Hitting "Em Where They Are

When asked his secret to his prolific hitting career, the famous "Wee Willie" Keeler, who played for the then-National League Baltimore Orioles, responded, "Keep your eye clear, and hit 'em where they ain't."

Anyone who follows baseball at any level can tell you that this advice is as valid today as it was over one hundred years ago. "Hitting it where they ain't" is the key to the success of many a hitter since Wee Willie, from Ty Cobb, to Ted Williams, to Pete Rose, to Ichiro Suzuki. That's how you get on base. 

However, in work for the Church, hitting it where they ain't is the last thing we want to do. Rather, we want to go where they are. This means that we cannot simply wait around for kids to show up at our programs, folks to fill up our pews or candidates to knock down the Vocations Director's door. An attitude like that would get Wee Willie Keeler on base, but it will not help to build up the Church - not at all. 

Unfortunately, this is sometimes how we operate. We talk about the great gift that we have in the Gospel and in the sacraments, and then we complain when our Masses are half-empty. We look for more new priests, but we don't encourage those in our families and parishes to pursue that call that is so evident in their lives. Rather, we "hit it where they ain't," and business continues as usual. 

Well, not here. We are committed to getting out there and hitting them where they are. Here in the Archdiocese, we have been blessed with many partners - priests and laity alike - who are also committed to the goal of helping our people discover and follow God's call in their lives. The art of inviting young men and women to consider a vocation in the Church is being rediscovered in a real way. More and more parishes are looking to Eucharistic Adoration as a valuable blessing for their people. And our youth are being ever-more drawn toward the meaningful questions like "What has God made me to be?" 

And then there's the Internet. Websites are essential to any organization, and the Church is no different in this regard. But social media are growing by leaps and bounds each day. With Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we have the ability to, quite literally, hit 'em where they are" - right on their laptops, iPads and phones. That's the new frontier of ministry. We should not be afraid of it but embrace it - always in an appropriate way - with an attitude of "this is where Christ is; it is where He wants to be."

So, ministers and discerners alike, get connected; because we will be hitting 'em where you are!

Baltimore Vocations is on YouTube now

Bienvenidos!

The Holy Father welcomes the youth at World Youth Day '11, and invites them to a beautiful conversation:

"Many of them have heard the voice of God, perhaps only as a little whisper, which has led them to search for him more diligently and to share with others the experience of the force which he has in their lives. The discovery of the living God inspires young people and opens their eyes to the challenges of the world in which they live, with its possibilities and limitations. They see the prevailing superficiality, consumerism and hedonism, the widespread banalization of sexuality, the lack of solidarity, the corruption. They know that, without God, it would be hard to confront these challenges and to be truly happy, and thus pouring out their enthusiasm in the attainment of an authentic life. But, with God beside them, they will possess light to walk by and reasons to hope, unrestrained before their highest ideals, which will motivate their generous commitment to build a society where human dignity and true brotherhood are respected. Here on this Day, they have a special opportunity to gather together their aspirations, to share the richness of their cultures and experiences, motivate each other along a journey of faith and life, in which some think they are alone or ignored in their daily existence. But they are not alone. Many people of the same age have the same aspirations and, entrusting themselves completely to Christ, know that they really have a future before them and are not afraid of the decisive commitments which fulfill their entire lives. That is why it gives me great joy to listen to them, pray with them and celebrate the Eucharist with them. World Youth Day brings us a message of hope like a pure and youthful breeze, with rejuvenating scents which fill us with confidence before the future of the Church and the world."

Finding Quiet Places

Pope Benedict addressed his audience last week to reminding pilgrims of the value of rest and silence in the midst of a noisy world. This is the same silence that Francis and Clare sought, as well as other founders of monastic communities. However, this is the same silence - the same stillness - that every soul needs in order to hear and know God's voice speaking to them. It is here, in the silence, that we discover our vocations.

Perhaps, the Holy Father is preparing us for the wildness of World Youth Day? Perhaps he is looking to get our young people thinking about where they, too, can find that silence in their lives and hear God's voice.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters!

In every age, men and women who have consecrated their lives to God in prayer – like monks and nuns – have established their communities in particularly beautiful places: in the countryside, on hilltops, in valleys, on the shores of lakes or the sea, or even on little islands. These places unite two elements which are very important for contemplative life: the beauty of creation, which recalls that of the Creator, and silence, which is guaranteed by living far from cities and the great means of communication. Silence is the environmental condition that most favors contemplation, listening to God and meditation. The very fact of experiencing silence and allowing ourselves to be “filled,” so to speak, with silence, disposes us to prayer. The great prophet, Elijah, on Mount Horeb – that is, Sinai – experienced strong winds, then an earthquake, and finally flashes of fire, but he did not recognize the voice of God in them; instead, he recognized it in a light breeze (cfr. 1 Kgs 19:11-13). God speaks in silence, but we need to know how to listen. This is why monasteries are oases in which God speaks to humanity; and there we find the courtyard, a symbolic place because it is a closed space, but open toward heaven....

The silence and the beauty in which the monastic community lives - a simple and austere beauty - constitute a reflection of the spiritual harmony that the community seeks to bring about. The world is filled with these oases of the spirit: some very ancient, others are more recent, while still others have been restored by new communities. Looking at things from a spiritual perspective, these places of the spirit are a load-bearing structure of the world! It is no accident that many people, especially in times of rest, visit these places and stop there for some days.

Even the soul, thanks be to God, has its needs!”

Open Your Heart

Not on Pie Alone...

