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Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Jan 6, 2008

The Feast of the Epiphany – The Three Kings

Epiphany – literally the shining forth – was traditionally celebrated on January 6 but is now observed on the second Sunday after Christmas. St. Matthew’s Gospel (2:1-12) is the only one to recount the story. This feast is of singular importance because it is the first manifestation of Christ to non-Jews. It is also remarkable in that the importance of Jesus is reflected in the stars and attracts the attention of Zoroastrian priest-astrologers in Persia who come to pay homage to the newborn king.

St. Matthew’s account does not tell us the number of Magi -literally magoi or “Great Ones” – and certainly they were not kings. For those familiar with current contemporary science fantasy books, the term in Greek for the visitors is Mages – magicians or sorcerers. The term is generally translated as Wise Men, softening the sense of black or destructive magic. The three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were seen as offerings for a god, according to St. John Chrysostom in the second century. Some scholars characterize this story as a non-historical account which has symbolic importance for the very special divine status of the Christ child.

Was there a star? Well yes and no. According to Ball State University astronomer, Ron Kaitchuck, contemporary astronomical research – which has its origins in this same priestly Zoroastrian caste – indicates that there were unusual conjunctions of key planets in significant constellations. The story is somewhat complicated because we are not sure of the actual month or year of the birth of Christ. (When the Christian calendar was being established, an error in arithmetic changed the count by 3 years. Christ was actually born in 3 B.C. – we think.) Astrophysicist Grant Matthews, at Notre Dame University, has found supernovae which he suggests as potential candidates.
Creationists who are also well credentialed scientists have come up with some interesting scenarios to explain the Christmas “Aster”. The Greek term we translate as star can be just about any light in the heavens. (You want to watch out for bad “asters” or “dys-asters”.)

Lambert Dolphin, an accomplished physicist, has published an updated account of the Christmas Star by Barry Setterfield, an Austrailian astronomer who has tried to reconcile literal biblical accounts of the young age of the earth with a novel approach to scientific dating that assumes the duration of atomic processes does vary over time. Needless to say, Setterfield’s ideas are not considered to be in the scientific mainstream. However, his account of the ancient night sky and the dating of Christ’s birth follow a rigorous logic. His approach is also shared by another noted astronomer, Craig Chester of the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy.

While Setterfield and Craig issue the traditional warning against the practice of astrology and the occult, it is hard to see anything else in their analysis of the ancient star patterns other than ancient astrology. It is a curious contradiction that we are supposed to watch for signs and portents in the heavens and assign some religious predictive meaning to them by interpreting the scriptures but we are to avoid astrology. Clearly, the admonitions are meant to avoid pre-Christian and other earth based religions that attempt to manipulate the transnatural or “buy off” disasters with various types of animal sacrifice.

When the ancient night sky can be traced to certain historical events, such as the Roman census and the rise and fall of various rulers, it has a certain grounding. If we look at Setterfield’s and Chester’s analysis of sky charts to reveal the creation of the world or the coming of the apocalypse, there is really nothing to ground these speculations except for a string of assumptions that don’t seem to be supported by outside verifiable evidence.

Whether we believe it happened or see it only as a shining metaphor of the favor of Heaven, the Star and the Magi are portents of the coming of all people to faith.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Jan 3, 2008

Feast of the Day January 3 – The Holy Name of Jesus

Currently, January 3 is the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The feast has a long history and has been celebrated on different dates – most of which have been after the 8th day of Christmas and related to the naming of Jesus at his circumcision or bris. According to scripture (Mt. 1:25), St. Joseph was told to give him the name Yeshua -“YHWY (the Lord) saves,” because the child would save His people. (YHWY -Yahwey – God’s name is not pronounced by devout Jews and the term “Adonai “- the Lord – is used instead.) Joshua was actually the more common version of the name and was probably the name to which Jesus responded. To make a long story short, Yoshua got transliterated into Greek as Ioshua and Yeshua got transliterated as Iesus. Interestingly, if you reverse the order of the two elements you come up with Isaiah.

