Tag: Rev. Jeff Loseke

The Resurrection: Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen and Have Believed

Jesus’ Resurrection is not an event to be recorded in a history book. It is not something to be studied through the scientific method. The Resurrection of Jesus is a relational encounter that we have in faith.

by Rev. Jeff Loseke

The mystery of the Resurrection is like nothing else in human history.  While Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection are all historical events that happened in time, there is resurrectionsomething about them that transcends time.  There were many disciples of Jesus who followed Him throughout the course of His earthly ministry and became witnesses of the many miracles.  They saw Him.  We can only imagine how many people actually heard Jesus’ teachings, saw His wonders, or stood by as He walked the Way of the Cross.  Countless numbers had some experience, some story to tell of Jesus’ life and death.

Jesus’ Resurrection, however, is different.  No one was there to witness Him rise from the dead.  No one was there to see Him break open the gates of hell for the just.  No one was there to see Him roll the stone away and walk out of the tomb.  No one at all.  And yet, our entire faith hinges on the fact that Jesus did all these things.  To paraphrase St. Paul:  if Jesus had not risen from the dead, then our Christian life is lived in vain.

If you think about it, the only proof we have of Jesus’ Resurrection is an empty tomb, the absence of a body… that is to say, we have no proof at all.  There is no hard evidence to look to to say that Jesus positively has risen from the dead.  And that’s okay.  Jesus’ Resurrection is not an event to be recorded in a history book.  It is not something to be studied through the scientific method.  The Resurrection of Jesus is a relational encounter that we have in faith.  Even those who knew Him best, Mary Magdalene and His disciples (e.g., the two on the road to Emmaus) for instance, did not recognize Him right away.  It was only when their eyes of faith were opened that they finally saw the Risen Jesus.  The same was true for St. Paul.  Never did he meet Jesus while He was alive.  His conversion happened on the road to Damascus when He encountered the Risen Jesus spiritually.  This gives us great hope today.  We are no different from St. Paul and Jesus’ other disciples:  through our faith, we too can come to know the Risen One.  If you want to see Him, if you want to know that He is risen from the dead, then you begin by believing.  Like the Resurrection itself, this faith of ours transcends time and carries us beyond this world into the kingdom yet to come!

 

The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of  St. Charlccn_father-les Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha.  In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.

 

Art: The Resserection by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 2009 (Wikimedia Commons)

Reconciliation: Don’t Wait to Rejoice!

Do not wait to take advantage of the opportunity to know God’s mercy as soon as possible, to live in His light, and to experience His joy right now!

by Rev. Jeff Loseke

This Sunday, Lætare Sunday—whose name comes from the first words of the Entrance Antiphon at Mass, Lætare Ierusalem (Rejoice, Jerusalem)—marks the halfway point in Artgate_Fondazione_Cariplo_-_Molteni_Giuseppe,_La_confessioneLent and invites us to begin experiencing the joy of the Resurrection even as we continue our journey to the Cross.  Hopefully, our Lenten practices and penances have been chipping away at our hardened hearts so that they are already being freed from temptation and slavery to sin through God’s grace.  Our works alone are incapable of effecting this interior change, however.  Only in cooperation with God’s work do we experience the movement from darkness to light.

Were an athlete or a musician to wait until the last minute to begin practicing for a contest or performance, he or she would not likely perform to the best of his or her ability.  All the weeks and months of potential growth would have been squandered through procrastination.  I would suggest that we ought to consider our spiritual life with a similar mindset, especially during Lent.  Too many Catholics, perhaps, like to wait to the last minute to go to Confession before Easter so that they will be “squeaky clean” for Easter Sunday.  Unfortunately, by putting off the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the last minute, one is left to struggle through Lent without the particular help of that sacramental grace.  While on the one hand, Confession in the eleventh hour will bring us full forgiveness of sins prior to the Easter Mysteries, on the other hand, it leaves us potentially in a state of sin now, stymieing the effects of sanctifying grace, which could have been growing in us over time.  The fullness of our Easter joy is potentially stunted because of our tardiness in choosing to be freed from sin as soon as possible.  The earlier we are freed, the longer we walk in grace and grow in joy.

Almost everywhere you go, a number of extra opportunities are being made available during Lent for the faithful to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Do not wait to take advantage of the opportunity to know God’s mercy as soon as possible, to live in His light, and to experience His joy right now!  Had the Prodigal Son not waited so long to return to his father’s house, he would not have had to face starvation and destitution.  Why, then, should we wait to be forgiven?  Rather, we should be running to our Savior, who cannot wait to give us the fullness of His joy.  Therefore, with the whole Church we cry out: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.  Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.

 

The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of  St. Charlccn_father-les Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha.  In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.

 

Art: The Confession by Giuseppe Molteni, 1838

Pain: A Path Leading to Virtue

Learning such a love does not necessarily come easily. Indeed, the acquisition of virtue is often—if not always—a painful process.

by Rev. Jeff Loseke

When a child is brought to be baptized, the  parents and godparents are reminded over and over again by the Church’s minister of their responsibility to teach their son or daughter Ste-therese-on-deathbedhow to love God, how to love their neighbor, and how to constantly practice their faith.  These exhortations always remind me that, because of our fallen human nature and the inclination to sin (i.e., concupiscence), the love to which God calls us must be learned and practiced over time.  Learning such a love does not necessarily come easily.  Indeed, the acquisition of virtue is often—if not always—a painful process.

For those engaged in the practice of Christian love and virtue, it is not uncommon to experience painful emotions such as shame, shock, anger, discomfort, confusion, and so forth.  As an example, think of the person who goes on a mission trip for the first time.  His or her encounter with poverty, injustice, suffering, and other evils can be difficult to process at first.  The experience of negative reactions and emotions, however, should not be interpreted as a bad thing or as a moral evil.  Rather, this painful path is more in accord with Aristotle’s theory that those being schooled in the virtues do not actually enjoy practicing them.  Nevertheless, the path of pain leads a person to see things more clearly and to recognize what it true within oneself regarding his or her complicity in the injustices and sins of the world.  In reflecting upon the path of virtue through pain, I am reminded of something C. S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain: “Pain insists upon being attended to.  God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”.

While the process of growing in virtue—especially in the virtue of justice—may be painful or uncomfortable, I firmly believe that it should not be avoided.  The challenge to parents, educators, and all who guide others, however, will be to provide the tools and the resources to help learners process their painful experiences in order to grow from them.  As a spiritual director and confessor, I often have to challenge my directees and penitents to delve more deeply into the shadows, the brokenness, and the pain in their lives in order to arrive at the deepest level of truth about themselves.  Walking with them in order to help them face those difficult emotions, feelings, and spiritual realities is part of my ministry as a Priest.  Even more, it must be part of our lives as Christians.  Jesus reminds us in the Beatitudes that we are blessed when we mourn or suffer pain.  He also reminds us that we are blessed when we work to alleviate such pain by working for a more just world.

 

The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of  St. Charlccn_father-les Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha.  In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.

 

Art: St. Therese de Lisieux on her Death Bed by Anonymous, 1925 (Wikimedia Commons)

Why Stations of the Cross Should be Part of Your Lenten Journey

The Stations of the Cross are an excellent way of not only retelling the story of Jesus’ Passion but also entering into dialogue with the One who gave Himself up for our sake.

Introducing Rev. Jeff Loseke

I first heard Fr. Jeff when he was the pastor of Holy Trinity in Hartington, Nebraska. He is full of wisdom and has graciously agreed to post some of his insight for your benefit. In fact, this column marks the beginning of a weekly contribution by Father Jeff to Pelican’s Breast. Please spread the word! 

Why Stations of the Cross Should be Part of Your Lenten Journey

When one examines the four Gospels in the New Testament, one cannot help but notice that within each account the Passion narrative is the most detailed part of the entire simon_pomaga_kristusu_nositi_kriz_19-_stGospel.  In fact, the amount of space in each Gospel that is given to the three days of Jesus’ Passion (20%-30%) is inordinately disproportionate to the space given to all the preceding events that make up the other three years of His life.  This tells us just how significant Jesus’ Paschal Mystery was to the faith of the Evangelists and the early Christian communities.  More than all of His miracles, teachings, and parables, Jesus’ Passion stands out as the single most important thing He did on this earth.

The first Christians shared the account of Jesus’ Passion and death through the oral and written traditions in order to give subsequent generations the experience of being with Jesus as this great drama unfolded.  This encounter with Jesus helped to personalize the love the Savior shared with us throughout His suffering and death.  How much more important it is for us today, living some 2,000 years later, to make that personal connection with Jesus through meditation on the events that saved us.

The Stations of the Cross are an excellent way of not only retelling the story of Jesus’ Passion but also entering into dialogue with the One who gave Himself up for our sake.  The Stations allow a person to make a spiritual pilgrimage along the path of Christ’s suffering without having to travel to the Holy Land itself.  Each station hanging on the church wall marks a particular “place” on the road to Calvary where we are to move ourselves interiorly.  This interior movement is the ultimate goal of the Stations: to bring us closer to Christ and to grow in our love for Him.  Of Christ’s Twelve Apostles, only John the Beloved possessed the kind of passionate love that gave him the courage to walk the journey with the Virgin Mary alongside Jesus all the way to Calvary; the others either betrayed Him or fled in fear.  I have good memories of attending the Stations of the Cross on Friday nights with my own mother when I was young, and so I extend a special invitation to each of you, especially to you who are parents with children: Try to take part in your local parish’s commemoration of the Stations of the Cross to walk with Jesus along the journey of His Passion and, in so doing, to experience the profound love He has for us.

 

The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of  St. Charlccn_father-les Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha.  In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.

 

Art: Simon pomaga Kristusu nositi križ; 19th Century (Wikimedia Commons)