Wednesday, February 25, 2004

February 25, 2004

Monday evening Mike Coppage and I went to a meeting at the Diaconate office. There were 9 deacons there plus Monsignor Sticka. As we sat around the table, it occurred to me that this must have been something like Jesus and the Apostles, sitting around talking. There was some talk about religion. Some guys told stories. There was some serious discussion and some laughter. It must have been really cool to be one of the Apostles and be able to sit and talk with Jesus face-to-face.

On the other hand, a lot of the time, they really didn’t know what was happening around them. They had the privilege of being with Jesus while he was among us, but we have the advantage of history. For example, in today’s Gospel he tells them that he is going to suffer and die. Then he tells them to take up their cross and follow Him. Jesus tells them two more times after this incident that he must go to Jerusalem to die, so apparently they still didn’t understand what He was saying.

To put it into today’s terms, what would you think if someone told you to take up your electric chair and follow them; or your lethal injection machine? It wouldn’t make much sense. There’s an old joke that if Christ had lived in the 20th century, we’d all be wearing little electric chairs around our necks.

To us, it makes perfect sense. Jesus is asking us to share in his suffering by taking up our own cross. But, don’t you wonder sometimes why some people seem to have such huge crosses to carry while others skip through life with crosses that seem so small? Why does God give one person something like this big cross to carry around? Then He gives someone else a cross that’s so tiny, they can stick it in their pocket.

And why is it that some of the people with what seem to be the biggest, heaviest crosses walk around like they don’t have a care in the world? Then there are others who don’t seem to have any cross at all, but are always unhappy?

I think there are a couple of reasons. First, some people are stronger than others. I have two sons who lift weights. They could carry a big cross around all day and never get out of breath.

Or, maybe that big cross just might be made out of Styrofoam. Like they say, to know what I feel you have to walk a mile in my shoes.

On the other hand, we’ve all heard stories about someone who had money, power and prestige. He (or she) seemed to have it made. Then, one day, they found him in the garage with the motor running. What happened? Maybe he was just too week to carry what appeared to be a small cross. Or maybe his particular cross was made of lead. We just don’t know.

It seems like the crosses that most people have trouble carrying are the ones they build themselves. Today the idea of taking responsibility for your own actions seems to be very out of date. This is the age of no-fault divorce and no-fault insurance. The morning-after birth control pill has been in the news this week. People think that abortion isn’t murder, it’s just a convenient way to solve a problem. If the marriage fails, it’s always the other person’s fault. I think the inner conflict of knowing in you heart that something is at least partly your own fault, coupled with the pressure we have to blame someone else, makes that particular cross the hardest to carry of all. Maybe it’s because we haven’t given our cross-carrying muscles enough exercise.

As we begin the season of Lent, even more than during the rest of the year, Christ calls us to share in the carrying of His cross. Like any exercise, the more weight you carry, the stronger you will become. When He tells us to take up our cross daily, He’s really asking us to take part in His suffering and death. When it’s our turn to meet Him face-to-face, we may wish our earthly cross had been just a little heavier.
But, we can’t help it if life has been kind to us. It’s not our fault if our cross is light, or that we’re strong.

When our burden seems light, that’s when it’s time to find someone with a heavier cross than ours and help them carry it. If God gives us a light burden, it must be because he needs us to help lighten someone else’s.

So, when everything seems to be going well, when we’re footloose and fancy free, with our cross tucked safely in our pocket, that’s when we should look around, especially during Lent. Instead of giving something up for Lent, maybe our sacrifice could be to do more. Who has a heavier cross than we do? Who can we help? Remember, even Jesus needed Simon the Cyrenian to help him carry His cross up to Calvary.

Friday, February 20, 2004

February 20, 2004 Faith Without Works

Just last week we celebrated All Saints Day. As you know, certain individual saints are remembered on specific days of the year. For example, we celebrate the feast of St. Bernadette on April 16. The feast of St. Louis IX, the patron of our Archdiocese is August 25. The feast of St. Michael the Archangel was September 29.

According to Catholic-Online, there are 18 saints and 1 blessed whose feast days fall today. Exactly half of them were martyrs. 2 were Benedictines, 2 were Dominicans and there was 1 Jesuit.

There are 4 abbots and 1 abbess, 4 bishops and 1 archbishop. Only one of the 21 is a woman. One was even an infant who was murdered by his father. That was St. Tremorus. His mother, Triphina is also canonized.

One was excommunicated from the church, then restored to the faith. Obviously he cleaned up his act.

There are 4 French, 3 Germans, 2 Italians and 2 British, and one each from China, Spain, Egypt, Vietnam and Ireland. There are 3 whose nationality is unknown.

In addition to St. Michael the Archangel, there are 21 other Michaels on the church calendar. 12 are saints and 9 are blessed. Ten of them were Japanese martyrs. Blessed Michael Takashita’s feast day is coming up on November 27, Thanksgiving Day this year. Just in case you wanted to send anybody a card.


