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St. James Parish |
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| Fr. Ron Bacovin | ||
Weekly Letter from Fr. Ron to his
Parish
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In a homily I gave on the 3rd Sunday of Advent
I spoke of ways on how to get rich. The thoughts were gleamed from a radio
commentator of years past, Earl Nightingail. "Rich" means more than getting
everything you want – it also means enjoying what you have. It is why wealthy
people can live in poverty and "poor" people live richly. Don’t compete: create – it develops a capacity to enjoy, to "be
yourself", and it gives without taking away. Give more than you take – you measure that by use value. A nail
may cost only a few pennies but it’s use value can go on for years and
years. What does it take to be considerate, respectful or loving: a little extra
effort. But to person who receives it – it may be priceless. E.g., the time an
older brother gave to teach his little sister how to ride a bicycle may be
priceless to her. (For a scriptural understanding cf. Matthew: 25:31 ff.) Do these things and you will find your real "wealth" increasing over the
year(s)… more friends, more help given when you need it, peace of mind, etc. While visiting one of our parishioners who is seriously ill I asked her for a
bot mot – a good word, a word of wisdom. Her response came quickly:
appreciate what you have! Don’t be blind to what has been given to you
and what you have made of yourself. Consider: among all the people who walked
this earth your are among the most educated, the possibilities of life are not
predetermined by caste or wealth, the amenities of life you have could not even
have been imagined by people just over a 100 years ago – and the theological
gifts of faith, hope and love (Godlike gifts) are yours. Sit down, take a
piece of paper and write down the things you like, the people you love, the
loyalty and trust you receive – you will begin to see how blest you are.
Appreciate what you have (hint: share it with others – give more than you take)
Jesus came to give us life – fullness of life – abundant life. By giving us
his very self in every way he was raised from death and is proclaimed as Lord of
all. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To those who have prepared the church and prayers for the seasons of Advent
and Christmas we give thanks – musicians, planners, ushers, lectors, Eucharistic
Ministers, gift-bearers, candle lighters at Advent, servers at the altar,
sacristans, counters, servers, decorator designers and decorators (seamstresses
and carpenters and more), and ornament makers. For those who bring gifts to total strangers with generous and joyful hearts.
For those who have prayed for people unknown to them but do so with fervent
intensity and urgency. For the children who do special things and for, well,
just for being children. For those who have given so generously to the church
and to charities… you are so often asked for help and you so seldom refuse. For those who have painted the blue rooms and cafeteria, who have put up new
ceiling tiles, changed light bulbs, vacuumed time and again, hung up banners
church and parking lot), cleaned the church… For the parish staff, Religious education staff, Nursery school staff and
Resource staff! Thank you! God bless you! –from myself, and from all who belong to St.
James at Pennington. It happens every year. Somewhere, someone (who has some
sort of authority) will say to children that Santa is not real He will say that
parents are Santa, or he’s like magic or make-believe. And the people will go
"bonkers"! Even death threats will be made to one who dares to even suggest such
a thing. This year it happened in Florida. Within a day or two the school board
made sure that Santa showed up at the school to reassure the children that their
teacher did not know what he was talking about and the teacher was forbidden to
talk about this again. Can there be any doubt that Santa is a super star figure?
Can there be any doubt that people take him very seriously? At age 5 or 7 what did you want Santa to bring you? At a sophisticated
age of 17? 25? 35? 50? 65? ??? Not all have reached those ages – but what in all
seriousness, do you think you might want? In short, what were your dreams? What
are your dreams today? What do you think they will be in years to come? How do
you think they will be fulfilled? Will you tire of them quickly? Will they
ultimately satisfy or not? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Christmas lends itself so easily to metaphor and sentiment." (It’s easy to
see Santa as a symbol of God’s graciousness and undeserved blessings.) "We need
our metaphors, and sentiment is the grease without which our human machinery
would break down and wear out, but Christmas does not represent a sentiment, an
idea, or even a feeling about God. Christmas belongs to those who recognize
not the sense of the holidays but the real presence of God in their lives and in
their world, not simply once upon a time long ago and far away but here and now,
inhabiting our hearts and struggling with us against the tangible realities that
surround us. (Italics mine.) The world of little Bethlehem was real, Caesar
Agustus was real, Herod was real and normal; and in the midst of all of this God
had to be made real, and was made real not in an ideal but in the flesh, for
that is what the Incarnation was and is, and that is why we bow before its
presence. ‘God with us,’ for that is what Emmanuel means, is not just a
translation of a Hebrew name but a translation of the living, loving purpose of
God to be present in and among his creation. God does not abandon that which he
makes; he becomes one with us that we may become one with him. So we join with him and with one another in this feast of feasts on that day
of days, for the gift of the Incarnation continues in the fellowship that we
have with Christ around his Holy Table. In these most ordinary, these most
tangible creatures of bread and wine, flesh and blood, we become at one with him
who for us became one of us. Every time a baby is born, the old legend says, God
endorses his world; and every time we celebrate the Holy Communion we experience
once again his Incarnation. This miracle of Christmas: What is it? Is it the
star, the singing angels, the wondering shepherds, the lovely mother, the exotic
kings? Is it the cold night, the hopes and fears? Not really. The miracle of
Christmas is that God cared enough to send the very best, and he continues to do
so in the gifts now given to us in one another.""(Peter Gomes, SERMONS:
Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living) Merry Christmas! Blessed Christmas! Holy Christmas! "Silent Night" has always seemed to me to
be the best Christmas carol – ever. Victor Parachin, writing in PRIEST magazine,
gives us an interesting history of this carol. In WWI a most unusual event took
place. On the eve of 12-24-1914, on the Western front war the weather was
bitterly cold. On the German side, soldiers began lighting candles and the
British sentries reported them to be small lights, raised on poles or bayonets.
The lanterns of the German troops clearly illuminated them and made them
vulnerable to being shot – but no shot was fired. When the British officers
looked through their binoculars they saw that some enemy troops were holding
Christmas trees over their heads with lighted candles in their branches. The
message was clear – they were sending holiday greetings to their enemies! Within moments the British heard a few German soldiers singing a Christmas
carol – and then all the German soldiers joined in. Though they were singing in
German the British soldiers recognized the tune – and they started to sing with
them the Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night. More amazing was the
fact that soldiers from both sides laid down their arms, met in the middle of
the combat zone, shook hands, talked about how they were fed up with the war,
and about family life. Then they exchanged small gifts: chocolate bars, buttons,
badges and small tins of processed meat. The truce ended the next morning. On December 26 (more than a full day), at
8:30 a.m. a German officer fired 3 shots into the air, he and a British officer
bowed to each other from across the field. When the British officer went into
the trenches he fired 2 shots into the air and, unfortunately, the fighting
started again. In 1818, at the church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria, Fr. Joseph Morh
(26) discovered that the church organ was broken. To the young pastor, Christmas
without music was unthinkable. He played the violin and occasionally led worship
by strumming his guitar (loooonnnggg before VCII). He began writing Silent
Night, Holy Night. He turned to Franz Gruber who was so impressed by the
priests words of the carol that he composed the melody. It was sung for the
first time at the midnight Mass. It was never sung again – seen as a stop gap solution for a temporary
problem. Again, a broken church organ played a part in this song’s history. When
the organ was being reconstructed by Carl Mauracher he found the music and asked
permission to make copies of the carol (Fr. Morh had been transferred several
years earlier). It soon was being sung throughout Europe and Fr. Morh, who died
penniless and of pneumonia in 1848, never knew how popular his carol had become.
