St. Thomas the Apostle

Eph 2:19-22

Jn 20:24-29

What is faith?  The letter to the Hebrews defines it, “Now faith is the conviction of things not seen.”  Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Romans that “Faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Jesus Christ.” 

That preaching of Jesus Christ does not come to us in oral form as it did during the Sermon on the Mount or the discourses in John’s Gospel.  Jesus’ preaching comes to us in scripture and in the tradition of the Church. We nurture it in prayer and contemplation. 

The Gospel portrayal of Thomas supplies us with  a tempting target against which to compare ourselves—generally in a self-righteous manner, or an example to compare—and condemn—others whose faith we do not feel is adequate (this too is generally done from the position of self-righteousness).  Many who use the colloquial term “Doubting Thomas” would probably be shocked to know that they were quoting an episode of scripture. 

At the end of this Gospel Jesus asks a question and gives a blessing, “Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”  It is for this last group; those who have not seen and yet believe; it is for us, that the Gospel was written. 

Neither John’s Gospel nor the synoptic gospels were meant to be albums of verbal snapshots showing scenes from the life of Jesus.   The Gospels are not a log book tracing Jesus movements augmented by facts and figures such as the number of fish caught at any particular time.  The gospels are not a diary of Jesus’ day-to-day thoughts.  And the gospels most certainly are not history in the modern understanding of the word.   Any attempt to read the gospels through the lens of modern historiography or, even worse, in the light of the modern concept of journalism, is doomed to failure, frustration, and ultimate faithlessness.  The Jesus Seminar is a prime example of absurdity. The less said about QUOTE Historical Biblical Novels UNQUOTE the better.  (They make truly lousy vehicles for Tom Hanks movies too, as shown by the spectacular failure of The Da Vinci Code ).

If we were to continue on just a bit further in this gospel we would read an important statement that puts the question of the historicity of the Gospels into perspective:  “Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in His name.”

The Gospel proclaims one essential truth, that the Jesus of Nazareth of whom it speaks is indeed the Lord.  Thus, the fullness of our salvation is contained in Thomas’ faith-filled, startled, and ultimately joyous proclamation.  "My Lord and My God."  That truth is why we too can gaze upon the Body and Blood of Christ daily and say, “My Lord and My God.”  We are no longer strangers.  We are no longer sojourners.  We are members of the household of God.  And we, and everything we believe, is held together through Jesus.

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Some musings and then some photos. 

July 4

My college friend Paul is coming up for a few days.  We met on the first day of freshman orientation at Penn State on 20 September 1968 and have been friends ever since.  I considered taking him to the fireworks in Boston.  But, after checking the security measures, measures that can only be described as draconian, decided against even trying.  The Mass Ave and Longfellow Bridges will be completely closed at 4 PM.  That would make it difficult to park at our house in Cambridge and walk into Boston.  I always watched the fireworks from the top of the Mass Ave Bridge and have no desire to change that.  So, rather than going into the city we are going to Gloucester for a whale watch.  That is something I've never done.  The boat will leave from Gloucester Harbor.  It is irrelevant (for me) whether we see whales or not.  I want to get the shots of Gloucester, where we made the long retreat over 15 years ago.  Afterwards we will figure out the rest though a drop-in at the retreat house in indicated.

I've always enjoyed July 4 in Boston but the experience is not going to be the same since Joker and his dead bro detonated their bombs. 

Vows

On 9 August I'll drive a few other guys from Boston to Syracuse.  This is an act of love as it is a miserable drive of six hours on Rt. 90.  Destination is the novitiate where a number of men will pronounce perpetual vows the following day.  Two weeks later a group will enter the novitiate.  It will be a different experience knowing that a few months later (date still pending) I will kneel and pronounce solemn vows.  

