Juan Diego: Parish Voices

New Mass Time and New Mode of Gathering: Home Churches Each Sunday at 5 pm

2011-07-24T16:35:00.000-05:00

Our hosts---the Unitarian-Universalists---are currently in the process of selling their church property where we have been meeting since our founding. Because of this, we have had to seek out new options for gathering as a community for weekly Mass.

Following discussion during the past few weeks, we have decided to try a new "experiment in truth"--the home church. As Fr. Larry wrote in an email to some parish members in July 2010 to start discussion of new possibilities: The idea of a Home Church is taken from the Books of Acts and the early church. In the 2nd chapter of Acts:2: 42-47. We read that the "breaking of bread" was done in the home.

In practicing the home church model, we will be meeting each Sunday, at 5 pm, in the home of one of our parish members' families. This location will shift each week. Please email juandiego.parish (at) gmail.com for the location and directions for a given week. Hopefully, we will eventually have a regular schedule and be able to share directions to homes of members who feel comfortable doing so. We will still be celebrating Mass with Fr. Larry and often holding community meals.

We thank all our members and friends--including our hosts--for being part of a major our first step as community at the Unitarian-Universalist church. We are looking forward to this next step together as a parish community and on our shared spiritual journey.

Prayer Flags outside of Larry and Diane Stallings's home, August 2010

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus

2011-06-25T13:44:00.001-05:00

This is really a topic of faith for me personally. As you know I am an alcoholic and have been sober for more than three decades so the idea of drinking alcohol is taboo for me. The consecrated bread and sacred cup are the Body and Blood of the Lord-not bread and wine.

As we were growing up we learned very quickly that when mom told us to do something 2 or 3 times we would be in real trouble if we ignored her. When topics are repeated thay have more power. When a command was repeated by mom it was serious business. If mom repeats something a couple of times and we obey what should we do when the Bible tells us something 5 times?

The real presence is spoken of powerfully and directly 5 times in scripture; Jesus explains it 4 times and the Apostle Paul once. The accounts of the Lord’s supper in Matthew, Mark and Luke are the words of Jesus telling us the bread and wine become the body and blood of the Lord.

The fourth account comes from the 6th chapter of the gospel of John, which is part of today’s gospel reading. How did the disciples react to this teaching? The next few verses tell. Many of the disciples who were listening said this saying is hard and a few verses later we read “as a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life, and no longer accompanied him”. Those disciples refused to believe in the real presence just as many Christians do today.

The 5th example comes from Paul in the 1st letter to the Corinthians “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying”.

Five times! Isn’t that enough to believe?

What should our answer be to someone who does not believe in the real presence? Let’s use Peter’s response to Jesus at the end of John chapter 6. Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also want to leave? Peter answered, Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”.

Tethering to the Messiah

2011-05-28T23:11:00.003-05:00

Fr. Larry's homily from May 15, 2011

When Billy was a tiny boy he wanted to see and touch everything. He was curious (he still is!) and could easily wander off in a busy place to explore something.

Diane did not want to throw cold water on his desire to explore and learn, but she knew she had to be nearby to keep him safe. She bought a backpack with a tether to keep him safe and close. Billy knew about backpacks so he wasn’t offended being tethered to mom. Just as we heard in the first reading Diane was the guardian or protector for her child. The tether backpack was very important in another way. It kept Billy close to Diane so she could talk to him and provide guidance. He could hear his mom’s voice and, of course, he recognized his mom’s voice. The only requirement was that he be close enough to hear her. Close enough to hear the voice of love and protection.

Each of us needs to be tethered to the Messiah. We need to be kept close to the Lord so we can hear his words of love and protection. We have little chance of living a Christian life if we cannot hear his voice. What keeps us close to him? What is our spiritual tether? The tether may be different for each of us, but one truth is certain: We must stay close to God to hear his voice.

Let is choose wisely when we schedule our weekly activities. Do we choose to be close to the Lord or do we choose social events and mindless television shows? Do we choose to be with the people of God, our fellow sheep, or do we choose to be with the world? We are free to choose.

Let us never forget the words of the Psalm: Even when we are in a dark valley, our shepherd is at our side. Even though our foes are all around, the Lord will spread a special table for us.

We must make sure our tether is strong and secure and keeps us close to our savior. Let each of us stay close so we can listen for the voice of love and protection and dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.

Special Parish Announcement - Change of Regular Mass Time

2011-05-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

We have recently voted to change our regular Mass time to Saturday mornings, from 8 am to 9 am.

The location remains the same--the Unitarian-Universalist church at 4818 East Beverly Mae, San Antonio, TX 78229 (near the Medical Center area).

On the first Saturday of each month, Mass will be held in the Large Sanctuary Room. For all other Saturdays each month, Mass will be held in the Fireplace Room.

And, as before, awesome potlucks and swim party fiestas often follow! Especially as the weather warms up again!

Meet Me In Galilee

2011-04-26T13:34:00.000-05:00

Today’s gospel is not the first time the disciples were told they would meet the Lord in Galilee after the resurrection. In Matthew’s account of the Lords Supper, Jesus told them “but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee”. Why Galilee?

In the gospel, it was in the territory of Galilee where Jesus called the first disciples to follow him. It was at the Sea of Galilee that the Lord called the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow him and become fishers of men. He was taking them back to the starting point.

This message was given to the two Marys on a Sunday morning just a couple of days since the disciples ran away from Jesus in fear. The disciples were not admonished about running away, about abandoning Jesus during the crucifixion, or for not having the courage to visit the tomb as the Marys did. Jesus does not hold grudges, he doesn’t remind us of the bad times; in fact he has a very short memory. The disciples were invited to meet Jesus where it all started- Galilee. They were not invited to return to Galilee as individuals but as a faith community.

Each of us has a Galilee, a place where the Lord first called us.
At certain times in our life we may lose our way as the disciples did. We choose the excitement of the world instead of clinging to the Good News. Easter is a perfect time to go back to our Galilee. A perfect time to start over. A perfect time to meet the Lord again. Jesus waits for us there; in fact, he is always there just waiting. As the community of Juan Diego, let us all return to Galilee.

Caring Without Judging

2011-04-10T11:52:00.003-05:00

The text from one of Fr. Larry's recent homilies

A university over a decade ago had a program that concentrates on providing spiritual care to HIV/AIDS patients and their families. A young intern was working in the program and one day was called in by his mentor for a review of his work. The mentor asked, "What is the first question that pops into your head the first time you meet a patient with HIV/AIDS?"

It wasn’t fear of contamination because the student knew you couldn’t pass the disease by touching someone or breathing the same air. The young intern had the courage and insight to admit that the first question was, “ How did you get the disease? Was it sex, drugs, or did your mom pass on the disease at birth?"

Knowing the source of the disease allows him and us to pass judgment---Passing judgment can interfere with compassion. The student was ashamed to realize he was exactly like the disciples when they asked rabbi---who sinned---this man or his parents?

Human beings have some strange need to pass judgment--to decide that another human deserves to suffer at the hands of God. To decide God is punishing them for bad conduct makes us feel powerful. This is an all too common conversation on evangelical talk shows. Maybe these self-proclaimed servants of God have not read from the Book of Lamentations in the Old Testament that says God “does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men."

Related to this is another part of the gospel today: The fear of the parents of the blind man. If a powerful authority were questioning one of our kids, would we come their defense or remain quiet and let them act and speak alone? We know what the moral answer is, but what would really do?

In 2011 our society has the knowledge of medicine and the diagnostic tools of lab tests, MRI’s, CAT scans, and other advances, so we don’t blame suffering people for being sinful and being punished by God. Or do we?

Do you recall what the televangelists or the right wing politicians said about Hurricane Katrina? Alabama State Senator Hank Erwin explained the storm this way, “So why were we surprised when finally the hand of judgment fell? Sadly, innocents suffered along with the bad.”

We heard from many preachers that New Orleans got what they deserved. God judged that town because it was known to be a place of sin. Even today we are quick to ask who sinned, which person, what town, or which nation was stricken by the wrath of God.

When we drive around San Antonio and see the homeless, the unemployed or the sick are we like the disciples in the gospel?

Do we say that the beggar on the corner could find a job if he really wanted to? Do we say they probably dropped out of school or they use drugs or drink too much? Do we think that their condition is completely their fault- their sinfulness. How quickly do we judge? Do we really think they are getting what they deserve or do we think they deserve better and offer a meal, clothes, or maybe a job? Do we judge them so we don’t have too help.

Let’s think about the folks we see for a second. Some claim to be vets, some have kids, some panhandle with a dog---all kinds of scenes. Are all what we might call "legitimate"? --of course not. But, let’s think back to scripture--Jesus fed thousands on different occasions. Were all "legitimate"? Of course not. They were looking for a meal. Remember when Jesus healed the ten lepers and only the one Samaritan came back to thank him? Were the other 9 bums? The point is that Jesus was confronted with the same situation we are today. Did he ever decline to help?

Remember last week’s gospel when Jesus told the Samaritan women she had five previous husbands. The Lord did not judge her but instead told her about worshipping in spirit and truth.

What would the world be like if every Christian put aside their theology and stopped judging? If the Lord himself never worried about this, then why should we?

I’m sure the university intern who was brave enough to self discover the defect of judging others, felt the pain of embarrassment and shame when telling his mentor about his first thoughts when meeting a HIV/AIDS patient. It is better to suffer this pain than to lead a life of self-deception.

What would the world be like if we all were people of justice?

Why Was Lazarus Jesus' Friend?

2011-04-09T15:53:00.001-05:00

This is not the first time we read in scripture that Jesus raised someone from the dead. The daughter of Jairus in Mark 5 and the raising of the only son of a widow in Luke 7 are also mentioned in Scripture. It would be easy to say the first two miracles were not really the raising of a dead person. Because Jesus raised them just hours after they died, some might say they were not really dead but only asleep or in a comma. Lazarus had been dead four days and placed in a tomb. He stank from decomposition.

This is a classic but normal funeral story in the beginning. When Jesus saw Mary and her friends weeping, he too cried. Normal funeral all the way, until Jesus asked, “Where have you laid him?” Then, everything changed when Jesus called on the power of his father. Jesus was seen to be human with the tears of grief and divine in order to raise Lazarus from the dead. This duel nature of Jesus was the great debate of the early church, for about 400 years. Was he a human being, or God? In 451, at the Council of Chalcedon, Jesus was declared truly human and truly divine. The raising of Lazarus clearly shows the reader both natures.

Jesus commanded that the stone be rolled away even before he asked his Father to hear him. Jesus shouted just three words that changed despair to joy. “Lazarus, come out.”

Lazarus did come out, wrapped up in funeral sheets. Jesus did raise Lazarus from the dead.

The relationship between Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and Jesus is very simple and interesting. There is no recorded history of mountaintop sermons, readings in the synagogue or fantastic cures. Jesus did some teaching their home much like the early house churches, but their deep relationship was based on hospitality. Luke 10:38 reads “…he entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him”. They became friends. Is there a message for us?

Remember the story of Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10, Cornelius invited them in and showed them hospitality. In Acts 16 Paul and Silas were thrown in prison but an earthquake broke open all the doors. Instead of making their escape they preached the gospel to the jailer. Their wounds were cleaned and they were brought to the jailer’s house where they were fed a meal. In chapter 18 Paul lived with Aquila and Priscilla and worked as a tent maker. Way back in history Elijah, 1 Kings 17, lived with the widow and her son and we read about the wonderful story of the bowl of flour and the jar of oil. Elijah lived with them for about three years.

We do a similar thing when we celebrate the Eucharist. We prepare the bread and wine. The Presider washes hands. We add water to the chalice and share prayers for our friends, family and special intentions. Then through community prayer we consecrate the bread and wine. Just as Jesus did, we call upon the power of the Father. We say, in part, “Father accept this offering from your whole family- let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ your only son.” We have absolute confidence that the Father hears our request and the consecration will take place.

But, is Jesus welcomed, invited to enter our homes? Do we offer hospitality to his sisters and brothers? Do we use our home as a church as the early believers did? If we are interested in starting this practice we could follow the example offered by Barbara Brown Taylor in her book "An Altar in the World". Barbara started following the example of the Jewish blessing ritual called Brakoth. An observant Jew offers more than 100 blessings per day. The blessing starts with the words “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe”. We can pray the same way; we could say, “Bless my food, heal my brother or grandson, provide a job for a friend”. The Lord invites us all to choose some words of prayer that feel right to us and start a home church right now. We can bless the world and all in it, and start welcoming all Jesus’ sisters and brothers into our homes and our hearts. We can say, "Bienvenidos, People of God! Wecome home!”

The Power of Love

2011-03-24T18:03:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we read the famous versus we call the Beatitudes which is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. In these teachings Jesus is contrasting two kinds of righteousness; the law of Moses or the Torah and the Gospel.
The listeners of the sermon were very familiar with the Torah and the old righteousness. They were taught this law by the scribes and Pharisees but the righteousness of the old law is not sufficient for life in God’s kingdom.

Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the
Pharisees and the teachers, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of God.”
This must have been an amazing message for the people. The Jewish people spent centuries doing what the scribes, Pharisees and Levites told them to do. Now Jesus set them free from the old law to follow the law of the own heart; the Gospel, which is love. Remember what Diane said last week. Something like, the older I get the more I know there is only commandment and that is to love; even our enemies.

Jesus is a new authority but he is not writing a new law or Torah. The teachings of Jesus are examples not rules.

Love of God and love of others determines what is an appropriate response in any given situation. The question is not: What specific action is prescribed for this situation? Is not what law do I obey? Is not what rule do I follow? No. The question is: What is the loving response? What is the selfless response for the good of the other person?

Loving our enemies is a very difficult teaching to put into practice. The starting point in loving our enemies means first and foremost forgiving them. Forgiveness is not ignoring evil. Forgiveness is not forgetting an evil deed by somehow removing the deed from our memory. Forgiveness names the evil as evil, but it eliminates the need to return evil for evil. Forgiveness releases each of us from the need for vengeance. Forgiveness cancels the debt to get even or to execute judgment. Only forgiveness can break the cycle of violence making redemption and reconciliation possible.

When Abraham Lincoln was campaigning for the presidency, one of his political enemies was a man named Stanton. For some reason Stanton hated Lincoln. He went to all kinds of extremes to denigrate and humiliate Lincoln in the eyes of the public, even making fun of his physical appearance. In spite of this Lincoln was elected President.

When Lincoln was selecting his cabinet, he unbelievably selected Stanton to the post of Secretary of War. There was an immediate uproar in the inner circle of Lincoln’s advisors as the news spread of Stanton’s appointment. Lincoln was advised by his most trusted associates, “You can’t do this. This man is your enemy. Remember all the horrible things he said about you. He will surely seek to sabotage your program.” Lincoln told them, “Yes, I am aware of the things he said about me. But, after surveying the needs of our country, he is the best man for the job.” So Stanton became Lincoln’s
Secretary of War and rendered valuable service to his nation and the President. Not many years later when Lincoln was assassinated, many great things were said about him, but perhaps none stand out as much as the words of Stanton, his former enemy. Stanton said of Lincoln that he was one of the greatest men that ever lived and that “he belongs to the ages.” Through the power of forgiveness, Lincoln transformed an enemy into a friend. Lincoln did not live to see the change of heart in Stanton but he was obedient to the wisdom of the Lord which created the change in Stanton.

Ultimately, we love our enemies, not in order to change them or convert them, but because God loves God’s enemies. We love our enemies because we are God’s children, because we share the heart of God. God loves the very ones that ignore, reject, and scorn him and we are called to share his nature. Certainly we pray and hope that our enemies will discover God’s love for themselves and have a change of heart, but whether they do or do not, we love them because God loves them. God loves the evil person, even while God hates the evil that he does. Remember the words of Jesus while he was dying on the cross, ‘forgive them Father for they no not what they do”. Parents may be the best example of unconditional love. No matter what our children do we continue to love them. Moms will always continue to visit their children, even on death row. Yes, they may have committed serious crimes that will cost them their life but parental love will be theirs until the end.

