25th Sunday - homily

When I was out of the seminary, I was the sales manager for my brother’s construction company. It was a cool job. The thing is that when I started, I really had no idea about sales. I had to attend seminars and do all kinds of reading. One of the main points was to make yourself stand out as a salesman so that people would remember you and what you were selling. So, in order to be unique, I started changing my voicemail greeting every week. They were memorable, to say the least. One week’s message was, “Hi, this is Greg with Imperial Stone Paving. I’m sorry I missed your call, but I am in the Middle East right now searching for Osama bin Laden. Please leave a message.” People were like, ‘what the?’. Another week it was, “I’m sorry I missed your call. I am on the other line talking to the US Olympic Committee trying to finalize and realize my dream of being an Olympic figure skater.” I went to a general contractor’s office one time and when they heard who I was they said that they would call my voice mails just to hear the new message. Sales tripled in the first year!


It was a lot of hard work (and corny messages) to make honest wealth for the company and myself. It was even harder competing against dishonest contractors. There was one job we bid on that was high-profile and lucrative. We submitted our very competitive bid which we knew was the best bid. Another paving contractor got the job even though their bid was incomplete. It turned out they had an in with the owner. The whole job was this way – it was corrupt, illegal, and dishonest with all kinds of kickbacks and favors.

We all have a choice in how we acquire wealth – we can do it the hard way and do it honestly or the easy way through dishonesty. Professional wealth can be achieved through dishonesty like the construction example or those from the first reading who fixed scales for cheating. College students know they can acquire academic wealth through cheating or they can gut it out and get honest grades and honors. And then, there is social or personal wealth which I’d like to focus on. Accumulating honest wealth personally means being the person who you are. You are simply yourself with people socially. Dishonest personal wealth means being a fake or a phony to people; in other words, being someone you’re not. How many of us said when we were young things like, “I’ll never get into drugs or alcohol”. Or, “I’m waiting ‘til I’m married to have sex”.

What happened? Well, we went to college (or high school). Peer pressure, or pressure from the “children of the world” (as Jesus puts it in today’s Gospel – Lk 16:1-13), has worn us down. Little by little over time we have given into things we used to see as wrong. They don’t seem like big deals anymore to us but they are. The people in the construction job might not have thought it was that big of a deal to be involved in such illegal and dishonest activity. The people in the first reading might not have thought it was that big of a deal to trample all over the poor or to cheat in their wage-earning. I have worked with many young people when they realize that what they have been doing is wrong. They get to the point late in high school or college when they see that they have become someone they are not and they hate it. They have gotten away from who they are and hate who they have become.

It is an uphill battle to be yourself in college. It’s like going up a really steep hill or like being in the ocean and going against a really strong undercurrent. That hill and that undercurrent are the children of the world. It’s not just sheer pressure, it’s really smart pressure. The Lord says that “the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light”. Last year, in Thurston Hall, they had buckets of candy with condoms in them. That is brilliant. Sick and twisted, but brilliant. Stuff like this didn’t happen years ago. I went to get my haircut in a local barber shop recently wearing my clerics and was having a good experience until I went to pay. There were a stack of Playboy magazines on the rack. I asked the owner, “what’s up with this?” He and the other men laughed at me as I walked out. Our approach to pornography, contraception, abortion, etc. has changed. As a society and as individuals, we have let our consciences be diminished. We don’t see these things as evil and dishonest to the human person anymore. My job is to call our evil and dishonesty for what it is. My job is to remind you to stay true to who you are and live the truth.

Finally, whenever we come here to Mass and the Eucharist, we are saying who we really are. We are children of light and Christ is our master, especially in the Eucharist. This is who we are and this is where we want to be – with Christ. One important point to remember is that the more we know Christ, the more we know ourselves. The more we go away from Christ, the more we go away from who we are. We come here to be who we are. The world hates that we come here every week. You might experience this with your roommates, friends, or family. “Or, you’re one of those!” The children of the world hate sit but God loves it. And, He loves who you are. So, do I! I hope and pray that each one of you knows in your heart two very important things: one, you are good, and two, you are loved.

GW Catholics in the news!

DC ‘Hood vs. St Bartholomew parish, Bethesda, tonight, 7:30 pm. The (basketball) game will be played at St Bart's gym.  Go ‘Hood!!


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GW Catholics are in the news! Here is an article from yesterday’s Catholic Standard, the Catholic newspaper in Washington:


Archbishop encourages GWU students to invite friends back to Church

By Moira McLaughlin
Special to the Catholic Standard

Emphasizing his message of the New Evangelization that he wrote about in his recent pastoral letter, Archbishop Donald Wuerl concelebrated Mass Sept. 12 for a church full of George Washington University students at St. Stephen Martyr parish in Northwest Washington.

“We all know people who have drifted away…our responsibility, our task is to invite them to enjoy again the embrace of their Father,” the archbishop said in his homily after the Gospel reading of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son.

The archbishop told the students about being stopped in airports by non-practicing Catholics curious about the faith.

At a ticket counter in the airport, one man told him that he used to be a Catholic, but wasn’t sure what happened.

“All you have to do is next Sunday make your way to Church,” he told the man. To the students, he said, “Sometimes, people just need to be asked.”

Coming to church helps Catholics live with a purpose and a goal, the archbishop noted, and it helps answer the big questions. Jesus’ first disciple were excited by this and so invited others to join them, he said. His new pastoral letter, Disciples of the Lord: Sharing the Vision, was issued on Sept. 9.

Discipleship

“Each one of us is called to be not only disciples who have heard the message, but each one of us is called to be a witness,”, he said and challenged the congregation, saying, “Some have drifted away, and it’s up to you and me to bring them back.”

At the end of Mass, the archbishop spoke to the students again. He recalled Pope Benedict XVI’s message when he visited Washington in 2008. The pope said that secularism, materialism, and individualism – the idea that one can make it alone – are hurdles that people face, distractions that can keep them from Christ.

But, Archbishop Wuerl continued, “We walk through this life knowing there’s more to it.” The archbishop said that the pope encouraged Catholics to help others meet Jesus. The theme of the papal visit was, “Christ Our Hope,” and the pope said that “Those who have hope, must live different lives.”

After Mass, the archbishop joined students for a reception at the parish, Some George Washington students interviewed later said they appreciated his visit with them, and they took his message to heart, thinking about how they might be more vocal about their faith.

Sharing the Faith

Freshmen Amanda Pasek said she would invite a friend to Mass with her next time. Junior Jared MacDonald pondered the different ways he might speak about his faith to someone who might ask. Senior Elizabeth Janus recalled being a little scared to talk to a roommate last fall who questioned her weekly Mass attendance. She feels she would be more comfortable with the conversations now.

According to sophomore Damian Legacy, who is in formation to become a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross, the Catholic movement is growing on the G.W. campus…

Just as the archbishop spoke of the excitement of the first Catholics, so too did Legacy talk about that same excitement in the Catholics at that university.

“We have a small group of people, but when we get excited, that grows.” Legacy noted the increase of students attending Tuesday night Mass and dinner this year from last year. “When you’re asked about what you’re doing, that attracts attention,” he said. “We’re seeing the work we’re doing paying off,”, he said.

Does God have a sense of humor?

Tonight I am leading a discussion with a group of our students, “Does God have a sense of humor?” This is actually a topic that was selected by the students; it is our first meeting this year after meeting several times last semester. Most of us believers would answer yes (some theologians have said no in the sense that we can’t move God to laugh) based on our experiences. I have plenty of anecdotes and stories that have continuously shown me God’s great sense of humor and plan on using a few tonight.


There are many ways to define humor. Humor can be wit, sarcasm, irony, poking fun at ourselves or others, etc. One of the best ways to describe humor, especially in the Christian sense, comes through humility: not taking ourselves so seriously. So, a humble person could have a great sense of humor without much wit. Conversely, a proud person with all kinds of one-liners could have a poor sense of humor. Father Daniel Lord, S.J., once prayed, “Let me have too deep a sense of humor ever to be proud. Let me know my absurdity before I act absurdly. Let me realize that when I am humble I am most human, most truthful, and most worthy of your consideration.”

The best way to know if God has a sense of humor is to go the source: Divine Revelation. In Scripture, we read that “the one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord derides them” (Psalm 2:4) and “You, Lord, laugh at them; you deride all the nations” (Ps 39:9). I know God has had a good time laughing at some of my nonsense over the years; it’s been that way with mankind since the beginning. Mother Teresa used to say, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans”.

God showed some humor with Job as narrated by an online author: 

"Job became quite sarcastic after his life became miserable and the Book of Job is replete with sarcastic remarks. Job’s explanation regarding the righteous person that suffers was (Job 12:4): 'The completely righteous man is a laughingstock.' Job demanded to confront God and know the reason for all his suffering. Job’s wish was granted, and God said to him (Job 38:4): 'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?' Or, in other words, when you create your own world, then you can tell me how to run mine."


