MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: WHY PENMENSHIP SHOULD STILL BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS

When I was ordained my cousin handed me a cookbook and said, "You are now a public figure.  The only place where you will not have people telling what to do is in the bathroom and in the kitchen.  Learn to cook."  She was wrong.  There are people in the kitchen with ready ideas on how to cook whatever it is you are cooking.

 

So it is true, being a priest makes you a public figure and as such you must make certain accommodations to the people with whom you come in contact.  Sacrifices must be made.  It's the nature of the style of life.  For example, there are two types of people in the world: huggers and non-huggers.  I'm a non-hugger.  Huggers LOVE non-huggers.  It is like my dog.  He will find the one person in the group that does not care for dogs and try to prove to him that he is lovable.  Such is a hugger.

So there you go.  Over the years you grow accustomed but if I can avoid anything past the manly (with either sex) quick hug and two slaps on the back, I do. 

 

This past weekend I went with our youth to the Franciscan University of Steubenville's Youth Conference; 2000 very excited Catholic youth with all of the enthusiasm and desire to express their faith that comes with that. 

 

Mostly for the adults I think, they have emergency coffee stations in the morning.  Bleary eyed adults lumber out of the dorms like bears awaking from 6 months of hibernation (except in this case it is due to a distinct LACK of sleep) to make their way to the emergency coffee station to fill up on caffeine in order to make it through the rest of the day. 

 

But the coffee comes in Styrofoam cups, a thing I distinctly dislike.  Coffee is too important.  It is meant to be enjoyed and that includes the container from which it is drunk.  (Is "drunk" correct?)  Would you keep your diamond necklace in a shoe box?  No.  If the pope came to visit would you drive him around in a beat up late model pick up truck?  (Well, now that I think of it, this pope might like that.)  Just so, coffee should be drunk from a mug.

 

So I saw this sign written in typical teenage bubble letters.

Here's the problem with bubble letters.  They are open to interpretation.  For example, the "H" in this case could be easily mistaken for an "M" which, of course, I did.  Having a Styrofoam cup of coffee in my hands, this took place before I realized the mistake I was making:

MONDAY DIARY: UP AND AT 'EM, ADAM ANT!

Let this be a lesson for you 45 year old priest: Don’t be relatively inactive all winter long and then think you can stay up all night playing basketball with high school students. You will pay for it.

As you are probably aware, John Paul II was beatified this past Sunday morning in a ceremony that occurred at approximately 4AM our time. Not sure if we would regret it more if we stayed in bed rather than watch it on T.V. we thought it would be a cool idea to have a lock – in, stay up all night with some of our youth and then watch it live on T.V. Beginning at 10PM they youth arrived along with chaperones and us two priests to keep each other occupied and awake until the pre-ceremonies were broadcasted starting at 3:30AM.

So a couple of volleyball games were had though that was hardly a descriptive name for the game we were playing. It should have been called serveball for that is about as far as we got 65% of the time. There was a break for pizza and a little discussion about John Paul and then the dreaded basketball game.

The nice thing about being the oldest person playing is that I had some weight in calling, “Old Man Break,” as I struggled to catch my breath, rehydrate, and not look completely foolish in front of the others. (I think Fr. Pf secretly liked the old man breaks too but was loathe to admit it.) Anyway that was the beginning of my downfall making it incredibly difficult to genuflect the next morning at Mass and, to be quite honest, I am still sore today.

Limping over to the church we had a holy hour with a little homilette and some music and a visit from the police who wondered what we were doing in the church at 2AM. “Honest officer, I’m the pastor! Everything is Okay.” (Actually, I am VERY thankful that they have an eye out for us.) Then benediction and off to the basement to watch the beatification.

It was quite an event to see. But basically this is what the audience watching the T.V. looked like.

Ha! We may be older but we can still stay up later.

The next day the youth, looking a little rough around the edges, walked in the opening procession with a picture of John Paul and placed it in the sanctuary for the Mass. I remember when John Paul was elected pope. I was in public Jr. High School and for some odd reason the teachers let me and one other student out of class to go down to the library and watch his election. I was never sure why they did that but it remains one of the strongest memories that I have of Jr. High School (other than the “tire” and “shaving cream” incidences.) I hope that this will help these youth remember his elevation on this path to priesthood in much the same way.

AND I THOUGHT THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK WAS THAT I FOUND MY KEYS

Have you ever wondered what people thought about momentous events in history through which they lived? I venture to say most people – if they were even aware of them – marked them with a kind of half interested indifference. When the Declaration of Independence was signed do you think that a scullery maid making portage on that particular day in England was aware that anything was going on or thought no more of it than, “well, aint that interesting?” and then turned back to mixing her pot.

Even when Jesus was crucified – the way we tell the story it seems as though the whole world knew what was going on and felt strongly one way or the other. In fact that there were any number of people who saw the commotion thought, “There those people go again,” or sitting out in a field with their sheep were completely unaware.

This year alone there are some momentous events that will be in history books, talked about, and analyzed for years to come and we could easily miss their importance. The Queen of England’s invitation and the pope’s going is an astonishing event. I wonder how many people realize how grand this gesture was? It is a titanic shift in relations between powerful figures and nations of peoples that historically is unprecedented. And it is happening at time when the Anglican world is in crisis – another even that will be the subject of talk and debate for years and years to come.

In Cleveland the shift of population, changing demographics, the fact of fewer priests available, and the closing of Churches will be part of the Diocesan history classes forever. Nothing this noteworthy has happened in a long time if ever. I can see the future professor turning a page in his notes and saying, “Now we come to a particularly dark and difficult chapter in the life of the diocese . . .”

The break off of Historic St. Peter’s will be mentioned although the event is not as unique in this or any diocese as one might think. However the splash this one made will make it at least an interesting footnote for diocesan history classes.

Well within the next two decades the diocese will also see its traditional backbone religious orders all but disappear and perhaps the emergence of something new. That too will be a sad, sad chapter.

Is there also good news? Maybe – I think so, but it is too early to tell yet. Will this time period be seen as the age of renewed catechesis? Will it be seen as the age when, although our numbers may shrink somewhat, those who are still active become more deeply dedicated to the faith as the late Pope John Paul II predicted? Will we continue to see improvements in the number men coming to the priesthood? Will the Theology of the Body start having that great impact in renewal on the Church that was predicted?

So much can happen and we need not be the ones who simply sit on the curb and clap as the parade goes by. Almost all of these last points can be the beginning of something big and noteworthy for the history books but only of individuals decide to engage them – not “Church people”, not the active person in church who sits next to you, not your kids, but you. It is only when individuals decide to be holy, active, and responsible do great things happen. Sometimes it takes a lot of people acting on their own to make a change. We don’t have more men studying for the priesthood because a group decided to join the seminary but that individual men all step forward. And sometimes it only takes one person acting, like a queen inviting an estranged pontiff to tea.

GOD WILL SEE YOU NOW

There is a danger in extremes. One place where we readily see the damaging results is in religious education. One danger is in learning so much ABOUT God and faith that a person fails to be in a relationship WITH God. The other extreme is to focus so much on relationship WITH God that we fail to impart KNOWING God in any meaningful way.

One of the struggles we face today is resulting from the general tendency over the past few decades of emphasizing God’s love of us at the expense of teaching what that love entails. As a result we have adults passing on faith to children that is largely therapeutic. According to information from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, in the National Study of Youth and Religion, Teenagers “tend to espouse a religious outlook that is distinct from the traditional faith commitments of most U.S. religious traditions – at outlook that can be described as ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.’”

Here are the basic beliefs and traits of such a view of God:
1. God exists.
2. God wants people to be good and fair to each other.
3. The central goal in life is to be happy and feel good about oneself.
4. God doesn’t need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when He is needed to solve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

As a list it is anemic, nebulous, as well as having some poor theology. It is poor in theology as far as having a “Santa Clause” idea of God. When we want something we call on Him. There is no idea of being in a relationship with Him (or the idea of sacrifice) and as we know true relationships involve much more than banging on the door when you need something. It is nebulous as to what exactly it means that God exists for example or that we are to be “good” to each other.

Parishes, parish schools, CCD programs, adult education, sacramental preparations, and programs in general are not designed to hand on the faith. They give help give some direction, knowledge, and inspiration in the faith, but the primary place faith is passed on is in the home. The Church recognizes this from an infant’s first moments in the faith. Right after the baby’s baptism the parents are blessed with the acknowledgement and prayer that they will be the first teachers of their children in the ways of the faith; may they also be the best of teachers by what they say and do.

What can you do? Of course, first model the faith. Pray. Pray with your family. God to Mass together. Do service hours together. Talk about the faith. Look at the above. You know that some things are missing. You may not know every detail about a certain sacrament, you may not know the difference between the first and second judgment, you may not know how many books exactly there are in the Bible, but you know far more than these five weak points and that’s a place to start. And if your kids or spouse ask you something you do not know look it up! That way you both learn something.

We have an uphill battle to not lose another generation the a therapeutic idea of God. But it is not an impossible one. And it need not happen in your home at all.

MONDAY DIARY - AWESOME!

I want to apologize to everyone right now. I just spent the weekend with our youth at a youth conference down at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and I find myself suddenly using the word “awesome” a bit too much. It was another one of those guilty pleasures of being a priest. The keys to the parish (and all the parish work) were handed over to the new parochial vicar and the ever vigilant deacon I was afforded the time to spend three days with younger members of our parish on retreat.

Because we are in Cleveland the youth retreats there are fairly well known. But in case you are not so familiar, the university puts on, among other retreats, four high school retreats that are deeply Catholic, orthodox, and charismatic. If you are a youth leader, besides those points, another great one is that it is EXTREMELY well organized. We were never without a clue as to where we were to be or having someone nearby to answer questions. It was – well - awesome, but not nearly as awesome as being with about 1,500 youth (one of the smaller conferences) that are absolutely on fire for the faith. Even those who came along with a cautious heart were, by the end, proud of their love for Christ, the Eucharist, the faith – boldly professing it and praying and cheering for this great gift of Jesus to us. Over the few days we heard hundreds of confessions (my brain was mush by the end of the day), were moved by great speakers, and had lots of LOUD and ruckus – but VERY Catholic – music. I will admit to you that after two days of the loudness and hearing numerous confessions I had reached my limit and needed some quiet time away. The conference on Saturday night was about half way through and they were preparing for adoration in the evening and I quietly slipped out – feeling a bit poorly for doing so – but needing to none-the-less. I bought a snack out of a machine and lay down on a bench outside looking up at the sky and processing everything that had been happening as it was quite intense when I noticed the clouds were tinged in bright orange. I climbed up a hill not far from where the conference was taking place and saw a beautiful sunset. I could hear the music revving up and looked at my watch and figured that adoration was beginning when I saw the cloud below right over the building. Fortunately I was carrying my camera with me the whole weekend and was able to capture it. Now, I don’t place a value on it. I know it seemed pretty cool to me (for reasons I won’t mention - you may draw your own conclusion or just think that it’s a bunch of pretty clouds at sunset) but it was as if this is why I was drawn outdoors and then back in to join the group.

Inside there was a Eucharistic procession going on. Can you imagine what it is like seeing all those young people who we are told do not believe in the Eucharist anymore – who don’t get it – who we are told think the adoration too old school – who we are told would never go to adoration because it is not relevant (how can the Eucharist not be relevant? . . .another post) kneeling! Singing! Reaching out to Jesus! Worshipping! Crying! Giving thanks and praise to Him! I tell you – Catholicism is awesome and still attractive when presented boldly, fully, and well. But wait – there’s more! At the end of conference they had an altar call for those considering religious or priestly vocations. Scores of high school students came forward. They were willing to say, “I am willing to consider it.” The funny part was that the priest was beginning a talk about how hard it may to come forward but if there were some brave souls that would consider being the first. But even before he began the sentence both men and women jumped out of their seats and marched forward. The priest sitting next to me in the sanctuary leaned over and said, “They’re already coming forward! He doesn’t even need to prod them!”

Oh yes – there is more. But this is already dangerously close to becoming a two or three parter and Wednesday and Thursday is already a long running series so I will end here with this one last parting statement.

THERE IS HOPE!

OF DOS AND DON'TS

Years ago I was riding the bus to downtown Akron and there was a man in the bus making the rounds of the passengers. He would say, “Have you been saved?” If they said no he would inform them of how they were going to hell. It did not take long for the passengers to catch on to his method and would immediately block conversation with him as he made his way to their seat. Interestingly this is one of my strongest memories of my very young years and it is a negative one.

In a similar way we spend much of our time passing on the faith through the negative. “Don’t do this!” We also make the practice of the faith through lots of deadlines and warnings. “You must have this in by this date or you will be terminated.” (Okay, maybe that was a bit extreme but you get the point.) That is not to say that we should throw out the “Don’ts” and the regulations, but if that is all we present, it makes religion seem like one giant downer.

I know I have a tendency to fall into this that I have to fight against. I was working up a program for our students when I realized it was all, “You must complete this by this date. Failure to do so will mean . . .” When I re-read it I realized I was turned off by the program. It makes it easier to manage but a drag to live.

Perhaps there was a time when people knew their faith well and all they needed was little reminders of, “Don’t.” Perhaps there was strong community and family support for faith projects and much more positive interaction with the faith so that all people needed was, “Here is your deadline!” But it is not exactly so today. The teachings of the Church are beautiful. But when they are reduced to “don’t” we miss the beauty. Sacramental preparation should be a time of community and growth, but when they are reduced to deadlines hoop-jumping they are as manipulative as the pressuring man on the bus.

What we need is to be careful the way we present our faith especially to our youth. They need the joy and beauty as well as the responsibilities. We need to help them become part of the community through our activities, not simply jump through a hoop to get the carrot. Now, I grant you, some people need to be told “DON’T” and some people are so uncooperative that hoop-jumping is about all you are going to get out of them if you are lucky. But we will let the positives rule, not the negatives.

I do realize there are no solutions here. It is easy to name the problem and walk away. But the cause is good – the solutions will come if we search for them.

ONE SIZE FITS ALL

You know what the youth wants don’t you?

You know they are board at mass. Right? You know what they want. They want to jazz the whole thing up. They want modern music. Rock and Roll. Maybe visual aids like projected graphics and lighting effects. This is what kids want and if we don’t give it to them, they will vote with their feet.

This is what I remember being told I wanted when I was a kid (an age that is getting further and further behind me.) I always resented it. Not all kids fall into this mode – especially those who are taking faith seriously. Yes, some do want it - or think that they do - but not all "youth".

I had the most wonderful experience on the Feast of the Assumption. Some high school boys were serving for me. It was suggested to me that I keep mass shorter “because people don’t really want to be there on a Wednesday night.” So I thought I would acquiesce and do Eucharistic Prayer II, the shortest of them all and one I rarely use on such occassions. The young men protested. “Oh come on!” they said. “At least do Prayer III.” I finally gave in to the pressure at which point there was cheering and general mayhem.

I am further happy to report that this is not the first time this has happened. Several times I have had students that when I say I am doing Eucharistic Prayer I (the Roman Canon) have said, “You are not skipping all the saints are you?”

Nor is this the only parish at which this has happened. It happened regularly at my last parish also. I’ve also seen it happen with other priests and their students.

I have several priest friends who have Eucharistic Adoration on a voluntary basis for their youth groups and report that after having it for a number of months during the school year having youth and eventually their parents there in the hundreds.

Why? I can’t say for sure, but I believe that it is because the mass and the Eucharist is not dummied down for fear of shooting over our kid’s heads. They are entrusted with our great and most complicated traditions, allowed to take ownership of them, and are supported and encouraged. Done right and well, we already do really cool stuff once we take advantage of it and one gets into and used to it.

A person who once taught music at our seminary said, “You don’t suck people into Church by doing bad liturgy.” We can’t suck kids in by copying what they are already getting “out there”, because out there will do their stuff far better than we can. But "out there" cannot do what we do as well.

We cannot trick anyone into our doors by imitating pop-culture. We also cannot copy culture and stand apart from it at the same time in any sustainable fashion. And if we try, what happens to these people when they are no longer youth and must attend a “mainstream” mass for which they are utterly unprepared and feel alienated from?

By definition novelty is not sustainable. If it were, it would not be novelty. And how long can the novelty sustain faith?

OF VATICAN II AND TAPE CASSETTES (INVENTED 1963)

Wow! This was a wake-up call.

Vatican II no longer matters. Well, that is not exactly true. It matters absolutely. But there is a facet to this statement that is also absolutely true.

Consider this: Vatican II was closed in 1965. Those born in that year are approximately 42 years old now. If you were, say, 3 years old when Vatican II started to be implemented, you probably have little to no memory of anything very different from that which is occurring at mass today. So for the most part, for anybody under the age of about 45, Vatican II is not a groundbreaking, earth shattering, world changing event, it is just the way things are. For many in this group it is either remembered vicariously through older persons who are struggling with this incredible development or as an ideological concept which has been named Vatican II the same way some people talk about Trent, not as a direct experience but as a handy frame of reference.

For this under 45 age group, Vatican II is a matter of history. It took place not only before they were born, it took place before there were personal computers and touch-tone phones (let alone mobile phones), before unleaded fuel (and when a gallon of regular gas cost .31), and before color television was common. It would be a number of years before man stepped on the moon and it was five years before the first of the World Trade Towers in New York would be completed and inhabitable. But that it is a topic in “history books” is not necessarily a bad thing, as we will see in a moment.

But first another interesting development with this post-Vatican II generation: They are redefining symbols. Things about the Church that were thrown out because they were seen as old, or in some cases hierarchical (in a bad sense), un-useful, or even oppressive are many times now embraced by younger practicing Catholics much to the rejecter’s chagrin. Those opposed to these "rediscoveries" are ripping out their hair out and exclaiming, “How can you return to that which we freed you?” At the other end are those who are scratching their heads asking, “Why are you getting your liturgical underwear in such a bunch? We like or find these things useful.”

This can happen because the symbols are being redefined. Symbols only have the meaning that we assign to them. There are those who live with the old definitions and those who see them in a different light. An example of this is clerical/religious garb. There are those who have witnessed or can easily see how such clothing can be used as a “religious club of authority” to put lay people in their place. Then there are those typically younger who have grown up without as visible presence of “Church” whether it be a habit or collar who find comfort both in seeing them or in wearing them. It makes the Church present and therefore relevant and allows those who wear them to witness publicly and constantly not only to their faith, but the presence of the Church.

For those post Vatican II persons the questions are no longer about implementing the council’s decrees or breaking from the past. The questions today are either about “What is it that we can we do?” or about what is orthodox. They are about asking what can we use well today to help the Church’s mission. As years pass this reality sinks more deeply into the fabric of the Church. The conversations will change and everyone needs to be aware of this.

That was the wake-up call I had yesterday. We are in the depths of a post-council transition. A lot of hot button topics while still very much alive seem to be less virulent today. A lot of rhetoric seems to be dissipating. A lot of anger and confusion has disappeared. In history class at seminary we were taught that it was not unusual for any council’s decrees to take fifty to one hundred years to be truly implemented. I had always assumed it had to do with communication and now that we have such ready means to communicate it should have taken a much shorter period of time. But it has not. Maybe we need fifty or so years to let passions and emotions lift so that we can look at a council afresh and with joy.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Wow! Thanks for your prayers! I do not think that I am at liberty to reveal what exactly they were for but I was deeply impressed with the outcome and attribute that in part to your prayerful support of the project!