Mt 6:7-15 Why Not Get On Board?

Mt 6:7-15  Why Not Get On Board?

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them.  Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  This is how you are to pray:  ‘Our Father who art in heaven…”

I was recently told by a college student that I needed to get on board with issues such as abortion and gay-marriage.  I politely told the student that to get on board would mean to toss over board everyone and everything I knew, trusted and believed in.  I’m not exaggerating.  How could I reconcile Sacred Scripture with abortion or gay-marriage?  If God created life, is it not always a good thing, a very good thing?  If God conceived of life, could He have not separated it from sex?  Did He have to join man and woman together like listening and speaking go together?  Thank God He did!  Thank God something so beautiful was joined together with something so scary.  Otherwise, would we ever have children?  Would we ever listen to anyone?

Why in the world would I jump ship and get on board the Titanic and sink?  Why would I aim for a glacier when I can navigate an entire ocean?  Why in the world would I jump from a floating log to a slick, neat, catchy, speedy, and stylish but sinking ship?  I know.  I remember.  The Titanic (and all on board) represented the finest of the finest, the re-finest of the re-finest, the best of the best, the mightiest of the mightiest, a marvel of human invention.  But none the less, it ended up being an expensive museum piece at the bottom of the ocean.  Do you remember?

And what happened to the strongest ship, that not even God could sink (remember), could easily happen to the strongest nation that not even under God we can speak!  

To get on board with these issues would mean to be naive again; to trust in opportunists; to turn a blind eye; to be close minded; that is, intolerant of the beliefs and opinions of the vast majority of people on our planet, living and dead, present and past.  It would require that I remove world history from my thoughts.  You see, gay marriage is like no other issue.  There isn’t a single time in human history when gay-marriage was accepted.  There isn’t a single place in human history where gay-marriage was acknowledged.  There isn’t a single religion (not even a tribal religion) in the world that blessed gay-marriage.  This isn’t ‘Catholic bigotry’ or ‘Christian bigotry’.  This is a human reality.  This isn’t an issue that needed ‘time’ to be understood.  It has been understood.  Now, it’s been completely misunderstood.

Babbling like Pagans.  Pagans don’t pray, they babble.  I know.  They speak to me like they pray to God: “You need to get on board right now.”  They speak to me not as experts but as actors:  “I used to play a doctor on TV” …so that makes you qualified to speak to me?  Why does Hollywood raise money for politicians?  Shouldn’t they stick to acting like the Church sticks to humanity?  Shouldn’t they stick to the stage like the Church sticks to the poor and needy?  The Church doesn’t play God…Now playing!!!  The Church prays to God...Now praying!!! 

Maybe that’s the reason why there is such a big difference in opinion between those who go to Church every Sunday and those who never go to Church on Sunday.  Maybe that’s the reason why the "most liberal" tend to be the most atheist and the "most conservative" tend to be the most theist.  

Why won’t I get on board?  Because those who share with me their latest quip or their latest pet project almost never share with me the objective facts.  They will never mention a word from The Word.  They won’t dare go down History Lane.  They won’t dare touch a fact.  And these are the facts:  We have more Amendments to protect our freedoms than ever before.  We have more Laws written in our books regarding equal rights than ever before.  We spend more money on education than ever before.  And what are the results?  Take a look.  Is this what we can expect when we protect a particular class of individuals:  Arrogance, vulgarity, profanity, entitlement, insults and outright threats?   We go from one extreme to the other.  Only recently have actors and actresses spoken with such eloquence and drama with regards to the beauty of marriage; that is gay-marriage, while most hoped we forgot how they once bashed marriage as an institution all together.  Why the change of heart?  The ACLU will protect individual liberties but not religious liberties.  They will go the extra ten miles to protect one atheist student but will not go the extra mile to protect a single Catholic school or university.   Why the change of principles?  In creating a paradise for our children we have created a living hell for their parents and bus drivers.  Why the change in roles?  And yet, with ‘all our progress’, we have more kids killing kids; more kids on meds; more parents on meds; more immaturity than ever before. 

The institutions we once protected, supported, and defended have become victims to babble...or Babel...or Babylon. 

All because some don’t pray.

Mk 4:26-34 Looking For Him

Mk 4:26-34  Looking For Him

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Mary said, “Son, why have you done this to us?  Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”  And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 

Be yourself!  And you can be anything. 

Yep!  I know.  Here I go again.  I’m sorry to say this but I also have a problem with this saying.  I know what you are thinking?  Why so much time on such useless things?  Believe me, I wish I didn't think so much!!!  But I do.  And I think it is important that we, as Christians, begin to speak a language that is different from our secular brothers and sisters.  We have much more to offer than they do.  But before we can offer anything, we need to understand some things. 

What's wrong with this?  Of course it makes sense Father!  It means be true to yourself and you can be anything you want to be!  But how can I be anything other than myself, especially if I am demanded to be true to myself?  It would make more sense to say, “Be yourself!  And you will be… yourself!” 

Father!  If you set your mind to it, you can be a great singer!  Really?  I can?  But doesn’t that take training, correction, changing or mastering?  Doesn't that open us up to criticism, to correction?

Alfonse!!! If you are true to yourself, you can be a priest!  Really?  But doesn’t that mean being like others, like the Lord’s disciples?  Like Jesus Christ?  Yes, but you can be unique!  Oh…like Judas, right?

Enough!  Yes, enough!

Be yourself!  And you can be anything.  I looked around but could not find a single ancient author that said something like this.  What I did find instead were artists like Oscar Wilde, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Judy Garland, Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Manson, etc… that did.  Isn’t that interesting…

My question is “Why now, but not then?” 

Why were you looking for me?  Now this is something new and refreshing!  This is what I found among the ancients.  Why are you looking at me?  Plato said, “Don’t look at me.  I’m just the messenger; Socrates was the teacher.”  Buddha said, “Don’t look at me; look at my philosophy.”   John the Baptist said, “I’m not Him; I’m just a prophet.”  Only Christ said, “Believe in me.  I AM”. 

I AM who I AM.  How can any mere man say something like this and be honest?  I am not myself and I never will be!  I am the product of so many things, good and bad.  I am a product of the genes given to me by my family.  I am the product of the upbringing that I received; the schools I attended; the neighbors I hung out with; the faith that I received or did not receive.  My past may haunt me, enlighten me, disturb me, move me, encourage me or discourage me.  To say “Be yourself” is insane and insulting!  How can I “be myself” if someone never let me be? 

To say, “Be yourself!” is like saying “Be your own god”.

Not even William Shakespeare had the courage to encourage Hamlet “to be himself!”  How could his tragic protagonist do so with his world collapsing around him?  Instead, he asked a question, “To be or not to be?”, for he knew, that by being ‘himself’ he could end up killing himself. 

Shakespeare only gave Hamlet two choices.  Maybe there's another choice:  To be someone else and true to thyself.

In my Father’s house.  Mary was a young teenager in her Father’s house.  She heard the voice of an angel because she was in her Father’s house.  She could give her yes to God because she lived inside her Father’s heart.  Mary was true to herself because she was full of grace!  She was someone else by being true to herself. 

Why does the ‘modern girl’ have to be a sick little girl?  Why does she experience so much pain, sadness, depression and anxiety?  Why do she hurt herself, abuse herself and offer herself for so little?  I truly believe it’s because we don’t give them a chance to be true to themselves; to be “full of grace.” 

So many children are over taxed.  We expect so much from them.  We demand that they grow up and that they do it quickly.  We expect them to be thin.  We tell a child, “Be yourself!” and quickly airbrush over them, paint them, cover-girl them or hide them under a ton secular expectations.  We encourage them to “get noticed” in elementary school, have a boyfriend in middle school, dye their hair and wear fake nails in High School.  We’re shocked to learn their still adjusting after a divorce or when a stranger moves in.  We expect them to settle just fine with two moms or two dads.  We expect so much from them except to be full of grace.  We expect them to be successful in any home, except in their Father’s home.

Mary’s goal in life was not so much to be herself; but rather, to be full of God’s grace.  St. Paul's was similar when he wrote, “It is no longer I who live in me but Christ who lives in me.” 

Everyone:  Be true to yourself by being open to God's grace.

Mk 14:12-26 Corpus Christi

Mk 14:12-26  Corpus Christi

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While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many…”  Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

There is an old Chinese saying about faith and feelings.  Fact, Faith, and Feelings are three men walking on a wall.  Fact goes first, Faith second, and Feeling third.  As long as Faith keeps his eyes focused on Fact, all three stay on the wall and make progress.  But as soon as Faith takes his eyes off Fact and turns around to see how Feeling is doing, Faith falls off the wall, and Feeling follows, while Fact walks on.  The point of this little saying is obvious:  the object of our faith is not feeling but fact, not subjective experience but objective truth. (Peter Kreeft, Jesus Shock, pg. 126-127)

When faith is rooted in facts, it’s much easier to stay on track. 

It’s much easier for a twelve-year-old to keep her promise of purity than it is for a seventeen-year-old who is dating.  The reason is obvious:  the child's faith, feelings and the facts are one.  They speak loud and clear!  What will keep a seventeen year old from breaking their promise will not be their feelings but their faith in God and his Word made known to them.  It is admirable that a child consecrates their purity to the Blessed Virgin Mary before their teenage years, but it is essential that they repeat it every single year after that.  Only in this way will their feelings be guided by faith which is rooted in facts.

Faith is my response to God's facts (or the facts of God).  If my faith depended on my feelings, then my faith would come and go as quickly as my feelings come and go. 

I believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.  I believe He is objectively, physically and literally present in the Eucharist.  I don’t believe it because I feel it or see it or sense it.  I don’t even believe it because I completely understand it.  I believe it because He said it, and that makes perfect sense to me even without the use of my senses.

Christ said to his Apostles, “Take it; this is my body.”  No explanations.  He did not tell his Apostles, “Take it and feel my presence.”  Feelings are not a bad thing, but if they get in the way of the facts, then they are a bad thing.  It’s that simple. 

People often ask me what I feel as I am holding in my hands the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  The answer I give them usually shocks them:  If I don’t feel anything, then I feel terrible.

I don’t consider myself a very sentimental guy.  But ever since my ordination, I have experienced a physical problem that happens to me while I celebrate Mass.  It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it always happens during the consecration of bread and wine; that is, at the moment I lift the Blessed Sacrament up for adoration.  That’s when I feel like my heart is about to explode out of my chest.  It doesn’t happen to me because I’m holy.  It doesn’t happen to me because I’m special.  It doesn’t happen to any of the priests I know.  But it happens to me, and when it does, it doesn’t feel good at all.  But regardless of how I feel, I will always, while celebrating the Mass, take my time with the holy words of consecration; take my time in raising the Lord for all to see, and lift as high as I can the Blessed Sacrament for all to adore. 

This is regardless of how I feel because I know one thing:  THIS IS MY LORD’S BODY AND BLOOD.  Take it!

This “take it” means a lot more than just receiving.  It means, “TAKE IT!”  Get it?

Mark 12:18-27 The Big Bang of Mistakes

Mark 12:18-27  The Big Bang of Mistakes

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Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’  Now there were seven brothers…” 

Hypothetical scenarios are a great tool for discerning the wisdom of an argument.  However, Hyper-theatrical scenarios (exaggerated or highly improbable situations presented in order to create a show), are a lousy tool for discerning the wisdom of an argument. 

In today’s Gospel, the Sadducees pose a hyper-theatrical scenario to Jesus.  The Lord puts an end to the discussion (and “show”) with one decisive and embarrassing blow.

Did you ever take math in College?  If you did, did you ever experience what is often referred to as a “stupid” mistake?  I did and on multiple occasions.  If you don’t know, a “stupid mistake” in math is something like this:  You work long and hard, diligently and deliberately, through a huge mathematical problem.  You show all your work in excruciating detail and employ all the latest mathematical techniques you know.  Then, when you get your quiz or test back, you’re stunned to see that you got a 90 rather than a 100 because you made one stupid mistake in addition at the very beginning of your masterpiece.  Argh!!!!!

The Sadducees made one stupid mistake at the very beginning of their hyper-theatrical argument.  In their emotionally driven craze to outwit Jesus, they forgot something.  They forgot that God is the God of the living.  And if He is the God of the living, then it must mean that no one really dies.  I wonder how many hours they spent formulating their scenario to present to Jesus.  I wonder how many people were involved.  

It’s no wonder the Lord told them, “You are greatly misled.” 

It’s bad enough to be greatly misled.  It’s even worse to mislead others.  That’s what so many of our politicians, friends and neighbors have been doing for years.  They’ve been misleading folks in a big way.  Of course it didn't start that way, but a little bit of illogic eventually creates a big bang of confusion. 

I would hate to think that there are people out there that agree with me simply because they know me or that they agree with my point of view.  I would prefer that people agreed with me because my arguments were logical and that they stood on solid ground.  God is solid.  The Church is the Rock.  The Church lives by faith and logic.  If God is the God of the living, then anything contrary to life is wrong, period.  If a man is designed to be with a woman, then any other type of design is flawed, period.  You might not agree with me, but don't tell me I don't make sense.

When a relativist comes up to me and matter-of-factly tells me, “There is no truth.”  I let them matter-of-factly know they just contradicted themselves:  If there is no truth, then how can you know the truth that there is no truth? Even more interesting is the male Pacifist who is also an abortionist that comes up to me and says, “War is wrong because it kills innocent people.”  If he is against war, then he better think of another reason why he is against it.  He is just as inconsistent as the female Naturalist who prefers organic foods to chemical ones but uses artificial contraceptives rather than natural family planning. 

Of course everyone can feel however they want.  But feelings come and go unlike the truth that lasts forever.     

I wish our Catholic Middle Schools and High Schools would offer one semester of Logic.  I can tell you right now it would give our schools and students an incredible advantage over all the kids and schools in Dallas.  Kids that think logically would save our parents, teachers and society a lot of hard ache and headaches.  It might even put an end to the talk shows where talking about our problems is cheap and solving them is elusive.  Finally!!!  Finally!!! We could have conversations that went beyond feelings, emotions and sentiments.  Finally!!!  Finally!!!  We could have issues that were no longer emotionally charged but rather candidly honest.  Finally!!!  Finally!!!  We could know the objective God of love and truth, rather than the subjective god of feelings and desires.    

The Sadducees resorted to some roundabout sentimental scenario to justify their position.  The Lord struck a fatal blow when he said, “If there is no resurrection, then God would not be the God of the living but of the dead.   

God is the God of the living, not of the dead.  Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead not because we feel him but because He did.  “When we take our “feelings” off the throne, God can come in and give us gifts, both of faith and even of feelings, that we could never give ourselves.  But He does it in His time schedule, not ours.  He’s a lover, not a train.” (Peter Kreeft)

Let’s solve our problems by thinking through them and not by accepting our way to them.