MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATING TRUE STORIES: OH ADVENT TREE, HOW LOVELY ARE YOUR BRANCHES

This Advent is going by so quickly!  And it's not the, "Oh! There is so much work to do," kind of quickly (though there is.)  It's the, "It just doesn't feel like Christmas is around the corner" kind of quickly.  It will be here and I won't be ready.

I will admit I am usually the one fighting off Christmas and pushing for Advent.  It is always an amusing but fruitless endeavor.  It is not one you really expect to win.  It is just fought on principle.

But lots of weird things happened this year.  One of my close friends (and one of the reasons I fight so hard against unseasonable Christmases) moved to Washington state.  He starts playing Christmas music three days after Easter.  I'm sure his Christmas tree has been up for months and has already had more than his fair share of eggnog.  And for some reason, it seems that the Christmas music in stores is toned down a little bit.  I don't feel like it's being forced into my brain hypodermically.  And people just seem un-stressed.  Maybe its this terrible weather.

Every day I wake up, it's another beautiful day.  We have saved a TON of money on plowing, heating, salting, and cleaning.  I can't stand it.

 It's playing with my brain.  I just can't get into writing my Christmas homilies - and I have the rhyming homily this year!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: GENERALLY SPEAKING THIS IS PRETTY UNIVERSAL

So let's say you put mints on the table for people at the end of dinner.  Uncle Ralph sticks his ginormous hand in the bowl, scoops them all up and plops them in his mouth.

Fortunately your Mother taught you your manners well and that keeps you from blurting out, "Ralph!  You big lug!  Those were meant for EVERYBODY."  It wouldn't matter anyway because he would just say, "What?  They were just sitting there and nobody was taking any anyway."

Some things are just so open to abuse.

So it is with the Universal Prayers.  (Petitions at Mass)  This is one of those things that make me cringe.  God allows this part of the Mass to teach me patience and to get over myself.

First of all, this is NOT a required part of the Mass.  Yup.  You can skip it.  It is "DESIRABLE" that there "usually be" such a prayer at Masses with the people, which means you could dump it.  (Just try it and see how many people freak out.)

Here are some of the various titles of this prayer to help us understand what their function is:  

"General Intercessions"

"Prayer of the Faithful"

"Universal Prayer"

What aren't they?  

"Personal Intercessions"

"Prayer of a Faithful"

"Individual Prayer"

These prayers are intended for the collective good: for the salvation of all and expressive of the prayer of the entire community.  So, no, it isn't proper to say, "and for the intentions that you now mention."

"For ME as I go to take finals today."

"For my Aunt Fifi who is going in for nose surgery."

It is also an abuse (though not a big one - just one I find annoying) to say, "And for the intentions, which we hold in the silence of our hearts."  Pause.  Pause.  Pause.

Why make a fuss about this?  BECAUSE WE HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS.  Remember at the beginning of Mass at the Collect (opening prayer) when the priest said, "Let us pray"?  THAT is when we should be praying for our final exam, Aunt Fifi, and ALL of the prayers which we hold in the silence of our hearts.  They are then collected in the Collect prayer and offered up to the Father to be prayed for in this Mass.

Bu that is another mountain not worth fighting on . . . but I got it out of my system.

Generally these prayers do have a form:  1) For the needs of the Church.  2) For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world.  3) For those burdened by any kind of difficulty.  4) For the local community.

They should be "sober" (whatever that means,) composed with wise liberty (whatever that means) and "few words."  (We know EXACTLY what that means.)

Finally, one last personal peeve.  If you construct these prayers, do your best to avoid the word "that".  It greatly reduces the scope of the prayer and makes a hoop through which God must jump.  Here is the difference:

"For Catholic grade school education."

Okay

"For Catholic grade school education, that God preserve our schools, keep students coming, tuition flowing, and parishioners supporting."

Okay, that might be very good and all.  But what if God wants to remake our model of schools?  What if there is a better way?  What if, by failing, we come up with a more economical, better educationally, more tenable model?  While He is working at that, we are looking at our petition and thinking, "Well, obviously THAT didn't work because God is not jumping through our hoop."

