Msgr. Charles Pope, Author at Community in Mission

November 12, 2010June 10, 2015

A Critique of Those Who Want Christ Without the Church – A Meditation on Dorothy Day’s Love of the Church

The video at the bottom is of Archbishop Timothy Dolan speaking on Dorothy Day. It is a clip of a longer sermon you can see here: Archbishop Dolan on Dorothy Day

In the Sermon the Archbishop speaks of Dorothy Day’s love for the Church. He remarks that there are many people today who want Christ without the Church. For Dorothy Day and for us: No can do. Christ is found with his Church: warts and all, sinners and saints, even me, Oh Lord! Jesus Christ was found among sinners, such that it scandalized many. He was crucified between two thieves. He was found in very questionable company. Do you get it? You won’t find Christ by walking away from the company he keeps.

The hatred of the Church is growing in our culture and many of the ring leaders claim to know Christ and think they can find him only in purer air, a room of their own choosing. But Christ is found where he is found. The Pharisees expected to find the Messiah on their terms. But Jesus was found where he was found. He was not from the educated in Jerusalem, but of the peasants in Galilee. He spoke with a Galilean “hick” accent and walked among the poor, the nobodies, the sinners, the uninformed and unenlightened.

Today, the menu is a little different. In Jesus’ time it was a religious aristocracy that sneered at his followers. Today, the world is secular and those who sneer see believers as simple-minded, unscientific, unenlightened and intolerant. And we are sinners to be sure. Some of the charges against us are true. Actual sinners are we. The Church is a hospital for sick people who need a doctor. Some of the other charges of our sinfulness are less deserved: that we are collectively intolerant, hateful, bigoted, etc.

But despite all this, I know by faith that this is where Christ is found. Those who want Jesus without his Church not only seek him in vain, they risk reinventing him altogether. He is found where he is found.

Dorothy Day’s Witness and help – But what of the Church’s imperfections? In the video Archbishop Dolan reminds us: Ecclesia semper reformanda (The Church is always reforming). It’s people like Dorothy Day (and many of you) through whom God works this work. Dorothy Day was very sober about the Church’s imperfections and spoke of them often. She was a prophet and true prophets know how to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable (and we are all in both categories from time to time).

What I most like about Dorothy Day is that I knew she loved the Church and because of that I trust her. I have found that, in order to stretch my boundaries and be truly challenged, I need to trust my teachers and leaders. It’s people I can trust who lead me to stretch my horizons. Knowing that Dorothy Day so loved the Church, the liturgy and the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament makes be trust her judgment. She, like Jesus, was not easily categorized. She will not simply conform to earthly categories for she had heard from heaven.

I’d like to say a little more of Dorothy in weeks to come on the blog for I think she is one who can help get both wings of the Church flying together. There is a tendency for the Church to divide out between the moral issues, and the social issues. But it takes two wings to fly, and Dorothy Day is one of those who show how it can be done. Allow me a little time to get a few thoughts together. And some of you might also point me in the right direction with suggestions.

For today simply this reflection: Dorothy Day loved the Church. And any true reformer of the Church must love her and her Lord and Spouse, Jesus.

Some of my favorite Dorothy Day quotes are:

Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be dismissed so easily.
I firmly believe that our salvation depends on the poor.
Men are beginning to realize that they are not individuals but persons in society, that man [who is] alone is weak and adrift, that he must seek strength in common action.
Together with the Works of Mercy, feeding, clothing and sheltering our brothers, we must indoctrinate.
We are eating while there is famine in the world.
We cannot build up the idea of the apostolate of the laity without the foundation of the liturgy.
Tradition! We scarcely know the word anymore. We are afraid to be either proud of our ancestors or ashamed of them. We scorn nobility in name and in fact. We cling to a bourgeois mediocrity….
I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least
You will know your vocation by the joy that it brings you. You will know.
Life itself is a haphazard, untidy, messy affair.
We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as our friend.
My strength returns to me with my cup of coffee and the reading of the psalms.
Don’t worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.
Those who cannot see Christ in the poor are atheists indeed.
Once a priest told us that no one gets up in the pulpit without promulgating a heresy. He was joking, of course, but what I suppose he meant was the truth was so pure, so holy, that it was hard to emphasize one aspect of the truth without underestimating another, that we did not see things as a whole, but through a glass darkly, as St. Paul said.
The final word is love.

Enjoy this brief reflection by Archbishop Dolan.

November 11, 2010June 10, 2015

If Abortion is Just a "Political Issue" Then is it Political Killing?

Just about every priest who has ever preached against Abortion has had the experience that someone will accuse him, when he does so, of talking about politics and being “too political.”

Of course the answer is that abortion is a moral issue on which the Church has always taught consistently. For what ever reason, the main political parties in this land of our have staked out different positions on the issue, so that in the political sphere abortion has a partisan tendency. But that is a fairly new phenomenon as we shall see. The Catholic Church however has taught against abortion from the very start, long before the existence of the Democratic or Republican Parties. For example the Didache, written sometime between 90 – 11o AD says:

You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill those who are born. (Didache, 2)

Now the last time I checked my history books, 110 AD is a time that predates the American political scene or the founding of the Democratic or Republican Parties. I also checked my most sophisticated calendars and found that 110 AD predates the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and the political shaking out and dividing that followed it. It would seem therefore that Church Teaching on Abortion predates the American Political scene and that we have a pretty long track record of teaching against abortion. It is unfair to say we have simply picked sides in a political battle. Our stance against abortion is principled, moral and in accord with biblical and ancient norms that require us to respect innocent life in the womb.

