So soft and cute...

There is this overwhelmingly powerful scene in the Fellowship of the Rings in which Galadriel is tempted.  Galadriel is already a powerful figure with great magic and power.   The ring though would make her even stronger, so powerful in fact she could control the entire realm.  She has this amazing line in which she says "I will be great and terrible as the dawn!"  We have lost the meaning of that word.  We see terrible as something horrendous, horrible, ugly, or bad.  

terrible

[ter-uh-buh l]  exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful

In Abraham's time this was the image of who God was.   He was the all powerful Lord, the creator, the judge and the king.   For Abraham to stand up for those people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would have taken a great deal of courage.   We lose that sometimes when reading the old testament.  Here Abraham is facing God and saying, Hey can I change your mind?  What if only... over and over.  Not only asking God for a boon but also thinking he might be testing God's patience.  How scary should that be?

Christ on the cross stood in the gap for us as well.   Knowing that not a single righteous man could be found, Christ went in our place to suffer the punishment.   All of us deserve what Sodom and Gomorrah got.  "The wages of sin is death."   None of us can say we haven't sinned either.  So here we have Christ, fully God but also fully human... going to the cross in complete trust of God but still aware of His great power and the terrible visage, but also seeing the Father.   That was something most of that age were unable to bear, to think of God as Father, and even today there are religions in the world that will find it blasphemous to do so.  Christ gave us that gift while nailed and tortured in our place.

I think that's part of the message that God has given us in the Scriptures and through the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   To trust in God.  To see Him as Father.   To know He will only give us what is good.   Yet, to remind us that what we do is make a bold claim.  That we are approaching the all powerful, omniscient God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.   That it is an audacious thing to step forward in His presence and say "God give me..."   We should never forget though, that we aren't just praying for 'bread', but also for the will of God.   So we are saying "God give me... but if you know something better... your will be done."   Never forget that last part.  Never forget who it is we approach, and what is at stake.  Abraham knew what was at stake as He prayed for the people, and his prayer was unanswered... Christ knew death was the cost and He suffered it to save us.... Do you realize what is at stake?  Are you ready to pick up your own cross? To stand in the gap for others in prayer?   It's a privilege that we should never take for granted.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

A reflection the readings for Mass on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 24, 2016.  Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:12-14; The Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke 11:1-13

Lead me into the desert....

When I first got out on my own life was pretty good.   I was working a job at minimum wage.  I had my own place.  My own car.  I had a phone, internet, and food in the fridge.  Then I got a job making twenty five dollars a day driving a bus going to college.   The bills were getting paid.   I was eating well and had many friends.   The summer after I got my Associates degree I decided to get a job as an electrician.   I started making quite a bit more money.   I soon forgot how good life was at the start and began to live at this new level of 'wealth.'

It wasn't long until the bills weren't getting paid.  I had a lot more stuff for sure.   I ate more, partied more, had even more friends.   My relationships were getting more shallow though as I sought more and more enjoyment.  I was making more money than I had ever had.   I had a new car, well new to me.  I had plenty of books, a top of the line gaming computer, high speed internet, and on and on.   I was unhappy though.  Relationships started to fall apart.   Bills stopped being paid.  After a break up with a girl I thought was the 'one,' I took a job with a travelling electrical company and began to go on the road.  I went back to simplicity.   Life was starting to look pretty good again, and it kept getting better. 

The first reading reminds me of that journey.   The Israelites met God in the desert of all places.   In a land where they had to count on Him for food and drink.   They had a relationship and journeyed together.   Then He took them into a land of abundance and immediately they began to put more and more into their lives.  They turned from the one who would give them living water and instead tried to find that fulfillment in things. Just as I had done in my years as a young adult, and just as we tend to do today, we constantly look for that thing which will make us happy.  Sitting around day dreaming about what we would do if we won the lottery instead of looking for the gift that is already there... God himself in the Sacraments. 

The thing about the Gospel to me is that every person heard the same parable, every person encountered the same Jesus.  The Disciples, though, sat at His feet.   They didn't just encounter on a superficial level.   They wanted to be closer, to learn more.   They asked questions.  They journeyed with Him.   That's what relationships are about.  Time spent together.   That is why that little verse from Hosea is so powerful: "So I will allure her, I will lead her into the desert." (Hosea 2:16) This isn't God trying to pull you into the sparse desert to die.. it's a lover wanting to take you back to the simple times.. to where we met... to the beginning of our relationships.. to the way things used to be.  It's God calling to us to have an authentic encounter.  To remove all those things from our hearts that stand in the way of receiving the one thing that fits, the one thing that matters.   To get rid of all these empty, meaningless things... and encounter Him: in the Sacraments, in Sacred silence, and in His most distressing of disguises... the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the prisoner, the refugee, the sinner and the saint. 

His servant and yours, 

Brian 

"He must increase, I must decrease."

A reflection on the daily Mass readings for Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time: June 21, 2016.  Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Psalm 36; The Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew 13:10-17

Can you do the Robot?

A reflection on the readings for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary time, June 03, 2016.

Isaiah 66:10-14c

Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
Galatians 6:14-18
The Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Society wants to blur the lines between male and female, man and woman, father and mother, man and wife. They want us to be convinced that in order to be equals, we must do things in the exact same way.  As a dad I know that there is something more amazing about a mother's love, something that is sought actively by the children because of it's qualities, because of it's comfort.   Yes, there are differences and I'm not painting all men and women with the same brush.. but I do find that the girls want their mommy when they need comfort and their dad when they need something done.  Mom seems to be kinder, gentler, and more understanding.  Dad is often brash and abrasive, but will defend them with his dying breath.  The image we have in scripture today is of a mother, Jerusalem, Zion the dwelling of the Lord.

Oh that you would be comforted by a mother, fed by her, protected by her and guided by her.  Christ gave us the Church to do just that.  He didn't give us a book, for that matter He didn't write a single word with his own incarnate hand.   Rather He gave us apostles, He gave us the Gospel, which the Church then gave to us in book form.  The Church is our mother, our guide.   She is there not to create tension or punish us, but rather to guide us to that joy and comfort that God promises.  That comfort ironically comes from being disciplined.  True freedom comes from being able to make a choice with your intellect even when your senses and desires try to pull you in the wrong direction.  The Church gives us guidelines on what is good for us, what is going to make us "flourish like the grass." 

Why do we do that?  Not to earn the ability to do miracles, or to revel in the fact that demons tremble at the name of Christ, not even for being a healer or a speaker... or any sort of gift.   Those are secondary to the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of salvation.   That's right, Jesus' mission was not primarily to be a healer.. but to remind us that "in the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those dwelling in the valley of darkness and death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."  Forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God... restoration of a broken relationship.  That is the greatest miracle that Christ offers us.  He tells us to rejoice because our names are written in Heaven!  How beautiful a thought, oh how happy a day! 

