Holy Week is here once again- the week which culminates in the celebration of Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection. But what has fascinated me in recent years is the Scripture Readings that the Church gives us in the first three days of Holy Week, culminating with the first reading at the Commemoration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday. 4 Passages from the Book of Isaiah, commonly referred to as the "Servant Songs" or the "Suffering Servant Songs," Each containing remarkable parallels to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
It is important to note from the beginning that these passages did not speak about the events of Jesus' to the Jews who would have heard them in the midst of the Exile in Babylon. They most likely would have been interpreted very differently. However, when the early Church read these passages, they spoke volumes.
So as we journey through Holy Week, how can these readings speak to us? Let's take the First Servant Song.
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Upon reading the passage, the themes of mercy and justice come to the fore. The Servant has been chosen by God for a task, and has been given the Spirit of God to accomplish this task. But what is remarkable is that he is to accomplish this task "not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street." He is to be careful not to break the bruised reed, or to quench the smoldering wick, until the Justice of God has been established upon earth. The servant is called to open the eyes of the blind, and to free prisoners who are confined, and also to free those who live in darkness. The servant is to be a light to the nations.
So how does all of this apply to Christ? In looking at Christ's ministry, we can see him carrying out several of the actions described. He proclaimed the Justice of God by calling people to repentance. He did not break the bruised or quench the smoldering, as is seen by his compassion towards those whom the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders castigated and condemned as sinners. And yet, in that merciful compassion, he still called those people to repentance. He healed the blind, freed those who lived in darkness by driving out demons, healing paralysis, and even raising people from the dead. He even became a "light to the nations" by preaching the message of repentance to the Gentiles- a ministry which the early church continued to do, so that the Gospel could spread to all nations.
But what about suffering- if these indeed are the "suffering servant" songs? The theme of suffering is important, although it doesn't seem to be prevalent in this song. That is why it is important to read all of the songs in order, to see the full picture in order to relate everything that is said to Christ. And that is what I plan to do over this Holy Week- so stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of this Blog series!
May God Bless you during this Holy Week!
Monday, March 30, 2015
Monday, December 23, 2013
The Joy of Christmas
As we prepare to Celebrate Christmas in a few days, I couldn't help but begin to think about the Gospel stories of the Birth of Jesus. Listening to the reading today from Luke's Gospel about the birth of John the Baptist, I was struck by the realization of just how prevalent the theme of JOY is in the first 2 chapters of Luke's Gospel.
Where does this joy come from? We first see it when Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. John leaps for Joy in Elizabeth's womb when Mary arrives, and he recognizes that Christ is present. This joy flows out of Elizabeth, and radiates to Mary, who proclaims in Joy the beautiful Canticle known as the Magnificat.
Later, when John is born, there is once again joy- this time from Zachariah, who upon having his speech restored after seeing all that Gabriel had prophesied fulfilled, and confirming that his son should be called John, speaks wonderful words of praise and Joy towards God, and confirms that his son will be called "Prophet of the Most High" who will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
When Jesus is born, it is the Angels that announce the "Good news of great joy" that this day is born a Savior who is Christ and Lord. And after that, they break out into song, singing "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth, Peace to people of Good Will!" The Shepherds, and even the wise men come rejoicing that they have found this newborn King of all the Earth.
And Last, but certainly not least, when Jesus is presented in the Temple, the old man Simeon too sings his song of Joy and Praise, when he declares "Now Lord you may let your servant die in peace, for with my own eyes I have seen the Salvation which you promised to your people."
Again, what is the source of all this Joy? Every single person in the Infancy Narrative who experiences this Joy does so when they encounter the Christ Child- the Incarnate Word of God. Their hearts are open to receive Him, and so when they receive his blessings (or realize that his blessings are coming in the case of Zachariah,) they cannot help but be infused with the Joy that comes from meeting Christ.
2000 years later, the same is true for us. We have been given a huge gift- the ability to continue to know Christ in the flesh through the Sacraments of the Church. We too, are given the chance to allow Christ to be "born" into our Hearts, not only at Christmas, but every time we go to Mass and participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This is where the true Joy of Christmas comes from- from a radical encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, who desires nothing more than to enter into our lives, and lead us to the Father. This is what Christmas is all about.
Unfortunately, we often get so caught up in the commercial aspect of Christmas, that we fail to make room for Christ in our hearts. Then, when the real celebration of Christmas begins on December 25th (continuing until the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord on January 12th) we are so done with the season, that we end our Christmas celebrations on Christmas day, and go back to living our ordinary lives, when in all reality the celebration of Christmas is just beginning!!!!
But all is not lost- perhaps you have been caught up in the commercial aspect of Christmas, and haven't had time to prepare for Christ's coming into your life. You still can. Try to set aside some quiet time today and tomorrow to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, and ask Christ to enter into your life once again, so that He may lead you to the Father.
