The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception- Dec. 8

(La Purísima Inmaculada Concepción by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1678, now in Museo del Prado, Spain)

This is probably one of the most misunderstood celebrations in the Catholic Church- for both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

First- a quick explanation.... while the Immaculate Conception is USUALLY a holy day of obligation (meaning we are obligated to attend Mass- or a vigil- for the day), the obligation is waived if the holy day falls on a Saturday or a Monday. HOWEVER, since Our Lady, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is patroness of the United states, it is still a hold day for those of us in America.

The confusion about exactly what we are celebrating stems from two things: the atrocious lack of decent catechesis from the mid 1960's on, although there are some good, faithful and educated catechists out here. Really- there are.  The other problem is the choice of the Gospel reading for the day: Luke 1:26-38... the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary.

You see, the Immaculate Conception does have something to do with that moment in scripture ( see The Visitation ) ... but not the way most people imagine.

The Immaculate Conception we are talking about is not the conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is part of the Virgin Birth. The Immaculate Conception to which we refer is the conception of Mary in her mother's womb. (Count forward nine months and you will find the Church celebrates the birthday of Mary on September 8th)

Now, before my non-Catholic friends get bent out of shape, the Church teaches that Mary was conceived the good old-fashioned way: through the marital embrace of her parents. By tradition, we call them Anne and Joachim.

The difference between Mary's conception and ours is that at the moment of her conception, by the merits of Jesus Christ and through a singular act of grace, she was kept free of the stain of original sin.

In fact, Gabriel's greeting to Mary tells us there was, indeed, something very special about this young woman: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!. Full of grace.... if she was full of grace, there was no room for unsavory things- like sin.

Ah, you may say- but in Luke 1:47, Mary clearly says, "My spirit rejoices in God my savior." Mary needed a savior, so she could not have been sinless. Bam!

Step back for a moment and imagine.... You are walking through a dark woods and you fall into a deep pit filled with muck and slime and goo. I come along and pull you out. Did I save you? Yes.   Now imagine that right before you fall into the pit, I block your path and keep you from falling in. Did I save you? Yep, sure did.

...and that is what happened with Mary. The Lord saved Mary by preserving her from original sin.

And where is that in scripture? Well, we'll start by saying that nowhere in scripture does it say that everything about the Christian faith is contained in scripture. Nowhere. Even if it did, the canon of scripture was not even settled until the Council of Rome in 392, under Pope Damasus. So any reference to scripture contained in scripture can only refer to the Hebrew Scriptures. That is another topic for another day.

What is crucial here is nothing about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is contrary to scripture.

Some people will argue that there was no need for Mary to have been so created. Perhaps- though here is a story that illustrate why God may have chosen to do so.

               Once upon a time, a baker decided to show his gratitude to the Lord for the blessings he had been given. He talked it over with his wife, and they decided they would make an offering of loaves of bread. The baker took the bread to the temple, placed the loaves before the ark, then departed. The caretaker came by and found the bread. Furious, he gathered the loaves and took them to the rabbi, "Look! Someone has desecrated the ark!" The rabbi realized the bread was an offering, and the donor meant no harm. He told the caretaker to give the bread to the poor.
              The following week, the baker returned with fresh loaves, intending to replace the old ones. When he saw the first bread was gone, he was excited and ran home to tell his wife that the Lord had accepted their gift. Later, the caretaker came again, and again found the bread, and again was enraged. Again, he took the bread to the rabbi, who told him to give the bread to the poor.
               A week later, the caretaker had had enough. He hid, waiting for the mysterious bread delivery. When the baker entered, the caretaker jumped out and the baker dropped the loaves as the caretaker chased him from the temple. The rabbi- who witnessed what had happened- picked up the loaves with tears in his eyes, knowing the baker would never return again with bread...and that the families who had received the loaves would be hungry.

I heard this story in a homily many years ago. It had nothing to do with the context in which I use it here, but it makes a point.
           Why was the caretaker upset? The presence of the worldly, common bread was not appropriate before the ark. Why? The ark was the holiest place in the temple, it contained the Torah: the Word of God.

Looking back to the original ark- the Ark of the Covenant (check Exodus 25 for the details)- we can see that God demanded the finest materials: gold, silver, bronze... fabrics dyed violet, purple and scarlet- the most expensive dyes...spices, oils and gemstones. The materials had to be the best.... God would dwell there. And no one messed with the Ark, or else. ( warning: graphic content!)

(Some of you see where I am going here...)

Where was the first dwelling place of God Made Man, the Word of God made Flesh, Jesus Christ? The womb of Mary, his mother. It is only good and right and just that his first earthly dwelling be as perfect as possible.

As God, he did just that.

Now, some history behind the Immaculate Conception.....

