Jesus Goes to Disney World

There Are Still 11 Months Left

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:35:00 +0000

As we come toward the end of another January, I find myself preoccupied with a certain question:

How y'all doing on those New Year's resolutions?

Each year, billions must be made - I will exercise more; I will eat less; I will go to church more often; I will be a better friend; I will learn to play the tuba; I will start writing my book; I will be a vegetarian, take up yoga, run with the bulls, swim with the dolphins, study ancient Native American macrame. ... You can see where I'm going.

Many times, though, if I ask someone what their resolutions are, they tell me that they don't bother to make them - mainly because they never have stuck to them in the first place. In a sense, it's "too-hard-don't-try." I myself have been guilty of this at times. After all, pledging to give up the Funions and grape soda, only to find myself going on a binge in early February, can lead a man into - well - more Funions and grape soda. It's a lot easier to remain as I am.

However, I still think there is a value to making resolutions each year. We need them, in some way, to help ourselves to grow. Unless we are "practically perfect in every way," like Mary Poppins, we all have room for such growth.

Cardinal Newman once said that "to be human is to change; to be perfect is to have changed often." In assessing our current life and making resolutions, we are recognizing that we have the capacity to improve - to become better - even perfect. To be perfect is to be perfect-ed, and to be perfected means to allow something or someone to act on you to effect that perfection.

Going into this year, we recognize that none of us is perfect - yet. However, there is One who is ready and able to start that work again in us, all we have to do is resolve to cooperate.

Now, where's my yoga mat?

Ah, the Interruptions!

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:07:00 +0000

We've all been there before: you're at a movie, or play, or Mass, and a cell phone goes off. I've had wake services where a young man's phone rang during the reading, then during the homily, then again during the homily! You'd think people would learn - or at least get the hint. It is annoying, and the wish is that people would learn and develop a sense of public decorum that would tell them to silence the things. However, the reality is, it happens.

When a phone goes off on me during the consecration - and it has - my human thought is to stop and glare. But, that is not helpful - nor does it advance the celebration. Such an action would simply draw attention to me, and to the offender, and away from Jesus.

I found this video today, and I am struck by the masterful way that the violinist takes the "interruption" and transforms it into something beautiful.

And isn't that what our liturgy is celebrating anyway? Here, we gather to remember when, it seemed, that Christ's mission was not only interrupted, but ended; but it in that very "interruption" that God accomplishes His great work: our salvation. Perhaps the next time we hear one of those intrusive ring tones, we can remember how God uses such moments as opportunities for grace.

One of my favorite such moments to remember was at a Saturday evening Mass a few years ago when I heard a phone go off. "We announce that people should turn those things off!" I thought. "What's up with this?" The phone kept ringing, until I realized where it was coming from.

My pocket, under my alb.

Spiritual but not Religious

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:29:00 +0000

This video has been making the rounds in the YouTube and Facebook universe this past week. "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" has provoked some pretty strong responses among "religious" people who disagree with the young man, as well as those who agree with him. It caught my eye in particular because I teach a class at St. Mary's Seminary on Catholicism and American culture, and our next class is actually covering the "Spiritual, not Religious" idea so prevalent in our culture today.

Now, one of the posts that has received a lot of attention is one man's rebuttal of the young man's claims in the video. It's a good argument, but an argument that has no resolution at this point. Another of my colleagues in priesthood here in Baltimore who has worked with a lot of youth as well noted that this young man's thoughts - very cleverly expressed - represent a very widespread attitude among young people, and it is worth dialoguing rather than defending or rebutting. He's right.

Today, many people - young and not-so-young alike - will say that they are "spiritual" but not "religious." This usually means that they pray but don't see a need to be engaged in any external or institutional expression of their faith. It's a common thought that a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina has identified as "Moral Therapeutic Deism." This "faith" has some tenets as well. Namely,

A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
Good people go to heaven when they die.

One of the dangers of this "faith" is that it tends to draw a person away from the community aspect of our religious life and into a more individualistic expression of faith, ultimately leaving one without the support of that community until there might be a crisis. However, it is innocuous enough to be the widespread "religion of choice" for many young people today.

Now, this young man's thoughts line up in part with what that study found, but he also leaves some clues as to how we can dialogue with him and his particular thought as well. Present in his words is a clear (at least to me) sense of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While to some Catholics that might sound like evangelical salvation talk ("Accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior"), I think there is more to it. This guy found Christ - or rather, was found by Christ. Getting defensive about that in the face of a critique of overly legalistic religion can only underscore his argument. Would that more young people discover Jesus in their lives!

I disagree with this young man as to the opposition of Jesus and religion. I think that what a lot of folks may experience as "religion" could certain make his claim true. However, Christianity - which he clearly says he embraces - is not a collection of rules and institutions. It is a relationship with a Person.

So, thanks, dude, for getting this out there. The conversation has begun. It's not over just because we make a cute video, nor is it over because religious people throw rebuttals at him. Our young people deserve better than that. They deserve the truth. I think this guy is on track to eventually be open to the fullness of that truth, because with it offers is a real relationship.

And the relationship is what's most important.

