TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

4 OCTOBER 2015

            The Pharisees are not interested in hearing the opinion of Jesus about the difficult subject of divorce.  They realize that Jesus knows the Scriptures.  Moses is clear in Deuteronomy 24:1-4:  a husband can divorce his wife.  They want to draw Jesus into the current contentious debates about how to interpret this Law.  Will Jesus side with the Rabbi Hillel, who is very conservative and limits the reasons for divorce to infidelity?  Or will he side with Rabbi Shammai, who is so liberal that he would allow any reason for divorce (like the wife burning toast)?  Jesus does not take their bait and enter into their arguments, just as Pope Francis did not take similar baits in his visit to our country.  Instead, Jesus cites a higher authority.  He quotes the second chapter of Genesis and points out that, from the beginning, God intended that man and woman should be united in one flesh.  Formed in one flesh (physically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally), Jesus teaches that no one can separate this radical union.  In a perfect world, symbolized by the Garden of Eden, Jesus makes God’s intention for marriage clear.  Marriage is intended for harmony, mutual love, and complementarity between the two sexes.

            As we know all too well, we do not live in a perfect world.  We live in a world wounded by our own sin and the sin of others.  In this fallen world, it becomes much more difficult for couples to maintain this radical union until death.  But in this fallen world, we remember that Jesus Christ is the Messiah who has come to save us and to usher in the Kingdom of God.  For this reason, the Church has faithfully maintained this difficult teaching in her proclamation of God’s Kingdom.  The Church has always taught what Jesus teaches today:  a valid bond of marriage is indissoluble and ends only with the death of one of the spouses.

            You who are married know that this is a difficult teaching.  There is no such thing as a perfect marriage.  You know that you carry the cross when you open yourselves to the grace of the Sacrament of Marriage and allow the Lord to help transform your love gradually into the reality of remaining together as one flesh.  When you face challenges and outright obstacles, it is hard work to maintain your union in one flesh.  You need to be humble enough to seek professional help when you cannot work things out on your own.  You need to understand that working on your bond of marriage affects a community much wider than the two of you.

            Many of you have found that you cannot live this union of one flesh in a fallen world, and you have either separated or divorced.  You understand that a civil divorce does not end a valid bond of marriage, precisely because of what Jesus says in the Gospel.  That is why the Church has set up the Marriage Tribunal process.  Directed by the Bishop’s Judicial Vicar, Father Mark Gurtner, the Tribunal is given the task of examining whether that bond of marriage truly existed from the beginning.  It is not an easy process.  But it is intended to remain faithful to the teaching of Jesus about one flesh and our Catholic understanding that a valid bond of marriage is indissoluble.  Do not be afraid of the Tribunal.  Bishop Rhoades has eliminated all charges for annulments, and Father Gurtner is working to make our Tribunal more efficient.  Pope Francis has recently made changes to streamline the process and make it easier.

            The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus Christ was made for a little while lower than the angels when he took on human flesh.  In his human flesh, Jesus knew suffering and death.  Jesus knows the pain of those of you working to remain one flesh, those of you who are separated or divorced, and those of you who are widowed.  Take courage!  The Lord calls you his brothers and sisters.  He will not withhold his grace and mercy in this central and critical vocation in our Church and in our world.

PASTOR’S COLUMN

4 OCTOBER 2015

            Last year, I took a month away from Saint Pius to embark on a remarkable journey.  On the occasion of my fortieth year of priesthood, Bishop Rhoades gave me permission to join a group of fellow pilgrims to travel by bicycle the ancient Via Francigena from the British Canterbury Cathedral, where Saint Thomas Beckett was martyred to the Vatican Basilica of Saint Peter, built above the bones of Saint Peter.  It was intended to apply the lessons learned from the cycling pilgrimage to the common pilgrimage which all of us travel through life to the new and eternal Jerusalem.  The lessons were many.  We learned to work together.  We prayed together, shared food and drink, thanked God for our good health, and encouraged one another.  We learned how to handle adversity, difficult climbs through the Alps and Apennines, disagreements, and the inevitable tensions placed on a group traveling together.  More than anything else, we learned that no one (not the thieves who had stolen all our possessions) or nothing (including the unexpected difficulties) could rob us of the graces received on our 1,200- mile pilgrimage.

