February 1, 2005

Do you ever just get frustrated with the way things seem to be changing? Just last week we heard that Federated Department Stores might be buying Famous-Barr. If they do, the name "Famous-Barr" will probably cease to exist. They will almost definitely close the downtown store.

I hate to age myself, but I used to love to go downtown on the bus with my mom on a Saturday, especially around Christmas time. We'd go to Stix, Baer and Fuller, and Vandervorts, and Famous. I remember there were Stix people and Famous people. My mom was a Stix person, so that's where we would go first and where we'd spend the most time. My two aunts were Famous people. They liked the Eagle stamps. Evidently there weren’t any Vandervorts people. They’ve been gone a long time.

Sometimes we'd have lunch at Kresge's or Woolworths, or even Walgreens. Most of the time we went to the Forum Cafeteria. Remember the Forum Cafeteria? It was on Sixth Street, right across the street from Famous.

Sometimes, for a real treat, we'd go to a movie downtown. We'd go to the Ambassador, or the Lowe's State. All of these names are gone from Downtown St. Louis except Famous Barr, and it looks like they may be gone soon.

Now we're hearing that the Post Dispatch will be sold to a company from Iowa. You may have noticed that I'm no fan of the Post, but there is a tradition there that goes back to the 1800's. the Pulitzer family has been putting out a daily newspaper in St. Louis for all those years. At one time they had competition. Years ago there were several papers in St. Louis. Then there were just two, the Post and the Globe. The Globe has been gone for a while and now, even though the Post will continue to be, it won't really be a "St. Louis" paper.

Last week I read that SBC wants to buy A T & T. SBC Corp used to be Southwestern Bell, our phone company. They were actually part of AT & T. Their headquarters were in St. Louis. When the government decided that we needed to have competition in the phone business, they forced AT&T to sell all of their local phone companies. Eventually Southwestern Bell moved their headquarters to San Antonio and changed their name to SBC. Now, it looks like they're going to buy the company that used to own them. Good grief!

Used to be you could throw an AT & T telephone out of a tenth story window, go down and get it and hook it back up and it would still work fine. Nowadays, phones are disposable. When they break, and they always do, you throw them away and buy another one.

What about grocery stores? Do you remember: Bettendorf’s and Rapps and then Bettendorf-Rapps? What about the A & P, Krogers, and National? In the neighborhood you had IGA stores and AG Stores and Clover Farms, maybe even a Piggly Wiggly.

With so much change going on all around us, isn't it good to know that one thing never changes; our Catholic faith. In today's Gospel, Jesus is healing the sick. 2,000 years ago, He worked His miracles, making the blind see, the lame walk, and the leper clean. He still works the same miracles today, He just works them through the skills of the doctors. Every time I visit patients in the hospital, I can't help but be amazed at the miracles I see.

People are getting new lungs and new hearts and new knees and hips. They come in on Monday, have a stent put in and go home on Tuesday. As time goes by, the doctors just get better and better. Our faith doesn't change. We believe that God will do what's best and He does. Whether he does it by smearing mud on a blind man's eyes in the first century, or by the miracle of microsurgery in a 21st century operating room, His love for us never changes. Isn’t that good to know?

St. Francis de Sales

January 24, 2005

I have a friend, in fact I have several friends, who love to debate with protestants and other non-Catholics. They can quote the Bible, chapter and verse, to make their points. Such and such a verse proves the infallibility of the Pope. Another verse proves the Real Presence, and so on.

I was never very good at that. In fact, even when I was a Baptist, I really only ever learned a couple of verses, like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, he gave His only Son.” I admire people who know the Bible well enough to instantly find what they’re looking for and to be able to prove their point by doing it.

What I’ve discovered is this: The only thing I have to know to back up my faith is the Fifteenth Chapter of John, today’s Gospel.

“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

Let me repeat that. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” What else do we need to know? That’s it. He loves us as long as we keep His commandments. But, what are His commandments. He goes on to tell us:

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s love for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

His commandment to us is to love one another. If we do that, we will remain in His love. We’ll be His friends. I don’t know about you, but that’s all I really need to know. It’s simple, but it’s not easy, is it?

Today we remember St. Francis de Sales. Francis was a famous preacher in the 1500’s. Francis de Sales believed that our goal is to aim for a life of loving, simple, generous, and constant fidelity to the will of God. Holiness could be attained by anyone, regardless of their status in life. Holiness is love in action. Sound familiar? It’s what Jesus said in today’s Gospel.

