Read an article on the Catholic News Service blog

Read an article by TheCatholicSpirit.com

Or go right to the virtual tour posted by the Vatican. You’ll be amazed!

One of my favorite movies is a survival film made in the year 2000 titled, Castaway, starring Tom Hanks. In this movie, the FedEx airplane Tom travels on crashes into the South Pacific Ocean during a thunder storm and Tom finds himself on a small, uninhabited island where for four years he attempts to survive. One thing I liked about the film was how little Tom Hanks needed to stay alive.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like if you had to survive such an ordeal? For instance, imagine you’re on a large at sea that suddenly begins to sink. Your only chance to survive is by a small boat or raft — a raft you may have to lash together from broken boards from the sinking ship. You launch your tiny craft into the sea, but first you gather whatever you can salvage from the mother ship — a bottle of water perhaps; a knife; a length of rope; a blanket or tarp. And then you set off on your little raft in search of safety and home.

In a way, each of us has been placed on a survival raft as we go through life seeking safety, security and home. We want to be at peace in an often stormy world. As Christians, we seek the only safe and secure home we shall find, which is our faith in Jesus Christ.

But faith in Christ is not enough. What we take on our little raft to survive is critical to our journey.

Our culture tells us we need to take lots of possessions, power and prestige. Each day we are bombarded with messages that tell us we are not enough as we are and that we need more things. I recall a bumper sticker I’ve not seen for a while that read: “The one who dies with the most toys wins!”

This reminds me of the ancient Egyptian kings whose tombs were loaded with symbols of their power, possessions and prestige. It was the belief of religious Egyptians of the time that when people died they would take a journey to another world where they would lead a new life. They believed they would need all the things they used while they were alive. They also believed they had to preserve their bodies so they could use them in the afterlife. That’s why the bodies of kings and wealthy individuals, who could afford a tomb, were mummified. The poor, who could afford neither a tomb nor mummification were buried in the hot, desert sand.

One of the freeing things about our Christian belief is that we don’t take anything with us except, perhaps, what we’ve given away.

In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus sends his twelve apostles out two by two. He instructs them to take nothing on their journey but a tunic, a walking stick and sandals. These are the only survival items they are to possess. But why does Jesus want the Twelve to take so little with them? Maybe the reason has something to do with their mission. The Twelve are sent to have authority over unclean spirits, to heal the sick and to preach repentance. To accomplish this mission, Jesus knows they will need to remain strong in their faith.

Jesus also knows that dependence on material things can make us anxious, and anxiety over not having enough gets in the way of faith. He says as much in other parts of the gospels, such as in Matthew, Chapter 6, when he assures us: “…Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.” 26-29

Jesus concludes that we should first seek the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and all that we need will follow.

What we finally discover in life, if we live long enough, and have enough experience with suffering, is that we need very little.

When I visit nursing homes I’m reminded of how little is actually needed to survive. Mostly elderly folks who live in nursing homes live with no privacy in small rooms they might share with one or two others. They have few possessions in their rooms: maybe a picture or two of loved ones, or a child’s drawing taped to a wall, a few items of clothing and some books. Some of them no longer have their minds because of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. When I have offered a Mass at a nursing home, usually only a few say the responses during Mass or pray the Lord’s Prayer. Most of them have no idea of what I preach about in my homily. Of course, that condition exists outside of nursing homes!

What the ones who can remember have that remains in their little life-raft are memories of good times with loved ones. They have the love of family and friends along with someone to care for them in their need.

Some also steer their little raft with a rudder called faith. And some hoist a little sail on their raft called prayer. And some get food for their journey called the Eucharist. And some have a compass in their rooms they read from time to time called the Bible.

In 1968, the famous German theologian, Johannes Metz, wrote a classic work on Christian spirituality called Poverty of Spirit. It’s a small booklet, only 52 pages. In a way, this booklet is a survival manual for living in this world today. I recommend you read it. Poverty of spirit means to depend on God alone for our happiness, and not on anything else in this world. Jesus puts it this way: “How blessed (or happy) are the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs.” MT 5:3

In his book, Metz points out that what we need most in life is God’s grace. God’s grace is simply God’s love that can fill our emptiness with radiant hope and joy. And when we are filled with God’s grace, at the same time, we are emptied of the false anxiety and fear that we don’t have enough.

