New Video Presentation – “Praying the Rosary From the Heart”

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Last night I offered a new presentation, Praying the Rosary From the Heart. Here is a short description of the presentation:

The Rosary is a sacramental we use in prayer.  We memorize the prayers but do we think about what the words mean?  Do we know why we pray the Rosary?  Do you know the origin of the Rosary?  What about the Mysteries of the Rosary?  Fr. Jeff answers these questions and more in this presentation.  

You can find the video recording and slides on my website at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/rosaryvideos.

If you watch the video in the next couple of days, you can complete an online evaluation at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPUrPhtjFtEq1GQKl7EEITwAnT7xfGloZfaQh6PAiFGnUWyA/viewform?usp=sf_link.

I will be starting a new series of presentations, Being Church in Today’s World, on September 22nd. Here is a description for Part I:

For centuries western civilization was rooted in Christianity.  This is being lost today.  Fewer people practice their faith and many do not believe that God exists.  In a world where many think that you are free to believe whatever you want, how do you know what voice to listen to?  Where do we go for real Truth?  What does it mean to be “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church?”

Inspired by comments from people following previous presentations, in this new series, Fr. Jeff seeks to answer these questions and more.  This series begins on Thursday, September 22nd (with two more presentations following on October 27th and November 17th).  You can register for the webinar for Part I at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AeLY2pCgQrekE29-Aa92Jg .

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Heart of Christianity

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We have Ten Commandments. It isn’t easy to follow all ten. Sometimes we struggle with just one. Imagine what it would be like to follow 613 commandments. Why 613? Because that is how many the Jews were taught in the Old Testament.

Where does one begin? In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus is asked “which commandment of the law is the greatest.” In this passage, Jesus is asked the question as a “test.” However, it is a fair question. Where do we start?

One might presume that the answer would be found among the Ten Commandments. However, Jesus does not answer with one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus replies, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” While this is not one of the Ten Commandments, it is found in the Bible in Deuteronomy 6:5. The verb in this verse is “love.” The greatest commandment requires us to love. Who are we to love? God! How much are we to love? With all our heart, soul, and mind. In short, we are to love God with our whole being. God must be first in our lives or we fall short of the greatest commandment.

If we are to love God this much, we are to love what God has created. This is why Jesus adds, “The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We are called to love our neighbor as the second greatest commandment. This too is not found among the Ten Commandments. Yet, it too is found in the Bible in Leviticus 19:18.

Before continuing, a clarification is in order. I said the two greatest commandments as spoken by Jesus are not found in the Ten Commandments. The two greatest commandments do not match any one particular one of the Ten Commandments. How does this fit with Jesus saying He comes not to abolish the law but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17). The two greatest commandments encapsulate the Ten Commandments. The greatest commandment to love God encapsulates the first three commandments to worship only the one true God, to not take his name in vain, and to the keep the Sabbath holy. We do all these because we love God.

Then, the second greatest commandment, loving our neighbor, encapsulates #4 – 10 commandments. If we love our neighbor we do not kill them, commit adultery, steal from them, or covet their property.

The Ten Commandments are tools to help us love God and to love our neighbor.

What does it mean to love?

Probably the first thing that comes to mind with love is the love of a man and a woman as a husband and wife. In a different way, we love our family. We can also love our friends because of a deep connection we develop with them. Yet, we do not have to know someone personally to love them as God calls us to love our neighbor. We are love even the complete stranger as our neighbor (see the Parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37).

We do not love a stranger in the same way we love a spouse, family, or close friend. The love we are called to have for everyone starts with seeing them as a child of God (whether they know they are a child of God or not). It is not based on what they look like, what they can do, the language they speak, or where they are from. It is based on the dignity that God gives to each and every single human being. It calls us to respect everyone, whether we agree with them or not. We must not look at externals. Samuel learns in 1 Samuel 16:1-13 that God does not just by outward appearance. God looks into the heart (see verse 7).

Is our heart always filled with love?

Unfortunately, no. Our hearts can have anger in them. As Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount, if we hold anger in our hearts, we “will be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21-36, especially verse 21) for violating the Fifth Commandment. This is why anger is one of the seven deadly sins (see my recent article, “Who’s in Control: Your Anger or You?” and my article, “Anger” from 2010).

