Here in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, we are doing much better that many other dioceses. In the fall of 2008, fifteen men entered the seminary to study for the priesthood. They ranged in age from newly graduated eighteen-year-olds to college graduates and even to older men finally saying "yes" to the Lord's call after years of working in some other profession. This coming fall we'll be in double figures again; this morning, our Vocations Office told me that somewhere between ten and fifteen men will be answering the call to enter the seminary in August. In addition to that, this last Saturday, May thirtieth, five men were ordained priests for service to our Archdiocese; I have taught all five of these men and can personally attest how good our God has been to us in giving us these men as our priests.
But, that does not let us off the hook! Please ask yourself: "Am I praying for more priestly vocations and for generous souls to respond to Christ's call to lives of service in the Church?" If you have, thank you; please keep praying. If you have not, please start answering this special request of the Lord.
I need help! Perhaps you've noted that I really don't need to work at gaining weight. [To this, Fr. Ed would respond: "Ha!"] That's a skill that unfortunately comes all too naturally to me! For many years, I've ignored the obvious, but lately my avoirdupois [the French word sounds so much nicer than that blunt English word "fat"] has become quite troublesome due to the inoperable hernia on the left side of my abdomen [an unfortunate result of the treatment that successfully saved me from cancer]. By the time you read this, I will have been dieting for a bit more than three weeks; hopefully the results will be at least a little obvious. The help I need is quite simple: as long as I'm dieting, please don't offer me any of those fantastic pies, cakes, kolaches, cookies, quiches, cornbread, baked beans and other goodies that abound hereabouts. Now, if you've got some tomatoes, green vegetables or grilled meat, give me a call -- but otherwise, please don't bring me temptations!
The Pope's Recent Trip to the Middle East: I'm sure that you've all heard how successful Pope Benedict's recent trip to the Holy Land was. For over a week he traveled in Jordan, Palestine and Israel, a pilgrimage containing important meetings with both secular leaders and the leaders of many different religious groups. I personally thank God for keeping our good Pope safe during his travels and for blessing him for those very important meetings.
For me the Pope's travels brought back many strong memories of my own travels -- the majority of these memories are good, but, unfortunately, a few are not good at all. One of the great blessings God has given me in my life was the opportunity to live and study in both Europe and in the Middle East, especially Israel. I spent more than four years in Rome, a semester in England, a summer in Salzburg, Austria, a couple of summers in Kenya, East Africa and over two years in Israel. The studies were good and they laid a strong foundation for my many years of teaching. Also valuable were the many opportunities that this time abroad gave me to tour.
Vacations became times for travel which was quite cheap then. For each vacation, my parents would send me a Eurorail Pass or its equivalent for where I was living, and I would travel. Those wonderful railroad passes provided me and my fellow students with more than just travel; frequently we'd use the trains as hotels and the train stations for personal hygiene. I especially remember one vacation when a friend and I began by going to Paris where we spent a day touring; come evening, we returned to the station in time for the last train to Munich. We took that night train, sleeping on the reclining seats; in Munich the next morning, we showered and changed in the train station, checked our bags and spent the day sight-seeing there. That evening, we returned to Paris, again sleeping all night on the night train. We kept this up for [as I remember now] about ten days. I have to admit, though, that after a week or so we splurged on a youth hostel that had washing machines and decent beds. Ah, to be young again!
Those travels gave me the opportunity to visit all of free Europe except Portugal [which was in the midst of a civil war] and Finland [which was too far off the beaten track] and to visit a few Communist countries as well. All too many decades later, I can still remember the beautiful scenery, the prayerful shrines, the unbelievable museums and castles, and the variety and quality of the foods, wines and beers.
But not everything I saw then brings back pleasant memories. I remember the first time I visited Dachau, the main Nazi extermination camp in Southern Germany. I can remember the horror of that place; for me, it was nearly suffocating. The museum there chronicled the Nazis' cruelty; it quite literally shook me. I was so convinced that all Americans should experience this example of the horror which men can do to one another that I regularly encouraged my classmates and others to visit there. When my parents and my brother came to visit and travel in Bavaria, I even took them there as well. Later I also made pilgrimages to the camps at Treblinka and Auschwitz.
Little did I know, however, that the worse was yet to come. While I was living in Jerusalem, I visited Israel's Yad Vashem Memorial repeatedly. Thinking back to my time there, I find myself agreeing with Pope Benedict when he said that, with the exception of his visits to the shrines of Christ and Mary, the most memorable moment of his pilgrimage was Yad Vashem. Unfortunately, most Americans think the Yad Vashem Memorial is simply a museum or memorial to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust and the horrors it wrought. While it does do that, its prime purpose is far different. As the Pope said in his address there, the name Yad Vashem comes from the words of the Prophet Isaiah who recorded God's message to His people: "I will give them an everlasting name which shall not be cut off." [Is 56:5] The Pope continued: "This passage from the Book of the prophet Isaiah furnishes the two simple words which solemnly express the profound significance of this revered place: yad - "memorial" and shem - "name." I have come to stand in silence before this monument, erected to honor the memory of the millions of Jews killed in the horrific tragedy of the Shoah [the Hebrew word for the Holocaust]. They lost their lives, but they will never lose their names; these are indelibly etched in the hearts of their loved ones, their surviving fellow prisoners, and all those determined never to allow such an atrocity to disgrace mankind again. Most of all, their names are forever fixed in the memory of Almighty God. One can rob a neighbor of possessions, opportunity or freedom. One can weave an insidious web of lies to convince others that certain groups are undeserving of respect. Yet, try as one might, one can never take away the name of a fellow human being."
He continued: "The names enshrined in this hallowed monument will forever hold a sacred place among the countless descendants of Abraham. Like his, their faith was tested. Like Jacob, they were immersed in the struggle to discern the designs of the Almighty. May the names of these victims never perish! May their suffering never be denied, belittled or forgotten! And may all people of goodwill remain vigilant in rooting out from the heart of man anything that could lead to tragedies such as this!"
Americans were blessed during this pilgrimage by EWTN's transmission of each of the Pope's stops on this trip. Thanks to my DVR recorder, I was able to watch them all. For me, it was obvious that His Holiness was very moved by his visit to Yad Veshem. This was greatly underscored by his words at his farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. While reminiscing about his entire trip, he made particular mention of his visit to the memorial, calling it "one of the most solemn moments of my stay in Israel." He added that his time there "brought back memories of my visit three years ago to the death camp at Auschwitz, where so many Jews -- mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, friends -- were brutally exterminated under a godless regime that propagated an ideology of anti-Semitism and hatred." He concluded: "That appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied."
Before leaving, he reminded all people that he had come "to visit this country as a friend of the Israelis, just as I am a friend of the Palestinian people." He added that he prayed "that the rich variety of religious witness in the region will bear fruit in a growing mutual understanding and respect," and that there would come to pass a "lasting peace based on justice" and "a genuine reconciliation and healing" in the Holy Land.
Let us all join with His Holiness in praying for this peace and justice in the Holy Land where the Lord's life stretched from His birth in Bethlehem to His death on the cross of Calvary where He saved us all!
