Faith and Failures

I have always felt a bit inadequate as an RCIA coordinator.  Teaching is not one of my strongpoints.  The more enthusiastic I am about a topic, the more I tend to stumble in my presentation.  In our small parish there aren’t many options.  I make sure the adult classes are available because they are important if we are to share the faith.  The past couple of years have been especially difficult with Covid restrictions limiting our interactions.  

 

Our program this year started rough.  We had seven different individuals come for at least one session and not return, which makes me question what I could have done differently to make them want to come back.  I make sure they know the door is always open.  Two other women expressed an interest in returning to the faith, but have not responded to invitations.

 

Non-catholics  or fallen away Catholics who contact the parish inquiring about the faith generally do so when going through a crisis of some sort.  One had recently lost a spouse unexpectedly.  Anther was convinced she had a ghost living in her house.  Another came with pre-conceived misconceptions of Catholic practices that she was hostile toward.  Once the impetus subsides, they no longer want to put in the time to explore the faith.  

 

The one bright spot we have this year is a catechumen who is engaged to a Catholic woman from our parish. He has enthusiastically immersed himself in studying the faith.  He is intelligent and well read, prays daily, attends a weekday Mass in addition to Sundays, and wants to explore the diaconate after entering the Church.  Oddly enough, his father is a former Christian who became a Muslim.  That could be one reason he began his search for the truth long before he landed in a Catholic RCIA class.  

 

As Lent approaches, we can begin looking forward to the Easter Vigil when he will be baptized, confirmed and receive the Holy Eucharist for the first time in his life.  I pray his new found enthusiasm for the Catholic Faith continues to grow throughout his life.  

 

A few New Year observations

The new year appears to be picking up where the old year left off.  Partisan bickering, Covid variations, social media nonsense, and everything else that makes a tranquil life unattainable. We have also seen an unusual number of celebrity names in the obituary column. Betty White, John Madden, Sidney Poitier, Duane Hickman, Bob Saget, Ronnie Spector, those are just the ones who are most familiar to me.   In the Heat of the Night with Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger was always one of my favorite movies.  I’m not a big movie guy, but I could sense life in the deep south whenever I watched it.  I grew up listening to Ronnie Spector on my pocket transistor radio in the 1960’s.  Be my Baby is still on my playlist today.  

 

Even our local small town mortician has been especially busy during the first couple of weeks of the new year.  He may go weeks without a funeral and then suddenly have four or five within a few days. I wonder if deaths occur more frequently right after the holidays or during the cold winter doldrums.  Life is precious and fragile.  We should always be prepared.  

 

President Reagan issued a proclamation declaring January 22, 1984 as the first Sanctity of Life Day.  He chose that date because the Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand on that date in 1973. Now, nearly a half century later, we have our best chance of seeing that terrible ruling overturned.  A decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is expected in late June.  Our society fails to acknowledge that most of the problems we face in our communities today can be traced to a lack of respect for human life and that life begins in the womb.

 

In Chicago, Pastor Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church is spending one hundred days encamped atop a stack of storage containers to raise awareness and money to end gun violence in his troubled neighborhood.  He has a tent, a stove and a small heater to protect him from the bitter cold.  His bathroom is a bucket.  Pastor Brooks hopes to build a resource center on the property that will provide programs for teens, a trauma center, and sports facilities.  

 

As of this writing, Pastor Brooks is on day 58 on the rooftop which also happens to be Martin Luther King Day.  In his daily statement, he spoke about three lies of critical race theory, which he calls a cancer in our society.  Lie number one is that an individual’s race is his or her defining trait.  Lie number two says that there is an enduring power struggle because most people are racist.  Lie number three says that capitalism is a form of white supremacy.  I would encourage everyone to hear Pastor Brook’s remarks in their entirety. Imagine the wisdom a man gains from spending one hundred nights in rooftop winter solitude.

