What did Jesus look like? A reflection for Holy Thursday.

What did Jesus look like? I am sure it is a question we have all asked at one point or another in our lives.  Recent research on the famous Shroud of Turin, suggests that he may have had a bigger build then we've often imagined.  But despite that research and the nearly two millenniums of artist depictions, do we really no what Jesus looked like?  Does it matter?

A few years ago, while on retreat, my director asked me what I thought Jesus looked like.  He asked me if I saw his face in my imagination.  I told him, I didn't have a clear picture.  He gave it to me as a task for the retreat, and then he told me to draw or paint what I imagined.  Not only could I not imagine a face, I can't draw stick figures.  What a retreat I feared it was going to be.

I think that an answer to this question is what we see before us on Holy Thursday night.  What does Jesus look like?  He looks like a Master, taking the role of a slave and washing the feet of His disciples.  Jesus looks like the humble servant.

Despite a great deal of self centered behaviors, service is still very attractive in our world.  People do like to be of service.  Colleges and employers, look for service on an applicant's resume.  In our heart of hearts we want to do good in the face of suffering, look at what happened here in our midst after Hurricane Sandy?  But service for the sake of service is empty and can just be about making ourselves feel good, if it does not come from our relationship with Jesus who served.

In a talk that he gave to world diplomats our new Pope Francis, acknowledged the good that world leaders do when they serve their people but he went on to say

In this work, the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God. But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people.

We can't  bring people together through acts of service while forgetting God and we can not think we are in relationship with God without service.  Jesus looks like one who serves, so that we may see his face in our service to others and that they may see God in us.

Jesus also looks like one who forgives and does acts that reveal that mercy.  Peter resists Jesus' attempt to wash his feet.  When Jesus insists, Peter then tells him to not only wash his feet but his hands and feet as well.  To which Jesus responds,

Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed

Our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, reflects on this exchange as way in which we can understand our need for reconciliation.   In baptism, we are bathed in the waters of new life, we are washed clean of original sin, but the reality is, despite the bath of our baptism, we get dirty from our sin.  We have no need to be baptized again, but we do need our feet washed, we need to let the Lord forgive our sins.  We are good people, we do good things, we try to live lives that are commendable, but we sin and we need to be forgiven.  We are deceived if we think we can rest on our perceived goodness.  When we allow Christ to wash away our sin, we see His love for us.

On Holy Thursday morning, Pope Francis, challenged priests to be

Shepherds living with “the odor of the sheep."

Isn't that a wonderful phrase?  Sheep stink, feet stink, sin stinks and the Pope is telling us priests to be Shepherds in the middle of that stink.  Why? Because people need to see the loving and merciful face of Christ.

Jesus looks like the Eucharist, whose institution we celebrate tonight.  Someone recently told me of his experience attending a Seder.  He was moved to hear the words that are now a part of our celebration of the Eucharist.  Jesus was a faithful Jew, that is what the celebration of the Last Supper was, a faithful celebration of Passover..  If we want to see His face, we too must be faithful to the Eucharist.  In the Eucharist that looks like bread and wine, we see Jesus, who tells us to do this in memory of Him.  Do what?  Wash feet.  Die rather than be what you are not.  Consume rather than be consumed. If we want to know what Jesus looks like we need to faithfully attend and participate in Mass, so we can do what he commands us to do through that Blessed Sacrament

On this Holy Thursday night, I washed the feet of 12 people from my parish.  Six of them were under the age of 23.  These 12 are Church people.  They look like Jesus, because they already participate in the life of the Church, through school, religious education, youth group, outreach, and other parish organizations.  I their Pastor washed their feet in the name of Jesus, not just so I could show them what Jesus looked like, but so they could look and act like him in a world that so desperately needs them.

Do you want to know what Jesus looks like?  Wash feet.  Have your feet washed, be forgiven.  Take and eat.  Lay down your life.

Toward the end of the retreat I came upon a reflection by Anthony de Mello a Jesuit priest and spiritual writer. He writes about always being afraid to look in Christ's eyes for fear he should find in them an accusation for an unrepentant sin or a demand for something.  And then he writes

One day I finally summed up courage and looked!  There was  not an accusation.  There was no demand.  The eyes just said " I love you."

