busy lives for God, which is somewhat true. But, today we hear an even deeper, even more challenging part. Fasting reminds us of that which we cannot fast. We, Americans, aren’t accustomed to thinking in this way. We tend to be better collectors who, may, occasionally go through and throw things out or give them away to the poor but, for the most part, we collect more and more stuff. The desert experience of fasting in Lent, rather, challenges us to think in terms of who we cannot give up. Jesus is offered the love of pleasure in the offer of bread, the love of possessions in the offer of the world, and the love of glory on the parapet or peak of the temple. He turns them down with the same love that he showed from the cross when, he said, “Father into your hands, I commend my spirit.”

We show our devotion to God through daily personal prayer, through reaching out in love to the suffering and sorrowing, through gathering for the eucharist, and through celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation. In each of these, we approach God with humility, setting aside our own selfish desires, and humbly reminding ourselves that we worship God alone and we do not put him to the test.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - C

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary - C

Clarke

Feeling overwhelmed by God

My Dear friends in Christ

Peace be with you. What kind of summer job have you had? When I was in college, I had a variety. One summer, I had two. I worked in the afternoon and early evening delivering medications to various nursing homes throughout Central Iowa. Very few things are more awkward than bumping into an attractive classmate who’s been visiting her elderly grandmother while you’re delivering four packages of adult diapers. My other job took place from 6:30 in the morning until 2:00 or 2:30 in the afternoon as a cook at a local greasy spoon restaurant. I had worked there in high school as a dishwasher and had learned how to cook in the cafeteria in college so I felt like I was prepared for this job. Well, I wasn’t. In a college cafeteria, you make a lot of one thing for people and they have little choice but to eat that. At a restaurant, even a little greasy spoon diner like this one, people ordered all kinds of things to be prepared in all kinds of ways and they wanted them as fast as possible. The first day, the owner told me that he’d come back and help if I ever fell behind...more like when I fell behind because he helped every day for the first severa weeks that I was there. In fact, I remember one day when I was behind but trying not to ask for help that I fell so far behind that the waitresses had to ask the owner to help. He came back and sternly asked why I hadn’t asked for help to which I apologized and said I wanted to work it out. He bailed me out and then, again, sternly asked me to just ask for help when I’m falling behind. Finally, at the end of July, there was one Monday when it all clicked for me. The orders came at a pace that I could handle them and I was getting the food out reasonably well. I only made three or four easily correctable mistakes. Mistakes are killer when you’re trying not to fall behind. I made it past the lunch rush and walked out to see the owner smiling at me. I had finally made it.

I couldn’t help but notice that in all three of today’s readings, the author is describing an encounter with God. In the first reading, Isaiah’s encounter is very much shrouded in the expectations of the people of the Old Testament. For them, an encounter with God was like playing with fire. We often associate fire with the devil but the word “Seraphim”, which the first reading used to describe the angel, comes from two Hebrew words meaning “the fiery ones” or “the burning ones”. God, who is never described, sits on a throne flanked by these burning, multi-winged entities who are chanting the same words we use in the midst of the eucharistic prayer “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.” Our Jewish brothers and sisters pray this prayer, called the qedosh, as part of several of their services. It emphasizes God’s otherness and transendence. One commentary I read noted a “chasm between God’s holiness and human sinfulness” which is emphasized in this reading. “It is the Lord who bridges this gap (by having the seraphim burn away the uncleanness of Isaiah’s lips) and God outfits the prophet with the moral integrity needed for his ministry.”

Likewise in the gospel, St. Luke tells a story that seems to merge stories from several other places in the gospels. Unlike Mark and Matthew who simply have Jesus call Peter, James, and John as they are fishing to come and follow him, St. Luke includes a story about a miraculous catch of fish that foreshadows the life he is calling them to be as fishers of people through the word of God. And, like Isaiah in the first reading, Peter realizes at one point that he is in the presence of God and has a moment of utter humility. “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

Yet, I think Paul has the harshest version of humility in the second reading from his letter to the Corinthians. Most Biblical scholars hear in this part of Paul’s letter an early creed that may have been part of the Christian gathering. But, Paul adds some things at the end about his calling. In our translation, Paul describes himself as “born abnormally.” Most of the commentaries that I read said that a better translation would be born “as if to an abortion” or “as if stillborn.” The commentators think that Paul’s opponents were using these types of phrases to make fun of the fact that Paul wasn’t very good looking, sort of the biblical equivalent of bullying. If it’s true, Paul finds a way to spin this phrase in a positive way by using it to describe how he was reborn when he moved from persecuting christians to being incredibly effective at preaching so they may believe.

There are times in our lives when we aren’t listening to the will of God and things aren’t going well for us. God has a way, like he did with St. Paul, of knocking us off our donkeys and inviting us to change the course of our lives. But, there are also times when we know we are doing the will of God and life is just hard. Areas of disagreement with a boyfriend or girlfriend or parts of our job or our education that suck are a couple of examples. We may be tempted, in those situations, to give up too easily when we feel overwhelmed. If so, hear the word of the Lord in these three readings: ask God to heal you and direct you like Isaiah did, do the best you can with the gifts God has given you like St. Peter did, and remind yourself that you’re using the gifts God has given you to the best of your ability like St. Paul did.

