Well, it's July 1st, the 4th is on Sunday and the "night before" the fabulous Fourth is Saturday. To set the mood I've added the widget below (and to the sidebar) to provide you with some Independence Day music while visiting my blog.
You'll find Kate Smith's rendition of God Bless America as well as Barbara Streisand's. You'll also find settings of America the Beautiful by Streisand, BoYz II Men, the Boston Pops, Stan Whitmire (piano) and Christopher Parkening (classical guitar). Lee Greenwood offers his version of My Country 'Tis of Thee and the Morman Tabernacle Choir sings Emma Lazarus' words, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, from her sonnet engraved on the Statue of Liberty.
REVISED: Preparing this post as a column for publication in a local newspaper, I did some rewrite and minor revision.)
Being misunderstood is something that happens to all of us...
There are times I'm misunderstood because I've spoken too quickly, too slowly, rashly or just plain foolishly.
Sometimes I'm misunderstood because others’ feelings or concerns, unrelated to my words, obscure what I'm trying to say.
There are times I'm misunderstood because I simply haven't adequately considered, prepared or communicated what I want to say.
Sometimes I'm misunderstood because I've failed to understand the person I'm speaking with.
Sometimes I'm misunderstood because my ego or my agenda has overwhelmed my message.
And, truth be told, sometimes I'm misunderstood because I truly don't know what I'm talking about.
And misunderstanding others is something all of us do...
There are times I misunderstand others because I've only half-listened or paid no attention at all to the person speaking to me.
Sometimes my own feelings and concerns keep me from understanding what I'm hearing.
There are times I misunderstand because I'm predisposed to hear only what I want to hear, what I expect to hear, what I hope to hear.
Sometimes I misunderstand because I'm busy listening to my own thoughts while someone is speaking.
There are times I misunderstand because I'm so closed to what I'm hearing.
And sometimes I misunderstand because I don't have the knowledge I need to understand what I’m hearing.
I know I’m slow to confront the prejudice, stubbornness and pride within that lead to my misunderstanding others.
And all too often I fail to see that those who misunderstand me do so with no malice or ill will.
Misunderstanding erodes relationships and spoils trust.
Unresolved misunderstanding can lead to confusion, mistrust, grudges, resentments and hurt. Misunderstanding can lead us to make enemies of our neighbors.
Perhaps most critical is the reality of how misunderstanding clouds our thinking and obscures what’s true.
Understanding is the posture of humility, the attitude of docility, the inclination to respect and the graciousness of acceptance...
When the road of discourse is freely shared, understanding can be a path to what’s true...
Knowledge of the truth and the gift of wisdom are understanding's end and promise...
Understanding is always truth’s servant and never its master…
Here’s an examination of conscience to help fine-tune our appreciation of the value and importance of understanding:
Do I listen with a desire to learn, to discern and to understand?
Do I speak with sincere respect for those who hear me?
Do I listen as intently to others as I hope others will listen to me?
Do I speak the truth charitably when it calls others to accountability?
Do I listen with acceptance when others speak a discomforting truth to me?
Do I recognize the impact of my own limitations on how I understand others?
Do my words and tone invite others to consider and understand what I have to say?
Do I listen patiently to others who disagree with me?
Do I speak patiently to those who misunderstand me?
Do I remember that some people have been misunderstood all their lives?
When it seems someone else will "just never understand," do I ask myself if I'm the one who's being stubborn?
Do I seek to understand as intently and sincerely as I seek to be understood?
Do I understand that there’s always more for me to understand?
Do I know how to converse without needing to convince?
Do I know how to debate without needing to defeat?
Do I forgive those who misunderstand me?
Do I ask forgiveness of those I've misunderstood?
Do I open myself to truths, old and new: truths I've not known or have not understood; truths I've rejected?
Do I allow what’s true to correct my misunderstanding?
Do I seek to understand so that I might gain wisdom?
Do I seek, do I pray to be more understanding?
Mutual understanding can be a path to the truth, a path we need to learn to walk together. Being misunderstood is something that happens to all of us and misunderstanding others is something all of us do. Growth in the grace of understanding is something we all need to pray for - so let us pray…
Lord, you made and understand all things. Help us to understand one another as you understand each of us. With your Spirit's gifts, help us to grow in understanding and guide us, together, to your truth. Amen.
