It's All About Synodality

Dear Parishioner,

(Original Post: Oct. 24, UPDATED Oct. 25)
This past many weeks, I have received question about the latest on the Synod that is ongoing at the Vatican. In general, there is nothing to actually to say about details of what is being shared at the Synod since Pope Francis has called all members in the Synod to ensure confidentiality. Some social media influencers and outlets have criticized this approach of keeping the details of the discussions in the sessions confidential. I realize that this may seem somehow undemocratic, but to be blunt, this is not a democratic process, but a synodal process which is, ironically the focus of the Synod. Remember it is a "synod on synodality" where the participants (the Church throughout the world) have been invited to pray, listen, and share their hearts. That means millions if not a billion have already had their chance to participate at the level which was proper to them. I would be cautious of those who continue to argue as if their voices were not part of the process. This is not a synod on a particular topic such as the recent Synod on the Amazon or Synod on the Family. My concern is the worry that so many people have expressed which has been solely fueled by pundits outside of the current level of the process. I've read that synods are non-historical or that this particular synod is just another tool of the so-called heretical Pope Francis — neither of which is true. I urge you all to discern carefully about any voices not actually involved in the current level of the synod's process. (Note: the day after publishing this post, a letter was released from the general assembly in the Synod. See link below). I vividly remember hearing from worried parishioners about the Synod on the Amazon as it was happening. When it was all said and done, nothing doctrinal or earth-shattering was concluded. I found it curious that those who were so worried never came back to me sharing that they were thankful that no heresy was declared or that they were mistaken to be so worried. There will always be pundits and those who disagree. but, remember the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church. Her history, given its checkered past of human failures while never erring in doctrine, confirms that truth to me.

So, instead of sharing any commentary, given I am not in the current synodal phase, I recommend reading from Bishop Robert Barron's latest article entitled, "A Day at the Synod." Here's an excerpt from Bishop Barron's article that stuck out to me without detailing the topics participants are discussing:

"The overall mood of the synod I would describe as businesslike and serene. Important and controversial matters are being discussed, and it is very clear that not everyone is of the same opinion, but I have not heard one raised voice or polemical tone. Very occasionally, following an intervention, a smattering of applause might be heard, but typically, each speech is met with a respectful silence."

This still may not be enough for those who are distrustful and demand doctrinal clarity. Remember, the focus of this synod is to learn the process synodality whereby the Church reflects by listening and walking with each other. I want to urge us to have no fear, trust the Holy Spirit, and consider reducing or being more aware of one's consumption of the "news" from outside pundits regarding the Synod.

Click here to read Bishop Barron's article.

Click here to read a message from the participants at the Synod.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor
Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Beaverton, Oregon

Pray for Peace in the Holy Land

This past week we all learned of the outbreak of hostilities in the Holy Land that has turned into outright warfare. There is death on all sides. As I watch the news about what is going on, shock and horror fills my mind. Let us all join with Pope Francis in his call for peace! "Terrorism and war do not lead to any resolutions, but only to the death and suffering of so many innocent people," the Holy Father said. Let us pray for peace. As we do so, let us look at our own lives and relationships, especially those relationships which are strained or near breaking. May each of us be peace makers in our own spheres of influence. Maybe consider giving an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in our Day Chapel praying for peace in Israel and Palestine. Maybe partner with Catholic Relief Services (crs.org) by giving to their "Conflict in the Holy Land" relief campaign. These are just a few ways we can think globally and act locally. May the Prince of Peace rule in our lives and in the lives of all in the Holy Land!

Forgiveness: An Inside Job

On Thursday, I became ill and tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully, my symptoms are more akin to a cold or flu and nothing like the more dangerous previous strains. All this means that I am home this weekend instead of at Mass. This weekend I was scheduled to preach, but still have symptoms. A big thank you goes out to Dcn. Brett who quickly had to put together a homily in my absence. Below is the homily I would have given. I hope it helps you in your walk of healing and forgiveness.