Holy Family 2015

My Dear brothers and sister in Christ

    

Peace be with you. As I was reading over the first reading from the First Book of Samuel, I couldn’t help but think about my niece and nephew named, appropriately enough, Hannah and Sam. Hannah is three years older than Sam and, at points, struggles to tolerate her younger brother. In the first reading, the namesakes of my niece and nephew aren’t siblings but mother and son. The mother, Hannah, is so excited to receive the gift of Samuel, her child, that she freely offers him to Eli, the priest, to be raised. I’m sure that there were many times during their growing up years that my niece would have gladly taken my nephew to their church to leave him there. Thank goodness even the worst knock-down, drag-out fight between siblings never ended with a hog-tied little boy sitting on my rectory steps. And that, as they’ve gotten older, my niece has found a way to not only get along with her little brother but to use him as a taxi service between buildings.

    

Both the first reading and the gospel give us a glimpse into a confusing and unique aspect of family life that I think is often overlooked but very important. What is it that would cause a mother who was barren to be willing to give the first child she ever received to God? As a person who has worked with young men who are considering priesthood, I know that often parents are the second hardest people to tell about a vocation. When I work with guys in college, they first have to convince themselves, and maybe their girlfriends, that God may in fact be calling them to priesthood before they tell their parents. Sometimes the parents are excited but many times the parents see nothing but loneliness and complications for their sons and a dearth of grandchildren for themselves. God even makes it complicated for Hannah in the scriptures because, when she goes to the temple to pray for a son, Eli, the very high priest to whom she would eventually hand over Samuel, accuses her of being drunk and tries to send her away. But, Hannah’s response shows both pluck and humility by saying that she hasn’t been pouring drinks down her throat but has been pouring out her troubles to God. She isn’t going to allow an inarticulate priest to distract her from praying to God for a son. She understands what Pope John Paul II referred to as the law of the gift. 

    

The law of the gift says that your being increases in the measure that you give it away. That’s why, immediately after giving Samuel to the priests, she prays one of the most beautiful prayers in Sacred Scripture. “My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted by my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in your victory.” Her being is lifted up because she willingly gave away her son. You see, it’s when you give back what God has given you that you are exalted, that you are lifted up. We tend to think that happiness comes from being filled up by God. But it is precisely the opposite, when we empty ourselves of all the possessions and worries and cares that weigh us down, that we can be lifted up to share in the glory of God. 

    

The same is true in this confusing and frustrating gospel. In my heart, this is a great example of the Bible turning a common reaction in a completely different way because of the law of the gift. After Jesus’ Bar Mitzvah, he remains behind to converse and impress the unnamed high priests of his time. One wonders if young Annas and Caiaphas were present during the three days that Jesus learned and taught in the Temple. Meanwhile, Mary and Joseph’s walk back home to Nazareth is interrupted in a Home Alone moment of realizing that Jesus is not hanging out with his cousins. They hurry back to Jerusalem and search for three days only to find him still in the Temple. Imagine the anguish they must have felt at losing Jesus and all the thoughts that would have gone through their heads. Has he been kidnapped and sold into slavery in Egypt? Has he upset some resident in the big city of Jerusalem and gotten himself killed? Has he become a hawkeye fan? I’m sure these and a thousand other horrors crossed their minds as they searched everywhere in Jerusalem. You can just imagine the emotions they would have felt when they looked in the last place they thought, the temple, to find him. They ask him, “Why have you done this to us?”  and Jesus responds “Did you not know I must be in my father’s house.” Jesus’ response may seem like he is a typical smart mouthed teenager but, in truth, he is evidencing the very attitude of Hannah. He is offering up his very self in order to be glorified by God. And he will continue to do so as he goes home to go through the stages of development that every person has to go through as a teenager and young adult. What’s interesting is that Luke includes the detail that Mary kept these things in her heart. Her life will, therefore, be an exercise in learning the law of the gift in the hardest way possible. I have a feeling that Mary will think of finding Jesus in the Temple when Jesus is back at this temple being condemned by high priests and will remember the confusion, frustration, anger, and relief she felt when she will again wait for three days to see her son, this time resurrected from the dead. 

    

The law of the gift, then, is at the very heart of the gospel message and, therefore, at the heart of family life. The family is a place where the mission of each family member is discerned and prepared. After days of giving what we hope will be the perfect gift, now is the perfect time to refocus on what is the true gift each of us are seeking. Rather than getting lost in the consumerism of Christmas, find some way to give away yourself, not because we know that God will give us even better stuff if we give things away but because we know that God will be glorified if we humble ourselves. What is God calling you let go in order to glorify him?