Francis de Sales has kind of a connection to St. Louis, even though he died in 1622. Francis was teacher and mentor to a young man named Vincent de Paul. They became friends while Francis was preaching in Paris. Even after Francis’ death, Vincent based much of his work on Francis’ writings. Of course, St. Vincent one of the patrons of our Archdiocese, founded the Daughters of Charity. He based the order on Francis’ idea that you didn’t have to be rich to be holy. He wrote that to obtain holiness, it was enough to follow the humble and gentle way preached by Francis de Sales-love in the actions of one’s life. This was the foundation of what we now refer to as “The Way of Vincent de Paul.”

And, it began with Jesus telling us to love one another.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

How different would things be if Jesus were beginning his earthly ministry today, rather than 2000 years ago? I’m sure they would be very different. For example, in today’s Gospel, He’s choosing his first four apostles. He just walks up to them and asks them to follow Him. Very simple.

Would it be the same today, or might He be a little more selective. In today’s world, He might have even asked them to take a pre-employment test. If that were the case, here’s how the results might have come to him, in a memo.

From: Holy Land Human Resources Consultants
To: Jesus of Nazareth
Subject: Pre-employment screening.
Jesus,
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men that you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have taken our battery of tests. We have tabulated the results through our database and have arranged personal interviews for each of them with a staff psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for your enterprise. In short, they exhibit no team concept. Specifically:

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.
Andrew demonstrates no qualities for leadership.
The brothers, James and John, place personal interest above team loyalty.
Thomas shows a skeptical attitude that could undermine morale.
James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings and registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows real potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man.

It’s funny, but it makes an interesting point. Who were these twelve guys, anyway? Why did Jesus chose those particular men to be His Apostles? An even better question might be: Why did they say “yes”?

This is at the very beginning of Jesus ministry. There have been no miracles. He hasn’t been to Canna yet. No water has been turned to wine. Yet they dropped everything and followed Him. They left their equipment. They left their families. They just said “yes”.



We know John and James had parents. Zebedee is their father. We know they had a mother. She wanted John and James to sit on Jesus’ right and left sides. But, they left mom and dad behind and went with this stranger.

Simon and Andrew may have had parents. Evidently Simon was married because Jesus would later heal his mother-in-law. But, they left their boat and their nets and went with Jesus. They didn’t even think about it. Matthew tells us that “At once they left their nets and followed Him.”

John and James “immediately left their boat and their father and followed Him.”

These men, and eight more just like them, gave up everything to follow Jesus. Can you imagine the commitment it must have taken to make such a drastic change? I wonder how many of us would do the same?

Personally, the commitment I made in becoming a deacon is nothing compared to the commitment the early followers of Christ made. I didn’t have to quit my job, or leave my family. Yet, rather than accepting Christ’s call ”immediately“, or “at once“, I waffled all through five years of formation. Almost up to the day of my ordination I had doubts about whether I was doing the right thing. Even after ordination, I really wasn’t 100% sure.


But, as time has passed, and I see that, even with all my faults, God works through me to help others, I honestly can’t imagine why anyone would give this up. God called. I answered. It’s like a marriage. I love my wife and I love my ministry more every day. Obviously, it’s not like that for everybody.

A good friend of mine has been a priest for twenty-six years. Next week in the “Review” you will read that he has been relieved of his assignment and is taking a leave of absence. That’s church-talk for planning to leave the priesthood. This is a good man, an excellent priest. Yet, something is causing him to want to change his mind, even after a quarter of a century of service to the church. I would ask you to remember him, and all priests, in your prayers. I don’t know why he wants to leave, but I know he’s going through a very rough time right now.

Even one of the original Apostles changed his mind, with tragic consequences. Judas betrayed the Lord for a few pieces of silver.

As I thought about today’s Gospel, preparing for this homily, my original thought was “why did Jesus need the Apostles, anyway?” He’s the Son of God. He certainly didn’t need any help. In fact, the twelve were often more trouble than they were worth. They did exhibit all the flaws mentioned in the imaginary memo.

Then I realized, He didn’t need them. You and I are the ones who need them. What a brilliant plan! Jesus came to earth to connect with us. But He knew that, even in human form, we would still see Him as God. We can’t identify with perfection. We need the Apostles to show that we’re all called, in spite of our faults.

Some of us are emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper, like Peter.
Some of us, like Andrew, demonstrate no qualities of leadership.
Some of us, like John and Jams, place our own interests above team loyalty.
Some of are even more skeptical than Thomas, and can undermine the morale of our fellow Christians.
And some of us even have radical leanings like James and Thaddeus.

But God has called each one of us for some specific purpose. Maybe we don’t know what that purpose is. Maybe, we don’t think we’re good enough. But the Apostles, with their flaws and failings, are an example to us that nobody’s perfect (well almost nobody) and God loves us all anyway.

So, pick an Apostle, any Apostle. Which one reminds you of yourself? I seem to have a little bit of each one in me, though I think I’m the most like Peter. Look at your favorite’s faults and flaws. Remember that Jesus chose him and He chose you and me. We’re all part of His plan to spread the Gospel to one another. Whether we choose to follow Him, or not, is up to us.

Elvis Has Left the Building

January 15, 2005 Thursday of the 2nd Week of Ordinary Time

The other night, I turned on the television and saw the end of a program about Elvis Presley. I’m not the world’s biggest Elvis fan, but I left it on because it was almost over. They were showing what a hassle it was for Elvis to go anywhere. This particular night, he finished his concert and while the audience was begging him to come out and sing another song, he was already in his limo, on the way to the airport. The announcer came out and said, “Elvis has left the building.”

I guess this is a common problem with celebrities. The Beatles caused near-riots everywhere they went. Rock stars and sports stars, television and movie actors all have to deal with big crowds. Last summer I saw people stand in line for three hours to get an autograph from Rupert, the guy from Survivor.

The government spends millions of dollars every year providing security for the President and his family. The get Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus dealing with the crowds. As word spread of His teaching and His healings, everybody wanted to see Him. Everybody wanted to touch Him. Everybody wanted to be healed. He tells the disciples to have a boat ready for him so He can get away. It’s hard to imagine He ever had any privacy.

How different is it today? Jesus still walks among us. He is present in the word that we read from this ambo. He is especially present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. But, we surely don’t have a problem with crowd control. You can pretty much walk into any church, any place in the world, and get a seat right in front. In fact, at 5:00 on Christmas Eve, the last seats to be taken were two right here in the front row.

So what happened? How is it that we’ll stand in line to get an autograph from some guy in a tie-died shirt, but so many won’t take the time to visit the Son of God in His house? I know I’m preaching to the choir here. Anyone who gets out of a warm bed to come to church at 8:00 on a Thursday morning knows what a treasure we have. As we said in our Responsorial Psalm, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

What do you say about a young girl who died?

January 7, 2005

Do you remember the movie “Love Story.” It came out right around 1970 and starred Ali Mc Graw and Ryan O’Neal. It wasn’t a very good movie, but it was really popular. Nowadays, we’d call it a chick flick.

The movie began with the line, “What do you say about a young girl who died?” For some reason, that line came to me yesterday as I was sitting in a packed St. Mark’s church for Elizabeth E’s funeral. What do you say about a young girl who died?

What John says in today’s first reading would be a good place to start: “Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” As long as we believe, there is nothing that this world can do to us that makes any difference. We will be victorious! Elizabeth was sixteen. Her battle is over. She won.

But, why? Why was her life so short? Luke gives us part of the answer in today’s Gospel. Jesus healed the leper. He ordered him not to tell anyone, but as Luke says, “the report about Him spread all the more.” Then he tells us that “great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.”

Even when He was here on earth, he didn’t heal everybody. Sometimes He would withdraw. He would go off by himself to pray. By His example, He shows us that prayer was more important than healing. If we pray, we’ll be victorious. If we’re healed of all illness and injury, then we just have to continue on.

There’s a country song called “Lord, I want to go to heaven, but I don’t want to go today.” I think that’s the way most of us feel. We’re afraid of change. We’re afraid of the unknown. We want to stay in our comfort zone, even though we know that what’s waiting for us is so much better.

It’s like being marooned on a sand bar in a river, with a cliff on one side and alligators on the other. Our little dog is with us on the sandbar. The alligators are getting closer and closer.

The only way for us to escape is to climb the cliff. But, we’re afraid. We can’t see the top of the cliff, so we don’t know just how high it is. It may be ten feet or a hundred feet. We might fall and be killed. Of course, if we stay put, we’ll be eaten by the gators. But many of us would rather stay and risk certain death than try to climb up. Besides, the dog can’t climb, and we don’t want to leave him for the alligators. We don’t leave the ones we love behind. Even though we do have some rope which we could tie around his waist and pull him up after we get to the top, we just don’t want to leave the danger that we know, to face something we don’t know.

Jesus has gone on ahead and prepared a place for us. He told us that. All we have to do is believe. We have to have faith and sometimes we have to have courage. I believe Elizabeth had both. In life she asked that if anything ever happened to her, she wanted to be an organ donor. Today seven people will live as a result of her generosity. Seven people. What a wonderful legacy that is.

Here at St. Bernadette, our own XXX is alive today because a young person from the Kansas City area was an organ donor. His life is a testimony to the good that can come, even from a tragedy. If you haven’t already, today would be a good day to consider being an organ donor yourself.

Jesus didn’t heal everybody. Sometimes there is no physical healing. But, as John says, we can be victorious over this world and spend eternity in paradise, if we believe.