And the true power is ____

It is all too easy to stick to the attitude that might is right. In contrast, mercy usually seems like weakness, a foolish abandonment of the tough and resolute course of action I typically want to pursue. I think we all experience it. Someone hurts someone else, so surely that person should be made to suffer in return. A neighbor insults me, so I insult her right back. Or perhaps I even go so far as to spread that delicious little piece of info about her that I know will ruin her reputation.

The prevailing notion that usually seems to rule the day is this: I can't really be up unless someone else is down. I routinely live my life in a way that seems to assume that the true measure of happiness, peace, and order in life is determined by the sheer force of will (mine over someone else's). Through sin I gradually become the center of my own little universe and, if I keep heading down that road, I might actually begin to believe my own fantasy.

But here's the funny and almost scandalous truth about all of this when viewed through God's eyes - it's completely upside down! God comes to the earth to save everyone from sin and death. But how does he do it? Does God carry out this ultimate mission in a tough, forceful, and mighty way? No. He is born. He is delivered like any other regular, weak, completely dependent human child. He wails, he cries, and he allows himself to actually experience need. He needs the warmth of swaddling clothes and his mother's milk to survive. He lives by the love of others. The God of the universe chooses to place his own human life into the hands of a poor Galilean carpenter and his young wife.

Why in the world does God do this? To show that true power is found precisely in mercy and love, not fury and coercion. It is mercy and love that reign supreme. Love is not love at all when it's coerced, when it's forced upon another. Genuine peace, what Augustine called "tranquility of order," cannot exist where there is no love. In an atmosphere of hatred, revenge, and one-upmanship, love cannot breathe and it soon dies out. Most of what we think evinces true power is usually, in fact, a flash in the pan, a quick fix, a tree with no roots. When it's all said and done, earthly power always exhausts itself and the one who insists upon grasping it is never satisfied. Love and mercy alone satisfy the human heart.

Advent - "Presence & Arrival"

“Advent”—what does this mean? “Advent” is a Latin word that can be rendered in English as “presence, arrival”. In the language of the ancient world it was a technical term expressing the arrival of an official, especially the arrival of kings or emperors in the provinces. It could, however, equally denote the arrival of the deity who appears out of concealment and powerfully manifests his presence or whose presence was celebrated in cultic ritual. The Christians adopted this term to proclaim their special relationship to Jesus Christ. For them, he is the King who entered this wretched province, our world, and gifted it with the feast of his visit. He it is whose presence in the liturgical assembly they profess. With this expression they intended to say, in general, “God is here.” He has not abandoned this world. He has not left us behind alone. Even though we cannot see and touch him like so many things—he is present, nevertheless, and visits us in many ways. Advent is a twofold reminder for us: for one, that God’s presence in the world has already begun, that he, in hidden ways, is already here; and then, that his presence has only just begun and not yet reached completion but still is growing, developing, maturing. His presence has already begun, and we, the believers, are the ones through whom he desires to be present in the world. Through our faith, hope, and love he desires to shine his light ever anew into the night of the world. The lights we kindle during the dark nights of this wintertime are therefore both a consolation and a reminder: the consoling assurance that “the Light of the world” has already appeared in the darkness of the night in Bethlehem and has changed the unholy night of human sin into the holy night of divine forgiveness for this sin.

                                                   - Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) in Licht, das uns leuchtet, pp. 12ff.

What's the REAL threat?

Many years ago Archbishop Fulton Sheen pointed out that sometimes God lets us struggle with carrying certain crosses in life in order to protect us from larger, more dangerous ones. For instance, Sheen explained, God may allow someone to struggle very desperately with lust in order to avoid the greater sin of pride. A person so aware of his or her own weakness in this area may be more able to discover humility and thus avoid be drawn into the devastation that awaits when we are caught up in pride and vanity.

It has been suggested that Mother Teresa was allowed by the Lord to struggle with very long and painful periods of doubt and feelings of separation from God in order to protect her from growing fond of fame and the spotlight. In the public eye for decades, she could perhaps have fallen quite easily in love with all of the attention if it were not abundantly clear to her that she needed to exhaust herself in her search for the God she was frequently tempted to doubt even existed.

Even Saint Paul, legendary convert and champion of Christ to the ends of the earth described a "thorn" that he begged God to remove time and time again. But the God who always sees our lives in their entirety had different plans:

And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:7-10). 

