Heading Dome

I depart tomorrow for six days at the University of Notre Dame: my Dome away from home (NY or Portland depending on how you look at it). I'll be attending the Notre Dame v. Stanford game next weekend, and am going a little early to spend a few days visiting with all my brothers and friends in Holy Cross. I'll also have the chance to begin some planning for my return to Notre Dame next summer, to prepare for graduate school. I'm looking forward to the time away and the great opportunities the week ahead will offer.  More from the road . . . 

Polish Festival

After Masses this morning at Holy Redeemer, I visited one of our neighboring parishes to the south: St. Stanislaus Polish Parish. This was the first time in my four years in Portland that I had the chance to see the inside of their rather pretty little church.

But I must confess I wasn't there for such pious pursuits. I went to attend the annual Polish Festival that the parish holds in the streets around the church. I've wanted to check this out before, but something always got in the way.

I was glad to be available this year, and was really impressed with the size of the crowd and especially by the quality of the food. I enjoyed a plate of kielbasa, pierogi and cabbage . . . and a Polish beer! It was a lovely afternoon to sit outside, enjoy good food and drink, listen to some fun music, and share a laugh with a few parishioners I happened to run into.

Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Over the last few weeks we have all been inundated with news about our nation’s economic crisis. There is a very palpable sense in the air that things are not at all good and they could get much worse.

We have also, over the last several months, been engaged in a national debate about the upcoming Presidential election. Both candidates, and the news media have asserted that this is a crucial time for America and that this is the most important election in decades, if not in our entire history as a nation.

The state of our economy does indeed pose very real threats to our well-being and the well-being of our families. We all have very legitimate worries about our jobs and our savings, about paying the mortgage and making ends meet, especially with the current rise in fuel costs.

And it is also certainly true that our nation faces very serious issues at home and abroad – issues that touch upon our national security and safety, on our claim to treasure “life and liberty,” and on our ability to care for the neediest among us.

But I must confess, that I have become a bit worried about the “crisis” mentality that we modern Americans seem to fall into so quickly. I think we have to admit, that in an attempt to grab our quickly passing attention the twenty-four hour news cycle, the internet blogs, even our water-cooler conversations, tend to sensationalize things a bit. We end up creating a truly “poisonous climate of anxiety” that serves only to deepen and irrationalize, what were initially, legitimate concerns about real problems.

Why am I worried about this crisis mentality? Well for one, it doesn’t do much for our own mental health. But more importantly, I fear that these “periods of intense panic” that we often fall prey to “are symptoms of a godless” worldview that we modern people, even we Christians, often live out of.

Modern society, and again, even a good number of professed Christians, attempt to live life entirely by their own resources. We “accept and trust only what we can control” and so if there is any reference at all to God in our lives, He is sequestered to some portion of our life that we can control as we see fit . . . choosing, for example, when or if we go to Church, what we will or won’t believe in and accept, deciding for ourselves what God wants us to do and not do.

Since human beings “cannot live without some form of hope” we still have the need to be convinced that the future will be good, that everything will be okay. But in cutting ourselves off from a loving God by trying to control Him, we isolate ourselves from the very one who can assure us of the future.

And so, in His place, we end up idolizing and worshiping our own concept of human progress. WE, by our own intellect, and will, and determination, WE will make everything okay.

The true theological virtue of hope is thus perverted and watered-down. The modern version of “hope” is merely cheerful optimism about our own abilities to bring about utopia – and it is ultimately an optimism that is increasingly difficult to maintain as the sad evidence of human weakness piles up around us.

In moments like this, when our false god of progress falters, when our considerable talents, abilities, and efforts to succeed as individuals and as a society still come up short, then our modern version of so-called “hope” is utterly lost.

Pope Benedict has this to say on the topic:
“Optimism is only the facade of a world without true hope that is trying to hide from its own despair with a deceptive sham. This” he says, “is the only explanation for the immoderate and irrational anxiety, the traumatic and violent fear that breaks out when some setback or accident in technological or economic development casts doubt on the dogma of progress.”

What, then, is the alternative?