The original carol had six verses (only 3 at first were translated into
English). Silent Night Silent Night, Holy Night! All is calm. All is bright, Round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace (2X). Silent Night, Holy Night! Shepherds quake at the sight, Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia. Christ the Savior is born. (2X) Silent Night! Holy Night! Son of God, love’s pure light, Radiant beams from Thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus Lord, at They birth. (2X) Silent Night! Holy Night! Night which brought salvation’s light, From the heaven’s golden vault, Drops a Gift Which the angels exalt, Jesus in childlike form. (2X) Silent Night! Holy Night! Night when poured from heaven’s height, Love and grace from the Trinity, Embracing all of humanity. Jesus, Savior of men. (2X) Silent Night! Holy Night! Wondrous Night, O Blessed Night! Night when angels and shepherds were thrilled. Earth’s Redeemer has come. (2X) "missed the boat last week" by not acknowledging AIDS
Awareness Day on December 1st. A visiting minister to Africa
addressed a 1,000 African clergy. He asked all those who knew someone who had
died of AIDS to stand up. Everyone stood up. When he asked them how many
preached on it only three stood up. It is, as Deacon Currie noted in his homily
last week, the most devastating plague since the Bubonic plague of the Middle
Ages. On the continent of Africa it is most devastating… e.g. in South Africa
5.3 million people are HIV positive (which leads to AIDS) out of a population of
45 million. Economist magazine states that by the gloomiest projection it means
Africa is headed for economic collapse within 3 generations. Wage earners are
wiped out and parents die before they can teach their offspring the basics of
how to get on in life. (In the schools the children are not learning the basics
of education but being instructed in how to avoid getting infected and what to
do if infected.) The good news is that the problem is being taken seriously and
is no longer being hidden and denied by the governments. The price of AIDS drugs
has plummeted by more than 95%… but a lot of financial resources need to be
committed – such as $10 billion in 2005 and $15 billion in 2007. More than good
health is at stake here. Stability of governments may be challenged. Russia, China, India may also be at high risk… and the high risk will have
its effect throughout the world. The last sentence in an editorial from
Economist magazine was the words: "The worst is yet to come." The
seriousness of the world situation should not be under-estimated – but it is not
a hopeless situation. As for us, awareness is a start. To support programs that
fight the AIDS epidemic is a step in the right direction. From a gospel
perspective we are urged to be concerned about the needs of our neighbor not
because they may deserve it – but because they need it. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The CRASH+ Choir led us in a reflective and song-filled evening on the first
day of Advent. I am sure they benefited a good deal from their hard work –and
the their work resulted in a pleasurable benefit for those who were there. Thank
you youth and adults! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Carpet report: We are having the company come in to look at the
carpeting in the church. You most generously have pledged a total of $66,230 and
as of 11/20 we have collected $58,630. Church $33,939.83 Blue Room $ 4,362.14 Hall and Nurs. $ 5,922,54 Cafeteria and Monahan Rm. $ 3,135.00 Entrance mats $ 351.80 Total $54,541.81 Expenses for mailing, ceiling time in the Monahan room, ceiling tiles for
Family Center, Regent Carpeting and for Pew removal totals $61, 263.01 Yet to be done: Carpeting in the chapel ($5,715). Just to say "thank you" seems not to be enough – but I hope it is said in so
many ways as you see and enjoy the improvements. Fr. Ron B Thursday evening, Nov. 20th, in the Church at 7:30
p.m. I am inviting parents of children in grades 6, 7 and 8 to an information
night on Child Abuse Prevention. This is not limited to St. James
parishioners. You may invite others to join you that evening. You are not
committing yourself to anything by coming to the meeting. A qualified counselor
will make the presentation. If you like what you hear then you will have
opportunity to have your children come for 3 night sessions in January to learn
skills on what to look for and how to protect themselves. Every child deserves
to grow up in a safe environment. You might think that with all the publicity and awareness that has been
raised that the dangers have subsided. It is not so. On the news this past week
was the report of a man who worked at a youth program in Newark. He had ordered
the children in his care to strip – they were ages 10 – 13. (He immediately lost
his job.) Such attitudes and dangers cut across all educational and economic
status. When I last wrote of this I received only one call – but in their school
system they have a child abuse prevention course in place (Hopewell Valley has
it in place only for 2nd graders I believe). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONGRATULATIONS … to the children who received the Sacrament of Confirmation this past
Friday. They worked hard to prepare for the sacrament and parents, teachers, and
the parish is proud of them and happy for them. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * End times? What, do you suppose, is the best selling Christian
non-fiction book other than the Bible? The biggest selling Christian
fiction ever? To the first question: The Late Great Planet Earth
(over 40 million copies) by Hal Lindsey and to the second question: the Left
Behind series (fifty-seven million + and more books to come) by Tim LaHaye
and Jerry Jenkins. These books center on the end-times, the Parousia, the Final
Eschaton, the Second Coming of Christ – the end of the world. Some may snicker
at such talk – but a lot of people take it very seriously. Apparently the books
are quite mainstream, influencing even nominal Christians and
non-Christians. Though we Catholics believe in the 2nd Coming of the Christ we are
far apart from teachings such as these. I’m sure you have heard of "the Rapture". In the books the authors profess
that before the end of the world there will be a great tribulation lasting seven
years - a period of chastisement for the Jewish people (many will die and the
rest converted). But before this tribulation the true Christians will be spared
the tribulation by being taken from earth, in the flash of an eye, by a heavenly
power. This event is known as the "Rapture". The authors are strongly anti-Catholic and the source of their teaching goes
"all the way back" to 1830 (said with a bit of cynicism). It has no solid
biblical foundation – though they can toss biblical passages back and forth
quite easily and to some, convincingly. Oddly enough, the authors will claim
that the Fathers of the Church wrote about such events in the early centuries. I
say "oddly" because they accept nothing else the Father wrote on such things as
Eucharist, Church, etc. Though people feel they can now understand the book of
Revelations (last book of the bible) after reading these books – the truth is,
they do not. Dispensationalists (those who write about the Rapture and end-time)
disagree about nearly every major element of this book including the identity of
the Whore of Babylon (i.e., a reformed Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, Iraq,
the USA), the mark of the Beast (i.e., computer chips, bar codes, social
security numbers, laser technology) and numerous other entities, personages,
nations, and events. In the end, they are long on promises and short on biblical, historical, and
theological evidence.
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November 23, 2003
Jesus began his public ministry with a reference to the
kingdom: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent,
and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:4). His own disciples thought Jesus
would become a king. The people of Jerusalem hailed Jesus as king as he entered
the city. After he was condemned, Jesus was crowned as a king with a wreath of
thorns. The sign nailed to his cross identified him as "King of the Jews." The
Kingdom of God is the central teaching of Jesus throughout the gospels. The word
kingdom appears more than any other word throughout the four gospels.
Jesus says to Pilate: My kingdom is not of this world. But yes, I am a king.
I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the
truth." The Kingdom of God was preached and announced by Jesus. It was at the
heart of his teachings. The announcement is that it is near or it has arrived…
but yet it is still something that Jesus tells the disciples to pray for (e.g.
as in the "Our Father" prayer). It also is a phrase that suggests an
eschatological (i.e. end-time) event that lies outside history and closes
history. It is the kingdom to which the thief on the cross asks admittance to.
It is an everlasting Kingdom. It is a kingdom of righteousness and on this earth
it is subjected to violence – such as indicated in John’s gospel for this
weekend. In the parables of Jesus it is both a present and a future event. Most believers live by the faith that indeed the kingdom can be found within
the true and loyal followers of Christ. Most believers sense that it is also a
matter of a continued searching so that the full truth might be revealed. And,
considering the problems and the evil that dwells in our midst it is a kingdom
that will totally possessed only when God definitively steps into our history
and firmly establishes it once and for all. There is a lot of talk and ink spilt over the timing of the return of the
Christ. No one knows the exact time – Jesus told us as much in the Gospels.
Jesus said that only the Father knew and no one else – not even the Son! And if
the Son wasn’t in on the timing then I don’t think anyone else is in on it
either. What is one then to do? In the play Fiddler on the Roof the Jews are
being exiled from their little towns and homeland. A peasant runs up to the
Rabbi and asks if this isn’t a good time for the appearance of the Messiah. The
Rabbi answers "Yes, it is. But meanwhile, keep packing!" For us it is not a call
to some sort of resignation. It is a call to be loyal to the Word we have heard
and to hold trust in the promises of the Lord. We profess such faith in the Mass
when we proclaim: Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come
again! A Thanksgiving Ecumenical Service will be at our church, St. James, this
coming Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. A Thanksgiving Day Mass will be celebrated on Thanksgiving Day at 9
a.m. Pastor’s Notes: Good Grief (2): This concludes a reflection on dealing
with burials. The thoughts come from Thomas Lynch (a funeral director) in his
article that appeared in The Christian Century magazine (7/26/03). "A good funeral is not about how much we spend or how much we save. Rather it
is about what we do – to act out our faith, our hopes, our loves and losses.
Pastoral care is not about making death easier, or grief less keenly felt or
funerals cheaper or more convenient. It is about bringing the power of faith to
bear on the human experience of dying, death and bereavement. And our faith is
not for getting around grief or past it, but for getting through it. It is not
for denying death, but confronting it. It is not for dodging our dead, but for
bearing us up as we bear them to the grave or tomb or fire at the edge of which
we give them back to God." "Among the several blessings of my work as a funeral director is that I have
seen the power of such faith in the face of death. I remember the churchman at
the deathbed of a neighbor – it was four in the morning in the middle of winter
– who gathered the family around to pray, then helped me guide the stretcher
through the snow out to where the hearse was parked. Three days later, after the
services at church, he rode with me in the hearse to the grave, committed the
body with a handful of earth and then stood with the family and friends as the
grave was filled, reading from the psalms – the calm in his voice and assurance
of the words making the sad and honorable duty bearable. "I remember the priest I called to bury one of our town’s indigents – a man
without family or friends or finances. The priest incensed the body, blessed it
with holy water and read from the liturgy for 20 minutes, then sang In
Paradisum – that glorious Latin for "May the angels lead you into Paradise"
– as we lowered the poor man’s body into the ground. When I asked him why he’d
gone to such trouble he said these are the most important funerals – even if
only God is watching – because it affirms the agreement between "all God’s
children" that we will witness and remember and take care of each other." He will go on to describe other such scenes. "In each case these holy people
treated the bodies of the dead neither as a bother or embarrassment, nor an idol
or icon, nor just a shell. They treated the dead like one of our own, precious
to the people who loved them, temples of the Holy Spirit, neighbors, family,
fellow pilgrims. They stand – these local heroes, these saints and sinners,
these men and women of God – in that difficult space between the living and the
dead, between faith and fear, between humanity and Christianity and say out
loud, ‘Behold, I show you a mystery.’"
November 1st, 2nd, 2003 Pastor’s Notes: Nov. 2 is All Souls Day November is a month dedicated in Catholic tradition whereby those who have
gone before us to God are remembered and prayed for. Below you will find the
first of a 2-part article that is culled from The Christian
Century Magazine (7/26/03). The thoughts are from Thomas Lynch (a funeral
director). I offer it for your reflection… but both parts must be read. Good Grief: Jesssica Mitford’s book The American Way of Death was
an easy and often hilarious read – lampooning some of our American funeral
services and directors (some certainly deserving of such treatment). She
recommended getting rid of both caskets and corpses, and let convenience and
cost efficiency replace what she regarded as pricey and barbaric display. She
lost her husband in war, her daughter in infancy, and her first son killed by a
bus. "…all "disappeared" – dispatched without witness or rubric and never
mentioned in The American Way of Death…" The idea that the body is "just
a shell" became a popular way of thinking. The author writes: "Human beings are bodies and souls. And souls, made in the image and likeness
of God, are eternal and essential, whereas bodies are mortal and impermanent.
"There is," the scripture holds, "a natural body and a spiritual body." In life
we are regarded as one – a whole being, body and soul, flesh and blood and
spirit. And we are charged with the care and maintenance of both. We feed the
flesh and the essence. We pamper the wounds and strive to improve the condition
of both body and soul. We read and run wind sprints, we fast and pray, confide
in our pastors and medicos, and seek communion, spiritual and physical, with
other members of our species. "Know ye not," Paul asks, "that ye are the temple
of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Many people find the "spiritual bodies more agreeable than the natural ones.
The spirits are well intentioned and faultless; the bodies are hungry, lustful,
greedy and weak. The soul is the sanctuary of faith, the body full of doubts and
despairs. The soul sees the straight and narrow path, whereas the body wants the
easier, softer way. The corruptible bleeds and belches and dies, and the
incorruptible is perfect and perpetual. Souls are just easier all around. Which
is why for years she’s (this is a reference to an Episcopalian priest)
been officiating at memorial services instead of funerals. They are easier, more
convenient and more cost-efficient…. "The memorial service makes much of dealing with memories of the dead by
steadfastly refusing to deal with the dead themselves. It is the emotional and
commemorative equivalent of a baptism without the baby or a wedding without the
blushing bride or a graduation without the graduates. A funeral without the dead
body has the religious significance of the book of Job without the sores and
boils, Exodus without the stench of frogs, Calvary without a cross, or the cross
without the broken, breathless, precious body hanging there, all suffering and
salvation. It is Easter without the resurrected body…" "When Joseph of Arimathea, in league with Nicodemus, pleaded with Pilate for
"just" the body of Christ, he was acting out a signature duty of our species.
And when the Marys came bearing spices and ointments to anoint the corpse, they
too were acting out longstanding obsequies "in keeping with the customs of the
Jews.’ It is the custom of humankind to deal with death by dealing with the
dead…." "The defining truth of our Christianity – an empty tomb – proceeds from the
defining truth of our humanity: we fill tombs. The mystery of the resurrection
to eternal life is bound inextricably to the experience of suffering and death.
Indeed, the effort to make sense of life – the religious impulse – owes much to
our primeval questions about the nature of death." (to be
continued…) Pastor’s Notes: Perhaps you’ve seen a new report about the place of
prayer at public meetings. A man on a town council likes the prayers because he
is a religious person. He went on to say that the prayer has no effect on what
he will say or how he will vote or even change his mind on something. That
struck me as odd. I am thinking that if he is serious then I say "toss out the
prayer". Why pray if the prayer is intended not to have any effect? Offer any
guidance? Or open the heart and mind to really hear what is being said? We pray
so that we can handle the complexity and the struggles that are our lot. We pray
for guidance so as to do the right thing. We pray so that if we are wrong our
minds and hearts will change. We pray and we engage in our God-conversation so
that we might draw close to God. Prayer that is neutral, prayer that is
impotent, prayer that is meant to mean nothing is nothing. When we speak to God
let the conversation ought to be meaningful – no matter how short it might be.
Don’t let it become banal and trite… we waste God’s time and ours. And as
Forrest Gump might conclude: "…that’s what I have to say about that!" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Though there is a note further on in the announcements I want to thank all
those who worked to make the dinner last week such a great experience. To all
the volunteers: if just one of you had not done what you did it simply would not
have been the same. And to Pat Corrozza a special note of appreciation for
chairing this event. It was no small feat! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Every pastor gets a lot of mail announcing concerts, programs, learning
opportunities, pilgrimages, etc. Here are a few that might strike your
fancy. 4th Annual Bishop’s Celebration of the Performing Arts… at the
Cathedral in Trenton on SUNDAY, NOV. 2 AT 3:00 P.M. Since this
announcement is late you might be able to call the Pastoral Center (406-7400)
for tickets. There will be a free will offering accepted after the banquet. Friday, Nov 7 through Sunday, Nov. 9 there is the 24th
Annual Conference and Interfaith Service for Peace. This takes
place at Princeton, NJ. It’s a little complicated to give all the info here but
there are brochures out in the Gathering area for more info. Msgr. Nolan (at Princeton) informs us that a special production of The
Miracle of Fatima will be presented at Notre Dame H.S. on Nov. 22 at
8 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 (adults) and $15 (age 5 – 18).
You can call the parish for tickets at 924-1743 ext. 111 or go to their website:
www.stpaulsprinceton.org Msgr.
writes that this a professionally produced dramatic musical. "Recalling the
story of three poor children in Fatima, Portugal to whom Our Lady appeared over
a period of six months, The Miracle or Fatima is an account that reminds
us of a mother’s great love for us. it offers to our children the heroic example
of honesty and sacrifice in young Lucia, Franciso and Jacinta. It calls us to
return our hearts to God and to seek the mercy and love so needed in our
troubled times." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I will be away all during the week – but back next Saturday for Mass and
confession. Pastor’s Notes: In not-so-ancient days when children went into their
first year of high school or college students into a frat house they went
through a ritual that was known as "hazing". I suppose it was some sort of
passage that newcomers had to endure in order to be accepted. Often times it was
nothing less than brutal. We have seen that happening over the past few months
via video taping of high school girls maltreating their younger classmates and
then, in these past few weeks, have heard about the victimization some young
high school boys (of Mepham High School) at a football camp. What the boys went through possibly would never had been revealed were it not
for the fact that one of them s had to be taken to a hospital for treatment --
then the story emerged. I would like to point out that in spite of the malicious
treatment they received it seems that the young high school victims did not tell
anyone: not their friends, not their parents, and no adults. Children and
teens who are victims of sexual abuse by adults often keep quiet about what is
going on or what has happened. To the adult mind it doesn’t make sense
but to the victim there are many reasons why they remain silent. For my purpose
here it is only important to know that so often they keep silent. From the money that has come back to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual
Appeal St. James Church - Pennington, NJ will sponsor a workshop for
children in grades six through eight. It will be presented by staff of
Prevention Education, Inc. This CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION
(CAP) workshop will involve parents and children. On November
20th there will be a meeting of the parent(s) of the children who
are to participate. On January 13, 14 and 15 the children will be
meeting. On January 13th it will be a gathering of both boys and
girls. On January 14 and 15 they will be separated. The purpose is to inform and instruct the children on recognizing and
preventing abuse. "Most important, workshops provide information about how
adults interact with children in ways that allow them to practice their rights
to be Safe, Strong, and Free." The workshop can only accommodate 35 children. There is no fee for
this program – as noted, this is being subsidized by money that was returned to
the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. If the demand is greater than
what we can accommodate I will immediately set up another workshop. Both
parent(s) and child(ren) must attend. The workshop is not limited to
parishioners of St. James Church. If you want to register please write to Fr. Bacovin and include your name,
address, phone number and names of those who will attend. Please give this some
thought – I am sure you children will benefit but you will need to talk to them
and take the initiative. I will confirm your registration a.s.a.p. – and if we
fill up I will 1) put you on a waiting list and/or 2) set up another workshop
that you may be able to attend. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Parish Mission will be conducted this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Fr.
Aiden will speak after the morning Masses and in the evening at 7:30
p.m. Pastor’s notes: Twenty-five years ago - October 16, 1978 a
small white cloud of smoke rose above Vatican City announcing to the world:
"Habemus Papem!" – "We have a pope." His name was Karol Wojtyla and he
was the Cardinal Archbishop of Cracow, Poland. He was the first non-Italian pope
in the past 455 years. From the outset of his pontificate he sent clear messages that he would be a
pope of a different order. He has not been hesitant to meet the challenges of
the times and literally went out to proclaim Christ and the gospel (Good News)
to the world. He is not afraid to look into past failings of the Church and meet
them head on. He was not Jerusalem, visited a synagogue in Rome, and spoke to
thousands of cheering Muslim youths. He seemed to be most comfortable at the
World Youth Days and the love between the pope and the youth was apparent and
real. This pope has strongly upheld the role of priesthood. One of the most
heart-wrenching challenges that faces the pope is the sexual abuse by some of
the priests of the Church. He has challenged the rich nations of the world to use their wealth to build
up the human community. He would speak time and again reminding us that human
freedom becomes destructive when people forget that they are created in God’s
image. Whether an unborn child, an impoverished African or an elderly shut-in,
the pope says, every human being has a value that goes beyond earthly advantages
and accomplishments. During his pontificate the number of Catholics in the world jumped from 757
million to 1.06 billion. In Africa the church has grown by nearly 150% and in
Asia more than 80%. In Europe the increase has been only 5%… in the US the
increase has been 33% (4% more than the growth of the general population).
Twenty-five years ago there was approximately 1 priest for every 1,600 Catholics
– today it is 1 for every 2,600. The number of religious priests and nuns has
declined. The workforce of the Church has jumped from 1.6 million to 2.8
million. The number of catechists has jumped from 173,000 to 2.8 million. Lay
missionaries – not even a category when the pope was elected – now reaches
139,000 (most in South America). (These figures come from America
Magazine – the Oct. 6th issue). The pope himself has not commented on his past twenty-five years. Instead, he
speaks of Mary, schedules the canonization of Mother Teresa right in the middle
of all of this (as if to take attention away from himself), and continues to
"truck on" regardless of the strain the papacy puts on him physically. Though
there have been comments in the press about his health – no one is thinking that
this is a farewell party. If there is one image of the pope that comes across time and again it is that
of the pope as a man of prayer. He is strengthened by it and he inspires us to
prayer. For him, all is naught without God. The existence and the beauty of the
soul is the most precious gift with which we have been endowed – and that is
demonstrated by God’s love for us. ****** ****** ****** At our Masses next weekend Fr. Aiden will be speaking at all the
Masses. He will be directing our yearly Parish Mission and I ask you to put time
aside so that you will be able to attend the Masses and talks. All the Masses
next week will be in the morning. Please check the schedule in this bulletin for
times and scheduled talks. The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce authored by Judith Wallenstein,
Julia Lewis, and Sandra Blakeslee, is a 25-year landmark study of the divorce
and the effects is has on children and society. The book presents various life
stories to reflect their findings. The author’s inform us that even though children may know that not all is
well between their parents the children simply do not want their parents to
separate. We may assume that a child’s life is somewhat changed because of a
divorce but think that they are resilient. The authors inform us that the
children are much more dramatically changed than we imagine and, in some cases,
may never recover from it. The child’s life is not only changed – but also the
child. "All of the children I have described in this book took on new
roles in direct response to changes that occurred during the post divorce years.
Many were acutely aware of their parents’ distress and tried to rescue them.