I'm just saying.

RANT - COUNTER RANT : WHEN WE NO LONGER FEEL

This is probably one of the more disturbing things I've read recently on abortion.  It was printed in "First Things" and is a recounting of Solveig Gold's class trip to Sparta, Greece and specifically to the Apothetai, the cliff over which Spartans would toss their unwanted newborns to their death:

The students laughed and posed for photos.  Less than a week later, Gold saw the Center for Medical Progress's videos of Planned Parenthood executives talking about organ harvesting from aborted children.  It put that visit to that ancient site into perspective. or, more accurately, that ancient site put our society into perspective.

"I shouldn't have laughed at the Spartan's barbarism that day at the Apothetai.  We may have hospitals and obstetricians, but we have not advanced from the cliff or the well; of anything, we have taken a step backwards by becoming so desensitized that we do to even realize or acknowledge that what we do is wrong.  Barbarism isn't throwing unwanted babies of cliffs.  Barbarism is throwing unwanted babies off metaphorical cliffs, and then laughing about it over lunch and a glass of red wine.  This is blasphemy.  This is madness.  But it is not Sparta - this is 21st century America."

A letter to the editor in the Akron Beacon Journal last week spoke about how denying people the "right" to an abortion was tantamount to trampling on their religious beliefs.  Siting a number of mainstream Protestant Churches he showed how they believed that abortion was perfectly Okay and said that since we cannot determine when a soul enters the body, our faith should be able to determine when it is too late to have an abortion and to do otherwise is interfering with matters of faith.

Sooooo . . . Now we understand why we NEED to start teaching our youth how to think logically.

But I don't have time or space to go into that.  Still . . . 

Are we really concerned about ensoulment - which, by the way, if you DO NOT know when it takes place, one should err on the side of caution which would mean no abortions. 

But what we are concerned about is being advanced and civil human beings.  This is something people of faith and atheists should agree.  When conception takes place, everything there is present for a complete, unique, human individual.  The question is not whether I believe the person has a soul (though I do) but whether it is a human being and are we Spartans that throw our unwanted human beings away.

You might make the argument that they are dependent, they don't look like humans yet, that conception was not intended, that they are too small, or that just plain nobody will know the difference, but thoughts like this have a sneaky way of making out of the womb into how we treat other human beings in general and that is a dangerous road to follow.

If you think this is an exaggeration, re-read the beginning of this post.  If you make the connection, you've got.  If you don't make the connection, you've proven the point.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCCXXIX

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "Advent awakens the moral memory to the most important facts of the human condition: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. These truths can be erased from memory by ignoring Advent altogether and celebrating Christmas early with little understanding of it. But then we would cease to be Christians entrusted with the memory of the human race."  Fr. George Rutler 

QUOTE II  “I have said these things to you, that when the hour comes, you may remember that I told them to you” (John 16:4). 

Thanks S. D.

IN OTHER NEWS:

TOO LATE:  This made it too late for most of us to be able to get the word out well:  From the Diocese of Cleveland:  Holy Father Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy celebration for a year beginning December 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, concluding on Sunday, November 20, 2016, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe. 

Since the 15th Century, a Holy Door has been used as a ritual expression of conversion during Jubilee Years. Those who traveled to a cathedral or a basilica or a designated church for reconciliation entered through the Holy Door, crossing the threshold from sin to grace, from slavery to freedom and from darkness to light. The Holy Door is a tangible symbol and invitation to follow Christ, leaving sin behind and crossing the threshold into the light of Grace. 

The opening of the Holy Doors of Mercy for the Diocese of Cleveland will take place at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at 10:15 a.m. on December 13, 2015, just prior to the celebration of the 10:30 a.m. Mass. The faithful will be welcomed to come and cross over the threshold to experience God’s mercy. Bishop Lennon is encouraging at least two or three of the faithful from each parish be in attendance representing a gathering of the entire diocese at this Mass. 

Parking will be available in the Cathedral surface lot (enter off Superior Ave.) and the Rockwell Avenue parking garage. For more information on this special liturgy, call the Diocesan Office for Worship at 216-606-6525 ex. 3630. 

