Joyful Eastertide

What a beautiful celebration of the Triduum and Easter Sunday here at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel!  Just a quick reminder that our celebration of the Resurrection didn't end on Sunday, it only began...Easter is an octave, meaning it doesn't end until the second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday and the Easter season lasts until Pentecost (that's 50 days).  So keep celebrating the Empty Tomb!

Here's a video of the most famous piece of music ever composed, Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, to keep you singing.

Encountering MLK

On April 4th, 1968 (49 years ago today) Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.  

Ten years ago I visited a friend of mine, Fr. Victor Ingalls, in his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama as part of an event joining priests and seminarians from all over the country with the Catholic community there.  As part of the trip we visited Rev. King's parish--Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.  It was powerful to see the pulpit where the civil rights leader preached the Gospel message of the inherent dignity of each human person, regardless of race or ethnicity.  It was touching to meet members of his congregation where, in the years following his death, they have continued to live out Jesus' call to serve and ministry to the poor and the marginalized.  It was inspiring to stand in the spot where Rev. King and other civil rights leaders organized the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.  The most moving part, however, was located in the basement of the church where a massive mural painted by John W. Feagin covers each wall.  The most striking portion of the mural was a depiction of King, dressed completely in white, as if joining the saints in heaven.  I think it was striking because often we look at Martin Luther King, Jr. as a political figure or an activist and, while certainly he had a profound impact on politics in the United States and around the world, I believe he would have described himself first and foremost as a man of God.  He was a preacher, not a politician and, while his message is certainly relevant for people of all creeds, he approached his cry for justice and racial equality from the perspective of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

It is a reminder to all of us that for many civil rights leaders it was their faith that drove and inspired them to fight against oppression and discrimination.  It was their faith that gave them the language and the character to continue their struggle against insurmountable odds for so long.  It was their faith that reminded them of the long Biblical struggle of the People of God and the redemption offered by Christ.  As Christians Rev. King's life and message should be both a source of pride and a challenge to us.  A reminder that our faith can do remarkable things in the world when we truly live it out.

(Unfortunately I couldn't find a good picture of the part of the mural I mentioned, so I guess you'll have to visit yourself!)

Blessed Oscar Romero

On March 24th we celebrated the feast day of Blessed Oscar Romero.  Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador in the 1970s, while the country of El Salvador was wracked with poverty and internal strife.  He served as a tireless voice for the poorest of the poor and was not afraid to condemn government and military oppression as contrary to the Gospel.  Because of his outspoken defense of the Catholic faith and the People of God, Romero was shot and killed while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980...a true martyr of the 20th century.

During my time in Rome I typically attended a memorial Mass held in his honor every year at the Church of San Marcello al Corso on the anniversary of his martyrdom.  The church was usually packed with religious sisters, priests, and laypeople who served the Church in Central America and shared stories of friends and colleagues who were similarly martyred in their service to the poor.  It was a great reminder to me that there are still martyrs being made every year in our world and, as with El Salvador in the 1970s, sometimes our own government shares some responsibility for the bloodshed that leads to the loss of life.

I would encourage everyone to look into the life of Blessed Oscar Romero or others like him.  There is a great film Romero, countless books, documentaries, and firsthand accounts out there.  There are still martyrs being made in parts of the world and we are called to hear their cries and seek justice and the spread of the Gospel along with them.

Bl. Oscar Romero...pray for us!

Santo subito!

Patrick, Joseph, and Crooked Lines

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Patrick has long been one of the patrons of Ireland and his feast day has become a very big deal in other parts of the world with substantial amounts of Irish immigration and everyone knows that he was one of the principle actors in the story of Ireland's conversion to Catholicism.  But the circumstances of his life's work are pretty intense.  Patrick was actually not Irish, but British (we're not completely sure if he was English, Welsh, or Scottish).  At a young age he as kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland and only later did he come back and offer his preaching and service to the people of Ireland.  His story matches a little bit with today's reading from the book of Genesis about the patriarch Joseph.  Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob and resented by his older brothers.  Because he was "daddy's favorite" his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt.  Years later, however, it was Joseph (by then an important adviser in the country where he was once a slave) who saved his starving family by welcoming them into Egypt to find food and work.  