The alternative is true Christian hope – a hope based not on our own abilities, or on human structures of politics or economics, but on “the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself up for us” (Galatians 2:20). We are “worth so much to God that He Himself became a man in order to suffer with us in an utterly real way” (Spe Salvi, 39). Only this love, this unconditional love of God in Christ Jesus, has the power to redeem us and to give us a hope that endures.

Thus St. Paul says, “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:38-9). THIS is Christian hope.


Our Holy Father wrote his second encyclical, Saved in Hope, on this very topic. He called the crisis of faith that the Western world seems to be experiencing a failure of hope. And he offered some suggestions for learning how to truly live a life of hope.

He spoke first, of course, about prayer. Prayer is a “school of hope” in which we learn that “when no one else listens to me, God still listens” (Spe Salvi, 32). He spoke too about suffering, and how, while it remains a terrible reality, it can become, at the same time, if we accept it and mature through it, a source of hope – because it is in suffering that we meet Christ who Himself descended into Hell and transformed its darkness into light (Spe Salvi, 37).

But I want to stress one final means for learning hope in our lives, because it seems to me, to connect well with today’s Gospel. Pope Benedict makes the case that while we must remember that we cannot achieve by our own merit or actions the kingdom of peace and prosperity for which we long, “our behavior,” the way we live our lives, “is not indifferent before God, and therefore is not indifferent for the unfolding of history” (Spe Salvi, 35).

We can, in fact, learn the virtue of Christian hope, share it with others, and assist in the world’s salvation by the actions that mark our lives. By becoming co-workers of the Lord, by opening ourselves to His truth and His love and accepting His invitation to work in His vineyard, we find the true hope we long for, and combat the poisons that would destroy “our present and future.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the story of two brothers to condemn the chief priests and elders for professing to be children of the covenant, but not proving that they are by their actions. As Christians, we too are convicted by this Gospel when we profess faith and hope in Christ Jesus, but then do not manifest this faith and hope by the way we live our lives.

Too often, we confuse ourselves about the true meaning of human freedom and simply choose to say “No” to the Lord’s invitation to work in His vineyard. Other times, we speak a word of “Yes” but then become lukewarm in our commitment and fail to live it out by actually submitting ourselves to the demands of the Lord’s work.

The Gospel story does not speak of a third son who both says, “Yes, I will go” and then actually “does the work that has been given to him.” But in our second reading, St. Paul describes just such a Son. Jesus is described as one who is not afraid to let go of His exalted position, to relinquish His control, His power, His very self in order to do the Father’s will. And St. Paul says, “BECAUSE OF THIS God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above all names.”

And so St. Paul pleads with us: “do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory. Rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves . . . each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.”

When we imitate Jesus Christ; when we empty ourselves and relinquish our false god of progress; when we admit our own weakness and find our true freedom in doing the will of God, then we have said “Yes” in our words and our actions and we are ready to “go out and work in the vineyard.”


And when we do, we find that even in our suffering and toil, even in the continued imperfections of this world, true hope endures, and that in His love for us, God exalts us well.

Friends, in a few moments when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we will pray that God will “free us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” May we live always in that joyful hope, by responding to God’s call and working with Him in tending to His vineyard.

"No Room at the Inn"

When my aunts Ginny and Dee and uncles Tim and Joe visited me here last October, they stayed in a Courtyard Marriott near the Columbia River. We noted at the time that there was construction being done on a few other hotels and stores in the same complex. Little did I know then that I would be called on to bless one of those new hotels!!

The developer of the entire complex is an active Catholic, whose daughter attended a Holy Cross high school in California. One of our men from UP has blessed several of his properties and ventures here in Portland, but he was unavailable today. So I got called from the bullpen to say a prayer and blessing at the formal opening of the new Fairfield Inn & Suites. I even got to help the owner's wife cut the ceremonial ribbon! (I'll have to scour the internet for that picture ;)

I swear, in this line of work you just never know what you're going to be asked when you pick up the phone!

Just Because . . .

My main purpose in starting this blog was to keep my family and friends up to date on some of the things that I'm up to way out here in the Pacific Northwest. I don't think my family worries about me, but I do think they are happy to know that I'm doing some good work, having lots of fun, and that I have some really wonderful friends here in Portland to share life with.

