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Deacon's deliberations

10/30/2016

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This Is Your Deacon Speaking

“Luke 19: 5, in today’s Gospel, is every hotelier’s dream, when Jesus tells Zacchaeus, “Today I must stay at your house.” In my industry days (everyone knows I was in hospitality before I joined the Capuchin Franciscans, right?) this is what we’d call a “hard booking.” If there were theatre tickets or dinner reservations or an airport pick-up attached to the booking, we knew there was a high likelihood the party would come in. Jesus booked dinner, so we’d know he’d need the overnight. It was often the case, especially on the weekends, that bookings were soft, that a party would reserve at our hotel as a sort of hedge – maybe they were iffy about the trip; maybe they wanted a back-up in case they didn’t like the other place; maybe a secretary or personal assistant was covering their bases for an unpredictable boss. There were many more variables in the time before Yelp and Trip Advisor. That said, no promotional considerations have been made in the preparation of this post. And take a hint from an old pro: use the concierge, especially pre-arrival.

Jesus’ booking with Zacchaeus is hard because Jesus is truth and because every word God speaks is truth (Psalm 135: 6), plus the dinner res. But what of the fine points of the booking, the attention to detail that should cue Zacchaeus as to what kind of guest experience Jesus is seeking? The key – and the example – is in the word “must.” It’s a cue to the tax collector, but it’s a command for us, to welcome the stranger (Lev 19: 34), to treat hospitality not as an industry or a sector of the economy but as a cornerstone of our Catholic Christian vision and the basis for our actions toward our sisters and brothers.

Be not confused by advertisements or advertorials (in fact, be wary of the latter) or loyalty programs or miles or points: before it became a business, hospitality was and remains a virtue, grounded in the habitus of seeing Christ in everyone, and loving neighbor as self. Here’s another industry term, this from the airlines: VFR, for “visiting friends and relatives.” Airlines segment the market in terms of VFR and corporate travel. One is price-sensitive, the other not so much. Opening our homes, or our nation, is how we answer the call to serve not just the VFR “market,” those we know and love, but all people. The former is easy (Mt 5: 46), the latter not so much. It requires sacrifice and mindfulness. Think of what’s happening in Germany, and with Chancellor Merkel, who truly led by exhorting and encouraging the people, “Wir schaffen das (We can do it),” when her government made space and set aside funds to accept tens of thousands of refugees from the war in Syria. Now she risks being turned out of office in the face of an anti-immigrant backlash. Welcoming an unexpected stranger, and allowing himself to be transformed by the experience, is what Zacchaeus did, and it was what Jesus of Nazareth depended on when he walked. If Zacchaeus can do it, wir schaffen das.

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Council Comments

10/23/2016

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CHRIS McLAUGHLIN’S COLUMN

Many of you know this but I am the oldest of 8 children.  Until I was 11 we lived in government housing (“the projects”.)  When we moved from there, a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home with no garage or basement, there were 7 of us, 5 children and my parents.  Crammed as we were, I loved living there but  when I first heard the term “white privilege” I certainly didn't think anyone was talking about me!  Slowly my thinking on that has changed.

It was sometime in the 1980's that a long time parishioner, Audrey Swann, told me something that stunned me.  She said that when she and her family moved to the neighborhood, she went to Nativity to register and the priest told her where “the Negro Catholic Church” was located and that's where she should go register.  I was sad and it got me thinking but I now know this was not an isolated incident.
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You may wonder what my young life, white privilege and  being told to go to a different church because of the color of your skin have in common.  For me it is a continued awakening to the fact that, while I may not see or want to see myself as privileged, the reality is that I have had opportunities because of the color of my skin that people of color have not had.  People of color are often targeted for no reason except the color of their skin.  An African American friend of mine told me of a recent traffic stop as he and his son were driving home from a funeral in an affluent neighborhood.  They were never accused of anything and detained for 10 minutes or more while their paperwork was electronically checked.  My friend was not given a ticket or an explanation for the stop, even though he asked.  Sad to say, it appears the reason for the stop was that they were two African American males in, what was considered for them, “the wrong place.”  A current parishioner told me of a similar stop when she was looking for a house, also apparently in the “wrong neighborhood” for a person of color.  I ask myself “how does this happen today?”  Yet, sadly, I know it does every day, probably many times.

I know that just opening my eyes to injustice and racial discrimination is not enough and that I need  to speak out for injustices I see or hear about.  I'm ashamed to say that in my lifetime, I know I have walked away or kept silent in some situations rather than take a stand for justice.  I continue to try not to be that cowardly anymore.

If you think you may have some eye opening to do or just want to read a good book or hear a good speaker, I have two suggestions.  The first is a book by Bryan Stevenson called “Just Mercy” and I would highly recommend reading it.  Bryan was in Harvard Law School on an internship when he became involved in a case of a man on death row who was wrongly convicted, a great book with an eye opening message of the injustices in our criminal justice system for people of color and the poor.

​I also hope you will consider coming to hear Fr. Bryan Massingale speak on Thursday, October 27 at 6:30 at U of D Jesuit High School on Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. He is a Catholic priest and a well known speaker.  You can get tickets this weekend from Fran Carnaghi or me or see the What's Happening section of the bulletin.  Please don't let the $10 ticket price stop you because we do have some free tickets available.
               
Chris McLaughlin
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Pastor's Pen

10/2/2016

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Today we celebrate the blessing of our catechists.  We begin a new year of religious formation for our children and adults.  I know our Director of Religious Education, Joni Scott, is excited about a new year of growing in our faith.  I know she and the children have been growing sunflowers over the summer and they will be showing them off in the next weeks.  For me, it’s great to see the children involved in our life at Nativity.  When I call them up for the Our Father, I always think of Jesus saying “Let the little children come to me for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Our liturgies are truly enhanced when the children take the lead.  Their voices speak of goodness and I suspect some of our parents wonder who that angelic child is when they see then on the altar!  I am looking forward to all that Coleman will bring to our Children’s choir.

Forming our children in the faith is not only Joni and the catechist’s responsibility, it’s on all of us.  By nature of our baptism, we are all called to be evangelizers in the faith.  St. Francis is quoted as saying, “Preach always and when necessary, use words.”  As a parent, you are the first teacher of the faith.  Your children will see in you the strength of your faith.  They will either see the incredible light of your faith in the goodness you show to them and to those in your life or they will see a faith that is superficial and doesn’t carry into the events of daily life.  If our children see in us the strength of discipleship:  caring for those who are most vulnerable, standing up on issues of social justice, treating all people respectfully, having a joy and peace throughout our lives, then they will see by our actions that our faith is real.

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As we being a new year of Religious Education, let us all give much support to Joni Scott and the catechists as they take on the task of educating our children.  Let us also re-commit ourselves to developing a deeper faith life this year.  Let us take a little more time for private prayer, reading the scriptures, and doing more works of mercy in our lives.  Let us preach the Gospel, as St. Francis says, by living in a way that causes our children and others to be inspired and want what we have.  Let us truly be shining examples of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
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