All of this was neatly summarized by a neon sign on a church in Ventura, CA where I grew up. The sign was made in the form of a cross. Running vertically downward was “God Saves,” interrupted by the cross bar emblazoned with “Jesus.” I used to attend Holy Name Society Masses, followed by breakfast in the parish hall with my father. (The pancakes and the hot cocoa were good and more than welcome in the days when we fasted from midnight, or at least three hours before Mass.) It was actually a fairly nice father-son affair, and although the focus was on devotion to Christ, there was a very clear focus on using clean language and carefully using the Holy Name.

Although my father was an oil field welder and we lived in a blue collar world, in which the Holy Name was just another throw away swear word, I noticed that men took note of my father’s language. It gave him a dignity without being sanctimonious or judgmental. Tony Pozos didn’t swear, was a man of his word, and his welding crews did not get injured on the job. What impressed me most was my father’s fidelity to the Holy Name pledge which we recited at the meetings. Like me, he was far from perfect. However, my Dad held himself to certain standards, which he passed on to me by example.

Later, as the result of my parents’ hard work and sacrifice, when I moved into the white collar world, I was surprised that gifted and talented men and women could be so coarse in language and cavalier with the name of Jesus. What struck me most is the lack of respect people showed for themselves and others. If we can take the wonder of “God Saves” and make it a curse, it reflects a profound despair and anger. To do this casually out of habit reflects a coarsening of the the soul and our relationships. It bespeaks a deep pessimism, far from hope. “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” (Mt. 15:11)

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 31, 2007

The Feast of the Holy Family

The Feast of the Holy Family falls on the Sunday between Christmas and the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, January 1. The readings for the day focus on qualities that make for happy relationships between people, including members of families.

Sometimes when we focus on the Holy Family as the model for family life, we get bogged down with the perfection of Jesus and Mary, the holiness of St. Joseph, and the impossibility of actually living a perfect life ourselves. Then we write off their example as just another bit of pious nonsense that has nothing to do with the reality of crying babies, mortgage payments, difficult bosses, and all the other stresses that come with marriage and family. For those who are not married and/or don’t have children, the feast can seem irrelevant or even be a painful reminder of unfulfilled hopes.

So, I find myself wondering, what is it that makes a family, any family, “holy?” It seems to me that if the Holy Family is to be a model for the rest of us, that must mean that we are also to be “holy.” What made them holy?

Being holy does not mean having no problems or challenges in life. Holiness, it seems to me, lies in how we handle those difficulties that come in every life. After all, without the problems, difficulties, challenges, “crashes,” struggles, “hitting bottom,” or whatever we call it, we would never need to turn to God for help. We could just continue blithely on our way, assuming everything is fine, and in the best American cultural sense, be “rugged individuals” who can make it on our own.

But that isn’t what the spiritual life and journey are all about. Our spiritual lives are about learning from our mistakes, growing in wisdom, reaching out for help and community, being purified in God’s love, so that we can run joyfully to the Lord at the end of our days.

When we look at the lives of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, we find that they were filled from the beginning with many of the same challenges faced by other families. An unexpected, unplanned pregnancy, one outside the marriage; governmental demands that upset a family’s plans; taxes; inconvenient timing of a birth; the necessity to leave home and become refugees in another land; a child who feels grown up enough to go off on his own at the age of 12 without telling anyone where he’ll be; the death of a spouse or parent; a child whose life choices and career don’t meet the expectations of the family or community; the untimely death of a child. All these things were part of the lives of the Holy Family, as they can be part of our own lives. What made Joseph, Mary and Jesus holy as a family was their response to these challenges and their loving support of each other through them.

Joseph’s first recorded response to Mary’s pregnancy was compassion. He did not want to expose her to the penalties of the Law. He loved her and wanted her to be safe. When the angel told him in a dream that Mary had not been unfaithful, he accepted her as his wife. He made a home with her and supported her through the pregnancy and birth. He took her and Jesus to safety in Egypt, again following the instructions received in a dream. When it was safe, he took them back to their home in Nazareth cared for them and made a home for them.

