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     It appears that a Jesuit astronomer who works at the Vatican thinks that there could be extra-terrestrials in the cosmos. Fine. If someone wants to believe that God created other sentient beings in the cosmos, knock yourself out. This Jesuit scientist becomes ridiculous in my opinion when he states that these ET’s might not need to have been redeemed by Christ. Redemption is only for this world and not for “residents” of other planets I guess. So much for the universal mandate of Christ to preach the Gospel to everyone. I guess that’s why NASA has never had a priest or minister on the space Shuttle. Who knows, maybe in 722 BC, when the Northern Kingdom fell, Aliens transported the Lost Tribes of Israel to another planet as a favor for helping them build the pyramids. An extraterrestrial Promised Land! (BTW, I mean no disrespect to the Jewish people)

     It sounds silly to even have to argue this point, but it seems so Gene Roddenberry.  Maybe this scientist ought to look more at Sacred Scripture than the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. As usual, Ignatius is spinning in his grave!

        This past week has been a busy one. The Bishop of Rockville Centre in New York has banned communion services in his diocese. I am not sure, but this may also include services on Sundays in the absence of a priest. Here is the question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing.    

       Some would say that it is a bad thing because taking the communion service away deprives people of receiving the Holy Eucharist on a regular or daily basis. People ought to have the opportunity to receive the Body of Christ every day if they desire. I would agree that this is a strong argument.

     On the other hand, the removal of Communion Services could be a beneficial thing. Is there a greater good here at work than simply receiving the Holy Eucharist? The Bishop of Rockville Centre seems to think so and I think he is on to something. The greater good is the integrity of the Sacrament of the Eucharist itself. When the Holy Eucharist loses is proximate connection to the sacrifice of Christ, there is a serious danger of making it a horizontal reality alone (common meal) rather than the vertical reality (sacrifice of Christ) that leads to the horizontal dimension (heavenly meal). The other problem is that it takes the priest out of the picture, without whom we would not have the Holy Eucharist.

     It would seem that the big problem is one of convenience rather than devotion. If the priest celebrates Eucharist every day, then the faithful have the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood Christ every day. One thing all of us can tend to forget is that the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass requires a personal sacrifice of time on the part of the priest and the laity in general. That simply means showing up. Will we see the end of communion services in the Archdiocese? I seriously doubt it. Short of an episcopal or Roman mandate, it is hard to get the toothpaste back in the tube.   Another side to this ending of communion services is whether the imposition of a “Eucharistic fast” is a good thing. Will absence of convenient reception of the Eucharist make the heart grow fonder and yearn for Christ? If it does, it may cause some young men to discern a vocation to the priesthood. That would be a good thing.

Any comments on this (positive or negative) are welcome.

     I found it interesting that Bishop Flynn banned Lay Preaching at Mass in his diocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul as he prepares to retire. Maybe he has come to the realization that it is the primary resposibility of the priest to preach the Gospel at the celebration of the Eucharist. It would have been good if he had stated as well that this action is not a denigration of the role of the laity in the Church. We have been dealing with the clericalization of the laity and the laicization of the clergy for the past 30 years, and all it has done is confuse everyone.

      There is also  deeper issue at work here as well. Diocesan priesthood for a long time seems to have lived with the tension of pastor as middle management in the corporate diocesan structure and pastor as shepherd of souls. Most of the talk that has come from many speakers that priests in this archdiocese have had to listen to is that the pastor is middle management. Is it more important to pay assessments or save souls? Like most things in Catholicism, this is not an “either/or” model, but a “both/and” model. There is a need for a Church to be financially viable, but it seems to me that the priority is to be shepherd of souls. I doubt that many would disagree with that. With his role as shepherd, somehow the priest needs to be freed from endless and in many cases useless meetings. Parish bureaucracies that have sprung up from this model need to be torn down. The middle management view of priesthood is I believe a direct attack on the essence of the priesthood.

     If there is a “hierarchy” in the priestly role, it seem to me to possess thre elements: In the order of importance:   1. To Offer the Eucharist and prayerfully celebrate the sacraments of the Church. 2. To be one who preaches the Gospel daily both in Word (preaching) and deed (pastoral care of sick, elderly, teaching, dealing with grouchy parishiners who are never happy, no matter what is done) 3. To care for the material needs of the parish.

   I believe that this order is important because it puts the parish clearly in the hands of God, and it reminds the priest everyday that he is working with Christ for the salvation of the world. When the first two are carried out to the best of his ability, I would think that the third role would be easier

    This is why preaching is the primary charism entrusted to the priest at Mass. Is there a place for lay preaching in the  broader Church? Yes. In England, there sprang up the Catholic Evidence Guild, where Catholic men and women in the early 20th century studied their faith and learned it well enough to address in a public place (not a Church) a topic in a 30minute period followed by answering questions. It is still alive in England and presently in the Archdiocese of New York. There is a real challenge for the lasity if they wish to take it up.

    It seems to me that many, if not most lay preachers, including women religious and lay brothers, have an agenda that is more political, social or cultural than evangelical. This is also a problem among some priests and deacons. I always get nervous when I hear the words “me” and “I” more than I hear the words “Jesus Christ” and “Church.” Some see preaching as their “fifteen minutes of fame.” What is really is to be is the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the gift of the Church in manifesting the salvation of Christ to the world.

    Students, tomorrow is the final class on sacraments. For the quiz, here are some areas you should look at

Issues and persons in regard to the question of the Real Presence- Early Church and Middle ages

Issues and persons in regard to the sacrificial aspect of the Mass

Consequences of the Eucharist and proper dispositions for receiving communion

Material elements in the Sacrament of Penance

Basic early history of the Sacrament of Penance from public penance to private auricular confessions.

Effects of the Sacrament of Penance

See you Tomorrow

St. Athanasius, pray for us.

    Students, do not forget that I will not be meeting with you on Saturday morning, but a double session on Saturday afternoon. Deacon Shea will meet with you from 9:00-11:00. Here are some areas you might wish to review for your quiz.

Five effects of baptism; Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Three types of communion; the difference between Baptism and Confirmation; Matter and Form of Baptism and Confirmation; Baptism and its necessity for salvation; Triplex Munus; OT and NT prefigurations of the Holy Eucharist

Please pray that Fr. Ben, Fr. Earl and the Seminarians have a safe trip to New York to see the BIG GUY.

      As I was driving to back to the Seminary, the Skyline on Beechmont that this on their sign, The Pope May Stop By. While I don’t think that will happen, it poses an interesting Cincinnati Question: If Pope Benedict came to Cincinnati and went to Skyline, what would he order?

      1. Three-way   2.  Four Way Bean    3. Four Way Onion  

     4. Five Way (the “fullness of Skylinicity”)   Oyster crackers yes or no?

      5.  Cheese coney with onions    6. Cheese coney with no onions

     7. He would excommunicate Skyline and go to Gold Star

Let me know what you think… ;)

And Yes he Definitely would get a bib

     This Friday, the Seminarians get to travel to NY to see Pope Benedict at Dunwoodie Seminary in Yonkers New York. Thanks to the kindness of a generous benefactor, the seminarians will be leaving Friday by bus to go to New York under the leadership of Fr. Benedict O’Cinnesealaigh, the director of formation. I think they have a secret plan to get the Pope’s attention, but I am not allowed to say what it is.

     Please pray for their safety and the safety of all those who are travelling to New York or Washington DC. As usual, I think my personal invitation has gotten lost in the mail, so I will staying behind to teach the Permanent Deacon students about the Holy Eucharist and the Sacraments of Healing.

     Unless you spend all week watching the coverage from EWTN and listening to Sacred Heart Radio, this has the potential to be a really annoying week. I’m sure that all the media outlets, probably even Fox will be going to the usual suspects, the so-called “experts,” the MacBrien’s et al. who will expound all the faults of the Church and its imminent demise if we do not catch up with the progressively enlightened 21st century. The NY Times today says that the people want the Pope to acknowledge the crisis of faith.    What the dim-witted illuminati in the media seem to be missing is that he is already doing so.

      When there is a “crisis,” people need to regain their identity, and to do that they need to go back to the sources of the faith. Deus Caritas Est and Spe Salvi, do just that. The recovery of the TLM and an emphasis on the sacredness of the sacramental mysteries is another attempt. The flock (and even sometimes the shepherds)  has listened to the thieves and liars and found themselves beaten, bloodied and thrown by the side of the road. The Bishop of Rome has come to remind the flock and the shepherds of this country that the only way to heaven is fidelity to Jesus Christ, manifested in the Gospels and expounded on in Apostlic Tradition. This is the same Jesus Christ that becomes present on every altar during the celebration of the Mass and present in every Tabernacle of every Catholic Church. Peter has come to strengthen the brethren in the faith, because they have been sifted like wheat by trying to fit into this diseased culture rather than praying and working for its healing by confronting it head on with the Gospel.

    We need to pray this week that while everyone is gawking at the spectacle, they may take the time to listen to his words of hope and his challenge to live a constant witness to Christ. If that happens, we may not get so annoyed.

Please pray for all priests and seminarians and support Sacred Heart Radio.

       I have finally figured out (sort of) how to upload my Sunday homilies online. They were digitally recorded on an H4 Zoom digital audio recorder. It is a great little gadget. If you click on “Words of Hope Lenten homilies” or “Words of Hope Easter homilies,” you will find them. Even though they were recorded on an Mp3 format, they are still large (15-18 MB)files. If you want to download them, feel free, but it may take some time. There will be another couple of surprises in store, if I can figure out what I am doing.

     All the class notes for sacramental theology for the remaineder of the quarter are available for you to download at your leisure.

    For the quiz tommorrow, make sure you know the OT prefigurations of Baptism, the definition of Sacrament, the differences between sanctifying grace and actual grace, meaning of ex opere operato vs. ex opere operantis.