After I read those words.  I drew the picture above.  He loved me enough to let me see His face.

In these three holy days we will see what Jesus looks like.  We will see love

We Have A Pope

Shortly after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI announced his resignation I realized that it was very likely that I would be on retreat during the Conclave to elect the new Holy Father.  Knowing that it was not a silent retreat but one being given to a group of priests.  I was confident that I would be able to keep up with the events, given our common interest and the communal rather then silent style of retreat. What I did not realize was the profound blessing it would be to share this experience with my brother priests.  In addition, the revelation of our new Holy Father and the name he has taken, spoke directly to my own heart as priest and pastor.

As I shared in yesterday's post, I had a profound experience of unity with the Cardinals as they were locked into the conclave; at the very same moment we began Mass here.  There is something special about participating in Mass comprised solely of concelebrating priests.  Our fraternity is strengthen in those moments in a way that I can not describe.  Knowing that 115 brother priests, who were called to serve the Church as Cardinal-electors of the new Pope, were assembled together at the same moment made our celebration of  the Eucharist a unique and profound occasion for me. I felt a deep love for my priesthood, my brother priests, the Church we serve and Christ who unites us.  I hope I will continue to remember and reflect on that moment.

When the white smoke began to billow from the Sistine Chapel, bells began to ring here in the building.  Again I was excited to be here with brother priests as our new Shepherd was revealed to us.  When the moment came, we were collectively confused, not being able to understand what the senior Cardinal Deacon said, other then the name Francis.  Quickly we all went to our smart phones to figure out who the Pope was.  We soon knew his name and then he was before us.  There was a definitive empathy in the room as we saw a man who looked caught off guard by this new mission to which the Holy Spirit called him.  We all knew that feeling and that look, because in a small way, we too have faced new assignments and overwhelming challenges.  Not being fluent in Italian, none of us were quite sure the words he spoke, but we collectively observed his demeanor change as he spoke to the people.  We know that look and that feeling too, because there is nothing more empowering then the prayerful joyful support of God's people. How wonderful it was to see that it was in speaking to God's people that he was put at ease.

No words were necessary to make the most important statement of Pope Francis today, it was his action that spoke loudest and clearest.  I noticed he was not wearing the Papal stole over his shoulders when he came to the balcony, it was instead in the hands of the Master of Papal Liturgies.  He would eventually put on the stole to bless the people but only after he first bowed his head asking for our prayer for God's blessing on him.  The humility of a priest before his people is essential to his mission, the mission of Jesus Christ who washed the feet of His disciples before he laid down his life for them.  My heart and my faith were deeply moved by this action of our new Vicar of Christ.

Last night during a holy hour I prayed for a Pope that would make me a better priest.  As I reflect on who this new shepherd appears to be, I am filled with hope that my prayers have been answered.  Those who are close to me or have heard me reflect on faith know that the Spiritual Exercises of St.Ignatius  have been foundational to my spirituality, the life of an active contemplative.  I look forward to his Ignatian inspired leadership which teaches that the work we do is Ad maiorem Dei gloriam. All for the Glory of God.

Beyond his Jesuit spirituality the Holy Father has chosen the name, Francis.  It was announced that he has chosen to be the first pope called by this name, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, who heeded God's call to rebuild the Church. I suspect it may also be reflective of the great Jesuit, Saint Francis Xavier, the missionary to Asia.  Like Francis Xavier, who gave his whole heart to the people for whom he was sent to preach the Gospel, I know that in this age of New Evangelization my priestly ministry must have the same fervor and zeal. More importantly in my almost 4 years as a Pastor I have been about the work of rebuilding the Church at Holy Family in Hicksville.  In one month's time we will, God willing, see our church building physically renovated.  This was important work which needed to be done to preserve the structure as a fitting place for worship. Our renovation has also been symbolic of what needed to be done spiritually in a community that had been broken by scandle and struggle.  I am so grateful for a Pope who I hope will help me to be the Pastor I have been called to be, rebuilding the Church, physically, communally and spiritually.

We have a Pope, The Lord has given us Francis, to rebuild His Church and in so doing share in the building of the Kingdom of God. May our prayers sustain him and bless him.

Extra Omnes, "Everyone Out" - But not really

L'Osservatore Romano photograph

If you did not have the opportunity to observe the final public moments of the Cardinal Electors beginning the conclave, you should watch the brief video of the Master of Papal Liturgical Ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini announcing the time for all those who are not participating in the conclave to exit the Sistine Chapel followed by his dramatic closing of the doors.  You can watch the video below.  

The latin phrase declaring the closing of the chapel, is "Extra Omnes." Which is basically translated, "Everyone Out."  Watching the video one gets a vivid image of the cardinals being locked in and the rest of us locked out.  But is that really the case, is the rest of the Church separated from these 115 electors?  Are they truly locked away to make such an important decision for the Church and the world?  I am going to suggest that the opposite is true.

I am currently on a retreat with other priests from my diocese and the diocese of Brooklyn as well as one priest from the Archdiocese of New York.  (Incidentally, he really wants his Cardinal to come home!) Today the other priests and I watched the cardinals walk in procession into the Sistine Chapel and just moments before Msgr. Marini closed the door, we went into a chapel here to celebrate Mass.  It struck me as we celebrated Mass together how closely linked we were to the events on the other side of the ocean.  These 115 Cardinals are my brother priests.  They were ordained to do the very same thing I was ordained to do.  They have been called to live their priesthood in service to Church as cardinals, but they are simply priests called by God to celebrate the sacraments and lead His people to eternal salvation.  In thinking this way I felt great empathy for them and the task that lay before them.  I offered Mass for them and with them and did not feel locked out.  Instead I felt united with them through the sacred liturgy and the fraternity of priesthood.

Beyond me and my brother priests, I have a profound sense of the whole Church's unity with the cardinal-electors.  One only need observe the throngs filling the piazza of St. Peter's to understand he the whole Church is literally gathering for this moment.  All of the thoughts, opinions, hopes and dreams for the new pope have been overwhelming.  How could these 115 men listen to it all, process it all and truly hear where God was calling them?  The only way that they can, is to do what they are doing now, closed in, listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit without distraction, receiving the fruit our prayers, unadulterated by media or politics.  They are not closed off but close to the Church as they undergo this sacred task.

This week I heard an interview with the Archbishop Emeritus of Washington D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.  He described his experience of the 2005 conclave as a liturgy, a continuous experience of prayer, not a political convention or a secret boardroom experience.  How true then it is that this conclave is not an experience of "everyone out" but like all liturgy everyone is in, united by Christ through sacrament and prayer.  When the doors of our Churches close to begin Mass, we are not closed off from the world, but closed in, free from that which distracts us so we may truly be united with Christ and His Church.

When Blessed Pope John Paul II, spoke his inaugural words to the Church, he told us to not be afraid but to open wide the doors for Christ.   In the remaining days of this conclave, may our hearts, souls and prayers be in that sacred liturgy so that the doors will soon open and a new Shepherd may be sent out to all the world.

If clip does not work go here http://youtu.be/dzFxQJkNdgY

Under Construction for Lent

You should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires and be made new in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.  Ephesians 22-24In my own prayer and reflection, I was feeling neglectful about my preparation for the holy season of Lent.  With the renovation of the Church at hand, I have been so focused on that project, I felt it hard to concentrate on where we were being spiritually called during this time.  Thankfully the Holy Spirit continues to work without us knowing it.  The physical renewal of my parish church is the symbol I needed to focus on the spiritual mission that is at hand for us in the weeks ahead.

In this passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we can see how the physical and the spiritual journey come together for us this Lent.   “Be made new,” means to renovate. Renovation is a process. It is not an instantaneous, single-moment event. It begins with demolition.   For the first two weeks of our building process a literal demolition occurred.  As we begin the season of Lent we are mindful that God is calling us to demolish old lies, bad habits and destructive patterns.  Demolishing the walls of grudge, mistrust and avarice is difficult but necessary work for the renovation of the soul.  The first step to being made new – being renovated – is demolition of the old to make way for the new.

As hard as demolition may be, the rebuilding is a longer process that takes planning, time and patience.  In two weeks the basic framework of our renovation has taken shape.  The vision of what will be has begun to take shape.  This framing out of our renovation followed a process of planning, listening and taking inventory of our financial assets.  As we begin these weeks of Lent we commit ourselves to what we need to tear down but we pray for the guidance to imagine, envision and plan for new life in our relationship with God.  We can plan a structure that will involve the giving up of things and taking up of others like prayer, fasting and alms-giving.  We need to ask ourselves what is our plan for spiritual renovation.  What vision do we have for our lives and our relationship with God?  What structure or framework will help us see that vision fulfilled.

