The Nativity of St. John the Baptist - June 24, 2018

How many children spent the last weeks of the school year counting down to summer vacation? They longed for the freedom to play and to do whatever they wanted all day long. How many of them are now complaining of being bored? That always seems like a strange complaint to me, for I tell people that I haven’t been bored since October 1987. I was recovering from gall bladder surgery at the time, and there came a point where I was feeling good enough to want to do things but was not strong enough that I could actually do them. I have enough varied interests that I don’t think I have been bored since that time. But recognizing that kids do get bored, we are offering a solution.

Last week I wrote about my annual retreat and how good it is to get away for a week of spiritual talks and fellowship with brother priests. This coming week is, you might say, a child’s version. They are out of school, and we do not want them to have to take tests or do homework. But we want them to have a chance to learn more about God and about our faith. So this week is our annual Vacation Bible School. The children come in the morning all week and have games and crafts, all relating to various Bible stories. VBS puts those stories in the context of a different adventure each year. This year’s VBS theme is “Splash Canyon.” Picture yourself white-water rafting, and then consider a number of water-themed Bible stories. The children will hear of Moses as an infant, floating down the Nile. They will hear of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, and other such stories.

Steve Swank, our Catechetical Administrator, pulls the whole thing together for us each year. We are very grateful for all who help with the program, including Dan Gallagher as the lead musician and Diane Obed as the decorator. Diane has so many stuffed animals that make an appearance each year that many people wonder at what her storage is like. She does a wonderful job of transforming the various areas in our school into the scene of the program. Of course there are many other volunteers, both adults and adolescents, who help as teachers, craft makers, snack servers, game leaders, and many other roles. We are very blessed to have so many great helpers to make the annual VBS such a success.

Our hope in putting together this program is to help the children continue to grow in their faith and to learn more about what God has done for us. We also hope that the whole experience will be fun for them. We hope to kindle in them a curiosity and a desire to continue learning their faith. That is a good lesson for all of us. We should always want to see God present in all of creation and in all that He has done for us. We should see God present in whatever we do, whether it is white-water rafting (which I have no desire to try) or any other adventure that may present itself to us.
For me, the kinds of themes we use for Vacation Bible School can be a reminder to look for God in everything we do. If we can get into the habit of seeing God in everything, then we eventually discover that the whole world is His gift to us. We gain an enthusiasm for every adventure that comes our way. If we cultivate that attitude, we will never know what it means to be bored. God’s world is too exciting to admit of boredom.                                                   
                                                                                       Father H  

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 17, 2018

Fathers Day brings many memories to my mind. Here’s one that, I hope, will lead into another point. My father worked for Westinghouse, and in 1964 they asked him to learn to learn the COBOL programming language. Computers were not typically accessible to us ordinary folk, so even into college, I thought of my father’s work as something beyond me. Then in college I took a class in Fortran. I did well in the class, but I did have one program that absolutely would not run, so I asked my father for help. He came up to Duquesne one Saturday afternoon, and the two of us poured over the printout of my program. Finally, he spotted the bug. There was a print command with certain parameters. The line I wanted to print had to be in quotation marks, and the parameters had to be separated from the quotation by a comma. Like a good English student, I had put the comma inside the quotation marks. What was right English was absolutely wrong in Fortran.

Although I was 21 at the time of that Fortran class, I felt like a five-year-old who thinks that his father knows everything. How strange it felt to me years later when Dad would call me to help him with problems he was having in DOS or Windows.

