CHURCH CHAT #6

 

"BIG" GIFTS CAN COME FROM "LITTLE" PEOPLE

 GIVEN AT THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR 11-1-24-2025

           

When Jesus looked up, he noticed a poor widow putting two small coins into the temple treasury. He said, "She, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."

Luke 21:1-4

The closest thing today to the Temple in Jerusalem of Jesus’ day - at least in my experience - is a downtown cathedral. Just as the Temple in Jerusalem attracted a host of characters at the time of Jesus, most downtown cathedrals today attract a cross-section of humanity: millionaires and street people, tourists and residents, the non-religious, the marginally religious and religious fanatics. Like bees to honey, an important religious landmark, be it the Temple or a Cathedral, attracts a human circus.

For 14 years, from 1983-1997, I had the privilege of being the pastor of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville. From confessions that would curl your hair, to mental cases that would work your nerves, it was, by far, the most interesting pastoral assignment I have ever had, bar none! On my first day, I had to deal with a homeless man who had the urge to take off all his clothes to scare old ladies. I had to pull a drunk out of the bishop’s throne. I had to wrestle a stalker to the floor who pulled a knife on me over a homily. I mistakenly called the cops on the archbishop. I have had a man drop dead during a wedding, babies pee on me during baptisms and altar servers vomit on me during Mass. I had to drag a screaming woman from the altar steps to the back door through a wide-eyed congregation, too frozen to move. I was panhandled and manhandled.

In my 14 years, I probably met at our Cathedral most of the types that Jesus met in the Jerusalem Temple, including the poor “widow woman” of today’s gospel. This woman taught me a very important lesson about priesthood.

I was running late for the noon mass. I was going to the back of the Cathedral for something when I was confronted by a “bag lady” coming at me, with both arms waving to get my attention. I was used to it, so used to it, that I thought I “had seen it all” when it came to “street people.” As soon as I spotted her, I just assumed that she wanted money. I had been down that road so many, many times. Before I could get my well-rehearsed “come back later” or “go see our social worker” speech out, she asked excitedly, “Father, where is the poor box? I want to make a donation!” At that she opened her dirty hand and there she clutched her gift of a few nickels and pennies for the “poor box.” I had stereotyped and judged her by her appearance. Her generous “widow’s mite” judged me!

This modern-day version of the “widow and her mite” taught this priest several lessons. (1) You never know what is going on inside the people, merely through external observation, so always “take off your shoes” and approach them as you would “holy ground.” There is nothing as dangerous as a judgmental, “know it all” priest, be he a young priest or an old priest. (2) As Jesus taught the Pharisees, some of the people may have the appearance of saints, but inside are like whitewashed tombs, while some of those who appear to you to be terrible sinners may just turn out to be living saints. “Do not judge, lest you be judged.” (3) Generosity has very little to do with the size of the gift. Many big givers give once in a while from their surplus, but the ones who really keep parishes going are the many consistent little gifts from people who have to sacrifice to give.

The woman today has an important lesson to teach us and that is: generosity is always rewarded, and often extravagantly! As Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl from Holland who was forced to live for two years in a secret attic by the Nazis, being caught and ending up dying in a prison camp, wrote during World War II, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” Generosity is what many women have taught me over my lifetime!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A REMINDER: LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THESE KIDS NEED A SCHOOL

IF YOU ARE ABLE TO HELP, LET'S DO THIS

IT'S GOOD TO DO, ON SO MANY LEVELS 

HELP BISHOP FILBERT MHASI FINISH HIS NEW SCHOOL

 A CREATIVE APPROACH ADDRESSING THREE MAJOR PROBLEMS

(1) - lowering ongoing generational poverty through education

(2) - reducing Moslem-Christian conflicts through shared early education experiences

(3) - helping immigrants stay home and thrive in their own country through education

Below are some beautiful Tanzanian children, with Bishop Mhasi, eagerly waiting for their new school to be built.

A New "Cardinal Polycarp Grade School" Was Started

It Is A Little Over Half-Finished - So Far, So Good!

$102,000.00     

Has Already Been Raised By Bishop Mhasi

Four classrooms, the administration block, clearing the property and a kitchen have been funded. 

WORK HAS STOPPED BECAUSE THE MONEY HAS RUN OUT

$82,000.00 

Is Required To Re-Start And Finish This Very-Much-Needed New School

Three classrooms, toilets, water tank, septic system and burning chamber still need funding.

This Christmas, Help Us Close That Gap!

 

You have the option of naming your gift in honor of one child, a group of children, a favorite teacher or any special person. You can share this story and the pictures on this blog post by printing it off and telling them what you are doing in their honor. For children, this can be a teaching opportunity. If you like what you see, you can recommend this project to others by forwarding this blog post to anyone who might be interested in adding it to their gift list.    

 

As A Christmas Present, Father Knott Will Call Bishop Mhasi On Christmas Day To Tell Him How Close We Came To Our Goal Of Helping Him Re-Start and Finish the Construction of His New School. 

Soon Afterwards, Father Knott Will Report That Total To The Readers Of This Blog. 

The Kids Are Eager To Get Started!

"I believe deeply in this project! I am certainly planning to do my part!"

Father Knott

The Catholic DIOCESE OF TUNDURU-MASASI, in a majority Muslim area of Tanzania, faces a critical shortage of accessible and quality education facilities. Many children of school-going age travel long distances to attend government schools leading to high absenteeism and dropout rates. Existing schools are overcrowded, with limited classrooms, inadequate teaching resources, and strained teacher-to-pupil ratios. As a result, children are deprived of a strong educational foundation and formation, which negatively affects literacy and numeracy. 

Establishing a Catholic school in Tunduru is therefore essential to provide equitable access to education, reduce dropouts, foster long-term social and economic growth, and build a strong bond between Christians and Muslims from a very early age. Moreover, access to primary education is a foundational human right and critical for long-term community development. Tunduru's largely rural, low income, population is disproportionately affected by educational gaps and perpetuating cycles of poverty.  Establishing a new primary school would help promote equitable access, improve learning conditions, and support onward transitions to secondary education. 

Bishop Filbert Mhasi has a lot on his plate. He has 22 parishes and 140 outstations (mission churches) and lots of distance between each one. I remember clearly how much energy, focus and fund-raising it took for me as a young priest assigned to just 2 mission churches down along the Tennessee border as a young priest.  Since I have "been there and done that" on a much smaller scale, I am honored to help him in whatever way I can!

 

Father Ronald Knott and Bishop Filbert Mhasi

on a visit to Louisville last summer

"We both believe in miracles!"

FOR AN OFFICIAL TAX-DEDUCTION "THANK YOU" LETTER, MAKE YOUR  CHECK OUT TO:

Father John Judie Ministries, Inc

Mention "School Project in Tanzania" in memo line. 

THEN SEND YOUR CHECK TO ME FOR DEPOSIT INTO HIS ACCOUNT

If it is more helpful for your tax purposes, you can date your check January 1, 2026 and we will hold it for deposit until then. 

Rev. Ronald Knott

1271 Parkway Gardens Court

#106

Louisville, KY 40217

 

"PROPHETS" ARE PEOPLE WHO ALWAYS RUB OUR NOSES IN TRUTH

 

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert. John was clothed in camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey.

Matthew 3:1-12

 

For me, John the Baptist has to be one of the hardest persons in the whole Bible to warm up to! To be honest with you, I’ve never really liked him! In fact, during this warm and fuzzy Christmas season, he can be a real thorn in the side or a pain in the rear end! He was a true “wild man,” the kind of man you would grab the kids and pull them close if you ran into him on the streets. The smell of him alone would probably gag a horse!  His home was a cave in the wilderness where very few people would want to go there, much less live there! For clothes, he wore a disgusting old camel hide and for food he ate the locusts he found flying around and the wild honey that he discovered hidden in the cracks of rocks or in the hollows of scrub brush.  Men who wear fur, eat bugs and scream a lot get on my nerves pretty quickly! On second thought, he had a beard so I guess he was not all that bad! Afterall, I had a beard most of my adult life! 