I mention all this saintly trivia only because it shows the vast number of people and the wide variety who have been recognized over the years as saints by the church. There are roughly 400 saints whose feast days fall in November alone. Most of them are people you’ve never heard of.

The people who have been canonized by the church are just a tiny fraction of the saints who have lived, and are living today.

Each of us is called by God to live a saintly life. Some, like the Blessed Virgin, or Bernadette, or King Louis lead such holy lives that they are chosen for inclusion in the canon of the saints. And, because they were widely recognized for what they did in this life, they are among what I would call the “big saints.” They’re the ones who have churches named after them. They’re the ones who have their own memorials or feasts in the church calendar.

Next are the lesser known saints, the ones who were obviously holy enough to be recognized by the church. But they lacked the public relations skills to get themselves into the “super saint” category. People like St. Amarand or St. Amaranthus. These saints have the one sentence entries in the list of saints. Many of them were martyrs.

Finally, there are the saints who have never been canonized and never will be. But, each one of us knows many of them by name. Surely there are some in this church this morning. And, just because their names will never be recorded in the book of saints in this life, their names are already in the heavenly list of saints. And, that’s the list that counts.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light. In other words, the worldly have their minds focused on what they THINK is important, like money, power and prestige. The dishonest steward would rather be known as an extortionist than as a laborer or a beggar. Even his master, the victim of his scheme, commended him for acting prudently.

But the children of light, the ones whose names are among the saints, aren’t so concerned with the worldly stuff. For them, prudence is one of the seven virtues. It means preparing for the world to come by following Jesus’ instructions. In John’s Gospel he tells us “You are my friends if you do what I tell you.”
As we prepare to receive the gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, let’s think about the saints we’ve known, the ones we know, and maybe the one who is sitting right next to us. And let’s try to model our lives on theirs so that we, too, can be included in the heavenly list of the saints.

Now, let’s stand and ask God for the things we need.


Thursday, February 12, 2004

February 12, 2004

1 Kings 9:5-7


700 wives and 300 concubines

Down through the ages, the name Solomon has become almost a synonym for wisdom. “The wisdom of Solomon”. The son of David was a wise man who did wonderful things for the people of Israel. Unfortunately, he was also a great sinner, and sin will catch up with you sooner or later, no matter who you are.

1st Kings tells us that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and this was long before the days of Viagra and Levitra. His appetite for the ladies led directly to the break-up of his kingdom. (quote from reading)


God had actually appeared to Solomon twice. The second time, according to the 9th chapter of 1st Kings, God warned him against doing exactly what he did in today’s reading.

“I will establish your throne of sovereignty over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You shall always have someone from your line on the throne of Israel. But if you and your descendants ever withdraw from me, fail to keep the commandments and statutes which I set before you, and proceed to venerate and worship strange gods, I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them and repudiate the temple I have consecrated to my honor.”

As Dr. Phil would say, “Sol, what were you thinking??”



Which brings us to Abraham Lincoln. Today is his birthday. We all know that Lincoln was a man of principle. Every election year, the Republicans running for office invoke the name of Lincoln. The Democrats do the same with Truman. Sometimes they even get confused and the Republicans try to associate themselves with Truman and the Democrats try to compare themselves to Lincoln. Most of the time, they’re wrong.

Most of today’s office-holders and wanna-bes won’t eat breakfast in the morning until they check with their pollsters and find out what the majority of people want them to eat. They have wrinkled index fingers from doing this so much (lick finger and test for wind). They won’t make a move until they know which way the wind is blowing.

Recently a local official made the statement that he was opposed to gambling, but since the people seemed to want it, he was going to support it. Whether you support gambling or not, isn’t it too bad that we have people in office who aren’t willing to stand up for what they believe in? If a thing is bad, it’s bad. Kids love candy, but would a good parent serve Hershey Bars for breakfast? Of course not. Like a good parent, a leader’s role is to do what’s right, not what’s popular.

If Lincoln had run the country according to opinion polls, we might still all own slaves. Or, we might be slaves. Remember, in the 19th century, blacks weren’t the only minority that was persecuted. If you saw the movie “The Gangs of New York” you know that Irish Catholics in New York weren’t slaves, but they might as well have been. Being a Catholic in the United States in those days could definitely be hazardous to your health. Other minorities, like the Chinese who helped build the railroads, weren’t technically slaves, but they weren’t free either.

Lincoln, and other brave men of conviction helped us change for the better.



Our new archbishop has stirred up quite a controversy by suggesting that Catholic politicians should act like Catholics. Either walk the walk or stop talking the talk. Be leaders, like Lincoln; not followers like Solomon. As Catholics, we hold certain core beliefs and if you don’t share those beliefs, don’t say you’re Catholic. Seems pretty simple. But today, it’s all about being reelected. How ironic it is that they all want to be thought of as great leaders, but they’re not willing to lead. They’re the biggest followers of all.

