Come on down!

It's that time of the week when preacher and people need to study and pray over the Lord's Day scriptures in preparation for Sunday Mass. This week's texts can be found here and for some background material on these readings, look here.

The gospel this weekend tells the familiar story of Zacchaeus. This wealthy tax collector was "seeking to see who Jesus was but he could not see him because..."

Well, if remember or re-read the story, you'll see why Zacchaeus couldn't see the Lord. My guess is that many who read this blog are seeking to see who Jesus is, too, but for one reason or another are having trouble seeing him...

And before I give away my homily, I'll stop here and encourage you to look the scriptures for Sunday and the short background articles!

All Saints Day

Communion of Saints by Ira Thomas. (Click for larger view)


The prayers from the liturgy for the Solemnity of All Saints give us not only a good understanding of what this day celebrates but also a fine insight into what we mean when we say we believe in the communion of saints.

The Opening Prayer for All Saints Day:
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women
of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us
your forgiveness and love.

...the work of your hands is manifest in your saints,
the beauty of your truth is reflected in their faith.
May we who aspire to have part in their joy
be filled with the Holy Spirit that blessed their lives,
so that having shared their faith on earth
we may also know their peace in your kingdom.

The Prayer Over the Gifts:
Lord,
receive our gifts
in honor of the holy men and women
who live with you in glory.
May we always be aware
of their concern to help and save us.

The Prayer After Communion
Father, holy one,
we praise your glory reflected in the saints.
May we who share at this table
be filled with your love
and prepared for the joy of your kingdom.

In addition to affirming an afterlife, these prayers highlight our belief that we continue to be in relationship with those who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith. It is not only a matter of our honoring the holy lives these brothers and sisters led but also of acknowledging that they who are already with the Lord continue to be concerned for us and our welfare. That the very work of God can be manifest in our lives calls us to the responsibility of living in a way that the love of God be transparent in our deeds and relationships. Finally, our prayer on All Saints Day reminds us that when we share at the altar of the Lord's table we have a foretaste of the banquet the saints share forever in the reign of God.

The church calendar sets aside many days to honor the most famous of saints. November 1 is the day for us to remember and honor those saints whose lives made headlines not in the daily papers but in the hearts of those they served and touched. All of us know such saints in our own lives - some who have gone home to the Lord and some who are still with us.

Happy All Saints Day to all!

Happy Halloween!

Over my years in Concord I've often suited myself up for Halloween in a number of disguises. While I'm not doing that this year, I've been thinking about those costumes and recall that I've been Charlie Brown, a pirate, the universe, a ghost, Uncle Sam, a beach comber, a skunk and a scare crow. Any local folks remember other get-ups I've donned?

Have a great night trick-or-treating! Carry flash lights and be careful when crossing streets!

Saint of the day, who will it be?

(Click to enlarge and for detail of saints' names.)

The sidebar includes a link for finding the Saint of the Day.

Not every day on the church's calendar is devoted to a particular saint. For example: in November, 14 of the 30 days have no saint assigned on the liturgical calendar.  Saint of the Day "fills in" such days with saints who do not have their own day. Each date on the calendar is hyperlinked to a short biography and comment on that day's saint.

The illustration above is one of the tapestries in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. Such tapestries line both side of the nave and give worshippers the sense of being in the communion of saints as they celebrate the Eucharist. (If you are in LA, make sure you visit the cathedral!) The tapestry above includes the names of some of those pictured, but not of others. It was the artist's desire to include images of those whom the church has not yet canonized but who are living saintly lives among us. See here for more background on the art and artist and be sure to click on the links at the top of that page to see the tapestries on the north and south walls (and make sure you click to enlarge each one.)

-ConcordPastor

For all the saints who from their labors rest...

In some cultures, it's customary to visit cemeteries on the eve of All Saints Day 
and to light candles at the graves in honor of the dead.

The Saint Anthony Messenger site answers some questions about the origins of the next two days on the Christians calendar. Following are excerpts from the Messenger report.

When you think of Halloween, what comes to mind? For a lot of people, Halloween has become synonymous with candy, costumes, scary stuff, witches, ghosts and pumpkins. But do you know the Christian connection to the holiday?

The true origins of Halloween lie with the ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, lord of the dead. During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the dead, including ghosts, goblins and witches, returned to mingle with the living. In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires.

When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own touches to the Samhain festival, such as making centerpieces out of apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. The Romans also bobbed for apples and drank cider, traditions which may sound familiar to you. But where does the Christian aspect of the holiday come into play? In 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints)from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallows' Even or holy evening. Eventually the name was shortened to the current Halloween. On November 2, the Church celebrates All Souls Day.

The purpose of these feasts is to remember those who have died, whether they are officially recognized by the Church as saints or not. It is a celebration of the "communion of saints," which reminds us that the Church is not bound by space or time.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that through the communion of saints "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things" (#1475).

Good News!

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Have you seen this? Unbelievable!

I'm not a big sports fan but I guess the past week with the Red Sox has opened my eyes to some things I might otherwise have missed on the Internet.

With condolences to my sister in Colorado...

Don't it always seem to go...

It was not long after I arrived at my parish, St. Ann's in Wollaston, that I met Dick, a funeral director at the funeral home next door to my rectory. Our respective professions often put us in the same place at the same time. I believe the first time I met his Joann and their four children was when I was invited to join them for a day trip to the Cape and a family gathering with Dick's parents and his four brothers and two sisters. Thus began a friendship with a family and an extended family that was filled with good times and many happy memories. Over 30+ years my friendship with Dick has been a great gift. This summer at his 60th birthday party, I saw his siblings for the first time in many years - a great reunion!

