Mt 7:14-23 Don’t Blame the Fruit

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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By Benedict Augustine

He said to them,

“’Are even you likewise without understanding?

Do you not realize that everything

that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,

since it enters not the heart but the stomach

and passes out into the latrine?’”

At first glance, Jesus’ remarks about the ritual purity of food seem to bear witness to common sense. Very few people associate their moral wellbeing with their diet—at least not in the sense that the Pharisees did. Rather, moral wellbeing comes from a person’s heart, from the beliefs he holds, not the carbohydrates in his breakfast or antioxidants in his smoothie.

No story better illustrates this point than the fruit ofthe tree of life—although it first seems to contradict Jesus’ words in today’s gospel. In Genesis, God creates the Garden of Eden over which man will have dominion. Man may partake of all the fruits that grow in Eden except fruit coming from “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” The fact that God places a tree in His garden that He knows will tempt Adam certainly suggests that He wants to make a point that what one eats can indeed make him impure. Man will eat of this fruit, have his eyes opened, and see what a wretched creature he is; this happens after all.

However, the gospel does not lie. Jesus expresslysays that “everything [including the forbidden fruit]from outside that goes into a person from outside cannot defile.” This means that the fruit itself does not cause Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden. Adam and Eve simply eat the fruit, digest it, and pass it into the latrine (or the equivalent), probably discovering a duel purpose for the leaves with which they covered themselves. The fruit does not grant either of them enlightenment nor does it make them “like gods.” It only serves as a conclusion for the original sin that they committed.

Adam and Eve already knew what was good before eating the fruit. The writer of Genesis make it clearthat everything preceding man’s own creation was good. Therefore, God did not create evil. The serpent has to lie to Eve that the fruit of knowledge will actually give her and her husband a knowledge like God’s, that of good and evil. Adam and Even already know what is good; they only lack in knowing what is evil, being still innocent. In truth, the only thing the fruit of the tree will teach them is that they sinned. In this fatal revelation, they finallylearn evil, and instead of becoming like gods, they find themselves further estranged from God, toiling on the earth like animals trying to survive because they could not trust God enough to follow His one commandment.

Nonbelievers like to object at this point, asking why God would place such a tree in the first place. He should have known that Adam and Eve would break down and take it at some point. This criticism missesthe important symbolism of the tree of knowledge. God loves His creation, man, and makes man free as a result of this love. This point is crucial: love must be free; it is freely given and freely received, or else it is not love. When God chooses Adam and Eve to occupy the Garden of Eden, He gives them the freedom to choose Him in return. The tree, then, symbolizes this free choice: when they do not eat of it, they obey God, and love Him freely; when they eat of it, they disobey and turn away from Him.

If God had not placed the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, one could argue that Adam and Eve had no choice but to love God, to obey Him. After all, love and obedience only have any virtue or meaning when one can choose the opposite. God did not make men to act as animals, but to serve and love as His children.

The original sin of Adam of Even continues to plague man today. God still allows man this freedom to love, which entails a freedom to sin, and people still overwhelmingly feel the temptation to pursue the latter course. The serpent still speaks—he never ceases talking—and continues to tell people that the forbidden fruit will make them like gods, knowing good from evil. Pleasure, knowledge, honor, wealth, power, all apparently accompany one’s turning away from God and religion. Like Adam, people inevitably find out that they in fact lose these things when they sin; life instead becomes painful, irrational, corrupt, poor, and uncontrollable.

Although watching one’s bodily health should concern everyone, Jesus urges His disciples to watch their spiritual health even more closely. What enters one’s stomach only matters insofar as it enters one’s heart. This fact explains how the Eucharist has central importance in the Mass: it is first and foremost food for the heart. Unlike the fruit from the tree of knowledge, the Body and Blood of Jesusopens one’s eyes to goodness, not evil. Receiving (as opposed to taking) it in a state of grace manifests an act of love and obedience; it stands directly opposed to the selfishness and disobedience of Adam and Eve. Because of this, partaking of the Body and Blood of Jesus brings man closer to God in a Holy Communion rather than severing him from God whenhe partakes of the forbidden fruit.

In this way, God, always loving his children to the very end, again and again offers the free choice to each generation: the forbidden fruit or Him? It is time all people listen to their hearts for once, and not their stomachs.

Mk 7:1-13 Clinging to Silly String

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
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Some Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus, "Why do your disciples not follow the traditions of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"  He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:  "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts."

