Month: January 2019

A Gentleman Saint

saint-francis-de-salesYou would assume that all saints would be bona fide ladies and gentlemen, at least by the time they were officially declared saints through the canonization process. Yet saints, even in heaven, are usually remembered for their dominant or besetting personalities and characteristics. Some are fiery, some are gentle, some are reserved, some are bold. What they have in common we find in paragraph 828 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly proclaiming that they practice heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God’s grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors (Lumen Gentium 40; 48–51). “The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church’s history” (John Paul II, Christifideles laici 16, 3). Indeed, “holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal” (Christifideles laici 17, 3).

To sum it up all saints lived in heroic virtue and in fidelity to God’s grace. We know that many others who have not been officially canonized have also lived in this virtue and grace. Yet those who are canonized do serve as models and intercessors.

When I converted to the Catholic Church I was asked to chose a patron saint at the time of my confirmation. I took this very seriously. I wanted to chose someone who modeled for me not only heroic virtue and fidelity to God’s grace, but someone who because of what he or she lived and endured and overcame could be a model for the life ahead of me. That saint for me became Bishop Francis de Sales (1567–1622). Not only is Francis de Sales the patron saint of writers (something I aspire to), he was greatly used by God to bring many lapsed Catholics back to the faith after the Protestant revolt (again something my heart burns to see happen!).

I was first introduced to Francis de Sales through a novena I learned of from the Coming Home Network, specifically to pray for those who had abandoned or were not practicing their faith. I prayed this novena before I was even a Catholic, longing to see lapsed Catholics come back to the fullness of the faith. The more I researched I discovered that de Sales had received training as a lawyer, but could not ignore what seemed a persistent call from God to the priesthood.

Today, one of the writers I greatly admire, David Warren, devoted his blog to St. Francis de Sales. He describes the refocusing of his life from law to theology:

“Thrice in a single day, according to the legend, this scion of a noble family, that was grooming him for high station in law and public life, fell off his horse. Each time his sword and scabbard came off — how embarrassing! — and each time they came to rest in the pattern of a Christian Cross. I mention this as if it were important, because it is. We portray saints and mystics today as if they were Triumphs of the Will, heroes overcoming all adversities to win the main prize, each a spiritual Hercules. This tends to leave God out of the account, and thus the Will by which each was actually not only motivated, but directed.”

Sam Guzman, of the Catholic Gentleman, comments on Francis’s vocation of evangelization in a blog six years ago:

“While St. Francis was full of zeal, he didn’t meet with much success. In fact, he got chased out of towns and had many doors slammed in his face. But he didn’t quit. Instead, he began copying out pamphlets containing Catholic teaching and apologetics and slipping them under the doors of the Calvinists. This is the first known example of someone using tracts for religious evangelization (tracts weren’t invented by Baptists!). We can only imagine what he would think of social media. Eventually, through perseverance and creativity, St. Francis was successful in converting thousands back to the Catholic faith.

“At the age of 35, St. Francis was promoted to the Bishop of his diocese. His kind and patient teaching style won him a huge following among the faithful, and he had a special interest in encouraging lay people to live holy lives. He said, “It is an error, or rather a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman…. It has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world.” He is remembered for his many writings, especially Introduction to the Devout Life—a guide to the spiritual life for laypeople.”

“St. Francis de Sales is the gentleman saint extraordinaire. He lived a holy life in a very difficult time for the Church—the Reformation. His patience, humility, and above all, gentleness, were his trademarks” (Sam Guzman).

They dressed in white

61 Million

It seems appropriate to share this post from January 22 in light of Tuesday’s important speech from the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Today marks the 46th anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that made abortion on demand legal in all 50 states. The decision has been hailed as a victory for women and women’s rights. Many feminists regard it as indispensable for a woman to achieve full equality as a citizen of the United States.

A few days ago I came across some quotes from the earliest of “feminists” who advocated for women’s rights, especially the right to vote. These women who called in those days “suffragettes.” Many of them were present at the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19–20, 1848. It was “a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman,” and it was held at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were two of the more renown women’s rights activists who attended this convention. Seventy-two years later the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right to vote to all women in the nation.

Many of today’s feminists harken back to these brave and ground-breaking women for inspiration. As I stated earlier, the right to “choose an abortion” has become just as important as the “right to vote.” How did these 19th and early 20th century feminists compare to their modern-day compatriots? Let’s return to those quotes!

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

We are living today under a dynasty of force; the masculine element is everywhere overpowering the feminine, and crushing woman and children alike beneath its feet. Let woman assert herself in all her native purity, dignity, and strength, and end this wholesale suffering and murder of helpless children. With centuries of degradation, we have so little of true womanhood, that the world has but the faintest glimmering of what a woman is or should be. (Revolution, January 29, 1868)

Susan B. Anthony

The unifying theme of Susan Brownell Anthony’s life was to speak up for those without a voice. Anthony fought for temperance, the abolition of slavery and especially the enfranchisement of women. She also spoke up for the voiceless child in utero, opposing Restellism,  the term that Anthony’s newspaper and others at that time used for abortion. It’s easy to chalk up Anthony’s (and other early feminists’) opposition to abortion as a relic of their day and age. But these women were progressive and independent; they did not oppose abortion because they were conditioned to, but because they believed every human life has inherent and equal value, no matter their age, skin color or sex.

Anthony’s newspaper, the Revolution, had a policy  of not advertising abortion like other mainstream papers furtively did. Revolution editors like Elizabeth Cady Stanton were explicit in denouncing “child murder,” “infanticide” and “foeticide,” descriptions they used interchangeably for abortion. Indeed, a recent Smithsonian Magazine article discussed news coverage of “infanticide” in the 1860s, a common subject for early investigative reporters of the suffrage era, many of whom were women writing about their concerns under pseudonyms.

It is not hard to imagine that these early feminists and suffragists, Anthony among them, were opposed to the most fundamental human abuse: degrading another human being by claiming to own and destroy it.

In her famous 1875 talk on social purity,  Anthony condemned abortion as a consequence of liquor consumption.

Elizabeth Blackwell

In her autobiography, Elizabeth Blackwell, a suffragist and the first U.S. female doctor, went into medicine to denounce abortionists: “Women who carried on this shocking trade seemed to me a horror,” she wrote. “It was an utter degradation of what might and should become a noble position for women.”

Charlotte Denman Lozier

Another suffragist physician, Charlotte Denman Lozier, said, “We are sure most women physicians will lend their influence and their aid to shield their sex from the foulest wrong committed against it,” that is, abortion.

Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president in 1872 said, ““The rights of children, then, as individuals, begin while they yet remain the foetus.” Woodhull and her sister, Tennessee Claflin, declared, “Pregnancy is not a disease, but a beautiful office of nature.”

These early feminists would be appalled if they could see where we are 170 years after that first women’s rights convention. Legally in the last 46 years, 61 million babies have paid the ultimate price. Their voices still speak to us today about the “foulest wrong committed” against all women, especially those who are yet unborn!

Letting Go of Everything

sod-0117-saintanthonyofegypt-790x480

Once upon a time there was a young man who lived very comfortably in a family that had plenty of resources. His father and mother provided a wonderful environment for his younger sister and him to be nurtured physically, emotionally and spiritually. One day … I’ll let bishop Athanasius to pick up the story from here as excerpted from his biography of St. Anthony.

“When Anthony was about eighteen or twenty years old, his parents died, leaving him with an only sister. He cared for her as she was very young, and also looked after their home.

“Not six months after his parents’ death, as he was on his way to church for his usual visit, he began to think of how the apostles left everything and followed the Savior, and also of those mentioned in the book of Acts who had sold their possessions and brought the apostles the money for distribution to the needy. He reflected too on the great hope stored in heaven for such as these. This was all in his mind when, entering the church just as the Gospel was being read, he heard the Lord’s words to the rich man: If you want to be perfect, go and see all you have and give the money to the poor—and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.

“It seemed to Anthony that it was God who had brought the saints to his mind and that the words of the Gospel had been spoken directly to him. Immediately he left the church and gave away to the villagers all the property he had inherited, about 200 acres of very beautiful and fertile land, so that it would cause no distraction to his sister and himself. He sold all his other possessions as well, giving to the poor the considerable sum of money he collected. However, to care for his sister he retained a few things.

“The next time he went to church he heard the Lord say in the Gospel: Do not be anxious about tomorrow. Without a moment’s hesitation he went out and gave the poor all that he had left. He placed his sister in the care of some well-known and trustworthy virgins and arranged for her to be brought up in the convent. Then he gave himself up to the ascetic life, not far from his own home. He kept a careful watch over himself and practiced great austerity. He did manual work, because he heard the words: If anyone will not work, do not let him eat. He spent some of his earnings on bread and the rest he gave to the poor.

“Having learned that we should always be praying, even when we are by ourselves, he prayed without ceasing. Indeed, he was so attentive when Scripture was read that nothing escaped him and because he retained all he heard, his memory served him in the place of books.

