Category: Culture

Posted on

Death to Doomsday!

I guess I’ve grown a bit weary about all the Doomsday stuff that seems to dominates certain channels on cable. In particular I refer to the Science Channel, the History Channel, and National Geographic Channel. At one time I found those channels very valuable in the informational programming they provided. But, about a year ago I just stopped watching them because it seemed to me that they had gone over to an all doomsday all the time line up. Flip to one of them and you’ll inevitably find a program about the asteroid that is overdue to flatten our world and snuff out life as we know it. If not that its the comet that is also overdue. If it is not that it would seem that Yellowstone National Park is actually a giant caldera and every now and then it blows up and devastates everything in sight plunging the planet into a volcanic winter. Did I mention that it is overdue to blow up? There is also a major landslide that is likely to occur on the African coastline and when it lets loose it will send a Tsunami 80 feet high that will devastate  the whole east coast of the USA. Did I mention it is overdue to let loose? And then there is Global Warming which, even if it is true doesn’t seem to be a disaster, (the planet has been a lot warmer in the past and we’ve survived). But according to the presentations we are headed for catastrophe. Did I mention that this catastrophe is imminent?

Other shows are now appearing on these channels that warn of the year 2012. Apparently a Mayan calendar  runs out on Dec 21, 2012 and this will usher in a great destruction of the world as we know it. You can read of this latest silliness here: 2012!  The site even has a ticking clock so you can remember to pack your bags. Expect this silliness to increase to hideous levels as Christmas 2012 draws nearer. Some are now backing off and just saying the world will transition to some new stage rather than be destroyed. Did I mention that 2012 is imminent?

Finally, these same channels also feature Nostradamus specualtors who claim his prophecies are “running out” There is also a list of Popes that an Irish priest named Malachy put togther many centuries ago. Well guess what,  we’re at the last (or the second to last Pope) on the list and then it runs out! Doomsday follows. Did I mention that Pope Benedict is 82?

So after a steady diet of this stuff on those channels I largely tuned out. But I remain puzzled as to our fascination with doomsday scenarios. Apparently this stuff sells because these channels put it out in large doses. They may have lost me for a viewer but obviously they’ve gained others who eat the stuff up.

So what’s this reflection doing on a Catholic blog? Well, cultural observations are part of what this blog is about. Doomsday is a major preoccupation and fascination with this culture of ours and I’d like to make a few observations of how this interacts with faith.

  • When the Church cast something off the world usually picks it up – Some years ago it was common in most Churches to hear of the day of judgment and the second coming of Chirst. That day would be a day of fiery  judgement when the wicked would render an account and the just be gathered in. The basic message was, “better get ready! Repent now.” But some decades ago such sermons ceased. They were replaced by the “Jesus loves you” sermons and endless reassurances all that fire and brimstone stuff was not for us. True enough, Jesus loves us, but the same Gospels that tell us that also speak of judgement. (More on that in another blog). But with the Church (inappropriately) casting  this fiery preaching aside the world seems to have taken up the theme. So the evidence seems to be that people “need” this sort of  doomsday talk at least from time to time. It seems necessary to our psyche that powerful reminders of death and judgment be present, perhaps to prepare us for what is inevitably in our future: death and judgment.
  • Kooky! Now this doesn’t change the fact that there is a kooky side to all this when it is taken too far. We are all familiar with the crazy guy on the street corner waving a Bible and warning of the end. His message is not untrue but HE seems a bit unbalanced, doesn’t look to have bathed or shaved in a long time etc.  And then there is rather odd little “Left Behind” series wherein the authors attempt a literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation which comes off as a bit silly and contrived in places.
  • So what then is the conclusion? The Church has a duty to preach eschatology (end times theology). Her preaching of this important subject should be sober but clear. The world as we know it is passing away. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, either as individuals or collectively. We ought to live reverently and be prepared to meet Christ who may come at an hour that we least expect. We should be serious about our spiritual life and setting our house in order. Wild speculations are not called for however since Christ was plain when he said we would know neither the day nor the hour. Consistent readiness is what is called for. But what happens when the Church fails in her duty to speak to this expectancy in the human soul? Well, what happens is all the kooky and crazy stuff above. Without solid and well balanced preaching about eschatology the world descends into a frenzied speculation like we see on the channels I mentioned and in some of the more bizarre end times stuff out on the fringes of fundamentalism. That people are hungry for eschatological (end times) data seems clear and part of the human psyche. This hunger was probably put there by God. But if we are not fed the true food of children we run off to junk food and silly speculations. In mid November through Advent the Church’s lectionary turns to eschatology. I will acquit my duty to teach the solid food of Church teaching on this blog during that time.

Who knows? maybe I will get hit by an asteroid. I might also get hit by a bus. Point is,  be ready. Tomorrow is not promised. Give your life to God, entrust yourself to his care and be not anxious. Death to doomsday! Become alive in Christ and death will have no power over you!