The Cross of Jesus Christ is the sign of many things. It is the sign of God’s love, mercy, generosity, kindness, etc. It is also the sign of God’s sense of humor. Talk about not taking yourself so seriously! He is God…on a Cross! He is stripped, beaten, and bruised. It is the ultimate sign of humility…the ultimate sign of humor. Specifically, though, Jesus had some good one-liners. They may not fall into the “LOL” (Laughing Out Loud) category, but they show that he was fun. In Lk 24, he’s walking along with two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection. He asks them what they are discussing. They replied, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” His comeback: “what sort of things?” They were talking about him! He obviously knew that and was being ironic. I wonder if they got that one later on.

Here is a nice online description of the story in Mark 7 in which Jesus enjoys the humor of a woman:

"Picture the setting for Jesus' quick repartee with the Syro-phoenician woman who interrupted his meal (Mark 7). He blends ethnic humor and a playful challenge to this Gentile kneeling at his feet. She rolls with his humor (yes, humor can be present amid serious matters), and as we say today she 'flipped it back at him.':

"For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth (a Gentile or non-Israelite), and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.


"But Jesus said to her, 'Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.'


"And she answered and said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.'


"Then He said to her, 'For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.'” (Mark 7:25-29, NKJV)

Jesus must have smiled when he immediately granted her request."


If Revelation does not convince us that God has a sense of humor, then a mirror can. Look at us! We see and hear humor every day. We do not doubt for a second that human beings can have a sense of humor. Where did we get it? From Almighty God. We are made in His image and likeness. We reflect God’s image…His beauty, intelligence, and yes, humor. Many of the saints were very funny and enjoyed practical jokes. St. Augustine’s classic line shows his wit: “Lord, give me chastity, but not right now”. St Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Summa, “It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes."

One of the funnier lines from people in Scripture comes at Pentecost. The Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke with tongues of fire in several different languages about Jesus. The people who heard this assumed that they were drunk. Peter replied, “It is only nine o’clock in the morning” (Acts 2:15). Good timing on the part of the Holy Spirit (as with most humor); a few hours later in the day and we might not have the Church we have.

Finally, here’s another take on humor from Archbishop Fulton Sheen:

We say a person has a "sense of humor" if he can "see through things"... God made the world with a "sense of humor," in the sense that we were to see Him through His creation: to see His Power in the mountains, His Beauty in the sunset, His Wisdom in a snowflake, His Love in the human heart. Poets have inherited this sense of humor for, like Thompson, they can look at the sun and see in it the Host that is raised in Benediction over the world, and at night set in the Flaming Monstrance of the west. Saints must have a sense of humor, so as to be able to see a resurrection through the trials and sorrows of life.

Man loses his sense of humor through sin. He begins to take money seriously, flesh seriously, business seriously, food seriously. These have no other purpose than just to satisfy him. Now Christmas Day was the restoration of humor, and those who displayed it most were the shepherds and the wise men. They came to this little Babe and "saw through Him" - God Himself. His Flesh was the Sacrament of His Divinity. When the Babe grew, He taught parables in or with a sense of Divine Humor. Salt and camels, sheep and goats, patches on old clothing, wine in old bottles, businessmen, traders, were not to be taken seriously. All were telltale of something else. Christmas then is a romance and a joy only to those who have a sense of humor, whose vision is not opaque when they look at a Babe, but can see through Him all the problems of life answered in the vision of God Who appeared as a Man. They who pass through this life with that sense of humor, which is faith, will one day be rewarded by the one thing that will make heaven Heaven - His Smile.

24th Sunday - homily

A recent survey found that “approximately one-third of all respondents who say they were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic. This means that roughly 10% of all Americans are former Catholics”. Wow. That’s very sad. There are many reasons why so many people have left the Church. One underlying point is that almost every single one of these people is like St. Paul – at least, how he used to be: in ignorance. They really don’t know what the Church is all about; if they did, they were never leave. And, like St. Paul, they need to be mercifully treated. I don’t blame them exclusively. In fact, the Church has to do a better job of teaching people what it means to be Catholic. It has to do a much better job of showing Jesus Christ to people. This is exactly what the “New Evangelization” of the Church is all about.


The New Evangelization means reaching out to people, especially those who have left the Church, and showing them Christ. In my opinion, this primarily means leading them to the Eucharist. There was a study done years ago that found that 70% of Catholics believe that the Eucharist is only a symbol of the Body and Blood of Christ. Again, people don’t believe the teaching because they don’t know the teaching. The Church needs to do a better job of teaching that the Eucharist is truly and really the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The New Evangelization involves teaching and showing the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The other primary staple of the New Evangelization should be Confession. Once someone begins to see that Christ is real in the Eucharist, then he or she will see that He is real in the Confession. This is how it happened for me. I learned that Christ is really present in the Eucharist and then realized that he is present in the confessional (and all the sacraments). It’s really Him forgiving sins through the priest. The Eucharist and Confession are real! If Catholics really knew this, they would never leave the Church.

Jesus helps us to see that Confession is real with tonight’s parable, the Prodigal Son. This parable is often used to explain the sacrament of Confession. The son is each one of us; the father is God the Father. We can all relate in some way to the son. He leaves home with his inheritance and probably thought, ‘I am free! I can do whatever I want now!’ And, this is what he did. He got into all kinds of bad stuff – a “life of dissipation”, Scripture says. This can be translated as “debauchery”, a more familiar word to college students. He was partying it up, getting hammered and hanging out with prostitutes.

He represents college students, not just with drinking or getting high, but with all kinds of stuff that are going on on this campus: random hooking up, cutting, skipping Mass, taking God’s name in vain and just throwing His sacred name all over the place, pornography, masturbation, gossip, and all kinds of stuff. He got in way deep with this and then basically realized, “this stinks. The swine are living better than I am’. This type of living brought him to his knees. We might call this rock bottom. He realized that he wasn’t happy and that he screwed up. He needed to return to his father.

When he returned, his father didn’t scream at him or ask him where he had been. After all of this, the father embraced him, kissed him, and threw him a big party. This is the image of God the Father any time one of us returns to Him…any time one of us asks for mercy…any time one of us goes to Confession. God the Father always offers mercy to us. And, that is what I offer you in Confession. No matter what kind of debauchery you’ve been in or how long you’ve been in it, I will offer you mercy in Confession. It is the mercy of the Father that I offer you.

This is what the Church is offering in the New Evangelization. It is bringing people to the mercy of Christ and bringing the mercy of Christ to people. When I evangelize about God’s Mercy, especially through Confession, I refer to this Gospel. Three times we heard that there is great rejoicing in Heaven when a sinner repents. So, when someone returns to Confession after being away for a while or for something big, there is a great party in Heaven! It is like the joy or finding a lost coin, a lost sheep, or lost son. In the New Evangelization, the Church is looking for lost Catholics in much the same way as Jesus presents in these three images.

Finally, the centerpiece of the New Evangelization is the Eucharist. This is where it all starts. You all can be a big part of the New Evangelization simply by inviting someone to be your “Mass buddy”. This is a huge part of bringing people to Christ. And, you never know what can happen when they come here. IT could happen for them what happened to me when I was 21 – that was the first time I understood that “this is my body” means this is my body. I finally learned that the Eucharist is real. I finally learned that Christ is real…not just up in Heaven…but real to me here and now. We are all invited to bring people to experience Christ’s reality. We are all invited to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

Archbishop Wuerl at GW this Sunday!!

Archbishop Wuerl will celebrate the 7:30 student Mass for GW Catholics this Sunday at St. Stephen's Church (25th and Penn.).  We are asking all GW Catholics to invite 3 students to the Mass.  Pizza to follow in the Parish Hall.

His Excellency has published a pastoral letter on the "New Evangelization".  Here is an overview from adw.org.  To view the letter in full, please click on today's title.


Overview


All of us know someone - a friend, family member, colleague or neighbor - who used to be a practicing Catholic, but isn’t any more. For some who initially heard the incredible proclamation of Christ alive in the Church, the message has become stale. The promises seem empty or unconnected to their busy lives today. So, what is our response?

A new pastoral letter by Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl, Disciples of the Lord: Sharing the Vision, invites Catholics to renew and reinvigorate their own faith and then to invite others whose faith has grown stale to reconnect and rediscover Christ. Pope Benedict XVI calls this invitation a “reproposing” of our faith and the “New Evangelization.”

The New Evangelization is not a program. It is an outlook on life and a personal invitation to rediscover Christ and his message. In his pastoral letter, Archbishop Wuerl asks that Catholics reflect together on how we can renew the Gospel message and Christ’s love, first in our own hearts and then, having grown in our faith, by inviting others to hear once again, maybe all over again for the first time, the exciting invitation of Jesus: “Come, follow me.”

This can start with something as simple as participating more in the sacraments, a direct conversation about Catholicism, offering to pray for someone or inviting a friend to Bible study or Mass. For parishes, it means looking at all that they do through a new lens, a self assessment of the parish’s vitality in the areas of worship, education, service, community and administration. For the archdiocese, it means reaching out in new ways, such as a redesigned website to better engage people with the Church, a new email system to reach parishioners directly, and consideration of every program through the lens of the New Evangelization.

