For the last couple of weeks, I worked at the St. John’s Hospital here in Springfield as a full-time chaplain. My time at St. John’s hospital was an excellent opportunity for me to experience pastoral hospital ministry in a more intense way than usual. I had encounters that both challenged and strengthened my faith and relationship with God in a different way. I also had encounters that left me reflecting on the condition of our Catholic faith in the present times. One of such encounters was my visit to a mid-aged lady in her hospital room one afternoon, who described herself as a cafeteria Catholic.

When I visit patients, they usually understand that I am a Catholic priest because I dress like one and introduce myself as one. Because of this, they usually expect that I jump into giving them the Holy Communion or the other sacraments. But very often, I do not talk about the sacraments until after getting to know the patient and his or her treatment and health condition. And when I talk about the sacraments, I normally start by inquiring about the patient’s faith condition.

As a Catholic priest-chaplain, I visit mostly Catholic patients. But I understand that there are too many kinds of Catholics in our times. While some Catholics are practicing and are sacramentally disposed to receive the sacraments, others may be practicing but not sacramentally prepared to receive the sacraments. However, there are others who are non-practicing but asks for the sacraments. For these reasons, asking about a patient’s faith condition is, for me, a necessary step before administering the sacraments to them.

So, on that beautiful afternoon, I walked into this patient’s room. When I inquired about her faith, she told me she is a cafeteria Catholic. I never had of “cafeteria Catholicism” before that afternoon. So, I asked her what she meant. She graciously explained that the way I pick my foods at a cafeteria is the same way she (as a cafeteria Catholic) does with Catholic teachings. I smiled and asked about her relationship with the sacraments. I know that one ought to be in good condition with the Church (believing and practicing all that the Church teaches about our Lord Jesus Christ) to be disposed to receive the sacraments.

My encounter with this patient at the hospital left me reflecting on our faith as Catholics. Somehow, many of us have become cafeteria Catholics. Sometimes, intentionally and other times, unintentionally. We all know what the Church should and should not teach, believe, and practice. Our subjective interpretations of the catechetical and biblical teachings of the Church have become more important than the objective interpretations of these divine truths and moral teachings. Unfortunately, the rejection or abandonment of any of the teachings of the Church, catechetical or scriptural, indicates membership in the cafeteria Catholicism. This cafeteria Catholicism is different from the Roman Catholicism into which we are baptized.

This weekend, the first reading comes from the book of Jeremiah. It begins with, “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” After this scary pronouncement and later in the passage, the prophet proceeded to declare God’s intention to gather the remnant of his flock and appoint shepherds for them.

Jeremiah, one of the Old Testament Bible’s major prophets, lived in a time in Israel when shepherds (priests and prophets) had authorities that transcend religious boundaries. While there were kings and judges, the shepherds were revered authority figures.

During Jeremiah’s time, there were so many challenges and problems. Many of these were social, political, and economic dilemmas, which were rooted in the high moral decadence of the Jewish culture of the time. Some of these problems include infidelity to God, corruption, abuses in the places of worship, idolatry, apostasies, and an increased number of false prophets. The society also faced some difficult challenges. The invasions from their neighboring nations in the north and the long-standing drought were among the more devastating challenges that ravaged the Jewish society during the time of Prophet Jeremiah.

While these problems and difficulties prevailed, the people suffered political instability, economic stagnation, insecurity, and countless social crises. God saw all these and became embittered. His anger was on the shepherds, leaders of the people, who have abandoned the ways of God and preached the ways of men. These leaders engaged in false prophecies, idolatries, false circumcisions, and corrupt practices that destroyed the people’s faith and weakened their relationships with God.

The same problems that attracted the wrath of God upon the shepherds of the people during the time of Jeremiah seem to be present in our own culture today. Infidelity to God? In our times, we have men and women who parade themselves as Catholics but continue to support and enact laws that contradict the teachings of Christ. The abortion law, which directly contradicts the fifth commandment, is one example of this. Abuses in places of worship? The many bad liturgical practices, sexual and financial misconducts among some church officials in our times are abuses in places of worship.

False prophets? Ordained church ministers who agree with some of the teachings of the Church and disagree with others are no less false prophets. Idolatry? People who choose football games or other sporting, shopping, and business activities on Sunday mornings over going to Masses are no less idolatrous. They replace the worship of God with these activities to the detriment of their souls and the souls of the people they influence.

