Deacon Dan Wright

I Will Remain With You

You reign at the Father's right hand
In the kingdom of his eternal glory
As God's Word from the beginning.

You reign on the Almighty's throne
Also in transfigured human form,
Ever since the completion of your work on earth.

I believe this because your word teaches me so,
And because I believe, I know it gives me joy,
And blessed hope blooms forth from it.

For where you are, there also are your own,
Heaven is my glorious homeland,
I share with you the Father's throne.

The Eternal who made all creatures,
Who, thrice holy, encompasses all being,
In addition has a silent, special kingdom of his own.

The innermost chamber of the human soul
Is the Trinity's favorite place to be,
His heavenly throne on earth.

To deliver this heavenly kingdom from the hand of the enemy,
The Son of God has come as Son of Man,
He gave his blood as the price of deliverance.

In the heart of Jesus, which was pierced,
The kingdom of heaven and the land of earth are bound together.
Here is for us the source of life.

This heart is the heart of the triune Divinity,
And the center of all human hearts
That bestows on us the life of God.

It draws us to itself with secret power,
It conceals us in itself in the Father's bosom
And floods us with the Holy Spirit.

This Heart, it beats for us in a small tabernacle
Where it remains mysteriously hidden
In that still, white host.

That is your royal throne on earth, O Lord,
Which visibly you have erected for us,
And you are pleased when I approach it.

Full of love, you sink your gaze into mine
And bend your ear to my quiet words
And deeply fill my heart with peace.

Yet your love is not satisfied
With this exchange that could still lead to separation:
Your heart requires more.

You come to me as early morning's meal each daybreak.
Your flesh and blood become food and drink for me
And something wonderful happens.

Your body mysteriously permeates mine
And your soul unites with mine:
I am no longer what once I was.

You come and go, but the seed
That you sowed for future glory, remains behind
Buried in this body of dust.

A luster of heaven remains in the soul,
A deep glow remains in the eyes,
A soaring in the tone of voice.

There remains the bond that binds heart to heart,
The stream of life that springs from yours
And animates each limb.

How wonderful are your gracious wonders!
All we can do is be amazed and stammer and fall silent
Because intellect and words fail.

And I Remain With You

Edith Stein - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Philosopher and Martyr

 

FOCA No Threat to Catholic Health Care

After a late night of routine work around the house, my comments will have to be brief.  However, the story speaks for itself and I will be back later for follow up.

Internet rumors to the contrary, no Catholic hospital in the United States is in danger of closing because of the Freedom of Choice Act.

As a matter of fact, the Freedom of Choice Act died with the 110th Congress and, a week after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, has not been reintroduced.

But that hasn't kept misleading e-mails from flying around the Internet, warning of the dire consequences if Obama signs FOCA into law and promoting a "FOCA novena" in the days leading up to Inauguration Day.

The Catholic Health Association "is strongly committed to opposing FOCA and (the board) is unanimous that we would do all we could to oppose it," said Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla., an elected member of the CHA board of trustees since June 2006.

"But there is no plan to shut down any hospital if it passes," he added in a Jan. 26 telephone interview. "There's no sense of ominous danger threatening health care institutions."

Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO, was equally sure that FOCA poses no threat to Catholic hospitals or to the conscience rights of those who work there.

"I don't believe that FOCA will pass, although we will continue to monitor all proposed regulations for their potential to help people in this country and for any negative assault on the life issues," she said.

As introduced in previous congresses, the legislation "has never contained anything that would force Catholic hospitals or Catholic personnel to do abortions or to participate in them," she added.

But even in a worst-case scenario, if the most dire predictions were to materialize and a federal law were to mandate that all hospitals provide abortion services, "I want to make it very clear that Catholic health care will not close and we will not compromise our principles," Sister Carol told Catholic News Service Jan. 26.

If necessary, Catholic hospitals will take a lesson from "how people have dealt with unjust laws" in American history, "and we would respond in the same way," she said.

"A very timely example" of that is segregation, which was backed up by U.S. laws and Supreme Court decisions that were unjust, Sister Carol said. "It was a very long and very painful journey to deal with that and now we have an African-American president," she added.

Some of the confusion over FOCA might arise from the fact that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a long-scheduled postcard campaign to Congress against the possible legislation just as the false Internet rumors were reaching a peak.

The postcards, which are being made available for Catholics to sign at Masses over several weekends in January and February, ask members of Congress to oppose FOCA "or any similar measure, and retain laws against federal funding and promotion of abortion."