Partisan division over abortion is actually a rather recent phenomenon. Even in the direct aftermath of Roe v. Wade in 1973, there was not an immediate political relignment of the main parties on either side of the issue. For example, many prominent Democrats had pro-life stands well into the 1980s.

Al Gore, during his tenure in the U.S. House (1977 to 1984) voted pro-life 27 times and had a 84% pro-life voting record. In 1980, he wrote a letter to NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE, supporting the Hyde Amendment. In letters to constituents, he wrote: It is my deep personal conviction that abortion is wrong. I hope that some day we will see the current outrageously large number of abortions drop sharply. (Letters from Sept. 15, 1983, August 22, 1984). In 1984, he voted for the following Amendment to the Civil Rights Act: For the purposes of this act, the term ‘person’ shall include unborn children from the moment of conception. Sadly, the amendment was defeated.
Then Governor Bill Clinton wrote to Arkansas Right to Life on September 26, 1986, I am opposed to abortion and to government funding of abortions. We should not spend state funds on abortions because so many people believe abortion is wrong.
Rev Jesse Jackson endorsed the Hyde Amendment and wrote in an open letter to Congress that he opposed federal funds used for “killing infants.” He also wrote the following statement in a 1977 National Right to Life News article: There are those who argue that the right to privacy is of [a] higher order than the right to life … that was the premise of slavery. You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore outside your right to be concerned. …”What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person and what kind of a society will we have 20 years hence if life can be taken so casually? ….It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system, and our mind-set with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth.
Senator Edward Kennedy wrote to a constituent in 1971 just prior to Roe V. Wade and had this to say: While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life. Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized — the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grown old…..When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception.

These are just a few examples. But calling abortion “a political issue” is not only flawed because it is a moral issue, but it also over simplifies the political scene. There has recently been a strong partisan trend, but it is recent. And, even today there are pro-life democrats and even a few pro-abortion Republicans.

There also seems to be a logical flaw in those who want to insist that abortion is a political issue that should be banished from the pulpit. I don’t have it all worked out but imagine the following conversation:

You say that abortion is a political matter? –
Yes.
Why?
Well, when you denounce it from the pulpit you are supporting the Republican party.
So you want to insist that abortion is a political matter?
Yes.
Well, if that is the case, then it seems you support political killing.
No , I don’t. I don’t agree with State sponsored assassination and killing.
But you said that abortion is political. Now abortion is about killing, and if its just a political matter, then it’s political killing you support.
Well I don’t mean that and you know it.
Well then don’t call abortion political. It is a moral issue and I have every right and duty to speak on it.

Abortion is not a political matter. It is a moral one and the Church can and must speak of it. Sadly it is not the only only moral issue that has been politicized by the world (e.g. Homosexuality, stem cell research, Gay marriage etc.). But the Church was here long before the political stars aligned as they have and She will be here long after they have realigned.

If you get a chance to see this 10 minute video it is worth it. It described the amazing miracle of life in the womb.

November 10, 2010June 10, 2015

The "Weakness" of God is Stronger than Satan’s Power

There is a line in the Letter to the Hebrews which reads:

You made [Jesus] for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, subjecting all things under his feet.” In “subjecting” all things (to him), he left nothing not “subject to him.” Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,” but we do see Jesus “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death, (Heb 2:7-9)

Now this text is clear about two things. First, All things are subject to Jesus. Second, we do not presently see or experience that all things are subject to him. Why is this? Fundamentally it is because we experience grave injustice in this world and it seems to us that wickedness and evil are often triumphant. Our sufferings too can discourage us that God has any power at all. Such things do not seem to us to be subject to Christ. Yet the text is clear that all things are under his feet even if it does not seem so.

How can we claim that Christ is triumphant over all when things so often seem the opposite?

Come with me to the cross. The text says we DO see Jesus crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. So, here we are at the foot of the cross. And what do we see? With our earthly eyes we see complete defeat, a total failure. Jesus who cured the sick, walked on water, and even raised the dead, is now himself dead on a cross. Our fleshly eyes see only failure, and a cruel joke. Can He who saved others not save himself? Satan has won; end of story.

Or is it? You know it is not the end of the story, for on Sunday he rose. So he did defeat Satan. But how? ….Through weakness….. Through death. Even in his “weakness” God is stronger than Satan’s mightiest power. And hence, though we look about this world and see God’s “weakness” we need to understand that even in his weakness he is defeating Satan. Indeed, his greatest works have emerged from the “weakness” of his Son. An old song, “El Shaddai” says,

- Through the years you made it clear,
- that the time of Christ was near,
- But couldn’t see what Messiah ought to be.
- And Though your word contained the plan,
- they just would not understand,
- Your most awesome work was done,
- through the frailty of your son.

We really Don’t know what we are talking about – So the text from Hebrews makes it clear that all things are subject to him even though our earthly, eyes do not (will not) see it. Hence you and I may complain of God’s apparent weakness and question the apparent triumph of evil. But we really don’t know what we are talking about. It’s like standing at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday and proclaming total failure. If we were there and did so we would really have no idea what we were saying. Even as we were saying it, the supposedly dead Jesus was down among the dead in Sheol awaking them and turning out the devil’s trophy room. While the Devil was running victory laps around the cross Jesus was robbing him blind of all his “trophies” (the dead) and preaparing to open heaven for them who had long awaited him. All things are subject to Christ even if they don’t appear so.

And for us who experience our own weakness, here too we know not what we say unless the wisdom of the Cross is applied to it. St. Paul said, For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:10). How are we strong? We are strong because in our weakness we learn to depend on God who is our true strength. Our greatest enemy is pride. Only our weakness can strip us of this pride so that God can use us and save us. At age forty, Moses was strong, in the prime of his life, educated, passionate and powerful. But he was too strong and in his pride he murdered a man. God couldn’t use him and so caused him to flee to the desert for purifcation. It took forty years. At age 80 Moses was stooped, leaned on a staff and stammered. Now he was weak enough for God to use him. At age 80, God said to Moses, “Go down Moses, tell Pharaoh to let my people go.” For when I am weak, then I am strong for then the power of God rests on me.

I like you have my crosses and suffering. A spritual director once told me, “Thank God you’ve got them. Otherwise you’d be too proud to be saved and be heading right to hell. And even on your way God couldn’t use you.” Yes, even our weakness is subject to Christ and used mightily by him.

The Cross is a paradox and we must spend our lives learning to kneel before and heed its wisdom. Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,” but we do see Jesus “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death. God’s “weakness” is stronger than Satan’s power.

November 9, 2010June 10, 2015

Only Limited Freedom is True Freedom

One of the great paradoxes of freedom is that it really cannot be had unless we limit it. Absolute freedom leads to an anarchy wherein no is really free to act. Consider that we would not be free to drive if all traffic laws were ended. The ensuing chaos would making driving quite impossible, not mention dangerous. The freedom to drive, to come and go, depends on us limiting our freedom to merely do as we please and cooperate through obedience to agreed upon norms.

Right now I am writing you in English. I appreciate the freedom we have to communicate and debate. But my freedom to communicate with you is contingent on me limiting myself to the rules we call grammar and syntax. Were there no rules, I would lose my freedom to communicate with you. And you also would not be free to comprehend me. Consider these sentences:

Jibberish not kalendar if said my you, in existential mode or yet.
dasja, gyuuwe %&^% (*UPO(&, if gauy ga(&689 (*&(*)) !!

What, can’t you read? Clearly when I assert absolute or extreme freedom neither of us are more free. Rather we are more limited.

So the paradox of freedom is that we can only experience freedom by excepting constraints to our freedom. Without contraints and limits, we are hindered from acting freely.

Jesus and Freedom – Here too is an insight to what Jesus means when he says that If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32). There are many people today who excoriate the Church and the Scriptures as a limit to their freedom. Unfortunately many Catholics are also affected by this notion. To such as these, they say the Church is trying to “tell them what to do” and Christians are trying “to impose their values on the rest of us.”

Now of course the Church cannot really force anyone to do much of anything. But beyond this, notice that announcement of Biblical truth is said by many today to threaten freedom, not enhance it. But Jesus says just the opposite, it is the truth that sets us free. Now the truth is a set of propositions that limits us to some extent. If “A” is true then “not A” is false. I must accept the truth and base my life on it to enjoy its freeing power. And the paradoxical result is that the propostions of the truth of God’s teaching do not limit our freedom so much as enhance it.

Image – As we have seen, absolute freedom is not really freedom at all. It is chaos wherein no one can really move. Every ancient city had walls. But these were not so much prison walls, as defending walls. True, one had to limit himself and stay within the walls to enjoy their protection. But within the walls there was great freedom, for one was not constantly fighting off enemies and distracted with a fearful vigilance. He was freed for other pusuits, but only within the walls.

Those who claim that the truth of the gospel limits their freedom might also consider that the world outside God’s truth shows itself to be far less than free. Addictions and compulsions in our society abound. Neuroses, and high levels of stress are major components of modern living. The breakdown of the family and the seeming inability of increasing numbers to establish and keep lasting commitments is quite significant. A kind of teenage obsession with sex is evident and the widespread sadness of STDs, teenage pregnancy, single motherhood (absent fathers) and abortion are its results. Addiction to wealth and greed (the insatiable desire for more) enslave many in a kind of financial bondage wherein they cannot really afford the lifestyle their passions demand, and they are unsatisfied and in deep debt. The so-called freedom of the modern world apart from the truth of the Gospel is far from evident. These bondages also extend into the members of the Church to the extent that we do not seriously embrace the truth and base our lives upon it. The Catechism says rather plainly:

The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin.” (CCC # 1733)

In the end, the paradox proves itself. Only limited freedom is true freedom. Demands for absolute freedom lead only hindered freedom and outright slavery.

This video is very creative indeed. It shows a “Jibberish interview” which illustrates how we are free to communicate only within the contraints of grammar and rules of language.

November 8, 2010June 10, 2015

The Body Doesn’t Lie, But Modern Culture Does

One of the great errors of our day is the implicit rejection of the truth that our bodies have something to tell us about who we are and what we are called to do and be. Most moderns see the body merely as a tool of sorts and assertions are made that “I can do as I please with my own body.” Further, that a person is male or female is purely incidental and merely an arbitrary quality one “happens to have.” That our sex should speak to anything deeper than genitals and other “mere” physical differences is set aside to one degree or another. Or so it is said. In effect, it would seem that our bodies have little or nothing to say to us. According to modern culture they are incidental.

