Monthly Archives: March 2025

Weaving Together Our Picture of Reality

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Dear Folks,

We all take in bits of information and weave them into a story that makes sense to us. Sometimes we can take the same set of information and come up with different narratives, and that

can make all the difference. I notice Democrats and Republicans can look at the same event and come up with wildly different narratives about what happened. It would be funny if it weren’t so serious.

At some of the Masses this Sunday, we are doing the cycle C readings, including the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15). Where we are doing scrutinies, we are using the cycle A readings with

the story of the man born blind (John 9). I suggest it would be a good exercise to look at those stories and ask, at each point what narrative is each character believing about what is happening?

Stepping back, there are different narratives about fundamental reality.

One is the atheist materialist view. The universe is self-existing, though it seems to be made entirely of contingent beings. The ultimate reality is impersonal, and personhood and consciousness are blips in the interplay of matter and energy. Love, in this view, is just a byproduct of the drive for chromosomes to replicate themselves. Moral right and wrong do not exist, and the only value is making me feel good. When I die, I will cease to exist, and it will not matter what I believed or what I did.

The Christian view is that the ultimate reality is love in the deepest sense. The Father is eternally giving Himself in love to the Son, who is eternally receiving and returning that love to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the love that passes between them. God is not one contingent being among many, but Being Himself, the source of all being. Love is by nature fruitful, and so God, though not needing anyone or anything, created the universe out of pure love. We were made to receive and give ourselves in love, and hence are made in the image and likeness of God. There is goodness, which is what serves giving ourselves in love, and there is evil, which is counterfeiting giving ourselves in love or refusing the invite all together. The things of the world pass away, but that which is love lasts forever.

One might object that that many atheists do much good and many Christians are less than moral. This, I suggest, is because we do not always act consistently with our professed beliefs.

There is one more narrative that I find interesting, and that is the Boltzmann brain theory. Ludwig Boltzmann was a physicist, who proposed that if a universe produced a self-aware brain, it

was more likely to produce one brain that hallucinated experiences than produce many brains that have real experiences. That means I am the only one who really exists, and you are all a figment of my imagination. There was once a Dilbert comic strip about this. I reject this theory, fun though it is, because it makes life trivial, and goes against my deep sense that life, the universe and everything have deep meaning. I reject the atheist, materialist view for similar reasons. We have a deep sense that personhood, consciousness, and love mean more than blips in the motion of matter and energy as the mindless universe unfolds. That’s my story and I’m

sticking to it.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

To Comfort and Afflict

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Dear Folks,

For the next three weeks we have a particular challenge: One Mass with scrutinies will have the cycle A readings (which this week includes the story of the woman at the well in John 4), and the other Masses will have the cycle C readings (which this week includes Luke 13:1-9). It is worth comparing the two. The woman at the well was a Samaritan, and Jesus broke barriers just talking to her. He does not shy away from how her life is a mess, but He doesn’t berate her for it. He gives her respect and concern that she wasn’t used to getting, and that gave her space to change, and she would reconnect with the community that had previously shunned her. By contrast, the text in Luke shows Jesus warning some

fellow Israelites that if they don’t repent, they face destruction.

It has been said that a prophet has two tasks: to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. This is summed up in Luke with the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14). The two men were a study in contrast. The Pharisee was presented as having objectively better behavior, but he was convinced he was good enough. Other people needed to improve, but he was convinced he didn’t. The tax collector, by contrast, was not

so virtuous, but knew he needed work. That made all the difference. Until we see pearly gate posts passing our shoulders, we are a work in progress.

It’s okay to be where we are at; it’s not okay to stay where we are at.

During this Lent, what if we asked:

What does God want me to learn?

If God could get every response He wants from me, what would that look like?

What if being a member of the Church means more than I thought?

What if praying the Mass means more than I thought?

When someone talks about a crisis in the Church, how quick am I to say what someone else should be doing differently and how quick am I to ask what I should be doing differently?

If Lent is not working out the way I planned, might God have some different plans?

