Over the last couple of years, I have come to really appreciate what a powerful prayer the Holy Rosary can be. Growing up Catholic, I’ve always had Rosaries, and I know that I learned the basics of praying it over the years from my parents and in my religious education classes. But praying the Rosary wasn’t ever really a part of my prayer life until a couple of years ago.
Each year, at my parish, we have a weekend long retreat for our students who are preparing for Confirmation, and two years ago I suggested that we make rope knotted Rosaries to give to the Confirmation students at the retreat, without realizing just how much work I was suggesting. That year we had around 85 kids making their Confirmation, so that was a lot of knots to tie! I spent several months working on the Rosaries with the help of some of the other students and adults, but I probably ended up making over half of them myself. Talk about a new appreciation for the Rosary!
Around this same time, I began carrying a rope Rosary in my pocket at all times. My brother made me this particular Rosary, and for some reason I just decided to start carrying it around with me. Since I have started carrying this Rosary around with me, I can’t even describe what a benefit it has been to my life. It serves as a constant reminder of Christ’s presence in my life, and of the great example of discipleship that Mary is for us. Being able to slip my hand into my pocket throughout the day, feel those beads, and pray a quick Hail Mary or Our Father has helped me through many difficult days, and helped me immensely to grow in my spiritual life.
Some people might not be sure what the Rosary is all about – why do we repeat the Hail Mary 53 times, and the Our Father and Glory Be 6 times each? What benefit can this seemingly mindless repetition have?
I think that, at some level, I once shared these reservations about praying the Rosary. But I have come to understand that the Rosary is a profoundly Christ-centered prayer, and is so, so much more that just repeating these well-known prayers. Praying the Rosary is to deeply contemplate the message of the Gospels, and, therefore, Christ.
“The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE, Apostolic Letter, Pope John Paul II, ¶1 (2002).
[You can see the full text of the Apostolic Letter here - I strongly encourage you to read this in its entirety, as Pope John Paul II lays out very clearly why the Rosary is so important. I want to specifically point you to ¶33 if you have ever had any uneasiness regarding praying the Hail Mary.]
The four sets of Mysteries – Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious – provide us with what is key to praying the Rosary, that is our contemplation of these mysteries during each decade of the Rosary. If you think that praying the Rosary is merely reciting a bunch of prayers, you’re missing the point. Pope John Paul II speaks to this point in his Apostolic Letter:
“Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: ‘Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: 'In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words' (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed’.” ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE, Apostolic Letter, Pope John Paul II, ¶18 (2002).
If you have never prayed the Rosary, or perhaps never truly prayed it as it is intended to be prayed, I invite you to give it a fair chance. (For an easy to follow "How to Pray the Rosary", click here). I am completely confident that you, like I did, will discover what a truly powerful prayer the Rosary can be in your life, and how it will continually draw you closer to Christ.
Let us follow closely the words of Blessed Pope John Paul II: “I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you, Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: confidently take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives.” ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE, Apostolic Letter, Pope John Paul II, ¶43 (2002).
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Be Steadfast in Faith and Resist Your Opponent
“Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9
We face many temptations in our daily lives, serious temptations. Satan is real, he is not just a figment of our imagination, or a story invented to scare us into acting correctly. Satan tempts us all, hoping that we will follow his lies, instead of the Truth offered to us by God.
The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: ‘The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.’ Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. This ‘fall’ consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: ‘You will be like God.’ The devil ‘has sinned from the beginning’; he is ‘liar and the father of lies.’” (CCC 391-392).
Satan, like all of God’s creation was created good, but angels, like men, were given free will by God. Satan and the other demons who joined him chose their path freely, and their choice, as we see, was irrevocable, permanent. It was an irrevocable choice because that is how it was made by Satan and his companions, not because of any lack of forgiveness from God. St. John Damascene teaches us that "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death." (CCC 393).
We Christians should have no great difficulty in recognizing that the temptations of Satan are very real in our lives and the lives of our fellow believers, as is pointed out in 1 Peter. Every time we pray the words that Christ taught us, the Our Father, we petition, ask, God to “deliver us from evil”.
The Catechism tells us that “In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.” (CCC 2851).
How often does the devil throw himself across God’s plan in our own lives? How often do we know exactly what we should be doing in order to say “yes” to God, but then we are distracted from that path, and choose to walk away from God toward sin?
“When we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in expectation of Christ's return.” (CCC 2854).
While the lines from 1 Peter may at first dishearten us, I believe that it is not just an omen of impending doom. These verses are here to encourage and strengthen us as Christians, to know that the Evil One is seeking to devour all Christians, but that we can resist his temptations by remaining steadfast in our faithfulness. God gives us every grace that we need to hold true to this challenge, we must only choose to accept and embrace the graces that are poured out upon us.
We must take it as encouragement that Satan seeks to throw us off our path to God, for that means that we must actually be walking upon the path to God. If we were not seeking the Truth and Freedom that exist only in God, then Satan wouldn’t have to bother with tempting us.
Some people might say that we shouldn’t think about Satan, that by thinking about him we might be more likely to let him influence our choices. However, we encounter the temptations of Satan in so many ways throughout each day, that I believe it is critical that we remember the words in 1 Peter – so that we can always be steadfast in recognizing the Evil One in our lives, and that so we may choose to reject the glamour of evil as he seeks to distract us from the Truth and Love of God.
We face many temptations in our daily lives, serious temptations. Satan is real, he is not just a figment of our imagination, or a story invented to scare us into acting correctly. Satan tempts us all, hoping that we will follow his lies, instead of the Truth offered to us by God.
The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: ‘The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.’ Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. This ‘fall’ consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: ‘You will be like God.’ The devil ‘has sinned from the beginning’; he is ‘liar and the father of lies.’” (CCC 391-392).
Satan, like all of God’s creation was created good, but angels, like men, were given free will by God. Satan and the other demons who joined him chose their path freely, and their choice, as we see, was irrevocable, permanent. It was an irrevocable choice because that is how it was made by Satan and his companions, not because of any lack of forgiveness from God. St. John Damascene teaches us that "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death." (CCC 393).
We Christians should have no great difficulty in recognizing that the temptations of Satan are very real in our lives and the lives of our fellow believers, as is pointed out in 1 Peter. Every time we pray the words that Christ taught us, the Our Father, we petition, ask, God to “deliver us from evil”.
The Catechism tells us that “In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.” (CCC 2851).
How often does the devil throw himself across God’s plan in our own lives? How often do we know exactly what we should be doing in order to say “yes” to God, but then we are distracted from that path, and choose to walk away from God toward sin?
“When we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in expectation of Christ's return.” (CCC 2854).
While the lines from 1 Peter may at first dishearten us, I believe that it is not just an omen of impending doom. These verses are here to encourage and strengthen us as Christians, to know that the Evil One is seeking to devour all Christians, but that we can resist his temptations by remaining steadfast in our faithfulness. God gives us every grace that we need to hold true to this challenge, we must only choose to accept and embrace the graces that are poured out upon us.
We must take it as encouragement that Satan seeks to throw us off our path to God, for that means that we must actually be walking upon the path to God. If we were not seeking the Truth and Freedom that exist only in God, then Satan wouldn’t have to bother with tempting us.
Some people might say that we shouldn’t think about Satan, that by thinking about him we might be more likely to let him influence our choices. However, we encounter the temptations of Satan in so many ways throughout each day, that I believe it is critical that we remember the words in 1 Peter – so that we can always be steadfast in recognizing the Evil One in our lives, and that so we may choose to reject the glamour of evil as he seeks to distract us from the Truth and Love of God.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just
I love celebrating America’s Independence Day each year on July 4 – spending time with friends and family, eating lots of good food, going to our local parade, and watching the fireworks from the best vantage point ever. I am so thankful to live in a country that is as free as the United States of America. I see in the news the challenges faced by people in many countries around the world, and I don’t know if I would be able to persevere in the face of those difficulties. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to sail off across an ocean to find a place where I could practice my religion free from persecution – to have to flee everything I knew to try to find some measure of personal freedom.