He sends us out like the disciples.  Into the world to be witnesses to this forgiveness.  Not to be grumbling or complaining about that which we have received or have not, but to accept all things with humility and graciousness.  To pass blessings on those who you meet, wishing them peace!  Yesterday I was thinking about this during Adoration.   As I often do I prayed "God get rid of all that is me, and replace it with you."   I've always thought that a good prayer.  God seemed to say to me, "That is not what I am asking of you."   He doesn't want me to become a mirror image of Him, an automaton who simply does everything the way He does, when He wants, exactly as a robot.   If He wanted that, He'd have made that!   Rather, He wants me to be ONE with Him, as He and the Father are one.   I was bowled over.   He wants me to go out into the world as me, spreading the message He has given me, with the words that my faculties allow me to use.  

That's right, when He sent 72 out, there were 72 individuals.. all working together as one unit to provide one message.   Each one though was an individual, unique, loved by God... created with the personalities and temperaments that God desired them to have.   "He loves me for me!"   Jesus told me to stop using Him as a scapegoat and asking Him to simply take away my free will and instead have some discipline, to work to use the brain, soul and spirit He gave me to become the man I am made to be.   That doesn't mean that all Catholics will ever look the same, or sound the same.. or act the same... but we will have the same message, given with our own unique ability to say it, live it, and pray it.  Are you ready for that?  It's time to stop praying for a supernatural conversion that takes away those things we struggle with, and instead receive the grace that He has been pouring out on us to allow us to bolster our own discipline to grow closer to Him and further away from Sin.  

His servant and yours, 

Brian 

"He must increase, I must decrease." 

Why do good things happen to bad people?

A Reflection on the Readings for June 28, 2016.  The Memorial of St. Irenaeus.

Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12
Psalm 5
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 8:23-27

I used to hang out with this friend of mine after work.  We'd sit around having a few drinks.   He'd then bring out his drugs, consume them go on what he called a relaxing trip after work.  We'd then sit and talk about God.   Strange isn't it?  There we were doing things that He would find unpleasant, things which did not draw us closer to Him and yet our hearts still longed for Him.   My friend would talk about how rough his life was and ask why would God do that to him?  Why wasn't life a bed of roses?  Why did 'bad people' get good things, and good people get bad things>  Yet, there we were turning our backs on His grace and preventing Him from being a part of our life fully.   We were like a man drowning in the ocean, beating the hands and face of the Life Guard who tried to pull us out to safety.. and then complaining that no one was helping.

The readings today remind us that God has been sending the message of salvation since the beginning of time itself.   He has been showing us through Prophets, Judges, Kings, and Saints exactly the life we need to live to open those channels of grace.   The life we need to live to be restored to the image of God that we were created to be.  That doesn't mean a bed of roses.  In fact, Jesus gave us the ultimate example of living that life to it's fullest.. and it was far from comfort.   It was  a life filled with grace, a life that changed the world around it, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and sought God's will above all things.  We fall below that threshold so often don't we?   Too often we, like the Israelites, could be called a stiff necked people.  We continually do those things we know God has shown us to be bad for our spiritual health.

St. John Paul the II point out how this Psalm (Psalm 5) of supplication, like so may others in this book contrasts the person who prays with those who do evil.  Because of God's unwavering love and constant care and assistance, we can turn to him in confidence amid the turmoil, sin, and temptation that surround our daily lives.  United to God, the faithful are always secure; through prayer the people of God express their trust in his mercy.  It please God to shower his blessings upon his people and protect them with his unsurpassable goodness.  (Cf. St. John Paul II, General Audience, May 30, 2001) - Note from the Didache Bible (Pg 614, note 5)

When fear overwhelmed the disciples, they shouted out for Jesus to deliver them.   Jesus stood up and rebuked the waves and winds, and there was calm.   It's funny isn't it?   Jesus didn't take them out of the boat to dry land.   He didn't remove the water from the situation.   He didn't take them into the vacuum of space to where the wind itself could never move.   No, he instead brought calm to them.   They were still in the boat, still on the water, still at the mercy of the elements; their location had not changed.. but their peace was restored.  The storm was calmed around them, but everything that created the storm in the first place was still there.  Spiritually I think that's a powerful lesson for us... What God offers us is not necessarily a new location, or change of venue..... He offers to calm the storm... that doesn't mean that stress will miraculously disappear.. but if you let Him, His grace will give you the ability to be peaceful and filled with joy in the same location, the same situation.   That's what Jesus offers us every day.  Peace, joy and love with the grace of God.

The Israelites received an almost ominous threat.  That's because we read into it our human emotions, we anthropomorphize God to try and understand him further.   God said to them through Amos:

So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel!
and since I will deal thus with you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel.

God was letting them know of His grace, to see His mercy and justice.  He did indeed deal with them in His own way... through the incarnation.  Just like the disciples we are coming face to face with God himself, in the person of Christ.  When we come to the altar for communion we again come face to face with Christ in the Eucharist and should be reminded that God is right there in front of us... and we should not be terrified... rather we should be bolstered by our faith.. because God has chosen to deal with us in His own way.. love and mercy itself!   Are you ready for Jesus to calm the storm around you?  To rest in His arms in communion?  To draw closer to Him in Reconciliation?  To find peace, joy, and happiness right where you are at this very moment?  He might not remove the bed of roses, but simply open your eyes to the beauty and grace present through the pleasure of their sight and smell.

We are members of the body of Christ, the Church is the boat that keeps us afloat.  As long as we keep Christ in the boat, it's smooth sailing.. we just need to have faith.  Again today the question is asked, "What manner of man is this?"  As you gaze upon the Eucharist, can you hear Him saying, "Who do you say that I AM?"


His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Radical Gratitude

I'm very excited this morning as we begin our pro-life VBS program.  I wanted to get my assignment and blog entry done first thing and get my prayers in early.  I am glad I did.  The first reading for today reminds me that in all things, it is God who is the source of our provision.  The rain, the weather, all of creation responds to His Word.   What kind of VBS teacher would I be if I did not rely on that simple truth?   It requires though that we be obedient.   Elijah has just made a statement that it will not rain or even dew without his approval, all by the power of the Lord.   He has to do his part though. Elijah has to journey into the area of the Wadi Cherith and remain there.   There the Lord will provide for him by having food brought to him morning and evening.  The Wadi is a stream that has deep hidden areas that provide a place for the persecuted to hide.   Even in God's provisional plan not only has he taken care of his need for food and drink, but provided him a place to remain with physical protection.

Jesus in the Gospel for today continues that theme of obedience and providence.  Mathew is writing to a predominately Jewish audience and theologically is portraying Jesus as the New Moses, the greater Prophet, who ascends the mountain and gives us the Law.   The disciples go up with Him and he proceeds to give them one of the most important speeches in the history of mankind, the beatitudes.  Some try to claim that Jesus did away with obedience, that we no longer have to do anything but profess and believe.  It's not either or, but both and.   Jesus didn't make things easier morally, he made them even more difficult.  He did not 'do away' with morality but required it to be internalized, to become a part of who we are.  They are in fact the road-map to obedience.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they who mourn,for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the land.Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be satisfied.Blessed are the merciful,for they will be shown mercy.Blessed are the clean of heart,for they will see God.Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called children of God.Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute youand utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.Rejoice and be glad,for your reward will be great in heaven.

