27th Sunday - homily

With the emphasis on marriage in today’s readings, I have a question for you: who are your favorite married couples (after your parents, of course!)? It might be other family members, friends, or parents of friends. Or, maybe even celebrity couples – Jay Z and Beyonce, Brad and Angelina, Barack and Michelle. I was looking at a celebrity couples’ website the other day – some of it was actually inspiring (seeing that some Hollywood couples have been married for many years) and some of it was not. One couple who has been together for three years said that they don’t need to be married to show their commitment. Hmmm…but, marriage is the commitment.

One of my favorite married couples is the first couple I prepared for marriage. They came to me through a friend and I was the third priest they contacted. The other two priests wouldn’t marry them because they were living together (I don’t know how many priests are like that). I told them I would work with them if they worked with me. They agreed. Now, my marriage prep is pretty thorough. I meet with the couples six times. This is the rest of their lives! I have great respect for marriage and for couples preparing for marriage, so I want to prepare them as much as possible for what they’re getting into.

The first two meetings are devoted to their relationship. They take a survey which reveals their compatibility. They see where they each stand of issues of communication, faith, raising children, finances, etc. The couples normally are very into this. Then, in the other meetings, I talk to them about marriage as a sacrament, the importance of prayer and communication in marriage, whether this is God’s Will for them to be married, etc. So, about halfway through the process with my first couple, I discussed the issue of cohabitation. They were like, “so, what’s the big deal if we’re living together?”

I began with a government study that says it’s a big deal. This study from a few years ago found that 78% of couples who lived together before marriage got divorced. So, their chances of staying together were not very good. This got their attention. Then, I explained that the big deal is that cohabitation leads to fornication which has been condemned by God. God makes it clear in the Book of Genesis (and again in today’s Gospel) that sex is for the union between a husband and wife and for procreation. It is a sacred act that is reserved for married couples which they weren’t yet.

I asked them if they could make some alternative living arrangement before their wedding day. They were trying to work with me, but said honestly that they couldn’t, for one reason or another. So, I said that if they couldn’t separate, then they needed to live as brother and sister until they were married. They looked at me like I had three heads (a look I often get!)…but said they would try. Well, they did it. They told me the night before their wedding that they had been living chastity since our big talk (about 4-5 months). They were so glad that they waited, and you could see it in their eyes. They were so happy! And, they said that it helped their relationship so much because they grew much closer as a couple. They had so much more joy and peace on their wedding day…and I’m sure on their wedding night! They are doing great now; I will be baptizing their first child this Saturday. It’s all good!

Most of you are called to be married. So, most of you have already begun your marriage preparation… even if you haven’t met your future spouse yet. I ask you to do what I asked this couple to do: wait. It’s actually three things you should be doing now to prepare for marriage: waiting, saving, and praying for your future spouse. Wait until your wedding night to give yourself fully to another; don’t give your love totally to just anyone. The old saying that “you shouldn’t date someone you wouldn’t marry” should enter into your dating scene. Save yourself and the great treasure of your sexuality for your future spouse. As with the couple I married, it will be so much more meaningful and fruitful if you do. And, pray for your future spouse. Pray that he or she is doing the same: waiting and saving themselves for you.

Finally, in a few minutes God will give us a great treasure in the Eucharist; it is the greatest treasure on Earth! When I was in the seminary, I wanted to celebrate the Eucharist…I wanted to celebrate the Mass. But, that is a sacred act that is reserved for ordained priests. So, I had to wait. Well, it was well worth the wait, and has made celebrating all of the sacraments so much sweeter. The same is true for sex: it is a sacred act that is reserved for married couples. You, too, have to wait. And, I promise you, it will be so much sweeter if you do! It will be like opening a great treasure on your wedding day…a treasure that God has given you. When you open the treasure, you will find happiness and love. He wants each and every one of you to be happy and has a plan for you to get there. He wants you to know his deep love for you. May you know His love in your lives.

The Redskins practice was delayed 2 hours after a player reported finding a white powdery substance on the field. Coach Jim Zorn immediately suspended practice and called the police and the FBI. After a complete analysis, FBI experts determined that the substance unknown to the players was the GOAL LINE. Practice resumed after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again this season.

"Holy, Happy, & Successful" in college

Busy Friday at the Newman Center!
1) Rosary for life at local abortion center, 3 pm
2) Martha's Table, 4:45-6:45 pm
3) First Friday Eucharistic Adoration, 6-7 pm; Chipotle dinner to follow
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A friend of mine sent me this cool and informative list of ways for Catholic college students to be "Holy, Happy & Successful", especially in the first year in college:


1. Decide the kind of person you want to be before you go, and stick to it. You have to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything. Of course you need to go with an open mind and be willing to learn and try new things, but do it without compromising your ethics, morals, or your dignity. Remember, if you aren’t shaping the world, it’s shaping you.

2. Make friends that have the same values as you do, even if that means not settling for the first group of friends you meet. In new situations, we often cling to the first group of people that notice us – don’t. Get to know people that are different than you, but make sure the people you build friendships with are people who share your values and will make you a better person.

3. Schedule your classes early. Or at least have something in the morning that you need to be awake for most days of the week. Otherwise, it is likely that you will be up late every night wasting time – or finding trouble. Don’t spend these valuable years of your life sleeping in. There’s nothing wrong with staying up late every once in awhile and hanging out with friends, but have a routine that gets you up in the morning to take on the new day!

4. Get regularly involved with at least one, good Catholic organization. It is very beneficial to have an activity during the week – besides mass on Sundays – where we interact with other Catholics. It keeps us grounded in our faith, gives us an automatic support group of people with the same values, and motivates us to learn or think about our faith in a new way during the week.

5. Don’t believe that everyone has pre-marital sex and that it’s no big deal as long as you’re a “good” person. It still is a big deal, contrary to popular opinion. There has been no repeal on this commandment from God – it is a very serious sin. What has happened is that we are a weak culture who has enabled each other to believe that it is “OK.” That’s not an excuse. Trust God. And if you are struggling with this, learn more about your faith, and check out John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body.” It will really open your eyes and give you a better understanding and strength to persevere.

6. Get involved. Join a club and run for an office. If there isn’t a club you are interested in, start one of your own! This is a very unique time in your life to take on new challenges, meet new people, and better yourself. Once you graduate, opportunities like that get more difficult because our focus becomes our work, family and children (depending on your vocation of course). Take advantage of this time. It also helps build character and other skills you’ll use after you graduate.

7. Call your parents and your best friend at least once a week – if not more.. It’s easy for the whole “out of sight, out of mind” thing to kick in when you get busy and caught up in your new life in college. Don’t forget about your family. They are an important foundation in every stage of life. Keep them updated with all of the things you are involved with and include them as much as possible – even if you don’t feel like it sometimes.

8. You can’t party ALL the time and get good grades. And you especially can’t do so and keep your spiritual life in good shape. It may seem like there are people that can stay out late every night of the week partying and still get good grades – they can’t. And the evidence will surface after the first semester or two when they go on probation or they get sent back home. Don’t fall for that trap.

9. People around you are looking for a leader – be one, and be a good one. A lot of people around you are looking for somebody to follow, and not necessarily in big ways, but mostly in little ways. When they aren’t sure if they should study or party, they will look to a leader to see what the popular choice will be. When they aren’t sure about whether or not they should pray before a meal or not, they will look at everybody else. When they aren’t sure about whether or not they should get up early on Sunday and go to mass, they will look at what everyone else is doing. Don’t be one of these followers. The “right” thing to do is not determined by “what everyone else is doing.” Be a leader and do the right thing despite what everyone else is doing. You’ll be surprised how many people will follow you – and thank you for it later.

10. Go to adoration at least one hour every week. This is the perfect time to simply “Be still, and know that [he] is God” (Psalms 45:11). In the bustle of the everyday college routine it can be a challenge to find time during the week to stop, be still, and re-orient ourselves. Committing to a regular adoration time is a great way to schedule this into your routine – and of course, to spend some valuable time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

11. Do at least one volunteer service project and attend one good Catholic retreat each year. Service projects can be found at lots of places including your local Catholic parish and many other student organizations. And hopefully, your Catholic parish puts on a good Catholic student retreat, but if not, find one in a near by city. A retreat is a great place to set aside time for yourself and God – forcing us to leave our studies, clubs, friends, and other obligations behind to reflect on our lives and how God is fitting in.

12. Don’t forget to appreciate the beauty of the world around you every single day. Make sure and “hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of [your] life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” And don’t forget to close the laptop, put down the iPod, and turn off the TV so you can fully appreciate the real live human beings sitting right next to you.