The best example of unconditional love I know of describes the love of a mother for her son. The mom loved her scoundrel son her entire life. Eventually mom died and immediately went to heaven. After a number of years leading a sinful the son died but was assigned to hell. The mother was passionate about getting her son released to join her in heaven. Mom pleaded with the officials in heaven to rescue her son but had no success. Finally she got permission to at least visit her son. She could stand outside the gates of hell and see him. She got to the gates of hell and waited to see her son. He was brought to the gate by he devil himself. When they were in full view; Mom screamed with all her power and might saying directly to the devil-Let Me In. Immediately the gates of hell flew open to release her son. Even the power of hell fails in the presence of love.

Homily for 27-February By Deacon Raymond Vasquez

2011-03-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

Today’s Homily references the Book of Isaiah, and 1st Corithians,
In the First Reading from the Book of Isaiah, we hear, "Zion said, ( Zion refers to a city captured by David (the 2nd king of the Israelites); above it was built a temple and later the name extended to the whole hill; finally it became a synonym for the city of Jerusalem; "the inhabitants of Jerusalem are personified as 'the daughter of Zion”) 'The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.' Can any woman forget her nursing child, or show no love for her baby? I will not forget you, says the lord." Our God says "I will not forget you". Here is one of the tenderest expressions of heavenly love in the entire Bible.
Our Creator is always there for us, we need to accept that fact. While we struggle here on earth, waiting for the day when we meet our Heavenly Father, we are told God is always watching over us. He has not forgotten us. It is us that doubt God, it seems that only when we have problems with health, a loved one is ill that we really step up our believe, in God and we start praying even more then before. He has forgotten us, is what we think. It is very hard to live by faith and not by sight, as we have become accustomed to “seeing is believing”.

The second Reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians concerns the ministry of the Apostles. We hear the reader say, "Brothers and sisters: "Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. We as Christ followers should be worthy of being Gods stewards. Yet we have many faults, we pass judgment on our neighbors, family members, co-workers, without really knowing what the truth is. We as people have a tendency to judge others because of maliciousness, gossip, jealousy, and the want to look good no matter who gets hurt in the process. Its all about us, this is not we, as Christ followers should be.
The Apostle Paul states, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.”
Two important words are found in this passage. They are the words "servants" and "stewards." In those days, the usage of these words implied an “assistant", a "helper.” This is the servant who was entrusted with the administration of the house. Paul places emphasis on the “managers” position who administers his master’s property, and not his own. (Catholic Door Ministries)

When Paul made reference to being judged by a human court, he was referring to any human judgment and criticism. The faithful have no right to pass judgment on the Lord’s manager. Only the Lord, not even the Apostles, can judge the faithfulness of his ministry. The Lord will make known His judgment when His presence is made known upon His return on the last day. (Catholic Door Ministries)

This Bible passage may explain why in the past, so many clergy members have remained silent regarding the sinful behavior of a small number of priests who caused scandal in the Church. For decades, it was taught that no one should speak about the sinful behavior of a fellow priest. God alone is the judge.

While some may have embraced that belief, it opposed other teachings that are found in the Holy Bible where it says, "If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive." [Luke 17:3] In similar words, we find in the Gospel of Matthew the following words, "If another member of the church sins against you go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that the evidence of two or three witnesses may confirm every word. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
Furthermore, the Church teaches that if one remains silent regarding the sinful behavior of another person, because of his silence, such a person is just as guilty of the sin as the one who committed it.

From these aforementioned passages, no matter our status, clergy member, religious or layperson, let us remember our obligation as Christians to rebuke those who sin. And let us not forget that in some countries, criminal behaviors must be reported to the law.( Catholic Door Ministries)

The remaining of today's Gospel Reading has to do with serving two masters.
Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Disciples, followers of Christ, cannot have a divided loyalty.

In this reading, Jesus reminds the disciples that it is not good to possess wealth and ownership. Material possessions are a false god that demands exclusive loyalty, as God demands it. The claims of material possession must be completely renounced. Some of us want more money, more of everything; we are not satisfied with what we have.

Jesus proceeds by saying, "Do not worry." "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

The meaning of the words “Do not worry” as spoken here means not to be "overly concerned." Do not be "uneasy about what might happen." Avoid "anxious care." It may be worth noting that the word means more than simple thought or planning. Jesus refers to the kind of worry that leads to a divided loyalty and ultimately as an exclusive concentration on possession. He speaks of the basic need of food and clothing - the person is more important and deserves more attention than the external goods that sustain him.(Catholic Door Ministries)
We as common people, always worry about tomorrow, we worry about our health, our jobs, about our status in our neighborhood, place of work. We worry about things we have no control of; we have to put our trust in God.

If one places his trust in God, he has no worries. But if he does not trust in God to provide for his future, then he begins to stockpile anything and everything that he believes will benefit him in the future. Such is a false sense of security. It is not the spiritual way to do things.

Jesus continued, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”

The example of the birds is proposed as the proper attitude that we should have towards food. This does not excuse one from earning his food; few men, work as hard for their living as the average sparrow. Jesus is preaching to peasants and laborers. Jesus says nothing here or elsewhere that invites them to abandon their life of incessant grinding toil. It is not laziness that He is recommending. What He is recommending is that one’s anxiety should not exceed the labor that is required to secure subsistence. It is not the use of the necessities of life that is discouraged, but the accumulation of goods. Accumulation of goods does not prolong the life of the owner as much as a cubit (18-20 inches). (Catholic Door Ministries)

In Jesus words, “And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Here Jesus alludes to the wild flowers, which bloom in abundance.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?”
The disciples have a prior dedication, the reign of God. If the disciples seek this, God will provide the necessities of life to those who work for them.
We need to keep up with the Jones’s. Many of us try to keep up with the cultural expectations that come from success, security and the fulfillment that is found by pursuing wealth. Others try to keep up with family expectations or feel a need to compete against one or more persons to prove him/her more worthy or to receive public recognition. Doesn't the saying go, "The rich are famous." until they are broke... and then their friends disappear!
So do not worry about tomorrow, brothers and sisters, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
The words of Jesus from the previous passages, “Sufficient for the day” are the key words to remember.

Today, Jesus reminds us who follow Him that we are more important than flowers, than the grass, than swallows. His promise to us is that He will take care of us even more than He does of the plants and birds. This teaching of Jesus reminds us that we are called to a distinct way of life, not a worldly way but a spiritual way. We are called to trust in God who knows what we need and to believe that God will give it to us. Blessed is he who places his trust in the Lord Jesus!

This week my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray for each other, that we may receive the gift of faith that is necessary to trust in God, so we may not worry about tomorrow.

RECOVERY: The Evolution of the 12 Steps, an Overview

2011-03-02T06:02:00.000-06:00

These famous steps of recovery evolved during a four year period from June 1935 until they were first published in the book Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939. June 10, 1935 marks the founding of the fellowship started by Bill W and Dr. Bob in Akron, Ohio. There are books such as A.A. Comes of Age that chronicles this period of time, and is indeed very good reading if you are inclined to enjoy history. These writings chronicle the emergence of the steps from an original set of seven to the final count of 12. Many early members provided valuable advice to the formulation of the 12 Steps but Bill W. is credited with writing the final version. Today, A.A. supports 116,000 registered groups and more that 2.1 million members.

When A.A. first started, families and friends, and even children, met together as one large group. Very soon it became obvious that some of the therapeutic conversation was very sensitive and not appropriate for everyone’s consumption. From this realization the founding members soon launched closed A.A. meetings; later Alanon, Alateen and more recently Adult Children of Alcoholics were launched. These alcohol-centered separate groups were all launched from the basic 12 Step formula that started with the words “We admitted we were powerless over Alcohol”.

A.A. and Alanon have enjoyed spectacular success and growth over these 70 years. People afflicted with other types of addictions and compulsions realized that the formula of the 12 Steps could be used to treat different types of addictions and compulsions, which lead to the establishment of groups such as Overeaters Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Emotions Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous and more. These other groups replaced the phrase powerless over alcohol to powerless over food, gambling, narcotics, etc. In the last twenty years various religious denominations have also adopted the 12 Steps to use in growth groups and retreats. Because of the writing requirement in the inventory Step(number 4), and the list-making requirements of step 8, religious groups were able to incorporate journaling into their growth model.

The A.A. fellowship strongly suggests that each member acquire a sponsor to assist with working the steps. Step 5 requires another human being, and advice is imperative when making amends in Step 9. If the steps are used in a retreat setting, then the spiritual director of the retreat could serve as the advisor; but a better solution would be a personal spiritual director. No matter what the setting, 12 step recovery requires guidance, mentoring or direction from another person for long-lasting success and rebuilding broken relationships, including a broken relationship with a Higher Power. When the pain of addiction is worse than the pain of life, following the 12 step model will work if we work the steps.

Learn How to Organize in the Gandhian Tradition

2011-02-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

With people-powered protests shaking up the status quo from Tripoli to Madison to Guangzhou to Columbus, this decade is rapidly unfolding into a new, exhilarating era of mass movements on the move for progressive reform and equality all over the world.

Although the causes and circumstances of each of these local actions are diverse, nonviolence has been the unifying theme, strategy, and tactic of all these movements. Authorities have exercised violence against the demonstrators, yet the demonstrators themselves have not embraced violence as an intentional mode of action in any sustained way. Nevertheless, they are toppling regimes throughout North Africa and the Middle East and striking fear in the hearts of those in power in the Midwest, the Middle Kingdom, and beyond.

View from inside the Wisconsin State Capitol, occupied by opponents of the Govenor Walker's proposed bill to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights. February 17, 2011. Photo credit: Peter Gorman/Flikr

If you are seeking a way to learn more about nonviolence as a vehicle of social change and community organizing, I wanted to pass along what looks like a great event that just arrived in my inbox.

The New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Argonomic University in La Motte, Iowa will be holding an in-depth seminar on the history, theory, and practice of nonviolent action from the Gandhian tradition to today. The session goes from March 15-March 17. While in college, I spent a lot of time in several Catholic Workers and wrote about this unique (and nonviolent) social movement for my senior thesis. If my past experience is any guide, I bet this is going to be a fantastic event for anyone in the Upper Midwest or able to travel there. Read all the details after the break.

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Greetings! Below is an announcement of an upcoming "school session" at the New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University, located just south of Dubuque, Iowa. Our session will begin on Tuesday, March 15th at 5pm and will end Thursday evening, March 17th. If you would like to register, please do so by phone only: 563.556.0987. Space is limited.

New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University
6697 Mitchell Mill Rd.
La Motte, Iowa 52054
563.556.0987

***Please feel free to forward***

GANDHI AND THE CALL TO INTEGRAL NONVIOLENCE

While many regard violence and war as contrary to their moral convictions, most of us struggle to articulate and manifest the nonviolent alternative to which we feel called. At this retreat we’ll use Gandhi’s teachings to explore the meaning and relevance of Integral Nonviolence. Could it be that Gandhi’s holistic, comprehensive approach to nonviolent living—incorporating the personal, the social, and the political—represents the best antidote for the violence pervading our time? We will explore Gandhi's three-fold approach to social change: Inner Work, the Constructive Program, and Politcal Resistance.

There will be shared silence, small and large group discussion and reflection, manual labor (if able), and many opportunities to draw on participants’ own life experience. This is a come as you are event—previous knowledge of Gandhian nonviolence is not required, and people of all faiths and/or spiritualities are warmly invited.

Chris Moore-Backman coordinates Operation Nonviolent Life, a grassroots project creating opportunities for nonviolence practitioners to translate the Gandhian approach for application in the current U.S. context. Chris' own experiments with nonviolence have included human rights accompaniment in Colombia, war tax resistance, and car-free living. He is currently working on a Masters Degree exploring the theory and practice of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement--and their meaning for social change today. He lives in Chico, California.

Jesus As Community Organizer

2011-02-17T22:07:00.000-06:00

Fr. Larry's Homily from January 22, 2011

We don’t know how much time passed between the baptism of Jesus and the arrest of John but the activities of John seemed to control the message of Jesus. Apparently Jesus did not start his ministry until John was arrested and completely removed from the scene. The reading says from that time on “Jesus began to preach.” Jesus waited for John’s time to be over.

Another interesting point in the reading is the call of Jesus: how he gathered followers. When we want to hear someone speak, listen to a concert, or attend a performance, we travel to where they are. Public announcements are made, commercials are played, and we usually pay money and then attend the event.

Jesus was and is different. Jesus went to the people directly and called them to follow him. When he began to teach he went to the synagogues. He cured every illness and disease. He could have easily walked through the street, healed a few sick and then set up shop somewhere. People would have flocked to where he was to be healed and taught. Instead, Jesus walked all over the countryside and talk to people in person. Certainly as his fame grew people would flock to where he was to listen and be healed but Jesus always seems to be traveling meeting people and preaching the good news.

A popular, progressive political meme from the 2008 Presidential election--image from ProgressiveBumperSticker.com--a blog about progressive bumper stickers

Theologians have a field day with this reading by talking about the symbolism of today’s readings such as:

--Jesus called brothers to start his ministry. By choosing brothers he increased the chances that they would stay with him. If one got discouraged when times got hard the other would lend support and both would stay with Jesus.

--Jesus started his public ministry in Galilee, which was populated primarily by gentiles meaning that Jesus started his ministry to everyone, not just the Jews.

--The brothers James and John were mending their fishing nets with their dad Zebedee. Mending is the act of making something better or stronger. The original is broken and in some way and needs repair. Jesus could be seen as mending the salvation plan and making the path to God better through the Good News.

--When Jesus called Peter and Andrew it looks like they were casting their nets from the shore. When Jesus called James and John they were working in a boat. A professional fisherman owning a boat would be more prosperous than a shore fisherman.
Jesus didn’t care of you were a shore fisherman or a boat fisherman-all are welcome to serve.

--Three of the first four disciples called made up the inner core of the twelve apostles. In Matthew 17, Peter, James, and John joined Jesus on a high mountain to witness the Transfiguration and again at the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus took Peter, James and John with him.

These are all interesting points, but I personally think the call is the most important message in the reading. Jesus actually makes a personal call to each of us to follow him. When Jesus calls us he is not asking us to be students and pass some sort of test, rather he is calling us to action, to be disciples and actually follow him. Just like the disciples, we have no idea where the call will lead us. The choice of answering the call is our own. We either accept the call or we turn away from it. Like the two sets of brothers the call is the start of an unknown journey. I’m confident they had no idea what a “fisher of men” meant.

Maybe some of us have been called and we are thinking about or we will be called. Remember, each of us has a divine purpose in God’s kingdom. If you have been called, say YES. If you have not say God, I am ready.

Blessed Are...

2011-02-17T22:03:00.000-06:00

Fr. Larry's homily on January 29, 2011

Today’s readings are nearly always called The Beatitudes. These are a very popular source for sermons and used frequently at funeral services. The promises of the Beatitudes are not available in the present. The Beatitudes are future promises. Look again at some of the language:

Theirs is the kingdom heaven
They will inherent the land
They will see God
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Your reward will be great in heaven

These promises of Jesus help all of us when we are suffering and trying to make the best in a difficult situation. They can be very comforting at the death of a loved one. These promises give us hope and can strengthen our faith in God. They offer eternal happiness.

The world has a very different idea of what happiness is. If we were to rewrite the Beatitudes in modern worldly terms they might sound like this.

Blessed are the poor in spirit might be Blessed are the rich.
Blessed are those who mourn might be Blessed are those having fun.
Blessed are the meek might be Blessed are the smart.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness might be Blessed are those who wine and dine.
Blessed are the merciful might be Blessed are the powerful.
Blessed are the peacemakers might be Blessed are the newsmakers.
Blessed are the pure in heart might be Blessed are the slim in body.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake might be Blessed are those who can afford the best lawyers.

