I just uploaded the video of my latest presentation in my series on the Sacraments. This video is almost two hours because the Eucharist is so important.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
P.S. Please pray that in future presentations, I always go no longer than God wants.
1st Sunday of Lent, Year A
Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17 (3a)
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
March 1, 2020
We have begun our season of Lent. It is a time of preparation for Easter. So, it is a time for us to examine our consciences and to seek reconciliation with God and one another.
In the spirit of repentance, we celebrate this First Sunday of Lent with the story from the Gospel of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Just like us Jesus fasts and faces temptation.
The devil, who is cunning, knows when to strike with temptation. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and forty nights. He would have been hungry. The devil tempts him by suggesting Jesus turn stones into bread. Jesus is hungry. Would it be a bad thing for him to do this?
Jesus does not do it. He will not use his power for his own personal gain. The devil then tries to get Jesus to thrown himself down from the parapet citing the scripture that says God sends his angels to protect us. Jesus’ response is, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then Satan tries to tempt Jesus with power but Jesus again says no to temptation.
How well do we do at resisting temptation? Temptation is a powerful thing. We face temptation in things like the tree in the garden that was “delightful to look at.” The woman saw “that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.”
After Jesus had fasted for forty days, He resisted the temptation to use his power for personal gain. He knew He had this power not for himself but to serve others.
What do you do with what God has given you?
Certainly we need food but how much food do we need? We need a home. We need a car but do we seek these things in moderation or in excess?
God formed us out of the clay and breathed life into us. We show our gratitude for the gifts He has given us, most especially the gift of our salvation, by using what we have been given to build up the Kingdom of God here on earth. In doing so we respond to the words in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come.”
Here I borrow from President JFK’s words at his inauguration, ‘Ask not what your church can do for you – ask what you can do for your church, for your God.”
We are very grateful for what you contribute in time, talent, and treasure.
At Mass we are thankful for our Altar Servers, Lectors, Commentators, Ushers, Sacristans, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and our musicians.
We are thankful for the people who teach our faith formation classes for children. We are thankful for those who take Communion to the nursing homes and the homebound.
We are thankful for those who organize and those who purchase gifts for our Giving Trees. We are thankful for those who bring donations to the food pantries and those who minister in the prisons. There are other ways our parishioners volunteer. I cannot name them all here. Whatever you do, we are thankful for the ways in which you help us build up the Kingdom of God, to bring Christ’s love to the world.
We are also grateful for those who contribute financially to our parish. However much you contribute, we thank you and know that what you contribute financially is important. We use it to pay our staff for the important work they do. We use it heat our churches, and to be able to turn on our lights. We use it keep our churches in proper shape for our worship as well as our insurance. Your sharing of your treasure is a gift that makes a difference.
Unfortunately, our collections have been trending down. It’s not so much that people are contributing less. It’s more a matter that, as you well know, fewer people are coming to church, and, thus, not contributing.
Of course, in the long-term, part of the solution is that we need to find new ways to reach out to people to welcome them in, or back, to our parish.
If we are successful in bringing more people to an active relationship with Jesus, we would anticipate they too would contribute of their time, talent, and treasure.
Until we can do that, we need your help to continue to pay our bills. Almost three years ago our parish did a small campaign to ask you to consider increasing your financial contributions. Many did and we are grateful for that. I’m sure some couldn’t increase. That is okay. Whatever you can contribute is important and appreciated.
Since then, the collections have again been trending down. So, as has been in the bulletin, Fr. Bernard, in consultation with our Finance Council and business office staff, has discerned that it is time to do a large-scale increased offertory program.
This week you will receive a mailing from the parish. It will contain a brochure with a “letter” from Fr. Bernard, our recent financial numbers, a list of our ministries, and a commitment card that we will ask you to fill out next week. Next Sunday, at each our Masses, you will hear from a parishioner who will speak to what our parish has done to build up the Kingdom of God in their lives and the lives of others.
