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By Bishop John, September 1, 2012 4:09 am

Mobile Loaves & Fishes Volunteers

With today’s Gospel excerpt, we leave St. John behind us and begin to walk with Mark for a while. Mark always has our Lord speaking in a very cryptic style making points very succinctly and directly. In today’s reading, we find him surrounded by Pharisees and lawyers. They are sharply criticizing him for not following the liturgical laws exactly as they should be. Jesus is quite direct. He blasts them, calling them hypocrites and reminds them that our obligation is to follow God’s commands and not human laws. He gives us a wonderful one sentence directive.

“Nothing that enters a man from outside can make him impure. That which comes out of him, and only that, constitutes impurity.”

Then he goes on to list a series of evil acts that flow from the misuse of the human will and lead to destruction and pain. This is an important idea but I would rather jump back to the second reading because it is from the epistle of St. James. It is not used that often in the course of the year in the Lectionary.

James is talking to new converts and he tells them that they have gotten the Word and it has taken root in them and the Word is salvific, but listening is not enough. James says, “Act on this Word. If all you do is listen to it, you are deceiving yourself.” He then goes on to talk about helping out neighbor, talking about orphans, widows, others in distress and when we do things for people who are poor and suffering we make for pure worship without stain before our God.

A few paragraphs down James says, “Faith without works is dead.” Historically, this is very much at odds with the basic teaching of Martin Luther and so Luther threw the epistle of St. James out of the New Testament. Catholics ought to study it frequently because it is a real reflection of life in the early Church. He talks about many practical issues – conflict in the Church, the trouble of malicious gossip, confessing our sins to one another and anointing of the sick.

“Is any one among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the Church and they should pray over and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick person…if he has committed any sins, he shall be forgiven.”

These texts are extraordinarily important for getting an insight into how life was in the Christian community of the first century.

This brief epistle is so important that I am happy that we will continue with it for several weeks.

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By Bishop John, August 13, 2012 4:11 am

http://www.centreforcatholicstudies.co.uk/

There really wasn’t much of an ecumenical movement prior to the Second Vatican Council. The Protestant churches frequently talked to each other in an unstructured way under the title of Councils of Churches where the pastors of the various Protestant churches would meet monthly over barbecue and listen to a speaker from the local Rotary Club. It was not a surging mass of theological and pastoral movement.

The Catholics, of course, were all back on the Roman ranch and they didn’t talk or mix with anyone other than themselves. Then came the Second Vatican Council and the Catholics, peering through the circled wagons, saw that this large group of people outside were a major religious group known precisely as non-Catholics. While they were circling our wagons, they were not attacking. Maybe we should talk to them.

Then began what might be called a cozy, warm-up period. We began to go to each other’s meetings, we formed some ecumenical structures, intending to do some work together where there was no conflict with the faith traditions of the individual churches. This was not a period of real accomplishment but it was a period of progress and greater openness.

Meanwhile, on the back burner, the Vatican and the World Council of Churches launched a series of worldwide meetings bringing together the best theologians from both traditions. With that real progress began to be made. It was quiet progress, yes, behind the scenes, yes, but, nevertheless, real and measurable progress. Throughout that half century, theological documents on profound issues, such as baptism, the Eucharist, faith and salvation were undertaken. These documents have all been published and are available from both the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Churches in New York City. Regretfully, there has been very little follow-up.

Doing ecumenical theology is hard work. You have to know as much as possible about your own faith tradition and its history and nuances. At the same time, you have to give great attention and study to the basic positions that mark the faith of others. I am sorry to say that virtually none of that is going on at the present time to my knowledge. This is a tragedy.

Christians are a minority in the world. We must not only defend ourselves and our theological positions that we share together, but use our combined resources to expand our holy faith across this battered planet. Are we beginning to forget the last message from our Lord on that Holy Thursday night?

“That they all shall be one, just as you, my Father, are in me, and I am in you, so that they also shall be one in us.” (John 17:21)

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By Bishop John, June 28, 2012 11:17 am

We all know that good communication is a never-ending struggle.  For most of us, the word, written and oral, is the most common tool of communications.  In addition to the word (which is itself a symbol!), there are other tools to assist in moving an idea from one person’s brain to that of another.  On that list of alternate forms are symbols.  In the Medieval world before widespread literacy came among us various shops and trades would have their own symbol placed over the door and visible from the street.  The barber pole, the three balls over the pawn shop.  These instruments were devised and understood by the general public.

The Catholic Church has always understood the importance and value of symbols and used them from the very first generation of Catholicism.  One of the earliest and most common was the Greek word ichthus, which means fish.  It was taken from the first letters of the expression “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”  Early Christians would mark their houses with the symbol of a fish indicating that Christians lived here and telling the Roman authorities nothing.  The use of the fish as a symbol of the follower of Jesus fits in very well with some of the bible scenes relating to the Sea of Galilee – these are abundant monumental and literary witnesses to the popularity of this formula.  With the passage of time and the cessation of persecution, this particular symbolism is seldom seen today.

Naturally, the most widespread Christian symbol is the cross.  It dominates almost everything we do.  We cross ourselves on entering the church.  We cross ourselves when beginning or ending prayer.   It is marked on our buildings – on our bodies.  We are constantly adverting to the cross and it is, of course, the symbol of our redemption.  It provides us with an opportunity to continually recommitting ourselves to Jesus.

We walk into a church, tip our fingers into a bowl of holy water, a symbol reminding us of our baptism.  We should try to remember to say in a meaningful way, “I am here in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  If we are conscious of that, it provides us with a constant recommitting of ourselves to our faith, to our Lord, to our coming salvation.

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By Bishop John, June 2, 2012 5:11 am

We are living through an extraordinary period of expanding the capacity of human knowledge. Awesome scientific advances, space exploration and the expansion of our ability to reach out beyond ourselves continues at an extraordinary rate. What we used to call “our” universe is now just our neighborhood and we are now able to go beyond from universe to universe. I must frankly admit that when it comes to talk about the speed of light and the distances that we know about in the world around us is so awesome that I simply cannot say that I really grasp it. Maybe you have the same problem. As long as there is something out there that can be identified and measured, we are not dealing with the real concept of mystery but just objective reality that we have a hard time fitting into our imagination. Thank God for our scientists we are moving forward.

In view of the limitations of laymen like myself in terms of grasping the realities of space (for example, why doesn’t the sun consume itself?), we should not be so surprised when we come face to face with other concepts that our minds simply cannot grasp. People of faith who believe that there is an awesome reality beyond the created universe, namely the Creator, are able with real humility to simply admit the limitations both of the human brain and of mind. The mind is an awesome gift and enables us to reach beyond the material and tap into the ultimate meaning, the ultimate reality, of creation and our participation in it.

Today, we are celebrating one of the great mysteries of the Christian community. We pay honor to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth, while he was here, proved that he was truly a real human being and, at the same time, taught us that he had come to us from the inner nature of God. Then he went on to tell us that this inner nature involves a Triune reality – the Father, the Son and the Spirit. It is very easy for me to write this in a few paragraphs but my mind cannot grasp it. However, I believe that the second person of the Blessed Trinity, in sharing in divine nature, reached us through the vehicle of a human nature and has given us information about the inner-life of God that our limited human mind cannot completely grasp. However, I believe!

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By Bishop John, May 10, 2012 4:09 am

Sister Mary Gloria

I am continuing a series on Catholic Sisters, nuns with whom I have had the pleasure and honor of working with here in Central Texas. I have been taking selections from different religious communities and what they have in common is extraordinary faith, talent, competence and generosity. They are a blessing to Central Texas and to the Universal Church.

Today, I call your attention to the wonderful work of Sister Mary Gloria Mar, FMA. That means that she is a Salesian Sister of St. John Bosco.

Inmy opinion, Sister Gloria is a great sign of hope in today’s Church. One of the great causes of sadness in my own life is that as the Church has been restricted and slowed down by internal conflicts over the last 30 or 40 years, as Catholics have started to identify themselves as liberal or conservative, and we became too internalized and concerned about the problems in our own parishes and dioceses. And while the missionary thrust, which flows from the very nature of the Church itself, has not been eliminated, it has certainly slowed down. Sister Gloria is a sign that we are beginning to make a turn.

Sister Gloria and her Salesian Sisters are really building up a program of lay missioners to bring the message of Jesus Christ to different parts of the planet, especially poor places, such as Haiti, the Sudan and Ethiopia through a program called VIDES (Volunteers In Development, Education, Solidarity). It thrills me that the leadership is being generated right here in little ole Austin, Texas. Sister Gloria has over the last few years sent at least 200 young people into challenging situations in 40 countries. They are real missionaries and certainly very real Christian heroes. I thank God for the VIDES volunteers, for the Salesians and for Sister Gloria.

I feel a little awkward in only being able to post the stories of six or eight of these great nuns, but it is important that we realize that each of them symbolizes the hundreds and even the thousands who are behind them expanding and continuing their work.

If you know anybody who would like to volunteer or for more information, please contact Sister Gloria at director@vides.us, 2109 East Second Street, Austin, Texas 78702, (512) 320-1913.

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By Bishop John, March 17, 2012 5:23 am

March 18th, Fourth Sunday of Lent
As we transition from looking at St. Mark’s cryptic style for the last few weeks and now we look at a profoundly different method of writing of St. John’s. John’s writings reflect the fact that the Christian community has been thinking about and remembering what Jesus did for about 65 years. John also seems to be influenced by Greek philosophy which dominated the Roman Empire at the time of his writing.

Today’s text from the third chapter of St. John is really wonderful. It connects Moses actions as prefiguring of actions by the Messiah, Jesus. It summarizes the wonderful love that our God has for the whole human family. He advises his listeners to have strong faith and live in the light.

John started his Gospel talking about a strong relationship between light and life. He begins this excerpt with an exhortation to live the good life out in the light of day. He points out that, “An evil person hates the light for fear his deeds may be exposed, but he who acts in truth comes into the light to make clear that his deeds are done in God.”

In the middle of Lent, this is a good time to ask ourselves are we really children of the light? We are called to be. Are we?

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By Bishop John, February 28, 2012 6:31 am

A number of times over the last year or so I have raised the painful, agonizing and unjust fact that Christians are persecuted in a number of places in the world for the crime of being Christian. Newsweek magazine made that the lead story on the February 13th issue. Newsweek introduces its story with this sentence, “From one end of the Muslim world to the other, Christians are being murdered for their faith.” The article then goes on to document that terrorist attacks on Christians in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have increased 309% from 2003 to 2010. Christians in all these countries live in fear and Nigeria may be the most agonizing situation. A new Muslim terrorist organization, called Boko Haram, has vowed to establish Sharia law even though 40% of Nigerians, 160 million people, are of the Christian faith. Last year, this organization killed 510 people and burned down or destroyed more than 150 churches in the northern part of the country.

Last week, American military forces in Afghanistan committed the insensitive blunder of burning many copies of the Quran. Muslims were infuriated and there was danger of riots all over the country. The U.S. Commanding General apologized profusely…profusely! That is the right thing to do because none of us should insult the sacred symbols of the faith of other people. Wouldn’t it be an improvement to hear a few Muslim apologies coming forward about the terrible things that Muslims are inflicting on Christians all over the world?

This horrible situation has been going on for years but does not seem to rate making the front page of our papers. Our leaders don’t want to antagonize our Muslim “allies” and their Muslim leaders have never raised a voice against these ongoing tragedies.

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By Bishop John, January 23, 2012 4:59 am

On the weekend blog, I touched very briefly on Sunday’s excerpt from the book of Jonah and I began an all too brief introduction on a complicated issue – how to read the bible intelligently in order to get the maximum benefit from it. My point the other day was that while everyone knows about Jonah and the whale, very few of us know what really the purpose of the message is and what its meaning is.

We know nothing about the prophet Jonah but the majority of Scripture scholars date the book between the fourth and second centuries BC. It was written at a time in the post-exilic period; namely, after the Jews had returned from their enslavement in Babylon. It was an age when the Israelites were tempted to hope more for the destruction of their enemies than for their salvation. The author of this book conveys a message about the extent of the Lord’s mercy not just for the Jews, but for the whole human family. It is a message that God’s people needed at the time that it was written and it is a message that all of us need today. Jonah is a tremendous gift to us not just as a teaching tool, but as conveying an extraordinarily important component of the Christian message.

God loves the human family!

More later about Jonah.

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By Bishop John, December 21, 2011 4:39 am

As Christmas approaches, is anyone in your family thinking about a turkey? A rib roast? Will you be blessed to have a wonderful family gathering with all the trimmings that go with the great feast, which is the Christmas dinner? Not everyone will be so fortunate.

I want to remind you of an extremely important program that operates in this city and all across our country, namely Meals on Wheels. I am writing this in the Christmas rush. I don’t have exact figures for everything that our local group is doing, but it involves thousands of people and vast quantities of food delivered to front doors of elderly people who are often sick and alone.

While we have always had hunger in our midst, it has become much more widespread in urban America. Sixty or seventy years ago, our families lived close together, not only in the same city but often in the same neighborhood. Today, families are scattered across the country. Meals on Wheels is a wonderful and generous response to that difficult situation. It lessens not only the pain of hunger, but isolation as well. These warm meals, delivered directly to the recipients, make a tremendous difference in the lives of these people for whom life is sometimes quite dreary.

The director of Meals on Wheels is Dan Pruett and his telephone number is (512) 476-6325. Could you:

a) Send a check today to Meals on Wheels
b) Volunteer to help Meals on Wheels
c) Send a check AND volunteer

Now there is the spirit of Christ! May God bless you all.

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By Bishop John, November 19, 2011 5:33 am

Sunday, November 20th

Today is a glorious day in the life of the Church. It also brings to a close another liturgical year. The first and third readings are so inspiring that it is hard for me to choose one or the other today. I will try to touch on both even though the smallness of the space here can’t possibly do justice to the concepts that are unveiled before us today.

The Gospel excerpt is one of the most popular in the Christian community. It is that wonderful scene in Matthew’s 25th Gospel in which Jesus himself describes Judgment Day when He himself judges the nations, judges humanity, judges each and every one of us. What is His criteria for reward or failure? Simply, our commitment to our brothers and sisters, our willingness to help them, our willingness to sacrifice on their behalf. This text provides a great motivation to be both just and generous. We will all be there one day and we certainly do want to hear Jesus say to us, “Come you have my Father’s blessing!”

But let’s at least take a moment to look at the first reading from the book of Ezekiel, where the image is sheep, an enormous flock of sheep with Jesus as the shepherd. This text is written centuries before the birth of Jesus but the Church has applied it to Jesus himself as the shepherd of his flock, and that flock is the great community of faith also called the Church

In the final day of Judgment, the relationship between Jesus and his people is decided and the criteria is love and generosity. Let’s make the cut!

Viva Cristo Rey and Viva Christ the King!

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