It helps to have someone you can turn to for guidance when things are not going quite right. The surprising thing with a simple solution for computers is simply to reboot, to turn them off and on again. Turning it off clears the memory and gives it a fresh start. And that is the analogy I hope to use now that we are getting into summer. Life gets so hectic that it is nice to have a time when things move a little more slowly. One of the fringe benefits of my involvement with the school is that it makes summer a little more of a break. For me, summer is a time for two specific periods of “rebooting.” Next month I will be going on vacation, and I will write more about that trip in the columns to be published while I am away. Meanwhile, every priest is required to make a retreat once each year, and mine will be this coming week at my alma mater, Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It is important to take a vacation and have some fun, but it also is important to have a time to focus primarily on the spiritual. On a retreat such as I will be attending, there is one priest who serves as “retreat director,” giving spiritual talks and meeting with any of the priests attending who want to talk about anything connected with ministry. In addition, we get to talk with one another and offer support and friendship. There is a nice group of priests who attend this particular retreat every year, and we have become our own little once-a-year community. (Fr. Michael is part of this retreat and will be riding down to Emmitsburg with me.)  Similarly, it is helpful for any of us to find someone we can turn to for support and guidance, particularly someone who can help us from the perspective of our Catholic faith.
For anyone who still has a father to turn to, that can support both parts of this message – Fathers Day and my spiritual retreat. So please pray for my while I am away from the parish this week. And to all fathers, thank you for all you do. Happy Fathers Day.
                                                                                           Father H 

Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - June 10, 2018

Fifty years is usually a major milestone, and this year we look back 1968. In many ways, that was a momentous year. But there is one thing that happened in 1968 that is widely overlooked. Next month, July 25, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the encyclical Humanae Vitae by Blessed Pope Paul VI, who is soon to be canonized as St. Paul VI.  In this encyclical, Blessed Paul reaffirmed the Church’s teaching that contraception (any artificial means of birth control) was sinful and was harmful to the relationship between husband and wife.

When talking with engaged couples, I like to compare two people with widely different expectations of what widespread contraception would mean to our society. On the one hand, I refer to Margaret Sanger, founder Planned Parenthood. Sanger claimed that the widespread use of contraceptives would greatly reduce divorce, since couples would have one fewer worry in their marriage. Contraception would also eliminate teenage pregnancy and would put an end to abortion. The reality, of course, is that all three of those problems have become much more widespread since contraception has become so much a part of our society.

Blessed Pope Paul, on the other hand, warned that contraception would “lead to conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality.” He also said that by ignoring one of the main consequences of sexual activity, a man would more easily see a woman as “a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment and no longer as his respected and beloved companion.” Certainly that temptation is always present, but it is so much easier to accept it in our current culture. Blessed Paul also saw contraception leading to an abuse of power if it becomes a tool of government. While we see signs of that abuse in our own nation, we can see it very clearly in a place like China, with forced abortion and a strict one-child law for families. In addition, the Pope saw contraception leading us to believe that our bodies are strictly our own, to do with as we wish, as we ignore God’s dominion in our lives. Sadly, everything that Blessed Pope Paul VI has warned us about has become fact in the last fifty years.

But there is hope. After the publication of Humanae Vitae, various groups of Catholic doctors felt that God was calling them to help develop methods of birth control that were in keeping with the Church’s teaching and were just as effective as artificial methods. Until then, Catholics had relied upon “the rhythm method.” Since then, these doctors have devised what has come to be called “Natural Family Planning,” or NFP. In the past, I worked with some couples trying to promote the Church’s teaching, and I always found it heartening to hear of how NFP made their marriages stronger. As convincing as Blessed Paul’s writing was, the witness of their lives and of their married love was what really showed me how much wisdom is present in the Church’s understanding of sexuality. I find it very fitting that this year, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, is the time when the Church will recognize Pope Paul VI as a saint.
                                                 
                                                                                                       Father H  

Corpus Christi - June 3, 2018

I have to admit that it feels a little different this year. Every year I come to the end of the school year, and I have to admit that I am happy. I love working with the school for many reasons, but one of the fringe benefits is that it makes the summer a little more leisurely. I know I am not alone in that regard. In my younger days, when I was an assistant at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Parish, the pastor was very supportive of the school. Yet as much as Fr. Haney loved his involvement with the school, he always spoke fondly of the last day, along with his desire to “push the school buses out of the lot” to get them on their way and begin the summer.