Holy Family 2015 year C

My Dear brothers and sister in Christ

Peace be with you. As I was reading over the first reading from the First Book of Samuel, I couldn’t help but think about my niece and nephew named, appropriately enough, Hannah and Sam. Hannah is three years older than Sam and, at points, struggles to tolerate her younger brother. In the first reading, the namesakes of my niece and nephew aren’t siblings but mother and son. The mother, Hannah, is so excited to receive the gift of Samuel, her child, that she freely offers him to Eli, the priest, to be raised. I’m sure that there were many times during their growing up years that my niece would have gladly taken my nephew to their church to leave him there. Thank goodness even the worst knock-down, drag-out fight between siblings never ended with a hog-tied little boy sitting on my rectory steps. And that, as they’ve gotten older, my niece has found a way to not only get along with her little brother but to use him as a taxi service during her college years.

Both the first reading and the gospel give us a glimpse into a confusing and unique aspect of family life that I think is often overlooked but very important. What is it that would cause a mother who was barren to be willing to give the first child she ever received to God? As a person who has worked with young men who are considering priesthood, I know that often parents are the second hardest people to tell about a vocation. When I work with guys in college, they first have to convince themselves, and maybe their girlfriends, that God may in fact be calling them to priesthood before they tell their parents. Sometimes the parents are excited but many times the parents see nothing but loneliness and complications for their sons and a dearth of grandchildren for themselves. God even makes it complicated for Hannah in the scriptures because, when she goes to the temple to pray for a son, Eli, the very high priest to whom she would eventually hand over Samuel, accuses her of being drunk and tries to send her away. But, Hannah’s response shows both pluck and humility by saying that she hasn’t been pouring drinks down her throat but has been pouring out her troubles to God. She isn’t going to allow an inarticulate priest to distract her from praying to God for a son. She understands what Pope John Paul II referred to as the law of the gift.

The law of the gift says that your being increases in the measure that you give it away. That’s why, immediately after giving Samuel to the priests, she prays one of the most beautiful prayers in Sacred Scripture. “My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted by my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in your victory.” Her being is lifted up because she willingly gave away her son. You see, it’s when you give back what God has given you that you are exalted, that you are lifted up. We tend to think that happiness comes from being filled up by God. But it is precisely the opposite, when we empty ourselves of all the possessions and worries and cares that weigh us down, that we can be lifted up to share in the glory of God.

The same is true in this confusing and frustrating gospel. In my heart, this is a great example of the Bible turning a common reaction in a completely different way because of the law of the gift. After Jesus’ Bar Mitzvah, he remains behind to converse and impress the unnamed high priests of his time. One wonders if young Annas and Caiaphas were present during the three days that Jesus learned and taught in the Temple. Meanwhile, Mary and Joseph’s walk back home to Nazareth is interrupted in a Home Alone moment of realizing that Jesus is not hanging out with his cousins. They hurry back to Jerusalem and search for three days only to find him still in the Temple. Imagine the anguish they must have felt at losing Jesus and all the thoughts that would have gone through their heads. Has he been kidnapped and sold into slavery in Egypt? Has he upset some resident in the big city of Jerusalem and gotten himself killed? Has he become a hawkeye fan? I’m sure these and a thousand other horrors crossed their minds as they searched everywhere in Jerusalem. You can just imagine the emotions they would have felt when they looked in the last place they thought, the temple, to find him. They ask him, “Why have you done this to us?” and Jesus responds “Did you not know I must be in my father’s house.” Jesus’ response may seem like he is a typical smart mouthed teenager but, in truth, he is evidencing the very attitude of Hannah. He is offering up his very self in order to be glorified by God. And he will continue to do so as he goes home to go through the stages of development that every person has to go through as a teenager and young adult. What’s interesting is that Luke includes the detail that Mary kept these things in her heart. Her life will, therefore, be an exercise in learning the law of the gift in the hardest way possible. I have a feeling that Mary will think of finding Jesus in the Temple when Jesus is back at this temple being condemned by high priests and will remember the confusion, frustration, anger, and relief she felt when she will again wait for three days to see her son, this time resurrected from the dead.



The law of the gift, then, is at the very heart of the gospel message and, therefore, at the heart of family life. The family is a place where the mission of each family member is discerned and prepared. After days of giving what we hope will be the perfect gift, now is the perfect time to refocus on what is the true gift each of us are seeking. Rather than getting lost in the consumerism of Christmas, find some way to give away yourself, not because we know that God will give us even better stuff if we give things away but because we know that God will be glorified if we humble ourselves. What is God calling you let go in order to glorify him?

Christmas 2015

My dear brothers and sister in Christ

Peace be with you. Merry Christmas. I’d like to thank Fr. Greg for letting me celebrate this Mass back in my home parish of St. Mary. I got a new assignment this summer, as the chaplain at Loras College and Clarke University. When the students left for Christmas break, my job also went on break so I’m thankful that I get to be with you all celebrating with all of you.

Do you ever find yourself daydreaming about a better future? I think this is a common reaction when someone is dissatisfied with their job or there is conflict with a spouse or a child or parents. It can especially be true when we expected a job or family to be different or better than what it is. I have some friends with a son born with Down’s Syndrome and many life complications who has had several surgeries in the little over one year since he has been born. Whenever I read about them running to the hospital in the middle of the night because he’s having seizures or because he doesn’t seem to be focusing or because he keeps throwing up, I can’t help but think that it doesn’t seem fair. This isn’t what they signed up for.