Oh Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, died on October 5, this past year. The man who gave us the iMAc, iTunes, the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Pixar Studios is universally acknowledged as a modern visionary who could look at something and immediately begin to find ways to improve it. When he died, it seemed that a bright light had gone out.

In her eulogy for him, Steve’s sister wrote about his last hours, and how her brother’s sense of wonder never really died. She wrote:

But with [Steve’s] will, that work ethic, that strength, there was also sweet Steve’s capacity for wonderment, the artist’s belief in the ideal, the still more beautiful later.

Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.

Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.

Steve’s final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

“Oh wow!”

This is what we are celebrating today – not Steve Jobs, but that sense of wonder and how God uses it. Today, on the Epiphany, we celebrate that moment in time when God-made-man, Jesus, is revealed to the world.

The wise men, we are told, consulted their charts, watched the sky, and wondered at the new star that they saw – the star that rose with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Seeing this, they set out in search of its meaning, confident that they were being led by some transcendent light. They probably knew nothing of Israel’s history, the prophets and the promises of God. They did not realize that a people in the west longed for a Savior. But they knew that something special was now happening.

So, they followed.

It’s wonder that brings us here. It’s wonder that keeps us coming. It’s wonder that will send us forth to be signs to others and bring them to Christ as well.

How is God at work here – in our lives? With what gifts has He blessed us? It often takes wonder to see it, and this is why God gifts us with that blessing through the Holy Spirit. Wonder allows us to be blown away. It brings us to a level so far beyond ourselves, and yet so near, that we almost can’t believe what we find.

This is what a vocation is, too. We often want to believe that we have everything figured out – that we know exactly what’s happening and what’s happening next. We’ve got “the plan,” and we like it that way – until that plan is upset, and we are thrown into confusion, maybe a little despair, and then the realization that we were never really in control anyway. God has the plan, and when we allow ourselves to be abandoned to that, we realize the great things He is working out through us.

The wise men came from afar, with grand ideas and fancy gifts, camels, entourages and tents. However, what they found was nothing like they expected: a stable, a baby and His poor parents in a tiny hamlet in Palestine. The newborn King of the Jews.

Their journey started with wonder at what that star might have meant – their first “oh-wow” moment. Following that wonder, their journey ended in wonder at discovering the Messiah.

When we consider what God has called us to be – ordained minister, consecrated religious, married or committed single life – we can sometimes think that we’ve got that figured out. However, if this is not part of our prayer – part of our open conversation with God about what He wants – then that journey will not end in our complete happiness. We might feel good about it, but that will be it. However, when we stop and think about the adventure of faith that we are on – that journey of wonder and awe that recognizes that God has made us to be someone special and knows exactly who that is at the moment of our creation – when we discover that call in our lives through honest prayer and giving ourselves over to God’s will – the result is spectacular. Words fail us at that point. We can only look on in awe.

... and say, "Oh wow!"

Where is Your Sting?

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:46:00 +0000

I received the final installment in the Harry Potter film franchise this Christmas, and one morning last week I watched it whilst folding laundry. At this point, I don't even think I need to apologize or post "spoiler alerts," because if you've not seen or ready the Potter movies or books, frankly, it's your own fault!

So... as I watched the end of the entire saga, and Harry's final showdown with his bald, reptilian nemesis, I was struck by the defeat of Voldemort - as we should have been. Harry and friends have spent the last two (and a half) films, seeking out the horcruxes - those objects that contain pieces of the Dark Lord's soul - in order to destroy them and render the Evil One vulnerable. By the time Harry is able to impose his final wand blast against Voldemort, all seven of them have been destroyed; Voldemort is disarmed and then something interesting happens. Harry does not hit him again with his best shot. Rather, Voldy simply begins to fade away - fluttering off, bit by bit, like ashes into the wind. And he never saw it coming.

Cinematically, I am amazed at how much this resembled another defeat scene. It reminded me of the end of "The Passion of the Christ," as Jesus dies on the Cross and the soldiers flee in the face of the subsequent earthquake. There is a moment when we are shown the Satan figure, screaming and pained, as he/she realizes that Jesus has defeated him/her through the completion of His perfect sacrifice.

He never saw it coming.

There was no way that Evil could be defeated without evil being employed, was there? Therefore, the Devil could not recognize the perfect obedience by which Jesus' sacrifice of love destroyed sin and death and redeemed mankind.

Another similar death occurs at the end of The Matrix epic, as Neo finally confronts Agent Smith, alone in the world, surrounded by those whom Smith had conquered. Neo stops fighting, stops struggling, and he allows Smith to take him. In doing so, Smith is destroyed from within by the sacrifice of "the One." As he finally realizes that he has been defeated - not in the "usual" way, but through this sacrifice - he is incredulous. He is destroyed, as is his power over those others whom he had possessed. Another aerial shot shows the central defeat of Smith and a rippling out of that effect as each individual possessed is released.

