John Wayne, "The Cardiac Catholic"

“I never wanted to live as a Catholic, but I always wanted to die as one.”

John Wayne is the quintessential 5:00 laborer. You could call him Duke of the Deathbed. He lived his life exactly as he wanted: played football at USC, became an actor, got rich, had three wives, and won an Academy Award. And when the time came for his death in 1979, the Archbishop of Panama came to his hospital room and baptized him a Catholic. Through his Baptism all his sin was wiped away, and he rode off into the sunset, a pilgrim who reached his destination.

Wow. It seems unfair really that someone who referred to himself as a “Cardiac Catholic” gets off Scott-free while the rest of us have been trying our whole lives to labor in the field for Christ. And honestly, when you hear of someone like John Wayne who did whatever he wanted throughout his life getting into Heaven, you can start to wonder what’s the point? Why am I putting all this hard work into living a holy life?

I think we can all sympathize with the 6:00 workers in today’s Gospel who received the same wage as those who had worked only an hour. At the end of the day, sore from harvesting, sunburned from the hot son overhead, they line up to receive the wages they worked hard for. And then here come these additional workers all throughout the day who have been standing around idly waiting, some of them only working one full hour before the day is through—and they get the usual daily wage! The 6:00 workers are excited; if someone who only worked an hour got the daily wage, then imagine what a full day employee might get! But no, they’re shocked and angered to discover that they receive the usual daily wage as well! How could the landowner be so unfair?!

We all know that these parables Jesus tells us have a deeper meaning behind them. We know that the landowner is Jesus himself and that the field is the world we live in. The length of the day is really our time on earth, and if we respond to his invitation to work (which is really to love him), the wage we receive is entry into heaven forever with him. So really we should be thankful that the Lord goes out throughout the day to get more people to work in the field, because when they respond that’s more and more people entering into eternal happiness with Him. Even if there are people like John Wayne who show up at the last minute, we should be thankful they showed up and received what we’ve been working for our whole lives.

But still the question remains: why are we working so hard when all these other people get in under the wire? What’s the point of it all?

Each person who responds to God’s love and renounces the sin in their life receives their wage at the end of their lives, the gift of eternal salvation. But we have to remember that there’s more to heaven than just getting in. The more we live our lives as true laborers of the Lord, the greater capacity we will have in receiving Him in this world and in the next. Look at Mary, the Queen of Heaven, for example: she receives far more of heaven than John Wayne does because her capacity is greater; during her time on earth she did works which allowed her to merit even more graces in the Kingdom. The same goes for us as well. Instead of just waiting around waiting to be hired, the more we help to build up the Kingdom, the more capacity we will have to receive the love of the Trinity forever. Shouldn’t we want to receive as much love as possible instead of just the usual daily wage?

We also need to remember how much the Lord desires to have the whole world receive his love and salvation. Since we have been blessed to know Jesus at this point in our lives, we need to be “The Searchers” and work to seek the Lord and help all we know to seek him in their lives as well. This is why St. Paul says it is better for him to stay on earth now, because he wants to spread the Good News to all nations. Think of how many John Waynes there are out there who weren’t blessed to receive the graces of Baptism or Reconciliation on their deathbeds. We, the 6:00 workers, need to show “True Grit” and work hard to share the Gospel with as many people as possible. Let’s continue to pray for one another as we seek to receive our lasting joy forever in Heaven.

Here’s a quote from the movie The Alamo, where John Wayne plays Davy Crocket. While he was years off from his conversion, these lines speak to today’s Gospel:

It was like I was empty. Well, I'm not empty anymore. That's what's important…. Now I may sound like a Bible beater…but that don't change the truth none. There's right and there's wrong. You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you're living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you're dead as a beaver hat.

It's Time to Depend on Christ

"So because you are lukewarm, neither hot not cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, 'I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,' and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." (Revelation 3:16-17)

If you read the newspaper, then you know the world is plagued with injustice, corruption, hatred, and sin. Why does evil continue to plague our world? One possible reason: we live our lives in passivity; we are lukewarm. How often have I think to myself, my corner of the world is fine. I'll let someone else worry about solving famine, racism, and poverty.

Christians are not to be lukewarm, but on fire with the love of Christ. That fire enlivens us to live, as Saint Ignatius said, "en todo, amar y servir" (in everything, loving and serving). Christ's burning love calls us to share in the sufferings and struggles of the world's hated and marginalized people.

Anyone we call "those people" belong to Christ. Those nameless immigrants that clean our schools, cook our food, and mow our lawns are Christ's co-workers. Those tattoo-ed gang bangers that comb the forgotten parts of our cities are Christ's sons. Those homeless bums that loiter around our ballparks and arenas are Christ's friends. "Those people" are really "Christ's People."  