I imagine all of us, at one time or another, have felt like things aren’t the way we wished they were. In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah gives encouragement to his people by telling them “No more shall people call you “Forsaken” or your land “Desolate,” but you call be called “My Delight” and your land “Espoused.” In other words, the Prophet is saying that people currently call the people of Israel a loser or a taker or abandoned and refer to their land as run-down or dilpidated or the ghetto. Right now, they aren’t in a good place. They feel abandoned by God. But, the Prophet tells them, God will not abandon them forever. The will eventually be called God’s favorite, blessed, or the luckiest person that anyone has ever met and his land will be called...married to God. You’d think that the Prophet would say that we will be called blessed and our land “beautiful, winning, or perhaps even winning so much that we will be sick of winning.” But that’s not what he says. Instead, Isaiah reminds people that if they get good things, it doesn’t make them somehow better than those around them. It should make them closer to God. It should engender thankfulness, not pride.

The Gospel of Matthew also presents a difficult situation: Joseph has the perfect wife and has set upon the perfect engagement. He lives in a developing part of the State of Israel, a rich suburb with low crime and great job-opportunities. Then, he finds out that all his plans are going to completely change. Mary is pregnant. As you may know, Joseph has the right to call Mary an adulterer, drag her into the town square, and have her stoned to death. But, instead of doing that, heaven intervenes to explain what’s happening. Instead of having the perfect family with 7-12 kids, which would have been the dream of every man and woman during the time of the Holy Family, they are going to have one child that will not even biologically be Joseph’s son. But, Joseph was necessary because he supplies the connection to King David, as evidenced by the list of names that ordinarily precedes this reading. Jesus will be a descendant of David because of Joseph. His name is Jesus because that name means “God saves”

One thing that always amazes me about my friends is that they never ask why their son was born with Down’s Syndrome or why he has all these physical difficulties. They complain about going to the hospital because they hate to see see the pain that their son has, not because they see the situation as some kind of divine punishment. They have been able to see a larger plan than their own in their son’s life. But that has been the fruit of a lot of prayer, a lot of support from their extended families, and a close connection to a church family. One challenge they faced with their church family was that they weren’t always the best at attending church and they worried about being judged for returning when life got difficult. But they found that church was not the home of perfect people but the refuge of sinners who want to get to know the true perfection of God. It is where God comes to meet his imperfect people. Our lives are not always perfect and we often find that the plans, hopes, and dreams we’ve had in our past is not the reality of the present. During this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis reminds us that we need to have mercy on ourselves when things don’t go the way we expect and recognize the grace of the unplanned detour which takes us closer to God.

Facing my fears and finding out that I should have never been afraid in the first place

Today I did a funeral for a four year old. I have been afraid of this scenario since I was first ordained a priest. I dreaded being a part of something so tragic. Throughout the week and especially at the vigil, I had to stop myself from picturing my own nieces and nephews laying in the tiny little casket so I wouldn't lose it.

But right before things got started this morning, I realized something that I should have realized 14 years ago: It was not about me. I had to keep two goals in mind, namely to acknowledge the tragedy of a lost child and to give the family hope because of a crucified child. That's all And most of that came from prayerfully reading the book the church provides for me. I only had to create 8-10 minutes of my own material and the Holy Spirit even helped with that.

In the end, what mattered was focusing on the family and their needs and their hurts. And that's not something to be afraid of. That's something to love.

Christ our priest, prophet, and King leading us to holiness.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Peace be with you. One of the things that marks a person who receives a sacrament is taking on the three munera or offices of Jesus, namely priest, prophet, and king. For example, after the actual baptism, the person conferring the sacrament takes sacred chrism and anoints the forehead of the baptized person while saying…

"The God of power and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people.He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life."

These three offices are a part of each sacrament. I’ll talk more about baptism later but let me use marriage as an example. The priestly element of a vocation is when someone acts as an intermediary between the person and God. In this regard, the priestly goal of a husband is to help his wife get to heaven and vice versa and, if they’re blessed with children, the priestly goal of parents is to raise their children in the faith by bringing them to Mass, teaching them to pray, and making sure they regularly celebrate their sacraments. A prophet proclaims God’s teachings and certainly parents are responsible for teaching their children about what is right and wrong but also a husband or a wife may have to instruct a spouse in God’s ways as well. Lastly, marriage shares in the kingly ministry of Jesus by working and providing and maintaining home and other property.

These three offices are especially emphasized in the ordination ritual because priests and bishops exercise them in a more public, unique way. I’ll speak to my experience as a priest. I remember, shortly before I was ordained, a seminary professor telling me that most priests begin thinking that the hardest part would be the priestly or sanctifying parts but would soon learn that actually the kingly part is the hardest. Most people appreciate and understand thinking of their priest as priest and a prophet. A priest stands in the place of Christ our high priest and continues the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ by celebrating the sacraments and especially the Mass. A priest acts as a prophet by challenging the people to turn away from their sinful ways and return to the Lord with their whole heart. In general, I have found that people appreciate the priestly and prophetic role of priesthood and that those who don’t are in error, asking me to follow them down the rabbit hole of heresy.

