STLToday Faith Perspectives

Pope Francis’ Compassion and Humility an Outgrowth of His Ignatian Heritage

Steve · June 24, 2019 · 10 Comments

Footbridge at Shaw Nature Reserve. SJG Photo.

My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch appeared online Saturday and should appear in the paper next Saturday morning. It’s a reflection on Pope Francis and his Ignatian spirituality and heritage. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/francisandignatius

Pope Francis, it seems, is a popular guy. Many around the world, Catholic or not, look up to and respect him for his humility and simplicity — for breaking tradition by washing the feet of women, Muslims and prisoners on Holy Thursday, for embracing the sick and disabled, for denouncing inequity and championing justice. He has called for the installation of shower facilities for the homeless in St. Peter’s Square while he himself lives in a simple apartment and foregoes many of the trappings of the past.

Sacrament and Service Go Hand in Hand

Steve · April 25, 2019 · 4 Comments

Fr. Tom Santen's chalice (made from a cannon shell). SJG photo.

My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch appeared online yesterday and should appear in the paper on Saturday morning. It’s a reflection on the recent Holy Thursday liturgy and the link between sacrament and service, between sharing in the Eucharist and washing the feet of those around us. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/sacramentservice

Just a few weeks ago at the evening Holy Thursday “Mass of the Last Supper” at my parish, I sat and kneeled and prayed, contemplating the creation of the sacrament of the Eucharist by Jesus in that upper room so long ago. This simple sacred meal, in which Catholics believe bread becomes Christ’s body and wine becomes his blood, is celebrated daily by Catholics around the world as the true presence of Christ in our midst. It is our center, our gathering place, our source and sustenance.

But the mass and the scripture readings for that evening did not end with the disciples huddled in the upper room, prayerfully professing their faith in this new-found communal meal. For before they had much time to even ponder the meaning this new sign of the divine in the world, Jesus gives them something else to consider.

In a season of giving, remember not to steal…

Steve · December 26, 2018 · 1 Comment

Holy Family Grotto, by Bro. Mel Meyer, SM. Marianist Retreat & Conference Center, Wildwood, Mo.

My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch appeared just in time for Christmas, a reminder (quoting Pope Francis) that “Thou Shall Not Steal” is about more than just not taking what doesn’t belong to us. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/2rQMm6U [Read more…] about In a season of giving, remember not to steal…

Choosing joy, despite the facts

Steve · October 29, 2018 · 2 Comments

My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a re-write of an earlier post from here back in February. Some of the details have changed but the theme hasn’t…My column went online this past Friday and was in the print edition Saturday morning. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/2PYGdQf

Pompano Beach — Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, sunrise walk today. SJG photo.

Kentucky novelist, poet, cultural critic and farmer Wendell Berry once entreated his readers to “Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts.”

As Catholics, that can be a tough idea to get our heads around in the current state of uncertainty and doubt surrounding the abuse scandal and the subsequent divisiveness in some quarters of the institutional Church, for it requires openness of mind and heart on our part. Like in all aspects of our lives, choosing joy requires a willingness to accept what life hands us with gratitude for what we have already received. It is, for example, looking death in the face and being thankful for life.

Choosing joy is an inclination to see the beautiful despite the ugly, and it is an invitation to see the dignity of human life despite those who would have us denigrate people and ideas we don’t agree with or understand. It is a chance to find the very best in others when all the cultural mores and signs direct us to find their faults and take advantage of them.

Perhaps especially within the Catholic Church right now, joy is a choice we must be prepared to make, even though the facts can be a bit disheartening and hope for deep and real change seems distant. Despite the facts, joy can still be found because we can still allow ourselves to be formed by our faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings of love, peace, justice, service to others, forgiveness and salvation.

Choosing joy means deciding to embrace the beauty of the church, its liturgy and traditions, and the searing truth of the Gospel while we wait for the many, many good priests and honorable leaders of the Church to find a way forward through the dark of the current moment. There have been many such moments in the history of the Church and these dark moments will not be the last. We are an imperfect church filled with imperfect people and we will continue to falter. What we must not ever be is a church that looks the other way when injustice occurs. Our foundation in the love of Christ tells us we are and must be better than that.

For me, choosing joy over the facts means continuing to seek the peace and communal unity that flows from bringing myself before the altar each week, from kneeling before my still-creating and ever-creative God, from immersing myself in words of scripture, music of worship and fellowship of other Catholics.

For there is joy to be found in the midst of our ordinary days if we only look a little harder and more closely, if we only remind ourselves more frequently to be aware of the gifts that constantly flood our lives, if we remain diligent and committed to improving the lives of those around us who are not as fortunate, if we embrace justice for all instead of prosperity for a few as the guiding principle of our faith and life.

Choosing joy is not a call to blindness, to ignoring those things we would rather not see. Rather, it is a call to see our lives and world with new and joyful eyes of faith and then set out to help bring about real change, whether serving one person or helping to reform an institution in need of healing from the inside out.

Are We Standing in the Right Place?

Steve · September 21, 2018 · 10 Comments

As the Catholic Church faces its future and works to rebuild the faith and trust of its faithful, we all need to ask ourselves a question: Are we standing in the right place?

My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch went online this afternoon and will be in the print edition Saturday morning. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/wherearewestanding

In the wake of decades of horrific child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and unconscionable cover up by those in higher authority, the Catholic Church is facing a challenge even bigger than the scandal itself. It is faced with the dazed and confused voices of its own faithful asking questions like these: How could this have happened? What can be done to hold accountable those in authority? Why should I believe change is happening and is possible?