Monthly Archives: June 2024

The Fullness of Life

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Dear Folks,
Our Scriptures today deal with the forces of life and the forces of death. “Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living (Wisdom 1:13; see also Ezekiel
1:23).”
In our Gospel, the story of the woman with the hemorrhage is sandwiched between two halves of the story of raising the daughter of Jairus. In Leviticus 17:11 we see that, “the life of the
flesh is in the blood.” For the Israelites, the blood was the life, so her life was draining away. She was ritually impure, so she could not enter the temple, and no one wanted to touch her because they would become ritually impure themselves. Imagine being isolated from life like that for 12 years. The little girl was 12 years old (another hint that the stories are connected). She had had so little chance to experience life, and now it seemed that she never would. The heartbreak of her family would be incalculable. Jesus brings hope when hope is gone.
Of course, there would be many sick and dying people at that time that did not get cured. Jesus of course, had great concern for all who suffered, but His primary task was not to increase people’s lifespan, but give us eternal life. When He does miracles, He is teaching us something.
In one sense, we are either alive or we are not. A human life is immeasurably sacred and precious, worthy of unique respect. It would be appalling for a society to say that the life of an adult was more sacred than the life of a teenager, that the life of a teenager was more sacred than the life of a toddler, or that the life of a toddler was more sacred than the life of a fetus.
In another sense, we can become more fully alive by how we exercise our humanity. To give in to the forces of chaos, to be enslaved to our primal desires, to think only of ourselves, to let life
happen to us is to be less alive. To give ourselves in love to others, to devote our energies to something greater than ourselves, to be intentional about growing and developing as a person is to be more fully alive.
Living things can grow, organize, often connect with others to form communities that are somewhat like a live organism (1 Corinthians 12). Dead things decompose, return to the earth, and their material disperses. W. C. Fields is quoted as saying, “Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.” Being alive enables us to resist the forces of chaos.
The great obstacle to being fully alive is sin. Remember that “The devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).” And in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God
is eternal life.” Jesus came that we “might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).”
If we are to spread the Gospel, it is for us to show that we are leading an abundant life, one that, while challenging, is joyful, even in difficult times. How do you see your life as more abundant because it belongs to Jesus?
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

The Storms of Life

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Dear Folks,

We all know the story of Jesus calming the storm, and when we know a story that seems so simple, it is good to slow down and take a deeper look. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were

expert fishermen, and they knew how to handle a boat. They had gone out on that lake every day for years and years without giving it a thought. The storm that came was so fierce that their

skills were useless, and the boat was filling up. They were so used to being in control, and now they were helpless. While they were accustomed to things having a certain order, now they were overwhelmed by the forces of chaos, and that can be terrifying.

From the beginning people have sought to get some order and control in a world full of chaos. By moving into caves and building fires at the entrance, they could gain some control over the

impact of the wind and the rain and deter some of the animal attacks. As clans developed social order, there could be less chaos in their interactions. As technology progressed and social

orders developed, there could be larger realms of order and not quite as much chaos (though still quite a bit). Chaos would still reassert itself. When the Roman Empire fell, the western

world was overrun with barbarians and the social order collapsed. When the Black Plague killed a third of the population of Europe, there was much more chaos. When the Soviet Union

collapsed, some people were talking about the end of history with nothing but stability and peace. Sadly, that did not happen. I don’t need to remind you of 2020.

If we have things working according to plan for a while, we can have the illusion that we are in control and know what will happen next. If we get too used to things being this way, it can throw us into a panic when something unexpected comes. It is good to remember that tomorrow is not guaranteed. “You have no idea what your life will be tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears (James 4:14).”

As I write this, my car won’t start, and so many things that were so simple about my day are much more difficult. It is also an occasion to be grateful I am blessed with so many people who can help me. This is a minor setback, but a reminder that something can shatter our plans, small or large, without any warning.

Whatever happens, whether we are faced with momentous decisions or swept helplessly by circumstance, that is the situation in which we are called to serve God, and if we are faithful,

we will emerge victorious in the end.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Seeds of Change

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Dear Folks,

Today in Mark 4:26-34 we hear the parable of the seed that grows mysteriously without us knowing how (unique to the Gospel of Mark). This points to a major paradox in Christianity: We are called to effort, but it is God who accomplishes things.

We do not bring about the kingdom of God. We are called to work for a better world but God is the One who makes the kingdom happen.

People like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao thought they could build an ideal society by their own wisdom and skill. They wound up doing horribly evil things because they were sure it served this great vision, but they failed to produce the result. Instead, they left the people in misery. If God brings about the kingdom, we know our part is smaller, so we are not important enough to think we can decide that killing millions of innocent people is within our scope. We know if we obey God, great things will happen, even if we don’t live to see them (John 4:37-38).

This also means that in spite of how much of a mess the world is in, and how small our abilities are in comparison, we can face the world boldly We can be bolder in our aspirations and at the same time more humble in how we seek them.

Perhaps the two most influential people I can think of in the last thousand years were St. Francis of Assisi and St. Theresa of Calcutta (Mother Theresa). They dedicated themselves to service, sacrifice, caring for the sick and proclaiming the truth. They had no political

power. They were willing to do the humblest jobs. They both suffered from great inner darkness but saw much joy and beauty in God’s creation. They focused more on their own sins than the sins of others (Matthew 7:4-5). St. Francis saw his order change his rule, and he couldn’t stop them. His order has thousands of people all over the world, and his example has inspired and influenced countless people, including non-Catholics, including nonChristians. Does anyone doubt that the same will be said of Mother Theresa a thousand years from now?

We are called to action, but God will make things happen. We can do small things, but if they are done with love, they can, over time, have great effects. Do not get discouraged by anything.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

A More Peaceful World

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Dear Folks,

This Sunday’s Gospel deals with people that Jesus could not convince.

Mark 3:20-35 Jesus is casting out demons, and His opponents claimed that He was possessed and that he drove out demons “by the power of the prince of demons.” Jesus shows how illogical that is and warned against blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It seems from the context that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is refusing to see. Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”

Some will not see because they don’t want to and will say or do anything to defend against a new idea. Those who refuse to see cannot be forced to see. If even Jesus couldn’t convince them, we are not going to do better than Jesus.

I continue to be concerned about the state of conversation in society today. There is a lot of interaction, but not a lot of understanding. The chasm between sides seems to be growing

wider, and the hostility between them growing fiercer. I chose not to include examples but ask you to think of some from your experience. I bet you can. I’ve noticed that what we say sounds more convincing to us than it does to the people who

disagree with us. There seem to be many occasions when someone presents his argument and ends with the triumphant equivalent of “checkmate. Case closed” and the other person says, “No, not even close.” Some are not convinced because we didn’t make a case that spoke to their point of view, and if we learn more about their point of view we can try again and maybe succeed. Usually there are some bits of information that support one point of view, and other

bits of information that support the other point of view. We tend to put more weight on what supports our narrative. Some people, it seems hammer the details in their favor and ignore the details against. I can’t tell if they are doing it on purpose.

At some point, we need to realize we aren’t going to make progress and need to give up. Jesus spoke of shaking the dust from our feet and moving on (Matt 10:12; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5

and 10:11). Sometimes it takes a while for a new idea to take root, to mature, and to grow. We can’t generally change the basic architecture of our thinking in a minute; sometimes it takes

years. I’ve caught myself getting angry when I think someone is not trying to understand. I need to check myself. First of all, they may be trying. Second, getting angry is a futile waste of energy at best, and destructive at worst. I just need to accept that I can do what I can do.

I think it is critical to be realistic about what the situation is and how much we can do about it. There is a lot of bad thinking, bad logic, and bad ideas, and it’s going to be that way for the

foreseeable future. We need to resign ourselves to the fact that we can’t fix it, but maybe we can make it a smidge better. If we can get someone to think something they’ve never thought before, ask a question that they’ve never asked before, look at things from a different angle, that moves us forward. If others hurl abuse, call people names, and get nasty while we respond calmly, respectfully,

and persistently, over time those who are open will see where wisdom lies.

One final thought: let us all be carefully on guard against our own human tendency to refuse to see the truth. None of us are immune.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Fully Praying the Mass

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Dear Folks,
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. When we talk about the hope that the Catholic Church in America flourishes in the future, how much we flourish will revolve around how we respond to the Eucharist. The Second Vatican council has
given us some principles:
1. We are called to understand: Jesus is uniquely present, and makes present His one sacrifice on the cross (which happened once in history, but whose power is eternal, see Revelation 5). We are called to participate and be incorporated into that sacrifice,
that we can become an offering to God.
2. We are called to participate internally: The faithful are called to offer the Divine Victim not only through the priest, but together with him, and in so doing offer our own lives. We offer our work, our struggles, our suffering, our joys and sorrows, all the
aspects of our walking with God through the week.
3. We are called to participate externally: This expresses and strengthens our internal participation and encourages those around us to participate more fully (we are responsible for supporting each other). We are called to sing or say the words and do the actions that the liturgy gives us to do and do it like we mean it. There is no need to add a bunch of other things that the liturgy does not call us to do; we can focus on doing our part with all our minds and all our hearts. That will be challenge enough.
4. We are called to live out the meaning of what we celebrate in the rest of our lives that week. Think of how a bride and groom give themselves to each other in their marriage vows at their wedding and give themselves to each other is living out those vows
in their lives. The sacrament and the living out the sacrament form one act of selfgiving and each gives meaning and strength to the other.
Having someone who cares for us personally is unlike anything else in reality. I hear people are developing robots with artificial intelligence and the ability to mimic human expressions. They can be programmed to tell us how much they love us and how wonderful we are. Someone might fool themselves for a while with such a toy, but ultimately it is empty. What matters is encountering someone who truly loves us. No one loves us more than the Lord, and this most intimate encounter in the Eucharist is more precious than anything the earth can offer. Many people leave the Church or stop coming to Mass because they forget this or never were taught in the first place. If we realized what a great gift it is, how could we leave? What on earth could make us stop coming?
As I have said before, if we want a better church, if we want a better world, the first step is to fall more deeply in love with Jesus. One thing we can all do is ask: do I respond to the call to the Eucharist like I really believe in it?
Blessings,