Fr. Chuck's Column, November 1, 2020

This weekend we celebrate All Saints’ Day, and on Monday we’ll observe All Souls’ Day. Especially this year, these special days of remembrance seem appropriate and timely. Many of us have lost loved ones. Recently I lost my father, Charlie Kullmann, and just before that, I lost a good friend and Paulist brother to Covid-19, Rich Colgan, CSP. There is more death than usual. It is important, I think, to take this opportunity to stop and reflect on the value and importance of life.

On All Saints’ Day, we recall and celebrate all the saints, both the famous ones and those who names are unfamiliar. But, and this is very important, we recall and celebrate ALL the Saints, not just those declared to be so by the Church. There are many, many more saints, all those who lived good lives and in whom God’s grace was triumphant. Many grandparents, parents, friends, men and women religious, neighbors, fellow parishioners, coworkers, and others are saints. They were not perfect, but God’s grace was at work in them and they drew us all closer to God, and now they enjoy the vision of God forever. That is certainly something to celebrate, and a cause for hope for all of us.

Many were on that path to sainthood, that is, union with God, in their lifetime. But they had not fully reached that destination when they died. We believe that they continue that work of unity with God after their life here is over. And because we are all united and joined together in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, Who is stronger than death, we are still able to support them by our prayers and good works, and to ask them to continue to pray for us. That is what we celebrate on All Souls’ Day, on Monday.

All Saints and All Souls are wonderful reminders of how we are all intimately, spiritually connected. In this time of disconnectedness, these celebrations are an important reminder of how we are all bound together in real and practical ways in the Body of Christ.

God bless!

 

Fr. Chuck's Column, October 25, 2020

 Election Day approaches; if you are able to vote, I urge you to do so. It is a great and hard-won privilege. I forward to you an article by Lubna Zeidan, the Program Director for iACT for Refugees. iACT is an interfaith organization in Austin, and St Austin parish is a longtime member.

God bless,

I work and talk daily to newly resettled refugees from all parts of the world who are in turn mystified, amused or surprised at some of what we do.

Recently we discussed the topic of voting since many of our old clients are now citizens. We discovered a number of cultural barriers kept people who have lived under oppressive regimes in other countries from understanding the basic concept of democracy. It is harder than we thought to convince them to vote.

We see refugees who have lived at the mercy of their leaders. They never had a choice of who their oppressor was. One regime may be overthrown for another and seldom does it make a good difference in people’s lives. The results are never good for those who have no power. They may not vote because they believe their vote doesn’t count.

Those who at a moment in time may have been hopeful and worked at voting out a dictator, may have paid the price in imprisonment, torture, death of loved ones and the necessity to flee for their lives. They now think twice about voicing any opinion. They may not vote because they are not sure of the repercussions.

Others were openly encouraged to participate in elections in their countries but somehow the same person kept winning at 95% of the vote. They knew the whole act was a sham. They may not vote because they don’t trust the systems or those who created them.

Our refugee clients have horrible voting experiences that they need to overcome before they trust to participate in American elections. But what is our excuse?

We know one person-each of us- does make a difference. We found our power in petitions, protests, or just writing letters. We are free to participate in every election. We are able to learn about our candidates, to question them and to hold them accountable. And if we don’t like what they do, we can vote them out. Our government can reflect who we are if enough of us participate. Think every day about how lucky we are to live in a democracy. Please vote!

 

Fr. Chuck's Column, October 18, 2020

 

This weekend the Church observes WORLD MISSION SUNDAY. According to the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “In 1926 Pope Pius XI instituted Mission Sunday for the whole Church with the first worldwide Mission Sunday collection taking place in October 1927. The Mission Sunday collection is always taken on the next to last Sunday during the month of October. That day is celebrated in all the local Churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.”

There has been a lot to focus us on our own city, state and nation: the pandemic, the hurting economy, racial injustices, climate change, and our national elections. So perhaps it is good that this year we give special attention to this worldwide effort, to stretch our horizons which have tended to narrow these last eight or so months.

We belong to a worldwide Church. No Christian, regardless of nation, is a foreigner to us, but rather kinfolk in the Lord. All Christians are members of the Body of Christ, a bond that is stronger, more real, and lasting than any bond of nation, political party, race, or even family ties.

We have a duty and an obligation to help spread the Good News of God’s saving love for us in Jesus Christ to all the corners of the globe, and to every person alive today. So this Mission Sunday I urge you to consciously broaden the horizons of your concern, beyond our state and nation to the entire world. I invited you to get inspired by visiting our “Mission Page” to learn about Sr. Dorothy Stang. We’ve posted and article and video about this courageous woman of faith.