MORE ADVENT OPPORTUNITIES AT ST. SEBASTIAN:  On Wednesday, December 16th from 5 to 8PM there will be priests available for confessions at St. Sebastian, St. Vincent, and St. Mary parishes.  

During adoration on Tuesdays during Advent we will continue with our noon organ recitals.  How awesome it is to be in the presence of Christ while listening to some wonderful music on our amazing organs!  

On Sunday, December 20th at 7:30PM, our choir and Singer’s Companye will be performing the Christmas portion of Handle’s Messiah along with projections of scenes from the Christmas story.  This should be great!  I remember when I was a kid my Mother sang in Handle’s Messiah with the Magic City Singers in Barberton.  It was a difficult thing to sit through as a young person but I am immensely thankful for the lessons of those days.  There is so much for a young person to learn from such an experience; to start developing an appreciation for classical music, for Beauty, God; to learn how to behave at a concert, to learn patience and how to be still and pay attention; how to be an audience member that does not disturb others; all of which leads to an ability to meditate, which is an essential element of our faith life.

These programs are free and family friendly, so if the young ones in your family can only sit through part of the concert, you won’t feel as though you lost out on the cost of the ticket if you must leave!  I hope to see you there.

Short video on Advent

ANYONE WANT TO CROWD SOURCE FREE TUITION?

So I read another article about how Catholic educations is becoming something only for the rich, which is, of course, sad.  The part that gets my goat is that there is truth to this statement.  It was the case, at one time, when grade school education was free but times have changed.  

On my day away from the parish I took a (very long) walk to ponder this problem.  Is there any way to manage our resources or to find different ways of funding in order to run our schools so that it could at least be less expensive (if not free.)  Somehow that bottom line always came down to - well - the bottom line - having to find a (large) pot of money someplace.

The major cost factors in runnings a school begin with salaries and benefits followed by technology.  Remember that staff means more than teachers.  It takes a whole team to run a school.  Then there is building maintenance (boilers, roofs, windows,) and gas and electricity bills, snow plowing, and page after page of incidentals such as state mandated inspections for which we must pay a fee.

Our income includes the staff themselves.  They believe in the mission of Catholic schools and so are willing to work for less than their peers in public schools.  On top of that, they often pay for things for their classrooms out of their own pockets.  Tuition is another important source.  It does not come close to covering everything that it costs to teach a child but covers the larger portion.  It should be noted that these parents first pay for a public school system through their taxes that their child will not be attending and then pay again to attend Catholic school.  Wow.

Another huge chunk is a subsidy from the parish collection plate.  The diocese asks us to shoot for no more than about 20% of the collection go toward operating the school.  Some parishes are much higher, a few lower.  There are some state services that follow children to the school, some private scholarships and donations, and the fund raising.  Tons and tons of fundraising.

I did a Google search for how to cut tuition at your school and found surprisingly little.  I suppose that if there were a magic bullet, everyone would be doing it already.  One suggestion was to charge per family and not per child.  I don’t know how well that would go over.  I envision angry letters and phone calls from single child families while simultaneously being hailed greatest pastor ever from parents with six kids.

The only places where education was free or greatly reduced was in places that the diocese took on a stewardship role and raised money as a diocese.  I suppose that could be done on a parish level but with a school budget well over a million dollars that would be a great challenge.

Any grand ideas out there?

Or better yet - any with a few million I could have to offset tuition at my school?  That would just be awesome. 

ADVENT, ADVENT TIME IS HERE, TIME FOR JOY, AND TIME FOR CHEER

One of the things that holds us together as Christians is the story.  And every Sunday (at least) we get together and recall the story that informs us who we are and what we are to do.  But as Catholics, we don't just simply  remember the story but we get inside of it.  We live it.  We carry it outside the walls of our church buildings and make it a part of our lives.

Right now we are in Advent, that part of the story in which we are anticipating the coming of Christ and so we spend some time preparing, not only our souls and minds, but our homes, and yards, and every aspect of our lives for His coming.

