Nothing to lose and everything to gain: 33rd Sunday, OTB

So much of popular Christian literature and culture is wrapped in the theme of the rapture, the Second Coming, the End Times. Quite often, those who make the attempt to produce films or author novels about such themes are rarely rooted in anything steeped in Tradition or Truth.

It's quite popular to portray end times or the end of the world as some hybrid of the plagues of Exodus, amplified with 20th century carnage and warfare. When, in reality, this is not an accurate representation of any truth found within Sacred Scripture, nor the ongoing Tradition of the Church.

So what are the real end times? What will it mean and what will happen? It probably shouldn't be a surprise that the answer is "I don't know". It should be music to the ears of the Catholic who recognizes that almost everything of our faith is cemented in the Mystery of a Triune God who was incarnate of a Virgin, suffered death and rose from the clutches of the underworld to bring all men to Himself. If you can somehow condense all that and make simple sense of it all, then you truly do not believe!

That is a great charism of our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church - we embrace mystery, we find solace within the endless chambers of the the Heart of God.

When we read these passages in the Scriptures that alludes to the End Times, let us not get ourselves all worked up over some looming destruction and hell-hot coals consuming our earthly flesh; rather, let us truly understand the impetus of Jesus' words.

Jesus' sermon has now turned to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The destruction would take place 40 years after this great sermon in the year 70AD. It was in that generation that they would witness the horrendous destruction of the center of all Jewish sacrifice and life. There has not been a sacrifice offered by any Jew since that very day.

Within the Temple were endless displays of celestial ornamentation, paintings, weavings, tapestries and symbolism that gave the Jewish people a visual reminder of the constant presence of the God of the universe in their midst and that indeed this is where the heavens kissed the earth.

And it is from the destruction in 70AD that the Jews await their messiah - their King - to come and rebuild the Temple, defeat the enemies of chosen people and to rule for all time and make jerusalem the capital of creation. It is a restoration of the rubbled Old that they await for.

We Christians, specifically Catholics, await for a fulfillment, for the New Earth and the New Jerusalem. We await the coming of our King at the end of the Ages to come and rule over Heaven and Earth where He will reign in every galaxy, solar system, planet, continent, nation, community and heart. When He comes, He wont rebuild, He will transform!

We await the fulfillment of the New Covenant itself where every sin and sleep of death will be obliterated by the light of His reign and will be no more. It is where we will be face to face with our King, and a 'cushy, fluffy, weak, homemade, feel good, spiritual but not religious, it doesn't matter what I do cause God loves me anyways life of nonsense' will no longer cut it. Nor will the 'fundamentalist bible thumper kind either where ignorance of the Truth and depth of Scripture is encouraged' - It will be about His Church, His Law, His Commandments and His Truth.

We will come to finally come to see that our parish really is connected to the Church which is the Body of Christ extending every outpost of time and space where membership is eternal. It is through His Church, just like through His Temple, that the real presence will be fulfilled on earth. His reign will be so mighty and bright that the sun will fade into darkness. It will be blinding - that's why souls go through purgatory, preparing to gaze upon that light of the King.

That is why we need to be vigilant, because we know not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come. We need to be prepared to stand, not only in front of Him and beam with joy in the presence of His light, but along side Him as one body united in Truth and Love.

What will all this look like? Entail? Our transfigured bodies and world: what will they look and feel like?

Truthfully, it doesn't really matter. Those details wont change their reality or their imminence. What does matter is that we live lives as virtuous Catholics, ardently defending our Church, our God,  and the Truth of Jesus Christ. Though the Jews are waiting for something we don't believe will ever happen, we need to remain united to them, not only as our great brothers and sisters of the Old Covenant and of antiquity, but their passion for the presence of God as the center of their lives - as seen in the Temple.

The truth is, our King will come! We are in those end times, after the destruction and waiting for the new. But these are not days of waiting for destruction, vengeance, pestilence and red rivers throughout the lands. We are in a period of waiting for Love enfleshed to stand in our midst and kill every evil. Our King, born to us as a baby, died for us on a tree, will come to hold us close in the warmth of his embrace and allow us to hear the beating of His heart.