As it is written.  Yesterday, I went to Starbucks with two delightful women, both in their upper 60's.  We had a wonderful time chitchatting about world events and what we most enjoyed about South America and Europe.  At a certain moment in our conversation, one of these darling ladies began to explain to me why she left the Catholic Church.  Although surprised to hear her story I wasn't surprised by her story.

She said that as a child her family never read the Bible.  I told her that that was unfortunate, but hardly something she should blame the Church for.

She then told me that she never read from the Bible while attending a Catholic school.  I was surprised.  I asked her if they ever had Mass.  She said, "Every day!"  I told her that during Mass there are three readings from the Bible.  She told me that things were different back in the 50's.  I told her, "That's true.  But there have always been three readings."

Finally, she told me she left the Catholic Church and joined a non-denominational Church because they taught her the bible.  I asked her why she never joined a Catholic Bible study group.  Well, she said she didn't know they existed.  Yes.  They exist.  They even exist at the College level. 

As if that were not enough, she mentioned to me that the priests back home (in her country) lived like princes, and they liked to drink a lot.  I asked her if she thought that non-denominational ministers were immune to drinking. 

Now, I'm not trying to make any excuses for my brother priests who may have alcohol or drug related problems.  But I am very confident that they are not alone.

Some people love to put priests on a pedestal, only to be the first to push them off.  I know that many people hold me in great esteem. But I know the day will come when I will knowingly or unknowingly disappoint them.  I stopped playing God long ago and trying to be the savior of the world.  I figured one Savior was and is enough, and that my priestly vocation is not to be the Savior of the world but to share my Savior with others. 

All in all, my conversation with this wonderful lady was delightful.  She is a very good woman, no doubt about that, but it seems like her reasons for leaving the Church are very, well, "traditional" - never read the bible as a child; never listened to the readings during Mass; and judged severely those she held in high esteem. 

I left her with one final question.  I asked her if she thought the Bible was more important than the Church.  She said, "Yes."  I said, "I disagree.  After all, it is the Church that tells me that the Bible is the Word of God, and that it is inspired by God, and that it is inerrant."

As St. Augustine once said, "I would not believe in the Gospels were it not for the authority of the Catholic Church."

St. Augustine was a pretty sharp guy.  He understood that the Gospels did not speak for themselves; that is, they did not write themselves, collect themselves, bind themselves, authorize themselves and, most importantly, interpret themselves.  They are a fruit of the Holy Spirit and of the Holy Catholic Church.  In the right hands they are a source of inspiration.  In the wrong hands, they are a highly efficient tool for disseminating false hopes and loves. 

Since Adam and Eve, we have always been trying to interpret or reinterpret God without respecting God.  This is what Jesus meant when He said "we disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."

He was talking about our pride.

Mk 6:53-56 They Immediately Recognized Him

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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By FR. ALFONSE NAZZARO

 

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there.  As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.  They scurried about...and began to bring in the sick...

 

I woke up bright and early to read today's Gospel passage and this morning's news.  I was amazed at how they both came together in one amazing event:  the Pope's visit to a shantytown in Italy.

 

Jesus came to land at Gennesaret.  Gennesaret was no Jerusalem.  It was a town rich in wild life, plant life and fruits. Surprisingly, it was not well populated, most likely because it was known to be a hot bed for malaria and other diseases. 

 

Regardless of all its dangers, the Lord spent a lot of time there touching, curing and healing the sick.

 

This is today's Gospel passage.  Now for today's news.

 

According to Time Magazine, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, took a detour Sunday and stunned the residents of a Roman shantytown with a surprise visit.  Italian television station TV2000 captured a video showing the Pope laughing with the shocked crowd, many of whom originated from South America. 

 

“How many of you here speak Spanish?” the Argentinian Pope asked.  He was met with a boisterous response: “Todos!”

 

 



 I am not at all surprised Pope Francis took such a detour.  While in Argentina, he would often make similar stops to the poorest neighborhoods surrounding Buenos Aires.  
 
The Holy Father is simply doing what he has always done and what the Gospel is always demanding. 
 
But there is also another reason for his visit.  He wants to set the example for Christians throughout the world.  He wants us to do the same.  And I will.  Today.   

Mother Teresa once said "It's very fashionable today to talk about the poor.  Unfortunately, it's not very fashionable to talk to the poor." 
 
Finally, while writing this brief meditation, I couldn't help but be reminded of last night's GRAMMY AWARDS!  Can you believe it???  What a difference!  What a sign of contradiction!  It is the subtle difference between glamour and nobility; flashiness and holiness.

It's hard not to love this man and consider him a true Rock (Petros) star!

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, the people immediately recognized him. 

Mk 6:53-56 Visual Aids

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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By KATIE GROSS

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,

Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret

and tied up there.

As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.

They scurried about the surrounding country

and began to bring in the sick on mats

to wherever they heard he was.

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,

they laid the sick in the marketplaces

and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;

and as many as touched it were healed.

My friend Faith recently shared an article on Twitter that she studied in her New Testament class in college. Its main question was this: why are Christians in television shows always Catholic? It is very rare to see a character on television talk about their Presbyterian faith, or their Unitarian faith, or whatever it may be. With few exceptions, every character in television that openly claims to be Christian is also a Catholic. Why? Well, because film is visual, it must have a visual faith to display. Catholic characters can make the sign of a cross or walk into an incense-filled church and the point is instantly made to the viewer that he is a Christian. A Protestant character would have a much more difficult time conveying his faith on film, simply because his faith would involve fewer physical gestures, and his church could many times just look like another room. The point is that Catholics love to put their prayers into a physical form. However, this physical nature of our faith is often misunderstood even by Catholics. Should we fill our houses with statues? When a woman at church pulls out three different colors of scapulars, claiming that they each have “powers,” should we not think this is witchcraft? Of course we should not. However, we must certainly take the time to understand the role of physical objects in our faith so we do not fall into these traps.The first step is to realize that the created world is not evil—in fact, it is incredibly holy, because it was made by God. This is the common thread that runs between today’s Mass readings.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw how good the light was… Many religions have as their central goal the elimination of ‘physical things’ from faith. In their eyes, physical things are destined to die, and as such, cause suffering. However, what Christians choose to believe is that the physical world must be good because it was created by God, and God thought it was “very good.” An artist wouldn’t want his greatest work to be shunned by the public because it was only on display temporarily. Also, God made you, and clearly God does not think your body is a bad thing. In fact, it would be impossible to live without a body. Your personality and your aspirations would be nothing without your body, through which you live them out.

On the same note, today’s Psalm says, “How manifold are your works, O LORD!  In wisdom you have wrought them all—the earth is full of your creatures; Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.” Imagine if it were to say, “Your creatures are good, O Lord—I think, but they are going to pass away so I will ignore them and suppress my creative nature.”

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed. At this point, some Christians may argue that God’s creation is good, but paintings and statues are created by man and therefore are not the same thing. However, the Gospel today says that even Christ’s robes had power, just because they were so close to Christ. They were not Christ themselves, but still had power. How would this be so if created things were somehow unclean?
 

One of my theology teachers once described blessed objects as a sort of “package for prayer.” Just as we sing at Church and make a sensory noise out of a prayer, so too do we attach prayers to physical objects. These are what the Church calls ‘sacramentals’—rosary beads, scapulars, and even songs.They do not have ‘power.’ Instead, they are a prayer made physical. We believe that by looking at a blessed object, we are reminded of the prayer and sentiment we attached to it. This certainly can help us grow in our faith. Students: it’s like finishing a paper after a long night of work. While the paper in itself may have no redeeming quality and could be easily overlooked, when you look at that paper, you know the satisfying feeling of having worked so hard to complete it. There is a sentiment attached to objects—in the same way, Catholics attach prayers to sacramentals.

We must remember that we are created in the image and likeness of God as physical beings. We have a desire to express our faith in physical ways because we share in the creativity of God, who made all things.  If you want to sing a song in Church, sing it! If you want to have a picture of Our Lady in your house, put one up! This is all a participation in the creativity of God.

Mk 1:29-39 Happiness Is...

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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By FR. ALFONSE NAZZARO

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to [Jesus] all who were ill or possessed by demons.  The whole town was gathered at the door.  He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

He cured many.  He didn't cure them all. 

It's important for all of us to remember this.  The Lord cured dozens, maybe even hundreds of people while on earth, but He didn't cure millions.  Why not? 

Just yesterday, I read an article in the Dallas Morning News (Saturday, page 17a) about the Vatican setting up free showers and shave for the homeless.  The goal of this initiative is to help the homeless find a place to clean up, freshen up and feel human again.  Pope Francis' chief almsgiver, Monsignor Konrad Krajewski, said the project is needed since homeless people are often shunned for their appearance and smell.  Each homeless man will receive a kit including a towel, change of underwear, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, razor and shaving cream.  Even volunteer barbers will be available for a haircut on Mondays.    

