The Response

Readings for Sunday, June 28/ 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time:
Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Psalm 30
2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15
Mark 5:21-43

In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis spoke to us these words: “The family is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these beonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with tohers depite our differences and to belong to one another; it is alos the place where parents pass on the faith to their children. Marriage no tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. But the indispensable contribution of marriage to society transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple. As the French bishops have taught, it is not born ‘of loving sentiment, ephemeral by definition, but form the depth of the obligation assumed by spouses who accept to enter a total communion of life.’”

As you all presumably know, the Supreme Court of the United States announced their opinion Friday, decided by a 5-4 vote, to reject the traditional view of marriage in light of a new definition that permits ‘same-sex marriage’ in all 50 states. While this may upset us, it should surprise us because traditional marriage has been under attack for a long while and this is just one more step. Catholic theology on marriage notes that marriage has two ‘ends’ or ‘goals’, namely procreation and the good of the spouses, which basically means the union is emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, & physically beneficial. We can see that attacks on procreation began decades ago with the introduction and encouragement of contraceptives. This fundamentally separates marriage and its first end. Following behind it is the continued attack on children. Abortion necessarily follows because when contraception fails there has to be a means to be rid of the child one sought first to avoid. From there society made ‘advances’ in being able to choose certain attributes of their children and ‘get rid of’ children who had undesirable attributes. In vitro fertilization and other unethical means of creating life only further the chasm between marriage and the gift of children. The good of the spouses came under attack with the introduction of no-fault divorce, which necessarily makes marriage less binding and thus less valued. To this we can add the devaluing of women in general. It’s interesting to me that in an age when feminism fights so strongly for the rights of women to equal pay, equal job opportunity, etc. (rightly so!) that the culture continues to treat women worse and worse. Women are generally not valued in themselves for the gift that they are, but rather are used for their bodies and their ability to increase sales. This is only encouraged by the acceptance of pornography and pornographic films and books, which only seek to make people objects to be used instead of persons to be loved. With all that has happened to the two ends of marriage, it is no surprise then that the very definition of marriage itself should be free from attack.

The question is this: how do we respond?

I’ve seen responses ranging from fear, anger and despair to excitement, relief, and celebration. As Catholic we ought to stand on neither end of that spectrum but rather firmly planted in the middle full of faith, hope, and love. We are called to have faith that God is in control of this country and this world, regardless of what happens around us. We are called to have hope that Marriage would shine brightly in our culture and remind us of the love of God for us and our call to heavenly life. And we’re called to love. Love of every single person who stands in front of us, regardless of their age, sex, race, social status, sexual orientation, or any other personal attribute, because they are a person. Because they are created in the image and likeness of God. Because they were made to love and be loved.

A lot of times the Catholic Church is painted as this hate-filled body that spews its hatred and condemnation at people who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bi-sexual, queer, etc. But did you know the Church says the stands for the exact opposite? The Catechism says unambiguously that we are called to show them ‘respect, compassion, and sensitivity’ and that we are to avoid any sign of unjust discrimination toward them. Holy Mother Church loves all of her children and wants to have all of humanity rest in her loving arms. Sadly, we Catholics and fellow-Christians often failed to convey this truth, but the call still stands for us to be images of God’s love ourselves. This doesn’t mean that we condone or celebrate ‘same-sex marriage’ or relationships that lead to such, but it does mean continuing to love the other by showing respect, compassion, sensitivity, and honoring the dignity of others.

So our response needs to be one of faith, hope, and love, which is exactly the same at it has always been. The Supreme Court can say whatever it wants, but the ultimate reality is that the true King of this world is Jesus Christ. I love my country deeply, but we all have to remember that we’re Catholic first and American second. And that means that our Catholic faith informs everything we do. And what is our mission as Catholics? To shine with the light of Christ.

Did you hear the Collect at the beginning of Mass today? It’s easy to miss but it was beautiful: “O God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth.” I love that last line ‘be seen to stand in the bright light of truth’; not just to stand there, but to be seen standing there. We are called to be witnesses that reflect the Light of Christ as the moon reflects that of the sun.

As I noted last weekend, Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders both are sacraments of service. The entire goal of the individual is to get the other person to heaven. I’m a priest. I’m obligated to be a holy priest, a saintly priest. The Catechism tells me that my life as a priest is to be entirely consecrated to service of the others. Every moment of my day is to be dedicated to getting every single one of you and many others to walk through the pearly gates of heaven and sing the Gloria along with the angels and saints. And if I get there too, good! My call is to shine with the Light of Christ in holiness and priestly ministry.

