Merry Christmas!

Even though the secular world tends to think that Christmas lasts from Thanksgiving until December 25^th, as Roman Catholics, we celebrate the Christmas season from Christmas Day until the Baptism of the Lord, on January 12^th this year.  When everything around us goes “back to normal”, we still celebrate.  Usually, we are reminded at Easter that we are “Easter people,” celebrating the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection each Sunday at Mass.  But think about it.  If Jesus wasn’t born, he couldn’t suffer, die, and rise again.

Those “C and E Catholics” or “Chreasters” miss out on a ton.  They only celebrate the “big stuff”, and perhaps they don’t even really celebrate except in the secular sense.  Think about it in the context of your own life.  If you only really lived for the “big stuff” – births, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and deaths – is that really living?  What about all the in-between bits?

Think about that as we near the first period of Ordinary Time, but for now, try to keep a sense of Christmas joy with you for as long as you can, and, as Father Erik said in his homily this weekend, make your neighbors think you’re crazy!

Advent Themes for Focusing Prayer Part 4: Love

This year, the fourth week of Advent was very short, but it wasn’t as short as it could have been.  There are years when the fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve, so the fourth week of Advent ends up being only a few short hours long.  Nevertheless, the fourth week of Advent has its own special theme for focusing our prayer:  Love.  And how appropriate is it that in the last hours or days before Christmas, we focus on the virtue that Jesus Christ embodies as fully human and fully divine?

Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is love incarnate, love made flesh.  He is the fulfillment of God the Father’s love for humankind.  The oft-referenced verse, John 3:16, tells us “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (NABRE translation).

Jesus shows us how to love more perfectly.  He teaches us that we are to love those around us (our “neighbors”) and he gives us a model of how to love them.  At Christmas, we recall Jesus’ first coming at his birth in Bethlehem.  Now, invite him to come again, into your heart to perfect how you love others, and ask him to help you love more perfectly.

Advent Themes for Focusing Prayer Part 3 of 4: Joy

Rejoice!  The Lord is coming!  Our theme for the third week of Advent is joy.  We take a break from the violet, more subdued theme of the rest of the season, and celebrate in rose, by lighting the rose candle and, if the parish has them, by the priest wearing rose vestments.  We are rapidly approaching Christmas.  It’s time to get excited!

I liken this time of year to the feeling of anticipation I get when arriving at a final destination or coming home after a long road trip.  For many, many years, my family made yearly road trips to Southern California to visit family members there.  I recall the feeling of joyful impatience when we would reach the city limits and I could start counting down the exits until we would be at my grandmother’s house.  And, when we returned home after a long time away, it was a similar feeling when we got closer to home.  I just wanted to get there already!

It is, of course, important to take journeys, whether actual or figurative, in our lives.  The process of getting somewhere gives us an opportunity to grow.  But, imagine if we took absolutely no pleasure in the act of getting from point A to point B.  What would our lives be like then?  It would be a nearly unbearable slog from one thing or place to another.

So, this week, reflect on the things in your life that bring you joy.  What are you looking forward to in the not so distant future?  What do you have to be grateful for?  Thank God for this opportunity to wait joyfully for the good things to come.

Advent Themes for Focusing Prayer Part 2 of 4: Peace

This week, the daily readings tell us of the peace that is to come when the Messiah is born for us.  Even on Monday, when we celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we heard themes of peace and harmony in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  And Gabriel bid Mary “Do not be afraid.”  In other words, let your mind be at peace.  In Wednesday’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus tells the crowds, and so tells us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Be peaceful and rest in God’s presence.  In Saturday’s first reading from the book of Sirach, the author says of Elijah, “You were destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.”  He was destined to restore a broken world to the harmony it once had.

The angel Gabriel, Jesus, and the author of Sirach are all giving us the same message in a sense:  Trust in God, in His all-knowing wisdom, and in His plan for our lives.  He knows what is best for us, and He will not lead us astray.  Be at peace, and trust that all will be well.

It may seem difficult to pray for peace at times like these when the world is divided by conflict and disagreement, but we must continue to trust that God has a plan, and ultimately, better days lie ahead.  Nevertheless, we must continue to pray for peace, in our hearts, in our families, in our country, and in our world.  God wants us to ask for things, even though He knows all that we need.  It is in turning to Him, in placing our trust in Him that we can find true inner peace.

Theme for Next Week:  Joy

Advent Themes for Focusing Prayer Part 1 of 4: Hope

Happy Advent!  In his homily last Sunday, Fr. Erik talked about being prepared to celebrate the mysteries of our faith in the coming of our Lord at Christmas, but also at the second coming at the end of time.  This is a predominant theme in our readings for daily Mass this week.  One way to prepare is to focus our prayer in different “directions” during Advent.

Try focusing on the following themes during the four weeks of Advent.  During the first week, focus on hope, during the second, on peace, during the third, on joy, and during the fourth, on love.  Try to relate these themes to how you are preparing to welcome Jesus at Christmas.

With hope as the theme for this first week of Advent, think about what you hope for during this Advent and Christmas season.  Jesus’ coming at his birth in Bethlehem gave the shepherds hope as the angels announced to them that a savior had been born for them, “who is Christ the Lord” (Luke  2:11).  The shepherds would have recognized this to mean that this child who had been born was to be the savior of the world.

We can also see hope in the Mass readings during this week.  The first readings come from the book of the prophet Isaiah, describing the good things to come and the wonderful things that are to happen in the future when God the Father will provide for Israel.  As we read these passages today, we can think about the fact that, just as good things were promised to the early Israelites if they kept their faith alive and strong, if we strive to remain faithful as well, we do so in the sure and certain hope that we will one day share in eternal life with God.

How will you incorporate and develop hope during the rest of this first week of Advent?

Next week, the theme to focus on is Peace.  Stay tuned to our Facebook page for an Advent prayer for peace, which will be posted next Monday.

What the Heck is a Synoptic Gospel?

As this liturgical year comes to a close, we are really finishing up more than just one set of readings.  We are concluding Cycle C, and on Sunday, we will begin a new year, with Cycle A readings.  You probably know that the Catholic Church rotates through three different cycles or sets of readings:  Cycle A, which contains Sunday Gospels mostly from Matthew; Cycle B, with Sunday Gospels mostly from Mark; and Cycle C, with Sunday Gospels mostly from Luke.   We do read from the Gospel of John as well, typically during the Easter season.