The Church of the Beatitudes, near the Sea of Galilee--image from the Wikipedia article on the Sermon on the Mount

The gift of the promises in the Beatitudes is true eternal happiness. The word happiness is also a word with many meanings. A drunk is certainly happy if he finds another bottle of beer. A gambler is certainly happy if he wins some money. We are all happy when our kids bring home good report cards, our favorite team wins a big game or at family reunions. These examples are not what Jesus was talking about. The word beatitude is used because it means something very different: Beatitude means Supreme Happiness only available from God.

The 9 different Beatitudes do not represent 9 different types of people that suffer in their life. Any of us could be all 9 in our life time and certainly we could have several at one time. We Christians have hope beyond this world. Can you imagine how a person would feel if they suffered from one or more of the Beatitudes and had no religious of faith connection- if they didn’t have God in their life. These folks might be without hope.

We keep God in our life by staying his presence. Our Catholic tradition teaches us that God is present to each and every one of us in four ways. In the Word, in the Eucharist, in the gathering and in the Presider. I want you to start being a Presider in your family, friendships and work. It’s true I’m the Presider tonight. Deacon Raymond has been our Presider. Michael, who is an ordained priest, has been a Presider but God wants all of us to preside. Lead a prayer at home, read scripture, or assist your children through a reading. Be the fourth presence of God in your daily life. If you do, the Holy Spirit will guide you and give you voice. Being a Presider will help keep you in the presence of God and helps all of us sustain our faith during trials. Be a Presider.

What The Heck Is "Spiritual Direction"?

2011-02-15T19:24:00.002-06:00

Spiritual direction involves a three-way relationship - it involves God, the director and the directee. Topiocs may include prayer instruction and other spiritual practices. It is recommended that spiritual directors have attended to their own walk and relationship with God before directing others. There are eight functions of spiritual direction:

1. The first of these functions is spiritual assessment, which is the gathering of information about the person’s spiritual experiences, beliefs, and orientation. Spiritual assessment may be formal and include information about their spiritual upbringing, God image, spiritual community, and prayer.

2. Another function of spiritual direction is differentiating spiritual experience from psychopathology. As some mystic experiences have similarities with psychosis, a general understanding of the experiences is necessary to ensure that a referral for psychological care is not needed as opposed to spiritual direction.

3. Spiritual direction also serves to address transformation, or conversion, which may be considered the central process of having a change of heart or changing more into the directee's positive image of God.

4. Another function of spiritual direction is fostering the relationship between God and the directee. It is important to note that the director does not create the relationship with God for the directee, but fosters it and encourages the directee to attend to this relationship within the context of the directee's daily life.

5. Spiritual direction also includes advisement about prayer and spiritual practices, such as meditation, prayer, study, lifestyle changes, incorporating one's work into one's spiritual life, and communal worship.

6. Spiritual direction's focus is always kept primarily on the process of discernment which includes the process of seeking the promptings of the directee's Higher Power.

7. Spiritual direction leads to an understanding that God is in the everyday experiences and relationships of ordinary people, and mystical experiences can and do arise out of those experiences and relationships.

8. Similar to psychotherapy, spiritual direction addresses resistance as well as transference and counter-transference. Specifically, it addresses the directee’s resistance to spiritual experience, resistance to spiritual direction, as well as the director’s resistance to the directee. (The transference and counter-transference addressed within spiritual direction are similar to that of psychotherapy, namely, that they may arise from unresolved emotional or spiritual concerns that are brought into the directing relationship.)

Lessons from the Trees

2011-01-23T22:40:00.001-06:00

Fr. Larry's homily from January 15, 2011

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Today’s gospel is an amazing story of John the Baptist declaring that Jesus was more important than he was. Jesus ranks ahead of John and the preaching and baptizing by John was only to prepare the people to meet Jesus. John declared that he was unworthy to tie the sandal strap of Jesus. John exhibited complete humility--could I, in the same situation?

Redwoods, some of the largest and oldest lifeforms on earth, from near where Billy and Paul live in the Bay Area

Many of us might be jealous and envious if someone appeared who was more powerful or more important than us. Someone who would take away our popularity and our importance with the people, as Jesus did to John. When we read verse 37, we see two of John’s disciples actually leaving John and following Jesus after John declared “Behold, the lamb of God”. In a strange way, John almost sent his disciples away.

I wonder if I would be full of envy or jealousy in the same situation as John was in. Yet, there is a difference between envy and jealousy. Envy is when we are unhappy with what belongs to us and we want to have what someone else has. Jealousy is the fear that someone might take what we do have. Both feelings take away our inner peace. Neither envy or jealousy was present in John the Baptist.

John preached and baptized. He had a very large following of people only so he could hand them over to Jesus. John knew exactly what his job was. He knew why he came into the world as predicted by Isaiah “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”. John knew the plan that God had for him and he accepted it .Do we know why we came into the world? What is Gods plan for our lives? If we do know Gods plan is for us, will we live the plan? Just like John the Baptist, we are born with free will and can say no to God anytime.

If we don’t know what God's plan is for us we might spend our lives chasing after everything. Wanting what others have and being afraid someone will take away what we do have. We can be driven by rivalry, competition and fear. We can go through life trusting no one or anything. Or, we can go through life living in harmony, sharing and cooperating with others. We all have free will--it’s our choice to make.

Take a look at the back yard just outside the window of this Fireplace Room. Look at the different types of flowers and trees. They are different, colors, shapes and sizes. When a plant is planted in the wrong type of soil or doesn’t get the correct amount of water and fertilizer it wilts and dies. God planted every one of us in the correct soil. God waters and fertilizers each of us as needed. We need to let God be the gardener. A cactus is not envious of the rose. The bush is not envious of the oak tree.

Maybe we think we are absolutely ordinary. John certainly thought himself to be ordinary in comparison to Jesus and yet Jesus said in Matt 11:11 “Among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

No one is ordinary. Let me repeat, no one is ordinary. In Psalm 139 we read, “ truly you have formed my inmost being: you knit me in my mothers womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made.”

Let each of us continue the journey of life saying to God, “ not my will, but yours be done.”

Healing and Teaching as a Community

2011-01-23T21:03:00.002-06:00

Fr. Larry's homily from January 8, 2011

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Let’s look at another look at the first reading from Isaiah. God the Father is talking about Jesus. He is pleased with him and will put his spirit on him. The Lord uses the title servant for his own son. The servant has a huge job: To bring justice to the entire world. This is a tough job, made tougher by the restrictions. Jesus can’t cry out, he can’t shout, and his voice can’t be heard in the street. Certainly he could not start a war or revolt. He had to be really nice. How does anyone change the world by being really nice?

When we look over the gospels we can see that Jesus did bring justice to the world by being a healer and a teacher. The gospels are full of his teachings usually the form of parables or stories. We can read teachings such as the Sermon on the Mount and even after the resurrection. For example, when Mary of Magdala recognized him she called “Rabbouni,” meaning teacher.

We all certainly know the stories of the miracles of Jesus such as bringing sight to the blind, curing the lame, feeding thousands. The real challenge to the Lord was that he had to lead a life of peace and justice to the very end. The end for him was the very painful and humiliating death by crucifixion. During the last few hours of life Jesus asked his Father to forgive the people killing him, he told a thief being crucified beside him that he would join him in paradise and he made sure his mom had a home. He told the disciple he loved “behold your mother and from that hour he took her into his home”. Jesus remained a peaceful teacher to his last breath.

If we are to be Christ Like how do we teach, how do we heal?

A community blessing during Mass at Juan Diego, August 2010

Healing is a gift Juan Diego as a community has and demonstrates regularly. We pray for each other during Mass, we bless each other when a life event comes up, we share food and the stories of our lives. Healing is the fruit of this work. And don’t forget that we practice the laying on of hands. We lift our hands in a priestly blessing for healing, travel and birthdays. We laid hands on Raymond ordaining him to the Order of Deacon. We bless each other with oil and share an embrace at the sign of peace. All acts of healing. If you help a disabled person walk, if you push a wheelchair, take someone to the doctor you have brought more healing into the world.

How do we teach? Mostly by the way we live. We share our time, talent and treasure with no expectations of a return. We give with no strings attached. We teach with examples of generosity and helping others. People watch us constantly and learn from us by the way we live our lives. Every now and then we actually share our faith; usually in a family sitting or at church. The way we live, not what we say, tells others what is important to us. Maybe the greatest challenge for all of us, is to help someone we really don’t like. We help because of the life we chose to live, that of a Christian. Giving, because it’s our duty even to an enemy may be the ultimate gift.

Close Guantanamo Now, End Torture Now

2011-01-08T14:28:00.001-06:00

Witness Against Torture begins ten days of action, fasting, and lobbying next Tuesday in Washington, DC to push for the closing of Guantanamo, all US secret military prisons/CIA blacksites, an end to US-perpetrated torture, and truth and justice on the war crimes committed during the past ten years.

Members of Witness Against Torture demonstrating in front of the White House last January, calling attention to President Obama's failure to keep his promise to close Guantanamo within one year of coming to office

Juan Diego stands in solidarity with these actions from afar with prayer, words of support, and hope for an end to this cruel injustice within our society. The Witness Against Torture official press release follows after the break.

AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT,

TUESDAY, JANUARY 11

Anti-Torture activists to rally at the White House and march to the Justice Department as the prison at Guantánamo enters its 10^th year; March to be led by 174 “detainees” wearing hoods and jumpsuits to represent the 174 men still held at Guantánamo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama entered office promising to close Guantánamo and remove the taint of lawlessness it represents. Yet the prison remains open. While Congress blocks efforts to transfer prisoners to the U.S. for criminal trials, the White House draws up plans to hold some men indefinitely, without charge or trial.

That's not acceptable, says Witness Against Torture, which will begin two weeks of protest in Washington, D.C. on January 11. On the 11^th, a coalition of human rights groups will hold a rally in front of the White House at 11 am, followed by a “prisoner procession” to the Department of Justice. There, one group of participants will demand a meeting with DoJ officials, while others will engage in non-violent civil disobedience. By blocking the lawsuits of former detainees, appealing the decisions of federal judges ordering the release of prisoners, and refusing to prosecute Bush administration officials for torture, the Justice Department has failed to fulfill President Obama’s promise of accountability and respect for the rule of law.

“Congress and the White House are rapidly moving toward a policy of permanent detention without trial for many of the prisoners at Guantánamo,” says Bob Cooke of Witness Against Torture. “Bagram and other detention centers remain beyond the reach of the law. This violates the U.S. Constitution, as well as international law. When our government’s policies violate the law and our nation’s ideals, it's up to the people to challenge the government directly.”

The protest on the 11^th will be followed by 10 days of fasting, lobbying, and demonstrating in Washington, D.C.

Witness Against Torture demands include:

Close the prison at Guantánamo Bay;
Free all prisoners who have been cleared for release, ensuring their safe resettlement and providing asylum in the U.S. for those unable to go elsewhere;
Produce charges against all other prisoners and prosecute them in U.S. courts;
Open all detention centers to outside scrutiny. That includes accepting the oversight of the International Committee of the Red Cross of all facilities; and
Conduct a comprehensive criminal inquiry against all those who designed and carried out torture policies under the Bush administration.

Who: Witness Against Torture and co-sponsors

Event: Rally, “prisoner procession” to Department of Justice, and non-violent direct action

Date and Time: Tues, Jan. 11, beginning at 11am

Location: The White House, Washington, D.C.

Who We Are: In December 2005, Witness Against Torture drew international attention when its members walked to Guantánamo Bay to protest at the prison. Since its return, the group has organized vigils, marches, nonviolent direct actions, and educational events opposing torture and calling for the closure of Guantánamo.

Christian Community v. Christianist Individualism

2011-01-08T14:16:00.005-06:00

Fr. Larry’s homily on the Feast of the Epiphany, 2011, Part II

If Christianity is a single religion then how come there are so many different versions? Some Christian groups say only they are going to heaven. Why do denominations make up stories that are not based on any known truth?

Just flip through the television channels and you will hear many different versions of Christianity. Each one professes to have the answer. Each says we should be Christ like, so what was Christ like?

Was Jesus wealthy? One very common theme in modern conservative beliefs is the notion that God wants all of us to prosper economically, to get rich. If we should be rich why would Scripture say, as in Luke 9:58, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” If Jesus does not have a home, how can property be valuable in the kingdom of God?

Fritz Eichenberg's woodcut engraving, Christ of the Breadlines--a Catholic Worker favorite and an excellent depiction of the idea of the invisible Christ of Matthew 25 that we here at Juan Diego can never seem to post too often

We can hear at any time on most any TV station that we are guaranteed to go to heaven if we do what a specific church says, but Matthew 21 squashes that notion: “Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter…Many will say to Me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me.”

So, if we do become rich and have resources to share, what should we do? To answer this, we turn to this celebrated passage of Acts that lays out a the Christian vision for community:

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

The early church members did not give away everything they owned to strangers, some church or non 3profit organization; they shared with each other. There were no needy among the believers.

Maybe there are two types of giving. One I call “citizenship giving” and the other “Christian giving.”

Citizenship giving could be donations to art or music projects, scouts or police/firefighter organizations. These citizenship organizations can be very noble such as the zoo or a library but they are not what the Book of Acts is talking about.

Acts is talking about needy people not institutions. Christian giving sometimes requires some serious thinking, knowledge or investigation. Christian giving is sometimes marked by the sacrifices of the giver much more often than citizenship giving.

Certainly it is important to remember that the journey to salvation, living the Christian life, is not easy. Salvation cannot be bought with a bank account. It is not a one-time admission that “Jesus is Lord.”

It is a lifetime journey of faithful living in a sea of constant change. The remarkable thing about change is that peace comes with spiritual change. We stop worrying about worldly things so much. We become content and secure about our life. We live our lives as God created us, not to some man-made standard. We should ignore temptations to mimic others. Be content with who you are, and never forget God only creates holiness.

Let us all find ourselves and live our unique lives and gifts in a faith community. If we can do that maybe there will be no needy among us and the world.

Who Were the Magi? Why Is Their Story Important?

2011-01-08T14:08:00.003-06:00

Fr. Larry’s homily on the Feast of the Epiphany, 2011, Part I

Today’s reading is a perfect example of how the gospels are sometimes altered to fit a specific belief system. For example; I’m sure we all remember the words of the famous Christmas carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” Others stories about the Magi visit calls them a group of three wise man. The number three was chosen because there were three gifts listed but nowhere in scripture is the number three seen or that the visitors are considered wise men.

6th century mosaic from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy: One of the earliest surviving visual representations of the Magi

The three kings have been given the names Casper, Melchior and Balthasar. I personally prefer the name Melchior because our puppy was born on the feast of the three kings and Carmen gave the orneriest puppy to Diane, with the name Melcharita.

Since these details have no Bible basis then what are we to think? The title Magi is given to Persian Priests. Scripture says they came from the East, most likely Babylonia.

Magi has four possible meanings: a member of the Persian priestly state, a possessor of occult knowledge, a magician, or a mountebank. Mountebank means someone who sells quack medicines and influences the audience with tricks and stories. All four definitions are very similar to each other. Not one definition refers to wise religious men. That is made up.

The real message of this reading is that the people the Messiah was ostensibly (according the logic and interpretation of prophetic writing at the time) coming for rejected Jesus even before he was born and Gentiles—those ostensibly not “chosen” by God—worshiped him.

A New Year

2010-12-31T13:36:00.003-06:00

Blessings and greetings to all our readers and community members as we move from 2010 to 2011 this evening!

2010 was an incredible year for our parish--we celebrated our first Mass together, our first wedding ceremony, several Baptisms, First Communions, and Confirmations, Fr. Larry and Deacon Raymond's ordinations, we launched and maintained an active blog and website, and our community has grown into a stable group of several dozen diverse souls with great cooking skills and open hearts.

Yet, for the nation and the world, 2010 will most likely be remembered, in the words of San Antonio's alternative newspaper The Current, "the year that mostly sucked."