We have nothing to fear and everything to gain if we live a life deserving of that King and His victory. Perfection may never be achieved in our lives, but an ardent desire to love God and follow His will is definitely what we can achieve.

26th Sunday, OT year B

So often, we become over zealous in pointing out and scrutinizing the faults of others, the differences among us and segmenting each other into artificial categories. We do this all the while proclaiming our excellence and making our lives the marker for others to follow. This is such a prevalent and easy habit to fall into in our culture, and perhaps for many cultures over many millennia.

What makes this such an issue, especially in light of this weekend's readings is that this attitude towards life is the direct result of sin and thus perpetuates sin among our brothers and sisters. This leads us to not uniting in Christ, but instilling hate and resentment and setting people up to hate each other and themselves - this is not the message of the Gospel.

The first reading and the Gospel give us episodes of people running to Moses and Jesus reporting about others preaching in God's name. Both Moses and Jesus gives sort of a "don't worry about it" response and sends the message "worry about getting yourself to heaven with your brothers and sisters"and a little less critiquing.

Jesus goes further and hyperbolically exclaims that it is better to cut off our limbs and enter eternity maimed than to enter Hell intact.

If you don't believe that we do this, just examine every institution, media outlet, chamber of government, workplace and household - it happens all the time. From instead of debating the various philosophies of governing, conservatives are told to hate liberals and liberals hate conservatives. Instead of people of different faiths and creeds dialoging to come to a fuller understanding of their purpose in the mind of the universe, we're bread to hate and sometimes kill them. Instead of having a family meeting to discuss an issue in the household, we create divisions and factions to the point of exponential divorce rates and domestic violence.

Sin, at its very root, is turning in on ourselves with little to no regard for those around us, our brothers and sisters, the ones we love.

Scripture is clear that conquering sin, living for God, leading others to the Truth of God, establishing a world aflame with Love is our primary focus and mission. We are responsible for the salvation of those we minister to and are in contact with. It is not just the job of the priest to get us to heaven, but it's everyone's. Husbands are responsible for the salvation of their wives and vise versa. Family members, siblings, friends, loved ones, colleagues, strangers: we are responsible for their salvation. Failure to do so makes amputation of our limbs more desirable.

Scary? Sure. Real? We better believe it. Christ has won for us eternal life - the door is open. But we need to live lives worthy of that victory Christ won on the cross. We need to follow the path to that portal by living lives of virtue and bringing others along with us.

BE the change

In my senior year of high school, the senior class had to pick a quote to put in the yearbook underneath your photograph. It's an assignment that some take seriously, some view as an opportunity to be outlandish and others just refuse to submit anything. I was one who, in being someone who collected quotes, looked forward to this task for my entire senior year. The quote i picked is one I remember wanting to use for months, but where I found it, I cannot remember. It is a simple quote, one that many have probably heard, but is one that has stuck with me through now into my priesthood. The quote is:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"

~Mahatma Gandhi 

I always envisioned myself being this renegade, this crusader who valiantly saved the world from every evil, war, pestilence and corrupt ideology - I wanted to embody that change to the point of affecting every aspect of the globe. These were high expectations, I knew, but I was able to see so many problems in the world and I intuitively knew solutions to all of them. There was almost nothing I didn't have a cure for or a method to get to the utopia we all yearn for. This yearning, this desire, came along with me into the priesthood.

All through the seminary, in varying degrees over time, being this salvific change was always on my mind and in my heart. Over the years of seminary and formation, it got tempered, but never left. As the days got closer and closer to priesthood, I began to see my desire to be the change I wished to see in the  world coming closer to fruition. 

I dont want you to get the wrong impression that I answered the call to the priesthood to change the world into my utopia, not even close. The priesthood is a vocation a man is called to by God and over years of formation and discernment he comes to say Yes to laying his self down for the love of the Church (to put it very simply). But there was always a little bit of "super hero"mentality that told me that perhaps you could "do" more when you're a priest. 

Being a priest now for just shy of 4 months, I see just how naive I was in interpreting Gandhi's words. 