Homily: “Forgiveness: An Inside Job”
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 17, 2023

The Gospel readings in these last three weekends flow quite nicely. Two weeks ago, Fr. Anthony shared about how we can have obstacles in our lives and how they can cripple us from a full life. Last week, Dcn. Brett shared thoughts about how we can approach people with whom we disagree or have need of correction. If you remember, trying to humiliate or get even were not the goals, but rather reconciliation. In today's Gospel Jesus continues with the parable of the "Unforgiving Servant." In a way, what Jesus was trying to share comes to it's climax in telling us that we need to always forgive and that we will receive forgiveness in the measure in which we forgive.

Allow me to offer a personal example, deleting many details. I lived in an apartment years ago and while I was away, my neighbor entered my apartment and stole various items. I started to notice that some things in my apartment were disheveled and and/or missing. I realized that someone had been in my apartment. I felt violated, afraid, and angry. After pondering on it, I realized it must have been my neighbor. Again, I'm leaving out details. Anger then became fury. So, I started wishing bad things to come upon him. Ultimately, law enforcement agencies arrested him for the theft and many other non-related things, In time, I forgave him and was able to move on. But, forgiveness was not easy to do.

When we are wronged, the resentment that follows is like a cancer that eats us from the inside. When harm comes to our kiddos and the vulnerable, our outrage can be even greater. To forgive perpetrators of those who harm us is often beyond our fallen nature.

At this point, I think I should define forgiveness in terms of when we are wronged by others. One way to put it is, the remission, the erasing, the cancelling of a person's debt by the one who is owed. When someone spreads rumors about us, we are owed an apology, right? When someone hits your car, you are owed a repair without cost to you. When my next-door neighbor stole my items, he owed me back my things. When I forgive, I decide with full will and heart to release the offender from repaying, apologizing, or in any way making amends to me. This does not mean I deny the seriousness of the other's wrongdoing, condone their behavior, forget what the other has done, or release them from accountability. When I forgive someone, its not really about the offender, but myself. I am the one who is freed from the resentments, expectations, or deeply negative feelings towards the offender. In fact, it allows me to begin again, reorienting my relationship with the other, whether by starting again or by moving forward with new, potentially very serious boundaries. Forgiveness is an inside job. Depending on the offense, it can be so difficult that it requires God's grace. The greater the offense, the greater the grace needed to forgive.

Jesus, in the Gospel today, commands us to forgive always. It wasn't just a recommendation. In fact, he goes on to teach via the parable of the dishonest steward that it is critical to our eternal well-being that we forgive. The translation from the Lectionary doesn't quite illustrate how outrageous the amount was that was owed to the king by the steward. It wasn't just a "huge amount." It was an impossible amount: 100 million day's worth of wages. But, this was part of the point Jesus was making. The king forgave the steward a debt that could never be paid back, illustrating how great is the mercy our Heavenly Father. Well, my friends, this is our situation, we, his broken disciples. The debt due to sin we owe God is far beyond us to repay. So, that is why the Father sent his Son, Jesus: to take on our sins and thereby cancelling the debt we owe. But, there is a catch: We, who call ourselves Christians, are to do the same for others, and their debt is small compared to humanity's debt owed to God. Forgiveness is a gift freely offered by God. But it is one that impresses upon is a requirement to forgive others, to release them of the debt they owe us.

I know how much I have preferred to feed my feelings of being wronged which results in a growth and strengthening of an unforgiving heart. Unforgiveness has an unyielding character about it. It hides and infiltrates our emotions and holds us captive, akin to a spirit that is not only unwilling to leave us, but is dead set against what is best for us. It is dead set on keeping our victimhood in a permanent state of being, convincing us to be hurt by other's actions. If you want to be truly free, then release the debts owed you, forgive those who have wronged you. Starting with yourself and move out from there. You may not feel worthy of being forgiven, but God does. He has proven his conviction about his love for you by dying for you. If you want to be free, be a person of forgiveness. But remember, its an inside job, and it requires God's grace which can enable us to do what seems impossible. And, when it happens, we are never the same.

The Press Gets It Wrong.

