ON  BUILDING  CHURCHES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my reflections or thoughts for this morning Mass on Christmas Eve  is, “On Building Churches.”

I really can’t call this a homily - because I’m just going to babble a bit about buildings called churches.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

As I read today’s first reading I smiled because it sounds like a great promo for starting a building campaign for a temple in Jerusalem. [Confer 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b - 12, 14a, 16.]

It uses guilt big time. And it has God using the guilt trip trap on David. God tells Nathan to tell David, “Hey you’re living in a palace and I’m in a tent.”

Then he uses more guilt as a motive for trying to get David to move it.  Tell David, “Hey after all I did for you, moving you from being a shepherd boy to a commander. Wherever you went, I destroyed all your enemies. I have made you famous, so David, what are going to do for me?”

Translation:  “I want a house. Moreover, I will make sure you have ancestors who will come after you and your kingdom will have no end.”

Well David fails. Excuses are made - for his procrastination. Hey David is a fighter - a warrior - a man of blood. Check out the rationalization in 1 Chronicles 28:3.

So the task falls to Solomon his son - and Solomon does it - in 7 years. [Cf. below - artists rendition of Solomon's temple.]

TEMPLES, CHURCHES, MOSQUES, SHRINES, WHAT HAVE YOU

If we travel this earth we’ll spot lots of bars and restaurants, hospitals and cemeteries, churches, cathedrals and temples.

I’m sure most of these houses for God that are still working have a brochure sitting there somewhere telling their origins and history - who had the idea of building here - and why.

I grew up in a parish with a gigantic church - but it had no steeples [above] - and now I'm in a much smaller church with a gigantic steepl. [below].

You can find our brochure in the back of this church - and I’ve seen various folks checking us out.

OKAY - NOW WHAT?

I could end here, but I would like to take a moment with a few more comments - so as to trigger in your minds and memories your church stories. So a question: you’ve been in many different churches in your life, which ones have a lingering memory?

To prime the pump, here is a short  list I came up with last night as I was working on this reflection. Talk to each other after this Mass and ask each other your specific church stories.

Years ago I heard a recording by Charles Laughton about his experiences in Chartres Cathedral [Picture above]. It’s about 50 miles southeast of Paris. It was THE Mary church and shrine in Europe. Sometime in one’s life time, one had to make a pilgrimage to Chartres. Hearing that recording made a trip to Chartres a lifetime dream of mine.   I finally made it there in 1996. It was even more than I expected. It triggered the stuff I read about all the work that goes into building these mighty big medieval cathedrals. While there I met a pilgrim who had her list of about 15 European cathedrals she had to visit in her lifetime. It gave me the idea of making my own list.

In 2011 I was going to Spain. About 6 people said I have to see Sagrada Familia in Barcelona [above].  I saw it. I saw why it is a must see. That gigantic church began in 1882 won’t be finished till 2026 - if then.

I always wanted to see Sancta Sofia in Istanbul [above]. It’s now a mosque - but it still retains some of the ancient Greek images of Mary and Christ [below].

Of course I’ve been to St. Peter’s in Rome and St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major - Lourdes, as well as the National Shrine of our Lady in Washington D.C. - as well as the famous Crystal Cathedral in Orange, California - which is now a Catholic Cathedral.[Below]

I wonder about all these churches that are closing in the United States. What about the people who love to pray in them? What about the donors? What about the stuff being taken down and taken away? What about statues and altars and stained glass windows donated in memory of?

I think about interesting churches. There was a church near Mansfield Ohio that had a balcony that extended down into at least the middle of the church. Instead of extensions, some pastor decided to extend within.  I was warned: “Preach from the sanctuary  - and don’t go down into aisle because folks up in the balcony won’t see you.” Now that was an interesting experience.

There was a church in Continental, Ohio that had about 12 benches. That was it. Then there was an alcove of about 6 benches over to the left. Then there was a door in that alcove that led to another building back off the alcove - where folks could watch the Mass on small TV sets. That was very interesting.

I loved the story about Sacred Heart Church in New Bavaria, Ohio [See 1975 picture above]. A group of people wanted a church, so the priest invited the bishop of the diocese to a church. Then they drove in a wagon down this road - and then way down this road, then back down this other  road and said, “See how far it is from the other church. We need a church here.” So the bishop said, “Okay.”  After it was all built, the diocese found out it was only a short distance from the other church.

Then there are those holy places on the planet. I remember standing at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem [above] and said a prayer. I felt that here was a holy place - that had been a holy place for the longest time. It’s base  was part of the base of an earlier temple. Then off to the right of the Western or Wailing Wall, there was a walking ramp up above everything. There were two mosques. I knew then and there I was standing on Holy Ground [below].

