For virtually all of Lent I was ‘out of town’ doing retreats. I preached a couple of Parish Missions here in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, plus a couple more Missions in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, another Mission in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and still another Mission in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Because of the ischemias in my eyes, I, obviously, had assistance with transportation. (A special thanks to Deacon Bob and Carol Lehr). When I returned from one of these missions, I discovered that Monsignor Schwalenberg had died and had already been buried.
I have to confess I was stunned by the news. While Monsignor had been in failing health in recent years, it was hard to conceive of a world without ‘Father Marty’. When Ted Williams died, he was remembered as the last of the 400 hitters in baseball. Monsignor Schwalenberg was the last of the 400 hitters in the priesthood.
I had the distinct privilege of being stationed with Father Schwalenberg at St. Charles Parish in Pikesville. I always called him Monsignor long before he was officially named one. The first night I climbed the stairs to my room on the second floor of the rectory, there were three phone messages taped on the stair railing for Father Schwalenberg: “Call Gene Shue (then the coach of the Baltimore Bullets)”. “Call Brooks Robinson”. “Call Johnny Unitas”. I knew then that I was entering a parallel universe!
The rectory was not exactly a monastery. Father Schwalenberg nicknamed my compatriot, and fellow associate pastor, Fr. George Rothenr, ‘The Hawk’. Windows and doors would rattle as Father Schwalenberg would burst upon the scene: “Hey Hawk” he would shout.
Liturgists wept when Monsignor Schwalenberg came upon the scene. Father George and I would spend hours carefully planning and rehearsing for major celebrations, only to have Father Schwalenberg come charging in at the last minute with a missalette in his hand! He was ready.
In those early days of priesthood, we played various pranks on our holy pastor, none of which I will recount here. Allow me just to say, that, while he enjoys intimacy with the saints now in heaven, we arranged other kinds of meeting with the saints here on earth!
Without question, Monsignor Schwalenberg was the most popular priest in the world. If you are ever on a plane that crashes in the remotest area of the world, and you awaken to find yourself surrounded by curious villagers – villagers whom you are sure have never seen an American – don’t worry. Just call out: “I know Father Schwalenberg”. Immediately they will burst into smiles and call back: “Hey, he baptized my children”. “He had my grandmother’s funeral”. “He played cards with my dad”. “He always came to our celebrations”.Monsignor Schwalenberg was pastor to the world.
He was also chaplain to the world! He not only was the chaplain for every major sports franchise in the Baltimore area, as well as chaplain to the State Police and National Guard. He was also an honorary chaplain at virtually every banquet for every ethnic group in the Western Hemisphere! He was truly Catholic in the sense of universal. He belonged to everyone, and everyone claimed him for their own. Father Schwalenberg was priest to the rich and the famous as well as to the lowly and humble. When Charlie Eckman lay dying, he said: “I’ve got the best Monsignor in the whole world taking care of me!”
What is often said of Bishop Newman could also be said of Monsignor Schwalenberg. He was a “man’s man and a priest’s priest”. Of course, Father Schwalenberg would also likely add: “Hey, the ladies liked me too!” They did indeed! In fact, if there was a list of people who didn’t like Father Schwalenberg, it would be a might short list!
Heaven 600 broadcasts Gospel Music to a largely African-American audience. The
Program Director of the station is Brother Lee Michaels. I had the good fortune to spend
some time with Brother Lee. He is a man of principle and integrity who sees his work as a
calling more than a job. In addition to programming the station, he also travels the
country as a much sought after preacher.
Brother Lee grew up on the streets of East Baltimore. While he is a Baptist today,
he remembers fondly the good influence of St. Patrick's Church on Broadway. He said that
he played on a number of the sports teams for St. Patrick's, and was always impressed
with the outreach of this Catholic parish to all denominations, and to all the people of
the neighborhood.
In particular, he credits Father Pat Coyne with having a special influence on his
life. Brother Lee said that, when he was growing up, it was popular for some kids to
steal cars just to go for a joy ride. He himself may have been a passenger in one such
car.
When Father Coyne heard about it, he called in Lee and said: "I don't ever want you
to even think about stealing cars. If you want to drive, I'll teach you to drive, and
you can drive my car." He kept his word. Brother Lee learned to drive on Father Coyne's
car. He has never forgotten the priest's interest and kindness.
I tell that story for a number of reasons.
First, many of you may never have heard of Father Coyne. To my knowledge there are
no streets named after him, or buildings dedicated to him. What he did was just be a
good parish priest. There was no way he could have known that a kid he befriended on the
streets of East Baltimore would grow up to become such a force for good in our
community, and in our country.
Second, it tells us something about evangelization. Brother Lee is still a Baptist.
He didn't become a Roman Catholic. As I said so often in my humble tenure as Coordinator
of Evangelization for the archdiocese, evangelization is not about "spiritually mugging
people, and dragging them off to our denomination."
Evangelization is what Pope Paul VI defined as: "Proclaiming the good news to all
strata of society, and transforming humanity from within." Especially during this Easter
Season we do indeed rejoice in welcoming into full communion with the Church all those
who were initiated at the Easter Vigil. It's always a joy to welcome people to receive
not only God's Word, but also to receive the flesh and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist. We celebrate with those who come to know, not only the scriptures, but also how those scriptures were interpreted in each century since Christ. We call those memories, Tradition, tradition often lost in other denominations. We, of course, welcome people into this Church that is as old as the Apostles and as young as the newest member of the Body of Christ.
But some people, - for personal, cultural, or social reasons, - cannot bring
themselves to enter the Church. They are still 'evangelized' by the Church to the extent
that the Church lives what it professes.
Not long ago, a Catholic Bishop was criticized for investing a lot of money in
ministry to people with AIDS. One critic stated: "Most of the people we're helping
aren't Catholics!" The Bishop replied: "We don't reach out to them because they are
Catholic. We reach out to them because we are Catholic."
The word Catholic means universal. Christianity is the universal religion -
embracing everyone because Christ embraced everyone. The Church must proclaim the
Gospel, through word and deed, so that, embracing the good news, each of us can be
transformed.
Our title is not our ticket to heaven. Whether we are bishop or broker, priest or
president, minister or mechanic, we are not what others call us, but what Christ calls
us. As St. Paul said so well: "All that matters is that we are born anew." And the
process sometimes starts, not with a ride in Elijah's fiery chariot, but in learning to
drive a priest's humble car.
You may have heard of moral theology, and dogmatic theology, maybe even liberation theology, but have you heard of ear wax theology?
No, I'm not going to go into the gory details. Suffice it to say that my body produces a lot of it (ear wax, not theology), and my left ear actually went partially deaf from it. It happened while I was preaching a parish mission. I not only couldn't hear, but I had a ringing in my ear, some dizziness, some feelings of nausea, and a headache. This is not how you want to feel when preaching a parish mission.
Fortunately, my doctor referred me to a specialist, Dr. Rathman, who restored my hearing. God is very present to us in the healing professions!
My real story, however, is not about me. I arrived at the good doctor's office about 12:30 in the afternoon, only to see a sign on the door indicating that the doctor would return at 1:00. So, I had plenty of time to stand in the hallway to read my copy of America.
It was while standing there that I had a wonderful encounter with a lady who just happened to be walking by. She herself belonged to the Episcopal Church, but said that, when travelling, and unable to find an Episcopal Church, she always attended a Catholic Church. She put it simply: "I can't imagine going into a Church where I couldn't experience the true presence of Christ reserved in the eucharist."
She then told me one of the most extraordinary stories I had ever heard. She had a painful background -an abusive marriage, a brutal divorce, struggles with her daughter. There were times in her life when she felt absolutely abandoned by God, and even began doubting his very existence. But she never despaired, and never stopped really hoping and believing.
One day, while living in a small, hot apartment - no air conditioning in the summer - some neighbors invited her to stay in their cool apartment while they were away. It was a time of poverty and loneliness for her, a time when she still hoped she might meet a man she could build a life with.
While alone in the apartment, she said that she experienced what she could only describe as a "presence". She couldn't name the presence. Then in her thoughts she heard a clear voice asking her: "What kind of man would you like?"
She replied: "What?"
"What kind of man would you like? I can bring you someone handsome and rich. I can provide any kind of man you want?"
"How can you do that?" she asked.
"I can do it. All I ask of you in return is to give up all belief in Jesus Christ! What has he done for you anyway? What good has faith in him been? Give him up, and I'll give you whatever you want."
It was then that she realized that she was talking to the devil. She refused the offer. She realized then how much she loved the Lord Jesus! She realized that, in the midst of all of her pain, how much worse it would have been if she had not believed. To this day, no relationship is more important than her love for Jesus.
When she told me the story, she finished by saying: "I guess you think I've gone around the bend?" I replied: "All holy people have gone around the bend. Even Mother Theresa questioned her faith in God, and felt abandoned by God. The more we suffer the closer to God we can become.
The great Bishop Fulton Sheen once said: "When looking for a spiritual director, pick someone who has suffered." They won't waste your time on trivialities.
Studies have been done comparing schizophrenics with mystics. Both hear voices. Often they both hear the voice of God. Sometimes they hear the voice of the devil. The only clear distinction is that the voice of darkness may lead us to do something harmful, while the voice of God leads us to do something loving.
There are no coincidences in life. God will speak to us through other people, even strangers we pass in office hallways. Especially interesting to me was that I heard his voice at a time when I was having trouble hearing!
Despite the fact that I spend hours each week trying to write helpful and healing columns on various topics, I get the most response to my columns about cats! For instance, in my column on Georgia ( the cat in Bethany who has since died) I concluded by saying that she was a Catlick. Later, a sweet person asked me how I could be sure that it was not a Purr-otestant!
So, I decided to surrender. I spent hours this week collecting quotes about cats, compiling some statistics, and sharing some myths about cats. My two sources are: "Cat Facts" buy Tabitha Jones, and "The Mysterious, Magical Cat" by D.J. Conway.
Quotes:
"Beware of a man who doesn't like cats." Irish Proverb
"If a man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve the man but deteriorate the cat." Mark Twain
"Cats can be cooperative when something feels good, which, to a cat, is the way everything is supposed to feel as much of the time as possible."
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life - music and cats." Albert Schweitzer
"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little they become its visible soul." Jean Cocteau
"Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow." Jeff Valdez
"The smallest feline is a masterpiece." Leonardo da Vinci
"Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is more passing in their minds than we are aware of." Sir Walter Scott
"A cat can be trusted to purr when she is pleased which is more than can be said for human beings." William Inge
"There are no ordinary cats." Colette
Cat Facts:
"More than 35,000 kittens are born in the United States each year.
"There are about 65-70 million cats in the United States in about 32 million households."
"Each year American cat owners spend almost four billion dollars on cat food. That's one billion more than they spend on baby food."
"Cats hate the scent of lemon and oranges. These make good deterrents for cats who scratch furniture. They will also keep cats from climbing Christmas trees."
"The 'catgut' that was used for strings in tennis rackets and musical instruments does not come from cats. It actually comes from sheep, hogs, and horses."
"The average cat food meal is the equivalent to about five mice."
"A British cat, in 1978, had the longest tail on record - a whopping fourteen inches."
"Cats take between 20-40 breaths a minute."
"Over 10 million unwanted cats are killed or euthanized each year."
"Most American pet owners obtain their cats by adopting strays."
Various Popes condemned cats during the Middle Ages because they were considered the devil in disguise. For about three centuries the churches killed and persecuted cats, especially black cats. Because of the widespread destruction of cats during the witch hunt eras, cats were scarce in Europe when the Black Plague hit. Ironically, the church "had wantonly killed the very animal that could have killed the rats."
Myths and Legends:
"If it rains on a Wednesday, its because you forgot to feed the cat."
'Cats should drink milk every day' is a myth. Most cats like milk but don't need it. Many cats get diarrhea from too much milk."
"There is a legend that the only animal not invited to Buddha's funeral was a cat. This is because the mouse (or rat) that was sent to get medicine to save Buddha's life was killed by a cat on the way."
The Last of the 400 Hitters
Catholic Review, April 7, 2004
Proclaiming the Good News
Catholic Review, April 11, 2002
Earwax Theology
Catholic Review, April 18, 2002
All you ever wanted to know about cats and more!
Catholic Review, April 25, 2002
*******************************