On the civil calendar this Sunday will be the FourthofJuly but on the liturgical calendar it will be the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
It will be interesting to see how American preachers work with these scriptures on this national holiday!
The readings and commentary on them can be found here and hints for helping children prepare to hear the Word can be found here.
In the first lesson Isaiah announces the end of Israel's exile and a return to their cherished homeland. The imagery here is lush and intimate as the Lord promises to comfort his chosen as a mother comforts her children (see Word for the Week on the sidebar). Another kind of intimacy is found in the second lesson as Paul identifies himself closely with the crucified Jesus, even to "bearing the marks of Jesus" on his own body. Your preacher might proclaim a longer or shorter form of a passage from Luke in which Jesus sends out 72 disciples, in pairs, with instructions on what they are to wear and carry. The pericope includes an account of the return of the 72 who rejoice in the ministry they've been chosen to offer.
In preparation for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, read: - Isaiah for his beautiful imagery - Paul for his personal confession of faith in Christ - and Luke for summary of discipleship in Jesus' own day
School's been out a week, Lord, and the kids are off on summer vacation...
I remember such times, 50 years and more ago, when summer had no horizon: a time and place as close to heaven as a young heart might imagine...
Something in a child’s summer joy comes, I'm sure, a gift from you, O Lord: a taste of timelessness, a promise of perpetual play, an eternity of sunny days and a reign of endless joy...
Heaven every summer -- and every summer heaven! Could the source of such a season be any but divine?
But where'd those summers go, Lord? Where'd they fly -- and will I find them once again?
And I wonder...
Do I still believe in summer's promise of pleasure unending, unbending to calendars clocking each day, walking away the weeks of warmth?
If I don't believe in summer, Lord, can I believe in you or heaven where summer's joys never end, where summer's timeless stillness calms with peace all other seasons' grief?
Where'd those summers go, Lord? Where'd they flee -- and will I find them once again?
I wonder and I pray...
I offer you these months, Lord, my heart's July and August days...
Come summer with me, Lord; summer deep down in my soul; restore my faith in summer’s time, in rest, in joy, in play, in you...
Summer in my heart, Lord, and dwell there as if time would never end, as if all time were children's time, eternal time when school is always out and joy is ever in…
And let others summer in my shade, Lord, and share whatever summer’s peace is mine to give, whatever summer’s light is mine to shed, whatever summer's warmth is mine to share...
Good God of every season and every day this week, come summer with me, Lord, and let the child in my heart spend this summer in your love...
Image source: ShannonDavidWooten A Short History of a Homily I was away for a few days for a wedding out of town. On my first day away (Thursday) I wrote my homily for this Sunday. I looked at it again after the wedding rehearsal on Friday night and wasn't sure that it communicated well the message I wanted to preach. Driving back from the wedding on Saturday night I rethought the homily and once home I did a major rewrite of it. I printed it out this morning before going to church and still wasn't sure of it. One of my deacons preached at the 8:00 Mass and he used one word that turned on a light bulb in my homiletic mind. Before the 10:30 Mass I scrapped my text and wrote a few notes from which to preach the latest redaction the homily that began on Thursday afternoon. Not sure I'm satisfied with it yet, but here's what I preached this morning.
Working from notes only, I have no text to post, just the audio - and now I've discovered there's a problem with the volume on the audio -- my apology! If you experience the audio problem, too, try using earphones.
(Scriptures for this Sunday's liturgy) - Audio for today's homily
There's still time to read over the scriptures we'll hear proclaimed and preached at Mass this weekend. Here's a link to the day's readings, commentary on them and hints for helping children prepare to hear the Word, too.
That's Elijah and Elisha with a cloak and some oxen - check out the text to learn the story!
The Out of the Darkness Overnight is an 18-mile journey through the night, from dusk until dawn. It's a unique opportunity to bring the issues of depression and suicide into the light as we walk together to turn heartbreak into hope for tomorrow.