This is a fresh moment for the Church because it is a new moment in our world. In an increasingly secular and materialistic society, what gives true and lasting meaning and joy is Christ and his message. From the renewal of faith by individual Catholics to their invitation to others to share in the joy and excitement of Christ and his Church comes the possibility of a world transformed.

The pastoral letter begins with observations on the evangelizing mission of the Church; explores how we can understand the New Evangelization as an invitation to repropose the Gospel of Christ and an encounter with him; considers what it will actually mean for us here in the Church of Washington; and what our involvement in it means for our personal renewal, vitality of our parish family and regeneration of our society.

Getting into FOCUS

Happy Birthday, Mary! Today is the feast of the birth of Mary, the mother of our Savior. St Andrew of Crete once said, “Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed, and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages”. Today’s feast also helps us to enter into the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8. For some reason, many Catholics think that Dec. 8 celebrates the conception of Jesus. But, it honors the conception of Mary, exactly nine months ago today. Jesus’s conception is celebrated on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, which is nine months before Christmas.


Tuesday nights are becoming one of my favorites at the Newman Center. We started with Mass and, again, had a large number of students. The first two Tuesday evening Masses have averaged about 45 students, thanks be to God. I could get used to that! Then, about 70 students were here for our weekly Tuesday dinner. It was another quality home-cooked meal (done by our students). After dinner, the FOCUS missionaries led a discussion about faith in college which evoked quality comments from students, including several freshmen.

One of the missionaries, Dan, began the discussion with a talk about his own life of faith growing up and during college. It set a solid tone for others to ponder and reflect on where they are and have been in their faith. One of the things that struck me while Dan was speaking was the reason we were all together last night in the discussion. He was speaking to a room of virtual strangers, sort of bearing his soul in regards to his faith. He didn’t know any of us here at GW a month ago and now he is speaking to us as if he’s known us for a long time. It hit me that he came to GW without family or friends…almost all alone.

This is true of all the FOCUS missionaries. They just met a couple of months ago and just met us a few weeks ago. They have left everything to come here – family, friends, career, relationships (at least in the first year), etc. Why? What is the purpose of all of this? Why was Dan bearing his soul to a room of strangers, for all intents and purposes? What brought him and the others to GW? Jesus Christ. They have all left everything behind for Christ. They have come here to bring Christ to GW students and me. It is such a powerful witness that hit me last night and will hit our students this year.

FOCUS is obviously into our students and our students are starting to get into FOCUS! At our Opening BBQ , about 450 students filled out FOCUS / Newman Center forms. Almost half of them said that they are interested in Bible Studies and discussions (that FOCUS offers). Wow! Pray God, they will respond when the missionaries invite them individually to the groups. That’s when the students will see what I saw last night, if they haven’t already. And that is, they will see Christ. The main purpose of FOCUS, the main reason I brought them here, is to engage college students in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Before, during, and after all of the study of Scripture and teaching of the Church, the witness of the missionaries is what shows the students Christ. It was a powerful moment for me last night and will be for our students to see that these bright, talented, and dynamic young men and women have sold everything to follow Jesus and to bring Him to others.

23rd Sunday - homily

Imagine if God spoke to you in your dorm or home tonight and said, “sell everything you have and follow me”. What would you do? What would you think? Something very close to this happened to a friend of mine. He was looking for God to speak to him, and so he decided to play “Bible Bingo”. This is where someone flips through the Bible and lands their finger on Scripture passages or verses with the hope of a message from God. Now, this is not an advisable way to read Scripture! But, my buddy did this and the first line he came across was, “sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mt 19:21). He believed God was speaking to him, so he sold everything he had and gave it to the poor. He was left behind much wealth and success to follow Jesus. His name is Saint Francis of Assisi and he became one of the greatest followers of Jesus and lovers of poverty of all time.


God has spoken to us tonight, too. Jesus says in tonight’s Gospel to you and to me, “renounce your possessions”. We think he means all of our “stuff” – our extra clothes or books, gadgets like ipods or cell phones,etc. It may mean material possessions. It also means personal possessions. The Lord makes this clear when he says to “hate” father and mother, wife and children…even our own lives. The better translation is to “love less”. If we cannot love all the people and things in our lives less than God, then we can’t be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are to love God more than anything…more than any of our possessions.

In today’s Gospel, then, possessions refer to those things that we love more than God. For college students, this could be a boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, athletics, academics, wealth, success, fame, image, etc. Jesus is saying to you tonight: “you have a choice to make this year: to follow me or not. Will you be a follower of mine? Will you renounce your possessions and love me more than anyone or anything? Will you live as a Catholic this year?” Before anything else, you are Catholic. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. That is first and foremost. After that, we are the sons or daughters of our parents, a major in political science or whatever, a member of a fraternity or sorority…we are Catholic first.

To be a Catholic disciple of Jesus Christ starts right here at Mass. It is awesome to see college students choosing Christ over everything else for an hour on Sunday evenings. It is the best way to renounce possessions and to put Jesus first! Keep it up…every Sunday. Not just because you have to, but because you are choosing it. You are saying that Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, comes first. This starts our week. I have often said that the Eucharist is C.O.O.L. - the center of our lives. There is no person or thing that is more important than the Eucharist. If you compare all of our “possessions” to the Eucharist, then you see there is no comparison. Jesus died for you and me; the Eucharist is the living memorial of His sacrifice. You can’t say that about any other thing of this world. Also, the Eucharist is God’s love in the flesh. God’s love is everlasting. One thing we learn about possessions in today’s Gospel is that they don’t last; they are not perfect. God’s love does last and is perfect. He will always love us and never let us down.

So, the general way for us as Catholics to put Christ first is Sunday Mass. Then, during the week, you students can get involved at the Newman Center through daily Mass, Adoration, Confession, Bible studies and discussions, Tuesday dinners, retreats, etc. It takes courage and some renouncement of your image to do this. Speaking of retreats, next weekend is our Freshmen Retreat. You freshmen who haven’t signed up and have put other things ahead of it should sign up by Tuesday. It’s a great way to put Christ first. And, it will be a lot of fun – white water rafting! For all of you, an excellent challenge to renounce your possessions is by wearing the GW Catholic t-shirts we gave you yesterday at the Opening BBQ. These shirts are bold. They say who we are – the Crucifix and Eucharist on the front and “To Jesus Through Mary” on the back. It takes a lot of courage to wear these on campus. It’s a simple (and tough) way to live out this Gospel ; you will be putting your faith in Christ ahead of your own image. Don’t be afraid to say you are a Catholic…it’s a great witness!

Finally, God asks us to love Him more than anything because He loves us more than anything. He has infinite love for each and every one of you. His love for you does not end! My purpose and the purpose of the FOCUS missionaries this year is to show you God’s infinite love. We won’t do it perfectly, but we will give you all that we have. My door is open to you 24/7. I am always open to you for confession, spiritual guidance or direction, or just to talk when you have a problem or question. May you know God’s love through us and each other this year. May you know His love for you this week. May you know God’s love for this night.

(St. Gregory the) Great day!

1) Opening BBQ, tomorrow (Sept 4), 12 noon – 4 pm, Newman Center.
FREE Chipotle and Coldstone for all GW students!!
Also, sign-ups for Freshmen Retreat, FOCUS, RCIA, Knights of Columbus, and Catholic Daughters


2) Opening student Masses – Sun, Sept 5, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 10 pm, St Stephen’s Church (25th St. and Penn. Ave.)

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“Great day!” This is what an athlete at Mount St. Mary’s and good friend of mine would say every day at practice. I say it today. Great day!! It’s my feast day and my Mom’s birthday. Please say a prayer for us today. My parents are way cool for giving me a patron saint with “The Great” after his name. Does your patron saint have this title?? (only if you're Leo or…hmmm, who else…John Paul??)

Here are some interesting excerpts from an article found on catholicism.org about the heroic life of Pope St. Gregory. To view it in full, please click on today’s title.

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!


Pope Saint Gregory the Great not only saved the Church, in times so frightful that the men who lived in them were sure that the end of the world was come, but he founded the great civilization which has lasted down to our day and of which we are part, Western Civilization. All alone, in the midst of famine and pestilence, floods and earthquakes, endangered by Greeks and barbarians alike, and abandoned by the Emperor, Pope Gregory, frail and ailing in body but strong and undaunted in spirit, succored and saved his people, his city, his country, and the whole of Christendom…

The custom of saying “God bless you” when someone has sneezed, and the making of the Sign of the Cross on the mouths of those who yawn, goes back to the days of Saint Gregory and the Roman plague. The dread disease always ended in a spasm of sneezing or yawning, and the holy Pontiff ordered that “God bless you” should be said to those who sneeze, and the blessing of the Sign of the Cross should be put on the mouths of those who yawned…

Saint Gregory was, above all else, a vigilant guardian of the Church’s doctrine, always the mark of a holy Pope. He ordained, early in his pontificate that the first four Ecumenical Councils of the Church should be treated with the respect given to the four Gospels. He worked unceasingly to stamp out heresy. He ordered that at the beginning of Lent the blessed ashes should be placed on the foreheads of the faithful, instead of upon only the head of the Pope — as had been the custom up to that time — and that the priest should repeat to each one, “Remember, man, that dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”..