Merry Christmas, and may God Bless!!
Where does this joy come from? We first see it when Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. John leaps for Joy in Elizabeth's womb when Mary arrives, and he recognizes that Christ is present. This joy flows out of Elizabeth, and radiates to Mary, who proclaims in Joy the beautiful Canticle known as the Magnificat.
Later, when John is born, there is once again joy- this time from Zachariah, who upon having his speech restored after seeing all that Gabriel had prophesied fulfilled, and confirming that his son should be called John, speaks wonderful words of praise and Joy towards God, and confirms that his son will be called "Prophet of the Most High" who will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
When Jesus is born, it is the Angels that announce the "Good news of great joy" that this day is born a Savior who is Christ and Lord. And after that, they break out into song, singing "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth, Peace to people of Good Will!" The Shepherds, and even the wise men come rejoicing that they have found this newborn King of all the Earth.
And Last, but certainly not least, when Jesus is presented in the Temple, the old man Simeon too sings his song of Joy and Praise, when he declares "Now Lord you may let your servant die in peace, for with my own eyes I have seen the Salvation which you promised to your people."
Again, what is the source of all this Joy? Every single person in the Infancy Narrative who experiences this Joy does so when they encounter the Christ Child- the Incarnate Word of God. Their hearts are open to receive Him, and so when they receive his blessings (or realize that his blessings are coming in the case of Zachariah,) they cannot help but be infused with the Joy that comes from meeting Christ.
2000 years later, the same is true for us. We have been given a huge gift- the ability to continue to know Christ in the flesh through the Sacraments of the Church. We too, are given the chance to allow Christ to be "born" into our Hearts, not only at Christmas, but every time we go to Mass and participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This is where the true Joy of Christmas comes from- from a radical encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, who desires nothing more than to enter into our lives, and lead us to the Father. This is what Christmas is all about.
Unfortunately, we often get so caught up in the commercial aspect of Christmas, that we fail to make room for Christ in our hearts. Then, when the real celebration of Christmas begins on December 25th (continuing until the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord on January 12th) we are so done with the season, that we end our Christmas celebrations on Christmas day, and go back to living our ordinary lives, when in all reality the celebration of Christmas is just beginning!!!!
But all is not lost- perhaps you have been caught up in the commercial aspect of Christmas, and haven't had time to prepare for Christ's coming into your life. You still can. Try to set aside some quiet time today and tomorrow to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, and ask Christ to enter into your life once again, so that He may lead you to the Father.
Merry Christmas, and may God Bless!!
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Thoughts about the Institution of Marriage
I have already written a post on this topic, but I decided that with all that has been going on in my home state the past few weeks regarding this issue, I needed to write a bit more about it to (hopefully) clarify why the Church teaches what it does regarding the Institution of Marriage.
First off, let me say that this will not be a Leviticus 17 quoting, gay-bashing sort of post. I don't swing that way, because that approach doesn't work for me. It will however, be a difficult post to swallow, because I know that this is a very touchy topic. So I ask two things before I even begin. One, that you read the post all the way to the end BEFORE making any comments, and two, that any comments that are made are kept respectful. If you can't do that, then please, stop reading now.
Still with me? Good. Let's begin.
Much of the Marriage Debate on the Christian side has been centered around a fundamentalist approach that only singles out one issue (same-sex marriage) as the be all and end all of the marriage debate. We say that "legalizing same sex marriage will destroy the institution of marriage" without realizing that the institution of Marriage as one man and one woman for life has already been destroyed by a society that seeks instant gratification- a society that says that if I am not happy, I have absolute right to dump my spouse and get a new one that can give me the pleasure I seek... or that says that any person has a right to have sex with whoever they want, whenever they want, just simply because it "feels good."
This is not what God intended for the union between Man and Woman, however. The union between man and woman was intended to be a life-giving union. "Be fruitful and multiply" was the first commandment given to humanity in Genesis 1:28. We were created to "fill the earth and subdue it" by a man and a woman becoming one flesh in the most beautiful and life-giving act of sexual union- an act that has been gravely distorted by our culture, starting with the legalization of contraception in the 1960's and 70's- an action that Pope Paul VI spoke out against in his Encyclical "Humanae Vitae."
Since then, we have seen our Human Morality slide down an increasingly slippery slope, as man has arbitrarily decided that they can change the natural created order to suit their own needs. Suddenly, society decided that because they could have sex without the fear of a woman getting pregnant, it was ok to have sex outside of marriage, or with multiple partners, simply because it felt good, and it satisfied some animal instinct dwelling deep inside of us.
