Many years ago, somebody asked me a rather interesting question.  It went something like this: “What was God’s first commandment?  And does He still ask it of us?”  I thought about the question for a moment, then I did what many people do when looking for an answer related to the faith…I went to Google!  Thankfully, the algorithm in Google pointed me to where I should have started in the first place, the Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis.  

After the creation of Adam and Eve, and before the Fall, God issued this command: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28)  To be fertile (or fruitful) is understood to be a command to cooperate with God in the creation of new human lives.  Even though the Fall damaged humanity’s relationship with God and one another, He nevertheless desires for this command to remain in effect and asks that couples who are entering into the Sacrament of Matrimony to be open to this important aspect of married life.  We see this in the Celebration of Matrimony itself.  Just before the couple exchanges their vows, the Church asks them: “Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from God and to bring them up according to the law of Christ and His Church?”

Today, as our country celebrates Mother’s Day, everybody who reads this can be thankful that their mother chose to say yes to God’s first command to be fruitful and multiply.  I am more than aware that not every child who is born into the world comes from the context of a couple who is married.  And while not ideal, we must still rejoice because every life is a gift from God, and the mothers who chose to accept that life lovingly from God are to be commended and praised.  I know that I will be thanking God in a special way for my mother today.

When I was younger and more foolish, I used to tell people that after having had two boys, my mother really wanted a girl.  She was indeed blessed with a girl, and I tagged along in the womb with my sister.  I remember how my mother reacted one time when she heard me say that.  She was clearly not in agreement with my assessment of the situation, and through that rather awkward experience, I realized that my mother had lovingly welcomed both my twin sister and me.  I was not just an extra to what she really wanted, I was a double blessing to her.  And so I thank her in a special way for lovingly welcoming me as a gift from the moment I was conceived in her womb up to the present moment.

Let me express my gratitude to all mothers on this day for their willingness to lovingly welcome their children into this world.  And for those mothers who may have had to endure the pain of losing that gift to death too early, we pray in a special way for their healing and comfort from the Lord, who looks upon all mothers with tender love for their willingness to obey His first command.

Father Alford     

In our American society today, there seems to be skepticism about the goodness of marriage. This is also a reflection of our skepticism about the world in general. As the Catechism quotes from Vatican II, “The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life” (CCC 1603). Marriage is a human reality even before it is a Christian reality, but the degradation of the esteem in which marriage is held has serious consequences for us as Catholics, because this sacrament is a great source of grace for those who need it. 

Marriage is hard. It is a way that most people in our Church are called to lay their lives down in service of God and his Church. Since God never expects us to do the impossible, we can know that he gives the help that is needed to live out such a sublime calling. Without the eyes of faith, it may be easy to discount the value of marriage as a simple social construct (even though this is not true). For Christians however, marriage is a source of incredible grace. 

When two Christians enter into a marriage, a special, invisible bond is formed, and this bond is the source of strength for the married couple. This covenant between the spouses does not remain simply on a human level but is “integrated into God’s covenant with man: ‘Authentic married love is caught up into divine love’” (CCC 1639). Christ dwells in a special way with a married couple. The graces that Jesus gives through the sacrament of matrimony are quite remarkable: “Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to ‘be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,’ and to love one another with a supernatural, tender, and fruitful love” (CCC 1642). Marriage sounds like quite the sacrament! Couples who choose to forego marriage in favor of simply living together are forfeiting all of these possible graces, and sadly the results often reflect this. 

True love is found in commitment. It can be very attractive to keep our options open indefinitely, and never make a true life commitment. But true freedom is found through giving ourselves away in love. This is true for married couples, priests, religious, and for all of us who are generous with ourselves in any way. “It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to God’s love. Spouses who with God’s grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community” (CCC 1648). 

I used a lot of quotes from the Catechism this week, because I thought that these quotes expressed the great value of marriage so well. Let us give thanks to God for all the wonderful examples of married love that we have in our parish and in our families! 

Feast Day: May 1st 

Last week we stepped into Joseph’s workshop and spent a few moments watching love transform his simple efforts into joy, and grace, and peace.  We saw the delight spread across his face as Jesus learned from him to work with his hands, and to offer his heart.  We learned from his humility: to be forgotten, and yet to send ripples of hard-won love out into eternity…  

But what exactly was his work?  What tools were scattered across Joseph’s, and then Jesus’, workbench?  Matthew tells us that Jesus is the “carpenter’s son” (Matthew 13:55) using the Greek word tektōn [τέκτων], but this is a less precise term than our typical translation, “carpenter”.  Tektōn referred to a craftsman in a more general sense, someone who had tech-nical knowledge of forming wood, metal, or stone, even someone who constructed things from those natural resources, an archi-tect of some sort.  In the Old Testament, the wood-workers and stone-masons who built David’s palace (2 Samuel 5:11) are both described with that same word, tektōn.  Now, around Nazareth, there were not many trees in Jesus’ day.  Some 90% of the homes in the area were constructed from stone, and there was a giant quarry about a mile and a half from their home.  So was Joseph a stone mason, a builder?  Making the question even more incisive, Mark describes Jesus as “the carpenter [tektōn], the son of Mary” (Mark 6:3), so was Jesus a stone mason or builder?!

If we look elsewhere in the Gospels, we see plenty of examples and parables that Jesus gives with rocky-references: He acknowledges the beautiful stones of the temple (Mark 13:1-2), He refers to himself as the cornerstone (Luke 20:17), He calls Peter to be the rock upon which he will build the church (Matthew 16:18), and describes the life of discipleship as one founded upon rock (Matthew 7:24).  Perhaps it is fitting that the human work of the Creator of the world was to again shape stone and house humans?

Perhaps…

Yet one of the earliest Christian writers after the New Testament was St. Justin Martyr (who lived in the 100s), and he tells us that Jesus “was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life.”  Ah, now this is interesting!  There was not much wood around Nazareth, but they would have used wood to make plows, yokes, and other such implements.  No other material at the time would have been practical.

And, once again, we find a number of references in Our Lord’s words to such things as these.  “My yoke is easy, and burden is light” (Matthew 11:30) Jesus says describing the role of discipleship.  What a beautiful thought it is to consider Jesus fashioning a yoke for you or I, gradually shaping it to fit His and our shoulders perfectly!  Or, consider Luke 6:41, when the Gospels record Jesus’ teaching on judging others, retaining the vivid words “karphos” and “dokos” for “speck” and “beam”.  He could have used many other analogies, but chose this one – of a splinter of wood in one’s eye.  Did the image come naturally to our God, who very well could have endured that pain Himself?  

We do not know for sure what occupied Joseph, and Jesus, in their workshop.  Probably it was a mix of various humble tasks, but I think that we have learned another important lesson from the workshop of Nazareth: the no task is too menial for the God-man to do, and neither should it be for us.  

This past week, Pope Francis has added a few titles to those we use in the Litany of St. Joseph.  They are all wonderful – Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of Salvation, Support in Difficulties, Patron of Refugees, Patron of the Afflicted, and Patron of the Poor – but perhaps that second one should inspire our understanding of marriage, and discipleship, this week: “Servant of Christ”.  If last week we learned self-gift, maybe this week would be a good one to work on servant.  I think none of us much likes the idea of servitude, but when the apostles describe their relationship to Christ, the first title they choose is that of “servant”.  “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus” (Philemon 1:1).  “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1).  “Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1).  “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James” (Jude 1:1).  And, Jesus chose the same identity for Himself: “the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45).  

How did Christ serve?  Well, for about 20 years, by carving wood or carrying stone, and during His public ministry, but sleeping on stones and shouldering the cross.  May we find ourselves close to Him as we seek to do the same this week!

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has recently begun working out (with Fr. Dominic Vahling) at the gym.  He has not had a tremendous amount of experience doing such things, but has quickly come to realize the difficulty of trying to lift hundreds of pounds with his arms or legs.  Hopefully it is good practice for shouldering his daily yoke that often has greater spiritual, rather than material, weightiness.

