Last fall, a book came out in German and Italian that caused a great flurry of controversy: Light of the World, an extended interview by German journalist Peter Seewald of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. Everyone focused on one line, taken way out of context, about condoms. If that was not malicious, it was silly, but either way, typical. The whole book only later came out in English, and I just finished reading it.
I recommend it highly to all of you, for its accurate presentation of our Holy Father’s thoughts and personality, his gentle manner, brilliant intellect, deep faith, and sense of humor. You may see bits of it in this column in the future, for as I read, I often thought – I have got to get this to the people of St. B! But why wait for that? It’s almost time to start thinking about Lent, so maybe this book could be part of your reading plan – the part that helps you to know, understand, and love the Church.
Some of the exchanges are quite mundane, for example:
(Peter Seewald) Do you actually use the exercise bicycle that your former physician, Dr. Buzzonetti, set up for you?
Pope Benedict XVI: No, I don’t get to it at all – and don’t need it at the moment, thank God.
But a better sample would be this, about what it is like when the Pope talks to his boss:
(Seewald) Has your faith changed since you became responsible for Christ’s flock as the supreme shepherd? Sometimes people get the impression that now it has become more mysterious somehow, more mystical.
(Holy Father) I am no mystic. But it is correct to say that as Pope one has even more cause to pray and to entrust oneself entirely to God. For I see very well that almost everything I have to do is something I myself cannot do at all. That fact already forces me, so to speak, to place myself in the Lord’s hands and to say to him: “You do it, if you want it!” In this sense prayer and contact with God are now even more necessary and also even more natural and self-evident than before.
To put it in worldly terms: Is there now a “better connection” to heaven, or something like a grace of office?
Yes, one often feels that. In the sense of: Now I have been able to do something that did not come from me at all. Now I entrust myself to the Lord and notice, yes, there is help there, something is being done that is not my own doing. In that sense there is absolutely an experience of the grace of office.
And how does Pope Benedict pray?
As far as the Pope is concerned, he too is a simple beggar before God – even more than most other people. Naturally I always pray first and foremost to our Lord, with whom I am united simply by old acquaintance, so to speak. I am friends with Augustine, with Bonaventure, with Thomas Aquinas. Then one says to such saints also: Help me! And the Mother of God is, in any case, always a major point of reference. In this sense I commend myself to the communion of saints. With them, strengthened by them, I then walk with dear Lord also, begging, for the most part, but also in thanksgiving – or quite simply being joyful.
Monsignor Smith
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
News you can believe in
I imagine it is much the same for many of you. When you read a news story that purports to cover something in which you are professionally or personally involved, you laugh at how far from the mark the story is. Whether you drive a snowplow, or work in a classified branch of one of our national security agencies, you can only chuckle at just how wrong it can be presented.
Most of the time, there is no reason to impute any ill intent on the part of the reporter or the media organization. It’s just hard to convey accurately something that involves a lot of time and experience -- which describes almost every aspect of human life. It is especially hard when that understanding and experience are limited to a small portion of the population.
If we have no experience of being a snowplow driver or a CIA analyst, we can take these stories at face value. We have no other insight or information against which to compare them, and are limited by our sources of information.
However, living in Washington, we have reason to be more skeptical. Here in our fair metropolitan area, people whom we know well are deeply involved in activities that many people like to speculate about, and are not very widely shared experiences. In addition to national security, there is national government, lobbying, the military, and federal law enforcement. This is the stuff that people not only talk and write about, but also make movies about – even if they don’t have any direct personal experience.
Because we have friends or neighbors who are involved everyday in just these things, we know how often those public portrayals are laughably – or maddeningly – wrong. Most often what we know is the mundane reality of what someone else is trying to make sound exciting – or sinister. We chuckle that insider’s chuckle, and are pleased what we know that other folks don’t.
So I hope that all of us here know better than to believe what these same media assert about the Church – what we believe, how we function, and yes, whether a particular situation is truly exciting – or sinister.
