On the Power of Words

This is a portion of my homily, formalized and edited, from this past Sunday. The readings may be found here for your reflection, but and not exclisivly necessary for understanding this portion.

I admit that if you are not Catholic and if you do not attend mass this will be somewhat nonsensical. But I encourage you all, first of all Catholics, to attend mass with a new zeal. And of course for you non-Catholics to become Catholic. Nevertheless, I hope this reflection encourages reflection for you.
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When we pray before the altar of God, it can be an easy temptation to grow weary through repetition. We can repeat the proper response week in and week out during mass. Likewise we hear similar words nearly every week, and so we grow distracted and tired.

But I ask that we look to our own experience to correct our behavior: when we see a loved one, a family member, or a friend we can say “It's good to see you,” or “I've missed you,” or “I love you,” and each time these words produce a similar (if not the same) effect. These words, coming from someone who means it, never fail to hearten us and comfort us. Likewise, when we mean and say these words we too hope that they will do the same for our loved ones.

Yet how could we not trust the sincerity of these words?

Take this, all of you, and eat of it. For this is my body, which will be given up for you.

Take this, all of you, and drink from it. For this is the chalice of my blood. The blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.

Both times he proclaims, “Do this in memory of me.”

We ought to listen to these words anew and see them as coming from the heart of Jesus. He offers his very self to heal us, to reconcile us, and to raise us up to the Father. This is why the priest elevates the Body and Blood—it it not so that our mortal eyes might see it, but that our spirits might offer this perfect sacrifice to the Father.

Every prayer of our mass is an expression of God's love for us. Since God is love, it should not surprise us that the mass is that perfect expression of his love, because in it we receive both His word and His own Self.

Imagine, then, that the Father ever and always says “I love you” through his every action. Do we allow this to affect us as we stand, sit, and kneel before the Lord? Do our words of response express this same love? I hope they do, for God is always waiting and always listening to our response. Let our prayers, our actions, and out hearts speak in one voice at every mass, indeed every moment of it, and in our life.

In this way that which we hear and say will not leave us without having their intended effect.

Pentecost: The Fire of the Spirit

(Note: This was originally a homily given at Pentecost on May 24, 2015. I did not have a script and so the written version is a near-facsimilie, but lacking the timing and effect I went for when speaking publicly).

On this holy feast of Pentecost I would like us to reflect on the Spirit and His work in our lives, namely that there are two ways which we use one: we can use it to mean “alone” and we can use it to mean “together.”

How is it that we’re alone? Paul in Galatians tells us that the works of the flesh rip us apart and isolate us. The works of the flesh are envy, greed, immorality, immodesty, lack of chastity, wrath and anger, rivalry, and hatred (cf., Gal 5:16-19). We see this in our own lives and we’ve all had these feelings. But we must recognize that these acts are acts of power and control where we seek to impose our will on the world and others, taking from the weak, the helpless, and those we consider less than ourselves. These aspects gather all things to ourselves, but isolate us and make us one and alone.

But the Spirit is something better and greater. Humility, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, and love. Each of these acts, paradoxically, ask us to give of ourselves little by little, lifting the other up in charity and peace.

I find no better example of this notion of alone and together than in families. If a spouse, or even indeed a child, is greedy, jealous, domineering, ungrateful, or mean-spirited, it tears a family apart. But if all members of a family are patient, patient with each other’s shortcomings, humble, knowing that they are not perfect or always right, gentle in chiding them to a better life in Christ, and loving—that is, self-sacrificing—than that family will stand firm for generations, in life and in death. We all know of our weaknesses, whether they are sexual, or matters of pride, jealousy, envy, gossip, or laziness. We all share in these weaknesses of the flesh, but through grace we share in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

It is the Spirit that affords us these graces which God pours out so generously upon us. It is the Spirit that allowed the Apostles to speak many languages, so that all peoples and ages might hear one message. That one message is the love of the Father, the victory of Christ Jesus over sin and death—a victory we baptized share in, the presence of the Spirit of truth, and that the Church, the bride of Christ, shares the glorious work of God on earth.

One more image that I think is useful for us is the very bread that we bless and consecrate at the holy altar. The bread that we use is made of many grains, formed into one with water, and then finally baked by fire.

We too, because of the work of the most blessed Trinity, are made into one. We are gathered, all of us varied and different, by the will of the Father. He calls us together and, through the blood of the Son, we are prepared as one. Lastly, the Spirit, who is rightly symbolized as a holy flame, perfects us in love and grace so that we might become holy, that is like God. Thus we, brothers and sisters, are prepared as a bread pleasing to almighty God, but not merely for Him, but for the whole world. The blood and water that poured from Christ’s side on the Cross prepare us for this task, and the Spirit strengthens us along the way.

Like Christ, we are one Body and one Bread, prepared for the world and given up for the sake of the world. For everyone, not only us Catholics, but for all of our brothers and sisters. We are given up for their sins, their weaknesses, and the evil that they do, for we know that we too share in all the same weaknesses and faults. We, nonetheless, rely on the power of the Trinity to make us an acceptable offering for the whole world so that all of us, so many scattered and alone, may be one in Spirit and in truth.

Kuma's Corner: At the Corner of Ignorance and Profits

(Edit: 10/13/2013--currently, I'm working on a follow-up to clarify and/or revise some of my points. Also, I hope to make it shorter and more reflective)

Now that nearly a week has passed and my generally angry response to what happened has subsided, I thought I would share my thoughts on this sorry-yet-expected story about Kuma's Corner, a "gourmet burger" place in Chicago, where at this restaurant they made a burger in honor of the Swedish metal band Ghost by garnishing the burger with a wafer (that looks like a communion wafer) and red wine sauce.

Sadly, even in my writing this I realize that I give them more publicity and run the risk of being a sensationalist myself. Make no mistake, unlike Kuma's which has used a symbol held sacred by Catholics (and many Christians) in order to turn a profit, I do not write this for my own popularity or for profit.

This restaurant, a metal bar-grill, has bands or some movie playing on its TVs and images all over its walls. It has a sort of pub look to it, with a sort of wood and metal interior typical of small businesses. It's as busy at 1pm as it is 1am, typically, and the wait to get in can sometime be 1-2 hours. It's well known and well liked, catering to people who like metal and/or burgers. This is why, to me, it's curious that such a successful business would resort to this sort of publicity stunt yet, all the same, the "F the man" mentality makes one wonder why this isn't done more often by establishments like it.

Those who listen to metal and have a strong devotion to it are on the emotional side since that's what the music is about. It's a sort of music that wants to elicit some sort of visceral reaction or primal response. Those who live in such a world often have a hard time finding a filter for their thoughts in certain situations. When they're confronted about what they've done they're more likely to swear at or insult you before confronting the problem. The next level of response is either along the lines of "You just don't understand" or "I don't care." Other people be damned, am I right?


This is why the response by Kuma's is so amusing (if that's the right word). With my interpretation following each quote, I'll show it to you:

(1) Kuma’s Corner is aware that in some cases, people have unfortunately found reason to find offense at our recent special menu addition the Ghost. We make hamburgers for a living. We are a small nine table restaurant in [...]  Chicago. And we love heavy metal. There is a band doing music that we enjoy particularly called Ghost. They are from Sweden. As with all of our burgers, the Ghost was created to pay homage to the music they’ve created. We work very hard on coming up with creative combinations for our food just as a band would work very hard to be creative with their music and we think it shows in their regard so we found it appropriate that with them being on tour this month, and this month being October, we honor them in this way.

Interpretation:

We are sorry that we're not sorry, since some people were offended by our recent menu choice. We'd like to remind everyone that we are a "small business" and thus barely get by every day, which is why we like to be edgy. Why is everyone angry at the underdog?

We could honestly think of no other way to pay homage to Ghost. Their music is so mediocre that only their imagery, one meant to offend anyhow, was the only proper way to act. We worked very hard to look 5 seconds at them, see how they imitate and deface clerical and ecclesial imagery and say, 'How can we imitate and deface it?' Honestly, it took a lot of hard work.

(2) That said, we appreciate the kind words of support from the vast majority of people who understand that we, in no way, created this as a commentary on religion or as an attack on anyones personal beliefs. In the past we have done a number of burgers dealing with this same exact topic to very little fanfare. Never in the spirit of offending anyone, and always in mindset of praising a band for the work that they do.

Interpretation:

But so many of our customers who don't seriously practice religion found reason to praise us. We were shocked by the positive response, personally. We never meant to offend anyone, but if we do, isn't that your fault?

(3) However, in the haze of the past few days, we would like to express the following. We support the rights of every person in the United States as given to them by the Constitution, to do and say what they feel. 

Interpretation:

But let's get to the real issue here.

(4) We are fortunate to live in a place where we are granted particular freedoms not available to most people in most locales and we feel it is our obligation to not stand down in the face of threats but instead to stand up for something we hold to be much nobler; the First Amendment. If you are not familiar with it, let us provide the text for you:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Interpretation:

Let's appeal to something greater than personal beliefs: our personal belief in what the Constitution means and allows for. So many other countries are oppressive, stupid, and cruel. That's why it's our patriotic duty to wave Old Glory around in the form of a burger. It is our obligation and, yes, our pride to say and do whatever we feel because in doing so we honor the Constitution and those who died to protect our freedom. I dare say that those who gave their lives across the ages would shed a tear of joy at knowing our restaurant put a wafer and red wine-reduction sauce all in the name of freedom ["Red Wine Reduction (the blood of Christ) with Communion Wafer garnish (the body of Christ). Come pay your respects!"].

We've copied a portion of the text that helps justify our position.

(5) In standing with our policy of supporting charity and Chicago at large, we have made a $1500 dollar donation to the Catholic Charities of the Chicago Archdiocese as we understand that they share our mentality of serving anyone in need from any walk of life.

Interpretation:

In order to show we're good sports in all of this, we'll give money to their charity. Hey, $1,500 is enough to show it's no big deal, right?

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Thankfully, Catholic Charities rejected Kuma's generous offer. The general hubris present in this is almost as sickening as the burger itself.

A good marketing strategy nowadays is "Hey, they like what I like!" or "Hey, they're offending who I hate!" Find a group that you know people are biased against, insult and offend them, and then watch your customers praise your bravery and support you all the way--even with their money.

The brave example of Kuma's certainly seems promising for their business. After all, what's bravery without some sort of reward? A look at their Facebook page reveals "pastors" singing their praises and generally being pretty hip about the whole situation. Resident Catholic theologians are giving a good defense of the faith with quotes like, "I'm not offended at all!" or "Any educated Catholic knows that if it's not blessed it's just a wafer. Lighten up people!"

Others figured this was a good opportunity to say, "There are bigger problems going on here" or "Why care about what some anti-gay, hateful organization has to say?" or "They get offended at burgers but not pedophiles?"

Yes, because no practicing Catholic at any level has a problem with child abuse. It's just so obvious.


Christ and his followers continue to be persecuted by those who hate Him and His Church. Likewise, some who follow Him throw off his yoke when pressured. Nothing new here.


Is it really "no big deal" and should Catholics, let along other Christians and religious groups get offended? Should social groups also find no offense in a harmless burger? The question has been made by some as to whether Kuma's would make a "Quran Burger" or something to offend the Jews. Not only would that be offensive, they say, but would they face stricter threats or danger? Jews and Christians in the United States have long been a fairly tolerant towards such actions--certainly not violent. Many Muslims in this country bear public humiliation daily, especially since 9/11.

Anyone persecuted for what they believe is a cause for tragedy for me, in many ways more for the person who persecutes than the one who is persecuted.

Many in America operate off of the morality of "do it as long as it doesn't offend anyone." Here's a good case study in, 'It offends someone' with the response of 'It's not a big deal.' America. Chick-Fil-A claims it's against gay marriage: run them out of town. Kuma's Corner takes religious symbolism in order to offend: they're standing up for the good ol' U S of A.


My question is: is religion really a difficult target or the way to flex one's 1st amendment rights? One could argue that Kuma's exercise of that right is no different than the Westborough Baptist church's exercise of it. Would Kuma make a [N****r] burger, or a rape-victim burger? Would they claim that both were done in good fun and they did so in honor of a band whose subject matter revolves around that? I wonder.

One friend pointed out to me in my anger at this, and rightly so, that we ought to pray for them. Not just that the burger be removed, but for a conversion of heart in the proprietors and patrons of Kuma's. We're all sinners. Any self-respecting Christian can look at himself and see his many faults and the ways that he defaces God through slander, gossip, or hatred.

All the same, the anger I and many feel is not a "holier than thou" feeling, it's an anger that stems from our love for Christ and reverence we pay to His Body and Blood, and the symbols of bread and wine used sentimentally. Indeed, for Catholics that which was once bread and wine is transformed by the priest into His very Body and Blood through the working of the Holy Spirit. That the host isn't blessed is not an issue. It's taking what is sacred symbolism and part of my life, ridiculing it by making it a garnish on a burger for a band that defames us. Secondly, it's done in the name of making a dollar.

Am I asking Kuma's to close its doors? No. I'm asking it to see reason--make burgers respecting whatever bands you please. Do so without offending what others hold dear. Will some be offended you like the band? Probably. But your enjoyment of a band is a private concern. Your marketing symbolism people take to be holy is a public one.

You might claim that our stance against gay marriage is hateful and public, but in turn we are not in the business of making money off of that publicity. In fact we lost plenty of people for speaking out against gay marriage. We receive far less publicity for how we minister to homosexuals and in what manner we talk about marriage and sexuality, anyhow.

I am reminded of the procession of martyrs, from the time of the Apostles to the present day who have given their very lives in the midst of tortures, defamation, humiliation, and even worse. Who will stand with true honor in the end, the one who bore the Constitution for his private whims or the one who bore the Word in humility and sacrifice? I know which one makes me more money, and I'm learning which one makes me rich.

Needless to say I won't be supporting Kuma's any longer. Those who were indifferent to Kuma's before may very well take my place, so it's not like they lost anything. But I'm willing to give up something I enjoy for the sake of my belief. For many of us, we must struggle as to whether we'd be giving up our very lives, public image, and personal honor for the sake of Christ. An overpriced burger isn't really a big price to pay.

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Some other articles worth reading:

John Cass, Chicago Tribune
Open Letter to Kuma's
Word on Fire

Drawing all to Him

A reflection I gave at mass today. The readings may be found here: USCCB website
Please leave some comments below.

God, in his great love, wishes to gather all people to himself. In this grand campaign the Lord asks each of us to be conquerors. Greater still he asks us all to be living borders of his kingdom.

In the time of Jesus, a Jew could only seek forgiveness for his sins in the temple. The Jews considered the temple the center of God's kingdom and the borders of Israel the dwelling place of God. Jesus, when he proclaimed “Destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days” was speaking of himself. He replaced the temple of Jerusalem with himself. It is through Jesus that we are forgiven our sins and it is to Him all people should gather.

Truly, God's love is great because he gave the Jews a temple and a place to heal from their sins. His love is even greater because where many would not or could not go to the temple for healing, Jesus, the new Temple, came to them.

Jesus sends us forth, out of love, for those who do not know him. By our words and actions in this world we extend this holy place, this church, to all of those who are outside of it. We amplify the borders of this church in hope of drawing all to Christ, who is our sanctuary.

We are conquerors over sin and death when others return to Christ on account our words and deeds. Jesus, present in the holy Eucharist, is the temple where one finds pardon and peace.

Draw others to Him so that we may all rejoice in saying “We are his people, and He is our God.”

The Bread of the Eucharist: A Bland Reality?

 Some may say, whether they are Catholic or not, "Why is the ‘wafer’ and the ‘host’ so bland?"

Perhaps instead of us thinking of the Church as being cheap, stupid, or boring we should look at the intentionality behind the act. The host being “bland” is symbolic. See that the bread is, for us, a sort of deprivation. It is not special, it does not have an exceptional flavor, and with respect to other foods it is bland. But this is exactly the comment that the Church wants to make about Christ: that he became flesh like us. In comparison to the divine our flesh is cheap, and fallible, and bland. This does not mean that that our flesh is “bad” just as this normal bread is not “bad.” Christ, however, by his graciousness took on our weak and fallen humanity to raise it up. We proclaim through our very bread that humanity is simple and lacking, but not bad—in fact the body may be used for holy work and sacred things.

The bread that we receive is not merely a symbol, but it is a symbol given to us for our benefit—it is meant by means of earthly concerns to direct our mind to heavenly truths. Christ adopted our humanity so that God might adopt us. He “took the form of a slave” (Philippians 2:7) which is to say he was unassuming, common, and everyday. Even the people at the synagogue doubted his power when they asked “Isn’t he the son of Joseph?” (cf. Mt 13:55, Jn 6:42) In his common estate, however, Jesus expressed the power of the Spirit by virtue of his obedience to the Father.

God, incarnate in common humanity, confounded those who would never believe that the body could be redeemed or divinized. To those who believe, however, the bread we have stands as a powerful comfort to us who are still pilgrims.

More powerfully, Christ left us the Eucharist so we might partake of him for our whole lives. The Body of the Sacrifice was resurrected so that we might make continual sacrifice to the Father and that it might be one sacrifice all the same. This is because the Body we offer to the Father is His own, and the Body we offer can never be destroyed or pass away. For “when he became perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb 5:9). “Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body” (Mt 26:26). He did likewise with the cup, saying it was his blood.

The early Church herself attests to this reality. When Irenaeus wrote Against Heresies (circa 182 AD) the Eucharist was an important mark of the true Church:

The Church offers with single-mindedness, her gift is justly reckoned a pure sacrifice with God. ...[and we truly offer the first fruits of creation, that which is most loved] ... how can they [the heretics] say that [our] flesh, which is nourished with the body of the Lord and with His blood, goes to corruption, and does not partake of life? ... Our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion. For we offer Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly. (Book IV.18.iv-v)

Irenaeus of Lyon didn't treat it as if it were simple bread.

Indeed, the Gospel of Luke relates to us the power of this most precious treasure. As the men from Emmaus leave Jerusalem Jesus meets them. Jerusalem is the image of the heavenly city, it is the place where Christ proclaims himself the Temple and where he sacrificed himself. The cross stands there, and thus heaven through the cross. The men meet him and Jesus walks with them. Even Scripture is explained to them and their hearts are on fire, but they do not turn back. It is only when Jesus “was with them at table, [took bread], said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight” (Lk 24:30-31). Does it not seem strange that Christ should vanish? But in the end he did not vanish: “this is my body, this is my blood.” They set out at once back to Jerusalem to proclaim that “he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (24:35). Yes, not even Scripture revealed this to them, but the bread.

Recognize our savior in the breaking of the bread in new ways. Reflect not only on the spiritual truths, but what the physical experience of it all relates to us.

Did We Miss Something?

Reflection on Sunday's Readings (01/27/2013) Link

Ezra told the people “Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!” The people before Ezra had been scattered and abandoned for a time, but they had been reunited. Their heritage had been lost and their home was in ruins. Now, all of a sudden, they were back together and their greatest treasure, the law of the Lord, was being taught to them again. The people, filled with emotion, began to weep—perhaps they wept at what they had lost. Perhaps they wept because forsaking the law cost them their home. Whatever the reason Ezra and the other leaders urged them to eat good food and drink sweet drinks. Here we see that returning the word of God brought joy, but also sadness, to those who were present.

The Psalm today states that the law of the Lord “refreshes the soul” but the leaders of the people in the Old Testament needed to urge everyone to refresh themselves. Nehemiah and Ezra asked them to 'party', so to speak, in order feel the joy that they should be feeling. It's odd advice to tell someone to “be happy” after they've cried—have they just missed something?

We may also notice that the crowd gathered at the synagogue in today's Gospel reacted in a peculiar way. Luke recounts that Jesus was praised for his power and teaching. He stood up among those present and read from the prophet Isaiah where he proclaimed that this was a “year acceptable to our Lord," greater than the holy 'day' proclaimed by Ezra. As he sat back down everyone else sat in stunned silence. They maybe thought to themselves at the moment—“did we just miss something?” Jesus satisfies their curiosity by saying “this passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Both of the stories today continue beyond this point, but it's worth pointing out why we've decided to stop at these particular points in both. The Old Testament shows the fulfillment of the prophets: the people have returned to Jerusalem. The New Testament proclaims fulfillment from God to those who need Him most. 

These accounts both present the fulfillment of a message and a reason to be happy, yet both groups present are not happy. 

It is strange that neither of these groups are particularly happy. The Jews longed in their heart for the word of God. Scripture says that it was explained to them plainly. When they heard it, they wept. The children of Israel waited for a savior, one who would lift the burden from the oppressed. When they saw Him, they remained silent. It's not unlike us nearing the end of a good book and we don't want to finish because it would mean leaving that world. It seems that when their aspirations and innermost hopes were manifested before their eyes they acted as if they were looking for something else.

Some people have said that the 'journey is better than the destination,' but while the journey is necessary the destination is the reason for that journey. Scripture today relates to us that when our senses come into contact with God we hardly believe it—sometimes because it's too good to be true, as with the Old Testament, and so we doubt; other times it's too true to be real, as with Christ, and so we brush it off. Is the same true with the Eucharist? Has God really visited his people in simple bread and common wine?

Jesus coming into our life should be an occasion for happiness precisely because he comes to us in the smallest of things. It stands to reason that he comes to us in a great number of things beyond it. If we deny Christ who is present before our eyes, who are we looking for instead—what are we looking for? There are those who suffer here in each of our communities and those who struggle right in front of us. They are the people who are urged to be most happy because God is with them. They are looking for God in the smallest of things. Do you think they would doubt or fail to recognize Him when they saw Him, even if it was through you?

Those who consider themselves fulfilled know they really aren't, but they look for that one perfect thing to complete them. Those who are starved are thankful with the smallest amount. 

Scripture is perhaps telling us to be hungry. But then it tells us to eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks. What fulfills us is here to be experienced: the consolation of the poor, the joy of those who mourn, and Christ fully present. We must believe that this is true and that this will make us happy, otherwise we'll always be looking for something else. Don't miss it.