We Americans have a very strong notion of what freedom is – it’s what the our founding fathers fought for and ensured through our Constitution, it’s what thousands of great men and women since have died to protect, it’s what most Americans hold very dear – but this freedom is only a shadow of what true freedom is.
What is freedom, really? True freedom is so much more than our typical notions of freedom, and perhaps much more difficult to obtain. True freedom is saying “yes” to God – not just when it is convenient or easy, but always.
“Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.” (CCC 1731)
Our God loves us enough to give us free choice, to let us choose. We face many choices between the good of God and evil. We choose, no one makes us do good and no one makes us sin. Our choices are not accidents, not mistakes, not dumb luck, but deliberate actions. We have the power to act or not to act, just as the Catechism tells us.
How do we choose to act in our lives on a daily basis? How free are we? How free do we really want to be?
“The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin.’” (CCC 1733)
Think about the times in your life when your actions have been sinful, when they have gone away from God? How free did you feel at that moment? Now think about the times when your actions have been truly good and in accordance with God’s will? I think that if we are honest with ourselves, the answer is clear – we know deep down inside that we are the most free, are most at peace with ourselves when we choose what is good and just.
Jesus told those who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). Truth is real, truth became man, suffered, died, and rose again, so that we might have life. Truth created the universe, created man, and gave us the freedom to choose for ourselves.
True freedom is not just doing whatever we want to make ourselves feel good at the moment. That is just a shallow figment of the true freedom that awaits us. Our human freedom allows us the ability to become who God created us to be – to be sons and daughters of God the Father – and to therefore be able to one day share in eternal union with Him. This can only happen if we deliberately exercise our freedom to choose what is good and just. Our morality as Christians and God’s laws are in place for our happiness, to guide us and show us what we need to do, how we need to act, in order to reach that true freedom we all seek.
One of the most cited quotes comes from St. Augustine, a man who knew all too well where choosing to sin, choosing a life of earthly pleasure would lead, as he experienced it for many years. He said that “Our hearts are restless, oh Lord, until they rest in you.” If we search within our own heart, we know that this is true. Only the choice of God, and everything that that choice entails will truly make us happy and set us free.
Today, the day after the celebration of our nation’s independence, let us truly ask our God for the grace necessary to overcome our sinful choices, and to only choose what is good and just, to always say “yes” to Him, so that we may be truly free.
We Americans have a very strong notion of what freedom is – it’s what the our founding fathers fought for and ensured through our Constitution, it’s what thousands of great men and women since have died to protect, it’s what most Americans hold very dear – but this freedom is only a shadow of what true freedom is.
What is freedom, really? True freedom is so much more than our typical notions of freedom, and perhaps much more difficult to obtain. True freedom is saying “yes” to God – not just when it is convenient or easy, but always.
“Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.” (CCC 1731)
Our God loves us enough to give us free choice, to let us choose. We face many choices between the good of God and evil. We choose, no one makes us do good and no one makes us sin. Our choices are not accidents, not mistakes, not dumb luck, but deliberate actions. We have the power to act or not to act, just as the Catechism tells us.
How do we choose to act in our lives on a daily basis? How free are we? How free do we really want to be?
“The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin.’” (CCC 1733)
Think about the times in your life when your actions have been sinful, when they have gone away from God? How free did you feel at that moment? Now think about the times when your actions have been truly good and in accordance with God’s will? I think that if we are honest with ourselves, the answer is clear – we know deep down inside that we are the most free, are most at peace with ourselves when we choose what is good and just.
Jesus told those who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). Truth is real, truth became man, suffered, died, and rose again, so that we might have life. Truth created the universe, created man, and gave us the freedom to choose for ourselves.
True freedom is not just doing whatever we want to make ourselves feel good at the moment. That is just a shallow figment of the true freedom that awaits us. Our human freedom allows us the ability to become who God created us to be – to be sons and daughters of God the Father – and to therefore be able to one day share in eternal union with Him. This can only happen if we deliberately exercise our freedom to choose what is good and just. Our morality as Christians and God’s laws are in place for our happiness, to guide us and show us what we need to do, how we need to act, in order to reach that true freedom we all seek.
One of the most cited quotes comes from St. Augustine, a man who knew all too well where choosing to sin, choosing a life of earthly pleasure would lead, as he experienced it for many years. He said that “Our hearts are restless, oh Lord, until they rest in you.” If we search within our own heart, we know that this is true. Only the choice of God, and everything that that choice entails will truly make us happy and set us free.
Today, the day after the celebration of our nation’s independence, let us truly ask our God for the grace necessary to overcome our sinful choices, and to only choose what is good and just, to always say “yes” to Him, so that we may be truly free.
Almighty and merciful God,
In your goodness take away from us all that is harmful,
So that, made ready both in mind and body,
We may freely accomplish your will.
(CCC 1742)
Monday, June 27, 2011
I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ
These last couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the Eucharist, and specifically the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Exposition and Adoration of the Eucharist was one of the biggest parts of the youth conference I attended as a chaperone two weekends ago, the Eucharist was a topic of discussion during the religious education certification classes I took last week, and this past Sunday was the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ). That the bread and wine are truly transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ during the Mass is something that I have never doubted or questioned, but it is something that I have found myself taking for granted from time to time.
In the Eucharist, Christ is truly and substantially present under the appearance of ordinary bread and wine. Think about that for a minute, what does it mean to you that the Savior of the Universe makes Himself present on every altar and in every tabernacle throughout the world?
It isn’t easy for us to truly believe this, just as it wasn’t easy for the followers of Christ to comprehend when Jesus told them about it. How often are we like the former disciples of Christ that we hear about in John 6:66, those who departed and returned to their former way of life because they could not accept that Jesus was the Bread of Life, that his flesh was true food and his blood was true drink? These disciples could not accept this central teaching of Christ and so they departed. We don’t see Jesus running after them, saying “Just kidding, I was only talking symbolically; I didn’t actually mean that I would give my flesh and blood for you to drink.” No, Christ instead turns to the Apostles and asks them if they want to leave as well. Peter, though, answers for them, saying “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68
How many times do we kneel at Mass and not really accept what Christ so clearly taught to his followers? How many times do we genuflect before a tabernacle and think that maybe there isn’t really anything there?
We must answer these times of insecurity and doubt just as Peter did. We must declare that we believe and are convinced that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God, that he gives his true flesh and true blood to be our food and drink, not just as a symbol of His love for us – but actually, in real and substantial witness to His love for us.
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist has always been a doctrine of the Church. It has been the belief of Catholics from Apostolic times to the present and will be until Christ comes again. The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel and each of the institution narratives in the other Gospels are such rich illustrations of what Christ gives to us in the Eucharist.
The early Church Fathers had plenty to say on the subject, from Paul’s letters:
I know that this is one Catholic belief that many of our separated brothers struggle with. How could that little wafer actually be the Body of Christ? The simple answer is that it is because Christ loves us so much that He humbles Himself to be truly present for us, just as He was truly present when he walked the Earth before and after His death.
We Catholics believe that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324). I want to challenge myself and each one of you to carefully read and reflect on what Sacred Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the Catechism tells us about the Eucharist and to truly make the Eucharist the source and summit of our lives, today and until the end of time.
In the Eucharist, Christ is truly and substantially present under the appearance of ordinary bread and wine. Think about that for a minute, what does it mean to you that the Savior of the Universe makes Himself present on every altar and in every tabernacle throughout the world?
It isn’t easy for us to truly believe this, just as it wasn’t easy for the followers of Christ to comprehend when Jesus told them about it. How often are we like the former disciples of Christ that we hear about in John 6:66, those who departed and returned to their former way of life because they could not accept that Jesus was the Bread of Life, that his flesh was true food and his blood was true drink? These disciples could not accept this central teaching of Christ and so they departed. We don’t see Jesus running after them, saying “Just kidding, I was only talking symbolically; I didn’t actually mean that I would give my flesh and blood for you to drink.” No, Christ instead turns to the Apostles and asks them if they want to leave as well. Peter, though, answers for them, saying “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68
How many times do we kneel at Mass and not really accept what Christ so clearly taught to his followers? How many times do we genuflect before a tabernacle and think that maybe there isn’t really anything there?
We must answer these times of insecurity and doubt just as Peter did. We must declare that we believe and are convinced that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God, that he gives his true flesh and true blood to be our food and drink, not just as a symbol of His love for us – but actually, in real and substantial witness to His love for us.
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist has always been a doctrine of the Church. It has been the belief of Catholics from Apostolic times to the present and will be until Christ comes again. The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel and each of the institution narratives in the other Gospels are such rich illustrations of what Christ gives to us in the Eucharist.
The early Church Fathers had plenty to say on the subject, from Paul’s letters:
- "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16).
- "Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. . . . For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself" (1 Cor. 11:27, 29).
To Ignatius of Antioch around 110 A.D.:
- "I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible" (Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]
- "Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes" (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 [A.D. 110]).
To Justin Martyr in 155:
- "We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus" (First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).
I know that this is one Catholic belief that many of our separated brothers struggle with. How could that little wafer actually be the Body of Christ? The simple answer is that it is because Christ loves us so much that He humbles Himself to be truly present for us, just as He was truly present when he walked the Earth before and after His death.
We Catholics believe that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324). I want to challenge myself and each one of you to carefully read and reflect on what Sacred Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the Catechism tells us about the Eucharist and to truly make the Eucharist the source and summit of our lives, today and until the end of time.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Be firmly set upon the Rock to avoid the lava waste
This past weekend, I spent the weekend at a youth conference as one of the chaperones for the youth group of another parish in my Diocese. I have known the youth minister at this parish for several years, and when they were in need of another male chaperone, I agreed. I went into the weekend not knowing a single one of the 29 kids who were going on the trip, which was a very different experience than volunteering with the youth group at my own parish.
Throughout the weekend, we heard from several different speakers, all coming from very different backgrounds and life experiences. The theme of the weekend was being “rooted in Christ”. Of all of talks we heard, two Scripture passages really stuck out for me, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Over the weekend, the kids, other chaperones and I reflected on this theme, and I think it is so important in each of our daily lives.
“Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8
For me, the greatest part in going on a weekend retreat is being refreshed and encouraged in my faith. We all know that it is hard to live the life we are called by God to live, especially with all of the distractions our society throws in front of us. So often, we put our trust only in ourselves and the things of the world. We are built up by society to believe that we have all power within us to do anything we want, and that we should do whatever we want to be happy and enjoy our lives. And that way usually works for a while. We are blessed to live in a great country, to have so much readily at our fingertips.
But, eventually the heat and the drought comes – we lose our job, suffer an illness or injury, lose a loved one – and our entire world crumbles around us. We wither in the face of these hardships, and we don’t have any way to deal with them. But our God tells us exactly what we need to do to avoid going down this path. If we live our life like the tree Jeremiah is talking about, then we will be able to handle the suffering that comes our way. Because the tree stayed close to its source of life, the stream, even when the weather around it turned nasty, it was able to survive because it was tapped into the source of water that would never dry up.
Sure, we are always going to face suffering, Christ never promised that we wouldn’t. But, like Jeremiah’s tree, we have a great source of water that we can continually tap into. Through the power of the Most Holy Trinity, Christ is our source of Living Water. If we dig deep and plant ourselves with Him, then we will never wither and die in the face of heat and drought – those things can never conquer us if we are firmly rooted in Christ and live our lives the way He has showed us.
Christ tells us these things Himself, in a different way, when He was teaching the crowds during the Sermon on the Mount:
"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." Matthew 7:24-27
Think about the difference between rock and sand for a minute. I love going to the beach and laying on the sand, soaking up the sun. It’s comfortable. Laying on a rock, on the other hand, is hard and sometimes uncomfortable. When we reach down, we can pick up a handful of warm sand, but then it slips right through our fingertips – just like all of the illusory promises the world offers. But when we reach down and find rock, it is solid, immovable, and impenetrable.
It is certainly not always comfortable to live as a faithful Christian – the world looks at that and laughs – telling us over and over that we shouldn’t limit ourselves and that we should frolic on the beach with everyone else. But when the floods and winds come trying to drown us out and blow us over, the rock will remain secure, and if we build our live upon the Rock of Christ and His Church then we will remain secure also.
Pray that I and you and all of the kids I spent the weekend with remain firmly set upon the rock and rooted in Christ, and that none of us ever find ourselves stranded in the lava waste.
Throughout the weekend, we heard from several different speakers, all coming from very different backgrounds and life experiences. The theme of the weekend was being “rooted in Christ”. Of all of talks we heard, two Scripture passages really stuck out for me, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Over the weekend, the kids, other chaperones and I reflected on this theme, and I think it is so important in each of our daily lives.
“Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8
For me, the greatest part in going on a weekend retreat is being refreshed and encouraged in my faith. We all know that it is hard to live the life we are called by God to live, especially with all of the distractions our society throws in front of us. So often, we put our trust only in ourselves and the things of the world. We are built up by society to believe that we have all power within us to do anything we want, and that we should do whatever we want to be happy and enjoy our lives. And that way usually works for a while. We are blessed to live in a great country, to have so much readily at our fingertips.
But, eventually the heat and the drought comes – we lose our job, suffer an illness or injury, lose a loved one – and our entire world crumbles around us. We wither in the face of these hardships, and we don’t have any way to deal with them. But our God tells us exactly what we need to do to avoid going down this path. If we live our life like the tree Jeremiah is talking about, then we will be able to handle the suffering that comes our way. Because the tree stayed close to its source of life, the stream, even when the weather around it turned nasty, it was able to survive because it was tapped into the source of water that would never dry up.
Sure, we are always going to face suffering, Christ never promised that we wouldn’t. But, like Jeremiah’s tree, we have a great source of water that we can continually tap into. Through the power of the Most Holy Trinity, Christ is our source of Living Water. If we dig deep and plant ourselves with Him, then we will never wither and die in the face of heat and drought – those things can never conquer us if we are firmly rooted in Christ and live our lives the way He has showed us.
Christ tells us these things Himself, in a different way, when He was teaching the crowds during the Sermon on the Mount:
"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." Matthew 7:24-27
Think about the difference between rock and sand for a minute. I love going to the beach and laying on the sand, soaking up the sun. It’s comfortable. Laying on a rock, on the other hand, is hard and sometimes uncomfortable. When we reach down, we can pick up a handful of warm sand, but then it slips right through our fingertips – just like all of the illusory promises the world offers. But when we reach down and find rock, it is solid, immovable, and impenetrable.
It is certainly not always comfortable to live as a faithful Christian – the world looks at that and laughs – telling us over and over that we shouldn’t limit ourselves and that we should frolic on the beach with everyone else. But when the floods and winds come trying to drown us out and blow us over, the rock will remain secure, and if we build our live upon the Rock of Christ and His Church then we will remain secure also.
Pray that I and you and all of the kids I spent the weekend with remain firmly set upon the rock and rooted in Christ, and that none of us ever find ourselves stranded in the lava waste.
Monday, June 13, 2011
I am with you always, until the end of the age
I have always loved celebrating birthdays. My own, my family members’, and friends’ birthdays have always seemed to be worthy of great celebration – how lucky are we to have been born, especially in a post-Roe v. Wade society. My birthday is January 1st, which means that I always get to have a party – I’m always off work that day, and people are always willing to celebrate the countdown, shoot off poppers, and drink champagne with me.
Yesterday, the Church celebrated Pentecost Sunday – the day that the Church as we know it was born – when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and they went out to fulfill the mission that Christ had left them. How did you celebrate the birthday of the Church? Did you grumble because there was an extra song before the Gospel – or did you truly celebrate all that we have been given by God?
The first reading yesterday from the Acts of the Apostles is one of my favorite accounts in all of Scripture:
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, ‘Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.’” Acts 2:1-11
Truly, I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Apostles and for the crowd that they spoke to that day. During the fifty days between the Resurrection and Pentecost, the Apostles were undoubtedly unsure of what they were supposed to do, now that Christ was no longer going to be physically present with them. I’m sure they were still trying to fully sort out all of the events leading up to the Passion and death of Christ, then finding the tomb empty, and having the Risen Lord appear before them in the upper room. I imagine them feeling, all of a sudden, that their time with Jesus had been much to short, that he had not had time to teach them and show them all that they needed to learn in order to successfully do as Christ had commanded when he told them: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
But, Jesus just didn’t give them a command – He also made a promise to them that day when He said “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20. On that day of Pentecost, the Apostles learned exactly what Jesus had meant by this statement – He would not be with them physically, but would not just be a memory either – He would be with them, infused with them, as God the Holy Spirit.
“‘When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.’ Then ‘the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun.’” (CCC 767)
When the Holy Spirit descended upon them, they were sealed with the gifts that were necessary to their ministry – to building up the Church established by Jesus Christ. The Church that Christ chose to build upon the rock of Peter, the Church that He entrusted to those men from Galilee, surged forward that day when the Apostles stepped forth and proclaimed the Word to all of those who would listen. That Church to which I know that I am so privileged to be a part of today, 2000 years later, led by the successor of Peter and the other Apostles, was fully established that day when the Holy Trinity was fully revealed.
“So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit ‘bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her.’ ‘Henceforward the Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom.’” (CCC 768)
Pentecost is truly a day to celebrate, and not just for its historical significance, but for what it means for us today. The Church, and its members, is continually endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are necessary to carry out the mission Christ entrusted first to Peter and the other Apostles, and then to disciples they won for Christ, all the way down to each of us here today. As members of the Body of Christ, we must continually celebrate what God has given to us, and strive to always use the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of all God’s people. So, if you didn’t sing Happy Birthday to the Church yesterday, do it today!
Yesterday, the Church celebrated Pentecost Sunday – the day that the Church as we know it was born – when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and they went out to fulfill the mission that Christ had left them. How did you celebrate the birthday of the Church? Did you grumble because there was an extra song before the Gospel – or did you truly celebrate all that we have been given by God?
The first reading yesterday from the Acts of the Apostles is one of my favorite accounts in all of Scripture:
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, ‘Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.’” Acts 2:1-11
Truly, I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Apostles and for the crowd that they spoke to that day. During the fifty days between the Resurrection and Pentecost, the Apostles were undoubtedly unsure of what they were supposed to do, now that Christ was no longer going to be physically present with them. I’m sure they were still trying to fully sort out all of the events leading up to the Passion and death of Christ, then finding the tomb empty, and having the Risen Lord appear before them in the upper room. I imagine them feeling, all of a sudden, that their time with Jesus had been much to short, that he had not had time to teach them and show them all that they needed to learn in order to successfully do as Christ had commanded when he told them: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
But, Jesus just didn’t give them a command – He also made a promise to them that day when He said “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20. On that day of Pentecost, the Apostles learned exactly what Jesus had meant by this statement – He would not be with them physically, but would not just be a memory either – He would be with them, infused with them, as God the Holy Spirit.
“‘When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.’ Then ‘the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun.’” (CCC 767)
When the Holy Spirit descended upon them, they were sealed with the gifts that were necessary to their ministry – to building up the Church established by Jesus Christ. The Church that Christ chose to build upon the rock of Peter, the Church that He entrusted to those men from Galilee, surged forward that day when the Apostles stepped forth and proclaimed the Word to all of those who would listen. That Church to which I know that I am so privileged to be a part of today, 2000 years later, led by the successor of Peter and the other Apostles, was fully established that day when the Holy Trinity was fully revealed.
“So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit ‘bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her.’ ‘Henceforward the Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom.’” (CCC 768)
Pentecost is truly a day to celebrate, and not just for its historical significance, but for what it means for us today. The Church, and its members, is continually endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are necessary to carry out the mission Christ entrusted first to Peter and the other Apostles, and then to disciples they won for Christ, all the way down to each of us here today. As members of the Body of Christ, we must continually celebrate what God has given to us, and strive to always use the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of all God’s people. So, if you didn’t sing Happy Birthday to the Church yesterday, do it today!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Whoever Wishes to be Great Among You Shall be Your Servant
Can you believe that the 2012 presidential election is already heating up? New challengers seem to be coming forward every day to throw their hats in the ring for the chance to take on President Obama next fall. You can hardly turn on the evening news or read the headlines without being bombarded by all of these potential candidates. I have always followed politics closely, and even chose Political Science as my second major as an undergrad. I can remember having a mock presidential election when I was in middle school, and politics have always been a topic of conversation in my family and among my friends – and even though we don’t always agree, we are never afraid to discuss the issues.
Fully aware of all of this political interest, and of my more active participation in our Catholic faith over the last four years, my brother e-mailed me the following quote the other week, which he came across in a book he had been reading.
"A Catholic should not enter the public life unless willing to look on such office the way any Catholic should look on any job, as a means of becoming a saint." Fr. George Rutler, Beyond Modernity
For such a short sentence, I think that this statement is really quite profound. Many of our politicians are Catholic, and it seems that most other politicians claim a Christian faith of some variety or another. My Congressman is Catholic, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is Catholic, and so is the former Speaker – it seems clear that Catholics are appearing on both sides of the political aisle. But are any of them actually living out their faith in the way that Fr. Rutler is talking about? Can we name any Catholic political figure who we think might be declared a saint by the Church someday?
What do we make of this? What are the responsibilities of a Catholic when it comes to public service? And not just elected politicians, but anyone who works in public service and citizens too – how are we called to serve the public?
The Catechism tells us that “those who exercise authority should do so as a service…No one can command or establish what is contrary to the dignity of persons and the natural law.” (CCC 2235). “Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the human person. They will dispense justice humanely by respecting the rights of everyone, especially of families and the disadvantaged….Political rights are meant to be exercised for the common good of the nation and the human community.” (CCC 2237).
We see this notion of service laid out clearly by Christ in the Gospel of Matthew: “Jesus summoned them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” Matthew 20:25-28
A Catholic, or any Christian for that matter, cannot shy away from service to God just because he engages in public service. It is so critical that these most public and powerful Christians actually act like Christians – defending the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death; defending the rights of the poor and sick; defending all of those who cannot defend themselves; humanely dispensing justice to those who violate the law; and ensuring that the laws of the land fully comport with God’s laws. Imagine, for a second, what good might occur if every Christian public servant remembered that he or she was first and foremost the servant of God.
When considering the subject of political/public service, I cannot help but think of one of the greatest martyrs of the Church, and one of my personal favorite saints, Saint Thomas More. Sir Thomas More was a great attorney in England, and was eventually appointed Lord Chancellor of England by King Henry VIII – yes, that King Henry. Unfortunately, as most of us know, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome and declared himself the supreme head of the church in England. Sir Thomas refused to swear the oath and was eventually found guilty of treason and executed by beheading. Saint Thomas More is reported to have stated, just before his execution, “I die the king’s good servant and God’s first”. I highly recommend you check out the movie A Man for All Seasons about Thomas More’s life – it won six Academy Awards in 1967, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
The point that Sir Thomas More proved, is exactly what the Catechism and the Holy Scriptures tell us – service to God our first responsibility, no matter the consequences – and if we truly are serving God, then we are always serving our fellow man.
Pray with me today for all of our political and public servants the prayer for political authorities of Pope Saint Clement of Rome, from the first century:
Fully aware of all of this political interest, and of my more active participation in our Catholic faith over the last four years, my brother e-mailed me the following quote the other week, which he came across in a book he had been reading.
"A Catholic should not enter the public life unless willing to look on such office the way any Catholic should look on any job, as a means of becoming a saint." Fr. George Rutler, Beyond Modernity
For such a short sentence, I think that this statement is really quite profound. Many of our politicians are Catholic, and it seems that most other politicians claim a Christian faith of some variety or another. My Congressman is Catholic, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is Catholic, and so is the former Speaker – it seems clear that Catholics are appearing on both sides of the political aisle. But are any of them actually living out their faith in the way that Fr. Rutler is talking about? Can we name any Catholic political figure who we think might be declared a saint by the Church someday?
What do we make of this? What are the responsibilities of a Catholic when it comes to public service? And not just elected politicians, but anyone who works in public service and citizens too – how are we called to serve the public?
The Catechism tells us that “those who exercise authority should do so as a service…No one can command or establish what is contrary to the dignity of persons and the natural law.” (CCC 2235). “Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the human person. They will dispense justice humanely by respecting the rights of everyone, especially of families and the disadvantaged….Political rights are meant to be exercised for the common good of the nation and the human community.” (CCC 2237).
We see this notion of service laid out clearly by Christ in the Gospel of Matthew: “Jesus summoned them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” Matthew 20:25-28
A Catholic, or any Christian for that matter, cannot shy away from service to God just because he engages in public service. It is so critical that these most public and powerful Christians actually act like Christians – defending the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death; defending the rights of the poor and sick; defending all of those who cannot defend themselves; humanely dispensing justice to those who violate the law; and ensuring that the laws of the land fully comport with God’s laws. Imagine, for a second, what good might occur if every Christian public servant remembered that he or she was first and foremost the servant of God.
When considering the subject of political/public service, I cannot help but think of one of the greatest martyrs of the Church, and one of my personal favorite saints, Saint Thomas More. Sir Thomas More was a great attorney in England, and was eventually appointed Lord Chancellor of England by King Henry VIII – yes, that King Henry. Unfortunately, as most of us know, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome and declared himself the supreme head of the church in England. Sir Thomas refused to swear the oath and was eventually found guilty of treason and executed by beheading. Saint Thomas More is reported to have stated, just before his execution, “I die the king’s good servant and God’s first”. I highly recommend you check out the movie A Man for All Seasons about Thomas More’s life – it won six Academy Awards in 1967, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
The point that Sir Thomas More proved, is exactly what the Catechism and the Holy Scriptures tell us – service to God our first responsibility, no matter the consequences – and if we truly are serving God, then we are always serving our fellow man.
Pray with me today for all of our political and public servants the prayer for political authorities of Pope Saint Clement of Rome, from the first century:
Grant to them, Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability,
so that they may exercise without offense the sovereignty that you have given them.
Master, heavenly King of the ages, you give glory, honor, and power
over the things of earth to the sons of men.
Direct, Lord, their counsel, following what is pleasing and acceptable in your sight,
so that by exercising with devotion and in peace and gentleness
the power that you have given to them, they may find favor with you. (CCC 1900)
Monday, May 30, 2011
It is You who open heart and mind to the Divine call
On Saturday I had the great joy of attending the Ordination Mass for the two new priests of the Diocese of Columbus. It was truly an awesome experience to witness these two young men promise to serve God in the priestly capacity for the rest of their lives – to see them lie prostrate on the floor of the cathedral during the litany of saints, to see the Bishop lay his hands on their heads, and anoint their hands with Holy Chrism. What sacrifice, what courage it takes to say yes to God.
One of my favorite parts of attending ordinations is the processional and recessional, when all of the seminarians, deacons, and priests of the diocese process in and recess out of the cathedral. It never fails to lift my spirits, seeing all of those men present at one Mass. So often we only think of and see examples of the negative things going on in the Church, but being at an ordination and seeing the absolute joy of the men being ordained and all of those in attendance is something that everyone should experience.
On Sunday, I was able to attend the first Mass of Thanksgiving of Father Ty Tomson, one of the two men ordained on Saturday. I have known Father Ty for many years, and to see the fruition of his path to the priesthood was amazing. At the end of Mass, when Father Ty presented to his father the stole he wore to hear his first confession, and then the manutergium, the purificator used to wipe the Chrism from his hands at ordination, to his mother, I was truly moved to see the love expressed by a son to his parents. The parents of every priest are presented these gifts by their son, and then upon their deaths they are buried with them, so that at the second coming of Christ when they are called forward and asked by Christ what they did for His Church, they will be able to present the stole and manutergium to Him and state that they gave their son as a priest. If that isn’t a powerful statement, I’m not sure what is.
What have we given for Christ’s one true Church? What will we be able to report to Christ on that day of our final judgment?
The Catechism tells us that: “No one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed no one claims this office for himself; he is called to it by God. Anyone who thinks he recognizes the signs of God’s call to the ordained ministry must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders. Like every grace this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift.” (CCC 1578)
These men are truly called by God, and possess the courage and wisdom, given to them by God, to persevere through the many challenges that confront them on the path to the priesthood. These challenges definitely do not stop at ordination.
I believe that the prayers of the faithful are so very crucial for ours priests and future priests. We must always support these men with our prayers, for it is no small thing that they do. Without priests, we have no Eucharist – which is a thought almost too scary to consider. But we must consider it, and confront the question head on.
To us men out there – have we truly listened for God’s call in our life? Have we taken the time to pray quietly, having the courage to ask God what he wants from our lives? Have we humbly submitted ourselves to the will of God?
To the women and parents – have you encouraged your sons, brothers, nephews and friends to listen to God’s call? Have you actively encouraged them to consider becoming a priest?
Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) conducts a survey of the men being ordained to the priesthood that year. You can see this year’s report here. On page 22 of the report, it shows that nine in ten ordinands (89%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life. Of those responding ordinands who reported that they were encouraged to consider the priesthood 66% say they were encouraged by a parish priest, 44% by a friend, 42% by their mother, 38% by a parishioner, 27% by their father, 22% by a teacher or catechist, 20% by another relative, and so on. It is absolutely vital that we take the time to encourage the men around us to consider this vocation.
Please join with me today in this prayer for vocations from Blessed Pope John Paul II:
One of my favorite parts of attending ordinations is the processional and recessional, when all of the seminarians, deacons, and priests of the diocese process in and recess out of the cathedral. It never fails to lift my spirits, seeing all of those men present at one Mass. So often we only think of and see examples of the negative things going on in the Church, but being at an ordination and seeing the absolute joy of the men being ordained and all of those in attendance is something that everyone should experience.
On Sunday, I was able to attend the first Mass of Thanksgiving of Father Ty Tomson, one of the two men ordained on Saturday. I have known Father Ty for many years, and to see the fruition of his path to the priesthood was amazing. At the end of Mass, when Father Ty presented to his father the stole he wore to hear his first confession, and then the manutergium, the purificator used to wipe the Chrism from his hands at ordination, to his mother, I was truly moved to see the love expressed by a son to his parents. The parents of every priest are presented these gifts by their son, and then upon their deaths they are buried with them, so that at the second coming of Christ when they are called forward and asked by Christ what they did for His Church, they will be able to present the stole and manutergium to Him and state that they gave their son as a priest. If that isn’t a powerful statement, I’m not sure what is.
What have we given for Christ’s one true Church? What will we be able to report to Christ on that day of our final judgment?
The Catechism tells us that: “No one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed no one claims this office for himself; he is called to it by God. Anyone who thinks he recognizes the signs of God’s call to the ordained ministry must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders. Like every grace this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift.” (CCC 1578)
These men are truly called by God, and possess the courage and wisdom, given to them by God, to persevere through the many challenges that confront them on the path to the priesthood. These challenges definitely do not stop at ordination.
I believe that the prayers of the faithful are so very crucial for ours priests and future priests. We must always support these men with our prayers, for it is no small thing that they do. Without priests, we have no Eucharist – which is a thought almost too scary to consider. But we must consider it, and confront the question head on.
To us men out there – have we truly listened for God’s call in our life? Have we taken the time to pray quietly, having the courage to ask God what he wants from our lives? Have we humbly submitted ourselves to the will of God?
To the women and parents – have you encouraged your sons, brothers, nephews and friends to listen to God’s call? Have you actively encouraged them to consider becoming a priest?
Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) conducts a survey of the men being ordained to the priesthood that year. You can see this year’s report here. On page 22 of the report, it shows that nine in ten ordinands (89%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life. Of those responding ordinands who reported that they were encouraged to consider the priesthood 66% say they were encouraged by a parish priest, 44% by a friend, 42% by their mother, 38% by a parishioner, 27% by their father, 22% by a teacher or catechist, 20% by another relative, and so on. It is absolutely vital that we take the time to encourage the men around us to consider this vocation.
Please join with me today in this prayer for vocations from Blessed Pope John Paul II:
Come Holy Spirit...
It is You who open the heart and mind to the Divine call;
it is You who make effective every impetus
towards good, towards truth, towards charity...
Open the hearts and minds of men,
so that the new flowering of vocations may spring forth
the fidelity of your love, and all may know Christ,
the true light come into the world,
to offer every human being the sure hope of eternal life.
Amen.
It is You who open the heart and mind to the Divine call;
it is You who make effective every impetus
towards good, towards truth, towards charity...
Open the hearts and minds of men,
so that the new flowering of vocations may spring forth
the fidelity of your love, and all may know Christ,
the true light come into the world,
to offer every human being the sure hope of eternal life.
Amen.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Blessed are those servants whom the Master finds vigilant on His arrival
Well, Judgment Day didn’t happen on Saturday – neither Skynet nor the Antichrist took over – and none of the 30 people I was with at 6:00 p.m. disappeared. These End Times predictions are just so silly that it is hard for me to believe that so many people always seem to take them seriously – I mean, this guy had already tried once before and was just as wrong. If it had happened though, I couldn’t have asked for a better spot to be at – taking part in the celebration of Mass while at my Parish’s high school retreat with 30 high school participants and other adult chaperones.
I don’t want to get too heavy into the theology of the End Times, much smarter Catholics than I have done so. Check out Paragraphs 668-682 of the Catechism and this short article for more on what Catholics believe.
Suffice it to say that, as Catholics, we do not believe that there will be a pre-tribulation “rapture” where Christ will take the faithful to heaven before the real suffering starts. Putting Biblical points aside, and thinking about it logically, the “rapture” view makes no sense. When did Christ ever tell his followers that things would be easy for them, or that they would get let off the hook? Peter Parker’s (Spiderman) Uncle Ben always told Peter “With great power comes great responsibility.” I think Uncle Ben was probably familiar with Luke 12:48, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. “
Christ tells us over and over and over again that things are not going to be easy. I think that when the End Times do arrive, we will witness the greatest Saints and Martyrs the Church has ever seen, standing up for Christ and dying for him. Think about the great Martyrs in Church history – Ignatius of Antioch, Thomas More, Cecilia, Maximilian Kolbe, Maria Goretti, etc. – none of them took the easy way out, even though they could have.
I don’t mean to make fun of the views of others regarding this issue, but it just seems ludicrous that an 89-year-old radio preacher could pin down a date certain. God the Father is outside of time. We are not to know the day or the hour when we will be called upon to answer for our lives. “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36
It is not for us to know, just like it wasn’t for the Apostles to know either, when they questioned Jesus on the matter. It is only up to us to make sure we are ready:
"Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Luke 12:35-40
If Christ had come on Saturday, would we have been ready for him? Do we act as the servants who are always ready for their master’s return? I think the answer to that is a definite “no”. We let the world distract us. We worry about when we will be taken up into Heaven, not if we will be, not if we have done what is required to be able to meet God face-to-face. We spend so much time worrying about all of the crap, that we forget all of Christ’s examples, we forget the path that we are supposed to be taking.
We must always look for Christ’s return, but not only look for it – live each day as if that day will be the day. We do not fear death and suffering, we were created for God, not for this world. We anxiously await the Second Coming, yes, but we don’t fret over it, we are to live our lives so that we are always ready to go forth when we are called by the Lord.
Being on our retreat this weekend reminded me once again that it is not just me against the world and its distractions, rather God and our community of believers are always there to help me along the journey, to provide example and witness, so that when the day and hour do arrive I will be ready to immediately open the door when He knocks.
Let us pray that from this day forward we will live our lives so that the Master may find us vigilant at His arrival, and that we will then be invited to recline at table with Him who has saved us.
I don’t want to get too heavy into the theology of the End Times, much smarter Catholics than I have done so. Check out Paragraphs 668-682 of the Catechism and this short article for more on what Catholics believe.
Suffice it to say that, as Catholics, we do not believe that there will be a pre-tribulation “rapture” where Christ will take the faithful to heaven before the real suffering starts. Putting Biblical points aside, and thinking about it logically, the “rapture” view makes no sense. When did Christ ever tell his followers that things would be easy for them, or that they would get let off the hook? Peter Parker’s (Spiderman) Uncle Ben always told Peter “With great power comes great responsibility.” I think Uncle Ben was probably familiar with Luke 12:48, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. “
Christ tells us over and over and over again that things are not going to be easy. I think that when the End Times do arrive, we will witness the greatest Saints and Martyrs the Church has ever seen, standing up for Christ and dying for him. Think about the great Martyrs in Church history – Ignatius of Antioch, Thomas More, Cecilia, Maximilian Kolbe, Maria Goretti, etc. – none of them took the easy way out, even though they could have.
I don’t mean to make fun of the views of others regarding this issue, but it just seems ludicrous that an 89-year-old radio preacher could pin down a date certain. God the Father is outside of time. We are not to know the day or the hour when we will be called upon to answer for our lives. “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36
It is not for us to know, just like it wasn’t for the Apostles to know either, when they questioned Jesus on the matter. It is only up to us to make sure we are ready:
"Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Luke 12:35-40
If Christ had come on Saturday, would we have been ready for him? Do we act as the servants who are always ready for their master’s return? I think the answer to that is a definite “no”. We let the world distract us. We worry about when we will be taken up into Heaven, not if we will be, not if we have done what is required to be able to meet God face-to-face. We spend so much time worrying about all of the crap, that we forget all of Christ’s examples, we forget the path that we are supposed to be taking.
We must always look for Christ’s return, but not only look for it – live each day as if that day will be the day. We do not fear death and suffering, we were created for God, not for this world. We anxiously await the Second Coming, yes, but we don’t fret over it, we are to live our lives so that we are always ready to go forth when we are called by the Lord.
Being on our retreat this weekend reminded me once again that it is not just me against the world and its distractions, rather God and our community of believers are always there to help me along the journey, to provide example and witness, so that when the day and hour do arrive I will be ready to immediately open the door when He knocks.
Let us pray that from this day forward we will live our lives so that the Master may find us vigilant at His arrival, and that we will then be invited to recline at table with Him who has saved us.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Good Shepherd or Hired Man?
In today’s Gospel, John 10:11-18, we hear those great verses that most of us are probably familiar with: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” While this is, I think, one of the most famous lines in Scripture, this one sentence doesn’t tell us the whole story that Jesus is trying to communicate to us.
Yes, this passage is an awesome illustration of God’s love for each of us, but it also serves as a great challenge. Christ says that “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.” But, “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Which one are we – a good shepherd, or a hired man?
In this passage, I believe that Jesus is telling us how we are all supposed to act, by showing us his perfect example, as he does in countless ways throughout the Gospels. Are we Christians acting as shepherds to the flocks of sheep throughout the world? All too often, when the wolf comes, when things get tough, we cut and run. Sure, we come back to assess the damage, hoping that the flock was just briefly scattered, that no sheep was seriously wounded or killed, and that we can pick up where we left off, but we fall far short of Christ’s direction to lay down our lives for the sheep.
Who are the sheep about which Jesus is speaking? Christ says “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” St. Peter confronts this very issue in the first reading today when he causes quite a scandal by eating with Gentiles. (Acts 11:1-18). These Gentiles had accepted the word of God – they believed what was being taught by Peter and the other Apostles. However, the Jewish-Christians of the day still followed all of the Mosaic laws, and could not believe that Peter would break the dietary laws by eating in an “unclean” fashion. Peter’s vision makes it clear to him that “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane” and as Peter spoke with these Gentiles, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon the Apostles. Peter tells the Jewish-Christians “If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”
Every single one of us, every human being, is the sheep that Christ is speaking about. Not just those of us who have been fortunate enough to hear the Word, but all people. Christ is the one true Good Shepherd of all people, but we Christians are likewise called to act as good shepherds to all of God’s people.
Thankfully, I don’t think that many of us will ever be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, to die to protect the sheep as Christ did, and as the thousands of martyrs have done. That doesn’t mean, though, that we don’t lay down our lives to protect the sheep in different ways. Standing up for our Christian faith and being a true example of it in the face of criticism, scorn, and ridicule in our daily lives can be so, so tough, but that is a huge way each of us can act as a good shepherd for God’s flock.
Think about your day today, or maybe the last few days or weeks. Think about the people you interacted with. Were you afraid to speak the name of Jesus – to defend what is good, true, and holy? I know that I fail at this every single day. Every day I fall short of Jesus’ example – I miss some opportunity to act as Christ did. Every day, even though it might seem like a small thing, I know that I choose to run away. But, I know that I also have victories each day as well, times when I stand my ground, choosing to face the wolf. Every day, even through the smallest and briefest examples, I can reflect the unceasing love of Christ for all. These times when I choose to act as shepherd instead of hired man, serve as an even greater reminder to me of what we each can do in the service of Christ when we actually follow His example.
We must continually strive to follow Christ’s example. We must follow the example of St. Peter to go where our fellow Christians dare not enter – to spread the Word of God even in the face of our own death.
I pray that tomorrow, neither I, nor you, will run, but that we will stand our ground against every wolf, proclaiming Jesus Christ loudly and triumphantly, so that one day, all of His sheep will know Him fully.
Yes, this passage is an awesome illustration of God’s love for each of us, but it also serves as a great challenge. Christ says that “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.” But, “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Which one are we – a good shepherd, or a hired man?
In this passage, I believe that Jesus is telling us how we are all supposed to act, by showing us his perfect example, as he does in countless ways throughout the Gospels. Are we Christians acting as shepherds to the flocks of sheep throughout the world? All too often, when the wolf comes, when things get tough, we cut and run. Sure, we come back to assess the damage, hoping that the flock was just briefly scattered, that no sheep was seriously wounded or killed, and that we can pick up where we left off, but we fall far short of Christ’s direction to lay down our lives for the sheep.
Who are the sheep about which Jesus is speaking? Christ says “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” St. Peter confronts this very issue in the first reading today when he causes quite a scandal by eating with Gentiles. (Acts 11:1-18). These Gentiles had accepted the word of God – they believed what was being taught by Peter and the other Apostles. However, the Jewish-Christians of the day still followed all of the Mosaic laws, and could not believe that Peter would break the dietary laws by eating in an “unclean” fashion. Peter’s vision makes it clear to him that “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane” and as Peter spoke with these Gentiles, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon the Apostles. Peter tells the Jewish-Christians “If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”
Every single one of us, every human being, is the sheep that Christ is speaking about. Not just those of us who have been fortunate enough to hear the Word, but all people. Christ is the one true Good Shepherd of all people, but we Christians are likewise called to act as good shepherds to all of God’s people.
Thankfully, I don’t think that many of us will ever be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, to die to protect the sheep as Christ did, and as the thousands of martyrs have done. That doesn’t mean, though, that we don’t lay down our lives to protect the sheep in different ways. Standing up for our Christian faith and being a true example of it in the face of criticism, scorn, and ridicule in our daily lives can be so, so tough, but that is a huge way each of us can act as a good shepherd for God’s flock.
Think about your day today, or maybe the last few days or weeks. Think about the people you interacted with. Were you afraid to speak the name of Jesus – to defend what is good, true, and holy? I know that I fail at this every single day. Every day I fall short of Jesus’ example – I miss some opportunity to act as Christ did. Every day, even though it might seem like a small thing, I know that I choose to run away. But, I know that I also have victories each day as well, times when I stand my ground, choosing to face the wolf. Every day, even through the smallest and briefest examples, I can reflect the unceasing love of Christ for all. These times when I choose to act as shepherd instead of hired man, serve as an even greater reminder to me of what we each can do in the service of Christ when we actually follow His example.
We must continually strive to follow Christ’s example. We must follow the example of St. Peter to go where our fellow Christians dare not enter – to spread the Word of God even in the face of our own death.
I pray that tomorrow, neither I, nor you, will run, but that we will stand our ground against every wolf, proclaiming Jesus Christ loudly and triumphantly, so that one day, all of His sheep will know Him fully.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Were not our hearts burning within us?
“That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” Luke 24:13-16
These, of course, are the opening verses to the very familiar Gospel story of the Road to Emmaus, which was the Gospel reading this past Sunday. I wanted this second blog post of mine to touch a little on why I have decided to write, and why I chose the name “You Shattered My Darkness” for this blog, and standing at Mass this past Sunday, listening to the Deacon proclaim those words from Luke, I realized why I am where I am right now. You see, I realized that we are all very much like those two disciples who were traveling on the road that day – we are not really looking for Christ, even though we may talk about him all of the time, but Jesus himself draws near to us, and actively seeks us out on the roads that we travel.
We Christians do not believe in a passive god that just sits back and waits to see if we stumble to him on our own. No, our God is constantly seeking us out, presenting Himself to us in the many situations of our lives, just as He did when He appeared to those two disciples that day after the Resurrection. The two disciples in the story conversed with the Lord during their entire journey that day, but even though Christ was teaching them, exactly as He had done during His life, they did not recognize Him, until he celebrated the Eucharistic meal, the breaking of the bread, with them.
“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?’” Luke 24:31-32
How familiar do the words of these disciples sound to us? How often, upon reflection, have we felt our hearts burning for something greater, but have failed to recognize what it meant in our lives or where it was coming from. Christ, on that day, shattered the darkness of those two disciples. They had just been in Jerusalem, and had witnessed, perhaps first hand, the Passion of their Lord. Yet, they seem to be leaving Jerusalem, perhaps thinking that the magic had passed with Jesus’ death, that they would never again hear or witness his teaching. Like the Apostles who confined themselves to the upper room, these disciples were likely afraid of what might have happened to followers of Jesus in Jerusalem in the days after his death. They seem to be unsure of their faith, maybe feeling like it had all been just a very vivid illusion, and not real after all.
But Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior, sought them out that day, and broke through to them. After Jesus vanished from their midst, we are told that the disciples immediately rushed back to Jerusalem to share their experience of the Risen Christ with the Apostles.
I am a cradle Catholic, and my parents did a great job of raising me in the faith. We went to Mass every Sunday, I attended religious education classes, we prayed and talked about religion at home, and I was an active participant and leader in our youth ministry program as a high school student. That is all to say that even though I have been an active Catholic my whole life, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I didn’t always really get it, or even realize that I wasn’t getting it. I was a passive participant, just walking along the road, even though I was actively there in the pew every Sunday, I wasn’t truly engaged, but I don’t think that I even realized it.
Similarly to the disciples, I finally recognized Christ in the breaking of the bread one Sunday, the summer after graduating from law school. It just seemed to really resonate that Sunday, although I cannot recall the exact date, the readings, homily, or anything to distinguish that Mass from the previous countless Sundays I had been there. Yet, I know that Jesus purposefully drew near to me that day, and somehow I was able to actually recognize Him that day. Christ, that day, absolutely shattered my darkness – the darkness that I had been living in, without even really knowing it.
Of course, even though that day was definitely transformative, I am still walking the road, constantly struggling to live a life in better imitation of Christ. But I know now that I want to do everything in my earthly power to remain in the light of Christ, and not return to the darkness, and so I try to walk the road constantly seeking the presence of God. “You shattered my darkness” is actually a line from the song “Alive Again” by Matt Maher which is one of my favorites (check it out here if you’ve never heard it).
Christ actively seeks each and every person. He purposefully draws near to us on our own roads. He never forces us to accept his invitation, but greatly rejoices when we do.
One of the greatest Scriptural examples of this that comes to my mind is the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32). I’m sure that almost everyone is familiar with this story. When the younger son finally recognizes that life as one of his father’s servants would be better than the horrible conditions he was living in, and returns home, this is what we hear about the situation: “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
Here the father, representing God the Father, did not wait for his son to return, he was actively looking for him – how else would he have known to be looking at that moment, if he wasn’t looking, searching, and longing for his son’s return – and then, when he does catch sight of his son, he doesn’t wait for him, he runs towards him and embraces him. God is actively searching and longing for each one of us – and through his Son, Jesus Christ, seeks to shatter our darkness and to bring us into His light.
As we continue this Easter season, let us pray that we can recognize the burning in our hearts that is the presence of Christ in our lives, and that one day our eyes are never again prevented from recognizing Him.
These, of course, are the opening verses to the very familiar Gospel story of the Road to Emmaus, which was the Gospel reading this past Sunday. I wanted this second blog post of mine to touch a little on why I have decided to write, and why I chose the name “You Shattered My Darkness” for this blog, and standing at Mass this past Sunday, listening to the Deacon proclaim those words from Luke, I realized why I am where I am right now. You see, I realized that we are all very much like those two disciples who were traveling on the road that day – we are not really looking for Christ, even though we may talk about him all of the time, but Jesus himself draws near to us, and actively seeks us out on the roads that we travel.
We Christians do not believe in a passive god that just sits back and waits to see if we stumble to him on our own. No, our God is constantly seeking us out, presenting Himself to us in the many situations of our lives, just as He did when He appeared to those two disciples that day after the Resurrection. The two disciples in the story conversed with the Lord during their entire journey that day, but even though Christ was teaching them, exactly as He had done during His life, they did not recognize Him, until he celebrated the Eucharistic meal, the breaking of the bread, with them.
“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?’” Luke 24:31-32
How familiar do the words of these disciples sound to us? How often, upon reflection, have we felt our hearts burning for something greater, but have failed to recognize what it meant in our lives or where it was coming from. Christ, on that day, shattered the darkness of those two disciples. They had just been in Jerusalem, and had witnessed, perhaps first hand, the Passion of their Lord. Yet, they seem to be leaving Jerusalem, perhaps thinking that the magic had passed with Jesus’ death, that they would never again hear or witness his teaching. Like the Apostles who confined themselves to the upper room, these disciples were likely afraid of what might have happened to followers of Jesus in Jerusalem in the days after his death. They seem to be unsure of their faith, maybe feeling like it had all been just a very vivid illusion, and not real after all.
But Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior, sought them out that day, and broke through to them. After Jesus vanished from their midst, we are told that the disciples immediately rushed back to Jerusalem to share their experience of the Risen Christ with the Apostles.
I am a cradle Catholic, and my parents did a great job of raising me in the faith. We went to Mass every Sunday, I attended religious education classes, we prayed and talked about religion at home, and I was an active participant and leader in our youth ministry program as a high school student. That is all to say that even though I have been an active Catholic my whole life, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I didn’t always really get it, or even realize that I wasn’t getting it. I was a passive participant, just walking along the road, even though I was actively there in the pew every Sunday, I wasn’t truly engaged, but I don’t think that I even realized it.
Similarly to the disciples, I finally recognized Christ in the breaking of the bread one Sunday, the summer after graduating from law school. It just seemed to really resonate that Sunday, although I cannot recall the exact date, the readings, homily, or anything to distinguish that Mass from the previous countless Sundays I had been there. Yet, I know that Jesus purposefully drew near to me that day, and somehow I was able to actually recognize Him that day. Christ, that day, absolutely shattered my darkness – the darkness that I had been living in, without even really knowing it.
Of course, even though that day was definitely transformative, I am still walking the road, constantly struggling to live a life in better imitation of Christ. But I know now that I want to do everything in my earthly power to remain in the light of Christ, and not return to the darkness, and so I try to walk the road constantly seeking the presence of God. “You shattered my darkness” is actually a line from the song “Alive Again” by Matt Maher which is one of my favorites (check it out here if you’ve never heard it).
Christ actively seeks each and every person. He purposefully draws near to us on our own roads. He never forces us to accept his invitation, but greatly rejoices when we do.
One of the greatest Scriptural examples of this that comes to my mind is the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32). I’m sure that almost everyone is familiar with this story. When the younger son finally recognizes that life as one of his father’s servants would be better than the horrible conditions he was living in, and returns home, this is what we hear about the situation: “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
Here the father, representing God the Father, did not wait for his son to return, he was actively looking for him – how else would he have known to be looking at that moment, if he wasn’t looking, searching, and longing for his son’s return – and then, when he does catch sight of his son, he doesn’t wait for him, he runs towards him and embraces him. God is actively searching and longing for each one of us – and through his Son, Jesus Christ, seeks to shatter our darkness and to bring us into His light.
As we continue this Easter season, let us pray that we can recognize the burning in our hearts that is the presence of Christ in our lives, and that one day our eyes are never again prevented from recognizing Him.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Pray for those who persecute you...
I have to say that upon waking up to the news this morning that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces I didn’t quite know what to think. This was obviously a man who has caused much tragedy and heartache in our country and throughout the world for many, many years. This was a man who had been hunted by the United States of America for nearly 10 years. I myself traveled to New York in November of 2001, I saw the devastation that was left by the two planes that flew into the World Trade Center. I did not suffer the loss of anyone that I knew personally, but like most Americans who watched on TV, and then saw the aftermath in person, I was both saddened and outraged at the atrocity that was committed.
However, after hearing the initial news this morning, I logged onto Facebook, and saw the comments of many of my friends who were absolutely jubilant in their rejoicing that this man had been killed. Not only was this attitude of celebration evident in these Facebook posts, but on almost every news website across cyberspace. One of my friends, who posted that he found it sad that people were celebrating, took some abuse by subsequent commenters.
Upon much reflection throughout the day, I can wholeheartedly state that I find this level of celebration in the killing of a human being to be disturbing and wholly contrary to my Christian faith.
Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, in his brief statement today had this to say: "In the face of a man's death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.” (See the Catholic News Service story here).
Forgiveness is at the very heart and essence of Christianity. I think that Fr. Lombardi put it very well that a Christian must reflect on the serious responsibility of each person before God and before men. We are all great sinners, every one of us. No, we haven’t ordered planes to be flown into tall buildings, but we all sin, both against God and against our fellow man.
We see plainly the teaching of Jesus Christ on anger: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” Matthew 5:21-22.
And also: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:38-48.
These are hard words that Christ preaches during the Sermon on the Mount. To be sure, we fall short of his commands all the time, but to think that we, as those who claim to be Christians, would so easily cast these crucial teachings aside to celebrate today, scares me just as much as the terrible things that Osama bin Laden did while he was alive. If Christians cannot bravely follow Christ, and be an example of His love to the rest of the world, then evil will never be defeated. We are called to be a light to the world, not to be in the same darkness as the rest of the world.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “By recalling the commandment, ‘You shall not kill,’ our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral. “ (CCC 2302). Are we truly seeking “peace of heart” when we celebrate the killing of another human being? What does our hatred gain us? Further, we are told that anger is a desire for revenge, and as St. Thomas Aquinas puts it “to desire vengeance in order to do evil to some who should be punished is illicit”. (CCC 2302). Bin Laden certainly deserved punishment for his actions, but Christ commands us to put away our anger. The Catechism continues, telling us that “if anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin” and that “hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil”. (CCC 2302-2303).
We must continually strive to follow Christ’s personal example. We Christians just celebrated Easter last weekend, and in the story of the Passion, we see Christ’s great forgiveness clearly demonstrated. We see Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he is about to be arrested command Peter: “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Matthew 26: 52. Upon the cross Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. Finally, Jesus shows us that while we still have breath within us, it is never too late to be forgiven, when he granted forgiveness to the good thief who hung on the cross next to him. (See Luke 23:39-43).
Yesterday, May 1, 2011, we celebrated both Divine Mercy Sunday and the beatification of now Blessed Pope John Paul II, truly two things worthy of celebration. So today, can we not strive to act, in word and thought, as Christ did when it came to mercy and forgiveness? I pray that we can find the strength to follow Fr. Lombardi’s words: that we may each hope and work so that every event in our lives may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred. God Bless.
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