From the Pastor

The readings at daily Mass in this wonderful season reflect a variety of stories of the early Christian community coming to grips with the astonishing news that Jesus Christ is alive! The Risen Christ appears to His disciples in various places and gently He urges them not to be afraid and to prepare to go forth.

Our Church was born from very humble beginnings. That small group of frightened men hiding in the upper room for fear they might be called upon to share the same fate as Jesus, eventually became emboldened and courageous.

In fact, one scene that jumps out at me is described in the Acts of the Apostles (3:1-9) when Peter and John are going up to the temple at the 3 o’clock hour for prayer. As they approach the Beautiful Gate, they encounter a crippled man who daily sits there begging. The man looks to Peter and John for some money and Peter addresses him, “Look at me. Neither silver nor gold have I, but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk.” Peter gives the fellow a hand, literally, and the fellow gets up, jumps and dances and praises the Lord!

I wonder sometimes if I am like that man sitting at the Beautiful Gate. I wonder if you are like him as well and maybe even the entire Parish and Church are too. I mean, we sit each day looking for whatever we think we need to go forward in life: money, health, relationships, success in whatever form. And maybe we are even a bit crippled because we think we are lacking in that something. Our focus is on getting that THING and we think ourselves disabled until we do.

Perhaps in our daily prayers, we are inclined to ask God for all that STUFF that we think we must have in order to no longer be crippled. Just like the man sitting at the Beautiful Gate, when God calls us, we look intently at Him expecting that we are going to get our STUFF. In fact, God’s response may be that we should listen to Peter: “Hey, look at me! I don’t have that stuff, but what I do have, I freely give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, GET UP – GET GOING!”

The Easter message is one for all of us to cherish as we listen to the Alleluias and Hosannas, and sit by the Beautiful Gate.

Fr. Ronan

The great hymn sung at the Easter Vigil is called the Exultet. It is an ancient piece and arguably one of the greatest proclamations that has ever been compiled about our salvation and the meaning of Easter. After the dramatic entry of the priest and ministers into the darkened church on Saturday evening and the lighting of the Easter candle, the priest sings out, “CHRIST OUR LIGHT!” – to which the people respond, “THANKS BE TO GOD!” The Easter Vigil has begun and the community celebrates the truth of Christ’s Resurrection.

The implications of the Resurrection are proclaimed in the Hymn that invites the world and all creation to rejoice because “Christ has conquered … and Darkness vanishes forever.” The beautiful chant reviews all of salvation history remembering the fall of Adam and Eve and proclaims it a “Happy Fault, a Necessary Evil – which gained for us so great a Redeemer”. “This is the night …” is proclaimed over and over in a style that emphasizes the immensity of the event.

In truth, the moment is too huge for us to capture. We live so deeply in our own skin and sinfulness that it is almost impossible to imagine freedom from the power of darkness in our world and in our lives. The powers of darkness have so creatively and effectively duped us into believing in a God who is limited in love and mercy that we don’t get the full impact of the Easter message. We see ourselves and not the God who created us as the center of this drama. With ourselves at the center-point we believe that all love and mercy must be somehow filtered through our senses and abilities.

The Easter proclamation denounces this self-delusion: “The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy.” The freedom that is offered us tonight can change our lives – can make everything different! For it is in Jesus Christ, in and through our baptism in the Son of God that we are free.

The Church teaches that we are “An Easter People”. What does that mean? For me this message gives to each of us the capacity to say NO to darkness; to hunger, violence, injustice and all of the “isms” of our time that diminish the dignity of people near and far. Not only does Easter give me a personal hope for tomorrow, it compels me to make tomorrow other than it would be if Christ had NOT risen from the dead!

With Christians throughout the world this Easter we proclaim, “Father how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love!

May the Hope that is ours in and through the Resurrection of Christ shine brilliantly in your life and through you, lessen the darkness of this world.

Fr. Ronan

The other day I met a friend whom I had not seen in a few months. I commented that he had lost some weight and hoped his health was good. He replied that he was feeling well and that his doctor had put him on a salt free diet. He found that he was eating less because food tasted so unappealing without salt. I quickly wondered if I should cut down or eliminate salt from my diet too!

We live in a crazy, upside-down world where a small percentage of the population is fastidious about diet and weight, spending millions on weight loss products while the majority of the world does not have enough to eat. In the middle of this reality, Lent asks us to fast as one of the three pillars of our Lenten practices.

Fasting usually is associated with weight control and not asceticism. Further, it is almost always about food and drink although the concept behind fasting does not limit its application to this alone. At the root of this ancient practice is the understanding that self denial, sacrifice, “giving something up” that is desirable, are actions that bring us out of ourselves a bit and help us to focus more clearly on God. Fasting gets at the root of our self; the urge for self satisfaction, self gratification and self indulgence. Denial of self has a way of freeing one to become more aware of others and the presence of God in the world.

While fasting usually implies giving something up, it can just as well achieve its end by taking something on. For example, the choice to visit someone in need, thus putting aside one’s own agenda to be of service to another, could include that element of self discipline that helps us grow. Choices that place another’s need over one’s own are similarly incentives to grow in awareness of God and others. One of the most precious commodities that we have is time. To give another time is a huge gift especially when it is time I would rather use for myself.

As the Lenten journey looks ahead, maybe there is a collective “fasting” we can all do together: on Saturday morning, April 13 at 9:00 AM , we are inviting families and individuals to come to St. Mary’s Church for a MAJOR CLEANING (benches, floors, walls, stations, stairs …. everything). We would like to ask folks to come to work together so that every corner of the church SPARKLES on Easter! So, please plan to come join us. There will be coffee and refreshments available from 9 AM on and we hope everything will be finished by noon. Plan to bring clean cloths, good furniture polish and any other cleaning material you have on hand.

On Holy Saturday morning, April 20, we will gather at 9AM for Morning Prayer and then decorate the Church with flowers for Easter Services. We could sure use your help! Refreshments will be available on that day as well. Fasting offers an intriguing invitation to assist us to look more intently and listen more completely to God’s work in our days. May we all learn to look and listen more attentively to our good and loving God.

Fr. Ronan

It’s an old saying and we have all heard it at one time or another. The implication seems clear: when one faces hard times, one shouldn’t cave, whine or falter, rather dig in and get to it! It is easy to like the statement, or at least what it implies. I think I apply it to myself often enough. And yet, there are times when I realize that nothing is as simple as it seems. For example the statement “cut and run” hardly describes the reality of opposing the war in Syria.

Maybe this mind set is really more a veneer than the real thing. For after confronting a challenge and getting a sense of its difficulty, more often than not, I confess that it is too tough for me, and I cannot handle it alone. I need God’s help. Praying when we are in trouble seems as natural as breathing. I think everyone does it. You know the old saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes”. And we don’t need to be in a foxhole to find prayer our response.

This is the first Sunday of Lent. We find Jesus in the desert and being tempted strongly. His response is to point to His Father and remember who He is and from whence comes His strength.

Each of us, on our own journey in life, faces challenges and temptations. True enough, we have to “dig in” and struggle when the going gets tough. Yet the real response of the Christian is not only to dig in, but also to realize a few other things. First, we are not alone in our struggle. We are members of a community, the Church, and we make our journey together with lots of others. We can and should count on others for their prayers and support. Second, Sacred Scripture offers us countless lessons about the kindness, mercy and unconditional love of God for each and all of us. Encountering this reservoir of strength and energy is as far away as choosing to pray.

So, the old saying, when the goin’ gets tough, the tough get goin’, should be changed to something like, When the goin’ gets tough, the tough get prayin. May our journey together this Lent be a time when prayer and closeness to the Lord grows and grows.

Fr. Ronan

My friend told me the conversation went something like this: “So I know you are a Catholic and go to Church, but how can you continue to do that with all that is going on in the Catholic Church?”

It is not the first time folks have spoken with me about trying to answer similar questions. Many Catholics feel they have to defend the practice of their faith in these turbulent times. Point is, the abuse of children by anyone and certainly by clergy is so utterly disgusting, who would not want to turn away from anything connected to that. In addition, when the abuse is compounded by cover-up and dishonesty on the part of religious authorities, it is even more outrageous. So walking away seems like an obvious, understandable human response.
The Church is a human institution with all of the reality that includes. Sinners and saints both find a home in the Church. In fact, it is one of the most purposely inclusive institutions I can think of. The welcome sign on the front of our Church is not atypical of other faith communities. So the people who form the Church, clerical, vowed religious, and lay men and women are a slice of humankind. And even with all that includes, this people seek to find and build a community around their shared faith.

It is precisely that faith that brings us in the door in the first place: a belief in God – a Creator, a Redeemer and a Sanctifier; a belief in the infinite mercy and love of God, the omnipotence and kindness, the faithfulness, goodness, and understanding of God; a belief in Jesus Christ, the God/Man born of Mary in Bethlehem who came to manifest the love and truth about God and make real and possible the immortal destiny of us all.

My faith in God, in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit is not conditional upon the sinful nature of some priests and bishops. For 2000 years, this Church has held onto and offered the truth of this faith to countless billions of persons. This gift of faith is now, has been, and will always be a source of consolation, guidance, and joy to all who receive and practice the faith even in the midst of its sinfulness.

I do not have a simple answer as to the why of the present crisis. I do know that in the Catholic Church, the responses that are being hammered out are calling for vigorous transparency, close alliances with law enforcement officials, better screening and educational models for seminaries, and highlevel involvement of lay men and women with oversight authority in key areas.

The Catholic Church is universal, and seeking a plan that cuts across all cultures and peoples will not be simple, although from our point of view in North America, it may seem like it
ought to be. Nevertheless, because of all that has been done in our country, I am confident that in every institution, including the Church, children are safer than ever before.

For anyone facing the question about why practice your faith in the Catholic Church in these times, perhaps your response is not to seek to defend the Church, for the mistakes that have
been made are indefensible and those who are suffering as a result of them are legion. Rather, validate their struggle, lend them a listening and compassionate ear and heart, and let them truthfully know that what is going on is difficult for you as well.
Then give witness to the importance of your belief in God, your relationship with Christ, the significance of the centrality of the Eucharist in your life, and the rightness of living this faith in a community of believers. And most assuredly, make it clear, that you stand in solidarity with the victims who have been abused and their families and friends.

Fr. Ronan

Recently I enjoyed a conversation with the parents of school-aged children. The parents were explaining their concern about the busyness of the life of their home and being exhausted by juggling so many after school activities which contributed to the hectic lifestyle of their home. The experience of such loving parents struggling to find balance and make the best choices for their family makes me wonder if something is amiss in our culture these days.

It is the case that every Mom and Dad wants to provide the very best of everything for his or her children. An interesting question that may not be asked too much is who decides what is
the very best? The dominant culture serves up countless new trends of programs, activities, educational initiatives, and resources. Indeed, research and development are extensive regarding educational development yielding new insights about how children learn best and prosper in learning and social environments.

The relationships between sports and theatre, dance and swimming, hockey and music and so many more combinations have been studied and debated. Which combinations are best for a child’s healthy development? How is the best way to understand each child’s gifts and developmental needs?

Sometimes it seems that somehow, someone has decided that the definition of a really good parent is the one whose child is continually scheduled into activities of every kind. Conversely, a “bad” parent is one whose child is not enrolled in numerous activities. God forbid that a child might need to entertain him/herself and maybe even complain of boredom.

When did parenting become a verb? How did we end up defining excellence in childhood as busyness? Because adults have become convinced that our busyness defines our self-worth, do we believe we ought to put the same value on our children? And, when all is said-and-done, is this really “the best” we can offer the children in our families and in our community?

I think we can do much be;er. I think our families are suffering from the uncritical acceptance of a culture that emphasizes “doing” over “being”. From bumper stickers to refrigerator post-its, it is about doing, completing, getting there, schedules and deadlines.

In all of this, what are the principle values we are teaching? Looks like the emphasis is on efficiency, responsibility, punctuality, hard work and perhaps competitiveness all of which are important values. Of course, there are others. But in the eyes of the child, these might seem the most important.

Where in this scenario, though, does a child learn and absorb the values of patience, kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, fairness, humility, thankfulness and so much more? Certainly some of these values are learned on the ball field and during the music lesson. But they are mainly learned in and through relationships, especially in the home, at the dinner table, in
the car, and in conversations and family activities with their parents. Most importantly, children need the “down time”, the unstructured quiet time to absorb and reflect on these values.

Children have an astonishing openness to God and an amazing capacity to grasp the reality of the supernatural. I think this is because a child is so untainted by the world, so innocent, and that God is so very close to every child. How do our children learn about God? How does each child come to recognize his/her special dignity and recognize others also possess this dignity? What is the basis through which children learn forgiveness and honesty?

The answers to these and similar questions ideally should frame what “giving the very best possible” to our children would look like. I think this fast-paced, competitive, and self-serving culture has trapped many parents into a belief that can end up being hollow and lacking in what truly constitutes the very best.

Fr. Ronan