Almost everyday now, as a priest, I am faced with a situation or scenario where I simply do not know what to do or how to solve the problems presented to me. I know what I want and what direction people should go in to solve the issues life has thrown at them, but how to do that, I don't always know. 

I want to solve everybody's problems, heal all their wounds, make all their demons go away, get them to good health - I want to be the one to give them the change they desire AND that is where I went wrong with that quote.

The sacrament of Orders gives a man a phenomenal amount of grace to live out this vocation (this is a topic too large for right now) and changes his very soul - BUT it doesn't make him Thor! As much as a man wants to DO something, he is called to BE CHRIST! 

Nothing you do as a priest, you do as yourself - it is a total unification to Christ and a total self gift to your love, your bride, the Church. When someone comes to the priest, they are coming to Christ. That is such an easy thing to say, but perhaps the biggest challenge -at least for me - of the priesthood. 

So how do I "be the change" I wish to see in the world? I simply have to be Christ. That can't be an excuse for laziness or passivity, it has to be a call to action - an action of the presence of Christ. The change I've been called to give is not the product of my physical skills, but that of my ontological change! The world will not and cannot be changed without Christ - period, end of the debate. No ideology or party or man can bring true change to the world - the change that satiates the desires of our souls - but the presence of God. Never has this been made clearer to me since becoming a priest.

So can priests not bring about change in the world? They most definitely can, but not in some Marvel Comic type of way. As a priest, when people come to you looking for health of mind, body and soul, they asking God to come to them, let them know they are loved and precious, let them know that they are not abandoned and that with Christ they will conquer anything. 

It is not my elbow grease, but my presence - my BEing that brings about that Change. The ministry of presence is perhaps the best agent for change. In bringing that presence of Christ out into the world, to people in despair, does the world slowly begin to change and turn towards God. The change I want in the world is Christ. It is ultimately for Christ to reign in the hearts of every man woman. It is for everyone to come to feel the beating of the heart of God. I cant DO this, but I can BE and stand witness to that change. I may not be able to cure the physical ailment, but I can show them Christ who desires to go through this pain with them. 

It is hard to internalize and live - it probably will take a lifetime to begin to fully understand. But, there has been nothing more beautiful and awesome than to be with people in their darkest and most vulnerable moments and be able to help them attain that change they desire - help them to see and know the love of God. 

The Bread of Life

It's not news to the attentive ear, that the last month at Sunday masses, we heard the entirety of John chapter 6 regarding the Bread of Life. I know for me and my brother priests and deacons, that it was a great challenge to each week not spill over themes and ideas from previous or future weeks and to give a clear, crisp presentation each week.

I was hesitant to write each of the homilies out here because I was afraid of just that: saying too much one week and not having enough for the other weeks and there being proof of it here online! So, I thought it would be good to sum up some of my thoughts on that infamous chapter of John's gospel and some reflection on what this Bread - this Eucharist - really is.

What I think is the reason we can have so much doubt when it comes to the Eucharist is, not that what we claim it to be is so radical - for it is a radical claim , not that we have so many other distractions and worries in our lives - for indeed we all do, but what I think is the most difficult obstacle for us to overcome is the reality that the Eucharist is so perfect and we really have nothing else to gauge it against.

To illustrate: We all give of ourselves to the people we love. Husbands and wives, quite obviously give of themselves emotionally, spiritually and physically in such a way that the two become one flesh. Their love, their sacrifices, their desire for the other propels them to give themselves wholly to the suppose. Single people give of themselves wholly too, but not to make two into one like in marriage, but in a chaste self-offering where they love through emotional and spiritual support. They, in my opinion, have perhaps the hardest vocation because they are called to no particular person or community, but are to be lovers of all people in the world and give that sacrifice and that love to all people. The celibate is called to be a spiritual father or mother to a community, the church. They are called to offer themselves wholly and entirely for their flock so as to lead and guide them to eternal life.

