Why does it take so long to fix social problems? June 6-7 2020 Societies like individuals and families are ever changing. Sometimes they are improving sometimes they are declining but they are neither static nor perfect. At the moment we are once again aware of any number of issues which need to be addressed for the health of our nation and our people. Dealing with social problems is very different from a repair job on a bridge or a building. One can hire engineers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a building. Then they can suggest repairs given the current state of the construction and the best available materials and techniques.
Families and societies are always changing, through the interaction of individuals and groups. They are made up of people with different needs, abilities and personalities. They are not as predictable as bricks and pipes. If properly engineered brick and pipes stay where they are put and do the job they have been designed to do for a long period of time. Societies always need to have the recommitment of people to their common good and the understanding of the common good is evolving. We are therefore not committing as citizens and Christians to a fixed means or end. This requires patience. That patience, does not mean accepting a lack of effort, but staying with a project over the long haul through peaks and troughs.
It takes each individual a couple of decades to become a mature person ready to live an active life. Then, later in life, there is a period of diminishment or decline. Multiply all those changes by people, the families, neighborhoods and communities making up the population of a nation, and you have a very complex, ever changing community.
Recently, we have seen how an unforeseen event can disrupt the lives of families, their members, businesses, churches, and the larger society. First, there was a crisis caused by a tiny virus which has killed nearly 400,000 people world-wide, interrupting the lives of many, as well as world-wide manufacturing, trade and farming. As sudden and frightening as the Corona virus has been, we are sure that at some point in the foreseeable future, technology and discipline will allow us to rebuild.
While we were allowing ourselves to hope the actions and inactions of some law enforcement officers 1,100 miles away not only ended one life and disrupted many others in cities which were just recovering from the pandemic; but it called into question whether we are closer or farther away from the human and Constitution’s ideal of equal protection under law. Yes, this is 155 years since the definitive end of legal racial enslavement, but neither God-given rights nor the ideals of the 14
th and 15
th amendment have as yet been fully imbedded in national and local practice. We cannot be patient with injustice; we must be patient with nurturing real progress, not rushing to declare victory or change course. We are long term projects with whom God is patience and nurturing. We must return the favor.
Babel and Speaking in tongues at Pentecost May 31, 2020
The story of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11 depicts a people using their technology and power in a way that challenged the supremacy of God. The Pentecost reading from the Acts of the Apostles recounts the newly emboldened apostles leaving their place of refuge to go out and preach to Jews gathered in Jerusalem from many nations and languages.
The apostles “began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.”
The gift of the spirit was not a simple reversal of Babel. The Peoples of the world were not magically turned into speakers of some ancient Sumerian language. Their centuries of difference were not wiped out, the much of culture and practices of Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, continued but they were enabled by the gift of the spirit to be united in faith in Christ.
In the upper room:
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Being different is easy, being united in faith is what demands the Holy Spirit.
The Covid virus has knocked humanity off its prideful pedestal. This pandemic has ravaged people on every continent (except Antarctica) and reminded us of our shared humanity and condition. In the Spirit of Pentecost we should be offering peace to one another and forgiveness, which is the basis of ongoing cooperation, whether in the county, the state, the nation or indeed the world.
Memorial Days and Families MAy 25, 2020 I was just thinking about how uneven the distribution of military deaths have been throughout history. My paternal great-grandfather recruited his brother to take his place in the Civil War back in the day when finding or hiring a substitute in the draft was permissible. My father and his brother were in the Army Air Corps. My father built airstrips across the Pacific, my uncle maintained planes he had previously build, but never went to a combat theater. My mother was a clerk in the Pentagon, while it was still being built. Two of her 3 brothers were in the army and one in the Merchant Marine all survived World War II. My paternal grandmother's cousin served in World War II and Vietnam retiring from the army as a general My brother retired after 20 years in the army. One of my mother's cousins is buried at Normandy, but he is the only family member I know of who died in combat. There are many factors, family and regional traditions, employment, the period in which one lived, which influence the patterns of service and death. Then I sat down to read the paper and saw a picture of two people I knew. One I taught and buried the other who served and now writes about war. John, think about historical demographics and social influences. Work up an article - it does not have a particular due date, but before too many more individual memorial days.
