33rd Sunday in OT 2017 - How Examination of Conscience can save your life

This is the last Sunday until January 14, the feast of the Epiphany, that the priest will be wearing a green chasuble. Next Sunday, the priest will wear white or gold for the Feast of Christ the King, in which we show that our allegiance to Jesus Christ is above any other allegiance: national, economic, or ideological. And the Sunday after that the green of Ordinary Time is replaced with the purple of Advent.

In fact, we already we see a lot less green out in nature, don’t we? As winter nears?  For Green is the color of growth, and winter is coming.  During Ordinary Time, we are concerned with the spiritual growth of the soul. And, so the liturgical color green reminds us of the need to engage in those spiritual practices which bring growth to our souls: prayer, meditation, study, works of mercy.
And so, as we come to the end of the season of growth, what’s your soul look like? Has your soul grown in the last six months? Have you grown in faith, hope, and love? For some of us our waist lines have surely grown, but what your soul? What have you done with the time you’ve been given? In the Gospel, this same question is asked by the master: What have you done with the talents given to you by God?

It is important for us to answer this question honestly. For our Gospel is clear, there are eternal ramifications for what we do with the time, talent, and treasure afforded to us by God.
Last week I finished a very interesting book on Dante’s Divine Comedy. It’s called, “How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History's Greatest Poem”. Rob Dreher, author and former journalist, described the impact of reading and reflecting upon Dante’s Epic Poem, how Dante helped deliver him from his mid-life crisis, depression and existential doubt.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Divine Comedy, a man named Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark forest, symbolic of the darkness and confusion of his life. These three vicious beasts, a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf attack him—the beasts symbolic of the lust, pride, and cupidity that have plagued his life. Dante cries out for deliverance, and there appears a figure from antiquity, the ancient poet Virgil. Virgil and Dante then embark on an adventure of a life-time, down through bowels of hell, up the mountain of purgatory, and into the celestial orbs of heaven.

In hell, Dante meets the souls of the damned, who were unrepentant for the selfishness and violence they committed during their lives. As Dante confronts the souls in hell and their eternal punishment, Dante confronts his own failure to love God and neighbor as he should, making gods out of earthly things, and as he makes this pilgrimage, he seeks God’s help to be purified from them.

I had read Dante in college, but I found this return to Dante to be very beneficial. It’s a reminder of the pilgrimage we must all make through life, turning away from idols and selfishness, and opening our hearts to the grace of God, so that we might love Him more.

Yet, Dreher’s book wasn’t simply a summary of Dante’s journey; it was more of a spiritual journal of how he applied the lessons of Dante in his own life. Dreher described how the pride of the souls in hell, could be seen in his own pride and resentment toward his family, who treated him as a sort of outcast. He saw how lust and greed tainted many of his choices during his college years. He saw how his self-absorption had led him, to this very dark place.

Using Dante to examine his conscience and his life, he became aware of sins from his past and present and brought them to the sacrament of confession. This he claims helped to deliver him from his depression and alienation from his family. Helping him find spiritual growth when he desperately needed it.

Many of us are not used to this sort of deep and prayer reflection. One of the tendencies of modern man is to go from one event to another without any sort of reflection on lessons learned. Just take this new fad of binge-watching television shows. Binge-watching is when you watch two, three, five episodes or more of a television show without any break. What’s the problem with that? First, it likely leads to the neglect of our household and family duties, and the exercise and sleep we need for healthy bodies. Secondly, if we are binge watching television, we aren’t engaged in prayer, study, meditation, and the works of mercy. And thirdly, it’s mindless. There’s no reflection. It’s just a constant stream of stimulation. It's "unexamined".

This lack of examination of conscience and lack of engagement in real life, is what led Dante to the middle of the Dark Forrest to begin with, he felt his life was not worth living because he wasn't engaged in real life, just sinful alternatives. He could not see the presence of God in his life because all he was focused on were earthly realities, especially his sinful attachments, and this led him to despair.

