The Feast of Christ the King is my "personal favorite" Mass of the entire Church year.

I love the focus on Christ as King at the end of time (note that it's also the end of the Church year... next week we start a New Year with the first week of Advent, preparing for Christ's coming at Christmas.)

This weekend's readings this year (Year A in the three-year cycle of A, B, C) are my favorite of the three.

So this weekend is an extra special treat for me!

The readings for this year in Year A are all about Christ the good shepherd who is also the King. It's a fantastic contrast, and a reminder of the depth and breadth of who God is - who Christ is.

The Lord is indeed my shepherd - he provides for me; he picks me up and shows me the way when I'm weak or lost.  He's also my King and judge.

After music group, in our small group tonight, we read through the readings for this coming Sunday (The Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ the King) and had some good discussion around the Gospel in particular. It (Mt 25:31-46) is a doozie!:

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

Our discussion centered around the Christian commission to give to the marginalized and less fortunate - to be Christ's presence to the Christ in them.

We talked a lot about the questions and the feelings that well up when a panhandler asks for money... Is this person really in need? Is this for a dinner, or for the next dose of the drug of the day? Is this for the bus pass, or for the next swig of booze?

We talked about the guilt when you walk by someone in need with the doubt in your mind, without helping them... sometimes without acknowledging them.

We talked about the frustration when you give to someone in need, only to have them show a lack of appreciation - to throw your gift back at you if it's "not enough" or "not what I wanted."

Here's what struck me the most in the discussion:
It's not up to us to have to make the judgement about whether our giving was for a worthy request or not. God - Christ - the King - knows our heart. And He knows their heart. And the judgement of the motives and the giving and the withholding will be done by Him - not by us - at the end.

I make that judgement a lot - I have to, as I travel, and am in other, big, cities a lot. I'll walk past one person acting as though I don't have any cash. I'll give some to another who "seems" more in need, or more "legitimate", or whatever. Is that right? Not really. I shouldn't be making that judgement. I should be giving out of the great abundance God has blessed me with. I should be leaving it to the Good Shepherd who knows both the giver's heart and the receiver's heart.

The feast of Christ the King has been my favorite Sunday of the Church year since I returned to the faith a few years ago. I love the imagery of "the end", right before we being a new year with the anticipation of Advent - preparing for Christ's coming at Christmas. I love the imagery of the "end times", the reminders of particular and general judgement, the reminder of Christ's Kingship and dominion over all.  What I love the most, though, is the reminder that Christ is really BOTH the powerful temporal King that we expect in this life AND the quiet, gentle, loving shepherd that we need both now and in the next life.

Read all that's out there and make up your own mind, but a pretty convincing case is finally being made far beyond the few "in the know" that have always avoided giving to the CCHD:

By Catholic Citizens of Illinois

When the Catholic Bishops of the United States established the Campaign for Human Development in 1970, they mandated the Campaign to fund "such projects as voter registration, community organizations, community-run schools, minority-owned cooperatives and credit unions, capital for industrial development and job training programs, and setting up rural cooperatives." It was subsequently renamed the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, with prohibitions on funding of projects that were not in conformity with Catholic moral teaching.

The CCHD was sold to Catholic parishioners with a slogan of "a hand up instead of a hand out," but instead, CCHD has heavily invested in the political organizing techniques of Saul Alinky, a Marxist organizer from Chicago who founded the nationwide Industrial Areas Foundation, which in the Chicago area is known as United Power. United Power has been financed by various mainline Protestant churches and has made great inroads into the Catholic Church in Chicago, recruiting parish ministers and receiving funding from various parishes through dues and contributions. For all practical purposes, United Power is an extension of the far left wing of the Democrat Party...

Get the rest of the story here.

Those who have heard me speak locally on the Sacraments and sacramental signs - either at a Koinonia or at a confirmation prep night - have heard the story of how I was led away from the Church and from Christianity for a period of my life.

It basically follows the typical cradle-Catholic-leaves-then-reverts formula.

When I was a young man, I worked for 10 summers of my life at our council's boy scout camp. One spring, while working with several fellow staffers at a spring weekend campout, I saw a close friend and fellow staffer sitting, motionless, on a bench in front of the main lodge, focused on a tree across the main parade field and the creek just beyond it. He didn't move for the longest time, and I eventually approached him and asked what he was doing.

He expressed that he was watching the tree's energy. A rather strong conversation ensued, and he pointed me to a book: The Celestine Prophecy. I read the book, and it led me down a long trail of "New Age" spirituality and away from the Church for many years.

That tree became emblematic of my search for the "Spirit" in the world around me.

During that time, I even became downright virulent with Christian friends trying to defend their faith. In some ways, I was a modern day, pre-conversion Saint Paul.

It was about this time of year a few years back that another friend invited me back to church at 10 PM Mass at SLU on a cold winter night. That's when, for the first time in my adult life, I truly believed and saw Christ's presence in the assembly... in the priest... in the Holy Eucharist.

It's part of why this time of year is now one of my favorite... for the natural beauty of fall, but also for the beauty of the liturgies - the readings and prayers - of this end time of the liturgical year, talking of faith and Sainthood and the end times... and reaching its apex next weekend with my favorite feast day, the end of the liturgical year, on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.

In honor of the journey and the grace, I share the timeless words of St. Augustine, from his Confessions, on his return to faith:

Urged to reflect upon myself, I entered under your guidance the innermost places of my being; but only because you had become my helper was I able to do so. I entered, then, and with the vision of my spirit, such as it was, I saw the incommutable light far above my spiritual ken and transcending my mind: not this common light which every carnal eye can see, nor any light of the same order; but greater, as though this common light were shining much more powerfully, far more brightly, and so extensively as to fill the universe. The light I saw was not the common light at all, but something different, utterly different, from all those things. Nor was it higher than my mind in the sense that oil floats on water or the sky is above the earth; it was exalted because this very light made me, and I was below it because by it I was made. Anyone who knows truth knows this light.

O eternal Truth, true Love, and beloved Eternity, you are my God, and for you I sigh day and night. As I first began to know you, you lifted me up and showed me that, while that which I might see exists indeed, I was not yet capable of seeing it. Your rays beamed intensely on me, beating back my feeble gaze, and I trembled with love and dread. I knew myself to be far away from you in a region of unlikeness, and I seemed to hear your voice from on high: "I am the food of the mature: grow, then, and you shall eat me. You will not change me into yourself like bodily food; but you will be changed into me".

Accordingly I looked for a way to gain the strength I needed to enjoy you, but I did not find it until I embraced the mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who is also God, supreme over all things and blessed for ever. He called out, proclaiming I am the Way and Truth and the Life, nor had I known him as the food which, though I was not yet strong enough to eat it, he had mingled with our flesh, for the Word became flesh so that your Wisdom, through whom you created all things, might become for us the milk adapted to our infancy.
 
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!  You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.  In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.  You were with me, but I was not with you.  Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.  You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.  You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.  You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.  I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.  You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

This Sunday's readings are remarkable and full of powerful imagery for married couples.

The first reading (Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) talks of the value of a "worthy wife", being "far beyond pearls", "an unfailing prize", bringing "good, and not evil, all the days of her life."

It goes on to say:
"Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates."

The second reading (1 Thes 5:1-6) reminds us that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night" and extends this imagery of a good, loving, dutiful spouse and extends it to use as a church.

"For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober."

So what are we to do until this day of the lord comes? What makes us "an unfailing prize" as in the wife in the book of Proverbs?

Our answer lies in the Gospel (Mt 25:14-30), when our Lord makes it clear that he desires a Return On Investment (ROI) on the talents which the Spirit has entrusted to us. Not a negative gain... not break-even.  A return.

Interestingly, this leads right back to the quote that I chose to put onto a plaque that I gave each member of our parish council at our annual dinner last month.

It's by Erma Bombeck, and reads:

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'"

Well said!

What talents do we have from God to use in our own marriages? With our children? In our households?  But beyond that, what talents are we using to build up the kingdom?  Which ones are we not using as fully as we could?

When I was a kid, we had cool little envelopes that we could put spare change in and put into the collection basket at church when it was passed. They handed them out to us at school (it was a parochial school, of course) and we used them at Mass. They weren't big - at most you could fit two quarters and possibly a dime. And there was barely enough lick-and-seal on the back to hold it shut, so Scotch tape became half the weight of the overall, ready-to-deposit package. But it was a good lesson in giving and stewardship, and it provided the good feeling and grace of being able to contribute when everyone else did during the collection at Mass.

Nowadays, things aren't all that different.  Suzanne and I get a packet of envelopes in the mail every two months. They have our household number pre-printed (to aid in tax deduction accounting) and there's an envelope for every week, plus for special Masses and feast days. You still couldn't fit much more than two quarters and possibly a dime into them, but they're now conveniently just wide enough to fit a check into on a good day.

We make every effort to give generously out of the abundance with which we've been blessed, and our parish makes every effort. In fact, on the offertory envelope (using just one check), we can designate amounts for (1) the general parish operating fund, (2) the "Protecting Parish Pride" (building renovation / improvement) fund, (3) the school operating fund, and (4) a write-in space to contribute to any other ministry or project at the parish. Some weeks, we can't give as much. Some weeks, we're able to contribute a bit more. But such is the life of giving, I suppose.

This year at Holy Family, we've implemented a new program to bring back childrens' stewardship AND to encourage Mass attendance by our parish school families (which had been dwindling in recent years.)

As recently as last year, the average percentage of eligible (Catholic) school children who were at Sunday Mass each week was as low as 40%.

As a parish pastoral council, along with the school board, we advised encouraged Father to confront this problem in a very straightforward way that also contributed to the idea of encouraging childrens' stewardship.

A new requirement was put in place at the beginning of this school year that all Catholic school children were expected to be at Mass every weekend. If the child and family could not attend Mass for one reason or another, a written explanation from the parents was to be sent to Father. If the family was away or traveling, a priest-signed bulletin from the parish that was visited would suffice.

Here's the kicker: Catholic parishioner school families that did not fulfill this requirement this year would be assessed the higher, non-parishioner tuition starting next school year.

Father composed a beautiful letter that was also signed - in concurrence - by the principal and by the parish pastoral council chairman.  (The full text of the letter is after the jump, and a PDF of it is here.)  It was mailed to all school families over the summer, given to them at school business day at the start of the school year, and printed in the parish bulletin for the parish at large to read.

There was some grumbling up front, for the first couple of weeks. But it quickly subsided. And we started to see more and more and more new, young, faces at Mass.  Young families that we had never (or very seldom) seen before.

And now, a few months in, they continue to join us every Sunday. And the less-than-enthusiastic faces are turning into happy faces, glad to be part of the community and to worship and participate in the Mass.

The kids have envelopes on which they write their name. They can or can't put an offering (there's no requirement thereof) depending on circumstances. And they bring their envelope up to a special "Childrens Envelopes" basket in front of the altar before Mass begins.

At the very end of Mass, Father gives them an added bonus (which also helps ensure they stay to the very end)... he draws one envelope from the basket and calls the child forward to receive a small gift (usually a candy bar.) Only once has the family already left when the child's name was called, and that becomes quite a different story.

The kids are also able to write something on the envelope that expresses some act of mercy they've performed through the week, something they're thankful for, or some talent with which they've been blessed that they can offer to others. Here's a sampling from the last few months of those notes on the kids' envelopes:

• I pray for all the poor, that they may have a warm bed to sleep in every night.
• The talent God gave me is handstands.
• I said the Divine Mercy Prayer for my Grandpa sick in the hospital.
• I pray for all the sick and homeless animals in the world, and for all of them who are endangered.
• I tried to include a classmate at recess when he was by himself.
• God loves us and takes care of us always.
• I would like to thank you for the wonderful world I live in, The wonderful family I have. Also to all the brave soldiers who protect us.
• I thank you for dying on the cross for us, and lastly, I want to thank you for making me!

In addition, the total amount the children give is printed on its own line in the next week's bulletin, so they can see the fruits of their efforts in supporting the parish.

But more notably, in just a few short months, bringing back the childrens' envelopes tied in with an effort to get our school kids and their families back to Sunday Mass, has been an overwhelming success.  The percentage of eligible (Catholic) school students who are at Sunday Mass has risen from around 40% last year to over 90% this year.

Not to mention the best part of it - the increased participation in our community of all of the families that we had been missing for so very long.

Praise be to God!

(Don't forget - the letter that started the whole thing is after the jump.)

I was curious to check out what Father Pfleger (yeah, the Obama one) had to say this last weekend after the election.  So I Googled my way over to the website of St. Sabina, which apparently isn't a Catholic church but is rather one of those "Faith Communities."  Then, once I found the "Recorded Sermons" page (which took a while, since I was looking for homilies, trusting that a Catholic church would follow Canon Law)...

Canon 767 - (1) Among the forms of preaching, the homily, which is part of the liturgy itself and is reserved to a priest or deacon, is preeminent; in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year. (2) A homily must be given at all Masses on Sundays and holy days of obligation which are celebrated with a congregation, and it cannot be omitted except for a grave cause...

After checking it out, I'd have to say it was fascinating preaching. I'm not sure I'd go back to worship there after it, but it's their community's cup of tea, not mine, obviously.  But it was great preaching.

Unfortunately, unless I missed something, it didn't seem to have anything to do with "[explaining the norms of Christian life] from the sacred text."  And last Sunday (the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica) had such beautiful readings and imagery on which to homilize!

I might also add that the "sermon" was very near 50 minutes.  I would love to hear a homily that long sometimes - particularly if it really challenged us on living our faith in the context of the readings of the day.  But I know a lot of people who would leave when the Mass itself hit 50 minutes (yeah, the Mass... and this is just the homily!)

If the boys were behaving, I would've stuck around for the whole thing, out of respect and because I was really there for the Eucharist (which would, of course, follow).

Would you stick around?  Would you have left?

I knew I liked Bishop Robert J. Hermann when Suzanne and I were present for a Mass and Confirmation at which he presided at SLU a few years ago.  Yesterday, he made St. Louis proud with this bold statement of truth at the USCCB Fall General Assembly yesterday afternoon:

"We have lost 50 times as many children in the last 35 years as we have lost soldiers in all the wars since the Revolution... I think any bishop here would consider it a privilege to die tomorrow to bring about an end to abortion... If we are willing to die tomorrow, then we should be willing to, until the end of our lives, to take all kinds of criticism for opposing this horrible infanticide."
     - Bishop Robert J. Hermann of the Archdiocese of St. Louis

That's just the tip of the iceberg. The fruit of the Bishops' discussion was this statement this morning from Cardinal Francis George (of Chicago; the current president of the bishops' conference) on behalf of the bishops, on the hope of the Obama administration and possible obstacles to desired unity.

Thank God for our good and Holy bishops, unafraid of proclaiming the Truth.

I'm relieved now to be wrapped up with my year as parish pastoral council chairman... last night we elected a new chairman for our council, Bret Ware.

It was a fantastic year, and I had a great time and greatly enjoyed leading such a fantastic group of people and working hand-in-hand with them on so many awesome ventures:

- Creation and execution of the 20th Anniversary "Family Reunion" picnic in the park.
- Creation and support of the new "parents & students expected at Mass" policy.
- Getting the Why Catholic? program running in our parish and cluster.
- Getting the parish website up and running.
- Helping support Father & his staff in keeping everything else going "as usual."

Now I'm looking forward to my last year of my 3-year term on the council, and figuring out what initiative I'd like to help contribute my time and energy to accomplishing.  I have a few ideas myself that I may throw out on the table, but would love to hear from anyone that has one.

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome - the only day in the Church calendar when, rather than honoring a person or event in the journey of faith, we celebrate a place, the official seat (Cathedra) of the Bishop of Rome (a.k.a.: the Pope), which stands as a symbol of the Universal ("Catholic") Church and of the gathered people the world over who constitute the reality of "church" and bring it to life in this temporal world.

The readings are all beautiful - especially the imagery of the water flowing forth from the temple for all.  But the second reading, from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians (Chapter 3, verses 9c-11 and 16-17), is my particular favorite:

Brothers and sisters:
You are God's building.
According to the grace of God given to me,
like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building upon it.
But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

So in the spirit of that reading, I share this beautiful performance by Alison Krauss of "A Living Prayer", which I ran across at Creative Minority Report.

Tonight at Holy Family was the annual Memorial Mass, or Mass of Remembrance, to which we invite the families of all of the parishioners who have passed away in the last year.  This year, 43 parishioners passed away - 10 or so fewer than in each of the last few years, but still a pretty large number. All 43 families were invited to the Mass, and a majority were present.  Our ensemble provides and leads the music, and it's one of the most beautiful and rewarding liturgies at which we're able to participate each year.

Please join us in praying for the Holy Family parishioners who passed on to eternal life this year...

(In order of death)
+ William Schooley
+ Dorothy Balsie
+ Irene Nelson
+ Martin Marciszewski
+ Mary Pieszchalski
+ Mary Buchek
+ Ann Konopka
+ Joyce Martin
+ Walter Kafka
+ Angela Hogan
+ Dorothy Coy
+ Alex Todoroff
+ Steve Ortiz
+ Richard Bronnbauer
+ James Kelahan
+ Marguerite Vrenick
+ Edward Wania
+ Dorothy Schardan
+ Viola Lindner
+ Raymond Becerra
+ Andrew Basarich
+ Anthony "Tony" Boyer
+ Kathryn J. Timar
+ Kathryn Sawicki
+ Elizabeth Aleen Purtle
+ Lawrence Richard "Dick" Roderick
+ Louis Reznack
+ Carol Holten
+ Rose Schmitt
+ Paula Margason
+ Dolores M. Fortner
+ Arthur Rossi
+ Eileen M. Reeves
+ Rosalie J. Aramowicz
+ Mary Rita Ahlers
+ Marilyn Goetting
+ Dawn Smith
+ Rebecca Mendoza
+ Ruth Lange
+ Ethel La Donna Narup
+ Veronica Linhart
+ Helen Lytle
+ Bernice "Bea" Lanahan

This morning, we had the joy of a beautiful happening at Holy Family.

We had the Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming for the Catechumens (those who have never been Baptized but are seeking to come into the Church through Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil) and the Candidates for full acceptance into the Church (those who have been Baptized but are not Catholic or haven't received any of the other Sacraments of initiation.)

This year, we were blessed to welcome six adults as catechumens, and eight as candidates.

The Rite of Acceptance this morning was especially touching for me, as one of the candidates came into our RCIA program via the Why Catholic? program that Suzanne and I have been so involved in leading. She is in college at SLU, and was baptized as a child, but never received any other Sacraments. In addition, one of my childhood best friends' cousins is a candidate, as is one of our grade school teachers.

We pray for them as the continue along on this journey toward a stronger relationship with Christ and His Church, and we ask that you pray for them as well.