Spiritual Senioritis

Homily, Advent Sunday 1C

For the past 100 years or longer, one disease has afflicted more young people than perhaps any other, but there continues to be very little research into the causes and treatment options available to those who suffer from this disease. And even though many people around me were unaware, I myself have also had to learn to cope with this disease for many years. Its formal name in medicine is senioritis, and its characteristic symptoms are a more or less severe lack of motivation and a constant questioning of “What’s the point?” Senioritis, as its name suggests, most often afflicts seniors in high school or seniors in college, but what most doctors won’t tell you is that its onset may be much earlier than the senior year, and since it is a chronic disease, in its most severe cases, the almost complete lack of motivation has been known to last for almost the entire duration of college and into many years of graduate school or even into one’s occupation. As a priest with almost 21 years as a student in formal education, I have explored different treatment options, but I very quickly settled upon the art of procrastination.

Now I call procrastination an art because it is best learned through experience, and it has to be able to respond freely and creatively to the natural ebb and flow of motivation, even when motivation appears in the almost indiscernible levels of one who suffers from chronic senioritis. The deadline played a very important role for me as I tried to cope through my skills of procrastination. In the few days or hours before the time when an assignment was due, I would be able to work quite efficiently because of a slight elevation in my motivation. I could keep vigil and work on the assignment even through the night, but I did learn to take a nap for two or three hours when my brain would stop working sometime after midnight. This method of procrastination managed to get me through many papers and many years of school, but it was stressful at times. Procrastination is actually not the healthiest way to deal with senioritis, and its reliance on clear due dates is one of its weaknesses. The approach of a deadline is actually no guarantee of an elevation in motivation.

As we begin this Advent season, the deadline of our lives is unknown to us, we know neither the day nor the hour, but here we are, on the first Sunday of a new liturgical year, each one of us one year closer to our final examination, whether that will be at the end of the world or at the end of our life. But are we closer than we were last year to being ready, as we hear in today’s Gospel, ready “to stand before the Son of Man”? Every time we pray the Our Father we say, “Thy kingdom come,” but do we really desire Jesus to hurry His return, or is there still fear in our hearts at the prospect of “the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones” and the account we must then render of our words and actions? Have we talked to God about that fear? Have we contracted a sort of spiritual senioritis when it comes to our lives of faith? A complacency? Have our hearts “become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life”?

The Church gives us this holy season of Advent each year as another reminder, another opportunity to take stock of our spiritual lives. Have we made any real progress since last year, or do we keep procrastinating, putting off our deeper conversion to Christ? Advent is a season for keeping watch in prayer and in silence. Do we ever listen for God’s voice? Do we know what it sounds like? God often speaks to us in the silence, but His voice is drowned out by all the noise we fill our lives with. Advent can be an opportunity to put aside the cell phone, the computer, to shut off the TV and stereo, just to spend some time with God in silence and reflection. To spend more time in prayer, in Mass, and in Confession. More time in genuine love and goodwill towards those around us, in acts of kindness and consideration, and less time in judgment and condemnation of others or their motives.

The deadline is fast approaching for each one of us, whether we know it or not, and procrastination may not be an option for any of us. Please do what you need to do to find the motivation, to beg God for the motivation, to desire with all your heart the coming of God’s kingdom. “Come, Lord Jesus. Do not delay.” Let’s not wait another year to get our lives in order, to make the changes that need to be made in order to welcome Christ with all our hearts this Christmas. The changes that should have been made yesterday or last year but that we kept putting off till tomorrow and tomorrow. Today is the day. Now is the time of salvation. This is the year and the time for God’s mercy. Jesus waits for each of us with open arms.

How to Follow Christ

UNOFFICIAL English translation of the Office of Readings for November 25, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr

From the sermons of St. Caesarius of Arles, bishop (Sermo 159.1, 3-6)

How to follow Christ

It seems hard, dearest brethren, and judged as if to be heavy, that which the Lord in the Gospel commanded, saying, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself. But what He commands is not hard, for He helps to bring about what He commands. 

Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Christ. And to where is Christ to be followed if not to where He has gone? For we know that He rose, He ascended into heaven: to that place He is to be followed. Plainly, such is not to be despaired, because He has promised, not because man is capable of anything. Far from us was heaven, before our Head had gone into heaven. Why do we now despair of being there, if we are members of that Head? Why then? Since man is afflicted by many fears and sufferings on earth: let us follow Christ, where the highest happiness is, the highest peace, perpetual security. 

But he who desires to follow Christ, let him hear the Apostle saying: If anyone claims to remain in Christ, he himself ought to walk just as He walked. Do you want to follow Christ? Be humble where He was humble: do not condemn His lowliness, if you want to reach His height. 

Indeed the way became rough, when man sinned; but it was made level, when Christ trod it for the sake of rising, and from the most narrow path made a royal highway. This way is traveled with two feet, that is, those of humility and of charity. In this world, height delights everyone: but humility is the first step. Why do you extend your foot beyond you? You would fall, not ascend. Begin from the first step—that is, from humility—and you have ascended. 

And for that reason our Lord and Savior not only said, Let him deny himself, but added: take up his cross and follow Me. What is take up his cross? Let him bear whatever is troublesome: thus let him follow Me. When he has begun to follow Me in manners and in my precepts, he will have many opponents, many restrainers, not only many mockers but even persecutors. And this not only from pagans who are outside the Church, but even from those who seem to be within her in body but are outside in the depravity of their works, and, while they glory merely in the Christian name, nevertheless continually persecute good Christians. Such as these are among the members of the Church in the manner that bad fluids are in the body. Therefore, if you desire to follow Christ, may you not delay in carrying His cross: endure evils, do not surrender. 

Therefore, if we want to fulfill that which the Lord said, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me, let us strive with the help of God to fulfill what the Apostle says: that having food and clothing, let us be content with these; lest perhaps, if we want to become rich, seeking more earthly substance than is necessary, we fall into temptation and the snare of the devil, and into many desires both useless and harmful, which plunge men into destruction and damnation. From which temptation, may the Lord deign to deliver us under his protection.

Medical Decisions and Cremation

Bulletin Letter, Advent Sunday 1C

Our adult catechesis for November focused on end-of-life issues and funeral planning. I’d like to highlight a few things from it, of which too many Catholics are unaware. 

The first concerns the Church’s teaching on informed conscience and the need for the virtue of prudence, which applies moral principles to particular circumstances. In the field of medicine, advances and new technologies can become available very quickly. It is impossible to foresee all possibilities and particular circumstances of every scenario. Because of this, the Catholic Church prefers that when it comes to medical decisions that need to be made on behalf of someone who can no longer advocate for themselves, these should be made by a person or persons previously designated by the patient. For minors, the parents or legal guardian(s) have this responsibility. For adults, this is usually done by designating a durable power of attorney, often the patient’s adult children or a trusted friend who has some knowledge of the person’s wishes and the Church’s teaching on the sacredness of human life. 

A living person can exercise prudence and take into account the particulars of a situation and availability of new treatments in a way that a static list cannot, often called a living will, filled out in advance, listing which treatments the patient is willing to receive and which treatments he is not. The staff of healthcare facilities may be more used to just asking for a living will, but giving them documentation on durable power of attorney instead is more in line with Catholic principles. 

The other thing more and more Catholics seem not to realize is that although in recent decades the Church has permitted the cremation of a person’s bodily remains, the Church’s clear preference is still that the actual body be present for the funeral rites and that cremation take place after the funeral and before burial, or indeed, that cremation not take place at all and that the body would be buried as well. 

If cremation does take place, the cremated remains are to be treated with the same respect given to the human body, including the use of a worthy vessel to contain them, and that all of them be put to rest in sacred ground. It is never permissible to keep any portion or scatter them outside. Paragraphs 411 to 417 of the Order of Christian Funerals states these teachings more forcefully than anything I heard or observed about it while growing up or even while I was in seminary. 

