019: Some of Pope Leo’s Remarks This Week; An Appreciation Statement for Bishop Barron
As Pentecost comes and goes, taking the conclusion of the Easter season with it, the culminating feast leaves in its wake some vivid memories of beautiful celebrations—I’d argue some of the most beautiful of the year. Under appreciated, I would say.
I was fortunate enough to attend mass this morning at my long-time Pittsburgh parish (I moved out of the city in recent years but still try to attend there at least once per month), St. Stanislaus Kostka. What a blessed time to be present, as we blessed the newly renovated and installed Holy Spirit stained glass window. This is an expensive project, as they are renovating all of the stained glass windows in this 135+ year-old church. To say it is gorgeous, however, is to do it an injustice. To see it on Pentecost, the feast directly attributed to the Holy Spirit, was that much more special. While this is not as common anymore, to be at a parish which still spreads rose petals from the rafters of the church during this mass is just a beautiful experience. The kids loved it as well.
This week also coincided with some profound commentary from out Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. I first want to reference his catechesis during the General Audience this past Wednesday. At the subject of his conversation was the parable of the laborer from Matthew 20. I encourage everyone to open their Bibles and read the passage, but it had to do with the vineyard owner acquiring help from laborers in town and being exceptionally gracious in return. In summary, the laborers offering their services would be eligible for selection from the landowner every three hours of the day until 6:00pm. Those selected in the beginning of the day were ultimately paid the same as those who were chosen at 3:00pm. And while it made no sense to acquire more laborers after 3:00pm, the landowner brought in more at 5:00pm. While this was met with cynicism from those there all day, Leo pulled from St. Augustine to drive home a very important point. “Why dost thou put off him that calleth thee, certain as thou art of the reward, but uncertain of the day? Take heed then lest peradventure what he is to give thee by promise, thou take from thyself by delay.” This was from St. Augustine’s Sermon 87, 6, 8.
While it may be easy to interpret this through some dystopian Marxist lens, that is far from the point being made. The point being made is that we should always possess a willingness to serve. And we have no idea when that will be, but if our willingness is pure, we will ultimately be rewarded for our intentions and eventual actions.
Furthermore, Pope Leo ended his statement with the following. “I would like to say, especially to the young, do not wait, but respond enthusiastically to the Lord who calls us to work in his vineyard. Do not delay, roll up your sleeves, because the Lord is generous and you will not be disappointed! Working in his vineyard, you will find an answer to that profound question you carry within you: what is the meaning of my life?
Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be discouraged! Even in the dark moments of life, when time passes without giving us the answers we seek, let us ask the Lord who will come out again and find us where we are waiting for him.”
In a societal chapter where so many are looking for direction in life…for meaning, Pope Leo offers us an exceptionally relevant message. Seek spiritual fulfillment through Christ. Furthermore, the young are being pulled in so many directions from so many corrupted sources of influence. Women are being fed lies about what brings meaning in life. Men are being told that they are guilty for disservices in which they were not involved. It is easy to become lost. Happiness metrics are also abysmal. So why not try what has worked in the past? There is so much temptation to look elsewhere today, but nothing will be as fulfilling as leading a Christian life through the Catholic Church. I took the more difficult path to arrive at this conclusion myself. I try to be open about my shortcomings, and I hope that in itself is enough to trigger interest in anyone to follow Christ through Catholicism—even if it is only one person.
Interestingly enough, life’s meaning is a perfect transition into what today is all about. Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit descends upon and works through the Apostles, miraculous events take place. They are able to interpret and deliver the good news to the fringes of society, and to people whose languages they never had any command of. The Holy Spirit shattered divides. It eliminated hesitations, and it rendered what were otherwise worldly barriers obsolete.
I immediately want to reference the quote from Pope Benedict XVI that Leo called out. “The Holy Spirit bestows understanding. The Spirit overcomes the ‘breach’ that began in Babel, the confusion of mind and heart that sets us one against the other. The Spirit opens borders... The Church must always become anew what she already is. She must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race. In her, there cannot be those who are neglected or disdained. In the Church there are only free men and women, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.” This was from a 2005 Pentecost Homily that Benedict gave.
