Mission Update
United States
Are Not Our Hearts Burning?
Reflections on the USCMA 2007 Annual Conference
The USCMA annual conference,
held October 26-28 in Austin
Texas, drew over two hundred
enthusiastic participants. By
immersing themselves in reflec-
tive prayer, speakers provocative
presentations, panelists sharing
of their missionary stories, home
communities shared their reflec-
tions. In dialogue sessions on
diverse mission-related topics
and Eucharistic liturgy, the par-
ticipants contributed to making
the conference a very positive
experience. The conference
theme, Are not our hearts burn-
ing? was rooted in the disciples
encounter with Jesus on the road
to Emmaus (Luke 24). Most
participants said they left the
conference enriched, encouraged
and re-flamed.
Of course, the participants
evaluations also provided useful
suggestions for improving next
years conference. But overall,
the evaluations expressed the
overwhelming sentiment that the
conference was invigorating and
that it rekindled participants
missionary spirit.
So what in particular did the
participants respond to so posi-
tively? Most frequently cited
were the keynote presentations
by Frs. Gerald Arbuckle, SM and
Ron Rolheiser, OMI. So lets
revisit these presenters insights.
Friday afternoon, following an
opening prayer ritual coordinated
by Manuel Gacad, MJ, attendees
Volume 16, Issue 4
Catholic Mission Association
were in a listening mode and
ready for Arbuckles first presen-
tation: Are Not our Hearts
Burning: Laughing with God in a
Postmodern World. He made
the case that a sound spirituality
for todays missioners needs to
be grounded in an appreciation
for divine humor, with Gods
humor in the scriptures being an
example for us to keep in mind.
By defining humor very broadly,
including everything from the
irony of Jesus changing water to
wine at Cana, to the incongruities
of Jesus associating with Samari-
tans, the marginalized and with
women, Arbuckle argued these
biblical narratives provided us
with a divine pedagogy for how
missioners need to be counter-
cultural, as was Jesus, if they are
going to be able to bring hope to
people caught in despair. He
further extended this humor
metaphor to include the inner
peace and joy spoken of by the
psalms and inferred by Marys
inner joy voiced in her Magnifi-
cat.
Humor and joking were further
described as following a three-
stage pattern of an initial separa-
tion (Jesus
asleep in
the boat),
followed
by liminal-
ity (when
disciples
awakened
Jesus) and
finally re-
e n t r y
( J e s u s
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
We Pray
that the
calms the disciples fear). Even Incarnation
with the support of many biblical
examples of this pattern, the hu- of the Son of God
mor metaphor may have been a
bit subtle and strained, especially may help
for an audience whose primary
attitude toward the scriptures is the peoples of Asia
reverence. (See the section Peri-
odic Paper in this Mission Up- recognize Jesus
date for this keynotes full text.)
as Gods Envoy,
Arbuckle applied this three-fold
pattern to the Emmaus story and the only Savior
that focus on the disciples ex-
perience provided the ground- of the
work not only for the next morn-
ings panel presentations, but world.
also for the next keynote. As
with each of the keynote presen-
tations, conference participants In This Issue
subsequently met in groups of
about 20 and shared what they Reflections on Annual
appreciated or questioned about Conference 1
the speakers ideas. This method
received high marks in the From the Director 2
evaluations.
From the President 2
On Saturday morning, three pan- New Board Members 4
elists, Judy Donovan, CSJ, Katie
Resolutions Passed at 2007 5
Eberhard and Shalini DSouza,
Conference
SCN were asked to share their
stories, the challenges they en- Mission Congress 2010 5
countered on mission and how it
influenced their spirituality. Laughing with God in a Center
Sister Donovan shared her initial Postmodern World
experience of shock when the
Brazilian villagers and local pas- Annual Meeting & Mission 15
Awards
toral team with whom she was
working took to heart and acted Collage from 2007 Confer- 16-17
on the biblical social justice prin- ence
ciples she was teaching them.
This led to a confrontation with Orbis Books 18
the local power establishment
Resources & Upcoming 19
Events
contd on p. 3
Mission Update
From the Director
Rev. Michael Montoya, MJ
As the winter days continue to cast a cold
spell, we at USCMA cannot help but still feel
the warmth of the fire of mission ignited at
the recently concluded USCMA Annual Mis-
sion Conference in Austin, Texas. More than
230 participants attended the event. Excite-
ment was felt in the plenary and dialogue
sessions, home communities, liturgies, and
the whole conference in general. Many ex-
claimed that it is the best conference they
have attended in years. To all the partici-
pants, thank you for a wonderful and Spirit-
filled participation! We hope that you share
the experience to your communities and to
your families.
In a special way, we want to thank all of the
people who helped organize this Mission
Conference. Many have worked on the back-
ground from its initial conception to its com-
pletion. Thank you. Also, the generosity of
those who helped sponsor the Conference
cannot go unnoticed. Your partnership has
truly made a difference.
Together with those who had active roles at
the Conference, the people who worked on
the background, the sponsors, and you, the
participants, the conference could not have
been the success that it was. Together, this is
truly our Conference. Congratulations!
The conference highlighted two interrelated
aspects of a spirituality of mission alive
among the participants: a spirituality of
story-telling and a spirituality of disruption/
chaos. Through our story, we name the real-
ity of who we are - persons built upon the
image of Jesus Christ. Through stories, we
articulate our significance in the world.
Through stories, we humanize the world
despite the disorder and chaos one may ex-
perience. It is also through our story that we
see Gods story alive.
Chaos and disruptions are realities in the life
of missioners. But as Psalm 88 reminds us,
chaos cannot prevent us from our relationship
with God. In fact, enthusiasm for mission is
clear despite chaos and disruptions. And
while it may be true that for some, chaos and
disruption has led them towards bitterness; as
missioners, however, we know that disrup-
tions and chaos are no hindrance to seeing
God-with-us. There is another choice - a
choice that leads us to life lived in the pres-
ence of God.
Page 2
Spirituality of mission in the 21st century can
very well be characterized then as a spiritual-
ity of hope. It is hope that is not based on hu-
man optimism but in the faithfulness of God
who continues to invite us to participate in
Gods mission. It is a spirituality of hope that
is alive among the thousands of missioners
serving all over the world.
Pope Benedict XVIs encyclical Spe Salvi
could not have been more timely. We are re-
minded that the hope with which we are saved
is a hope that moves us to action towards
building a transformative global community. It
is this same hope that each missioner serving
here and abroad carries in their heart. It is this
same hope that they bring to share in the midst
of the challenges that they are confronted with
day in and day out. And yes, it is the hope that
only comes from God!
This coming year 2008, we have decided that
the Mission Conference will continue to ex-
pound on this theme with a Conference enti-
tled: Mission: A Journey of Hope. We will
look at our own missionary journey as it
moves from my story, to our story to The
Story within the contemporary globalized
context. For now, we ask you to include the
Mission Conference in your calendar. It will
be on October 24-26, 2008 in Baltimore, MD.
