It’s All About Love

            Michael Banks is faced with a dilemma.  His father George wants him to invest his tu’ppence in the Dawes, Tomes, Mousely, Grubbes Fidelity Fiduciary Bank.  Michael just wants to use his tu’ppence to feed the birds.  His father and the bank directors assure him that that if he invests his tu’ppence in the bank, he’ll “achieve that sense of conquest as his affluence expands.”[1]  But just the night before, Mary Poppins had sung the words of the Bird Woman who sells bread crumbs on the steps of Saint Paul’s:  “Come feed the little birds, show them you care and you’ll be glad if you do.”[2]  Michael’s dilemma boils down to one thing.  It’s all about love, and that’s the message of today’s readings. 

          Our readings this morning call us to give special attention to the poor and powerless among us.  They call us to love.  In our first reading and in our Gospel, we’re introduced to the selfless widows who generously share all they have for the benefit of others.  And our second reading from Hebrews reminds us of God’s ultimate act of love:  Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross to take away our sins once for all.  These readings are all about love, and they challenge us to ask ourselves, “Whom do we love more, God or ourselves?”

          The answer to that question turns on our deepest convictions, on what we truly believe.  Our psalm this morning defines “God’s love “in terms of ‘justice for the oppressed’ . . ., ‘food for the hungry’ and ‘setting captives free.’”[3]  So believing in God isn’t so much an intellectual pursuit as it is moral action.  “When a man once asked the English Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins what he must do in order to believe, Hopkins replied, ‘Give alms.’”[4]  So if we want to abide in God’s love, we have to attune ourselves to the needs of others.  If we truly love God, we have to truly, selflessly love our neighbor.  

          It’s not always easy to focus our attention on the needs of others.  We “dream of walking with giants, to carve our niche in the edifice of time.”[5]  Like the scribes, we tend to “gravitate toward anything that makes [us] the center.”[6]   Then, like the Banks family we get so caught up in ourselves and our own happiness and security that we give little thought to the needs of others.  We do this out of insecurity, fear and a lack of trust.  To give selflessly, we really have to trust that God will keep his promise of eternal happiness and that true happiness is found in loving God and neighbor.  Many of us, myself included, aren’t quite there yet.  So we spend our lives looking out for number one, guarding our financial and social status and worrying about what may lie ahead.   Sure, we donate to charity, we participate in charitable activities, but when we do these things, do we really put our self-interest aside and act solely for the benefit of others?  Do we selflessly love God and neighbor? 

Sadly, there’s almost always something we hold back.  It’s sad because “if we put all that we have and are at [God’s] disposal, he can do things with it and with us that are beyond our imaginings.”[7]  He can make us truly happy now and for all eternity.  Only one word can describe the joy we’ll experience if we give ourselves fully to God and neighbor – the biggest word you’ve ever heard and this is how it goes:  Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

          So how do we get there?  Complete self-giving sounds like a pretty tall order.  Well, “[l]ike the widow, Christ is our model of faith, trust and complete giving of self for others.”[8]  And Jesus taught us that “his yoke is easy and his burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:30)  He might even say that “with every job that must be done there is an element of fun.  You find the fun and *snap* the job’s a game.”[9]  That’s because following Christ isn’t a matter of suffering grand gestures; we don’t have to bankrupt ourselves, donate everything to the poor and live a mendicant life in the streets to love God and neighbor.  As a certain “practically perfect in every way” nanny once said, “Sometimes a little thing can be quite important.”[10]

† We love God and neighbor selflessly when we lace our advice and direction with a spoonful of sugar instead of brimstone and treacle;

          † We love God and neighbor selflessly when we achieve a sense of conquest by investing our time, talent and treasure in the well-being of others;

† We love God and neighbor selflessly when we take a moment from our busy day to teach a little child how to fly a kite;

          † And yes, we love God and neighbor selflessly, when we give our tu’ppence to the little old Bird Woman and feed the birds. 

Trust me, you’ll be glad if you do because in the end, it’s all about love.

          Now, if you want to find out what happens with Michael Banks’ tu’ppence, you’ll have to come see today’s performance of Mary Poppins at 1:30 in the Immaculate Conception School Multi-Purpose Room.  But I will share with you a story told by Robert Sherman.  While he and his brother Richard were composing the music and lyrics for the 1964 motion picture Mary Poppins, they spent a lot of time pouring over the Mary Poppins books written by P.L. Travers.  As they read through a chapter in the first book called “The Bird Woman,” they realized that this chapter was the metaphor for why Mary came to 17 Cherry Tree Lane in the first place – to teach the Banks family the value of charity; to teach them how to love.  After they wrote “Feed the Birds,” they took it up to Walt Disney’s office and sang it for him.  “[Disney]  leaned back in his chair, looking out the window, and he said:  ‘That’s it, isn’t it?  That’s what this is all about.’”[11]  It’s all about love.

Readings:  1 Kings 17: 10-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9: 24-28; Mark 12: 38-44

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[1] “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank,” Mary Poppins, Robert Stevenson, dir., Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2004.

[2] “Feed the Birds,” Mary Poppins.

[3] Biagio Mazza, “Authentic Discipleship,” National Catholic Reporter, vol. 52, no. 11 (October 23-November 5, 2015) at 27.

[4] Robert Barron, “Lent Day 1 – Judged According to Love,” Lent Reflections with Fr. Robert Barron (March 5, 2015).

[5] “A Man has Dreams,” Mary Poppins.

[6] John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers:  Eating with the Bridegroom, Mark Year B (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2005) at 265.

[7] William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001) at 353.

[8] Mazza at 27.

[9] “A Spoonful of Sugar,” Mary Poppins.

[10] Mary Poppins.

[11] Tony Brown, “Finding ‘Mary Poppins’ from Book to Movie to Stage: Follow ‘Feed the Birds,’” The Plain Dealer (July 11, 2009), http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2009/07/finding_mary_poppins_from_book.html. 

Wise Choices

          Jynessa was just 13 years old when she smoked her first joint on a dare from her older sister. By age 17, she was an addict. In just four years, she had gone from a high-achieving, straight- A student and varsity softball catcher, to a high school senior who couldn’t handle more than four classes because she smoked marijuana several times a day.[1] Jynessa would be the first to tell you that she made bad choices. Our readings today are all about choices, but especially about how to make wise choices.

          In our first reading from the Book of Wisdom, King Solomon is given a choice: riches or wisdom? Solomon chose wisdom and soon discovered that “all good things came to him in her company, and countless riches at her hand.” Solomon made a good choice. In our Gospel, the rich man was also given a choice: treasures on earth or treasures in heaven? He chose earthly treasures, “and went away sad.” The rich man made a bad choice. Our readings teach us that the difference between a good choice and a bad choice is wisdom.

          Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to know God’s purpose and plan. “Wisdom is not a reflection of academic brilliance but a consequence of an eager desire to do God’s will and give him glory.”[2] Wisdom helps us discern right from wrong. It helps us navigate difficult and contentious issues – to make good choices and avoid bad choices. Wisdom encourages us to live as Jesus taught us. Wisdom leads us to eternal life.

          So how do we get ourselves some of this wisdom? Well, “[a]cquiring true wisdom consists of trusting God and allowing him to lead and inspire us. . . . [W]isdom involves the effort to know the truth about history and the natural sciences as well as philosophy and theology.”[3] In short, obtaining wisdom requires a lot of humility and a little effort. But God in his great mercy has given us all of the tools we need to obtain his wisdom. These tools include scripture, our consciences and wise people.

          Let’s start with Scripture. As our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “the word of God is living and effective.” God’s word in sacred scripture speaks to all people in all times and in all circumstances. Scripture is filled with God’s Wisdom. We just need to crack open the Good Book to find it. Our conscience – it’s is our most secret core and sanctuary. In our conscience we’re alone with God whose voice echoes in our depths.[4] “The well-informed conscience has a genuine integrity that cannot be dismissed.”[5] That’s why we’re under a moral obligation to adhere to the cry of our well-informed conscience in all circumstances. Inform your conscience and listen to it. As Pope Francis warned just the other day, “When the devil manages to numb your conscience, he has won a real victory.”[6]

          God has also given us the gift of wise people. Wise people certainly can include those who have studied history, the natural sciences, philosophy or theology, but most importantly, wise people are those who learn from their mistakes, who inform and listen to their consciences and who make wise choices more often than not. Wise people tell you what you need to hear, which may not always be what you want to hear. But they always do it lovingly – the way Jesus spoke to the rich man in today’s Gospel. Surround yourself with wise people, listen to them, and never dismiss the elderly. Just because they may not be able to maneuver their way around a smartphone doesn’t mean that they aren’t wiser than you are.

          Life is filled with difficult choices. ONE VOICE, the coalition of local law enforcement and faith community leaders of which Monsignor Randy is a member, has asked that we address a particular difficult choice that our young people increasingly face right here in Hunterdon County: marijuana use. With the push in certain states to legalize recreational marijuana, our society has become somewhat numb to its dangers, particularly its danger to teens and young adults. Here are some facts:

- One in six adolescents who ever try marijuana will become addicted;[7]
- Adolescents who smoke marijuana once a week over a two-year period are almost six times more likely than nonsmokers to drop out of school and over three times less likely to attend college;[8]
- Persistent marijuana use from adolescence into young adulthood can result in verbal, learning, memory and attention deficits that can be permanent;[9]
- Today’s marijuana is five to ten times more potent than the marijuana available in the 1960s and 70s.[10]

          There are many more scary facts out there and also a lot of information that suggests that marijuana isn’t harmful at all. What I can tell you is that I didn’t just copy a bunch one-liners into this homily. I made sure that I found several respectable sources for each fact I mentioned – scientific, peer-reviewed studies that I’ve cited here in my text. From what I’ve seen, information claiming that marijuana is potentially dangerous is largely supported by research scientists, medical clinicians and law enforcement officials. Information claiming that marijuana is harmless is largely promoted by people who want to smoke more marijuana and by people who will profit from its wide-spread recreational use. I’ve weighed the evidence, I’ve considered my own observations, and I’ve examined my conscience on the issue. For what it’s worth, I’m convinced that recreational marijuana use can be very harmful, especially in adolescents and young adults. And if you don’t believe me, just ask Jynessa.

          Like Jynessa, our teens and young adults will be given a choice: smoke marijuana or don’t smoke marijuana? When faced with that choice, I hope you’ll turn to your well-informed conscience before you choose. Let’s face it, if someone hands you a joint, you probably won’t say, “Hold on a second while I crack open the Bible and call my mother and Deacon Mike for advice,” so I hope you’ll inform your conscience with the wisdom of scripture and the counsel of wise people long before you’re ever given that choice. And always remember that you’re never alone. God speaks to you in your conscience at all times, in all places and in all circumstances, especially when you’re being tempted with a bad choice. Listen to him and – please, please, please – make wise choices.

 Readings:  Wisdom 7: 7-11; Psalm 90; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10: 17-30

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[1] Jenny Brundin, “Addicted Teen Struggles to Break Marijuana Habit,” Colorado Public Radio, March 20, 2014, http://www.cpr.org/news/story/addicted-teen-struggles-break-marijuana-habit.

[2] “The Book of Wisdom,” Didache Bible (San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 2014), note, Wisdom 7: 6.

[3] Id. at note, Wisdom 7:7-21.

[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1776.

[5] John W. Martens, “The Spirit of Wisdom,” America, vol. 214, no. 9 (October 5, 2015) at 38.

[6] Pope Francis, Homily at Daily Mass (October 9, 2015).

[7] J.C. Anthony, L.A. Warner and R.C. Kessler, “Comparative Epidemiology of Dependence on Tobacco, Alcohol, Controlled Substances and Inhalants:  Basic Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey,” Experiential and Clinical Psychopharmacology (1994) at 2; Wayne Hall, “What Has Research Over the Past Two Decades Revealed About the Adverse Health Effects of Recreational Cannabis Use?” Addiction, vol. 110 at 23, 30.

[8] D.M. Ferguson, et al., “Cannabis and Educational Achievements,” Addiction, vol. 98, no.12 (2003); Hall at 24, 30.

[9] M.H. Meier, “Persistent Cannabis Uses Show Neuropsychological Decline from Childhood to Midlife,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2012); Hall at 23-24, 30.

[10] M.A. El Sohly, S.A. Ross, Z. Mehmedic, R. Arafat, B. Yi and B.F. Banahan, “Potency Trends of Delta9-THC and other Cannabinoids in Confiscated Marijuana from 1980-1997,” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 45, no. 1 (2004) at 24-30; Z. Mehmedic, S. Chandra, D. Slade, H. Denham, S. Foster, A.S. Patel, et. al, “Potency Trends of Delta9-THC and other Cannabinoids in Confiscated Marijuana from 1993-2008,” Forensic Science, vol. 55 (2010) at 1209-17.

United in God’s Love

A wedding homily for a wonderful couple.

          All-American boy meets Greek-American girl.  They fall in love and get engaged.  He converts to her religion, not because she wanted him to, but because he wanted to be closer to her.  Their families and backgrounds are different, but each complements the other in wonderful ways.  Sound familiar?  Well, it should because that’s the story of Toula Portokalos and Ian Miller in the 2002 box office hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  Whether life imitates art or art imitates life doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you’ve found the secret to a perfect marriage:  you’re united in God’s love.  And that’s what our readings are talking about.

          In our first reading from Genesis, we learn that God created woman to make a suitable partner for man, and that in God’s providence suitable doesn’t mean identical; it means complementary.  In our second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that “God has gifted [us] with diverse gifts and functions”[1] but without love, these gifts are useless.  Our Gospel passage explains why:  love unites us with God and with each other.  “Love is the absolute norm that must govern the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit.”[2]

          Let’s face it, men and women are different.  We’re not meant to be the same; we were created to be different.  “No one person can have all the gifts and perform all the functions.”[3]  No one person can clean up Justin’s mess.  So our goal in life, and especially in marriage, isn’t to conform our being to another person’s; we’re not called to lose our individual identities.  Our goal is to appreciate each other’s differences and use them for mutual benefit.  This fact is particularly evident in marriage.  Think of marriage as a voyage of two ships to the same port.  “Grapple the two vessels together, lash them side by side, and the first storm will smash them to pieces. . . .  But leave the two vessels apart to make their voyage to the same port, each according to its own skill and power, and an unseen life connects them, a magnetism [that] cannot be forced.”[4]  That unseen life, that magnetism, that unifying factor is God’s love.    

          God’s love is the unifying force that allows us to exercise our gifts for the benefit of others.  “The proper movement of love begins with attention to the needs of the other person.”[5]  Love isn’t jealous; it’s not pompous; it doesn’t seek its own interest.  Love is patient; love is kind.  Love respects differences.  As the great American contemplative Thomas Merton said, "The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image."  When we truly love, when we enter together into God’s love, we understand that God created the person we love just as he or she is for a reason.  When we truly love, we join with God in loving the one we love.  It’s always through God that we find unity in love, notwithstanding our differences.  And what God has joined, man cannot divide.

          Loving isn’t always easy.  Life is hard; it involves sickness and death and unimaginably tragic circumstances.  It’s in the challenging times that our differences can become grating and can disrupt our unity.  So it’s especially in the difficult times that we have to challenge ourselves to love, as hard as that may be.  As the poet Kahlil Gibran said, “When love beckons to you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep.”[6]  If you follow the ways of love, you’ll be united in God’s love in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health because “[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”

          Jess and Justin:  you are two wonderful, talented, fun people.  It’s been such a blessing for me to meet you and your families – even Greg – and to journey with you over the past year as you prepared for this special day.  In that time, I’ve learned that you have many similarities, and a few differences.  You’re not identical, but you complement each other in wonderful ways.  What has impressed me most about you as a couple is how much you appreciate your differences.  Nearly every time I pointed out differences identified in the FOCCUS survey, I’d quickly learn that you were already aware of them, and that you’d worked out how to use them for your mutual benefit as a couple.  You’ve found the formula for a perfect marriage:  You are united in God’s love.  I think the only issue that isn’t fully resolved is Justin’s iTunes obsession.  And the only advice I can give you on that one, Jess, is to “Let it go, let it go . . . .”  Sorry, wrong movie.  Well, if that fails, follow Gus Portokalos’ advice in My Big Fat Greek Wedding:  Put a little Windex on him, it cures everything.

Readings:  Genesis 2: 18-24; Psalm 33; 1 Corinthians 12: 31-13: 8a; John 17: 20-26.

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[1] Maria A. Pascuzzi, “The First Letter to the Corinthians,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2009) at 532.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Rabbi Marc Gellman, “Jesus’ Miracle,” MSNBC.com, December 21, 2005. 

[5] J. Paul Sampley, “The First Letter to the Corinthians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. X (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2002) at 952. 

[6] Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1983) p. 11.

Papal Visit Day 6 – La Famiglia

               The original and prime purpose of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States was to attend the World meeting of Families in Philadelphia.  While the Pope has emphasized the importance of the family throughout his trip, he was in full form last night.

 

    Abandoning his prepared remarks, no doubt to his translator’s chagrin, Pope Francis effusively spoke from the heart about the central role of the family in transmitting God’s beauty, God’s truth and God’s love.  Smiling and gesturing wildly as his pace quickened, the Pope spoke of parents who sustain the family through hard work carried out through love; he spoke of children as the future and strength of the family; and he spoke of grandparents as the family’s living memory. 

                The most poignant part of the Holy Father’s remarks, I think, was when he said that “All of the love that God has in himself, all of the beauty that he has in himself, he gives it to the family.  And the family is really family when it is able to open its arms and receive all that love.”  To emphasize his point, the Pope asked, “And where did he send his Son – to a palace?  To a city?  No. He sent him to a family.  God sent him amid a family.  And he could do this because it was a family that had a truly open heart.”

 

                I couldn’t help but think of my own family while Pope Francis spoke – my wife and daughters, my parents, my brother and sisters, my grandparents, my aunts, uncles and cousins.  I am blessed with a large family that has opened its arms to receive God’s love.  May we all follow Pope Francis’ plea – “Let’s protect the family, because it is in the family that our future is in play.”

Papal Visit Day 5 – Dynamic Love

 

             I thought today’s post would start off with the Pope’s visit to the Liberty Bell.  I thought I was going to write about his address in front of Independence Hall, and perhaps even try to explain the Church’s position on immigration.  Then I saw a 2 minute 50 second video of Pope Francis’ arrival at the Philadelphia Airport, and all of these ideas went right out the window. 

                Unlike his previous arrivals, Pope Francis headed straight to his car after disembarking from his plane in Philadelphia without pressing into the waiting crowd for handshakes and blessings.  The black Fiat did a slow turn in front of the crowd as the Pope waved and gave a thumbs-up to the Bishop Shanahan High School band through his open window.  At the far end of the crowd, just as the car was about to take off for downtown Philly, Pope Francis suddenly turned to his driver and appeared to say, “Para” – “Stop!”  He got out of the car and walked straight over to Michael Keating, a 10-year old boy who’s confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy.  He took Michael’s face in his hands, drew Michael toward him, leaned heavily over the fence and kissed Michael’s head.    

                I’ve said before that love is dynamic, not static; it has to move.  So when we receive God’s love, we can’t hold it in.  We have to share it.  The reason I love Pope Francis is summed up perfectly in that 2 minute 50 second video:  Pope Francis is the epitome of dynamic love.  He just can’t hold it in.

Papal Visit Day 4 – The People Person

                Today’s observation started a few days ago when I noticed that Pope Francis generally has seemed pretty somber or stoic at his public events.  I certainly understand if he’s tired or nervous, and I hear that his sciatica has been acting up.  But last night, I saw something different.   When he greeted Cardinal Dolan on the tarmac at JFK Airport, his face broke into a warm, broad smile as they exchanged a brotherly embrace – a “man hug,” as my daughter would call it.  Later, at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, he worked the crowd as he walked up the center aisle, grabbing the hand of a religious sister and caressing the face of a young girl in a wheel chair.  It’s clear that Pope Francis loves people.

                Pope Francis’ love of people was all-the-more evident today.  His address to the General Assembly of the United Nations was all about people and how the nations of the world need to work together to help real people facing real problems.  At the 9/11 Museum, he spent time with families who lost loved ones on that tragic day, mourning with people who mourn.  That beaming smile returned this afternoon at Our Lady Queen of the Angels School in East Harlem where he laughed and played with the children, and was the subject of countless selfies.  He then hopped on the Pope Mobile to greet some 80,000 people (you read that right) who came out to show the Pope who loves people that they love him too.  Pope Francis’ day was topped off with the celebration of the Holy Mass, our most cherished liturgy, with 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden.  It’s quite fitting that liturgy means “the work of the people.”

          Popes usually sign their names with the suffix P.P., which stands for Supreme Pontiff.  Folksy Pope Francis doesn’t use that title, but maybe he should.  In his case, though, I think it would stand for People Person.

Papal Visit Day 3 – Pontifex Maximus

Today’s events, I think, showed the American people who Pope Francis really is.  First up was his address to a Joint Session of Congress.  Announced by House Majority Leader Boehner as “Pope Francis of the Holy See,” the Holy Father was introduced as a statesman, but his dual roles as Head of State of the Holy See and Chief Shepherd of the Roman Catholic Church can never be separated.  His address to Congress proved that. 

Personally, I think the Pope’s speech was brilliant – rhetorically adept, substantively courageous and pastorally sensitive.  Pope Francis invoked our historical memory and four great American icons – Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton – to enter into personal dialogue with the American people.  The Pope didn’t shy away from tough issues.  He spoke of climate change, immigration, ideological extremism, poverty and the defense of human life at all stages.  He didn’t judge or scold.  In his characteristically gentle way, Pope Francis acknowledged differences of opinion on these challenging issues and offered himself as a bridge builder.  He reminded us of our greatness as “One Nation under God,” and encouraged us to always move forward as a world leader in the areas of freedom, civil liberty, social justice and openness to God.

 

          Following his address to Congress, Pope Francis moved from the halls of power to the table of the poor.  He toured Catholic Charities facilities at St. Patrick Church in downtown Washington and had lunch with the homeless at St. Patrick’s soup kitchen.  He bridged the divide between the mighty and the lowly with grace.  Today, I think, the people of the United States learned who Pope Francis really is.  He’s not a politician, he’s not a fundamentalist; he’s not a communist.  He’s Pontifex Maximus – the greatest bridge builder.