Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all know Thanksgiving is an American holiday, and not a Catholic liturgical holiday.  Nevertheless, there is much about Thanksgiving which is very Catholic in character.  Our word Eucharist means "thanksgiving" - to give thanks - and so each time we celebrate the Mass, we are celebrating a liturgical Thanksgiving feast.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that Eucharist is essentially a prayer of thanksgiving (1360).  Just listen next time you are at Mass to how often either the celebrant or the faithful says the word "thanks."  But more than just at Mass, we should carry that attitude of thanksgiving out into the world.  The Catechism teaches us that believing in God means "living in thanksgiving" (224).  At Mass we asked to "always and everywhere give thanks" to God.

For this reason, prayer is essential to any true celebration of Thanksgiving.  Rather than being a day to overeat and watch football, our American holiday began as a celebration of thanks and praise to God.  It all began in 1621 when the governor of Plymouth dedicated a day for public prayer in thanksgiving for a good harvest, and the custom spread across New England.  In 1789 our first President, George Washington, declared Thursday, Nov. 26, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."

From the beginning, then, Thanksgiving was intended as a day set aside for prayer.  When President Lincoln made him famous proclamation in 1863 declaring the last Thursday in November as a day of national observance, he reiterated the prayerful nature of the holiday.  After describing a litany of blessings the American people enjoy (despite being in the midst of the Civil War at the time), Lincoln underscored the fact that these blessings were "gracious gifts of the Most High God," which "should be acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People."  

Lincoln continued:  "I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the the United States, and also those who are at seas and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

To that, we Catholics would reply (in the words of the previous English edition of the Mass), "It is right to give Him thanks and praise."  So this Thanksgiving, enjoy your day off classes.  Enjoy some turkey, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie (I certainly will!).  Watch a football game if you like, and relax with the family.  Enjoy it.  But in the midst of that, take time to make note of your blessings.  Be aware that these things - including your existence itself - are gifts from God.  And offer prayers of thanks and praise.  

We'll see you back here next week!

Pax Christi,
Matt

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Sunday, November 24, 2013

Gospel For Today - Christ the King

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE

One unfortunate aspect of our fallen human condition is the fact that those who seek authority are so often ill suited to wield it.  Our politicians and would-be rulers seek positions of power for selfish reasons.  Their motivations are power an celebrity.  Even those who claim (some sincerely) to have altruistic motives all too often really mean that only their own gifts and genius can fix what's wrong with society.  Their idea of altruism is to use their superiority to manage the "little people," and so it, too, is self centered.

We have gotten so used to this brand of selfishness in our leaders that we take it for granted.  How often do you hear our own democratically elected representatives referred to as crooks or liars?  Just today I read an editorial that described our politicians as "sociopaths and deviants."  Hyperbole?  Maybe not when you consider the likes of Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.  We take political scandal for granted.  We accept it as the norm.  How else could you explain the culture of depravity that exists in most capitals across the globe?

In 1887 the British Lord Acton wrote a letter to Anglican Bishop Mandell Creighton in which he stated, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Great men are almost always bad men." And so we accept this truism. We assume that even those well intentioned politicians who promise to clean up the government will become corrupted by office once they assume power.  I have jokingly said that anyone who wants to be President of the United States should automatically be disqualified from the job.  There is great wisdom in how our Church chooses her popes.  No one "runs for pope."  Indeed, some of the best popes in history have been drug kicking and screaming from the monastery to the Chair of Peter.  

But if absolute power corrupts absolutely, what are we to make of Jesus?  Just listen to how St. Paul describes Christ today.  "The image of the invisible God... firstborn of all creation... thrones or dominions or principalities or powers... all were created through Him and for Him... He is before all things... He holds all things together... He is head of the body... He is the beginning... firstborn of the dead... in all things He is preeminent... in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell..."  Can you imagine a better description of complete and utter power? As King of the Universe, Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth.  Why is He not also the most corrupt in heaven and on earth?

Jesus teaches us a different lesson about authority.  Jesus teaches us what true Kingship looks like by taking our idea of authority and standing it on its head.  In today's gospel reading we read of our King crucified like a common criminal, under a mocking sign proclaiming Him "King of the Jews."  People tease and taunt Him.  "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself."  