Those who give religious advice, people such as myself, will say that this is a most excellent time to focus on prayer, making a holy hour, reading Scriptures, fasting, prayer, meditation, volunteering, to stop focusing on Christmas and really take advantage of Advent.  And we will hear back (from some) there isn't time!  This is the most hectic time of year!  Stop and pray?  Are kidding me?  Then things will just not get done!

So here are some ideas to help you take advantage of Advent that will not interfere too much with even the busiest of schedules.  (And if you are too busy to pray at all, you are too busy.)

Firstly, decide not to get ready for Christmas Day.  Get ready for the Christmas season.  Don't get so burned out on Christmas prep that by the time the day after Christmas arrives you are ready to throw the tree out on the devil strip and be done with it.  Aim toward being ready to meet the Christ, not just get the perfect party or day.  This is just a mind set, so far - no time or activity.

Next, you are probably going to be sending out a number of Advent cards (or at least Christmas cards in Advent) or their electronic equivalent.  Before you drop them in the mailbox (or hit the send button), say an Advent/Christmas prayer for those who will be receiving them that they be touched by Christ at Christmas.  (You can do the reverse too saying prayers over the cards for all the people who thought enough of you to send you a card.)

Practice joyful patience.  Before you go out, KNOW that you will be stuck in line.  Be determined not to be mad about it (there's nothing you can do it about it anyway.)  You can either be stuck and mad or be stuck and be determined to offer up this moment of suffering for someone who needs it.

Pass up the perfect parking place at the store.  Let someone else have it.  Park further away and walk. The exercise is better for you, you've done a good deed, and it will only add 30 more seconds to your day.

Be determined to be kind to the harried sale's clerk.  If you choose to do this (which may actually cut down on your time in line) God will send you the most grouchy, lazy, incompetent clerk He can find. It will be a game if wills between you and God.  So have fun with it.  And don't pick a posh store where they are paid to be nice to you, pick a clerk at the type of store where they barely pay them and don't really care how they treat customers as long as they show up.

Every time you drive by a church, say a prayer telling God you are getting ready for Him and invite Him to your place at Christmas.  (St. Hilary is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from a great shopping district so you can always pray as you go by.)

Finally, you will trapped in traffic, put on hold, or end up waiting for someone who is late.  Use that time to pray.  Pray for the person on the other end of the line that put you on hold.  It will freak them out.  When the operator gets back on line and says, "Sorry for the wait," you can say, "That's Okay, I used the time to pray for you."  See how that throws 'em!

Be creative, come up with your own Advent sanctifying activities.  The above maybe added a couple of minutes to the entirety of Advent, cost no money, improves your blood pressure, and helped focuses you on God.  Why not give it a shot?

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCCXXVIII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "All truths are not for the telling."  from Sharon Kay Penman's, "Time and Change"

QUOTE II:  "The Almighty did you no favor by giving you such keen eyesight, my love.  The man who can see both side in a conflict earns himself thanks from neither side."  same source

IN OTHER NEWS:

This is an awesome picture!  Fr. Alan Corigan took it while flying over West Akron.  If you follow the line of white houses from right side of the wheel toward the top of the picture you will see an orange roof with a bell tower.  That is St. Sebastian.  Thanks Friend!

Matthew Kelly wants to give you the best Advent ever.  For this season he would like to send you an Email a day to give you a few moments to focus on Advent.  HERE is a sample video and if you like it you can sign up.  Thanks JP.

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE GLITCH IN THE PROGRAMMING

I think the St. Sebastian servers are some of the best in the diocese (Thank you Mr. F.).  If there were going to be a contest for great serving teams I'd pitch my troops against anybody's in a fair fight.  But, as with any family, there are certain things in which we are just dysfunctional. 

Case in point:  SEVEN YEARS AGO I changed how we do the Gospel procession.  I made it easier and shorter.  I KNEW that it would take a while for the servers to catch on to a different routine but . . . honestly . . . SEVEN YEARS?

So I've taken to making sure, before Mass, to ask if they know EXACTLY and PRECISELY what is going on with the Gospel procession.

No they don't.

Or rather . . . some do, but JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS THEY KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY DO.  It reminds me of the car I had in seminary.  Just because it started didn't mean it was going to get you where you were going.  It might today.  It might tomorrow.  But you just never knew.

