Luke 12:35-38 Stay Alert!

Luke 12:35-38  Stay Alert!

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “…Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.    Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.”

 

I have to admit that I no longer find it surprising when the academic world hides the truth from others; or better yet, when they decide to airbrush the truth away.  Even though the ultimate purpose of our schools is to teach the truth, more and more are caving into political correctness and religious intolerance. 

 

Yesterday, I read the following headline:  Holy Photoshop!  LSU erased Christian football fans’ crosses.

 

Now you may be thinking:  With all the important things going on in the world, why in the world waste a meditation on such a benign subject?  The answer should be obvious by to everyone:  Lying is never a benign issue.  It is a growing problem.  It is what the devil does best.  He is the prince of lies, remember? 

 

It turns out that Louisiana State University (LSU) officials published a photo of “The Painted Posse”, a student led organization that is very much devoted to LSU football and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  At every home game, these students show their school spirit by painting their bare chests with their school colors and a small cross.  The school officials loved it and posted a picture of them for all the world to see.

 

But when these same kids saw it, they were horrified.  They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.  Actually, they couldn’t believe what they were not seeing:  the little cross.  It turns out it had been airbrushed out by school officials. 

 

It seems to me that these same school officials love the Painted Posse’s spirit …but not the Holy Spirit.  They love the fact that these kids love their school…but not their Savior. 

 

Why did they do it?  Officials responded by saying, “We don’t want to imply we are making any religious or political statements, so we air-brushed it out.”  So…instead of worrying about making a false statement, they worried more about making a political or religious statement.  What a bunch of cowards!  How sickening.  How pathetic.  What liars.  They prefer to distort the truth than to face reality.  These officials are still lying.  They did not have to make any political or religious statement when they published this picture.  All they had to do is describe the picture and state the facts below it.  That’s it.

 

Atheists would love for believers to believe that our nation is abandoning God.  But since that’s not true, they resort to sabotage.  They try to airbrush Christians away.  But in reality, they are airbrushing the truth away and painting for us a better portrait of whom they are and what they will resort to. 

 

Be aware!  Be attentive!  Stay alert!  History tends to repeat itself. 

 

No God = No Heaven, just Hell on earth.

 

Where is God?  Why doesn’t He come to our rescue?  A week ago, our seventh grade students at St. Monica finished reading “Night”, the memories of Elie Wiesel’s experience in a Nazi concentration camp.  I asked the kids if they believed (like Mr. Wiesel) that God had abandoned His people.  After all, the evidence seemed to point in that direction.  The kids didn’t know.  So I asked them some difficult questions:  Why did the Holocaust happen in the 1940’s?  Why not centuries before?  How in the world could the Nazis have gained so much power?  Why was it so easy for Hitler to convince the German people that they were superior to others?  Why did all of this happen in Germany?   

 

They did not know.

 

I continued:  What was going on in the 1900’s?  What were people reading back then?  What did they believe in? 

 

I then wrote on the board four names:  Darwin, Marx, Feuerbach, and Nietzsche.  [It’s amazing how science and philosophy translate into politics and life.]

 

Right before Hitler and the Nazis appeared, and the Holocaust and World War II began, certain theories and philosophies were receiving wide attention and acceptance in Germany.

 

People in Germany were beginning to place their faith in man, in science and atheism.  They were beginning to believe that man should return to the animal kingdom where he belongs; to rule where there are no rules and where only the strongest survive.  They believed in survival of the fittest and preying on the weakest (Darwin).  They believed that religion was the opium of people (Marx) and that there was no need to worry about right and wrong because there was no heaven or hell.  They believed they had finally succeeded in ridding the world of the greatest myth:  God; of killing Him (Nietzsche) and replacing him with His rightful owner:  man (Feuerbach). 

 

And it was all good; In fact, it was “very good”. 

 

Did God abandon man or did man abandon Him?  The kids knew the answer. 

 

God did not abandon man.  Man abandoned Him.  And even today, we continue to airbrush Him out of our lives…out of reality. 

 

"Brothers and sisters: You were at a time without Christ...without hope and without God in the world" (cf. Ephesians 2:12-22).

The Holocaust was not a test of faith.  It was a taste of atheism...and (I think) of things to come.

