Our Faith in the Important Moments

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For some faith seems to part of their lives just for an hour on Sunday.  The rest of the week they seem to forget about how our faith calls us to live.  God is present among us at all times and in every place.  Our faith should be part of everything that happens in our lives.

While God is with us all the time in every place, God is present in a special way for the important moments in our lives.  Today I celebrated two such moments with two different families.  The first was a funeral at St. Januarius’ in Naples.  The deceased was a 46-year-old man who died of cancer.  Our faith is very important when a loved one dies.  It is our faith in Jesus that we count on for hope in death.  The most common gospel for funerals is John 14:1-6 where Jesus tells us that he goes to prepare a place for us in his father’s house.  When we lose a loved one to death, this is exactly what we need to hear.  There is something more to life than what we know in this world.  Jesus is the first to raise but all who believe in him will share in the Resurrection and know the gift of eternal life.

After celebrating the funeral in the morning, I presided at a wedding in Penn Yan in the afternoon.  Of course, a wedding marks a joyous time in life.  Two people becoming one because of their love for each other.  It’s in love that the couple have come to know each other.  We are love because we are first loved by God.  We come to know God’s love through the love of our family and friends.  When a couple enters into marriage in love with each other, their love becomes a sign of God’s love.

When we mourn at a funeral we do it because we loved the one who has died.  When a couple comes together in marriage it is in love.

In this Sunday’s Gospel (October 23, 2011), Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor.  May we always profess God’s love in all we do.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Chalice or Cup?

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Bulletin Article for 10/23/11
Appreciating the New Translations

One of the deliberate word changes within the Eucharistic Prayers is the changing from the word “cup” to “chalice.”  Currently, our tendency is to use the word “cup” to describe the multiple “containers” used to distribute the Precious Blood of Christ to the people.  Generally, these “cups” are relatively plain in design.  We use the word “chalice” to describe the “container” used by the priest that is generally is of a more elaborate design than the other cups.  Turns out this is not the original distinction between “cup” and “chalice.”  Originally, “cup” signified a drinking vessel used by one individual and chalice was used to describe a drinking vessel that was meant to be shared by the community.  The Blood of Christ is meant to be shared and so we will use the word “chalice” to remind us of that.

Losing Someone We Care About

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One of the few things that is certain in life is that everyone will die at some point.  Recently, we had a funeral for a 96-year-old woman who had been very active in the church.  Her death had been coming for a while.  Not every death is expected.  We lost a beloved soccer coach last week who was only in his 60’s.  His death was a complete shock.  One of our deacons died this week and that was a complete surprise.

Over the years in my own family the age of death has varied.  Most have been people in their 70’s or 80’s but my great-grandmother lived to be 102.  On the young side, one of my cousins had a new-born baby die. 

Sometimes death can be expected.  In the case of my great-grandmother at 102 it had been expected for a while.  Her death was relatively easy to bear.  My mother died when she was 63.  She had emphysema for a number of years so in one respect her death was expected but it didn’t seem to make it any easier. 

Other times death can be completely unexpected as was the case this past week in the parish with the coach and the deacon.  An unexpected death can bring shock.  It may not seem real.  We might ask how can this be?  It’s called denial.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified five stages of grief that may occur when we loose a loved one.  The stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  The first thing to realize with these stages is they can occur in any order and in different magnitudes.  We may find ourselves bouncing between stages.  Each person grieves differently and it also depends on who we are grieving.

When a person dies unexpected the denial can be especially strong because it doesn’t seem possible.  Yet, we might also be in “denial” about the death of someone we knew was going to die soon.  We don’t want to have to admit they are no longer with us.  With the expected death we might be angry if we think the person didn’t fight hard enough.  In an unexpected death from an accident, we might have anger towards the person who caused the accident (even if it is the person who died).   We need to move past the anger.

We can face depression because of the loss of a loved one.  We’re depressed because they aren’t with us.  Sadness is always normal but when it lingers and affects us long-term it can be depression. 

When we speak of the stage of acceptance, I don’t think we are talking about the “fact” of their death.  The “fact” of their death is medically determined and when we see their body at the funeral, it seems obvious that they are dead but that doesn’t mean that we accept their death in the sense that we aren’t ready to make any changes that might come because our loved one is deceased.  We want live to be the same.  Not every death requires us to change anything about our lives but when we make any changes in a healthy way, we are accepting the death.

Our Christian Faith is a vital part of how we face death.  Before Jesus death was seen as a final end.  There was no real understanding of death after life.  Death was final.  In his own death, Jesus gave us a new perspective on death and through his Resurrection Jesus shows that death is not our final end.  God has something far better waiting for us in the kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus changed the way we look at death.  Jesus’ death and resurrection gives us hope.

If you like to read books on spirituality I would suggest “Here On the Way to There” by William H. Shannon (St. Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati, OH, 2005).  It is where I first learned about Kubler-Ross’s five stages of the dying process.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Sanctus in the New Translation

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Here’s my bulletin article for 10/16/11 on the new translations.

Appreciating the New Translations

At the end of the Preface we sing the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy).  Currently, it begins Holy, holy, hold Lord, God of power and might.’  “God of power and might’ is not what the Latin says.  In the Latin is “Lord God of hosts’ which probably sounds strange to you.  What does God of hosts mean?  This is another one of the scriptural references that was lost in the current translations.  It comes from Isaiah 6:3.  In that passage, angels are singing praises to God and the “hosts” are the armies of angels.  For us, we recognize that God is Lord over all, including the angels.

Respect Life

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October is Respect Life Month for the Catholic Church in America.  Life is an awesome gift from God.  Pope John Paul II wrote the Gospel of Life recognizing the gift. 

Life is indeed a gift.  Life is more than just existence.  We are not just machines.  Life is more than the biological existence we know in our human form.  We are given an individual soul by God.  No two people share a soul.  We are unique.

We are also unique individuals in our biological form.  Life begins at conception when an egg cell and a sperm cell come together.  At that point, a unique individual with a unique combination of genes is formed.  At that point in time, we are entirely dependent on our human mothers for existence and nutrition.  The fact that we are completely dependent for our physical existence does not mean we do not have rights of our own.  Our right to life comes from God and is given at conception.  The fetus is a gift, not an inconvenience to be eliminated.

The gift of life begins at birth and continues till our natural death.  If we respect life, we never act to cause death even when we are old and weak.  That would be euthanasia (check out the paper I wrote on euthanasia).  When it doesn’t seem to help we are not obliged to use extraordinary means (cf. “The Ethics of Medical Research”) but we can never act to end life.

Then there is the subject of the death penalty.  We punish a person who kills by killing them.  Doesn’t make sense to me.   Yes, the Old Testament says an eye for an eye but Jesus cautions us against retaliation.  Read more at “Social Teaching and the Respect for Life”

When we suffer life may not seem like a gift but it is indeed a precious gift from God.  May we always respect and cherish life.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

More on the New Roman Missal

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Bulletin for 10/9/11

Appreciating the New Translations

After the gifts are brought up and the altar is prepared the congregation stands and the priest currently says “Pray my brothers and sisters that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.”  The “our” will become “my sacrifice and yours” A subtle change but done to signify that we each make sacrifices in our lives and unite that to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross that we celebrate in the Eucharist.  Then, the ‘Prayer Over the Gift’s is said by the priest and we begin the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer with the ‘Lord be with you’ and ‘with your spirit.’  Lift up your hearts, We lift them up to the Lord.  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  Currently we end with “it is right to give him thanks and praise.”  You may have heard some people change the “him” to “God” to avoid using the masculine pronoun.  The Latin never had “him” or “God” in it.  The Latin just says “It is right and just” and that is what we will say.

Should We Help?

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I was just praying over the readings for Monday, October 3, 2011 (Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time).  The gospel is the familiar story of the Good Samaritan.  A man had been robbed and beaten and left along the road.  First, a priest passes him by without helping and then a Levite does the same.  Then, a Samaritan stopped and helped the victim and even paid for the man’s lodgings while he healed.  The priest and Levite were supposed to be the servants of the Lord but they did not stop to help the man in need.  It is the Samaritan (all Samaritans were despised by the Jews) that helped the way as Jesus would.

Whenever I read this story, it strikes a nerve in me.  I believe very much in helping and advocating for those who are truly in need (see the Social Justice section of my website).  I served on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Chemung-Schuyler Counties for almost two years and currently serve on the Board of Directors of Providence Housing, a division of Catholic Charities in the diocese.  I have part of panel of speakers, presenting the Catholic Social Teaching position on healthcare and water use.  For the last two years I served in Elmira I ran the parish social ministry activities.  I give generously to charities.

Yet with all that whenever I read the story of the Good Samaritan I am reminded of a day in Washington, DC when I wonder if I did the right thing.  I was in seminary and had just started my daily walk.  As I walked there was a man sleeping on the sidewalk.  I saw a couple of other people walk past without stopping.  Now, in Washington, DC it is not uncommon in some areas to see homeless people sleeping on park benches in some areas but this man was laying in the middle of the sidewalk.  Did he need help?  I’m not happy to say it but you can get used to avoid people who say they are in need.  I have had people stop and tell me their “story.”  You can find holes in their stories and wonder if anything they are saying is true.

I wondered if the man on the sidewalk was just sleeping or did he collapse and was in need of medical help.  As I walked past, I did look to make sure he was breathing and no visible signs of injury or beating.  As long as I saw no injury and was breathing I went past without stopping.  Now, there are other people who have approached me individually that I have helped.  But the one that always comes to mind when I read the story of the Good Samaritan is the man on the sidewalk who I didn’t help.  Some say you can’t help everyone and individually maybe we can’t but each time I read the story of the Good Samaritan I wonder if I was supposed to be the one to stop and help that man?

Is there someone in your past that you didn’t help?  In the future, when you encounter someone who might be in need, ask Jesus what you are supposed to do.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

More on the New Translations of the Third Roman Missal

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Here’s my article on the new translations of the Roman Missal for October 2nd.

Appreciating the New Translations

After the opening prayer, we begin the Liturgy of the Word.  Nothing is changing in the readings or the homily (except with your spirit).  The next change will be in the Creed.  The most visible is that we will be saying “I” instead of “we”.  In part, this is simply because the original text says “I” but also the general pattern at Mass is we use “I” when we confess our sins or our faith.  Otherwise we use “we.”  Another change in the Creed is the reintroduction of the word “consubstantial” in place of ‘one in being’ with the Father.  Some might like to ask “what does ‘consubstantial’ mean?”  It’s not a word we use in every day language.  That is intentional.  It expresses something very profound, the fact that the Father and Son (with the Holy Spirit) are three different people but intimately tied together as one God.  In the early centuries of the church this was very difficult to express.  At the Council of Nicea, the writers of the Creed knew they were trying to express something very profound and developed a new word to express it.  So we use consubstantial to express that the Father and the Son are of the same “substance” in total union with each other (and the Holy Spirit).

Is There a Problem With Saying “God Bless You”?

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Did you see the story about the teacher who disciplined his students for saying “God Bless You”?  I read the story on MSNBC at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44722587/ns/us_news-weird_news/.

The teacher said he believed the students were being disruptive to the class by saying “God Bless You” when students would sneeze.  The story says the students were sneezing “dramatically.”  Now, if some of the students were making themselves sneeze so others would say “God Bless You” and disrupt the class intentionally, the students are behaving poorly.

The story says the teacher sees the saying of “God Bless You” as an outdated practice.  He says it dates back to the days when people thought sneezing involved the presence of evil spirits.  So people said “God Bless You” to protect the sneezing person from the evil spirits.  I have heard this before.  Now, medical science explains sneezing as a biological event. 

So, we no longer see sneezing as involving evil spirits.  A person sneezes because they are sick or because of allergies.  If they are sneezing because they are sick (even if it is just a cold), we can say “God Bless You” that they are cured of their cold.  If they are sneezing because of allergies, we can still say “God Bless You” that they are relieved of their allergies.

If I sneeze and someone says “God Bless You” I thank them.

May God bless all of you.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Opening Prayer

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Here’s the bulletin article for September 25th on the new translations.

Appreciating the New Translations

After the Gloria, comes the Collect, more commonly known as the Opening Prayer.  The wording of this prayer will seem longer and more formal than in the old translations.  The old translations simplified the wording which can be good to make it more understandable but sometimes the true content and intention was lost in the simplification.  Simple can be nice if it helps us express what we truly believe.  More evident in the new translations will be the four part structure of the prayer (invocation/amplification/petition/and conclusion).  The invocation calls upon God, generally with the simple words “Almighty God” and then comes words announcing the good things God has done for us.  Then the prayer asks God to help us in some way before concluding by invoking the Trinity, “we ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.”