13. Go to confession regularly. As a college student, going to confession at least once a month is probably a good idea. Even if you are living a very holy life, we are usually surrounded by many temptations and confession is a unique way to flush out our systems and get special graces to deal with a lot of it.

14. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Start your day with the sign of the cross and end it the same way. Read scripture and/or some other great Catholic spiritual reading everyday for at least 20 minutes before you go to bed, in between classes, riding a bus, or when you get a few extra minutes. Pray a rosary while walking to class. Pray for the people that walk by you on the sidewalk. Pray for your professors, your classmates, for anything you are struggling with. And then (and this is important) listen. Too often when we pray we do all the talking and none of the listening. This is one reason why meditative prayer like the rosary is so powerful. It gives us a chance to listen to God and what he might be saying to us. And keep in mind that “praying without ceasing” doesn’t mean you are not supposed to laugh, be silly and have fun as you live a prayerful life. The love and joy of Christ should always show through us in all that we do.

We need to keep the momentum going!

Friends of the Newman Center,

There is a lot of excitement these days around the Newman Center, thanks be to God. Many students have made the same comment to me since the new school year started: “this will be a good year here”. We are offering many exciting and attractive programs and events to which the students are responding in larger numbers. My guess is that we’ve had over 500 different students come through the doors of the Church for students Masses and the Newman Center for different events in September. God is good!

We spent about $10,000 this summer in making necessary improvements to fix up the Newman Center (see my posts from 8/7 and 8/28, “Fixing up the Newman Center”). All of the comments from students and friends of the Newman Center regarding the changes have been positive. The Center is more attractive and inviting for the students, and we have a steady stream of them visiting their “home away from home” each day.

We also invested around $5,000 in our Opening BBQ and to promote our Masses, programs, and events. The investment has paid off so far. Approximately 300 students enjoyed free Chipotle, Outback, and Coldstone at our Opening BBQ, the largest crowd in years. Many of these students signed up for our fall programs and student groups; almost 50 of them have already participated in our Freshmen Retreat, Bible Study, and RCIA. Most importantly, attendance at our student Masses on Sunday nights has doubled; this past Sunday brought our largest crowds since Opening Masses.

Of course, Tuesday Night Dinners continue to be a very popular draw, with 70 to 80 students coming weekly to enjoy our free, home-cooked meals. As much as we all enjoy these excellent nights to socialize with one another, the best parts of Tuesday Dinners have been the Masses which have preceded the meals. Like the Sunday Masses, attendance at these Masses has been growing; last week, 25 students freely and joyfully participated in Holy Mass. Those of us who know the importance of the Mass and the Eucharist know how huge this is! Finally, we added many new, fresh, and helpful resources to the Newman Library which our students have already been enjoying as they build their theological and moral knowledge.

So, as you can see, we have gotten off to a good start and have some momentum going, thanks be to God. We need to keep the momentum going! But, in order to do so, we need your help. Would you consider making a donation to the Newman Center? Your tax-deductable donation will help us to bring many GW students to Christ and to bring Christ to many GW students. No donation is too small. The generosity of the friends and alumni of the Newman Center and the goodness of God have brought us to this exciting point. Let’s keep it going!

If you would like to make a donation, please make checks out to “Newman Center” and mail to: Fr. Greg Shaffer, GW Newman Center, 2210 F St, NW, Washington, DC 20037. On behalf of the students and our campus minister, Meg Miller, thank you very much for your prayerful consideration of making a generous contribution to the Newman Center.


In Christ,

Fr Greg

26th Sunday - homily

I went to seminary at Mount Saint Mary’s in Maryland. In my first year there, I went on a service trip during Spring Break with the college students from the Mount (we’ll have an alternative Spring Break here, and let you know more about in October). About fifteen to twenty of us drove down to Mobile, Alabama and spent a week in the L’Arche community. This community is incredible. It is made up of men and women with physical and mental handicaps. You would think they would be the angriest people around; the opposite is true. They were filled with such joy! We had a great time with them.

It was kind of awkward at first getting to know the college students. Here I was just one year out of college and hanging out with them dressed like a priest and studying to be a priest. The ride down was kind of quiet between us. As the week went on and we did work together with the people at L’Arche, we got along much better. Then, on the way home, they launched into their questions…the flood gates opened! In the midst of their questions, we got talking about mortal sin. They asked what that was, so I explained that a mortal sin is 1) seriously wrong, 2) you know it’s wrong, and 3) you freely choose to do it. One of them asked if skipping Mass on Sunday is a mortal sin. “Um, yeah”, I said. Then, “is getting drunk a mortal sin?” Um, yeah. One of the girls kept asking these questions; even her friends knew the answer to them. She was bummed out. So, I said, “but remember, you have to know that it’s a mortal sin for it to be a mortal sin”. She breathed a sigh of relief. Then, I said, “But, now you know”. She was like, “oh, thanks a lot!”

Another time I went to Tennessee for a Catholic Heart Workcamp with some teens. It was another service trip that had cool, Catholic stuff at night. At the end of the night, we slept in school classrooms. Our guys were in the same room as a rowdy bunch of guys from Cincinnati. The first night was rough because they were so loud. We all fretted the second night. When eleven o’clock rolled around, I asked the guys to keep it quiet. The next thing you know, they were asking me all of these questions about Purgatory…! They said that no one from their school or parish could answer their questions. So, I made a deal with them: if I answered their questions, they all would have to go to Confession the next night. They all agreed. Well, the next night they all went to Confession! They were actually very psyched about going to the sacrament afterwards, and bragging to each other about long they were in there!

I know you all have questions. You have questions about sin. You have questions about Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. You have questions about Confession and the Eucharist. I was camping with some teens a few years ago on a white water rafting trip. The second night there, I gave a talk about Confession and the Eucharist and then opened it up to questions. The teens asked questions for an hour about these two sacraments! I put copies of two pamphlets out and they devoured them. Then, later, they were sitting around the campfire, saying to each other, “26…32…41”. I asked them what that meant. They replied, “that’s the number of sins we have!”
I invite you to bring the questions about our faith to us at the Newman Center. Bring them to me. Bring them to Meg, our campus minister. We will try to help you find the answers to your questions. If you don’t feel like talking to us, grab a pamphlet or book from the Newman Library. Also, you can post questions or comments on our blog site; you can do this anonymously. We just want to help you find the Truth. That is one of the biggest roles of the Church.

I also know you have questions about the Sunday readings. Our Bible Study on Monday nights really help to understand the readings better. For this Gospel (Mk 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48), you might be wondering why is (nice, peaceful) Jesus talking so much about Hell. And, does he literally mean that we should pluck out our eye or cut off your hand if they cause us to sin? If he meant this literally, then your chaplain would be in sad shape. I would be maimed, without eyes, hands, etc., would be drooling…Mass would take a whole lot longer here! I am a great sinner. No, it’s not meant literally. I think Jesus is referring to is Confession. It is in Confession that we get a new eye, a new hand, etc. St Paul would say that we become a “new creation” when we walk out of the confessional. And, the main purpose of Confession is to keep us out of Gehenna, to keep us out of Hell.

May the Eucharist help all of us to turn away from sin and turn back to Him who is Love. He offers us His Love each and every day. May we know His love this week.

The story of salvation (cont.)

(continued from Tuesday's post)

What would God do for us? He sent His Son to us! His Son became one of us and offered himself as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Christ's sacrifice on the Cross became the only acceptable sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins.

So, Christ's death and resurrection of Christ (it is understood as one event) is the act of salvation; it saves us from our sins and opens the gates of Heaven for us. We need to participate in the death and resurrection (the Paschal Mystery) of Christ in order to be saved and to enter the kingdom of Heaven. How do we do that?

Christ gives us seven main ways to participate in the Paschal Mystery: the sacraments. It begins with Baptism in which we die (to Original Sin) and rise with Christ. Jesus says we need to be baptized if we want to be saved. The most common form of baptism is water, but there are two other types: blood and desire. Those who are martyred receive Baptism by blood. Those who do not know about Baptism but desire to do the will of God can be saved (Catechism, #1260). This would include all of the holy men and women from the Old Testament; if they desired to do God's Will (living in anticipation of the Christ), they could be saved. We believe that Christ spent three days in the dead, freeing them from their waiting place to Heaven.