And that, I would say, is the point here. Our spiritual lives are not ultimately reliant upon our own strength. God is our strength. It is all too often the case that we lose sight of this reality. If not unchecked, pride can be like a magnet pulling on us from all directions at all times. It has a way of distracting us so that we aren't even aware that it's pride we're facing, and it's pride that seems to be the first and the last gap between us and God.

When Lucifer, the "light bearer", saw his magnificent beauty, he made a deadly choice. Giving way to pride, he tragically lost sight of the infinitely greater beauty of the One who had fashioned him. Every time we sin, we do the same thing. But God is merciful, and He loves me so much that He will spare no effort to save me.

Prayer is the key, I think. If we think of prayer as spending time with God, especially listening to Him in a quiet environment, we can begin to hear Him more clearly and more consistently. We can begin to hear what He is calling us to do and who to be in life, and we acknowledge His primacy in all things. We can then see the obstacles that stand in our way more clearly. Only then does it become possible for us to plan how to confront these struggles appropriately. In order to fight the right fight, I need to know who my enemy is. I need to resist distraction and diversion in order to know what the real threat is. May we all devote a little more time to God each day so that He can draw our attention to the areas in which we need the most healing and growth.

Big Bang & Evolution... Did Pope Francis Break with Tradition?

No. He didn't. The reporting on the Holy Father's recent remarks to the Pontifical Academy for the Sciences in Rome is truly astonishing to me. Headlines started exploding all over news outlets and social media sites: Pope breaks with tradition... Francis opposes Benedict XVI on Big Bang and Evolution... New light scatters the darkness in the Catholic Church when it comes to science.

It's truly frustrating to see things like this out there and, what's more disappointing, to see how many people immediately take hold of such misleading notions without doing their homework. There are so many things in play here I just wanted to point out a few for anyone who's interested in a more accurate understanding of the Catholic Church's view on these issues:

1. Popes are not American presidents. They are not senators. They are not governors, representatives, school board members, non-profit organizers, or social club leaders. The more we talk about them as if they are, the less we will be able to understand anything they say and do. Do a little research some time on how often Pope Francis directly quotes his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI - you might be surprised. They are dear friends who do not disagree one iota on Church teaching. Pope Pius XII released an encyclical document in August of 1950 called Humani Generis. In it, he laid out an explanation of how evolution (at least in certain forms) is not intrinsically opposed to the teachings of the Catholic Church in the slightest. Popes since Pius have reiterated this and expanded upon it. It is staggering to me that so many news outlets can so boldly publish articles that have such a disappointing lack of knowledge about their subject, and I wonder if it would be tolerated in their coverage of any other subject (like the newest viral video phenomenon or a baseball game). 

2. "Evolution" can be a tricky term as there are multiple facets and theories surrounding the broader issue. The simplest, most basic Catholic understanding, emphasized by many Church leaders and popes since at least 1950, is that we believe God created everything in the universe and that he sustains all being. We don't know exactly how he does that, especially how he did it in the formative eons of time. What we believe for certain is that even if God used some kind of "evolution" to develop the human body, at some precise moment in history he breathed into man a trans-physical, immaterial, spiritual animating principle or "soul." This was the instant in which we would have become true and full "human beings." Spiritual souls do not evolve with biological processes. Each soul is a gift directly from God.

3. The Big Bang theory was first proposed by Georges Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic priest. It's unbelievable how hidden this fascinating fact is these days. Father Lemaître's original proposal was introduced in 1927 and faced a great deal of criticism from many scientists at first (including Einstein). 
 
Elise Harris over at Catholic News Agency has done a great job highlighting some of these realities in an article in which she speaks with Brother Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit planetary scientist and research astronomer at the Vatican Observatory. I encourage you to check out the article: (click here)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please do yourself a favor when you see headlines and reports like these - go to the source of the original comments. Go to the Vatican's website and look for official English translations. Check out the U.S. Bishops' website for any comments they might have. Go to any number of good, solid sites that report news about the Catholic Church with an eye to primary documents and actual, full transcripts (not mere soundbites taken out of context). The temptation is to believe the headline I see flash across my Twitter feed without ever making the effort to investigate the full story.

I sincerely believe that our modern cultural obsession with instant information (even if it's grossly inaccurate and misleading) should deeply concern all of us. What ever happened to undertaking thoughtful, responsible research before we make any conclusions? Ironically enough, isn't that the heart of the scientific method?


