A Willy Wonka Utopia?

Previously I wrote about the latest bit of news with the lawsuits in court right now over the HHS mandate. I talked about how I really see it as a war of good v evil and not a case of the administration being blindsided by the church. If it is a battle of good v evil, the devil knows what he is doing, the devil knows who his opponents are and is very cunning and clever. This is why we need to not get a sense of arrogance or pride in the fact we filed lawsuits, but remain extra vigilant in the living out of our faith and the Gospel.

In thinking about this 'culture of death' that is just creeping in on every front, I really wrestle with putting myself in 'their' shoes and trying to find the attraction in all this. The architecture of such a society involves cold, white-washed, sterile and pre-fab materials that create something as beautiful and exquisite as an old Walmart. But, I don't think its the beauty - or lack thereof - but the perceived freedom of movement that many people believe they will achieve.

At one level, I can empathize with them in that "who wouldn't want to be free and enjoy all the pleasures the world has to offer?" "Who wouldn't want to live in a world where there were no consequences for our actions and that any appetite we had, it was okay to indulge it?" 

On one level, it can sound very attractive to create this utopia of sorts where life was as happy as Wonka's chocolate factory. But it is an illusion that leads to utter depravity and certain death. At one level, I can see abandoning beauty for pleasure, but that would get old and un-pleasurable real quick. 

It is this lack of the 'big picture' that is fueling this movement. The utter absence of rational thinking at even the most basic level is impeding individuals from thinking about the bigger questions of life, humanity and God. When we do this and subtract any 'higher-thininkg' from our mental landscape, the chocolate factory looks pretty darn attractive.

BUT 

We are made in the Image of God...We are made for relationship...We are made to give ourselves to an Other...We are made with spirit and flesh...We are in a state of fallen humanity in need of a savior...We NEED the Church and all She offers us by means of sacraments, worship, sound interpretaion of scripture and a means to touch the mysteries of God.

This 'Willy Wonka' utopia of free sex and play forces the individual to ignore all of the above. You cannot  create a culture where the human body is treated as a play thing, where we find it a right to murder unborn children, where governments are more sacred than the Church instituted by Christ AND maintain a biblical view of humanity wrapped in the mystery of God.

The false utopia will lead - there is no debate about it - to human despair and depravity because it denies us of our true identity and our most intrinsic needs: true relationships, love and God in all His transcendental qualities. When we starve ourselves of what we really need, the next logical step is death. Stone cold death and the risk of an eternity in the abyss of eternal hell. 

It's a real choice and the choice is ours.

The devil is no dummy and he is certainly real. Sin is an incredible seductive and powerful entity that is loose and roaming all around us. We need to remain in the Truth and the Church if we wish to ever come close to creating a culture that reflects just that. 

Did they awake a giant?

Yesterday, a large array of plaintiffs filed 12 lawsuits in federal court to challenge the constitutionality of the now infamous HHS mandate. I am very proud of my bishop for standing up and defending the church. He has been given an unfair reputation by many for their misunderstanding of his take on liturgical translation, but I would be hard pressed to find many men as passionate as he is in defending the church.

There has been a lot of commentary on the significance of this movement of our bishops and the church at large in not going silently into the night on this issue.

One thing I have read a lot is the idea that the Obama administration has awakened a giant; that the Obama administration has underestimated the Catholic Church and Her response.

I wrestle with whether or not this is the case...

I find it very hard to believe that anyone involved with drafting this legislation overlooked the fact that it was going to settle like oil and vinegar with the church. With the intensity of the debate over contraception and abortion over the past few decades, it is impossible to think that the administration was blindsided by this.

Secondly, I don't think there is any person who can honestly say that the administration is a friend to traditional, orthodox, sound, family - centered Catholicism. At most you can site placated rhetoric at campaign events or intense news conferences or speeches, but there has been nothing to suggest otherwise. To think that any legislation was crafted to uphold a biblical view of humanity is just naive.