Victories seldom if ever are instantaneous or complete T. Clifford, S.J May 8, 2020
On 8, 1945, crowds streamed into bars, streets and parks; singing, waving and hugging – the release could not remain bottled up any longer. Trafalgar Square, Time Square the Champs Elysees all flowed with shoulder to shoulder crowds from whom a great burden had been lifted. Some even rushed to churches whose doors were usually open both to cry and to give thanks. For five and one half years war and uncertainty hung over the nation and every family and individual in it. Food was rationed, the Federal government ordered the end of civilian car production, diverting industrial production into arms manufacturing and effectively nationalized the railroads. Congress even had the temerity to change time, imposing Daylight savings time throughout the country and all year- all to save energy and ease communication.
Millions of young and not so young men faced the ultimate restraint on their liberty in being forced to bear arms for the common good. Over 400,000 gave their lives not for party, state and truly not just for the nation, but for peace and stability in the world.
Prime Minister Churchill in announcing the end of the German War noted, “We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing.” It was indeed a very brief period. War continued in the Pacific, slow and uncertain communication meant that telegrams and visits of military officers continued to bring sad news to military homes across the country for some time after the street parties dispersed.
At the time, my mother worked in an office in the Pentagon typing up and routing military orders. When the announcement came, that May 8 would be a federal holiday after all those long weeks and years, my mother realized that units and their ships would need to be redirected to areas of current need- including diverting troops previously bound for Europe to the Pacific and the uncertainty of more war. She found plenty to do in the office that day
When crises are over, things seldom go back to the way they were. First the years of conflict and sacrifice became a permanent part of the lives of those who lived them, secondly the expenditure of lives and goods demanded changes for the future. The war generation having survived the Great Depression and a World War wanted to make changes that would prevent a repeat of either. Over time the United Nations, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Marshall Plan and the European Common Market, all played vital but imperfect roles in what they hoped was truly
the post war world not just an inter-war world.
Any account of history which consists only of brilliant leaders, success and celebration is a lie, not a history of any real people. We constantly, make mistakes, apologize, try to fix them and then try to prevent any new disasters. In between we allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing.
Masks moral intention and cultural perception 4/26/20 Some weeks ago in a parish bulletin, I visited the idea that Catholic moral theology was about "intentioned acts", not just acts by themselves. Lots of things we do are morally neutral; neither good nor bad. They may well be better or worse choices, but if we were morally culpable for every worse choice me made, we would all have a lot to be answerable for. Not every bad choice is morally reprehensible. If it were, 40-50% of voters would have to be culpable in each election; while I would be inclined to say it is the not voting that would nearly always be wrong.
Some actions may be perceived as bad in certain times, and heroic and self sacrificing at others. When seen as wrong, it is probably because they are from a culture we don’t understand or because the actions are seen as rebellious, or intentionally insensitive, intimidating or offensive. At that time I wrote of throwing a ball. The simple act of throwing a baseball is neither good nor evil. It may have an accidental bad effect. It may break a window. If truly accidental, it does not carry moral meaning- if one has been warned about the need to be careful and not play ball near the neighbors’ house, we might impute some level of guilt. If it is thrown or hit to inflict damage or hurt someone, it is surely morally wrong.
In today’s world, we have the question of masks, meaning and intention. Back in the 1960’s wearing a mask in public, other than on Halloween, would have been suspicious. Why does that person want to hide their face and their identity? What crime are they about to commit that they hope to get away with? How many old Westerns have you seen where the outlaw bands wore bandanas around their necks that they could pull up to hide their faces? Did the Sheriff wait for them to commit a crime or did he confront those whose intent seemed obvious from their masks. Just this year, in February, American movie theaters banned the Joker mask on opening night fearing that some individuals might take up the persona and actions of the Joker (I have no idea what that is).
The Sheriff stopping the outlaw band, and the theaters banning the Joker regalia, might all be laudable, but there have clearly been other meanings for masks in recent weeks. When I started musing about this column I would never have imagined seeing the mask as good. For a few weeks, people wearing masks were seen as morally responsible. Given how long one might have no visible symptoms and still be spreading the corona virus, seems little to ask people to cover their mouths, lest they accidentally infect someone. It seemed like and unmixed blessing, helping to prevent the spread of a dreaded virus. But now to some it is a sign of subservience to an overreaching government.
Wearing a mask is one of those many choices in life, which is not in and of itself- simply as an action, moral or immoral. It is the circumstances and the intent that give the action meaning.
When is the church most clear? When the circumstances are narrow and when one of the competing intents is the protection of life. The church tends to be more absolute on personal morality and more flexible on social morality. Why? Because in personal matters the intention, and circumstances do not vary all that much. In social morality- the principles can be clear, but how to get there in various social, cultural and political systems may vary a great deal.
Note: actions which are objectively evil, cannot be made good, by intention; though the the person doing the action may not be as morally culpable. Wow; and this started with the various moral meaning of masks.
~Fr. Tom Clifford, S.J. Pastor, St. Ignatius Church
Thoughts from a History teacher
When time hangs heavy, are you looking for things for your kids to do or to do for yourself?
Historians always need personal remembrances to flesh out what they learn from official documents, public records and newspapers. When the history committee worked through historical records there were really some wonderful factual records: construction expenditures for the building and reconstruction of the manor. The ledger entries showing the purchase of an organ after the fire and other such things that nailed down costs and dates.
But the flavor came from official and personal letters, pulpit announcements and diaries, which gave us a sense of the times and the people.
We are all now part of a moment in history – unlike what we have experienced before and we hope unlike anything we will experience in the future there will be plenty of statistics, tweets, blogs etc.- in fact for historians in the future, unless we experience a massive electromagnetic pulse, will have way too much material to pick through. What they might treasure would be real honest writing from young people. Thoughts not intended to be part of a later college application or Go-Fund – ME page, just honest thoughts from a younger perspective.
As a fourth grade student at Walsingham Academy on October 23, 1962, I did what we always did. We would come in sat down quietly and occupy ourselves with writing (you know with paper and pencil) until our morning offering prayer. The content of the paragraph was of our own choosing and without any prompting by parents. Having watched the President Kennedy’s Oval office speech the night before, I wrote about a Quarantine – or really a blockade of Cuba. What did I say- I’m not sure –but I know I was sorry that I had disposed of – when thirty or more years later I went looking for it to give a taste of the time to my classes. Even though I can no longer find the “morning essay”, it was still valuable at the age of 10 to put my thoughts on paper.
Today we might reflect on what it is like to have a church without interacting with people, or to notice all the things we took for granted which for a time we must sacrifice.
Writing one’s thoughts should not be painful, it might even be helpful.
Are you looking for other things to do, or to contribute to history?
Do you have a VHS to DVD converter- recorder? One drive would be VHS the other DVR. We have several dozen VHS records of past events. The VHS tape will eventually lose it’s magnetic coating and with it, bits of our history. Contact Fr. Clifford if you have such a machine.
Do you have old pictures which you have never organized or labeled? Maybe they are from your parents or grandparents. These could be wonderful for your families and for the parish- if some of them involve parish life. Scanning them and identifying dates and people could give you things to share with children and grandchildren (or maybe just to help you remember things 20, 30 or 40 years from now).
Have you figured out how to archive your digital media? There is more documentation of our time than any other- but it could all be lost over time. Make sure you save the good stuff, because somebody will save the embarrassing stuff.
The very Long Easter Triduum We might call this the long Easter Triduum –Lent is both a memorial of the events of our Salvation and season of personal transformation. So to the Triduum, which would normally have begun on Thursday evening with the Mass of the Lord’ Supper commemorating Christ’s ever-renewing presence with us in the Eucharist and His abiding desire to humbly serve us as we should serve others. Just as on Palm Sunday, things change quickly. Within the Eucharistic Prayer the priest says:
Celebrating this most sacred Day on which our Lord Jesus Christ was handed over for our sake.
Then the Blessed Sacrament whose institution we had just celebrated is removed from its central place in the Church, until it is returned anew to the tabernacle, on Easter.
We fast, then we celebrate, then we fast again and celebrate again. In Lent we fast to promote good habits nurtured by self-discipline, we fast in reparation for our sins, we fast, so we can enjoy not fasting. This fast-celebrate pattern uses fasting to heighten our appreciation of the sacrifice and victory of Jesus the Christ. First we share at least somewhat in His sacrifice and relish the victory over sin and death, which we will more fully appreciate on our own death.
After the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we fast from the sacraments and Sacramentals (no Holy Communion-except for the sick and no holy water until we celebrate the Resurrection. Good Friday night and Holy Saturday is a period of quiet preparation in churches and our hearts for the coming feast.
This is very different Lent and Holy Week, we have come to appreciate what we have been missing- not gathering with our family and fellow Christians, not worshipping in public. Unlike Lent and the Three days before Easter, we have only the vaguest idea of when this secular lent will end. It would be as if one year on the way to altar of repose on Holy Thursday among the chants and incense, the priest was to announce, we need to wait for a sign before we can move on to Easter- we will let you know when all is ready. That is not how we observe liturgical seasons or our secular seasons of work and play. Children usually know when the school year will end and they await it with great anticipation. Families look to family vacations with joy or dread- but usually with dates certain.
