John 17:1-11 Father, Glorify Us

John 17:1-11  Father, Glorify Us

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Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come.  Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you.” 

There comes a time in your life when you have to fight the good fight.  You don’t ask to fight any fight.  But sometimes you are forced to fight for your life.  The moment has arrived.  The hour has come.  Everything inside of us is telling us, “Enough is enough”.  It is time to give glory to God. 

On Sunday, someone came up to me and told me that they didn’t like my blog.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was about to say, “Then why do you read it?”  Then I thought to myself, “Are they telling me this so that I stop writing or that I change my ideas and opinions?  Oh my goodness!  How wrong could they be?” 

I don’t write what I write because I want to be popular.  Heavens!  I would be more popular if I wrote the opposite of what I write.  I write what I write because it is right.  I take pride in what I read, how I think and what I write.  I take pride in defending my faith like so many take pride in attacking it.  

All over the world, you can be thrown in jail if you give testimony that is only half-truths or partial truths.  When one testifies, they swear to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”  There is a very good reason for it.  Half truths are not the truth at all.

Why do people tell only half-truths?  Because they can get away with it! 

The headline in this morning’s Dallas Morning News (DaMN) states:  Health Insurance.  Birth Control Lawsuits Expand.

Why don’t they tell the American people the truth?  If they wanted to share the truth with their readers, then the headline should have read Lawsuits Against Federal Mandate Expand. Why do they prefer to tell half-truths?  I am sure that most people who read this morning’s news did not even realize the flaw.  Although the DaMN can get away from the truth in its headline, it obviously cannot get away with it in its article.  “Roman Catholic dioceses…sued the Obama administration Monday…over a federal mandate…”

What is the issue? A federal mandate that violates the free exercise of religion.  Contraceptives are not the issue!  Contraceptives are the trigger.  The mandate is the bullet.  HHS is the gun.  Kathleen Sibelius is the hit man.  The Administration is the owner.

Fact:  For the first time in the history of America, the federal government is attempting to curtail the free exercise of religion in America.  Fact:  For the first time in the history of America, the government is attempting to define what “Catholic” is and what it is not.  To them, Catholic means a house of worship but Catholic schools, hospitals, and other important works of charity do not.  Fact: For the first time in the history of America, the government is not allowing the Catholic Church to practice what it preaches!

The hour has come.  The hour has come to dispel and destroy the half-truths of the supporters of this unconstitutional mandate.  This newspaper insists on carrying forth arguments in favor of the mandate for reasons that have nothing to do with the lawsuits.  They inform us, that “an advisory panel from the Institute of Medicine, which advises the federal government, recommended including birth control on the list of covered services, partly because it promotes maternal and child health by allowing women to space their pregnancies.” 

Did you notice the word, “partly”?  It says it all.  Let’s make something very clear.  You don’t make something right by doing something wrong.  People in this country can take contraceptives for whatever reason they want:  good and bad.  To ignore this simple fact is a disgrace.  To ignore this simple truth is a lie.  To ignore the fact that the Catholic Church must pay for any reason whatsoever is simply being biased.

With tremendous joy, I read last night that forty-three Catholic institutions filed federal lawsuits against the federal government.  I know the number will continue to rise.  With pleasure I heard that the law firm Jones Day will be handling the lawsuits pro bono nationally. Not a single penny will have to be taken away from the work our charities do. 

I was surprised to hear that the University of Notre Dame was one of the institutions that filed a suit.  I was not surprised that Georgetown University didn't.  Its President recently defended Kathleen Sibelius by stating that her office is providing insurance for over 35 million uninsured Americans.  Wow!  Are we supposed to be impressed by that?  Would you be impressed if I told you that Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin provided a job for nearly every citizen their country?  Would you be amazed that they cut down unemployment and inflation to nearly zero?  Would you be impressed if I only told you the good news and withheld the bad? 

Georgetown and BC (Boston College or “Barely Catholic” as some students call it) are shortsighted.   “What is it worth to gain the whole world and lose your soul?” 

Do you really think that free contraceptive coverage could not be given to all without offending the Catholic Church and other churches?  Do you really think that this is the only way to solve this issue?  This unprecedented attack on religious liberty is an affront to our intelligence and liberties.   

Glorify your son.   What a scary request.  But I know this is what I should be asking the Father as well:  “Father, glorify me.”  And we know what the answer will be:  “You got it son!”  “You got it my daughter!” 

We know why the request is scary.  We know that before you can bask in glory you have to be baked in mud; before you can receive a standing ovation, you have to be kicked to the ground.  That is the proper order in a fallen and twisted world.  The good get kicked, the bad get a kick at the good being kicked. 

Father, glorify your Church!  Let’s start preparing ourselves for glory.

Jn 16:29-33 Christ’s Story

Jn 16:29-33  Christ’s Story

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The disciples said to Jesus, “We believe that you came from God.”  Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?  Behold, the hour is coming when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone.  I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.  In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”   

The emergency line rang early in the morning on Wednesday.  I could barely understand what was being said to me.  It was the voice of a woman, but in between cries and sighs, she was telling me that her father was passing away.  She wanted him to receive the anointing of the sick.  I got out of my bed and rushed to get there.  What I saw was absolutely beautiful.

His bedroom was crowded with people; most of them young.  They were all waiting for me.  They had gathered inside his room, around his bed.  I counted six young people, three older women, and an older gentleman.  Each of them were holding or touching something:  a hand, an arm, the forehead, his side, his leg.  They were all crying.  He had come to this country with very little and, by the looks of his home, he was leaving behind very little.  But then I remembered the cars that were parked outside the home:  a BMW, a Mercedes and a Lexus. 

I asked them who they were. “I’m his wife”, said one.  “I’m his mother.”  “I’m his sister.”  Then the six young people around his bed said they were his children.  They were all a mess.  Like the phone call this morning, they could barely talk.  They were busy wiping their eyes, blowing their nose, looking away.  I told them, “You really love your father.”  They all nodded in agreement.  They told me that he had worked like an animal all his life and when he was finally able to retire, cancer struck.  They said that they grew up with very little, but had it all.  While other kids had a pool in the back of their home, he would take the hose and water them down.  When they went to school, they didn’t have the fancy stuff that most had but they always had pens, paper and dictionary in hand.  The other kids, who had it all, would always borrow a pen or a piece of paper from them.  It was funny.  They dressed well but didn’t have any school supplies.  We thought they were the poor kids.  Only later did they realize what they had and what most others did not have:  a family; a father that loved them and would die for them.

And die he did.  He gave his life for them. 

He had raised his children well.  They were proud of their dad.  Without him they would never have been the very successful people they are today.  They understand that; they always did.  And they had promised him that they would repeat it in their lives as well.  He loved them to death.  He gave them the best.  He got them through life as far as he could with his knuckles and knees.  He taught them what really mattered:  God, family and love.  He never asked for anything in return except that they give their best to God and that they love one another.

This story is repeated often, but not often enough.  Our story can be the story of His story which is The Only Story; the story that goes like this:  Beaten and rejected, He conquered the world through love. 

The Lord told his disciples, “In the world you will have trouble.”  Yes.  How true it is!  We all know this is true.  No proof is required for I will feel the weight of the world upon my shoulders; I will feel the incredible burden of responsibility upon my very knees; I know I am surrounded by troubles.  My victories are bittersweet.  Tears are shed far too often.  My fears and doubts must be confronted; sometimes one at a time, sometimes all at once.  I must erase pain of recent memories.  I must drive Loneliness out of my life.  But if I can persevere in love, then I shall conquer it all.  Love conquers all things because God is love and God conquers all things, even death itself. 

I can do this.  I can do this too because I was made to love and I can drive love through all things. 

Take courage.  I have told you this so that you might have peace in Him. 

Mk 16: 15-20 Ascending by Descending

Mk 16: 15-20  Ascending by Descending

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So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.  But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Congratulations to the Class of 2012!  Now get out of here and go do something worthy of your life; worthy of the calling you have received.

The Lord did not ascend into heaven to abandon us.  No!  He ascended into heaven to lead us.  Today, on Ascension Sunday, the Lord showed His disciples where faith, hope and love lead:  to Our Father; to Heaven.  So, if we are to rise up to Heaven, we must begin by falling in love on earth, for falling in love is “The Way” of the Lord.  There is no other way to experience heaven, but to fall in love. 

How can I live a worthy life?  That is, a life that would include the rich and poor, the young and old, the healthy and ill, the winners and the losers; a life that would be independent of the economy, political parties, my education, my inheritance, my age. What must I do?  St. Paul reminds us to “live a life worthy of the calling you received…imitate the Lord in humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another lovingly.” (Eph 4:1)  That is a worthy life?  That’s it?  Yes.  Imitate the Lord.

Again, he states:  “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,…the riches of glory in his inheritance…the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe…in the exercise of God’s great might which worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him above all power and dominion.  He put all things beneath his feet.”  (Eph 1:17-23)

He put all things beneath his feet….What things did he put behind him, under him, beneath him?  Answer:  The bad.  Betrayal.  Rejection.  Humiliation.  Mockery.  Human praise.  Human success. 

What are these things?  Simply said, they are stepping stones; stepping stones that lead to greatness; to HEAVEN. 

Death before disgrace.  Death before dishonor.  Selflessness before selfishness.  Love before thyself. Humility.  Fidelity.  Grace.  Dignity.  Honor.  Love. 

College life is not an easy life; not because it is College, but because it is a part of life, and there are some moments in life where sin abounds unchecked, unlocked and unabashedly. 

Midlife is not an easy life; not because there is a thing called a "mid-life crisis", but because there is a thing such as false idols or the wrong idols.  We can be heading in one direction for years before we realize we are heading in the wrong direction.

Be on your guard!  Watch your back.  Don’t be naïve.  The Lord told His own disciples, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”  This is the good news:  we know what to expect. Know perfectly well that persecution and hatred is for certain; misunderstandings are foreseen, and carrying a cross is guaranteed.

But College life does not have to be Hell.  Here are five tips for all.

1.        Rise to Heaven by putting God first.  God above all things.  We are called to love our neighbor, but God first.  We are called to love our neighbor, but not agree with them on everything.  Before the Blessed Virgin Mary said “yes” to man, she said “yes” to God.  And the story ended happily ever after.  Remember who you are:  God’s gift to the world.  Do not be afraid to be generous with your time and talents.  Serve the Lord.  Serve others.  Serve yourself.  In the months to come there will always appear something apparently better than Mass, confession or adoration.  You know better.  Stick with your faith.  Stick to the truth.  Pack both of these when you go off to College.

2.       Rise to Heaven by living the Truth.  Tell the Truth.  Live the Truth.  Love the Truth.  Share the Truth.  And what is the truth?  It’s not something.  It is someone.  “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life.” Speak about the Lord.  Live with the Lord.  Love the Lord.  Share the Lord.  To be faithful to God means to be faithful to His Bride, the Church, who will help you stay faithful to your heart and faithful to your conscience.  Kathleen Sibelius recently said at Georgetown, “Be your own moral compass.”  What would Hitler say about that?  What would sex offenders say about that?  How could anyone say such an arbitrary thing?  So much of our life depends on the way we were brought up.  So much depends on the people we came into contact with.  We all need an outsider; a standard; someone that isn't like us.  We all need a Carpenter.  Otherwise, we wouldn’t know which walls must come down and which walls must to stay up.  Live the Truth by being another Christ.

3.       Rise to heaven by standing tall.  How can I stand tall when I have fallen so far?  We are all sinners, but not all of us ask for reconciliation.  Here is your chance to stand tall.  There is nothing that stands taller than a humble heart.  You may be amazed at how far gone or low the human person can go and still breathe!  But you will be even more amazed at how far a little grace can go.  Rise to what is right, good, holy and beautiful.  Together, they form a stairway to Heaven. 
4.       Rise to Heaven by carrying your cross.  College students love to partyyy.  Sometimes I wonder if I partied more than I studied.  I shouldn’t ask.  I know the answer.  College students tend to think that waking up every morning and getting to class on time is an accomplishment.  It isn’t.  Young people think that being responsible means allowing others to be irresponsible.  For example, the whole “designated driver” concept is a horrible concept because it helps one to be “responsible” while encouraging others to be totally irresponsible!  What would happen if the safety net was gone (as it so often happens when we grow up)?  We should know that dependence and reliance do not strengthen character, except for the person that everyone is depending and relying upon?  Carry your cross.  It is as formative as it is normative. It is commonplace to suffer before receiving glory.  It's perfectly normal to shed a few tears while getting a degree.   It’s okay to perspire while taking a final; that’s all part of the glory.  It’s perfectly normal to carry a cross to show your love.  That's what makes love so special.  Carry your Cross for the Lord just as the Lord carried it for you.   

5.       Trust in God and He will lift you up!  Trust in God.  Trust in His type Love (true love) and brand of Truth (only truth).  Trust in your Mission; His life in you.  There are no coincidences.  There are no accidents.  Trust in His power in you.  With Him, all things are possible.

Mk 16:15-20 Like No Other

Mk 16:15-20  Like No Other

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature...”  They went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.”

There are many issues that we face this year and in this election.  But all issues would be non-issues if the Life issue was not so heavily involved in all issues.  There could be no pursuit of happiness, no conversion stories, no justice, and no supreme love if there was no life.  That’s obvious!  And what’s even more obvious is that we will never solve the problem of racism, discrimination, violence, injustice, corruption and manipulation if there is no respect for life.  After all, why should I care about your life if your life is as meaningless as mine?

Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.  Before we go to Heaven, we have a ton of unfinished business to attend to.  We have some scores to settle.  We have a mission to accomplish. 

As a missionary priest, I was trained to fight a love fight; to pick a fight; to take no prisoners but release them.  I know what it takes. You need to know the enemy you love, and to do that, you need to get inside their brain and open some locked doors.  You need to go where they are and stay there just long enough to light a fuse inside to their heart. 

I have often wondered what it would be like to be a triple agent (or a re-doubled agent).  I think that would be the easiest way, and the less scandalous way, to get on TV.  I could be the priest that turns his back on Christ and is in favor of gay marriage.  I could declare myself in favor of the health care mandate.  Or better yet, I could be the priest that is in favor of abortion rights!  Imagine that!  Of course it would be another thorn in Christ’s crown but what a jewel in the devil’s.  Imagine all the doors that would be opened up to me!  I would be invited to give a commencement speech at Georgetown University; I would receive an honorary degree from Boston College.  I would be invited to receive a pen in the oval office from the President himself.  He may even say to me something he said not too long ago to a nun, “Thank you.  Without your support, this law would never have happened.”  

Maybe, just maybe, I would be invited to NARAL’s annual gathering of abortion providers.  How amazing would that be!  Hah hah hah hah!!!  There, I could plant a seed; a seed of doubt; a seed to get them thinking again not only with their manly brain but more importantly with their womanly heart.  I could tell them what they’re doing wrong; that is, why they are losing the battle, and how they could achieve victory with their own defeat!  I can see it now, a standing ovation, rainbow flags, and bright lights upon me.  And then, I would speak:

“Dear advocates, let me remind you that we are in a battle for our survival, not someone else’s. Although it is true we all passed through the womb, it doesn’t mean we all think alike.  There are those who are out to save us!  So we must fight so they do not succeed. 

We have a little problem, literally.  What exactly is the problem?   Well, it's not what we do, because that's our business.  It's our words.  It's what we say.  And what we are saying is becoming unsustainable because they have become contradictory to our lifelong mission.   

Recently, I heard on MSNBC one of our own defend late term abortions by saying they are rare and, in most cases, performed only when a woman’s life is in danger or when the fetus is unviable.  Why?  Why?  Why do we make such claims?  Why do we continue to make such horrendous errors in judgment?  Don’t you see how these statements are killing business?  Listen to me.  Why should we smile that late term abortions are rare?  Don’t answer that... It’s simply a rhetorical question.  Why do we share with our customers these troubling facts?  Why do we promote our business to the poor so poorly?  Don’t we see the contradiction?  If they are rare, then how will we sustain ourselves?  Why do we argue in such ways?  It almost sounds - but of course not - that we don’t like what we do!  Nonsense!  We love what we do!  Otherwise, we would only do it for the money. 

Don’t you know that most Americans are aware of what the real problem is with late term abortions?  That a mom can have one at any time and for any reason, and that it is perfectly legal?  Don’t you see that that is the issue that we need to emphasize?   Why do our enemies know our business better than we do?  Can’t we do better?    Must we give such dire reasons for such obvious reasons?  That will never sell.  We should be able to throw the baby out with the placenta!  Otherwise, without realizing it, we are developing a child out of a fetus, and that’s a problem.

Let me give you another troubling observation from outside the womb.  We continue to justify and defend the right to abortions with examples of rape and incest.  But that won’t work anymore!  Far too many Americans know that far too few abortions are due to rape and incest (less than 1% of 1%).  And therefore, if we don’t start mentioning the real reasons, then Americans will begin to believe us and restrict us!  Let’s stop being so naïve in thinking others are naïve.  Let’s show some pride in what we do.  Let all America know that abortions are still cheaper than live births; that couples still prefer a specific gender or that if a child has a mild deformity such as a cleft lip, abortion is still safer than surgery.  What’s wrong with that?  Were solving problems not pregnancies, silly!  

My last concern is by no means my least.  When in God’s name will we stop saying that “Abortion is a choice between a woman and her God”?  This jargon is unsustainable! Do you understand what I am saying?  Do we say buying cereal is a choice between a woman and her God?  No!  Do we say that throwing out the trash is a choice between a woman and her God?  No.  Then why in God’s world would we want to include God in this decision?  Why do we want to admit that abortion is such an important decision and that we need to include God in it?  For God’s sake!  Is “the thing” human or is it divine? Who cares, as long as it is not human and divine, then boy are we in trouble! 

Today at 2:00 pm, a memorial Mass was held at Calvary cemetery for over 1,500 (aborted) babies found in a trash bin a few years back. 

May we never forget that every child is like no other.

Jn 16:23-28 Ask In My Name

Jn 16:23-28  Ask In My Name

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” 

There are so many things I never asked for and yet received.  I never asked for life.  I never asked to be a man.  I never asked to fall in love; to be a Christian; to be a Catholic; to be a priest.  I never asked for any of these blessings, and yet, I received them all. 

I am sure that if I put my mind to it right this very moment, I could think of so many other things I received and would not necessarily consider them to be a blessing.  But I won’t.  I won’t because I don’t know.  I don’t know if the bad I have seen or the bad I have experienced have not been a blessing in disguise.  Time will tell.  Eternity will answer it. 

Let’s start from a position of humility.  That’s a very good place to start.  Tony Blair, the former prime minister of England and recent convert to Catholicism, gave a speech a few days ago to a packed audience of over four thousand people on the importance of faith in society.  He said something remarkable.  As prime minister, he proposed to finish a speech simply with the words, “God bless Britain”.  An aide told him disapprovingly:  “I just remind you Prime Minister, this is not America.”  He said he then abandoned the idea for good. 

I am glad the former prime minister was humble enough to admit his mistake and have the courage to speak about it.  God forbid, in this day and age, we should trust in something Almighty, All-positive and All-possible.  God forbid that we should invoke His sweet name. 

Let me repeat a little my thoughts.  Let me say, once again: “This shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.”  I guess when it comes to England, “God” shouldn’t be happening.  But if God had not been, then logically speaking, nothing would have been, not even time.  Yet here we are, in time and place.  I say logically speaking for the following reasons.

I remember studying in my nuclear physics class that if the gravitational constant (G) or weak force constant (g_w) varied from their values by an exceedingly small fraction (higher or lower) – one part in 10⁵⁰ (.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001) then either the universe would have suffered a catastrophic collapse or would have exploded throughout its expansion, both of which options would have prevented the emergence and development of any life form. 

Then I learned that if the gravitational constant, electromagnetism, or the “proton mass relative to the electron mass” varied from their values by only a tiny fraction (higher or lower), then all stars would be either blue giants or red dwarfs (like the vast majority of stars in our universe).  Then I found out that if the strong nuclear force constant were higher or lower than its value (15) by only 2%, there would be no hydrogen in the universe, no nuclear fuel or water; no life.  If the weak force constant had been slightly smaller or larger than its value, then supernovae explosions would never have occurred.  If these explosions had not occurred, there would be no carbon, iron, or earth-like planets. 

Fred Hoyle and William Fowler discovered the exceedingly high improbability of oxygen, carbon, helium and beryllium having the precise values to allow for both carbon abundance and carbon bonding (necessary for life).  This “anthropic coincidence” was so striking that it caused Hoyle to abandon his atheism. 

The odds against all these anthropic coincidences happening randomly is so exceedingly improbable that it could be compared to a monkey sitting in front of a laptop and typing out the entire corpus of Shakespeare perfectly by randomly tapping on the keys. 

Logically speaking, one correctly spelled word from our monkey would be possible.  But a billion words would be improbable. 

God save the world!

Which bring me back to Tony Blair.  He had a message for his audience, the world.  He said, “A world without faith would be a disaster!”  Why?  Because Christianity brings humility.  And humility is what makes the world peaceful.  Humility allows us to ask the best person.  Humility allows us to seek the right person.  Humility allows us to knock on His door.

“It is what allows us to make progress, it is what keeps us from ideology or thought processes that then treat human beings as if they were secondary to some political purpose.  For a long period of time, what people thought was that as society became more developed and as we became more prosperous, that faith would be relegated, that it would become a kind of relic of the past – what kind of ignorant people do but not what civilized, educated people do.”

“I think a world without faith would be a world on the path to tragedy and disaster, I really believe that.” 

So do I… It doesn’t take much to see why.

Be humble.  Why not ask in His name?  Why not speak His name?  Why not?  What do you have to lose?  What could you (and the world) possibly gain? 

Jn 16:20-23 This Shouldn’t Be Happening

Jn 16:20-23  This Shouldn’t Be Happening

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and morn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

I get it.  I know what Jesus is saying.  Unfortunately, there are things people say that I don’t get.  For example, I have often heard people say, “This shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.”   A few days ago, I stumbled on an article regarding a Protestant Pastor who is bi-sexual.  He laments the fact that the other Pastors won’t join him in any Church sponsored events.  The problem, to the Pastor’s disbelief, is his sexual orientation.  Shocked, the Pastor sighed and said to a sympathetic congregation, “This shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.” 

He’s right.  This shouldn’t be happening, regardless of what day or age it is.  But he’s wrong as to what shouldn’t be happening.  First, as a Christian, he shouldn’t be sexually active if he is not married.  Second, he shouldn’t be shocked if people still hold dear to them the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles.  Third, he shouldn’t be shocked if people consider this behavior “unnatural”.  After all, that's the way it's been considered for centuries and in every culture.

Now for the things that shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.  For example, contraceptives shouldn’t be available to middle school kids.  Teens shouldn’t be scared to death to go to school.  Schools shouldn’t appear like Malls or jails.  Students shouldn’t be the worst behaved they’ve been since the idea of schools began!  You would think that after two hundred years of public education, our schools, with the latest and greatest technology and tools available, would be producing top students in droves, and that were second to none.  But instead, for the most part, we are producing junk.  And although the amount of money spent per child in high school has skyrocketed over the past twenty years, their test scores have remained flat over the same period of time.  Nothing seems to work.  Now, a gasoline company is trying to help with a catchy little phrase:  “let’s solve this.” Notice how they wish to stay positive?  They prefer to say, “Let’s solve this” rather than to say, “Let’s solve this problem”.  That might be the problem.  There shouldn’t be any PC nonsense in this day and age.

Last night, I got into a debate (I didn't start it.) in front of Tom Thumb with an atheist who ended our polite discussion with a very old and stale argument.  He said, “Well, that’s all very nice, but we all know that Jesus never really existed.”  I told this man, “Ah yes, interesting that YOU would say that.  But what is even more interesting is that the Roman’s never said that.  Nor did the Jews ever say that.  Nor did the Christians ever say that.  But, two thousand years later, someone like you came up with that.”  This argument shouldn’t be happening in this day and age! 

You will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. 

What’s the Lord saying?  It’s been said that Saints are boring, while sinners know how to partyyy!!!  It’s been said that Christians live with a noose around their neck, while pagans know how to loosen their tie.  I only have one thing to say in response to this: “This shouldn’t be said in this day and age!”  Not after all the tears, horror, premature deaths and weird diseases and syndromes these days and at every age. 

We’ve forgotten something over the centuries.  We’ve forgotten why we party.  The reason why we party is because we have something to celebrate.  In other words, we party because we’ve earned it; we’ve accomplished something. 

Wedding nights were once true celebrations because couples earned their right to that very special night.  Now, wedding nights are simple acknowledgments and repeat performances.  Can we challenge our youth to greater heights?  Can we speak about these things to them?  I think we should.  I know they deserve it.  I know they appreciate it.

College grads can throw their caps into the air because they’re earned the right to celebrate.  All their tears, all their sacrifices have earned them a spot at the party.  Unfortunately, too many of our youth don’t get it, and too many adults never learned it.  They never wept or mourned.  Instead, they relaxed and enjoyed. 

Parties prior to real accomplishments?  Celebrations before achievements?  Heroism before sacrifice?  Joy before sweat and blood?  “Atta boy” before marriage?  This shouldn’t be happening at this day and age.

By now, we should be convinced that the wages of sin is death (Rm 6:23).  There’s no honor in lies, in affairs, in infidelity, in drugs, in alcohol, and in gangs.  There’s no glamour in sexting, STD’s, oral or anal cancer.  We should know that by now.  There’s no maturity in being “responsible” but really irresponsible; that is, wearing a condom and having sex at the age of thirteen.  We shouldn't have elementary school kids worried about their weight, middle school kids worried about a date or teens worried about being good at sex!  Ah, this shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.

Solution?  If you choose to accept your mission…Start helping others to see the shallowness and superficiality of our culture today.  Start promoting with your words and actions the Good News.  Vote for politicians that believe and will defend the Good News.  Start encouraging pastors to stand up to biblical truths.  Start encouraging family members to go to Church and to pray.  Start having friendly but serious conversations with neighbors and friends.  Start doing some weeping, sweating, bleeding, mourning, sacrificing and dying (to oneself) so as to breathe some life into others. Start with the obvious.  Get to work.    

Then, I promise you, there will be plenty of time to party!

Mk 16: 15-20 God’s Side

Jn 16: 16-20  God’s Side

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Jesus said to his disciples, "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me...Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy."

On their front cover of this month’s issue, Newsweek magazine declared Mr. Obama “The first Gay President”. The President recently said, “History is on our side.”

I would think that similar words must have been said by Julius Caesar with regards to himself and the Roman Empire: “Citizens of Rome!  History is on our side.”  And it was, until brutal facts set in and the Barbarians burst in. 

After his life was spared from a failed assassination attempt, Hitler declared, “Here you have it: proof that Providence is on my side.”  And so he thought, until the Allies arrived and they found him like they had found millions of others:  burned to ashes.

Of course “history is on our side”…at one time or another.  You see, empires rise… and fall.  Republics rise…and fall.  Dictators come…and go.  Presidents live…and die.  Policies come…and go.  Liberties are given…and taken away.  Do we really think two hundred years is a very long time?  Try two thousand years and counting!

Recently, I spoke to an Irish woman who was really trying to convince me that the Catholic Church in Ireland would soon disappear.  I told her I believed the Irish people would disappear before the Church did.  I reminded her that that is exactly what people have been trying to do for centuries.  The Irish Pagans tried to do it but St. Patrick wouldn’t go away.  The English Protestants thought they could terrorize the Church away, but they didn’t.  Now, it’s the Irish Prime Minister’s turn to think he can do it.  And he won’t, because the Church is larger than history.  If history is supposedly on our side, then I am pleased to say that the Church is on everybody’s side, including God’s good side.

Ever since the fall of man, the world has been operating upside down!  Think about it.  What is in common with all empires, dictators, most politicians, and too many demonstrators?  If you want to be great then crush.  If you want to be feared then you must terrorize.  If you want to be respected, then show no mercy.  If you want to be first then push and push and push.  If you want to be heard then scream!  If you want to be superior, then highlight the inferior.  

We thought we could build a tower and burst our way into Heaven.  We failed.  We failed because there was a better way.  God wanted His Son to come to us.  He did and He conquered.  We have to change our ways of doing things.  We have to start thinking more like Him and less like ourselves.  Our way of doing things will always fail if we start at the top and work our way down.  WE have to love like he loved. The Lord took delight in the meek and humble of heart.  He loved the loser, the diseased and the crippled because he knew they could be so much more.  But He also loved the prideful, the arrogant, the obnoxious and the intelligent because he knew they could be so much better.

Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.  What is the Gospel?  What are the means?  If you want to be great, then be small.  If you want to be served, then serve.  If you want to be worshipped, then love.  If you want to ascend into Heaven, then descend on earth.  If you want to be lifted up, then lower yourself.  If you want to be first, then be last.  He who humbles himself shall be exulted.  St. Augustine wrote, “The only one who has ascended into heaven is the one who came down from heaven.”  That’s it!  That’s the secret!  You cannot ascend into heaven until you have fallen in love on earth!  Let’s turn the world right side up.

Humility is a tough sell.  Humiliation is an even tougher sell.  But God told us, I will be on your side.  Go.  Allow the Lord to be with you.  Speak the truth that no one wants to hear.  Love others like no one really loves.  And you will start walking in his footsteps:  Humiliation.  Betrayal.  Rejection.  Judged.  Sentenced.  Executed.  Entombed. 

And then and only then, no more steps.  He will lift you up.  Your grief, like His, will become joy!

Start small.  End great.  Climb ever higher!