Category: community

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A Cloud of Witnesses

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

Hebrews 12:1-4

 

In this world we have our troubles
Sometimes lonesome, sometimes blue,
But the hope of life eternal
Brightens all our hopes anew.

(Chorus)

I don’t want to get adjusted
To this world, to this world,
I’ve got a home that’s so much better,
I want to go to sooner or later,
I don’t want to get adjusted to this world!

– From the song “I Don’t Want To Get Adjusted”, attributed to Sanford Massingale. This quote is from the version that the folk group The Weavers recorded and sang live in the early 1950’s.  Many recorded versions of this song exist today. 

The terms “adjusted” and “well-adjusted” may be used less frequently now than they were a generation or two ago, but the meaning these terms express remains an ideal in psychology. One dictionary definition for “well-adjusted” is the following: “A well-adjusted person is reasonable and has good judgment. Their behavior is not difficult or strange”. Such a person is seen as socially acceptable and popular, a model for others to imitate. Continue reading “A Cloud of Witnesses”

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An Open Letter To My Beloved Church

To all Catholics, and all people of good will: May grace and peace be yours from the Father, through the Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit!

I am an autistic Catholic priest.

My unusual identity gives a particular twist to how I am called to live out my priesthood. In the ancient world, one of the images used to describe the priest was pontifex, Latin for bridge-builder. We still use this term when we refer to the Pope as the Supreme Pontiff. The role of the priest was seen as building a bridge between divinity and humanity. Since Jesus Christ, by His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, reconciled us to the Father in the Spirit, He became known as the true High Priest, the ultimate bridge-builder between God and humanity.  All Catholic priests, from that time on, have been given a share in His work of bridge-building. Some exercise this in parish ministry. Others serve as hospital or prison chaplains. Still others dedicate themselves to specific groups of people who are in need of shepherds and bridge-builders. Continue reading “An Open Letter To My Beloved Church”

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Emmaus

Third Sunday of Easter (A): Luke 24:13-35

You find the sparrow that falls
When boughs break, to you she calls
With broken wing, still she sings
You find the sparrow that falls

– from The Language of Flowers, by Connie Dover

 

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we have a memorable account of an appearance of the Risen Lord, given to us by Saint Luke. Before we move into the story itself, it’s important to recall what the Gospel writers were up to in giving us accounts of the Risen Lord’s appearances to his disciples. They wanted to accomplish at least two things: to show how the disciples, who had (for the most part) abandoned Jesus after he was arrested, came to encounter him risen from the dead. However, the Gospel writers had their own readers in mind, both those of their own time and us. How do people who have not seen the Risen Lord Jesus come to have faith in him? What sustains our faith in him? Conversely, what challenges and wears down our faith in him?

This account of the two disciples who unknowingly encounter the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus is one of my personal favorites. It shows Saint Luke’s masterful literary ability. It is awash in levels of meaning and symbolism. It isn’t possible to say everything that could be said about this passage here. I will confine myself to pointing out one obstacle to Easter faith that this story offers us, and then speak of three ways in which we may encounter Jesus, risen and with us still. Continue reading “Emmaus”

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A Church In Holy Saturday Mode

In my last post, and especially in my poem, my intention was to open my heart fully and express the anguish that yesterday’s news brought to me.  Yesterday, in a real sense, was a Good Friday moment for us all.  It was a time to weep, a time to mourn.  In one sense, we may feel as though the Lord has been taken away (even though He remains among us) and we do not know where they have put Him.

Now that we are absorbing the news of the suspension of public Masses, where are we? We long for Easter, for a Resurrection, for the full restoration of our Eucharistic celebrations.  Until then, we find ourselves in Holy Saturday mode. Continue reading “A Church In Holy Saturday Mode”

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The Stranger Among Us

Epiphany (A)

The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.  –   Leviticus 19:34

A few days ago, I read an article by a young man with cerebral palsy.  In it, he told the story of his painful struggle at Mass when the priest asked everyone to hold hands before beginning the Our Father.  His life is already very challenging as it is.  He comes to Mass, and has to battle his afflictions in such a way at that moment that he can barely focus on the words of the Our Father that he prays.  No one else at this Mass has to deal with such anguish, nor is anyone doing anything to even meet this young man halfway. Continue reading “The Stranger Among Us”