CONCLUSION

Sometime today go through your travels in your brain and memory and come up with your list of church building stories. See where that takes you. Amen.

MEANING  OF  CHRISTMAS

Quote for Today - December 24, 2013 Christmas Eve

"What Christ 
brought to light 
in the unfolding 
of the Eternal Gospel 
is the Face, 
the personal aspect,
the revelation of the Heart,
the Love, the Grace,
the Character-Nature of God.
We see Him at last.

Rufus Jones, The Eternal Gospel, 1938

I AM MORE

Quote for Today - December 23, 2013

"I am I plus my circumstances."

Jose Ortega Y Gasset, Time Magazine, Oct. 31,1955

THIS IS HOW 

THE BIRTH 

OF JESUS CHRIST 

CAME ABOUT 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 4^th Sunday of Advent - Year A -  is, “This Is How the Birth of Jesus Christ Came About.”

That’s the opening sentence in today’s gospel. [Cf. Matthew 1:18-24]

It’s part of the Christmas story according to Matthew.

The thought that hit me - and the theme that hit me - is how did the birth of Jesus Christ come about for me? For each of us? How? When? Where? Why? and Who was in on it?

FIRST THE GOSPELS

As you know the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are quite different - especially John.

All 4 introduce us to Jesus Christ - in different ways - coming out of different traditions, circles, early Christian communities - and what have you.

It’s like an interview I recently read in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. It was with  the actor Bryan Cranston. He had played the part of LBJ - Lyndon Baines Johnson - in a play that is headed for Broadway, "All the Way."  In the interview he was asked about the best book he read this year. That’s one of those regular interview questions.  He answered,"Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. He added that he had read 3 other books on LBJ by others. Then he said,  "And I must admit being curious about the new book, Roger Stone’s 'The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ,' but I think I’ll save that for after the run of the play." [1]

I’m sure each reading will give him a different take - perspective - insights - understandings -  like I’ve read at least five biographies of St. Alphonsus Liguori - the founder of us Redemptorists and three on St. John Neumann - plus his diary.  Each read gave me different perspectives on the person being talked about - by the person or persons painting the portrait of another - as well as their research.

As you know Matthew and Luke are the two gospels that contain the Infancy Narratives of Jesus. 

For starters Matthew gives us Jesus’ genealogy, the virgin birth, Bethlehem, the arrival of the Wise Men or Magi, the Slaughter of the Innocents, and the escape and then return from Egypt. 

Luke tells us about Mary, Joseph, the miraculous pregnancy,  the Census from Rome, the birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds, the presentation in the temple and the return to Nazareth.

Mark starts us off with Christ as an adult - starting to preach - after John the Baptist announces his coming and arrival. We know Mark is the earliest of the 4 gospels - and so some think - the so called Infancy Narratives, the Christmas stories, were developed to answer various questions about Jesus Christ as his life and message began to be told throughout the Mediterranean Basin cities.

John, the latest of the 4 gospels, from around 100 or so - begins before the very beginning - beginning his gospel with the same words the book of Genesis - the first book of the Jewish scriptures -  begins: “In the beginning.” He presents Jesus as the Word  - being the Word with God - being the Word who was God - through whom all things came to be -  being the Word of God made flesh - light from light - shining in the darkness for all to see.

John is the poet - flighty - pictured as an eagle - giving us the big sky picture. 

John’s Good News - the Fourth Gospel of Jesus - is quite different from the other 3 Gospels. They are sometimes called the “Synoptics” - “syn” the Greek prefix for “with” and “optics” from the Greek word for “eyes.” If you look at those 3, one notices that they come from seeing some of the same sources. John is very different.

For those who have time - like in your retirement - one smart book to read is Raymond Brown’s great book on the infancy narratives of Jesus, The Birth of the Messiah. We can be very grateful as Catholics for having some really great biblical scholars like Ray Brown - whom Biblical Scholars of many Christian denominations have benefited from.

INTERPRETING OUR LIFE, OUR SCRIPTURES AS WELL AS  THE SACRED SCRIPTURES

So we have Jesus according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

So we have Matthew beginning his Gospel with these words, the title of my homily for today: “This Is How the Birth of Jesus Christ Came About.”

Question: How has Christ been born in us?  Better, how has Christ been born and reborn in us - again and again and again for many?

I have always been in favor of people writing their autobiography. 

What would it be like if 4 different people wrote our life? What would they see and say? Now that would be a page turner for one person: ourselves. But like little kids who are supposed to be in bed with the lights out, we would read others takes on us - with a flashlight - under the covers - wondering what someone else is going to say next about us.

I also think everyone - more or less - is composing, figuring, talking to themselves about their roots - their foundations - their biography - their stories - all through their lives - especially after 50. 

I also think there is a lot of revisionist history going on - when it comes to ourselves.  

That’s why I think Thanksgiving and family get togethers are important - when people are talking about old times - early times - and surprise they are saying to themselves, “I didn’t know that about mom or dad or sis or bro and me. 

That’s been my experience - especially because of being the youngest of 4.”

People - when they find out - that the gospel stories were revised and recalculated - developed - as time went on - till they were finally closed by the early 100’s or so - so as to deal with early Church preaching and teaching - go “Uh oh! Then what can you believe?” 

If someone is a fundamentalist when it comes to interpreting the scriptures, the Catholic Church basically says, “Think again!” [2]

As you might know the really weird stories about the baby Jesus that we find in some of the Gnostic Gospels were rejected because they are off the charts - like Jesus making baby birds out of mud and “poof” he sends them flying.

But once one starts  grasping the beauty of the scriptures - as they have evolved and developed - riches are there big time. Comparing texts - attending workshops on the Scriptures - understanding possible reasons why we have the stories we have in the scriptures - can deepen one's spiritual life.

THE NO SMOKING SIGN PRINCIPLE

I love the No Smoking Sign Principle when it comes to reading the Bible.  If one sees a No Smoking sign - one knows people are smoking in this area.

The whole bible is loaded with thousands and thousands of No this and Yes that signs. It’s loaded with Exit signs and “Dead End” signs. Evidently in early Christian communities people were not forgiving 70 times 7 times - maybe not even 1 time. Evidently prodigal sons and daughters came home from disasters with their lives - having hit bottom in some "pig sloppy" elsewhere - and then some family members wouldn’t shake their hands and hug them and welcome them home. Evidently people refused to go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, give the shirt off their back. Evidently people were passing by people on the road - etc. etc. etc.

I am convinced - once people grasp this way of digging the scriptures Christ will be born in them in newer and newer, richer and richer ways.

Hey - life is discovery - vision - revision - editing - and re-editing - changing - growing - being born again - and again and again.

SO HOW HAS THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TAKEN PLACE IN US?

My first answer for that question that has always been: Mom and Dad, my family, the parish and school in Brooklyn I grew up in.

Then there are so many other stories.

As priest I have heard lots and lots and lots of tales of people like Paul who fell on their face - discovered their blindness - and crawled their way to sight and insight in Christ Jesus.

For 14 years of my life I worked in two different retreat houses. Sometimes when people retreat - when they are far from home - somewhat anonymous - they get to tell their stories - their twists and turns, their ups and downs, their better and their worse, their doubts and their faith.

For 8 ½ years I was a road preacher - giving parish missions and retreats all over the country - and once more I discovered that various people look for strangers - to open up their story to.

CONCLUSION

And on and on and on.  The key thing I want to trigger in this homily is to ask you to listen to your Christmas Story - how Christ was born in you - and reborn in you.

I rarely work on a homily till I get to that homily - but I’ve been working in my mind on my Christmas story for this year. For the past 20 years I have written one for every Christmas. This year I want to get into this issue - of how people got their call to Bethlehem or Calvary or Jericho or the shores of the Lake of Galilee.

I am hearing that we’re getting the bounce effect from Pope Francis on many drop outs.

So I am expecting more people at Christmas Mass this year. Now Christmas Mass is actually redundant - because Christmas means Christ’s Mass.

I hope all of us the regulars will do what I heard Father Pat Flynn likes to say: “Welcome them. Give them your seat!”

I am well aware that many CEMF - Christmas, Easter, Marriage, and Funeral - Catholics are out there - ready to be reborn - ready for Christ to come to them - to be born in their stable or unstable lives - stinky stable or cold cave of a mind and heart.

God is no fool. God comes as a baby to disarm us - with the hopes we’ll grow up with Him - or come into the vineyard - at whatever hour it happens. Amen.

O O O O O O O

NOTES

[1] "Bryan Cranston: By the Book,"  New York Times - Sunday Book Review, December 8, 2013, page BR 6

[2] Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Vatican Council II, Pope Paul VI, Rome, November 18, 1965

FEELINGS: 
AT  LEAST  I  TRIED 

December 22, 2013 - Quote for Today - Sunday

"How much has to be explored and discarded before reaching the naked flesh of feeling."

Claude Debussy [1862-1918]

In the meanwhile, listen to Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy

CONSEQUENCES

December 21, 2013 - Quote for Today - Saturday

"A human being fashions his consequences as surely as he fashions his goods or dwelling. Nothing that he says, thinks or does is without consequences."