I've been mulling over the whole concept of religious life in contrast to training in medicine.  The differences are not that startling.  Both involve entering into a life one knows almost nothing about and entrusting oneself to God's hands as a fundamental transformation occurs.  Neither is easy.  There are crises, again remarkably similar one, in both lives.  One considers leaving more than once.  Blood, sweat, and tears is an accurate description.  Gillian, whom I hooded in Houston a few weeks ago, just completed her second day as a surgical intern.  The empathy is both joyful and painful.  It all depends.  Thus, I will kneel in my heart with the men who pronounce their vows in August, recalling my own experience of approaching the altar, kneeling and beginning the vow formula at the end of novitiate, and feeling ready to pronounce the four vows of a fully professed Jesuit not too long afterwards.  

Summer

It is hot and humid.  Not as bad as D.C. and certainly nothing approaching the pure misery of the summer weather in Taipei or Saigon or, I suspect, Houston, but it is hot.  Campion is not centrally air conditioned. The offices have window conditioners but the halls are getting very sticky.  

Pix

The first two are from St. Joseph's Church in Puli, Taiwan.  Ignatius and I stopped there one day primarily because he knew there was a comfortable place in the church courtyard to take a nap.  He was driving and getting sleepy.  So, he reclined on a sofa and went out like a light.  I was taking photos when the priest emerged.  I was able to explain in Mandarin that we were Jesuit priests.  He then broke into Australian accented English.  It turns out that Father was a high school classmate of mutual Jesuit friends, of ours (the Pham brothers) with whom we had studied at Weston Jesuit School of Theology.  I ran into one of them in Saigon many months later.  He was very surprised to see me.  World got a lot smaller.  The church was fairly new with interesting architecture. 

Father gave us some Vietnamese coffee, a wonderfully strong brew, toenail curling actually, and we went off to the Puli Paper Factory.  In the photos below everything is made of paper.  I remain perplexed by the busts.  I could have stayed there for hours with the camera but we had some serious driving to do.

Finally, some color and light.  These were taken in the Hotel-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named in Houston because the manager took exception to the photo taking.  One friend wondered if I was standing on furniture or shoving people out of the way.  No.  I was simply capturing color and light in the crystals.  Learned a new technique while doing this.   I rather doubt I'll find many chandeliers illuminated with purple lighting any time soon.  

Hope to get some good stuff on the whale watch. 

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Some Very Good News

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam puts it well.  Last week at lunch a high school classmate asked if I had the e-mail for another classmate.  I opened the cell phone to look it up and noticed a new e-mail from Fr. Provincial.  Two things jumped off the screen:  Congratulations and Dear Jack, i.e. it wasn't a province-wide mail.  He wrote to inform me that he'd been notified that I've been approved for full profession of four vows.  I was and remain delighted.  Fr. Sheehan went on to explain that I have a year to set the date and place.  The vows will be here at Campion some time in October.  Details remain to be determined over the next week or two.

Summer is in full swing here.  It is hot but the searing and mind-destroying humidity of D.C. is not a problem.  Given that we are surrounded by grass rather than concrete it also cools off overnight much more than the concrete- jungle surrounding the G'town Jesuit Residence.  One can feel the heat radiating from the paths outside the residence even at 6:00 AM.

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Gen 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

Sometimes when preparing a homily I find myself asking, "What were they thinking?"  Generally this thought occurs when dealing with a reading that, like today's first reading, is discontinuous.  The ongoing saga of Abram/Abraham we just heard comes from Genesis 17 verses 1, 9-10, 15-22.  Unfortunately the edits left out the most important part, the establishment of the covenant with Abraham. 

The Jewish Study Bible notes that source critics identify Chapter 17 as the Priestly version of the covenant with Abraham, the Yahwist version of which appeared in chapter 15.  In verses 2 thru 8 Abram's name is changed to Abraham and the promises regarding Abraham's role as the father of a multitude of nations  are established within the covenant.

