The Spiritual Olympics: Keeping Spiritually Fit

“In all of life’s events, recognize God’s divine will; adore it, bless it. Do not be eager to free yourself from the things that are hard for you. And particularly the things that are the hardest.”

- St. Pio

The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius, Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger." The motto was proposed in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin, the “Father of the Modern Olympic Games." De Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest and athletics enthusiast. The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The Summer Olympics Games will be held in London this year with the opening on July 27 and closing ceremonies on August 12. Chiseled and crafted athletes will captivate the world’s attention at the greatest sporting spectacle as they put sports and skills on display, and each country will cheer on their beloved homelands.

St. Paul gives us a checklist throughout his writings to help us hone the Christian virtues of humility, selflessness and sacrifice. Paul admonishes us to excel in virtue, while reminding us that improving any skill takes hard practice. Faith opens a way to realizing our highest good and having faith makes one more optimistic, healthier and more prosperous.

In the Greek world athletics was a very important dimension of life. And St. Paul, who traveled and preached in Greece, must have had a great affinity and identification with athletes since so many of his letters compare living the Christian life with being an athlete. As we view the Olympic games let us reflect not just on being fit for the rigors of stellar physical performances, but let us do an inventory of our own spiritual health to see how fit we are to win the greatest prize, Jesus Christ. Perhaps we could consider this checklist for spiritual fitness as the Summer Olympic games are being played:

1. Pray Every Day: St. John Vianney once said, “The less I pray, the less I want to pray. The more I pray, the more I want to pray.” Do we make an appointment for God each day where we carve out time and a place to pray? In today’s world, time is a great enemy of prayer. “Tempus fugit” (or time flies), we all know means that we feel dominated by the urgent. Time is so elusive and evasive. Time dedicated to God, of peace, calmness and quiet, ensures that we will grow closer to God day by day.

2. Read the Bible Every Day: When we learn to hear God’s Word speak to us, we are changed and challenged to be more contemplative and more linked to Him. When we take time to read the Bible we learn from God His Wisdom. We are taught by God and we encounter Him. In so doing, we communicate God’s presence to others.

3. Examine Your Conscience Every Day: The Greek philosopher Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Today we seem to have lost the art of self-examination. The Christian writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) once wrote the following letter to the newspaper, “Dear Sir: What is wrong with the human race? I am. Yours Sincerely, GK Chesterton.” Seriously examining our conscience is vital to be spiritually healthy and alive. Most of our problems in life stem from our inability to be still.

4. Fight the Battle for the Mind Every Day: We must make a choice to hold on to positive Godly thoughts or be overwhelmed by our own negative thoughts. We can’t afford the luxury to dwell, ruminate and obsess on fear, hatred, revenge and violence, but must cultivate forgiveness, hopefulness, peace and love. I remind each penitent that God loves them, God forgives them, God is with them and God has a plan for their life.

5. Repent Every Day: We must turn to God as beggars. We are all sinners. And what sinners do best is sin. But if we are humble, contrite and wise we will stay connected to the source of life Who is God. By a daily act of contrition or repentance, we are drawn closer to God. And God is always close to us when we are brokenhearted and repentant. I always like to say — name it, claim it and let it go into the ocean of God’s infinite mercy.

6. Grow in our Eucharistic Adoration: The Eucharist is the “source and the summit” of our Catholic Faith; it reminds us that God’s greatest gift is to us to feed us in this life and in the life to come. We are called to a mature faith and time spent with the Eucharistic Lord facilitates this. Every Wednesday in our parish at St. Joseph we have all-day Eucharistic adoration in the middle of the week to remind our people not to lose sight of the gift of God. I am humbly amazed to see how many come to adore the Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to deepen a love in them for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

7. Make Time for Spiritual Reading: Throughout the centuries the Church has always encouraged the practice of Lectio Divina or sacred reading. By reflecting on the insights and wisdom in Christian living from such spiritual masterpieces as The Confessions of St. Augustine, the Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux or the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, we find strength and direction for our Christian lives through great and holy spiritual companions.

8. Love Your Neighbor and Your Enemy: The “Great Commandment” is to love God and neighbor, (even if that neighbor is your enemy). Without God’s grace and help we cannot love. Love challenges us to take the high road and go the extra mile by being forgiving, being tolerant of others and being prepared to witness to Gospel.

9. Cultivate the Virtue of Hope: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about the hope of eternal life and the promise of God’s love. It’s not easy to hear and accept this if we are stuck in the rut of hopelessness and despair and lose sight of God’s love. The cure is to turn back to God, repent, believe His Gospel and be filled with hope.

10. Be Joyful and Happy: Believers of Jesus Christ should be the happiest people on earth. This joyfulness, borne of the Holy Spirit, never makes us shallow, superficial or facile but wells within us with infectious joy and happiness. May we go and spread the joy of the Holy Spirit today and everyday.