Oh boy! What are we to do if we have anger in our heart? Let go of the hurt, forgive the other person, and confess our anger to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God is the one who can heal us but only when we hand our sin over to him.

Anger is just one example of sin. The list goes on. In all cases, the fix is the same. If we have been hurt by another person, we need to let go of the hurt, confess our own part in sin to God, and ask God to heal us, to reconcile us to him (Hence, the name Sacrament of Reconciliation).

Returning to the greatest commandment, loving God. We are not perfect. God is. God’s love is evidenced in John 3:16-17, “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus shows us how absolute his love for us when He gives his life on the Cross for us for as we read in John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.“

As to loving our neighbor, it starts with respect, respecting every single person as a child of God, created in his image (Genesis 1:26). It does not mean we are everyone’s best friend. It does not mean we agree with them on everything. It does not mean we ignore their sin. In fact, if we love them, we are to help them see God’s Truth (see the Parable of the Watchman in Ezekiel 3:17-21 and John 8:32 “the truth will set you free“). Even this must be done in love, not judgment. We are called to hate the sin but love the sinner.

Lord, I do not love as I should. Please help me to love as you love me.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Will Only a Few People be Saved?

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Someone asked Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” What we all really want to know is how hard is it to be saved? Will my family and friends be saved? Will I will saved?

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord tells us that He comes to “gather nations of every language.” He speaks of “distant coastlands.” He speaks of gathering “brothers and sisters from all the nations.” Today’s psalm echoes this when it speaks of “all you nations…all you peoples.” The responsorial verse comes from Jesus’ words telling his disciples to “go out to all the world and tell the Good News.“

God offers a place in his kingdom to everyone, no matter where they are from, what language they speak, or the color of their skin.

Does this mean that everyone gets into Heaven?

How does Jesus respond to the question, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

He does not say everyone will get into Heaven. In fact, He calls them to “strive to enter through the narrow gate.” To “strive” means that it is not easy. It takes real effort. When Jesus says the gate is narrow, this means that there is a particular path we must follow.

Jesus continues, “for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” So, not everyone will get into Heaven. We must strive and ask for God’s help.

One might hope it is enough to just show up at church once in a while. Jesus speaks of those who will come after the door is locked and how He does not know them. They respond saying, “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.” They saw the Lord but they did not embrace what He said. They did not make Jesus part of who they are.

Now, none of us are perfect. God knows that. He is willing to forgive us when we come to him with a repentant heart and do our penance.

Why do we need to do a penance? Completing our penance shows our sorrow for what we have done along with our desire to change. Our penance also serves as the “discipline of the Lord.” Sometimes discipline is done as a punishment. God desires to discipline us to help us change. The Lord disciplines us because He loves us. As we read in Hebrews, “For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline.“

The Letter of Hebrews says, “all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.” Discipline may cause pain in the short-term but it serves a higher purpose.

Discipline is a lifelong process as we seek to know the Lord more fully each day. Here, we might think of what an athlete does. Athletes begin by learning how to play the game. Then, they practice. Then, they begin to play the game. Do they ever stop learning and practicing? No. There can be new things to learn or new strategies to develop. Even the best athletes keep practicing. If you want to win, you have to keep practicing.

The same is true in our relationship with God. There are foundational things that we learn as we begin to know God. The learning does not end when we complete the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist). Neither should our efforts to keep the commandments. All that God teaches us serves to make it possible for us to “enter through the narrow gate.“

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Musings

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While it is summer, I have been busy with the various activities that go with normal parish life. I have also been busy preparing for my presentation next week, Praying the Rosary From the Heart, on Thursday, August 25th, available via webinar at 6:30 pm (If you haven’t already registered, you can still register at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_l42WwS1KSficHuCC4YVTEA). Rather than being a how-to pray the rosary, this presentation will look the origin of the rosary, why we pray the rosary, and reflect on the words in the prayers and mysteries of the rosary.

