Category: Staff

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

The main content or theme of Pope Francis’ new encyclical seems to be a reminder of ideas straight out of the Gospels and the spirit of Franciscan thought: we are all brothers and sisters, children of God, and the implications of that reality. We have heard these things before.

But the Holy Father wants to reinforce these basic beliefs as we emerge from the pandemic, whenever that will be! He wants us to learn from our experience in this time of sickness and suffering. How well have we cared for each other, all around the world? How have we not cared for each other and what might be improved to change that?

Among other things, he calls for improvement in health care systems, and to examine why, in some places, so many died and were not given needed care. Part of this always depends on material resources. The poorer people are, the less health care is available to them.

So the Holy Father challenges us in our view of economic forces, and challenges our ways of capitalism and materialism. How do we indeed share the goods of the earth with all our brothers and sisters? Along with this, he also speaks about our care for the earth itself, which recalls his other encyclical, Laudato Sí.

Some of his words may disturb dyed-in-the-wool capitalists, materialists, and so called “free market” business types. Francis echoes the challenges of Popes before him, some of whom we now call “saints.” The Gospels and the Franciscan spirit ask us to re-think our capitalist, materialist, rugged individualist priorities. We are brothers and sisters to each other and to all creation.

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

The term, “social distancing,” has become part of our language. These days we keep our distance. In church we sit spaced apart from others. In stores and offices we see markers on the floor, indicating where to stand. There are limits to numbers at gatherings.

We avoid familiar human touching. Hand shakes are rare. Hugging happens less. The hand on the shoulder is avoided. Not all the time, but in general we are conscious of life in the pandemic age. At least we do some “elbow bumping” with good humor.

I wonder what this is doing to us. Someday studies will be made of “social customs during the time of pandemic.” Our more severe distancing has taken a toll on families who cannot visit relatives in hospitals and nursing homes. There are many deaths with no family present. Healthy family members choose not to visit each other, just to be safe. Surely this has to affect our mental and emotional life.

I also wonder, then, if all this can be teaching and reinforcing something in us: how much we need human contact and how we need each other. Maybe all this can increase our appreciation of the important people in our lives. For the time being, there can be the effort to reach out with our electronic communications and the written word. Yes, cards and letters!

And when it becomes more possible, we may appreciate even more the handshake and the warm embrace, and to stand right next to the stranger in church.

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

In the Gospel for Friday of the 23rd Week, we have the famous image of the beam in one’s eye. Jesus gives us a teaching about self knowledge. We are not to criticize or pick at other people’s faults when we are not willing to acknowledge our own failings (Luke 6:39-42).

Down through the ages, teachers of prayer have stressed the need for self knowledge as part of a mature spirituality: from Catherine of Siena, to John of the Cross, to Teresa of Avila, to Ignatius of Loyola, down to Thomas Merton and Richard Rohr in our day.

Those who practice the 12 Steps recognize the need for self knowledge and sincerity as they take their “fearless moral inventory” and then tell their story to a willing listener (Steps Four and Five). They are willing to remove the beam of their own blindness and admit their truth.

The beam of blindness is at the center of all racism and bigotry and the large ego of people who will not admit their own shortcomings. It can be a big problem in marriage and other relationships. The beam of blindness causes people to always blame others for their problems.

So this image remains central to an honest and sincere attempt to lead a Christian life, which should also be a healthy psychological life.

“Remove the beam from your own eye first, and then try to help your brother or sister.”

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

The Gospel for Thursday of Week 23 is a challenging statement about Christian love. We are to love everyone. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who do us harm. We are to treat everyone the way we want to be treated. We are to lend without expecting a return. We are not to judge or condemn anyone (Luke 6:27-38).

We have heard these things many times, and each time we may wonder: Who can live like that? Perhaps we can’t, with our own power and resources. We always fall short of the ideal, and we lean on the mercy of God.

We need to recall that God treats us that way,loving us unconditionally. When we fall short, when we get angry, or hold grudges, or cling to bitterness, God continues to show us mercy and encourages us to move beyond those things, to get up and keep walking and try again.

Key to the Gospel passage is when Jesus tells us, “The measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you.” In other words, Jesus tells us to take an overview of our lives, perhaps each day. We are to start out with a way of “measuring” our relationships and our actions from a standpoint of gratitude, acceptance, and willingness to forgive — and not to wait for something to happen before we react.