The saints, on the other hand, are so full of life and joy and charity, they are so keenly aware of the presence of God is because through the thorough examination of conscience in light of the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ, they distance themselves from the pursuits and attitudes which distract them from God and from doing His Holy Will.

We all know how busy Advent can be. With parties and shopping and concerts and baking and wrapping and decorating. And this can lead to much emptiness if we do not keep Christ at the center of it all, by reflecting on the meaning of the season. So perhaps, this Advent you might consider a spiritual journal. Read through the scripture readings for the day, and spend some time reflecting upon them, asking God what he might be trying to teach you in the concrete details of your life. Come to daily Mass throughout the week, if your schedule permits. And so importantly, if it’s been a few months or years, make a good examination of conscience and Sacramental Confession.

This way, you won’t lose your way in the busyness of the season, but will be able to truly enter into the joy the master has in store for us. Again in the Gospel, rewards and praises those who use their time and talent to do the master’s will. So, let us reflectively take stock of the talents we’ve been given, to repent of our selfish misuse of them, and recommit to using them to bear fruit that will last unto eternity, that we may enter into the master’s joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

November 17, 2017 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary - Clothing yourselves with Christ

Like our own parish patron, St. Clare, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was deeply moved and motivated by the preaching and poverty of St. Francis of Assisi. Like Clare, Elizabeth was born and raised in a castle, and was surrounded by the rich trappings of luxury and flattery. But Elizabeth did not let earthly treasures keep her from storing up heavenly ones.

In fact, the fame of the virtues of St. Elizabeth of Hungry reached Italy while St. Francis was still alive. Cardinal Ugolini, the future Pope Gregory IX often spoke of her to St. Francis, about the support and protection Elizabeth had given to the Franciscans and her great love of poverty.

One day the Cardinal asked St. Francis for a gift for her as a symbol of his recognition. As he made his request, he took the worn cape off St. Francis’ shoulders and recommended that he send it to her. “Since she is filled with your spirit of poverty,” said the Cardinal, “I would like for you to give her your mantle, just as Elijah gave his mantle to Elisha.” St. Francis consented and sent his mantle to St. Elizabeth, whom he considered as a spiritual daughter.

She would wear the cloak while she engaged in charitable works. She built a hospital next to her castle, and personally tended to the sick and the poor, feeding over 900 people daily. After the death of her husband, the king, her family conspired against her and forced her and her 4 children into exile and poverty with nothing, except the mantle of St. Francis.

During her exile, she did not curse God for her fate, but thanked God for permitting her a share in the savior’s cross. She worked odd jobs, spinning garments, to provide for her children. And when a new emperor came into power, and allowed her to return to the castle, she went right back to her charitable works, even building a second hospital. This continued only for a short while, as she died at the young age of 24. She was canonized only four years later, by Pope Gregory who knew of her virtue, and also due to the great number of miracles occurring at her grave. Elizabeth is the patron saint of third order Franciscans.

Shakespeare wrote that “clothes maketh the man.” Well, St. Elizabeth clothed herself, not with the robes of nobility, but with signs of poverty, humility, and virtue, she clothed herself with Christ, as St. Paul enjoins us to do. She embraced her hardships—widowhood, family division, destitution, exile—trusting in God’s grace, uniting her sufferings with Christ, and she teaches us to do the same, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For our consecrated religious, particularly those under the patronage of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, may they be strengthened and supported in their witness to Christ’s saving Gospel.

That families experiencing division may know the peace and reconciliation that comes from Christ.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, or for those who will die today: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special favor and consolation.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

November 16 2017 - St. Margaret of Scotland - A pilgrim's reflection

I’ve been awaiting this day for several months. Last summer, I was able to make a pilgrimage to the land of St. Margaret of Scotland. It was my first time visiting a former Catholic country, a country in which Catholicism flourished for centuries, particularly through the efforts and sanctity of today’s saint, but which has become catastrophically secular and anti-Catholic.