I liked it, but then my pessimistic side broke through and I said to myself, "There are thousands of homeless in Rome!  This isn't going to change much at all."

But I'm wrong.  This will change everything!  This project will inspire other churches to go out and do the same exact thing. 

Why didn't Christ heal all the people?  Because He demands from every Christian Church to go out and do what He did:  heal the brokenhearted.

Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted (Ps 147:1). 

Who are the brokenhearted?  Job spoke, saying:  "Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?...  I shall not see happiness again."

This is a scary thought.  This verse is frightening.  Will I ever be happy?  Will I ever be happy again?  What stripes us of our happiness?  The Greek sage, Epictetus, once said:  "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." 

I get what he is saying, honestly.  But this is more like a "book" answer than a real life answer!  Epictetus sounds more like a robot than a human being.

What does it take to be happy? 

1.  Healthiness.  CVS likes to say that "health is everything."  Well, I wouldn't go that far.  It's not everything, but it is important.  Our physical, mental and emotional health are essential to happiness.  We need to take care of ourselves, especially our body and mind.  We need to feed them with healthy things.  We need to exercise.  We cannot take our bodies for granted! 

Case in point:  Job.  

In the book of Job, we read that Job was stricken with horrific sores that covered his entire body.  I find it amazing that his poor health didn't cause him to shout at God!  This is important.  Job never lost his faith, even while his health began to fail him.  He kept a good positive attitude until the unimaginable happened. 

2.  Having the essentials.  Although Job was seriously ill, I think what finally broke the man was the loss of his children:  seven boys and three girls.  This killed Job!   

We need loved ones.  We need the essentials.  We need to have a place to rest and a family to go to.  We need to have a place we can call "house" and a family we can call "home."  We need to have family and friends.  If we lose our loved ones, then we have lost everything.  Job lost everything. 

And still, he refused to curse God.

3.  Love.  Most people understand the importance of having good health and having the essentials.  But is this all we need?  Is this all it takes to be happy?  Absolutely not!

We need more.  We need the sick.  We need prisoners.  We need the hungry and the thirsty.  We need the mother-in-laws and father-in-laws of the world and rebellious children.  Why?  Because giving and forgiving are essential to human happiness. 

We need to love and be loved and to love and beloved means to forgive and give. 

To ask the question "Will I ever see happiness again?" is really to ask the question "Does anyone still love me?"  This is a scary question.  This is a frightening thought.   We all fear for our health.  We all fear for our security.  But we will collapse into deep sadness if we ever feel we are no longer lovable.

Good health is essential.  Having the essentials (like food, water and shelter) is essential.  But if I do not have love - the willingness to give and/or forgive - then I am nothing.

Heb 13:15-17,20-21 Love and Sacrifice

Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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by GABY HUNDZA

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

A couple of these verses stuck out to me:

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. -Hebrews 13:16

The use of the word sacrifice struck me; why is it that doing good and sharing with others is associated with sacrifice?

To fully understand what “sacrifice” means, I googled the definition, and these are some results:

• noun; an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.
• verb; to give up something important or valued for the sake of other considerations.

Those two very similar definitions are saying the same thing: give something for someone else. When I hear the word sacrifice, I think of the struggle that may come with the sacrifice. It takes a strong will to sacrifice.

As I continued my research as to what sacrifice means, I found this definition:  Christ's offering of himself in the Crucifixion.

This is the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus gave up his life for all of us, and the sacrifice we must make is to do good and share with others. Sometimes it’s difficult for us to give up something for someone else - the last seat on a bus, or a blanket or jacket when it’s cold. These are just a couple little sacrifices that we may have to make. We aren’t always willing to make these sacrifices; we would rather get to relax on the bus and enjoy the seat, or stay warm by curling up in the blanket or wearing the jacket. These small gestures don’t compare to what Christ did for us, but we still struggle to fulfill these gestures due to our own comfort and desires. In order to do good and share with others, we must be willing to disregard our own desires and focus on how we can help others.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. -Hebrews 13:20-21

These two verses tell us a lot about God’s love for us - he gave his only son for us, he is guiding us, he is blessing us with what is good, and he desires to work through us. Isn’t that incredible? We are instruments of the Lord. He gives us all that we need and leads us in the direction that is best for us all. We need to use all of the gifts he has blessed us with as the way he intended them to be used. Let him speak and reveal himself to others through you!

