Today, August
25th, we Redemptorists celebrate the life of Blessed Dominick Trcka (1886-1959). He was a Redemptorist who served in many places in Eastern Europe as well as in the Ukraine. He worked in both the Latin and Byzantine rites.
He died on March 23, 1959 of
pneumonia in the horrible Leopaldo prison in Czechoslovakia - now in Slovakia .
While in prison the Christmas before - he was heard singing Christmas Carols. This got him put into solitary confinement - which was cold and damp - causing his death - along with all the other tortures he suffered.
Pope John Paul
II declared him blessed on November 4, 2001 - also having declared him a martyr
earlier that year - April 24, 2001.
Leopoldov Prison, Slovakia
a riot in March 1990 five warders murdered in November 1991
The Leopoldov Prison used to be one of the closest prisons in the former Czechoslovakia. Criminals sentenced to longtime penalties and state criminals, sentenced in the 1950s, were doing time there. Dr. Gustáv Husák, the former President of Czechoslovakia, was kept under arrest there, too.
The prison was built as a fortress in the second half of the 17th century. It is a starshaped fortress with two gateways. The external walls are ten meters high and twenty-five meters wide. Each gateway was equiped with a drawbrigde. There was a small brewery and a cowshed there.
The very first riot breaks out on April 23rd, 1689. Some of the freelances make head against the deputy base commander. They occupy the gateways and want to take the deputy base commander. He draws the sword and pinks one of the freelancers. The others get frightened and fall back. The riot is suppressed by the Leopoldov commissioner, Jakub Mochmayer. The risen freelancers are caught and brought to justice. On June 19th, 1689, two ring leaders are sentenced to death, the rest of the rebels are chastised.
The gateway
The fortress is changed into a prison in 1855. A kitchen, a laundry and a factory building are built there. The southern part is used as the prison, the northern part is used as the dormitory for the clarks and the warders. The architecturally unique building from the 17th century is under cover of the Relic Authority and stays unchanged till March 1990. The prison capacity is 2,500 prisoners. All of them are under the most strick prison rules (the 3rd reformative training).
On January 1st, 1990, Václav Havel, the newly elected President, proclaims the biggest amnesty in the history of Czechoslovakia. 23,260 out of 31,000 prisoners are released in several weeks. 652 prisoners are released from Leopoldov Prison. Dagmar Burešová, D. C. L., the newly established Minister of Justice, even wants to close down the prison...
The prison on fire (a picture from the Police videorecording)
The riot breaks out on March 15th, 1990. 217 prisoners who are not concerned in the amnesty start their hunger strike and drive out the warders from the billeting area. Some other prisoners join them and they take possession of the kitchen and the magazine. The foodstuff there is worth 1,5 million CZK. They gain control of the whole prison, put up the barricade and start to arm with stabbing and cutting weapons made from engine plants which belog to TOS Trenčín and Liberec fabric combine. The engine plants remains are destroyed then. They make their own frangible grenades in case of defence. The grenades are filled with petrol and oil taken from the prison car fleet. They even make their own flamethrower. 150 prisoners who refused to participate in the plundering and destroying of the prison are take by hostage. The rebels refuse to negotiate and insist on discharge.
The frangible grenades - the prisoners' defence
On March 28th, 1990, from 09:30 a. m. to 05:00 p. m., Andrej Sámel, D. C. L., the then Slovakian Undersecretary of Justice, and the prosecuting attorney are acredit to make the Leopoldov rebels give up. They give the President's and the government agents' effort to satisfy within the law all the rebels' demands. The rebels are warned if they do not obey the police calls to stop the riots, force will be applied. The rebels swear at them and start throwing the frangible grenades in response to their calls. They set some places on fire finally.
512 policemen from Trnava, 100 policemen from the Police Academy (Bratislava), 62 members of Specwar Team and 350 members of the Prison Guard are concerned in suppressing the riots. Three police helicopters, 12 vans, 23 pump water tender and 80 police dogs are used in the suppression. 200 aid men are ready in a prison hospital and three blood-transfusion units.
