In fact, the events illustrate two different kinds of evil. Pilate’s order of execution is an example of moral evil, evil chosen by a human. Unfortunately there are many such examples: acts of terrorism, murder, rape, bullying and the crucifixion of Jesus – another of Pilate’s acts. In general we accept that these things happen because God has given us the freedom to choose between right and wrong; wrong choices are the price of freedom. However, the people killed by the tower falling on them is not an evil caused by humans (except perhaps indirectly by incompetent builders). Rather we would call it natural evil, an event not caused by the misuse of free-will but by chance or natural disaster. The terrible earthquake in Haiti is foremost in our minds at the moment, and it was another great earthquake which set many great minds thinking about the problem of explaining evil. The Great Lisbon Earthquake took place on 1 November 1755, at around 10:24 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and fires, which caused near-total destruction of Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal and ended the aspirations of the Portuguese to become a major world power. It was All Saints Day: the faithful were in church and were crushed in the ruins; those who had missed Mass and were out drinking in the squares were saved. It was a real test of faith and people inevitably asked why God would allow the innocent to suffer. Almost every day we hear of people hurt by floods, hurricanes and mudslides, and we all have to face the ever-present natural evil of disease.

We Christians therefore have a problem, classically stated in this way:

Either God cannot abolish evil or He will not.
If He cannot, then He is not all-powerful.
If He will not, then He is not all-good.

In each of the cases mentioned in the Gospel Jesus refuses to say that the evil events were punishments. God does not work that way. Jesus insists that those who suffered were no guiltier than anyone else, and so he encourages his hearers to repent of their own sins and goes on to speak of God’s patience with us. However, Jesus does not give a comprehensive explanation of evil and we cannot find one anywhere in the New Testament. It’s taken Christian philosophers two millennia to find answers to the torturing question of why a good God allows evil. If you want to know what some of those answers are, you’ll have to come to the next Lent talk: Monday March 8th at 7 p.m. in the church.

Fr. Augustine

UPDATE on Our Catholic Appeal:

Last Sunday we had the third annual “Our Catholic Appeal” collection for the expenses of the Diocese. We have now reached $90,457.00 in pledges and payments towards our goal of $137,690. That means we have collected 66% of our goal, but with 34% still to be found – another $47,233.00. Once again, a big thank you to all those who have pledged and an appeal to those who have not yet made a decision – in this particularly hard year

Stay tuned to the weekly bulletin for more information as the event draws nearer.

CLEAN-UP DAY

Saturday, March 13, 2010

7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Let’s get together to beautify our parish and school! Volunteer to lend a helping hand! Ear PAWS hours! Check-in the Community Room upon arrival!

• Raking and mulching
• Weeding the grounds
• Organizing areas
• Cleaning pews
• Vacuuming church
• Gardening in the nursery
• Painting
• Repairing
• Remove unwanted bushes

Bring a rake, broom, paint brush, etc. Just make sure to have your name on them! We’ll provide the fellowship, fun, water and pizza!

Email Victor Sorondo at sorondov@gmail.com if you are interest in donating items on our wish list: (mulch, rock, paint, plants, use of a pressure cleaner)

The Transfiguration - Duccio di Buoninsegna

“The Lord God took Abram outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,’ he added, ’shall your descendants be.’ Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.” These words from Genesis chapter 15 are the opening lines of today’s first reading which describes a conversation between Abram (not yet given his religious name Abraham) and God. Then in the Gospel it is the disciples, on the mountain of transfiguration, who hear the voice of God – declaring about Jesus: “This is my chosen Son; listen to him”.

We call such moments “theophanies”, revelations of God; and there is no doubt that some people still today may have a deep religious experience of the presence of God which transforms their lives. For most of us, though, our experience of God is not so direct. We feel ourselves to be in the desert (something which is not inappropriate in Lent), far from the wellsprings of religious certainty. But that does not mean that we have given up the journey towards God. God has placed the seed of faith in our hearts and he has also given us the gift of reason to help us discover truth. As Catholics we must use both faith and reason in our search for God. This was the teaching of Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Fides et Ratio (Latin for faith and reason) promulgated on 14 September 1998. As the Church entered a third millennium the Pope wanted Christians to understand that faith and reason are not only compatible, but essential together. He said “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2)”. Faith without reason, he argued, leads to superstition – treating religion like magic; on the other hand reason without faith leads to an incomplete vision of reality which can never satisfy our deepest longings.

One of my duties as a teacher in England was to offer specialized courses in Theology and Philosophy to students in their final two years of High School. These were college level courses and far from easy, but students were attracted to them because they dealt with what Pope John Paul called “the fundamental questions which pervade human life: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life?” These are questions which have been asked by every culture and in every age and I want to look at them this year for our Saint Charles Borromeo Lent course. I will be talking at 7 p.m. in the church for the next four Monday evenings (March 1, 8, 15, 22). The talks will last about thirty minutes and there will be time for some questions afterwards. Please join us as part of your personal Lenten program. This is not just an academic exercise but, as Pope John Paul said, “the answer given to these questions decides the direction which people seek to give to their lives”.

Fr. Augustine

Looking back on my years in the monastery I realize that many people would consider it quite penitential all year round, but to us it was normal and so we made an extra effort in Lent. This is what the Church asks us all to do during this time: to live up to the demands of our Christian calling and to use the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in a serious way. So Saint Benedict makes some suggestions about keeping a good Lent: “This we can do in a fitting manner by refusing to indulge evil habits and by devoting ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial. During these days, therefore, we will add to the usual measure of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food or drink, so that each of us will have something above the assigned measure to offer God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 1:6). In other words, let each one deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting, and look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing”.

By now you should have received a supplement to the bulletin which has the whole program of Lenten activities, together with the schedule for Holy Week. Friday is the great day for fasting, as we remember Jesus on the cross, and I encourage you to join us for soup supper at 6 p.m. and then for the Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. Opportunities for almsgiving are not lacking as we continue the annual campaign for Our Catholic Appeal through the first weeks of Lent; and you know that gifts of food or money for the support of Brothers Keeper are always appreciated. If we are going to make up for our negligences in private prayer, we can make a good start by attending the session of Taizé Prayer at 7 p.m. this Monday (February 22nd). I’ve never managed to visit the ecumenical monastic community at Taizé, in the Burgundy area of France, but I was introduced to their distinctive style of prayer over thirty years ago and their repetitive chanting of words from scripture, accompanied by gentle music, always helps to calm my mind and bring me closer to God. Let us ask for God’s grace from the very beginning of Lent so that we can offer Him more than we usually do and “look forward to holy Easter with joy”.

We give to the Church in different ways:

Weekly Stewardship: The regular collection at Sunday Mass is what keeps the parish going. It pays the priests and other parish staff; it enables us to maintain the buildings and grounds; and it allows us to buy what we need for our worship and ministries.

Our Catholic Appeal: This provides the annual “housekeeping money” for the Diocese of Orlando, with the expense being shared across all ninety parishes and missions but adjusted according to their size and wealth. The appeal pays for the staff in the Chancery, the diocesan headquarters which provides support for the parishes in many different ways; it finances the work of Catholic Charities, whose services have been much needed in the last year; and it makes possible many other projects, such as the happy one of paying the tuition checks for 27 seminarians – a direct investment in the future of the Church.

Video can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhuDjjzNmRQ.

Extra Collections: Sometimes you will find an envelope in your packet for special needs such as the annual collections for our sister Diocese in the Dominican Republic or retired religious. Sometimes we have additional second collections when emergencies arise, like the recent collection for Haiti, although we pray that those don’t happen often.

All these three areas of giving should be drawn from what we tithe, the traditional ten percent of disposable income which has been set aside as a sign of gratitude to God from the times of the Old Testament. Obviously some families will give less than ten percent because they set aside five percent for Catholic education, but the regular support of parish and diocese touches us all.

Alive in Christ: I haven’t forgotten that I have asked you to join me in digging deep and finding additional money in this past year. The Alive in Christ Campaign is not designed to support our regular expenses. It’s for capital investment in special projects of the parish and the Diocese, things like updating our school buildings which we could only dream of otherwise. The campaign has come at a tough time and yet you and people all over the Diocese have made pledges for the next five years.

Let us once again do our best for Our Catholic Appeal, sharing the load among as many of our families as possible. In the words of Saint Paul to the Philippians (1:3-4) which I chose for our current birthday card: “I thank my God whenever I think of you, and every time I pray for you I always pray with joy”.