This year while we know things will go back to our ordinary time, we just do not know when. So, we can treat these coming weeks of social distancing and fasting from summer fun as a preparation to relish social support and gatherings which we hope will return with a deepening summer. Otherwise we are just left to chafe under the burden. In either case we should live the coming experience of freedom and joy by recognizing and cherishing it, not as we may have in the past taking it for granted. Here at Chapel Point, this evening’s freeze warming might make us wonder if the seasons themselves have been shut down.
During Holy week, local bishops around the world bless sacramental oils for the coming year. Sacred chrism is used at Baptism, Holy Orders and Confirmation. The oil of the sick, at anointing of the sick and the oil of catechumens in preparation for baptism. Because all the priests gather with their bishop and carry the oils back to every parish, it has become an important moment in the connection or priest and their parishes to their bishops. The priests normally gather for a dinner together and greet the bishop after mass before collecting their oil and heading back to their home parishes. That of course makes it clear why the Chrism Mass has been delayed. We of course have sufficient oil to tide us over until we can gather. To bring back oil and not viruses to the parishes.
The unity of the Church may be well served by the prayerful gathering priests and the rich symbolism of their connecting the parishes together with the universal Church through the blessing and distribution of the oils. There are lots of wonderful gifts of God through his Church that do not make the Church, they just enrich it.
There is some dispute among historians as to whether Confirmation was ever conferred in the colonial Catholic Church in English lands. Certainly there was no bishop until after the U.S. Constitution and John Carroll but some claim the head of Maryland mission was granted faculties to confirm.
Through God’s grace the church has many rites, devotions and symbols- none of which in themselves constitutes the Church. This year part of what unites the Church is dispersed prayer. If you have joined through television or computer with either the Archbishop or the Pope for Palm Sunday- you have noticed the great emptiness of the National Shrine and St. Peter’s in Rome. Let us hope and pray that those same churches will be filled next year with those who have longed to join together with believers this year.
Next year we pray that the priests may gather with the Archbishop and parishioners with their pastors throughout this Archdiocese and the world.
Palm Sunday and the experience of sudden catastrophic change. When we try to enter into the Christian mysteries through imaginative prayer- we place ourselves in the scene or event we are considering. It helps when we can touch on some experience in our own lives that helps us resonate with Jesus and his followers in various situations. We may have been in enthusiastic crowds, waving and praising some celebrity. We might later have felt dejected or disappointed, that the one we shouted for didn’t come through in the way we expected, but the change we experience in life is seldom as sudden or as complete as what the disciples experienced in that first Holy Week.
On Palm Sunday, we read two gospels. The first gospel normally would precede the blessing and distribution of palms. According to Matthew 21:
The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.”
And when he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?”
And the crowds replied,
“This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
In the second gospel from Matthew 26 and 27, we hear of the Last Supper, Jesus prayerful sharing of a meal with the apostles, punctuated by talk of betrayal and a flight to the garden when they saw their leader in pain and prayerful pleading. Within a day the one they celebrated on the road and with whom they shared a meal was killed a frightful way.
It is no wonder that his companions, denied him and fled:
A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter,
“Surely you too are one of them;
even your speech gives you away.”
At that he began to curse and to swear.
“I do not know the man.”
And immediately a cock crowed.
Their world fell apart, rapidly and as far as they could see …permanently.
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
We might think back a few weeks and now today
How many of us have said how can this all have happened so quickly?
Things will never be the same again- who could have imagined or
I keep thinking I will wake up and this will all go away.
Maybe we could tap into that sense of sudden, unexpected and disastrous change and have a hint of the experience of the apostles in Jerusalem.
Of Ventilators , iron lungs and hope not fear All many people know about ventilators is that they don’t want to be on one. Now however, people are hoping that there is one available should they be stricken in the pandemic. Those amazing machines are associated in the popular mind with extraordinary means to keep people alive when their body is ready to surrender. What people dread is being attached to a machine when there is no hope of recovery. The difference is of course the two perceptions are hope instead of dread and possibilities instead of fate. I have never heard anyone who was intubated for surgery and recovering on a ventilator say what a delightful experience it was, until they could look back at the silent machine as they walked away to return to their lives. Extreme measures when real possibilities of improvement exist make sense, good sense even demands them. What is extraordinary or extreme also varies with the possible and the circumstance. On television we have all seen patients bagged in operating rooms and ambulances, when no mechanical respirator is at the ready. We probably never thought that there might be a shortage of ventilators, because we needed 100,000 at the same time across the whole country.
