Caging the Beast.

Our society has done a fantastic job of convincing us that we are created to be a sinful and vice-filled people.   "I'm a Christian, but I cuss a little."   "He's a good person; he just does some drugs on the weekends."   "No one is perfect."   All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.   That's the truth.   That is not who you are.  You were not created to be a sinner; you were designed to be a Saint.  Our concupiscence is a reality that we must learn to live with, but it's also something we must put in a cage. 

There is an old Indian tale about a man who was watching two wolves fighting with his son.   The father looked at the son and said: "There are two wolves at war inside you as well.   The one that wishes for the good, and the one that wishes for evil."  The son asked in fear "Which one will win?"  The father replied, "The one you feed." 

We all have that same war going on inside of us, but the truth that we must realize is that one voice is our authentic self and the other are doubts brought to us by those who wish to keep us from ever achieving it.  The Scriptures today remind us of that calling from God to become Saints.   We are the temple of God.  We are created for virtue and not vices.   Work to silence that voice, to cage those personal demons that keep making excuses.  Then live a sacramental life. 

I am far from perfect.   I make mistakes, and yes, I often fail to silence those voices.    That is why God has given us so many opportunities for grace in His Church.   Take advantage of them as often as you can!  A life of virtue is not a boring one as the secular world would have you believe!   It is instead a life filled with the fullness of what it means to be alive, the fullness of what it means to be human.   That is to be more like Christ, and much less like our flesh would convince us we are supposed to be. 

This is a reflection on the readings for Wednesday, January 14th, 2018: The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

The Good Shepherd

So many of us take the simple gift of a community for granted. In a world where it is encouraged and lauded to spend more time in virtual communication than in face to face interactions, it is tough for us to understand the leper in today's Gospel. This man was isolated from society. If any other person approached him, he was required to shout "Unclean, unclean." To be touched by another who was not also unclean was not to be expected, and was believed to make the other just as dirty (sinfully) as the leper himself.

Jesus on the other hand not only touches him but heals him of his disease. Then instructs him to tell no one but rather go to the established religious authorities and begin the slow process of reconciliation with the community. We can interpret many things from this. One might think that Jesus intended to remind us that we should go to the Church/Community to help integrate us more fully into the body of Christ after being absent. Then again maybe he was indicating that the process would only be complete when he was both physically and spiritually clean. Some would even say that Jesus did not want the people to know about his Messianic secret yet.

The one thing we know for sure from the reading of the Scriptures is that the man didn't listen to Jesus and his instructions. He instead made it easier for himself (the Leper) to be a part of the community, but at the same time, more difficult for Jesus to enter towns and complete His mission. We have been talking about the title of Christ, the Good Shepherd, and it's biblical meaning in Bible study today. How appropriate that both readings had to do with listening to God instead of treating him like an ATM.

The first reading shows the Israelites parading God's ark about like a talisman. They didn't ask God for help, nor for guidance. Instead, they merely went to get their magical amulet to make things better. The Leper didn't follow God's instructions and go to the temple to be purified. Instead, he chose to go on his way and hindered God Himself in the process. Are we letting God shepherd us? Or are we trying to shepherd God? Do we listen when God speaks to us through the Church? Through the Magisterium? Through the Scriptures and the Catechism? Or are we choosing what we will believe regardless of what God has revealed? Do we see God as a good luck charm only when we need it? Or is He indeed the Lord of our lives? When you use the gift of voice God has given you, are your words shouting unclean or pointing to Christ?

All things that are going through my mind this morning as I begin to do some work around the house. I'll leave you this morning with one final study question from our book to meditate on for today:

We often do not know when we wander off. If you take stock of your life, are there areas where you might suddenly realize you are lost and have unknowingly wandered away from the Good Shepherd?

A reflection on the Mass readings for Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary time: January 11, 2018. 1 SM 4:1-11, PS 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25, MK 1:40-45

Free Gas!

This morning on my way to Mass, Adoration, and Confession; I stopped to fill up the SUV. I swiped my card, looked at the screen, and it said: “Please lift handle and select grade.” That’s odd I thought. Normally it would have asked me for more info: credit or debit? Zip code? So I lifted the handle and began to pump. It started to slow down as it approached the $10 mark. It stopped, and I tried to pump more. Nothing. So I printed a receipt. I swiped my card again. Filled up the car. All while the second pump was going my inner mind confronted me with two different voices in my head:

“It’s a gift from God, take it and go.”

“But it’s not your money, not your gas.”

“But you are always praying for blessings, isn’t this what you want?”

“What if it’s a mistake? What if someone else ends up in trouble because of it?”

“Maybe it’s a promotion! Free gas for a random person!”

“Then shouldn’t I at least ask?”

I would like to say that those two voices were not in conflict. I cannot. What I do know is that in the end, I chose to discern God’s voice in all of it. The old, tired cliche “What would Jesus do” was definitely in my mind. I went in, told the lady behind the counter, and she explained that another girl had asked to pump there and had said it did not go through. I paid the $10, and the lady was very thankful, she would have had to come up with the money missing from the drawer at the end of her shift. Sometimes our ego tries to convince us that something is a blessing for us when it's a 'curse' for someone else.

Later I was doing some Lectio Divina before Mass on the readings for today. It struck me how apropos this situation was in light of what had just happened to me. Samuel heard God’s voice calling in the dark. He didn’t know whose voice it was until he began to discern, with the help of Eli, what was going on. This event led to a change in his life and a vocation that has shaped the world as we know it. In this world filled with darkness, the light of Christ still shines forth and has not been extinguished. He is calling us each day to be better than we were the day before, to be more like him. It is crucial that we listen to His voice, but also go to those people who He has chosen to help us as guides in our faith.

It is out of fashion to go to an elder or to a Priest for advice these days. Instead, our youth are taught to only go to their friends and ask for their help with problems. God can indeed speak through our peers, and through our friends. Yet, so can other voices that seek to drown out God’s calling to our authentic selves. That’s why discernment is so necessary! Not just in calling for Vocations in the Church but also in each decision we make in our lives. Only when we find the authentic voice of God, which leaves us with peace and joy, even when it means carrying a cross; will we begin to walk the path to our destiny.

What is our destiny though? The Eucharist reveals to us our genuine self. It is that gift, that Sacramental presence of Christ that helps us become fully human. The Eucharist renews and transforms us into what it is made of. It is through Christ living in us that we become more like Him, and less like the fallen humanity that so often surrounds us. How does that look? The Catholic faith, which the Athanasian Creed says solidly, that unless a man believes fully and firmly in all that it teaches, he cannot be saved. We must learn through faith in Jesus Christ, through the Church that He, Himself established, and be obedient to the words handed on by Him and His disciples. Make frequent use of the Sacraments. Remember that being called to Sainthood is not just for some elite spiritual person, but rather for every person who takes time to listen to the voice of God as Samuel did.

Take time today to go apart, in emulation of Jesus in the Gospel, who rose early in the morning and went to a place of silence for contemplation and prayer. Carve out some time for that intimate communion with God that you too may listen for that still small voice that will guide you to Holiness and Sanctity. Find an Adoration chapel, or sit before the Tabernacle at your Parish. I have a long journey ahead of me even to be close to Holy, but God willing, I am setting one foot in front of the other in the hope of His promises.

This is a reflection on the readings for Mass on Wednesday, The First Week of Ordinary Time, January 10th, 2018. Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 307 Reading 1: 1 SM 3:1-10, 19-20 Psalm: PS 40:2 AND 5, 7-8A, 8B-9, 10 Gospel: MK 1:29-39