Daily Reflecton: Monday, Memorial Day

Today our Church returned to what we call "Ordinary Time." For the next 90 days we do many things that are far from "ordinary." Today, or this weekend, serves as the "official" start of the summer vacation days. Parties, trips, vacations, staying outside later in the evening, cookouts, working in our gardens or yards --- all of this very different from"ordinary."

Perhaps today is a day when we thank our God for all the goodness that lies ahead. In these Nat King Cole "lazy, hazy days of summer," we are afforded the time to give some extra time to OURSELVES. It is is the relaxation of summer time and vacations that we have the wonderful opportunity to bond more closely with our families and friends ... and, hopefully, with the Lord Jesus.

So, what might be called "ordinary" is really extraordinary. There is really nothing "ordinary" about the 90 days ahead of us. It is a unique time. It is a privileged time. Let us not fail to take every advantage of this gift from God.

And, today, especially, let us not forget the "extraordinary" gifts given this nation of ours by those we recall in a special way on Memorial Day. There was and never will be anything "ordinary" about what these men and women have done for us.

PENTECOST DAY: oops

(Apologies: I thought this had been sent our for your reading.)

Today, Pentecost Sunday, as we know, the celebration of the Easter season draws to its conclusion. It was ninety days ago that we initiated an annual retreat that has taken us through forty days of reflection. In that period of time we sacrificed in order to strengthen our vision and our goals. We endured the revisiting the dusty Calvary hillside path and the painful journey of Jesus to its top. Together with women and men we now know as saints we caught glimpses and words of a victorious Jesus during the forty days following the Easter Sunday that affirmed our redemption. Today the Church invites us to a celebration of the unique gift Jesus and the Father entrusted to us.
The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of each one of us creates a new presence of Jesus Christ in our world by creating the Body of Christ. Today we celebrate the uniqueness of the gift: it is a gift to each one of us personally, especially marked out for us on the day of our Confirmation. Likewise it is a gift to all of us together, together as the community of believers, of followers.
While we believe that Jesus ascended from this earth to return to the kingdom of God, to be with God, his Father, we continue to believe that he, Jesus, is here with us even today, even here among us gathered to praise and worship our God. We believe that Jesus is physically present in and through the Body of Christ. How many times do we say or recall that Jesus is present in one another. We say that we do believe that Jesus speaks to us at times in and through our sisters and brothers. How many times do we express our belief that through our hands, our eyes and our hearts we are serving one another as the instrument Jesus uses to bring himself to others.
Many of you many have seen the documentary, The March of the Penguins. In a way the experiences of the penguins may well be likened to the activity of the Body of Christ. In the sub-sub zero weather of Antarctica and the South Pole, these elegant animals form one body, huddled together for one purpose: to survive the onslaught of the bitter cold and vicious winds. As the winds increase and the temperature drops, the penguins, in the huddled formation, take turns standing on the outer circle so that all are protected. Standing alone in the painful weather conditions, no penguin can survive. Together as one community, the penguins realize there is hope.
Likewise, in the documentary we see the magnificent sharing of responsibilities, especially in the propagation of the community. The male and female penguins have distinct responsibilities. Momma penguin lays the egg but Papa has the dual duty of keeping the egg warm until it is hatched and then keeping the young penguin warm until Momma comes back from the distant waters bearing a belly fully of food for the youngster.
Isn’t that so much like the body of Christ in our Church where there are many ministries that enable all of us to be nurturers to one another in our journey of faith? By teaching our youngsters about the Commandments, the Sacraments and the life of Jesus Christ are we not building a protective wall about the community to protect it from the many assaults that would undermine the faith that has been instilled in their hearts? By teaching them the value of the Christian community are we not feeding their hearts and minds as well as our own with food that will strengthen us on our journey of faith?
Today is truly a day when we celebrate our community life in the Church. This is the day when we celebrate the birthday of the Church. I would ask you to pray today for a deeper understanding of the importance of our gathering as one body, the Body of Christ. Especially, I would ask you who are parents of younger people to take some time today to teach them that we come to Church not simply because we are called to do so by the commandments of the Church but because it brings us together as one family, the Body of Christ. It is together, sharing in our faith, sharing the Eucharist that we strengthen our own participation in the Body of Christ.
What greater reality is there for us in our world today than because of the Eucharist being identified as one with Jesus Christ and thereby with each other? I do not believe there is anything greater. So, I close asking you to pray for one another especially our sisters and brothers who cannot be with us because of illness. Let our faith and our petitions before God be a sign to them that even though not with us physically, they are with us in our prayerful hearts.

Theological College Change

It was announced in the Baltimore Sun, yesterday, that Fr. Thomas Hurst, a member of the Society of San Sulpice and Rector of Theological College, located opposite the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, has been named President and Rector of St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, effective July 1, 2007. Fr. Hurst has been the Rector and "TC" for several years.

"TC" is the local seminary for American diocesan seminarians who study at Catholic University at their bishop's direction. This seminary has always maintained a strong reputation throughout the years. Not a stranger to controversy at some moments, the school has weathered storms and continues to attract the support of American bishops. It is not a diocesan seminary for the Archdiocese of Washington. It is a national seminary located in the nation's capital so that students can attend classes in the Pontifical sections of Catholic University of America.

Our prayers are with you, Fr. Hurst.

Cathecism Class: May 26, 2007

Orestes Brownson: Part Two

Notre Dame graduates may recall that this intellectual convert to the faith is interred at the South Bend campus. He became a Catholic along with his family when he was baptized in Boston, MA on October 20, 1844. For more than a quarter of a century, Brownson published The Review. The magazine was his effort to offer commentary on the important religious, moral and political issues of the day.

His thrust in the magazine was to stress what the Church taught. He was much involved in the Church's mission of renewal. Likewise he wrote that Catholics had a serious obligation to address the culture of the times.

The authors of the new Catechism note the reason for selecting this intellectual for inclusion in their work as worthy of our reading and awareness because this man's journey of faith "led him to acknowledge the self-revelation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While he struggled witht he mystery of God, he also pondered the mystery of eveil. He found the satisfying response in the gift of faith that brought him to Catholicism."

Daily Reflection: Saturday, May 26, 2007

St. Philip Neri

Out of Florence, Italy, came this man of Christian determination. Born in the 15th year of the 16th century, Philip eventually found himself establishing a society that would direct its attention toward the poor who were sick.

In 1551 he was ordained a priest and soon thereafter founded the Society of the Oratory. His thrust within the community was spiritual reading, sacred music and works of charity. The Saint's life makes for a good read and a return to hagiography (lives of the saints) which seems to have fallen between the cracks of our modern world.

Reading all that Philip accomplished and how he went about responding to the call of the Holy Spirit in his life, one cannot but think how challenging it was to answer a call to priesthood, let alone holiness, in the 16th century. It was a challenge that exits so clearly in our own times.

Interestingly enough to me, with my Jesuit background, is that Philip did have direct contact with Ignatius of Loyola. They were in Rome at the same time. Many of those who were refused entrance into the Society of Jesus subsequently found a home with the Oratorians. Hmmm!

Catechism Class To Resume

After some months without continuing our journey through the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, it is time to resume classes. Let's call it a summer session.

We will pick up with Chapter 5: I Believe in God. The life of an intellectual Catholic opens this chapter. Orestes Brownson, leaving Transcendentalism and Unitarianism in the mid-nineteenth century, became a Roman Catholic because he felt our Church offered an intelligent mind what he had been seeking all his life.

He made it clear that the teaching authority of the Church was his guide. He saw this as no different from the maps and charts that any seaworthy captain would use to chart a course.

I find it interesting that the team of church folks who put this chapter together would select Brownson as the introduction to an investigation into what is most challenging for thinkers. It is not unusual for a person of great intelligence to confront our faith and the principles of belief with some difficulty.

Bownson's life with the Universalist church as member and later as a minister was supplanted by a group of attractive minds ... the Transcendentalists. He was then associated with other prominent names from the mid-nineteenth century: Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Peabody. These people along with Brownson were reacting to a Calvinist view of a God who was angry with his people because they had a depraved nature. The movement lasted but a dozen years or so but it did not end without passing on a vision that brought other bright minds to the challenge of belief.

What brought Brownson to the Catholic Church? You will have to wait until the next installment or turn to the Catechism and check it out.

Daily Reflecton: Friday, May 25, 2007

We begin with this image of St. Peter. The challenge of this particular episode of John's gospel in today's readings is to see yourself in this leader of the group, The Twelve. "Can I respond in similar fashion?" you might ask yourself.

Jesus, preparing the Twelve, in particular Peter, for the days when he would no longer be with them, wants to entrust the care of the flock to Peter and the others ... and now ... to you and to me.

We, all of us, are called to evangelize the people of God. We are called to stand up for what we believe by knowing what we are called to believe. We are called to live out the command given to Peter, if we truly want to follow Jesus: "Feed my lambs.... Feed my sheep."

This evangelizing, this feeding, what does it mean? As we begin this Memorial Day weekend, I believe we can see in the men and women who have given so much for this country that is changing so rapidly in so many ways, the very action that Jesus encourages Peter to follow. Those we memorialize were called to give and protect freedom for others; in our faith, we are called to give of the love that God has showered upon us. Care for the needy, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the mentally challenged, the children who seem abandoned. Just as those who served our nation in difficult times by watching how they could put forward the values of freedom, we are called upon to be watching to see how we can give to others the spiritual values symbolized by our care of the hurting.

At the liturgy we receive the same challenge from Jesus in the Eucharist: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. For those who cannot attend a Eucharist on a daily basis, a spiritual communion is possible. In the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (p 225) we read the following: Spiritual communion means uniting one's self in prayer with Christ's sacrifice and worshiping him present in his Body and Blood. This is a source of blessing for us and an opportunity for us to take seriously Jesus' bidding that we feed his sheep.

Are You Listening?

In another Catholic Blog, Shouts from the Piazza, there appeared the following picture and words. It surely offers a sense of humor and some serious thinking.

Yes, Yes...lots of cheering, lots of singing, lots of fanfare. But, have any of you paid attention to a single word I've said?

SPF 100

The Pope of hats! Seems that this might be just the thing to be the sun rays in St. Peter's Square during the weekly Wednesday audience.

Surely our Holy Father and his personal secretary seem to have a great time in choosing the haberdashery for the weekly audiences. Great ideas to break up the monotony of the weekly appearances.

Thought you'd like to see what might be called the summer "almost" boater!

HOW THE HEART WORKS

The following is taken from the Catholic World News service published today. This news is a tremendous boost for the Catholic Schools across the country not just in the Big Apple.

The New York archdiocese has received a record-breaking gift of $22.5 million from an atheist.
Robert Wilson, a retired financier, has given the sum-- the largest single donation ever recorded by the Church in New York-- to a program that will pay tuition for needy children attending New York's parochial schools.
Explaining his decision to make the grant to a Catholic charity, Wilson pointed out that his money would be used to pay for the education of children, rather than for specifically religious purposes.
While he is not religious, Wilson indicated a deep respect for the Catholic faith. "Let's face it," he told a reporter: "without the Roman Catholic Church there would be no Western civilization."

And we might ask: "Is there such a generous soul on these banks of the Potomac?"