Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

As  I look out my window and see the hills of buildings here in Bethlehem I think of that morning, after the birth of our Lord, when Mary and Joseph started planning their next move to Egypt so they could escape Herod's massacre of all infant boys (Matthew 2:13-16).  I too will be leaving Bethlehem, in about two weeks, and traveling in the footsteps of our Lord.  While Egypt is not one of the stops my seminary classmates and I will be making we will be traveling to Nazareth, Galilee, and then Jerusalem.  We are making a pilgrimage, much like the one Mary and Joseph made from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt back to Nazareth and then Jesus' pilgrimage from Nathareth to Jerusalem.  During my pilgrimage it is my intention to write at least one blog a week as a way to reflect on my pilgrimage.  My seminary brothers are keeping a daily blog that you can follow here if you wish.  

One week has past since landing here in the city of David. I would have to say that the main theme that has stuck out to me this week has been the awesome spiritual tradition of our faith, specifically the monastic tradition, both East and West.  Almost every site that we visited this week either had or currently has a monastery.  When we visited Masada, an ancient fortress built by Herod the Great around 37BC, and since then many people have taken pocession of it for various reasons including an ancient Byzantine Monastery dating back to the 4th century.  This mountain was in the middle of nowhere, next to the dead sea, and it was so peaceful and quiet.  No wonder Monks went there for peace and solitude to reflect on our Lord.  As I stood in the ruins of this monastery I could feel the monks still praying on our behalf to the Blessed Trinity.  

This week we also visited Mar Saba, an ancient Monastery built in the 5th century, and the beauty of this place was breathtaking.  Even though the Lord is not calling me to monastic life I could definitely be a monk there.  Just knowing, and in the case of Mar Saba seeing, monks praying for the world is a beautiful thing.  These holy men don't leave their monastery, have no connected to the outside world at all, don't have any luxuries, and they are joyful and filled with the Love of Jesus Christ.  This is a Love I wish to cultivate in my own heart and God willing this pilgrimage is a time where I can start this cultivation.  

Please, keep my brother and I in your prayers as we continue traveling to various Holy sites and walking in the footsteps of Jesus.  Be assured of my prayers for you.

Assumption of Mary into Heaven

It has come to my attention that there are many Catholics who don’t really understand the importance of our upcoming Solemnity, and Holy Day of Obligation, celebrating the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. It’s easy for me to understand the confusion behind the importance of this feast day because I too used to question its importance. Don’t get me wrong…I love Mary and I want to celebrate her as often as I can…but why make this day obligatory? Don’t we have enough obligatory Mary feasts? To take this a step further, it seems that this feast of Mary’s assumption, although important, doesn't compare to her Immaculate Conception or her role as Mother of God. So why is this day obligatory to celebrate?!

     As always, it is important to look at the big picture of our liturgical life and rich Traditions. It’s fitting that we celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception just before Christmas (December 8) because it assists us in understanding the mystery of the Incarnation (God becoming Man). We also can’t argue the logic in celebrating Mary as Mother of God just after Christmas (January 1). This is where we need to see the big picture; Mary was immaculately conceived without sin, totally giving herself to God and led to her fiat, accepting her new role as Mother of God. Mary was intimately united to God as both a beloved daughter and his Mother and these roles were lived out in her total commitment and acceptance of Gods will, as well as, giving birth to and raising the second person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Because Mary lived her life in accordance with Gods will, and became the Mother of God, she was graced with the blessing of being assumed into Heaven, body and soul, to live with her Son and be crowned Queen of Heaven.

     I do not want this blog post to become a theological debate over the question of "did Mary die or fall asleep?" The question at hand is why this day is obligatory to celebrate. The answer is because it completes Mary's mission and vocation as Mother of God and model disciple. Mary is proof that when Christ promised a resurrection of the dead and eternal life in Heaven, for those who follow the New Law (Jesus Christ), that Christ wasn't kidding. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the model disciple, our natures solitary boast, and because of her choice to follow the will of God she was rewarded with everlasting glory! We are obligated to celebrate this great feast because it reminds us of our own future resurrection day when our bodies will rise from their graves and enter the eternal glory of Heaven!

     It's my prayer that all Catholics will spend this day in prayer asking for our Queens intercession and protection that we can faithfully follow the will of God and grow closer to her Son. Only by taking up the Cross of Jesus Christ and following the will of our Father in Heaven will we be able to enter the new and eternal Jerusalem. Have a Blessed Feast Day!

Mary, assumed into Heaven, Pray for Us!

Experiencing the Wounds of Christ

                After naming this particular blog post I see an unwarranted pun…trust me it’s not intended and you should understand by the end of the post.  This summer I have the opportunity to gain experience in a very specific ministry known has hospital chaplaincy.  Part of our seminary training here in the U.S.A (and I’m sure other countries as well) is taking part in a hospital chaplaincy internship.  Most diocese’s take advantage of a nationwide program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).  This is a program designed to train hospital chaplains and involves a very rigorous certification process (praise Jesus we are not required to be certified).  Chaplains who are CPE certified are held to a prestigious level and take precedence in hiring (most hospitals require at least some CPE training).  For this reason many Bishops make good use of this resource to assist their future priests. 

       My CPE site is right here in Chicago at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.  This is a very busy hospital due to our level one trauma center, top doctors in multiple areas of medicine, our children’s hospital, and our prime placement on Chicago’s Southwest side.  Christ Medical Center is a great hospital with a wonderful staff who truly care for each patient and work hard to keep people alive.  I must admit that I am very impressed by all the doctors, technicians, nurses, security, secretaries, maintenance, etc. and how well we all work as a team for our patients.  However, because this is a busy hospital, full of sick and suffering patients, the chaplains have a lot of work to do and people to minister to.  I have seen more pain and suffering in this hospital than I have ever wanted to witness.  From gunshot victims to car accidents, domestic violence to failed burglaries, kids making mistakes to children drowning in pools, cancer patients to strokes, I have seen it all and ministered to these people and/or their families…and it isn’t easy. 

                Amid all the suffering, pain, exhaustion, depression, and sadness that I have witnessed I have also witnessed a profound love of God.  I can honestly say that most of my patients love God very much and don’t blame him for their suffering.  As a matter of fact they grow closer to God through their suffering.  I have witnessed this for not only my Christian patients but also non-Christians.  These people seek prayer and feel its benefits even if their prayers don’t seem to have been answered.  My Catholic patients I've visited trust in redemptive suffering, where one unites their pains to Christ on the Cross for the salvation of their soul or others, and which St. John Paul the Great wrote about in his Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris (on the Christian meaning of Human Suffering).  These patients have, in a way, proven to me that God exists.  I have not been questioning Gods existence at all but these patients who love God amid their terrible pain and suffering are just more proof that God is present and real.  Much like the Apostle, St. Thomas, who needed to touch the wounds of Christ, I feel that I am touching those wounds when I interact and pray with these holy men and women.  I should be ministering to them; however, they are ministering to me and I feel God speaking to me through them.  I hope that they feel God speaking to them through me. 

While hospital chaplaincy is not my vocation within priesthood I have a new respect for hospital chaplains.  This is not an easy ministry and it is certainly not for the faint of heart.  These brave men and women are willing to sit, talk, pray, and even be silent with many different people who experiencing terrible pains and suffering.  Their main concern is the comfort of the patient and then we focus on the family.  This is one of the most selfless ministries I have been a part of.  Please say a prayer for full time hospital chaplains and their families and please keep my brothers and me in your prayers as our summer chaplain internships come to a close.  And always keep the suffering members of the Body of Christ in your daily prayers that, if God wills them to come home, they may be welcomed into his Heavenly Kingdom.  

My review of NOAH

Last night I saw the newest biblical epic out in theatre's...NOAH.  I went into the film hearing many negative reviews on the films theology and overall quality.  I tried my best to keep an open mind so that I can make my own decision on the film.  I am very happy to say that I liked it and enjoyed myself a great deal!  The over two hour film felt like one hour.  The story moved pretty quick and kept my interest.  I enjoyed it very much.  I am writing this blog on the film in response to the negative reviews I've read.

 A word on the inaccuracy of the movie compared with Sacred Scripture.  The creators of this film definitely took their liberties with the story and added a lot of new plot points, and even characters, who are not mentioned in the original.  Is this something we should be concerned about?  Not at all!  The story of Noah is made up anyway in Sacred Scripture.  It was taken from a collection of myths (similar to that of the Epic of Gilgamesh) and fit to help the writers of Sacred Scripture make God relatable to the people of their time.  Noah is the BC version of the New Evangelization.  Because of this historical fact no good Catholic should fear seeing this movie; however, fundamentalist Protestants will have a hard time given their literal interpretation of their bible. 

On the tree-hugging, human killing, bad father character of Noah all I have to say in response to these critiques is to look at the whole picture and not just the one character.   In the film we have, of course, Noah who is the son of Lamech (correct in Scripture) and has evil cousins who are from the blood line of Cain, who killed Able (not correct in Scripture).  Our main antagonist is Tubal-Cain (Uncle of Noah) who is a King and whose family line has destroyed the land they live in.  All the food has been eaten, trees are cut down, animals killed, and all of God’s creation is being destroyed by the glutinous materialism of Tubal-Cain and his kingdom.  Noah, on the other hand, has a great love and devotion to God’s creation.  Noah doesn't kill animals for food, he only takes plant food that his family needs to survive, and tries to re-plant seeds in hopes Gods creation will come back.

It must be known that BOTH NOAH AND TUBAL-CAIN ARE TRYING TO DO GODS WILL!  Both men share their own view on God’s creation: Tubal-Cain focuses on humanity being created in the image and likeness of God and humanity has dominion over the whole created world while Noah focuses on all of creation being made good in Gods eyes and since humanity turned away from God (the fall of Adam and Eve) we no longer deserve to share in Gods good creation.  None of this (in terms of character and story) are true in Sacred Scripture; however, we are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27) and all of God’s creation is made Good (Gen 1).  So who's right and who's wrong?  They are both correct; however they look at it as an "either, or" situation when it's really a "both, and!"

In the movie universe Noah is the less of the two evils and God chooses him to carry out His plan.  Noah does make many bad decisions with his family and others but in the end Noah is just trying to do God’s will, which isn't always easy to figure out.  Love, obviously, wins in the end.  Noah realizes that man is created good just like the plants and animals.  Noah sees God's image and likeness in his family which gives him hope for the new creation to come after the flood. 

There are so many great themes in this film!  It's a great witness to what it means to be a beloved child of God, we get a better understanding of us being made in God’s image and likeness, and we are challenged to be the good stewards of creation that God created us to be.  Yes, God gave man dominion over the planet but not as a Lordship, as Tubal-Cain understood it, but as a ministry, as Noah understood it in this film.  Nothing, not even our own bodies, belong to us.  Everything will eventually go back to God who gave it to us out of Love in the first place.  How do you take care of this precious gift God gave us?  NOAH challenges us to look at our relationship with God and see if it's healthy, good, holy, and orthodox. 

Go and see this film!  It's great!  Even if you don't like the production quality (it's ok) you will still leave with a better understanding of yourself as a beloved child of God and hopefully asking yourself how you can be a better person and how you can make your relationship with God stronger.  

FYI...It's still Christmas!!!

Even though radio stations have stopped playing Christmas music, people are throwing away their trees, the "happy holidays" have turned into "happy new year," and stores have replaced their Christmas decorations with Valentines day decorations...we are still in the midst of Christmas.

It's really very logical how the whole season works...we start with Advent where we prepare for Christmas and then on the 25th we celebrate Christmas! But Christmas lasts longer than 24 hours. The Christmas season lasts until the Baptism of The Lord (this year takes place on January 12).  Our beautiful tradition and calendar is filled with feasts that keep us in the Christmas spirit such as today as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family.  On January 1st we will celebrate Mary, the Mother of God, which is a Holy Day of Obligation.  January 3 we celebrate the most Holy Name of Jesus and next Sunday we celebrate the feast if the Epiphany when the three Kings came to pay homage to the Christ child. Finally, the following week, we celebrate the Baptism of Christ.

So let us use these beautiful celebrations to assist us in continuing the great celebration of the King of Kings lowering himself to a small child, born in a stable, to suffer and die for our salvation from sin and death.  The best way to continue these celebrations, as always, is by attending mass and praying with your friends and family together asking for the Christ child to enter your hearts and conform you to his most Sacred Heart.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

O Emmanuel (God-with-us)

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel;
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

For my final blog post on the "O Antiphons" I prayed with two passages: Isaiah 7: 10-15 & Romans 8: 20-24.  The Isaiah reading was Ahaz's prophesy of the virgin giving birth to Emmanuel (God-with-us).  But why a virgin?  Just so God can show how powerful he is?  No.  Because if God was becoming man then he wold need to be born from a perfect & spotless womb.  God is perfect and sinless so he would have to be born from a sinless womb.  This is what led the Church, specifically through the scholarship of Duns Scotus, to the revelation of the Immaculate Conception.  Mary is our races solitary boast!  If not for Mary, Emmanuel would not have come.  This is why Mary is held to such a high esteem and many seek her prayers & intercession.  Mary knew from the moment of her conception that to be one with God is the only way to live.  May we all be as open and willing to do the will of the Father as Mary is.

In Romans 8: 20-24 St. Paul reminds us that we, all creation, needed a savior since thebeginning of   creation.  This leads into a major theological debate many Dominican's and Franciscan's have been having for years.  Was the incarnation a result of original sin?  I tend to lean more on the Franciscan side of the debate that the incarnation was pre-ordained by God before man was even created.  Look back at Genesis where everything was created "good;" however, not perfect.  There was always room for growth, even among humans since Adam and Eve were created "good" as well.  This led Franciscans, like Duns Scotus, to believe that Christ's human birth would have come even without falling because we needed a model of perfection to attain since we were only created "good" and not perfect.

Since the beginning of time we needed God to be with us (Emmanuel) and that is what happened  God gave us his only Son, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he [Jesus] in turn gave us his own life for our redemption.  Jesus is the model for whom our lives should reflect.  We are Jesus in the world today!  May this feast of the incarnation of Christ, God made man, remind us that we are called to share in Christ's life by imitating him and hopefully, if we lived lives of faith, hope, and love, share in his divinity one day in the Heavenly Jerusalem.

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations and their Savior: come and save us, O Lord our God!  Amen.

O Rex Gentium (King of Nations)

O come, desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
And be thyself our Prince of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

My favorite part of Advent is reading all the Old Testament texts that foreshadow the coming of Christ.  As I prayed with Ezekiel 37: 21-28 I found it fascinating because I knew the passage was foreshadowing Christ the King!  The prophet Ezekiel is telling his listeners what The Lord told him: that a great King, like David, will come and gather together all the kingdoms.  "They will be my people and I will be their God."

G.K. Chesterton, as well as Fr. Edward Oaks, SJ (scholar & professor of Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/ Mundelein Seminary who just passed away) loved looking at great paradoxes of Christianity.  The King of Kings lowered himself to being born in a barn.  His bed was a tiny manger, his robes were swaddling clothes, his crown was made of thorns, and his throne would become a cross.  How do we know he's a King?  Because he fought the greatest battle ever on the cross and won.  Because kingdoms have been brought together in his name.  All are saved under Christ the King and all share in his wonderful kingship who also share in his wonderful gift of the Eucharist...the greatest treasure of the King of Kings.

O King of nations, and their Desired, the Cornerstone who make all one: come and save our race, whom you formed out of clay.  Amen

O Oriens (Dayspring)

O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

For this Antiphon I relfected on John 8:12 where Jesus says "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life."  As I prayed over this passage I immediately thought of the Advent wreath.  The whole purpose of the Advent wreath is to show how our lives get brighter the more we allow Christ to enter into our life.  Because, as our Lord tells us, we will never be in darkness when we choose to follow Christ.

But this light doesn't just show up out of nowhere...we need to be vigilent and look for the light.  Our prayer and the way we life our life must be properly ordered so that we can find the light of Christ easier.  Right praise & worship (please note I am speaking of Orthodoxy...not Christian rock) is what guides us to the light (although Christian rock can guide us as well...but not in the same way an orthodox lifestyle can).

Some may think that this is just "nice language" or a "good metaphore" to describe the importance of Jesus in your life but those people don't understand what this light is.  We practice orthodoxy so that we may be guided to the eschatological light...the light of Heaven where we will be in full communion with God.  It's important to remember that we get to this light by properly praising & worshiping almighty God.  And how do we properly praise him?  By loving him, The Lord our God, with all our heart, mind, and soul.  And by loving our neighbor as ourself.

O Dayspring, brightness of eternal Light and Sun of Justice: come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.  Amen.

O Clavis David (Key of David)

O come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Christ as the Key of David opens the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven and judges if we belong there or not.  No one gets to the Father, except through Christ, the narrow gate.  So hot do we get past the narrow gate? How do we enter through Christ?

1) Faith
Faith in God is the fundamental virtue.  Without faith what's the point?  There is none.  But I pose a more important question: what do we need to have faith in?  The resurrection of Christ from the dead! This is central to the Gospel!  The resurrection of Christ IS the Good News!  If Christ didn't raise from the dead he would only be another great figure with a good philosophy.  But Christ is so much more than that.  HE IS GOD MADE MAN!! THE KING OF KINGS!! THE SON OF GOD!!  He died on the cross, killed by sin, and conquered death by rising from the dead and not sits at the right hand of God the Father.

2) Love
St. Paul tells us that without love we are nothing.  We are called to Love as Christ loved.  Christ gave his life for our redemption.  Jesus tells us that there is no greater love than to give your life for your friends.  While Faith is the fundamental virtue...Love is the greatest virtue.

3) Hope
But hope in what?  If we have faith in the Good News that Christ defeated death by rising from the dead then surly we will do the same as he promised us.  So what do we hope for?  We hope, and pray, for Gods mercy.  We are a sinful people who do many stupid and selfish things and we hope that our hearts are contrite enough to seek forgiveness through the Sacrament of Penance and be welcomed by Christ, the Key of David, into the Kingdom of God!

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel: you open and no one shuts; you shut and no one opens.  Come and lead forth from his prison the captive sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.  Amen

O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)

O come, O Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell they people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

The passage from scripture i sat with when praying with this Antiphon was John 15: 1-5 where Christ tells us that he is the vine, the Father is the vine grower, and we are the branches.  Just as branches cannot bear fruit without being connected to the vine neither can we grow and bear fruit without being intimately connected to Christ.  The spiritual life is all about relationship and Catholicism is all about right relationship.

How is the spiritual life about relationship?  Well, look at all religions in the world.  They are seeking someone to answer the unanswerable questions.  Why do we exist?  What is the meaning of life?  And so we seek someone transcendent from ourselves for the answer through a variety of means.  The ancient world offered blood sacrifices and incense to multiple Gods, Easter religions sought a transcendent reality through deep meditative prayer, the Jews found God who saved them from their oppressors, and the list goes on.  As each of these religions enter any type of spiritual life it is based on the foundation of building a relationship with their god(s).  The same is true in Catholicism where we are continually building a relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, our one triune God.  We want to be friends with Jesus.

Now, as Catholics we are focused on a right relationship.  This right relationship is build on the foundations of our sacred liturgies.   Not just the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass but also within the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) and the other Sacraments as well.  When we take time to really pray as the Church tells us to pray we are forming that intimate friendship with Jesus Christ in the right way.  We want to form this friendship on a foundation of respect, dignity, love, and this is done through the prescribed liturgies in the Church.

So how else do we stay in an intimate friendship with Jesus Christ?  Frequent reception of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance.  When we receive Christ in the Eucharist we are literally transforming our bodies into a new creation in Christ.  We strip away our old self and conform more closely to the heart of our Lord.  When we receive the Sacrament of Penance we are again striping away out old self, dying to ourself, and becoming more like Christ.  We turn away from the Satan and toward God every time we receive each of these beautiful gifts from Christ.  Also, pray a daily Holy Hour!  Christ asked his apostles to sit for one hour in prayer when we he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, which his apostles failed at, and Christ was angry and said "you couldn't sit with me for one hour?"  Christ just wants you to pray with him.  Can't commit a whole hour?  Then give Christ all that you are able...he will understand.  One other way you can grow in this intimate friendship is by performing acts of charity.  tart with the corporal works of mercy and go from there.  When you want to grow in friendship with your best friend you do things together!  Go out and offer service to people with Christ in your heart.

Jesus tells us in this same Gospel passage that the Father, as the vine grower, will prune the branches. We have already been pruned by listening to the Word, who is Christ.  What else can be pruned from our lives?

O Root of Jesse, who stood as a sign for the people, before you kings shall remain silent, and to you the Gentiles shall make supplication: come to deliver us, and delay not. Amen.

O Sapientia (Wisdom)

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who orderst all things mightily,
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Many people mistake that the scriptures tell a story of man searching for God; however, scripture is, in fact, the story of God searching for man.  The incarnation is the ultimate proof for this claim that many scripture scholars have made throughout the tradition of the Church.  God becomes man in Jesus Christ and literally searches for the stray sheep, a suffering and lost humanity. 

In the ancient world it was thought that man’s true food, that which would nourish him as a human, is the Logos, eternal wisdom: this same Logos now truly becomes food for us out of Love.  The Eucharist draws us into Jesus’ act of self-gift on the cross.  The word became flesh so that we might know God’s love for us.  God is love and by God becoming incarnate in Christ Jesus we are drawn into God and his love for us.  This is done through the self-offering of Christ in the Eucharist.  Communion draws us out of ourselves and toward God where we become one body.  The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn.  We are able to love others because we have received love from God.

God sent his only Son into the world so that we can have eternal life.  We couldn’t have redemption without the cross and we can’t have the cross without the incarnation.  This is why Christmas is so important and we know these revelations of the Gospel because of the wisdom given to us through the Word/ Logos who was made incarnate by God.  

During this upcoming week I will offer daily reflections on the “O” Antiphons.  This is an ancient custom practiced by the Church to assist the faithful in preparing for Christmas by recalling the biblical titles for Jesus Christ.   These titles have been worked into the favored Advent hymn O Come Emmanuel as you see at the beginning of this blog.  Each day I plan to offer a short reflection on the theology of the Antiphon along with the hymn verse and a short prayer from the Magnificat Advent Companion.  I pray you find these reflections useful and that they assist in preparing your own heart for the coming of our incarnate Lord, Jesus Christ.

O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and reached from end to end, and disposed of all things sweetly and mightily: come and teach us the way of prudence. Amen.