Leo expanded upon this, through my perspective, in two ways—the inner self and the self’s interactions with others. He adds an element which is more macro as well, which we can touch on. Regarding the self, the Holy Spirit “opens borders, first of all, in our hearts,” Leo says. When we allow the Holy Spirit in, we soften our hearts. We become more in touch with the most inner versions of ourselves, “beneath all the masks we wear,” as he says. Only then can our hearts transform into being welcoming and refreshing.
As for our interactions with others, it is once we are connected with the Holy Spirit that we are able to love our neighbors as God demands of us. “The Holy Spirit opens borders in our relationship with others.” Once the walls to our inner selves cease to exist, the borders dividing us from others fall too. It is only then that we can “reconcile our diversities” and become a welcoming place for all—even those on the edges of society. I’ll add that this does not mean we accept actions and decisions which are in conflict with church doctrine, but we do accept the people themselves (I say this as someone who has acted in ways with which even I disagree).
He extends this concept further, however, and applies this to a spiritual connection between peoples—societies. This is a good time to recall that the Apostles spoke the languages of the people they met. While that may be impossible for us depending on our linguistic skills, we are called to echo this in spirit. Leo points out that “whenever God’s ‘breath’ unites our hearts and makes us view others as our brothers and sisters, differences no longer become an occasion for division and conflict but rather a shared patrimony from which we can all draw, and which sets us all on journey together, in fraternity.” To me, this is a consistent logic with his second tier of outreach—that with those around us. He goes on to say that the presence of the Holy Spirit’s love eliminates the possibility for the presence of those evils which ravage society—war, division, prejudice, and (my interpretation) nationalism gone wrong.
I think what is most important here is that theological concepts operate in a completely different dimension from political ones. How we operate as humans should rely more upon spiritual teachings, rather than political ones. Once we are successful here, maybe—just maybe—it will be possible for political trends to promote peace more than what we see today. If you read Leo’s remarks, I have no doubt he is alluding to Israel and Gaza, as well as Russia and Ukraine. The man seeks peace in the world. This should come to the surprise of absolutely nobody.
I’ll conclude this portion by saying that left wing and right wing media outlets alike have completely taken Pope Leo XIV out of context. He spoke of borders today. The borders he spoke of were primarily the ones we put up as individuals and small groups—not national borders meant to ensure sound immigration practices (which should also be enforced with an element of humanitarianism, by the way). “May the strong wind of the Spirit come upon us and within us, open the borders of our hearts, grant us the grace of encounter with God, enlarge the horizons of our love and sustain our efforts to build a world in which peace reigns.” That is straightforward, if you ask me. Watching some spin this has precipitated some reflection on what they did to Pope Francis. While I had some disagreements with him (on matters of liturgy, predominantly), the out of context interpretations of much of what he said through the years led to an inaccurate depiction of his papacy. It won’t work as well with Leo, as we have not only become aware of this practice, but he is also much more clear in his messaging. Those spinning his message today look like fools.
My appreciation for Bishop Barron:
This is entirely unrelated to everything written up to this point, but I need to make a point on this. I first became aware of Bishop Robert Barron when I watched a video he posted regarding “Imagine” by John Lennon. He went into how he appreciates The Beatles but we as Catholics should not be giving any credit to this song. I appreciated the sentiments. I casually followed him after that, and it was a few years later I watched him conduct a podcast with Lex Fridman. That podcast was one I shared with several friends, and I mean it when I say that it planted a seed toward return and/or conversion. I have observed his introduction of concepts to me which were brand new, which I greatly appreciate. I watched a sermon he posted after I came home from an Easter Vigil mass a few years ago, and the theme was to keep Catholicism weird. Yes! Yes we should. We should not compromise her authenticity for anything or anyone. I have observed him bring clarity to Vatican II—how what actually came out of Vatican II was not what some progressive opportunists have done with the teachings over the years. He is an accessible and relatable intellectual, and he is one of the great evangelists of our time.
In the past week, I have seen some on the left and some on the right attack him for what are absolutely absurd reasons with no legitimacy whatsoever. Many have defended him this week, though the eloquence with which Bishop Barron and Word On Fire operate need no defending. The critics are only standing in the way of successful evangelization, however, and they should conduct an accountability check on themselves before going public with this or that thought. As it is relevant in today’s Catholic discussions, however, I could not post this blog without offering my greatest of appreciation for everything he has done and continues to do. Tackling the Pope Benedict XVI teachings are on my reading list and are possible because of his and his team’s efforts.
Blessings. P.K.