Author: mcenter

Sr. Francis is an Irish nun I had the good fortune to know many years ago back in Dublin. She was the director of a small “nursery school” but a school with a difference. Many of the children there had been referred for care by the children’s courts, children’s welfare officers or the Gardai (Irish Police). To describe her as bossy, pushy, tyrannical even, would be an understatement, she was a force of nature and a nun to be reckoned with. Some might say, like me, she was a true dragon of a nun. However, I have never come across a more devoted or truer advocate for children and their parents. With the put-upon, the beaten, the outcast, the hurt child, the broken soul, she was as gentle as a lamb. With the negligent, the abuser, the violent, when it came to protecting children and mothers, she was a lion. Sr. Francis was one of the best shepherds I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

There are lots of different sorts of shepherds and Jesus chose this image, above all others, to describe Himself. He also offered it as the preeminent image for those He placed in leadership over the Church; pope, bishops, priests in particular, but not only them. These were to be men willing to die, if necessary, to care for God’s sheep. And yet, the most important shepherd’s in our lives and the lives of our children are not the pope, the bishops, or the priests. The most important shepherds in our lives and the lives of our children are parents. Protecting, feeding, guiding, healing, and even searching for the lost, is all part of the life of the shepherd, and the parent.

Obviously, Sr. Francis didn’t have any children of her own. That didn’t matter, she was a shepherd of other people’s children, as if they were her own, and she was a shepherd to other people. This is the same for us also. Jesus calls us all to be good shepherds, and the good shepherd takes care of all the sheep, not just his/her own. Being a shepherd is a way of life not a job. We are called to be shepherds, in fact, God sends us into the world to be shepherds. A shepherd must be as fiery as a dragon, as strong as a lion, and as gentle as a lamb. Not just for his/her own but for the sake of all the sheep. What a great way to live a life.

The good shepherd is not concerned about him/herself first. The good shepherd is concerned first for the welfare of the sheep. And this is the point – when God sent us into the world, He sent us on a mission, first, to love God and second, to love others. We should not to be the center of our lives or our concerns. Only one who lives generously will find fulfillment in life. A life centered on ourselves is too small a way to live. A life focused on God and others – now that’s a big life and a life worth living. As Jesus said, “give and you will receive.”

Jesus, in a moment of sadness and empathy, said to His apostles: “I look around and I see the people and they are like sheep without a shepherd.” He invites us to be their shepherds, good shepherds, for His, and our, sheep.

A number of years ago there was a phenomenon in Ireland of “moving statues.” It started in 1985 in a place called Ballinspittle, County Cork. However, it was not confined to that place as simultaneously stories of moving statues were reported throughout the country. Some were Marian “apparitions” while others included saints and other Divine figures. Thousand flocked to the different sites but particularly the County Cork site where it was estimated that up to 100,000 visitors came to view and pray. The press, and some bishops, were not only skeptical but mocking in their “reporting” of the phenomenon and the “simple” faith of the crowds. One “expert,” the anthropologist Peter Mulholland wrote , “that the continuing role of Marian apparitions in Irish popular culture is a reflection of psychological insecurity stemming largely from adverse childhood experiences and a concatenation of historical, cultural, political, religious and sociological factors.” (Mulholland, Peter. (2008) ‘Moving Statues and Concrete Thinking’, Quaderns de l’Institut Català d’Antropologia: sèrie monogràfics 23). To quote the even more eminent commentator on the human condition, Buggs Bunny, “What a maroon!”