Others remained angry at their parents’ diminished attention and judged them
harshly. Others longed for the family they had lost and tried to reverse the
divorce decision. And still others took responsibility for keeping the peace and
walked on eggs throughout their childhood. These children took many paths, but
all changed significantly in the wake of divorce. And because the children’s
character and conscience were still being formed during the postdivorce
(sic) years, the new roles they assumed in the family had profound
effects on who they became and on the relationships they established when they
reached adulthood." (pg. 306). To the parents: "In talking to young adults who were raised in unhappy
intact families, it became clear to me that their parents could have gone either
way – stay together or get a divorce. This older generation of parents certainly
had enough legitimate complaints about their spouses to consider divorce. But
their marriages were not so explosive or chaotic or unsafe that husband and wife
felt living together was intolerable." (Pg. 307) In spite of what their research revealed (a lot more than I could put in
these notes) the authors never outright condemn divorce. What is particularly
devastating to many of us is that genuinely good people find themselves in a
divorce situation… this was so even for the early church. Before some of the
gospels were even written we find evidence that the church allowed divorce for
certain reasons. One such example was if a person converted to Christianity and
their spouse could not accept that to the point of making life unbearable for
the newly-baptized – the community would allow a divorce and even remarriage to
another Christian. Jesus presents what many may consider an impossible ideal. But his impossible
ideal becomes possible only with God, through God, and in God – in other words,
through grace. "Grace," said Tertullian (an African Church Father) "makes marriage a
blessing. How beautiful is the marriage of two Christians who are one in hope,
one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they
practice… nothing divides them… they are, in very truth, two in one flesh, and
where there is one flesh, there is one spirit. They pray together, they worship
together, they fast together, instructing one another, encouraging one another,
strengthening one another… Hearing and seeing this Christ rejoices. To such as
these ,He gives his peace. Where there are two together, there also He is
present and where he is, evil is not." September 27th, 28th, 2003 On Fr. Greeley’s website (agreeley.com) you can find his article Why
I’m Still a Catholic. He begins with these words: "I am still a
Catholic because of the beauty of Catholicism, beauty being truth in its most
attractive form. It is the beauty of the images and stories of Catholicism which
keep me in the Church, not the wisdom or intelligence or the virtue of the
Church leadership. Beauty, truth in its most attractive form, is not weaker than
prosaic truth but stronger. I am also a Catholic because I was born Catholic, raised Catholic, educated
Catholic and like being a Catholic. I’ll never stop being Catholic, despite the
fact that many of the current leaders of the institutional church are corrupt
thugs, from the parish right up to the Vatican. The word "still" might be
construed as suggesting that we who remain in the Church are somehow a declining
minority. In fact 85% of those who were raised Catholics are "still" Catholics.
It is those who depart who are the exception. Moreover the departure rate has
not changed in the last thirty- five years, despite the enormous turbulence
which has shaken the Church since the end of the Second Vatican Council. The
idiots who are running things (most notably bishops and we priests) have not
driven the lay folk out with thirty-five years of insensitivity and stupidity,
then I suspect that they will never drive them out. But surely "thinking Catholics" have a harder time staying in the Church? About two percent of the American population can be classified as
"intellectuals" – writers, artists, teachers, professors, scholars, researchers,
musicians. Two percent of American Catholics (f)all into the same category.
Their defection rate from the Church is lower than that of other
Catholics and their Mass attendance rate is higher." "…one stops being Catholic only when one formally renounces the Church or
joins another Church. Of those who leave the Church about half do so at the time
of marriage to someone who is not Catholic and who is stronger in his/her
religious faith than the Catholic party is. The other half leaves because of
reasons connected with sex or authority. ‘If you don’t like being a Catholic,’ a right wing kook recently wrote me,
‘why don’t you join a Church in which people don’t think birth control is wrong,
support women clergy, disagree with the People, think a woman has the right to
an abortion, and approve of married clergy?’ I didn’t reply to him, because I don’t waste my time replying to right wing
kooks. But if I had I would have said that I belong to such a Church and its
name is Catholicism. To which he would have said that such people were not good Catholics.
Perhaps, but judgments of that sort should be left to God. As you can see, Fr. Greeley doesn’t pull his punches – nor does he hide his
pride for the Church. I don’t think he would be a big supporter of a "priest (or
bishop) appreciation day" - but he has more than seen his share of priests at
their worst. His article is much, much longer but I just put this before you so
that you might begin to reflect on the state of your Catholicism. P.S. - I believe this article was written before the sexual abuse scandal
became public. In an area such as Boston, the faithful have been terribly shaken
and how badly that will affect their local church is still being played out… as
it will be in many places. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I want to thank you for your pledges and contributions to this project. I
cannot adequately express my personal gratefulness for your generosity. A note
of thanks goes out to Mr. Ernie Curran for speaking at the Masses and organizing
the campaign, for the committee who chose the rugs and tiling and to Deacons Sam
and Moore who were "on top" of all the details that needed to be dealt with all
along the way. And to those who helped removing and replacing the furniture –
thank you for your time and work. Next week I hope to have some final statistics as to cost, etc. St. John Chrysostom was a bishop and a renowned preacher:
"Chrysostom" means "Golden Mouth." He was twice put into exile by his enemies and died at the age of 57. In the Divine Office (a priest’s daily prayer book) comes this homily of St.
John C. It was a difficult time to be a follower of Christ and his words are
encouragement to his people. Could they not serve us in our time, in our
day? "The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do
not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot
break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are
we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile?
"The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. The confiscation of our
goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing
from it. I have only contempt for the world’s threats, I find its blessings
laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of
death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on
the present situation and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence. Do you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are
gathered in my name, there am I in their midst? Will he be absent, then,
when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I
am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written: that
is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbor. Let the world be in upheaval. I
hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and
garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the
world! If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Through the waves and
the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than
a spider’s web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have
left this very day. For I always say: Lord, your will be done; not what
this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my
strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants
something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But
whatever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful. Yet where I am, there you are too and where you are, I am. For
we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the
head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself
cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my
people. You are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my
limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what
can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun’s
light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me
in the life to come." Temporalities: The new carpet for the church should be installed this
week. The link, the blue room and nursery rooms have been carpeted and new tile
has been put down in the cafeteria and hallways. A few details need to be
attended to – but all taken care of within two or three weeks. Pastor’s notes: As you may be aware, it is incumbent on all adults to report child abuse to
the authorities. If a priest of the Diocese of Trenton has sexually abused a
minor there is a process now in effect by which he is to be reported. What
happens after that is described in the documents. Some elements of the document
clearly state that allegations will be reported to the local prosecutor’s
office. This is not an option – even if the one reporting it "wants to keep it
confidential." There will be an immediate outreach from the diocese to the
victim and his/her family. The local prosecutor will conduct its own
investigation and the bishop has his own advisory board to assist him in these
matters. One of the strongest elements in the policy is the fact that if any
priest admits to just one act of sexual abuse with a minor he will be
laicized. The diocese may bring in a program entitled Virtus. Some dioceses
throughout the US have already initiated this program for its people. It is a
training program for people to become facilitators in the recognition and
prevention of abusive situations. They in turn will instruct personnel who are
involved in youth work (educational, recreational, etc). At St. James Church we will have a program this year for 6, 7, and
8th grade children concerning sexual abuse. It will begin with a
meeting with parents to familiarize them with the instruction and then in
January there will three instruction nights. On the first night all the children
will meet as one and then the boys and girls will attend separate sessions.
Personnel from the Children Abuse Prevention organization
(headquartered in Lawrenceville) will lead the sessions. Their programs are used
by school districts throughout all of NJ. Because of the nature of the program
there will be limited enrollment – but we will definitely expand the program if
there is a good response to it. The funding for the program will come from the
money that is returned to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. There will be more information available at a later date. Sing to the Lord! From a 1761 hymnal comes the following directions: "Learn these tunes before you learn any others… sing them exactly as they are
printed here… Sing all. See that you join in with the congregation as frequently
as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If
singing is a cross to you, take it up and you will find it a blessing. Sing
lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead or
half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength… Be not afraid of your
voice…nor ashamed of being heard. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard
above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy
the harmony…Sing in time… Do not run before or stay behind…and take care not to
sing too slow. Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you
sing. Aim at pleasing God more than yourself or any other creature. In order to
do this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing and see that your heart
is not carried away with the sound but offered to God
continually…
Pastor’s notes: (cont’d) Last week my notes were on the topic of
genetic engineering and "designer children." These notes are based on an article
that appeared in The Christian Century magazine (May 17, 2003). I
recognized that it may not seem of immediate interest or relevant – but it’s
with us (or will be) – and the world doesn’t wait for quiet moments. There are a number of people who are addressing these new issues. Some would
be labeled "sensible conservatives" such as the Council on Genetics and Society
(genetics-and-society.org). Others would be labeled "radical". In the article the author writes: "In
early August 1999, a man named Max More stepped to the podium of a California
conference hall… "He looked out over the audience of his fellow "Extropians,"
gathered for their fourth convention… then delivered a talk entitled "The
Ultrahuman Revolution: Amendments to the Human Constitution." Taking the form of
a letter to Mother Nature, it began by offering brief thanks to her for "raising
us from simple self-replicating chemicals to quadrillion-celled animals." He
went on, however, to list the "many ways you have done a poor job with the
constitution. You made us vulnerable to disease and damage. You compel us to age
and die, just as we are beginning to acquire some wisdom… You held back on us by
giving us a perceptual range less than that of other animals. You make us
functional only under narrow environmental conditions. You gave us a limited
memory, poor impulse control and tribalistic and xenophic urges. And you forgot
to give us the operating manual." "… We have decided that it is time to amend the human constitution… Over the
coming decades we will pursue a series of changes in the human constitution,
initially through biotechnology, and guided by critical and creative thinking."
He proposed seven such amendments including: ‘We will take charge over our
genetic programming and achieve mastery of our biological and neurological
processes… refining and augmenting our physical and intellectual abilities
beyond those of any human in history" and "we will cautiously yet boldly reshape
our motivational patterns and emotional responses… We will seek to improve upon
typical human and emotional responses, bring about refined emotions." The author of the article (Bill McKibben) tells us that the man is talking
big… but it is not impossible! "Like Columbus sailing west, we have only the vaguest notions of where we
might be heading." The author notes that the "technotopians" are seeking to push
forever ahead, forever more, forever restless. It is our destiny they claim –
and who can argue with destiny? Yet all of this urge to go into the future is
because the present has no meaning – but also that we have no choice by will or
biologically. "As Robert Haynes, president of the 16th Internat’l
Congress of Genetics, told his organization, ‘for at least 3,000 years, the
majority of people have considered that human beings were special… What the
ability to manipulate genes should indicate to people is the very deep extent to
which we are biological machines… It’s no longer possible to live by the idea
that there is something special, unique or even sacred about living organisms."
That’s no small point! (Believers, take heart and read Psalm
8.) The elements of being able to restrain ourselves, the ability to choose,
love, hate, our limitations, along with awareness, dynamic tensions are only
some of the dynamics that make us unique, i.e. human. If all had the athletic
ability of Barry Bonds, or the acting ability of Merryl Streep, or the minds of
DaVinci, Beethoven, Lillian Hellman, etc… would we all end up as a blest people
or one bland world community. If all children grew up exactly the same would
that be gain or loss? The creation stories were fashioned to show the Creator’s hand at work, how
creation was declared to be "good" – and the uniqueness of God’s creation on the
6th day. Perhaps we ought to work harder at imitating God – not
playing God. What do you think?