In my first parish assignment, we had a Thanksgiving dinner for the poor and homeless in our high school cafeteria. On tat first Thanksgiving, I was the celebrant for the morning Mass, and I was informed of a lack of pie for the dinner. The coordinators asked me to make an announcement that we needed pies, in case any of the Mass-goers were able to bring some.

After Mass, I walked over to the high school and was met by a couple who handed me a stack of four pies from Mars Supermarket. Inside, there were parishioners dropping off pies from local stores’ bakeries. We had more pie than we could handle, and we even started giving people pie for the road.

It became known as “the miracle of the pies.”

Folks congratulated me on my wonderful ability to multiply pies and feed the hungry. But I didn’t really do anything. All I did was give an invitation.

Ah, but man does not live on pie alone….

In today’s gospel, we witness one of Jesus’ most famous miracles: five loaves, two fish, five thousand men (plus the women and children). All were fed, and there were even twelve baskets of leftovers. Much has been written about this miracle, and many have even tried to explain it away as simply the people’s sharing of their resources. But when it comes down to it, the point of the story is this: “They all ate and were satisfied.”

These days, in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, there is an effort underway to look at how we allocate parish resources, programs and priests. It’s a scary time, because it will most likely involve combining or even closing parishes. People talk a lot about the “shortage of priests.” We are not unlike the disciples who come to Jesus and say “This is a deserted place and it is already late…”

The disciples’ voices ring with defeat, with pessimism, with a desire to place the responsibility somewhere else in the care of this flock. But Jesus sees it differently. When He sees the crowds, His heart is moved with pity. He cares for them.

As Vocations Director, I hear a lot about this “shortage of priests” and the need for more seminarians. While it is never about pure numbers, this is often the first thing people look at or ask me. But the response disarms many: “How many have you invited?”

You see, the call to service in the ordained ministry is more than just some career that we “settle into.” Rather, it is a vocation that comes to us from Jesus Himself. He is the One who calls, not I. However, as a priest, it is my sacramental role to speak for Christ, and when I ask a young man if he has considered Priesthood, or tell him that I think he would make a fine priest, I am lending my voice to Christ, whose call continues to echo through time in the Church: “Come, follow me!”

It is not my job as Vocations Director to yank men out of our pews and make them priests. In fact, when we simply rely on our own human effort for that, we miss the point altogether.

The disciples looked at their meager resources and saw the “bread shortage.” They missed the true message. Jesus is right here! All you need to do is trust Him! When Jesus took charge, “all ate and were satisfied.”

So too in our Church today. Yes, these are scary times, and, yes, there are difficult moves ahead. If we only look at our human resources and ignore the role of Christ in this process, we will fail.

However, if we shed a defeatist attitude, stop whining about a “priest shortage,” and turn to encourage and invite those we feel may be called, because we are in tune with Jesus, He will work wonders and even renew our Church here in Baltimore and beyond.

Jesus sees us now, and His heart continues to move with pity. He longs to reach out his wondrous hand and feed us through His ministers. And, when He does, all will eat, and all will be satisfied.

Green Martyrdom

There is a fragment of a homily that dates from around the beginning of the eighth century from Ireland known as the "Cambrai Homily." It is of interest because it is an excellent early example of writing in Old Irish. The homily expounds on the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, verse 24: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

In explaining the Scripture, the preacher talks about three types of martyrdom: "red" martyrdom, "white," and "green" (or "blue," depending on how you translate the Old Irish). "Red martyrdom" is that witness given by those who shed their blood for Christ in witness to the Gospels and our faith. These are the apostles (like Peter, Paul, Andrew, and company), or the early Christian martyrs (like, Ignatius, Marcelinus, Agnes, et al.), and even those today (like Maria Goretti, Edith Stein, Maximilian Kolbe, and others). Augustine sometimes referred to them as "roses" in the garden of our faith.

"White martyrdom" is that which comes from giving up one's pleasures and dedicating themselves entirely to the Kingdom and the King. These are the "brides of Christ" and those monks, hermits and priests who sacrifice family and worldly pleasure for the sake of our heavenly homeland. They give their chastity to God and live lives of asceticism so as to serve God in His Church with an undivided heart. This is the martyrdom of saints like Therese of Lisieux, Mother Tersea, St. Francis and Thomas Aquinas. It is also the type of witness that the Church calls Her priests to in carrying our their priestly ministry. Those aspiring to Priesthood should be aware of and ready to make this commitment of that beautiful self-gift for the sake of the Kingdom and the service of others.

The last "martyrdom," "green martyrdom," is not often discussed. It is a little vague, even in the fragment of that homily from long ago. However, I think it is equally important and valuable. Green martyrdom means the letting go of personal desire, ambition and plans in order to serve that higher purpose of faith. It is different than white or red martyrdom, but I think that the other two cannot exist without it.

Green martyrdom says that what I have here and now is not as important as what God promises through the gift of faith. Through this witness, a Christian finds the value in fasting and sacrifice. These "martyrs" might not have their names enrolled in the Canon, but they are saints nevertheless. These are the parents who sacrifice in order to share their faith with their children - who may struggle to send them to Catholic schools. They are the ones who find the power to forgive their enemies, even when everyone else would allow them their grudge. They are the young people who are not afraid to be noticed as Christians in the midst of a hostile world.

Before one can offer up the sacrifice of a "white" or "red" martyrdom, there must first come the "green" - just as the leaf precedes the flower. If we expect to see an increase in the number of witnesses who will offer themselves as priests and religious brothers and sisters, we must first look to increase in ourselves a desire to sacrifice in those "ordinary" moments of our own lives as an example to others.