If all you did was read the title of this article, you might guess that this will be about the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples (the Our Father) when they asked Him to teach them to pray.  To be sure, this is one of the most important and powerful prayers we have in our spiritual arsenal, and much can be written (and has been written) on this prayer.  But the prayer that I want to consider is the Mass.

As our country is in the midst of this time of Eucharistic Revival, we often point to the sad statistic of how many Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist, that Jesus is truly, really, substantially present – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – in the Eucharistic species following the Consecration at Mass.  Some have therefore concluded that this Eucharistic Revival is about strengthening our belief in this important truth of the Real Presence of Jesus.  And while very necessary, the Bishops of the United States envision more for us during this special time.

As many of you know, many of the priests of the diocese were on retreat a few weeks ago.  Our Retreat Master was Bishop Robert Lombardo, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago.  He happens to be on Bishops Advisory Group for the Eucharistic Revival.  In a conversation one evening with some of the priests, he shared with us how there is a great need also to grow in our appreciation and love for the celebration of the Mass, our greatest prayer.

Now that we are in a rather long stretch of Ordinary Time, I would like to begin a series of reflections on how we can all pray the Mass better, appreciating the richness of this great prayer, such that we truly see it as the “apex” of all Christian prayers, as Pope Benedict explained several years ago.

I have not organized this series in a strict manner, so there is some room for flexibility on the topics that I will address.  If there is something about the Mass that you are interested in learning about, feel free to suggest a topic and I will see if I can’t work it in at some point.

My plan is to begin next week by reflecting on how we prepare for Mass and how that has a direct impact on our experience of attending and praying Mass.  A good preparation can transform our experience of this great prayer.  After that I hope to begin with the Introductory Rites and work my way through the various parts and prayers of the Mass, offering a mix of catechesis and personal reflections based on my experience of praying the Mass, both as a layperson, and now as a priest.  I hope to conclude my series with some thoughts on how the Mass commits us to the life of missionary discipleship.

I am personally excited about this new series, partly for selfish reasons because I look forward to how writing these articles will serve to increase my love for this great prayer that I have the privilege of offering every day.  But I am also praying that these reflections will be received with open hearts by all who read them, so that as we journey through them, our hearts will be kindled with love for the Mass and, by extension, the gift of the Jesus in the Eucharist whom we have the opportunity to encounter and receive at each Mass.

Feast Day: June 26^th | Patronage: brothers, soldiers, various cities in Italy, men in prayer | Iconography: praying together, martyred together, they are dressed as soldiers (boots, spears, armor, swords, cloaks), and shown to be martyrs (being beheaded, holding palm-branch) 

John and Paul were brothers who lived around Rome during the 300s. They were both Roman soldiers and were blessed to grow up, and serve, during the reign of Constantine when peace was restored around the empire (after decades of infighting and political turmoil) and their Christian faith was now allowed to be publicly practiced around the realm. It must have been an exciting time to be alive and a wondrous thing to see giant basilicas being built after centuries of Christian worship being hidden (even if Christian charity, and witness/martyrdom, had been manifest all the more during those centuries of persecution). 

Constantine held these brothers in high esteem, both as excellent soldiers and virtuous men, for they were entrusted to protect his daughter Constantia. The Church, in her hagiagrophy, also has remembered the prayerfulness of these brothers, often recalling them praying together in their house on the Caelian hill. As it turned out, their courage and devotion would soon be put to the test. Upon the death of Constantine’s son and heir, a new emperor came to the throne, Julian, named “the apostate” for the horrible reason that he tired to undo his own Christian baptism with a sordid ritual of bull’s blood, and then proceeded to attempt to stamp out the Christian faith around the empire. Knowing the valor and quality of John and Paul, he called them back to serve in his own military. The brothers, knowing this would now require them to offer sacrifice to Jupiter, refused to follow Julian into apostasy, and that emperor, angry at their fealty to God over himself, but lacking the courage to confront his soldiers himself, dispatched a minion to behead them in their home (where they were found kneeling in prayer.) 

So many lessons could be learned from these men! I consider how, though given tremendous riches by Constantine (including that affluent villa), in their final days they didn’t scheme how to maintain those possessions but hustled around the city giving it all away (indeed, their magnificent home would itself become a magnificent basilica in the years to come!) I am struck as well by the fact that they did not defend themselves, though certainly they could have put up a fight, and morally would have been more than justified in doing so. And I especially hold in mind those sturdy men kneeling in prayer awaiting a crash upon their door. How infrequently do we kneel in our own homes? How infrequently do I kneel with other men in prayer? 