The faith and eternal life we receive in Baptism are nourished by the Eucharist. These are the two sacraments that Jesus says we definitely need to receive eternal life. (If you are ever talking with someone who says they don't need to go to Mass to get to Heaven, tell them that Jesus says we need to receive the Eucharist in order to have eternal life...in John 6:53) The other sacraments help to build up Grace in our lives and lead us to live and witness to Heaven in this life.

Hopefully, this story helps all of us to say "thank you, Jesus" the next time we walk by a crucifix or come to Mass where we remember what He has done for us.

What are the questions that you (GW students) have about the story or about the sacraments? (btw, basic questions are encouraged!!

The story of salvation

1) Tuesday dinner tonight at the Newman Center, 6 pm (Mass at 5:30). Will be another good, home-cooked meal!

2) Last call for Freshmen Retreat! There are still spots available on this weekend's retreat. Those interested need to let me know by tomorrow (9/23).
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So, it seems that we've had some of our (many) GW seminarians participating on our site. "Theology2b" (hmmm...someone getting ready to enter theological studies??) and others tackled the question I posed last week. Btw, guys, it's cool that you're on here but it was a question to GW students. It might be a little early for them to leave theological comments or questions on here, but I'm trying to invite them to do so. If I were a college student, I probably wouldn't enter into a discussion among seminarians. Please keep that in mind in the future...

So, the question was "how many people died and went to Heaven between Adam and Eve and Jesus Christ (in other words, B.C.)??" The correct answer is zero. Now, I've heard the answer of "one" before because Elijah was taken up to Heaven (2 Kings 2:11). So, I've had to alter the question to "how many people died and went to Heaven before Christ?" Some of you are reading this and wondering, 'what is the point here?' The point goes back to the initial discussion of the need for Baptism. It is a big point! And, it goes all the way back to the beginning...yes, Adam and Eve in the garden.

Adam and Eve sinned in a major way in the garden. God created them and gave them an earthly paradise. They were free to do whatever they wanted, and they did. They were naked and didn't even notice. They were loving life! Then, things changed. The devil got involved and tricked them into doing the one thing that God said they couldn't do: eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge (of good and evil). Why did they do it? Because Satan tricked them into believing that if they ate the fruit of that tree, they would know what God knows. Oops, he lied. They fell for it. As soon as they ate the fruit, "the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked" (Gen 3:7). Things changed for them and the world because of their sin (Original Sin). (Btw, this is where suffering and death entered the world. God didn't create suffering; all suffering is a result of sin - either our sin or the sin of others).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays out the narrative and consequences of Original Sin (#396-421). Among the consequences of Adam and Eve's mortal sin (it was seriously wrong, they knew it was wrong, and they freely chose to do it) were that they broke their relationship with God (as all mortal sin does) and the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven were closed to mankind. The situation would remain that way (no one going to Heaven) even though mankind tried to atone for his sin. The Israelites offered many sacrifices to God for atonement (at-one-ment), but none of their sacrifices were acceptable to God for the forgiveness of sins. In other words, man cannot bring about the forgiveness of his (major) sins. Only God can do that. And, that forgiveness is needed in order to be in close relationship with God and to enter His Heavenly kingdom.

Mankind needed to be saved from its sin. What would God do? To be continued...

25th Sunday - homily

Jesus says in tonight’s Gospel that the greatest among us are those who are servants of all. Well, we need some more of you to step up in service to the rest of us. We need help mainly in the area of liturgical ministers. After Mass, we will have sign-ups for lectors, ushers and greeters, and altar servers. The Newman Center also needs help with Tuesday dinners. If you like to cook or help out in a kitchen, we could use your help on Tuesdays. So, this is a call to service. Please be generous as GW students usually are when it comes to being the servants of all.

Speaking of service, I need to serve my boss, Archbishop Wuerl. He has asked me and all of the priests of Washington to speak to you about a topic that I didn’t want to talk to you about this early in my time here. He has asked me to speak to you about marriage because there are efforts being made in D.C. to redefine marriage. I know this is a big issue around here. It is out of obedience to him and out of love for Jesus and you that I speak to you about marriage tonight especially as it relates to same-sex unions. You all have a right to hear what marriage really is; it is out of love for all of us that the Church teaches us about marriage.

When I speak to people about marriage, I usually begin with a question: who is the author of marriage? We find the answer right off the bat in the Bible, in the Book of Genesis. God is the author of marriage because when He creates the first two people – Adam and Eve – he describes them as being married. He creates them so that the two of them “become one flesh” as husband and wife. It is clear from the beginning that marriage is between a man and a woman.

When Jesus is asked about marriage in Matthew 19, he reaffirms Genesis. He reiterates that “in the beginning”, God created them “male and female” and that “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (v.4-5). Jesus raised marriage to the level of a sacrament. For the past 2000 years, the Church has flushed out the Lord’s teaching on marriage more fully. She has grown in her understanding of the sanctity of marriage as well as its benefit to children. She has always known what recent research has found: that the best environment in which children are raised are with their biological mother and father.

I have deep and profound respect for people who struggle with same-sex attraction and are trying to live holiness…trying to live chastity…trying to be good Catholics. When I speak with them, I affirm them of their dignity, respect, and the great love that God and the Church has for them. I remind them that they are good and are loved.

Now, I need to use an analogy and in no way do I mean to demean these people. The analogy has to with the Eucharist. If I use potato chips and Coke in a few minutes at the Consecration instead of bread and wine, would it still be the Eucharist? No. I need to use bread and wine for the sacrament to take place. I can’t change that sacrament. In the same way, we can’t change the sacrament of marriage. The sacrament of marriage is between a man and a woman.

Finally, we most experience God’s love through married persons. Hopefully, we have had that experience through our parents – that their love reflects the love that God has for us, as Scripture says (Ephesians 5). Most people are called to be married, and this is a good thing! But, Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 19 that not all persons are called to marriage; some are called to celibacy for different reasons. But, they, too are called to reflect God’s love. Whatever our vocation is, may we bring God’s love to others. May others know that God loves them through us as we have learned His love through others. May we know God’s love and reveal His love to others this week.

A question for you (students)

I went to the dentist yesterday for my bi-annual check-up. All went well, but it's about as enjoyable for me to go the dentist as it is for people to come to me for Confession..! Actually, there are similarities between the two events, and every Catholic should be going to Confession as often as they go to the dentist (twice a year).

My dentist is very good at his profession (and surfing!) as well as being a devout Catholic. He has many other good, Catholic people on his staff. They all make it more of a pleasant experience than usual. My dentist helps to teach the baptism class at his parish in Maryland. I'm sure he does a great job. We were discussing it yesterday (well, they were talking regularly; I could only talk after spitting) and comparing how we go about teaching the sacrament of Baptism.

In between spits, I explained to "Doc" and his great dental hygenist that I like to tell the "story of salvation" to couples who come to have their child baptized. I have told the story on here before - it involves Adam and Eve (Original Sin) and why Christ needed to come into the world (salvation). There is a question that I ask every couple that is at the heart of why Christ came into the world and at the heart of why Baptism is necessary. This is a question I have asked here before and one that I asked both Doc and his assistant yesterday -with a little help from me, they got it right (not everyone does).

The question for you (students) is: how many people died and went to Heaven between Adam and Eve and Jesus Christ (in other words, B.C.)??

And, please provide a brief reason for your answer.

DC 'Hood on the ADW blog!

We welcome Meg Miller to the Newman Center! Meg begins today as our new campus minister and we are all very excited that she is here. She brings many gifts to our community, among them a great desire to bring our students to Christ and bring Christ to our students in different ways. She is looking forward to getting to know the students and to helping them in any way she can. I will ask her to post on here regularly. She has a strong passion to teach, especially with regards to theology of the body. God willing, she will do great things here.

The Archdiocese of Washington has a blog site! It is good stuff. Please check it out by clicking on the title of today's post. There is a post from September 10 on "DC 'Hood", the basketball team of Washington priests and seminarians. The video in that post was done by the Washington Times who covered our game at the Verizon Center in 2008.

DC 'Hood plays games regularly against parish teams in their gyms with an annual game at Verizon. We're trying to schedule a game in October and I'll let you know if that is on. Otherwise, we should have a game against my former parish, St Andrew's, in November. Go 'Hood!

24th Sunday - homily

In my last parish, we started a youth group for high school students that met once a week. We had a lot of fun on many of those nights! We mostly did fun, social stuff but also included some serious nights. Our first meeting was Fear Factor – we were outside doing games and stunts like you might see on the show. It was a blast! People were running around yelling, hooting, and hollering…ok, so I was yelling, hooting, and hollering (“woo hoo”), getting in water fights…you know, the usual stuff a priest does! At one point, my pastor had to remind me that I was not one of the teens…oops. I had a lot of fun with those teens and I look forward to having a lot of fun with you all.