Luke 11:5-13 The Year of Faith

Luke 11:5-13  The Year of Faith

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Jesus said to his disciples: …“If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

One does not solve a problem by making it bigger. 

As I sat around the dinner table last night with a beautiful family, I had to ask this mom and dad of three kids how they came up with their youngest daughter's name.  I never expected to hear what I heard.  I should have known better.

Facts are not opinions.  That’s what we all learned in school.  Well, the facts didn’t look good for this mom of two, or for her unborn child.  The doctor treating her said she ran the very serious risk of bleeding to death if she continued with her pregnancy; and that her unborn child, if it even survived, would have serious defects.  The doctor pleaded with her to use her better judgment.  He reminded her that she was already the mother of two small children.  Why run the risk for one more child?  Why in the world would she leave the other two motherless? The “logical” conclusion was to abort.   

With so much to lose and with so much pressure to come to terms with “reality”, it is a miracle she remained steadfast.  She refused to have an abortion.   

A few months before she gave birth, she had one last sonogram.  The doctor would not allow her to look at the image of her child.  When she pressed for a reason, the doctor told her, “Just in case you decide to change your mind.”   

Her husband, a good Christian man, had his doubts though.  He did not have her faith. 

The moment her child was born, her doctor began to cry.  This mother of two had given birth to a perfectly normal baby girl.  Mom and dad named her “Faith”.    

A few years later, Faith’s dad became a Catholic.

Today, Faith is a very beautiful, highly intelligent (straight A), playful and creative teen.  While her parents shared stories about her at the dinner table, all she did was smile.  And what an amazing smile she has.  

It's obvious to see that family life would be so different if they did not have their little Faith.  At Sunday Mass, mom and dad still look at her every time the priest, after the consecration, says, “Mystery of Faith”.

Why do I mention this story?  Because today, unbeknownst to me, the Holy Father inaugurated “The Year of Faith”.  I couldn’t believe the coincidence.  I should have known better!

Faith is our response to God’s grace.  I can take it or reject it.  And I do so knowingly or woefully.  Faith is an act of the intellect.  It is not an act of the emotions.  It is not “wishful” thinking.  It is
“thankful” thinking.  I am grateful to Him. 

I can honestly say I believe in God more than I believe in man because I have seen what man can do without God, and what God can do regardless of man.

I am a very logical person, but I am also a person of faith.  I can put the two together like faith and reason, truth and forgiveness, love and enemy, science and God, the mystery of our faith and the mystery of Faith. 

I can love when there is no reasonable reason to and have Faith when there is no logical reason to.

Lord, give us Faith to see what no eye could see, ear could hear and love could not reject.

Luke 10:25-27 People Pleasers

Luke 10:25-27  People Pleasers

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There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

If I were to ask a group of Catholic High School students what we must do to have eternal life, I guarantee that most of them (if not all of them) would say, “Do good things to others.”  And of course that would be incorrect. 

Now in our politically-correct charged atmosphere, that is rapidly decaying Christian values and  common sense, my response to such a global-fuzzy-warm-feelings sentiment would not sit very well with most so-called “social justice” advocates of the first-world-in-high-tech (but third-world-in-family-life) nation of America. 

The Lord answered this question, regarding salvation, long ago by posing a simple question to a scholar: “What do you read in the Law [Scripture]?”  The man answered by saying, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  Christ said, "You are correct."   

Now, in order not to fall into the trap of loving others as we love ourselves, the Lord gave us a criteria.  He said, "Love one another as I have loved you." 

The Lord feared that we would love others not as we should, but to make us feel good.  In other words, the Lord feared that we could easily end up wanting our neighbor to worship us…just as we worship ourselves. And maybe that's the reason why we rarely ever mention God in any of our "social justice" projects. 

But if we can rise above ourselves, then we can rise above the fray just like the Lord rose from the dead and above all human conditions. 

Christ invites us to rise above human divisions and cultural barriers and promote a movement that places God above all things: all ideas, all customs, all people and all powers!  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing more than the Gospel of Truth and Life in a Culture of death and lies.  

I know I have more in common with some of my Baptist friends than I do with some of my Catholic parishioners.  I know that I have more in common with some public school students than I do with some Catholic school students.  We are related not by titles but by mission.    

