It may be surprising, but the sacrament I celebrate the most often - besides the Eucharist - is the Anointing of the Sick. It makes sense because illness - and even death - are just normal parts of a human life.
People ask to be anointed because they're seeking healing, seeking comfort, seeking hope - and so they go to God - they go to Him because He's the one who can give them those things.
Jesus was known as a healer. Many of the stories we hear in the Gospels are stories of Jesus restoring someone to health - or even bringing them back to life.
Usually, the sick person or someone else comes to Jesus asking for this healing. When He sees their faith, Jesus heals them. But today's gospel story is a little different: no one asks Jesus to bring that man back to life. He sees the man's mother and the crowd of mourners, and on His own initiative, He performs the miracle.
The crowd is obviously amazed. They proclaim Jesus as a "great prophet," referring back to stories like the one of Elijah we heard in the first reading, stories where God used His prophets to perform miracles.
But Jesus' mission - and His identity - are much greater than Elijah's. Jesus can restore life, because He is life itself. He can heal because only in Him do we find wholeness - wholeness that is much more than only physical health, but holiness - being restored in our relationship with the Father.
The gospel says that Jesus saw the grieving mother and was "moved with pity for her." Her suffering touched Jesus' heart. Her son was dead and only the touch of Jesus could give him life again - but she needed healing too.
In fact, all of us, even at the peak of our health, when we feel indestructible, are in need of healing. We are wounded by sin - these wounds hurt our relationship with God, with the people around us, and even with ourselves.
Often we don't notice these wounds - or we try to ignore them; but they are there: sins that we can't overcome, shame over our past, relationships that have fallen apart.
Jesus desires to heal those wounds and His physical healings are a sign that He also wants to restore our spiritual health. How does He do that? How do we find that healing? It's not a complicated answer - He does it in the sacraments.
We bring Him our sins in confession and He gives us forgiveness.
We receive Him in the Eucharist and He gives us His own life.
When we're physically sick, we ask for His help with the Anointing of the Sick - and He gives us spiritual healing as well.
If we're open to it, Jesus can transform our wounds and weaknesses into opportunities for grace. We just have to realize that we need Him.
It's easy to admit our weakness when we're physically sick and there's nothing we can do about it; but we have to acknowledge the illness in our souls and come to the only One who can make us whole again.
When I anoint a sick person in the hospital, there's often the sense that they're placing everything in God's hands. That's our pathway to healing: surrendering everything we are and asking the Lord to make it holy.
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Trinity Sunday
When we hear the word "mystery," I think that many of us think of something like a crime - something out of Sherlock Holmes or Law & Order, where we try to understand all of the parts, every cause and effect, and explain it.
Then you have the mysteries of science: why do certain things act the way they do? What is it all made of? How can we explain why things are the way they are?
But what about the mystery of love between a husband and a wife?
Or the bond between a parent and a child?
Why does the ocean or a starry sky or a mountain capture our attention and draw us out of ourselves?
Those are mysteries that can't be explained away - you can't take them apart and understand why they exist. They are mysteries that aren't meant to be solved, but, rather, embraced.
The mysteries of love, of truth, goodness, and beauty, are meant to be explored - we dive deeper into them everyday and, yet, they're still beyond our understanding. That's the way it's meant to be.
The Trinity, what we celebrate today on Trinity Sunday, is one of those mysteries. It's something that's been gradually revealed to us, something great and holy men and women have prayed and written about ... but it's something we'll never fully comprehend. It's beyond us.
So you may think, "Well, Father, why do we even bother talking about it? Why celebrate this feast every year when we will never understand it?"
It's for the same reason that we say "I love you" to our loved ones over and over again; the same reason why we come back to our favorite songs or stare at a great painting - truth, goodness, and beauty deserve contemplation.
We celebrate this feast after Easter every year because it's something we need to dwell on, something we need to contemplate. We won't understand it all at once, but if we spend time with it, it's truth will gradually change us.
