Week of Witnesses

This week is one filled with witnesses. A week of red vestments at the liturgy. A week of powerful examples for us all to model our lives after.

The Greek word for "“witness"” is martyr, and the liturgical calendar this week features three feast days of martyrs:

• Monday, Oct 17th St. Ignatius of Antioch


• Tuesday, Oct 18th St. Luke


• Wednesday, Oct 19th Saints John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues & their companions

St. Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch (Peter was the first), and the person that first used the term "Catholic" to describe the Church. Like most of the Apostolic Fathers, he was martyred for his faith in Jesus. He was killed by animals in the Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Coliseum in 107.

St. Luke was both an Evangelist, writing a the Gospel attributed to him, as well as the Acts of the Apostles, and a companion of the Apostle Paul. He gave his life in witness to our Lord Jesus in Greece, where he was crucified, probably on an olive tree.

Saints John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues and their companions were French Jesuit missionaries serving in Canada from 1625 to 1649, when they were were martyred -- some tortured to death, others decapitated. This group of eight Jesuits became known as the North American Martyrs, and were canonized in 1930. The names of the companions were: John de la Lande, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, Rene Goupil and Noel Chabanel.

Some people might think that the days of the martyrs are long gone. That most of the martyrs came during the early formation of the Church, and the ensuing persecutions by various Roman emperors. While it is true that many were martyred during these times; unfortunately the days of the martyrs are anything but over.

There are more martyrs of the 20th century then any previous century in the life of the Church. Thousands of new martyrs have offered their lives even in these latter days, primarily in Africa and Asia. Christianity is persecuted in many countries even today, with torture being used commonly against Christians.

Take a moment and pray for our brothers and sisters who suffer so badly because of their belief in Christ; they need our prayers and support. How beautiful a world it will be when all are afforded religious freedom. Until that day we will continue to have fearless role models that make present today the same fire and fervor that Ignatius, Luke and the Canadian Jesuits exhibited.

Pray for us, holy martyrs of God!

Stewardship Witnesses

This weekend we are having lay persons give a witness talk about stewardship in conjunction with our parish and archdiocesan annual appeals. Our archdiocese does this each year, and I always enjoy it.

I enjoy it not only because stewardship is important to me professionally (I am the Stewardship & Development Director of our parish), but even more so because it provides yet another way to deliver an unchanging message with fresh faces, fresh ideas and fresh vitality.

My personal gratitude goes out to all those persons who have accepted the invitation to share their stewardship story with St. Gerald; for the very act of witnessing to the importance and need of stewardship is itself a profound act of stewardship!

People often confuse stewardship (a way of authentically living the Gospel) with raising money. Although treasure plays into the way we respond as stewards, it is neither the only way nor even the most important way. Investing our time to serve the Church, the Body of Christ is the most valuable exercise of stewardship.

If you are not active in your own parish, start now. Call the office, find a ministry, group or committee that would benefit from your gifts, and sign up! Your parish family needs you, the Church needs you, and most of all, our Lord Jesus Christ needs you.

Well done, good and faithful steward, well done!

Yom Kippur

Today the Jewish high holy day of Yom Kippur continues.

Our late Holy Father, John Paul II, described Judaism as our “elder brother in faith.” It is very important for all Christians, and most certainly all Catholics, to study Judaism, at least in some form, as our faith was born from it.

Remember – Jesus, all the apostles, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, Zachariah, Elizabeth and most of the disciples were Jews. Most of the first members of the Church were Jews.

The most enjoyable and fascinating class I ever took in the seminary was on Jewish Studies. It was co-taught by a Benedictine monk and a Jewish rabbi. Part of the course included attending services for the high holy days at the synagogue, attending a bar mitzvah, and attending a regular Sabbath service as well. The course was funded in part by B’nai B’rith.

As a result, you will sometimes read on this blog comments about Judaism, especially in the context of relation to Christian thought and Catholic liturgy.

Yom Kippur is a high holy day – the most important one, and always occurs on the 10th day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar (Judaism uses a lunar rather than a solar calendar). This feast is commanded by Adonai (the LORD) in Leviticus 23:26-32.

It is the Day of Atonement – a day set aside for Jews to atone for the sins committed against the LORD. Sins committed against other people require the Jew to seek that person out, and to reconcile with them before Yom Kippur.

The day is a day of total fast, no work, no food, and no water. Services are held at the synagogue both nights and during the day.

Two important events occur during the feast.

1. On the first night (Wednesday evening) the singing of the haunting melody of the Kol Nidre begins the feast. Kol Nidre translates “all vows” and is sung to the LORD asking Him to annul all personal vows made during the following year. Historically this was very important to Jews that were forcibly converted (under threat of violence) during the Spanish Inquisition. Singing of the Kol Nidre allowed these ones to tell the LORD that they acted under duress, and were still true to Him in their hearts and minds.
2. The next evening (Thursday) the feast concludes with the Ne’ilah service – during which the ark containing the Torah remains open for the entire service – necessitating all to stand for the entire liturgy. Blowing of the shofar (a ram’s horn) concludes the service and the holy day.

(here is a photo of a shofar)

We pray today for all Jewish people, the first to receive the word of God, and who continue to hold a special place in the Lord’s heart as His Chosen People.

PS: To those confused by the two-day timing of the feast, please remember that Jewish time is reckoned from sunset to sunset. So the feast begins on Wednesday evening and lasts until Thursday evening. Those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours will recognize that Catholics still honor the Sabbath (the Lord’s Day, Sunday) in this way. Sunday Evening Prayer I begins on Saturday evening and the Lord’s Day continues until Night Prayer on Sunday night.

Benedict XVI

(this is the Coat of Arms of his Holiness, Benedict XVI)

A friend asked me the other day what I thought of the new pope, and how things have transpired since he was elected. I thought it was an interesting thing to inquire about, so here are my thoughts thus far:

• Pope Benedict XVI is not going to be a globe-trotting messenger as was the case with John Paul II. This is not only because of his age, but also because of the sort of man he is. He’s quiet, reflective, introverted. On a recent vacation to northern Italy he took three cases of books with him to read and a piano to play. The pope enjoys classical music.


• He’s tired of being the watch-dog, the enforcer. For twenty plus years Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This means he was responsible for policing lots of stuff and lots of people in the Church. In past centuries the name of this position was the Grand Inquisitor. That is, the one that safeguards the truths of the faith by diligent attention to who’s teaching what where. And if they aren’t doing it right, corrections were made. In any case, I think he’s quite pleased to be doing something different now; something he enjoys – being a grandfatherly pastor and shepherd.


• He’s very good one-on-one – Benedict XVI recently had Hans Kung over for dinner (to Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the papacy). Two old Tubingen professors having a pleasant visit. Even though as the Enforcer, Ratzinger had to discipline Kung previously. Kinda like a line from The Godfather, isn’t it? “It’s not personal, it’s business.”

A lot of pundits predicted that Benedict XVI would come out cracking the whip, shaping the Church up, etc. I wouldn’t be holding my breath for that sort of thing.

A little parting Italian for this blog entry: Viva Il Papa! (Long Live the Pope!)

Unless you aquire the ears of a child, you cannot understand this homily

Perhaps it’s a God-Incidence, but today’s Gospel account is one that I wrote a children’s homily for some time back.

In Robert Fulghum fashion (author of All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten), I think the message and content of the homily is timely today, too.

Here’s the Gospel text: (Luke 11:37-41)

After Jesus had spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

And here’s the homily I spoke about:

Sometimes it’s hard to keep clean. We might be working outside, or playing soccer, and it’s easy to get mud and grass stains on our clothes. It’s not a big deal, though, because our parents help us get those clothes clean again by running them through the washer and dryer. Today we learn about another way of cleaning ourselves from Luke’s gospel.

When Jesus goes to have dinner with the Pharisee, he teaches us an important lesson about being clean inside. The Pharisee is surprised that Jesus does not purify his hands before He sits down to eat. So Jesus takes the opportunity to teach the man that God is more interested in cleanliness of mind and heart than that of his hands.

The reason that the Pharisee was so surprised is because it was a Jewish custom that you had to ritually wash your hands before eating. The man belonged to a group that was obsessed with following all the rules and customs of the Jewish people. He wasn’t trying to trick Jesus; he was just caught off guard when Jesus sat down. He was too focused on the external sign of washing that he missed the whole point of learning what Jesus had to say. And we know that Jesus didn’t simply forget to wash his hands; rather he wanted to teach us a lesson about what makes us clean.

He teaches us today that God wants us to take care of our whole person, because he made every part of us, our bodies and our minds and our hearts, too.

And we all know how we clean our bodies; we take a shower or a bath each day, and we wash our hands before meals. But do we remember to keep our minds and hearts clean, too? Let’s think for a moment about how we can do that –

When we say a prayer for someone we keep our minds clean. When we help our parents with chores is another way. When we stick up for someone is one of the very best ways to keep our minds & hearts clean.

And Jesus today tells the Pharisee another good way to clean our hearts, by giving to the poor. Because when we are taking care of the needs of others we don’t concentrate only on what we want, but what they need, too.

So those are all great ways to help keep us clean, inside and out, just like the cup and dish that Jesus talked about today.

But the very best way to clean our minds and hearts is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we sin, our hearts and minds get cluttered with the things we have done. They distract us from doing what God wants of us. But through this sacrament, Jesus wipes away all of our sins and makes our hearts and minds completely clean. And when we keep ourselves clean, we have more opportunities to help others and to model our lives after Jesus.

So as we continue Mass let’s all think of one way that we can clean our heart by helping someone else this afternoon. That way we can show Jesus that we heard Him speak to each of us personally through the Gospel today.

Blogging Hiatus Complete

I've been away from my blog for nearly two weeks, and I’m sorry about that. Was reminded of the fact by a friend last night.

By the way, yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada. And yes, they eat turkey too (not sure if they know why dark meat is dark, however).