We are all familiar with the well-worn phrase, “God writes with crooked lines.” The idea that the path that we travel with God is often not straight nor is it always easy to discern and yet throughout the journey God guides us and leads us through the twists and turns to the ultimate destination in heaven.

These crooked lines to heaven deal with the coincidences in our lives and the conveniences in our daily travels. Pope Francis in his words and actions reminds us that the coincidences in our lives are the prodding of God to serve him and to move from the comfortable conveniences that tempt us to take the easy roads and the paths that hinder the greatness that God has created us to be as his daughters and sons. The coincidences challenge us to be disciples who proclaim the Gospel message in our daily lives.

Earlier this week I was looking at some tweets on my Twitter account. One of the groups I follow on Twitter is “The Porn Effect” which fights against the negative and destructive impact on pornography on the lives of family and youths. There was a YouTube link that I went and viewed. Underneath the video, as with all videos on YouTube, there is a list of similar subject matter. As I looked down the list of videos almost all of them were from the same web site but one stood out as not the same, it was a basically a pornographic video.

This is where convenience and coincidence collide. I could have conveniently ignored it and moved on, but in faith speak, this was the coincidence of God’s prodding me to take notice and action against this invasion of sin. We know that the age when a child is first exposed to a pornographic image continues to become younger and younger. Focus on the Family reports that the age when children are first exposed to pornography is now 8 years old. (http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/sexuality/when-children-use-pornography/when-children-view-pornography) Yes, 8 years old!

Believe me, I do not enjoy writing on this subject and I am afraid to write on this subject and yet, in the coincidence of that simple YouTube moment the movement of God’s grace has prompted me to move from the convenience of turning away to the seemingly easier road and to walk this path of the cross with our Lord Jesus. Because in the end it is not that I am ignorant of the problem; whether in the confessional or at my computer I hear and experience the seemingly endless intrusions of pornography into my life and the lives of all people in the world.

The good news is that Jesus is with us and for us in this battle and with his healing grace we will not be devoured. (1 Pt 5:8) And our fight against this invasion against true love must begin within our families. You are not alone in the fight. The Diocese of San Jose with Our Lady of Peace Church is offering opportunities of prayer and information in this battle. On November 13 and 14 at Our Lady of Peace two nationally recognized lay evangelists, Jackie Francois and Matt Fradd, who will be speaking and helping us understand how we can protect our souls and those of our children from the devastating sin of pornography. Information about the conferences and registration can be found at, www.riseba.org the event is free and there are sessions for families on Friday evening (Nov 13) and on Saturday (Nov 14) in the morning for our youth (13-17) and young adults on the same evening.

Do not be afraid…but know that this sin is a reality in so many lives. Do not be afraid…

God Bless

Fr. Mark

www.pornproofkids.com

www.theporneffect.com

www.focusonthefamily.com

This week, October 22^nd was the Memorial of St. John Paul II. It is wonderful day to remember and focus on the message of life and unity that were the core messages of his pontificate. As our Holy Father Francis and the members of the Synod on the Family conclude their meetings, I would like once more to reflect on Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.

“St. John Paul II exhorted, ‘Family, become what you are,’ and his words have lost nothing of their vibrancy; their urgency has only intensified in the face of the many challenges that families experience today.” (#197)

What are we, as family to become?

1. A family that chooses life. This is the primary vocation of all Christians; we give life. Jesus reminds us, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”(Jn 14:6)Jesus is the life of the world and if we follow Him we also live life fully. It is ever more important that the family become a place of life especially as we hear the grim news of abortion and the newly enacted euthanasia law in California. When the family becomes a fount of life society becomes life giving and the evil of the culture of death is exposed for the lie that it is.

2. A family that is a domestic Church. We are reminded that in baptism the parents and godparents accept the responsibility of sharing their faith with their children. This is a call to unity because we can never do it alone. The family extends and grows as we are united in the Body of Christ. Families in sharing their faith grow deeper in their faith because it becomes part of the everyday rhythm of life. To speak of God, to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to live in the breath of the Holy Spirit is a natural extension of our family conversations where prayer is our daily bread
3. A family that is a communion of love. The man and woman joined in sacramental grace are transformed into a community of love. This foundational love is the building blocks for holy and happy families. They, the wife and husband, must take time to share with each other the marital love that is sacrificial and obedient to one another. Their love, flowing into the family, help to establish the future holiness of the world that is reflected in the joy shared and given as they are invited into the greater unity of the Church.
4. A family that is a home. A home is more that a structure, rather it is a place of refuge from the emotional, spiritual and other battles that we fight in the world. The home becomes the resting place where we rest in the love of God that surrounds us in the family. It is an ideal that we should all strive to meet as sons and daughters of the living God.
5. A family that is a missionary witness. We are all called to be evangelist of the word of God, to witness to our faith in our daily lives. This was the challenge Pope Benedict XVI gave the Church: the missionary field is not in far off lands but in the family, in the traditional Christian lands needing to rediscover their faith in a God who is love and comes to save. This witness needs to be shared also within our family.