Other Resources to check out:

- Full Transcript of Pope's comments: zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-address-at-inauguration-of-bronze-bust-of-benedict-xv

- Catholics United for the Faith fact sheet about the Church on evolution: cuf.org/FileDownloads/evolution.pdf

- Bio of Monsignor Georges Lemaître: catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8847

If YOUR Jesus demands nothing from you...

... FLEE! He's not the real Jesus - he's a fake, a fraud, a counterfeit Christ whom the Devil and the sinful world seek to prop up in order to lead us astray.

It's a very commonplace trend these days to follow the voice of this popular Jesus who, curiously enough, never demands anything from anyone. He's very nice, pleasant, and completely tolerant of anything and everything I think, say, and do. He accepts not just me, but also whatever I decide is true, good, and beautiful. Little white lies? He knows I don't mean any harm. Rejecting whichever teachings of his Church that I just don't get or that I'm uncomfortable with? No biggie - he knows I believe all of the "important" stuff. Hell? Angels and demons? Sin? Judgment? The need to repent and change? The existence of absolute truth that isn't relative? Surely he's not so old fashioned that he'd really expect me to literally believe in those! He's far more understanding than that. Sure, he talked about those, but that was just for those other people (back then)... not me. After all, Jesus was bound by the unsophisticated, backwards, harshly judgmental culture of his time. He would never talk about those things today, I mean come on!

There's a little problem with all of this: NONE of it's true. We have to remember that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Christ does not change. HE said that he was the Son of the Father, sent into the world to proclaim the truth. Indeed he claimed that not only does absolute truth in fact exist, he claimed to BE Truth itself. In perfectly revealing God to mankind, in showing us the love that God Himself is, Jesus modeled for us with every moment of his earthly life that we simply cannot have it both ways. Love is someone, not just something. God is one - He does not have a split personality. Love, therefore, can never be "not love", and therefore we cannot just assign any label or personality trait or conviction (or lack thereof, for that matter) to Jesus.

Treasury Department employees and other U.S. Government workers who combat the counterfeiting of money spend a great deal of time studying every last detail of American currency. They don't waste their time studying counterfeit bills or coins - this would be far too time consuming. Instead they focus on getting to know precisely what the real thing looks like. That way, if even the slightest detail is off, they can immediately identify the fake.

My prayer is that we can all be a little bit more humble and spend our time getting to know the REAL Jesus - the Jesus who makes demands of us, the Jesus who most definitely comes to us and accepts us as we are, but who loves us far too much to let us stay there!

Distraction is when I SQUIRREL!

Distraction's all over the place today, isn't it? When's the last time you were able to consistently focus on anything (or any ONE, for that matter?)

The ironic thing is that we have absolutely flooded our lives and our society with an endless array of cutting edge tools that are supposed to save us time, to enhance productivity, to enable each one of us to live a more fulfilling and easygoing life.

But do these things do that? Why is it that the more time-saving stuff I acquire, the less time I actually seem to have? Why do the lauded stress and difficulty reducing toys only seem to make my life more stressful and more complicated? Why is it that the more apps I download to help me keep track of everything, the more forgetful I seem to be?

I think the short answer is that life isn't about productivity. Life isn't about having no stress. Live is about love. I'm here to love, plain and simple. I'm here to live in community with fellow sojourners on the journey to eternity, and God expects me to be truly present to the people I encounter along the way. He expects me to show some interest in them, who they are, where they're from, what their dreams, hopes, struggles and fears are.

I can't do any of that if I'm distracted all of the time. I am incapable - not just bad at, but truly incapable - of genuine love when I choose patterns of thought and behavior that result in routine ignorance of what's going on around me. Let's try and start small! How about one less show today? One less e-mail check at night? Maybe one less Facebook wall browsing session. We didn't get so disconnected through all of our connectivity overnight, and we won't truly reconnect so quickly either! But perhaps we can all move toward a more authentic human experience of full and love-filled life if we learn how to take one step at a time.

St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of those whose minds and memories and attention need a little work, pray for us!

 

Love & Vulnerability

 
 “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
                   
                                       ― C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves)

The Parable of the Uncooperative Cupboard

A couple moved into their new home and everything seemed perfect. They were excited to make the place truly their own, and within a matter of weeks, it felt like home. Their pictures hung on the walls, favorite books lined the shelves, and as the old saying goes, there was "a place for everything, and everything in its place."

But there was a little problem. One of the cupboard doors in the kitchen refused to stay shut and flush like all of the others. The husband tried all sorts of remedies to fix it but nothing he did seemed to work. Every time he would walk in the kitchen, all he could think about was the door that just wouldn't quite shut. It began to drive him crazy and he found himself thinking about the cupboard door even when he wasn't home!

