Under the Acacia Tree – All Ye That Labour…Jesus said, “Come Aside and Rest!”

Vacation is a wonderful antidote for lots of what ails us. It is very much a part of the Christian life that Jesus spoke about when he urged his disciples to come aside to a deserted place and rest awhile.

Finding a deserted place is difficult in these days, but Ireland – especially the coastal towns in County Mayo make a compelling case as a place of rest. For me the climate (cool) and the family (first cousins, spouses and children) with whom I visited provide the rest that is essential for me in order to do the kind of ministry that’s required on a daily basis. It may be the slightly less hectic pace of life in Ireland, it may be that my roots are in Ireland, it may be the beauty of the place – but whatever it is, it offers me the opportunity to be at rest.

The reason for being in Ireland was to celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary of my cousin Therese and her husband Paul. Thirty years ago I witnessed their wedding, and Paul noted recently in a phone call that I needed to come and “service the contract.” I was only too happy to do so, and at the same time see again the places that are important to me – my Mom’s old farm, still operating as a farm but minus the home she grew up in; my Dad’s birthplace still occupied by my cousins and far grander than it was when Daddy was born.

I also enjoyed the numerous dinners with various relatives – an Italian restaurant in Limerick; a birthday party for one of the next generation in Mallow; a tour of the best spots in Kilarney without ever going near the tourist traps; a ‘come-all-ye’ rich in food and drink in Dublin to celebrate a wedding anniversary; numbered but exquisite days in Mayo; the most beautiful beach setting I’ve ever seen; a touching funeral done in Irish style; Croagh Patrick standing sentry in the background a constant reminder of the great saint who in 441 was said to have fasted on the mountain for forty days. It was a glorious celebration of life and family, and a treasure to keep, as time unfolds in the future here at St. Augustine.

Rest is essential for all of us. Ireland may not be the spot for you. But whether it’s a camp out at one of our glorious state parks or a journey of a lifetime that you determine to take, going aside is important. Maybe it’s only getting away to a relative’s home; it’s the getting away that’s vital.

We can think “I’ll stay at home and it will be great,” but being at home tends to let things happen in an everyday way. And it’s the everydayness of things that often tire us out.

So, take Jesus’ words seriously: “Come aside to a deserted place and rest a while.” Jesus knew what was good for his disciples and urged them to take advantage of it. Since we’re his disciples today, the same applies to us.

Take and enjoy that vacation.

God bless,

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP
Pastor
July 26,2009

Under the Acacia Tree – Readin’, ‘Riting, ‘Rithmetic, and the Four “ORS”

Last Wednesday I was stunned.

At a meeting of the Kiwanis Club, Superintendent Cash of the Memphis City Schools and former Senator Frist were on hand to tell us about what was happening in education in the City of Memphis and around our state. I was mostly stunned by Dr. Cash’s statistics.

According to Cash, there are 105,000 students in the Memphis City Schools. Of that number 60,000 have health and wellness issues. As I read it, that means that a majority – and a significant majority at that – of our Memphis children are unhealthy. How can that be when children are supposed to be the healthiest of all of us?

We just assume that a child will be and remain healthy, and it’s clear that we can’t assume that about the average child in the Memphis City Schools. A healthy child, according to Dr. Cash’s numbers, is not the rule.

Another startling number for me is that 30,000 children are overage for their grade. In other words a child may be 9 years old and only in the second grade. When kids are overage for their class it often leads to the problem of drop outs which is at the rate of 19% in Memphis.

The ratio of kids who are stable to kids who move is 1:3. If I have that point correct it means that 33% of the Memphis Schools children will move this year.

I seldom ask questions at Kiwanis meetings, but I did last week, and so I asked what would cause so many unhealthy children in our neighborhoods.

Dr. Cash acknowledged that the question was much to the point, but he and his fellow administrators are just as puzzled as anyone might be about what causes the difficulty. He did note that of the top 50 cities in the United States, Memphis has the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of poverty.

Another area where Memphis leads is in having the largest number of teen pregnancies in the Mid-South.

What to do about all this?

I know we have to keep on asking questions, and praying for God’s help, but I also hope that we will find it in our hearts to work with our city schools on the four “ors” as Doctor Cash calls them. Our children need: tutors, mentors, jurors and authors.

