Daily Mass Readings 10/23/2014 or This is War Christian Soldiers! Now Get out There and Establish a University System!

"Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division." -Lk. 12:49-51

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week of Ordinary Time

Oftentimes, people think of Jesus as a pacifist who would never want to ruffle anyone's feathers. But this passage to his disciples lets them know he did not come here to be a pushover. Jesus had a message of repenting, turning away from sin and toward the Lord. People were either going to accept it or reject it. Much like today, the acceptance or rejection of Jesus' message would cause divisions. Proclaiming yourself a Christian shortly after the resurrection was very likely to lead to your demise. Martyrs died for the faith with joy and courage, sometimes using their own blood to write 'Credo' in the sand as their last act for Christ. The division he promised was not a glorious battle, but more often a glorious martyrdom.

It must be said, however, that these were people with their hearts ablaze with the Holy Spirit. In our time there is also religious extremism. Putting aside those Christians who claim persecution because of not so friendly comment sections on social media, we cannot forget that people are still actually being killed for their faith. As a matter of fact, several sources concur that more Christians died because of their faith in the twentieth century than in all the previous nineteen centuries combined. I am in no way going to try to white wash the fact that my own church has some dark periods, but for centuries now the extremists from my church have also been passionate about spreading their message. Their tactics are best summed up like this:

 "Every single day the Catholic Church feeds, houses, and clothes more people, takes care of more sick people, visits more prisoners, and educates more people than any other institution on the face of the earth could ever hope to." - Matthew Kelly

Jesus expresses disappointment that his followers are not already blazing with the passion of the Holy Spirit. Surely he must have known what was truly possible when people put his mission, his call, his desire for them before all else.

God Bless,

P.D.O.

Daily Readings 10/22/2014 or I Was Coming Down the Mountain; Filled With the Holy Spirit! (all apologies to Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction)

"Of this I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace
that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power.
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things," -Eph. 3:7-9

Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

This past weekend I went on a Catholic men's retreat in beautiful northern New Hampshire. We asked that the Holy Spirit guide our conversations and inspire our ideas, and, just like the incredible scenery and food, we were not disappointed.

The theme of the weekend was becoming fishers of men and we had some great talks around evangelizing. I know what you're thinking, "Did he just say they talked about EVANGELIZING on a CATHOLIC men's retreat?"

Yup, that's right buddy! We're putting on our shirts and ties and knocking on doors. We're taking confessions and handing out the Eucharist! We're going to tell you about the saints and transubstantiation!
Just kidding. But it's interesting that this is the reading when I return to the blog after our retreat. Here is St. Paul telling how even though he is imperfect, indeed as he says, 'the very least of all the holy ones', he was given the grace to preach and evangelize.

I've written many times about how God doesn't always choose the perfect to deliver the good news, but it's not often that I mention how they do it. Paul nails it here when he talks about the grace he was given to be able to do so. It's the same for those of us who were on retreat. The Holy Spirit and God's grace will give us the strength, the courage (and hopefully the words) to stand up and witness for our faith when the time comes. It will help us to initiate that conversation with someone who is in need of Christ's compassion and mercy. It will give us the right questions to ask when we need to dig deeper to get to the root of someone's issues with God or his church.

In all, there were ten of us in the mountains and not one of us is under any illusion of his perfection. Yet we all trust that when God decides to use us to spread his message, he will also send the Holy Spirit to give us the grace to be the best PR men he could have.

Thanks to all the guys who went and to the people at the Shiloh retreat center in Jefferson. It was another faith filled weekend of rejuvenation. With a nod to our stop at The Basin on the ride up, we truly were able to;

"draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation" -Is. 12:3

God Bless,

P.D.O.

Sunday Mass Readings 10/12/2014 or Sit Back, Relax and Enjoy....

"On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain." -Is. 25:9-10

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is one of the passages I chose for the readings at my grandmother's funeral earlier this year. I chose it because it is a prophecy of rejoicing. It foretells of the savior's coming and the joy of those who are saved.

We must take time to rejoice in our repenting. We are trying to image God for a reason and we can be sure if our efforts are sincere, then He has truly conquered death for us. We will live with Him eternally. Everyday life can sometimes be such a struggle that we lose sight of this. Sometimes we can be blinded by the 'bling' of worldly pursuits, but we must not forget that treasures we cannot even imagine await us at the wedding feast of the lamb.

