Fathers For Good

Happy Birthday, Dear Church

Up until this point in our liturgical celebrations, it has been all about Jesus. His death, burial, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. Now with the rushing of a strong wind -- whoosh! -- the focus shifts for Pentecost.

Fifty days after the Resurrection; ten days after the Ascension. The Holy Spirit comes with power upon the Apostles and Mary. It is the birthday of the Catholic Church. The time after and the time before -- between the Ascension and the Second Coming. This is the time we live in, when the Holy Spirit leads the Church into all truth.

It is a time most hopeful (our great Love will return!) and a time most painful (we live amid weakness and sin). For many, hope has given way to despair, and despair to disbelief, or vice versa. How can we hope so much as to believe that God in the flesh rose from the dead and will return? Why should we rejoice in Him who comes to judge the living and the dead? Not as a helpless babe who warms the hearts of all, but next time as an Omnipotent Judge to cull the wheat and burn the weeds.

Our lack of hope spurred Pope Benedict XVI to write a whole encyclical on the subject, Spe Salvi (In Hope We Are Saved). In brief, he says that much of mankind has lost hope because it does not expect good things to come from Jesus. They have lost true faith.

Let us look at the first Pentecost to recover some of the faith and hope that can make all the difference in life. St. Luke, author of the Acts of the Apostles, describes a dramatic scene. The Apostles and disciples gathered in one place and "a strong driving wind" filling the room, with "tongues as of fire" settling above each one, and the Holy Spirit coming upon them all (Acts 2:1-4).

The first effect is that they all begin speaking in different tongues, different languages. The obvious reason for this miraculous occurence is that the Apostles must preach the Gospel to the whole world, and need to be understood in all languages. The first effect of Pentecost is the preaching of the Word of God.

Peter, the chief Apostle, explains the happenings to the strangers. Jesus Christ is the Savior promised to Israel; though crucified, He rose from the dead and is exalted at the right hand of the Father. And now the Holy Spirit is poured forth on all who believe and are baptized.

About 3,000 persons were baptized that day!

Peter preached faith and hope at a time when there was little of either in an aging classical culture. Today, we face what some call a Post-Modern, Post-Christian, post-something world that -- even amid the wonders of new technology and prosperity -- seems lonely, lost and cynical. 

There is a solution, the answer of Pentecost: do not despair; preach the breathtaking newness of the Holy Spirit! Make this Pentecost the new day of your faith -- as fresh and inspiring as when the Spirit first descended. You may not have the eloquence of Peter to convert 3,000 listeners on the spot. But share your joy, and give an account of the hope that you hold. Dare to tell a friend or neighbor: He is Risen!

  

Come, Holy Ghost

The Catholic school gym sported shiny yellow floors, cinder-block walls smoothed with dull, industrial paint, grey folding chairs that clanged and screeched, and a stage at the far end for school plays and assemblies. The pastor blew a whistle: girls on one side, boys on the other, find your partner, size order.

 

It could have been my own Confirmation 40 years ago, so many things looked and sounded the same, right down to red robes and nervous banter of the students waiting for the bishop to arrive. But this scene occurred only yesterday, at St. Eugene’s Parish in Yonkers, New York, where I served as Confirmation sponsor for my good friend’s daughter, Marie-Therese.

 

Yes, there were some differences from my day. For one, we did not have sponsors back then, when each boy and girl stepped up alone to face the golden-robed bishop, holding out a card with his or her Confirmation name. We joked about getting “slapped” by the bishop, referring to the “tap” on the cheek that had been a part of the Confirmation rite for so many generations but was removed years ago.

 

Another more noticeable difference were the kids and adults checking cell phones and sending text messages, and the girls wearing more make-up than I ever remember adorning the faces of grade school kids.

 

Yet it was inspiring to see the bright, freshly scrubbed seventh-grade faces of the boys and girls, full of hope and ready for life. Tall, short, shy, outgoing, of many different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities – they are the people of tomorrow, and this day they were to become young adults in the Catholic faith.

 

Trying to bring a theological truth down to earth, I told a bright-faced Marie-Therese that there was nothing to worry about. “The great part about the sacraments is that God does all the work and all we have to do is say yes.” I am also her godfather, having stood at the baptismal font with her parents 12 years ago when the waters of salvation were poured upon her head.

 

“I am so proud of you,” I told her. “Now I must pray for you twice, once as my goddaughter and once again as a Confirmation young lady.”

 

At last, the altar boys appeared to light the incense as the pastor, in his monsignor’s cassock with royal purple piping, led the way up the stairs to the church. Cameras flashed, proud parents beamed and waved. The bishop processed, with miter and staff, as the choir sang a Holy Spirit hymn.

 

When the time came, I placed my right hand on Marie-Therese’s shoulder, as the bishop marked her forehead with holy oil, saying, “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit.” The bishop had told the candidates that the true effect of the sacrament will be found in the days to come, in virtuous acts performed and moral choices made, in temptations avoided and resisted, and in a long life walking in the Spirit, close to Jesus and on behalf of others.

 

As we processed out, I thought of the continuity of the Church, the passing on of this great faith from generation to generation and the never-extinguished hope of the Holy Ghost.

 

The great Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote:

 

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Month of Mary - Time for Faith

May is for Mary.

In our monthly topic on Fathers for Good, we look at Marian apparitions and their application to Catholic life today. After all that the Blessed Mother has done and said, it is a great wonder that there are lukewarm and poorly formed Catholics today.

Just think: the Mother of God has appeared on earth -- a lady from heaven has come to speak to humanity. She has given a consistent message of prayer, penance, sacrifice and love.

Just consider --

In Guadalupe, Mexico, in 1531, she left her own image on the garment of Juan Diego, and her appearance was the inspiration for the conversion of millions of indigenous people! Her image still is clear on the tilma almost 500 years later, and science cannot explain it!

Can we see that image and fail to believe?

In Lourdes, France, in 1858, Mary appeared to Bernadette and revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, the only human conceived without Original Sin. She also instructed Bernadette to uncover a hidden stream of water that has swelled into a stream where today millions flock for the healing powers. Miraculous cures have been documented, with no medical explanation. My own son was healed there in 2001 of a heart ailment (see previous blog entry).

Can we look at the waters of Lourdes and fail to believe?

In Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, the Blessed Mother made a series of dramatic appearances to three shepherd children, and gave dire warnings about the coming of World War II and the sufferings of the Church and the Pope.

The last of the visionaries became a religous nun and died just a few eyars ago. Sister Lucy was a constant witness to the presence of God and the message of Mary.

Mary's three Fatima "secrets" have been revealed, but most important were her calls for prayer, penance and charity. She concluded her monthly appearance with the "Miracle of the Sun" which was reported by secular papers of the time.

Can we hear the Fatima message and think about the Miracle of the Sun and fail to believe?

Tomorrow, May 13, is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, marking the first appearance of Our Lady to the shepherd children. Let us take her message to heart, and turn to Jesus for the rest of our lives.