Today Adam's Ale has a cast change. Fortunately, unlike television, I don't have to write in an accident with a stapler or a sudden need to go into hiding due to a misstep with the mob. It is simply that Fr. Leonard has completed his four years here at St. Sebastian and now it is time to bid him a fond farewell as he begins his new ministry at St. Columbkille in Parma (a hop skip and a jump away from the last parochial vicar who left, Fr. Kovacina.
So allow me to introduce you to our new parochial vicar who will be moving in tomorrow (St. Anthony Day of all days), the new Fr Anthony Simone!
Once I was at some museum show (was it a Vatican tour?) and they displayed a pair of sandals that were "found" in a cabinet wrapped in very expensive clothe somewhere in the Vatican and for some reason they were lead to believe that they were the sandals of Jesus, though they said so very cautiously. They use the same caution with proclaiming Peter's bones to actually be Peter's bones. They are difficult concepts around which to wrap your mind. They seem almost too good to be true. So we say, "These are Jesus' sandals" through a strained smile and then raise our eyebrows and occasionally one shoulder.
Either way, they are interesting items to contemplate which leads to one of my favorites sayings from my favorite historian, Fr. Thomas Tift, "If it isn't true, it should be."
The following is more believable than the authenticity of Jesus's sandals but I hold the same caution. As some of you may know, there is a new Catholic school opening up, the Julie Billiart School of St. Sebastian, Akron. It is for children who learn differently than a typical student. It is opening in a former Methodist Church about two blocks from the main parish campus. There is a chapel attached to the school and I am tasked with making it "Catholic." We need stuff and I am trying to do it without spending much funding as there are so many needs in opening a new school. So I put out a call for Stations of the Cross, candle sticks, altar linens, statues, the whole shebang, anything someone might have stored in a box or attic.
We have received some things: a Missal, chalice, sanctuary lamp, tabernacle, and now a processional cross from Fr. Pfeiffer's Father. This is a picture of it.
Here is the story: Dad Pfeiffer received it in 2008 from a friend who was a Civil War reenactor. He in turn received it from his first sergeant who was not Catholic and who obtained it from a man who said it was used in the Civil War for Catholic ceremonies. That man too was non-Catholic.
Apparently it was in that man's father's attic for years as it belonged to his great grandfather who was Catholic and a Civil War soldier. If true, not only is it cool, how fascinating that it was held since the 1860s by non-Catholics and now is returned to use in the Catholic Church to be used in a former non-Catholic chapel for Catholic services. If it isn't true, it should be.
Just for full disclosure, Dad Pfeiffer replaced the pole and the corpus that was badly damaged.
Today's blog is written by Mr. David Stavarz, seminarian for the Diocese of Cleveland.
We, as human beings, oftentimes make things more complicated than they need to be. I would actually say that, in general, we tend to make the whole of life more complicated and busy than it needs to be. A good portion of our younger years is filled with schooling - of studying, test taking, and paper writing. After graduation, our lives are filled with schedules, meetings, and long work hours. Careers in business, marketing, politics, the medical field, engineering, and the like require refined skills and immense learning and seem very complex to those not within those particular fields. In today’s technological age, our heads are filled with news of events that happen all around the globe and to be a good citizen we can sometimes think we need to constantly know what is going on in the world. Sometimes, doesn’t it seem like life should be more simple?
When it comes to religion, Catholicism is a faith that can seem especially complicated. In Catholicism there are loads to teachings, doctrines, documents, heresies, councils, popes, saints and so on that can seem to make living the Faith a very involved and complicated reality. But does living a good Catholic life really mean knowing all the little Catholic details?
It is certainly important that we know the Faith and know the Faith as best we can. Growing in our understanding of Catholicism can truly transform our lives. But the standard of living a good Catholic life isn’t just knowing every theological detail and being able to articulate the complexity of the Faith at any time. Living the Catholic faith, in today’s world especially, is and can be much simpler than we sometimes make it.
So what is essential to living a good and simple Catholic life? What can simply ground our faith to make it not just a complicated list of things to do and know?
What makes our faith powerful and simple is a living relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s it. When we truly realize this relationship in our lives it breathes life into our every action and becomes the reason for our existence. Relationship is what helps us to live a good Catholic life. St. Therese of Lisieux knew this good life lived in relationship as “The Little Way”. She knew that a simple faith was best lived out in love, mercy, and devotion to Jesus in small ways everyday.
