In light of continuing stories of clergy abuse in the St Paul/Mpls Archdiocese

Along with the pain and the dysfunction of our Federal Government and the current shut down of governmental services, there is the added pain of continued reports of clergy abuse and cover up from those in the archdiocesan hierarchy. For both those whom we serve, and for those of us in active ministry, these reports are like an unexpected blow to the stomach, knocking the air out of us leaving us confused, bitter, angry, betrayed and dumbfounded.

THE EASY ROUTE
The easiest thing for us to do would be to chuck the whole Catholic Church and quit participating in church altogether. We can shake our fists and cast curses at Pope Francis, Archbishop John Nienstedt, Fr Peter Laird, and whomever else we would like to lump in with them. We can close our money purse and quit contributing to the Archdiocese and our local church ... that would certainly get their attention (it has in the past). We can jump to another denomination, though we will find that whatever denomination it may be, it will have the same flaws and issues that drove us out of Catholicism. We can trash Christianity altogether and find some other world religious experience, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, something new age like Eckankar, but then, we will probably be disappointed there, too. We can become agnostics and atheists stay home on Sundays and watch our favorite sport teams fail us, too, until we die old, bitter, and angry. Or we can live in a state of denial, and pretend this never happens and continue life holding our hands over our eyes, our ears, and our mouths. That's not very productive either, is it?

THE HARD ROUTE
1.  The hardest thing to do is to acknowledge that the Church as a human institution is anything but a sinless human organization. For a long time, during the Counter Reformation, the institutional Church held itself up as the "Perfect Society." However, a cursory glance at Church history will reveal that is was never perfect and for that matter, it never has been perfect. One of the most brilliant statements that came out of Vatican II was that in the reformation of the Rite of Reconciliation (Confession), it was written that the Church as a human institution is sinful and in constant need of conversion. The only part of the Church that is without sin is Jesus Christ.

Jesus challenged those publically accusing the woman caught in adultery to only pick up a rock to stone her if they, themselves, were without sin. I, myself, wouldn't have even begun to stoop down to pick up a rock. I don't know about you, but I am sinner. I have done things in the past for which I am ashamed, things I continue to regret to this day. Pope Francis I is the first to admit that he is a sinner. The Pope, the Archbishop, you, me, US are all in need of conversion. We all are in need of metanoia, the daily need to work on conversion in our lives. While we hold up to a higher standard our religious leaders, they are not without sin. They make poor choices and dumb decisions ... just like you and me. What is different is that when they do make poor choices and decisions, the impact of those poor decisions can be greater and do more damage. Yet, they in themselves are not THE CHURCH, but a part of THE CHURCH, just like you and me.

2. As THE CHURCH, it is imperative that there begins a dialogue that is no longer from the top down, but a dialogue with everyone on the same level, clergy, religious and laity alike. In graduate school at the seminary we all talked about the Church being in concentric circles. That was all well and fine, but the reality remained that the Church then as it is now is a hierarchical pyramid, with the Pope on top and the rest of us on the bottom rung. Let us begin to make this Church a concentric circle by really beginning to listen to one another. It is crucial that the hierarchy begin to listen to the sensum fidelium, the faithful to whom they are shepherds. It is equally crucial that the laity begin to listen openly to what the hierarchy has to say. And, collectively, we all need to silence the acrimony on all sides so that we are able to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our midst. In the recent past, there have been certain subjects that we have been forbidden to talk about. These certain topics are like enormous elephants in the room and they will not go away until we can finally come to a mutual understanding of them. In spite of edicts from on high forbidding talking about them, no edict, no ignoring them, or dismissing them will make these subjects go away. Until we began to speak openly with one another, without recrimination, without threat of excommunication or eternal damnation, these subjects will be left there to fester and infect future generations.

3. Last, but not least, the time for cursing is over. It is time to ask for God's blessing. Those who have committed criminal acts must be held accountable, they must make restitution for the damage they have caused to others. However, if we dare call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ we must be able to pray for and bless those who harm us, as Jesus did from the cross for those who put him there. We must ask God to bless and heal those lives broken from clergy abuse. We must ask God to bless and heal those who have been perpetrators of abuse.

The time for peace, dialogue, humility, and blessing is now.

Trickle Down Economics and Jesus' parable about the rich man, and the poor man Lazarus.

Many years ago, when my family of five and I were living under the poverty level (We were trying to make it on my annual salary of $9000 a year, a "good" church salary), I worked a  number of extra jobs to put milk and bread on the table. One of these jobs was at a liquor store in New Prague called Ted's Liquor.

I usually worked from about 5pm or 6 pm to 10 pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Across the street from the liquor store was a sporting goods store that Dick Korbel owned. Dick and his wife lived over the store and in front of the second story windows facing the street was this intricate pattern of iron work that must have housed the nests of 3/4 of the sparrows in New Prague. Dick was a good sort and usually on Friday nights he would walk across Main Street to the liquor store and buy a 6 pack of 3.2 beer and chew the fat.

 It was the year that New Prague was celebrating a hundred years of existence with a huge parade. Because of the extra crowds in town, I was asked to come in early to work at the liquor store. I was working alongside a wonderful older gentleman by the name of Fred Beuch. Fred, a long time resident from the general area, was a source of great stories about New Prague, Heidelberg, Union Hill, and Montgomery. The parade was in full swing and there was no one in the store, so Fred and I watched the parade from our vantage point from within the liquor store. There were any number of floats, local and state celebrities, marching bands, local churches and clubs parading down Main Street with huge crowds gathered on either side. A group of riders on horses paused in front of the store, obviously members of some horse club, and as horses are prone to do, one horse took advantage of the pause in action to take an enormous dump on Main Street. Fred remarked, "Horsehockey! (well Fred used a more common, amusing, and less delicate expression for horse poop) said the sparrow. It's time to eat!!" I turned to Fred and said, "What?!" Fred repeated himself. I asked for an explanation. Fred told me that horses eat a lot of oats and other grains and when they take a dump, the birds fly down to pick the undigested oats and grain out of the horse's poop, and eat it. I remarked on how gross that was and as I was doing so, all the sparrows that lived in those nests on Dick Korbel's second story flew down to Main Street and began to eat the undigested oats etc from the poop the parade horse had crapped. Fred, as always, was spot on.

10 years later, I was listening to a program on Minnesota Public Radio that was talking about the economic theory of Trickle Down Economics. Trickle Down Economics states that the more and more the rich accumulate, their excess wealth will "trickle down" to the social casts lower than they, creating jobs and stimulating the economy. This was not something that originated with Ronnie Reagan in the 1980's but a theory that has been perpetuated throughout history. In the late 1800's, Trickle Down Economics was called "Horse and Sparrow Economics," literally that which Fred Beuch had talked about the day of the New Prague Centennial Parade. The rich cast eats excessively (money) and poops out the excess money for the rest of  society to pick through or over which to fight. Isn't it amazing how well nature provides the perfect metaphor for human generated theories?

As an American society, we have been beaten over the head since the time of President Reagan with this whole Trickle Down Theory of economics by the GOP that has in practice not worked. Well, one point of clarification, it has worked, however, only for one segment of the American population and that is the very rich. The gulf between the very rich and the rest of the nation is growing obscenely greater. The question is how does the theory of Trickle Down Economics stack up against the teachings of Jesus? The parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar, which we heard on the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (last Sunday).

 

In the parable we hear of the rich man, who is nameless, and the beggar, Lazarus, that lies outside the door of the rich man. In the story we hear that the rich man dines very well, while the beggar outside his door does not even get to eat one little bit of the scraps that falls from the table onto the rich man's floor. The only company that poor starving beggar has outside the rich man's door are a pack of feral dogs who come to lick the sores that cover the beggar's body. It comes to pass that both the rich man and the poor man die on the same night. The rich man's after life is spent in hell where he is cursed with eternal thirst, while the beggar, Lazarus, is embraced by the prophet Moses and is blessed with an eternity of abundance where all his needs and cares are met. The rich man cries out in torment for a drop of water, but his request is denied sternly by Moses. Even though Lazarus, filled with compassion, might want to comply with the rich man's cries, he could not because of the great abyss separating hell from heaven. The rich man then begs Moses to go to his siblings and warn them not to live a life of excess while neglecting the poor around them. But even this, Moses denies because even were the ancient prophets resurrected and went to the rich man's siblings, his siblings would still refuse to listen. The gospel concludes with Jesus saying that you cannot serve both God and wealth.

On the Tuesday evening prayer of the second week of the 4 week cycle of psalms, we encounter Psalm 49. This ancient psalm prefigures the parable that Jesus spoke as recorded in the gospel of Luke. "In riches, humanity lacks wisdom. They are like the beasts that are destroyed."

From both this parable and from this psalm, Trickle Down Economics does not reflect the justice of God. Jesus tells us over and over in the gospels that it is only in giving that we receive. If we want to be great in the eyes of God we must be the servant to others. The Last Judgement scene in Matthew 25, specifically states that it is in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, welcoming the stranger, nursing the ill and so on that we find our way to heaven. Hording leads us as it does the rich man in the parable only to eternal torment.

Unlike Bill Gates and a couple of others, very few of those listed as the wealthiest in Forbes magazine give generously of their wealth to those more in need, much less allow their wealth to trick down to the unemployed masses around them. It is just not good business, is it? Greed only begets more greed, not generosity. Very few monarchs in history were known to be philanthropists. Louie XVI and Marie Antoinette, along with many of the French nobility ended up losing their heads for the words, "Let them eat cake!" One of the most ill-timed slogans of all time. Rather than talk about "trickle down," it is more that of "trickle up," economics to which many in the GOP refer.

In closing, there is a story about a rich man who wanted to take his wealth with him when he died. So on his death bed, he ordered his servants to gather up all his riches and place them in the attic so that when he went to heaven he could pick the riches up on his way. The rich man dies and his wife quickly orders the servants to go up into the attic and see if the riches were still there. They go up to the attic, look, and then return to the rich man's wife. She asks," Well?" They tell here that all the riches were still in the attic. She said, "I knew it! I knew it! I told the old fool to put his riches down in the basement of the house."

Psalm 49

Hear this, all you peoples!

Give ear, all who inhabit the world,

3  You of lowly birth or high estate,

rich and poor together.

4   My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,

my heart shall offer insights.^a

5  I will turn my ear to a riddle,^*

expound my question on a lyre.

I

6  Why should I fear in evil days,

with the iniquity of my assailants surrounding me,

7  Of those who trust in their wealth

and boast of their abundant riches?^b

8 ^* No man can ransom even a brother,

or pay to God his own ransom.^c

9  The redemption of his soul is costly;

and he will pass away forever.

10  Will he live on forever, then,

and never see the Pit of Corruption?

11  Indeed, he will see that the wise die,

and the fool will perish together with the senseless,^d

and they leave their wealth to others.^e

12  Their tombs are their homes forever,

their dwellings through all generations,

“They named countries after themselves”

13—but man does not abide in splendor.

He is like the beasts—they perish.^f

This is the way of those who trust in themselves,

and the end of those who take pleasure in their own mouth.

Selah

15  Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol,

and Death will shepherd them.

Straight to the grave they descend,

where their form will waste away,

Sheol will be their palace.

16  But God will redeem my life,

will take me^* from the hand of Sheol.^g

Selah

17  Do not fear when a man becomes rich,

when the wealth of his house grows great.

18  At his death he will not take along anything,

his glory will not go down after him.^h

19  During his life his soul uttered blessings;

“They will praise you, for you do well for yourself.”

20  But he will join the company of his fathers,

never again to see the light.ⁱ

21  In his prime, man does not understand.

He is like the beasts—they perish. (Psalm 49, NAB)

Welcome to my blog! I am Deacon Bob Wagner, a Roman Catholic Deacon of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. I was ordained along with 8 other men on Sept 24, 1994 at the Cathedral of St Paul, St Paul, MN by Archbishop John Roach.

My diaconal family, ordination day Sept 24, 1994.

While this was an incredibly important day that has shaped my life in marvelous ways, the most important day in my life was the day that I married my bride of 39 years on Dec 27, 1974. Ruthie has shaped my life in so many wonderful ways. She is the greatest experience of God that I have in my life. As time goes on, I will way much much more about this very remarkable woman.

The next four powerful moments in my life were the birth of my four children, Andy (1975), Luke (1977), Meg (1981), and Beth (1984). 

My beloved bride and I on our wedding day, Dec 27, 1974.

I have worked in church ministry since Sept 1977. If you are counting the number of years in ministry, I have been doing church ministry for 34 years. My dad once asked me when I was going to get a real job. I guess I never have. But then, ministry is not a job, it is a vocation.

Over these 34 years, I have exercised my ministry as an educator, a director of liturgy and music, a director of pastoral ministry, an parish life administrator, and now as a director of pastoral ministry and administrator. I began my ministry at the Church and School of St Wenceslaus. I was there from 1977 to Sept of 1986. I started moonlighting as a director of liturgy and music at St Hubert, Chanhassen, beginning in 1984 and was there till Sept 2004. I was assigned as the parish life administrator of St Stephen's in South Minneapolis by Archbishop Flynn, and remained at St Stephen's until July of 2007 when a pastor was being appointed to St Stephen's. I returned to directing liturgy and music at St Joseph's in Waconia until Archbishop Nienstedt assigned to St Wenceslaus in July of 2009, where I continue to serve the parish at which I began my church ministry, only now as a pastoral associate ... directing pastoral ministry at the St Wenceslaus church campus, and as administrator of the St Scholastica and St John the Evangelist campuses.

In terms of my education, I received a BA in Music from the University of St Thomas in Dec 1994 (@ a week before Ruthie and I got married), and MA in Pastoral Studies from the St Paul Seminary School of Divinity, University of St Thomas in July of 1989. I was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in Sept 1994, certified as a Spiritual Director from the Franciscan Spirituality Center, La Crosse WI in 2007, done Spanish language immersion and as Ruthie says, I will be going to school for the rest of my life.

I have ministered in rural parishes, a large suburban parish (St Hubert grew from a parish of 450 families to 3200 families in the 20 years I was there), an urban parish, a small town parish, and back to a rural setting.

Ruthie and I in September of 1994.

This journey, like all pilgrimages, has had its twists and turns, surprises both pleasant and unpleasant, but at each twist and turn God has been there with grace. The remarkable thing that even in the most difficult times I have had, both professionally and physically, God has always been there with abundant grace. As many people experience, the most tragic of times carry within the tragedy an extraordinary amount of grace. It is only over a time of reflection that I have discovered that were it not for that tragedy or difficult time, I would not have grown as a man and as a deacon. God is, indeed, very, very good. 

Last but not least, all the education, but most of all, all the life experiences have given me a particular slant  on things. The Social Justice teachings of the Church, in which a deacon is formed as Christ as servant, has a way of altering the world view of a person. Ministering among a diverse group of people, from the very rich to the very poor, amidst the gay and lesbian community, the developmentally disabled, the homeless, the mentally ill, as formed me beyond anything I have learned either in graduate school or diaconal formation. As one formed and  has worked among this diverse flock of Jesus, I tend to have views that are more liberal than what I had. For me the greatest attribute of God is the compassion of God as expresssed in Jesus Christ. While God is all powerful, the ruler of heaven and earth, even more so is God the God of compassion, the God of love, the God of mercy. This is a God that loved us to death. As disciples of Christ we are to be his compassion, his care, his love and his mercy until it is no longer necessary when he comes again. As St Paul writes and we express in one of our Memorial Acclamations at Mass, "When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim your death Lord Jesus until you come again in glory." 

Me at St Benedict Church, St Benedict, MN in 2010.

 May God bless us as we travel this pilgrimage of life together.

Peace,

Deacon Bob

As I am today.