An innocent faith--Or, Back to basics

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18: 1-3)

A thought crossed my mind this morning and it hasn't left me all day.  Is it possible that we can "overthink" our relationship with God?  Does He really expect more than a child-like "innocent faith"?  I don't know.  I'm just putting it out there.  But my meditation on this question reminded me of an experience I would like to share.



A few years ago, Sister Enza asked me to teach CCD to first graders. I still can’t figure out why she asked me, because both of my children were already older than that,but I reluctantly agreed. Actually, she wanted both Marilyn and me to teach as a team, but after discussing it a long while, we decided I would go through the challenge alone.


The CCD was pretty simple with first graders. It certainly wasn’t the Baltimore Catechism I was taught at that age. The lesson plan was mostly left up to me, as long as I taught the children the very basic things they should know about God—Who He is, why He created us, and about Jesus Christ in a very basic manner.


My first day was interesting, to say the least. There were, as I remember, 5 girls and 5 boys. The girls were very quiet and eager to learn, and the boys wanted only to play. It quickly became very apparent to me that I was going to have to get thinking on their level to get through to them and get them to listen to what I had to say.


So I asked them, “What have you learned from Mommy and Daddy about God?” I asked this for two other reasons than the one above: first, I wanted to know what kind of support I would get in my teaching from the parents. Second, I wanted to have a starting point from which to begin.


The only answer I got from one of the girls, and the others all agreed, was that, “God loves me.” Aha! Now I had a reference point with which to begin. I asked one of the boys “Why?” He said, “Why what?” I said, “Why does God love you?”


Before he could answer, I asked the rest of the class, “Why does God love all of you?” You could hear a pin drop. They wanted to know the answer. I told them I would give them the answer at the end of the semester if they hadn’t figured it out by then all by themselves.


It was all I needed to get their attention. I began to tell them what I wanted them to learn that first day, which was basically Genesis 1—the creation of the world. The language I used was something like, “God made the heavens and the earth and everything in it”. Big mistake! That set the boys off going around the room pointing to everything from the chairs they were sitting in to the chalkboard to the toys that were there, asking, “Did God make this? And this? And this?” I replied that He didn’t make them in the way they were thinking things were made. I made this question their homework for the week. I wanted them to ask their parents for the answer. I thanked God the hour was over. I assigned the children the prescribed homework assignment, from their CCD workbook as well (I think it was a picture of God “hovering over the waters” and separating them into the seas and the dry land) telling them that the best coloring jobs would receive a surprise the following week. I also told them that a treat would be given for the best behaved each week. That first day I chose one of the girls for the best behaved (she was a little “mother” trying to help me rein in the boys), and I gave her a lollipop with the understanding that she would ask her parents before she ate it.


When the children had gone, Sister Enza came to me and asked how it went. I told her about my attempts at my first teaching job and my frustrations that I felt I probably didn’t teach them the lesson they were supposed to learn. She said, “Don’t worry. They’ll surprise you, I guarantee it!”


The next week, I pointed to the chair I was sitting in and asked one of the boys, “Who made this chair?” He said, “God”. I said, “That’s right! Do you know how?” Another of the children piped in, “God made the tree that was made into the wood for the seat!” Another said, “And He made the man who made the chair!” Yet another kid said, “And he taught the man who made the chair how to put it together!” Still another said, “And Mommy said He made ME, too!” I was so amazed at the answers they gave, and the thought that they had put into the homework, that they all received a lollipop that second week!


The next morning, which was Sunday, as my family and I were leaving Mass, one of my students’ parents came up to me and thanked me! She said her son loved me and the “stories” I was telling. She said he could hardly wait for Saturdays so he could go to school with “Mr. Steve.” She said a couple of the other parents had also expressed similar sentiments to her. I started to feel better about this “teaching” thing.


The rest of the year was a breeze. I had fun, and I learned more from those children about the innocent faith that Christ asks of all of us than I could ever teach them. Which is, I think, what Sister Enza had in mind all along. And yes, by the end of the semester the children (and me, too) all learned why God made us, and more importantly, why He loves us.

Make the wise choice!

God is God and we are not! We are the created, not the Creator! It would do us well to take and act the part that is proper for us.


Tuesday’s readings call us almost irresistibly to look carefully at the relation between faith in God and worldly success. The Prophet Ezekiel holds up the fabulously rich and prosperous Island City of Tyre as an example of an arrogant community for whom wealth has become a god. It is idolatry personified! After reading this prophecy of the utter destruction of those who serve money rather than the living God, it should not surprise us to hear Jesus say that riches are an almost insurmountable obstacle to attaining eternal life. If we have it all here and now, there is nothing left for us hereafter. We become what we seek, what we serve, what we worship. So a bloody and disastrous end to all our futile efforts to make ourselves immune from human frailty and mortality by amassing treasures on this earth is inevitable. Is earthly security and prosperity and good fortune really worth the sacrifice of our true self?


So often, especially in these days when technological advances have afforded us such tremendous access to information and automation has provided us with great prowess in fields previously only dreamed about, we can easily lose sight of where all this knowledge and ability come from: the Wisdom of God! When we forget this, we become dumber than an ox that at least doesn't do anything but act and be an ox.


As it says in the oft-repeated verses of Psalm 36:  "He so flatters himself in his mind that all wisdom is gone."


What a pitiful state of affairs, to relinquish the Wisdom of God!


I think my prayer today should be a careful examination of my attitude toward and use of worldly goods. Am I serving God or money? (Or, rather, am I winning the battle to do this?) Am I in pursuit of heavenly treasures or earthly comforts? Am I willing to leave everything behind for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel? Am I willing to be last now in order to be first to enter eternal life? Do I fully trust the promises of God?


In Jesus all things are possible. Grace is stronger than sin. But we need to be much more than half-hearted. God's Kingdom of love is all or nothing. Let us pray with all our hearts that we may be drawn by God's love (the power of the Holy Spirit) to desire and seek "the things that are above," where our lives are hidden in God through Christ Jesus. For, in the clear and strong words of Jesus, "What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of the eternal self?"

Aiming high

"Teacher, what must I do to gain eternal life?"



The young man in the Gospel reading of Matthew had led what he thought was a "good" life. Jesus' reply to him is that there is only "One who is good." God! If one wishes to enter into eternal life (heaven), one must keep the Commandments.


This he says he does. But Jesus, who sees what is in our hearts, knew that even though the young man kept the Commandments he was lacking, because the most important things in his life were his possessions, not God or His law. He left Jesus rather than follow "the way, the truth and the life."


Personally I’m not prepared to sell everything I own and give it away. This would present a large number of practical problems, such as feeding, clothing and educating my family. I doubt that Jesus would view it as morally desirable to put the life and well being of my family at risk.


So how to best look at this Gospel? There’s clearly an important distinction that Jesus is drawing. We all have “negative” and “positive” duties. The negative duties, such as not to kill or commit adultery, are the easiest to discern and allow for the drawing of clear lines. I think that Jesus was really speaking to the well-to-do of His time, many of whom were living in relative comfort and with the contentment that they’d managed to live their lives without killing or committing adultery. I can almost feel the smug superiority of them as they’d pass by the prostitutes and beggars thinking that they were surely headed to Heaven and the prostitutes and beggars were headed to Hell.