A few days ago I walked past a high school student waiting for the bus to take him to a Catholic High School.  He saw me.  I saw him.  I smiled at him.  I waited to see if he would say something.  He said nothing.  In fact, he put his head down. I thought to myself, “There goes another Catholic student who is sick and tired of God and the faith.”  Then, on the same day, I read in the newspaper how a bunch of public school cheerleaders were fighting in court to keep their tradition of writing bible quotes on their banners!  That’s amazing!  But what is even more amazing is that the judge ruled in their favor (at least temporarily). 

How many Catholic schools do you know put bible quotes on their banners, marquees, newsletters, etc…? 

Again, it’s all about what we want to promote:  an unknown God or a well known school; an unnamed God or a name for our school?  Do we have to sacrifice one for the other?

Well, this morning I saw him again.  He stood like a statue in the freezing cold air.  I walked up to him, with my head down and stood in front of him.   I made the sign of the Cross and looked up at my living “statue”.  I pretended to be startled and I told him, “Oh my goodness!  I thought you were a statue of St. Augustine!”  He was shocked.  He smiled and laughed…a little.  He didn’t know what to say.  That’s the unfortunate part.

Sometimes I think our schools, in their drive for academic excellence, cause our students “shell-shock” and confusion with regards to common sense and religious fervor.

The Lord helped a “scholar” to better understand the word “neighbor”.  You would think it would be obvious to such a brilliant man.  But as the war on religion (on what is right, holy, decent and good) continues to ravage America, our youth and our families, you would think that we would be fighting back.  Instead, we have become “people pleasers”.  Worst of all, we think this is pleasing to God.    

St. Paul asks the Galatians:  “Am I seeking to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ” (Gal 1:6-12). 

You gotta love St. Paul, since nobody else did. 

We tend to place “freedom” above the Gospel.  But we can see what happens to our youth, our families, our culture and our neighbors when this happens.  What the Gospel tells us and what experience has demonstrated is that freedom without responsibility is a disaster!        

Christians have been given the tremendous responsibility to save America and Americans.  How?  By serving God and help our neighbor.  Let’s not blow it by being people pleasers.

Luke 9:18-22 What you see and don’t see…

Luke 9:18-22  What you see and don’t see…

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Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 

It was bound to happen.  After spending three years with His disciples, Peter finally figured it out.  Actually, the moment had arrived for him to figure it out.  The Holy Spirit had enlightened his heart and mind to know that Jesus is God. 

Now, all the Apostles know who He is.  The Word is out.  Actually, the Word has finally materialized.  What I find remarkable is how long it took them to realize it.  Moms and dads:  Isn’t it remarkable how long it takes for your son or daughter to figure out that you truly love them???  [Sorry, I had to throw that in there!]

The point I am trying to make is the following:  Although the Apostles spent days and weeks with Jesus; although they saw him and heard him constantly, it was not enough to know Him.  It still took the Heavenly Father to reveal Him.  Faith is a grace.  And no matter how often the Apostles saw the Lord’s face, it still took the Father’s grace to reveal His Son to them. 

The same holds true today.  No matter how hard a Christian tries to convert someone to the faith, it still takes God’s grace to reveal His face to them.  We convert no one.  We simply draw them closer to the Lord.  It is the Lord, and only the Lord, that can make the blind see, the deaf hear and the dumb believe.

And just when we think we know Him, He slips away from us.  The Lord will not be controlled.  Unlike us, He will not allow His friends to distort Him, confuse Him, demean Him, twist Him or change Him.  He will not be manipulated.  He will not allow Himself to be placed in a test tube and experimented on.  Peter discovers this quickly, and is reminded ferociously to let God be God.  Let the Lord do what He must do: “the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” 

Although Christ did not allow others to manipulate Him, He did allow them to define Him.  When His enemies tried to twist Him, He did not change.  When they tried to bend Him and break Him, He stood tall.  Though Judas' betrayed Him, He would not betray his people.  He accepted Peter's denial as he accepted his sorrow.  He was saddened by Thomas' doubt but never doubted His Apostles.    

What you see is what you get.  How can I understand the Lord?  Get a bigger brain!  Sorry, but it is true.  Can you fit the entire ocean into a lake?  Can you fit the entire world’s knowledge into your head?  Every day is a learning day.  Every day we are learning more and more about the world we had nothing to do with.  So how can I believe in the Lord?  Use the brain that God gave to you.  But that is not enough.  For starters, you must receive the Lord’s grace.  How does one receive grace?  By asking for it.

What you see is what you get, right?  So does that mean “What you don’t see is what you don’t get?”  For some people it is.

Yesterday I got into a debate with an atheist.  I published one of his comments and responded to it.  But then I refused to publish anymore because the atheist turned into a Ranter [A Ranter is someone who spews out his thoughts without thinking.]  In his recent comment (which I did not publish), he wrote:  "People are animals.  Read a biology book for a change."  Ahh yes, quick to judge…If he only knew how many science books I had to read in my life, especially while I was earning my Master of Science degree at RIT!  But maybe his advice to me reveals his limitations.  Maybe that’s his problem, that he never read anything other than a biology book.  And of course, if that is all you know about being human, then you might begin to believe that that’s all there is to being a man or a woman.  What you read is what you know, right?  But if he ever picked up a book of poetry, then he would begin to see some human beings as more than animals.  He would see them as poets.  And if he picked up some music and played it, then he would see some human beings as more than flesh and bones,  he would see them as musicians. And if he ever picked up the Bible and read it, then maybe he would see Christianity as different from other religions; and God as different from “god”; and Christians as evolved human beings who love their enemies and forgive them seven times seventy-times.  If he did any of these things, then he might very well begin to see humans as aliens more than as animals.  And he would be right!

What you see is what you get.  What you don’t see is what you don’t get! 

For the longest time, the Apostles only saw a man, Jesus, standing next to them.  What they couldn’t get is how He could love them so much.  Eventually they did, and were blinded by the light.

Luke 9:7-9 Perplexed

Luke 9:7-9  Perplexed

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Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”  But Herod said, “John I beheaded.  Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”

Herod looked perplexed.  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  Things were not as self-evident as he thought they were.  After all, he had killed The Baptist.  That should have been the end of the story.  Never did he ever imagine that it was the beginning of the story.

Not too long ago, I gave a talk at a Catholic school.  To my “Catholic” audience, I told them that if they wished to ever be a better Christian, then they must learn to think logically and live “illogically”.  Of course my young audience was a little perplexed, but I went on to explain how they must constantly be searching for the truth, in a very logical and structured way, but continue to live like Christ, who spoke and lived in a very “illogical” or “paradoxical” way. 

I then went on to explain to them the failures of atheism.  How atheism is nothing more than a backhanded slap on the face of God and more of a frontal attack on wonder and faith.  For the atheist, nothing is surprising, not even evil; nothing is beautiful, not even love; nothing is exciting, not even life.  It is all what it was supposed to be.  It is as thrilling and as amazing as dissecting a worm.    

For them, everything is self-evident…except for The Everything!  They say, “Of course the Universe exists, duh?!  What did you expect?”  Or, “Of course an apple falls from a tree.  It’s all based on the laws of physics!” …It’s as if the laws of atoms were like the laws of governments…not made but self-evident.

An atheist prides himself on believing only what he can see, and not what others have seen, which to him means everyone is sick (or blind and deformed).  It could never mean that he may be sick (or blind and deformed). 

Atheism is not only a denial of God; it is a denial of humanity, for to be a man means to be blessed in believing the unbelievable.  My dear atheist friend, you cannot be an atheist because you were conceived out of nothing!  Do you yet not understand?  Man is not only capable of believing what he cannot see but what he can dream, which allows him to eventually realize his dreams.   If he did not dream the impossible dream, then he would forever remain a prisoner in the land of what-you-see-is-what-you-have.  This man is insane, for he sees only what is there and thinks only what is humanly reasonable and observable.  If the world were truly what he could only observe, then the world would be as big as his head: small.

But no atheist ever believed himself.  No atheist will ever tell you that we have discovered everything that exists.  He knows there is still much more to discover; that there is much more that exists.  But for the sake of argument, he pretends to think we have discovered everything and that God does not exist.

Well… the reason why I mention all of this is for the fact that after I spoke, I had a student come up to me and ask me politely never speak about atheism again.  I asked the student why?  She told me that she felt insulted by what I had said.  Now, I must say I was taken aback a little by what she said since I was speaking in a school, in a Catholic school, and in the United States of America - a nation that prides itself on freedom of speech.  I was a little surprised that someone would propose censorship rather than scholarship. 