This year it will be a little harder to get behind the buses and push. I will still be here when school resumes in the fall, but I will not be teaching classes once a week. For when school does resume, I will be just a few weeks away from my move to the South Hills. A little over a week ago, I went to St. Gabriel for one of their school Masses, and I visited the classrooms. They were very welcoming, and the teachers and students were telling me that they were looking forward to my teaching there in the fall. But every new adventure comes with a good-bye, and I will have a hard time leaving my family here. As we say in St. Malachy School, “Once a Bomber, always a Bomber.”

The attitude expressed by “Once a Bomber” is not the same as the British phrase of the “old school tie.” It is not just the memories of the current days that we will take with us into the future. Rather, we share something that holds us together, wherever we may go. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, still commonly known by its Latin name of Corpus Christi. Our school at St. Malachy is based on something more than math, English, history, and science. We have shared together the Eucharist. We are united by the Body and Blood of Christ, and the Eucharist I celebrated at my visit to St. Gabriel is the same Jesus Christ that I have celebrated with the school students here at St. Malachy. I will still have a few more school Masses when the fall comes. But even when those Masses are being celebrated with the new priests, we will be together in Christ.

So this is not a final good-bye to St. Malachy School. I hope that all of our students, faculty and staff have a wonderful and restful summer. In fact, I’m going to go against the advice I usually give to our kids. One day, on the way out to recess, I joked that they were not allowed to have any fun. I thought that was just a one-time joke, but the kids kept it up for a few days after that, and it soon became a running joke at recess time. So now I’m going to tell the students that they are supposed to have fun over the summer. But please don’t forget that the Eucharist is our common bond and that God does not take a vacation from us, so we should not forget Him over the summer.

Meanwhile, I will see everyone again in the fall and will be part of the new school year at first. But I have to recognize someone special who is moving on. Janet Katic has been part of our school for the last twenty-six years, and now she is retiring. Mrs. Katic has done a wonderful job with our third grade over the years, and she will be missed. Congratulations, Mrs. Katic. And you, too, get to have fun.
                                                              Father H  

The Most Holy Trinity - May 27, 2018

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

That poem was written by John McCrae (1872-1918), a Canadian doctor who served in the army in World War I. With no chaplain available at the time, he presided over a military funeral in 1915 in which he noted that the birds’ songs were almost but not quite drowned out by nearby gunfire. McCrae’s poem has become a staple particularly of the Canadian Memorial Day, celebrated in conjunction with Canada Day on July 1. I thought it would be fitting to use it for this Memorial Day, particularly with the idea that those who have given their lives for our liberty have “thrown the torch” to us, so that we may continue “to hold it high.” We must be thankful for the liberties that are part of our nation, particularly now those that have cost so much for so many. We pray for those who have died in war, and we pray that we may never take their sacrifice for granted.

A few years ago, I saw McCrae’s words in a different context. The locker room of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team has an inscription of the phrase, “To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.” Part of me thought it disrespectful to use that line for a hockey team. Comparing the athletic accomplishments of Maurice Richard or Jean Beliveau to the soldiers in war seemed a bit of a stretch. But in another sense, we can all see that we are carrying on the work of those who have gone before us. In the last four years, I have heard frequently of Fr. William Weirauch and my other predecessors. As we move into a new stage in the history of our diocese, we cannot forget those who have gone before us. May we also hold the torch high.

Happy Memorial Day.

                                                              Father H  

Pentecost Sunday - May 20, 2018

Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Do you know where the word “trivia” comes from? The Latin words tri via mean “three roads.” The place where three roads converged would be a place where people from all over would meet and share what was going on. Some of their conversation would be about important items, while others would be rather unimportant or “trivial.”

I was thinking of the etymology of “trivia” because I wanted to note the convergence of three celebrations. First of all, this weekend we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. This celebration ends the season of Easter, but we can see it as not so much an ending as a beginning. We often refer to Pentecost as “the birthday of the Church.” When Christ ascended to heaven, he promised to remain with send the Holy Spirit upon His disciples to guide them in their work of proclaiming the gospel. Since then, the Church has been carrying out Christ’s mission, so that what the Lord did for us becomes the basis of everything we do.

