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I had the opportunity to have dinner a few weeks ago with some friends I haven’t seen in a long time. Among them were two men who made a tremendous difference in my life as mentors and teachers, back when I was in high school and college. I was so glad I had the opportunity to express to them my gratitude for a gift that ultimately knows no bounds, and has a value beyond estimation. Theirs was the gift of teaching, mentoring, giving an example of Christian manhood, and drawing from me gifts I did not know I had.

Scripture says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6). And I want to say that, to a large degree, I have seen that happen for me. And as I look back over my life, and I think things over, I can truly say that I was blessed with strong men who guided me in the right way. Both of them had their own wife and children, but they were like fathers and mentors to me too.

High School and college were not easy years for me. I had a rebellious streak, as do many young men of that age. And frankly, I was having a tough time with my own father, again, as most young men do. It was during this time that Col. Leonard Loomis (United States Army) encouraged me to join the High School Choir he was organizing in the parish I attended. Not being able to sing well, I balked at the notion but he assured me that a good number of very pretty girls had already signed up, and that sealed the deal, I was in. At that same time I also met Col. Wayne Kastl (United States Air Force) who was the organist and accompanist for the choir. And thus began a journey for me that would ultimately lead to the priesthood.

I was these two men, along with my Father and also my track coach (who I will mention more specifically in a moment) who ultimately summoned me to manhood. Theirs were the lessons of discipline, responsibility, confidence, meeting challenges, facing down fears, and stepping up and out into life. These were men who called gifts out of me that I never knew I had. In the span of the five years I knew them, I discovered not only musical abilities, but also leadership, and even my own faith.

I cannot say to you that when I joined the choir I even believed in God. I was in something of an angry, agnostic phase, questioning everything, and only going to Church because my mother made me. But through music and witness, a door I had shut, eased opened. Cols. Loomis and Kastl did not only teach music they spoke of the faith that underlay what we sang. And they spoke as men. That was important to me since I had come to see spirituality as a sissified thing (frankly, a lot of it was in the early 1970s, if you ask me). But they modeled Christian manhood in a way that I, a young man could aspire to. And as I learned to trust them, I started to listen. Their words and the power of the music working with God’s grace gradually curbed my anger and clarified my doubts.

They also summoned me and the other members of the choir to discover our gifts and to learn about leadership. Soon enough that had me doing some cantoring. I remember how terrified I was at first, but there’s just something about two military colonels designating a young man leader and telling me I could do it. So I did and eventually mastered it.

In those years, inspired by Col Kastl, I also learned to play the organ and Col. Loomis taught me how to tune and repair the pipe organ. I got good enough that a local pipe organ builder offered me a job which I had for two summers. I would also go on in later years to be the organist at the seminary I attended.

Leadership and a path the priesthood took a leap forward when I was appointed director of the choir. Col. Loomis had been transferred and I, by that time in college, was asked to take the lead. Again, I was terrified but I was assured by two men that I was ready. Col Kastl really saw me through in the early years of directing and we had long talks on the faith and the Church. Here too he led me by stages to ever greater challenges, and my first experiences of real leadership. It was good to have a strong and steady presence gently urging me on. I had gone from a rebellious, agnostic, and angry teenager to a more faith-filled and steady young man by stages under the care of some very good and solid men.

I am also most grateful to my Track and Cross country Coach Paul Syzmonski. He too, helped summon me to manhood. Sports have a way of testing you. And as every good coach, he demanded discipline, dedication, and determination. And he modeled all those as well. He ran with us every day and was able to combine humor with serious and sober instruction. He was a friend, but always in a proper way that never surrendered his role as teacher and elder. He expected the best from us, and was willing to rebuke us when we needed it, but always added praise for what we did well.

His nick-name for me was gutbustius clenchfistae (that’s “pig” Latin for the fact that I ran with an often pained look on my face, looking like I was about to bust a gut).

Some of those ten mile runs in the heat of the summer were quite the test, but Mr Syzmonski never sent us on a run he wasn’t willing to make, and he often boasted he would outrun us all. The challenge laid out, we hit the trail and some of us got good enough to beat him. Under his leadership I lettered in track for three years and was made captain of the Cross Country Team. My best time in the mile was 4:44; not record setting, but not bad for the scrawny teenager I was.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

I am grateful for these men who made such a difference in my life. My father too, though I was often stubborn with him, pointed the way.

If you’re raising children, don’t give up, don’t despair, and certainly don’t stop insisting or challenging. There were times in my teenage years when, if you saw me, you’d wonder how I ever got to be a priest. It did not look so good for a while, or  that I’d amount to anything. But God sent men like these, and many others beside. And though I often balked, and was slow to learn, though I made mistakes, and did not always follow the sound advice I was given, I actually was listening. And, having been trained up in a godly way, I have not turned from it now that I am old(er).

Thank you Lord for these good men. Thank you for all those who showed me the way. Help me to do the same for others. And when I get discouraged Lord, help me remember that these men did not give up on me, and neither should I give up on those you send me. Thank you Lord. Thank you!

Photos:

Bottom Right: Me (center photo) running so as to win.
Middle Left: Me as Organist at Seminary (looking very serious).
Top Right: Me, all grown up, exhorting youth at the rally for life, trying to return the favor and lessons.

Here’s an inspirational video about the next generation, (if we train em up).

Fr. William Byrne of the Archdiocese of washington has written an official response of the Archdiocese to questions raised in the recent case of a local priest who denided Communion to a congregant at a funeral. Read Fr. Byrne’s article here:

Official response of the Archdiocese

One of the great illusions under which we labor is, that if we just get one more thing from this world, then we will be happy. Perhaps we think that if we just had a little more money, or a better job, or the latest iPad, or if we were married to so and so, or if we just lived in a better neighborhood….then we would be satisfied and content, at last. But “at last” never comes, even if we do get some of the things on our list. As Ecclesiastes puts it: The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing (Ecc 1:8). Or again, Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income (Ecc. 5:8).

Though we know this, somehow we continue to buy into the lie, again and again, that just one more thing will do it. So we lay out the money, and spend the time, and the delight lasts twenty minutes, max. The world just can’t close the deal.

There is a little preacher’s parable that illustrates the endless treadmill the world has us on, and how it endlessly seduces us for “just one more thing.” In the end this seduction leads us to neglect the one thing most necessary. Here is the parable, then some commentary:

There was a man who was lonely and thought, perhaps, that buying pet would help his loneliness. At the pet store he looked at many animals, and found himself drawn to one in particular. The sign over the cage said, “Talking Parrot: Guaranteed to talk!” This will surely solve my problem,” thought the man,” For here is an animal that can even talk!”

“That’ll be $250,” said the merchant.

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and talk?”
“Ladder?” You didn’t tell me about a ladder!”
“Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot still isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and look in the mirror and talk?”
“Mirror?” You didn’t tell me about a Mirror!”
“Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot still isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and look in the mirror, peck the bell and talk?”
“Bell?” You didn’t tell me about a Bell!”
“Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot still isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and look in the mirror, peck the bell, Jump on the swing and talk?”
“Swing?” You didn’t tell me about a Swing!”
“Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man came to the shop and the merchant asked, “How’s the Parrot?”
“He’s dead!” said the man.
“Dead?!” said the Merchant…Did he ever talk before he died?”
“Yes! He finally talked” said the man.
“Well, what did he say?”
“He said, ‘Don’t they sell any birdseed at that store?'”

Lesson 1: Promises, Promises – And thus this parable teaches us in a humorous kind of way that the world, and the “prince of this world” are always promising results, yet when those results are lacking, the practice is simply to demand more of the same. The bird, the ladder, the bell, the mirror, the swing…. Always something more, and then the perfect result will surely come! This is a lie. The lie comes in many forms: just one more accessory, just go from the free to the paid version, the upgrade solves the difficulty, just one more drink, one more failed diet, a newer car, a bigger house, a face lift, bariatric surgery, just one more thing…then you’ll make it, happiness is just past the next purchase.

Jesus, in speaking the woman at the well said of the water of that well (which represents the world),  Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again (Jn 4:13). And that is the sober truth about this world, it cannot finally quench our thirst, which is a thirst for God and heaven. But time and time again we go back to the world and listen to the same lie, thinking, this time it will be different.

Surely it is sensible that we make use of the things of this world, insofar as they aid us to accomplish our basic duties. But they are not the answer to our deeper needs. The big lie is that they are the answer. And when they fail, the lie just gets bigger by declaring that a little more of the failed product will surely close the deal. It’s a big, and bigger lie.

Lesson 2: The One thing Most Necessary – In all the pursuit of the mirrors, bells and ladders, the one thing most necessary was neglected: the food. Here too for us. We seek to accumulate worldly toys and trinkets that are passing away, and neglect eternal and lasting realities. There is time for TV, sports, gossip, shopping, you name it. But prayer, Scripture, Sacraments, Liturgy, worship, and developing any kind of relationship with the Lord,  is most often neglected or wholly forgotten in our pursuit of mirrors, bells and ladders. We are staring into the mirror focused so much on our self. The bells of this world summon us to endless things, mostly trivial in the long run, and we are climbing the ladder of success with little care as to what wall it is leaning against.

And all of these less important matters divert us from the one thing necessary: which is to feed our souls on the Lord: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him…the one who feeds on me will live because of me... (Jn 6:56-58).

Ah, but no time for all that….getting to Church, praying, receiving communion….? No time! For, I hear a bell summoning me to just one more diversion, one more meeting, I am too busy climbing the ladder of success, and looking at myself in a mirror to make sure I fit in, and that everyone likes me.

Did [the bird] ever talk before he died?”
“Yes! He finally talked” said the man.
“Well, what did he say?”
“He said, ‘Don’t they sell any birdseed at that store?”

Just a little parable on the lies of the devil and the false promises of this world.

Written by Br.  Gabriel Torretta, OP

The world tears us in a thousand different directions, and gives us a million different opinions about every subject, most of which contradict. Marketing, newspapers, blogs, and the like churn out a constant stream of facts and emotions that can be hard to make sense of, and even harder to sort by importance: Is Caribou Coffee better than Starbucks? Is global warming real? Is Facebook’s new look better than the old one? Is faith really opposed to reason? Does my mom want a Kindle or a Nook for Christmas? Should I marry my girlfriend? How can we answer any of these questions?

There is a solution to all this chaos in a surprising place: the sixth beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The pure of heart are those whose lives are totally integrated, who live with one goal in mind: God. The pure of heart see God in every person and in every deed, no matter how small; St. Therese of Lisieux spoke about how she wanted to praise God when she picked up a pin.

Advent is especially a time to pray for purity of heart, because in this season we prepare for the coming of Jesus, the Word of God, in whom God says everything there is to say about himself. Jesus is the Truth—not part of the truth, not one truth among many, but the Truth. The welter of the world’s questions finds its answer in the Truth, in Jesus Christ.

To the pure, the infinite good and bad questions of the world are only interesting insofar as they show us the face of God, in whatever surprising or familiar way. Sometimes the truth about a question is that it doesn’t matter much, even when it feels like it does; at other times, the issue might matter a lot, even when it feels trivial. Jesus’ invitation to purity of heart is the invitation to see the world around us with God’s eyes, and to trust him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Today’s meditation: Give God all your desires. Ask him to purify your mind, so that you might desire everything for his sake.

Written by Br.  Gabriel Torretta, OP

Mercy is a funny thing. We all expect other people to show us mercy, but only rarely do we think other people are right to expect us to show them mercy. If someone cuts me off in traffic, I’m likely to scream and curse; if I cut someone else off, I get angry at him for honking at me—he should have known I didn’t do it maliciously. We are generally convinced that our own good intentions are so obvious that everyone should be able to see them, but other people can’t be trusted with so much confidence.

The fifth beatitude teaches us how to escape the selfish trap of one-way mercy: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Jesus isn’t turning mercy into a spiritual brokerage deal—you give me thirty units of mercy and I give you thirty back. Rather, he’s pointing to the core meaning of mercy. Mercy means love for the other—not stinting, begrudging, or partial love, but love in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing.

When we ask for mercy, we are asking to be treated according to what is most deeply true about us: that we are children of God. Mercy does not mean overlooking injustice or turning a blind eye to sin; it means loving the other enough to desire his highest good, to treat him as a son of God. This love is from God, drawing the other out of himself, and simultaneously drawing us out of ourselves. When we show mercy, we receive it because God loves through our love.

Advent is the season of mercy. Each of us is marred by sin, each of us has turned away from God’s love to his own selfish desires, each of us has tried to live by his own strength. Yet in his love God did not demand that we mend our ways before he saved us; he sent his Son to us because he loves us and wants to bring us back to himself. We look forward to the day when his Son will come again, bringing the sons and daughters of God to the kingdom of mercy in heaven.

Today’s meditation: Reflect on the mercy God shows us in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Ask him to increase your devotion to those sacraments.