GOING TO CONFESSION 

TO FATHER 

FRANCIS XAVIER SEELOS

What would it be like to go to confession to a Saint? Would I be nervous, anxious, scared? Would a Saint see right through me – knowing more about me than I know about myself – seeing my embarrassing behaviors and hidden prejudices? But would I also come out confession whispering, “Phew!” – having received a sacrament – having received a breath of fresh air –  having received the gift and grace that God forgives me? And in time for some sins, can I forgive myself?

What would it be like if there was a holy priest here at St. Mary’s, Annapolis, who had a great reputation as a saint – the “go to” priest for confession? What would people walking or driving down Duke of Gloucester Street think, if they saw a single line of people all the way up from the bridge over Spa Creek heading into church?

Such a priest was stationed here at St. Mary’s way back in the 1860’s. His name was Father Francis Xavier Seelos. In the literature about Father Seelos, writers keep saying lots of people wanted to go to confession to him – here at St. Mary’s, as well as in Pittsburgh, in Baltimore, Cumberland, Detroit, New Orleans, and in the many places where he preached parish missions.

As to long confession lines at St. Mary’s to get to Father Seelos, I was disappointed because I didn’t find any writer saying exactly that - especially  because I did read about  long lines of people wanting to go to confession to him in several other places where he was stationed.

Listen to what the Annals of the Baltimore Province of the Redemptorists from 1867 say about Father Seelos when he was stationed in New Orleans, his last assignment. “Here, as in all other places where he had been, he soon became a universal favorite. Germans, English, French, Creoles, negroes, mulattoes, all admired and loved F. Seelos. Though he was by no means a great proficient in English, and still less so in French, there were hundreds of highly educated Creoles and Americans who came miles, and stood for hours before his confessional, in order to have the happiness to make a general confession to him. And we all remarked that whoever went to him once, would never afterwards go to any other director. It was a common belief among the people that he could read the secrets of the heart.” (p. 317, Vol. 5)

It was at St. Philomena’s Parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1845-1854), that Seelos’ reputation as a great confessor began. It was his second assignment as a Redemptorist. Perhaps it was because he was stationed with a future Saint – John Neumann – whom he went to confession to – that he knew what it was like to go to confession to a saint.

Francis Xavier Seelos was a creative preacher, but it seems to me, he loved being in the wooden confession box more than the wooden pulpit. But he was not wooden. He was warm and compassionate. Being a Redemptorist, he knew our motto and vision statement, “Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio.” With Christ there is copious or fullness of redemption.

In Father Carl Hoegerl and Alicia Von Stamwitz’s book, A Life of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, they mention a sermon by Father Seelos where he says: “I here publicly give you permission to bring it up to me in the confessional and to call me a liar, if you come to confession and don’t find me receiving you in all mildness.” In other words, you might be filled with fear and trembling, but I promise peace (p. 49) – and if you don’t experience that, yell, “Liar!”

It was great to read that, because being good confessors is supposed to be a key trait of Redemptorists. Our founder, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, not only has the honorary titles of Doctor of Prayer and Patron Saint of Moral Theologians, he also has the title of Patron Saint of Confessors. He wrote a whole book for priests on how to be a good confessor. He wanted Redemptorists to bring Christ’s redeeming love to folks – and one key way was to experience God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation – still usually called “confession”.

So when people went to confession to Father Francis Xavier Seelos here at St. Mary’s, they were going to confession to a wonderful and warm saint.

Whenever I sit in a confessional at St. Mary’s, I think about all the Redemptorist priests who heard confessions here in Annapolis for the past 150 years. I say to myself: Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos heard confessions in this very church – well not in these boxes – but in this church. I read in Robert L. Worden’s book which just came out, “St. Mary’s Church in Annapolis, Maryland: A Sesquicentennial History, 1853-2003” (pp. 125-126) that the present confessionals were constructed in 1914. Henry Robert, our sacristan, took me outside the church and pointed out how the outside walls of our church on the prayer garden side or the street side protrude where the present confessionals are.

Sometimes when I see people lined up to go to confession, I reflect about how going to confession has helped me all through my life. I begin by thinking about going to confession as a kid in the Redemptorist Parish of OLPH, Brooklyn.  I’d tell the usual kid stuff – “distobeying”, lying, stealing, fighting with my brother – and at times probably made up some stuff to make it sound good. In time, I didn’t have to make things up – graduating to sins of pride and laziness, etc.