“Seeing the kind of life he lived, the villagers and all the good men he knew called him the friend of God, and they loved him as both son and brother.” (From the Life of Saint Anthony by Saint Athanasius, bishop, Office of Readings, Liturgy of the Hours, January 17)

Wow! Am I willing to obey the words of Scripture to that degree?

Happy Feast Day St. Anthony of the Desert who lived from 251–356 A.D. and died at the age of 105!

 

Nothing Ordinary About It!

Christmastide came to an end with the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord which was celebrated this past Sunday. As of yesterday we entered into what is known as Ordinary Time. I once thought that the period of Ordinary Time meant that it was a lull in the liturgical season until we get to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent leading into Easter. Then we have Eastertide until we get to Pentecost Sunday and once again we enter Ordinary Time, and things get ordinary until Advent begins four weeks before Christmas.

The truth of the matter is, there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time. Its designation doesn’t even mean that it is ordinary or common or boring or whatever. The word “ordinary” comes from the Latin ordinalis which refers to numbers in a series. The Latin root word is ordo from which we get our word “order.” We call it Ordinary Time because the Sundays are numbered. The Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, though never referred to as such, is technically the First Sunday of Ordinary Time. From there we have the Second, Third, Fourth, etc. Sundays of Ordinary Time until we reach Ash Wednesday and the period of Lent. This year we will have eight Sundays in Ordinary Time before we observe the First Sunday of Lent.

Ordinary Time in 2019 picks up again the day after Pentecost (in the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time). Because we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity the Sunday after Pentecost and the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ the following Sunday, we don’t return to Sundays of Ordinary Time until the Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Are you confused? Check out this site for the correct designations.

The liturgical color for Ordinary Time is green both after Christmastide and Eastertide. We generally associate green with life and growth. During this particular section of Ordinary Time we focus on the earthly ministry of Jesus: his teachings and his miracles. After Pentecost we focus on the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit through the Church that continues to the present. Even in times of persecution, trial, scandal or corruption in some parts of the Church, she remains ever green. She is indeed the Bride of Christ and “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25–27 RSVCE).

This is no time to let up or take a nap or be discouraged. Christ loves us and he is sanctifying us so that we might be holy without blemish! Thanks be to God!

Overhead in the Office, Part 2

when_they_dressed_in_blues
cbs

I was sitting in the common space of my company enjoying my lunch when I realized that one of the other departments was going to have a potluck. Before they began to eat, the leader of the department stood and, this being a Christian company, announced that he would say a “quick prayer” before they ate. That’s not the first time I have heard prayer preceded by the adjective “quick.” I’ve even heard pastors and priests qualify the kind of prayer they would pray as “quick” and it’s almost always before eating.

What does that say about prayer, about us, and about how we view prayer before we eat? It reminds of those days when I was in public school and knew I should pray before I ate my lunch, but felt embarrassed, so I would feign dropping something and would pray on the way down and back up. Even now, working in a largely other-Christian than Catholic company, I am hesitant to make the sign of the Cross before I return thanks for my food.

Many years ago I was part of a newish church plant that had just merged with another church and we were learning the “older” church’s ways of doing things. That particular Sunday I was asked to read Scripture. Before the service the worship planner was walking us through the order and he announced that after I read the Scripture, he would pray a “quick” prayer so I could get off the stage and the preacher could take his place. That day prayer served as a scenery change!

So, when it comes down to it, the quick prayer could be for several reasons: 1) we’re really hungry, but we know that it wouldn’t be right to dig in without at least mouthing some gratitude; 2) It’s a carry over from those days of embarrassment of returning thanks in public, so we’ll get it done as quickly as possible; or 3) It’s nothing more than a perfunctory ritual that we do in order to stay in God’s good graces; and maybe most likely 4) We have so much to eat that we have lost the deep sense of gratefulness for what we have been given.

I love to see what our spiritual forebears have said about prayer in these situations. I found a good source of their wisdom in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I highly recommend it to you. In the section entitled “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” in paragraph 2828 we read:

“Give us”: The trust of children who look to their Father for everything is beautiful. “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45). He gives to all the living “their food in due season.” (Psalm 104:27). Jesus teaches us this petition, because it glorifies our Father by acknowledging how good he is, beyond all goodness.

Paragraph 2829 continues:

“Give us” also expresses the covenant. We are his and he is ours, for our sake. But this “us” also recognizes him as the Father of all men and we pray to him for them all, in solidarity with their needs and sufferings.

And finally in paragraph 2830 we read:

“Our bread”: The Father who gives us life cannot but give us the nourishment life requires—all appropriate goods and blessings, both material and spiritual. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus insists on the filial trust that cooperates with our Father’s providence (cf. Matthew 6:25–34). He is not inviting us to idleness (Cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13), but wants to relieve us from nagging worry and preoccupation. Such is the filial surrender of the children of God:

To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God (St. Cyprian).

Mealtime Prayer:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bless us Oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

We give thanks for all your benefits, almighty God, who lives and reigns forever.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

Happy Epiphany!

magi_(1)

It was a cold winter day forty-five years ago today in Jonesboro, Indiana. I donned a white robe and headed to the baptistry located behind the choir loft just below the stained-glass window at Westview Wesleyan Church. I was 17 years old and I was finally going to be baptized!

Reverend Carlos Fletcher became my pastor during those critical high school years and asked me if I had ever been baptized. I told him that I hadn’t and true to his conviction and nature said, “We have to take care of that!” So at the beginning of the second semester of my senior year in high school I was baptized into the Christian faith.

Looking back I recognize that this was not just a ceremony, but an true incorporation into the life of Christ. A few months later I responded to a definite call on my life to pursue a missionary vocation. I shared this recently when my wife and I were interviewed on “The Journey Home” and I consider this a turning point in my spiritual life. You can see that interview here.

Historically, Epiphany celebrated four things: Jesus’ nativity, the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family, Jesus’ baptism, and Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana. Each of these events is a special manifestation of Jesus Christ to humanity. In the Latin Church we typically focus on the visit of the Three Kings which symbolizes the revelation of Jesus Christ as a light to the Gentile nations and as the Savior born for all of mankind.

Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and Sacrifice.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Sounds through the earth and skies.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light

We Three Kings, verse 5, written by John Henry Hopkins, Jr., 1857.

Collect for the Epiphany of the Lord
O God, who on this day
revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations
by the guidance of a star,
grant in your mercy
that we, who know you already by faith,
may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

 

Confession at the Shrine

I’m standing in line for confession at the Shrine of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia. John Neumann was Bishop of Philadelphia from 1852-1860 and is the first American Bishop to be canonized (1977).

As I prepare for my first confession in five weeks I sense the need for the graces I will receive through this sacrament. I am thankful that I can leave my sins in the confessional and receive the absolution from the priest in persona Christi.

At the beginning of 2019 I feel like I am carrying not only the weight of my own sins, but of those who seem to be struggling to offer the faithful guidance we need in a time unlike any we have ever lived. It’s easy for me to cry “foul” as I observe key church leaders, but fail to hold myself accountable for my failure to love and live in truth.

The priest heard my confession, absolved my sins in the person of Christ, and for my penance told me to reflect on Psalm 51.

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise.

“The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:15, 17 RSV).

Prayer to Saint John Neumann:

Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I will offer my services to my sisters and brothers. Every time I meet one of them I will treat as I would the Lord Himself! St. John Neumann, help me to see my need for conversion all the days of my life, through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.

What’s in a Name?

Several years ago I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a department store in midtown Manhattan. I was “on line” to check out. The cashiers were doing their best is accommodate the customers and get them on their way. Suddenly, one of the cashiers on seeing her manager approach cried out: “O Jesus, we’ve been waiting for you! I’m so glad you came!”

I stood there somewhat surprised by what I had heard. It sounded like an Advent/Christmas message wrapped up in two sentences. I quickly realized that Jesus had probably been born Jesús and that the English pronunciation of his name instead of Spanish sounded out of place in the retail setting. Yet Jesus, Jesús, Jésus, Gesú, Иисус, 耶穌, Ιησούς or אלוהים is not just any name, but as Christians declare that “name above all names!” (Philippians 2:9). There really is a lot in this name!

The angel told Mary, “And behold. you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31 RSV). And then in a dream the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20b–21 RSV).

Today is the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. Jesus would have been officially named on the eighth day after his birth at the time of his circumcision. His name, Jesus, means “God saves.” This is what the angel told Joseph: “for he will save his people from their sins.” Again and again in the New Testament we see salvation tied to the name of Jesus.

  • Acts 2:38—And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
  • Acts 3:6—But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk.”
  • Acts 4:12—”And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
  • Philippians 2:9–11—Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Collect for The Most Holy Name of Jesus

O God, who founded the salvation of the human race
on the Incarnation of your Word,
give your peoples the mercy they implore,
so that all may know there is no other name to be invoked
but the Name of your Only Begotten Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.