The art of war involves two essential elements: a strategy and an assurance of victory. I believe both are at play in this latest drama of American politics.  What better way to win sympathy...and votes... if you're viewed as the underdog - the victim! I don't know what news outlet you watch, but everything I see presents the church as old-white men in dresses who want to oppress women and harbor pedophiles. Whereas the federal government is shown as a bullied kid with a scraped knee who's crying for his mom to protect him from the aggressive church. The more this image is played out, the more they can play on the emotions of uninformed individuals and thus (in their thinking) win!

I really think they foresaw this and knew it was going to be met with opposition. They most likely foresaw lawsuits, but are relying on the hopes of the cases falling on the desks of the many liberal judges throughout this land. I am awfully sure they had no intention to uphold the dignity of the human person, but indulge the appetite in this culture for licentious promiscuity and 'freedom from God'.

I don't think it wise to adopt a Catholic maverick mentality of "we outsmarted the administration". I think we need to remain faithful, prayerful and dedicated to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ if we truly want to transform the culture and the government.

Next post, I want to talk a little about the culture that is wanting to be created by those in opposition to the church.

Looking back...

This is my final week in the seminary.

In a way it is a time for rejoicing and celebration for I had completed this assignment, this phase of my life. At the same time, it incites a lot of self-reflection and examination on the past 8 years of my life.

I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to experience phenomenal opportunities and meet some extraordinary people. I have had the opportunity to minister on an Indian reservation in SD, work in a soup kitchen in the heart of the Bronx. I have been assigned to two hospitals, two nursing homes, two youth programs, and a mental hospital as apostolic ministries. I have had the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to NY to be with the pope on his US visit and to Rome where I had the opportunity of being an acolyte at mass with him in St Peter's. I had the opportunity to not only go to Rome, but to Ars where I went to confession in the confessional of St John Vianney, followed by my acolyte installation at the tomb of St Vincent de Paul in Paris and serving mass in Notre Dame Cathedral.

Then there have been the innumerable day-to-day encounters and experiences that are the brick and mortar to the whole edifice of the seminary experience.

I have met some outstanding individuals - fellow students, priests, laity - who have impacted my life in ways many of them will never know and who some have become lifelong friends.

The formation process is so massive and weaves itself into every dimension of the man who goes through it. To synthesize and do a total reflection on it as a whole is a near impossible task for every aspect of your life and faith is affected by the experience. But I want o give a few thoughts on the spiritual and vocational growth I've experienced over the last 8 years.

Firstly, the sense I had of who God was when I first began and the sense of God now is miles deeper. My faith formation growing up was largely rooted in my 12 years of Catholic education and going to church on most Sundays - I was left with many more questions and vague notions of God than I would have preferred. It was in the process of these past years that I have taken ownership of, not only my knowledge of God, but my relationship with Him, and that is the most important element. I entered seminary with a feeling and a desire to discover what the priesthood meant while believing I had a grasp on God, but 8 years later I realize that I was very young and unspecific in my faith and didn't know a lot about what it meant to truly know God.

Secondly, it is the relationship with God that has come to define me. I am in no way holy and saintly, but I work on and desire a relationship with God so as to have everything about me reflect in that relationship. In all my weaknesses and struggles and challenges that I face in myself and in this vocation, I (try to) recognize them in the context of enduring it with God. God is not an idea that I can pray to in time of need, but an intimate friend whom I converse with all the time, any place and anywhere. It is that constant awareness of being in the presence of and in relationship with God that has truly been the most distinguishable touchstone of growth for me.

