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Talking (Tough) Truth at Funerals

I celebrate just over 50 funerals a year;  about one a week. (People are dying to come to church here). And most of these funerals feature  large numbers of fallen away Catholics and unchurched individuals. Most of these people I see ONLY at funerals and sometimes weddings. For this reason, in recent years, I have altered my approach at funerals and direct almost half of the sermon to the unchurched and call them to repent and return home. Surely in the first part I speak of the deceased, offer thanks to God for their life, entrust them to God and ask the congregation to pray for the repose of the deceased soul. I never fail to menton judgment and purgatory as reasons for this prayer. That is too often not mentioned at Catholic funerals, a terrible oversight if you ask me. But the bottom line is that I spend the first half of the sermon commending the deceased person to God’s benevolent mercy and care.

But given the terribly high loss in the practice of faith and the consequent grave condition of many of the souls at any given funeral I cannot allow (any longer) an omission to be made of summoning them to Christ. How can it be that God has led them to my parish and I would say nothing to them to dissuade them from their path away from God and his sacraments? So many souls today are not only unchurched and backslidden (fallen away), but they are often locked in serious, mortal sin. I cannot know this about any particular individual but it is clear that many are lost like sheep without a shepherd. While conscious of my own sin, I cannot remain silent (any longer) and fail to call the unchurched and fallen away back. And trust me, even at the funeral of strong Catholic families there are MANY who are fallen away. Add to that the fact that many funerals I celebrate are for people who themselves were not always fervent in the practice of the faith. Families of such as these have even more members in need of a sobering  wake up call.

In the video below is an excerpt from a funeral I preached some time ago for a man named Henry who practiced his own faith quite well but whose children and grandchildren largely did not. No more details about this funeral are necessary or appropriate. But with approval of a family member and since the passage of time is significant and the venue undisclosed I do not think any of you readers would have any idea who this individual is or his family. I will not even indicate the city in which this funeral took place. But in it is a good example of what I do at most every funeral in recent years in terms of the second half of the funeral wherein I turn my attention to the unchurched and fallen away.

I will admit that some of the things I say are tough. But remember, I only have them once and I have to come right to the point. No one will follow an uncertain trumpet. A very few have criticized my approach by insisting that funerals are sensitive times and we ought just to console the grieving family and say pleasant and encouraging things. Others, especially the older ones come to me and say, “Thanks Father, there are people in my family that needed to hear it!”  But in the end I cannot preach either to please or displease man. Rather, I have a conviction that this is what God would have me do. I cannot waste an opportunity to clearly warn, as Jesus often did, that judgment day is coming, and maybe sooner than you or I expect. We have to be ready for, at an hour that we do not expect the Son of Man will come (eg Mat 24:44). For those who do not have the time to listen to the video the fundamental points are these:

  1. I hope you will not forget to pray also for yourself today because you are going to die.
  2. What are you doing to get ready to meet God?
  3. There are too many people today who are not serious about their spiritual life. They are goofing off, playing around and laughing their way through life as if it were all some big joke. They do not pray, go to Church or read Scripture. They are committing serious sin and not repenting of it.
  4. If this is you, you are not going to be ready to meet God.
  5. I exhort you to get ready now, delay not your conversion. Be serious about your walk with God by praying every day; reading scripture every day, Church every Sunday.
  6. If you are in serious and unrepented sin, get on your knees today and beg God’s mercy and help. You may not even know how to stop, but tell God you’re sorry and need his help to stop. But do not go on calling good what God has called sinful.
  7. Be serious about it.
  8. Hold to God’s unchanging hand!

I think that without some exhortation of this sort the funeral service can be worse than a missed opportunity, it can be downright harmful. Why do I say this? Because our silence speaks volumes. To many who are locked in serious sin, or fallen away, never to hear a work of exhortation becomes a kind of affirmation, a tacit approval that every thing is fine when it is not. This is harmful silence. To those who say funerals are not good times to speak in strong language, then I say,  “When?”  When will I get a similar opportunity to speak to so many unchurched? When will they hear the “come to Jesus” talk if not then? When?

Here’s the sermon excerpt. I’ve included pictures related to funerals this is really just an audio recording of my sermon with a slide show attached. Remember it is only the second half of a sermon. The first half was largely a commending of Henry to God’s mercy and acknowledgment of his strong faith and love of God; a joyful acknowledgment of his being a gift to us from God. I also reminded the congregation to pray for him since he goes to judgment wherein God may need to purge him of any remaining sorrows, sins or pains brought from this world. And then comes this second half:

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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.

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In celebration of John of the Cross

dali

Today is the feast of St. John of the Cross, a 16th century Spainard, who with Teresa of Avila reformed the Carmelite community. Teresa and John were a powerhouse of a friendship–exlporing the depths of the spiritual life and  discovering the rich Catholic expression of contemplative prayer. Like many close firendships, Teresa and John were very different in personality. Teresa was extroverted, funny, and engaging, John was serious and introspective, to the point that Teresa reports, she had to tell him to “lighten up!”

The Dark Night of the Soul

John’s contribution to the spiritual life is the exploration of what we  call the “dark night.”  Many of us know well the expereince of coming to know God through recognizing his presence in our lives, experiencing moments of grace and knowing they are gifts from God. There is another way we deepen our faith, a way that is part of our maturing in faith and giving ourselves fully over to God’s love–it is the experience of absence. At times we feel the absence of God, we feel abandoned, like Job, we feel that we are being tormented and though crying out to God we hear nothing.  Do we believe that indeed God has abandon us or failed us, or do we go on trusting that God is present and that all will be made well in God’s time? John helps us to navigate our way through the dark nights when all seems empty, only to experience a deeper union with our Lord.

The poetry of music and art

Loreena McKennit takes John of the Cross’s famous poem The Dark Night and sets it to the artwork of another famous Catholic, Salvator Dali.  it is here for you to enjoy.


–

 From today’s Morning Prayer, we pray in thanksgiving for all those who are learned and are as radiant as the sky in all its beauty; those who instruct the people in goodness and who will shine like stars for all eternity.

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A Light in the Darkness

christmas lights

I am a huge fan of Christmas lights. I love the warmth they bring to cold, dark afternoons and evenings. Putting lights on the tree in my front yard is usually how I begin decorating for Christmas (alas the picture is not my tree!).

 

I came across a reflection today from Pope Benedict XVI that captures perfectly how appropriate lights are as Christmas decorations. In a General Audience, Pope Benedict said, “Let us remember…as we look at the streets and squares of the cities decorated with dazzling lights, that these lights refer us to another light, invisible to the eyes, but not to the heart.”

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The Most Important Building Isn’t Even on the Tour!

I live in Washington DC on East Capitol Street. If you picture the United States Capitol in your mind, one side faces the long grassy Mall where so many large gatherings and protests take place. Behind the Capitol, on the exact opposite side is a long street that stretches through the Capitol Hill Neighborhood called “East Capitol Street.”  My parish is just 14 blocks up on the right. It is a “merged” Parish of St. Cyprian (building lost in 1966) and Holy Comforter (a title of the Holy Spirit).

I want to tell you of the two most important buildings on East Capitol Street. Let me begin with the second most important building, the United States Capitol.

The United States Capitol is the epicenter of the free world. It is the nerve center in the Capital of the most powerful country on this planet. It is here that some of the most powerful people in the world craft legislation and ponder great issues. Presidents have stood in the well of the House chamber to deliver important addresses. Other heads of state have also visited here. In fact people from all over the world travel to this country just to visit and perhaps transact business with the United States Government. Decisions are made in this building that impact the lives of over 300 million  Americans and even more all around the world. Decisions are made here that change world history. Decisions about more money than you can imagine are made in this building on a daily basis. Perhaps no other building is more identified with this great country of ours than the US Capitol. It’s beauty and grandeur bespeak a powerful and confident land. The US Capitol: the second most important building on East Capitol Street in Washington DC.

What then you ask is the MOST important building on East Capitol Street in Washington DC?! It is Holy Comforter – St Cyprian Roman Catholic Church at 1357 East Capitol Street. In this holy place, some one greater than any head of state, God himself,  dwells in the tabernacle. Jesus the Lord and King of the whole universe dwells here, speaks here, ministers here. The prayers and worship that take place in Holy Comforter Church not only change world history but these prayers are also what enable the decisions at the second most important building on East Capitol to have any good effect. In the US Capitol human work takes place. In Holy Comforter Catholic Church God’s work takes place. In the US Capitol important but ordinary things happen. In Holy Comforter Church miracles happen as ordinary bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus, as sins are forgiven, as heaven is opened. In the US Capitol many words are exchanged and written that impact the day to day activities of America. In Holy Comforter Catholic Church, the Word of God does not just inform, it performs and it transforms. Many people come to visit the US Capitol. But in Holy Comforter Catholic Church the congregation is joined in worship by myriads upon myraids of angels and a company of saints which cannot be numbered. The US Capitol represents a government that we hope will endure for a long time but Holy Comforter is an outpost of a Church that the gates of Hell will never prevail against. In the US Capitol laws are passed that may one day be changed. But in Holy Comforter Church there is announced each week a law that will never pass away. The Senate majority leader and the Speaker of the House will come and go, changing year by year. But the High Priest, Jesus Christ who ministers at Holy Comforter Church will never die and has a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

Well, OK I suspect you know by now why the US Capitol is the second most important building on East Capitol Street in the Nation’s Capital. Holy Comforter – St Cyprian Roman Catholic Church far outranks in dignity and importance any other building on the street. This is true not because of the human elements involved, but rather the Divine. But I hope you will agree, the US Capitol is the second most important building on East Capitol Street, a distant second!

Funny thing though, all the tour buses drive right past Holy Comforter Church on their way to the second most important building. Wonder what that’s about? You’d think they’d at least stop to take a few pictures and ask to see God. Hmm…. There’s just no accounting for taste is there?  Imagine, driving right past the House of God to see “the man”  and his house. Imagine that! In your visits to Washington, perhaps you too missed seeing the most important building on East Capitol Street. It’s probably not your fault. Those silly tour companies just don’t know any better and you depended on them to get you around. But here for you in the video below are pictures, historical and current of the MOST important building on East Capitol Street in the Nation’s Capital.

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Rediscovering the Priest as Physician of Souls

In many ways the Church is like a hospital and priests are like doctors. Consider for a moment the “double path” that medical doctors and nurses must walk.

  1. On the hand they must have a sober understanding of  disease and how serious it can be.  They cannot minimize or simply dismiss it. They must learn to identify its causes and symptoms and address them forthrightly. They must often speak frankly to their patients about health related issues. A great deal of disease is behavior related. Hence doctors must prophetically and clearly call their patients and the public in general to healthy living. They must insist that we avoid excesses of certain foods, that we eat good foods and exercise regularly. They must regularly teach us that smoking, excessive drinking, obesity and the like may well kill us. If we need medicine they insist that we take it regularly. We expect all this of them even if we don’t always like to be reminded of such things. But in the end a good doctor will be firm, clear and insistent about disease, its dangers, its causes and its cures. Anything less would be a kind of malpractice.
  2. On the other hand, a doctor must be willing to work with sick and diseased people. They must do this with patience and compassion. Many of their patients struggle to implement all the best practices to improve their health. Despite all the prophetic utterances of doctors and the medical community many people still struggle to eat well and eat less. They have a hard time drinking moderately and ending smoking habits. Healthy foods seem less appealing than fattening ones, exercise seems so hard to do. But the good doctors will not abandon patients. They continue to treat their diseases and to exhort them to at least  to make small changes that will improve things. They offer medicines to help counteract bad tendencies and the cumulative effects of the past. They patiently work to bring healing to us, many of whom, repeatedly struggle to follow their advice. But they do it anyway.

Portrait – Just about everything said above applies to priests as well. Priests too need to be sober about sin and its effects. They have to exhort us stay away from unhealthy and bad behaviors that ruin our spiritual and moral lives and cause us to be in poor spiritual health. They must insist that we take the medicine of the sacraments, scripture, prayer and repentance. But priests must also be willing  to be around spiritually sick people who struggle to get it all together and make the necessary changes. They have to patiently but persistently help people to implement small changes that add up to better spiritual health. They must work to bring us healing even if their patients are a bit stiff necked.

Problem – But what is interesting is how the modern world seems increasingly to insist that priests and the Church should NOT exhibit the qualities of  Number 1 above. Objections are often raised by many when the Church and her priests soberly warn us of the disease of sin and how serious it can be. How dare the priest even call certain things “sin.”  And if the priest warn of spiritually unhealthy behaviors he is often denounced as “judgmental.” Oh,  perhaps he’ll be allowed to gently suggest we pray more, and try to be “more loving.” But God forbid that he should speak frankly about bad behaviors such as fornication, abortion and missing Mass and tell us that they are wrong. Even worse if he should warn us that such things can spiritually kill us and land us in hell! No indeed many people want their priest to engage in a kind of spiritual malpractice by tacitly approving their bad behavior and replacing any warnings with affirmations and reassurances. And sadly, some priests have slipped into this kind of gentle affirmation mode.

Proper Practice – But as physicians of the soul priests have to do the spiritual equivalent of BOTH 1 and 2 above. The world would rightfully question a medical doctor who just shrugged in the face of serious illness and told his patients they were fine, who just told them jokes and made them feel good but still sent them home with a serious cancer growing in their body. The world would scorn a medical doctor who didn’t feel comfortable talking about disease because it might upset his patients; who didn’t want to upset them by insisting that they must take their medicine. What a poor doctor! And yet many insist that priests act in just this way when it comes to the soul.

I hope you can see that priests have to do both 1 and 2 above. It is true, no one likes a grouchy or overly negative doctor. It is the same with priests. We are to speak the truth in love, with compassion but also with clarity. We can do nothing less for otherwise it amount to a spiritual malpractice.

Prescription – So as a priest I have this to say: Stay away from abd and excessive behaviors. They might kill you spiritually! Take your medicine: the Eucharist, regular confession, daily prayer and scripture! Take it or you will die! Get proper exercise through plenty of good deeds, prayer and acts of kindness. And if you fall? Keep coming back. We’ve got healing medicine here for you. You may not even know how you are going to stop but keep coming back and let the Lord minister to you through the Church. I’ll see you at your next appointment (this Sunday!).

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Death to Life

monument

 The second thing that struck me about Rome was death. Tombs, funerary monuments, dead bodies (corrupt and incorrupt), instruments of torture, catacombs, etc. I felt such gravity.

As I reflected on this, I realized something that I had known rationally before but perhaps not spiritually, that brutal murders, decaying bones, and marble coffins aren’t an end but a doorway.

A few weeks before my trip, a priest at my parish had reminded us that each time we hear the Mass we recall that we live this life in view of the next:

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
and grant us peace in our day.
In your mercy keep us free from sin
and protect us from all anxiety
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I guess I was experiencing some anxiety about seeing all these physically dead people, but once I realized that they were spiritually alive and well in Heaven, the whole experience took on a new meaning.

It became like making new friends! Like, “Hey St. Catherine of Siena, how’s it going?” Or “Wow St. Monica, is that really you?” It was very moving saying “Thank you, St. Josémaria Escriva” as I was kneeling before his tomb.

My journey from the darkness of death to the hope of eternity with our Savior was yet another spiritual fruit of my trip to Rome. I’m sure other fruits will emerge, but I’m very grateful for the two I’ve written about here!

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Who Will Be a Witness For My Lord? Evangelization’s Essential Element

The video below is an excellent production. And, although I want to raise a concern about something in it I would like to begin by saying what is excellent about it.

It clearly shows forth the richness of Catholic Parish Life at St. Mary Magdalene Church in San Antonio, TX. Brief interviews with parishioners and clergy are interspersed with colorful and lively video of parish life. The parish looks like a good blend between the old and new. Charismatic prayer and modern expressions of liturgy are evident but so are Eucharistic processions and images of Mary. The Masses look well attended and the offerings of the parish, which includes a school, are rich.

The Pastor makes a wonderful comment about sacred worship. He simply reminds us that we don’t don’t go to church merely for our own needs, but first and foremost to praise and worship God. Amen Father!

Another of the Priests uses a wonderful analogy of the Church as a hospital and teaches that, if we’re honest we will admit that we all need healing. We all have a fallen nature in a fallen world governed by a fallen angel, We need a savior! Excellent point.

The Parish is to be commended for this excellent outreach. It looks like the clergy and staff have a heart for evangelization. Too many Catholic parishes relegate evangelization to a committee or to “Father”  and the plan is little better than opening the Church doors on Sunday and hoping people come. It looks like St. Mary Magdalene Parish has pushed beyond that and is reaching out to others as witnesses for the Lord.

But one point that occurs to me that would have really made this video “perfectissimo!”  You see, through the video I kept waiting to hear something. And as the minutes ticked by the tension began to build. Would it be said? Would I hear uttered what must be said for this to be perfect evangelization? Would the sine qua non, the raisson d’etre, the essential element come forth in a dynamic conclusion?! Uh oh! Say it quick there are only twenty seconds remaining! Oh no, the clock just hit zero. Oops, We’re done here.

Perhaps I am being too picky and I know I could not have done such a good video. But I want to tell you with some reservation in an otherwise very  good evangelization video that the name of Jesus was never mentioned. Now mind you, we surely saw him in the video: in the stained glass window, at the elevation in the Mass scene, in the Monstrance, the Cross  at the end but his name was never spoken. One of the priests speaks of our savior, a parishioner mentions the Lord. God the Holy Spirit is named. Mother Mary is also named. Ah, but “Jesus,”  there’s just something about that Name! And when we evangelize it seems to me that we cannot fail to connect the dots for people and be very explicit about whom we speak.

It has been my experience that today we cannot presume people outside the Church  have any idea what we are talking about. They may not understand that a monstrance, the host held aloft, even a crucifix are about Jesus. We just have to say it plain: “We are a people being saved by Jesus Christ, who alone can save us and whom we worship as Lord.  Jesus is changing our lives!”

This is NOT a problem particular to this parish or this video. The fact is that most of us Catholics are just getting used to testifying and witnessing to the world. And to those who are outside the Catholic world that is so familiar to us, we have to be crystal clear that we love and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. A lot of people don’t think we really do. They think we’re about statues, and Mary, and strange rituals. Some don’t even know THAT  much about us! But the fact is we have loved and worshipped the Lord Jesus for a long time, he’s leading us back to the heart of the Father and constantly sending us his Holy Spirit. He’s healing us with the medicine of his sacraments and ministering to us in every liturgical service. Jesus is our Priest and our King and his every word is precious to us. Thank you Lord Jesus!  We have to be so clear about this. We Catholics have been too used to being implicit in our witness. As we learn to go forth, we need to be explicit too. The name of Jesus should frequently pass our lips. And I am sure it does in St. Mary Magdalene Parish, but the final editors of this video haven’t let that sound forth.

OK, so enjoy this video. If you have a critque to offer I might enourage you to say what you like as well.   I am happy that St. Mary Magdalene Parish is stepping out. We all need to imitate their example and get out there and enthusiastically talk about the Lord Jesus and the glory of life in His Church. In my own parish I am preparing the congregation for a Sept 2010 outreach to the neighborhood and a reach back into our families. If a parish doesn’t evangelize I wonder if it deserves to exist? I can’t afford to gamble with that question. Jesus told us to go out and make disciples of all nations and as for me and my parish, we will obey the Lord. How about yours? Who will be a witness for my Lord?!