When we examine and delve into these eight simple, yet very complex statements, we find that they describe the incarnation of God himself, Christ.  His life lived them out perfectly.   Who is more poor in spirit than He who condescended from omnipotence to become a mortal man for the sake of us?  Who mourns more than the God who loves us so greatly that He would die in our steed to prevent us ever being separated from His side?  Who is meeker than the Paschal Lamb whose blood was offered as a propitiation for our sins? Who can dare thirst for righteousness or is more merciful  than He who is justice and mercy itself? Again who can claim to be more clean of heart than the spotless, unblemished sacrifice of God's only begotten Son?  Then who can claim to be more of a peacemaker than  He who tore down the wall that separated Gentile and Jew and restored mankind to the state of grace for which we were created?

Yes, the beatitudes describe Christ the man, but more powerfully Christ on the Cross.   They call us to a radical notion of detachment.   To be free of all the vices and desires of this life.   Power, wealth, pleasure, and honor.   All of which Jesus gave up on the cross.   Who is more powerless than to be nailed to a tree by your hands and feet, to die a slow and horrendous death in the stead of another?   Who has less wealth than the one whose very clothing is being gambled for and given away as you hang naked moments from death?  Who has less pleasure than to experience the pain and agony of thirst and crucifixion in the hot desert air?  Who lacks honor man than He who was King of the Universe to be mocked, spit on, and executed in the death which is reserved for the worst of the worst Criminals.

1717 The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

The beatitudes indeed call us to a radical detachment from this world.   They also call us though, to a radical attachment to God himself.  This attachment comes in the form of obedience.  It starts by emulating Christ.  By being more like Christ, we become more like God.  In living a life of detachment from this world with a radical attachment to God, we rely on Him just as Elijah did at the Wadi.  We count on him for our sustenance,  for our protection, for our comforts and joys.   We cling to Him in times of sorrow.  We seek not our own, but His!  We need not wealth to be happy and joyful, but rather can become generous and loving with whatever we are blessed with.  Yes, these beatitudes are the key to living a life of peace and joy.  The key to understanding them lies in the Eucharist, in the person of Christ, in the Sacraments.  Are you ready to get radical?   I don't know if I am ready for it, but Lord I am willing!  Let's make that our prayer today.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

The Irony of it All.

A man named Pilate posed the question "What is truth?" nearly 2000 years ago.    The irony of asking that question while standing before Truth itself is still echoing in our society today.  Mankind tends to think of himself as the source of truth instead of seeing it as a static and concrete reality that exists outside of ourselves.  Isn't it just like us to think of ourselves as the center of the universe?  I think we often use that concept to allow our egos to justify our own actions.   The youth of today have this saying, "I'll do me, and you do you."   That is, if your truth does on impinge upon my truth, we can get along.   Truth is more than that though.   Truth cannot just be generated by current societal norms and practices.  If it did, then if whatever we believe to be true is "true".   That means that Stalin was right in what he did, so was Hitler.  That makes rape OK, as long as you think it's OK.    No, all of us understand on some level that truth has to exist outside of ourselves, that some things are evil no matter who thinks they are OK.

In the first reading today we see St. James continuing his exhortation on morality.  He gives us this statement: But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.  Some see this as a simple statement that means don't make promises you can't keep, and that's there in a small way, after all James was just writing previously about not making plans for tomorrow without realizing that it's only if God wills it that you do so.   It's more than that though.   It's not a lowering of our promises, as with most of the Gospel it isn't setting the bar even lower than the Law of Moses did, it's raising it.  It all revolves around that ironic image of Jesus as the incarnation of Truth.

By virtue of our Baptism we are infused with the Holy Spirit who guides us to all truth.  We are made in the image of the living God, even more so after He condescended to become man.  That makes Jesus the image which we strive to emulate.  When James says make your Yes, yes, and your no, no.. it means that every single word we speak must be taken as seriously as any oath.   We as Christians are expected to speak Truth, to live Truth, making every action, every idle word count.  No, this is not a leeway to never worry about keeping your word, or to never take anything you say seriously.. but rather a challenge to take every single yes or no we say as seriously as if God were saying them.   When we break our word, when we lie, we sully that image... We are the temple of God, His Spirit has come to rest in us.   Lying, speaking a non-Truth, is profaning that Temple.

This is not a new problem. While our society is on a rampage at the moment trying to redefine truth as fluid, ignoring reality itself to define everything from marriage to DNA as circumspect, even in the time of Moses they could not live out the reality of what God had planned for us.   Jesus reminds the men asking him questions that it was not because God wanted it that way, but because of the hardness of our own hearts that concessions were made in the Dueteronomistic laws. It's funny though, these men sat in front of Jesus asking questions, and yet they did not want answers.  Here they were questioning God himself but rather than seeking Truth, they were seeking to trap him.  Herod had already put John to death for daring to question his marriage.  Jesus answer was just as harsh for Herod as Johns had been, in that both Herod and his wife had rejected their spouses, divorced them, that they might enter into an incestuous relationship together.

With all of that in mind, what Jesus had to say about marriage is one of the most important things for us to remember in society today.  The family is the building block of any society.   Without it, society cannot continue.   People have to come together and raise children or society itself will of course die out.   Even more so, marriage is an image of the trinity itself.   The Father (parent), the Son (child), and the Holy Spirit (the love between them.)  For those of us called to live out the vocation of marriage, we are called to do so in emulation of God.   We of course will always do so imperfectly.   Man alone is incapable of living out the pure love of God, to be infinitely compassionate and merciful.  That's why we need the Holy Spirit in our lives.   Jesus quoted Genesis when he said that a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and the two shall become one.  Two shall become one.  Mathematically that's impossible right?  1+1=2. 1-1=0.   The only way for two to become one is by adding a third.  3-2=1.   Only when we add God to our relationship and make Him first can we ever hope to live out the Sacramental marriage.

One of my favorite sayings is "A person's heart should be so lost in God that anyone seeking a relationship with them must first find one with Him."   Another saying I heard recently is "If Catholics lived out a sacramental marriage, the world would change."   I think our challenge today is similar to that.  "If Catholics lived out the truth, making their yes, yes and their no, no in all things, the world will change."  Are you ready for that challenge?  Just like 2000 years ago as Pilot and the Pharisees stood before Truth itself, we today encounter the same Divine Person in the Sacraments.   When you prepare yourself to stand before Jesus in the Eucharist ask yourself, "Is there anything in my life that I am still holding on to because of the hardness of my own heart? Lord, help me let that go and cling only to you." 


His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Salted with Fire.

Salted with fire.  Jesus uses some interesting words in the Gospel for tomorrow. The image of salt puts us in mind of food.  It reminds us that salt is necessary for life.  It's also a natural anti-bacterial, a preservative.  It brings out the flavors of the food while at the same time killing germs that might make it spoil.  Fire also is something we use to cook, but much more.   It does indeed purify, but it can also kill.   It warms but can also burn.  It's dangerous but intrinsic to the survival of man.  Without fire we would still be living only in the tropical reasons eating only fruits from the trees.  Fire improves life but anything it touches changes.

Both of these images remind us of something that changes us, cleanses us.   Both can hurt but both are beneficial as well.  Anyone who has ever gotten salt in a wound knows that it stings!  Yet, it also helps to kill the germs.  Spiritually both of these images indicate a cleansing, albeit maybe a painful one.   A cleansing that every single person will go through, not just the good and not just the bad, but every one of us.  The thing is, we have heard this image before throughout the history of Christian theology.  "God's love is an all consuming fire."   "We are the salt of the earth."  The image of the burning bush comes to mind.  It did not consume the bush, but it transformed it.   The ground on which it stood was then holy ground.   So in God's case the fire  doesn't consume everything... but it does change everything it touches.

St. Paul tells us the parable of man whose house was burnt to the ground, and he declares he was saved as by fire.  The only thing that made it through were the gold, precious gems, and precious stones.   All of the wood, hay, and stubble was destroyed in the process.  I think that's the image that Mark wants us to envision in today's reading.   Those things which are from heaven, those things born of charity (love), are what will remain after the house burns down.   Those things which are not of heaven; selfishness, ego, hatred, anger, addiction, disordered attachments; these things would be consumed by the fire.

I have heard God's love described as an all consuming fire that is fueled by sin.  Just like a log that you throw on the fire, the more sin, the more the flames burn.   In light of our belief as Catholics that explains Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory like this:   Those who refuse to let go of their sin cling to it in the life after this.  They have no desire to let go of it and the more they are washed by the love of God, the more it burns, the more it hurts.  So they run for eternity trying to get away from the love of God, hating him more and more... instead of just letting the sin go.  Those who die with some attachment to sin but are on their way to heaven must be pure before entering.  So they bear the burning... while trying to let go of the sin.  Until the sin is burnt out, until there is no more fuel... they simply must endure it as they grow closer and closer to God's love.  The greatest ache they experience is knowing they are on the way to see God.. but their own sins, the things they did not let go of in this world, that is what is keeping them from going directly to him.   That is purgatory.  Not a new place, not another chance.. but a process by which you are cleansed by God's burning love.  Then those who are pure, those who have no attachment to sin, have no need for purification.. those we call Saints.. because they are right there in Heaven with God.

James in the first reading gives us a laundry list of sins.   He condemns those with wealth who do not help those in need.  Those who cheat the poor.  He declares all the ills that we today know as Social Justice.  This is the fuel.   These are the things which make God's love flare and burn.   It's only when we allow him to purify us, to cleanse us.  To let the Holy Spirit transform our hearts and our minds until we no longer hold on to those sins.. and the sorrow, the remorse, the bitter conscience... is replaced with love, joy, faith, and hope.  That's what the Sacraments are all about.   Letting God's love wash over us.   It may not always be pleasant, but it's cleansing.   It may not be something we want to go through, but it's necessary.

Jesus uses some hyperbole to talk about the need to cut off those things which cause you to sin.  The Church Fathers have long seen these parts of the body as symbols for intimate friends.   Jesus is calling us to examine our friendships... that it's better for us to walk into Heaven without that person at our side.. than for us to follow them down a path that leads to both of our destruction.   He declares that it is better to have a millstone tied around our necks than cause a child of God to sin... that goes for us.. and for them.  I think that's the challenge today.   To ask ourselves, in what ways am I being held back?  What fuels am I holding on to?   What do I need to let go that God's love might flood over me and purify me?  Are there any poisonous, caustic relationships that I am in that I need to take a break from? Remember salt enhances flavor, it brings out the nuances of what is already there.   It's time for us to remove those things which are unpleasant to the taste, and replace them with that which will last forever.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease." 

A vapor in the wind

Several years ago I sat in a bible study with a woman who I had never met.  There was some small talk but for the most part she kept to herself.  She seemed very shy, very timid, but at the same time you could instantly tell that she was searching for something.  For three weeks she attended that bible study and each time I thought to myself I need to spend some time getting to know this person, let them know that we notice her.  Then one day she missed.   I meant to call her and ask how she was, if there was anything I could do.   A week passed and I meant to do it again, but things got in the way.  Another week and I hear her name in a news blurb, she had committed suicide.   As we gathered for the bible study that next week there was that empty chair.  I could picture her face, searching for something, for someone.   Each time I could hear myself thinking, "there is always next week."

James reminds us in the first reading that we should not take today for granted.  He compares the human existence to a puff of smoke, something that fades quickly.  For a few years there I fancied the idea of learning to smoke a pipe.  I wanted to learn to blow those smoke rings you know?   I had a professor in college who smoked this fragrant apple tobacco and he would blow these intricate designs in the air.  So beautiful, but so fragile.   Those rings would float towards the ceiling and then just as rapidly as they had formed they would dissipate and there would be no sign of their existence. So it is with man.  Just as that woman had been there one day, the next she was not.  A vapor in the wind.

That's why we cannot take one day for granted.  We cannot wait for tomorrow to do the things we know are the right things to do.  As James says,  for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.   We have to start today.   Living our lives with no concern at all for the future, putting our faith in Christ to protect and guide us.  A friend of mine gave me a plaque tonight that said "Let not your hearts be troubled..." (John 14:1)  Such a strong reminder that not only should we remember that our plans are completely contingent on God, that we cannot add a single day to our lives by worrying about them, but that we also are challenged to be a people who are known for their love and joy.  Pope Francis put it so eloquently when he said that all too often the Christian face has more in common with a pickled pepper than with a life filled with joy.

Today's Saint, Pope John the 1st, gave us an amazing example of simply following Christ.  He was sent by the emperor to bring back a portion of the Church that had fallen into the Arian heresy. The Arians had fallen into the belief that Jesus was not God, but rather just a very wonderful creation.  John did not want to go but he listened to the directive to go and he went.   On his return the very man who sent him on this mission had him killed because he had begun to believe that John was conspiring against him.  John could not have seen this coming.  Any plans he had for the future were worthless.  As we hear at many funerals "there is a time to laugh, a time to cry, a time to live, and a time to die."  We must trust in God to see that plan for us, and to live each day to the fullest of our ability.

