Blessings of the Past

   I'm not one to spend a lot of time dwelling on the past, but during the past month I have been provided with several opportunities to do so. That can be dangerous since it often leads to unrealistic thinking about "good old days" that never really existed because there is good and bad in every age.  In this case my backward look has lead me to a sense of gratitude for the people and places that have shaped my life.
  Earlier this month I gathered with the friars of my province who were ordained 40 years ago. Although I went through my formation in another province I have been fully adopted into the Holy Name Province class of '71. Eight of us gathered at our friary in Margate, NJ (4 could not make it), and reminisced about seminary days, recalling a lot of funny and crazy stories, but also thinking of the influence of the 60's and the Second Vatican Council on us. We were so hopeful (in some ways naively so), but happy to be a bunch who have served the Lord in a way that has been shaped by that council even as many today would want to undo it or reinterpret it. We all felt a certain sadness over that and the sex abuse crisis and other things that we just could not foresee in 1971. We celebrated the Eucharist together and in fine Franciscan fashion went out to dinner on the Saturday night.
  Just the other day I had another call from the past. In late grammar school and throughout my high school years I was a member of the CYO band in my parish, Saint William's, in the Savin Hill section of Dorchester, MA where I grew up. I found out via the internet that a reunion of band members is being planned and that there is a Facebook page for the band.  I was delighted by the pictures and the flood of great memories that this brought about and I put myself down as a member.  We were the champions for many years of the CYO music circuit, and we paraded with dignitarie played at big events,  but more importantly the band, the parish and many wonderful people from there helped to shape my life in a wonderful way. The parish is now merged with another parish (St. Margaret's) and renamed (Blessed Mother Theresa), but there will always be some St. William's in my heart.
  Finally this morning at Mass with the Gospel that recalled the call by Jesus to Peter, Andrew, James and John, Fr. Marty Bednar in his homily shared his own sense of a vocation that came to him as a high school student and it brought back memories of my own discerning of a call to join the Franciscans.  I thought of St. William's parish again as well as the friars at Christopher Columbus High school, both of which nourished my vocation.
  My last blog entry spoke of looking to the future, this one to the past, but right now is all that any of us have, and right now I'm grateful for the blessings of the past that have shaped me and looking forward to the years of life that I have left as a friar and a priest.

On to the Future: Looking out to the World

I'm sitting in the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal and looking forward to a weekend with my fellow classmates from the class of '71 as we celebrate and reminisce over our experience in 40 years of ordained ministry.  In my last entry I explained to readers what a provincial chapter is.  Today I would like to share my experience of the chapter now that it is over.

   The past week was a roller coaster ride between excitement and tedium.  At a chapter we tap into our vision as Franciscans and our contact with the God who shapes that vision.  At the same time there is business to be conducted, finances to be discussed, and election of new leaders.  We did all of that in a very wonderful, if fatiguing, four day period at the Hyatt Conference Center in Cambridge, MD.

   Fortunately  at the end of all I am left with a sense of vision renewed and hope for the future in these very challenging times.  The theme that we chose for the chapter was Crossroads 2011: Where our deepest longing meets the worlds great need. (See the above picture with our new provincial council)  This theme is exciting for me because we chose to look outward at the world and not inward at the workings of the Church.  Yes, we discussed at times our frustration with the direction that our Church and its leaders are taking, but our energy was directed at how we as Franciscan Friars can bring the message of the Gospel to the weak, the powerless, the alienated and the marginalized and to all people of good will through our life and ministry.

   For us Franciscans our fraternity, rooted in our life with God, is our primary gift.  Though are numbers are getting smaller and we are withdrawing from parishes and other ministries, we are at the same time identifying needs in the areas where we serve and seeking ways to be more and more a brotherhood in mission. For us itinerancy is a core value.  This means that we are not attached to places, that we can move on and be present in new ways even though are numbers are smaller.

   Though our numbers are smaller and vocations are less than in the past we are blessed with some quality young friars who unlike the younger members of many groups in today's Church,  are not caught up in the need for clerical trappings and positions of power to provide them with security.  Many of them that I met said that they chose us because we were more real and not clerical.  In addition to their many talents that gives me good reason to have hope in our future.  I certainly hope that my readers  who are not religious have gained a little bit of insight into our lives as friars through this sharing.  Also, for some more pictures and comments on our chapter click on my Facebook page to the right.

Holy Name Province Provincial Chapter

  I'm writing on Sunday, January 2, from Margate, NJ on the way to our provincial chapter in Cambridge, MD. Several of you who saw my schedule understandably asked, "What's a provincial chapter?"  With that in mind I thought I'd answer that question.

 In our order, and in most orders of men as well as women, the chapter is a periodic gathering of members to elect leaders and to make important decisions. We Franciscans have a general chapter every six years to elect the minister general and his council and to formulate policies for the whole order.  This gathering is attended by the outgoing council and the provincials of each province of the world.  In the provinces we meet every three years.  At one time only the top leaders went to the chapter.  In recent years there has been a democratization process in most provinces.  In the case of Holy Name Province, to which I belong, all of us friars are delegates and expected to attend unless there is a good reason.

   This year our provincial minister, John O'Connor, having completed a 6 year term, can be re-elected for three more.  We also elect his vicar (vice-provincial) and a 6 member council for three years.  Perhaps even more important than the elections these days are decisions that we make about the future.  Like most religious we are getting smaller and have to make some tough decisions regarding use of personnel. In doing this we try to move forward by setting criteria as to how we do this based on the priorities of living our Franciscan life. There will be some strong debate but I'm sure we will live this gathering with a lot of hope and a clearer sense of where we're going.

   Our chapter runs from Mon.,evening, January 3, to Friday, January 7 at Noontime.   Please keep us in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Emmanuel, God With US

   A Blessed Christmas to one and all. I had promised a video for Christmas but let's just say that due to technical difficulties it wasn't meant to be, but there are certainly many thoughts on my mind as we celebrate this wonderful feast of the Lord's birth.
 
   Over nearly 40 years of ministry as a priest some words that I often hear as Christmas approaches go something like this, "It's been tough lately. There won't be any Christmas for us this year." While I certainly resonate with and have compassion towards those who express these sentiments I would like to suggest
that there is another way to look at Christmas.  Modern advertising presents us with images of Christmas that are unreal.  There is almost always snow, but just enough and no one has to shovel it.  Families are always happy and healthy.  Alcohol is consumed, but never too much.  What happens is that we compare our lives to these images and then conclude that "There is no Christmas for me this year."

   We also mistakenly think that we are merely celebrating Jesus' birthday, and we are, but we are celebrating much more.  By only thinking of the birth of Jesus, as wonderful a moment as that must have been, we are merely commemorating a past event.  Theologian Ronald Rolheiser reminds that that the Incarnation, the taking on of human flesh by God, is not a one day, or even a 33 year, reality.  It is a mystery that continues in us to this very day.  As we celebrate the birth of Christ we are challenged to let Christ be born again in us today.  To the extent that the Christ comes alive in us  repeatedly we indeed have great cause for celebration. The nativity story told by Luke and Matthew presents us with a Christ who came in humble love to humble surroundings.  That same Christ looks to be born into our own humble surroundings, into the brokenness, pain and suffering that we experience, to bring us healing, comfort and strength and set us free.  When we understand this we can never think that there won't be Christmas for me, but rather rejoice that while we won't have a Christmas card picture Christmas we can have that special cause for real rejoicing because we know that Emmanuel, God with us, is indeed with us, in our real lives, just as they are.

   The next challenge of Christmas is realizing that through us, through our actions on behalf of the poor and marginalized of this word, Christ can be born over and over again in the world today.  If more of us take up that challenge then perhaps the words, "Peace on earth" will be more than a nice theme for our Christmas cards.

  Merry Christmas to all and a Blessed New Year!

Surprise: Fourth Sunday of Advent Reflection

   None of us likes to be called out of our comfort zone. We tend to resist change.  Yet the message of the Scripture over and over again is that our God is always calling us to change, to a new place, where God can be revealed to us more fully.  As we come to the end of Advent this truth is brought before us.  This year the Gosepl reading for this Sunday is the annunciation to Joseph. (Matthew 1:18-25) In other years the annunciation to Mary is featured, but in both cases we have people who have their wedding plans made, everything all figured out, and God intervenes calling them in a new direction, a wonderful direction to be sure, but nonetheless in upheaval in each of their lives.  The Scriptures are filled with such stories--the calls of the prophets, the call of the apostles, etc.
   Granted that you and I are not likely to have anything happen to us quite as dramatic as what happens to Mary and Joseph in these Gospel accounts, but I do know that in my own experience over the years that my greatest times of opening to God have been times of change, whether it was going to Bolivia, and then returning, accepting an assignment to the Ministry of the Word which I thought would be temporary. (It is now 23 years and counting, and constant change within that 23 years.), or having injury and sickness come my way, though fortunately not too much so far.
   Christmas is coming, a time up gift-giving.  Most of us say that we like to be surprised by the gits we receive. Perhaps true, but are we open to God's surprises in our life.  Those surprises, though mixed with challenge and difficulty, are times when our relationship with our God truly deepens and grows.
   Come Emmanuel, we say and sing, but do we really mean it?

Our Lady of Guadalupe

   For the second year in a row I am on the road for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Last year I was in Paduca, KY, this year in Pahokee, FL.  As I have pointed out previously those who know me know that my preferred style of spirituality is not highly devotional, yet when I participate in this feast I am fully drawn into it. I beleive that the reason for that is the sincerity and authenticity of the people, and the power that this feast represents in their life and culture.   We Americans can be so much in our head as we worship and pray.  We hesitate to clap, sing and express our faith emotionally.  None of that here. Everyone is fully into it.  The little video clip was made at 5 AM today, not an hour when I'm usually awake, before most of the folks headed off to work in the sugar can fields around here.
  
   This feast is so important in the lives of people from Mexico and Central America because it represents a moment when God clearly was revealed as on the side of the poor.  At a time when the Spanish missionaries and Church leaders were debating as to whether the native peoples even had a soul the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego and imprinted an image of herself on his cloak for him to show to the bishop.
  
   While many of us who are of a scientific bent may raise questions to how this may have happened, I leave those questions aside and simply see it as a sign that God was saying, "You cannot neglect these wonderful people. They need to hear the Gospel too. They are part of my Church."  Today as well as we struggle with issues of immigration reform we would to well to heed the message of Guadalupe.
 

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

 I'm at Mary Immaculate Parish in West Palm Beach, FL, ending a parish mission here on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  Two of my brother friars offer interesting perspectives, one by a fine student friar from my province, Br. Dan Horan,OFM can be found by clicking in the link to his Blog which interestingly enough is called Dating God  Friar Dan's Blog.

The other I have copied below from the daily meditation of Richard Rohr, OFM.  Dan's is more scholarly and historical, Richard's is a meditation, but both suggest that finding meaning in this teaching is a work of continued reflection. You might note that Richard Rohr's page offers a chance too receive his daily meditations.  I highly recommend them.

Sunrise in Honduras, (photo detail) by ©Henry Hoffman

ADVENT Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Feast of the Immaculate Conception As Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters, he will always love one and ignore the other” (Matthew 6:24).  Our first and final loyalty is to one kingdom:  God’s, or our own.  We can’t really fake it.  The Big Picture is apparent when God’s work and will are central, and we are happy to take our place in the corner of the frame. Because I am a part of the Big Picture, I do matter and substantially so.  Because I am only a part, however, I am rightly situated off to stage right—and happily so.  What freedom there is in such truth!  We are inherently important and included, yet not burdened with manufacturing or sustaining that private importance.  Our dignity is given by God, and we are freed from ourselves! Today’s often misunderstood feast of the Immaculate Conception is saying that even Mary’s dignity was totally given by God from the first moment of her conception, and all she could do was thank God for it.  It was nothing she merited.  In that she is a metaphor and archetype for every human life. Adapted from Preparing for Christmas with Richard Rohr, pp.13-14 Prayer starter: Thy kingdom come!

If you are inspired by Fr. Richard's daily meditations, please consider both visiting the CAC Mustard Seed Resource Center and supporting Radical Grace, the publication of the CAC!