I will admit that my professor is, in general pretty accurate. The office of priest as King tends to be the one that causes me the most headaches and heartaches. Part of it has to do with understanding what it means. We don’t always have a good impression of the term “King.” As you’re aware, we don’t have royalty in this country because we threw them out at our foundation. And, when we try to compare the King to our president, we notice some pretty striking differences. For instance, a king isn’t chosen by the people like a president is and a King is supposed to avoid divisive party politics in favor of what’s best for his people. Personally, I like the connection with the office of king with the title of pastor or shepherd. As your pastor, it’s my responsibility to lead the sheep. Sometimes the sheep don’t want to go in a certain way and sometimes they resent when I make a decision they don’t agree with, especially when it’s something dealing with money. But it’s my job to always make sure that any given parish is making financial decisions more on the basis of what God wants than any selfish motivation they may have.

You may be wondering what any of this has to do with lepers and, I’ll admit, very little. During my preparation for this homily, I really felt like our hearts were focused on the second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In it, St. Paul was articulating his priestly role in three powerful ways. He begins by stating that whatever we do, we should do it for the glory of God. When we’re watching TV, do we do it for the glory of God? When we go watch a movie, do we do it for the glory of God? When it’s late at night and we’re alone with our computers, are we acting in a way that gives glory to God? God has given us so much glory in creating us in his divine image and giving us his son to be our savior. We should give God glory in all parts of our life. Next, St. Paul says that we should please everyone in every way, not seeking our own benefit but that of the many. Fr. Robert Barron will talk about sin as a spiritual curvature of the spine in which the sinner is always concerned about his own needs and wants. If we put our focus on giving glory to God, it means focusing on the needs of others and trying to reach out to them in love and undoing the curvature of our sinful spiritual spines. Lastly, St. Paul tells us that, if we put our focus on giving glory to God and reaching out to others, we will be an example that will inspire others to holiness. In my opinion, this is the best form of evangelization! If we live our lives giving glory to God and caring for the needs of others, people will see our good deeds and come to faith through them.

We are just a few days away from beginning the Lenten season. In my opinion, lent is about exercising the priestly role of Christ in our daily life. Don’t get me wrong, we are encouraged to grow in the holiness of Christ the high priest and continue to speak out in a prophetic way during Lent. Nonetheless, I feel like we often know what we need to do to grow in holiness but we lack the commitment to actually do it. Lent is our opportunity to put our nose down and get the job done. As we enter into this great season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, let’s put our focus in giving glory to God by reaching out to those in need and being an example of holiness for others.

January 22, 2015

Sorry for the absence. I'm still working to get these little updates into my regular schedule of life. I want to talk a little bit about yesterday and then I'll write about today later on. It was Wednesday, which means I do not have a morning Mass so I worked on other things before I celebrated an evening Mass in Lake Mills. Then, I drove to Britt where I heard confessions for some students there. Here's my dilemma: I am very conflicted with hearing confession for students at Faith Formation. I think it ties a sacrament that is ongoing and life-long to religious education classes which end (at best) at graduation. And, in general, it forces people who may not be prepared spiritually or psychologically for confession, to go because your catechist says it's time. First of all, it should be the parents who bring their kids to confession not the catechists because the parents should be attending the sacrament with their kids. After all, in some ways, we need the sacrament of reconciliation more as adults than we do when we are in school because we are incredibly aware of our faults in middle school and high school through parents, teachers, coaches, tests, peers, etc. but can become incredibly unaware of our faults as adults. Secondly, I know that people believe that students who go to confession will translate into adults who go to confession. However, that's not happening. There are many times throughout the week that I sit alone in a confessional waiting for someone to come in to be relieved of their sins.

Most of the time, a kid learns how to behave in church more from their parents than from any priest or catechist. If they don't see their parents go to church or to confession, then they think that it's unimportant and I don't think that bringing a kid to confession once a year is going to reverse that. Still, I hear faith formation confessions because I don't know what the alternative is. If there's one thing we have learned from the reaction to Vatican II, it is that replacing something that we don't think is working (the rosary, adoration, novenas, 30 hours, etc) with nothing is really bad for the basic spiritual formation of the people of God. So, until it's clear what we should do differently, I sit in a confessional and and am stoned to death with the cotton balls of grade school confession. And, who knows? Maybe three minutes of honesty will translate for at least one kid into a life-long commitment to confession.

Vocation to a life of joy - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time year B

This past weekend in my homily, I talked about some of the negative reactions I've got when I've suggested someone has a vocation to priesthood. I talked about how that's understandable because of the negative impressions people have of priesthood, both those caused by sexual abuse and angry priests and those caused by the perception that the only way to lead a happy life is by having sex. I then talked about the first four chapters of Samuel. If you haven't read these chapters, please do so. They're great. It's a story of contrasts between Hannah and Eli. Hannah is faithful to God. She is mocked by her husband's other wife because she seems to be barren but, when she promises to dedicated her first-born to God, she doesn't react like a person scorn. She offers her son Samuel to the service of the priest, Eli. Eli, on the other hand, seems like a faithful person but has managed to appoint his power-hungry sons, Phineas and Hophni, to positions of power, He is not a good shepherd. That's why chapter 3 is so complex. It says that the Word of the Lord was was scarce and vision infrequent. Why? What were Phineas and Hophni and Eli doing if not listening to and preaching the Word of the Lord? We know from chapter 2 that Phineas and Hophni were busy stealing from the best sacrifices and making sure their bellies were full and possibly meeting women at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They were worried about their comfort more than the will of God. I contrasted that with Samuel who was told during his calling that his first job was to tell Eli that his time has come to an end as the priest and that he and his sons would die.

All too often, we think our goal in life is to be happy. But, a true vocation has moments of happiness and frustration. It has moments that test our patience and moments of testing our abilities. It has moments of being yelled at and moments of failure. But, it is still joyful amidst all this. We have to think more in the long run than in the immediate, short-term. Is it worth the sadness and frustration and anger? I think being able to give people the body and blood of Christ and telling them that their sins are forgiven is incredibly joyful. I think helping people say goodbye to a dead relative and helping them welcome a new baby is joyful. It's not always happy but I can guarantee you that anything worth doing is both challenging and joyful.

Friday January 16, 2015

One of the things I treasure about being a priest is that there are days like yesterday where I feel like I'm constantly preparing for or in a meeting and there there are days like today, where I celebrated Mass and then pretty much had the whole day to myself. I worked on my Sunday Homily and worked prepping pronouncing Spanish for Mass tomorrow night. I went to the gym and managed to take a nap. And, since I was hitting my usual preparation wall, I took a break and watched the cartoon/musical Frozen tonight. It was a good day of prayer, study, and relaxation, which is good because tomorrow and Sunday look pretty packed.

Thursday January 15 2015

Every day, I'm going to try to write a brief paragraph about the ups and downs of my priestly ministry. I'll always give them the title of the date and give my homilies actual titles so you can tell the difference.

Today was a good day. I celebrated Mass at St. Boniface church in Garner. I'm reflecting upon the letter to the Hebrews right now as the church has us using it for the first reading at daily Mass for the next few weeks. After Mass, I came back and worked with my staff on a couple of small projects before going to my room to spend some time working on my homily for this weekend and my Spanish pronunciation. I have a Spanish Mass Saturday night. This afternoon I made it to the gym and then went to Forest City to converse with and pray with Fr. Paul. Then, I attended a very hopeful meeting of the Cluster Pastoral Council. This body is made up of two members from each of my six parishes who come together to work toward greater unity and seek common solutions. They're a really helpful group and one that helps me see the forest through trees and bear poop. Now I'm home for the night ready for a good night of sleep.

 Actually, it's been a great week. In early December, I came up with a solution to a problem that I've had ever since I became pastor here. I have been consistently celebrating two Masses on Wednesday in order to fit the total number of daily Masses in a week. However, the Daily Mass people from one of the parishes, St. Boniface in Garner, agreed to only have one Mass per week, making it possible to move their Mass from Wednesday to Monday! And meaning I only have to wake up three days before 8:00 am. But tomorrow is one of the earliest days so I better head to bed.

The Lord is with us! May it be done unto me according to God's will.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Peace be with you. I couldn’t help but notice a connecting freeze between the first reading and the Gospel. In the first reading, when the prophet Nathan is asked by King David if he should build a house for God, the prophet responds “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.” In the Gospel, when the Archangel Gabriel goes to Mary, he says, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” We should not be surprised to hear this phrase. As Catholics it is one of those phrases that is at the heart of our prayer. Several times in mass I will say The Lord be with you and you all respond and with your spirit. Or, at least, most of the time we respond and with your spirit sometimes we forget and do that phrase that we stop using four years ago “and also with you” especially if we’re around someone that doesn't make it to church very often. The good thing is though we are very patient with those people because we're going to see them in the next couple of days for Christmas and they may not remember that some of the words have changed so it’d be good to be patient and help them. But I digress, the phrase “the Lord be with you” is so pervasive in Catholic culture that I heard a rumor about the first Star Wars movie, which was released in 1978. When one of the characters turned to Luke and said “The force is with you.” Catholics instinctively responded “and also with you.”

