A timely exhortation from my daughter

My daughter posted the following on Facebook today:

“I frequently wish that we would all just stop, look around, and realize we're all in this together.”

I agree with her to this point, but to make things better, we must go further.

 Here is a little food for thought:

We live in difficult times with many of our brothers and sisters suffering around the world because of unemployment, inability to pay monthly bills, and failure to afford either a decent education for our children or adequate health insurance for our families, to mention just a few of the many issues resulting in despair and hopelessness today. I think my daughter’s statement above was prompted by the Holy Spirit Who dwells within her (as He does in all of us who are baptized in Jesus Christ)simply because of the timing of it.  The first reading at Mass for All Saint’s Day provides encouragement to individuals, families, and whole communities experiencing such difficulties.  John has a vision (Revelations 7:2-4, 9-14) of a multitude of people, impossible to count, “from every nation, race, people, and tongue… These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress.” John’s vision of the salvation of many who experienced difficult, nearly unbearable suffering is also a message for us today. Suffering is not the end: God promises that all suffering will come to an end! His son sacrificed his life so that we may live.

I realize that at times, such a message can be misunderstood as a cheap consolation, giving hope for a joyful afterlife without addressing the current suffering and working towards a just society modeled after Biblical and Christian values. Karl Marx criticized religion for exactly this reason and called religion the opiate of and for the people: religion serves to dull people into acceptance or their fate because of a belief in a perfect afterlife; people need religion to survive extreme suffering and those in power promote religion to prevent the marginalized from rising up against the sources of suffering and those who benefit and profit from such circumstances.  As Christians, we have to admit that our faith communities and their leadership have often been and are even today at times guilty of accepting social conditions that are contradicting Biblical and Christian values. We, as Christians, often failed those who are suffering and ultimately Christ when we are schmoozing with those in power, defending unjust social structures that privilege some and disadvantage others and avoiding translating our faith values into policies.

However, John’s vision clearly states that active involvement here and now is crucial for salvation. One of elders in his vision says that those who survived great distress “have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb." In other words, they not simply accepted their salvation through “the Blood of the Lamb,” through Christ’s sacrifice. They “washed their robes,” they became actively involved in their salvation. Salvation is not passively accepted. Action and involvement are crucial for salvation. Or, as the second reading for All Saint’s Day says, God’s children are what they are because they made themselves pure. (1 John 3:1-3) The Gospel (Matthew 5: 1-12a) very explicitly states what this means. Christ, in His sermon on the mount, praises the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, those who are the clean of heart, and the peacemakers. The Beatitudes make it clear that we are called to become involved in our communities, in our society, and in the affairs of the global community. This is perhaps best expressed through Christ’s reference to “righteousness,” which in the Sacred Scriptures refers to serving the marginalized, weak, and poor; to speak on behalf of those who have no voice; and to work for a fair and just society modeled after the teaching of Christ. This is what many of the saints, who we remember on Thursday’s Solemnity of All Saints, did through their prayer and action.

Let us pray for ourselves, our faith communities, and our Church that we may not betray those who are in need. I submit that those most in need in these troubled times are the unborn children who are ripped apart in their mothers’ wombs.  How many productive, faith-filled brothers and sisters were lost to that horror!

 

Let us pray that our communities may never be the opiate of and for the people but, inspired by the Holy Spirit, identify ways to transform our society through Christ’s teaching, become engines of promoting fairness and justice in our society and globally. 

Nobody said it would be easy!

Jesus tells us (Luke 13: 22-30) to be different, to not follow what everyone else is doing and go with the flow of society, but rather to stand strong in our faith and strive to be holy servants of God. How do we do this?

Ephesians 6:1-9 states “Honor your Father and Mother,” and “As slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not men.” These are two great examples of ways to “strive to enter the narrow gate.”

Be the one who wakes up a few minutes early to begin your day with the Lord, amidst a crowd be courageous, and pray before your meal; take some time during the day to be in silence with the Lord, smile at whomever you meet along your path, pray for someone going through a hard time, spend time talking with a friend, call a family member and remind them how much you love them, thank God for the blessings in your life, do whatever it is God is calling YOU to do that day to serve God, and strive to be holy.

We can bring serving God and doing His will into our workplace. And that way, we can offer whatever we do on a daily basis to God, as our sacrifice to Him. United with the cross of Jesus, our simple, perhaps mundane tasks throughout the day can take on a redemptive value. That means God takes them and uses them for His purposes in a mysterious way throughout His body, the Church. That means your work can really count for something eternally important!

St. Paul bids us to "willingly serve the Lord and not men."  There may come a time when serving the Lord may be in conflict with serving men and this world. When this comes, be not afraid! Remember to Whom your first allegiance is, and do not disappoint our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Lord will give you the grace you need to discern His will, and then give you the courage to do it.

Jesus gives us a warning in the Gospel (Luke) that we must do this each and every day, because “some who are last who will be first and some who are first will be last.” We can’t be God’s servants on Sunday only and expect to enter through the narrow gate of salvation. We can’t have been God’s servants yesterday and choose not to from then on thinking that one day is good enough. To be a servant of the Lord is a way of life and a purposeful mindset.

The blind shall see....

I’m not sure if it was just coincidence or a prompting by the Holy Spirit that led me to notice the lady with the white cane walking toward the church this morning.  Or the other blind woman who received Holy Communion as her guide-dog led her in the procession line.  I had never noticed either parishioner before—rather, I recognized them, but had not realized they were sightless.  Since I am not inclined to believe in coincidence, I think it was a call for me to meditate a bit more on today’s readings.

In Mark’s gospel today, Jesus restores sight to a blind man named Bartimaeus. On hearing that Jesus is coming, Bartimaeus drops his cloak, probably his only possession, and springs up off the ground to meet Him. The gospel doesn’t tell us so, but I imagine Bartimaeus as a man of maybe 40 or 50.   Being 40 or 50 in those days, he was probably not very spry. He’s probably pretty dirty because he’s been sitting on the ground begging, and to top it off he can’t see! So when he literally leaps up and goes parading off, in what he must be hoping is the right direction, I am struck by the determination of his faith.

As Christians we are called to toss aside our material possessions, jump off the ground, and teeter off in the direction of Jesus’ voice. We are called to acknowledge our own weaknesses so that we can lean upon the shoulder of Christ and let him provide the compliments to our inadequacies. God says in Jeremiah 31:7-9, “They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them.” Regardless of the weaknesses we struggle against and the other obstacles in our lives, faith helps us to find God in even the most desolate of moments so that we may find strength through Him.

I am led by the Holy Spirit tonight as I write this to think of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  As we enter the confessional after a thorough examination of conscience, we are sitting by the side of the road shouting, “Son of David, have pity on me!”  As we confess our sins to the priest in persona Christi we throw off our cloak of sins and run to Christ for healing.  In the prayer of Absolution, Christ is telling us “Go in peace, your faith in My mercy has cured your blindness.”  Then He bestows upon us the strength of Sanctifying Grace through the Holy Spirit to help us amend our lives and live in a manner pleasing to Him.

Peace be with you all.

Acknowledgements through action, not words

I continue to get emails from well-meaning friends, acquaintances, and even relatives that not-so-gently urge me to forward (what is in their opinion) their very important, spiritually relevant message as they remind me:

Jesus said to His disciples:
"I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.  But, whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God." (Luke 12:8-9)

What is denial of the Son of God? Surely it isn't just saying the words: "Jesus is not the Incarnate Son of God!" But rather, it involves behaving like Jesus' teachings are irrelevant.

There's an old saying, "Actions speak louder than words!"  So, we must be careful that our behavior in no way contradicts what we say we believe.

In order to call ourselves Christians, we must acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior. Some days, it will be easy.

Going to Mass each week we feel comfortable calling ourselves Christians and naming Jesus as our savior. We wear our crosses and go to Bible study where it is easy to call Jesus the Son of God, where we feel comfortable pronouncing our faith.

Do we treat Jesus with the same reverence when we go out on the weekends? Do we acknowledge Christ when we are out with our friends? Do we defend his name when asked why we remain in the church? Do we call ourselves Christians when it is not comfortable or the popular thing to do? Sometimes the right choice is not always the popular one. There will always be instances in our lives in which we find ourselves comfortable, then uncomfortable. If you called someone your best friend yesterday, would you stand up for him if he was being bullied today? Would you say you were proud of your son one day, then bail him out of jail the next?

We are called to treat these situations just as we are to treat our relationship with Jesus. We are not called to be like the disciples who were with him when he was popular then against him when he was a criminal. We are called to be like John and call him our savior until the bitter end. It will be difficult. In order to nurture our relationship with Him, we might challenge ourselves to implement daily prayer. We must live the gospel in our words and actions, treating the least of God's people as we wish to be treated. Perhaps most importantly, we must defend him in conversation when called to do so. Like many things in life, being a Christian is not always easy, but rewarding in the end. If we wish to be acknowledged on judgment day, it is our duty to acknowledge Jesus as God—though not necessarily by forwarding e-mails.

Family ties and Inspirational intercessors

For the last few years, I’ve written on October 17^th about my grandmother and my sister, who were both born on this date.  Well, I haven’t really written about them but rather wished them a happy birthday and asked for their prayers. 

When I went to Mass this evening, my intentions were on their behalf.  I thanked God for blessing me with both of them.  (Don’t worry Mom, I’m not delusional—I’ll explain it more as I go along). 

I was listening to a radio program this evening in which young people were asking Cardinal Dolan of New York questions of faith.  One of the questions was “How can I evangelize—or for that matter even keep my own faith strong—when I have to work among men who have no interest in God in general or religion in particular?”  His answer was (in a nutshell) to show his co-workers his faith through his joy in knowing Jesus.  I immediately thought of my grandma.  Every time I ever heard her speak of our Catholic faith, I could feel her joy.  I can’t ever remember her raising her voice or using harsh words.  What I remember most is her commitment to Christ, her prayers, and her humility.  She is the example of non-verbal evangelization Cardinal Dolan was speaking of.   I credit her and my mother most for introducing me to what a prayer life should look like and what I should strive for. 

What I credit my sister with is much more spiritual.  This may sound strange, but ever since I found out about Dorothy, I’ve felt a bond—by that I mean a “sixth sense” sort of bond.  It’s like she has been charged by God with watching over her family from Heaven, and praying for us when we need “saint-strength” prayers.  She was only alive for a few minutes after birth—just long enough to be baptized.  Since she didn’t live very long, she couldn’t possibly have sinned.  Her Original Sin was washed away by her baptism.  So my belief is that she is in Heaven right now, helping us through her prayers to grow closer to our Savior.  There have been many, many times in my life when I have faced doubts about my faith.  Then, a thought of Dorothy will intrude on my thoughts and erase my doubts.  Earlier today, I was listening to a radio program focusing on twins and how many of them share a sort of “sixth sense” bond.  They can be on opposite sides of the country and all of a sudden they both get an idea or thought at the same time.  Or one will be ill and the other will know it without being told.  Strange stuff.  But I believe it, because I think I have a “twin” of sorts—my “Irish twin” (without the derogatory meaning).

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Happy Birthday, Dorothy!