            There had been no grand plans for any pilgrimage this year.  Intending to continue to thank God for my good health, I tried to ignore the growing pain in my left leg.  Denial is a great thing!  However, doctors, health care workers, physical therapists, and friends who have the courage to tell the truth have a unique ability to attack this denial.  They gradually broke it down and convinced me that hip replacement surgery was necessary.  With dread and fear replacing the more comfortable denial, I saw my spiritual director just before surgery.  After hearing my Confession he advised me to look for the graces given by God in this upcoming ordeal.  Regarding his words as nice pious thoughts from a Jesuit who belongs to the same Religious Order as the Pope, I went under the knife and became a patient at Saint Joseph Medical Center instead of a pastor visiting his sick parishioners.

            Those who know me best would never use the word “patience” in the same sentence as my name!  But to my surprise, there have been more graces than I could have imagined.  I gained a new respect and admiration for doctors, nurses, and dedicated health care workers.  My siblings were there.  My sister, Janet, remained at my side instead of driving the van through narrow streets in Italian towns.  My retired brother, Ed, and his wife, Mary, who had regarded last year’s pilgrimage as a crazy venture, stayed with me as long as it took for me to maneuver on my own.  My roommates, FB2 and Steve Jagla, have been great.  The outpouring of love and support from our parish family has been overwhelming.  The cards sent by our grade school students lifted my spirits and made me laugh.  Jesus called it well in the Gospel of Saint Matthew when he said that those who sacrifice spouses and children for the sake of the Kingdom of God would receive more than they could ever imagine.  Days with nothing on my schedule except visits from the nurse and the physical terrorist provided time for reading, contemplation, and opportunities to follow Pope Francis on his remarkable visit.

            This unsolicited and unplanned pilgrimage has been grace-filled.  Unlike last year’s pilgrimage, I will not be away from my day job for a full month.  However, I hope to apply the lessons learned from this pilgrimage to my ministry as pastor of Saint Pius X.  More than anything else, this experience has taught me to be more compassionate to those who suffer.  Not many people have the opportunity to travel the Via Francigena by bicycle.  But every one of us has to travel the way of the cross.  May the Lord continue to teach me to be a better minister to those who are carrying their crosses!

           

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

13 SEPTEMBER 2015

          We accept pollsters these days as part of the fabric of our ordinary American life.  Those running for public office rely on their standings in polls to make decisions about their campaigns.  But polls are not new.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus conducts a poll to seek public opinion about him.  Professional pollsters call this “an informal survey.”  His disciples come up with three results: John the Baptist come back to life, Elijah back from heaven, or one of the prophets.  Then Jesus turns the polls on them and asks who they think he is.  Peter, always one to blurt things out, gets the correct answer:  “You are the Christ (Messiah).”

            Jesus knows that his disciples accept the common understanding of the messiah as a hero who would free them from oppression.  Their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt, and then again in Babylon.  As servants of Roman rule, they want the messiah to ransom them from their slavery.  They are keenly fearful of the way the Romans use the cruel and humiliating tool of crucifying those who oppose them as warnings to others not to attempt a revolt.

            Jesus knows that his Father has not called him to be this popular kind of messiah.  Versed in the suffering servant songs of the prophet Isaiah and reinforced by his 40 days in the desert, Jesus has developed an unflinching trust that he can speak the truth about the Kingdom of God, even when the religious authorities oppose him.  God will not fail him.  He has been revealing this mission by his miracles and healings.  Even though the demons understand his true mission, his disciples do not.  So, now he openly tells them that he is the Messiah who will become a slave himself, humbling serving others.  He will endure the humiliation of the cross and pay the ransom for sin and free them from sin and death.

            Peter speaks for the rest of the disciples in telling Jesus that this is crazy!  But Jesus rebukes him in the strongest terms, calling Peter a demon and telling him not to tempt him to abandon his mission.  Peter and the other disciples would eventually learn the truth.  After the resurrection, they would eventually put their faith in Jesus the Christ before their own security.  They would deny themselves and embrace the cross with the same unflinching trust in God.

            Many Christians are living this message in a very literal way.  In the Middle East and in parts of Africa, those who profess their faith in Jesus Christ are losing their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  In areas controlled by the Islamic State, some are taxed heavily, others driven out of their homes, and many put to death.  They face these horrors with the unflinching trust that Jesus keeps his promise.  Those who share in his dying will share in his rising.

            This same message applies to us, who are disciples of the Lord.  Every time we keep our baptismal promises, we die to ourselves and trust that we will share in the Lord’s rising.  Saint James understands this dynamic.  He knows that our salvation is a gratuitous gift from Jesus Christ, who died to pay the ransom for our sins.  He knows that we cannot purchase our way to heaven with good works.  But he also knows that we must do more than talk about our faith.  We must become humble servants, die to ourselves, and respond to those in need.

            When I am done talking, we will profess our faith and recite together the Nicene Creed.  In praying the Creed, we express what we believe in words.  But we must translate those words into action.  We reaffirm our conviction that being humble servants will not destroy us.  Dying to ourselves may be painful and sometimes discouraging.  Carrying the cross of pain, rejection, or suffering may frighten us.  Watching others without faith get ahead may anger us.  But we express our unflinching trust that God will not fail us.  This knowledge is not the result of a pollster seeking our opinion.  It is the result of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

6 SEPTEMBER 2015

          Jesus has great compassion for this man.  The poor guy has no sound, no voice, and no hope.  There was always something missing in his life.  He could never enter into conversation.  As a child, other kids probably made fun of him.  As an adult, those who knew him probably are embarrassed for him or because of him.  He is like a stroke victim whose voice has been affected.  He is in his right mind, but is paralyzed in expressing any of his thoughts.

            Saint Mark does not record this miracle so that we can marvel at a first century Helen Keller, as wonderful as coming to hear and speak might be.  Mark records this miracle for a spiritual reason.  Last Sunday, Jesus confronted the religious leaders of his own people to go beyond external observances and look into people’s hearts.  Today, Jesus goes to the Decapolis, the ten cities in pagan territory.  He signals that the Kingdom of God is meant for everyone who is willing to listen.  That is why he heals a man who cannot hear.  Jesus takes the man off by himself, away from the clamor of many voices.  He becomes very physical with the man, acting like many of his contemporary healers.  He puts his finger into the man’s ears, spits, touches his tongue, groans, looks up to heaven, and uses a word which means “be opened.”  Then he orders the people not tell anyone.  Jesus wants this parable of action to speak for itself.

            This parable of action is addressed to us.  The Word of God has great power.  God’s Word brought creation into existence.  God spoke his word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to form a Chosen People.  God continued to speak through prophets like Isaiah, who assured his people that God would never abandon them, even when they refused to listen to his word.  Now, the Incarnate Word of God speaks to us.  We live in a world filled with many competing voices screaming at us day and night.  The confusing crowd of voices tells us that we can be happy if we own certain objects, or if we exclude this particular group of people, or countless other messages that promise happiness.  Jesus has taken us away from the crowd into this church.  Away from the crowd, he is very physical with us.  He speaks to us in the Word.  He feeds us with his Body and Blood.  He touches us through the Sacramental life of the Church.  He opens our ears and speaks his Word to us, inviting us to listen and reflect on his words.

            Once we can hear the Lord speaking to us, then we can begin to speak.  We often hear of the “New Evangelization,” a phrase used by the last three Popes.  As Catholics, we scratch our heads and ask what this means for us.  The “new” involves modern methods of communicating, especially those methods which are available through so much of social media.  To evangelize is not new.  Once our ears have been opened to hear the authentic Word of God, then we can speak the truth of our experience of God. We can speak of the word received from the Letter of Saint James that wealth and social status have nothing to do with the way God looks at people.  In hearing that Word, we are invited to act on it.  We evangelize not only by sharing our gifts with the poor, but also by welcoming them into our midst.

            During the fall, we are offering a number of opportunities to open our ears to hear a little more clearly.  We are offering two different series on marriage.  There will be a series on the Pope’s recent Encyclical on the Environment.  Take a look at the bulletin and the website for Bible Study sessions, RCIA, and other Adult Education opportunities.  They are designed to draw us away from the crowd, open our ears more attentively to God’s voice, and help us to speak of what we hear, especially to family members, friends, and neighbors.  At every Baptism, we touch the baby’s ears and mouth and say, “Ephphatha,” be opened.  We can open our ears to hear God’s Word, and then accept his grace to loudly proclaim it in a number of creative ways.

TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

30 AUGUST 2015

            When Jesus responds to the Pharisees, he also responds to us Catholics.  In our religious observance, we resemble these contemporaries of Jesus in many ways. They regarded the Torah as the foundation of their faith and allowed a living tradition to guide them in living it.  We too accept the Word of God as the foundation of all that we believe.  We also have a living Tradition that emerges from the Word and guides us in our faith, with the teaching authority of the Church interpreting it.  The Pharisees developed 613 laws to serve as day to day practical guides.  We have the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to guide us in living our faith.  The Pharisees were a lay group who did not limit holiness to the priests assigned to the Temple.  Like them, we see God’s call to holiness applying to everyone.  Their ritual practices helped them to maintain their identity.  So do ours.  We bless ourselves with Holy Water when we enter the Church.  We bow to the Altar.  We genuflect to the Tabernacle.  The ritual actions we take for granted sometimes baffle those who are just beginning the RCIA.