In this regard, St. Paul wrote, “The Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ ” 2 Cor 12:9 In other words, when we experience God’s grace, we discover that we are sufficient—nothing is missing.

Poverty of spirit allows us to stand impoverished and empty before God. It is only then that God can transform our poverty into grace and place us in the kind of poverty Jesus experienced that kept him close to his Father in heaven and the people he served.

Metz goes on to write, “Only through poverty of spirit do we draw near to God; only through it does God draw near to us. Poverty of spirit is the meeting point of heaven and earth… the point where infinite mystery meets concrete existence.” p. 21

Poverty of spirit is an essential experience for survival in the spiritual life. It should be a goal in our spiritual life for which we pray each day. Poverty of spirit happens when we surrender our anxiety and fear to God and trust that God will provide.

With an attitude of poverty of spirit we know what is essential, what are the most important items to take on our journey to return to home, to that place where we are safe and secure.

And so, what items do you place in your little raft to get you safely home on your journey? As Jesus advised the Twelve, so also does he advise us, to take just a few things, so that anxiety over what we have or don’t have will not keep us from the experience of God’s grace.

To take with us an attitude of poverty of spirit means to stop depending on this world to make us happy. Instead, we are to depend on God alone. To depend on God alone requires self-abandonment, which means to abandon our constant ego complaint that we need more to be happy and, instead, seek to transcend the private self to be untied with God and all of God’s creation.

We find self-abandonment as we pray and sense God fill our spirit with grace. We find self-abandonment as we worship, and that’s why we feel something is not quite right within us when we miss a weekend Mass.

In our Christian life-raft survival bag we also take along trust that Jesus will never abandon us no matter what we have done or failed to do. We take along assurance that we are enough, that we are sufficient as we are. That we have everything we need right now in this moment to be complete, to be fulfilled, to be happy. Nothing is missing.

And, finally we take along something for our neighbor — a first aid kit called “Love” that includes bandages labeled, “Acts of Kindness,” which we apply to the wounds of others. We take along an antiseptic called “mercy” for people we know that are having a rough time.

These are a few survival items we need as we sail our little raft over the sea of life. We can be assured that with such survival gear, we shall safely reach the final shore at that island Jesus called, “Paradise,” where anxiety and fear do not exist, where there is no more suffering and no more need for that little raft filled with faith that kept us afloat and very much alive.

For your homework this week, I invite you to make two lists:

The first list is a list of all the things you think you need for you to be happy.

The second list is what God thinks you need to be happy.

After you make the two lists, compare them. You will be surprised at how long is the first list and how short is the second.

When I was a child, and even as a young adulthood, my favorite breakfast meal was pancakes. I loved to see butter melt on top of pancakes hot off the grill and then watch my mother pour warmed-up Vermont maple syrup over a stack of three or four pancakes.

I hope you’ve all had breakfast!

Later in life and after some education about nutrition, I realized that a stack of pancakes with maple syrup and butter did not make for a healthy breakfast, even with added strips of bacon, which often was the case in my young adult years. Aside from a lack of good nutrition, the pancakes filled me but did not satisfy my appetite. Soon after eating I’d be hungry again.

Years later, I found it difficult to adjust to the fiber-laced breakfast I now eat. But my new breakfast has been much better for my health and appetite.

At one time or another all of us have hungered for the tasty and attractive things in life, the things that maybe satisfy at first but then let us down later. Things that appear to be full of promise but after we’ve had them for a while we find they leave us feeling empty. Having an affair outside of marriage does that to people. Getting that bigger house or car you really didn’t need and couldn’t afford can leave you with buyer’s remorse, another form of emptiness. An addiction to alcohol, drugs or Internet pornography will almost always leave the user feeling empty.

What causes so much sadness is not having everything we want, but the sadness that comes when we get what we want. In Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book, When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, he writes about the literary character, Faust, who trades his soul for unlimited power. Kushner writes that for Faust, “hell is the loneliness of having everything and knowing that it is still not enough.”

There are plenty of examples in literature and in real life of people who have everything, yet don’t find fulfillment. Psychiatrist’s files are filled with case histories of persons who managed to acquire everything they thought they needed to make them happy, but cannot find peace of mind. The feelings of emptiness and uneasiness haunt them as they live anxious lives.

