Advent

I know I am a week early, but the rest of the world seems to celebrating Christmas with great joy, I thought I would insist on Advent for a while. Until December 17th the season focuses on the second coming of Christ, and if anybody has been paying attention to the readings lately we have been focusing on the second coming for a while. The weather is a bit frosty and flurries are expected. You can always see what is going on in Chicago's weather by looking at the new weather pixie. That really is for my sister and Cris but other people may actually want to know what the weather is like in Chicago.

I set up the creche the other day. So far it is just a stable, a well, a shepherd's camp and a few trees. The only figurine is Flavius, a Roman soldier announcing a census. Oh, I did open up the package of farm animals and pull out the turkey. I figured that could last us through Christ the King and Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving the Turkey disappears and I will slowly add a few shepherds. Mary and Joseph will show up on December 24, and the Magi's pavillion will open up on Jan 6. The Creche will remain until the Baptism of the Lord. There is nothing quite like a concrete reminder that a specific time and place in history waited for the the advent of our God, and it is a constant reminder that we are to find him hidden in our own time and place, his advent is still unexpected and often missed.

Reading some of the depositions at the time of St Gaspar's canonization we read that one of his helpers testified that St. Gaspar had a creche, a gift that he treasured and had set up in his room. Well, most of this set is a gift from a wonderful friend, except for seven pieces I picked up inexpensively in Italy two years ago, and a few additions from Maria Stein OH last Winter.

Yes, with Christ the King upon us it is time to prepare for Advent. If we do not prepare it will pass very quickly with all the busyness and simply be missed. If you are looking for some Advent resources, there are some daily Advent reflections on the Precious Blood Leadership Conference Website. Those are my contributions on Fridays even if they did mis-spell my name.

May this beautiful Winter season of grace be just that for you, beautiful and grace-filled.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 7:04 PM link

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No War

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

As elected leaders of seven communities of men and women religious dedicated to the spirituality of the Precious Blood, totaling 1350 members ministering in 27 states, we want to express our deep concern towards taking military action against Iraq. We acknowledge that Saddam Hussein has been responsible for much suffering and bloodshed upon the Iraqi people and has very little concern for the demands of other nations. However, to engage in a pre-emptive war without the support of the United Nations would be adding violence to violence.

We ask that you would approach this crisis by strengthening the relationship between the United States and the other nations of the United Nations. May our response to the violence caused by Saddam or others be one which will reduce the level of violence, especially against innocent citizens, whether these citizens be ours or those of other nations. As one of our great leaders of peace, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., has done, may we choose to engage in dialogue and promote a peaceful solution by joining voices of many peoples and nations to respond to the present conflict.

We encourage you to continue to work with the United Nations in arriving at a peaceful solution. Please identify the men and women of the international community who are skilled arbitrators to organize a strategy of negotiation so as to arrive at a suitable and non-violent solution. We appeal to you to stop the escalation of violence and to seek a response by building a coalition among the United Nations in response to the government and policies of Iraq.

Respectfully yours,

(The letter was signed by the seven Presidents, Superiors and Provincials of the Precious Blood Community in the Precious Blood Leadership Conference)

cc: Sen. Thomas Daschle; Rep. J. Dennis Hastert

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 11:04 AM link

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I have climbed many mountains in my day. In my younger days we would head to the Sierra heights in California. Each year on reaching a peak we would scan the horizon and pick out next summer's height. I made it to the top of Cloud's Rest, and Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, and to the top of Red Peak. I have fond memories of a mountain trek above San Felice in Italy where there is a spot there called Refugio San Gaspare. The trek up Mt. Sinai in Egypt was nothing short of inspiring. I wrote the following on one such journey up the mountain road above San Felice:

As always, with any mountain trek the journey becomes a sacrament of the life we lead, the journey to the kingdom. At first there is a distant glimpse of the summit. You know where you are headed but you cannot see what you well see at the summit. Further up the trail the view of the summit disappears. You can only see the road in front of you and the nearby rocks and flowers. You lose sight of the goal, but still you must take steps to reach the goal. The journey continues , but the trail gets tougher, steeper. At one point you are given again a glimpse of the summit and there is renewed focus, but soon all that is seen is the steps in front of you, the trees and rocks around you, and the companions who accompany you. There are vexing and bothersome moments on this journey. You have climbed so far and you turn a corner expecting a plateau, yet here you are faced with a steeper climb and you still cannot see the goal. But you climb. Eventually you come to a clearing above the tree-line, and there it is, not far. You still must climb but suddenly the goal appears to be within reach. Then you reach the summit. You are tired, but the struggle for the journey is suddenly unimportant as you see the splendor of the world laid out before you. St. Gaspar continually invites us to this mystical mountain so that we may listen and contemplate God’s word in creation and return to the valley with this message of God’s generous love.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 5:38 PM link

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Prayer for the Intercession
of St. Gaspar del Bufalo

Saint Gaspar,
missionary of the Precious Blood,
you continually sought the consolation of prayer and adoration.
Keep us faithful when we are overwhelmed by the demands and sorrows of daily life, so that we may be deeply rooted in prayer,
living branches on the vine through which Jesus' life-blood flows.

O Saint Gaspar, ardent preacher of the love of God,
you journeyed far and wide, seeking out those who were lost.
Lead all to conversion of heart,
to a true spirit of penance,
and to a greater acceptance of God's mercy.
Help us to welcome the stranger
and to seek out those who are far off.

O Saint Gaspar, great apostle of charity,
from childhood you fed the hungry and comforted the sick.
Encourage us by the example of your holy life.
Have compassion on us from your place at Jesus' side
and obtain help for the poor, health for the sick,
comfort for the abandoned, and aid for all in need.

O Saint Gaspar, intercessor, protector, and friend,
bring the petitions we have placed before you to Jesus,
along with the needs of all who have asked for our prayers.

(Pause for silent prayer.)

Strengthen us, so that we may drink fully
of the cup of suffering and of blessing,
accepting God's holy will in union with Jesus.

O Saint Gaspar, beloved founder and patron,
you spread devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus
and to Mary, Help of Christians.
May that same devotion be enkindled in us,
so that washed by Christ's Blood,
and protected by Mary our Mother,
we may one day join you and all the faithful departed
at the heavenly banquet,
where all sorrows will be turned into everlasting joy.

Let us pray.

Eternal Father,
through the intercession of Saint Gaspar,
priest and illustrious apostle of the Precious Blood,
grant that we may receive the abundant fruit of the price of our redemption.
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Precious Blood Companion Maureen Lahiff deserves much of the credit for the composition of the prayer.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 2:32 PM link

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Still swamped

I am working on press releases and other writings this day. I think everything I get done in the next week will be at least a month late.

This still provides a measure of peace.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 11:35 AM link

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Gaspar's Maxims II

Well, his links are not working. I tried for two days to link to this but it never changed. It is not his fault. Blogger sometimes does that, and often my links do not work right either. So I just copied him wholesale here. Go visit his blog here.

This is what his post said:

Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Humility 101

Recently, Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S., posted St. Gaspar's 31 Maxims appropriate for the pursuit of the holy virtue of Humility, to be posted in each Precious Blood missionary's room and read aloud, one a day.

There is a great deal of wisdom packed into these maxims. However, the English translation was ... ah ... written in a style that I have difficulty embracing as material for meditation. So I thought I would attempt to repackage the maxims in a form that I can better come to grips with. Step 1 was to get rid of the rhymes wherever possible; step 2 to rearrange the maxims according to theme.

The result is below. The categorization is obviously not rigorous or unique; it's more of an outline (for what, maybe a sermon or book on humility) than a set of maxims for daily recitation; and each maxim doesn't necessarily say the identical thing in the original as in my modified version. Nevertheless, since humility is an extremely important virtue (even for layfolk), let me post it here. (The numbers are from the original list.)