Our Psalm response for tomorrow, one of the beatitudes, speaks of it in a way that is eloquent and more powerful than any words I can come up with on my own.  "Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!"  It is when we get our own ego out of the way and begin to live our lives with God's purpose at the forefront of our minds that we truly begin to step into our inheritance.  Every day at Mass we pray "thy will be done, they kingdom come." That Kingdom isn't just something that we have to wait for the future for, but it's something that we can experience in the here and now.   We do that by following God's lead, by realizing that only He knows what the future holds for us, and trusting that He will protect us and provide for us what is best.   The only time light produces a shadow is when something gets in the way.   I think the readings encourage us to begin to ask, am I putting anything in the way of the light which God has given me by virtue of my baptism?  Am I casting a shadow?  If so, how can I get out of the way and let Christ's light shine through me into the world, that they may look at me and not see me, but see Christ himself shining through me?

I think that is part of Jesus message in the Gospel.   While it could be seen as a call to ecumenism or a call to kindness, and probably is.   It's also a moment in which the disciples seem to be irritated that someone else would dare to do good works in Jesus name without being one of them.  They aren't too concerned that someone has been delivered from a demon, but rather want to put a stop to these impostors.  What about for our spiritual life though?  I think we have to look inside and see if there are places in our lives where we allow our pride to prevent us from seeing the good being done around us.   To really examine our conscience and find anything that is an impostor, anything that draws us away from God.   Then to begin to push those away, to move towards rather those things that are doing good, even if it means giving up something we really enjoy.  That's the only way we can clear out those things that are casting shadows into the world.  All of this begins with a Sacramental Life, putting Christ first.  

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease." 

The Desire Built Into Our Hearts

I know what the Athenians felt like in the first reading for today as Paul began to explain to them the truth of what God expected from us in worship.  For the first 13 years of my Christian walk I was a protestant.  I didn't even know what that meant to be honest.  What was I protesting?  All I knew about Catholicism was that they were different and according to the pastor at the church I was attending "weren't even real Christians."  As far as I was concerned, everyone else had it wrong.. we had it right.

Paul though came into that situation speaking the truth.  He met them where they were, not where he felt they should be.  He didn't attack their faith and condemn it.  He simply pointed it towards the truth those men and women were trying to find.  Not everyone was open to that truth of course, some simply scoffed and ignored him.   Others though were converted and joined him.   We can learn a lot from that can't we?  Apologetics doesn't need to be a heated argument, it doesn't need to be an attack to expose the flaws of another's beliefs... what it needs to be is a gentle lamp that illuminates the path to truth.  That's why the Catechism says: The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."   (CCC 843)

We meet others at points of trust, where they agree with us.  First and foremost we must establish a relationship.   Relationships are built on that trust right?  Every religion is out of the same desire, even if the answers and methods are flawed.  That desire is to fill that hole in our soul, that yearning for God.  Even atheism I would contest is more a protestation that is out of that emptiness felt inside.   So we begin there.  Not at the differences which simply create even more friction, even more division. Then we build on that, slowly, logically, reasonably.   Not everyone is going to convert, not everyone is going to agree, but as Blessed Mother Teresa said, “God does not require that we be successful only that we be faithful.”  In my case though, that's how God reached me.  Slowly, logically, reasonably.. not through attacks, but by shedding more and more light into my mind about who He truly is.

The thing is though, the Gospel reminds us of something paramount to all of this.   None of this is possible, none of this should be attempted, without first bringing it to prayer.  The Holy Spirit must be involved in everything we do.  It does not matter how eloquent you are in your speech, how logical you are in your arguments, how well respected or liked you are;  if God is not the primary mover.. then nothing can be moved.  He will remind us of the words to use, and he will plant seeds in their heart.  This Gospel is not our own to be used for our own means... but rather it is something which belongs to Him.  "He will take from what is mine, to declare it to you."  It is this third person of the trinity who does the greater work in our evangelization, it is he who prepares not only the soil but the farmer.

So are you letting him give you the tools to till the soil?   Are you letting him choose the spot to plant his garden?  In Cursillo we have this concept, pray first.. then ask.   Are you doing that when it comes to spreading the Gospel?  In our society we have this notion that we should leave other people alone, let them do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as it's in the privacy of their own lives and doesn't affect me.  There are certain issues though that I think we should not... cannot remain silent on.. because even behind closed doors they harm the fabric of souls, ripping society apart from the inside.  The thing is, are we speaking out with God at our backs? Or trying to go it alone?  The greatest gift we have been given to strengthen us in this battle is the Eucharist... by the power of that same Holy Spirit that Jesus said would be sent, the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ... what more powerful way can he indeed take what belongs to Christ and declare it to us, than to present Christ to us.. and is there any way to be more powerfully equipped than to receive Christ himself?  Run to the altar in prayer first, then go out into the world bringing about the change which God wills.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Blowing Hole, and I don't mean me!

Many years ago my mother and father took me on a trail ride through the mountains of Virginia.  After many hours we arrived to this place called the blowing hole.   Way up on the top of the mountain was this hole in the ground that extended down and out onto the face of a cliff.  It's unique shape caused the wind to blow through in a way that made it whistle and howl like a creature of it's own.   I had never been this high up before.  From there we looked down into Kentucky at the beautiful scene you see in the image I've included.  It gave me an idea of how big the world was.. how grand.. how expansive... it changed how I saw things.  In a sense, it gave me a vision that the world was much bigger than I had ever imagined.  I was not very well travelled and had only been out of the general area couple of times.

In tomorrow's readings John had a vision as well, a much grander vision than my own.   In his vision though he says this unique phrase that shows his eyes were opened to something that is world changing, at least to me.  "I saw no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb."  How astounding that must have been to the people reading this document.  The temple was the center of Jewish worship.. it was where God was... he lived in the temple.   Everyone journeyed to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifice and to be close to their God... yet here John is indicating a change of things.. The temple is the God and the Lamb.  How confusing this image must have been to the monotheistic religion that they practiced.   To accept that statement required a lot of faith, especially to those who connected the Lamb to a person.. Jesus.  How could God's temple be a person?

Yet that's exactly what we are challenged to believe in the Gospel isn't it?  "“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him."   St. Paul takes this even further by indicating that you and I are the temple of God.   Wow... imagine that rocking statement for a moment.  That we will be the resting place, the place where God will live.. the place where worship will take place will be internal, in our souls, in our bodies.   It requires something though... many will tell you that all we have to do is believe right? That it's faith alone.... yet if we take this scripture seriously, Christ indicates we must keep His word to become the temple.

For Catholics, that becomes very evident when we read John chapter 6.  That is the Bread of Life Discourse... if we keep Jesus word, he will come and dwell in us.   Whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood... has life.   The Eucharist is the key to being that temple.  Jesus told us to do it... he gave us the words, the actions... and he said if we keep those words, he will dwell with in us... then we walk forward and receive Jesus Christ, body, soul and divinity, in the consecrated Host and he comes to dwell in us.   Do you take that seriously?  This is why so many people worry about being irreverent in the communion line.. about dressing well for Mass... about silence in the Sanctuary.  Not because Christ doesn't accept us for who we are.. but because we are temples... are we acting like it?   Are we keeping them presentable?  When we go forward to receive Christ into this meager temple, are we disposed to receive that grace? Or are we just punching a card?

Then it's not just enough to be the temple.. we also go out into the world to bring God to them.   He is in our hearts, part of us.. we are the outward vision of him.. Jesus hands and feet for the world.  Are you journeying out into the world to offer them a vision of God? Or of your own version of God?  Is the temple you present to the world a temple fit for a King?  Or is it one you run down with the graffiti and decay of sin?  How do we present a proper temple?  The works of mercy.   Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, etc.  Are you decorating God's temple with love and good works?  Or painting it with your own self ego and sinful desires?  We have work to do church.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Can anything good come from Clintwood?

Fifteen years or so ago the company I worked for hired this electrician from Baltimore.  He was supposed to be "all that and a bag of chips."  The one thing I do know, this man could finish a job faster than any other foreman that worked there.   I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder at the time because I was a foreman too but they kept putting me on his jobs as one of his helpers.  I did my job though.  I got fast at what I did, and I helped bang them out.   It wasn't until I'd been working with him a year or so that things began to show up that were iffy.  A problem on this job, a receptacle over here, etc.   Call back time and again to jobs he had finished in weeks, little things that added up to weeks or months of time repairing or fixing whatever it was that was wrong.   In the long run, you can't make money doing that... we spent more time on his jobs, but it always showed up as service calls, etc.

Finally it all came to a head when he asked me to do something that was just wrong.  He wanted me to install a heater with the wire coming through a concrete wall with no pipe, no insulators, just bare wire.  I refused.  So he sent me to work on the roof while he had someone else do it.   Then he asked me to just "stick a ground wire down a pipe" for a ground.  If you know anything about electricity, that's dangerous business.  This on a 200 amp disconnect.  I refused again.  He sent me off the job.   Soon I wasn't allowed on his jobs.  I kept getting crap work from the boss, and this hotshot kept getting all the high paying, overtime things.  He got the company truck, the gas card, the new tools etc..  I got to drive my own car several hundred miles a week, provide my own tools, and so on.   At the time I even kicked myself a bit.. everyone kept telling me just do what he tells you and things will get better.. "Everyone else does it, don't worry about it."  "If you want to make money you're gonna have to learn to cut corners...."   "You're from Clintwood, Virginia.. you should just do what you're told.. who else is gonna hire you?"

Then one winter we were working on a Church and the owner of the company showed up.  You could tell by the look in his eyes that something was wrong.  It turned out that on the roof of that job that I had been told to push a bare wire down a pipe, someone had touched an AC unit and been killed.  I looked at the man before me, I gave him that look... he knew, because I had told him when I was sent off that job why I was sent off.   I had still been punished, but I had stood up for what I knew to be right.  That company changed quite a bit after that.   Short cuts weren't taken anymore and profit wasn't as important.  The owner was a good man.. I know that... but he had allowed things to happen in order to make more money.

That's kind of what I get from the Acts of the Apostles.  Here are these men who have been arrested, thrown in prison and freed by an angel in the night. These were the same men who before were hiding in a locked room so no one would find them.  The same men who had run on the night Jesus was arrested, who had deserted him in his time of need.   Here they are, standing up to the very authority that all their life they had been told was the one to listen to.  This was the Sanhedrin!  If you listened to anyone as a Jew, that's the group of people you should be hearing.   Yet, they stand up for Christ, regardless of the consequences.  "We must obey God rather than men."   It would have been much easier to run away when they were arrested and freed.  Instead they go right back out and begin to preach again.  Later in that chapter we find them being flogged and beaten for this very action, and what happens?   "They left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

What about you?  Are you willing to stand up for your faith?  Most of us are not called here in the affluence of America to be Martyrs.  The question is though, what is God calling you to?   Each of us receives a calling.  Each of us is being asked by God to do something.  For some is to be the best mother they can be.  For another the best accountant.  Another the best lawyer.   Our Catholicism doesn't end at the door of the Sanctuary... it is a part of us.   When we receive Christ in the Eucharist we are to go out into the world and be among the world, but not of it.   That means we are a Sacramental people.. we ourselves are a sacrament to the world.. we aren't just lawyers.. we are Catholic lawyers.   We aren't just teachers.  We are Catholic teachers.   We aren't just writers... we are Catholic writers.   Are you ready for that?  Bringing your Catholicism into the world even it means losing your friends?  Your family?  Your job?  The other question I must ask myself when I read this is, do I go forth rejoicing when I am dishonored for him?  Or do I go back to the upper room and lock myself inside spiritually?

We Catholics are given the greatest gift of any possible one.  Saint John says:

The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life

That's what we receive in the Eucharist.   How is it that we receive that which is above all, that which pours out God's grace with no limits into our soul, that Blessed Sacrament of the Altar which imparts eternal life and then go forth sour, angry and unchanged?   We cannot.  We must not.   When we receive Jesus into us we must be open to that grace which he pours out on us freely... allowing Him to change us.. to make us more like God... to make us people who speak of heavenly things.. to testify to what we have seen and heart.. like our brother and savior, Jesus Christ.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Hot Sands

Around ten years ago I had an experience that completely changed my life.  It began though around nine months before that.  My wife and I embarked on a journey of learning, though she had quite a bit more knowledge than I at that time.  The three other ladies in the house had to learn how to prepare for this as well.  Things had to be cleaned, locks had to be installed (or reinstalled.)  Various damaging things that could harm the imminent birth of our child had to be moved, secured or disposed of.  Life was changing and we had to work hard and discipline ourselves to prepare for those changes.

My wife had to change her diet, so we changed with her.  Things we normally might have eaten would have to be given up so that the child would be nourished with the proper vitamins and nutrients.  We worked hard on making sure that things didn't happen that would injure her, including avoiding high stress activities and anything that might jossle or jar her stomach in a negative way.  For nine months we prepared for that birth, for nine months we had to think and ponder what it might be like.  I was supposed to be infertile.  The doctors had told me this for years.  My wife and I had resigned ourselves to God's will in this matter.  We had not given up hope, but we didn't have a great deal of confidence that anything would come of it.

Then one day she took a pregnancy test and our world was changed.  It was filled with worry and yet joy.  Would she be healthy?  Would she have special needs?  Would she make it?  Would it be a he or she?  All things we waited till birth to discover.  Then that November I got to experience second hand what childbirth is like.  I've heard it said that a kidney stone is worse than childbirth.  If my wife's ability to give birth to children is the norm?  Then I'd say a kidney stone is a LOT worse than childbirth.  She gives birth like most people walk across hot sand.  If you move your feet fast enough it doesn't hurt too much.  The doctor came in and said "Ok, it's time."  And then? It was over.  There was this child of mine staring at me with my own face in miniature.  I watched as the nurses cleaned her and gave her some shot to boost her immune system and as the drop of blood dripped from her thigh she began to cry in pain.  I wanted to protect her but I knew it was best for her, so I stood and waited for them to hand her to us.  I knew right then I would do anything for this child, anything, even if it meant my own death.

There it is for all of you who wonder why we bother with Lent as Catholics.  Lent is the pregnancy.  It is that time when you prepare, when you discipline yourself, for that life changing event.  You get rid of those things that are harmful in preparation to nourish your new life.  As the reading for this morning says, "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  In Baptism we die with Christ and rise again a new person, filled with the Holy Spirit and the grace of God to go forth and change our lives.  Easter is a chance to renew that, to rekindle that romance, to draw closer to God and be more like Him.  Lent prepares us for that.  Just like with the new baby coming, anything that can hinder the growth of our new life, anything that might 'kill' or harm that new life, must be removed.

The thing is, it can't end with Lent.  Lent is not about giving up something meaningless in order to go right back to it afterward.  Lent is about preparing for that delivery of New Life that we receive in the Eucharist!  Just like you don't just ignore the baby after it's born, you can't ignore your new self either.  You have to feed it the right things, discipline it so that it can know right from wrong, nourish it, cherish it, and help it to grow into something beautiful.  That's what Easter reminds us to do.  We still have to keep those things out of our lives that we learned to remove during Lent, and continue to do those things that make us grow spiritually.  First and foremost of those is the Sacraments, but second and like to them are the corporeal works of Mercy.   Feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, comforting the sick and mourning, visiting those who cannot get out or are imprisoned... yes these things make our new life grow.  They nourish us and enhance us.

It's not something we can forget.   That's why we in the Catholic church consider Sunday a mini-Easter... it's a reminder every week that we have to continue to feed our spirit with the nourishment of Christ in the Eucharist, in Confession, in prayer and in works.  Here you are with this new life cradled in your arms, and for those of you who are parents?  You have other lives to nourish and guide that they too might grow in their faith.  It's our responsibility to guide, nourish and cherish those lives.  When you gaze at them, when you gaze at your own spiritual walk, when you gaze at the Eucharist.... ask yourself, "Would I do anything for them?"  That's what Christ asks of us.  The walk of a Christian is not an easy one, not a thing that we simply do at Church and forget about later.. it's about looking at the people we like the least, the ones we have the most hatred for.. and trying to see Christ in them... because once we do.. the world changes.. our lives change.. and with God's grace and help?  Hatred can become love.  Injury? Pardon.  Doubt? Faith.  Despair? Hope. Anything is possible.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

How much is enough?

When I first moved out on my own life was pretty good.  I worked several jobs to keep up with what few bills I had.  I drove this old beat up Dodge Daytona that had literally half a million miles on it.  It was so old that you had to be careful where you parked it.  If you parked facing downhill it was a turtle on it’s back.  No amount of friendship could repay the times my buddies had to push me out so that I could get into first gear and actually move the car.  Life was grand, wasn’t it?  I had internet.  Water… Power… I was getting a college education.   Had friends, family, and no one could ever accuse me at any time in my life of looking like I was starving.   I was working three jobs and putting a little money in the bank. It wasn’t enough.

That summer I got a job working as an electrician.  I intended to go back to college and get another degree after the summer... I started making what I thought was really good money.  My beloved cousin Becky and her husband Denver helped me to get a Geo Tracker.  I upgraded to faster internet, got a new computer, bought tools and clothes.  I still lived in the same run down house, and yes.. I was still very bad at managing my money so I never had any.. but life was good.  I had food.  I had a roof over my head.  Had people who loved me.  I was learning about God and going to services when I could.  I worked more and more, further and further away.  Overtime was better money so if I only got three hours of sleep a night that just meant more to spend!  And spend it we did.  It wasn’t enough.

I never went back to college. I got used to making more and more. Life was good. I didn’t realize how great those days were really, until one winter when I didn’t have anything.  As I said above, I’ve never been good at managing my money.  I spend it.  I give it away.  I buy things and give that away.  I consume it.  I like my food.  I like my trinkets and gadgets.  So as I stood over an old rusted out wood stove in the basement of my home, looking around at the walls that were only twigs and ground up dust, I was beginning to hit rock bottom.  I had always been comfortable.  Always had food.  In fact, if I hadn’t been so proud that winter I could have eaten at my mom and dad’s house.. they would have fed me… but there I stood cooking beans inside the tin can they came in.   Eating them with a pocket knife.  They were the best beans I’d ever had.   Hunger has a way of doing that to you doesn’t it?  No power.  No water.  No heat.  No insulation. Middle of winter.   My car was gone, long story that one.  I had my work truck though.  I had my per diem so I could eat during the day.   What I didn’t have was money to keep those comforts I had taken for granted.  

Then God led me to Illinois.  I met a woman who I cherish everyday of my life, and she gave me a family.  My life became affluent, rich, wealthy.    I’m still broke.   That’s the funny part.  I still am horrible with money.  I still spend it.  I still give it away.  I still want those gadgets and trinkets.  What God showed me though is that there is more to this world than just comforts, though I must admit having heat in the northern winter is a very nice thing.  He showed me that love, that relationship, that communion.. that’s enough.  Anything else is extra.

The Israelites were travelling the desert for forty years being led and provided for by God himself.  He poured out mana from heaven to nourish them.  He made water flow from the rock to give them drink.   When they began to complain it wasn’t enough?  He sent quail into their camps until they had eaten enough that it ‘ran out of their nose and they began to loath it.’  (Numbers 11:20)  He poured out his love on them.  Then offered them the promised land, all they had to do was trust.  It wasn’t enough.   God wasn’t enough.  They fled from the task.

So He led them around until they were ready. Prepared them to go into the promised land under the lead of Joshua.  They had been complaining about the monotony of their food source, of the mana itself… so he gave them fresh grain and bread from the new land.  He delivered the city of Jericho into their hand by miraculously making the walls to fall to the ground.  He had just given them this new land, promised them all of it, showed them the abundance of fruit and grain, and promised to be with them.  It wasn’t enough.  

Seven days they were in the promised land.  Seven days they marched around Jericho.  In seven days they had become successful and been shown that God was definitely with them!  For Achan though?  It wasn’t enough.  He wanted the silver and gold of the men of Jericho, so he took it against God’s commands.   Why are we like that?  God gives us more than enough.  When I first got out of highschool and moved out on my own?  I made $25 dollars a day.  I had everything I needed.  No debt.  A car.  Friends. Food.   A house.  Later I was making $50, then $100 a day, then $200… the more I made, the less I had.. the less time.. the less things.. the less friends.. less.   The more material my life became.. the less I had.