But Jesus’ message is that things are far from being that simple, because we have “positive” duties too; most especially to have compassion for those who weren’t born into circumstances as comfortable—or for those who have fallen on hard times. It’s not good enough to pass by the less fortunate without lending a helping hand and feeling compassion. In fact, it’s probably less forgivable than those who violate the negative duties. Who on Judgment Day will be viewed as worse? The beggars and prostitutes who were trying to feed their families the only way they knew how or the rich who walked by them and sneered in contempt and did nothing to help? We know the answer Jesus gave because of His words how He spent his earthly time. Let’s all learn from His example.


I have been getting pretty complacent lately in my “positive” duties as a Eucharistic Minister. This is not to say I regret doing it, just that I had let it almost get routine. I’m pretty sure that one of the patients at the hospital today was a “plant” by the Holy Spirit to get me back on track and to remind me why I felt the call to be in pastoral care in the first place.


When I walked in the room, the old man was asleep. His daughter was staring out the window. I asked her, “Do you think he’ll want to wake up to partake of Holy Communion?” She replied, “I don’t know. I’ve just tried for 15 minutes to wake him to see if he’ll eat the lunch that was brought in, but I can’t rouse him.” But she tried again. This time, his eyes opened and I could see him zero in the cross I wear when visiting the hospital. She asked him something in a language that sounded similar to Spanish if he wanted the Eucharist. He couldn’t raise his bed to a sitting position fast enough! And he showed the biggest smile I’ve seen yet on a patient in a hospital! He thrust out his hand for mine, so I shook it. He would not let go, but kept talking a mile a minute in what his daughter said is Portugese and he was smiling the whole time, giving me a look as though he knew me.

He was jabbering non-stop (still holding onto my hand), then he laughed, and said, “no compriende, eh?” This I could interpret for myself. I replied (I hope) in his own language that no, I didn’t understand what he was saying. This made him laugh even harder, but did it stop his talking? No way! He went on for another 5 minutes! The funny thing is, what he was saying was almost melodious—it was beautiful! His daughter said he composes poems of prayer to Our Lady and her Son as a pastime. I had just been treated to an extemporaneous creation of one. Even though I couldn’t understand the words, somehow I know Mary and Jesus were pleased. It reminded me of Our Lady in Sunday’s gospel reciting the Maginificat!


We began the “communion service” and he became somber and reverent. When we got to the Lord’s Prayer, he spoke clearly and confidently. Up until then, and after the service, it was more of a mumble.


When we concluded the service, his daughter told me that he loved talking for hours about God, Jesus and Mary to anyone who would listen. I told her I felt the same way, but it would be easier if we both spoke the same languages! I turned to leave the room, and the old man pointed at my cross and said something. I asked his daughter what he was saying. She said he wanted to look at the cross I have around my neck and kiss it, if I would allow it. He asked if Christ was on the cross. I explained that the image of Christ is not on this cross, because it was designed to identify me as a Eucharistic minister, not as a priest or deacon. I offered to let him kiss the crucifix that is on my rosary that I carry in my pocket at all times, but instead he pulled me close and kissed my EM cross while I was still wearing it! Then he gave me a blessing! His daughter was interpreting as best she could, but she said she does not speak the language very well herself—just enough to get by with her Dad. She said his message, however, was clear. He was thanking me for (his words) “visiting all the poor sick people in the hospital who need Christ to help them.” I almost cried. I told him that’s why I do what I do. I don’t only bring Christ in the Eucharist to comfort the sick, I am also looking for Christ in the people I meet. Today, I met Him. And I thank Him for reminding me what I must do to gain eternal life.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

From Wikipedia: Munificentissimus Deus (Latin for "The most bountiful God") is the name of an Apostolic constitution written by Pope Pius XII. It defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the second ex-cathedra infallible statement ever made by a Pope, the first since the official ruling on Papal Infallibility was made at the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). In 1854, Pope Pius IX made an infallible statement with Ineffabilis Deus on the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which was a basis for this dogma. The decree was promulgated on November 1, 1950.

Every year on August 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.

Although the Church has always believed that Mary was probably taken up into heaven, it wasn't until the year 1950 that Pope Pius XII dogmatically and infallibly defined the Assumption as a dogma that we must believe. The decree reads: ". . . having completed the course of her earthly life, (Mary) was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."

The first reading today is from the dream of St. John, the Book of Revelation, where the Church has identified the woman who crushes the head of the Dragon (Satan) as Mary, and the child to Whom she is about to give birth as Jesus Christ.


In the second reading from St. Paul to the Corinthians, the apostle tells us that the bodily resurrection of Christ is a proof that Christ has won the victory over Satan and death. Like Mary who is taken up body and soul into heaven, so too will all who believe in Christ and follow His teaching, experience a bodily resurrection.


The gospel shows why Mary is so important in the life of the church. In the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, we celebrate the joy of two women, one carrying Jesus in her womb, and the second carrying John the Baptist in hers. Mary's heart was beating right next to God's heart. Think of it! No wonder Mary sings out that wonderful hymn, the Magnificat - - My Soul Magnifies the Lord! As Mary's love nurses the body of Jesus, so God's love nourishes Mary's soul.


God's love inspires Mary and all of us to praise the justice of God toward the poor and the helpless. Today's feast also teaches us to be patient under suffering as Mary was.


Day after day, her closeness to Christ's yearning to free the world from sin prepared her heart to share in tragedy, that terrible Good Friday! When we sometimes question whether God is really present in our own trials and pain, may we turn to Mary, and find strength in her faith and trust.

Please pray with me for my brother Bob

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Eternal Father, You know Bob even better than I do. I am his brother—You are his Creator. You know his sickness and the burden he carries. You also know his heart. You know how close he has kept You to his heart. Lord, I ask You to be with Bob now, working in his life. Let Your will be done in his life. If there is a sin that needs to be confessed and forgiven, please help him to see his need and confess.



Lord Jesus, I have faith in Your ability to heal my brother, but I also trust in the plan You have for his life. Lord, I don't always understand Your ways, or why Bob has to suffer, but I trust You. I keep remembering what You said in last Sunday’s gospel: To those who are given much, much will be required. I can only assume from his current situation that he has been given much. I think he would agree. I ask that You look with mercy and grace toward Your ever-faithful servant Bob.


Holy Spirit, I ask you to nourish Bob’s spirit and soul in this time of suffering and comfort him with Your presence. Remind him that You are there with him through this difficulty.


Heavenly Father, I ask on Bob’s behalf that his suffering be used for Your greater glory.


And finally, Father, remember all those who, like Bob, are also suffering and who have asked me to pray for them.


I ask you this through Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.  Amen

A bedtime story for Lily

Once upon a time, a child was ready to be born.


One day she asked God, "You're sending me to earth tomorrow…how am I going to live there when I'm so small and helpless?"
God replied, "Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and she will take care of you."

She said, "But here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile—that’s enough for me to be happy."
God replied, "Your angel will sing for you and will smile for you every day. You will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

The child responded, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language that people talk?”
God replied, "Your angel will teach you the most beautiful words with patience and care."

Then she asked, "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God replied, "Your angel will place your hands together and teach you how to pray."

Being a child, she was still curious. "Who will protect me from the bad things on earth?"
God said, "Your angel will defend and protect you with its own life."

She told God, "I will be sad when I don't see you anymore."
God replied, "Your angel will talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me. In the meantime, I will always be right next to you."

When He said this, her heart was filled with confidence, peace and love. But voices from earth could be heard, and the child asked one last question softly, "God, if I'm about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God replied, "You will call your angel ‘Mother’."

Timeless wisdom

I wasn't going to blog tonight.  I've spent the last couple of nights trying to find a new background image for my blog because I think the current one is too "busy".  But I can't seem to find what I want for free.  I'm not ready to buy a background.  It is one of those "low priority" items in the grand scheme of life.  I consider my blog a pretty good evangelistic tool, but it is just a hobby.  Maybe when (if) I retire, I'll turn it into something really fantastic.


Anyway, while I was surfing the 'net tonight, I came across a site that gave some CS Lewis quotes.  I picked a few that really hit the mark for me.  Please enjoy them.


"The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not."




"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" I This speaks directly to the subject of last night's blog, Anne Rice.


"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."


"I gave in, and admitted that God was God."  Here's another one that could be directed to Ms. Rice.


"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither." Yet another one for her! 

"A disturbance in the force!" (with apologies to George Lucas)

The Pharisees and Sadducees are alive and well and living in the USA. As you might recall, these groups were always twisting words and meanings of words (in vain) to get His followers to stop listening to Him. Of course they knew full well what they were doing! I prefer to give today’s version of these groups the benefit of the doubt, though, and hope that they are only misguided and uninformed about Christ’s teachings.


An opinion piece in the newspaper this morning proves my point. I’ll try to tackle each paragraph with my own humble thoughts.


Why Americans are keeping faith but losing religion
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
The Miami Herald


“Today, I quit being a Christian."


With those words last week on Facebook, Anne Rice delivered a wake-up call for organized religion. The question is whether it will be recognized as such.
*I would hope that most Christian Americans see Ms. Rice’s words for what they are and pray for her “re-re-conversion”.


"I remain committed to Christ as always," she wrote, "but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to 'belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else."
*Being a Christian is not like being in a club or an organization. It’s being follower of Christ and His teachings (or as I like to call it—the Truth, as taught to us through Scripture and the Tradition handed down to us by the Apostles He commissioned for this purpose. We’ve all tried. We’ve all failed at some point or another. The real strength in being a Christian is perseverance and hope in His promise of eternal life with the Father. But to be “committed to Christ” is to be committed to the Truth.


You will recall that the author, famed for her vampire novels, (this might be part of the problem!) made a much-publicized return to the Catholicism of her youth after years of calling herself an atheist. Now, years later, she says she hasn't lost her faith, but she's had it up to here with organized religion.
*Christ set up the “organization” when He gave the keys of Heaven to Peter and told him twice (first in Matthew 16. then again in Matthew 18) that, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”! Why is it so hard to understand this?


"In the name of Christ," she wrote, "I refuse to be anti-gay.
*So do I! I must, out of love for my neighbor, point out the disorder of the “gay” life-style and pray for his repentance, but I love him nonetheless.

I refuse to be anti-feminist.
*So do I! I believe that all men and women are created in the image and likeness of God. They are equal in dignity, but different in body and physical abilities. I don’t buy into the “there is no difference between men and women” argument.

I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control.
*Does she really have all of the facts regarding the harm that artificial birth control methods do to the women who claim to be “feminist?”

I refuse to be anti-Democrat.
*I don’t know where she gets this. I know of no teachings that require Christians to register as Republican, Democrat, or Tea Party adherents.

I refuse to be anti-secular humanism.
*Usually, this means that one wants to be self-centered, instead of Christ-centered.

I refuse to be anti-science.
*Christianity, and Catholics in particular have always been the pioneers in scientific discovery. I would assume Ms. Rice refers here to embryonic stem-cell research, which has been woefully unproductive—which anyone who has an open mind can find out, with a little bit of on line research.

I refuse to be anti-life."
*Again, Ms. Rice is painfully ignorant if she can’t see that the Catholic Church has led the way for 2000 years in pro-life causes.


If that was not nearly enough for atheist observers, one of whom berated her online for refusing to give up her "superstitious delusions" completely, it was surely plenty for people of faith. But Rice is hardly the only one who feels as she does.


According to a 2008 study by Trinity College, religiosity is trending down sharply in this country. The American Religious Identification Survey, which polled more than 54,000 American adults, found that the percentage who call themselves Christian has fallen by 10 points since 1990 (from 86.2 percent to 76 percent) while the percentage of those who claim no religious affiliation has almost doubled (from 8.2 to 15 percent) in the same span.
*I take study results like this with a grain of salt. After all, statistics show that 100% of all statistics can be interpreted to say what they want to prove. Lol.


Small wonder atheist manifestos are doing brisk business at bookstores, and Bill Maher's skeptical "Religulous" finds an appreciative audience in theaters.
*Really? Bill Maher is skeptical of religion? I’m shocked! I stopped paying any attention to anything this hateful “comedian” says long ago. I now just pray for him.

Organized religion, Christianity in particular, is on the decline, and it has no one to blame but itself: It traded moral authority for political power.
*Christianity did not “trade” moral authority for political power. Christians simply realized that they would have to finally get involved in the political process to prevent the secular society from dictating immoral behavior. And now the secularists are angry that they are being reined in!


To put that another way: The Christian Bible contains numerous exhortations to serve those who are wretched and poor, to anger slowly and forgive promptly, to walk through this life in humility and faith. The word "Republican" does not appear in the book. Not once.
*Nor does“Democrat”. Or “Tea Party”. Or “Libertarian”. Or “Bible”.


Yet somehow in the past 30 years, people of faith were hustled and hoodwinked into regarding the GOP platform as a lost gospel.
*This is this writer’s opinion. I prefer to think that for the past 30 years, Christians have fought a valiant battle to stave off the “Babel”-type hubris and self-destructive behavior of the “me” generation.


Somehow, low taxes for the wealthy and deregulation of industry became the very message of Christ.
*I must have missed this chapter and verse in the Bible.

Somehow, hostility to science, gays, Muslims and immigrants became the very meaning of faith. And somehow Christianity became - or at least, came to seem - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party.
*Isn’t it funny how disagreement with the Truth, even when the Truth is conveyed charitably, is translated to “hostility”?


Consider that, after the election of 2004, a church in North Carolina made news for kicking out nine congregants because they committed the un-Christian act of ... voting for Democrat John Kerry.
*The key words here are “made news”. It shouldn’t have. Poor judgment on the part of misguided zealots should not be newsworthy. It only made the news because the media wanted to further their own anti-Christian bias.


Who can blame people for saying: If that's faith, count me out. Has atheism ever had a better salesman than Jerry Falwell blaming the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the ACLU or Pat Robertson laying Haiti's earthquake off on an ancient curse?
*We agree on this—these men are idiots who don’t understand the unsurpassed love and mercy of our Creator.


But what of those who are not atheists? What of those who feel the blessed assurance that there is more to this existence than what we can see or empirically prove? What of those who seek a magnificent faith that commits and compels, and find churches offering only a shriveled faith that marginalizes and demeans?


Its response to those people, those "seekers," will determine the future of organized religion. And it might behoove keepers of the faith to keep in mind the distinction Anne Rice drew in her farewell:


Christ didn't fail her, she said. Christianity did.
*I disagree. It’s her own perception of what she feels Christianity should do for her, rather than what her faith promises her.


This is the greatest error (in my own opinion) that all of us make at some point in our lives—that we shouldn’t have pain and suffering and yes (gasp!) even disappointment in this world. What we don’t want to hear is the message that Christ gave us many times in the Gospel:

Matthew 10:38
Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.


Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.


Mark 8:34
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."


Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."


Luke 14:27
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.


As far as Ms. Rice is concerned, she should really re-familiarize herself with Hebrews: Chapter 11.

Be prepared!

Our readings this week are all about being prepared for the Lord's coming! The reading from Hebrews says it all: "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for - - and evidence of things not seen." If our faith is strong, we will endure anything rather than miss out on the day of the Lord's coming. To journey in faith and trust in God, always leads to life, not death.


The first reading from Wisdom recalls the night before the flight of the Hebrew people into the desert. Faith alone in what God had promised could give them courage to actually flee into the unknown. And, of course, God rewarded their courage, and dramatically helped them to escape. Many other models of faith are mentioned in the second reading.

To those who have faith, all things are possible. Faith helps us to rely on God's power, not on our own. As the gospel points out, we are to live in this world as strangers who are on their way home. People who move from one place to another get rid of all they can from their old house and focus on furnishing the new house. They joyfully give away what they once cherished. Jesus said: "For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."  (Luke 12:34)

Two ways are set before us...I choose life

When I read this story on the internet this morning, it reminded me of an entry I made in my journal back in 2003, when the Scott Petersen case was going on. Here is what I wrote:

A letter-writer to the Stockton Record recently really got my hackles up. Some woman said she was anti- death penalty, but pro- abortion--sort of. She believes that taking a life as punishment for murder is wrong, as I do. But at the same time, she believes that taking a life for no other reason than unwanted pregnancy is somehow justified, because it is a "woman's right to choose."  What a hypocrite!

The author was saying that she believed that charging a man with double homicide was justified (although the punishment is not) because the woman wanted her baby, and was making plans for his arrival. This leads me to assume that she (the  letter writer) knows that the baby boy was living in the womb of the mother.

I'm confused. Is the baby only living in the wombs of women who want the child? What makes this baby any more alive than babies killed by abortionists? Was it because someone killed him other than his mother had she chosen to have an abortion? Is a life only determined as a matter of intent on the part of the parents? Is she saying that if the mother had been killed while on her way to have an abortion, the man should not be charged with the murder of the child? This is beyond my comprehension, I guess!

The pro-choice advocates know that a fetus is alive and shares the same rights and privileges endowed by God--that is, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But if it is an inconvenient pregnancy, the unborn baby is just another tumor to be removed, with no thoughts as to what the child may be able to contribute to the future of the world.

The real “choice” the Pro-“choice” crowd makes is to ignore the laws of nature (what else can a “fetus” be—if it is allowed to continue to grow in the mother’s womb—except a human being?) and of God.

The only comfort I take in contemplating abortion is that I believe the soul of the baby is formed at conception. And killing the baby before he or she enters the world sends the soul straight back to God in Heaven as a martyr for the faith, so he or she can join countless other saints praying for the end to this abomination of abortion.

I pray every day that God will somehow soften the hearts and minds of abortionists and those who seek abortions so we can become more pleasing to Him at the time of our death, which, no matter how much we fight it, will come. And we’ll have to answer to Him for the “choices” we made.

Lily has a new blog!

Lily's old blog is out.  Not completely.  If you want to see the pictures and posts, you can still go to www.lilybugjuarez.blogspot.com.  But I couldn't figure out how to get the header picture to change without screwing up the whole thing!  So I just started a new blog.  Just click on her picture at the left to see her new blog.

Do you hear what I hear?

"Speak Lord, your servant is listening!" (1Samuel 3:10)



“Be quick to listen and slow to speak." (James 1:19).


"You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." (Luke 10:38-42).


"He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame." (Proverbs 18:13).


"This is my beloved Son; listen to him." (Mark 9:7)


"Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5)


It's hard, if not impossible to communicate with someone who is not listening at all, or giving you only part of their attention. Christ must get frustrated with us! He loves us so much, and wants to become one with each of us, but it is hard if we are not being attentive to Him.  We must turn the "noise" of the world off to make it easier to listen. Peace and quiet are so important!

The Peter Principle--My version

Thursday’s scripture readings are an interesting contrast showing God’s love and power and how we often do not trust in God’s love and power. In Jeremiah, God promises a new covenant with Israel. No longer will they have a need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the Lord. “I will forgive their evil doing and remember their sin no more.” The psalmist proclaims a heart contrite and humbled, “O God, you will not spurn.” And in Matthew, Peter, in response to Jesus’ question of who do you say I am, proclaims Jesus as the Christ.


Peter is just so human. Peter boldly proclaims to Jesus, “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And then when Jesus says he is headed to Jerusalem to be killed, Peter takes him aside and boldly proclaims, that is a horrible plan, I can come up with a better plan than that. Imagine, telling God you have a better plan. Good thing I never do that.

I have family members and friends who have drifted from their faith in Jesus and His Church by the trappings and seductions of the secular world. Or maybe they never had it. I have tried logical arguments, and I’ve tried pulling their “guilt strings”. I try to set an example by my practice of my faith. But even if my example or guilt trips or arguments seem to show promise, I know that no one has ever been argued into a relationship with God. When someone establishes a walk with Christ, it isn’t my doing, it is the awesome power of God’s grace. I know that, too. So, why am I plotting out my arguments, guilt trips and ways to set an example? It may come down to control and trust. I want to be in control and I’m not sure I can trust God. Which is strange. I know that I am at my best as Christ’s ambassador when I simply pray and open myself up to the Holy Spirit. When I submit fully to God’s hand is when things seem to work out best. So, if that is my experience, why is control and trust such an issue? Why don’t I fully entrust myself into God’s hands? Why do I think I have to fix this or I have to do this on my own? I wish I knew. I’m an imperfect creation on a walk with my creator. And I don’t always seem to be able to follow the path He has laid out before me. Good thing we worship a loving, forgiving God.

My prayer today is for all of us who don’t seem to be able to relinquish control and simply trust the God who loves us.

Very interesting stuff!

On EWTN Live tonight, Father Pacwa had as his guest Father Richard Kunst, who collects "spiritual artifacts", with a special focus on items of papal history.  He started out as a kid collecting autographs of politicians and sports figures, but he sold those shortly after his ordination and began collecting his current items.  He says he has about 1500 items.  One of the most interesting to me is not an item of the papacy, but a letter from Mother Teresa.  Father Kunst wrote to her to ask her for her autograph, and in a kind but saintly way, she responded.  I come close to tears every time I read this letter because of its simple, yet theologically deep content.  Wow.  Just wow.  Click on this link to see the letter and browse Father Kunst's collection. 

The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Today’s readings (Jeremiah 31:1-7, Jeremiah 31:10-13 and Matthew 15:21-28), promise us that God hears us. The first reading and the song from Jeremiah promise that “with age old love I have loved you… again I will restore (or 'build') you” and claim “The Lord will guard us.” Then we have the story from Matthew of the persistent foreign woman who wore our Lord down until he finally said, “O woman, great is your faith,” and healed her daughter.


We all pray our prayers of petition: “Cure this illness. Help me do this. Make my car start, the storm pass, the decision come my way.” We want favors, we want comfort, we want miracles. I’ve written before that as a kid we said the rosary as a family (except Dad, who was not Catholic), and we were exhorted to pray devoutly for “the conversion of Russia,” and sure enough, in the ‘80s the “Evil Empire” of the Soviet Union collapsed. Yet the economic and social situations in Russia and other nations of the former USSR are surely not models of fully “converted” societies today–-I heard today that 60% of all pregnancies in Russia are aborted, and the life expectancy in that country has lowered from 67 to 57 years-- nor do we see perfection in any nation. We are always praying for “peace in the world.” We persist in asking for the miracle, the healing.

In fact, Jesus taught us to ask for miracles, teaching us to pray “Our Father … Thy Kingdom come…. Give us this day our daily bread … Deliver us from evil.” Look at the newspaper, turn on CNN: we haven’t exactly been delivered from evil, have we? Yet this Canaanite woman’s story encourages us to keep praying. After all, it’s only 20 centuries, a tiny bit of time in this planet’s history, since Jesus taught us to pray. We might as well persist a while longer!

Every day I get requests for specific prayers for such needs as cures of diseases, jobs for the unemployed, successful pregnancies, peaceful deaths for the dying, comfort for grieving families, support for our nation’s armed services. I believe that our prayers benefit the people we pray for. I know that praying for these people benefits me. I can’t give justice in words to how I feel after I’ve prayed on behalf of others’ needs. It’s like I don’t even think about my own needs anymore—I know they will be taken care of by someone else’s prayers!

Today is the feast day of St. John Vianney, the “Cure of Ars” (meaning the parish priest of the village of Ars in France), the patron saint of priests. He was famous for his faith, love, prayer and sacrifices, and huge numbers of people came from all over the world to have him hear their confessions. Remembering his example, let us pray today for the needs of our priests, and of all men and women who minister to their fellow Christians, teaching them to persist in prayer for the world’s healing as Jesus did, “Thy Kingdom Come.”

Editorial cartoons with a Catholic sensibility

http://www.catholiccartoonblog.blogspot.com/

Go ahead!  Read some of these.  They're hit and miss, but I enjoyed a lot of them.  I put a link on my favorites list.

The 4th Watch

Here I am up at midnight again typing away as the fourth watch of the night approaches. The “fourth watch of the night” is that time between 3:00 AM and dawn. In winter and in summer awakening in that darkest part of the night often after the moon sets and before the paleness of dawn, I awaken and feel fear of the storms (or possible storms) that seem to surround my life. Fear of not having done enough, fear for those I love (and for whom I can do nothing but pray in this situation), fear about my own future, fear that something important is due and not finished – you name it, my “4 O’clock demon” wants to diminish any peace and joy in being human, wants to bring me to despair, or simply wants to make me miserable. Even though I personify the feeling I don’t really think of it as another creature so much as that enemy of human flourishing that dwells in my own less-than-courageous self that would be chided by Jesus’ “you of little faith.” It’s not that I have no faith – to say so would be to dishonor the wondrous gift of faith that God has given me through the Holy Spirit in Baptism, but I certainly can be one of “little faith” – that is one who allows spiritual desolation to take hold. Sometimes I remain like the other disciples, and huddle in the boat wondering if the winds and the waves of challenge surrounding my life will completely swamp me, but once in awhile I have the small courage of Peter who says to Jesus “command me to come to you.”


These days in the Christian community we need lots of folks with the courage of Peter. His at this moment of this story is not a great courage, but it is a wise courage. That is, he trusts his limited insight and tests whether what he sees is Jesus by asking him to give him the command that he is familiar with – “Come.” Perhaps he hears the Lord say “get out of the boat and walk on that stormy water – I will give you my power to do so.” That certainly is what he is willing to do. How many of us instead of asking for the truth of the vision in front of us huddle in the boat of the familiar way of doing things – unwilling and too frightened to test the new possibilities suggested by this way of experiencing Christ. There are new challenges, new ways of hearing and following the Spirit of Christ leading us that seem not to be “solid” enough that we are not willing to even try to discern where the Lord is in the event or experience.

Christ’s coming to us will often be in demanding, stretching, challenging ways – calling us out of the false securities within which we huddle in fear – but it at least is a fear we know. But what will we miss? Jeremiah gives us the clue at the end of today’s reading after we have thought about our sin and unworthiness: “When I summon him [or her] that one will approach me; how else should one take the deadly risk of approaching me? Says the Lord.” It is a deadly risk to respond to Jesus’ terrifying call – but what will die is crippling fear, do-nothing obstructionism, failure to grow and flourish, righteous certainty in something from the past that gives me security – in other words the very wounds that the Lord refers to earlier in the reading that have kept us from him.

So my 3:00 or 4:00 AM demon is the voice within me that doesn’t want to take the time to discern whether it is Jesus who calls me to some new and challenging task – the task of loving more deeply, responding more enthusiastically, trying something new and dangerous – and life giving! It is the fear that doesn’t want me to risk even praying to find out what the Spirit calls me to. It is the silent dread that refuses the work of opening my heart and mind to the call to “Come.” God spare me from that voice – or at least give me Peter’s modest faith that tremulously asks, “If it is you, command me to come,” that would be enough for me.

What matters to God

Knowing many things, having great possessions, actually being good avails humans of nothing. Time and life go on while we are here and after. Vanity is like smoke or wind - it all vanishes. Nothing is of much value or importance. One person can labor for a lifetime and when that person dies, the profits and accumulations might be given to one who did nothing to deserve it all.




The basic message is the old one of, “You can’t take it with you.” Instead of the meaning of the word “vanity” concerning superfluous clothes and cosmetics, I offer the word, “Fragile” or “symbolic”. Everything is sacramental, that is leading beyond itself. The theme here is that what is, is, and will not be, very soon. This text is not meant to be a bucket of cold water, but a reflection upon the shortness of life’s span and even more deeply, a pointing to the possibility of a life beyond the fragile.


There is an old saying, “You can’t take it with you, except the things you gave away.” We all might be looking for the loopholes, but there aren’t any. Do we wonder just what does “matter to God?” Luke’s Gospel stresses the centrality of holding on to Jesus as we saw last week with Mary’s sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha was doing many other good things.


We all have things of great value, emotionally, materially, historically. We all have possessions. The thing is not what we possess, but what possesses us. We know that it is so easy to receive the gifts and not the hand Who offers them. Reception is sacramental; to cling to them for our value and identity is sacrilegious.


The man of the parable in today’s gospel reading is quite self-satisfied, even though it was the land that gave him his abundant crop. He is preparing himself for a life of easy self-reliance. Maybe his farming neighbors will think more highly of him, because of his bigger barn. He has lost contact with the fragility of his own life. Apparently he has not been sharing much and so he will take nothing with him. What seemed to matter to the man of the parable was himself and his personality establishment.


The parable does not say that he will not receive eternal life with God in heaven. The parable is meant to remind us all that life is short and fragile and what matters to God has to do with God’s becoming bigger within the human experience.

Funny (I think)

On a particularly hot summer day, the priest began the Mass by saying, "Dear children, our air conditioner went out this morning.  The restrooms are out of order, and our PA system is on its last legs.  We are having all sorts of problems with facilities today." 


To which the congregation, being very devout Catholics replied, "And also with you!"

We are clay in the Potter's hands

Over the past few weeks—or has it been months?—I have heard several people say things that make me wonder if they “get it”. One of my friends has an acquaintance with a “man” who feels “trapped in a woman’s body.” There have been quite a few stories lately of children who have been “diagnosed” with a “condition” that is “cured” by “gender reassignment.” These are children under the age of 10! They don’t even realize what “gender” is yet! How can they be confused? Are the doctors and the parents of these children saying God made a mistake?

Then there are those who say, “I hate my life!” Or, “Life sucks!” Or, “Why does everything bad happen to me?” Or, “What did I do to God to deserve this?”

We have to remember that God does not cause bad things to happen. He can’t—Everything about the Nature of God is good. If you know your Bible at all, you’ll find in Genesis that everything God made and continues to make is good. He allows bad things to happen so that our faith and free will can be tested. A good thing to remember also is that He will never give us more than we are capable of handling, regardless of what we think. He knows our limitations better than we do. And, whether we realize it or not, He sends His Holy Spirit to help us. We only need to be open to receiving His help.

We do not always realize that we are being formed by the events and circumstances of our lives. Sometimes in retrospect, the "pieces" of our life make sense and we can see the hand of God in what has happened.

Jeremiah makes reference to clay in the hands of the potter, a clear image of how God can be forming us throughout our lives. The gospel of Luke depicts a change in Martha with the death of her brother, Lazarus. Earlier Mary sat quietly at the feet of Christ while Martha busied herself with food preparations. This time Martha seeks out Christ and expresses an act of faith, believing that Christ could have prevented the death of her brother.

It is a challenge sometimes remaining open to the events that can change us. Events can be wasted on us if we spend our energy reacting negatively instead of leaning gracefully and lovingly into the hands of the Potter, God Himself.

My own little corner of heaven

I took a break yesterday from my Sunday routine of yard work, Mass, Eucharistic Minister at the hospital, and visiting Mom to take a “mini-retreat”. My intention was to go salmon fishing in the San Francisco bay, but the captain of the charter boat I usually hire each year called me to say that it would be a waste of my time and money to go out. The fish are simply not out there yet. So my back-up plan was to go golfing and practice so I don’t look like a complete doofus when my brother Dick, his wife Jane (yes, that’s true!) and I go golfing during his visit next week. I was going to go into the foothills and hit a few balls and enjoy God’s creation in the process.

I put the golf clubs in the car and headed off to Mass, intending to leave from the church to the course. During Mass, I made the decision I didn’t want to golf after all, but take advantage of the time I had to myself to just relax and pray. Then to spend some quality time with the family when they got home from their overnight stay at the cabin.

I started by going over the readings for last week and the coming week. When I got to last Saturday’s readings about the weeds and wheat growing together, it took me back to a conversation I had with Dad quite a few years ago. What a brilliantly simple man he was!

I was about 11 or 12 years old and we were out in the back yard working in the garden. He wanted me to help pull the weeds. There were some pretty flowers that he took really good care of in the flowerbeds around the house, but in the vegetable garden, he was pulling them out! So I asked him, “How do I know which is a weed, and which plant isn’t?” He replied, “If it isn’t what we planted, no matter how beautiful it is, it’s a weed, because it can take over the whole garden and the vegetables won’t grow or get as big as we want them to, so it doesn’t belong here.” Sin is like that. It can be quite beautiful and seductive, but it is never what God intended to be in His garden.

In the four Gospels, Jesus tells us of many ways that we have to choose between living joyfully with God forever and being forever separated from Him, in great pain over our loss.

The special spin that Jesus puts on this question of our choice is that we have a whole lifetime to make it in. God provides us with all that we need to choose Him and to make that choice concrete in our life rather than just a vague wish or orientation, and we must make that one central choice of our life in terms of the small daily choices that inch us closer to God or away from Him.

While the "harvesters" are able to tell the difference between the weeds and the wheat, we  must ordinarily remain in some uncertainly about whether we truly have chosen God enough, whether we have loved Him enough. Any certainty about whether we are "saved" or not can be a form of self-delusion and lead to pride, laziness, and a fatal assumption that we are "good enough." That sort of thing can be deadly in our human relationships, and it is no different in our relationship with God.

I simply do not know whether I am weed or wheat while I am alive, and the fact is that I am both --- but which is the dominant side of who I am? While I myself am responsible for the choice, it is up to God to decide what I have actually chosen. And that is where the virtue of hope comes in.


The kingdom of heaven starts small, as small as the smallest seed you can see. A still, quiet voice in the human heart, speaking and reminding us that God is always present. Sometimes there will be no sign of it on the outside. But within, there is the yearning, the striving for heaven here and now.


But no matter how small it starts, with gardening and attendance, paying attention to God and what is important, with the slightest care, the smallest amount of devotion, it can grow by leaps and bounds -- a seedling, a shrub, a bush, a tree. And when it has grown, when we've allowed it to take root, it has another supernatural property -- it summons, from every corner of the earth and sky, those who would join. People can see the blessing of it; people can feel its comforting presence. And they are drawn to it. They are drawn to the cool shade of it on a hot summer day.


When we allow grace to work, we allow the Kingdom of Heaven to take root. And this kingdom is not for us to hoard and enjoy alone. It has as its chief characteristic the need to be shared, the desire to grow to include everyone.


When you open yourself up to God, do not be surprised that others see it in you and start to want to be near you. Do not underestimate the ability God has given you to change your part of the world into a corner of heaven.

I enjoyed my “mini-retreat” and the time of reflection—no matter how short it was, but I missed more than I would have realized my weekly visit with Mom and visiting the sick at the hospital and bringing Jesus to them. It goes to show you that you never know what you’ll miss until you do—In this case, my duties as Eucharistic Minister (and son) create my own little “corner of heaven.”

Catching up and continuing my pilgrimage

I haven't posted on my blog as regularly as I would like, because I like it to be of a certain quality of writing.  I just haven't been very pleased with my skills lately.  I know what I want to say, but it doesn't sound the same once I put it on paper.  I related this to a couple of you who have wondered about my health this week, so to put your fears to rest, I'm going to write an entry tonight to prove I'm not sick, just tongue-tied. ========================================================================

My plan this morning was to attend Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Fresno. This plan would have had two significant meanings for me. The first was to continue my pilgrimage to visit every church in the Fresno and Stockton dioceses. The second was to finally see the inside of the church where I was baptized!



I say finally, because this was my fifth attempt to attend a Mass or just to get inside the doors of OLMC! Every time I have tried previously, no one ever showed up, and there was a “CLOSED” sign in the window of the parish office. Today was no different.


According to the website, daily Masses are Tuesday through Friday at 8:00 AM. So I got there at 7:30 to look around and say a few preliminary prayers before Mass was to start. By 7:50, no one had opened the doors, nor had anyone driven up to the church. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m not supposed to include this church in my pilgrimage until all of the others have been done!


A less-determined pilgrim would have given up on Mass today, but there are plenty of churches I haven’t seen yet, even here in Fresno. I remembered that I would be passing by the diocesan Cathedral (St. John’s) on my way to the store I was working today, so I headed over there. In less than 5 minutes, I was there (on time) for Mass. At first glance, it seemed a lot smaller than my own “home” cathedral in Stockton, the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption. After Mass, I took a couple of minutes to look at it more closely. It does appear to seat less than Assumption, but the sanctuary in St. John’s is much larger and ornate—almost 25% of the entire church is the sanctuary.


About the Mass. It was in Spanish. I attend a lot of Spanish-language masses when I’m out of town. I don’t know why, it just works out that way. It doesn’t really matter, because the structure of the Liturgy is the same no matter what language it’s in. And I usually read the next day’s readings every evening so I don’t miss out on the Liturgy of the Word. I’m getting better at understanding the homilies, too. It’s amazing the number of words I pick up on. What happened at today’s service is an example.


At two different points during the service, cell phones started ringing! They were turned off rather quickly, but not before taking everyone’s attention from the liturgy to the source of the interruptions. After the Liturgy of the Eucharist and concluding prayers, but before the final blessing and “ite misa est”, the priest said (in Spanish), “It is necessary that I speak about respect for Our Lord for a few minutes.” At least that’s what I heard. As I said, I am not fluent or even conversant in Spanish, but I am quite certain the Holy Spirit was allowing me to understand Father’s words. He spoke about the reverential attitude we should exhibit when we enter the house of God to listen to His Word and receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of His Son. He reminded us that weekday masses only last about 30 minutes and it was a show of disrespect not to give Jesus our undivided attention while we were guests in His house. He said we should leave our cell phones in our cars before coming to see our Lord.


This got me thinking about the gospel earlier in the week about Mary and Martha. Martha seemed more concerned about the duties of the world, while Mary ignored everything else to listen to the Word. Jesus lovingly told Martha that, while he appreciated her labors, Mary had chosen the better path. Just as I was thinking about this, I heard the priest saying the names of Martha and Mary. Who needs a language class, when you’ve got the Holy Spirit translating for you?
=======================================================================

Now, my reflection for tomorrow:

Faith is a gift from God, as necessary as the air we breathe.  In addition to our physical life, He has made us in His image by giving us a human spirit through which He silently communicates His love and truth to us.


Some dismiss this, because unbelief has deafened and blinded them to God. Others are so comfortable in sin that their only concern is satisfying their desires. A third group performs all the visible signs of faith, but has neither "heart knowledge" nor a true love for Christ that develops in those who have a prayerful relationship with Him. The latter are open to receive His gift of Faith, which is a deep-seated, totally trusting belief in God's Word and in His love for all humanity.


These humble, steadfast people live quietly, but they unwittingly provide this world with a strong witness that God, in Christ, is present on earth and ever offering us His graces through His Spirit of love and truth. Jeremiah refers to these as faithful shepherds who will help unite and guide God's people to live in a spiritual covenant that will one day symbolize their nation as a divine throne attracting all the world's nations.


Christ's parable of the "sower" refers to those sent by God to sow His "Seed," to inspire faith in His holy Word by generously casting it upon the minds and hearts of all those in the land. But the seed's growth depends on the "ground" in which it falls.


For example, if the seed falls on an insensitive, foot-hardened path, it will lie there to be stolen by the evil one. Rocky ground may joyfully receive the seed but it lacks sufficient soil to allow the seed to develop strong roots, and the plant dies for lack of nourishment. The seed sown among thorns is suffocated by worldly concerns; earning riches is more exciting than waiting for God's gifts.


Only a rich, yielding, receptive soil will understand what the precious seeds will bring forth, and it gives itself to promoting a large and nourishing crop. It is man who determines the goodness and the growth of God's life in this world.

God help us!

The kids in my previous entry grow up to be the adults in this story!

What are they thinking?

Blind, gullible and stupid

Can you believe this? Click on the link.

Idiocy

I hope no one I know is so stupid as to try this.  Showing love by biting is something reserved for food, in my opinion!

Free will

Human beings value their freedom very much. There have been many wars throughout history and to this day over personal freedom. Free will, a gift from God, enables us to be free to make our own choices, but also comes with some responsibilities.




We know many instances where countries and perhaps where individuals within a family take away another's freedom. Unfortunately with our weaknesses as individuals we sometimes get ourselves into situations that compromise our freedom. How many "crosses" are of our own making?


Throughout the ministry of Christ, He constantly, but gently, urged His listeners to follow Him and His way. The Jewish people of His day were bound by hundreds of laws that they were to follow. The term "yoke of the law" referred to that reality. Instead, Christ said, "Take MY YOKE upon you and learn of me because I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29-30)

Blessed Kateri

On July 14, we Catholics celebrate the “Lily of the Mohawks,” Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (“Gaw-deh-lee De-ga-kwe-tha”).  Because my daughter Alicia chose Blessed Kateri for her patron saint at her confirmation, it's an especially appropriate day to give her a great big bearhug and tell her that I love her very much!  I think she knows how much I love her, but it's always nice to hear it, too.  She is always in my prayers and I hope she is in yours, as well.
 
Kateri was born near the town of Auriesville, New York, in the year 1656, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior. Her mother died when she was young, she was raised by aunts and uncles, and eventually rejected by her tribe when she converted to Christ. She had to leave her family to practice her faith. In the four years that she lived as a disciple of Jesus before her death at age twenty-four, she cared for the sick and aged and dedicated herself to prayer and penance. Her greatest devotion was to the crucified Jesus and the Eucharist. Blessed Kateri lived a simple, humble life. She is a beautiful “icon” through whom we can catch a glimpse of the message of Wednesday’s scriptures.



In the Isaiah passage the Lord pronounces woes against the nation Assyria. Assyria was an instrument God used to punish other nations but then attributed its might and wisdom to itself. Assyria becomes arrogant, and for this God plans to bring punishment. Arrogance is defined as "an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions."


No word could better define how the nation of Israel had become at the time if Isaiah. To show the people of Israel their folly, Isaiah uses some beautiful imagery asking, "Will the axe boast against him who hews with it? Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?" Of course, the answer is no: the axe has no power over him who swings it, just as the saw can do nothing to the person who cuts with it. Axes and saws are powerless, inanimate objects.


The Israelites were nothing more than axes and saws, but in their arrogance they believed they had great power and could ignore God's laws. In reality they had no power at all, especially in the face of God's anger.


As our scientific knowledge, our success and our seemingly great accomplishments continue to expand, it seems God gets smaller and smaller. But as our own presumptuousness grows, God really never gets smaller. In fact our true need for Him grows larger and larger. Don't ever be fooled by letting arrogance creep into your life!


Blessed Kateri is the anti-Assyria because she never forgot her Creator and never exalted herself. In humility and love she served God.


The refrain of the responsorial psalm is “The Lord will not abandon his people.” Blessed Kateri was persecuted by her own tribe. Although she loved her people, she felt compelled to travel to a place where she could practice her faith. I can’t fathom the courage required of a twenty-year-old, single, Native American, young woman living in 1676 who abandoned all to embrace the crucified Jesus. Yet, through it all she experiences the love of God. The one who made the ear hears her cry. The one who made the eye sees her faith. Her inheritance is the Spirit who does not abandon His people.


The gospel lesson records one of the prayers of Jesus. Jesus praises the Father for hiding His will for the world from the wise and learned and revealing it to the childlike. It is the Blessed Kateris of the world to whom the Father reveals His will. The haughty, the proud, the wise, the learned simply are not enough like children to be able to receive it. God would give it to us but we are too full of ourselves. There is no room within our hearts for the gracious will of God.

A life of forgiveness is a life full of the grace of God

Forgiving someone you love is infinitely easier than someone you don't. The spirit of what Jesus says about forgiveness is that we should forgive ANYONE who needs it many more times than will feel comfortable or "right" or fair.


Part of what communicates God's grace in the world is the Spirit-freeing aspect of the act of forgiveness. Giving hurt and anger up to God and forgiving the person who created that them relieves such a burden. Everyone has done something, somewhere, sometime, to hurt another person -- whether intentionally or not, whether seriously or not -- so we all have something to consider within ourselves that needs forgiveness. God's forgiveness, through Christ, is meant to free us from the bonds of death. Death as expressed in the lies and deceits with which we live; death as expressed in the separations we experience in our relationships with others; death as expressed in the greatest separation: that of ourselves from God.


In the forgiving process, we are the ones needing forgiveness first. Whether we reflect on the forgiveness gained for us by Christ on the cross, an instance of our being forgiven by someone else, or a time where we have forgiven someone -- forgiveness starts at "home". Without recognizing the grace we have received, we simply cannot truly and honestly extend that grace to anyone else.


Forgiveness, being a grace of God, is free but not cheap. Forgiveness takes work and commitment. The work part is the inventory of just how we feel about the person and the situation creating the need for forgiveness. The work part includes looking at our own culpability in a situation and if it exists, owning it -- however small or seemingly insignificant. The work involves seeing the other person through the eyes of Christ. The work takes true shape in the encounter with the one who has hurt us. The work ends in the letting go of the anger, disappointment, and disillusionment that rests in our heart, binding our spirits. Laying it down at the foot of the Cross and stepping away, turning our backs on it. Trusting that God will give us what we need to heal, to become whole, to forgive.


Commitment comes with the change in our heart and soul--a change that is nothing short of a miracle. Commitment to forgiveness reveals itself in gentleness, in loving forgiveness of our own imperfections, and in loving forgiveness of the imperfections of others. Commitment to forgiveness brings a deep abiding joy to our hearts and souls which radiates outward. Commitment to forgiveness is just that...a commitment. Living a life of forgiveness, forged in our hearts by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ demands an effort to be engaged in a relationship with Christ.


Engagement in a relationship with Christ brings us to that deep abiding joy in our hearts and souls because of the forgiveness we receive, time and time again. Engagement in a relationship with Christ is about accountability. We are accountable to God through Christ. When we become engaged in a relationship with Christ, we become part of the Body of Christ.

Faith is good medicine

I’ve been so mentally and physically exhausted lately that I was not going to write a blog tonight—in fact I was just turning out the lights and the television (it’s 1 o’clock in the morning), when I heard someone cite a Mother Teresa quote. That alone would not generally move me to write, but the fact that it’s the 3rd time I heard the quote today in 3 different contexts tends to tell me the Holy Spirit is prompting me to write this short note of thanksgiving and praise to Our Lord Jesus Christ.


Mother Teresa’s quote is, “God doesn’t want us to be successful. He wants us to be faithful.” Worrying about all the health and family dramas playing out on the home front the past few weeks has brought me thisclose to losing my mind. The worry has also had an effect on my ability to do my job at a standard I can be happy with. I decided to make a commitment to prayer, giving all of the issues to Jesus through Mary and trusting that it’s all a part of His plan to strengthen my faith and the faith of those around me. God has already answered my prayers to most of the health issues (Praise Him always!)! As far as my job stress, my boss has been really good about it, giving me some time to work things out and taking it relatively easy on me, but it’s time I buckle down and get the job done. After all, I want to be successful. And I believe I will be, as long as I remain faithful to God.

Jesus is at the door of our souls

All that we have is a total gift: "Without cost you have received: without cost you are to give." (Matthew 10:8)


At our baptism we became sons and daughters of Christ. Through that sacrament and Confirmation we are challenged to carry out His mission. In Matthew 10, Christ spells out clearly what we are to do and that we have His assurance that He is always with us.


If only all of us understood that challenge, given in love, by Love Himself!


How often, instead, we hear the comments such as, "I don't get anything out of going to Mass." It is a spillover from our secular society where so often we are looking for rewards without putting out any effort .


Persons speaking in that manner have yet to grasp the tremendous gifts that we have been given, the gifts of faith and redemption, given by God Himself from the Cross. Christ doesn't force Himself on anyone, but He is always at the door of our souls, waiting in love for us to give Him some time and space in our hearts.

Love is an action, not a feeling

In Matthew (Chapter 9) we hear that Jesus is going from town to town preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and curing people of their illnesses and disease. It then says that His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were troubled and abandoned.

Like Jesus, we all encounter people who in one way or another are troubled. Some naturally move our hearts to be compassionate while others do not. Often those who don't are the ones whose troubles are self-inflicted and yet they are in most need of kindness and help. Yet, like sheep without a shepherd they have no one willing to shelter them from the catastrophes of their lives.


At times like this it is well for us to remember that love is not a feeling, but a response.


To be imitators of Christ means that we choose to be loving, even when we feel the least inclined. Let us choose then to cooperate with God and the gifts and grace He has given us and let our God-given hearts be moved with pity.

Praying for "Justice for All"

This weekend's celebrations of our beginnings as a nation stir our hearts to renewed loyalty to our beloved country.

Yet our nation is now in the throes of a huge debate about policies concerning immigrants. Our borders once offered hope and hospitality to the stranger. No more! The torch of Lady Liberty in New York harbor is as much a warning fire as it is a beacon of hope. At the same time, the number of displaced peoples in the world has reached 20 million. How much of our freedom are we willing to share?


The Scripture readings for this Sunday offer food for reflection, and God's recipe for peace. Beginning with Isaiah, we hear that the Lord offers a future of peace and prosperity to Israel following the Babylonian captivity. "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort."


In the Gospel, Jesus and His apostles and disciples are on the way to Jerusalem to fulfill this ancient prophecy. In every village and hamlet, they preach the Good News, heal the sick and drive out demons. Jesus instructs them to travel very light, relying on the people to feed and protect them. They are not to take staff or traveling bag.


Unfortunately, Jerusalem rejects the message, puts the Son of God to death, and seals its own fate, not the peace of Jerusalem, but its eventual destruction in the year 70AD! No wonder that, when Jesus arrives, He weeps over the city's rejection, again using the image of God as a tenderhearted mother.


Our late Holy Father, John Paul II, reminded us that peace begins in the human heart. Peace will only come from those whose hearts are filled with God's love and obedience to His plan for the world. At the same time, Paul reminds us in the second reading, that the disciple must be prepared for rejection, bearing the marks of the Cross on his or her own body.


On this Fourth of July, may we remind ourselves that, when we practice "justice for all," God will send us the peace for which we so long.

Independence Day

Click here for Father Corapi's Independence Day message!

A timely message for all of us.