It was traumatic for me to see not only closed Churches, by defaced Churches and ancient monasteries beyond repair. St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, formerly a great Catholic Cathedral had been clearly stripped of much of its Roman art and statuary. Monasteries, which predate Queen Margaret by centuries, and also many which she helped to establish had been ransacked and left to crumble by the Scottish reformers. The pilgrimage was very sad at times. But, the petition for the reconversion of Scotland was a perpetual prayer throughout my trip.

I particularly prayed at the places where St. Margaret is still honored by the Scottish Catholics. I stayed near a placed called Queensferry, named after Queen Margaret, where she established a ferry offering free passage across the river Fife for pilgrims traveling to the great shrine of the Apostle St. Andrew.

Wife of the King and mother of eight children, St. Margaret’s sanctity was clearly seen in her compassion, energy, and commitment to the relief of the suffering poor in the midst of extreme political and social upheaval. Sadly, visiting Scotland now is also a reminder how the work of the saints is undone by evil which roots itself in men’s hearts. That is a danger not just in Scotland, but every land.

But I believe rediscovering the holy lives of the saints, turning to their intercession and striving to follow their example helps to win back lost territory for Christ, if not simply the territory of our hearts and minds and souls.

St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland could have indulged in the luxuries of the royal court, and as queen, had any earthly desire satisfied.  But she first and foremost sought to become a saint, and she teaches us to do the same, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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We pray for the Church in Scotland, that her members may continue to resist the forces of secularism and heresy and be strengthened in their witness to the saving Gospel of Christ.

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special favor, healing and peace.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

Tuesday - 32nd Week of OT 2017 - Unprofitable servants and slaves for Christ Jesus

Chapter 17 of Luke’s Gospel begin the final leg of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. The chapter begins with four sets of teachings on different aspects of discipleship: how to deal with sin and scandal within the Christian community, the importance of Christians to forgive one another, the power of faith to do amazing things, and finally the parable we heard today, the parable of the unprofitable servant.

In this parable, Jesus uses an image that, though politically incorrect in our own day, would have been common and completely relatable in his day. Jesus compares Christian discipleship with the relationship between a slave-owner and his slave.

Jesus’ culture practiced and to some degree accepted slavery. So, even though we might find the comparison distasteful, we do well to look for the gem of truth.

In this culture, slaves belonged to their masters completely. The slave would not expect any recompense for his service. And Jesus is saying, so too must it be for the Christian. We do not simply engage in good works because of the promise of heavenly reward. Prayer, penance, works of mercy, are not simply done because God will reward them. They are our way of life. Christians cannot ignore the need for prayer any more than we can ignore the need to breathe and eat.

St. Paul felt the necessity of preaching the Gospel in his very bones. Paul went so far as to say “woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.” Preaching wasn’t just something nice that Paul did in his spare time, he couldn’t imagine life without helping people enter right relationship to God through Jesus.
The idea of simply “doing the bare minimum” in order to achieve a place in heaven would have been completely foreign to Paul, any more than a slave belonging completely to his master would consider not fulfilling his obligations. Even called himself, “a slave for Christ Jesus”. That does not mean his relationship to God was loveless, quite the opposite. He made himself a slave, out of love.

The fact that we might not understand Paul here, the motivation of the unprofitable servant, shows just how much conversion we have to do: to consider the fulfillment of the precepts of the Gospel as indispensable to our very being. We see this attitude not just in the life of Paul, but in the lives of all the saints. We see their extreme asceticism, their radical prayer life, their drastic renunciation of earthly pursuits. And I guarantee, they wouldn’t have it any other way. For in making oneself a slave of Christ, subordinating every passion to Him, we find our greatest freedom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our Church leaders may be instilled with genuine Faith, Hope, and Charity and help all people to grow in those virtues.
That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  We pray to the Lord.

That our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the godlessness of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

November 13 2017 - Mother Cabrini - The Immigrant Saint

Small and weak as a child, born two months premature, Francesca Cabrini remained in delicate health throughout her 67 years. Yet, even as a little girl she dreamed of being a missionary.

Her poor health kept her from being admitted to religious life, but at the behest of her local parish priest, Francesca took over care of a local orphanage. Francesca persuaded several woman who worked at the orphanage with her to begin their own religious community. So, in 1877, she became Mother Superior to the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.  Within a few years she and her sisters had opened six orphanages. And when Pope Leo XIII, in 1889, asked her to go to the United States to care for the Italian Immigrants, she did not hesitate. Within a few years, she opened a Catholic school in New York City, founded an orphanage and hospital for the immigrants which had wards which were free to the poor.    She built other hospitals in Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, New Orleans, and Chicago.

This frail, immigrant, virgin nun become Mother to so many, particularly immigrants. She is also the first American citizen to be canonized, having become a naturalized US citizen in 1909. She never really mastered the English language, but that did not keep her from doing great and holy work, either.

At her canonization in 1946, Pius XII said in his homily:

“Where did she acquire all that strength and the inexhaustible energy by which she was able to perform so many good works and to surmount so many difficulties?  She accomplished all this through the faith that was always so vibrant in her heart; through the divine love that burned within her; and, finally, through the constant prayer by which she was so closely united to God…She never let anything turn her aside from striving to please God and to work for his glory for which nothing, aided by grace, seemed too difficult or beyond human strength.”

Is there some holy work you think God might be calling you to do? Likely, He is! So like Mother Cabrini seek strength to do this holy work through your faith and prayer and closeness to God in the Sacraments, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For an end to the violence and poverty that displaces so many people from their homes and homelands, and that migrants, refugees, and strangers in our midst, may know the kindness and compassion of our local Church.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  We pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of November: “That Christians in Asia, bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed, may promote dialogue, peace, and mutual understanding, especially with those of other religions.”

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

32nd Sunday in OT 2017 - Wake Up! Not all the glitters is gold!

At the end of every liturgical year, as the trees grow bare, the wind becomes colder, and daylight is seen less and less, the Sunday readings too become increasingly foreboding, darker and starker. They begin to focus on the last things: the end of the world, judgment, the afterlife, heaven, hell, purgatory.  We return to these readings every year, that we might not be “caught unaware” of these ultimate realities.

Our second reading today comes from the very earliest of the Christian Scriptures. St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians was written in the early 50s of the first century, about a dozen years before the first of the Gospels.  And what we find is that from these earliest days of the Church, Christians were concerned with what happens after death. 

The fear-of-death has plagued mankind since its beginning, and man has turned to many different remedies for this fear. 17th century Catholic philosopher and theologian, Blaise Pascal , said, “most of us, spend most of our time, diverting ourselves from facing the inevitability of our mortality”. 

Seeing death as an inevitable end, some adopt the philosophy of the Ancient Epicureans: “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die!” Believing that this life is all there is, they fill their days with as much pleasure as possible. 

Others live in constant dread of death, and they develop numerous neuroses, like hypochondria, or other phobias and addictions because of their fear. The end always seems looming, and they don’t know how to deal with it.

Both of those approaches contain some truth, but they also lack the most important truth. On the one hand, yes, death is inevitable, and we do need to make the most of our life. And, on the other hand, yes, death is inevitable. But the truth that is missing from both of these approaches, the truth that St. Paul wants the Church to remember, is Jesus Christ.

It struck the first Christians, Paul especially, that the resurrection of Jesus changed everything. Death on a cross was not the end for Jesus, and so earthly death will not be the end for the baptized. Paul wants us to have a firm conviction that God’s grace will carry us through the terrible experience of death into the experience of eternal life.

Listen again to St. Paul’s teaching here: “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus, died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” 

Our hope in eternal life isn’t merely wishful thinking, a story we tell ourselves to make our peace with the inevitability of death. The resurrection of Jesus is our proof that death is not the end.

The fear of death is not to keep Christians from living life to the fullest. But, for Christians, living-life-to-the-fullest does not mean giving-in to every worldly desire and impulse of the flesh, like the Epicureans. Living-life-to-the-fullest is found by ordering our passions to the truth of Christ, and finding joy in being instruments of God’s grace. We make our peace with death by acknowledging its inevitability, and then preparing rightly for it through the repentance of sin and seeking to live a life of charity and grace in imitation of Jesus.