But one day, in the midst of obsessing over the singular flaw in their new home, his wife put a calming hand on his shoulder and got his attention.

"Sweetie, look at all of the other ones," she said.

When he took a step back and looked around the kitchen in its entirety, he saw that it was filled with cupboards that were beautiful, just right, perfect in every way. He smiled, and thought to himself, "What a wonderful new home. Why waste my time worrying over one little cupboard door that won't shut perfectly? Better to keep in mind what a blessing the whole place is."

Fortitude

"Enduring courage; strength of character in bearing pain with patience or in meeting danger undauntedly."

Strength. Not only of body, but of will and spirit and mind. Guts, gusto, what have you. I feel as though fortitude appears in my own life in brief, momentary flashes and then it too often seems to vanish into thin air. How to hold on to it is still a mystery to me.

"Enduring courage." It's not uncommon to wonder how one's courage can endure in such a frightening and brutal world. How can one persistently stand up for good in a world filled with poverty, hatred, violence and despair? Wars never cease so long as man is filled with pride and greed. Each new conflict, each death, each dashed dream can seem like another nail in courage's coffin.

We can only hope to live the virtue of fortitude if it is nourished by faith. Faith complements and indeed fuels fortitude. Such a virtue of strength amidst pain and suffering must be held in the highest esteem. Standing firm for our Lord and his Gospel of life, rooted in the truth of his resurrection and his promise to prepare a place for us, we can live in fortitude. As Scripture says, "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). We can be filled with fortitude - enduring courage and meeting danger undauntedly - for that fortitude is the very presence of God himself in our hearts, filling us with his own courage and strength!

O Heavenly Father, grant unto me your steadfast endurance - the patient fortitude you displayed at Gethsemane. Amen.

“Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”
                            — St. Dominic

"The Glorious Duty of Man"

My little children, reflect on these words: the Christian's treasure is not on earth but in heaven. Our thoughts, then, ought to be directed to where our treasure is. This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love. If you pray and love, that is where a man's happiness lies.

Prayer is nothing else but union with God. When one has a heart that is pure and united with God, he is given a kind of serenity and sweetness that makes him ecstatic, a light that surrounds him with marvelous brightness. In this intimate union, God and the soul are fused together like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart. This union of God with a tiny creature is a lovely thing. It is a happiness beyond understanding.

We had become unworthy to pray, but God in his goodness allowed us to speak with him. Our prayer is incense that gives him the greatest pleasure.

My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the soul and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.

                                                                           - St. John Vianney (1786-1859)

The Parable of the Lost Starfish

There was once a starfish who lived by herself on the shore, and before long she couldn't remember ever having been elsewhere. This was her home - this was the world she knew. But something was never quite right for the starfish. She felt empty, unfulfilled, out of place, and it filled her with a deep sadness. She watched as birds flew blissfully around the shoreline and the trees swayed to and fro in the gentle breeze. Why were they so happy? Why couldn't she be more like them?

One day, the starfish began to hear the surging voice of the nearby ocean more clearly, more steadily than ever before. Soon she could swear that she heard it speak to her, saying, "Come home! Come home!"

"Come home?" she thought. "What could that possibly mean? I am home, aren't I? This shore is my home - there's no other place for me."

"No it isn't," the Sea replied. "You were never meant to stay out there."

"But I can't go into the sea! It's big and terrifying and mysterious!" said the starfish.

"That might be what things look like from out there, where your life is so small and so rigid," replied the Sea, "but in my midst you will find unending joy, adventure, and family like you cannot imagine. You are alone out there, aren't you?"

Saddened, the starfish admitted her loneliness. But, still fearful of such an unimaginable change, she said, "I'm too afraid! If you really are where I belong, why don't you just grab hold of me and draw me in?"

"Because," said the Sea, "I made you to be free, to choose your destiny. I offer you everything you could ever want out here, away from the rigid land. But you have to desire to come along. Will you come home now, my precious one?"

The starfish, still fearful but filled with a new strength and trust in the loving Sea, stretched and strained with all her might toward the vast frontier. As soon as she did, the waves met and embraced her completely, carrying her joyfully into the depths of the home in which she was always meant to dwell.