Why are there so many sexual problems in the world today? It is for this reason- that by seeking sex solely for pleasure, and not for procreation, we have distorted our view of an act that was originally intended to be the most intimate and life-giving act a man and a woman could engage in. So in that view, the cry for same-sex marriage is not a destruction of the institution of Marriage, it is merely part of the fallout from the destruction of the institution that took place a long time ago.
What is sad is that amid all of this fallout, the dignity of the human person gets crushed between the rubble. After contraception was legalized, the innocent lives of unborn children were then all of a sudden seen as disposable, because women wanted to be able to take control of their body, destroying one of the most precious gifts that God has ever given to a woman- the gift of bringing a new life into the world. After that, it was not long before the rise of the pornography industry, as people sought more and more perverse ways to satisfy their sexual pleasures. All of a sudden what was supposed to be the most beautiful, intimate, and sacred act between a man and a woman was put on public display for all to see, and for all to find some pleasure in. I could continue, but it suffices to say that the downward spiral continues to this day. One only has to look at the TV, or listen to the radio, or go to a movie to see that. All of this because we as Human Beings dare to think that we "know better" than God- that we know what is best for ourselves, and no one should be able to tell us otherwise. It is the Garden of Eden all over again. Our Pride in ourselves, and our stating that we do not need God will eventually be our downfall.
It is the same with Same-Sex Marriage. By saying that a same sex couple can marry, legal officials are in effect saying that God got it wrong when he created man and woman, and told them to "be fruitful and multiply." They are denying the truth that a Marriage is supposed to be life giving, and instead arbitrarily trying to re-define what is a universal truth of the Natural Created order.
My point here is not to discredit the feelings that same-sex partners have towards each other. I have no doubt that in many instances, a deep personal relationship does develop between the two partners, and they are committed to each other, because I have known many same-sex couples that have wonderful, long-lasting relationships with each other. However, owing to the simple fact that in a relationship between two men or two women there is no potential whatsoever for the relationship to be life-giving in the same way that a heterosexual relationship is, a relationship (or union) between two men or two women cannot be called a Marriage.
This is the natural created order that God has given to us, and as a Catholics (or to use a more general term, Christians), we must remember that the assent of Faith is to believe and profess all that has been revealed to us by God in Sacred Scripture, and all that the Holy Church proposes for our belief. This is why the Catholic Church will never change its definition of Marriage to anything other than what it currently is. The definition of Marriage between one man and one woman for life for the purpose of procreation has been and always will be the definition of Marriage, forever and ever, Amen.
But wait a second... doesn't this definition seem a little intolerant, when put into the context of Jesus' teaching to "Love one another as I have loved you? (John 13:34)" At first glance, maybe, but we must also remember that Jesus did not adopt a sort of "lassiez faire" approach to evil in his time. Rather, he was constantly calling people to conversion, constantly calling them to turn from seeking their own selfish pleasures, and to "seek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be given you." (Mt. 6:33). This applies to all of us. In this, Jesus is calling to all of us to turn from our sinful ways, from our addictions, from our selfish ways of thinking, and to put him first- ABOVE ALL ELSE. That does not mean that we can pick and choose to follow only certain tenets of our faith that fit "our" morality- it means that we must always seek to live in God's love, and trust that He will give us what we need to be happy. Blaise Pascal once said that “There is a God shaped hole in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” If only we would fully realize this, and stop seeking for the things of this world to satisfy a longing that only God can fully satisfy! When we begin to realize this, and turn to the Lord with our whole heart, it is then that we begin to put aside our pride, and slowly re-gain our trust that God really does know what is best for us.
First off, let me say that this will not be a Leviticus 17 quoting, gay-bashing sort of post. I don't swing that way, because that approach doesn't work for me. It will however, be a difficult post to swallow, because I know that this is a very touchy topic. So I ask two things before I even begin. One, that you read the post all the way to the end BEFORE making any comments, and two, that any comments that are made are kept respectful. If you can't do that, then please, stop reading now.
Still with me? Good. Let's begin.
Much of the Marriage Debate on the Christian side has been centered around a fundamentalist approach that only singles out one issue (same-sex marriage) as the be all and end all of the marriage debate. We say that "legalizing same sex marriage will destroy the institution of marriage" without realizing that the institution of Marriage as one man and one woman for life has already been destroyed by a society that seeks instant gratification- a society that says that if I am not happy, I have absolute right to dump my spouse and get a new one that can give me the pleasure I seek... or that says that any person has a right to have sex with whoever they want, whenever they want, just simply because it "feels good."