I’ve also been busy working on a new series of presentations for the fall. I’m still working on the details but what I can say is that this series is directly inspired by what people have written on evaluations for previous presentations for ideas on new topics. Potential topics include the idea of “spiritual warfare”, understanding the magisterium (teaching office) of the church and do we need to listen to everything the pope says. It will also likely offer some thoughts on divisions and schisms in the church. I have yet to give a title to this series but the scheduled dates are September 22nd , October 27th and November 17th.

My current reading also centers on possible topics for the fall series. So, I find myself without inspiration for a specific topic today (Please feel free to comment offers some ideas for the future). So, I simply offer the updates above and the following musing.

Ten years ago, when I started my time as Pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Ithaca, I wrote a blog article, “It’s a Small World.” That article talked about how I was meeting new people with connections to people I knew in other parishes. We are not isolated parishes. Our connections extend beyond our local community.

When I left Immaculate to go to St. Michael’s in Newark, I met one parishioner who was the son of a couple in Ithaca who were daily Mass communicants. I met another couple who were friends with a couple of families in Ithaca through Cursillo.

Moving to St. Luke’s in Livingston County, I ran into a person I used to work with at the New York State Department of Transportation. I met another couple who were friends with a couple I met in my seminary days. Later I met a woman there who was a college roommate of someone here at St. Benedict’s that I know from my days here as a parishioner before seminary.

Moving from St. Luke’s to St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s where I serve now, one of our parishioners here is related to a family at St. Luke’s.

Why are I writing this? Here, with Seneca Lake drawing many weekend visitors, it is not uncommon for me to see people I know from Elmira, Penn Yan, and Ithaca. Last Thursday or Friday I was out for a walk. As I walked, ahead of me, I saw a couple who looked familiar but I could not place where I remembered them from (I was thinking local). When I passed them, they said they knew me. They are parishioners of St. Luke’s where they attend Holy Angels church in Nunda. That’s around 70 miles away. As soon as they said, “Nunda,” I knew who they were.

It all interconnects and does so on God’s timing. God’s timing is perfect. This Sunday, after our 10 am Mass, I was talking with one of our parishioners. She said she was interested in becoming a lay Carmelite and wondered if I knew anything about them. The timing was perfect because sitting in the pews were people who had come up from Elmira to see me. The mother has been a lay Carmelite for years. So, I connected the parishioner here with them. God provides.

That’s it for now.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily

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20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (4)
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53
August 14, 2022

Jeremiah served as a prophet of the Lord.  How were the prophecies he delivered received?  Today we hear the princes say, “Jeremiah ought to be put to death.”  Why?  Did he say something wrong?

They say, “he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city and all the people by speaking such things to them.”  What had he told them?

Jeremiah has delivered many prophecies from the Lord that were not popular.  In this case, he had just told them to surrender to Babylon as the Lord’s Will.  Obviously, this would not have been inspiring to the soldiers.  Even the people are discouraged as they want Israel to be a great kingdom of its own.

They think he “is not interested in the welfare” of the people.  In telling them to surrender, they think that he wants their “ruin.” 

He does not.  He is very much interested in their welfare.

He knows that their success lies in doing the Lord’s Will.  He seeks to deliver the message of what the Lord’s will is so that they may do it.

We can face the same struggle today.  When we try to guide people to know the Lord’s will, it is often not well-received.  Why?  Because it is not what the people want for themselves.

Just as the princes sought to silence Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern, people today want to silence us when we try to speak God’s Truth.

What are we to do?

We are to “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

The devil wants to pull us away from Jesus.  The devil distracts us with earthly pleasures.  The devil points us to things that bring us immediate pleasure but they do not bring us lasting joy.  To have the lasting joy that we are created for, we need to keep “our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

It is not easy.  We would like it to be easy but “easy” is often not what God calls us to.  Jesus himself tells us, “I have come to set the earth on fire.”  It is not enough to say we have faith.  We are called to fully live the faith.  In Revelation 3:16, we read, “So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

There were those who did not accept what Jesus said.  He did not fight with them but neither did He back down from them and become silent.  Jesus did not become silent to “keep the peace.”