If we desire to call ourselves "Christians," then "Those People" must be "Our People." At our best, we truly are our brother's keeper. We care for his weakness. We listen to her struggle. We feel his shame. We attend to her needs. We pray for his soul. Anything less is living a lukewarm faith.

Most of us, when we are honest, have grown weary of our world's participation with injustice, our contentment with sin. Evil is draining. I think that it's time to depend even more on Christ, to know our poverty so as to know His love all the more.

At World Youth Day in Madrid, Pope Benedict gave a speech to seminarians gathered from around the world. Fully aware of the evils of this world, we are nevertheless committed to Christ's command: love. Pope Benedict's words, although directed toward seminarians, bear much truth worth sharing with all:

"Ask [Christ] to let you imitate him in his perfect charity towards all, so that you do not shun the excluded and sinners, but help them convert and return to the right path. Ask him to teach you how to be close to the sick and the poor in simplicity and generosity. Face this challenge without anxiety or mediocrity, but rather as a beautiful way of living our human life in gratuitousness and service, as witnesses of God made man, messengers of the supreme dignity of the human person and therefore its unconditional defenders."

As Christians, we are all baptized priest, prophet, and king––we give our whole being to Christ. That is, we serve, we sanctify, we lead, we proclaim the reign of God to the greatest, the least, and everyone in between. We must not be lukewarm, but on fire with the Spirit. Our brothers and sisters––the addict, the cripple, the depressed, the unborn, the exploited, the migrant––are calling for us to share the Spirit. Let us go. Let us share faith, hope, and love with the world. Let us go while knowing of the grace that comes from the Father, through intimacy with the Son.

A Founder's Feast

Happy feast of Saint Ignatius, the founder of the Society of Jesus!

The Spiritual Exercises were possibly Ignatius' greatest gift to the spiritual life of the Church. The Spiritual Exercises originated from Ignatius' lived experiences in Manresa, Spain. Filled with graces from his experience, Ignatius gave his new retreat to all he felt would benefit from it. To this day thousands if not millions of people participate in the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius in one of its various forms.

The Spiritual Exercises along with the example of Ignatius' life remind us that no matter how different, unique, or confused our lives seem to be, when properly aligned, they have a specific role and task in the Church--the faith-filled body of Christian believers. That task is to know Christ more intimately so that we may live in his love more fully and inspire others, through the graces of the Holy Spirit, to do the same. In this we will make ourselves ever more open to God's powerful and saving love. Our lives cease to be first and foremost about "Me" and start to become about "Us, who are united with Christ to the love of the Father."

Just the other day I came across this quote from Pope Benedict in his book, Called to Communion (p33). While Benedict writes specifically on the being of the Church, the passage is very much inspired by the spirituality and wisdom regarding the Body of Christ--the Church--that comes from the Spiritual Exercises.

"Through Baptism, says St. Paul, we are inserted into Christ and united with him as a single subject; no longer many alongside one another but 'one only in Christ Jesus' (Gal 3:16, 26-29). . . . The ultimate goal at which this gathering [the Church] aims is perfect unity--it is 'unification' with the Son, which at the same time makes it possible to enter into the living unity of God himself, so that God might be all in all (1 Cor 15:28).

Please pray in a special way today for the companions within the Society of Jesus, that they may be united ever more closely with Jesus and that that union may shine forth in all the works they do to the ends of the earth.

Martha, Martha, Martha!

Today's the feast day of St. Martha, one of the patroness saints of my family. But first, let's recap the life of this wonderful saint:

Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. They lived in Bethany, just east of Jerusalem. As friends of Jesus, she and her siblings would play host to the Lord from time-to-time. We hear about one occasion in Luke's Gospel, where the preparations are left to Martha as everyone visits with Jesus. Martha says to Him:

Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.

A reasonable request, right? But listen to what Jesus says in reply:

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

Ouch.

I've always thought Martha's gotten a bad rap, not by Jesus, but by others who talk about her. My mom told us as kids, "Yes, but Martha would have been able to sit down sooner if someone had helped her!" The Marthas of the world, we were told, were the ones that got things done, that got Thanksgiving Dinner on the table. Thank God for Marthas, I say!

I think my mom makes a good point, one that helps us to remember that we need to balance both/and in order to be the best followers of Jesus we can.

A lot of times, though, we've got the "Martha part" of discipleship down. We know how to volunteer, to organize, to help people rich or poor in their needs. We attend Mass, go to the pancake breakfasts and all the rest, but when it comes to the "Mary part," the quiet, contemplative prayer, we panic. How do we even begin when we've got so much going on?