The verses we do have are important within the context of that covenant, particularly the command that every male shall be circumcised.  The Jewish Study Bible notes that circumcision is the sign of the Abrahamic covenant and is thus a matter of highest importance in Judaism.  Fulfilling the mandate for circumcision was so important in the Ancient Near East that, when the Seleucid King Antiochus IV prohibited it, Jewish mothers chose martyrdom over neglect of the commandment.  A parenthetical remark in the same source notes that prohibition of circumcision is a favorite target of anti-Semites.  Unfortunately, the attempt to impose this prohibition continues to the present, a manifestation not only of anti-Semitism but also of the gradual attempt to strip away religious freedom by governments throughout the world. 

There was a serious attempt a year or two ago to place a ballot measure forbidding all circumcision within the limits of San Francisco, a city that proudly calls itself Babylon by the Bay, when in fact is more like Sodom on the Seashore.  Recently, the German government tried to ban all circumcision, except that deemed medically necessary.  Way to go Angela, seems that Germans haven't progressed as much since WW II as one might have expected. 

Here in the U.S., the so-called cradle of liberty, churches are regularly dealing with creeping religious persecution.  Christmas Carols, except those involving Frosty, Rudolph and popping chestnuts, are outlawed at many colleges and universities, including my old employer, Dartmouth. The mandate that religious institutions, mostly Catholic, must supply insurance coverage for abortion and birth control is a direct assault on freedom of conscience.  More local prohibitions against any form of prayer at public events such as graduations are frightening reminders of official hostility to all things religious.  When will priests be forbidden to wear clerical dress in public?  When will crosses be removed from the tops of churches?  When will the NY Times start referring to the God of Abraham using a lower case g?

Today we observe the memorial of St. Irenaeus.  It is not certain whether or not died a martyr's death.  It is certain that he was an eloquent defender of the faith both as preacher and writer. His most famous work is titled  Against Heresies.

When will a new Irenaeus arise to preach as effectively as he did against the heresies and abominations being forced upon all religiously observant people by the government of the United States? 

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Not a lot of rhyme or reason in the choices of photos. 

The first is the chapel in the Jesuit community on Newbury St. in downtown Boston.  Stayed there for a few days while attending the neuropsychiatric meetings at the Park Plaza Hotel.  It seems the provincial didn't think that staying in the hotel at $250 a night was as good an idea as staying with brother Jesuits.  It was a great stay. 

The next is the steeple at the Jesuit house in Changhwa, Taiwan.  Formerly the novitiate for the Chinese province, it is now a retreat house.  Lovely grounds on a hilltop overlooking the town.  

Sticking with the Taiwan theme, these are doors at the Wen-wu Buddhist Temple at Sun Moon Lake.  Whenever Ignatius and I go to Sun Moon Lake from Taipei we take the train to Changhwa and then beg a car from the community at the retreat house.  It isn't too far of a drive

A detail from a stained glass window in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Campion Center.  Interesting side fact about final vows.  When I make the vows there I will have pronounced first vows, celebrated my first Mass and made final profession all in front of the same altar.  One of my life-threatening fantasies at Campion is to get on a very high ladder so I can take photos of the windows straight across rather than up.  Less distortion. 

The fountain in front of the health care center.  I call this one my Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil shot.  I will admit to having cloned out a few bothersome parking signs and other background distractions. 

Finally, a rose.  Photos of raindrops on roses are a cliche.  But they are fun.  These have no water on them.  However, Aperture is like a coloring book for adults.  I've spent much too much time playing with and manipulating color, tint and other aspects of photos such as these.  The first is the original photo.  The others are manipulations applied to that photo.  

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Had an opportunity to make a quick trip to PA over the weekend.  Another won't arise until some time in August.  Made a very short, too short, trip to Penn State to see Al and Karen.  Great time.  The kind of time one can only have with friends one has known for over forty years.  Some time in the next few days their youngest daughter will give birth to fraternal twins.  Any day now.  You know you are getting up there when your college roommate has seven grandchildren.  

After the homily some photos, a few of which were taken at Penn State. 