Jesus knew his message would bring division.  Division is not the goal.  The goal is to know Jesus and to have a deep relationship with him.  The problem comes when not everyone accepts the Lord’s teaching.

Should we be silent to keep the peace?

We need to ask what “peace” is.  We are talking about peace in two different ways.  There is earthly peace where everyone gets along.  There would be no wars or fighting.  We certainly desire this but real peace is more than just not fighting.  Externally, earthly peace looks good but what about on the inside?  Are we agreeing or are we biting our tongues?

This leads to the second type of peace, the peace that Jesus offers when He says, “Peace be with you.”  It is a peace that is found in our heart and soul when we accept what God teaches and strive to follow it.  It is a peace that transcends earthly quarrels and disagreements. 

Which peace do you seek?

The devil wants us to seek the earthly peace where it seems everyone is getting along.  The devil knows that this can keep us from knowing the true peace that Jesus offers.  We become complacent in our faith.  We might only be lukewarm at best.  God doesn’t want us to be lukewarm.  Jesus came to “set the earth on fire.”

Jesus did not start fights with other people.  If they did not accept what He said, He moved on.  We are not to fight others but we are to remain committed to our faith.  Why is this important?  If we become silent to keep earthly peace, others may think that we don’t really believe it ourselves.

It is not easy.  We face “opposition from sinners.”  Jesus faced opposition but “for the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross.”

Jesus endured the Cross because He knew that it would open the joy of the eternal kingdom to us.  May we accept the sufferings before us to bring others as well as ourselves to eternal joy with God. 

God guides us in his Word we hear read at Mass.  We are strengthened in the Eucharist. 

I’ll conclude by noting that if everyone accepts the peace of Christ and lives in accord with God’s way, we will have both the peace of Christ and earthly peace.

Who’s in Control: Your Anger or You?

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How is your anger?  Would others describe you as short-tempered or as having a short-fuse?  Do you feel like you struggle with having enough patience?  You are not alone. 

Dr. Ray Guarendi (known as Dr. Ray on radio and tv) writes about anger in his new book, Living Calm:  Mastering Anger & Frustration (Irondale, AL:  EWTN Publishing.  2022.  This book is described as a revised edition of Fighting Mad, published in 2014.) 

Dr. Ray says the in vogue therapeutic language for those who struggle with anger is ‘“He has a low frustration tolerance.”  “She displays deficits in emotional regulation.” “He struggles with anger management issues”’ (1) You can call it many things.  The bottom line is “are we in control of our anger or is our anger in control of us.”

Dr. Ray writes, “The new language shuns value judgments.  At school little Butch’s aggression isn’t wrong; it’s unacceptable.  His actions aren’t bad; they’re inappropriate choices.  He isn’t being mean; he’s exhibiting relational deficits” (2).   Really?  Why is his behavior unacceptable?  Because it’s wrong.  They’re inappropriate actions because they are bad actions.  We need to find compassion words to describe behavior, including our own behavior, but we need to be honest with ourselves when we have done something wrong.  Even if we have diagnosable psychological issues, we need to admit when we have done something wrong (see Guarendi, 5).

What is the origin of our bad behavior?  Dr. Ray says when he was in school, “the emphasis was on all the ways the environment shaped personality” (12).  The environment we grow up in has a major part in shaping who we are.  So does “nature,” meaning our biological genes.  Dr. Ray is the father of ten children.  They are all adopted.  All raised in the same environment but with different genetic makeups.  They don’t all behave the same (Guarendi, 12-13).  We do not control our genetic makeup and we were not in control of our environment growing up.  What we are in control of is what we do now.  How well do you handle anger now?

Dr. Ray talks about “eruptive anger”, the kind we blow up with.  This can be the most concerning.  However, in the confessional, I think it is what Dr. Ray calls “simmering anger” that can also be concerning.  It’s the kind we keep bottled up inside us until something pushes us too far.  Then, there’s the “silent anger” we may not even realize is making us irritable (Guarendi, 15). 

Sometimes we seem to blow up at little things.  Here, I advise people to reflect on what was really making us anger.  Were we mad at what was going on at that moment?  Perhaps it brought up old memories of something much worse that is the source of our real anger (see Guarendi, 17).  Maybe, based on past behaviors, we were expecting them to act badly.  We cause ourselves “anticipatory anxiety” when we expect bad things to happen (see Guarendi, 41).    Sometimes the thing that makes us blow up is not what is really upsetting us.  Sometimes someone has upset because they unknowingly “stumbled into a sensitive personal place” (Guarendi, 18).

Sometimes we act differently in different settings (Guarendi, 22).  At work we are careful in how we act.  At church we seek to follow expectations but at home we let loose of the rules and regulations.  Who is the real us?  Are people seeing the best or worst of us?  Are we seeing the best or worst of them?

Sometimes we avoid issues trying to be good and establish peace.  We wait too long to deal with a situation and when we finally do, we explode (Guarendi, 25-26 and 27-32). 

Dr. Ray writes on how some think, ‘“Feelings are neither good nor bad; they just are.”  So goes the mantra.  Merely because I experience an emotion, that emotion is legitimate” (34).  This is probably most used in reference to anger.  There are things that will make us angry.  Later, Dr. Ray writes, “Risking oversimplification, righteous anger follows an injustice or harm done to another, while right-filled anger tends to wrap around a wrong done to oneself” (63). 

What do we do with our anger?  Dr. Ray points us to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:21-32, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.  But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.”  We must work to control our anger, no matter how justified we feel (cf. Guarendi, 36-37).

Sometimes we think we have to act angrily to get to others to do what we want them to do.  Our anger may get us what we want in the immediate moment but are we are building a good future by relying on our anger (Guarendi, 46-47)?  Lord, please help us to change.

Whose to blame?  Does it matter who started it?  When you fought with a sibling growing up, did one of your parents ever say, “I don’t care who started it.  I’m going to finish it?”  The reality is we all may contribute to the problem (Guarendi, 50-52).  We can’t make the other person change.  What we can do is admit our portion of the blame and work to change ourselves. 

We need to ask God to help us control what might seem like justified anger.  Sometimes, all it takes is our holding control for a minute to keep from exploding.  Lord, help me to control the emotions within me so that I may respond in accord with your will (Guarendi, 55-59, 91-97).

What else should we consider in evaluating our anger and how to deal with it?  Dr. Ray writes, “My anger over an offense may be one of the most intense feelings I’ve ever had.  That doesn’t mean the feeling is grounded in a right reading of the situation.  My reading may be slanted or incomplete” (65).

We should also consider why something is bothering us.  Dr. Ray describes frustration as “the difference between the way we want things to be and the way they are.  It is the gap between our desires and reality.  The bigger the gap, the more the frustration” (73).  He continues, “To reduce frustration, reduce the distance between what you expect – from other and from life – and what is” (73).  Lord, please help to know if my expectations are reasonable and in line with your will.  If my expectations are not, please help me to change them.

What about venting?  Does it really help?  Pent-up anger is not good but in “venting” are we looking to justify our position or are we open to seeing things differently?  Dr. Ray says venting is not helpful (87-90).  I think we need to ask God to help us find constructive ways to release our anger but in the right way, not in gossip or a fit of rage.

Earlier I spoke about the importance of admitting our part.  When we have done wrong, Dr. Ray writes, ‘“I’m sorry is a giant first step toward damage control.”  Unfortunately, “I’m sorry” doesn’t always seem adequate or genuine.  However, it is a start.  Dr. Ray reminds us, “one can genuinely regret his past behavior yet struggle to reduce like behavior in the future” (103).  Do you always change when you want to?  Really?  Think of the words in the act of contrition “I firmly resolve to sin no more.”  Do you always stop sinning on the first try?  Don’t worry.  God still forgives you.  Offer the same to others.

Anger may seem natural.  Dr. Ray talks about some see it as “automatic” (108).  An angry thought may come in an instant.  That’s why we need to take a minute before responding.  It is based on our perception but our perception may not be right (Guarendi, 110).  Lord, help us to correctly understand the situation and to not take it all personally. 

As I prepare to conclude, three points.  First, when facing anger in the present moment, don’t dredge up the past (Guarendi, 125).  Second, Dr. Ray reminds us, “It’s been said:  clinging to anger toward another is like ingesting a little bit of poison every day and waiting it for it to sicken the other person” (130).  Third, when someone upsets you, always remember to pray for them!

These are my thoughts having read Dr. Ray’s book, Living Calm:  Mastering Anger & Frustration.”  My thoughts are based on my own struggles with anger and frustrations as well as what others have said to me.  However, my thoughts and struggles may not be the same as yours.  For example, Dr. Ray frequently uses examples relating to parenting.  I am not a parent, so those examples don’t always speak to me.  They might speak to you.  What I have written in a few pages is not meant to be a substitute for reading Dr. Ray’s book.  I offer this hoping it inspires you in whatever challenges you face dealing with anger.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

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It is no secret that we live in a world with suffering and challenges. We may feel like we are being put to the test in our sufferings. We may fear some of the challenges we face in the world.

In today’s gospel, “Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.” It is not an earthly kingdom that our Father gives us. It is a place in his heavenly kingdom that He offers. For now, we live in this world by faith.

In faith we trust that God is present in our lives and always caring for us because the Lord has chosen to make us his own. He delivers us from death in this world. At times we might struggle to know that God is with us. We may experience a famine of prayer (aka dryness) but the Lord is always with us. Here we read in Hebrews, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” The beauty we see in nature in the visible world serves as “evidence of things not seen,” God is not seen but we can believe.

God offers us “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.” Do we make this the treasure we seek? Is this where our heart is?

If we follow Jesus as the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6), we will receive the treasure of Heaven. For now we must wait, standing ready for the Second Coming of Jesus. Jesus assures us, “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.”

We ask God for the grace we need to remain vigilant always for we do not know the hour of his return. How does God give us grace? One of the most evident ways is in the sacraments. It begins in Baptism. God feeds us in the Eucharist, the very Body and Blood of Jesus. God gives us grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as He forgives our sins. He strengthens married life in the Sacrament of Marriage.

Do we remain vigilant? Or are we like the servant who finds his master delayed in returning “and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk“? Do you go astray when you think no one is looking?

In our reading from Wisdom today we hear, “Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us.” God assures us of “the salvation of the just.” God also assures us that those who do not follow him will face their “destruction” in Hell. (Let us pray for their conversion before then.) When they face their punishment, we will be glorified. It will be evident that we have followed the Lord’s ways when we are raised up.

For now, just as Abraham “sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob” by faith, so too we live in this world as a foreign land. This world is not where God created us to spend eternity. Our home in this world is only temporary (thus we dwell in tents).

It is not always easy to follow the Lord’s ways. It requires vigilance. Jesus says the person who “was ignorant of his master’s will” will only receive a light beating for their sins. It might seem like ignorance is bliss but if we know the Lord has something to say, then we are not ignorant. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us more fully understand for, as Jesus says, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” God has made us his children in Baptism. He feeds us with the Eucharist. We need to follow him, vigilant in his ways.

God has promised something wonderful for those who follow him. For now, borrowing from the Letter to the Hebrews, we live as “strangers and aliens on earth…seeking a homeland…a better homeland, a heavenly one.”

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Jeremiah Today

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Some people see the Bible as outdated. It is not. It is God’s Word and it is a living word, still relevant to us today. In recent days the first reading at daily Mass has been from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called to serve as a prophet of the Lord just before the start of the Babylonian Exile. That was 600 years before Jesus became incarnate, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. It was 2,600 years ago. Yet, I see parallels to what we face today as Christian disciples.

Jeremiah faced persecution for the messages he delivered from the Lord. When we try to share God’s Word today, it is not always well received. In Jeremiah 20:10 we read that Jeremiah faced this from his own friends. Who do you know that rejects what our Catholic faith teaches? Do you have family members or friends who have abandoned the faith or pick and choose what they believe?

In last Saturday’s (July 30, 2022, Saturday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2) first reading, we hear that even some of the priests and prophets said, “This man deserves death; he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” They rejected Jeremiah’s message because it was not what they wanted to hear. What they failed to realize was that it was God’s message to them, not Jeremiah’s. In the gospel reading for last Saturday, we hear how Herod had John the Baptist arrested because John the Baptist was saying that Herod’s marriage was unlawful. John the Baptist would be beheaded for delivering this message from the Lord. May the Holy Spirit guide us to hear what God is saying to us and to know what God calls us to share with others. We also pray for the courage to do what the Lord asks of us.

Where do people go today for “truth?” Unfortunately, for many, the truth is what they already believe. They just look for evidence to support it and/or people who agree with them. (Pope Francis writes about this as part of his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. See my articles reflecting on that encyclical.) This idea of focusing on determining our own truth favors relativism.

Realizing that there needs to be some common system of laws, some people see it as simply based on majority rules. We see some of this in what is going on in the synod in Germany (not to be confused with the synod that will occur in Rome next year). In Germany they are talking about changing church teaching (see news stories on the German Synodal Way at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/tags/8479/german-synodal-way) based on popular opinion and voting. The point of a synod is discussion. Church teaching does develop but it does not change in ways that stand in direct contradiction to the Bible and Tradition.

Some people also take modern psychology as a source of “truth.” However, while psychology can be a powerful tool to help us understand human behavior, psychology does not determine what is right and wrong. For example, psychology can help us understand why an alcoholic drinks too much, why a person steals, or engages in behavior that our faith teaches is immoral. However, no one argues that since psychology can help us understand why an alcoholic drinks or a kleptomaniac steals, that it is okay and we should let them do it.

As I have written before (for example see “Tolerance, Hate Speech, and Dialogue?,”) some of the people who speak of tolerance and relativism are not open to us speaking publicly on what our faith teaches. They call it “hate speech” and think we should be silenced. We must never preach hate. We must never call for violence against those who oppose us and/or engage in behavior that is against what God teaches us. We need to love our neighbor. In loving our neighbor we are called to share the truth with them for the sake of the salvation of their souls. They have choices to make but they need to hear what God teaches in our faith to be able to make a choice.

God is the one who determines right and wrong. We try to make ourselves our own potter when we are merely the clay (see the first reading for last Thursday, July 28, 2022, Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2). God is the one who formed the world, not us.

The good news is that when we realize we have sinned in going our own way, God is willing to take us back in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reforming us into what He calls us to be.

It is our faith that should form us. In turn, our faith should form the world. Unfortunately, this has been inverted such that people think our faith should be changed, formed by what the world says. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” We need to make a choice to follow God, not the world.

To do so, we need God’s help. I would like to end with the words from the beginning of the psalm from last Saturday’s readings:

“Rescue me out of the mire; may I not sink!
may I be rescued from my foes,
and from the watery depths.
Let not the flood-waters overwhelm me,
nor the abyss swallow me up,
nor the pit close its mouth over me.
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your saving help, O God, protect me.”

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily

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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 (95:8)
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Luke 12:13-21
July 31, 2022

Many people had come to Jesus for healing or to be freed from demons. 

Today someone offers a different request, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

Does Jesus help this person?  Jesus is not concerned with such earthly matters.  Jesus did not come to arbitrate earthly matters.  Jesus is concerned with spiritual matters.  He is concerned with our salvation.

Thus, He told the man, “Take care to guard against all greed.”  Greed is a concern for earthly wealth.  As Paul writes, we need to “put to death” the parts of us “that are earthly” including greed. 

Jesus says, “One’s life does not consist of possessions.”  To help us understand this, He tells the parable of the “rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.”

Did the man express gratitude for the bountiful harvest?  No.  His concern is what he will do with it because his barns are not big enough to store it all. 

He could have given the extra harvest away.  He does not.  Instead, he tears his old barns down to build larger ones to keep it for himself.  He thinks he is set for many years.

What he does not know is that he will die that night.  His possessions will no longer matter to him.

We do not know when we will die.  So, we need to be prepared.  When a harvest comes, we need to save a proper amount based on our need.  It would be prudent to save enough at least to the next harvest.

How much do we need?  How much do we want? 