This may be another form of those famous words of Blessed Solanus: “Thank God ahead of time,” no matter what the future holds.

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

These early days of September have a certain “feel” about them. Do you have the same experience? It is something about endings and beginnings. September 1st is merely a date on the calendar, but seems to carry some weight, especially aligned with Labor Day.

The roots of my feelings, I am sure, reach down to years of starting another school year after summer. Summer ending. School beginning. For me, also, it has had something to do with football, especially going back to 8th grade when I played on an organized team. All that grunting and groaning in August heat left an impression. Hardly part of my spiritual life . . . . or maybe it was!

Years of retreat ministry have left impressions of yet another fall retreat season beginning with a new theme. How in any given year, did we treat of some aspect of the life of prayer?

We move through time. Seasons come and go. And yet in each day, each moment, there stands the invitation to pause and recognize the presence of God. In the Gospel for Thursday of the 22nd week, Jesus tells his disciples to “put out into the deep.” In any season, in any moment, we are to plumb the depths inside us, into our truest self, our soul, to once again touch the presence of God.

We are in September of a strange year. How does God speak to us in this season?

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

You may recall that earlier this year I reported that the friars here at Capuchin Retreat saw two turtles laying eggs in our flower bed.

Today, August 28, the feast of St. Augustine, the little progeny of one mother burst forth from their muddy nest into the bright world. One of the friars happened to notice one and alerted the rest of us.

We watched in awe as turtle after turtle climbed out of the muddy hole and onto the earth’s surface, ready to begin a new life. No one thought to count, but 40 might not be an exaggeration. We think they are baby snapping turtles from a large mother. According to the ways of nature, probably many will not survive.

After they came out, they seemed to know enough to head toward our pond, several hundred feet away. How do they know that?! We watched, amazed, thinking that, if anything is a miracle, this is, accompanied by all sorts of miracles around us.

I’m not pointing to any special “spiritual” message here, other than the message of awe and wonder and appreciation. Though we might be reminded again of Pope Franics’ plea in his encyclical, Laudato Si, that we need to take care of this one home we all share, including baby turtles.

It was wonderful for a few moments to forget about Covid-19, and social unrest, and violence, and the general sadness of this year. As a line in a song says, “for all the wonders that astound us, thanks be to God!”

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

The former CBS commentator, Andy Rooney, would often begin his comments with: “Did you ever wonder . . . ?” I wonder about a lot of things. Maybe you do, too.

During this year I wonder at the behavior of some people. I wonder at the goodness of some and the not so goodness of others. For all the kindness and compassion we have seen, there has also been far too much anger, violence, division and a kind of craziness. For example there have been the fights and even killing over the wearing of masks. Some people have seemed to stand on their rights not to be told what to do while not considering the rights of others or not respecting the common good. People have clung to divisions and differences: too much “us against them.”

The Franciscan Richard Rohr has reminded us that there is no European air, or American air, or African air, or Chinese air. There is simply air, made up of oxygen and nitrogen, which we all breathe. We are all made of the same chemical and biological building blocks. Why all the difference and rancor and division? We are all free to pray “Our Father.” Which would make us all brothers and sisters. I wonder. Do you wonder, too?

By Fr. Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap.

In the traditional prayer to the Blessed Mother, the Salve Regina or “Hail, Holy Queen,” we refer to ourselves as “mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.” When I was much younger and more naive, I used to think of this as too negative an attitude about our lives and religion. Too heavy. Too sad.

As St. Augustine said, “we are Easter People and ‘Alleluia’ is our song.” I wanted that to be more my attitude. But as life has gone on, I have come to realize that there is indeed a lot about life that is a “vale of tears,” and we don’t need to deny that. For many people, this year has been a “vale of tears,” and difficult things keep happening.

As challenging as it has been, it may be good for us to recognize that history is full of difficult things: there have always been famines and plagues and wars and all sorts of personal suffering. But, also, down through the centuries, there have been millions of good, kind, and compassionate people. And we have the same today. Life remains a mixture of the good and the not so good.

Besides the “vale of tears, ” the Bible reminds us to rejoice, as part of our Christian faith. St. Paul says “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) Always. We feel the “vale of tears.” We still find reason to rejoice because we are living in union with God who is love.