December 2016 Bulletin: Thanksgiving Reflections

Chaplain's column from the December 2016 bulletin, online now.

Thanksgiving is a national holiday that recalls the Pilgrims who sailed from the old world to the new world on the Mayflower around 1620.  These devout Christians were Protestants seeking to live their faith as their consciences directed them, formed primarily by the Bible.

Too often in the old world of Europe, Catholic and Protestant kings and leaders alike would oppress those who chose not to believe the entirety of what their leaders believed.  Instead of entering into dialogue centered on the Natural Law, the Ten Commandments and Jesus Christ and his Beatitudes, these various factions began to fight and seek political hegemony.

This occurred in Catholic Europe before the Protestant Reformation of 1517, and at times “Catholic” emperors would imprison or exile Popes and Bishops.  Some people truly wanted to live the Christian life different from the prevailing culture, but instead of leaving their culture they became salt and light for their culture.

The most prominent figure is St. Francis of Assisi.  He found common ground with most people based on the Ten Commandments and the person of Jesus Christ, but he lived out the Beatitudes with a new dynamism.  His religious order attracted lay people to this spirituality and a Third Order for lay people continues today.  There are many other religious communities that have different charisms that have provided salt and light for our flagging Christian culture.

Another example of pluralism within Catholicism is the fact that there are over twenty different Catholic Rites.  We belong to the Latin Rite, but there are the Eastern Catholic Rites, including the Byzantine Rite, Coptic Rite and Marionite Rite.  Each Catholic Rite has the same essential beliefs, elements and rituals, but different ways of expressing them and governing them on a local level.  However, all of them are united to the Pope.

“E PLURIBUS UNUM” is minted on our money to remind we Americans that “from many, one” is a reality that we must live to flourish.  Also written on our money “IN GOD WE TRUST”, our National motto, to remind us from whom we came, and to whom we are ultimately accountable. 

Most everyone knows that Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492, but many do not know that he was a devout Catholic and had the youngest ship hands pray the “Ave Maria” (Hail, Mary) every half hour since they were in charge of keeping time with the hour glass.

Hennepin County, MN; Marquette, MI; Joliet, Illinois; these names have memorialized Catholics like Fr. Hennepin who named the St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, and Fr. Marquette and fellow explorer Louis Joliet who explored the upper Mississippi River.

George Calvert, a convert to Catholicism, was the first Lord Baltimore who founded a new colony which he named “Maryland”, not after the reigning earthly queen, but after the Queen of Heaven.  His son, Cecil, the second Lord Baltimore established it and in 1649 the State passed Lord Baltimore’s famous Toleration Act, which guaranteed all colonists religious freedom.  There were moves by opponents to keep Catholics from political office, but the truth prevailed.  For this heritage, let us be vigilant and thankful to God.  God bless America and our Catholic Church.

Fr. Thomas McCabe

September 2016 Bulletin: Olympic Drive

Lead article for the September 2016 bulletin, online now.

I love watching the Olympics. I have to admit that when I sat down to write this article I was expecting to write something much different than this. I'm a true underdog fan and its sometimes hard to watch the Olympics when the US is such a dominant force. I found myself more than once rooting for the other team. Initially I thought these US athletes are so much more privileged than other parts of the world with their endorsements and people willing to take care of their immediate needs so they can focus full time on their sport. Then I did some digging and slowly I was proven wrong. Yes, the top competitors in the prime time sports don't have much to worry about financially but you're talking about a hand full of people. There are stories of US Olympians that already won medals in previous Olympics and having to sell everything they own just to go back. There are stories of athletes working low paying full time jobs and then spending another 6 to 8 hours a day training. They don't have big sponsors or wealthy families to pay their way, not unlike many of the people that come from the poorer nations that live in poverty and give up everything for this one opportunity. Yes, it can be argued that poverty in America is different than poverty in many other places on earth, but that's not the point. These people have a drive that most of us cannot even understand. They were given a talent by God and they are sacrificing everything you and I take for granted just to compete in one of the most prestigious events on earth. To be one of the elite few invited just to play the game. Most of us probably don't put as much effort into our career as these athletes put into their sport.

What makes an athlete continue their training if they can barely afford to survive? What makes them go to the Olympics even if they know they have little to no chance of winning a medal? Just to be there, to be recognized as one of the best in the world, to know that they trained their whole life for this one opportunity. Even if their name gets buried at the bottom of a standings board they still did it, they made it to the Olympics.

We need to recognize our own drive and the gifts that God gave us. We may never be the best or maybe not even that good. But when we know we put our heart and soul into something are we not rewarded with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and pride? That athlete that finished last in an event at the Olympics will still be a local hero that will be looked up to by kids and adults alike. They will have the opportunity to motivate others and live their lives knowing they chased their dreams rather than quitting.

Everyone of us faces our own struggles in life but when we overcome them we know we have succeeded, we didn't quit, and we are better people because of it. Whether your story is one of heartbreak or perseverance at some point in your life you found that Olympic drive and overcame all odds. We are always looking for that Olympic champion in life that can motivate us to not give up and everyone of us can be that person if we find our drive and use our success to help others find their own.

I have the strength for everything through him 
who empowers me. -- Philippians 4:13

God Bless,

Joe VanHoorik

Grand Knight