The parallel here is Christ (well, not for the "Passion," since that was actually about Christ!). Harry first had to experience the death that Evil brings before he could liberate the world from its effects for good. Neo had to be absorbed by the power of evil before he could release others from that. This is what Saint Paul calls the "firstfruits of our redemption" or the "first-born of the dead." Jesus goes first, and His obedient sacrifice is the model upon which any Christian life and vocation is based - complete, self-less, submissive self-gift.

Why did not Harry use the ever-effective "avada kedavra" curse on Lord You-Know-Who? Because he didn't have to. If Harry had learned anything in his years at Hogwarts it's that love is the oldest and most effective magic there is. Voldemort never saw it coming.

Where Are You Going This Year?

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:06:00 +0000

It is I who must begin. ...

Once I begin, once I try -
here and now,
right where I am,
not excusing myself
by saying that things
would be easier elsewhere,
without grand speeches and
ostentatious gestures,
but all the more persistently
- to live in harmony
with the "voice of Being" as I
understand it within myself
- as soon as I begin that,
I suddenly discover,
to my surprise, that
I am neither the only one,
nor the first,
nor the most important one
to have set out
upon that road. ...

Whether all is truly lost
or not depends entirely on
whether or not I am lost. ...

- Vaclav Havel

A New Beginning - I Hope It Never Ends!

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:19:00 +0000

Good day! And welcome to 2012!

My resolution: to, hopefully, be able to blog here more frequently than I have been. Lord, I hope that the world doesn't start ending on me!

The Gift We Celebrate

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Two good friends of mine married yesterday, and I was blessed to witness it. Here's my homily for them.

“On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…”

Now, I am sure that Matt and Casey would certainly appreciate gifts of geese-a-laying, golden rings, calling birds, French hens, turtle doves and even a partridge in a pear tree; however, that is not why we are here on this sixth day of Christmas.

We are here, though, to celebrate a gift, given by true love.

When Casey and Matt first met with me about this wonderful day, I asked them about the engagement. “How did you propose?” I asked Matt. And while he explained the whole sequence of events in vivid detail, Cassandra sat and grinned. Matt told me how he carried the engagement ring around and knew that he had something that did not belong to him – something that had to be given away – and given to a specific person. But that ring is not the gift we celebrate.

The gift is what that ring – and these rings – represent. It’s his heart. It’s her heart. It’s their very selves. And it is a gift that has been given to them by Someone else.

At their baptisms, Casey and Matt received the life of God – the love of God – into their lives. From that moment, God gave Himself to them and He called them. That call to holiness, that vocation, for each of them was unique, but today, we celebrate the fact that this call involved each other – that they were made for each other. And this is the gift we celebrate.

Our first reading today (Tobit 8:4b-8), chosen by Casey and Matt, shows us a good beginning. Sarah and Tobiah are together on their wedding night. And, the first thing they do together is pray – they ask God to be an integral part of their marriage, as He had been an integral part of their lives thus far. When Matt told me of the proposal, and of Cassandra’s joyful acceptance, he said that they decided to find a statue of Mary and to pray together. This is the foundation of any Christian life – even when that life is shared with another. Guys, remember this. Remember that you have one another to rely on and God to strengthen that reliance.

Cassandra said that they wanted today’s celebration to have a definite tone – that of service, which is the heart of any vocation. Our gospel (John 13:1-15) certainly relates that tone. Jesus, who is aware of all that he has been given by the Father –all of his gifts –, shows us what we are to do with those gifts. Out of the love he has for the Father, and out of the love he has for us, he kneels, and he serves.

Casey and Matt, look around you. This church is filled with those who have been gifting you your entire lives. Family, friends, all of us, have taught you the lessons of love, and because of this you can fully love one another. But Jesus gives you the ultimate lesson. To truly love in the Christian sense, we must give ourselves completely – nothing held back –even to the point of giving our lives for others.

And this is the real gift of this day. God has given you the gift of True Love; Jesus has shown how that love is lived out; and now you have the privilege of living that love together – for the rest of your lives.

We celebrate this gift in the context of Mass, where we are given God’s greatest gift: Jesus in the Eucharist. Here, we experience the fullest expression of love poured out for our benefit and for our example. Jesus’ last words to us today in the gospel remind us that his example of service is not just a “show” for us to watch, but an example to be followed, a life to be lived.

This is the life of discipleship; it is the life of vocation; yes, it is the life of marriage. You will not only support one another out of love for each other, but you will be a sign – a sacrament – to us all, reminding us of that greatest Gift – the love of God.

It’s a better deal than those geese-a-laying, I can assure you!

My Blog Christmas Card

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:13:00 +0000

So, what do you do with your Christmas cards after the holidays?

Have a very Merry Christmastime and a joyful and blessed New Year!

- Fr. Austin

You Can't "Steal" Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:36:00 +0000

When the Grinch "stole" Christmas he believed he had pulled off the coup of his life. Finally, he did not have to deal with that obnoxious singing, their tar-tinkers, jing-tinglers and gardinkers. He had won his "war on Christmas."

Or so it seemed.

