Pentecost, Happy Birthday, the Story Continues

The Pentecost, Santi di Tito, c. 1590

     Happy Birthday to the Church.  While it can also be said that the Church came into being from the wounded side of Christ on the cross I like the idea of celebrating Pentecost as our birthday because that is when the whole reality of what Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection came alive not only in the apostles, but in all who were there and came to faith along with them.

   As I pointed out last week John has no Pentecost event.  His presentation of Christ as the Risen One has Jesus appearing and conferring the Holy Spirit right away. For example, "Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them" Luke on the other hand unpacks the Easter gifts separately. The Ascension takes place 40 days after Easter, going along with Jesus 40 days of fasting and Israel's 40 years in the desert. Forty here is obviously a symbolic number.  Pentecost, Greek for 50 days, is first of all the Jewish feast of Shavuot, 50 days after Passover. It is a celebration of the giving of the Torah to the people of Israel. Most of the first Christians were Jewish and so separating out the Resurrection, the return to God in glory (Ascension) and finally the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and associating them with different days helped believers to more easily "unpack" the great mysteries of faith.

   So what does Pentecost mean for us?  Is it merely a celebration of what happened back then?  Certainly not. It is a celebration of what happens to us in our Baptism and Confirmation, and what continues to happen in us throughout our lives--God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us.  We find this too good to be true.  Sure, God can dwell in an Ark in the desert. God can become incarnate in Jesus. Jesus can be truly present in the Eucharistic bread and wine and in the tabernacle, but God present in me? In You?  How can this be.  We are weak, fragile human beings. We are not perfect, yet God's Spirit indeed dwells in us.  When we let this really sink in we are transformed and the Lord can use us in wonderful ways.

   Many parishes are encouraging people to wear something red to church this Sunday.  The priest has red vestments reminding us of the tongues of fire which descended on the apostles.  By wearing red we acknowledge that while there may not have been tongues of fire at our Confirmation the Holy Spirit did indeed come to dwell with us.  At Easter and Christmas families gather at home to celebrate a big meal. Perhaps we should have a big Pentecost dinner or a special outdoor barbecue to celebrate this great feast. So Happy Pentecost and Happy Birthday to the Church, the entire Christian community. And to our Jewish friends a Happy Shavuot.

The Feast of the Ascension--What Does It Mean for Us??

    We are nearing the end of the Easter season and are celebrating several feasts which each in their own way help us to open up the Easter mystery more fully.  This week I would like to focus on the Ascension.  Those in the northeast U.S. celebrated this feast on its traditional day--Thursday.  In most of the world it is now celebrated on the seventh Sunday of Easter.  Some have asked, "How can Ascension Thursday be on a Sunday?"  This is an understandable question.  A little Scripture reflection is in order.  The Church's liturgical cycle is based on Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles (both written by the same author) which has the Ascension forty days after Easter and the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Jewish feast of Pentecost (50 days after Passover.)  The Church was just beginning to develop a liturgical calendar and this was a good thing to do.   In Matthew and Mark the Ascension is simply mentioned with no time line and in John Jesus is risen, glorified and sending the Spirit all at once.  In other words we don't really know exactly when these events took place. What is important is their meaning for us.

    Unfortunately I think that most Catholics accept that Jesus ascended to heaven after appearing as the Risen One but don't get what it has to do with us.  Also with our present understanding of the universe it is a stretch to believe that the Ascension was as pictured in the image I have attached to this blog entry, going to someplace "up there".  What we celebrate with this feast is that Jesus' earthly mission was finished after appearing to his disciples and commissioning them to preach the Gospel.  He returns to the Father so that he can work in and through all of us.  We are all commissioned to preach the Gospel.  This is really a feast of evangelization.   The great challenge of the Ascension can be found in the words that the men in white garments speak to the disciples in the feast's first reading in Acts 1:11--"Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up at the sky?"   In other words our goal indeed is heaven, but there is work to do here on earth.  They then are promised the gift of the Spirit which will help them (and us) to do that work.    And what is the Spirit's role? That will be my next reflection for Pentecost.

Thank You Sister

   As most of my blog readers know the Vatican recently came down hard on the LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious). This group represents roughly 80% of the sisters in the USA.  They cited doctrinal and other concerns.  I was upset by this and it has taken time for me to understand just why I was upset.  I have signed two statements that have circulated in support of the sisters.  Before writing here I wanted to go beyond merely being anglry and to say something constructive.

   Ask yourself, "Do I know any sisters?  What are they doing?" Obviously there are fewer of them than there were forty years ago.  While many of them are still involved in education or hospital administration they have branched out into other directions.  I am close to three sisters from different communities who are in parish ministry.  They do everything a priest does except for celebrating the Sacraments.  They are well-respected and appreciated for bringing a feminine perspective to parish ministry.  Others are spiritual directors.  They are well trained and sought after for this important service.  Still others are working with the poor, with victims of aids, in prisons, in shelters for the homeless. Others minister to battered women and children. The list goes on. They are prayerful, hard-working women.  So why this decision to order the conference to re-organize?

    I just finished attending a three day fraternal gathering with some friars of my province. These are sessions where our provincial leaders meet with groups of friars to talk about our life. One thing we discussed was the importance of walking with and accompanying our people as brothers.  This comes first before preaching and teaching.  We can't preach and teach if we do not know the experience of the people we serve. We need to listen to their stories. It seems to me that most of the sisters do this very well and that is the basis for many of their positions which concern the folks in the Vatican.  It also seems to me that the highest levels of leadership in the Church do not walk with and accompany those the serve.  The issue decrees and mete out punishment first.

   To be fair they may be some areas of concern, some out of line things that have gone on, but most of the sisters are not guilty of these things.  Perhaps if the people in the Vatican had called the president of LCWR and said, "Let's talk. Let's hear what you are doing these days.  Tell us your stories," things might have been different.

   I try to keep this blog positive.  I don't want it to be a protest forum but I felt that this needed to be said. To end on a positive note please approach any sister that you may know and say, "Thank You!"

Honduras Awaits

Trujillo, Honduras

    I've been at home in St. Anthony Friary for several weeks. I've accomplished a lot from finishing my book (waiting to hear from the publisher) to giving my room a real spring cleaning. I'm now looking forward to summer.  Every year I head for Eagle River, Wisconsin and I'm looking forward to arriving there in June.  Before Eagle River, however, there is another journey to make--to Trujillo, Honduras from June 8-17.

  Over the past few years I have preached several parish missions in Little Rock, Arkansas. My principle connection there is my cousin, Deacon Dan Hennesey. He gave my name to the folks at Christ the King Parish there as a possible priest
for that parish's annual June mission trip to the diocese of  Trujillo, Honduras.  I gladly accepted and will be going to Little Rock to fly down with the other members of the mission team.  There is some small amount of trepidation (the usual stuff that you might imagine) along with my enthusiasm.  I ask for your prayers not only for myself but for the wonderful people that I will be with. The mission includes not only an evangelization team which I will be a part of, but also doctors, dentists, nurses and others who will be sharing their skills.  I got to meet some of them along with  Bishop Sole' ,bishop of Trujillo  in February after I preached a retreat to the Knights of Columbus of Arkansas and their wives. That meeting added to my enthusiasm.

   As I've thought about preparing for this great opportunity I've given some thought about what this trip might mean.  I've wondered what I might bring to the experience but as I have continued pondering that question I've also begun to ask, "What gifts might the people of Honduras have waiting for me?"  With that in mind my thoughts went to a homily given by my confrere, Dan Lanahan, OFM during his recent stay at our friary.  He talked about the importance of receiving as an aspect of love.  Receiving is different than taking.  Taking includes a sense of entitlement. Receiving means being open to the gift that another has to give, or even asking another for help.  He pointed out that we usually ask for help from people that we trust and care for.

   In thinking about Honduras I have been praying that I will not only share with the people there whatever gifts that I might have but also that I will be open to the gifts that they have for me.  It is so easy for us Americans to think in terms of what we have to bring to people from a poorer country, and indeed we have much to give.  At the same time I am going with an open mind and heart to be ready to receive the gifts of the people there.

   Once again please pray for all of us.  I will let you know about the experience after I return.

The Blessing of Friends

   I thought that I would take a different turn in my blog posting and give you another glimpse into my life.  As a Franciscan Friar community life is vitally important to me. As important as it is it is also important to have friends outside of the community, friends who are not priests and religious.  In my case I want friends who while respecting the fact that I am a friar are also people who can be real with me and keep me grounded.  I have been blessed with such friends throughout the course of my life.

   I recently had the good fortune of having a visit from my friend Sharon whom I met when she and her family were parishioners in Buffalo, NY.  She now lives in suburban Atlanta and is near her daughter,a son and some of her grandchildren.  I know that eyebrows can raise when a priest talks about a woman friend, but friends, and nothing more,  describes who we are for each other.  Sharon affirms me in my vocation as priest and friar but also lets me know that I need to have a woman's perspective on life once in a while.  She does that at times to my great consternation.  I believe that we celibate men, though we resist it, need to have this perspective. After all 50% of the people we minister to are women.  We need to be called out of the men's club once in a while.  I also have good friendships with several religious sisters.

   Right from the start of my friar life I have been blessed with friendships with several married couples and their families. Many readers of this blog know that I was once involved with the Marriage Encounter movement. I am a better friar and priest because of these friendships.  For one thing it is easy for us celibates to look at marriage through rose-colored lenses.  Spending time with families has brought me face to face with the challenges that marriage and family life presents.  I am especially grateful for the fact that for many years I have been good friends with Joe and Pat, Lou and Carol, Pete and Lu and Bob (recently deceased) and Gail and with many of their children.  I have been described as a kind of extra uncle. All of them are good, supportive friends, but friends who can call me on my shortcomings.

   And so dear blog readers I give you a window into an important part of my life and hope that you, perhaps, might become a good friend to a priest or religious.  It is a necessary blessing for us.

Earth Day--A Franciscan Perspective

  Today is the third Sunday of Easter.  It is also Earth Day.  Discussion of care for the earth and its environment unfortunately feeds into a lot of crazy political comment,  Those on the right dismiss it as tree-hugging and those on the left will always find something not quite politically correct in anything that is said. This, however, is not a political commentary but a spiritual one.

   Pope Benedict XVI has been called "the Green Pope" because of his many comments on the necessity of caring for this earth which God has given us.  Blessed John Paul II likewise spoke frequently on this issue. 

   How does our faith speak to us on this topic?  The answer to this question lies in how we view creation and the Creator.  Genesis has been misread, I believe, and this misreading has lead to  a view that God created nature, and then created man and woman. This leads to a poor understanding of Genesis 1:28 with its command to subdue the earth and have dominion over it.  Such an interpretation has led some to justify the plundering of the earth's resources for selfish ends.  Several articles that I have read recently remind us that any granting of dominion and authority to to subdue given to us humans is to mirror God's dominion over us, a dominion which seeks to give life and build up, a dominion which reflects the ultimate ruling of God's reign.

   I have been fascinated by the pictures that have come to us from the Hubble telescope showing the vastness of the universe and the realization that the whole universe has evolved into what now is. (I hope that readers of this blog understand that Catholics have no problem embracing evolution.).  Though things change and new things emerge we are all part of the same matter that burst forth in the beginning from our creator.  

   St. Francis of Assisi certainly did not have the benefit of understanding the universe and creation in the way that we do but his beautiful Canticle of the Creatures which praises God brother son, sister moon, brother wind and sister water shows a realization that we are part of creation.  All created things are brother and sister to us.  We are not separate entities placed above creation.  In case on misread this canticle as the romantic musings of a young thirteenth century hippy frolicking through the fields of Umbria I remind you that he composed this poem late in his life, after much suffering.  It expresses his beleif that in his broken humanity he is a creature, like other creatures, and God is the creator.

   This doesn't mean the we humans are the same as other creatures.  We are the supposedly rational, intelligent creatures who therefore have a responsibility to take care of the gifts that God has given us.  This calls us to see all around us as a gift to be returned to God in at least as good a condition as God first gave it to us.  This includes our own bodies and all the good things around us.



   I am blessed to live within walking distance of Tampa Bay.  There is beautiful tropical vegetation, beautiful birds flying around, an abundance of fish and the frequent citing of dolphins near the shore.  As I take my regular walks by the bay I engage in the discipline of telling myself that I am part of all this, brother to all of this and that God is good. I often do this in Eagle River, WI in the summertime.  Perhaps you might meditate in a similar way where you live, and if you come across an ugly reminder of what we've done to creation you might think of how you can work to makes things better.

Pelicans at rest by Tampa Bay

On one of the lakes in Eagle River, WI

  

Doubting Thomas, Freedom from Fear and Faith

Caravaggio-- Incredulity

   Since I'm sure that there will be an abundance of writing available for this Sunday which is now called Mercy Sunday with its focus on Jesus' commissioning of the apostles to forgive sins in His name I would like to call attention to some other facets of this Sunday's Gospel text from John 20, facets which traditionally have been the focus of this Whit-sun or White Sunday.

   In the beginning of the passage from John 20:19-31 we are told that the disciples were locked in a room out of fear. We are told that it is a "fear of the Jews."  I have stated this before on this blog but I feel that I must repeat it once in a while that the word "Jew" in the Gospel of John must always be understood to mean the temple authorities and not Jews in general, much in the way that people sometimes refer to the "Catholic Church" meaning the Vatican or the bishops and not all Catholics.  The real issue here is that they have not yet embraced the peace, joy and freedom of the Resurrection.  The real wall is not the wall of the room, but their fear.  How often does fear paralyze us and prevent us from seeing Christ and from acting in His name.  How often does fear block us from loving others or from simply enjoying life?  Can we allow Christ to break through the barriers of our fears and set us free?

   And then there is our friend the doubting Thomas portrayed in the Caravaggio painting above. I think that Thomas is too often portrayed as having less faith than the other apostles.  The truth is that the apostles were in general pretty weak in faith, abandoning Jesus on the night before his death as we read elsewhere in the Gospels, not to mention Peter's threefold denial.  What we often miss is that Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to the others.  He at least was not locked in out of fear.  His lack of faith was a lack of trusting his brother disciples. This, I believe, challenges us in several ways.  For one, are we believable in our witness to the faith?  Do we practice what we preach.  I think that Thomas didn't want to risk believing again and that he didn't find what the others were doing too convincing.  In addition, Thomas was off on his own.  It is difficult to maintain faith apart from the community.  This is one of the many reasons why Church is important, to support us in our faith.  As a friar and priest my faith is stronger not only because of the example of my Franciscan community but also because of the example of so many lay people with whom I cross paths.

   The final component of this Gospel text is the empowering of the disciples to forgive sins in Jesus' name.  Without being set free from fear and confirmed in their faith can they exercise this ministry of forgiveness and proclamation the Reign of God.