“How do we love our Church?” That is a question being asked by many people and one posed at a Confirmation session for sponsors of our teens. It is a good question and one that is needed to be asked.
How do we love our Church in a time of crisis? Scandal? Bad news? What ever phrase we wish to add after “a time of” is a probing and searching need to discover a depth of truth and faith behind the question. It is good to ask these questions because when we don’t then we have slipped into indifference about our faith and our Church which is the first step out the door and towards a life without a constructive and hopeful experience of the reality of God in our lives.
I believe the answer lies within the question and trust me when I say this question has been on my mind and I have asked it of friends in my continued search for the why’s and how’s of the scandal within our beloved Church.
“Our” This simple word is so very important because it isn’t “the” “a” but “our Church.” This is the first trap set and one we can easily fall into. The temptation of separating ourselves from the Body of Christ by reducing our role in the stewardship of “our Catholic Church” is a true temptation. The “our” part comes with a cost…the time, talent and treasure of being involved. It is hard to be an owner of our faith, and our Church when we are absent from the day to day prayer, the weekly gathering and the eternal hope of life offered and given. The cost is the sacrificial offering of self to Jesus Christ who lives at the center of our call to relationship.
“Relationship” “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (Lk 21:48) I put this quote forward because it is a reminder of this cost of relationship. As a priest in the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement I continue discover how we are called into and entrusted with a relationship of love. Our vocation is to love and be loved and this is a big deal. Our spousal relationships call us to work for another and to help the other become the holy and loved person God has created him/her to be. We also know the faults and failures of our own lives and those of the other. And this is the work…to draw the best out of the other and to seek to become more Christlike in our relationships…because “more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
“A search” The search is not minimize or dismiss the sin but to seek a greater good. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, sin is present in the members of the Church but though the sacramental grace we are able to resist and overcome the hurt of sin. “The Church is therefore holy, though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity. This is why she suffers and does penance for those offenses, of which she has the power to free her children through the blood of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC #827) In the choice to love we search out the presence of Jesus Christ in even the most troubling moments of our life. We may see the sin blotting out much good but we are called to search for the light of truth, faith and hope knowing the love of God is found even in the darkness.
“Carry our cross” Each day when we read the newspaper and articles in magazines and on the internet, when we find ourselves in conversations that are challenging to our faith and accusatory in their words, when we hear about another problem we can despair and even say, “enough is enough.” But Jesus reminds us “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mk 8:34) Once more this isn’t to minimize or dismiss the horrific sins of abuse and coverup by bishops and priests but if we understand the reality of “our Church” where we are in “relationship” with the person of Jesus Christ in and through our brothers and sisters in faith where we are invited to search for the good, the beautiful and the holy even in midst of darkness, then we choose the cross in love and embrace the crucified Jesus in love.
I have talked about this dozens of times over the past months and will continue to remind myself and others. There is no easy answer or set of rules that will ever fully protect and safeguard everyone but when we choose to live a life of holiness in union with Jesus Christ then we will call out the sin in our midst and “…Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” (1 Pt 1:15)
Please pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.