Single people, your call is much the same. To consecrate your days to loving whoever stands before you. Love them as if it were Jesus Himself and seek to recognize in them the Christ who seeks to love you as well. Be holy and happy Catholics, radiating the joy of the Gospel in your eyes as well as on your lips. Seek the Lord at all times and trust in His guidance of you through all that life brings.

Married people, your call is the same, but even more important. When marriage is under attack, the need is for good, holy marriages to be even more visible and even more effective in their outpouring of love and witness of the goodness of the sacraments. You are called to be icons of the Most Blessed Trinity! The love of husbands for their wives and wives for their husbands is a powerful sign of the love of God for us, and the love of both for their children speaks even more fully of the life and love of God in Himself – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Husbands and wives, remember that your goal is not to get to Heaven and hopefully to drag your spouse along with you. The goal is to get your spouse to Heaven and for them to drag you! When this mutual selfless love is present then it produces saints, both in the parents and the children. The parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, Bl. Louis & Bl. Zelie Martin, will soon be canonized and only for the fact that they were a holy family. Be models for your children and for all the world of the gift of God’s grace, and the joy of selfless giving. It can seem that you have little effect on the world, ‘what good can I do in such a big world?’ you might be tempted to think. But remember that Pope St. John Paul II called the family the basic cell of society and a blessing to the world. Strong words. St. John Chrysostom has some strong words too in a homily on marriage as he reminds each and all of us that “The love of a husband and wife are the force that welds society together.”

Be the force and the weld. Be the blessing and the light. Be saints.

Faith's Mid-Term Exam

Readings for Sunday, October 19/ 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalm 96:1, 3-5, 7-10
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5
Matthew 22:15-21

God acts in strange ways sometimes. One day I was at the seminary in the chapel and felt convicted that I needed to simplify my life a bit, so I prayed for the grace to spend less time on the computer, internet, and my phone. I concluded my prayer, went upstairs, sat down in my chair and swung around to work at my desk. In this swing I hit my knee on the desk, causing my solid glass picture frame to come crashing down directly on the screen of my laptop. Prayer answered! Not how I had expected and much more expensively than anticipated, but prayer answered.

For the past couple of weeks there has been a Synod of Bishops (a gathering of Cardinals, Bishops, lay men and women, and various professionals from across the globe) in Rome to discuss “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” That’s a mouthful of a title, but the basic idea seems great – how can the Church help families today to thrive in life and in faith. And so they had hours and hours of discussions on a whole host of topics, but interestingly enough, when the secular media read the document that was released half-way through the Synod as a summary of their discussions something entirely different came up – ‘The Church is Okay with Gays!’, ‘Ground-breaking changes in the Church!’ and ‘Church finally coming out of dark ages!’ And my first thoughts were basically (pardon my language) ‘What the hell does any of that have to do with the family!?’ Nothing! And with those announcements came a great uproar from all sides. Some greatly in favor of such changes and other in shock because they Church cannot make such changes. But in the midst of all of this, we have to realize one thing: this is a test. Do we trust God to work through all of this? It’s a test.

We don’t often think about God testing us these days. It’s not part of our concept of God and yet it is very much God’s concept of Himself. It happens all throughout the Scriptures, over and over again; testing the love of the people for God. We see one instance in our first reading from Isaiah about ‘the anointed, Cyrus.’ Such a description would have caused a great scandal among the Israelites because the anointed was the Messiah, the savior of God’s people, but Cyrus wasn’t even a Jew. He wasn’t even a believer! “It is I who arm you, though you know me not,” the Lord says of him. Talk about a test – the savior of the people chosen by God wouldn’t even believe in that God himself? Wow.

And it’s not just the Lord who puts us to the test, right? Sometimes we put God to the test, though we aren’t necessary supposed to do so. But that’s what happens in the Gospel this week. For the past few weeks, Jesus has been on the offensive, asking questions and speaking parables. But this week they come after Him with questions, beginning with that of the tax to Caesar. It was a good question because either way He answered it meant rebellion; to pay the tax was to rebel against the Jewish culture and apparently acknowledge an earthly ‘god’ in Casear, to not pay the tax was to rebel against Caesar and surely merit death. And to this quandary Jesus poses the question about whose image is there. In the coin, we see the image of Caesar and are challenged to give to Caesar what is his, but the next step is the catch – but we must give to God what belongs to God. The coin was in Caesar’s image, but what is made in God’s image? Us – you and me. And that’s the problem.