"At this time of serious national challenges, Americans should unite to serve the good of all, born and unborn," the postcards say.

Read the entire story here.

Indeed, one of the concerns that I recently heard voiced was that if FOCA were to be enacted Catholic hospitals would have to shut down.  However, I had also heard from a good source that FOCA would only affect government entities but not hospitals, and because of existing contracts even public hospitals run by the Church would not be affected.  However, this is probably up for debate...

Computer Problems

I've had some technical problems recently but I'm still blogging.  I don't usually blog about tech stuff but I figured why not since my particular problem took a good part of last night.  There may be a better solution, but if you ever have this problem you'll know where to go and you'll know that it doesn't hurt to try and do it yourself.  My dad would have been proud of me.

A couple days ago my desktop computer, which runs Vista Home Premium, began to shut down all by itself after about 20 minutes running time--not a crash but a systematic shutdown.  At first I thought it was a virus but on a hunch I took the cover off and discovered four years worth of dust accumulation.  Most likely the problem was overheating, and the websites I found on the problem seemed to confirm it. 

I got as much dirt out of it as possible using canned air until my hand was freezing, but it was still all gunked up.  I unhooked everything and took the computer to the Best Buy near my home where I bought it in 2004.  The Geek Squad guy was really helpful and took the computer out back and cleaned it with compressed air for $20.  It looked close to new inside when he got through with it.  In addition they ran a quick diagnostic at no charge to ascertain that the machine was virus free.  Everything looked good except for some adware that my teenage son had installed.

When I got back home I did the most important piece of work of the night.  I took a Phillips screwdriver and removed four screws from the heatsink and cleaned the CPU.  It wasn't as bad as I expected.  I removed the old silver thermal paste with a Q-Tip, paper towel, and some isopropyl alcohol.  The Geek Squad fellow had sold me a new tube of thermal paste for $15 and told me how to apply it.  After spreading a thin layer of paste on the CPU, I put the four screws back in and reassembled the housing.  Just to make sure that the shut down wasn't caused by a system error I restored it to a month ago and updated the virus profiles.  Now everything is running fine.

The counter manager at Best Buy told me that some motherboards will do a systematic shutdown to prevent thermal damage.  I did get a chance to ask him if I recognized him from my baptism class but he said that he was a Baptist and the son of a minister.  Still, it was good encounter.

Overall I may have saved up to $300 or better by doing it myself.  While I never was good at working on cars, I've discovered that taking computers apart isn't as daunting.  The hardware is basically just plugged in.  Although I don't typically take the cover off my computer, I'm glad I did it last night.  Also, the guy at Geek Squad deserve a big thanks.

Pope Prays for Unity Among Christians

The desire for unity and reconciliation are nothing new, but recently I've started seeing a different dimension of it.  Often the differences between Christians is so marked that it goes far beyond doctrinal and historical disputes.  Often the differences strike at the heart of our greatest values and even makes it hard to see how some who claim Christianity as their faith can rightly do so.

Before I became a Catholic the idea of unity and reconciliation wasn't all that important to me.  Indeed as an Evangelical unity with Catholicism wasn't high on my list of things to pray for--at least from the viewpoint of one having a Protestant ethos, though deep within I heard my spiritual home calling me for years.

As a contrast, I recall 15 years ago, a couple years or so after becoming a Catholic, the idea of ecumenism and unity were utmost in my mind.  I remember having an overwhelming desire to work for unity with those seperated from us.  Perhaps it was because I knew the faith that I had come from was a real faith, though its beliefs and values were quite different from those I had come to claim as my own as a Catholic.

I consider the article I'm blogging today to be timely in that there's been a lot to say recently about the situation of diversity in America--and world abroad too.  Specifically the differences highlighted in the practice of faith and American politics comes to mind.

On Saturday afternoon, at the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Holy Father marked the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by presiding over the second Vespers of the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The Pope reminded his audience that is only by allowing ourselves to be conquered by the love of Christ that true unity can be achieved.

The ceremony, which this year coincided with the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of the Apostle, was attended by cardinals and bishops, as well as by representatives from other Churches and ecclesial communities.

In Pope Benedict’s homily, he reflected upon the conversion of St. Paul, saying "it presents us with a model of, and shows us the way to, full unity" which, "calls for conversion: from division to communion, from a lacerated unity, to a restored and complete unity."

