"It's as simple as it gets"

I heard Mr. Julio Diaz's story while driving to work the other morning. If you have a couple of minutes take a listen. You won't be sorry!!
Julio Diaz remembers being robbed on a subway platform in the Bronx.
It totally set my day off in a great direction!! And brought this to mind:

"But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

"To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:27-31)

"filled with the Spirit and wisdom"

The readings for daily mass during this past week provide a glimpse at life in the early Church. On Saturday, we heard about the ordination of the first deacons. Yesterday and today, the story continues with one of those deacons, Stephen, being called upon to witness in a way that hopefully none of us will be called to.

My confirmation name is Stephen. I chose it not because of that Stephen, though for a number of reasons that now seems to be quite appropriate. No, I picked that name because of the faith story of another witness with the same name, Steven McDonald. When I was in high school, I was very interested in law enforcement. I seriously considered pursuing it as a career. One day I was in the library during my lunch break, thumbing through a copy of Reader’s Digest when I came across an excerpt from a book called The Steven McDonald Story. It was written by a New York City police officer who was shot in the line of duty. The wound left him paralyzed from the neck down.

I was so fascinated with this man’s story that I tracked down a copy of the book and read it cover to cover in one weekend. I was particularly moved by how his faith, and the faith of those around him, got him through that difficult time. He went on to forgive the young man who shot him. “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60) Thanks to a post by Deacon Greg, I have learned that he is still out and about, sharing his experience with others. A few months after reading the book, when I was asked to provide a confirmation name, I could not think of a better one than that!

Nearly twenty years later, I am in the very beginning stages of preparation for another sacrament. As you may know, I am actively discerning a call to the permanent diaconate. Last week, Katie and I went for an interview. I was asked “How did I see ministry as a deacon fitting in to the rest of my ministerial life?”

An interesting question. It is one with which many deacons and prospective deacons surely struggle. After all being a deacon, in and of itself, is not a ministry, is it? Serving the poor, teaching religious education, assisting the priest during mass – those are all ministries, but lay people can do all of those. What does being a deacon add?

I found myself providing an answer I never thought of before (Ain’t the Spirit grand?) I said that I did not think it would so much change my ministry, as reorient it. Most of us choose ministries because we enjoy them. However, as a servant of the church, a deacon is called to serve where he is needed. In the early days of the church, that need was in providing fairly for the widows and orphans. Today, it may be somewhere else.

This past week provided a good example. Deacon Gordon Cartwright is a very close friend of mine. He has volunteered to return to helping with RCIA in our parish. It is a ministry he truly enjoys and I knew he was very excited to take part in our catechetical session this past Sunday. Right before Mass began, his wife Gloria came up to me to tell me that Gordon would not be at RCIA today. The pastor in a neighboring parish fell ill, and Gordon was asked to lead a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest.

He wrote me the next day to apologize for missing RCIA. I am sure you would agree there was no need to apologize. He was doing what deacons do. He was serving the needs of the Church with no regard for his own desires. I guess it would be safe to say that Christ’s prayer in the Garden is the prayer of all deacons: “Not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Only God knows whether I will ultimately be ordained a deacon. But I do know that I am called to be more “deacon-like” in living out my faith. At home, at work, and at church.

One of my fondest memories as an altar server was having the honor of assisting at the dedication mass for the new sanctuary in my parish. I was a freshman in high school, and actually came out of retirement to do so. I had already moved on to the role of altar server coordinator for our parish.

I remember gathering with the priests, deacons and bishop prior to the Mass. I recall processing around the outside of the church while Latin hymns were chanted. I especially remember all the neat rituals that are unique to a dedication liturgy. I will always cherish the look on our Associate Pastor's face when Bishop Rodimer took the jar of Chrism, dumped it on the newly installed hardwood altar, and worked the oil into the wood with both hands!

Rocco has dutifully provided links to the website announcing the dedication of the newest Cathedral in the United States. Lots and lots of great pictures and a really imformative worship aid that explains the theology behind the rites and rituals of the dedication liturgy. What is especially moving for me is how much of the church is consecrated simply by its use. For example, the Ambo is not consecrated by the Bishop saying a prayer over it, it is consecrated when the Word of God is first proclaimed from it!

What is also cool is how the dedication ritual mirrors our own Christian initiation. First, it is turned over to the bishop by the builders (just as our parents and Godparents present us for baptism). Then it is washed with a blessing of holy water. Next, the entire building is anointed with Chrism, just as we are when we are sealed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation. Finally, the Eucharist is celebrated. The 'source and summit of our faith', the completion of our initiation into the Church is likewise the completion of the dedication.

However, whereas the installation of the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle wraps up the initiation of a Cathedral, we are sent - "To Love and Serve the Lord." The living stones emerge from the building to take the Church out into the world!

Congratuations Galveston-Houston! May the beauty of your new Cathedral be paled only by that of the Living and Growing Church that worships there!!!

The Last Lecture

Last Fall, I came across a column in the Wall Street Journal about a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University named Randy Pausch. On many college campuses there is a tradition of inviting professors to deliver a 'Last Lecture.' These talks are prepared to answer the question, "If you were only able to teach one more class before you die, what would you say."

When he was asked to give such a talk at Carnegie Mellon, it was more than an intellectual exercise for Prof. Pausch. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - a particularly aggressive form of the disease with a low survival rate. Randy's talk is extremely inspiring and has moved across the internet at a rate that even exceeds to growth of his cancer. More than six million people around the world have viewed it. The video is widely available online and runs a little more than an hour. If you have not seen it already, stop readying my drivel and go watch it! Have a box of Kleenex nearby.

The popularity of the Lecture, and the universality of Prof. Pausch's message have given birth to all sorts of spin offs. He has been on Oprah, the CBS Evening News has done updates. This Wednesday, April 9, 2008, Diane Sawyer will do an hour-long special on his story. That same week, a book based on his lecture will hit bookstands.

Randy's message is delivered as only a scientist can. There is no explicit mention of religion or his personal beliefs. However, as a Christian, I could not help but see the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Randy's talk. He most certainly 'gets it'!

Divine Mercy

Yesterday in my Christian Spirituality class, we discussed Ronald Rolheiser's book, The Holy Longing: The Search for A Christian Spirituality. I highly recommend it. In particular, we discussed the chapter on "Consequences of the Incarnation for Spirituality". As you may recall, last week I posted a selection from the Office of Readings describing Christ's descent into Hell.

Rolheiser includes a brief story from G.K. Chesterton's Everlasting Man:

A man who was entirely careless of spiritual affairs died and went to hell. And he was much missed on earth by his old friends. His business agent went down to the gates of hell to see if there was any chance of bringing him back. But though he pleaded for the gates to be opened, the iron bars never yielded. His priest also went and argued: 'He was not really a bad fellow, given time he would have matured. Let him out, please!' The gates remained stubbornly shut against all these voices. Finally, his mother came; she did not beg his release. Quietly, and with a strange catch in her voice, she said to Satan: 'Let me in.' Immediately the great doors swung open upon their hinges. For love goes down through the gates of hell and there redeems the dead.

This Sunday we contemplate and celebrate the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. For me, it is a mercy that is reflected in the greeting the Christ gave to those locked in the upper room. Even though they had abandoned Him in a time of need, He did not dwell on the past. "Peace be with you!"

He went on to say, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” When a court proceeding is dramatized, we often hear the judge sentence a criminal to death by saying, "May God have mercy on your soul." What I have come to find particularly interesting about that statement is that it somehow presupposes that we are permitted to simply delegate forgiveness to God. That it is OK to 'write off' someone because of their actions, and let God take it from there.

I have come to realize that it is not OK. As difficult, painful, unfair, and even impossible as it may be for me to actually forgive someone for something he or she does, that is what I am called to do. I recall the days that followed the Virginia Tech shootings. Perhaps you do as well. Since I only live two hours from the campus, the news coverage was even more intense. I remember one night in particular, I was sitting on my bed, surfing the Internet. I came across a photo of the shooter. He had a gun in each hand and was staring intensely into the camera. I stared back. I remember being struck, stunned, jarred by the stare. I remember thinking, "What could be going on behind that cold, evil stare?" However, as much as I deplored what he had done, I could not deplore Seung-Hui Cho.

I found myself praying, "God, this is one of your children. I pray that this troubled young man finds rest in your arms." And a sense of peace came over me. I knew that God took it from there. As I reflected upon that event over the ensuing months, I have come to a deeper appreciation of what happened. Rolheiser does a much better job of articulating what I have come to realize than I ever could:

The view of the incarnation being proposed here never says that we forgive sins, that we bind and loose, that we heal each other, or that we anoint each other. It is Christ, working through us, who does this. The power is still with God, not with us, but in the incarnation God has chosen, marvelously, to let his power flow through us, to let our flesh give reality to his power.

I just pray that God will give me the grace to be an instrument of His peace. I pray that in the face of injustice and injury, he gives me the grace to say, "Peace be with you!" I pray that he gives me the grace to treat others justly and charitably, so that I am not in need of his Mercy. However, I pray that when I inevitably fall short of the mark and do stumble, that His merciful arms are there to pick me up, hold me, and send me back on my way - his way!

Thanks be to God! Alleluia, Alleluia!

The Countdown Begins...

As I mentioned last week, my wife and I will be heading up to Washington, DC next month to celebrate mass with the Pope. Sure, sure, there will be 45,998 other people there too, but who is counting? The more the merrier! Didn't James Joyce once describe the Catholic Church as "Here comes everyone"?

We are equally excited about the opportunity to get away, just the two of us, for a night. This June we celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. We are not quite sure where the years went, but our four children have filled them with wonderful joy and lasting memories. However, those same children make it a bit tough for us to have "couple time" Therefore, a prayer of thanksgiving for the Papal visit as an opportunity to recharge our relationship is certainly appropriate!

In order to be eligible for the ticket lottery, Katie and I had to agree to "prepare spiritually for the Mass" No further details were provided. So, what is a Catholic to do?

One of the other parishioners in our parish who will be making the trip did some research online and found a study guide the the Archdiocese of Washington, DC prepared to help folks prepare for the visit. It is based upon B16's most recent Encyclical, Spe Salvi. Although reading and studying such documents has become more than a devotional practice for me now that I am enrolled in our diocese's Pastoral Ministry Leadership Formation program, it is just not Katie's cup of tea. She is most certainly a woman of deep faith. However, when I embarked on the discernment process for the diaconate, she made it quite clear: "I will support you in every way that I can. I believe that you are called to be a deacon. However, I am not called to be a deacon. I do not want to be a deacon!" Church documents are not where she finds spiritual nourishment.

So we continue to search for a way for her to prepare.

Now that he has finished covering the Triduum, Rocco has started what must be a high point of his journalistic career (second only to his coverage of the death of JPII and election of Pope Benedict). Take a look over at Whispers to see what he has to say. As an added bonus, his post pointed me to a series of columns published in the Catholic Standard about the papcy. Take and read!

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus...

"Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We praise you with greater joy than ever on this Easter night, when Christ became our paschal sacrifice.
He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world.
By dying he destroyed our death; by rising he restored our life.
And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise"

- Preface of Easter I

I have always found the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer to be a moment of contemplation of the universality of Christ's church. The priest's invitation for us in joining with the heavenly host as they sing God's praise allows me to connect my prayer with all of those who are on this earth now, as well as those who have gone before us!

I think of my grandparents, friends, and mentors who have gone on to their eternal reward. People like Msgr. Charles Kelly, my campus minister during my years at the College of William and Mary. I also recall family and friends who are not physically present, but who are sharing at the same Eucharistic Table nonetheless. Father Kenneth Lasch, my childhood pastor, in New Jersey. Or My parents in Williamsburg, Virginia and sister in Arlington, Virginia.

But this Easter, a whole new group of folks came to mind. People I have never met in real life, some of whom do not know that I exist! Bloggers. People of faith who have shared parts of their faith journey with me via websites such as this. I prayed for Deacon Greg Kandra, as I imagined him singing the Exsultet for the first time at an Easter Vigil. Or Rocco, of Whispers, whose "on the spot" reporting of all things ecclesial is expressed with a deep faith that shows that, for him, this is not just about reporting facts. Recently I came across the blog of a young teacher in Texas, Andie, who has taken to writing a blog of her own. When I read Theophany All Over I am able to see the strong faith of a woman living out a life of vocation. There are many others, far too many to list here. But you get the point.

I am connected to them all. One Bread, One Body, One Lord of all. Each time I receive the Eucharist, that Unity is present. I am connected to the full communion that is the Church!

This is the night...

By far, my favorite hymn is the Easter Proclamation, The Exsultet. The ancient chant, echoing throughout a candlelit church filled with the aromas of incense, always reminds me of the timelessness of our faith. For me, the reference to the "necessary sin of Adam" calls to mind an Ancient Homily that imagines a conversation between Christ and Adam in Hell. If someone was to ask me what Easter is all about, I could not come up with a better explanation than this ancient hymn:

Rejoice heavenly powers! Sing, choir of angels! Exult all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our King is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Savior shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends, standing with me in this holy light, join me in asking God for mercy, that he may give his unworthy minister grace to sing his Easter praises.

V The Lord be with you.
R And also with you.
V Lift up your hearts.
R We lift them up to the Lord
V Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father, and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ has ransomed us with his blood and paid the price of Adam,s sin to our eternal
Father!

This is our passover feast, when Christ the true Lamb, is slain, whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers: you freed the people of Israel from their slavery and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been for us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer? Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead! Of this night scripture says: "The night will be as clear as day: it will become my light, my joy. The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church,s solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God! Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen!

He is risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!!!!!

Thanks be to God, Alleluia!!! Alleluia!!!

Ancient Homily: The Lord descends into hell

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: "My Lord be with you all." Christ answered him: "And with your spirit." He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are held in bondage come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake, I your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

- Ancient Homily on Holy Saturday

Habemus Papam !!!

My wife and I have got two of the hottest tickets around!!! Well, at least in the Catholic world. As I am sure you are aware, B16 will be making his first (and probably only) trip to the US in less than a month. He will celebrate Mass publicly twice; once in DC and once in New York.

Tickets were distributed to each diocese. Ours received 400. The decision was made to distribute them via lottery. 4,000 people applied.

Well, the drawing was last week, and wouldn't you know it, they pulled my name! So, On April 17, 2008 (my birthday, by the way) Katie and I will join 46,000 other people in celebrating the Sacred Liturgy with the successor to St. Peter!

I don't think it has really set in quite yet. I am really excited about being able to take part in a worship experience that will connect my faith to that of the Universal Church in such a tangible way. Granted, St. Peter's Basilica is a bit more sacred a space when compared to the National's new stadium, but I will take what I can get!!!