 

We are numb with the stories of violence in some Chicago neighborhoods.  So many young black men are growing up without positive male role models.  Pastor Brooks is going way beyond his comfort zone to make a difference in his community.   Please keep him and those in most need of his help in your prayers.  All human life matters. 

Christmas traditions

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year.  My tastes are very old-fashioned and traditional.  I still love the old C9 outdoor lights on an evergreen tree and I have decorated one in my front yard every year since we bought our first house in 1975.  Our first indoor tree was scotch pine.  We eventually went to white pine, and then discovered Frasier Fir which became our favorite, still with the old colored bulbs.  The wonderful fragrance of the Frasier Fir just added to the festive atmosphere.

 

For the past dozen years or so, we have been empty nesters.  Christmases weren’t quite the same although I kept up with the decorations each year. In 2020, my wife and I both turned seventy years old.  For the first time ever, we opted to purchase an artificial Christmas tree. Oh, it was nice with pre-lit LED lights that would change color with the touch of a remote control, but some of the magic was gone.  My wife and my son were both organists at Catholic Churches some 600 miles apart, making it impossible for us to get together on Christmas when they both had obligations.  That fact somewhat dampened my Christmas spirit, making the artificial tree a little more tolerable.  

 

Last August, our quiet retired lifestyle took a sudden turn.  Circumstances at the parish where my son was Liturgy and Music director, forced them to cut his position back from full time to part time.  His wife and my four grandchildren had always hoped to move closer to Indiana where both families originated, and they took this as an opportunity to make the move.  With no immediate prospects for employment, the family of six moved in with us.  For the first time since our own children were small, we are going to have four youngsters ranging in age from four to ten in our home at Christmas.  This Christmas would be special. 

 

We all cling to those Christmas memories from our childhood in the hopes of recreating them each year.  Only in December can we turn on contemporary radio and hear Gene Autry, Burl Ives, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, and Bing Crosby.  Someday our grandchildren will grow up and look back on Christmases when they listened to Mariah Carey or Justin Bieber.  Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.  Anyway, I wanted to make this Christmas like those I remember from my childhood.

 

I knew immediately the artificial Christmas tree was staying in the attic this year.  I wanted my grandchildren to experience going to the Christmas tree farm and picking out the perfect tree.  We did it last weekend. Although we elected not to cut the tree ourselves, we did find a beautiful Frasier Fir that is now standing in our living room arrayed in old-fashioned colored lights and ornaments.  The children hung their stockings on the fireplace mantle where Saint Nicholas generously filled them on December 6^th.  Our formerly quiet abode is now filled with laughter, badly sung Christmas carols, and the aroma of Christmas baking.  

 

My mother-in-law always made fruitcake every Christmas season, not the hard kind nobody likes, but a tasty juicy cake like no other.  She developed a reputation for her fruitcake to the point where friends and acquaintances would ask her to make it for them each year.  Since her passing several years ago, we have missed the annual treat.  This year, my daughter-in-law decided to try bringing it back.  We had a copy of the recipe, and I must admit, it turned out just as I remembered it.  Perhaps a new generation will carry on grandma’s fruitcake tradition.  

 

My six-year-old granddaughter was in a Christmas dance recital with her ballet class last Sunday afternoon.  We sat through two and half hours of watching somebody else’s kids dance in order to see my granddaughter perform for two and a half minutes.  Her other grandfather drove two hours one way for the same experience so I shouldn’t complain!  

 

The presents are now piling up around the tree and the anticipation is bursting among all four of the grandchildren.  It brings back memories, not only of raising my kids, but even my own childhood when I wanted so badly to open at least one gift early.  My parents would never allow it and I won’t either.  I want to enjoy this Christmas season to the fullest.  At my age, there won’t be many more.   It is the most wonderful time of the year.  

 

Amidst all the festivities, let us not forget whose birthday we are celebrating.  I'm hoping to get the older grandchildren to come with us to Midnight Mass.  We will see how it goes!  Wishing everyone a very Blessed Christmas and a Joyful Healthy New Year!

 

 

 

November lament

A few thoughts after attending Mass on All Saints Day.  First of all, the pews were mostly empty, fourteen present by my count.  Granted, it fell on a Monday this year, so it was not a Holy Day of Obligation, but it was still a Holy Day.  Had we been obligated to attend Mass, I’m sure many more would have come.  This is the downside of obligated Mass attendance.  People tend to lose sense of the real reason we go to Mass.  We should go because we want to, not because we have to. 

Some priests foster this mentality by getting lackadaisical in the celebration of the solemnities.  The Mass had no music or singing, no servers, nothing beyond a regular weekday Mass except for reciting the Gloria and a second scripture reading.  We learn to celebrate a Holy Day falling on a Monday by being able to stay home.  It’s the same mentality we had as children when snow prevented us from going to school.  Somehow, our motivations have become skewed.  It just makes me wonder how many would stay home on Sundays too if the Mass obligation was relaxed. 

Those who did come were mostly the older members of the parish.  A few of them were daily Mass goers who would normally go on Mondays anyway.  On a positive note, one mother brought her three young children.  I happen to know they traveled a considerable distance.  If only more parents understood the importance of instilling this behavior in their children.  

Tomorrow is All Souls Day.  When I was growing up, a priest was permitted to say three Masses on All Souls Day.  We had two priests in our parish, so there were six Masses in a row, one right after another.  It was not a Holy Day of Obligation, but most Catholics went to at least one or two Masses.  Our parish will have only one Mass, and it will not be well attended, I am sure.  In full disclosure, I won’t be going either.  I too get lackadaisical in the practice of my faith.  It’s contagious.  The toned-down liturgies, the scandals, the confusion over the Church’s apparent tolerance of pro-abortion Catholic politicians, all these things have an effect on the temperature of our faith commitment.  We need to stay positive.  We need to celebrate!

A Word to the Unwise

I have been doing the Ascension Press Bible in a Year program.  Father Mike Schmitz leads a daily podcast of Scripture readings lasting 365 (or maybe 366) consecutive days.  I just finished day 287.  Some of the Old Testament is hard for me to follow.  Lots of names, tribes, conflicts, and lands.  I marvel at how Father Mike pronounces them all without missing a beat.  I should consider repeating this again next year as I would certainly get more out of it the second time through.  

The daily readings currently include the Book of Sirach and Proverbs where so much wisdom can be found.  Many verses seem to address concerns relevant to current times.   For example, social media is filled with polarizing arguments about mandatory vaccines, voter rights, cancel culture, budget ceilings, court packing, half truths and complete fabrications.  Conspiracy theories abound.  If people today would heed the advice of some Old Testament writers, our society would be much more respectful.  So here are some biblical words of wisdom for everyone to consider before posting anything on social media.

Proverbs 18:2  A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 18:17  He who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

Proverbs 20:3  It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; but every fool will be quarreling.

Proverbs 22:10  Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.

Proverbs 12:1  Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Proverbs 16:21  The wise of heart is called a man of discernment, and pleasant speech increases persuasiveness.

Proverbs 16:32  He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city

Proverbs 17:5  He who mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 17:7  Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.

Sirach 11:7  Do not find fault before you investigate; first consider, and then reprove.

Sirach 18:19-20  Before you speak, learn, and before you fall ill, take care of your health.

20 Before judgment, examine yourself, and in the hour of visitation you will find forgiveness.

Sirach 19: 4-10 

4 One who trusts others too quickly is lightminded, and one who sins does wrong to himself.

5 One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned, 6 and for one who hates gossip evil is lessened.

7 Never repeat a conversation, and you will lose nothing at all.

8 With friend or foe do not report it, and unless it would be a sin for you, do not disclose it;

9 for someone has heard you and watched you, and when the time comes he will hate you.

10 Have you heard a word? Let it die with you. Be brave! It will not make you burst!

Sirach 19:15-16

15 Question a friend, for often it is slander; so do not believe everything you hear.

16 A person may make a slip without intending it.  Who has never sinned with his tongue?

 

Sirach 22:13  Do not talk much with a foolish man, and do not visit an unintelligent man;

guard yourself from him to escape trouble, and you will not be soiled when he shakes himself off;

Sirach 23:15  A man accustomed to use insulting words will never become disciplined all his days.

Or, just be nice. 

End of summer thoughts

 

My normal routine during weekly Eucharistic Adoration is a half hour of prayer, including the Rosary, and a half hour of reading or meditation.  I will call it meditation because it sounds better, but may be best described as thinking of whatever random thoughts come into my mind.  I believe it is important to just listen at times and God will speak to me.  Now, I’m not very good at that.  My mind tends to wander off easily.  Staying focused is a challenge where I often fail.  However, once in a while I am able to concentrate sufficiently that some intellectual clarity will emerge.  I would like to believe it is the Holy Spirit speaking to me, but that might be a bit presumptuous. 

 

Very few Catholics in my parish take advantage of Eucharistic Adoration.  For a time on this particular day, I was the only one present.  While I appreciate the lone time with Jesus, it saddens me that most people do not take advantage of this opportunity.  If we truly have the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ before us in that monstrance, why isn’t every Christian in the county trying to get in our doors?  Then, I began to think about some of the Protestant ministries in the area who are vibrant with active members, even without valid sacraments.  Why are they seemingly more attractive than we are?

 

Here is where I thought some inspired clarity added focus to the picture.  In typical Protestant communities around here, members will say the sinner’s prayer and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  They have the opportunity to go to church on Sunday, listen to some preaching, and sing a few songs, usually contemporary music with guitars and drums.  They may develop a more personal relationship with the pastor, his or her family, and all of this tends to be more socially entertaining.  If they don’t like the sermons or the pastor, they can go down the street and find one more to their liking.

 

Catholics on the other hand are centered on the Holy Eucharist.  The Church has much more to offer with the Sacraments, devotions, standardized prayers, and the various rites.  Worship is more vertical and not naturally conducive for socializing. If one is not properly formed in the faith, it can seem overly structured and restrictive, and unfortunately, our faith formation has been weak at best.  We have many more paths to connect with God than our Protestant brothers and sisters, but perhaps not as many to connect with one another.  Or maybe the social opportunities are there, but take a backseat to the spiritual side. The horizontal component of religion is much easier to maintain in the Protestant form it seems.

 

Having so many opportunities for Catholics to connect spiritually means we also have many more opportunities to disconnect.  In addition to Sunday Mass, there is confession, weekdays Masses, adoration, Holy Days, Fast and Abstinence Days, devotions, prayers, rosaries, lay ministries, the list goes on and on.  So those of us who are active in the parish pick and choose what we think we can handle, and usually find ourselves with the same faces, often few and far between.  It is so easy to gradually disconnect.  “No one can be expected to do all these things, so maybe I will lessen my load.” 

 

What is the answer?  How do we grow spiritually and pass that desire onto others?   If we truly understood and appreciated what we have as Catholics, our churches would be full.  Yet, how dare I find fault with others because they are not doing what I am doing?  Am I holier than they?  Probably not.  All I can do is keep praying and hope God tells me what I should be doing, and gives me the wisdom to hear and understand.

 

For those struggling in the practice of their faith, my advice would be to try doing one more thing than what you are doing now.  If you are a bare minimum Catholic only attending Sunday Mass, try adding one weekday Mass, or finding one program on EWTN that you might enjoy regularly.  Stop in for a quick visit next time you pass the church on a weekday.  Spend a few minutes at Eucharistic Adoration.  Go to the Catholic Answers website and read a short tract on some tenet of the Catholic faith.  Start small if you must, but do something to tighten that connection with your Catholic faith.  A little effort can go a long way.