         
Pastor's Desk Archive       
2007 Pastor's Desk Arch.            
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Pastor's Desk Archive (November 2007)Further Reflections On Immigrants In Our Midst (11/04/2007) Further Reflections On Immigrants In Our Midst (11/04/2007)I made some comments last Sunday about HB1804 and the call of the Priests’ Council to “resist it”. I mentioned that the sentiments of the “resistance pledge” (published in the Sooner Catholic) might be confused with partisan politics. While I’m still a little concerned about that, I’ve done some further reading and noticed that HB1804 does impose penalties on employers who knowing hire immigrants who are living in Oklahoma illegally. This could have a chilling effect resulting in both illegal and legal immigrants fleeing from Oklahoma to states that seem more friendly to them. Some of you may say: “Good, they shouldn’t be here in the first place.” You might pause a moment and consider the impact this could have on the many goods and services supplied by illegal immigrants that we have been taking for granted. Meat packers and feedlot owners might have to abandon expensive investments in Oklahoma to relocate elsewhere. Do you really want to see the city of Guymon fold? Do you want to see your favorite restaurants close or have to jack up their prices to make ends meet? Do you really want to pay twice as much for your next roof repair or paving job? How about yard work and landscaping? Maybe you could do it yourself? So maybe HB1804 isn’t such a good idea even if it doesn’t prevent churches from offering hospitality to everyone who comes through the doors. It’s too soon to tell how the tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in Oklahoma are going to respond to what they can only perceive as a threat to their well being. I for one don’t believe it would be a cause for rejoicing if a significant number of them and their many relatives who are living here legally decide to move to another state. I do believe that the Federal and State governments have a right and an obligation to make and enforce just laws regarding immigration. I’m just very unsure what those laws should be. I do know that there are many wonderful individuals and families who have been living around these parts for a long time now. They are, for the most part, hardworking, faith filled people who are trying to do the best for themselves and their children. We need to be very careful about supporting laws that may have the unintended effect of causing great harm. Lord, lead us and guide us. Full, Conscious, And Active Participation in the Mass (11/11/2007)It has been nearly 40 years since the renewed rites of the Mass were introduced to Catholics. Those of us who were already adults or young adults when this took place were well aware of the impact of the changes, and were given considerable instruction on how we could participate more fully, consciously, and actively in the Mass. But there are many Catholics who have been born after 1980 or so who really don’t know anything about the older form of the Latin Mass, and who have come to accept Catholic worship as just the way it is. Some of them may run into Catholics who tell them that the “old Latin Mass” is far superior to the “English Mass” because they claim it’s holier, more reverent, and awe-inspiring in its majesty. As we know, Americans really treasure “free speech” and are free to advocate all kinds of ideas and beliefs. But no Catholic should take such claims seriously until they have made a serious attempt to understand what the Mass is really all about. The previous form of the Mass was made up of prayers and rituals which date back to the middle ages. Thus it reflects the understanding of worship which prevailed at that time. Back then it was not regarded as important that worshippers understood the prayers and gestures of the Mass. A great many people of that time were illiterate, and many of the clergy were only literate enough to be able to read the prayers of the Mass and follow its rituals. Participation in worship really consisted of being in attendance while the priest prayed the Mass prayers at the altar. In the large cathedrals, worshippers were free to offer prayers at various shrines and side altars while the Mass was going on at the high altar. They used to ring bells to call people’s attention to the altar just before and during the consecration. People seldom received communion because they felt unworthy to do so. If you asked an ordinary worshipper what the Mass was all about, they might look at you quizzically and say something about the miracle of bread and wine being changed into the true Body & Blood of Christ. That Catholics recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread takes us all the way back to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and to the first Sunday morning worship services in the homes of believers at Jerusalem. In those first days, understanding and experience were both important dimensions of true worship. The Mass of 1970 attempted to reform the previous rite so that people could not only understand the prayers and rituals in a language and manner of expression more suitable to the times, but so that their experience of worship could include the notion of transforming not only the substance of bread and wine but the substance of their own lives as well. This is accomplished through a full, conscious, and active participation which is both interior and exterior (TBC). Ready for the New Year? (11/18/2007)Not that new year, the one that begins on the 1st Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday, we will conclude the present Year of Grace with the Feast of Christ The King. Perhaps it would be a good idea to take a little time this week to think back over the last twelve months. Have I grown in my love, knowledge, and service of God? Is the parish becoming a primary community for me and my family? Have I taken time to make conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation of some kind? Am I growing in my appreciation for the seasons and feasts of the Church year? We all know what an important role the calendar and the clock play in our lives. Year after year we watch winter give way to spring and summer give way to fall. We look forward to a myriad of special holidays, many of which provide us with time off from school and work. We especially value weekends which punctuate the rhythm of our week. But there is another kind of time which begs its own special calendar. I’m talking about Kingdom Time (not chronos but Kairos). This is the kind of time for which we have so little time: Time for prayer and worship, Time for meditation and reflection, Time for celebrating the blessings of God. In this calendar, Advent prepares the way for Christmas, and Lent leads us into Easter. Wonderful festivals punctuate this Year of Grace: The Solemnity of Mary, Holy Week, The Ascension of The Lord, The Assumption of Mary, All Saints/All Souls, and The Immaculate Conception. On nearly every single day of this year, the witness of the martyrs and saints is remembered at the altar of God. This is the kind of Time in which we have the hope of living forever in the presence of God. If we’re going to spend forever with God and all our loved ones who have gone before us in the hope of rising again, we’d better get into practice. And that’s what celebrating the Church’s New Year of Grace is all about. Are you ready? New Year Choices & Decisions (11/25/2007)I’m avoiding the use of the word resolutions because we all know that resolutions seem to be so easily broken. But the beginning of a New Year of Grace does provide us with the opportunity to consider certain choices and decisions that can help us to grow spiritually. We make lots of choices every single day regarding our material or bodily lives, but many of us seem to think it’s God’s job to make spiritual “things” happen in our lives. There’s no doubt that God wants to play a central role in our physical and spiritual lives, but our choices and decisions play a critical role. If I am engaging in behaviors, for instance, that are harmful to me or to others, can I just ask God to fix me or are there choices I can make that will enable God’s power to be at work in me? The truth is that what we do with our bodies affects our spiritual lives just as what we do with our spirits affects our bodily lives. People often make choices that make it seem they don’t understand that connection. This inevitably leads to some kind of brokenness that ultimately must be subjected to the power of God. Unless, of course, we have become accustomed to relying on our own wills (decision making) and our own power. Why not turn to God as the New Year of Grace begins and ask him to show us how to make choices and decisions that will make a big difference in our lives? Here are some simple (not easy) steps that are making a big difference in the lives of many people.
We could pass on what we have received to others. |
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