Thomas Caffrey

“Truly, this man was the Son of God,” asserted the Roman centurion on Good Friday in Mark’s Gospel (Mk 15:39). In his role as commander of 100 highly trained soldiers that included this capital punishment squadron,  assertiveness would have been automatic for him. He gave his orders, and his men followed them. And that makes sense, since they served a god. Wait, what?? (as my children used to say)

Octavian was the son of Julius Caesar, a man of awesome stature, power and influence over much of the known world. Not long after his father died and he was about to assume leadership of the empire, the Roman ruling class gave him the name “Caesar Augustus,” because it meant “worthy of worship.” He reigned during the time of Jesus, and was considered by his subjects and government leaders as “god,” “savior,” and “divine.” Of additional importance is that since his father was elevated to “divine” status after his death, Augustus had the right to the title, “son of god.” The final evidence to support his great status is that while his father and other rulers had to wait until after they died in order to receive divine status, Augustus became the first Roman emperor to receive that title while still alive. So, what could the centurion commander have meant by his phrase, “Son of God?”

The interpreters of The New Oxford Annotated Bible say that Mark’s centurion does not make a confession of faith, but recognizes Jesus “true identity” (p 1823). In contrast, those interpreting Sacred Scripture in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary say, “The Centurion’s confession echoes the ‘Son of God’ reference in the opening words of the evangelist’s Gospel. The Catholic Study Bible, third edition, notes the centurion’s “declaration of belief that Jesus was the Son of God” (p 1431). And in The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, the authors refer to the centurion’s expression of “divine sonship” and “to profess faith in in the ‘King of the Jews'” (p 97). Therefore, I ask these authors the same question I asked of the centurion: what exactly do you mean by that wording?

Augustus’ title did not mean he was equal in identity and substance with his father; he was “junior” while Julius was “senior.” So wouldn’t the centurion have had Augustus in mind as his model for this divine sonship,  rather than a sophisticated theology and christology of the true nature of this Nazarene? I tend to think so; but at the same time, I accept the possibility that God the Father gave this man a deep and profound insight into the true nature of God the Son. But we simply cannot have certainty. I have no doubt that the centurion’s statement has great importance, as the torn veil represents the conclusion of the Old Covenant and his assertion begins the New Covenant with the wider Gentile world (the first expression of the paschal mystery). But his “confession” has doubts.

And so that brings us to Thomas the Apostle, and the Resurrection.

This saint, also known as the Twin, Thomas the Doubter or, more commonly, Doubting Thomas, has had forced upon him a notoriety that has made him one of the most recognized and recognizable figures in the Bible.

John’s usage demonstrates Thomas’ crucial role in his Gospel. Two millennia have passed since the Fourth Evangelist recorded Thomas’ disbelief in the veracity of the assertions by his fellow disciples, that the resurrected Jesus had visited them in the house where they had hidden themselves in fear of the Jews. Despite the passage of time, little seems to have changed in the popular understanding of the Apostle.

Dwight Moody Smith points to the “long tradition of interpreting Thomas” in such a negative light.[1] Had those interpreters modeled their talks after that offered by Pope Gregory, it is likely that any doubt expressed by children named “Thomas” would not result in them having opprobrium attached to their name:

“Dearly beloved…Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by chance but in God’s providence. In a marvelous way God’s mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his Master’s body, should heal our wounds of disbelief. The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples.”

[1]Dwight Moody Smith, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John(Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1999), 382

Why has history shown such kindness to “Peter the Denier” or “Denying Peter” (my names for our “first pope”), especially with his persistent and blatant repudiation of Jesus occurring at such a crucial time. Perhaps Thomas had some awareness of doubt in and among his peers and himself (Jn 1:44-46, 14:1), and probably had some himself in the beginning.

Think of Nathanael’s initial doubt: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46); and Jesus’ assertion that their belief in him did not result from witness given by the apostles to each other, but from Jesus having selected them and them having an encounter with him (Jn 15:16).[1] So hearing from that flawed group their reports of having seen the man he knew as Jesus of Nazareth was, understandably, asking a great deal.

Think of how the disciples had disbelieved Mary Magdalene’s announcement, “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18), shortly after His resurrection.

 

 

[1]M.E. Boring, “Criteria for the Truth of God in the Fourth Gospel”  Mid-Stream 41(2002) 21

I wonder if we can reasonably conclude that Thomas thought his fellow disciples had seen a spirit of some type, making that the reason he wanted a “concrete” experience with Jesus (Many Catholic writers have used the word “concrete” to describe the hard reality of our faith and its practices).

When John notes that the “other disciple…saw and believed” (Jn 20:8), the expression clearly implies some level of a prior disbelief without stating the object or subject of either the non-belief or the belief. When Jesus attempts to reassure his disciples (Jn 16:1), then says, in apparent exasperation, “Do you now believe?” (Jn 16:31) and, finally, offers his reinforcing peace (Jn 16:33), we can justifiably say that none of this bears witness to the disciples’ marginal belief in Jesus let alone any full-throated faith in his resurrection, despite having shared significant experiences with him by this time.

The “doubt” expressed by Thomas was one shared by his fellow disciples, and by us! The etymology of the word describes “of two minds,” which means, of course, that that person’s mind has not ruled out “belief.” Therefore, Thomas did not reject his faith-brothers assertion, let alone his faith in the Jesus he knew, served and loved. It therefore seems fair and reasonable to defend Thomas’ lack of immediate acceptance of the resurrected Jesus, without condemning him for a purported disbelief or for having never given his heart to Jesus. After all, it was Thomas who insisted to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him” (11:16), a statement that at least implies love and loyalty because of his Master’s teaching, “greater love hath no man…” (Jn 15:13).

 

 

Finally, the main reason we should not fault Thomas lies in the greatness that sprang from his humanity, which resulted in a humble yet profound model of assent to belief in Jesus as his Lord and his God, and a perpetual promise of blessings that await those of us who give a similar assent to Jesus as our Lord and our God!

How about you? Are you of two minds, when it comes to Jesus’ resurrection? If so, then please let me know how you have handled your doubts, and how you can encourage others in theirs. As we uncover more evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, and as we grow in faith from Sacred Scripture, our Apostolic Tradition, witness of morality and our rational minds, we move to the same conclusion as did our loving saint, and cry out, “My Lord and my God!”

Amen.

Tom

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them” (Gen 1:26,27)

 

 

People commonly refer to “God’s plan,” when both good and bad things happen; but what exactly do those words mean?

Does God have a plan for Mankind?

Does God have a plan for each one of us?

Does God plan for bad–or evil–things to happen to us?

If your answer is “yes” then how does that plan reconcile with humanity’s free will, and a good God?

 

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that God does indeed have a plan for all of His creation, which is to guide it along its journey to a state of perfection. And it is this guidance that the Church names “Divine Providence.” But wait! Didn’t God complete His perfect creation in seven days, and rest on the last day in order to admire His perfect handiwork? Perhaps, but we have no record of that. Instead, Genesis tells us only that God “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Gen 1:31)

Creation, the Church teaches from its document Dei Filius (“Son of God”, representing The Church of Christ) of the First Vatican Council, was made “in a state of journeying” that would end in its perfection as destined by God. So creation is not static, but is instead dynamic as it continues to unfold in place and time–until the end of time when our place will be with God in his kingdom (“Basilea Tou Theou”, for those interested in the original Greek used in the Gospels of Mark and Luke). But Jesus asserted that “the kingdom of God is at hand,” (Mk 1:15), a phrase that gave light to the theological concept of “the in-breaking of the Kingdom.” So, putting any romantic notions aside, did Heaven begin on Earth?

Sacred Scripture makes clear that the entire timeframe of humanity is one leading to our salvation, and eventually our existence with God. So we therefore have a “salvation history”, one that began with God’s initial revelation of himself to Man and which culminated in the Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. This salvation plan implies an imperfection, a result of Man’s first rebellion and our continued sin.