Dick and Joann have been planning to move to Florida for years. Although I've heard them speak of it often, I'm not sure I thought it would ever come to pass. But Dick retired this summer and later this week he and Joann are making the move to the south. Today I had brunch with them and we said our goodbyes, for now...

More than three decades is a long time to have a friend and looking back I realize that there were times when I took that bond for granted or failed to pay it the attention it deserved. Dick was much more faithful than I at keeping in touch and keeping the friendship alive. I'm grateful for that because our friendship means a lot to me - more than I may have shown over the years.

But now when Dick reminds me that we haven't been in touch, it will take a plane ride not a hop down 95 for us to get together for lunch or dinner. Makes me think of that song Joni Mitchell sang, "Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got / Till its gone..."

Dick and Joann won't be living too far from Tampa where I have family so I hope that the double draw will get me to the Sunshine State often enough to refresh my family and friendship ties.

Dick and Joann, know that you are loved and you will be missed...

"Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got / Till it's gone..."

Homily for October 28

Tatiana Grant, iconographer

Homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

Jesus is loaded for bear in this parable addressed to
“those who are convinced of their own righteousness
and who despise everyone else.”

Now, those are Some. Nasty. Folks.
Not just a little holier-than-thou,
but convinced of their righteousness;
not just disdainful,
but despising everyone else.

Truth be told,
I doubt we have any folks here who fit this description to T,
but I’m pretty sure there are some ways that many of us
come closer to the Pharisee than to the tax collector
in the story Jesus tells.

Try these on for size and see if any fit…

“O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity:
- not like the Republicans who lie about the war;
- not like the Democrats who have no courage or patriotism;

“I thank you God that I’m not like the ones from “that” parish;
that I’m not from “that” side of town;
you know how different "we" are from “them”.

“And Lord, I thank you that I’m not like those who have no clue
about the right answer to the Willard School question.

“I thank you that I’m not like the bishops and chancery officials:
mercenary, ruthless and uncaring.

"I thank you I'm not like those in the advocacy groups
who can't let go and get on with things.

“I thank you that I’m not like the liberals
who question everything the church does and teaches.
How can they call themselves Catholic, Lord?

“I thank you that I’m not like the conservatives
who harp on keeping the law
instead of caring for peoples’ needs.
How can they call themselves Christian?"

Does this mean the Lord doesn’t want us to have an opinion?
Of course not.
But he is warning against our tendency
to demonize those whose ideas and policies oppose our own.

When I am so convinced of my opinion, my view, my take on things
that I begin to believe that my right-ness, my correctness
entitles me to be mean and prejudiced,
- entitles me to despise others -
then I am exalting myself
and no prayer of mine in a place like this or anywhere else
will send me home justified before God.

God does not measure my life against the success or failure,
the wisdom or stupidity of my neighbor.

God measures my life and yours
against his word and his law - and how you and I abide by it.
And the greatest law against which God measures us is the law of love.

As Jesus said:
Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

All from the lips of Jesus...

True prayer begins, as does our prayer every weekend,
with our acknowledging our need for God’s mercy.
“To prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries,
let us call to mind our sins and remember God’s mercy…”

The Lord forgives the humble sinner who prays for God’s pardon.

And the Lord will forgive the proud Pharisee
who comes to see that indeed he IS just like the rest of humanity:
sinful and in need of God’s mercy.

Though we named ourselves as sinners as we begin our prayer today,
still, the Lord welcomes us to his table
where we receive his humbled self in the Eucharist.

May the sacrament we celebrate and receive here
teach us to love and respect all,
and especially those whom we are quick to condemn.

-ConcordPastor

Word for the Week of October 28

I will wake the dawn!

A new Word for the Week is posted in the sidebar, verses from Psalm 57.

This is the prayer of one who wants to be rescued. Though most of us are not in imminent danger of harm, many pray for God to rescue them from illness, depression, worry, anxiety, fear...

Those who need not pray to be rescued might pray these words for others who do...

This is also a prayer of confident faith in which the psalmist prays to sing the dawn awake in in praising God. Sometimes a familiar or favorite psalm or hymn can waken the dawn of God's presence within us.

What hymn or psalm wakes God's presence within you?

Sotto Voce at Clerical Whispers has posted excerpts from an article in the Guardian Unlimited on a decision by the Church of England to go back through its personnel records to determine if cases of sexual abuse have gone unreported or unresolved.

More than 2,500 letters will be sent to previous bishops, archdeacons, bishops' chaplains and secretarial staff urging them to come forward with information on any cases of abuse or concerns that were not followed up at the time in the way they would be now. Diocesan bishops will also review the current files of the 23,000 licensed clergy in the Church of England. An independent reviewer will assess whether any "causes for concern" exist while urgent issues will be dealt with immediately by the relevant legal authorities.

Blessed Franz

Rocco at Whispers in the Loggia reminds us that Franz Jagerstatter was beatified today. An earlier post here introduced you to the life of this holy man. Rocco offers a link to a short biography.

Have you done your homework?

Have you looked over the scriptures for this weekend's Mass?

Here are the readings for October 27/28. For some background material to help you understand these texts better, check out the St. Louis University site for Sunday Mass.

One of the best ways to prepare for Sunday Mass is to become familiar with the scriptures you will hear proclaimed.

After doing your "homework," be careful not to say to yourself, "O God, I thank you that I am not like those who failed to click on the links..."!

See you in church!

Late October verse...

In Hardwood Groves

The same leaves over and over again!
They fall from giving shade above
To make one texture of faded brown
And fit the earth like a leather glove.

Before the leaves can mount again
To fill the trees with another shade,
They must go down past things coming up.
They must go down into the dark decayed.