A Prayer at the Sea

My Lord, I stand upon the shore in a state of awe. I never gaze into the sea-filled horizon without the same feeling coming over me. This mystery I behold reminds me of You. The sea, like you, is so very immense, so grand, so boundless. It fills me with joy as well as peace and tranquility - a bit like You do. But so do am I touched by a twinge of apprehension, even fear, for before such majesty I sense my own frailty and weakness, not to mention my small stature in the grand scheme of things. What am I next to such grandeur? What am I in the midst of the swelling, surging deep that day and night speaks one word to the rocky shore? Your Word, like the ceaseless waves, laps against the hard hearts of men over and over again until they cannot ignore Your presence any longer. You never give up, no matter how much I fortify the stony wall I've built to hold You back. You never leave me, never draw back or retreat to some far away land. No, Lord. You who contain so much power and might come most often in the soft and gentle caress of a summer tide. I pray You will open my heart to receive You into every corner of my being. Wash over and through me, Father, and may I never again be dry. Amen.

"The Last Things" pt. 2

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest" - Mt. 11:28

As I mentioned last week citing von Balthasar's observations on the matter, Christ himself is the "eschata" - the "last things" of the creature. He comes from the Eternal Father as a man, in time at a particular moment of human history. But he does not emerge from within it as we do. He comes in from the outside. God becomes part of His own creation. How often do any of us believers actually sit back and think about how incredible that is?

This God-Man then transforms everything we experience as human beings by mysteriously incorporating it all into himself: birth, growing up, learning, suffering, friendship, work, eating, sleeping, even death. There is no longer any corner of the human condition with which God, in the Person of Christ, is not intimately familiar. He is everywhere we are and he calls to us with love, encouragement, and grace around every turn.

But God respects our freedom implicitly, far more than we respect it or anyone else's! He, unlike us, will not (cannot) ever force or coerce anyone to choose the good. He is love itself, and real love is never forced. And so, the "final destination" is entirely tied to one's relation to Christ. If I choose him, it is called heaven. If I reject him, that is called hell. If I still have baggage which must be left at his door before going inside, it is called "purgatory", the process of abandoning every last obstacle. And as he gazes deeply into my very being, I cannot hide who I am, who I have made myself to be in life. That is what "judgement" truly is.

These "Four Last Things" are not distinct categories or separate experiences. They are my ultimate encounter with God, who is Reality Himself!

The Sea

"So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

- Genesis 1:21

"The Last Things"

In traditional Catholic teaching, the "Last Things" refers to the topics of death, judgment, hell, and heaven, the so called "four last things to be ever remembered" as Muriel Spark puts it in her book Memento Mori. The study of these last things constitutes the theological enterprise called "eschatology" from the Greek "eschaton" which, essentially, means finality, end, outcome, uttermost.

These four final realities are held by the Church to be utterly inescapable when it comes to the human experience (though the Church of course affirms that hell is not "inescapable" in so far as Christ's offer of salvation is concerned). At the end of the day, we can avoid these subjects as much as we want, we can fabricate the most creative alternatives to them but, in the end, we all die, we face judgement, and we are ultimately transported to one of two very real states - heaven or hell.

It has grown increasingly popular to label everything I've just written as absolutely, ridiculously absurd - a holdover from the Middle Ages. To actually believe anything I've mentioned so far is nothing more than foolish, arcane, superstitious nonsense. Even many of our brothers and sisters in the Church, some in positions of leadership and influence, would cast all of this out the window at the first chance if they could. But I would simply point out that Jesus Christ never surrendered himself to the prison of popularity. The Christian faith is not, has never been, nor ever will it be a faith defined by how "with the times" it is. The Church utterly transcends time and the often bullying influences Pope Saint John Paul II referred to as "passing fads."

It's true that most of the agitation that seems to crop up whenever one makes mention of death, judgement, hell, or heaven may very well be ascribed to outdated and imperfect traditional ways of describing our ultimate end. One can't help but immediately conjure up images of hell being filled with little red devils with pointy tails poking at a person for all eternity with their pitchforks while flames mercilessly lick the room. Heaven is commonly painted as a vast, endless realm of clouds atop which fat little angels and boring people pluck at harps to no end. Trust me, I get it! I mean if the first one is remotely true, how could a good God bear even one of his supposedly beloved creatures ending up there forever? If the second one is true, why in the world would ANYONE ever want to end up there? That kind of heaven is the sort of thing I would probably try and think of when I'm desperately trying to fall asleep!