I imagine that some of you may feel we ask for money too much. I understand that. Please know that I don’t like talking about money anymore than you like hearing about it.
We also realize that you can’t contribute more than you have. What we ask is that you prayerfully consider what you are able to contribute. If you can’t increase that is okay.
Please know that when you feel out your commitment card, if your circumstances change, you are not legally bound to your pledge. It will help us as we work for financial stability to know what you expect to be able to contribute.
There is one more thing I invite you to consider. We (at St. Luke’s – for other people, please check with your own parish) offer online giving. We already have over 60 families who use this. You can set up yourself to give a one-time gift or to give on a recurring basis. You set the amount and can change it yourself whenever you want. If you set it up for automatic recurring contributions, even when you are away, your contribution is still processed and appreciated. All you have to do to sign up is go to our parish website and click on “Online Giving” at the very bottom.
Whatever you can contribute, please note it is appreciated and helps us to do our part, guided by the Holy Spirit, to build up the Kingdom of God.
Again, I thank you for whatever you contribute in time, talent, and treasure. Please pray for our parish and our increased offertory program.
I write today with another installment in my series on the question, “How do you evangelize a culture that used to be Christian?” This is the fifth in the series. If you have not read the others, here are links to those articles:
Now, I want to turn to the question of how do we share the faith in terms of whose job it is. My previous articles in this series focused on some answers to some of the questions that people who have left the Church or never gone to church might have.
So, whose “job” is it to give them the answers? First, I want to say I don’t like the word “job”. It is not a job in the sense of something we do just to make money. It is a ministry. What makes it a ministry? It is done in the service of God to lead people to his kingdom.
The average parishioner might answer the question, “whose job is it?” by saying it is the church’s job, meaning the clergy, religious, and, perhaps, other paid staff. The staff, clergy, and religious might respond by saying they can’t do it all. They don’t have the time. They say it is for the laity, the parishioners, to share in the ministry of evangelization. In turn, the parishioners might say they don’t have the knowledge to talk about the faith.
Are these real “reasons” or are they just “excuses” to get out of doing it ourselves?
Before discussing those reasons, I want to address another reason we might not like to talk about our faith, embarrassment or shame over the handling of the clergy abuse scandal. The abuse that happened and the coverup that followed never should have happened. To anyone who is a victim of the abuse and coverup or know someone who was, I need to say, “I am sorry.” It never should have happened. Much progress has been made since the scandal broke in 2002. Please pray for our church as we make sure it doesn’t happen again.
We need to trust in God to lead us through this. There has been scandal before in the Catholic Church and God has always helped lead us through it. The scandal is caused by humans. It takes God’s help to correct it. For more on this, I encourage you to read Bishop Robert Barron’s book, Letter to a Suffering Church published in 2019 by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. He speaks of how God has led the church through past scandals. He also speaks of the good works of the church and its role in starting the university system of education and hospitals, ministry that speaks of the good works done in God’s name.
We are not the first to face ridicule for the actions of a few bad religious leaders or by those who oppose our faith. We hear the prophet Jeremiah say (excerpts from Jeremiah 20:7-11)
Jeremiah was very discouraged. He wanted to give up but he did not. He continued to preach God’s message as his prophet. We need to do the same.
Returning to the idea that clergy, religious, and staff say they can’t do it all. They are right and they are not supposed to. Lumen Gentium, The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church from the Second Vatican Council says,
“For their pastors know how much the laity contribute to the welfare of the entire Church. They also know that they were not ordained by Christ to take upon themselves alone the entire salvific mission of the Church toward the world. On the contrary they understand that it is their noble duty to shepherd the faithful and to recognize their ministries and charisms, so that all according to their proper roles may cooperate in this common undertaking with one mind (30).”
It goes on to say of the laity in paragraph 31,
“But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer.”
Living in the world in the same way as the people we seek to evangelize, parishioners are uniquely suited to share the faith.