This week and next, my "Pastor’s notes" may or may not
seem very relevant. But since he topic is already well ingrained in our
contemporary world we ought at least to be aware of it. I’m sure I read a short blurb in the paper that scientists think they can,
with genetic engineering, make it possible for people to live 6,000 years - I
kid you not. In The Christian Century magazine, Bill McKibben writes
where genetic engineering might be headed, (May 17, 2003) "James Watson, the eminence grise of gene work whose discovery of the
double helix 50 years ago we are celebrating this spring (2003), has called his
fellow researchers to show some "guts" and "try germ-line therapy without
knowing if it’s going to work." He has proposed that they try to prevent "ugly
babies" and "stupid people" and to reduce the odds that anyone will be shy or a
"cold fish." "If we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes,
why shouldn’t we do it?" he asked recently." We are not talking just about determining a child’s sex, color of eyes,
improving their IQ or even engineering out possible future diseases. "People
will be inclined to give their children those skills and traits that align with
their own temperaments and lifestyles," writes Gregory Stock, an apostle of
human genetic engineering… A devout individual may want his child to be even
more religious and resistant to temptation." Do not allow yourself the out of believing such a thing is necessarily
impossible. Regions of the brain have been pinpointed that "light-up" in moments
of prayer and meditation and we’ve already changed the sociability
patterns of many animals. New technologies are already challenging our ideas on life and its
purpose(s). In the past bows and arrows were an advancement over swords and
knives, then rifles were an advancement over bows and arrow – but when nuclear
weapons were developed they raised entirely new questions… questions about the
end of the world for example. And we are still struggling with these
questions. In Scientific American Dean Hammer (the chief of gene structure and
regulation at the Nat’l Cancer Institute’s Laboratory of Biochemistry) wrote of
an imaginary couple, Syd and Kayla, who get to tweak the emotional makeup of
their fetus. "They pondered the choices before them, which ranged from the
altruism level of Mother Teresa to the most cutthroat CEO. In the end, they
chose a level mid-way between, hoping for the perfect mix of benevolence and
competitive edge… Syd and Kayla, however, did not want to set their child’s
happiness too high. They wanted her to be able to feel real emotions. If there
was a death they wanted her to mourn the loss. If there was a birth, she should
rejoice." Of course, this is what parents do as they raise their children. But if such
things are engineered into your own genetic make-up there is little or no
control over what may happen. If one is an alcoholic or needs to take
mood-altering drugs on a temporary basis – there is always the option to stop.
Much of the cell engineering can be helpful to the human race – and not lead to
what could be disastrous results. "But more worrisome is the fact that once
you’ve cloned the embryo to get its stem cells, you could instead decide to grow
it to full term – to produce an actual clone. Which is not only a big leap over
the threshold of this empty new world but also makes it much easier and more
likely that we would go on to design babies, not just make copies… (!) Still,
such threats can be guarded against – a national panel recently recommended a
temporary moratorium on stem-cell cloning until safeguards can be worked out to
make sure it’s used for medicine, not for reproduction." Anyone who has read a
Harry Potter novel knows the differences and the different thoughts about
"mudbloods", (pure) "witches" and "muggles"… about who is acceptable and who is
not. A super race battle? Would genetic engineering result in developing a
super-race?" (to be continued)
Sometimes we hear a phrase that perhaps we wished we had
not heard. because it challenges us to reorder our thinking and priorities. Life
might so much more convenient (and maybe less complicated) if these did not keep
coming back to mind. Here are a few that might yield much upon meditation. To the believer in and the follower of Christ the phrase "What would Jesus
do?" (aware that we are not Christ). For some it is annoying and for others,
a God-send. It really doesn’t need any commentary – a few minutes thought will
demonstrate how good or dangerous this can be. While in the seminary we had a one-week workshop with a Paulist Priest. He
threw out two(!) phrases I could never get out of my mind. The first is
"There are the good reasons why we do some thing and then there are the real
reasons." They are not always the same. For anyone who is seeking to act out
of and to purify their motives – start here. In the early years of my priesthood, after helping someone I thought about my
"great deed of charity" and the question kept going through my mind: "You know
the good reason – what’s the real one?" I was very humbled (and sad) when
I realized that the ‘good motive’ took second place. Perhaps, at times, God
doesn’t worry too much about the motive as long as the other is helped (given
food or shelter, etc.). The third phrase was placed in the context of working with people whose
motives you think are very suspect. "It’s not the motive that brings the man
(sic) but the man the motive brings." A corollary to that is (as noted by a
Jesuit in a classroom setting who was commenting on a scriptural passage) the
phrase: "the question isn’t whether or not someone deserves our help – the thing
to consider is whether or not he stands in need." Fr. Ronald Rolheiser wrote the following in one of his newspaper columns
several years ago. "In his rather provocative, though always interesting,
autobiography, Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt tells of a confession he once made
as a young boy in Limerick, Ireland. His mother had just given birth and their
in-laws from the North had sent five pounds to buy milk for the new baby. But
his father, an alcoholic, had taken the money and was drinking it up in the
pubs. His mother had sent him, a young boy, to find his dad and bring him home.
But young Frankie can't find his father. What he finds instead is a drunken
sailor in a pub, asleep, with a largely untouched plate of fish and chips in
front of him. Ravenously hungry, he takes the fish and chips outside and eats them. Then,
feeling guilty for stealing, he decides he had better go to confession. It's
Saturday afternoon and he goes to the Dominican church and confesses to a priest
that he stole fish and chips from a drunken man. The priest asks him why he did
this and Frankie answers that he was hungry, that there is not a scrap of food
in their house, and that his mother is raging by the fire because his father is
drinking away the money meant to buy milk for the new baby. The priest hearing
all this suddenly becomes quiet. Instead of scolding Frankie and giving him a
penance, he does something else [McCourt's words]: "I wonder if the priest is asleep because he's very quiet til he says, My
child, I sit here, I hear the sins of the poor, I assign the penance. I bestow
the absolution. I should be on my knees washing their feet. ... Go. Pray for me.
He blesses me in Latin, talks to himself in English and I wonder what I did to
him." These words wonderfully describe one of the central meanings of the
Eucharist. We should be on our knees washing each others' feet because that is
precisely what Jesus did at the first Eucharist and he did it to teach us that
the Eucharist is not a private act of devotion, meant to square our debts with
God, but a call to and a grace for service. The Eucharist is meant to send us
out into the world ready to give expression to Christ's hospitality, humility,
and self-effacement" Pastor’s Notes: We are in the midst of a 5-week series of readings that
focus on the Eucharist. There are numerous names and ways of expressing the
reality of the Eucharist. The following is to be found in THE CATECHISM OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH (#’s 1328 – 1322) "Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to
God. The Greek words eucharistein and eulogein recall the Jewish
blessings that proclaim – especially during a meal – God’s works: creation,
redemption and sanctification. "The Lord’s Supper, because of its connection with the supper
which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it
anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem. The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a
Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread,
above all at the Last Supper. It is by this action that his disciples will
recognize him after his Resurrection, and it is this expression that the first
Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; by doing so they
dignified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ enter (sic) into
communion with them and form but one body in him. "The Eucharistic assembly (synaxis) because the Eucharist is
celebrated amid the assembly of the faithful, the visible expression of the
Church. The memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice
of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering. The terms holy
sacrifice of the Mass "sacrifice of praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy
sacrifice are also used, since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices
of the Old Covenant. The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church’s whole liturgy
finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this
sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred
Mysteries. We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the
Sacrament of sacraments. The Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle as
designated by this same name. Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to
Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body. We
also call it: the holy things (ta hagia; sancta) – the first meaning of
the phrase "communion of saints" in the Apostles’ Creed – the bread of
angels, bread from heaven, medicine of immortality, viaticum… Holy Mass (Missa), because the liturgy in which the mystery of
salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (Missio) of
the faithful, so that they may fulfill God’s will in their daily lives." I would think that most of you are familiar with or have heard most of
these titles somewhere down the road of faith. And I suspect that most of you
sense that the titles do not begin to express the power and reality of the
Eucharist as you come forward to receive and drink. However, like love,
we will always try to find ways to express it, describe it, define it, etc… it
is our nature to do so. But it will never measure up to the action and the
reality of the Eucharist Pastor’s notes: A few weeks ago there was a small meeting about liturgy.
At that meeting a question I would like to have focused on for the coming year
be "Does our liturgy give fitting praise to God?" In the past some of the concerns centered on participation in the liturgy,
hospitality, particular needs, music, etc. All of them are part of the whole.
Jesus told us that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The
sense and spirit of worship includes meeting some of our needs… and one of our
needs is to have a sense of having given to God appropriate thanksgiving and
adoration. When your breath is taken away by the birth of your first child, or a
glorious sunset or the appearance of a rainbow -–don't you have a sense that you
want to thank someone for that? So much more reason when we realize all
the blessings that are given to us each day, each hour, each minute, each
second. What constitutes fitting praise for the Catholic is most complete in the
gathering of the community for the celebration of the Eucharist (the Mass).