The rejection of the body as instructive or in any way determinative has reached its zenith in attempted normalization of homosexual activity and so called “Gay Marriage.” Any non-ideological analysis of the body will indicate that the man was not made for the man, nor the woman for the women. Rather the man is made for the woman and the woman for the man. This is set forth quite clearly in the pure physicality of things. St. Paul calls homosexual acts παρὰ φύσιν “(para physin) – that is “contrary to the nature of things.”

The Soul is the Form of the Body – Now of course I can hear the objections that some how we are not only physical beings and to use simply physical arguments is not proper. This is true but the body cannot be ignored. This is because the soul is the form of the body. That is to say, our soul, its essence and abilities, give rise to the structure and physical attributes of the body. Consider for a moment a glove. Now, what is the form of a glove? In other words, what determines how a glove is formed, shaped and designed? Well, of course, it is the hand. It is both the shape of the hand and its capacities that give rise to the design and function of the glove. A glove with only three fingers or with eight fingers would be a poor glove indeed. The proper form of the glove is the hand. And it is not just the shape of the hand that dictates the design of the glove, it is also the required function of the hand that must be considered. Hence, fingers need to move and be able to work together for the hand to achieve its purpose. A glove that was extremely stiff or rigid, and permitted the fingers no movement, would be a poor glove. Hence a good glove protects the hand but also permits it to achieve its proper end. Thus the fully functioning hand is the form (or blueprint) for the glove.

In the same way, the soul is the form (or blueprint) of the body. Our bodies have the design that they have due to the capacities of the soul. We are able to talk because our souls have something to say. Our fingers are nimble yet strong because our souls have the capacity to work at tasks that require both strength and subtlety. We have highly developed brains because our souls have the capacity to think and reason. Animals have less of all this because their souls have little capacity in any of these regards. My Cat Daniel does not speak, not only because he has no larynx. He has no larynx because he has nothing to say. The lack of capacity in his animal soul (or life-giving principle) is reflected in the design of his body.

Sexuality is more than skin-deep – Now when it comes to sexuality in the human person, our sex (or as some incorrectly call it, our “gender,” (gender is a grammar term that refers to the classification of nouns in romance languages) is not just a 50/50 coin toss. Our soul is male or female and hence our bodies reflect that fact. I don’t just happen to be male, I AM male. My soul is male, my spirit is male, hence my body is male . So called “sex-change” operations are a lie. Cross-dressing is a lie. “Transgendered” and what ever other made up and confused assertions cannot change the truth of what the soul is. You can adapt the body but not the soul. The soul simply says, “Sum quod sum” (I am what I am).

Now again, the modern age has chosen simply to set all this aside and to see the body as incidental or arbitrary. This is a key error of the modern age and has led to a lot of the confusion we have about many things. We have already seen how the widespread approval of homosexual acts has stemmed from this. But there are other confusions that spread from this.

Consider for example how the body speaks to the question of marriage. That the body has a nuptial (i.e. marital) meaning is literally inscribed in our bodies. God observed of Adam “It is not good for the man to be alone.” This fact is also evident in our bodies. I do not wish to be too explicit here but it is clear that the woman has physical aspects of her that are designed to find completion in union with a man, her husband. Likewise the man has physical aspects of him that are designed to find completion with a woman, his wife. The body has a “nuptial” meaning. It is our destiny, it is written in our nature, to be in a complimentary relationship with “the other.” But the complementarity is not just a physical one. Remember, the soul is the form (or blueprint) of the body. Hence the intended complementarity extends beyond the physical, to the soul. We are made to find completion in the complementarity of the other. A man brings things to the relationship (physical and spiritual) that a woman cannot. A woman brings things to the relationship (physical and spiritual) that a man cannot. It is literally written in our bodies that we are generally meant to be completed and complimented by someone of the “opposite” (i.e. complimentary) sex. And this complementarity is meant to bear fruit. The physical complementarity of spouses is fertile, is fruitful. Here too the body reflects the soul and the fruitfulness is more than merely physical, it is spiritual and soulful.

[It is a true fact that not every one finds a suitable marriage partner. But, from the standpoint of learning from nuptial meaning of the body, this is seen as less than ideal rather than merely a neutral “alternative” lifestyle called the “single life.” This point is debated in the Church today however and I can only state such a conclusion as an opinion, not as the official teaching of the Church].

Another consideration in this has to be the question of celibacy in the Church and of the male priesthood. If the body, among other things has a nuptial meaning whence does celibacy and virginity for the sake of the kingdom find its place? Simply in this. Priests and Religious sisters are not single. A religious sister is a bride of Christ. She weds her soul to Christ and is a beautiful image of the Church as bride (cf Eph 5:21ff). Fully professed sisters even wear the ring. As a priest, I do not consider myself a bachelor. I have a bride, the Church. She is a beautiful though demanding bride! And do you know how many people call me “Father?” Our Religious in my parish are usually called “Sister,” but the Superior is called “Mother” by us all. And here too, our bodies reflect the reality of our call. A woman images the Church as Bride. A man images Christ as groom. It is another error of modern times to say that a woman can be a priest. Jesus Christ didn’t just happen to be a man. He is the Groom of the Church, the Church is his bride. The maleness of the Messiah, of Jesus, was not just a 50/50 coin toss. Nor was it rooted merely in the “sociological requirements of the patriarchal culture of his time.” It is not merely incidental to his mission. He is male because he is groom. The priests who are configured to him are also male because the body has a nuptial meaning and the Church is in a nuptial relationship to Christ. Christ is the groom, the priests through whom he ministers to his bride are thus male. To say that a female can image the groom is, frankly, silly and bespeaks how far our culture has gone in thinking of the body as merely incidental, rather than essential and nuptial.