Having all we want of the things of this world will not satisfy our deepest hunger for a peaceful heart. St. Augustine of Hippo put it this way, “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

God created us out of love and provided us with a way to find peace we long for. We find that peace in Christ. Jesus satisfies our deepest hunger, our spiritual hunger. Our for meaning, to know who we are, why we’re here on this earth, what we ought to do with our life and whether or not in the end all will be well.

To satisfy that hunger Jesus gave us himself, his real presence in his proclaimed word from the Gospels. He gives us himself as we find him in one another, especially in the poor. Above all, he gives himself in the Eucharist, which we celebrate today on this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

We do nothing to make this possible except to show up and believe. Jesus is the one who made it possible through his suffering, death and resurrection. He’s the one who selected you and me to be here today when he said, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last.” Jn 15:16

The Bible tells us that we’re not only chosen by Jesus but that we “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of God’s own.” 1 Peter 2: 9 We, the people of God’s own, have been selected to receive God’s only Son this morning as we receive the Eucharist. There are many wealthy, powerful, successful and famous people who will not receive this greatest of all privileges today because they have refused to be open to receive Christ into their lives.

Yet, to satisfy ourselves with the spiritual protein of the body and blood of Jesus is not the purpose of the Eucharist, any more than the purpose of a healthy breakfast is simply to promote physical health. The purpose of a healthy breakfast is to provide fuel to get us to our destination and sustain us in our work.

The purpose of the Eucharist, beyond spiritual food and union with Christ and his Church, is to nourish our spirit so that we can go forth to do God’s work here on earth. One way to do God’s work is to offer the compassion of Christ to the people in our lives.  An example of what I mean is the compassion shown by a hospital nurse to a man who had given up on life.

The thin and withered man lay in his hospital bed, exhausted and weak after a bone marrow transplant for leukemia.

A nurse tiptoes in and says, “Mr. Jensen, I’m your nurse, Hannah.” He barely nods. Hanna checks his vital signs. “Would you like some soup?” He shakes his head from side to side, “I just want to sleep.” Hannah comes back later with medication. He takes it and sinks back against the pillow. Hannah offers him a newspaper but he isn’t interested. Feeling defeated and concerned, Hannah leaves. She goes to the nurses’ kitchen to pour herself a cup of tea. Then she gets an idea. She grabs the large teapot, and places it on a tray with some toast and two cups. Then she heads for Mr. Jensen’s room. “Would I be disturbing you if I have my tea here in your room?” Hannah asks. “I’d like to watch the news, if that’s okay with you.”

“Not at all,” Mr. Jensen says, but he is clearly taken aback. Hannah puts on the television then pours herself a cup of tea.

“I brought an extra cup, if you’d like some.” “Maybe I’ll have half a cup.”

Jensen and Hannah watch the news in silence, until he nods off. As she gets up to go, he awakens and asks, “Are you in tomorrow?” “I am, and I’ll have tea with you again tomorrow, if you’d like.” “I’d like that.”

The next night Mr. Jensen has two cups of tea and a piece of toast—his first food in a month. The third night he and Hannah talk about their families, their hometowns, their lives outside the hospital. The fourth night, he gets out of bed and sits in a chair.

A few days later, Hannah finds Mr. Jensen’s room empty. He had recovered enough to go home to recuperate.

Some time later Hannah is downtown shopping when she hears a familiar voice. “Hannah, it’s so good to see you!” says Mr. Jensen, as he sweeps her up in a big hug. “This is Hannah,” he says, introducing his wife. “She saved my life with a cup of tea.”

The cup of tea Hanna offers out of care and compassion models the vision of Jesus for the sacrament of Eucharist. Nourished and sustained by the bread of life we receive, we are sent to become nourishment and sustenance for others.

There are hungry and anxious hearts all around us. Those that mourn the loss of a loved one; those in need of a job; those desperate for wise counsel; those that are angry and bitter over a divorce; those in poor health; those worried about how to pay their bills; those who are afraid to get out of bed in the morning.

We all know such people in need.

Jesus wants us to feed them. Not just with the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist but also with our real presence of care and compassion by reaching out to them and by taking a risk, if necessary, as did Nurse Hannah with Mr. Jensen. Who knows what punishment Nurse Hannah might have received for sitting down to watch television and sip tea in a patient’s room. Surely, her action was not a part of hospital policy.

Someone once said this about those who risk nothing: “The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. Those that risk nothing, do nothing and have nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live. Chained by their certitudes, they are slaves that have given up their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.” –Anonymous

The life Jesus provides for us at the table of the Eucharist is not pancakes and sweet maple syrup. It is life-sustaining food for the soul, which, Jesus tells us, “has come down from heaven.” Jn 6:33 This food from heaven prepares us for heaven after we leave our brief life on earth, but it also prepares us to find heaven here today as we show the compassion and care of Christ to those in need.

Today, Jesus invites each of us to not only receive his real presence but also to be his real presence to someone in need, even that might requires us, to step outside our comfort zone and take a risk.

For your homework this week, I invite you to take a risk, if necessary, to help someone in need. As you do so, that person may discover the real presence of Christ in you.

The following information was published today by the Vatican Information Service:

THE ROLE OF PRIESTS IS IRREPLACEABLE

VATICAN CITY, 17 SEP 2009 (VIS) – This morning in Castelgandolfo the Holy Father received a group of prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Northeast 2), who have just completed their “ad limina” visit.

Highlighting the functions of the various members of the Church, the Pope explained how “the particular identity of priests and laity must be seen in the light of the essential difference between priestly ministry and the ‘common priesthood’. Hence it is important to avoid the secularisation of clergy and the ‘clericalisation’ of the laity”.

 ”In this perspective”, he went on, “the lay faithful must undertake to give expression in real life – also through political commitment – to the Christian view of anthropology and the social doctrine of the Church. While priests must distance themselves from politics in order to favour the unity and communion of all the faithful, thus becoming a point of reference for everyone”.

Benedict XVI indicated that “the lack of priests does not justify a more active and abundant participation of the laity. The truth is that the greater the faithful’s awareness of their own responsibilities within the Church, the clearer becomes the specific identity and inimitable role of the priest as pastor of the entire community, witness to the authenticity of the faith, and dispenser of the mysteries of salvation in the name of Christ the Head”.

“The function of the clergy is essential and irreplaceable in announcing the Word and celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. … For this reason it is vital to ask the Lord to send workers for His harvest; and it is necessary that priests express joy in their faithfulness to their identity”.

The Pope made it clear that “the shortage of priests must not come to be considered as a normal or typical state of affairs for the future”. In this context he encouraged the prelates “to combine efforts to encourage new priestly vocations and find the pastors your dioceses need, helping one another so that all of you have better-trained and more numerous priests to support the life of faith and the apostolic mission”.

Referring then to the 150th anniversary of the death of the “Cure of Ars”, which the Church is currently commemorating with the Year for Priests, Benedict XVI indicated that St. John Mary Vianney “continues even now to be a model for priests, especially in living a life of celibacy as a requirement for the total giving of self, expressed through that pastoral charity which Vatican Council II presents as the unifying centre of a priest’s being and actions”.

The Holy Father concluded by assuring the prelates of the existence of “many signs of hope for the future of particular Churches, a future that God is preparing through the dedication and the faithfulness with which you exercise your episcopal ministry”.

AL/…/BRAZIL                                                                                    VIS 090917 (480)

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City 

 Additionally, we want to remind you of the importance of your participation in our community development process. Father Bob has described the Community Planning Event to be held on September 27^th as the single most important event for our St. Luke community for the year. The future direction of our community will begin to take shape at the Community Planning Event. As you will see in the documents from the Archdiocese, the success of the Community Planning Event depends heavily on the participation of the community. Please take every effort to make time to attend the Community Planning Event. 

Remarks from Father Bob on March 15, 2009: Here is a copy of the article prepared by Father Bob that was published in the bulletin back in March. We provide it to you to remind you about what the Community Planning Event is for and why we are engaging in this process.

Dear Parishioners,

In the book of Proverbs we find this: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” 29:18. Our vision as Christians should be to see ourselves as followers of the way, truth and life of Christ. To make such a vision come to life, we need a mission. Jesus gave us one at the end of Matthew’s gospel when he said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In addition to the vision and mission Jesus gave us, I believe we at St. Luke’s need a more specific vision and mission to direct us in how to respond to the vision and mission of Jesus.