There is evidence that Mary's pureness and holiness was celebrated as early as the 5th century,  however  the formal proclamation of the Immaculate Conception took place in 1856:

     We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 

      the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in 

      virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all 

      stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be 

      believed by all the faithful.

                 —Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854

As with many formal declarations of the Church ( and other, more worldly institutions), they do not appear out of thin air. They are part of what is called the development of doctrine, an unfolding of the truths of the faith. Such declarations are meant to put in one place the belief of the Church, and usually correct errors that tend to creep into un-formalized teachings. (note the painting above was done nearly 200 years before the formal proclamation)   Martin Luther, who initiated the Protestant Reformation, said: "Mary is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil" (Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968)

In 1858 in Lourdes, France, a 14 year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous saw a vision of a beautiful woman. The woman told Bernadette, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Bernadette had no idea what this meant; it was not a term a peasant child would have heard.

In 1792, Bishop John Carrol (first bishop of the United States) placed our country under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is the largest Catholic Church in the United States, the 8th largest religious structure in the world, and is well worth your time on a visit to DC...even if you are not Catholic.

So, if you stuck with me to this point- I hope you learned something...or at least found words that will help you explain this beautiful part of our Catholic faith.

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The Third Glorious Mystery- Pentecost

The Third Glorious Mystery- Pentecost

Acts 2

Just as we celebrate Christmas for nearly 2 weeks after December 25th, we can't be content to give Easter just one day. The Church celebrates Pentecost on the 8th Sunday of Easter ( which is the 7th Sunday after Easter, 50 days- hence, PENTEcost), the entire time between Easter Sunday and Pentecost is the Easter season.

It is so much fun to wish everyone "Merry Christmas" after January 1st, and "Happy Easter" well after all the chocolate bunnies have met their demise! Try it sometime....

Pentecost is actually a Jewish feast ( this will be important to remember next paragraph). Recall that Jesus' death and resurrection occurred at the time of the Passover feast... giving a Christian meaning to the shedding of the Blood of the Lamb to save the people. Immediately after the first Passover, what did the Israelites do? They left Egypt and began their Exodus.

And what happened as they began that journey? Moses went up the mountain ( think back to the blog entry here on the Transfiguration) and received the Ten Commandments. Fifty days after the Passover. That is why there were Jews from all over in Jerusalem in Acts 2: they were there to celebrate Pentecost, the giving of the Law. It is called the Festival of Weeks, and is considered by many Jews to be the birthday of their religion. (remember that!)

So, Jesus' disciples were gathered together and a "noise like a strong, driving wind" came and "tongues as of fire" came to rest on each of them ( Acts 2:2-3).  We know the fire was the Holy Spirit... but remember the Jewish feast? Immediately before giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, we read in Exodus 19:18, "Mount Sinai was all wrapped up in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire. "  The presence of the Lord, symbolized by fire.

Then the disciples began speaking in "foreign tongues." "Staying in Jerusalem at the time were devout Jews of every nation under heaven. These heard the sound and assembled in a large crowd. They were much confused because each one heard the men speaking in his own language." (Acts 2: 5-6)

Think about this for a moment... the listeners could each understand what the disciples were saying. 

****The following I say as my own observation about the event: the miracle of Pentecost was not the gift of speaking in tongues, it was that everyone understood.  I make this point because I have been present at conferences and prayer gatherings of Catholic and ostensibly rational people who announce "I am going to speak in tongues now," as if they can turn the Holy Spirit on and off like a light switch.  I even had one woman tell me that I did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling because I have never spoken in tongues.  Well, I gotta tell you, I believe the Lord God can do anything he pleases, whenever he pleases. I also believe that speaking in tongues ( known as glossolalia ) is pointless unless the people understand the message. I am more likely to listen to someone filled with the Holy Spirit speaking words I can take to heart than I am to someone who claims the un-intelligible words they mutter are of God...because we just never know.  *****

In  the first week of December of 2008, I was planning a retreat for the 7th and 8th graders I was taking to Washington DC for the March for Life. It was an overnight lock-in that I dubbed the "Lock-in for LIFE." Throughout the evening, we were going to have a LIFE marathon, with game sessions interspersed with discussions about the various life issues we face as Catholic Christians: genocide, euthanasia, death penalty, suicide, birth control, pre-marital sex, and- of course- abortion.  Forty youth were supposed to be there, so I needed SEVEN  LIFE games, and with so many varieties, I knew I just needed to buy them, I didn't want to deal with different sets of rules. Besides, you have no idea how few teens know how to play board games anymore!

So, I went shopping. In our town, we are blessed to have many places to choose from, all close. I checked WalMart ( $17), KMart ($18), Meijer ($20), Big Lots( no luck). I needed to watch the money.  I was southbound on Cable Road at the 309 light. Toys-R-Us was to my left. I had intentionally NOT gone there. 

Something inside me said- go to Toys-R-Us.

No, I said. I'm not wasting my time.