If you are king, save yourself.  Isn't that what we see so many modern day kings doing (whether they go by the name of president or prime minister, senator or mayor, etc.)?  It's all about saving themselves, saving their own image, reputation, fortune or seat of power.  This is not just a modern malaise.  Look at the example of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who recognized Jesus' innocence but was too cowardly to resist the calls of the mob to crucify Him.  Instead he washed his hands of the whole affair and sent our Lord to the cross.  Unlike Jesus, his primary concern was saving himself.  

Jesus exercises a different kind of authority.   Jesus is a king in the line of David, and when God establishes David as king He says, "You shall shepherd my people Israel."  Along with his throne, God gives David a job description.  He is to be a king by being a shepherd.  Shepherds are rather humble fellows.  Theirs is not a rare or glorified position, but it is a vital one.  People depended upon sheep not only for wool for clothing, but also meat and milk.  Sheep were the lifeblood of the community.  A shepherd was expected to take care of his sheep, despite personal hazard.  He would stand out with his flock for hours on end, keeping eye out for predators, making sure no lamb got lost.  He was, first and foremost, a caretaker.

This is how God describes the role of a king.  "You shall shepherd my people."  He takes a position of ultimate power and authority and He flips it on its head.  He makes it so that only a humble man can yield that authority properly.  The antithesis of Jesus' kingship is Lucifer.  Lucifer was the brightest of the angels, beloved by God.  Yet he suffered from the sin of pride.  As great as he was, he would not serve.  The English poet John Milton puts these words in Lucifer's mouth in Paradise Lost.  "It is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven."  And so he does.

In contrast we have Jesus.  "I am the Good Shepherd," He says, "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep" (Jn 10:11).  He is willing to leave the 99 to seek after the one that is lost, risking all to bring the lost lamb back to the fold (Lk 15:3-7).  Jesus's humility and His sovereignty are not a paradox.  This is not a contradiction.  This is the key to understanding authority in Christ.

Jesus is not King of the Universe despite being the Good Shepherd.  Jesus is King of the Universe because He is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus is not King of the Universe despite being the Sacrificial Lamb.  Jesus is King of the Universe because He is the Sacrificial Lamb (Jn 1:29).  Jesus is not King of Kings despite being humble.  Jesus is King of Kings precisely because He humbled Himself by becoming obedient until death -- even death on a cross (Phil 2:8).

When God blesses us with authority in this world, we have a choice.  We can use that authority with pride.  We can choose to save ourselves.  We can say with Lucifer, "I will not serve."  Or we can use that authority with humility.  We can choose to sacrifice ourselves.  We can say with Jesus, "Thy will be done."  

Pray for all those in authority, that they exercise it with humility, giving of themselves in love for the good of others.  Only in this way can their kingship be a participation in the kingship of Jesus, the only King to whom you or I must bend our knees.  May we be citizens of His Kingdom, His alone, and His for all eternity.  





--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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FAQ on extemporizing prayer


FAQ… How do I extemporize a prayer?

Have you ever been asked to give the blessing at a meal (like when Fr. Dominic came to Renew a few weeks ago)? Or been asked to lead a prayer among your more evangelical friends? Fear not! There is no need to panic or to fall back on those 2 or 3 prayers you memorized as a child. With this handy guide you can whip up a prayer for any occasion. Just remember this mantra: You. Who. Do. Through.

You: Address God. Examples:
Dear Lord.
O loving and merciful God.
Our Father.
Creator God, Source of All Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit.
 Jesus.
Who: Something relevant about God. Use one or more. Examples:
You give us every good gift.
We thank you for the food that you have placed before us.
You have gathered us here today to study your word.
You heal the sick, give sight to the blind, lift up the down-trodden, and relieve the burdened.
We stand amazed before all the wonders of creation which have flowed from your goodness and your creative hand.
Do: Petitions. Use one or more. Examples:
Bless the food we have before us.
May your Holy Spirit fill our hearts and guide our thoughts and our actions today.
Be with our brothers and sisters in the Philippines who are suffering from the effects of Typhoon Haiyan.
Teach us to recognize you in one another, and most especially, in the least among us.
Through: Wrap it up. Examples:
Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
We pray this in your holy name, Amen.
We pray this in the name of Jesus, our brother and our Savior, Amen.

