Thirtieth Sunday In Ordinary Time - October 26, 2014

Happy Hallowe’en! This Friday is the day when ghosts and goblins come out and scare us – or at least when they ring doorbells and ask for candy. It can be a fun holiday, though (and here I realize that I’m about to sound like an old fogy) it seems to me that it has become a much bigger deal than it should be. I was in a store on my vacation in July, and they already had Hallowe’en decorations for sale.

By way of explanation, did you notice that I still spell Hallowe’en with the apostrophe? The apostrophe is quite uncommon these days, but I intend to keep it. The name “Hallowe’en” is originally a contraction for “All Hallows E’en,” or the Eve of All Saints Day. In other words, the popular day for dressing up and getting free candy is not nearly as important as the Holy Day that comes immediately after it. For me, the apostrophe is a reminder to let Hallowe’en go and to concentrate on All Saints Day on November 1 and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (“All Souls Day”) on November 2.

It may seem odd to preface All Saints Day with a day that focuses on the macabre – witches, graveyards, goblins and the like. Yet if we do not forget its context as the Eve of All Hallows Day, then it can even make sense as a Christian celebration. Hallowe’en can remind us that we need not fear the ghosts and the goblins, for Christ has won salvation for us. So Hallowe’en has become a time of fun at the devil’s expense. In fact, many spiritual writers have told us that humor is one of the best ways to deal with the devil. C. S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, describes a devil for whom everything must be austere and serious, for he rejects joy and laughter as God’s gifts. So G. K. Chesterton said, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Never forget that the devil fell by force of gravity.”

So I intend to keep the apostrophe in “Hallowe’en.” (When I used a PC, WordPerfect’s spell checker accepted it with the apostrophe.) That apostrophe helps me keep a perspective when I see someone’s yard filled with fake tombstones or statues of witches and ghosts. It reminds me that our destiny is that which we celebrate on All Saints Day, to share the glorious Beatific Vision of God in the eternal joy of heaven. No ghost could possibly scare us when we remember that we are called to share the Resurrection of the Lord. As long as we make All Saints Day a priority, we can enjoy the silly little holiday that comes before. So Happy Hallowe’en, complete with the apostrophe.  Oh, and while I’m at it: Boo!

On a practical note, when All Saints Day falls on a Saturday, we are excused from the obligation to attend Mass. For those who want to come, we will have a Mass this Saturday morning at 9:00. Also, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed takes precedence over a Sunday in Ordinary Time. So the Masses next Saturday night and Sunday morning will be for All Souls Day.

                                                                                                               Father H

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 19, 2014

       My first days in the seminary were an exciting time for me as an 18-year-old college freshman. In addition, it was an exciting time for the Church on a broader scale. Pope Paul had died just a few weeks before, and my first full day of orientation was the day that the Conclave elected Pope John Paul I. Little could we imagine that the new pope would live only 33 days before a sudden heart attack would force yet another Conclave and the election of a the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

        As one who always enjoyed the study of history, I found myself fascinated with these changes in the papacy. I came to see that during much of the Church’s history, the popes had been frequently weak of sometimes corrupt, and that the papacy had been at the center of many power struggles. All of that helped me recognize what an amazing time we lived in. In modern times the Catholic Church has been led by some of the most dynamic and effective leaders in its history. More importantly, we have been led by some of the holiest and most prayerful leaders.

        This is a good time to reflect on these holy men, as this month we celebrate the feast days of two of our newest saints, Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II. St. John was an older man when he was elected in 1958, and no one expected anything more than a caretaker pope. Yet moved by the Holy Spirit, St. John called the Second Vatican Council, which created such a renewal in the Church. St. John Paul, as Bishop Karol Wojtyla, was a very active participant in the Council. As pope, he consolidated many of the developments of the Council and set a direction for the Church that will continue to influence us for generations. Both were canonized earlier this year. St. John’s feast day is October 11, the anniversary of the opening of the Council. St. John Paul’s feast day is coming up this Wednesday, October 22, which is the anniversary of his liturgical installation as pope.