But, the question is, do we really think about what we are saying when we say “the Lord be with you”? We are saying that all the time throughout our lives the Lord is with us. In my mind there are three ways that we can look at this two of which are unhelpful and one which is probably the best. The one way to look at it is the way that King David does in the first reading today. David has just finally found a place of his own in his relatively newly created city of Jerusalem. He has a nice house and has the Ark of the Covenant safely secured outside. So David believes that it's his responsibility to make as nice of a house for the Ark of the Covenant as he is living in. When he asked for advice from the prophet Nathan, initially he says basically go for it because the Lord is with you. But soon after the Lord, through the prophet Nathan, tells King David that he does not want him to build the temple because he's perfectly fine living in a tent. He says to King David who are you to build a house if I didn't ask you first? David assumes that he knows the will of God when he really didn’t. This is a very dangerous thing to do because none of us can know the mind of God. We all rely upon two things to know God's will; divine revelation in sacred Scripture and sacred tradition and the church led by the pope and bishops. So yes The Lord is with us but that does not guarantee that we will always guarantee that we will know what God wants.

On the other hand, I'm reminded of something that happened to me that you may have experienced something similar to. When I was in middle school, we had a strange study hall that happened every three weeks or so. It was an odd configuration and I honestly don't remember why it was this way. But one week the teacher who is supposed to supervise the study hall who clearly hated having to do this, forgot to show up. At first we were kind of reserved and didn't say or do anything different but the longer that it was clear that the teacher was not going to show up the more that we got rowdy and loud. Some even Left the classroom and wandered the halls of the school. When the teacher found out he claimed that he was testing us and that we all failed but it was clear that he knew he was the one who had failed because, from then on, he not only didn't miss any more classes but he was suddenly early. I use that an example of the way we sometimes think of our relationship to God. Sometimes we think of God as somebody who catches us doing wrong thing, as the teacher who is there to tell us to sit down and shut up. In this case, we may feel like we want to keep God distant and removed because he is only going to punish us if he actually shows up.

Clearly we need a better understanding of what it means for God to be with us. We can't think of God as somebody for whom we occasionally do something nice to make sure that he does nice things for us and we can't think of God as a mean judgmental teacher constantly trying to catch us doing the wrong thing. In my opinion, a better way to think of God being with us is the way Mary does. When the angel approaches Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of God, at first she struggles to understand how this could happen given the unusual circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. But when it is made clear that it is through the divine action of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responds by saying may it to be done unto me according to your word.

This should be our attitude as well. We are invited to respond like Mary in that we want to do God's will whatever it is. When we follow God's will, God is with us to give us his grace. When we do our best but don't ask God first what he wants, God still loves us like he did King David but he invites us to ask him first what his will is. When we do not do God's will, we distance ourselves from God and are in need of a powerful sacrament to be forgiven. Just as a reminder, we will be having communal reconciliation this afternoon at 4 o'clock at St. Patrick's in Britt. You are all welcome to come be a part of God's forgiveness.



Ultimately when we say the Lord be with you and with your spirit we are reminding each other of God's presence among us and our desire to be close to God by doing his will. We remind our selves of our true nature, that in the end we all want to be able to echo the sentiments of Mary, “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done unto me according to your word.”

The comfort of the good news - Second Sunday of Advent

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Peace be with you. For the last three years, ever since I started growing popcorn, I’ve taken home three or four ears at Thanksgiving to see if it’s time to harvest it. At first, I figured my nieces and nephews would like to see what popcorn looks and feels like before it’s shucked and may be willing to shuck the an ear or two but, thus far, they’re more than willing to let their Uncle Dennis rub his hands raw on the pointy seeds. And, thus far, each year it’s been ready to go. I often say that there is something satisfying when I eat my popcorn because I know that it’s the fruit of my own labor. In fact, sometimes priests will kind of make fun of me for having a garden because I could just ask my parishioners for something and, chances are someone would probably grow it and supply me with it. However, I think it’s worth the struggle of planting, weeding, and harvesting.

I’m struck today by two phrases that come from our readings today. The first is “comfort” from the first reading. Even though this is the 40th chapter of the Book of Isaiah, most scripture scholars believe it is the beginning of a new section, either from the same author or from a pupil from his school of prophecy. The transition between the 39th and 40th chapter is quite stark and seems to imply several years have elapsed. In the 39th chapter, King Hezekiah brags about receiving emissaries from Babylon to whom he showed the beauty of his country, his vast wealth and storehouses of food as well as the location of his armaments and weaponry. The prophet responds by letting the King know that this act will bring about a war that will result in a great deal of death, the exile of his people, and the servitude of his own sons. Hezekiah’s either cynical or mocking response is basically “Well, at least we’ll have peace and stability while I’m alive.”

That’s what is written directly before we hear the words of the Lord to the Prophet Isaiah from the first reading; “Comfort, give comfort to my people…” It’s clear that a lot has happened between chapter 39 and chapter 40. The people are now in the very captivity promised them by Isaiah and God has determined that they have suffered enough and now it’s time for comfort. If this were to be portrayed in a sitcom, one moment Hezekiah and Isaiah would be dressed in nice clean outfits in a professional office with all kinds of the King’s sons and servants walking by looking busy. Isaiah and Hezekiah would be arguing and Hezekiah would say something like, “Oh, that’ll never happen!” And then the scene would shift to Hezekiah’s sons and Isaiah working as slaves in a quarry carrying wheelbarrows of rocks and each time they passed each other Isaiah would mutter “Your Dad said it would never happen but here we are. Great Job Hezekiah Jr!” We don’t hear anything about that. We aren’t concerned about the hardship they endured along the way, just that God has relented and has told Isaiah to “Give comfort to my people.”

In the gospel, I was struck by the phrase “good news.” For the next year, we will hear almost entirely from the gospel of Mark. Today, we heard the first 8 verses of that Gospel. Unlike Matthew and Luke who begin their gospels with two chapters describing the birth and childhood of Jesus, Mark jumps right into the heart of Jesus ministry by talking about its origins in John the Baptist. But even before he describes the clothing and diet of John the Baptist, which is quite similar to someone in exile, he offers a summary of what he is about to write. It is the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ. Most of the time we hear the word gospel, we associate it with one of four writings about Jesus Christ; Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. But, it’s important to remember that, before it described a particular type of writing, it described an attitude. This is the good news: that Jesus Christ came into this world. That it was announced by John the Baptist, the last of the great prophets. And that it was, indeed, good news of great comfort.



Sometimes, we struggle to understand why bad things happen to us. We can believe that as long as we follow the 10 commandments and do our best to come to church and lead a good life, that nothing bad will ever happen to us. But, sadly, bad things happen to everyone. Every one of us have something or someone in our lives that we wish we didn’t. It could be our job or our relatives or a friend or our house or car or even our own body. Today, God speaks to us words of comfort. He invites us to cleave to him in prayer, in the Eucharist, and in confession to find the joy of the good news. Jesus has come into the world not to condemn us and judge us but to bring us comfort and good news. Let’s bring that same comfort and good news to those around us.

St. John Lateran: Moving from criticism to humble service

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Peace be with you. Today we celebrate the feast of St. John Lateran. If you read my bulletin column from a couple of weeks ago you know that there is no saint named John Lateran but that this is actually a compound name. The church was initially dedicated to St. John the Baptist but at some point in the mediaeval period someone referred to it as St. John the evangelist and it was donated by the Laterani family so most of the time it is simply referred to as St. John Lateran Cathedral. It is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. Just like our diocese has a cathedral in Dubuque and a basilica in Dyersville, so the diocese of Rome has several basilicas and the Cathedral of St. John Lateran. We often associate the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, with St. Peter’s basilica because it is a huge building that can accommodate tens of thousands of people. But today we remember the Pope’s cathedral and of course Pope Francis.

For this feast the church gave us some very interesting readings to reflect upon that challenge me to ponder this question: what essential things do you think a Catholic parish has to have in order to be inviting and worth attending? One way of answering this question is to look at what people complain about. I thought of three common complaints. People want a clean church. I hear complaints about dirty bathrooms, cobwebs in windows and corners, and kitchens that aren't very clean. People want a good faith formation program where they can drop their kids off and have someone teach them the faith. And they wanted to be convenient and something they are in charge of. And people want mass to be short and fun. Mass should last less than one hour and there should be a good corny joke at some point that they can share with that “churchy” coworker on Monday morning. I imagine all of you have other things that you expect a welcoming church to have as well.

In our readings for this week I see two competing images that may challenge at our assumptions of what a church needs to have. The first comes from the gospel where Jesus challenges the temple authorities to stop "making my father’s house a marketplace." The temple authorities and those utilizing them were essentially turning the practice of their faith into something transactional. They buy an animal, sacrifice it, and in return they receive forgiveness of their sins. All throughout the Old Testament there are instances where the people of Israel I reminded of the insufficiency of the act of sacrifice alone. For example Psalm 50:13-15 “Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God and render him your votive offerings. Call on me in the day of distress.” The transactional relationship works well in the retail industry, you give me what I want, and I give you cash or a promissory note in return. But it makes for a very unsatisfactory experience of our faith and the church. It turns out relationship with God into something similar to our relationship to Walmart or a car dealership or a grocery store. And it neglects something fundamental: the very reason they didn't need those oxen, sheep, and doves is because the one driving them out would replace them with his once for all sacrifice. None of us could repay that debt.

Rather than a transactional, quit-pro-quo, understanding of the Church, we may reflect upon the image of the temple in the first reading, a temple flowing with water so pure that it’s capable of purifying the most salty water on the planet, the Dead Sea. This water is flowing from a temple of prayer and represents the grace of God offered to us through prayer. So it begins on our knees and flows into our daily lives. Rather than being characterized by a relentless search for control and power it is characterized by humility, first and foremost, and seeking what God wants not what is most convenient for me.



This is what Pope Francis preached about on Friday when he challenged all of us to move from being "pagan Christians" who go to church on Sundays but spend most of the rest of the week cultivating their attachment to money, power, and pride." Pope Francis challenged us to become authentic Christians. He asked "Do I try to love God and serve others?" He went on to answer his own question by saying "If you were meek, if you are humble, if you are a servant of others, then you are on the right path." Another way of saying this is to change our original question from "what are the essential things at church must have or do to be welcoming and worth attending" to "What am I doing here and in my daily life to humbly be built up as the temple of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit?”