God bless
Fr. Mark

We are often fascinated by celebrity and the big things of this world to the detriment of our experiencing the fullness of life. Sometimes it can be because we are too busy or occupied to notice the small details and at other times we rush by because the small details can cause complications and worries in life we do not wish to tackle at the moment. But if God knows the very smallest details of who we are, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Lk 12:7) then maybe it is a hint to us to slow down and look at the details of life because perhaps, just perhaps, we will discover the greater blessings in life.
Why do I ask this question today? Because of St. Pope Paul VI and St. Oscar Romero…that’s why. And oh yeah…the other five men and women who were canonized as Saints in the Catholic Church the same day. Who are these other five? That’s a good question. As a priest I try to keep up with the news and was very excited when it was announced the two above mentioned men would be canonized. And in truth in everything I read until the final days I had know idea there were others saints being called forth. In fact I was a bit shocked when I read a headline “7 to be Canonized” on one of the Catholic news websites. Even more amazing was throughout the days prior and the day of the Mass 99% of the images where of either both St. Paul VI or St. Oscar Romero if not of one or the other but not the other five.
Who were the other five….St. Vincent Romano (+1881), St. Francesco Spinelli (+1913), St. Nunzio Suprizio (+1836), St. Nazaria Ignacio March Mesa (+1943) and St. Maria Katharina Kasper (+1898). You can read about these holy men and women on the link provided below. But once more going back to the above thought, we can often focus on the big and ignore the little to the detriment of our life of holiness and our life of grace. In reality these “lesser known” saints are vitally important and for their community, their local church and to us they are examples of grace and courage in the faith.
But why is this so important? I believe it is because when we seek holiness we discover it in the small encounters and the local relationships, (in the lesser) more readily and with greater impact then the large and greater in the long run.
One example we might use is this. A while back I was asked to go and celebrate an Anointing of the Sick at a local facility. When I got in the room, the person to be anointed was with her daughter and granddaughter. The room was filled with joy and love that was remarkable. In conversation, the daughter stated, “Her mom was the very best in the whole world.” I immediately thought about my mom; who is the very best mom in the whole world! With all joking aside, it was a moment when we can all remember how God blesses us through the small “saintly” relationship we have with one another. It is how the heroic virtue of a life of holiness shines through when we allow ourselves to see God in the other. To this family, their mom was their saint, flaws and all, because she showed them the face of Christ. And while their mom will never be loved universally like our Blessed Mother or many of the famous saints, she will be always loved by her family just as I and my family will always love our mom. We love them because we know them, flaws and all.
This is really the point: to know our family of saints who live around us and are in the great communion of saints in heaven. Our challenge is always to know the other: to know God and all the people He has given us to love. Perhaps we could take time to read about the saint of the day and to visit, call or pray for a relative and friend each day. In doing so we might get to know and love our sisters/brothers and friends like Maria Katharina Kasper and the many other saints in heaven.

God bless
Fr. Mark

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-seven-saints-pope-francis-will-canonize-on-sunday-73292

Sunday’s other new saints show holiness isn’t just for celebrities

ABSENCE
I visited the place where we last met.
Nothing was changed, the gardens were well-tended,
The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
There was no sign that anything had ended
And nothing to instruct me to forget.

The thoughtless birds that shook out of the trees,
Singing an ecstasy I could not share,
Played cunning in my thoughts. Surely in these
Pleasures there could not be a pain to bear
Or any discord shake the level breeze.

It was because the place was just the same
That major absence seem a savage force,
For under all the gentleness there came
An earthquake tremor: fountains, birds and grass
Were shaken by my thinking of your name.
By: Elizabeth Jennings

“Father, everything is so different but it’s just the same,” were the words that came tumbling out of the mouth of a man who had just confessed (not in sacramental confession) that this was the first time in over 25 years that he had entered a Catholic Church.
“I visited the place where we last met.” We had a brief conversation where I invited him to a deeper talk about faith and how we could help him “rediscover” his Catholic faith. The poem above, by Elizabeth Jennings, expresses the beauty of an unfailing truth of God’s love…He never changes…He waits through my absence…He invites me to be with him where I am shaken “by my thinking of your name.” The timelessness of God’s love is ever new in the hearts of all people because we believe God sees and proclaims the goodness of creation through his son, Jesus Christ.
The above conversation and the poem both reminded me of the journey of truth and faith we walk as disciples of Jesus Christ. We all have the experience of walking into a house, a room or a place and the flood of memories overwhelm us. These memories can be good or bad but they bring a moment of time back with such clarity where nothing seems to have changed. Our journey of faith and truth calls us to re-remember the moments of grace where the presence of God overwhelmed us and feel the earthquake of faith rattle us awake again.
Two of these places in my life are very different but the same. The first is the parish church of St. Anthony in Greencreek Idaho. This is the parish of my Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation and while during my high school years I went to the other local parishes, depending on my family and time of Mass, St. Anthony’s always brings back a deepness of God’s presence differently than any other church. It is not anything specific and certainly things have changed and yet there is also a presence of faith, memory and truth the cry out as the grace filled moments roll over in the soul. It is a place where faith and family reside as the hours of prayer and play intertwined as parents and adults chatted and children ran free. It may be a romanticized memory but a memory none-the-less of God’s goodness in love.
The second place is the ocean…I know that’s a big place…but maybe more specifically the coast where the waves meet the land. To hear and see the sound and power of the ocean, whether it be the storms of the Washington state coast or the Santa Cruz beaches each time I sit and watch the power and hear the roar the life of the savage force under a gentle glass of the ocean spread across the horizon moves my soul to the greatness of God’s creation.
I think Elizabeth Jennings’ gets it right in the words of “Absence” where she reminds us of the power of love and how memory draws us back into a place of love. And while we often fall out of love with God through willful sin we are invited back through the gift of these same memories. The gentlemen above who confessed his absence talked about how the hurts of his life: the death of family and friends, the loss of work and home, the wandering in sin, was always tempered by his knowing a memory of love dwelling deep within his soul, a memory he was never able to forget. We may not wander far or loose deep love but we all know loss it is in these moments we are called to remember and seek to find true healing and joy to fill the absence with God’s name.

Please pray for the continued sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.
And may the two newest saints, this Saturday October 13 be always examples of true love of God. St. Pope Paul VI…pray for us. St. Oscar Romero…pray for us.

God bless,
Fr. Mark

Something big, exciting and important is happening in the Catholic Church this week and the next few weeks…it is somethings that goes beyond the scandals and yet, at the same time, speak towards the basic solution to all scandal in the Church and in the world. The big thing is the Synod on the Youth being held in Rome. This follows the recent “V Encuentro” which our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters participated in where they also talked about how to invite the participation of the young in the life of the Church. I won’t go through the numbers but we all know from our own life experience the number of young Catholics is dwindling rapidly as they flow out of the Church and into other faith traditions or become the “nones” with only remnants of faith from childhood. I have spoken with hundreds of distraught parents, brothers and sisters and friends who seek answers to how we can call back these children of God into an active and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.
Thomas á Kempis wrote in “The Imitation of Christ” “Nature is crafty and attracts many, ensnaring and deceiving them all ever seeking itself. But grace walks in simplicity, turns away from all the appearance of evil, offers no deceits, and does all purely for God in whom she rests as her last end.” (#54)
I reflect on the quote above because even though this spiritual master piece was written in the early 15th century, the call to discipleship and the choice to follow Jesus Christ remain the same today. Thomas á Kempis reminds us to beware of the easy answers that the physical pleasures and pains give to us: the quick satisfactions and solutions, the slippery ways and the compromised goals that focus our hearts downward are often viewed today as how we should live our lives. To call others to Jesus is a time consuming, arduous and painful journey. It doesn’t sound fun but for countless Christians we know that this pathway is the only one to true freedom.
How do we pass on this faith? If I had the answer I would be rich beyond measure…not just in the material way but also in the joy of living close to God. I know we must begin with Jesus because any other starting point is fruitless. I also know that because the bad actions of many Christians, especially our bishops and priests, Jesus isn’t always a great place to begin as too many of our brothers and sisters close their hearts to the message when they “sniff” God in the conversation.
I believe this is where the Christian culture of life must become transparent and lived out in our daily actions. In her book, “Immersed in the Sacred” Kathy Coffey offers us this short piece of advice, “Initiation into Christ is a life long process which can occur on a city street with an unknown sponsor. Words like “commitment” may never enter the conversation, and the sacramental link isn’t explicit. No one cites the passage, ”Where two or three are gathered in my name…” But how can we ever understand the capital S sacraments if we don’t live out these surprising lowercase ones? (p 80-81) The conversations becomes infused with the lived faith that is proclaimed in who we are and seen by others as a desirable way to live life. As Jesus reminds us “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13:35) a truth lived out by countless saints throughout history.
Our challenge in proclaiming God’s mercy, love and compassion aren’t better programs but lives lived committed to the Gospel message. We are to keep our eyes focused on Jesus because if we do then we will truly see our brothers and sisters as treasures to be cared for in love. Being immersed in God’s grace is not a departure from the world but entering into the blessings of creation where nature isn’t crafty and ensnaring but becomes the invitation to a deeper more appreciative relationship in Jesus Christ.
To many of us have bought into the lie where faith becomes something to suppress who we are…but true faith is recognizing who we are and how much more God desires us to be in our life and relationships of love.
Kathy Coffey shares with us this piece of wisdom, “In God’s dream, nothing is ever lost. The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins in ”The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo” encourages us to ”give beauty back to God” who will preserve it better than we can… When God starts dreaming for you, look out. You pour out your youth and affect the lives of children.” (p 125-126)
Let us in prayer allow God to dream in us and may we then truly live the life of love.
Please continue to pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.
God bless,
Fr. Mark

The Poem… “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo”

https://www.bartleby.com/122/36.html