Pope Francis recently announced that Oscar Arnulfo Romero (fondly referred to as Monseñor Romero), the Archbishop of El Salvador who was killed on March 24, 1980 while saying Mass in San Salvador, will be made a saint. His canonization will happen on October 14 in Rome. Monseñor Romero spoke out against poverty, social injustice, and the repression and torture suffered by many Salvadorans during their civil war.
Today's reading tell us much about sin. From the fall of Adam and Eve, to the Psalmist crying for mercy, and Christ becoming the victim of accusation and name calling. Sin has become something of a norm for us in public discourse. We have experienced a crisis in truth over the past years. Facts have been challenged with “alternative facts,” science has been denied, and lies are so prevalent in our political and social media spheres that finding the truth is hardly easy. We have also seen an erosion of what is appropriate public decorum in the rhetoric that comes from our leaders.
LAST MONTH priests at Saint Clement all marked our anniversary of ordination. It is a joyous day, much as it is for a married couple. Anniversaries remind us of promises made and commitments kept. Couples see the imperfections of their mate and still love them. Priests see the imperfections of the Church and still love it. Marriage is the joining of two human people who seek to bring the divine into each other’s lives. In ordination, human priests are joined in a mystical union with God and His People. Like a marriage, there are ecstatic moments.
As a child I was often enamored with the moon. I was fascinated with its sheer brightness, magnitude and its distance. To my mind this strange celestial object contained all of the mysteries of life, and I longed for the day when someone who had visited the moon would be able to unravel all of its mysteries. It was only years later I would learn to my amazement that some people had actually landed on the moon. Human beings have always been intrigued by the unknown and what is beyond them. They have always longed to conquer the “mysterious.”
I don't care if you can name all seven gifts of the Holy Spirit,” I told the classroom of 8th grade students preparing for Confirmation. “I care very much if you can tell me what it would look like to show fortitude in a high school hallway when you see someone getting bullied. What does fortitude, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, concretely look like?"
I am a cradle Catholic; baptized and raised in the Church and proud attender of 16 years of Catholic school, if you count the three years of Jesuit law school. In all that time, I was never once asked to “evangelize.” I first heard the word from our former pastor Fr.
What do you value? What is valuable to you? Take a moment and think about that—make a mental list. I imagine that our lists would vary in some ways, and in others be similar. For example, we might compare our valuables and find that one list has a lot of things on it, a lot of tangible “stuff”—the stuff of Life. Another list might include things tangible, like people—loved ones, family, co-workers—and less tangible, like relationships, feelings, belonging. Maybe your list includes the conceptual: freedom, integrity, compassion, purpose, resolve, vulnerability.
On a gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon, 400 parishioners took part in the 13th annual Clement Service Day. From the minute volunteers arrived, the spirit and energy of April 28th was palpable. Due to the large number of participants, we were able to send 23 teams to 22 different sites across the city, from churches and schools in need, to homeless shelters, intergenerational homes and more. Service projects ranged from landscaping to painting to furniture assembly, bus cleaning, meal preparation and serving, and much more.