Let us be Olympians — Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Vacation: An Option or a Necessity?

“Rest for the frequently restless. Rest for the easily slighted. Rest for the unjustly treated. Rest for the inwardly disturbed. Rest for the innocently harmed. Rest for the physically pained. Rest for the harshly betrayed. Draw as close when we are in need. Do not let us forget what we can receive in thy true rest.”

— Julian of Norwich

Last week I traveled 400 miles to Long Branch, NJ with three brother-priests to San Alphonso Retreat House. It is a center for Christian renewal that has been run by the Redemptorist fathers and brothers for over eighty years. It is situated on eight beautiful acres along the New Jersey coastland, and it is where “the sea meets the sky.” I have attended Seton Hall University International Institute for Clergy Formation for the 24 years that I have been a priest. It has been a wellspring of fresh life and spiritual rejuvenation each summer.

There were thirty-six priests from around the United States there last week. Listening to fine presenters, sharing fraternal support, gathering in prayer and being at the Atlantic Ocean with fishermen, surfers and beach worshippers was a perfect setting for a week of “R & R.” Each morning I got up before the sunrise and watched the horizon of the beach as I ran the boardwalk. That bright orange sun filled me with the warmth of a new day. There was a police academy survival training of 30 men and women down at the beach. As I jogged along the boardwalk, I heard the riveting sound of the drill sergeant hammering out commands for the prospective recruits to the police academy. I thought to myself, “You’ve got to be focused, dedicated and disciplined and ready to serve after going through such a regimented training.”

We are all pilgrim people as we journey through the varied landscapes of our lives on our way to the heavenly Jerusalem. Jesus reminds His disciples that rest is an essential ingredient for the rhythm of effective Christian living. For we cannot work well unless we have sufficient enough rest, and we will not rest well until we have toiled and worked until we are spent. There is a danger in our times of too much information, too quick technology, too fast-paced life-styles, and being too overwhelmed, that sometimes we fail to hit the pause button of life just to rest, relax and rejuvenate. In the Christian life we must meet with God in the secret place of prayer and oasis of silence if we are to serve others well in the marketplace. We all need strength to keep going. We all need inspiration to lift us out of ourselves and beyond ourselves. And we all need new road maps to continue to walk in the path of selflessness and continue to follow Christ in faith and hope toward the promised Kingdom of God.

Jesus, like a good teacher, cared for His disciples. He was a aware of their condition and He knew they needed rest and relaxation as much as instruction and correction. Jesus’ loving and tender care extends beyond His disciples to each and everyone of us. He wants us to never tire of turning to Him, for He is always ready to bless, to heal and to forgive. Each Sunday Jesus invites us to “come away” to be with Him and “rest awhile” in His grace and love to restore us with new strength for discipleship. Jesus had compassion for His apostles who worked so hard to spread the good news of the reign of the Kingdom of God. He tells them to “take a break," have “downtime” and “seek a quiet place” to rest. So they go to the lake, borrow a boat and find a deserted shore.

I used to say when I was a hospital chaplain at Mercy that “When it is my day off, I’m off. And when it my time to work and be on call, I am ready to answer the call to serve.” The truth is, you can’t “be truly on” if you never “turn yourself off." I can recall during long car trips with my family as a child nagging and badgering my parents. In my restlessness, the drive seemed endless. I was constantly asking, “When will we get there?” and “Is it time to eat again?” I learned at a young age that resting and eating are key components to any happy journey!

Paradoxically, the best time we spend “on the job” is the time we are away. It enables us to come back to our responsibilities with a new lens to see what we do each day. It gives us a new perspective to appreciate our God-given talents to share with others. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” It is my hope and prayer that we take Jesus’ advice to come away and rest awhile as a prescription for happiness, holiness and healthfulness.

Grant me, most dear and loving Jesus,

To rest in You above created things;

Above health and beauty;

Above all glory and honor;

Above all power and dignity;

Above all knowledge and skill;

Above all praise and fame;

Above all sweetness and consolation;

Above all hope and promise;

Above all merit and desire;

Above all gifts and favors that You can bestow and shower upon us;

Above all joy and jubilation that the mind can conceive and know;

Above angels and archangels and all the hosts of heaven;

Above all things visible and invisible;

And above everything that is not Yourself, O my God.

— Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Vacation Plans: Which Direction Are You Headed?

“When the soul is troubled, lonely and darkened, then it turns easily to the outer comfort and to the empty enjoyments of the world.”