They must be pierced by flowers and put
Beneath the feet of dancing flowers.
However it is in some other world
I know that this is the way in ours.

- Robert Frost

Drowning at Fenway Park

Reporting on the Red Sox trouncing the Colorado Rockies in Game 1 of the World Series, the Boston Globe's Gordon Edes writes, "The Rockies' baptism onto baseball's biggest stage instead resembled a ritual drowning on a misty night in Fenway Park..."

I'm not a regular reader of that section at the back of the newspaper and I'd generally hesitate to question any reporter's take on a ballgame. But I do know something about baptism and I can't let that baptismal reference pass without comment.

Edes sets up a contrast between baptism and ritual drowning as if the latter is the former somehow gone wrong. Three texts not often quoted in the sports section might set us straight here.

Consider the blessing of the water for baptism:
At the very dawn of creation
your Spirit breathed on the waters
making them the wellspring of all holiness.
The waters of the great flood
you made a sign of the waters of baptism,
that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness.
Through the waters of the Red Sea you led Israel out of slavery
to be an image of God's holy people, set free from sin in baptism...
May all who are buried with Christ in the death of baptism
rise also with him to newness of life.
(Blessing of Water at the Easter Vigil in the Roman Missal)

And from the Rite of the Christian Initiation:
Those who are baptized are united to Christ in a death like his;
buried with him in death, they are given life again with him,
and with him they rise again...
in baptism we pass from the death of sin into live.
(General Introduction to the RCIA, no. 6)

And from St. Paul's letter to the Romans:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized in Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
(Romans 6:11-13)

What Gordon Edes does not understand is that baptism is a ritual drowning, a ritual death and it is meant to appear as one. Sacraments are, after all, signs of the reality being celebrated. That is why the Rites of Initiation in the Catholic Church indicate a preference for baptism by immersion. Like many others, Edes may be so familiar with baptism done by pouring a bit of water over a forehead that the notion of baptism as a spiritual drowning or death has never crossed his imagination. That is not his fault. The responsibility for this misunderstanding belongs to church practice which, over centuries, has minimized sacramental signs. We are blessed to live in an age which is recovering those same signs and restoring them to a robust fullness.

OK! I admit it! Only a liturgy geek would go off like this just after the Sox won Game 2 in the World Series! It was just too great a catechetical opportunity for me to pass up.

Only through the waters of chaos,
the waters of the flood,
the waters of the Sea,
can we come to life.
Only through the waters of baptism can we become a new people.
Only through baptism into Christ's death
can we hope for a share in the resurrection.
Water is a symbol death; water is a symbol of life.
Water has become our way through death to life.
(Irene Nowell, in Liturgy, Summer 1987,
The Liturgical Conference, Washington, DC)

When preachers fall from grace

Bishop Thomas Tobin of the diocese of Providence, Rhode Island has an interesting column in The Rhode Island Catholic (10/18-07). Here are some excerpts from the complete article.

A recent headline in a Catholic website caught my attention: “Trust evaporating – Poll finds clergy trustworthiness slips precipitously.” The poll surveyed attitudes about the clergy in Canada. According to the survey, 61 percent of Canadians trust church representatives, far below the 97 percent who trust firefighters and the 94 percent who trust nurses. The good news in this poll, if there is any, is that clergy still rank above the pollsters themselves (59 percent), journalists (48 percent) and politicians (just 15 percent). Small comfort it seems.

Although this particular story doesn’t report it, without a doubt, the trustworthiness of clergy in the United States has suffered a similar sharp decline in recent years. Most of this, of course, is related to the well-documented clergy sexual abuse crisis. And while Catholic priests have received most of the attention, there have been abuses and scandals in just about every church and denomination – evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Jewish, Muslim, and homemade religions to be sure.

...

But my question is this: Does misbehavior of the messengers invalidate the truth of their message? And should it?

When I was in the minor seminary, we had very strict rules about the care of our dormitory rooms. They had to be neat and clean all the time – beds made, clothes in closets, windows spotless, sinks shining and floors dust free. We were subject to room check at any time, and a messy room could result in a couple of dreaded demerits.

The priest prefect on our corridor was a holy terror, especially demanding of clean rooms. But, we learned quickly, his personal faculty suite was a pigsty, a total disaster. When we objected that his messy room invalidated his strict enforcement of the law in our rooms, he said without apology, “Gentlemen, even the lawbreaking judge must uphold the law.”

And that, it seems to me, is how we have to approach the reality of imperfect preachers. Every preacher is a weak, flawed, sinful creature, “an earthen vessel” in Pauline terminology. But if we wait for perfect preachers, our pulpits will be empty. Nonetheless, the truth of their message stands or falls on its own merits.

In more philosophical terms, the validity of the message comes from its inherent truth, not the personal worthiness of the messenger.

Catholic theology has an analogous situation, when we speak about “ex opere operato” in the dispensation of the sacraments. That means that the grace of the sacrament comes from the work itself, not from the sanctity of the minister. Even a priest in mortal sin can validly confer baptism, forgive sins, and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

So too, an unworthy preacher can deliver a truthful message. I’m conscious of this in my own ministry all the time. When I speak about abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, immigration or any other public issue, I make no claim to personal sanctity or moral superiority. I could be (and in fact am) an abject sinner but the message I present is valid because it’s rooted in the Gospel of Christ and the teachings of the Church, realities strong enough to overcome my personal peccability.

...

People in other walks of life besides clergy know the importance of teaching regardless of their personal shortcomings. Parents are far from perfect, yet they try to give a good example to their children. Police officers aren’t always award-winning citizens, yet they have to arrest others. And, as our seminary prefect reminded us, even a lawbreaking judge must uphold the law.

This apparent dichotomy shouldn’t be construed as a submission to moral complacency or an acceptance of personal hypocrisy. If we deliberately say one thing and do another, that’s hypocrisy. But it’s not hypocrisy to do our work and fulfill our obligations though we’re scarred by personal imperfection.

So, when you read about or hear about the moral failures of the clergy, in any denomination, you have every right to be disappointed. When they fail, pray for them, encourage them and demand that they do better. But don’t use their sins as an excuse to walk away from the church or deny the truth of their message. When you do that, their failure becomes your problem.

We all know people who have left the practice of the faith claiming that the Church has forfeited its right to speak on moral issues. Does Bishop Tobin's response satisfy that complaint? How has the sexual abuse crisis impacted your willingness to heed the moral teaching of the Church. Like the bishop I am keenly aware of my own sins and failings as I preach and teach. Do you have a like experience where there is a disconnect between what you say and expect of others and your own fidelity to the truth and your standing as a moral person?

Getting ready to hear the Word of the Lord

The gospel for this Sunday's Mass is a familiar one - which means you have an added reason for reading and reflecting on it ahead of time. The most familiar texts can sometimes sail right over our heads because we think, "Oh, yeah - I've heard this one before..." And then we tune out.

Here are the scriptures for October 28, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. For some background material to help you understand those texts better, check out the St. Louis University site for Sunday Mass.

As always, your comments on these texts can be helpful as I work on my homily this week.

Wrestling with God

Jacob Wrestling the Angel - Léon Bonnat

Jacob was no angel, but he wrestled one.

In the course of the night, Jacob arose, took his two wives, children and servants and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had taken them across the stream and had brought over all his possessions, Jacob was left there alone.

Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob's hip at its socket, so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled. The man then said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you bless me." "What is your name?" the man asked. He answered, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed."

Jacob named the place Peniel, "Because I have seen God face to face," he said, "yet my life has been spared."

At sunrise, as he left Peniel, Jacob limped along because of his hip.

- Genesis 32 .

Some say Jacob wrestled with an angel, some that he wrestled with God. The scripture tells us he "contended with divine and human beings" and prevailed. It's also suggested that the wrestling here is Flesh Vs. Spirit in Jacob's heart.

Whoever are the opponents here, we know several things for sure. Jacob was no angel. His name in Hebrew means "trickster" and indeed he had cheated his brother Esau out of his birthright. Even here in Genesis 32, Jacob is hustling off in the dark of night to escape his brother's advance on him and it's then that the wrestling event ensues.

What kind of spiritual wrestling do we engage in?

Angels are God's messengers: how do we wrestle with God's messages to us? in his word? in our conscience?

Do we try wrestle with God himself? Does something within prod us to square off with God, hoping him pin him with our hurt or anger?

Or is it the struggle between the flesh and spirit that provides the mat on which we wrestle with choices and consequences?

The good news in the Jacob story is that God seems to respect our wrestling and that we can survive our match with the Divine. We survive not because we are the superior contestant but rather because God calls the match before we suffer defeat. I like the Bonnat study above because for all of Jacob's muscular strength, the angel is clearly larger, stronger, overpowering and just about to pull Jacob's right leg from under him. We do not escape unscathed when we go up against God. His hold leaves its mark on us or, as in the case of Jacob's hip, deep within us.

Many of us wrestle with issues human and spiritual. Some of us may be in the first period of the match and some of us may be limping away from the mat! Our divine opponent allows and respects our struggle and although greater than stronger than us will never take advantage of our lesser strength. In a wrestling match one learns about one's own strengths and weaknesses and about one's opponent. In the wrestling here, there is much to learn and nothing to lose.

Sexual Misconduct Plagues US Schools

The young teacher hung his head, avoiding eye contact. Yes, he had touched a fifth-grader's breast during recess. "I guess it was just lust of the flesh," he told his boss. That got Gary C. Lindsey fired from his first teaching job in Oelwein, Iowa. But it didn't end his career. He taught for decades in Illinois and Iowa, fending off at least a half-dozen more abuse accusations. When he finally surrendered his teaching license in 2004 - 40 years after that first little girl came forward - it wasn't a principal or a state agency that ended his career. It was one persistent victim and her parents. Lindsey's case is just a small example of a widespread problem in American schools: sexual misconduct by the very teachers who are supposed to be nurturing the nation's children.

Students in America's schools are groped. They're raped. They're pursued, seduced and think they're in love. An Associated Press investigation found more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions from bizarre to sadistic. There are 3 million public school teachers nationwide, most devoted to their work. Yet the number of abusive educators - nearly three for every school day - speaks to a much larger problem in a system that is stacked against victims.

Most of the abuse never gets reported. Those cases reported often end with no action. Cases investigated sometimes can't be proven, and many abusers have several victims. And no one - not the schools, not the courts, not the state or federal governments - has found a surefire way to keep molesting teachers out of classrooms. Those are the findings of an AP investigation in which reporters sought disciplinary records in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The result is an unprecedented national look at the scope of sex offenses by educators - the very definition of breach of trust.

The seven-month investigation found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned from 2001 through 2005 following allegations of sexual misconduct. Young people were the victims in at least 1,801 of the cases, and more than 80 percent of those were students. At least half the educators who were punished by their states also were convicted of crimes related to their misconduct.

The findings draw obvious comparisons to sex abuse scandals in other institutions, among them the Roman Catholic Church. A review by America's Catholic bishops found that about 4,400 of 110,000 priests were accused of molesting minors from 1950 through 2002. Clergy abuse is part of the national consciousness after a string of highly publicized cases. But until now, there's been little sense of the extent of educator abuse. Beyond the horror of individual crimes, the larger shame is that the institutions that govern education have only sporadically addressed a problem that's been apparent for years.

"From my own experience - this could get me in trouble - I think every single school district in the nation has at least one perpetrator. At least one," says Mary Jo McGrath, a California lawyer who has spent 30 years investigating abuse and misconduct in schools. "It doesn't matter if it's urban or rural or suburban."

…

The AP investigation found efforts to stop individual offenders but, overall, a deeply entrenched resistance toward recognizing and fighting abuse. It starts in school hallways, where fellow teachers look away or feel powerless to help. School administrators make behind-the-scenes deals to avoid lawsuits and other trouble. And in state capitals and Congress, lawmakers shy from tough state punishments or any cohesive national policy for fear of disparaging a vital profession. That only enables rogue teachers, and puts kids who aren't likely to be believed in a tough spot. In case after case the AP examined, accusations of inappropriate behavior were dismissed.

…

Too often, problem teachers are allowed to leave quietly. That can mean future abuse for another student and another school district. "They might deal with it internally, suspending the person or having the person move on. So their license is never investigated," says Charol Shakeshaft, a leading expert in teacher sex abuse who heads the educational leadership department at Virginia Commonwealth University. It's a dynamic so common it has its own nicknames - "passing the trash" or the "mobile molester." Laws in several states require that even an allegation of sexual misconduct be reported to the state departments that oversee teacher licenses. But there's no consistent enforcement, so such laws are easy to ignore. School officials fear public embarrassment as much as the perpetrators do, Shakeshaft says. They want to avoid the fallout from going up against a popular teacher. They also don't want to get sued by teachers or victims, and they don't want to face a challenge from a strong union.

…

Read the full report by Martha Irvine and Robert Tanner
The Associated Press

For Catholics left and right of center?

Twin churches
Santa Maria dei Miracoli & Santa Maria in Montesanto, Rome

Sotto Voce at Clerical Whispers posts a contributed essay including a story about a Jewish man who was shipwrecked on a desert island. When he was finally found, his rescuers were amazed to see that the man had built not one but two synagogues out of palm trees. "Why?" they asked the man. "Well, this is the synagogue I go to," he explained, gesturing to one of them. "And this is the synagogue I don't go to."

The essayist goes on to suggest that Catholics are very much in this mold. The piece is of mixed quality but makes some interesting points. Just the story about the two synagogues, however, is enough to give us much to think about.

Look both ways when crossing the street

Street Crossing, Sculpture by George Segal

You can't drive through West Concord Center and Concord Center as often as I do without stopping at at a number of crosswalks to allow pedestrians a chance to cross the street. Both centers are pleasant venues and stopping for walkers not only provides greater safety for all but also has the pleasant effect of slowing a driver's pace in the rush from here to there and back again.

My Toyota Camry weighs in at just over 3,000 pounds - and a little bit more than that with me on board! I'm happy to bring my one and a half tons of mobile machinery to a complete stop to let others make a safe crossing from one side of Main or Commonwealth to the other. Townies or tourists, I'm pleased to let them pass.

But I'm wondering what has happened to the wave, the little salute, the nod of the head - any acknowledgment from those on foot that their presence has literally -- stopped traffic. For a few brief moments they are sharing the road with drivers who have halted their own progress that walkers might advance theirs. But increasingly often, no sign is given and the grateful gesture that might have connected the one behind the wheel with those in front of the wheels has passed.

A vestige of a once common wave comes from pedestrians looking straight ahead and "waving" with but one twist of the wrist - as if to the pavement. Such a furtive gesture suggests the embarrassed walker is trying to keep it hidden from passers-by. But what's to hide?

I'm not writing here to complain about a lack of courtesy. What troubles me is what this disconnect in social code might mean. Can we afford to pass up simple gracious moments of connection when strangers cross paths on Main Street? I'm reminded of E. M. Forrester's powerful two word sentence in Howards End: Only connect! Few things are as important for human life and the preservation of that contact that nourishes and sustains life. Why are we failing to connect on Main Street? Why are we embarrassed to do so?

Some years ago when I was stationed at St. Joseph Parish in Medway I attended Medway High School's graduation. The valedictorian began his speech with these words: Each time a driver on Main Street stops to let a driver exiting from Gould's Plaza make a left hand turn , we take one more step towards world peace. Yes, there's some hyperbole here, but the young man made his point.

The next time a driver stops to let you or me cross the street, let's look up and offer a healthy wave of appreciation. It won't hurt. It might advance the cause of world peace. Only connect!

So good! So good! So good! So good! 11-2

We won! We're the American League champs! The pennant is ours! We're in the World Series! I can't believe we did it again! Look out, Rockies - here we come!

It's a great night in Boston - and the joy will flow into Monday like bubbly from a freshly cork-popped magnum of Veuve Clicquot.

Now, many of you know I'm not a big sports fan. It's not that I root for some other team - I don't. But I'm happy about the Sox win tonight mostly because I know how happy it makes so many other people. And who wouldn't want to be around those happy people? (Well, a lot of people from Cleveland might not want to be near them!)

Truth is, as a pastor I'm a little jealous of the Red Sox and the way their fans identify with the home town team. What am I jealous of? Take a look at the opening paragraph of this post:

We won! We're the American League champs! The pennant is ours! We're in the World Series! I can't believe we did it again! Look out, Rockies - here we come!

What am I jealous of? The pronouns! All first person plural: we.

Sox fans belong to the team. No, it needs the possessive: "Sox fans belong to their team." Did I say "team?" Actually, they think they're a nation!

It's not a matter of "us and them" with Boston fans, it's all "us." Even in a slump of a dozen games or a couple of decades - it's still 1st person plural. None of us here is on the Red Sox roster and no one here has a desk in the front office, but we're all on a first name basis with Theo and Manny: we're all on the same team - our team. Yup! I'm jealous of the spirit that Sox fans have and their taking on their team's identity.

I belong to something, too - it's called the Church. Most of you belong to the same organization and as a matter of fact, all our names are on its roster. But often, we don't have the same spirit Sox fans have. In so many ways, we lack that shared identity. That's where my Green Monster comes in: not the wall, but a jealous heart.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not looking for us to break into Sweet Caroline in the middle of Mass and I'm not going to replace our music director and the Holy, Holy, Holy with the Dropkick Murphy's and Tessie. I'm not looking for the kind of crowd spirit that requires extra assignments for the police department. But I sure would love to hear us speak of the Church in the 1st person plural - not just of ourselves but of the folks in the "front office," too.

In baseball we don't always like the trades that are made or the lineup for a particular game. The manger's decisions can be enough to drive us right up that green wall. But come the end of a Game 7, we're back to the spirit of the 1st person plural that helps us see something bigger than the gripes we've argued over for weeks, months - or years.

All analogies limp and you might think this one can't make it to first base. But what limps more is my own spirit when I see how divided we can be in the Catholic Church and the impact that has on the spirit of the team we're called to be. Generations of families and fans have called the Red Sox their team through the best of times and the worst of times - and all this for a game. I know our "team" has had a lot of rough seasons. We've lost a lot - and what we lost was more important than ball games. We lost life, faith, confidence and trust. I know it will take a long time to recapture and rebuild the spirit and Catholic identity I remember from my younger days. The work is difficult but we have no choice except to take it up. Will I see that spirit and identity again in my lifetime? I don't know. I'm not sure. But I can hope, and I do, and I pray.

I'm not a big sports fan. I'm a wordsmith, jealous not of some team's pitching staff but of their pronouns. I'm not a big sports fan, but I think that maybe there's something to learn from those who are.

Intro to Woman's Place 101

If you're thinking that the Catholic Church is dragging its feet on recognizing women as equals, here's something to put things in a better perspective. The following is not a parody: it's real!

Equal but different.

You hear that a lot on the lush green campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

God values men and women equally, any student here will tell you. It's just that he's given them different responsibilities: Men make decisions; women make dinner.

This fall, the internationally known seminary - a century-old training ground for Southern Baptists - began reinforcing those traditional gender roles with college classes in homemaking. The academic program, open only to women, includes lectures on laundering stubborn stains and a lab in baking chocolate-chip cookies.

Philosophical courses such as "Biblical Model for the Home and Family" teach that God expects wives to submit graciously to their husbands' leadership. A model house, to be completed by next fall, will allow women to get credit toward bachelor's degrees by learning how to set tables, sew buttons, and sustain lively dinner-time conversation.

...

So far, just eight of the 300 students in the seminary's undergraduate program are enrolled in the homemaking concentration, which is similar to a major and counts toward a bachelor of arts in humanities. Many more women, including graduate students and wives of seminarians, study traditional gender roles in courses such as "Wife of the Equipping Minister." On a recent evening, more than 50 women - some in sloppy sweats, others in prim sweater sets - pulled out notebooks as class opened with student presentations. One woman talked about her hobby of cross-stitching. Another showed how she uses the Internet to track grocery coupons.

Laney Homan, 30, drew excited murmurs with her talk on meal planning, featuring a recipe for a sure-fire "freezer pleaser" - a triple batch of meatloaf (secret ingredient: oatmeal). Thanks to a computerized system for generating grocery lists, Homan said, "I've actually trained my husband to shop for me." Laughing, she threw her palms toward the heavens and added: "Praise Jesus!"

For the rest of the nearly three-hour class, guest lecturer Ashley Smith, the wife of a theology professor, laid out the biblical basis for what she calls "the glorious inequalities of life."

Smith, 30, confided that she sometimes resents her husband for advancing his career "while I'm changing diapers and getting poop all over me." But then she quoted from Ephesians: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." And from Genesis: God created Eve to be a "suitable helper" for Adam.

"If we love the Scripture, we must do it," said Smith, who gave up her dreams of a career when her husband said it was time to have children. "We must fit into this role. It's so much more important than our own personal happiness."

More moderate Southern Baptists disagree, and they counter with their own biblical references. When Jesus dined at the home of two sisters, he praised Mary, who spent the evening studying his teachings, above Martha, who did chores. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the apostle Paul writes that "there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ."

...

For the full report

"To support survivors of clergy sexual abuse..."

From today's Boston Globe:

As members of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) met at the (Providence, RI) convention center for seminars and award presentations, celebrating the group's fifth year, people who said they were victims of priests' sexual abuse gathered outside and criticized the group for falling back on its original pledge to support them and failing to express outrage at a new report citing higher numbers of priests accused of sexual abuse in Rhode Island.

VOTF, a lay Catholic reform group, which once was on the crest of the effort to prosecute abusive priests, did not respond to the report during the conference attended by 600 to 700 people from across the nation, said John Moynihan, spokesman for VOTF. "We've set an agenda [for the conference] and that's the agenda we're keeping," he said. "We just haven't had the time to absorb it."

The report, released by a victim advocacy organization Friday, said that between 1971 and 2007, 95 priests in Rhode Island were accused of sexual assault or sexual misconduct toward children. In 2004, it was reported that 56 priests had been accused of sexual abuse of a minor between 1950 and 2002. (See a related previous post here.)

"What must seem like a bombshell to Rhode Island citizens may seem to [Voice of the Faithful] members as yet another disturbing revelation in a long litany of them," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who said he was a victim of abuse and who joined a dozen other protesters on the sidewalk outside the convention center.

It's difficult to imagine that VOTF, the lay group which has done more than any other to respond to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, should be the target of criticism from a victims' advocacy organization. VOTF's Providence meeting was, in part, an effort to determine how best to continue implementation of the group's three goals: 1. To support survivors of clergy sexual abuse; 2. To support priests of integrity; 3. To shape structural change within the Church.

Homily for October 21

The scene in today's first lesson, Exodus 17:8-13; Aaron and Hur supporting Moses' arms as Joshua leads Israel in battle against Amalek; Victory of Joshua over the Amalekites, 1626 by Nicolas Poussin

Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
Exodus 17:8-13 2 / Timothy 3:14-4:2 / Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always
without becoming weary...

I’ve always thought that God must look forward
to the playoffs and the World Series
because when that time of year comes around,
there are fewer teams and their fans praying for victory -
so God’s decision about whose prayer to answer is that much easier!

(That’s if you believe that God does, indeed,
have a hand in deciding who wins ball games...)

People ask me all the time to pray for them,
and to pray for family members and friends
and to pray for particular needs.

And I do pray for them.

I lift them and their loved ones and their needs in prayer before God,
like Aaron and Hur lifting up Moses’ arms in the first lesson today.

And sometimes there comes a healing,
or a recovery, or a reconciliation,
or a job, or peace of mind.

But sometimes, what we pray for doesn’t come,
or is so long in coming that we begin to think it never will,
or we’re tempted to think that God hasn’t heard us,
or has forgotten or ignored our prayer.

When that happens, some people give up on prayer
and some even give up on God.
or at least give up on expecting God to answer our prayer as we want.

But my experience tells me that most folks don’t give up.
Most people continue to believe and to pray,
and to seek God’s help again when they are in need.

Are such folks foolish in seeking again the help of God
who so often seems not to help?
No. They’re not foolish.
Rather, they’ve come to realize, or they understand, they accept
that when we turn to God in prayer
- especially when our needs are most acute -
one of the greatest benefits of prayer is the assurance or the reassurance
that we have a place to turn to, someone to go to,
when it seems no one else can help us.

When we were children,
we looked up to adults to fix our broken toys, our broken bones,
our broken hearts and our broken dreams.
There were times when mom or dad,
or others, did indeed fix what was broken.

And sometimes they could not.

But that didn’t keep us from going back to them
with the next toy or feeling that needed fixing.
Not at all.
Because we knew that even if our parents couldn’t fix what was broken,
most moms and dads would be there, and would hold us,
and comfort us and grieve the brokenness with us
- especially - if they could not make it better.

And so it is with God and us.

I don’t know why God, who could do anything and everything,
so often - does not.
But just as you hear parents say
how they wish they could take away
their children’s brokenness and make it their own
so does the Lord say –and do – the same thing.

Our God is no stranger to brokenness and its pain
and, on the cross, he took all our brokenness on himself
and made it his own.
And in his moment of most acute need he cried out to God
who seemed to be abandoning him – and no answer came.
At least no answer came until after Christ abandoned himself
to his Father’s will - and to death.

The greater the need, the more painful the brokenness:
the more fervently we pray for the Lord’s help
knowing that the one answer that will always come, without fail,
is God’s voice saying, like a loving mother, like a loving father,
“I am here… I am with you… I will not leave you…”

God may not grant what we pray for
but without fail he will be with us in and through our time of need.
The best gift prayer has to offer us
is not so much the granting of our desire
as it is the opportunity to grow in our relationship with God
not because God will always fix us,
but because he lives with us in our brokenness.

We are about to break bread which the Lord will make his body,
broken for us that we might remember and know
that he is here… that he is with us… that he will not abandon us…

May Christ broken on the Cross and broken as the bread of his supper
heal the brokenness we bring to his table today.

- ConcordPastor

Unsettling and unsettled issues...

Ann Hagan Webb (right) of Wesley, who is a sexual abuse survivor, spoke yesterday during a press conference in Providence held by BishopAccountability.org. (Photo: Stew Milne for the Boston Globe)

In a lengthy letter in this week's bulletin, I offer my reflections on the third anniversary of the founding of Holy Family Parish following the suppression of our two parishes of origin: St. Bernard Parish and Our Lady Help of Christians Parish. Among other thoughts, I wrote the following:

One more response to the question: “How’s it going since the two parishes came together?” Well, for some it hasn’t gone too well at all. They find themselves hurt, angry, disappointed and filled with questions not finding satisfying answers. Some have walked away. Some are always with us but with heavy hearts. Some come on occasion: some with growing frequency and some less and less often… I want you to know that these are among those who keep me going, too. Their questions keep me from forgetting that many issues have gone unresolved. Their anger reminds me of the depth of the wound the church has suffered. Their disappointment keeps me from too quickly dismissing the harm done. For those who find themselves in such places, I pray for your healing, your return and your reconciliation with the Church you have loved, served and been part of for so many years. Each week we pray in the General Intercessions: For the healing of those who have been abused and betrayed and for the restoration of trust and confidence in the Church, let us pray to the Lord… Someone asked me last year how long we would keep that petition in the intercessions. I said we would pray it until the abused and betrayed have been healed and until trust and confidence in the Church is restored. We may pray it, then, for a long time and those whose hurt still aches keep me going by reminding me that the Body of Christ, the Church, is as vulnerable as Christ on the Cross and as strong as Christ risen from the dead.

Today's edition of the Boston Globe (10/20/07) carries a front page story on clergy abuse in the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, the focus of which is an apparent discrepancy in the number and names of priests with allegations of sexual misconduct in that diocese. A court document discovered by BishopAccountability includes statistics which call into question reports made by the previous bishop of Providence.

I don't know how this will be settled. The Rhode Island Attorney General has said that he plans to investigate the issues involved. What I do know is that the story reminds all of us not only a tragic history but also of the ways the story is not yet over. Controversies like the one in the Ocean State are not unusual and in spite of all the good work already accomplished and being carried forth nationally and in local parishes, there is still a woeful lack of accountability for and understanding of this traumatic chapter in church history.

I'll tell you the truth. I didn't want to raise this topic here or publish this post. It's too easy for a pastor like myself to want to get on with the work of parish life (of which there's plenty) and to want to get beyond headlines like the one I read this morning. And no, I don't blame the Boston Globe for stirring up the story again: the story is the Church's story, the report is the Globe's and the story is still in the telling - whether we like that or not. Shielding ourselves from acknowledging the serious changes that remain to be made in the ministry and administration of the Catholic Church does no one, least of all the institutional Church, any good.

There are, thank God, men and women in my parish who keep the issues and questions before me and as I wrote above, I'm grateful for that and for them.

There is no easy or neat way to end this post. See, that's the problem: many of us would like a neat and easy way to put this story behind us but such a way does not exist. Continuing to honestly face the hard questions and working to change the structures that allowed such a nightmare to happen are the only way to get to the end of this story.

Word for the Week of October 21

Although not the original manuscript, this is the opening
of Paul's second letter to Timothy, in Greek

The new word for the week is taken from this Sunday's second scripture. It's a "word about the Word."

You know that this blog gives a significant emphasis to the Word each week, providing links to the Sunday scriptures, background materials on those texts and several reminders to "do your homework" and read over those passages. In part this is to prepare us for a deeper appreciation of the Liturgy of the Word in the Sunday assembly and in part it's because of the importance of the Word in our lives as Christians - something St. Paul highlights in this letter to Timothy.

How will the Word help us this week to grow spiritually? What time will we set aside for reading it, studying it, praying over it? Perhaps those who haven't yet linked to the readings and the background material might try it this week.

Who is this man?

The photo above looks like one you might find in an old family album. It could be your great grandfather or an uncle you never met. Who is this man? Just based on first impressions, few of us (including me) would have tumbled to the truth and declared, "Looks like a saint to me!" There's no halo, no ancient or religious garb suggesting that this man gave his life in witness to his faith in Christ. But he did. His name is Franz Jagerstatter and he's almost a saint. His beatification (the penultimate step before canonization) will take place this month. The following is from an article in the Catholic Sun, the newspaper of the Diocese of Syracuse, NY. More information is available through the web page of the Catholic Peace Fellowship (link in the sidebar).

“Let us love our enemies, bless those who curse us, pray for those who persecute us. For love will conquer and will endure for all eternity.” — Franz Jagerstatter

Franz Jagerstatter was a rare soul. He could be compared to the great contemplatives and saints. Jagerstatter was a simple Austrian farmer who stubbornly refused to serve in the armies of the German Third Reich and to support the Nazi party. He was executed as a consequence. Jagerstatter became one of the outstanding figures of Christian resistance to National Socialism.

On June 1, Pope Benedict XVI authorized Jagerstatter’s beatification, which will take place Oct. 27 in Lintz, Austria. Jagerstatter was born in 1907 in St. Radegund, a community by the River Salzach in the western part of Upper Austria where everyone was a farmer. After Jagerstatter’s father was killed in World War I, his mother married Herr Jagerstatter, who adopted him. In 1936 Jagerstatter married Franziska Schwaninger and adopted the life of a peasant. A strong and ardent believer, Jagerstatter began serving as sexton of the parish church. He was known for his diligent and devout service.

Jagerstatter was also known for his opposition to the Nazi regime. The thought of fighting in Hitler’s war was unconscionable to him and he regarded it as a matter of personal guilt and serious sin. When Jagerstatter was called to active duty in the military, he sought counsel from at least three priests and his bishop. Each tried to assure him that military service was compatible with his Christianity. Jagerstatter knew that bishops and priests would be arrested if they said anything other than what the government permitted. Yet he asked, “If the church stays silent in the face of what is happening, what difference would it make if no church were ever opened again?”

Jagerstatter knew that he couldn’t change world affairs but he wanted his refusal to fight to be a sign to others lest they be carried away with the tide. Jagerstatter reconciled his church’s advice of subservience to the governing authorities with his conscience by reporting to the induction center but refusing to serve. After being imprisoned in Linz and Berlin, Jagerstatter was convicted in a military trial at which he explained that if he fought for the nationalist socialist state, he would be acting against his religious conscience. He had reached the conviction that as a believing Catholic he could not perform military service. Jagerstatter, however, offered to serve as a medical orderly. The court did not respond to his request.

Jagerstatter was then taken from Berlin to Brandenburg/Havel on Aug. 9, 1943. He was told that his death sentence would be carried out later that day. A priest by the name of Father Jochmann spent considerable time with the condemned man and was impressed by his calmness and composure. That night, Father Jochmann told some Austrian nuns that Jagerstatter was the only saint he had met in his life.

On Aug. 9, Jagerstatter was beheaded, the first of 16 victims. The nuns planted flowers on the site where Jagerstatter’s urn was buried, and on their first trip to their motherhouse in Vocklabruck after the war, they brought the urn containing Jagerstatter’s ashes to his homeland. On Aug. 9, 1946, the urn was buried by the church wall in St. Radegund. His wife and three young daughters survived Jagerstatter. At the time of his death he said he would rather his children have a father martyred for following Christ than a Nazi for a father. Jaggerstatter wrote a number of poignant essays and letters while he was in prison...