The conversion of the Apostle to the Gentiles "was not a move from immorality to morality, from an erroneous faith to a correct faith, rather it was the fact of being conquered by the love of Christ, of renouncing one's own perfection. It was the humility of one who placed himself unreservedly at the service of Christ for his brothers and sisters. And it is only in this self-renunciation, in this conformity to Christ, that we also become united to one another, that we become 'one' in Christ. It is communion with the risen Christ that gives us unity."

Read the whole story here.

On Hearing the Irresistible Voice

Jesus said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. Mk. 1: 17-18

When we hear Jesus beckoning to us, "Follow me," his words have a power like no other.  His call has the ability to reach into the depths of our souls and rouse us in a way that we cannot resist.  His summons is unlike any other call or voice heard.  It is not like the words of a human voice, or even that of an angel heard in a dream.

Communication with God has the same irresistible quality in every situation where we genuinely seek to make contact with our Lord.  Every situation of life lends itself to being a vehicle for discovering and communicating the divine.

Being open to contact with God enables us to hear the Lord's calling to us in places deep within our souls, in places where we feel the stirring of our whole being.  His holy voice touches us, causing our emotions to well up as we respond to him in the same deep place as where his beckon falls.  His calling out takes hold of our being where we are--at work, at worship, while having dinner, while praying alone in a candlelit chapel, or while placing the Body of Christ in the hands of a child. 

In his contact he grants us a moment of certainty experienced like no other--it is a moment that has the power to extend itself outside time where we will be with God always.  Perhaps we feel compelled to say in return, "I thank you for this moment where I have no doubt, for this special time where I believe as never before."  We hear his soft whisper again and again, "Anything you want...anything, anything."  We respond, "Only for your will to be done for in your will is our perfect pleasure."

In the moment of his calling out and in our faith-filled exchange the greatest of mountains move from our pathways.  Time dissolves and the prayers of the saints echo in our ears--the prayers of our mothers and fathers of long years past.  The simple truths of long ago are made present at once and angels worship alongside us.  Again, we whisper our thank you.

Despite our failings, despite what we have been and failed to be, he loves us and has called out to us.  Today we have heard him speak and have seen his power.  To him we have said, "Speak your words to my soul." No dream could have told what his response would be like.

What a great gift to have heard his calling out, his summons.  In the calm of deep whisperings he grants us the knowledge that we have no need to fear any threat that may come. Indeed come what may, let us rejoice in our saving God--the God who is with us.  The God who knows our names and calls to one of us.

Austin Planned Parenthood Clergy Panel

In late 2002 I spent a year working at an inner-city mission of the Episcopal Church whose primary role in the community was to provide services to undocumented immigrants.  I suppose that being a Catholic deacon on the staff made me something of an anomaly, and I was certainly thought of by the mission leadership as merely a mercenary.  However, I understood that the vast majority of the clients were Catholic, and for me it was a role of ministry, and not so much just a job. 

The point relevant to my post today is that the position at the Episcopal mission brought me into contact with several things that I considered to be strange in terms of my experience of the Christian religion.  Overall it was an extraordinarily educational experience working at the mission.  In my experiences I grew personally and as a minister of service.  I also learned even more that when it comes to doctrine and moral values, there is a world of difference between faith expressions.

During the year that I worked at the mission my co-workers informed me that Planned Parenthood supposedly had Protestant clergy serving in some capacity of oversight.  I was never sure about the claim, but it seemed odd at the time.  I wondered, if it were true, what the reasons behind it were. Also at the mission I worked closely with a former Catholic priest, still a Catholic but married, who told me that he had been offered a leadership position with Planned Parenthood and had refused it on moral grounds.

So the story I found for today, which I present in excerpts, serves to shed some light on Austin's Planned Parenthood clergy relationship.

Late last year, Rabbi Alan Freedman responded to a counseling request for a woman making an agonizing decision. She was terminating her pregnancy in the 19th week of gestation because of severe fetal deformities.

The woman wasn't Jewish, but she told the staff at the Planned Parenthood clinic in South Austin where she was seeking the abortion that she wanted to talk to a member of the clergy before going through with the procedure. Freedman, the chairman of the clergy panel for Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region, asked the woman to tell him about her baby. Then the two planned a ceremony to memorialize the child before the abortion took place.

"This was the end of a precious life," he said.

Freedman later said it was one of the most challenging experiences he'd faced as a rabbi, but it was exactly how he wanted to help. Already a Planned Parenthood board member, he said he knew he and other religious leaders could provide a much-needed spiritual resource for women.

Though religion often marks the battle lines in the abortion debate, clergy involvement at Planned Parenthood, an institution that has long supported abortion rights, is nothing new. One of the founding board members of Austin's Planned Parenthood in 1938 was Rabbi Abraham Goodman of Congregation Beth Israel, the city's largest synagogue.

The clinic has had a chaplain on staff and has helped organize interfaith renewal services for women struggling with abortions they've had and other issues in their past. Planned Parenthood also is creating an outdoor space for spiritual reflection at the South Austin clinic.

The current seven-member clergy panel, formed about a year and a half ago, includes Protestant ministers and a Buddhist priest — all of whom are available not only to Planned Parenthood clients, but to staff members as well.

On a chilly Friday morning early last month, Freedman delivered the panel's message to a Planned Parenthood staff meeting: "God is a loving and a forgiving God"

....Freedman suggested that the [Planned Parenthood staff] strive to be a "nonanxious presence" for clients and to recognize that if a client needs to hear from the clergy, "it's OK; God loves you and will love you at the end of this."

For many clergy members, abortion is a thorny issue, Freedman said, stressing that no one wants to promote it. And the truth is, he added, "you can never say that it's OK. You don't know that. I don't know that."

Though he has not received complaints from his congregation, Temple Beth Shalom in Northwest Austin, Freedman said that he was not representing his synagogue in his role at Planned Parenthood.

But he said he wants women in crisis who are seeking spiritual help to see God as a loving and forgiving force.

The organization's staff and board include people active in a variety of faith traditions. One Christian staff member wears a cross around her neck and has prayed with patients who request it. She said she's not afraid to talk openly about faith.

"If you get the religious people, send them my way..."

....But the idea of spiritual guidance that does not explicitly dissuade a woman from having an abortion is unthinkable to many religious leaders. Bishop Gregory Aymond, who leads the Catholic Diocese of Austin, said he finds the notion particularly troubling, given the other options available to women facing unplanned pregnancies.

The diocese provides resources for pregnant women through Project Gabriel as well as two maternity homes where women can live and learn life and parenting skills. In addition, the diocese offers a confidential ministry called Project Rachel, which counsels men and women with abortions in their past.

Aymond said that women seeking spiritual guidance about an unplanned pregnancy need to hear about these options as well as understand the church's theological position on the sanctity of life in the womb.

He said he would like Catholic Church leaders to participate in the clergy panel at Planned Parenthood to help women "form their conscience so they can take full responsibility for their decision."

"It's more than just saying, 'God will forgive,'" said Aymond, who noted that he has counseled women before and after abortions.

Though he stressed that he's "radically pro-life," Aymond said he would like to sit down with Planned Parenthood leaders and talk about how the diocese might participate in clergy counseling.

Read the entire story

Expanded Role of Religion Under Obama

I was at work yesterday when I checked the news at lunch and noticed the article I'm blogging today.  It had just been released and I recognized immediately that it was good blog material--I would have put it on right away if that had been possible.  I thought the story made an important observation, one that went along well with what I mentioned in yesterday's post--that the role of religion was noticeably pronounced at the presidential inauguration.  It also reminded me of what I had said in my January 12 post, Faith and Politics on the Right.

After decades of ceding God to the GOP, at least in the public square, Democrats – with President Obama in the lead – are speaking with a fuller religious voice. The watchword? Inclusiveness.

It's a voice that signals openness at a time when diversity in American religious life is rising.

"We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and nonbelievers," Mr. Obama said in Tuesday's inaugural address.

Wednesday's National Prayer Service, a tradition since George Washington's inauguration, featured faith leaders chosen "to symbolize America's traditions of religious tolerance and freedom," said the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee. It included, for the first time, a sermon delivered by a woman.

For Obama, the broad outreach into the faith community isn't confined to ceremonies but is emerging as a key element in his approach to coalition-building, say religious leaders who worked on the transition.

"Barack Obama is himself a person of faith, but he also believes that the faith community has a real role to play in creating the kind of social change we need now," says the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, a network of Christian social activists.

Indeed, religious groups have been broadly advising the Obama transition team on issues ranging from poverty to criminal justice to foreign policy. "To move from a consuming, polluting, poverty-creating economy to one that conserves, is a good steward of the environment, and focuses on bringing people out of poverty, that's more than a structural crisis, it's a spiritual one," says Mr. Wallis.

Obama's predisposition to stake a big tent that includes a broad range of faith traditions has been evident early.

Continue reading

It's important to bear in mind that religious inclusiveness doesn't equate with pluralism in the sense that all things are equal.  It's quite possible and even commendable to have an inclusive attitude toward the faith expressions of others.  In fact such an attitude is the backbone of ecumenical dialogue.  Our being inclusive of others beliefs and values does not suggest that we adopt their beliefs as our own, but that we approach one another with the recognition that although we differ we should show tolerance and respect toward one another even when our differences cause us to disagree sharply.

The article goes on to quote Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University who says, "there's a possibility that Democrats are going to end up being more religious than Republicans."  I believe that such a statement holds some merit when we consider the overall religious makeup of the United States and the real possibility that the administration will promote an inclusive expression of faith. 

Often within particular expressions of faith we have a tendency to be inward looking--not always being aware of the vast variety of faith expressions or their values, which often differ from ours.  However, as I learned years ago in interfaith work--and by studying with Protestants--there's a big segment of society that considers itself to be strongly religious and that does not identify with evangelicalism or the religious right.  Nor do they identify with the values of Catholicism, which is perhaps less surprising.  

I recall how I felt when I first learned that one of the major denominations in my state has a pro-choice statement, while also claiming in the same statement to remain essentially anti-abortion. Of course for Catholics and evangelicals this is difficult to understand.  However, while we may rightly disagree with such beliefs and statements they still remain as part of the plural expression of the American religious tapestry--an expression with which I can easily see democrats being comfortable. 

Again, being inclusive of other faiths in no way means that we must adopt morally unacceptable positions.  Rather I tend more to think of true inclusivity as also having to do with the unwavering celebration of our particular religious identity, doctine, and values.  A truly inclusive environment demands a respectful attitude and tolerance for each faith expression, and it acts as a safeguard against persecution, ignornace, and prejudice.

Over time it will be interesting to observe how much of the attention to religion was merely part of the inaugural pageantry, and how much will carry over into the administration's long-term identity.

Pope Offers New President Blessing

I realize that it comes as something of an afterthought to blog this on the day following the presidential inauguration.  However, it's important that we must continually follow the Holy Father's example and uphold our leaders in prayer.

Pope Benedict XVI gave Barack Obama his blessing and prayed for his "unfailing wisdom and strength" in a telegram sent Tuesday before the U.S. presidential inauguration.

Benedict urged Obama to remember the "the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice" and to stick to his pledge to work for peace.

"I offer cordial good wishes, together with the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you unfailing wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high responsibilities," the telegram said.

The text was made public a few hours before Obama was to be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.

"Under your leadership, may the American people continue to find in their impressive religious and political heritage the spiritual values and ethical principles needed to cooperate in the building of a truly just and free society," the pope told Obama.

Continue

As I watched the inauguration with my high school class yesterday, I recognized a deep spiritual presence, not only in the prayers and in the mention of God in President Obama's address, but in the visible expressions on individual faces--it was an awe inspiring event!

Though we may find that as Catholics we have several points to disagree with in regard to the new president's policy, we should uphold him in our prayers and ask that the Almighty move upon him.  Indeed America does have an impressive religious and political heritage, and the Obama presidency connects us in a real way to the spiritual struggle of a people and nation torn apart in civil war a century and a half ago, as well as all that followed.  The cry of the world is still for freedom.  When we seek God the meaning of that cry and the appropriate response to it will become apparent.

Eight Year Old Autistic Student Arrested

Here is a mind-boggling story if I ever saw one.  Having formerly been an elementary special education teacher (now working in a high school), I couldn't help but feel appalled.  Furthermore, being the parent of 10-year-old who has a very similar condition as the child in the news story brought it painfully close to home.  I sympathize with the child's parents.

The mother of an 8-year-old autistic girl who was arrested after a scuffle with her teachers said it was horrifying to watch her daughter be led away in handcuffs from her northern Idaho elementary school.

Police in Bonner County, Idaho, charged the girl, Evelyn Towry, with battery after the arrest Friday at Kootenai Elementary School.

Even though prosecutors dismissed the case Tuesday, the family is considering legal action against the school. They say their daughter was physically restrained to the point of causing bruises and is now tormented by memories of the incident.

Spring Towry said she got to the school Friday just in time to see 54-pound Evelyn -- who was diagnosed at age 5 with Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism -- being walked to a police car with two officers at her side.

"She started screaming 'Mommy, I don't want to go! What are batteries? What are batteries?'" Towry said. "She didn't even know what she was arrested for."

Towry, who lives in Ponderay, said Evelyn told her that she had been refused entry into a school Christmas party that had been delayed until after the holidays because of a string of snow days, because she refused to take off her beloved "cow costume" -- a hoodie with cow ears and a tail.

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From the viewpoint of being both a parent and a teacher I can't begin see how things got so far out of hand that the police had to be called.  Typically school officials--both administrators and special education teachers--are required to undergo a yearly training to learn the warning signs of, and responses to, behavior that's about to get out of control.  Typically also, there would be a crisis team or perhaps several individuals trained in non-violent means of addressing such behavior. 

Often kids with an autism spectrum disorder will grow strongly attached to objects.  It was likely that this was the case with the girl's cow costume (it sounds like it may have only been a jacket).  Taking something away from a child with autism can amount to taking away something as important as a body part in the estimation of the child.  It's difficult to understand why there wasn't awareness of this.

I know that it's easy to sit back and say what could have been or should have been done, and I know well the difficulties that educators face in working with children who have cognitive and neurological disabilities.  However, I also know that when there are students who are prone to acting out their behavior, whether it's because of communication difficulties or something else, there must be a plan in place to address it, and I've never even remotely heard of the police having to be called to handle an 8-year-old who has a mental disability. 

I find it hard to believe that no one knew the student well enough to have such a plan in place and to realize that the student's response to an either/or ultimatum would not be the same as it would with a neurotypical child.

Perhaps what bothers me most is that somewhere there is someone--someone in authority--who believes that the correct response to the disability-related behavior of a second or maybe third grader is to have her arrested for it and charged with a crime.

Here I am Lord

As I sat down last night to compose what was to be a short blog post for today there were several things that were on my mind.  Certainly I was feeling appreciative to have another day off this weekend, and I considered that too often I take days off for granted. 

Many years ago, before I was married, and before I was a deacon and a teacher, the kinds of jobs I had typically involved physical labor of one kind or another.  It seems that having an extra day to rest had more value then, though don't get me wrong I still value it greatly.  It's just now that it has a different character--this day off gives more of an opportunity to reflect.

Also as I was thinking about today's post I was considering the readings from Sunday.  Perhaps it's the sign of having heard a successful homily when the readings have the power to impress something on us that we can carry through the week.  Undoubtedly I heard a good homily, but the readings by themselves also have the power to do this all on their own when we listen and when we learn to allow what we hear become part of who we are.

As I listened to the priest talk about the importance of hearing the call--and not just for vocations to the priesthood or religious life alone, though that is an important part of it--I thought about the person that Americans and others throughout the world celebrate today.  That is, I thought about Martin Luther King Jr. and the call he heard to address the great injustices of his world.  It's something that we as Catholics should relate to well because our social justice teachings demand that we too stand up for the causes of justice and take the side of those who are least powerful in this world. Surely Martin Luther King Jr. heard such a call, and he acted with determination in its regard.

It becomes more and more apparent with each passing day that the times we live in demand strong action on our part.  Many of the things that Martin Luther King Jr. struggled against still make their presence felt in our world.  In addition we live in times that demand both action and prayer if humanity is to survive, and ironically it is humanity that poses the greatest threat to its own existence.

Hearing the call of the Lord, and answering "Here I am," means that we must put all of our intellect and resources together to effectively address the complex issues we face.  I believe wholeheartedly that the Christian faith still possesses the ability to continue to be a force that shapes the world.  Our faith can still satisfy the souls of the spiritually hungry as well as those who hunger physically.  We still possess the ability to show the love of God to the world.  By no means is our respect for the sacred nature of God's creation and the human person ineffectual, rather it is a necessity.

Indeed we stand on the brink of a new era, which on the eve of President Obama's inauguration we may see more clearly than at other times.  While the Obama presidency symbolizes the fulfillment, at least in part, of King's dream that humanity would stand together without regard to race, this new era is yet to be an era of great challenge, not only in terms of how we regard others but to what lengths we are willing to go to in order to preserve humanity and our world. Indeed the times demand a spirit of cooperation, but for us as Christians they demand that our evangelization must express and precipitate the sheer power of the God who is love to reach into the world and to transform it utterly into something new and full of goodness.

As I take the day off from my work as a teacher I reflect on the call--no simple matter really--and how I might answer it better.  In reflecting on how in my own life I can say "Here I am Lord," I am reflecting also on how I can join with you to bring about a kingdom of peace where we will no longer destroy the handiwork of God.