More information will be given in the future.
Meantime, as we celebrate Christmas, let our
hearts be filled with this same spirit of hope as
lived, shared and celebrated by thousands of
missioners all over the world. Let this season
be truly a Season of Hope!
USCMA Staf f
Rev. Michael Montoya, MJ, Executive Director
Ms. Charlotte Cook, Associate Director
Sr. Anne Louise Von Hoene, MMS, Accountant
Sr. Michael Theresa Brauer, SND de N, Administrative Assistant
Questions/Comments re: Meetings & Conferences
Questions/Comments re: Mission Update / Current Topics
E-Mail: uscma@uscatholicmission.org
Mission Update: ISSN 15426130
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
From the President of the Board:
Sr. Mary McGlone, CSJ
Dear Friends,
I send you greetings and prayers for a holy,
joyful Advent and Christmas season on this day
when we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe, the
patroness of the Americas.
As we end the year 2007, we have completed
our celebration of USCMAs 25th anniversary.
This year has led us to look back at a wonderful
history and to look forward to the immense
changes happening in mission in the U.S.
Church.
Through the 19th century Catholic Church in the
U.S. was generally characterized as a mission-
receiving land. In the 20th century, the U.S.
became a mission-sending country. Now, in the
21st century we are both mission-sending and
mission-receiving in a truly globalized context.
Our next USCMA conference will focus our
past and future mission experience as a journey
of hope and help us to understand better how
we continue mission in our globalized reality.
We look forward to seeing you there!
In this holy season, I want to thank those who
have generously responded to our recent appeal.
If you have not yet done so, I ask you to con-
sider giving a gift or asking your community to
support the work of your mission association.
If we are to continue to grow with the demands
of our time, we need the financial basis with
which to do so. In closing, on your behalf, I also
want to thank our USCMA staff and ask Gods
blessing on them as they continue to labor for
all of us.
May this New Year bring peace to the world
and each of us!
Mary M. McGlone, CSJ
December 12, 2007
meetings@uscatholicmission.org
news@uscatholicmission.org
Web Site: uscma.uscatholicmission.org
Mission Update
Reflections on the USCMA Annual Conference 2007 contd from p. 1
and the struggle to learn a new way of being Church and imple-
menting the gospel call to help others, overseas and in the States, to
have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). Strategizing then
became much more central to her pastoral efforts and spirituality.
Ms. Katie Eberhard served for
3 years in Lusaka, Zambia
working with vulnerable chil-
dren, especially orphaned
children whose parents had
died of Aids. She told the
story of participating in a me-
morial service for thirty three
villagers who had recently
died. One hymn was very
telling in that it described
death not as an individual loss, but as the journey in which everyone
participated, a coming to the creator. During the service, a one year
old infant, Vincent, suffering with Aids, expired and the people
immediately joined his name with the others, highlighting that life
and death is a communal experience. Because she grew to under-
stand the villagers culture, the older children no longer spoke of
Katie as muzungu, a white person, an outsider, but said of her:
thats not muzungu, thats just Katie. These experiences helped
Katie appreciate the missionaries common experience, namely, she
was receiving far more than she could possibly give to others.
Gratitude played a greater role in her spirituality.
Sr. Shalini DSouza shared her experiences working with women
living on the societal margins of New Delhi, India. In particular,
she supported the victimized women who labored in the sex indus-
try of the red light districts. By establishing a House of Hope and
offering various initiatives for the women and their children, includ-
ing education, many were able to make choices which helped them
escape prostitution and create new lives for themselves and their
children. She concluded that despite incredible odds, with Gods
grace, personal transformation was possible and hope can provide a
foundation.
All three panelists stories described their traveling down unex-
pected and dark roads where they faced challenges which forced
them to develop a spirituality of disruption, and a personal resil-
ience which became part of their missionary spirituality.
Dialogue Sessions follow the panel presentation and gave partici-
pants the opportunity to share information pertaining to current
mission-related topics including how mission interfaces with young
Catholics, families, civil society,
long and-short-term mission
charisms, immigrants, parishes,
dioceses, volunteers and vowed
religious.
Saturday afternoon, Ron Rolheiser,
OMI delivered the second keynote
and spoke on A Spirituality of
Mission in a Polarized World. He
began by identifying the Emmaus
narrative as a missionary story, in
which the two disciples were strug-
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
gling and discouraged by Jesus crucifixion. Their hope shattered,
they felt humiliated and had left Jerusalem which Rolheiser inter-
preted as their having left the Church. The disciples, as with mission-
aries, he explained, need to experience the suffering and humiliation
of Good Friday before knowing the joy of Easter resurrection. What
made the disciples hearts burn? Their humiliation which then led to
glory.
The subtitle of the USCMA conference was: Spirituality of Mission
in the 21st Century and Rolheiser highlighted the following as addi-
tional integral components:
A love which immerses one in the human community, in con-
trast to living in isolation, which forgives ones enemies
endlessly, which is universally compassionate for all;
A love which imitates Jesus love, which is without the violence
evident when Moses gave the first set of commandments
and stoned the Israelites caught in idolatry (Deut. 9:17),
and instead, imitates Jesus forgiveness of the woman
caught in adultery whom the Israelites were about to stone;
A love which gives priority to serving others, which follows
Jesus example of washing others feet, dropping the mantle
of privilege and wearing the servants apron, being willing
to serve strangers and those who seem to be your opposite;
A love which ministers beyond ego and ones private agenda,
beyond ideology, with compassion, with a freedom which
transcends fears generated by a Taliban-like literalism and
grounded in a theology which liberates, as do a liberal arts
curriculum.
Following this key-
note, the Home Com-
munities sharings in
small groups made
clear that the listeners
appreciated Rol-
heisers hermeneutic
of the Emmaus story
and gave them many
criteria and sugges-
tions for considering
how well they were living out a mission spirituality.
The Eucharistic celebration was led by Bishop Gregory M. Aymond
of the Diocese of Austin, and characterized by a thoughtful homily,
engaging music and spirited singing. The traditional banquet which
followed was capped off with local choirs and dance groups. The
conference attendees also discovered some talented singers within
their own ranks.
On Sunday morning, the Conference facilitators Caroljean Willlie, SC
and Rudy Vela, SM provided a ritual which summarized many of the
speakers insights. They emphasized that spirituality derails our nave
dreams of we who are as missioners, as Jesus derailed the two disci-
ples false plans on the road to Emmaus. That summary set everyone
up for the third and final keynote: A Spirituality of Mission in the 21st
Century: Insights through Postmodern Humor given by Gerald Ar-
buckle.
contd on page 4
Page 3
Mission Update Winter 2007

Super was how one conference New Board Members

attendee evaluated this concluding
presentation, presumably because
the insights and implications were
clearly presented and spoke di-
rectly to the cultural challenges to
mission spirituality today. Draw-
ing on his cultural anthropological
background, Arbuckle traced
todays tendencies toward indi-
vidualism back to modernity, which started in the era of Descartes and
his use of science as a replacement for revelation and his belief in
scientifically derived absolute certainties as the sole foundation for
optimism. Although this modernistic mentality appeared to support
order within society, in actuality it was a mythic story which sup-
ported violence in the form of patriarchal assumptions and various
entitlements which gave permission for others to be victimized and
subjugated. Ultimately mindsets like this led to the death camps of
World War II.
Post-modernity shifted some of the earlier cultural values and aimed
to establish a new culture. Here, however, this culture says there is no
meaning, individuals live as isolated units, community is not possible,
chaos is at the heart of the universe, and only the present, not the past
or future, has any value.
In the face of such fatalism, humanity strives to create a new culture,
paramodernity, which critiques the patriarchal and biomedical model
of earlier cultures, and values the individual and small groups, gender
equality, imagination, accountability and reconciliation. All of these
positive developments are signals of transcendence (Peter Berger) in
a world where violence has been assumed to be normal. And what is
the heart of non-violence? It is the commitment never to destroy an-
other persons self-worth, which belief we see illustrated in the gos-
pels narratives of Jesus interactions with people.
What then characterizes the missionary spirituality for the 21st cen-
tury? In part, it is engagement with the above described chaos of the
day and striving to share the story of Jesus, the missioners own sto-
ries, and encourage others to do the same. It only takes a small ex-
perience of transcendence, Arbuckle said, to encourage people to
transform earlier mythologies into a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
In conclusion, although the
above report does not capture
the fullness of the speakers
presentations, the author hopes
it will encourage further read-
ing in and discussions of the
above themes and whet your
appetite for next years confer-
ence in Baltimore which will
focus on the theme of
Mission: A Journey of
Hope.
Andrew Thompson
USCMA Board Member
St. Vincent Pallotti Center
The members elected three new Board members at the Annual Meet-
ing: Rev. Arturo Aguilar, SSC, Sr. Judy Gomila, MSC and Rev. Mr.
Bob Laremore of Glenmary. Ms. Teresita was re-elected for a second
term.
Rev. Arturo Aguilar, SSC (Missionary Society of St Columban) is
originally from the South Texas area. He began his studies at the Uni-
versity of Texas in Austin before joining the Columbans in 1976. Af-
ter completing B.S. in Political Science at St Thomas University (St.
Paul, MN), he continued his formation in Cambridge, MA at Weston
School of Theology. As part of his formation, he was assigned to
Chile. On his return to the U.S., he was ordained in 1984 and assigned
to Brazil for 8 years. His primary mission work was in youth ministry
and community development.
After 2 years of study at the University of Minnesota for an MSW
degree, he took part in the U.S Regional plan of action by working in
various ministries. He initiated the Hispanic Ministry pro-
gram and took an active part in inviting the Hispanic communities to
global mission.
Fr. Arturo later became Vocation Director for the Region and during
that time was invited to be Superior of the Los Angeles Mission
House. In 2006, he was elected Regional Director.
Sr. Judy Gomila, MSC, a native of New Orleans, is a Marianite Sis-
ter of Holy Cross. She holds a Masters in Theology and Religious
Studies from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. Sr. Judy has served
the Church as an educator, itinerant teacher, preacher and mission-
ary for more than 40 years. In 2000, she returned to the lower 48 after
13 years of ministry in the Alaskan bush.
Presently, Sr. Judy is the creative Mission Educator and Associate
Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Archdiocese of
New Orleans. In her teaching strategies, she leans heavily on Scripture
and Mission Documents, seeking to help make them become flesh in
an Archdiocesan Church-in-Mission. Sister Judy oversees Mission
Workshops in Seminaries across the US and promotes Mission Im-
mersion experiences as vital to the education of those ordained for
universal mission. Sister Judy also utilizes her catechetical back-
ground and sense of mission animation on the National Council and
Education Committee of the Pontifical Mission Societies. She recently
completed 6 years of service on the Mission to Mission Board.
In her own on-going conversion of heart, Sister Judy reminds us of the
interrelatedness of peace, justice, and quality of life issues and the
living out of our faith on behalf of the Body of Christ "to the ends of
the earth." Sr. Judy's hobbies include cooking - with lots of tasting -,
dancing to that old time Rock 'n Roll, and Clown Ministry, complete
with red wig.
Deacon Bob Laremore, Glenmary Home Missioners. Bob is a na-
tive of Indianapolis, IN. He became Catholic at the age of eleven. He
is an alumnus of St. Meinrad Seminary and Marian College. Although
coming from an Appalachian Irish family, he was partially
raised in Del Mar, CA and Lebanon, TN . He was in Industry,
Research & Development, for sixteen years and raised his
family in Indianapolis, IN and Ft. Worth, TX. He has been
married to his wife, Becky, for 41 years. He has three children
and nine grandchildren.
Bob was ordained in 1982 for the Ft. Worth, TX Dio-
cese and has served in full contd on page 6

Page 4 US Catholic Mission Association

Mission Update
Resolutions Passed at the 2007 Conference
Members passed three resolutions at the Annual
Meeting on October 28, 2007. The areas of need
covered topics of debt cancellation for impoverished
countries, access to essential medicines, and US
2008 elections.
To celebrate the 2007 Sabbath Year, the USCMA
membership committed itself to promote debt can-
cellation in support of our sisters and brothers in
poor, debt burdened countries. In keeping with the
biblical Sabbath Year or year of Gods favor when
debts were cancelled the year 2007 has been pro-
claimed the Sabbath Year. This is the seventh year of
the effort to cancel debts owed by impoverished
countries. This year is also the halfway point in
reaching the United Nations Millennium Develop-
ment Goals. Among other actions, members are en-
couraged to advocate for passage of the Jubilee Act,
HR 2634; urge political candidates to articulate their
positions on debt cancellation;
and host a screening of one of the films suggested by
Jubilee USA (www.jubileeusa.org).
Members endorsed the S. Res 241/H. Res 525 cur-
rently under consideration in the US Congress that
calls for a new direction in US trade policy with re-
spect to intellectual property rights that encourage
both access to essential medicines and the innovation
of new medical technologies to promote public
health in developing countries. There is a felt need
to locate intellectual property rights within the
Mission Congress 2010
There will be a Mission Congress 2010! The Catho-
lic Mission Forum, the sponsoring coalition of Mis-
sion Congresses agreed at their October 2007 meet-
ing to hold another Mission Congress in 2010.
The working theme of the Mission Congress is
Gods Mission, Many Faces: A Portrait of US
Catholics in Mission. The four objectives for the
Mission Congress are: to discern the movement of
the Spirit within the US Church in mission; to dis-
cover the varied colors and brushstrokes of US
Catholics in mission; to invigorate mission identity
and leadership in the US church; and to celebrate the
faces and creativity of US Catholics in mission.
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
framework of Catholic Social Teaching, based on the
common good and to balance these rights with the needs
of the poor. Members are encouraged to urge their re-
spective Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor S.
Res 241 or H. Res 525.
The upcoming 2008 elections in the U.S. present a
unique opportunity for members of USCMA to make a
difference and contribute to an informed electorate.
Using the lens of the Gospel and Catholic Social Teach-
ing, USCMA members will promote active, non-
partisan, civic participation and collaboration to promote
an informed electorate and active participation in the up-
coming 2008 U.S. elections. By the way we vote, we
can promote the global common good, we can love our
neighbors, especially the poor and vulnerable and we can
demonstrate our care for the earth. Members are encour-
aged to: participate in voter registration campaigns; par-
ticipate in accountability sessions with the political can-
didates; become informed about issues by going to re-
sources offered by NETWORK (Global Concerns
www.networklobby.org ); the Maryknoll Office of
(www.maryknollogc.org/2008elections/index.htm ); the
USCCB web section on Social Justice Issues
(www.usccb.org ); and to read USCCB document Faith-
ful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibil-
ity (http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/).
All of the resolutions in their entirety can be seen on our
website ( www.uscatholicmission.org/go/events/
annualconference)
The Mission Congress 2010 Planning Committee would
like to hear your suggestions and ideas for workshop ti-
tles and possible speakers. Send your thoughts to Mi-
chael Montoya at the USCMA office.
Member groups of Catholic Mission Forum are US
Catholic Mission Association, Pontifical Mission Soci-
ety, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Con-
ference of Major Superiors of Men, Catholic Network of
Volunteer Service, Office for Black and Indian Missions,
the US Conference of Catholic Bishops offices for the
Church in Latin America, World Mission, Home Mis-
sions , and the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees.
Page 5
Mission Update
Job Announcement
The St. Vincent Pallotti Center is seeking an experienced,
committed and energetic person to serve as the National
Director for an organization promoting lay volunteer and
missionary service opportunities. The National Director is
responsible for the successful management of the organization
and fulfillment of the Centers mis-
sion.
Excellent communication skills re-
quired, including public speaking and
writing. The position also requires
familiarity with the Catholic and vol-
unteer cultures, the values of young
adults, nonprofit management and
budgeting competency. A graduate
degree in pastoral studies, faith forma-
contd from page 4
time ministry ever since. For the first ten years he was liturgist and
administrator of Immaculate Conception, Denton, TX. He also
worked in social justice issues and led the establishment of neighbor-
hood faith communities for this large parish which also included ten
surrounding small towns. For the last fourteen years Bob has been
working with Glenmary Home Missioners establishing a missionary
community in Lawrence County, AL in the Birmingham Diocese.
This ministry also includes work on social justice issues, evangeliza-
tion, and working with the Southern Baptist and Pentecostal
Churches on many different community issues. He also records a
program called The Catholic Perspective for a local radio station.
Bob keeps busy by monitoring science through reading periodicals
and theology through reading and continuing education. He is also a
Law Enforcement Chaplain trained by the International Conference
of Police Chaplains.
Teresita Gonzalez de la Maza is a Cuban born in exile, now living
in Miami, Florida with her husband and two sons. Tery attended
Barry University in Miami Shores where she received a Bachelors
Degree in Liberal Arts and a Masters in Social Work.
Mark Your Calendars!
2008 USCMA Annual Mission Conference
Mission: A Journey of Hope
October 2426, 2008
Baltimore, Maryland
Page 6 US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
tion or a related field is highly desired. Candidates must be open
to the Pallottine charism of collaboratively sharing faith and love.
Some teaching experience and web familiarity are a plus.
Benefits: health insurance, and, after one year, retirement contri-
butions. Salary commensurate with experience. Center is located
in N.E. Washington, DC, next to The Catholic University of
America (Metro Red Line). For more information about the
mission of the St. Vincent Pallotti Center and a full position
description for the National Director please visit our website at
www.pallotticenter.org.
To apply, send a resume and cover letter by email to Fr. Frank
Donio, SAC at FrFrank@sacapostles.org or by mail to: Fr. Frank
Donio, SAC, Pallottine Seminary, P.O. Box 5399 Hyattsville,
MD, 20782
Her interest in mission and cross-cultural ministry began in 1989 after a
short-term mission experience with Amor en Accin, a missionary com-
munity of the Archdiocese of Miami. As a member for the last 15 years,
Tery has been involved in short-term mission travels and has been com-
mitted to long-term mission projects.
Tery worked for 8 years in healthcare social work. She now serves in the
full time position of Executive Director for Amor en Accion, and her
responsibilities include: providing mission education activities for
schools/parishes in the Archdiocese, mission formation and re-entry
for short-term mission groups, fundraising for mission projects, and
other related activities. Her current interests are in the area of theology
of reconciliation, in relation to communities throughout the world as
well as the profound implications for her own cultural context.
As a member of the USCMA Board, Tery has enriched USCMA
with her creative thinking and expertise in mission. She is currently
a member of the Committee on Finance and Development.
 Periodic Paper #4
Are Not our Hearts Burning: Laughing with God in a
Postmodern World
By Gerald A. Arbuckle, SM, Ph.D.

The Holy Book we call the Bible revels in a profound laughter, a divine and human laughter that is endemic to the whole narrative of crea-
tion, fall and salvation, and finally a laughter that reveals a wondrous, all-encompassing comic vision. (J. Cheryl Exum and J. William
1
Whedbee)
For everything there is a season...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance (Eccl 3:1,4)

Introduction2 before we get to that, we need to take a closer look at

what humor is.
When I first went to Papua New Guinea in
the late 1960s I was initially overwhelmed by the In this paper I will:
fact that there were only three million people, but
five hundred languages, plus several thousand
dialects. How could three anthropologists possi- Define the meaning of humor and what is meant
bly establish a pastoral research unit in such lin- by divine humor;
guistic complexity! A wise colleague looked at Illustrate how Jesus frequently used humor as a
me and said: Gerry, for heavens sake, see the pedagogical method;
funny side of this. Laugh because God is laugh- Explain the many joking patterns in the Scrip-
ing! Ultimately, God is in charge. Not us! Dont tures;
take yourself too seriously. What wonderful ad-
vice. If God is laughing at this incongruous situa- Suggest some of the personal and pastoral impli-
tion, then surely I must also. The wise advice kept cations of the paper.
me sane.
Defining Humor
You say to yourselves how do I know
God is laughing? That is surely one of the best
Have you ever wondered what happens when
kept secrets of our Christian faith. After all, St
we laugh? Consider a large official notice on a build-
John Crysostom said that laughter is a thing of the
ing: Trespassers will be prosecuted to the full extent
devil. Surely I cannot equate God with the devil.
of the law, signed The Sisters of Mercy. Or what
Well, John was wrong. How do I know? Simply
about the sign outside the maternity ward: No chil-
by a better understanding of the Scriptures. Hu-
dren allowed! Or what about the student essay that
mor is perhaps the most powerful method of com-
recorded: Abraham Lincolns mother died in infancy,
municating serious information. And without hu-
and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his
mor we cannot remain sane. Mahatma Gandhi
own hands!The answer to the question of what hap-
was right when he said: A sense of humor is the
pens when we laugh at a good joke we relax. And
pole that adds balance to our steps as we walk the
when we relax we are able to briefly see things in a
tightrope of life. If I had not sense of humor, I
different light. So, humor is subversive. It gives us
would long ago have committed suicide. For this
space to think of alternative ways of thinking and act-
reason we must surely expect to find humor in the
ing. When humor pokes fun at the oppressive stringen-
Scriptures. And it is there in abundance. In fact
cies and conventions of society people have the
humor is at the very heart of our salvation story.
chance to re-imagine alternative ways of behaving.
Even the story of Emmaus, which is the catalyst
for his lecture, has powerful comic elements. But
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Periodic Paper #4
But what is at the heart of humor? Humor
evades an easy description. And the challenge is
made more difficult because there are no universally
accepted definitions or views on the topic. W.C.
Fields (1880-1946), the great American comedian,
succinctly summarizes the problem: The funniest
thing about comedy is that you never know why peo-
ple laugh. I know what makes them laugh, but trying
to get your hands on why is like trying to pick an eel
out of a tub of water.3 Humor, I believe, emerges
from the contradiction or incongruous clash of
double meanings, evoked by two differing defini-
tions of the same reality. Woody Allen joked that: I
am not afraid to die; I just dont want to be there
when it happens. The first phrase states the predict-
able notion, but the second introduces the unpredict-
able meaning that is inconsistent with what we would
expect. It is the surprising nature of the incongruity
and its joy-evoking resolution that evokes humor.
It is not necessary, however, that a person ac-
tually laughs or smiles at something funny. On the
contrary an inner feeling of joy, peace, renewed en-
ergy may at times be a far more important indicator
of a sense of humor than physical laughter. It is this
inner peace or joy that I call laughter of the heart.
Far more important is the interior change of the heart.
So, to define a sense of humor: A sense of humor is
the aptitude within us which sets up the dynamic
process of contemplating the incongruities of life.
This process may be expressed in actions, speech,
literature, or other art forms, resulting in surprisingly
new resolutions of these incongruities. Humor is
positive when it respects the dignity of people; nega-
tive when it is unkindly or degrades people.
Divine Humor
Since surprising incongruity is at the heart of
humor, I believe divine humor pervades the Scrip-
tures. We call the actions of God towards us divine
humor because they incongruously diverge from our
human expectations of how God should relate to us.
People expected the Messiah as a king to be born in
princely splendour, but Mary gave birth to him in a
stable. God comes to us as a vulnerable baby born to
Page 2 US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
a socially lowly mother, is accepted by only a few
followers, and redeems the world by crucifixion as a
politically and religiously dangerous person and sub-
sequent resurrection.
We may expect God to be a distant person,
demanding punishment for our waywardness. Yet
Gods vulnerable side is love, not condemnation. We
are pursued by his love in ways that from our human
perspective are wildly illogical and nonsensical. God
has an overwhelming and abiding love for each one
of us, despite our frailties and sinfulness. Even
though we may forget, this love, says God our Par-
ent, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed
you on the palms of my hands (Isa 49:15-16). Can
anything be more incongruous, more humanly sur-
prising, more worthy of celebration! Rejecting
worldly wisdom and signs, God chooses to save
those who believe through the foolishness of the
preaching of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 1:21). All these in-
congruities are expressions of divine humor. We are
called to contemplate such a divine paradox through
the eyes of faith and come to experience, even in this
vale of tears, an indescribable and glorious joy (1
Pet 8), that is the hope-filled laughter of the heart.
Let me develop this further. There is the con-
stant tension between justice, which requires that the
Israelites be punished for breaking the covenant, and
Yahwehs forgiving mercy towards them. What wins
punishment for sins or mercy? Everything hu-
manly points to the former, but that is not how God
will act. In Jeremiah Yahweh vividly describes the
sinful state of Israel because it has broken the cove-
nant: Your hurt is incurable, your wound is griev-
ousfor I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the
punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is
great, because your sins are so numerous(vv.12,
14). But here is the comedic irony. Despite this well-
deserved condemnation, Yahweh will forgive his
people their sinful ways. The impossible gives way
to the possible. Mercy overshadows
justice. The last word is clemency:
For I will restore health to you, and
your wounds I will heal And you
shall be my people, and I shall be
your God (Jer 30:17-8).
Periodic Paper #4
God is our Parent who will not abandon us,
who pursues us in Christ with a love beyond all our
possible dreaming. This is the ultimate in divine
foolishness: that we are Gods children, revealed
through Gods human face Christ: When we cry,
Abba! Father!we are children of God, and if
children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with
Christ (Rom 8:15-17). As any parent loves a child,
God as our Parent is not a revengeful, but a merciful,
loving One.
When we laugh at our own follies, we are
laughing in our hearts with God. Our laughter is
praise of God because it is a gentle echo of Gods
laughter, of the laughter that pronounces judgment
on all history.4 Ultimately we can come to know our
laughing God, as far as this is possible to humankind
on earth, by being transformed into the image of
Christ, the visible presence of the Father. We know
this transformation is happening when we are strug-
gling to have the same mind that was in Christ Je-
sus (Phil 2:5): respecting the dignity of others and
the universe, loving one another, acting justly and
with mercy in the midst of a postmodern world that
commonly considers such values a sign of weakness.
We are then fools for the sake of Christ (1 Cor
4:10), joining in Gods laughter.
Laughter of the Heart
Let me briefly return to laughter of the
heart. Recall that a positive sense of humor is the
gift whereby we kindly contemplate the incongrui-
ties of life and express this meditative reflection in
laughter, smiling or simply an inner joy or peace. In
the Scriptures audible laughter is exceptional. How-
ever, we find people who contemplate the many acts
of divine humor and seek to mirror this humor in
their own lives. This evokes inner joy, or laughter
of the heart, coming from their faith in Gods para-
doxical love for them and humankind.
John the Baptist leaped with joy (Luke
1:44) when meeting Jesus while still in his mothers
womb. The shepherds receive the joyful news of Je-
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
sus birth (Luke 2:10). Earlier Mary, having accepted
the call of God to be the mother of Jesus, is so moved
with joy at this divine act of humor that she travels
many miles through bandit territory to share her
pleasure with her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-40).
Elizabeth acknowledges this joy and Mary then re-
plies in praise of God. Ponder the words of the disci-
ples at the end of their Emmaus journey: Did not our
hearts burn within us (Luke 24: 32). That was laugh-
ter of the heart.
Humor as a Pedagogical Method
Observers would be forgiven for concluding
that many of our homilies and our rituals of Christian
worship are obliged to be gloomy or joyless. Cardinal
Walter Kasper correctly comments: One of the main
elements of Christian faith ishumour, and the lack
of humour and irritability into which we in the con-
temporary Church and contemporary theology have
so often slipped is perhaps one of the most serious
objections which can be brought against present-day
Christianity.5 The incongruous situation is that Jesus
Christ uses humor so often as a pedagogical method,
yet we have forgotten this.
Some incidents in the life of Jesus display a
comic quality. The wedding feast of Cana (John 2: 1-
11) contains several humorous plots. It is ironical that
the first miracle recorded in Johns gospel revealing
Jesus divine power is the changing of water into
wine (John 2:11). One might humanly have expected
something more dramatic and directly concerned with
the salvation of souls, yet divine humour is not con-
fined by human hopes. Second, not only was the new
wine of superior quality, but the amount of wine that
the miracle produced was so abundant that the couple
could have set up a wine shop with the surplus!
Jesus is never described as laughing, but he
uses many images as ways of teaching that
would have been comical to himself and his
listeners. For example, when Jesus described
how difficult it is for rich people, who are
attached to their wealth and the power it
Page 3
Periodic Paper #4
gives them, to enter the king-
dom of God, he used the image
of a camel trying to squeeze
through the eye of a needle
(Mark 10:25). The poor among
his listeners would have chuck-
led at this metaphor with its
satirical description of the self-
ish wealthy people they would
have seen.
Actions are for Jesus the most powerful form of
preaching his mission. Since paradoxically so many of
these actions go against the norms of the culture of the
time, they would have evoked mocking laughter in those
who resisted conversion and the laughter of the heart or
inner joy in people open to transformation.
Here are some examples. First, he associates
with Samaritans. The Jews looked on Samaritans in a
racist manner, believing them to be innately stupid, lazy
and heretical. And the Samaritans had similar views of
their Jewish neighbours. But Jesus goes out of his way
to converse with Samaritans, as he did with the Samari-
tan woman at the well (John 4:9). The Good Samaritan
is proposed as an example of love of ones neighbour
(Luke 10:33-7). Only one of ten lepers whom Jesus
healed came back to thank him and he was a Samaritan
(Luke 17: 16).
Secondly, Jesus befriends people who are mar-
ginalized. Contrary to the behaviour of the Pharisees,
Jesus associates with sinners such as tax-collectors,
that is, with those who are publicly known to be viola-
tors of the Jewish moral and ritual code (Luke 15:1-3).
Thirdly, Jesus acknowledges gender equality.
According to Jewish culture women were considered
inferior to men and conversing with them in public was
socially forbidden. However, often in his daily life Jesus
expresses concern for the welfare of women, but in ways
that are not condescending or prejudiced; he heals sick
women (e.g. Mark 1:29-31; Matt 9:18-26) and forgives
sinners among them.
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Winter 2007
Joking Patterns in the Scriptures
All cultures have rituals of initiation often
termed rites of passage, or rites of lifes transi-
tions. There are many such rituals in the Scrip-
tures. They refer to particular rituals which mark
the progress of an individual or group between
relatively stable, generally recognized states of
rank, status, office, calling or profession.
Now, here is the surprising fact. Initiation
rituals follow a joking pattern. Let me explain.
In joking definite, light-hearted cues are
given to audiences to indicate that a joke is about
to take place. The ordinary pattern of living is
about to be interrupted. It might be done in a for-
mal way, for example, by comments such as,
Have you heard this one? Or it might be by a
sudden change in the voice or facial expression of
the joke teller, even a pause in the flow of speech.
Then there follows the clash of meanings.
There is the incongruous situation in which two
contrary meaning systems are in conflict. People
are temporarily thrown into chaos and incongrui-
ties are resolved when a relationship is seen to be
meaningful in a previously overlooked way. The
crust of conformity is momentarily broken and
creative energy is released. In rituals of initiation
we call these three stages: separation, the chaos
stage, and then reaggregation. In rites of transition
there is, as in joking, a letting go of one meaning
and the acquisition of a totally different one a
transforming journey of detachment from once ac-
ceptable behavior and the embrace of new ways of
thinking and acting. Speaking of this kind of tran-
sition St Paul writes: When I was a child, I spoke
like a child; when I became an adult, I put an
end to childish ways (1 Cor 13: 11).
Among the many examples of joking ritu-
als in the Scriptures are the Transfiguration, the
apostles caught in a storm, the Emmaus event, and
the Ascension.
Periodic Paper #4
The Transfiguration
The Transfiguration is to be a ritual of initia-
tion for Peter, James and John; they are to experi-
ence in a spectacular way the true identity of Jesus
as the Messiah and also the nature of his mission.
The separation phase is the ascent of the mountain
(Luke 9:28); this is to remind the disciples that
something extraordinarily important is to take place
on the mountain top, the liminal space. Jesus at
prayer is suddenly and radically altered: and his
face shone like the sun, and his clothes became daz-
zling white (Matt 17:2). Moses and Elijah, repre-
senting the Israelite law and the prophets, converse
with Jesus about his passion that is to occur at Jeru-
salem. As they begin to disappear Peter is terrified at
what is happening and wants to control the situation.
In the midst of such an intensely powerful,
supernatural experience Peter is so distracted that he
amusingly wants to build three tents. Peter and his
colleagues must allow their faith in Jesus to over-
come their human fears of the future. It is also comi-
cal that in the midst of such an extraordinary event
Luke reports that they are weighed down with
sleep (Luke 9: 32). Moses, Elijah and Jesus are
thought to be of equal importance by Peter, but it
takes the intervention of God the Father to remind
Peter that Jesus is the prophet because Jesus is Gods
Son. Again, the disciples are reminded that they
must abandon any idea that Jesus is merely a human
prophet.
The liminal experience of transcendence is to
continue no matter how much Peter fears what is
happening: While he is still speaking, suddenly a
bright cloud overshadowed them and from the cloud
a voice said, This is my Son, the Beloved; with him
I am well pleased; listen to him(Matt 17:5). Jesus
is superior to the other two great messengers, Moses
and Elijah who, as they represent the old covenant
that is to end, leave the scene. The disciples must
now listen to Christ as the voice of God.
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
The re-aggregation phase is symbolised by the
disciples discovery that Christ is now alone, back to
his normal physical self. They descend from the
mountain, numbed by the experience (Matt 17: 7-8).
Emmaus Story
The Emmaus event unfolds according to a
clear tripartite pattern of initiation.6 In the separation
stage two former followers of Jesus are moving away
from Jerusalem, escaping from the place in which their
hopes of Jesus as a political revolutionary have been
irrevocably crushed (Luke 24:13-25). They cannot
take any more! Deeply disappointed, they have had
enough!
Then the chaos stage. Jesus, the skilful grief
and initiation leader, joins them, but they fail to recog-
nize him. Their inability to identify Jesus is caused
more by spiritual blindness on their part than by any-
thing unusual about Jesus appearance. This fact adds
to the drama of the event, for it highlights their need
for conversion. Jesus, pretending to be ignorant of the
reasons for the sadness of the two travellers, invites
them to express their feelings: What are you discuss-
ing with each other while you walk along? They
stood still, looking sad (Luke 24:17).
This is a comic scene. All their anger and sad-
ness tumble out at great speed, leaving them breath-
less. They had wanted Jesus to expel their Roman op-
pressors (Luke 24:21). Jesus listens patiently to them
before he begins to challenge them. Now they must
make a choice: continue to run away dreaming of a
dictatorial military-minded savior,
or accept what has been said and
move forward out of chaos into the
future in faith and hope. They must
let go their false understanding of
Jesus and embrace the true meaning
of the Messiah. They choose Christ
and experience fellowship with him,
their supper guest, and a laughter of
the heart that words cannot fully
articulate: They said to each other,
Were not our hearts burning within
Page 5
Periodic Paper #4
us while he was talking to us on the
road, while he was opening the
scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32).
To mark the re-aggregation stage,
the two disciples testify to their
radical conversion by enthusiasti-
cally returning to Jerusalem to share their experience
with the faith community there (Luke 24:33-35).
The Ascension of Jesus
The account of the Ascension of Jesus risen
glorious body into heaven contains three distinct
phases. Even at the very end of his life on earth Jesus
invites his disciples to join him in his final transforma-
tive phase. He has frequently told them that he is leav-
ing the world and going to the Father (John 16:28):
for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to
you; but if I go, I will send him to you (John 16:7).
Despite the fact that Jesus repeats himself the disciples
fail to hear. They are so attached to the physical pres-
ence of Jesus that they become trapped in the liminal
state; they will need to be encouraged through faith to
let Jesus go in order for them to become his witnesses
in the world.
The separation stage is marked by a definite
break from the scene in which Jesus appears to his dis-
ciples to reassure them that he has truly risen from the
dead and to leave them final instructions, including his
command to carry on his mission (Luke 24:36-49). He
then led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his
hands, he blessed them (Luke 24:50). Luke identifies
the site in the Acts of the Apostles as Mount Olivet
(Acts 1:12). Olivet is one of those exposed liminal
sites, like the road to Emmaus, symbolizing that Jesus
is calling his disciples to enter into a conversion ex-
perience: he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out
of their sight (Acts 1:9). The cloud symbolizes the
presence of God and reaffirms for the disciples that
something beyond the normal is occurring.
The scene shifts to the disciples, with Luke as
narrator describing an incongruous situation. The dis-
Page 6 US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
ciples are stunned by the experience and keep
looking up to the sky hoping that Jesus will return.
Their fear is further intensified by the sudden ap-
pearance of two men in white robes (Acts 1:10).
The angels unexpectedly appear to challenge them
to resolve their fears of the unpredictable by reaf-
firming their faith in the return of Jesus at an un-
known time in the future (Acts 1:11). They now
make a firm act of faith and return to Jerusalem to
await the coming of the Spirit. The actual move-
ment away from Olivet is the reaggregation stage.
Sustained by the transforming experience of the
Ascension they will await the coming of the Spirit
at Pentecost with the supportive prayer of their
faith community that includes Mary mother of
Jesus (Acts 1:14).
Missioners as Gospel Comedians
All good comedians like Charlie Chaplin,
Groucho Marx, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, John
Cleese (of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers
fame) have one thing in common. They are able to
touch the hearts of their audiences. They project in
their behaviour societys fundamental incongrui-
ties or tensions such as order and disorder, good
and evil, life and death, hope and despair, sadness
and joy. From a position of social powerlessness,
they are able at the same time to transcend these
incongruities. Like biblical prophets, they hold out
irrepressible hope for humanity that life is not nec-
essarily preordained towards defeat, collapse and
tragedy, that fate is conquerable. They do not just
condemn the world of status, wealth, power ma-
nipulation and violence, but in some way provide
us with a feeling of hope. Think of Charlie Chap-
lin. He refused to be crushed by the pomposity and
arrogance of government officials; in fact such fig-
ures were reduced to objects of fun and even pity.
Peter Berger, in his book A Rumor of An-
gels, asserts that humor is a revelation of transcen-
dence, a cautious call to redemption and for this
reason the actions of a clown take on a sacramen-
tal dignity.7 Such is the role of Christ himself. St
Paul describes the same role for himself to the
Periodic Paper #4
fractious Corinthians. He is a clown of Christ, with-
out social status and power: We are fools for the
sake of Christ, but you are wiseWe are weak, but
you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in dis-
reputeWe have become like the rubbish of the
world, the dregs of all things, to this very day (1
Cor 4: 10, 13). There have been other holy comedi-
ans down through the ages who perfectly exemplify
the qualities of a true comedian, people like the Old
Testament prophets, St Benedict, St Francis, St
Catherine of Siena, Mary Ward, Dorothy Day. And
now there are yourselves called to be contempo-
rary Gospel comedians!
Conclusion
Let me conclude with a brief summary and
some personal and pastoral applications.
Humor is especially relevant in todays
world of escalating fear and violence. It is necessary
for ones own sanity and as the foundation of our
preaching and pastoral life.
The holy book is filled with humor. It is the
story of divine incongruity Gods pursuing and
forgiving love of fickle humankind. God keeps relat-
ing to us in humanly illogical ways that we describe
this as divine humor. We expect God to be a distant
creator, one who is revengeful because we are so
wayward, but the opposite is the case (Isa 58:9).
And there are humorous incidents aplenty in
the Scriptures. And laughter of the heart, that is the
inner joyous spirit of those who are transformed by
Gods love, is manifestly present throughout. Jesus
Christ, the master teacher, uses humor in its various
forms as his main method of teaching, especially in
his parables. Human pride, pomposity, selfishness
and avarice are all the objects of his deflating power
sense of humor.
Consider its personal value. The more one
knows oneself, the more one sees oneself as a joke,
when measured by the love and mercy of God. As
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
Soren Kierkegaard, a Lutheran theologian of humor,
says, the more thoroughly and substantially a hu-
man being exists, the more he will discover the
comical.8 Any endeavor to cover over our faults and
stupidities is an example of incongruity and there-
fore a reason to laugh at oneself.
We can identify with the disabled God of
Gethsemane, be comforted as Jesus was by the Fa-
ther. It is this mystery of divine humor that keeps us
grounded in hope. When we find it difficult to for-
give ourselves for our foolishness and others for the
hurts they have caused us, we turn to God, and dis-
cover he has forgiven us time and time again (see
Col 3:13). That is divine foolishness. We can do the
same. Then the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding (Phil 4:7) will enter the depths of our
hearts healing them of all pain.
Consider its pastoral importance. The world
at all levels secular and religious is threatened by
the over-seriousness of fundamentalists. They may
be economic rationalists who unquestioningly sup-
port neo-capitalism with its underlying belief in the
dollar as the measure of all success. They may be
Catholic restorationists in our midst, Muslims, Hin-
dus, Israelis, who believe they alone have the full-
ness of divine truth and that their task is to impose
this on others in whatever way possible, including
emotional and physical violence. If only fundamen-
talists could laugh at themselves, at their own rigidi-
ties and arrogance, the world would be a better
place! Kindly humor is the best cure for fundamen-
talism or any form of intolerance. It deflates pom-
posity and inflated egos. A society or religion is at
peace with itself will not only allow, but foster, a
public humor that is self-critical.
When I first went to Papua New Guinea I
had to be reminded of divine humor is at the heart of
mission. There is Church because there is the mis-
sion of God, not vice versa. To partici-
pate in mission is to participate in the
movement of Gods love toward people,
since God is a foundation of sending
love. I am but an instrument of Gods
Page 7
Periodic Paper #4
mission. That is divine humor. The world of mission
does not depend only on me!
When we fail to remember this, when we are
tempted to be despondent over the paucity of voca-
tions, the restorationist movments in the Church, then
it is the time to take note and join in Gods gracious,
kindly and forgiving laughter. Then our hearts will
burn anew within us with relief! God is in charge.
What a relief! Benedict XVI, in a lighter tone, says: I
think its very important to be able to see the funny
side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take
everything too tragically. Id say its necessary for
my ministry.9 And Soren Kierkegaard, Comic per-
ception frees me to transcend my tragic seriousness
by beholding it as finite, hence not absolute.10
How true!
1
J. Cheryl Exum and J. William Whedbee,Isaac,
Samson, and Saul: Reflections on the Comic and Tra-
jic Visions, ed. J. Cheryl Exum, Tragedy and Com-
edy in the Bible, Semeia, no. 32 (1985) 6-7
2
The theme of this lecture is more fully developed in
the authors book Laughing with God: Humor, Cul-
ture and Transformation , to be published by The
Periodic Papers are published by USCMA
USCMA
Hecker Center for Ministry , Ste. 100
3025 Fourth Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017-1102
Phone: 202-832-3112 Fax: 202-832-3688
E-Mail: uscma@uscatholicmission.org Web site: www.uscatholicmission.org
Page 8 US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
Liturgical Press in January 2008.
3
W. C. Fields quoted by F. Scott Spencer, Those
RiotousYet Righteous Foremothers of Jesus: ex-
ploring Matthews Comic Genealogy, ed. Athalya
Brenner, Are We Amused? Humor About Women in
the Biblical Worlds (London: T & T Clark Interna-
tional, 2003) 9.
4
Karl Rahner, ed. Albert Raffelt, The Great Church
Year: The Best of Karl Rahners Homilies, Sermons
and Meditations (New York: Crossroad, 1993) 112.
5
Walter Kasper, An Introduction to Christian Faith
(London: Burns & Oates, 1980) 131-32.
6
See Gerald A. Arbuckle, From Chaos to Mission:
Refounding Religious Life Formation (Collegeville:
The Liturgical Press, 1995) 123.
7
Peter Berger, A Rumour of Angels: Modern
Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural
(Hammondsworth: Penguin Books, 1969) 114.
8
Soren Kierkegaard, quoted by Wylie Sypher, Com-
edy (Baltimore: Johns Hop[kins University Press,
1956) 196.
9
Benedict XVI reported in The Tablet, 19 August
(2006) 9.
10
Soren Kierkegaard, The Humor of Kierkegaard,
ed. Thomas C. Oden (Princeton: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 2004) 32.
Mission Update
Annual Meeting 2007
Sr. Mary McGlone, CSJ welcomed members to the Annual
Meeting of the U.S. Catholic Mission Association on Octo-
ber 28, 2007. Those attending for the first time (and there
were many) were invited to be recognized and welcomed in
a special way. The three new Board members Rev. Arturo
Aguilar, SSC, Sr. Judy Gomila, MSC and Rev. Mr. Bob
Laremore of Glenmary were introduced. All three will join
the Board when it meets in March 2008. Ms. Teresita Gon-
zalez was re-elected to the Board for a second term.
Three Resolutions were presented and passed. (See related
article on page 5).
Michael Montoya, in his Executive Directors report, ex-
plained the events of the past year. The Transformative
Dialogue Project is still in its testing stage but has been
tried successfully in several different settings to increase
the effectiveness and resources of collaborative efforts in
mission awareness in local areas. The stories of missioners
shared with one another will strengthen the missioner net-
Mission Awards 2007
The Board of Directors of the US Catholic Mission Asso-
ciation chose two groups to honor with the 2007 Mission
Awards. The Texas Mission Council was honored In rec-
ognition for excellence and creativity in promoting state-
wide collaboration among missioners in the State of Texas
and the St. Cloud Mission Office, In recognition for excel-
lence and creativity in promoting MISSION in the Diocese
of St. Cloud.
The Texas Mission Council exists to create mission aware-
ness and support through the collaborative efforts of dioce-
san mission directors, representatives of mission organiza-
tions serving in Texas, and individuals and groups inter-
ested in mission. They collaborate in five areas:
1. Promoting a general climate of world mission
awareness, responsibility, involvement, and ecu-
menism.
2. Striving to increase human and financial resources
in support of world mission.
3. Providing opportunities through documents, vid-
eos, and personal consultation for sharing of ideas
and collaborative programming.
4. Sponsoring opportunities for education in mission
US Catholic Mission Association
Winter 2007
work and promote more collaborative initiatives. Groups
interested in being involved in the Project should contact Fr.
Michael at the USCMA office.
Michael thanked members for their ongoing membership and
welcomed new members. Membership numbers have re-
mained steady. He encouraged more organizations to be-
come members so as to develop institutional links with dif-
ferent organizations.
Fr. Michael expressed his gratitude to the dioceses that in-
vited USCMA to participate in their 2007 Mission Coop
Plan. He encouraged continued support from diocesan Mis-
sion Offices in giving opportunities to USCMA to speak at
parishes.
The 2008 USCMA Conference will take place in Baltimore.
Tentative dates are October 24-26, 2008. The Conference
will explore the theme Mission: A Journey of Hope.
theology or through immersion experience.
5. Recommending general policies pertaining to mis-
sion awareness, responsibility, and involvement.
The St. Cloud Mission Office considers as its primary work
the building of right relationships with God and with others.
The Office essentially serves as the global arm of the local
church. The work of the Mission Office includes areas of
mission administration, animation, education, spirituality,
global solidarity and relationship building, fundraising and
distribution, the Auxiliary and Shop.
St. Cloud Diocese has two diocesan partnerships, one with
Maracay, Venezuela and another with Homa Bay, Kenya.
They also engage in a regional ecumenical partnership with
Tenan-cingo, El Salvador through the Partners Across Bor-
ders project. They provide orientations and support for inter-
cultural understanding to missioners who come to their dio-
cese from their partner communities, and also to the commu-
nities in which they serve.
To learn more about both of these honoree groups check their
respective websites: www.texasmissioncouncil.org
and www.stcdio.org/mission/ .
Page 15
Mission Update Winter 2007

Are not our hearts burning?

Spirituality of Mission in the 21st Century

Page 16 US Catholic Mission Association

Mission Update Winter 2007

2007
M C
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S N
S F
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O R
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C
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US Catholic Mission Association Page 17

Mission Update Winter 2007

ORBIS BOOKS RECEIVED AT USCMA

A Faith That Frees, Catholic Matters for the 21st Century, Richard G. Malloy, 2007
A Passionate Balance, The Anglican Tradition, Alan Bartlett, 2007
A Stupid, Unjust, and Criminal War Iraq 2001-2007, Andrew Greeley, 2007
Border Crossings, Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics, edited by D.N. Premnath, 2007
Business Ethics, Making a Life, Not Just a Living, Gene Ahner, 2007
Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds, Victor M. Parachin
Feminist Intercultural Theology, Latina Explorations for a Just World, Editors Miria Pilar Aquino & Maria Jos Rosado-Nunes, 2007
Liberating Jonah, Forming an Ethics of Reconciliation, Miguel A. De La Torre, 2007
Love T\that does Justice, Thomas L. Schubeck, 2007
Mending a Torn World, Women in Interreligious Dialogue, Maura ONeill, 2007
Mozarabs, Hispanics, & the Cross, Ral Gmez-Ruiz, 2007
No Salvation Outside the Poor, Prophetic Utopian Essays, Jon Sobrino, 2007
No Turning Back, My Summer with daddy King, Gurdon Brewster, 2007
Prayer, Joyce Rupp, 2007
Reconciliation, Robert Morneau, 2007
Reconstructing Christianity in China, K. H. Ting and the Chinese Church, Philip L. Wickeri, 2007
Subverting Hatred, the Challenge of Nonviolence in Religious Traditions, Editor Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, 2007
The Holy Spirit in the World, A Global Conversation, Kirsteen Kim, 2007
Thoughts of a Blind Beggar, Reflections from A Journey to God, Gerard Thomas Straub, 2007
Turning the Wheel, Henri Nouwen and Our Search for God, Editors Jonathan Bengtson & Gabrielle Earnshaw, 2007
Women in Mission from the New Testament to Today, Susan E. Smith

MARYKNOLL MISSION INSTITUTE Programs 2008

April 13-18 The Wild Book of Job William Headley, CSSp
William L. Holliday, Th.D. July 13-18.. Celebrating Creation
May 18-23.. Living Contemplatively Alexandra Kovats, CSJP
Janet Ruffling, RSM
June 8-13Poetry: A Doorway to Prayer July 20-25..Sacred Signs, Holy Journeys
Marlene de Nardo, MA and Antoinette (Nonie) Gutzler, MM
Clare Ronzani, MA
June 15-20..Summoned by the Future July 27-Aug.1 Food for the Journey
Elaine Prevallet, SL Benedict Viviano, OP
June 22-27..Gospel Stories and Social Justice For more information:
Ched Myers, MA Tel: (914) 9410783 Ext. 5631 or visit our website:
July 6-11 Global Mission Issues http://www.maryknoll.org/mmi.htm

Job Announcement
Catholic Relief Services has a position open for a full- support the growth of this valuable program.
time Program Advisor and Chaplain within their US
Operations Support Department. The Global Fellows In addition, this position also serves as Chaplain at CRS
Program Advisor is responsible for managing the re- Headquarters presiding at weekly Masses and assisting
cruitment process and scheduling of priests and deacons with visiting prelates.
with parishes for the Global Fellows program, as well as
seeking strategic improvements to these processes to
For more information or go to www.crs.org/about/careers.

Page 18 US Catholic Mission Association

Mission Update Winter 2007

Resources and Up-Coming Events

Workshop for Returned Missioners Website: www.worldaffairscouncils.org/ Contact: Barbara Keebler/NCE, 202-337-
natconference 6232
February 5-14, 2008 in San Antonio
April 10-13, 2008 in Indianapolis
Catholic social Ministry Gathering Fair Trade Federation Conference
From Mission to Mission
Faithful Citizenship: Promoting Life and April 4-6, 2008
Telephone: 720-494-7211
Dignity, Justice and Peace
Austin, TX
Email: missiontomission@qwest.org
February 24-27, 2008
Website: www.fairtradefederation.org
Website: www.missiontomission.org
Washington, DC
Contact: Yolanda Taylor-Burwell at 202-541-
25th Anniversary Celebration
Orientation Days to the United Nations 3185
Africa Faith & Justice Network
February 6-8, 2008 Email: ytaylor-burwell@usccb.org
April 18-21, 2008
May 14-16, 2008 Website: www.usccb.org
Celebrating Africa: Analysis to Action
June 30-July 2 (for teachers only)
Rosslyn, VA (near Washington, DC)
Partners for Global Justice CNVS Formation Workshop
Website: www.afjn.org
New York City, near United Nations March 6-8, 2008
Telephone: 212-682-6481 Washington, DC
Global Economics Workshop
Email: Lsiers6720@aol.com Contact: Catholic Network of Volunteer Service
June 5-7, 2008
Website: 1-800-543-5046
www.partnershipforglobaljustice.org Partners for Global Justice
cnvsinfo@cnvs.org
New York City, near United Nations
www.cnvs.org
th
12 Religious Study Tour to China Telephone: 212-682-6481
April 18 May 5, 2008 Email: Lsiers6720@aol.com
Ecumenical Advocacy Days
(Reservation deadline February 2008) Website:
March 7-10, 2008
www.partnershipforglobaljustice.org
U.S. Catholic China Bureau
Claiming a Vision of True Security
Telephone: 973-763-1131
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
23rd National Catholic China Conference
Email: chinabur@shu.edu
Near Washington, DC
October 3-5, 2008
Website: www.usccb.net
Email: info@advocacydays.org
U.S. Catholic China Bureau
Website: www.advocacydays.org/2008
Our Lady of the Snows Center
World Affairs Councils of America Na-
tional Conference Belleville, IL
105th Annual Convention & Exposition of
US or US and Them: Foreign Policy and Telephone: 973-763-1131
the Next Presidency National Catholic Educational Association
Email: chinabur@shu.edu
February 7-8, 2008 March 25-28, 2008
Website: www.usccb.net
Washington, DC Indianapolis, IN

RECEIVE MISSION UPDATE ELECTRONICALLY

As you know, one of the Resolutions passed at the Annual Meeting in October 2007 focused on global climate change.
One of the ways that USCMA can do its part in protecting the environment is to cut back on the amount of paper that we use.
This includes our newsletter Mission Update.
We would like to cut back on the number of hard copies of the Mission Update that we print and mail.
While helping the environment it will also shift some of our cost back into mission. We would
send an email informing people when the next issue of Mission Update is available and include a link to the
newsletter online. If you are interested in receiving your Mission Update electronically please let us know.
Contact Sr. Michael Theresa Brauer at adminassist@uscatholicmission.org

US Catholic Mission Association Page 19

Mission Update Winter 2007

Arise, Shine out,

For your light has come,
and the

Glory of Yahweh
has risen on you.

The nations will come

to your Light and
kings to your dawning
Brightness.
Is 60:1, 3

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