Reflection on January 27-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Jesus—Yes; the Church—No!"?

The day's readings can be found here. 

In my daily life as a priest, I sometimes hear a person say, “I believe in Jesus but I do not need to go to church,” or worse, “I am a spiritual person, not a religious person.”  There is a pervasive attitude today that wants to say “Jesus—Yes; Church—No.”  Many people are interested in different kinds of spiritualities but they reject religion – in particular the Catholic Church – as a threat to spirituality.  To be able to respond to this apparent contradiction, we need to define “spirituality” and “religion.”

“Spirituality” refers to a person’s relationship with God.  It is deeply personal, individual and interior.  “Religion”, on the other hand, is an external, social phenomenon that has profound roots in human personality.  Lots of people want to consider themselves “spiritual” rather than “religious” because they fear that religion gets in the way of their personal relationship with God.  This is especially true of people who say ‘yes’ to Jesus but ‘no’ to the Church.  They push away from the Catholic Church because they think it stifles their interpretation of the Bible or their version of Jesus.  They simply want a “Me and Jesus” spirituality.  Another reason some of these people dislike Catholicism is because belonging to the Church means living an ethical life and being subject to a moral authority outside oneself.  Sadly, they perceive the Catholic Church as somehow hindering individual freedom.  This perception could not be farther from the truth.

My brothers and sisters, the awesome thing about being Catholic is that we are both 100% spiritual and 100% religious.  In the Catholic Church, there is no contradiction between these two concepts.  In fact, spirituality and religiosity complement each other in our faith.  As regards spirituality, we must have a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ as the Lord of our life and as our dearest friend.  This is expressed in our personal prayer, devotions, and adoration.  And yet, because man was not created to be alone, we express our faith “religiously” when we come together to praise God as members of His holy Church — at holy Mass!  Catholicism is not a “Me and Jesus” spirituality but a “We and Jesus” reality!

Furthermore, as members of Christ’s Body, the Church, we all need to live out our lives together in Christ Jesus.  St. Paul reminds us in the second reading that we are all connected to Christ as members of His body, and therefore we are all connected to each other (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-30).  Our faith only exists and grows while in communion with each other.  Jesus in Holy Communion wants to sacramentally unite His sacred flesh with our weak flesh in order to strengthen the bond of charity we have with one another, to keep us close to Him in our spirituality and religion, and to speak to us tenderly as our Lord and dearest friend.  Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.

Reflection on January 20-Second Sunday in Ordinary TIme

A Contrast of Visions for Humanity:

The Civil Rights Movement and Planned Parenthood

The day's readings can be found here. 

On Monday, our nation will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  If he was still alive, he would be 84.  Remembering his great contribution to civil rights in the United States and in the world – and in particular, the civil rights of African-Americans – we ourselves have the opportunity to reflect on our own attitudes toward people of different skin colors, cultures, and languages.  How is Dr. King’s dream of racial equality and harmony (achieved in a non-violent way) being enacted in our lives as Catholics?  If we struggle with prejudice of any sort, are we honest with ourselves and with God so that we can overcome this insidious attitude with God’s help?

Ironically, one day after our nation reflects on great progress in human rights, we remember one event that single-handedly set back the United States and civilized humanity: the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, that is, the legalization of direct abortion in the U.S. in 1973.  Tuesday marks 30 years since the tragic decision.  Already in the 1960s, the organization Planned Parenthood was pushing for abortion rights and for government-supported contraception.  Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger, a well-known white supremacist, in order to slow down birthrates of races of people (minorities) that were of darker skin color.  Now, Planned Parenthood abortion mills and other such facilities are located in areas that have heavy African-American and Hispanic populations.

Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has said the following: “Abortion is genocide. It’s killing populations. It’s killing generations and certainly the population that is most impacted by abortion in America is the black community. So I feel that as a civil rights leader I have responsibility to proclaim that black Americans are being exterminated by the genocidal acts of abortion.”  Latino-Americans are also high-risk targets for the abortion industry.

Tuesday, thousands of Pro-Life people will march peacefully in Washington DC, in state capitals, and in large cities to encourage and pray for the conversion of our country.  The Gospel of Life in our nation will triumph only if we have inner conviction of the truth — the truth of the sacred value of each and every human life — and perseverance in communicating that truth.  Dr. King had this conviction and perseverance for his “Dream”; may we also have this conviction and perseverance for the Gospel of Life: that all little boys and little girls – regardless of class, color or language – will be welcomed into this life.

The U.S. Bishops have asked us to pray and fast on Tuesday, January 22nd for an end to abortion.  May our sacrifice lead to the proclamation and generous response to the beginnning of the Gospel of Life: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15).

