They deal in extortion, prostitution, drugs, and murder, yet in the Godfather movie series the Corleones are Catholic, baptizing their babies, having First Communions, and receiving honors from the Vatican. In the movie The Sting, Doyle Lonnegan, played by Robert Shaw, deals in bribery, extortion, and murder, and he is a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. In real life, it is said that Nazi SS leader Adolf Eichmann, after a day of murdering Jews at Auschwitz, would go home and tenderly play with and be affectionate with his small son.

What is happening here? Perhaps it’s best explained by the tale of Aldrich Ames, who pleaded guilty to giving up the CIA’s most precious secrets for money from the Soviet KGB. Ames was asked how he could do such a terrible deed, despite his sacred oath of loyalty to his country, knowing that his spying would jeopardize the futures of his wife and son, and knowing that his deeds cost the lives of at least eleven people. The spy calmly responded: “I tend to put some of these things in separate boxes, and compartmentalize feelings and thoughts.”

And there it is! What these people have in common is that all of them seem to have two boxes in their lives and rationalize evil conduct because the two compartments don’t seem to be connected. They separate their lives into “church” and “world” and one has nothing to do with the other. They cut their lives into separate compartments: my church life, my work life, my professional life, my entertainment life - all little boxes that don’t touch one another. The Corleones and Lonnegans, Eichmanns and Ameses are living examples of this and, consequently, are under the judgment of today’s gospel. They are, in Jesus’ metaphor, branches cut off from the Vine and so, even when they look prosperous, they wither and die. The fictional Corleones and Lonnegans, the real-life Eichmanns and Ameses are dead men walking, acting as if they are not connected to the world and the community and to the people they hurt.

Often the Church is criticized for getting involved in the political issues, especially those involving moral issues or justice issues or issues of peace. At the same time, politicians are criticized by the Church for not making the connection between what they do politically and what they believe as members of the Catholic Church especially in matters of morality and justice, and peace. Can we compartmentalize our beliefs - the Sunday Church-going ones from the Monday ones? Are we not faith filled believers in the gospel 24/7?

When you disconnect like that, you are a branch cut off. Jesus warns against this: “Be whole. Remain in me,” he urges, “as I remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you.” In short, stay connected and be mindful of the connection.

We are connected to something larger than ourselves because of our baptism and our discipleship.

We are connected to the millions of South Africans who lined up for hours to vote freely for the first time in their lives.

We are connected to the thousands who are dying in Afghanistan, Yemen, and The Sudan and Somalia.

We are connected to our brothers and sisters who share the Christian faith with us and who are being persecuted every day at the hands of ISIS in the Middle East.

We are connected to the protesters in Minneapolis and Atlanta.

We are connected to the police protecting our cities.

We are connected to children we dare not hurt by our hands and words.

We are connected to the earth, we dare not pollute by our selfishness.

We are connected to animals that we dare not make suffer needlessly.

We are connected to nature and to all of creation. In spite of the current culture, we are not separate little egos grasping and hugging everything to ourselves, and being self-centered and totally unmindful of the Lazaruses begging at the gate. 

We are an interconnected human community, our brother’s keeper, part of a global family. 

Our actions have consequences.

Christians, especially, who are mindful that they, the People of God, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Vine and the Branches, should not separate “ church going” from their “church living,” and their lives from the lives of others. We are a communal people responsible for one another, whose actions affect others. Therefore what you and I do and say here should be the same as what we do and say when we leave here. The unity of Vine and Branches does not allow us to make compartments of our lives.

I remember giving a retreat to a group of men. One of the organizers of the retreat was a lawyer who was very active in church affairs. He belonged to a prayer group, hosted seminars, and was a lector. One day I complimented him on his loyalty to the parish and then casually asked, “How does all this affect your job as a lawyer?” He rolled his eyes and replied, “It doesn’t. I don’t even want to go into that!” And I was stunned. Here is an active Catholic who was basically telling me, “hey, business is business and religion has nothing to do with that.”

On the other hand, a few years ago, the CEO of Baxter International, Harry Kraemer, a medical supply company, made a decision that cost his company $189 million. I know what you’re thinking. He cheated the company; he embezzled. He did something unethical like cooking the books, or draining the company accounts in order to finance his own luxurious lifestyle.

No, that’s not it. It was Kraemer’s honesty, his high sense of ethics, and his refusal to separate his values from his work that caused him to make such a momentous decision. Executives at Baxter International learned that one of the products they manufactured, a filter for a kidney dialysis machine, may have been defective. Some dialysis patients using the Baxter International filter had died of unexplained causes. Rather than covering up the situation, Kraemer recalled all of the filters and instituted a rigorous investigation into the problem. This recall and investigation cost the company $189 million.

Kraemer also recommended that his performance bonus for that year be cut, because this situation occurred under his leadership. And to top it all off, he informed all his competitors in the medial manufacturing business of the possible flaws in Baxter’s filters, so they could benefit from the research his investigation turned up.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches.” You can even take those words to mean branch as in a branch office. There’s main headquarters and then there are its branches that are supposed to reflect the product and philosophy of the main corporation. We are the branch managers of Jesus, the CEO Vine. We are supposed to reflect his values and his mission. To be true to Jesus, we cannot chop up our lives into little compartments as if one had nothing to do with the other. You and I are Catholic Christians seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 24/7 as they say. People should be able to tell from how we act and how we live - Branch managers!! It’s all about connections!

Enjoy this beautiful month of May, the month of Our Blessed Mother, and I’ll see you in church or livestream,

This week's bulletin is attached below. Hard copies of this weekend’s bulletin are available on the shelf in the vestibule of the rectory office.