What about the parishioners who say they don’t have enough knowledge to talk about our faith? My first response is to acknowledge they may not know all they should. We have not done a good job of catechesis. This is an excuse, not a reason. That’s because we can do something about it. As a church, we need to offer ways for adults as well as our youth and children to learn more about faith. In turn, parishioners need to avail themselves of these opportunities. Ignorance is only an excuse, not a reason, when you can do something about it. I am trying to do my part with all that I offer on this blog and website. You are working on your part by talking the time to read this.
As part of their lack of knowledge, people may feel like they don’t know what all the “big church works” like “transubstantiation” and “consubstantial” mean so how they can explain it to others. I would offer here that you don’t need to use those “big church words” when you first begin to talk about the faith because the people you talk to won’t know what they mean other. Tell them what it does mean to you. For example, what do you need to say about “transubstantiation”? It means that what was “bread and wine” is now the “Body and Blood of Jesus” (coming soon, after 3/4/20, my third presentation in my series, “Sacraments: Channels of God’s Grace” on the Eucharist.).
In a society where relativism, believing there is no universal truth, we need share what our faith means to us. The most important thing you can tell others about your faith is what it means to you. How has God blessed you? How is God a comfort to you? When life is going rough, when things seem dark, how has Jesus brought light into your darkness. As we read in Matthew 5:15-16,
“Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
In sharing how Jesus has been a light to us, we bring his light to others.
As to those who acknowledge it is our choice to believe whatever we want but that we shouldn’t impose it on others, I offer two responses. First, we do not seek to impose our faith on others. They are free to choose to believe or not but they are not free to choose for themselves if they have never heard about Jesus and God. We need to tell them so that they have a choice.
Secondly, to those who say we shouldn’t talk about our faith, indicating that they think we are wrong, I offer the following thought, “If they are so sure we are wrong and they are right, then how come they are afraid to let us talk? Perhaps they are afraid that we are right. That would mean they have to change their lives. So, they choose to try to silence us.”
I will conclude this particular blog article with two thoughts from scripture. First, we need to realize it is not the “job” of the laity or clergy, religious, and staff to do all the evangelization on our own. In Luke 9:52, we hear that Jesus “sent messengers ahead of him.” That means He came after them. Jesus will do the same with us. We need to help people get on and begin to travel down the road to Jesus. Jesus will finish the “job”.
Secondly, while we each need to always seek to grow in our own faith, when we struggle with the worlds, realize we don’t have to do it on our own. I end with these words from Mark 13:9-13
“Watch out for yourselves. They will hand you over to the courts. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will be arraigned before governors and kings because of me, as a witness before them. But the gospel must first be preached to all nations. When they lead you away and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the holy Spirit. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.”
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:12-13
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14, 17 (3a)
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6;1-6, 16-18
February 26, 2020
We are here today because a fast has been proclaimed and we have been called to gather as an assembly. We are called to gather one and all.
Why?
Because we have sinned.
There have been times when we have turned away from God. We do this as individuals, each struggling against temptation. We also sin as a people, not holding as a people to God’s ways.
We have turned away from God but He has not turned away from us. He calls us to return to him with our whole hearts. He calls us to rend our hearts. We do this with “weeping and mourning” because we are sorry for our sins.
We do this with fasting. It’s not that the fasting makes up for our sins. The fasting is to be a sign of our repentance, our desire to turn back to God. In fasting, we are saying we put God first over the things of this world.
Are we willing to admit our sins? Do we recognize that only God can cleanse of our sins, that only God can create a “clean heart” in us?
Do we recognize that we can’t atone for our sins on our own? God doesn’t have to forgive us but He does because He is merciful.
Knowing this, we cry out, “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”
It is with all this in mind that we gather today to begin our season of Lent. We gather as an assembly to admit our sins and admit our need for forgiveness and mercy.
We gather publicly. Does this contradict what Jesus says in the gospel about not doing these things to be seen?
That depends.
Why are you here?
Are you here in order that others see you here? Are you here to win the praise of others? Are you here in order for others to see you pray? Are you here so others know you have been fasting?
I think “motive” is key here. We are not here “to win the praise of others.” We are here to admit our sinfulness. We are here to admit we need the help of God and we need the prayers of each other.
We need to perform “righteous deeds.” We need to give alms according to our means. We need to pray. We do these things not for human praise. Rather we do them recognize our need for God and in gratitude for the blessings God has given us.
We come in recognition of our need for God’s mercy. So, some might interpret our motives as purely selfish.
Yes, we come to acknowledge our sins. We come to receive mercy. But it should not be simply about mercy for ourselves.
Paul speaks of being “ambassadors for Christ.” As “ambassadors” we are to tell others about Christ. We are to tell others that God is merciful. We are to tell others that Jesus died for our sins and that He is willing to show mercy to all.
What do we pray in the Lord’s Prayer? “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
So, let us pray for God’s mercy upon all his people.
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
Matthew 5:38-48
February 23, 2020
Last week we heard Jesus say that He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He began to teach us how to fully live out the law, starting with the Commandments against killing, adultery, and taking oaths.
Today’s gospel picks up where we left off last week.
Jesus speaks about the teaching, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” As He did in what we heard last week, Jesus expands on that, calling us to “offer no resistance to one who is evil.”
Many take the verse, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” to justify “revenge”. That is not the intent. God was not telling the people they had to retaliate. In fact, God is saying this to get them to lessen their response to violence. For example, one person might murder one person. Then a third party would respond by killing the original murderer and even more people. An “eye for an eye” was to at least stop the “even more people” part.
Now, Jesus says, “offer no resistance.” What good does responding with more violence do? Jesus says to turn the other cheek. To this, I offer one clarification. Some biblical scholars say the strike on the right cheek won’t not have been an attack but rather symbolized an “insult.” Thus, Jesus isn’t necessarily saying not to defend ourselves. What need to ask ourselves, “what kind of response would be appropriate?”
For instance, if anyone presses us “into service for one mile,” going for “two miles” could be a powerful witness to our Christian love.
What should our response be based on?
Here I go to what we hear in Leviticus, “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God am holy.” What does it mean to be “holy”?
God is holy by his very nature. It is not beyond our reach to try to be holy. To be holy is to be different than what this world seeks. To be holy is to be set apart from anything evil.
Thus, we hear, “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.” “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge.” This might not be easy but it is what the Lord calls us to.
The Lord sets the example of this when, “He pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction.” The Lord is “slow to anger and abounding in kindness.”
In short, the Lord responds with mercy. The Lord responds with love.
In setting the example, God says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s all about love.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “thy kingdom come.” Revenge, grudges, or hatred do not build up God’s kingdom. If we want to change the world in accord with God’s Will, we need to love.
Who are we to love?
Leviticus says our neighbor. By the time of Jesus, some had come to say, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemies.” You will not find “hate your enemies” anywhere in the Jewish law. It was a human add-on.
Jesus corrects this by saying, “love your enemies”. Once again, Jesus sets a high bar. He admits this when He says, “For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not tax collectors do the same?”
Loving our enemies is at least difficult if not a contradiction in terms. If we love them, are they really our enemies? They might have wronged us. That’s okay, in sinning we have wronged God but God shows us mercy. Then, we need to follow God’s example and show mercy.
Jesus also tells us to “pray for those who persecute you.” When, not if, you pray for your enemies, what do you pray for? Do you pray for them to be punished? Do you pray that they realize that you are right and they are wrong? Or do you pray for them to turn their hearts to God? Do you pray for their salvation?
It’s not easy. Jesus’ final words in today’s gospel are “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Perfect, that might seem impossible. We most often define “perfect” as to be without any fault or defect. Other definitions include “corresponding to an ideal” or “faithfully reproducing the original” (definitions taking from Merriam Webster Dictionary Android phone app). Jesus is telling us to be like God our Father. God is the ideal. He is the original that we need to copy. We do sin but we are to strive to do God’s Will. We are called to love God and love our neighbor.
On Wednesday we will begin Lent. We receive ashes as a sign of our repentance. We seek to become holy, to become perfect like our heavenly Father. Where do you fall short of loving God and loving your neighbor?
Is there something you can do this Lent to change that?
If this is the first article you are reading on my blog, please allow to begin by saying this is the fourth article in a series on “how do you evangelize a culture that used to be Christian?” In order my three previous articles in this series were:
Now, in this blog article, I turn to the topic of those who say they don’t get much out of Mass. This includes both those who have stopped coming to church at all, those who only come sporadically, as well as some who might come regularly but might come more out of obligation than appreciation of what our faith offers us.
There are various reasons why people feel they don’t get much out of Mass. I offer some of them now with some suggestions on what to do.
First, to those who say they feel they don’t get much out of Mass, we should realize that the primary purpose of Mass is to praise God. That doesn’t mean we don’t get something out of it. We hear God’s Word and celebrate the Eucharist. We receive grace.
How do we open ourselves to the grace God offers? I think the phrase you get out of something what you put into it applies (actually God will multiple what we put into it). How much effort do you put into Mass?
I refer to the effort we put into Mass in two ways. First, ask yourself when do you get to Mass. Do you arrive at the last possible minute, maybe even missing the beginning? I think we get more out of Mass when we put more into it. Try arriving a couple of minutes early. Then use the time to pray, to hand your problems over to God. Most churches have missalettes with the readings in them. You might take a couple of minutes before Mass to begin reflecting on them.
As Catholics, there is a lot of ritual and custom to what we do. Do you know why we do it? Why do we kneel at some times and stand at orders? Where do the words come from? How do I learn more? Here I offer two resources:
I said above that those what say they don’t get much of Mass can include those who do come to Mass regularly as well as those who don’t. Now, I want to mention another category, those who have left the Catholic Church for other denominations. Why do they leave? I think not understanding what we do at Mass so that they don’t get much out of it is part of this.
Another reason can be that some of these other churches, often non-denominational are better at “community”, meaning they are there for one another. People feel like they matter. We need to help better feel welcome in our churches. This starts with greeters with a warm smile and a friendly voice at the door but it continues in the pews. It continues outside the church. When was the last time you talked to a person who sits near you in church who isn’t your friend or family?
Sometimes the other churches have what I call “feel good liturgies”. Because of lively music and charismatic preaching people feel “happier.” Does that mean our Catholic Mass can’t help us “feel good”? Of course not! However, to appreciate what our Catholic Mass offers, we need to understand it (see resources I mentioned above).
These other churches also sometimes offer more “after the service.” It might be community (social) events. It might be opportunities to learn more about faith, both for adults as well as children. People want to be fed. We need to feed them.
I hope this series of blog articles is helping you reflect on ways that you might be able to evangelize others as well as learn more about our faith yourself. I have at least one more article I think I will write in this series. If you have questions about evangelization, please feel free to offer a comment by clicking on “comment.”
If you would like to learn more about evangelization, please check out the evangelization section on my website.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
I began a series of blog articles last week reflecting on the question, “How do you evangelize a culture that used to be Catholic?” Our whole culture used to be based on Christian faith. People are now turning away from Christianity. How we do invite them back and help them have a relationship with Jesus?
Before continuing, for those who have been long-time followers of my blog and website, much of what I say in this series of articles repeats things I have said in the past. My goal in this particular series is to try to bring it together specifically in the context of evangelization.
My first blog article in this series, “The Quest for Fulfillment in the Modern World”, talked about the searching that all people do to find happiness, i.e. “fulfillment.” Next, I addressed the question, “Has Science Eliminated the Need for God?”
Now, I want to turn to those who think faith has become irrelevant.
We might ask is why do some people think faith has become irrelevant. My previous blog article, “Has Science Eliminated the Need for God?” addresses one part of this. Another aspect of why some people think faith has become irrelevant involves morality. They look at the morals (or the lack they of) in society today and see they differ from what faith teaches. Our faith says sexual intimacy is meant to be only between a man and woman who have totally given themselves to each other in marriage. Modern culture says sex between any consenting adults is fine. God tells us, “Thou shall not kill” but many in the modern culture say abortion and physician assisted suicide is okay.
Many people choose to accept what the modern culture says. I don’t think they even necessarily “agree” with this except that is what they have grown up with as “normal”. Since it is “normal” it must be okay. I see a fundamental flaw in their thinking. It is not the role of culture to shape our faith. It is for our faith to shape our culture (cf. my presentation Where Do We Go for Truth?).
So, when faith tells us something different based on the Bible written between 1,900 and 3,000 years ago, they think the Bible must be outdated and, thus irrelevant. They say the world was different back then, no technology, no highspeed/mass communication. Most people were farmers and tradesmen. Yes, the world was different when the Bible was written. That doesn’t mean the Bible is outdated. We need to understand the culture of the past and to ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand how to apply God’s Law today.
Yes, we need to examine what our culture says. In the “Eucharistic Prayer for Use in Various Needs III, we hear the phrase, “looking into the signs of the times” (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 4). For some people, that is all they hear and think, yes, our faith should learn from our culture. However, we should look at the whole sentence in this Eucharistic Prayer, “Grant that all the faithful of the Church, looking into the signs of the times by the light of faith, may constantly devote themselves to the service of the gospel.” Yes, we need to look at our culture, “the signs of the times” but to do so “by the light of faith.”
For instance, in the last couple of centuries, the field of psychology has emerged and become a tool in understanding human behavior. I emphasis understanding because psychology does not make a behavior right or wrong. Psychology is a tool to help understand why a person acts a certain way. We can then use that understanding to help us end our bad behavior.
I’m sure there are other arguments as to why people might think faith is irrelevant today (if you have questions, please feel free to offer them by commenting). I’m going to conclude this article now. Next, I will turn to a new blog article, “Answering Those Who Say They Don’t Much Out of Mass.”
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Evangelization, meaning to help those who already believe in God develop a deeper faith and to reach out to those who have fallen away from Christianity or have never believed, is something near and dear to my heart.
Thus, it is something that is often part of my daily reflections. It has been especially on my mind lately for two reasons. The first is that I have been searching for ideas on how to reach out to those who don’t come to church, asking why don’t they come. The second is that I recently read Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Querida Amazonia, following the Synod on the Amazon as well as the final document from that synod.
Both of those documents reflect on the need for evangelization. It is not something needed in just the region of the Amazon. It is something we all need to do. In my recent reflections the question that has come up multiple times for me as I think about evangelization in our own country is, “How do you evangelize a culture that used to be Christian?“
Our society is losing its Christian identity. As one step in my reflection on this question, last week I wrote an article here on this blog, “The Quest for Fulfillment in the Modern World.” We are created to know God. God is the only thing that can fulfill us.
Now, I turn to the question found in the title of this article, “Has Science Eliminated the Need for God?” Some of the people who have fallen away may answer the question with a “yes.” I would not.
The answer is a clear “no“.
Of course, I should explain my answer. Why would one even ask the question? There are atheists today who claim that god was something used by primitive cultures to explain the “unexplainable”. They had no science so they created “gods” who were in control and made things happen the way they did.
Now, for these atheists, science has the answers. At least, it will have all the answers. For them, science can’t answer everything now but it will someday. They think it is just a matter of time.
Some of them even argue that science proves “God” doesn’t exist. They say the scientific theory known as “Big Bang” explains the existence of the universe. They point out how the stories of creation as told in chapters one and two of the Book of Genesis are proved wrong by the “Big Bang Theory.” So, they claim god does not exist.
How are we to respond?
Does the science we know today answer many of the questions that people couldn’t in ages past? Yes. God gave us minds to grow and learn.
However, science does not, and is not meant to, answer the same questions as faith does.
Science answers questions of how things happen. That’s what the “Big Bang Theory” does.
In contrast, faith answers questions of “meaning”. The first two chapters of the Book of Genesis in the Bible are not meant to give a scientific explanation of creation. They are meant to help us understand how God brings order to the universe. God is the “first cause.”
The “Big Bang Theory” says that the universe began to exist as we know it when the atoms began to interact in a certain way. What caused that? Those who support a version of the “Big Bang” without a god might talk about how atoms are designed to interact in certain ways. What caused that? God (see St. Thomas Aquinas’ “cosmological argument for more on this).
Some limit the cosmological argument to the concept of an intelligent designer. They describe such an intelligent designer as one who is of a superior intellect than humans who created the universe but is not “god”.
Now, for the “leap of faith.” Of course, God is of superior intellect. In fact, He is all-knowing. I see a genius evident in what God has created. Why did the universe come to be as it is? Why does every animal species including humans have two sexes, male and female? Why not one? Why not four? Can science answer that? It is God who sets the order of the universe as it is.
Thus, when I think about our society losing its Christian identity, I believe we are losing our humanity. We are losing the sense of what God made us to be.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. God has not become irrelevant. Why do you exist? Science cannot answer that. The Baltimore Catechism tells us that “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven” (question 6).
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
P.S. For more on what the Catholic Church says about evolution, here is a page on my website with links to some church documents on the topic of evolution.
P.S.S For a better explanation than I can provide, I suggest Quarks, Chaos, and & Christianity: Questions to Science and Religion by John Polkinghorne (Crossroad:New York. 1994). He used to be a quantum physicist before becoming an Anglican priest.
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Sirach 15:15-20
Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34 (1b)
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37
February 16, 2020
God had given the Ten Commandments through Moses. Moses told them that if they followed the commandments they would live. If they did not, they would perish. This is not simply God punishing them for sin. The commandments help us to live a good life.
Sirach gives similar advice. He reminds the people that they have a choice three times in today’s reading, starting with, “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you, if you trust in God, you too shall live.”
We are free to choose whatever we want but we must remember there are always consequences to our choices. If we make good choices, the consequences are good (as we hear in our responsorial verse today, “Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.”).
It can feel like a burden to follow the Law. If it were easy, everyone would. Even when we try to be good, we might wish we didn’t have to follow all the Commandments.
But the Law is good! When properly understood, the Law is not a burden but a gift. It is in this spirit that Jesus says, “I have come not to abolish the Law but to fulfill.”
We need the Lord to instruct us in his ways so that we “may exactly observe them.” We ask the Lord to give us “discernment” to know how to apply the Law in our lives.
This is what Jesus does in his teaching (we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us too).
Today’s gospel comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. As Jesus comes “not to abolish but to fulfill,” he teaches us what the Law means.
Jesus calls us to a higher observance of the Law when He says, “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.”
He is not telling us that our goal should be to be better than the scribes and the Pharisees. Our goal is to do what is right in God’s eyes. Jesus is just telling us that the example of many of the scribes and Pharisees is not good enough.
To be righteous in God’s eyes, we need to understand what is behind the Law. Jesus says not even “the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law.” We need to keep the whole of the Law but we can only do that when we understand it.
Jesus continues with the Commandment, “You shall not kill.” Except for questions of abortion and physician assisted suicide, there is common agreement that killing is wrong.
Jesus takes it a step further when He tells us not even to be angry. Ouch! That is hard. People do things that make us angry. It can seem natural to get angry. At times it might even seem appropriate. If somebody does something wrong, shouldn’t we get angry? Even Jesus got angry with the money changers in the temple.
The question is do we let the anger control us. We need to stand up for what Jesus teaches us but not to respond with violence. Instead, we are called to respond with love and compassion to help others.
Otherwise, the anger keeps us from feeling love.
Jesus goes on to the commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” Our faith teaches us that physical intimacy is something unique and special between a man and a woman who are married to each other. It is to be an expression of their love and their total self-giving to one another.
