Holy Wedneday: Getting Ready

All around me our church is getting ready for the coming three days.  Pope Francis this morning called the Easter Triduum the apex of our Christian life.  Flowers are being prepared for Sunday.  Decorations are being put together for the Adoration Chapel tomorrow night.  And tonight hearts will be prepared during our Reconciliation Service.  Even in today's gospel, the disciples are seen getting ready for the paschal supper they would celebrate with Jesus not knowing that it would be their last supper.  But Judas was in the way which is why we read that he left.  Is there someone or some thing that isn't letting you enter more deeply into these Easter mysteries?  What are you doing today to get ready for these sacred days?  How are you preparing the Easter Triduum?

Holy Tuesday: The Hearts of Our Priests

This morning the priests of the Archdiocese gathered to renew the priestly promises at the annual Chrism Mass.  It is always edifying to see all of our priests together in one place particularly in our cathedral celebrating with our archbishop.  So this post doesn't sound self-indulgent, I'll let Archbishop Wenski do the talking:

As Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for the troubled and the abandoned, those who seem like sheep without a shepherd, so too is a priest’s heart moved.  Pastoral charity – and not the desire for fame or fortune – should motivate the priest in his ministry. As Pope Francis reminds us the priestly anointing we received was not just meant to make us fragrant; rather, it is meant “for the poor, the prisoners, the sick, for those sorrowing and alone.” Thus, a priest is to “cure the sick”; that is, to attend to the ill and the injured, healing their isolation with a visit and bringing courage to those who are weak; a priest is to raise the dead, that is, to restore hope to those deadened by discouragement and defeat; a priest is to cleanse lepers, that is, to befriend the outsider, to extend the hand of friendship to the marginalized and rejected; a priest is to drive out demons, by helping people deal with the various addictions that affect and by not failing to address any personal demons that may threaten the integrity of his commitment.

As Pope Saint John Paul II said: People today look to priests for the “lived word” before they look to him for the “proclaimed” word. The priest must “live by the word.”   Today, we recommit ourselves to “live by the word”. 

Holy Monday: The Power to Die

Today's Office of Readings gives us this gem from St. Augustine: "Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did [Christ] of himself have the power to die.  Accordingly, he effected a wonderful exchange with us, through mutual sharing: we gave him the power to die, he will give us the power to live."

This "mutual exchange" that St. Augustine speaks of reminds us that God had to take on our human nature in order to die for our sins.  "The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves."

Christ died so that we might live!  These are the words that spur us on during Holy Week as we walk the road of the Passion with Jesus, and these words comfort us during times of trial as well.  Today we bow before Jesus like Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and prepare him for his burial with perfumed oil.  The fragrance that filled that house is the fragrance of the Divine.  When this week is done and well into Easter may we also bear that Divine fragrance, for Christ through his death gave us the power to live!

Day 40: Not Just Religious Souvenirs

“Truly this man was the Son of God!”"(Mark 15:39)

Palm Sunday! I sprang out of bed and was out my front door faster than my usual pace this morning.  It was Holy Week!  We live for this week!  Then I reached the entrance of our church.  There was a line that came out of our foyer and wrapped around to the sidewalk.  It was 10 minutes before Mass and people were just standing there.  I approached the poor ushers who were handing out what seemed to be a dwindling number of palms.  No one had gone to get the palms reserved for that Mass.  People would not go into church without them.  Some looked at me with very stern faces.  One lady said that she had never experienced this in 40 years at this parish.  An usher had forgotten to get the 1000 or so palm branches for this Mass and people were angry.  Mass could not, would not, should not begin if they did not have a palm in their hand.

This isn't just my parish.  This had been my experience in all the parishes I have served.  Before our 12:30p and 7:30p Mass another priest had to tell the people waiting to go in to stand back to let the people from the previous Mass come out.  And once the palm branches were being distributed, you would think that our ushers were handing out $100 bills.  I know I've made that analogy before, but as every year passes it gnaws at me even more.  I tweeted out this afternoon: "Oh if only our people went crazy for the Eucharist as they do for palms, what a Church we would have!"  If only they would hunger for that Living Bread as much as they do for these branches.  This is why our Lord cried over Jerusalem, and lamented over those who just wanted signs.  He wanted to draw all of them and all of us in to a deeper relationship with him.  Sometimes I wonder if the palms are an obstacle to that relationship being deepened as I look out at the assembly and see so many people busily making their crosses.  Someday I tell you...someday...we will finally get it

The palms help us to commemorate that triumphant day in which Jesus rode into Jerusalem to exultant praise.  "Hosanna to the Son of David," the people yelled.  And then we continue the Palm Sunday liturgy by reading the account of Our Lord's passion, and the narrative bookends the liturgy as it concludes with the centurion professing "Truly this man was the Son of God!"  Both are praises to our Lord, but both are done at different times and under different circumstances.