I know that the ideal of family expressed above is “an ideal” and that all families struggle to meet this ideal. But the call to holiness means that we must challenge ourselves and others to strive for greatness in our relationships and not mediocrity in living the life of Christian virtue. It is taking Jesus at his word, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)

God Bless, Fr. Mark

One of the blessings of presiding at liturgy on Sundays and other times is the unique perspective that you get on life and the life of the church. As you look out towards the people you notice a lot of different actions going on throughout the Mass. It is true during the times of song when you see who are the singers and who aren’t and who does it with enthusiasm and joy. You are able to see the deepness of prayer and the interactions between the members of the congregation.

One of the things that bring great joy to my heart (and I think to all priests) is the families that come to celebrate. During this time of the Synod of the Family there is much focus on the nuclear family and how they are the foundation of the greater Church and the need to care for and lift up families in the life of the church. Last Sunday I will share three wonderful joys that young families brought to me during the Mass.

First was during the preparation of the gifts (the collection for everyone else) when a family with three children dropped their gift of treasure in the basket. Each of the children was given something to put in during this time. The three had been squirming and poking and distracting each other for the first part of the Mass but once the basket began to come down their pew there was a seriousness that settled over them as the dropped their donation, and watched their siblings do the same, into the basket and then each one looked towards their parents with such a look of happiness I almost laughed aloud. The lesson I gleaned was very simple: we must help our children be involved in the celebration even if it is something as small as dropping a dollar in the basket. The connection become life giving rather than the “hour I have to sit quietly.”

The second happened during the same time of Mass as a child chased down the ushers to hand them the family envelope. I don’t know the reason it wasn’t dropped in the basket as it passed them but down the aisle raced the child as he caught the usher, dropped the envelope in the basket and then skipped back up the aisle to his family. The joy of expressing the gift of the family is a joy we should all have as we share our time, talent and treasure. Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) gives us this wonderful sentence that reminds us that even in the difficulties of life if we allow ourselves to be negative we encounter not the joy of the Gospel but, “One of the more serious temptations which stifles boldness and zeal is a defeatism which turns us into querulous and disillusioned pessimists, “sourpusses”.” (#85) Yes, the Holy Father is telling us not to be sourpusses in our life of faith.

The third instance was in the last Mass I celebrated that Sunday. I was exhausted on many levels. We had celebrated the parish Fun Fest and there was much fun but also much work. During the opening song of the Mass as we processed down the aisle I looked over and a young boy of about six was dancing away to the music as he clapped and sang the words with unbridled joy. It was such a life-giving blessing. It certainly was not the “sourpuss” of defeatism but the joy lived fully and completely as his family surrounded him in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Short story told in very long verse…Jesus says we need to be more like little children in faith…he’s right.

God Bless

Fr. Mark

The following writing are nuggets of thought that were gleaned from my annual retreat at El Retiro (2015) reflecting on the writings and talks given by Pope Francis.

We have all heard Pope Francis say many times the simple declaration, “I am a sinner.” It is an act of humility that each Christian speaks and within the Sacrament of Reconciliation we as Catholic Christians seek healing grace from our God.

What type of sinner are we? This is a question that Jesus answers throughout his ministry and which Francis repeats clearly, “I am a loved sinner.” Before you read any further, please take some time to rest and ponder those words. “I am a loved sinner.”

In the Gospels, each time Jesus encounters a person, he looks at them and loves them. Each woman or man, rich or poor, sick or healthy, whatever the state of life, Jesus looks at them and loves them. Today, at this very moment, Jesus looks at you and loves you.

I do not know how many times I have heard someone tell me the sin the committed is unforgivable. Or that they have done so many bad things that God could never love or forgive them. Or how many times within the Sacrament of Reconciliation I have spoken the words “God loves you” and the person begins to cry understanding again how much God desires them, a loved sinner, to be with Him.

This isn’t a soft marshmallow anything goes love. Rather, it is a love that is merciful and desires the union of love. Jesus, when he encountered others did not wish them to remain in their sin. He called them to conversion where they began to walk with him in holiness. It is a call repeated again and again in invitation to his closest disciples who kept on getting it wrong but in love continued the journey knowing God’s love through their companionship with Jesus.

As a loved sinner we have hope in love. It is a hope that is founded in our shared experience of knowing Jesus and experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are all loved sinners and in our life of faith we are called to express this gift of love through our actions of forgiveness, reconciliation and mercy in the world. It is possible but only when we begin to live, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” in each moment of our lives. A loved sinner accepts the gift of mercy from our Heavenly Father and then generously passes it on to their neighbor the loved sinner.

God Bless

Fr. Mark

This past week 21 priests from the Diocese of San Jose, a priest from Chicago and two Jesuit priest were on retreat. (and this is not the start of some joke) It was my annual retreat to renew my spiritual life hearing the voice of God spoken and shared. During the retreat the two Jesuits led us in the writings and talks of Pope Francis and how his Ignatian spirituality (called this because the founder of the Jesuits is St. Ignatius of Loyola and his particular path to understand Jesus in our lives) informs his leadership as Bishop of Rome.

This long introduction is a way of getting at the headlines and proclamations that have come from many people in the United States prior to, during and following Pope Francis’ visit to our shores. We hear, “I am proud of my Church again.” “Francis is going to change the Church.” and even “I don’t ever want the Church to go back to where it was before Francis.” to paraphrase many of the comments.

I think that this misses the point of our faith and follows in the temptations that have been part of every journey of faith since God created human beings. What is this temptation? We make gods out of non-gods.

Please don’t get me wrong, I deeply love and respect our Holy Father and I am challenged and humbled to live my faith and my priesthood more deeply through his example but I am fearful that others want to see our faith through him rather than through Jesus. And this is the rub.

People, Catholics and non-Catholics, point out to me again and again how excited and joyous the Church is when Pope Francis visits. I point out that during the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II you could see crowds just as enthusiastic. Watching the video of his return to Poland and how he met in joyous prayer and celebration with thousands of young people through the night as they sang, prayed and listened. Or how on the plains outside of Denver a million young people chanted, “JP II we love you.”

The point is that both St. John Paul II and Pope Francis remind us over and over that it is not they but Jesus to whom we should be looking too in love and adoration.

The hard truth is that the Church is made up of each one of us and Pope Francis and the 265 men who have sat in the Chair of Peter before him remind us throughout time we are called to the service of love through the Most Holy Trinity. Francis, repeating the message of Jesus, reminds us that we are called to go out and serve, not as social workers but as members of the Body of Christ bringing the joy and blessing of the Gospel message to all people through our works of mercy. We are invited to be, in Pope Francis’ words, a field hospital, to be bruised and broken so that we might come back to the Eucharist to be formed, fed and healed in and through the community of faith in the united in our Lord Jesus. If we follow Jesus and live a Eucharistic life of service, what would our Church be to you, to me and to the world?

God Bless

Fr. Mark

Through what lens do we view the world? I saw two pictures from Pope Francis visit to the United States this past week that brought this phrase back to my mind. The first was of an elderly woman watching the Holy Father motor by while all who surrounded her were snapping photos with their phones, ipads and other devices. The second was of the Papal Mass where some of the concelebrating priests were doing the same.

One of the challenges we have in our faith life is to see with the eyes of God. Jesus reminds us of this again and again. (Mt 13:16, Mk 8:18) It is not a challenge that has occurred only in the past few years but has been the struggle of men and women throughout salvation history. And it is not a problem of picture taking. I like pictures and I enjoy looking through old family and community photos learning and sharing our history. It only becomes a problem when we permit it to dissolve our focus on what is in front of us and when it distracts us from the actions of service and worship in our lives. And trust me, I am not immune to this sin and I also believe it is not a generational thing because I know many grandparents who are just as bad as their teen grandchildren in putting the photo in front of the interaction.

I believe that it is more the challenge of being childlike in our actions. (I think Jesus has one or two things to say about this) As children grow and learn in the world and in their faith they don’t use cameras or videos…they look in wonder with eyes wide open. I think about how easy it is to loose yourself in the gaze of a child as they look at you, or how lovers can stare endlessly into the eyes of their beloved. We learn to place the filters and distractions in front of us as we blur the beauty of God and miss the wonder of life limiting our vision to the three-inch screen in front of our eyes.

I remember looking through a friend’s photo album of a trip they had taken several years ago. It must have been 100 pages and as I went through the album I noticed that there were very few “photos” taken by my friend and his wife. There were postcards, maps, and other items of their journey with photos interspersed. I never asked them about it but I can imagine that they chose to “see” rather than “take” their journey with the eyes of life. They gazed with the eyes of a child and saw the beauty of God’s creation surrounding them.

Sin tempts us to take, grab hold and put away while love invites us to see, to embrace and let go as we travel and experience anew the grace, peace and blessing of our Father through Jesus’ presence and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

God Bless

Fr. Mark