Jesus raises the bar when He takes the Commandment against adultery and says don’t even look at another person with “lust.”
That might seem difficult. Again, it might seem natural to notice the beauty of another person.
Jesus specifically uses the word “lust”. The Modern Catholic Dictionary defines “lust” as “an inordinate desire for or enjoyment of sexual pleasure.”
Lust involves looking at the other person not as a person but as an object that might bring us physical pleasure. As such, lust is counter to love, especially the committed love intended for marriage.
So what are we to do? How do we stop sinning?
Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.”
That might seem very extreme (in fact it is). We need to pay careful attention to Jesus’ words. He specifically says if it causes us to sin. Do our eyes ever cause us to sin? No! Our eyes might be involved in sins like lust but the eyes do not cause the sin. We can lust for someone without seeing them.
Likewise, Jesus says, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away.” Has your hand ever caused you to sin?
What we do need to do is reflect on what causes us to sin. Do we have friends that cause us to sin? Do we need different friends? We should seek friends who share good values.
Do we go places that lead us to sin? Can we stay away from those places?
Here we might also ask ourselves if we lead others to sin. For instance, do we fail to dress modestly, instead dressing in ways that leads others to sin?
We start Lent in ten days. We are called to do something for Lent that is a sacrifice. Between now and then, think about the sins you struggle with. Is there something you could do for Lent to help change the sin? Ask and Jesus will help you through the Holy Spirit.
People look for what brings them fulfillment. The question is where do we look?
In a society that is becoming more and more secularized people look for fulfillment in material things; money, property, clothing. We are told “more is better.”
Material things are necessary to a point. We need a place to call home. We need clothing. We need transportation. For all of these, we need money. The question is how much do we need.
The answer can be different for each person. A family with six kids needs a bigger home than a family with one kid. Yet, no one needs a home that is several thousand square feet.
We all need clothing but how much? If you have numerous outfits in your closet, how many do you ever wear? You do not need a different outfit every time you go out. It’s fine to be seen wearing the same outfit twice. Just because you see a new outfit you like in the store does not mean you need it.
What about transportation? Our transportation needs are also different. If you live in walking distance of work, school, and the grocery store, your need for transportation for low. However, if you live 30 miles from these same places, you need an automobile to get around. Even then, how fancy an automobile do you need?
To have all of these things, one generally needs money. The more we want, the more money we think we need. Still, money itself is not the problem. As Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. ”
It’s when we let our attachments to these things dictate our whole lives that it becomes a problem. Our desire for things leads us away from having time for God and living our faith.
It even starts in childhood now. People who think all we need is more money, put all the more emphasis on education (which is important) for their children. They want their children to go to the best schools. That costs money. That may mean the parents work long hours and are left without time to spend with their family or practicing their faith. It is more important to spend time with your family than it is to have lots of money. It is more important to spend time with Jesus that it is to have lots of money.
How does this impact children? The first way is if their parents are never home because they are always working. The second goes back to what I said about the cost of college. Parents end up overemphasizing sports or other extracurricular activities with hopes of college scholarships. Sports and other extracurricular activities can be good at a proper level.
Material things are not the answer to our quest for fulfillment. If they were, why are more people being treated for anxiety and depression? Why are people seeking happiness in drugs and alcohol? Why are suicide rates rising?
Could it not be because people, in their quest to find happiness, have turned away from the very thing thing they are created for?
What are we created for? For love, to be loved by God, and in turn to love God with all our heart, being, and strength (see Deuteronomy 6:5) and to love our neighbor.
How can we help people see we find fulfillment not in earthly things but in God? We need to be good witnesses. That means we need to be the first to stop putting so much emphasis on material things and activities and focus on our faith. Then, when they see us with less than they have but happier, they ask why we are happy. We respond by saying it is because of our faith.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
P.S. For more on our attachments to things and addiction to them, check out my article, “How Do Our Attachments Affect Our Relationship with Jesus?”.