However, on Christmas morning, even without the presents, candy canes and trees, every Who down in Who-Ville, the tall and the small, gathered in the square and sang - welcoming Christmas. A shocked Grinch could not believe what he was hearing, and in the midst of that simple, joy-filled song of a people who know that Christmas was more than an outward show, the grumpy, green Grinch felt his heart well up with that same spirit that brought the Whos out to the square that morning. And, in the line of those like Ebeneezer Scrooge, he knew how to keep Christmas from then on.

Today, many often lament the "war on Christmas" - with secular demands for a "happy holiday" rather than "Merry Christmas." We see how the celebration of the birth of the Lord has become simply an opportunity for Macy's to gain customers and Justin Bieber to sell albums, and we complain. "Let's keep Christ in Christmas!" "Jesus is the reason for the season!"

Certainly true. But the flip side of this grousing is that we can sometimes use "Merry Christmas" as an assault on others - a missile fired off in this "war on Christmas" from our end. Christians can look around and see where we are being pushed to the margins in an increasingly secular society. It's persecution, yes. But who else is persecuted?

Those who are different: the foreigner, the gay, the Muslim.

Those who are afflicted: the alcoholic, the addict, the sinner.

Those who are in need: the unborn, the elderly, the sick.

I know of a man who willingly associated with these folks. He was persecuted too. Maybe this is just where the Church needs to be in order to more faithfully identify with those most in need of God's mercy and love. If we cannot, then we have lost the "war."

Instead, we are called to gather in the square - even without the outward show of the lights, signs, greetings, bum-gumblers, zoo-zither-parkays. There, we can sing the simple song of welcome to the One who comes into the world in a stable, because there was no room in any place of comfort. And yet, there in the manger, the greatest joy to the world was first proclaimed.

Social Media Nativity

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:10:00 +0000

What would that first Christmas have been like if Facebook existed then? Here is a fantastic attempt to answer that question.

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:08:00 +0000

Just to let you know, I'm still around - just really busy. Here's some fun to enjoy until I'm back...

Vincent van Gogh to Disney World.

Be the Change

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:19:00 +0000

I enjoy things done well. There is a reflection of God in a sense of order and creativity. Following YouTube trends, I was directed to a cute video of "Marcel the Shell with Shoes on." From there, I found a related video of a girl who imitated Marcel's voice - which itself is cute, but not original. However, the girl, Molly Watkins, also has done here own original videos that I think are great. Here is her video that drove me to post now. The message is clear - and very, very good.

Let's dream of peace together.

Dobby and Personhood

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:47:00 +0000

Where does "personhood" come from?

The plight of Dobby the house elf can serve to illustrate the common attitudes around this sensitive question. Dobby was the house elf who "belonged" to the Malfoy family. As such, he was treated poorly - even abused - because as a house elf, his value was only seen in his utility to the family. He was inhuman, unworthy of affection and totally disassociated with any sense of dignity. We see this in his surprise at how well Harry treats him in speaking with him at their first meeting and in Hermione's care and concern for the ordeal of the other elves.

The Malfoy's rejection of Dobby's dignity is akin to a societal prejudice against those who count for nothing - the poorest, the "rejects," the prisoners, the elderly, the unborn. Their personhood is often seen as an inconvenience, rather than an inherent part of their being. An unborn child is a "fetus" until a parent ascribes a value to it as a child who is "wanted." A man in a nursing home or hospital is seen more as a patient occupying a bed, rather than a person with infinite beauty and worth. A prisoner is seen first as a miscreant who has lost all claim to the dreams of any man, rather than a soul marked still by the touch of God.

Harry provides a "salvific" role for Dobby by providing a way out of his servitude. He always saw Dobby as an individual of worth, and at last, in the end, he is able to die "a free elf." Personhood is not a matter of "desert" or "earning it." Rather, it comes from the gift of God, freely given, for no other reason than His infinite love.

Paradigm Shift

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:10:00 +0000

America Magazine wrote:

On Aug. 24 Steve Jobs announced his resignation as the chief executive officer of Apple Inc., which he co-founded in the 1970s. Much laudatory commentary followed. Mr. Jobs changed the world of movies and music and books. He did not supply new plots and images but changed how the people watched what they wanted to see. He did not compose new tunes and lyrics but changed how the world received, stored and played music. He did not write new books but changed how the world read and kept and reread those books. The entrenched music and publishing industries felt threatened and resisted but eventually came around, seeing that Mr. Jobs was ultimately working with them.

“Mr. Jobs did not so much see around corners; he saw things in plain sight that others did not,” wrote David Carr in The New York Times. Steve Jobs saw what modern people wanted before they knew they wanted it. And he knew how to make it available and attractive. The Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York is open 24 hours a day.

One hears that young people want what the church has to offer, but they cannot find it in that church. The delivery system fails. Imagine a Bishop Steve Jobs. What would his diocese—the Diocese of Appleton, perhaps—look like? How would entrenched interests react to his challenge? What is out there in plain sight that he would see and point out to fellow church leaders? How would he change not the message, not the content, not the words but the delivery system? The human side of the church could use the energy of new vision.

The message is fine. How will we deliver it?

Sinner - a Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:17:00 +0000

They say that you can't judge a book by its cover. However, in the case of Lino Rulli's Sinner, you probably can.

The cover presents, stark white, with the word "sinner" at the top and a pencil line drawn into an arrow, pointing at the man responsible for the work - an oddly ebullient Rulli, who seems way to excited to be tagged with that title.

But that is just what this book is about. In Lino's own words, it's a book about him - a sinner - a "Catholic Guy" who knows his faith but struggles everywhere and all the time to live his faith right. More often than not, he fails. Hence, the title. He's a Sinner.

And so are we.

Saint Augustine piously struggled with sin in the fifth century in his classic, Confessions, where he detailed his journey from depravity and perdition to Catholicism and holiness. Yet, he never lost his sense of himself in need of God's loving mercy. Like Lino, Augustine didn't shy away from showing his "dirty" side, although that side might not be as dirty as a voyeuristic reader might want (really, Augustine? You stole pears, and that's what bugged you the most?). The point of the tales is what we know already: sin is fun - that's why we do it. It doesn't lead anywhere pleasant, but sin has to be attractive, otherwise there's no need for Confessions, and Rulli's book would be entitled Stuff I Did to Please God.

I purchased a new car this past April, and with it came a free trial of Sirius XM satellite radio. I discovered the Catholic Channel (Sirius 129), and have been hooked on Rulli's show for my drive home from the vocations office every day. Lino will remind many people (and particularly priests) of that friend they have who always questions stuff, gives you a hard time about this or that rule or point, but in the end is a really decent guy. This comes across in Sinner as well.

Lino is no St. Augustine, but this is probably only due to a lack of a pear tree. The struggles that he presents are as timeless (albeit in this modern milieu) as those that Augustine has given us over the past 1,600 years. I write this review mainly because I think that the stories he tells in the book (each one is about three-to-five pages, on average) are great fodder for youth group discussions. If I was Oprah (and, thank God, I am not) this would be part of my book club. Consider a few of his many tales from his life:

Lino's dad announces that he is quitting his job and becoming an organ grinder; or how he desperately tried to become a writer for David Letterman's show; both of which Lino uses to describe how to (at least try to) discern and follow the will of God.
a few tales of how he experienced confession at various points in his life
his own fear of commitment and God's full commitment to us
celebrity and sainthood, and how hard it is to choose the latter (there is a story in that chapter about meeting Sammy Hagar in a bar on spring break that I literally laughed out loud to)
visiting an Italian (read, topless) beach, pornography, and the theology of the body.

There are many more. Each of these would make fantastic conversation-starters for high school youth groups - and even adults, who might find other spiritual reading too unrealistically pious. Rulli makes the struggle believable because he is honest and authentic. And that's what we need. Yes, the super-pious devotional reading is powerful and helpful, but the whole point of Sinner is to recognize that before we are saints, we struggle - we are sinners.

This is a fast read and well-deserving of its place atop Amazon's best-sellers lists. I recommend it to all my friends, and I don't have to worry about their "oh-here-father-goes-again" reactions. Just read it.

I hate sin.

But I loved Sinner.

"Noooooo!"

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:35:00 +0000

Anyone who has read this blog in depth knows I am a huge Star Wars geek. I love the movies, and they have provided a cinematic backdrop for most of my life. Also, I have not been a huge critic of George Lucas' decisions to add scenes and effects to the original trilogy because he had discovered new technology to do so. This coming week, the Lucasfilm empire will release a long-awaited Blu Ray set of all six movies, and in true Lucas fashion, the films will present some more "changes."

Again, I don't really care what George Lucas does (Darth Vader could sing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," as far as I'm concerned). I do, however, have a problem with things he may have said. In 1988, Lucas (along with pal Steven Spielberg) testified against those who would colorize classic films to make them more "modern." Here's what he said then:

A copyright is held in trust by its owner until it ultimately reverts to public domain. American works of art belong to the American public; they are part of our cultural history.

People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society. The preservation of our cultural heritage may not seem to be as politically sensitive an issue as "when life begins" or "when it should be appropriately terminated," but it is important because it goes to the heart of what sets mankind apart. Creative expression is at the core of our humanness. Art is a distinctly human endeavor. We must have respect for it if we are to have any respect for the human race.

These current defacements are just the beginning. Today, engineers with their computers can add color to black-and-white movies, change the soundtrack, speed up the pace, and add or subtract material to the philosophical tastes of the copyright holder. Tomorrow, more advanced technology will be able to replace actors with "fresher faces," or alter dialogue and change the movement of the actor's lips to match. It will soon be possible to create a new "original" negative with whatever changes or alterations the copyright holder of the moment desires. The copyright holders, so far, have not been completely diligent in preserving the original negatives of films they control. In order to reconstruct old negatives, many archivists have had to go to Eastern bloc countries where American films have been better preserved.

In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be "replaced" by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.

The public's interest is ultimately dominant over all other interests. And the proof of that is that even a copyright law only permits the creators and their estate a limited amount of time to enjoy the economic fruits of that work.

In light of what he says, what he does seems rather disingenuous. However, I am willing to leave Hollywood to its hypocrisy. What bugs me more is his quote there. He places a crusade to save "cultural treasures" up with the fight to preserve human life. The arguments for respecting life from womb to tomb, then, take on a sidebar character to his self-interest of promoting film. Here, we see the same hubris that led the Israelites to build a golden calf and worship it, the same attitudes that was condemned over and over by the prophets against those peoples oppressing Israel, and the same hypocrisy that Jesus outed when folks puffed up the Temple over the needs of those around them.

If I could see life respected in all its dignity - be it in the womb, in the streets, in prison, in a nursing home or hospital - I would gladly give up my mint-condition Boba Fett action figure (with grappling hook backpack!). But with attitudes like this (and the apparent insincerity of them anyway), the Fett-man seems safe on my shelf.

Number One

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Father Mychal Judge, OFM, died on September 11, 2001.

Many people died that day - victims of the terrible tragedy of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon in Washington.

As we come up on this decade's remembrance of that horrible day, I have mixed emotions. I lament, like everyone, the loss of life on our shores that blue September Tuesday. I still shake my head at the subsequent loss of life in Afghanistan and Iraq. I do not feel like anything is substantially different in the so-called "post-9-11 world." To that, I add the realization that the root issues that led those young terrorists to attack America in the first place have not been resolved, and Palestinians and Arabs alike suffer.

I want peace, and I don't see it.

However, this tenth anniversary also has been a moment of grace for me. As I pray, and worry that I am not as "into" this memorial as my civic duty seems to demand, God touches me in an important way.

I was preparing to become a deacon in 2001 and 2002, being ordained on May 11, 2002. The iconic image of the priest being carried away from the scene of destruction - having rushed there to assist his friends and charges, anointing at (probably) a thumb-numbing pace - stood out. Resting in the arms of the firemen who carried him, Fr. Mychal seemed to have found peace, even in the midst of the worst tragedy our nation had faced in my lifetime.

And today, as I pray, that is the message - that is the grace - that God gives to me. Peace is not the absence of war, as John XXIII noted, as well as Gaudium et Spes (cfr. n. 78). Rather, peace comes from right relationships - what the Hebrews call zadekh, the Greeks call dikaiousine, and we call "justice." There is no note of revenge or getting even. Rather, it is about relationship, first and foremost.

Fr. Mychal had that relationship with the firefighters for whom he was a chaplain and for whom he died. More importantly, he had that relationship with Jesus Christ, whose priest he was - and still is. The grace that God sends me in the midst of this difficult memorial is this - I am His priest, and in the midst of my service to His people is that peace that I want. If I don't see it, it's because I am looking in the wrong place.

That's not a bad lesson for all of us.

That day, Fr. Mychal Judge died. His was the first death certificate issued in relation to those terrible attacks.

Many people died that day.

Father Mychal was number one.

Summer Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:00:00 +0000

I am a nerd.

As spring approaches summer, even though I have been out of school for years, I begin assembling a stack of books that will be my summer reading that year. This year, I read everything from the pope's writings on the Church fathers to Henry Kissinger's On China.

As August rolled around, I found in my mailbox at the Catholic Center a book given to us all by our director of Evagelization. It is entitled From Maintenance to Mission: Evangelization and the Revitalization of the Parish, by Fr. Robert Rivers, a Paulist (our Evangelization czar is also a Paulist). I headed to Seattle and Vancouver on vacation with my family with this book, among others. I read this book with the critical eye of a vocations director - wondering in the author would mention vocations and the role of evangelization in fostering them. I found a little reference, here and there, but not much. However, that was not the point of the book. It was to encourage us as a Church to look at how we "run" parishes and how we are focused (or not focused) on the true goal of the parish, and the Church in general. The mission of the Church is to evangelize - that is, to preach the Gospel and to share its life-giving light with others. When all we are worried about is Mass attendance, collections, capital campaigns and numbers, that mission becomes blurred, if not completely obscured.

In the midst of the vacation, I picked up another book (nerd, remember?). We happened to be staying right around the corner from the original Starbucks Coffee Company store, at Pike Place Market. One evening, I noticed a book that was being touted on their shelf, next to bags of dark roasts and designer teddy bears. It was Howard Schultz's book Onward. Schultz was and is again the CEO of Starbucks, and the book is about how he saw the company straying from its roots and how he wanted desperately to bring it back to its central purpose and greatness. While Starbucks as a company had been growing exponentially (in Vancouver there were, literally, four stores at one intersection), the focus on the original intention of the founder, Schultz, was being lost. He writes of walking into a store and smelling the burnt cheese of one of their "breakfast sandwiches." That had to change, he felt, or else the company's soul was lost.

Here in the Church, we could do well to learn from Starbucks. While I never like comparing Church practice to business, the motive here can be transferred. What is the reason we do all this in the first place? It is certainly not to gather a bunch of people around so that we as organizers can feel important. For Starbucks, the original focus was the coffee and the customer. For us, it must be the Gospel and those who hear it. Yes, we want as many as possible to do it, but we cannot allow a desire for growth to impede the all-important personal encounter with Christ that is at the heart of our faith - both collectively and individually.

As a parish, we must ask ourselves if we are truly facilitating that encounter or not. When a new person says they just moved into the area and would like to know more, the correct response is not, "Welcome packets are in the vestibule."

That's just a start. It took a lot of risk and a lot of work for Starbucks to readjust its attitude and refocus on the customer, the coffee and the experience. It will take us a lot of work too. But it is definitely worth the effort.

So grab a cup. The coffee's on me!

Life is Valuable. Protect it.

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:18:00 +0000

You probably thought I was going somewhere else with that title.

Maybe I am.

Maybe you are too?

STEMs Need Good Roots Too

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:13:00 +0000

Yesterday, I was blessed to be with the faculty of St. Joan of Arc school in Aberdeen, Maryland, which is beginning the new school year as one of the Archdiocese's new "STEM" schools. "STEM" refers to the model of curriculum for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The goal is to help the students learn the technical skills needed in an increasingly technological world. The principal asked me to lead the day of reflection, hoping to help us all focus on the continuing Catholic identity of the school, and the moral aspects of the use of these new technologies and learning. Questions of what we can do and what we should do, were heavy on their minds, and the day served to help us focus on the true purpose of Catholic education.

While I thought I had some good thoughts - which I intended to pepper with thoughts from the pope's talk to university professors at World Youth Day - I found that the Holy Father said it best. So I used his stuff, and peppered it with my own contextualization for the faculty there. Here's that part of the talk (my additions are in italics):

[W]here will young people encounter those reference points [i.e., of being "rooted and built-up in Christ and firm in the faith] in a society which is increasingly confused and unstable? At times one has the idea that the mission of a [teacher] nowadays is exclusively that of forming competent and efficient professionals capable of satisfying the demand for labor at any given time. One also hears it said that the only thing that matters at the present moment is pure technical ability. This sort of utilitarian approach to education is in fact becoming more widespread … promoted especially by sectors outside the [school]. [A few years ago, I attended an awards banquet for Baltimore County teachers that was intended to recognize the gifts and achievements of various teachers. One of our own teachers was receiving an award. As is usually the case, there were many politicians, both state and local, as well as those who aspired to be politicians like them. During their speeches and congratulatory addresses, they all spoke of the teachers’ good work of preparing effective and educated “contributors” to our economy – pointing often to education’s role in preparing productive members of society. I can recall even then being struck by the utilitarianism of their attitudes and feeling that it was not all that different than some communist manifestos. The students were not there, and it was just as well, since they were seen as mere “products” rather than persons of infinite worth and potential.] All the same, you who…now are members of the teaching staff, surely are looking for something more lofty and capable of embracing the full measure of what it is to be human. We know that when mere utility and pure pragmatism become the principal criteria, much is lost and the results can be tragic: from the abuses associated with a science which acknowledges no limits beyond itself, to the political totalitarianism which easily arises when one eliminates any higher reference than the mere calculus of power.

In truth, [a school] has always been, and is always called to be, the “house” where one seeks the truth proper to the human person. The Gospel message perceives a rationality inherent in creation and considers man as a creature participating in, and capable of attaining to, an understanding of this rationality. [Education] thus embodies an ideal which must not be attenuated or compromised, whether by ideologies closed to reasoned dialogue [such as a fundamentalist view of religion] or by truckling to a purely utilitarian and economic conception which would view man solely as a consumer [as many in the public sector see education’s goal]. [In fact, this is precisely why the Church sees no problem with the task you are undertaking as a STEM school. The skills you teach and the knowledge you will impart are part of the adventure of discovering the greatness of God and His plan for us all. Rooted in faith, you participate in that plan and help your young students to embark on that adventure themselves.]

Here we see the vital importance of your own mission. You yourselves have the honor and responsibility of transmitting the ideal of [education]: an ideal which you have received from your predecessors, many of whom were humble followers of the Gospel and, as such, became spiritual giants. [How many here went to Catholic schools at any point? Did you have the nuns? God bless the nuns (even the ones who kicked my butt!). They taught us reading, writing and arithmetic, science, social studies and history. Because of them, we know who Christopher Columbus was, how many meters in a kilometer, where India is, and what a schwa is (you do know what a schwa is, don’t you?). But also because of them, we know the seven sacraments, we know the story of Joan of Arc, we know about Moses and the burning bush, the Jesse Tree, rice bowls, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and, above all, who Jesus is.] We should feel ourselves their successors, in a time quite different from their own, yet one in which the essential human questions continue to challenge and stimulate us. With them, we realize that we are a link in that chain of men and women committed to teaching the faith and making it credible to human reason. And we do this not simply by our teaching, but by the way we live our faith and embody it, just as the Word took flesh and dwelt among us. Young people need authentic teachers: persons open to the fullness of truth in the various branches of knowledge, persons who listen to and experience in [their] own hearts that interdisciplinary dialogue; persons who, above all, are convinced of our human capacity to advance along the path of truth. Youth is a privileged time for seeking and encountering truth. As Plato said: “Seek truth while you are young, for if you do not, it will later escape your grasp” (Parmenides, 135d). This lofty aspiration is the most precious gift which you can give to your students, personally and by example. It is more important than mere technical know-how, or cold and purely functional data.

[This quote has been all over Facebook on my teacher friends’ statuses] I urge you, then, never to lose that sense of enthusiasm and concern for truth. Always remember that teaching is not just about communicating content, but about forming young people. You need to understand and love them, to awaken their innate thirst for truth and their yearning for transcendence. Be for them a source of encouragement and strength.

For this to happen, we need to realize in the first place that the path to the fullness of truth calls for complete commitment: it is a path of understanding and love, of reason and faith. … If truth and goodness go together, so too do knowledge and love. This unity leads to consistency in life and thought, that ability to inspire demanded of every good educator.

In the second place, we need to recognize that truth itself will always lie beyond our grasp. We can seek it and draw near to it, but we cannot completely possess it; or put better, truth possesses us and inspires us. [This is what we call the Spirit’s gift of wonder. Do you remember wonder? I pray that during this coming year you find the joy of rediscovering that wonder in the faces and hearts of your students.] In intellectual and educational activity the virtue of humility is also indispensable, since it protects us from the pride which bars the way to truth. We must not draw students to ourselves, but set them on the path toward the truth which we seek together. The Lord will help you in this, for he asks you to be plain and effective like salt, or like the lamp which quietly lights the room (cf. Mt 5:13). [So make prayer the center of your life and an essential part of your day.]

All these things, finally, remind us to keep our gaze fixed on Christ, whose face radiates the Truth which enlightens us. Christ is also the Way which leads to lasting fulfillment; he walks constantly at our side and sustains us with his love. Rooted in him, you will prove good guides to our young people.

Science and faith, faith and reason, are not opposed to one another. Both faith and reason flow from the same Source. The path to Truth demands both.

Of course, not everyone feels that way ...

Compromise

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:57:00 +0000

Compromise means that we don't get everything that we want. Failure to compromise means that we don't get anything at all.

Bridge from Ting on Vimeo.

Seriously??!!??

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:53:00 +0000

World Youth Day brings together the young and young-at-heart throughout the Church. On the official website, I noticed some "souvenirs" that one can buy to memorialize the graces of these days - Rosary cord bracelets, scarves, water bottles, and ... this ...

Happy World Youth Days!

6,239 Dots; 6,238 Lines; and a Lot of Time on Your Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:14:00 +0000

The creativity of the human mind is surpassed only by that of the Divine.

This is too cool not to share!

Mona Lisa - 6,239 dot to dot drawing from Thomas Pavitte on Vimeo.

The Stakes are High

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Austin Murphy) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:45:00 +0000

[Homily given at the opening of Baltimore's High School Leadership Institute (High-LI) - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time]

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find

enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Terms begin on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Ah, remember how all that began? Harry could not be kept from receiving that letter that forever changed his destiny. It seems that from that fateful moment when You-Know-Who zapped him, giving him his trademark scar, he was destined to be the “chosen one.” When Hagrid delivered that acceptance letter, he was merely adding the formal finishing touches to the calling of “The Boy Who Lived.”

Now, think back to some time several months ago. Maybe your youth minister called you or asked to talk to you about this wild program in the summer called High-LI. If it were a letter, maybe it would look like this:

Dear Miss Doe,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the High School Leadership Institute. Please find enclosed a list of necessities, like pens, fans, music, fans, thumb drives, and fans.

The term begins July 24. We await your owl no later than April 15.

Yours sincerely,

Youth Minister

Your selection to be here is no accident. People see in you much potential and the qualities of a good Christian leader. These qualities will be developed further here. But your presence here is only a part of a great adventure that began long ago – when you were baptized. God chose you first! St. Paul talks about this in our Second Reading: “Those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. … And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.”

This adventure is our Christian life. God has called each of you – each of us – to a unique vocation of service to His People the Church, and the reason you are here is to further discover and develop that calling. Just as Harry Potter learned his potential, his gifts and his power in his time at Hogwarts, so you will find out just what you are capable of with the help of God’s grace.

And when you do discover that, you will come to a deeper understanding of what God is calling you to be. Do not be afraid of that. This week will test you and try you, but it will not break you unless you let it. Joyfully discover your roles in the Church and embrace them generously, like the person who discovers the treasure in a field or the pearl of great price. There is nothing more valuable than discovering God and His purpose for you!

Why does Jesus give us these two “mini parables” in the midst of all the others that talk about sowing and gathering and reaping? These two talk about the dramatic lengths to which someone will go to possess that Kingdom of God. For them, it’s all or nothing.

I was always struck by the drastic nature of the action in those Harry Potter stories, too. These are young people – like you – and they are battling evil, and dying for that battle. Why?

I’d guess that it is similar to the reasons someone would give up all they had in order to buy a field or a pearl – why someone would sacrifice all for the Kingdom of God.

The stakes are that high, friends. Do not settle for mediocrity. You are better than that – because God has made you so! If the Lord asks something of you, you are capable of it. All it takes is trust and prayer – just like young Solomon in the first reading, who prays for the wisdom to do what he is called to do.

The invitation has been sent, my young friends. And you have accepted. Now, with God’s help, you embark on an adventure that will lead you to discover the great things that you can do.