Dear Parishioners,

This past week, to the surprise of many, myself included, the Department of Catholic Schools (DCS) at the Archdiocese was temporarily closed. Simply put, it was a sweeping decision to begin a comprehensive overhaul of the DCS and how it can help our Catholic schools. Unfortunately, some media “reports” have been putting together other factors that were unrelated and simply coincidental in order to further a message that the Archbishop has been scheming a plan. More on that later in this reflection.

This present decision by the Archbishop comes after several meetings (which I attended) stretching over a year with the Archbishop and pastors with schools. In short, some pastors voiced their frustration that their schools were operating as if they were independent of the parish and sometimes disregarded the directives of their pastors in favor of the DCS. Some pastors shared their concern about the lack of Catholic identity in the culture and praxis of the schools.

In an online meeting attended by school-pastors with the Archbishop on Thursday, June 22, we were informed of the temporary closure of the DCS. He acknowledged the issues previously mentioned as the reasons for his decision. In that same meeting, he wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t an indictment of any specific school or all our schools. In fact, he praised that some schools have been doing very well—the connection between pastors, principals, and DCS have been healthy and the Catholic faith has been very much part of their culture. Yet, the Archbishop acknowledged that there has been an ongoing dissatisfaction that a “school district” approach to the DCS was not working sufficiently enough to help pastors lift up the Catholic faith in their schools.

So, the Archbishop, after consultation with pastors and his own leadership team, decided that a grand overhaul of the DCS was needed and that real change simply could not be done in a piecemeal way. He wants the DCS to be more flexible to support a variety of needs and models of schooling. He believes this action will help the DCS to become a more effective resource for our schools’ evangelizing mission.

We live in a very secular time. I share the Archbishop’s desire for our students and their families to experience an encounter with Jesus Christ that is life-changing, ongoing, and is infused by the Holy Spirit from our weekly Masses. I see the wonderful job our school administration, staff, and teachers are doing to inspire the faith of our children and families, and I look forward to what kind of new help the DCS can offer us in this most important mission going forward. So, the closure of the DCS, while startling, is intended to make our Catholic schools stronger, and put our faith more in the forefront of what our schools do.

Unfortunately, the press is conflating two other events with the closure of the DCS. The first is the release of the Archdiocesan gender document. This document has been underway since 2021 at the urging of many us priests and crafted by a committee in cooperation with other entities. In fact, the DCS, and specifically the Superintendent, participated in writing/editing this document. The DCS has been nothing but supportive of it.

A second event that is being conflated with the closure of DCS is the experimental shift of philosophy and praxis at one of our parish schools (Christ the King). With the approval of the Archbishop, they want to shift to a classical Catholic liberal arts approach in their school. I have been at separate meetings for all of these events, and never were they linked. Yet, the media and other detractors are conflating them as one planned-out scheme by the Archbishop. I urge you to resist filling the gaps of information with the negative narrative being fashioned.

I hope this helps clarify the events that have been going on and how the press and other detractors choose to report or understand them. In the coming interim year for the reformation of the DCS, we here at Holy Trinity will continue to go forward, as we have been planning. We have a strong Catholic identity, strong enrollment, and strong desire to keep improving. Please pray against any spirits of division and pray for a reinvigoration of our Catholic faith in our school children, their families, and beyond.

Image: Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Wikipedia user Farragutful

New Ciborium for Mass

[Blog updated May 3, 2023]

Hey there Catholic liturgical geeks! Did you notice something a little different at Mass this past week? If not, I’ll just spill the beans, so-to-speak. We replaced the glass ciborium in the Tabernacle with a metal ciborium. I wanted to share why this change has taken place and explain the reasons behind the decision a bit.

To start, many of you — especially those who weren’t part of the parish when the new (current) church was built in 2000-2001 — might not know why we had a glass ciborium in the first place. It just so happens that our church’s architect, Dave Richen, was also one of my instructors at Mount Angel Abbey when I was a seminarian in the 90’s. He taught a fantastic, eye-opening class on art and architecture in the Church and shared many of his beautiful and innovative ideas, several of which he would use a few years later when designing the “new” Holy Trinity Church.