Why work to build up more than we need only to keep it in storage?  When the harvest is bountiful is it not better to share it with others?  What good does all our hard work do if our possessions rot in storage?

Of course, one can talk about planning for a rainy day.  In biblical times, this would be storing enough grain in case there is a famine.  In today’s world, it might include planning for retirement.

I can’t tell you how much is appropriate to save.  What I can say is don’t be greedy about it.  We should also not save for tomorrow at the expense of today.  What good does it do to work long and hard hours to save for retirement if it costs us our family and a good life now?  We need to find a balance.

Today’s psalm speaks of those things “which at dawn springs up anew; but by evening wilts and fades.”  Worldly possessions come and go. 

Likewise, we need to live in the moment for what is truly important.  We need to “seek what is above…Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”  Earthly things have their importance.  We need some food but how much and how fancy?  We need a place to live but how big and how fancy?  What good is a big fancy home if we have to work so hard and long to have it that we lose our soul?

Are we rich in “what matters to God?” 

What matters to God?  Our eternal soul.  Our faith.  Our love for God and for our neighbor.

God invites us to take off our old self, our human self, that is focused on earthly matters and to put on a new self that is focused on the things that are above.

Have you taken off your earthly self?  If not, what are you holding on to?  Ask God to help you let go of it, to focus on the treasure that God offers us in eternity with him.

How Are Saints Made?

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I was recently asked to write about how saints are made in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has a formal process for recognizing saints. Please notice that I said “recognizing saints,” not “making saints.”

Why the distinction?

Because the Church’s process does not make the person a saint. Rather, the process verifies that they are a saint. Anyone who is in Heaven is a saint whether they have been formally declared a saint or not. They are part of the great “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1).

Before continuing, one might want to ask why the saints are important to us. They serve as examples of holy life, sometimes in very difficult circumstances, like the martyrs. As they are in Heaven, we can ask for their intercession before God. We count on their prayers.

We should also understand that we do not worship the saints. As the first commandment teaches, we worship God alone. We venerate the saints, meaning we honor them for the example they have shown of holy living.

All of us who have been baptized have entered into the Communion of Saints. The Catechism of the Catholic Church writes “”The three states of the Church.  “When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him.  But at the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth.  Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating ‘in full light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is”” (paragraph 954, original quote from Lumen Gentium, 49). We are the “pilgrims on earth.” Those in Purgatory are those “being purified” while the saints are those who “are in glory.”

We continue on our journey towards Heaven by striving to live the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. Living in relationship with Jesus calls us to see the God’s Commandments not just as rules. They are a way of life (see my presentation Are They Rules or a Way of Life?).

The process for declaring a saint comes in four steps. It begins with a waiting period of five years. The process cannot start until a minimum of five years after a person’s death. This allows us to move from wanting to honor good people at their death to see an enduring belief that they are saints. This is the only step with a set amount of time to it.

The second step happens after careful and extensive study of the person’s life to verify that they led a heroically virtuous life. When the Vatican accepts this, the person is declared “venerable.”

The third step is beautification. This happens after a miracle is attributed to their intercession. The miracle is carefully studied to know it truly is a miracle. The miracle serves as evidence that the person is able to intercede for us before God. After this, the person is referred to as “blessed.”

Then, the four step is canonization. This requires a second miracle. Once, this happens the person is declared a saint.

Once a person is declared blessed, they are assigned a feastday. It might be a feast, memorial, or optional memorial depending on public notoriety and how their lives relate to what is going on in the world. It may be publicly celebrated by the whole church across the world or only in a local region, generally where they are from or lived.

You can read more about the process of declaring a saint in article from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at https://www.usccb.org/offices/public-affairs/saints).

You can also learn more about some of the saints in my three-part series of presentations, Our Saints and Intercessors. This series begins will an introduction to the saints in general and then speaks about the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Angels, St. Lucy, St. Patrick, St. Thomas, and St. Luke. I also did a single presentation, Three Saints to Aid Us, discussing St. Michael the Archangel, St. John Fisher, and St. Thomas More.

You might also wish to check out my past blog articles on the saints at https://blog.renewaloffaith.org/blog/?cat=55.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff