The Cost of Abortion

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, in an article in Spirit and Life, the eNewsletter of Human Life International, includes some shocking statistics on the cost of abortion in human lives. He includes the following:

70,669 priests, ministers, rabbis and imams including
6,852 priests and 11,010 nuns (vocations “shortage”?)

Startling, isn't it?

All the more reason to work and pray for an end of the evil of abortion.

First Sunday of Advent

This weekend, we enter Advent, our readings focus on the return of Christ at the end age. Despite the assertion of many who suggest that we will be taking away, that is not the conclusion that could be made from this gospel passage. In the prophecy, Jesus says that the coming of the Son of man will be like in the days of Noah. It was the wicked that were 'swept' away, not the faithful. (For further 'evidence', consider the parable of the weeds in the wheat in which it is the weeds that will be first gathered and destroyed, or consider that the Beatitudes tell that the meek shall inherit the earth!) No, we must stay away and be ready, not so caught up in this world (the eating, drinking, marriage and sexuality, but be rather focused on the eternal.

With the Pope's New encyclical Spe Salvi, I would be amiss if I did not point out the whole purpose of this season is to 'recover' hope. Hope is a necessary element for the Christian, as the Pope states, it is almost synonymous with 'faith'. It is the virtue of hope that helps us to remember that as good as this life is, that there is something better coming, and also that hope helps us to remember that as sad as life can be, something better is coming, if we remain faithful.

This weekend, we ask for the full hope that we need to seek God's will for our lives, to set behind us the desire for immediate needs to be met, but to delay gratification. All vocations involve delaying our gratification.

Ten Suggestions for Parents

This last weekend I preached my first of 8 weekends on the state of vocations in our Diocese in various parishes/Area Faith Communities. Instead of presenting a message of desperation on our need for priests, I tried to present the present state as one of opportunity for us to reflect on the need for priests to preside at the Eucharist and other sacraments, and that God is calling. In addition, I tried to give practical hints of what parents can do to raise their children in a culture of vocations - an environment in which the notion of a call from God is not only capable of being heard but readily responded to. My suggestions to parents are:

1. Develop your relationship with Christ and impart a desire for discipleship in the lives of your children.


2. Live your vocation to marriage out as fully as you can.


3. Speak of the influential priests and religious in your life.


4. Provide opportunities for your children to speak with priests and religious.


5. Pray for your children’s vocations that they may understand their call, and place them in the care of the Blessed Mother (especially in praying the Rosary).


6. Help your children develop a wide range of activities and discern what gives them joy and at what they are good.


7. Speak of your children responding, showing your support of them without pushing them.


8. Instill in your children a desire to serve and a proper understanding of stewardship.


9. Inspire a heroic life of virtue in your child by reading the lives of the saints and encouraging moral choices.


10. Develop a sense of the sacred and transcendent in your child – the Good, the True, and the Beautiful – which will reveal the Truth.

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary time

As we draw closer to the end of the Church year, our readings help to remind us that Christ is not only in control, but that He will return. While He prophecies that the temple will be destroyed and that we who are following will be persecuted, even at times by family. We are to be vigilant and prepared, but not preparing our defense as much as to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the words. A haunting question is how can we know what we will be asked to say unless we have heard and heeded the Voice of God already.

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Sadducees were a sect of Jews who rejected all but the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) as well as all unseen realities: Angels and the Resurrection from the dead being primary. They set up an improbable situation for Jesus to address. They are using a classic style of reducing everything to the absurd - this poor women would be married to all seven brothers. But Jesus responds by reminding them that Heaven (the place of the Resurrected) is not a matter like this world - there is no birth there. There is no marriage, therefore. He goes on to show the absurdity of their theological suppositions. Moses did not identify with God as the God who "was" but rather "is" the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. As a lot, it is easy to assume that the Sadducees would easily fall into a certain nihilism - that there is nothing beyond this world and the only reason to follow the Law (Torah) in this life is so that God would bless in this life. But if there is a Resurrection, every choice should be affected by our ultimate goal of heaven.

The story of the seven brothers and their mother from 2 Maccabees is a moving account of eight people who understood that to give in to breaking the covenant in order to receive an extension of their lives here on earth was not worth anything when considering the Resurrection. Each one went to his death, aware that God is the giver of life and that He would raise them again. The Mother (which we do not hear of in today's reading), gives a moving exhortation to the last son, after witnessing the murder of her other sons for not eating pork. She tells him that she knows that he is a gift from God, and that he should be strong and do the right thing. He, too, goes to his death.