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Lk 9:18-25

Imagine you are one of the disciples with Jesus at the beginning of this particular Gospel reading.  Recreate the scene in your mind.  Is it morning or evening?  Did it take place indoors or out?  Add as many or as few details as you wish. Now focus in more closely.  Is Jesus sitting or standing?  Are you close to him or a bit removed?  What about you?  What are you feeling as you listen to him?  Joy?  Fear?  Impatience?  Fatigue?  What does Jesus’ voice sound like?  What about the two questions he asks? 

Speech, the act of using words to communicate, is fascinating.  In most Western languages, how one stresses a particular syllable, where the accent is placed in a sentence or phrase, may subtly, or not so subtly, affect the meaning and interpretation of what is being said.  The tone of voice in which something is said influences the listener.  There is a big difference between, what did you say? and WHAT! did you say?!?

Most of us can tell in the first few moments of a phone conversation whether the speaker is in a good mood, a bad mood, angry, sad or happy.  Of course, others can read us just as easily. 

Today's Gospel demands that we consider not only what Jesus asked but how he asked it.  We have to consider what Jesus is asking us and how we are going to respond. 

Jesus asked two questions.  The first was general and informational, “Who do the crowds say I am?”   What are people saying about me?  In some ways the question was rhetorical, not demanding much of an answer.  Jesus’ second question was much more specific.  It was, and is, personal.  It demanded a concrete answer from each of the disciples.  Jesus’ second question demands a specific answer from each of us.   And that is where the dilemma of intonation, inflection and vocal stress becomes apparent. 

How did Jesus ask the question? 

But who do you say that I am? 

How did the apostles hear it?

But who do you say that I am? 

How do we hear it today? 

But who do you say I am? 

How does each of us hear the question?  How will each of us answer it?  No matter what the emphasis, inflection or intonation might have been, this is the most difficult question Jesus asked his apostles.  It is the most difficult question he asks us.  It is the most difficult question we can ask ourselves.  But who do you say I am?  Everything depends on our answer. 

Peter’s answer was brief and accurate.  In the context of the time no explanation was necessary.  “You are the Messiah of God.”  Peter’s answer contained within it, You are the One Who is to Come, You are the Promised On,  You are the Hope of Israel.  And much more. 

Peter’s statement was radical. It was courageous.  Had he publicly proclaimed  “You are the Messiah of God” he would have been charged with blasphemy.  Blasphemy was a capital crime in those days.  Of course today blasphemy of the worst sort against the name of Jesus is considered hip humor for fools like Bill Maher, the truly awful Margaret Cho, and other pathetic figures who call themselves comedians and comediennes, but that is another homily.

The Church proclaims her answer to Jesus’ question at the beginning of the Vigil Mass of Easter.  As he incises the paschal candle the priest proclaims:

"Christ yesterday and today

the beginning and the end

Alpha and Omega

all time belongs to him

and all the ages.

To him be glory and power

through every age for ever."

The beginning and the end.  The Alpha and the Omega.  That says it all.  He was present before the beginning.  He will be present after the end.  He is eternal.  All time belongs to Him and He transcends all time.

The Church can boldly proclaim this because those of us born since Peter’s radical profession of faith we have not had to wonder about Jesus’ identity.  We have not had to wait.  From the moment of conception we have lived in a world in which the promise has been fulfilled. In which the Kingdom of God is active. From the first instant of life in our mother's womb we were in the presence of the One for whom the world had waited. 

We heard in the second reading, “Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ . . . if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant according to the promise.”  And so, we can sing joyfully with the psalmist, as we answer Jesus’ second question:

“You are my help,

in the shadow of your wings

I shout for joy.

My soul clings fast to you;

your right hand upholds me.”

As you go through the rest of today, mull over Jesus’ question, “But who do you say I am?”  Listen to how He asks that question.  Listen to your answer.  It is important. 