 

John preached a fire and brimstone message of repentance in preparation for someone he calls “mightier than I.”  Like all charismatic preachers with a fresh message, people went out in droves to check him out and some to receive his baptism. They craved the fresh start and new life that he talked about.  

 

When the religious establishment folks went out to investigate, in their minds, this “nutcase” who was drawing people away from them, they found a hairy, bellowing preacher who did not mince words. He tore into them and called them “a nest of poisonous snakes,” warning them not to even try to hide behind their religious malpractice. In his way, he told them to “put up or shut up.” He challenged them to quit talking a good line and to deliver on their claims, because a powerful “someone” would be coming who would separate the “wheat” from the “chaff.” The “wheat” would be gathered into God’s barn and the “chaff” would be burned in an unquenchable fire.  

 

As you can imagine, these words certainly did not endear him to the religious establishment, but he did not stop there. He took on the political establishment as well. He got in King Herod’s face and told him that he was committing incest and that marrying his brother’s wife was not right. That kind of confrontation was tantamount to smacking a lion across the face. Embarrassed in front of his guests, Herod had John’s head cut off and served up on a platter for speaking so bluntly!  

 

John was a “prophet” and this is what “prophets” do. Prophets are not so much people who predict the future as people who get up in your face and make you look at present truths you are trying not to see.  Today, we would call them “whistle blowers,” people who drag the truth out into the light of day whether it is convenient or not! Like prophets of old, whistle blowers are often considered “nut cases” at first. Like prophets of old, whistle blowers often get themselves killed, either actually or figuratively, because most establishments do not like to have their boats rocked or their embarrassing truths to come out into the open. Instead of heeding the truth, people usually turn on the truth-teller. If you have ever been involved in such an action, you know just how dangerous telling the truth can be. If you were not physically hurt, you may have been labeled or blackballed for years and maybe even for life.  

 

We still kill prophets in a host of creative ways. We shun friends who will not go along with us when we invite them to agree with us when do wrong.  We rage against "wokeness" when what it exposes is too painful to admit. We ridicule the teaching of the Church, and those who teach what the Church teaches, when they won’t bless the wrongs we want to do. We call evil good and good evil so that we can live with inconvenient truths, even when we know in our guts that what we are doing is wrong.     

 

All of us have a built-in “prophet” as well. That built-in “prophet” is called our “conscience.” Our conscience is constantly confronting us with truths that we would just as soon not look at. When our consciences keep accusing us of violating our principles, we have ways of “silencing” them temporarily or even “killing” them for good. We regularly silence our consciences with alcohol and drugs, so that we can do what we know is wrong.  If we do it regularly and consistently over the long haul, we can even kill our consciences, until one day we are capable of doing or believing horrendous things that no longer even shock us!  As someone said, “When there is no faith, there is no conscience. When there is no conscience, there is no morality. When there is no morality, there is no humanity.”

 

When we stop listening to our prophets, inside and out, we sooner or later end up in a dark place with no escape.  On the other hand, Jesus said this: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!” (John 8:31-32) External prophets and our internal consciences shake us awake and make us face the truth because “people who tell us what we want to hear are not necessarily our friends and people who tell us what we don’t want to hear are not necessarily our enemies.”  Yes, the truth will set us free, but as President James A. Garfield said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” The truth of the matter is this.  To relieve our misery when are faced with unpleasant and unwanted truths, we tend to kill our prophets and numb our consciences!

 

These days, when truth is at stake, we desperately need communal prophets and personal consciences to rub our noses in the truth no matter how painful it is to look at! Today, we have way too many people willing to tell us what we want to hear, rather than what we need to hear!  Truth still matters!