I also remember what happened one Saturday afternoon when I was a kid. It was back in the 1950’s, when Catholics went to confession a lot more than today. Every Saturday eight confession boxes were in operation in our big parish. That afternoon every priest had a line except for one confession box. The light was on – meaning there was a priest in there - but nobody was going to him. I didn’t know why, but I guess I had a kid’s intuition: don’t go near the lion’s den. Then a man came into church – stood in the back for a moment – measured the lines – and perhaps because he was in a rush – headed for the confession box that had no line. Wrong move. Suddenly, everyone in the church smiled as well as being shocked, because they heard quite clearly the priest in the “forbidden box” yelling at the guy who thought he was making a great move.

“Woo! Uh oh! O no!” And I must have said to myself, “If I ever become a priest, I’ll never do that.” It was the same thing I said about a grouch on our block. We’d be playing stickball on the street. There weren’t that many cars back then – hey it was just after World War II and New York City had great public transportation – so our street was not that busy. The black macadam street was our “Field of Dreams”. Sewer covers in the center of the street were home plate and second base; two trees were first and third base. It was great, until a ball went into the grouch’s front yard. That was a “No! No!” The rule was: don’t get caught by the grouch trying to retrieve a Spalding – that wonderful red bouncy ball every kid loved in the 1950’s. And when the grouch grouched, I’m sure everyone said, “When I grow up, I won’t yell at kids who hit a ball into my yard.”

Was Francis Xavier Seelos yelled at – or did he hear the stories every priest hears about someone leaving the Catholic Church because some priest yelled at them? I don’t know, but I do know, he loved hearing confessions.

In fact, when he was semi-conscious, dying of yellow fever in New Orleans at the age of 48, he thought the Redemptorist priests and brothers around his bed were there to go to confession, and he would start with the confession prayers.

Confession is good for the soul. The sacrament or reconciliation is a great gift. It’s a chance to name our sins, to confess them, and hopefully in time to get beyond them.

Fritz Kunkel once described the purpose of confession as: “To bring to light the unknown, the unconscious darkness, and the underdeveloped creativity of our deeper layers.” Certainly people who receive the sacrament of reconciliation down through the years have had this experience. It begins with the call and need for confession – the call to sit and pray in a church for a while, and then to stand on line with other sinners – to articulate one’s sins – the roots of which are deep – and often need a lifetime of weeding from the garden of our soul.

Jesus was off on helping people discover forgiveness and healing. And he tells us to forgive seventy times seven times. He also said, “Let him without sin cast the first stone.”

Hopefully, all of us have had wonderful experiences in the sacrament of confession – experiencing Christ and his forgiveness seventy times seven times – and if any of us have experienced some rock throwing from a priest, that we can forgive him and get beyond that horror.

Everyone knows the priests here at St. Mary’s are not saints. Hopefully everyone who goes to confession here will taste a bit of the joy and “Good News” people who went confession to Father Francis Xavier Seelos experienced. He’s has not been canonized a Saint yet, but he is half-way there, being beatified on April 9, 2000. Hopefully the priests here, keep moving forward one step at a time – as a result of the example the long line of great Redemptorists who have gone before them. 

[From Moorings, Father Andy Costello]

SIT DOWN WITH

BLESSED SEELOS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Sit Down With Blessed Seelos.”

Today is the feast of Blessed Francis X. Seelos - a former pastor of this parish - one step away from being named a saint in our church.

When you have a chance - when you are at St. Mary’s Church - if nobody is around - head for the Marian Garden and sit down by yourself on the Seelos Bench - with Blessed F.X. Seelos.

WHAT TO TALK ABOUT - WHAT TO PRAY ABOUT?

It’s just a statue - a nice one at that - but do what I see lots of people doing: they sit down next to Blessed Seelos.

What to talk about - what to pray about?  Here are 4 suggestions:

1) MAKE A GOOD CONFESSION

The first step thing to do is to make a good confession.

I’ve read 3 lives of Seelos and one of the things that stand out is that people loved to go to him for confession. They said he could read minds. I don’t know about that - but he had great insight into people - and people loved to go to him.

I wrote an article for Moorings about Seelos and Confession and I don’t know if I put it on my blog - but I’ll check that out today - if I have some time.

Sometimes when I see someone in St. Mary’s Prayer Garden sitting on the Seelos Bench by themselves next to the bronze statue of Seelos, I walk by and say, “He hears confessions.”

Sit there and make a good confession to him of your life - where you’ve gone right and where you’ve gone wrong and ask his blessings in prayer.

And from time to time, go to confession in the box or confession room. Hopefully you get a good confessor.

2) PRAY FOR A SENSE OF HUMOR

As you probably know Francis X. Seelos was known for his sense of humor - trying to get people to laugh. Life can be funny - and if you don’t have a funny bone, get a transplant. Sit next to Seelos and rib him - elbow him - laugh with him.  Sit rib to rib and ask God for that funny bone. Hey God took Adam’s rib out of him and made Eve - and that’s always been a great story - with lots of humor.