Earlier this month after my cousin’s wedding, her husband asked if before the pictures, and the signing of the marriage certificate, even before the wedding party had processed out of the church that we all kneel down and pray the rosary together. Not only that, but he personally asked his dad and hers, and his godfather and hers, to each lead one of the mysteries (the new husband took the final decade himself). Everyone was moved to see this new couple beginning their married life in prayer, and especially to have each of those men leading the entire congregation in the rosary. As a priest, I get to lead prayer all the time, but even with brother priests, and often with friends and family, our prayer together is somewhat rote, not that vulnerable and “risky”.

Why do I hesitate to be real in opening up in prayer together, man-to-man, brother-to-brother? Why do I find it easy to go on a bike-ride with other guys, and sweat and work and struggle and banter with them, but forget to start with a prayer, or forget to ask for their prayers for me? Why does it stick out to us when we hear of Dcn. Rob leading a men’s bible-study on Wednesday mornings, or a group of dads joining together to hold each other accountable, or the dozen men who I pray morning prayer with over zoom on weekdays, or that we have four priests and a bishop living together here at Cathedral? Do men need prayer less than women? Are Christian fathers unchallenged in their vocation, or is that the kind of vocation best done solo? Are priests better off on their own? John and Paul became saints by praying together, it seems likely that most all the rest of us will only be able to follow Jesus with a similar level of devotion, and friendship.

– Fr. Dominic is going to take another step in building priestly-brotherhood by inviting the local priests over for the fourth of July, not only to have a cookout and watch the fireworks together, but to pray together and be real with each other, and the Lord.

Many of you know that our Cathedral household is full of runners – you might see one of us sometimes heading out the back patio when Mass is about to start. As much as I enjoy running, I am switching things up a bit this summer, as I am training as a biking missionary with an organization called Biking for Babies. The mission of Biking for Babies (B4B) is threefold – form pro-life missionaries, raise awareness for Pregnancy Resource Centers, and raise funds for Pregnancy Resource Centers. 

Our efforts will all come together this summer during the week of July 9-15 when we will do the national ride. Eight teams will bike from various places around the country and meet in St. Louis (6 teams) or Washington, DC (2 teams). My team will be meeting in Columbus, Ohio, and finishing in St. Louis. To save you looking up how far that is, it is around 600 miles! We won’t be taking the most direct route, but each day we will arrive at a planned stop with a community that will be hosting us for a meal and putting us up for the night. At each event, I will celebrate Mass, and some of the missionaries will share their story or a pro-life testimony during dinner. 

I would like to request your support in several ways. First, please pray for me and the other missionaries (around 80 of us) as we make our final push in training, that we stay safe and healthy as we offer our rides up to promote the culture of life. Fortunately, my team (and two others) will be making a stop right here at the Cathedral! Please join us for the 5:15 Mass on Friday, July 14, with dinner and testimonies to follow. Two years ago, a team came to the Cathedral, which was a major factor in my decision to be a part of the organization this year! Third, if you are able and feel called, I am also looking for financial support for the ride. My goal is to raise $5,000 for pregnancy resource centers – our combined goal this year is over $200k. Many pregnancy resource centers run on shoestring budgets, and we don’t want money to be an obstacle to anyone choosing life for her child! The easiest way to find my page is to google, “Biking for Babies, Fr. Dominic Vahling.” Or, you can drop something in the collection with a note that it is for my bike ride. I am most grateful for your support, but I know that our parish just did the Baby Bottle Boomerang to support First Step here in Springfield. (They are my partner center!) I don’t want this to be any sort of competition between pro-life things, so please prioritize supporting First Step directly, if you have to choose. 

I plan to write more about First Step Women’s Center in the coming weeks – as a way to raise awareness for the amazing resources they offer. Thank you for your prayers and for your faith in Jesus Christ, who made each one of us in his image and likeness! 

