My Fourth and Final Article on “Fratelli Tutti”

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I have finished my fourth and final article in my series, Our Relationships With Others, reflecting on Pope Francis’ encyclical, Fratelli Tutti.  As I complete this series, please note that the four articles do not cover the entirety of the encyclical. 

I selected the four topics for my articles based questions people have asked me in the past or things I know they struggle with.  I hope this helps demonstrate that what the Church says is relevant to what is going on in the world.  I hope these articles have been a good balance of instruction and a call to action in the way we live our lives.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Our Story

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In Matthew 28:19-20a, Jesus says to his disciples, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” This mission was not limited to the first disciples. It is a mission that continues today. It is mission not just for clergy and parish staff. It is a mission we all share in.

The mission is not solely about academic theology. It is about sharing what the gospel means to us. As Fr. John Riccardo writes in his book, Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel, (The Word Among Us Press, Frederick MD. 2020), “As we dive into the gospel together, our goal is not merely to learn something, but to experience something” (27).

As we read the Bible we must realize that the stories we read are not simply the stories of the people within those stories. What we read is our story, the story of God’s love for his people.

In this sense, Fr. John Riccardo writes, “Scripture doesn’t simply tell us what happened once, long ago, in a biblical era far, far away. Scripture tells us what always happens. Because what the devil did to Adam and Eve, he’s still trying to do to us today” (62).

The stories found in the Bible are from 2,000 year ago (New Testament) or more (Old Testament) ago. The world has changed drastically. For some this mistakenly means that the Bible is no longer relevant. The fact is the Bible is still relevant today. Fr. John Riccardo speaks of why it is still relevant, “This is why the message of the gospel is perpetually relevant: because we all have the same desires; we want infinite love. We want to have a sense of identity and to be accepted. We want to know that our lives have meaning” (19).

It is God who provides meaning to our lives.

We need to share our story with others. This is what it means for us to proclaim the gospel in everyday life. One word often used to describe this in theology books is “kerygma”. The word is a Greek word meaning “proclamation.” However, I have to admit that how this word is used in theology books has been difficult for me to grasp.

Thus, I am grateful for Fr. John Riccardo’s explanation in his book, Rescued. He articulates the four components of kerygma as “the goodness of creation, sin and its consequences, God’s response to our sin, and our response to what God has done for us.” More succinctly, he describes kerygma as “Created, Captured, Rescued, Response.” Let’s take a moment to look at each of these four components.

“The goodness of creation” (Created)
This is where we find meaning. The existence of the world we live in is not simply a matter of a physical creation as explained in the Big Bang Theory. There is a God. “He’s good. He is complete. He needs nothing outside himself” (Riccardo, 42). Yet God choses to create “out of nothing…out of love” (Riccardo, 42). God made male and female in his image. We see God in all that He has created.

“Sin and its consequences” (Captured)
All that God created is good. In his love, God gives us free will. If we are not free to choose, we are not free to love. Unfortunately, we do not always choose wisely. We sin, such has it been since the beginning with Adam and Eve. We face temptation from the devil. If we are win against temptation, we must admit that the devil is the great tempter. The devil likes it when we think he does not exist because then we let our guard down (Riccardo, 66). We are in battle against evil. Sin captures us and makes us slaves to our sins. We cannot win the battle on our own. Fortunately, we do not have to.

“God’s Response to Our Sin” (Rescued)
The good news is that God has a rescue plan. “God became man to fight, to go to war, to liberate an oppressed race, and to free prisoners” (Riccardo, 98). Jesus comes to rescue us from our sins. The instrument Jesus uses for our rescue is the Cross. We might feel stuck in our sins. We might feel that we cannot change. This is not true! As Fr. John Riccardo writes, “The whole principle of the Christian life is that you can change” (131). However, we cannot change on our own. We need God to recreate us (Riccardo, 132)

“Our Response to what God has done for us” (Response)
What is our response to God rescuing us? It begins with gratitude. Jesus did something wonderful when He gave his life for us. We need to be thankful. We need to live with gratitude. We give our lives to Jesus. We share the gospel, meaning we share our experience of God, his rescue of us (see Riccardo, 171).