Mary chose the better part because she realizes that all the other activities are useless unless they're rooted in prayer, in the meal that we receive from Christ. St. Augustine says that, in Heaven, "we shall not feed others, we ourselves shall be fed." On earth we need to begin to allow God to work in us, not just for us to work for Him. That's the "one thing" Jesus mentions to Martha: Himself. It's also why it's important for us to begin now, to allow Jesus to be our True Host! But how?

Ask yourself these questions: When you're busiest time comes along (school, work), how's your prayer life? Do you bring Christ with you into those situations, allowing Him to sanctify each moment of the day? Do you allow Him to speak to you, to help you through conflict, to guide you to solutions? This is the best of both of the siblings: it's allowing Mary and Martha to shine through, to pray through the day, resting at His feet while moving through life.

St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that when we're involved in active life, we have to be sure to take the contemplative life with us. This is called active contemplation. Since most of us are not called to spend our days in meditation in chapel, we are called to make our lives a prayer, to make prayer the foundation upon which we build our daily lives. That way we hopefully won't be "anxious and worried about many things" as Martha was!

So, if you're a Martha (like I am), remember that your good works aren't in vain; we just have to root them in prayer and love of Jesus. Martha must have listened to Jesus because now she's a saint! Let's pray to her for guidance through our busy lives!

St. Martha enamel by Anne Murphy.

"God Doesn't Like Crap in Art"

It's true.

The title of this post is a quote from J.F. Powers, a short story writer from the mid-Twentieth Century. He's also the topic of my Master's Thesis for completion of an M.A. in Theology. To my dismay, hardly anyone has heard of him. Oftentimes when people ask me my topic I fumble the explanation because I want so badly for others to understand precisely why this unknown author merits any of our time (or why I'm developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome).

First, a brief bio: J.F. Powers (no relation to our Sean, SJ, by the way) was born in Illinois in 1917. High school graduate, Pacifist, imprisoned for conscientiously objecting World War II, and writer for The Catholic Worker, Powers lived according to his religious convictions and desired to enact change amidst what glaring injustices he witnessed. He was also fascinated by the leaders of his Catholic faith, those priests who served as mediators between God and humanity, who tried to save souls while bumbling along themselves, worthless if not for, as Powers titled one of his short stories, "The Presence of Grace." While both activist and author, the latter proved to be Powers' true calling, his way of engaging the world.

"I think God likes humor. I think there's too much of it for it just to be an accident."

Powers uses his craft to address a seemingly age-old anomaly: why would God entrust His Church to a bunch of fishermen and tax collectors? For centuries we've seen corruption, greed, sin after sin by these priests who have been called by Christ in spite of their flaws and failings. Powers takes this query and with a typewriter has hammered out a little corpus of stories which pokes fun but inevitably answers the question by saying: "Somewhere along the line something has to happen. Grace has to take over. It can happen in as many different ways as there are people."

Grace. Grace is what transfigures each of us, makes us true instruments for the vineyard. God takes us and invites us, more and more each day, to grow closer to Him. Powers mirrors this in his characters, allowing them to decide who they will choose to serve: God or Mammon. This is most obviously seen in Powers' celebrated novel, 1963's National Book Award winner, Morte D'Urban, the tale of a religious order priest who is sent out to the country by the provincial so his love of power, cars, money, booze, cigars, and desiring the provincial's job can be checked. Eventually Powers serves up the needed Pauline conversion, but instead of being knocked off a horse, Fr. Urban receives a blow to the head from the Archbishop's sliced golf ball. Sometimes conversions can be painful!

Through satire and irony Powers helps us to laugh but also to recognize in ourselves some of the similarities to his characters. As one bishop wrote Powers, "Throughout eighty percent of that novel I saw myself in the shoes of Father Urban very graphically, not to say painfully!" I won't ruin the novel, but Father Urban discovers through his "death" that there is more to life than what he held dear. Of course, with Powers, the satire is laid on quite thick. As we laugh through his work it is possible to laugh at ourselves and then to, as Powers suggests, respond to the presence of grace that Christ has given to us.

So that's what I've been working on this year. If you're interested in a fun read, check out J.F. Powers' Morte D'Urban. Hopefully you'll agree with me that his work is, well, befitting of this post's title.

Have a blessed summer!

God's Rules from Art

"Connoisseur" by Norman Rockwell

"Not all [people] are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece." ---John Paul II's 1999 Letter to Artists

Art is powerful. Art stimulates our minds, enlivens our hearts, and moves our souls toward something greater. It engages and influences us in subtle way we often overlook.

