"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!" -Ps. 40:8-9
09/15/2014 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
"Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her." -Lk. 1:38
I've often wondered if Mary knew everything that she was agreeing to when she gave her 'yes' to the Angel Gabriel. If she didn't know at first, she definitely knew when they brought Jesus for his presentation at the temple, when Simeon told her that the rise and fall of many depended upon Jesus and that she too, would be pierced.
I think of it when I read the line of the Psalmist. "To do your will, O my God, is my delight". The truth is, doing God's will is not always a delightful experience. In fact, it can sometimes be very difficult to follow and do God's will. Today is the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, a time when we reflect on the suffering that Mary went through during Jesus' crucifixion. As she was suffering, watching her only child tortured and killed, I'm sure that Mary was not enjoying God's plan for her, but it was oriented toward a greater good, to offer salvation to all the world.
Two of the most difficult questions we are asked as believers are, first, how do you know that God exists, and second, if He exists, why do people suffer? For me, the two answers are linked. I would first say, that most suffering does not come from God, it comes from the fact that we live in a fallen world. When I think of suffering in that context it is usually with regard to real suffering like severe illness or poverty, starvation, and any of the other horrible things that people have to endure. I have heard of and seen people going through this type of suffering offering it up in prayer for other people that they know are struggling. To offer up suffering, uniting it with Christ's suffering, makes it a very powerful prayer.
When I talk about my suffering, however, it is a completely different thing. I have had some difficult times; times when I wasn't sure if I could pull myself or my family out of the hole, but none of those measure up (in retrospect) to real suffering. Still, in all of those times, I have taken my struggles to God. On at least one occasion this involved a very loud conversation, out loud and with some very harsh language. I cried out asking him to please help me because I had lost sight of what his plan was and was wondering what I had to do in order to do His will, and He heard me. Now, as I look back on the suffering and the stresses and anxiety that I had at the time, they all turn out to be signposts toward where I am now. I had always hoped that my wife would be able (if she wanted) to stay at home with our kids and eventually, I hoped that we could home-school our kids. Today, we are in that position. We live very modestly and things get pretty tight sometimes, but God led us to a situation where those things are possible.
So just like Our Lady's sorrow led to something miraculous for all of the world, our minor sufferings may just be signposts along God's path for us, leading us on to where He wants us to be. And that may just be where we were looking to go if we are in line with what He calls us to; His law that is written on our hearts.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Sunday Mass Readings 09/14/2014 or How to Find Jesus in the Bleacher Seats
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life." -Jn. 3:16
09/14/2014 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
There it is, the famous John 3:16. In the context of the rest of the readings for today, it makes sense. As you would expect, the readings today are about Jesus, his coming for us and the redemption that we have through his sacrifice on the cross. The Old Testament reading tells the story of the Israelites' dissatisfaction and the foretelling of Jesus' sacrifice, when Moses was told to make a serpent on a staff and raise it so that the people, when they look upon it, can be healed.
The reading from St. Paul tells of a God so loving that he would come to us and humble himself to die for our salvation. And of course, there is the familiar message of John 3:16. Most people, even if they haven't read it, would recognize the citation. This is because for many years people would bring signs to sporting events and hold them up to be on television. They may very well still do it and the TV networks don't show it, I don't go to enough sporting events in person anymore to tell. But the signs were everywhere, to the point that I would see them in Mad magazine satires on sports. People thought that the message was important to get out there and they took it upon themselves to do it however they were able. Who knows how many people were driven to curiosity enough to dig out their bible, brush the dust off and find it? And once they saw the message, maybe they decided to turn their lives over to Jesus all because some crazy Christian decided that when he was shown on television cheering on his beloved team, he would take the opportunity to lead people to a message of hope.
We can all learn from this type of evangelism, not only through the method, but also through which verse, out of all of scripture, they thought was most important to spread across the world. It was not a message of condemnation, but a message of hope. This is made even clearer in the verse that follows, the last line of this week's gospel reading:
God bless,
P.D.O.
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life." -Jn. 3:16
09/14/2014 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
There it is, the famous John 3:16. In the context of the rest of the readings for today, it makes sense. As you would expect, the readings today are about Jesus, his coming for us and the redemption that we have through his sacrifice on the cross. The Old Testament reading tells the story of the Israelites' dissatisfaction and the foretelling of Jesus' sacrifice, when Moses was told to make a serpent on a staff and raise it so that the people, when they look upon it, can be healed.
The reading from St. Paul tells of a God so loving that he would come to us and humble himself to die for our salvation. And of course, there is the familiar message of John 3:16. Most people, even if they haven't read it, would recognize the citation. This is because for many years people would bring signs to sporting events and hold them up to be on television. They may very well still do it and the TV networks don't show it, I don't go to enough sporting events in person anymore to tell. But the signs were everywhere, to the point that I would see them in Mad magazine satires on sports. People thought that the message was important to get out there and they took it upon themselves to do it however they were able. Who knows how many people were driven to curiosity enough to dig out their bible, brush the dust off and find it? And once they saw the message, maybe they decided to turn their lives over to Jesus all because some crazy Christian decided that when he was shown on television cheering on his beloved team, he would take the opportunity to lead people to a message of hope.
We can all learn from this type of evangelism, not only through the method, but also through which verse, out of all of scripture, they thought was most important to spread across the world. It was not a message of condemnation, but a message of hope. This is made even clearer in the verse that follows, the last line of this week's gospel reading:
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him." Jn. 3:17
Jesus did not come to condemn the world and neither should we. That's not to say that we aren't all subject to a final judgement. We are judged by the one who can search the depths of our heart, which, last I checked is way above my pay grade.
We are here as Jesus' hands and feet; as his disciples. We need to share a message of hope that no matter what has happened in your life up to now, you can turn away from sin, orient your life to living out the plan that God has for you, and be born into eternal life. Are you ashamed to tell others about your relationship with Christ? If you do tell others, do you convey Jesus' message of hope, or of condemnation? We are not responsible for converting people, nor are we capable of it. We just have to lead people to Jesus, then let him do the rest.
P.D.O.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 09/08/2014 or Which Highway are you Driving You Wife Down, AC/DC's or Michael Landon's?
"Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.” - MT 1: 20-23
09/08/2014 Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Joseph was a righteous man, and according to the law of Moses, when she was found with child, he had the right to not only divorce Mary, but 'expose her to shame'. Anyone familiar with the story of the woman caught in adultery knows what that would mean. Mary could have been stoned to death. But Joseph didn't want that for her and was going to divorce her quietly to spare her not only embarrassment, but quite likely her life as well. I guess you could say he was merciful like Jesus before it was cool to be merciful like Jesus.
Then Joseph has this dream and the angel tells him that everything is part of God's plan and he has an extremely important role to play. Most of us, if not convinced that the dream was the result of some goat's milk that was past the expiration, would probably have been pretty intimidated in that day and age to take Mary into our home as our wife. Without a doubt, Joseph knew they would be the talk of the ladies around the well in Nazareth. And who knows what kind of stigma would have followed their son? Yet he woke and did as the angel said, taking Mary into his home as his wife.
Since Mary was chosen by God, before her birth, as the vessel that would bring him to his people, it was also important that God chose a righteous man with compassion to protect and take care of her. Joseph was that guy. Not only was his faith strong enough to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit without hesitation, he protected and provided for Mary and Jesus everywhere they went and he supported her holiness and her calling.
This is a great model for all husbands not only with regard to our mission when it comes to our wives, but also with regard to how we see our wives. Some men see their wives as an obstacle to something or a burden, some see their wives as a means to and end, a tool to implement when they need satisfaction. But in following Joseph's example, we should our wives as women of God, as princesses; not like Disney princesses, but daughters of the King of Kings.