         Sometimes overlooked is the important figure who stood in between those two giants. This Sunday in Rome, Pope Francis will preside over the beatification of Pope Paul VI. As Archbishop Giovanni Montini, he had a clear vision of the Church, which he would discuss with his friend, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli. When Roncalli became Pope John XXIII, Montini’s vision became part of what St. John relied upon in calling the Vatican Council. When St. John died after the first session of the Council, Montini was the obvious choice for a successor to bring the Council to completion. He dedication to ecumenism and his decision to be the first pope in many years to travel outside of Rome both influenced St. John Paul. So while in many ways Pope Paul is overlooked in comparison to those who came before and after, I find this to be a very joyous day. Today we can pray, “Blessed Paul VI, pray for us.”
                     

                                                                                                                            Father H

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 12, 2014

     My father always enjoyed taking family pictures, and for many years he took slides instead of prints. The good thing about slides was that we could all see the pictures at the same time. One of us would see a picture and remember something about it, and then someone else would add a few more details. I ended up with some good “memories” of things I had not even been present for. Those memories mean so much to me that a few years ago I scanned all of my father’s slides (about 8,000 or so from about thirty years) onto my computer.

     

     Looking at old photos can be a good way to grow closer to our families. Something similar happens when we bring out the important stories of our faith and share them together. This month of October is dedicated in a special way to the Rosary. When we pray the Rosary, we can think of it as setting up the projector and bringing out the pictures. For in the Rosary, we contemplate the great mysteries of our faith. We see the live of Christ, from His Incarnation up through the Paschal Mystery of His Passion, Death and Resurrection. We see them not as a story from the distant past but as part of our own history. In the Nativity, Christ came to share our humanity completely and to be part of our human family. We share the life of the Risen Christ through the Salvation He has brought to us. The mysteries of the Rosary tell us our story.

     

     As a slideshow lets us share memories, so in the Rosary, we contemplate the mysteries of our faith by joining with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The repetition of the “Hail, Mary” can quiet our minds and help us set aside all the distractions of life so that we can focus better on the various mysteries. By using the “Hail, Mary,” we invite the Blessed Mother to watch with us. We get Mary’s perspective. The faith and dedication that led her to accept God’s call helps us to see more deeply what a gift we are receiving.

     

     In the Joyful Mysteries of Jesus’ birth as Mary’s Son, we see that Christ shares our life in every way. In 2002, Pope St. John Paul asked us to include a new set of five decades known as the Luminous Mysteries, from the word for “light.” These mysteries are events that shed light on the person of Christ. Through His ministry, He demonstrated who He was and showed Himself to us as “the Light of the World.” The Sorrowful Mysteries show us the depth of Christ’s love for us in that He would not abandon us, even at the cost of death. And finally, the Glorious Mysteries tie it all together by showing us Christ’s final triumph over sin and death. As we include Mary’s Assumption into heaven, we recall that we too are called to follow the way of Christ to everlasting life.

     

     St. John Paul II said, “The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christ-centered prayer.” We meditate on these mysteries of Christ, but with the Blessed Mother to guide us. So during October, we have the invitation to look at our family pictures as a sign of God’s love.

                                                                          Father H

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 5, 2014

       “Congress is so strange; a man gets up to speak and says nothing, nobody listens, and then everybody disagrees.” I was recently looking at some quotations by American humorist and commentator Will Rogers concerning politics in his days. Rogers claimed that those in Congress “are all good fellows at heart, and if they wasn’t in Congress, why, they would be doing something else against us that might be even worse.” The truth is that as long as the American government has been going, people have been complaining about it. Yet our political system has worked well (on the whole) for years. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried.”

Despite the advantages of our form of government, it does not translate over to the running of a parish. About forty years ago, there was a move within the Church to establish Parish Councils in each parish. Most of these bodies were based on a model that is familiar to us through politics. Elections were held, often with the parish boundaries divided up into districts so that each area could have its own representative. Meetings were run by parliamentary procedure, featuring Robert’s Rules of Order, and most decisions were reached by majority vote.