So I started going over it at EVERY MASS.

That, too, unfortunately, guarantees absolutely nothing.

WHY TRULY BEING THANKFUL IS TOO DIFFICULT AND TIME CONSUMING

Happy Thanksgiving!

So what happens when you have nothing really to say and you decide just to sit down and start typing something for Thanksgiving?

Well, this.

Although school is closed and for the next two days (TWO DAYS!) the offices are closed, the rectory is a hopping place.  The place is teaming with priests and seminarians today - mostly for food, cards, and prayer.  Tomorrow it will be teaming with family.  And then Friday, blessed peace (and catching up on all the stuff I didn't get done today and tomorrow.)

Thanksgiving Day Mass is always one of my favorites.  Nobody has to be there and those that do show up are extra eager to participate.  There is so much to do at home - cook - prepare - sleep in - a million things, but this stalwart gathering of Catholics take the meaning of this day to its height and begin with this most privileged form of giving thanks to God from Whom all of our blessing come.

If you have a couple of extra minutes to spare over these next two days, try to become creative in coming up with what you are grateful for really, everything is so closely knit together that the most mundane things are essential for our life and joy.

Do you realize how many people it takes to make your Thanksgiving Day possible?  Consider the humble pumpkin pie that one can so mindlessly shovel into his mouth even after saying, "I couldn't possibly eat another bite."  Forget that, it's too much to think about.  Just think about the plate in which it was baked.  Even that is too much!!!  You will be amazed at how interconnected we all are.  

Let's say its an aluminum pie tin.  Forget about all the people it took to discover aluminum (based on thousands of discoveries by thousands of others) and those who discovered, improved, manipulated, tested, experimented, and formed it into the shape that it has today.  That would take too much.  Forget about the people who had to mine the materials for it because that would lead us to a discussion about the people who had to make the machinery for it to be mined, refined the fuel on which the machines would operate, transported it, regulated it, sold it, bought it, stored it . . . 

TOO MUCH!

Okay, so take for granted that it was mined.  Now that I think of it - let's skip the part that it was made.  Then we have to get in to the people who own the company that thought of making the pie tin, those who were sent out to buy the materials, the banks involved in the transaction, the designers of the tin, those who make the machinery to make the tin, the people in the country that work in the factories where it was made including the janitors who keep the place clean and safe . . .

SKIP ALL THAT!  That alone would take a month.  So, it's made and makes it's way from, say, China to your store.  Of course there are all the people involved with figuring out where it needs to go so that you can get it.  Stores are contracted to sell them.  Accountants figure out how much it can be sold for.  Marketing people design packages, a ship is enlisted for the trip from China, along with truck drivers, warehouses, and space on trains possibly.  Lawyers are involved at every step of the way to make sure things and contracts are on the up and up.  The government is there to make sure that the tins are safe for food consumption, that taxes are paid (to help pay for the roads on which the travel and pay the people who inspect them to make sure that they are safe and that when the package says that there are three of the them that there actually is three of them. . .

Arg!  TOO MUCH AGAIN and we only scratched the surface.

Then in the store - the stock boy, the cashier, the janitors, the security guy that stands by the door, the bagger, the manager, and the owner, his accountants and staff . . .  those who design the layout of the store, the government who regulates the safety of the place, the police, fire, and first responders who are on call should anything go wrong, all the people responsible for the electricity making it safely and reliably into the store so you can read the price tag - Oh man!  Do you realized how many people are involved in just making that stupid price tag . . .

FORGET IT!

Maybe just be thankful for Mom for making the pie.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCCXXVII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "Their idea of changing the world is just to say no to everything.  I don't think you can really change anything less you're willing to say yes."  from Garth Halberg's "City on Fire"

QUOTE II:  "To notice a thing is to become responsible for it."  same source.

IN OTHER NEWS:

As you know, I bought a typewriter.  So what does one do with a typewriter?  I tried an art project.  I drew a picture of a friend of mind relaxing with some things he said filling the space behind him.  I though it turned out rather interestingly. 

