Archive for month: February, 2019
Teachings from ‘out of the mouths of babes’
Shawna Hanson, Director Office of Stewardship
“Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” (Mt 19:14).
There are a group of dedicated disciples who are already meeting to assist the Office of Stewardship in planning the Youth Track for Summit 2019 which will be held on Saturday, September 28. Watching all of their creative ideas come together to create a wonderful day for all of the children who will come is truly a joy.
This year our focus will be on the Eucharist and it has been a real gift to me to experience some of the presentations that are given to our youth as part of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” I think the same holds true for children’s catechesis. The best lessons are those that are also appreciated by adults. My own faith has been enriched and deepened by these presentations on the Eucharist. They gently and beautifully share the truth of the tremendous gift we have been given and by the time they are finished, my heart has been moved to deep gratitude and wonder.
We often think it is the role of adults to teach children, but in my experience it is children who often teach adults. A very long time ago I read that children are proof that God has not yet given up on us. In the last month three people have shared stories of children with me that both warm my heart and teach me profound truths.
A very dedicated young couple are very actively studying how best to pass on the faith to their eldest son who turned three in December. After learning about a young child’s tremendous capacity for memorization and the benefits to their brain development of doing so, they decided to work with their young son to help him memorize the Baltimore Catechism. They shared this conversation with me:
Mom: Who made you?
3-year old: God
Mom: Who is God?
3-year old: The supreme being who made all things.
Mom: Why did God make us?
3-year old: To share in his goodness and to be with him in heaven
Mom: How do we get to heaven?
3-year old: Uh …on a ladder?
On the Feast of St. Joseph, another mom shared this story: “This morning I told my 6-year old, Joseph, that today was his feast day.”
Joe: Really? It is my feast day?
Mom: Yes!
Joe: Wow! I have the most powerful saint ever!
Mom: Really? How so?
Joe: My saint was the boss of Jesus!
And finally, a long-time parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral shared this memory with me recently. “Many years ago, we were at the 10:30 a.m. Mass and a young family was sitting near the front. Their toddler was being disruptive and finally the father picked him up and started heading to the back of the church down the center aisle. The young boy exclaimed quite loudly, ‘N-o-o-o! Daddy, don’t spank me!’ His young friend, sitting a few pews behind him, yelled back loud enough for all to hear, ‘We will pray for you!’”
What have I learned from these small disciples? That the God who made all things, the billions of stars we see in the sky down to the smallest flower on earth also made us and desires our happiness both in this world and in the next. This God chose to become man and allowed himself to be put under the authority of mere humans, Joseph and Mary. He died a horrific death on the cross out of love for us and that we might have a reconciled, intimate, covenant relationship with him and he invites us to share that love with our brothers and sisters — to pray and support one another in our times of difficulty and in joy. As Christian stewards we are called to care for the many gifts that God showers upon us, to be grateful and to return those gifts with increase to the Lord, but the greatest gift he showers upon us are children. Let us gratefully receive these gifts, rejoice in them and give our best to lead them into the loving arms of our Father. May you have a joy-filled Easter season! He is truly risen, Alleluia!
Pray together with the pope and our bishop
In the four Eucharistic Prayers that are used at Sunday Mass, we pray for unity and peace, for faith and charity in the church. Together with the pope and our bishop, we ask God the Father to grant us these graces. The four Eucharistic Prayers express our belief that we, the body of Christ, the Risen Lord present in the world today, are united with the Pope and our bishop.
I say “we” because, although the Eucharistic Prayer is vocalized by the priest, we all pray the Eucharistic Prayer through our attentive listening and in the sung acclamations. Together with the priest we are offering this prayer to God the Father through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the past few weeks I have reflected on this moment in the Eucharistic Prayer. Our church is under attack. Our Holy Father along with bishops throughout our country have been challenged on many levels. To be sure these are difficult times and there are many unanswered questions about serious matters in the church. All the more reason to renew our efforts to pray for this unity in the body of Christ, for the Holy Father, our bishop and bishops throughout the world.
The words of the Eucharistic Prayer are powerful. This is the high point of the celebration of the Mass. We are joining our sacrifice to Christ’s sacrifice. Christ died to bring unity to all people. His first words to his disciples in John’s Gospel when he appeared to them were, “Peace be with you.” Christ desires unity and peace in his church. When we join our sacrifice to Christ’s sacrifice, foremost in our minds and hearts should be His desire of unity. As we pray the Eucharistic Prayer, we believe that God the Father hears our prayer because it is the prayer of Christ himself. Jesus told us that God always hears his prayer.
The Eucharistic Prayer also calls us to action. During the disagreements that will inevitably manifest themselves we are called to exercise charity. In our conversations around the dinner table and the office, we must strive for clarity in the truth and understanding. Sharing our understanding must be united to our listening to others. This is how we arrive at the truth and how the unity for which we are praying will be manifested. I am always grateful when those moments of dialogue happen. This is how God continues to work within us and between us.
Unity will come to the church. May we pray earnestly for this and do our part to ensure the building up of church unity.
I would encourage you to reflect on this the next time you celebrate Mass and hear that part of the Eucharistic Prayer that says: “Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim Church on earth, with your servant Francis our Pope and Robert our Bishop” (EP III) or “Be pleased to grant her (the church) peace, to guard, unite and govern her throughout the whole world together with your servant Francis our Pope and Robert our Bishop.” (EP I)
Curia Corner — Homilies from the past
A great sense of humor. A guitar playing cowboy. Do you need a few more hints to who delivered this homily in the 1970s? \
When I discovered this gem among his writings, growing up as a cradle Catholic, not only did it warm my heart, but I remember how instrumental he was in our young adults Catholic formation. It is a great tribute and very humbling to share with you the following homily on the Feast of Cana …..
When I was a little boy growing up on our farm 8½ miles west of Timer Lake, along with my older brother and sister … this serial movie was playing in the local movie theater, “The Green Archer!” On a Wednesday night. During the week! It was the last, the final movie of this series. We HAD to see it.
The heroine had been captured by the bad guy and was imprisoned in this sort of dungeon. Now, it was up to the Green Archer (he was all dressed in green, ya know) to rescue her.
(Diocesan archives)
So, we really wanted to go. Dad was late coming in from the field and we knew he would be tired and hungry and thirsty. So, before he came into the house we went to mother.
‘Mom, please, please, when Dad comes in ask him to take us to “The Green Archer.’” She reluctantly asked him. He looked pretty tired but he washed up and changed clothes and we drove to the movie. I don’t think he even had time to stop and eat.
‘The children really want to see the last episode of “The Green Archer.”’
That’s all it took. ASK. That’s all it took. They have no wine.
P.S. The Green Archer saved the beautiful maiden! He stood at the top of a winding staircase and far below, in the dungeon, he saw the maiden lying on the floor, bound, hand and feet. Beside her a stick of dynamite with a burning and sizzling fuse attached.
He fit an arrow to his bow, took aim, and the arrow zipped down the winding staircase and cut off the fuse just a couple of inches from the stick of dynamite. She was saved! And we children saw it because our mother said to our father:
‘The children really want to see the last episode of “The Green Archer.”’
That’s all it took.
They have no wine. That’s all it took.
Rev. Gerald Scherer, a great discovery in our archives. An important document that will live on due to the preservation efforts of our diocesan archives.