God first, others second, ourselves third. Our words should be used to glorify God and uplift others; our actions should be similar to Christ’s in the way he gave up so much for others. Be humble and show others what we live for

Mk 6:1-6 Of Music and God

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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By SOPHIE DRUFFNER

 

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples... He was amazed at their lack of faith.

 

"Thursday of the Do you believe in God?”

The assistant orchestra director stands in front of the Honors Orchestra, asking us the all-important question. She is asking us this question because we are playing religious music, written by a composer who was deeply in love with God, and she wants us to understand the attitude in which the composer wrote it. Looking down at my plaid skirt and saddle shoes, there seems to only be one answer: “Of course.” Didn’t I go to mass every weekend and participate in the prayer before every class and advisory? Didn’t I talk about religion and morals with my friends, discussing different viewpoints and situations? Didn’t I believe in God?

Of course.

Just as all this is running through my mind, another student says: “Sometimes. It’s kind of off and on.”

The gift of being open-minded is about stepping into the other person’s shoes, imagining what they are feeling and their prior experience. So I stepped into this student’s shoes, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why he had replied “Sometimes.” As I walked down the hallway after class, I asked myself if I believed in God, right at this second. I asked myself if every single time the priest held up that little wafer that I believed that God was present within it. I asked myself if I believed that he was out there right now, at this very nanosecond, just being Himself. And it was much harder to say “Of course.”

Again, in the dining hall, I was talking with my friends about something another classmate had said, and everyone laughed. Although I giggled, I asked myself again: Do I believe in God?

As I fixed my hair in the mirror before class (a usually fruitless task), I asked myself a third time: “Do I believe in God?” “Right now?” I responded. In the restroom, in front of the mirror? And it was a little harder to say “Of course.”

You see, for me, believing in God was a question for theology and philosophy classes (“The possibility that there is not a God does not disprove the possibility that there is a God”), for school masses and chapel. It was a question of beliefs, beliefs which I didn’t think about at every moment of every day. God was there whenever I needed Him because that was the way I viewed our relationship. When I didn’t need Him, I didn’t think about Him. I didn’t think that He wanted me to; after all, he was too busy looking after the sparrows and the seven billion others in the world.

And then it was school mass, and the priest held up the bit of flour and water and said “This is the Body of Christ.” It is so unbelievable that this was the same wafer that martyrs died for, that Jesus died for, that this was truly the torn and bloody Body of Christ taken down from the cross over two thousand years ago. When I lifted the Cup to my lips, I imagined myself touching my lips to the wounds of Christ, the same blood shed now that was shed over two thousand years ago. It cannot be scientifically proven; it is not a theory backed up by studies and evidence. Yet it is faith, backed by the reason that within Christ’s very self was the link between Heaven and Earth, for He was wholly divine and wholly human. Christ, both fully human and fully divine, told us that this Bread was his Body, that this Wine was his Blood; and for that reason, it must be the ultimate truth.

Remember how much a paper cut hurts, and how so much more a scar from surgery pains one? The Son of God loved you so much that he endured a myriad of papercuts and innumerable scars because He loves you so much. He wants so much that you think of him almost every second,  that you pray without ceasing, that you show a huge amount of faith and believe that there is more than death. And he wants your faith in works, not just empty “Amens,” spirited hymns, or the Creed proclaimed loudly. He wants you to constantly ask yourself that, if you believe in God, if what you are doing is in accordance with his way of love, if what you are doing is truly Christian. Even if you do not believe in the saving death of Jesus, if you are Muslim or Jewish, you can ask yourself, Am I doing what God wants me to do? And any faith tradition can ask themselves the question: Are my actions following the teachings of my faith tradition? Am I honoring others by my actions? (Hindus believe in many gods with one ultimate reality, and generally, Buddhists do not believe in a personal God).

Are you telling the truth, are you truly listening to a person and giving them the full dignity that they deserve, are you defending a person’s right to life, liberty, and happiness, are you stepping into someone else’s shoes…on all issues?

Do you believe in God?

He, the Person who created your first neuron, walks with you. He is above you and beside you, to the right, and to the left. He is watching your back and he knows where you placed things before you lost them. He is your partner and he is always there. Touch your lips to the wounds of God the Son, imagine His pain, imagine his Sacrifice, and remember to “pray without ceasing,” in your every syllable, in your every hand gesture, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)