Posted on

Pondering Pithy Sayings

I have a love/hate relationship with slogans, philosophies of life, and pithy sayings. At one level I like the way they make me think. They sort of reduce all the complicated ways we think of things to a simple thought or insight. It’s good for a moment to cut through all the noise and consider “just one thing.” But that’s also my problem with these things. In reducing everything to one thing we lose the essential nuances and the sophistication that accept that not everything fits into a nice little saying.

For example, consider the saying “All things in moderation!” Well yes, moderation is a good thing most of the time. But there is also a time to throw moderation to the winds and become passionate about things. There is a time to fight (or celebrate) with gusto. Maybe its a fight for justice, or maybe we’re called to sell everything for the “pearl of great price.” So all right, “All things in moderation,… including moderation!” Anyway I hope you get the point about sayings and slogans: enjoy with caution and careful consideration.

The following video contains a very good collection of “philosophies of life.” Many of them I have never seen before and some of them are quite good. But remember, like analogies, many of the things said in them are as untrue as they are true. Consider them as a way to make you think: what is true about this saying? What is untrue? What distinctions are necessary, especially for a Christian? So think. But don’t think so hard that you fail to enjoy. Take what you like, take what is true and leave the rest.

Posted on

Some of God’s Gifts Come in Strange Packages

My mother loved to put gifts in strange packages. One Christmas I eagerly tore off the wrapping of a fairly  heavy package (heavy packages usually meant something good!). To my disappointment I discovered that it was a box of Glad Trash Bags. Well, I guess I could use this but I was disappointed to say the least. She knew I was disappointed but smiled and said, “Open the box!”  I noticed a little of the package had already been slightly opened and yet I said, “Mom why open this now, I’ll use them later.” “Open it,” she said. So did and inside was a check for $100.  Over the years she often found strange packages to hide gifts, an old shoe box, a box of No. 2 Pencils, a package of underwear. “Gee thanks, Mom.”  “Open it!” And there were two $50 bills. So I learned that sometimes good gifts come in strange packages.

God is that way too. Some of God’s gifts come in strange packages. Hidden within some of the crosses we’ve been asked to carry are some precious treasures. Maybe we learned that we were stronger than we thought. Maybe our weakness taught us to trust and ask for help. Maybe the loss of a job opened new doors and launched new vistas. Maybe a troublesome person taught us patience and humility. Maybe an enemy helped us to see something in us that needed to change. Maybe injustice taught us to fight for what was right and that we were not truly alive until we found something for which we were willing to die. The cross is a paradox, a gift in a strange package.

I suppose we’ve all thought of the ideal circumstances we’d like to live in. Surely there would be reasonable affluence, comfort and beauty. It was no different as a priest. I wanted a beautiful Church, no debt, in a “nice” neighborhood etc. And yet my first assignment as pastor took me to the poorest neighborhood in the city with the highest crime rate. I remember the first day I went to look the place over. I drove onto the parking lot and there was a car on fire. I looked around and people were walking up and down the sidewalks as if nothing were amiss. I ran to the rectory door quite anxious. When the door opened I nervously pointed to the burning car and the staff person within said, “Oh, not again! OK come on in I guess I’ll go ahead and call the fire department.” In order to enter I had to pass through two sets of bars.  Ah but I loved my time at St. Thomas More Parish. It was a wonderful Parish, wonderful people, wonderful experiences. And I cried copious tears seven years later when I was asked to take another assignment (where I am also quite happy). But you never know as you open the strange packages God gives you what gifts are within. God can make a way out of no way and write straight with crooked lines. That burning car on a church parking lot was really for me like the burning bush that Moses saw on the mountain assuring him (me) of God’s blessings. It didn’t seem so at the time but years later I understood: Some of God’s greatest blessings come in strange packages.

This video prompted the reflection above. When I saw it I didn’t expect to be too impressed. It was just supposed to be a kid playing an accordion. I didn’t expect much, just the usual reedy sound and some missed notes. I had no idea what I was about to see. I NEVER knew an accordion could be made to sound like this nor did I expect to see such virtuosity. This young man has extraordinary talent. One of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the Presto from “Summer”  on accordion! yes, an accordion! Sometimes gifts come in strange packages!

Posted on

A Letter from the Archbishop

0508-db07e6a126cf Today, in conjunction with the response of the Archdiocese in opposition to Same-Sex Marriage Archbishop Wuerl also issued a Pastoral Message for Homosexual Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington. You can read the whole message by clicking on the title highlighted in color in the previous sentence. Here are a few excerpts:

Of the many teachings of the Catholic Church, perhaps some of the most challenging for Catholics in today’s culture involve human sexuality, including homosexuality. Modern cultural pressures and assumptions are often at odds with the teachings of Christ handed down through the centuries. For some parishioners the issues are deeply personal. Living out the Church’s teaching can be a difficult challenge. Yet, no one needs to do this separated from the grace and love of the Church.

It is important to affirm that the Catholic Church is and always will be welcoming of any person who seeks who seeks a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ….The Catechism of the Catholic Church  upholds the human dignity of every person and condemns any form of unjust discrimination (2358).

After setting forth the Scriptural foundations of Catholic teaching and our opposition to same-sex marriage the Archbishop goes on to express his pastoral concern and prayers.

Posted on

Street Cred on Healthcare

So many voices, so much disagreement, so many dollar signs, it’s pretty hard to stay engaged in the healthcare debate, yet we know it is really important—that it will make a difference in the lives of the people we love. You may be trying to figure out what questions are most important and what answers can be trusted.  I suggest you turn to the Catholic Church for answers—we are one of the largest health care providers in the United States

Street Cred

 We are a credible voice and a significant player in the debate. Where does our experience come from?

–624 Catholic Hospitals

–499 Catholic Long-Term Care Nursing facilities

–164 Home Health Associations

–41 Hospice Organizations

 In our facilities and through our healthcare professionals we have responded to:

–More than 16.9 million emergency room visits

— More than 92.7 million outpatient visits

— 5,542,314 admissions

 As an institution we are involved in all aspects of healthcare. As an employer we pay salaries and providing coverage. As a provider we stretch resources to meet needs. As a servant of the Gospel we respond to all those who come through our doors, always protecting the dignity of human life in all of its stages.

 Stay Informed and get involved – Make a difference!

 It’s important we participate in the debate and let our voice be heard.  It is an example where the voice of the Church has so much to offer the world—to be messengers of good news. To stay engaged in the debate, bookmark http://www.usccb.org.  (the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ website) and http://www.mdcathcon.org/(The Maryland Catholic Conference). Both of these organizations have professional lobbyists who follow the debate, read the fine print of the legislation, and reflect on it in light of the great tradition of Catholic social teaching. They are working hard to ensure that the healthcare reform legislation reflects a truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity providing access for all with a special concern for the poor and inclusion of legal immigrants. They advocate for the pursuit of the common good and preserving pluralism which includes freedom of conscience and variety of options restraining costs and applying them equitably across the spectrum of payers

If you think about it, from the time of Christ, it has been the mission of the Church to share in the healing ministry of Jesus, in a spiritual way through the sacraments and in a temporal way through active participation in healthcare, we bring to the table 2,000 years of healing the spirit, mind and body.

You can make a difference.  Click on and get involved.

Posted on

Altering Anthropocentric Attitudes

“Anthropocentric? What’s that?!”  you say. It is a word that means “man is at the center”  and its one of the chief problems we have in our understanding of masses and other liturgies in modern times. It seems that our general preoccupation is with what we human beings are doing and far less on God, the worship of God and what God is doing. I pray you my reader might be an exception to this modern tendency but I suppose we all struggle with it to some extent. Take some of the following examples as illustrations:

  1. I often hear people say they don’t go to Church because they don’t “get anything out of it.” Perhaps they are looking for improved preaching, better choirs, or more fellowship. Now all these are things worth striving for in the Church. Our liturgies should be well planned, joyful, with powerful preaching and fine music. So lets all agree that this should be worked at. But the truth is none of this should be the main or only reason we go to Church. Going to Church on Sunday is not about you, it is not about me. We go to Church because God is worthy. He is worthy of our praise, our time, our tithe, our worship. The worship of God is the central purpose of of the Mass and every liturgy not the entertainment of human beings. Yet we so easily think of ourselves and our comfort more than God. Mass should be “convenient, short and always suited to my taste” as so many think, almost as though it were all about me. And so we have an anthropocentric (man centered) attitude often on display. How about we all agree to work on high quality liturgies but lets also agree that the focus is on God, not on us and only what we want and how great or not so great we are. How about agreeing that the we go to Mass because God is worthy not simply because we get something out of it. An old Gospel hymn says, “Just forget about yourself and concentrate on Him (God) and worship him!”  I have found that when I have taken this view, I have gotten a lot more “out of it.”
  2. Weddings are often another time where God seems quite forgotten. As the wedding party files up the aisle cell phone cameras are flashing away, people step into the aisle trying to get the shot. The bride and her bridesmaids are the focus. Now, I’m all for appreciating feminine beauty, believe me. But once the Bride and Groom are up the aisle and the music stops I find it necessary to refocus the congregation. To remind them that we are here to worship God, pray for the couple and witness a great work of God called the sacrament matrimony. I ask that all the cell phone cameras be put away remind them that a professional photographer has been hired and then call the congregation to silent prayer with heads bowed. Only after 30 seconds of silence do I sing the opening prayer. Further instructions are necessary to encourage the faithful to listen carefully as God speaks a Word to them in the readings. More silent prayer after the homily and then a request that the congregation pray deeply as they witness the vows and glorify God in their hearts. Without these clear instructions the whole thing too easily becomes about the dresses, the various personalities, anything or anyone but God, in a word, anthropocentric. We can surely be joyful for the happy couple but how about a few accolades for God who pulled the whole thing off?
  3. Funerals too can become too anthropocentric. The first purpose of a funeral Mass is to worship God and to give thanks for having given us the gift of the life of the now deceased loved one. We also gather to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased as they go to judgement. We can trust God’s mercy but we ought to be quite prayerful for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ and render an account (Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10). Seems like a good time to pray for the deceased. Now pray is not the same as “praise.” Here too many funeral Masses and funeral tributes focus too much on what a great guy Joe was and how he loved the Redskins and loved to tell jokes etc. Some remarks about Joe’s faith and how God worked in his life may be appropriate but the fundamental purpose of the funeral Mass is to worship God and beseech his mercy for Joe and for all of us who will one day die too and have to render an account. No amount of joke telling, and being a great guy is enough to purchase salvation. No human achievement can ever the pay the price. It’s only Jesus who gives any hope at the funeral that Joe or any of us even stand a chance. We ought to worship God and thank him for his mercy and grace at every funeral and recommit ourselves to Jesus.