The DREAM Act was defeated, unemployment remained high even after the recession "ended," reactionary, anti-equality partisans gained control of the Texas and US Houses, the BP oil spill--the biggest environmental disaster in US history--destroyed the economies and ecologies of Gulf communities, the US occupation in Afghanistan continues to worsen, and Guantanamo is still open (among many, many other major bad news stories).

However, there were a few bright spots within this grimness: Wikileaks shook the global secrecy regime of corporations and powerful nations in an unprecedented way that married the power of democratic ideals with Web 2.0 technology, health care reform (however limited in scope) passed, and the irreversible repeal of DADT finally began, and people around the world stood up together with outspoken courage and creativity to oppose austerity measures that would fall disproportionately on the poor in Western Europe and elsewhere.

The beginnings of a new era of people-driven movements for radical reform emerged in 2010. We hope and pray (and will continue to do what we can from the base of Juan Diego) that 2011 will prove a better year for progress and social justice in Texas, the US, and the world. For now, let us celebrate our successes and the community we have built together!

Christmas Homily: The Changing Means Conveying a Simple Message

2010-12-26T11:52:00.009-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our readers! The full notes from my Christmas homily at Juan Diego yesterday can be found after the break. The Podbean.com widget is still not working, but you can find the audio recording of the Gospel and homily through this link. Have a Happy New Year and safe returns for all traveling!

Christmas Homily 2010

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news.

Greeting

· Billy and I are deeply happy to be back here in Texas, with family and with Juan Diego! We are both feeling immensely full of gratitude, feeling blessed and lucky—Billy has been hired by Google and will be starting in January!

Information today and in the time of Christ—why we bless the feet of those who bring glad tidings

· This Christmas, I want to focus on the very first line from the first reading—at first it may seem like a throw-away line or a little saccharine-- How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news—why is the writer wasting time praising “he who brings glad tidings”—why not just get to the actual content of the news?

Michelangelo's Isaiah, painted in 1509

Android, the name and mascot of Google's smartphone platform, circa 2010

· Google's mission statement is “organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful.” We, in 2010, are constantly inundated by information—the average American sees 3,000 ads a day, 36 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, most of us have TVs, email addresses, Facebook accounts, home phones, and cell phones. Our problem is usually too much information coming at us.

· But, in the ancient world the exact opposite problem existed—information was incredibly precious, rare, and difficult to convey over time and space. Only Caesars, generals, and rich merchants had access to enough money and resources to convey written messages—and even these communications of information were exceedingly difficult and uncertain. There was no postal service. Letters had to be carried by trusted courier. News of any sort spread extremely slowly. When Julius Caesar invaded Gaul 50 years before the birth of Christ, he dictated accounts of battles to scribes, these documents then took several weeks or months to travel on horseback from modern day Paris to Rome, where they were read aloud in the Forum since the vast majority of people even in Rome were illiterate—without any speakers or microphones. This was the state of affairs until very recently in human history—Andrew Jackson fought a famous battle against the British in New Orleans during the War of 1812 and won—yet the war had been concluded weeks earlier making the battle completely unnecessary in retrospect—it took months for news to travel across the country even then. Until the arrival of the railroad in the 19^th century, it took a stagecoach three days to travel from here to Austin. In sharp contrast, we watched video in real time the first bombs fall on Baghdad at the start of the Iraq War in 2003—and we can drive from San Antonio to Austin, if traffic is good, in less than an hour.

· The rarity and preciousness of information was even more extreme to Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and those around them—they lived in a poor, backwater of the Roman Empire—even fewer people could read and even fewer had access to horses, scribes, or couriers. News arrived when a villager traveled and returned, when a peddler came through town, or an itinerant preacher arrived—and then the news was conveyed by mouth. News traveled like a very slow moving telephone game—imagine if the only way Billy and I could communicate to you in Texas were to tell a message to someone we knew would be walking from California to San Antonio—it would take months to reach you and would be garbled and short.

Wrap it back to today

· But even today there are some messages that we can only convey with our own feet or can only be conveyed to us by others traveling to see us:

o We cannot hold the hand of a loved partner or child who is sick over the phone or over video chat.

o We cannot convey the human warmth and power of a hug through Facebook.

o We can only share meals together when we are physically together.

· We especially know the truth of these things—the difficulty of travel and the need to see loved ones around Christmas. We have cars and jets—while Christ walked almost everywhere he went—but we still have national borders and checkpoints and language barriers, we still have pets and children who throw up on long car rides, snowstorms delay flights, our hearts still ache acutely until we are reunited with those we love—and when we must depart from them, the time has seemed all too short.

· Through all the stories and traditions passed to us about Christmas, a common theme is travel—the Holy Family summoned to Bethlehem, for the Roman census, their later flight into Egypt, the long trek of the Wise Men from the East, the gathering of the shepherds at the manager. Later, Christ would structure his the entire public ministry around a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the disciples would be sent throughout Palestine, and Paul would travel across the Roman world.

· They all bore this simple bit of information—the bit of information that we gather here today to remember, that has traveled from ancient Palestine to modern America: that Christ, the Word, the Son of Man, God, the Light, the Eternal, the Son, Jesus—this presence known by a multitude of names to a multitude of faiths is a presence of unlimited and absolute benevolence. Christ brings peace, enters into our history, loves humanity, and seeks to inspire us to likewise engage in the work of peace among one another. We are all called—like Christ was—to engage freely in the work of peace, in raising up the Kingdom of God, what Philip Pullman calls the Republic of Heaven and what Dorothy Day calls the "end of the long loneliness." The message conveyed by Isaiah's messenger, the message conveyed by the Christmas stories, the message conveyed by our celebration here today is simple: Love one another. As we depart Mass, as we celebrate dinner with family and friends tonight, as the New Year arrives, as we continue on our work and school lives in 2011, let us remember and do our best to live out this message. Let us love one another.

John the Baptist, Prophecy, and History

2010-12-18T15:17:00.010-06:00

Medieval Byzantine icon of John the Baptist, currently held by the British Museum

Fr. Larry's homily on the third Sunday of Advent 2010

Today’s reading gives us a very different look at John the Baptist. A look of doubt. Recall in verse 9 that Jesus said that John was a prophet. The Jewish people had been lead and taught by prophets for centuries. John the Baptist was the first prophet the Jews had seen since the prophet Malachi.

John was in prison and certainly he knew he would die there. John would have remembered his preaching and proclamations about Jesus and was thinking. I hope I was right! Remember, John the Baptist had personally baptized Jesus and declared him to be mightier than he was, in fact, John said he was not worthy enough to carry his sandals. After all that, how could John doubt the divinity of Jesus Christ? John doubted just like we do.

If a prophet of God can have doubt so can we. When we see the violence of the world, the assaults of woman and children, greed and pollution, terrorists, hunger, the list is endless; we might wonder if there is truly a Savior named Jesus Christ. If there is really a God and savior how could these atrocities be allowed to happen? Why could John the Baptist be arrested and placed in prison for being a prophet?

Oh sure, we read and hear about the writings of Paul in Romans and Corinthians about faith, hope and love but so what? None of us want bad things to happen to us, to our families, our friends, our neighbors, our nation and hopefully, to people of the world; but they do. Even Jesus did not want bad things to happen to him. Remember what he said in the garden to his Father? Abba, Father, all things are possible with you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will be done.

We have seen a number of cups of suffering in the last century. The Jewish people certainly drank from the cup during the holocaust in Hitler’s Germany. How could the chosen people of God be lead to gas chambers? I’m sure the people of Japan were stunned when the atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. And how about Oklahoma City when Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building killing 168 men, women, and children? Maybe the best known example of the cup of suffering for Americans, would be 9/11. There is a prophetic poem describing 9/11 that helps understand God in these moments:

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL' Stacie Randall

You say you will never forget where you were when
you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I
held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the
peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK. I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only
believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.

I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan .
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take
my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you. But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are
'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
Signed God

Jesus did not answer John the Baptist with a simple Yes. He said “What do you see and hear”. What do we see and hear?

We see baptisms. We see marriages. We read scripture that holds the promise that when two or more are gathered together in the name of Jesus he will be present. We have the Eucharist and most of us know of a miraculous healing due to prayer.

At John the Baptist's final moment and at our final moment, may we all hear a voice from the stairwell that says; “Well done my good and faithful servant. Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. Come, share your Masters joy.” Yes John, I am the one.

We Hope and Work For This Change: No More Torture

2010-12-11T21:28:00.004-06:00

Virtually every faith tradition, every set of ethics, and every culture roundly condemns torture. Most nations and international bodies currently define torture as a crime against humanity involving the intentional infliction of "severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon one or more persons."

Torture is wrong.

Torture cannot be defended, justified, or otherwise legitimated through any legal, ethical, cultural, or spiritual basis in democracy or Christianity.

Yet, the US continues a set of policies that, in effect, maintain a global network of active torture. And, some of the loudest cheerleaders of these actions are those who call themselves "Christian."

This coming January 11, 2011--less than a month from now--marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo prison by the US. Guantanamo (often called "Gitmo" in the media) is only a small part of a vast, mostly secret global network of detention centers and extralegal/illegal procedures built by the US during the past decade. While no complete numbers have been released, it is estimated that tens of thousands of individuals have passed through this system. We do know, beyond a doubt, that many of them have been tortured, and many of them have been known to be completely innocent by any metric.

From witnesstorture.org

Since 2002, Witness Against Torture has been one of the leading and most outspoken coalitions of activists within the US calling for and working for the end of torture perpetrated by the US government. Last year, we endorsed their actions held in Washington, DC to witness to the continued existence of Guantanamo prison and virtually all Bush-era torture policies.

Unfortunately, this past year has not brought change (or hope) from President Obama on this front. Indeed, the President has definitively signaled that he will not close Guantanamo and that his Administration will offer little different from Bush in the realm of torture.

For this reason, it is all the more vital to raise our voices (and keyboards) in solidarity with the courageous groups and individuals of Witness Against Torture as they gather once again in our nation's capital to bear witness to and call for the immediate end of Guantanamo and the global US torture regime. After the break, you can find their call to action for 2011--which we endorse fully and loudly.

We hope and pray that by 2012 this movement will have achieved our goals, that torture will be once again a crime and/or subject of historical inquiry in the US (rather than current practice and litigation), and that change in this area will have really come to America and the world.

CALL TO ACTION: JOIN WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE JANUARY 11‐22, 2011

“The existence of Guantanamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained... By any measure, the costs of keeping Guantanamo open far exceed the complications involved in closing it... That is why I ordered it closed within one year.”

- President Barack Obama, May 21, 2009

President Barak Obama’s promise to close Guantanamo and End Torture is broken. January 11, 2011 marks the beginning of the 10th year of confinement, abuse and injustice for the men at Guantanamo.

On Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Witness Against Torture will gather at the White House for a press conference, then proceed in a “prisoner procession” to the Department of Justice for nonviolent direct action. 174 men are imprisoned at Guantanamo, and we hope to have at least that many people in the procession.

From 1.11‐1.22, we will fast and hold daily vigils and demonstrations throughout Washington, haunting the sites of power with the specter of Guantanamo’s cruel injustice.

Why These Dates? On January 11th, 2002, the first men came to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba‐ which the Bush administration had established as a permanent holding facility for those dubbed enemy combatants. The notion was that U.S. law‐ like the writ of habeas corpus, the right of due process, freedom from torture and abuse‐ would not extend to Cuba.

Then, on January 22, 2009, President Obama committed his administration to closing the prison camp at Guantanamo within a year. Since then, the process of releasing, relocating, or prosecuting the men there has been mired in bureaucratic machinations, Congressional grandstanding, fear‐mongering, and political backsliding. Despite his claim to break from the past, President Obama has upheld many of the worst Bush policies – from the denial of habeas corpus, to immunity for torturers, rendition, and indefinite detention without charge or trial.

That this abrogation of the law has been allowed to continue under Obama is a galling outrage. Guantanamo continues—and worse, is being replicated and extended in Afghanistan where the United States administers at least nine prisons. We need principled, nonviolent witness and action to secure due process, accountability, and a world without torture, cruelty, and endless warmaking.

PLEASE JOIN US Come to Washington and participate, or plan an event in your own community. Contribute to the Campaign, Co‐sponsor our effort, Learn more about our work.

Welcoming, Affirming, and Working for Change: GALIP and the GayChurch.Org Global Directory Project

2010-12-05T12:29:00.001-06:00

From the very start, Juan Diego Parish has been welcoming and affirming of all identities and cultural backgrounds in our community. In our mission statement, published last winter, we write:

You are uniquely created, so come as you are, and join a bunch of unique souls deepening their relationship with God. If our message and spirit appeals to you, we invite you. Your past is of no concern to us—we are a church without doors, free of guilt, and full of diversity and dignity. Although we are not perfect, we can promise good company together on our shared journey through this world.

We have not sought to become exclusively "a gay church" or exclusively "a liberal church" or exclusively focusing on any one identity--but rather a gathering place of a polyphony of backgrounds, identities, and worldviews.

And this we have become---our members speak Spanish, Bosnian, and other languages; we hail from all over the world; we come from poor to middle class to wealthy households; some of us have families, some of us don't; some of us were raised Roman Catholic, some were raised Muslim, some of us were raised with no faith tradition. The list goes on and on. We celebrate our diversity--and look forward to its growth as much as the numerical growth of our community.

Photo of a sculpture from the Rutgers University Library System's statement on diversity

Yet, because we worship in the catholic tradition and because the Roman Catholic Church has taken such particularly unloving stances on queer sexuality and LGBTQ people in our times, we have found ourselves called again and again to reaffirm ourselves as place that is both catholic and welcoming with full equality of queer people.

This past July, we placed our parish name and contact information on a major directory of welcoming and affirming pro-gay churches---GALIP (God's Agape Love Put Into Practice). GALIP's directory provides an invaluable global resource for finding churches that are welcoming and affirming of queer people around the world. This is important not only for queer people themselves, but also for their families and friends as well as everyone else who recognizes that a community that is unwelcoming or treats queer people unequally cannot authentically claim to be a Christian community.

As Christmas approaches, GALIP reached out to communities on their directory, asking them to verify their contact information. We asked GALIP if they would guest-blog a post on their work. Eric of GALIP sent us this excellent, Christian scripturally-based response. It is worth reading for all those who believe in an affirming vision of Christianity, especially those working from a Protestant tradition.

I have spent the last 5 years emailing thousands upon thousands of churches and it is not uncommon to hear repeated questions, comments or concerns from the receivers of my email invitation. One such response to my invitation to join a directory of welcoming and affirming churches is “Aren't all churches supposed to be welcoming?” The answer to question is not as easy, but I will try my best to explain why www.gaychurch.org is still a very important resource for struggling gay and lesbians searching for Christ.

I would say with a resounding YES it is the command of ALL Christian congregations to be welcoming of all, no matter what “condition” a person is in or “wherever they are on their spiritual journey”. Truly these churches are mimicking Christ when they welcome all seeking to understand and following Him (John 6: 37-40). But not every church believes that homosexuality is a given or that mongamous gay partnerships can be blessed by God. Many churches look down on other churches that do affirm gay people as being “soft on sin” and “ignoring scripture.” What I can easily say through my past 5 years talking with pastors and church members is these people truly believe that homosexuality is a temptation to be avoided at all costs and the Bible condemns those who “practice” it to Hell for all eternity – and maybe even the churches that bless such relationships too....

Maybe I should clarify something else about gaychurch.org. It is not only a directory! Not only do we have links to plenty of sites that deal with what the Bibles does and does not say about homosexuality, the creator of gay church (Elaine Sundby) has included a Bible Study of those verses that “prove God hates homosexuality”. Elaine has even written a terrific book “Calling the Rainbow Nation Home” detailing her struggles with the Bible and her sexuality. While I admit that we don't have identical theologies as it is related to homosexuality and faith, we both agree that what the Bible says trumps how we feel. We believe that Scripture is divinely inspired and useful for teaching and guiding believers (2 Timothy 3:16). I think that if either Elaine or myself believed the Bible taught that our relationships were sinful simply because the Bible said our genders were the same as our partners then we would follow the authority of Scripture in this matter. But, we are convinced that we are not condemned simply because we are gay, nor because we love our significant others. More importantly, we believe our faith in Christ supercedes our “rightness” or “wrongness” on this issue (Romans 8: 38-39); (Ephesians 2:8-9); (John 3:16).

So when I email a church asking if they are welcoming and affirming of GLBT people, I always put an emphasis on the affirming part. No matter what your theology or understanding of the faith, you should welcome everyone. That is a given. Affirming someone for being gay still seems more of a challenge in the Christian community even to this day. And while there is still debate over whether or not “we are OK” as we are, directories like www.gaychurch.org are essential.

Peace in Christ,

Eric

The Littlest Angel

2010-12-05T11:56:00.000-06:00

A suggested by Diane on the Second Sunday of Advent:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/190477/the-littlest-angel

Living Stones - The "Outlaw" Homeless Ministry in San Antonio

2010-12-05T08:49:00.003-06:00

Does it seem to you that the thing people of "good will" want most to do for the homeless, the marginalized, the oppressed, is to control them? Do you ever wonder what people of "good will" will do to get the chance to control a large group of such unfortunates?

In San Antonio, that chance comes in the form of a one-stop center to help folks who are so bad off, they cannot access normal social services. Now, that is a good impulse, and will even do a lot to help people who are sick, homeless, hungry and helpless.

The problem is in creating this one-stop center, the city has decided to eliminate all other places, people and programs that do minister to these folks, including mobile feeding vans that serve those who live on our streets.

A ministry I have had enormous respect for since I was President of the St. Vincent de Paul group at a very large Roman Catholic parish on the north side is Living Stones Ministry. They were so desperate for food assistance that they would take the outdated canned goods we would throw out twice a year, food that we wouldn't even give to the poor who had homes. Living Stones would gratefully take what even our regular client wouldn't take, and turn it into nutritious meals for it's residents down on North Hackberry St., near the big rail road switching track area.

I visited Living Stones last week to bring them some food we had collected from our community, some money from the CUUC, and a check from our own meager treasury.

The first thing I noticed, smell-sensitive that I am, is that there was no unwashed-clothes smell that I worked so hard to not notice whenever I went to the SAMM shelter, no smell of urine on the mattresses like at the SAMM shelter. It smelled "normal", much to my nose's relief.

Another thing I noticed is the warm and personal greetings I got from staff and residents alike, none of the gruff, matter-of-fact hassle I got at the SAMM shelter whenever we went there to assist. A chorus of "God bless you" rang out to me instead. And, unlike the SAMM shelter, no police presence. These folks police themselves, with dignity.

Before I left, they insisted on praying a blessing for St. Juan Diego and me personally. And do I feel blessed!

I hope we continue to share the little we have with these "outlaws" in San Antonio. It's pretty fitting that a little ECC parish, sort of an outlaw parish like ours, continue to bless and be blessed by another outlaw group in town. What do you think?

Waiting for Peace: The Start of Advent 2010

2010-11-28T20:01:00.003-06:00

Happy Advent everyone! Today is the first Sunday in Advent, a fitting conclusion to a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend. This year's readings for the day include one of my favorite passages in Scripture and one of the most eloquent bits of prophetic poetry pleading for peace among world faith and cultural traditions:

They shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.

With the recent outbreak of violence on the Korean peninsula last week, the world has been abruptly reminded that many of the central horrors of the Cold War--above all, the existence of nuclear weapons and the discussion of their use--remain a very real danger to the peace among all of us on this small planet.
Pending ratification by the US Senate, the US and Russia will continue and reaffirm their commitment to a substantial reduction of nuclear weapons that are deployed and ready to launch through the New START treaty. While this is an important step--and one that many in Texas and elsewhere are calling for ratification, it is a far, far cry from the total abolition of nuclear weapons in our world.

Fr. Carl Kabat, a Catholic Worker and Plowshares activist, hammering upon a Minuteman III missile silo in North Dakota, on Good Friday (and April Fool's Day) 1994

For over thirty years, intensely committed individuals around the world--many of whom I have had the profound honor of meeting--have engaged in civil disobiedance, creative nonviolent resistance, and courages acts of outspoken witness to draw attention to and work for the end of nuclear weapons in our world. This movement takes its name from the passage from Amos above: the Plowshares Movement. If you've not heard of them, take a moment to read about some of the extraordinary actions of this group. From pouring their own blood on nuclear submarines to blocking trains carrying nuclear armaments, the activists of the Plowshares movement has been a bright and steady light point the way to a nuclear weapons-free world.

It is their actions--and their example of courage--that I will reflecting up this first Sunday of Advent 2010, with the prophet calling us toward a world where engines of war have been transformed into the tools of agriculture and community.

Modern Thanks for Modern Work

2010-11-27T12:01:00.001-06:00

Diane found this great Thanksgiving prayer by way of Digby (the nom de plume of the writer of the awesome blog Hullabaloo) who reposted the text from a blog reader named James Armstrong. It is an excellent example of a Thanksgiving prayer in the American tradition of Thanksgiving prayers, adapted for our modern times, offering thanks to those who directly make our post-scarcity lifestyle possible.

"Communications" by Ingrid Edwards, 1936. A painting produced as part of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, a federally-funded project to send artists through America to document the lives of everyday working people. The original work is now held by the Minnesota Historical Society.

I give thanks to the many workers, both documented and undocumented,
who harvest the fields that provide us our food from farms, that
keep us from starvation.

I give thanks to those farmers who dedicate themselves to sustainable
farming techniques, so this bounty will not just be mine, but will
be there for generations in the future.

I give thanks to people like Norman Borlaug, who won the 1970 Peace
Prize for advances in wheat harvests, and scientists like him,
who have helped make it easier to feed the world.

I give thanks to those who transport the food -- the loaders,
truckers, train engineers and signalmen, and others -- responsible
for getting fresh meat and produce to outlets throughout the world.

I also give thanks to those who are dedicated to the locavore
movement, where freshness is not dependent on anything but time
and speed to market, and where you know the plans are freshly picked.

I give thanks to those merchants who accept the deliveries and
who provide us the opportunity to buy from the cornupoia of the
American harvest.

I thank those few thankless food inspectors -- too few and overworked
-- who are straining to keep the food supply as safe as they can.

And, finally, I give thanks to those who prepare and serve the meals
we eat. If it is my own cooking, I thank those who came before
and taught me how to cook, and who derived the recipes I use.
When others cook, I thank them for the work they do for me.

It is for these workers, scholars, and ordinary people to whom I
am thankful on this day of Thanksgiving, 25 November, 2010.

"Give Me One More Thing, A Grateful Heart"

2010-11-21T20:12:00.003-06:00

As Billy and I prepare for our first California Thanksgiving and the rest of the Juan Diego parish prepares in San Antonio, I have been reflecting upon what I am grateful for and upon the meaning of gratitude as a spiritual exercise.

Why pause to “be grateful” beyond the simple reason that we have been told to do so by elders and Sunday school teachers? What does the authentic practice of gratitude look like--prayers before stuffing ourselves with stuffing? Reading Longfellow poems glorifying the Pilgrims? The gravy before us smells so good and cools so rapidly and how can being “grateful” help us or help heal a world of war and inequality?

"Thanks," a poster printed by Bread and Puppet--an activist theatre and art collective in Vermont--hanging above our table in California

Being me, I sought to answer this by beginning with a bit of history, reading Thanksgiving prayers prayed by Americans during the past 150 years.

I started with President Lincoln’s proclamation of Thanksgiving in the midst of the Civil War that would inaugurate the celebration of Thanksgiving as we know it today. Next, I moved to the verses of thanksgiving collected in a small booklet titled Prayers for Private Devotions in War-Time published by Harvard University’s Memorial Church in 1942, during the most intense period of World War II. I concluded with theologian Walter Brueggemann’s “At Thanksgiving,” from his book Prayers for a Privileged People published in 2008. (All these texts appear at the end of this post.)

What insights emerge from these prayers, articulated by Americans to one another, to themselves, and to God during epochs of extraordinary social and political upheaval, with violence marking families from the battlefields of Gettysburg, continental Europe, the Pacific Rim, Iraq, and Afghanistan?

Gratitude is necessarily a remembering, a turning back--and this, for the profoundly, sometimes dogmatically forward-facing American character--is not our first impulse and one that we often resist. Lincoln writes of our national “bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come” even as the Civil War rages. Brueggemann may hit a nerve when he writes that “we pause quickly and without inconvenience” to offer up hasty prayers before feasting on turkey and mashed potatoes.

Yet, the Thanksgiving these writers (and we as Americans) celebrate is more than a meal. It is a season. This notion parallels a multitude of traditions of setting aside time to give thanks among cultures throughout the world and history beyond the US. And, we need not occupy the precious temporal real estate of Thanksgiving meals with prayers of thanks. But, Thanksgiving gives a big (and tasty) reminder of the importance of pausing for thanks in our lives and in the life of the communities of which we are a part.

The practice of gratitude--as the authentic spiritual exercise (not rote-memorized words mumbled hastily over cranberries =)--is the focused reflection upon things we now understand to have contributed to ourselves and our community in good ways. This reflection amplifies the joy of good times and offers succor in grim times. But, this warm fuzzy experience is only the first transformation wrought within us by practicing gratitude.

Gratitude is also a preparation of the most heavy-duty spiritual, social, and political sort. These reflections remind us of the two central truths of gift. It is a readying of the self and of the community for the gifts that will be given in the future. For this reason, gratitude is a critical spiritual exercise for us as individuals and as a society.

The first truth of gifts: Not all gifts are immediately apparent as gifts.

Some “gifts” seem like tragedies, sorrows, or disastrous wreaking of our well-laid plans. As we review those things, events, and relationships for which we are presently grateful, we will also note their histories--and how some--if not many--began as “gifts” we resisted and attempted to return as fast possible to the shop from whence they came. But, the gifts given by grace cannot be returned. They arrive--and leave--according to laws forever beyond than ourselves. From this truth, this lesson emerges--however painfully--we must cultivate patience in suffering and seeking out meaning from it.

The Sufi mystical poet Rumi writes of human existence as a “guesthouse” with each day bringing new guests, sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy, sometimes no one. The core tenets of Buddhism also teach this, speaking of existence as suffering, but that the response to this suffering must learning--rather nihilistic apathy.

The second truth of gifts: No gift ever comes with a guarantee of its permanence or ever is truly under our control.

Likewise, gratitude returns us to this other vital truth of gifts in this world--no gift ever comes with a guarantee of its permanence or ever is truly under our control. We can be grateful to receive gifts, filled with joy by their benefits, and take delight in making use of them (in the case things)/loving them (in the case of people). However, we cannot develop attachments to any gift--whatever its form and no matter the seeming certainty of it staying with us. If we do, we risk not only suffering if or when it is withdrawn, but also the temptation to sin by blaspheming against the gift (being ungrateful). This lesson of non-attachment--highly developed in Buddhist thought and practice but with its analogs in Abrahamic faith systems--flows from gratitude.

Gratitude, understood and practiced these ways--as preparation for receiving (and losing) future gifts to their fullest extent--finds powerful accord with the American cultural character. Gratitude properly practiced in the self and in society cultivates hope and courage--rather than the attributes often mistaken for these virtues--optimism and arrogance.

On the world-historical stage, we are a young society, forgetting frequently and quickly. In some cases, this is a blessing and indeed a gift. In other cases, we forget vital lessons and thus fail to head-off troubles we have encountered before.

Therefore, my public prayer this Thanksgiving is this:

Let us remember that more often than not, our ancestors felt themselves (and were) beset by existential troubles with seemingly no way out, divided loudly and violently on key decisions, themselves hypocritical and yet eager to point out the hypocrisy of our neighbors, and filled with fear.

Let us be grateful that they--however imperfectly--managed to find a way through the devastation of the Civil War, world wars, the Cold War, and many economic downturns. In the light of this gratitude, let us view our own times and the insurmountable challenges they contain--massive unemployment, our own wars and many other regional wars in the world, global climate change, and a society badly in need of reform on all levels--as gifts. We must also keep in mind that what we do have now--some semblance of domestic peace, public health that has kept us safe from flu pandemic, and peace between major powers in the world--has not always been with us and might depart at any moment.

Let us, refreshed by turkey and authentic practice of gratitude, return once more--with hope and courage--to the struggle to bring about a better, more loving nation, local communities, and world.

****

Texts I read from during my reflections of American gratitude around Thanksgiving:

President Lincoln’s Proclamation of the Thanksgiving in October 1863--only after this was Thanksgiving celebrated nationally every year after

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

Prayers for Private Devotions in War-Time, verses on "Thanksgiving," compiled by the Memorial Church of Harvard University, 1942:

Thou, who hast given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart.

We thank thee, O Lord, for the good things which still abound in this troubled world. Save us from magnifying our sufferings and forgetting our blessings.

We thank thee for all fellow-seekers and fellow-workers, who have named thy Name, wheresoever they may be. Deliver us, in the thought of our fellowship with them, from all sense of loneliness, isolation, and despair of thy Kingdom upon earth. Teach us, if need be by ways that are long and hard, that those who are with us are more than those who are against us, and that those who are not against us are for us.

"At Thanksgiving," from Brueggemann’s Prayers for a Privileged People, 2008:

Amid football,
family, and
too much food
we pause quickly and without inconvenience
to remember and to thank.
We remember ancient pilgrims
who followed dreams of alabaster cities
and financial opportunity;
We remember hospitable First Nation people
who welcomed them, and then lost their land;
We remember other family times
filled with joy and
filled with anxiety, and
old scars still powerful.
We thank you for the US venue of
justice and freedom,
and are aware of its flawed reality;
We thank you for our wealth and our safety,
and are aware of how close to poverty we are
and how under threat we live.

We gather our impulse for gratitude today,
grateful to you and to our ancestors,
grateful to you for our families,
our health
our government,
our many possessions.

We gladly affirm that
“All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above,”
But we yield to none in a sense of self-sufficiency,
our weariness in needing to share,
our resentfulness of those who take and do not give.

Your generosity evokes our gratitude,
bur your generosity overmatches our gratitude.
We are ready to thank,
but not overly so;
We remember our achievements,
our accomplishments,
our entitlements,
and our respondsibilties
that slice away our yielding of ourselves to you.

Move through our half measure of thanks
and let us be, all through this day,
more risky in acknowledging
that we have nothing except what you give.

You have given so much--not least your only son.
Gift us the gift of dazzlement and awe
that we may rejoice in our penultimate lives
an keep you ultimate all the day long,
relishing the wonder of your self-giving love.

Giving It All Up by Giving 100%: Fr. Larry's Homily for November 14

2010-11-20T07:34:00.001-06:00

This is Fr. Larry's homily from Mass yesterday (November 14)

When we study the weekly readings they may not always be clear or have a lot of meaning to us. One thing we can always do is read a few verses before the reading and a few verses after the reading. This type of study can often bring us a better understanding.

Today’s gospel reading is a good example. We all accept the truth that Jesus paid the ultimate price for our redemption. He gave his life. Jesus suffered a very violent death in order to make salvation available for the entire human race. He gave all he had. He did not bargain for a twenty year jail sentence, probation, or a large fine. He gave his life. An example of this type of giving appears in the four verses before today’s gospel: A widow donated two small coins to the treasury. She did not give from her surplus--she didn’t have a surplus. She didn’t give half of what she had, one coin--she gave 100 %. Scripture says she donated her whole livelihood. This poor widow had an attitude of giving much like Jesus.

Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, 1936--one of the most recognizable images in the world, this photo was taken as part of an effort to document the grinding poverty and its human costs during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression in the US during the 1930s. Florence Owens Thompson and her children are the individuals in the photo.

The next few verses described what must have made Jesus mad. They were walking around the temple area and the folks were talking about how magnificent the temple looked. They talked about the precious stones and the votive offerings. I’m sure there were priests dressed up and that they probably smelled the temple incense. It must have been a beautiful site. Over the previous three years these same disciples watched Jesus give sight to the blind, feed thousands from a small amount of food, cure the crippled and lame, walk on water and cast out demons. When we place the gospels side by side and count the miracles, it’s amazing. The reading indicates that the disciples were far more impressed with a building than the person they were with.

In the next group of verses, Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple they were walking through. If they believed in Jesus they would be brought before leaders and thrown in prison. Many would die by the sword. At the end of the reading Jesus says the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, which must have deflated their egos since the Jews were considered God’s chosen people. These were going to be really bad times.

When we read a few verses past the reading, Jesus described what we call the end times, which he called the coming of the Son of Man. Many scholars believe that these versus describe the final days and others think it’s the destruction of Jerusalem, which did happen until forty years later. Jesus said, “This generation will not pass away until these things have taken place." Maybe Jesus was talking about both the near future and the far away future.

I think the mistake we make is focusing on all of the calamities in the readings and not the promise of grace during these difficult times. In verse 15, Jesus said, “For I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking, that all your adversaries will be powerless to refute." Jesus said in verse 28, “When these signs begin to happen, stand erect, and raise your hands because your redemption is at hand." Back to verse 18 & 19, he adds, “But not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

The question for us is how do we maintain the faith? How do we persevere? How do we get ready for whatever might come our way? We learn how to live the faith by learning from others. The widow donating two coins shows us how.

Remember the story three weeks ago about the tax collector who struck his breast and said, "Lord, forgive me a sinner"? Remember Zaccheus who gave one half of all he owned to the poor and promised to pay back anyone he cheated four fold? There are may examples of faith in the Bible and I am just as convinced there are many examples in our daily lives of how to maintain the faith. We can study the lives of the saints, attend retreats, participate in a small faith community or pray for enlightenment. The example of faith I treasure the most is best described in a song written and performed by Marty Robbins in 1970:

MY WOMAN, MY WOMAN, MY WIFE

Hands that are strong, but wrinkled
Doing work that never gets done.
Hair that's lost some of the Beauty,
By too many hours in the Sun.
Eyes, that show some disappointment
And there's been quite a lot in her life.
She's the foundation I lean on,
My Woman, My Woman, My Wife

Everyday has been uphill,
We've climbed but we can't reach the top.
I'm weak and I'm easily discouraged
She just smiles when I want to stop.
Lips, that are weary but tender,
With Love that strengthens my life.
A Saint in a dress made of Gingham My Woman, My Woman, My Wife

Two little Babies, were born in the Spring,
But died when the Winter was New.
I lost control of my mind and my Soul,
But my Woman's Faith, carried us through.
When she reaches that River,
Lord you know what she's worth.
Give her that Mansion up yonder,
'Cause She's been through Hell here on Earth.

Lord give her my share of Heaven,
If I've earned any here in this life.
Cause I believe she deserves it
My Woman, My Woman, My Wife

Living Peace in a World of War

2010-10-27T12:28:00.002-05:00

Fr. Larry's homily given on October 23, 2010

This story told by Luke, is a powerful example of what type of behavior pleases God. The Pharisee is an interesting character. He is not a hypocrite. He does what he talks about. He donates money and fasts two days every week. It’s very interesting that the Pharisee says his prayer to himself. He didn’t pray out loud in public so others could hear him. His quiet prayer is the height of pride. Only God himself is good enough to hear his prayer. His pride is representative of the 7 deadly sins. These seven deadly sins are unique in that they are not sins of specific action but sins of personal thinking, emotions or attitudes. The Pharisee was not ridiculed about by the Lord because of what he did but because of his thinking and attitude.

A.J. Muste and Dorothy Day, two celebrated mid-20th century US American antiwar movement leaders and examples of striving to live peace in a nation and world at war

Those seven sins are:

Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise.

Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.

Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than we need.

Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury.

Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual.

Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

Look at his words again: I am not like the rest of humanity. The Pharisee proclaims to be the most holy human ever created. He is more holy than Moses, Abraham, or Elijah.

Do we ever see Pharisees’ in history or in our modern lives? Do we know of people who think they can do no wrong? They use words like, purity, cleansing and intervention. Do we know of people who act in evil ways and proclaim to be religious? Of course we do.

Think about the wars in Africa. The Hutus tribe killed 1 million Tutsis in just 100 days. From 1975 until 1979 the Khmer Rouge, in Cambodia, killed more than 2 million people. Think about the different branches of Islam. They kill each other daily. It would be like Baptists killing Methodists. What about the United States? We invaded Iraq; a country that posed no threat to us. The death count from the Iraq war is thought to be over 1 million and counting. The September 11th terrorist attack killed thousands of people. We also read about hate crimes every day in the news.

The insanity of all this killing is that the assassins do not know who they were killing. Some deranged leader or self-proclaimed pious person orders the killing; often in calling on the name of God to justify the violence.

Yes, indeed; we know people who think like the Pharisee. We see and hear hate speech every day in our social and cultural world. So called, religious people have decided in their own mind that part of Gods creation is evil, simply because they are different. A person can be created different due to gender, race, sexual orientation, physical limitations or mental illness, and the most arrogant words I have ever heard. A person is sinful because they are poor. Just like the Pharisee in the gospel they say out load or to themselves, all of Gods creation is evil unless they are not like me.

What about the tax collector in the reading? The tax collector knew himself very well. He struck his breast when declaring his sin just like we do when we share the Penitential Rite. We also strike our breast when saying the words. I confess to you almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault. A prayer of humility.

Indeed tax collectors were hated. But Matthew, one of the Twelve Apostles, and author of one of the four gospels, is a tax collector.

What can we do about all this? Certainly we should pray for world peace. We can vote for social harmony. We can speak out, feed the hungry and maybe donate money to social justice programs. We can easily lose hope because conditions don’t change. The gospel tells all of us that final justice will come from God-period. The gospel says that the tax collector was justified-not the Pharisee. Being justified means living in a state of grace or in a place of salvation.

So how do we live in a world filled with hate? How do we comfort our soul when we think there is no hope? I suggest we read Psalms 121.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

All of us who strive to live a life of humility, like the tax collector in the gospel, have this wonderful Psalm to pray.

What about people who are like the Pharisee? I think they should be very careful and read some of the words written by a tax collector-Matthew:

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name? Then I will declare to them, solemnly, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers."

"Love, Love, Love--What More Is There?"

2010-09-11T11:26:00.001-05:00

"St. Francis and the Sultan," by American activist-iconist Robert Lentz. According to tradition, Francis of Assisi traveled with the European militaries of the Fifth Crusades in an attempt to prevent war and make peace. Although unsuccessful in this aim, he eventually met with and engaged in interfaith, cross-cultural dialog, with one of the Arab leaders Sultan Malek al-Kamil. (You can read more this exchange and the icon commemorating it at Trinity Stores).

We and all of us at Juan Diego hold in prayer all those individuals and families who have been impacted by the tragedy of violence that began on September 11, 2001 and unfolded to encompass so many during the past nine years. We hope that our response--in our local community, nation, and world--to violence may increasingly take its inspiration from the ethic of peace and the logic of love, which are foundational to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and all world faiths and cultures.

Today, I am attending a Dave Matthews Band concert in Dallas with my husband and father-in-law (who is also Fr. Larry). Some of the best contemporary expressions of this plea for a siblinghood of love and peace that I know of come in the lyrics of Dave Matthews Band songs. Dave Matthews, from a Quaker faith background and growing up partially in apartheid South Africa, infuses much of his music with a prophetic hopefulness--something that is always welcome, but especially this year and these days when intolerance and violence seem to once again have seduced many. The title of this post comes from an old DMB standard called "Pig." Here are some of my favorite lyrics from it (and you can hear the entire song here):

Come sister, my brother
Shake up your bones, shake up your feet
I'm saying open up
And let the rain come pouring in
Wash out this tired notion
That the best is yet to come
But while you're dancing on the ground
Don't think of when you're gone

Love, love, love, what more is there?
'Cause we need the light of love in here
Don't beat your head
Dry your eyes
Let the love in there
There's bad times
But that's okay
Just look for love in it

Happy New Year!

2010-09-09T22:46:00.005-05:00

A pomegranate--among other traditional symbols of the Rosh Hashanah meals--is often eaten as a "second night fruit." Tradition holds that pomegranates hold exactly 613 seeds, which represent the 613 mitzvot or precepts taught by the Torah.

Happy New Year to our Jewish siblings in faith in the US and around the world! This year Eid (see a post earlier this day) and Rosh Hashanah fall on the same four day period of time this week in early September.

In what is being called a "spiritual convergence", these two important of holidays of two Abrahamic faith traditions--Judaism and Islam--also are directly preceding the anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the US. For Americans--of all faiths and cultural backgrounds--this convergence of events provides occasion for immense reflection upon the intertwined politics of tolerance, peace, intercultural understanding, on the one hand, and, on the other, the contending complex of ignorance, violence, and fear. I have--starting last week with a posting about Auden's "September 1, 1939"--focused the blog entries on the theme peace and how we can work, strengthened by our faith, to build up a society of peace.

We here at Juan Diego wish all our human siblings a month, year, and a future of peace, nonviolence, and understanding as we commemorate these various events of our spiritual and social histories.

"Oh God, Make This Moon a Moon of Peace for Us."

2010-09-09T11:30:00.003-05:00

The Salam Dove--the calligraphic logo of the Muslim Peace Fellowship. Learn more about the MPF and its interfaith efforts toward peace here.

Īd mubārak عيد مبارك ! Happy Eid to our Muslim siblings in faith here in the US and around the world! ~~Today~~ (correction! tomorrow or September 11th depending on local observance) marks the end of a month of fasting (for a catholic comparison, think of Lent) and celebration. The Times of India offers an excellent history of the holiday and the rituals connected to it. Most importantly, the holiday is a time of reflection upon and hope for peace. In our country and in our times, such reflections and hopes are urgently needed among all people, regardless of faith or cultural background.

Peace--not only the absence of violence, but also the active presence of love and justice--is a universally-sought value among all human communities. The Resource page of our main site lists links to peace organizations with a diverse range of religious and non-religious orientation. Take a moment to check it out, and, more crucially, consider taking a moment today to reflect on peace and what we can all do to work for its success this September and in coming months.

(For example, and on a more concrete note, if you are in the Gainesville, Florida area, there are several alternative events being planned for September 11, 2010 to promote peace and witness actively to intercultural solidarity in the face of the ignorant, anti-peace, and anti-American burning of the Qu'ran.)

He Stirreth Up the People

2010-09-06T16:34:00.001-05:00

Happy Labor Day everyone! A special greeting to all those who labor or seek to labor for their families and communities!

To commemorate Labor Day, I am sharing two works of protest art from two crucial periods of democratic and labor activism in the US--the 1910s and now.

A poster by Art Young, a celebrated pro-labor activist-artist who published frequently in The Masses, called "The Workingman of Nazareth," published in 1914. Read more about Young and his art here.

An image from Talking Points Memo's Labor Day slideshow documentary of contemporary manufacturing and service industry workers in 2010 America. US unemployment and joblessness rates remain high and national socioeconomic inequality is at its greatest in over 70 years. See the rest of the slideshow here and for more history and politics of the current economic crisis read Robert Reich's, an economist and former US Secretary of Labor, awesome analysis of the state of labor in America and the grim future of our democracy and equality.

Casting A Fire Upon Mt. Carmel: The Commitment to Radical Love and Its Consequences

2010-09-05T11:39:00.004-05:00

A reproduction of activist-artist Rita Corbin's "Works of Mercy, Works of War," contrasting the canonical Corporal Works of Mercy with modern day "Works of War." The Works of Mercy tradition derives from the notion of the Invisible Christ articulated in the parable of the goats and sheep in Matthew 25. For a contemporary example of the Works of Mercy, see the Gainesville, FL Catholic Worker's "food theology" and their social justice programs in their area.

What does a commitment to living out an ethic of radical love look like in 21st century America? In other words, what does following Jesus look like for our own place and times? What are the conditions and consequences of making the choice to love radically? Exploring this question and offering several possible examples provides the core of the homily I gave yesterday on Luke 14:25-33.

Here are some of the scenarios:

The sister of a young woman who has been raped helping her to find women's healthcare and abortion services
Two men falling in love and making a public commitment to the love
A US solider who becomes a conscientious objector to the Iraq War in 2004
A family that socially and material supports another family whose members include "illegal" immigrants

In considering these situations, it becomes clear why Jesus warns us in very intense terms about the possible consequences of going through on the commitment to love radically. You can lose and end up hating the people society says are your "family," you can lose your possessions, and you might end up imprisoned, beat up, or executed.

(My homily notes follow after the break.)

Casting A Fire Upon Mt. Carmel:

The Commitment to Radical Love and Its Consequences

Homily Notes

9/4/2010

--I'd like to start by thanking my awesome spouse, Billy, for talking me through this homily. I had been working on it for several days and written six drafts. This is the seventh and a product of our conversation after waking up this morning.

--What is following Jesus?

--Following Jesus is the commitment to radical love---this is central lesson of the Gospels-----The discursive element--calling oneself a Christian--is not the important part of following Jesus. It is action. "They will know you are my disciples by the love you have for one another" (Jn 13:35) and many will be called into eternal glory who never called themselves or thought of themselves as "Christians," but who in their actions were Christians in action (Matthew 25:31-46).

--This passage lays out the conditions and consequences of this commitment:

If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (social alienation)

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (persecution of your person)

So then, none of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. (loss of everything you have)

--The teachings of Jesus are always directed at two audiences---the present audience assembled with him in 1st century Palestine and for all other communities in all other places and times OR, in other words, since Jesus did not write the Gospels, the early church in the Mediterranean world and all other churches in times and places

--Historical context:

--For the readers of Luke, following Jesus in the sense of being a "Christian" could and often did mean social alienation, removal of possessions, and death---PERSECUTION. All but one of the apostles died a martyr.

--The early Christians were not killed because God--in some movement of inscrutable, irrational logic--sought to "test" their pure faith commitment. Early Christians were killed because they threatened the status quo, the established order of radical inequality and violence within the Roman Empire and (in Palestine itself) the uneasy collaboration of the Jerusalem ruling class with the colonizing power. Christians---as evidenced by the letters of Paul, the Didache, and pagan letters---sought a communitarian, egalitarian order---this threatened patriarchy, sexism, slavery, the state sanctioned worship of Caesar and warfare, and the restriction of the afterlife/liberation to a few elites.

--Present-day context:

--Keeping in mind how the gospels were written as Jesus taught--speaking at once with great rhetorical economy to present and all other possible audiences--we need to now expand our exegesis to our own times. What does following Jesus mean for us, assembled in this room, living in 21st century America? In other words, what are the conditions and possible consequences of choosing a commitment to radical love today?

--Few people are killed for claiming they are Christians. In fact, “Christians” make up a majority of Americans and those who call themselves “Christians” occupy places of power and authority at every level of society and culture.

--But, remember, this is not the measure of following Jesus. Someone can be a Muslim or an atheist or a Sikh or a Mormon or whatever and be following Jesus. We look to actions--not professed faith--to know if someone or some group is following Jesus.

I am going to propose 3 possible scenarios of what a commitment to radical love would like in our society, grounded in people I have met and, in some cases, experiences I myself have had. I hasten to add these all hinge upon the freedom to commit to radical love. They are not prescriptions of how to act in a specific situation. Additionally, not everyone who is socially alienated and persecuted is automatically a follower of Jesus.

Remember: the conditions and consequences of radical love are these:

--Social alienation (your family and friends might hate you and might hate them back)

--Loss of possessions (you might lose everything you have--including your iPhone)

--Persecution (you might be pursued by the authorities, imprisoned, punished, or killed for your actions)

--3 examples:

1. A woman who has been raped and does not want and cannot go through a pregnancy, electing for an abortion--and her sister who supports her

2. A man who falls in love with another man and is disowned by his family for this

3. A solider from a military family who is dispatched to Iraq, but, from personal conviction, refuses deploy because they see it as an unjust war---leaving the US and escaping to Canada, with no money or ID

4. A family who has several members who are not "legal" immigrants and protect and support them to keep a family together---and the neighbors and friends who support them socially and financially

--The easier way out of all these situations is to capitulate--to simply submit to what society or our culture tells us to do---as Nevada senatorial candidate Sharron Angle says about rape, "make lemonade out of those lemons"; abandon your same-sex partner and live a closeted life, go to a war you know to be unjust, or turn over your neighbors and friends to ICE

--The commitment to radical love can cost you--cost big time--we may often fail in our lives, denying that we know the ones we are called to radically love--repeating, warming our hands over the coals, I do not know the man, like Peter's denial of Jesus. But, we are always called again and again to love radically. As long as injustice remains on the earth--opportunities to love radically, risk everything for love and what we know to be right and true, will remain in great abundance. The invisible Christ as described in Matthew 25 greets us everywhere. In the homeless men and women we see on our way to class or work, in the men standing in front of Home Depot waiting for a job, in gay people in our class and workplace that others mock incessantly, in the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with their physical and mental health shattered, in young women scared and confused with unwanted pregnancies, in the Muslims so many “Christian” “Americans” irrationally fear at airports and near Ground Zero.

Christ calls us to love all our human siblings equally without qualification. He does not do this because he intends us to suffer. But, he also does not conceal from us the truth and the possible consequences of the choice to love radically—and thus to follow Jesus.

When American Catholics Were (Treated Like) American Muslims

2010-09-03T12:54:00.007-05:00

There was a time, within living memory, when American Catholics were regarded by many of their compatriots as the ultimate Other, greeted with suspicion, and often treated with outright violence, bigotry, and prejudice. From the founding of the US until around the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, the American Catholic community was frequently seen as Public Enemy Number One by nativist and xenophobic movements of all types. Before, during, and well after the Civil War period, Catholic churches, schools, and community centers were vandalized, burned, and--yes--construction of Catholic buildings was opposed with expressions of violent ignorance eerily similar to much of the discourse we have witnessed in the past month since the Tea Party and its BFFLs have decided to relentlessly oppose a Muslim community center planned for an unused property in lower Manhattan (the so-called and utterly wrongly called "Ground Zero Mosque").

This categorically un-American, un-Christian, and anti-democratic expression of unchecked hatred has now spiraled far beyond a single political ploy in New York as groups have popped up across the nation, openly attacking any public expression of faith by the American Muslim community. For an excellent, succinct history of anti-Catholic bigotry in the US with helpful parallels drawn to current events and anti-Muslim bigotry, check out this great blog post by two professors from Notre Dame. It is also an unqualified call to action for all those who "hold and teach the Catholic faith" in America to defend our Muslim brothers and sisters' inalienable rights to freedom of religion. Many of the same tropes launched against the Muslims by present day Islamophobes are virtually the same as those launched against the Catholics of yesteryear's Tea Partiers (the American Party, the Know Nothing Party, the KKK, and other assorted nativists):

Xenophobic, nativist anti-Catholic political cartoons from the late 19th century compared to photos from a recent protest against the building of a Muslim community center in Manhattan

Religiously-focused xenophobia wraps itself in the flag, views the Other as intrinsically Different, Scary, and Violent, and points out seeming hypocrisy ("Why are there no Protestant Churches in the Papal States?!?", "Why are there no Protestant Churches in Saudi Arabia?!?") to ironically trash the American values they seek to hinge their hypocrisy upon. (Translation: It makes no sense to argue that a mosque cannot be built in the US by pointing out the lack of religious tolerance in another country--unless one's moral logic is the logic of lex talionis. And we all know what Jesus--the founder of many American Islamophobes' professed faith tradition--said about that).

As a man married to a man, there is a lot for me personally to dislike about what many Muslims worldwide and many expressions of Islamic ethics have to say about me, queer sexuality, and the freedom of public expression of same-sex love. (This statement holds true as well for the Roman Catholic Church as well as many "Christians" and "Christian" churches and theologies in the US and around the world). However, because I am also an American, a democrat, and a believer in the inalienable rights of every human being to religious freedom, I support the right of those seeking to build a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan (or anywhere in America) to do so. (Disclaimer: I do not know the stance--if any has been publicly stated--of the groups and leaders organizing the Park 51 community center on queer sexuality. If anyone does know this, backed with credible sources, I would love to know.)

Even if we cannot, as Auden wrote, all learn to love one another, we must all--at the very least--learn to tolerate one another. This is a basic minimum foundational criterion for the American experiment in democracy. A religious group may not like me because of an irrational fear of my sexuality, and I may not like them because of their irrational fear--but we each have to tolerate each other. The moment a dislike moves into the realm of action in an attempt to suppress, it becomes a threat to the entire American experiment and our core ethic of tolerance. As Martin Luther King, Jr. famously remarked, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."

All of us--the gays, the Muslims, the Catholics, the Tea Partiers, the poor, the ultra-rich, White House staffers, nonprofit volunteers in Oakland, priests in Nebraska and rabbis in Missouri, shrimpers on the Gulf Coast, soccer moms, hockey moms, and moms of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, those who own several vacation homes, the homeless, Catholic Workers, Republicans, Democrats, Christians, drug addicts, professors of English literature, illegal immigrants, advertising executives, transgendered sex workers, brain surgeons, prison inmates, police officers and those who fit into other categories or several of these--are all part of a single garment of destiny called America. Whether we like it or not, however much we must hold our proverbial noses, we must learn to live with one another. (This means, among other things, for those with extra to share, sharing it with others so they can live beside us.) If we cannot eventually learn to love one another, then our example of tolerance--no matter how grudgingly made--can, at least, provide our children and the next generation with a much better starting place. They who are raised learning to live with all varieties of human diversity will have a great advantage in learning to actually love one another--whoever that Other happens to be.
Update I (2:32 pm CST): I just found another great history of anti-Catholic bigotry in the US with parallels drawn to current Islamophobia over at First Things, a nonpartisan journal of religious thought.

Update II (9/5/10, 7:45 pm CST): Nicholas Kristof wrote on the same theme for this week's Sunday NYT--and expanded the historical discussion to bigoted movements against religious groups in the US. Another great read.

We Must Love One Another

2010-09-01T15:19:00.001-05:00

71 years ago today, Germany invaded Poland, beginning World War II. Yesterday, President Obama announced the conclusion of the US combat mission in Iraq--after over seven years of war and occupation. In ten days, Americans and the world will mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The first half of this month gives us pressing occasion to reflect upon violence, intolerance, and ignorance in the world---and the political alternatives of peace, loving community, and understanding. Each of us will go about this reflection in his or her own way. Over the past twelve hours, I have thought again and again about W.H. Auden's poem "September 1, 1939," written in response to the outbreak of World War II. Although Auden later famously despised this poem as "trash," and it has been anthologized to the point of cliché--to me, at least, it still holds beautiful articulations of important truths and hopes about peace, loving community, and understanding among human beings. Below is what Harper's recently reprinted (the full text can be found here).

McNichols' powerful icon, "Holy Prophet Philip Berrigan." Philip Berrigan was the younger brother of Daniel Berrigan, with whom he inaugurated the ultraresistance movement against the Vietnam War in the Catonsville Nine action, and the partner of Elizabeth McAllister, with whom and others he founded the Jonah House community in Baltimore, which has been and continues to be an epicenter and sangha of sorts for the US and global peace movements (contributing to, for example, Plowshares actions and the Witness Against Torture campaigns)

May we all learn to love one another better within and across the borders of Texas, Mexico, Iraq, Afghanistan, and everywhere.

I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.
…

All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

Do What You Are Able: Wisdom From the First Century Speaks to the Twenty First Century

2010-08-29T19:48:00.000-05:00

Diane, our director of religious formation (and, full disclosure, my awesome mother-in-law!), gave an incredible homily yesterday at Mass on the role of pedagogy in spiritual formation, the diverse social contexts of Christianity's early development, and a lesson on an important text of the early Church (although little known today), called The Didache. Here is one of my favorite sections--I encourage you to read the entire homily (after the break) if you could not make it to Mass:

Wisdom comes from experience, from doing, from living life one day at a time. Everybody knows this, yet we still try telling each other what to do and what not to do, hoping to spare them the lessons of life that may be painful; even though we know that eventually most of us, except for the very damaged souls, become wise one day at a time. We suppose we all have sufficient time for wisdom to come live inside us.

Painted by the incomparable William Hart McNichols, "this icon of "Hagia Hesychia" (Holy Silence) is a rendition of a most unusual 18th century icon from Russia of an allegorical representation of Christ as the female "Hagia Sophia" (Holy Wisdom) and the mystical Russian Jesus Prayer." Click here for this and additional images by McNichols. Used with permission.

Father Larry really wanted me to talk to you all about the Didache, an early Christian non-canonical book. Our Catholic tradition is based on scripture, the Eucharist, the sacraments, and our communal wisdom. Scripture, the Bible, contains books within it that have been judged to be so important that they were inspired personally by the Holy Spirit. The word for spirit in Hebrew is Ru’ach, meaning breath, air, and wind. The Greeks translated “spirit” into “wisdom”. Both words are feminine words, “She” words. That is why some Christians refer to the Holy Spirit as She. I do, and everyone in my family does.

But there are other books that are basic to our way of life. There were letters from the early Church fathers, the second generation after the apostles. There are Gospels that were written by and for specific communities to address specific historical or social issues in their community life. Most of those communities did not survive the upheavals of the Roman empire, so their gospels, their communal memory of Jesus, were not considered important enough by the early church to include in the Bible. They are today not part of our “canon”. But there is a lot of wisdom in those early gospels, letters, and other books that we can use today.

Wisdom comes from experience, from doing, from living life one day at a time. Everybody knows this, yet we still try telling each other what to do and what not to do, hoping to spare them the lessons of life that may be painful; even though we know that eventually most of us, except for the very damaged souls, become wise one day at a time. We suppose we all have sufficient time for wisdom to come live inside us.

But imagine a less benevolent time. Imagine a time in which the world was in turmoil and expected to end any time. Imagine living in a tiny settlement of Jews and gentiles far away from a big city like Antioch in Syria in the first century of the Common Era. Imagine hearing that there was a secure Way to live in anticipation of the world ending, a Way that ensured serenity and peace in the face of revolution, poverty, oppression and fear of death. In such a world one would be more likely than not to grasp at wisdom in any form, from anyone credible.

While in Jerusalem, there was disagreement from the beginning about defining and defending the titles and functions of Yeshua – was He the messiah, or a prophet, or the Son of God? – in backwater Syria, this was not the case. Folks who wanted to follow Jesus’ Way, just wanted to know how to do it as practically as possible. In these small communities there were no resident bishops or teachers, or even visiting missionaries (called apostles). There were just Jesus people, gentile and Jew alike, trying to live in peace just like Jesus taught.

So the earliest bishop-priests put together a document which was at first passed on orally, but written quite early, perhaps as early as one and a half generations after Jesus’ death, which was a training manual for becoming and staying Christian while waiting for the end of time. It was called the Didache, which means Teaching. Imagine it as a sort of automobile manual or cookbook.

The Didache was, among other things, a training program in The Way of Life of Jesus. 44% of it was this training manual, 22% of it was how to live after baptism – it had regulations for partaking of the Eucharist, for fasting, and for praying. For example, it said to pray the Lord’s Prayer 3 times a day. It also had rules for giving and taking of hospitality and the recognition of true and false prophets. It has rules for pure sacrifices and the distribution of the choicest food and drink – given to the community’s prophet or to the poor. It ends with a little vision of the end of time, which many Christian documents contain, from the Gospel of Mark to the Book of Revelation. It contains some of the oldest Eucharistic prayers – prayers before and after meals, similar to ancient Jewish table prayers. It contains terminology that was archaic at the time, and probably represents most fully the historic period between the apostolic age and the more organized early church of the later epistles, and was set in the time before the earliest church fathers such as Eusebius, Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome, and others. My favorite quote from the Didache is this:

See that no one causes you to err from this way of the Teaching, since apart from God, it teaches you. For if you are able to bear the entire yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you are not able to do this, do what you are able.

I just love that practical recognition that we should do the best we can, that Wisdom is a gift from God, we can’t control when and how much we receive. There is the recognition in that quote that we are, essentially, human.

I also love the description of false prophets. A large part of the Didache is given over to how to discern whether a prophet is true or false. Now, what a prophet really was is vague in this document, but it probably referred to itinerant preachers who had been taught by one of the Big Names of early Christianity, most likely Paul or Barnabas, but possibly one of the Twelve, or one of the Marys. The prophets were not to stay more than 48 hours – they weren’t to worm their way into the community and live off it until they could be evaluated as true or false. The Didache warns that prophets must first be judged by their morals, then judged by their motives – do they ask for more than bread when they leave? Do they pull their weight in the work of the community? If they won’t work, they are called “Christmongers” – people who make a living out of the name of the Christ. I can think of lots of false prophets today who make money off of Jesus’ name, many of them in San Antonio. This is a good time to remind ourselves that no one in this community takes any money for what we do for our community, and everyone gives what they can to strengthen our community and live together in Christ – just like the communities the Didache was written for.

So, the Didache offers Wisdom two ways – it tells us how to live, and we find that in living the Jesus Way to the best of our ability at any given time, Wisdom then makes her home within us. The Holy Spirit Herself makes her home in our hearts.

Congrats to Our Newly Baptized!

2010-08-29T19:20:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Makala Alonzo, who was baptized at Mass on August, 21 2010! Several pictures of the event are featured below. If you or any friends or family members are interested in Baptism, Communion, Reconciliation, Confirmation, or any other sacraments or blessings at Juan Diego, please contact Fr. Larry and the Juan Diego community through juandiego.parish (at) gmail.com !

Community members bless Makala one by one--part of Juan Diego's baptismal ritual

Mary's Choice: Free Will, Women, and Equality in Building the Kingdom of God

2010-08-25T16:29:00.008-05:00

This is my first homily at Juan Diego--thank you for bearing with my newness at this! I gave the homily two weeks ago on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary (for more on the history of this catholic holy day, the Wikipedia article provides an excellent summary).

The readings for the Assumption this year are Revelation 11:19; 12: 1-6, Pslam 45:10, 11, 12, 16, 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, and Luke 1:39-56. In the homily, I take as my point of departure Luke's unparalleled (compared to the other canonical gospel writers) feminist understanding of the Kingdom of God, the incarnation, salvation history, Mary, and gender. After the break, I've included some of my homily notes and a chart I prepared showing how Mary's radical reimainging of Gabriel's words (the Annunciation into the Magnificat) prefigure and lay the groundwork in Luke's text (and Jesus' life) for the later proclamation of the Beatitudes by Christ and his companions--the central articulation of a radically nonviolent and egalitarian vision of the Kingdom of God.

The takeaway for our times: As a man, I cannot--and I never will be able to--fully imagine the intensity of pregnancy and birth--or any other aspect of embodied female experience. But, this I will say from my male perspective: The importance Luke gives to women and the unique challenges of womanhood speak to the absolute theological, political, and spiritual priority we must afford women. This means full, unqualified equality in all capacities within the church and all areas of human activities with an explicit, unwavering commitment to providing support for a woman's absolute, categorical freedom and choices in all things, especially those choices and challenges which constitutively attend female embodiment. In an age and culture where--as in Mary's first century CE Palestine--sexism reigns as one of our society's structural sins--this call is all the more urgent.

*If the embedded player is not working or appearing on your browser, click here to access the file directly on Podbean (our audio hosting site) directly.

Homily Notes

· Today, through this passage of the Gospel of Luke, we celebrate Mary’s choice—not only her choice to bring the Son of God into the world, but also how she brought God into the world.

