Facilitators, not Controllers

In the Gospels, how many times do we read that the disciples are “control freaks?”  Children run to Jesus so he can touch them.  The blind man yells after Jesus so he can heal him.  And in both cases the disciples tell people “no.”  Jesus gets indignant at their attitudes and actions.

Pope Francis says in his own homily today that, “We are many times controllers of faith, instead of becoming facilitators of the faith of the people.”  Then he tells a short story.  He says, “I remember once, coming out of the city of Salta, on the patronal feast, there was a humble lady who asked for a priest’s blessing. The priest said, ‘All right, but you were at the Mass’ and explained the whole theology of blessing in the church.”  The woman says, “’Ah, thank you father, yes father,’ said the woman. When the priest had gone, the woman turned to another priest: ‘Give me your blessing!’. All these words did not register with her, because she had another necessity: the need to be touched by the Lord. That is the faith that we always look for, this is the faith that brings the Holy Spirit. We must facilitate it, make it grow, help it grow.”

Amen.

Always a Sturdy Shelter

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;
he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price,
no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly,
and his friend will be like himself.

~Sirach

Salt

“Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”  ~Jesus Christ

Hand in Hand

Socrates says that virtue cannot be taught.  St. Thomas Aquinas says that virtue is a habit.  Sirach says virtue and wisdom walk together.  And when we love both of them they breathe life into us.

Just because another Christian does not belong to our community, or to our select little group, does not make the person any less virtuous or wise.  They too have possess the Spirit of God!

Wait, Wait…

Life is about waiting. As a child I could not wait for Christmas, Easter and especially my birthday. And now they come and go so fast they leave my head spinning. We wait in line. We wait for the elevator. And we sit and wait and wait for the doctor.

What is it like to wait on God?

This is not waiting “for” God, it is a waiting “on” God.  It means I trust that God will come through for me.  As I wait I keep on praying and I keep on serving my brother and sister.  These Christian deeds keep me from arguing with you over who is the greatest among us.

Wise Dom

Often, wisdom is said to be good judgment.  Yet, when we capitalize Wisdom, then we understand it to be the personification of God’s will in the creation of the world.

The Holy Spirit creates good judgment and God gives her to us as a gift.  But the Wisdom from God continues to work in creation when we read of the father of the boy possessed by a mute spirit.  He believes Jesus can help and yet he still needs help with his unbelief.

It would be interesting to place ourselves in Mark’s story.  We might be the father seeking healing for a child.  We might be the child who is possessed.  Or, we might be the disciples who are unable to cast out the spirit because of the lack of prayer.

In any case may the Holy Spirit grant us the gift of good judgment and God’s healing compassion.

Open the Windows!

         Once upon a time, there was a very young monk who dined very well.  One day, the abbot lectures him on the subject of over-indulgence. “Remember, brother,” he says, “the Bible says that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.  We need to care for our temples and demonstrate moderation.” For a while the lesson apparently hits home and the monks notice that their fellow brother eats much less than before. But alas, it becomes obvious at meal times that he is back to his former ways. Again, the abbot meets with him.  “Brother, did you forget what I told you, that we are temples of the Holy Spirit?” With a beatific smile the monk replies, “Well, Father, the other day I am praying in the chapel.  The Holy Spirit speaks to me and says, ‘Brother, you are not a temple, you are a basilica.’”

Brothers and sisters, whether a temple or a basilica, open the windows and unlock those doors!

Just before his Ascension, Jesus tells his disciples to wait and pray for the Holy Spirit.  And then it happens in the upper room:  that strong driving wind, those tongues of fire.  And the Holy Spirit fills them, all 120 of them, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the rest of his family.  They live as a community: in prayer, with meals in common, sharing everything so that no one is in need.  They preach the mighty acts of God and everyone who listens hears this preaching in their own language.  As they spread out from Jerusalem to preach Jesus Christ, the apostles and disciples open the windows wider and wider.  Paul comes to faith.  The Gentiles join the Church.  Small house churches appear throughout the empire:  North Africa, Asia Minor, France, Britain, Spain and Germany.  By the year 1000 A.D., the Christian faith reaches far north to Russia.  In the words of St. Paul, nationalities and states in life do not matter; we remain one body with many parts.