As a Jesuit and as a painter, I have come to appreciate the rich similarities shared between the creation of art and the formation of our Christian life. Here are four parallel qualities worth sharing:

1.) "It's all relative." Perspective. (side note: I say "It's all relative" merely to refer to perspective. To be a "relativist" in the world of philosophy is about as low as it gets.) Hear me out: when producing a piece of art, everything relates to something else in the piece. The Mona Lisa's iconic face is only as powerful as the shoulders upon which it rests are complimentary. Our schedules, friends, tasks, and jobs change constantly. While God remains the same loving Father of us all, we are constantly in flux. We so easily lose ourselves in the messiness of life. But God is forever at work in the world in the big ways and the small. Spend some time, pray, reflect, acknowledge the goods in your life and you will see that all created things point to one focal center: God.

2.) Michelangelo's work really is priceless. Grace. Whether it's one of Michelangelo's sculptures or Mozart's symphonies, we know grace when we experience it. Grace has no calculable value. Grace is priceless. No artist can quantify their emotional involvement in a work. No parent tallies up how much they spend on their child's development. When we have a "moment of grace" life's goodness explodes out of the confines of routine. Our hearts catch on fire, our minds dance with hope, and our bodies respond feeling more alive than ever. Grace, properly received is cared for, tended, and shared with the world. It spreads quickly because people yearn for it.

3.) Colors like "Dioxazine Purple" exist and are important. Vivacity. I know a high school art teacher who would always command to his freshmen, "Use more purple!" Sure enough, a dash of purple and the student's artwork would come to life. Experiencing new places, people, and ideas only brings us greater knowledge and spiritual depth. There are about as many expressions of Catholicism as there are Catholics in the world. Sometimes those expressions and documents are as obscure as the names of the colors on an artist's palette, but they nevertheless bring our religious expression even greater life. The more we know of whom the Church consists, the more we understand the Church. The more we understand the Church, the greater intimacy we share with its bridegroom–Jesus Christ. The more intimate we are with Christ the more fully alive we become.

4.) Contemporary art isn't stupid. Mystery. "I don't get it" may very well be the most whispered phrase in any art museum's section of contemporary art. Why is it that such mysterious works of art hold so much value and worth? Is contemporary art just some scheme devised from lazy bourgeois artists? Catholics and non-Catholics alike ask questions of the faith not too far off from those about art: Really, you think that bread and wine is Jesus' real body and blood? God really comes to us in each of those seven sacraments? Is this not just a ploy from the church to get people to stay Catholic? Mystery is one of the most uncomfortable aspects of the human experience. It is also foundational for the Christian faith. Mystery, just because it is curious and uncomfortable, is not meant to be hidden and rejected, but embraced and celebrated. Jesus, by his life and resurrection, made the mysteries that surround God something which we can touch and know (even if we will never fully understand it).

Feast Day

A blessed feast day to you all!

Today is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, two apostles sent forth to spread the love of Christ throughout the world. They're two of the more well-known saints out there; Peter, the first pope, answered Jesus' call along the seashore and followed Him to His death on the Cross, a death he would undergo for the sake of Christ and His Church a few decades later. Paul, formerly a persecutor of the early Church, took to the cities far from Judea, preaching Christ and the hope of eternal salvation and penning some of the most beautiful letters we're blessed to hear at Mass and read in the Bible. Paul, too, would end up offering his life for Jesus and the Church He founded. These two men knew what it meant to be disciples of the Lord!

For some time I've had a special devotion to these two saints. As I learn about their lives or read their letters in Scripture, I'm always drawn to the fact that they didn't always have it put together. One professed but then denied; another was a murderer of Christians. They fell flat on their faces in the midst of their attempts to follow Jesus, either failing to preach effectively or missing the overall. But Christ called them just the same. Well aware of their weaknesses and relying on the mercy of God alone, they did remarkable things in Jesus' name. They, like us, are proof that "God can write straight with crooked lines!"

As Sean and his brother Jesuits blaze the East Coast with the "Hearts on Fire" retreats this summer, I can't help but be drawn to the image of St. Paul, preaching far and wide about the love of Christ to those who may not have experienced it before. It's an image I've used before for the vocation Sean has to the Society of Jesus; I think it fits, too, because of St. Ignatius' desire that his sons present Christ to the whole world, just as Paul was. What a blessing to have so many disciples following after this early apostle, preaching to the nations!

And as for myself, I look to St. Peter as a model for perseverance in the faith. Called early in Jesus' ministry, always longing to please the Lord, but not always trusting, having patience, or understanding, Peter is for me an example of how the Lord is willing--and can--work through any soul if we're willing to respond to His grace. I'm not always sure why He has called me to serve in this way, or how I got to this point, but in my prayer I echo the words of St. Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life!"

Let's pray to these great saints today as we celebrate their feast, that we may grow in response to God's invitation to spread the Good News throughout the world!