Thirdly, it is the overall sense and understanding of prayer and how powerful and effective it can be in our personal lives, but in the lives of those around us. It think this flows from the previous two points, but if you know what it means to know and you build a relationship with that person, then communication becomes enriched, deeper and more meaningful. The same goes with God. Even though we can't communicate the same as with a friend, we can still communicate and we do so through, not only through our senses, but also our souls and hearts. Communication with God is what it is all about - no matter the devotion, the words or actions - it is all about communicating and getting closer to the God. I think I was far more prone to pray to fulfill a sense of obligation to say words, but now I still have an obligation and bound by promises to my bishop to pray, but it is to enrich my life and the life of the whole church. This God that I pray to is the same one you and everyone else prays to - there is only one God! The more I can pray and love God, the more I am connected to the God who loves all humanity which leads me to being more connected to them in love.

It is a huge web and nothing is autonomous or isolated from another. My prayer life cannot not affect my relationship with God. My relationship with God cannot not affect my relationship to humanity. My relationship to humanity cannot not affect my relationship with God...and so on! (I know I used double negatives... I can't not resist)

I hope that wasn't too broad or too much, but my early reflections on this past phase of my life has made me initially see that fundamental growth and awareness has taken place.
As I move forward, especially in these next four weeks before priestly ordination, I will be reflecting a lot on what all this means to be called to the priesthood and to grow in maturity within the context of God...

third sunday of easter, year b

We are called to be witnesses to the Risen Christ...
witnesses of the one who has forgiven us of our sins
witnesses of the one who said death is not the end
witnesses of the one who said there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend
witnesses of the one who endured the cross because he was deeply in love with us

We have been called to believe, even though we have not seen, and bring His entirety to all peoples

But none of us can begin to do this if we do not know Him, the one we are called to witness.

This probably sounds like common sense, but it is so essential. And to know Him is so simple, yet incredibly difficult.
What many or all of us do is demand too much, to expect too much or put unrealistic expectations on those we are in relationships with. Think about any number of relationships we are in - spouse, friend, sibling, classmate, colleague, brother or sister in Christ - and consider what expectations or demands we put on them either subconsciously or directly.

Do we demand love? Do we want to be comforted? Do we demand acceptance? Do we demand attention? Do we demand proof of love?

It is a symptom of our humanity. We are fallen creation inclined to sin and corrupting perfect relationship with self serving desires and demands. If we really think about it, we can all in some ways see ourselves falling into this with at least some of our relationships.

The same is with Christ...

How easy and how common it is for us to demand love, comfort, acceptance, attention and proof from Christ. After all, He is a real person and how else are we to relate to Him than how we know how to relate to other persons in our lives? Then we are faced with the reality that we can't interact and expect synonymous responses from Him as we would, lets say, our spouse. When we make identical expectations on Christ as we do others and then faced with the reality He does not respond as they do, we are left in doubt and frustration and faith in God is something we resign as something superfluous or impossible.

I am the first one to admit my guilt with this. There are some days where it just 'clicks' and there are others where I'm too stuck on myself and I make demands on God to make Himself more known or to do something for me - I put very finite and human expectations on an infinite and mysterious Being!


What does this have to do with being a witness? Everything.

If we are to be witness of the Risen Lord, if we are to have the fire of faith and the martyrs zeal, then our hearts cannot be in the wrong place and stifling that flame. We need to be aware of what it means to know Christ so as to be His witness.

Knowing Christ is a lifelong process and we can never fully comprehend the depth and breadth of the mystery of God in this life, but we need to get ourselves on the right track.

The mystical and other worldly experiences of God that many of us perhaps demand of God can only be possible once we simply acknowledge Him. To be consumed by the flames of the love of God is only possible once we set before us His commandments. To release a sigh of joy in the mercy of God is only possible once we acknowledge our  own sinfulness. To be deafened by the choirs of angels is only possible through a  simple recognition of the need for something greater than I.

To know our Risen Lord is to simply acknowledge Him and an honest desire to serve Him.

It is our constant struggle to let go of those demands and expectations and just let God BE and let Him take you by the hand and lead you to places and experience things that our minds can only scratch in imagination.

We are called to be witnesses to the greatest mystery in the universe - let's not hinder that by our own weakness and sin.

Holy Thursday: On This Night

This night, gathered in a small dimly lit room, Jesus gives is the two most essential gifts or "things" He could ever give us: The Eucharist and the Priesthood

The disciples had no idea what Christ had up His sleeve that night; only Judas had a hint of what was to transpire after the meal, but Christ knew and He was prepared. He knew that one of His closest friends was going to betray Him; He knew that He was going to be plucked from every comfort and security he had in this world; He knew that this was going to be the last meal he would share with those He loved; He knew He was about to suffer a tortuous end to His life; He knew He had to act!

Going to the cross was going to win for us salvation; it was going to defeat darkness, sin and death itself, but it was still going to leave us as a fallen people, still bound to the affects and enslavement of sin. He was going to leave us a means to experience and taste His love, mercy and intimacy after He left this earth. He was leaving us a way to taste our salvation: The Eucharist and the Priesthood!

This night, in that dim room, Christ gave his beloved twelve a model to follow. He, God made man, got on His knees and washed to feet of sinful, weak and imperfect men - Even Judas who was about to betray Him and the other ten who abandoned Him. He gave them a model of total self-surrender, total self- gift, total self-sacrifice of themselves for others.

He showed them that to be a priest was no longer about sacrificing goats and pigeons - it was about sacrificing yourself. He showed them that what He was doing and about to do was the new model for priestly service and way of life. He showed them that sacrificing the True Lamb was the only sacrifice capable bringing salvation. He showed them the model by which, men chosen from their peers by God, would give others the body and blood of Christ by sacrificing their own everyday.

No glitz, no glamour, no status or honor was he bestowing on them - He was calling these men to die so others may have life. The priesthood was no longer a sterile or apathetic position among men - NO - The priesthood was now about dying for the life of men! Each one of these disciples in that room that night was called to the cross - Each of those men realized that the greatest way of love was to deny themselves and give everything you have for another.

It is only this sacrifice and this love that suffices the cravings of the soul!

Acknowledging this reality, each Catholic man not married needs to ask himself, needs to pray about, needs to ponder this priesthood and if he is being called and chosen from among men for this sacrifice. The world cannot survive without priests giving us the Eucharist and forgiving our sins and being a man on the boundary of creation and Creator. Each man needs to talk with Christ and others so he may know if he is in this world for it's salvation. Each man here tonight and elsewhere: Are you being called to follow this model of Christ and sacrifice yourself so others may taste and experience their salvation?
Without priests, there is no Eucharist; without priests, there is no sacraments; where there is no Eucharist or sacraments, there is no Church for people to come and experience first hand their salvation and the love and sacrifice that every soul needs and craves. It is essential and not optional!

This night, Christ lays down the foundation for chosen men to lay down their lives because of love.

This night, Christ takes His new priests and gives us His very flesh and His very blood.

This night, we receive the two most tangible and eternal gifts and signs of our salvation and the love that conquered death.

Palm Sunday: We have entered Jerusalem!

We have finally entered Jerusalem! We have spent this Lent in the desert, the wilderness, thirsting and pining for God. We have spent this Lent alone with our God.

Now we have joyfully entered Jerusalem waving palm branches in praise and happiness at the entrance of our God, Our King!

This week is Hoy Week. The holiest weeks of the year and nothing remotely compares to it's majesty.

This is the week where we enter Jerusalem waving palm branches in praise of Jesus, but it is also the same week where we will hit his body with reeds and whip him, shredding his flesh.

This is the week where we cry "Hosanna to the Son of David" "This is our King!"But, it is also the week where we will sentence our king to death for being our king! We will mockingly nail "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum" Jesus Christ, King of the Jews, to his cross.

This is the week where we lay down our clothes on the donkey and along the path of His entrance into Jerusalem, but also will strip Him naked in humiliation.

This is the week where we acclaim "Glory, Laud and Honor", but also the week where we shout and abuse HIm to the point of shame and leave Him with little dignity.

We have entered Jerusalem. We are holding palm branches in praise of our king, but we will by the end of the week be holding nails to affix Him to a tree.

We are not just remembering and recalling theses events, they are real and timeless. This is the holiest week of the year and a week that knows no boundaries of time or space. We are present with our Lord, our King, through it all. This week we walk with Him triumphantly into Jerusalem, but also walk with Him carrying His cross to the place of death.

May we fully enter into the liturgy, the prayer, the scripture and the intimacy of this week. May we bring our whole selves to this journey with Christ and come to know the events of this week as real and meaningful to our lives.

5th Sunday of Lent

We can all recall moments in our lives where we did something, tried something or got something new for the first time. We can remember monumental moments in our lives where we experienced something new and we go back to those memories quite often for strength and renewal.

For instance, I was in scouting for many years and set up many tents, but the only experience of that I really recall is the First time I did it. I can still remember the smell of that musty old tent, the coolness of the poles in my hands, the dampness of the ground and the air around me and the darkness of the night. It is that First tent that has and always will stick in my mind.

I also played hockey for a number of years. I spent many many hours on the ice, but the memory that sticks in my mind the most is that First time I stepped on the ice. I can still hear my blades hitting the ice for the first time. I can still smell the cold ice. I can still feel my legs getting their balance and eventually, after getting used it, hearing that crisp sound of the sharp blades slicing the ice. All the senses were engaged and I will always remember that moment.

We can also remember our first car. No matter how nice of car you acquire in the future, that old clinker will always hold a special place in your hearts.

The first time we met our spouse, our first child, our first kiss, our first day of school... Life is peppered with these moments of doing or getting something new or for the first time. These moments anchor us, support us, are a source of meaning, joy and happiness in our lives. These are the moments we go back to when we've lost focus or enjoyment in whatever area of life.

Jeremiah is promising us something New! He is promising that the old law, the old way of life will no longer be the same. For now, God will establish a new covenant with us and we will be closer to Him than we've ever been. The Law will no longer be distant or a foreign object or creed, but will be inscribed on our very hearts - God will be in our hearts and we will be in HIm! No longer will we be alienated by a chasm of sin and darkness for He will forget all our sins and love us evermore.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that His Hour has come. His Hour is when everything He came to do will be fulfilled; everything He was will be more real and everything Jeremiah promised will be realized.

It is this Hour that Christ has come to that we will celebrate next week in Holy Week, the holiest week of the entire year. His Hour is where everything that was Old is made New, where everything we did not have, we receive. The Hour is the memory, the moment, where we recall who we truly are as human beings and Catholics! Everything that we are and profess is made real and new in His Hour: Our Church, the sacraments, the priesthood, the Eucharist, salvation, eternal life, forgiveness of sins - Everything! This is where the source and font of all meaning, joy, love and happiness we experience as Catholics.

This is the last week of Lent before we enter into the Hour of Christ. This week should be a time of reflection and preparation to enter it more deeply and wholly. But, we can't just think of it, we need to enter into it. What is one way that is Real is reflecting on our relationship to the Hour - where do we stand in relation to all we profess and believe?

Just as in relationships that have gone cold or are strained for any reason, we go back to those moments of "Firsts" or "New" and remember those moments that truly define the beauty and love of those relationships. We remember those moments that remind us why we're together and what really matters.
The same is true with our relationship to Christ and the Church - our faith. We need to acknowledge and admit where we have doubts, what we don't understand, what we don't want to believe or what we just don't care about. It is good and healthy to acknowledge those realities in our lives. Then bring all that to the Hour of Christ - Holy Week - and encounter and experience those moments and memories of who we really are and Catholics, of what we really believe and of What God has given us.

If we come the Hour of Christ honest and seeking to encounter His passion, then you will have new life, you will see the awesomeness and beauty of all He has given to us and made New. He has promised it and it will be true.