EVERY SUNDAY IS A "FAITH FAMILY REUNION"

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood

remains in me and I in him. The one who feeds on me

will have life because of me.

John 6:51-58

The Eucharist!  The Lord’s Supper!  The Blessed Sacrament, Holy Communion!  The Breaking of Bread! The Mass! Throughout our 2,000 year history, we have used several words to describe what we do here today. One of my favorites words for the Eucharist is that old fashioned word “viaticum.”  “Viaticum” was what we called the Eucharistic Bread when we gave it to those who were moments away from death.  It was their last Holy Communion.  The word “viaticum” means “nourishment you take with you when you set out on a trip.” 

Every time I hear that word "viaticum," I think of the day I was called to the hospital to be with the family of a farmer from down home who had been wounded in an awful tractor accident. The family wanted me to anoint him and give him communion. The doctors wanted me to help the family decide to turn off the machines who were artificially pumping his blood through a badly swollen body. I talked to the family for a while about turning off the machines and helped bring them to the place where they could make that decision in peace. I anointed him, and since he could no longer swallow, I decided to place the pix (a small gold container carrying the Blessed Sacrament) on his chest over his heart as they were turning off the machines. That gesture was the closest thing I could do to give him "viaticum," "bread for the journey and strength for his trip" back to God! 

The fact of the matter is, we are invited to receive “viaticum” every Sunday, the first day of every week, as “bread for the journey and strength for the trip” to help us during the week ahead.  This is not just any bread: when we eat this bread Jesus invites us to “feed on” his very flesh and blood.  We go forward each week then with God’s power under our belts! Two other words closely associated with this meal make it even more life-giving and soul-strengthening.  The word “parish” means a way station for pilgrims.  Like one of those stagecoach stops in the old western movies, a “parish” is where spiritual pilgrims stop to refresh themselves before continuing on their trip.  The word “companions” comes from the Latin words for “bread” and “with.”  So “companions” are “people you eat bread with.” So, what are we here for?  We are here as spiritual pilgrims on a journey to the Lord.  Our “parishes,” are fueling stations where we receive “viaticum,” bread for the journey - places to be encouraged by our “companions,” other spiritual pilgrims with whom we share this Bread of Life.

One of my favorite parables is the parable of the wedding feast where Jesus teaches us that “the good and bad alike” are invited to come and “celebrate with him.” This parable, and others like it, have always raised the question about who is worthy to receive the Eucharist: even more, what is the purpose of the Eucharist?  Is the Eucharist a reward for good behavior or the medicine sinners need to be healed?  It is the church’s duty to protect the Eucharist from desecration, heresy and triviality.  The church has done its job well over the centuries, but in a zealous attempt to protect the Eucharist, has it not ended up sometimes keeping it out of the very hands of those for whom it was most intended, those who most need it? 

There may be another way to look at the Eucharist: not simply as a reward for good behavior, but more so as powerful medicine for the sick of soul.  Jesus told stories like the parable I mentioned because he was under attack from religious leaders for welcoming sinners and eating with them!  Jesus believed that by welcoming them and being with them, they would more likely be motivated and strengthened to let go of their sins and be transformed. Even Judas was invited to the last supper! He was not only invited, he was invited to sit in the place of honor.  It was to Judas that Jesus gave the “choice morsel,” traditionally given by the host to the most honored guest!

Early Christianity preserved the idea of the Eucharist being medicine for sinners, placing the marginal and the wounded in the center of their communities in order to give them greatest care.  As time went by, probably because of doctrinal and discipline concerns, the idea of “worthy and unworthy” crept in.  Over time, feeling unworthy, people stopped going to communion, for all practical purposes, with Eucharistic adoration taking precedence over the reception of communion.  It got so bad that the church had to finally mandate communion once a year.  It was known as our “Easter duty” and it is still in effect today.