— St. Francis of Assisi

One of the parish secretary’s desktops has the word “summer” on it. It is refreshing to see this on her computer screen. In the image are pictures of hot air balloons, the ocean, fish, seagulls, the sun, blue sky and white puffy clouds. The word “summer” is submerged in water. When I see that screen I rejoice in the blessings summer brings.

Are you planning a vacation this summer? Vacations are a freeing experience: free from schedules, free from daily routine, free from workload, free from the daily grind, free from responsibilities, free from mental pressures, and free to spend special time with those we love. As a kid it seemed like summer would last forever: no school for three months, going to Kennywood in West Mifflin and the Banksville Pool in Dormont, neighborhood baseball games, trips to Nags Head, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC, and spending untold hours soaking up the sun, (not a good thing, my dermatologist brother Dan would say today). Then those inevitable “Back to School” ads would pop up in the newspaper and Mom would whisk us off to the department store to get new clothes, bringing our bliss to an all-too-swift end.

As a parish priest you look forward to summertime to get relief from the pressures of meetings, a beehive of activities and the hustle and bustle of an endless train of motion, going with great power and force through the year. It seems life is a busy enterprise. It seems there are always more things to do, places to go and people to meet. The fast-paced life threatens to rob us of the peace we really need. Vacation time allows us to stop and take a break from the busy-ness of life so that we can refuel our soul.

The Greek word apostolos means “apostle,” “ambassador” or “one who is sent.” Today we read Jesus’ instructions to His apostles as they are sent out to share in the work of evangelization. It is an exciting moment. He sends them out to begin the mission for which He has chosen them. They are to carry on His mission through performing similar works to those in His own ministry — preaching, teaching repentance, expelling demons and anointing and healing the sick (Mk 6:12-13). He equips the twelve as His authorized representatives; they are to bring His spirit and life to the world.

Though the sending was exciting, His instructions were challenging. In our 21st century American mindset we may find Jesus’ instructions rigorous, demanding and foreign. Jesus admonishes the apostles not to make provisions for themselves but to rely on God and the hospitality of those who would hear and accept their words. He stressed the dependence on Him and the urgency of the apostles' work. Sometimes our human condition tries to control God, reality or others, but Jesus reminds His apostles to suspend those desires. They were not to have possessions or money. They were not to have fine accommodations. They were not to have great credentials, status, clout, worldly power or prestige. And they were to move on and move out when they faced rejection or failures.

Sometimes the atmosphere we go in to may be that of critical coldness, bland indifference or hostile opposition. However, we must no lose heart or the hope that Jesus is with us. Sometimes in life the door will be slammed in our face, and other times wide with possibility. Although we may want to reach out to others, we may reach an impasse which is beyond our control. In those moments, we must admit defeat and move on. This is part of the detachment Jesus calls us to. Doing the work of ministry doesn’t always guarantee a welcome. Jesus wants us to be aware of God’s call—that we are to travel light and risk rejection and difficulties, for these are the “carry ons” of true prophets. No life ever grows great until it’s focused, dedicated and disciplined.

Jesus is saying to detach from possessions and live a simple life style. Attach to Him. Jesus also sends His apostles two-by-two to remind us that we should not walk alone in life or ministry, for we need one another’s support, companionship and prayers. The lifestyle of the kingdom of God must include nonviolence, vulnerability and hospitable interdependence. Our identity and security is in identifying with Jesus. Don't get weighed down or distracted by non-essentials. For our survival training we must hold on to Jesus, His message and His mission above everything else.

Communion Meditation

To do the work of Christ

Is not a complicated thing.

It’s really quite simple.

It means to be faithful in little things,

For to be faithful in little things is a big thing.

It means to do one’s task,

No matter how humble it may be

Not only thoroughly but joyfully.

It means to make oneself available,

Yet never to seek the limelight.

It means to make oneself useful,

Without seeking to push oneself.

It means to strive to remain calm

Amid the hustle and bustle of life.

It means to carry one’s own burden,

Without, as far as possible, becoming a burden on others.

In a word it means to be at one’s post,

Helpful and faithful, loyal and constant.

As Mother Teresa says:

“We can do no great things —

Only little things with great love.

You can do what I can’t do.

I can do what you can’t do.

Together we can do something beautiful for God.”

— Flor McCarthy, SDB Sunday &; Holy Day Liturgies

Preaching a Life-Giving Word

“One word the Father spoke — it was His Son. And this Word speaks always in the eternal silence. And it is in silence that this Word is heard by the soul.”

— St. John of the Cross

On June 25-27, I traveled 363 miles with several priests from our diocese to attend a conference on Catholic preaching entitled, “We Preach Christ Crucified,” at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. One of my priest-companions was a 1961 alumni of Notre Dame (graduating before I was even born!). Normally over 80,000 people attend a Notre Dame football game, with a large national audience tuning in for this event of an almost “sacred” mystique. I was inspired to see 360 persons descend on Notre Dame for this conference. In our country there are 300 million Americans and over 60 million of those are Catholics. Although there were some 360 priests, bishops, deacons, religious and laity attending the conference, how many millions of persons rely upon them for inspiration! People will travel a great distance to hear a good word, one that gives spirit and life.

A few decades ago, a couple from Indianapolis, John and Virginia Marten, took a special interest in preaching and the homily. One Sunday after Mass, Mr. Marten asked his children (he had eleven), “What did you learn from the homily today?” There was silence. The following week he repeated, “What did you learn from the homily?” Again, no response. Trying on the third week to no avail, his children still had nothing to say. This experience spawned John and Virginia to act so that preachers would have available the best training to become effective communicators the Word of God. Through their generous gift in 1983, a Marten Program at St. Meinrad School of Theology in southern Indiana was founded. John Marten died in 1985 and his wife Virginia and family have continued to be vitally interested and supportive of effective preaching that penetrates the soil of the culture and converts hearts and minds to Jesus Christ.

One of our speakers at the conference this year was the Archbishop of San Antonio, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S. This 56-year-old Mexican-born, dynamic and friendly soul was a lightning rod of hope, electrifying the crowd. He made us smile as he said, “The great sin of the Archbishop is that I love to eat!” Jesus loved to eat with people, to teach to them and proclaim the Good News. Jesus always made time for people, and His life proclaimed what He preached. The Archbishop spoke on the importance of the integrity of our lives and credibility of our actions undergirding everything we communicate. Evangelical preaching allows us to illuminate minds, motivate hearts, challenge lifestyles, nourish lives and set the world on fire. It will work because the power of the Holy Spirit moves us and sends us to preach Christ. Preaching the Word of God is a privilege and sacred responsibility — to be a mediator of God’s Word, to console and encourage with God’s Word, to give others strength and hope.

The Archbishop spoke about the poor quality of our preaching, noting that some comment it is boring, superficial, irrelevant and useless. He reminded us that we are not to preach ourselves — preaching is not about us. It’s a conversation of love, inflaming people to become lovers of God and humanity. St. Augustine said, “We are hollow outwardly if we don’t hear the Word of God inwardly.” Christ goes beyond culture, language, socio-economic conditions, gender, nationality and age. We are to preach with conviction, passion, enthusiasm and piety, and to be commissioned by the Holy Spirit to set the world aflame.

Fr. Robert Barron, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the creator and host of “Catholicism," a ground-breaking 10-part series and study program about the Catholic faith, spoke on the “New Evangelization and the New Media.” He noted that Pope John XXIII at Vatican II emphasized that the mission of the Church is to bear Christ’s light to all the nations with new ardor, new expressions and new methods. The source of the Church’s ardor is our belief that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, which is also the source of evangelical preaching. Fr. Barron noted that there is a deep confusion about God in our society, with atheism multiplying. He said that God doesn’t compete with our freedom, He increases it. He said that we live in an increasingly disenfranchised world, a world with no spiritual reference or dimension. In St. Augustine’s words: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, O Lord.” Fr. Barron noted that pleasure, power money, honor..., these finite things, can never fulfill an infinite longing. Only God is the true answer to every human hunger. Unfortunately, we often float in a lazy lake that produces a “ho hum” culture where my will determines value and what I believe is up to me — a culture of sovereignty of self.

Instead we need to go “in haste” like Mary with a sense of purpose, meaning and direction, giving God sovereignty in our lives. To raise up a culture that has a great reverence for God’s Law, God’s Commandments and God’s Authority, we need to make use of new methods as a jumpstart of evangelization. The late Blessed John Paul II asked Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, “What are you doing to evangelize the culture?” Father Barron has taken to task this challenge to use modern technology, the internet and You-Tube to reach a generation. Check out http://www.wordonfire.org/ to see how Fr. Barron is doing this. When I met Fr. Barron, I mentioned to him that he is the Archbishop Fulton Sheen of our day.

As I jogged around the stadium at Notre Dame, I passed statues at every gate: Gate A (Dan Devine), Gate B (Ara Parseghian), Gate C (Frank Leahy), Gate D (Lou Holtz), Gate E (unnamed), and at no gate, Knute Rockne. These legendary coaches tried to communicate effective leadership on the gridiron for a winning championship. So, too, those of us attending the conference had a remarkable line-up of speakers, stirring us to first hear the Word of God and proclaim it boldly. I made a new friend in the Bishop of Fairbanks, AL, the Most Reverend Donald Kettler. There are 17,000 Catholics in his diocese with only 20 priests. He told me in the winter the sun comes up at Noon and goes down at 2:30 PM. I marveled at adverse conditions in which he witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.