You might have noticed that many of the Sunday Gospels during Ordinary Time sound familiar from year to year.  They don’t change that much from Matthew to Mark to Luke.  That is because Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the synoptic Gospels.

Huh?  You might ask, what the heck is a synoptic Gospel?  (Pardon the very typical Utah phrase.)  When I was younger, I used to think synoptic meant that these three Gospels presented a synopsis of Jesus’ life, and it was just a coincidence that they were so similar.  But, as I got older and my English-major-like tendencies kicked into high gear, I took a closer look at the word.

Synoptic comes from two roots:  syn meaning “same,” and optic meaning “view.”  So, a story that is synoptic presents the same view as another story.  They corroborate each other.  The synoptic Gospels present more than just a synopsis of Jesus’ life.  They present roughly the same story, with some differences here and there, owing to the fact that they were written at different times by different authors for differing audiences.  For instance, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount takes place on a the plain instead.

It is tempting to zone out when we hear a familiar Gospel passage, especially if we have heard it a dozen or more times.  But, when you do hear a Gospel reading from Matthew, Mark, or Luke that seems very familiar, challenge yourself to find the ways in which it differs from the other two synoptic Gospels.  If you’re really ambitious, go look up the other two in your Bible at home.  (Concordances, or similar passages, are usually cited in the notes.)  Note the differences.  Ask yourself why there are differences.  Does it take away from the main theme of the passage?  This can help you delve deeper into scripture, something which Catholics of the pre-Vatican II generation were often discouraged from doing.

Even if you don’t make it a habit to do this every Sunday, try to commit to doing it during an “extraordinary” season of the liturgical year, such as Advent, or Lent.  It could be a valuable way to prepare yourself for the seasons of Christmas and Easter.

Personal Patron Saints

This is a special week for me.  I got to observe the feast day of my patron saint, St. Elizabeth of Hungary on Sunday.  Another of my favorite saints, St Cecilia, is recognized tomorrow.  In certain Catholic countries in Europe, people celebrate their “Name’s Day” on the memorial of the Saint for whom they are named or whose name they chose at Confirmation.  My grandmother kept this tradition alive for us as we grew up, and even if we don’t make a big deal of it, it is still good to recognize our Name’s Days when they occur.

How do you go about choosing a Saint for yourself or choosing one for your child at Baptism?  In my family’s case, our patron Saints were chosen to honor our heritage.  Mine is St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and my brother’s is St. Laszlo, both prominent in Hungarian Catholic culture.  In other cases, you could look at the Saints whose memorials are close to your birthday.  There are usually multiple Saints recognized each day, unless it happens to be a particular special feast day of the Church.  Check out the Saint of the Day section in the Laudate app for examples.

If you are older, you might choose a Saint who is already a patron Saint of an activity or profession you enjoy.  I like singing, so St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians is particularly easy for me to relate to.  Keep in mind, the Saints are meant to be examples to us of how to conduct ourselves in this life.  Is there a Saint whose life speaks to you in some way?  Is there a Saint who has a devotion related to them, which you admire?  Consider all these when choosing a personal patron Saint.

And what do you do once you have chosen your patron Saint or Saints?  (Yes, you can have more than one!)  Ask for that Saint’s intercession for you in times when you feel like you need a little extra help.  Our canonized Saints are those we know are in heaven.  Who better to ask for help?

Do you have a patron Saint?  Even if you don’t have an “official” patron, try to find one to adopt as your patron.  Ask them for assistance and guidance.  They will not lead you astray.

Accepting Challenge and Change

Challenges are inevitable in life.  If we avoid challenges, we stay as we are.  This can seem the more comfortable path, the path of least resistance, but ultimately, it hurts us more than it helps us.  If we never do things that are hard, we never have a chance to grow.  Think about a task you now view as mundane and easy, like tying your shoes.  You don’t fully realize how difficult tying your shoes really is until you try to teach a child how to do it.  At one point in your life, you had the same trouble (unless you picked it up really easily).  Other examples might be riding a bicycle, operating a computer, or figuring out the latest feature on a new cell phone.

But, you might say, the kids can do it so much easier than me.  That’s because they’ve grown up with these things.  They’ve had more exposure to them, especially when it comes to technology.

Perhaps the best example of a challenging activity for adults is learning a new language.  We are able to speak, read, and write our native language as adults because it’s what we grew up with.  It’s what we’ve had the most exposure to and experience with.  Learning a new language, especially one very dissimilar to your native language, can be very challenging.  You might be tempted to give up.  But if you stick with it, slowly, it becomes easier and more intuitive.  You just need to have patience and perseverance

The same can be said for challenging yourself spiritually, or adjusting to changes in your church environment.  The third edition of the Roman Missal began implementation almost nine years ago, in Advent of 2010.  There are still times when adults will use the wording of the prayers from the previous edition because it’s what we grew up with.  It’s what we know “the best”.  Whereas, kids going through catechesis today learn the new versions first, so they know those better.  I know, as a cantor, I picked up the newer wording more quickly because I was exposed to it often, multiple times each weekend in some cases.

So, when changes are made in church, whether it is to the environment or to the liturgy itself, challenge yourself to have patience and perseverance.  Find out more about why changes are being made.  Understanding more about the reasons for change often aid in accepting change.  But most importantly, accept that you may feel some opposition toward change at first.  That is normal and human.  Realize as well, that you don’t want to be stuck with "untied shoes" spiritually forever.  You have to work at it if you want things to get easier.

"Ordinary" Time?

The longest period in the Church’s liturgical year is the second period of Ordinary Time, and boy, does it feel like it this time of year.  When we get to the thirtieth, thirty-first, thirty-second, and thirty-third Sundays in Ordinary Time, it can start to feel like we’ll never get out of the doldrums of plain old Ordinary Time.

But Ordinary Time isn’t called “ordinary” because there isn’t anything special about it.  It is called “ordinary” in the sense that we are ordering our weeks (with ordinal numbers).  We are counting the weeks until we enter a special season of the church such as Advent when we prepare for Christmas, or Lent when we prepare for Easter.

So, how do we make Ordinary Time feel less ordinary?  Treat it like a journey.  The Gospel readings during Ordinary Time often tell us of Jesus’ public ministry, the places he preached about the Kingdom of God, and the reasons why God the Father sent His Son into the world.  They tell us, most notably, the parables that Jesus used to convey truths about His Father’s Kingdom.

God knows us better than we know ourselves.  He knows that we need ideas we can relate to in order to understand just a little bit what the Kingdom of Heaven is.  So Jesus uses comparative language:  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”  Through Jesus, God speaks to us, even today, in terms we can understand.

If we treat Ordinary Time as a journey to discover the truth about God’s Kingdom, we are in essence walking a journey of faith.  Be mindful of this journey as we take the last few steps in the coming weeks.  Journeys can often be transformative.  How will you allow God to change you in these last few weeks leading up to Advent?

The Christian Roots of Halloween

Today is Halloween.  As with many things in our culture today, many people – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – tend to view Halloween as a secular holiday.  This is unsurprising given the amount of commercialization surrounding the day.  Very few realize that Halloween has its roots in Christian tradition.

The word “Halloween” itself comes from All Hallow’s Eve, meaning the Eve of All Saints, the day before All Saints Day.  Contrary to popular belief, it is not a “Christianization” of the pagan celebration of Samhain, though there are some similarities.  The Celts believed that spirits of the dead rose on this night because it was when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was thinnest.  In medieval England, some of the traditions of Samhain might have been incorporated into celebrations of All Hallow’s Eve, such as leaving out offerings to the spirits of the dead.  This is similar to Dia de los Muertos traditions in Latin America, which of course is a celebration related to All Souls Day, celebrated on November 2^nd.

Further, European medieval tradition would have people dressing up in scary costumes to ward off evil spirits.  Few people realize this today.  Now secular culture emphasizes trying to scare each other rather than some supernatural beings.

Some Catholics have tried to “reclaim” Halloween, dressing up as Saints or other religious figures rather than scary monsters.  In fact, I recall times when Halloween fell on a Sunday when children in our parish religious education classes were encouraged to do this for the holiday.  Other Christians might not allow their children to participate in Halloween activities because they view it as satanic. 

I favor a more “middle of the road” approach.  I have never been a huge fan of dressing up simply to scare other people.  Nor am I of the opinion that people should boycott Halloween.  Let your kids have fun.  Let them participate in the parades, trick-or-treating (or trunk-or-treating), and pumpkin carving.  Let them be kids.  Then you can choose if you would like to explain what Halloween was originally and how that relates to the ways in which we celebrate it.  And remember, tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation!

Good and Bad Distractions

What draws your focus the most during the day?  For some, it could be their job.  For others, it could be their children.  For others, it could be some external form of stimulus, such as a cell phone, or social media, or something else entirely.  Some things that draw our focus are good.  Mihály Csikszentmihályi, a psychologist, came up with the idea of cognitive “flow”.  When one is in a state of flow, one becomes absorbed in an activity to the point of losing track of the passage of time.  For example, if you have ever read a really good book, and glanced at the clock to realize several hours had gone by and you hadn’t noticed, you might have been in a state of flow.

It’s great if you can achieve this state when you are working on a particularly important project, either for work or for pleasure.  It is less helpful if you happen to get into a state of flow with something which is a distraction from more important things you need to do.

At first glance, the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, can seem to disrupt the “flow” of a day.  It can seem like a distraction to have to think about praying every few hours.  But, when viewed differently, the Liturgy of the Hours can be a necessary “reset button”.  When the day isn’t going quite how you expected for whatever reason, taking a few moments or minutes to re-center yourself with prayer can actually save you time in the long run.

The “Hours” of the Liturgy of the Hours are morning prayer (lauds), mid-morning prayer (terce), mid-day prayer (sext), mid-afternoon prayer (none), evening prayer (vespers), night prayer (compline), and the Office of Readings (which can be said at any time throughout the day).  For laity, joining in with praying the Liturgy of the Hours does not have to be an all or nothing venture.  The more principle of the hours are morning and evening prayer.  They are a good place to start. 

Priests and other religious men and women commit to praying the Liturgy of the Hours each day.  When we as the laity join our prayers with theirs, the Church as a whole is stronger.  Over time, you may start to feel as if you are missing something when you don’t get a chance to pray.  And, what may have seemed like a distraction at first can help you avoid other less helpful distractions in the future.

If you would like to start praying the Liturgy of the Hours, there are several options:  You could invest in a Breviary, if you prefer a physical book.  If you would prefer a website or an app for your phone there’s iBreviary (free app available) or Universalis (free on the web, or a one-time fee paid app).

Do I Have to Believe That?

Do I have to believe that?

It’s a question we may have to contend with in our own lives and also one that comes up in RCIA sessions for those discerning whether they are ready to become Catholic.  During the first half of our sessions here at Saint Ambrose, we tackle the basic beliefs of the Catholic Church throughout a unit which the Symbolon program calls “Knowing the Faith.”  What’s nice about Symbolon is that it takes a catechism-based approach, and the first unit is centered on the Creed.

I heard a story once of a Catholic boy participating in Boy Scouts with his neighborhood troop, which was predominantly LDS.  During one scout meeting, he was asked to “bear his testimony.”  The boy thought about it, and then stood up and recited the Nicene Creed.  The Creed (Nicene or Apostle’s) is a condensed but nonetheless complete statement of our basic beliefs as Catholics.  If there are parts of the Creed one does not agree with or one has issues with, perhaps the Catholic faith is not for you.

This isn’t to say that religion itself is not for you.  Plenty of religious denominations share core beliefs with Catholicism but differ on some key points.  For instance, in 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic Church over one word (in Latin) or phrase (in English) in the Creed regarding the Holy Spirit:  qui ex patre filioque procedit – who proceeds from the father and the son.  It may seem trivial to have such a big disagreement over one Latin word (or English phrase), but if it affects belief significantly enough, it may be justified.

After Christmas in RCIA, as we approach Easter, our focus shifts to Living the Faith.  How do we put into action the beliefs that we hold?  Throughout the RCIA process, it is important for those participating to engage in discernment – deciding what their beliefs are and if they match the beliefs of the Catholic Church.  It is important for them to do so, because this is a major life decision they are making.  We on the RCIA team emphasize to the participants that the Catholic Church has held beliefs for centuries, and we as Catholic faithful, hold these same beliefs today.  We do not change beliefs because it is trendy or culturally acceptable.  We may adapt to changing times, but we apply our beliefs to changing situations.  As the Serenity Prayer states:  Lord, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.

Milestones

Today is my brother’s birthday.  We don’t tend to make a huge deal of birthdays in my family, but this is one of the big “milestone” birthdays.  His girlfriend threw him a party on Monday night, and we are celebrating tonight and next week.  It got me thinking about milestones in our spiritual lives.  We tend to celebrate at weddings, whether they be church weddings or more secular events.  But do we celebrate other “milestone” sacraments?

Of course, there are some sacraments that seem to make more sense to attach celebrations to:  the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, First Eucharist, and Confirmation) and Matrimony or Holy Orders.  These are definitive milestones in our lives.  We become members of God’s family.  We receive Jesus for the first time in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.  We are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  We join ourselves to another, or we make a commitment to serve God as a priest or religious brother or sister.  These are causes for joy. 

It may not make sense to celebrate a “first confession” or an anointing of the sick, since those are typically more solemn sacraments, but there could be an element of celebration to them.  When a person goes to confession for the first time, he or she is restored to right relationship with God.  Isn’t that worthy of celebration? 

The sacrament of anointing of the sick is meant to give consolation and strength to those who are ill.  In this case, a celebration might be going “too far”, but we could still give thanks that God is with us in our trials.  And certainly, in the case of Last Rites, when the dying person receives the sacraments for the last time, we could celebrate that they are now ready to go to God.  Perhaps we don’t think of it as celebrating when we gather for a funeral, but part of a Catholic funeral liturgy is giving thanks to God for the life of the person who has passed away and praying for his or her soul.

Have you celebrated milestone sacraments in your life or your children’s lives?  How?  How could you incorporate a sense of celebration to other times of receiving sacraments?

Relatable

Some Saints are easier to relate to than others.  One of the more popular Saints, which the universal Church recognizes is Saint Francis of Assisi.  Many people love Francis for his devotion to animals and for his work with the poor.  There are prayers and songs attributed to Francis (whether correctly or not), which are much beloved.  Maybe it is because Francis was a member of multiple social classes throughout his life.  He appeals to the well-to-do as a model of charity, and he appeals to the lower classes because of that charity, and because he took a vow of poverty later in his life, living as one of them.

Today there are religious orders for both men and women who follow a Franciscan spirituality, but you don't have to belong to one of these orders to emulate their lifestyles.  Francis stands for us all as a model of Christian living.  It is good, therefore, that he is so relatable.  Let us strive to live as Francis did.

Give Us A Chance

A new group of RCIA inquirers has begun meeting here at Saint Ambrose on Tuesday nights.  We call the first “stage” of RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) the inquiry stage because at this point, those who are participating in the process are checking out the Catholic Church.  They are deciding if this is a good fit for them, if this is what is right for them at this stage of their faith journey.

At this point, the inquirers are giving us a chance.  Obviously, we want to put our best foot forward.  We want to show the best side of the Catholic Church and why it is a great “place” to call “home” (even though the Church with a capital C is much more than just the physical building).  This can be tricky, especially given the events and scandals of recent months and years.  But as one of our newly baptized Catholics who received the sacraments at the Easter Vigil in April said to us at about this time last year, the Church is more than the actions of some of its priests.

Our inquirers have taken the first step.  They are giving us a chance.  And whether the average parishioner in the pew realizes it or not, the entire parish is a participant in forming each new potential member of the Catholic Church.

Help us help them give us a chance, and put our best foot forward.

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

My Hungarian grandmother had an oft-used saying when she felt like someone was not doing all that they were able to do:  “Don’t be that helpless!”  She would say this in her thick Hungarian accent with an air of exasperation.  It has been almost nine years since my grandmother passed away, but I think of her saying often.  She never meant it in a bad way, but it usually made me stop and think, what else could I be doing right now to help myself?

You may have heard the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.”  What does that really mean?  Does God only help those who have done everything in their power and turn to Him as a last resort?  Does God look at someone and think, well, they could do X, Y, and Z still, and until they do, I don’t need to intervene?  That doesn’t fit with our belief in a loving God.

So, who does God help?  Whose prayers does He readily answer?  He answers all of our prayers, but it may not be the answer we want.  The answer may be “no” or “not right now.”  But, by the same token, God never gives us more than we can handle.  He helps us according to our abilities at the given moment.

So, yes, God helps those who help themselves, but if we turn to Him, He will not fail to answer our prayers.  In the Fatima Prayer, often added at the end of rosary decade, we pray “Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”  Let us strive to do our best, live our best lives in accordance with God’s will, and to reach out to God when we are in most need of Him.

Busy Weekends? Look for an Alternative

One of the odd things about working for the Church is you need to have “alternative weekends.”  Often, church employees work Sundays, and some also work Saturdays, so it is important for them to find other days during the week to take as a “weekend” instead.  It is particularly tricky for priests because they have daily obligations as a function of their vocation.  But, even priests should get a “day off” and vacation time.

Most of us who work for the parish have carved out our alternative weekends.  My weekend is typically Friday and Saturday.  Having worked in an environment that was very emotionally, mentally, and even physically taxing at times, I am pretty protective of my weekends.  Most of my evenings are taken up with a commitment of one kind or another as well, so I need to guard my time off.

In the United States, there is a culture of workaholism.  In order to live the American Dream we feel like we need to work all the time.  The sad part is that people sometimes have to work two or more jobs just to make ends meet.  So, we get in a mindset that if we aren’t working there must be something better to do with our time than just sitting around.  In fact, there is a certain amount of stigma aimed toward those seen to be “slackers” or taking advantage of the system.

The reality is that we live in a culture that glamorizes work to the point of pushing people toward mental and emotional breakdown, and we have developed this mindset in relatively recent decades.  That isn’t healthy.  That isn’t sustainable.  If you look at other cultures, they place value in people for their potential as human beings, not in their employability.  Quality of life is not determined by one’s ability to work, but by one’s opportunities for growth as a whole person.

Faith can be an important aspect of our lives that might be pushed aside in favor of work.  Make sure you are giving yourself the opportunity to rest and recharge.  Remember, Elijah heard God in “a light silent sound” (1 Kings 19:12 NABRE translation) or, as we may be more familiar, “a still small voice” (KJV translation), not in hubbub.  Give yourself a chance to be quiet and attentive to what God is trying to say to you.  If that means finding alternative weekends for yourself, make that a priority.  Your faith, as well as your body and your sanity, will thank you.

New Neighbors

Several people in our neighborhood moved in the spring and the summer.  New neighbors are moving in slowly, and the For Sale signs are coming down.  It can be hard for my family to get to know new neighbors, especially as we don’t share the predominant faith of our neighborhood, and thus do not see them as regularly.  We have to be cognizant of that fact and make an extra effort if we want to really get to know people on our street.

The same goes for new coworkers, though typically one spends more time with them.  Still, we may need to be more aware of habits we have developed which might put others ill at ease.  In both cases, we need to make an effort to be friendly and welcoming.  It is usually an adjustment when new people come into our lives, but if we make a conscious decision to be open to new things, it is beneficial for everyone.

As Catholics, we have a special call to welcome the stranger.  How can you welcome the “strangers” you encounter in your life?

Monica, Augustine, and Ambrose

This week, the Church celebrated two feast days, which are intimately linked with the patron saint of our parish, Saint Ambrose:  Saint Monica and Saint Augustine.

Saint Monica was the epitome of the patient wife and mother.  She also bore witness to the power of prayer.  Though it took many years, her husband finally converted to Christianity about a year before he died.  Monica’s prayers for her son, Augustine, eventually led to his conversion and baptism as well.

Saint Augustine went on to lead a momentous life as chronicled in his autobiography, Confessions.  His book was the first of its kind, in that it detailed his spiritual development.  It inspired future generations of saints to write similar books, such as Saint Therese of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul.  Augustine became a Catholic, a priest, and a bishop in quick succession, and today is recognized as a Doctor of the Church.

Saint Ambrose featured in both Monica and Augustine’s life quite prominently.  He was Monica’s spiritual director, and he was a key figure in Augustine’s conversion to Catholicism.  I think it is safe to say that without Ambrose, there would be no Saint Augustine.

Let us all strive to be patient, like Monica, repentant like Augustine, and fervent like Ambrose in our day-to-day lives.

Spread Too Thin

I have mentioned before on this blog that I have a talent for being able to remember and recite lines from movies at length.  This week, a particular line from Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring is coming to mind.  (The line also features in the book, if I recall correctly.)  Bilbo tells Gandalf, the wise old wizard, that he feels “thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

It is important to know what one’s limits are.  It is equally important to set boundaries so those limits are not exceeded.  Otherwise, one can experience irritability, burnout, and/or exhaustion.  It may seem like this is an especially “grown up” or American problem, what with our culture of “work-aholism”, but it can affect kids just as much.

If kids are involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, going back to school can be tough, because now, they have to juggle being in classes most of the day, homework, and all of the fun things they want to be involved in after school.  Kids can burn out just like adults can, but they don’t necessarily have the same coping mechanisms that adults do.  Therefore, it is the adult’s responsibility to set boundaries and limits for their children.

Keep this in mind as kids finish their first week back at school.

Assumptions

Today, the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Paragraph 974 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) gives us a brief summary statement regarding this:

“The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.”

CCC paragraph 966, which the previous quote summarizes, refers to the “Dormition” of Mary, which is the name the Byzantine Liturgy, or Eastern Rite, uses for the Assumption.  The idea behind the “Dormition” of Mary, is that she “fell asleep” (i.e., she died) and then was taken up into heaven.  However, given our long separation from the actual event, it is impossible for us to know whether Mary actually died first, or if she was taken up into heaven in the same manner as Elijah was in 2 Kings 2:11.

So, why do we call today’s feast The Assumption?

Today, the word assumption has come to refer to the human tendency to believe something to be true or an event to have happened, regardless of whether it is actually true or has actually happened.  One is often warned not to assume anything.  When we use the term Assumption to describe today’s feast (again, note the difference between the word with a capital A and the word with a lowercase A), we are implying another, perhaps older definition of the act of assuming.  Through Mary’s Assumption, God took her to Himself in heaven, setting her apart, not only as the mother of Jesus, but as our mother as well.  In heaven, Mary is ideally placed to intercede for us to Jesus, her son.

As Catholics, we do not worship Mary, but we do pray for her intercession, as we might invoke any other saint’s intercession for a specific need.  But with Mary, we are especially blessed, because she hears all our needs and is able to take them directly to her son, Jesus, who is God.

So, today, we honor Mary, our mother, and her special position in heaven.  Don’t forget that today is a Holy Day of Obligation.  If you haven’t been to Mass yet, join us at 6:30 pm.

Back to... Routine?

Routine can be a wonderful thing.  It establishes consistency.  It can make life predictable in a reassuring way.  But routine can also become monotonous and boring.

The first day of school is rapidly approaching.  Students at Cosgriff, as well as students attending Salt Lake City and Granite School District schools, will return in just a little less than two weeks!  Teachers come back to school next week.  Parents may be sighing in relief that their children will have a more structured day once again.  On the other hand, they may be feeling the stress of trying to prepare for a new school year in the little time that is left to them.  Kids are probably dreading the end of summer vacation.

Some measure of routine is good for everyone.  An established routine can make an otherwise chaotic environment calmer.  One does need to be careful not to get into a rut, however, relying so much on routine to structure one’s days and weeks that when something disrupts routine, it throws off the entire situation.  In order to avoid this, one could change a small part of the routine, or add something new to it.

Think about this in terms of your spiritual life as well.  Have you fallen out of routine over the summer with Mass attendance?  Now is the time to get back into the routine.  Have you gotten into a rut with your prayer life, saying the same prayers over, and over, and over again?  Try adding a new one.  The parish Facebook page posts a “Prayer of the Week” you could try incorporating each week.  Or you could try starting a new devotion.  The Catholic Church dedicateseach month of the year to a different devotion.

What routines can you establish to strengthen your prayer and add consistency to your life?

Change - It's Not Easy!

Nobody really likes change.  It upsets routine.  It makes us uncomfortable.  Luckily, as we grow up we develop coping mechanisms to help us through big changes in our lives. 

For several years, I worked with students who had autism.  Many people with autism struggle with change.  The slightest variation in schedule could throw off an entire day.  This is because, once one thing changes, their routine is off.  It becomes unpredictable.  They don’t know what to expect, and if they don’t have the skills to cope with that, it can lead to meltdowns or other behaviors that their caregivers would deem undesirable.  In these cases, it is important for teachers or caregivers to realize that it isn’t the student’s fault.  He or she is experiencing a BIG emotion, and they are dealing with it the way they know how.

Over time, all of us learn that feelings, no matter what they are, are valid.  We shouldn’t have to justify our feelings, but we do need to take responsibility for how we act on our feelings.  This is a learned skill for anybody, not just people who may be neuro-divergent.

Right now is a time of change for our parish community.  We have been in something of a state of flux for almost a year now, and it has not been easy.  We do need to realize, however, that this change in pastor is not only disrupting for us, but also for the incoming priest.  I would argue it is more disrupting for him.  We only need to meet one new person.  He has to meet an entire community of people.  As such, it is important for us to be understanding and patient, even though that might be difficult for us.

Join us after the 8:30 and 11:00 Masses on August 11th for a welcome reception, and introduce yourself to Father, and until then, keep him in your prayers!

Remembering You!

I will surely miss all of you, parishioners of St. Ambrose, with the exact same feeling I miss all of the people I love back home. I am sure you also miss your loved ones if you are separated by hundreds or thousands of miles apart.

It is such a normal thing to miss those we love. The ones we love become so much part of our lives and our beings, that when they are not there to share with us physically, we feel the pinch badly. Then matters get worse when we can’t seem to get hold of ourselves and do something significant and worthwhile even just to shield the pain a little and distract ourselves. No doubt, these are difficult moments. We cannot help but wish sometimes that our loved ones can stay by our side as long and as often as possible.

Whenever the holidays are coming, holidays like Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Season and New Year, it is indeed tempting to cry in our little corners and justify all this by saying that we are grieving or that we cannot help feeling this emptiness because the one we miss are just too important to forget so easily. Then we keep wishing and praying that they would come back to us. Wonderful memories of the past replaying in our minds sometimes have a way of surfacing into our conscious mind and make us wish to have that memories be a present reality.

Undeniably, these memories can be so beautiful and soothing but sometimes they are the very blocks that stop us from moving forward. Imagine if we could all be with all those we love forever. There would be no more grief or sadness from their loss. But that is not reality. Perhaps, the yearning is a foretaste of heaven. We can never really possess God while we are on earth. We have moments of great consolation when we feel his presence and love in those who love us but even that is not forever.

Our prayer then cannot be for God to keep our precious ones with us always. Our prayer ought to be that our love be so deep and so real that it has the power to go beyond time and space and any other physical or psychological limitations.

All of you will surely be missed. Thank you for everything!

Church Hopping

During the summer, our church buildings may not be as full as during the school year.  Many people travel during these months because the kids are out of school, and it’s easier to get away as a family.  Hopefully, you make attending Mass a priority even when traveling.  I was lucky to be able to attend Mass at St. Teresa of Avila parish in Carson City, Nevada during my recent vacation.  It was an early Mass – about 7:45 AM – but the large church was mostly full.  I was particularly impressed when their Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion went up to the altar.  There were at least eight additional ministers!  It was inspiring to see such a thriving community in a place I didn’t expect to find a large Catholic presence.

Some people may “church hop” during the summer, especially in an urban community such as ours, trying out different parishes and hearing different priests give homilies, for a different perspective.  Though I almost always attend Sunday Mass at St. Ambrose, I also do a bit of church hopping during the week.  During the month of July alone, I will have attended Mass at five churches in the Diocese, not counting St. Ambrose.  Mostly, this is because I have been asked to sing for certain special Masses.  And this isn’t something that only happens during the summer.  In fact, during the rest of the year, I can be just as busy, if not busier!  I sometimes feel as if I am a traveling minstrel.  I think it’s fun to go different places and sing in a variety of styles (everything from plainchant to traditional to contemporary music), but what is even more interesting is the people I meet along the way.

Do you do any church hopping during the summer or at other times of the year?  What has your experience been like?

Marriage Bond

Tom and Paula lived together as husband and wife on Rosecliff Avenue on the east side of Cleveland for more than seventy years. Tom worked at the post office. He retired when he turned 75. Paula worked as a bank teller. She planned on leaving her job as soon as they had their first child, but it turned out that they never had any children; Paula stopped working at the bank when she turned 75.

They led a simple life: they were never featured in the newspaper; they never got rich; they never took fancy vacations; but everyone on their street loved them. They were the neighborhood babysitters; they were the shoulders to cry on for young spouses having marriage troubles; they were the organizers of the yearly block party; their yard was more played in than any other on the street. Their home exuded happiness and joy, just like their happy, joyful faces.

Tom died in his sleep a few days before his ninety first birthday. He seemed to have been in perfect health, but his life had reached its conclusion. Paula seemed to be in perfect health too, and she seemed to withstand the loss fairly well. After three days without Tom she too passed away, unable, so it seemed, to let her husband get too far out of reach.

There are times when couples who share long and loving marriages die almost simultaneously, not for medical reasons, but for spiritual ones. The phenomenon eloquently illustrates something about marriage that you rarely hear people talk about, because that “something” is the most important thing about marriage. It’s called “the marriage bond.” Understanding what it is and where it comes from is the only way to understand Catholic teaching about divorce, remarriage, and annulment.

Fate vs. Destiny: God's Plan and the Catholic View of Predestination

Do you ever feel as if something was meant to happen a certain way in your life, and no matter what you did, things would turn out the same way?  Or, have you experienced something that seemed to be a remarkable coincidence or fortuitous event and thought, well that was lucky?  But what about free will?  Surely, if we had made a different choice things would have turned out differently.  Life isn’t like a Choose Your Own Adventure story, in which, whatever choice you make, it always leads to the same outcome.

One thing that sets the Catholic Church apart from certain other Christian denominations is our stance on predestination.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 600:  “To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy.  When therefore He establishes His eternal plan of ‘predestination,’ He includes in it each person’s free response to His grace.”  Put simply, God’s time is not our time.  He exists outside of the human concept of time.  God, all-knowing as He is, knows what choices we will make.  That doesn’t mean we don’t have the free will to make those choices.  Because God knows our every move even before we make it, He has a plan for each of our lives.

St. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “In [Christ] we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of [God’s] will, so that we might exist for the praise of [God’s] glory, we who first hoped in Christ” (Ephesians 1:11-12).  In speaking of destiny, Paul means that God’s greatest desire is for all to know and love Him.  God does not desire that His creation should suffer.  He does not desire that anyone should go to Hell.  He wants us all to live in eternal happiness with Him.  The choices we make in our lives determine where we will go when we die.  Yes, God knows what those choices will be, but that does not make us any less free to make those choices.

One of my favorite shows of all time is the BBC series Merlin, which aired originally from 2008 to 2012.  (You can watch all five seasons of the show on Netflix.)  I’ve been a fan of Arthurian legend since high school, and I enjoyed this series’ take on the mythos.  During the final season of the show, there was an episode that dealt with Arthur’s fate to die at Mordred’s hand, and Merlin’s attempts to change Arthur’s fate.  In a conversation between Arthur and Merlin, Arthur says, “If it’s fated, it doesn’t matter what I do, it’ll still happen.”  Merlin responds, “There is a difference between fate and destiny,” to which Arthur replies, “You think too much.”  But Merlin is right.  Fate is influenced by choice.  You can change your fate.  Destiny, on the other hand, seems to be unchangeable.

What is your take on the difference between fate and destiny, God’s plan for your life, and the idea of predestination?

The Real Enemy

When we feel beaten up and we feel that we have had enough of life’s pain, sufferings and battles, we cry out in despair “When will I run out of enemies? When will my enemies leave me in peace?”

As Christians, the Lord never promised us a life without enemies. In fact, He seemed to be so sure that we will always have them that He advised us to simply love them. “Love your enemies,” the Lord said. He Himself had enemies. As good a man as Jesus was, He had the scribes and the Pharisees who always looked at Him with hatred and antipathy. Some of His countrymen saw in Him as someone who was not a friend of Caesar, a threat to the Roman Empire. Then there were enemies in His own circle of friends. Judas is not the only one, There was Peter who wanted to tempt the Lord and make Him run away from the cup of sacrifice. Finally there was the archenemy, the tempter in the desert who wanted Him to kneel down and worship the evil one.

We have our personal enemies and we also have national enemies. There are people who seem to have taken it to themselves to make life more difficult for us. It seems that there are some people who are troublemakers by nature. These are the kinds of people who will disagree with everything they see and hear. Their mission in life is to criticize. Their mission in life is to express their displeasure about everything. If you arrive at an agreement, these are the same people who will not be satisfied. They will continue to criticize the agreement and they will wait until it is proven wrong. In the end, they will say. “I told you so, I told you it would happen.” There are those who threaten our lives, our property and our security. There are those who tempt us into laziness, into greed and lust and dishonesty.

When all these people have been won over to our side, we still have to contend with the greatest enemy, the “SELF”. Our greatest enemy is the sinful self, the old self urges us to take the easy way out, the self that tells us to get over others, otherwise, they will make a fool out of you. It is the self that will choose hatred and revenge rather than forgiveness.

We also have enemies on the national level. We have terroristsreal or imagined. We have selfserving politicians and appointed public servants who have begun to like power and have become afraid of losing it. We have a taxation system that has become a load that the poor find impossible to carry. We have a government that opts to raise revenues by legalizing things immoral. We can lay the blame on our situation on all things and on all people and on all events of the past. But we will get nowhere unless we accept the blame on ourselves.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. Let there be change in the society and let that change begin with me. Jesus won over all His enemies because He was true to Himself. We too can claim victory over all these enemies if we recognize the enemy within us that we have started to pamper and to protect and to safeguard.

Substitute

Almost all of us have had a substitute teacher at some point in our lives.  Having been in the education field myself, I can tell you that there is nothing I dreaded more as a teacher than having to make substitute teacher lesson plans.  I worked in a specialized classroom with students with disabilities, and there were only a few people I felt comfortable leaving my class with to begin with, and sometimes, I didn’t know who was going to take my class on days I wasn’t there.

Back when I was a student myself, if we had a substitute teacher it often left me feeling uncomfortable because the substitute wouldn’t do things exactly the way my actual teacher would.  Of course they didn’t, for the very reason that they weren’t my actual teacher. They were a different person with their own experience and their own way of doing things.

Over the last few weeks, we have had a series of substitute organists here at St. Ambrose.  This presents a challenge to the cantors as well as to the organists because we aren’t as familiar with each other’s styles, but we make it work.  We rehearse more than we would usually, but it is time well spent to understand a little bit of how and why the other person does things the way they do.

Think of this from the substitute’s perspective.  I had a certain substitute teacher who was a regular presence at my school.  She subbed for me a few times as well as for my classroom aides. When she would sub for my aides, she would say, “Oh good, I don’t have to be you.”  Granted, I had a difficult classroom so her feelings were somewhat justified, but I would never expect a person who was substituting for me to actually be me.  That’s not a realistic expectation of anyone.

It is important for us to recognize and accept the individuality of each person.  When we do that, we become much more pleasant people to be around.

Independence

Independence is an important quality to have.  It is something we as humans develop as we go through life, growing from infants, to children, to teenagers, to young adults.  We gain independence as we learn life skills.  We learn to feed ourselves and eventually to make our own meals.  We learn to dress ourselves and develop our own sense of what we like to wear.  We gradually become better able to manage our own lives.  We learn to drive so we can go places without needing to ask someone to give us a ride, or we develop the skills needed to use public transportation.  We get jobs to support ourselves.  Through all of these things, we move away from needing the help of our parents to live a full life.

The early settlements in the United States were much the same.  At first, they were dependent on other countries (France, Spain, and England, for example), but gradually they became self-sufficient.  Just as we may experience “growing pains” and rebel against our parents when we feel like they are not allowing us enough independence, the colonies rebelled against their far-off European rulers.

Nevertheless, we are grateful to those who have helped us along the way to independence:  our parents, our teachers, and even our friends.  If the United States had not had the support of those European countries that sent settlers and, later, missionaries to this country, our American culture would be far less diverse than it is today.

Take time today to thank God for the gift of personal and national independence.

"Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet"

I am humbled and at the same time grateful to God for the gift of priesthood. Last June 26, I celebrated my 11th year anniversary as priest and I honestly admit that it is only by God’s grace and mercy that I reached this point in my priesthood. I also thank nameless and countless people who pray for me and love me despite of my imperfections, mistakes, and sinfulness. 

In my priestly life, I always remind myself of this phrase: “Nemo  dat  quod  non  habet”  It  is  a  Latin  statement  which translates: “You cannot give what you do not have.” These words remind me of the author, Janet Ruffing. She said; “Unless  we experience  the  light  of  God’s  loving  touch,  we  remain  too frightened to enter into the fullness of life God offers.” This is very true in my own spiritual life! This theme truly runs at the center of my priestly ministry. The simple truth is that, it is impossible for an individual to bring God’s light and love if that individual does not know God, or simply decides to live in hate or chose to live a life without God.

 I would like to invite everyone to reflect and ask ourselves these questions: How can we guide somebody if we do not allow ourselves to be guided by someone? How could we completely love  another  person  if  we  have  not  yet  learned  how  to  love ourselves the right way? How could we truly value anyone around us if we haven’t truly valued ourselves? How can we trust others if we struggle to trust ourselves? How can we offer forgiveness, if we haven’t tried forgiving ourselves?

In our spiritual practices it seems difficult to think of our own selves first, because if we do, we can actually feel uncomfortable and somehow we come to believe it is selfish and selfserving. However, I believe  that  the  proper  care  for  oneself  in  the  aspects  of  physical,  emotional,  mental,  social, psychological and spiritual is of primary importance. I am not asking you to be selfcentered; I am simply asking you to take care of yourselves.

Jesus commanded us: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This implies that there is nothing wrong or sinful in loving yourself. Love yourself so that you can love your neighbor in the right way. I believe that the principle of giving to oneself first is one of the important benchmarks in finding inner peace and creating successful relationships. “You can’t give what you do not have,” does not only apply to things. It also applies to love, trust, value, honor, belief and forgiveness. I believe that selfcare and the nurturing  of  self  is  the  groundwork  of  living  true  to  our  vocation,  our universal call to holiness.

If we learn to love ourselves in the right way, we can develop the ability  to  give  so  much  more  of  ourselves  to  others.  Learning  to  give ourselves the gift of love, acceptance, value, honor, trust and forgiveness makes it so much easier to give to those people we care about, without any hesitation and without any feeling of helplessness.

No Hands or Feet but Yours

The Diocese recently offered a series of workshops for people who are new to the ministry of cantoring, which we hosted here at St. Ambrose.  In the Catholic Church, a cantor is the person who sings at Mass.  Often, the cantor also serves as the Psalmist (the person who sings or proclaims the responsorial psalm).  I attended these workshops as a representative of the parish, and I found the sessions very interesting even though I have been serving as a cantor for St. Ambrose for over ten years now.

The sessions culminated with most of the participants getting up to present a psalm to the group.  Nerves ran high, as was to be expected.  It brought to mind how I felt when I first started.  Experience is a wonderful thing, in that I have been singing in front of people for most of my life, and I have had this opportunity quite often.  I simply don’t get nervous very often anymore.  That isn’t necessarily a good thing.  A certain amount of nervousness keeps you on your toes and helps you not to become complacent.

Ministering in the Church, whether as a cantor, a lector, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, or even as a greeter requires that a person makes themselves vulnerable.  It means that they are opening themselves up to potential criticism, potential failure, and they are willing to take that risk.  It is worth it, to serve in the Church.  This was the attitude that I saw in each one of the participants at the cantor workshops.

People in any new job or volunteer position may encounter times of feeling like they don’t really know what they are doing or doubting that they are really the best person for the job.  This phenomenon is known as Imposter Syndrome.  I have faced it multiple times in my life, especially as a new teacher and when I first started as a cantor.  To be honest, there are still times when I feel like this in my current job.

What helps people to get over Imposter Syndrome is to realize that most people don’t know what was supposed to happen, so if a mistake is made it isn’t as disastrous as it may seem to be.  People don’t know that you hit a wrong note or that you left out a part of the lesson plan.  People don’t know what you rehearsed.  Whatever happens, happens.  It isn’t the end of the world.  In Church ministry, it is important to take things seriously and to act with reverence, but it is important not to take things TOO seriously.  Very few people will remember if you stumble over a sentence in a reading.  Hardly anyone will realize that the psalm wasn’t supposed to go “like that”.  Confidence is key.

If you have been considering ministering at Mass, but haven’t stepped forward due to embarrassment, nervousness, or a feeling that there must be someone in the parish better than you who could do the job, please know that you are not alone.  Anyone who ministers feels these things in the beginning.  Remember what St. Teresa of Avila said:

“Christ has no body on earth now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on the world; yours are the feet with which he walks to do good; yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”

Who will fill these crucial needs in the Church today if not you?

Are You a Priest?

I consider myself blessed to have witnessed 19 adult baptisms and 120 Catholics being confirmed in April of 2015. And these awe inspiring and meaningful events made me nostalgic as I remembered the kind of priesthood we all share in Jesus Christ.

There is a certain passage on priesthood that says: “One is Priest, Some are Priest, and All are Priests”. At a first glance this passage makes no sense, but if you are going to analyze it, in the light of our faith as Catholics, this grammatically incorrect statement makes sense.

One is Priest. This means that there can only be one priest, a high priest according to the Letter to the Hebrews 7:2627:

“For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all.”

Jesus is the One Priest, the only priest who offers permanently a sacrifice pleasing to the Father, and that is Jesus offering himself to the Father for the salvation of us all.

Some are Priests. There are those among us through the grace of God who was ordained to the MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD. They were ordained not for themselves but for the sake of service and ministry for the people of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1547 beautifully said:

“The ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.”

All are Priests. By virtue of our baptism when the priest anoints the child with chrism he receives the kingly, prophetic and priestly function of Jesus, thus making us sharers of Jesus’ COMMON PRIESTHOOD. That is why in when danger of death you can baptize; you can give communion if you are delegated by the priest.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1547 also states:

“The common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit”

Having reminded that all of us share the priesthood of Jesus, we therefore should fulfill our priestly role as baptized Catholics. We should preach the Gospel not only by preaching through talking, but by preaching through a life of holiness. Let us be agents of peace, unity, forgiveness, love and mercy to the entire world, so that the Kingdom of God will truly be spread far and wide.