In the weeks and months ahead our renovation will proceed if our workers remain on task, don’t meet too many obstacles and keep a deadline in mind, so too in our spiritual renovation.  We will need to remain on task, be prepared to meet temptation and obstacles and live with a deadline in mind; Easter is coming.  We are mindful of not just the deadline of Easter but our own mortality.  Our lives on earth will end, we will be called home to God and will present back to Him the lives we have built.

With my parish community I am I mindful that we are “Under Construction for Lent.”  Our renovated Church will be a blessing for us in our future, but its process of renovation blesses us now.  Standing as a wonderful physical reminder of our shared commitment to be made new, to be renovated during this holy and sacred season of Lent.

Pope Benedict XVI - The surprising news of the Holy Father’s renouncing of his position of Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church is very much an example of renovation.  In his own personal reflection, the Pope realized that he could not serve as he believed the Church needed the successor of Peter to be and so he makes way for the Holy Spirit to renew the Church.  We pray for him and the historic process ahead.

You Gotta See the Baby - Christmas 2012

My guess is everyone has had some experience of babies.  As parents, grandparents, siblings, extended family members or friends.  We all have some knowledge of babies, particularly new born ones.  I think it is probably safe to say that none of our experiences of babies are anything like the Christ child we see in our manager or other similar scenes.  The newborn babies we know sleep a lot, cry when they are not sleeping and in the moments when they are not doing either, they look totally confused about their surroundings.  The child in the manger is alert, wide eyed, reaching out, ready to go and self-aware.  

The newborn Jesus was certainly more like the babies we know and less like the images we see in nativity scenes.  But artists have rendered the Jesus not simply as a helpless newborn but as the Christ child, alert and self-aware, so that the story could be told in the image, that this was not an ordinary child but a savior.   

The alert and self-aware Christ child is also what we want.  We want a savior, not a baby.  We are eager for him to be what he came to be.  This is true for the babies and the children of our lives, as much as we tell them not to grow up too fast, we are eager to see their growth.  We wait her to crawl and walk.  We are excited by his first words and his budding talents.  We even ask children at a very young age what they want to be when they grow-up.  We eager to see them become the people God created them to be.  In the case of the baby Jesus we are eager to see him grow because we need him to be the person the Father sent him to be.  We are in need of a savior now.

I doubt there will be a Christmas homily offered here on Long Island that does not make some reference to our experience of the Super storm Sandy or the horror and sadness we feel after the tragedy in Newtown CT.  We long to be saved from these universally painful experiences and we have our own particular trials and tribulations that cause us to want this savior to move quicker.

The Christ Child in the manger is an image of potential and we long to see its fulfillment.  At the same time it is also a moment of perfection.  When a child is born we marvel at the perfection of human creation.  Even in this defenseless and dependent life we see the perfection of God’s design and we know the Lord’s nearness to us at the same time we are eager for a child’s growth we also know that we are in the presence of God’s perfection.  

The savior comes then in potential and perfection.  That potential and protection is also an accurate understanding of our faith.  It is always in potential, never fully what we or God want.  Doubt, temptation, anger and pain are stumbling blocks to our faith reaching its potential.  Our faith is also perfect – not because of us, but because it too is a creation of God.  The gift of faith is given to us through our baptism.  Our faith is potential, like children we are eager to believe and know God, and we spend our lives maturing in that process, but it is always perfect because of his abiding presence.

Beyond the realities of potential and perfection, God comes to us a new born child because of a more important reality – love.  We cannot but help to fall in love with a newborn baby.  Our relationship begins again or is renewed at Christmas because we can fall in love with God who is new born child.  

We may desire a relationship with the Lord but we don’t know where to begin because of doubt, temptation, anger and pain.  God is too big, we are too distance and life has become too complicated.  And so we are given this baby once again, too fall in love with.  To let our faith and relationship with him grow and mature over time and not all at once.  Today we are not eager for baby Jesus to grow up, but eager for our relationship with God and our faith to grow and mature.  We are here to fall in love with God again or for the first time.  After I prepared this homily and actually offered it Mass at 4:00 p.m., I read the words of the Pope’s homily and he too said something very similar about love and the Christ child.
God makes himself a child so that we may love him…It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.

And so the Holy Father challenges us to make room for this child, for God in our lives.  If we are to truly be blessed by the baby Jesus, we must make room for him as we must for any child in our very busy and cluttered lives.

May our celebration of our savior’s birth make us eager for the fulfillment of his saving mission by loving him as he loves us so perfectly, while believing in our potential to share in the building of His Kingdom. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Marketing Thanksgiving

Food, Folks and Fun.  That was the tagline of a 1990's McDonalds's marketing campaign and for some reason while preparing for the parish Thanksgiving Day Mass, the slogan popped into my head.  As much as I would not want to reduce the meaning of Thanksgiving to a fast food catch phrase, it works.  A successful ad campaign is one that effectively causes the consumer to remember the product as one that is familiar, trustworthy and satisfies one's need.  (At least that is what I learned from my ad executive cousin.  See A Gentleman's Musings)In simple terms, "food, folks and fun," not only articulates the basic truth of Thanksgiving, it speaks to the truth of every celebration of the Eucharist; which is the Greek word for thanksgiving.

The food of the celebration of the Eucharist is the sacred body and blood of our Lord.  It is our food for the journey of life.  It sustains and nourishes our souls and our faith as we face the challenges of life.  The bountiful food that we eat at our tables today, represents that which sustains and nourishes our bodies.  We give thanks today to God who gives us this spiritual and physical food.  Without either we can not live.  

The "folks" of our lives are our families, the communities we create and the Church.  Our communal life reminds us that we are not alone, we are one with the Body of Christ and we are sons and daughters of God.  We give thanks for the community of faith and family without which we would not only be alone and unloved, we would not have the means to fulfill our mission of service.  These communities of ours are broken, our time with family today may be tense and even hurtful, but it is into this brokenness that we live our lives as disciples. We give thanks for the community of family, friends and church, who serve us and give us the opportunity to serve.

The word, "fun" be better expressed as joy.  In his final commandment, Jesus tells his disciples to "love one another as I have loved you."  He ask that this commandment my be filled so his joy may be complete.  In coming together as family, friends and community of faith we practice the great commandment of The Lord and complete his joy.  It is often easy to miss the joys of life, essepecialy after the sorrowful weeks we have endured.  But did we not find joy in the simple acts of love that were manifested during these days?  We give thanks for the joy that comes from loving and being loved by God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son.  We are grateful for this we love and have loved us.  And we rejoice in the knowledge that our acts of love, complete the joy of Christ himself.

It is more than a slogan, it is the truth of this day for we truly give thanks for the food, folks and joyful fun of this life bountifully bestowed upon us by God whose blessings endure forever.

Reelection and Religious Liberty

The reelection of President Obama has brought an end to a terribly long and antagonistic campaign.  With it comes some serious challenges for the Church.  What many continue to misunderstand about the Church’s opposition to the HHS mandate to fund contraception is that it was always more than a moral opposition to artificial contraception, sterilization and abortion inducing drugs.  The greater issue is the philosophy that is behind it’s implementation.  

In order to mandate this coverage, the President’s administration has used an extremely narrow definition of what constitutes a religious institution and therefore employer.  A religious institution, in their mind, is one that  (1) Has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose; (2) primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets; (3) primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets .  In an effort to care for those who still bear the pains of last week's storm many Catholic parishes and other Catholic institutions have acted in violation of the third point of this definition.  In addition we may also be in violation of the first as well, since it was not our intention to inculcate religious values but simply provide shelter.    All people of faith as well as those who value our civil liberties ought to be greatly concerned with our future.  Because this definition has been codified in the mandate and the overall act, a precedent has now been set, which can now be applied more broadly.  Once we accept this definition as a valid and legal descriptor of religious institutions there are no limitations.  Anything outside of worship is therefore subject to this definition and whatever mandate the government may place upon us.  

Our nation does not need this fight.  This week has once again shown the value of the Church and its institutions.  Our society and our people are better off because of the faithful service of the people of God who are the Church.  Let us pray that given the opportunity to serve another term, the President will rethink this position and the courts will recognize its unconstitutionality so that we can continue to be a Church in service to all God’s people.

Homily for 

September 11, 2012

Mass for Rescue 2

Brooklyn, NY

On Sunday afternoon, I made my second visit to the 9-11 Memorial because I recently became aware of what is known as the “Survivor Tree,” and I wanted to see it myself.

The Survivor Tree is a pear tree that was planted around the time of the original construction of the World Trade Center towers.  It survived some 30 years in that spot, in the harsh environment of downtown Manhattan and our Northeastern U.S. weather. It survived the attacks of eleven years ago and was found one month later, still alive under the rubble.  It was taken to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to recover; there it survived a windstorm that uprooted it.  Soon after it was replanted at its spot on the grounds of the 9-11 Memorial, it survived Hurricane Irene.  Today it stands, in full bloom, over thirty feet tall.  Its first eight feet are covered in thick aged, gnarled, dark bark.  The rest of its 22 feet is covered in lighter, younger bark, with gentle branches that bloom pear blossoms in the Spring and rich green leaves in the summer.  The first eight feet is the tree as it was on the day of the attacks the 22 feet and counting above is the new life of the last eleven years.

That tree in the memorial park, almost directly across from the names of Rescue 2 at the South Tower pool is to me a profound symbol of you.  Like the tree which on that day was already made strong by years in downtown Manhattan, you too were already strong people.  You were strong because you already knew the risks and dangers of a firefighter’s life.  Like the tree, you too were buried in the rubble of horror, fear, anger and inconsolable mourning.  And like the survivor tree, over these years you discovered yourself still alive and have sought and found healing, growth and new life.  You too have survived storms that have threatened your healing.  There have been ups and downs in your healing process, but you stand here today bearing eleven years of new life.  Like the Survivor Tree, your dark, gnarled and burnt trunk will never go away, but like the tree - most of you is new life.

You are not like the tree you are the tree.  United together bearing the branches of new life, your solid trunk is your faith, your care for one another and the undying love of the heroes we honor today.  Your love for them, their love for you and your love for each other, continues to nourish this survivor tree that you are.  Yesterday a friend that I have come to know over the last few years posted an old picture of the lobby of one of the towers.  Thinking he had worked there, I asked if he was a survivor.  He replied that he did not, but that we are all survivors.  The true survivor tree is very large.  There are hundreds of thousands of branches that have sprouted from that damaged trunk.  There is life today, eleven years later, beyond our imagination.

For eleven years now we have come together to remember what we could not possibly forget.  We remember that the souls of these just are in the hands of the Lord.  We remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God or those we have loved.  We remember to love one another as Christ has commanded, as our brothers did in laying down their lives for friend and stranger.  For eleven years you have remained in Christ’s love and you remained in love with these men.  You have loved and been loved through your support and care for each other.

The tree was a Survivor Tree the day it was found eleven years ago.  Today it is more than a survivor; it is a tree of new life.  You too are more than survivors, despite a terror beyond imagination you are people of new life.  Your families have lived and continue to be bearers of new life.You have grown and are bigger and more powerful then the forces that brought this terror and sadness into our lives.

We still mourn today because, on that day, our brothers were not among the survivors.  Our confident prayer today, however, is that though they were not survivors, they are in fact among the living, rewarded for their goodness.  May the new life that we see in a tree and in you, be an ever present reminder of the new and eternal life that the Lord prepared for these just men and that which awaits all of us.

Palm Sunday on Telecare

Do not be frightened by the scary picture.  Its a video of my Palm Sunday homily

 

The "Season" of Saint Patrick

Christ shield me this day: Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me. “The Breastplate of St. Patrick.”  

At the beginning of this month, while watching the news, I saw a reporter in Hoboken, New Jersey reporting, as the caption on the screen said, on the beginning of the “St. Patrick’s Day Season.”  I had no idea that it was now a “season.”  And what were the signs of this now budding season?  Obviously inebriated twenty-something year-olds with their drinking glasses raised behind her.  We talk about passing on our faith tradition to our young people, is this the only result of our efforts?  I hope not .