Reflection on January 13-Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Why do Catholics Baptize Babies?

The day's readings can be found here. 

Most of the Christian people around this area believe that baptism is important.  However, the actual meaning of baptism varies according to denomination.  Some non-Catholic Christians believe a person should be of the age to decide if he wants to be baptized or not.  Others believe baptism is nice but not necessary for salvation.  Because there are so many ideas out there about baptism, in every baptism I administer, I explain the Catholic and Biblical understanding that baptism is not just something nice or a mere formality.  Rather, baptism is a sacrament and is necessary for salvation.

Our colleagues and friends may ask, “Why are you baptizing your little child? He doesn’t know what is going on.”  Our answer to this question “why?” is:  “Why not?”  Why not baptize a little one?  There is no condemnation in Sacred Scripture for this practice.  In fact in the Acts of the Apostles (16:15, 33), there is recording of whole households being baptized — men, women and children together.  Consequently, it is not just something we Catholics invented a few centuries ago.  The practice of baptizing infants goes back to Apostolic times, and we as Catholic Christians continue this Tradition.  Why would we hold back the sacrament of baptism (and all the graces that come with this sacrament) for the simple reason that the child lacks the full use of reason?  Jesus said, "Let the children come to me . . ."  So we want children to experience Christ, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to have Original Sin wiped away (1 Peter 3:21).

In the gospel of John (3:5), our Lord Jesus Christ tells Nicodemus that unless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  Jesus, therefore, makes baptism a necessity for salvation.  In instituting this sacrament of initiation (Matthew 28:19), Jesus fulfills the OT requirement of entrance into the Covenant (Colossians 2:11–12).  Just as male circumcision was a sign of the Promise and necessary for entrance into the Old Covenant, so the Christian sacrament of baptism is a sign of true rebirth (Titus 3:5) and necessary for salvation (Acts 2:38) in the New Covenant.  And of course, we celebrate the fact that this Covenant is offered not to only one race but to Jew and Gentile alike.

We certainly do not believe that baptism or any sacrament is a "substitute" for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Instead, the sacrament of baptism begins that relationship with Jesus so that the believer can accept Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior every day of his life.  This is something we as Catholic priests, parents, singles and youths have to take more seriously: the baptismal call to holiness.  Sacraments are not magic.  They are an encounter with the living God.  And for them to be efficacious – for them to work – we have to be men and women of constant conversion.

Reflection on January 6-Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

Holy Smoke!

Why all this incense?

The day's readings can be found here. 

One of the most distinctive physical characteristics of Catholic worship is the burning of incense during Mass on Sundays, Holy Days, and within Eucharistic Adoration.  The rubrics encourage the use of incense at these celebrations, but it is still only an option (GIRM 276-7).  Many priests simply opt to use incense at Christmas and Easter.  Some never use it at all in sacred liturgy.  This can give the impression that the use of incense is only for the Traditional Latin Mass or just plain outdated.

Sometimes the faithful of Centerville and Hilltop Lakes ask me why I choose to use it at almost every Sunday Mass.  The most important reason, for me, is that the burning of incense is Biblical.  In the OT, Moses built an altar of incense (Exodus 30) on which the sweetest spices and gums were burned.  The office of daily renewal was entrusted to a special branch of the Levitical tribe (1 Chronicles 9:29).  In the NT, the Christ Child receives the gift of frankincense from one of the Magi (Matthew 2:11) as an allusion to the divinity of Jesus.  One passage that indicates the early Church was familiar with incense is the vision of St. John the Evangelist of the heavenly liturgy: Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel (Revelation 8:3-4).

While the theological explanation for incense may be satisfactory to everyone, there is still another problem: Some complain that they are allergic to incense.  I use a brand called Gloria Incense which is produced by an Orthodox monastery in Johnstown, PA.  It is a non-allergenic resin-based formula.  Resin incense is generally regarded as superior to wood-based products that burn quickly (often with the aid of “Chemical Catalysts”) and produce chokingly harsh smoke.  This is what people are “allergic” to – not incense itself – and I always try to apply a moderate portion to the coals so as to not “smoke people out” of my little church.

Incense in Mass connects us to our Jewish roots and to the antiquity of our Catholic tradition, and it reflects the holy worship of Almighty God in heaven.  As sacred liturgy engages all our senses – our sight, hearing, taste, and touch – so incense engages our sense of smell.  When we adore Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament on Sundays, may our attitude and disposition reflect that of the psalmist:  Let my prayer be incense before you; my uplifted hands an evening offering (Psalm 141:2).

Yours in our Lord,

Fr. Lowry