· This passage presents some of the most important themes in Luke and his history of salvation and human liberation. I will focus on these female solidarity, the absolute importance of affirming human choice, and how these two together—female solidarity and human free will (or, the choices of two women)—transformed the OT vision of the Messiah into the NT one—a Kingdom of God grounded in nonviolence, love of the poor, and open to all. Mary’s choice makes Jesus’ choice possible—to choose death on a cross—and thus achieve what Paul praises him for in his epistle—destroy death for all of us.

o Female solidarity and the wisdom of women—This is the longest passage of Mary speaking, one of the longest passages with all female characters in OT or NT, the meeting of the Baptist and the Christ in their female incarnated forms—their mothers are not “vessels,” but their own dynamic, equal-to-men human beings with free will

§ Luke thus frames his entire incarnation narrative within a feminist, pro-woman, radical framework. No other Gospel writer presents Mary in this way or opens their Gospels in this way: in Matthew, an angel---respectful of patriarchy and the proper Order of Things---appears to Joseph, the Man of the House, to tell him the news of Mary's pregnancy with the Messiah. Mark begins with the adult John the Baptist. John begins with an incredibly intricate Greek riddle about the metaphysical underpinnings of incarnation. Luke alone accords women the lead role in the story.

§ Zecheriah, in the previous passage, did not believe that his wife Elizabeth would bear a child (she was old—echoing the Sarah/Abraham story) when an angel announced the message, so he was rendered mute until his son is circumcised.

§ After Gabriel appears to Mary offering her the chance to become the mother to the son of God, Luke narrates that Mary immediately travels to her cousin Elizabeth to seek out guidance and support. She does not go to Joseph or Zecheriah or any man. No matter the work of the translators to smooth this over---this is an incredibly intense scene for Mary. She is brave, but also can hardly understand---we would be even more shocked today with a modern understanding of medicine. Most crucially, Mary might be seen as trying to conceal infidelity or rape---how would any one prove that an angel had told her God would make her the mother of God? She goes to visit her cousin—and in their shared experience of an angelic visitation informing them about the future nature of their son—a highly unique experience—they are able to confide in one another.

o The central importance of human choice in the divine plan of salvation

§ Mary's choice to bear the Son of God is the most important act of any single human being in salvation history, alongside Jesus's own decision (about 33 years later) to undergo death rather than resort to violence to protect himself. The critical element here is choice. But, her choice goes far behind her meek acceptance of Gabriel’s will—after going to Elizabeth she makes a choice that will transform the course of salvation history.

o How the New Testament radically reimagines and expands the notion of the “Messiah”—beginning with Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting—from a limited notion of new sort of King David bringing military victory to a savior who acts paradoxically through nonviolence to defeat death, loves the oppressed especially, and opens salvation to all human beings—Gentile and Jew

§ Gabriel's words were hardly "good news" in any sense anyway. Mary lived in Roman-occupied Palestine, with incredibly violent uprising, disorder, and repression well within living memory of many in the communities around her. To say that her son would be restored to the throne of David would certainly involve incredibly intense violence and killing. Mary's affirmation of this news is far from a simple affirmation of bearing a son---it is opening the way to a shattering historical event for everyone around her. That her son's act of liberation will come through pacifism and become liberation from death for all beings is not revealed to her---it is not entirely clear if this is known by Gabriel--as this will depend on the later choices of Jesus to shun conventional political power, open his community to Gentiles and all types of people, and preach a very different sort of God and Kingdom. BUT, Mary's faith affirms this in the Magnificat---she imagines the victory of justice and the poor. We understand why Mary was chosen, and why Jesus became the Jesus he became.

The Annunciation:

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

The Magnficat

Luke’s Beatitudes

"My soul glorifies the Lord
    ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
   From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."

20Blessed are you who are poor,   for yours is the kingdom of God.  

21Blessed are you who hunger now,   for you will be satisfied.  

Blessed are you who weep now,   for you will laugh.  

22Blessed are you when men hate you,   when they exclude you and insult you   and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.  

24"But woe to you who are rich,   for you have already received your comfort.  

25Woe to you who are well fed now,   for you will go hungry.   Woe to you who laugh now,   for you will mourn and weep.  

26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,   for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

· Mary reimagines Gabriel’s vision, foreshadowing Jesus’ own reimagining of the prophecy of the Old Testament. This is her choice, just as it is Jesus’ choice to suffer (Luke—when shown two swords for self-defense—he responds in disgust with his disciples, “It is enough” and in Matthew, “Do you not think I could not call upon my father to send more than twelve legions of angels to defend me?” Luke affirms human choice as central to the plan of salvation—indeed, the critical element—and the two most important choices are Mary’s and Jesus’ to imagine a Kingdom of God radically different from what their compatriots and many of their present “followers” imagine.

No Selfishness

2010-08-22T18:00:00.002-05:00

An excellent article came out today about the relatively and proportionally far greater generosity of the poor as opposed to the rich in the United States, calling to mind many stories and teachings within the Gospels (the Widow's Mite, etc.) and the Christian faith. Here are some choice quotes to keep in mind as proceed through a Lucan liturgical year--with Luke's exquisite and powerful focus on the Kingdom of God as good news for the poor and oppressed everywhere:

A number of other studies have shown that lower-income Americans give proportionally more of their incomes to charity than do upper-income Americans. In 2001, Independent Sector, a nonprofit organization focused on charitable giving, found that households earning less than $25,000 a year gave away an average of 4.2 percent of their incomes; those with earnings of more than $75,000 gave away 2.7 percent.

This situation is perplexing if you think of it in terms of dollars and cents: the poor, you would assume, don’t have resources to spare, and the personal sacrifice of giving is disproportionately large. The rich do have money to spend. Those who itemize receive a hefty tax break to make charitable donations, a deduction that grows more valuable the higher they are on the income scale. And the well-off are presumed to have at least a certain sense of noblesse oblige. Americans pride themselves on their philanthropic tradition, and on the role of private charity, which is much more developed here than it is in Europe, where the expectation is that the government will care for the poor.

The Prayer Flag Project Video

2010-08-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

This four minute video introduces our community and one of our latest projects. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ALVawiLw8

Guests and Updates on the ECC

2010-08-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Fr. Jim Lehman and his partner Charlie of the Holy Family Ecumenical Catholic Communion parish in Las Cruces, New Mexico visited all of us at Juan Diego Parish in San Antonio for Mass and the potluck-fiesta-pool party afterward. Fr. Jim and Charlie met with Fr. Larry, Diane, Billy, and Paul over lunch to talk more about the application process for the ECC as well as general information and history on the ECC. It was awesome visit, and we look forward to future visits from Jim and Charlie! If you are in Las Cruces and looking for a great parish of Juan Diego's ilk, be sure to look up Holy Family.

Fr. Jim, leading the congregation in songs in English and Spanish

Two more first-time Juan Diego guests!

Ahora Se Habla Espanol

2010-08-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

We are proud to announce several awesome developments in the past two weeks to bring way more Spanish language into Mass and other parish events. We are striving constantly to make our community as inclusive, open, and multilingual as possible. English is not the first language of the majority of us---with Spanish and Bosnian as the most spoken languages along with English.

If you, anyone you know (i.e. a local university class focused on service on learning) might be interested in volunteering some time and talent to help support website translation around Spanish, Bosnian, or other languages, please let us know at juandiego.parish (at) gmail.com. We are a registered nonprofit in the state of Texas and would be more than happy to help any volunteers get academic credit, etc.

Raymond Vasquez, ordained as our first deacon last month, is now reading the first reading and second reading (the epistle) in Spanish. When Raymond gives homilies or says more of the Mass, he will speaking in Spanish as well.
We now have Missals in side-by-side Spanish-English translation--which include the entire text of the Mass.

Coming Soon!

2010-08-07T11:28:00.001-05:00

The Prayer Flag Project--a multi-lingual exploration of prayer, the Holy Spirit, gifts, and community. We will be bringing part of our work (Larry, Diane, Billy, and Paul) to Mass tonight and already displaying some of the prayer flags outside Larry and Diane's house in San Antonio.

Here are some pics--video on the way.

A Common Thread of Faith

2010-08-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

The text of Fr. Larry's homily this Saturday (August 7):

All three readings this week have a common thread: Faith. Faith is a tricky concept. When we are asked to have faith we usually have no evidence to believe in or to convince us. In the first reading, the people of God had faith in the Oaths of the Passover, which involved two different rites.

First, the sprinkling of blood on all the people: This rite affirmed the idea they were all of one blood and had a shared life-they were connected. After the blood rite, they shared a covenant meal. The covenant meal means admission into the family of another. The people became members of the family God. The people had faith that the two rituals formed bonds of sacred kinship between God and Israel.

Paul wrote in the second reading that faith is evidence of things not seen. Paul furnished the example of Abraham (Genesis 12). God called Abraham from the land of Ur and told him that his family would be made into a great nation. Abraham was 75 years old then. Abraham believed and after waiting 25 more years, when he was 100 and his wife Sarah was 90 years old, Isaac was born (Genesis 17:17). How many of us would have the faith to move to a strange land when we are old based on a promise that made no sense?

In modern times, we actually experience faith on a regular basis in our daily lives. For instance, we have faith that we will receive presents on Christmas, birthdays, and Easter. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy will not forget us. We do not have a signed contract to believe this, but we know with certainty that generosity will come our way at these special events. We understand that these special days are rooted in tradition meaning tradition, just like Passover, can strengthen faith. The tradition of attending church can also build our faith. We really know what faith is.

The first two readings are examples of people having faith in God. People believing in God is a common way of explaining Faith, but I think the gospel reading is a wonderful example of something very different: God having faith in each and every one of us. The ending of the gospel talks a great deal about us being trustworthy to accomplish the work God has given us to do. There is always a lot of talk about what happens if we don’t carry out God’s work—but more importantly, God has faith in each and every one of us to carry out the work he gives us to complete. God does trust each and every member of St. Juan Diego.

In the beginning of the gospel, Jesus tells us, “Your father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” Wow! God is pleased to give all of us the kingdom. So how do we close that deal? We are told to store up treasure.

Jesus tells us to store our treasure in heaven because where our treasure is our hearts will be also.

Treasure in heaven cannot be corrupted. What type of treasure should we be storing in heaven? When I think about the life of Jesus I think of primarily three things he did that could be called heavenly treasure. Jesus was a teacher—in fact, he was often called rabbi by his followers ,which means teacher. He cared for others by feeding them and healing them. Thirdly, he would go off by himself to pray. He cared for others, taught, and worshipped his father.

Do we care for others? Do we spread the Good News? Do we make time to worship?

God’s faith in our parish and our faith in each other, along with our care of God’s people, will ensure our treasure chest in heaven is overflowing.

Congratulations to Our Newly Baptized!

2010-08-01T15:21:00.000-05:00

Juan Diego warmly welcomes Mark and Christian into our church and the Christian community! They were baptized yesterday at Mass in a profoundly moving ceremony, where each member present anointed them with the Sign of the Cross and affirmed our support for Mark and Christian in their spiritual journey in this world. There are more images from the ceremony after the break!

When Two or Three Are Gathered in My Name (through Social Media Technologies)

2010-08-01T15:03:00.003-05:00

Juan Diego now has an official Facebook group! Join, post pics, news, and discussion!

And, while you're at it, check out our main website upgrades, especially new photos of our growing community!

Fr. Larry and Deacon Raymond celebrating the Liturgy of the Eucharist, July 31, 2010

The ECC is Coming to Town

2010-08-01T14:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, at a parish meeting after Mass, the parish of Juan Diego (with 25 members assembled--a clear quorum), the parish voted unanimously to proceed with application to and eventual joining with the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC). The proposal was made after Mass two weeks ago, and parish members have been reading upon on the ECC, reflecting our own journey together in Central Texas, and preparing for the vote. I will keep the blog posted on news related to the ECC and our application.

Next, week Fr. Jim from an ECC parish in New Mexico will be visiting the Juan Diego community, attending mass and celebrating with us with a potluck, fiesta, and swim party afterward! This is your chance to ask a current member of the ECC any questions you might have and get to know our new home better!

For more information about the ECC, check out these great resources:

http://www.ecumenical-catholic-communion.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenical_Catholic_Communion

Apostolic Succession Explained

2010-08-01T13:43:00.002-05:00

For "those who hold and teach the Catholic faith," recording and retelling history is a vital ingredient to our understanding of what it means to be Catholic. Catholics--whether of the Roman church, the Eastern churches, the various National churches, and other the contemporary emergence of alternative progressive/ecumenical/"treasures-without-the-baggage" churches in the West--have placed great importance on linking themselves with the wider Catholic tradition. Apostolic succession is one of the most significant threads of history Catholics trace, discuss, and debate. Simply phrased, apostolic succession means demonstrating how a given community connects--through various other communities--backward in time to Peter the Apostle. Succession is traditionally demonstrating by charting which bishop ordained which bishop who ordained the specific priest in question--in a sort of family tree style.

For example, this is an chart of apostolic succession for our own Fr. Larry (based on the excellent work Bishop Joshua Alekzandor, Abbot of the Order of the Holy Innocents)! You can trace back his connection to Peter over 2,000 years ago, through dozens of prelates in Catholic history. For ecclesiastical history nerds and those interested in some of the cool theological implications of succession questions, read on.

In reading through the chart, several items to note:

Apostolic succession begins with Peter, yet through the first three or four centuries (at least), rigorous archival record-keeping were not the top priority of the Christian church nor did the early churches have the resources at its disposal that the wealthy Renaissance Roman Church did (much less Google Docs and YouTube, which Juan Diego has today). All these early names and succession derive from tradition or oral histories much later written down. We have mostly legends, and, at best, fragments of original documents. This part of the succession cannot meet the criteria of scientific historical research, but this is not the point. It is simply an extension of the stories and the notion of Catholic community, but extended over time as well as space.
Within the early churches, the focus on apostolic succession also emerged as a what we would call in modernity a "transparency mechanism." By linking a specific priest or bishop with a common thread of widely-recognized teachers, gives the specific priest or bishop a form of authority derived from a commonly-held set of histories and communities. The only other major forms of authority in the ancient world were charisma, violence, and esotericism (which, of course, endure today along with various other rationalities). The apostolic succession doctrines attempted to curb appeals to these authorities.
There are several lines of succession (e.g. the Antiochian and the Old Roman) because there have been, from the very beginning of the Catholic church many churches--while all these communities shared a basic set of foundation stories and points of theology, broad cultural differences existed. Over the next 2,000 years, other groups have emerged in the Catholic tradition, while some have sought to purge what is "Catholic" and make other forms of Christian community (e.g. Protestant churches). Note that Fr. Larry's line of succession and Benedict XVI--the current Roman Pope--are identical all the way until 1655 when the line diverges in the Roman succession. Juan Diego can trace itself back to a Jesuit who was the confessor to French monarch Louis XIV. This may seem like a bit of trivia, but in the West, disagreement over arcane points of succession has been the cause of wars, torture, and burning of individuals at the stake for centuries. Such has been the intensity of the violence around claims of apostolic succession (depressingly ironic given Jesus' final command of pacifism to Peter to put away his sword as Judas betrayed him), that most in the West assume a commitment to historical understandings like apostolic succession inevitably lead to brutality. However, a very helpful set of counter-examples exists among various Buddhist traditions and communities. For many Buddhist, the teacher of one's own religious leader (sometimes called a lama), is incredibly important--identifying one with one set of faith practices and culture or another. Yet, while most Westerners know about the Dalai Lama, he is not analogous to the Roman Pope. Many other lamas are living today who lead large global faith communities and trace their connection back centuries--co-existing without the same need for strict, linear, single hierarchy of the Roman church. I am certainly not an expert in either the history of Christianity or Buddhism, but crosscultural comparisons have often proved to be the most illuminating in my own understanding of human beings and their relationship to religion, spirituality, and the deeper logic of the universe.