Join us on June 26-27, 2010 as thousands of Walkers like you come together in Boston, Massachusetts - a city rich with history and filled with the energy that we know will fuel our quest for awareness and prevention.
A suicide attempt happens every minute of everyday. Don’t let another minute go by. Register today and help continue the work of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – work that will truly save lives.
I know several folks who are walking and I've been pleased to sponsor them. If you don't know someone who's walking, I'm sure you know someone (yourself?) whose life has been affected by suicide.
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We praise your greatness as we honor the prophet who prepared the way before your Son.
You set him apart from others, marking him out with special favor.
His birth brought great rejoicing: even in the womb he leapt for joy, so near was our salvation.
You chose John the Baptist from all the prophets to show the world its redeemer, the lamb of sacrifice.
He baptized Christ, the giver of baptism, in waters made holy by the one who was baptized.
You found John worthy of a martyr’s death, his last and greatest act of witness to your Son.
In our unending joy we echo on earth the song of the angels in heavenas they praise your glory for ever:
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
- Preface for the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist
Photo by CP: Priests Convocation in the Boston Room, Anthony's Pier 4
This evening there was a convocation of priests in the Archdiocese of Boston. What's that you ask? It's a meeting of priests for the purpose of strengthening and building fellowship in the presbyterate. I don't have the actual count but I'd say over 300 priests gathered at Anthony's Pier 4 for a social hour, Vespers, dinner and a talk by Fr. Kevin Irwin from The Catholic University of America.
The socializing was friendly and fraternal, Vespers needed much more sung prayer, dinner was excellent and (given that Irwin only found out at noon time that he needed to fly from Washington to Boston to cover for the scheduled speaker who couldn't leave O'Harebecause of thunderstorms) the talk on presiding and preaching was good.
Watching the men gather for cocktails on the restaurant's deck and then in the huge dining room, I thought, "What a group we are: all shapes and sizes, all sorts of personalities and politics, all possible outlooks on the church and its future... And all men who try, day by day, to be faithful to some words they spoke last month in the cathedral - or 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years ago in the same sanctuary - words of promise to preach the gospel, to celebrate the sacraments worthily and to be faithful to the Church and her teaching and authority.
You might think that hundreds of men who make the same promises might all turn out pretty much the same. Well, we do share many similarities even beyond the black suits and shirts we all wear. But even though we all made the same promises in the tent of the same Church, we are men of many different stripes and our differences are as variegated as nature and grace can possibly allow.
Irwin's remarks on presiding and preaching were cogent enough given how little notice he had of the event. As I listened to him , I couldn't help but wonder in how many different ways his words were being heard and interpreted by all of us in his audience. I suspect that some will find a way to work some of his material into a homily this Sunday - and others likely forgot everything he said by the time they got back to their cars in the parking lot. Who knows in how many different ways his words were filtered through the history and ministry of the priests who had gathered?
There are some in the Church today (in high and more humble places) who call for, hope and pray for a time when, once again, priests cut from the same cloth by the same scissors and according to the same pattern will all turn out the same. It's probably a romanticized fiction that priests of yesteryear were all alike in most ways but that doesn't stop some from hoping that something like this is possible - and is coming soon to a parish near you.
Certainly there's a need for every priest to be faithful to the scriptures, the creed, the Church's prayer and its teachings but, like sunlight refracted through hundreds of (even identically cut) prisms, the colors that radiate will be of different shades and shine from different angles in different directions. In other venues we call all that color by its proper name: beauty. Is there any reason such beauty should be denied to the people of God or fail to be found in the presbyterate that serves them.
Of the 300+ men at the convocation, a great majority were of gray and balding kind. There are writers in the blogosphere who wait for what they term "the biological solution" to the problem they say priests of my post-Conciliar generation present to them. Others keep watch by a countdown clock for the retirement of those whose ministry they reject. There is need for much healing in the Body of Christ...
Many of the priests I saw today grew up, as did I, in the pre-Conciliar Church and had the distinct privilege of living and learning and praying on "both sides" of Vatican II. I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity the accident of my birth date gave me. We post-Conciliar priests might often make the kind of mistakes that are made in an era of great change and development. For those errors we need to do penance and learn from them. But I'm convinced that in these past 45 years the Church has taken many more steps forward than back and that what the Spirit has wrought in these times - and continues to bring forth - will provide a platform from which the gospel can be more and more clearly preached and understood and a table which will expand exponentially to include more and more of God's children, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
*Ecce quam bonum et quam jocundum habitare fratres in unum -- Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell as one ... (Ps. 133)
You won't want to look at this site just after you've eaten!
H/T to Deacon Greg over at his Bench for linking us to this collection of bad (make that: really, truly, awfully bad) vestments: a blog aptly titled, Bad Vestments.
Embedded in this coming Sunday's second scripture is an admonition that we in the blogosphere need to take to heart: in what we post, in the comments we make and in what we publish.
St. Paul never imagined the Internet and the possibility of our "biting and devouring one another" online (anonymously, over screen names or signed with our true names - but his words are important for all of us who spend a part of our day perusing these pages.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another...
Bronze sculpture by Naomi Spiers (click on image for larger version)
Time to open the scriptures to this Sunday's readings to prepare to hear the Word of the Lord!
June 27 finds us at the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The first lesson (1 Kings) and the gospel (Luke) offer similar stories of a call to discipleship and its cost. We first see how Elisha leaves everything (even destroying his livestock and farming equipment to offer a sacrifice) to answer the call of the prophet Elijah. The elements of the Elisha story clearly inform the imagery in Jesus' call to his disciples. The question we need to ask is this: what price are we willing to pay to follow the Lord?
Between these two similar scriptures comes a message from Saint Paul on the freedom that is ours in the Spirit of Christ. And embedded in that message is something very deserving of the attention of all of us in the blogosphere.
Texts of the scriptures and commentary on them are here and if you're shepherding young ones to Mass this weekend, you'll find hints on helping children prepare to hear the Word here. (Adults may find this link helpful, too!)
Click on the image at the top of the post for a larger version -and- click on Naomi Spiers to view more of her magnificent sculptures!
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves; when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little; when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; when having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes, and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.
I received a question, off blog, about the way my homily texts are presented on this page. I may have answered this before but it won't hurt to repeat that response. My inquirer asked why I don't post my homilies in paragraphs.
Here's why:
I almost always preach from a text and I find it easier to preach from a text which is arranged in sense lines. Sense lines are easier to follow and allow me greater freedom from keeping my glued to the text.
When I post my homilies I copy my preaching text directly to my blog draft and thus you see the copy here as I see it when I preach.
At a cookout at the home of a family in the parish we were out on the patio having drinks and appetizers. I happened to be seated next to their almost-16 year old son and the conversation between us turned to religion and then to Sunday Mass. And more precisely: his experience of the liturgy in our parish.
I learned a lot!
What this young man did was to talk about what goes through his mind and heart at Mass and he made a distinction between the Sundays he's pleased to be there and the Sundays he would have preferred to stay at home! He gave me his take on what he thinks is going through my mind and heart during the readings, when I often close my eyes. He gave a critique of some of our lectors and offered his thoughts on why different members of the choir might have volunteered to be part of that ministry. He also critiqued a few homilies I've given.
The food at the cookout (some of it cooked in!) was excellent but this conversation was just as nourishing and even more so in some ways.
Sometimes you find yourself in the right place and just the right time - that was true for me on that patio.
It would be very helpful to find ways to invite other young people (and their elders, too) to offer their reflections along the same lines.
When you know one of the parish teens is sitting there in the assembly on Sunday morning, musing on what the pastor's thinking and praying during the scripture readings, then you know, again, how deep and serious are the responsibilities upon the shoulders of all who minister on the Lord's Day...
You know, Lord, sometimes it's just the little things that really get to me so this morning I offer you some of the "little things" and pray for your healing and your help...
I offer you the little disappointments that can can sidetrack my day and distract me from much larger concerns, more important responsibilities... Heal my perspective, Lord: don't let me sweat the small stuff; help me to grow up when I act like a child because things didn't go my way, because I didn't get my way...
I offer you the bumps in my road: the ones that slow me down but need not bring me to a full stop... No road is perfectly smooth, Lord, and sometimes I need to be slowed down: keep me from using the bumps as an excuse to bow out, help me keep moving over the rough spots and pot holes even when I want to call it quits...
I offer you the small setbacks that keep me from changing my life (and the world!) in a day... Help me learn from the things that hold me back, to find a lesson in the u-turns that slow me down... Heal the proud thought that I've nothing left to learn and teach me something in everything that doesn't go my way...
I offer you the little losses I suffer each day, Lord: the molehills of failure I see as mountains of defeat: heal the perfectionism that keeps me from owning my own mistakes for what they are and no more than that; heal the self-judgment that blinds me to victory when my shortfalls are all I will look at...
I offer you my day, Lord, and all it's little problems, the ones that can really get to me...
Open my eyes: let me see and help me learn it's not all about me, Lord!
Open my heart to the disappointments of others whose needs are so much greater than mine...
Help me lend a strong and guiding hand to those who struggle to walk much rougher roads...
Help me keep an eye on my goal and to lead others onward and upward when they are lost...
Help me keep account of your gifts and your grace and to share them with others in need of what you've offered me...
Heal my tunnel vision, Lord, and my self-centered view: let me see the big picture of my life and of the lives of those around me...
When I'm troubled by the small things: give me wisdom to know what truly matters, counsel to weigh my problems wisely, knowledge to deal with them as a believer would and courage to do what I must do...
Don't let the "little things" get to me, Lord: don't let them get between you and me or between me and my brothers and sisters...
This is my prayer this morning, Lord, and all this day and all this week...
Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (scriptures for today's liturgy)
Audio:
Writing about the BP oil disaster in the Gulf, Kenneth Brill, an engineer, makes the observation that designing things to “work” implies expecting and tolerating occasional failures and that an engineer’s job is to balance performance with cost.
Brill writes: If the cost of avoiding failure is $100,000 while the probability of failure is once in 20 years and the consequence of failure is only $10,000, designing something "good enough" makes sound engineering and economic sense. In the last 20 years, however, the engineer says his clients are asking him to design beyond “good enough” to "never failing" because some failures are so critical they directly impact the bottom line and the very future of organizations.
Clearly, this engineer believes that BP was satisfied with “good enough” and that when push came to shove, “good enough” was not good enough.
It’s easy to point fingers at BP and politicians as the story of this disaster unfolds but perhaps there’s a lesson in this for all of us - a lesson that resonates with the scriptures today.
When the engineer distinguishes between those designs and plans that are “good enough” and those that are “never failing,” I wonder how that might apply to us.
How often do I design and plan my life as a Christian to be, well, just “good enough.”
How easily do I convince myself, “Hey, look: I’m not perfect so why even try to live a “never failing” Christian life?”
How often do I "pull a BP" on the life God gave me as my work?
How often do I set the bar low, settle for less, take half-measures and short cuts and content myself with mediocrity?
How often do I skimp on the materials I need to build a faith life with a strong foundation?
How often do I "mail it in" when I really need to show-up-and-be-counted as one of Christ’s followers?
How often do I falsify the facts and figures to make things easier for myself and put a few more bucks in my pocket?
How often do I cheat the legitimate expectations of excellence others rightly have of me?
“Good enough” or “never failing?”
Perhaps “never failing” sounds too daunting, but consider:
- Engaged couples don’t hope for a “good enough” marriage - they want a “never fail” union that only death will part.
- Moms and dads don’t set out to be “good enough” parents - they hope to “never fail” in providing for their children.
- Priests don’t begin their ministry hoping to be “pretty good” ministers of the gospel: they begin by promising to be faithful in all things, to all people, at all times.
- Most of us aren’t content with “good enough” friends - we seek faithful companions we hope will never let us down.
In our relationships with one another we don’t hesitate to set the highest standards and work to meet them.
So, what of our relationship with God?
In trying to live according to God’s word and law, are we content with, “Hey, that’s ‘good enough…’” or do we aim higher than that kind of complacency?
In engineering and in Christian living, it’s too often the case that "the critical importance of seeking the 'never failing' only becomes obvious to us after we’ve suffered a critical failure," of our own making, or in the circumstances around us.