The truth revealed by Christ and passed down through his Church is far more incredible, far more profound and meaningful than these often quaint pictures we've come to know. I will be making a couple of posts relating to the Last Things over the next few weeks but for now, I think I'll just let the inimitable Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar lay it out:

God is the “last thing” of the creature. Gained, he is heaven; lost, he is hell; examining, he is judgment; purifying, he is purgatory. He it is to whom finite being dies, and through whom it rises to him, in him. This he is, however, as he presents himself to the world, that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the revelation of God and, therefore, the whole essence of the last things.

Permanence?

After almost a solid month of Army training followed by some readjustment, I realized how much I've missed this blog so I decided to share a little reflection that hit me last night in prayer.

I'd wager that there is not a person on this earth - past, present, or future - who does not know the bitter taste of anxiety or even fear when change is in the air. We all know what it can feel like when our circumstances are altered. And even when it's for the better, the shadow of fear can make its presence known.

Why is this so? Are we hard-wired to assume that most if not all changes spell discomfort or hardship of some sort? Why can news of a new job or a move or even a baby on the way conjure up both elation and panic?

I suspect that this is all evidence of our deep desire for permanence. It's strange when you think about it. Every person on earth is seemingly incapable of being satisfied, no matter the circumstances - at least not in this life. There is never enough money, enough titles, enough achievements. There is always a deficit of friends, experiences, conversations, encounters. We never seem to scratch the surface of our desires for ultimate purpose, meaning, true and abiding love.

We are like beings who exist for eternal joy and fulfillment, and yet we are each stretched out across a lifetime of transition and change. We are like spiritual nomads who, no matter how much we try to ignore or alter the truth, are never truly at home during our sojourn on earth.

In the end, that void can only be filled by the One who put it there in the first place. God made every single one of us for Himself, and that empty restlessness we all experience is not proof of meaningless pain and endless suffering ahead. It is in fact a gift from the hand of God. It's there so that we'll pay attention to it and in the midst of the darkness we'll find the Risen Lord who so deeply desires to bring us to what Father Robert Barron has dubbed, "a higher pitch of existence."

So let's try to set fear and anxiety aside today! Ask the Lord to help you see him in every corner of your day - He won't let you down.

Easter Sunday

Disciples John and Peter on the Way to the Tomb (Burnand)

The morning of the third day has brought something utterly incredible, unthinkable, even impossible. Mary Magdalene has returned in haste from the tomb with shocking news - she claims that Jesus, lifeless and entombed since Friday afternoon, HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD!

Peter and John race towards the tomb. John, the only one of the Twelve who followed Christ to the cross itself. John who watched Jesus die the most agonizing of all deaths. John who knew better than the others that there was no doubt - their beloved Master was truly dead.

Peter, the chief of the apostles. The man who had walked on the tempestuous sea toward Christ. The one whom Jesus had renamed "Rock" and to whom he had promised the keys of the kingdom - the new steward of the royal household who had authority to bind and loose (see Isaiah 22:15-24). Peter who had, in terrible fear, rejected the Lord three times. Peter, to whom Christ had said: "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

And so they run. John, the younger of the two, runs faster. Peter runs as best he can. John, filled with anticipation: "Could it really be? Please, O Father, let it be so!" Peter, filled with hope but also a deep and painful shame: "Please, Master, please... Please forgive me!"

They finally arrive. John waits for Peter, acknowledging his primacy. Peter enters first. The tomb is empty. The Lord's wrappings lie there, the cloth that had covered his face in another part of the tomb, folded. What grave robbers would have taken time to unwrap his body? What is going on here?

They return with more questions than answers. Little do they realize that he will soon come to them in the very room where they had last eaten with him, and things will never be the same - for them and for the whole human race.

Holy Saturday (an Ancient Homily)

I posted this selection from today's "Office of Readings" last year and I can't think of a better reflection on Christ's descent to the dead so here it is again!

Second reading

From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday

The Lord descends to the dead

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Judeans in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

RESPONSORY

Our shepherd, the source of the water of life, has died. The sun was darkened when he passed away. But now man’s captor is made captive.
– This is the day when our Savior broke through the gates of death.

He has destroyed the barricades of hell, overthrown the sovereignty of the devil.
– This is the day when our Savior broke through the gates of death.

CONCLUDING PRAYER
All-powerful and ever-living God,
your only Son went down among the dead
and rose again in glory.
In your goodness
raise up your faithful people,
buried with him in baptism,
to be one with him
in the eternal life of heaven,
where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Good Friday

What is it about today that could possibly be "good"? Love. Today Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, gives every last drop of his blood for us because it's literally the most he can possibly do to save us. He doesn't just give a little of himself in love - he gives everything. We need to start doing the same for those we journey through life with each day, including the people we absolutely cannot stand. That's just the measure of love.