3) PRAY FOR FAITH

Seelos came to America because while in school he read about the Redemptorists working in America. We came here in 1832. Redemptorists wrote letters and visited seminarians and schools in Austria and Germany and begged young men to become priests, to become Redemptorists, to come and serve the church of America.

Next week, next Thursday, October 11^th, the pope is beginning a year of faith for our church. It’s going to go longer than a year - till November 24, 2013. It’s the 50^th Anniversary of the great council of the last century, the Second Vatican Council. It’s the 20^th anniversary of the Catechism of the church. So the pope is asking all dioceses, all parishes, all Catholic Schools to work and pray for an increase in one’s faith.

So sit on the Seelos bench and pray the simple prayer in the Gospel of John when Thomas prayed, “Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.”

4)  PRAY FOR THE ABILITY TO CHANGE - TO ADJUST TO LIFE

Blessed Seelos came from Germany to America. He was stationed in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cumberland, Annapolis, Detroit, and New Orleans. He was willing to go to where he could help the most.

He not only had to adjust to different places, he also had to adjust to different folks. Some Redemptorists thought he was too easy going - so they didn’t want him in charge of students. He said, “No problem. There is plenty of work to do everywhere.”

CONCLUSION

So that's 4 suggestions for a good conversation with Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. I'll be looking to see you sitting next to him on the Seelos bench in our very unique Marian Garden. 

LAUGHTER

Quote for Today - Oct. 5,  2012

"God cannot be solemn, or he would not have blessed man with the incalculable gift of laughter."

Sydney Harris

I'M  GLAD

Quote for Today  - October 4,  2012

"The repercussion of one person living in stubborn gladness are incalculable."

Martha Beck, O Magazine,  p. 67, September 2011




St. Francis of Assisi - Today is his feast day. He lived from around 1181 to 1226. His repercussions are still felt today. I'm never heard him described as glad - but I also never heard him described as not glad. As i reflect upon his life that's the theme that hits me: gladness. Joy to the world the Lord has come - once more to me - and I share that joy to the world. This does not mean that someone is glad about suffering - and suffering came to Francis - but underneath it all I sense and see in Francis of Assisi a stubbornness - a gladness - a joy - a peach - in both seeing the cross and seeing the birds of the air. "Oh how they sing!"



Picture on top: a fragment of a fresco in the lower part of the basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.

THE PROBLEM OF JOB:

TO BE CONTINUED

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily or thoughts for this 26^th  is, “The Problem of Job: To Be Continued.”

The first reading for today and this week - all 6 days - Monday till Saturday is from the Book of Job.

We have a reading from Job on two Sundays, the 5^th and 12^th Sundays - in Ordinary Time, Year B - and we can have Job in two other readings - one from the Mass for those Suffering Famine or Hunger - which we rarely hear and one from funeral Masses - a reading that is often picked - Job 19: 23 to 27a - and you might be familiar with that from a family funeral. That’s the text that has the message

“I know my Vindicator or Redeemer or Avenger lives

and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;

Whom I myself shall see:

my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold him;

And from my flesh I shall see God;

my inmost being is consumed with longing.”

That’s it. That’s all we hear from Job in the readings here at Mass - and the 6 readings from this week are every other year - and some of those 6 are bumped because of feast days - like this week.

So a  bottom line message would be to read sometime in our lifetime the Book of Job.

SUFFERING: TO BE CONTINUED

As you know the Book of Job presents the problem of suffering - a problem that is part of every life - more or less.

The title of my homily is: “The Problem of Job: To Be Continued.”

I gave it that title because sometimes we grasp answers to the problem of suffering and sometimes we don’t.

Suffering - knocks on our door - and we don’t want to answer that door.

The Book of Job has speeches, debates, comments, and questions: They are all about how we humans deal with death and suffering.

Like Job - each of us has to open our own door - and face those messengers and messages that are the Bad News. If Gospel comes from the old English word, “Godspell” - “Good News” -  Job deals with “Badspells” - “Bad News”.

Down through the centuries folks have sat with Job and talked to God about “Badspells” in life.

The Book of Job invites us - tells us - it’s okay to scream at God - yell at God, “How come” God?   Some of the Psalms as well as the movie and play, “Fiddler on the Room” tell us the same thing.

We might not get answers, but we get permission to yell - scream - and say, “God I got doubts about you!” or "Why do I have these torments!" or what have you?

The Book of Job also gives us lines - prayers - screams to make - like, “I know that my Vindicator lives” [Job 19:25] “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” [Job 13:15].