          A few years ago, the Diocese of Pittsburgh revamped its policies for such groups. Parish Councils were gone, to be replaced by “Pastoral Councils.” The difference was more than just a few letters. A Pastoral Council was not to be a debating society where each member argued for his own position or that of his constituents. The group was to look at the big picture, to help form a vision for the parish and to help the pastor set goals for the parish and to evaluate the parish’s progress toward those goals. In doing so, they were to work by achieving consensus. While a good Pastoral Council will get involved in certain tasks, theirs is more the task of working from a broader perspective.

Taking a less “political” approach to their business, the Pastoral Council also does not hold elections. Currently, our Council is looking for new members to step in for those whose terms are expiring. We are currently taking suggestions of people whom our parishioners may like to see on the Council. The current members, both those who are leaving and those who will remain, have begun the process and have suggested a number of good names. Now we would like to open it up to others. If you know of someone whom you think would be an asset to the parish in the circumstances I described, please let me know or else contact one of the current members. You can call our current facilitator, Terry Neary, at 412-715-4418.    

                                                                                                             Father H

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 28, 2014

In Bavaria, it’s time for Oktoberfest, a chance to feast on some good German food. But where can a Pittsburgher of German heritage get some good German food at this time of the year? The obvious answer is at St. Malachy’s annual Nationality Festival. And if you are Italian or Polish or some other nationality (or just like their food), you can get those here, too. In fact, I intend to sample a number of different foods, including those perfectly pinched pierogis. But as the festival draws near, it is the German food that I am most looking forward to.

This will be my first Nationality Festival at St. Malachy, and I am looking forward to it. It should be a very good time. There are, of course, several aspects to a parish festival, and its success can be judged on a number of levels. On the one hand, a festival is a fund raiser. In fact, when most people ask how the festival went, we usually are asking whether we made a good profit. With the raffle, we are certainly off to a good start, and I have hopes that this will be a very good festival in that sense.

When we speak of a festival as a fund raiser, we remember why we are raising these funds. There have been a number of times when someone has come to me and asked if his or her ticket had won the raffle. When I say no, the response I often get is, “That’s okay; it’s for a good cause.” The festival helps our parish have the resources to be a sign of God’s grace in the community, particularly by helping our school to bring the message of Christ to a new generation. So for those who are donating to a good cause, we offer our thanks for making our festival a success.

To be a good event, a festival cannot be judged simply on profit or loss. It needs to be fun, too. Sampling different types of food can be very enjoyable, and there are games and other activities as well. It should be a very enjoyable time.

And when we get together for a good time, we are building our community. This is a time that can bring St. Malachy’s parishioners closer together. Whether you are working at some part of the festival and pulling together with others or are coming as a customer, you have a chance to get to know some of your neighbors. We also have a chance to be visible to the community, as we know that some non-parishioners will be coming for the pierogis or other foods. You can tell your friends and neighbors that we welcome them (and their money) to our big party.

Finally, I have to say a word of thanks to all those who are running and working this festival. These people have put in such yeoman’s work for some long and hard hours, all to make the festival a success in all of the above aspects. I offer my personal thanks on behalf of the entire parish community for all your hard work and dedication in making the festival a success.

And to those who want to come and share in my Oktoberfest celebration at the festival: “Ein prosit.”

               