Your prayer can be as long or as short as you like. Don’t be afraid to use forceful language—“Give us this day our daily bread,” not “If you think it might be okay, it would be nice if you could make sure we have something to eat today, but really we’re not too picky.” Go on as long as you need to according to the circumstance of the prayer—Thanksgiving, for example, calls for more than “God, thank you for this food. May we enjoy it. Amen”—but don’t go on forever. Jesus had stern words for people who blathered on in prayer.

This format is called the Collect format, and is used for many of the prayers at mass. Examples:
                Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of the Universe,
                Grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise.
                Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, fore ever and ever. Amen.
                                (Opening Prayer, Feast of Christ the King)

In this celebration, O Lord our God, you have shown us the depths of your love for all your children.
Help us, we pray, to reach out in love to all your people, so that we may share with them the good things of time and eternity.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen
(Prayer after Communion for Thanksgiving Day)

___________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

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CCM Bulletin week of Nov 18

Friday is the feast day of St. Cecilia. She’s the patron saint of music, not because of any innate talent (as far as I can tell), but because “she had a song for God in her heart.” At the end of the bulletin is a poem by Edith Sitwell about the song of the created world.




A Poem for Your Enjoyment

How Many Heavens…

The emeralds are singing on the grasses
And in the trees the bells of the long cold are ringing,--
My blood seems changed to emeralds like the spears
Of grass beneath the earth piercing and singing.

The flame of the first blade
Is an angel piercing through the earth to sing
‘God is everything!
The grass within the grass, the angel in the angel, flame
Within the flame, and He is the green shade that came
To be the heart of shade.’
The grey-beard angel of the stone,
Who has grown wise with age, cried ‘Not alone
Am I within my silence,--God is the stone in the still stone, the silence laid
In the heart of silence’…then, above the glade
The yellow straws of light
Whereof the sun has built his nest, cry, ‘Bright
Is the world, the yellow straw
My brother,--God is the straw within the straw:--All things are Light.’

He is the sea of ripeness and the sweet apple’s emerald lore.
So you, my flame of grass, my root of the world from which all Spring shall grow,
O you, my hawthorn bough of the stars, now leaning low
Through the day, for your flowers to kiss my lips, shall know
He is the core of the heart of love, and He, beyond labouring seas, our ultimate shore.

~Edith Sitwell


___________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

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Gospel For Today - 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (C)

As we approach the end of the Church year, the readings we encounter in the liturgy begin to look towards the end of all things.  The fancy word for that is eschatology, meaning dealing with the end times.  Today's readings are definitely eschatological in nature.  

But here we are in danger of falling into a trap.  There seems to be something within us, some sort of innate curiosity, that compels us to try to figure out just when and how the end will come.  Some of us are almost desperate to know.  Many of the kookier elements of our religion built their whole faith around trying to figure out when the end of the world would take place.  

To give one prominent example, Herbert W. Armstrong, who founded the Worldwide Church of God in 1933, predicted the end times would come in 1936, then sometime in the early 1940s, then in 1972, again in 1982, and finally during the 1990s.  And Armstrong is not alone in trying to predict the end of the world.  Even the respected Billy Graham once predicted the end would come in the 1950s.  Several years ago I recall seeing quite a bit on the Discovery Channel about the so-called "Bible Code," where modern false prophets would input words and phrases from the Hebrew Bible into computer software which would generate information about future events.  Most recently we had all the hubbub about the end of the Mayan calendar last December.  

Even within the Catholic Church we have our fringe element that tries to work out secret prophecies to predict the end days.  With each new papal election I have heard (and tried to ignore) a flurry of predictions that this next pope would be the last.  Most of these Catholic end-times predictions revolve around something called the prophecy of St. Malachy, which is itself a likely forgery.  (You can read more about that here.)

There is just one thing that all of these modern end-times prophets have in common.  They have all been wrong.  And yet people still fall for them.  There is just something in us that wants to know - our knowledge of when and how something is going to happen, even if we can do nothing about it, at least gives us the feeling of control.  So we want to know.  It's a natural desire.  

But look at Jesus' reaction when He is directly asked in today's reading from Lk 21:5-19, "Teacher, when will this happen?  And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"  We want to know.  Tell us.