The most aggressive group of prisoners
The most aggressive group of prisoners barricade on the roof of a prison building and set the entrance on fire. They store with flamethrower. Two hostage-prisoners are chosen to be burnt to death on the roof just to stop the police forces. Both of them are rescued from the roof under a dramatic circumstances by the police helicopter.
The rebels throw burning pallets and frangible grenades out of the windows at the policemen below. They throw some heavy objects from the roof. The rebels are equiped with sharp-edged iron rods, daggers, machetes, knuckledusters or just with knives or razor blades. The riots are suppressed after two hours and a half and all the rebels are put into alternate prisons. More than 200 murderers are among them...
The rebels give it up
A dead prisoner is found in one of the buildings after the fight. The autopsy proves that he died in explosion. "His home-made bomb" is thought to explode while being handled uncarefully. Twenty-nine rebels are injured. Eleven policemen suffered an injury too. One of them is wounded very badly. The damage to the buildings reaches 30 million CZK. The prison itself becomes completely unserviceable. There are eleven buildings. Five of them are burnt down. The factory buildings are destroyed completely. It was the largest riot in the history of Czechoslovakian prison service. Tibor Polgári is proved to be the ring leader and a self-proclaimed prison governor...
The politicians and "the democratic" journalists comment on the televised suppression spots. They complain both about "the police brutality" during the suppression and about the fact that the rebels were naked in those spots. The reason is simple: a naked prisoner cannot hide a weapon on his body… Although the foreign experts speak about a high quality and professionalism in dealing with the suppression, Col. Sámel, D. C. L., the officer in charge, is run off his job.
A prisoner being handcuffed
On January 24th, 1992, Bratislava district attorney charges 73 mutineers with 32 crimes. The trial starts on October 15th, 1992 and takes place in Leopoldov Prison, in a reconstructed cinema. 33 solicitors are present there. 290 witnesses are heard, including the then high state officers - Ján Langoš, Richard Sacher and Vladimír Mečiar. All of them visited the prison during the riots of their own will and are said to promise the prisoner to be discharged. On April 21st, 1993, Jozef Holič, D. C. L., the preciding judge of the Bratislava Regional Court pronounces the judgement: 345 years and 10 month for 61 mutineers. The trial took place for more than six months. A eighteen-months imprisonment is the minimum sentence, a 14.5-year imprisonment is the maximum sentence. Five of the accused are exempted from blame. There are 105 prison warders to insure the order during the trial. The legal charges worth 3.5 million CZK...
Tibor Polgári, the prisoner at the trial - "the prison governor" during the riot
Another shocking event happens in Leopoldov on November 23rd, 1991, short before 8 p. m. Seven prisoners decide to escape from the prison. They work out a plan and they fulfil it to a ribbon. Tibor Polgári (30), a prisoner and "a self-proclaimed prison governor", hits František Sloboda's head (a warder) and another prisoner, Miloš Uriga (22), stabs the warder's chest seven times by a "home-made" knife. They strip the dead warder off and Polgári goes into his uniform. Polgári, Uriga and five more prisoners attack and bind two warders and steal their uniforms and the grate keys. Plogári and Uriga break into the control room near the front-gate and stab the warders (Igor Jošt, Milan Galbavý, Marian Zenner and Milan Černý) to death. The oldest warder is fifty, the youngest one is twenty-two.
The murdered warder
Tibor Polgári stabs to death three of them. Two warders survives just due to an early first aid. The intruders get possession of two machine guns and four pistols in the control room. Armed Polgári and Uriga return to the five co-prisoners guarding the bound warders. They take a warder by hostage and leave the prison. A knife jabbed in the head of a warder illustrates Polgári's extreme cruelty. The warders, according to the unexpired rule, had no gun on them while being attacked by the prisoners.
The fugitives use the guns to attack and rob the drivers of their cars. Several people are hurt. They even wound a driver who lends them a helping hand after their crashing into a tree with a stolen car. They want to escape to Poland and then to Australia. All the fugitives are captured in a wide police operation within twenty hours. Tibor Polgári is the only wounded - he is shot up when he tries to shoot at the policemen from the stolen machine gun. He calls it "a self-defence" at the trial... The condemned involved in the escape:
Ondrej Harvan (30) sentenced to a twenty-three-year imprisonment for a murder and a dacoity,
Dalibor Bajger (20) sentenced to an eleven-year imprisonment for a murder,
Tibor Polgári (30) sentenced to a nine-year imprisonment for a dacoity and a blackmail,
Vladimír Duda (25) sentenced to an eight-year imprisonment for robberies,
Miloš Uriga (22) sentenced to a seven-year imprisonment for a robbery,
Bartolomej Botoš (26) sentenced to a ten-year imprisonment for violent crimes,
Vladislav Fedák (21) sentenced to a four-year imprisonment for robberies.
Tibor Polgári at the trial
Ondrej Harvan, Tibor Polgári and Miloš Uriga are sentenced for murdering the warders to life imprisonment by the Regional Court in Bratislava on February 2nd, 1993. Vladimír Duda is about to spend thirteen more years in prison, Dalibor Bajger and Vladimír Fedák are sentenced to a fifteen-year imprisonment and Bartolomej Botoš is sentenced to an eighteen-year imprisonment. Ondrej Harvan commits a suicide two years later. Tibor Polgári has become a real hero to the Slovakian half-world.
The cause of the Leopoldov riot and murdering five warders can be seen in amateurich decisions of the then ministers of justice and the then politicians attempt to "humanize" the prison service. By the way, in the USA, the prisoners starting their sentence sign a declaration warning them of a real danger of being shoot to death in case of a revolt or an escape attempt. The American statistics prove that hardly any fugitive survives their attempt to escape...
(The photographs of the riot come from the Police videorecording)
a word is sometimes so so ..., so sometimes, I just don’t know about words. A word is usually just a word - usually in black letters on a white page. But
when spoken - with gesture
and sound - the way a word is said - makes all the differences.
It can be written in blueberry jam
or razor or barbed wire or a word can be like a knife that can cut a ripe peach just right - or it can stab a heart that is hurting. So God our Father, is that why You spoke Jesus into flesh, so he can be in our mouth when we meet and greet or non-greet each other?
The title of my homily for this 21st Tuesday
in Ordinary Time is, “Motive?”
“Motive” with a question mark.
Motive?
WHOLE GAGGLE
There is a whole gaggle - a whole flock - of possible
motives going on in the air - in any given situation.
When we are watching or reading a mystery or a detective
novel or TV show, the program often starts with a murder. NCIS has the formula
down perfect. The opening scene is always a murder or killing - and hints are
given if we catch them - who’s the bad guy - or gal - usually guy.
In the back of our mind as well as the NCIS team is the
question: motive.
Get that, get the killer.
What are the basic motives? Revenge, money, fear, anger?
What are the basic motives going on in life?
How about: to impress, to protect, hunger, thirst, to be loved,
to be understood?
How about to be recognized, to prove to myself and those
around me, I worthwhile, I’m worth something, I’m here, I’m smart, I’m not
stupid?
Then there are the twists in motives: to be bad and to
prove it or to prove that my parents were right, that I’ll never amount to nothing, I do nothing.
TODAY’S PSALM
RESPONSE
Today’s Psalm Response is classic Biblical Psychology.
“You have searched me and you know me, Lord.” From Psalm 139.
O Lord, you have probed me and you know me; you know when
I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and
my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar.
“You have searched me and you know me, Lord.”
“Even, before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you
know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand
upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain.”
“You have searched me and you know me, Lord.”
Yet - hopefully - we’ll calmly work with the Lord - and walk with the Lord - when it comes to
motives - and that we get to know ourselves - especially our urges to be a
better self.
At some point, hopefully, we also move from judging others as a way to
avoid walking and talking with ourselves. Jesus said that best when he talked
about seeing specks in our sister or brother’s eye and miss the plank in our
own eye.
I assume the plan is to walk with the Lord - when it
comes to judging motives. Here’s where humility and humble prayer comes into
our motives - and understandings - hopefully…. as we grow into goodness,
niceness, greatness and grace.
TODAY’S FIRST
READING
Today’s first reading from 1st Thessalonian from the year 50 or 51 - the earliest New Testament document - deals with Paul’s visit
to two cities. [Cf. 2:1-8]
Philippi gave him grief and rejection. They gave him bad mouth.
Thessalonika gave him joy and acceptance. They gave him
good mouth, good words.