We might also think the same of Trillions of dollars of emergency assistance. Three month ago the idea of such massive infusions of money would have seemed unimaginable even destructive and absurd. The good news is that we have reason to hope. That is different than being afraid of the alternative. With enough ventilators the majority of victims should continue to recover, and with enough dollars effective planning, much of the economy might also
With all the discussion about ventilators, I thought back to the pictures of young and old alike in iron-lung machines back in the 1950s. The images of patients sealed in a metal tube, lying on their backs viewing the upside-down world through mirrors were so odd that they had to cause one to pause and wonder. My parents certainly spoke of Polio as a dreadful disease, but for me it was mysterious but not an immediate cause of concern. First I was a child, secondly the disease was in retreat. My first memories of things around the house – which at the time in Connecticut were from autumn of 1955. , which just happened to be the first large scale successful use of the Salk polio vaccine. I do remember of children crippled by Polio and hushed tones of concern. Such pictures produced sympathy from my parents. I had a sense of past threat, but not a current one.
Today we know that as with many other viruses our body’s natural defenses can defeat the Covid19 version, but some will require assistance to weather the worst and return to their usual lives. We as a world must have hope based honest effort and cooperation.
It has been a very long time since March 12 but it is not over It seems like months since March 12
th. That morning I awoke up in my mother’s independent living apartment and headed out to an alumni event at Loyola High School in Towson. I knew there was increasing concern about a virus from China, so I checked my email to be sure the event was still on. The class of 1970 enjoyed an inspiring precursor to our reunion in June. That was eighteen days ago. We wonder now whether our reunion will happen and if all of us will be alive to celebrate.
Two days later we began our first weekend without mass since October of 1918 during the flu epidemic. One of the many differences is that we are not sure how far the virus has spread, nor do we have certitude when it may end. This morning we have learned that there are over 140,000 verified cases in the United States and 2,500 deaths.
One of the things that makes this virus so unnerving is that the vast majority of those who are infected show few if any symptoms for two weeks and many never become ill, of those who become ill some do not require hospitalization. For those who become seriously ill, the suffering can be extreme and fatal. This illness is not something we are used to.
Yes the disease certainly has a tremendous impact on the elderly and those with other diseases. We know now that even the middle aged young and healthy may succumb. In the past two days we have learned of the deaths of two Prince George’s County educators 39 and 54, who seemed to be in good health.
Given the rapid spread since March 12, we can presume there are many individuals who are just reaching the point where they may show signs of illness and seek testing. This almost certainly includes, family, friends and parishioners at Chapel Point.
What can we do?
We are spirit and flesh, so I suggest first of all that we rigorously follow social distancing guidelines and pray, both for the safety of others and to grow closer to God ourselves. We can always benefit from a closer relation to God in Christ and we will need to in the coming weeks of uncertainly and illness.
Body and Soul, Spirit and Flesh - some thoughts
Jesus did not come to take us out of the world, but to redeem and send the Holy Spirit to us that we might live spiritually in the world so that we might enter into the heavenly host. Jesus’ mission was not and is not to be the emergency room doctor of the earth. In his ministry he heals some in response to heart felt petition and in order to show His power giving us grounds for faith. He did not simply raise his hands over Palestine to bring an end to disease.
Following the Rules is never enough Rules whether spiritual or material are guides not guarantees. In any relationship, just following rules just helps us avoid pitfalls, we must build the relationship.
Some will get ill and die, who have by their own lights followed the rules of social distancing. It could have been someone we encountered before the rules were clear. It could have been a virus that survived on a surface much longer than average. What we can be sure of, it was not our God deciding that we needed to learn a lesson and sent the virus to us personally.
If following the rules of social separation are never enough, neither is saying our favorite prayers. Ask for the Holy Spirit and place yourself in the Presence of the Lord. Imagine Him teaching, healing, sharing a meal or hanging on the cross. Pray in your own words of praise, thanksgiving and petition. Especially ask God to be with you in moments of fear and uncertainty. Rest in the love of God.
Viewing choices from the perspective of our death All sorts of group activities: retreat, team building experiences etc have an exercise which is essentially answering the question if your house is on fire and you can only save one thing what would that be. Of course there is no right choice just the chance to think out your answer, to say what you value. There are also end of life variants- what would you want to do or be able to say to someone you know. Finally there is the life boat sinking because you loaded it indiscriminately with everything you could. We see this played out in the rush before every hurricane and wildfire with people loading cars quickly with what they want to save.
St Ignatius was not satisfied with placing ourselves in the face of fire and flood – he wanted us to think as if we were at the point of death. It was a way of asking us to be at our most honest. We tend to think, I will have time to make this up, to throw myself on God’s mercy. I’m young, I’m healthy I can really think about what facing death would be like. Yet if we imagined ourselves when we would be most vulnerable, the most aware that this was the final choice, the final question, we would be more honest and humble before God.
St. Ignatius repeatedly suggested that one in deep prayer should consider decisions as if they were made at the moment of death, “I will consider …
what procedure or norm I will at that time wish I had used in the discharge of my administration” (Exercises #340) He did not seek to make us fear, but to be honest with ourselves and God.
Similarly he says of imagining and considering oneself on Judgement day, “I will think how at that time I will wish I had decided.” In the modern world that is harder than in Ignatius’ world of the sixteenth century. Death was always around a corner and medical care was primitive. People died from wounds, infections and loss of blood. Today we have anti-biotics, trauma surgery, and transfusions. WE figure that unless someone makes a mistake, we can come back from almost everything. We are also a bit immune from such consideration even when we might well have been facing death. We look in on ourselves as if from a camera in an emergency action show. When I did multiple 360s on slick pavement between the guide rails on 422 near Phoenixville, I quickly realized that turning the wheel would either break my arms or roll the car I sat back waiting to come to rest. I was too belted in in a large steel frame, to get really hurt. I must admit I did not relive my life in a flash or freeze frame. I sat back and watched wondering on what spin I would be able to open the door and get out.
Things have changed – yes I am older, maybe wiser, but actually our world has changed. In mid-March as the danger and unpredictability of the Covid virus grew, I was able to imagine myself, facing a death that neither my shelf of medications could save me from, nor my quick thinking and luck snatch me from. Can we all tap into true mortality to consider what we do by conscious choice and habit- things we would never do if we knew it would be our last choice.
Pope Francis CIty and World Prayer for deliverance for a Suffering World
A glimmer of hope on a morning show Most mornings even during these unique days, I am not sitting down to a cup of coffee, reading the paper and watching network blather shows at 8:45 am. There I was half listening when the host introduced her guest as the science advisor to an online dating site. I gave the screen my best sidelong glare, sat with the remote poised to return me to welcome silence. The guest quickly disagreed with the host’s supposition that this was the worst of times for online encounters. This she insisted was the best of times for internet dating. I had to listen–eyes ready to roll.
The first evidence she gave was that sex was off the table, all contact was virtual. That is certainly not what I expected given my suppositions about such services. There would be no testing out how far to go, because there would be no physical presence. There would be no game playing over who was paying- since the no money would be expended. There was great opportunity to actually talk and get to know each other, even have real conversations about things that mattered. I did not roll my eyes. It made sense. When it comes to knives, hot stoves, electric sockets and little children it is enough to say NO - emphatically. Once they tear-up and run away it still helps to explain why the answer is NO.
Sound decision making requires one to develop sound reasoning. Teachers and parents need to model that reasoning but arguing from human experience rather than abstract first principles tends to find more welcoming ears and minds.
For years my standard advice to young adults and teens- is usually too late since it is often confessional. Implicitly this scientific love expert seemed to agree that rushing a relationship to instant apparent intimacy is not wise even on merely human terms and personal benefit. I remain convinced that many a potentially lasting loving relationship has been lost, by skipping its slow and healthy development, by jumping into intense but dubious intimacy.
If there is any saving grace in online dating- it might indeed be now, when only the most self-destructive or lonely would rush to make physical contact with someone they met on line. Will we ever know if she is right and serious singles will find the beginning of a good relationship in difficult times? I will also probably never know if anyone benefited from my advice!
Maryland Day March 25 Great cause to celebrate The Ark and the Dove landed at St. Clement’s Island. Fr. White celebrated Mass on the Feast of The Annunciation. We recognize this as the first Mass in the English Colony of Maryland. There may have been, masses celebrated by Spanish Jesuits who reached the Chesapeake six decades earlier. Fr. White’s Mass on March 25, 1634 may well have been the first Mass for the settlers since they left England on November 22. There was no account of a mass abound ship in Fr. White’s Journal. The Ark and Dove were tiny ships, tossed about by waves, making anything like a proper mass very difficult to say. The voyage required stops in several English ports, where Catholic priest would have been suspect. The majority of the settlers and crew were not Catholic some whom might have objected to being forced into a Catholic Mass and might have turned against their fellow travelers. In addition Lord Baltimore and his appointed governor had absolute authority not on the voyage, but only once the governor had taken possession of the colony of Maryland. Many of the colonist indeed hoped that their religious freedom would be assured in this new colony, but there had to be a colony first.
March 25
th was notable for several reasons. It was the Feast of the Annunciation to the Blessed Mother that she would bear the Divine Savior, and hence the moment of the Incarnation. It was at the time commonly observed as a day of obligation for Catholics in the English speaking world. As the Christian Calendar begins numbering years with the birth of the Christ, it was appropriate that the Annunciation would also be New Year’s Day. Only in 1752 would England change from the Julian Calendar to the Georgian calendar by skipping eleven days in September. The calendar change also shifted the beginning of the year from March 25 to January 1.
So 386 years ago, the weary travelers had much to relish,- being on dry land, that did not sway under their feet, a friendly government, and the opportunity to celebrate Mass truly in the open many for the first time in their lives.
When we can again gather in public to share in the Eucharist, we might be able to appreciate a bit more the joy of our Catholic forbearers in Maryland.
Humanity using its gifts to heal our infirmity It is certainly true that the current pandemic does not hold a candle to epidemics of the past. If it did I would probably not be writing this. Some years ago on a western vacation I was trying to capture action photos of adorable prairie dogs, but crowds of people like me would spook them and they would run away and ruin my pictures. At the base of Devils Tower, one colony of the cute rodents were putting on a show, but not attracting human interlopers. So I plopped face down on the edge of the colony focusing my lens on their curled up noses. Suddenly my compatriots (who had tired of my endless photography remaining in the car) shouted out that I should read the sign. There was a Park Service sign trying to save me from my foolishness “Caution Prairie Dogs have Plague. “
My heart did race a bit, but I did not fear for my life, after all such things were treatable with antibiotics even if a random infected flea had leapt onto me and succeeded in passing on the bacteria. Why do we no longer fear? I would like to think that humans have taken up the responsibility to have dominion over creation.
Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. (Gen 1:26)
Over the millennia humans have used their observations and reason to protect humanity rather than passively await miracles. If we just sat around and asked God to intervene in every illness or crisis, we would be like children acting irresponsibly and then running off to Mom and Dad to save them from every preventable problem they encountered or caused.
I am sure my former students will recognize the name Cotton Mather and his role in promoting very primitive small pox inoculations in Boston, to tame the persistent epidemic of the day. Putting blood from a victim with a mild case of small pox into a cut on one’s arm does seem a bit repulsive- but it worked and years of effort perfected the making of vaccines, which have surely saved millions of lives. As a minister Mather had to overcome the objections of those repulsed by the methods but also those who thought he lacked confidence in a miracle from God. Rather Cotton saw a gift from God in the primitive medicine of the day, rather than look for a sinner on whom he could blame God’s punishment of smallpox. God gave us creation and reason.
Why do we have to go to church? Why can’t we go to church? Faith as individual and communal.
People feel a tension between the private self and the social self. If you don’t believe that ask a teenager – you may even remember being a teenager figuring out who you were and how you related to others. We are part of families, school classes, circles of friends. We want to belong, but we don’t want to be overwhelmed by the group, lest we cease to be ourselves.
Why talk about this now? We are all being asked to maintain social distance, which may come naturally to some of us but is virtually impossible for others. I will often say – my ideal retirement would be in a southwest facing earth sheltered house in the Yellowstone Valley, with barrels of oatmeal rice and dried beans, so if I want to I could just hide out. Then again I always envisions going into a town to a cafe for a weekly breakfast of eggs, pancakes and sausage. Of course I should be within driving distance of a church where I could assist from time to time. I might dream of a rural hideway, but one with access to people and community.
In reality we all need a balance. We need to know ourselves, accept ourselves and act as ourselves, yet we do all of that in relationship to and with others.
Sometimes teenage seekers, or disaffected ex-Catholics will say to me – I’m a Christian but it is private/personal not part of a church. If the time seems ripe I note that the idea or practice of belief in Jesus as a private philosophical system has no basis in Scripture or in the history of the early church. It is never just me and Jesus. It was always we and Jesus. Some who truly cherish the Eucharist question how can we be Catholics and not gather together for common worship in Mass? In this time of enforced separation. Those who think of Christianity as a personal private concern, might wonder why these others seem so bereft over “missing church.” Maybe they will see that the Gospel mandate found in this Friday’s gospel
Mark 12:29
The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Faith is personal, but lived out in relationships and actions which bind us to one another and to God. Faith arises in the heart but must be expressed in our lives not just our minds. But Faith cannot be just action, without feeling, conviction or celebration.
When we can gather again, hopefully the hermits among us may relish more shared faith and the self-sufficient may relish more private prayer and personal communion with God.
Finding God in difficult times It is easy to pray and feel the immensity of God in awesome settings, some even more spectacular than the sunsets at Chapel Point. Nighttime in Montana’s Big Sky country is a constant invitation to look up, to see stars and planets we learned about as children but only pretend we could see on the east coast. I remember the first time I looked up and saw the Milky-Way, beautiful, immense and inviting. Some can look up and see a pretty picture, but others can look up feel part of something way bigger than ourselves. This however is not the time to drive cross country for star gazing. If you have a great view go ahead and take it in, if not look within.
Finding God in all things does not mean finding God only in the big picture. It means finding God where you are right now. It what is beautiful and what is tragic – it is finding God with us in all situations and places. God is with us we need to prayer and listen. God is not inclined to intervene to fix everything – just look at the history of humanity, the Hebrew people and Christian Europe. God gave us the world, our talents, strengths and judgement. We can ask for deliverance but we need to use what God gives us – more on that at some later date. Some of you have heard my pre-Christmas story from my first year in college, I see it as my first moment of immediate prayer for God’s presence, not memorized formulae or indulgenced short prayer. For the first time in my life, classes and exams concluded before Christmas, leaving me with lots of things to do, but also the freedom to do them. First on my list was ammunition for my brother, so I stopped by the only gun shop I knew. It was a relic from the past a tiny stone shop with three counters, no cameras, no gun locks just friendly clerks and two other customers. One middle aged gentleman to my to my left was being served and another made his request while I was counting out the number of Mauser shells I wanted. The third customer made what seemed like an ordinary request – he wanted a shotgun. As soon as he had it things moved quickly, he slide in shell, a clerk protested and the concussion from the blast rattled in our ears. This last customer dropped to the ground. All was still. one clerk slipped down behind the counter and called the police, the other stayed on the floor behind the counter and the other customer indicated that a close family member had himself committed suicide a year earlier. I doubt if I had ever felt so alone. I quickly turned to prayer- earnest, forceful and pleading. Lord, I am alone, be with me! Soon enough I no longer felt abandoned. Rather I sensed that indeed Jesus was there with me. It seems I had found God or He found me. That clear sense of Divine presence – not protecting, not bring joy, just being with me. Finding God in all things- does not mean just looking for God in beauty, miracles and causes for jubilation. In this case just being with me when I had felt totally alone. Look for God in Scripture, in nature in one another- but be willing to find God where you need Him, not just where you expect him. Don’t be afraid to ask God to be with you now.
A Silent Feast of St. Patrick’s Feast overlooking the Port Tobacco. On Tuesday evening, a warm breeze from the west gave no indication of excitement. The sun spread its ruby red glory above Cedar Point Neck, on the western shore of our gentle Port Tobacco River. That fading glow brought the water back to life. Some cars and motorcycles but not a single school bus, slowed to let their occupants gape at the always beautiful sunset while a few faithful Chapel Point sentinels pointed their cars toward the southwest so they could look toward the sun over our little tributary to the wide and powerful Potomac.
Sunsets are never exactly the same, but still are a familiar and welcome friend, framing the cemetery’s ancient obelisks in a warm glow. As is so often the case the blend of natural beauty, mortality and longevity calmed me and no doubt the others who stopped by to look and reflect on this monument to stability while the world was in tumult.
Imagine a St. Patrick’s Day without Irish dancers and lilting music, forcing our heads to bob and our feet to tap. Imagine an extended and unexpected school holiday, without either drifts of snow, impending storms or terrorist threats. This was neither the calm before the storm nor the clam after the storm. It was surely the calm within the unseen storm.
Had there been a wind storm we would be together cutting fallen trees, had it been snow we would be shoveling heaps of snow and helping others to get out, but this storm is very different. We cannot yet see it, we cannot join together shoveling cutting piling. We do not really know where the storm is, we know where it was and where it is going, but we can’t see it and we don’t want to touch it.
Those things that would usually draw us out of our homes, and into shared effort, now tell us to stay aware, that the best thing to do is to maintain social distance. This not the fault of the experts – but we need to look within ourselves and our households to figure what to do.
We run toward house fires, car accidents and to people who have tripped and fallen. We cannot run to this problem – because can’t see it, nor can we help by running togehter but we need to reach out in ways we can. Depending on our age and expereince, we can reach out through internet, texts, phone calls and especially prayer.