Pray for all missionaries that they will not become discouraged by disappointing results, but be encouraged and strengthened by the Holy Spirt to boldly and effectively preach the Gospel. Work to share the faith you have with those around you. You too can be a missionary to your family, your neighborhood, your workplace. And give generously to support the missions all around the globe.

Happy World Mission Sunday! Let us remember we are part of something much bigger and greater than the small circle we see each day. God bless!

 

HOMILY Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A October 11, 2020

 

HOMILY    Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time  Cycle A     October 11, 2020 

My homily today is an IKEA homily, that is, it comes in parts.  Some assembly on your part is required.

          Part One:  For today’s homily I am going to pass over our selection from the Gospel of Matthew.  It is, frankly, kind of a mess.  St. Luke, in his Gospel, tells a similar parable, but it is obvious that St. Matthew has re-arranged and probably conflated it with yet another parable, with questionable results.  As Fr John L McKenzie, who is regarded as the premier Catholic Biblical scholar of the mid-twentieth century wrote in the prestigious Jerome Biblical Commentary about this passage, “Because the parable does not exhibit Matthew’s usually fine literary unity and coherence, ….  it is a rare example of substantial rewriting by Matthew; and it shows that he did not re-write skillfully.”    

Ouch!  St. Matthew gets a “D”.  I’m glad I didn’t have John McKenzie as a professor in the seminary!            In any case we will pass over the Gospel this week. 

          Part Two:  “Thin Soup”

A long time ago in the Far East there was a king of a small kingdom, who like most such kings, was a tyrant.  He had two counselors, one who always bent his opinion to what the king wanted to hear, and the other who told the king the truth, whether he wanted to hear it or not.  Soon the counselor who spoke honestly upset the petty tyrant, and was banished from court.         A long time after the more pliable counselor wondered how the honest councilor was getting along.  So he decided to pay him a visit.  He put on one of his most splendid and luxurious robes, saddled his finest horse with the most impressive saddle and tack, and went to visit his former collogue. 

When he arrived at the honest counselor’s dwelling he found a house in disrepair, with holes in the wall, hardly any protection against the elements.  On the porch the honest counselor was having his mid-day meal.  He was dressed in a patched, faded, worn-out robe, sitting on a modest stool, eating a bowl of soup that was so thin it was practically just water.  “My old friend” said the duplicitous counselor, “if only you could learn to bend the truth, to fudge on your judgments, at least to hold your tongue when you disagree, then I am sure the king would welcome you back and you would not have to eat that miserable thin soup.”  The honest counselor looked him in the eye and said, “Ah, if only you could learn to eat this soup, you would not have to lie, dissemble, and compromise yourself.”     //

          Part Three:  In our second reading today from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, St. Paul states:  “Brothers and sisters: I know how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance.”  

The Jerusalem Bible states this more forcefully as, “I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich also.”   

St. Paul in our second reading goes on: “In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.” 

          I think this is a very good message for all of us right now in the midst of the Covid pandemic, with its isolation, disruption, economic upheaval.  How do we learn to live on the thin soup of pandemic, or of St. Paul’s equanimity in both lean and fat times?        ///   I believe that St. Paul is talking about being fully alive.  He knows how to live in humble circumstances and yet not be put down, not complaining, not be depressed, but rather to be grateful, to be aware of his blessings, to be open and fully alive. 

St. Paul also knows how to live with abundance, without complacency, without falling into self-absorbtion, without being puffed up and forgetting others, still grateful and open.  Paul knows how to be poor without self-pity and to be rich without investing his self-worth in mere things, and still in any case to be authentic, to be his true self. 

          Does that not sound like freedom?  To not have our sense of self be at the whim and caprice of circumstance, of the election results, of the pandemic, of economic gain or loss?  

          St. Paul is FREE because has conquered circumstances.  He boldly states: “In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.”    

          St Paul has achieved the freedom to determine himself and not be determined by circumstance.  That is pretty neat.   

          Wouldn’t you like be able to do that?  How did he do that?  What was his secret?   Well he tells us:  “I can do all things in him who strengthens me. “  Let me repeat that.  “I can do all things in him who strengthens me. “

          I want to point out that this is NOT Paul boasting.  I think that rather he is giving us an example and an encouragement.  In effect St. Paul is telling us, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me, “ AND SO CAN YOU!  

          You do not need to be depressed by poverty.  You do not need to be stressed out by social isolation.  You do not need to be stuck up and isolated by wealth.   You do not need to be thrown for a loop by the news.  You can do all things in Him who strengthens you. 

           So, You don’t need to be resentful.  You don’t need to hold onto grudges.  You don’t need to be selfish and inflated with your own importance.  You don’t need to beat yourself up.  You don’t need to be prejudiced and bigoted.  You don’t need to be angry or lustful or greedy or dishonest.   You don’t need to be afraid.