As I said, we did mostly social nights but also included some serious stuff. Once a month, we did Eucharistic Adoration in the Church. Almost all of our teens did not know what Adoration is; Adoration is when the Eucharist is brought out from the tabernacle and exposed on the altar for people to worship…to adore. It means being in the Real Presence of Christ. It is AWESOME! Now, at first, it was bit intense for the kids, but they were very intrigued by it. They began to fall in love with Adoration. There was a stretch there when they were coming out more for Adoration than the fun stuff! I’ll finish with a cool story about one of our teen’s experience in Adoration.

It is within the context of Adoration that I most often consider the question Jesus poses to the disciples in tonight’s Gospel: “who do people say that I am?” We can picture ourselves sitting here in front of the Eucharist talking to Christ, and he asks us this very question in regards to the Eucharist. “Who do people say that I am (in the Eucharist)?” We could answer, ‘some say a symbol, others a representation, still others a piece of bread only’. This would be accurate because most Christians say this. And, it’s not just non-Catholic Christians (Protestants) who say this. A study from years ago found that 70% of Catholics believe that the Eucharist is just a symbol. 70%. I think that the 70% don’t believe in the Eucharist because they don’t know the teaching. They don’t know John 6 where Jesus teaches about the Eucharist, they don’t know that that “this is my body” means this is my body. We really don’t hear the teaching much at all in homilies, in school, or at home. One of the biggest reasons I became a priest is to teach the 70% as I have been taught. As I indicated last week, I used to be among the 70%.

So, if we’re sitting there in Adoration having a conversation with our Lord just as the disciples were, He could ask us the next question: “who do you say that I am (in the Eucharist)?” This is a question I want you all to focus on this year. When you come to Mass and I elevate the Host, hear our Lord asking you, “who do you say that I am?” When you come to Adoration – we have Adoration at the Newman Center every Wednesday from 8-10 pm - or come on retreat with us – we’ll do Adoration in a powerful way on retreat – start to work toward an answer like Peter gave, “you are the Christ”. If it is the Body of Christ which we adore and receive at Mass, then we are in the presence of God! If it is Him, then it’s the most amazing gift on earth. We are that close to God…a few feet away in Adoration and actually have Him inside us in Holy Communion. Christ makes Himself present in the Eucharist so that He will be that close to us! He wants to be that close to us, that much a part of our lives, to have that much of a personal relationship with Him. The invitation for us this year is to have a personal relationship with Him in the Eucharist.

Finally, one of the teens from the youth group only came out every once in a while and didn’t seem to be all that into Adoration when he came. He was a nice guy who was very popular with the teens. He had had a very rough couple of years because his father died suddenly the year before he started high school. He came to Adoration one night and told me afterwards, “Father Greg, during Adoration, I felt the presence of God”. His statement certainly was a pleasant surprise. But, the look on his face was pure joy. I had never seen this kid look so happy! It was a turning point for him; he is now a leader in the youth group and a great one at that. This is one of the major points about the Eucharist: it brings us into the Presence of Christ which is where we find true peace, joy, happiness, and love. This is what I want all of you to experience this year. Through the Eucharist, may you know the peace and joy of Christ. May you know His love. May each and every one of you know God’s love this year.

Remembering Sept 11, 2001

Here are our upcoming Newman Center events. Hope to see you all there, especially at Mass!!

1) Today, Sept 11 - GWU 9/11 Remembrance Vigil at 6:30 pm in University Yard. I will be one of the people offering a prayer. Hope you can make that and then join us for our Scavenger Hunt at 7 pm at the Newman Center.

2) Sunday, Sept 13 - Opening 5 pm Mass at Mt. Vernon campus ("the Vern") with Pizza to follow; 7:30 pm and 10 pm Masses at St Stephen's (Come to Mass, for Christ's sake)

3) Monday, Sept 14 - Bible Study, 7-8 pm, Newman Center. We will discuss the Mass readings from Sunday and how they relate to college students.

4) Tuesday, Sept 15 - Free dinner, 6 pm, Newman Center (Mass at 5:30 pm).

5) Wednesday, Sept 16 - "Wacky Wednesday" at the Vern, 9-11 pm. The focus will be on service - we'll watch a powerful movie on the life of Mother Teresa and make sandwiches for those who are hungry.
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Today is the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country on Sept 11, 2001. We all remember where we were when we heard and watched the shocking news coming out of New York, DC, and Pennsylvania that morning. It was, of course, surreal.

I invite you to leave a comment here describing your experience from 9/11/01.

I was taking an exam in the seminary. The dean of studies came into our classroom and quietly told our professor what was going on. He could easily be described as the 'absent-minded professor'. The dean left the room, and the prof said, "gentlemen, two planes have crashed into the World Trade Center. Thousands of people are dead". We were all like, 'what?!' Needless to say, we all did miserably on the exam. I did the best I could to finish the exam and then ran to watch the unbelievable events transpire on TV.

Late in the morning, there were reports of a fourth hijacked plane flying over the suburbs of DC which is where my family lives. I tried to call them, but all phone lines were down. It was a scary hour. Finally, I reached them and all were safe. Then, as we headed over to a packed Mass with the Mount college students to pray for all the victims, we heard that Camp David was a possible target of the fourth plane. Our seminary, Mount St. Mary's, was right next to Camp David. It was extremely tense on top of all the other emotions that all Americans felt that day.

As with GWU, members of the Mount St Mary's community perished that day. A girl from the college whom I know lost her father who was in one of the World Trade Center towers. It is chilling to see all of the names on the list of victims, but especially the name of Mr. Rhodes. Here is a very small portion of names from the list here, and ask you to pray for all the victims and their families at some point today:

Gordon McCannel Aamoth, 32, New York, N.Y.* Maria Rose Abad, 49, Syosset, N.Y. * Edelmiro (Ed) Abad, 54, New York, N.Y. *Andrew Anthony Abate, 37, Melville, N.Y. *Vincent Abate, 40, New York, N.Y. *Laurence Christopher Abel, 37 *William F. Abrahamson, 58, Cortland Manor, N.Y. *Richard Anthony Aceto, 42, Wantagh, N.Y. *Erica Van Acker, 62, New York, N.Y. *Heinrich B. Ackermann, 38, New York, N.Y. *Paul Andrew Acquaviva, 29, Glen Rock, N.J. *Donald L. Adams, 28, Chatham, N.J. *Shannon Lewis Adams, 25, New York, N.Y. *Stephen Adams, 51, New York, N.Y. *Patrick Adams, 60, New York, N.Y. *Ignatius Adanga, 62, New York, N.Y.*Christy A. Addamo, 28, New Hyde Park, N.Y.*Terence E. Adderley, 22, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.*Sophia B. Addo, 36, New York, N.Y.*Lee Adler, 48, Springfield, N.J.*Daniel Thomas Afflitto, 32, Manalapan, N.J.*Emmanuel Afuakwah, 37, New York, N.Y.Alok Agarwal, 36, Jersey City, N.J.*Mukul Agarwala, 37, New York, N.Y.*Joseph Agnello, 35, New York, N.Y.*David Scott Agnes, 46, New York, N.Y.*Joao A. Aguiar Jr., 30, Red Bank, N.J.*Lt. Brian G. Ahearn, 43, Huntington, N.Y.*Jeremiah J. Ahern, 74, Cliffside Park, N.J.*Joanne Ahladiotis, 27, New York, N.Y.*Shabbir Ahmed, 47, New York, N.Y.*Terrance Andre Aiken, 30, New York, N.Y.*Godwin Ajala, 33, New York, N.Y.*Gertrude M. Alagero, 37, New York, N.Y.*Andrew Alameno, 37, Westfield, N.J.*Margaret Ann (Peggy) Jezycki Alario, 41, New York, N.Y.*Gary Albero, 39, Emerson, N.J.*Jon L. Albert, 46, Upper Nyack, N.Y.*Peter Craig Alderman, 25, New York, N.Y.*Jacquelyn Delaine Aldridge, 46, New York, N.Y.*Grace Alegre-Cua, 40, Glen Rock, N.J.*David D. Alger, 57, New York, N.Y.*Ernest Alikakos, 43, New York, N.Y.*Edward L. Allegretto, 51, Colonia, N.J.*Eric Allen, 44, New York, N.Y.*Joseph Ryan Allen, 39, New York, N.Y.*Richard Lanard Allen, 30, New York, N.Y.*Richard Dennis Allen, 31, New York, N.Y.*Christopher Edward Allingham, 36, River Edge, N.J.*Janet M. Alonso, 41, Stony Point, N.Y.*Anthony Alvarado, 31, New York, N.Y.*Antonio Javier Alvarez, 23, New York, N.Y.*Telmo Alvear, 25, New York, N.Y.*Cesar A. Alviar, 60, Bloomfield, N.J.*Tariq Amanullah, 40, Metuchen, N.J.*Angelo Amaranto, 60, New York, N.Y.*James Amato, 43, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.*Joseph Amatuccio, 41, New York, N.Y.*Christopher Charles Amoroso, 29, New York, N.Y.*Kazuhiro Anai, 42, Scarsdale, N.Y.Calixto Anaya, 35, Suffern, N.Y.*Jorge Octavio Santos Anaya, 25, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, MexicoJoseph Peter Anchundia, 26, New York, N.Y.*Kermit Charles Anderson, 57, Green Brook, N.J.*Yvette Anderson, 53, New York, N.Y.*John Andreacchio, 52, New York, N.Y.*Michael Rourke Andrews, 34, Belle Harbor, N.Y.*Jean A. Andrucki, 42, Hoboken, N.J.*Siew-Nya Ang, 37, East Brunswick, N.J.*Joseph Angelini, 38, Lindenhurst, N.Y.*Joseph Angelini, 63, Lindenhurst, N.Y.*Laura Angilletta, 23, New York, N.Y.Doreen J. Angrisani, 44, New York, N.Y.*

Ideas to boost Mass attendance?

Our number one goal at the Newman Center this year is to increase Sunday Mass attendance among GW Catholics. We are doing a lot to meet that goal with advertising in the school newspaper and online throughout the fall semester, hanging a banner at the Center regularly, asking students who attend Mass to invite their friends and roommates to join them, electronic advertising via email, Facebook, and Twitter, and continually inviting those who visit the Center to attend the student Masses. Soon, I will be offering room blessings to anyone who is interested; this will be a good way for me to meet more students and to promote our Masses. Any other ideas that you might have?

I have confidence that our Mass attendance will increase as the year goes on, especially as more people learn about and are invited to the new 10 pm Sunday Mass. This past weekend we had a fair turnout at our Opening Masses: about 200 students at the student Masses and about 100 students at other Masses at St Stephen's. While this is an improvement, it is still only a little over 10% of GW Catholics.

Two things: One, I am very happy that 300 of our students attended Mass this weekend. Two, this is not just about numbers, it's about souls. If almost 90% of (about 2000) GW Catholics missed Mass, then that is a lot of souls in danger. Every GW Catholic needs to be at Mass every Sunday in order to keep God's commandment ("Keep Holy the Sabbath") and to have eternal life through the Eucharist ("whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" - John 6:54). Someone who misses Mass puts him/herself at risk, as Jesus says: "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you" - Jn 6:53)

The most important thing in life is to get to Heaven. We need to be at Mass to get to Heaven. As the shepherd of souls here at GW, it is my responsibility to get GW Catholics to Heaven. So, then, it is my responsibility to get them to Mass. Can you help me?

Specifically looking at the ad in the school newspaper and website, I could use ideas for a line for the ad. The ad currently is next to the Sudoku game and justs lists the Mass times. We should have a creative and alluring line next to the Mass times. Your ideas are welcome; here are some of mine:

- Wanna go to Heaven?
- Wanna see a miracle?
- God's love in the flesh
- KnoW Mass, KnoW Heaven
- "Come to me and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28)
- Come to Mass, for Christ's sake

23rd Sunday - homily

For those of you who I haven’t met yet, I am Fr Greg (Shaffer), the new chaplain of the Newman Center, the Catholic Student Center here at GW which is located at 22nd and F Streets. I am psyched to be here and to be your chaplain and am excited about our year together. When I was in college, I had many good times and have a bunch of stories that you’ll hear this year. One of my best stories was when I went out to California with buddies of mine one year around Halloween. We went out to a club one night there and hit the dance floor. Oh yeah! I was out there groovin’ and everything until, all of sudden, the dance floor cleared. I started to make my way back to my friends, but they were saying, “No, Shaffer, stay out there, man”. I was like, “why? What’s up?” Then, I see all of these people in really nice Halloween costumes coming out…it was a Halloween costume contest!

The others had really nice costumes; I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts! They awarded the prizes based on crowd noise. The emcee came out and asked each participant who they were: “I am Batman”…”I am Catwoman”, those before me said. Then, he gets to me, and asked, “who are you?” Taking the microphone by hand, I yelled, “I’m the guy from the East Coast! See my white legs!” The crowd went nuts…I got third place!

Yes, I had many good times in college. But, it was also in college that I realized how clueless I was about our Catholic faith. I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school, and Church every Sunday. But, what I learned must have gone in one ear and out the other; it never really registered. I became good friends with a priest, Fr Wells, who was brilliant and a TON of fun. I remember talking with him one day in his office about faith and said to him, “Well, you know, Father, the Eucharist is just a symbol”. He said, “WHAT?!” I said, “it’s a symbol?” (real shakily). Now, Fr Wells completely believed that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ…that a change really takes place in the bread and wine at every Mass. He replied to me, “Greg, this is my body means this is my body”.

When he said that, something happened. I thought, “what? We really believe that?”So, I began to go to Mass more often – during the week – to hear the words I had heard so many times. It just hit me: this is for real! My faith became real: the Mass, Confession, the Cross…all of it. I finally got it; it’s like tonight’s first reading: “here is your God”.

That conversation changed my life. Fr Wells opened my ears. It’s very much like Jesus opening the ears of the deaf man in tonight’s Gospel. This event changed his life. He rejoiced that he could finally hear! In much the same way, I have rejoiced ever since Fr Wells opened my ears that day in his office.

It is my great hope that we at the Newman Center can help open the ears of any of you who are like I was in college: spiritually and theologically deaf. We will offer some stuff this year that will really help you hear what God is saying to you. For example, if you come to Mass every Sunday and have trouble understanding the readings, we will offer Bible Study on Monday nights. We’ll talk about the readings and see how they speak to college students. Also, if you’re having trouble hearing God speak to you in your life in general, we will offer a few retreats. A retreat is a profound way to get away, enter into quiet, and hear the voice of God.

It is my great hope that I can help open your ears of faith. Just as a priest was there to open my ears, I am here to help open yours. I am here to help you. I am here to serve you. I became celibate so that I can give my whole life to you: give you all of my time, energy, and love. 24 hours a day. Let me know how I can help you.

Through the Eucharist, may God open the ears of all of us. May we hear Him speaking to us this year. Above all, may we hear with our ears and know in our hearts this year how much God loves us. May each and every one of you know God’s love this year.

Opening BBQ: God is good

God is good! We had a perfect day of weather for our Opening BBQ, generous amounts of excellent food from Chiptole, Outback, and Coldstone, about 300 students come steadily over four hours, and an all-star team of student leaders who were so welcoming in greeting them and making them feel at home. Once again, a BIG turnout! And, it wasn't just quantity. I am really impressed with the quality of students here, especially the freshmen who came out in large numbers again today. Here are some pics:


All-star team!




















The leaders made the day a smashing success with God's help: signed up 100 new students to our database, over 50 for the freshmen retreat, and at least 10 for RCIA...so far! God is good.

Spread the word (and spread the Word!)

I hope the first week of classes has gone well for all of you. Transition is always difficult, no matter if it's transitioning into freshman or senior year. Everyone is nervous beginning a new year, even the professors! I hope you have been able to find some peace in the midst of it all, mainly by being in conversation with Christ. He is with you.

I ask all of you to spread the word (and spread the Word!) regarding the following programs and events at the Newman Center. Thank you for being our greatest marketers!!

1) Opening Masses - this Sunday (9/6), 7:30 pm and 10 pm at St Stephen's (2436 Penn. Ave). Ice cream social in the Parish Hall after the 7:30 Mass. Please invite your friends and roommates to go to Mass with you - you never know what good that can do for someone!

2) Blog site - please tell your friends to check out our blog site here, and invite them to leave comments or questions. Above all, it is a Q & A - I'm looking for some questions! You can give them the link - http://gwcatholicforum.blogspot.com

3) Opening BBQ - Tomorrow, Sept 5, 12-4 pm. FREE Chiptole, Outback, and Coldstone!! Also, free t-shirts, cups, and raffle for gift cards (Visa, etc.). We'll have sign-ups for Freshman retreat, RCIA, Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Daughters.

4) Bible Study - Mondays, 7-8 pm. If you or your friends have trouble understanding the Sunday readings (who doesn't?), this can really help. We'll discuss each week's readings and try to apply them to college students. Begins Sept. 14; come any Monday you are able.

5) Freshman retreat - Sept 25-27. This is an excellent opportunity for freshmen to get away from the stress of the first weeks of college, make new friends, and try to enter more deeply into conversation with Christ. The cost is only $35 for the first 25 people who sign up and $75 after that. Space is limited so encourage people to sign up soon!

6) Scavenger Hunt - Sept 11, 7 pm. Fun night searching for items around our area, including the memorials (?). Enjoy this adventure!

Welcome Back Dinner

Great turnout tonight at our Opening Tuesday dinner (150-200 people). Good food and good time! I was really impressed with those who came and look forward to getting to know them and their friends more this year. God is good!

"Travelers Visit Priest's Grave for Prayer, Healing"

The following is a recent story from WCCO, a CBS affiliate station in Minneapolis about my next-door neighbor in the seminary, Fr. Darin Didier who died just three months after he was ordained. To view the page, please click on today's title. Also, please take a look at the post I made on 9/21/05 about Fr Darin, "Living Next to a Saint", as found in our Archives (September 2005).



For the past few years people from across the country have made the trip to a small western Minnesota cemetery. Most have never met the man they are there to talk to.

Darin Didier was priest for just three months. He died three weeks before his 33rd birthday.

His parents, Len and Bonnie Didier, said growing up their son was a little shy. He was every bit the athlete in Alexandria and was a track and cross-country star through college. He went to the University of North Dakota to be a physical therapist.

Before he started his last year at UND, he changed his mind about being a physical therapist. He wanted to be a Catholic priest.

Darin started seminary and a few years later he was at home for a visit.

"He was just walking around here and I noticed a spot on the back of his neck. I just thought it looked a little different," Bonnie explained.

In 2003, Darin was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He went through chemotherapy, radiation and a stem-cell transplant.

"Everything that they did for him his cancer rebelled and came back worse," said Len.

"He was very accepting. I think that made it easier because if I was down he would actually lift me up. I have to remember that," said Bonnie.

His parents had him buried in the back of St. Mary's Cemetery. It's a small area on the west side of Alexandria. They were not prepared for what happened next.

Darin's parents started to see cars pulled over and people mulling around the grave. They would leave little trinkets by his gravesite. People were coming to ask for Darin to intercede on their behalf for healing.

In three years, hundreds of people have stopped by, including a whole bus full of kids just a few weeks ago.

"We've had people from every coast. We've had people from Maryland. We've had people from California. We've had people from down South," Len explained.

Now, they have a little black book where people can write out their prayers. They also have a place for people to put small tokens they may want to leave behind like coins and rosaries.

"I think it's been by word of mouth that people have had different experiences and they want to share it with others," said Bonnie.

The first thing Darin's father noticed on the grave was a picture of a sonogram taped to the side of it.

That picture belonged to John and Maggie Mauch.

They were expecting their third child and they found out quickly that something was wrong. Doctors told them their little girl had a hole in her back and would be born with spina bifida. They said there was still time to end the pregnancy.

John's parents had heard about the grave a few hours away.

"We just kind of looked at each other and went, 'He says we should go,'" said Maggie.

In the summer of 2006 the entire Mauch family made the trip.

"I asked for peace to be with us and the complications she had to be just less than what they thought it was going to be," Maggie recalled.

Their daughter, Macy, went home from the hospital just a week after she was born. Her doctors were amazed at all she can do considering how high on her back her injury is.

The Mauch's don't think too much about that day at the grave. But they do think about how much of a miracle little Macy is.

"The reason why we did it is, 'What's it going to hurt?'" said Maggie.

"I feel very humble that our son is still touching a lot of people's lives," Bonnie said.

Touching more lives in his death than his parents believe he ever possibly could in his life.

"I guess what I learned from my son if I were to sum it up, is life is a matter of surrender. Surrender doesn't mean to give up, it means to do the best you can and leave the results to a higher power," Len said.

Every year there is a memorial Mass held in Father Darin's honor. This year, it's on Labor Day, Sept. 7 at The Church of St. Mary in Alexandria.

22nd Sunday - homily

Those of you who know the story of St Augustine know that it is an amazing one. His is one of those stories of a great sinner becoming a great saint. He lived in Africa in the fifth century, and in his early life was a big party-er. He was a pagan and a playboy. This troubled his mother, St. Monica, so much that she prayed every day for thirty years (!) for his conversion. Sure enough, her prayers worked. Augustine had a huge conversion and left his life of debauchery. He became a Catholic, was ordained a priest and bishop, and has been made one of the “doctors” of the Church because he was such a great theologian. As he was trying to move away from his playboy lifestyle, though, Augustine did initially struggle with living chastity. He has a famous quote from this period in his life: “Lord, give me chastity, but not right now”.

When young people ask me why sex outside of marriage is so wrong, I mention today’s Gospel – Mark, chapter 7. In the passage that we just heard, our Lord mentions evils that defile a person. He puts unchastity right there with murder, adultery, and theft…in the same sentence! So, it is from the lips of Jesus himself that unchastity is seriously wrong. Sins against chastity which, as the Catechism tells us, include fornication (sex outside of marriage), pornography, and masturbation, are grave offenses against our Lord. Why? Because the gift of sex is a sacred gift from God that needs to be treated with respect and reverence. We are all called to live chastity – whether we are married, religious, single, young, or old. Chastity, simply put, is sexual purity.

It is hard for any of us to live chastity because our sexual desire is our strongest desire. In a world that bombards us with sexual images constantly, it is challenging to consistently live out God’s command to be pure. But, it is so freeing to do so! One time, I gave a talk to a men’s group about chastity. There were about seventy men there, ranging in age from 15-75. And, it was early on a Saturday morning! (popular topic!) I spoke very candidly about chastity, especially with regard to pornography and masturbation, and how addictive impure, sexual habits can be. So many of them were struggling in these areas so they very much appreciated the discussion. I offered some suggestions for living chastity consistently – one guy has told me since then that that discussion changed his life and saved his marriage. Praise God! Like Augustine, he has made the necessary changes and is now living chastity. He and his wife are now happier and more intimate than ever before. It is possible to live chastity.

And, when we live chastity, we find freedom. Scripture says that we are slaves to sin. That was the experience of those guys in that men’s group; that is the experience of so many people. We are slaves to our sexual desires and think there’s no way to control them. But, there is. With the help of God’s Grace – especially through Confession, the Eucharist, and the rosary , we can choose to be chaste. And, how freeing it is! How freeing it is to see others as persons and not just objects of our desire. How freeing it is to look at others and see their souls in addition to their bodies. How freeing it is to appreciate the internal gifts of someone as much as their external gifts. God intends for us to be free sexual beings. When we experience the freedom of chastity, we experience true happiness.

Finally, the gift of sex is so sacred that it is analogous to what we do here at Mass. In a few moments, we will unite ourselves with the Eucharist, the flesh of Jesus Christ. In Holy Communion, we become one flesh with our God. This is analogous to the one-flesh union of a husband and wife in the sexual act. In fact, some theologians have made the analogy between the bedroom of a married couple and the sanctuary of a Church. The beautiful gift of sex is sacred! Through the help of the Eucharist, may each of us live chastity. May we live sexual purity. May we find true happiness through the freedom of chastity.

Fixing up the Newman Center (cont.)

21st Sunday - homily

Before I begin a meditation on today’s Gospel, I would like to make a clarification from today’s second reading, St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Chapter 5). We hear one of the most fiery lines in all of Scripture: “wives, be subordinate to your husbands”. Some wives have told me that whenever they hear this reading in Church, their husbands nudge them, as if to say, “see”, which prompts a not-so-nice look from the wife. But, this is also one of the most misunderstood lines in all of Scripture; I understand why people can get so upset about it. But, let’s clear up the misunderstanding.

Another translation of this is “wives, be submissive to your husband”. Submissive means “to be under the mission of”. Wives are to under the mission of their husbands. What is the mission of husbands? It is the mission of Christ: to serve their brides. Christ’s mission was to serve the Church, his bride. He served his bride to the point of death, giving himself completely to her. Husbands are to serve their wives in the same way: they are to give themselves completely to their brides. Wives, let your husbands serve you! Now, wives are nudging their husbands, saying, “see…you serve me!”

I ask you all to put yourself in the scene of this Gospel (John 6). Picture yourself in a large crowd, maybe on a hillside. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of people. And, there is a great buzz in the crowd. You are all there to hear one man, Jesus of Nazareth. You have been there with the crowds, following Jesus every day. You have witnessed his miracles – you have seen him cure blind and deaf persons, seen him walk on water, and turn water into wine. You have heard his amazing teachings. You haven’t met him yet, but something happens to you when Jesus speaks. Now, in his this huge crowd, he is presenting a new teaching.
He is teaching about bread. He uses the word bread many times, and then refers to himself as bread. He says that he is the “bread of life” and the “bread come down from heaven” and that his “flesh is real food” and his “blood is real drink”. It’s such a big crowd that it takes a while for everyone to hear what he is saying. People start to question it, then complain, then get very angry. “This is a hard teaching…who can accept it?” Then, you see people begin to leave. Again, they had been following him every day…these are his disciples! And, they are leaving him because of this new teaching.

Now, we learn two things from the Jews in the Bread of Life discourse. Number one, this is a hard teaching. Number two, they took him literally. They heard him say over and over again that he will give them his flesh and blood to eat and drink. They were outraged at this and left him. Now, Jesus didn’t stop them and say, “wait, wait, wait, you misunderstood me. I wasn’t speaking literally”. He didn’t say this because he WAS speaking literally.

As you’re contemplating all that’s been said and if you are going to leave, too, you hear Jesus say to the Apostles, “Do you also want to leave?” You notice Peter, the leader of the Apostles. He has this dazed and confused look that says, ‘Jesus, I have no clue what you’re talking about’. Peter says to our Lord, ““Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” When you hear Peter say these words, you wonder to yourself, ‘has Jesus just spoke for Heaven? Is this God’s newest teaching? Will He really give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink? Do I believe what I am hearing?’

Each of us is really in this scene because we have just the heard the teaching on the Eucharist. Are we with the small group of disciples who believe Jesus, even though we don’t understand it and can’t explain it very well? Or, are we with the many, many disciples who have rejected the teaching on the Eucharist? My brothers and sisters, many Christians have rejected this teaching. They have left the Church because of the teaching on the Eucharist. I have spoken with many of them over the years and have heard them mock the teaching, calling it ridiculous. I simply echo the sentiment of St. Peter and ask them how they can live without the Eucharist.

We come here every Sunday and with our presence here say that we cannot live without the Eucharist. Let us continue to be with the disciples who stayed with our Lord. Let us believe even though we don’t understand how bread and wine becomes Christ’s Body and Blood at every Mass. Let us be faithful disciples who believe with Peter and the Apostles that Jesus, especially with regards to the Eucharist, has the words of eternal life.

20th Sunday - homily

When I was young, I worked as a rectory aide at my parish, Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda. For four hours every Thursday, I answered the phones, answered the door, and locked the Church. It was a pretty good gig: I made $7 cash plus two Cokes! The highlight was whenever the priest would come to visit me or check in. I was at the far end of the rectory, so I would always hear the priest coming. This gave me time to straighten myself up, turn off the TV, and look holy or something. One night during the summer, I heard a priest coming to see me. I got myself in order and then he popped in. He was wearing a t-shirt, swimming trunks, a funny hat, and had a towel draped over his shoulder. He said, “Hi, I’m Father Wells, the new priest”. “Hi”, I said. “I’m going to a pool party. You wanna go?”, he asked. “I have to answer the phones”, I replied, kind of mystified that he would even ask. “Ok, see ya later”, he said. Then, he was gone. I was thinking to myself, ‘what just happened? Who was that?’

That was Father Wells. We hit it off after that and for many years remained good friends. We reunited years later when he was the pastor of St Mark’s in Hyattsville and I was helping out with the youth group there. We hung out quite often for golf, with friends, vacations, and Church events. He was a great priest – very faithful, holy, brilliant, and a ton of fun. I would pick his brain all the time, trying to gain some of his wisdom. One day - I remember it so clearly – we were sitting in his office, shooting the breeze. At one point, I said, “well, you know, Father, the Eucharist is just a symbol”. “What?”, he said, with a look of total shock. Now, this was a man who completely believed in the Eucharist – that the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass. “It’s a symbol?”, I said shakily. Then, he said something that changed my life: “Greg, this is my body means this is my body”.

After 21 years of going to Church every Sunday and after 12 plus years of Catholic education, this was the first time I really ever heard the teaching about the Eucharist. It finally hit me. So, I had to pursue it. I started to go to daily Mass (in addition to Sunday) to hear the words I had heard so many times before. In hearing those words anew and in seeing the faith of the priest and people, I realized that this is for real. It really is the Body and Blood of Christ! I also started going to Eucharistic Adoration which they had perpetually at St Marks. What was going on was a relationship. I was entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ who is truly present in the Eucharist. And so, I began to say to Him, “Lord, you gave me your life, I want to give you my life”. It was not long after that that thoughts of the priesthood began to enter my mind and heart. The funny thing was when I went to tell Fr Wells that I was “sort of, kinda having some thoughts, maybe, about the priesthood”, He said, “Can you hold on?”, and then picked up the phone, called the vocations director, and said “Hey, Mark, it’s Tom. Yeah, we got one”! (A year later, I was in the seminary).

My vocation came from the Eucharist; the Eucharist is the source of my vocation. It is the center of my vocation. I have dedicated my priesthood to the Eucharist. I have dedicated my ministry to the Eucharist. So often in ministry, I refer to these lines from today’s Gospel. When kids ask me, “why do we have to go to Mass every Sunday?”. I’ll say it’s mainly to receive the Eucharist. I’ll ask them if they want to go to Heaven. They’ll immediately respond with “Uh huh, uh huh”. Then, I’ll tell them that Jesus said we need to receive the Eucharist at Mass if we want to go to Heaven. My point is based on John 6, verses 53-54: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life”. We need the grace of the Eucharist and Baptism to get to Heaven, to have eternal life.

Now, the Eucharist is not just our ticket to Heaven. It is our chance to have Heaven on Earth: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life”. That means that in a few minutes we will have Heaven dwelling within us because we will have Jesus dwelling within us, and Jesus is the Kingdom of Heaven. At that moment, we will have the happiness, joy, peace, and all the things of Heaven in our bodies and souls.

Finally, it is not just about what we get from the Eucharist. It’s about what the Eucharist helps us to do. Elsewhere in John’s Gospel, Jesus says that, “whoever remains in me and I in him bears much fruit”. He makes it clear in today’s Gospel that the best way to remain in Him and Him in us is in the Eucharist. So, if we remain in Him and Him in us in the Eucharist, we will live fruitful lives. We will live the lives we truly want to live. If any of us is struggling with faith or virtue, we should go to Eucharist. It will help us to bear much fruit.

May each of make the Eucharist C.O.O.L. (center of our lives). May we center our lives on the Eucharist, bear much fruit, and have eternal life through the Eucharist.

19th Sunday - homily

Is there any difference between Communion that is offered at a Catholic Mass and Communion that is offered at a Protestant service? I’ve heard many people, including Catholics, say no, there is no difference. A good friend of mine, Ken, would answer differently. Ken was a Protestant who came to RCIA when I was leading it in my last parish. On the first night when everyone introduced themselves to the group, Ken made it very clear that he had no intention of becoming Catholic. Married to a Catholic with two kids in a Catholic school, he said that he simply wanted to go deeper in his study of the Bible; he had studied the Bible extensively before RCIA.

So, RCIA began and was rolling along for Ken until we got to the teaching on Communion…the Holy Eucharist. I presented the teaching of the Church that is based on the Gospel we hear from today and these weeks: John 6. We especially focused on the words of our Lord, “the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world”, and how we take them literally. In other words, Jesus says that the Eucharist really is his flesh and blood and we believe him. Now, this was a problem for Ken. After reading John 6 with us, he realized that the Eucharist is not just something the Church came up with. This is straight from the lips of our Lord himself. We talked for a while after the next few RCIA meetings, particularly about the difference between the Eucharist in the Catholic Church and in Protestant denominations.

My basic point to him paralleled the one Christ makes to the Jews: the difference between the Protestant Eucharist and Catholic is the same difference between manna and the Bread of Life. The Protestant Eucharist is just bread in the same way that manna was just bread. It is natural food only. The Catholic Eucharist is the Bread of Life to which Jesus is referring in John 6. It is supernatural food. Ken and I focused very much on the stark difference that Christ presents: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven…whoever eats this bread will live forever”. There is a huge difference between manna and the Bread of Life. There is a HUGE difference between the Protestant Eucharist (which is just bread) and the Catholic Eucharist (which is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ).

