Bishop John McCarthy

Empathy, Empathy, Ever-more Empathy

Bishop John — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:02:17 +0000

Image: newyorker.com

Empathy is an extraordinarily important natural virtue. Empathy is the quality or condition by which a person, when seeing pain and suffering in the lives of others, can enter into that suffering so powerfully that he or she actually experiences (to a limited extent) what the suffering person is going through. While this is a great virtue, and countless numbers of people exercise it very well, when crises develop and tragic situations arise, there ought to be a more universal and generous response than is actually the case. To a great extent, that response can be measured directly in terms of the media presentation. The last time I saw a count, more than $30 Million had been sent to aid the victims of the Boston marathon, while the much more extensive, agonizing and destructive explosion in West, Texas, had not yet generated a million dollars in donations.

What will be the response to Oklahoma tornado tragedy?

The destruction is beyond imagination. While fatalities and even injuries were relatively low given the massiveness of the storm, the destruction of homes is simply unbelievable. Fortunately, virtually every tv network has been posting telephone numbers and internet links to accept even ten dollar contributions. Can you imagine the effect on the suffering people of Moore if half of the employees in this country sent in their $10? The media people are right to ask us for such a low, managable amount, to encourage everyone to participate, but unless the viewers act on their empathy, we will be left with them shaking their heads and saying “what a shame” but not acting on it.

Empathy exists in the human heart. Shouldn’t we extend it, in this case, to an entire nation? Please consider reaching out to these now homeless and desperate citizens of Oklahoma. I believe empathy generates great returns in God’s divine bookkeeping. Remember our Lord’s words, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

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What’s the Best Way to Pray?

Bishop John — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:19:44 +0000

Prayer is an important part of a person’s religious and faith life. Prayer takes many forms, and we each utilize it in different ways. I have to admit that my favorite and most-used form is that of petition. I am frequently bringing various problems and difficulties to God’s attention, and indicating with great clarity what it is exactly that He should bring about—and on my time schedule, of course.

Seriously, though, prayer is an important word in the lives of most people who profess to have faith, but it is a word with a wide variety of meanings. In general, it is the way we manifest in our own personal lives how we do or want to relate to the God that we worship. Catholics have the reputation, not completely deserved, as praying constantly from formulas of prayer, such as the Lord’s Prayer, the Rosary, the Apostle’s Creed, and various types of novenas. This does not mean that Catholics do not also pray in a completely ad-libbed manner; it’s just that when they come together, there is a rich tradition of common prayer. Whether it’s 200 or 200,000 Catholics simultaneously uniting their voices in prayer, in my opinion that’s a beautiful manifestation of shared faith.

There are four basic forms of prayer: adoration, petition, thanksgiving and contrition. What must never be forgotten and always stressed is that prayer is conversation with God. Conversation! That conversation must be natural from the point of view of the person that is doing the praying. This opens up the need for personal, non-memorized prayer. I believe the only advantage of memorized prayer is making it easy to pray aloud together. We tend to get into a format that we’re comfortable with, and use it repeatedly. Instead, I think we should struggle to avoid that, and get back to the concept of an ongoing, personal conversation with our Lord.

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Thanking the Nurses!

Bishop John — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:32:39 +0000

http://www.patientvisitredesign.com

Last week was Nurse’s Week. People all over the country should reflect about how blessed we are that so many women (and today, men as well) have chosen to be nurses; to commit themselves to the rigorous training that goes with that calling. It is my opinion that overall, nurses are more popular than doctors, and if that’s true, the reason is easy to understand. In a hospital setting, the doctor comes in, does her work making a diagnosis or changing a treatment and has to move on to the next patient and then get back to her office or head to the operating room. The nurses, however, are there for a full eight hours, and they are therefore present for us at that moment when the pain needs to be eased. They bring those two tylenol. And, praise God, they usually bring that pain medication with patience and a smile. They are wonderful!

In the context of Nurses Week, I was invited to Seton McCarthy Clinic last Friday. There is a small room in the clinic that has been designated as a prayer room, and it has recently been refurbished and made more comfortable. I was asked to come over and bless this beautiful room, and also to bless the nurses’ hands. Bless their hands? At first I was surprised, and then I realized what a wonderful idea and what a beautiful symbol this would be. Nearly everyone crowded into the prayer room, regardless of what specific tasks they had in the clinic. The clinicians, the janitor- all were there with extended hands. I spoke briefly about the beauty of the human hand and its awesome capabilities; how every hand is a blessing from God, and the hands of nurses (and all those in health care) are special blessings and gifts that we should never cease to appreciate. I passed among them, blessing each pair of hands with a cross, reminding them of Jesus, and how their work was so much like His. We must always remember that Jesus’s main work among us was the lessoning of pain.

The hands of a nurse or doctor are special.They certainly were for me last week! I think that we all should take a minute every day or so, to look at our extended hands, and see what a gift we have received.
May God bless your hands, and may they be used for nothing other than doing good for others.

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Priestly Advice on Marriage?

Bishop John — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:02:41 +0000

It should come as no surprise that I have never been married, nor have the vast majority of Catholic priests. However, in our role as a parish priest, many of us have spent countless hours meeting with couples who are struggling to hold together their union- often one that began in love and faith, but subsequently appeared to be in grave danger. Upon reflection, although every relationship is unique, a certain commonality exists in struggling marriages, and I believe those couples in the final preparations for a summer wedding might benefit from reflecting on a couple of these issues.

The first issue is whether or not you know the true nature of your spouse. I have always asked the potential bride and groom about their greatest attraction to their fiancé. If the response was that she is “so beautiful” or he is “just perfect”, I would be deeply concerned. I always hoped to hear answers such as “he is strong, mature and generous,” or “she is honest, caring of her family and faithful to her friends.” Those marvelous qualities reflect the real person that is there.

Another major concern is what I refer to as having a “low threshold for pain.” Life is hard- it comes with many discomforts, inconveniences, and real pain. Life sharing is always a challenge. Note that I did not say life sharing is frequently a challenge, but ALWAYS a challenge! How can couples rise to that challenge? Many traits and virtues will help, but maturity is the most important. Personally, I like to define maturity simply as “the ability to adjust to reality“. Couples that practice combining maturity with generosity will greatly improve their “threshold for pain”, and thus tremendously increase their odds for a successful marriage.

Obviously there are entire books and courses that analyze and reflect on relationships and marriages, and I have but a short space here to offer a few of my thoughts and opinions. I would like to strongly encourage couples considering marriage to take advantage of the many programs and retreats offered by our Church, and to approach them prayerfully and thoughtfully- not as a check off box on the path the wedding.

May God especially bless all those preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage this summer!

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The Great Feast of Pentecost

Bishop John — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:10:23 +0000

beingisgood.blogspot.com
Pentecost Sunday
May 19th
Today is the day the Lord has made! Oh, how I love the great feast of Pentecost. It is exciting, it is invigorating, it is challenging.
We all know that the Church has three great feasts – Christmas Day, the Nativity; Easter Sunday, the Resurrection; and Pentecost. Those first two Church celebrations get a lot of attention because the secular world likes them too but for the wrong reasons. I think that the followers of Jesus Christ ought to draw just as much joy and enthusiasm out of the Feast of Pentecost as we do at Christmas and Easter. On Pentecost Sunday a spotlight in heaven swivels around having been shined lo these many months on our Lord that spotlights slowly swivels around on us and WE are under the spotlight.
On Pentecost Sunday each one of us should recommit ourselves to our baptism, call for the grace of Confirmation and endeavor to make knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth our Lord and Savior better known on this battered and sinful world. Just before his return to his Heavenly Father, Jesus commissioned the apostles to be preachers of his word in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. In some limited sense, that command has been fulfilled. Communities of faith are now everywhere on the planet but in varying conditions.
As we think about the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity descending upon the apostles and the other disciples who were present on this awesome day. Since we should be conscious that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as well as to the apostles, we should look inside ourselves and ask if we ever do anything to move forward the message of Jesus. There are many ways to do this. You don’t have to go to the Congo or Guatemala as a fulltime foreign missionary. The main way to teach people about Jesus of Nazareth is to try as best as we can to live like Jesus of Nazareth, namely to be honest, sensitive, generous and when necessary courageous. To the extent that we find ourselves more and more like our Savior, we can then say like St. Paul, “I live now not I but Christ lives in me.”
It is a wonderful job. It is a wonderful opportunity. Let’s thank God that we have it.

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No Part-Time Christians

Bishop John — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:28:00 +0000

With the extraordinary feast of Pentecost approaching, I’ve been reflecting on the Holy Spirit, and how we in our lives go about spreading the Good News. Frankly, I believe that in our country, we tend to keep our practice of religion slightly out of sight, so that we don’t offend anybody or step on anybody’s toes…and I think that is a big mistake! Everyone has his or her own faith, own values, and ultimately their own religious beliefs. Our practice of our own faith does not automatically infringe on another person’s beliefs.

I have always said that religious arguments are pointless (because I have never seen one that changed the views of the participants). Openly demonstrating our faith and values, however, speaks volumes. Our own Pope Francis had a marvelous tweet (Twitter post) yesterday- he notes,”We cannot be part-time Christians! We should seek to live our faith at every moment of every day.”

I could not agree more. Let’s get busy!

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Do You Have Red Clothes for Sunday?

Bishop John — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:43:59 +0000

Queen of All Saints

What’s your favorite feast? Thanksgiving? Many people say Christmas, especially if they are into “receiving” . Others are for Easter because of the wardrobe boost. Celebrating the Lord’s birth and resurrection provides us with wonderful religious experiences, but I’m holding out for the third most important feast in the life of the Church- Pentecost. This coming Sunday, we will be wearing red to celebrate Pentecost, rejoicing that the Spirit of God flowed into the lives of the frightened followers of Jesus to give them a clear understanding of what it was that they had been called to do. Those followers were essentially confused cowards before Pentecost, and following that dramatic event they became courageous men and women prepared even to die as witnesses to Jesus.

This celebration is one day per year, but we ought to be prepared and look for opportunities to witness on a daily basis what we believe about the carpenter from Nazareth. You do not have to be in church to witness! Witness simply means to share the message of God’s love with all our very human brothers and sisters. This does not always require trips to third world countries by the way-you can do it right here in your own stomping grounds, by visiting with your lonely neighbor or reaching out to a frustrated coworker. Every day provides opportunities to be kind and thoughtful to those around us. His Spirit is challenging us!

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Fifty Years of Progress

Bishop John — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:31:41 +0000

paxchristiusa.org
I mentioned the other day that papal social teaching has steadily responded to the constant changing and the increasingly complex mode of international politics and economics. Pope Paul VI and John Paul II expanded in this field in a very excellent manner but I am especially interested in the last document to which I referred the other day, namely Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth, by John XXIII.
In the fall of 1962, the world was facing the missile crisis and there was a very real chance of nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both President Kennedy and Nikita Krushchev made use of John XXIII in a back channel manner. The pope clearly grasped the seriousness of the situation and urged both leaders to choose peace. Until his intervention, there was real risk of nuclear war. Happily, war was avoided and it is then that the elderly pope began to dream of a world that would develop structures that would ensure prosperity, cooperation and, most of all, peace across this planet. Out of his thinking and prayer came the historic document Pacem in Terris.
When we read the daily papers and watch the evening news there is so much information about wars and the threat of war, about killings, about dangers, risk and conflicts that it is hard to imagine that things really are better today but they actually are. The world of 2013 is a much better organized and cooperative and a more peaceful world than was true in 1962. First of all, human rights have surged to the front and negotiations among peoples all over the world. While there is much to be done, the issue of human rights has become a major factor in international law and diplomacy. Many new transnational agencies and organizations have sprung up. A form of global governance has begun and, like Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, who formally played nuclear brinkmanship but now are both pushing for the removal of all nuclear weapons. This new and profound interest in human rights certainly began to strengthen inside the life of the Church in a way that had not been present before 1962.
While Pope John XXIII was supposedly elected as an “interim” pope, he surprised everyone and was one of the most influential popes of the last century. While I write here today about Pacem in Terris, we must not forget that he is the man who had the courage and wisdom to convene the Second Vatican Council. That Council was a great gift to the Church but its work is far from being completed. Speaking just for myself, I pray fervently that Pope Francis will convene yet another Council in the near future.

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Papal Social Teaching Expands As The World Changes

Bishop John — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:31:08 +0000

Industrial Revolution
The purpose of the Church is to reach out and draw all of its members to communion with God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Church does this by presenting age after age the message of Jesus and also joins us with Jesus through our sacramental life. In carrying out this mission, it tries to convey to the entire world a message based on truth and love, a message that has tremendous implications for justice and fairness. These virtues are affected by the economic system present at any given moment.
For most of the last 2,000 years virtually the entire world’s economy was based on agriculture. That changed with the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century bringing tremendous change to human life, including a vast increase in wealth and prosperity. But not everyone shared equally in these new developments. In the late 19th century, Pope Leo XIII saw that the Industrial Revolution and its later developments were inflicting tremendous pain and suffering on the poor workers in the urban centers of Europe and North America. He wrote his famous encyclical, Rerum Novarum which laid out a structure of responsibilities reminding employers of their responsibilities to be fair and just with their workers, and that those workers had the right to organize in order to defend their economic interests. In those days, that economy was mostly one of shops and small plants where workers and employers were often in face to face situations.
By the 1930’s, the world of the small plant by an individual or family gave way as nationwide industries developed and thus Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno which built on the work of Leo XIII and dealt now with problems related to nation-wide economies.
After World War II with the decolonization of the people of Africa, the possibility of a one world economy expanded tremendously and as a result in 1963 that magnificent pope John XXIII wrote a document that had tremendous impact in the Church and on the world entitled Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth. It dealt with this new worldwide economy many years before any of us were routinely referring to the reality of an integrated world economy. The document came out in 1963 and made a powerful impression on Church leaders all over world. Fifty years have passed since the encyclicals issued and in the next couple of days I will give you my opinion of the affect that it has had in this painful and agonizing half century.

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Happy Mother’s Day (the Celebration Continues)

Bishop John — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:21:31 +0000

Bene Grimes with her granddaughters

What did you do for her? What did you give to her? A better question is, are each of us conscious of what she has given to us and done for us? I am, of course, referring to that wonderful celebration that took place yesterday in the majority of homes in our country, when children and grandchildren and extended families turned our thoughts and attentions to our mothers. The answer to the first two questions are not too important, but that we have a clear and complete understanding of the second part makes all the difference in the world. She has given us LIFE. Just a four letter word, isn’t it? But it means everything.
Every aspect of your existence is completely meaningless if separated from the fact that you, a distinct individual, have been given the gift of life by that all important woman.
Most of us have received blessings beyond measure as we have lived out our years, but nothing compares to that single blessing: our being, our existence, our presence, our future happiness- all are wrapped up in that gift!
What did she give to us? Well, it has changed over the years. She had an awesome presence in our childhood. She was there when we were most vulnerable, and she guided us through those incredible early chapters of human development. The three year old afraid of the barking dog. The five year old who ultimately walked alone into a strange and threatening world called kindergarten. The exuberance and tension that marked all our lives as we entered puberty. Finally, she did what a wonderful mother has to do ultimately, she let us go! Those of us who are adults have been on our own for awhile. If we had any degree of developing a full, good and generous life, we can thank HER- our mother!
It’s may seem obvious that I have been speaking about our natural mothers, but we have also been so blessed to have within our midst countless mothers who emptied themselves with love for adopted children that they have raised.
May God bless your mother and all mothers across the planet. Happy Mothers Day!

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