It’s hard to ‘give to God what is God’s’ because means that we must give God our entire self. Our mind, our heart, our will, our desires, our hopes, our dreams. It goes against one of our deepest desires, which is to have control. To have control means we can have some comfort in knowing what to expect of the future, we can put our trust in our own work and not have to interact with anyone higher (or so we think). So the real question here is do we trust God that much? Each night for the Church’s official Night Prayer there is a response that echoes the Psalms and the Lord Jesus on the Cross which says, “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” I had prayed those words well over a thousand times but then one night I prayed them and looked at the crucifix and realized what was in the hands of the Lord: nails. “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” Into your hands I place my life, my will, ever wish I have for the future, there to be nailed with your hands to the Cross and there to die, trusting that the resurrection reality you have in store for me is that much greater.

With the Synod there were three main responses and to each of them the invitation is to trust. For those who are afraid that the Church is making all sorts of seismic shifts and changes, it is an opportunity to trust that the Lord who gave the Church the Holy Spirit to lead us in all truth and promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her will be faithful to us and protect us from the influence of the evil one. For those who are excited about the prospect of radical change in the Church, it is an opportunity to trust that the Lord who gave us the law of Love 2000 years ago has not abandoned us and that the Law that sometimes feels harsh, or exclusive is meant not to weigh us down but to lift us up into heaven. And for those who have no concern one way or the other, this time is a chance to trust that all of these things being discussed and the decisions to be made have a great importance in the life of the Church and the world.

God works in strange ways sometimes, but in those strangest of times we need only remember that it is likely a test to measure the extent of our love for the Lord. It is a test to see just how much we are willing to place our will into the crucified hands of Jesus. It is a test to see how firm we our in awareness of the Spirit’s action all around us. As we come to receive Holy Communion today it is an opportunity to unite ourselves to God not only in the flesh, but also to let our will become more conformed to His. Do we love God that much? 

Homosexuality and the Catholic Church

A while back I came across a fundraising project from Blackstone Films that sought to look at the Catholic Church and homosexuality. After a number of months the project is finished and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It is just about 35 minutes long but is worth every minute of it. Please take some time this week to watch this video and pass it along through whatever connections you have. This is something we've desperately needed and thanks be to God that it is finally here. St. John Paul II, pray for us!

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/93079367?color=5c7132" width="500" height="213" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/93079367">The Third Way</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/blackstonefilms">Blackstone Films</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Homosexuality and the Church

Readings for Sunday, August 4/ 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 221-23
Psalm 90:3-6, 12-14, 17
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Luke 12:13-21

I had some trouble this week trying to discern what to preach this weekend. This Sunday, August 4, is the feast of St. Jean Vianney, the patron of parish priests and part of me wanted to talk about his life and the priesthood. Another part of me wanted to take up that powerful first reading from Ecclesiastes, which holds a special place in my heart and conversion story, and speak to the reality of the purpose of this life. Another part of me wanted to speak of the Gospel call to simplicity and storing up true treasures that glorify God. And yet to each of those things the Lord continually said ‘No.’ What kept coming up every time I went to pray was not anything mentioned in the Scriptures but something else that needed to be addressed: the remarks of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, from the spontaneous interview on his return flight from World Youth Day. And if you’ve opened up the internet or seen a newspaper in the past week you already have a hint about the topic of this homily.

After a week among the youth of our world and the great spiritual experiences that took place during the World Youth Day celebrations, Pope Francis was gracious enough to speak with the secular media and they asked a number of great questions 99% of which was lost because of one question, the final question, regarding a particular Monsignor’s alleged connection with a ‘gay lobby’ in the Vatican.

In response to the particular situation Pope Francis also gave some interesting remarks in regards to persons of homosexual orientation which caught the attention of the whole world. Here, then, is the response of our Holy Father:

“If a person, lay or priest or Sister, has committed a sin and then has converted, the Lord forgives, and when the Lord forgives, the Lord forgets and this is important for our life. When we go to confession and truly say: “I have sinned in this,” the Lord forgets and we don’t have the right not to forget, because we run the risk that the Lord won’t forget our [sins]. That’s a danger. This is important: a theology of sin. I think so many times of Saint Peter: he committed one of the worst sins, which is to deny Christ, and with this sin he was made Pope. We must give it much thought…. I think that when one meets a person like this, one must distinguish the fact of being a gay person from the fact of doing a lobby, because not all lobbies are good.  That’s bad. If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge him?” He then went on to reference the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that such persons “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” and that “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided” (CCC, 2358). [Full text HERE.]

The media upon hearing the words “who am I to judge?” immediately burst into an uproar – THE CHURCH HAS CHANGED HER TEACHINGS!!! Headlines all over spoke of Francis being ‘Okay with gays’ and other such catch phrases. As they came in I was struck by it because what Francis said was the same thing the Benedict XVI said, and the same thing that John Paul II, John Paul I, Paul VI , John XXIII, and every other pope back to St. Peter himself have said. The teaching has not changed. The world just doesn’t know what the Church teaches to begin with, and neither do many Catholics. What Pope Francis said didn’t change the teachings of the Church; it simply restated once more what we have held from the beginning and that is the distinction between the person and the sins a person commits.

In the Book of Genesis when God was creating everything He did so and saw that it was good. When He created us and continues to create us generation after generation he looks upon us sees that we are good. This is where we get our human dignity – not from what anything we’ve accomplished or where we live or our family history. Our dignity comes in that we are all created and loved by God. The reality though is that while we are all loved by God, we are also sinners. Every one of us has pierced the Lord’s heart by our sins but His love doesn’t change. St. Paul reminds us that “God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). While we were sinners He died for us. Christ, being God Himself, knew everything that would take place in human history. As He hung upon the Cross He knew in His Sacred Heart every sin that we would commit and that every other person in history would commit and yet He remained there on the Cross for us. He loved us to death. And by that He challenges us to do the same.

That call to love, however, is often not what takes place in our society. Instead labels are given and individuals are isolated and rejected rather than received and loved. This is a major fault on our part because rather than encourage people who bear the cross of same-sex attraction we increase the weight and refuse to permit any room for growth, change, and conversion. Rather than help them on their journey of faith, we do exactly that which Pope Francis warns against: refusing to forget things of the past and thus possibly condemning ourselves as we pray week after week to be forgiven as we forgive others. We must learn to love, not condemn, to show compassion, not to marginalize. Does that mean that we approve of homosexual actions? No. We have to speak the truth, but we must do so with love and strive to love the individual. Just because we don’t approve of an action doesn’t mean we can’t love and accept people. After all, if we’re honest with ourselves as a community we can look around and see that there are a number of people in our community that have a tendency to abuse alcohol. Do we approve of it? No. Do we still love them? Yes. There are some who have been unfaithful to their spouses. Do we approve of it? No. Do we still love them? Yes. And we could go down the list of every sin we have committed, recognizing that while we cannot approve of our sins we are still in need of love.

This issue of homosexuality has been a hot topic for many months now – between the Boy Scouts, the striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act upholding traditional marital values, and the numerous states and countries discussing legalization of so-called gay marriage. It would be hard not to recognize it is something important to discuss in our culture. But it’s not just something out there away from us. It’s something close to home too, sometimes in our own homes. I don’t know about you but I have family, close friends, and people to whom I minister that are very close to my heart who struggle with these inclinations themselves. And that doesn’t change my love for them.

In the end, as much as one may want to ‘fix’ this group or that group that has this or that problem that they don’t approve of, that is not something we are called to do. God created every one of us and it is His task to mold our hearts to resemble His own. Our task is to be loved by Him and to share His love with others. Blessed Mother Teresa was once asked what needed to change most in the Church. Her response was simple: you and I. The problem with the world isn’t other people, the problem with the world is you and I. It’s me. It’s us as individuals. We need not worry about others’ problems so much as we need to worry about ourselves. That’s what Pope Francis was stating by saying, “who am I to judge?”

As we celebrate this Eucharist today let us lift up those who struggle with these inclinations that they might be freed from past sins and know God’s peace. And let us pray for ourselves that recognizing our own sins, we might be compelled to greater love and compassion for them and for all, in accord with the witness given to us by Christ.

For more information:

The Vatican's Letter to Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons

Courage Group for Support and Information

Lifeteen's 'Myth Debunked' on Catholicism and Gay Persons

A Little Help?

Blackstone Films, a Catholic film company, is ready to work on a new and MUCH needed project, but they need our help. Check out their website and watch the 4-minute video and pray about whether you might be able to help them - and our world.

 

Blackstone Films - Unnatural Law?

Catholic and Gay

As 'Gay Marriage' is spoken about more and more frequently these days in the secular media, the Church's teachings on homosexuality often come under attack and she (and we the members) are often made out to be hateful, discriminatory and self-righteous. With that in mind, I came across this beautiful blog post written on the topic from the point of view of a man who is Catholic and gay:

[H/T to Young and Catholic blog HERE, who picked up the post originally at Little Catholic Bubble blog HERE.]

When Leila asked me to write about gay marriage, the first thing I found out was how little I know about it. If I wanted to say anything coherent, I'd have to have definite beliefs about some deeper, thornier subjects first: the relationship between civil and moral law, just for starters. Even if I were sure enough of myself to talk about those things, I doubt I could do it in a blog-sized article.

So I'll have to do it in a more personal way. That might be better anyhow.I have heard a lot about how mean the Church is, and how bigoted, because she opposes gay marriage. How badly she misunderstands gay people, and how hostile she is towards us. My gut reaction to such things is: Are you freaking kidding me? Are we even talking about the same church? 

When I go to Confession, I sometimes mention the fact that I'm gay, to give the priest some context. (And to spare him some confusion: Did you say 'locker room'? What were you doing in the women's...oh.) I've always gotten one of two responses: either compassion, encouragement, and admiration, because the celibate life is difficult and profoundly counter-cultural; or nothing at all, not even a ripple, as if I had confessed eating too much on Thanksgiving.

Of the two responses, my ego prefers the first -- who doesn't like thinking of themselves as some kind of hero? -- but the second might make more sense. Being gay doesn't mean I'm special or extraordinary. It just means that my life is not always easy. (Surprise!) And as my friend J. said when I told him recently about my homosexuality, "I guess if it wasn't that, it would have been something else." Meaning that nobody lives without a burden of one kind or another. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said: "The man who has not suffered, what can he possibly know, anyway?" 

Where are all these bigoted Catholics I keep hearing about? When I told my family a year ago, not one of them responded with anything but love and understanding. Nobody acted like I had a disease. Nobody started treating me differently or looking at me funny. The same is true of every one of the Catholic friends that I've told. They love me for who I am.

Actually, the only time I get shock or disgust or disbelief, the only time I've noticed people treating me differently after I tell them, is when I tell someone who supports the gay lifestyle. Celibacy?? You must be some kind of freak.

Hooray for tolerance of different viewpoints. I'm grateful to gay activists for some things -- making people people more aware of the prevalence of homosexuality, making homophobia less socially acceptable -- but they also make it more difficult for me to be understood, to be accepted for who I am and what I believe. If I want open-mindedness, acceptance, and understanding, I look to Catholics.

Is it hard to be gay and Catholic? Yes, because like everybody, I sometimes want things that are not good for me. The Church doesn't let me have those things, not because she's mean, but because she's a good mother. If my son or daughter wanted to eat sand I'd tell them: that's not what eating is for; it won't nourish you; it will hurt you. Maybe my daughter has some kind of condition that makes her like sand better than food, but I still wouldn't let her eat it. Actually, if she was young or stubborn enough, I might not be able to reason with her -- I might just have to make a rule against eating sand. Even if she thought I was mean. 

So the Church doesn't oppose gay marriage because it's wrong; she opposes it because it's impossible, just as impossible as living on sand. The Church believes, and I believe, in a universe that means something, and in a God who made the universe -- made men and women, designed sex and marriage from the ground up. In that universe, gay marriage doesn't make sense. It doesn't fit with the rest of the picture, and we're not about to throw out the rest of the picture.

If you don't believe in these things, if you believe that men and women and sex and marriage are pretty much whatever we say they are, then okay: we don't have much left to talk about. That's not the world I live in.

So, yes, it's hard to be gay and Catholic -- it's hard to be anythingand Catholic -- because I don't always get to do what I want. Show me a religion where you always get to do what you want and I'll show you a pretty shabby, lazy religion. Something not worth living or dying for, or even getting up in the morning for. That might be the kind of world John Lennon wanted, but John Lennon was kind of an idiot.

Would I trade in my Catholicism for a worldview where I get to marry a man? Would I trade in the Eucharist and the Mass and the rest of it? Being a Catholic means believing in a God who literally waits in the chapel for me, hoping I'll stop by just for ten minutes so he can pour out love and healing on my heart. Which is worth more -- all this, or getting to have sex with who I want? I wish everybody, straight or gay, had as beautiful a life as I have.

I know this isn't a satisfactory answer. I don't think any words could be. I try to make my life a satisfactory answer, to this question and to others: What are people for? What is love, and what does it look like? How do we get past our own selfishness so we can love God and our neighbors and ourselves? It's a work in progress.

Beautiful.