On This Rock

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Saint James' Turnaround

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, September 18-19, 2021

“Where selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every sort of foul practice”

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, is traveling with his Apostles and is trying to communicate that He will be put to death soon. And what are they doing…arguing about who of them is the greatest. That had to be gut-wrenching for Jesus.

After His resurrection, He appears to his Apostles, and they can’t believe it is really him and I am sure He was tempted to say “I told you on three different occasions, I laid it all out, but you were arguing about which of you was the greatest!”

Our 2^nd reading today was written by one of those Apostles who was arguing about who is the greatest. Let me repeat, our 2^nd reading is written by one of the Apostles who was arguing about who was the greatest. But now, in this post resurrection version of Saint James, he is able to warn “Where selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every foul practice.” He could have added on “I know, because while Jesus was still with us, we would waste time arguing over who was the greatest.

So what accounts for the conversion of Saint James and the other Apostles? Certainly seeing Jesus’ resurrected body and seeing Jesus ascend into Heaven could not have hurt. But the Apostles, even after the Ascension, still go back to the upper room and continue to hide for another 10 days.

The deep conversion of Saint James and his brother Apostles takes place at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descends upon them. It is the Holy Spirit that gives the Apostles (and also all of us who have been confirmed) the power and authority and strength to go forth – when a person authentically encounters the Holy Spirit, they are never the same.

The Sacrament of Confirmation is our own individual Pentecost. If you have not been confirmed yet, do whatever it takes to get confirmed. The time is RIGHT NOW for more disciples of Jesus, saintly witnesses willing to defend Christ and His Church, even laying down their lives if necessary. The Holy Spirit through Confirmation gives you the power, if you just cooperate with it, to do a 180 like James the Apostle did.

Do not let selfish ambition get in the way of your pursuit of holiness through confirmation, do not worry about your place in the story of salvation, some are called to be small. Would you be content if the Holy Spirit calls you to smallness, if the Holy Spirit put it on your heart like The Spirit did with Saint John the Baptist? Through our cooperation with the transforming fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to say “Jesus must increase, and I must decrease”

Thinking not as God does but as human beings do

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”

Jesus makes sure his Apostles see and hear him rebuke Peter with failing to think as God does. And often that is a rebuke. We struggle with thinking like fallen human beings. It is the sin of pride. And Peter falls into that trap in today’s Gospel.

But I know that there is also a flip side to this “mind of God” vs. “mind of man” struggle. The positive side of this is that we could never, in our smallness, get our minds completely wrapped around how much God loves us.

We can certainly grow in that understanding, particularly through prayer nourished by frequent reception of the Sacraments and seeking the face of God in the poor, but our minds literally are not able to process how much God loves us.

And I would like to finish with a story from this week. I received a letter earlier in the week from my niece and goddaughter Lucy who is 8. Her note read “Dear Father John. How are you doing? I love you with my whole heart! I hope to see you soon. Maybe this Fall? P.S. would you like to go to the apple orchard with me?” Needless to say, It was immediately arranged and 2 days ago I met lots of my nieces and nephews and siblings and their spouses for an awesome gathering at an apple orchard.

Lucy and my nieces and nephews simply cannot fathom how much I love them. It is the same for us and God. We cannot fathom how much God loves us, but we can pray that we can grow in our comprehension of that love, and indeed in some ways prayer is precisely THINKING about how we cannot fathom God’s love, and being content with just sitting and basking in that love.

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Fear not!

Homily for September 4^th/5^th – Fear Not!

“Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!”

Fear is thick in the air right now. Fear about the coronavirus. Fear about inflation. Fear about Afghanistan. Fear about potential lockdowns. Fear at the grocery stores, fear at the schools, fear at Church and on and on.

And God breaks into our day and says to us whose hearts are frightened: “BE STRONG, FEAR NOT!”

“How could He possibly say that?” we might ask. And it is here I’d like to give a brief medical update. My tumor surgery went well but they had to leave about 20% of the tumor in there. The type of tumor I have is considered curable with radiation and chemo, but the infection that I suffered from the first surgery delayed radiation and chemo for about 2 months, and so the radiation and chemo did not make much of a dent in the tumor at all. And I have decided that if the tumor ever starts to grow back, I will let nature take its course. It some ways I feel like chemo therapy on your brain is worse than death. Also, I have prayed that if it is God’s Will, that I might be allowed to make the ultimate sacrifice for the victims of clergy sexual abuse and harassment and assault – I have asked that God might allow me to offer my life up completely, but with the caveat that makes all the difference…”not my will but Yours, Lord, be done.”

And here is the thing: I am at total peace. I could be miraculously healed, I could live another 10 years, or I could only have 1 year left, or Christ could return tomorrow. When I first got word at Mayo Clinic about my tumor, I knew the tumor was an answer to a prayer that I had made to be able to suffer for clergy sex abuse/harassment/assault victims. But as I’ve moved through the last two years, I’ve realized there may be another benefit – to get to show people how to die without fear. How to face down the very real prospect of death and not blink, but rather be thankful to God for all his blessings! The blessings that have come about these last 2 years have been TREMENDOUS and almost too many to count.

1) I got away from social media, which I can’t recommend enough. The whole playing field of social media is slanted, not against a particular political party or ideology so much as it is slanted against REALITY! And Catholicism is meant to be lived in community, not lived online.

2) In stepping away from the parishes, I got a fresh view of my priesthood. I have put things back in their proper order, started praying with purpose again, seeking the Face of the Lord with all my being, maybe for the first time,

3) cutting out TV, and movies and the radio…

4) I downgraded to a dumb phone.

All these changes have given me enough space to breathe and I am actually able to answer the phone sometimes at the parishes. In a word I am more at peace now than I have ever been.

----

I would also like to say here that the Catholic Church teaches that there is no salvation outside the Church. Modern theologians have debated about what exactly that means. Instead of arguing exactly how expansive the pool of the Church is, and whether or not a person with one pinky toe in the shallow end of the pool is in the Church, I would like to refocus the discussion on the need to dive into the deep end of the Church. If you have fallen away from the Church, come back and go to Mass every weekend unless you are sick. Confess your sins at least once a year. If you aren’t Catholic yet, become Catholic. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and it pointed me, in college, away from a lukewarm Catholicism and allowed me to hear the Call to become a priest. But I would not have the strength to face death down without the Sacraments of the Church.

And I want everyone to know that strength.

The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,

the unbelievable freedom that comes from confessing your sins to a priest,

the anointing of the sick.

I have prayed throughout that if it be God’s will, I have a priest praying the Apostolic Pardon over me as I lay dying.

Become Catholic. Whether you have fallen away from the Church or are not Catholic yet, do not let the sins of others stop you from knowing what I know swimming in the deep end of the Church.

The fact is any of us could die tomorrow, and we need to be ready. There is no room for fear in the heart of a true follower of Jesus and the Church He established as His Bride. Our knees may buckle briefly at the prospect of dying, but we need to carry on without fear. As God says through Isaiah – “Fear not! Here is your God. He comes with vindication to save YOU!”

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Our First Call is to Give Alms

Homily for the 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, August 28^th/29^th, 2021

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Saint John Chrysostom:

“Do you want to honor Christ’s body? Then do not scorn him in his nakedness, nor honor him here in the church with silken garments while neglecting him outside where he is cold and naked.

Let us learn to honor Christ as he desires. For a person being honored finds greatest pleasure in the honor he desires, not in the honor we think best. Give him the honor prescribed in his law by giving your riches to the poor. For God does not want golden vessels but golden hearts.

Now, in saying this I am not forbidding you to make such gifts; I am only demanding that along with such gifts and before them you give alms.”

Here I, Fr. Hollowell, want to clarify in case it isn’t clear what St. John is saying. He is saying it is okay to fix up your churches nicely, as long as you first take care of the poor. I would like to say that I believe both of our parishes have done things in the proper order. My first priority as pastor has been, at both parishes, to first take care of the poor. We got St. Vincent DePaul Societies started at each parish, who I might add, are doing TREMENDOUS UNFATHOMABLY AWESOME ministry in our communities. We did that first, before ever embarking on any capital campaign or Church restoration. And, quite frankly, I believe our campaigns have been miraculously successful precisely for one reason: we have put the poor first.

Chrysostom ends: “Once again, I am not forbidding you to supply these adornments; but no one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments, but for those who neglect their neighbor a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire and torment in the company of the demons. Do not, therefore, adorn the church and ignore your afflicted brother, for he is the most precious temple of all.”

I have personally put in my will that whatever is leftover after my funeral will be going to start an endowment to assist the poor of Clay County, as we just used a generous bequest from Gwendoline Long to start a similar endowment for the poor of Putnam County. I have also made $5,000 a year commitment for both Churches’ restoration projects.

In conclusion, to echo St. James and St. John Chrysostom, take care of the poor first, then God will bless all your other endeavors.

Monday, August 23, 2021

Time to Choose a Side - Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In the early 2000’s when I was in the seminary, several seminarians and myself were big sports fans, and any time we learned a sports star or celebrity was Catholic, we would get especially excited. “look it is one of us performing on a national stage.” But 15 years later it doesn’t matter to me in the least. Last week, as we learned that Simone Biles, a Catholic and the best gymnast in the history of the sport, came out in support of abortion, I wish I could say I was disappointed, but in all reality, I had stopped caring about Catholic celebrities 4 or 5 years ago, particularly now when America seems to be circling the drain.

In our first reading we hear Joshua draw a line in the sand. It has gotten to the breaking point where a decision needs to be made, and there are only 2 options

“If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve… As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

In almost the exact same way, our Gospel today presents a very similar scenario. There is, at this point, no middle road. There are only 2 options. Either believe or not. Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”… As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”

And fast forwarding to our own day, after centuries of being able to straddle the line and be both a member of American culture AND a good Catholic, we face a decisive point where we only have 2 options.

Only 27 VERSES into the Bible we read “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.”

Jesus in 2 different Gospels references this exact quote from Genesis. And Saint Paul mentions it in today’s 2^nd reading.

Today our American culture believes there is no God because “science says so”, persons are NOT made in the image and likeness of God, marriage is simply a contract between 2 persons that can be severed at any point without question, and in some states it is legal to marry your dog or yourself. Male and female are simply constructs that can be disregarded, marital relations need not be open to life, we have completely trashed our environment and been awful stewards of the resources entrusted to us by God. And we are on pace for about 1.5 million abortions this year, and at least since 2015, some of those aborted children have had organs harvested and paid for by our government and grafted on to mice for medical research. Pope Francis in Laudato Si showed how all these issues are related.

Today, Catholics can expect absolutely zero accommodation anymore from American Western Culture. There is no safe space for Catholics. Like the Israelites in the First reading, and like those following Jesus in the Gospel, we face a decision point – will we serve the Lord Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church that He established, or will we serve the culture of death? There is no middle ground today in America. “As for me and my parishes, we will serve the Lord.”

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Where is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Bible?

A lot of non-Catholics ask where the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is in the Bible

Here is the short answer – it is not in the Bible

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was declared in 1950 by an infallible (protected from error) statement of Pope Pius XII 71 years ago.

What is papal infallibility? It is the teaching, particularly laid down at the First Vatican council 150 years ago, that Pope’s have the ability to declare something infallibly (protected from error)

So where is the Pope’s ability to teach infallibly in the Bible – Here is the short answer – it is not in the Bible

A papal teaching, even if it is declared without infallibility invoked (As all but the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been) still require submission of intellect and will, as Pope John Paul 2 made clear when he had inserted into Canon Law “While the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will is to be given to any doctrine which the Pope declares upon a matter of faith and morals”

Where is that in Scripture, submission of intellect and will – again I can save you time, it isn’t

The only rebuttal to non-Catholics with questions is to point out that the Assumption isn’t in the Bible, Papal infallibility isn’t in the Bible, nor is the teaching on submission of intellect and will, even though they have all been held almost from the very moment Jesus left earth. The writings of the earliest saints in the generation following the apostles are talking about the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, body and soul, the writings speak about papal infallibility, submission of intellect and will to the pope, and a thousand other things that are not in the Bible

The real question for those who ask where something Catholic is in the Bible is to point out that for the first 350 years or so there was no Bible, and those people, a lot of them mentioned in our Eucharistic prayer, linus, Cletus Clement Sixtus Cornelius Agatha Lucy Anastasia Lawrence Cosmas and Damian and thousands more Saints from the early Church, most of whom were martyred, they all figured it out. How? With the help of capital T tradition. As Paul tells the Corinthians “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” That means oral tradition is a real thing, particularly necessary in the Early Church when there was no Bible

So you can rest assured that the Blessed Mother was definitely assumed, Body and soul into Heaven and is at the right hand of her Son Jesus, and 1,000 other things the Catholic Church teaches to be true, even though none of them are in the Bible.