In the Gospel we heard of the five foolish virgins and the five wise virgins. The wise virgins kept their lamps burning brightly for the return of the bridegroom, the foolish virgins fell asleep, and allowed their lamps to become extinguished. Again, here is a teaching from our Lord, of how we are to use the time we have been given in this life.

Do use your time wisely or foolishly? Well, how can you tell? Why are the wise virgins wise? They remain attentive, vigiliant. They do not allow themselves to fall asleep, but they keep watching and waiting on the Lord. The Christian life can be described as a constant struggle to remain awake, to resist the anesthetizing effects of worldly distractions.

As we know, all too well, many of our contemporaries have fallen asleep, like the foolish virgins. They are inattentive to the spiritual realities of this life and busy themselves with all the non-essentials of the world, instead of focusing on the one thing that matters most, our eternal soul.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote how “not all that glitters is gold”. So many worldly endeavors are like enchanted gold from a fairy story. Pursuing them, they cause us to fall asleep in a potentially eternal slumber. That is certainly one of the dangers of having digital entertainment on demand, there is always something to distract us from the spiritual life. Yes, sometimes we do need to rest our tired minds and bodies, and just relax a bit, but if we are not careful, we can easily succumb to spiritual sloth, in which the flame and fervor of faith slowly diminishes one Netflix show, one iphone app, at a time.

Christian vigilance requires us to be very cautious toward the pleasures of the world. Christian Asceticism trains our bodies, minds, and spirits. We seek to always be growing in our spiritual lives, our prayer lives, our charitable service, to keep the flame of faith burning brightly.

As the Bridegroom comes to us in this holy Mass under the appearance of bread and wine, let us joyfully great Him with joyful hearts, and allow Him to rouse us from spiritual slumber, and ignite in us the fire of charity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday - 31st Week in OT 2017 - Prudent and Clever in our Christian Mission

In our society there are many pragmatic and clever people, and that cleverness is employed in many ways, some good, some bad. The internet, cellphones and computers help us communicate better, work faster, produce more, but they are also utilized by hackers and criminals to steal identities, cause chaos in governments, and even used by common folk to spread rumors and bully their peers. We have sophisticated weather systems to warn us of impending disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters, but also instruments of war which can destroy the world. All made by very clever people.

Often cleverness, shrewdness, and skillfulness are busy working for financial and social gain, to protect ones own interests, but Jesus teaches, particularly in the Gospel today, that people of faith are especially called to use their cleverness, shrewdness, and skillfulness for others. It is not simply that we are to be other-minded, but that other-mindedness needs to be put into action.

We need to be more clever in organizing charitable activity, than head coaches of professional sports teams are in organizing victory for their franchises. We need to be more diligent in disciplining our minds and our hearts than professional athletes in training their bodies. We need to be more clever than Wall Street bankers, in storing up treasure not on earth, but in heaven.

Pope St. Leo the Great certainly put his intellectual and spiritual gifts at the service of the Gospel. He’s known as one of the best administrative Popes of the ancient Church. He labored to put down the prominent heresies of his day; he led the defense of Rome against barbarian attack, persuading Atilla the Hun to halt his path towards Rome which he was planning to plunder. His personal sanctity and pastoral care are evident from his writings and spiritually profound sermons.

He put his nearly boundless energy, compassion, and intellect in service of the Church as Pope for 21 years, one of the longest reigning Popes in Church history.

Like Pope Leo, and so many good Christians before us, let us endeavor to put an ever-greater portion of our time, talent, and treasure, our intellect and compassion, at the service of the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Pope St. Leo and all the saints may assist the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and governing and teaching the Church to faithfully address the challenges of our times.

That our president and all civic officials will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for religious freedom and the dignity of human life.

During this National Vocations Week, we pray for an increase in vocations to priesthood and consecrated life, and that our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the godlessness of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind: that they will be fortified and blessed with the Father’s healing, light, and peace.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.