Jesus does tell them - sort of.  You can read in that text, and in the many verses that follow, lots of different signs mentioned by Christ.  Our Lord speaks of nations rising against nations, of earthquakes, famines, plagues, and "awesome sights and mighty signs" -- things that would make great action movies.  But listen carefully to how Jesus prefaces all of this.  "See that you not be deceived," He says.  Because He knows how easy we all can fall into deception on this point.  "For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'  Do not follow them!"  

He begins His talk about the end times by warning us not to follow all those people who will claim to know.  I'm sure you have heard people look at the horrible things happening in the news, our wars and conflicts and natural disasters, and say, "These must be signs of the end times."  Contrast this with the words of Christ: "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end."

Those who are curious enough to open their Bibles and read the rest of this chapter in Luke, will come to this statement by Christ: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all this has taken place" (Lk 21:33).  And so many of the first Christians believed the end would come during their lifetime.  But Christ also said, in the parallel passage in Mark's gospel, "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time will come" (Mk 13:32-33).

When you hear the predictions of false prophets, just remember that Jesus Himself did not claim to know when the end would come.  And why not?  Because to Christ, the specific day and time is not important, and so should not be important to us.  What is important is this: the end will come.  There will be an end.  Time is finite: it has a beginning and it will have an end (even modern science supports the fact that the universe will eventually wind down).  Our lives on this earth, too, are finite.  We had a beginning.  We will have an end.  Christ, in these eschatological statements, is trying to instill in us a sense of urgency.  We don't know when the end will come.  It could come at any time.  Be ready.

For whether the End of All Things comes during your lifetime or a billion years from now, there is one thing we know with absolute certainty - your personal end will come relatively soon.  Your own death is on the horizon.  Whether it happens today or 60 years from now, it's still a relatively short span of time we have to enjoy on this earth.  Your death is certain.

College students don't sped a lot of time meditating on their own mortality.  While it may sound morbid to contemplate your own death, this can and should be a very healthy exercise.  Medieval monastics used to keep human skulls on their bedside tables to remind them each morning as they rose that this may be their last day on earth.  

We should take our example from them, and live our lives as if we may not be here tomorrow.  Reflecting on death need not be grotesque.  Instead, it should help us focus on how we are living.  Each day we should take an account of our actions and our thoughts and our relationship with God.  Are we ready to stand before Him at this hour and give account for our lives?  Is there anything we need to repent of?  Today is the day for repentance!  Could we grow more in holiness?  Today is the day for sanctification!  Have we thanked God enough for our blessings?  Today is the day to give thanks!  It is easy to be lazy and put these things off until tomorrow, but we will one day (perhaps today) run out of tomorrows.

We may very well be living in the End Times in 2013.  I don't know.  It does not matter.  We should live as though we are.  Because each of us is living in our own personal End of Days.  We have, in a manner of speaking, been dying since the day we were born.  But we rejoice because we have the cure for death, the terminal illness of our existence.  We have been inoculated against that curse by Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life.  Jesus speaks not only of tribulation but also salvation.  "They will seize you and persecute you... and they will put some of you to death... but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.  By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

Persevere in the faith.  Persevere in truth.  Persevere in love.  Don't be led astray by false prophets.  Stay close to Christ and no suffering or death -- not even the end of the world -- will overcome you.  Christ conquers all.



--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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CCM Bulletin week of November 11

<![if !vml]><![endif]>  Tomorrow, November 13th, is the feast day of St. Frances Cabrini (1850-1917). She was born in Italy, the youngest of 11 children. She became a sister in 1877, and shortly after founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart (the Cabrini Sisters) to work with orphans. Along with six of her sisters, she came to the US in 1889 to work with Italian immigrants. By the time of her death, she had founded 67 orphanages, schools and hospitals across the US--in New York City, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle—as well as in South American and Europe. She became a US citizen in 1909, and spent much of her life in Chicago where she died in 1917 of dysentery. She was canonized in 1946, the first US citizen to be declared a saint and is the patron saint of immigrants. See the FAQ below for information about what the Catholic Church teaches about immigrants like Mother Cabrini.