One of the greatest and generally lesser known ways we can come into a closer relationship with Jesus is by strengthening our relationship with Mary, His mother. In the Scriptures we do not hear much from Mary, but what we do hear from her is profound and forms the core of what our faith life should look like - namely, trust, self-gift, and mercy. Mary is one of the single most important persons in the Church behind Jesus not because of how she made faith more complicated, but through her example of how to live a powerfully, simple faith.
Fr. Michael Gaitley is a nationally recognized Catholic priest and writer who knows very well the importance of having Mary guide us to leading a simple life devoted to Christ. Fr. Gaitley also believes that having a relationship with Mary will lead us to encounter Jesus especially as He is the source of Divine Mercy. Mercy is what living a simple, yet powerful, faith looks like.
From June 23-25th Fr. Gaitley will be leading a retreat at Walsh University on Mary and Mercy. Throughout this weekend retreat, Father will help show just what a simple and devoted relationship of faith and mercy looks like, particularly through the example and intercession of Mary and other saints such as Therese of Lisieux, Maximillian Kolbe, and John Paul II.
Fr. Gaitley wants you to see that the time is now for you to live a simple and real faith that is full of love and mercy. Maybe it’s time to strengthen your faith by making it a little less complicated and more about a simple and living relationship with Jesus, the Divine Mercy. If you want to grow closer to Jesus and Mary in your faith life please consider this retreat. This retreat could change your life forever. It could lead you to a life of faith that is simple, powerful, and renewed.
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "'Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist,' wrote Bloy, 'and into them enters suffering, that they might have existence.'" from Archbishop Chaput's, "Render unto Caesar"
QUOTE II: "We cannot reject the church and her teachings, and then simultaneously claim to be following Jesus Christ or the Scriptures. For Catholics, the believing community is the church, and without the church as the guardian of Christian life and protector of God's Word, Christianity could never have survived." same source.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Taking Bullying out of Schools is an article about the Julie Billiart Schools. Read more HERE.
If you want to do something to help open the school . . . we have LOTS of paint and LOTS of paint brushes and LOTS of walls that need to be painted. We just need painters. If you are looking for service hours/ways to help/want to do community service . . . below is your opportunity!
Went to an event where they fireplace utensils were HUGE to the point of humor - so I had my picture taken with one. Is this creepy?
We are only days away from Fr. Leonard departing to more flamingo covered pastures. Friends wanted to make us dinner at the rectory before he left. I have never in my life had a steak this big. Three days later and I am STILL picking away at it. It was difficult even to get it all on the plate (and we have extra large plates!) Mmmmmmmmmm.
Heineken Beer has an “Open Borders” campaign running on the back of their beer bottles. I’ve heard a number well meaning speeches by various people talking about how we should focus on what unites us rather than what divides us and that we should rid ourselves of artificial borders and such. It sounds beautiful. As a matter of fact, it sounds like heaven. It is what Jesus calls us to. “That they may all be one.” It is His goal that we be one in Him.
But a world without borders? I am not so sure.
Personally, I am all for national borders. Think of all the refugees we have in the world. They are not moving around simply to find a condo with a better view, they are fleeing something. The conditions under which they are living have become untenable, in fact, many fear for their very lives because of their religion, nationality, politics, or any other number of things that mark them as different. In a world with borders, they have some place to go where there is some hope for safety.
It is easy for a citizen of the United States to dream of a world without borders since most U. S. citizens feel pretty safe. But human leadership is prone to corruption. Some Catholics fear that eventually it will be difficult to be Catholic in the United States. I hope that never comes to pass, but historically it would not be unheard of. I am glad that, in this fallen world, there might be another nation out there not easily swayed by the government I might be fleeing, where I might find safety if it were so needed.
Christopher West once said that fig leaves are necessary in a fallen world. National borders might be good for the same reason. Until we are all united in Christ in heaven, it is good to have a haven to run to if those who govern your home should go askew.
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "For a Christian, love is not simply an emotion. Feelings pass. They're fickle. and they often lie. Real love is an act of the will; a sustained choice that proves itself not just what we say but by what we do." from Archbishop Chaput's, "Render onto Caesar"
QUOTE II: "For Christians, love is a small word that relentlessly unpacks into a lot of other words: truth, repentance, forgiveness, mercy, charity, courage, justice." same source
IN OTHER NEWS:
Eric Armusik has created a painting for the Julie Billiart School at St. Sebastian, Akron. It is of St. Julie (the smiling saint) but there is an anAKRONism here. She is holding the decree of the bishop allowing the school to open. As I understand it, this was the last official document of its kind that Bishop Lennon signed before his retirement. God bless him! To see more of Mr Armusik's work go HERE.