So, today we have quite a contrast. Solomon’s name has come to mean “wisdom.” But in the end, his desire to please his 1,000 women led to the destruction of his kingdom, which wasn’t very wise at all. Most men have a hard time keeping one woman happy, much less a thousand of them. What was he thinking?

Then we have Lincoln, who stood up for his beliefs, saved the Union, and got himself assassinated for his trouble. Today, 200 years later, we consider Lincoln one of the great leaders of our country. So great, that politicians try to compare themselves to him, even though, most of the time, they couldn’t be more the opposite.

Maybe, just maybe, if a Catholic politician would take Archbishop Burke’s advise, he (or she) might just end up being a great leader. They might make an actual difference. They might cause positive change in our country. They might even get reelected.

I think there are two messages for us in today’s reading. First, and most obvious is that we are not to worship false gods. For Solomon it was the pagan gods that his wives and concubines worshipped. For us it’s anything that distracts us from the worship of the one true God. It might be money or power. It might be sports or television. God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”.

Second, we shouldn’t waver in our beliefs. Solomon enjoyed great favor from God. But, when it came time to choose between his wives and his Creator, the wise Solomon made the wrong choice. Let’s not make that same mistake.





Headed for Heaven or Hell?
How would Lincoln answer? His political opponent, a famous frontier preacher, wanted to know.
Abraham Lincoln ran for Congress in 1846, and he faced a formidable opponent: Peter Cartwright. Cartwright, a raw-boned, circuit-riding Methodist preacher, was known throughout Illinois. During his sixty-five years of riding the circuit, he would baptize nearly ten thousand converts.
During the intense 1846 Congressional campaign, some of Cartwright's followers accused Lincoln of being an "infidel." In response, Lincoln decided to meet Cartwright on his own ground and attend one of his evangelistic rallies.
Carl Sandburg, in Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years, tells the story this way:
In due time Cartwright said, "All who desire to lead a new life, to give their hearts to God, and go to heaven, will stand," and a sprinkling of men, women, and children stood up. Then the preacher exhorted, "All who do not wish to go to hell will stand." All stood up—except Lincoln. Then said Cartwright in his gravest voice, "I observe that many responded to the first invitation to give their hearts to God and go to heaven. And I further observe that all of you save one indicated that you did not desire to go to hell. The sole exception is Mr. Lincoln, who did not respond to either invitation. May I inquire of you, Mr. Lincoln, where are you going?"
And Lincoln slowly rose and slowly spoke. "I came here as a respectful listener. I did not know that I was to be singled out by Brother Cartwright. I believe in treating religious matters with due solemnity. I admit that the questions propounded by Brother Cartwright are of great importance. I did not feel called upon to answer as the rest did. Brother Cartwright asks me directly where I am going. I desire to reply with equal directness: I am going to Congress."
He went.

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

February 4, 2004

February 4, 2004 Wed of the 4th week in ordinary time
Mark 6: 1-6

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

If today’s Gospel sounds familiar, it’s because just this past Sunday we heard the same story from the Gospel of Luke. Jesus has been working miracles in Capernaum. He returns to his home town. He’s teaching in the synagogue. Mark tells us that at first the people who heard him were “astonished”.

Then they began to question him. Isn’t he the son of the carpenter? Where does he get off preaching to us? Who does he think he is? The next thing you know, they’re trying to throw him off a cliff.

According to Luke’s Gospel, the people of Nazareth are aware of what Jesus has been doing in Capernaum. He’s been performing miracles. Why isn’t he healing the sick here in his home town? What’s the deal?

But He knows that in his home town, they’re thinking of Him as Joseph and Mary’s son. That makes accepting Him as the Son of God very difficult. Those who are familiar with us have a hard time seeing us in a different light. Isn’t it that way with all of us?

When people question the wisdom of a celibate priesthood, married deacons can point to this story as one example of why it’s a good idea. You see me up here, all dressed in my dalmatic and looking all churchy. But to my kids, I’m just “dad”. And I always will be. I may think I look cool on the altar, but believe me, they’re not impressed. They know better. Depending on which one you talk to, me being a deacon is either a case of mistaken identity or a total disaster.

Jesus’ neighbors had seen him covered with sawdust, working in the carpenter shop. He might have made them a cabinet that they really didn’t like very much. Maybe, when he was young, he ran through their flower beds, or made too much noise playing with the other kids.

My kids have seen me at my worst. They know me well, too well to be impressed just because I wear a clerical collar. I’m the guy who yells when they play their music too loud. Or enforces the curfew.

Jesus lives in each one of us. That’s why we say “the Body of Christ”, and not “THIS IS the Body of Christ”, when we distribute Holy Communion. He exists not just in the consecrated bread and wine, but also in every one of us. By saying simply, “the Body of Christ”, we acknowledge His presence in one another. I can see him in each one of you.

It’s probably easier for me to see Him in each of you than it is for members of your family, because, they’re too close, just like the people of Nazareth were too close to Christ. Sometimes it takes a real effort to see holiness in the ones closest to us. But, isn’t it worth the trouble?