One such idea was the use of a glass ciborium in a tabernacle that had an inner glass door that locked/ unlocked separately from the tabernacle’s outer doors. This would allow the people, if they desired, to open the tabernacle’s outer doors and see the Blessed Sacrament in the ciborium — secured behind the interior glass door — as they prayed. It was a very creative solution.

In Catholic churches throughout the country, glass or crystal chalices were frequently used for decades. Similar to Richen’s idea with the glass ciborium, the advantage was that the community could see the wine being poured, and, if it was red wine, it would be a more profound visual symbol of the Blood of Christ.

I used them for many years when I was the pastor at St. Anthony in Forest Grove. During my time there, several chalices were broken in the simple process of cleaning and storing them. In short order, we ended up using a mish-mash of different chalices.

In 2003, the Church promulgated a new edition of the General Instructions to the Roman Missal (though the acronym is written as “the GIRM,” it’s verbally referred to as “the Germ”). This is basically the “how-to” for Mass. In the section on “Sacred Vessels,” it specifies what material should be used:

“Sacred vessels should be made from precious metal. . . [or] from other solid materials which in the common estimation in each region are considered precious or noble. . .provided that such materials are suitable for sacred use. In this case, preference is always to be given to materials that do not easily break or deteriorate” (GIRM, 328-329).

It was thus determined by then-Archbishop Vlazny that all glass chalices and ciboria should be phased out. Over the years, the GIRM and Archdiocesan guidelines have offered other adaptations/corrections to previous local traditions. You’ll find throughout the Archdiocese that some changes were immediately implemented and some are still being phased in. To that effect, some time ago I had mentioned in passing at a daily Mass that we would move away from our own use of glass vessels when the timing was right and the funds were available.

Many of you may be asking, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” That’s a fair question, and we’re definitely fortunate that it wasn’t broken in the past 22 years! Quite simply (and independent of my earlier comments), in late January we received a donation that the donor specifically wanted used to purchase liturgical items. The timing was right and the funds were available, so we ordered the new ciborium which arrived (finally!) last Wednesday.

So, there you have it! I’m happy to dive deeper on this topic with you, whether or not you’re a Catholic liturgical geek (like me!) or answer any other questions you may have. I pray that the celebration of Mass brings you hope and joy as you hear the Word proclaimed and the Eucharist broken and distributed this weekend — especially for the nearly 100 children celebrating their First Holy Communion!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Lord of All Hope and Joy

This weekend, we hear the story about the disciples who were leaving Jerusalem to Emmaus. From the context of their conversation, they were saddened by Jesus’ death and their difficulty at believing that he had arisen, as was reported to them. Sadness and distress happens when we lose those closest to us. This Saturday, April 22nd is the 28th anniversary of my father’s passing. If you have ever lost a parent, specifically a father, you know the sadness that can follow. And so, it is a solemn day for me to offer Mass. Yet, it is not done in ignorance as these disciples initially displayed, because I have faith in the Resurrection of Christ and the mercy of God which give me hope to be reunited with my dad someday. Like them, I have encountered the Risen Chris in the “breaking of the bread” at Mass in my own personal life. It is my deepest desire that we all encounter Christ in a powerful, transformative, and ongoing way.

If you are wandering in your faith or feel abandoned or saddened by some great loss in your life, please seek out the Lord of all Hope and Joy. Ask Jesus to open your heart and show you how much he loves you. Ask him to show you the path of life (cf. Psalm 16 Response for today’s Mass) he has called you to live. May this Easter season bring you opportunities for this renewal of your hope and joy.

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Dear Parishioners,

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! On behalf of all our staff here at Holy Trinity, I wish you and your family a blessed and joyful Easter Day and season. I pray that all our hearts are open and receptive to our Risen Lord’s presence as he gathers us together “by his love, and when, as once for the disciples, so now for us, he opens the Scriptures and breaks the bread” (Eucharistic Prayer for Masses of Various Needs). This important reality should set us on fire once again to go out and share this Good News.