That truth, that God is three persons, is amazing. God is a relationship, God is the very act of love itself, and that is the fundamental reality of the universe.
When the Beatles sang, "All you need is love," they were absolutely right, whether they knew it or not. God is the love between the Father and the Son, poured out as the Holy Spirit - and that is the most basic fact of all existence.
This Sunday is also sometimes, jokingly, called by priests, "Heresy Sunday." That's because, when you're talking about something so mysterious and so far beyond our understanding, it's very easy to make a mistake.
So let's not dwell on theological definitions of the Trinity. Those are important, but what's most important is encountering the Triune God, coming to know Him and love Him.
We may not be able to define or explain the Trinity, but we can come to know God. The Father reveals Himself in the Word, the Son. The Son came to earth and revealed the Father to us. When Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to us so that we can know Him and the Father in the very depths of our hearts.
The Trinity is a mystery, not meant to be solved, but to be embraced, lived, and, ultimately, loved.
Then you have the mysteries of science: why do certain things act the way they do? What is it all made of? How can we explain why things are the way they are?
But what about the mystery of love between a husband and a wife?
Or the bond between a parent and a child?
Why does the ocean or a starry sky or a mountain capture our attention and draw us out of ourselves?
Those are mysteries that can't be explained away - you can't take them apart and understand why they exist. They are mysteries that aren't meant to be solved, but, rather, embraced.
The mysteries of love, of truth, goodness, and beauty, are meant to be explored - we dive deeper into them everyday and, yet, they're still beyond our understanding. That's the way it's meant to be.
The Trinity, what we celebrate today on Trinity Sunday, is one of those mysteries. It's something that's been gradually revealed to us, something great and holy men and women have prayed and written about ... but it's something we'll never fully comprehend. It's beyond us.
So you may think, "Well, Father, why do we even bother talking about it? Why celebrate this feast every year when we will never understand it?"
It's for the same reason that we say "I love you" to our loved ones over and over again; the same reason why we come back to our favorite songs or stare at a great painting - truth, goodness, and beauty deserve contemplation.
We celebrate this feast after Easter every year because it's something we need to dwell on, something we need to contemplate. We won't understand it all at once, but if we spend time with it, it's truth will gradually change us.
That truth, that God is three persons, is amazing. God is a relationship, God is the very act of love itself, and that is the fundamental reality of the universe.
When the Beatles sang, "All you need is love," they were absolutely right, whether they knew it or not. God is the love between the Father and the Son, poured out as the Holy Spirit - and that is the most basic fact of all existence.
This Sunday is also sometimes, jokingly, called by priests, "Heresy Sunday." That's because, when you're talking about something so mysterious and so far beyond our understanding, it's very easy to make a mistake.
So let's not dwell on theological definitions of the Trinity. Those are important, but what's most important is encountering the Triune God, coming to know Him and love Him.
We may not be able to define or explain the Trinity, but we can come to know God. The Father reveals Himself in the Word, the Son. The Son came to earth and revealed the Father to us. When Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to us so that we can know Him and the Father in the very depths of our hearts.
The Trinity is a mystery, not meant to be solved, but to be embraced, lived, and, ultimately, loved.
Saturday, May 04, 2013
Sixth Sunday of Easter: Founded on the Apostles
Last week, we heard Jesus' command, "As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."
That love brings together the Church into a body - it's made up of people of different nationalities, opinions, and cultures - but it's united in the love of God.
Now, in this week's readings, we see how exactly that plays out in real life.
One of the big issues that the early Church had to deal with was what to do with gentile, or non-Jewish, converts.
Christianity had grown up in Judaism. All of the Apostles and first disciples were Jewish. In fact, Jesus himself was Jewish, and followed all the laws and customs of the people of Israel. For those first Jewish Christians, faith in Jesus wasn't this new and totally separate thing - it flowed out of the history and faith of Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that had come before him.
But as Christianity spread into the rest of the world, and people who weren't originally Jewish joined the Church, conflicts arose. There were some Christians who thought that the only way for a gentile to become a Christian was for them to first become a Jew, and that meant getting circumcised and following the laws and customs of the Jews. We call this group the Judaizers.
This created a problem for the gentile Christians. They weren't Jewish, that wasn't their culture or their history; the reading says that "dissension and debate" arose. So Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders of the Church. The reading we heard today is a summary of this event, but the whole chapter of Acts 15 describes what we now call the Council of Jerusalem.
There's a debate between the Judaizers and those who believe that the gentiles don't need to follow Jewish law, but finally Peter stands up and addresses the council. He says that the same God who chose them had also chosen the gentiles. He's given them the Holy Spirit and brought them into the faith. Why should we impose this extra burden on them when all of us will be saved through the grace of Jesus?
That's the end of the debate. Paul and Barnabas tell the group what they've experienced ministering to the gentiles, and then James, who was the leader of the Church in Jerusalem and part of the group that would want gentiles to follow Jewish law, confirms what Peter said. Though he was on the opposite side of the argument, he accepts Peter's decision and concedes the debate.
This is important. It would have been easy for James to say, "If you don't agree with me, then you aren't a real Christian" and leave with his group. That's how Christianity has become so fragmented over the centuries. Rather, he accepts the teaching of Peter.
The council sends Paul and Barnabas, along with some others from Jerusalem, to carry their decision back to the gentile Christians. That first great controversy of the Church was resolved through the leadership of Peter and the apostles.
In the Nicene creed, which we will proclaim together in just a few minutes, we say, "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." This story demonstrates the apostolic foundation of the Church.
Just as in the reading from the book of Revelation where the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem have on them the names of the 12 apostles, the Church today is founded on those men Jesus chose to lead his Church.
The apostles, with Peter at their head, went out into the world to teach, govern, and sanctify the Church - and they are still with us today in the bishops, the successors of the apostles. There is an unbroken chain of shepherds that goes back to Jesus. It is through that authority and that teaching that the Church remains one and at peace.
This isn't because of wisdom or holiness of those successors. Even the holiest people are imperfect and this applies to the apostles and bishops as well. When Napoleon captured Rome, he told the pope at the time that he would destroy the Church in one year. The pope replied, "Sir, we have been trying to destroy the Church for 1,800 years. I doubt that you will be able to destroy it one."
The Church goes on because she is guided by the Holy Spirit - just as Jesus promised: we would not be abandoned. The pope and the bishops follow in the footsteps of the apostles, guiding and teaching the Church with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
That doesn't mean that no one will ever make a mistake; what it means is that the Lord will stay with his Church and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)
I've said to you before that no one can say that they don't know what the Catholic Church says about something. When there's a question, we can look to the teachings of the last two thousand years to see what the Church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of the Scriptures, and the experience of Tradition, has taught. We know where we stand.
If we stay close to our the pope and the bishops, and hold fast to the teachings we've received, we can be sure that we are with Jesus.
[readings]
That love brings together the Church into a body - it's made up of people of different nationalities, opinions, and cultures - but it's united in the love of God.
Now, in this week's readings, we see how exactly that plays out in real life.
One of the big issues that the early Church had to deal with was what to do with gentile, or non-Jewish, converts.
Christianity had grown up in Judaism. All of the Apostles and first disciples were Jewish. In fact, Jesus himself was Jewish, and followed all the laws and customs of the people of Israel. For those first Jewish Christians, faith in Jesus wasn't this new and totally separate thing - it flowed out of the history and faith of Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that had come before him.
But as Christianity spread into the rest of the world, and people who weren't originally Jewish joined the Church, conflicts arose. There were some Christians who thought that the only way for a gentile to become a Christian was for them to first become a Jew, and that meant getting circumcised and following the laws and customs of the Jews. We call this group the Judaizers.
This created a problem for the gentile Christians. They weren't Jewish, that wasn't their culture or their history; the reading says that "dissension and debate" arose. So Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders of the Church. The reading we heard today is a summary of this event, but the whole chapter of Acts 15 describes what we now call the Council of Jerusalem.
There's a debate between the Judaizers and those who believe that the gentiles don't need to follow Jewish law, but finally Peter stands up and addresses the council. He says that the same God who chose them had also chosen the gentiles. He's given them the Holy Spirit and brought them into the faith. Why should we impose this extra burden on them when all of us will be saved through the grace of Jesus?
That's the end of the debate. Paul and Barnabas tell the group what they've experienced ministering to the gentiles, and then James, who was the leader of the Church in Jerusalem and part of the group that would want gentiles to follow Jewish law, confirms what Peter said. Though he was on the opposite side of the argument, he accepts Peter's decision and concedes the debate.
This is important. It would have been easy for James to say, "If you don't agree with me, then you aren't a real Christian" and leave with his group. That's how Christianity has become so fragmented over the centuries. Rather, he accepts the teaching of Peter.
The council sends Paul and Barnabas, along with some others from Jerusalem, to carry their decision back to the gentile Christians. That first great controversy of the Church was resolved through the leadership of Peter and the apostles.
In the Nicene creed, which we will proclaim together in just a few minutes, we say, "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." This story demonstrates the apostolic foundation of the Church.
Just as in the reading from the book of Revelation where the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem have on them the names of the 12 apostles, the Church today is founded on those men Jesus chose to lead his Church.
The apostles, with Peter at their head, went out into the world to teach, govern, and sanctify the Church - and they are still with us today in the bishops, the successors of the apostles. There is an unbroken chain of shepherds that goes back to Jesus. It is through that authority and that teaching that the Church remains one and at peace.
This isn't because of wisdom or holiness of those successors. Even the holiest people are imperfect and this applies to the apostles and bishops as well. When Napoleon captured Rome, he told the pope at the time that he would destroy the Church in one year. The pope replied, "Sir, we have been trying to destroy the Church for 1,800 years. I doubt that you will be able to destroy it one."
The Church goes on because she is guided by the Holy Spirit - just as Jesus promised: we would not be abandoned. The pope and the bishops follow in the footsteps of the apostles, guiding and teaching the Church with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
That doesn't mean that no one will ever make a mistake; what it means is that the Lord will stay with his Church and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)
I've said to you before that no one can say that they don't know what the Catholic Church says about something. When there's a question, we can look to the teachings of the last two thousand years to see what the Church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of the Scriptures, and the experience of Tradition, has taught. We know where we stand.
If we stay close to our the pope and the bishops, and hold fast to the teachings we've received, we can be sure that we are with Jesus.
[readings]
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Fifth Sunday of Easter: We Need The Church
A few days ago, Pope Francis said something shocking.
In fact, if the world paid a little more attention what he said, he might find himself in the middle of a controversy.
What Pope Francis said, on his feast day - the feast of St. George - was that "it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church."
That's a bold and clear statement. It's also a true statement.
The Church is where we find Jesus. Not because we're an exclusive club who think we have all the answers, but because Jesus set it up that way.
We've been hearing from the book of Acts in our first reading since Easter; and in it, we've witnessed the Church growing up. The Apostles are preaching, the Gospel of Jesus is spreading. In these most recent readings, we've seen the ministry of Paul and Barnabas as they began the work of sharing the good news with the gentiles, the world outside the people of Israel.
And what we see is the building up of a community. Paul and Barnabas don't just leave some pamphlets and say, "Ok, go be good Christians." They have a personal encounter with the people and they bring them into this family of the Church. They appoint elders for the communities.
That goes against a certain mindset in our culture: the mindset that everything is about me. It's a mindset of "me and Jesus." I'll be a Christian but I don't want to have to deal with "organized religion." I don't want to have to deal with an actual Church.
Do you know what's so hard about being a part of a community?
There are people there.
People who may disagree with me. People who are richer than me or poorer than me. People from the other political party. People who I don't like.
To quote the great Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor, "Here comes everybody!"
Being part of the community of the Church can be a struggle because sometimes we humans get on each others' nerves; but Jesus didn't want it any other way. He called together the Apostles to evangelize the world and look at them: the fought, they argued, they disagreed.
But despite our differences, in the Church we find unity - we say it in the Creed: "I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."
We overcome our differences and our natural human tendency to bother each other by following Jesus' command to the Apostles at the Last Supper which we heard in our gospel today:
According to Jesus, that is the way that people will know we are Christians. Christ loves us and so we must love each other. That's the Church.
Our participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, our prayer and our worship build us up into this family that shares in the love of God. That's why it's vital to come to worship together every week.
Now, I know I'm preaching to the choir, in a way: you're all here. You're joining together as the Church in St. Clairsville along with the Church all over the world and the Church in heaven to worship our God. It's a glimpse of what John describes in the book of Revelation as the "new Jerusalem," the bride of Christ, coming down from Heaven at the end of time.
In the end, the Church will be with her savior. We as a community and as individuals will live with God forever.
- but to get there, we need to spend our time on earth growing in love: love of God and love of our neighbor. Living in the family of the Church with other imperfect people helps us to grow in that love.
We're not here because we decided to form a club, we're here because God called all of us, through our baptism, to be part of His family.
[readings]
In fact, if the world paid a little more attention what he said, he might find himself in the middle of a controversy.
What Pope Francis said, on his feast day - the feast of St. George - was that "it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church."
That's a bold and clear statement. It's also a true statement.
The Church is where we find Jesus. Not because we're an exclusive club who think we have all the answers, but because Jesus set it up that way.
We've been hearing from the book of Acts in our first reading since Easter; and in it, we've witnessed the Church growing up. The Apostles are preaching, the Gospel of Jesus is spreading. In these most recent readings, we've seen the ministry of Paul and Barnabas as they began the work of sharing the good news with the gentiles, the world outside the people of Israel.
And what we see is the building up of a community. Paul and Barnabas don't just leave some pamphlets and say, "Ok, go be good Christians." They have a personal encounter with the people and they bring them into this family of the Church. They appoint elders for the communities.
That goes against a certain mindset in our culture: the mindset that everything is about me. It's a mindset of "me and Jesus." I'll be a Christian but I don't want to have to deal with "organized religion." I don't want to have to deal with an actual Church.
Do you know what's so hard about being a part of a community?
There are people there.
People who may disagree with me. People who are richer than me or poorer than me. People from the other political party. People who I don't like.
To quote the great Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor, "Here comes everybody!"
Being part of the community of the Church can be a struggle because sometimes we humans get on each others' nerves; but Jesus didn't want it any other way. He called together the Apostles to evangelize the world and look at them: the fought, they argued, they disagreed.
But despite our differences, in the Church we find unity - we say it in the Creed: "I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."
We overcome our differences and our natural human tendency to bother each other by following Jesus' command to the Apostles at the Last Supper which we heard in our gospel today:
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.This is how all will know that you are my disciples,if you have love for one another.Our love for one another should point us out as followers of Jesus.
According to Jesus, that is the way that people will know we are Christians. Christ loves us and so we must love each other. That's the Church.
Our participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, our prayer and our worship build us up into this family that shares in the love of God. That's why it's vital to come to worship together every week.
Now, I know I'm preaching to the choir, in a way: you're all here. You're joining together as the Church in St. Clairsville along with the Church all over the world and the Church in heaven to worship our God. It's a glimpse of what John describes in the book of Revelation as the "new Jerusalem," the bride of Christ, coming down from Heaven at the end of time.
In the end, the Church will be with her savior. We as a community and as individuals will live with God forever.
- but to get there, we need to spend our time on earth growing in love: love of God and love of our neighbor. Living in the family of the Church with other imperfect people helps us to grow in that love.
We're not here because we decided to form a club, we're here because God called all of us, through our baptism, to be part of His family.
[readings]
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Fourth Sunday of Easter: The Shepherd Is The Lamb
The Shepherd is the Lamb.
That's the great mystery revealed to us in the readings today: the Lord who is the victor, the ruler, our savior is the one who lowered himself to the bottom. The Lord who will come again in glory at the end of time is the one who bled to death on a cross as a sacrifice.
That whole concept has been an issue for the Church from the beginning. How can you worship someone who died? How can you claim that this man who ate and drank like any of us to be the God of the universe?
It is quite a claim, but it gets to the heart of who Jesus is and how we are to be his followers.
In the first reading, Paul and Barnabas are preaching in Antioch. Following their usual procedure, they start in the synagogue - preaching about Jesus to the Jews, the people to whom God first revealed himself.
Their preaching is so popular that, on the next sabbath, the whole city gathers to hear them. It's this popularity that causes those who don't believe to attack them and stir up persecution. So Paul and Barnabas leave Antioch - but they don't do it defeated. The don't leave saying, "Wow. I guess the Gospel won't spread. People don't want to hear it. We've failed." As Luke writes, they "were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."
They move on in confidence and joy because they know that Jesus himself had suffered before them. The Shepherd who guides them is the Lamb who gave up his life for them.
In the reading from the Book of Revelation the huge crowd of people from every nation are standing before God's throne. They are there in glory because they have gone through the "time of great distress." They've been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Their sufferings were given meaning and purpose because they followed the Shepherd who suffered for them.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd not because he shows us some easy path through life, one without suffering or trouble - there is no such path. We will all encounter failure and hurt and suffering.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he lives with his sheep. He suffers for them and he suffers with them.
After one of the craziest weeks that probably many of us can remember, it's important to remember that a relationship with God doesn't mean an exemption from suffering, but it takes our suffering and gives it meaning.
Like Jesus we can choose love - no matter what the circumstances.
We can look for ways to give ourselves to the people in our lives. We can follow Jesus' example of being a servant to all - of putting others before ourselves.
This weekend we also observe the World Day of Prayer for Vocations - a time to turn to The Lord and ask, "How are you calling me to serve? How are you calling me to lay down my life for You and my neighbor?" For some of the young men and women here, that calling may lead them to the priesthood or religious life.
To all of you who are still in school: make sure you take the time to listen for God's calling. He may have a plan to use you as a sister or a priest that will change the world. Even if it's not the "normal" path the world expects of you, give it a chance. I can say from my own experience that if God calls you to it, He will give you joy and fulfillment that you can't imagine.
We will never fully understand how low God has stooped to be with us - how far he has lowered himself so that we can know him and love him.
What we can do is follow his example of selflessness and trust that the Lamb who died for us will shepherd us to eternal life with him.
That's the great mystery revealed to us in the readings today: the Lord who is the victor, the ruler, our savior is the one who lowered himself to the bottom. The Lord who will come again in glory at the end of time is the one who bled to death on a cross as a sacrifice.
That whole concept has been an issue for the Church from the beginning. How can you worship someone who died? How can you claim that this man who ate and drank like any of us to be the God of the universe?
It is quite a claim, but it gets to the heart of who Jesus is and how we are to be his followers.
In the first reading, Paul and Barnabas are preaching in Antioch. Following their usual procedure, they start in the synagogue - preaching about Jesus to the Jews, the people to whom God first revealed himself.
Their preaching is so popular that, on the next sabbath, the whole city gathers to hear them. It's this popularity that causes those who don't believe to attack them and stir up persecution. So Paul and Barnabas leave Antioch - but they don't do it defeated. The don't leave saying, "Wow. I guess the Gospel won't spread. People don't want to hear it. We've failed." As Luke writes, they "were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."
They move on in confidence and joy because they know that Jesus himself had suffered before them. The Shepherd who guides them is the Lamb who gave up his life for them.
In the reading from the Book of Revelation the huge crowd of people from every nation are standing before God's throne. They are there in glory because they have gone through the "time of great distress." They've been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Their sufferings were given meaning and purpose because they followed the Shepherd who suffered for them.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd not because he shows us some easy path through life, one without suffering or trouble - there is no such path. We will all encounter failure and hurt and suffering.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he lives with his sheep. He suffers for them and he suffers with them.
After one of the craziest weeks that probably many of us can remember, it's important to remember that a relationship with God doesn't mean an exemption from suffering, but it takes our suffering and gives it meaning.
Like Jesus we can choose love - no matter what the circumstances.
We can look for ways to give ourselves to the people in our lives. We can follow Jesus' example of being a servant to all - of putting others before ourselves.
This weekend we also observe the World Day of Prayer for Vocations - a time to turn to The Lord and ask, "How are you calling me to serve? How are you calling me to lay down my life for You and my neighbor?" For some of the young men and women here, that calling may lead them to the priesthood or religious life.
To all of you who are still in school: make sure you take the time to listen for God's calling. He may have a plan to use you as a sister or a priest that will change the world. Even if it's not the "normal" path the world expects of you, give it a chance. I can say from my own experience that if God calls you to it, He will give you joy and fulfillment that you can't imagine.
We will never fully understand how low God has stooped to be with us - how far he has lowered himself so that we can know him and love him.
What we can do is follow his example of selflessness and trust that the Lamb who died for us will shepherd us to eternal life with him.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The Slow Death of Your Ego
On Sunday I traveled to Pittsburgh to see one of my favorite songwriters/artists, Denison Witmer, in person. I've enjoyed his music ever since my brother pointed me towards "Little Flowers" a couple of years ago.
The concert was great. It was in a tiny little club so everyone had a great view - there was very little of the separation between artist and audience that you get at a big show.
At one point in the night, Denison was introducing this song, which he explained was about his thoughts on marriage.
To paraphrase: marriage is "the slow death of your ego in the best possible way."
I thought that was a great description of that sort of relationship. It's all about self-gift. Whether we're giving ourselves to a spouse, to the Church, or - ultimately, for all of us - to God, it's a process of choosing the other and laying your life down out of love..
The concert was great. It was in a tiny little club so everyone had a great view - there was very little of the separation between artist and audience that you get at a big show.
At one point in the night, Denison was introducing this song, which he explained was about his thoughts on marriage.
To paraphrase: marriage is "the slow death of your ego in the best possible way."
I thought that was a great description of that sort of relationship. It's all about self-gift. Whether we're giving ourselves to a spouse, to the Church, or - ultimately, for all of us - to God, it's a process of choosing the other and laying your life down out of love..
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
confirmation behind bars
Today my bishop came to St. Clairsville to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation at the state prison that my pastor and I visit every Tuesday.
The guys at the prison have been excited for weeks as we've held "Confirmation classes," and I have to say that I've been excited too: I have been looking forward to them encountering their bishop.
I was not disappointed. There was a real joy in the room as we celebrated Mass. They sang and prayed with enthusiasm. They responded from their hearts.
It gave me a real sense of the beauty that can exist even in the roughest places of the world. These men are in a difficult situation, but God is still there with them. They can live their faith even if they are not what we would consider "free."
Prison ministry has, surprisingly, become one of my favorite parts of being a priest so far. It's humbling to encounter people striving for holiness anywhere, but, in a place like that, their example shines out even brighter.
The guys at the prison have been excited for weeks as we've held "Confirmation classes," and I have to say that I've been excited too: I have been looking forward to them encountering their bishop.
I was not disappointed. There was a real joy in the room as we celebrated Mass. They sang and prayed with enthusiasm. They responded from their hearts.
It gave me a real sense of the beauty that can exist even in the roughest places of the world. These men are in a difficult situation, but God is still there with them. They can live their faith even if they are not what we would consider "free."
Prison ministry has, surprisingly, become one of my favorite parts of being a priest so far. It's humbling to encounter people striving for holiness anywhere, but, in a place like that, their example shines out even brighter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)