I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning.....

Hi Folks,

Well it has been ten days here & ubtil today I was doing well. The professors are very patient & have led us slowly though the very basics of the Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Today was "information overload" day. The concept being taught was singular and plural possessive pronouns. That plus a lot of new vocabulary words (verbs,nouns, & adjectives) became too much for this gray matter. I've got a lot of studying to do overnight and this weekend to get back on track.

I do get a very joyful break in the action this weekend though. My very good friend Veronica O'Connor is marrying a very good man, Eric Kemper on Saturday. I get to fly home and witness their wedding. What a treat.!! It will be a fun weekend in all kinds of ways.

One of the components of this sabbatical that I'm finding especially exciting and stimulating is learning about the expressions of faith in the Central, Carribean, and South American people. For many of them faith is life, family, and Church. It pervades all relationships and extends beyonds all boundaries. Faith can not be something they we keep in a box just for prayer time, or when we need something from God, or when we are trying to impress God or someone else. Faith is life and to be lived everywhere.

I hope this part of my formation rubs off on me more, so that I can live my faith bettter in ten weeks from now. I also pray that I can keep this in perspective in my heart & head as I slowly progress in the Spanish language.

Paz,
Fr. Chuck

No where to go but forward!!!

Hi Folks,

 

I just finished my first day of classes at the Mexican American Cultural College (MACC) in San Antonio. I have a lot to learn. I am starting from barely above ground level in my Espanol, so I have a lot to learn to get me able to pray the Mass and the other Sacraments in Spanish. I feel very dumb and overwhelmed at this moment. I know those feelings will fade as the twelve weeks go by but today, and for a while, I'm floundering.

 

The Gospel for next weekend is the parable from Luke about the steward who was about to get sacked by his master. He decided to cover his butt by making deals with all the folks who owed his master grain, oil, money, etc. His ulterior motive was probably to get hired by one of the folks he offered a discount to after he'd been fired from his present boss. Instead the master gives him a raise and a promotion for thinking out of the box. Jesus' point seems to be that the Kingdom of God needs folks who are able to think, dream, embrace, and forgive in "out of the box" sorts of ways.

 

In lots of ways we like to categorize and pigeon hole others people or others' ideas. We resist change. We're uncomfortable with concepts that are foreign to our own. We find fault and figure out ways that some one's solution can't work without first giving it a decent hearing. In terms of the Church, sometimes we chase people off by not giving them a decent welcome because they have different ideas, they are of a different sex (or sexual orientation), or they look, speak, or act foreign to us. In the Gospel of Luke especially, but in all of the Gospels, Jesus was the Son of God who opened God's embrace to many, especially those who were normally left out.

 

Let us ask God to open us up to His big Sacred Heart. As we have been loved, let us love and welcome.

 

paz,

Fr. Chuck

The Lost Shall Be First

Hi Friends,

I believe it was Gandhi who wrote, “Christianity has not failed. It has never been tried.” (If it wasn’t him who said it, he said something very similar.)

This weekend we hear St. Luke’s signature parables; the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 1-32.). They give us an image of God that runs throughout the whole Gospel of Luke. God is the forgiver and he seeks us out to save us no matter whom we are and where we find ourselves. St. Luke also shows Jesus as the Son of God who lives out God’s forgiveness and acceptance. Therefore Jesus’ teaching and message in this third Gospel are about this compassionate God and urging His disciples to imitate God’s acceptance and forgiveness.

The problem with these parables is that normally we would behave nothing like the shepherd with the lost sheep, or the woman with the lost coin, or the Father with the run away son. We normally follow the “bird in the hand, is worth more than two in the bush” practice of caring. If we have ninety-nine sheep still with us, we’re not going to go chasing after the idiot lost one. If we have nine shiny coins in our purses, how hard are we going to look for the one that rolled under the heavy dresser? How welcoming are we going to be to the bright lights and big city kid who has already cost you an arm, a leg, and a broken heart? (Okay, maybe we would take them in, but there would be terms and stipulations.) Besides, in every one of these circumstances that Jesus sits in front of us, it looks like the party that is thrown in celebration of the find cost more than what the sheep, the coin, and the prodigal is worth. In the original audience, there had to be a lot of people shaking there heads saying, “If this is a parable about this preacher’s God, then he is very messed up.”

The Good News is that our God is exactly like the God in those parables. He never gives up on us. He wants us, loves us, and forgives us no matter what. AND, God rejoices when we “get it”!!! The BAD news is that we are supposed to imitate our God in His generosity of compassion and forgiveness. (Uh-Oh!)

When people tick us off, we write them off. When nations don’t do what we’d prefer, we call for war or sanctions against them. When immigrants seek the bounty of our nation, we want to close the borders. Lives in the womb and on death row are not worth fighting for. We don’t even try to care for people that we can’t even see.

Thank God that God has a bigger heart than ours.

paz,
Fr. Chuck

p.s. I'm leaving for San Antonio to study Spanish on Sept. 11th and will be gone until Dec. 13th. I may post an occasional blog here, but I'm not sure how much time, freedom, or gumption I'll have to do so. We'll see. My phone has the capabilities to posts blogs via email. If I can figure all that out you might be viewing a lot of pictures of the River Walk here shortly. (I'll try not to drop my phone in the San Antonio River!)