Save guy - different reactions. I’m sure this has happened to us. We’ve been
there - when it comes to how we are accepted or rejected by family members or
co-workers,
TODAY’S GOSPEL
In today’s gospel from Matthew 23: 23-26 - Jesus goes after the Pharisees. Once
more they are being picky, picky, picky - off on the tiny and not being aware
of the big things we should be off on: mercy and fidelity.
I assume the Pharisee inside us has the motive to look
good - and keep the focus on the other guy - to make him or her look bad.
Don’t we want to hide our bad. Don’t people dump
everything in the closet or the bedroom
- when guests are coming. We clean the outside of the cup and dish - in hopes
nobody looks inside where it’s dirty and where there are our disasters.
Keeping up appearances is our program - whereas we should
calmly investigate and do the forensics on our own motives and pray for Jesus to help us to clean
up our closets - basements - and inner rooms - so that charity and good news
will come out of our mouths and being.
CONCLUSION
As today’s first reading ends, let us pray to be
determined to share with each other not only the gospel of God, but our very
selves as well, so dearly beloved we have become to each other.
Monday, August 24, 2015
SEEING IS BELIEVING
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this feast of St. Bartholomew is,
“Seeing Is Believing.”
In today’s gospel from John 1: 45-51 we see the word see
or saw 6 times.
Seeing is a significant word for John - appearing 107
times - but the Gospel of John uses 5 different words for “to see”.
It means knowing, believing…. It means physically seeing ….
It means insight ….
We had a priest in the seminary - Teddy Meehan - who said
all the time, “Do you see?” He wanted us to see what he saw. Don’t we all? We nick-named
him, “Do You See?”
We counted how many times he’d ask that question in just
one class. I remember one class he said it, 247 times.
Do you see?
In the gospel of John the key message is to see Jesus.
The message is to follow Jesus.
The message is that Jesus is the way, the truth and the
life. Jesus is the door, the gate, the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Living Bread
and Wine. Jesus is the light of the world. I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the Son of God. The Father and I are one. I am life giving water.
Do you see?
NATHANIEL
Here in early part of John, the first chapter, we have 2
invitation scenes or situations. Andrew
discovers Jesus when someone says to him, “Come and see.” Philip says in today’s gospel to Nathaniel,
“Come and see.”
Nathaniel like Andrew, like Peter, come and see Jesus -
to see if he is the one.
Jesus sees Nat and says, “Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.” He’s not
a divisive or a divided person. And Nathaniel is surprised and says, “How do
you know me” and Jesus says, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Under the fig tree means - I saw you sitting
there at your house. They think he comes from Cana and Cana like Nazareth,
you’d know every person in the village by name.
SEEING IS
BELIEVING
Sit in your home - at your house - here in this house -
under this fig tree - which has figs, Christ, hanging from it. Sit under this
cross - this eat this fruit, this wheat, these grapes, this break, this wine -
and take an eat. This is my body…. this is my blood.
Do you get that? Do you see that?
In this gospel text - just the first chapter of John, we
see Jesus as the Son of God as well as the Son of Man.
In this gospel
text - just the first chapter of John, we see Jesus as the ladder - that we can ascend to heaven and connect
with God the Father - and come back and connect with each other.
COME AND SEE
When I read the
gospel of John I get a quote from Teilhard de Chardin, “The whole of life can
be found in the verb to see.”
Do you see?
CONCLUSION
I had a nice
personal moment this morning at 8:30.
I’m sitting there
at the Kids Mass in the St. Mary’s Schoolyard. It’s very bright - as I’m
looking out and seeing 700 or so kids - or more - so I close my eyes slightly
to be more comfortable in the light.
Surprise I see
through my slightly opened and slightly closed eyes - grey light. I see what looks like one
of those sonograms - showing what's going on in a mother’s womb - with a baby inside.
What hits me next is
that I am alive. This is life. I am alive from conception to birth to death -
and I have been blessed with the wonderful world of in between. Christ is here
in all this.
I say a prayer of
thanks for seeing the whole mystery of life as if I’m in the womb of the world.
It’s all here - right in front of me - especially in all these elementary
school kids who have their whole life in front of them.
Then came the
question: Do I see Jesus here? Then I hear the answer, “Come and see.”
Then the prayer, “Thank you Jesus. Amen - Amen.”
August 24, 2015
WORST SERMON EVER HEARD
After Mass, he stood there in the back of church
as I was saying “Good bye! Have a great week!”
and shaking hands to all those on their way out.
Finally, it was just the two of us. He said, “Can I
tell you something?” “Sure,” I said. So he said,
“That was the worst sermon I ever heard.”
Of course that would catch me off guard.
Of course I said “Sorry.” Then I thought inwardly,
“Bring back all those people who just went by
and said, “Nice sermon, Father. Thanks for your
words.” I also thought of the old saying, “You can
get 20 compliments and 1 complaint. Guess what you’re going to remember?”
What he wanted, he said, was to have the preacher challenge us - get us angry - and then to go out and make a difference. I said, “That’s not me! I like to be liked. I don’t want people to spot me but to spot themselves - look into themselves - and see where they are being called.” It didn’t make any difference. I wasn’t his cup of tea. Like the people in the gospel we had for yesterday, he walked away. Like Jesus I needed to tell someone about what happened to me. This morning I woke up still thinking about the moment - so I assume his comments were wrestling inside me
all night - and I said
Picture on top: Here I am falling
on my butt - while skating on
our pond in our Minor Seminary,
St. Mary's North East, Pa, in the
early 1950;s
Sunday, August 23, 2015
SUBMISSION
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 21st Sunday in
Ordinary Time [B] is, “Submission.”
The topic was triggered especially by today’s second
reading from the Letter to the Ephesians.
It has the “hot button word,” “subordinate” - as in, “Wives should be
subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.”
Some people hear that and don’t go any further.
Evidently the text has been used in arguments about who’s
right, who’s wrong, who has to do what, sexuality, control, power in marriage -
and in a family.
The original text comes down to us from the Greek. Obviously,
we hear in English Language Masses the English translation.
I would translate the Greek verb, “HUPEIKO” with the
English word, “submit” - but our translators chose “subordinate”.
I’ll submit to that. I’m subordinate to the Church
authorities - above me.
With a semi-smile on my face, I would think “subordinate”
is softer than “submit” - so I wonder if
the translators chose “subordinate” - to be a bit more PC correct - which is another
“hot button phrase” - so as not to be trumped or jumped on for being insensitive
to women.
In spite of that, I would think people would understand
the meaning of the word “submit” more than they would “subordinate”.
EPHESIANS
5:21-32
So for some, today’s second reading is a “hot button
Bible text.” They sense it’s telling
wives that they are not equal partners in a marriage. “Be subordinate to your husband” - then it adds
“as to the Lord.” God is God. Our husband is certainly not God.
It’s a real topic to think about - because when talking
to couples - I often hear men say that the two most important words in marriage
are, “Yes dear!” I would think the more important two words would be, “Let’s
talk!” - “Let’s listen.” - and “Love
you!” and “Wow - thanks!”
I know of a woman - in another state - who calls the
rectory when this text is coming up. Her question to a priest is, “Are you going
to read that text this Sunday?”
Probably not that clear what’s this all about, he might say, “Well, we’ll use the cut down
version.”
Or we might have a stale mate. Smile.
It’s my sense that this battle is on the other side of
the glass ceiling and people have come to terms with the issues involved in
their own way. I also sense we’ll get to where we’re going to get in time -
women’s ordination, etc. etc. etc. I would always hope our church will say these
2 word sentences, “Let’s talk.” “Let’s listen.”
[We congratulate first time servers here at St. Mary’s -
so I did that to a young girl server one Sunday and added to be cute, “Maybe someday
you’ll be pope.” In another situation I might say to a young girl, “Someday you
might be president”. Well I got a phone call complaining about I’m for women’s
ordination. I assume that will come - long after I’m dead - but I’m not going
to say that from the pulpit - otherwise that’s all some people will hear and it
will kill my homily further.]
BRUCE MALINA - CREIGHTON
UNIVERSITY
Years ago I attended a one week seminar on scripture and
one of the speakers was Bruce Malina of Creighton University.
The issue of woman’s place, rights, respect, recognition
in the church came up.
Looking back, thinking back, I believe Bruce Malina said something like
this: My field is the first century Mediterranean
basin. Woman’s place was in the back
room and in the kitchen. Men’s place was outside - smoking and talking - with
their tools leaning against the side of their homes.
Next he said you can want different, but this is the way
it was in the world of the First Century New Testament.
Then he showed us an old documentary - a black and white
movie - of a small out of the way Greek island from around the early 1930’s.
Sure enough the men were out front - and the women were in the back rooms and
in the kitchen.
If you want to read a good book on all this from a
culture different than here in Annapolis read The Bookseller of Kabul. It
was written by the Norwegian journalist Asne Seiersgtad. She got imbedded into
the home of bookseller in Kabul, Afghanistan - and her book helped me
understand a lot more about a woman’s place in other cultures.
SUBMISSION
The title of my homily is, “Submission.”
Now that’s a topic worth thinking about - worth
reflecting upon.
Submission.
That’s a skill we all need.
One of our biggest problems in life is our inability to
submit.
I know I was always last minute in finishing and
submitting a term paper.
I am still the same in finishing homilies - like this one
that I submit to you today.
Submission - if you come to Mass you have to submit to
the person in the pulpit and the altar that you get. If you don’t want to, you
can read the bulletin or your own inner tapes.
Submission - how good are you with that one?
I know some people can’t submit to traffic jams.
I know some people can’t submit to wrinkles and aging.
I know some people can’t submit to life. It happens.
How about cancer, death, rejection?
How about reality?
The ice cream cone - even two scoops of butter almond - melts and drips
- and disappears into our bodies as we eat it - or onto our t-shirt or the
sidewalk.
Everything comes to an end. Kids go off to college.
Summer ends. School starts again.
The clock keeps ticking. Morning arrives and we got to
get up to go to work.
Horror happens - divorces happen - people cut us off in
getting out of the church parking lot - people cut us off in the middle of the
story we’re telling. People yawn. Some
people are not polite and tell us, “You’ve told that joke ten times now.
Hello!”
Submission.
Of course, sometimes we have to resist - protest - yell - change - make moves - talk to each
other. “Do you know a good lawyer?”
So there are some things we should not submit to: abuse,
violence, craziness.
Some people vent inwardly or outwardly behind the other person’s
back.
Some people call the police.
Some people write to the newspaper or the bishop or the
pastor.
TODAY’S OTHER
TWO READINGS
Maybe I should have concentrated on today’s other two
readings.
I picture Joshua’s in today’s reading - nearing his end -
old age happens - and folks are dropping out - or giving up their religious
heritage and faith - - bummer - and all he can say is, “Well, as to me and my
household, we will serve the Lord.”
I picture Jesus in today’s gospel - standing there and
seeing all these people walking away - telling him they can’t accept what he’s
saying.
We who have seen family members dropping out of our faith
- know the feeling. And the numbers are
increasing.
Jesus submitted to
all that - but says to Peter, “Do you
also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life We have come to believe and are convinced
that you are the Holy One of God.”
CONCLUSION
The topic of submission calls for deep consideration.
The choice is ours.
This issue of submission or subordination calls for
communication - talking and listening. Husbands and wives submit to talking to
each other.
Ooops in case nobody got what I was talking about - let
me tell you what might have also triggered this topic for me.
On Friday evening we had a wedding rehearsal for a
wedding for Saturday afternoon. A little boy was to be the ring boy for the wedding.
On Friday night he sees this big aisle and breaks free of this little girl,
older and taller than he. He runs full speed ahead to the front here, turns
right and then shoots down the side aisle, across the back, and down the aisle
again. His mother can’t catch him - and they kid looks like he’s only been
doing 3 months of walking.
Then he spots the steps up front here and he goes right
at them - crawling up the 3 steps - conquering them - and his mom and dad catch
him at that and he goes back up there a few times.
It was a great scene. I loved it. Of course his parents were scared he might
have done it yesterday in his tux. He
didn’t. He was perfect.
But that kid needs to learn all about submission and
subordination and his parents need to learn how to do that.
If you get that, you got my sermon. Amen.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Painting on top: American Gothic, Grant Wood, 1930