As a community of faith, many of us have been enriched by the Memphis City Schools curriculum or have been teachers or staff people in the schools. I hope that we will take up the challenge Dr. Cash lays down and be for the Memphis City Schools what is needed in terms of assisting our kids to be better. The future–both in terms of character and moral development–is clear.

And, it goes without saying that if our city schools become better able to assist our students because we helped out, then our city’s future work force will be better also.

God bless,

Father G

Rev. John Geaney, CSP
Pastor
June 7, 2009

Under the Acacia Tree – Peggy and Jimmy Got Married

June is upon us. It is often hailed as a time for weddings. June brides will walk many Church aisles all across the United States this June. Unhappily, none are listed to go down the aisle here at St. Augustine.

I often wonder why we have so few weddings in our Church. We have a large number of funerals, some baptisms, but very few weddings. Is it because our young people are not numerous – that’s clearly true – or is it because young people are hesitant to make the commitment that marriage demands? That seems to be the case in many instances and the number of couples living together without being married has increased amazingly in the United States over the past twenty years.

What drives couples, who are living with one another, to marriage eventually is not the desire for commitment as often as it is the necessity of solving legal problems like health insurance, the needs of children being born or taxes.

It’s clear that our Churches in the United States are not succeeding in helping young people recognize the importance of marriage as a committed relationship between a man and a woman that lasts for a lifetime, provides mutual support for the couple and provides a nurturing and nourishing environment in which children who are born of the marriage can grow up.

Can we change the paradigm? I believe we can.

If parents who are currently married can model to their children the importance of marriage and its meaning, then we help those children realize that the commitment of marriage is not impossible.

The O’Leary’s live across the street from my brother in Wakefield, MA. Last Sunday they celebrated their 80th birthdays together. They’ve been married for 53 years. And as my brother says, “When I think about couples who are truly in love, I think of Peggy and Jimmy.” Peggy and Jimmy have been married as long as they have because they love one another and are willing to share together whatever happens in their lives. They aren’t saints. They are people who are committed to one another in a deeply trusting relationship, and they’re a model for their own children as well as all the children, now adults, who have grown up around them including my nieces.

There are Peggy and Jimmy’s in many places, and they can be right in our homes here in Memphis when we decide that a committed marriage is an important part of life, and a part of life that demands a constant effort to achieve. People can and ought to be committed to the way of life that is called marriage, and when they are, our world is a better place because of them.

God bless,

Father G

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP
Pastor
May 31, 2009

Under the Acacia Tree – Obama Spoke of Faith and Reason–A Catholic Tradition

President Obama recently traveled to Notre Dame University to be the commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree. Notre Dame’s President, Father John Jenkins, CSC, was both praised and vilified for giving the president an honor because of an express directive by the Catholic Bishops of the United States that honors should not be presented by Catholic institutions to those who explicitly disagree with stated Catholic policies.

In what proved to be an even handed speech, President Obama referred to former Notre Dame President, Theodore Hesburgh as an example of a leader who stood for his faith, but could dialogue at the same time. Father Hesburgh had been a key figure in the Civil Rights Commission that led eventually to the dismantling of the separate but equal clauses that were the law in our society in “the bad old days.” President Obama urged the graduates to be both beacons of faith and leaders at the crossroads of culture where reasonable men and women could debate issues around which people often disagree. He urged that all of us join together in doing more to reduce abortions by creating homes for children who would be born when a woman, pregnant with an unwanted child, chose not to have an abortion.

It is clear that as Catholics we disagree with the President about abortion and about embryonic stem cell research. As Catholics we are opposed to abortion and to stem cell research that uses infant embryos. Others in our society do not agree with our stands. But we can and should be willing to reason together thoughtfully with those people so that we can reach a careful way of dealing with immensely complicated issues. Ours is a both reason and religion. We recognize that faith is deeply important in our journey to God, but we also know that reason must be joined to faith for that faith to have meaning in our lives.

What we do not need is a continuing lack of dialogue with those who are opposed to Catholic points of view on vital issues in our society. Denouncing those who disagree with our moral stands is not the Christian way. In St. John’s first letter he tells us in the third chapter that in order to be Christian we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and love one another. St. Paul tells us “love is patient, love is kind, … it is not rude, it is not quick tempered.” As a Church debating significant moral issues we need to remember, as we speak and preach,the words and ways of the early apostles.

God bless,

Father G

Rev. John Geaney, CSP
Pastor
May 24, 2008

Under the Acacia Tree – The Proverbial Mother

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day.   Florists are ecstatic, as are restaurateurs and gift shops of every size and stripe.  It’s all part of Mother’s Day.  But in the midst of all the celebration it’s helpful to look at the importance of mothering and its attendant virtue of parenting.

Mothering can be limited to the physical.  A woman carries a child and brings that child into the world. That physical act makes her a mother.  But we are all cognizant of the fact that the physical is not enough when it comes to defining the good mother.  Good mothering demands good parenting because bringing a child into the world is only a small part of nurturing that child into the kind of human being who can make a difference in our world.

We all have heard stories of men and women who attribute all their success to their mothers. All of us have at least one story about how our Mother raised us.  Most often, I hear the stories that people tell well into their own grand mothering years about what their mothers taught them about making sure the rugs were cleaned each week, about going to Church every Sunday even though it was a long walk, about hearing from their Mothers again and again how important education was. 

We love to tell stories about our mothers and how much they influenced us.    And, what I hear again and again is that discipline was important in being a good parent.

Being a good mother is not just about giving a child everything he or she wants as much as it is about giving them what they need.   Being a good mother is not just about saying yes; it’s also about saying no and meaning it.  Being a good mother is not just about giving in to a child’s whims; it’s really about helping the child realize that the world does not exist just for them, but that they exist in order to make the world better.

The book of Proverbs says, “A wise child loves discipline.”   Proverbs also points out:  “Home and possessions are an inheritance from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.”  The prudent wife will, because of her prudence, usually be a good mother and parent also. 

And, on this Mother’s Day in 2009, as we reflect on the importance of good parenting, we can also resolve that prudent mothers will give children the discipline that Proverbs notes that they crave.    Mothers owe their children the best they can do and be for them; children owe their mothers the respect that being a mother deserves.

Have a prayerful and loving Mother’s Day.

God bless,

Father G

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP
Pastor
May 10, 2009

Under the Acacia Tree – Show Up for the Soloist

 

The Soloist is a rare film that tells a wonderful story about an event that really happened.  Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. play two men who have dreams that are in opposition to one another.    Foxx plays Nathaniel Avery; Downey Steve Lopez.  Lopez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.  Avery is a brilliant cello player who is also homeless and schizophrenic.  The movie is about being a friend and being there for someone else. 

In between the accidental meeting of the movie characters and the closing of the film comes the recognition that wanting to help someone out of homelessness who doesn’t want to make the climb, can be self agrandizement of the highest order, when what is called for is friendship.    

Lopez has written a book about his experience with the brilliant musician whom he calls Nathaniel.  In between Nathaniel’s talent and his dream of creating beautiful music to honor his muse Beethoven is the reality of homelessness and schizophrenia.  Despite what Mr. Lopez thinks and hopes for Nathaniel it cannot be.  What Nathaniel hopes for and needs is a friend.  Lopez’ boss at the newspaper who is also his wife in a faltering marriage, tells him what is probably the central message of the movie, “Just be his friend, and show up,”  hoping Lopez can do for Mr. Avery, what he has never done for her. 

There are some exquisite moments in the film from the director Joe Wright in which he paints the screen with some of the best cinema I’ve seen in a long time.  One sequence of blended colors shot to a Beethoven Symphony is simply exquisite.   Wright’s sense of Los Angeles above and below the freeways is breathtaking.  The movie is a tad slow in warming to its story, but gutsy in its descriptions of what can and might be done about the reality of homelessness.

Here at St. Augustine we have begun ministering to the homeless of Memphis in a very real way, bringing them to share breakfast with us once a month.   We do not try to change the men and women who come through the door to share breakfast with us.  We don’t force our faith on them.  We are just present to them so that they know there are people out there who do care and who are not trying to change them, or ask them to accept what we believe is the best road for them when they feel differently. 

The real Nathaniel Avery is still homeless even though he lives in his own apartment.  The real Steve Lopez has gotten his story for the Los Angeles Times and he’s also been able to write a book about his experiences.  But what makes their story so unique is that they remain friends; one an intellectually savvy writer, the other a gifted, homeless and schizophrenic musician.  That they remain friends is a gift they share with one another – and through the movie, with all of us.

God bless,

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP

Pastor

May 3, 2009

Under the Acacia Tree – Let Us Assemble Ourselves Together

 

 

It’s time to get together to add our two cents to the Pastoral Plan that is being shaped currently by a committee of the Pastoral Council headed by Annye Hughes.  Some people are wont to call it a strategic plan.  In business models, companies often create strategic plans to keep their eye on the point of their business. 

 

We want to create a pastoral plan to help us keep our eye firmly focused on our journey to the kingdom.   The Church is a mystery, Pope Paul VI taught us in his opening address at the Second Vatican Council. He went on to say, “(The Church) is a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God.  It lies, therefore, within the very nature of the church to be always open to new and greater exploration.”   When we create a pastoral plan for our parish that is exactly what we are doing.  We are opening ourselves as a people of faith to a new and greater exploration of our relationship with God.  That is the stuff of pastoral planning.

 

The mission for the Church, and that means for our parish, is fourfold.  We must find within our church a commitment to word, worship, witness and service.   It is necessary, too, for us to recognize that if we are to be Catholic Christians we are “sent” to confess and proclaim that Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth and the life.”  We accomplish this confession through preaching and teaching, not just by hierarchs, but through religious education programs and other pastoral ministries in parishes and the teaching of children by their parents and caregivers.  

 

We are all, in other words, involved in the catechizing of our children and the outreach to others through evangelization that will help them to hear the gospel in its fullness.   

 

It’s always difficult to put things about Church in a nutshell.  But if we were able to remind ourselves constantly about the need to be Church as a parish community, it would help us to keep our eye on the ball of growth towards God the Father in Jesus’ name.  So, we need you to be present with us at today’s Parish Assembly.   We will have an opportunity today to take the preliminary steps to create a Pastoral Plan for St. Augustine.

 

The Assembly starts at 1 PM.  Please be present so that we can benefit from your delineation of your spiritual needs as a member of the community of faith that we know and love as St. Augustine Catholic Church.

 

 God bless,

 

 

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP

Pastor

April 26,2009  

Under the Acacia Tree – Stewardship Above and Beyond

What a wonderful gift each of you is to our community.  In the past few weeks we have asked you to step up for St. Augustine, and many of you have done just that.  As your pastor I’m deeply grateful for the courage it takes to sacrifice financially for the parish in these difficult economic times.  While I am away this week, those who haven’t been able to carry or send your pledge cards in to the Church office,  will be receiving phone calls from your fellow parishioners who are also members of our fund raising committee, asking you to join us in our journey of Reaching Above and Beyond.   After we have the results of those phone calls, I’ll bring you up to date on what the results of our campaign have been.

A recently published book, Passing the Plate, examines the causes of what is perceived to be an interdenominational lack of giving in the United States.   The book is based on the principle that people will tithe which means give 10% of their after tax income to the Church of their choice.  But 59% of all Christians and 59% of all Catholics say the reason they do not tithe is because “the Church has no right to ask members to give specific amounts of money.”  54% of Catholics said they could not afford to give 10% to the Church, and 10% of Catholics felt that they did not trust the people to whom they would give to spend the money wisely.

At St. Augustine we do not ask people to tithe.  But we do ask people to be good stewards of their money, returning to God some of the gifts that he has given to them and so give in a sacrificial way.  I know that not everyone can give an equal amount to the Church, but I hope that all can sacrifice equally for the Church.   I did find it interesting that 55.9% of Catholics give less than 2% of their income to the Church according to Passing the Plate.   What I found encouraging was that only 7.8% of Catholics who attend regularly give nothing to the Church annually.

My feeling is that St. Augustine would skew the statistics quite a bit if a scientific survey were done of our financial giving.   So, we are blessed abundantly.  As you look around this week to see where you may have mislaid your pledge card, please do all that you can to return the card and to take a step up for St. Augustine.

God bless,

 

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP

Pastor 

April 18, 2009