This was the turning point for Ken. In these talks, I could literally see the scales drop from his eyes. As I said, he was very much a student of the Bible. But, this was all news to him. And, it was good news! He realized that he had to receive the Catholic Eucharist, so he realized that he had to become Catholic. He struggled with some of the other teachings of the Church, but over the next several months…well, I straightened those out for him! It was an exceptionally beautiful and powerful process to witness for me and the others in RCIA. The climax was about two weeks before Easter which is when those in RCIA become Catholic. Ken was still struggling. He told the group in a very personal way how difficult it would be for him to become Catholic – mainly because he could never received Communion in his Protestant denomination again. It was very anguishing for him, something that made a huge impact on me and the others. He decided to come into the Church and is now one happy Catholic who received the Bread of Life weekly. He is very active in the parish and will be a solid teacher of the Catholic faith to so many.

Finally, the last line of today’s Gospel, verse 51, is so incredibly powerful. “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world”. Our Lord is saying that the flesh and blood that we receive in Holy Communion is the same flesh and blood that was on the Cross. We can make this line an equation to show this. “The bread that I will give” means the Eucharist… “Is” can mean equals…”my flesh for the life of the world” means the flesh and blood that he shed on the Cross because it is on the Cross that Christ gives his flesh for the life of the world. So, the Eucharist = Christ’s flesh and blood on the Cross. Christ doesn’t die at every Mass; death has no more power over him. It is His risen Body and Blood that is re-presented to us at Mass through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist truly is the Bread of Life to which Christ is referring. ”Whoever eats this bread will live forever”.

Fixing up the Newman Center

I've been getting thoughtful emails and notes from former parishioners and friends, asking how things are going here at the Newman Center. A few of them have made the comment that it's probably quiet here now, with the students away on summer break. Sha! I understand their thinking, but there has been much going on here this summer. We've undertaken many projects to fix up the Newman Center; most to address structural problems in this 100 year-old home and some to improve things aesthetically.

Here are pics of the Center - these qualify as "before" pics - and some of the projects that we are working on. I will post their "after" counterparts in the next few weeks. It's very exciting!! Btw, we welcome donations - these are expensive repairs and improvements.


Let's just say that the Center will get a facelift!


We'll spruce up the front yard with some flagstone and new landscaping.


We'll clean up the mess in the backyard and build a brick door at the pit. Also, the University will be replacing the broken fence.


If you've been in the kitchen anytime in the recent past, you've seen the mold problem on the wall. The basement has some pretty bad water damage. We're waterproofing the foundation as much as possible and then putting up new drywall. Also, we just got a new stove! Score!


Ewww..dirty kitchen floor. We'll clean it and make it shine as much as possible. Also, we'll replace broken tiles.


Water has been leaking from the balcony roof into the parlor ceiling...not good! We'll fix that, and then maybe even rearrange the parlor a bit. I want the Center to have a mini-library of cool Catholic materials (brochures, pamphlets, booklets, books, etc.). The parlor is my first choice, but it may disturb the "lounge area" of the parlor, so we would just put the resources elsewhere in the Center.


The deck on the roof will be looking sweet in a few weeks after some repairs, powerwashing, and staining.


One change we did not wish to make has to do with our beloved campus minister, Alecia. Alecia and her husband, John, are moving to North Carolina this month because John recently accepted a position at Wyngate University. We will miss Alecia very much! She has given her heart, mind, soul, and strength to GW students for the past four years. We wish her and John well. We will never replace her, but hope to find someone to fill her position asap. Please pray that God sends us the right person.

"Quo Vadis Days"

Next week, the Archdiocese is hosting a retreat for high school young men, "Quo Vadis Days". This retreat has been held in other dioceses, with 100 boys attending in at least two dioceses. Currently, there are less than 30 signed up to go next week. We need more guys going! It will be a GREAT experience for the boys to enjoy some fraternity and grow in holiness. Please encourage any high school boys who you think may be interested to go...and bring their friends!

Contact Fr. Rob Walsh at the # below, and tell him that Fr. Greg said to waive the $100 cost. Money should not stop any boys from attending. Thank you very much!


High school young men: Quo Vadis: Where are you going?

Legend tells us St. Peter asked Jesus this question on the outskirts of Rome. We know where Jesus went in response to His Father's will. He knew that only by doing what the Father asked of him would there be true joy and fulfillment in this life.


Where are you going?

What is the Father's will for you?

Want to learn more?
Quo Vadis Days will give you the opportunity to learn more about discernment of your vocation. A four-day camp for high school young men, activities will include prayer, hiking, games, sports, talks, and lots of great food. Sign-up now as space is limited.

Quo Vadis Days will be held August 9-12, 2009 at the Msgr. O’Dwyer Retreat Center in Sparks, MD. The cost is $100, which includes room, board and transportation.


Contact:
Father Rob Walsh
301-853-4580
PO Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017-0260

18th Sunday - homily

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life”. This teaching from our Lord reminds me of a friend of mine. When I met her a few years ago, she basically admitted that her life was all about food that perishes, it was all about this world. She was living a secular lifestyle and pursuing a secular career. It wasn’t all bad, but she wasn’t happy. At the same time, she wanted to go deeper in her Catholic faith. It was so cool to see her go deeper during those weeks and months and begin to work for food that endures for eternal life. It didn’t surprise me, then, when she called me sometime later to let me know that she was entering religious life as a sister. Very cool stuff! It is so amazing to see young people go deeper in their faith, be open to God’s Call, and then follow it. Now, we don’t need to enter religious life to live out this teaching of Christ’s, but my friend is a great example to us. We should all look at our lives and see if they are just about this world only or if they point to something else: eternal life.

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life”. The reaction of the crowd to this teaching might have been our reaction: “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” We would probably have been focused on we need to do, how to get involved. It is important for us to get involved – in the Church, in our family, in our community, in our country. It is important for us to get involved, for example, in the current health care debate. We should contact our representatives in congress and the senate and ask them what the Bishops’ Conference has asked: keep health care “abortion neutral”, please. Right now, it’s not. This is part of what it means to work for food that endures for eternal life.

But, Jesus tells the crowd and us, first things first: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” It all starts with faith. It’s all about faith in Christ. This is what it means to do the work of God: to believe in Jesus. Now, I would guess that many of us here would say, ‘Lord, we already believe in you. What do we do next?’ But, there is one thing that we Catholics have a hard time believing in: the Eucharist. A study from years ago found that 70% of Catholics do not believe in the Eucharist. 70% believe that it is only a symbol of the Body and Blood of Christ. Personally, I believe that most if not all of them haven’t really heard the teaching from John 6 which we are hearing these Sundays and from the Church. That might be a fault of the Church not preaching it clearly and consistently.

It is a hard teaching. It takes a lot of faith to believe that a change happens in the bread and wine at Mass even though our senses don’t pick up a change. It still looks like bread and wine. It still tastes like bread and wine. Why do we believe in the Eucharist? Because of four words: “This is my body”. Jesus didn’t say, “This represents my body” or “This symbolizes my blood”. He said, “This is my body”. The Apostles believed Him, the early Church believed Him, and we believe Him. It really is Him! It’s an amazing thing that will happen here in a few minutes – Jesus will become present on the altar through the words I will say and we will receive Him in Holy Communion. What a gift!

Again, it takes a lot of faith in Christ to believe in the Eucharist. This is what our Lord is asking of us. It is no coincidence that his line about believing in Him is in the middle of his teaching of the Eucharist. We are hearing these weeks from John 6, the Bread of Life discourse. He is laying out the teaching and the crowds are having a hard time believing Him. He is saying to them and to us: believe in me and what I am teaching you here. In a couple of weeks, we will hear Him get much more specific and emphatic: “my flesh is real food…my blood is real drink”. It is certainly not a discourse that can be taken symbolically.

Back to my friend: at the heart of her story is the Eucharist. Her faith took off because she went to the Eucharist more. She focused on the Eucharist at Mass, began attending daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. It really is like the parable of the mustard seed for her or any of us whose faith grows because of the Eucharist: at first, it’s small but then grows and grows and grows into something very big. The Eucharist is the center of it all for us Catholics. It is the center of our faith in Christ. It is the center of our lives. If any of us is struggling in our faith, we should go to the Eucharist. It really is the best way for us to live out this challenge from our Lord. It is the best way for us to work for food that endures for eternal life. It is the best way for us to believe in the one God sent.