Go to Toys-R-Us.

No. They are overpriced on everything.

Go to Toys-R-Us!

Ugh. FINE. I will go- but only to prove to myself they are too expensive.

So I made the turn and went into the store...only to find that original LIFE was the loss-leader game for the week. At $7 each. I bought seven of them...despite the looks I received.

When I got into the car, I sat for a moment and thought about what had happened. I could have ignored the message and would have spent the extra money at WalMart, believing I found the best price. 

I called our pastor at the time, and when he answered the phone, I said, "Never, ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever...doubt the Holy Spirit when he tells you to do something." He laughed at me. Come to think of it, he does that a LOT. 

Some may call it coincidence.

Some might say I saw it in the Sunday ads and my sub-conscious recalled it.

Some might say it was just common sense to at least check.

I still believe it was the Holy Spirit: the $70 I saved was 1/3 the cost of one student's way to Washington. This trip was for students from two inner-city parishes, and we worked very hard to raise 90% of the money for each of them, so no one had to stay behind because of money. And every time we met, every fundraiser we held- we prayed. We prayed to St Therese, Blessed JPII ( although he wasn't a blessed at the time), and Our Lady of Guadalupe. And we prayed to the Lord, too. We needed help raising that money, and we knew the heavenly intercessors would speak up on our behalf. You see.... Therese of Lisieux is patroness of the missions, and this was a mission trip....JPII loved young people and traveled the world... and Our Lady of Guadalupe? She is patroness of the Americas and of the unborn.  And, of course, we can go to the Lord for anything... but how nice to have a cheering section!

In the end, we raised $200 per student. for 35 students. Not bad for a bunch of junior high kids!

That was a sidetrack, but I wanted to show how it all came together. We all worked together: the Lord, the Saints, and our hard work.

The Holy Spirit is pointless unless we are open to his working in our lives. This is called being docile to the Spirit, and it takes work on our part...and trust. That is the lesson of the Third Glorious Mystery.

All Souls Day- The Church Suffering

Well, this is where some of our non-Catholic friends will get a little miffed. But here goes!

Yesterday we celebrated all the holy souls who are rejoicing in the presence of the Lord.

Today is All Soul's Day. This is the day we remember and pray for all the holy souls who are still waiting to enter heaven; they still need some final purification before they can make that last step past the metaphorical pearly gates.

We call the condition they are in now purgatory.

Yes- I know the word purgatory is not in the Bible. But then again, neither is Trinity- and it most certainly is a tenet of the Christian faith. Like Trinity, purgatory is a word assigned to something that is very explicitly described in scripture- yet never named.

First, know that at the moment we die, we have only two choices: heaven and hell. I say choices because God does not decide where we spend eternity, we do. Choose wisely.

Souls in purgatory are saved. That is a very important thing to remember- they will get to heaven. Eventually...and with a little help from those of us still working out our salvation with fear and trembling ( Philippians 2:12).

If you would like to read about the scriptural evidence for purgatory, you can find it HERE, along with evidence from the early Church fathers. There is simply far too much to go into here. As you read, remember- purgatory is proof of the grace, mercy and justice of God! And- as I said before- the souls in purgatory are saved, purgatory contradicts nothing in the Bible.

A few years ago I attended a non-Catholic funeral. The thing that surprised me was that nowhere in the funeral service was a single prayer offered for the souls of the deceased ( a father and his young son). Not a one. Only prayers for the wife/mother and siblings. Top that off with the fact that both preachers emphasized the separation from the two who had, how sad it was that it will be so long until they are together. You get the idea. It is, I'm sure, how many people feel about the death of a loved one.

How sad!  How terribly sad to wallow in your own sense of loss, when that is the last thing one should be doing.

You see... as Catholic Christians, we believe that when someone we care about leaves this life, WE have work to do, we have our marching orders....and we are still connected to those we love through the Communion of Saints.

So, we pray for them because we believe our prayers have value and are efficacious (meaning, they actually accomplish something) . We say prayers for their souls. We have Masses offered for them.
We offer up our own sufferings. We might obtain an indulgence for them ( more on that next week).

When I picture a metaphor for purgatory, I think of a great, flat wall. No foot or hand holds, nothing to grab.  We are below, boosting up the souls in purgatory, and the saints are above, reaching for their hands to pull them the rest of the way.  Those above and those below are there by the grace of God for those who need the help to get up the last bit of the wall. The purification itself has often been called the refiner's fire- an expression found in the Bible. It is not pleasant, and sometimes it does take place here on earth. God can do that if he wants. And he allows us to maintain that sense of connection with each other by offering prayers and good works on their behalf... boosting them the rest of the way.

Not long ago, the brother of an acquaintance passed away from a heart attack. He had suffered great physical and mental anguish over the years from PTSD. Before the funeral Mass, I was talking to a mutual friend and told him that I thought this man had done his purgatory here on earth and God would be merciful to him...but I was still planning to pray for him every day.

Another friend passed away this summer, and I have no idea what her relationship with the Lord was at that time. None of us can ever even know the answer to that question about ourselves. ( if you say you do, that is presumption, and it is a sin)  So I pray for her. Every day.

Imagine the additional sorrow of a soul in purgatory who has no one to pray for him! Imagine being so close to heaven, yet unable to enter because no one will pray for you because they mistakenly believe that once you take your final breath, you are in heaven.

So, when I pray for the holy souls, I pray for those I care about by name. But I also pray for people I have never met.
The soul closest to heaven.
The one farthest from heaven.
The one who most deserves it.
The one who least deserves it.
Just for fun, the 5387th from heaven.
...and- most importantly- all the souls who have no one to pray for them.

One day, I hope to look up and see their hands reaching down to pull me up that wall.

All Saints' Day- The Church Triumphant

Why do Catholics pray to the dead?

It's a question I've fielded many times, and one based on some simple misconceptions about the Catholic faith specifically- and Christianity in general.

First, a definition. To pray means "to make supplication or entreaty, as to a person or for a thing."  In short, "to pray" means "to ask." You may recall back in high school lit class, reading something like "Pray tell, dear sir...."  These days, the word is generally used in a religious context- we pray to God. We offer our petitions to the Lord, we also offer praise, thanksgiving, and contrition for our sins.

So, I ask again: why do Catholics pray to the dead?

The answer is quite simple: we do not "pray" to the saints in heaven in the same sense of the word PRAY that we use when praying to the Lord.

When any Catholic addresses a prayer to Mary or any other saint, we are doing the same thing as when we ask YOU to pray for us.... it is a request to join our prayers together to place before the Lord.

Let's find an example...

Suppose you are going to take a special girl out for a first date. You drive what my mother-in-law would have called a jalopy, I call them beaters. A car held together with chewing gum and baling wire: basic transportation  This is no car for a first date. You want to make a good impression and Dad has a late-model sedan that would be perfect.

You could walk right up to Dad and ask him. Nothing is stopping you from doing that. However, you know Mom understands your situation and you ask her to run the idea past Dad on your behalf.  Mom may even throw a few supporting arguments in there for you...you have good grades, you have been working hard, Dad remembers wanting to make a good impression with a girl.   These are all things you could point out to your father on your own. When Mom presents them, they become something of a character reference...and an additional voice is making the request.

Isn't it the same when we pray for each other?  If I ask you to pray for me for a specific intention, will you answer, " Don't come to me, just ask God yourself!"  I sure hope not! I would expect you to say, " Of course I will pray for you!" And...if you are like me...you will offer a quick prayer immediately, followed by a petition later. Sometimes I'll throw things into my prayer like, " Lord, you know how much so-and-so loves you..." or  "She's really been trying to live out her faith..."  You know- the character reference thing.

And how many Facebook and email prayer chains have you seen?    We pray for each other, and the saints pray for us. If the meager prayers of a friend can help you in any way, imagine how effective the prayers are of someone who stands before the throne of God!

You may have heard a favorite: Tony, Tony, come around. Something's lost and can't be found!  That's a prayer to St Anthony of Padua to help us locate lost items. It works.

Therese of Lisieux? When she has joined her prayers to yours, a rose will unexpectedly appear to let you know she is working with you. I have had it happen, more than once. A friend and I once got a DOZEN roses total when we were praying a novena together.

St. Jude ( patron of hopeless situations)? He can be a real powerhouse. Danny Thomas founded the St Jude Children's Research Hospital as a thank you for Jude's help in finding success in his field. His daughter now continues the gratitude. (BTW- St Jude helped me become a stay-at-home-mom 21 years ago this month.)

We ask St Francis of Assisi to watch over our pets for us. He's my personal favorite.

We ask St Michael the Archangel to guide and protect our military and police officers.

The list goes on and on. The canonized saints, the ones whom the Church has declared we know are in heaven have specific days for celebration, generally the day of their death, which is their birthday into heaven.

All Saints' Day, today, is the day we honor those who have not received that official designation. There are so many men and women in heaven who are indeed saints, and their sanctity is known to God alone. Today is their day, and we honor them along with the canonized saints for being our holy examples. They are the Church Triumphant; they have run the race and the victory is theirs!

So why can't we ask the saints in heaven...the very souls who stand in the presence of Almighty God... to pray for us?

We can. And we do. You see, they are not dead! This life, this existence is only a shadow... they have the eternal life we hope for, the promise given to us by Jesus Christ.  We are not "praying to the dead." We are asking those who are more alive than we are- those who stand before the throne of God- to add their prayers to our feeble prayers, to throw in a character reference or two, and to help us storm heaven with our requests.

When we do, we are living out the Communion of Saints!