John 2:13-22 Righteous Anger
Since the Passover of the Jews
was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He
found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the
money-changers seated there. He made a
whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area. …He said, “Take these out of here, and stop
making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
Like so many things we say, we never seem to finish saying it. Every parent and teacher tells their kids “Don’t get angry” or “Don’t get into a fight”. What they should be telling their children
is, “Don’t get angry over this” or “Don’t fight about that.” This, at least, leaves some room for
righteous anger and for fighting the good fight!
Is all anger sinful? No. The Lord got angry. And He was absolutely right to get
angry. His Father’s house was being
turned into a den of thieves. Sinful behavior
was being called holy! The Father’s house was rapidly falling into
decay.
Should we get angry? Of course
we should. But over what? A teacher at an ISD school told me that
fights broke out over the results of the past elections. Give me a break! That’s not worth fighting over. Let’s start fighting for our families, our
homes, our marriages, our children and our nation, for they are all quickly
rotting away!
If parents didn’t have a tough enough battle raising their kids healthy
and holy, now we can add a few more items to their list!
While I was walking down the hallway this morning at St. Monica, I
noticed a poster the kids had made that read:
“Hop on the train to success: Say no to drugs!” Five years from now, the kids may have to
modify their message and write: “Say no to
drugs until your 21”.
In this past election, two states legalized the recreational use of marijuana: Colorado (as if Colorado didn’t have enough
problems!) and Washington. “Gay”
marriage was approved in three states: Maine,
Maryland and Washington. The historical
and natural definition of marriage was defeated in Minnesota. For every million dollars raised by marriage
supporters, six million dollars was raised by “Gay” marriage supporters. And,
let’s not forget, in this election year, the President, in order to win the
single women’s and young people’s votes, decided to do the following: give
legal status to young illegal aliens, give free contraceptives to women, continue
government funding and support for abortions and declare his support for gay
marriage.
What’s it worth to gain the world
and lose your soul?
If sugar promotes tooth decay and fat in young people, then what in the
world will “Gay” marriage and marijuana do to our families, children, marriages
and nation? Will it help them to be
stronger and better?
Feeling better and being better.
The world is divided into two types of people: those who want you to feel good and those who
want you to be good. There’ are lots of
votes to be had and money to be made for those who help you to feel good.
You know where your Church stands.
There’s not a lot of money in social work. No mom ever made a killing by changing
diapers and home schooling her kids. Navy
seals are not interested in making the world feel safer. They are interested in making the world
safe.
Christ wants us. He fought hard
for us. He raised His voice and
sacrificed His life for us. He did not
do what He did to make us feel good. He did it so that we could be good. He knows, and so does His Church, that being
good will make you feel good. Whereas,
feeling good may not make you good.
What a difference! That’s the
difference! That’s worth our anger, our
fight, our money and our lives! Christ
did not die on the cross so that we could feel good. He did not become man so that we could feel
good. He did not even preach repentance
of our sins so that we could feel good about ourselves. Christ was no psychiatrist. He takes away our guilt; a psychiatrist just
helps us not to feel guilty.
Today is the feast day of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. It is the mother church of Christendom. Inside are the statutes of the twelve Apostles. They are larger than life because the Apostles lived and died for someone who was larger than themselves.
Today is the feast day of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. It is the mother church of Christendom. Inside are the statutes of the twelve Apostles. They are larger than life because the Apostles lived and died for someone who was larger than themselves.
Foundation. St. Paul
states: “Brothers and sisters: You are
God’s building…Each one of you must be careful how he builds upon it, for no
one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ”
(Eph 3:9-11).
Fight for what is right! Get angry for what is wrong! But remember, without Christ as the foundation, it will be very tough to know the difference between right and wrong.
Just warning you.
Fight for what is right! Get angry for what is wrong! But remember, without Christ as the foundation, it will be very tough to know the difference between right and wrong.
Just warning you.
When I left morning mass I wrote down your quote about ~the difference between knowing people who want you to feel good and The Church that wants you to BE good. And by being good you will eventually feel good.
ReplyDeleteAMEN! My husband was brought up in a family where you couldn't show any emotions or you'd be labeled a "problem". But, it was ok for his Mom to self medicate on valium to avoid feelings. And still medicates every pain that comes her way. No time to suffer through any hurt or emotion...shut it down ASAP. And if you sneeze or cough, get on antibiotics immediately, which she has stockpiled. Need a medication...she has two or three of any kind you can imagine. I still have no idea how she gets doctors to prescribe her so many meds?
When you build your foundation on feeling good by any means...you fall for so much. Unfortunately, the lack of facing tough situations and allowing feelings to show resulted in my husband constantly seeking relief in alcohol, women, and friends who did not have his good will at heart. We paid the price and are still paying the price. He falls for everything and stands for nothing.
My husband hasn't always been an example of courage and faith for our children. I am hoping the foundation I have worked hard to lay in Christ will make up for his failings. I do believe there is hope for him, but when you have in-laws who continue to criticize and control your husband...it's hard for conversion to happen. As I told him just the other day, God will not work in you if he's not invited in.
Thank you Father. Wise words for our world.
In this election year, the President also bought votes by doubling the # of food stamp recipients after suspending the program's work requirements for able-body adults, including college students. For every one job created during his Presidency, 75 people started receiving food stamps. His administration met with Mexican officials at least 30 times to discuss enrollment in food stamps and other similar programs.
ReplyDeleteThe # of Medicaid recipients has soared to 20% of the population (not including Medicare), and this # is expected to increase significantly with the implementation of Obamacare. Medicaid recipients also started receiving free cell phones in this election cycle.
These so-called freebies extract a great price from some, financially, and a great price from all spiritually. As Paul Ryan said, we are becoming a country where everything is free, but us. We cannot exert our free will when it comes to funding birth control, abortions, and sterilization, if we choose to work in this country. The President's HHS mandate requires all taxpayers to fund these atrocities!
Since when is government supposed to assume the role of the Church and the individual in caring for the less fortunate in our communities? Why is it considered greedy to want to keep the money that you earn and spend it on the charities of your choice, but not greedy to want to take somebody else's money through increased taxation?
Ever notice that the politicians who want more and more taxpayer money for so-called social services hardly contribute any of their own money to charitable causes? The more the goverment takes from me, the less I have to give to the Church and truly charitable causes.
May God help and have mercy on America.
Christ was the best psychiatrist! The Bible is filled with great psychology; Thomas Aquinas proves that over and over!! Grace builds on nature! That is the only way grace can work!! On a solid base of nature! If our psyche is not working properly, grace doesn’t have a chance without a miracle. Christ shows us how to have a balanced, well nourished psyche. It is our misguided interpretation of the teachings of the Church that have led many Catholics to earthly psychiatrists…. I am not degrading the Church; I’m just stating a sad fact of reality.
ReplyDeleteSo many times we argue over extremes: feeling good vs being good. How do I experience God? I feel his presence! Feelings and desires are great gifts from God so that we can use them (in the right way) to be able to experience HIM! Every emotion we have been given is for our good!! Yes, if we use our feelings and desires as the world does, I agree, they are not used well and can lead to our literal destruction of body and soul. But ‘everything in life’ can be used for the good or abused for the bad.
When God gave us free will He gave us the freedom from an unfulfilled life (alternate ways of avoiding the Truth) and He gave us freedom so that we can love Him through loving our neighbor (the only way to be truly fulfilled).
Lastly, there were many opportunities for Jesus to be angry for “things that were wrong” (like His crucifixion) so I don’t think I can take your advice on getting angry over things that are wrong. The ‘only’ time He got angry was when “He had zeal for His Father’s House”. The message I got out of this is that we have to realize how sacred we are! His Father’s house, the temple, is our body, mind, soul and divinity…only by the grace of God!