Pilgrimage to Honduras

I spent last weekend in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, on a pilgrimage to celebrate Our Lady of Suyapa, the national feast of the country.  The apex of the pilgrimage was offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, concelebrating with his eminence Oscar Cardinal Rodriquez, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa.  The Basilica of Our Lady of Suyapa was packed with thousands of pilgrims.  Officials estimate that three million people filter through the basilica grounds during the days surrounding the feast.  I have no trouble believing it.  There were several times as many people outside the packed basilica as inside.  Hundreds were camping in tents on the basilica grounds.  Some set up booths to sell things, others set up restaurants in tents.  Many were walking around enjoying the festivities.
Seeing the crowds around the basilica gave me great hope.  Many of the Honduran people have abandoned their Catholic faith to become Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Mormons, etc.  The country is still about 80% Catholic, but these other sects are in a full-court press to get the Honduran Catholics "saved".  Each of the four times I have traveled to Honduras, I noticed groups of people from the United States on mission trips in the airplane.  Some are Catholic, but most are well-meaning evangelicals heading there to do mission work, set up churches, or build things for a couple of weeks.  At times it can seem overwhelming that so many people have to be catechized on such limited resources in the poor country.  But the crowds at the basilica showed me that Honduras is still a Catholic country that loves the Blessed Mother and her Son's Church.
I am trying to think of a comparison with something that we do here in the United States.  We don't really celebrate our national patron like they do in Honduras.  Our national feast is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the December day seems to come and go without much mention of her as our national patron.  Perhaps it's because our country has never been recognized as a Catholic country like Honduras has.


Fr. Javier Martinez, Deacon Francis Wagner, Fr. Jason Bedel, Archbishop Schnurr, Fr. Jan Schmidt

Cardinal Rodriguez, President Lobo, the First Lady

Finally, it's worth mentioning that about 40 people from the Archdioces of Cincinnati participated in the pilgrimage including the Most Reverend Dennis Schnurr, our own Archbishop.  It was a privilege to spend time with him, the Cardinal, my fellow pilgrims and people I had met in Honduras in years past.  On Saturday night, there was a big concert celebration.  I met Mr. Lobo, the President of Honduras, his wife, and the President of the Congress.  Interestingly enough, my front row seat was in front of the Supreme Court and other government dignitaries. Not sure how that happened...

Pro-life Homily

"For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet…"

This coming Friday, I plan to travel to Washington DC with students from Fenwick and Badin high schools.  About half a million people will visit Washington to witness and speak out that the killing of the unborn is an outrageous and heinous crime.  It is unacceptable that it happens in the first place, and it is unacceptable that we are forced to pay for the killing of the unborn with our tax dollars and insurance premiums.  This will be the 40^th anniversary of the Supreme Court cases that legalized abortion for all 50 states during all 9 months of pregnancy.  40 years, 55 million deaths.  It’s time to end this thing.

Here’s an example of how intellectually dishonest our government is in regard to the unborn:  I was probably conceived sometime in late 1972.  And it would have been illegal to kill me.  The Roe v. Wade decision came in January of 1973, now making it legal to kill me.  But then after I took the 8-inch ride through the birth canal, it became illegal to kill me once again.  After birth, I was once again protected by law.  Same person, same crime.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law went to the March for Life.  He is adopted, and lucky to be alive.  He could just as easily have been another statistic among the millions who have been killed in legalized abortion since 1973.  When he was putting in for the time off work, a guy at work said to him:  “I didn’t know you were an activist.”  Perhaps this is why there is so much more to be done if we are going to save the lives of the unborn.  Many of us are afraid of being labeled “activists.”  At the judgment on the last day, when Jesus asks me why I didn’t stand up for the most innocent, will it be enough to say:  "Well, I was afraid of being labeled an activist”?  If a nation kills its own children, how long before it be called forsaken or desolate like in the first reading?  It is the government’s job in this country to serve the public, not to kill the public.  How can the Lord make our land his spouse, and rejoice in our land, when we allow the killing of the most innocent?

In our second reading, St. Paul tells us that there are different kinds of spiritual gifts.  We have all been given different gifts.  But all are called to put those gifts to good use complementing each other.  In the same way, we all have gifts we can use in the struggle to establish the right to life for all people, born and unborn.  We could assist the Church's excellent healing ministries for post abortive parents.  We must always promote these when we discuss abortion.  There are millions of women out there who are hurting and in need of healing.  They need to know that the Church offers many confidential healing ministries to help them.  Some of us can be activists. Some can be counselors.  Some can write letters.  Some can make phone calls.  Some can lobby congress.  Some can donate resources.  Some can make sacrifices.  And all of us can pray.

In the Gospel we hear the Blessed Mother tell the servers at the wedding feast in Cana:  “Do whatever he tells you.”  That’s good advice.  What is Jesus telling us?  How do we hear him tell us what to do?  Jesus speaks to us through the Sacred Scriptures, sometimes through prayer when we have a well-formed conscience, and he speaks to us through his Church.  The bishops of this country are united in saving the unborn.  Christ is speaking with their voice.  He is calling us to action through them. 

Vocation Awareness Week

Several truths should be pointed out.  Perhaps these truths should be more obvious than they are.  The Christian believer probably holds these truths but sometimes forgets.
First, we all have a common, or universal, call to holiness.  This is the primary vocation of all Christians.  We are all called to return to our Creator.  It's no secret that we will all die.  And then what?  Eternal life is the goal.  The believer acknowledges that a life of holiness is necessary for attaining the ultimate goal of eternal life.
Secondly, the Church recognizes four paths we can take to attain this goal.  There are four "roads" we can take as we live the universal call to holiness.  Some are less traveled than others, but all four are counter cultural in our own time.  Even Christian marriage is counter cultural in our hedonistic society, not to mention the vocations of holy orders, religious life and the chaste single life.
Since all four vocations are counter cultural and difficult, we need God's help. 
In his wisdom, the Archbishop of Cincinnati has asked all parishes to pray a prayer for vocations.  In the prayer the Archbishop composed, we beg God to make four areas fruitful ground for vocations: our Archdiocese, parishes, homes, and hearts.  It is pretty easy to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life from the Archdiocese and parishes.  In our laziness, we think that priest and religious come from somewhere else.  It takes much more trust in God to pray for these vocations from the home and heart.  Parents want grandchildren--and that's a good thing.  But sometimes we give up one good thing for another good thing.  Plus, it's no secret that families are getting smaller and smaller.
Several years ago a certain parish formed a vocations committee and composed a prayer for vocations.  It would have been a great prayer except for one flaw.  In the prayer, the people asked God something like: "Send into your Church men and women who will answer the call to priesthood and religious life."  These people are already in the Church.  These vocations just need to be fostered.  Of course there are exceptions to this such as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was outside the Catholic Church and later became Catholic and did a saint's work.
Other truths, that are not so obvious, should also be kept in mind, not only this week but always.  All vocations are gifts from God, and God does not give any lousy gifts.  God knows what is best for us better than we do.  God loves us better that we love ourselves.  This is difficult for parents who love their children fully.  God loves them more.  He is able to love perfectly. 
Finally, most Christians are called to the vocation of marriage. But let's not lose sight of the fact that some are not.  Some of the greatest saints had parents who tried to dissuade them from religious life: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas.  Let's not be those forgotten souls who tried to stifle God's plan. 

Holy Family

Pope Paul VI calls the family a community of love and sharing.  And he says for the family setting, there is no substitute.  And Blessed Mother Teresa also pointed this out.  Her sisters provide for many orphans all over the world.  And she admitted that the love she and her sisters share with them is no substitute for a family.

The family is the basic building block of society, like bricks in a wall.  When we look at the concept of family, we see that it is definitely part of God’s plan of salvation for humanity.  Will we be open to God’s plan or not?  The evil one is trying to destroy the family so he can destroy society.  When we look around at all the ills in society, we see that the root of these ills is usually some problem with the family.  When family members are at each other’s throats, usually someone in the family is living outside the State of Grace.

We learn from others how to live, and God’s plan for this is the family.  It’s the setting where new people experience life.  It is also in the family setting where people encounter God.  We hear in the Gospel today that the Holy Family had a custom of making a pilgrimage to the temple for Passover every year.  This is a call to action for parents.  The only way the next generation will know what is important is through the example of their parents.  Children can pick up on what’s important just like they pick up the language.  Religious customs are so important that Mary and Joseph even showed them to Jesus, and he is God.  Are the children being prepared to be citizens of the Kingdom of God or merely citizens of the world?