In our world today, we face much practical 'Sadduceeism' - we proclaims that reality of heaven and Resurrection, but fail to let it influence our actions. But if we judge our actions in light of our final goal, we will live aware that our moral choices have eternal consequences. In discerning our vocations, we should ask what does God want, how am I to live in this world for the next?

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are asked to be persistent in prayer, not because God does not hear or is unjust, but to show our faith. The persistent widow in the parable we hear has her request heard not because of the goodness of the judge (who had little) but by being persistent. God is good, just, and loving - how much more will He respond.

Just as Moses grew tired during the battle, so too do we. Aaron and Hur provide the back up for him - they allow him to sit and they hold his arms aloft. At times, when we are worn by our praying, we should invite others to help us, to hold our arms in a spiritual way.

Even still, we can grow weary by our distractions. In my prayer, I find the distractions fall into three categories: Grocery Lists, To Do Lists, and Injury lists. With the grocery lists, I find my mind wandering to all the things I need or want. I could easily fill out a long list, but find the best way to deal with these distractions is to acknowledge them and set them behind me. The To Do lists things are more tempting - if I am not in a right place, I could easily get up and do them immediately. I find it best to ask God for the grace (and strength and stamina) to deal with them after my prayer. The Injury list, though, is the most destructive. With these distractions, I find my mind wandering to all the past hurts and people who have caused them, as well as the injuries I have caused others. With the perceived injuries, it is dangerously easy to allow them to take over and suddenly find myself brooding over them and to the brink of cursing. Instead, I find I ned to pray over the hurts, to invite Christ into them and to bring healing. When a person comes to mind, prayer for the individual, even if it is for the ability to forgive, brings my mind back to prayer.

Satan would love us to grow weary, to follow the distractions, and cease our prayer. God, however, constantly invites us back into the prayer. But we must do our part - to pray, and to keep faith.

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The parable of the prodigal son is a classic parable that so often is simply dismissed as "yeah, I know that story." This weekend the Church presents us with the parable again, and provides an opportunity to listen again.

Then familial seen is a key part - two brothers and a (supposedly) elderly father. The youngest son asks for an inheritance, akin to asking his father to simply die. The father freely gives it. The son takes off, squandering his gift, and ending in the last place a good Jewish boy should be - feeding swine, and longing for their food. Coming to his senses, he returns home with a planned apology.

The Father, however, is waiting for him, and seeing him rushes out and asks that the his servants restore his son's dignity and rank. They throw a party. Meanwhile the older and more 'dutiful' son returns to hear the party. Standing outside, he refuses to go into the party. The father again goes out and speaks with him. He is left the choice - either he can stay outside in the dark, or he can go in and celebrate.

Isn't it amazing - one son wandered and lost everything, but came back. The other son stayed and thinking his father a harsh man, did not ask him for anything, and was more distant from his father than his younger sibling.

That is the point for us. When we respond to God's call, are we in reality distant and out of relationship to God? Have we wandered and allowed God to embrace us in His love and restore us to our original dignity which we last in our sinful wandering? Are we able to let God lavish His love on us, letting him be the truly prodigal One?

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

No one can follow Christ without first counting the cost, and then willing to sacrifice that for the sake of the kingdom. We need to be aware of what we leave behind in order to truly leave it, in order to be detached. This is the 'hard to translate' meaning of the word that we have here with "hate". It is not that we actively hate, despise, and hold in contempt parents, siblings, spouse, and children, but that we have a healthy detachment from them, that we see them as second to our own response to Christ. In fact, with Christ leading, many have found holiness in serving their families.

Our own Cross is Christ's individual call to each one of us. Our cross is our vocation, not a thing of torture, but rather a means of transformation, that will lead us outside ourselves to live for Him, and as such to serve others. Are we willing to let all else go?

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Recently, we have been led to believe that Jesus would never have done anything to upset people's 'peace'. It is as if Jesus' only mission was to proclaim a message of peace and love, without anything like sacrifice or struggle. An unfortunate side effect of his message is that warring people put him to death. So often, this 'peace' is defined as a state of getting along, allowing others the 'freedom' to sin. They fail to see that Jesus is the Son of God, the Word made flesh.

What we read in the Gospel passage this weekend should confuse those who mave such a mistaken view of Jesus Christ. We read that Jesus came to bring fire and division. He states that his mission was not to bring peace (perhaps the only minorly upset status quo). We know that Jesus was upset the dove cart and turn a few money tables. Yet, he is called the Prince of Peace.

Perhaps that is not the world's understanding of peace that Jesus brings! After all, in the Hebrew understanding shalom - peace - is not the mere absense of war or a plodding along. It is a state of complete harmony, when all things are in their place and proper proportions. This peace the result of a life lived with God, lived in the fire of the Holy Trinity's love for us, of knowing that we are pilgrims and sojourners in this world. But we know that there are some who choose not to live with Christ. How can they not be separated and divided from those that do. There will be divisions from those who are not 'on-fire' for God. This we can expect. That being the case, this does not give us permission to take up the sword. No, we strive in the same way to bring the Fire of Christ to the lost, including members of our families. While we may not experience the passing peace of the world, we will know the love of God which brings the true and eternal peace. While there will be division of those that follow Christ and those that do not, those that truly follow Christ will know true peace.

Priests can easily fall into the trap of wanting to maintain 'peace', instead of bringing the peace of Christ even if that means division of the sheep and wolves. But this will fail. We must be bearers of fire, lighting the world for Christ. We are called to spread the flames!

Pope Benedict and his Meeting with the clergy

I encouarage anyone discerning a priestly vocation to look at the recent document of the Pope's session with the clergy of the Dioceses of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso. Some of the questions and answers are very poignant and directly applicable to our status in the states.

The Source of Parish Renewal

In an article from Catholic News Agency, the recent Homily of Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz is adressed. He said that the first requirement of a parish priest is to be “an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ, because only a priest in love with the Lord can renew a parish.” Based on the life of St. John Vianney, Cure of Ars, he stated that the most important task of priests is to be pastors of parishes.

“In the parish, a priest lives the mission of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, in a full and concrete way,” through which shines forth “the entire ecclesial dimension of the person and ministry of the pastor.”

Reflection on the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

In our Gospel Passage, Jesus displays a particular trait of forthrightness. While He calls many, He also warns them of the costs - He does not have a place even to lay his head. He warns them that no one who starts the task of follow, yet looks back to what was, is worthy. No, it is the one who starts and keeps his gaze fixed on the goal who will find it. As a farmer who has raised livestock could tell you, animals easily wander off the path and without redirection are prone to wandering.
When we decide to follow Christ, we must keep our eyes on him. He will lead us to truth, and will keep us safe.

Reflection for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

There is no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future. Truer words could not be said about today's readings. The episode begins with a woman, a sinful woman perhaps having been caught up in adultery or some sexual sin, boldly enters the house of the Pharisee and begins to wash the feet of Jesus with her tears and anoints them with the perfume from an alabaster jar. She went through great personal expense - not only with the oil, but by entering. Simon objects, and Jesus uses it as an opportunity to teach about the power of forgiveness. The greater the sin forgiven, the great the gratitude. She has loved him greatly, and because of her love, the text tells us, she is forgiven. This woman, whoever she is, is invited to leave forgiven and in peace, in Hebrew more likely than not the word was 'shalom' which implies a full restoration of order. Simon was stuck on the woman's sins - she had violated the Mosaic Law, and as such should not be in their presence, much less touching Jesus.

She is a fine example of our second reading that we are justified not by works of the Law (the Mosaic law, that is) though we are condemned by them. No, we are justified by grace, and cooperating with it by works of faith and love. We are forgiven by the Love of Christ and live the life of Grace. So many who are called to a religious vocation are so aware of their sins. They think that those sins preclude them from responding. Honestly, there is the reality of unworthiness for all responding to a vocation. Husbands and wives often express an awareness of the unworthiness that they have the spouse that they do, and the deep love of God in bringing them to the Sacrament of Marriage. Many religious and priests, even after many years of vows and ordination, know a certain sinfulness and unworthiness. It is not our sin, but God's call, to which we should respond.

Perhaps this woman, and St. Paul's statement of faith, offers a better response. She must have known her sinfulness, but she also knew Christ's mercy. St. Paul knew he lived in Christ, because Christ loved him and died for the forgiveness of his sins. In our sins, we must trust in Christ's love and forgiveness even more. We love Christ more than our sins, and walk in His grave, peace, and love. In that love and peace, we will more readily respond to our vocation (and more freely, too), whatever it is.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers day to all fathers. In the last weeks, the theme of fatherhood has rested heavy on my heart, much because of a Boys camp I and Fr. Craig Timmerman co-directed last week on the theme of authentic manhood. A couple articles from the National Catholic Register have highlighted this, too. The first is an article entitled How to Be a Father by Tom McFeely interviewing James Stenson, we hear that fathers are to protect and provide for their families. In a second and even more fascinating article, The 10 Paradoxes of Fatherhood, Donald DeMarco address true fatherhood with ten realities. Though he speaks primarily of Biological fathers, it could be extended to priesthood, too. He names ten paradoxes:

1. A leader without being a frontrunner.
2. A visionary without being arrogant.
3. A servant without being servile.
4. An authority without being authoritarian.
5. A lover without being sentimental.
6. A supporter without being subordinate.
7. A disciplinarian without being punitive.
8. Merciful without being spineless.
9. Humble without being self-deprecating.
10. Courageous without being foolhardy.