As men, can we honestly say we've treated them this way? If we want to know the answer, we just need to look at what our society tells women they need to be, it's a direct response to what they think men value. When I look at advertisements, movies, tv sitcoms, etc. I see a society telling women they need to be strong and smart, but not too strong and smart. They need to have a body like a stripper, a libido like a porn star and they need to fill themselves with chemicals to be sexually available to us at any time. Oh, and we have convinced them that if the chemicals don't work right, it's okay to 'choose' to destroy the life growing inside them.
We, as a society, are not seeing women as daughters of God or as spiritual sisters, we are looking at them as tools to our own satisfaction. We are falling miserably short of St. Joseph's model and damaging the value and self-esteem of our wives and our daughters.
Mary was chosen from the moment of her conception to be the one who delivered the Word made flesh to walk among us. Our wives and daughters have spiritual destinies as well. Are the things we do helping to direct them to those missions or are we a distraction, guiding them away from God's plan?
God bless,
P.D.O.
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.” - MT 1: 20-23
09/08/2014 Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Joseph was a righteous man, and according to the law of Moses, when she was found with child, he had the right to not only divorce Mary, but 'expose her to shame'. Anyone familiar with the story of the woman caught in adultery knows what that would mean. Mary could have been stoned to death. But Joseph didn't want that for her and was going to divorce her quietly to spare her not only embarrassment, but quite likely her life as well. I guess you could say he was merciful like Jesus before it was cool to be merciful like Jesus.
Then Joseph has this dream and the angel tells him that everything is part of God's plan and he has an extremely important role to play. Most of us, if not convinced that the dream was the result of some goat's milk that was past the expiration, would probably have been pretty intimidated in that day and age to take Mary into our home as our wife. Without a doubt, Joseph knew they would be the talk of the ladies around the well in Nazareth. And who knows what kind of stigma would have followed their son? Yet he woke and did as the angel said, taking Mary into his home as his wife.
Since Mary was chosen by God, before her birth, as the vessel that would bring him to his people, it was also important that God chose a righteous man with compassion to protect and take care of her. Joseph was that guy. Not only was his faith strong enough to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit without hesitation, he protected and provided for Mary and Jesus everywhere they went and he supported her holiness and her calling.
This is a great model for all husbands not only with regard to our mission when it comes to our wives, but also with regard to how we see our wives. Some men see their wives as an obstacle to something or a burden, some see their wives as a means to and end, a tool to implement when they need satisfaction. But in following Joseph's example, we should our wives as women of God, as princesses; not like Disney princesses, but daughters of the King of Kings.
As men, can we honestly say we've treated them this way? If we want to know the answer, we just need to look at what our society tells women they need to be, it's a direct response to what they think men value. When I look at advertisements, movies, tv sitcoms, etc. I see a society telling women they need to be strong and smart, but not too strong and smart. They need to have a body like a stripper, a libido like a porn star and they need to fill themselves with chemicals to be sexually available to us at any time. Oh, and we have convinced them that if the chemicals don't work right, it's okay to 'choose' to destroy the life growing inside them.
We, as a society, are not seeing women as daughters of God or as spiritual sisters, we are looking at them as tools to our own satisfaction. We are falling miserably short of St. Joseph's model and damaging the value and self-esteem of our wives and our daughters.
Mary was chosen from the moment of her conception to be the one who delivered the Word made flesh to walk among us. Our wives and daughters have spiritual destinies as well. Are the things we do helping to direct them to those missions or are we a distraction, guiding them away from God's plan?
God bless,
P.D.O.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 09/05/2014 or Wait, There's a Splinter in your Eye, Let me Get my Ice Pick
"It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes," - 1 Cor. 4:1-5
09/05/2014 Friday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time
AHA! See, there it is again, we are being told not to judge others! See, you self-righteous Christians don't even follow your own book! HA!
That's right, you got us. Paul tells us not to judge, Jesus tells us not to judge, but wait, maybe there's a different meaning. You see, earlier in this passage, St. Paul writes that we should be "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" and just after Jesus tells his disciples to "Judge not, lest ye be judged", he calls them hypocrites and tells them that they must remove the beam from their own eyes before trying to remove the splinter from their brother's.
So how are we to be stewards of God's mysteries and followers of Christ if we can't judge which actions fall under those definitions? And how can we remove the beam from our eye and help our brother remove the splinter from his if we aren't able to determine what is a 'beam' or a 'splinter'? It would seem that we are expected to determine what is right and what is wrong somehow, but isn't that 'judging'?
The answer is yes. We are expected to be able to reason out what is right and what is wrong. Now there are a lot of people who will shout us down, because, let's face it, they don't want to think that there is a right or wrong. But we are expected to discern that using scripture and the teaching authority and hierarchy of the Church as our guide (remember, I'm Catholic we are blessed to have a teaching authority guided by the Holy Spirit on matters of faith and doctrine). Determining what acts are sinful and which aren't is well within our capabilities and we have a responsibility to let our brothers and sisters know when they are in the wrong. It is a spiritual act of mercy to admonish the sinner.
But what about the 'do not judge' thing? Well, as St. Paul says, he is not afraid of being judged by any human tribunal, he does not even judge himself. We cannot see and read somebody's heart the way that God can, therefore it is not up to us to place final judgement on them. The final judgement is, as they say, above our pay grade. However, if we see someone trapped in sin (a brother with a splinter in his eye) we are responsible for trying to help him to escape from it. That's where the 'stewards of God's mysteries' part comes in.
When we do find it is merciful to admonish the sinner, we are obligated to do so with love and compassion. That's where the 'servants of Christ' part comes in. After all, Jesus, even though he was trying to correct sinners, always treated others with caring and mercy. I would think he expects us to do the same.
I, for one, need to work on this.
God bless,
P.D.O.
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes," - 1 Cor. 4:1-5
09/05/2014 Friday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time
AHA! See, there it is again, we are being told not to judge others! See, you self-righteous Christians don't even follow your own book! HA!
That's right, you got us. Paul tells us not to judge, Jesus tells us not to judge, but wait, maybe there's a different meaning. You see, earlier in this passage, St. Paul writes that we should be "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" and just after Jesus tells his disciples to "Judge not, lest ye be judged", he calls them hypocrites and tells them that they must remove the beam from their own eyes before trying to remove the splinter from their brother's.
So how are we to be stewards of God's mysteries and followers of Christ if we can't judge which actions fall under those definitions? And how can we remove the beam from our eye and help our brother remove the splinter from his if we aren't able to determine what is a 'beam' or a 'splinter'? It would seem that we are expected to determine what is right and what is wrong somehow, but isn't that 'judging'?
The answer is yes. We are expected to be able to reason out what is right and what is wrong. Now there are a lot of people who will shout us down, because, let's face it, they don't want to think that there is a right or wrong. But we are expected to discern that using scripture and the teaching authority and hierarchy of the Church as our guide (remember, I'm Catholic we are blessed to have a teaching authority guided by the Holy Spirit on matters of faith and doctrine). Determining what acts are sinful and which aren't is well within our capabilities and we have a responsibility to let our brothers and sisters know when they are in the wrong. It is a spiritual act of mercy to admonish the sinner.
But what about the 'do not judge' thing? Well, as St. Paul says, he is not afraid of being judged by any human tribunal, he does not even judge himself. We cannot see and read somebody's heart the way that God can, therefore it is not up to us to place final judgement on them. The final judgement is, as they say, above our pay grade. However, if we see someone trapped in sin (a brother with a splinter in his eye) we are responsible for trying to help him to escape from it. That's where the 'stewards of God's mysteries' part comes in.
When we do find it is merciful to admonish the sinner, we are obligated to do so with love and compassion. That's where the 'servants of Christ' part comes in. After all, Jesus, even though he was trying to correct sinners, always treated others with caring and mercy. I would think he expects us to do the same.
I, for one, need to work on this.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Mass Readings 09/04/2014 or Wow! For a Carpenter, You Sure Turned Out to be a Pretty Good Fisherman!
"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him." -Lk. 5:8-11
09/04/2014 Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The call of Simon is great on so many levels. First off, there is the idea that Simon was done for the day. He had pulled his boat into shore and was cleaning out his nets. Not only that, but he was cleaning them out after a night of unsuccessful fishing. I know how I feel when I don't catch fish and I don't rely on it for a living! Yet even though he's tired, Simon agrees to take this stranger out far enough so that he can teach the crowd. In that act, Simon shows that he is willing to go the extra mile for his fellow man. Jesus then tells him to head out to deep water and drop his nets. Simon registers a slight resistance, but then is willing to trust this new teacher because by now, he has heard the power of Jesus' words. He is paid back with BOUNTY! BEYOND! BELIEF! (Read my original post on BOUNTY! BEYOND! BELIEF! here) Showing that when we trust God, even though it might not make sense to us at the time, he will not be outdone in generosity.
Simon then tells Jesus to leave him because he is a sinful man. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I know that there are many times that I do not feel worthy of God's love, mercy (and bounty). But Jesus does not leave, showing that His love is not contingent in the least on our perfection, but on our will to trust in Him. He then tells Simon not to be afraid and that he will now be catching men. This is the ultimate example that God has a plan for us and He will meet us where we are to start the journey.
What do you think about the way that Simon and the other fishermen respond? When they get to the shore, they leave everything and follow him. Would you have the courage to do that? We are still asked to do that. Oh, we are not asked to leave our boats, equipment and livelihood behind, which may tempt us to think the request is different. However, what Simon and the others left behind, were the things that held them back from following Jesus physically and getting to know him and learn from him. The only difference for us is that we, most likely, don't have to leave behind our livelihood to follow Jesus, because for us it is a spiritual concept. We do need to leave behind anything that keeps us from following Jesus spiritually, or keeps us from getting to know him or learn from him. But, like Jesus himself says, be not afraid, because as we can see from Simon's story, Jesus isn't trying to trick or deceive us, he is just trying to lead us to God's plan for our lives and the bounty that awaits.
God bless,
P.D.O.
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him." -Lk. 5:8-11
09/04/2014 Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The call of Simon is great on so many levels. First off, there is the idea that Simon was done for the day. He had pulled his boat into shore and was cleaning out his nets. Not only that, but he was cleaning them out after a night of unsuccessful fishing. I know how I feel when I don't catch fish and I don't rely on it for a living! Yet even though he's tired, Simon agrees to take this stranger out far enough so that he can teach the crowd. In that act, Simon shows that he is willing to go the extra mile for his fellow man. Jesus then tells him to head out to deep water and drop his nets. Simon registers a slight resistance, but then is willing to trust this new teacher because by now, he has heard the power of Jesus' words. He is paid back with BOUNTY! BEYOND! BELIEF! (Read my original post on BOUNTY! BEYOND! BELIEF! here) Showing that when we trust God, even though it might not make sense to us at the time, he will not be outdone in generosity.
Simon then tells Jesus to leave him because he is a sinful man. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I know that there are many times that I do not feel worthy of God's love, mercy (and bounty). But Jesus does not leave, showing that His love is not contingent in the least on our perfection, but on our will to trust in Him. He then tells Simon not to be afraid and that he will now be catching men. This is the ultimate example that God has a plan for us and He will meet us where we are to start the journey.
What do you think about the way that Simon and the other fishermen respond? When they get to the shore, they leave everything and follow him. Would you have the courage to do that? We are still asked to do that. Oh, we are not asked to leave our boats, equipment and livelihood behind, which may tempt us to think the request is different. However, what Simon and the others left behind, were the things that held them back from following Jesus physically and getting to know him and learn from him. The only difference for us is that we, most likely, don't have to leave behind our livelihood to follow Jesus, because for us it is a spiritual concept. We do need to leave behind anything that keeps us from following Jesus spiritually, or keeps us from getting to know him or learn from him. But, like Jesus himself says, be not afraid, because as we can see from Simon's story, Jesus isn't trying to trick or deceive us, he is just trying to lead us to God's plan for our lives and the bounty that awaits.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 09/03/2014 or A Brief Catholic Gardening Lesson
"Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but only God, who causes the growth.
He who plants and he who waters are one,
and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor.
For we are God’s co-workers;
you are God’s field, God’s building." -1 Cor. 3:7-9
09/03/2014 Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Paul is telling the members of the church at Corinth not to dedicate themselves to him or any other teacher for that matter. He knows that he is just a messenger, an instrument that God uses to proclaim the good news, and that he will pass away and hand that duty down to someone else. It's interesting that this reading falls on the Memorial of a Pope and Doctor of the Church. For even the Pope is just a temporal leader of Christ's church. He too will pass on and hand the reins over (and on extremely rare occasion hand over the reins while he is still with us).
Not only does this message apply for the Pope, but for the people of the church. There are many times we will see a parish change pastors and people will choose up sides. There are also times when a group of people will grow attached to a building and stage vigils in churches that are meant to be shut down. But no matter how attached you may be to your church building, your pastor or even the Pope, they are nothing without the glory of God and the miracle of Christ resurrected.
This message could be taken as an admonition, but it also can be a beacon of hope to those in ministry. Surely there are days when a Pastor feels like he is not reaching the congregation. Even the Popes words fall on deaf ears. And if the Pope can't reach them, then what about people who act as catechists and facilitators at their parishes? This spring, my wife and I will return to teaching Theology of the Body for Teens to the confirmation classes at our church. There is no crowd that could be any more enthusiastic, excited and engaged than a group of teenagers forced to sit in a room in a church basement and learn about Catholic teaching on God's plan for human sexuality. But we have said many times that it's not the reaction and response we get in the room during class time that makes us want to do this. It's knowing that maybe one of these kids, someday maybe not even until they're in college, will find themselves in a situation where they are questioning what to do and they will remember what they learned and realize that it's okay to strive toward chastity. It may not be until they are married and one of them makes a better husband or wife because they maintain a pure vision of their spouse. Essentially, we are planting the seeds.
We can plant and we can water, but it's up to God to make it all grow. It relieves the anxiousness a bit when we realize that our job is just to do the best we can. We can witness to our story in our Coming Home to Catholicism group and we can share the beauty of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body with the kids, but that's all we can do. Then God does the rest.
God bless,
P.D.O.
but only God, who causes the growth.
He who plants and he who waters are one,
and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor.
For we are God’s co-workers;
you are God’s field, God’s building." -1 Cor. 3:7-9
09/03/2014 Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Paul is telling the members of the church at Corinth not to dedicate themselves to him or any other teacher for that matter. He knows that he is just a messenger, an instrument that God uses to proclaim the good news, and that he will pass away and hand that duty down to someone else. It's interesting that this reading falls on the Memorial of a Pope and Doctor of the Church. For even the Pope is just a temporal leader of Christ's church. He too will pass on and hand the reins over (and on extremely rare occasion hand over the reins while he is still with us).
Not only does this message apply for the Pope, but for the people of the church. There are many times we will see a parish change pastors and people will choose up sides. There are also times when a group of people will grow attached to a building and stage vigils in churches that are meant to be shut down. But no matter how attached you may be to your church building, your pastor or even the Pope, they are nothing without the glory of God and the miracle of Christ resurrected.
This message could be taken as an admonition, but it also can be a beacon of hope to those in ministry. Surely there are days when a Pastor feels like he is not reaching the congregation. Even the Popes words fall on deaf ears. And if the Pope can't reach them, then what about people who act as catechists and facilitators at their parishes? This spring, my wife and I will return to teaching Theology of the Body for Teens to the confirmation classes at our church. There is no crowd that could be any more enthusiastic, excited and engaged than a group of teenagers forced to sit in a room in a church basement and learn about Catholic teaching on God's plan for human sexuality. But we have said many times that it's not the reaction and response we get in the room during class time that makes us want to do this. It's knowing that maybe one of these kids, someday maybe not even until they're in college, will find themselves in a situation where they are questioning what to do and they will remember what they learned and realize that it's okay to strive toward chastity. It may not be until they are married and one of them makes a better husband or wife because they maintain a pure vision of their spouse. Essentially, we are planting the seeds.
We can plant and we can water, but it's up to God to make it all grow. It relieves the anxiousness a bit when we realize that our job is just to do the best we can. We can witness to our story in our Coming Home to Catholicism group and we can share the beauty of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body with the kids, but that's all we can do. Then God does the rest.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 09/02/2014 or If I Speak With Authority, Will You Still Respect Me Tomorrow?
"Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” -Lk. 4:31-34
09/02/2014 Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time
The people of Capernaum were impressed by the way that Jesus spoke with authority. If Jesus were to come and speak with authority now, what do you think the reaction would be? If he were to be speaking publicly now, on television, in the media and speaking with authority and certainty of the truth I'm pretty sure that, like anyone doing so now, he would be shouted down and attacked as bigoted, judgmental and (most horrifically) closed-minded.
Jesus preached about sin and freedom from sin through God's mercy, redemption and turning your back on sin. Today we're not allowed to suggest that anything is sinful. As long as it matches up with my personal measure of what is good and evil, it's all good. It seems today that the worst sin you can commit is grasping onto the truth and 'closing' your mind on it. And, God forbid you have the nerve to speak about it at all, let alone do so with authority and certainty.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” -Lk. 4:31-34
09/02/2014 Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time
The people of Capernaum were impressed by the way that Jesus spoke with authority. If Jesus were to come and speak with authority now, what do you think the reaction would be? If he were to be speaking publicly now, on television, in the media and speaking with authority and certainty of the truth I'm pretty sure that, like anyone doing so now, he would be shouted down and attacked as bigoted, judgmental and (most horrifically) closed-minded.
Jesus preached about sin and freedom from sin through God's mercy, redemption and turning your back on sin. Today we're not allowed to suggest that anything is sinful. As long as it matches up with my personal measure of what is good and evil, it's all good. It seems today that the worst sin you can commit is grasping onto the truth and 'closing' your mind on it. And, God forbid you have the nerve to speak about it at all, let alone do so with authority and certainty.
Yes, I fear that were Jesus to be teaching the fullness of His truth nowadays he would not be very popular. There would not be the opportunity to take small passages of His words out of context for cute little memes because He would be able to expand on his points and reveal their full context. On second thought, they would still get away with it. They would just quote Jesus selectively and ignore the context, kind of like they do with Pope Francis.
Let's not forget, however, that later in this passage, and in other gospel readings, Jesus speaks with authority to drive out demons. He speaks with authority about things that are socially acceptable now, like how we should forgive our brother not seven times, but seven times seventy (biblical speak for an infinite number of times), or that we should take care of the least among us, and about how we are not to judge. He also teaches with authority about things that don't give people the warm fuzzies, like what sin is, God's plan for marriage and about God's judgement and how we all will be subject to it.
As followers of Jesus should we only take with authority the things that are acceptable to today's worldly standards, when it is easy to do so? Or should we trust Jesus' authority in all things, even when it may make things uncomfortable for us?
God bless,
P.D.O.
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