The psalm reading today is from Psalm 23 and most of us, even if we don't read scripture regularly would recognize it if we heard it. I wrote about it and bemoaned Michael Landon's making me think it was only for the dead here. What strikes me about it now, in this reading, is the image of peace that it portrays. The true beauty of the psalm is that even though that would be a wonderful image of Heaven, we can strive for that peace in the here and now by walking with the Lord and letting Him guide us.

Let's take time today to step back and enjoy the salvation that Jesus earned for us and offers to us. Maybe it's a good day to get out and enjoy the beauty of God's creation (after you attend Mass, of course). Living in the northeast United States, I can guarantee you there is just about no better time of year to do that up here. So relax, thank the Lord, and have a good Sunday!

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 10/11/2014 or No Amount of Money Can Buy the Clothes That Look Best on You!

"But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.
For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person,
there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus." -Gal. 3:25-28

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week of Ordinary Time

As Christians, we are clothed in Christ, St. Paul tells us. He then lays out a long list of distinguishing characteristics and national divisions pointing out that before all else, we are all Christians. Being clothed in Christ first is a great honor, it is a great joy, it is a powerful feeling of mercy and it is a great responsibility. It is a great responsibility because we are His hands and feet, eyes and ears. When people see us, they should see Jesus, and we should try to make him look good!

I recently saw Fr. Larry Richards speak and he shared a story of an American POW during World War II who was imprisoned with a Japanese soldier who was caught trying to offer comfort to the Americans. The Japanese soldier was treated even worse than the Americans and whenever he was brought back bruised, battered and bloody, the American would help him to bind his wounds and share his rations with him. One night the Japanese soldier was brought back and beaten so badly that the American was certain he would not last the night. The American told him that he didn't have to be afraid because if he would give his life to Jesus, he would live forever. The Japanese man replied, "If this Jesus is anything like you, then I can't wait to meet him."

What do we look like when we are 'clothed in Christ'? Do we only wear it when it is fashionable or when we feel comfortable in it? Do we alter Christ to 'fit' us better? How does He look when people see us? If someone looked at you and saw you as the image of Jesus, would they say, "I can't wait to meet him!"?

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 10/10/2014 or Daniel-san, if You Want to Learn to Protect a Palace, You Must First Learn to Sweep the Floor!

"But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils." -Lk. 11:20-22

Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week of Ordinary Time

How do you arm your palace? What do you do to guard your soul against temptation? How do you save your spirit from the effects of sin?

The good news is that we have God to help us guard our spirit, and if God is with us, we cannot be defeated. But we need to trust in him to do it. If we put our faith only in our will power (and we all do), then we will fail, we will give in to the temptation to sin. It might be because some sins appeal to our basest pleasures, it might be that we just want to rebel against God or our upbringing or it might be out of fear and weakness, but we will give in to sin at some point. In those times we need the humility to go to God, confess that we have failed, ask for His forgiveness, and for the strength to fight temptations in the future.

As Jesus goes on to say in today's gospel, when we clear out one evil spirit and clean up our 'dwelling place' that spirit will return with seven more of its nastier friends. As those forces mount against us, trying to pull us away from our loving Heavenly Father, we need to lean on Him even more to give us the grace and strength to guard our souls and keep our dwelling place tidy.

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 10/08/2014 or How to Turn an Anvil Into a Light Yoke

“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.” -Lk. 11:1-4

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus teaches us to pray to God the FATHER. Not God the vicious overlord, not God the unmitigated oppressor, but God the Father. That is awe inspiring to me. That the creator of the universe, the author of life, the one who placed the stars and knows them by name, wants me to approach him like a father, because he loves me (and you) that much.

What people tend to forget is that as our Heavenly Father, God wants what is best for us. He ordered the universe, he inspired prophets and called forth teachers to proclaim the truth and show us the natural order of His masterpiece. When we read their words, we should not read them (or speak them) as the orders of an uncaring drill sergeant. We need to read them and proclaim them for what they are; loving guidance from a caring father who loves us more than we could possibly fathom!

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass 10/07/2014 or What to do When Some Jerk Cuts You Off on the Road to Damascus

"And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea
that are in Christ;
they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us
is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
So they glorified God because of me." -Gal 1:22-24

10/07/2014 Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

How many of us know someone or many someones that we wish would come to the Lord? It may be someone who's fallen away from the faith (insert gratuitous 'Coming Home to Catholicism' plug here, starting Thursday 10/09 at St. Kathryn's in Hudson, NH at 7:00pm) or someone you see struggling and know the peace that Christ could bring them.

They may be a hard case, but how much further from Jesus could they be than St. Paul was? Here was a soldier who persecuted Christians turned into the church's most prolific evangelist. How did it happen? It happened through a revelation from Christ. What does that tell us? It tells us that Jesus is the only one who can make that final push into his peace. We can tell people about Jesus and the joy and peace that he brings to us; the love that we feel surrounded by, but unless they experience it themselves, it's just words.

Yet, like St. Paul, we are called to evangelize. How are we supposed to do that? Well, we may not be able to make people feel that relationship with Jesus, but we can bring them to him and let him finish the job. How do we bring people to Christ? It's simple, we beat them over the heads with our bible, tie up their hands with rosary beads and drag them to adoration.

What?

Don't you think that would work?

Well, I guess we could try just telling them about him.  Tell them what brought you to his cross. If you're a revert, tell your story about why you left and why you came back. But mostly, just love them. With our words and our actions, we can make our lives a witness to Christ's love.

It's not easy. Just ask anyone who has found themselves swearing in traffic fifteen minutes after they have been to Holy Communion (you know I'm guilty of it.....and you know you are too, huh?)

Other than that, the only thing we can do for those hard cases is to bring them to Christ in another way, through prayer. Be persistent in praying for them and you might be amazed at what happens.....to them, and to you.

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Sunday Mass Readings or Home of the Free and the Land of the- Wait, is that a note on the door?

"Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I had not done?
Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,
did it bring forth wild grapes?" -Is. 5:3-4

10/05/2014 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Old Testament reading and Gospel reading are almost the same. Perhaps Jesus was trying to draw the parallel between the prophecy of Isaiah and what was actually happening in the nation of Israel at in Jesus' time. Essentially God is telling the Jews of the time,, "Hey, I put everything in place for you and I hoped it would make you into a people who wanted to come back to me!"

In the end, it didn't work. If you read on from the passage I quoted above, God essentially says that this is the final straw and then talks about his plans to remove the protection he has put in place, and in the gospel reading, he makes clear that he will make salvation available to everyone (the 'new tenants').

In some ways, I feel that mirrors our own nation. We were founded on some pretty hefty principles, and good principles, and I believe in the beginning, this great experiment was blessed because we had founders who took God's word into account in guiding the country toward our goals of liberty, justice and equality. Today, however, we are a nation moving away from God. God and people of faith are being pushed out to the periphery and told to be quiet and not to bring our faith into the public square or the voting booth. But if you're a person of faith, it's impossible to do that. Your faith is going to affect and inform every decision you make. And one of the first rights enumerated to us, is our right to express that faith.

I just wonder if we need to worry what will happen if we continue to move away from Him, or if it's already too late.

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 10/03/2014 or The Difference Between J-O-B and G-O-D.

"Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works." Ps. 139:13-14

10/03/2014 Friday of the Twenty-Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

I have been told that the Psalms were the prayer book of the Jewish people in Jesus' time. In fact, when Jesus cries out on the cross, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" He is calling out Psalm 22, which if you read it, lays out what is happening to Jesus. Of course it was written centuries before but it calls out those mocking him and asking why God doesn't deliver him, it talks about them casting lots for his clothes and his thirst. But I digress.

I want to reference two things from today's readings. One is this passage from Psalms where the author clearly expresses the truth that God formed all of us 'in my mother's womb'. A little over a week ago, the 40 Days for Life campaign began and all over the country and even internationally, people are praying daily for an end to abortion. Some are praying in their homes and others in quiet vigil outside of abortion facilities. All of them are driven by the belief that life begins at conception; from the moment He begins 'knitting us in our mother's womb' and there are many people who disagree with them. I think it's telling that we, as a society, cannot agree on possibly the most important aspect of our existence, when our life begins.

Alongside this I would point out the passage from Job in today's readings.

"Have you entered into the sources of the sea,

or walked about in the depths of the abyss?

Have the gates of death been shown to you,

or have you seen the gates of darkness?

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all:

Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,

and where is the abode of darkness,

That you may take them to their boundaries

and set them on their homeward paths?

You know, because you were born before them,

and the number of your years is great!" -Job 38:16-21

Other than what I believe may be some divine sarcasm, God is pointing out to Job, that he (Job) is not God. And here we are several millennia later still unable to learn the same lesson. Relativism has turned us each into our own little God deciding what is true, what is right and what is wrong. 

Hmmm, that story sounds familiar too.

A wise man once asked: What is the difference between you and God? The answer is, God never thinks He's you.

We have clouded our vision on so many things. But we should be careful because when everyone has his own truth, then there really isn't any truth.

God Bless,

P.D.O.