I was less thankful for all those things I had when I had them, you know?   I think that was the problem with the Israelites.. they weren’t thankful for what they had.  They had God himself!  He was feeding them, giving them to drink.. and it wasn’t enough.  Adam and Eve made the same mistake didn’t they?  They walked face to face with God in the Garden.  They weren’t happy with that.. it wasn’t enough.  Joshua led them into the promised land!  They were restored completely from slavery, out of the desert and back in right relationship with God! Things were back to normal, back to the way they should have been! It wasn’t enough.

I think we often forget that when we go to Mass.  When we hear this parable of the prodigal son we think, Yeah I know.. the sinner returns.. the brother gets mad.  Guess what though? I think we often have more in common with the older brother than those who are just coming to dinner for the first time.  Have you ever noticed how excited a convert is the moment he gets to receive Christ?  For that moment, if not for the rest of his life, God is enough!  How about for us as we go for our hundredth? thousandth? or even multiple thousandth communion?  Are we happy with it? Do we still cherish it?

In the Gospel the older brother complained because his father hadn’t cut up a fatted calf for him and his friends.  He takes for granted all the mercies and benefits he has had bestowed on him by his father over these years.  His brother has been lost, has not been present to receive dinner every night.  The older brother has.. he’s been fed every day, been given drink every day, been loved every day.  He has had the Father all to himself.. Yet here he is jealous the moment his brother comes home, and refuses to come in.  All of a sudden, it’s not enough!

God feeds us with the true bread, manna from heaven.  Are we being completely aware of what it means to receive that?  Are we taking it for granted that the grace is there every single day? That God is providing for us every day?  True bread, true drink, Jesus Christ himself; body, soul and divinity? Oh that we might never take it for granted, that we might never grumble of those things we think we need more of.. that like Saint Francis of Assisi we are satisfied with the least of all things.. with Christ himself.  

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his Summa Theologica.  After finishing it he took it and placed it before the crucifix of God as if to say, God? Is it good enough?  He began to pray and listen for an answer.  He heard the crucifix speak to him and say, “You have done well.  What would you like as a reward?”  Saint Thomas replied, “Only you Lord, Only you.”  He is enough.

His servant and yours,

Brian

“He must increase, I must decrease.”

In the Secret of My Heart Teach Me Wisdom

This morning began as any other morning.  The kids and I got ready to journey out into the world of the hustle and bustle of life.  The sun was shining and while it was cold outside it was truly a beautiful moment.  We talked those inconsequential, non substantial words that make up the average daily conversation.   The crossing guards waved as we passed by, probably thankful that I had finally fixed my muffler and was no longer a primary source of their hearing loss.  Everyone seemed to be in a fairly good mood, no real arguments and no pouting.  The sun was rising over the tops of the trees and glistening off the frosted dew that coating the world like gravy on a spoon.

Two cars in front of me something was happening.  I don’t know if their morning was worse than mine or better.  They began to turn into a side street when out of nowhere came barrelling two large semi trailers, drones from the beehive targeting an aggressor.  They quickly dodged back into their own lane and came to a screeching halt.  The next car sprang into action, and like a broken slinky I too bounced and pressed to a halt.  Behind me came a sensation of disorientation as unforgiven steel was pressed mouth to lip as two lovers in a passionate moment.  I took inventory of the car, asking if everyone was ok and stepped out asking God for this to be a calm moment.  I was worried.  Were those behind me ok?  Were they angry?  Were they aggressive?  What kind of moment was I about to have?

There he was, Jesus standing in the form of one of my former confirmation students.  “Hello, Mr. Mullins,” he said.  Relief flooded through me.   “Are you ok?” Only a dent on my car, nothing to be concerned with.. but my heart went out to this young man.  I remember those days when I was younger and in those situations.  After a phone call the local police arrived and we traded information.   Then Jesus turned to me in the sparkling eyes of a female police officer and said “Have a better day.”  So I did.  That’s what happens when we get out of the way.  Life doesn’t get easier.  It isn’t always a bed of roses.  It has accidents, bumps and bruises.  It has moments of tension, moments of fear, moments of anxiety.   In all of these though, we look for Jesus.

Tomorrow’s Gospel shows another side.  One man stands up and declares himself pious.   He lists off all of his attributes and thanks God for them, thanks God that he is so good.   The other comes to him in repentance, and knows he is mortal, frail, unworthy.  The one who is humble is the one who Jesus says goes away justified.  Humility is the foundation of prayer (CCC §2559).  There is this beautiful Psalm composed by King David in which he shows us exactly what that looks like.  He doesn’t list his goodness, or his piety, but instead comes broken and bruised before God.  True prayer comes from a man who knows his imperfections, and seeks the mercy of God with on sense of entitlement.  David says:

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.

In your compassion blot out my offense.

O wash me more and more from my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them;

my sin is always before me

Against you, you alone, have I sinned;

what is evil in your sight I have done.

That you may be justified when you give sentence

and be without reproach when you judge,

O see, in guilt I was born,

a sinner was I conceived.

Indeed you love truth in the heart;

then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.

O purify me, then I shall be clean;

O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,

that the bones you have crushed may thrill.

From my sins turn away your face

and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help;

with a spirit of fervor sustain me,

that I may teach transgressors your ways

and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper,

and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.

O Lord, open my lips

and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,

burnt offering from me you would refuse,

my sacrifice, a contrite spirit,

a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

In your goodness, show favor to Zion:

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,

(burnt offerings wholly consumed),

then you will be offered young bulls on your altar.

Sometimes when I read this Psalm I am broken.  I find myself in tears unable to speak and unable to continue my prayers.  I find all of those sins which I have poured onto Jesus shoulders rushing back into my periphery, calling out to me and saying “Remember me?”  It’s those moments, those moments when I say with the tax collector “Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.”  Authentic prayer.   That’s what God asks.  He isn’t asking you to be perfect, but to be trying.  He wants to hear your good and your bad, your comforts and discomforts, your angers, sadnesses, joys, and pleasures.  

The Pharisee made the major mistake of believing that he did not need repentance.  The truth is we all need forgiveness, all have fallen short of the glory of God.  The Catechism says “since sin is universal, those who pretend not to need salvation are blind to themselves.”  (CCC §588)  Jesus came to heal the blind.  Not just the physically blind but the spiritually blind as well.  These readings remind us of that stoic pillar of Lent that is every important in our relationship with Christ, prayer.  Let us use this moment in Lent to listen to Hosea as he calls out to us through the chasm of eternity to say “Come, let us return to the Lord, it she who rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but will bind our wounds. “  Spend some time in these last days of Lent to ask yourself.. where am I blind?  Where am I unable to see?  Where do I lack humility?  How can I grow closer to God?  Then let us remember as we stand before Christ’s sacramental presence in preparation for reception of the Eucharist, that we too must cry out in humility with the tax collector and say:

Kyrie eleison (Κύριε ἐλέησον)

Lord, have mercy

Christe eleison (Χριστέ ἐλέησον)

Christ, have mercy

Kyrie eleison (Κύριε ἐλέησον)

Lord, have mercy

His servant and yours,

Brian

“He must increase, I must decrease.”