Norman Cousins [1915-1990]

Question:

Should every house have at the front or garage door a sign or a boomerang with the simple message, "Remember there are consequences."

Suggestion:

This will help you reflect on consequences. Once more listen to Harry Chapin's song: Cat's in the Cradle!

PRAYER:

ROTE OR REAL?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 3^rd Friday in Advent, December 20^th, is, “Prayer: Rote or Real.”

My original title was simply “Annunciations” - because both readings contain annunciation moments.  [Cf. Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38]

Then I thought, to be practical, it would be better to bring that theme into prayer, because folks are often asking for ways to pray better.

THE TIME OF THE READINGS

The first reading from Isaiah 7 can be dated to around the second half of the 700’s before Christ - 742 heading towards 700.

The Gospel would be at the beginning of AD - the beginning of all these new years with the Lord Jesus.

Back then - either 2700 or 2000 years ago -  if someone had a radio receiver or a TV set or a cell phone or what have you, and they turned it on, there would be no sounds in the air to pick up.

Obviously, that’s a fantasy.

All we would hear back then would be the wind or the birds of the air or the music of those singing at work in a carpenter shop or in the temple or on pilgrimage - as well as the sounds of the words of people within one’s hearing.

If a tree fell in a forest, we would hear it.

If we did the same today - if we listened with a powerful radio receiver - AM - FM - Short Wave - we would hear static as well as a snowden - a blizzard of sounds - and voices and music.  The air waves today are filled with the sound of music and thousands and thousands and thousands of people talking on the phone to each other.

A question that hit me - thinking about that contrast: was it easier to be a better listener back then that it would be today?

Answer: I don’t know.

Assumption: Definitely easier back then.

PRAYER

The title of my homily is “Annunciations.”

Prayer is all about Annunciations and Responding to what those announcements and pronouncements are about.

One great way to respond is simply: ask questions.

Prayer - once we hit 10 - or 12 - or 14 - but I’m really not sure of what age it would be  - should be not just rote memory comments - any more than our communication with each other - should be more than rote.

Yes we say the Our Father and “How are you?” and “Nice day,” and “Yes dear” and “It’s warmer today!” by rote - often without thinking - but communication better be listening, reflecting, and asking questions to and with each other.

The question mark is in the shape it’s in - for a reason - to hook each other - to catch each other - to hopefully end up - being in communion with each other - to become pregnant - bigger than ourselves - compared to just going it alone.

LOOKING FOR SIGNS

Prayer to be real - is to look for signs - of possible solutions - new life - new ways to being with God and with each other. 

Prayer is communication.

Communication to be real - is to look for signs - for the visible.

Ahaz in today’s first reading is asked to ask the Lord for a sign, but he won’t do that.

How many times in our life has someone said to us when we were moaning or groaning or complaining about someone else, “Well did you ask them?” “Did you talk to them about this?”

If I read the scriptures correctly - especially the psalms - prayer is very much talking, yelling, begging, groaning, asking God questions.

MARY ASKS QUESTIONS

Ahaz won’t ask God.

Mary does.

That’s why I love the Annunciation story of Mary here in the Gospel of Luke.  And luckily we hear this gospel read at least 3 times a year.

Mary models how to be in communion with God. Ask questions. Tremble. Be troubled. It’s all right to be afraid.  Yet she asks.

So Mary mirrors good communication - actually thinking and talking  to God.

Too many prayers are babble…. non-thinking babble…. Too many prayers are rote memory recitals.

If you know the gospels, especially Luke, you’ll know this is one of Jesus’ complaints about prayer.

I am challenged by the statement: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

DOCENTS AND TOUR GUIDES

Almost finished, one last example. Have you ever had the following experience? You’re visiting a museum or a famous place and you have a tour guide or a docent. They are explaining a painting or a ceiling or something and someone asks a question out of the blue.

The docent or guide answers the question. Then the panic appears on their face. They have given this tour so many times - or something like that - and they don’t know where they let off to take time to answer the question from the crowd. Or they are brand new and just have their speech memorized, so  they have to start their whole spiel from the very beginning.

We have to become so familiar with God - and being in conversations, arguments, discussions with him - like with a friend, that it doesn’t make any difference where we let off or what have you.

CONCLUSION

Prayer moments can be like the two annunciation moments we heard in today’s 2 readings. Simply listen - ask - wonder - speak up - worry - tell God you’re afraid of something that’s going on in your life or what have you. And in the meanwhile expect distractions and interruptions - noise or someone opening up the door and asking a question. So what. Then we go back to prayer