Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare the people of this generation? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another. 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'..."
Never Satisfied. I hope this isn't a heresy, but it seems like the Lord is getting a bit frustrated with the crowds. His problem isn't that they can't get enough of Him. It's that they can't get enough from Him!
Is the Lord getting frustrated with you too? Are you constantly asking Him to perform for you, but rarely giving Him a break?
"Lord, get me out of this mess I'm in!" "Lord, take away this addiction of mine!" "Help me, Lord, I've crashed and burned and I can't get back up."
While I was in Rome, I saw many motorini (or pocket bike) accidents. I hate saying this - and if you've never been in Rome, you might not understand this - but these drivers are downright stupid and nasty. They zip through the city as if they owned the city. They zoom down narrow cobbled alleyways, swerve around pedestrians and dodge in and out of lanes of traffic as if they owned life and death. They drive as if they own the roads, own the pedestrian walkways and own someone else's vehicle. In 2006, Rome was voted the most dangerous city in the world for traffic accidents, with over 21,000 collisions resulting in nearly 28,000 injuries.
One evening I heard the wailing of a mother whose son had been killed while driving a motorini. The young man's girlfriend was with him and was seriously injured. The mother kept crying out to God why He would allow such a thing to happen: "Why? Why Lord??? Why??? No one dared to give her an answer. No one, not even the police and the pedestrians who saw the whole thing.
Am I expecting God to give me a blank check for life?
Pressure to perform. I truly believe that we constantly under the gun to perform, outperform and outdo ourselves like never before. What's worse is that our teens are constantly under a lot of pressure to perform academically, emotionally and even sexually. This is a great tragedy when taking into account teen suicide rates, teen depression rates and teen abortion rates. Whatever happened to "childhood"? Welcome to the real Hunger Games!
All young people have it very hard today. With the advent of social media, just about everyone is on the spotlight to perform! It no longer matters if you are a no body that wasn't asked to the winter formal or some rich and famous teen. Everyone must perform and outperform the other! Look at all the drama that is going on in the music industry. According to Sir Elton John, Lady Gaga is in a "dangerous place" and Miley Cyrus is like "a candle in the wind." I'm beginning to like Sir Elton John more and more these days. He knows what he is talking about, at least when it comes to meltdowns and blowouts. He knows. He considers himself just lucky to still be standing. It's a miracle!
This is the reason why I love Confession!
The Sacrament of Reconciliation remains one of the few places left in this world where someone can truly be human. I love it! You can request it at any time. You can walk right in and you don't need to make a great impression. In fact, if you really want to make a great impression then all you need to do is be totally honest. That's impressive! I love it! It's not even necessary that you show your face! The Church isn't interested in seeing your face. She's only interested in seeing your heart.
What I love about Jesus Christ is that He performed according to His standard. It was His Way or no way. It was His Truth or no truth at all. It was His Life or death. No one was going to stop Him. No one was going to change Him. No one was going to pressure Him.
Everything in due season and when His hour had arrived.
Let's pray.
I could do without the photo on this meditation. When I posted it on my Facebook page, I checked the "no thumbnail" box. . . . .
ReplyDeleteOh Father. Why post the nasty picture of Miley Cyrus (or Citrus like you said at a talk years ago....lol)? Why not post a pic a little less explicit? Yuck! ....It's so sad Miley's been "pressured" by her manager to act sexually provocative in her songs and videos. She's only trashifying herself instead of dignifying herself!!
ReplyDeleteNot only are teens feeling the pressure to perform but many adults, too. Suicide rates among older people, especially since the Great Recession, are higher than ever in history. Older people feel washed out and neglected, unable to perform at the level of our youth. America still has a preference towards the young and the beautiful. The sexier the better. The more controversial the better. The most financially lucrative all the better!
I'm not in love with confession much at all. For me it is often anxiety inducing and nauseating! My confessor on retreat why quite brutal!! I walked out of there feeling worse than when I went in. I cried the rest of the night totally unable to forgive myself or forget the comments from the priest. Unfortunately, not all of the priests are good confessors. I must say you are definitely one of the best! Glad you are back on our side of town. :)
-Jennifer
I have felt that way at times, but found solace in Jesuit confessors, with their deep spirituality. I attended Jesuit High School, before it moved to 635 & LBJ, here in Dallas.
DeleteI typically go to confessors that know they are sinners. They're actually saints because they know they are sinners.
DeleteFather Alfonse, I know you are quite involved in ministering to teens. What is your opinion regarding how to help them avoid the pitfalls of this pressure to succeed and to give their souls away? What do you tell them? And if they have already given in and face that depression and hopelessness that results, how do you help them realign themselves toward Christ? It must be a difficult task to convince them (and all of us for that matter) that the truth God speaks IS truth and that society's idea of truth is skewed.
ReplyDeleteMy soul aches for the young ones who fall into depression, and bitterness toward faith as a result, and I feel as if sometimes I can't help them as they close themselves off and self-destruct. It's a shame how many negative "pressure relieving valves" exist in this world that offer them tempting ways to deal with all that pressure.
I hope I answered your question in today's Meditation (To Dream a Dream). I just finished preaching to two hundred girls. I felt relieved when so many of them came up to me and thanked me for what I said.
DeleteI felt like a proud father. :)
I even included this meditation in my homily. No picture was necessary.
Seems for shock value, but maybe a bit over the top. I studied to be a priest and left one year short of ordination, due to a family tragedy, and also lived a year as a Trappist Monk postulant. I had to leave there to care for my parents as they neared their end. But in none of these situations do I think such a picture would be used for any purpose. I also taught 8th grade religion at a Catholic school, but would not use such an image. But I think Father A. means well.I do not mean this as inflammatory as like Fr. Alfonse.
ReplyDelete"Seems for shock value."
DeleteNothing is shocking anymore. The Church was once accused of burning books. Now it's being accused of being forthright.
Seems like some people can never win.
All while good homilies with wonderful illustration; to a surprise you are going against what i read in a later homily .'What our eyes see is what they digest positively or negatively'. Please we kindly request for a better illustration if possible next similar homily.
ReplyDeleteMore pressure to the minds of all those who are tying to relate the homily with the illustration......anyway BLESSED MOMENTS FATHER!
Good grief people. Wake up and come out of your crystal palaces. Instead of being offended by this nasty picture, be outraged that our media allows such a performance on prime time. Be grateful that this performance even outraged the majority of artists and viewers, Including our young adults. My 9th grader shows me a new parody everyday on Miley or a vine video of Miley's peers making fun of her. Maybe there is hope. I am not supporting the persecution of Miley, just hopeful to see the reaction from her peers. Also, one of the reasons I love Fr. Alfonse Daily Med is he is current and brutal when it is time to be brutal. It is time. Stand up and fight the corruption of what our kids are seeing on TV, not condemn one of our best priests for showing what the world has already seen.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, Anonymous. We are not in our "crystal palaces" and we are not trying to condemn Father Alfonse. We are fully aware of the trash that is in our news media. Father Alfonse can be just as "current and brutal" on his blog WITHOUT including a sexually suggestive picture of ANYONE regardless if they are a celebrity or not. Let's just say seeing such an image on a priest's blog does not send a good holy message. The main point isn't Miley or her performance. The message is Christ and performing to His standards without giving into society pressures.
Delete-Jennifer
"Let's just say seeing such an image on a priest's blog does not send a good holy message."
DeleteOh, okay. Then let's just say seeing a nun working with prostitutes doesn't send a good holy message. Or let's say seeing a priest working with HIV patients doesn't send a good holy message. And let's just say that a nun and priest working with children doesn't send a good and holy message.
I disagree with you, sorry. This picture says it all. I have a feeling that most of us thought that maybe she would be different. Maybe some parents are feeling guilty right now because they bought so much Hannah Montana stuff or teen magazines with her on the cover for their kids.
I don't consider Fr.'s blog brutal. I consider this world very brutal to people like Father.
A priest and a nun ministering to prostitutes and HIV patients is perfectly fine. It's expected and cherished. These are very holy acts and in no uncertain terms a very good thing. I think it's much more effective for our religious to minister in the field than over the Internet. The human "in the flesh" connection is what Christ was all about.
DeleteWith our lives so bombarded with sexual images, I come to Father's blog to get away from this. I understand Father uses his pictures to portray important messages. He wants to shock and surprise us. But, sometimes the image selection isn't very appealing. That's only my opinion.
Thanks for your comments. I guess we will have to both disagree. :)
Blessings,
-Jennifer
Dear Jennifer, crystal palaces was too harsh, I am sorry. Dear Anonymous yes your brutal statement is what I too was trying to say. I am frustrated because I do not see sex At All in this picture. I see a poignant depiction of evil. I see a wake up call to serve every minute of a dying day to help this generation have a profound love of God. I see Jesus running to her clothing her in His love and mercy and asking her to stop. I see everything but sex. The picture is perfect for this meditation. It invoked my senses to get up off my couch and out of my Church and hit the streets. Maybe Harry Hines first!
DeleteEnough energy and time on this. We need to spill our blood like the martyrs and fight for this generation. Peace be with you. YSIC
Dear Jennifer. I may not agree with you on this one, but I always enjoy your comments. :) Hope you're having a great day.
Delete
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Nasty picture??? How about a precious child of God filled with many demons. How about a wonderfully beautiful talented child needing all our prayers and some serious intercessions! I was shocked by her performance and video We can't stop, but literally broke down and cried when I saw Wreaking Ball. My heart hurts very deeply for Miley and the destruction, corruption, and vulgarity she is portraying. St. Michael help her please
Yep, we cannot hide in our sanctuaries. This picture should say to us, oh my, there is much work still to be done. Jesus did not hide from sinners and the filth of the world, so why do we? Father, as scripture says, shake the dust from you r feet and move on. Some will get it and apparently, several in these comments have not. God bless you!
ReplyDeleteOh! yeah; those judging the picture right or no;moral or immoral; are correct at some extent? May be or may be not Father Alfonse was attesting to get some idea on how to tackle current Christians pressing issue e.g. pornographic materials wc are destroying family, youth's and the church at large. It was also an opening for passing the solution of what can be done to sought out this issues.
ReplyDelete