This week, let us pray for God to touch and transform the lives of our leaders (parents and civic leaders) and shepherds (priests and bishops). May they not lead us astray but to God, who is the source of all good things. Amen.

Our second reading for this Sunday from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is one of my favorite readings in the Church’s liturgy.  It is packed with powerful phrases that get to the heart of what it means for us to live as people of faith, that the Father “destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:4-5) and that “we might exist for the praise of His glory.” (Eph 1:12)

As I read through this reading again, the verse that struck me was the following: “In Him we were also chosen.” (Eph 1:11)  The word ‘chosen’ immediately called to mind the new series on the life of Jesus called The Chosen.  It seems as though more and more people are encountering this series and sharing how much the depiction of Jesus and His disciples in the series has been fruitful to them.  In a story I read about the series, the filmmaker Dallas Jenkins described his desire to present Jesus in a way that is “a little bit more personal, intimate, immediate.”  In my experience with this series, the series has definitely accomplished that.

This past week, I was helping to lead a summer program for high school students focusing on our call to discipleship.  In a session that I led on prayer, I used a clip from the series, the one of the miraculous catch of fish.  I invited the participants to pay particular attention to the face of Jesus as He spoke to Peter and as He observed the miracle unfolding.  As I watched the clip with them, I was struck with the eyes of Jesus, how He looked upon Peter with great love as He invited Him to trust, putting out the nets after an unsuccessful night of fishing.  Then, I was moved by the joy in His face as He watched Peter and those in the boat haul in a huge catch of fish.  I then invited the participants to realize that they could use that image, that gaze of Jesus, to give them an idea of how He looks at them – with love, with delight, with joy.  He does so because each of us has been chosen by Him, chosen to be His beloved children, and chosen to live the fullness of life that comes from following Him.

I would invite all of you to do this little exercise as well.  If you go to your favorite search engine (or directly to YouTube) and search for “the catch of fish The Chosen” you should see a video that is about 5:19 in length.  Watch that video with particular attention to the face of Jesus, then bring that image of Jesus to prayer, allowing yourself to be the object of His loving gaze toward you.  Doing so can be a powerful way to enter into prayer, and it is an image we can go back to over and over again as we are invited to live with constant awareness of our being chosen by Him to be His adopted children.

Father Alford     

One of the most beautiful things about our Christian faith is that we have all the guidelines for doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things. These guidelines come in different forms throughout the scriptures. The Church has also articulated them through the many books of the sacred deposits of our faith, particularly the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2052-2534). While we find these guidelines of our faith in both the bible and the catechism, they are summed up in the ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).

In two of my most recent bulletin articles, I have discussed the third commandment. This third commandment is about honoring the sabbath day and keeping it holy.

In this issue, I want us to reflect on the fourth commandment – honor your father and your mother. While we first see this and the rest of the ten commandments in the Old Testament, St. Paul commented on all of them in various places across his epistles in the New Testament. In his letter to Ephesians 6:1-3, he noted the promise that God attached to the fourth commandment. This promise, “…that your days may be long… carries a lot of weight for St. Paul. So, St. Paul proceeded to say that whoever honors his father and mother have more chances of having a good life on earth.

As Christians, we can always interpret this fourth commandment to mean different things in different contexts. But in this reflection, I want to see how it applies to us in the ways we treat our parents (and their bodies) when they pass on to the next life. Do we honor them by keeping their wishes and decisions as they made them? Or do we dishonor our parents by doing what we want with their bodies and their decisions once they pass on?

Recently, I traveled to Nigeria for the funeral of my father. During his burial, a problem arose with the place of his final rest. He had decided where he wanted to be buried. Some members of the family wanted to do otherwise during his burial. They insisted on a different place, though not without legitimate reasons. But the question I was able to ask them was, “Is this about our convenience or about honoring our father even unto death?

Many people have witnessed this problem, especially with some of our devout Catholic men and women. When these staunch Catholics pass on, anyone would expect that their children will accord them a befitting catholic funeral in the most sacred and honorable way. Unfortunately, the reverse is sometimes the case. This treatment of one’s parents is highly dishonorable and goes against the fourth commandment.

Honoring one’s parents is a commandment we should do well to keep even when our parents have passed on to the next life. Praying for them and keeping their wishes and legacies to the best of our strengths is not just a charity. It is also a moral obligation based on the fourth commandment – honor your father and your mother that your days may be long (Exodus 20:12).