                                                                                                                   Father H

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 21, 2014

Some years ago, I was talking to a group of first graders about the Bible. I told them that there are two parts to the Bible and that the first part is the Old Testament. I then asked them what the second part would be, and one little girl eagerly answered, “The Young Testament.” Another time I was teaching some children about the gospel reading at mass, and I mentioned that for some special liturgies you might see the servers carrying incense at that point. One boy looked disgusted as he raised his hand and asked, “Father, are the insects alive?”
As the late television personality Art Linkletter used to say, “Kids say the darndest things.” I have found that out in my years of teaching, as well as from similar stories friends have told me. Such stories remind us how much we take for granted. Much of what we know has been part of our lives for so long that we assume everyone knows it. When we encounter a child’s excitement over a new discovery, we have a chance to see the world in a new light and to appreciate what wonders we see every day. For me, that is one of the joys of teaching about the Young Testament or the proper handling of insects at mass. These experiences help me focus on what our faith is all about and on how our faith looks to those who are just discovering it.
Today we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, when we honor those volunteers who give of their time and talent in order to help bring the message of salvation to our children – and to our adults through such programs as Baptism preparation and the like. While I speak often about our school, I never want to forget those who learn about God in CCD and other ways. Saint Malachy Parish is blessed with a wonderful catechetical team, led by our Catechetical Administrator Joanne Swank, who puts so much effort into providing an excellent program of faith formation.
Especially when working with the children, there is a real thrill in seeing something dawn upon them. When they “get it,” there is a real sense of excitement. That excitement can come in any subject, such as when a student who as struggled with certain math problems finally understands how to solve the problem. But that dawning of understanding is even more of a thrill when we learn about our faith, for there it transcends simply an academic subject. The real joy of faith formation is seeing someone come to an experience of the love of Christ. Saint John Paul II, in a document addressed to catechists, wrote, “Yet at the heart of our faith, we do not find doctrine or teaching; we find the person of Jesus.” Our faith formation is not about teaching an academic subject; it is rather an invitation for all of us to open our hearts to receive the greatest love we could ever experience. And when we teach others our faith, we ourselves come to recognize the love of God more clearly in our own lives. So today we thank all our catechists for the effort and the energy which they expend in order to make the love of Christ present to our parishioners. I pray that they may continue to grow in their own faith by their work with their students and that, together with their students, their enthusiasm may make Christ’s presence in our parish more visible to every one of us.
                           
                                                                                                                          Father H

Exaltation of the Holy Cross - September 14, 2014

     You will notice an extra prayer that we are saying in church starting this week. Before Mass begins, we are saying the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, as found on the back cover of Today’s Missal. Bishop Zubik had asked all parishes to pray this prayer as a form of reparation after a satanic group in Oklahoma City stole a consecrated Host and planned to desecrate it as part of a “black mass.” Archbishop Paul Coakley was able to recover the Blessed Sacrament, but Bishop Zubik still wants us to pray and do penance to overcome the sacrilege against Our Lord and against the Blessed Sacrament.

     In Mark’s gospel, we read of a man who brought his son to Jesus for healing of an unclean spirit. After the Apostles had not been able to cure the boy, Christ explained to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” That is an important point for us to remember. We are called always to work for peace and justice in the world, but we must begin by prayer. Only by trusting in the grace of God can we truly make a difference in the world. The Prayer to St. Michael is an excellent example. Pope Leo XIII, who served as Pope from 1878 until his death in 1903, composed the prayer. At the time, the independence of the Vatican State and the autonomy of the Pope were being threatened by the newly united nation of Italy. Pope Leo asked Catholics to pray this prayer so that the Holy See could continue to be a strong influence on society. While the Vatican eventually had to adapt to the new reality, the Holy See did manage to retain its autonomy.

     Earlier this year, before I reported to St. Malachy, I made my annual retreat at the seminary I had attended before my ordination. The seminarians are using the Prayer to St. Michael as a prayer for religious liberty, praying that we may retain the ability to live by our Catholic faith in light of the recent government decisions regarding health care and other issues. These situations remind us that we are living in a world that is increasingly secular and is becoming more and more hostile to our morals and values. Thus I would like to use this prayer as Bishop Zubik had asked and to continue using it beyond the time he requested.

     Along with prayer, it is helpful if we practice fasting or other forms of penance. As a related note, I periodically remind people that the Church still asks us to do some form of penance every Friday, the day of the Crucifixion, to join ourselves to the sufferings of Christ. The primary form of Friday penance is still to abstain from meat. In recent years, the Church has allowed us to choose some other form of penance if we prefer. Unfortunately, the message most of us got was simply that Friday abstinence is no longer required outside of Lent. I urge everyone to choose some form of penance every Friday. I still find meatless Fridays to be an effective form of penance, but we are free to choose something else. But whatever form we choose, we can see it as a way of remembering the importance of faith and of dedicating ourselves to fidelity to Christ in a world that needs grace.

                                                                                                                                 Father H