The process by which God guides or governs–but does not force–His creation toward this ultimate end, is called “divine providence.” Both the Church and Sacred Scripture assert that this process is not an ephemeral one, but one that is concrete. Mankind has its plans, goals, schemes and dreams, but as the proverb tells us,

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” (Prov 19:21)

I’ve often heard the phrase, “Man plans and God laughs,” which suggests a few things to me:

1. We’re not really in charge of our lives, and God’s laugh suggests his amusement at our folly or, worse, how dismissive he is of our plans.
2. The role of God’s providence becomes more significant to those who believe in him, and who follow his plan–of their own free will!

What role does mankind play in creation? Are we simply the puppets moved but the Great Puppet Master in the sky, and only according to His plan? If so, then what of Free Will? While Jesus tells us to give ourselves over to the providence of God, in faith, He also tells us to:

“Seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”

I emphasized “seek” because it points to our free will! Verbs mean action; and we act by choice, not by instinct as does the rest of the animal kingdom. So we must use our free will in order to cooperate with God’s will, in order to fulfill our divine destiny–or the plan that God has for us. What power that gives us! (and what an awesome responsibility, too!).

It would be accurate to say that God wants our cooperation. Perhaps this aspect is no different than the responsibility we have to accept God’s offer of love and return it, or to accept his offer of mercy in response to our sin. God doesn’t need anything; but his overwhelming and awe-inspiring greatness lay in his incomparable love for us, such that he gave us the freedom to reject his offers of love and mercy–because of the free will with which he created us. He did not create robots, pre-programmed to do anything he asks or respond in any way. So our dignity lay not only in the fact that our existence is made in his image and likeness, but in the freedom we have from him–to NOT do his will–and in his desire for us. But it is only by accepting his gift of faith, seeking his kingdom and doing his will along the way that we share in his providence.

Humanity has a role to play in the fulfillment of the Creator’s handiwork. What an honor, and potential for dishonor…

 

 

Evil, imperfection and destructive forces exist in our state of journeying, because perfection only happens when we’ve reached God’s kingdom. Our imperfection comes from our free will, as does our potential glory. I say “potential” for two reasons:

1. we have to make it to the Kingdom, in order to be glorified by the beatific vision
2. we sin along the way

So God does not cause evil, any more than he can create something illogical (e.g., the common dinner table question from my brother, Marty, in our early years: “Can God make a square circle?” a question that must reflect, in a certain way, his sixteen years of Catholic education…). However, God permits evil out of respect for our freedom, allowing us to choose good or evil and to use our good responses to evil as a lesson to others that a good can ultimately result from an evil. The greatest good to ever come out of evil is, of course, the Resurrection.

As Jesus urges us, if we orient our lives toward him by believing in him and following him, then we shall be like the poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry and thirsty, the mournful, the pure in heart and the persecuted–who, relying only on God’s plan, have been prepared for the Lord so they end up in Heaven with him. So God’s providence guides us to the point at which we can rest and then say, “It is good”

 

 

When we say “Thy will be done,” in the Lord’s Prayer, we tell God our Father that we freely assent to doing his will and follow his Commandments–thereby retaining our liberty while living according to his plan: our salvation. So we could add “by me” to that phrase! The very fact of choosing to say that prayer means we have also freely chosen to both believe in and follow the very person who taught us to say it: Jesus Christ.

Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving (Charity or Caritas–aka Love) and Penance–what I call the “PFAP spiritual fitness program”–help us cooperate with God’s plan, grow in faithfulness and holiness and ultimately realize the salvation promised to us.

Moral existence is both a response to God’s initiative and cooperation with his plan. How? Origen, one of the principal Fathers of the early Church, said we should “unite prayer to good works, and good works to prayer,’ as that is the only way we can fulfill St Paul’s exhortation to “Pray without ceasing”

God’s plan is a loving grace to us, to be his adopted sons and daughters, conformed to his Son and resulting from the Trinitarian love. Since there never was a time when Christ was not, which our Nicene Creed affirms in response to the Arian heresy (THANK YOU, St Athanasius!), salvation history actually began before time since Christ was part of that Trinitarian love, and propels us toward that salvation in God’s kingdom.

So…

God does have a plan, which is to lead humanity to salvation, and to eternal happiness with him.

God cares about each of us. So while his plan does not include the breakfast you had, your thankfulness for whatever meal you chose to eat helps glorify him and lead you to salvation.

God blessed us with free will, and therefore allows us to reject his plan and use strictly our own–to our demise.

God’s complete knowledge of creation (he wrote the plan!), means he has foreknowledge of our actions that we have freely chosen but which he did not predestine.

Let me know how you understand God’s will and plan for your life, and if you credit or blame him for an outcome from an action that either you or others in your life have freely chosen.

FREEDOM!

TRUTH!

LOVE!

Amen

Tom

Another sacred pilgrimage begins!

 

‘Tis the season of…PFAP??

…and penance.

The season of Lent (“Springtime,” in Old English, “long day” in Germanic and “Tessarakonta” or “forty” in the original Greek) is my favorite time of the year, because it combines the best in our earthly and our religious calendars: increasing daylight and first flowers (I love to garden) and the highest holy days for Christians: the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.

We begin this season with a reminder of our mortality…

 

 

During my childhood at Our Lady of Sorrows elementary school in South Orange, NJ, the only message we heard from the priest while he marked our foreheads with ashes was, “Remember man that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The dark grit and solemn ritual gave a gravity to the day; but the toughest part was the “giving up” of something we valued (chocolate!), and we associated negativity with the season in sharp contrast with the building excitement and joy of Advent. That needed to change.

 

During my adulthood, the faithful could hear an additional message from priest, deacon or minister: “Repent, and return to the Gospel.” While I like both exhortations to get one’s life back in proper order, the newer version gives a more direct message: we need to repent of our sins, and live as Jesus lived. We need to seek forgiveness, do penance and become reconciled with our Heavenly Father. The older message may be fine for an older population, as we (it used to be “they,” until I passed age 60!) can understand the implication of both the ashes and the message: you are much closer to ashes than to youth, so turn your life around before it’s too late! But by far the most important part of the Lenten message is, and should be, one of Joy, as indicated by the prayer said before the Masses of the season:

“Each year you give us this joyful season
when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery
with mind and heart renewed.
You give us a spirit of loving reverence for you, our Father,
and of willing service to our neighbor.
As we recall the great events that gave us a new life in Christ,
you bring to perfection within us the image of your Son.”

That gift of “new life” waits for us; we only need to accept it.

***

The earliest mention of Lent occurred at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. This is the same Council that produced the Nicene Creed, our great profession of faith we recite during Sunday Mass. Some very early Christians began celebrating Christ’s resurrection as “Easter” Sunday, and not long after that they instituted “Holy Week,” a preparatory period of a few days that remembered Christ’s passion and death. Ultimately, the “40” of Tessarakonta represented the number of days Jesus spent in the desert (Mt 4:1-2), a time during which he lived the PFA but not the P–he Fasted and Prayed, thereby preparing himself for the greatest Alms: himself. Since he was free from sin, he had no need for the “Penance.”

This preparation also helped Jesus face the greatest temptations; and unlike our first parents or the Israelites that went before him, he did not yield to them. Jesus remained obedient to the Father, not rebelling against him in pride (our first sin). Those forty days recalled the same period Moses spent on Sinai, and the wilderness period during which Israel wandered in the desert while facing temptations. The dark lord attempted to break Jesus’ spirit, one that was presumably vulnerable by dint of its vessel having been weakened from a long period without food or drink.

We know who won.

The devil lurks in many aspects of our lives, repeatedly prodding us with temptations in order to find our soft spots–our vulnerabilities–in his ongoing effort to lead us to sin (“Father, lead us away from temptation!”). Therefore during our 40 days in the wilderness, we must train ourselves in the spiritual disciplines of our ancient ancestors, our faith relatives, in order to become more spiritually fit so that we can ward off those temptations. I’ve often said that we should exercise spiritually in ways similar to how we train ourselves physically, intellectually and nutritionally, so we’re ready for the “tests;” and the PFAP “cross-training” program makes us ready because:

Prayer, improves our communication and relationship with our God: Father, Friend and Counselor

Fasting, makes us hunger and rely on the Bread of Life

Almsgiving, shares our love with others and brings them joy

Penance, teaches us humility to accept responsibility for our failures, and to make amends

So although we continue the tradition of “give-up” for Lent, we change the emphasis to the understanding that we are learning to loosen our attachments–our addictions, as Bishop Robert Barron has said–to the things of this world and break their hold on us. Our sin is often not from a wrong we have done, but in our disordered desire to hold onto things we like. The PFAP program helps free us from the grip of those desires, to experience a greater joy. For example, this year I have committed to complete a reading of St. Augustine’s Confessions, a goal I’ve long wanted to achieve. Until now I’ve read it more as a reference book, to site this passage or that in order to help me complete a different task or goal; but this Lent I have immersed myself in the book and in the great saint, conversing with him about some part of his writing that has touched a familiar chord with me. I’ve completed reading Books 1-7, and the experience has enriched me greatly (a good translation helps). And to my great and happy surprise, my son Kevin gave me an early Easter gift, a 1909 hardcover edition of Confessions that he found in an antiquarian book shop located in Union Station in Washington D.C.! He knew I was reading it and enjoying it, and blessed me with his thoughtful gift. While its translation contains many “Thy,” “Thee” and “Thou,” along with other language of the King’s (or Shakespeare’s) English, the comparison with its newer version is fascinating. Kevin’s charity toward his father gives evidence of his Lenten journey, for which I have great gratitude.

Finally, as we engage in remembrance, or anamnesis, of this Lenten season, we know that our joy is tempered by the knowledge that Jesus has one more test to face–the ultimate one. For the Roman carpenters are busy…

 

How about you? Has your Lenten journey begun? Have you used the PFAP program to make you more spiritually fit? I would enjoy learning from your experience!

Amen.

Tom

 

Over the past week I have had the pleasure and joy of participating in two great fellowship meals. The first event was a reunion luncheon party at a restaurant with some classmates of mine from the theology program at Georgian Court University, as well as with my main professor and the department’s former Chair, Joseph Gower, PhD. The reunion luncheon was nice, largely because of the camaraderie and shared stories of how each graduate has lived the Gospel they learned to love more deeply and profoundly, and how they have since applied the fruits of their education. The side benefit of this and similar gatherings is the stimulating conversation I get to share with Dr. Gower, during the long round-trip drives.  The meal is, as always, far secondary to the people, which is a good thing since mine was fair at best despite its advertisement as being a “chef’s special” (I must have missed the words “…not so…” between “Chef’s” and “special!”). I enjoyed the genuine interest shown by the group in each classmate’s work. Let me introduce you to my “graduate friends” (That’s me sitting on the stairs, next to the good Dr. Considering his obvious fame, you don’t need me to tell you who’s who!!!)

 

 

The dinner party is a big deal. I began hosting it a couple years after my divorce, as a way getting back into socializing. The furnishings were sparse. Our dining room set was never a favorite of mine, and I eventually found a great deal on a complete cherry Thomasville dining room set at a nearby Habitat for Humanity. The cost of an original set would have been many, many thousands, a price that I never would have paid; but after some patience and hard bargaining, I was eventually able to purchase the set for only several hundred dollars! I love the traditional look; but more important to me is that the furniture allows the development of the tradition of a sit-down formal dinner, one in which all guests become involved in one great conversation. As vital as the meal is to the success of these parties, the conversation, laughs and fellowship are by far the most important to me.

Today it seems rare to enjoy sit-down dinners with fulsome conversation. More likely are catch-as-catch-can meals because of everyone’s crazy schedules, or dinners at restaurants with intrusive technology. The latter results from either multiple televisions that each show a different sport, or diners playing with their cell phones. In both scenarios conversation is not paramount, nor, it seems, are the people.

At the onset of my dinner party tradition, I knew I did not want a buffet-style meal, because that does not produce nearly the fellowship as the ONE BIG conversation does with everyone gathered around each other. I’ve written about my love for this experience elsewhere. We do not talk politics; instead, we talk about other things much more important–such as, well, life! I love to hold court, from my seat at the head of the table. And as is my wont, I may provoke a spirited discussion with a challenging or probing question (Dr. Gower can attest to this!), one that some might refer to as “Tom’s land mine.” For example, I asked Donald if he remembered his first kiss. At that question, his wife Betsy immediately whipped her head toward him, making him rapidly move his nervous eyes back and forth between his wife and his “friend” :-). Giggles were spreading among the guests, which included, Phil and Lois, Dan and Maura, Harold and Janet, Vinnie and Remo (not together, haha)

 

Pork tenderloin was the main course

 

The accompanying side dishes included root vegetable bisque; mashed cauliflower w/grass-fed Irish butter, pecorino-romano cheese and bacon; mashed rutabaga with chicken stock paste and bacon; brown rice casserole w/diced sweet sausage, asparagus and pecorino-romano cheese; sweet potato casserole w/caramelized pecans, grass-fed butter and maple syrup; caramelized onions; chocolate-toffee brickle. Maura made a delicious crab dip for appetizer; Betsy brought a shrimp appetizer and Vinnie brought a welcome spinach dip in a beautifully carved out round bread; Remo brought his favored, fortified Fortissimo red wine; Harold and Janet brought a fine port wine to top off the evening. Dan, Maura and Vinnie arrived early to help me setup, as the dining room table needed a strategic layout.

The kitchen is full-bore chaos, because preparing that many courses for that many people is always a challenge with the limited countertop space. Last year I deputized Dan as my first-mate in the kitchen, and his help has proved significant and very, very welcome (with the addition of his two arms, I now have twelve!). Vinnie has also been helpful, and has done so with much enthusiasm. And then, after what seems like an interminable period, the meal is ready for presentation!

To some, the repeated knocking of serving and eating utensils against serving dishes and dinner plates sounds like a disorganized cacophony; but to me, those sounds represent a harmonious symphony of enjoyment that, when combined with compliments and great conversation, give me great joy! I’ve read that chefs value the pleasure of their guests over their dishes, and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. The growing potential energy within us is suddenly released, as the food draws each of us to the meal and therefore to each other. Relationships form so that strangers become friends, or existing friendships deepen as described in the book of Sirach (6:13-17)

Friendship, False and True

“Keep away from your enemies; be on your guard with your friends.
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.”

So, say “hello” to my Friends:

 

This experience makes each of us an ingredient in a new and unique recipe of humanity. I’ve often described this thought to Dan after he and I have finished one of our “conversations,” especially those that involve our new radio program (“The 13th Apostle,” streaming every Saturday morning from 11:30-12:00 on WQPHradio.org). I’ve told him that he has his “Dan” ingredients and I have those that make up “Tom,” and when we blend them together we have a great discussion “recipe” that gives us (and others, we hope!) joy.

At dinner’s end, I don’t typically have a centerpiece dessert (I may add that to the tradition next year…); so the lack of that energetic hub causes the group to break up into smaller ones, all of which ultimately portends to the inevitable “good-bye”–and huge mess to clean up–for the next few days!

The joy I receive from this event makes all the effort worthwhile, and has made me want to begin a “dinner table ministry” through my church (St. Mary’s Parish, Barnegat, NJ). That effort could help lead more of my parish brothers and sisters–and me–to a deeper faith along our religious pilgrimage. These events would help us to engage in “Remembrance,” reliving the experiences of our earliest Christian relatives with their “church” communities.

How about you? Do you have special meals during the year, however simple or fancy, that bring people together in the spirit of good will and give thanks to loving Source of all that is good? I welcome your stories, and especially your BIG conversations.

God bless you.

Amen.

Tom

 

 

 

How difficult to explore the history of Christianity, and see the various episodes of persecution of our forebears. Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t, of course, a “Christian;” but he was the first to suffer persecution for the faith that his life–and death–would found. Tradition holds that, of the Apostles, all save John were martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ and their efforts to build his church and grow its faith. During that time, as the ancient historian Tacitus attests, increasing numbers of early believers in “The Way” gave the ultimate witness to their faith.

During Nero’s reign, to say that Christians were a group unfavored by the emperor would be one of the grossest understatements in history. In the year 64 A.D., a fire raged throughout Rome and destroyed most of the city. Many of the citizenry blamed their emperor, believing he had set the blaze in order to entertain himself! Seeking to quell their growing restlessness, Nero had several Christians arrested and tortured in an effort to get them to falsely implicate fellow believers. Tragically, but understandably, this effort proved successful as the entire sect came under suspicion by the Roman populace. Their punishment was to be the source of horrific entertainment for their fellow citizens, including such ghastly “sport” as being mauled by wild animals and set afire as human torches at nighttime. Those awaiting their turn no doubt heard the agonizing screams of their brothers and sisters in faith, and wondered if this faith of theirs was worth the terror? Some of them broke and denied Christ. And while it was bad enough for the Christians to be turned in by their pagan countrymen, it was far worse when fellow believers incriminated them.

So does it help Nick Sandmann, student at Covington Catholic High School, to know that his difficult experience of the vilification of him and his faith (along with his school, classmates, skin color, sex/gender, pro-life belief and MAGA hat) is just the latest in a long line stretching back two millennia throughout his Church’s history–including its Founder? We hope so, because Nick must know that those martyrs (i.e., “witnesses”)–most especially his Savior–who went before him exemplified deep faith and prepared a way for him and his classmates, as Jesus indicates:

“If the world hates you (because of belief in Christ), you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, because I chose you out of the world, for this the world hates you.” (Jn 15:18-19)

“Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you” (I Jn 3:13)

But as Nick found out, probably with great dejection and discouragement, when that “world” of hatred includes your fellow Christians–including Catholic leaders and clergy–whose outcry was immediate, public and based upon lies, false accusations and little or no evidence, then the sting goes that much deeper. St Paul is one of those witnesses in our faith’s history, as he experienced vilification, terror and physical harm from his fellow Jews, despite talking as a Jew about a fellow Jew. Notwithstanding all that, Paul continued to exhort his fellow believers,

“Strengthening the disciples, and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God’”              (Acts 14:22)

The outraged comments from some clergy against the CCHS boys seem proof positive that they have chosen to be “of this world,” since some (most or all??) of their anger was directed at the boys because of the MAGA hats worn by them. These men came across more as strident bullies rather than shepherds; and if they assert their shepherd status, then they were clearly unwilling to see the boys as lost sheep at the margins let alone lead them back to the faithful flock as reconciled penitents.

No person is perfect, and that includes the boys of Covington Catholic High School. Those in Nick Sandmann’s periphery who did the “tomahawk chop,” should have received discipline at that moment by the chaperones. I therefore wonder if the boys in Mr Sandmann’s periphery would receive from Pope Francis the solicitude he urges for those in the “peripheries” or “margins” of society. I have doubts, but hope for his care. Still, their participation in the “March for Life” strongly suggests if not confirms their faithfulness–sinful adolescent creatures though they remain. Their youthful indiscretions evidence the fact of teenaged boys’ incompletely formed brains. When we combine that fact with the current hair-trigger hysteria and pseudo moral outrage of our culture, much damage can result–even to the innocents. They therefore need more training from their moral teachers, for a fuller formation in the faith. If that faith goes no deeper, then they will not have the ability to withstand Satan’s forces because, as Jesus tells us in his parable of the Sower of the seed (the “Word”),

“And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”

Let us pray that our moral leaders remember their sacramental graces, and to wait for the truth before passing judgment and then washing their hands.

Did your initial reaction to the first video change after seeing the longer version? What bogeymen of our culture did you see in that video? Do you think our positions are so entrenched that we have gotten  to the point where we are unable to have a rational discussion about events such as this? Finally, I wonder how many of us missed the MUCH MORE IMPORTANT story of the day: the March for Life.

I look forward to your thoughtful comments, and coming away from them with a better understanding and a deeper faith.

Amen.

Tom