So I share this little story to prove once again that I do indeed have wonderful friends here in Portland.

Just before we saddled-up for the NPSC trip to Oktoberfest, Julie Hallenius (lovely wife of Ken) gave me a little gift. To my great surprise and delight, when I opened it I found these Hallmark Halloween ornaments celebrating Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin, and a little haunted house display stand for them:

When I asked Julie what this gift was for, she said: "Just because." Now isn't that great . . . just like family. 

Thanks Jules !!

(Here's Julie with her hubbie at the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest 2008)

A Taste of Holy Redeemer

This past weekend Holy Redeemer hosted its first annual Taste of Holy Redeemer. It was a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing diversity of our parish and neighborhood by coming together to share great ethnic food, like Sambussa (a lentil-filled, egg roll-like delicacy from Ethiopia) . . .

. . . music, (here Fr. Joe serenades the crowds in Spanish) . . .

. . . and arts and crafts.

There were also rides for the kids, as well as a dunk-tank, which both Joe and I took turns in (pictures will be forthcoming). As you saw above, there was also a beer garden (this is the micro-brew capital of the world after all).

It was a great event, and fairly well attended given that this was the event's first year, and given the weather. After absolutely perfect summer weather for the first fifteen days of September, fall began a little early and we had cool and wet weather this weekend (as you can see above the food booths in this picture).

Obviously lots of people worked really hard to make this event happen and we're grateful to them all. One of those folks was Mike Grahek, who, with his wife Erin, presented me to Bishop Jenky when I was ordained. Mike is a trained chef and he oversaw all of the food preparation for this event. (If you look closely in this picture of me and Mike you can see my new glasses!)

New York Nostalgia

All morning I had an inexplicable and incessant craving for pizza. Thankfully, since Monday is my day off I was able to head down to NW 23rd to Escape from New York Pizza.

I ordered up a couple of slices of pepperoni . . . 

. . . and had a seat at the counter. That gave me the chance to peruse the copies of the New York Times they have laying around for their customers. So I read the entire section on the last game at Yankee Stadium. 

Now anyone who knows me, or has noticed the teams in the side-bar of this blog, knows that I am New York Mets fan (No, we're not going to talk about The Collapse Part II!). But as a New Yorker, it's hard not to feel a bit sad about this end of an era . . . and it's only compounded by the demise of the much younger but still historic Shea Stadium. 

But, in the end, that's what it means to be a citizen (or a child in exile) of the city that never sleeps - nothing stays the same forever.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

On Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the annual Fr. John Zahm, C.S.C. Lecture at the University of Portland. This year's lecturer was Mr. Paul Elie, editor at Farrar Straus Giroux in New York City, and author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own.

Mr. Elie's book is the intertwined stories of four great American Catholic authors: Thomas Merton, Walker Percy, Dorothy Day and Flannery O'Connor, all of whom wrote during the 1940's and 50's. "The four exchanged letters, ardently read one another's books, and grappled with what one of them called a 'predicament shared in common'" - that of being a Catholic writer.

If you enjoy good writing, and if you get the chance, read this book. It is itself a very good piece of writing, and it's about some of the greatest American writers of all time - all of whom were Catholics as well.

Mr. Elie's lecture focused entirely on Flannery O'Connor, and what her life and work might have to say to us in our own time. Though in many ways conditions for Catholic culture in America have never been better (a significant portion of the laity are wealthier and better educated than ever before) it is still difficult to define 'Catholic culture' in a way that was much less true in the 1950's.

As a Southern Catholic writer O'Connor made the distinction between culture and Church. She felt that culture was passing, and the Church and true identity were not: they were what truly endured. And so her writing avoids many of the "trappings" of the Catholicism of her era and speaks to the fundamentals of faith: God's existence, grace, redemption, etc. 

As a result, O'Connors writing may resonate better with the searchers of today who would otherwise be bogged down by allusions to a Catholic culture that has radically changed since the 1960's.

I found this to be a most interesting thesis. It brought together so many of my interests: American Catholic history, culture, literature and the modern-day pastoral implications. I'm especially glad that Fr. Charlie Gordon, C.S.C. who organizes the "G.K. Chesterton Reading Group" that I belong to, has decided to have us read some Flannery O'Connor this semester as a little break from our usual fare. We've already had one great evening of discussion and I look forward to more!

Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

For those of who have more than one child, or who are yourselves a sibling, today’s Gospel should put you in mind of the childhood cry “it’s not fair!”

We seem to develop very early in life a highly attuned ability to perceive fairness and equality. We are quick to notice even the slightest difference in the way we have been treated compared to others – and we’re particularly quick to complain when we feel we have been cheated.

“She got a bigger piece of cake than me! His curfew was later than mine! You never let me . . . well, fill in the blank.


And let’s be honest, we really don’t grow out of this tendency as we age. Even as adults, at work, in family life, and even in the life of faith, we’re constantly evaluating what others have been given and comparing ourselves to them.

I think that at the root of this sensitivity to fairness is the fact that we’re desperate to be loved and, because of the Fall, we make the mistake of defining our personal worth in comparison with others.

That you got more than me, or something different than me, must mean that I am not as special or as well loved as you are. Now parents know that this simply isn’t true: you love each of your children the same. And yet we don’t often apply that lesson to our relationship with God the Father.

And so, today’s Gospel definitely offends our sense of fairness.

At the end of the workday, when those who had barely even worked up a sweat are given a full day’s wage, we assume along with the other workers that they will receive more. They have, after-all, “borne the day’s burden and the heat.”

But then, their eager anticipation turns to quickly into grumbling when they see that they’re merely getting what they had agreed to work for. And sure enough it’s not only an economic complaint that they make; their sense of self has also been offended: “you have made them equal to us,” they complain.

The Landowner, who is clearly God the Father in this parable, makes the point that justice has been maintained. Even if it does not seem “fair” to give all the workers the same amount of pay, it is certainly just since the workers received exactly what they had been contracted for when the work began.

And it’s precisely within the context of justice that the true mercy and the generosity of the Landowner can be revealed. The workers’ sense of “fairness” only serves to limit the Landowner’s freedom and exclude the possibility of his generosity.

Since we are told that this is a parable about the Kingdom, and the workers in the story receive payment at the end of the day, we can be sure that we are meant to reflect on the end of time, and on the nature and character of God’s judgment.

When you and I think about God’s judgment we sometimes waffle between two different perceptions. On the one hand we believe in divine justice, which requires that the good be adequately rewarded and the evil appropriately punished. But on the other hand, we believe and trust in the mercy of God that we all know we need, and hope will be extended to us.

If we really thought enough about it, we’d find these two things difficult to reconcile. And indeed today’s parable reveals that “God’s judgment does not conform to the standards of human justice.” In the words of the prophet Isaiah from our first reading: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.”

This is not to say that God’s judgment is capricious, that God is like the Greek and Roman gods of old, rewarding and punishing humanity on a whim. Rather it is to say that God’s judgment is incomprehensible to us because it is a perfect justice tempered with a perfect mercy that we are simply incapable of on our own.

As the Psalmist proclaims: “Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced” (Ps. 85). In God’s judgment, as in the Landowner’s payment, justice and generosity are both at work in a way that we, as weak humans, find difficult to understand, accept or emulate.

So if this is the best we can say about God’s judgment, justice and mercy – that we really can’t understand them all that well – where does that leave us? If mercy and justice meet, does this mean that it doesn’t matter how we live our lives? Can we sit around and enjoy ourselves, do what we please – get all of the world’s goods and pleasures and then settle accounts at the end?

No, it does not. In today’s first reading Isaiah says: “let the scoundrel forsake his way and the wicked his thoughts.” And in the second reading Paul exhorts us to “conduct ourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

What today’s Gospel shows us is that our childish demands for “fairness” are not worthy of the Good News of Jesus Christ. “If we persist in our demand for fairness, for strict retribution, we only call judgment on ourselves. We become frustrated with God for being merciful with others, and become bitter toward those we think have received more than they deserve.”

Instead, we must allow Divine Mercy to work in us, to abolish our pettiness and replace it with generosity of heart. By examining our consciences daily, by going often to Sacramental Reconciliation, by apologizing to others when we are wrong, we can, little by little, learn to emulate the generosity and mercy that we ourselves have received from God.


