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On Mission in Argentina

Laura Ferstl asked me to post this blog from the mission trip that the Officeof Missions and the Office of Young Adult Ministry is sponsoring. Laura wrote this morning from the city of San Rafael in the Mendoza province of Argentina. I am here for a second year in a row as part of the Annual Young Adult Mission Trip which is a collaboration between the Archdiocesan Office of Young Adult Ministry and the Pontifical Missions Office.

 

We are here to serve in the “City of Charity” run by the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word. The City of Charity began in the early 1990s thanks to the dedication of Father Carlos Miguel Buela (the founder of the Institute) and Father Raul Harriague. Currently, it is comprised of five homes for children, teenaged boys, teenaged girls, mental and physically handicapped men, and mentally and physically handicapped women. They have come to the homes because of abuse, abandonment, broken families, or economic hardship. More than just housing, food, and education, they receive the love of the priests, sisters, and volunteers who make up this Religious Family.

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:37-40

At the close of each day, the missionaries have been sharing with each other where we saw the face of Christ that day. I want to share a few of our reflections to give you a taste of the blessings we´ve experienced so far.

We´ve seen the face of Christ in the priest who, with the gift of his paternal instinct, feeds a mentally handicapped man in his forties who can´t feed himself while lovingly speaking with a younger mentally handicapped boy who has just had a fit, inviting him to behave better.

We´ve seen the face of Christ in the 12-year-old boy who was both malnourished and starved for physical touch when he was younger and constantly hugs us, holds our hands, sits close to us or on our laps, and invites us to love him selflessly.

We´ve seen the face of Christ in the sister who sits quietly with a physically handicapped man in a wheeled chair, swatting away the flies that land on his face since he can´t do it himself.

We´ve seen the face of Christ in the young boy who, as we paint the cement walls of the dining room, enthusiastically pays us a compliment just when we need it.

We´ve seen the face of Christ in the mentally and physically handicapped middle-aged woman who comes to greet us with a kiss leaving a trail of saliva, and in whose eyes we can see a perfect soul.

We´ve seen the face of Christ in one of our fellow missionaries whose face lights up each time the curious little girls come by to say hello, making known to them that they are loved.

And we´ve seen the face of Christ in His beautiful creation here in Argentina: the summertime flowers, the vineyards, the mountains, the streams and rivers, the animals, and the clear blue sky.

We are half way through our time here, and I am sure that Christ will continue to be present to us each day. Please pray for the fruits of this mission trip! God bless!

 

 

　

 

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Vive la différence – Discovering, Accepting and Appreciating that Men and Women are Different

Early in the pages of Scripture God decreed that It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable helpmate for him (Gen 2:18). And God made woman. Now the fact is that a woman is VERY different from a man. The physical differences are obvious but these physical differences arise from important differences in the soul. It is the soul that is the form of the body and the qualities of the male and female soul give rise to physical differences. I know that this is politically incorrect today, but it is true. It is a common modern error to be dismissive of the profound differences between the sexes. No one can deny the physical differences but they are dismissed as surface only, of no real significance. But the truth is that our bodies are expressions of the faculties of our soul and male and female differences are far more than skin deep.

It remains true that these differences often give rise to tensions in the marriage and the overall relationships between men and women. That men and women perceive differently, think differently, and have different emotional experiences is just a fact and it is always healthy to recognize and  accept reality. Too often in the modern age there has been a tendency to dismiss these deep differences as just archetypes of bygone “sexist” era. But what ends up happening is that an expectation is created that these differences will just go away when we decide to ignore them or pretend they don’t exist. But guess what , they don’t. And thus resentments and anger follow. Too many marriages end in power struggles because neither spouse can accept that it was not good for them to be alone and that God gave them a spouse who, by design, is very different so that they could be challenged and completed.

It is true, Original sin has intensified our pain at the experience of these given differences. The Catechism links the tension surrounding these difference to the Fall of Adam and Eve:

[The] union [of husband and wife] has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation. This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely, and can be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character. According to faith the disorder we notice so painfully does not stem from the nature of man and woman, nor from the nature of their relations, but from sin. As a break with God, the first sin had for its first consequence the rupture of the original communion between man and woman. Their relations were distorted by mutual recriminations;their mutual attraction, the Creator’s own gift, changed into a relationship of domination and lust; and the beautiful vocation of man and woman to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth was burdened by the pain of childbirth and the toil of work. Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed. To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the grace that God in his infinite mercy never refuses them. Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them “in the beginning.”  (CCC #s 1606-1608)

In the end, it seems clear that we need to return to an appreciation of the necessity of our differences. Though our differences can be be intensified by sin, it is a fact that God made us different for a reason. These differences help spouses to complete each other. A husband should say, “My wife has some things important to teach me. I am incomplete without her.”  Likewise the wife should be able  to say that her husband has important things to teach her and that he somehow completes her. In this way we move beyond power struggles and what is right and wrong in every case and learn to experience that some tension is good. No tension, no change. God intends many of these differences to change and complete spouses. God calls the very difference humans he has made “suitable” partners.

And humor never hurts. Here is a wonderful and funny comedy routine about the differences between a man’s brain and a woman’s brain. Humor is often the best of medicines to defuse some of the tensions that arise from our differences.  Vive la difference!

(By the way, as with any humor,  stereotypes are used a bit here. But things are usually funny because they ring true. It is also a fact that not every individual man or woman has every trait described here (for example, I don’t have a very big “nothing box”) but enjoy this video for the humorous descriptions of the general situation).

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Mary, Mother of God

Today at Mass, the prelude was a hymn that I had never heard before but found to be quite beautiful. It is helping me to understand what Luke meant when he wrote “and Mary pondered all of these things in her heart.” It also seems to capture in song the mysteries of the Rosary.

An audio recording of the song can be heard here The Very First Blessing that Mary Had. It is sung by Candace Carraway on the Album Three Log Night.

Here are the words to The Blessings of Mary:

The very first blessing that Mary had, it was the blessing on one: To think that her Son, Jesus, could live a father’s son; could live a father’s son; like Emmanuel in glory, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, through all eternity.

The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of two: To think that her Son, Jesus, could read the Scriptures through like Emmanuel in glory, Father Son and the Holy Ghost, through all eternity.

The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of three: To think that her Son, Jesus, could set the sinner free; could set the sinner free like Emmanuel in glory, Father Son and Holy Ghost through all eternity.

The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of four: To think that her Son, Jesus, could live for evermore.

The very next blessing that Mary had, it was the blessing of five: To think that her Son, Jesus could bring the dead alive.

*******

I pray that under the patronage of Mary our Mother, that the new year be full of grace for you.

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Jesus is the reason for ANOTHER season – New Years!

How remarkable is it that one man could affect the world so much that our entire calendar system is based on his life and ministry?

What is today’s date?

Once, a man who said that he did not believe in Jesus challenged me. Understand, he was not someone struggling with his faith. Rather, he was obstinate in his disbelief and openly hostile to mine. After listening to his faulty arguments about the non-existence of Christ, I casually asked him for the day’s date. When he responded, I pointed out that his response was based on the life, death and resurrection of a man that supposedly did not exist.

No one else in human history can claim influence over the direction of the world like Christ. No monarch, president or billionaire will ever again change the world to the point that our entire calendar system would be based on his or her life.

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Only a truly divine being could do such a thing. Even without faith in Him, the life of Jesus has touched anyone who has dated a check, booked an airline or hotel reservation, disclosed his or her own birthday or simply answered the question, “What is today’s date?”

2010 AD

In recent years, some have tried to diminish this undeniable fact. For example, some historians have abandoned the designation “A.D.” or “Anno Domini”, which means “Year of our Lord” in favor of the secular “C.E.” which means “Christian Era.” Or “B.C.” or “Before Christ” is replaced with “B.C.E.” or “Before the Christian Era.”  Despite these efforts at secularization, our calendar system is STILL based on the life of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A rose by any other name is still a rose. So, as we celebrate the New Year, think about the fact that this is may be the one day everyone in the world expresses a belief in Christ, whether they like it or not.

Happy New Year – New Year of our Lord that is!

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When Joy Came

Last night, I babysat my cousin’s five young children while she and her husband enjoyed a Christmas overnight downtown. Along with playing board games, taking a walk in the snow, and watching their favorite Christmas movie, we read a number of books.

One of these was “When Joy Came: The Story of the First Christmas” by Pauline Palmer Meek. I recognized the cover from the stack of Christmas books we used to have when I was little. But I don’t think I had ever actually read the book myself, so I decided to take a peek.

What a beautiful book! The vivid illustrations sweeping across each page brought the Nativity story to life in a way that it hadn’t yet for me this Christmas. I realized that, though I may have read the scripture at home or listened to the gospel at Mass, I had missed the wonder of engaging my imagination in the Nativity story.

So if you get a chance to poke around your child, cousin, niece, nephew, sister, or brother’s collection of Christmas picture books, take a moment to put yourself in the story and just imagine…

Behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:10-14

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All of our sins are photo-enforced

What is Advent, really?

Brothers and sisters, Advent is not really about waiting for Christmas as much as it is about waiting for the second coming of Christ. The Birth of Jesus is something that most of us contemplate, we celebrate, we are familiar with the stories and are familiar with how the birth of Jesus came about. But, it is his second coming, the event that hasn’t happened yet, the day when he will call his followers together, that is what Advent is all about. Advent is defined as the beginning of the church year because waiting for Christ to come a second time is what the existence of the church is all about. Everything we, do we do, until he comes again in glory. Let me say that again, everything we do, we do until he comes again in glory.

Warning – Salvation ahead.

And brothers and sisters, Advent is a poignant reminder, maybe even a warning, that when he comes again in glory, you had better be ready. It is why the colors of repentance characterize this season. We all know the story of salvation. We know how this ends, but sometimes we forget. The warning signs are there but sometimes, we ignore them.

Photo-enforced speed zones

I got a confession; I enjoy driving down Connecticut Avenue and the Anacostia Freeway. I ready enjoy driving down both of those major Washington area streets for two reasons – Each of those streets has photo-enforced speed zones AND I know exactly where they are. Since I know where they are, typically, I speed down Connecticut Avenue until I get to Chevy Chase Village or I speed down the Anacostia Freeway until I get to the Pennsylvania Avenue exit. I know where the cameras are and I know exactly when to slow down.

Now, brothers and sisters, that same sort of warning is coming to us during Advent. Like all Christians, we know the road and all of the speed traps that can divert us away from our salvation. The Church knows how this story ends, it knows which team is going to win and it wants to make sure that we are on the winning team. Just like I know what to do to avoid a ticket and get to my destination safely, the Church knows what we need to do regarding our own salvation.

Happy Advent

Brothers and sisters, we know how all of this is going to end. We profess it each time we say, “Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.”  We profess our faith that Jesus is coming and I want to be ready. And for those who do not share this faith, frankly Advent is a warning. Advent is a warning that God is coming and to be prepared.

And remember, ALL of our sins are photo-enforced!

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Taking up the conversation on Catholic Charities…

In the early church, debates on the divinity of Jesus and the nature of the Trinity were the talk of the town. The Church fathers record stories of these debates happening in the village square, in the market place and around kitchen tables. A debate is indeed swirling around town, not of the nature of dogma but nonetheless critical to the practice of our faith. In this debate, blogs are the new village square. Over the last couple of weeks in blogs and opinion pieces politicians, college presidents, attorneys, radio hosts, professors and people in the pew have weighed in on how same-sex marriage legislation will alter Catholic Charities partnership with the city.

Under Consideration

I want to respond to Nancy Polikoff’s piece in the Washington Post in which she writes “that Catholic Charities is misleading the public about the impact of the D.C. marriage bill authorizing same-sex marriage.” http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2009/12/how_catholic_charities_could_l.html. The Archdiocese has explored a number of options talked about in the press;including “the San Francisco option” and Ms. Polikoff suggestion to move our health care plan under ERISA. Our research shows that the reality is that the U.S. Labor Department has released that ERISA only applies to pension benefits and not health care. This does not seem to hold promise as a real solution.

She also suggests that what might really be at issue is that Catholic Charities needs to cut its budget and is using the city as a “scapegoat” to deal with budget issues. Now, that seems just plain rude, especially in light of the fact that Catholic Charities recently received an award for its ethical and business standards. In a statement, Edward Orzechowski, President of Catholic Charities writes “everyone, from government to business to nonprofits, has reduced services and programs in this challenging economic environment, and sadly budget pressures will continue to impact everyone – her [Polikoff] comment is insulting to the dedicated staff and volunteers who serve at Catholic Charities every day.

Religious Liberty

As I blogged earlier, at the heart of this debate and at the heart of the Archdiocese’s concern is the erosion of religious liberty as the government increasingly imposes requirements on religious organizations in their policies. Under the narrow religious exemptions in the bill, Catholic Charities might become ineligible to partner with the government in the delivery of social services.

We desire to continue a partnership with the city that has successfully served those people most in need. We know that it would be next to impossible to continue the breadth of our services without this partnership.  The language we are proposing insures  the kind of religious exemption that is more consistent with existing protections and exemptions under the DC Human Rights Act, the Constitution and federal protective statutes.

It will not be a bad thing if issues related to religious liberty will be discussed with interest and passion around kitchen tables, at the water cooler and in the public forum because they are indeed critical to our practice of the faith.