FAQ…..What does the Church have to say about the issue of Immigration?
Lots, actually. Here’s a brief excerpt from the US Bishops’ website, usccb.org. This is a great resource for Catholic teaching on all sorts of issues.
Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration
The Catholic Church in the United States is an immigrant Church with a long history of embracing diverse newcomers and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants, migrants, refugees, and people on the move.  Our Church has responded to Christ’s call for us to “welcome the stranger among us,” for in this encounter with the immigrant, the migrant, and the refugee in our midst, we encounter Christ.
A rich body of Church teaching, including Papal encyclicals, Bishops’ statements and pastoral letters, has consistently reinforced our moral obligation to treat the stranger as we would treat Christ himself.  In the 2001 pastoral statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us:  Unity in Diversity, the Bishops of the United States called upon the Catholic faithful to a conversion of minds and hearts, imploring us to communion and solidarity with diverse newcomers, and entreating us to find new and meaningful ways to welcome our immigrant sisters and brothers into our parishes, schools and communities.  In 2003, the Bishops of the United States, together with the Bishops of Mexico, in the pastoral statement, “Strangers No Longer:  Together on the Journey of Hope” / “Juntos en el Camino de la Esperanza Ya no Somos Extranjeros” acknowledged that the current immigration system is badly in need of reform and offered a comprehensive set of recommendations for changing U.S. laws and policies to bring about a more humane and just immigration system in the United States.
Here are some links from their site where you can find more extensive information.
For specifics about what we teach about migration and immigration:
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/catholic-teaching-on-immigration-and-the-movement-of-peoples.cfm

For information about immigration reform in the US specifically:

http://usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/churchteachingonimmigrationreform.cfm

For a handy fact sheet and “myths about…” sheet:

http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/facts.shtml


Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

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Gospel For Today - 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (C)
click here for readings
It is easy for us Christians to take for granted the resurrection of the body.  After all, our Lord and Savior is the One who rose from the dead after three days in the tomb.  He is the Resurrection and the Life.  Our creed culminates with our profession, "I believe in the resurrection of the body."  Our Catechism teaches, "Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings" (CCC 991).  St. Paul exhorts, "How can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain..." (1 Cor 15:12-13).
Belief in the resurrection of the dead is fundamental to Christianity.  But it was not so for Judaism, our elder brother in the faith.  The Sadducees, such as those Jesus spoke with in today's gospel reading from Luke 20:27-38, did not believe in the possibility of resurrection.  Hence their somewhat convoluted question to Jesus, hoping to catch our Lord in an inconsistency.  
But many Jews did believe in a bodily resurrection.  And we see in our first reading today testimony to the power of that faith (2 Mac 7:1-2, 9-14).  Seven brothers, along with their mother, were captured and tortured.  The king who held them captive was attempting to "force them to eat pork in violation of God's law."  The brothers' response?  One said, "We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors... the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.  It is for his laws that we are dying."
Another brother held out his hands and said, "It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again."  Yet another of the brothers attested, "It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him."  Their belief in the resurrection infused their faith and gave them the courage to stand up to even the harshest of oppressors.  
We today may look at this scene and think, "Aren't these brothers overreacting?  All this, because someone wants to make them eat pork?  I mean, I know their religious laws forbid it, but be reasonable... if given the choice between a ham sandwich and death by mutilation, that's an easy choice.  Live to fight another day.  It's not worth it."
And that's the difference between men with faith like these brothers, and most people of today.  These brothers would argue vehemently with the assertion that "it's not worth it."  On the contrary, their faith, they would say, is worth everything and anything, because it is that faith that will save them.  It is faith that keeps them loyal to God, their creator.  And it is He who will raise them up on the last day.   These brothers understood well; if you do not attain everlasting life, then ultimately you attain nothing at all.
The world we live in today is not much different from the world of the seven brothers.  Oh, no one is trying to force people of faith to eat pork sandwiches.  Besides, for us Christians, those dietary restrictions have been lifted.  The prohibition of eating certain foods (along with a host of other laws) was a religious discipline given to the people of Israel by God.  And it was the same God who lifted those restrictions (see Acts 10:9-16).  But at the time of Maccabees, it was the law of God and these men would not violate it, no matter the personal cost to themselves.
Today we still live under the law of God, but it is a moral law based not on some seemingly arbitrary rule from on high, but on the natural law.  That is to say, our moral law is based on what it means to be human.  That law is not particular to a certain race or tribe, but is universally applicable to all mankind.  It is, as St. Paul puts it, "written on our hearts" (Rom 2:15).  
The Catholic Church in America is in a situation where many of its faithful are being required by our government to violate that law by providing insurance coverage for procedures that we know to be immoral - contraception, sterilization, abortion.  This is the scandal of the HHS mandate as it still stands today.  But there are more examples beyond even this.  A Protestant couple in New Mexico who own their own photography business have been taken to court for declining to photograph a same-sex couple's wedding.  A Methodist church in New Jersey was sued last year for not allowing their gazebo to be rented out for a same-sex marriage ceremony.  Christians today are more and more routinely being forced to do things that violate our consciences and our moral principles.
But the real scandal here is that so many Christians - Catholics included - do not see what is the big deal.  These are the ones who would look to the seven brothers in today's first reading and say, "Suck it up.  Eat the ham sandwich.  It's not worth it."  They do not understand.  These men were willing to lay down their lives rather than violate, not an objective moral principle, but a discipline of their faith.  Yet we today stand so willing to violate our own human nature to avoid having to pay a fine.  I suggest that we have come to this point only because we have so often and so routinely violated that moral law of our own volition.  Therefore we are all the more ready to do so when a little pressure is applied.
I have never been put in a position like the seven brothers we read about today.  But I would not be surprised if at some point before my days have ended I find myself standing in their shoes.  I expect many of you will face a similar moment.  I hope and I pray for each of us, myself included, that we may have the courage and the faith to stand firm, and say along with those brave souls, It is from Christ that I received this body and this life; it is for the sake of Christ that I disdain them; from Him I hope to receive them again.  Amen.  
--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
www.WCUCatholic.org
 