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A week ago today we had a medium-sized thunderstorm.  The rainbows were amazing.  I had to drive to Newtonville, about six or seven miles away. The rainbow followed me all the way, changing in intensity depending on the angle of view.  Many drivers stopped to take photos.  The first is how it looked behind Campion.  The other I took while waiting at a red light on Washington St.  I don't recommend this second method for getting photos.

Way back I used Photoshop.  This is a fantasy adjustment of Georgetown.  Not sure I have a lot of use for something like this on a daily basis. 

These next two are color manipulations of a small pond in D.C.  at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.   The ability to change the tint and experience of color with Aperture is fascinating. 

Finally, Penn State.  The Informational Technology Building is amazing.  It arches over the highway to the newly developing West Campus (and the golf courses).  The reflections are fascinating.  Would love to get there some night. 

Al and Karen have a lovely garden in the house where they've lived for about 30 years.  We spent over an hour sitting back there, having a beer and chatting.  They have a "flower" made of old spoons with a prismatic center.  Over the hour I kept getting up to take pix of the color in the center.  It got more intense as the sun went down creating the correct angle.  The first is the entire piece and the second is a tighter focus on the center. 

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

St. Anthony of Padua

Today is the memorial of St. Anthony of Padua.  Rather than preaching on the readings for either the memorial or the tenth Thursday of ordinary time, it is sometimes a pleasant diversion to preach on the saint.
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The second reading in today's office is from a sermon by St. Anthony of Padua.  In it we hear a distinct echo of his contemporary and founder, St. Francis.  "Let your words teach and your actions speak."  These words recall Francis' famous dictum, "Preach the gospel at all times, use words only when necessary."  Anthony then shares an interesting insight into a perplexing Gospel parable, "We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit but only leaves." 

Anthony was born in 1195 and died in 1231.  He entered an Augustinian monastery in 1210 only a year after the official founding of the Order of Friars Minor.  He was 15.  When he was 25 Anthony transcribed to the Franciscans with the hope of becoming a missionary.  He spent only one year in Morocco before illness compelled him to return home. 

Initially assigned to be a cook in one of the friaries, his natural eloquence as a preacher was discovered by accident at which point he was sent to teach theology by Francis himself.   One writer describes Anthony as "the Billy Graham of the 13th century."  Anthony was a man of contradictions:  physically unimpressive he was personally dynamic.  He was both reticent and charismatic, high-minded and down to earth. 

We Jesuits are lucky.  St. Ignatius is not a particularly sentimentalized figure.  Unfortunately, the Franciscans cannot say the same.  St. Francis was not a simpleton who picked flowers and spoke with animals.  We don't suffer the indignity of statues of St. Ignatius with birds sitting on his shoulders. 

Then there is St. Anthony. Lose something and invoke his name as the saint who finds things.  He deserves better.  The following quote comes from a handy resource about various saints that seems to avoid the hagiographical excesses of too many lives of the saints.  Anthony wrote, or more likely preached, the following about preachers:

"The ideal preacher should be hard as flint.  From him must spring the spark that gives light to the soul and enkindles in it the fire of divine love.  Society that is wounded with the sores of evil is Lazarus.  We are the dogs who must draw near to cure with our tongues--our preaching--the evils that afflict human kind."

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These are photos hot off Aperture.  I took all of them last night after the rain stopped.  Am still playing with and learning about using a flash.  Hope to get a bracket that will allow taking the flash off the top of the camera.  These have been processed, sometimes beyond the bounds of nature.  The color, texture, and raindrops stand out beautifully with the adjustments. 

Three rosebuds.  I washed out most of the green so as to enhance the pink.

Another pink rose.   By heightening the contrast in the background it appears to be set against the milky way. 

Another single rose. 

The next two are my favorites from this outing.  They are the same rose.  The red was enhanced in the first one.  The second is obviously a study in color and texture.  I like the combination.  It suggests the purple lighting in the hotel from the last entry.

 +Fr. Jack, SJ, MD