Father Chris Looby

  A little over a week ago, the actor Patrick Stewart died at the age of 86. You probably remember him best as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation . Captain Picard had a famous catchphrase. Whenever someone suggested a course of action, he would look at them and say three simple words: "Make it so!" I always loved that expression. Not, "Let's think about it." Not, "Let's study the possibilities." Not, "Let's form a committee and discuss it at next month's meeting." Just three words: "Make it so!" In other words, enough talking about it. Let's get it done! And I wonder if Jesus isn't telling us something similar in today's Gospel. Jesus tells the parable of ten bridesmaids who are waiting for the arrival of a bridegroom. Five are wise, and five are foolish. All ten have lamps. All ten are expecting the bridegroom. And all ten have every intention of being there ...

  Recently, I read The Seven Storey Mountain , the autobiography of Thomas Merton. Merton was a famous Catholic monk and spiritual writer who lived in the twentieth century.  But before he became a monk, he was a young man trying to figure out what to do with his life. In the book, he recalls a conversation with his friend Robert Lax that really stayed with me. Merton and Lax are on a walk, talking about what they want to do with their lives. Merton says, “I guess I just want to be a good Catholic.” Lax looks at him and says quietly, “What you should say is that you want to be a saint.” Merton laughs, “How do you expect me to be a saint?” And Lax replies, “By wanting to. All that’s necessary to be a saint is to want to be one.” That line stopped me in my tracks. All that’s necessary to be a saint is to want to be one.   Merton said that conversation changed him. He realized that holiness wasn’t just for mystics or monks or people with halos in stained-glass windows. ...

  If you visit a Jewish home, you might notice a small decorative case attached to the doorframe. It's called a mezuzah . Inside that little case is a small scroll containing passages from the Book of Deuteronomy, including one of the most important prayers in Judaism, known as the Shema . It begins, "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!" And then comes the commandment to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Many Jewish people have the custom of touching the mezuzah as they pass through the doorway, as a reminder of their relationship with God and their responsibility to live according to his commandments. Now, why am I telling you this? Because in today's Gospel, a scholar of the law approaches Jesus and asks him a question: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" And out of all the commandments Jesus could have chosen, he quotes that very passage from Deuteronomy! In other words, the answer to...

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is asked a question designed to trap him: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” After asking whose image appears on the coin, Jesus gives his famous response: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” With Election Day only a few weeks away, those words are worth taking to heart. As Catholics, we are called to be good and responsible citizens. We should take our civic responsibilities seriously, learn about the issues, form our consciences carefully, pray for wisdom, and vote. But Jesus also reminds us that Caesar does not get everything. No political party is the Gospel. No candidate perfectly represents the Kingdom of God. No ideology should ever become more important to us than our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ. The coin bore Caesar’s image. We bear God’s image. That means that before we are Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals, we belong to God. And when we enter the voting booth, ...

Last Saturday I attended the annual Catholic Daughters Remembrance Mass at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh. Each year, the Catholic Daughters gather to remember the members of their local courts who have died during the past year, and Bishop LaValley celebrates the Mass. The Bishop had just begun his homily when suddenly we heard a loud noise from the entrance of the church, followed by a painful groan. An elderly gentleman had fallen coming up the steps. His cane was lying on the floor, and he was wearing an Honor Flight jacket, so I knew he was a veteran. One of the Catholic Daughters and I helped him up, and we found him a seat in the front row. Now, I was pretty sure he wasn’t a Catholic Daughter! But there he was. And at the Sign of Peace, Bishop LaValley came down, shook his hand, and checked to make sure he was okay. I thought about that gentleman when I read today’s Gospel. Jesus tells us about a king who prepares a magnificent wedding banquet for his son. The food is prepare...