Jn 5:1-16 Can Anyone Help?

Jn 5:1-16 Can Anyone Help?

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Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years…Jesus said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.”

Why didn’t someone – anyone - help this poor man? I find it hard to believe no one noticed him or no one wanted to help him. Yes, these were barbaric times, but no more barbaric than our times. I find it hard to believe that an ill man could be sitting there for thirty-eight years with no one to help him. In St. John’s Gospel, we are told that others had no difficulty in bathing in the pool. Many ill people had come to Bethesda for healing. And while the blind had someone to guide them; the lame someone to help them and the crippled had someone to carry them; this poor wretched creature had no one to help him. Why?

It’s obvious.

This man was a sinner and no one dared touch him.

Jesus came into the world to heal sinners. And although he came into the world to heal us, he still must ask us, “Do you want to be healed?” Conversion always begins from within. This man, ill for thirty-eight years, doesn’t need new legs; he needs a new heart. He doesn’t need the pool; he needs Jesus.

God knows what this individual did to deserve what he got. And yes, many physical ailments can be a consequence of many spiritual sins. But even in times of trial, the Lord appears. Even in our worst moments, the Lord can be seen. Even in our worst nightmares, the Lord can be found. Christ Jesus appeared to this man and did for him what he wishes to do for us.

Do you want to be healed? Not too long ago, a parishioner began sending me a barrage of e-mails asking for an appointment. I tried to schedule something but for one reason or another we just couldn’t get together. And although I spoke a great number of times on the phone with her, I could never get a clear understanding as to why she wanted to meet with me. Finally, we had a chance to meet for the first time face to face. This person was very elderly and sickly. As soon as she sat down in my office she began to question me on Church doctrine and current events. She communicated to me her disgust and her distaste for the current Administration, the changes in the Church since Vatican II and the infidelity of priests and nuns, the Vatican, and the Pope, etc… She came to my office with a lot of anger. Finally, after a few minutes of this, I asked my old parishioner, “How many children do you have?” “Three.”, she responded, a bit surprised. And not knowing anything about her personal life, I asked her, “And why are they not helping you? Why do you live alone?” She then proceeded to explain to me why one child no longer speaks to her; why another no longer practices the faith and how another became an atheist. But the one thing they all shared in common was that no one helps her.

I told her without mixing any words, “You need to get your family in order before you start trying to fix the world’s (and Church’s) problems. You need to make peace with your children and then you will find peace in your life. You need to put to rest the people that have hurt you and then you will be able to sleep at night.” (In fact, this poor lady could not sleep at night)

“I pray for their conversion”, she said. I said, "That’s not good enough. You need to reach out to them before it is too late. Lent is the perfect time of year to pray for others and to reach out to them with humility and sincerity; in love and compassion."

Most of us would have a hard time reaching out to murderers, rapists, and child predators. Can anyone help? Is anyone will to help them? I, for one, would have a hard time with it, and I know that doesn't say a lot about me. But still I must try. We all must try.

The Lord asks us, “Do you want to be healed?” He asks this question because it’s not a given. He asks us this question because maybe later on we will be able to help.

Mt 1:16-24 St. Joseph’s Surprise

Mt 1:16-24 St. Joseph’s Surprise

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“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit…”

This past Friday I celebrated a wedding for a beautiful young couple. At the end of the ceremony I greeted the little 5 year-old flower girl and jokingly asked her, “Are you getting married too?” Before she could answer, her mother interrupted and said, “No, Father! Not until she gets her college degree!” I was shocked, to say the least. That wasn't the answer I was expecting. I was expecting something more like, “Well, not until she matures” or “Not until she finds the right man” or “Not until she falls in love.” I have to say, I wasn’t expecting such a ridiculous answer.

Not too long ago, I baptized the latest member of a family of eight. The couple has been very blessed financially and spiritually. They became pregnant with their first child when she was sixteen and he was fifteen. Of course, the couple was not married, yet. But immediately, they were faced with some pretty tough decisions. The young man’s father demanded that he make a choice: either the family or the girl (and baby). If he chose the girl, then he would have to leave the home. He chose. He chose the girl (and baby).

After more than twenty-five years of marriage, the couple is still amazed at all they have accomplished. He has always been blessed with a job, even as a teenager. She has been blessed working at home and being able to give her children the very best. They continue to send the children to private schools. They have a beautiful home, beautiful children, and a wonderful life. But if you were to ask them what their greatest accomplishment has been, they would not hesitate in saying, “We have learned to trust the Lord in all things.”