"…the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the
Church is directed; at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power
flows. For the goal of apostolic works is that all who are made children of God
by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His
Church, to take part in her sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s
supper." Document on the Liturgy, Vatican Council The Holy Spirit has guided the gradual process of the formation of the
liturgy over the centuries. Among the elements that have been fashioned is the
proclamation of the Holy Word of God, prayers and petitions to the Lord, the
calling upon the Holy Spirit and the breaking and sharing of the Body and Blood
of Christ. There is the constant interchange of dialogue between God and the
community (e.g. the Word and the response, the consecration and the offering at
Communion, etc.). Each person’s inner makeup leads them to particular preferences in their
prayer life. Some thrive on silence and others on highly expressive prayer and
singing. Some prefer to unite their voices in prayer in a spoken manner and
others in song. What the Church seeks is a balance of both. In truth, those who
prefer one way need also to pray in another way (though often they do not know
or understand this). In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1140) we are so
instructed: It is the whole Body of Christ united with its Head, that
celebrates. "Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations
of the Church which is ‘the sacrament of unity,’ namely, the holy people united
and organized under the authority of the bishops. Therefore, liturgical services
pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it, and have effects upon
it. But they touch individual members of the Church in different ways, depending
on their orders, their role in the liturgical services, and their actual
participation in them." For this reason, "rites which are meant to be celebrated
in common, with the faithful present and actively participating, should as far
as possible be celebrated in that way rather than by an individual and
quasi-privately. The first step to fitting worship is what each of us brings to the praying
community… and the most basic element of what we bring is our sheer
presence. If you are missing then an important element is missing from the
liturgy. You will never read this in any liturgical study – but each of us
brings a certain elan or style to our prayer. I think it is a diversity that God
is rather pleased with. A wealth of diversity dedicated to the common task of
praising God and supporting each other – what beauty there is in that! Pastor’s Notes: Over the past three weeks I have been writing about
issues that are very much with us and won’t go away, viz. the issues of
abortion, same sex marriage, and civil rights along with the concept of "the
common good". In our country’s Declaration of Independence there are eloquent
words about each person having inalienable rights (such as life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness) - and the Church speaks of the sacredness of life. How
does one keep a proper balance between ‘rights’ and the ‘common good?’ Ideally,
these ideals ought to complement one another. How is the common good served by the reality of the, literally, millions of
abortions each year? How is the common good served by changing the definition
(commonly inferred and/or accepted) of marriage? Such reflection must account for the dramatic shifts that will result in
society when any changes are considered or established. The church’s witness to
the sacredness of life from her very birth has not countenanced abortion. Yet,
as the contemporary church condemns the act of abortion, she has always shown
great care for the one who has an abortion. As for the Catholic Church, she has always born witness that the family is
the basis of all society. As the church will witness for the family and marriage
between man and woman as the (only) model of union – she also speaks on
behalf of protection of Civil Rights for the homosexual within that community.
The Canadian bishops have sent an appeal to the courts of that land to
contest the June 10th ruling allowing same-sex marriage. They will
argue that the common good will not be served and will, in fact, be damaged. In
a statement by Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa he writes: "A marriage
between male and female is a unique bond. It transcends time, has common
religious, cultural and social dimensions and is universally upheld. It is not
something based on individual practices and choices. For centuries, the quality
of the union between opposite sexes has been recognized as providing a richer
and more stable environment for raising a family." From the other side there
are arguments that inalienable rights are denied – and as such, there is civil
discrimination. These seem to be the lines of argumentation that we will hear in
our courtrooms. Among our many servers, I am especially happy to have senior high
school people serve at the altar. More impressive still is the fact that
most of them have been serving for eight years. When we (Fr. Jim and myself) are
aware that one of them is serving their last Mass we like to make special note
of it. But those who go to other Masses will not be aware. So we now thank the
following: Matt Boucher, Matt Curley, Emily Devlin, Katie Emhof, Peter
Fisher, Rachel Jordan, Matt Kazior, Dan Lookner, T.J. Podeszwa, Michael Ranbom,
Peter Reineke, Aaron Vurgason, Michael Warren and Chris Ziegler. Pastor’s notes: "…I come before you today , recognizing that I am a contradiction. I am a
Roman Catholic priest…I strongly support the civil rights of gay and lesbian
people and I deeply repent of the prejudice displayed by society in general and
by members of my Church both in the past and the present. Yet, I am a
contradiction because I come to express my deep reservations about the
legislation you are considering. I also recognize that I am an anachronism because I speak the language of
religion. This is not in vogue in our secular age, but it is more important than
we think. The type of discourse that we naturally carry on in our daily
deliberations may be described as that of logic: reasoned thinking which tries
to be clear, concrete, and focused on both the rights and responsibilities of
both groups and individuals. The language of religion can sound out of place or
out of fashion when placed next to modern discourse. Anachronistic. It is less
clear, not subject to demonstration or proof, and concerned with questions that
may not seem to have immediate importance to all. The language of religion,
though less popular, is vitally important to us all, even to those who profess
no religious beliefs. The language of religion is important because we have no
other way to answer such vital questions such as: "how do we define a human
being?" I am opposed to the re-defining of marriage to include same-sex couples, not
out of prejudice towards lesbian or gay individuals, but for the same reason
that I am opposed to human cloning. In the case of cloning, by using technology
to produce exact replicas of human beings, we thereby change our definition of
the human being. We become the products of a manufacturing process. In the same
way, a redefinition of marriage which excludes the possibility of reproduction
through lovemaking introduces a sea-change, a sub-surface shift, if you will, in
our self-definition, our religious, poetic, and mythic descriptions of what the
human being is. Up to the present the question, "where do human beings come
from?" receives the following answer. A man and a woman give themselves to one
in a total way, physically and emotionally in an act of lovemaking. Thereby they
become parents. Human beings are the products of human love. This, of course, is
not always the case. Acts if violence and deceit, even self-deceit sometimes are
the beginning of a life. Nonetheless, the normative description of where human
beings come from is the act of lovemaking between husband and wife in the
context of marriage. This belief, religious in a way, is, to a great extent the
source of our conviction that we have transcendence, "souls" if you will, that
we are valuable in ourselves, not ciphers, not disposable, not merely advanced,
organic thinking-machines – all because we are the consequence of acts of love,
not a manufacturing process. Loosen the connection between the deep human loving
of man and woman and human reproduction, as one would do by redefining family to
include same-sex unions, and one subtly, and I believe unhappily redefines the
human being. One touches depths of soul and self-definition of which our
pragmatic and scientifically a-religious age is barely aware. By speaking this way, I do not see myself as upholder of old traditions for
tradition’s sake. Even less do I want to maintain a system of prejudice and
oppression which does harm to a significant part of our society. We ought to
ensure that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters have the legal protection
necessary to live with human dignity. We should not make it difficult for our
brothers and sisters to form stable and sustaining relationships. However, in
doing so, we should not redefine an institution which is enormously important to
us all for other reasons, reasons which are barely noticed by our modern
consciousness. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share these thoughts
with you today. July 19th, 20th, 2003
Pastor’s notes From Christianity Today (July 2003 issue) David Koyzis makes the
following observation: "The whole of political discourse has been reduced to
rights talk. And if you take refuge behind rights, that presumably trumps all
other considerations. Rights talk has only polarized the two sides on the abortion issue. If one
side were to adopt a different kind of language, it might lessen the distance.
For example, you could talk more about the common good. Does it contribute to
the common good for society to countenance the large-scale ending of life in the
womb? It you would start asking that question, people might realize that there are
other considerations. There are economic considerations – though we must never
reduce life issues to economics. There are also considerations about the way
that the vulnerable are treated. In Scripture, there are all sorts of commands
about protecting the vulnerable. And there’s a real sense, not so much that the
rights of the vulnerable are being violated, but that by abusing the vulnerable,
we abuse God himself. That makes for a society that’s cheapened human life, a me-centered society
in which people are concerned only with getting what they can. In that kind of
society, the powerful always end up winning." Prior to the 1960’s, the teaching of the Catholic Church about marriage was
clear and definite. The purpose of marriage was for the bringing of new life
into the world, caring for and the education of the child(ren). All else was
subsidiary or secondary (as good as other ends might be). This thought is
reflected in the very name of the sacrament of marriage. It is entitled the
Sacrament of Matrimony. Matrimony means "a call (or mission) to motherhood". In the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council all the sacraments, the
sources of our faith, the liturgy, the church’s stance towards the world, etc.
was up for discussion. It was a time of renewal – and renewal we got, under and
by the power of the Holy Spirit. The ends and the purpose of marriage were reaffirmed – with one not-so-minor
addition. The addition was that the purpose of marriage is inclusive of and the
enhancement of love – the love between the married couple. This is a statement
to which all people would agree - but it was not always so. The idea that one
marries for love is, over the centuries and in most societies – even in Western
society, is a relatively new concept. Marriages were often arranged and
love could come later. In the past it could be said "because I married you I
love you." In our day the common wisdom is "I married you because I love
you." To the Western mind the matter of love is held up to high regard as to
privacy and as a right. "If I love someone and they love me then you have no
say in the matter!" A multitude of books and songs has focused on this
issue, such as in mixed social standings, or different nationalities, etc. It
seems to work with a male and female… but if the issue is male/male or
female/female then we have "heat and flame", i.e. passions are aroused, and we
come back to the issues of privacy, rights and the Common Good (and a whole set
of other issues as well). To be continued…
July 12th, 13th, 2003 "Rights" and "privacy" are catch-words you will be sure to hear time and
again in such debates. It is time, perhaps, to introduce (or re-introduce) a new
element into the discussion. It is the element of the "common good." If
you have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church go to sections
1905 ff. For those of you who can’t find your copy I am printing it here. Common
Good is abbreviated as "CG".) 1897 – (it situates the status of authority) "Human society can be
neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with
legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as
far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all." By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or
institutions make laws and give orders to men and expect obedience from
them. "1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each
individual is necessarily related to the CG, which in turn can be defined only
in reference to the human person: Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you
were already justified, but gather instead to seek the common good together.
(Ep. Barnabae) 1906 By CG is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which
allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment
more fully and more easily." The CG concerns the life of all. It calls for
prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of
authority. It consists of three essential elements. 1907 First, the CG presupposes, respect for the person as such. In
the name of the CG, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and
inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its
members to fulfill his vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound
norm of conscience and to safeguard… privacy, and rightful freedom also in
matters of religion." 1908 Second, the CG requires the social well being and development
of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly,
it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the CG,
between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what
is needed to lead a truly human life; food, clothing, health, work, education
and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so
on. 1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the
stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should
ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its
members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective
defence (sic). 1910 Each human community possesses a CG which permits it to be
recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most
complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote
the CG of society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies. 1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading
throughout all the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who
enjoy equal dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for
an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different
needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong
questions of food, hygiene, education,… and certain situations arising here and
there, as for example… alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout
the world, and assisting immigrants and their families." 1912 The CG is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The
order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other
way around." This order is founded on truth, built up in justice and animated by
love. To be continued… Pastor’s Notes: This weekend, we celebrate the founding of our nation, USA, and thank God for
specific blessings – both material and spiritual. God’s good gifts have come to
us in this place and at this time of the ages. Those who seem to be most
appreciative are those who have now alive and have migrated here and those who
have been in the armed forces. That may be because they have seen with their own
eyes and have experienced within their own lives the absence of the
blessings we may, at times, so cavalierly accept and possibly abuse. This
weekend is designed to let us be giddy about what is given to us… but also to
recognize it is not so throughout the world. It has come at a high price and it
demands from its citizens and leaders a great responsibility ("Those to whom
much has been give, much will be demanded from them.") Happy (207th) Birthday, USA! Old debate resolved: Jewish author Isaac Singer was nonce asked whether he
believed in free will or determinism. Singer responded: "That’s a very easy
question. We have to believe in free will. We have no choice." "The problem is not the we’ve tried faith and found it wanting, but that
we’ve tried mammon and found it addictive, and as a result find following Christ
inconvenient… We are human beings, not human havings. God loves us for who we
are, not what we have." Your tired, your poor, your skilled: Much of the world may resent the US,
but people still want to come live here. About 800,000 a year, in fact, are
illegally entering the country. James Ziglar, outgoing commissioner of the
Immigration Service, thinks that American immigration policy is schizophrenic,
torn between the extremes of the open-door policy and xenophobic exclusion.
