Parish: 'the thought' - January 29, 2019

January 29, 2019

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It’s Not Just Kentucky

Carissimi,

Here are the highlights of an op-ed published last week by Bishop John Stowe, of the Diocese of Lexington. It merits reflection.

"I am ashamed that the actions of Kentucky Catholic high school students have become a contradiction of the very reverence for human life that the march is supposed to manifest. As such, I believe that U.S. Catholics must take a look at how our support of the fundamental right to life has become separated from the even more basic truth of the dignity of each human person.

"Without engaging the discussion about the context of the viral video or placing the blame entirely on these adolescents, it astonishes me that any students participating in a pro-life activity on behalf of their school and their Catholic faith could be wearing apparel sporting the slogans of a president who denigrates the lives of immigrants, refugees and people from countries that he describes with indecent words and haphazardly endangers with life-threatening policies.

"We cannot uncritically ally ourselves with someone with whom we share the policy goal of ending abortion. I doubt that it is only these students who are not aware that the pro-life movement got its start among peace activists who saw their opposition to abortion as a natural extension of opposition to all forms of violence.

"Similarly, at one time, priests and nuns stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Dr. King and marched for civil rights. Bishops advocated for world peace and economic inclusion.

"Respect for the sanctity of human life included the promotion of all that is necessary for all humanity to flourish. While the church’s opposition to abortion has been steadfast, it has become a stand-alone issue for many and has become disconnected to other issues of human dignity.

"This past November, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued their first pastoral letter on racism since 1979. This letter speaks of the structural kind of racism that has worked itself into the fabric of our nation. It describes the unspeakable sins of the slave trade in which the Church was itself complicit as well as the sins of national policies that deprived Native Americans of their lands and livelihood. The pastoral letter describes racism as a “life” issue; that perspective needs to become part of our educational curriculum. Students must grapple with this history and ask themselves how they are going to live differently.

"Here also the bishops’ letter helps point the way: “Our individual efforts to encounter, grow, and witness, to change our hearts about racism must also find their way into our families. We urge each person to consider the dignity of others in the face of jokes, conversations, and complaints motivated by racial prejudice. We can provide experiences for children that expose them to different cultures and peoples.”

"These experiences can be found in the church’s dialogue with other religious traditions and the fact that our own congregations span across categories of race, nationality and immigration status. The church’s service to migrants and refugees can also help form these values in the next generation.

"The pro-life movement claims that it wants more than the policy change of making abortion illegal but aims to make it unthinkable. That would require deep changes in society and policies that would support those who find it difficult to afford children. The association of our young people with racist acts and a politics of hate must also become unthinkable."

Following Jesus...

I am a Christian.

Actually, it’s more accurate lately to say that I am still a Christian.

I now say this with much trepidation. I say it with great fatigue. I say it somewhat begrudgingly. I say it with more than a good deal of embarrassment—not of Jesus, but of so many of his people and so much of the Church professing to speak for him.

Looking around at too much of what represents my faith tradition, it’s become a daily battle to make this once effortless declaration, knowing that it now automatically aligns me with those who share so little in common with the Jesus I met when I first claimed the name Christian.

I know the kind of people making this declaration now aligns me with in people’s minds. It now aligns me with bathroom bullies, politicized pulpits, white privilege, and overt racism; with bigotry toward so many groups of people who represent the “world” I grew up believing that God so loved .

There are things that used to be a given as a follower of Jesus, that no longer are.

For far too many people, being a Christian no longer means you need to be humble or forgiving. It no longer means you need a heart to serve or bring healing. It no longer requires compassion or mercy or benevolence. It no longer requires you to turn the other cheek or to love your enemies or to take the lowest place or to love your neighbor as yourself.

It no longer requires Jesus. READ MORE

The "Blessing of Throats" at Weekend Masses

Video: The Feast of St. Blaise and the Blessing of Throats

St. Blaise and the Blessing of the Throats

At this weekend's Masses we will honor the Feast of St. Blaise . St. Blaise has become known as the Patron Saint of Throats, which is why we enjoy the traditional 'blessing' of the throats in this season of frigid weather and sicknesses. If you'd like to learn more about how he came to be known for his 'throat ministry' we've provided both an article ( click here ), and a video from our archive. Enjoy!

A New Addition...

Editor's Note : You may have noticed that several weeks ago we introduced a bank of candles in the front of the Church with a kneeler for your prayers, supplications and intentions. The ability to light a candle and offer up a prayer for a loved one or need is available to you whenever the Church is open. We thought we would offer the following reflection on the practice of lighting candles in the Catholic Church.

Faithful Uphold the Quiet Tradition of Lighting Candles in Churches

WESTMERE, New York - Linda Brown approached the candle stand at her parish, Christ the King in Westmere. She dropped a donation in the collection box and lit two candles.

Her husband, Ed, stood beside her as she bowed her head and said a silent prayer. He explained that the two candles were for his wife’s mother, who recently passed away, and their son Jason, whom they also lost.

Ed Brown told The Evangelist, newspaper of the Diocese of Albany, New York, that being able to light a candle says “we still remember” loved ones who have passed from this life to the next. Linda Brown agreed that the candle stand, a new feature at Christ the King that had been requested by parishioners, has been helpful to her.

“I think it’s comforting,” she explained.

The act of lighting candles is a quiet but ever-present tradition in the Catholic Church and beyond. Candles appear at makeshift memorials after a tragedy and at official memorials when Catholics gather to pray. Candles are used at every Mass; at the Easter Vigil each year, a special candle is lit from a new fire and its light passed to individual candles held by parishioners. READ MORE

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