What has always been man’s greatest problem? We are control freaks! We want to control everything. We trust in ourselves way too much and not enough in the Lord. If we could, we would plan everything out! We would plan all our meals, design our own children, and build our own lives. And all based upon the ideas of others!

What is our greatest problem today? We trust way too much in the government. The HHS mandate is just the latest tip of the latest iceberg.

Do you know what is really wrong with the HHS mandate? I mean really, really wrong with it? It discourages us from being funny! It frowns upon the humor of life! It takes away the little and big surprises in life. The government would just love to manage everyone’s life. And the best way to manage anything is to make everything (everyone) the same shape; every family the same size; every life lived the exact same way.

If there is one thing that makes life exciting, it’s got to be the natural fact that not one life is lived the same way! All of us have been given a God given opportunity to be surprised and to surprise.

I don’t want to sound alarmist, but the perfect storm, capable of wiping away every joy, is fast approaching our nation. All the elements are there: a much dummied down educational system; a people that lacks strong faith and hope (or vision); and the lure (opium) of security and entitlements. All the above are quickly turning us into a nation of selfish people who ask not what I can do for my country but rather “what my country can do for me!”

If we continue along this path (I should say, ‘plan’) we are going to miss out on the funnier things in life.

The problem with entitlements and mandates is that it does not encourage life; it discourages it. Why? Because it must pay for it!

What makes earth significant is not the size of its "budget". What makes earth so significant is life; it is geared towards life. It loves life! Now think at how ridiculous we are! Think about it for a moment. The earth is very bizarre, extremely rare and absolutely remarkable in only one way: it has life. And here we are, a fruit of the earth, and God forbid that a child gets in the way of our plans! How stupid!

Joseph was about to divorce his wife. This would have been the easiest thing to do and probably the wisest thing to do. But instead of being wise and economical, practical, logical and efficient, Joseph chose to be holy, and so he listen to God and did not sin. He chose to take a chance, to risk it all and be surprised. He didn't place his confidence in himself! He placed his confidence in God.

In God we trust. That's what our founding fathers used to say as they all laughed in the face of the King of England!

God bless Joseph. He must have laughed a lot throughout his life.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

John 3:14-21 God Loves Us

John 3:14-21 God Loves Us

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For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not parish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

We are past the half way mark for Lent. We are coming to the end. But we are not there just yet. There is still much more work to be done. Some sins still need to be forgiven. Some progress still needs to be made. We may have more work than there are days, but we cannot give in or give up. We must fight till the end and fight till we win!

When I wake up in the morning there are many things I have to do, but there are only two things that I must do. They are the same two things that God asks all of us to do: Humble thyself and fight for thyself.

God does not ask us to do anything he himself is not prepared to do. Christ humbled himself; taking on the form of a slave, and he fought for himself; he would not allow sin to enter into him. Humble thyself and fight for thyself. Lent is the ideal time of year to do both things.

Humble Thyself. Just recently I officiated at a funeral for a beloved mother and grandmother that had recently passed away. I was pleased to have met her before her passing and I knew she had played a significant role in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives. While I was giving my homily, I could tell that the grandchildren were not really paying attention to what I had to say. They were in shock and disbelief in seeing grandma reduced to a little urn. I could tell what they were thinking: Is that it? Is that all there is to her? Is that what we reduce life to: a little box? Well, I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass. I began to speak to them. I said, “Listen to me my dear children, I know what you are thinking. Is this all that is left of our great grandma? Is this what life reduces itself to: a box? No. Our life is not remarkable because of our size. Our life is remarkable because it is significant. And the more you love, the more significant you become. God is not significant to me because he is a giant compared to me. God is significant to me because He gave His Son for me. God is significant to me because He loves me. In fact, Christ said, the smaller you make yourself, the greater you make yourself. God’s son became small so that I could become great. So remember, what makes us memorable is not our size. What makes us memorable is how we loved. And your grandma knew how to love. And that’s why you have tears in your eyes.”

God loves us. He is on our side. The Lord is rich in mercy (cf.Eph 2:4-10). But is He similar to a rich bachelor uncle who has a million dollars and no one to share it with? What does the Lord have to do? He is inviting us to share in his mercy. Go get some!

Fight for Thyself. Fight to avoid evil. Fight to avoid falling into sin. Acquire a distaste for sin. How? By reflecting and meditating on what a waste of time sin is. Yes, sin is a waste of time, a waste of resources and energy, a waste of my life. Sin does not only offend God, it offends me! Do you belong to the 99%? That is, do you belong to the 99% of sinners? Yes. And do you belong to the 1% that seeks forgiveness? I hope so. Fight for thyself. And if you fall, then seek forgiveness; and then fight for yourself!

We are half way to the end of Lent. But we cannot stop there. We cannot live half way our relationship with Christ, or even half way our relationship with our spouse and our children. It has to be all or nothing. Nicodemus only went half way with the Lord. He came to him only at night. I believe St. John reflected upon this fact by saying: “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness over the light" (Jn 3:16-20). Nicodemus thought He had too much to lose; too many friends, neighbors and work associates. He never thought about what he could possibly gain! So he never came during the day. And in the end, he never came around at all. He never became a follower, an Apostle of the Lord. He feared the crowd too much. Do I fear the crowd too? Am I reluctant to speak up when others speak down on Christ and His Church? Am I afraid of what others may think of me?

It doesn’t seem to worry atheists and secularists.

Don’t give in. Don’t give up. Fight till the end. Fight till you win! God loves me. This is all I need to know. This is all I need to share.

Lk 18:9-14 Humbling Oneself

Lk 18:9-14 Humbling Oneself

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Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness, “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity…”

With all this talk about either being in the 99% or in the 1%, I would like to remind everyone out there that we all make up 100% of the sinners! That’s right; we all make up the rest of humanity.

We all sin, but we do not all confess our sins. Confessing one’s sins is something that only the humble of heart do; and “Blessed are they.”

The Lord loves the meek and humble of heart. He loves the poor in spirit. The humble man is certainly not the fake man or necessarily the honest man or the poor man or the sick man. A humble man is someone who knows that they are a sinner and that they need a Savior. Is this you?

Not too long ago, an elderly gentleman walked into my office and asked to speak to me. I could tell from the look on his face that something was very much bothering me. After a few minutes of some small talk, he finally told me what was on his mind. He told me that his daughter never calls him or sends him a card on his birthday. He said, “I’ve kind of grown used to it by now, but lately, it has been bothering me more and more. I want to know what I did wrong. I want to know why she does this to me. I’m upset and I want her to know it! When I ask her, she always seems to have some sort of excuse for not calling or mailing me a card. But I don’t buy it.”

I asked this man about his past: his relationship with his wife and children. He was honest and admitted that he had made mistakes; that he had not been the best of fathers. When he has young, he put his job and career above everything and everyone, including his wife and children. He had also engaged in some destructive behavior that included alcohol.

“Ok”, I told him, “Are you ready to make amends with your daughter?” “Yes, Father”, he replied. “Then this is what I recommend. Write her a letter for your birthday. Let her know how much you love her. Write to her and say, ‘My dearest daughter, I love you with all my heart. You are the greatest gift I ever received. As I celebrate my birthday and look back on my life, I want you to know that I could not have received a more precious gift, a more meaningful gift, a more beautiful gift then the gift of your life in my life…’”

To my joy, he took my advice and wrote his own letter in his own words a few days before his birthday. As an answer to his prayers, it worked. He received a beautiful card from his daughter on his birthday. But more importantly, he got his daughter back again.

The Tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven. Sin brings us so far down that we can’t even raise our eyes, let alone raise them to heaven!

He beat his breast and prayed. “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.”

The Tax Collector went to the temple and prayed. Humble people do not avoid God. Those who say that they are unworthy to go to Church are just as evil as those who say they don’t go to Church because it is full of hypocrites (unworthy people)!

A prideful man breaks away from the crowd. A remorseful man walks through the crowd. A sinful man walks away from the Lord. A humble man walks straight to the Lord.

Mt 12:28-34 Burnt Offerings

Mt 12:28-34 Burnt Offerings

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The scribe said to Jesus, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he. And to love God with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Dear Lord, create in me a pure heart, a pure mind and a pure soul that I may love you as you should be loved. To love is your greatest gift. To love you is an amazing gift. You created man and woman in your own image and likeness; you created man and woman to love and be loved and our greatest desire is to love and be loved by you. Your first commandment is your greatest gift: To love you with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. Help me Lord, to avoid at all cost, to use your words against you! Yes, your son once said, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” How horrible, my Lord and my God, would it be to place you - the first among all things - last in my life and put myself, the last of all things, first! May it never happen! I have learned the hard way, My God. I have seen the proud placed in their soft coffins and the meek scattered in a box. But for you, Lord, size means nothing. What makes a person remarkable is not their size but their significance and I know the secret: the more you love, the more significant you become.

“Have a fun and safe Spring Break!” These are the words that I read off of a school marquee I drove by last night. It made me very sad. It usually doesn’t, but this time it did. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Actually, I couldn’t believe what was missing. What bothered me most was that these words were written on a Catholic School marquee. Again, I couldn’t believe it! Of course I have read politically correct and/or sterile messages before on public school marquees. And on numerous occasions! And I have never had a problem with it because I never expected anything more from it. But is this the message we expect from a Catholic School? It should have read, “Have a fun, safe and blessed [or holy] Spring Break!” Who knows, maybe a Catholic student headed to Fort Lauderdale would have been impressed by it, or would have been taken aback by it. Who knows?

But I do know what you are thinking: Give me a break father! Why are you making such a big thing out of nothing? There are so many larger issues that need to be addressed. Why this one? The answer is simple: It is not “nothing”; it is something. It is the outward sign of something grotesque, like the pimple of a staph infection. It is similar to the opened eyes of rigor mortis. It is the outward sign of a dead faith; of a philosophy and theology of life that is not lived.

Of course a mistake may have occurred, and I accept that. But it’s far too common and far too dangerous to consider it as an outlier.

A repetitive message without God is synonymous to a repetitive life without God. It is also analogous to repeating the same mistakes over and over again in one’s life.

An on-going message without God is like thinking small all day long. If I don’t think God daily in my life, then I will only think human all day long at that is thinking small. If God is not the biggest part of my life, then it will not be the biggest part of my message. And last night, I saw nothing of God. If I don’t thank God for my life, then I won’t thank God for the lives of others.

What I saw last night can best be described as a lost opportunity. You see no public institution can write “blessed” or “holy”. So while Catholics can, we must. And to not do so would be a loss of an opportunity at minimum. When individuals lose sight of the bigger message, then it is their loss. But when individuals that represent institutions lose sight of a more significant message and a more significant Person, then it is the blind leading everyone to blindness and into a dark cave.

Love of God is “worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” So true! We should never forget it because those who live the First Commandment are historically offered up as a holocaust by those who don’t live it at all. It is in everyone’s best interest that we all live by the First and Greatest Commandment. Now, let’s start sharing our message in all possible ways.

Lk 11:14-23 The Finger of God

Lk 11:14-23 The Finger of God

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Some people said [about Jesus], “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid to waste…If I, them drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Richard Dawkins has finally come out of the closet, sort of. While speaking at a debate at Oxford University with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the man regarded as the world’s most famous atheist admitted that he cannot be certain that God does not exist. I am “6.9 out of 7 sure that God does not exist.” When asked why he doesn’t call himself an agnostic, he said, “I am.” There you have it! The “world’s most famous atheist” has a speck of faith; a glimmer of hope; a silver lining in a dark cloud. His statement is a far different one to the extremely arrogant claim he made a few years back when he disapproved of a poster that read, “God probably does not exist”. He said he liked it, but that the word “probably” should be removed.

I suspect that Dr. Dawkins may very well have more faith than he would care to admit. He may not consider himself the most famous atheist in the world, but he has definitely made himself to be the most known zoologist in the world; and one that has made his riches neither in zoology or in theology but in philosophy. No scientist will ever be able to prove or disprove that God exists, and any that attempt to do so will be working well outside their box. Dr. Dawkins has made his wealth by working outside his expertise, and he knows it. He may be a rich man, but he is a poor philosopher at best.

But today, there is room for some celebration! It is nice to see a man’s thoughts break free from its pre-conditioned surroundings. It’s nice to know that I don’t have to be entirely conditioned (or forced) to be someone I don’t want to be. The Holy Father knows that very well. He didn’t grow up to be a Nazi even though he lived in Germany in 1941 and was drafted in the Nazi youth. The Holy Father knew how to break free from the hysteria of it all, but not too many of his countrymen knew how to do it. So let’s ask the question: Why were there so many Nazis in 1941 and why are there so few today? Is it because Germans got smarter? Is it because the educational system got a lot better? I don’t think so. I think the answer is very obvious: it is because we allow ourselves to be pushed and pulled, swayed and moved, maneuvered, twisted and turned by the times rather than by the eternal truth.

Why do the most famous atheists come from England and Germany? Is it because they are superior to the rest of the world? That’s definitely what the early evolutionists and eugenicists wanted the world to believe in the early 20th century. Why is atheism and secularism a fairly recent arrival on the world’s stage? Is it because the Enlightenment ended all wars? Did English colonialism bring civilization to the Arabs and the Indians? I don't think so.

I personally find it hard to believe that the "world's most famous atheist" alive is also the brightest man alive! Does being bright or logical or educated have much to do with being atheist? Or does being an atheist (like being a Nazi) have more to do with being snookered?