Well, hopefully I’ve made my point. Like most things liturgical I’ll bet you have a few points of your own and I hope you’ll share them. I hope you don’t think I was being too harsh, I actually mean a lot of this in good humor. There’s something a bit funny about the way we think things revolve around us and how easily forgetful we can be about God. Our culture surely doesn’t help us put God first and so it is easy for us to slip into a kind of anthropocentrism in a culture that almost never mentions God and which constantly tells us that we have a right to have everything our way. Simply being conscious of the tendency can help us name the demon and thus alter our anthropocentric attitudes.

In this video, newly ordained Archishop Augustine DiNoia avoids the usual modern tendency to go on at great length about all the worderful people who made the liturgy and the day possible. Instead, he focuses on praising God. And to the degree that he mentions people it is always in reference to how God has worked through them and prayers that He will continue to do so. The video is is only 3 minutes but if you listen to nothing else, listen to the first line. He is not insensitive but it is clear he will not take the focus off God for any reason.

Posted on

Fasting for the Unborn and the Planet

footOne of the main themes in the documentary No Impact Man (which I referred to in an earlier post) is the family’s daily struggle to give up the things they are used to, do away with the luxuries, and do without the conveniences.

That got me thinking about what I could fast from during 40 Days for Life (forty days of peaceful prayer and fasting to end abortion). At the time I saw the film, I hadn’t yet decided what to fast from, but this movie gave me so many great ideas. Buying new clothes? Beef? Individually packaged treats? My car?

One thing that impressed me was that the man and his wife decided to conserve electricity by no longer using elevators. Picture walking up nine flights of stairs with three bags of groceries and a toddler, and you get the idea. So I decided that I too would refrain from using elevators for the next forty days, if not beyond.

My trip to the tenth floor is certainly strenuous, but with each step I can pray for a mother who is considering ending her child’s life by abortion and I can also feel good knowing that I’m not draining electricity from the grid. If you’d like to fast or do something that is both spiritually powerful and eco-friendly, follow the link for more ideas from the No Impact Man blog.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14

Posted on

Joy is from God

There is something deeply mysterious about joy. It is deeper than mere laughter, it is more than an emotion. Joy seems to combine both serenity and excitement along with a touch of humor or laughter. It seems to come as pure gift, emerging sometimes in an instant, sometimes as a gentle tide welling up. Perhaps its context is good news, or a humorous moment, Perhaps it exists with the satisfaction of a completed task or a reunion after an absence. It does not seem to be a learned response at all. It just is, it’s just there! Even the youngest infants show joy. It comes with the soul and is there from the start.

What is joy? It is the gift of God. We can only receive it, not cause it. It is gift.

I know that, in places, the Scriptures seem to command joy as though we could cause it. But notice those same Scriptures put that command in a context. For example, we are to not to “joy” but  to “rejoice.” That is, we are to recall and revisit the joy the Lord has given us. Elsewhere the Scriptures say “Be joyful” but then add “in the Lord.” For joy is of God and comes from him.

Joy is an unmistakable foretaste of heaven. It leaps down from heaven and draws us up there for a time. For the Christian, joy should grow as we journey ever closer to that place where “joys will never end.”

Joy to you as you watch this remarkable video and glimpse the joy of God on infant faces:

  • Ex ore infantium, Deus, perfecisti laudem
  • (From the mouths of infants you have perfected praise O God)
  • Psalm 8:3