I will end with one final quote from Fr. John Riccardo, “But remember Pope St. John Paul II and his statement that the kerygma is “the initial ardent proclamation by which a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith.” Surrender is simply another word for “entrust,” and both words are another way to say “faith” (Riccardo, 153, quote from Pope St. John Paul II is from Catechesi Tradendae, 25).

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Seeking Real Dialogue

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I just completed the third article, “Seeking Real Dialogue”, in my series, “Our Relationships With Others”. In the first two articles I took an instructive approach.

In this third article, I continue to seek to help readers understand what Pope Francis wrote while encouraging us to think about it in our own actions.

Once again, I hope this helps you in understanding the encyclical and helps you live our faith in your daily lives.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 (1a)
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Matthew 25:14-30
November 15, 2020

Proverbs speaks of the “worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.”  She is praised for the good she does as a God-fearing woman.  What we hear today is the short version.  If you read the whole passage, there is far more praise.

Proverbs says, “Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting.”  There is nothing wrong with being beautiful on the outside.  However, what the worthy wife is praised for is based on her inner beauty, the goodness she shows in using what God has given her to care for others with love.

What do you do with what God has given you?

Jesus tells a parable where the master “entrusted his possessions” to three servants, giving them different number of talents (coins), “each according to his ability.”

What do they do with the talents they have been given?

The first one received five talents.  He took what he had given and put them to work, making five more talents.  He did good.

The second received two talents.  He too put them to good use and made two more.

The third…the third buried his.  He received one talent and made no more (more on why later).

What was the master’s response to what each servant had done?

He is pleased with what the first two did.  They did what they were supposed to.  They put the talents to good use.  Do we put what God has given us to good use?

While the master was pleased with the first two, he was not pleased with the third, even calling him a “wicked, lazy servant!”  The master tells the third servant he should have at least put the money in the bank to make interest. 

Why didn’t the third servant do something with the talent?

Because he was afraid.

Here is his explanation, “Master, I knew you were a demanding person…so out of fear, I went off and buried your talent in the ground.”

Fear can be a powerful thing.  It could be good and it can be bad.  When it is good, it may motivate us to do something good or it may keep us from doing something stupid and dangerous. 

When fear is bad, it can be crippling.  It can keep us from acting.  In this case, the third servant’s fear kept him from taking any risk with the master’s money.  He was afraid of losing the money.  He was afraid of disappointing his master when, in fact, his lack of action was the very thing that disappointed the master.

God is powerful.  That might cause us to fear.  If our fear keeps us from sinning, it can be a good fear.  If our fear of God keeps us from doing good works, that is not good.

Our psalm response today is “Blessed are those who fear the Lord.”  The notion of fearing God is a challenging one for me.  When I think of God, I think of love.  God loves us so much that He sends Jesus to die for us on the Cross.  How can we fear God when He shows us that much love? 

On the other hand, what I do fear is the consequences of sin.  I know if I sin, Hell is real.  So, I repent, confessing my sins (yes, I a priest go to confession).  I thank God for his forgiveness.

When I think of “fearing” God, I think in terms of “awe.”  God is all-powerful.  God is all-knowing.  God is all-loving.  God is magnificent.  This motivates me to do good.  This is good fear.

Bad fear, as I said before, can be crippling.  Bad fear can leave us feeling powerless and without hope, living in darkness.

Disappointing news can also leave us in darkness.  You may have heard about the report issued this week following the investigation of Theodore McCarrick.  It was disappointing to hear the prior failures to deal with it.  Sexual abuse should never happen.  I pray for all victims of abuse.  If you, or someone you know, has been the victim of abuse by clergy, I am deeply sorry.

Do we give up? 

No!

Why?  Because God is with us.  There has been scandals before in the church because of human weakness.  God has always rescued his people. Last year, Bishop Robert Barron published a short book called, A Letter to a Suffering Church where he talks about the abuse scandal.  He also does an excellent job talking about how God has gotten the church through past scandals.  There is hope.

The Holy Spirit will lead us through this.  The Bible is full of numerous stories of God rescuing his people.   Praise be to God.

With faith, we will get through this.  This is what Jesus means when He says, “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich.” 

Our faith may seem small but when we embrace that faith, God will be with us, we will be given more faith, we will become rich in the graces of God.

Amen!

Second Article Reflecting on Pope Francis’ Encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti”

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I just posted to my website the second article, “The Right to Private Property and Loving Our Neighbor” in my series, “Our Relationships With Others” reflecting on Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti.

I hope it is helpful for you.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Reflecting on Pope Francis’ new encyclical – “Fratelli Tutti”

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I recently finished reading Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti On Fraternity and Social Friendship.  I read it in book form (Cottbus, Germany:  HijezGlobal Press. 2020).  You can also find it online on the Vatican website at http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html.

I found several interesting discussions in it and expect to write three or four blog articles from it in the coming weeks.  As I began to write the first article I realized it was a bit longer than most of my blog articles and the formatting might be a little difficult in a blog article.  So, I changed the formatting some and offer the article as a PDF file by clicking on this link. 

This article reflects on the first portion of the encyclical regarding how we interact with one another, especially on digital media.  I hope to write the rest of the articles in the next two weeks. When the articles are ready, they will be posted here and at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/our-relationships-with-others.html.

Peace,


Fr. Jeff

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Wisdom 6:12-16
Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (2b)
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
November 8, 2020

Everyone is looking for happiness.  We find lasting happiness, we find joy, when we find fulfillment.  What is it that fulfills us?

In our psalm response today we said, “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.” 

Yes, our soul thirsts for God.  Our flesh pines for God.  It is God whom we seek. 

We are created in the image of God.  We are created to know God.  It is embedded in us.  While earthly things can make us happy in the immediate moment (some earthly things are even necessary in this world), we do not find the joy we seek in earthly things.  With this in mind, our opening prayer asks God to keep us “unhindered in mind and body alike”, set free from undo attachment to earthly things.

It is God we seek. 

We are approaching the end of our liturgical year.  In three weeks, we will begin Advent, marking a new year in the church.

As we approach the end of this year, our readings speak of the end times.  In the second reading, Paul addresses the Thessalonians concerning those who die before the Second Coming of Jesus.  He assures them that those who die before that “will rise first.”  They look forward to the Second Coming not in fear but with joy, joy that comes from knowing God and looking forward to being with God.

Today’s gospel passage is the Parable of the Ten Virgins who wait for the coming of the bridegroom.  The bridegroom symbolizes Jesus.  His bride is the Church.

They waited with anticipation for the bridegroom.  Do we eagerly await the coming of Jesus?

They carried their lamps with them.  In Baptism, we receive the Light of Christ.  Do we let the Light of Christ burn brightly within us?

The ten virgins did not know when the bridegroom would arrive.  Did they come fully prepared to wait?

The five who were wise did.  They brought extra oil with them.  The five who were foolish did not.  As the bridegroom draws near, their oil runs out.  They have to go to get more.  When they return, they find the door locked and are unable to enter.

So it will be with those who are not ready when Jesus comes.  God gives us a long time to prepare but, when the time comes, we must be ready. 

What is required for us to be ready?

We need to know the Lord.  Knowing the Lord is more than just knowing that He exists.  It is more than just coming to church once in a while.  To know the Lord involves all our mind, body, and soul.

To be ready requires perseverance.  We cannot let our guard done.  Look at what is going on with the Coronavirus.  The number of cases is on the rise.  Contact tracing suggests part of the reason for the increase is “pandemic fatigue.”  People are getting tired of social distancing and wearing facemasks.  So, they are not doing it.  This is leading to more cases of the virus.  We need to persevere.

We need to persevere in waiting for Jesus.  As the waiting continues, we may let our guard down.  That can lead to sin.  Sin keeps us from Heaven.  Of course, we thank God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins but we should not take his forgiveness for granted.  We ask the Holy Spirit to help us persevere, to help us be in it for the long haul.

One of the ways in which God helps us persevere is in the Mass.  He gives us grace in the sacraments.  God also comes to us when we pray at other times.  This is how we come to know God.

To persevere in following the Lord, to know the Lord, also requires Wisdom.  This “wisdom” is not mere human knowledge.  It involves human knowledge but it is more than that.  Think of how knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are three distinct gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We need all three.

The Book of Wisdom speaks of “Wisdom” personified as a lady.  Lady Wisdom is described as “resplendent and unfading.”  “She is readily perceived by those who love her.” 

Do we love Wisdom?  To love Wisdom is not simply to seek knowledge.  Loving Wisdom is to embrace the Wisdom as part of who we are.

Let us keep vigil for Wisdom and for the Lord.  As we seek Wisdom, may we find it, and persevere as we eagerly await the coming of Jesus.

Can Failing to Do Something Be a Sin?

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Earlier this week, I wrote an article, “Why Do We Choose to Sin”. Following that article, a person asked me to write about “sins of omission.” Most often, when we talk about sin, we talk about what we have done that is wrong. These would be “sins of commission“. We commit these type of sins when we actively do something wrong.

What if we “omit” to do something? Can failing to do something be a sin? The simple is yes. That’s probably not what you wanted to hear. We struggle enough with the things we have done wrong. Now we have to also worry about what we have omitted.

Sins of commission tend to be a little easier to identify. It is clear we have done something. In making an “Examination of Conscience”, we can use the “Ten Commandments” and “The Seven Deadly Sins” to ask ourselves did we something wrong. We know what we did. We ask ourselves was it wrong.

Regarding “sins of omission”, it can seem more vague. It is much harder to come up of a list of what we omitted than what we committed. My advice here is not to worry too much. No one can do every thing. No one is supposed to do every thing alone.

When examining our conscience for “sins of omission”, there may be something that sticks out in your mind that you wonder if you should have done. If there is, ask the Holy Spirit to help you decide if you could have done it? We are not asked to do what it is beyond our ability. If you could have done it, ask yourself if you were called to do it. Was God asking you to do it?

Of course, we can also ask ourselves if there are any moral ramifications to not doing it. For instance, you could take a walk today. However, if you didn’t, there is no sin involved.

Where might we look to help identify examples of “sins of omission”? We generally think of the “Ten Commandments” in terms of “sins of commission” but I think “sins of omission” can be found in not following the Commandments.

For instance, the Third Commandment is to keep the Sabbath holy. Perhaps, instead of going to Mass on Sunday, we chose to do something else. In doing that, one might think of it as a “sin of commission”, centering on what we did. However, what if we were just lazy and didn’t go to Mass on Sunday. It would be a sin. Is it a sin of commission or omission?

How about the Fourth Commandment to honor our father and mother? When we are children, this commandment generally means we were disobedient. We did something wrong. We committed it. On the other hand, as adults, breaking this commandment might mean not helping our parents when we are able. We omitted honoring our father and mother.

We can also consider the Eighth Commandment to not bear false witness. Here, we include lying. We tell something contrary to the truth. We commit a lie. What about not lying but not telling the truth either? We “leave something out.” Could this not be a “sin of omission”? I say “could” because we don’t have to tell everyone everything. Paragraph 2489 of the Catechism of Catholic Church says “no one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it.” It is not a “sin of omission” to not tell something to someone who doesn’t need to know it. (This is not the same as telling them something contrary to the truth. That would be a lie.)

Do the Seven Deadly Sins have offer guidance regarding “sins of omission”? There is one that I think gets at the core of some sins of omission, slothfulness. Slothfulness relates to laziness and hence “omission.” However, it is not the same as laziness. We can be lazy about raking the leaves but failing to rake them do not always constitute a sin (if we are not breaking a promise or obligation). Slothfulness involves failing to do something we should or have an obligation to (cf. my article “Sloth – The Last of the Seven Deadly Sins”). This relates to not going to Mass and not helping our parents when we can.

In examining our conscience for sins of omission, we might also ask ourselves if we failed to perform “works of mercy” that we should have. We find the Corporal Works of Mercy in Matthew 25:31-46. For example, have we done what we could to feed the hungry and visit the sick? (For a video presentation on the Corporal Acts of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy, see my video presentation, The Journey to Jesus: Acts of Mercy.)

Lastly, regarding possible types of “sins of omission”, I will mention social sin. In the context of “sins of omission”, the question on social sin would be to ask ourselves if there is something we could do to have “structures” in society that fail to help people in their basic needs (see my article “Social Sin and Structures of Sin: What Are We to Do?”).

Before concluding, the person who brought up this topic asked if “sins of omission” might more reflect a “poorly formed conscience.” While we might miss noticing “sins of omission” because of a poorly formed conscience, I don’t think, we commit them anymore because of it than “sins of commission” (for more on conscience, see my article, “Do We Listen to Our Conscience?”)

I hope this helps you better understand “sins of omission”. If not, you can always ask questions.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Why Do We Choose to Sin?

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When we confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we receive a penance, and say an “Act of Contrition.” As part of the “Act of Contrition,” we firmly resolve to sin no more. Yet, our struggle with sin often continues. This can be discouraging. It troubles us.

How are we to stop sinning? First and foremost, we need to realize that we cannot win the battle against sin on our own. We need God’s grace.

Another important step in the battle against sin is to understand why we sin. We must ask ourselves why do we choose to sin?

Actually, we should ask ourselves are we really choosing sin? For something we do to “qualify” as a sin, we must choose to do it. This means if we are truly forced to do something, we are not guilty of sin. For example, a victim of rape has not committed sexual sin during the rape.

When we are consenting to the action, are we really choosing to sin? Is it our intent to sin? Normally, I don’t think it is our intention to sin, meaning that our objective is not “sin” itself. Yes, we sin, but it is not our goal to sin. Here, to understand why we sin, we need to think about what we are choosing to do.

For example, gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. Gluttony is generally understood as consuming too much food or drink (we might also think of it in terms of overconsuming other items). Is it ever our goal to eat too much? I doubt it. We do not eat too much just to be gluttonous. We eat too much for various reasons. We might really enjoy the food that is offered us so we eat more because of the pleasure it brings us. Sometimes we eat too much when we are stressed. In the latter, to firmly resolve to sin no more, we need to seek better ways to deal with stress. In the former, we ask for the virtue of temperance.

Let’s look at some other ways we sin and why we might do them.

The First Commandment calls us to worship only the one true God. When God gave the Ten Commandments to his people, many cultures were polytheistic (believing in many gods). As Catholics, we believe there is only one God. However, do we make other things more important to us than God? Jesus tells us, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). When we let something else control our actions, we effectively make that our God. Is there something that controls your life that keeps you from putting God first?

Next, what about the Third Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy? Keeping the Sabbath holy begins with coming to Mass (unless we are prevented by illness or severe weather or necessary work, like health care). Is it ever our goal to skip Mass for the sake of skipping it? Are we being lazy (slothfulness)? Or is there something else is going on that we desire? Sin comes when we let that desire become more important to us than our commitment to God.

Then, there is the Fifth Commandment, you shall not kill. Clearly, we should not desire to ever kill anyone. Even if we are acting in self-defense, our goal should never be to kill. Our goal is to protect ourselves or others. On the topic of abortion, a grave sin, I doubt anyone’s goal is to kill the baby. They may be acting out of selfish desire to not want the child. They may be acting out of fear or shame. None of these legitimize abortion. It is grave matter. I simply speak of motives to help us realize why one might commit a sin. Then, we can do something to avoid the sin.

The Sixth Commandment is you shall not commit adultery (lust). Is it ever one’s goal to commit adultery? Or is one seeking physical pleasure? How about struggles with loneliness or hurt? None of these justify committing adultery but, again, understanding our motives helps us to sin no more. Sometimes, there may be no reason at all. We need to understand that too and ask God to help us control our behaviors.

The last commandment I will discuss here is the Seventh Commandment, you shall not steal. Do we steal because we are greedy (we simply want more)? We need to learn moderation and practice the virtue of temperance. Do we steal to support an addiction? Then we need to work on addressing the addiction. Lastly, some may steal feeling a genuine need just to put food on the table. Are the rest of us guilty of “social sin” in not helping them (cf. “Social Sin”)?

So what sins do you struggle with? What is it that leads you to commit these sins? What can you change? Where do you need God’s grace to help you in your firm resolve to sin no more?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff