Piercing through the confusion with solidarity

Earlier this week a report came out that Christian militiamen, known as anti-Balaka, killed at least 70 people in the remote southwest of Central African Republic, at one point ordering a group of Muslims to lie on the ground and shooting them one by one. A Catholic priest, who helped bury the bodies, reported that similar attacks occurred there earlier in the month in which another 70 Muslims were murdered. Other Muslim witnesses, sheltered in a Catholic church, reported similar attacks elsewhere around the country. Human rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths since early January, when the Muslim rebel government crumbled and Christian fighters sought to avenge the regime's abuses.

What are we to make of all this? Individuals calling themselves Muslim kill Christians. Individuals calling themselves Christian kill Muslims in revenge. Neither of these statements makes sense as we’re not sure when and where it started and when and where it will all end. The one statement that does make sense is this: Catholic clergy protect Muslims within the shelter of the church from the Christians seeking to kill them. This is the one ray of light in what is otherwise a smothering darkness . . . a showing of solidarity between God’s children.

It is that ray of light that holds out hope for the future of these people. It is essential that the Muslim faithful witness Christians who are not only friendly and loving toward them but also willing to risk their own safety and welfare to protect them from harm by others, even from those who are known to be or calling themselves Christian. It is just as essential that Christians be able to witness the same behavior from their Muslim neighbors. Solidarity cannot be reserved for only between people of the same faith as this would serve only to place limits on the power of love. This is the point of our Lord’s telling of the Good Samaritan. We cannot break down the walls of hostility and mistrust between cultures and faiths without actions and deeds of solidarity between human beings regardless of culture and faith.

Within the comfortable confines of our own somewhat homogenous neighborhood we can have a difficult time grasping what makes people do things like this. And yet . . . do we find ourselves becoming irritated and ranting to our televisions, radios, computers and friends about perceived outside threats to our way of life. Why can’t aliens just follow the laws before coming into this country to take jobs away from our unemployed? And why can’t they understand and speak English? Why can’t the gay community just shut up and keep to themselves? Why don’t the drug and alcohol abusers just get help?

I think our Lord would teach us that the injured man on the side of the road that we might wish to avoid could well be an alien, gay or drug abuser . . . and perhaps all of these. Solidarity between God’s children comes first, understanding will follow.

Be perfect as your Father is perfect

MURILLO, Bartolomé Esteban

The Infant Jesus Distributing Bread to Pilgrims

1678

To direct someone to do a task that will not be possible for them to do will likely create in that person some sense of frustration and perhaps resentment. If it is truly something beyond that person's capabilities he will either recognize that immediately and not make the attempt at all or will come to that conclusion in due time and yield to defeat having learned something about himself. So what are we to make of our Lord's insistence that we, his disciples, be perfect as our Father is perfect? I will join you in any cause of concern that you may have about this exhortation because I am not perfect at this time or place and I know I will never be perfect so long as I am on this pilgrimage.

I use the term "exhortation" because I believe that is what Jesus is communicating. He is urging us on to the divine life; to claim our share of His divinity that is our inheritance as disciples of Christ. Look at the behavior and attitude he is asking us to exhibit and take. To show love and truly love our enemies; that is, those who would harm us. To resist the temptation to have our revenge on those who would harm us. To give when it is asked of us without seeking the motivation of the one who is asking. These are certainly behaviors that would seem to be against our self interests and possibly harmful to not only ourselves and our loved ones, but also to the one who may only be thinking of his or her own self interest. That being said, we must acknowledge that these behaviors and attitudes may be difficult to adopt, but they are certainly not impossible. And, what is perhaps more important, they open up the window to the Divine attitude. This, I believe, is what our Lord seeks to have us experience.

If I was to seek to further my conversion to Christ by adopting, as best I could, these behaviors and attitudes, what could I expect? Some disappointment and harm [perceived and real] perhaps. But could I expect to be surprised from time to time at how the world reacts to my behavior and attitude? I think perhaps cycles of distrust and cynicism just might be broken and healing could occur. Others may choose, little by little, to adopt the behavior and attitude they are witnessing in me because of their attraction to it, perhaps not even realizing that it is the Divine attitude to which they are attracted. Perhaps, just perhaps, my trust in my Lord will grow and develop, just as my share in his divinity will grow. Because even though I may sometimes suffer rebuff and insult by adopting this attitude, God will not hide his love from me and I will witness it in the world around me . . . even in this imperfect skin in which I walk.

Finding the courage to seek reconciliation

Today Pope Francis spoke with the pilgrims in St. Peter’s square about the opportunity to find God’s love in the confessional. Speaking in joyful terms and lacing his exhortation with solid catechesis he gave encouragement to his listeners to find the courage to seek reconciliation with God, their neighbors and with themselves.

The Holy Father stated, “[D]on’t lose another day! Go, the priest will be good. And Jesus, (will be) there, . . .[He]receives you. He will receive you with so much love! Be courageous, and go to confession!” He went on to explain, “While the celebration of the sacrament is personal, it is rooted in the universality of the Church," which "accompanies us on the path of conversion.” It is this understanding of the critical nature that the sacrament of reconciliation holds out for us in our ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ that is remarkable about our Pope’s statements.

He pointed out the common complaint used by many is that there is nothing to keep a person from confessing their sins directly to God and, understanding Him to be a merciful God who sees the contrite heart, to seek forgiveness directly from Him. But he explained that when we sin, we also sin against our brothers and against the Church. It is important therefore to seek forgiveness from these as well, in the person of the priest. We then receive forgiveness, not from our own efforts, but as a gift from the Holy Spirit “who showers us with mercy and grace that pours forth unceasingly from the open heart of Christ crucified and risen.”

He went on to note that many people feel ashamed at the idea of confessing their sins and might say, “but Father, I am embarrassed!” He pointed out that embarrassment and shame are appropriate and natural feelings to have when expressing sinful behavior openly to another. This is truly a healthy emotional and spiritual response to our own bad behavior that makes the heart contrite and which brings us before our Lord in the state of humility that suits the occasion. Then upon receiving absolution for our sins and forgiveness from our Lord we can then begin to heal from our spiritual wounds caused by our sin. It is this spiritual healing that strengthens us to strive for an ongoing and vigorous conversion to Christ.

The sacrament of reconciliation is our opportunity to be embraced by God and to appreciate that we are truly welcomed in that embrace just as the prodigal son experienced upon his return to his father. Those who seek to come to know our Lord seek naturally to be converted more closely to his likeness. For this we need the healing that only his forgiveness can give. Let us share in the joy of our Holy Father that we should have the means through Christ and the sacraments of the Church to realize this vision.

What . . . me attracted to sin?

The Liturgy of the Word for the 6th week of Ordinary Time provides a marvelous lesson for someone in spiritual direction who wishes to break through some barriers in their path to follow Christ. For that matter it is a lesson for anyone, in spiritual direction or not. It is a lesson for all time about self-awareness in the spiritual world around us.

There was a time when we often spoke in such terms as "avoiding the occasion of sin" and coming to awareness of our "affection to sin." Somewhere along the line that terminology seems to have fallen out of use as being stilted or old-fashioned. Unfortunately the terminology, while falling out of usage, has not been replaced with anything better . . . or for that matter, with anything. Our humanist friends have generally taken over the conversation and would tend to instruct us that our thoughts and emotions are for the most part harmless and that it is somehow unhealthy to "suppress" them. Those who would provide the spiritual direction that we need to be responsible for our thoughts and emotions might be dubbed as "thought police." The general direction of our culture has been to "protect" the individual's free will at just about all costs. A slippery slope? More like an Olympic competition bobsled course.

Sirach instructs us that our Creator gave us the law, you might say as a trellis, upon which we gain the support to grow into mature spiritual beings. He also tells us that in God's wisdom He gives us the power and dignity to freely choose between good and evil, life and death . . . but that He never gives us the license to sin. Paul tells us that this is a mature wisdom and not the wisdom of this age, or our age, for that matter. But that if we grasp this wisdom and live it out, we shall attain a life that is beyond our imagination.

Our Lord teaches us that to understand and follow the law we must live the law to the very marrow of our being. This is the law of love; that all of our motivation in life be driven by seeking the good of the other and that to do that is to serve our Lord. If that is our focus then we will not be satisfied with the minimum standards of not killing and not committing adultery. Such breaches in the law of love will never be approached by those who live the law of God's love.

And so to lead the life of a true and earnest disciple of Christ we must care very much about where our minds and emotions go. We therefore make every effort to avoid the occasion of sin and continually seek to better understand our own personal affection for sin. It is on this path that we best discern our way to where our Lord will lead us.

Getting old is not for sissies

This was the line that my father would give me as he got older. He was still attempting to do those same physical activities that were easy or at least doable when he was younger, but now he was paying the price. Joint pain and lung disease were catching up to him and reminding him of his ultimate frailty and mortality. But he gave it his best shot at keeping the stiff upper lip. His version of aging gracefully was simply to keep his complaints to himself and to never, ever ask for help.

I think we are all generally aware of the growing trend of our aging population. Certainly those of us who are or have cared for aging parents and are approaching the age when we can imagine the need to be cared for ourselves are keenly aware of this fact and the issues that are raised. For this reason I am particularly interested in twentieth anniversary and General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the workshop entitled “Aging and Disability” slated next week in Rome. Blessed Pope John Paul II established the Pontifical Academy of Life for the purpose of exploring and studying all phases of human life and how we maintain the dignity that is ours that is a gift from our Creator.

This workshop on aging and disability is open to the public and caters particularly to researchers, scholars, health care workers and students who desire to deepen their understanding of this topic. Msgr. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, President of the Academy explained, “[Aging and] disabilities often alter the lives and autonomy of the human person, increasing the challenges for the individual, their family and all of society. The Church is motivated to contribute a renewed reflection on this reality in order to provide a more noteworthy and leading support.” Some of the topics and problems being considered include: the social and cultural problem of disabled elderly persons, the ethical principles to be adopted by health care workers and institutions, the spirituality of the elderly disabled persons and the particular attention that the Church gives to the elderly who are sick and disabled.

It is vital that we, the Church, make an honest assessment of how we are currently caring for our elderly and infirm and in what ways we are meeting or failing to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The answers are not always as simple as they may seem and systems may need to be adjusted or put in place to ensure that this population is not neglected but rather receives the full embrace of all the love and compassion that the Church has to give. Let us pray for an understanding that our elderly are never a burden to us but rather a very great gift from God that we may cherish and oh, so fondly, care for. For there we will find an encounter with Christ and the fullness of our humanity.

Say "Cheese"

It's that time again. The parish is putting out a new parish directory, the last one being produced in 2010. Since that time, children have been born and love ones have passed on; teenagers have grown 6 inches and Dad has lost some hair; new faces have arrived and familiar faces have moved to warmer climates; staff changes; clergy changes. And yet the continuity remains within our parish family . . . that is, we are family and we want to hold on to all of that. The parish directory is much more than a phone book or contact list. It is our parish family album where we find each other, put faces together with names and place a finger marker on time.

I think it is of some consequence then that we take the time and effort to gather the clan for the photo shoot. Tell your teenagers to think of it as contributing to the glamour and class of the directory. If you've gained some weight like I have and would rather not memorialize the grand addition, do it anyway and think of it as motivation for the next directory. And if you think that no one really cares if you are pictured in the directory or not, think again. We miss you if you are not there, just as we miss you when you aren't in your pew on Sunday.

The significance of a sense of community in a parish cannot be overstated. Without it the purpose of our gathering for Mass, listening the Word and sharing in the Eucharist becomes hollow by our failure to truly hear what our Lord is telling us. And so we offer ourselves to the parish community in so many different ways. With a smile, an Hola and friendly conversation; truly caring about the circumstances of the person sitting next to us in the pew. Being present as a member of the parish, participating in the assembly for a baptism or first communion and sharing in the joy of the moment. Mourning at the funeral Mass with a family whose love one has passed on and perhaps helping out at the reception; giving the needed hug. This is what it means to belong to a community and to accept others into your community. These small acts of self giving are essential to living a life fully and being receptive to the gifts that our Lord has for us.

So too is the simple act of posing for the camera an act of self giving. As insignificant as it may seem, it builds our parish community by drawing us together for now and for posterity. It is, in the final analysis, an act of belonging. And isn't belonging to one another exactly what our Lord teaches us to do and be? The Apostles understood this as they built up the Church just as Paul exhorts us in his letters. So let's get our arms around one another and say, "Cheese"!

A light to shine before others

It is a matter of our culture that faith and prayer tend to be a very private thing. When we hear the scripture that tells us to go alone to our room and pray to the Father or to not be like the Publican who pounds his chest demonstrably in prayer, we are apt to say, "Amen." That feels comfortable and right to us. We have names, such as "bible-thumper", for people who we think bring their faith too much into the public view. Even if we don't shun them, we don't want to be like them.

The question is, "Do we want to be disciples of Christ, or not?" What did our Lord tell us about how to be his disciples? We are to be the salt of the earth, the city on the hill, a light to shine before others. Why? For what purpose? Because Jesus Christ came into this world to interact with us that we might know him and seek to be saved by him by becoming his disciples. He formed his Church and endowed that Church with his very self that we might be Christ to the world, to interact with it that all who seek Christ will find him.

That does not sound very much like a private thing. Interaction with the community and the world is key. We do not receive the sacraments as a private gift from God to hold close to ourselves. The sacraments are a gift for us to share with the world as that is the key that unlocks the power they contain. I was not baptized into the faith solely for the purpose of being able to call God my father. I was baptized to be adopted into his family of disciples and confirmed to build that family up. I was married in the faith to shine and share that light of love with my community. I was ordained in the faith, certainly not for my own purposes, but for the purposes of serving my faith community that it might go forth and be Christ to the world. "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord with your lives!"

We can look at this in two ways. Either we accept it as an obligation, what is expected of us to be disciples of our Lord and go through the motions to fulfill that duty. Or we perceive it as an opportunity to bring as much of the kingdom of heaven to earth now as we possibly can and thereby experience the joy that comes with that. To be attentive to the needs of God's children, our neighbors, and to share our love of our Lord with them is not a great burden that we should want to avoid. Rather, we should be embracing the opportunity to be yoked to Him who will lead us to our greatest fulfillment.

Let us then be aware that we are a light to the world and shine brilliantly.

Facing the truth

It will hurt me and I may be drawn into becoming angry and defensive if someone points their finger at me and calls me evil. I know that even though I am a sinner and therefore have the capacity for evil, I am a good person because of the graces that God has bestowed upon me. I don't want someone to pour scorn on my capacity for good that is such a precious gift from my Lord and who I know loves me more than I can ever possibly deserve.

A report has been published by a committee established by the United Nations that identifies the Catholic Church as an institution that has allowed the perpetration of sex crimes against children. It is a condemnation that calls for a response and corrective action by the Church. Not surprisingly there are those in recent days who have all too gleefully piled on to publish commentary and opinion condemning the Church as an evil institution. Also not surprisingly I find myself being pulled to the edge of being angry and defensive when I read these statements. I am sure this is the same reaction of many of my Catholic friends.

This might be a good time to look to the fundamentals. First, we know that evil perpetuates evil and will attempt to cloak itself to appear to be seeking the good. Someone may claim to be championing the protection of innocent children, but if they are seeking to annul the value of the Church by asserting that it is an evil institution, then this is simply an evil act dressed up to look like righteous indignation. On the other hand, a Bishop may claim that he is being fatherly and forgiving to a prodigal priest, but if he sidesteps the civil authorities and places children in harm's way, then this is simply an evil act dressed up to look like pastoral care. Note that I have not claimed that either individual is evil or even intended to do evil, but that their actions perpetuate the evil they mean to overcome.

Second, we know that the best way to root out evil is to seek the truth. That means keeping our eyes on the Lord and not becoming angry or defensive about our own reputation or the reputation of the Church. This means for the Church to come forth openly and honestly, righting what can be made right, seeking forgiveness and doing all that can be done to avoid such sins in the future. If that has the ring of the confessional about it, it should. That is what it means to follow our Lord.

I am so very grateful to Bishop Thomas for his actions in seeking the truth, however painful or disruptive that may be, and leading the Diocese to forgiveness and healing. He knows the Holy Spirit dwells with the Church and with his eyes on Christ the scorn will be endured and evil overcome.