When we settle for “good enough” we work our lives on a weak platform not rigged for rough times and unexpected difficulties. That platform might not explode like an oil rig off the Gulf coast, but slowly and surely, the leakage of weakness can sour and spoil the sweet and life giving waters of our relationship with God and with one another, and especially with those we love the most.
In the gospel today Jesus uses the vocabulary of the never failing calling us to build our faith by denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and losing our lives and our self-interest to save and savor the life he gives us.
Jesus uses strong language to call us far beyond the ease of “good enough” to the demands of “never failing” because the failures we will inevitably meet may be so critical as to directly impact the bottom line and the very future of our lives.
But when deep faith in Christ is the foundation of our lives, we need not be afraid even when we fail and fall because Christ is the One who first fell for us: from the heavens in his birth and from the Cross in his death.
His love for us is so much more than just “good enough.” His love never fails to save those who trust in him.
He denied himself so that we might know his love for us. He carried his Cross to show us how to carry own. He lost his life for us that we might find our peace in him.
In the sacrifice of this altar, in the sacrament of this table, he is with us, again: his never failing love broken for us as bread, his never failing mercy poured out in the cup we share.
Come and receive the never failing gift of his life.
Image: CapuchinJourney Post 2505 Just realized I wrote this earlier in the week but then didn't publish it!
Time to open the scriptures and take a look at the Word for the weekend ahead and the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (no, it's not Fathers Day on the liturgical calendar!).
You'll find the scriptures and commentary on them here and if you're bringing children to church with you, here are hints for helping them prepare to hear the Word. (As a matter of fact, grown-ups might profit from the hints at this Sadlier site as well!)
The first lesson, from Zechariah, sounds distinctly Lenten in its imaging of a suffering servant. And indeed, this text prepares us well for Jesus' prediction of his suffering in this day's text from Luke's gospel, leading to the Lord's admonition that those who would follow him must deny themselves and take up their cross, losing their lives for his sake that they might be saved. In the middle reading, from Galatians, Paul reminds that we, the baptized, are all one in Christ, that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.
Now, if you're thinking to yourself, "None of that sounds very interesting..." then I'd especially urge you to click on the links above and spend some time with these scriptures. Surely, the Lord has a word, even words, for each of us and all of us as Church in these scriptures. Let us be prepared to hear them when they are broken open for our nourishment in proclamation and preaching this Lord's Day.
I'm still pondering John Kavanaugh's essay in America which I noted in the previous post.
I'm thinking back a few months to a Confirmation class in my parish. Each year I make myself available for a session of "Ask Fr. Fleming anything you want to ask a priest about the Church." The questions are rather predictable and they reveal a great deal about how these young people view the Church, its teachings and its life.
This year I tried to thread a theme through my responses to all of the confirmands' questions. I kept coming back to the importance of being a critical thinker, of being an informed thinker, of understanding why the Church teaches as it does. I tried to get them to look a bit at the philosophies that influence them and their thinking and their decisions, encouraging them to be critical of those philosophies and not to simply accept them whole cloth.
What realities are forming their consciences? How do we help our young people develop an informed conscience? How can our faith formation and youth ministry efforts lead in this direction? How do we encourage and help our young people to become critical thinkers.
Who and what are teaching our young people how to think and what to think?
And of course, there's the larger question: how do we help the majority of people in our parishes to develop informed consciences enabling them to be critical thinkers and doers in their lives.
How do we bring the demands of the gospel and the wisdom of the Church's teaching to bear on how priests and people (and their younger brothers and sisters) assess their cultural context and make a truly Christian contribution to it.
Our young folks are among the first to be assaulted by the pounding of attitudes and opinions flourishing in the media and cyberspace. What tools are we giving them to adequately distinguish what is true, just and beautiful from what is false, selfish and sham?
Again, I'm grateful to Kavanaugh for his keen insight. And I continue to wonder how to allow it to inform the ministries of my parish life.
I'd venture to say that John Kavanaugh's article in the current issue of America is one of the most important pieces I've read in the last ten years.