My own thinking in this matter has been affected greatly by 56 years of pastoral experience, especially by something that happened to me one day here at the Cathedral where we had a major outreach to disaffected Catholics. I was distributing communion.  Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a woman who had come to see me the day before.  She was divorced from an abusive husband and had remarried. She did not believe in divorce, but had successfully rebuilt her life.  Even though she longed for the Eucharist, she had not received it since her divorce.  She was crying.  In front of me was a line of people, many of whom were validly married in the church.  Some of them were coming toward me, looking around, winking and waving at friends, obviously not very conscious of what they were doing or how important it was!  I don’t challenge the teaching of the church on the permanence of marriage, but I kept saying to myself: “We’ve got this “who’s worthy” thing all wrong!  That woman needs this more than anybody in this line!” 

This sacrament is cheapened, I believe, not so much by giving it to sinners who recognize their need for healing, but by giving it to unconscious people who care little about it, people who are not prepared to receive it, people who do not recognize the presence of the Lord.  St. Paul put it this way to the church at Corinth, “Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup, because a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body is eating and drinking his own condemnation.”

Yes, I believe that the Eucharist is cheapened more by those who receive it unconsciously, routinely and without awareness than those who have sinned and know they need it as a powerful medicine for their souls!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH CHAT #31

 

TALKING TOO MUCH AND THE POWER OF SILENCE

How to Know if You're an Excessive Talker

Determining what qualifies as excessive talking is largely subjective. What one person may regard as "excessive," another may consider "outgoing." With that said, excessive talking is generally regarded as behavior that is outside the social norm or one that is inappropriate for the situation.

Signs of excessive talking include:

- Talking over others
- Monopolizing conversation
- Speaking at inappropriate times or places
- Oversharing information
- Speaking impulsively
- Fearing gaps in the conversation
- Speaking more than listening
- Changing or rerouting the conversation to what interests you

We can even learn something about "talking too much" from the likes of the notorious Machiavelli (diplomat, author, philosopher and historian from Florence, Italy, 1469-1527) who is infamous for his brutal political treatise THE PRINCE. In this video, without embracing everything he espouses, even he can teach us some valid points about the power of silence.

                             

 

 

 

THANK GOD I HAVE A GOOD COMPUTER PROBLEM SOLVER

GARY MARVIN, MY SEMINARY CLASSMATE AND COMPUTER TECH, AT WORK ON MY COMPUTER

Here are just a few of the problems he has helped me solve over the years!  

LOOKING DOWN, LOOKING OUT - BEING LOVED, LOVING OTHERS

 

Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity. It is traditional for many preachers to begin their homilies with the statement that the Holy Trinity is a mystery and then talk for twenty minutes proving to people that it is still a mystery. Today, I have decided to do something different starting with those wonderful words from today's gospel.

"God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. God did not send

his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might

be saved through him.

John 3:16-18

"God so loved the world that he sent his only Son not to condemn the world, but to save it?" "To love, not to condemn, but to save?" In light of those words, I am going to do two things today. (1) I am going to say a bit about what we are told that God sees as he looks down on us. (2) I am going to say a bit about what I see looking out at you! 

WHAT DOES GOD SEE LOOKING DOWN AT US?

What God sees looking down on us is summarized in today's gospel. "God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." Those words are a re-affirmation of the words recorded in the Book of Genesis. "God created mankind in his image. In the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them." "God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good." 

(1) The first thing today's gospel teaches us is that it was God who loved us first and sent his Son because he loved us. (2) The second thing today's gospel shows us is that God is not acting for his own sake, but for our sake, not to satisfy his desire for power, not to bring a universe to heel, but to satisfy his urge to love.  God is presented to us as a Father who cannot be happy until his wandering children have come home to him. (3) The third thing today's gospel shows us is the width of God's love. It is not a single nation that he loves. It is not only the people who love him that he loves. It is not only the people who love him back that he loves. He loves the whole world! He loves the unlovable and the unlovely. He loves the one who loves God and the one who never thinks of God. He loves the one who basks in the love of God and the one who ignores the love of God. As St. Augustine put it, "God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love."  God did not send his Son into the world to condemn us, but because he wanted to show the world that he loved us! Because he loved us so much, he wanted to save us from our own self-destruction!

Because people do not seem to understand the concept of "the unconditional love of God for us," they keep reverting to their "sinners in the hands of an angry God" theology which promotes a stern, angry, unforgiving, get-even God, rather than a gentle, loving and forgiving God. So many so-called "believers" still think that if the "unconditional love of God for us" is preached convincingly then people will start doing anything they want to do and all hell will break loose! They believe that preaching the "fear of God" is the only way to motivate them to change and keep them in check! That's sad indeed and it's wrong! The truth of the matter is that God looks down on us with great love - always has and always will!     

WHAT DO I SEE LOOKING OUT AT YOU? 

As I look out at the congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes when I come here, I don't just see a crowd! I see you! I see individuals! In a sea of families, some individuals stand out: young families with small children, immigrants, widows and widowers, special needs children, struggling youth, racial minorities, old people with canes and walkers and even military personnel sometimes.  

I SEE YOU AND I PRAY FOR YOU

I pray especially for those married couples in church with 1,2,3,4 or more kids in tow. They have given up their own comfort and convenience and have committed themselves to becoming servants of their children for several years. They provide them with food, shelter, health care, entertainment, education and protection. They cook for them. They do their laundry, cut their hair or take them to the barber shop, shop for their clothes, meet with their teachers, wash and maintain the family car and teach them how to use technology properly. They take them to endless sports events, make costumes for Halloween and take them Trick or Treating, help them with their homework, serve on boards and committees, take them to the doctor, fund extra-curricular activities, bake cakes, muffins and cookies on demand for school and parish events, volunteer at church, look after their own elderly parents, celebrate their birthdays, decorate the house for holidays, help them with Sacramental Preparation, get things repaired and try to keep things running smoothly around the house. 

I pray especially for the older parishioners, especially widows, widowers and those who are single either by choice, circumstances or divorce. I pray for the immigrants who still struggle to adapt and find their way. I pray for the sick, the home-bound and those in institutions like prisons, away from home for school, in hospitals or nursing homes and in the military.  

As I look out and see immigrants, I am reminded to pray for them and my many friends in other countries around the world, especially in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Togo, Kenya and Tanzania. Because I was lucky enough to lead well over 150 priest convocations and retreats in 10 countries, and because I was lucky enough to establish the "World Priest" program at St. Meinrad serving priests and seminarians from several more countries who are now serving in the US, I know people from around the world and hear from many of them especially around the holidays. I intentionally and regularly pray for them and their families.  Yes, I even pray for the ancestors of our Native Americans, from whom we European immigrants basically stole this land, as well as the ancestors of our African Americans we basically stole from several African countries as slaves.    

I pray with a special intensity for our youth and young adults, especially those who are bullied, those confused about their sexual identity, those who have been abused, those with low self-esteem, those who are lonely, those battling addictions, those who suffer from debilitating physical conditions including obesity and those who risk life and limbs serving in the military.  I pray that they will choose to embrace the church especially when they grow into adulthood and settle down.  

I SEE YOU AND I PRAY FOR MY OWN ABILITY TO INSPIRE YOU

I pray that I can be a better priest. I pray for my own ability to inspire you to be better disciples through my words from pulpits like this and through my many blog posts, through my efforts to give you the best quality service I can give you and through my example as a friendly and compassionate person at the door when you arrive and leave Mass.   

I pray especially for my own good health at 82 years old. So far, so good! I know that I am lucky. Realizing that I am lucky, I also pray that if I do have some serious health issues coming up, I will somehow be able to model for others how to handle pain and suffering with as much poise and grace as possible like I have witnessed many parishioners like you handling it.   

Besides my past blessings and present good health, I pray with deepest gratitude for my faith, my vocation and what I already have materially. I do not pray for a bigger house, a newer car, a better job, a better family, another vacation or even for more income. I find myself "satisfied" with what I already have and for the people who already love me. I pray that you do too! 

CHURCH CHAT #30

 

LOVING YOURSELF STARTS WITH ACCURATE SELF-PERCEPTION

 

I am confident enough these days to share some of my healed "wounds" in the hope that sharing them may help someone else heal their "wounds!" Here is one of my favorite "recovery stories" from my treasury of "stinkin' thinkin'!"

For many years, actually until just a few years ago, I could not even look at this photo of myself because I was convinced that I was too pitiful to look at! It was taken in September 1958 minutes before I was leaving my small country hometown of Rhodelia at age fourteen to go to St. Thomas Seminary. That seminary was a high-school boarding  school in the big city of Louisville, a place I had never seen before, to begin a twelve year training program for possible ordination to priesthood. Arriving there, I was battling serious negative reactions and predictions from my pastor, a few of my neighbors and some of my friends. I had to beg, cry and plead before I was given permission to be able to "give it a try." 

As I look at that old photo, I am shocked by what I see in reality today and what I was thinking was reality at that time. I realize today that I was not as ugly as I once thought! Today I see an innocent young boy too bashful to really look at the camera, with a forced smile, amazingly brave enough to trade what he knew growing up for a complete unknown and an uncertain future. To be honest, I did not realize at the time that I was probably more focused on getting away from something even more than going toward something. Somehow, I was mysteriously courageous enough to "make a run for it" anyway! Even then, none of the seminary staff ever asked about my childhood experiences, much less help me work through them, even though most of my attention was still focused on those childhood "wounds." Since there was no rescue party out looking for me, I was a teenager left to figure it out on my own! 

I have learned in adulthood, slowly but surely, that messages given during my childhood and minor seminary days are responsible for many of my inaccurate early self-perceptions. Instead of accepting all of those messages as true, I have finally learned to separate what is true from what were simply the projections of others onto me that I took in as believable in my twisted thinking. 

Some of the regular messages from childhood (1944-1958) were these: "you will never amount to a hill of beans," "you can't do anything right," "you are stupid and ugly," "you are a useless little "runt," "I can't wait till you're grown and out of here!" 

Some of the regular messages from minor seminary days (age 14-18) were these: "you are a hopeless case," "your ears and teeth are too big," "you are a hillbilly, a hick, a redneck" and "you have been a ball and chain around my leg for six years!"   

        

How Do Childhood Experiences Create Lasting Psychological Distortions in Adulthood?

The brain is most plastic, most responsive to experience, during childhood. That’s an advantage for learning. It’s also why early adversity leaves such deep marks.

Childhood maltreatment, abuse, neglect, chronic instability, produces measurable structural changes in the brain. Brain imaging research has documented reduced volume in the prefrontal cortex, which governs rational decision-making, and altered development of the amygdala and hippocampus, regions central to emotional regulation and memory. These aren’t metaphorical scars. They’re visible on scans.

The practical consequence is that children who grow up under sustained threat develop nervous systems tuned for danger. Threat-detection becomes hypersensitive; trust in others becomes difficult; memory distortion alters how past events are stored and recalled, sometimes making traumatic memories feel present-tense even when they’re not. These adaptations made sense in the original environment. They become distortions when the person carries them into adulthood and applies them to situations where the threat is no longer real.

Core beliefs, deeply held convictions about the self, others, and the world, often crystallize during this period: "I am ugly." “I am unlovable or a nuisance.” “The world is dangerous.” “Most people will hurt you.” "I am a burden." These beliefs then operate as lenses, filtering all subsequent experience to confirm what was learned early. A kind gesture gets explained away; an ambiguous comment gets read as rejection.

The distortion isn’t random, it’s organized around a theme established decades earlier.

REMEMBER THIS

You need not be a victim of other people's thoughts, views or words!

It may take a life-time, but you can change how you remember your past! 

You can be your own hero in self-rescue if you are determined enough! 

 

  

 

 

GOOD CHURCH LEADERS ARE BOTH GOOD AND GOOD AT IT

    

A dose of democracy is always good in a church, but no church hardly ever excels without a great leader. Being a great church leader means (1) putting the mission of the church ahead of one's own gain or needs and (2) knowing how to unleash the power of his or her community to carry out that mission. 

As Jesus put it in the Greek text in his teaching about the "good shepherd," he or she is both personally good (agathos), as well as "good at" (kalos) what he or she does! As that old seminary seal put it at the entrance to Saint Meinrad Seminary, a great church leader has both "personal holiness" (sanctitatae) and (scientia) "useful knowledge" or "know-how!"  As Jim Collins puts it in his book, Good to Great, a great leader is both "humble" and "competent." 

The two great sins of most failed church leaders, I have come to believe, are arrogance and incompetence, - clericalism and ineptitude! They often go together when clericalism becomes a failed attempt to disguise ineptitude. When that happens, isn't it usually a case of "fools rushing in where angels fear to tread?"  In that case, failed church leaders end up being neither "good" nor "good at it!"

CARRYING ON THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

Jesus said to them, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

John 20

 

I began my path to priesthood 68 years ago: 12 years as a seminarian and 56 years as a priest. In fact, I celebrated my first Mass on a Pentecost Sunday like today in 1970!  During the last 60 years, I have watched the stumbling of a once arrogant and over-confident church. Like an aging old movie star in denial, she seems to find herself embarrassed on a daily basis these days!  But, do you know what? I love her more now than I did way back then. Like an alcoholic approaching recovery, she is going through that inevitable break down that leads to a breakthrough. The only mistake Vatican Council II made was not warning us that we had to go through a break down to get to a breakthrough - like our ancestors had to go through a desert before getting to the "promised land" after leaving Egypt! It’s messy, but it’s real. I don’t despise her because of her sins, I love her for her courage to keep going, in spite of her sins. I stand by her. She can count me in, during these critical days of recovery even if I don’t live long enough to see her next “golden age!”

When I say “church,” I am not talking about the Pope and the Bishops, I mean us! We are the church and I believe that we are going to get well. I see signs of hope and encouragement, even in these hard times of parish closings and priest shortages.  I see and hear more people looking for God again today – especially among our young adults!

They are tired of the chaos and uncertainty! They are looking for stability! The problem is, there are more looking for solid spiritual food than there are places that can deliver it. People are grazing across parish boundaries, denominational lines and traditional sources, looking for something spiritually satisfying. I see and hear people sick to death of second-rate preaching and obsession with religious organizational trivialities. I see and hear people looking for God in growing numbers. This gives me great hope.

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 

Where is God today?   For a few years, the early church stood around watching the heavens, anticipating the future return of Jesus, as he had promised. Expecting it any day, they were content to sit and wait for his return.  This feast marks the beginning of their realization that his return could be a long way off and the realization that they had to roll up their sleeves and get to work. They transferred their gaze from the heavens to the world around them. Instead of looking up, they began to look around! Once they had received the power of the Holy Spirit, they were ready to carry on the work of Jesus to the ends of the earth until that time when he promised to return.

Where is God today?  People may be looking for God in growing numbers again, but unfortunately some people are looking backwards and romanticizing the past. They believe that God was alive in the “good old days” and if we could only return to the “good old days” then we would all find God again. Trying to go back there, these people are playing vicious politics in every denomination from Southern Baptists to Roman Catholics.

Then there are others who look for God in the extraordinary. Since they cannot find God in ordinary life, they run from one reported apparition and miracle rumor to another.

Still others are again trying to find God again in the future. They turn to Bible passages and claim to be able to de-code secret messages, obscure prophecies and interpret natural disasters as signs that the end of the world is immanent.  Rather than trying to clean up the world that God has given us, they would rather yearn for its destruction.

This feast does not deny that God has acted in the past or that he will act again in the future, but it reminds us that God is acting right now through us!  The angels in today’s gospel tell our earliest brothers and sisters in the church to quit looking up for God, to quit looking back for God, but to look around at each other to experience God acting through his followers!  

My friends, the reason people today are out looking for God is they are not finding him in us - the people who are supposed to be his ambassadors!  That’s why they are out looking in new and exotic places. It reminds me of that old bumper sticker from the 60s. “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”  Instead of focusing our attention on becoming the best ambassadors of Christ we can be, we are arguing over church structures and pious practices and looking for perfect church leaders. The purpose of today’s feast is to focus our attention on the fact that we have power to do good because we have the Holy Spirit within us. Then when people see our goodness, they can actually see and experience the goodness of God flowing through us. Jesus taught us to let our lights shine, so that people can see our goodness, and then seeing our goodness, they can experience God working through us! 