To be a Christian has always meant being counter-cultural, counter-worldly, counter-conditional. There has never been a moment in the world where a Christian felt at home in the world. Christ blows away all preconditions. To be one requires the following: You have to be in this world and out of it; you have to be smart and you have to be dumb; you have to be wealthy and you have to be poor. You can be a Jew or a Roman. You can be in a position of authority or in no position at all. You have to be mighty and meek; powerful and humble; a martyr to life and a lover of life. You don’t have to be in the majority or in the minority. You can grow up in a functional family or a dysfunctional family, all is grace. You can be the world’s greatest sinner and the world’s greatest saint! You can even be an atheist that admits to a little bit of faith.

The Lord does not divide His house. Instead, He unites it under His Kingdom, a Kingdom that does not change over time but becomes more apparent over time.

Richard Dawkins finally admitted to something that all believers can admit to: that God can very well exist - with or without me. Dr Dawkins has less than 1% of faith, which fits in very well with the less than 1% of the population that believe less in God and more in themselves.

The finger of God is more powerful than the human mind, and Dawkins may very well have had a God moment when he made his comments. He may very well be on the road to a full recovery that will shock the preconditioned minds of his friends and push the button of the gates of Heaven wide open!

Mt 5:17-19 Abolishing Slavery; not the Law

Mt 5:17-19 Abolishing Slavery; not the Law

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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. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law…”

We need rules. We need discipline. An undisciplined mind leads to an undisciplined life which leads to slavery.

While I was in the seminary, our instructors would often remind us of the value of silence. Whenever the dining hall got too noisy, a superior would come by our table and order us to keep silent for two or three minutes. Of course we did what we were told. There was no arguing, we were in silence.

On certain occasions (and for certain prayers) we were instructed there was absolutely no talking allowed; regardless of whether or not there was an emergency. I still remember a story that circulated while I was in the seminary. The incident happened a few years before I joined. A very pious brother (a seminarian) was accompanying a priest on a road trip when they stopped to put some gas. The brother, who was also a mechanic, noticed that the priest was about to put diesel fuel in their “unleaded only” car, but did not say a word; after all, he was in silence. When their time of silence ended and their car had stalled, the brother immediately blurted out, “I know what the problem is...you put diesel fuel in the car!” Surprised, the priest asked him why he didn’t say anything. The brother responded, “We were in silence, remember?” “Ah”, the priest responded, “another Pharisee has been born!”

At first, we thought this type of silence was harsh and nearly impossible. But what we never imagined was an even tougher and harsher type of silence: Interior Silence. And it was this type of silence our instructors were attempting to achieve in all of us.

If you think it’s hard to keep silent for a day, imagine keeping silent for thirty days! I had to do this prior to my ordination, and it was a piece of cake (at least for the first 15 days!). But what was difficult, nearly impossible, but still doable, was to keep silent internally; that is, to silence my wild thoughts, good or bad past experiences, distractions, imagination and disordered affections.

Let me share with you some examples of what I am talking about. Let’s say you just had a very heated argument with a family member. The most common thing to do is to replay it over and over and over again in your mind. What a waste; and not only a waste of time and energy but a waste of faith.

Or let’s say your boyfriend or girlfriend suddenly breaks up with you. What typically happens next? You leave the scene and replay that moment a million times over in your mind, each time with a new twist or variation in what you could have said and what he would have said.

Or let’s say you have an important decision to make and you end up choosing poorly. You feel bad and play over and over again the mind game “What if…” It's easy to see how ill we can be!

Interior silence is all about interior freedom. Everyone needs discipline, and not just external discipline. In fact, exterior disorder reflects in many ways interior disorder. Interior silence helps us to break some very imaginary chains that have a very physical hold on us!

During Lent, the Lord invites us to start breaking some very powerful chains in our lives. If you find yourself reliving over and over again past pains and past hurts, then now is the time to cut them off before they spread! How? Through taming and disciplining your thoughts. As soon as you find yourself daydreaming about some bad or hurtful experiences, knock them out, cut them off. Do not allow yourself to go any further. Little by little you will train your mind to learn how to move on. And moving on is what we all need to do.

Live the Commandments. If there is some wrong that cannot be changed, then don’t go back; don’t go there. If there is something good that needs to be done, then do it and don’t look back. If you are in need of God’s forgiveness, then seek God’s forgiveness. If you are in need of someone’s forgiveness, then do it and do it once. If there is someone that needs to be forgiven then do it once and let them live.

Christ abolished slavery, not the law.

Interior Silence will help us to live better the commandments and experience God’s redemptive love and re-creating forgiveness.