The matter Kavanaugh addresses manifests itself, among other places, in the comboxes of blogs both political and religious. It's the tendency of some to eschew true engagement on issues, skipping to trumpeted assertions that has kept me from posting on some topics at all and, in some instances, to close the comboxes on particular posts.
Beginning with me, there's a lot in Kavanaugh's essay for us to take very seriously:
In the world of politics and media, we find an increasing segmentation not only of markets but of convictions as well. Information is edited and selected to conform to the conviction of the viewer or the voter. Thus, information no longer informs or challenges one’s moral judgement; it only confirms opinion, whether that opinion is warranted or not. Spend one evening comparing the programs offered by MSNBC and Fox News. Compare Chris Matthews and Ed Schultz with Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. Whom do they ridicule? What is their presumed moral universe? What information do they never consider? If we listen to only one side of these polarities, we are not forming our judgment, we are propagandizing it.
No matter what the issue, competing ideologies offer plenty of moral judgments; but there is little willingness to address data or information offered by the opposition. Undocumented immigration, tax reform, the Free Gaza movement, the Gulf Coast oil disaster, the financial crisis, all generate fierce opinion. But it is almost impossible to find any polarized antagonist willing to examine carefully data or arguments that challenge ideology.
In the church, things are just as segmented. I regularly receive messages by e-mail from the right and left. Both sides seem totally certain, but they are also totally ignorant of the arguments and evidence on the other side. As Aquinas would say, a conscience may be certain; but that does not mean it is correct. So think of the issues: abortion, global warming, President Obama, the health care bill, immigration reform, the wars in the Persian Gulf. Do you find any true engagement of the issues? Or do you find only assertions?
I'm sitting on my porch, wrestling with the scriptures and my homily for the coming weekend.
The sky has turned dark and a wind has come up, rustling through the branches of the trees just outside my windows. It's definitely going to rain but it's one of those days when the sweet scent of rain-on-the-way freshens all outdoors, the fragrance of God passing by...
But my thoughts turn to those on the Gulf whose natural habitat has been so severely spoiled and soured...
Here's a prayer I found on Pray and Tell, composed by Teresa Berger:
Ocean Lament
We hold in prayer and lament this day the terrible suffering of all life-forms in the Gulf of Mexico. We grieve the profound marring of your creation, and the threat to coastal ways of life. Have mercy o God, have mercy. Grant wisdom and perseverance to all who struggle to contain this disaster. Let those who lost their lives rest in peace. And send out your Holy Spirit, to create anew the face of this earth.
"The Church of England is telling clergy that they must learn to love their wedding congregations — for better or for worse."
At least that's the news from across the pond. For a closer look at what the Church of England is doing to attract more couples to celebrate their weddings in church, take a look at this article in The Sunday Times. But for a look at the original C of E materials, you'll want to look here.
Judging from the plummeting church wedding statistics reported in the Times article, the situation in the UK is comparable to that in Catholic parishes the Archdiocese of Boston and, I suspect, in many parts of the US.
The C of E approach to engaged couples here isn't unlike the advertising one sees for venues for wedding receptions - they're out to get more customers! To my knowledge, there's no organized consumer-targeted effort like this in any denomination in the US. Although I believe most pastors will tell you from their experience that many engaged couples and their parents approach faith communities for weddings from a decidedly consumerist point of view.
Take a few minutes to follow the links above to the C of E materials and read through them both from the point of view of an engaged couple and that of a pastor.
That's what I've done and my conclusion is that all these tips may not be quite as heavenly as they're touted to be.
Back in September 2007 I posted on this amazing statue of Jesus (above) rising out of the waters at Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio. (That's the way the statue was posed: it's not the result of the lightning strike!)
Last night that statue was hit by lightning and destroyed. Read the story, with video here and here.
Every Monday you'll find a Morning Offering prayer under the rising sun and a fresh cup of coffee. Stop by and pray with us! (Click on the coffee cup above to find an archive of previous Monday Morning Offerings)
Word for the Weekend
Click on the bible above to find the scrIipture readings and commentary on them for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 5
Catholics Come Home
The only thing I have to do in this life is get to heaven and take as many people with me as I can. -Tom Flatley
Help for Haiti
Reach out to the people of Haiti with health care, education and community development through the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation.