As I write about Pentecost in that way, it strikes me that what I said sounds a lot like most graduation speeches. Often a speaker will comment that the word “commencement” means the beginning. What the students learned in school is something that they will put into practice now as the next part of their lives commences. So it seems fitting that Pentecost should also be the day when we celebrate the Senior Recognition Mass. At the 11:00 Mass this Sunday we will honor our graduating high school seniors and ask them to tell us where they will be going in the fall. As they move on to college or other destinations, we pray that the Holy Spirit who came upon the disciples at Pentecost – and who strengthened these young women and men at their Confirmation – will continue to guide them throughout their lives.

After Pentecost, we begin Ordinary Time. But this year there is a new twist on our change of seasons. Earlier this year Pope Francis announced that the Monday after Pentecost would now be the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church. We have often referred to the Church as “the Body of Christ,” with Jesus as our Head. So Mary is our mother, and Mary is the Mother of the Church. If Pentecost is the “Birthday of the Church,” then we should celebrate Mary’s role in conjunction with Pentecost. So although it is not yet on our calendars, this Monday we honor Mary’s role for guiding us today. In approving the decree, Pope Francis said that he had “attentively considered how greatly the promotion of this devotion might encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.”

So today we tie three celebrations together in a way that is anything but trivial. In the coming weeks, there are three more celebrations known as “The Solemnities of the Lord in Ordinary Time.” These are the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus (Corpus Christi), and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.                                                                               
                                                               Father H 

Seventh Sunday of Easter - May 13, 2018

I have frequently made a request of parents to bring their children to church, and I ask them not to feel the need to take them out when they cry. I must also recognize that some people do find crying to be distracting. I try to remind them that the noise of a crying baby is a sign of God’s gift of new life.

I suppose I don’t mind parents taking their children to the cry room, but it should be a place to quiet a child down. Once the children are quiet, I would hope that the parents would bring them back into the nave, the body of the church. Many times, however, our cry rooms are used for other purposes. I learned shortly after I got here that families with children had a hard time using the cry rooms because there were other people in them. The reason, I was told, was that it was difficult for people to hear in church. That explanation made sense since I knew that our sound system was not up to standard. Now, however, our new sound system has made it possible for people to hear in church. For anyone who has been going into the cry room in order to hear, I would like to offer an invitation to come out and try joining the rest of us in church.

Having people in the cry room is not the most important issue that we face, but there is a point to all of this. The liturgy is the work of the Church gathered together as a family. The unity that is part of such a gathering is best expressed when we are all together. If we go into separate places, it is harder to consider ourselves part of the larger community. Certainly there are times when practical needs require a certain separation. I have seen that happen in some places when there are larger crowds than the church can hold. In such instances, closed circuit television screens have been set up in a separate place so that overflow crowds can still take part. Something like that, of course, has happened with the Penguins in the playoffs, when large screens have been set up outside PPG Paints Arena, and the same has been done in some places for large crowds. In other instances, I have heard of people who, for medical purposes, cannot risk infection from large crowds of people. I understand the medical need, and I leave that to people’s own judgment. Such instances, however, should be the exception and not the norm. In most cases, we come together as one community, which is better accomplished when we are in the same space.

If we can come together into the nave of the church, we can free the cry rooms up for their original purpose, as a place for parents to take their crying children. In that case, as well, they become a temporary refuge, and the parents bring their children back into church when they have settled down.

It is not my purpose to give anyone an old-fashioned case of “Catholic guilt,” nor to shame anyone into feeling like something is wrong. Rather, it is my hope to bring our parish even closer together to share with one another the most powerful and dramatic gift of the Eucharistic Liturgy. Our celebration becomes ever more joyful the more we share it with one another, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to share it with all of you.
                                                                               
                                                               Father H