Both Mary and Joseph must have “pondered” many things along the way. Many things did not make sense at the time. They really didn’t know what God had in mind. Jesus was a normal child. He had to learn how to be a man and how to respect and love the people around him. Mary and Joseph taught him by their actions as well as their words, just as we teach our children more by the way we act than by our words. It’s no surprise that people in families tend to share many gestures, facial expressions, attitudes and beliefs. The Holy Family would not have been different in this. The characteristics we seen recorded about Jesus were probably in great part those he learned from his parents.

In this week following the Feast of the Holy Family, as we enter a new calendar year, I hope we can take their lives as ones that exemplify the kind of relationships that result from heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love (Col 3:12-17). These qualities are not ones that stem primarily from feelings, but rather they are attitudes and behavioral choices to which we are all called.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 29, 2007

Saint of the Day 12/29 – St. Thomas Becket – When Politics and Religion Don’t Mix

December 29 is the feast of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Becket was born to an upper middle class family around 1118 in London. As a boy, he learned the ways of the upper class from family friends, including hunting, jousting, horsemanship, and how to behave as a gentleman. He was educated in civil and canon (Church) law in England, France, and Italy. Upon his return to England, he began working for Theobald, then Archbishop of Canterbury. Theobald was so impressed with his abilities that he gave Thomas a variety of positions, including Archdeacon of Canterbury. It should be noted, that one did not need to be a priest to serve in these positions. Theobald recommended Thomas for the position of Lord Chancellor when the position became open and Henry II agreed.

As Lord Chancellor, Thomas was one of the most powerful men in England. At the time, Henry II was actively trying to bring the Church in England under greater royal control. Thomas Becket helped in this by his collection of taxes on all landholders, including the Church. Church leaders in England rightly saw him as their adversary in the struggle.

Thomas was a friend of Henry II, to the degree that anyone could be a friend to a king in those days. They spent free time together and Thomas shared in the pleasures of the Court, including those common to courtiers. Henry sent his son to live with Thomas for a while and the young prince became very fond of Thomas.

All was well until 1162. When Theobald died, the position of Archbishop of Canterbury was given to Thomas Becket. Henry II assumed that his loyal servant, companion in pleasure, and Lord Chancellor, would continue to be “his man” as head of the church in England.

Thomas Becket, on the other hand, became more religious. He resigned as Lord Chancellor and began to consolidate the power of the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. A series of conflicts arose between Archbishop and King over governance of the Church and clergy, control of lands, and the relationship with Rome. There were trials, exiles, reconciliations, excommunications, and much upheaval in the following years. Finally, four of Henry’s men killed Thomas in the Cathedral at Canterbury, believing they were doing so on the King’s orders. Edward Grim, an eyewitness to the event, reported that Thomas’ last words were, “For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.”

Three years later, in 1173, Thomas Becket was canonized by Pope Alexander. But the story didn’t end there. Over the centuries that followed, the story of Thomas Becket was interpreted and reinterpreted. He was seen as enemy and as hero by those who followed. The site of his tomb was a popular tourist/pilgrim destination. His remains were moved to a shrine at Trinity Chapel in 1220 and continued to attract visitors. Henry VIII destroyed the shrine of Becket’s tomb and his bones, ordering that his name no longer be mentioned in England. In more recent times, plays, movies, biographies, and operas have all been written about the tumultuous history of Thomas Becket and Henry II.

Today, as we look at the modern world, we might think that such things could never happen now. Yet their tale should be a cautionary one for all of us.

What happens when the powers of the world clash with the mission of faith? What should be the role of religious leaders in the political sphere? What role should faith play in public life, especially for those chosen to govern a nation of people from many faiths? Does it work to have religious leaders govern a modern nation? Who should be governed by religious law – everyone or just clerics? When clerics break civil law, should they be subject to civil courts?

These questions and more are seething in world politics and international relations. We see countries in which religious law is the law of the land. We see countries in which members of faith-based insurgency movements are killing those they see as breakers of religious laws or as enemies of their faith. Candidates for political office are murdered, suicide bombers kill elected officials and members of the general public alike, and voters are advised to look to their faith in deciding which candidate merits their support.

Somehow, all this does not seem consistent with the will of a power whom we believe to be Love (1 John 4:16).

Maybe the better approach would be to look at the fruits of religious belief. Are the hungry fed? Are children, even the girls, educated? How do we care for the sick? Can everyone get the care they need? Do people have shelter from the elements – homes in which they can feel safe and raise their children in peace? Can ideas be exchanged freely, without fear of murder following? How do we treat the elderly? Do we treasure new life? Can we laugh with each other rather than at each other? Do we treat our enemies with respect and justice? Is justice tinged with mercy?

The great insight of the founders of the American political system was that in order for religion to be most free, and in practice most influential, it must be unhinged from politics. And as we select the politicians who will lead us in the next 2-4 years, we need to remember that stated religious beliefs are not necessarily the best measures of what the fruits of their leadership will be.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 26, 2007

Christmastide – 12 Days of Celebration

(Christmas Eve: Goa, India)

There can be a strange misconception that Christmas ends on the morning of December 26. Many people take down Christmas trees and other decorations and gear up for a secular New Year of parades and American football games. It does make some sense, because many people have been exhausted going to “Christmas” parties since early December, eating and drinking a lot, while chasing through the shopping malls.

Christmastide, however, from December 25 to January 6 – the former feast of the Epiphany when the Three Wise Men came to visit the infant Jesus – is actually the time for celebrating. In many Latin countries, gifts are exchanged on the Epiphany in honor of the gifts of the Magi.

The white fish recipes that are part of gourmet menus for Christmas Eve are actually an echo of a time when December 24 was the last day of Advent – a time of preparation. Christmas Eve was a day of fasting and abstaining from meat.

There is still time to reclaim the joys of Christmastide. Relaxation, reflection, some daily exercise and a slower pace – just spending time with each other – is the acceptance of the Gift beyond comprehension – Emmanuel – God with us.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 25, 2007

Christmas Day – December 25 – The First Day of Christmas

There are many wonderful movies and stories associated with Christmas. Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the famous Frank Capra movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, and other stories from around the world, depict the coming of grace and peace in the darkness of poverty, hunger, disillusionment and despair. They have happy endings but are very dark.

These stories and movies are an apt testimony to the theology of Christmas in its broader context. They are reminders of hope, joy, and peace. There is also the darker side of Christmas for billions around the globe lost in starvation, oppression, and loneliness.

Generally, Christmas is a day reserved for family and close friends, but you might want to re-think that. Christmas miracles are something you can do on December 25th and other days. Remember that old acquaintance or friend with mental health problems? How about a quick call, a card, or a short letter? Do you know someone far from home? Someone in prison? In the hospital? Suffering from cancer or HIV/AIDS? How about doing something special like a card with a personal note? Mrs. Jones up the street with very few visitors probably wouldn’t mind a brief visit or a quick hello. A small celebration for international students can ease the pain of Christmas away. For non-Christian international students, it is a wonderful experience of joyous hospitality.

We have 12 special days of Christmastide to be miracle workers. As tiny Tim said “God bless us everyone.”

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 23, 2007

Holiday Grace Means Reducing Stress

Christmas and New Years are times for that bane of all good people – temptation in the guise of Good. St. Ignatius Loyola is well known for this insight into the primary way good people fall from grace. One of the fool proof temptations is to get people so wound up in getting everything right, that they get it all wrong.

Here are some ideas:

Budget your time, money, and calories. Becoming exhausted, financially stressed, and sending your blood sugar into outer space are all great ways to make you feel down, miserable, and ready for a fight.

Prioritize you activities. Turn off the Christmas machine! It’s a time for celebration. Select activities you and your family really want to do. Get help. Delegate tasks. Indulge in just relaxing, breathing, praying.

Don’t try and solve family issues over the holidays. It can happen, but usually it only happens in greeting cards and holiday movies. Be peaceful and prayerful. Take care of yourself and avoid toxic people and situations. You have a much better chance of being successful in handling difficult relationships during less stressful times and occasions.

Decorations and “house beautiful” have nothing to do with a manger in Bethlehem. You and your loved ones will remember and cherish the warmth and the love that come from imperfect decor, meals, and people. The greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones is relaxation. Banish the junk food devil. Holiness is in simple slow food – nothing elaborate – just healthy and good.

Your daily examination of conscience should include rest, wholesome food, plenty of water, and exercise. Remember it’s supposed to be a holiday, not two weeks on a forced march. Make sacred time for yourself – alone with God or at least a good book.

Remember, the truest sign of grace and holiness is laughter. It is a time to have fun. Laughter brings us closer to our family and friends, boosts the immune system, and relieves stress.

Watch out for impulse anything — eating, spending, drinking, or decision making.

If you feel out of sorts, it is time to watch out for the four horseman of the holiday apocalypse: Hunger, Anger, Loneliness, Fatigue. Be peacefully aware of your moods and feelings. You determine how you will respond to people, situations, moods, and feelings. Live in God’s grace and so will the others around you.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 19, 2007

Las Posadas – Welcoming the Coming of Christ

In the Spanish speaking world, it is customary to prepare for Christmas through nine days of celebration known as “las Posadas,” literally, “the inns” or “the lodgings.” As part of this celebration, a girl and a boy, dressed as Mary and Joseph, go with family and friends from house to house for nine days in a row, singing and asking for shelter. At each house, they are turned away, until on the last night, at the last house, they are welcomed inside and all share in a party.

The song for Las Posadas is sung back and forth by those outside and those inside. Those outside speak as Joseph, asking for lodging for himself and his pregnant wife. Those inside refuse entry to the pilgrims, citing lack of room and the fact that it is late and these are unknown strangers at the door. The final plea, the one that gains them entrance, is the one asking shelter for Mary, the Queen of Heaven and soon to be Mother of the Divine Word. On hearing this introduction, those inside apologize for not understanding who it was that was seeking entrance. They welcome the outsiders into the house, singing, “Enter, holy pilgrims, receive this corner, for though this dwelling is poor, I offer it with all my heart.” The song continues with the offer of the singer’s soul as a place of lodging for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

I have seen several versions of the words and the tune for the Posada, but the theme is the same. The Holy Family is traveling, needing shelter, appearing as the stranger. No one is willing to help them. The house is full; strangers can be a danger to the household; it’s late; the claims of those asking for help seem pretty wild. (She’s a queen? Yeah, right! Why’s she out so late at night and alone?) Then comes the moment of recognition – the visitors are Heaven-sent – and welcome follows, both physically and spiritually, as the visitors enter into our homes and our hearts.

In these last few days before Christmas, whether we celebrate them with a Posada, or a novena, or simply by lighting the candles on our Advent Wreath, it is a time to remember to smile at the stranger, wait our turn patiently in the long lines at the stores, and offer a prayer for peace for ourselves and those around us. After all, who knows when the stranger we encounter will be a visitor from God who will touch our heart and who awaits our loving response.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 14, 2007

Saint of the Day – St. John of the Cross

December 14 is the feast day of St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), a mystic, reformer, and one of the greatest poets of Spanish literature’s Golden Age. He was born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez into a “converso” or converted Jewish family. His father died when he was young and he and his two older brothers, along with their mother, moved from village to village in Castilla, suffering from poverty and rejection by both Jews and Christians. At Medina del Campo, from 1559 to 1563, he studied humanities at the Jesuit school. In 1563, he entered the Carmelite Order and in 1564, he studied philosophy at the Colegio San Andres at the University of Salamanca. In 1567, he was ordained a priest and wanted to join the Carthusians, since he felt called to a life of silent contemplation. St. Theresa of Avila convinced him to help her reform the Carmelites instead.

In 1568, he co-founded the Discalced Carmelites ,with St. Teresa of Avila. (The were called discalced because they returned to the custom of walking bare foot.) St. Teresa had a vision for restoring the Carmelite order to its original austerity and seclusion from the world. St. John founded the first Discalced Carmelite monastery at Duruelo in 1569. There was great opposition to the reform within the Carmelite Order. He was imprisoned in Toledo by his superiors for 9 months, from December 1577 to August 1578, when he managed to escape after brutal treatment and privation. His tormentors tried to sway him from his leadership of the reform movement, which had been legitimately authorized. Nevertheless, St. John of the Cross went on with the reform and produced wonderful poetry and treatises on the spiritual life.