Such large crowds drawn to the site of miracles, or reports of the miraculous, are not unusual. Interestingly, large crowds gathered wherever Jesus was because of the “signs” he worked. It is estimated that a crowd of 100,000 gathered in expectation of the miracle at Fatima on 13 October 1917, which was prophesied by the three shepherd children. People are drawn to the miraculous and the holy but very often, many, for the phenomenon itself rather than the message it conveys. How many go to visit the Shroud of Turin, or the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, because they are interested in the item, not because they have faith? They leave and return to their ordinary lives because they failed to grasp the reality behind the miraculous, or the holy, they fail to recognize the work of God. They failed to see or experience God, and so, their lives remained as they were – searching but never finding, looking but never seeing. Many heard Jesus and saw what he did but they walked away because it was too much to accept. This is particularly true when it came to His teaching about the Eucharist, when he said: “My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”

On the road to Emmaus the two disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread! Why? Was it not Jesus Himself who told us why? Jesus said: “This is my body, this is my blood” and “My flesh is real food, my blood is real drink.” At the Last Supper He said to His apostles: When you do this (breaking of the bread) I will be made present. 

People go all over in search of the miracle, the miraculous, the spectacular, and yet, every day, in every Mass, a miracle takes place that we all can be a part of and experience. Bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. And, even more, God then invited us to come forward and receive the Body and Blood of His Son into our bodies and into our lives. The Lord invites us to sit at table with Him and recognize Him in the breaking of bread. 

Now that is a miracle worth seeing and that is a meal worth having. 

“Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” Ezekiel 33:10

When I was in college, I read an article in a psychology journal in which the author said that research showed Catholics were generally more psychologically well balanced than the general population. Generally, Catholics, the article stated, were less likely to seek or to need psychotherapy or counselling. The author went on to say that because of our sacramental system, in particular, our consistent and normative confession of sins and faults Catholics had a tendency to face their demons and receive guidance on a regular basis. The fact that confession required reflection, self-examination, acknowledgement of fault, a firm intention to try to do better and change our behavior, led to dealing with our interior issues. Dealing with our interior issues, naturally, led to changing our behavior. The frequent use of the sacrament of reconciliation, with a deep self-reflection, a recognition of sins and admission of faults, an examination of our intentions and actions, with an intention to live a better life, meant that Catholics were more inclined to live reflective lives, and adjust interior and exterior behavior for the better. This sacramental system guided our human nature, gave us purpose, and formed our way of life leading to a more reflective, purpose directed, and constantly evaluated way of living. Catholics purged their souls, hearts, and minds and had a greater sense of being freed from the festering bonds of sin. Confession moved us from the mediocrity of settling to the purposeful life which was worth living. Consequently, a more well-adjusted psychologically healthy person resulted. 

I’m pretty sure that as Catholics have fallen away from the frequent use of confession the number seeking counselling and psychotherapy has increased. Sad really, when God said through the Prophet Isaiah: Why pay for what is freely available, come to the water and drink (Is 55: 1-2). 

All of this is no surprise to us as we believe that we are not simply a physical being but a spiritual-material being made up of body, soul and spirit. The body and the soul are created to live in harmony with each other and the soul “informs,” or directs, the body, heart, and mind. In the Garden of Eden this harmony between body and soul was perfect but after the Fall that harmony was upset. What was once easy and natural, became difficult. Sin, the turning away from God and therefore turning away from God’s love, grace, light, and our very purpose in life and destiny, weights us down and crushes us benight its terrible weight. Sin never seems heavy when we are being tempted to commit it, but it certainly drags us down when it festers in our hearts and souls after we have given into it.

The human soul, the human heart, is made to be loved by God and to love God. Without this love, cut off from this love, it can never find its completion, it can only fester and waste away. It becomes resentful, bitter, moody, anxious, demoralized, and lost. This is not what God wants for us and so God, a merciful Father, reaches out from heaven and touched our lives so that we might live again as He intended. God does this through His Divine Son, who is God’s Divine Mercy. One of the sacraments of God’s mercy is Confession which restores what is lost and crushed by sin – God’s life of love and grace. In confession God reaches out from heaven and restores us to life. He does this freely – that is mercy – the free compassion and gift from God.