Mary sent in THIS LINK to a new book by Archbishop Chaput.

Want to know what you bishops had to say about pornography?  Find the link HERE.

Ralph and Becky sent in THIS ARTICLE about a guy who is a college football player and seminarian.

Frank sent this video in.  It isn't really in keeping with the purpose of this blog but I enjoyed it.

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE SLOW ADDICTION

I thought I had done a fairly good job of not becoming too reliant on technology.  But it only took one hiccup to realize to what depth I have fallen.

You know how when the electricity goes out it doesn't stop you from trying on a light or other electrical device and then you go, "Duh!  There is no electricity!"  Well, a similar thing happened this weekend when the Internet went down.  (By the way, why is something like the Internet capitalized by heaven and earth are not?  Are not those proper names?  But I digress.)  

I couldn't do anything.  

The not being able to print my homily was probably the biggest scare.  I thought of taking my computer out on the pulpit but then thought better of it.  Instead I tried to hand write out my homily in the fifteen minutes that I had - not something someone with my poor penmanship skills should attempt.

No Internet also meant no TV, no uploading books, no Sunday podcasts that I enjoy.  How odd that it only took this one bit of technology to go rogue to bring down the effectiveness and enjoyment of my Sunday routine. 

But I suppose it was always so . . .

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: I HAVE FAITH IN YOU

You are standing at the edge of the pool.  Crazily enough you are at the deep end!  You've never even thought about going in the deep end before but here you are and Dad is in the water facing you with his arms out and he says, "Come on, I'll catch you.  You'll be Okay.  Be brave."

But when you jump - that's it!  There is no turning around, nothing to grab on to, it's pure trust that Dad is going to save you or you drown.  So you hesitate.  Then Dad says, "Do you trust me?"

"Uh huh."  It comes out softly.

That was a profession of faith and you gave it just before you jumped.  As a matter of fact, it allowed you to jump.  Saying it out loud reminded you that you believe that this mythic creature known as Dad will keep you from being obliterated.  You simply need to listen, trust, jump, and maybe for a moment you will be under, for a moment that seems a lifetime there is nothing touching your body but air and then cool water, and then two firm hands raise you up eyes twinkling with pride.

So think of this:  There are two parts of the Mass.  There is Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  In the first part we are instructed about the life of faith.  In the second we jump into the void: heaven and earth collide, the visible and invisible meet, (if this were Star Trek, matter and anti-matter would be touching) time is warped, worlds collide, events slide into each other.  It is absolutely ridiculous that we come to Mass and sit behaving in our pews in our Sunday finest.  We should lashed into our pews in riot gear, ushers should come down the aisles with life preservers, and warning sirens should be going off.  If we really understood what was going on we should be scared witless.  We are entering the deep end!  

BUT, before we do, while we are still standing on the edge getting ready to jump in, we tell God, "I trust you - I believe in you."  "I believe in one God, the Father the Almighty . . . "  It is this profession of faith that allows us to jump.  Saying it out loud reminds us that we believe in this wonderful God known as the Father Who will keep us from being obliterated.  We listened, trusted, and are preparing to jump in hopefully with our heart and mind fully understanding what it is that we are doing.

This profession of faith is said on Sundays and more solemn celebrations.  It is preferred that it be sung (when was the last time you heard THAT outside of an extraordinary form Mass?) and is to be intoned by the priest UNLESS it seems more appropriate for it to be intoned by a cantor or choir such as a case where a priest cannot carry a tune a bucket.

It is to be sung or recited by all, or alternated between choir and people, or done by two choruses meaning, for example, the left side of the church says a stanza then the right side of the church says a stanza.  

YOU BETTER WATCH OUT . . .

And not because Santa Clause is coming to town.

Recently the U. S. Embassy in Rome has warned United States Citizens to be on high alert if they are in St. Peter's Basilica, the Duomo in Milan, and in general churches and synagogues in Europe.  

A friend of mine just went to work at a Jewish elementary school in another state.  Out of concern for extremists, they have hired arm guards to patrol their school.

As a side anecdote, a few years ago a grandpa came to pick his grandson up from our school wearing a police uniform as he had just finished his shift and boy! did I get phone calls and letters, "What?!  Are we an armed camp now?  Are we going to subject our children to such things?"  It was a sad misunderstanding, but maybe not so crazy of an idea anymore.

We are not there, but it is not unimaginable that in the future we will start thinking twice about going to a crowded concert, play, or celebration.  We may become even more homebodies than we already are.  And one will argue whether this is a good thing or not.  "Stay safe!  Stay home!' or, "Don't let them win by staying home!"

But what about faith?  Will we find ourselves nervous about going to Mass?  Might we choose safety over communal worship of God?  If you ever wondered what it was to be a Christian of old when there was some risk for being Catholic (or of today depending on where you are in the world - there are still martyrs for the faith being made to this very year) you just might get the chance to find out first hand.

SO HERE'S THE QUESTION:  Who do you want to be should you face such risk?  Do you want to be a Sebastian or a Catherine?  Do you want to be a person of your own convictions?  Do want to be a person of freedom of thought?  Then decide that now.  Decide you are going to be a person of fortitude now.  Pray for the courage of your convictions now.  Decide what is important to you now so IF the you are presented with the scenario of being scared to live your cherished core values, your inner strength, your earlier discernment of your hierarchy of beliefs to be defended, your course of life will see you through the rough waters of conflict.

BAPTIZING THE SECULAR

So here is a painting entitle, "A Candy Heart Pierced by a Candy Arrow or A Pop Mediation on the Sweet Suffering of St. Sebastian."  I don't have time or the space to tell you everything that I would like to about this painting or what the artists was trying to do but here we go:

Of course you think of heart when you think of love - think of the heart beating out of a cartoon character's chest.  And the arrow is a harmless looking one like one you might find at Boy Scout Camp.  

Next, we understand from the title that this is a candy heart which brings to mind the little candies passed around on St. Valentine's Day.  The arrow then can be reminiscent of Cupid's arrow that, when it strikes you, makes you fall helplessly in love.

Next, because of the title, we know that this painting is connected to St. Sebastian.  In his great love for God he was willing to risk all and head for Rome where the persecution against this Christian God was the greatest.  It was love of God and his fellow Christians that drew him there.  And if you know the story of St. Sebastian, you know that when he was found out, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows.

Further, the colors the painter has chosen are the colors of St. Sebastian Parish in Akron.  Now all of the themes of St. Sebastian, his love of God, his story, and being patron of this parish all come together to give new meaning to something as secular as a candy heart.

Here is a way to "baptize" secular symbolism to remind us of God.  I would be willing to bet that in February when you pick up a candy heart it will mean more than just being a piece of mindless candy of a self indulgent sweet tooth.

What wonders we could work if we start taking control of the symbolic language of our culture.

STOP! THEIF!

This is an old commercial for Coke Light.  Did you see how at the end the priest takes the sweat from the Coke can and anoints the girl?  This is very clever.  The hope is that when you see a priest perform this action, you will think of Coke Light.  (It worked for me apparently.  When I thought of this post this was the first image that came to mind.)

This symbol of the Sacred Heart is more rarely used in the Church circles now because it has been so secularized.  I really like this symbol too.

Crosses and crucifixes have long been tried to be secularized from the chest of Madonna, to men's earrings, to being a fashion accessory to hang on the wall.  "It's a statement, not a symbol that I am Christian," I would hear often.  That seems to be waining a bit.

You could probably come up with your own list of words, objets, and even holy days ([St.] Valentine's Day, Christmas) that have been or have tried to be secularized.  

This is yet again why art is so important.  We tend to be visual people.  If the effort to de-sacralize our symbols is successful, then our presence in our culture is that much more diminished.  

Some symbols are taken, others are freely given away.  Priests not wearing collars, religious not wearing habits, church buildings not looking like church buildings, our presence becomes static on the screen rather than a clear picture.  We need to take very good care of our symbols or we run the risk of fading into the background.  Secularized symbols are far more easy to throw away.  We give them up, they will be used up, drained of meaning, and then forgotten.

Tomorrow - one way to reverse the trend.