So what do we make of these palms that I may or may not have called religious souvenirs during my last Mass?  They are not souvenirs, but are indeed far less important to our celebration of Palm Sunday than the Divine Mystery that takes place on that altar every single Sunday.  For what we give every Sunday from that altar is far more precious than branches or ashes.  And this is what these palms should remind us of:  that one minute we can be singing the Lord's praises and the next shouting for him to be crucified.  But that's not where we want to be this Holy Week.  We have the opportunity to be reconciled to Him through confession so that we are truly singing his praises and those branches then become for us a reminder of Christ's triumph over sin and death.  A reminder that we need to see beyond the happy, holy chaos of this day, and simply see what that centurion saw at the foot of the cross: a man who loved to the extreme, a man who gave his last drop of blood for you and me, a man who challenges us to confront the scandal of the cross with eyes of hope and faith that leave us no choice but to exclaim, "Truly this man is the Son of God!"

Day 39: Go to Confession Today

When was the last time you made a good confession?  Today, in a church near you, confessions will be heard from 9:00am - 3:30pm.  This is God's invitation to you to rid your heart of your sins and be ready for the celebration of Holy Week.  You may find the church nearest to you with confessions available today by clicking here.

So, you haven't been to confession in a long time you say?  Here's a good Examination of Conscience to get you started:

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me. Do I give God time every day in prayer? Do I seek to love Him with my whole heart? Have I been involved with superstitious practices or have I been involved with the occult? Do I seek to surrender myself to God´s word as taught by the Church? Have I ever received communion in the state of mortal sin? Have I ever deliberately told a lie in Confession or have I withheld a mortal sin from the priest in Confession? Are there other "gods" in my life? Money, Security, Power, People, etc.?

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Have I used God´s name in vain: lightly or carelessly? Have I wished evil upon any other person? Have I insulted a sacred person or abused a sacred object?

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord´s Day. Have I deliberately missed Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation? Have I tried to observe Sunday as a family day and a day of rest? Do I do needless work on Sunday? Do I make Mass the center of my day and of my family’s activities on Sunday?

4. Honor your father and your mother. Do I honor and obey my parents? Have I neglected my duties to my spouse and children? Have I given my family good religious example?  Do I try to bring peace into my home life? Do I care for my aged and infirm relatives?

5. You shall not kill. Have I had an abortion or encouraged or helped anyone to have an abortion? Have I physically harmed anyone? Have I abused alcohol or drugs? Did I give scandal to anyone, thereby leading him or her into sin? Have I been angry or resentful? Have I harbored hatred in my heart? Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilization? Have I encouraged or condoned sterilization? Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against human life such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization? Have I participated in or approved of euthanasia?

6. You shall not commit adultery. Have I been faithful to my marriage vows in thought and action? Have I engaged in any pre-marital or extra-marital sexual activity? Have I used any method of contraception or artificial birth control in my marriage? Has each sexual act in my marriage been open to the transmission of new life? Have I been guilty of masturbation? Have I viewed pornography? Have I been guilty of any homosexual activity? Do I seek to be chaste in my thoughts, words, and actions? Am I careful to dress modestly? Have I married or advised someone to marry outside the Catholic Church?

7. You shall not steal. Have I stolen what is not mine? Have I returned or made restitution for what I have stolen? Do I waste time at work, school, and home? Do I gamble excessively, thereby denying my family of their needs? Do I pay my debts promptly? Do I seek to share what I have with the poor? Have I cheated anyone out of what is justly theirs, for example creditors, insurance companies, big corporation?

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Have I lied? Have I gossiped? Do I speak badly of others behind their back? Am I sincere in my dealings with others? Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others? Do I keep secret what should be kept confidential? Have I injured the reputation of others by slanders?

9. You shall not desire your neighbor´s wife. Have I consented to impure thoughts? Have I caused them by impure reading, movies, television, conversation or curiosity? Do I pray at once to banish impure thoughts and temptations? Have I behaved in an inappropriate way with members of the opposite sex: flirting, being superficial, etc.?

10. You shall not desire your neighbor´s goods. Am I jealous of what other people have? Do I envy the families or possessions of others? Am I greedy or selfish? Are material possessions the purpose of my life?

(Excerpts from this Examination of Conscience were taken from the National Catholic Reporter.)