Do we bother to make sure that our knowledge of what the Church teaches and believes is on a level with what we know about our own profession, much less our favorite sport or team? Yes, we go to Mass, but if we haven’t learned or studied the content of our Faith since we finished parochial school, then we are hardly at the level of “fan”, much less “faithful.”
And when situations get controversial – situations with a real moral aspect, like many of the political and cultural questions we confront in our state and our country these days – do we truly take advantage of the great wealth of truth and wisdom that the Church possesses?
This is why it is worth it to put ourselves on the Archdiocesan email list, so we hear the truth from the one who has been charged by God with conveying to us that truth, our Archbishop. And if we are curious about a teaching of the Church about some moral question, rather than try to remember what our sophomore religion teacher said, we should read an official document published by the Church herself – like the Catechism, or one of the Pope’s or the Cardinal’s letters.
We all know how wrong these other stories can be that we read every day. Why let someone tell us something false about our holy Church?
Monsignor Smith
Most of the time, there is no reason to impute any ill intent on the part of the reporter or the media organization. It’s just hard to convey accurately something that involves a lot of time and experience -- which describes almost every aspect of human life. It is especially hard when that understanding and experience are limited to a small portion of the population.
If we have no experience of being a snowplow driver or a CIA analyst, we can take these stories at face value. We have no other insight or information against which to compare them, and are limited by our sources of information.
However, living in Washington, we have reason to be more skeptical. Here in our fair metropolitan area, people whom we know well are deeply involved in activities that many people like to speculate about, and are not very widely shared experiences. In addition to national security, there is national government, lobbying, the military, and federal law enforcement. This is the stuff that people not only talk and write about, but also make movies about – even if they don’t have any direct personal experience.
Because we have friends or neighbors who are involved everyday in just these things, we know how often those public portrayals are laughably – or maddeningly – wrong. Most often what we know is the mundane reality of what someone else is trying to make sound exciting – or sinister. We chuckle that insider’s chuckle, and are pleased what we know that other folks don’t.
So I hope that all of us here know better than to believe what these same media assert about the Church – what we believe, how we function, and yes, whether a particular situation is truly exciting – or sinister.
Do we bother to make sure that our knowledge of what the Church teaches and believes is on a level with what we know about our own profession, much less our favorite sport or team? Yes, we go to Mass, but if we haven’t learned or studied the content of our Faith since we finished parochial school, then we are hardly at the level of “fan”, much less “faithful.”
And when situations get controversial – situations with a real moral aspect, like many of the political and cultural questions we confront in our state and our country these days – do we truly take advantage of the great wealth of truth and wisdom that the Church possesses?
This is why it is worth it to put ourselves on the Archdiocesan email list, so we hear the truth from the one who has been charged by God with conveying to us that truth, our Archbishop. And if we are curious about a teaching of the Church about some moral question, rather than try to remember what our sophomore religion teacher said, we should read an official document published by the Church herself – like the Catechism, or one of the Pope’s or the Cardinal’s letters.
We all know how wrong these other stories can be that we read every day. Why let someone tell us something false about our holy Church?
Monsignor Smith
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Stirring
Is anyone else getting a little stir crazy? I don’t know about you, but lately it seems like that movie Groundhog Day, where the same day keeps playing out over and over again – at least as far as the weather goes. I look out my window to see if any of the snow has receded, and what do I find? Snow again!
My inner Alabaman has a low tolerance for winter. I have long recognized that when it comes to this season, a necessary evil at best, I can handle intensity: it is duration that bothers me. And we have had our intensity this winter for sure, and endured it since mid-November!
The thing about winter is how little changes. Nothing grows. Nothing blooms. Nothing turns a pretty color. And most days lately, nothing even melts.
This year, not even the liturgical season changes. I don’t remember the last time we celebrated the sixth or seventh weeks in Ordinary Time – but here we are, as if it were normal. Usually those weeks get covered over by Lent, and then we emerge after Pentecost to the eighth, ninth, or tenth week. This year we’ll celebrate the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time before we get to Ash Wednesday.
So we march toward Lent, looking for something to break the monotony. I’m not sure the annual Appeal is going to brighten things up as much as we need, even if this year, it is the Cardinal’s Appeal, not just the Archbishop’s. That at least is a little new color.
There has been one change here at Saint Bernadette Central. This week, Margie Deen resigned as our parish secretary and rectory receptionist. After seven years on the job, often as the first face encountered at the rectory, or the first voice on the telephone, Margie has welcomed a lot of folks and tried to help them get what they needed.
Before her, there was Olive Gervase, who not only tended the front desk but played the organ as well. She was here for a long time. She and Margie are only the most recent in an unbroken line of generous, helpful folk stretching back to Ada, Msgr. Stricker’s housekeeper, all of whom put up with priests and helped a lot of people here at Saint Bernadette. Keep her in your prayers.
Speaking of parish history, this weekend (Sunday 13 February) is Fr. Bill Thompson’s fortieth anniversary of Priestly Ordination. He was Pastor here from 1997 – 2006, and now is retired and living at the O’Boyle residence by Providence Hospital. I know he would be thrilled to receive your well-wishes, and your prayers. Drop him a card: P O Box 29206, Washington DC 20017.
The only faces that don’t change around here are Jesus, His Blessed Mother, and the saints – especially that stone Saint Bernadette who looks delightedly up at Our Lady revealed in the grotto in the front of the church. I was relieved to see her face again after it was covered over for so long after that wet, heavy, sticky snow we had a few weeks ago, which reduced her to a misshapen blob. Now that I think about it, by this point in February, and this winter, I feel like I am a misshapen blob. Lent may be late this year, but that doesn’t mean spring needs to be. Saint Bernadette of Lourdes – pray for us!
Monsignor Smith
My inner Alabaman has a low tolerance for winter. I have long recognized that when it comes to this season, a necessary evil at best, I can handle intensity: it is duration that bothers me. And we have had our intensity this winter for sure, and endured it since mid-November!
The thing about winter is how little changes. Nothing grows. Nothing blooms. Nothing turns a pretty color. And most days lately, nothing even melts.
This year, not even the liturgical season changes. I don’t remember the last time we celebrated the sixth or seventh weeks in Ordinary Time – but here we are, as if it were normal. Usually those weeks get covered over by Lent, and then we emerge after Pentecost to the eighth, ninth, or tenth week. This year we’ll celebrate the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time before we get to Ash Wednesday.
So we march toward Lent, looking for something to break the monotony. I’m not sure the annual Appeal is going to brighten things up as much as we need, even if this year, it is the Cardinal’s Appeal, not just the Archbishop’s. That at least is a little new color.
There has been one change here at Saint Bernadette Central. This week, Margie Deen resigned as our parish secretary and rectory receptionist. After seven years on the job, often as the first face encountered at the rectory, or the first voice on the telephone, Margie has welcomed a lot of folks and tried to help them get what they needed.
Before her, there was Olive Gervase, who not only tended the front desk but played the organ as well. She was here for a long time. She and Margie are only the most recent in an unbroken line of generous, helpful folk stretching back to Ada, Msgr. Stricker’s housekeeper, all of whom put up with priests and helped a lot of people here at Saint Bernadette. Keep her in your prayers.
Speaking of parish history, this weekend (Sunday 13 February) is Fr. Bill Thompson’s fortieth anniversary of Priestly Ordination. He was Pastor here from 1997 – 2006, and now is retired and living at the O’Boyle residence by Providence Hospital. I know he would be thrilled to receive your well-wishes, and your prayers. Drop him a card: P O Box 29206, Washington DC 20017.
The only faces that don’t change around here are Jesus, His Blessed Mother, and the saints – especially that stone Saint Bernadette who looks delightedly up at Our Lady revealed in the grotto in the front of the church. I was relieved to see her face again after it was covered over for so long after that wet, heavy, sticky snow we had a few weeks ago, which reduced her to a misshapen blob. Now that I think about it, by this point in February, and this winter, I feel like I am a misshapen blob. Lent may be late this year, but that doesn’t mean spring needs to be. Saint Bernadette of Lourdes – pray for us!
Monsignor Smith
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Rearview
I didn’t gloat; I didn’t chalk it up to divine favor; I didn’t rub anyone’s nose in it. When our power stayed on last week in the winter storm, I simply thanked God for this unmerited blessing, and internally and prayerfully shared the frustration of my parishioners who went without for two, three, or even four days. Really I did.
So when my power went out this Wednesday afternoon, I didn’t scream, or rant, or rage. But I did tense up just a little, because it happened exactly ninety minutes before Cardinal Wuerl arrived here, along with 25 other priests, for a meeting of the priests of our deanery, followed by dinner.
It was a very difficult forty-five minutes before the power returned. The meeting and dinner proceeded well, even if the power did go out TWICE more. Each time it was out long enough for it to get uncomfortable, for me at least. His Eminence enjoyed the visit, and seemed to enjoy the joke. He looks forward to returning in six short weeks, to celebrate Confirmation for our kids on March 15th.
Okay, so maybe I tensed up more than just a little bit. The rectory staff and I had been working for days to make this just right. I tried to remind myself that it was something completely out of my control, and that the Cardinal would understand this, and the other priests would understand this, and that there was no great requirement for me to do anything about it except to roll gracefully with the vicissitudes of Pepco and grim fate.
And because I knew it was one of those moments, I realized, I’ll laugh about this later. However it turns, out, in the future, I will have survived it, and I will be able to see how amusing it really is.
I think the key is there, somehow. Really, whatever has our stomachs in a knot right now, whatever makes us want to spit fire and bite off someone’s head, it will all be more intelligible in hindsight. Not only intelligible, but also enjoyable.
Long ago I recognized that when one comes back from an exciting trip, and people ask how it went, they are not really looking for the info on that perfect meal you had, how the flight connections unfolded without a hitch, how you arrived on the balcony just as the perfect sunset erupted in full glory. No, they want to hear what went WRONG. That’s where the fun is: the missed trains, three days without clean clothes or a toothbrush, the torrential downpours on your new silk dress. And just missing your moment to a talk to the Pope/the President/the Princess, because you were busy scraping gum off your shoe.
Our vacations are not the only thing that can be appreciated best – or at all – in hindsight. And humor is not the only thing that can be gained by the passage of time and perspective.
God’s work in our lives can often only be observed in retrospect. Grace, blessing, gift, and help are all invisible to us in the moment; but later, upon reflection, if we stop to ponder…. hey! Now we see it!
It’s not a cure-all, but pause, and look back, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the benevolent hand of God in your life, even in those times when it seemed everything was going wrong. You may or may not laugh, but you will see how grace was at work at times when you were preoccupied by how it was not unfolding according to your plan.
Why bother with this exercise? Because it will help us bear with what seems to be all bad next time your life does not meet your expectation. Because even miracles are sometimes only obvious when we look back in wonder.
Monsignor Smith
So when my power went out this Wednesday afternoon, I didn’t scream, or rant, or rage. But I did tense up just a little, because it happened exactly ninety minutes before Cardinal Wuerl arrived here, along with 25 other priests, for a meeting of the priests of our deanery, followed by dinner.
It was a very difficult forty-five minutes before the power returned. The meeting and dinner proceeded well, even if the power did go out TWICE more. Each time it was out long enough for it to get uncomfortable, for me at least. His Eminence enjoyed the visit, and seemed to enjoy the joke. He looks forward to returning in six short weeks, to celebrate Confirmation for our kids on March 15th.
Okay, so maybe I tensed up more than just a little bit. The rectory staff and I had been working for days to make this just right. I tried to remind myself that it was something completely out of my control, and that the Cardinal would understand this, and the other priests would understand this, and that there was no great requirement for me to do anything about it except to roll gracefully with the vicissitudes of Pepco and grim fate.
And because I knew it was one of those moments, I realized, I’ll laugh about this later. However it turns, out, in the future, I will have survived it, and I will be able to see how amusing it really is.
I think the key is there, somehow. Really, whatever has our stomachs in a knot right now, whatever makes us want to spit fire and bite off someone’s head, it will all be more intelligible in hindsight. Not only intelligible, but also enjoyable.
Long ago I recognized that when one comes back from an exciting trip, and people ask how it went, they are not really looking for the info on that perfect meal you had, how the flight connections unfolded without a hitch, how you arrived on the balcony just as the perfect sunset erupted in full glory. No, they want to hear what went WRONG. That’s where the fun is: the missed trains, three days without clean clothes or a toothbrush, the torrential downpours on your new silk dress. And just missing your moment to a talk to the Pope/the President/the Princess, because you were busy scraping gum off your shoe.
Our vacations are not the only thing that can be appreciated best – or at all – in hindsight. And humor is not the only thing that can be gained by the passage of time and perspective.
God’s work in our lives can often only be observed in retrospect. Grace, blessing, gift, and help are all invisible to us in the moment; but later, upon reflection, if we stop to ponder…. hey! Now we see it!
It’s not a cure-all, but pause, and look back, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the benevolent hand of God in your life, even in those times when it seemed everything was going wrong. You may or may not laugh, but you will see how grace was at work at times when you were preoccupied by how it was not unfolding according to your plan.
Why bother with this exercise? Because it will help us bear with what seems to be all bad next time your life does not meet your expectation. Because even miracles are sometimes only obvious when we look back in wonder.
Monsignor Smith
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Confidence
Well, here we go again. Another snow—big and wet and deep. Yuck. This is one of those times I am glad I live at the store; because many people – including our parish staff – took up to five hours to get home from work in the mess! It does seem to me that we are having wilder weather, in general, in recent years.
Last night, after spending some time shoveling my walks, I made my way around the neighborhood in the last hour of the snowfall. A lot of houses were dark – darker than usual even at that time of night. I knew the families in many of them, and could picture their response to this all-too-familiar scenario. In Alabama we blamed our frequent power outages on the unhappy combination of pine trees, above ground power lines, and two eight-week tornado seasons each year. Here, I am not so sure, but know that many folks, including many in this parish, are sure ready to blame somebody!
It is not something we enjoy, this having no control over things. We do what we can, and try not to rage against the storm, knowing how little that accomplishes. Of course lately, it seems that more and more things are like the weather – and Pepco – are just outside of our ability to make them better.
I spoke at a meeting in the school Tuesday evening, at which about a third of the school families were represented by one or both parents. As I mentioned here last week, it is an annual meeting at which we present the school budget and next year’s tuition costs. Fundamentally, there was a lot of good news. The school budget is sound, school improvements and enhancements are continuing, and tuition increases are LESS than we forecast to expect in any given year.
But there was very little smiling going on. Things are tight, and faces showed it. Any tuition increase is unwelcome, since many folks are receiving smaller increases in income – or none at all.
I was not the only one speaking to a tense crowd that evening; the president gave his State of the Union address. Because of my talk, I missed his, and have to go by what I read in the papers the next morning. I felt for him – his audience was a lot larger, at least as skeptical as mine, and divided.
Ours is not only more compact, but also more unified. I can lead confidently in directions that he can’t. I can move relentlessly to make our budget and planning fiscally sound – since everyone knows I can’t print more money. I can count on people’s willingness to make sacrifices, even painful ones. They are already doing that to keep their kids in Catholic school; they are willing to continue to do it because they can see the fruit that it bears in the short and long terms, in the well being of their children and our community. I can direct resources toward investments in our future, by putting it into our people, program, and infrastructure.
It is hard when you realize you are not in control of all the factors that affect your life. Ask any mom, dad, president, or pastor. What helps, though, more than mustering confidence in your own ability to overcome, is knowing that the one you depend on for guidance, strength, and protection, has already won the victory. Praised be Jesus Christ – now and forever.
Monsignor Smith
Last night, after spending some time shoveling my walks, I made my way around the neighborhood in the last hour of the snowfall. A lot of houses were dark – darker than usual even at that time of night. I knew the families in many of them, and could picture their response to this all-too-familiar scenario. In Alabama we blamed our frequent power outages on the unhappy combination of pine trees, above ground power lines, and two eight-week tornado seasons each year. Here, I am not so sure, but know that many folks, including many in this parish, are sure ready to blame somebody!
It is not something we enjoy, this having no control over things. We do what we can, and try not to rage against the storm, knowing how little that accomplishes. Of course lately, it seems that more and more things are like the weather – and Pepco – are just outside of our ability to make them better.
I spoke at a meeting in the school Tuesday evening, at which about a third of the school families were represented by one or both parents. As I mentioned here last week, it is an annual meeting at which we present the school budget and next year’s tuition costs. Fundamentally, there was a lot of good news. The school budget is sound, school improvements and enhancements are continuing, and tuition increases are LESS than we forecast to expect in any given year.
But there was very little smiling going on. Things are tight, and faces showed it. Any tuition increase is unwelcome, since many folks are receiving smaller increases in income – or none at all.
I was not the only one speaking to a tense crowd that evening; the president gave his State of the Union address. Because of my talk, I missed his, and have to go by what I read in the papers the next morning. I felt for him – his audience was a lot larger, at least as skeptical as mine, and divided.
Ours is not only more compact, but also more unified. I can lead confidently in directions that he can’t. I can move relentlessly to make our budget and planning fiscally sound – since everyone knows I can’t print more money. I can count on people’s willingness to make sacrifices, even painful ones. They are already doing that to keep their kids in Catholic school; they are willing to continue to do it because they can see the fruit that it bears in the short and long terms, in the well being of their children and our community. I can direct resources toward investments in our future, by putting it into our people, program, and infrastructure.
It is hard when you realize you are not in control of all the factors that affect your life. Ask any mom, dad, president, or pastor. What helps, though, more than mustering confidence in your own ability to overcome, is knowing that the one you depend on for guidance, strength, and protection, has already won the victory. Praised be Jesus Christ – now and forever.
Monsignor Smith
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Doldrums
I had to borrow a book from my brother-in-law’s shelf to have something to read on my flights home after visiting them last week. I found one – Nathaniel’s Nutmeg – about the spice trade in the fifteen and sixteen hundreds, as European powers, through their explorers and merchants, sought contact and commerce with the spice islands of the East Indies.
In order to reach the islands from Europe, at least by way of the Cape of Good Hope in south Africa, one first had to sail south along the coast, then drift westward across the Atlantic Ocean toward Brazil, where one could catch the trade winds that blew east again toward the passage. This portion of the voyage, drifting across the mid-Atlantic from West Africa almost to South America, was known as the doldrums.
The book shed new light on the original meaning of this terrific word I have long known and used, particularly to describe the period after the Christmas season ends, and before Lent begins. We are all recovering from the exuberance and excess of the holy days, and likely the expense as well. Our goals and expectations are more modest; our entertainments fewer and more restrained. The weather itself contributes to our subdued state. It can feel like we are drifting.
But don’t let those gray skies fool you into thinking it is time to hibernate! An amazing amount of work is going on around here right now. Much of it involves our school, as now is the time to get ready for next year, believe it or not. The Finance Council, Mrs. Wood, and I are putting the finishing touches on our budget and tuition schedule for next year. Everything should be ready to announce to our current families by Tuesday evening, so they can begin looking forward to the new year.
Then we “go public” the week after that. Next Sunday, January 30 will be our school Open House, when we invite everyone who is interested to see what a terrific place and program our school is. That kicks off Catholic Schools Week, with a series of events for the students, faculty, families, and prospective families. If you have children that might benefit from a faith-driven, Christ-centered, forward-looking education surrounded and staffed by a community who cares, please, come take a look. And I can’t say this too often – invite and encourage your neighbors and friends, too!
Teaching our children is only one of the ways we go about the business of being Catholic even in the less festive times of the year. We have to remind ourselves first, and then those friends and neighbors, that everything we teach, do, and celebrate is rooted in the dignity of every human person. So while governments and groups are hunkering down to work on programs and policies, we focus our attention and, we hope, theirs, on the goal of every proper policy or program: human life, its sustenance and protection.
So come to Sunday night’s Vigil in the Church to meditate on this mystery and find strength from Him who is the source of life. We and the Friars did this here for the first time last year, and everyone who came raved about it. The rally and concert afterwards are invigorating. Think about showing up at the March for Life Monday afternoon, too. It is a remarkably positive and encouraging way simply to show that we care about life, especially of the most vulnerable ones.
This year, the period after Christmas and before Lent is as long as it ever gets – two full months – because Easter is so late. It can feel like we are drifting, but like the sailors on those amazingly fragile sailing vessels, we have work to do, and we are doing it.
Monsignor Smith
In order to reach the islands from Europe, at least by way of the Cape of Good Hope in south Africa, one first had to sail south along the coast, then drift westward across the Atlantic Ocean toward Brazil, where one could catch the trade winds that blew east again toward the passage. This portion of the voyage, drifting across the mid-Atlantic from West Africa almost to South America, was known as the doldrums.
The book shed new light on the original meaning of this terrific word I have long known and used, particularly to describe the period after the Christmas season ends, and before Lent begins. We are all recovering from the exuberance and excess of the holy days, and likely the expense as well. Our goals and expectations are more modest; our entertainments fewer and more restrained. The weather itself contributes to our subdued state. It can feel like we are drifting.
But don’t let those gray skies fool you into thinking it is time to hibernate! An amazing amount of work is going on around here right now. Much of it involves our school, as now is the time to get ready for next year, believe it or not. The Finance Council, Mrs. Wood, and I are putting the finishing touches on our budget and tuition schedule for next year. Everything should be ready to announce to our current families by Tuesday evening, so they can begin looking forward to the new year.
Then we “go public” the week after that. Next Sunday, January 30 will be our school Open House, when we invite everyone who is interested to see what a terrific place and program our school is. That kicks off Catholic Schools Week, with a series of events for the students, faculty, families, and prospective families. If you have children that might benefit from a faith-driven, Christ-centered, forward-looking education surrounded and staffed by a community who cares, please, come take a look. And I can’t say this too often – invite and encourage your neighbors and friends, too!
Teaching our children is only one of the ways we go about the business of being Catholic even in the less festive times of the year. We have to remind ourselves first, and then those friends and neighbors, that everything we teach, do, and celebrate is rooted in the dignity of every human person. So while governments and groups are hunkering down to work on programs and policies, we focus our attention and, we hope, theirs, on the goal of every proper policy or program: human life, its sustenance and protection.
So come to Sunday night’s Vigil in the Church to meditate on this mystery and find strength from Him who is the source of life. We and the Friars did this here for the first time last year, and everyone who came raved about it. The rally and concert afterwards are invigorating. Think about showing up at the March for Life Monday afternoon, too. It is a remarkably positive and encouraging way simply to show that we care about life, especially of the most vulnerable ones.
This year, the period after Christmas and before Lent is as long as it ever gets – two full months – because Easter is so late. It can feel like we are drifting, but like the sailors on those amazingly fragile sailing vessels, we have work to do, and we are doing it.
Monsignor Smith
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Out of control
It was, I have to admit, fun. Every day brought a new plate of goodies, or tin of treats. Cookies galore, even fudge. Bottles of wine, and a cake – maybe two. And, oh, glory – a ham! All these things materialized here at the brick-enclosed nerve center of the parish, often already in the kitchen when I found them.
What’s a guy to do? I ATE them – all of them! Sure, Fr. D helped, but Fr. Nick – usually a very stand-up guy when it comes to devouring things – was away, and no help at all. Likewise the staff did very little for me; most of them were taking time off anyway.
On top of that was all the extravagant eating that happened at the groaning tables of celebration at people’s houses, at restaurants with friends, and in our own recently-refurbished dining room.
All through it, I was convinced that it was okay: It is Christmas, after all. This too shall pass, the goodies will be gone, and I will behave after the turn of the year. I will be abstemious, lay off the treats, and eat like a responsible, healthy (middle-aged) grown-up. That way, this won’t be a problem.
So, here we are, well into January, and the piper is demanding to be paid. I am already doing the mental gymnastics of creating exceptions, exemptions, and alternatives to grim austerity. I am sure there won’t be a problem.
Now I am not projecting any of this thought or behavior on you, though I think some may be able to identify with me. It did get me thinking: How dependent I am on illusions! I know they are illusions, if I stop to study them. I know enough to know the reality, but persist in my conviction that in this case, for me, at this time, that reality can be evaded.
How many illusions do you and I put to work in this way in any given week, or any given lifetime? How often do we convince ourselves that we can get away with something, that the bad thing won’t happen to us, that we are fine, that we are safe, that everything, somehow, will just work out right? That we are in control of things?
Just to name a few randomly chosen ones, a lot of people get nervous about air travel, but really, going by car to the grocery is much more dangerous. Everybody feels safe in their homes, but then who is it that gets burgled, or has a fire? We are all convinced that we’ll stay healthy, so how do all those folks wind up in the hospital?
You see where I am going with this, and yes, I did just experience a shocking death of a young, bright, healthy friend of mine, through no fault of his own or any other entity on the planet.
In some ways we need these illusions to be able to go about our days without being petrified that something awful will happen to us. Sometimes, we base our attitudes on perfectly good statistics that show “it” probably won’t happen to us, or our kids, or our friends.
God loves enough to give us our freedom, and we claim to value that freedom. We are free to nurture our illusions, and base our actions, even our lives, on them. But in the light of His revelation, His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, and what Jesus did to purchase for us rescue even from the consequences of our squandered freedom – in the light of all that, who dare think that faith is an illusion?
Monsignor Smith
What’s a guy to do? I ATE them – all of them! Sure, Fr. D helped, but Fr. Nick – usually a very stand-up guy when it comes to devouring things – was away, and no help at all. Likewise the staff did very little for me; most of them were taking time off anyway.
On top of that was all the extravagant eating that happened at the groaning tables of celebration at people’s houses, at restaurants with friends, and in our own recently-refurbished dining room.
All through it, I was convinced that it was okay: It is Christmas, after all. This too shall pass, the goodies will be gone, and I will behave after the turn of the year. I will be abstemious, lay off the treats, and eat like a responsible, healthy (middle-aged) grown-up. That way, this won’t be a problem.
So, here we are, well into January, and the piper is demanding to be paid. I am already doing the mental gymnastics of creating exceptions, exemptions, and alternatives to grim austerity. I am sure there won’t be a problem.
Now I am not projecting any of this thought or behavior on you, though I think some may be able to identify with me. It did get me thinking: How dependent I am on illusions! I know they are illusions, if I stop to study them. I know enough to know the reality, but persist in my conviction that in this case, for me, at this time, that reality can be evaded.
How many illusions do you and I put to work in this way in any given week, or any given lifetime? How often do we convince ourselves that we can get away with something, that the bad thing won’t happen to us, that we are fine, that we are safe, that everything, somehow, will just work out right? That we are in control of things?
Just to name a few randomly chosen ones, a lot of people get nervous about air travel, but really, going by car to the grocery is much more dangerous. Everybody feels safe in their homes, but then who is it that gets burgled, or has a fire? We are all convinced that we’ll stay healthy, so how do all those folks wind up in the hospital?
You see where I am going with this, and yes, I did just experience a shocking death of a young, bright, healthy friend of mine, through no fault of his own or any other entity on the planet.
In some ways we need these illusions to be able to go about our days without being petrified that something awful will happen to us. Sometimes, we base our attitudes on perfectly good statistics that show “it” probably won’t happen to us, or our kids, or our friends.
God loves enough to give us our freedom, and we claim to value that freedom. We are free to nurture our illusions, and base our actions, even our lives, on them. But in the light of His revelation, His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, and what Jesus did to purchase for us rescue even from the consequences of our squandered freedom – in the light of all that, who dare think that faith is an illusion?
Monsignor Smith
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