This past January, while the priests of the house were in quarantine, one of the activities that we did to pass the time was to take a break from our work for some entertainment.  One of those forms of entertainment was watching the popular Broadway musical Hamilton.  As we watched the plot unfold, we were reintroduced in an entertaining way to some of the figures and key events that led to our nation’s independence.  Two of the more humorous scenes from the show depict King George as he sings about his relationship with the colonies, ridiculing them for wanting to be free, then after declaring independence, trying to discourage them with warnings about how hard it will be for them to be on their own.  

It was the desire for freedom from the oppressive rule of the King that our founding fathers sought.  And this freedom led to a freedom for pursuing the good of our new nation.  It is important to notice these two types of freedom – freedom from, and freedom for.  The fullest understanding of freedom is found when the two of these work together.  As human beings, we often seek freedom from restrictions and limitations, so that we can have freedom for the things that we want to make us happy.  For example, we want to be free from sickness, so that we can be free for an enjoyable life.  On the surface, this seems to be a sound formula, but there are great dangers to be found in seeking this type of freedom in an unrestricted way.  We might perceive freedom from restraints and limitations as a good thing, but if it opens us to doing something that is not good, then we have abused our freedom and we actually fall into a form of slavery.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this point well:

The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin.” (CCC 1733)

In our lives as Catholics, we strive for freedom from sin, so that we can have freedom for doing good.  This is a key concept to grasp, and one that I fear we have often missed.  Sadly, we regularly see our Catholic faith as a set of rules to follow, which we do not necessarily like, especially when they seem to prevent us from having the freedom to do what we want.  We sort of look at the Church like our founding fathers did toward King George, and we may even readily list all of the “rules” we disagree with and want to be freed from so that we can be free for what we deem to be better.

But may we never forget that God is a loving Father, one who knows His children, what will harm them, and what will help them.  His teachings given through the Scriptures are aimed toward our true freedom.  And the Church is not some oppressive organization that we something think exists to keep us subdued.  No, we speak of the Church as a Mother, the best of mothers in fact!  She is always working to keep us free from sin, which enables us to be free for the fullest experience of life in abundance in this life, and eternal life in the next.  And so as we celebrate the freedoms we have in our country, let us be especially grateful for the freedom made available to us through the Gospel and the teachings of the Church, and recommit ourselves to choosing this freedom each and every day.

Father Alford     

In my bulletin article for the weekend of June 12th & 13th, I discussed the topic of Christians celebrating the Sabbath on Sundays instead of Saturdays. That article was prompted by a recent encounter I had with a college student. After seeing the Bible verse where the Sabbath is celebrated on Saturdays, the student stopped being active in her Catholic faith. Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays. She disagreed with this as she perceived it to be inconsistent with the scriptures. But after our interaction and in-depth discussion on the topic, she seemed to understand the reason for our Catholic Christian practice of celebrating the Sabbath on Sundays instead of on Saturdays.

It was the first apostles of Jesus Christ, who started celebrating the holy day of the Sabbath on Sundays. This practice came to be after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday morning. The resurrection of Christ characterizes the very reason of our Christian faith. It is central to our Christian teachings and worship. So, it became critical for the apostles to celebrate the sacred day of the Sabbath on Sundays – the day on which Christ signed our salvation by conquering death and overcoming the power of evil.

Since the Sabbath day (Sunday) is so important in our Christian faith, the Church teaches that it is a moral obligation for every Christian to keep this day holy. To keep the sabbath day holy is the third of the ten commandments that God gave us through Moses in Exodus 20:1-17; 31:15. There are two reasons in the Old Testament for keeping the Sabbath day holy. First, this commandment commemorates the last day of creation on which God rested (Exodus 20:11). Second, it is a memorial of the liberation of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). The New Testament basis for keeping the sabbath day holy is primarily the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8).

The holiness of the Sabbath day (Sunday for Christians) is, to a large extent, a biblical fact for many Christians. However, what should be done and what should be avoided to keep this day holy is still unclear to many of us. But the bible is clear on this. In Exodus 20:10, God declares that we should not do any work on a sabbath day; neither shall we make the people under us or the people who work for us do any work. What still seems unclear here is what qualifies as work and what does not.

What qualifies as work and what does not is more difficult to answer because we live in a capitalist society where the worship of money has become the order of the day. However, as Christians, we should always do well to stay away, on Sundays, from some of those activities that characterize our everyday lives for the rest of the week. Ideally, these include going to work and engaging in any other activities that do not involve physical and mental rest and spiritual refreshment.

On June 26, the Church celebrated the memorial for St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.  The main thrust of his ministry as a priest was promoting holiness in ordinary daily life, especially among the laity.  His work in the early part of the last century laid a good foundation for the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on the universal call to holiness in the Church.  One of the practices that he encouraged, and one that I have practiced for many years, is known as “The Heroic Minute.”  He describes it this way:

Conquer yourself each day from the very first moment, getting up on the dot, at a fixed time, without yielding a single minute to laziness. If, with God’s help, you conquer yourself, you will be well ahead for the rest of the day. (The Way, 191) … The heroic minute. It is the time fixed for getting up. Without hesitation: a supernatural reflection and… up! The heroic minute: here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does no harm to your body.

(The Way, 206)

In addition to getting right out of bed, it is helpful to turn immediately to prayer, not to your cell phone to check messages or other distractions.  A time-honored prayer encouraged by the Church is known as the Morning Offering.  The Morning Offering comes from a movement began in France in 1844 known as the Apostleship of Prayer.  The basic goal of this movement (which still exists) is to pray for the pope and the monthly intentions that he designates.  Here is the traditional version of the prayer as it is found on the English-language site for the Apostleship of Prayer:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. 

I share this with you this week as we reach the conclusion of this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Praying the Morning Offering as soon as you wake up each morning is a way of staying close to the Sacred Heart each day throughout the year and it serves as a helpful reminder to us of the role we have to pray for the needs of the Church throughout the world.

This week will be a week of transition for us here at the Cathedral.  We will be saying farewell to Deacon Scott Keen as he transfers to a new assignment at Christ the King Parish.  I personally want to thank him for his service to our parish, and we send him with our prayers for continued fruitful ministry.  We also welcome Deacon Rob Sgambelluri as he joins us in his first assignment as a newly-ordained deacon.  We look forward to the gifts that he will share in service to our parish through his ministry here at the Cathedral.  

Father Alford     

Recently at a Mass, I talked about the need to continually ask ourselves who our models in our Catholic faith are and why these people are our models. Having a model in our various vocations, professions, religious beliefs, and social and moral values is necessary if we must work on a goal in life. In other words, when we have a model in any aspect of our life, it helps to keep reminding us of the need to live like that person or to be better than the person. This makes for a life of purpose – a meaningful life. But when there is no model to look up to, the tendency to become mediocre, less productive, and living below our potentials is stronger.

I attended a high school retreat earlier this week. After one of the presentations, a retreat director asked the teenagers who are the most significant influence in their faith lives as Catholics. Some of them responded that their grandparents are the greatest influence in their faith lives as Catholics. Others indicated either their priests, teachers, or other people in their lives. Only very few of them said their parents are the primary influence in their faith lives as Catholics.

The explanations of those students whose parents or grandparents have influenced their faith the most vary. But I found something common in those explanations. The level of commitment of a parent or grandparent to the faith is directly proportional to the level of commitment their children will have in their faith.

Many of us will agree with me that in most cases, nothing can be more beautiful than the presence of grandparents in our lives growing up. These people are like guardian angels for the most part. They are incredibly soft on us, very protective, and are less likely to make us do what we do not want to do. Of course, that is why they are beautiful people. On the other hand, our parents are more likely to push us when we need to be pushed. But when a parent declares himself or herself Catholic but does not practice the faith, the parent is less likely to impact their child’s faith life positively. Only practicing Catholic parents can have noticeable positive impacts on the faith life of their children. Only such parents can be models in the Catholic faith for their children.

Finally, I wondered about those children who are growing up in Catholic homes where there is nothing to show about the Catholicism of the home? No family altar. No crucifix. No sacred images of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or any of the canonized Saints. What will become of the Catholic faith of those children whose parents are Catholics but never or rarely go to Confessions? Attend Masses only when it is most convenient for them? Attend no church events and contributes nothing to both the spiritual and the material growths of the Church? What will such children say about their parents when their peers from Catholic homes talk about how their parents and grandparents have significantly influenced their faith lives? Do we not all need our parents and grandparents to be our first models in our Catholic faiths? What greater legacy can parents leave for their children than the faith of our fathers – that holy faith?