Here we are working hard on Memorial Day One of the ways to dispose of old palms, blessed oils, and other liturgical items no longer in use is to burn them. So we had a liturgical fire yesterday.
Thank goodness for cameras on your phone. I thought this picture of the school caught at night when the light was just right was gorgeous.
“Say this powerful prayer and God will grant you a wish.”
I hate those pieces of paper that end up in church pews. When I find them I throw them away. God is not a machine. As though if you find the right nickel to stick in, the machine will do whatever it is that you task it. Like you parents, no matter how much you might beg for a horse and no matter how perfectly behaved you are, there is no guarantee that you will receive one. This mentality is one inch away from the prosperity Gospel.
That being said, I have had some prayers that have constantly surprised me. I’ve told you before about praying to my guardian angel and being astonished. Here is one more that I am shy about sharing (for some inexplicable reason) but that, more often than not, seems to be something near and dear to my Father’s heart and appears to bring about some blessings.
So say that there is some person with whom you are having difficulties. And assume that you want those difficulties healed in some fashion. (You don’t necessarily get to pick the “how” of it, just the “that”.) While praying for the other person and for yourself is always helpful, there is one more prayer that I use. It does not exactly entail praying for the other person or for yourself, but by engaging the imagination, picturing the relationship between you. For me, it changes from person to person, but a particularly, shall we say, “failing” relationship I might picture as a withering vine between us; fading leaves, withering branches, limp and lying on the ground. The point is, there is not much of a connection, not much love, not much life getting through. So I lift that image - that relationship up to God and ask Him to bring some healing - to do something (it’s always His call) and thank Him.
A great number of times I walk away from an encounter with the other person and find myself thinking, “Well that went strangely well.” And then I remember that I had prayed that odd little prayer and give credit to God for doing . . . something. And I’m never quite sure exactly what it was. But I am grateful.
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "While a consumer economy makes life easier, it also turns appetites into needs." from Archbishop Chaput's, "Render unto Caesar"
QUOTE II: "Contempt is usually a sign of weakness." same source
IN OTHER NEWS:
This past week there were no posts as I was at the Jesuit Retreat House with these guys:
At the time they were transitional deacons preparing for ordination by going on retreat at this odd little forest in the middle of Parma. There were many dear and they let you get spooky close:
Mostly the chapel was well equipped (not always the case at such places.) One thing they did not have was deacon stoles so the deacons had to get creative:
The ordination was phenomenal. I am just glad it was on Friday night and not Saturday morning as originally scheduled. It lasted three hours. If it had been on Saturday morning I would have had to sneak out after communion in order to get to a wedding I had that day. (For the two and half decades that I have been attending ordinations they have only lasted two hours.) But there was time and it was worth it!
Here is Fr. Anthony at his First Mass of Thanksgiving who will be coming to St. Sebastian:
And the traditional post-Mass group shot:
Getting a blessing from the newly ordained:
After there was a wonderful reception at his home parish of St. Mary in Hudson. There were lots of priests, seminarians, and nuns there. Now, this is what I call a modified habit!
And just because I thought it was funny . . . Thank you K. J.
Here is the ordination video. WARNING: 3 HOURS!
Or if you would just like a little laugh - here is a couple minutes:
So last week found me at the Jesuit Retreat House in Parma with these fine, young, transitional deacons:
They were on their final retreat before being ordained to the priesthood for service to the Diocese of Cleveland and I was fortunate enough to be their retreat master. I was recalling the day of my ordination (18 years ago - when did that happen?) and what a beautiful day it was. When ordination is about to begin and the weather is nice (which it mostly is) we all go out of the old chancery building and line up on the sidewalk in order to process around the outside of the cathedral and enter in through the main doors. It is alway a sight to see.
The only people who do not line up along the sidewalk are those who have instrumental roles that day. So, for example, the bishops, the pastors of the ordinandi, and, of course, the ordinandi themselves. They line up "under the arch." The arch is a piece of architecture that connects the cathedral rectory to the old chancery building the first floor of which is a giant stone arch (did you see that coming?) with an ornate iron gate.
I tried to draw you a picture but it may just confuse you more:
It is something when, after so many years of watching others line up there on their ordination day to finally be in the class that lines up in this special place.
And it was! Not perfect, but it was! Fifteen minutes before the ceremony was to begin, we were all called to make our way outside and line up along the side walk. And there they were, those about to be ordained, lined up under the arch looking excited and radiating holiness.
So my prayer and wish for them came true and I was very grateful.
And then this happened:
So I guess technically I did get that for which I prayed.
In marketing, one must always outdo what came before. Look at phones. Each new model must promise to do more, do it more innovatively, and quicker. If that is not achieved, it is declared a grave disappointment and there are no lines at the store.
It is the same with television series. The next season must always outdo the last season. It must be wilder, bigger, crazier. If it is not, people lose interest. I think that is why so many of them end up becoming a soap opera about who is sleeping with whom. But once you have jumped that shark, who cares . . .
Many Churches are like this. The music must get better and better or at least be updated. The preaching must always be cutting edge. New special effects; fog, lighting, projections, must be added, changed, improved, expanded because once you have a spectacular, it becomes common. (Think about the poor guy that has to come up with a new Super Bowl halftime show every year.)
But the Church Jesus founded steadfastly marches in the other direction. There isn’t really anything to see particularly at its heart - the Eucharist. The Eucharist couldn’t be more counter-cultural. There was a big push for a spell to have clear glass chalices so people could “see what was going on.” Do you know how differently wine looks after it is consecrated? Not a jot. Everything happens below the level of the senses. The bread and wine cease to exist, but their accidents remain. So it may look, feel, smell and taste like bread and wine, but it has become wholly the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. This is something that can maintained for 2,000 years without constantly having to come up with something “new.”
Although I am one for great music, art and liturgy done well, none of that is intrinsic to the Eucharist. Jesus makes Himself present in His Word and the Eucharist whether you are the Basilica of St. Peter or having Mass on the hood of a jeep in field during a war. Lighting effects, fog machines and the like would be a distraction to this. We come, not to be entertained, but to give time to the One who loves us.
“Do you love Me?” He seems to ask, “Then spend time with me, not because you are entertained, but because you love me.”
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "[I]t was highly significant of a universal humanitarian need that the three great cosmopolitan communions, which all disagreed about the choice of a sacred day, all agreed in having one." from G. K. Chesterton's, "On Abolishing Sunday."
QUOTE II: "It means that it might be possible so to organize machinery that the whole life of man on earth should be one of leisure and not of labour. I will not pretend to discuss whether it would be mechanically possible. But it is time we began to discuss whether it is morally desirable." from G. K. Chesterton's, "The Ideal of a Leisure State."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The top two quotes are from the last Chesterton meeting. As part of that meeting we listened to a radio play that dramatized one possible for of a future Leisure State. It is an episode from, "The Truth," which is sometimes brilliant and sometimes just Okay. HERE is the specific episode entitled, "The Last Job." I think it is about 18 minutes. If you are looking for a second recommendation of one of their plays that might be a little gross but thought provoking, I recommend, "Miracle on the L Train." I used part of it in a homily recently.
Some events coming up to which you are invited:
It's been a little while since our last ToT Akron due to a weather cancellation and Easter. But we are back on track!
Fr. Matthew Pfeiffer will be speaking at the next Theology on the Rocks:
Mark your calendar now for this summer's Jazz and Wine Festival with Ernie Krivda!
We have announced the restoration of St. Sebastian church. People ask, "What will it look like?" to which I respond, "Look at it now and imagine it new, bright, and clean." It is truly a restoration. But if you have questions or concerns, there is a Town Hall Meeting coming up!
This is just awesome. The man knows me.
Fr. K sent in this video. Thanks! Approximately 18 minutes.:
FIRST: An important reminder from the Bacon Society of St. Sebastian. Today is Baconmas Day! Today is the day we have the reading at Mass were God tells St. Peter that ALL of God's creatures are both good and good for eating and what He has declared clean we are not to call profane. I'm all about being a good son of my Father and so got right on it.
Thank you Rocco and Terry for providing the repasts necessary for the proper celebration of this day!
IN OTHER NEWS: When I was growing up, if my parents didn't want me to understand what they were talking about they would converse in Slovenian. This was annoying on two counts. One: I wanted to know what they were talking about and Two: I desperately wanted to learn Slovenian and would BEG them only to speak to me in that language, which they would attempt for about 5 minutes and then grow tired of the effort. To the dog, however, they spoke Slovenian and so HE knew Slovenian far better than I did.
I get why parents want a secret way of communicating in front of their kids. Once something slips out it can be difficult to undo the damage. It is the same with your beloved dog. To say something out loud like, "Walk," can set the dog an a determined task to get you to go outside and there is no taking it back. And like parents, sometimes even when you are away from your kids, you forget to stop speaking in code.
Fr. B and Fr. Otticus went out for breakfast this past week sans dogs. But it was difficult to get out of the mindset.