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723
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CCM Bulletin Week of Nov 4

A story from the Desert Fathers and Mothers on living the Christian life in this time of All Saints and Souls. FYI, Abba means Father, or a monk. The Desert Fathers and Mothers were the first Christian monks; their sayings originate from the first 300 years or so of the Church.

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said, “Abba, as much as I am able, I practice a small rule, all the little fasts, some prayer and meditation, remain quiet, and as much as possible I keep my thoughts clean. What else should I do?”

Then the old man stood up and stretched out his hands towards heaven, and his fingers became like the torches of flame.

And he said, “Why not be turned into fire?”

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FAQ… How does a person become Catholic?

There are a couple of different ways to become Catholic.
  • Easiest: You were baptized when you were a baby and confirmed a Catholic at some point as a teen by your bishop.
  • Slightly harder: You were baptized and raised Catholic, but for one reason or another you didn’t get confirmed. You need to go through a preparation process and be confirmed by your bishop (often in the company of a bunch of 8th graders). You’ve been Catholic all along, you’re just completing the sacraments of initiation.
  • Also slightly harder: Full Communion: If you’ve been baptized (and maybe also confirmed) in another Christian denomination and you want to become Catholic, then what you’re seeking is to be “received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.” As a candidate, you go through a preparation process to make sure you understand enough about Catholicism to be able to make a full commitment to it. Then you go through a quite simple rite, usually at a regular Sunday mass, asserting your acceptance of Catholicism. You are confirmed by the priest (not the bishop) and then you receive Eucharist.
    • Baptism is NEVER repeated as long as you were “properly” baptized: with water, using the Trinitarian formula (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”—remember that in case you ever have to do an emergency baptism!). Baptism confers an “indelible mark” on the recipient: having been washed in the waters of Baptism, you can never wash that status away. The Catholic Church respects the baptisms of all Christians and affirms the communities that raised them in the faith.
  • Hardest: RCIA: If a person is a non-Christian, they go through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. This process was developed after Vatican II to echo the process for becoming a Christian that was used in the early church. There are several stages.
    • First you’re an Inquirer: in the Pre-Catechumenate you inquire or explore whether you want to become Catholic or not. This lasts  till you make up your mind that you do.
    • Then through the Rite of Acceptance you enter into the Catechumenate as a catechumen (“one who echoes back, who learns by listening”). This can last from 9 months to several years (it was three years in the early church) as you learn about Scripture, prayer, community, service, and the Catholic Church. The emphasis isn’t on learning doctrine, but rather on learning discipleship.
    • When you’re ready to actually join, you are sent (in the Rite of Sending) by your parish to the bishop for the Rite of Election. You become one of the Elect, those elected or chosen to continue on to becoming a Christian, and you are enrolled on the list of elect in a public ceremony. You spend Lent, the Period of Purification or Illumination, in final spiritual preparation. In fact, Lent originated in this time of purification for the elect, in which the rest of the congregation joined in solidarity.
    • At the Easter Vigil you are baptized and confirmed by the pastor of your parish and you receive Eucharist for the first time. Receiving these three Sacraments of Initiation together like this is how we originally did it; over time they got separated out.
    • After this you are a neophyte, a Catholic newbie, and you spend the Easter season in Mystagogy, unpacking the Mysteries of the faith and the sacraments you received at the Vigil.
  • And after any of these ways of joining the Church, you spend the rest of your life muddling through the journey of discipleship with the rest of this fabulously fascinating Catholic family! Unless…
  • A final means of entering the Church? On your deathbed. You’ll receive baptism, confirmation and Eucharist all in one ritual.

___________________________
Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

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Gospel For Today - 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (C)

I have started to read a book entitled Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, by Sherry A. Weddell.  Mrs. Weddell is the co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, and the creator of a gifts-discernment program designed specifically for Catholics.   These programs are meant to help leaders in Catholic parishes identify and build upon the gifts that God has given them.  It was during the course of one of these gift discernment interviews that Mrs. Weddell had a troubling epiphany about a problem plaguing many Catholics today.  She was talking to a woman who was a leader in her parish.  She asked, "Could you briefly describe to me your relationship with God?"  This parish leader surprised her by stating flatly, "I don't have a relationship with God."

Of course, that did not mean God did not have a relationship with her.  The problem was that she did not reciprocate that relationship.  And she is not alone.  Only 30% of Americans who were raised Catholic still practice the faith as adults.  Fully 10% of the American population is made up of ex-Catholics.  These numbers seem shocking, but what is even more troubling is the number who remain in the Church - sometimes even in leadership roles - despite the lack of any intention to be disciples of Christ.  Like the woman in this interview, they do not seek to nourish a relationship with God.

God is already in relationship with us.  He loves us.  That may sound like a trite statement, but it is true.  We know it is true because we exist.  "For you love all things that are," reads the book of Wisdom, "and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.  And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it...?"   God is Being Itself (He names Himself simply as I AM), and we have being because we are maintained in existence by His love.

So we live and breathe and have our being in a deep and fundamental relationship with God.  The fact that we can be so blind to that truth does not make it any less real.  It is the most real thing about you.  But do you reciprocate that relationship?  Do you acknowledge God your Creator and seek to know Him better?  

God wants more than to love us; He desires our love in return.  How many of you have experienced unrequited love?  How many know the pain of loving someone and not having that love returned?  And how many know the joy of being in relationship with someone you love who loves you back?  God experiences both sorrow when we do not return His love, and great joy when we do.  He wants us to be in a right relationship with Him.  "Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord!"  Those little pangs of guilt you feel, the anxiety, the doubt, and the trouble in your life caused by your own sins are road side signs put there by God to warn you - you are going the wrong way!  He wants you to heed those signs and turn back to Him.  

God made us to know Him.  Our minds were made to know the truth.  He is Truth.  Our hearts were made to love the good.  He is Goodness.  He gave us the freedom to love Him or reject Him because only in that way could our love be real.  But His work of creation in us is incomplete until we are in that right relationship with our Creator.  You and I are still being made.

That effort is ongoing, and requires our cooperation with Him.  St. Paul encourages us as he encouraged the church in Thessaloniki, "We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith..."  God desires to make us worthy  This is why the book of Wisdom does not just say that God overlooks people's sins, but that He overlooks them "that they may repent."  It is an ongoing process of perfection that begins by us seeking God.

Finally today Luke gives us the story of Zacchaeus, that short little tax collector - and like most all tax collectors in those days, likely corrupt and considered unworthy by society.  Zacchaeus finds himself in a situation that should sound familiar to a lot of us.  Short as he is, he is lost in the crowd, unable to see Jesus.  Isn't that exactly how we so often find ourselves - struggling to see Jesus in our lives, overwhelmed by the crowd of distractions around us?

So what does Zacchaeus do?  He runs ahead, he escapes the crowd.  And then he climbs a tree "in order to see Jesus."  Jesus calls to him and "receives him with joy,"  This is exactly what you and I must do. If and when we are lost in the crowd and can no longer see Christ working in our lives, we can either sit there in self pity and whine about our condition or we can do what Zacchaeus did - we can seek Christ out.

Run ahead of the crowd.  Climb a little higher.  Maybe for you that means going on a retreat.  Maybe it means blocking off 20 minutes of prayer time each day.  Maybe that means joining a scripture study group.  Maybe that means seeking out the sacrament of Reconciliation and returning to Mass.   You need to get to a place where you can see Jesus.  That is the first step toward building a relationship with Him.  That is the first step toward being a disciple of Christ.  That is the first step toward being the full and complete person God made you to be.



--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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CCM Day of the Dead



FAQ…. What’s Pan de Muertos?

  • The Day of the Dead, el Día de los Muertos, is a festival celebrated on November 1st and 2nd in many Latino cultures, primarily Mexico and Mexican-American communities in the US—but also in Brazil and the Philippines, with some variations. It’s a national holiday in Mexico.
  • It is a time to remember the dead and to celebrate the continuity of life. It’s a festival, not an exercise in morbid doom and gloom—something our American death-denying culture sometimes has trouble understanding.
  • The festival dates to pre-Christian, pre-Hispanic, Aztec civilization. When the Aztecs were conquered by the Spaniards, the celebration, with its focus on the dead, was moved to the Christian feasts of All Saints and All Souls to Christianize the holiday.
  • During the holiday, families visit the grave of loved ones, tidying them up and decorating them, and then picnicking and socializing in the cemetery, as they share food and stories about those who have died. Many families also set up small altars in their homes to welcome the dead back. These altars are decorated with flowers (mums or marigolds), pictures of the dead, and ofrendas, food offerings like sugar skulls and pan de muertos, a special kind of bread.

___________________________
Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

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CCM/ All Saints



FAQ… What is the Communion of Saints?

“Communion” comes from the Greek koinonia, meaning “community.” The Church is above all a communion or fellowship of believers. God, who is our source and destination, is Trinity, communion, community too—and we are created in the image of God. This community is not broken by death, and this is why our grief when someone dies is always tempered by hope. Nor is it attenuated by distance, which is why in the Prayers of the Faithful we always pray for people around the world before praying for ourselves. “Communion of saints” is a translation of “communio sanctorum”, communion of holy persons.

In the Catholic tradition, there are five ways to think about saints.
<1.       Saints as exemplars of holiness and those singled out by the Church for public commemoration: These would be the “big S” Saints, like St. Francis and St. Catherine; our devotion to the Saints is a hallmark of our Catholicism.

22.       Communion of Saints as the living:  The apostle Paul used to address the Christians in the churches he set up as saints; it’s how he referred to members of the Church, the community of Believers. We are saints by virtue of our baptism, which unites us to Christ and to all the rest of the baptized in one great community / communion.

33.       Communion of Saints as the dead: This includes all those who lived as holy children of God and who have now entered the presence of God. When we think about all the saints of heaven, those saints can include your grandparents or anyone you loved who was a good and holy person.

Communion of Saints as the living and the dead: The communion of saints is like a great chain, linking all of us here on earth who are united by our baptism into one Church, with all who have gone before us, united by baptism into death and new life in Christ. Because we are all part of one family, one community, one communion, we look out for one another. We who are still alive pray for those who have gone before us, and those who have died intercede for us who remain behind. In the liturgy, we all join together, saints above and saints below, in worshipping God, as this story tells it:
A parish priest on a small Greek island welcomed a visitor, who asked how many people worshipped in the tiny church on Sundays. The priest replied, ten or twelve thousand. How can that be, asked the visitor—where do they come from and how can they all fit in this tiny place? The priest answered that all the people who had ever prayed in that church were still there, which is why when they said at Mass “with all the angels and saints we sing your praise: Holy holy holy” they were joining with all the holy ones who had ever worshipped in that place.

<Finally: Communion of Holy Things…or Eucharist: “Communion of Saints (holy persons)” is one translation of “communio sanctorum.” But that phrase can also be translated “Communion of holy things,” that is, the elements of the Eucharist. The Eastern Church brings these two strands together nicely in their liturgy, when the priest says right before the distribution of Communion, “Holy things for holy people.”

[Adapted from Catholic Update, “Communion of Saints: Key to the Eucharist,” by William H. Shannon.]


_______________________
Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

at
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