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The Lord is risen — do not be afraid

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 12:05

We come into the world with clean minds and clean hearts. We come into the world totally connected with our inner spirit. We come into the world totally connected with God.

As we grow up, we pick up wrong messages from the media and the adults around us. We pick up negative messages about ourselves. We pick up wrong messages about who we are and what we can become.

As we grow up, these negative messages often contribute to our unhappiness and our fears. These erroneous messages often contribute to our self–destructive fears.

Fear is so pervasive in our lives that we live in a world of fear. We have the fear of living. We have the fear of dying. We have the fear of having too much. We have the fear of having too little. We fear the past. We fear the next year. We give in to our fears.

Fear is the cause of many of our behaviors. We put people down because we fear they will hurt us. We distance ourselves from others because we fear they will judge us. We distance ourselves from God because we fear he will judge us.

We often fear to speak out passionately in defense of human life. We fear to speak out in defense of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

We often fear to speak out and be faithful to our call to stand for religious liberty. We have inappropriate sexual relationships because we fear we are not lovable. We do not get married because we fear permanent commitments.

We do not have a church wedding ceremony because we fear failure. In fear, we fail to protect the sanctity of marriage. We simply cohabitate because we fear the wedding ceremony is a waste of time and money.

We do not speak up and do not speak out because we fear it will not win us approval. We do not express our Christian viewpoints because we fear they will not be accepted. We fear making mistakes and fear looking foolish. We live in fear.

We operate out of fear. We are dishonest in the present because we fear punishment. We cheat in examinations because we fear failure. We do not plan for the future because we fear there may well be no future.

Women more than men are often afraid they will ask for too much. They are afraid of not being attractive. They are afraid of being unworthy. They are afraid of being hurt. They are afraid of being ignored.

Women more than men are often afraid being abandoned. They are afraid of being rejected. They are afraid of not being supported. They are afraid of being forgotten. They are afraid of not being good enough.

Men more than women are often afraid they will not get a lucrative job. They are afraid they will not achieve. They are afraid they will not earn enough. They are afraid they will not climb the corporate ladder.

Men more than women are afraid they will not succeed on the job. They are afraid they will not be able to put bread on the table. They are afraid they will not win out there in our competitive world.

God tells Jeremiah (1:17), “Do not be afraid.” He tells him to stand firm in delivering his message to the people of Judah. He is to face his fears. He is to erase his fears. He is to be fearless in responding to his call.

Jesus said we need to face our fears. We need to admit our fears. We need to confess our fears. We need to understand our fears. We are not helpless victims.

Jesus said, no matter what fears you may have, “Do not be afraid.” God is in the mess. God is in your fears. God is in your pain. God is in your suffering. God is there to bless you. God is there to help you.

The priest says to you at Mass, “The Lord is with you.” He is close. His words give us courage. We celebrate that we are not alone. The Lord is risen. He is here with you. Do not be afraid.

“When the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19).

Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is the retired pastor of St. Thomas More and St. Mary parishes, Cherry Hill.

The Good Shepherd and the love of God

Columns

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 12:05

Every bishop is called a shepherd. The Lord is called a shepherd. Abraham and Isaac were called shepherds. Jacob and David were called shepherds.

Bishop Eustace, Bishop McCarthy, Archbishop Damiano, Bishop Guilfoyle, Bishop McHugh, Bishop DiMarzio and Bishop Galante have been our shepherds over the past 75 years. Bishop Dennis Sullivan is our new shepherd as we face another 75 years.

The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23) is surely the most popular of all the psalms. It is a song of love for God. It is a song of trust in God. It is a song of hope in God.

Shepherds are mentioned often in the Bible. Shepherds were guided by a star. They left their sheep that night. They were the first believers in the mystery of the Incarnation. They were the first to announce the good news to the world. And Jesus would later proclaim himself as shepherd (Luke 2:15).

Sheep were the only animals acceptable for sacrifice in the temple. Once each year the lamb was killed. The lamb was eaten the same time each year by thousands of Jews.

Sheep farming is a big industry in Ireland. It makes a significant contribution to the Irish economy. In fact, there are roughly 10 million sheep grazing on the hills and in the valleys. At the same time there are less than 4 million people living on the island.

I grew up on a sheep farm in the western part of Ireland. It was on that farm that I first learned about the habits and the behaviors of sheep. It was there I learned about the great amount of time, energy, commitment, sacrifice, skill and dedication that go into being a good shepherd.
In a sense, I could say my dad was a shepherd. He had many other roles on the farm.

Nevertheless, he gave a considerable amount of his time to attending and caring for the sheep.
Daily, along with his collie sheep dog, he attended to the sheep. The sheep dog was an invaluable assistance when it came to rounding up the sheep. They were rounded up for sheering and dosing and injecting for liver fluke and other diseases and viruses.

As a shepherd, my dad would go in search of the lost sheep and the sick sheep and the dying sheep. As a shepherd, he would spend hours at any one time attending to the straying sheep and scattered sheep. He would do everything possible to protect the sheep from foxes, gray-crows, hawks and wild dogs.

As a shepherd, he truly valued the sheep. He valued their wool. He valued their meat. He valued their milk for the lambs. He valued that they could be fed rather cheaply on the plentiful and luscious green grass. He valued the financial profits that came from selling the lambs at the local markets.

As a shepherd, he knew the sheep's needs and wants. He could lead them to good pastures of green grass. He could lead them to the fresh water streams. These sites were especially valuable in the cold winter months as well as during the lambing season.

As a shepherd, he knew those sheep with the tender hoofs. He knew the ewes that cared for their lambs and those who were weak and fragile. He knew the needy sheep as well as the sheep that required extra attention and care.

My growing up experiences on the sheep farm contribute greatly to my understanding of what Jesus had in mind when he used the imagery of sheep and the shepherd in St. John's Gospel. His description of himself as a shepherd and the people of God as his flock of sheep is easy for me to relate to.

Jesus sees himself as the Good Shepherd, and like the good shepherd, he knows the sheep (John 10-11). Jesus sees himself as owning the sheep. He guards the sheep. He will never abandon them.

Jesus, like the Good Shepherd, calls the sheep by name. The sheep follow him. He lays down his life for the sheep. He is the way and the truth and the life for the flock.

Jesus, like the Good Shepherd, says to all of us; "I knew you even before I shaped you in your mother's womb. I knew you from the beginning of creation. I knew you long before you were in the mind and heart of your parents. I knew you long before you were born. I knew you long before you saw the light of day."

Jesus, like the Good Shepherd, knows our names. He knows our needs. He knows our wants. He knows our thoughts even before we speak them. He knows our actions even before we perform them. He knows every hair on our heads.

Jesus, like the Good Shepherd, loves us first and loves us last. He loves us even when we do not feel we deserve to be loved. He loves us when we are poor and when we are rich. Bishop Dennis Sullivan comes to us as the good shepherd. He comes with the traits, the characteristics, and the virtues of a good shepherd. He comes among his new flock of sheep with a rich background of pastoral leadership and pastoral administration and pastoral care.

Bishop Dennis Sullivan comes among us like the Good Shepherd. He comes "to lay down his life for the sheep" (John 10; 11). And, the sheep of South Jersey rejoice and gladly welcome their new shepherd.

Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is retired pastor of St. Thomas More Parish and St. Mary Parish, Cherry Hill.

Advice from Jesus and behavioral scientists

Columns

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 12:05

Jesus and all the behavioral scientists will say to us over and over again that the first step in achieving happiness and success in life is to take 100 percent responsibility for everything in our lives.

Jesus and the behavioral scientists will say to us over and over again to take full responsibility for our thoughts. Take full responsibility for our beliefs. Take full responsibility for our emotions. Take full responsibility for our desires. Take full responsibility for our goals. Take full responsibility for what we want to achieve.

Jesus and the behavioral scientists say take full responsibility for your actions. Take full responsibility for everything that is happening in your life. Take full responsibility for what you experience. Take full responsibility for what you achieve. Take full responsibility for the quality of your relationships.

Take full responsibility for the way you think about God. Take full responsibility for the way you think about yourself. Take full responsibility for the way you think about the past. Take full responsibility for the way you think about the future.

All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much you blame another person it never changes you. So, do not blame your parents. So, do not blame your teachers. So, do not blame your pastors. So, do not blame your teammates. So, do not blame your childhood. So, do not blame your race. So, do not blame the weather. So, do not blame your lack of support.

Jesus and the behavioral scientists will acknowledge that parents, teachers, principals, coaches, pastors and childhood experiences have been factors in your life. But they are not the deciding factors. They are not the only factors. If they were the deciding and the only factors, then nobody would succeed in life. Then, nobody could be happy or would be happy.

Epictetus, a second century Greek philosopher, captured all of this very well when he said, “Men and women are not disturbed by things, but rather they are disturbed by the view they take of them.”

Michael Jordan had many early childhood and career setbacks. He would never have made it in the NBA if he did not take responsibility for his life. He did not blame anyone and took full responsibility for his thoughts and his actions.

Helen Keller had many physical disabilities. She would never have inspired millions of people if she did not take full responsibility for her life. She did not blame anyone and took full responsibility for her thoughts and her actions.

Oprah Winfrey had many negative and horrific early life experiences. She would never have become a top daily talk show hostess if she did not take full responsibility for her life. She did not blame anyone and took full responsibility for her thoughts and her actions.

It is not the external factors that limit us. It is not the negative early life experiences that limit us. It is the way we remember them. It is the way we perpetuate the early life experiences. It is what we tell ourselves in this moment about the early life experiences that limit us and cripple us in this moment.

In truth, it is not what happened to us in the past that is the all-important factor in our lives. The all-important factor is how we respond in the here and now to what happened to us in the past. How we respond to the past and the present is completely up to us.

We think the limiting thoughts. We think the negative thoughts. We think we are not good enough. We think everyone has to love us. We think we cannot do it. We think we don’t have enough skill. We think that early life experiences have to control our lives.

Sometimes we misjudge the facts. We waste time in gossip. We defend our self-defeating behavior. We ignore useful feed-back. We deny the truth about the past, about the present and about the future.

Jesus says; “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Face the truth about reality. Face the truth about yourself. Face the truth about the world. Face the truth about the past. Face the truth about the future. Face the truth about your parents. Face the truth about this present moment.

Self-responsibility and non-blame are at the core of all spiritual growth and development. They are at the core of all success and happiness along the path of life. The truth about yourself, about others, and about the outside world will set you free. Non-responsibility and blame will limit you to a life of unhappiness and misery.

Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is the retired pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Cherry Hill.

Grown children and this Year of Faith

Columns

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 12:05

Mary is a young looking and agile grandmother. She is a woman of great faith. She is a daily Mass goer. She is a daily communicant. She is a daily meditator. She has great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mary hurts deeply. She has sleepless nights over her adult children not going to church at all. She says they are not married in the church. She says the grandchildren have not received the sacraments of initiation.

Mary thinks her children have lost their faith. They do not seem to have any sense of God. There is no religious sense in their lives and in their homes. There is no awareness of a divine presence.

Mary thinks that her children seem to be de-evangelized by our popular culture. She sees them as having absorbed the false wisdom of our age. They seem to be lonely people. They seem to have little meaning and little purpose in their lives.

Mary is in great distress. She has a great sense of loss. She has a great sense of guilt. She has a great sense of failure. She has the conflicting emotions of anger and guilt. She has anxiety and tears. She self-downs and sees herself as a failure in her parenting.

Mary has become cautious about her church topics. She can no longer chat easily about happenings in her parish. She has given up talking about the importance of regular church attendance.

Mary is forbidden to bring up anything about the centrality of infant baptism in the life of the Christian. She is tired of being accused of preaching and proselytizing. At times, she experiences antagonism and hostility from her children.

Mary sees the children and grandchildren living lives that are totally foreign to their inherited faith. They are not living the way they had been raised. They are not following up on their childhood and adolescent Christian formation practices.

Mary does not feel comfortable and relaxed in the presence of her children and grandchildren. Consequently, she does not relate well to them. She sees them in a negative light. In her mind they are living sinful and immoral lives.

Mary is pained with their pagan living. She is wounded. She aches on the inside. It hinders caring communication. Yet, she does not want to be estranged from them. She does everything she can to love them. She tries desperately to “love the sinner and hate the sin.”

Mary knows that her adult children and grandchildren have “freedom of choice.” She knows that this is a God given gift. At the same time, she is conflicted. For she sees them as not respecting and giving due regard to their faith and the practice of their faith.

Mary always honors the family custom of having grace before and after Sunday brunch. She manages to get the children and grandchildren to remain at the table with a respectful silence at the appropriate times.

Mary is struggling to keep the lines of communication open. And this is important to her. She will always do whatever she can to reassure her children and grandchildren of her constant love. She does this even though her stomach hurts and she cannot accept their chosen lifestyles.

Mary, despite all her agony and inner turmoil, believes that the thirst for God never disappears. She believes that it is never eliminated. Now she prays that this “Year of Faith” will re-kindle the fire within the hearts of her children and grandchildren.

Mary finds much comfort and hope in the words of Saint Augustine:

“You all say times are troubled; times are hard; times are wretched.

‘Well, live good lives and you will change the times by living good lives.

“You will change the times and then you will have nothing to grumble about.”

Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is a retired pastor.

The parish is a vital cell of the church

Columns

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 12:05

I think it is true to say that despite all the changes in society and despite all the changes in the church, the parish for the average Catholic continues to be hugely important.

It is their home away from home. It is their haven of support and validation. It is a precious spiritual resource and faith resource for all. Researchers Robert D. Putnam and Chaeyoon Lim say, “Faith in a higher power associated with religion has been used as a way to lower stress, reduce depression and promote happiness.”

The parish is a precious structure that opens up the soul to the divine. It is a sacred structure where there is an inestimable and inextricable connection between people. It is where we find a great assortment of people ministering to one another in a selfless and caring way.

The parish is a focal point of faith. It is a focal point of celebration, of faith formation, of spiritual growth, of reconciliation.

The parish is where we are baptized. It is where we receive our first holy Communion. It is where we are confirmed. It is where we are married. It is where we are buried. Through the sacraments, we bring breadth and depth to our spiritual life. It is the path to self-spiritual realization for the whole community.

The parish is where we experience the joy of our children being baptized; of being confirmed in the Holy Spirit; of couples being sacramentally married; of our sins being forgiven; of church vocations being prayed for; of our sick being comforted; of our dying being reassured; of our dead being reverently buried.

The parish is a core cell of the church. It is a living cell in the Body of Christ. It is where the universal church comes into being. It is where the spiritual needs of God’s people are cared for. All are equally sacred. It is grounded and founded in the sacrament of baptism.

The parish is fundamentally people. It is where we care about one another. It is where people are comfortable with one another. It is where we greet one another by name. From their research Putnam, a Harvard public policy professor, and Lim, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, say, “Church friends are super-charged friends but we have no idea why.”

The parish is people desiring to know God. It is people desiring to love God. It is people desiring to serve God. And, in the knowing, in the loving, and in serving God they bond with each other and establish lasting friendships.

The parish is parents bringing their children to Mass every Sunday. It is parents praying with their children. It is parents modeling how to live well. It is children growing into moral and faith-filled adults. It is families becoming immersed in a Christian value system.

The parish is where we pray. It is where we pray for healthy family life. It is where we pray for a greater regard for morality. It is where we pray for a greater reverence for human life. It is where we pray for more peace and justice in our parish and in our world. It is where we pray for freedom of religious liberty.

The parish is the older generation of people who have raised families in the faith offering the example of their lives in support and encouragement to the new generation of Catholics. The new generation of Catholics loves to imitate and emulate our seniors who have journeyed the path.

The parish is people coming together in Small Christian Communities to share their faith. It is there they pray. It is where they support one another. It is where they empathetically listen to one another. It is where they make new friends.

The parish is women knitting shawls for the sick and dying. The parish is men and women witnessing their faith in our religious education program. The parish is the bereavement committee reaching out to those who have lost a loved one. The parish is the Knights of Columbus who have many years of promoting reverence for human life and generous service to our faith community.

The parish is musicians and leaders of song helping us to find God in our liturgies. It is ushers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, and those who take holy Communion to our sick and elderly. It is sharing our unique gifts and time for the greater good of the total faith-community.

The parish is women who wash altar linens and clean the church. It is the Sunday hospitality volunteers and the St. Vincent de Paul Society who bring food and life to the poor and needy. It is living like Jesus. It is hearing the call to social justice. It is the movement from self-absorption to concern for others.

The parish is parishioners who have a focus on the poor; the sick; the hungry; the homeless; the homebound and the dying. Like Jesus, they believe that we will always have those who are in need of our care and generosity. “Christianity’s emphasis on charitable acts and positive relationships with one’s neighbor leads to a more positive mental outlook” as Putnam and Lim have found.

The parish is where we uncover a God vision of what life can be. It is where we learn that the well-being of each individual is not separate from the well-being of all others in the community. We become inspired to live for the greater good of the whole community. We delve into selfless service to others.

The parish is the Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish Finance Council. It is the raffle committee and the golf committee who do so much to build community. It is the collection counters and all who volunteer their time, talent and treasure. It is where good stewardship is lived.

The parish is the Women’s Club who do much bonding and out-reaching both within and outside the parish confines. It is our Small Christian Communities where our participants harmonize their physical, emotional and spiritual selves. Their empathic listening to one another along with the breath of the Spirit transforms the whole community.

The parish is people leading other people to God. God is reaching down to touch humanity through loving human beings who care about one another. It is where interpersonal ties are strengthened. It is where community is born through prayer and parish breakfasts and suppers. Putnam and Lim advise, “The sermons should be shorter and more suppers should be sponsored.”

The parish proclaims what researchers have discovered, “People who frequently attend religious services are more satisfied with their lives not because they have more friends overall but because they have more friends in their congregations.”

Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is a retired pastor.