There has been a revival also in our day of the beautifully reverent “Gregorian Chant,” named in honor of Saint Gregory’s patient labor in restoring the ancient chant of the Church and in setting down the rules to be followed so that Church music might more perfectly fulfill its function. Pope Gregory held that the place of Church music was a subordinate one. It should never provide, he said, anything more than a background for the sacred reenactment of Calvary. It should never draw attention to itself, and away from the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. It should, while disposing the minds of the faithful to profound reverence of God, and making more ardent the love of their hearts for Him, never become an end in itself…

“Since,” the Pope wrote Theodelinda, “since, then, by my own public profession you know the entireness of our belief, it is fitting that you have no further scruple concerning the Church of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles. But persist in the true Faith, and ground your life on the rock of the Church, that is, in his confession: lest your many tears and your good works avail nothing, if they be separated from the true Faith. For as branches wither without a root, so works, however good they seem, are nothing if separated from the solidity of the Faith.”

"The strongest influence upon young people is the Eucharist"

"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it".  Last night, we had about 50 students participate in our first Tuesday night Mass.  It was just about standing-room only in our chapel.  I saw the crowd before Mass and said, "you all know it's not Sunday, right?"  Then, about 100 students came for dinner.  20 large pizzas were demolished in 15 minutes.  God is good!  Having too many people for our facilities, staff, supplies, and budget are good problems to have.  God will provide.  Any help or suggestions that bloggers can offer will be much appreciated!

Speaking of Newman Centers, the following are excerpts from an interview by zenith.org with Father Drew Morgan, an Oratorian priest who served for 15 years at a highly reputable Newman Center in the U.S. and dossier for Cardinal John Henry Newman’s beatification. To view the interview in full, please click on today’s title.


ZENIT: Tell us about the history and basic role of the Newman Center.

Father Morgan: According to John Evans, author of a history of the Newman Clubs titled "The Newman Movement": "Reaction to supposed anti-Catholicism certainly accounted for the origin of the first Catholic student organization in secular higher education."

The very first meeting of such a “club” was on Thanksgiving Day, 1883, in Madison, Wisconsin, where Catholic students were enjoying the holiday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Melvin, who lived across the street from the University of Wisconsin. In the course of the evening, one of the students mentioned that a professor had slandered the Catholic Church in his treatment of “medieval institutions.” His fellow Catholic students began a discussion as to whether such discourse was, indeed, slanderous, or appropriate, given the state of the Church in that period of history.

The students continued to meet at this home for further discussion and fellowship, constituting the beginning of the “Melvin Club.” It was the first organized manifestation of Catholic students coming together on a secular college campus.

One of the students who participated in the meetings of the Melvin Club was Timothy Harrington. He eventually found his way to graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). During a semester break, Harrington reread Newman’s autobiography, "Apologia pro Vita Sua." Inspired by Newman’s ability to defend the faith and his ideas about university education for Catholic students, Harrington drew on his experience in Wisconsin and initiated the first “Newman Club.” It followed a similar format, incorporating social activities, discussions on the faith, and mutual support for Catholic students in a frequently hostile academic environment. The meetings often became occasions for dating and debating, essentially providing a Catholic culture in a secular environment…

Today, Newman Clubs or “Centers” can be found on almost every secular college campus in the United States, although one of the earliest clubs was at the University of Toronto in Canada. Frequently, and unfortunately, the Newman name is no longer tied to this ministry and the work is identified as “campus ministry.” Nevertheless, the mission can be traced to the Newman Club movement…

ZENIT: College life in the United States can be such a testing ground -- a time either for students to grow in their faith, or possibly to abandon it altogether. What are the challenges in ministering to college students, given the particular environment surrounding them? And what are the keys to success?

Father Morgan: This is true for Catholic students whether they are attending a secular or a Catholic institution. Unfortunately, college life reflects the standard of our contemporary culture, with all of its lures of self-indulgence found in consumerism, individualism and hedonism. The work of the Church is to provide a counter-culture. The standard of Christ contradicts these influences, challenging the faithful to embrace charity, community and self-control.

We have found that the strongest influence upon young people is the Eucharist. A spirituality that draws them to an intimate communion with Christ, whether that is through Eucharistic Adoration, daily Mass, or participation in the community’s daily prayer, is the best defense against losing one’s faith. A corollary to this is the support that the student would receive from ministers and fellow Catholics who are also struggling, but successfully, to maintain their life of faith. Newman Centers are intended to be the locus for this work of the Church.

ZENIT: How do you envision the student’s relationship to the Newman center? Is it a type of parish, a place to attend Sunday Mass? A Christ-centered home away from home?

Father Morgan: Interestingly, Newman ministry was originally a diocesan endeavor. The priest whose parish was located near a secular institution became the de facto Newman chaplain. On Catholic campuses, the religious order would provide campus ministry through the priests, brothers and sisters who administered their own institution of higher learning. The first Newman centers were a significant dimension of the local parish, where the students would often dominate the congregation during the semesters. It was their parish home-away-from-home. The degree to which the priest could become occupied with the students’ concerns would dictate the success of that ministry.

When the presence of American Catholics on the campuses increased so dramatically, the dioceses would often assign a priest in a separate facility, specifically designed for the needs of the students and thereby effectively establish a new community of faith centered on college life. Today, there is a growing interest in building Newman student housing, such as has been accomplished at the University of Illinois.

This new vision of building Catholic student residences alongside the Newman Center fulfills Newman’s original intention of providing a Catholic community and even a Catholic collegium at the heart of a secular college campus, as he desired to have built at Oxford.

ZENIT: Can a Newman Center promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, and if so, how is that done and with what success?

Father Morgan: Any ministry that is faithful to the teachings of the Gospel by its very nature will promote vocations. Newman Centers have a wonderful opportunity to foster vocations because we are ministering to young adults at an important time in their spiritual formation that often includes vocation discernment. Many students bring their questions regarding religious vocation to the Newman ministers and it is important for the minister to be prepared to journey with them in that process.

However, this is also true of the discernment of another great sacrament in our faith, holy matrimony. Many students find their spouses at Newman Centers. This is, in a sense, a special role that the Newman ministry provides. Whether it is a religious or married vocation, this discernment process done at this time in the students’ lives will change them forever. We have been fortunate over the years to have many young men and women enter the priesthood and the consecrated life, but we have also performed many weddings and baptisms!

22nd Sunday - homily

All these years, I’ve been hearing stuff about Catholics who sit in the back of Church. They really do get the shaft. Well, today, I am declaring that I got their backs! After hearing this Gospel, I realize that Catholics who sit in the back of Church are the humble ones here. They have taken the lowest seat at a banquet! I don’t know, are you all in the back waiting for me, your host, to invite you to a higher seat (like the front pews)?!


Humility is the prominent theme in today’s readings. The first reading from Sirach 3 teaches us to “conduct your affairs with humility”; Jesus says in Luke 14 that “the one who humbles himself will be exalted”. My definition of humility is honesty. To be humble means to be honest. To live humility means to live the truth. First, we live the truth about ourselves. The truth is that everything that is good in our lives is from God. We participate in it, but even that is Grace. Anything that is bad is from us. This is the truth. Humility helps us to recognize that we are sinners. When we first start Mass, we say this: “I confess…that I have sinned”. We acknowledge in God’s presence that we are sinners. We acknowledge the truth.

Humility helps us to live the truth about God. God is all-knowing and all-powerful. We are not. God knows infinitely better than we do. And yet, so many people come to me and say that they know better than God. They don’t say this directly, but indirectly. Recently, I was speaking with a friend of many years who is a good man. He was telling me that he uses contraception with his wife because they are done having kids. I explained to him that God has said through Scripture and Tradition that contraception is wrong. He wouldn’t buy it. So, I asked him, “If God told you tonight that contraception is wrong, would you stop doing it?” He said, “No”. That’s all that needed to be said. It was pride. He was saying that he knew better than God.

More often than that, people have told me they know better than the Church. When I first started getting involved in my faith, I was 21. I realized then that I didn’t know better than the Church which is 2000 years old. We don’t know better than God and we don’t know better than the Church. To be a humble Catholic means to be a humble servant of the Church and to bow to her authority. God has given the Church authority to teach for Him.

Living humility means living the truth about sin and grace. Again, we know the truth: we are sinner in need of Grace if we want to do anything good in our lives. A saint once said, “a truly humble person is never scandalized by sin”. This would be our sin or the sin or others. The proud person is scandalized: ‘I can’t believe I did that’…’I’m better than that’. Pride is so pervasive.

