Friday, October 31, 2003

October 31, 2003 Halloween

Well, it’s Halloween. The day we send our kids out to beg for candy. But, to keep them from embarrassing us, we make them wear masks so nobody knows they’re our kids.

Actually, Halloween has its roots in Christianity. The word “hallo” means holy, as in “Hallowed be thy name.” All Hallows Eve is the vigil of All Saints’ Day. In the early days of the church, there were many days set aside to honor specific martyrs. All Saints’ Day was set aside as a day to honor those martyrs who were unknown, like the Christians who were thrown to the lions. As persecution of Chrisians became less common, the day was changed to honor non-martyr saints as well. Hence the name, “All Saints Day.”

A lot of our Halloween traditions and myths have a religious background. For instance, the story of the Jack O’Lantern is an old Irish folk tale. It seems that Jack was very clever but he was also very lazy. He liked to play pranks on people and spent a fair amount of time in the pub.

One day, he tricked the devil into climbing a tree. Once he was up there, Jack trapped him by putting a cross under the tree. Before he would let Satan come down, Jack made him promise not to take his soul.

Unfortunately for Jack, since he never once did a good deed for anybody, when he got to heaven, St. Peter turned him away. He basically told him to go to hell. But, true to his word, the devil wouldn’t let Jack into hell either.

So, Jack was doomed to wander between heaven and hell forever. To light his way, the devil gave him a burning ember which Jack put inside a carved turnip. When the Irish came to America, they brought the Jack O’Lantern with them. When they got here, they discovered the pumpkin, which is bigger and easier to carve than a turnip. And, it makes a better pie!

On this day of Trick or Treating, in our Gospel, Jesus plays a trick on the Pharisees. The story is a little unusual in that it’s usually the other way around. They’re always trying to trick Him. But this time, it’s Jesus asking the questions. Is it ok to cure on the Sabath? As luck would have it, there just happened to be a sick man right there. A coincidence? I don’t think so.

So, Jesus heals the man with dropsy. Then He asks them another question. Which one of you wouldn’t pull his son, or even his ox out of a well if he fell in on the Sabath?

The Pharisees, who always seemed to have a lot to say, couldn’t answer. They were speechless.

Now, how do you think Jesus and the Apostles reacted to that? I have to think that they had to try really hard to keep from laughing. We always picture Jesus and his apostles as being very serious. But, think about it. These are thirteen relatively young men. They travel together. They eat together. They do everything together. Don’t you imagine that they had some fun?

Don’t you think that when Jesus made fools out of his enemies, as he often did, that they all had a good laugh? When Jesus zinged the Pharisees, don’t you suppose that they all thought it was pretty funny? Maybe they even laughed out loud. It’s possible.

So, on this day when the kids, and people who act like kids, enjoy dressing up and having a good time, let’s remember that our faith isn’t a somber faith. After all, if we do it right, we’re going to spend eternity in heaven—with Jesus—having a really good time. Jesus died for your sins and mine. The word Gospel means “good news.” We should be the happiest people around.

Think of Jesus and the twelve, walking home from that dinner with the Pharisees. Maybe Paul said, “Did you see the look on their faces?” “I never thought I’d see those guys at a loss for words.” Someone else says, “You really got ‘em good this time, Jesus.” “How did you get the guy with dropsy invited anyway? And what is dropsy? I didn’t see him drop anything!” More laughs.

The time would come, soon enough, when things would get really serious. But, I like to think that in the beginning, Jesus’ public ministry must have been a pretty good time. After all, his first miracle was turning water into wine at a party. He must have liked a good time.

Here’s a quote from Sheldon Vanauken, a British writer who converted to Catholicism:

"The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians—when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths."
— Sheldon Vanauken

Now, let’s ask God for the things we need:

Monday, October 20, 2003

October 20, 2003 The Canticle of Zechariah

There was a young boy, about five years old. He couldn’t speak. He had never spoken a word. His parents had taken him to doctors, speech therapists and psychotherapists. Nothing worked. They could not find out why the boy couldn’t talk.

One day, the family is eating breakfast. Suddenly, the boy says, “This oatmeal tastes like wallpaper paste!” Naturally, the parents are extatic. The mother says, “You can talk!” He replies, “Of course I can talk.”

“But”, the mother says, “son, we’ve taken you to doctors and speech therapists. We’ve taken you to psychotherapists. We’ve even been on Dr. Phil! Why haven’t you said anything before?”

“Up to now, everything’s been ok.”

I thought of this story as I was looking at today’s readings. You may have noticed that the responsorial psalm isn’t a psalm at all. It’s from Luke’s Gospel. It’s called the Canticle of Zechariah. It’s one of only two New Testament readings that are used as responsorials in the entire three year cycle of readings.

It’s part of the Liturgy of the Hours, the morning prayer of the church. All over the world, bishops, priests, deacons and religious are obliged to say this prayer every day.

As you know, Zechariah was John the Baptist’s father. He was a Hebrew priest. One day, while he was praying in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a son. You can imagine his surprise. First an angel appears which is unusual enough. Then he tells Zechariah that he’s going to be a father. Zechariah has a little trouble accepting all this.

The angel goes on to tell him that the child will be filled with the Holy Spirit and would go before the Lord. “Oh, by the way. since you didn’t believe me at first, you will not be able to speak until all this comes to pass.” Our first lesson today is don’t mess with an angel.

Zechariah comes out of the temple with this huge bit of news and he can’t speak! Elizabeth probably knew something was going on when she started to have morning sickness. Since Zechariah was a priest, we assume he could read and write so he was able to let Elizabeth know what the angel said.

Nine months passed and John was born. Small towns haven’t changed all that much through the years. Elizabeth’s friends and relatives all gathered at the house to help with the baby, and to give Elizabeth lots of advise. One thing they were talking about was what to name the baby. Zechariah Junior is the favorite choice, but Elizabeth announces that the baby will be called John.

“Oy, what kind of a name is John? No one in your family is named John. His name should be Zechariah Junior.” At that, Zechariah picked up a tablet and wrote, “the boy’s name is John.” That was the end of that discussion.

As Gabriel had promised, Zechariah was now able to speak. But, unlike the boy in our first story, whose first words were a complaint, “Zechariah’s first words were, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to his people and set them free!

“He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of His servant David. Through His holy prophets, he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant.

“This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight, all the days of our life.”

Remember, in the first reading today, Abraham did not God’s promise. This was credited to him as righteousness.

Then Zechariah turns toward the baby, “You, my child will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The neat thing about the Liturgy of the Hours is that somewhere, at every minute of the day someone is praying it. Right now, even as we speak, there are people praying the Canticle of Zechariah. They’re praising God, which is what we’re called to do.

Today as we receive Christ in the Eucharist, let’s praise God and remember that He has come to us, his people, to set us free.

Monday, October 13, 2003

The Sign of the Cross

“At that time, there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress…..” I wonder which Michael he was talking about?

+ In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

If you were to ask a non-Catholic to play a word association game and you said the word “Catholic”, many, if not most of them would picture someone doing what we just did. The sign of the cross. The symbol of our belief in the Triune God. One God in three persons………(+ slowly)…..Father…..Son…..Holy Spirit.

Or, if you were to play a game of charades with them and you did this (+), you know what they would say…………... “Catholic!”

We’ve been using the sign for a long, long time. Tertulian wrote of it in the second century. The early Christians probably used the small cross, made with the thumb on the forehead. Doing the large cross, as we do today, would have made them too much of a target for persecution.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the earliest reference to the large cross, similar to what we do today, was in the fourth or fifth century. St. Nino is said to have cured the queen’s illness by making the sign over her body with a crucifix. Aparently the larger sign was adopted because of the belief that two fingers should be used to signify the two natures of Christ. In the Icons of the Eastern Church, Christ is always shown with two fingers extended, like this. So, two fingers seened like a good idea, but it’s very difficult to do the small cross on the forehead using two fingers, unless you have a forehead as large as mine. (example) So the bigger sign became the norm.

The sign of the cross is something that we do that visually signifies that we are indeed Catholic. Athletes, especially Hispanic athletes, regularly make the sign before and during sporting events. Baseball players sign themselves before they bat, soccer players do it before a game, especially goalies.

I wonder why it is that people of Hispanic and Mediterranean cultures have no inhibitions about showing their faith in public, but many Americans seem almost ashamed? (pause) But, that’s another homily.

Of course, everyone is familiar with the Holy Father blessing the crowds (mimic Pope’s motion). We bless ourselves with holy water as we enter church to remind ourselves of our baptism and many, but unfortunately not all, Catholics make the sign of the cross before eating each meal.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us at section 2157. "The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.' The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Savior's grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father. The sign of the cross strengthens us in temptations and difficulties."

So, what exactly is this “trinity” that we profess to believe in when we make this most Catholic of gestures? We express our belief in the Creed. We believe in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We even go on to elaborate on our belief by describing each of the three persons.

The Father is maker of heaven and earth.

The son is one in being with the Father. He came down from heaven, suffered, died, was buried and rose again, ascending into heaven where He sits at his Father’s right hand. He will come again.

The Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life. He has spoken through the prophets.

Did you realize that you’re saying all of that when you make this simple sign? (+)

At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that no one knows the day or the hour, not the angels in heaven, not even He knows when the time will come. Only the Father knows.

Aren’t the Father and the Son one? Shouldn’t Jesus be in on His Father’s plan. After all, he is playing a pretty important part in the whole thing.

I think his point in telling the Apostles that only the Father knows, is to reinforce their belief in the Trinity. There is only one God, but he most certainly exists in three persons. By saying that even He doesn’t know all of the details of the Father’s plan, he is giving a pretty strong testimony to the reality of the Trinity.

This is a core concept in our Christian faith. Jesus statement in today’s Gospel is a very concrete example, and one that must have had an impact on the Apostles. Remember, at this time, they still didn’t understand everything that was about to happen. But, as we know, the time was getting very short. This is the 24th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. There are only 28 chapters.

In just a moment, we will be joining together in the Creed. When you say the words, do you think about what you’re saying, or is it something you do mechanically? Today, I’d like to challenge you to really think about what you’re saying as you recite the creed. I’d also like for you to be very conscientious about making the sign of the cross this week, whenever it’s appropriate…….and really mean it. Think about the three persons. The Father who made you. The Son who saves you. And the Holy Spirit who is with you every moment of every day if you will just acknowledge His presence and take the time to listen to what he’s telling you. Because, remember, no one knows the hour or the day, not the angels and not even the Son of God.

(+) (very slowly) In the name of the father…………..and the Son…………….and the Holy Spirit, amen.