Mt 6:1-18 You’re Gonna Like The Way You Look

Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.”

I find it amazing how people change over time.  It appears as though some bad people, a long time ago, performed good deeds so that others could see them and reward them.  Now, it seems as though some good people perform bad deeds so that others can see them and reward them. 

According to Christ, they are all hypocrites, for what they do in public does not correspond to their inner heart.

Are you a hypocrite?

Take care.  One of the biggest challenges we all face in our lives is to be authentic, to be true.  God is not at all interested in making an impression.  Can you tell?  He lived in a poor, unimpressive village.  He came from a poor and unimpressive family.  He traveled around a poor and unimpressive nation.  By the looks of it, Christ should have gone down in history as being unimpressive and irrelevant.

But looks can be deceiving, and that’s why he was so critical of the Pharisees and scribes.  They looked great.  They seemed so perfect.  They appeared to be so holy.

I’m not holy.  I’m not perfect.  I’m not great.  That is a good start.  But it isn’t enough for the Lord.  He wants us to be holy, to be perfect and to be great as our heavenly Father is.  The Lord doesn’t want us to be “true to ourselves.”  He wants us to be “true to our Creator.”

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.  If St. Paul had been true to himself, he would have never changed himself.  The secret to his success was not that he wanted to be a better “he”, but that he wanted to be a better “Him.”  “It is no longer I who live in me, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, consider this:  whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2Cor 9:6-11).

Face yourself.  Embrace reality.  Embrace God.

It’s okay for us to be poor and to look rich.  It’s okay for us to make big sacrifices and still have a smile on our face.  It’s okay.  In fact, it’s better than okay.  It’s great!  It’s holy and perfect.  God loves a cheerful giver, and a cheerful giver tells the world that they are happy in their giving!

Let’s do it.  Let’s try it.  Let’s see what happens next.  You’re gonna like the way you look.  I guarantee it.

Mt 5:43-48 God And All His Children

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father…So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Not too long ago I got into a debate with an atheist who was trying to convince me that love had nothing to do with God but with our brains, and that "love" was purely a result of certain chemical reactions or processes.  

In response I wrote back saying, "So what you are saying is that if the proper part of my brain is stimulated, then I should be able to (or forced to) love my enemies, correct?  The person who assassinated my best friend or raped my neighbor's child, right?  Just at the click of the right button, correct?  Sorry, but not only are you totally wrong but you're also confusing love (agape) with lust (eros)." 

I’m not perfect.   I’m not!  And I have no problem saying it, especially when I find myself in a pinch or stuck in a corner, or when my errors are so obvious I have no out!  So, “I’m not perfect” becomes the perfect excuse for my poor behavior.  Hey, can anyone claim to be perfect?  

Be perfect.  Maybe no one can claim to be perfect or to know everything, but we do know that we can be better and know better.  We can know right from wrong, and we can know we must do right and help move those who do wrong.

You have heard that it was said… So many people have a hard time reconciling the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament.  They seem so different.  They conclude that either there are two different Gods in the Bible or that God had a big change of heart!  Which one is it?  I personally agree there was a big change of heart, but it didn’t happen to God; instead, it happened to man, to us, thanks be to God. 

God did not need to change his heart.  We did. 

A little bit of history.  Let’s not forget:  the Old Testament is the story of man in his infancy.  It’s that time in “life” when we were all young and wild, literally.  We tend to forget this fact like we tend to forget that our kids, even in the “modern era,” are still kids that have a lot of learning to do! 

Well, infant “man” had a lot of learning to do.   He could have gone in so many different directions.  He could have become an animal, as some did.  He could have become a barbarian, as some did.  But he could have also become a Saint, like some did. 

Now God was present, like any good dad, in the early development of his children, especially His Jewish children.  We know the Jewish people were taught by God.  We know that they endured tough times with God.  But what we tend to forget is that they were completely surrounded by children that loved to play God; and if they weren’t playing God then they were worshiping God in the most inhumane and horrific ways!  The gods they worshipped were known as Moloch, Dagon and Tanit.   They prostituted their women to them; they sacrificed their children to them, and they terrorized their neighbors with them.  God, through the Jewish people, set out to destroy them.  And they did.   Their influence was annihilated.

We need to stop saying our Jewish ancestors were “backwards” in their thinking; or “barbarian” in their attitudes.  They weren’t.  In fact, they were much more forward thinking than many of us are today.  If anything, many of our children live like yesterday’s barbarians and call it “leaning forward.”  They’re not “leaning forward,” their “leaning backwards!”  Their repeating the worst aspects of history!

But I say to you, love your enemies...  Loving our enemies is going to take a lot more than just stimulating our brains.  The Lord is telling us that we need to be perfect, and not just “perfect,” but “perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  These are some pretty big shoes to fill.  But no one can claim that God did not prepare us for this moment.  After all, He spoke these words long before World War I, World War II and the nuclear age; long before the threat of nuclear annihilation and the resurgence of Islam and terrorism.  He spoke these words long before any of us hit the ground running.

Are we listening?  Or are we like children covering our ears. 

P.S.  Check out the latest in Catholic News.  Read how Charles Darwin's great-great-great granddaughter decided to become Catholic.

Fr. Alfonse Nazzaro blog Mt 5:38-42 Our Trademark

Mt 5:38-42  Our Trademark

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil…”

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  When you read this verse from the Bible, do you take it literally?  Do you think our ancestors took it literally?  I think they did.  So, if they took this verse from the Bible literally, then do you think our ancestors took as literal the Lord’s words when he said, “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well?”  

I am sure they did.  And that’s the reason why they were so successful in bringing down their enemies.

Our Trademark.  Christ brought down His enemies the moment they nailed Him to the Cross.  At the moment He died, His enemies forever lost their battle against Him.  It was simply just a matter of time when they would either convert or disappear.  Many converted.

When His enemies struck him on the cheek, he offered the other.  When they spit on him, he did not spit on them.  His weakness turned out to be his strength.  His cross, trials and difficulties turned out to be His passport into our hearts; the validation of His ID card.

The Apostles took it all in.  They prayed to the Lord.  They reflected on His life.  Their conclusion was unanimous:  We are to preach the truth at all times.  We are to love, forgive, show compassion and mercy at all times.  We are to love our brothers and our enemies.  We are to share our possessions, our blood, our time and our lives with others.  St. Paul understood this well, and for this reason he could boast of the Cross of Christ:  “Brothers and sisters:  As your fellow workers, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain…Behold now is a very acceptable time…In everything we c commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors…” (2Cor 6:1-10).         

What a difference St. Paul is from the sunshine Catholic and the summertime follower of today!   What a difference!  Be honest!  If you were undergoing what St. Paul experienced, wouldn’t you be doubting your faith, doubting God’s existence, doubting your mission and embracing your enemy?  Be honest.  I think I would be. 

But all these things come with true discipleship.  After all, if I am a disciple of the Lord, then I must do what the Lord did:  I must place myself in the enemy’s hands and free them!

Enduring the Cross is our registered trademark.  It is our intellectual property.  We do not come down from the Cross.  We do not run away from others, especially from our enemies.  We fight the good fight.  We fight till the end!  We win in the end.

 “The Lord has made known His plan of salvation” (cf. Ps 98:2a).  Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

Fr. Alfonse Nazzaro Blog Luke 7:36-8:3 Say What You Need To Say

 Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him…Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.  Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears…When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him…”  Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you…”

Did you ever feel like everyone has the right to share their opinion except for you?  Well, I’m here to tell you that you have every right to share God’s love and Commandments with others; and you can do that all the time!

Say what you need to say.  Throughout the whole  week I was trying to figure out what I was going say for this Sunday’s homily.  It’s Father’s Day and the readings just didn’t seem to coincide with such a special event.  However, throughout the week, I began to notice a sign from God.  Every time I turned on the radio, I heard this one particular song entitled, “Say what you need to say” by John Mayer.

"That’s it!" I said to myself.  “Say what you need to say.” 

Simon, I have something to say to you.  Simon only knew one side of God’s face.  He only knew The Commandments side.  He only knew “Thou shalt not… Thou shalt not…Thou shalt not…”  Christ showed him the other side of God’s face:  His compassionate side.  “Simon, I have something to say to you…the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 

My dear dads!  One of the gravest sins we (I consider myself a Father as well) commit in our lives is the sin of omission.  We don’t say what we need to say.  We don’t tell our children what they need to hear.  We must.  They need it.

The sin of omission not only affects physical fathers, it affects spiritual fathers as well.  Priests are under intense pressure to keep their homilies warm and fuzzy.  Even the Universal Church is cautious as to what it says.  And the media is thrilled, for it loves to attack us as much as it loves to revive us.  It’s almost as if the media has the Roman Catholic Church in America on a artificial respirator.  They control our preaching as much as they control our breathing!  They won’t kill us, but they will definitely keep us highly sedated.  In other words, they hate us when we go too far with the truth but love us when we preach what they like to hear.  Typically, they hate “Commandments” but love “Compassion.” 

As a spiritual Father, I know that it isn’t always easy to watch an adult walk out during a homily, but when I see it, it reminds me of a teen walking away from their mom or dad; walking away from someone who loves them.  Well, to all my brothers in Christ, I say take courage and say what you need to say.

Men of steel.  The prophet Nathan took courage when he confronted King David (cf. Sam 12:7-10, 13).  Jesus took courage when he confronted his host, a Pharisee.  Both men took courage because they knew God had their back.  Fathers, you must do the same as well.  Be men of steel.  Be men of God.

 Teach your children well.  Do not allow them to repeat the same mistakes you made.  Teach them the Commandments and be compassionate.

Complement each other.   My dear fathers, when you got married, you married your wife for a simple reason:  they made you a better man.  In other words, they complemented you.  Your strengths were her weaknesses, and her strengths were your weaknesses.  Now teach your children well, for they can perfectly relate to the two of you, and not just physically, but also emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.

In many families, mom may be spontaneous while dad is a programmer.  Mom may be more comfortable serving others while dad is more comfortable being served.  A mom may be affectionate while dad is more reserved.  Mom may be easily pleased while dad may be much more demanding.  So which one is it?  Which one is most beneficial?  Which one is most needed?  Both!  For we do not want our children growing up thinking that people will be serving us always, and that we do not have to serve anyone.  We don’t want them to live their lives “spontaneously,” without ever planning the future. 

We need both.  Our children need both. 

Dear Fathers.  Be faithful to your calling!  Say what you need to say.  Be clear.  Be honest.  Be wise.  Be heavenly.  Be a father in the image and likeness of God the Father.

Happy Father’s Day!

Fr. Alfonse Nazzaro Blog Mt 5:33-37 We Thought We Were So Smart

Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’  But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King…Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’”

Keep Your Promises.  I read somewhere that parents are the first to teach their children how to lie.  They do so every time they break their promises.  I never thought of it like that, but I believe it’s true!  So we need to think things through very carefully before making any promises or taking any vows.  We shouldn’t rush into it; for we know that they are never easy to keep; and people, even the people we love the most, can get easily bruised when they are broken, at least much more so than when they are kept. 

Life is not easy, but I can honestly tell you it doesn’t get any easier when we break our promises.  Life is not always funny, but I can honestly tell you it doesn’t get any funnier when we get ourselves into ‘funny’ businesses.

We thought we were so smart when we were young.  We thought we could use people like we use our words.  How foolish we were!  How naïve of us!   Oh my goodness.  I thought I was so smart.  But now I know:  it takes so much virtue and a ton of maturity to let my ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and my ‘no’ mean ‘no!’

I know many families right now that are struggling with their ‘adult’ children.  But the real problem with so many kids today isn’t that they want to be all grown up.  On the contrary, the problem is that they really don’t want to grow up.  They don’t want to take sound advice.  They don’t want to hear another person’s opinion.  They don’t want to admit their mistakes.  What can we do? They think they are so smart! 

Are you?  If so, then teach them well.

History is history and time tells, and we should know all of this by now.  We should have learned our lessons long ago and taught them well to our children.  What lessons?  That it wasn’t so smart to demand a TV or computer for your room.  It isn’t so smart to drop out of college.  It isn’t so smart to start dating (seriously) or drinking (occasionally) in High School.  It isn’t so smart to not save your money.  It isn’t so smart to get married to someone who doesn’t share the same faith or core values as you do.  It isn’t so smart to rush into anything or everything. 

BFF’s.   Well, let’s learn from the best, from our bff (best friend forever):  Jesus Christ.  He is the incarnation of the Word.  The word became flesh.  He is the living, breathing and walking Word of God.  In Him there is no falsehood.  Everything He says is the Truth.  Everything He is is Reality.  When He says something He actually means it.  His Word is His Life.  His Word is His very Essence.

Why is lying so bad?  Because it leads people on and leads them nowhere.  And let’s not even bring up those hypothetical occasions in our lives when lying would be “appropriate.”  For example, when we need to lie to a murderer or a thief or a Nazi.  Very few of us will ever have to do such a thing, and it reminds me of those who use incest and rape as a way of defending the over one million abortions committed in the United States alone each year. 

Lying leads people on.  So let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’ so that you may lead your loved ones closer to Christ

Fr. Alfonse Nazzaro Blog Mt 5:27-32 Let's Show A Little Commandment

Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna….”

Is man (man and woman) rotten?  Is he good?  The answer is:  he is both.  He is capable of great good and great evil, for he has it in him to do both.  This is the state we’re in.  This is the state of fallen man. 

He is good, but broken. 

Christ understood this.  He knew this all too well.  For this reason His message resonated well with the vast majority of people who listened to him.  Of course there were some who heard him but did not listen to him.  They couldn’t.  They were too full of themselves.  But for the meek and humble of heart, the Lord’s message struck a chord with them.  They could relate to Him.  And just like disciples, they got to know the Lord the best way possible:  they got to know Him by heart.    

Jesus was a very balanced individual, and He knew how to help others become balanced as well.  To sinners, He was kind and compassionate.  He understood the importance of forgiveness and mercy, and He helped them regain their lost humanity (to stand up once again) and the dignity they thought they never had.  In other words, He helped them to stand up and to stand tall. 

However to the righteous, His words were cutting.  He chopped them down.  He took them off their pedestal, just like He had taken himself down from His pedestal.  He tried to help them regain a sense of reality.  Did He succeed?  Yes, in some cases.  But pride is a very hard thing to trim.  One must accept the help that is offered.   

Throughout His entire ministry, the Lord struck a beautiful balance between Compassion and The Commandments.  We need to do the same.  We need compassion.  We need Commandments.  We need friends.  We need food.  Man cannot live on bread alone, remember?

Life cannot just be lived.  We can eat whatever we want, but it won’t be a long life.  We can have all the sex we want, but it won’t be a fulfilling life. 

Life must be lived the right way.  It must be lived correctly and compassionately. 

I could care less what the road to heaven is paved with.  I personally do not believe that it is paved with gold.  In my opinion, it is paved with sinkholes and with potholes that need to be avoided at all cost.  What I am most interested in is the lighting along the road. 

The Commandments are like light posts along the road to heaven. 

When we stray from them, we get lost in the thickness of darkness.  Christ did not neglect The Commandments or ignore them for the sake of compassion and mercy.  How silly!  Compassion and mercy dictate that we teach The Commandments to our children:  “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter of the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” 

No, what the Lord actually did was expand The Commandments:  “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…”

Let us follow the light:  Christ and His Commandments.  Let’s teach the world some compassion by teaching the Lord’s Commandments.

Click here to see what happens when compassion is not followed up by Commandments. 

Mt 5:20-26 Watch Your Tongue!

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’  But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answer able to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna…”

Be careful what you think, for your thoughts can easily turn into words.  Be careful what you say, for your words can easily turn into actions. 

Although the tongue is one of the smallest members of the body, it packs a huge punch!  It can damage someone’s reputation.  It can literally bring them to their knees. 

We should always be careful with our words.  Imagine for a moment they got recorded or published in the Dallas Morning News!   Would you like that?  Would you be stunned by that?

But the best reason why we should be careful with our words is because we will be held accountable by God.  For this reason, the Lord gave to us a new commandment:  love one another as I have loved you.  Could He have made Himself any clearer?  Love as I have loved.  Love even while your back is being torn to pieces.  Love even while others mock you, insult you and lie about you.  Love even when someone doesn’t deserve your love.  This is how the world will change for good.  This is how your neighbor will begin to see Christ in you. 

Bad habits take time to break.  Good habits take time to settle in.  The best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.

Speak well of others.  Get into the habit of speaking well of others.  It will take time, but in the long run it will be worth your effort.  People will trust you.  They will appreciate you.  They will be impressed by you.  Speaking well of others means to speak the truth, and we know the truth “shall set us free.” 

But there is also a very practical reason for it:  because you never know if the person you’re speaking to is a good friend or distant cousin of the person you’re speaking ill about.      

Speaking well of others doesn’t mean to lie.  It means to give someone the benefit of the doubt; to believe in the good you hear and only the bad you see.  Wouldn’t you want to be afforded this opportunity as well?  When you speak well of others, you are not doing something extraordinary, you are giving back the minimum:  “Do onto others as you would have them do to you.”

I have witnessed many funerals in my life.  I have heard many eulogies as well.  What I find most interesting about it all is how kind and considerate people are to the deceased. 

We have it in us.  We can be kind and considerate to people.  We just need to do it while they are still alive.