This is not what God intended for the union between Man and Woman, however. The union between man and woman was intended to be a life-giving union. "Be fruitful and multiply" was the first commandment given to humanity in Genesis 1:28. We were created to "fill the earth and subdue it" by a man and a woman becoming one flesh in the most beautiful and life-giving act of sexual union- an act that has been gravely distorted by our culture, starting with the legalization of contraception in the 1960's and 70's- an action that Pope Paul VI spoke out against in his Encyclical "Humanae Vitae."
Since then, we have seen our Human Morality slide down an increasingly slippery slope, as man has arbitrarily decided that they can change the natural created order to suit their own needs. Suddenly, society decided that because they could have sex without the fear of a woman getting pregnant, it was ok to have sex outside of marriage, or with multiple partners, simply because it felt good, and it satisfied some animal instinct dwelling deep inside of us.
Why are there so many sexual problems in the world today? It is for this reason- that by seeking sex solely for pleasure, and not for procreation, we have distorted our view of an act that was originally intended to be the most intimate and life-giving act a man and a woman could engage in. So in that view, the cry for same-sex marriage is not a destruction of the institution of Marriage, it is merely part of the fallout from the destruction of the institution that took place a long time ago.
What is sad is that amid all of this fallout, the dignity of the human person gets crushed between the rubble. After contraception was legalized, the innocent lives of unborn children were then all of a sudden seen as disposable, because women wanted to be able to take control of their body, destroying one of the most precious gifts that God has ever given to a woman- the gift of bringing a new life into the world. After that, it was not long before the rise of the pornography industry, as people sought more and more perverse ways to satisfy their sexual pleasures. All of a sudden what was supposed to be the most beautiful, intimate, and sacred act between a man and a woman was put on public display for all to see, and for all to find some pleasure in. I could continue, but it suffices to say that the downward spiral continues to this day. One only has to look at the TV, or listen to the radio, or go to a movie to see that. All of this because we as Human Beings dare to think that we "know better" than God- that we know what is best for ourselves, and no one should be able to tell us otherwise. It is the Garden of Eden all over again. Our Pride in ourselves, and our stating that we do not need God will eventually be our downfall.
It is the same with Same-Sex Marriage. By saying that a same sex couple can marry, legal officials are in effect saying that God got it wrong when he created man and woman, and told them to "be fruitful and multiply." They are denying the truth that a Marriage is supposed to be life giving, and instead arbitrarily trying to re-define what is a universal truth of the Natural Created order.
My point here is not to discredit the feelings that same-sex partners have towards each other. I have no doubt that in many instances, a deep personal relationship does develop between the two partners, and they are committed to each other, because I have known many same-sex couples that have wonderful, long-lasting relationships with each other. However, owing to the simple fact that in a relationship between two men or two women there is no potential whatsoever for the relationship to be life-giving in the same way that a heterosexual relationship is, a relationship (or union) between two men or two women cannot be called a Marriage.
This is the natural created order that God has given to us, and as a Catholics (or to use a more general term, Christians), we must remember that the assent of Faith is to believe and profess all that has been revealed to us by God in Sacred Scripture, and all that the Holy Church proposes for our belief. This is why the Catholic Church will never change its definition of Marriage to anything other than what it currently is. The definition of Marriage between one man and one woman for life for the purpose of procreation has been and always will be the definition of Marriage, forever and ever, Amen.
But wait a second... doesn't this definition seem a little intolerant, when put into the context of Jesus' teaching to "Love one another as I have loved you? (John 13:34)" At first glance, maybe, but we must also remember that Jesus did not adopt a sort of "lassiez faire" approach to evil in his time. Rather, he was constantly calling people to conversion, constantly calling them to turn from seeking their own selfish pleasures, and to "seek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be given you." (Mt. 6:33). This applies to all of us. In this, Jesus is calling to all of us to turn from our sinful ways, from our addictions, from our selfish ways of thinking, and to put him first- ABOVE ALL ELSE. That does not mean that we can pick and choose to follow only certain tenets of our faith that fit "our" morality- it means that we must always seek to live in God's love, and trust that He will give us what we need to be happy. Blaise Pascal once said that “There is a God shaped hole in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” If only we would fully realize this, and stop seeking for the things of this world to satisfy a longing that only God can fully satisfy! When we begin to realize this, and turn to the Lord with our whole heart, it is then that we begin to put aside our pride, and slowly re-gain our trust that God really does know what is best for us.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
DOMA, The Supreme Court, and Same-Sex Marriage: What does it mean for the Church?
If you've been anywhere on the internet the past few days, you have no doubt seen the firestorm of comments that have arisen from both sides of the aisle over the Supreme Court's Decision to strike down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), thus allowing, among other things, same-sex couples to qualify for the same benefits that heterosexual married couples qualify for. While leaving the decision up to the individual states as to whether to legalize Same-sex marriage, this does show a significant change in our Country's policy towards same-sex Marriage.