Now my response surprised the student as much as it surprised me.  I went back to Christianity.  I went back to the paradox of our faith.  I told the young student that what I had said was far less important to me than she was to me.  I told her that I would respect her wish for the time being. 

My response surprised her.  In fact, I think she was stunned, perplexed, at what I had said.  And maybe, just maybe, for the first time in her young atheist life, nothing and no one was as self-evident as her.  Maybe, just maybe, someone no longer fit in her head.

Luke 8: 4-15 Fuming All Over!

Luke 8: 4-15  Fuming All Over!

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When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. “A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up…And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundred-fold…”

There still exists some bitter arguing among Protestants and Catholics regarding Martin Luther’s theological “dogma” known as Sola fides (faith alone).  But there is a new “dogma” out there which is far more dangerous and worse in scope and has failed to catch the attention of most Christian pastors and priests.  It is a doctrine that is very seductive and can suck the life out of any Christian at any given moment.  This dogma is spreading like wildfire and has become prevalent in nearly every single Christian denomination.  It is the dogma I affectionately call:  Affectus solum.  That is, “Feelings alone”. 

A person whose faith rests almost entirely on feelings is a faith that is dead, or soon to be dead.  Like faith without works is dead, so to faith with just feelings is dead!  People who have succumbed to this dogma (or deadly virus) tend towards hallucinations and say: “I am not religious.  I am spiritual.”

There was a man who threw some seed on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture.  Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 

These poor seeds never had a chance to survive because they never had fertile ground to take root in.  They died the moment they hit the rocky or bumpy or thorny ground.  And just like a seed cannot survive without water and fertile ground; faith in God cannot survive without prayer and knowledge of God.

If Christ’s love for us was based solely on feelings, He would have thrown in the towel long before He ever picked up His Cross.  If Christ’s love for His father was based solely on feelings, He would have thrown the Cup of Sacrifice smack in His father’s face!

Don’t we know that by now?  Haven’t we had enough of the rollercoaster rides?  Haven’t we had enough of feeling great about God one moment and then accusing Him of not caring the next?  Haven’t we seen the sad results of wishy-washy sentimental love?  It plays out all the time among our most fervent yet superficial converts.  It plays out among our dearest charismatic friends and families.  It plays out among our retreatants and Medjugorje pilgrims.  It plays out among our dearest stars (Kristen Stewart comes to mind). 

Does a bride merry her spouse out of feelings of love or out of a deep knowledge of her spouse?  If it is out of feelings, then we know how long that will last; as long as a feeling lasts.  Not long at all.

Why do we place so much of our trust, hope and love in feelings rather than in real and concrete faith? 

The headline read:  “From Bible-Belt Pastor to Atheist Leader”.    I read the New York Times article with some interest.  It appears as though there are a growing number of atheists coming out from under their Protestant robes.  The man featured in the article is the former Reverend Jerry DeWitt.  I took some notes while I read the incredibly long article dedicated to religion.  What I found were few surprises.  I added some of my own notes while I read.

DeWitt is a descendent of a long line of preachers on both sides of the family [Thank God for chastity!].  His grandfather established 16 churches by himself [Church making is considered an excellent franchise in the Bible-belt].  At the age of 17 he was “saved” [Uh oh, I thought it was ‘once saved, always saved] by Jimmy Swaggart [That might explains it!].  Weeks later he was speaking in tongues [Now wait a minute…it would be interesting if he claims that was real and it would be revealing if he claims it was a hoax.  If it was real, then how could he be an atheist today?].

One day, while sitting in church, he heard his pastor call on him to deliver a homily [I should try that one day, but this sounds as real as a ‘reality’ show].  He says he spoke and the “crowd” loved it! [Yep!  Sounds fake to me].  He said, “I knew right then that preaching was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”  [Wow!  One sermon and he found his vocation.  That’s an easy way of convincing someone they can be a motivational speaker.  But chastity, poverty and obedience are the ways to find out if someone is being authentically called by God!  After all, where does one find their cross to carry?  Among your fan club?  Within the crowd worshipping you?].

DeWitt preached across the South, although he never received a college degree [What???].  In 2004, he became a full-time pastor at a church near DeRitter [Are you kidding me?]. 

After reading this nine-page article, I was no longer interested in knowing why DeWitt became an atheist.  Rather, I was much more interested in knowing how he survived being a Christian pastor for so long.  After all, it sounds like everything he did; he did it on his own!  Maybe he did it more for himself than for anyone else. 

A Pastor who runs on feelings for so long will eventually end up fuming mad!  And that’s exactly what happened. 

But how can someone, who never went to college and never got a degree (which really means he never received a deep appreciation for the faith of our fathers or a systematic understanding of Christianity).  What did he spend half his life giving to others?  No wonder why a good hearted and sentimental man now claims to be a recovering Christian. 

May our faith in you, O Lord, take root in our hearts, minds and bodies, so that the knowledge of your Son, and not our own desires, may always prevail in us.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Luke 6:20-26 Is There Ever A Dull Moment?

Luke 6:20-26  Is There Ever A Dull Moment?

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Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours…Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 

Life is amazing!  It is full of surprises.  But we often forget that the same surprise can be both good and bad; a blessing and a curse; sweet and bitter. 

Beauty is a gift.  But it is also a curse.  Wealth brings people together.  It can also keep them apart.  Love is joyful.  But it is also painful.  Poverty can be a blessing just as much as plenty can be a curse!  Friends can keep me all together.  But they can also tear me apart.  Being much talked about can quickly turn into being much gossiped about!

Is there ever a dull moment?

Sometimes it just feels like you can’t win!  I went to a birthday party and was surprised by the reaction of a seven-year-old when his uncle handed him a five dollar bill.  The child looked at it and then turned to him and said, “But I already have one!!!”   I thought to myself, “Boy, at that age, I may not have been able to add apples together, but I definitely knew how to add money together!”

It seems like there’s no winning, ever. 

How quickly peace can elude us.  How quickly a dark thought can invade us.   

Today’s Gospel paints an even bleaker picture of life.  If you are poor, then you are blessed.  If you are rich, then beware!  What is going on?  Is there ever a peaceful moment? 

There is.  But it takes faith.  It takes realism.  It takes preparation.  It takes vision.

The world took billions of years to establish itself.  And now that it has, it is gradually dying a slow and decaying death.  It took years for us to grow up. And now that we have, we are gradually dying a slow and decaying death.

Poverty is not an illness.  Misery is an illness.  And the miserable (Les Miserable) can be anyone:  King and peasant; young and old; rich and poor; beautiful and ugly; employed and unemployed. 

But no faithful are miserable.  A faithful person may be a poor person, rich person, young person, elderly person, beautiful person, ugly person, employed person, unemployed person.  But they are not a miserable person.   In fact, they are a loving person.

The reason why poverty is with us and is here to stay is the same reason why death is with us and is here to stay.  It is a part of the plan:  part creation, part sin, part life and part human.  It is a part of our falling down and growing up.  Think about it.  Why does the world give us a sense of beauty?  To watch it fade away?  Why is strength and health a thing to marvel at?  To experience weakness and illness?  Why does man begin to walk? To crawl again?  Why climb up a mountain if tomorrow I will be crawling out of bed!  Why does my body insist on being taken care of,  while at the same time making the necessary preparations to put itself to an end?  

Our world was created with both ends tying a knot and settling a score.  We are born into this world with nothing.  We die to this world empty handed.  We are placed in a womb.  We die and are placed in a hole. 

Yes, all things pass away, but not out of tragedy; rather, for an entirely different reason.  It is not to give birth to tragedy; it is to give birth to life and love.

Why is it that “We don’t know what we have until it is gone?”  Why must this be the prelude, the necessary opening act, to living and loving?  It doesn’t have to be!   But if I do not ever give myself, then I will never find myself.  Only if I give myself, will I find myself.  Only if I give myself, will I experience love.  Only when all “things” pass, will I witness heavenly things. 

When the music stops, why do we stop singing?  When the music stops, why do we stop dancing?  The lover does not wait for the beloved to love.  He does not wait for words of love before he gives a kiss.  The lover loves before the other.  Why give so much importance to what is given when I can give what must be given?  I do not need to have money to loved or loving.  I do not need to have music in order to sing a lullaby.  I do not need to be beautiful to be wonderful.   I do not need to be loved in order to love. 

The Lord came into the world to remind us of many things.  One being… that there is never a dull moment in life and love.

John 1:45-51 Under The Fig Tree

John 1:45-51  Under The Fig Tree

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Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”  But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth? ...Jesus saw Nathanael and said to him, “Here is a true child of Israel...Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”  Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” 

Putting things together is an important part of being a Christian.  Nathanael knew the scriptures well.  He was able to piece two important oracles together:  the fig tree and Nazareth.  The fact that he was “called” while sitting underneath a fig tree recalls how neighbors will “invite” one another under their “fig tree” in the messianic age (Zech 3:8).  And the fact that “branch” that will sprout from David is a term linked to the word Nazareth. 

When two truths join together, amazing things happen.

This morning I was driving out to Sky Ranch to celebrate Mass for the Senior girls at Ursuline Academy.   As I was heading down Walnut Hill, I got pulled over by the police.  To my “amazement”, I got pulled over because I was going a bit faster than the speed limit.  As soon as I pulled away, I kept asking myself over and over again, “Why do I do this to myself?  Why am I so stupid?  Why do I keep on agreeing to celebrate Masses that are so far away?” [Sky Ranch is about an hour-and-a-half from St. Monica.  It’s a long drive for one mass].  But in all honesty, I wasn’t asking the right questions.  Or better yet, I wasn’t allowing myself to put the right “two and two” together.  The problem was not with me being generous.  The problem was with me being devilish!   Of course I would love to be able to convince myself that generosity and sacrifices are not worth the time, the expense or the effort.  But the reality is that one can be generous and reckless at the same time.   

Either/Or or Also/And:  What makes Christianity so remarkable is its balanced approach to just about everything.   Take holiness and sinfulness as an example.  Most of our secular foes think that there is a great divide between the life of a saint and a sinner.  If there is, it isn’t our fault; it’s there’s. Most sinners would love to call themselves saints.  But it is the saint who is the first to call himself a sinner.  Christians would do well in reminding those who love to judge us that, in order to be a saint, the saint must first declare himself a sinner.   The question of holiness and sinfulness is not a question of either/or, but rather also/and.

Or take, for example, the atheist, who cherishes the use of his intellect to insult, on the grounds of reason alone, every single believer.  For him, it’s a simple question of either/or:  either you use your reason to liberate you, or you keep the faith that enslaves you.  But for the Christian it isn’t a matter of “either this or that”; it’s a matter of “both this and that”.  The Christian does not need to separate faith from reason; in fact, he believes in faith and reason; he believes that faith extends the arms of reason. 

Now every Christian knows that he has a touch of atheism in him.  After all, if he did not doubt, then he could not have faith.  Faith, by definition, requires a reasonable amount of doubt.   Of course the atheist will never admit he doubts himself.  He has too much confidence in himself.  On the other hand, the Christian should feel no shame in his weaknesses and doubts.  Humility is an essential ingredient to being a better Christian.  Paradoxically, if he did not doubt in God, he would turn himself into god...or an atheist (the two are not so far apart as you would think).

We have been taught to believe that confident people do not doubt themselves.  Nonsense!  This is like saying “confident people do not surprise themselves”.  Only those who watched the Olympics know what I am talking about.  The reality is quite obvious: confidence and doubts go hand-in-hand.  We all doubt ourselves once in a while.  Thank God!  If you didn’t have doubts in yourself, then you could never surprise yourself.  And you would take away one of the greatest joys in life.

Recently, two strong-willed women died.  Both sought to protect women’s rights.  Helen Gurley Brown, a writer, was a lifelong warrior for the Pro-Choice cause.  Nellie Gray, a lawyer, was a warrior for the Pro-life movement.  These women, who died within days of each other, were worlds apart in their views of women’s rights.   We often think of the Pro-Choice cause as synonymous with women’s rights and the Pro-life movement as synonymous as children’s rights.  This is not correct.  It is a deliberate tactic of the Pro-Choice cause when speaking incorrectly of the Pro-Life movement.    The real difference is that Brown believed you could separate the two (baby and mother).  Gray believed you could not. 