Although Ziglar’s tenure was brief (less than two years), he sparked a fresh
look at policy. For instance, he recommended the formation of Immigration
Education Centers to teach English and civics to immigrants. Without such a
program, he argued, immigrants don’t assimilate into the main stream. He also
proposed that longer-term immigrants should be encouraged to become naturalized.
"Why not ask immigrants to make a permanent commitment to our country after some
reasonable time?" he asked. Recognizing that corporate America needs immigrants
for the labor force, he also proposed industry co-ops, based on a Canadian
model. The co-ops would make a good-faith effort first to find American workers,
but then would recruit and train foreign laborers, based on skills and needs.
Ziglar will continue to promote his innovative perspectives on immigration as a
fellow at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. (George Anne Geyer, Chicago
Tribune, Feb. 25) The word "role model" conjures up a variety of images. Sports heroes,
Hollywood stars/starlets, and music stars are probably the most apparent… and
the role modeling they exercise is not always edifying. We admire their talents
but the other elements of their lives are not so edifying. That may sound
schizophrenic - but if a there is a surgeon who is the most qualified to operate
on us, that’s the one we want. We aren’t going to check to see if he has a good
prayer life or goes to confession on a regular basis. Charles Barkley was a basketball superstar and not adverse to letting people
know his view on things. When it was suggested that he was not a good role model
for children he stated that he was a basketball player and not a role model.
That wasn’t his job – that’s the responsibility of others (such as family
members). Sooner or later we find that all our heroes have feet of clay. Sammy Sousa
was one of the most popular sports figures in America – and then came the corked
bat (mistakenly used or not) and now life is different for Sammy and his
fans. A mature mind is aware that "original sin" is, as always, too much with us.
While role models can be wonderful diversions – we need something more in our
lives. We need people of integrity and moral credibility… even if they have had
their failings and failures (the history of many of our great political heroes
are filled with such accountings). Yet, there is something about them that makes
them stand above the rest of us. There are the elements of integrity and
honesty, and wholeness that seem to shine through and are the foundations of
their own lives. And they have the courage and the will to hold true to such
virtues. We need them for more than their virtues we might want to imitate.
These are people to whom trust and responsibility are given. What they say and
do and the decisions they will have to make directly influence and affect the
lives of others. It is more than their reputation that is at stake – it is
the lives and welfare of others that are at stake. It is a responsibility that is laid upon all of us. A mother and a father,
despite all their limitations and failings ought to be such heroes. (Every once
in a while at a funeral Mass a child will say exactly that about a deceased
parent). Here is one memory of such a hero. It is from the thoughts of Mario Cuomo, a
former governor of NY state as he speaks of his father. "I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work
fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms
of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the
language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the
simple eloquence of his example." For those who strive to be such a hero, Bill Cosby offers the following
advice: "If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated,
let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering
situation has a fifty percent chance of being right." "Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him
father!" Lydia M. Child Happy Father’s Day! If you might be interested in helping to plan children’s liturgies for grades
3 through 6 please let call me at the rectory. Pastor’s notes: I recently went to Washington, D.C. for a days and had seen our National
Cemetery (in Arlington). There is a quiet and yet disturbing peace to the
determined order of the simple tombstones. The peace is quiet because those who
are buried there have found rest. Disturbing, because (most often) that rest
came through the power and violence of armed conflict. I would guess that the
average age of those buried there would be somewhere in the twenty’s. The nation
celebrates a national day of remembrance for all such as these to say (and to
remind us) that human desires such as freedom, peace, security, etc. have come
at high cost… and most of those who lie buried did not live to enjoy them in
their hoped-for future. Remembering is a way of expressing gratitude… a way of
saying their lives given were not in vain… a way of urging us to seek out ways
of peace that insure justice and security. For those who follow Christ we are
reminded that true and lasting peace comes from the hands and the spirit of God.
The cross may be heavy – but we carry it with Christ and in the power of Christ.
Death may come along with it – but death cannot hold us down. We are celebrating
a season of Easter… of resurrection. May they rest in peace! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In America magazine (5/19/03) Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J. writes that in
war men and women often find themselves in an immoral matrix – and striving for
moral integrity. "This is the area of jus in bello, justice within war…
these warriors try not to kill civilians; they try to defend the defenseless and
one another; they want only to help the Iraqi people." He goes on to say that it
is foolish to say that all who go to war are heroes. But he does speak of "noble
warriors". He quotes one such soldier (does not name him) who addressed his
brigade (an Royal Irish regiment – 800 soldiers) with these words: We are entering Iraq to free a people, and the only flag that
will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them… It is a
big step to take another human life. it is not to be done lightly. I know of men
who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts. They live with the mark of
Cain upon them… Iraq is steeped in history, it is the site of the Garden of
Eden, of the Great Flood and of the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there.
You will see things that no man could pay to see, and you will have to go a long
way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. Don’t
treat them as refugees, for they are in their own county. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * By the time you are reading this bulletin, Ryan Fesko will have been buried
from our parish (5/23/2003). He was one of the young men who perished in a car
crash on Rte 29 – a road on which everyone reading this bulletin must have
traveled at one time or another. Of the five who died in that car accident only
one may be able to survive it. The grief to so many cannot be measured and the
length of the grieving may be without measure. I am sure you have done so
already… but pray for those young men and pray for their families and their
friends. Prayer is not without its power – and prayer is something we ought to
be (and are) good at. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I know my writings this week are "heavy". But these are elements of our human
estate and are certainly current and visible to us in this time and in this
place. Our faith is no stranger to such struggles – and our Lord does not
abandon us. Draw close to the Lord and the Lord will draw close to
you.
Recently we had our second parish conference regarding
the child abuse situation within our church. About twelve people were in
attendance – most of who were not able to make it to the first conference. An
update was given on what was happening within the US. The bishops have
established a national office for the protection of the young and an office of
investigation to see if the bishops of their local diocese are following the
norms set up within the past two years. An account of the results is to be made
(public) by the end of the year. Dioceses are now going back to past records to
discover past offences. There are a number of new cases coming forward – but
they are not about priests who are currently working – but of those who are
retired or who have died. Fifty years seem to be the general expanse of time
that the investigations are centered on. There were some questions that could
not be answered (e.g. the costs involved). To go forward in our parish we are going to investigate and establish a child
abuse prevention program within the parish. The program will involve parents and
children and will be open to all the members of the community at large (i.e. not
just to St. James parishioners). The funding for the program will come from the
money that is returned to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. I have
been speaking with the superintendent of schools, Mr. Sopko, one of the
principals of our schools, Mr. Dick Fitzpatrick, and with the head of CAP (Child
Abuse Prevention) which has its main office in Lawrenceville. The conversation
was to assure that we would not be duplicating efforts. I will keep you informed
as progress is being made Deacons: About 25 – 30 years ago, when the diaconate was re-introduced to
Catholic Community, many priests were not too receptive to the idea. "What do
they do?" "I don’t need them." "I can do all that stuff quite well, thank
you." Were some comments that I would hear. On May 10th, while
vesting before the mass for ordination I was speaking with some priests. The
comments I hear now are "Thank God for the deacons. I’d be dead without
them." Our deacons, Sam, Jim, Kevin, Dick and Moore handle much of the business end
(finances), run the religious education program, work on social justice issues,
care for family life, help prepare liturgies, run RCIA programs, prepare for
baptisms and baptize, make sure that the Eucharist and some prayer life is in
nursing homes, train servers at the altar, lead prayer at funeral vigils, go to
the cemeteries, hospitals, chair parish dinners, visit the sick, proclaim the
gospel and instruct within the liturgies and outside the liturgies, work in
emergency situations for the homeless, the sick, and counsel in the rectory.
These are but a few of the things they do. "How did we do without
them? The Easter collection this year totaled just a little bit over $40,000.
This will help us meet some of our diocesan assessments and, of course, our
normal course of expenses. It has been noted that it seems that when we (pastors) speak about money it
is either to ask for it (and we don’t do that well) or to lay out a guilt trip.
Actually we do thank you for it as well and are extremely appreciative of your
generosity. Perhaps in the fall I might dedicate a few homilies on money. The good news
will be that I won’t ask for or lay on a guilt trip. It is a difficult topic.
The Lord Jesus spoke about it often (and did not always say to give it away). At
one time it considered a sin to loan money and expect to get it back with
interest. It was called "usury". But the way the world was progressing and the
demands of growth made loans a necessity… and so the church changed. So – what
to do with the money? You know I won’t give answers – but I can bring something
to the table for you to reflect upon "In those days, as the number of disciples grew, the
ones who spoke Greek complained that their widows were being neglected in the
daily distribution of food, as compared with the widows of those who spoke
Hebrew. The Twelve assembled the community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not
right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Look around
among you own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply
spiritual and prudent, and we shall appoint them to this task. This will permit
us to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word.’ The proposal was
unanimously accepted by the community. Following this they selected Stephen, a
man filled faith and the Holy Spirit; Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon,
Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, who had been a convert to Judaism. They
presented these men to the apostles, who first prayed over them and then imposed
hands upon them." (Acts 6: 1 – 6) On May 10th the Bishop of Trenton ordained William Moore
Hank ("Moore") to the ministry of the Diaconate… and specifically to the
service of the church at Pennington – St. James. Moore completed several years
of study and training before he arrived at his day of ordination – but the
process of discerning a response of a call from God to serve was a bit longer.
In all those years his wife, Theresa, accompanied and assisted him. It
could not, it ought not, be otherwise. May God bless them and God’s light shine upon them! Mother’s Day 2003 Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) is credited with originating our Mother's Day
holiday. She never married and was extremely attached to her mother, Mrs. Anna
Reese Jarvis. Mrs. Jarvis was a minister's daughter who for 20 years taught
Sunday School in the Andrews Methodist Church of Grafton, West Virginia. Miss
Jarvis graduated from the Female Seminary in Wheeling, West Virginia, and taught
in Grafton before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the rest of her
family. Anna Reese Jarvis died in Philadelphia in May of 1905. Still unmarried and
left alone with her blind sister Elsinore, Anna missed her mother greatly. Two
years after her mother's death (1907) Anna Jarvis and her friends began a
letter-writing campaign to gain the support of influential ministers,
businessmen and congressmen in declaring a national Mother's Day holiday. She
felt children often neglected to appreciate their mother enough while the mother
was still alive. She hoped Mother's Day would increase respect for parents and
strengthen family bonds. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Mrs. Anna
Reese Jarvis, held at Anna Jarvis's request in Grafton, West Virginia, and in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908. Carnations, her mother's favorite flowers, were supplied at that first
service by Miss Jarvis. White carnations were chosen because they represented
the sweetness, purity and endurance of mother love. Red carnations, in time,
became the symbol of a living mother. White ones now signify that one's mother
has died. Happy Mother’s Day On this coming Thursday evening, May 8, 7:30 p.m. at
the church we will have an open discussion re: child abuse within the
church. We will review what took place at the first meeting and continue our
discussion: perhaps some planning for the future. All are invited. The following poem was written by Madeleine L’Engle. She is a religious
writer of some note and she composed the poem that follows: an appropriate
beginning to a month in which Mary is honored in a special way. Mary Speaks O You who bear the pain of the whole earth, I bore you. O You whose tears gave human tears their worth, I bore you. You, who when your hem is touched, give power. I nourished you. Who turns the day to night in this dark hour, Light – comes from you. O You who hold the world in your embrace, I once carried you. Whose arms encircled the world with your grace, I once held you. O You who laughed and ate and walked the shore, I played with you. And I, who with all others, you died for, now I hold you. May I be faithful to this final test, in this last time I hold my child, my
son; his body close enfolded to my breast; The holder held, the bearer borne. mourning to joy, darkness to morn, open, my arms; your work is done. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Next Saturday, May 11th, Mr. William Moore Hank will be ordained
to the Permanent Diaconate. On that same day, at the 5:00 p.m. Mass there will
be a Mass of Thanksgiving. Moore joins the company of our Deacons Sam
Sciarrotta, Jim Palsir, Kevin Byrne and Dick Currie. We offer to God our
thanksgiving and to Moore and his wife, Theresa, our prayers and good wishes.
They have both worked long and hard for the arrival of this day. As one journey
ends for them – another begins. * * * * * * * * * For those who wish to contribute you still have time. This weekend is the
final weekend of the drive. Please join us in this appeal. A most heart-felt note of appreciation to the RCIA team, to the sponsors and
instructors who stepped forward to meet the needs of those who sought out the
Lord, Jesus. Without the proclamation, the hearing, the care from others there
would be no nurturing of their faith. Blessed be God who worked through the
members of His Body in this Church. ***** The parish is very much indebted to and thankful for all those who prepared
the liturgies, the music (a lot of work expended to give voice to the
mysteries in which we engaged), the decorations, the other liturgical ministries
such as hospitality, serving, sprucing up the church, or the deacons and staff,
and so on. I want to assure you that your work 1) does not go unacknowledged or
appreciated 2) that your efforts met with great success and 3) each according to
its own grace drew us deeper into the life and love of our God. ***** The Resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate victory of life over death, of
God’s goodness over evil. Like you who are reading this bulletin, I try to
involve myself as much as possible into the various mysteries we celebrate
through Lent, Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is a pretty big day…
and at the end of the day we can find ourselves asking: "now what?" The world
pretty much looks the same. The television programming goes back to business as
usual, the sports world keeps moving along as do the governments of the world,
etc. Has the resurrection had its effect in the world? By analogy there is something that can be said. I, for one, worked years in
the seminary and prepared for and looked for the day of my ordination (in the
same way that many couples approach their wedding day). Then came the ordination
and the next day there was the Mass and, later in the day, Benediction (we did
things differently in those days). Our "great events" have taken place but we
realized that though we have "arrived" – we knew that it was just the beginning.
Though the world continued along its path, we changed and our life circumstances
changed and nothing will ever be quite the same again. Many paths of life were
open to us – and we chose this path. In one of the gospel accounts of the
Resurrection we sense that the Ascension occurred on the same day. And when
Jesus ascended the messengers of God said to the disciples "What are you staring
at? Let’s go. There’s a lot of work to be done." Now our lives are "resurrection" lives. We live and move about in the world
in a way that is dramatically different from those who neither met nor know
Jesus. This path brings its own trials and rewards and it brings the ultimate
reward of life with God – forever. Things may look the same – but they sure are
different! Resurrexit sicut dixit. Alleluia! He is risen as he said. Alleluia! On May 8th, Thursday, 7:30 p.m., in the Church there will be a
follow-up parish meeting on the topic of clergy sex abuse within the Catholic
Church. If you were not able to get to the first meeting this will be
opportunity offered again. A point of consideration will be "where do we go from
here as a parish?" I hope to have more details in a future
bulletin. April 20th, 2003
Easter Sunday 2003 Ask any Roman Catholic priest (or observe for yourself)
at what times of the year do most people come for the Holy Liturgy (Prayer).
They will tell you Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter. Christmas centers on life and promise. Human life! Beautiful
human life! - no matter how humble or messy the beginnings. With the birth of
every child there is the promise of hope. What will this child be? What
disappointments will he/she experience? How will they come through it? How will
they be loved? How will they love? The beginning of the revelations or answers
to these inquiries begins with the birth of Jesus. And that is worth
celebrating. Ash Wednesday looks both to the past and to the future. It
looks to the past and makes us face the coming certainty of death. The ashes
lead us to ask, "how are we doing?" "Am I getting this ‘life’ thing right?" "Is
there a better way, a fuller way, of life? And if there is, then why am I not
getting it?" Intuitively, or by reason, or in some other manner we sense we fall
far short (is it our sin?) and we come for the ashes to say "I want to put aside
the old and destructive and to walk on new pathways." And that is worth
celebrating! Palm Sunday is a shocker! We begin the Holy Liturgy by praising
the earthly kingship of Jesus and before we even get to the homily (sermon) we
have heard how Jesus, within a week, is arrested, falsely condemned, and put to
death on a cross! Definitely two "bummers." We thought we got it right as we
shouted our "hosannas". We were with Jesus all the way - until we found out the
way led to the cross! Palm Sunday turns us upside down and spins us around. We
become dizzy and we have to take time out to figure it all out. If suffering is
a necessary part of the package deal of life; if earthly kingship is temporary
(even the pope is warned as he accepts his new position: "sic transit gloria
mundi" i.e.; "thus passes the glory of the world"): if earthly kingship is
empty then what is there? It will take us time to figure this out – and so we
enter into a "Holy Week" in order to engage Holy Mystery – and be led into a
revelation that will forever change us. And that is worth celebrating! Easter Sunday completes the circle and it brings us back to life. To
beautiful human (and supernatural) life! It is about the fulfillment of human
life and more – much more – no matter how humble or how messy the earthly
ending! It states that God has a plan and if God has a plan then our life has a
purpose! It says that love is greater than the power of death! It says that
God’s ability to forgive is greater than our ability to sin! It calls to mind
Jesus’ promise that where He is there we shall be also – and Jesus has the power
to deliver on that promise! In fact, Jesus has delivered! Fear and death will
not have the final say. And that is worth celebrating! Go and read the various accounts of the Resurrection and the appearances
of Jesus. You might end up asking: "is this any way to stage a resurrection?" No
big crowd (only a few women and even they are afraid to speak about it), and
then when spoken about – disbelief at the worse (with one or two exceptions) and
skepticism at best. But the Word could not be held down! It was passed on, it
picked up a power of its own and proclaimed throughout the lands and throughout
the ages. Those who gather weekly to celebrate the Holy Mysteries are most
responsible for the preservation of the Good News and for the proclamation of
that same Good News. And that is worth celebrating! From the lips of the one in white garments and at the
tomb: "Do not be afraid. Jesus is not here for He has been raised." Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! (Apologies for all
the "I’s" and "me’s" in these notes. I thought perhaps that some of my
experiences might resonate with what is happening to you during Lent.) At
the beginning of Lent I cautioned you that i
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A priest speaks to his people at Mass about the beauty
and the power of Christ and how grateful he is to be a Catholic – and the
congregation stands up and applauds. Fr. Hans Kung, for all his criticisms of
the church tells people he would never leave the Catholic Church because it is
this Church which is most loyal (faithful) to the life and teachings of Christ.
Fr. Andrew Greeley, whom it seems not many bishops like but all pay attention to
him, writes why he remains a Catholic.
The carpeting (in the Blue room, the Link, the classrooms in the Link and
the church) has been installed as has a new tile floor in the cafeteria and
Parish Center hallways. I hope you are please with it.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Now, on a very different note: I want to express a very sincere thank
you for your response to our request for new carpeting throughout our
building. I know that the economy has hit hard for many of you and that only
makes me more grateful.
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Pastor’s Notes: Certain issues confronting our society have been debated
and argued (with protests and counter-protests) so long that their continuance
seems ritualistic (i.e., pretty much the same and producing no further results).
Such examples are the debates about abortion, affirmative action and the death
penalty. The next issue is already upon us: the prospect of same sex marriage.
Canada has just recently legalized it, Vermont has and it seems as though it
will be debated in every state. You can be sure that the heat will be
intense.
The following come from Centurymarks that have appeared in
Christian Century Magazine.
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THE FIRST MOTHER'S DAY
Our community extends a special blessing and congratulations to our
First Communicants this weekend. In Catholic churches one of the most
pleasant and reoccurring Spring practices is that of First Communion. We always
look forward to it and always come away from it with a glad heart. To our
Religious Education staff, to the teachers, the parents and volunteers who
assisted in the preparation (part of which is a First Communion Retreat) we
extend our thanks and pray to God for good blessings upon you. And to the
children: come to the table and come often. You will have special blessings from
your Lord who has great love for you. Your presence is blessing to all – as will
this community be to you.
The Bishop’s Annual Appeal: St. James Church - Pennington, NJ has reached
its goal of $55,000 and I want to thank all of you who contributed to the
appeal… your generosity is a special blessing for me and then for those who will
benefit from the funding of various programs.
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