From the Pen of Father Tim

Ah… Paris… Sadly, blasphemy happens so routinely these days that blasphemy seems almost just ‘another day at the office.’
    Now the inevitable flaring up of generalization begins. We can point fingers and say: this group did this, and that group did that.  Not only does this accomplish nothing but increase tensions, it is sinful to condemn an entire group. After all, for centuries, some Christians pointed to the Jews saying, ‘they killed Christ.’  Yet, should we not take a lesson from the Apostles? The Apostles – while not shying away from reminding the Jewish people of their action – did not linger on it.  The Apostles did not point fingers in the sense of fixing the blame: rather they worked the problem; they did not work over the people.  Moreover, for the record, men and women killed Christ – men and women who happened to be Jewish.  In addition, let us not forget the Roman Procurator named Pilate – who by some reports was detested by the Roman government.  It was his cowardice and/or lackluster attitude toward justice that played a decisive role in Christ’s death.
    There is a very real danger when we are angry of lumping people together – perhaps even to the point of prejudice.  Some of you have heard that after preaching forgiveness, this author received more flak than any other homily even to this day… forgiveness which is a fundamental teaching of Christ – a call even enshrined in the Our Father.  In specific, after Mass, two Pacific war Marine veterans approached me stating the Japanese are unworthy of forgiveness; they hated them and would not give a Japanese person the time of day.  About a week later, a third man approached me, and pulled a picture out of his wallet of a Japanese man, his wife, and children.  He also hated the Japanese with a passion.  He told me about landing on Peleliu, the water red with blood, climbing over bodies, and the loss of his friend.  He came upon a dead Japanese officer, and was set to plunder Japanese man of his sword, and anything else of value.  This veteran started crying when he talked about pulling out ‘this thing.’  This ‘thing’ was a Sacred Heart Prayer card [with the prayer obviously in Japanese], a picture of the officer, his wife and children – all wrapped in a Rosary.  The Japanese officer was Catholic.  This veteran was still very angry, but now saw this officer as a man like himself needing redemption.  Though still very angry, the officer ceased to be a faceless, brutally savage enemy, and became a man not unlike himself.  And not to belabor the point, but though still angry, this veteran helped bury the officer with his sword.  Instead, he kept the family picture and from there on, he prayed for that man and his family every day.  I am sure all of those men are gone now – they were old when I was at St. Ferdinand.
    Individuals blasphemed the Last Supper – not a group of people.  Like the Apostles, we are not milquetoast and pretend it did not happen.  Rather – like the Apostles, we work the problem and do not work over the people.  Yeah, I am angry; it was another insult that Catholics and Christians are expected to endure in the name of political correctness and artistic expression.  Individuals blasphemed the Last Supper – not a group of people: individuals who made sinful, blasphemous choices.  We do not generalize as happened with some Christians concerning Jews, but rather see what God sees… we are all a people needing redemption.  Our work is to bring all to Christ, not to generalize a group as bad people; nor are we to make the journey of conversion for those who did perpetrate this insult more difficult than it already is. Please, let us never forget, there is historical precedent among the Saints: St. Paul – who was filled with an intense hatred for Christians – was brought to conversion.  We are all aware of what St. Paul accomplished through God’s grace! Let us be careful out there.
 
-Father Tim
 ​/from-the-pastor​​​