Day 38: Even When We Don't Feel His Presence

This morning I came across this quote from Padre Pio that Dr. Scott Hahn posted which I think brings this week to a close rather nicely.  May this quote give you the comfort today that it has given me:
"Jesus is with you even when you don’t feel His presence. He is never so close to you as He is during your spiritual battles. He is always there, close to you, encouraging you to fight your battle courageously. He is there to ward off the enemy’s blows so that you may not be hurt.” (8/15/1914)

Day 37: Finding Comfort

Last night I went and sat in front of a statue of the Pieta we have outside our chapel for no particular reason.  It is an image we will contemplate on Good Friday next week, but yet I felt a sense of comfort seeing the image of Mary holding her dead son.  There was love. There was suffering.  But most of all there was a sense of peace.  The hour had passed.  Her son had accomplished his mission.  He would suffer no more.  Jesus gave up his spirit to the Father, but Mary had to surrender her Son as well.  There is no pain in Mary's face.  Just peace.  May we be comforted by this image of our Lady this day so beautiful carved by Michelangelo.  May we feel the warm, comforting embrace of our Blessed Mother.

Day 36: Submitting to God's Will

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord when Mary said yes to the angel and Christ was conceived in her womb.  We celebrate Mary's total submission to God's will despite her questions and concerns.  In these days when we've been questioning God's will, we too have been asking like the Blessed Mother "how can this be?" But we learn from her obedience as she surrendered totally to God's plan.  This implied submitting to a possible life of suffering.  She was betrothed but not yet married to St. Joseph so her pregnancy could have resulted in a stoning.  She would endure the journey to Bethlehem late he in her pregnancy.  She would endure the exile into Egypt. And she would endure every step of her Son's passion as she watched him carry his cross, get nailed to it, and ultimately die on it.  To all of this, Mary said yes.  We do well to learn from her glorious example and to join her at the foot of the cross to behold the great act of love and surrender her Son did for us on Calvary so that we might live eternally with Him.

Mary, help us to surrender to God's will as you did.  Help us to accept His will and accompany us in our suffering as St. John accompanied you in your suffering at the foot of the cross.  Amen.

Day 35: Suffering

"Suffering is a call to conversion: it reminds us of our frailty and vulnerability." --Pope Francis this morning.

I must confess that I have been at a loss for words over the last 24 hours.  Yesterday when I heard that another young firefighter lost his life, and with a wife expecting their first child, my heart sank and I was taken back to that awful Saturday morning four months ago.  The pain is still real no matter how hard I try to push it away.  I scribbled some words in my office because I genuinely was angry with God yesterday.  I thought first about his beautiful bride bearing his unborn child.  I thought next about my brother's brothers, as I like to call them, and how much suffering those poor souls could endure.  And then I through about my family, because we are all part of the same family, and how this would reopen wounds that still haven't healed.

Suffering is very much a part of our human life.  Which is why Jesus died on the cross.  He became frail like us, vulnerable, and took on our humanity to bring some meaning to human suffering. God is not a callous Supreme Being that would do something like this to bring people closer to him, but where else do we turn in these moments of loss. Again, I'm just fumbling with words at this point because I have no answers.  I cannot rationally explain why a young husband two months shy of meeting his son would be called home to God.  It doesn't make sense.  Then again the cross didn't make sense to a lot of people on that first Good Friday.  There is always hope.  There is always an Easter sunrise on the horizon that brings some sort of meaning to our suffering.  But for now we look to the cross, hold our loved ones tight, and never take any second of our time here on earth for granted.  The cross is a gift.  In time we will realize the time we spent with those we've lost, though short, was a timeless gift as well.

Day 34: Angry at God

Last week I was typing up an Examination of Conscience for my parishioners to better prepare them for confession.  I was "borrowing" from various examinations on the internet and in books to come up for one that suited my parish and they all had the basic structure of asking questions of ourselves of whether or not we have committed a particular sin.  Then I came to the following question: "Do I get angry or question God?"  I paused.  I meditated.  I doubted.  I even texted a brother priest: "Is being angry at God a sin?"  He immediately replied emphatically: "Absolutely not! What I do with that anger is what makes it a sin."  We both shared the same sentiments because as priests we are so blessed to part of so many beautiful moments in the lives of our people, but on the flip side of the coin we sometimes see our people go through unspeakable pain over and over and over again.  When we see our people take punches like a prize fighter absorbing body blows, we can't help but look up to the heavens and ask God: "Seriously?"  So yes, it's natural to question God because at the very core of our heart is a longing for him that prompts these questions because we sometimes don't get his will.  As priests we don't have the answers to the question that the psalmist poses: "Where is your God? (Psalm 42:4)"  We just trust, look at the cross, and remind ourselves that in spite of whatever cruel reality we may be facing, Jesus died on the cross to show us God's love...except sometimes we're left wondering why we don't feel that love.

As the deer longs for streams of water

so my soul longs for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, the living God.

When can I enter and see the face of God?

My tears have been my bread day and night,

as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?”

I will say to God, my rock:

“Why do you forget me?

Why must I go about mourning

with the enemy oppressing me?”

It shatters my bones, when my adversaries reproach me,

when they say to me every day: “Where is your God?”

Why are you downcast, my soul,

why do you groan within me?

Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,

my savior and my God.  (Psalm 42:2-4,10-12)