So, ever since I was little, I've had an affinity for the name "George." Because of this, I've gotten into the habit of naming everything that is of some importance by that name. When I was little, I named my first teddy bear "George;" when I was five, I named my invisible friend "George;" when I was seven, and I was baptized in the Methodist Church, I named my guardian angel "George;" when I purchased my first computer, I named it "George;" (the one I'm typing on is "George II" by the way) when I bought my first car, I named it "George;"...
Needless to say, the name is of some significance to me, and when you read about St. George, you come to know why. The legends that surround him, of his killing the dragon particularly, captures the hearts of little boys everywhere. Although not much is known of St. George, devotion to him is ancient. I encourage you to look for more information about him, but I thought I'd at least share this link to get you started.
In the Office today, St. Peter Damian had a great thing to say about George, the Soldier of Christ:
"Clearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson: if we are afraid to strip ourselves of our worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a strong defense of the faith."
On April 22nd, the St. Meinrad Seminary Schola sang their spring concert. This recording is a piece sung by a small ensemble from the schola. It is entitled simply "John 14." Based primarily on the first verse, with excerpts from other verses in the chapter, this piece was written by me over the course of the past year.
Great job to the members of the ensemble. A special thanks to Peter Bucalo, Ben Syberg and Brian Wideman for singing the solos, Mike Keucher for helping with the recording, and Doug Hunter for the pictures. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
About a month ago, I received word that I had won a homily writing contest. The prize was a paid trip to the National Workshop on Christian Unity, held in Oklahoma City from April 16-19. After a bit of finagling, I was able to clear my academic schedule so that I could attend this workshop, and, although it has made the rest of this academic year a bit trepidatious, I am very glad I was able to pull it off, for a number of reasons.
The first, I think, is the most obvious one. Getting to meet people of the same faith and of different faith traditions in Christianity allowed me to think of the disunity that exists alongside the desire for unity among so many in the Christian religion. Were there aspects of the workshop that I disagreed with? Sure, but that's life. The purpose of it all, namely to strive for better understanding of and respect for each others faith traditions in order to be strengthened in our own, was met for me, and for that I am very grateful.
I'm also grateful for coming to this workshop because of very personal reasons. Since it has been held in OKC, I was able to return home, staying with my family. Although I have been extremely busy, I have had the opportunity to simply "be" at home, and that has been something I've needed.
I've also had the chance to grow closer to my diocese as well. Monday and Tuesday, I got to spend time with my archbishop and with some of the priests of the archdiocese of OKC. Throughout the workshop, I've had the privilege of "shadowing" Fr. Stephen Bird, pastor at Epiphany Church in Northwest OKC, and we have really grown close. Thanks, Fr. Bird!
This last point has been something I've yearned for, especially within the past year. Growing in my formation and my identity as a Roman Catholic seminarian has brought with it a need to come to know and truly love the local church I will serve as a priest. I've had a small opportunity to do this within the past week, and my desire to continue, to persevere to the priesthood for my diocese, has grown immensely.
My deep gratitude and thanks to the NWCU for bringing me here, to St. Meinrad seminary for allowing to take the time off, to my parents for putting up with me and spending money on gas for me, to Fr. Bird for guiding me and being my companion in this, and to all who have been working behind the scenes to make this work.
Please continue to pray for Christian unity. As I said in my homily, "we can only allow the sap of Grace to flow through us is if we are branches still found on the vine." Pray that branches once separated may be grafted on again, and that new shoots of faith may come forth. God Bless you!
Today the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has "given its assent to a statement of doctrinal belief presented to it by the Vatican," although the understanding of future amendments has not been removed from the table. For more info, follow this link.
This is HUGE news, friends. The possibility of the SSPX coming into full communion with Rome is something that will change the face of Vatican and Traditionalist relations.
SSPX has for many been seen as the "via media" of the traditionalists groups, acknowledging the legitimacy of the papacy while rejecting Vatican II. With their potential reconciliation will come a void in the traditionalist camp, while affording the Church with well-versed members in traditions and practices that have fallen by the wayside in many respects.
Although a great blessing, this merger will undoubtedly cause tension and division among SSPX members and even among "conciliar" clergy. Let us pray that this inevitable step is a small one in this truly ecumenical and charitable act, on the part of the Vatican AND on the part of the Society of Pius X.
St. Pius X, pray for your sons and daughters, that they may be one. Amen.
Before my days of seminary, I
had imagined myself as being on the musical stage, and so pursued a college
degree in vocal performance. One of the highlights of this time in my life was
being asked to sing the bass solos for a Christmas performance of Handel’s
famous work, “The Messiah.” As I began to
look at the various arias from the work that I would sing, one of them seemed
to resonate in me in a particular way.
It was called “The Trumpet Shall Sound”; a beautiful rendition of I
Corinthians 15:51-53. It begins slowly
and reflectively:
“Behold; I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be
changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” (I Cor. 15:51, KJV)
At the time, I only knew these words in the musical
context of Handel’s oratorio, yet it had for me an enduring quality that was
unique to the rest of the repertoire. It
spoke of what was to come; it spoke of things we cannot know and of things we
can only hope for. Ultimately, it spoke of
things we are to become ourselves.
Since then, I have come to
realize the beautifully prophetic way in which these words have come to represent
my own path to God. But, as much as it
has enlightened the desire in me to behold that mystery of everlasting life, it
has invited more questions to arise, questions that come from looking for what
I cannot understand in order to answer the question of existence itself.
When one reflects on this
passage from I Corinthians, it is helpful to know that the context of these
words came amid theological confusion and frustration as well. St. Paul, earlier in the same letter, said
that “Someone may say, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?’
(I Cor. 15:35, NAB). For them as for us
today, the miracle of the renewal of fallen humanity in such a vivid and
physical way was a hard thing in which to firmly believe. How could such redemptive power be brought to
such a broken race, where division is seen in the very fabric of the human
person?
St. Paul went on to state
that “that which is corruptible must cloth itself with incorruptibility, and
that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.” (I Cor. 15:53, NAB) But how can this be? How can humanity reverse its sinful and
self-destructive course? How can it have
victory over death if it has fallen away, again and again, from the life-giving
summit that is God’s Love? In the end,
how can we change at all?
As brothers and sisters who
share in the faith of Christ Jesus, we know the answer to this question. We profess it by the very name of
“Christian.” It is not our victory, but Christ's
in which we find our hope. Yet how often
do we stand firm to His sure foundation in the face of adversity? How often do we stand steadfast upon His
victory over the grave in the daily struggles of our lives, when each moment
brings us that much closer to our own physical end?
Yes: it is Christ’s victory
in which we find redemption; it is in His death on the Cross that we are
brought to new life and find our garment of incorruptibility, with which we are
irrevocably changed in the “twinkling of an eye.” But this act can only affect us if we engage
it.
It is a living faith that we
are a part of, and because of this, we must be living members. We can only allow the sap of Grace to flow
through us if we are branches still found on the vine, and we can only bear
witness to the power and love of God in the fruit of our labor if we have been
pruned and cultivated by His Life-giving Spirit. In receiving God’s grace, we find our
salvation. But we must accept that grace, or it will never have a chance to change us.
This acceptance of grace is
so important for those of us who genuinely seek reconciliation, mutual respect,
and fraternal charity among our Christian brothers and sisters. By accepting the love of Christ we find in
our neighbors, we are raised out of the deathly shadows of isolation and
condemnation and are lifted up to the destiny we share of fulfilling Christ’s
mission on Earth. But this is up to
us. We have been given the gift of salvation
in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord; now, we must carry it with us as the heavy gift and precious burden
that it is, sharing it with the world in the way we live and love each other as
fellow Christians. In doing so, the
mystery of Christ’s redemption is made manifest to the world. Our lives become a mirror for the reality of God’s desire to change and
love us all.
My friends, it is in clothing
ourselves with the Cross of Christ that we recognize the gift of God’s Love in
our diversity and in our
commonality. As we embrace each other in
love, we embrace Christ, allowing him to evangelize our very hearts. It is only then that we truly come to know
what it means to hold the name of “Christian”; it is only then that our eyes
see the salvation which God has prepared in the sight of every people in His
Beloved Son; and it is only then that we are truly changed, as swiftly and
powerfully as a trumpet’s blast, into God’s instruments of revealing to the world
the glory and power of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
What lies in store for the Life of the World begins in the tomb that held the body of our Lord. It's empty, you see, as is the threat of death. It could not contain Him, and because of this, it cannot contain us.
A very happy and blessed Easter Season to you, my friend.
A few years after I came into full communion with the Church, I began attending a local Latin Mass Community.It was a wonderful experience for me and my family, and it was there especially that I grew in my love for the Church’s traditions as well as her sense of community.
One of my fondest memories I have was the first Good Friday service I attended there.It was very similar to what most Catholic witnessed and participated in yesterday, only it was in the Latin language and they used black vestments instead of red.
I was reminded of this last night when, during the course of the intercessions, the deacon would announce “Let us kneel!” followed a few seconds later by “Let us stand!”In Latin, these phrases are “Flectamus genua” and “Levate.”Interestingly, I find myself saying these phrases under my breathe from time to time.I may be busy with homework, or stressing out about a test.I may be preoccupied with some trivial matter or frustrated with a friend, family member or professor.When these things happen, without realizing it, I often mutter “Flectamus genua!Levate!”
Just as Holy Thursday reminded us that our place is in the Body of Christ, Good Friday reminds us of our posture in the Body – Adoration and Action.We are called to kneel before our Lord, and then to take up our crosses and follow Him.The intercessions of the Good Friday service instruct us to pray for the whole world, and so we follow Christ’s example by stooping down and receiving our charge to minister to every person we meet.In kneeling, we receive this heavy gift; in standing, we say “yes” to Christ.This is how we follow Him – we become Him.
So stand, people of God!You do not carry this precious burden alone.
The Holy Triduum started yesterday with the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Other than the Easter Vigil, Holy Thursday is one of the most solemn times of the Church. It is the memorial of the Institution of the Eucharist, of Christ’s self-gift to us, and our reception of this gift.
I had the privilege of singing with the choir of St. Benedict’s Church in Shawnee OK last night. I will be there through the Triduum and Easter, and I am coming to realize the real blessings of the parish family and of taking ownership of one’s membership in the Body of Christ
Fr. Wolf, the pastor at St. Benedict’s, gave a beautiful homily about the priesthood. He began by saying we must all realize our own priesthood as baptized believers. It is through us that Christ is made present throughout the world to those who do not know Him. He then focused on the ordained priesthood, recounting the necessity of this priesthood and the miraculous way in which Christ uses them at the altar to make Himself physically manifest in the Blessed Sacrament.
The most impactful part of Fr.’s homily for me came toward the end. He said that if Christ’s Body and Blood were brought to us, and it stopped there, it would be “miraculous, but boring.” Our identity as Christians would only be partially complete. It is in the reception of Our Lord that this miracle takes root within us. Through receiving the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist, we become Eucharist – we become what we eat, and we take our place in the Body of Christ.
My best wishes to you during this most holy of seasons within the Church. May the Triduum awaken in you a desire to seek out your place in the community of Believers, whose Head is none other than our Savior.
