Musing with 

Msgr. McDermott

My  dear friends in Christ,

In my last assignment at Christ the King-St. Anthony Parish I had the opportunity each week to offer some reflections in my “Pastor’s Notes.”  Sometimes the reflections were based upon the readings at the Sunday Mass, sometimes they dealt with contemporary issues, sometimes I shared some thoughts on prayer and the spiritual life and sometimes they were just random thoughts which I wanted to share.  Now that I have returned to the Catholic Center at UVM as the Director/Chaplain, I thought I would try to maintain a weekly column in our bulletin.  SO, this is the first of what I hope will be many “musings.”

There may be some members of the community, students, and others, who are not aware that this assignment is very much a coming home for me.  I first came to the Catholic Center in 2001 and, with the exception of four summers while studying canon law in Washington, DC, and a eleven month temporary assignment in Underhill Center, Vermont, I lived at the Catholic Center until 2016.  From 2001 to 2004 I was the associate director and from 2005 to 2016, I was in residence while fulfilling my duties in the Diocesan Chancery Office.  I am very happy to be back.  While I still have my diocesan responsibilities as Vicar General, Chancellor, and some other roles, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with college students once again.

I’m still settling in right now, painting rooms, moving furniture and reacquainting myself with the Center. Planning for the upcoming academic year will begin in earnest as we move into August. For now, be assured of my prayers for all those who come to the Catholic Center, especially during my time before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament each day.  Please pray for me that in all I do I present an authentic witness to Christ and His gospel.  Ultimately, it is about Him and not me.

Oremus pro invicem!

Msgr. John J. McDermott, VG
 

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ:
 
In my homily last weekend I asked us to consider the gospel passages of these several weeks of summer as a bit of a “mini-series.”  We are considering the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, best known for the great Bread of Life discourse.  While we are moving closer to heart of this discourse this weekend, and I will be preaching on elements of the gospel this weekend, I’d like to take the opportunity in my musings to consider what might be called a recorded but not broadcast episode of our mini-series.
 
If you took the challenge to read the entirety of John 6, you’ll notice that we’ve skipped over the episode that immediately follows the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Jesus has run off to a secluded place to get away from the crowd.  The apostles get into their boat and begin a trip across the Sea of Galilee.  In the middle of the lake, the weather turns stormy and the apostles fear for their lives. In the midst of the chaos, the apostles see the Lord Jesus walking across the waves in the midst of the storm, He announces that he is there (It is I) and they miraculously find themselves safely ashore.  I’m not certain why the Church has skipped over this episode but there is much we can learn by studying it.
 
First, we are reminded that Jesus is more than a miracle worker.  If the multiplication of loaves and fish hearkened back to the Exodus event and the feeding of the people of Israel with the manna, the walking on the sea reminds us of the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Old Testament that God is the Lord of the land and sea.  He controls the waves, the wind and everything in nature.  Jesus walking calmly on the waves gives evidence that He is the Lord of all creation.
 
Second, the words Jesus utters, It is I, hearken back to the name God provides to Moses, I am who am.  Jesus is using the divine name to identify Himself here and in other places in John’s Gospel to emphasize that He is the Word made flesh.  He is the son of the He who is.
 
Finally, we are reminded that in the midst of the storms of life, when all seems lost, the Lord does not abandon us to the storm, He comes to us to bring us safely to shore.  Sometimes this saving is not accomplished exactly as we expect or desire, but we are saved nonetheless.  The Lord calls out to us, “It is I, do not be afraid.” 
 
May the Eucharist help us grow in our reliance upon and trust in the Lord and Master of the storms, waves, seas and all creation.
 
Stay well and God bless,
 
Msgr. John J. McDermott, VG
 

My dear family in Christ,

While many, if not most of our students will not be able to answer this question, I'll ask it anyway.  Wherw were you and what were you doing when you learned of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001? I was on the I-89 Winooski River Bridge returning to the Catholic Center after attending a Spanish class at St. Michael's College. I heard on the news that a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers.  Thinking it must have been a terrible accident, I arrived back at the Catholic Center just in time to witness the second plane crash into the other tower. It was then we also heard reports of a plane attempting to crash into the Pentagon and another plane crashing in Pennsylvania.

The day was spent with hundreds of people coming into the Catholic Center to watch news updates and to pray. We offered a special Mass that evening to a standing room only crowd in the lounge (the chapel was being recarpeted and had not pews at the time) and prayed for the victims, their families, the first responders and all those impacted by these terrible deeds. We also prayed it would never happen aain. Well 20 years later and we are still praying that terrorist acts, especially those carried out supposedly in the name of God, will cease.

Looking back over the last 20 years and reflecting upon the continuing struggle to realize a just and lasting peace in our world it could be very easy to become disheartened and to give up the prayers and efforts to arrive at a just and peaceful world. After all, none of the previous efforts appear to have done much. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must not let this attitude take hold of our hearts, minds and efforts.  In the Gospel this weekend, Jesus reminds his apostles that to be a disciple requires that we take up our cross and follow after Him. There is no promise of achieving successin every endeavor. There is no indication Our Lord expected us to always be embraced by the world. In fact, the opposite appears to be true, to follow Christ means that we will work for peace and justice, we will try to care for the poor and suffering, we will strive to proclaim and defend the dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death, and we may very well fall in our efforts. But failure to achieve the ideal does not mean the ideal is wrong. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) famously noted that we are called to be faithful not successful. We are called to carry our crosses daily in imitation of Jesus and know that just as His death brought our salvation, our crosses and even our failures, may be the source of some greater good. 

So while our prayers and efforts on behalf of peace and justice may appear to be fruitless, let us not stop praying and working, but see this as one of the crosses we are asked to bear and pray that in God's plan for salvation, our prayers and efforts will bear fruit in our lives and the lives of others.

In Christ Our Peace,

Msgr. John J. McDermott, VG