The Book of Sirach, chapter 10, says that “pride is the root of all sin”. People are generally so surprised to hear the effects of pride when I bring it up to them in Confession, spiritual direction, or counsel. One woman confessed defensiveness and hyper-sensitivity with her family that led to immediate comebacks to their jokes. I said it was pride. She said she had never thought of that before. Pride leads to being judgemental, angry, and impatient with others. So many of us can be perfectionists. We expect others around us to be perfect because we expect that with ourselves. Also, we see them as reflections of us. If they sin, then we look badly. ‘No son (or husband or co-worker) of mine does that kind of stuff’.

The best and most fruitful counter to pride is a regular confession. Confession is certainly a humbling experience. It takes a lot of humility to get on our knees and admit honestly to God what we have done. The Grace of Confession helps to move us away from pride. And, the counsel that the priest offers can really help to identify the problems we are having. A monthly confession can really help us to grow in the virtue of humility.

Finally, St. Thomas Aquinas gives us a fuller picture of what’s going on with humility. He taught that humility comes from the Latin word, “humus”, which translates as earth. Humility, then, brings us down to earth. This understanding shows us the humility of Jesus Christ. He came down to earth from his throne in heaven. As St Paul writes in his letter to the Phillipians, “he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross”. The Cross is the greatest sign of humility in the world. Christ continues to humbled Himself in the Eucharist, becoming so small for us. He sends us forth from the Mass to imitate his humility this week…to stay down to earth and honest this week. If we live his humility, we will share in his exaltation. St Paul writes, “because (he humbled himself), God greatly exalted him” (Phil 2). And, hopefully us, too.

"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans"

Anon asked, "Could you please tell me where I could purchase the book, The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, A guide to a 30 day retreat by the founder of the Jesuits by Image books. I can't seem to find that edition online. Thanks."  Sorry to take a little while to answer this, Anon, but if you can't find it online, try the following local bookstores:  Newman Bookstore (near Catholic U.), the Shrine bookstore (Basilica of the Immaculate Conception / Catholic U.), or Pauline Books and Media in Alexandria.
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Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  Happy Birthday, MT!  Here are some beautiful and efficacious quotes of Mother Teresa:



"The best way to imitate Christ is through suffering.  Those who are closest to Jesus on earth are those who suffer the most".

"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."
"Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet especially your family. Be holy – let us pray."

"I once picked up a woman from a garbage dump and she was burning with fever; she was in her last days and her only lament was: ‘My son did this to me.’ I begged her: You must forgive your son. In a moment of madness, when he was not himself, he did a thing he regrets. Be a mother to him, forgive him. It took me a long time to make her say: ‘I forgive my son.’ Just before she died in my arms, she was able to say that with a real forgiveness. She was not concerned that she was dying. The breaking of the heart was that her son did not want her. This is something you and I can understand."

"When once a chairman of a multinational company came to see me, to offer me a property in Bombay, he first asked: ‘Mother, how do you manage your budget?" I asked him who had sent him here. He replied: ‘I felt an urge inside me.’ I said: other people like you come to see me and say the same. It was clear God sent you, Mr. A, as He sends Mr. X, Mrs. Y, Miss Z, and they provide the material means we need for our work. The grace of God is what moved you. You are my budget. God sees to our needs, as Jesus promised. I accepted the property he gave and named it Asha Dan (Gift of Hope).

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

"Like Jesus we belong to the world living not for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength."

"There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic. We believe our work should be our example to people. We have among us 475 souls - 30 families are Catholics and the rest are all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs—all different religions. But they all come to our prayers."

"There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God. I follow Christ:
Jesus is my God,
Jesus is my Spouse,
Jesus is my Life,
Jesus is my only Love,
Jesus is my All in All;
Jesus is my Everything."

"Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy."

"I heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve Him among the poorest of the poor. It was an order."

"I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them."

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed."

"You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to share with our people. Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing."

"Jesus made it very clear. Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you receive me."

"Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world."

"If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive."



"A clean heart is a free heart. A free heart can love Christ with an undivided love in chastity, convinced that nothing and nobody will separate it from his love. Purity, chastity, and virginity created a special beauty in Mary that attracted God’s attention. He showed his great love for the world by giving Jesus to her."

"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them."

"Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart."

"Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness."

"Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well."

"The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is not mortification, a penance."

"It is joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. But we are perfectly happy."

"I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, 'Love one another as I have loved you.' Ask yourself 'How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?' Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery."

"Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing."

"A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves. The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace."

"Aspiring nun" on TV

A friend of one of our students was on local TV recently.  Check out the segment by clicking on today's title.  The transcript is below. If time allows this week, please help this woman!
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A local woman wants to join a convent, but her college loans might keep her from answering her calling.

The Little Sisters of the Poor are hoping a bake sale will help raise the dough.

Elise Maloney, 24, is volunteer coordinator at the Jeanne Jugan Residence for the Elderly in Northeast Washington, but she believes God has called her to be a nun.

"I would like to be a Little Sister of the Poor, be serving Christ and the elderly poor," Maloney said.

The sisters run the home, and would love to have her. But there's one big problem: nuns aren't allowed to join if they have any debt.

Maloney graduated from college with $75,000 in student loans. The sisters, who get no salary and live solely on donations, say it's a serious problem nationwide: desperately needed vocations are being sidelined by college debt:

"Most congregations will not accept a young woman with a large school loan," said Sr. Camille Rose Hampton, the postulant supervisor. "So many young women are forced with a decision either to wait, and to pay off their loans . . . or to give up."

None of the Little Sisters wants maloney to give up.

"We realized that if God is calling her, then He's expecting us to do something, too, and to get in there and do what we can to help her," said Sr. Benedict Armstrong, the mother superior.

So, the Little Sisters and residents are having a bake sale this Saturday to raise money to pay off Maloney's loans.

"Elise would make a wonderful Little Sister, so I wanted to help as much as I can," said Anne Sparich, a Little Sisters resident.

The bake sale will feature homemade scones, pineapple upside-down cake and all kinds of baked goods, as well as the sisters' famous peanut brittle.

"If I didn't believe in her vocation, I wouldn't be baking thousands and thousands and thousands of cupcakes," Hampton said.

Everyone at Little Sisters believes in miracles.

"When you know what God wants for you, and ultimately He wants you to be happy, and He's giving you the opportunity to do that, of course you're excited!" Maloney exclaimed.

That bake sale is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Little Sisters of the Poor Jeanne Jugan Residence, located at 4200 Harewood Road NE, Washington, DC, 20017.

FOCUS missionaries at GW!

Our four FOCUS missionaries have arrived at GW! FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) is an extremely effective and fruitful outreach to Catholic college students across the country. These amazing missionaries are fresh out of college and are spreading the New Evangelization. They have been here less than two weeks and have already engaged several GW students in conversation about the Newman Center and what we’re offering. To our students, please stop by Newman to meet Lauren, Becca, John, and Dan shortly after you arrive this weekend. Also, check out our website for information on how to get involved with them; it will be posted soon.


Here is some info about FOCUS from their website (http://www.focusonline.org/) which you can access by clicking on today's post.


Why do we need to reach college students?

College years are some of the most pivotal of a young person’s life. Without the support of family and friends, the majority of freshman students fall into the party culture, swallowed by promises of happiness from destructive influences. What most of these students don’t realize is that true joy is closer than they think. At FOCUS, we introduce young men and women on the college campus to a relationship with God. With encouragement from our campus missionaries, thousands of students are overcoming the harsh reality of campus culture:

o 85% of Catholic college students do not attend Sunday Mass

o Binge drinking, sexual promiscuity, moral relativism and academic hostility towards the Catholic faith

o General lack of knowledge or understanding of faith

o Scarcity of faithful young people to lead the Church into the future

How do we reach college students?

Our Model

o Win them over through genuine friendships.

o Build up their personal relationship with God and equip them with tools needed to thrive in college and beyond.

o Send them out and share the Faith with their peers.

Our Methods

o Large Group Outreach: We host events, conferences and retreats that provide opportunities for college students to respond to God’s love, foster relationships and grow spiritually.

o Bible Studies: By facilitating small group discussion, we aid students in understanding and applying Sacred Scripture to their everyday lives.

o One-on-One Mentorship: Through personal investment in the lives of our students, we model Christ’s love and guidance; teaching them how to live their faith in the midst of life’s everyday demands and distractions.

o “I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to become involved with FOCUS to learn more about His love and His desire for me.”

o College is the time when young adults are searching for truth and answers. Questions like, “Who am I?” and “What is my purpose in life?” begin to tug at their hearts. It is here where FOCUS meets them, reaching out to the individual offering hope, direction, and purpose in Jesus Christ. Through one-on-one invitation and mentorship, FOCUS missionaries offer themselves with radical availability, allowing the Holy Spirit to do with them what He will to bring each college student to the heart of Jesus Christ and His Church


“FOCUS allowed me to see that the youth in the Church are ALIVE!”

A solid community of friends is one of the most important pieces of a student’s college years. FOCUS engages students in weekly Bible studies and large group events as a way to help them find Christ-centered fellowship with their peers.The love and support found in a joyful, vibrant community of friends helps carry students through the challenges of college with confidence and trust in God.

“I came to FOCUS out of curiosity, as I am not Catholic. The speakers, conferences, and fellow peers were amazing in answering my questions and encouraging me. Thank you for opportunity to look into your amazing faith!”

The beauty of a Christian community is that its joy is infectious. In mentorship and Bible study, FOCUS students cultivate their personal prayer lives, but they also live the Gospel, spreading Christ’s love to their classmates and neighbors. In the past 12 years, FOCUS has reached tens of thousands of college students on hundreds of campuses. At our most recent National Conference, 265 colleges were represented; 220 of those schools did not have FOCUS on their campus. The word is out, and students across the nation are seeking out the type of extraordinary fellowship that only the Holy Spirit can inspire.

21st Sunday - homily

We hear much about “nations” in today’s readings, especially the first reading. Nation is important to all of us. A nation is where we are from. It helps form our identity as people. We identify as people of a nation and can legitimately take pride in being from a particular nation. The word nation has also arisen in pop culture, mainly with regard to sports teams. There’s “Redsox nation”, “Redskins nation” (my personal favorite…go Redskins!), and a ton of others. It seems to indicate a large number of fans or followers for a particular team. It’s almost as if the team is the preeminent team in our nation; like, it’s America’s team. And, people of, let’s say Redskins nation, really let others know that they are a part of Redskins nation. You see it on their cars, in their homes, on their clothing. They are proud to be an active part of Redskins nation and let everyone know it.


What if there was “God nation”? Would we be a part of it? If we could only choose one “nation” to be a part of, would it be God nation? Would we choose God nation over Redskins nation? Specifically, God nation refers to Israel. They are the first nation, the first people, who are invited into covenant with God. Jesus teaches about “the first” and “the last” in today’s Gospel. Israel is “the first”; they are the first chosen people. But, even some of the first aren’t active in God nation; they’re not big fans of the Lord, especially the Christ. So, they become the last. Then, “the last” are people of all the nations. Christ extends the covenant to all nations. Some in the last become big fans of God, especially the Christ, and become the first.

So, are we among the first or the last? Are we big fans of God? Do people know that we are a part of God nation? Do they see it on our cars, in our homes, or in our clothing? Do they see it in the way we live? Does God know we are a part of God nation? (We can’t fool God.) When I talk about being a part of God nation, I don’t mean being a fair-weather fan. I mean being a faithful follower of His, through thick and thin…through the good times and bad. Imagine if someone had left Redskins nation a while ago because they were so bad (as many people have). And let’s say, the Redskins win the Super Bowl sometime soon (a priest can dream, can’t he?). If those same people come back to Redskins nation at about that time, the rest of us will be like, “who are you? We don’t know where you’re from.”

It’s the same with God. We can’t be a fair-weather fan of God’s. We aren’t followers of His only when times are good or when we need something. We are with Him through thick and thin…good times and bad. To be a part of God nation means to be faithful to Him and to let everyone know we are followers of His, mainly in the way we live. If we aren’t, then we will be among the last.

Based on today’s Gospel, that means that we would be among those who are invited, but not chosen. Jesus is asked about those who will be saved. He then makes a distinction between the first and the last. “The first” are those who will eat at table in the Kingdom of God. “The last” refers to those who are not saved. He would say to them “I don’t know where you are from” and “depart from me”. He also speaks of “wailing and grinding of teeth” which refers to punishment, most commonly eternal damnation. Can you imagine trying to get into Heaven and hearing God say to you, “I don’t know where you’re from”. In other words, I don’t know you. I don’t know which nation you are from. You were invited to be a part of my nation, but you chose to be a part of another nation…another team.

Finally, the best way for us to be among the first - the chosen, those who are saved – is the Eucharist. When we come to the Eucharist, we are those “from the east and the west and from the north and the south..(who) recline at table in the Kingdom of God”. And, in John 6, Jesus promises that anyone who receives the Eucharist “has eternal life”. May the Grace of the Eucharist give us the courage and strength to out God first…to be among the first…to let everyone know that we are faithful fans and followers of Jesus Christ.

"You're not a homosexual. You're a man"

My post on December 11, 2009, “A student teaches a teacher (about homosexuality)”, included comments from one of our students about homosexuality to a former teacher. A local youth minister invited me to speak to her youth group after reading the post. So, I gave a talk on homosexuality to about 40 teens from her group and other parish youth groups last month. A mother of a teen in one of the youth groups emailed me about her son who is struggling with same-sex attraction. She hoped he would attend the discussion, but he didn’t. She was looking for help in understanding more about his situation and how best to approach it with him. I mentioned this to the same student here, and she found the following article from faithandfamilylive.com, mainly for the mother to read. It’s good reading for all of us, especially the recommended resources at the bottom.



Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of new monthly columns by Simcha Fisher where she will interview a variety of Catholics in order that we might learn from their unique perspectives.)

Steve Gershom (a pseudonym) is a young, Catholic professional who recently came out as a homosexual to friends and family.


What advice would you give to a Catholic who thinks he might be homosexual?

First, don’t assume that you’re “gay” and that’s that. I think of homosexuality as a spectrum, and there are plenty of people in the middle for part or all of their lives.

Find a priest to talk to who is both orthodox and understanding. Isolation gets you into bad mental habits.

Find a support group that you’re comfortable with: Courage is one, and there are dozens of others.

Finally, pray a lot. You won’t be able to “pray it away,” but prayer, adoration, and frequent communion and confession make everything better. Of course, that goes for anyone with any kind of a cross to bear. Which is everyone.


What advice would you give to parents who are concerned about their son’s sexual identity?

It’s terribly important for fathers to be accessible, emotionally and otherwise, to their sons; to spend regular one-on-one time with them; to praise them when they do well; and to give them lots of physical affection, from early on. I mean really early—we think of the adolescent years as being particularly formative, but a person’s emotional makeup can be drastically affected, for good or ill, from day one.

If the horse is already out of the barn, then first educate yourself [see below for recommended reading], and then talk to your son, in a careful, loving way. That is going to hurt a lot, for both of you, but not talking is much worse. He needs to know that you’re not scared or disgusted.


Do you think that you might be able to become heterosexual, or that anyone can?

I believe some degree of change is possible. Ex-gay groups are caricatured as brainwashers and Bible-thumpers, who will tell you how depraved you are, and to squash your feelings down into the back of your psyche.

My experience with one group is the exact opposite. The work I did with People Can Change would benefit almost every man I know: they helped me to open old, badly-healed wounds, confront old fears and prejudices, and dismantle some of the lies I had been telling myself. It was scary and it hurt like hell, but it left me with the beginnings of a peace and confidence I had never experienced before.

Has it made me less attracted to men, or more attracted to women? Yes, a little bit. But more importantly, it has made me a less fearful, more integrated person. That’s a work in progress.

Maybe I’ll be able to get married and have children, maybe not. But the one sure way to be miserable is to obsess about the things you don’t have, and forget to give thanks for the things you do have. I have a lot.


Is there anything you wish you could change about the Church’s teaching on homosexuality?

Not a thing. Without the Church’s clear teaching on the issue, I would have been at the mercy of my badly confused emotions. When your instincts are misleading, you need something unshakable. The Church is a rock.

On the other hand, I do think the Church’s approach to the topic needs work, and badly. You might hear a sermon or two about gay marriage, but that’s not terribly helpful. Catholics often talk about homosexual men as if they were another species—who should of course be pitied and prayed for: Those poor freaks!

This isn’t due to ill will, obviously. It’s because people are embarrassed, are scared of offending someone, and have been badly misinformed by all the cultural propaganda.


If you could clear up one common misunderstanding about homosexuals, what would it be?

I don’t believe that “gay” is a valid category, the way “male” and “female” are. I used to think being gay meant being a different kind of person altogether—like a third gender. These days I think that it’s something I have, not something I am.

The surprising thing is that gay men are gay because they are masculine, not because they are feminine. What I mean is this: men, gay and straight, want to know they’re real men. If something stops them from believing that, then they’ll go looking for that manhood for the rest of their lives.

Some men look for it by finding a man who will give them acceptance and affection—or at least sex. These are the men we call “gay.” Some men look for it by sleeping with a lot of women and picking a lot of fights. These are the men we call, well, “jerks.” But both of them are the way they are, and want the things they want, because of the specifically masculine traits they started out with.

The best way to sum it up is something a very good priest once said to me in confession. He said, “You’re not a homosexual. You’re a man.”


—Simcha Fisher is a mother of eight who writes from her home in New Hampshire. She blogs at I Have to Sit Down.