The message today? Quit gawking around! Get to work! Unleash the power that the Holy Spirit has given you! Allow God to reveal himself through you! Today’s message is crystal clear!  We received power when the Holy Spirit came upon us! Just as the Father sent Jesus into our world to make God present, Jesus now sends us into the world to make him present and to carry on his ministry!

 

 

 

 

    

 

CHURCH CHAT #29

 

A PERFECT PRAYER FOR JUST ABOUT ANYBODY

 

"YES, I HAVE BEEN OUT LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!"

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Psalm 149:4

If you were to die today and you stood before the gates of heaven and you were asked this one simple question test to see whether you got in or not, could you answer that one simple question? Here is that question. “Who does God love?” 

Well, if you are not sure, I am going to give you the correct answer. Pope Leo gave us the answer on the balcony when he was first presented to the world over a year ago. It is so simple, yet unbelievably astounding! Who does God love? ‘He loves everybody – everybody – and he loves us without condition!’ I have been preaching those words for most of my priesthood so I almost came out of my chair with delight when he said it! Yes, I was both shocked and relieved!  

One of the parables that most brings this point home to me is the parable of the vineyard workers. The parable of the “Vineyard Workers” is enough to make wine growers all over the world cringe! This parable is not an instruction on to operate a profitable vineyard. If you followed this example, you would be broke in no time! No, it’s a story about how God treats us, a story about God’s unbelievable generosity! For Jesus, the whole purpose of this parable is to shock in order to teach! This parable is insane, according to human thinking, but that’s the whole point of the parable.

Those who had “worked all day in the sun” were the religious authorities. Those “hour before quitting time” workers were the “tax collectors and sinners,” those who felt unworthy in God’s eyes, the simple people who followed Jesus!  You can imagine how both groups reacted when they heard the punch line, “Give them all a full day’s pay!”  “Give them all a full day’s pay!”

This message is very close to the message of another parable, the one we call the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In that story, the father loves both his sons, the one who stayed home and followed all the rules, as well as the one who strayed away and got down with the pigs! The message is simple: God loves all his children, not matter what they have done or failed to do!

The tax collectors, sinners and rejects were delirious with joy when they heard that message! The Scribes and Pharisees, who taught that God’s love depended on people’s behaviors, were outraged.

One of the worst things to happen to the church was when it started to “conditionalize” this “good news” and started teaching people that God loves you when you are good, quits loving you when you are bad and starts loving you again when you shape up!  It is not uncommon to hear some religious people tone down the “good news” because it is “too dangerous.” I was often criticized at the Cathedral by them when I welcomed home hundreds of fallen away Catholics by preaching this message. Their worst nightmare is that if people really believed the message of the parables and the church really taught it, all hell would break loose! People would start doing any damned thing they wanted! That’s the same thing that worried the Scribes and Pharisees. In reality, the opposite was true in Jesus’ day and the opposite is true in ours! People’s lives are transformed by that message! They are converted by this message! This message inspires them to love others the same way they have been loved by God – friends and enemies alike!  

What do you believe? Are you one of those people who still believes that God pays us with love depending how many hours we have loved him? Are you one of those people who still believes that God turns his love on and off depending what we do or fail to do?  If you are, really listen to the message of the parables. If it sounds too good to be true, then you have gotten the message! God’s incredible unconditional love does sound too good to be true, but the fact of the matter is, it is true! “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” He didn’t die for us as a reward for our shaping up! While we were still sinners, he died for us!

 

 

 

 

 

YES! "FAKING IT TILL YOU MAKE IT" CAN STRENGTHEN ONE'S FAITH

 

“When the eleven remaining disciples saw Jesus after his resurrection, they worshiped even as they doubted.”

Matthew 28:16-20

One of the things that happens when you read the Bible on a regular basis, like I am required to do, is that even familiar passages are always speaking to you in new ways. It happened again a couple of years ago when I read today’s text from the gospel of Matthew that I had read many times. It is the story after the resurrection and right before Jesus' ascension into heaven. That was the first time I clearly noticed the words, “When the eleven remaining disciples saw Jesus after his resurrection, they worshiped even as they doubted.”

“They worshiped Jesus even when they doubted?” That’s pretty much the opposite of what we do. When we doubt, we quit worshiping. We assume that worshiping is only for believers. People, in our experience, who doubt quit worshiping! So why would these disciples worship Jesus, if they had doubts about Him? Why would the writer even include their doubts in the story?

The first thing many people assume about faith is that doubt is the opposite of faith. Not true! Honest doubt is not the opposite of faith. There is faith even in honest doubt.  Honest doubt is actually an integral part of faith. When Matthew tells us that the disciples “worshipped even when they doubted,” he wants us to know this basic principle: honest doubt was part of the faith, even for those who were closest to Jesus.

The stories that we have been reading since Easter are a mixture of faith and doubt. The disciples are presented as very skeptical about Mary Magdalen’s report about seeing Jesus alive on that first Easter Sunday. Thomas, flat-out refused to believe until he saw Jesus with his own eyes and touched Jesus with his own hands.  On the road to Emmaus, other disciples were astounded by the report of Jesus being seen alive and did not recognize him walking right beside them on the road. Even after many reports, even after having seen him themselves, they worshipped, even as they doubted. Yes, the message is simple: faith is never black and white, all or nothing, but always mixed with a good measure of healthy doubt.  Doubt does not necessarily mean you don’t have faith. Doubt probably means that you do have faith!

“They worshiped, even as they doubted.”  The bigger question than whether doubt is part of faith, is what do you do when you doubt. Many, when they doubt, think they should absent themselves from prayer and worship until faith returns or becomes strong again. They say to themselves, “It is hypocritical for me to pretend to believe when I really don’t believe. When I start believing again, when my faith is strong again, then it will make sense for me to start praying and worshipping again.” That may sound good, even reasonable, but that’s not how it works! The story of the doubting St. Thomas has a lot to teach us. Thomas says in today's gospel, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Even in his doubt, Thomas did was pretty much the opposite of what we do when we have doubts. He kept going back to the community. When we doubt, we quit joining the community. We assume that joining the faith community is only for those who believe, for those without doubt. People, in our experience, who doubt quit joining the worshiping community! Not St. Thomas! He kept joining them, even when he doubted, until he believed!

As the doubting disciples teach us today, what really works is for us to worship even when we doubt, to worship until we believe.  Like a coal, pulled away from a heap of burning coals, that soon loses its heat, a doubter separated from the community of believers soon loses even more of his faith. A faith community strengthens faith and a doubting community strengthens doubt.

“They worshipped, even as they doubted.”  This may be yet another version of the great truth: “fake it till you make it.” Even though Alcoholics Anonymous made that idea famous, it actually goes back to the ancient Roman poet, Ovid who said, “Pretend to what is not, and then you’ll become in truth, what you are pretending to be.”  The great philosopher William James put it this way, “Act as if and the mind will produce your desire.” The idea is, if you take something that feels impossible, or at least completely unnatural, and pretend that it is the easiest, most natural things on the world for you to be doing, eventually, it will become as easy as you have been pretending it to be!

I practice this often in my own life. (1) As many of you know from me talking about my history, I grew up pretty much crippled by bashfulness. Bashful people find it painful to be in public situations. To cope, they are driven to avoid public situations as much as possible. This is a sure way to keep bashfulness going. The solution is to get out in public as much as possible, faking confidence, until one day you wake up and find out that you are no longer bashful.  The only way out of the fear of public speaking is to “fake it till you make it,” to do public speaking until you are no longer afraid to speak in front of crowds.  You cannot think your way out of bashfulness, you have to act your way out of bashfulness. (2) When I was sent against my will to southeastern Kentucky as a newly ordained priest, somehow, I was able to open my mind to “faking it till I made it.” I decided, since I did not get what I wanted, I would act as if I wanted what I got until I was able to really want what I got. It worked. Those ten years were wonderful years in many, many ways. I “acted as if” it was a great assignment until it actually became a great assignment.        

"They worshiped, even as they doubted.”  My friends, all of us have a good measure of doubt, even as we believe. The secret to making sure that the scales do not tip too far to the doubt side, is to keep joining the community like St. Thomas, to act as if we believe until we believe, to pray our way out of doubt, to worship until we “feel like worshiping.” So, when you are tempted to drop out because “I don’t get anything out of it” or “I’m not into it today,” that is when you really need to get into it! That is when you really need to act as if you are getting something out of it until you do get something out of it!  Yes, even believers sometimes have to “fake it till they make it.”   

Today, on May 17, 2070, I celebrated my "First Mass!"

I am very grateful for the last 56 years of priesthood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH CHAT #28

CELEBRATING MY 56th PRIESTHOOD ANNIVERSARY  

Peter's walk on water is how I have felt most of the time, from the start until now! 

AGE 14

IN SEPTEMBER 1958, I LEFT FOR THE SEMINARY 

GETTING READY TO GO TO THE CATHEDRAL FOR ORDINATION TO PRIESTHOOD 

May 16, 1970

Age 26

ACTUAL ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD

May 16, 1970

Age 26

56 YEARS ORDAINED AND HOLDING

82 YEARS OLD

April 28, 2026

A BEAUTIUL PRAYER FOR GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY

 

 FOR A LITTLE OF MY FAVORITE HUMOR ABOUT GETTING OLD 

click on the arrow, expand to larger screen and turn up the volume 

TO GIVE THANKS FOR WHAT YOU HAVE OR JUST TO ASK FOR MORE?

 WHY DO YOU GO TO SUNDAY MASS?

"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

John 6:22-29

I often hear people say, “I don’t go to church because I don’t get anything out of it!” Like the people in the gospel today who pursued Jesus because they wanted more free bread, they go to church so that God will give them more, not to give God thanks for what they have already received! 

At the beginning of each week, we gather on Sunday to celebrate the “Eucharist.” That word is Greek for “giving thanks.” Many people do not understand that the first purpose of celebrating the Eucharist is to give thanks for what one has already received before asking for more! Meister Eckhart, the 12-13th century theologian, philosopher and mystic said it best. “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." This simple yet profound quote by Meister Eckhart carries a deep message about gratitude and its significance in our lives. In its straightforward interpretation, the quote emphasizes the transformative power of expressing gratitude.  Gratitude is a vital aspect of our well-being that often goes unnoticed or taken for granted. It allows us to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings and positive experiences in our lives. Expressing gratitude not only enhances our overall happiness and satisfaction but also cultivates a sense of contentment and fulfillment within us. It is a reminder to recognize the goodness that surrounds us, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. It reminds us, like the gospel today teaches us, that there greater and higher spiritual realities than our daily physical needs.

Beyond the surface level understanding of Eckhart's quote lies an unexpected spiritual concept – the interconnectedness of gratitude and selflessness. Gratitude, in its purest form, requires us to step outside of ourselves and recognize the contributions and kindness of others. It shifts our focus from our own desires and needs, creating space for appreciation and genuine gratitude for the world around us. At its core, gratitude is a radical act of humility and recognition of interdependence. When we express gratitude, we acknowledge that we are not alone in our journey and that we rely on the support and benevolence of others. It encourages a shift from an individualistic mindset to a more collective perspective, fostering empathy and compassion in our interactions with others.

In contrast, the modern world often promotes an attitude of entitlement and self-centeredness, which can hinder our ability to cultivate gratitude. Society bombards us with messages telling us that we need more to be happy, leading to an insatiable desire for material possessions and success. This mindset creates a void that can never truly be filled, as it focuses on what we lack rather than what we have. Choosing to embrace gratitude as a way of life challenges this narrative. It invites us to pause and appreciate the blessings we may have taken for granted. It invites us to find joy in the small moments, to be present in the here and now, and to develop a sense of awe and wonder for the world around us.