What might they be?

If God is calling me to change my life in some way, small or large, how ready am I to say “yes” to Him?

Can I accept that how I and people like me respond during Lent can make a difference in the kind of future that our Church will have?

For what it’s worth, I recently came to understand something that had been obvious, but I didn’t see it. Now I see things differently (don’t bother to ask; I won’t tell). I suggest that God is always working on teaching us something and leading us somewhere.

Blessed Lent,

Fr. Jim

Wake Up Call!

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Dear Folks,
There was an article in March 4, 2025 “Crisis” magazine, “Catholics are Rapidly Losing Ground.” (Scan QR code to read) It gives nasty, nasty statistics on how we are losing members, such as, “for every 100 people who join the Catholic Church, 840 leave. So when you rejoice seeing folks become Catholic at Easter (which you should), remember that more than 8 people have left by the back door for each one who’s come in the front. No other religion has nearly as bad of a join/leave ratio.”
If this is not a wakeup call, what would a wakeup call look like?
I suggest there is one basic cause: Catholics have believed that the Catholic faith is much less than what it is. For example, Brant Pitre’s book “The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ” tells of being in a Catholic college and being taught things about the Bible that undermined its credibility and almost cost him his faith. However, he still (thanks be to God) continued, and when he was studying for his doctorate, he learned that those theories lacked evidence and were just being passed around uncritically. He found there was more basis for trusting the Gospels than he had been led to believe. Our Catholic faith is greater than we think it is.
It will not help to complain about what someone else (the Pope, the bishops, etc.) should be doing or should have done. Correct or not, that won’t move us forward. During this Lent, I challenge everyone to ask God, “How are you calling me to respond to this moment in history?” and then pray for the grace to answer the call.
The early Church started with a tiny group of people, almost no resources, and surrounded by a fiercely hostile culture. They grew like a grease fire. The mightiest empire in the world was helpless to stop them. According to my reading of Acts of the Apostles (a great book), they basically did four things: They told the Gospel story. They worked together as community. They worshipped God. They helped people in need. Does anyone believe we have no room to grow in any of these areas? Can we each ask: How can I learn more about the Christian story? How can I learn better to articulate
it? There are so many resources, everyone can do something.
How can I help connect the faith community? How can I better invite and welcome strangers, and how can I better connect with my fellow parishioners? How can I be better at reconciling conflict in our midst (this alone, I suggest, would greatly enhance the strength of the faith community)?
How can I better worship God? How can I broaden my prayer life? How can I discover that the Mass is so much more than I was taught, and I can worship so much more deeply than I realized?
How can I better help those in need?
If we answer this moment (I think things will get worse before it gets better) the Church can get much better. We serve a mighty, mighty God, who calls us to greatness.
Blessed Lent,
Fr. Jim 

Battle of All Time

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Dear Folks,

The First Sunday of Lent we deal with Jesus in the desert getting tempted. It is worth noting that our first reading is about offering one’s gift to God. Let’s look at temptation as interfering with our giving ourselves to God as gift.

The first temptation, “If you are the Son of God command these stones become bread.” He was so hungry. It would have been so easy. No one would have known. The test was being able to say no to basic appetites. If we can’t say no to our appetites, they will rule us. Think of His ministry. How many times would He have been hungry, thirsty, tired, or stressed? Being completely faithful to His

mission, His gift to the Father would mean saying no to those desires. If, every time I feel a bit hungry I immediately grab something to eat. If, every time I eat, to keep eating until I’m full, how do I know this desire doesn’t rule me? Why would I expect that I would be able to refuse my stomach? If I can’t say no to it, what is really my god? Did Jesus experience sexual temptation? Our faith tells us He was fully human, so how could we believe He did not? That would certainly have interfered with the course He was on. Of course, there is meant to be great joy in giving oneself as gift in a full, free, faithful, and fruitful relationship. Things like pornography and hookup culture are ways of seeking the thrill without giving ourselves as gift. How much destruction has the pursuit of these appetites caused in our world? How this Lent should I practice saying no to my appetites?

“I shall give you all this power and glory…if you worship me.” Matthew’s Gospel makes this the last temptation, and I figure that it is to emphasize it because of his emphasis on right worship and Jesus as Davidic King. Luke puts it second. But imagine simply being handed over power and glory without having to work or suffer for it. This is the temptation to have power without giving the gift. Jesus would work incredibly hard and suffer incredibly much so that He could transform people and the world by the power of the Pascal mystery. Imagine Him just saying “Scribes and Pharisees, you’ve done a bad job. I’m putting you in prison.” That would have been so much easier than what He dealt with, but it would have only made superficial change. As a pastor, I know that anything I do with just my formal authority is going to be superficial and can be undone just as easily. If I’m going to make profound and lasting change, It requires informal authority, which cannot be given, only earned. It requires more work, enduring more frustration, and being more patient. I long ago learned that if we want to do good, we will need to work harder than we thought for longer than we expected to achieve less than we hoped. The prize belongs to those who do not then give up. We see those who try to force change by coercion. That does not require them giving themselves as gift. We are called to make change with service, witness and sacrifice. We see in our Gospels that is what Jesus did, and he had to face much frustration, and it required everything from Him. How might we give ourselves as gift for the work of the Kingdom.

“Throw yourself down from here” (the parapet of the temple). Luke portrays this as the final temptation, emphasizing that Jesus was facing the full pain of the human condition. The desire to be protected from harm is primal, and Jesus knew He was going to have to face horrific suffering. How do we avoid pain? Do we shy away from painful conversations that we need to face? Do we use drugs or alcohol to numb ourselves? Do we keep ourselves distracted to hide from the pain in our hearts? Do we refuse to leave our comfort zones for the sake of doing God’s work? How might we be called to face things we don’t want to face, but need to?

Have a fruitful Lent,

Fr. Jim

Self Awareness

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Dear Folks,

This Sunday we continue Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:39-45). Jesus gives His famous “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own (6:41)?” Jesus touches on the very human reality that it is easier to see others’ faults than our own, and we tend to underestimate how serious our faults are compared to others. This is a tendency for which we must compensate to avoid constant frustration and anger.

Living alone and living with other people, I noticed that my mess was easier to deal with than other people’s messes. Language that sounds fine to me when it’s coming out of my mouth can sound offensive when someone else says it.

There are some books that can help us reflect. “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman tells us we prefer a quicker and easier style of thinking that tends to believe that what I see is all there is. In the book “I Never Thought of It That Way” by Monica Guzman she asks a question worth asking on a regular basis: “What am I missing?” “Think Again” by Adam Grant talks about the need to unlearn and relearn.

In the Gilbert and Sullivan play “Princess Ida” we meet a character, King Gama, who introduces himself singing, “If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am. I’m a genuine philanthropist all other kinds are sham. Each little fault of temper and each social

defect in my erring fellow creatures I endeavor to correct…” He goes on to explain how he tells everyone just what is wrong with them. Then he goes, “I love my fellow creatures I do all the good I can, and yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man, and I can’t think why.” If we want to be an effective voice in the world, we don’t want to be like him.

Our faith has many treasures that would benefit the world, but we must be able to share them in a compelling way. For example, Thomas Jefferson thought it was self-evident that we were all created equal, but in the ancient world that was un-thought of outside the Judeo Christian tradition. Christianity was instrumental in bringing such notions to the western world. There is much more to be done in the areas of care for the poor and the outcast,

human sexuality, the meaning of being human, of being man or woman, of marriage and family, of the sanctity of life and other areas. If we can propose a vision and show by our actions that we mean it, there is hope of shifting the conversation. There will always be those voices that try to silence us by claiming we are trying to force our religion on others, even when we are simply proclaiming our vision as they are proclaiming their vision. We seek to participate in dialog in such a way that reasonable people may reject their narrative and actually hear what we have to say.

It begins with serious, deep, honest, and humble self-examination.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim