Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Jesus said to his disciples: “…If I do not go, the Advocate will not come
to you. But if I go, I will send him to
you. And when he comes he will convict
the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
This morning I celebrated Mass at a Carmelite Monastery. Fourteen nuns live and pray behind thick
walls and bars. And though they are
cloistered, the Holy Spirit still radiates beyond those walls.
Today’s first reading is providential.
Paul and Silas were praying
behind the walls of a prison in Philippi.
After having been beaten by the crowd and the magistrates and stripped
of their clothing, they were thrown in prison to rot there. Suddenly, an earthquake struck and shook the
very foundations of the jail. All the
doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. When the jailor woke up and saw the prison
doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself (cf. Acts
16:22-34).
They were thrown in prison.
Is my faith held prisoner by others?
It could very well be. Once upon
a time, a man’s faith could land him in prison.
Today, a man’s Christian faith can land him in big trouble. He could end up with a failing grade, or disqualified
from a competition, or kicked out of a job or even expelled from a school. Just a few weeks ago I read in the news how
one college student refused his teacher’s order to step on a piece of paper
that had the name “Jesus” written on it.
The order, of course, was
disguised as an assignment, and the professor’s anti-Christian sentiment was disguised as a
lesson in tolerance. The student
received an F for the assignment and was placed on some sort of probation. Finally, he was told by school administrators to
keep his mouth shut. Well, the brave student fought
back and received an apology from the school. In another incident, a teacher told students to write an essay titled, "I believe." But then the teacher told them they could not mention God. So, let me get this straight. The teacher wanted the students to express their beliefs, but they couldn't express their greatest belief. No wonder why elitist social workers keep telling us that teens do not believe in God anymore! Well, teens are fighting back, against theophobic schools and against theophobic teachers.
To be honest, I am so glad. I am
thrilled that this is happening in our beloved nation that prides itself as the “land of
the free and the home of the brave.” These
incidences should be a good wakeup call for the thousands of Christians that are in a deep slumber. Wake up America!
The prison walls fell apart and the prisoners’ chains were loosened. Righteousness is an earthquake. The meek and humble of heart are earthquakes. Faith heals. Sin twists and distorts. It leads to the suicide of thought, of life. The guard, who held the Apostles captive, became terrified at the thought that their God was stronger than his chains and his Caesar. The weight of the chains he had placed on others, were now quickly wrapping around him and condemning him. And yet, as he prepared to take his life, his prisoners, the Apostles, gave him back his life.
Sins are like chains. Righteousness,
like an earthquake. And whereas condemnation
leads to despair, faith brings life back to hope.
The enemies of our faith can do all they want (and we should expect
them to do just that). They can throw us
in prison, chain us, and even threaten us with expulsion or death. But
they are powerless against the Holy Spirit.
While God’s men remained chained, the Holy Spirit remained unchained…and
all hell (prison) broke loose.
We, Christians, have
nothing to fear. Even from prison, we
can make a difference.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis morning I celebrated Mass at a Carmelite Monastery.- isn't that the most Beautiful and gorgeous church ever ! ( it reminds me of one of the church in Mexico) lol!
ReplyDeleteSurely do miss you Father and hearing
your homilies ! :)
How our nuns in our monasteries are truly bringing the Holy Spirit to our Mother Earth, where we are given this spirit in each one of our hearts! We just have to accept. Thank you dear Sisters!
ReplyDeleteDo you know what part of this story intrigues me the most? That Paul & Silas did not run once the bars of the jail had fallen. Not only did they not run, they comforted their “enemy”. They did not realize that he would convert. That was not their intention! They were just doing what Jesus told them to do: love one another. I am sure that I am only talking about a few fundamentalist Catholics and Christians, but I do hear them say in the back of my mind: “The chains have been broken; we are free from this prison. I knew Jesus would save us. Our enemies will not prevail!” When, to me the big picture is what you have been saying to us lately: Living in this civilization of death, we might burn, we might make an F, and we might die because of our faith. But so what! Christ said: whatever they have done to me, they will do to you…. Get ready, pray for courage…. But realize that this is what it means to be my disciple. (If you do not put Me before your family, careers, homes & cars you cannot be my disciple.) Whatever our earthly outcome may look like, it doesn’t matter. Even the consequences of our actions may not be up to us: others may not love me back when I love them. Even this does not matter. Just like the nuns in our monasteries do not see the beautiful consequences of their prayers and love, I pray that God may grant us all the grace to continue to love our enemies without expecting this world to change. I hope it does change, it’s just that I can so easily fall into despair/cynicism if I expect too much. I will leave that up to Him.
My husband and I have long anticipated our children going to college. We both lived at home while going to college for 2 years then transferred to graduate from a University. Later we both received Masters Degrees. We both paid our own way for our education. The experience of working our way through to get these degrees was 10 times more valuable than the degrees themselves. It’s about life experiences!
ReplyDeleteWe decided a while back that our kids would not go 4 years to a University. They would follow our paths of education. In listening to Dave Ramsey, Dennis Prager and others(conservatives), the value of 4 years of a University does not equal the degree you receive (financially)….and on top of that you “get” to lose your faith due to the liberal professors who are “educating” (indoctrinating) our future generation. Are parents asked to just let go and go with the flow because that is the way it is? I don’t think so. We do have to give our children such a foundation of loving relationships in the family that they crave that same unity because there is no other replacement that they will find in life. That is God! They may lose their faith, which is a chance all parents have to face. But parents can still influence them by giving them equal parts of freedom and responsibility AS they are transforming into mature adults….not AFTER they graduate from college and wish to move back in with us! We are just starting this process….I may be eating my words in 4 years….time will tell!
It’s true what Jesus said about poverty: it’s the best way to reach the wealth that really matters….timeless wisdom!
ReplyDeleteThis morning I celebrated Mass at a Carmelite Monastery- must have been a beautiful and wonderful experience for you Father Alfonse :)
Today, a man’s Christian faith can land him in big trouble. He could end up with a failing grade, or disqualified from a competition, or kicked out of a job or even expelled from a school”
ReplyDeleteWell, it’s certainly not as if christians would refuse service to atheists
http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_4851.shtml
or a christian principal would threaten a high school student who spoke out against being forced to attend a public school assembly featuring a christian speaker
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201304150062?page=1
or a catholic school would retract a job offer because of speculation the candidate may be homosexual
http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_488eafc2-b478-11e2-9098-001a4bcf887a.html
As for being disqualified from a competition, are you referring to the track meet where one team was disqualified because one runner made a gesture? The one where even the student in question said his religious rights were not violated?
https://www.uiltexas.org/press-releases/detail/statement-regarding-investigation-of-region-4-conference-3a-track-decision
You also may want to use sources other than Fox news.
"Today, a man’s Christian faith can land him in big trouble. He could end up with a failing grade, or disqualified from a competition, or kicked out of a job or even expelled from a school”
ReplyDeleteSo, I assume you agree given the fact that you do not dispute any of these claims, except for the one regarding an athelete (and no, I was not referring to that case. If I had, I would have mentioned it.)
It is a right to be a public school student. And no public school student or teacher should be fired based on their faith or non-faith. Actually, it is illegal to hire or fire someone for their religious belief or non-belief. No one argues with you on that.
What you fail to understand is that Religious institutions have the right to hire people based on their religion (for example, religion teacher) and they do have the right to fire someone if it is found that they are living in a way that is contrary to their church teachings. Why? Because it isn't a right to work in a religious institution. It is a privilege. And it is an important privilege, just as it is an important privilege that in order to be President of the United States, you must have been born in the U.S.A. Are we going to say that that is discrimination?
Fox News is fair and balanced. I like them for they report news that other outlets do not report. They have been reporting the Dr. Gosnell case, whereas the NYTimes has done a horrible job reporting. ABC news has not reported it once!
What's wrong with FOXNEWS? Nothing, except they may not hold the same view as you do. But balanced means 50/50 (both sides of an issue), which is something that people have a hard time grasping and believing. :)
“So, I assume you agree given the fact that you do not dispute any of these claims”
ReplyDeleteI just want to show that the door swings both ways.
“Actually, it is illegal to hire or fire someone for their religious belief or non-belief. No one argues with you on that.”
And sexual orientation if I am not mistaken. Although he had not actually been hired at that point, he seemed to be well on his way. But notice he was actually discriminated against for the suspicion of being homosexual, they had no actual proof.
“and they do have the right to fire someone if it is found that they are living in a way that is contrary to their church teachings”
Let me know when they start discriminating against all those people who have divorced and remarried, used birth control, had premarital sex, etc. Or were even suspected of such.
“What's wrong with FOXNEWS? Nothing, except they may not hold the same view as you do. But balanced means 50/50 (both sides of an issue), which is something that people have a hard time grasping and believing. :) “
I listen to it occasionally, along with other sources. I agree and disagree with views from all of them. There are no true balanced media sources anymore.
YOU SAY: Let me know when they start discriminating against all those people who have divorced and remarried, used birth control, had premarital sex, etc. Or were even suspected of such.
DeleteI SAY: Given the fact that you said you studied in a Catholic school since Kinder, you should know better. The problem isn't with the fact that we are sinners. The problem is when we think we are saints and we call our sins holy.
Teachers will be asked to leave if they voice their support for things that are sinful. I had an abortion and I'm proud of it! Great!, but it doesn't mean you should be teaching in a Catholic School.
For you, these may be issues that are not important. But for the Catholic Church and the institutions that carry their name, they are. Can't you respect that? You don't have to work for them.
If I worked at a Muslim school and refused to put on a habib, wouldn't that be disrespectful? If I put a crucifix on my classroom wall, what do you think would happen? If I went to a Jewish school and spoke of Jesus being the Messiah, what do you think they would say?
Don't you think they have a right to do so?
Don't public schools fire teachers for inappropriate remarks, sharing their faith with others, passing out books, like the Bible? Yes. And even though they claim to be part of an institution that values freedom of speech.
Will they dismiss a teacher for having a criminal background? Even though they already served their time? Even though they are free to go?
Well???
YOU SAY: "There are no true balanced media sources anymore."
I SAY: Didn't you once say that philosophy proved nothing? Well, you just made a philosophical statement. Hence, according to you, you proved nothing.
Whoops! Sorry "anonymous". I thought I was replying to someone else (Banana_slug). You sound a lot like them.
ReplyDelete-Fr. Alfonse