In his book “Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week” the late Pope Benedict XVI, God rest his gentle soul, puts confession within the context of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. From the earliest times the Church understood that before we entered the Eucharist, we needed to confess our faults/sin. In the sacrament of baptism, we are washed clean and are made righteous (restored to God). But we fail to maintain this righteousness so that occasionally we need to be cleansed, but not completely, only our feet. We did not need to be baptized again but we did need to be made righteous, to be made whole. Pope Benedict state: “The point is this: guilt must not be allowed to fester in the silence of the soul, poisoning it from within. It needs to be confessed. Through confession we bring it to the light, we place it within Christ’s purifying love. In confession the Lord washes our soiled feet and over again prepares us for the table of His fellowship” (p. 74). In fact, confession allows us to live again free of the poison and crushing weight of sin pressing us down.

Mercy is a gift of compassion, forgiveness, and reconciliation – it is not deserved but freely given and freely taken. In the Merchant of Venice Shakespeare called it “dew from heaven” when Portia said: “The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: It is an attribute of God Himself (Merchant of Venice Act IV, Scene I).

Mercy is a gift from God to us. It is a sign of a great soul when you see a person being merciful to others. Mercy is a “dew from heaven” that we can share with others. 

“Nah, I ain’t movin’ bro.” Rosa Parks

I was a student in Rome when the first Persian Gulf War broke out. It was an interesting time, made more so because there were quite a few men from the United States living at our college and preparing for the priesthood. In the initial few days there was talk of “evacuating” the American students. Questions arose about the possibility of the war spreading to include other Arab States and Israel. People were wondering if there would be rationing and travel restrictions. As it turned out General Norman Schwarzkopf managed to pull off a very quick victory and defeat of the Iraqi forces. One of the most interesting and somewhat humorous memories I have of those days was related to a “peace march.”

At the outset of the military buildup the Italian communists arranged a massive peace march and rally through the center of Rome. Although their country was now at war a couple of students from the North American College (NAC) thought it would be a good idea to join in the march for peace. So, they went and joined the crowd. As it turned out as soon as the Italian communists found out they were Americans they beat them up. I guess they didn’t see the irony in participating in a violent act during a peace rally.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem at the beginning of the last week of His life, he is greeted by a crowd that hails Him as the Messiah, the expected Saviors, the King. Within six days this same crowd will be screaming for His execution by crucifixion. They will beg, intimidate, and frighten the Roman governor into condemning an innocent man. The governor is no better than the crowd, spineless, with a weak character, political and ambitious, he allows himself to be intimidated. But it is the crowd that does the damage.

How quickly the crowd changed. Even as a crowd though, they weren’t united. When they welcomed Jesus, some saw him as a new King, the successor of King David, some saw Him as a prophet, some saw Him as an alternative to the High Priesthood, some saw Him as the Messiah, all saw Him as they wanted to see Him and not as He truly was or who He truly was. They saw what they wanted to see and not what they should have seen.

As we enter Holy Week it is a good idea to ask if we belong to a crowd and what crowd we belong to. What is our expectation of Jesus? Who do we see when we look at Him? Do we make Jesus conform to our expectations? Do we make Jesus and His teaching fit into what we want to hear, how we want to live, and what we want a Savior to be? Are we like the crowd, easily led, and willing to condemn if our expectations are not met?

It is easy to fall into the trap of following the crowd because it is hard to stand alone. Often the one who stands alone is overwhelmed, trampled, crushed, persecuted, and defeated. It can seem that their voice, presence, their stance, means nothing in the face of such a great mob and so many remain silent, fall in with the crowd, or turn a blind eye. It is hard to stand against the pressure of the mob, the crowd, and yet, unless we do so the innocent get trampled and the good are destroyed. Interestingly, when stories are written about heroes, the hero is never the mob, it’s almost always those who stood for something, the story is always about those who stood against the crowd, who raised their voice for the truth, the good, the beautiful, the innocent, the weak, and the persecuted.

I don’t know if the quote at the beginning of this column, in this form and attributed to Rosa Parks, is accurate. Mrs. Parks definitely, courageously, said “no” to giving up her seat on a bus to a white person. However, I know she said this: “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” We have one life to live, it would be a shame to spend it “giving in” to the mob when we could change so much by standing up to it. God sent us into the world to be someone and do something – don’t let the mob stop you from carrying out God’s mission.

Passion Sunday

“Nah, I ain’t movin’ bro.” Rosa Parks

I was a student in Rome when the first Persian Gulf War broke out. It was an interesting time, made more so because there were quite a few men from the United States living at our college and preparing for the priesthood. In the initial few days there was talk of “evacuating” the American students. Questions arose about the possibility of the war spreading to include other Arab States and Israel. People were wondering if there would be rationing and travel restrictions. As it turned out General Norman Schwarzkopf managed to pull off a very quick victory and defeat of the Iraqi forces. One of the most interesting and somewhat humorous memories I have of those days was related to a “peace march.”

At the outset of the military buildup the Italian communists arranged a massive peace march and rally through the center of Rome. Although their country was now at war a couple of students from the North American College (NAC) thought it would be a good idea to join in the march for peace. So, they went and joined the crowd. As it turned out as soon as the Italian communists found out they were Americans they beat them up. I guess they didn’t see the irony in participating in a violent act during a peace rally.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem at the beginning of the last week of His life, he is greeted by a crowd that hails Him as the Messiah, the expected Saviors, the King. Within six days this same crowd will be screaming for His execution by crucifixion. They will beg, intimidate, and frighten the Roman governor into condemning an innocent man. The governor is no better than the crowd, spineless, with a weak character, political and ambitious, he allows himself to be intimidated. But it is the crowd that does the damage.

How quickly the crowd changed. Even as a crowd though, they weren’t united. When they welcomed Jesus, some saw him as a new King, the successor of King David, some saw Him as a prophet, some saw Him as an alternative to the High Priesthood, some saw Him as the Messiah, all saw Him as they wanted to see Him and not as He truly was or who He truly was. They saw what they wanted to see and not what they should have seen.

As we enter Holy Week it is a good idea to ask if we belong to a crowd and what crowd we belong to. What is our expectation of Jesus? Who do we see when we look at Him? Do we make Jesus conform to our expectations? Do we make Jesus and His teaching fit into what we want to hear, how we want to live, and what we want a Savior to be? Are we like the crowd, easily led, and willing to condemn if our expectations are not met?

It is easy to fall into the trap of following the crowd because it is hard to stand alone. Often the one who stands alone is overwhelmed, trampled, crushed, persecuted, and defeated. It can seem that their voice, presence, their stance, means nothing in the face of such a great mob and so many remain silent, fall in with the crowd, or turn a blind eye. It is hard to stand against the pressure of the mob, the crowd, and yet, unless we do so the innocent get trampled and the good are destroyed. Interestingly, when stories are written about heroes, the hero is never the mob, it’s almost always those who stood for something, the story is always about those who stood against the crowd, who raised their voice for the truth, the good, the beautiful, the innocent, the weak, and the persecuted.

I don’t know if the quote at the beginning of this column, in this form and attributed to Rosa Parks, is accurate. Mrs. Parks definitely, courageously, said “no” to giving up her seat on a bus to a white person. However, I know she said this: “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” We have one life to live, it would be a shame to spend it “giving in” to the mob when we could change so much by standing up to it. God sent us into the world to be someone and do something – don’t let the mob stop you from carrying out God’s mission.

In the Irish city of Galway, just off Lombard High Street, you will find a little church named for St. Nicholas of Myra (known to us as Santa Claus). The church was built in 1320 and since the reformation it is part of the Anglican Communion. Oliver Cromwell’s troops desecrated the church, smashing altars and statues, and used it as a stable for their horses after the siege of Galway in 1652. However, more importantly, it is believed that Christopher Columbus prayed in this church on a visit to Galway in 1477. Columbus made his way to Galway to study a text known as the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot). This document was an account of the voyage of St. Brendan to America. Columbus studies it while he prepared for his famous voyage westward when he “rediscovered” America. St. Brendan having already discovered it sometime in the sixth century.

Archeologists tell us that human beings were navigating the seas of earth, probably using stars, as long ago as 130,000 years. One of the first written testimonies of astronavigation (navigation by stars) is Homer’s Odyssey written in the 8^th century BC. It is only in the 20^th and 21^st centuries that navigation has become reliant on computers and electronic navigation devices. And, even then, they rely on satellites which are a sort of imitation star. For most of human existence navigation, on land and sea, was dependent upon stars. This is quite something when you consider that there are four billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy and two trillion galaxies in our universe. Of all these stars six-thousand are visible to the human eye and of these only fifty-eight are useful for navigation on earth.

And yet, for most of human history, the stars guided our exploration and travel. Sailors looked into the sky and were able to plot a course, sometimes safe and sometimes perilous, across vast expanses of ocean with just the tiniest light to guide them. But that tiny light, in a universe, a galaxy, and our sky, made all the difference. The smallest light can show the way.

Interestingly, in todays Gospel, a blind man sees what the learned and the wise cannot see. They can see with their eyes, but they cannot see with the eyes of faith nor the heart of a believer. Faith, for the blind man, makes all the difference. It is because he believes that he can see his star. And what does the blind man see – he sees Jesus, the Lord, the Savior. The blind man sees what God is doing and who God has sent. The blind man sees that Jesus is sent by God to bring light into darkness, hope in despair, and God’s love into a time of violence and hatred. Even a blind man can see this star.

However, what’s the point in having sight if there is nothing to see or nowhere to go. The blind man becomes a follower, a disciple, of Jesus. Now that the blind man can see he wants to follow the one worth seeing and the one who is worth following. Jesus becomes his star, his guiding light, the way worth following.

In a figurative sense we all come into the world blind. Our minds, our hearts, our conscience, our imaginations, are blank slates, just waiting to be written upon. Our hearts are waiting to be guided, shown the way, led in a worthwhile direction. More than anyone else parents have the tremendous privilege of forming these young characters, minds, and hearts. Others will share in this responsibility along the way. Children, and all people, are longing for direction, hoping to find their way. This is true because we are created to be with God. We long to find our way to Him, not only at the end of life, but as the purpose and meaning of our life. Jesus is the star that leads to God. And yet, Jesus asks us to share in His mission to bring God to others and others to God. He asks you to be a star that shows the way, to be a light that makes a difference, to give sight to the blind. The blind, all of us, want to see, we want to find the way, we want to have something, or someone worth following. A single star can make all the difference – we are sent to be that star. When you consider how many stars God has created, surely, we can not only light up the world, assuredly we should set it on fire.

To set out into the ocean, like those ancient ancestors 130,000 years ago, Homer, St. Brendan, Columbus, takes courage, daring, and faith. Sitting safely on the shore is nice but we are made for adventure. Jesus says: “Put out into the deep.” Putting out into the deep we can discover new worlds. Being a star to guide others we can help our children build the world God wants them to inherit, to live the life God wants them to have.

“I am a drinker with a writing problem.” Brendan Behan, Irish Author from Dublin

It is one hundred and eighty-one steps from the front door of my parent’s house to the front door of the local pub. It’s a well-travelled path as my Dad made this journey almost everyday at least twice a day. The pub was not only his watering hole it was his well. Dad went from walking over under his own power, to walking with a stick, to walking with a frame, but he was a determined man. As my Da got older he was less sure in his walking, and standing, and he found it difficult to negotiate steps and small spaces. He became anxious when in crowds because he was afraid of falling. When he got older Dad didn’t go to Mass that often, not because he wasn’t religious, he was very pious, but because Mass has many moving parts, standing, sitting, kneeling, walking to Holy Communion, narrow pews and spaces, and lots of moving people. Our local parish priest, Fr. Brendan, would bring him Holy Communion every Friday and hear his confession. At the pub, on the other hand, Da could sit at the bar, secure, safe, and still be surrounded by his friends, neighbors, and family. This was his local well where he could have something to drink. Drinking in this case was not about “the drink” but about the “accompaniment,” of others. 

In the time of Jesus the well was the place of meeting, encounter, conversation and community. The women, for the most part, went in the morning to get water for the day. They went in the morning because it was cooler then. It is a sign that the Samaritan women was an outcast because she had to go to get water in the heat of the day – when there was no possibility that she would meet or encounter others. The woman who is completely alone, abandoned, without companions, is now going to have the encounter of her life. Jesus says to the Samaritan woman “give me a drink.” In this moment, in this gesture, Jesus changes her life. And she, the outcast, gives the one who is the water of life, water. 

The woman gives Jesus a drink. How beautiful is that. She gives Him a drink. 

I am very fortunate as a pastor, to see such acts of generosity every day here at our parishes, and most importantly, in the lives and homes of our parishioners. The incredible amount of generosity in time, talent and treasure is actually, staggering. All sorts of encounters that change lives.

Over the last few months, I have quietly dropped into different parish activities just to see and soak in the atmosphere. Saturday mornings, and sometime during the week, I drop by the gyms to visit with the parents and kids playing basketball, volleyball, preparing for the musical, already baseball practices is beginning and in the Fall I mingled with the football crowds, coaches, players, and parents. All energy, all enthusiastic, all engaged, all building a community. I have attended meetings at all the parishes, seen all the good work that so many people put in to making ministry happen, donating food, clothing, and resources for the poor, parishioners keeping their church and environments beautiful, and I see, every day, dedication and energy and a joy in belonging. The schools are amazing places of energy and creativity and, it seems to me, joy.

These last few weeks I have watched the children as they prepare for the musical. Their excitement, commitment, hard work, talent, dedication, is inspirational. They put in long hours at rehearsals, costume fittings, set design and building, and they do so with such joy and happiness. They are accompanied by adults, parents, grandparents, and talented parishioners who help make it all happen building, painting, making costumes, selling tickets, teaching lines, choreography, dance, music the list of work is endless. This phenomenon of engagement is not unique to the musical, it is manifested in almost everything our children are involved in. Our kids and parents are incredible.

I see the same level of enthusiasm all around our parishes. So many people willing to be at the service of others. Every day there are people cleaning churches, tending flower beds, painting walls, teaching RCIA and CCD, teaching in the schools, practicing singing, music, seasonal decorating, ministering as ushers, greeters, lectors and distributing Holy Communion, serving for the good of the Sacred Liturgy and the Worship of God, praying in Adoration, saying the rosary, coaching all kinds of sports, serving the food pantry, providing meals for the community to gather around, protecting unborn life, visiting hospitals and the homebound, fundraising, serving on committees and planning for the future. People contributing from the little they have to make sure that the mission goes forward. If this is not giving a drink to the Lord, I don’t know what is.

And it’s not only in the parishes where this happens, most important of all, I see this same attitude of generosity and charity in the lives and homes of our people. The home is the most important place in a child’s life and parents are the most important people who, through their lives, character, words, and actions teach what it means to be generous and respond to the request of the Lord “give me something to drink.” I see the quality of our kids, their good nature, lively spirit, generosity, joy, and the care they take of each other, their commitment to our parishes and schools, and it makes me aware that their parents and families are doing a great job.

My Da loved to be with his community, his wife and children, his family and friends, a kind and compassionate priest, and his pub buddies. But, equally important, they loved being with him and they provided him with a place to be and a community to belong to. He was never going to be alone, or unaccompanied. Our parishes are a well where we encounter Jesus, we encounter others, and we offer “a drink” to the thirsty and support each other with our love. Now that is a well worth visiting, that’s water worth having. Thank you to all who so generously make our parishes great communities. The Lord asks, “give me something to drink.” I don’t think He goes thirsty here.

Fr Ben is happy to announce that Julie Vaughn will take up the position of Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Victory and overall Director of Religious Education for Mary, Queen of All Saints Family of Parishes. Julie will assume these roles at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year.  She will continue to teach 8th grade next school year at Our Lady of Victory.  Julie holds a BA, BS and M.Ed. She also has advanced graduate studies in Instructional Leadership. Julie has been a teacher at Our Lady of Victory since 2017. Before coming to Victory, she was the Assistant Principal, Student Services Coordinator, and taught middle school at St. William for 17 years.  Julie attended Our Lady of Victory grade school and is currently a parishioner. She has been married to George for 23 years and has 5 children. Karen Brandstetter and Beth Schumacher will remain as DRE’s at St. Dominic and St. Simon/St. Al’s.

When I began primary school (elementary school) the first grade a child entered was called “low-babies.” From there you graduated to “high-babies” and from there to first class (grade). Early on, I remember my parents helping me with my homework, learning to write capital and small case letters on a lined copy-book, and learning to add and subtract. In first grade, and beyond, we had to memorize math tables and we had spelling books with hundreds of words to memorize. From the very first day I hated school, I hated homework, and I hated having to memorize all this stuff.

Once I got out from the basics, and my parents’ keen supervision, I never did any homework. Typically, I would run home from school, throw my book bag in a corner just inside the hall door, scoff down a sandwich and a glass of milk, hit the bathroom (literally), and then head out onto the street to play, soccer, or street cricket, or street tennis, or whatever the seasonal sport was at the time. We played all day, from after school to after dark, only stopping to answer the call of nature or for a food break. It was the same through high school.

The book bag never left the space behind the hall door until the next morning when it was carried to school. It contained the most under used books in school history. In school I would copy homework from my best friend who sat next to me and hope for the best. The worse part came when it was time for spelling. Spelling was a public event. The master would have each boy stand and, in front of the whole class, publicly spell the words we had to memorize the evening before. The consequence for failure was two strokes of a bamboo cane on each hand, multiplied for each failed spelling. Typically, I received six such strokes everyday from first grade to eight grade. Was it deserved? – Yes. Was it worth it? – Darn right! However, to this day my spelling and grammar are crap!

Things only changed when I began to study for the priesthood. I went from an average student to a Doctor of Theology. I have four degrees and still can’t spell to save my life.  What changed? Focus, interest, a vision and a goal. I was driven to succeed, and I had a genuine interest in what I was doing. I was focused on what God was calling me to do in life, to be in life, a priest. That made all the difference.

On Ash Wednesday we began Lent. Lent is a time for spiritual reassessment, refocus and renewal. Most of us enter this period in a general way but this year it might be a good idea to focus not on penance, or giving up things, or even alms. Instead, maybe it would be good to focus on what it is God has called us to do in life and who He is asking me to be. If He has asked you to be a husband or wife, ask yourself if you are the husband or wife that your spouse needs you to be. If you are not, well, it’s not too late to change. If you are a father or mother, ask yourself, if you are the father or mother your children need you to be. If you are not well then change. If you are a brother or sister, friend, son or daughter, a priest, a religious sister or brother, or a leader of others; let us ask ourselves – am I a blessing in the life of those I love or who love me? If not – well then, it’s not too late to change. This Lent focus on who God wants me to be; examine your conscience and see who you actually are. If they don’t match well fix the difference. This Lent question, examine, how I live and who I have become, then ask how God wants me to live, who God wants me to be. Then fix the difference.  Or better still ask God to help you fix the difference.

Let’s face it, being who God created us to be, is the blessing God intends us to be in the lives of those we live with. 

“The twentieth century blows across it now but deeply it has kept an ancient vow.” Patrick Kavanagh, Irish Poet.

In the middle of Lough Derg, a small lake in County Donegal, lies a site which is associated with St. Patrick. From at least 500 AD there has been a monastery on this site above a cave. Irish legend recalls Jesus showed St. Patrick the site of this cave and told him that it was the entrance to purgatory. Since its earliest days there has been a penitential pilgrimage at this site where old Celtic monastic spiritual practices have been retained. These intense practices challenge the pilgrim to focus on listening for God’s voice and presence in their lives, to make a recollection and inventory of their lives, and to make resolutions to reform and change. ‘St Patrick’s Purgatory,’ as this site has become known since the eleventh century, became renowned across Europe, drawing intrepid pilgrims from as far away as Spain, Italy, and Hungary.

Even today the traditional three day pilgrimage is maintained which includes fairly rigorous spiritual exercises including: going barefoot on the island, keeping a twenty four hour vigil, fasting on frugal fare and drink, one meal a day made up of black tea/coffee, dry toast, oat cakes, water, sustained vocal prayer, and bodily prayer practices – kneeling, standing, praying with arms extended in the shape of the cross, “walking the rounds,” a series of stations on the island where pilgrims walk around a cross within a circle of stones a designated number of times. Generally, pilgrims depart on the morning of the third day having slept on their second night. They complete their pilgrimage fast at midnight the day of departure. Still today this pilgrimage attracts between eleven to thirty thousand people a year, mostly young, and from all over the world.

Fasting and prayer is not new, and it has a deep Biblical foundation. The great prophet and Lawgiver Moses fasted for three periods of fourth days when he was in the presence of God on Mount Sinai. Nehemiah fasted to help him confess his sins to God and turn away from them and to ask God for favor in the sight of the King of Persia to get permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4). King David fasted to ask God to intervene because of injustice (Psalm 35:13). Jonah had the pagan city of Nineveh fast to prevent its destruction. The Prophet Isaiah (58:8-10) lists eight reasons for fasting: Your mind will be opened to greater understanding; Physical healing will come quickly to you; God will go before you as a defender; God’s glory will protect you; God will answer your prayers; When you cry for help God will be there; God will fill you with light; God will lift the gloom from your life. 

Jesus, of course, is our great witness to fasting, prayer and alms giving. Not only does He go into the wilderness and fast for forty days and forty nights, He goes to a quiet place every day to pray. Also, before any major decisions or initiatives Jesus prays and fasts. He prayed intensely the night before His Sacrifice.

As we move our attention to Lent, and preparation for Easter, it would be a good time to reexamine our own relationship with God, to evaluate how we are carrying out the mission God has given us to do here on earth, and to examine our own lives and, if necessary, readjust our focus and direction. We can’t all go to Lough Derg, or make the Camino de Santiago, but we can all do something that helps us to take stock and find our direction. 

Some spiritual exercises and opportunities that might help us this Lent could include: making a commitment to go to daily Mass, or an extra Mass each week, making a good examination of conscience and going to confession, making the Stations of the Cross in private or as a community exercise, making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament or Adoration, fasting on Friday from meat or fasting during Lent from some food or pleasure we enjoy (limiting TV, alcohol, social media), take the opportunity to attend one of the special Lent events like The Shroud of Turin Talk (March 28th, OLV), Mike Davis Lenten Concert (St. Dominic, 15^th March), Cincinnati artist Holly Schapker’s talk on the Passion of Christ and the Stations she painted (OLV, 9^th March). We could also increase our personal prayer like offering the rosary for a good cause, praying for the Poor Souls, lighting devotional candles at church for the honor of God, Our Lady, the Saints, and for particular intentions. It was a custom during Lent to recite the great Litanies, Litany of Loreto, Litany of the Saints, Litany of the Sacred Heart, Litany of the Name of Jesus, Litany of the Precious Blood. We might pray as a family or enshrine a holy image for Lent and Easter. We might also spend time in charitable works, help provide for the poor, or give some time or treasure to support the cause of justice, peace, goodness, and life. Or we might support a parish event, donate time and talent around the church, school, parish grounds, or help a neighbor in need.

In all of this the point is not to do more stuff but to turn our hearts, minds, and lives to God so that God can fill us with His grace and blessing. Any opportunity given to God, or for God, God will not forget. If we open our heart to God, the Holy Spirit will enter in.