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On the Poverty of the First Christmas and the Gift to Love the Poor

One of the great gifts to be sought at Christmas is to experience an increase in our love the poor. Poverty, it is true, remains a complicated and vexing problem, especially in modern market based economies. Linked to poverty are complicated social issues such as addiction, single motherhood and the unintended though real consequences of welfare programs, as currently structured.

But none of these complexities can exempt us of our summons to care for the poor and to grow in love for them, yes to actually love them, not only serve them. How we will ultimately and best serve the poor or solve all the complex issues related to poverty may not always be clear to us. But to love them is to receive the God-given gift that will energize our zeal and serve as the true foundation for the persistent and consistent action that is so essential to lasting solutions.

This Christmas why not ask the gift to love the poor more deeply, with an abiding and deep affection?

For poverty and neediness are an intrinsic aspect of the Infancy narratives. The first Christmas was anything but charming or sentimental. It is charged with homelessness, hardship, a lack of decent resources, disregard for human life (by Herod), and the flight of the Holy Family as refugees and aliens in a foreign land.

Joseph and Mary, with Jesus were not destitute. They were among what we might call the working the poor. But one thing about be among the working poor, you’re always on the edge of an abyss. Most the benefits that the working middle and upper classes in our culture have, were unknown to Joseph and Mary.  And such benefits are also unknown to many of the working poor today, who, because of their part-time status, lack the benefits that cushion us from life’s vicissitudes. There was not security net for Joseph and Mary. There was no sick leave, vacation with pay, medical benefits and the like. If you were sick you missed work,  and didn’t get paid.  If there were a family crisis, you still had to work, or if you missed work, and again, so much for the pay.

Destitution for the working poor was always one or two paychecks away. Life was fragile and very dependent on the right combination of work and extended family ties. Any disturbance to this delicate balance could bring on real crisis. And in the Christmas story we see an ensuing crisis

Thus we see Joseph and Mary swept up in power move among the governing authorities to take a census. This was about power and taxes, and armies, it was about control. Scripture says, The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked: he is caught in the schemes that others have made (Ps 10:2. Grail).

Yes,  Joseph and Mary are swept away from their resources, their family, extended family, and Joseph from his livelihood. They are swept downstream some 70 miles to the town of Bethlehem at a critical time for their family, the 9th month of Mary’s pregnancy. Could you walk 70 miles? And what if you were pregnant? Artists depict Mary on a donkey. I have my doubts. Donkeys were expensive and it is unlikely that the working poor would have such an expensive animal. It may be that Joseph himself pushed Mary in a cart. We are left to wonder. But this was no pleasure cruise. It was a grave hardship and a major social dislocation. Life is fragile for the poor. This young family is torn from its supports and resources and made to travel 70 miles on foot to a distant town, and just hope arrangements could be found. The poor are caught in schemes others have made.

Homelessness awaited them. We may be content to think that that lodging was scarce in that city, swelled by an unexpected census. But the reality was likely more complicated. Lodging could likely have been found for the right price. But when you’re among the working poor, such certainties that money can supply are usually lacking. Should it matter that Joseph’s wife is nine months pregnant and due any moment? Apparently not. Human sympathy is a wonderful thing, but it is not a dependable thing when you don’t have the money or resources to inspire it in others. The poor can seek sympathy, but they may or may not get it.

Off to the stinking stable, the dank cave. Poverty does stink, and leads to deep and dank places. We may sentimentalize the birth of Jesus among animals, but there was nothing cute about it. The Church speaks reverently of the mystery of this moment: O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderunt Dominum natum jacentem in praesepio! (O great mystery and wondrous sacrament, that animals would see the newborn Lord lying in a feedbox).

Yes, the wondrous mystery is that God so esteems poverty. But the disgrace of this remains at our door. It is a foreshadowing of the mystery of the cross. Yes, Christ saves us through it, but shame, shame on us. Shame that our Messiah had to endure this birth in a smelly cave, shame that we would later scorn and crucify him who said “Blessed are the poor” (Lk 6:20).

So poverty is an overarching theme in the infancy narrative. But ultimately the deepest poverty is upon us who so neglect the poor. For in neglecting them, we neglect the Lord and bring judgment on ourselves (cf Matt 25:41ff). And in this moment of the nativity story,  we neglect the Lord personally and historically as well well as mystically.

It is not long before we add the holy family to the list of refugees and resident aliens. For the fear of the powerful, in this case Herod, is such a powerful fear, that he fears even the poor.

The life of the Lord Jesus is despised and disrespected because his existence is inconvenient, threatening to Herod’s plans and his life as he knows it. Jesus must go. Somehow Herod is able to justify his infanticide. To him and those who support him, human life is not sacred, it is disposable, if it gets in the way of “more important goals” like power, plans, and personal advancement. Yes, Jesus must go, he is in the way.

In their flight from this infanticidal King they flee to Egypt. A terrible journey, made in haste without supplies. Perhaps they begged for food and shelter along the way? The stretch of desert from Gaza to Alexandria is a hellacious journey. Some friends recently road the bus from Bethlehem to Mt Sinai. Along the way the A/C on the bus broke. “It was terrible!” they said. Yes it was, but not so terrible as it was for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Refugees and Immigrants – Coming into this foreign land, perhaps they settled among fellow Jews, perhaps not. We do not Know. Was Joseph reduced to being a day laborer? How did he find work? What resources did the Holy family have? Were the Jews despised there? How stable were the conditions there, especially for the poor? The Scriptures are quiet.

But this much we know, they were strangers, aliens, immigrants, in a foreign land. They did not speak the king’s Egyptian, and likely lived from day to day. Herod died in 4 BC. If it is true that Jesus was born about 3 BC we can assume that they spent the better part of a year or two in Egypt, vulnerable and dislocated, refugees and immigrants, aliens, to use the legal term.

Do you Love Jesus, Mary and Joseph? Let me ask it another way: Do you love the poor, the homeless, the vulnerable, the despised, the refugee, the immigrant? Don’t turn Jesus, Mary or Joseph into an abstraction, for this is what they were in human terms at this crucial moment of their lives. Perhaps they knocked on doors and sought lodging or resources. Perhaps Joseph longed for, and sought work, perhaps Jesus needed clothes. Jesus’ life was threatened by infanticide just as today, poor infants, needy infants, physically deformed infants, are threatened with abortion.

Do you love the poor? Here is a gift to be sought at Christmas, that we can more deeply love the poor and be moved with compassion and zeal for their care.

Personal story – I am fifty years old, and for the last 27 of those fifty years I have attended Mass every day, read Scripture and prayed every day. And I must say, that as my communion with the Lord has deepened, so has my communion with all God’s people. I have seen love in me increase, not by my effort, but as the pure gift of God. I have seen an increase in compassion, my ability to for give, to be more generous, and to speak the truth in love.

And no one can go to Mass and read Scripture attentively every day for almost 30 years and not come away with an understanding that God loves the poor and is passionate about how we care for them.  As important as our ritual duties to God are, and we should keep them, God goes so far as to say:

  1. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? “This the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke. To share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter–when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah 58:6).
  2. Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. (Is 1:17)
  3. Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter (Prov 24:11).
  4. And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Is. 58:10)
  5. He who does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord (Ezekiel 18:7-9)
  6. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them! (Ps 82:4)
  7. This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. (Jer 22:3)
  8. Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” (Daniel 4:27)

And there are literally a hundred other similar verses that speak of God’s passionate concern for the poor and how we treat them. I have read these verses over and over in the Liturgy and I must say, I have not come away from them unchanged.

It is very clear to me that it is not enough for me to go to church, say my prayers, live chastely and be nice to my friends. God is also passionate about how I treat the poor and the needy. And I have also personally come to discover that merely doing good to them or writing a check is not enough. The gift that God has given me is to love the poor, more and more.

There are many debates about how best to care for the poor. Is is the government’s duty? Is it the private sector’s duty? Is is families and churches? It is all of these.

But even more, it is your responsibility and mine. Otherwise the “charming” Christmas story of no room in the Inn comes “home” to roost in our own living room, and the injustice of that moment is ours, not some rude and insensitive inn keeper of 2,000 years ago.

God is passionate about the poor and how we care for them. There is simply no other possible conclusion in the face of overwhelming Scriptural evidence.

But how do it? How will we ever make the right choices and get the balance right? How will we ever address the complicated social conditions that give rise to poverty? How do we decide who is most deserving in the face of limited resources? A thousand questions come to mind. But it begins simply here: Love them. Ask for a deep affection and an abiding love for the poor. And not a pitying love, but a respectful love that understands the special esteem God has for them and the close self-identification Jesus makes with them (cf Matt 25:41ff). A love that understand that, though they may need us now, we will need them in the age to come at the judgment.

A final story. When I came to my current assignment, the parish finances were in some distress. And, thanks be to God, through Biblical tithing, we have once again attained financial stability. But together with the Parish Council and Financial Council we have also attained a consensus that we but do better for the poor. In a parish with a budget of 1.2 million dollars, only $10,000 had been set aside for the poor. We have been changing that over the last few years and are now close to $100,000. It became unthinkable to us that that we were spending almost a million dollars a year on ourselves, on altar cloths, and  sanctuaries (important), etc.,  and yet many poor in our area were not properly clothed and were loosing the sanctuaries of their homes.

Once having set our social concerns budget at 10% of the whole budget we have only just begun, for additionally we must care for the poor and needy through second collections and the Lenten appeal. I do not say any of this as a boast, just as a testimony of what God put in our hearts and in our capacity to do.

Do you love the poor? Ask for this gift this Christmas. God could not be more pleased with such a gift request.

Some Statistics About Poverty in the US

Painting above: The Flight to Egypt by Henry Tanner.

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Advent 2011: Live Anew

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.

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Laughable Plans (Fourth Sunday of Advent)

“If you want to make God laugh,” said St. Teresa of Avila, “just tell him your plans!” What God laughs at
is when we put our cart before our horse. We make our plans, we do whatever it is we want to do, and then
we expect God to accept our decisions, bless them, and help them to be successful. As Christians, what we
should do first is ask what God’s plan is, and then pray for the grace to carry it out.

This was a lesson king David had to learn in today’s first reading. He had decided that he would build for God a great and beautiful Temple in Jerusalem. This seemed to everyone, including the prophet Nathan, like a good and worthwhile and noble thing to do. The problem was that this was not God’s plan for David. God did have plans for David- very great plans that included a covenant with David’s family that would culminate in the birth of Jesus. Nevertheless, God wanted David’s son Solomon, and not David, to be the one to build a Temple. So David had to surrender his plans to the plans of God.

This is what God calls us to do as well. He asks us to surrender our plans and take on his. Consider Mary. I wonder what plans she had as a young girl. Did she want to have lots of children? Did she imagine growing old in the company of a husband and a big family? We’ll never know, but it’s possible. However, whatever plans she may have had all came to an end when the Archangel Gabriel appeared and announced that she would conceive and bear a son named Jesus.

Mary might have said no. She was a free person who could make her own decisions. Some of the earliest Christian writers spoke of all heaven and earth holding their breath, sitting on pins and needles as they awaited Mary’s decision. But of course Mary did say yes. “I am the handmaid of the Lord,” she proclaimed. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary had surrendered her plans for God’s. As the Opening Prayer for today’s Mass said, “…the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of (God’s) plan.”

In a word, Mary was obedient. Her obedience is an example to us of how we should be obedient to the plan of God. In fact, in a certain way Mary’s obedience made it possible for us to be obedient. In today’s second reading, from his letter to the Romans, St. Paul told us that the Jesus’ revelation of God was made “to bring about the obedience of faith.” Yet that would not have been possible without the obedience of Mary.

Mary willingness to surrender her own plans for the plans of God presents a challenge to us. Mary challenges us to think about whatever plans we’ve made and dreams for the future we have. Consider, for instance, the plans you have for the new year about to begin. Plans about your job, your family, your relationships, your education, your home. Think about the purchases you plan to make, the vacations you hope to take, the volunteer commitments you expect to accept, any medical or health procedures you intend to undergo. Then ask yourself: Is it really God’s will that I do these things? Have I placed these decisions before the Lord? Did I ask if they will help build up God’s kingdom and help me and or my family grow in holiness? Were my plans prayerfully made? Did I ask for God’s help and direction when I made them?

We can’t automatically assume that whatever we’ve planned is consistent with God’s plan, even if our plans were made with the best of intentions. That’s the way King David thought, and he wound up being surprised. We need to have the openness, and the humility, to accept that some of our plans may not necessarily be the same as God’s. As has often been said, our God is a God of surprises and he acts in mysterious ways. Just ask a guy who wound up being a married Catholic priest. Or better yet, ask my wife!

Another question we should ask ourselves is: Am I willing to surrender the plans I have to God? Am I
willing to give them up if he wants me to? For instance, what if our  health changed and prevented us from
carrying out my plans? What if we had to suddenly care for a sick relative? What if God blessed us with a
new child? What if our circumstances changed or the money just wasn’t there? What if a long-time plan
and our conscience came into conflict? Would we be willing to give up our plans with peaceful
resignation? Or would we resist, run away, make bad compromises, or sink into anger and bitterness? If
that’s the case, then we don’t just have a plan. We have an idol.

It can be hard to surrender. Surrender involves sacrifice; saying “Yes” to God often means saying “No” to something else. Sometimes our pride gets in the way. We want to call the shots in our life. We believe we know what’s best for us better than everybody else, even God. At other times, our fears hold us back. We’re afraid of the unknown and we don’t like moving out of our comfort zones. Surrender can require a lot of courage and trust and love. Even Mary had questions. And Gabriel had to tell her not to be afraid.

Thankfully, God always gives us the strength we need; his grace is always sufficient to the task. As we heard St. Paul say: “To him who can strengthen you…be glory for ever and ever!” Gabriel assured Mary, “nothing will be impossible for God.” And nothing will be impossible with God. God may indeed laugh at our plans. But he smiles when we embrace his.

Image Credits: Wikipedia Commons, Wikipedia Commons

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To See What the End Shall Be – A Meditation on the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

In today’s Gospel we step back nine months to March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, an event all but hidden, but which changed the world.

God whose focal presence had departed the Temple, just prior to the Babylonian invasion (cf Ez 10:18) and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, now returns to the Ark of Mary’s womb. The Glorious presence of God returns now to his people in an obscure town of less than three hundred, a town so small that no road went to it.

We are reading here of a pivotal moment in the history of mankind. God not only returns to his people but becomes one with them in the incarnation.

And at this moment we do well to consider four aspects of this pivotal moment. As we do so, we consider, not only Mary’s glories, but also ours in a subordinate but real way. For Mary is the perfect disciple and typifies in a most excellent way the glories that God also wishes to bestow on us, in perhaps a different but still substantial way. Lets look at for aspects of this Gospel.

I. The RESPECT of God – the text says, The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. To virgin betrothed to a man name Joseph and the virgin’s name was Mary…Mary said “Behold I am the Handmaid of the Lord, May it be done to me according to your word.”

Note that God asks of Mary her cooperation. Although the Angel Gabriel’s words are not in the form of a question, that Mary considers this to be a request from God is clear from Mary’s response. She says yes, and thus understands it as a request, not merely a statement of what shall be.

In this regard we see an important indicator of the respect of God for her freedom. Surely he has prepared her and equipped her with every good grace to say, yes, but in the end, her free “yes” is significant, and something that God looks for and respects. Otherwise, why send an angel at all? Why come through Mary at all? Why not simply appear suddenly as a full grown man and start to work? As it is, God wills to come through Mary (cf Gen 3:15) and seeks her “yes” in the place of Eve’s “no.”

And this respect for her free “yes” is also a respect God extends to us. Indeed we can see here how God’s respect is in contrast to the devil, who shouts, is invasive, provocative and intrusive. Through cultural noise etc., he tempts and provokes. But God whispers and respectfully invites. He does not force our decision but summons us in love and awaits our answer.

In scripture we read of Jesus, Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:20). Hence, though all powerful and able to coerce, God does not do so, he does not act violently or impose his will. He repsects the freedom He Himself gave us, and invites us to cooperate in his plan for us.

Mary (and we) are thus respected by God in terms of our freedom.

II. The REGARD of God – Note in the text the great love of God, appreciation and regard extended to Mary through the Angel. The text says, Hail, Full of grace! The Lord is with you…Do not be afraid Mary. You have found favor with God...

As the great and glorious Angel, Gabriel comes to Mary, (and every angel is glorious) he must still, in an astonishing way acknowledge Mary’s beauty, holiness, and perfection, by God’s grace. Imagine an all glorious Archangel rendering a kind of debt of praise to a mere human being! And in so speaking this way He is speaking for God, of the deep love, appreciation and regard that God has for Mary, his greatest human work.

Indeed, we should never forget the Love and deep regard God has for Mary and also for us. Mary is surely God’s masterpiece. But she is also the result of His grace and work.

In a less perfect way, but a still true manner, God also loves us and loves in us the perfection we will one day attain by his grace and mercy. A couple of texts come to mind:

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jer 31:3)

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…you are precious and honored in my sight, and..I love you. (Isaiah 43:1-3)

We are not good, and therefore God loves us. God loves us and therefore we are good, if we accept his love. Mary was, by a singular grace wholly open to God’s love and perfection. But, if we are faithful, we too will one day become the man or woman God has always intended us to be.

God thus shows great regard for Mary (though Gabriel) and he also knows the glory we will one day share.

III. The RIDDLE in the middle – There remains the mysterious question of Mary: “How will this be since I do not know man?” Had she been thinking in merely biological terms she would would have known the obvious answer to the question: she and Joseph would conceive. But her question seems to suppose she had other notions about her future than regular marital relations.

Some hold that the question here is not really her question, but is rhetorically placed here by Luke so that the angel can inform us, the readers, that God alone is the true Father of this Son. But such a notion seems more made up by nervous moderns in an attempt to solve the mystery. Reducing a pivotal question like this to a mere literary device seems unbecoming.

Catholic tradition surely sees evidence here of the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. To be sure many other questions are are raised by this resolution of the question: Why would two people get married and live as virgins?….Were such arrangements common at that time? (it would seem not). And so forth.

In the end Mary’s question would surely seem to point to some expectation of Mary that she would “not know man” in some sense, going forward. But at any level we are not going to wholly satisfy our curiosity, and maybe it is none of our business.

One thing is sure, the Church teaches, without ambiguity that Mary remained ever virgin. That this question of hers indicates she was clear on this here, seems a reasonable conclusion, but there remains also a mystery that we must respect and understand, that it is none of our business, ultimately.

In this case, Protestants have some thinking to do. For Mary’s question is not meaningless or naive, it is a true question, with a true context that ought to be respected as at least pointing to her virginity, even if it alone does not alone prove it. For more on this topic read here: New Theological Movement.

IV. The REASSURANCE of God – Mary is in the presence of an Archangel. This alone is frightening enough. But it is also true that her world is shifting quite dramatically. Hence her natural fear and anxiety is understandable. Thus Archangel Gabriel gives a number of reassurances to Mary: Do not be afraid Mary, For you have found favor with God…Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the most high, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end…”

In effect St Gabriel is saying to her that, however the details unfold, in the end there will be total victory, for she is to bear a Son who is the Son of the most High God and who will have a kingdom that will never end or be conquered. Hence, whatever her concerns,  this all leads to victory.

Mary will need this reassurance for, to be clear, there ARE some difficult days ahead: the crisis of homelessness at birth, the flight to Egypt, Simeon’s prophecy that a sword would pierce her heart, and the actual thrusting of that sword at the foot of the cross. This knowledge of ultimate victory is an important reassurance for her to hold close, and not forget.

So too for us. For we too have some difficult valleys to cross, some hills to climb. We must constantly keep in mind the end of the story, that Jesus is already the victor and that however our eyes my think that we are losing, in the end, total victory belongs to Jesus, and to us, if we stay with him. The end of the story is already declared: Jesus wins, overwhelmingly, and all his enemies are placed under his feet (e.g. Rev 20-22; 1 Cor 15:25-26; John 16:33 inter al.).

Consider this magnificent passage from Isaiah:

I am God there is no other. At the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done. I say that my plan shall stand. I accomplish my every purpose. Yes, I have spoken, I will accomplish it; I have planned it and I will do it. Listen to me you fainthearted, you who seem far from the victory of justice: I am bringing on my justice, it is not far off, my salvation shall not tarry; I will put salvation within Zion, and give my glory to Israel (Isaiah 46:12ff).

If we were to memorize and internalize this passage so many of our fears and anxieties would flee, our trust would build and we would live victorious lives. It may at times seem that evil has the upper hand. Evil has its day, But God has the victory. No matter how dark it can seem, God has already won, only the news has not yet leaked out.

But in our hearts this truth and reassurance must be emblazoned. For, like Mary, we have difficult days in our future. All the more reason God’s reassurance is essential for us. It got Mary through the Cross and it will get us through ours.

Hence, we have here a pivotal moment in History. God’s presence returns to the human family. And it all happens so quietly, in a town of 300, so small that there was not even a road that went to Nazareth. Quietly, but clearly and powerfully, God has thrust the first blow at Satan’s realm. Victory is sure.

Painting above: Annunication by H. Tanner

I have it on the best authority that Mary sang this song after the Angel left: Done made my vow to the Lord and I never will turn back, I will go, I shall go to see the end shall be.

It occurs to me that Mary, at this time was not much older than the young ladies in this choir.

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A View to Die For – 32 Story High Rise Cemetery

It is no surprise to learn that, as land values continue to rise, space for cemeteries gets scarce. I have seen more and more mausoleums be built at the local cemeteries, and they are getting taller as the years go on. But the picture to the right really takes the concept to new heights! The picture is The Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica III, a vertical cemetery in Santos, Brazil. It is the world’s tallest cemetery, with burial spaces on 32 floors. There’s also a restaurant, chapel, lagoon and peacock garden. It has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Santos.

I don’t know what to say really. There is nothing wrong with the concept insofar as Catholic teaching goes and perhaps it is a better or more efficient use of land than our current American approach. It just takes some getting used to.

I might have some concerns too in the event of an earthquake or the like. Also, will the building be maintained well once it is full? But that is a problem even with traditional cemeteries. Here in DC we have had several non-Catholic cemeteries that were full and then went into terrible disrepair (eg. Woodlawn, Congressional and Rock Creek) requiring the local community to come to the rescue. Once a cemetery fills and no longer has an income stream it tends to be neglected. Recent laws require cemeteries to establish an endowment to provide for perpetual care. Hopefully that is the case here.

While we are on the topic, a few random thoughts on Christian burial and cemeteries:

  1. Regular visits to cemeteries have declined in recent years. As the practice of praying for the repose of the dead has fallen (shame on us) there are also fewer visits to gravesides. It is true many are busy, but such visits provide us a way to honor those who have preceded us in death, and gives us a context in which to pray for them and remember our own mortality.
  2. When I go to cemeteries I experience a strange kind of peace. As I look about and see all the head stones it occurs to me that all these people had struggles like me. They had worries, joys, successes and failures, gains and losses. Perhaps like me they got all worked up about things from time to time. But all that is over now. If they were faithful they have gone on to God, perhaps by way of purgatory. Nothing here remains for long. We all return to the dust and our soul flies away. Cemeteries give me a kind of perspective that brings peace. An old spiritual says “Soon I will be done with the troubles of the world, goin’ home to live with God”
  3. The Church does not encourage but does permit cremation. However, a concern has also arisen as this practice increases. It seems to me that not all families are arranging for immediate burial of the ashes. Too often, long periods of time elapse after the funeral but before interment of the ashes. On a few occasions I have had to call the family and gently remind them of the requirement for proper burial or repose in a mausoleum. When there is a body, burial is soon for obvious reasons. But ashes don’t present the same urgency to many. So the funeral Mass comes and goes and the family says they have arranged burial at a later time. But the phone does not ring and I get busy and forget. Let’s be clear, the fireplace mantle is NOT an appropriate place to retain ashes. Proper burial or placement in a cemetery is required and essential. Neither is it ever appropriate to scatter ashes. No matter how meaningful this may seem, human remains are not to be scattered.
  4. Catholic Cemeteries are preferred for the burial of Catholics because the ground is consecrated. It is true that a priest can bless a grave in any non-Catholic cemetery. But the consecrated ground of a Catholic cemetery is special. Further, the Catholic practice of regular prayers for the dead are properly observed in Catholic cemeteries. Each year on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept. 15) and also on Memorial Day masses are offered at Catholic cemeteries. Other devotions, such as stations of the cross and rosary processions are also offered and all the dead buried there benefit from the help of these regular prayers. Catholic Cemeteries are special places for Catholics.
  5. If you don’t think this post is an advent theme, it is. For either Christ will come to us or we will go to him. And we have to be ready for that meeting, by God’s grace.  Remember to pray for the dead. Prepare also for your own death by regular recourse to confession, Holy Communion every Sunday, daily prayer, daily scripture, repent of your sins and pray to be delivered from a death sudden and unprepared. Requiescant in Pace (May they rest in peace).

Here is the (horrifying) burial of Mozart from the movie Amadeus. It shows Mozart being buried in a pauper’s mass grave and using a borrowed casket. Today, in the Church, we are careful to be sure the poor receive more decent burial and Catholic Cemeteries of Washington does provide graves for the truly indigent. A scene like this would not happen today. The music sung in the backgorund is from Mozart’s own Requiem: Lacrimosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla, judicandus homo reus. Huic ergo parce, Deus, pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen. (Ah that day of tears, when from the ashes rises guilty man for judgment.  Then, spare him O God, kind Jesus, grant them rest).

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Big, Colored Lights (Friday of Advent III)

A big change has taken place in my household: no longer do plain white lights hang on our Christmas tree. They’ve been replaced by good old-fashioned colored lights- big ones! And I love it.

We see lights everywhere this time of year. That’s why it’s sometimes called a “season of light.” But all these lights should serve to remind us of the great light who entered our world at the first Christmas. All other lights point to him.

Jesus said as much in today’s gospel. He spoke of those who rejoiced in the light of St. John the Baptist, whom he described as a “bright and shining lamp.” But then Jesus explained that John’s light was meant as a beacon for the greater light which he came to bring. A light which, as Isaiah told us in today’s first reading, revealed God’s salvation and justice, and extended God’s covenant of love to people of every race and nation.

I hope we enjoy all the lights we see this season- white and colored, blinking and not. But let’s not forget that the light we rejoice in above all others is Jesus Christ. Because in Jesus, to steal a phrase from today’s psalm, God let his face shine upon us.

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121611.cfm

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

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No Christmas is Complete without the Jesus Toaster.

Have breakfast with Jesus every morning! In the past you’ve had see him with eyes of faith. Now you can seem him right on the toast! It’s the Jesus Toaster! Just $31.95 plus shipping and handling.

No Christmas is complete without this fine new toaster.

Was not Jesus born in Bethlehem which means “House of Bread!?”

So celebrate Christmas all year long!

Did Jesus not leave his face on Veronica’s veil? Now you can see his face and eat it too!

With the Jesus toaster you just never know where Jesus will pop up!

Legal disclaimer: this toaster does not convey true presence and the bread coming forth from it is not to be adored. Do not try true presence at home which leads to idolatry. True presence is brought about only by trained priests in the careful conditions of the Catholic Mass.

Blogger Disclaimer – No disrespect is hereby intended in this post. But sometimes things are in such bad taste that the absurdity is best illustrated by being absurd, as I have been here.

Here is the  CNN report:

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Advent 2011: Live Anew

Written by Br.  Gabriel Torretta, OP

All hikers have, at some point or another, found themselves completely out of water, several arduous miles away from trail’s end. Once the heat and labor of the day exhaust the body’s normal water supplies, the burning thirst that results has a curious effect; rather than simply sapping the hiker’s strength, the thirst focuses his energy and attention on the single goal of finishing the hike and finding water.

Hunger and thirst are physical imperatives that will not let themselves be ignored; we either obey our body’s demands for food and water or we die. There are no other options.

The fourth beatitude transforms and elevates those physical desires, without losing any of their seriousness: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” The desire for righteousness, for a genuine relationship with God, is as real as hunger and thirst, and is even more essential. The body will die without food and drink, but without a living relationship with God, the soul itself may be imperiled.

But the desire for righteousness is not desperate or frantic; rather, the desire focuses our attention on God, making us more single-minded, more willing to give up all else in order to live in his love. Neither is the desire for righteousness a matter of forcing myself to feel something I don’t. Because God is the only one who can bring us to relationship with him, only he can put the desire in our hearts.

The good news is that God has already given us that desire. Jesus Christ redeemed us through his Incarnation, death, and resurrection so that he might draw us out of the selfish morass into which our sin sinks us and fill us with longing for unity with him in heaven. He sustains us by his grace, that we might live with our hearts fixed with joy on his Second Coming, when he will quench the thirst of all who burn for love of him.

Today’s meditation: Skip a meal today and offer God your hunger. Spend some time in prayer when hungry.