Finally, we can conduct ourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel if we focus on the fact that the call to work in God’s vineyard is a privilege, not a burden. Whether we are invited at the start of the day, and are asked to sacrifice or suffer as part of our work; or if we are called late in the day and find the work joyful and easy; either way the generosity of God is manifest in that He invites us to work His vineyard in the first place!

We are invited to help Him sow, tend and reap His harvest of justice – and that itself is a gift more generous than any of us could ever have deserved.

"High School Liturgical"

This morning, after celebrating Mass here at Holy Redeemer, I concelebrated the Opening of the School Year Mass at Central Catholic High School. Portland's wonderful Archbishop John Vlazny was the principal celebrant and homilist, and there were about twenty of us concelebrating.

Holy Redeemer has a very large number of young parishioners and school alumni who currently attend Central Catholic - including a number of our most active young adults and almost all of my Confirmation class from last year. It was a pleasure to see them at Mass and to be back in the halls of a Catholic high school. It brought back fond memories of St. Joseph by-the-Sea . . . which I learned today is atop the NYC High School football rankings! Go Vikings!

Four !!!!!! (Yes, I know it's Fore, it's an inside joke!)

Yesterday, after celebrating morning Mass at St. Charles Parish, and then dashing off to celebrate the Opening of the School Year Mass at De La Salle North Catholic High School, I changed clothes quickly, grabbed my golf clubs and drove south to the Langdon Farms Golf Course in Aurora, Oregon for the second annual Holy Redeemer School Golf Outing.

After registering, picking up our goodie bags, and enjoying a lovely boxed lunch, we mounted our carts, received a blessing from Fr. Joe and hit the links.

I golfed in a foursome with Fr. Joe's dad, Vito, and a retired couple from a neighboring parish. It was a very long course, but I was driving the ball well . . . so well, we used 7 of my drives in the "best ball" format. Here's the view down the 18th fairway:

My driving aside, we were +7 for the day which put us just above the worst two or three teams. I was just happy to not be dead last! 

It was about 92 degrees yesterday, so when we finished our 18 holes we were glad to retire to the Red Barn for the award ceremony and dinner. As part of the fundraising efforts of the day, a "ball drop" contest was held. Contestants purchased numbered golf balls that were then dropped from a helicopter onto the 18th green. The ball that landed closest to the flag won half of the earnings. (Sorry there's no picture - it was just dark enough that my flash was insufficient to the task).

Special thanks are due to my usual golfing buddies, Sr. Maureen Fox, OSF and Mr. Allen Grant, both of whom are teachers at Holy Redeemer School. 

Every Little Thing . . .

With a tip of the bireta to Ken Hallenius!

Public Art, Protest, Insanity . . . or All Three?!

Portland has been enjoying its typically wonderful September weather: We've not had even a drop of rain so far this month, and have had only a handful of passing clouds. It has been heaven!

On Sunday after a full morning of Masses, and the annual Holy Redeemer health fair (I am pleased to report I have normal blood pressure and an excellently low body fat percentage :) I took a nice walk along the Willamette River

It was just warm enough for people to enjoy a run through the fountain in Tom McCall State Park:

While I was walking, I cam across a group of people holding large wooden boards along the waterfront. The boards were painted white on one side, and on the other, had metal handles that made it easier to hold in place, carry and turn. There must have been about twenty or twenty-five of them and they seemed to be evenly spaced every five or six feet.

Now around here you never really know for sure what something like this might be. It could a public art project or a protest of some kind. It could just be a group of crazy people, or it could be some combination of all three! In this case I discovered that it was a public art project. 

Several photographers were recruiting passers-by to assist them by holding these boards in different patterns which would then be photographed. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay to see the whole thing unfold, but you just have to love a place where stuff like this goes on!

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit Der Gemütlichkeit!

Although it's still September, this is in fact the traditional season for Oktoberfest! So, the North Portland Social Club made its annual trip to the Mt. Angel, Oregon Oktoberfest.

This year, Josh and I were both sartorially prepared for the festivities as I had successfully obtained my new Tyrolean hat form Helmer's haberdashery:

After everyone was home from work, we met at Holy Redeemer and drove south to Mt. Angel. We enjoyed a late dinner of wonderful German food including, bratwurst, Oktoberfest wurst on a stick, sausage balls and apple strudel.  Who could ask for anything more?

After dinner we proceeded into the Oktoberfest Weingarten, although we drank Spaten Oktoberfest, and enjoyed the musical stylings of Das Original Donaumusikanten. These musicians are flown in each year from Germany courtesy of one of the Oktoberfest sponsors: Lufthansa. 

We have very much enjoyed these musicians during our trips to the Oktoberfest. They not only play very well, they also have a great stage presence and interact with the crowds in a most endearing and enjoyable way. This year, we got into the act by joining the conga-like dance line that wove its way through the Weingarten tables. At one point, to his great surprise, Josh found himself at the head of this dance line:

Later in the evening, the members of Das Original Donaumusikanten, performed one of their classic crowd-pleasing routines. After a brief intermission they reemerge in black trench coats, cowboy hats and sunglasses. In time with the music, they open and close their coats revealing that they are clad only in boxers, socks, and frying pans - yes, frying pans, hung from strings around their necks and covering their privates.

It's difficult to see in this picture, thank God, but they also have a metal soup ladle tied to their knees. With great precision, they each bend their knees, which swings the ladle into the frying pan in time with the music. The crowd goes wild. I'm sure the bier doesn't hurt in this regard, but either way it's pretty funny.

One of the other highlights of the evening was meeting the President of the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest. Hopefully I'll have a picture to share of that in the next few days. 

Stabat Mater Dolorosa Iuxta Crucem Lacrimosa

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows!

Patroness of the Congregation of Holy Cross

At the Cross her station keeping,

stood the mournful Mother weeping,

close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,

all His bitter anguish bearing,

now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed

was that Mother, highly blest,

of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs,

she beneath beholds the pangs

of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,

whelmed in miseries so deep,

Christ's dear Mother to behold?

By the Cross with thee to stay,

there with thee to weep and pray,

is all I ask of thee to give.

For the sins of His own nation,

She saw Jesus wracked with torment,

All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child,

Saw Him hang in desolation,

Till His spirit forth He sent.

Can the human heart refrain

from partaking in her pain,

in that Mother's pain untold?

O thou Mother! fount of love!

Touch my spirit from above,

make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt;

make my soul to glow and melt

with the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,

in my heart each wound renew

of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain,

who for all my sins was slain,

who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,

mourning Him who mourned for me,

all the days that I may live:

Let me, to my latest breath,

in my body bear the death

of that dying Son of thine.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,

Listen to my fond request:

let me share thy grief divine;

Wounded with His every wound,

steep my soul till it hath swooned,

in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,

lest in flames I burn and die,

in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,

by Thy Mother my defense,

by Thy Cross my victory;

When my body dies,

let my soul be granted

the glory of Paradise. Amen.

Behold the Cross, Our Only Hope: Homily for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross . . . that is to say, we set aside this day as a time to exult, joyfully celebrate and rejoice in the triumph of the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ.

It can be said that there are three events or moments in history that this feast asks us to call to mind and reflect upon: three specific instances in which the Holy Cross is exalted. In order to better appreciate this great feast and what it means for our lives, I’d like to look at each of these three moments of the exultation in the Holy Cross.

The first exaltation of the Holy Cross is, of course, Good Friday – the day of the Lord’s Passion and Death.

Each and every year the Church commemorates the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday by bearing the cross aloft and proclaiming: “Behold the wood of the Cross on which is hung our salvation – Come let us adore.”

When one thinks about it, those are remarkable words and actions. We carry into our assembly an instrument of torture, shame and execution, and then we come forward one by one to venerate and adore it.

I think it’s fair to say, though, that we often miss the full force of this contradiction. It’s too easy, given the somber and solemn tone of the day, to narrow our focus and concentrate exclusively on the terrible death our Savior endured on the cross. We fail to fully comprehend the glory of the cross which leads us to raise it high and exult in it.

Throughout John’s Gospel Jesus makes it clear that His life is not taken from Him – he is not merely a victim nailed to the cross. Rather, He is in true control: He willingly lays down His own life for our sake.

And in the readings for today’s feast, Jesus’ words help explain why. Jesus once again predicts His own Passion and this time connects it with the healing serpent that Moses raised above the Israelites in the desert. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, and all who looked upon it lived – so too, Jesus, sent by the Father’s love for the world, is lifted up on the wood of the cross so that all who look upon Him might have eternal life.

The cross, therefore, is much more than a mere instrument of torture – it is a throne of glory that Jesus mounts triumphantly, and from which He saves and rules the world He created.

The cross is thus an everlasting sign of God’s love for the world and the “reconciliation and friendship into which we have entered with God;” It is the source of all power over sin and suffering and death; The cross is the sign and seal of the eternal life we are destined to inherit. (St. Symeon).

Every time we put a cross around our neck, or mark the sign of the cross on our bodies, we should be mindful not only of the amazing sacrifice our Lord made for us, but also of the unfathomable power that is contained in that sign and we should reverently celebrate the love and life we have been given through it.

The second exaltation of the Holy Cross that this feast celebrates is the finding of the true cross by St. Helena in the year 326. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, St. Helena discovered the relics of the true cross and her son, the Emperor Constantine, constructed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to house them.

These relics were temporarily lost when the Persians invaded Jerusalem in 614. But when the Emperor Heraclius recaptured the city and the relics, he had the cross carried in procession back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Tradition tells us that as he marched behind it, the Emperor discovered that some unseen force kept him from moving any further.

The patriarch of Jerusalem “suggested to the emperor that the imperial splendor of his robes, gold and jewels were not in keeping with the humble and abject appearance of Christ when He” first carried the Cross through the very same streets of Jerusalem (Bl. Basil Moreau, CSC).

Sure enough, when the emperor removed his robes and jewels and found himself barefoot and wearing only a simple tunic, he was able to continue in the procession.

In today’s second reading St. Paul tells us that, “though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, rather He emptied Himself taking the form of a slave . . . He humbled Himself becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This second exaltation of the cross thus reminds us that we are to empty ourselves the same way Christ humbled Himself. If we want to be His disciples, we must heed Jesus’ own words, pick up our cross and follow after Him. Just as it was only by humbling Himself that Jesus accomplished the Father’s will and restored us to life, so too it is only when we humble ourselves, empty our egos, seek God’s will for our lives, only then do we come to the fullness of joy.

The third and final exaltation of the Holy Cross that this feast celebrates is the exaltation that will take place at the end of time. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus Himself speaks of the Last Judgment, saying:

“the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory”
(Mt. 24:29-30).

What else could the Sign of the Son of Man be other than the Sign of the Cross?

At the end of time the Cross will appear in the heavens not as a sign of combat and struggle or as an instrument of torture, but as the “victorious standard of a king, announcing His coming” and the triumph of His glorious reign (Bl. Basil Moreau, CSC).

Still, even then, the cross will remain a sign of contradiction – the cross will “herald the division between the good and the wicked, between Heaven and Hell.” Because this exaltation of the Holy Cross reminds us that the cross is the standard by which we will all be judged.

When we see even one of the least ones carrying a cross of suffering and pain; when we encounter the hungry and the poor, the sick and the elderly, the forgotten and the abused, how have we helped bear their burden and ease their sorrow? Whenever we have helped shoulder their cross, it is Christ we have served, and whenever we have ignored and spurned them, it is Christ Himself we have rejected.

It is only in serving one another and bearing each other’s burdens that we will hear the Master say, “Come you blessed by my Father, enter into the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.”

Today’s feast celebrates three particular and specific exaltations of the Holy Cross, but in so doing it encourages us to glory in the cross of Christ each and every day of our lives. It is only in the cross of Jesus Christ that we find the hope of forgiveness and of everlasting life. And so, until the Lord comes again, we joyfully proclaim: Behold the Cross, our only hope!

Oremus

O God of love, compassion, and healing,

look on us, people of many different faiths

and traditions,

who gather today at this site,

the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness

to give eternal light and peace

to all who died here—

the heroic first-responders:

our fire fighters, police officers,

emergency service workers, and

Port Authority personnel,

along with all the innocent men and women

who were victims of this tragedy

simply because their work or service

brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion

to bring healing to those

who, because of their presence here that day,

suffer from injuries and illness.

Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families

and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Give them strength to continue their lives

with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well

of those who suffered death, injury, and loss

on the same day at the Pentagon and in

Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Our hearts are one with theirs

as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:

peace in the hearts of all men and women

and peace among the nations of the earth.

Turn to your way of love

those whose hearts and minds

are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,

overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,

we seek your light and guidance

as we confront such terrible events.

Grant that those whose lives were spared

may live so that the lives lost here

may not have been lost in vain.

Comfort and console us,

strengthen us in hope,

and give us the wisdom and courage

to work tirelessly for a world

where true peace and love reign

among nations and in the hearts of all.

--Pope Benedict XVI

Prayer at Ground Zero

New York, 20 April 2008

Back to School - Back to Business

Yes, I am still alive! Sorry for the slow posting: the past week or so has been busy with the start of the new school year and all of the parish commitments that come along with it.

The children returned to class on Tuesday the 2nd and the new school year seems to be off to a good start. We have several new teachers who seem to be fitting in quite nicely. This year I even had the privilege of celebrating the first School Mass of the year, as Fr. Joe was away again.

Since Joe was still out of town during the weekend, I had all of the Sunday Masses as well. But our permanent deacon preached all of the Masses which meant I had no homily to post! To the few of you who noticed: sorry, I'll be up and running again this weekend.

I did cut loose a little on Friday evening. The Noems, Kritina, Mary and I decided that we needed to exorcise the demons from last year's football season before a new one began. We gathered at the Noem home for a viewing of the movie RUDY and drowned our memories of the 2007 season with frosty adult beverages . . . and Papa John's pizza, a true Notre Dame tradition!  

Unfortunately, after Saturday morning we are collecting new memories that will only need purging at some later date. Of course we'll take the WIN, but it couldn't have been more foreboding for the year ahead. I was lucky enough to have Confessions and the Vigil Mass, so I only had to watch the first half of the game.

This week, I began assisting with a few of the weekday Masses at neighboring St. Charles parish. Their pastor recently retired and for the time being they only have a priest administrator who is already pastor of another nearby parish, and he serves there by himself. So I will take the Tuesday and Thursday morning Masses at St. Charles throughout the month of September.

I have been able to sneak in a little shopping this week that some of you may be interested in. I had my yearly eye exam a few weeks back and there was a slight change in my prescription, so I have been in the market for new eyeglasses and sunglasses. Yesterday Stacey Noem helped me pick out the sunglasses and I have now narrowed the eyeglasses down to two possibilities. I'll post pictures when all is said and done.

I also did some shopping at Helmer's. You'll remember that Helmer's is the haberdasher here in Portland and the source of Jim Gallagher's going away present: an authentic Tyrolean hat. Since I was the last of the triumvirate (Jim, Josh and myself) not to have a Tyrolean hat, several generous friends gave me a gift certificate to Helmer's for my birthday.  

So, I am now appropriately prepared for this weekend's Mt. Angel Oktoberfest!  Mt. Angel, Oregon is just about an hour south of Portland in the heart of farm country. It was originally settled by German Catholic immigrants and the town still celebrates that tradition each year with a massive Oktoberfest. I've gone down each year I've lived in Portland and had a blast every time. This year, we have a group of about 6 that will travel down for the festivities. A post with pictures to come!

This is the Only Song They Know

On this Labor Day holiday the University of Portland's women's soccer team hosted the defending National Champion and number-one ranked team from USC - the University of Spoiled Children.

Ever excited by the opportunity to cheer against any team from USC, the Noems and I decided that we would attend the game and round out the experience by having a tailgate party beforehand.

We had a great little lunch of fried chicken, chips, brownies, and root beer. Then we cheered the Lady Pilots onto victory!! It was a most exciting game. Though the Pilots out-played the enemy the entire game, the score was tied at 0 at the end of regulation. But in the first period of sudden-death overtime the Lady Pilots took advantage of an excellent centering pass and some confusion in front of the USC goalie and snuck a ball into the net. GOOOOOOAL!