You can be free to be who you truly are.  Because Christ has freed you.  You can do all things in Him who strengthens you, and that is Christ.

          Living free is difficult, like learning to eat thin soup is difficult.  But Christ has freed us.  Like St. Paul, we too can do all things in Him who strengthens us.

          Be free!    

Fr. Chuck's Column, October 11, 2020

 We find ourselves with a three-day weekend, but for what holiday? Are you celebrating Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, or are you simply enjoying a day off? Our attempts at being more socially aware, and informed about the realities of history, is a process of fits and starts. Should we celebrate Columbus as a brave ex-plorer and adventurer, or condemn him as a colonial oppressor of native peoples? Was he a hero or a villain?

I remember growing up in St. Louis and participating in the annual Columbus Day parade. My Dad was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, and we marched together in the parade. Italians in this country have long looked on Christopher Columbus as a national hero. And many native peoples of the Americas see Columbus as criminally mistreating the nations he encountered, and bringing disease and domination.

Like ourselves, people of the past were complicated. It is difficult to judge from this day the morals and consciences of persons of the past. We can barely do that for people alive now.

Focus now on the values and issues we want to emphasize. It took guts and conviction to venture out into the unknown, to explore. We applaud those on the frontiers of science, of exploring the unknown deeps of the oceans and the far reaches of our solar sys-tem and our universe. And we also want to recognize and cele-brate the dignity and beauty of all human cultures, and uphold the inherent rights of all peoples to respect and safety. We have so much to learn from each other, as Pope Francis is teaching us. Is exploration worth brutal exploitation?

Know WHY you are celebrating this holiday, whichever you choose. We are not doomed to repeat the history of European in-vasion of Turtle Island. We can move forward to a new stance of mutuality.

Fr. Chuck's Column, October 4, 2020

 You may have heard that in the Diocese of Austin, at the direction of Bishop Joe Vasquez, we will no longer be able to archive recordings of live-streamed Masses, as we have done since the beginning of this pandemic. I would like to explain the reasoning behind this change.

Masses will be livestreamed at their usual times. The 8 a.m. Masses on Monday through Saturday, and the 8:45 a.m. Sunday Mass, will be livestreamed, and you can watch them on Facebook, our website, or Youtube while they are occurring.

You will be able to return later and find the saved recording of the first part of the Mass, with the readings, the homily, the Creed and Prayers of the Faithful (Universal Prayer) and even the exciting announcements. However, the Eucharistic Prayer and Commun-ion will not be saved for later viewing fortheological/liturgical reasons. This is what the Vicar General of Diocese said:

- The sacraments are fundamentally lived experiences of a lived reality in a particular time and place that are celebrated with the person of Jesus Christ in communion with his Body the Church.

- Participation in the Eucharist and maintaining the holiness of Sunday must never be a matter of convenience, but rather, a faithful response to God’s invitation to commune with Him and the assembly together.

- The liturgy experiences a poverty when it becomes an “on-demand” act.

-The liturgy is something we are invited to at a specific place and time rather than something to which we invite ourselves.

The celebration of the Eucharist is never an individual act. It is by its very nature communal. We do this as the Body of Christ to-gether. However, we are unable to gather in this time. To empha-size the essentially communal nature of the Eucharist, we gather not in location (proximity) but in time (temporally). The Eucharist is something we DO TOGETHER. Ideally, we would do that all in one space, and we look forward to when we can again do it side-by-side. In order to emphasize the collective nature of the Eucha-ristic event in the meantime, we need to do it together in time, simultaneously. And we miss being together with you, your pres-ence in time is still valuable to our celebration.

That is my understanding (for what it is worth) of what Bishop Joe is trying to achieve. You may or may not agree with the rea-soning, but Bishop Joe thinks this is what is best for the over-all spiritual health of this diocese.

I sincerely regret if this causes you or your loved ones a sense of loss. If it is simply a matter of inconvenience then I invite you to pray after you watch the archived videos, you will not be alone. We will have the readings, homily, prayers of the faithful saved and archive for you to enjoy.

We are looking at the possibility of live-streaming another Sun-day Mass, either the 11:30 or the 5:30 p.m. We have pushed our recording crew to the limit (he is also doing weddings, funerals, Baptisms, First Communions, etc,) and would probably have to hire another staff person as our videographer. Right now we don’t have the budget for that. But we are looking at ways to make that happen.

Please keep Bishop Joe and the staff at St Austin’s in your prayers as we try to figure out how to respond faithfully and with evan-gelical zeal in this unusual, difficult, and uncomfortable time. God bless!