For some, this is also a time of remembrance of Easters’ past and a reminder of those who have gone before us. Without faith, these thoughts would be simply sad and possibly lead to despair — but we are a resurrection people! We place our hope in Jesus’ glorious Resurrection from the dead and his desire to bring all creation to himself. So take heart! God’s got this. He’s in charge. He has done all the heavy lifting. We simply need to let him into our hearts and change us.

As this is my first Easter with all of you, I am especially excited to celebrate all of the special liturgies surrounding this time. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for nine months now! I am both inspired and spoiled by your love and support (as is Snickers). As I write these words, my thoughts turn toward the proclamation from the Scriptures (Ps 118:24 & Is 25:9): “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!”

Blessing,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Love As God Loves

Dear Parishioners,

It is not uncommon for someone who was raised in a strict household to rebel some… either as a teen or young adult. After we have done our share of willfully ignoring the wisdom of our elders, we might look back and wish we could have spared ourselves the wreckage we inflicted upon ourselves. We may have learned that their boundaries were for our well-being. This is the context in which today’s Gospel should be received. Instead of looking at them as just rules to restrict our freedom. Hear these precepts in a new way.

The original precepts or laws of God to Moses were intended to be written on their hearts. But because of the hardness of their hearts, they continued to sin and ignore God’s plan for them. Thankfully, when the time was right, God sent Jesus to us, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it so that our hearts would soar, our friendships flourish, and our love of God be more passionate. Jesus revealed that God did not want simple behavior compliance, but rather that we would have an interior transformation, so that we would live by the Spirit which would exceed the mandates of the law. Imagine a marriage that was simply about behavior compliance. That sounds more like forced slavery to me.

This weekend we celebrated National Marriage Week. In this covenant of love, husbands and wives strive to live out the promise to love as God loves in a particular way by giving of each other without condition. Anyone who is married knows that the Sacrament isn’t about rules, yet without the boundaries that cradle the awesome covenant we call matrimony, it would decay from the inside out. I think it is safe to say that on their wedding day, most couples have hope that their marriage would bring a lifetime of love and intimacy.

So the call for marriage is to imitate God’s love by dedicating oneself to service for their spouse and be open to the children conceived from their love. In other words, their vocation is to love as God loves. Through the highs and lows, the ecstasies and crucibles of marriage, each spouse’s vocation is to help the other become more of what God desires for them. More than ever today, we need to lift up couples and this divine institution, that’s right, an institution created by God and not us.

Among many of the aspects of marital love, the conjugal relationship of marriage holds within it one of the greatest “super powers” we humans have, and that is to co-create life with God. Pope John Paul II in his monumental teaching on marriage, now called the Theology of the Body, spoke about this aspect of marital union as a way to touch heaven. The passion of love in the “marital embrace,” as he describes it, touches the divine. And if we think about it, our lives are made for infinity-for ecstasy, and our hearts know it.

Pope Benedict XVI in his first Encyclical, “God is Love,” shared that we are an integral person, body and soul, and that when our bodies love through an undisciplined eros (think erotic love without boundaries), we we degrade ourselves. But when it is disciplined (again think ordered or given boundaries), it can provided “not just fleeting pleasure, but a certain foretaste of the pinnacle of our existence, of that beatitude for which our whole being yearns.” Our being already yearns for heaven whether we know it or not. We were made for heaven. And the perfections of married life are intended to point us to heaven, where the Blessed Trinity, a communion of love, resides.

So, I want to encourage and thank all of our married couples for their daily example of sacrificial and passionate love you show to your spouse. Such a commitment encourages the rest of us who are not married to be faithful to our own vocations. I also want to let those who have broken marriages or marriages that have grown distant or worse, harmful, that you are not a failure. God’s love for you has not been lessened. His mercies are renewed each morning. In fact, our Lord has a special care for you who suffer in their marriage. And for those of you who are widows or widowers,  it is clear throughout the whole of the Scriptures that God has compassion for you.