However, if we want the body to remain whole, we must stop closing the windows and locking them.  See, when we lock the window, when we lock the door, we not only keep people outside.  We keep ourselves fearfully inside.  On the evening of the Resurrection, the disciples are so fearful that they will be crucified that they lock the doors.  Locks prevent interaction.  Locks prevent change.  But the Holy Spirit always wins and Jesus can walk through locked doors!

To illustrate- On January 25, 1959, Blessed Pope John XIII announces the opening of an ecumenical council.  Not one Cardinal, not one member of the Roman Curia knows of the announcement.  His reason for the Second Vatican Council is aggiornamento, an “updating,” in which he hopes there is a “new Pentecost.”  John XXIII in his own words:  I want to “throw open the windows so that we can see out and the people can see in.”  Now, when the pope makes this announcement there are eighteen cardinals from the curia surrounding him.  Guess their reaction when the pope announces the council and asks for their input.  In the words of the writer Desmond Fisher, “…they looked at the pope, first in amazement and then in horror. At any time the Curia has disfavored ecumenical councils. Councils denote change and to the Curia change is anathema. It suggests that the existing situation is not perfect, and to the Curia the church is perfect.”  On that evening in January, some church officials forget that the Holy Spirit always wins.  When John XXIII opens the council he tells everyone that this thought came to him “in a sudden flash of inspiration.”

When we open the windows and when we unlock the doors the wind blows faster and fire burns easier.  The same thing happens with the Holy Spirit.  As we celebrate the birthday of the Church, our birthday, take a moment to pray for Pope Francis.  This fall eight cardinals join him to advise him on the government of the universal church and to study a project of revision of the Roman Curia, the Vatican offices.   As he opens the windows we need to do the same with our faith life.  Our strength is the Eucharist where God fills each of us with the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

A Blessed Pentecost!

2013

The Rev. Fr. Dr. T. Becket A. Franks, O.S.B.

My Main Task

What concern is it for me?  Why do I worry about someone else?  My main task is to follow Christ chains and all.

In the words of St. John Chrysostom, “We wait for the day when we understand everything fully in the scriptures and meet one another at the gates above.  But as we wait, let us carefully study and apply what we learn so that we may attain to all the good things Christ has in store for us.”

Amen!

Thus…

During this last week of Easter, we Christians ponder the priestly prayer of Jesus.  Jesus prays for all of his disciples, then and now, yes, even us in the twenty-first century.

And also, we listen to the preaching ministries of two great apostles, Peter and Paul.

Paul is a savvy preacher and he is crafty.  Accused of preaching The Name illegally, Paul knows that to get to Rome fast, he can appeal to the Emperor since he is a Roman citizen.  Peter’s ministry begins in forgiveness.  At breakfast, Jesus still loves him despite his thrice denials.  Peter is a sinner who repents deeply and loves deeply.  For this reason he remains the Rock who will join his fellow apostle in Rome.

Thus the work of the Holy Spirit!

Time Gathers its Moments Secretly

John O’Donohue, the poet, says that “…time gathers its moments secretly….”

I remain fascinated with the choice of Matthias as the apostle to replace Judas.  The community gives the two candidates lots, probably reeds with one reed shorter than the other.  Matthias “wins.”  Is Matthias not as good as Judas when Jesus chooses his Twelve in the beginning of his ministry?

It scares me to think that Jesus chooses Judas to make sure that the crucifixion takes place in history.  Rather, I tend to think that in the first place, Jesus considers Judas a “friend,” a “beloved” just like the other Eleven.  What happens after the call is Judas’ responsibility.

Today we remember that the lot falls upon Matthias. The Twelve are strong again and await the promise of the Holy Spirit.  I doubt we can say that Matthias wins anything.  If anything he inherits a ministry of preaching and persecution and martyrdom.

There is no greater love than to lay down a life for a friend.  I may not shed my blood literally for the Gospel.  But I can lay down my own hopes and dreams so that God grows in thee for “…time gathers its moments secretly….”