When our foes speak against us, they always use the tactic of divide and conquer.  It’s always an either/or for them.  But the Christian view of humanity is the most humane view of all.  It does not allow for anything less than also/and.  The pro-choice cause would like to consider themselves the movement for women’s rights (at the exclusion and expense of the child).   The Pro-Life movement is not a baby’s rights movement (at the exclusion and expense of the mother).  Rather, it is a movement that insists on the rights of mom and child.  This is who we are.  This is what we have always believed in.  That all life is sacred is the most humane and Christian way to respect all life.

We have more in common than in what separates us. 

John 6:51-58 Simply Shocking!

John 6:51-58  Simply Shocking!

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Jesus said to the crowds:  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven:  whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

There are very few things in this world that truly shock me.  That most musicians, artists, Hollywood stars, perverts, heterophobes openly make fun of Christians, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sacraments does not shock me in the least.  It annoys me. [By the way, Microsoft spell-check has the word ‘homophobes’ in its dictionary but not ‘heterophobes’.  I doubt I misspelled a non-existent word]. 

Very few things shock me.  That three young ladies from a radical Russian rock group committed a sacrilege in an Orthodox Church did not shock me!  What shocked me is that they went to jail over it.  Now that shocked me as well as thrilled me.  They claim they are “political activists”, and that they were protesting against Prime Minister Putin.  But how exactly does busting into a Christian Church, dancing on the altar and praying blasphemous prayers remove a corrupt government?  How does insulting a religion replace a government?   

Of course, most of the world is shocked over the fact that these individuals received a two year prison sentence.  I am too…for a completely different reason.  But again, I am not shocked that no one in the West is up in arms over the fact that the faith of nearly two billion people was insulted.

Like I said, very few things shock me. 

Recently, an atheist organization sued the 911 memorial museum in New York City over the famous metal cross beams found amidst the ruins of the World Trade Centers.  The group claims it is a symbol of Christianity and that it does not belong in the museum.  The museum curators claim the beams belong in the exhibit because it is an actual piece from one of the buildings, and that these two metal beams became a symbol of hope for the thousands of men and women who worked in the rescue and cleanup effort.  The atheist group is willing to allow the piece to stand as long as they are given an equal opportunity to exhibit some sort of symbol representing atheism.  When asked what that symbol would look like, the lawyer did not know what to say, so he said, “Maybe a giant ‘A’”.  I personally believe it should be a piece of rubble (man's achievements without God).    Now, I do not find it shocking that our legal system is wasting tax payer money in order to resolve this issue.  I just find it annoying.  But what I do find shocking is how this intelligent (atheist) lawyer had nothing better to offer his organization (and people) than an “A”.  It reminds me of a book I read in High School:  The Scarlet Letter.

Jesus said to the crowds: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”  Christ not only shocked his audience, he shocked his Apostles!  He shocked the hell out of them!  He shocked them because he surprised them at how far he was willing to give himself for them.  The leader; the giant; the Lord was willing to give himself for his subjects.  That was unheard of! 

There is nothing shocking about a leader being vane, egotistic, arrogant, selfish or self-centered or self-entitled.  There is nothing shocking about the loner, the abused, the poor guy, the loser or the freak being at the center of a massacre.  By now we've all become numb to massacres, drug related violence, etc.  We've all become accustomed to shocking the heaven out of the world!  Big deal!  Unfortunately, it is to be expected.  

That we have public school massacres in such anti-religious settings is not shocking.  What is shocking is that we do not have more of them.  That we have hate crimes committed by LBGT activists against the Family Research Council and other Christian organizations is not shocking.  What is shocking is that we do not have more of them. 

But what is truly shocking; so shocking that it shocks the hell out of this world, is to be humble, self-giving, selfless, sacrificing, forgiving and giving to all, including those who insult you.  That is shocking!  

From the Lord’s incarnation to his self-emulation, the Lord shocked our senses, our preconceived notions, our understanding of how things worked.   With every single word He spoke; every single miracle He performed; every single contact He made; every single pardon He gave, the Lord gave himself to us.  But what is shocking is that it wasn't enough.  He  also wanted to give His body, blood, soul and divinity to us.  He literally, physically, realistically and objectively wanted to give His life to us.

When we receive the Lord in the Eucharist today, let’s do what the Lord would do.  And let's never take His life in us for granted.