Mt 16:13-23 Experiencing God

Mt 16:13-23  Experiencing God

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Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.  Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.”  He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!  You are an obstacle to me.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

This morning, while preparing for a Mass at a Carmelite monastery, I asked myself this question:  How does a Jewish woman, who later became an atheist, become a Carmelite nun, a martyr and a Saint?

Today is the feast day of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a Carmelite nun who, prior to entering the Carmelite order, was known in the world as Edith Stein.  Edith Stein, along with her sister Rosa Stein (a Third Order Carmelite), were gassed in Auschwitz and buried in a mass grave in 1942.

Edith Stein was the last of eleven children born in 1891 to Siegfried Stein and Auguste Courant.   Although her parents were observant Jews (and her mother remained loyal to her faith her entire life), by the age of fourteen, Edith made the conscious decision not to pray anymore.  She distanced herself from the Jewish faith and from God. 

How did she discover God?  Through philosophy.  Edith was a brilliant student, with an amazing craving for knowledge.  But how did someone so studious, so intelligent and so analytical become so spiritual? 

Edith obtained her doctorate (summa cum laude) in Philosophy in 1918 under the guidance of the world famous phenomenologist, Edmund Husserl.  There are four core disciplines in philosophy.  Ontology is the study of beings or their being – what is; Epistemology is the study of knowledge – how we know; Logic is the study of valid reasoning – how to reason; Ethics is the study of right and wrong – how we should act.  If we were to add Phenomenology to our list, then it would be the study of our experience – how we experience.

Edith Stein became a believer in phenomenology.  Her problem with God was simple:  If God exists, then how would we experience Him?

Her answer came one evening in March 1921.  While visiting the home of philosopher friends, the married couple Theodor and Hedwig Conrad-Martius, she came across the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila.  She read the entire book in a single night and found the answer to her question.

How do we experience God?  By dying to oneself.

“God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.”  No wonder why Jesus’ reaction to Peter’s concern was so swift and so brutal!  “Get behind me Satan!”  The worst thing that anyone could ever pray for is to undo God’s Will!

How do we come to know God?  Yes, intellectual knowledge of God is important.  Reading about God is important.  But if we really want to come to know God then we must experience Him ourselves.  And the only way to know Him and love Him is to serve Him.  “If anyone wishes to follow me, then they must pick up their cross and follow me.” 

Saint Edith Stein, pray for us!

Mt 5:17-19 Everyone But Not Everything

Mt 5:17-19  Everyone But Not Everything

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill…Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Why did the Lord say these things to his disciples?  Were they beginning to have strange thoughts?  Were they beginning to be tolerant of everything?  Were they beginning to equate love for everyone with love for everything?  Have we forgotten that Christ, while sweeping in his accepting, was thorough in his condemning?

The Lord walked a fine line while in his world.   He knew it well because he walked it and towed it himself.  He knew it well because He drew it himself, nice and thin, so that it could “pass through the eye of a needle.” 

Although the Lord was in the world, he was not of the world.  Even though He lived with sinners, He did not chose to sin.  Although He spoke in Hebrew or Aramaic, He did not speak like everyone else.  My dear brothers and sisters:  we need to learn to do the same thing.  Although we are in this world, we do not need to live like the rest of the world.  Although we speak in English, we do not need to use the rhetoric or slogans or meaningless words that so many of our brothers and sisters use today. 

Recently, I read a portion of a commencement speech at a local Catholic High School.  The distinguished guest speaker encouraged his young audience to “be relevant”.    I think I know what he meant by that but I’m not sure because he never quite said it.  What he said instead is the same rhetoric we’ve all heard before:  “Be different”, “Be change”, etc.  But when we use these types of slogans, it leaves a big question left unanswered; that is, “What do you mean?”  What does it mean to “make a dent in this world” or “make a difference for all to see”?  We assume we know what it means:  “Be a positive role model.”  But what the fine speaker could have said instead is something that is not often said; that is, “Be holy!”   How inviting!  How unambiguous!  Isn’t this what you would expect from a commencement speech at a Catholic High School?  How refreshing! There would be no doubt in anyone’s mind what he meant when he said, “Be relevant”.  Is there anything greater than being “holy”?  No.  Is there anything more positive than to be “holy”?  No.  Is there any greater glory for anyone than to be “holy”?  No.  Is there something else the world could have more of?  No.  So why not say it?  Why didn't he say it?  I think it’s because he never heard it.

A few months ago, I received a beautiful little card from a student.  What I read nearly brought tears to my eyes.  This child wrote, “I never knew I could be a saint.”  Why?  Why didn’t this child know that?  Was it because he never heard it?  Was it because he was never taught to pray for it?  Unfortunately, I believe it is. 

Moms and dads:  Encourage your children to be holy; to be a saint.  Catholic School teachers and administrators:  Encourage your students to be holy; to be a saint.  Imagine for a moment if your child became a canonized saint?  Imagine for a moment if your school produced another John Paul II or Mother Teresa?  Is it so impossible? 

We have all become secular in our thoughts, in our words and in our actions.  We have been brainwashed to believe that to be respectful we need to be absent mindful; to be understanding, we need to be falling; to be loving of everyone, we need to be accepting of everything.

A child’s morals should not come from his friends, teachers, coaches or doctor.  A child’s morals should come from you, the parent, and those who represent the Church you belong to.  Insist on that!

We are all aware that public schools do not allow public discussion or songs that make reference to God.  What we are not aware of is how teachers and administrators in public schools publically put down God.  Many schools push morals on our kids.  Insist that they do not!

Make yourself “holy”; make yourself another Christ!  In doing so, you will truly experience the lifting up of the Cross and what the word “relevant” means.     

Mk 12:38-44 Two Cents

Mk 12:38-44  Two Cents

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A poor widow came and put two small coins worth a few cents.  Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.   For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

When something is very precious we say it is of great value.  When we say something weighs a ton we mean to say it has tremendous weight.  But for God, something “of great value” or “of tremendous weight” can actually refer to two small coins. 

I have no sense of direction.  I always get lost.  Thank God for GPS!  Believe me.  Some people are really bad at remembering directions.  I am horrible!  I not only get lost getting to someone’s house, I get lost leaving their house.  I am doomed if I don’t pay attention to where I am going and damned if I do!   I get lost everywhere, even in parking lots.   One day I was convinced that someone had stolen my car.  I was absolutely convinced of it.  But before I called the police, I decided to press the panic button on my keychain.  Although my internal GPS might not be good, my hearing is.  Over time I learned a trick:  to do the opposite of what I am thinking.  When I think I need to turn right, I will turn left.  When I am convinced I need to go north, I will go south.  If I do the opposite of what I think, I typically end up on the right side of the neighborhood.

Since the world thinks its standing right side up, I need to think upside down.  When the world thinks its heading in the right direction, I know it’s heading in the wrong direction. 

“Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.”

Wow!  That’s me.  That’s my natural idea of success.  Maybe it’s yours too.  Every day I yank out my internal yard stick and measure how I’m doing.  Let’s see…how many dinner invitations did I get this week?  How many people recognized me at the Pancake House this week?  How many people congratulated me after Mass?  Let’s see how I’m doing on the road to success!  Did I hear the roar of the crowd today?  Was it more or less than yesterday?

What does the Lord have to say about this?  BEWARE!

What do you consider to be success?  What’s your internal yard stick measure?  Is it the number of glances or winks you got in a single day?  Or the number of people who came up to you and said, “You look so beautiful!”  Do you keep track of how many dates you went on?  Or how many friends called you this weekend?  Do you keep count on the number of friends you have on Facebook or the number of high school or college graduation parties you were invited to?  Is it the number of pounds you lost?  We all know your list is long so keep going… 

St . Paul tells his young disciples, Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power:  proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching…“Be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry…I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.  From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.”  (2Tim 4:1-8)

Wow!  Do I think like this?  Do I even pretend to live like this?

The key understanding St. Paul is to understand Jesus Christ.  What does the Lord consider to be success?  What’s important to Him and how does He measure it?  The answer is found in the greatest commandment:  Love God and your neighbor as yourself.  How does the Lord measure this Love?  Not in inches or in pounds but in sacrifices. 

Let’s start measuring ourselves according to Christ’s specifications.  In this way, two cents will be much more than its weight in gold!

Mk 12:1-12 Rejected But Never Lost

Mk 12:1-12  Rejected But Never Lost

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Jesus said, “Have you not read this Scripture passage:  ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?’”

Have you not read this Scripture passage? How long has it been since you read this Scripture passage?  Actually, how long has it been since you read Sacred Scripture? 

The stone the builders rejected.  I have no idea how any Christian in their right mind could justify any law that goes against God’s stone; that is, the stone containing the Ten Commandments; or the Rock that is His Church.  How does a Christian reconcile abortion, euthanasia, and gay-marriage with Scripture or the Rock?  Is any civil law above God’s law?

Let’s say for a moment that today’s parable, of the man who planted a vineyard and leased it to some tenant farmers, was actually a powerful literary masterpiece describing God’s world leased to man and what we have done with it.  I don’t think I’m stretching it if I were to say  that all Scripture is a carefully worded masterpiece of a contract or living arrangement between God, His world and us.    

For example, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; make and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:26-27).  We know from Scripture (and from science), that we came on to the world scene last, and even though we were last, we know, “the last shall be first.”  Hence, we were given dominion over the whole world and all that belongs to it.  Of course, like good tenants, we are obliged to respect not only God’s property rights, and all His creatures, but also His laws.  After all, it's His Creation.  It's His baby!  He built it.  He designed the rules:  the physics rules, biology rules, chemistry rules, etc… He holds the patents; we lease them.  Could God not have created all humans male? or female?  Why both?  Please don’t tell me because we needed someone to love.  That’s ridiculous.  Why both then?  Was it to make things clearer, a little more obvious?  That Human love is an image of God’s love because it creates life?

A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower.  Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.  Recently, we’ve been working at a feverish pace to re-word or re-write our entire contract with God.  There’s no problem with this unless you don’t involve in the negotiations the Rightful Owner or a major signer of the contract.  I guess we could prepare something if we would only respect His Word.  We all know what He demands.  He chiseled a crucial piece of it in stone long ago.  He gave us His Son and His closest advisors to make it much clearer and to set the record straight.  And yet, don't you find it quite criminal (to say the least) to take away His property rights, His negotiating powers, His “God-given” rights just because He’s currently away? He's actually never away.  We just sent Him away!

In you, my God, I place my trust.  It shouldn't be hard to place your trust only in God.  Just take a look around you and see what we’ve become.  We are a bunch of spoiled rotten stinking little brats who, by definition, want more for themselves and less for others.  Just take a look at this morning’s news.  We are building three warships that cost 3 billion dollars a pop.  At the same time, we say we need birth control to stop the spread of unwanted children.  So, let me get this straight, do we want to spend 9 billion dollars on three ships rather than on unwanted children?  I know what you are saying, “That’s the way it is.”  No!  The real explanation is:  “That’s the way we want it.” Yep, spoiled rotten.  We have become the biggest hypocrites in the world.  In New York City, the spoiled rotten billionaire mayor wants to make supersized drinks illegal while at the same time make a little bit of marijuana legal for everybody.   How helpful of him!  Maybe that's how he'll get elected again.  So, he thinks the government needs to limit the choices we can make, except when it comes to being Pro-Choice.  Do you see what hypocrites we've become?  Do you see the type of people we've elected?  Does this guy really think we are that gullible?  I guess!  And he’s probably right, but he doesn’t have to be.  Every four years we have an opportunity to vote not only according to our conscience but, most importantly, according to God’s clear and unquestionable Word. 

It’s not hard to see why we should place our trust in God and in God alone.  It’s not hard to see why our ancient’s placed “In God We Trust”.    

Oh God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us and grant all that works for our good.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Mark 11:27-33 Knowing It All and Knowing Nothing At All.

Mark 11:27-33  Knowing It All and Knowing Nothing At All.

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Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem.  As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things.” 

Not everyone is a doctor, but far too many think they are.  They get on the Internet and research their symptoms and undoubtedly find the worst possible case scenario.  Recently, I heard that over 50% of patients do not take their medicine as prescribed.  We think we know better but the superbugs know it even better. 

Not everyone is the Pope, but almost everyone thinks they are, especially when it comes to marriage and family.  I find it uninspiring, to say the least, how some Catholics consider themselves “infallible” as they speak ex cathedra or ex-married, or ex-remarried or extra marital or whatever.  I know the Pope is only infallible in matters of faith and morals.  But it seems like everyone else is infallible in all matters, especially marriage.  And we listen to them, even though one-out-of-every-two marriages end in divorce.

Not everyone has a PhD, but almost everyone thinks they deserve one. I find it amusing, to say the least, when someone argues with me and their arguments fall short on logic, common sense, and facts.  Do we think we can just blurt out anything?  Unfortunately, yes.  I have had the displeasure to met people who “knew more” about the Crusades than the Crusaders; who knew more about Galileo’s case than the Church and Galileo himself.  I have even met some people who truly think they know the Scriptures better than their sacred authors.  But ask them what such-and-such verse meant in its historical context and they are at a loss.  Unlike the sacred writers, they can quote a bible verse in an instant.  But ask them to quote the verse prior to or after it, they seem to be at a loss not only because they don’t know it but because it refutes what they just said! 

A professor once told me, “My students speak as if they all have a PhD.”  He could say that because he had a PhD; and while someone who has earned a PhD is generally open to learn a thing or two from those who don't; he found it particularly alarming how those who don't apparently have nothing to learn from those who do. 

The Lord did not come into the world to share his opinion or feelings or experiences with others.  He came into the world to be a light shining in the darkness.  The Lord is color blind.  He is not red (a Communist), or green (an Environmentalist), or black (a pessimist), or white (an optimist).  He is Light.  He is the light that shines in the darkness of our souls.  His authority comes not from our approval but from the approval of His Father. 

By what authority are you doing these things?  Some people know more than others; some people think they know more than others.  But how dare any of us try to change, manipulate, distort or twist Christ’s authority or creation around our middle finger?  By what authority are we doing these things?  By our own?  Because we can?  That's probably the only intelligent response I have ever heard.  But to that I say, watch out!  For just as a lie comes back to haunt us, so will any attempt to redefine God's creation come back to strike us.

How can anyone say, “Times have changed” and say it seriously?  Isn’t that obvious?  So why say something so obvious?  Is it to claim something totally false; that is, that “God has changed”, or something more ambiguous; that is, that “man has changed”. 

Yes, times change but does man really change?  Are we not made, as our ancestors, of flesh and bones, and souls filled with grace or sin? Are we not as flexible or as stubborn as our ancestors?  Like centuries ago, some people live to be 100; others for only one day.  And yet, we all seem to speak and act as if we have lived for centuries!  In fact, we live and speak as if we were God himself!  Some things never change. 

But the question is:  Can we change?  Can our world change?  And change for good?

The Pharisees, the scribes and the elders asked the Lord, “By what authority are you doing these things?”  Their suspense was killing them, but ended up killing Him. 

Is the Lord of human origin?  If we say, “We do not know”, then nothing will ever really change for good.  If we say, “Yes”, then everything changes.  And changes for good.