The Book of Job tells of one person’s sufferings - but then it’s put on stage - and developed - so it can deal with everyone’s sufferings. Scholars voice different opinions where the Book of Job comes from. I like the opinion that it was an ancient document from well before 1000 years before Christ - from another mid-East culture - that Israelite writers took and developed it - to help folks deal with the bad things that happen to people good and bad.

CONCLUSION

Put reading the Book of Job or reading it again on your bucket list because “suffering: to be continued.”

+++++

Notes: Picture on top - Job and His Daughters [1800] by William Blake [1757-1827]; picture in the middle, Job's Tormentors [1793] - also by William Blake.

ENEMY

Quote for Today - October 3,  2012


"Everyone carries an enemy in their own heart."

Danish Proverb



Questions:

Name your's right now and down through the years?

Have any of them become non-enemies?

Isn't it a bummer?

Jesus had enemies - so did he practice what he preached about how to deal with one's enemies?

GUARDIAN ANGELS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Guardian Angels.”

Today - October 2^nd - we celebrate their feast.

Last night in preparing this homily I did some homework - some reading up - on “angels” and “Guardian Angels”.  What’s your read on angels?

FOR STARTERS

For starters angels are very much part of our Sacred Scriptures. We hear of them in all kinds of stories and situations in both Testaments.

Some angels have names - most don’t.

Some angels of God are destroying angels - wiping out enemies.

Some angels come to earth to help - to lead - to stand by - to camp themselves around folks to protect people. They are also pictured as part of the upper heavens giving praise to God - all the time - and when we pray we enter into their ongoing praise and music to God.  

They are part of the Hosanna singing “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.”

So they are very much part of our scriptures as well as our tradition.

We also find them mentioned in Islam, Mormonism, and various other religions.

In our Bible one of their key roles  - besides guarding and protecting us, is that they are messengers.

They are usually pictured with wings - because they seem to fly everywhere and flutter over someone - and then give them a message.

HERE IN THIS CHURCH

Here in this church they are holding holy water in the back of the church as you come in. There are images of angels up here around the tabernacle and on the edge of the old altar. We see them  in the stained glass windows - in the OLPH picture - up near the ceiling -. Evidently they can fly.

ANGELIC QUESTIONS?

Where are you with angels? Are they part of your spirituality? Are they part of your spiritual practices and prayers?

What are your wonderings about angels?

What are your questions about angels: good and bad angels?

What was the angel movement from about 10 or was it 15 years ago - when there were so many angels for sale - in all kinds of shapes and forms? It certainly was a money maker.  I received two little angels named “Andrew” - and I keep them on a book shelf - gathering dust - along with another tiny angel without a name. This chubby cheeked creature has a little card saying, “I’m Angel Cheeks, your Guardian Angel. I will be there when nobody else is, to care, kiss away tears and bring smiles on rainy days. And always - to be a very best friend. Because everybody needs somebody … That’s Me!”   Made in China.

If I was an artist, I thought of this last night, how would I sculpt or paint an angel? Answer: I’m not sure. Would I paint a ray of light, a hand on a shoulder, a bug in an ear, a push in the back, an index finger to the face?  That question gave me an understanding why artists often picture them as humans - but with wings.

I wonder why Protestantism rejected the Catholic practices about angels? The literature against Catholics said that they worshiped angels - along with Mary and the saints - and that’s idolatry. Catholics responded with a no. We just ask for their help, because we need all the help we can get. I was surprised about the Protestant attack on angels - because they are very scriptural.

As I read up on this last night I spotted some strange stories like in the middle ages relic savers would have objects like a branch from the burning bush of Moses and a feather off the wing of Gabriel the archangel. Boccaccio [1313-1375] told the story of a Friar who walked around saying he too had one of the feathers that dropped of the Angel Gabriel when he dropped into the bedroom of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation.

That kind of stuff didn’t help Catholicism. And I agree with the criticism of the recent angel period that was non-denominational. Angel were being sold as these chubby faced clean feathered images. The criticism was that they might give you a feeling of the sacred - or the holy -  but there was no challenge - like that of dealing with a real person.

CONCLUSION

As to one’s Guardian Angel what I think would be helpful is to ask one’s Guardian Angel for guidance and to guard us from all harm.

I also think what would help is not to picture them as a tiny feathery creature - like a cherubic faced doll in a white dress - hovering over our right shoulder. Would it be better to imagine one’s angel as a voice - an inner voice?  Even that is tangible - and sensible. At this point, I think a good image for one’s Guardian Angel would be a voice that challenges us with messages each day on how to be a better Christian - a messenger like Gabriel who came to Mary and called her to  bring Christ into our world. So too us. Amen.