That’s why our St. Luke Pastoral Council has begun to discern a vision and mission for our parish. With a new vision and mission for St. Luke’s in mind, all members of our parish will then be invited to think about parish goals for the next five years. But it is not enough just to think of long-range goals. We need a process to ensure that such goals are realized. I have initiated such a process by formulating a diverse planning team made up of parishioners and school parents to guide us. The name for this process includes the year in which we seek to realize our goals: Vision 2015. The Vision 2015 team will develop a process over the course of the next year so that we may discern and achieve goals that match our new vision and mission. As a start, and in the next several months, this group will review past and present data from the parish and school to understand the demographics of our community and to work with the Pastoral Council to focus our efforts in long-term planning. 

After data gathering is complete, the Vision 2015 committee and I will then host a community planning event at which all members of our parish will be invited to dream and visualize what our parish can become by the year 2015. We hope for maximum participation from all members of our parish and school community. This event will be held in the fall.  Watch the bulletin for future updates on this gathering.

From this parish-wide meeting, tangible goals for the community will be developed. Then, as a community, we will begin to decide how we can implement our dreams. This process will offer an opportunity for everyone in the parish and school to share their hopes with me for the future of St. Luke’s. I am excited about this process and I hope that it will energize you as well.

May God bless you,

Fr. Bob

Consultative Leadership Model. Please utilize the following link to access the Archdiocesan Consultative Church Governance document. You will find that this document is very robust and provides detailed information on church governance and community development. 

We direct you to two specific portions of the document, the section on the Consultative Decision-Making Process and Appendix C, which provide a description of our Community Planning Event and the eventual creation of our Vision 2015 community plan. The section on the Consultative Decision-Making Process starts on page 43 and finishes on page 47. Appendix C starts on page 60 and finishes on page 63. We encourage you to review this material, as it will provide background and context as we move toward our Community Planning Event.

Please direct any questions you may have to Father Bob or to the Vision 2015 Planning Committee through the parish office.

Thank you for your time.

God bless,

Vision 2015 Planning Committee

At a confirmation ceremony, a bishop asked one of the high school students to give a definition of the Trinity. A girl, who was somewhat soft spoken, said, “The Holy Trinity is three divine persons in one God.” Slightly hard of hearing, the bishop said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

The girl replied, “Bishop, you are not supposed to understand, the Trinity is a mystery!”

On this day, year after year, we proclaim from the Bible passages that dance around that unanswerable question: What is the Trinity?

Of course, we know from our Christian tradition, and as the high school girl said, that the Trinity is one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This tells us the most fundamental thing to know about the Trinity, which is that the Trinity is a relationship. Just as God said in the Book of Genesis that it’s not good for us to be alone, Gen 1:18 God decided it’s not good for God to be alone.

And since the Bible tells us we are created in the image of God Gen 1:27 the Trinity reveals that we are meant to exist in relation with others. Being in relationship with others is what makes us fully human. Yet, as we all know, being in relationship with others, requires sacrifice.

An example of what I mean is the story of a priest in the Archdiocese of Denver. When he was 18-years-old and just finishing high school, he asked his father if he could go out with his buddies one Friday night and hang out. His father agreed but warned him that the curfew rule still applied — in by midnight, was the rule. The young man agreed.

Unfortunately, the young man did not uphold his end of the bargain — he stayed out past 6 in the morning. As he was walking up the driveway to his home just past 6 AM, his father was heading out the door to work, since he worked on Saturdays to make ends meet. His father was furious but all he said was, “You’re grounded — bread and water for dinner for the next five days.”

Later in the afternoon, the father returned from a long day of work and the family gathered around the table for supper. A blessing was said and they began to eat. Each of this future priest’s siblings and his mother and father had heaping plates of food placed in front of them while the young man got what he expected — bread and water.

But before he could start on his skimpy meal, he noticed his father at the other end of the table, get up, take his own plate of hot food and place it in front of his son to eat. Meanwhile, the father took his son’s bread and water and began to eat it himself. The son was shocked. He asked, “Why did you do that?” The father replied, “Because that’s how God the Father loves you, even when you disobey Him.”

This future priest never forgot the meaning of God the Father’s love for each of us, which is expressed so well when Jesus said that his Father in heaven so loved the world that he sacrificed his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might, instead, have eternal life. Jn 3:16

The Bible is full of examples of sacrifice. For instance, in our gospel lesson for today, the last paragraph in Matthew’s gospel is the last thing Jesus tells his followers, which is go and make disciples of all nations. In other words, leave what you do to make a living, leave your families, your friends, the comfort of your home, leave your town and your country if necessary, sacrifice all you have so that others might be saved.

The idea of self-sacrifice in the service of God, country, family and friends is something that used to be seen as a high virtue.

Today self-sacrifice is seen by many, especially by many psychologists, as a personality defect or self-defeating behavior. Instead of sacrifice, self-interest and individualism are seen as attitudes one must take on to live a good life.

When we examine the greed that was one of the major causes of the financial crisis our country still faces, we see how the worship of self-interest and individualism cleared a path for so much abuse.

Still, we seek to be self-actualized and self-fulfilled. Just look at the self-help books that crowd the shelves of bookstores where one finds few, if any, books on self-sacrifice, or on how to serve God and others. Many believe that the idea of sacrifice has been lost in our society. Maybe that’s because the word itself is misunderstood. Sacrifice does not mean, in its Biblical origin, to destroy or burn or lose. It means to make holy — to sanctify.

I believe we’re in a time when we need to recover the true meaning of sacrifice and restore it to the high moral virtue that it once was.

Jesus made sacrifice a high moral virtue when he said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jn 15:13

To recover the true meaning of sacrifice, we might start by asking ourselves,”For what friends am I willing to lay down my life?” Or, “For what values am I willing to die?”

I suspect that most of us here this morning, if put to the test, would be willing to die for something or someone. The question is for what?

Yesterday, our nation celebrated the 65^th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied countries landed on the beaches of Normandy to liberate France during World War Two. The Allied casualties for D-Day have generally been estimated at 10,000 men, including 2500 Americans who sacrificed their lives for their country that day. (Source: D-Day Museum)

After the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese during World War Two, Franklin Roosevelt called for Americans to sacrifice. Most Americans understood the threat and were willing to do their part to sacrifice even their lives for their country. Since that time, no war that the United States has engaged in has enjoyed such broad-based support among Americans.

The idea of self-sacrifice represents the very heart of the Christian life. We find our true-self in giving to others. Sacrifice that is illuminated by love is what we are called as Christians to offer to God and others. Yet, many still see sacrifice as an unacceptable loss.

The Hebrew people of the Old Testament did not see sacrifice as a loss. Instead, they saw sacrifice as giving and receiving. Yes, there was a price to pay for sacrifice, but, at the same time, it brought about fulfillment. The covenant the Israelites had with God meant that sacrifice was something that would result in good happening and not evil. Most importantly, sacrifice for the Hebrew people was not about giving up something, but simply giving. Sacrifice was seen as a gift, a voluntary offering in worship to God. The sacrificial fasts of the Israelites, for instance, were part of what the Bible calls, “seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful festivals.” Zechariah 8:19

The point is that self-sacrifice should not make our lives miserable. That’s not God’s plan for us. Sacrifice is not to be made into an idol, and we are not to consider ourselves martyrs or dwell in self-pity for all we sacrifice for our families, friends and country or for God. Jesus was clear about that when he said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” Mt 16:24

In other words, when we deny ourselves self-pity when called to sacrifice we find our true selves. In this way, we sacrifice suffering itself. We spiritually detach ourselves from suffering by offering up our suffering to God. We do this because suffering can be very attractive to some of us.

Some of us like the idea that we suffer. It gives us a reason to justify our unhappiness over the little we get in return for all we’ve given. When Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and take up our cross he’s telling us to sacrifice our suffering — to detach ourselves from it and to offer it up to him.

As we sacrifice the suffering we endure to serve God and others, and expect nothing in return for what we give, we begin to discover why we’re here on this earth. We discover that the joy of life is in the act of giving itself, and not in getting a reward for doing so.

Someone put it this way: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” —Nelson Henderson

On this Trinity Sunday, Jesus calls his followers to give up what they have for something greater. To sacrifice their lives so that others might be saved.

In following this command, they make their work holy and enjoy the reward of God’s grace and peace.

Jesus invites us to do the same. To pick up our cross daily, deny our suffering and follow him. To offer our whole self to God out of love and not fear.

During these times of financial uncertainty it’s likely we will all be called on to sacrifice in some way. Let us do that in a spirit of love and see any sacrifice we make as an opportunity to be made holy, to be sanctified in Christ.

For your homework this week I invite you to pray about what God might be calling you to sacrifice for a greater good, especially if it’s for the greater glory of God.

And God Said, “Play Ball!” takes a look at the parallels between the Good Book and the great game of baseball, with stories from the Book of Ruth and the Book of Babe Ruth, Joseph of Egypt and Joseph of DiMaggio, Moses and Aaron (Hank Aaron that is), Yogi Berra, Jesus and more. Larry Stone, baseball writer for the Seattle Times, called Play Ball “…a near miracle—an entirely fresh perspective on baseball, accomplished with wit and insight. The parallels between baseball and the Bible are fascinating.” And Father Bob has said, “Gary binds together religion and baseball as tightly as a baseball is wrapped with string and leather. He uses cogent baseball stories and stats to show how the great theological virtues of faith, hope and love can be found in a dugout, on a ball field of in the stands.”

And God Said, “It’s Good!” explores how on any given Sunday we can all be brought closer to God and the gridiron, faith and football. Gary relates engaging stories about Hail Mary passes, immaculate receptions, stories of the Saints (both those wearing helmets and those adorned with haloes) and more. Said the Catholic Northwest Progress, “A fun-loving book…Graf gets great yardage tossing parallels between the Good Book and the play book.”

Gary’s newest book— And God Said, “Tee It Up!” —explores the mystical connections that faith and fairways share. Both have a St. Andrew, Church Pews, the Pulpit, descriptions of hell (whether deep bunkers or everlasting fire). Golf speaks of Amen Corner and the Valley of Sin and the Bible refers to Bethpage (Bethphage) the site of this year’s U.S. Open, not to mention woods, or at least branches. Famous players, courses, holes and championships are discussed all with an eye toward the sport and the Spirit. You’ll find there’s a lot to be learned about Claret jugs and cups of wine, 6th holes and the 6th Psalm, hazards of play and the forgiveness of sins.

When not writing books, Gary is an advertising copywriter. He’s a graduate of the University of Washington, the father of two collegians, and a member of St. Anne’s parish where he serves on the Faith Formation Committee.

It was 1972 and my company had just moved me back to Hong Kong after living and working 4 years in Bangkok, Thailand. A friend of mine from the Philippines was dating a girl from his country who was a trainee flight attendant for Cathay Pacific Airline based in Hong Kong. She introduced many of her classmates to us at a graduation dinner at my apartment. It was here that I first met Yasuko. We had only a casual date or two. Shortly thereafter Yasuko had to immediately resign from Cathay Pacific Airline and return to Japan. Her father had gotten ill and she had to help care for him and his Japanese art gallery business. For two years we had neither correspondence nor any contact.

In 1974, after 8 years living in South East Asia countries, I was unexpectedly transferred by my company to Japan. I remembered Yasuko’s father’s art gallery name and one Sunday I located it in Tokyo. Yasuko was there with her father and we re-met. It was not long before we found our lives were meant for each other. We were married in May 1975 at the Franciscan Chapel Center in Tokyo. IT WAS MEANT TO BE!

I am a cradle Catholic. Yasuko went to a school in Tokyo called “Caritas” taught by French Canadian nuns from Quebec. She became interested in Catholocism when she asked herself, “why are these nuns so happy and content?” After high school she continued CCD lessons and converted at the age of 18. Less than 1% of Japanese are Christian … no less Catholic. It was meant to be that we could share our faith together.

We lived in the USA for many years until Yasuko, our two girls and I returned to Japan in 1987 when I was again transferred there by my company. We immediately returned to “OUR TOKYO PARISH,” the Franciscan Chapel Center in Tokyo where we had been married. For the next 7 years, Yasuko sang in the choir and I was a Eucharistic Minister and active on the Parish Council.

If you ever have the joy to visit Japan and are in Tokyo on a Sunday, please attend Mass at our “Tokyo parish,” the Franciscan Chapel Center. They have a very informative website.

… Jim Harris