The Last Supper

Every year, the Church celebrates the "Easter Triduum" as the final three days of the season of Lent and the conclusion of Holy Week. By way of reflection, If you don't mind, I'd like to chime in along the way with a few observations and thoughts that might be beneficial.

"The Last Supper" by Jon McNaughton

It all kicks off with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, commemorating the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It was at the Last Supper that Jesus ordained the Apostles to be the first priests (and bishops, for that matter) of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, he gave them the faculties to perform the sacred liturgy from that time on, and to hand down that authority to their successors so that future generations would be able to share in his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

"The Last Supper" by Carl Heinrich Bloch

This is the night when Jesus tells his dearest friends that one of them will betray him. The heads turn - who could it be? I've often wondered how many of the Apostles immediately suspected Judas. John tells us in his gospel of an incident in which Judas objected to Lazarus's sister Mary using expensive perfumed oil to anoint Jesus rather than selling it and giving the money to the poor. John bluntly states that Judas did so not because he cared for the poor, but because he carried the money purse and stole from it regularly (John 12:1-8).

Why would someone so close to the Lord day in and day out do such a thing? More than that, how could he go so far as to betray Jesus into the hands of the authorities? I think it all boils down to this: none of it was playing out the way Judas thought it would. Jesus was not the kind of messiah Judas had imagined and longed for his whole life. When faced with the challenge of changing himself, of truly repenting, Judas instead grew disillusioned, disappointed, and likely filled with dread over the coming persecutions that Christ frequently predicted. In the final analysis, his fall didn't happen in a moment. It spread slowly like a cancer in his soul.

I for one don't want to follow in his footsteps. Does each new day find me following the real Jesus, even when I have difficulty accepting some of the things he says, or rather creating a Jesus that I think I like better? I think this is one of the most difficult challenges we face today when it comes to genuine discipleship. Will I follow the Christ who is, or will I follow the Christ I build up to suit my own desires and plans? Maybe the best way to put it is this: who's in charge? God or me?

Let's take our time, shall we?

I was listening to a lecture the other day in which the professor, Dr. Regis Martin, explored the mystery of this thing we call "time." It was an absolutely fascinating 45 minutes or so, and I just thought I'd share some of the reflections he shared along with a few of my takeaways.

Time can be seemingly our biggest enemy, can't it? I mean most of our modern technology seems to have been created for the primary purpose of getting us some time back. But does it work? Now that we have smartphones, tablets, digital calendars synced everywhere we go, and GPS on every device we own, do we really have MORE time? I know I don't. It's funny, the more feverishly I try to save time, the faster it seems to slip away.
But I think the reason why this is true is right in front of us. It's because time IS what it is. It isn't something we can fashion into something else or control in some way. It's a creature. God made time, and God doesn't make junk. So time IS GOOD. Wow... I can't believe I just typed that because usually I treat time like it's my ultimate arch-nemesis! It is through time, though, that we learn to live, to bear suffering, and to love.

God himself plunged wholeheartedly into time itself through the incarnation. Christ swims through the river of time from the moment of his conception through his crucifixion, descent into the dead, and his ultimate ascension to the right hand of the Father. He has, in a sense, perfected time itself by touching each corner of it with his blessed presence.

What does that mean for you and me? Maybe we shouldn't be in such a rush to skip a step all of the time. Maybe we should slow down a bit, "stop and smell the roses" and try harder to focus on the moment at hand. Perhaps we'll start to catch a more frequent glimpse of Christ's face in the people and circumstances around us, no matter who or what they are. Maybe then we will learn to live fully the life we have been freely given through no merit of our own in thanksgiving and with hope.

What did Jesus teach about that? Let's take a vote!

Much is often made about poll results showing a sometimes staggering percentage of Catholics who disagree with the Church's teaching on human sexuality. Frequently, we are told that because significant numbers of Catholics strongly disagree with the Church's stance on issues like contraception, same-sex marriage, and abortion, the solution can only be for the Church to "tone it down a bit" if not completely change its position and "get with the times."

The more I think and pray about this phenomenon and the more I study it intently, the more I have to scratch my head. At the end of the day, you cannot possibly understand the Catholic Church without understanding that we firmly believe Christ established the Church to proclaim the KINGDOM of God. Christ is the King of Kings. The Church is not a democracy. Now you can certainly make up your mind to reject all of that if you so choose, but what you cannot reasonably do is try to force the Church to completely change its 2,000 year old, well-developed and established understanding of the nature of the mission it received from Christ himself.

"Divine Revelation" is just that - it has been revealed to us. We have absolutely no authority whatsoever to change reality. This is at the core of everything we believe. Confusions happen, difficulties arise to be sure. But to think that the Catholic Church should (or even CAN for that matter) change one iota of the content of the faith left to it by Jesus Christ because members of that Church don't like this teaching or that is just plain absurd. If the God who created everything tells me to my face that a tree is a tree or that a sexual sin is a sin and I sincerely disagree, that doesn't change reality. He's right and I'm wrong!

Now even if we agree that these teachings are difficult and hard to follow, we also should be reasonable enough to admit that the Lord has also given us unbounded mercy through the Church's ministry. There are no sins that Christ will not instantly wipe away if we are truly repentant and turn to him. The problem is that most of us are not humble enough to do so and we never stop looking for ways to justify our sins. Maybe this Lent we'll take a minute and try to give Christ a little more room in our crowded hearts, minds, and wills.

Father Robert Barron has an absolutely fantastic take on some of this in the video below wherein he uses a very strong analogy. Check it out!

http://wordonfire.org/WOF-TV/Commentaries-New/Extreme-Demands,-Extreme-Mercy--A-Commentary-by-Fr.aspx

Pope Francis' Message For Christian Unity At KCM

Just came across this message from Pope Francis which was broadcast at a Kenneth Copeland Ministries event. Filmed on the iPhone of a mutual friend of both Pope Francis and Kenneth Copeland, it is a warm, "heartfelt" greeting and expression of the Holy Father's deepest yearning for unity among all Christians. It is precisely the same desire shared by his predecessors, but it's presented in his own unique way.

This is wonderful, folks. Please check it out!

"Who do you say that I am?"

Feel free to watch the video and comment!

Who's up for some apostolic succession?

What a wonderful morning! We learn today that the Holy Father has appointed Bishop Ronald Gainer of Lexington, KY to be the 11th Bishop of Harrisburg. Bishop Gainer succeeds our beloved Bishop Joseph McFadden who died unexpectedly on May 2, 2013.

It's been a long wait, but many dioceses have to wait much longer than us. I'm particularly excited to get to know our new spiritual shepherd and I will certainly be following the story closely.

If there's one thing that this process always excites me about more than anything else, it's APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION!!! Jesus never indicated that the sole means of transmission of the faith would be through reading the Bible. As Catholics, we deeply revere Sacred Scripture as the inspired Word of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph 105 that "God is the author of Sacred Scripture." Saint Jerome says, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." But remember that so too does Saint Augustine get to the heart of it when he writes, "I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me."

There were three particular "stages" in the "formation of the Gospel" as The Catechism puts it in paragraph 126. 1) The life and teaching of Jesus, 2) the oral tradition, and 3) the written Gospels. The Bible as we know it, compiled in its totality with chapters and verses did not exist for centuries. It was a painstaking process that worked through various Church Councils and, even after the official "canon of scripture" was determined authoritatively, most people wouldn't be able to have their own personal copy for a few more centuries due to dismal literacy rates and limited printing capability. The fact is that Jesus never intended for the faith to be primarily transmitted through the Bible alone ("sola scriptura").

However, it has been the consistent teaching for 2,000 years that Christ first and foremost established a Church - a visible, distinct, universal (i.e. "catholic"), authoritative, teaching Church. He breathed on the apostles (not everyone else mind you) and gave them his authority to forgive sins, drive out demons, and make him physically present in the Eucharist which he commanded them to do routinely for all time. As Saint Paul wrote a few decades later, it is this Church that is the "pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).

Jesus said to apostles, "Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me" (Luke 10:16). He gave them all authority and then sent them out into the world to proclaim the Gospel and to teach. They did this to their last breath - and they passed on that authority to successors who did likewise. This chain is unbroken. It has been deeply tested, strained, stretched, scarred - you name it. There have been many men who have served in this capacity unworthily. But that's just it! It's not THEIR Church - it's Jesus Christ's Church. The Church he established. The Church he swore he would never abandon, and he never has.

Now that Church sends us a successor to our dear Bishop McFadden! May our Blessed Lord watch over Bishop Gainer and bless him with health, a deep and courageous faith, and many years of ministry in the Diocese of Harrisburg.