Resources Steve recommends:

• For general understanding: The Homosexual Person: New Thinking in Pastoral Care by John Harvey

• For practical help: Growth into Manhood: Resuming the Journey by Alan Medinger; and PeopleCanChange.com

• For a referral to a therapist: Narth.com

Great advice for young Catholics

Every day, priests, deacons, and religious are required to pray the "Liturgy of the Hours".  It involves praying over the Psalms, canticles, readings, and writings by the saints.  It's all done in the tradition of praying seven times a day, as Christ did. "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws." -Psalm 119:164

It's an amazing and peaceful devotion; almost everyone I've ever introduced it to has fallen in love with it.  One time, I gave the LOH to a friend for Christmas; he still says it's the best present he's ever received!

Below is the Second Reading from Monday's Liturgy of the Hours.   It's a letter from St. Stephen of Hungary to his son.  Monday was the memorial of St Stephen, who was a powerful king of Hungary in the 11th century and solid Catholic and father.  This letter to his son is absolutely beautiful and spot-on advice for any of us, but especially young Catholics.


From admonitions to his son by Saint Stephen

My dearest son, if you desire to honor the royal crown, I advise, I counsel, I urge you above all things to maintain the Catholic and apostolic faith with such diligence and care that you may be an example for all those placed under you by God and that all the clergy may rightly call you a man of true Christian profession.  Failing to do this, you may be sure that you will not be called a Christian or son of the Church.  Indeed, in the royal palace after the faith itself, the Church holds second place, first propagated as she was by our head, Christ; then transplanted, firmly constituted and spread through the whole world by his members, the apostles and holy fathers.  And though she always produced fresh offspring, nevertheless in certain places she is regarded as ancient.

However, dearest son, even now in our kingdom the Church is proclaimed as young and newly planted; and for that reason she needs more prudent and trustworthy guardians lest a benefit which the divine mercy bestowed on us undeservedly should be destroyed and annihilated through your idleness, indolence or neglect.

My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow-countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you.  By fulfulling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness.  Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.  Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak.

Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up too much or adversity cast you down.  Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next.  Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately.  be gentle so that you may never oppose justice.  Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone.  Be chaste so that you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death.

All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain to the heavenly kingdom.

The Feast of the Assumption - homily

Sometime ago, I went to dinner with a couple that I’ve been friends with for a long time. After dinner, they invited me to pray the rosary with their four kids who ranged in age from three to about eleven or twelve. It’s always uplifting to pray with families, especially the rosary. This one was definitely unique; each of their kids prayed a decade of the rosary, including the three year old boy. When his turn came, it was a trip! Like his siblings, he was very serious and focused. But, he only knew about every fifth word of the Hail Mary: “Hail Mer, fulla gray, Lor wid thee, bless whim, bless fwoo… Jesus”. I was trying so hard not to laugh. It was quite the scene – the priest trying not to laugh hysterically as the other kids and their parents all were praying efficaciously: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us…” It was a trip!


I started praying the rosary in the early nineties after hearing a tape from Fatima. Mary said to the three kids at Fatima (and to all of us), “pray the rosary every day for the salvation of sinners”. I took this as a directive and have been praying the rosary every day since then. It has changed my life! I look at it in the language of Scripture: this was the day that I “took Mary into my home”. I truly believe that my devotion to Mary has been one of the most significant reasons I am a priest. She is a powerful intercessor!

If you know the scene of John and Mary at the foot of the Cross. Jesus gives Mary to John (who represents the Church): “behold your mother”. Scripture then says, “And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (Jn 19:27). This changed John’s life. Of course, Christ is his life, but to have His Mother with him every day must have been amazing. He was able to get tremendous insights from her incredible wisdom of being the Mother of God. And, it must have been so powerful to be in the presence of her incredible faith, virtue, and motherly care.

In today’s Gospel, Mary enters the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Right away, we see her power. It’s really the power of God through her. Elizabeth is crying with joy and John, of course, leaps in his mother’s womb. This is a life-changing experience for all, and Elizabeth makes that clear. The Mother of her Savior is in her home and carrying the Lord in her womb! It is a powerful encounter with the Grace of God through Mary. This is how we as Catholics approach the Blessed Mother: we go to Jesus through Mary. We do not worship her; we worship God alone. But, we go to Him through her as He came to us through her. And, when we do, it is powerful!

We can look at three things that shows us the power of God through Mary. The first is today’s feast of the Assumption. Mary is taken up body and soul into Heaven…take up into glory. This imitates her son who ascended into Heaven…into glory. The second is the Devil. The Devil hates Mary. We see this throughout Scripture. In the first book of the Bible (Genesis), enmity is declared between her and Satan (represented as a serpent). Then, in the last book of the Bible (Revelation) which we just heard in the first reading, Satan (represented by a dragon) chases after Mary and her son. Satan hates her because she brings salvation into the world. His contempt for her is similar to his hatred for the Eucharist which is our Salvation; there are many stories of evil forces desecrating the Eucharist. Satan knows the power of Mary and the Eucharist and wants to destroy both. The third thing that shows us Mary’s power is the saints. Two things that all of the saints have in common are a great devotion to the Eucharist and a great devotion to the Blessed Mother. These are both saint-makers and the Devil knows it. He knows that these devotions bring salvation to people; he wants no one to be saved.

Finally, a challenge and recommendation for all of you: bring Mary into your homes, if she is not there already. Pray the rosary as a family. The Church often says, “the family that prays together stays together”. As individuals, pray the rosary every day for the salvation of sinners. I know everyone is busy and many people complain to me that it’s hard to block out 15 minutes to pray the rosary. So, take two minutes and pray at least a decade of the rosary every day. Turn to the Mother of all Graces and bring Grace to the situation about which you are praying. Just as importantly, draw close to Mary. Pope Benedict has written that “precisely because Mary is with God and in God she is very close to us”. The rosary helps us to become close to Mary and to get to know her. Through it, we get to know her incredible faith, virtue, and motherly love. Through the Grace of the Eucharist, may each of us this week take Mary into our homes and, ultimately, enter into God’s home, His eternal Kingdom, forever.

Free Chipotle (Sept. 4) and Archbishop Wuerl (Sept. 12)

All new and returning GW Catholics are invited to the following events to start the new school year:

                              Opening BBQ
                              Sat, Sept 4, 12 noon - 4 pm

                   FREE Chipotle and Coldstone!!

                  Newman Catholic Student Center
                             22nd and F St
                          ----------------------------
                             Opening Masses
                                  Sun, Sept 5
                      5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 10 pm
             St Stephen's Church (25th and Penn. Ave.)
                          ----------------------------
                     Mass with Archbishop Wuerl
                           Sun, Sept 12, 7:30 pm
                             St. Stephen's Church
                       Pizza after Mass in Parish Hall

"Priesthood: A Full-Contact Sport"

Today is the feast day of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests. So, happy feast day to all parish priests! Last week, I spoke at “Theology on Tap” in Alexandria. The title of my talk was “Priesthood: A Full-Contact Sport”. I told stories from the priesthood which included some from St. John Vianney. Priesthood was indeed a full-contact sport for him; he did battles with the Devil directly. Satan was so upset with Fr. Vianney because he brought so many people to Christ that he shook his rectory, set his bed on fire, etc.


Here is a brief summary of the life of St. John Vianney from americancatholic.org:

A man with vision overcomes obstacles and performs deeds that seem impossible. John Vianney was a man with vision: He wanted to become a priest. But he had to overcome his meager formal schooling, which inadequately prepared him for seminary studies.

His failure to comprehend Latin lectures forced him to discontinue. But his vision of being a priest urged him to seek private tutoring. After a lengthy battle with the books, John was ordained.

Situations calling for “impossible” deeds followed him everywhere. As pastor of the parish at Ars, John encountered people who were indifferent and quite comfortable with their style of living. His vision led him through severe fasts and short nights of sleep. (Some devils can only be cast out by prayer and fasting.)

With Catherine Lassagne and Benedicta Lardet, he established La Providence, a home for girls. Only a man of vision could have such trust that God would provide for the spiritual and material needs of all those who came to make La Providence their home.

His work as a confessor is John Vianney’s most remarkable accomplishment. In the winter months he was to spend 11 to 12 hours daily reconciling people with God. In the summer months this time was increased to 16 hours. Unless a man was dedicated to his vision of a priestly vocation, he could not have endured this giving of self day after day.

Many people look forward to retirement and taking it easy, doing the things they always wanted to do but never had the time. But John Vianney had no thoughts of retirement. As his fame spread, more hours were consumed in serving God’s people. Even the few hours he would allow himself for sleep were disturbed frequently by the devil.

Who, but a man with vision, could keep going with ever-increasing strength? In 1929, Pope Pius XI named him the patron of parish priests worldwide.

Comment:

Indifference toward religion, coupled with a love for material comfort, seem to be common signs of our times. A person from another planet observing us would not likely judge us to be pilgrim people, on our way to somewhere else. John Vianney, on the other hand, was a man on a journey with his goal before him at all times.

Quote:

Recommending liturgical prayer, John Vianney would say, “Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.”

18th Sunday - homily

God matters.

Almost every year since I’ve been ordained, I’ve gotten together with classmates from high school for a class Mass. It’s a great tradition that I especially enjoy: being my old friends in the context of the Eucharist. Last week, only a few guys came down to the Newman Center chapel, but we had a beautiful Mass. Then, we went to Georgetown for dinner and some, ahem, refreshments (a little trip down Memory Lane!). While we were enjoying our meal, one of my buddies asked if “snip-snip” (vasectomy) was ok in the eyes of the Church. I replied, “Snip-snip? No-no”. Of course, they peppered me with questions and comments for the rest of dinner.

I defended and explained the Church’s teaching on procreation, that each couple needs to be open to life. Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the recommended method of the Church. A big part of NFP is prayer and being open to God’s Will. When I brought up these points, they seemed to either get lost in the conversation or were not that significant. These are good men who want to be good Catholics, but they were focused mainly on earthly matters. There was a definite disconnect between us. They were telling me that the Church needs to “get with the times” and not be so “out of touch”.

The disconnect happened specifically with one of them later in the night when he dropped me off at the rectory. He wanted to know more about the Church’s teaching and asked some good questions. He raised the question of what is the difference between a couple who uses NFP only to avoid pregnancy and a couple who uses artificial contraception. Good question. I told him that they were both forms of contraception; one is natural and the other is artificial. But, I pointed out that NFP involves much more; it involves prayer. One of the key aspects of NFP is being open to God’s Will. Whatever His answer is each month is what the couple is to do. If the answer is ‘no’ to having a child, then that’s God’s Will. The answer might change. The key is to be open to life…open to love…open to God’s Will. Again, this point seemed to get lost in the conversation. He was focusing on the practical, logistical, earthly matters only. Again, a disconnect between him and me.

These conversations got me thinking. Do these guys really pray? My friends might represent a large number of Catholics. They are good people who are generous and want to be good Catholics. But, there seems to be a disconnect with the and the Church. One of the reasons for this is prayer. Do Catholics really pray? I don’t mean just saying grace at meals or saying rote prayers. I mean getting down on our knees and entering into conversation with God. I mean getting to know God and the Church. I mean what St. Paul writes in the second reading: “think about what is above”.

At the heart of the Church is prayer. For 2000 years, the Church has spent time getting to know God and what He has revealed to us. It is focused on what matters to God. It focuses on the supernatural and the natural. The disconnect between Catholics and the Church might come when the supernatural is brought into the natural. This is what happened with my friends. This is what happens with regards to the Eucharist. 70% of Catholics believe the Eucharist is only a symbol. To them, it’s only bread and wine. It’s only about the natural. It’s only an earthly reality. But, the Church has always believed that something supernatural takes place at Mass – that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. One might give the same response to this teaching as it does with family planning: ‘give me a break…where does the Church come off teaching this?’ With the Eucharist, it’s because Jesus says so: “this is my body”.

Jesus says in today’s Gospel that we are to become “rich with what matters to God”. The Church helps us to become rich with what matters to God…with the supernatural. These matters are important! God matters. These are not just nice things to focus on or do, they are necessary for everyday life. How do we become rich with what matters to God? We get to know God in prayer. We get to know the Church and what it teaches. The saying is that “millions of people hate the Catholic Church for what they think it is. Less than a hundred hate it for what it actually is”. Catholics need to know what the Church teaches and why it teaches it. We need to know that the authority of the Church to teach on God matters like contraception is the same authority as Christ himself.

Finally, we have an example of someone who has grown rich in what matters to God. Anne Wein will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation as an adult in a few minutes. She has been meeting with me every week the past several months getting to know God and the Church better. She has become more familiar with Church teaching and has entered into prayer. For those who say they don’t have time to do this, please know that Anne has done all of this while working full-time and planning her upcoming wedding! She will now receive the fullness of the faith she received at Baptism and the great treasure of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

When we grow rich in what matters to God, we receive real treasure. Earthly things only are vanity, as we hear in the first reading. The things that matter to God bring us true happiness and fulfillment. They are real and they matter! They are the real treasures in life.

Do Catholics really pray?

Last night I celebrated Mass with some classmates from high school. It’s been an annual event since I’ve been ordained. I am grateful to my mates from Gonzaga for doing this. It is so meaningful to us – especially me – to get together in the context of the Eucharist and then to catch up and reminisce over dinner and refreshments. Only a few guys showed up this year, but it was so good to be with them. After Mass, we went out to grab a bite. At dinner, one of the guys asked the Church’s position on contraception, specifically with regards to “snip-snip” (vasectomy). I replied with “no-no”. When I clarified what that meant and that the Church was against any form of contraception, I was peppered with questions and criticisms for the remainder of the meal, not surprisingly. It was a respectful and civil conversation, and these are good men (who have several children between them). There was mutual respect, but a clear disagreement on what the Church teaches regarding being open to life permanently.

My conversation with one of them continued later in the night. He heard my explanation of the family planning method (Natural Family Planning) the Church recommends and wondered how it differed from artificial contraception. I had explained at dinner (what a conversation for a mini high school reunion!) that NFP is the natural method by which a couple can gauge the woman’s fertility, based on her cycle. The couple is in conversation with each other and with God; if they discern that God is not calling them to have a child in a given month, then they would abstain from sex during her fertile period (4-5 days, typically). His argument was that NFP is similar to artificial contraception in that it attempts to avoid pregnancy and isn’t open to life.

He raised a couple of good questions. Isn’t the practice of abstaining during the fertile period in order to avoid pregnancy a contraceptive act? Isn’t abstaining during the fertile period preventing union between the husband and the wife? We talked about these specific questions for most of our time together and he revealed the practice of him and his wife in these areas. He is a deeply good man who gives himself so much to his wife, kids, and friends. He spoke truly and substantially about marriage, the importance of union with his wife, and how open to life he and his wife have been. He was talking to me in order to learn, for the most part. But, some comments he made revealed that no matter what I or the Church or God said, he wasn’t going to change.

I agreed with him that if NFP is used only to avoid pregnancy and is approached on a natural level only, then it is natural contraception. The second part of that condition is what I focused on the last part of our conversation. NFP is not to be on a natural level only; it is to be supernatural as well. It is meant to include God! It is meant to include prayer! This is a huge part of the method because it puts the couple under the heading of God’s Will. If they discern in their prayer that God is not calling them to have children in a given month (e.g., it would be irresponsible for them based on their resources), then they would abstain during the fertile period. This would be God’s Plan for them at that point; maybe His Plan will change for them in a few months. That is a far different approach than contraception because the couple is acting according to God’s Plan (NFP), and not their plan (contraception).

God doesn’t call every couple to have 100 babies and says through the Church that parents should be responsible in their family planning. In fact, the answer from God is much more often ‘no’ than ‘yes’ when it comes to couples conceiving children over the span of their marriages. The better way to put it would be “not right now” or “I have something better in mind”. These are often God’s answers to our prayers. Neither of these answers is worse than ‘yes’. If it is God’s answer (even though it is not our answer), then it is supremely good. If it is God’s Plan (even though it is not our plan), then it is supremely good.

If we combine the fact that God has given wives a natural method to determine their fertility and the fact that most months He is not calling couples to have a baby, then we see that abstaining during the fertile period can be God’s Plan. Again, it has to be done as a result of prayer in order to be in union with His Will. If it is from God, then it is good and can never be a sin. It doesn’t act against the union between husband and wife; it actually acts toward union! It involves a few days of sacrifice…a few days of sacrificial love. The husband and wife may not be uniting with their bodies, but they are uniting in love with their souls and spirits. Studies have found that couples who do this experience stronger intimacy when they reconnect in conjugal love. Also, studies have found that 96% of married couples that use NFP stay together.

The final point of all of this has to do with prayer. I don’t know if my buddy and his wife have been praying about all of this. But, it is an enormous part of the conversation. Without prayer, NFP can be natural contraception; it can be the couple doing their own will and not God’s. With prayer, it is a way to give glory and honor to God because it is putting everything in His hands, whatever that might be. On a larger level, though, last night’s conversations with my high school friends prompted some reflection on the disconnect between the Church and many Catholics. One of the main reasons for the disconnect might be prayer. At the heart of the Church and her mission is prayer. She has received and continues to receive God’s revelation in her mind and heart. His revelation is as real as anything in life and is of primary importance.

Do many Catholics approach God’s revelation (in public through Scripture and Tradition and in private through mental prayer and meditation) in the same way? Do Catholics really pray? I don’t just mean grace at meals or rote prayers. I mean do they really open their hearts and minds to what He is saying to them? Do they go to Mass regularly? Do they make time for mental prayer each day? Do they meditate on Scripture? Do they know the authority of the Church as entrusted by Christ himself?

If the answer were yes, then there wouldn’t be such a disconnect between Catholics and the Church, in my opinion. The Church would not be “out of touch” because people would be in touch with God and the Church. This is my opinion…what is yours?