While the celebration of Saint Patrick and Irish heritage is a noble and important cultural and faith tradition, we don’t truly honor Saint Patrick, or the faith tradition passed on by our Irish ancestors, if our celebration is an excuse to  drink ourselves silly.  I like the idea of a St. Patrick’s Day season, but it ought to fully reflect  what has been passed on to us by this great saint.  And that is that Jesus Christ is truly around us in all that we do.  Our actions, our decisions and the way we conduct ourselves ought to be Christ centered.  We use the season of Lent to contemplate when and how we have not lived with the recognition that Christ is around us in all things and we conclude the season, celebrating the Resurrection, acknowledging that he dies to transform a sinfulness that does not always acknowledge his presence.

Over ten years ago, I made my first and only trip to Ireland.  A priest friend suggested on our first day we climb a mountain known as Croagh Patrick, also nicknamed, The Reek.  I imagined us meandering up an emerald green hillside and agreed to the hike.  My presumption was wrong, because climbing The Reek, is a traditional penitential experience.  People climb this steep rocky hill, often bear foot, to the traditional spot of Saint Patrick’s calling, as an atonement of sins.  And so jet-lagged, we climbed that horribly difficult mountain in mist and rain, and the walk back down was not any easier.  I believe we made it only with God’s help!  What greeted us at the bottom of this hill was a traditional Irish pub, where we rewarded ourselves with a pint (or two) of Guinness.  For me that experience encapsulates a true celebration of Saint Patrick.  A difficult struggle with human weakness and meeting the challenge only because Christ is truly around me, followed by a celebration of the victory the Christ has one for and through us.  May we all celebrate this “season” of Lent and St. Patrick with hard work and joy for the good that God does for and with us.

Relgious Freedom - The President and His Court Today

English history always intrigues me so after catching some repeats of the Showtime series, "The Tudors," on BBC America, my interest in English was peaked again and I was prompted to do some more reading on the history of King Henry VIII and his court.  In addition to being remembered for the renaissance he brought to the monarchy, his multiple wives and executions of his enemies, his legacy also includes his suppression of the Roman Catholic faith in England.  The more I read and watch the series I can't but help to find it hard to believe that one man and his court had such power to destroy the religious freedom of his people, raze its monasteries and suppress its clergy.  We might think to ourselves that this is an experience of the past or if it happens today it happens in other countries that do not enjoy the liberty that our nation does.  We would be wrong to assume this, however, because recent actions of our federal government make evident how much religious freedom is threatened in our country today.

When the federal health care reform law was passed it included a provision that all employers who provide health care benefits, must provide coverage for contraception (including abortion inducing drugs and sterilization) at no cost (no-copay) to its employees.  When religious employers raised concern about being made to pay for products and procedures they considered morally objectionable, a very narrow religious exemption was proposed.  The exemption would only be granted to religious institutions that engaged primarily in serving people of the same religion.  As many pointed out at the time, even Jesus and the disciples would not qualify for such an exemption because of their commitment to people of all faiths.  For the last several months Catholic and other religious institutions  have lobbied to have our religious freedom respected.   This week, however, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it has refused to exempt religious institutions that serve the common good—including Catholic schools, charities and hospitals—from the mandate that requires employers to purchase contraception, including abortion-producing drugs, and sterilization coverage for their employees.   Instead they have given us one year delay to comply with the directive to violate our conscience.

This action of the President’s administration is an unprecedented act against the freedom of conscience.  Furthermore this is the second such attempt by the administration to define parameters for religious institutions.  Two weeks ago  in the case of Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the administration dismissing as an “extreme position” the plea of EEOC to limit any “ministerial exception” solely to workers who perform “exclusively religious functions.  In this case the government was arguing it was within their purview to define who qualified as a minster and not the Lutheran Church.  This ruling did not seem to stop the administration in their pursuit of governing religious entities as it pushed forward an exemption to only those who serve and employ people of their own faith exclusively.  This unjust action will force us to violate our conscience or stop serving people of all faiths in our ministries or stop providing health-care coverage to our own employees.   Are any of these choices just?  Are any of these choices reflective of the religious  freedom and the right to conscientious objection that Americans have fought and died for?   

These actions of President Obama and his administration ought to concern all Americans, not just those with a religious affiliation.  It seems hard to believe that one man and his administration have such power to destroy the religious freedom of we the people.