All of this is true, good and beautiful, but there is an obvious limit to how much we can give wholly. For human beings, we dont privide our bodies for physical nourishment, we provide spiritual and emotional nourishment through our presence and relationships. If we are physically hungry or thirsty, your spouse, friend, pariahionrer, brother or sister is not and cnnot quench that - it is beyond what they can do for you. No one loves to the point of slicing their body up for physical nourishment! That is just sick and weird and not what we do. So there is a very obvious boundary to how we can give ourselves over for another - But, with Christ, no such boundary exists.

Christ knows no limit to the amount or the ways in which He can give of himself to us. There is no code, law, political correctness, stereotype, expectation, geography, obstacle or force for Him to overcome - Nothing prohibits God from giving Himself to us - even His very flesh and blood!

That is what this Eucharist is. That is why it can be so hard to accept. We are in the presence of and receiving the most perfect Love. We are consuming the very sacrifice that only God can give. We are accepting a Love that we cannot begin to do justice to. In the light of all of our failings, our sins, our insecurities, our struggles and addictions - Christ still pours our His blood for us to quench our thirst and still offers His flesh for us to ease our pangs.

The Eucharist is the Bread of Life simply because it is the Bread of Love. It is the only tangible presence of True Love among us, and it is only love that can give life. Not just physical life, for even two parents devoid of any love for their children can bring about physical life, but spiritual and emotional life. Only a mom and dad who constantly tells and shows love to their children will assure the  young will have true life within them. So too with the Bread of Life. It is not so much physical hunger it is seeking to alleviate - for we can in some degree live solely on it, but thats not the idea of it. Its not the Catholic way to give up all food and drink and live solely on the Eucharist - though many holy men and women have throughout the ages - but to find True Life from that food, to know what it means to live and be loved.

Its an extraordinary reality that passes our lips at every mass and that sits (unfortunately too often alone) in our churches. The God of the Universe, the God who made every atom of the cosmos, the God born of a virgin, the Logos, the God who died on a cross for us makes His very physical presence known and shown everyday all over the world. The only reason it happens is for us to feast on Love.

Then, ultimately, John presents us with a choice. Do we act as if its just yet another thing we need to do, just another symbol among the treasure chest of Catholic symbols and signs, just something that I think about on Sundays in the same stream of worldly distractions? Or do we say Yes to It and let the Bread of Life, true tangible Love to give us life, to transfigure every atom of our being, to transform human hearts and earthly institutions, to not let our faith be something hidden except for an hour on Sundays, and to let our entire selves be drowned in Love without wanting to be pulled out of the water?  That is the choice we have. To let the Eucharist do what It has the power to do is our constant struggle, our constant aim. It requires much sacrifice and being put out into the deep, but the rewards are eternal and the benefits are otherworldly. To say no to Christ and to just remain passive in the face of Love, will only make the jowls of our souls sandy with thirst and the gut of our hearts to wrench in hunger and pain.

Come to the Bread of Life. Come to the Eucharist. Feast from the table of Sacrifice. Dine at the heavenly banquet. Nourish yourself with pure and utter Love. Be transformed and transfigured. Let your fears and insecurities fade away as you embrace Life and know Love.

Did they awake a giant?

Yesterday, a large array of plaintiffs filed 12 lawsuits in federal court to challenge the constitutionality of the now infamous HHS mandate. I am very proud of my bishop for standing up and defending the church. He has been given an unfair reputation by many for their misunderstanding of his take on liturgical translation, but I would be hard pressed to find many men as passionate as he is in defending the church.

There has been a lot of commentary on the significance of this movement of our bishops and the church at large in not going silently into the night on this issue.

One thing I have read a lot is the idea that the Obama administration has awakened a giant; that the Obama administration has underestimated the Catholic Church and Her response.

I wrestle with whether or not this is the case...

I find it very hard to believe that anyone involved with drafting this legislation overlooked the fact that it was going to settle like oil and vinegar with the church. With the intensity of the debate over contraception and abortion over the past few decades, it is impossible to think that the administration was blindsided by this.

Secondly, I don't think there is any person who can honestly say that the administration is a friend to traditional, orthodox, sound, family - centered Catholicism. At most you can site placated rhetoric at campaign events or intense news conferences or speeches, but there has been nothing to suggest otherwise. To think that any legislation was crafted to uphold a biblical view of humanity is just naive.