Both articles are worth reading.

Reflection on the Sixth Sunday of Easter

Our first reading this weekend speaks of the first Church Council, held in Jerusalem, to settle the question of how one enters into the salvation wrought for us by Jesus Christ. Some had suggested that the men had to be circumcised, while others such as St. Paul and actually St. Peter, too, said that the ritual of circumcision was not necessary. We might just think this was a little issue, but it has at its core a very fundamental issue. Women and men enter into salvation in Baptism. (It is possible that the question was also could women be saved even if they could not be circumcised.)

In St. Peter's response to the question (which is not read having been edited for length), spoke that he witnessed the presence of the Holy Spirit among the Gentiles. This was all the proof that he needed. That same Holy Spirit, the Advocate promised by Christ, shows the early Church the truth.

The context of the Council is also an important one for us. In times of conflict, we are not left to our individual whims and conclusions, but are guided (even still) by the Apostles and their successors. The Pope as the successor of Peter, has been graced by the Holy Spirit to continue to speak and interpret the Truth taught be Christ.

The presence of the Spirit also gives peace, in Hebrew the word that Jesus may have used is shalom, which means is more than "an absence of war". It means a that everything necessary is present, that all things are in proper proportion. It is a peace that the world cannot give, and even if it could achieve that kind of peace, it is a fleeting moment. No, the peace of Christ is lasting. As we prepare for Pentecost (perhaps starting a novena on this Thursday), it would be wise to ask that the Holy Spirit would continue to be active in the lives of all Christians (especially Catholics), and that He would grace our Pope, Bishops, and priests to teach the truth in love.

In a special note, I wish all mothers a happy Mother's day. May God strengthen you in your vocations, and that your spouse and children will honor you!

Pope Benedict to the Youth of Brazil

In his travels to Brazil, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI took some time to address the youth of the country.

The Christian life you lead in numerous parishes and small ecclesial communities, in universities, colleges and schools, and most of all, in places of work both in the city and in the countryside, is undoubtedly pleasing to the Lord. But it is necessary to go even further. We can never say "enough", because the love of God is infinite, and the Lord asks us -- or better --requires us to open our hearts wider so that there will be room for even more love, goodness, and understanding for our brothers and sisters, and for the problems which concern not only the human community, but also the effective preservation and protection of the natural environment of which we are all a part. ...

...You have a crucial question -- a question that appears in this Gospel -- to put to him. It is the same question posed by the young man who ran to see Jesus: What good deed must I do, to have eternal life? I would like to take a deeper look at this question with you. It has to do with life. A life which -- in all of you -- is exuberant and beautiful. What are you to do with it? How can you live it to the full?

We see at once that in the very formulation of the question, the "here" and "now" are not enough; to put it another way, we cannot limit our life within the confines of space and time, however much we might try to broaden their horizons. Life transcends them. In other words: we want to live, not die. We have a sense of something telling us that life is eternal and that we must apply ourselves to reach it. In short, it rests in our hands and is dependent, in a certain way, on our own decision.

The question in the Gospel does not regard only the future. It does not regard only a question about what will happen after death. On the contrary, it exists as a task in the present, in the "here" and "now", which must guarantee authenticity and consequently the future. In short, the young man's question raises the issue of life's meaning. It can therefore be formulated in this way: what must I do so that my life has meaning? How must I live so as to reap the full fruits of life? Or again: what must I do so that my life is not wasted. ...

...These years of your life are the years which will prepare you for your future. Your "tomorrow" depends much on how you are living the "today" of your youth. Stretching out in front of you, my dear young friends, is a life that all of us hope will be long; yet it is only one life, it is unique: do not let it pass it vain; do not squander it. Live it with enthusiasm and with joy, but most of all, with a sense of responsibility. ...

...My dear young people, Christ is calling you to be saints. He himself is inviting you and wants to walk with you, in order to enliven with his Spirit the steps that Brazil is taking at the beginning of this third millennium of the Christian era

So much of this address could be quoted! The instruction he gives, based on Christ's encounter with the young rich man, is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Here we see Pope Benedict at his finest: sharing a very necessary message to the most needed and needy to hear. Other themes, in this relatively short address, that he ties in are the need to sanctify one's work, to stand for marriage and the traditional family, the need to give one's wealth over to Christ.

I think this address is worth taking to one's prayer, to ponder the questions that he raises in the light of our own hearts search for salvation and ultimate meaning!

The Theory of Limbo: The Report

For those interested in reading the actual report of the teaching on Limbo, Catholic Culture Library has put it online. This commission has no doctrinal weight (they provide only a theological conclusion). Pope Benedict XVI has yet to announce his final decision on this, though his willingness to allow it to be printed demonstrates his possible conclusions.

Why We Must Promote All Vocations

Whispers in the Loggia has a great article about certain Bishops and what they do to promote vocations.
It lists a few traits:

"An involved, invested diocesan bishop"
Vocations made a first priority
"pushing towards it from the top and across the board" versus the agenda of one office
"significant personal commitment"
"concerted team effort"
"a creative approach"
"contagious enthusiasm and zeal"

In quoting the CARA report on the ordination Class of 2007, it was noted that few responded to the 'posters and coasters' mentality, but again it was personal invitation, usually (up to 80%) a pastor or priest, who first planted the seed of a vocation.

The post also points out that in the speaking of vocations, we cannot reduce the discussion to just priesthood, but rather all vocations.

He also quotes Pope Benedict in an address to the Parish of St. Felicity and Her Children, where he says:

Every person carries within himself a project of God, a personal vocation, a personal idea of God on what he is required to do in history to build his Church, a living Temple of his presence. And the priest's role is above all to reawaken this awareness, to help the individual discover his personal vocation, God's task for each one of us. I see that many here have discovered the project that concerns them, both with regard to professional life in the formation of today's society -- where the presence of Christian consciences is fundamental -- and also with regard to the call to contribute to the Church's growth and life. Both these things are equally important.


A society where Christian conscience is no longer alive loses its bearings; it no longer knows where to go, what it can do, what it cannot do, and ends up in emptiness, it fails. Only if a living awareness of the faith illumines our hearts can we also build a just society. It is not the Magisterium that imposes doctrine. It is the Magisterium that helps enable the conscience itself to hear God's voice, to know what is good, what is the Lord's will. It is only an aid so that personal responsibility, nourished by a lively conscience, may function well and thus contribute to ensuring that justice is truly present in our society: justice within ourselves and universal justice for all our brothers and sisters in the world today. Today, globalization is not only economic: there is also a globalization of responsibilities, this universality, which is why we are all responsible for everyone.


The Church offers us the encounter with Christ, with the living God, with the "Logos" who is Truth and Light, who does not coerce consciences, does not impose a partial doctrine but helps us ourselves to be men and women who are completely fulfilled and thus to live in personal responsibility and in deeper communion with one another, a communion born from communion with God, with the Lord.

Reflection on the Fourth Sunday of Easter

This weekend is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel this Sunday is so short, it is published in its entirety here:
(It can be found at John 10:27-30)

Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

We are the sheep, Christ is the shepherd who speaks to us the words of truth. In responding to the love of Christ, we can follow it as a priest, religious, generous single life, or married. Right here, right now, we are called to follow.

As a shepherd from the time of Christ and even nomadic shepherds could tell, the sheep need to be guided by shepherd's voice. They hear it, and while about the tasks at hand (for sheep, that means eating), and follow the voice. When they do, they are kept safe. Jesus, the good shepherd, promises that if we follow, he will hold us in his hands, and no one can take us out of them. But we can walk out (like so many of the hearers of the Bread of Life discourse who walked away from salvation). It is not enough to listen to the voice of Christ once, and then think that we are safe. No, we follow daily, hourly, and perhaps even every second!

The Vocation of Husband/Father

Domenico Bettinelli writes poignantly about his vocation as a father in a recent post. He writes of his being torn in having to go to work to provide for his family. Thanks, Dom, for sharing what a hardship it is to be away from your wife and children while trying to support them. It is a struggle that is shared by many men, and we would be well served as a church to have more fathers and husbands honestly share the struggle they have. The vocation of husband/father is one of profound happiness and sorrows, of love and sacrifice. It is proof again that all vocations have their burdens and joys!