THE INAUGURAL Sister Martha Buser O.S.U. LECTURE SERIES

 

SIMPLY AMAZED - FOREVER GRATEFUL

 

Ten lepers were cleansed, but only one

of them returned to thank Jesus.

Luke 17

The opposite of “feelings of gratitude” are “feelings of entitlement.” It is the difference between “thank you” and “I deserve it!”  Over the years, many parents have resonated with this famous sad line from Shakespeare’s King Lear, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!”

Some government and church programs start out as a way to help people, but sometimes they end up leaving people with a sense of entitlement, a feeling that those services are actually owed to them.  Many recent studies say that narcissism and a sense of entitlement has risen significantly higher in our country in recent years.  Even Time Magazine named the word “ME” as the “person of the year” back in 2006. Entitlement is the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. People with a sense of entitlement see no need to say “thank you” because they have come to believe that they deserve to be taken care of and have things given to them.

When I worked in the seminary, I learned that even a few seminarians, after being “taken care of” throughout their seminary years, sometimes leave the seminary with attitudes of “entitlement,” feelings of deserving special treatment especially since they will be priests during a time of priest shortages. In my transition-out-of-the-seminary class, I spent one whole class teaching them to say "thank you." Sometimes, I wondered whether they had ever heard of the words, “thank you!” I reminded them to thank their seminary teachers, the many people in their dioceses who financially supported them, their vocation directors and even the seminary kitchen workers and janitors before they left. Sadly, many of them had never even thought about doing that before I mentioned it to them. I always began that specific class with a bit of cowboy wisdom, “When you get to where you are going, take care of the horse you rode in on!” One glaring symptom of our culture may be that growing sense of entitlement. When I “googled” the phrase “you deserve it,” I found no less than 322,000,000 sites!    

In the gospel today, Jesus heals ten desperate lepers, nine were Jews and one was a foreigner, but only one of the ten returned to say “thank you” and he was the foreigner!  Why?  Did the Jewish lepers think it was merely Jesus’ job, as a fellow Jew, to heal people? Did they think, “Why should I thank him for doing what he is supposed to do?”  This story reminds me that our sense of entitlement may even include God! Have we grown to believe that it’s God's job to take care of us because somehow we “deserve it?” Why are we so ready to be mad at God when things go wrong and yet never think of God when things go right, much less offer our thanks?  As a priest, I get pulled into situations all the time where people are angry at God for this or that disappointment, but I can't remember ever having many people call me to tell me the wonderful things God has done for them! 

Entitlement is an attitude that “life owes me something,” or “other people owe me something” or “God owes me something.” Our culture is constantly barraging us with messages that feed those feelings of entitlement starting when we are babies.  Back windows of mini-vans used to announce “baby on board.” Kindergartners were taught to sing, “I’m special.” McDonald’s built an entire campaign around the slogan “You deserve a break today.” Another company proclaimed “Pamper yourself with Calgon!” Another ad campaign told us “You owe it to yourself to buy a Mercedes Benz.”  Clairol told us to change our hair color, because “you are worth it.”

We are even conditioned by the Bill of Rights, which focuses on our entitlements. We certainly have a right to the pursuit of happiness, but we actually have no "rights" to happiness itself! (repeat) The Ten Commandments, on the other hand, focus on our responsibilities and obligations. Demanding our rights, while shirking our responsibilities, is always a recipe for losing our so-called “rights.”  

When we feel entitled, gratitude is impossible because we believe that things are owed to us. If you’re like me and really sit down and think about it, we would probably have a whole list of things we feel entitled to, and when we don’t get them, we feel cheated.  

If we start believing that a favorable turn of events in life is owed to us, and then when things don’t turn out favorably, we feel angry, resentful or frustrated. We begin feeling we have been ripped-off and cheated out of what we really deserve. In reality, entitlement is a lie, a perversion of the truth. The truth is life owes us nothing and everything is a gift.  When I was designing my tombstone, which is in place and ready, I took that reality into account. That's why it says at the top, "Simply Amazed - Forever Grateful." 

Gratitude is the only response to the realization that everything in life is a gift. We deserve nothing. Ultimately, everything is a gift.  So, saying thank you is more than just good manners. It’s good spirituality. “Thank you” is the simplest and most powerful prayer a person can say.

Why are we Catholics, who are so blessed in so many ways, not beating down the doors of our churches to give thanks to God every weekend end? We have every reason to be grateful because we have come so far! Being Catholic wasn’t even legal in the early days of this country. Many of our great, great grandparents were uneducated, dirt-poor immigrants from equally poor Catholic countries who endured persecution. We, their ancestors, have so often forgotten to be thankful for how far we have come because of their sacrifices! 

The Church calls us together each weekend to celebrate the Eucharist. The word eucharist means "to give thanks." Why is there not a rush to offer thanks within our parish communities? Could part of it be that we have come to believe that everything we have is something we earned and we are therefore entitled to it?  Could part of the drop in Mass attendance be a part of our sense of entitlement? Maybe if we were to discover once again that everything we have is on loan, maybe we would again be compelled to gather in great numbers with other “Eucharistic” people, people who need to express their gratitude, on a weekly basis. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” (William Arthur Ward)      

Challenged by the nine no-show lepers in the gospel today, let’s all take a good hard look at our lives and everything in them and remember that it’s all a gift! "There are no pockets in shrouds!" We take nothing with us when we reach the end! Let’s resolve today and every day to be that one cured leper who bothered to return and give thanks.

When I was in the seminary from age 14-26, I was always wanting to give my mother something but never had the money. Looking back, what I gave her was what she needed most and that was my attention and appreciation. I liked to make her laugh, be with her and dream with her about “what I was going to do for her someday when I was ordained and had some money.”

Lacking money, I gave her time and attention. During breaks from the seminary, we would stay up late at night just talking. She never complained, but I always wondered if she didn’t often feel that people were more interested in what she could do for them than what they could do for her. I have no regrets now that she is gone. I couldn't give her lavish gifts, but I am proud to say that I expressed my appreciation to her freely and often.  

That's exactly why we are here today - to say "thank you" to God the source of everything we have! As the spiritual teacher Meister Eckhart said, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “thank you,” it will be enough!"

 

 

YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP #41

 

FORCED TO "WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE"

The "avoidance of reality" can get you killed! I learned that lesson a few years years ago - the year I retired. I was scheduled to celebrate the event with a friend of mine by going to France for a stay at a small chateau that someone won at a charity auction and gave to me as a gift. We had bought our plane tickets, our train tickets and had our car rented. Two days before we were to leave, I was getting off my treadmill when I noticed one leg looked a little swollen and was sort of red-looking. I usually do not pay much attention to things like that, but because I would be flying again, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the emergency room to be sure it was OK. 

Well, you probably already know about emergency rooms and how long it takes to "get in" after you "sign in."  To kill time, I walked around the emergency room looking for people I could introduce myself to and maybe offer some comfort. I saw several people who were suffering from visible and invisible pain situations. After a few hours of that, I was getting restless and had almost made up my mind to go home and go on the trip anyway. I finally talked myself out of that option and in another fifteen or twenty minutes they called my name. I was placed on a gurney and they began an ultrasound on my leg. After that was finished, the technician said to me, "Do not move! Do not get off the gurney! The doctor will be in shortly to give you the results and talk to you!" When the doctor came in, he said very seriously, "Mr. Knott, you have a blood clot in your leg! We are going to admit you right away and start you on IV blood thinners! Do not move about! They will take you to your room right away! If that blood clot comes loose, you could have a paralyzing stroke or be dead in a few minutes if it goes to your lungs!" 

I spent three days in the hospital without even getting out of the bed to go to the bathroom with an IV needle in my arm pumping blood thinners into my system. On the third evening, the doctor came in and dismissed me. I had driven myself to the hospital, and my car was still in the parking lot, so I drove myself home -  about a mile to my nearby condo. 

All the way home, I thanked God for saving my life. If I had left the emergency room in an impatient hissy-fit and left for France with that blood clot in my leg, I have no doubt that I would have died on the plane going over. As it turned out, after four or five years on oral blood thinners, I found out that I did not have a "hereditary blood clotting factor in my blood" after all, as they had first thought. My blood clot probably had been triggered "situationally," meaning from all the flying, sometimes twice a week, that I had been doing over the last few years while leading priest retreats in ten countries. 

In such a situation, my advice to all of you is this! Believe your own eyes even if you are only suspicious! Wake up and smell the coffee! Go to the emergency room and stay there till you are checked out, no matter what you have scheduled and no matter how long it takes! If you don't, it could be your last day! 

A PILL OR AN INJECTION FOR EVERY PROBLEM?

Over a year ago, I came to the conclusion that it was about time for me to get serious about losing some weight. I was getting twice-a-year physicals and one of the things my doctor told me every time was that I was "pre-diabetic" meaning I needed to lay off of so many "sweets" and "carbs." It took me a year, but I lost over 35 pounds by watching what I ate and "treading on my treadmill" for two hours almost every day! 

To make sure I could do the treadmill thing, I parked it in front of the TV. Of course, I noticed how many pizza and fast-food commercials there are on TV which added to my biggest temptation of "night eating" which is my biggest temptation. 

The other thing I noticed was how many drug commercials there are on TV - oral and injectable.  I was amazed - no shocked - at how many there were in just one hour. At one point, I started writing them down and making a list. The message one gets is that there is a pill for every ache, pain and aggravation. Most of my list are prescription drugs and only a couple or so are over-the-counter. No wonder we have a serious drug problem in the United States - licit and illicit! 

Here is part of my growing list of drug commercials that I wrote down in a few hours period - some were actually repeated more than once or twice. 

ULTOMIRIS

IZERVAY

KESIMPTA

BIMZELEX

LIPOFLAVINOID

AUVELITY

INGRESSA

REXULTI

RESDIFFRA

BIOFREEZE

OTEZLA

TEPEZZA

AUSTEDO XR

EBGLYSS

ATTRUBY

CABENUVA

NEFFY

NEMLUVIS

LUMIFY

DUPIXENT

ALLEGRA

JOINTIVA

RINVOQ

BIKTARVY

AUVELITY

GARLIQUE

MEIBO

RELAXIUM

BOTOX

BIKTARVY

MIROLAX

CAPTYTA

BREZTRI

OSA

VIVGART

HYTRULO

VABYSMO

VEOZA

NATROL

SKYRIZI

ROBUTESIN

SYFOURE

FLONASE

RINVOQ

RFREY

JARDIANCE

VRAYLAR

ULTROMIRIS

PRESOVISION

OPDIVO QVANTIG

CALQUINCE

BRIUMVI

CEREFOLIN

SUBLOCADE

OZEMPIC

MOUNJARO

CAMZYOS

KEYTRUDA

RUGIET

LYBALVI

COBENFY

EBGLYSS

BRUKINSA

RELAXIUM

BOTOX

Don't get me started on the side-effects! Here is one that is really scary. You may not even want to think about it! This one was captured right off the TV screen!!!!!!!!! Oh, no!!!!!!!!! Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!

THOSE WHO WATER OTHERS, WILL BE WATERED TOO Proverbs 11:25

 

Sometimes, looking back over my life, I have been so filled with amazement and gratitude that has come to me from trying to help others that I have this burning desire to inspire others to join me in doing the same. 

I write a lot about God's amazing grace in our lives. The projects my friends and I keep getting involved in are not about showing off or bragging about what we have done, but they come from a burning desire to "give back" in gratitude for all that we have been "given!"  I have always been touched by the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Luke 12:48. "To whom much is given, much is expected." There is so much truth in the belief that the more "good" one tries to do for others, the more "good" will come back to them! As the Book of Proverbs 11:25 puts it, "Those who water others, will themselves be watered!" 

This month, we hope to finish our latest project - one in which a handful of my friends have joined me - building a new house for a struggling single mother of two in Tanzania, east Africa. We know that we cannot save the whole world from grinding  poverty, but that has not stopped us from seizing the opportunity to help one family. I am convinced, from taking on former such projects, that trying to bless this one family - Jesca (single mother), Jackline (young daughter) and Filbert (young son) - will continue to bring us unexpected blessings. 

Left to Right

Jesca, Jackline, Bishop Mhasi and Filbert - visiting young Filbert at the Seminary

As you can see, at the house, progress has been made and completion is on schedule. 

FRONT VIEW

as of September 30, 2025

FRONT VIEW 

as of October 2, 2025

FRONT VIEW

as of October 5, 2025

RIGHT SIDE, WITH FRONT AND BACK PORCHES

as of October 5, 2025

As of October 11, 2025

Bishop Filbert Mhasi, who has overseen this project and protected our money from loss and abuse, will hopefully bless this new house at the end of this  month and hand Jesca and her children the keys. Stay tuned for more progress reports and pictures as the month unwinds! 

DO YOU REALLY TRUST GOD AS YOUR GUIDE? FAITH vs BELIEFS

 

The apostles said to the Lord, “increase our faith.” If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!

Luke 17:5-10

Are you a person of faith? No, I am not asking if have a lot of beliefs! What I am asking is this: do you have faith? In other words, do you actively trust God to guide you in life as you make decisions?  Surely you know that it is possible for religious people to have a list of beliefs a mile long, but without much faith whatsoever!

Let me give you an old example from my own life – one that I have no doubt shared with you several times over the years! By the time I was ordained in 1970, I had been in the seminary for 12 years. I would say that my head was crammed with the beliefs that I had learned about in seminary classes!   I believed that those doctrines of the church were true, but the real question was whether I had any real faith? In other words, did I trust God enough with my life to follow his lead or did I think I knew better than God what was truly good for me? Well, as God usually does in my life, he gave me a chance to answer those questions during the first two weeks of my priesthood.

Even though I had grown up in the country, I went to high school seminary up here in Louisville. By the time I was ordained, I had been in the city long enough to be thoroughly “urbanized.” Normally, the newly ordained at that time were assigned to the big parishes here in Louisville as associate pastors, so I just assumed that I would be serving one of our big Louisville parishes as an associate pastor.  Back then, we got a couple of weeks of vacation after ordination and before our official assignments started.  I went to Florida for a week, came back and was hanging around the rectory at St. John Vianney Church on Southside Drive, waiting for “the call” from the Priests’ Personnel Board.  It came one morning about 10:00 am. I freaked out when they told me that I had been assigned, not to a Louisville parish as I had expected, but to a mission parish the size of the state of Delaware, down in southern Kentucky, along the Tennessee border.  I pleaded.  I yelled.  I begged.  I whined.  It made no difference. Their minds were made up. Mad as hell, I packed my bags, bought a road map and headed south, to a cluster of little churches I had never seen before, in an area of the state I knew absolutely nothing about. With my theology degree in the trunk, with my head full of beliefs, I begrudgingly headed south.  God and I had it out in the car on the way down there, but in the end I had to admit that I had a lot of beliefs, but I did not have much faith.  I dawned on me, right there in the car, half-way down there that I was not trusting God with this decision, but my own preconceived plans.  In a moment of grace, I changed my mind. Since I did not get what I wanted, I decided that I needed to want what I got! I decided to ask for the ability to trust God with this unwelcomed assignment. What God did was to help me open my hand to receive the incredible experiences that awaited me in the next ten years. I learned then that a little faith can move mountains and the biggest mountains in the world are often the ones in our heads and hearts.

There is another example of “faithing” from my own life that I can share with you. It happened during the years when I was pastor at the Cathedral of the Assumption between 1983 – 1997. For years, I woke up with a prayer tape which I taped in my own voice. I have used this prayer techniques for years, in various areas of my life, and I can tell you that it has worked with some incredible results! One of the things I said on the tape was: “I am a published spiritual writer.” Even though I had never published anything, I prayed every morning, for over a year, as if it were already true, leaving the details of how it would be accomplished, to God. One day, a man showed up at the cathedral telling me at the end of Mass that I should publish my homilies. He was a former theology professor from Bellarmine. I told him that I had been praying for an opportunity to publish something, but I didn’t have an editor and I didn’t have any connections to a publishing company. Guess what he said to me? He said, “I’m an editor for Crossroads Press in New York! Send me a manuscript and I’ll see what I can do!” The short of it is this:  I soon published my first book and since then, I have published well over forty more, counting Spanish, Vietnamese and Swahili translations, and collections of fifteen years of columns from The Record!  Yes indeed, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains!”

My friends, I gave you two examples from my own life, but you need to know that every serious follower of Jesus is tested sooner or later. The test question is this: “Do you have faith in God or merely beliefs about God?”  Sooner or later, every follower is asked whether he or she is willing to trust God with the direction of his or her life. Trusting God is certainly not about being passive.  It is about opening our minds to receive the help God wants to extend to us and opening our hands to receive the gifts that God wants to give us, knowing that God only wants the best for us.  If this opportunity to consciously trust God has not happened to you yet, you may soon find yourself in a predicament where you will have to decide to trust God on something. It may be an unfavorable and serious health diagnosis, the end of a long treasured relationship, the death of a beloved parent or sibling, unexpected unemployment or some other unwelcomed and painful change.  Depending how you react to it, you will know whether you have faith in God or merely beliefs about God. In such a situation, you may feel that you do not have much faith.  The good news today is this: you don’t need much faith! A little will go a long way! Even if your faith is as small as a mustard seed, it can help you move mountains in your heart and mind.

I have learned one very important lesson from the times that I have trusted God.  I have discovered, again and again, that when I have trusted, things turned out much better than I could have ever imagined. In fact, I often shiver when I realized that what I initially wanted was nothing compared to what I ended up receiving.  When I resigned as pastor of the Cathedral in 1997 after fourteen intense years, I was pretty uneasy about what would happen to me next. It was a wonderful fourteen years, but I thought the best was behind me.  I was mopping around my house feeling that nothing would ever compare to my experience as pastor of our Cathedral.  I was upstairs mumbling to myself when I heard a distinct voice say, “Don’t worry!” I thought it was someone downstairs, but there was no one there! I thought it might be the TV or the radio, but they weren’t on! I looked outside! Nobody was there! I knew I had clearly heard a voice, but I could not find out where it was coming from, so I just decided to just follow what it said, “Do not worry!” Well, over the next 30 years, that amazing assignment was followed by at least five more so far – some of them taking me on speaking trips around the world and having several amazing pastoral experiences that I could never have imagined when I left what I thought was my “golden age’ at the Cathedral. It has caused me to say over and over again, “Who said God only gives you one golden age?”   

I often try to imagine how much different my life might be today if I had refused to trust God with that first assignment or if I had fought it in my mind for all those years that I was down there. One thing I have learned for sure: God knows what he was doing, much better than I do! It was true then and it is true now!  If we can trust him, with even a little dab of faith, incredible and unexpected blessings await us! I hope I can remember all this when it is time to leave this world and transition to the next!