The body does not lie. Our culture lies and distorts, but the body does not. Many choose today to consider the body incidental, a mere tool that can be refashioned at will. But the Church is heir to a far longer and well tested understanding that the body is essential (not incidental) to who are. Our differences are more than skin deep. The soul is the form (or blueprint) of the body and thus our differences and our complementarity are deep and essential as well as necessary. Our dignity is equal but our complementarity cannot and should not be denied. God himself has made this distinction and intends it for our instruction. The body does not lie and we must once again choose to learn from it.

Here is a quirky and clever video that turns the table on the question of ordination. It also goes a long way to say that we cannot, in the end simply pretend to be what we are not. Our bodies do not lie, even if we try to.

November 7, 2010June 10, 2015

More Church Closings – So What is God Teaching Us and How Will We Respond?

It has become routine these days to here of multiple church closings in various dioceses throughout this country. The recent news comes from the Archdiocese of St. Paul – Minneapolis which is planning to close 21 parishes over the next three years. The plan is a bit ambiguous in that some of the closed parishes may actually remain open for some services as a “mission” of another parish. But they will no longer be full-service parishes with a priest and other essential services. Each “merged cluster” of parishes will have some say over its own fate and what buildings will be used and arrangements can be made. That is a relief to some of the older parishioners. But, I am sure that communities that try to keep two buildings up and running may soon discover that maintaining two or more sets of the the large and older buildings is very costly. If they continue to decline in membership, as it seems most of them will, some painful choices await them. (The Parish in the Photo at right is Holy Trinity in Syracuse, NY and it closed in Feb of this year along with 14 other parishes in that diocese).

One of my own frustrations with the closing of large numbers of parishes is that we do not do a better job of using these situations as a teaching moment. The usual approach is for media, secular and Catholic is to interview grief-stricken members of a closing parish and to ask them how they feel. Well, of course, they feel awful. Some are also angry at the diocese in question, and the bishop. The usual goal of these sorts of interviews is for us to feel bad with them. And there is much to regret. Some very old parishes with wonderful histories and beautiful buildings are being lost in large numbers.

But where is the assertive teaching about the need for evangelization, summoning fallen away catholics back to the sacraments, increased family size, and so forth? The “ain’t it awful” attitude doesn’t get us very far. We have some serious repenting to do as Catholics. It is so easy to blame “mean” bishops, arrogant chancery offices and so forth. Surely there is some blame to be had in these areas. But in the end this is about the numbers of the faithful. It is simple to say the priests should do something, but it is also a fact that shepherds don’t have sheep; sheep have sheep. And it is a simple fact that the sheep are not in the fold. Every survey agrees, only 27 – 30% of Catholics even bother to go to mass any more, much less support their parishes financially. We simply cannot continue to maintain our parishes and other entities with this decline of people in the pews. The faith has largely been set aside by most Catholics who still expect their parish to “be there” at important moments like wedding and funerals, baptisms and crises.

And for those who do remain faithful and attend each Sunday, (God bless them), there are also questions. How serious have they been about evangelizing as they saw their parishes growing empty? How did it get to this point? There are some demographic trends that many will point to that really don’t seem to excuse what we are experiencing. For example, there is “people have moved to the suburbs” argument. True. But are there still not homes in the city? There ARE some parishes that saw their neighborhoods replaced by office buildings, but these are rarer. The “they all moved to the suburbs” explanation does account for the low percentage of Mass attendance which seems to be the real culprit here, along with declining birth rates among Catholics. These are choices made by Catholics in droves and we are paying the price. If even 50% of Catholics were going to Mass most of these parishes would not be closing. This is a teachable moment and we all, clergy and people have a lot to repent for.

Indeed, I would like to propose that all of us who face the reality of only 27% of Catholic going to Mass have some soul-searching to do. As parishes close in waves, what repenting are we personally doing? Are we just blaming the clergy, or the liturgy? I assure you there is plenty of blame to go around. It seems to me that every parish, especially those that are getting very small, have some serious things to ponder. Let’s begin with the clergy and radiate out to the parishioners:

How serious are dioceses about declining numbers? Our dropping attendance is shocking. What is the plan of any given diocese to address this?
Are clergy and people being trained to address this problem?
Does the diocese see the viability of parishes only in terms of money? Or do they look inside the numbers and toward the future?
What discussions take place with the pastors of declining parishes?
Is the pastor ever asked to account for declining numbers or asked to present a plan for parish renewal?
Is the pastor merely rewarded for maintaining buildings and finances, or does the diocese also give him other priorities such as Church growth and involvement in the life of parishioners and communities?
How serious is the diocese about training priests to be better evangelizers?
How serious is the bishop in teaching his people, in times like these, about the necessity to be sober and serious regarding our steep decline?
Does the flock ever hear from their bishop about the this matter except when he puts them on a Church closing list?
Does the Bishop visit declining parishes to admonish and encourage them to evangelize and grow the parish?
Do the faithful in a given diocese really even know serious the decline in numbers is? Have they been challenged on this?
How does the Bishop evangelize? Does his flock see him reaching out to the fallen-away and unchurched? How?
And what of the pastor?
He is just in maintenance mode or does he really want to grow God’s Church?
What is his plan to growthe Church?
Has he ever considered studying various plans of evangelization to see what might work best in his parish?
Is he engaing leaders in this central task?
Does he ever talk to his people about the declining attendance and summon them to sobriety about it?
Are his homilies well prepared and the liturgies beautiful so that, when people do bring a friend to Church, they can be proud to bring them?
Is the Pastor praying (fasting?) for new members and growth?
Is he asking others to do so?
Does he seek to understand why his numbers might be decliningand why people don’t come to Church?
Does he teach that missing Mass is a mortal sin? Does he explain why?
Does he speak of the glory and the necessity of the sacraments so that his people see them as more than just rituals or rites of passage?
Do his people understand how and why coming to Mass and confessing regularly are essential for them and their loved ones?
Does he thereby inspire an urgency for the work of evangelization and help people to know that the eternal salvation of others may well depned on our work of evangelization?
Do his people know that their own salvation may well depend on whether they have been serious about announcing Christ and growing the kingdom?
How does the pastor evangelize? Do his people ever see him personally reach out the fallen away, the unchurched, and those who have been hurt by the Church? How?
And what of the people in the pews?
Have they been serious about summoning lost loved one back to Church, co-workers, the unchurched?
Have they witnessed to their faith and personally invited people to discover the Lord in the liturgy and sacraments?
Are they urgent and persistent in this work?
And what of the “domestic church,” the family? Are the faithful willing to examine the low birth rate among Catholics and consider this has played a role in Church closings, the decline in vocations, the precipitous decline in Catholic schools, and so forth?
Are Catholics willing to repent of this and consider that we may in fact, as a community, be contracepting and aborting ourselves right out of existence? (CARA Statistics show that the rate of baptisms per 1000 Catholics have dropped 75% since 1955).
Are Catholics willing to consider more fulling embracing life and encouraging others to do so?
Are Catholics striving to encourage marriage and family life? Without strong families, parishes are not strong. (CARA Statistics show that the rate of marriages per 1000 Catholics has dropped by 76% since 1955).
Do we prize the larger families in our parish and support them spiritually and even, where necessary, financially?
How supportive and encouraging are Catholics when the parish leaderships does summons them to evangelize?
Are they willing to walk the streets and knock on doors, or go to the local mall and greet people in the Lord and invite them to God’s house?
Would the average parishioner be willing to accept the goal and be accountable for bringing five new people to Church in the next six months?
How serious are they about greeting new people who do come to Mass and helping them to find a role in the community?
Or, it all this just up to “Father” and the “Evangelization Committee?”
How faithful is the average Catholic in being at Mass every Sunday without fail?
What example do Catholics give their children and other youth in this regard?
How faithful are Catholic parents in teaching their children the faith? Are they as serious about attending to this as they are to making sure they qualify for academic scholarships or excel in sports?
How serious are parents about preparing their children for sacraments and supporting religious education efforts in parishes?
How financially supportive are Catholics of their parish and diocese? Does God get more from a Catholic than the movie rental agency or the local sports bar?
Are the clergy and parishioners of declining parishes willing to try new things? Will they reach out to new ethnic and racial communities? Will they make necessary liturgical changes, and support the possible need to set aside personal preference and the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality?
Does the Pastor and parish leadership see evangelization as job one? Or, is the parish just in maintenance mode?
Are we going to be serious about this, or just watch parishes close and say,”Ain’t it awful!”

So, parish closings are sad but teachable moments. And also a time for some repentance and soul searching. In a rampantly secular time we have to be very serious about handing on our faith and inviting others to God’s house. Blaming others is not enough. What will I do about it? If we are not willing to take personal responsibility for growing our parishes, last one out, turn out the lights. There is a kind of judgment on us right now. And we have a decision to make. Will we preach, invite and summon others to the Catholic faith, or not? To preach and teach the faith, uncompromised, not watered down, to share it with joy and confidence is our only hope. By God’s grace our parishes can and will grow but God is going to do it through you. Not just your pastor or the person next you. God wants to do it through you.

How say you? My list is long, but I’ll bet you want to add to it. Comments are wide open for additions, distinctions and rebuttals.

November 6, 2010June 10, 2015

I’m Gonna Ride the Chariot in the Morning Lord! – A Meditation on the Readings of the 32nd Sunday of the Year

In the readings today, the Church presents for us a strong reminder and teaching on the resurrection. Jesus himself leads the charge against those who would deny the resurrection from the dead and the seven Brothers of the first reading along with their mother bring up the rear. Let’s take a look at what we are taught in three stages.

1. Ridicule of the Resurrection – The Gospel opens with the observation that Some Sadducees, who deny there is a resurrection, came forward and put [a] question to Jesus. These Sadducees propose to Jesus a ridiculous example about a woman who was married seven times to successively dying brothers and had no children by any of them. They suggest that the resurrection will cause there to be a real confusion in determining whose husband she really is! Now we’re all supposed to laugh, according to these Sadducees, and conclude that the idea of resurrection is ludicrous. Jesus will dismiss their absurdity handily as we shall see in a moment. But let’s take a moment and consider why the Sadducees disbelieved the resurrection.

Fundamentally, they rejected the resurrection due to the fact that they accepted only the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Now this is somewhat debated among scholars but for our purposes we can surely say that if something was not explicitly in the Law of Moses, they were unlikely to accept it. All the other Old Testament books such as the prophets, the historical books, the psalms, and the wisdom tradition were set aside by them as authoritative sources. They further claimed that, in these first five books, the resurrection of the dead was not taught. Most other Jews of Jesus’ time did accept the complete Old Testament, and teachings such as the resurrection of the dead which are set forth there, but the Sadducees simply did not. They were a small party within Judaism (Josephus said they were able to persuade none but the rich). Nevertheless they were influential due especially to their wealth and to the fact that they predominated among the Temple leadership. You can read more of them here: Sadducees

Hence the Sadducees arrive to poke fun at Jesus and all others who held that the dead would rise. They are no match for Jesus who easily dispatches their arguments. And Jesus uses the Book of Exodus, a book they accept to do it. In effect Jesus argument proceeds as such:

You accept Moses, do you not?
(To which they would surely reply yes)
But Moses teaches that the dead will rise.
(Jesus must have gotten puzzled looks but he presses on).
You accept that God is a God of the living and not the dead?
(To which they would surely reply yes).
Then why does God in Exodus identify himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all of whom have been dead some 400 years? How can he call himself their God if they are dead?
Obviously they are alive, for he could not call himself their God, for he is not a God of the dead but of the living.
So they are alive to God. They are not dead.

Hence Jesus dispatches their view. For us the point is to see how forcefully and clearly Jesus upholds the fact that the dead are alive in the Lord. He powerfully asserts an essential doctrine of the Church and we should rejoice at how firmly Jesus rebukes their disbelief in the resurrection of the dead. Rejoice! For your loved ones are alive before God . To this world they may seem dead, but Jesus tells us firmly and clearly today, they live. Likewise we too, who will face physical death will also live on. Let the world ridicule this, but hear what Jesus says and how he easily dispatches them. Though ridiculed, the resurrection is real.

2. Resplendence of the Resurrection– Jesus also sets aside the silly scenario that the Sadducees advance by teaching in effect that earthly realities cannot simply be projected in to heaven. Marriage scenarios, perceived in earthly ways, cannot be used to understand heavenly realities. The Saints in heaven live beyond earthly categories. Heaven is more than the absence of bad things and more than the accumulation of good things. Heaven is far beyond anything this world can offer. Scripture says, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived — the things God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9). And Again, The sufferings of this world cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom 8:18).

Do you see the majesty of this teaching? We have a glory waiting for us beyond imagining. Consider your greatest pleasure, your happiest experience, your most fulfilled moment. Now multiply them by ten trillion. You are not even close understanding the glory that waits.

And this glory will personally transform us. The Lord once told Catherine of Sienna that if she ever saw the glory of a Saint in heaven she would fall down and worship because she would think she was looking at God. This is our dignity, to be transformed into the very likeness of God and reflect his glory. Earlier this week I recorded an elaboration of Catherine’s vision of the soul of a saint in heaven:

It was so beautiful that she could not look on it; the brightness of that soul dazzled her. Blessed Raymond, her confessor, asked her to describe to him, as far as she was able, the beauty of the soul she had seen. St. Catherine thought of the sweet light of that morning, and of the beautiful colors of the rainbow, but that soul was far more beautiful. She remembered the dazzling beams of the noonday sun, but the light which beamed from that soul was far brighter. She thought of the pure whiteness of the lily and of the fresh snow, but that is only an earthly whiteness. The soul she had seen was bright with the whiteness of Heaven, such as there is not to be found on earth. ” My father,” she answered. “I cannot find anything in this world that can give you the smallest idea of what I have seen. Oh, if you could but see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace, you would sacrifice your life a thousand times for its salvation. I asked the angel who was with me what had made that soul so beautiful, and he answered me, “It is the image and likeness of God in that soul, and the Divine Grace which made it so beautiful.” [1].

Yes, heaven is glorious and we shall be changed. Scripture says we shall be like the Lord for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). Too many people have egocentric notions of heaven where “I” will have a mansion, I will see My relatives, I will play all the golf I want. But the heart of heaven is to be with God for whom our heart longs. In God we will experience fulfillment and peace beyond any earthly thing. There is more to heaven than golf, reunions and mansions, certainly more than clouds and harps. The “more” can never be told for it is beyond words. St Paul speaks of a man (himself) who was caught up into heaven and affirms it cannot be described, it is ineffable, it is unspeakable:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven….And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. (2 cor 12:2-3).

Do you long for heaven? Do you meditate on it? Is there a part of you that can’t wait to get there? There’s an Old Spiritual that says, “I’m gonna ride the Chariot in the mornin’ Lord. I’m getting ready for the judgment say, Mah Lord, Mah Lord! And this leads us to the final point.

3. Response to the Resurrection– What difference does the resurrection make other than to give us joy if we meditate upon it? To see that answer, look to the first reading today, where the seven brothers are willing to accept torture and death. If there is a great reward waiting for those who remain faithful and we see that reward as the greatest thing we have , then we will endure anything to get there. Notice how the vision of heaven spurs them on to reject demands of their persecutors that they deny their faith:

We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors…. You are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying….. the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing (2 Maccabees, 7:2,9, 12)

Only their vision of the rewards waiting for them could motivate them to endure the awful sufferings described in the 7th Chapter of 2nd Maccabees

And what of us? Do we meditate on heaven and value it’s reward enough to be willing to endure suffering to get there? We need a strong vision of heaven to be able to endure and stand fast. Too many today have lost a deep appreciation for heaven. Too many pray to God merely for worldly comforts and rewards. But these will pass. We ought to ask God for a deep desire and drive for heaven and the things waiting for us there. What athlete will discipline his body so severely as they do, without the deep motivation of reward and the satisfaction of meeting goals? What college student attends thousands of hours of school, reads lengthy books and writes lengthy papers if it is not for the pot of gold and career at the end of the trail? Then, who of us will endure the trials of faith if we are not deeply imbued with the vision of glory and deeply desirous of its fulfillment no matter the cost? Without this our moral and spiritual life become tepid and our willingness to endure trials falls away. An old hymn says:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Meditate on heaven often. Although we can never fully grasp its glory here, we ought not let that stop us from imagining what we can. Read Revelation Chapters 4,5, 8, 21 & 22. But above all, ask God for an ever deepening desire for Him and the good things waiting for you in heaven. Look to heaven, long for heaven, desire God and deeply root your life in him. Heaven will not disappoint!

This African American Spiritual says, I’m gonna ride the chariot in the morning Lord! I’m gettin ready for the judgment day, My Lord, My Lord! Are you ready my brother? (Oh yes!) Are you ready for the journey? (Oh Yes!), do you want to see Jesus (Yes, Yes!) I’m waiting for the Chariot ’cause I ready to go. I never can forget that day, (Ride in the chariot to see my Lord), My feet were snatched from the miry clay! (Ride in the chariot to see my Lord!)

November 5, 2010June 10, 2015

You Can’t Have it All – A Meditation on Simplicity

The first video at the bottom of this post is a remarkable portrait of a man who is overwhelmed, simply overwhelmed. He cannot live up to the expectations that are upon him, expectations from himself, and others.

One of the paradoxes of our time is that we have attained to an amazing possession of creature comforts (at least in the West) but, in many ways we have never been so uncomfortable. Stress and worry along with a gnawing dis-satisfaction accompany our high standard of living. The more we have the more worry. In a way, we have “too much to lose” and we want and expect so much that we’re never satisfied. There is a kind of slavery that comes with possessions. If we are not careful our possessions end up possessing us. Further they set loose desires in us that become extreme and difficult to master. In the end our desires expand with each new thing we get. It is like a man who over eats. His stomach stretches and so he must eat more each time to feel full. The Book of Ecclesiastes says,

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless….The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep (Eccles 5:10,12)

The Second video is a Traveller’s Insurance Ad that well depicts how our possessions cause us worry and make us restless. Of course, they claim to have the solution. If you just buy their insurance, all your worries will vanish. Nevertheless it is a cute and poignant ad.

Two videos that well depict our times.

A Source of the Problem – Clearly the sense of being overwhelmed and fearful because we “have too much to lose” are notions that are created in us by some thought or philosophy. I want to propose to you that one of the deepest sources of our stress today comes from the notion that “you can have it all.” That’s right, the house in the suburbs, with cathedral ceilings in the great room, granite counter-tops, wide screen TVs, nice yard, great location, fancy SUVs, well, you know the list. But this is a lie. We cannot have it all. We have to make choices. Life involves trade-offs. Choosing one thing means that we have to say to say “no” to other things. Parents can’t always have double careers, double-incomes AND raise their kids well. Choices have to be made. Fathers can’t always climb the career ladder and still be reasonably present to their wife and children. The big house in the suburbs isn’t always a viable option if it means long commutes, time away from family, high mortgages that require overtime and part time jobs. Buying all the latest electronic gadgets isn’t always wise if we want to set money aside for the children’s education, or for retirement. We simply can’t have it all. We have to decide what is important and make real choices that reflect our priorities.

But as it is we often want too much and right away. We entertain the illusion that we can somehow have it all. This attitude then fuels unrealistic expectations. Not only can I have it all, I should have it all. And if I don’t have have it all then I am either resentful, or worried that I don’t measure up to other people’s unrealistic expectations. The old saying goes, Most of us spend money we don’t have, and buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like. All of this is a recipe for stress, anxiety and anger.

What to do? Decide! Decide what is important to you and build your life around that. It’s going to mean that some other things have to go. If family and raising your kids is your priority, then always accepting the promotion may have to go if it means significantly less time at home. Some people do choose to wholly dedicate themselves to some work or cause. Fine. But think twice about getting married just now and don’t be so irresponsible as to have kids if you’re going to be off chasing your star. You likely can’t have both. As for possessions, simplify. It is far better to live in a smaller house in a less “up and coming” neighborhood and actually know your spouse and kids, than to live in the big house on the hill and have the whole place filled with anger and anxiety about money and you off at work for long hours pleasing the boss so you can get the promotion and actually afford the darn thing. The book of Proverbs says: Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil. Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred (Prov 15:16-17).

In the end, less is more. We want too much. We think we can have it all. Not true, it just distracts and tortures us. Psalm 86:11 says, Make simple my heart, O Lord. Ask the Lord to help you desire what is good and best and then to build your life and priorities around that. You can’t have it all. You have to decide. Life involves trade-offs. We must learn this deeply. Otherwise expect to be overwhelmed and owned by what you claim to possess. A simple heart is a gift to pray for: Simplex fac cor meum Domine! (Make simple my heart O Lord!) Ps 86:11.

Here is a remarkable portrait of modern man: overwhelmed and anxious, fearful that he does not measure up to the unrealistic expectations of the world. And yet he seems unable to decide what is really important.

And here is a cute but poignant video about how our wealth affords us no rest.