Good King, Bad Tyrants

Homily, Christ the King Sunday B

Here in the United States, we haven’t had much experience with kings—at least not with kings who are unelected—so as we celebrate this great Feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, praying that His Reign would be extended over every part of our lives and over all the world, we should examine what makes His kingship different than what we’ve experience from other worldly rulers. What’s the difference between a wise and benevolent king on the one hand and an overbearing, power-obsessed tyrant on the other? There have been perhaps far more numerous examples of tyrants throughout history, whether they bore the title of king or emperor, prime minister or president, speaker of the house, majority leader, justice, et cetera, but there have been a number of very good leaders and public servants as well.

One of the main characteristics of a good king is that he recognizes the truth, as Jesus mentions in the Gospel, “Whoever belongs to the truth” hears the voice of our Great King Jesus Christ. A good king recognizes the truth about the world around us, the truths of science and nature, the truth about humanity and the complexities of human life and aspiration in society, even the truth about God and authentic religion. A good king recognizes the truth and works within the structures of the realities that surround us, not trying to force a square peg into a round hole, or demanding that his subjects do things that are contrary to nature, common sense, or God’s revelation.

Jesus, our great King, has given us the Ten Commandments and His Law of Love, which are not arbitrary by any stretch of the imagination but correspond to the deepest needs and desires of the human heart—which God himself created—leading to true human flourishing. Our own experience of sin and its consequences bears this out, how truly unsatisfying and miserable sin and selfishness is, compared to a life of virtue and obedience to God and of charity towards our neighbor. As Catholics we can echo the sentiment of the Israelites of old even to a greater degree in their reverence for God’s Law: How truly wise, just, and profitable are all the decrees of our God, beyond those of any other nation. Whoever walks according to the commandments will find life in abundance and true happiness for length of days unending.

Tyrants, on the other hand, rule according to ideologies instead of the truth, setting unrealistic goals and demanding things that are contrary to human nature and common sense. Instead of using tried and true methods of established science, they might set as a goal—for example—reaching zero infections of a certain disease, and they might use this unrealistic goal as a justification for all sorts of draconian practices, like quarantining the healthy and those who have virtually no risk of lasting effects from infection, mandating experimental vaccines for everyone—even to the point of requiring it for employment, commerce, and leaving the house—meanwhile, paying little attention to the very real social and emotional needs of human beings, as death and mental illness skyrocket from other sources because of these policies.

Besides having truth or ideology as the source of their policies and mandates, the other main difference between good kings and horrible tyrants is how they go about enforcing their decrees. Christ the King has no military, national guard, or police to enforce the Ten Commandments or to extend the borders and influence of His kingdom. Rather than by force or coercion, Christ conquers by conquering human hearts through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, by feeding us with the truth of His Gospel and His Church’s teachings, feeding us with His own Body and Blood in this Eucharist. Christ invites us into the truth, the truth which sets us free. He does not force our hand. He did not free us from the slavery of sin only to subject us once more to a new slavery in His kingdom. Christ desires free and intelligent subjects, willingly submitting themselves to His gentle yoke out of love and dedication more than fear of punishment. And you yourselves are the soldiers, the hands, feet, and mouth of Christ, called to extend the borders of His kingdom over every aspect of your own life, and to the hearts and minds of those around you not by acts of violence but through the works of mercy.

Tyrants, on the other hand, use every means at their disposal to force compliance with their decrees, whether these decrees are reasonable or not. They strive to silence contrary voices, anyone who would question the regime, and they threaten with fines, imprisonment, and all the penalties already mentioned, loss of job and livelihood, loss of participation in commerce and social life. And tyrants have plenty of military, FBI, other law enforcement, attorneys and judges to prosecute those whom they wish to prosecute, and allow free rein and immunity to those whom they find useful for disrupting social order.

Today, we may have more experience with tyrants than with any good and reasonable kings. All the more reason for us to turn with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength, to serve Christ, our Savior and King, and to pray that His reign would be extended over every aspect of our own lives and—through us—to the farthest corners of the earth. May He give us the strength of the martyrs to resist every unreasonable demand of every tyrant, even if we should have to bear the Cross with Him for a while. May Christ the King grant freedom, peace, and security to all His subjects in this life, but most especially as we reach His kingdom in heaven.

The First Thanksgiving

Bulletin Letter, Christ the King B

During my assignment at the Cathedral in Sioux Falls, one of the other priests there started a small garden next to the rectory, growing basil, peppers, and tomatoes. Every so often, he would use a very fragrant fertilizer made from fish parts. If you’re familiar with the story of the first Thanksgiving, you’ll recall that the Native American Squanto taught the Pilgrims to plant their crops along with placing fish in the ground for fertilizer. This helped them to even have a harvest to celebrate Thanksgiving in October of 1621. What we probably don’t realize, and what most history books don’t mention, is that the feast in 1621 among English settlers was actually not the first Thanksgiving Feast held in what is now the United States.

The First was actually celebrated among Spanish settlers near what would become St. Augustine in Florida on September 8, 1565, more than half a century earlier. After making it to shore, the chaplain of the expedition, Fr. Francisco Lopez, celebrated Mass (the word ‘Eucharist’ comes from the Greek for ‘Thanksgiving’) to give praise and thanks to God for a safe voyage. Being September 8, they celebrated in honor of the Birthday of Mary, the Mother of God (nine months after the observance of her Immaculate Conception on December 8).

After Mass, Fr. Lopez ordered that the natives from the Timucua tribe be fed along with the Spanish settlers. That first Thanksgiving meal consisted of the supplies of the voyage, salted pork, garbanzo beans, ship’s bread, and red wine—after the Body and Blood of Christ received during Mass, of course. The meal may have also included Caribbean foods collected when they made a stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on their way to Florida. If the Timucua natives contributed food, it would have likely included corn, fresh fish, berries, or beans.

Even the presence of Squanto and what he did to aid the survival of the Pilgrims leading up to the later English Thanksgiving was due in part to the help of Spanish Catholics. Squanto had been taught English and trained as an interpreter by settlers from previous expeditions in New England, but one of the officers took him back to Europe and planned to sell him into slavery. Franciscan friars in Spain found Squanto and ensured his freedom, instructed him in the faith, and likely baptized him. He later made his way to England, where he worked as a shipbuilder while improving his English. He joined an expedition to return home, where the Pilgrims would meet him a year later at Plymouth.

This Thanksgiving, we praise God for the many blessings He continues to share with us, our families, our friends, our State and country. We thank Him especially for the great gift of our Catholic faith, the salvation Christ won for us, and the nourishment He provides in His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, that First and most awesome Thanksgiving meal.

Preparing for the End

Homily, Ordinary Sunday 33B

Seems like every generation has its share of speculating about when the world is going to end. Even back through history, there were plenty of people that thought the world would end a thousand years after the coming of Christ, and now it’s been over a thousand years since. And they thought it would end after the discovery of North and South America and the spread of the Gospel on these continents, by the 17^th or 18^th century, but here we are beginning the 21^st century. And our own generation is no exception. With the global pandemic of COVID and its opportunity for more tyrannical forms of government, with the so-called climate “crisis” that promises we’ll all be baked to death in our own atmosphere in 10 or 20 years if we keep using plastic straws and eating meat instead of eating bugs, with those who look at Church politics—the Cardinals and the Vatican—and are convinced that the stage is set for the coming Antichrist. To be fair, the present day is always closer to the end than any other time in history has been, so it’s not surprising to find a lot of people today and in every age convinced that it will be sometime soon.

There’s one thing that every prediction of the end of the world has had in common. They’ve all been wrong and proven false as the days keep marching on. “No one knows the day or the hour.” Regardless of when the world will come to an end, Jesus warns us in the Gospel to always be ready to meet Him and to give an accounting for our lives, for our thoughts, words, and actions, because just as only God knows when the end of the world will be, so also no one knows the day or hour of the end of his own life. So our course of action is the same—whether we will meet Jesus as He returns on the clouds of heaven with all His angels at the end of the world during our own lifetime, or if we meet Him as our own life comes to an end while the world marches on—the way to be ready is to strive at all times to be and persevere in the state of sanctifying grace, to confess all our grave sins and failings and strive to follow God’s will for us at all times, to be like servants ready to open the door immediately whenever our Master arrives and knocks.

There are a couple things we can do every day to keep ourselves prepared to meet the Lord. One thing that many Saints and Catholics have done at the end of each day is to make an examination of our conscience. In the presence of God, we review the events of that day, our thoughts, words, actions, reactions, how we cooperated with God’s grace at different moments, when we were mindful of His presence, and the times we sinned and went against God’s will, when we neglected prayer and were forgetful of God, and the people that we hurt by our sins, the temptations and near occasions of sin that we put ourselves into that day. And then, in the presence of God, to ask for His forgiveness and for help in recognizing what keeps us close to Him and what takes us off track, to resolve by His strength to avoid the same pitfalls on the next day and to give ourselves more fully to God. And if we’ve sinned gravely, to ask for the grace of a good Confession as soon as we have the opportunity. This examination of conscience, looking back with judgment upon our actions and inactions each day is a great preparation for the judgment we will face at the end of our lives and at the end of the world.

The other practice that is extremely helpful is to prepare each day for receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. If we’re always striving to be ready to receive the Lord in His Body and Blood, in this Sacrament of His very Self, then we will also be better prepared to welcome Jesus when He comes to meet us at the end of our lives. Even if we can’t make it to Mass every day to receive this Sacrament, and even at times when we need to abstain from Holy Communion because of sin or irregular situations, we can still make an act of spiritual communion every day, to deliberately and explicitly ask Jesus to unite us to Himself, to grant us perfect contrition for our sins, and the strength to avoid and persevere through temptation.

These two habits—a daily examination of conscience and a daily preparation for Holy Communion—are two of the best ways for us to be prepared for the end of our lives and for the end of the world, and to drive out any fear or anxiety we might have about either one. We do not know the day or hour, so strive to live every day in the presence of the One who delivers us from death, the One who created the heavens and the earth, who will also make them new at the end of the age. Those who belong to God will have nothing to fear on that Day, but they will renew their strength and rise to everlasting glory.

Children of Light

Bulletin Letter, Ordinary Sunday 33B

When I was growing up I always remember winter being my favorite season. I loved snow, sledding, hot chocolate. The cold still doesn’t bother me much. You can always wear more clothes or grab a blanket. One thing that has changed over the years, though, is how much I dislike these shorter days and lack of sunlight. Really makes me wonder at what it must have been like for people long ago when they couldn’t just flip a switch to have the whole room light up. We take a lot for granted. 

Plants depend on light, especially the sun’s rays, to provide food and energy to everything else that eats and makes use of them. Almost all energy on earth originates from the sun. In humans especially in areas farther from the equator, lack of sunlight in winter has even been linked to depression and seasonal affective disorder. Be sure to get plenty of vitamin D in these darker months. 

Much of our Catholic faith uses the analogy of light as well. Another name for baptism was the sacrament of illumination, when we receive the gift of faith, “a lamp to my feet, a light to my path,” helping us to walk without stumbling (Ps. 119:105). The Easter Vigil, in the holiest night of the year, begins with a blessing of fire, praise of the Paschal candle, and lighting candles throughout the church in honor of the dazzling light of Christ’s Resurrection. Scripture also talks about living in the light, knowing that all our actions are seen by God. Sins and crimes are most often carried out under cover of darkness and secrecy. 

Jesus is the Sun that never sets. As the days grow shorter and darker, all the more need for us to turn more fervently to Christ our Light, “the Sun of righteousness, with healing in His wings” (Mal. 4:2). Do not be found among those who “loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil” (Jn. 3:19). The world today is all too full of darkness without Catholics and Christians adding to it. Instead, we are to be light to the world, salt of the earth, a city set on a hill (Cf. Mt. 5:13-14). “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Eph. 5:8-9). As Christ is Light for us, so we must be light for the world. 

Rosary Timeline

Adult Catechesis, October 2021

800s – Byzatine Akathistos Hymn is translated into Latin (Greek “Chairé/Rejoice” rendered as Latin “Ave”)

By the end of the 1000s – numerous Aves with prostrations honoring the joys then sorrows of Mary

1100s – “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” in honor of her joys
– A crown of roses was placed on the head as a sign of joy
– Mary was often hailed as a Rose (Rosa) or Garden of Roses (Rosarium)

St Bernard of Clairvaux (+1153) – developed Psalters of the Virgin Mary among Cistercians
– Monks who were not priests would substitute 150 Our Fathers since they had difficulty praying the 150 Psalms
– Lay faithful often took up this practice or would use 150 Aves which they learned more easily

St Dominic (+1221) – Founder of the Order of Preachers to combat the Albigensian heresy
– During his lifetime, the Holy Name of Jesus was added to the Ave
– Emphasized the Incarnation and earthly life of Jesus and Mary in his preaching
– Between preaching on the mysteries of Jesus and Mary, he would lead his listeners in praying Aves, Psalm, and hymns

Henry of Kalkar (+1408) – Carthusian monk of Cologne, established 15 Paters 150 Aves

Adolf of Essen (+1439) – Prayed 50 Aves each day while meditating on the life of Jesus and encouraged others to contemplate Holy Scripture with the Heart of Mary

Dominic of Prussia (+1460) – Learned from Adolf of Essen, but had trouble concentrating, so he composed 50 and then 150 short phrases on the life of Jesus, each then accompanied by an Ave, which were not yet grouped into decades but sets of 50

Bl. Alan de la Roche (+1475) – Spread these devotions and attributed St. Dominic as their first promoter

1520 (Pope Leo X) – The name “Rosary” becomes its typical designation

1521 – First recorded use of the phrase “mysteries of the Rosary”

Pope St Pius V, O.P. – 1568 – Included the full Ave in the Roman Breviary, including its second half (“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”) dating from the 1400s
– September 15, 1569 – Promotes the Rosary in its most familiar form: 15 mysteries, 15 decades of one Pater and 10 Aves
– October 7, 1571 – Naval victory at Lepanto, attributed to Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Victory

St Louis-Marie de Montfort (+1716) – Most widely known today for True Devotion to Mary
– Emphasized the importance of meditating on the mysteries and asking for a particular virtue exhibited in each mystery
– Creed, Pater, 3 Aves, formula of offering, fruits of each mystery
– This French missionary priest meditated most often on the Baptism of the Lord, the Announcement of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist

1917 – The Fatima children learn the prayer: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.”

Jean Hémery – 1966 – This Montfortian writes suggesting that “certain mysteries of the public life” be added to the Rosary, recalling that the Wedding Feast at Cana is even mentioned in the Marian chapter of Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
– Many Dominicans also make this suggestion, following the intuition of Fr. Marie-Joseph Lagrange, O.P. (+1938)

Pope St John Paul II (October 2002) – Promulgates the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary

Source: Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians and Consecrated Persons. Queenship Publishing/Seat of Wisdom Books (January 31, 2008).

Beyond Human Limits

Homily, Ordinary Sunday 32B

A few summers ago, while I was still assigned in Sioux Falls, I went on a hiking trip with some Confirmation students and a few other chaperones to Bear Trap Ranch near Colorado Springs. On one of our longer hikes, I was talking with one of the students about running, and he mentioned a camp that he had gone to for wrestling and how he’d managed to run something close to a half marathon by the end of the camp. Before going, he never would have thought that he could run that far, but the main theme of the camp was to reach—and then to push beyond—their own physical limitations. Most of us like to stay in a sort of comfort zone that we set up for ourselves, and to always have plenty in reserve, whether that’s a reserve of effort, energy, money, or time. We’re comfortable with things that come easily to us, things that don’t require our full effort or undivided attention. We don’t really enjoy reaching our limits and having our weaknesses exposed, even if just to ourselves. To find out we can only manage 5 push-ups, or to jog for just a couple minutes before we start wheezing. 

The Scripture readings today present to us two women, two widows who have reached their own limits but are able to respond to God’s invitation to go beyond. The widow in our first reading is interrupted as she is preparing for what she thinks will be the very last meal that she’ll share with her son. She’ll use the very last bit of flour and oil in the house and be left with nothing. But a stranger comes along and asks for a drink of water, and that she prepare something for him to eat before she makes something for herself and her son. This widow, who was actually not part of God’s chosen people, not an Israelite, she steps out in faith to follow Elijah’s instructions, even to put her own life and last meal on the line. She believes that the prophet’s God can provide even as her own resources are on the verge of running dry. 

The widow in the Gospel steps out in faith as well. Jesus tells us that the people making large contributions to the Temple still have plenty for themselves left in reserve, giving “from their surplus wealth.” But with the two small coins of the widow, she “has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” She believes that God Himself will provide what she truly needs, taking her beyond the limits of her own circumstances. 

How does our own faith compare to the faith and trust of these poor widows? Do we ever risk anything in believing, in professing the Catholic faith? How often do we venture towards the limits of our comfort zones, and risk coming up short or facing persecution, needing to depend on God or others for help? Or do we always just play it safe, comfortable in our own self-sufficiency? If getting acquainted with and pushing beyond our physical limitations sounds intimidating, getting acquainted with and pushing beyond our spiritual limitations and fears is a much more exciting and important task for us to take on. 

When we’ve given everything we have, our full effort, all our resources, and still come up short, when our very best still doesn’t seem good enough, God is still there, inviting us beyond what we thought our limits were. Do we believe that God can provide flour and oil till the end of the drought? Do we believe that Jesus can multiply five loaves and two fish to feed thousands? When we reach our limits and think that we can’t take another step, God invites us to step out in faith, even as he invited these poor widows. What is our response? Where is our faith? Do we trust in our own comfort and security, or do we believe in the power of God who can do all things? As we approach this Eucharist, to witness the Body of Christ given for us upon this altar, the Blood of Christ poured out for our salvation, the Sacrifice that obtains for us the power to push beyond even the limits of death into the Resurrection, may God cast out from our hearts and minds all fear and doubt. That we may respond by giving ourselves entirely to God, who has first given Himself—without limit—to us. 

Welcoming the Host

Bulletin Letter, Ordinary Sunday 32B

It may have something to do with my being the youngest in my family, but I’ve never been great at hospitality. And it seems like my time as a seminarian and now as a priest has given far more opportunity to be hosted than to host. My parents and sister have come up to stay with me a few times now, so I at least know how to set out fresh towels and replace the sheets. This past Thursday, I hosted our deanery meeting for 12 other priests and a deacon in the rectory in Bowdle. I think it went pretty well. Definitely would have had more room in the church basement, but I wasn’t sure if we’d need the WiFi for someone to Zoom into the meeting. 

One thing discussed was the Synod on Synodality that Rome has called for and is already underway within dioceses. We’re not sure what it will look like in our deanery (Aberdeen-Pierre) or in parishes, but keep an eye out for related upcoming events. The main emphasis is on listening, and especially listening to those who feel their concerns haven’t been heard or taken seriously by the Church. 

In a sense, it is an effort to exercise hospitality towards many who have lost or suffered the weakening of the sense of feeling at home in the Church. Of course, if that alienation comes more from personal opposition to what God has revealed for our salvation and authentic human flourishing, there’s conversion that needs to happen, but identifying where there is a disconnect, whether procedurally on the part of the Church or personally on the part of the Christian can help us draw closer to God. 

While I may not host many banquets at the rectory, I am certainly aware of and humbled by my duty to serve at the Lord’s table, to nourish the members of His Church with “every word that comes forth from the mouth of God,” for we do not live by bread alone, and to celebrate and provide the Lord’s Supper, His own Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in these parishes. I pray to be a good host at the Lord’s Supper, or rather, a good servant as we all approach Jesus, our true Host and true Food. May we all practice true hospitality to make Him welcome in our hearts and minds, and in every area of our daily lives.