In my homily for Corpus Christi, I referenced a story about the Eucharist that I heard from the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen.  A term he used in his talk was “Eucharistic Radiation”, a power that comes from the tabernacle where Jesus Christ is truly present.  I have to say that I really love that image and it just reinforces how powerful just sitting or kneeling in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament can be.  I try to spend an hour of prayer every day in the Church.  There are many times when I do not feel much.  I get distracted, and I even doze off.  I sometimes walk away from my prayer feeling a little frustrated that I did not “pray better” or that I did not seem to get much from my prayer.  But this idea of Eucharistic Radiation reminds me that the fruitfulness of prayer is not so much a function of what I do, but rather what He does.  Of course, I try my best to be attentive to the Lord and to pray well.  But in the end, only the Lord can produce fruit when it comes to prayer.  The Lord is always faithful and by my approaching Him with a desire to be strengthened by Him, He is undoubtedly working for my good each time I come to Him, regardless of what I feel.

I share that as a way of encouragement to any of you who may have come to our 40 Hours and maybe did not have a life-altering experience.  Perhaps you walked away a little disappointed that you did not feel different after that hour, or that you seemed to struggle with distractions or dryness during prayer.  Be at peace knowing how delighted the Lord was that you were there, and your being with Him put you in direct contact with that Eucharistic Radiation that has undoubtedly been working in your soul for your good.

Seen from this perspective, I have no doubt that our 40 Hours was a huge success in that many people spent time in the presence of God’s transforming presence who otherwise may have not done so.  And that time will bear fruit, to the extent that we continue to give the Lord the room He needs to work in us.  The fruit may not come right away, and in may in fact take quite some time.  But may we never doubt the faithfulness of God and His desire to continually transform us so that slowly but surely, we will be able to say like St. Paul: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who participated in our 40 Hours in any way, whether you signed up for an hour slot or just stopped in for a brief visit.  Your being exposed to this Eucharistic Radiation of Jesus is not only a blessing for you individually, but it benefits the entire parish, and indeed the whole Body of Christ.  The Eucharist is a great source of unity for the Church, and every time we partake of this gift, we contribute to the building up of the Church.  Perhaps that can be a good reminder that we carry with us as well when it comes to going to Mass or taking time to visit the Blessed Sacrament.  If benefitting ourselves is not enough of a motivation, knowing that there might be another member of the Body of Christ who is waiting to benefit from our prayer can be the motivation that gets us to commit to coming before the Lord and His Eucharistic Radiation.

Feast Day: June 24^th | Patronage: Builders, Tailors, Nurses, Firefighters, Printers, Hermits & Godparents; at Baptisms & Conversions; and for those dealing with Storms, Seizures, & Heart-Conditions | Iconography: Bearded with Robe of Camel Hair (indicates prophet); Holding Staff with Cross & Flag, or Lamb, or pointing (all referencing his calling Jesus the Lamb of God), Head on Platter (depicting his martyrdom), Baptizing Jesus in the Jordan with the Spirit descending.

This past Friday, after all of us priests concluded our annual retreat, I drove North to Rochelle for the wedding of one of my cousins. At the reception after the Wedding Mass, I spent much of the evening carrying and dancing with my 1-year-old niece, Lucy. It let my brother and his wife have some time to dance with each other and allowed me to enjoy Lucy’s wonder at the music and bubbles and lights and antics all around her. 

Couples married for decades were gliding around the room just enjoying being close to their spouses. Young people were showing off an endless variety of different dance moves to each other. The littler kids were leaping and laughing and jigging this way and that … and everything struck me as so right and delightful. Children are supposed to just throw themselves around each other and have fun, but young men and young women are at the age to learn what it looks like to dance with each other, with respect and care and the right balance of joy and an attentiveness to each other. Married couples should give devotion and attention to each other, loving and enjoying and engaging their spouse before anyone else.

Now, all of this leaves the priest in a bit of a conundrum as to how he’s supposed to join the dance … (something that I’m still figuring out!) but, this week it leads me to a realization about St. John the Baptist, who found himself in a similar conundrum. 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”[Matthew 3:13-14, ESVCE]

Jesus comes down to the Jordan river where His own cousin is baptizing. Their paths have diverged quite a bit since they were little kids when they may have rough-housed and schemed and played with each other on occasions when their families were together. John now knows Jesus’ identity in a fuller way, and so, though he was happy to call everyone else to repentance and baptize those who approached him, when his cousin steps forward that simply won’t do. John cannot interact with Jesus with the same abandon that he did when they were both children, and he cannot engage Him like he did every other penitent. There’s a difference and not just in maturity, but he is now called to a different kind of reverence, respect, and obedience to his boyhood friend. 

This isn’t comfortable or automatic! It’s a tricky enough thing to engage with other people and to feel-out how we are meant to interact with them, to hold in mind both who we are, and who they are, and the proper relationship between us. My newly married cousin had to act differently at her wedding than she did a month earlier at another such reception. She was now married to someone; her identity had changed and so must her actions and interactions. Same for me. I am one of the cousins in that group, but I am also a priest, and so I am called to a different kind of interaction with everyone than 10 years ago … or 20 years ago. The “littles” in the room can carry each other around all night long, but it would be improper and unloving for the teenagers to do so. AND, if we are all called (and challenged, and blessed) to constantly learn what love looks like towards the other people around us, we are even more called to learn what love looks like towards Jesus! 

Jesus approaches each of us too, especially in Holy Communion. Do we routinely consider our disposition towards Him? Our posture and love and respect towards Him? If the greatest of the prophets, and his own cousin, John the Baptist, doesn’t dare to touch Jesus’ Body until directly told to do so, what about me?  In the United States, we are uniquely allowed to receive the Eucharist in our hands, but do we take care to touch Jesus as we ought? Or, is our mindset much the same as when we handle anything else? St. Cyril of Jerusalem reminds us all: “When you approach [the Most Holy Eucharist], take care not to do so with your hand stretched out and your fingers open or apart, but rather place your left hand as a throne beneath your right, as befits one who is about to receive the King. Then receive him, taking care that nothing is lost.”

– Fr. Dominic must take to heart these words as well. How easy it is as a priest to become accustomed to touching God!

One of the occupational hazards of being a priest is the tendency to accumulate books.  It is a practice many men develop during their time in seminary, especially when somebody is giving away free books.  We think: “That might come in handy someday.”  And while it is true that many of the books on my shelves have been useful, many of them are passed by each day without my even giving them a thought.

As I was trying to gather some thoughts of this feast day, I pulled a book off my shelf that I had not looked at in several years.  The title of the book is Adoration – Eucharistic Texts and Prayers throughout Church History.  As I thumbed through the book, one of the prayers caught my attention.  It was clear that I had spent time on this page many times as there was a slight bend in the book.  The title of the prayer is “An Act of Adoration and Reparation”, and part of the prayer goes like this:

I adore Thee profoundly, O my Jesus, in Thy sacramental form; I acknowledge Thee to be true God and true Man, and by this act of adoration I intend to atone for the coldness of so many Christians who pass before Thy churches and sometimes before the very Tabernacle in which Thou art pleased to remain at all hours with loving impatience to give Thyself to Thy faithful people, and do not so much as bend the knee before Thee, and who, by their indifference proclaim that they grow weary of this heavenly manna, like the people of Israel in the wilderness.  I offer Thee in reparation for this grievous negligence, the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds, and especially from Thy sacred side.

As I write these words, I do so from my desk in the Cathedral Rectory, looking out on the traffic that passes along 6^th Street, and I wonder how many thousands of people pass by the front of the Church each day and have no clue that the Lord of all is present here?  How about those who are Catholic and pass by and think nothing of who they are passing as they go down the road?  I say that as one who is likewise guilty of not always being attentive to the presence of Jesus in any Catholic Church I pass.

Even if we do not pause to acknowledge Him, we can be sure that He sees us, that He knows us, and that He longs to let us know how much He loves us.  Every person that passes by, no matter if they are Catholic or not, is an object of His love, for there is not one person He has not willed into existence, and each soul He desires to be with Him for Eternity in Heaven.

To stop and think of how incredibly close Jesus is to us in the Eucharist is almost too much for our minds to comprehend.  But it is the truth!  To humble Himself to come in the form of bread and wine, and to subject Himself to being locked in the Tabernacle, day and night, with the vast majority of His time unheeded by those who pass by.  If that is not love, I don’t know what is.

On this day on which we celebrate Christ’s Real Presence with us in the Eucharist, let us resolve to not just pass Him by.  When we pass any Catholic Church, let us at least make the Sign of the Cross, acknowledging that He is truly present there, looking upon us with love.  And may we even be willing to stop in and spend some time with Him, thanking Him for His presence and love for us.  May it never be said of us that we have become indifferent to His presence among us, especially in the Holy Eucharist.

Feast Day: June 29^th | Peter: Rock, Prince of Apostles, First Pope, Bishop of Rome, Martyr; Paul: Saul, Convert, Apostle to the Gentiles, Teacher, Writer, Martyr| Imagery: Peter: Keys, Rock, Fisherman, Upside-Down Cross, Papal Tiara/Mitre, Rooster, Attired in Gold [symbolizing the divine] and Blue [symbolizing the human]; Paul: Sword [of the Spirit], Scroll or Book [of the missionary], Fire [of Spirit], Quill [of Writer], Broken Chains [of Imprisoned]

“He [Solomon] set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.” [1 Kings 7:21-22] 

The Temple of Solomon faced towards the East, thus of these most prominent pillars of the Lord’s Temple, the one entitled “Jachin” was to the right-hand of the altar, and “Boaz” was to the left-hand. Get ready to have your mind blown: “Jachin” literally means “the Lord will establish” [yakîn/יָכִין] whereas “Boaz”, though probably also etymologically recalling strength and stability, is the name of the grandfather of David who married Ruth, one of several pivotal gentiles included in the lineage of Our Lord. To the right is the one grounded, af-firmed, set-up, founded by the Lord; to the left, the one from the gentiles, outside of the ordinary, surprising, yet also chosen by God and essential to His plan.

When Christ constructed His Church, he also chose two pillars, and the same characteristics apply to them: to the right, St. Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” St. Peter, the one established, chosen, dedicated, grounded on Christ. He is the one at the Lord’s right hand, prince of the Apostles, chief of the shepherds, first to enter the empty tomb, first to evangelize, holder of the keys, key-stone of the Church … yet he is also the egotistical Simon who rejects the cross; sinful, arrogant, weak, sleeping, denying, forgetful. The temptation of the one who is chosen and established is to pridefully think they earned it themselves.

On the left is St. Paul, “‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.’” [Acts 26:13-16] This is Saul, persecutor of the Church, the Roman citizen, the outsider, the pharisee, the tent-maker, the inarticulate, afflicted by a thorn in the flesh, the one who got himself on trial, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, chief of sinners, least of the apostles … yet this is also St. Paul, he the hand-picked convert, the greatest missionary, first theologian, founder of countless churches, author of much of the New Testament, preacher to the Gentiles, the one who carries the sword of the Word and Spirit of God. 

I would like to invite you to meditate on two scenes today, the first is one that St. Paul describes in Galatians 2: “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” [Galatians 2:11-14] Here the two pillars, right and left, established and outsider, fall to their respective weaknesses, their vices, their particular faults. Consider where within yourself you can fall into self-reliance and pride, and where you fall into shaming and accusation. Neither are from the Lord, but they are the temptations, respectively, of the “insider” and the “outsider”, and we all have our own places/situations where we can fall to those faults ourselves.

But there is another scene with these two Apostles beloved by the Church that I invite you to contemplate: Peter, in the impoverished Jewish quarter of Rome, and Paul, brought to the Eternal City in chains, are both sentenced to death because they are proclaiming Christ.  On the way to Peter accepting the cross, and Paul kneeling before the sword, they embraced!  The insider and the outsider, the right pillar and the left pillar, the rock and the radical, he who carries the keys and he who carries the sword; apostle to apostle, brother to brother; both chosen by Christ, both dedicated to Christ, both united in Christ. Here, at the end, the best of these two apostles’ calls, characters, and charisms, have been completely united in Christ, and the Church will rest upon them down through all its ages.

– Fr. Dominic often gets frustrated with different parts of his personality, perceived weaknesses, faults, etc. What he often forgets to do is to bring those things to Christ, letting the Lord purify and unite those different parts of myself into something holy, good, and necessary for His particular call for me. The Lord is working on that in all of us, and in all of His Church.

I recently read an article where the author (Elizabeth Scalia) recounted a conversation that she had with a fellow Catholic.  Her friend was a very active Catholic, one who certainly believed in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.  But when the topic of Eucharistic Adoration came up, her friend dismissed the practice.

Here is how she describes it:

Eucharistic Adoration he dismissed as well, calling it a leftover from medieval times, when reception at Mass was deeply limited, and Adoration and “Spiritual Communions” were the best most Catholics could hope for. He declared the modern-day practice of Adoration to be both irrelevant and unnecessary, and added that Jesus “doesn’t need it.”

Later in the article, Scalia offers a very powerful reflection in response to her friend’s objection to adoration, writing:

My friend’s argument against the need for Eucharistic Adoration seemed very earthbound to me, grounded in a worldly considerations of history and utilitarianism—“Christ doesn’t need it.”  Well, maybe not, but he asked for it—“Could you not keep watch with me one hour?” (Matt 26:40)—which suggests that on some level he wants our quiet companionship.

My fear is that when we hear about the practice of holding a 40 Hours Devotion, we can get caught in a sort of utilitarian thinking.  You hear me inviting you to sign up for an hour and you may think my purpose is to ensure that we have all our slots filled, as though we have some sort of quota to fill.  We need all the slots full because I do not want Jesus left alone, with nobody to adore Him while He is exposed in the monstrance on the altar.  Does He need adorers for those slots?  No, but He wants them.

If we speak about need when it comes to Eucharistic Adoration, it is not really at all about what Jesus needs or what the parish needs.  It is each of us who are in need.  We need to spend time with Jesus.  We need to be in His presence, to let ourselves be still enough to let Him gaze upon us with His unconditional love for us.  

As you read this, you might be thinking of how many other things you could be doing during those hours, precious hours which on the weekend are opportunities to get caught up on chores, to enjoy hobbies, to spend time with the family, or to sleep!  All of those are good things, but how much better is taking time to be with the Lord?

Perhaps you might be reading this thinking that spending time in adoration is just a waste of time.  If you are thinking that, or worried about losing out on valuable time to do those other things, then you are the person who most needs to come and spend and hour with the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration, for He desires to reveal to you how real His love is for you, and in revealing that love, to help you to intentionally choose to make Him the priority in your life – not one among many, but the one above all things.

So you can check to see if there are any slots that still need to be filled for our 40 Hours Devotion next weekend, and if you see an empty spot, hear the Lord saying to you – “This is where you need to be, because I want to spend this time with you.” 

Feast Day: June 11^th | Apostle, Son of Encouragement, Levite, Missionary | Imagery: Vested in the Stole of Priest, Carrying Book or Scroll symbolizing the Message of the Gospel, Palm Branch of Martyrdom, Bearded like an Apostle, 

I recently opened the famous AI website, Chat GPT for the first time. I was bemused as it churned out a recommended running plan to better my 1-mile speed, but didn’t want to be too easy on the number-crunching-web-bot. So, I asked it “Tell me about St. Barnabas. How can I connect him with the Eucharist?” And … in about 10 seconds it had given me a summary of the life and efforts of St. Barnabas, a catechesis on what Christians believe about the Eucharist, and how St. Barnabas did not himself say, or do, anything directly related to the Blessed Sacrament, but certainly was a primary character in the early Church, whose life was already was centered on the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Writing the same essay would take me 90 minutes if I was undistracted (and good luck sitting at any modern computer and not getting tugged off task by the thousand other things you could be doing!) [Computer: 1. Human: 0]

I was flabbergasted, elated, eclipsed, and shocked all at once. I have spent multiple years of my life researching and writing, and continue to do so for some hours every week, … and today a nondescript website with an intricate network of silicone circuits and a massive database of information can supersede my efforts without even trying. We have to ask ourselves: Does this change the value of a human being? Is my time a waste? The answer is no. But what do we base that on?

I want to base it on St. Barnabas. 

St. Barnabas (thank you Chat GBT), is referenced in the New Testament 9 times. [Correction from the human: Barnabas appears 9 times in the Acts of the Apostles; he also appears in 1^st Corinthians 9:6, where St. Paul asks “Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?” AND in Galatians 2 and 4, where St. Paul recalls his and Barnabas’ efforts at the Council of Jerusalem. Computer 1. Human: 1.] Throughout those passages, the characteristic that best describes Barnabas is generosity. 

Acts 4:36-37 gives us both Barnabas’s nickname, “Son of Encouragement” [Bar/Βαρ/בֵּן + Nabas/Ναβᾶς/נָבִיא], as well as another of his names, Joseph, described as a Levite from Cyprus. This man, who early tradition says traveled to Jerusalem to study at the feet of Gamaliel, is introduced to us first in Acts 4 as selling his farm and bringing the proceeds to the Apostles.  It should be noted that Gamaliel is the same famous Pharisee and rabbi who taught St. Paul, and who counseled the Sanhedrin regarding the apostles “keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” [Acts 5:39-40].

On top of this, numerous times we see Barnabas offering not just his possessions, but his life, for the good of the Church. Acts 9 tells us how he brought the recently-murderous Saul to the Apostles, a courageous befriending that would change the world. In Acts 11, this saint, called “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” [Acts 11:23], is sent to Antioch to encourage and evangelize, and then onto Tarsus to bring Saul back, together working to relieve those suffering from a famine. By Acts 12, they convene in Jerusalem before being ordained by the Church with fasting and prayer, and setting off on their first missionary journey. These two would continue to travel together for years, on multiple journeys, returning to Jerusalem famously for the Council of Jerusalem where their report of the conversion of the Gentiles would change the course of the Church, committing the followers of Christ to the completion of Christ’s mandate (and promise) that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [Acts 1:8] [Scripture passages provided by Chat GPT; Computer: 2. Human: 1.]

Charitable. Encouraging. Good. Faith-ful. Obedient. Persevering. These are how St. Barnabas chose to live out the graces and charisms that he was given. He did not hoard God’s gifts for himself. He did not return to his farm on Cyprus and soak in the sun, enjoying solitarily his encounter with the Lord. He gave himself away; he put his life at the service of that Lord every day for the rest of his life. He risked a friendship with someone as volatile and intense as Saul, and made him into a saint and apostle. Chat GPT may know these facts, but it cannot know the person of St. Barnabas, and it cannot emulate him. You and I can!

– Fr. Dominic offered Mass this morning, conversed with God while admiring the beauty of the sunrise, persevered through a hard 50-minute run, and sacrificed 90 minutes of my life towards this essay… Nothing extraordinary about any of those things, but Chat GPT, even if it could analyze those experiences, cannot devote itself to them, nor choose them out of love. You and I can. [Computer: 2. Human: ∞.]

While visiting my parents in Wisconsin recently, my mom shared with me that she had purchased a few tomato plants to be planted in a new raised garden bed that my dad had just set up in the back yard.  My mind immediately went to the delicious taste of fresh, home-grown tomatoes, one of my favorite summer treats!  But as I looked at those plants sitting on the kitchen counter, I realized there was quite a journey ahead of them before they would bear the desired fruit for which they were created.  The successful production of fruit would depend on the plants being properly cared for, ensuring that they get enough water, that the weeds get pulled, and that the deer stay away from the plants.

The image of tomato plants is one that often comes to mind when I think about the Holy Spirit, whose descent at Pentecost we celebrate today.  In particular, I think of the fruits of the Spirit, so desirable to us.  Here is how St. Paul lists them: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal 5:22–23) If you are like me, seeing this list makes my spiritual mouth water with a desire to have these fruits!  But, as with those beloved tomato plants, to enjoy the fruits of the Spirit, we need to ensure that our souls are properly disposed to ensure the growth of these fruits.  In other words, these fruits are not automatic.  We cannot produce them on our own, but our cooperation with the Lord will give them the environment that they need in order to be present for our enjoyment as Christians.

Think of how weeds can slow the growth of a plant, and how if they are not controlled, can actually kill the plant, preventing it from producing any fruit.  In the spiritual life, those weeds are our sins.  Every time we come to Mass, we are called to acknowledge our sins, to humbly admit we have spiritual weeds in our lives.  The Mass helps in removing those smaller weeds, known as venial sins.  But some weeds (mortal sins) have deep roots and require a more intense uprooting, which is why we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  So as you review the list of the fruits of the spirit, and wonder why you just cannot seem to be patient, joyful, or self-controlled, ask yourself this question:  When was the last time I went to confession?  If it’s been more than a month or so, you are likely being prevented from enjoying these fruits due to unattended spiritual weeds which the Lord is more than happy to help remove in the sacrament of His mercy.

Another important element for growth with many plants is exposure to the sun.  If there is no sun, or if the plants are in places that never get good sunlight, they are likely not to grow, at least not as effectively as they could.  When it comes to growing in spiritual fruits, the same principle applies, but this time, we are in need of exposure to the Son.  One of the ways that we do this is through daily prayer, when we place ourselves in the presence of the light that is Christ, whose loving gaze warms us and helps us to grow.  In that regard, a way of getting maximal Son exposure is to spend time in prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, especially in Eucharistic Adoration.  The rays of Christ shine most powerfully on us during these times, strengthening us in His love, bringing about that transformation in our hearts that make room for the Spirit to work and grow in powerful ways.

Why not take advantage of this during our 40 Hours Devotion that will be taking place June 9-11?  As you read this, I can guarantee there are still many open slots that need to be filled.  But please do not hear that as just a plea that we need you to fill those slots.  More importantly, I make the plea to remind you that you need this time for your own spiritual growth, so that we can more fully bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in your life, for your good and the good of the Church.