Reflections of a Simple Priest

Well, I know some of you are wondering who this new priest is, I'm Fr. Matt Baum, or, just Fr. Matt.   It's good to be with you here.   Although I have to say, I arrived here officially on Wednesday, I started to unload my stuff, and sat down to prepare my homily.   I opened the lectionary and I began to read the first reading.   "In those days, the LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,   and their sin so grave,   that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.  I mean to find out." Well, I can calm your fears, I haven't heard any great outcry against Prince of Peace or Northern Cambria!    But I am glad to be here… At the same time, hopefully the Priests and deacons who replaced me at Immaculate Conception in Dudley, and St. Stephen in McConnellsburg, aren't standing at their respective pulpits this Sunday saying "The outcry was...

Today is one of those days when the secular holiday we're celebrating matches up pretty darn well with the feast we're celebrating.   This weekend, we celebrate Father's Day… and in our Church, we celebrate Trinity Sunday.   Fathers are a pretty amazing thing.   For most of us, it's from our Father that we learn independence.   Moms are usually right there, but a Father is the one who teaches by example, who provides the environment, who offers challenges, and yet, is the loving support behind it all.   It's a father who offers unconditional love, who models what a man is to be like.   It's a father that sets boundaries, and it's a father that gives us the space to grow…allowing us to make our own decisions, and yet picking us up when we fall.    I think my favorite dad story was my brother.   He called his dad, and said…can you pick me up.   I can't get the car to start…I think I flooded it.    So Dad, worried, came do...

Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church.   The day when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles as tongues of flame.   From there, the Apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.   They walked outside and as people gathered, they began to teach about Jesus Christ.   Miraculously, even though all of those gathered were from dozens of different areas, they all heard the same message, the same Gospel.   They all encountered the same Jesus Christ. The very real coming of the Holy Spirit shows us symbolically the two things that make the Catholic Church unique.   The people that come to mass, if we really have eyes to see, have almost nothing in common.   The famous author James Joyce once looked at the Church and said….Oh, the Catholic Church….."Here comes everybody."   It's true though, when I think of that story we hear in the Acts of the Apostles,...

Over the last few weeks, I've been seeing all the photos start rolling in from the various graduations, Kindergarten, High School, and College.   There's a few more this week and next.   There's something especially about high school and college graduation that says, "it's time to move on now," you're a grown-up now, it's time to act like it.   Especially when a person moves out of the house for the first time, even if it's just to school.   There are a hundred things we have to learn how to do…things we always took for granted.    I remember going to college the first time…standing in front of the washer and drying and thinking…it can't be that hard, can it? In a more serious way, when we lose someone who used to live in the house, after the initial shock of the loss has worn off, I've spoken to many a widow or widower who never realized many of the things their spouse used to do.   From balancing the checkbook, to maintenance aro...

If you're following along with the readings, for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sunday of Lent, you're going to have to flip past the regular readings, and just behind them, are the readings for years when there is a Scrutiny.  Last week, I talked about St. Patrick, who is one of the audio stories on formed.  Another of the ones I listened to was the story of St. Cecelia, one of the early Christian Martyrs.  I love the story, because it gives a real sense of the reality of the Early Church.  They lived in persecution, only sharing who was Christian when they were alone, and at real risk to their lives.  They developed a system, when new members wanted to join the community, they had to have a sponsor, someone to vouch for them.  Then, after learning a little with the sponsor, they were ceremonially welcomed into the secret community.  When we go through the scrutinies, we're supposed to look back to the earliest days of our Church and know that throu...

One thing that I really love about our Church is our rituals.  There are some things that we have done so many times, that take in all of our senses, that really help us to shift our whole focus, everything about our lives.  There are so many thing that we can understand with our head that it's supposed to happen.  Yet, it really takes time for us to shift our thinking, to really change.  The rituals of our Church help us to really make our faith not just about the thoughts in our head, but to engage our whole person.  It's one thing to talk about God.  It's quite another thing to talk to God, to really know him.  It's one thing to see two people in love and to know they are in love.  It's quite another thing to really experience that love, to be a part of it. Today, we begin the season of lent, Everything changes today, Our Colors change, the Church becomes rather stark.  The flowers are gone, and things should feel a little empty...