Reasons to be humble:
1. To safely reach your final goal.
4. To acquire lasting peace of heart.
5. To acquire peace and consolation.

Temporal effects of true humility:
3. Your soul will wear all virtues.
6. Your heart feels neither grief nor bitterness.
11. Offense and scorn are soothing to your soul.
22. You are able to bear with others’ faults and with his own.


Eternal benefits of humility:
7. The Lord will impart eternal glory to the humble.
8. Bear mockery and contempt with humility, and you will find a rich and priceless treasure.
27. To hate our sins in true humility will win God’s love for all eternity.
29. God always delights in true humility.


Effects of pride:
2. Without humility all earth is nothing but glittering vanity.
14. You who are proud are hiding your utter nothingness from yourself.
18. I am a worm, born of ashes and dust, and yet so proud that I trust in my own strength.
25. To ridicule or disdain your neighbor is a sign of vanity.
31. How will human praises help you if after death the Lord censures you?


How to become humble:
13. Be quick to forgive offenses.
15. First call God to mind, then behold yourself.
20. Do not be attached to the views of your own mind.
21. Abstain from self-complacency.
23. Subject your will to others cheerfully.
24. Esteem your fellow man and disdain yourself.
28. Bear correction due your errors in peace and patience.
30. Acquire trust in God, not yourself.


How to avoid pride and bear wrongs and humiliation:
9. Consider well your utter wretchedness.
10. Remember you are but of lowly station.
12. Remember that you are made of worthless dust and ashes.
16. Remember that all gifts you have been given are favors flowing from God’s hand.
17. Recall that it is God who sends us gifts of every kind.
19. Behold the dismal grave awaiting you.
26. When you fail in your work, remain calm and humble; God is still in control.

The two that speak loudest to me are numbers 18 and 31, which in the original translation look like this:
A worm am I, of ashes born and dust,
And yet so proud that in my strength I trust.

Of what avail will human praises be
If after death the Lord will censure thee?

Posted 12:16 PM by John DaFiesole

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 10:24 PM link

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Honored CPPS Sisters

The City of O'Fallon honors the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood.

The article states in part:

On Wednesday, October 23, the City of O’Fallon Economic Progress hosted a reception to recognize 129 years of service to the community by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood convent. The convent has operated as St. Mary’s Institute, a not-for-profit corporation, since 1878.

Here is a bit of their history.

Here are some pictures of the event.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 6:40 PM link

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PBLC HRI

The Precious Blood Leadership Conference (PBLC) is holding four Human Rights Initiative (HRI) conferences around the country in 2003 on the experience of Racism. I am on the HRI planning board from the Province of the Pacific. We meet today and tomorrow in O'Fallon, MO. I am off to the airport this morning. You may hear from me tonight depending on what kind of internet access I find down there.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 5:47 AM link

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Chant Practice

I am busy preparing chant practice for tonight. Here is what we shall all sing for the liturgy:

Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Universorum Regis
Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
Sollemnitas, Solemnity

Antiphona ad Introitum: Regnum eius (Graduale Simplex, 253)
Kyrie VIII
GloriaVIII
Psalm: Ps 72, All the Nations, By Flowing Waters 40
Alleluia VI (Liber Cantualis, 9) with verse, tone 6
Preparation: In Domum Domini, Graduale Simplex
Sanctus XVIII (Liber Cantualis, 17)
Mysterium Fidei (Liber Cantualis, 18)
Amen (Liber Cantualis, 19)
Agnus Dei XVIII (Liber Cantualis, 23)
Alleluia, Mozarabic Chant, Psalm 34, Graduale Simplex, p 454, Appendix III
To Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King

Translations for the psalms being sung at Entrance, Preparation and Communion will be in the program. The music for the antiphons will be printed and the people will be invited to sing them. The antiphons from the Graduale Simplex are really quite singable.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 3:06 PM link

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Give 'em a chants

What do young people think about Gregorian Chant? Check out Martin Ford Jr. here.