The art of war involves two essential elements: a strategy and an assurance of victory. I believe both are at play in this latest drama of American politics.  What better way to win sympathy...and votes... if you're viewed as the underdog - the victim! I don't know what news outlet you watch, but everything I see presents the church as old-white men in dresses who want to oppress women and harbor pedophiles. Whereas the federal government is shown as a bullied kid with a scraped knee who's crying for his mom to protect him from the aggressive church. The more this image is played out, the more they can play on the emotions of uninformed individuals and thus (in their thinking) win!

I really think they foresaw this and knew it was going to be met with opposition. They most likely foresaw lawsuits, but are relying on the hopes of the cases falling on the desks of the many liberal judges throughout this land. I am awfully sure they had no intention to uphold the dignity of the human person, but indulge the appetite in this culture for licentious promiscuity and 'freedom from God'.

I don't think it wise to adopt a Catholic maverick mentality of "we outsmarted the administration". I think we need to remain faithful, prayerful and dedicated to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ if we truly want to transform the culture and the government.

Next post, I want to talk a little about the culture that is wanting to be created by those in opposition to the church.

Holy Thursday: On This Night

This night, gathered in a small dimly lit room, Jesus gives is the two most essential gifts or "things" He could ever give us: The Eucharist and the Priesthood

The disciples had no idea what Christ had up His sleeve that night; only Judas had a hint of what was to transpire after the meal, but Christ knew and He was prepared. He knew that one of His closest friends was going to betray Him; He knew that He was going to be plucked from every comfort and security he had in this world; He knew that this was going to be the last meal he would share with those He loved; He knew He was about to suffer a tortuous end to His life; He knew He had to act!

Going to the cross was going to win for us salvation; it was going to defeat darkness, sin and death itself, but it was still going to leave us as a fallen people, still bound to the affects and enslavement of sin. He was going to leave us a means to experience and taste His love, mercy and intimacy after He left this earth. He was leaving us a way to taste our salvation: The Eucharist and the Priesthood!

This night, in that dim room, Christ gave his beloved twelve a model to follow. He, God made man, got on His knees and washed to feet of sinful, weak and imperfect men - Even Judas who was about to betray Him and the other ten who abandoned Him. He gave them a model of total self-surrender, total self- gift, total self-sacrifice of themselves for others.

He showed them that to be a priest was no longer about sacrificing goats and pigeons - it was about sacrificing yourself. He showed them that what He was doing and about to do was the new model for priestly service and way of life. He showed them that sacrificing the True Lamb was the only sacrifice capable bringing salvation. He showed them the model by which, men chosen from their peers by God, would give others the body and blood of Christ by sacrificing their own everyday.

No glitz, no glamour, no status or honor was he bestowing on them - He was calling these men to die so others may have life. The priesthood was no longer a sterile or apathetic position among men - NO - The priesthood was now about dying for the life of men! Each one of these disciples in that room that night was called to the cross - Each of those men realized that the greatest way of love was to deny themselves and give everything you have for another.

It is only this sacrifice and this love that suffices the cravings of the soul!

Acknowledging this reality, each Catholic man not married needs to ask himself, needs to pray about, needs to ponder this priesthood and if he is being called and chosen from among men for this sacrifice. The world cannot survive without priests giving us the Eucharist and forgiving our sins and being a man on the boundary of creation and Creator. Each man needs to talk with Christ and others so he may know if he is in this world for it's salvation. Each man here tonight and elsewhere: Are you being called to follow this model of Christ and sacrifice yourself so others may taste and experience their salvation?
Without priests, there is no Eucharist; without priests, there is no sacraments; where there is no Eucharist or sacraments, there is no Church for people to come and experience first hand their salvation and the love and sacrifice that every soul needs and craves. It is essential and not optional!

This night, Christ lays down the foundation for chosen men to lay down their lives because of love.

This night, Christ takes His new priests and gives us His very flesh and His very blood.

This night, we receive the two most tangible and eternal gifts and signs of our salvation and the love that conquered death.