In both of these stories we see God taking a traumatic and evil event (being sold into slavery) and using it to do great things in the world.  These two men could have been forgiven for harboring hatred and resentment for the people who brought them so much suffering, but instead they used their experiences to bring the light of God into the very communities that oppressed them.  God certainly does work in mysterious ways.  It's not that he causes bad things to happen to us or forces others to sin, it's that he can use anything, absolutely anything, to accomplish his work in the world.  Patrick and Joseph demonstrate to us that even when evil befalls us, we are never down for the count when we trust in God and accept His grace in our life.  He doesn't introduce crooked lines into the world, but he sure can write straight with them!

Erin go bragh!

Purim and Providence

Today's first daily Mass reading comes from the Book of Esther and tells the story of a queen who, when faced with the possible eradication of the Jewish nation-in-exile, places her trust in the Providence of God, asks for His intervention, and acts.  This great tale of God's Providence working in the everyday events of our world will be commemorated by our Jewish brothers and sisters this weekend during the festival of Purim.  Check out this video and learn the story of Queen Esther, her role in history, and the origins of Purim.

To the margins with Katharine Drexel

Today we celebrate one of our American saints and a woman from Pennsylvania at that!  St. Katharine Drexel came from a wealthy family in Philadelphia and dedicated her life to the formation of a womens' religious order that served communities that were neglected by many in the 19th century United States--Native Americans and African Americans.  She spent her life to be with people that were abandoned by others and inspired countless others to do the same.  The message from her is simple and clear--don't be afraid to go to the margins, don't be afraid to reach out to those who are forgotten, don't be afraid to bring Christ to the edges of society.  We go to the margins, wherever they may be, not just out of a sense of charity, but out of a sense of justice.  We do this not because we have pity, but because there is grace and wisdom and strength in the margins that can bring light into the world.

In a not completely unrelated note it is always so inspiring to me to see the huge crowds of people coming to Mass for Ash Wednesday or participating in Lenten practices.  It's a sign that there are many out there who may not be completely engaged in the life of the Church, but still identify with their Catholic faith.  We hear a lot about how the influence of organized religion is waning in America, so seeing hundreds and hundreds of parishioners at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and students at Misericordia take time out of their day to commemorate the beginning of Lent can be a great sign for our future.  I hope we can all continue to nurture and encourage our brothers and sisters in their faith this Lent.

Finding Happiness in Lent

Why on earth should I give up chocolate for Lent?  Why don't we eat meat on Fridays?  Why would God want me to give something up in order to follow Christ?

Those are reasonable questions and, if all we have are the external rules and traditions of our religion without any of the spirituality behind them, then some of our Lenten practices can easily seem old-fashioned, silly, or pointless.  When we look a little deeper, though, we find that our Lenten practices have a rich and profound connection to our own happiness and fulfillment.

The great spiritual master, St. Ignatius of Loyola, begins his spirituality with what he calls the "First Principle and Foundation".  It is essentially this--we were made to serve, love, and be with our God, so in life we seek to embrace things that help us to do that and get rid of things which get in the way.  This requires us to cultivate a certain indifference to the things of the world, so that we don't really care whether was are rich or poor, healthy or sick, popular or unpopular, whether we live a long life or a short life.  The one and only thing we care about is living a life that leads us towards God and, as St. Paul says, we learn to be content with whatever situation we are placed in and find God wherever we are.

This is, to a large extent, the project we all undertake during Lent.  We give up little things not necessarily because they are bad, but so that we train ourselves not to care so much about the extraneous parts of our life and care more about the purpose for which we were created.  We give up so that we learn to stop seeking happiness in things that will never give us true happiness--things like wealth, health, or popularity--and turn our attention towards that which will bring us lasting joy.  We open our hands, letting go of the things we cling to, so that they may be open to receive true blessing from God.

Don't be afraid to let go this Lent, to set aside things that often distract us, and focus on what really matters--serving, loving, and being with God no matter what your situation in life.

Person to Person

Where did your faith come from?  If you are similar to most people, the likely answer to that question is "from another person".  It is this idea, that faith is handed on from person to person, that its transmission is a living and personal reality is at the heart of our Catholic Church.  Ours is a Church that is founded on the reality that Jesus' message is meant to be passed on, shared, from person to person, to be taught and to be learned.  Some Christians, in their effort to rightfully emphasize the importance of Sacred Scripture, overlook this basic element of the teaching of Christ.  Jesus did not write a book, he founded a Church that would share his Gospel message with all and, in fact, in the earliest days of the Church that message was often oral and not written.

Why is that an important message today?  Well, today we celebrate the feast of St. Polycarp, a bishop and martyr from the first and second centuries.  St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the Apostle who was a disciple of Jesus himself.  Polycarp went on to teach and mentor St. Irenaeus, one of the most read and most influential theologians of the early Church, who helped shape much of what we recognize as the Catholic Church today.  St. Polycarp reminds us that our faith is passed on from person to person, that it is a living reality, not a dead one.  He also highlights that, as Catholics, we can trace an unbroken line of student-teacher relationships all the way back to Jesus himself.  Part of that reality has to do with the line of bishops beginning with the Apostles and continuing with our bishops today, something we call Apostolic Succession.  So give thanks today for the parents, grandparents, priests, sisters, and teachers who shared their faith with you and pray that you have the inspiration to share your faith with others.

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Fr. Alex's ordination as a deacon in St. Peter's, Rome--passing down the faith through ordination

The Essence of Christianity

"Trust God and God will help you;
trust in him, and he will direct your way;
keep his fear and grow old therein."

Our Old Testament reading today comes from the Book of Sirach and in it the author is encouraging the Jewish people during a very difficult time in the history of their nation, encouraging them to patiently trust in God.

In his book Buddenbrooks, the German author Thomas Mann, while not religious himself, seeks to discover the essence of Christian faith.  He does so by recounting the journey of a Lutheran family through three generations during the long nineteenth century.  The story begins as the family is building up its fortune and credibility, a time of growth, excitement, and hard work.  During this stage we see that Christian faith is filled with excitement, vitality, and the hard but rewarding work of discovering and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ--faith can bring purpose and inspiration to our lives.  The second stage comes as the family is established but seeks to reflect on its own place, its own motives, its own relationships.  During these years we see that Christianity calls us to reflect on our own existence and come to a deeper self-knowledge--faith helps us realize our true self.  The third part of the novel recounts the decline of the family, following them as death, misfortune, and struggle overtake their lives.  Here we recognize that our God accompanies us through the trials and tribulations of life--faith gives us strength in difficult moments.

Our Faith may play a different role at different times of our lives, but we can never doubt that our Lord accompanies us through it all.  God is with us as we grow, as we come to a deeper knowledge of ourselves, and in our moments of trial.

Caesarea Philippi

In the spring of 2013 I was privileged to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with two priest friends.  We decided to take a ride up Highway 90 in Israel to the site of the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, the site of the powerful interaction between Jesus and Peter in today's gospel.  As we drove to the Golan Heights region, dangerously close to the border with Syria, already in the midst of a destructive civil war, troop transports and military vehicles surrounded us on the highway.  One of the priests on the trip began to get nervous, asking to turn around, while the other was blissfully unaware as he took in the sights of Jesus' home country.

When we arrived at the site we found, on the other side of a mountain from Syria, families all around us hiking and enjoying picnic lunches.  The ruins of Caesarea Philippi now sit within the beautiful Hermon Stream Nature Reserve.  It was a fitting setting to reflect on St. Peter, the future Pope and leader of the fledgling Church first announcing his faith in Jesus as Christ, the Son of God and on, as we hear in Matthew's gospel, Jesus proclaiming him the rock upon which he would build his Church.  It was and is a reminder to me that even amidst the darkest and most challenging moments and places, faith can flourish and bring us peace and light.

Hermon Stream Nature Reserve (Caesarea Philippi)