When the Deacon at the Mass we went to today mentioned this decision, he said, quoting New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan (who is also the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops) that the day the Supreme Court struck down parts of DOMA "A tragic day for marriage and our nation."
I for one, am not happy with this being the message that is being proclaimed to the world from the Catholic Church, because in my humble opinion, there are a lot of things that this soundbyte does not take into account. Yes, it is true that the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach that Same Sex Marriage goes against the natural created order. But it is also true that in the Gospel of John, 13:34, Jesus gives us the Command to "love one another as I have loved you." And statements such as the one made by Cardinal Dolan do very little to make people who do not share the Catholic Church's viewpoint feel loved.
It's amazing to me that every time secular society makes a decision that contradicts Church teaching, many of the members of the Church heirarchy seem to be thrown into a panic. Granted, some issues (such as the HHS mandate) deserve such attention, because there is a lot more at stake than even I probably realize. But at the same time, we must look back into our own history and realize that for 2000 years, the Church has existed among cultures that did not share their views, practiced pagan religions, and so on. This is evident when we read Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans. In Chapter 12, He instructs the Church at Rome: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." These are words that are still just as true as they were when they were written almost 2000 years ago.
And yet, despite all this struggle, the Church continues to thrive, even though many of the cultures and societies that have threatened the Church have long since disappeared. Why is this? It's simple. Because God is bigger than any government, or court decision, or law that does not conform to "our" set of values. In saying this, I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't make our viewpoint known, because as Christians, we have a duty to stand for what we believe in. However, it MUST be done with LOVE!
Christ did not command us to put down and condemn others who did not share our beliefs. He called us to love them. He did not call us to judge the sinner- he called us to love them. He did not call us to hide behind our doctrines and our teachings and use that as a basis of not reaching out to others- he called us to "get our hands dirty" and love and serve others. When we become a follower of Christ, there is only one place that leads us- to the cross. We are called to share in the sufferings of Christ by helping those who suffer to know that they matter- to know that Christ loves them and cares about them, and wants to call them to greater holiness. Too often we condemn the person and not the act. It's high time that we start becoming witnesses of the Gospel by our lives- NOT by just speaking empty words that we don't put into action ourselves. When we begin to do that, we begin to see that LOVE truly is at the heart of the Gospel Message.
The saying "you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" couldn't be more true. If we show people that we love them, regardless of how they are living their lives, then we can inspire them by OUR actions to greater holiness. If we just condemn others because what they are doing is wrong, why should we expect them to change? How is the Gospel going to speak to them if it is preached in hatred?
Too many battles have been fought, too many lives have been lost, because the Church has failed to see the primacy of Love in the Gospel. So to answer the question I posed in the title of this blog, the Supreme Court decision means that now more than ever, we MUST work to ensure that the Gospel we preach is one of Love. It must not be a Gospel of Acceptance, because Christ is always calling us to Greater Holiness, and telling us that we cannot be content with just staying where we are. But he does it by giving us a model to follow, and inviting us to come after him. And we are called to do the same.
May we always strive to let the Love of Christ shine forth in all we do. AMEN!
When the Deacon at the Mass we went to today mentioned this decision, he said, quoting New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan (who is also the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops) that the day the Supreme Court struck down parts of DOMA "A tragic day for marriage and our nation."
I for one, am not happy with this being the message that is being proclaimed to the world from the Catholic Church, because in my humble opinion, there are a lot of things that this soundbyte does not take into account. Yes, it is true that the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach that Same Sex Marriage goes against the natural created order. But it is also true that in the Gospel of John, 13:34, Jesus gives us the Command to "love one another as I have loved you." And statements such as the one made by Cardinal Dolan do very little to make people who do not share the Catholic Church's viewpoint feel loved.
It's amazing to me that every time secular society makes a decision that contradicts Church teaching, many of the members of the Church heirarchy seem to be thrown into a panic. Granted, some issues (such as the HHS mandate) deserve such attention, because there is a lot more at stake than even I probably realize. But at the same time, we must look back into our own history and realize that for 2000 years, the Church has existed among cultures that did not share their views, practiced pagan religions, and so on. This is evident when we read Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans. In Chapter 12, He instructs the Church at Rome: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." These are words that are still just as true as they were when they were written almost 2000 years ago.
And yet, despite all this struggle, the Church continues to thrive, even though many of the cultures and societies that have threatened the Church have long since disappeared. Why is this? It's simple. Because God is bigger than any government, or court decision, or law that does not conform to "our" set of values. In saying this, I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't make our viewpoint known, because as Christians, we have a duty to stand for what we believe in. However, it MUST be done with LOVE!
Christ did not command us to put down and condemn others who did not share our beliefs. He called us to love them. He did not call us to judge the sinner- he called us to love them. He did not call us to hide behind our doctrines and our teachings and use that as a basis of not reaching out to others- he called us to "get our hands dirty" and love and serve others. When we become a follower of Christ, there is only one place that leads us- to the cross. We are called to share in the sufferings of Christ by helping those who suffer to know that they matter- to know that Christ loves them and cares about them, and wants to call them to greater holiness. Too often we condemn the person and not the act. It's high time that we start becoming witnesses of the Gospel by our lives- NOT by just speaking empty words that we don't put into action ourselves. When we begin to do that, we begin to see that LOVE truly is at the heart of the Gospel Message.
The saying "you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" couldn't be more true. If we show people that we love them, regardless of how they are living their lives, then we can inspire them by OUR actions to greater holiness. If we just condemn others because what they are doing is wrong, why should we expect them to change? How is the Gospel going to speak to them if it is preached in hatred?
Too many battles have been fought, too many lives have been lost, because the Church has failed to see the primacy of Love in the Gospel. So to answer the question I posed in the title of this blog, the Supreme Court decision means that now more than ever, we MUST work to ensure that the Gospel we preach is one of Love. It must not be a Gospel of Acceptance, because Christ is always calling us to Greater Holiness, and telling us that we cannot be content with just staying where we are. But he does it by giving us a model to follow, and inviting us to come after him. And we are called to do the same.
May we always strive to let the Love of Christ shine forth in all we do. AMEN!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
If anyone would be my Disciple...
In the Gospel we read at Mass today, (Luke 9: 18-24) We hear Jesus say to his disciples "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." This little saying comes right after Peter's confession that Jesus is the "Christ of God" and Jesus' first prediction of his Passion, death, and Resurrection.
What does this saying of Jesus mean? Admittedly, it is very difficult to understand, but let me begin by saying that Jesus is NOT calling us to carry a physical cross. No, I believe that the real meaning of this statement goes much deeper.
Jesus, in calling us to daily take up our cross, is driving home the point that Discipleship is a choice- one that must be made every day. We must choose TODAY to put Christ first. We must choose TODAY to let go of our addictions, our fears, our hatreds, and serve God alone. We must choose TODAY to be Christ to and for others. And the choice we make today does not carry over into tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, we must forget about everything that went wrong in the previous day, and make a new commitment to follow Christ. This is what Discipleship is all about.
But what of Jesus' calling us to "deny ourselves" or "lose our lives" for his sake? Doesn't that seem kind of harsh and impersonal? On the surface is kind of does seem that way, when we try to interpret it with our definitions of what it means to deny ourselves or to lose our life. But it goes so much deeper than that.
Again, Jesus is not calling us to starve ourselves, or allow ourselves to be killed for the Gospel- What Jesus is saying to us is something radical. He is calling us to let go of (to deny) the self that is only interested in the "I, me, my" and to draw closer to God by reaching out to others, and allowing Christ to live through us. This again is a choice that MUST be made every day. How? We must ask God for the grace to live the Gospel every day. God's grace, and our discipleship, are not one shot, you get all that you need to live the Christian Life deals. I can tell you that 5 years ago, I did not have the Grace to be walking the path to Priesthood. God only gives us the Grace when he knows we are ready for it. But at the same time, a person cannot receive something that they are not open to receive.
So why is being a true Disciple of Christ so hard? There are many possible speculations and ideals about this, but I believe that at the root of it all is the fact that we live in a culture which pays lip service to God, but does not allow the Gospel to penetrate deep in to the core of our being. We don't like to feel pain, so instead of letting the Gospel pierce our hearts and move us into action, we just sort of gloss over the difficult parts of the Gospel, and turn it into something that makes us "feel good" about God and Jesus. But as Christians, this will get us nowhere. We must allow our lives to be shaped by the Gospel, and realize that when we hear something difficult, it is God calling to us, and leading us on to greater holiness.
Once we begin to allow God to lead us to greater holiness, then we can become Christ to others. I'm going to close this post with something written by St. Theresa of Avila.
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Let us all strive to follow Christ daily, and be his Hands and feet to the world. May this Radical following of Christ inspire others to greater holiness. AMEN!!
What does this saying of Jesus mean? Admittedly, it is very difficult to understand, but let me begin by saying that Jesus is NOT calling us to carry a physical cross. No, I believe that the real meaning of this statement goes much deeper.
Jesus, in calling us to daily take up our cross, is driving home the point that Discipleship is a choice- one that must be made every day. We must choose TODAY to put Christ first. We must choose TODAY to let go of our addictions, our fears, our hatreds, and serve God alone. We must choose TODAY to be Christ to and for others. And the choice we make today does not carry over into tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, we must forget about everything that went wrong in the previous day, and make a new commitment to follow Christ. This is what Discipleship is all about.
But what of Jesus' calling us to "deny ourselves" or "lose our lives" for his sake? Doesn't that seem kind of harsh and impersonal? On the surface is kind of does seem that way, when we try to interpret it with our definitions of what it means to deny ourselves or to lose our life. But it goes so much deeper than that.
Again, Jesus is not calling us to starve ourselves, or allow ourselves to be killed for the Gospel- What Jesus is saying to us is something radical. He is calling us to let go of (to deny) the self that is only interested in the "I, me, my" and to draw closer to God by reaching out to others, and allowing Christ to live through us. This again is a choice that MUST be made every day. How? We must ask God for the grace to live the Gospel every day. God's grace, and our discipleship, are not one shot, you get all that you need to live the Christian Life deals. I can tell you that 5 years ago, I did not have the Grace to be walking the path to Priesthood. God only gives us the Grace when he knows we are ready for it. But at the same time, a person cannot receive something that they are not open to receive.
So why is being a true Disciple of Christ so hard? There are many possible speculations and ideals about this, but I believe that at the root of it all is the fact that we live in a culture which pays lip service to God, but does not allow the Gospel to penetrate deep in to the core of our being. We don't like to feel pain, so instead of letting the Gospel pierce our hearts and move us into action, we just sort of gloss over the difficult parts of the Gospel, and turn it into something that makes us "feel good" about God and Jesus. But as Christians, this will get us nowhere. We must allow our lives to be shaped by the Gospel, and realize that when we hear something difficult, it is God calling to us, and leading us on to greater holiness.
Once we begin to allow God to lead us to greater holiness, then we can become Christ to others. I'm going to close this post with something written by St. Theresa of Avila.
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Let us all strive to follow Christ daily, and be his Hands and feet to the world. May this Radical following of Christ inspire others to greater holiness. AMEN!!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Christian Love
I've been thinking a fair bit this week about the passage from Chapter 13 of John's Gospel, where Jesus gives us a new Commandment- Love one another. On the surface, this seems simple. But as I have come to realize this week, this commandment is anything but simple.
Why is that? If we stop reading at the words "love one another" it is very easy to think that all we must do is have some sort of a general feeling of good will towards others, and that is enough. But Jesus did not stop there, so neither can we. In fact, Jesus goes on to say "as I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35.)
When we begin to dive into this second half of the Commandment, we begin to realize just how radical this statement is. To love others as Jesus loved us involves a total sacrifice of nothing less than everything that we have to offer. It means that we must be willing to do anything for another person, up to and including dying for them, should that be necessary. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I love a lot of people, but I'm not sure that I would be willing to die for any of them! But that is because I am still selfish, still focused on myself, and still wanting to make sure that so much of what I do is in my best interest, and I am not fully willing to surrender myself for the good of others. But that is just what we are called to do. It is radical, but then again, what part of the Gospel isn't? Anyone who thinks that being a follower of Christ is "easy" is only deceiving themselves. We MUST learn to make real sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom if we wish to have any hope of dwelling there when our earthly Pilgrimage is through. We MUST begin to bring about the Kingdom of God HERE and NOW, not wait for it as if it is something that is far away, that we have no control over. We must begin to make the love of God known to ALL people, regardless of their race, gender, creed, Religion, sexual preference, etc. We MUST call all people to greater holiness through the Love we have for them, NOT by using the Gospel as a weapon of hatred as so many have done. And when we can begin to that, then people will truly be able to see the face of God through us.
But it will not be easy. We are living in a culture that glorifies the individual, and that does not believe that we should do things for other people. And sadly, i believe that this is what is the root cause of so many of the problems we have in our society today. If we could learn to put others needs ahead of our own, think of how different the world would be! It's going to take a lot of work, but I am convinced that if we as Christians, no matter what Church we belong to, make a commitment to truly try to love as Jesus loved us, we can turn this world into a better place. But we must not get discouraged when we fall short and miss the mark, because we are only human, and we will fall short of fully realizing that ideal. But even then, what we are called to do is to get back up, seek forgiveness, and keep moving forward, always seeking to more perfectly emulate the Love of God shown us through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Why is that? If we stop reading at the words "love one another" it is very easy to think that all we must do is have some sort of a general feeling of good will towards others, and that is enough. But Jesus did not stop there, so neither can we. In fact, Jesus goes on to say "as I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35.)
When we begin to dive into this second half of the Commandment, we begin to realize just how radical this statement is. To love others as Jesus loved us involves a total sacrifice of nothing less than everything that we have to offer. It means that we must be willing to do anything for another person, up to and including dying for them, should that be necessary. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I love a lot of people, but I'm not sure that I would be willing to die for any of them! But that is because I am still selfish, still focused on myself, and still wanting to make sure that so much of what I do is in my best interest, and I am not fully willing to surrender myself for the good of others. But that is just what we are called to do. It is radical, but then again, what part of the Gospel isn't? Anyone who thinks that being a follower of Christ is "easy" is only deceiving themselves. We MUST learn to make real sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom if we wish to have any hope of dwelling there when our earthly Pilgrimage is through. We MUST begin to bring about the Kingdom of God HERE and NOW, not wait for it as if it is something that is far away, that we have no control over. We must begin to make the love of God known to ALL people, regardless of their race, gender, creed, Religion, sexual preference, etc. We MUST call all people to greater holiness through the Love we have for them, NOT by using the Gospel as a weapon of hatred as so many have done. And when we can begin to that, then people will truly be able to see the face of God through us.
But it will not be easy. We are living in a culture that glorifies the individual, and that does not believe that we should do things for other people. And sadly, i believe that this is what is the root cause of so many of the problems we have in our society today. If we could learn to put others needs ahead of our own, think of how different the world would be! It's going to take a lot of work, but I am convinced that if we as Christians, no matter what Church we belong to, make a commitment to truly try to love as Jesus loved us, we can turn this world into a better place. But we must not get discouraged when we fall short and miss the mark, because we are only human, and we will fall short of fully realizing that ideal. But even then, what we are called to do is to get back up, seek forgiveness, and keep moving forward, always seeking to more perfectly emulate the Love of God shown us through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Is being comfortable in life a bad thing?
The question I raise in the title of this blog is one that I have been doing a good bit of reflecting on the past few days. But let me state up front that the "comfortable" I am referring to has nothing to do with having a roof over our heads, or enough to eat, or other basic necessities in life, which as far as I'm concerned are basic human rights. Rather, for the intents and purposes of this reflection, the term "comfortable" in a sense means "complacent", or settling into our lives, and believing that everything is fine just the way it is, and that there is no need to change anything about ourselves.
What brought this reflection on was helping with a workshop a number of weeks ago. Over the course of the workshop, I was tasked with playing a stubborn man who refused to leave the comforts of his "shack" for a much better home in God's Kingdom, in an essence, refusing to give up what is "mine" for the sake of what God has for me. It was fun to be able to put my (not so) brilliant acting skills to good use- but this activity really made me think about the ways in my life which I am comfortable, and refusing to move on to better things, whether it be anger, judgments of others, thoughts and fantasies that run wild in my brain, or anything else like that.
Now, I know from experience that it's not easy to let old habits, old dreams, old ways of thinking go. But the fact is that as I've looked back at my life, I've come to realize that it is only by letting something go that we are able to truly see if (or how) that thing is meant to be in our life. Often, it does come back to us, but in a manner completely different from what we could have ever expected. I have seen this be especially true in relationships- once you let go of your own selfish wants and desires for that relationship, and allow God to guide it, the relationship flourishes in unimaginable ways, and it becomes a very beautiful thing, even if it's not what anyone was expecting!
The same is true of our journey with Christ. It is very tempting to think that we've grown enough, and settle into complacency and comfort, and say we have no more need to change, but this is not the case. Part of the Christian life entails being like the flowing river- always moving, always going closer to our goal, which is union with Christ. And the simple fact of the matter is that if we are not moving, not growing, and we are settled into our comforts, we WILL stagnate and die. It will not be a physical death, but rather a spiritual one.
In the workshop, at the end of the activity, my character was faced with a choice- leave his comfort zone, and embark on a journey to the unknown, or remain and be taken over by the demons that were going to possess the neighborhood. We have the same choice- do we allow God to lead us into the unknown, even though we run the risk of facing anger, hatred, rejection, and maybe even death for the sake of the Gospel? Or do we stay in our comfort zones, and risk losing eternal life?
Yes, it is true that authentically living the Gospel is difficult, but that is what we are called to do. To constantly seek to better ourselves, so that we may be faithful ministers of the Gospel to others. If we can do this, we can bring about a change in the world, and hopefully begin to heal some of the ills that the Church has caused by withdrawing into itself, and trying to "separate" itself from the world, instead of being fully immeshed in the world. I leave you with a very powerful quote by Pope Francis, said during the meetings before the Conclave that elected him to lead the Catholic Church:
“We need to come out of ourselves and head for the periphery. We need to avoid the spiritual sickness of a Church that is wrapped up in its own world: when a Church becomes like this, it grows sick. It is true that going out onto the street implies the risk of accidents happening, as they would to any ordinary man or woman. But is the Church stays wrapped up in itself, it will age. And if I had to choose between a wounded Church that goes out onto the streets and a sick withdrawn Church, I would definitely choose the first one.”
May Pope Francis' words be an example to us all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)