            Jesus does not criticize the Pharisees for having laws and traditions.  He criticizes them, because they have lost sight of the real purpose of the Law which we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy.  Moses stressed that the Law as a gift given by God to guide their lives toward greater holiness.  Once the Pharisees lose sight of this central purpose, their laws and traditions become so complicated that they need Scribes to interpret them.  As urban dwellers, they can more easily follow their laws and traditions.  They have better access to the water needed for purifications.  The disciples of Jesus are country people and travelers who did not have the same access.  They are fishermen who are handling dead fish all the time and cannot perform the purifications needed to make them ritually clean.  In his criticisms, Jesus goes to the heart of the matter.  The evils that defile us do not come from external sources.  They come from within.  He calls everyone to repent and accept the Kingdom of God to become holy.

            Unlike the Pharisees, we have accepted Jesus Christ and his call to repent and grow in holiness.  As the Letter of Saint James explains, we must be doers of the word and not hearers only.  Our living Tradition helps to be doers of the word and adjusts religious traditions for our growth in faith.  Like the Pharisees, we have traditions regarding the use of food.  There has been a long tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays to remind us of the Lord’s death for us on Good Friday.  However, after the Second Vatican Council, the Bishops, the living interpreters of Tradition, noticed that Catholics tended to abstain from eating meat only because it was the law.  They relaxed the tradition, limiting the law to Fridays in Lent.  When I received my First Communion, Catholics were required to fast from all food and drink (even water) from midnight.  That tradition caused us to distinguish regular food from the Eucharistic Food.  They relaxed the tradition to fasting for one hour before receiving Communion, as a way of encouraging the faithful to receive the Eucharist more frequently.   

            The Scriptures today remind us of the importance of God’s Law and the role of the living teaching authority of the Church to interpret and guide us in living it.  They also remind us of the purpose of all laws and teachings:  to help us to grow in holiness.  As Pope Francis keeps reminding us, that holiness involves care for orphans and widows – those who live on the fringes of society.  Guided by the teaching of the Church, we recognize those evils that defile us and turn more completely to the One who saves us in the Paschal Mystery.  Our laws and traditions guide us as we imitate that Mystery in our lives.

SOLEMNITY OF SAINT PIUS X (21^ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)

23 AUGUST 2015

            For the last four Sundays, we have been reflecting on the Mystery of the Eucharist.  After feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, Jesus has revealed that he is the Incarnate Word of God, come down from heaven for the life of the world.  He promises that his sacrifice on the cross will continue even after he has been raised from the dead and ascended to heaven.  Those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will live forever.

            Today, he asks for a decision, much as his ancestor, Joshua, had asked centuries earlier.  Joshua reminded his people of all that God had done for them in bringing them out of slavery.  Would they make a commitment to God, or to the false gods of the pagans?  Their response was clear:  we will serve the Lord our God.  The response to Jesus is not as positive.  Many of his disciples (those who had previously committed themselves to him) cannot believe that he is the Incarnate Word of God who can continue his Real Presence under the form of bread and wine.  So, they walk away.  In turning to the Twelve, he asks if they will leave.  Simon Peter speaks for them:  Where else can we go?  You have the words of eternal life.

            As we celebrate the Solemnity of our Patron Saint, Pius X, we look back at all the ways in which God has manifested himself in our lives and in our parish.  We may not understand any more than Peter did about how the Lord can be really present under the form of bread and wine.  But we believe in his Real Presence.  In gathering to celebrate the Lord’s Real Presence at this Eucharist, we give thanks for all that we have been given and all that we are.

            Like Joshua’s community, and like the disciples of Jesus, we are at a crucial time in the history of our parish.  After years of study, we have embarked on a bold construction project to ensure that our parish can sustain our community and serve its needs and the needs of the poor for years to come.  We see the visible signs of the construction.  I remain extremely grateful for the outpouring of generosity so far -- $12 million pledged.  Those funds have enabled us to begin the first phase of our project: the construction of the new church and the renovation of this church into a gathering space and meeting rooms. 

In the next two years, as this construction continues, we cannot forget the other needs outlined in our facilities study.  The Parish Education Center expansion will provide six more classrooms, including 3 rooms for our growing parish preschool, more restrooms, a multipurpose room for the school for the school cafeteria and youth ministry programs, and a dedicated space for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  We will continue to work on raising the $3 million needed to accomplish these goals.  I am also grateful to those who have set aside our educational needs to begin this first phase.  I am hopeful that all parishioners will take part in these efforts and will commit a sacrificial gift to this important project.

When Saint Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he knew the household code of the Roman Empire which brought order to families.  That code established the father as head, and clarified the roles of the rest of the family.  That included slaves, who were a part of every family.  Within the context of daily life, Paul urged the family to be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.  In other words, he tells everyone in the family to treat each other as Christ (the Bridegroom) treats us (the Church):   to lay down their lives for each other.  Living in this way has the potential to transform ordinary human existence into a living temple.

Saint Paul’s words apply equally to us today.  Treating each other as Christ would treat us can transform our ordinary lives and allow God to create a new reality.  I give thanks to God that you have remained in the parish, and not walked away in the light of our challenge.   Keeping the Eucharist as the source and summit of our parish life, we move together to equip this parish with the facilities we need to accomplish the motto of our patron saint:  To renew All Things in Christ.

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

16 AUGUST 2015

            At the end of our first year of Theology in 1971, one of my classmates talked about a Festival in Stratford, Ontario, which offered quality Shakespearean plays.  Since none of us owned cars capable of traveling that distance, one of the guys borrowed his father’s big Lincoln, and six of us made the trip for the first time.  We stayed in a cheap hotel for the first two years, until we found the Deer Park Lodge on the shores of Lake Huron.  For the past 42 years, everyone knows us there as “the American Priests” for a week in early August.  Over time, other priests joined our group, bringing its membership to 15. 

Last week, the remaining six of us made our annual trek to the Deer Park Lodge in Bayfield.  We traveled to Stratford (45 minutes to the east) for two plays on Wednesday and Thursday and enjoyed two dramas on stage:  THE TAMING OF THE SHREW and THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.  However, the real drama continued to unfold offstage in our cabins.  We remembered the three members who have died.  We called our two professors who cannot join us because of their health.  And we talked about others who have lost interest or left the active ministry.  Because we are from different Dioceses, we brought each other up to date on current affairs in our lives.  We did most of our talking over the meals we shared.  Over the years, we have learned how to cook.  In sharing quality food (and pretty cheap wine), we laughed about the hamburger helper we used to make in the early days.  Within the context of shared meals, we became more grateful for all the gifts which God has given us over the years, and for all the ways in which God continues to bless us.

The Book of Proverbs personifies God’s wisdom as Lady Wisdom.  Lady Wisdom has built a house large enough for everyone, and she feeds all who accept her invitation with the best foods and the finest wines.  But she makes it very clear that only those humble and open enough to God’s Wisdom will be fed.  Over the years, my classmates and I have learned that lesson the hard way.  We have been humbled by our sins and failures.  We have become more grateful to the ways in which God’s grace has worked in our lives.  Years of experience have taught us that we need God’s Wisdom in our lives and in our ministries, because God’s wisdom always exceeds any ways in which we might have thought ourselves to be wise.

Jesus makes it clear that he is the Word made Flesh who is dwelling among us.  Moses may have been the mediator for God feeding the Israelites in the desert with manna.  Jesus is much more than a mediator.  He is that bread come down from heaven who feeds us with his own flesh and blood – with his very self.  Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has never backed down from the reality of the promise of Jesus in the Eucharist.  We may never understand how he can feed us with his real presence.  We may never comprehend how eating his flesh and drinking his blood will give us eternal life.  But he invites us to trust his promise.  Using the words of Saint Paul, we have to be careful about how we live, how we keep our baptismal promises.  Eating and drinking from the trough of possessions, experiences, titles, or any other passing reality will not bring eternal life.  Only living the life of Jesus Christ can draw what we are doing at this Mass into life that will never end.

When we prayed the psalm today, we stated that we have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord.  Adam and Eve tasted (experienced) the fruit of the forbidden tree.  Having tasted (experienced) their own arrogance, pride, and disobedience; they have seen the results of their choice.  Our Lord invites us to taste his real presence in the Eucharist, and to see the eternal life he promises, when we approach with humility and openness.