Later this month, I will have the joy to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood.  While there were so many things that made that day special, there is one thing that stands out of which I am particularly proud.  At a dinner celebration the night of my ordination, I had the opportunity to say a few words to the family and friends who were gathered to celebrate the event, and my first words were to acknowledge my parents.  I drew attention to the fact that the following Saturday, they were going to be celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary.  I was also happy to share that my grandparents on my father’s side (both of whom were there) had earlier that month celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary.  It struck me in that moment how the fidelity of my parents and grandparents to their marriage commitment provided a powerful witness to me as I was beginning my life as a priest.  Just as God’s grace in their lives enabled them to persevere in love, so too was I hopeful that God would do the same for me in the years ahead as a priest.  And after 10 years, I have experienced how God’s grace has indeed been the sustaining factor in my ministry, filling me with so much gratitude for the graces He has showered upon me.

As I mentioned two weeks ago, the Sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony are known as Sacraments at the Service of Communion, for they are ordered toward the salvation of others.  More than just being categorized together in the Catechism, there is a very real way in which these two sacraments are complementary to one another.  After ten years as a priest, I can see the many positive ways that I have been influenced by the example of how my parents have lived (and continue to live) their lives.  Beyond my parents, I also think of the many married couples I have known in my 10 years as a priest, and how they have been a source of encouragement and inspiration to me.  I can only hope that the witness of living my priestly commitment has done the same for married couples or those preparing for marriage.

I know that I am not alone when I say how important married couples are to priests and deacons.  I have no doubt that all of the clergy of this parish could point to the example of their parents, grandparents, and parishioners who have been sources of support and inspiration to them, helping them to live their ministerial commitment more fully.  So on behalf of all of the clergy here at the Cathedral, I offer a special thank you to the many married couples in our Cathedral Parish for your witness.  You help to make us better ministers who are privileged to help you in living out your vocations, as we all work together to help one another get to Heaven.

Father Alford     

This year, we have been aligning the theme of our bulletin articles with the theme of our Family of Faith formation program here at our Cathedral parish. The last sacrament we are studying this year is the sacrament of Marriage. It is always helpful to me to begin with where we find this sacrament in Scripture. Part of the definition of a sacrament is that it was instituted by Christ, so we can always find something about the sacraments in the scriptures. 

Marriage is unique among the sacraments in the way that it was instituted. Jesus did not “invent” marriage; marriage was a part of the human race since the very beginning with Adam and Eve. Marriage has been the most basic part of society in every culture in all parts of the world. This is why we say that Jesus raised marriage to the level of a sacrament. Any man and woman in the world can get married, but only baptized Christians have the sacrament of Marriage as a source of grace and strength. 

The most clear example of Jesus raising marriage to be a sacrament is found in the story of the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-11). Jesus attended this wedding of somebody who was presumably his friend or at least a friend of his family. During the feast, the wine ran out, causing a clear panic among the servers and a potential point of embarrassment for their newlywed hosts. When Mary said to Jesus, “They have no wine,” she interceded for the couple as she does for us even today. We know how the story ends and that Jesus turned approximately 150 gallons of water into wine. This is clearly way too much wine for even the best wedding reception! The Church has always seen this abundance of wine (which gives joy to the heart, according to the Psalms) as a symbol of God’s abundant grace given through this new sacrament. The Catechism says, “The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence” (CCC 1613). 

By becoming a sacrament, marriage for Christians is a sign of God’s faithful love for his Church. The Gospels describe Jesus as a “bridegroom” who lays down his life for his spouse, the Church. When describing the reasons for celibacy, I often say that Jesus was never married. While this is true, this renouncing of marriage is for the sake of another marriage: being married to the Church. Christ and his Church are united in a mystical union which gives birth to new life, such as in baptism! Christ laid down his life for his bride, which St. Paul encourages all husbands to do for their own wives. Since marriage is a fairly common sacrament, the depth and beauty of this great mystery is sometimes forgotten about. During this month, I hope to at least begin the exploration of this sacrament of spousal love. 

On the 4^th Sunday of Easter, the Church places before us a section of the 10^th chapter of John’s Gospel where Jesus speaks of Himself at the Good Shepherd.  Some of the earliest images of Jesus depicted in the artwork found in the Roman Catacombs show Him as a shepherd, highlighting how well this image resonated with the early Christians.  And it is an image the Church invites us to consider on this day.

When I was preparing for my ordination to the priesthood, I looked at hundreds of pictures of Jesus to use on the ordination holy card that I would give out to family and friends.  I came across an image of the Good Shepherd that was different from the other images I had seen of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  Many pictures had Jesus looking very meek and peaceful as He gently carried a sheep around his shoulders.  But in the image that I chose, the artist Alfred Soord proposed a picture of the Good Shepherd that showed something very different.  The Good Shepherd was reaching over the edge of a cliff to rescue a sheep who was in danger of plummeting down to the ravine below.  There were scratches on his arms as He pushed aside the thorny brush in order to get access to the sheep whose life was in peril.  This image resonated as it depicted the sacrificial nature of being a shepherd who was willing to put his own life at risk in order to save his sheep.  Such was the life of Jesus who laid down His life for His sheep, and such should be the life of those the Lord has called to be His shepherds, particularly bishops and priests who share in His work of being a shepherd in a more direct way.

In 1992, Pope St. John Paul II issued a beautiful document on the priesthood titled Pastors Dabo Vobis, the Latin for the words from the Prophet Jerermiah: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (Jer. 3:15)  The Lord promises that He will continue to provide shepherds for His Church, but the Holy Father offers the following reminder:

The Church must never cease to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he send laborers into his harvest, (cf. Mt. 9:38). She must propose clearly and courageously to each new generation the vocational call, help people to discern the authenticity of their call from God and to respond to it generously, and give particular care to the formation of candidates for the priesthood. (PDV, 2)

Today is a good day for us to pray for young men, especially here in our diocese, to hear and respond to the invitation to consider serving as a shepherd of the Church as a priest.  Let us also pray for the shepherds of our diocese, particularly that they might be shepherds after the heart of the Good Shepherd, being willing to make the necessary sacrifices to their comfort, their preferences, their reputations, even their own lives in order to save those entrusted to their care.  Along those lines, I would also invite all of us to consider making some regular, small sacrifices for the benefit of more vocations to the priesthood in our diocese and for holy, sacrificial shepherds who care for only one thing – helping us to get to Heaven!

Father Alford     

One of the biggest criticisms that many non-Catholics and Catholics alike share is that there are no female clergy in the Catholic Church. These criticisms deserve to be heard and answered. As with many questions in our faith, those who have gone before us have spent a lot of time and energy answering these questions, so it can be helpful to look to them for help. In 1994, Pope John Paul II issued a very short (a page or two) letter definitively stating that the Church only has the authority to ordain men, meaning that all Catholics must believe this as part of the Catholic faith. This does not mean that we are not allowed to ask questions; quite the contrary! If you have never understood why there are only male clergy, I ask you to follow up on this and find the answer in the Scriptures and the Church’s Tradition. In the letter of John Paul II, he quoted Pope Paul VI who laid out the reasons for the male priesthood. These reasons are: 

1. The example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men;
2. The constant practice of the church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men;
3. Her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God’s plan for his Church. 

Essentially, the basic reason for a male priesthood is that Jesus only chose men to be priests in the Scriptures, and the Apostles in the Scriptures only chose men to assist them as clergy. Some say that Jesus was constrained by the culture of his time and he did not want to challenge a sexist norm in ancient Israel. I think it is impossible to believe that Jesus would allow sexism to rule his actions, given that he is the Word made flesh and he is the very God who made humanity in his own image, male and female. 

However, this does not explain why Jesus chose only men to be Apostles. The answer is found in the anthropology (human makeup) of the Church. Jesus wants priests to be spiritual fathers of his people. When priests celebrate the sacraments, they are acting as Christ who is the bridegroom of the Church. Jesus is espoused to the Church as a male, and he wanted male priests to represent him in the sacraments. 

In no way does this need to take away from the role of women in the Church. John Paul II also wrote several letters addressed to the women of the world when he was pope. Jesus wants women to be spiritual mothers in the Church as counterparts to a male priesthood. Women religious embody the Church in a special way that men cannot: as mothers who love their spiritual children. Women also have a special connection to Mary, who is the mother of God and the mother of the Church. Mary is the only non-divine person in the history of the world who never committed a sin, and for this she is the most exalted of all the saints in heaven.

In God’s plan for the human race and the Catholic Church, he created a beautiful complementarity between male and female. This is clearly seen from the first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelation. When these distinct roles are obscured, the reality of marriage and the specific gifts of being male or female are often discounted. This has happened in many ways in our culture today. I hope that this article proves helpful to those who do not understand the male priesthood, but I hope it is only a piece of your journey as we all continue to grow deeper in our understanding and faith in God. 

One of the most striking things about the priesthood, especially to non-Catholics, is the priestly witness of celibacy. Celibacy is sometimes misunderstood as a spiritual practice in the Church. Since the earliest days of Christianity, followers of Jesus have given up marriage and family to more fully imitate Jesus and his state in life. In Judaism, celibacy was not a common practice. Jesus is the one who brought full meaning to both marriage and celibacy as signs of the kingdom of God. The primary reason that priests are celibate is in imitation of Jesus, who is espoused to the Church. Some mistakenly think that priests are not married because they are too busy to have a family. While it is true that it does make sense for priests to give their time to their parishioners, this is only a good which is allowed for by the primary reason of dedicating our whole selves to Christ and his Church. Since priests are “married” to the Church, priests give their lives in service to her. 

It is true that there are married priests in the Church, especially in the Eastern (non-Latin) Churches. We even have a married priest in our own diocese here in Springfield. However, even in the Eastern Churches, their monks and their bishops are celibate, and they clearly esteem this practice also. Having some married priests in the Church does not take away the symbolic and spiritual value of celibacy among many of the clergy and men and women religious. 

It is beautiful that in our culture, we call priests by the title “Father.” As priests, we give up physical marriage and children for the sake of bearing spiritual fruit. It is not always common to think of Jesus as a spiritual father because we often hear in the Gospels that he is the Son of the Father. However, in his ministry, Jesus exercised a spiritual fatherhood with his disciples by showing them the love of his own Father. One of the funny and interesting things about being a young priest is being called “father” by parishioners who are (much) older than me. In many ways, these parishioners are my spiritual fathers and mothers, as they are helping me to grow in holiness by their guidance and encouragement. However, when I minister as a priest, especially during the Mass and Reconciliation, I am acting as a spiritual father to those who are present. 

As I grow older as a priest, I hope to always grow into my identity as a spiritual father. The best way to do this is to continue to grow in my identity as a son of God. Jesus could be a father to his disciples because he received his identity from his heavenly Father. By our baptism, we are also sons and daughters of God, like Jesus. The Church is immensely blessed by the witness and ministry of older priests in our parishes. There is a certain joy which comes with being a new, young priest. However, there is also a certain joy which comes with being an old, experienced, and wise priest. There are many older priests who exercise a very clear spiritual fatherhood (or spiritual grandfatherhood) with their parishioners. This is made much more clear by their witness of celibacy and their sacrifice of kids and grandkids for the sake of their spiritual children. 

Celibacy is a gift from God. Jesus said that not everyone can accept this practice (Matthew 19:12), nor does he ask us all to do so. He obviously wants us to be fruitful and multiply! However, for those who are called to imitate Jesus by remaining celibate, it is a joy!