3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A – Homily

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3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A
Exodus 17:3-7
Psalm 95:1-2, 607, 8-9 (8)
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42
March 12, 2023

Jesus is making his way through Samaria.  “Tired from his journey,” He pauses to rest at the well.

While He is sitting at the well, “a woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her “Give me a drink”.”  The woman is surprised at his request.  Why?  It’s a simple request.  She is surprised because she recognizes him as a Jew and she knows that Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.

Well, others didn’t.  Jesus does.

He speaks to her of “living water” but she doesn’t get the significance of what He is referring to.  She assumes that He is speaking of water from the well.  At this point she calls him “Sir,” not recognizing the fullness of who He is.  She sees him only in his humanity.

The Israelites cried out in the desert for water.  They were thirsty and God gave them water from a rock.  They were concerned with earthly thirst.  Jesus is concerned with our spiritual thirst.

He continues to speak of living water, “but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst.”

She continues to take him literally and finds the thought of never thirsting appealing.  She won’t have to keep coming back to the well.

Jesus loves her so much as to meet her where she is at but He wants to lead her to more.  (Likewise, Jesus meets us in our sin but He wants to lead us away from sin to eternal life.

To help her take a step forward in faith, He says to her, “Go call your husband and come back.”  She responds that she does not have a husband.  Jesus already knows this and in fact, knows she has had five husbands.  He says this to her. 

She sees the significance of Jesus knowing that she has had five husbands and calls him a prophet.  She has taken a step forward in her faith of who Jesus is.

He speaks of the worship that will be offered in Heaven.

She, not Jesus, then brings up the expected Messiah.  She is beginning to take another step forward in faith.  She is beginning to understand that Jesus is the Messiah.  She’s not quite there yet but close.

Her faith still needs to grow but, even in her incomplete faith, she does something incredible.  She goes to town and tells others about Jesus. 

Meanwhile, his disciples return and are amazed that He is talking with a woman.  Her heart has been opened.  Will they allow their hearts to be opened?

Will you allow your heart to be opened if you hear Jesus’ voice?

It might seem like a foolish question.  Who won’t listen to Jesus speaking to them? 

Someone who doesn’t want to change.  They like their lives as they are.  A person who doesn’t want to undergo conversion hardens their hearts to God. 

The townspeople did not harden their hearts.  They were intrigued by what the woman said and went to hear Jesus for themselves.  Because she shared what she knew about Jesus, they would come to believe from Jesus’ own words.  If she hadn’t shared her encounter with Jesus, they may never have come to know Jesus.  Share what you have experienced.

Meanwhile, open yourself to grow in faith.  Jesus led the Samaritan woman from calling him “sir” to “prophet” to “Messiah.”  The fact that you are here likely means Jesus is more than “sir” to you.  He’s at least a prophet.  I pray you know him as “messiah.”  That means He is the anointed one.  Is Jesus your king?  Do you know Jesus as your Savior?

Recognize the wonder of what Jesus has done for us.  Do not harden your heart.  He has given his life for us, “in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  So, we bow down in worship.

New Video Completing Series on the Eucharist

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Last night I completed my series of presentations, The Eucharist: The Greatest Gift with Part III.

You can see Part III at www.renewaloffaith.org/greatestgiftpart3

You can see the entire series at www.renewaloffaith.org/greatestgift

For the next few days you can complete at online evaluation at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfE87_XQcGnC2MzKffPkwREuwgHRMLEAStetcGBjol-raetCQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

As always I welcome comments. At this time, I do not have any presentations schedule. I welcome ideas for topics.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Does the Profound Deserve a Capital Letter?

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After a few weeks of some in-depth reflection articles, today I would like to offer a simpler and brief reflection. I pose a question, “Does the profound deserve a capital letter?”.

In school we learn the English rules of grammar. Among those rules are rules of capitalization. We capitalize the first word in a sentence. We capitalize proper names. What about words referring to God?

Is God worth a capital letter?

Of course, as I pose these questions I am capitalizing “God.” God is his name. As a proper name, God gets a capital letter. Other times, when we are referring to false gods or the idea of god in general, we do not capitalize.

What about other references to God?

I always capitalize the word “Eucharist.” It is the source and summit of our faith. It is vital part of what distinguishes us from Protestant denominations. This alone may warrant a capital letter but there is more. The Eucharist is not just bread and wine. It is the Body and Blood of Jesus. Therefore, it is God and gets a capital letter in my book. You might call this use of the word “Eucharist” a proper name. That would get it a capital letter in accord with English rules of grammar. For me, what I am talking about transcends rules of grammar. We are talking about God. (I wrap up my present series on the Eucharist, The Greatest Gift: The Eucharist, this Thursday. See http://www.renewaloffaith.org/greatestgift for this series.)

We call the consecrated host that we reserve in the Tabernacle the Blessed Sacrament. As such, it is a proper name and gets capitalized. It is Jesus.

What about when we refer to God using the personal pronoun “he”? English rules of grammar say we do not capitalize personal pronouns. I use a capital “H” for “he” when referring to God, It may not follow English rules of grammar but it does follow what I believe, God is divine. There is nothing like God. He deserves a capital letter.

What about the Mass? There are times when we use the word “Mass” as a proper name for what we celebrate. Those uses clearly get a capital letter. What about other times? In the Mass, we are celebrating something very profound. We are hearing God’s Word. The Bread and Wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Jesus. It deserves a capital letter.

Please note that I have been capitalizing “Body and Blood.” It is Jesus. For the same reason I capitalize “Real Presence.” It is the presence of Jesus, Son of God that we are talking about. It deserves capital letters.

What about “cross”? Here, along with “crucifix”, is one that makes me think. When we refer to the cross as “merely” two pieces of wood tied together, it doesn’t need to be capitalized. However, when we are talking about Jesus giving his life for us on the Cross, we are talking about something very profound.

Should we capitalize everything about God? No, I am only talking about a very direct connection to God.

What do you think?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Do We Give Control to God?

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Our first reading today comes from Genesis 12 where the story of Abram, who God would later rename “Abraham.” Before this passage, the only mention of Abraham is his genealogy presented in Genesis 11:10-32.

These four verses in today’s first reading tell us two very profound things about Abraham. First, that he has been chosen by God. God tells him, “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” God doesn’t tell him where the land is. God doesn’t tell him what to do when he gets there. God gives no reason why. God simply promises that He will make a great nation from Abraham, that Abraham’s name will become great, and that God will bless him.

What is Abraham’s response? “Abram went as the LORD directed him.” The second thing that we learn about Abraham is that he is a man of very great faith. He doesn’t ask any questions. It is enough that God tells him to go.

Would you have responded like Abraham? Do you follow the Lord’s way or the way of the world? Be honest. The way of the world can be tempting for its immediate physical pleasures. The immediate pleasures of the world are short-lived. The joy of following the Lord may not always be felt immediately but it is eternal.

Abraham knows that all the works of the Lord are trustworthy. Many of the false gods called for their devotees to do things that were good for the false god. Our one true God asks nothing of us for his own gain or pleasure. He has nothing to gain from us. God is infinite. He can’t gain anything. He is all-loving. So, all that He prescribes for us is for our betterment.

Still, it is not always easy to follow the Lord. Today we hear Paul write to Timothy, “Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” It will be hard. Look at what Jesus went through for us in his Passion. He bore incredible hardship for us. We do well to bear our hardships for the glory of God and the salvation of all.

Just as God chose Abraham, He has chosen us to be his children. He calls us to a “holy life.” Do we accept the call? The answer to this question is found in whether we live according to our own way or in accord with God’s design.

Jesus knew it would be hard for his disciples to endure all that laid before them. He knew He needed to give them confidence to bear the hardships that laid ahead for them.

With this in mind, “Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” This was no ordinary trip up the mountain. Jesus took them with him so that would see him “transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as flesh.“

They saw Jesus as we will see him in Heaven, in his glory. The imagine of the “white” and “light” is not new. The image of white comes from Daniel 7:9 while Daniel 10:6 speaks of “light.” Daniel is describing the Ancient One, God. Jesus appears to Peter, James, and John in a way that is used to describe God. We can trust in Jesus for He is the Son of God, consubstantial with the Father.

The scene did not end there. Moses and Elijah would appear and speak with Jesus. Why? The presence of Moses symbolizes the Law. The presence of Moses tells us Jesus comes to fulfill the Law. We can trust in him. Elijah is one of the great prophets. His presence confirms that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies. He is the one they have been waiting for.

Peter responds, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” Peter is right. It is good that they were there to see what happened. It would give them confidence. It helps us to know who Jesus is.

There is one more piece of evidence offered to who Jesus is, the voice from the cloud, God’s own voice, that says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.“

Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John up the mountain with them to give them confidence. Was their confidence immediate? We are told that they then “they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.” I don’t think their fear was a matter of being scared. It was holy fear. They understood in that moment who God is. Their fear was awe of God. They did not yet understand but they would come to.

Do we understand? If we fully understand, then we will follow God in all his ways. Unfortunately, many today think they can pick and choose what to believe. We call them “Cafeteria Catholics.” If they don’t like a teaching, they say it is out of date. It happens with various commandments but perhaps the most prevalent is sexual behavior. God’s Truth does not change. (If you are up for some reading, see my 17 page article, “Towards Dignity and Truth: Compassionate Dialogue on Homosexuality”)

We may not understand all the God teaches us. We don’t have to understand it all. We have faith. We rely on “strength that comes from God” to help us bear our hardships whether we understand or not. We desire to follow Jesus.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Registration Link for Part III of “The Greatest Gift: The Eucharist”

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Hello all,

I finally got the Zoom account updated.  So, here is the registration link for Part III of my series “The Greatest Gift: The Eucharist” – https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YVzoWhaOT3mggFIUNUPkHw

coming up on Thursday, March 9th at 6:30 pm.  

I hope you can join us.

If you haven’t seen Parts I or II yet, you can find them at www.renewaloffaith.org/greatestgift 

Peace,


Fr. Jeff

Angels: Good and Bad

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Angels are a common part of our faith but how much do we really know about them? Our belief in angels is rooted in the Bible. According to a search on www.biblegateway.com, the word “angel” appears in the New American Bible: Revised Edition 295 times. Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield points us to the Catechism, “The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition” (328)” (Angels: Our Guardians in Spiritual Battle. Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor. 2022).

In his introduction to his book, Msgr. Bransfield tells us that neither the good angels or the bad angels want a book written about them but for very different reasons. The good angels are humble and do not want the attention for themselves. Good angels want everything they do to point us to God. The bad angels do not want a book written about them because they want to hide their identity from us (13. cf. page 39 where Msgr. Bransfield discusses the invisibility of angels). They do not want us to know they exist. That way we do not guard ourselves against them. (In C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, the evil angels actually talk about the importance of remaining hiding for this very reason.)

Here I am going to provide some introduction to angels from Msgr. Bransfield book but it is not my goal to talk about everything he writes. You can read the book for yourself. My focus is the help the good angels give us and how the devil attacks us.

Msgr. Bransfield describes the role of angels, “The angels uncover for us the deep mysteries of God. As natural light makes things known in our physical world, the angels make known the supernatural light of God’s glory in which they were created” (21). They can reveal much to our souls but we can’t understand it all at once. As such, they do not reveal the entire mysteries of God to us all at once (Bransfield, 22). They lead us in steps.

Msgr. Bransfield then presents three common mistakes about angels. The first is to “see angels as fairy tale creatures” who are now seen as “old-fashioned, powerful presences” that “modern science has explained away” (22-23). Angels do really exist. We need them.

The second mistake about angels presented by Msgr. Bransfield is “to treat them as a lyrical or poetic expression of internal psychological inspirations” (23). He goes on to say New Age spiritualty “recasts the angels as celestial personality coaches who help us find the “divine spark” hidden within us” (23). The good angels are far more than mere muses for our thoughts.

The third mistake about angels that Msgr. Bransfield writes about is our expectation that they will sweep in from nowhere to save us whenever we are in danger (23). This is not to say they don’t at times. Sometimes they do. However, it is not the sum total of who they are. Such an expectation can actually be harmful for us in that we setup false expectations (Bransfield, 24). When the expectations are not fulfilled, we are disappointed and some even lose faith from this. What the angels do is help us untangle such expectations “and help to realign them to the providence of God” (Bransfield, 25).

Of course, one of the key roles of angels is that of messenger. Msgr. Bransfield dedicates all of chapter 2 to this topic. We need messages from God. In a world today full of many different messages, we need the angels to help us know what God is saying to us.

The angels have a lot of work to do. Knowing this may lead us to the question, “how many angels are there”. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus says that everyone has an angel watching over them (hence our belief in guardian angels, cf. Bransfield, 53). This tells us that there is at least as many angels as there are people in the world. Msgr. Bransfield points us to Hebrews 12:22 where it speaks of “countless angels” and how St. Thomas Aquinas says the number of angels is “far beyond material multitude” (50).

I’ve already mentioned there are good angels and bad angels. God created them all. They have free will and full knowledge of all the mysteries of God. It is unfortunate that they, with the full knowledge of God, some have chosen to reject God. Their rejection is the beginning of evil (see chapter 4). Since they have full knowledge of God when they choose evil, they do not have the opportunity to repent (65). Lacking that full knowledge, we can repent.

Msgr. Bransfield writes, “The devil wants to smuggle the things of the world into our souls so that there is no room anymore for God” (84). How does he do this? Msgr. Bransfield continues, “The devil must therefore design and disguise his temptations to make sin look like we are having the time of our lives” (84). Here, I can’t help but wonder how many people claim there is no god just so they don’t have to listen to him. Then, they can have the time of their lives.

Why does the devil tempt us rather than possess us and force us to do evil? Because for it to be sin, we must freely choose to do it. If the devil was to literally force us to do something, we are not guilty of it (Bransfield, 85). The devil disguises himself so we do not know it is him. If we knew it was him, we would do everything we can to resist (Bransfield, 85).

One might think the battle against temptation should get easier as we advance in the spiritual life. Here, Msgr. Bransfield writes, “A sign of advancement in the spiritual life is that the attacks of evil grow more prominent. As the believer advances in the spiritual life, the devil relies less on disguises. The sign that one is growing in the spiritual life is not necessarily long periods of uninterrupted mystical prayer, continuous pious thoughts, or feeling like life is all working out. It can be quite the opposite. It is when he sees us sticking with the Christian commitment over time and growing close to Christ through thick and thin, come what may, that the devil begins to attack more directly” (86-87).

Msgr. Bransfield goes on to speak of ways the devil seeks to break us. “The devil induces us into brooding over little things for a long time. He points us how life is not working out for us, how people are not seeing things our way, how everything seems a struggle…He gets us all fueled up with thinking about what we lack, and then spurs us on to chase it with the most uncharitable methods” (89). I think Msgr. Bransfield really hits the nail on the head here. I see in my own life ways in which I think the devil gets me stuck on the little things and the things that don’t go the way I want so that I can’t move forward. Here is when I beg God to set me straight. The devil seems powerful to us but he is no much for God.

Msgr. Bransfield reminds us “that the devil’s power is not infinite, he cannot directly act on our intellect or will Though they can make suggestions to us, St. Thomas notes that the evil angels cannot place thoughts in our minds” (90). When you have an evil thought sometimes the best thing to do is to simply let it go.

Temptation is real. In any particular moment, we may be very much aware of a temptation present to us. However, to resist the temptation, Msgr. Bransfield tells us that temptation often involves more than a mere moment (91). He leads down a slippery slope in such a way so that we don’t even realize when we cross the line into sin. Thus, we must avoid what ever leads us to sin.

In continuing to speak of how the devil seeks to deceive us, Msgr. Bransfield writes about how the devil seeks to convince us that we are all alone (100). I find it harder to continue the battle against temptation when I feel I am all alone. We might feel like we can never win. Maybe we can’t, but nothing is impossible for God. Further, the devil knows that when we are alone, he can more readily tempt us in some ways (Bransfield, 101). He strikes us when we are most vulnerable, already feeling rejected and full of resentment (Bransfield, 101).

Msgr. Bransfield goes on to speak of how the devil seeks to make us concerned with what others think of us and how we don’t really fit in (104-105). We want to “fit in.” We want to be liked by other people but we must remember that we are called to be first concerned with what God thinks of us. (See the example of Susanna in chapter 13 of the Book of the Prophet Daniel, most especially verse 13.) We live in this world but we are not called to conform to this world. Our faith must come first.

The battle against evil is real. If you like to read more about it, I point you to Immortal Combat: Confronting the Heart of Darkness by Fr. Dwight Longenecker (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press. 2020). Here are links to three articles I wrote on Fr. Longenecker’s book – “Does Evil Exist?”, “The People of the Life”, and “Our Weapons Against Evil”.

I suggest taking a moment now to pray the Prayer of St. Michael:

St. Michael the Archangel, 
defend us in battle. 
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. 
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, 
and do thou, 
O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 
by the power of God, 
thrust into hell Satan, 
and all the evil spirits, 
who prowl about the world 
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

The devil is real. It is true that we fall to his temptations. The devil may use our repeated failings against us, trying to convince that we are no good. Do not give up! No matter how many times we fall, if we return to the Lord with a repentant and contrite heart, He will forgive us. We are still fighting the battle but Jesus has already won the war against sin through his death on the Cross.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Cunning Serpent

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“The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.“

These are the words that begin our first reading today. God created humanity. The first part of this verse is taking literally by some. God formed us out of the clay. They use the creation story in the Bible to refute evolution and the Big Bang Theory. In faith, we look more to the second part where it says God, “blew into his nostrils the breath of life.” God gives us life. God brings order to creation as the Creator. (If you would like to find out more about what the Catholic Church says regarding evolution and creation, go to my article “Catholic Teaching and the Question of Evolution.”)

After creating man, God placed him in the Garden of Eden. Our first reading today speaks of two particular trees in the garden, “the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God then created woman as a partner for the man. God gave Adam and Even just one rule, don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They were allowed to eat of the tree of life. God gives us life. Why would God not want them to eat of the tree of knowledge? Before we answer that we turn to the next scene.

The serpent, who “was the most cunning of all the animals,” came to Eve. In his cunning, the serpent tries to twist God’s words, saying to Eve, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”. Eve knows better and says it is only the one tree they are not allowed to eat from or they would die.

Some likely interpret “die” to mean death to this world. God is thinking of a worse death, death from sin, a death which separates us from him.

The serpent wants to convince Eve (and us) that we cannot trust God. The serpent says, “You certainly will not die. God knows well that the moment you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.” Is God hiding this from us? Does God try to keep us from becoming like us?

Why doesn’t God want Adam and Eve to know what is good and evil? At this point Adam and Eve are innocent for as Paul writes to the Romans, “sin is not accounted when there is no law.” They do not know what is good or bad. They live in innocence, trusting in what the Lord tells them.

Was the devil right that they would know good and evil if Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit? Yes, but was this a good thing? As soon as they eat the forbidden fruit their eyes were opened “and they realized that they were naked.” Humanity was forever changed in that moment. We call it “original sin.” Human beings have been sinning ever since.

The devil is cunning in the way he tempts us. He makes what is bad look good. He tries to convince us that what God says is bad for us is actually good. For example, the devil emphasizes the physical pleasure in sexual activity so much that we lose sight of the intimate love that sexual activity is meant to express between a married man and woman. The devil never tells us of the bad effects. He emphasizes the physical pleasures to lead us away from God.

We are sinners. What are we to do?

Trust in God.

When we sin, we cannot undo the sin. We must ask God to create a clean heart in us, to wipe out our offenses and wash us from our guilt. For God to do this, we must acknowledge our offenses, that we have sinned and done what is evil is God’s sight. It’s right there in today’s psalm. We do this in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Unfortunately, even with God’s help, we are weak. The devil continues to tempt us as long as we live in this world. He will never give up. Is it possible to resist temptation? Absolutely! Just look at how many sins you don’t commit!

Jesus, because He became incarnate in the flesh, knows what it is like to face temptation. Immediately after his baptism, Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus is the Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, but in his humanity it was necessary for him to face temptation.

In the desert, Jesus fasted for “forty days and forty nights.” The number 40 is common in the Bible. In Noah’s day, it rained for forty days and forty nights. Moses spent 40 days on the mountain (Exodus 24:18, Exodus 34:28). The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert. Jesus shows his unity with us in the forty days He spent in the desert. Then came the time for Jesus to face temptation with the devil face to face.

The devil knew Jesus’ power. He also knew that Jesus had fasted for forty days and was hunger. The devil says to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” It would seem reasonable that if Jesus is hunger, that He turn the stones into bread. However, Jesus knows that He is not called to use his power for himself but for us. Jesus sees something much greater at work here than his physical hunger. We can learn from Jesus that the ends do not justify the means.

The devil even cites scripture in his temptation of Jesus. He speaks of God’s promise to protect us (Psalm 91:11). Jesus responds with another Bible verse (Deuteronomy 6:16), “You shall not put the Lord, your God to the test.” God sends angels to protect us but that doesn’t mean we should act dangerously and expect God to pick up the pieces.

The devil offers Jesus the whole world if Jesus would prostrate himself to worship the devil. What does the devil offer you if you worship him? Perhaps you are thinking, “Wait a minute! I do not worship the devil!” Perhaps not consciously but do you give into his ways of pride and greed? Do you seek to make a name for yourself with a great worldly job or in government leadership? Do you allow money to become your God, doing whatever it takes to get rich? Have you sold your soul to the devil?

Of course, Jesus resists this temptation too. However, we do not always resist temptation. Is there any hope for us?

Of course there is! Even if you have sold your soul to the devil, Jesus can rescue you. “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.” The disobedience of sin began in Adam and Eve. It is through the obedience of Jesus to his Father (and our Father) on the Cross that we are made righteous as our sins are forgiven!

Thank you Jesus!

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Ash Wednesday – Homily

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Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:12-18
Psalm 51:304, 5-6ab, 12-13,14 and 17
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
February 22, 2023

What are we doing here today?  It’s the middle of the week.  We go to church on Sunday.  Why are we here in the middle of the week?

Of course, it is because it is Ash Wednesday.  We are here to receive ashes. It is what we do.  However, it needs to be more than just what we do.  We need to ask ourselves why. 

In a few weeks we will celebrate the Easter Triduum.  We will start the Triduum with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.  This year that falls on April 6th.  Then Good Friday will come followed by the Easter Vigil.  These will be celebrated over three days but need to be understood as one event.  It is the most important time of the year.

Since it is so important, we have the season of Lent to prepare ourselves.  Lent begins today.

Still, why are we here?  Jesus tells us to pray in secret, to give alms in secret, to fast in secret.  Today is a day of fasting as we reflect on our sins.  We fast as a sign of our repentance for our sins.

We are here together when Jesus says to do these things in secret. 

We must pay careful attention to Jesus’ words at the beginning of this passage.  He tells his disciples, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.”  We are not to come here to show off.  Who would we show off to?  Everyone here is a sinner just like us.  No, we do not come here together in order for people to see us here.

We do it to show God and to show ourselves that we acknowledge that we are sinners who need to repent and be forgiven.

We come together hearing the command of the Lord to “proclaim a fast.”  Our fasting is a sign of us letting go of worldly things to focus on God. 

Through Joel, the Lord told us to “call an assembly; Gather the people.”  Jesus told us to pray in private.  Does that mean we ignore these words found in the Book of the Prophet Joel?  Did Jesus throw out what we read in Joel?

Why would the Lord tell anyone to “call an assembly?”  We come together to pray for one another.  We are on a journey but we do not make the journey alone.  We are called to support and care for one another.  We don’t have to do it alone.  We aren’t supposed to do it alone.  We have Jesus and the Holy Spirit but we also have each other.

We might feel alone in our sins.  That’s because mortal sin breaks relationships.  We are all sinners in need of God’s mercy. 

We are all called to make our return to the Lord with “fasting, and weeping, and mourning.”  We weep as we recognize how our sins have offended God who is all-loving.  We mourn as we realize that our sins have broken our relationship with God. 

In the Old Testament people would rend their garments and put on sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance. 

God does not want us to rend our garments.  He wants us to rend our hearts to return to him. 

However, we do put on ashes.

Why?  Where did the ashes come from in the Old Testament?  The ashes came from the burnt offerings the people sacrificed to God.  Today our ashes come from the burning of palms that were blessed last year as we began Holy Week, commemorating Jesus sacrificing his own life for our sins. 

Now it is time to bless our ashes and then come forth to receive the ashes as a sign of our repentance.  God forgives those who seek his mercy. 

Paul speaks of how we are called to be “ambassadors for Christ.”  Today we are ambassadors as we acknowledge our sins, showing God’s mercy to the world.

New Age and Mindfulness

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I recently wrote “More on Fortune Telling and Reiki in the Bible”, followed by an article on “Crystals, Exorcisms, and New Age.” Today, I would like to complete what I began to say about New Age spirituality and conclude with some challenges of understanding “mindfulness.”

In my last article, I introduced you to the Vatican Document, “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life” (by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Interreligious Dialogue, https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html). The document begins by identifying itself as “concerned with the complex phenomenon of “New Age” which is influencing many aspects of contemporary culture” and as reflections “offered primarily to those engaged in pastoral work so they be able to explain how the New Age movement differs from the Christian faith” (foreword).

We, as a church, have not done a good job of providing our parishioners a solid grounding in our faith. This is a contributing factor of why some have drifted into New Age spirituality, Reiki, and haven’t seen the problems with fortune telling.

This Vatican document writes, “New Age appeals to people imbued with the values of modern culture. Freedom, authenticity, self-reliance, and the like are all held to be sacred” (1.1). Freedom is important but to truly be free in making a choice, we must understand what our choices are. The Second Vatican Council talks about “authentic freedom” in paragraph 17 of Gaudium et Spes, “Hence man’s dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice that is personally motivated and prompted from within, not under blind internal impulse nor by mere external pressure. Man achieves such dignity when, emancipating himself from all captivity to passion, he pursues his goal in a spontaneous choice of what is good.”

As we read in “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life”, “The search which often leads people to the New Age is a genuine yearning: for a deeper spirituality, for something which will touch their hearts, and for a way of making sense of a confusing and often alienating world” (1.5). This is why we must give people a solid grounding in our Catholic faith. Properly taught and understood, our Catholic offers the answers people are looking for.

I personally find New Age spirituality hard to understand. In  “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life”, we find a reason for this, “New Age is not a single, uniform movement, but rather a loose network of practitioners whose approach is to think globally but act locally” (2). Thus, I will only offer comments from what this Vatican document says rather than trying to provide a full understanding of New Age spirituality.

In section 2.3.3, “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life” offers the following as central themes associated with New Age spirituality. They include seeing the cosmos as an organic whole, “it is animated by an Energy, which is also identified as the divine Soul or Spirit,” relying on “various spiritual entities,” and enlightenment type thinking. The “energy” component reminds me of Reiki. I see the concepts in general perhaps appealing to those identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”

The concept of God in New Age spirituality is not a personal god but more than of an “impersonal energy” that forms a unity in the cosmos (“Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life”, 2.3.4.2). In this it is a spirituality that is pantheistic (see the glossary in “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life” for a definition of “pantheism.”)

A lot more could and perhaps should be said about New Age spirituality but it is beyond my knowledge and the scope of this article to do so. My goal is not to teach you about New Age spirituality. I only wish to help you understand why New Age spirituality is not in keeping with our Catholic faith. This is perhaps most evident in the previous two paragraphs.

Now, I would like to turn to a topic that I have been asked by a friend to include in this series of articles, “mindfulness.” When I first heard the term “mindfulness,” my initial reaction was that our Catholic faith certainly calls us to be “mindful” of what is going on around us and the needs of our brothers and sisters. It turns out “mindfulness” is a term that comes from Buddhist spirituality.

Before continuing on “mindfulness”, a short mention of some thoughts from “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life” on Buddhism. In 2.2.3, it states, “New Age offers an Eastern formula in Western terms.” It speaks briefly of reincarnation in Hindu thought before continuing, “What is different in most Buddhist traditions is that what wanders from body to body is not a soul, but a continuum of consciousness.” In Christianity we have a soul given to us by God. Our soul is eternal but we live but one human life in this world. Later “Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life” states, “New Age imports Eastern religious practices piecemeal and re-interprets them to suit Westerners; this involves a rejection of the language of sin and salvation” (2.4). Certainly, no faithful Christian would intend to reject our understanding of “sin and salvation.” However, when we take pieces “piecemeal” from other religions and attempt to reinterpret them to suit our needs, we are flirting with disaster, perhaps even heresy, without ever meaning too.

The Second Vatican Council talked about what is good in other religions. However, that does not mean we can pick and choose items from other religions and interpret them as we wish. We need to look at the whole of what is being taught. In his book, Living Joy: 9 Rules to Help You Rediscover and Live Joy Every Day, (published by the Augustine Institute and Real Life Catholic, both of Greenwood Village, CO in 2020), Chris Stefanick writes about the differences between Buddhist and Christianity spirituality. “Christian spirituality is aimed at self-actualization” (59), meaning becoming who God calls us to be through “an immersion in the love that is God. Buddhist spirituality is aimed at enlightenment through self-negation. That’s not to say they don’t value love and compassion, but the end goal isn’t to be fully alive – fully you – but rather, to let go of the self, which they’d call an illusion” (59). Buddhist and Christian spirituality are rooted in very different perspectives. We must never forget that. It doesn’t mean everything about Buddhism is bad but must be considered carefully.

Faith is not a big melting pot. You cannot take pieces from various religions and throw them into the great melting pot to see what comes out after it is all melted together.

Returning to the concept of “mindfulness,” before one embraces “mindfulness”, one must understand its origin. To teach “mindfulness” without informing the “student” of its origin is to take away their ability to make an informed choice. It denies them true freedom of choice.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), writing as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote (1989), “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation.” (https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19891015_meditazione-cristiana_en.html) He begins with speaking of the good intent of many, “Many Christians today have a keen desire to learn how to experience a deeper and authentic prayer life despite the not inconsiderable difficulties which modern culture places in the way of the need for silence, recollection and meditation” (1). In paragraph 2, he discusses how some people turn to eastern methods for this. In paragraph 3, he writes, prayer “is defined, properly speaking, as a personal, intimate and profound dialogue between man and God.” We must never lose sight of this as our ultimate goal and what we are created for.

Cardinal Ratzinger later writes, “The majority of the great religions which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it, Just as “the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,” (Nostra Aetate, 2) neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from that what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured” (16).

Unfortunately, there are those who wish to promote “mindfulness” as a good practice without an indication of where it comes from or its original purpose.

In her article, “Can There Be a Catholic “Mindfulness?”,” (April 11, 2018 for Catholic Exchange, https://catholicexchange.com/can-catholic-mindfulness/) Jeanne Ewing writes of mindfulness, “It’s rooted in Buddhism; 2) It’s designed to help the person reach self-knowledge without ultimately leading one to God; and 3) The ultimate goal of mindfulness is to release person from the ‘burden’ of suffering” (my emphasis). In seeking freedom from suffering, it goes against what Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Taking up our cross, embracing our suffering, can be the very thing that leads us to our salvation.

Then, in the National Catholic Register‘s article, “Apologist Warns Catholics About Dangers of ‘Mindfulness’,” (https://www.ncregister.com/features/apologist-warns-catholics-about-dangers-of-mindfulness) by Patti Armstrong from an interview with Susan Brinkmann, Brinkmann mentions a husband who “stopped praying the Rosary with his family because he found this kind of meditation to be more relaxing.” Prayer is not “just for relaxation, but to converse with God.” His mistaken intent to relax may be good but it loses the union with God. Later, in the same article we read, “Instead of a momentary escape from anxiety, the Christian alternative offers a real solution to anxiety and a permanent transformation. One practice is a quick fix; the other is a long-term opportunity for exponential personal growth toward the ultimate goal of our existence here on Earth – union with God” (my emphasis).

Before I offer some final thoughts of my own, I will mention another article by Susan Brinkman, “What’s Mission from “The Mindful Catholic” (April 18, 2018, https://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/63319) where she presents the problems of mindfulness and teaching it without mention of its Buddhist roots.

To conclude, I would like to offer some thoughts from the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul discusses the eating of meat that was sacrificed to false idols. He says it makes no difference to him because he understands the sacrifice to false gods as meaningless but he realizes if others see him eating such meat, they may be led astray. We need to draw the line someplace. Be careful of practices from unknown sources or other religions (see also Acts 15:29, Acts 21:25, Romans 14:21). If you don’t know where the line is, then don’t go anywhere near it.

Well, this brings us to a conclusion. In this series of articles, I know I haven’t given you a complete explanation of everything but I hope these articles have given you an understanding of why we need to be careful. Faith is not just a hodgepodge of various beliefs. It is faith in God. It is faith and trust rooted in what Jesus has done for us on the Cross. Seeing his love for us on the Cross, we can certainly trust in him.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

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7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13 (8a)
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
February 19, 2023

Today is our last Sunday before we begin Lent.  The readings are picked for Ordinary Time but they give us some good “food for thought” as we prepare to begin Lent.

In Leviticus we hear the Lord’s words, “Be holy, for I, the LORD, am holy.”  During Lent we are called to think about our sins and what we need to change in our lives to come closer to God.  We are to ask ourselves how are we to be “holy.”

In Leviticus the Lord gives us guidance on what it means to be holy.  The Lord tells us, “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.”  No hatred. 

A footnote I read in the New American Bible Revised Edition says to be holy is to keep God’s precepts.  What does Jesus tell us the greatest commandments are?  To love God and to love our neighbor.  Hatred is contrary to love.

In love we may need to “reprove” our fellow citizens but we should not “incur sin because of him,” meaning they may upset us with wrongful acts but we should not let that make us angry.  The Lord continues, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge.”  Revenge is based on anger.  To hold a grudge to hold onto anger.  We may feel justified in our anger but to hold onto our anger hurts us because it takes the place meant for love in our heart.

As the psalm tells us, the Lord is “slow to anger and abounding in kindness.  Not according to our sins does he deal with us.”  When we sin, we seek forgiveness from the Lord.  He is eager to forgive us.  If we expect to be forgiven, we need to forgive others their trespasses.  After all, we say we will forgive others every time we say the “Our Father.”

Paul also speaks of holiness in today’s second reading.  He speaks of us as temples of God.  We are temples of God because the “Spirit of God” dwells in us.  Because we are temples of God, we are “holy” for, as the footnote to this verse in the New American Bible Revised Edition says, to be holy is to belong to God.

In belonging to God, we are called to give up earthly wisdom as foolishness to embrace the wisdom of God.

Secular dictionaries define “holy” as belonging to God or being devoted entirely to God.  Are you “devoted entirely” to God or is there something in your life keeping you from God?  Is it something you are being called to change for Lent?

In today’s gospel passage, Jesus does not use the word “holy.”  He tells us, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Perfect?

How are we to be perfect?  I suspect many of you hear the word “perfect” and think of making no mistakes and/or having nothing wrong with us.  Yet, as sinners, we know we do make mistakes, we sin.  We are not perfect in this sense. 

As I opened my Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1984), its first definition of perfect is “lacking nothing essential to the whole.” 

What is the “wholeness” of God?  “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).  To be perfect as our “heavenly Father is perfect” is to love.

Our love is not perfect but Jesus guides to what it means to love.  He speaks of the Old Testament verse, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”  This verse can be interpreted to approve of revenge but we already heard that the Lord tells us in Leviticus, “Take no revenge.”  God prescribed “an eye for an eye…” to limit our response.  Now, Jesus goes so far as to say, “offer no resistance to one who is evil.”  He tells us to turn the other cheek when someone strikes us.  This verse is not about self-defense.  It is to teach us not to escalate the anger. 

When someone strikes us, we should ask ourselves what response is going to make the situation better.  Responding with hatred only serves to escalate the violence.  It is better to respond with love.

This is why Jesus tells us to love our enemies.  Love can make things better.

Jesus also tells us to pray for those who persecute us.  If we want them to change, we must pray for them.  If we want them to love us, we must show them love.

So, on Wednesday we begin Lent.  We will receive ashes on our foreheads as a sign of our repentance, our desire to change. 

What are you going to do for Lent to become more “holy”?

Will you come to Mass every Sunday to keep the Sabbath holy? 

If you are able and don’t already, how about coming to daily Mass regularly for Lent?  If you can’t come everyday, how about once a week?

Of course, some of you work or are in school, so you can’t come to daily Mass at all.  How about coming to the Holy Hours we will have each Friday during Lent at 7 pm?

If you are not used to praying everyday, maybe you can give God five minutes of prayer at home each day. 

Give the time to God and He will make you holy.