According to Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Educational Association, “Catholic schools provide good things for students and families – high expectations and daily experience of faith. In these challenging times, the theme also reminds parents that the dividends of a Catholic school education – students prepared in faith, knowledge, morals and discipline – last a lifetime. There is no better way to invest in a child’s future – or the future of our world.” The logo designed for the week features a cross superimposed on an out stretched hand and highlights the beneficial aspects of a Catholic education.

Obviously parents look for a development of knowledge in any school, and Catholic schools have long been famous for their high academic standards. Whether Saint Charles pupils go on to Bishop Moore or to public high schools, they find themselves well prepared and often able to go straight into honors and advanced placement classes. We believe that education is more than academics, however. Catholic schools provide an atmosphere of discipline where students can feel secure, while sports and other activities try to teach the self-discipline which we all need. Morals are also important because they provide a guide for the fulfilled life. If we ignore our Maker’s instructions, things go wrong; when we follow the generous example of Jesus Christ we find our true selves and discover happiness. Finally faith is the raison d’être of the Catholic school. We want to foster a deep relationship with God in the community of the Church which will give our students strength for this life but will also lead them to everlasting life.

Why is it, then, that Catholic students in public school can turn out to be better practicing Catholics than those who have been through specifically Catholic schools like Saint Charles? The reason is, of course, because family is more important than school. We learn our faith in the family first of all, and the family also hands on morality and discipline. So let this Catholic Schools Week remind us to pray for parents as well: school parents, those who so faithfully bring their children to Faith Formation on Wednesdays, and those who home-school. Having a Mass-going, praying family lies in your hands. As we say in the blessing of parents at the end of the rite of baptism: “May they be the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do”. Catholic schools are there to help you, but it is your own living of the faith which will pay the greatest dividends for your children.

This Wednesday we will celebrate the Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop & Martyr. Blaise was martyred around 316 in Armenia during Licinius’ persecution of Christians. According to legend, on the way to prison a mother came to him with her young son who was choking to death on a fish bone caught in his throat. Blaise cured the boy; thus he later became the patron and protector of throats.

All parishioners are invited to have their throats blessed at each of the Masses on Wednesday (9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.).

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise,
bishop and martyr,
may God deliver you from every
disease of the throat
and from every other illness:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,+
and of the Holy Spirit.

Blaise’s message today: All of God’s creatures, great and small, are entitled to our care and compassion. There are many people, young and old, who may not be able to look after their own needs. It is up to us to help them in whatever way we can.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Luke records a change of mood. They ask “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” In other words they have been impressed by Jesus’ words, but then they realize he is a familiar figure, a local lad whom they’ve seen in Nazareth before; and they lose faith in him. It seems that Jesus is not surprised by their reaction. He tells them “No prophet is accepted in his own native place” and he compares himself to Elijah and Elisha who helped foreigners rather than the people of Israel. It’s at that point that their doubt and questioning turns to anger: “They were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill…to hurl him down headlong”.

Luke introduces this description of the hostility of the people of Nazareth early in his Gospel (the scene comes later in Mark and it’s not so violent) and it’s as if he is setting out the battle lines from the beginning. As the story unfolds we will see Jesus completely rejected by the people of Israel. They will confirm in their own minds that he is only “the son of Joseph” and not the Son of God when they cry out “Crucify him”. Once again Jesus will be taken out of the town – outside the walls of Jerusalem – and to a hill – the hill of Calvary. And this time they will successfully put him to death, not “hurling him down” but raising him up on the cross.

Take note, though, of the last words of today’s Gospel: “But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away”. Here Luke is looking to the ultimate conclusion of the Gospel. On the third day Jesus will pass through the midst of all his assailants – the Jews, the Romans, even death itself; and on the day of his Ascension he will indeed “go away”, returning to his Father. It’s at that time, as Luke will record in the Acts of the Apostles, that the work of the prophets Elijah and Elisha with foreigners is fulfilled because it becomes clear that the Good News of Jesus Christ is not restricted to “his own native place” but is destined for the whole world – until now it has come to us. May Jesus be our familiar friend, our everyday companion, but may we never take his presence for granted or underestimate his power. If we are faithful He will take us with him, to “pass through the midst” of all our problems and know new life.

Fr. Augustine