It may seem incomprehensible to us today that there could be opposition to such a reform that would return an order to its original vision. However, many of the men and women in convents and monasteries at the time were placed there by their families, especially if they were younger sons and daughters. A position in the Church strengthened the family’s position and avoided the costs and alliances that came with marriages. Making the best of a bad situation, many of these men and women with “enforced” vocations tried to live as comfortable a life as possible. They weren’t called to live lives of austere, silent contemplation and fought the reform.

Just as he had suffered from those opposed to the reform, St. John’s latter years would be marked by suffering from those who embraced the reform but went too far in their austerity. When he opposed and corrected their excesses, they did their best to neutralize his influence. St. John of the Cross died in 1591 after he had been denied adequate medical attention and endured isolation. It seems that much of his maltreatment by both sides was not due entirely to his authorized reform activities. He was a “converso” and considered a renegade and certainly beneath the standing of so-called “pure bloods,” who resented and were shamed by his holiness and learning.

El Greco’s “View of Toledo”

St. John of the Cross was a man of great courage, without bitterness, because his suffering never conquered him. Thomas Merton reflects on the imprisonment of St. John of the Cross in Toledo as an example of the holiness of a saint coming from grappling with the problem of evil. Why do good people suffer? Why do I suffer? His response during his inhuman imprisonment was to write a major part of one of his greatest poems on union with Christ, The Spiritual Canticle. Out of great darkness and suffering came great light and peace.

Stanzas Of The Soul

One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
—ah, the sheer grace!—
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
—ah, the sheer grace!—
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
—him I knew so well—
there in a place where no one appeared.

O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.

Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.

I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 13, 2007

Saint of the Day – St. Lucy of Syracuse: Hope for an End to Religious Violence

December 13 is the feast day of the early Christian martyr, St. Lucy of Syracuse (283-304). There is really very little that is known about her, except that she was killed under the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian. She was revered by the early church and her name has been included in the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass in Rome from the early centuries.

This lack of information did not prevent subsequent generations of Christians from creating an elaborate legend. In it a beautiful young woman decides to dedicate herself to God as a virgin, gives her dowry to the poor, and her rejected suitor denounces her as a Christian. Her beautiful eyes are gouged out, but God miraculously gives her an even more beautiful pair of eyes. This led to Medieval and later depictions of St. Lucy carrying her gouged out eyes on a plate.

In northern Europe and Scandinavia, celebration of the feast of St. Lucy adopted pre-Christian elements of worship of the goddess Freya and observances of the winter solstice. Freya’s chariot is pulled by cats across the winter sky. Distributing cat shaped rolls on St. Lucy’s day is still a popular custom. Lucy means light, so the association with the winter solstice is not surprising. Candles were lit on St. Lucy’s day and girls would sometimes wear wreaths with lighted candles in their hair. (Please do not do this at home, or anywhere else for that matter!)

While the legends associated with St. Lucy elaborate the sufferings of a martyr, what is overlooked when we separate historical fact from fantasy is the reality of violent religious persecution and the witness of Christians in the most dire of circumstances. We might have the impression from our notions of ancient history that the wholesale murder of Christians occurred only under certain Roman emperors. However, persecutions and the witness of Christians have continued to the present day. There are some estimates that 65% of Christian martyrs actually gave their lives in the 20th century and the trend is continuing in the current century.

From Palestine to India to China and North Korea, through Africa and Latin America, Christians are being oppressed and killed for their faith. The conflicts are with Moslems, Hindus, Communists, right wing dictatorships, and leftist guerillas. Certainly, Christians have oppressed and killed members of other Christian and non-Christian groups. Clearly, religious, ethnic, tribal, and political conflicts will continue to lead to oppression and death. Many times the veneration of martyrs of any group is used to move a community to violence.

Nevertheless, as Christians, when we commemorate martyrs such as St. Lucy, we should re-commit ourselves to the beatitudes, especially “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Our witness – the Greek word is marturia – should be to remove the social and political causes of violence and oppression for all groups. This is a naive and foolishly unrealistic goal, but so is the Kingdom of Heaven, as testified to by martyrs like St. Lucy.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 10, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

We often think of prophets as people in robes holding a staff rebuking a king or trying to point out the error of our ways. In this season of Advent, the prophets are taking a different tack.

Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, comments in his interview with Krista Tippett, that Evangelicals are returning to an emphasis on personal AND social morality. He recounted how the Catholic Church had continued to emphasize both at a time in the mid-20th century when Evangelicals focused on personal salvation and morality, while Protestants focused on social morality issues such as racism, poverty, and human rights.

Kay Warren responded to a series of questions about their Saddleback, CA church’s mission to combat HIV / AIDS in Africa. Krista Tippett asked her how she could reconcile issues of sexual promiscuity and the use of condoms. Her answer was telling. Kay Warren made an important distinction between ideal positions on morality and their pastoral application. She said that in an ideal world, abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage were ideal solutions to the prevention of HIV /AIDS. However, condoms can’t be disregarded because they save lives in many situations in which women and men have no real control over the behavior of their spouses.

The Warren’s HIV / AIDS initiative has enlisted the help of prominent people on both sides of the political spectrum. People from the left and the right have groused about the other side being included. However, the Warrens, insist that their mission is not about politics, but faith and compassion for all people.

In a previous interview with Jim Wallis, the author of God’s Politics: How the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, and founder of “Covenant for a New America,” Krista Tippett focused on Wallace’s campaign to combat poverty and the dehumanization it brings.

Previous Evangelical leaders, such as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson, have had the ear of the rich and powerful, in addition to the ear of millions of people. Their influence on key political figures from Richard Nixon to the current President Bush has been noted.

According to Krista Tippett, new leaders like Jim Wallace and Rick and Kay Warren now have this same influence, but with a broader message. Wallis not only has the ear of Presidential candidates, but he is close to the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, and the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd. Rick and Kay Warren are also sought out by the powerful. The difference between this new group of Evangelical leaders and the older group is an emphasis on salvation – personal, economic, and spiritual – as brought about by the activity of God in the assembly – the church. Salvation in Christ comes through the community that is church.

These leaders reflect a broader movement among younger Evangelicals, who are emphasizing the transcendent and the immediate dimensions of faith in ministering to people in need as ministering to Christ. According to Krista Tippett, these young Evangelicals are called the “New Monastics” and live in communities emphasizing simplicity and service to the disenfranchised.

People familiar with the history of Evangelicals and other branches of Christianity will realize that there is nothing “new” in these developments. Yet they are wonderful to behold.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 4, 2007

Ancient Roots of a Modern Imperative

Sometimes I hear people speak disapprovingly about the actions and dreams of those who work for social justice. The “harrumphs” are loudest about those still living and active. Once the activist is no longer living and doing disturbing things, he or she is not such a threat and some of what was done begins to seem self-evidently correct. People like Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. come to mind as examples of people whose work today is praised but during their lifetimes was often criticized and/or condemned.

The reading from Isaiah today reminded me that social justice is not a new concept or dream. Even in ancient Israel, the prophet had to remind the people that the one who comes from the Lord and upon whom the spirit of the Lord rests will be concerned with justice for the poor.

“… a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.

Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (Isaiah 11:1-6)

The reading goes on to describe what has been called “the peaceable kingdom” where the wolf is a guest of the lamb and a child leads a calf and a young lion who graze together. The entire picture of this wonderful time and place of peace hinges on the justice brought by this shoot from Jesse’s stump. Once justice for the poor and faithfulness are the norm for the world’s societies, “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; … There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

The struggle for social justice, a struggle/imperative which continues today, does indeed have ancient roots!

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 3, 2007

St. Francis Xavier and Me

December 3 is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, “Apostle to the East.” Francis Xavier was born in Navarre, Spain in 1506, to a wealthy and influential family. However, his family lost their lands in 1512 when Navarre was conquered by troops from Castille and Aragon. His father died in 1515.

Francis went to study in Paris when he was 19 and met Iñigo (Ignatius) Loyola there. To make a long story short, Francis eventually joined with Loyola as one of the founding members of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.

Francis is best known for his missionary work in India, Malacca, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Japan. From 1540, until his death on an island off the coast of China in 1552, he traveled and preached throughout the East, frequently returning to Goa in India. He left behind communities of Christians in each place he visited and pioneered the missionary style of the Jesuit order through the compromises he worked out with the existing Christian community, founded by St. Thomas the Apostle, in India.

There are many biographies and studies written about St. Francis Xavier’s life, teachings, influence in the Church, and miracles.

My family has had a close relationship with St. Francis for several generations in the Pacific Northwest. Jesuits were among the first to arrive in eastern Washington and brought with them a devotion to St. Francis. Growing up in parishes staffed by Jesuits, we shared in the tradition of the “Novena of Grace” each year in March. In fact, my parents’ first date ocurred when my father picked up my mother from her teaching assignment in northern Idaho and escorted her to the Novena in Spokane!

As a child, many of my early memories are related to the family tradition of attending Mass and the Novena from March 4-12. Each year we went, with our own prayer requests, and gathered with hundreds of other people from Spokane and the surrounding areas to praise God and ask St. Francis to intercede for us. There were people we only saw once a year – at the Novena.

Some years the prayer intentions were very practical – a job for a relative out of work, health for a sick relative, help with school work, etc. Other years the intentions were more “spiritual” – help in overcoming a bad habit, help in discerning a life path, greater understanding of the Holy Spirit – little things like that!

Important things happened during or after the Novena. Two cousins who were born during the Novena were adopted into the family – we had been praying for a child for each family that year. Other children have been born into or adopted into the family in the year following the Novena. One of my brothers survived a difficult birth on March 4 and was given an extra middle name, Francis, in thanksgiving. Relatives got jobs. People got well. An uncle returned to the Church as he lay dying during the Novena. My Great Grandmother and my Grandmother both died on First Friday during the Novena.

Sometimes funny things happened, like the year my youngest brother dropped a “steely” marble at the back of the church and it rolled all the way to the front, causing a stir as it went all the way! Mom was not amused, but we’re all still laughing about it.

The relationship with St. Francis is not limited to those nine days in March. At harvest time, when a storm threatens to ruin a crop before the field is harvested, prayers go up to “St. Frank” to protect it. When a relationship needs a boost from the Holy Spirit, prayers go to St. Francis. And when something goes really well, prayers of thanks go up too. It’s good to have a powerful big brother (saint) to help out.

A little over ten years ago, a young man from a Goan family knocked on our front door, hoping to sell a medical software program to a medical group we managed. The software was not what our group needed, but he became a close friend. We found many common threads in our educations, life experience and shared bond as Catholics. He in turn has introduced us to his family and many of his friends, including those who are the founders of Suggestica.com and who have opened this world of internet blogs and vertical discovery engines such as theologika.net to us.

It seems St. Francis Xavier is still looking out for us in this increasingly small, small world and doing his part to continue spreading the Good News.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Nov 30, 2007

Saint of the Day – St. Andrew

November 30 is the feast day of St. Andrew, the first apostle called by Jesus. He was the brother of St. Peter and introduced Peter to Jesus. There is very little we know about his life. The Gospels show him present in the ministry of Jesus but in the background, while Peter, James, and John are out front.

The Gospel of Mark (1:16-17) tells of his call by Jesus.

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.
17: Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The first chapter of the Gospel of John presents the call differently:

The next day John (the Baptist) was there again with two of his disciples,
36: and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
37: The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
38: Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39: He said to them,”Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.
40: Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
41: He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed).
42: Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
43: The next day he decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
44: Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.

There is a tradition that St. Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross at Patras in Greece. We don’t really know where he went to spread the Gospel. Many countries from Greece to Russia claim him. He is the patron saint of Scotland.

These few lines from the Gospels show us a working man who heard the call of John the Baptist with his brother Peter and then followed after the Man John had called the Lamb of God. There is always a human desire to know more about such a person, but what we do know is that St. Andrew challenges us to leave our nets behind and follow too.

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Next Entries »

The Feast of the Epiphany – The Three Kings

Feast of the Day January 3 – The Holy Name of Jesus

The Feast of the Holy Family

Christmastide – 12 Days of Celebration

Holiday Grace Means Reducing Stress

Las Posadas – Welcoming the Coming of Christ

Saint of the Day – St. John of the Cross

St. Francis Xavier and Me

Saint of the Day – St. Andrew

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