I hear at my old parish they are forcing liturgical dance on the people for Advent. When are they going to find out that the '70s are over?

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 6:07 PM link

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Finished

The last several days have been spent working on the newsletter, "Cup and Cross." It is the newsletter of the Pacific Province and I am the editor. It is finally finished. I may post a few of the articles. This one was reported by Fr. Bill Delaney.

WORKING FOR JUSTICE
by Fr. Bill Delaney, C.PP.S

For the past year, St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish in southeast Los Angeles has been organizing its people to be part of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Organizing Strategy or L.A. Metro. We have been teaching people what it means to be part of a relational culture where people take control of their lives and their communities. We have a core of 25-35 people who meet regularly, constantly seek out others who want to work for social justice and are dedicated to learn how to organize and not be victims. Many of those involved are undocumented.

After a few months of basic organizing, the people voiced a great concern to improve the safety on the street in front of the church, Nadeau St. There is much traffic and speeding on this street. Several pedestrians have been hit by cars. Since we are outside the city limits, we are under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Supervisors, in particular Supervisor, Gloria Molina. We have formally requested from her office a crossing light in front of the church. However we were initially turned down so we prepared a formal appeal to be presented before an Appellate Committee in September. In the process we introduced our people to the power structure of Los Angeles County and what needs to be done in order to have more safety in the community. On November 6, the State Highway Commission held a meeting at St. Aloysius Hall in which over 200 local residents were present. L.A. Metro presented accident victims, videos, pictures and petitions of over 3,000 people demanding a Pedestrian Crossing Light. The Commission voted to install such a light. A big victory for the local community!

In addition semi-trucks and tour buses have been parking on the curbside of this street for days at a time, thus impeding the vision of cars that come to an intersection and cannot see all of the oncoming traffic. The Supervisors have passed a resolution restricting such traffic which took effect in early August.

In addition, since we have many undocumented people in our community, we are working with the AFL-CIO and several local unions to obtain 1,000,000 signed postcards with the demands to President Bush and Congressional leaders to begin a new amnesty program for undocumented people. These postcards were formally presented to President Bush by a national delegation of our leaders in the first week of September. Our parish collected 2,200 signatures on the first two Sundays of July. This local action generated much enthusiasm on the part of our local L.A. Metro workers as well as among the many undocumented people who are living in limbo. These strategies will keep on unfolding in the coming months.

We also were instrumental in helping to pass a measure to fund trauma centers throughout the county and to fund bonds of 3.4 billion dollars to construct 250 new public schools and repair existing public schools. At the request of the Mayor, James Hahn, we worked to insure the succession efforts of the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood from the City of Los Angeles. The first week of November was a week of many big victories for L.A. Metro.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 4:01 PM link

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Conversation

There always seems to be a problem with the comment part of this blog operation. The comments are hosted somewhere else and are dependant on the host. Well, the comments disappeared and have been gone for a while. I have been considering switching to a different comment host, but that would mean that all the wonderful comments that had been left on the blog would have been lost. Well, they are gone, lost in cybersapace and I do know how to retrieve them. But I wanted a conversation feature on this blog and so went searching for a new host this afternoon. Tell me what you think.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 3:54 PM link

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Homily Notes 11/17/02

It never comes out exactly as it is on paper, but this is the rough outline. These are the notes I preached from this morning at Bond Chapel, University of Chicago, on this gospel. I would enjoy your reflections.

1. Why did Jesus tell this story?

Absentee landlords and people who made profit off of other people’s work are normally suspect in that day and age. Absentee landlords were not looked on as moral people, and here Jesus is using an absentee landlord as an image of God!

Jesus has a difficult time getting our attention.

He is talking about something that we cannot see. So he is reduced to speaking of cold hard cash.

But he is not here to help us make a profit!! This is a capitalist gospel only if you fail to read the rest of the Gospel.

Jesus wants our attention.
He wants our faith.
He wants our faith in action.
He wants our faith to grow.
He wants our faith to become evident, available.
He wants our faith to be seen.
He wants our faith to be ready for anything.

2. Example, Person I

Faith
It was taught by her parents
She remembered her Grandmother cherished her faith
Faith was a private matter, not something to talk about
She did all the right things: Mass on Sunday, she even used an envelope in the collection, no meat of Fridays during Lent.

Faith was not something she dealt with Monday through Friday.
God was in the Church down the street, she would see him on Sunday.

She did not consider herself devout
She would occasionally pray, especially when in need
Otherwise it would be on Sunday.

She was a “good” person. She did not steal, gossip, or otherwise abuse people. She was a “nice” person

Everything was ok, but faith was not a high point.

What were her priorities?
- getting the job done
- paying the bills
- decorating the house
- learning how to get along with the nut at work
- getting the assignment in
- passing the test
- jumping through hoops
- doing the required hours at school
- Helping kids with their homework.

The Master arrives in all his glory
The lights go on
Open the heart, what is inside
Where is faith? It is not here!

“I did my job!” she says. Not enough.

3. Example, Person two

She does not remember when God became real for her.

Pray
He is a friend and savior
She could not live without him
daily regular conversation, sometimes it is lonely, but she knows he is there.

Humble
There is so much she does not know about the faith. She knows how to ask questions, to look things up, and to search in prayer. When she is tired and not doing her best she trusts that God will take care of whatever she lacks and she does not get discouraged.

Faith is active. It means something for life itself.
She has conversations with friends, writes letters to the editor about life issues, justice issues, housing issues, work for the poor, She reads what the Bishops are saying. Some of her co-workers criticize her, and sometimes they even ridicule her for her beliefs, but she trusts in God that he suffered even worse abuse but yet endured.

Live justly
Things at work are not right—and she says so. She cannot do everything, yet she is different because she belongs to Christ

Serve
Time and talent are given whenever needed. She knows an elderly person who would not be able to go to church each week with the ride she offers.

Advocate
Letters to her congress rep and Governor on pro-life issue

Jesus comes in all his glory
the lights are turned on.
open her heart
Faith abounds

Jesus only gave her the faith the size of a mustard seed
She could not see him
She knew he was with her
Faith moved her feet as well as here heart

What was found when she opened her heart was the substance of a deep and intimate relationship with her creator, lived out in faith. The mustard seed had multiplied many times over.

4. Faith

It is not a thing we can touch or see or feel.
We cannot display it on a book shelf, “O what a lovely faith.”
We cannot eat it.
It is not something to fill up on.
We cannot wear it. “Look at my lovely faith.”
It is not a quantity, “six gallons of faith.”
It is not even a quality. “Isn’t that lovely, better than the last faith I saw.”


5. Two things to remember

He “entrusted his possessions” to us.

We have been given everything we need. We have enough to do the will of God. We may not have enough to fulfill the will of the leaders of this world, but we have enough to do the will of God. He has given us his very self. He wants to get our attention. He wants to have a real relationship with us. He wants that relationship to have an effect on us and turn us into his people.

“But the person who received one talent went away, dug in the earth and hid his master’s money. Hiding a talent in the earth means employing one’s abilities in earthly affairs, failing to seek spiritual profit, never raising ones heart from earthly thoughts. There are some who have received the gift of understanding but have a taste only for things that pertain to the body. The prophet says of them, “They are wise in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.” (St. Gregory the Great, Homily 18)

“Come; share your master's joy.”

Here we receive a tremendous mystery, a presence beyond our imagination but asking of us a faith that is direct and simple. He is no absentee landlord. He is present. He is here. He has given us everything and he has asked of us to take what we receive and with it transform the world.

posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. on 3:50 PM link

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