Holiness is the goal.  Everything a parent does for a child should be out of love for the child.  If love means to do what is best for another person, then a parent should make sure their children are on the right track for becoming saints.  Our earthly life is very brief.  Eternal life with God is the ultimate good, and that should be the goal of every parent for their children. Education and sports are good things too, but they should be means to the end goal of eternal life, not ends in themselves.  Getting children on the right track as Christians is the work of the family.

This family setting fosters authentic human growth and development.  How do we know if it is authentic?  It leads to truth and love.  And we move beyond ourselves and learn to be in communion with others and with God.  Grace from the sacrament of marriage facilitates this task.  It is poured upon the family at the marriage of the mother and father.  My family is living proof if this grace.  But I better not tell any stories.

The key is to be open to this grace by being open to the Holy Spirit, who pours out the love of the Father that is made visible to us in Jesus Christ.  Parents then make this love visible in their lives.  Not being open to the work of the Holy Spirit leads to the ills that kill families.  The family is crucial to the Christian life.  Perhaps this is why Jesus says what he does about divorce.

Then we encounter another list of tactics the evil one uses to bring society down by making families weak:  Fornication leading to Single parenting or Abortion; Cohabitation outside of marriage leading to a 75% divorce rate; Contraception and Sterilizations tempting spouses to treating each other as objects; Lack of child supervision – What are they watching on TV?  What are they doing with their smart phones?

The family is automatically holy because it is part of God’s plan.  But we remember that holy does not mean perfect or automatically successful.  All families have their problems and crosses to bear.  But what makes us holy is how we respond to the problems that we face.  Even the Holy Family we celebrate today had their little mix-up we heard about in the Gospel.  They remained holy because of their love for God and each other.  May all families strive to do the same.

Lamenting Loss of Life

The following is a segment from Bradley Mattes, Executive Director of Life Issues Institute regarding the school shooting in Newtown CT:

"The world outpouring of shock, grief and love has been as it should be. God created us to reach out to our fellow man at times like these. Then I thought of the other children who have been just as brutally and violently killed, and I wondered, where is the shock? Where is the grief? Where is the outcry?

Every day, about 3,300 unborn children are intentionally killed—yes murdered—not inside schools, but in America’s abortion mills. That’s 165-times the number of precious children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Where are the headlines? Where is the Presidential condemnation?"

President Obama says he will use the full power of his office to protect children.  He needs to amend his statement.  He really only means to protect "wanted" children, not "unwanted" children in the womb.  I would like nothing more than to see him protect all children, wanted, unwanted, born, unborn.

Of course, the shooting has been the major topic of talk radio all week.  One host in Cincinnati was lamenting the horror because these children had hobbies.  One liked to play soccer.  One's hair color or eye color was this or that.  Our country needs major conversion of heart.  Having hobbies or playing soccer does not give us our worth.  Our personality, hair color or eye color, which are only known after birth, do not give us our worth.  All humans are worthy of love from the first moment of life.

Like Earl Pitts would say: "Wake up America!"

Homily - Gaudete Sunday

In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us twice to rejoice.  Ever since the first sin, humanity has been headed in one direction: eternal death.  Now we have the most awesome reason to rejoice: God sent us a savior to end the doom of death and give us an opportunity for eternal life.  We hear in another place in the New Testament:  The Father does not will the death of the sinner but rather that he be converted and live.  We rejoice in the Father’s gift of mercy.

Secondly, we rejoice in the grace of the Holy Spirit.  This joy overcomes any misery the world can throw at us.  And finally, we also rejoice in Christ’s presence.  He said he would be with us until the end of time.  If we call ourselves Christians, we believe it.  For example: It is very proper for us to rejoice in his real presence in the Eucharist.  We encounter the living God here today.  Has it become commonplace or do we remember to rejoice in it?  It is time to rejoice because God’s plan of salvation is underway.  The time of misfortune is over.  God is in our midst.  Can we rejoice in the impending coming of our savior?

In this season of Advent, we hear from John the Baptist once again.  He’s the one who preached the need of repentance.  Notice how much we need that repentance and conversion of heart.  We want a preacher who is gentle and focuses on God’s mercy, one who says: The way of salvation is broad and spacious.  But God sends us what we need, not what we want, a preacher who is severe, John the Baptist.  Reminding us that the way of salvation is narrow, and not always easy.

John gives us very concrete examples:  Generosity, Honesty, avoid being greedy.  Be faithful to the ordinary circumstances of life.  God is not asking us to be something we are not.  If we are a father, husband, wife, mother, electrician; he is telling us to be the best father, husband, wife, mother, electrician we can be.  This also shows us that God can be found in the ordinary circumstances of life.  And staying faithful to him, we rejoice in those.

John’s message continues.  He talks about the one coming after him who will separate the wheat from the chaff.  The wheat gets gathered into his barn and the chaff gets burned in the fire.  I think we know what that means.  This is a little more difficult to hear than a motivational speech that makes us feel good.

That’s not a popular message to the world.  We want to feel good and be told we are OK.  But giving in to sin means rejecting Jesus.  When we hold on to sin, we are saying:  I don’t need a savior.  I’m seeking fulfillment in my sins.  Advent is the time of the year to let go of sin.  Free ourselves from it.  Holding on to sin is like a drowning man holding on to lead weights.  But they’re such pretty lead weights.  They’re painted real nice.

This is a great time of year for us to ask ourselves:  What are the lead weights that are making me sink?  We get this great advent opportunity to ask ourselves if we are living like the wheat on the path to God’s barn or like the chaff on the path to the fire.  John the Baptist was blunt and no-nonsense.  The amazing thing is that the truth he preached was true then.  And it’s still true today.

Another thing that’s amazing is that John was so holy and authentic that people wondered if he was the Christ.  He is a great example for us.  We have the opportunity to ask ourselves as we prepare to meet the Lord:  Am I living in such a way that people might confuse me with the Christ? We are called to take on the holiness and authenticity of John the Baptist.  And if someone asks us:  Are you the Christ?  We simply say what John said:  No, one mightier than I is coming.

Catholics Come Home

With lay leadership and funding, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati recently began an advertising campaign called Catholics Come Home.  This campaign includes television commercials on local networks and cable inviting lapsed Catholics to come back to Mass.
These dedicated people who are bringing this to the masses recognize the infinite beauty of the Mass and experience profound joy in practicing their Catholic faith.  That kind of joy is meant to be shared.  We can't help but share it.
At the archdiocesan level Michael Vanderburgh is the point man as Director of Stewardship.
Below is a link to Scott Sloan's radio show with Vanderburgh as a guest in late November.  As I listened, I noticed several things:  Sloan, who labels himself a "Cafeteria Catholic," brings up the usual laundry list of objections to the Catholic faith: abuse crisis, homosexuality, all male clergy, celibacy, birth control, divorce and even bad preaching.  Notice that every single item on this list has been thoroughly addressed by the Church with charity, clarity, compassion, wisdom, reason and divine revelation.  One would be hard pressed to come up with a new question for the Church that has not been answered in her 2,000 year history.  I only listened to about half the clip.  In that time I heard the first couple of callers after Vanderburgh was finished.  The ignorance of the self-proclaimed "Recovering Catholics" who call in will blow your mind!  One thing is very evident: Neither they nor Sloan never took the opportunity to find out what the Church actually teaches in the first place. This is the link to the segment on Sloan's show.  Click here to see the "Catholics Come Home" ads.
It seems to me that defying the Church on any of her teachings could easily lead to a rejection of the complete Christian Gospel as a whole.  Defying Church teaching makes Christ a liar.  Did he not say: "I am with you until the end of the age (world)"?  And at what point did the Holy Spirit abandon the Church?  Of course, the answer is "Never".  The Holy Spirit of Pentecost some 2,000 years ago is active in the Church working through the successors of the Apostles, the bishops.  One who believes in the New Testament will readily acknowledge that the Father gives all authority in the Universe to the Son.  It is very obvious that the Son gives authority (to bind and loose) to his Apostles.  Does that authority die with them?  Of course not.  Jesus would not have gone through all the trouble of setting up the structured institution he did.  The Apostles pass on that authority to their successors.  The living, breathing, teaching office of the Church lives on today in the bishops.