"Mary, Mother of God"

Dear Parishioners,

Happy new year! And what better way to celebrate it than with the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God? She has been given many titles, but this one really puts the focus on what is the most important, and that is… wait for it… not her! It would seem that this is a Marian feast, and it is in a way. But, the title is one of the oldest for Mary, for it was a title given her as a way to make clear the identity of Jesus.

A controversy arose in the late fourth century about the identity of Jesus. What Jesus truly the unity of God AND man (also called the “hypostatic union”), or was he two separate “persons”in one body. So in 431 AD, the Church held an Ecumenical Council, now called the Council of Ephesus, which affirmed that Jesus was truly the God-Man, one person with two natures that are indivisible.

Okay! That’s pretty geeky, and today we don’t bat an eye at this truth. But in the early Church, there were many thoughts about which proposed a way to understand who Jesus was. So, the Council condemned “Nestorianism,” as this heresy became to be known (A bishop named Nestorius proposed this idea and had many followers) affirmed that Jesus was mystically the union (they use the word, “hypostatic union”) of divinity and humanity. And since this was the case, the Council of Ephesus decided to formalized the ancient title for Mary which proclaimed this truth. Yes, she can be called Mary, mother of Jesus in his human nature, but it was also, therefore, important to make even more clear that she was, in Greek, Theotokos, which literally means, “God-bearer.” If she was not bearing God in her womb, then that would mean Jesus was not truly God incarnate, that is God-made-man.

So, if your head isn’t already spinning, just rejoice in the wisdom of the early Church which put to rest and made clear who Jesus is. It is, therefore, right and just to also call Mary the “Mother of God” since Jesus is also God. Be aware, however, that other later reformed Protestant traditions are very uncomfortable speaking about Mary in this way, since it appears to be lifting her too high, akin to a god or even higher than Jesus. Of course, this is not what this title means nor are we to elevate our Blessed Lady beyond human. But, it is right to recognize her as the singular Saint who bore God in her blessed womb. This is a good reason to celebrate this solemnity at the beginning of the year, to remind us not just of Mary’s privilege, but more importantly, from whom that privilege was given: God! God is more important! Mary even makes this clear in the Scriptures. All praise and worship be to God as we begin 2023. May God bless you and be with you in every moment of this new year!

Blessed New Year,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Image: The Madonna of the Lilies, 1899 by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

Kerygma Series: "Response"

Dear Parishioners,

We have now covered 3 of the 4 dimensions of the Gospel message or “Kerygma.” In this series we asked questions:

1. (Created) Why is there something instead of nothing?

2. (Captured) Why is the world so messed up?

3. (Rescued) What is God doing about it?

And now we come to the final part, “Response.” The question is simple: “What is our role?” In other words, if we have grasped the profundity of the Gospel, there should be a natural response. That response will differ depending on who you are and where you are in your state in life. The big picture response is likely enfolded in two parts: Gratitude and Surrender.

Gratitude: I am thankful that God has saved me. I am thankful that he loves me and does not want be to be captured by the sin and wreckage I have created in my life.

Coming to Mass and receiving the Eucharist (word means “thanksgiving) is a potent way to show my appreciation. It also reveals that only in God is my soul at rest and capable of a joy beyond understanding. The goal of the kerygma is to come into a transformative, life-changing, and ongoing encounter with Jesus Christ. This is clearly a journey that fills one’s lifetime and culminates in heaven.

Surrender: With this understanding of the Gospel and having a personal encounter with Jesus, I trust Him who made me and loves me. He is the remedy for my wounds and reason for my rejoicing.

Almost every weekend, I have heard a story of how the Surrender novena has changed lives here at Holy Trinity and beyond. The novena itself is not magic, but it helps us to let go and respond in a potent way for all that God has done for us. When we finally let go of all those things that weigh us down and give them over the Jesus, we will be truly free. This is part of Jesus’ reasons he came. Recall the passage in John 10:10, “I have come that you may have life, and life in abundance.”

May this last week of Advent give you an opportunity to respond in gratitude and surrender once again to our Lord for his coming as man, dying on the cross, and rising again on the third day is the greatest news ever!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor