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“The True Christian” As perhaps proud, perfectionist, even wilful adults, do we not sometimes get into trouble because we were too stubborn to ask for help or insisted on our own way. After our 3rd Celebration of First Holy Communion I was thinking how much the little ones will soon experience this adult behaviour themselves: like when I was young, visiting my grandparents, and my grandmother would make cheese whiz sandwiches with chicken soup for us while we watched I Love Lucy over lunch. “Ricki, I don’t think we’re going the right way. This doesn’t look anything like Disneyland. Let’s stop and ask someone for directions.” “There’s no need for that, Lucy. I’m doing exactly what the map tells me.” “But we’re on a dirt road with crocodiles beside it! … And they look hungry!” Or another episode, “Lucy, we don’t need to redecorate. My boss doesn’t care about what our house looks like. He just wants food on his plate.” “That may be so, Ricki, but his wife will certainly care.” Pride, perfectionism, and stubbornness. I learned what all three looked like, and unfortunately it taught many of us well. The benefits of valuing practical advice and accepting helpful guidance from others would come a bit later. Jesus gives us some very practical advice and guidance today about how to be a ’true’ Christian by focusing on three things: 1. how wrongful exclusivity is; 2. how God can reward even the smallest of good works; 3. and how we can be our worst enemy by sabotaging in various ways our opportunity for a life of eternal bliss. 1. Exclusivity: There was a time when our Faith was considered the only ‘true’ Faith and the only way to God. My parents’ generation often had scuffles on the way to school between the Protestant and Catholic youth because of this. Sadly, remnants of this still carry-on in Ireland. But all we had to do was recall Christ’s words from Mark today, telling us not to discredit others for their attempts to heal and support others, especially in his name, because Christianity is love itself, in fact, the practice of love in word and action within any cultural or religious context. 2. Rewards: This leads us to how anyone can offer such good works in the practice of love, love which is the extension of God or God himself, and that God rewards anyone who exercises such good will and loving activity in any way he wishes. So, Jesus warns us never to judge others, especially those who do good works in the name of Love which is God and of Jesus himself. Again, judgement is in the hands of God, not human beings. Look at the good works done behind the scenes by many people we do not even know on both sides of the many fences involved in the release of the two ‘Michaels’ – Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Were they all Catholics or Christians? We have no idea, but God does, and God will decide whether to reward in his own way the love shown by those ending this long, prolonged, stressful political situation, a nightmare for the families and loved ones. After all the anger and bitterness, confusion and demands made, it was a joy to see peace after this terrible situation was suddenly resolved in a matter of hours. People in general put away their negativity and focused on the smiles seen on both sides of these political fences. How quickly the God of Love can come amongst us. 3. Jesus doesn’t chastise us as much as he warns us that creating stumbling blocks for others, be it through gossip or creating scandal which affects others, will lead us down a dark path. Considering the terrible wrongs done to children, we must be especially careful to heed Christ’s warnings of the grim results which await us on judgement day. Also, the harm we do ourselves is of great concern. The most dangerous enemy is not outside us. The most dangerous enemy is the enemy within. We want to avoid the ‘hell’ Jesus speaks of, using the extreme metaphors and exaggerated manner of public speaking common to his time. Jesus was clearly thinking of Gehenna, a place with a morbid history of infant sacrifice, later for disposing of all manner of waste and refuse, a place of constant fire and smoke. How do we do that? By not practicing our Faith as an exclusive club. By not judging the goodness of others. By doing good works, however small or insignificant. By loving God, others and ourselves in thought and action. Or simply ask ourselves: Do I choose this or to do this, or do I sacrifice it for something much, much more valuable – an eternal life of everlasting peace, joy, love and happiness? – Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario
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“The Child Still In Us” When you were young, still just a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An old adage used to say: doctor, lawyer, butcher, king. But our generation was more likely to say: ‘a teacher or writer, engineer, farmer, policeman, politician, businessman or accountant, actor, singer, dancer, artist, scientist or astronaut.’ Today, our children want to be help with climate change, enter the Olympics or become Canada’s next Singing or Dancing Idol’. Many of us were told we could be anything we wanted to be; that we should aim to be the best in whatever we did, and above all, make sure we sought the good things in life: money and the security it would bring us. We quickly learned the best things in life were ‘not’ free, but that our natural rights as human beings meant we were entitled to the best in life. In short, we had a right to everything we wanted by way of happiness, comfort, pleasure and leisure. … Love? Well, that was one of the frills that came with a good life of security, good credit, and solid employment. To seek the ‘higher’ and ‘better’ way in everything was the mantra of modern society. But as we got older, our hopes would be shaped by the opportunities or lack of them in our lives. Dreams and aspirations would often turn into practical pursuits or simply dissolve into the shadows of childhood memories. And this wasn’t a bad thing. It was just the ‘true reality’ of life showing itself to us as we matured. The award-winning journalist, Roberta Walker, has been interviewing specialists on the ‘brain’ in a CBC radio series called, ‘Think About It’. One of her guests pointed out it takes much longer for us to mature than we realize. After the profound growth of our brain in the womb, our frontal cortex leaps into another unprecedented phase of growth during our mid-teens, causing much emotional mayhem until we are in our mid to late twenties. The innocence we once knew disappears, basically forever. Brain specialists and psychologists say we can never go back to that freedom, freshness, and openness of mind and thought again. This weekend we celebrated our second group of little ones receiving their First Holy Communion. At the end of the month, we hope to celebrate Confirmation for another group of students who have already begun the switch from child to adult. This switch from child to emerging adult was easy to detect even in our on-line catechism lessons. The First Communion students were always animated, eager, adventurous, uncomplicated, speaking without pretense, malice or judgement. In a zoom meeting with students, parents, teachers and myself, we asked what they liked and didn’t like about our new online catechism website for which I recorded some fun but informative video lessons using a giant teddy bear, ‘Bilbo’, as my assistant. One child said, ‘Well, Father, I think the only thing I didn’t like was sometimes you talk too much.” After some parental chastisement, he backtracked a little saying, “Well, it’s not that you talked too much, but there was an awful lot of talking.” Of course, it was all the ‘adults’ could do to keep from laughing out loud. (Later, ‘good’ friends of mine said, ‘They sure got that right, didn’t they?”) But it was also their keen interest in ‘Bilbo’. They wanted to know where he lived and how he was doing. Some were skipping rope with a newly invented Bilbo song. No adult could suspend their logic to relish such a noble creature as ‘Bilbo’ the bear. However, the Confirmation students had already begun to lose this innocence. In fact, even in Zoom meetings, the shyness brought on by physical and mental changes in their dispositions made them hide behind favourite images instead of showing their own faces. It proved pretty difficult to coerce them to reveal themselves, but also understandable given the life changes coming over them. So, are we wondering: what did I want to be, but where did I end up? Did I seek only money, security, even prestige at the expense of my spiritual needs? Or did I maintain balance in my life, giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but giving to God what is God’s, and without overriding someone else’s childhood dreams? Because we are all equal and must maintain that equality. The current re-emergence of the White Supremacist movement should itself give us great cause for alarm. We are equal to the person in prison, the drug addict, our trans-gender brothers and sisters, people of different colour, faith and culture. We will excel in this life even more if we practice, ‘the last comes first, and the first, last’ as Christ says it is in heaven. We can’t return to our childhood, but like Christ suggests, let us learn from our childhood the joy of openness and acceptance, wonder and hope in things invisible, and delight in things visible which we must share-in equally with charity and love. – Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario “We Are Mystery” Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?” Of course, Jesus knew exactly who he was more than any other person in history; that he was a complex human and divine being, the Son of God, and his purpose on earth, both for himself and humanity was to bring the Good News that a life lived with loving thought and action results in an eternity of salvation with God. In Lent, I suggested we might ask ourselves ‘who we are’, using a few questions to help us identify our own individual purposes and meaning in life, our reason to be: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I now? Where am I going? Where do I want to go? But where does God want me to go? How do I get there? This simple, but beneficial self-analysis was not common until this last century, thanks to great thinkers, scientists and medical professionals who realized we need to heal both the mind and the body. In fact, healing the mind, often heals the body. This was in essence the birth of psychiatry. A film was released in 1941 which not only made actor, Ronald Reagan, a future president of the United States, a hugely popular star at the time, but it brought attention to this new emerging movement of healing the mind – psychiatry. It was based on a highly successful book by Henry Bellamann called, “Kings Row”. Henry explored this subject of healing the mind through psychiatry via the interplay of characters in a small, seemingly quiet and uneventful little town, much like the one he grew up in. The story and events would unexpectedly reveal the depths of darkness and mental illness which can reside in the human mind. It exposed the ugliness humans are capable of and the distorted civilization which can evolve from it. The re-release of the film which paled in comparison with the actual novel itself, has since created a rapid revival of interest in the book which clearly has become a very important novel for our present time, a classic study of society like no other. Interestingly, the whole premise of the film and book is based upon the question of ‘Who are we?’ Here is a sample of the stimulating arguments the book poses: A key character, Dr Tower, in essence the voice of Henry Bellamann himself, says, “Man’s discomfort, his real discomfort with life, began soon after the 13th C when man was happier and more comfortable in their world than they are now; that is ‘psychic’ man and his relationship with the universe. Everything was simpler then. [Choices between good and evil were clearer. Joy and sadness, pain and pleasure were easily defined and expressed.] But in this modern, complicated world, man breaks down under the strain, bewilderment, disappointment and disillusionment [caused by his own, complicated inventions]; he gets lost, goes crazy, commits suicide, because they have kind of fooled themselves out of the world of reality. [They no longer know who they are.] I don’t know what’s going to happen to this world in the next 100 years, but I guarantee life isn’t going to get simpler.” To put the Doctor’s comment in perspective, Bellamann’s story was written in ‘1890’. But as Christians we realize not only can our body be restored by the healing of our minds, but our soul is healed by better understanding in our minds of who we are as ‘spiritual’ beings, miraculous creations within the grand design of God, our Maker. “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice, because he has inclined his ear to me the day I called. I was brought low, but he saved me. For he has freed my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,” (Ps 116). Sometimes, we forget these words were written by a real person. They are heartfelt words from someone who was also assessing who they were, examining where they came from, where they were at, and where they were going, but grateful to God for his love and guidance and protection as they faced the darkness and ugliness which our world can be capable of, knowing their true help comes from God. When asked what the meaning of life was, Alan Watts, the prolific interpreter of Eastern thought, said, “The meaning of life is just to be alive.” The most exciting part of life is exploring the great mystery of ourselves, of ‘who we are’ and God’s intended purpose for us. We are a part of the profound mystery of creation, walking miracles. Jesus said, never let the things of this world interfere with the mystery of us, and the great, final mystery which awaits us in heaven. – Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario “Being Open To God and To Life” We may not have ever thought about this, but given Christ’s great popularity with the people who are “astounded beyond measure” by his gifts and charisma,it would be quite natural for Jesus and his disciples to be courted and welcomed by the wealthy and influential of his time, something the disciples themselves might have expected to be part of their own unexpected, but splendid journey. After all, they and many others considered Christ to be the New Messiah who would rescue the Jewish race from the tyranny of Roman occupation. Yet we find Jesus ‘deliberately’ choosing to pass through the towns and cities of the non-Jews, for the Decapolis region was fully gentile. It was also the home of a great many poor and desperate people. In fact, scholars tell us Mark is actually making a deliberate point of telling us that Christ travelled through this area to emphasize that his Good News was to be proclaimed beyond the Jews themselves, to be evangelized throughout the world, … while also demonstrating to the disciples the key aim of proclamation should be a greater focus on the impoverished, suffering, and underprivileged in society, rather than upon the wealthy, healthy, and fortunate. This emphasis on broadening his ministry throughout the globe is coupled with Christ’s healing which was a major part of his ministry. In fact, this healing event is more detailed and complex than most of his other healings, because his actions are ‘sacramental’ gestures which have been translated into our Christian sacraments: 1.) putting his fingers into the deaf man’s ears = is opening the man’s ability to hear Christ’s Words of Salvation, 2.) spitting on his fingers = is preparing a ‘symbolic’ sacred oil to be applied to the deaf man, 3.) touching the man’s tongue = is enabling the man to then speak and evangelize to others the Word which he has just heard. This should all sound familiar, because these gestures are practiced in our Rite of Baptism as the final blessing of the candidate called the “Ephphatha”, meaning in Aramaic to ‘be opened’ just as the gospel tells us. For the whole world to be opened to Christ’s good news. This is the Christian ethic. As our Baptism liturgy says, ‘We should be proud to profess it in Jesus’ name.’. But how open are we? Are we open to all the rapid changes taking place in our lives right now? Do we push back against the trials and tribulations we’re being confronted with out of fear for the sake of our human vulnerability? Will we ignore the common good, a major Christian, moral ethic, or protect only our self-interests? Or are we open and accepting of what life is offering us, making a positive effort to understand the challenges first before rejecting them? Are we turning our backs, letting anger and bitterness confuse our thoughts, instead of facing and coming to terms with difficulty, then responding in a productive, progressive and loving way, learning from others who have the gifts and talent to help us address our concerns? As Christians we are no longer deaf nor mute because we have been blessed in baptism with the Word of God which teaches us to be gentle and loving in all things, to seek only the things above, nourish our souls with prayer and charity. So, are we open to our experiences, both positive and negative, which are helping us grow in wisdom, to be molded and shaped by our Creator who is always with us? Beloved writer and former Catholic priest, John O’Donohue, once wrote: “Though suffering and chaos befall us, they can never quench that inner light of providence. The [inner] soul redeems and transfigures everything, because the soul [our true, inner selves] is the divine space, [God within us].” Like someone mentioned to me, “If God is in your life, there is nothing to fear.” As Christ taught us, do what is required of Caesar, then give to God what is God’s. Indeed, there is No fear with Christ at our sides, present until the end of the age. As in the Roman calendar, even the Bible tells us 365 times, “Do not be afraid.” So, be open to what the world and life presents you with, and acquire the wisdom hidden within it. Above all, let your ears, tongue, and divine soul be opened to the Word of God and learn to love each other as Christ loves us. – Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario |
Father's Blog
Rev. Fr. Christopher Tracey
St. Joseph Parish Pastor Archives
January 2022
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