Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up – Our Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see
Gospel text (Mk 8:22-26): When Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida , Jesus was asked to touch a blind man who was brought to him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had put spittle on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked, «Can you see anything?». The man, who was beginning to see, replied, «I see people! They look like trees, but they move around». Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again and the man could see perfectly. His sight was restored and he could see everything clearly. Then Jesus sent him home saying, «Do not return to the village».
About four years ago, a good friend of mine started wearing glasses. Describing his first experience at the optometrist, he told me, “It was crazy—David didn’t realize he couldn’t distinguish the trees on the other side of the highway until the doctor let him test some glasses. Then, when he could see clearer, David exclaimed, ‘Holy cow, look at all of that!’”
I imagine the blind man in today’s Gospel having a similar experience to my friend David. Jesus, rolling up his sleeves, spit on his hands and touched the blind one’s eyes, causing him to see. And see he did…although not clearly at first. Yes, he could see, but things were blurry. Not until Jesus clarified his vision and asked him to look again could the formerly blind man see well.
How many times do I think I can see clearly the paths on which I am walking, only to find out I am misinterpreting the gifts God has given me along my journey? Just like the blind man and my friend David, I think I can see clearly and just fine on my own, but there is so much more beauty God wants me to see if I let him lead and clarify my sight so I can understand.
Mark has framed this section of his gospel to teach us two things: (1) to show how the disciples needed to be healed from their blindness regarding the true nature of Jesus’ Messiaship, and consequently about what it means to be Jesus’ follower; (2) Mark expects his audience (including us) to identify with the blind disciples and to face the fact that we, too, may need to be healed from our own blindness regarding who Jesus is and what it means to follow him.
So today, let us try putting on our glasses, or letting Jesus rub some more spit in our eyes (whichever metaphor you prefer) and let ourselves realize with clarity and understanding what we may have been missing all around us.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves - Otherwise we harden
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Gospel text (Mk 8:14-21): The disciples had forgotten to bring more bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then Jesus warned them, «Keep your eyes open and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod». And they said to one another, «He saw that we have no bread». Aware of this, Jesus asked them, «Why are you talking about the loaves you are short of? Do you not see or understand? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that don't see and ears that don't hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves among five thousand? How many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?». They answered, «Twelve». «And having seven loaves for the four thousand, how many wicker baskets of leftovers did you collect?». They answered, «Seven». Then Jesus said to them, «Do you still not understand?».
Today, —once again— we can see the wisdom of our Lord Jesus. His behavior is amazing. Jesus warns the disciples “watch out to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” But they misunderstood these words to mean they had forgotten to bring bread (leaven) with them as they had when Jesus miraculously multiplied the food for the crowd in the desert. But here Jesus was challenging them at an even deeper level; he was calling them not to be like the Pharisees who misunderstood him. The truth is that it is already too late – the disciples really do not understand the man they had been called to follow.
Where is the good news in that for them or for us? Jesus is clearly not happy with how obtuse his close friends are and he goes after them with seven very abrupt and searing questions that had to have gotten their attention even if they didn’t know how to respond.
For us there is a hidden consolation in acknowledging that even his closest companions did not hear his message very clearly so as to understand what he was ultimately about. We can be deceived into thinking that the friends of Jesus have the advantage in seeing him, in hearing his words, and in personally watching him as he dealt with them with the crowds and with the situations they encountered together.
But despite that closeness to Jesus they were fallible human beings just like us who struggle in faith, hope and love so as to grow in our understanding of and, more importantly, in our intimate relationship and union with Christ. We see how we misunderstand his message and are slow to respond with open hearts to the situations and to the people around us. In this we are not that different from the close friends of Jesus who walked with him and grew in their relationship with him. Can we open ourselves to the vastness of God’s love for us in Jesus? If we allow ourselves to be enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, alerted and led by the good Shepherds, stimulated by all the faithful Christians, we shall believe what we ought to believe and we shall do what we ought to do. First, though, we must have the “desire” to see: «The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us» (Jn 1:14), visible, palpable; and the “desire” to listen: it was the Virgin Mary who was “the bait” that made Jesus say: «blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it» (Lk 11:28).
Our Lord never misses an opportunity to teach and, today, He keeps on doing it: «We must free ourselves from the false idea that faith has nothing to say to today’s Men» (Benedict XVI).
Gospel text (Mk 8:14-21): The disciples had forgotten to bring more bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then Jesus warned them, «Keep your eyes open and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod». And they said to one another, «He saw that we have no bread». Aware of this, Jesus asked them, «Why are you talking about the loaves you are short of? Do you not see or understand? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that don't see and ears that don't hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves among five thousand? How many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?». They answered, «Twelve». «And having seven loaves for the four thousand, how many wicker baskets of leftovers did you collect?». They answered, «Seven». Then Jesus said to them, «Do you still not understand?».
Today, —once again— we can see the wisdom of our Lord Jesus. His behavior is amazing. Jesus warns the disciples “watch out to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” But they misunderstood these words to mean they had forgotten to bring bread (leaven) with them as they had when Jesus miraculously multiplied the food for the crowd in the desert. But here Jesus was challenging them at an even deeper level; he was calling them not to be like the Pharisees who misunderstood him. The truth is that it is already too late – the disciples really do not understand the man they had been called to follow.
Where is the good news in that for them or for us? Jesus is clearly not happy with how obtuse his close friends are and he goes after them with seven very abrupt and searing questions that had to have gotten their attention even if they didn’t know how to respond.
For us there is a hidden consolation in acknowledging that even his closest companions did not hear his message very clearly so as to understand what he was ultimately about. We can be deceived into thinking that the friends of Jesus have the advantage in seeing him, in hearing his words, and in personally watching him as he dealt with them with the crowds and with the situations they encountered together.
But despite that closeness to Jesus they were fallible human beings just like us who struggle in faith, hope and love so as to grow in our understanding of and, more importantly, in our intimate relationship and union with Christ. We see how we misunderstand his message and are slow to respond with open hearts to the situations and to the people around us. In this we are not that different from the close friends of Jesus who walked with him and grew in their relationship with him. Can we open ourselves to the vastness of God’s love for us in Jesus? If we allow ourselves to be enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, alerted and led by the good Shepherds, stimulated by all the faithful Christians, we shall believe what we ought to believe and we shall do what we ought to do. First, though, we must have the “desire” to see: «The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us» (Jn 1:14), visible, palpable; and the “desire” to listen: it was the Virgin Mary who was “the bait” that made Jesus say: «blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it» (Lk 11:28).
Our Lord never misses an opportunity to teach and, today, He keeps on doing it: «We must free ourselves from the false idea that faith has nothing to say to today’s Men» (Benedict XVI).
Monday, February 14, 2011
In order to bend your knee, you must first bend your will
Love consumes us only in the measure of our self-surrender. -- St. Therese of Lisieux
Gospel text (Mk 8:11-13): The Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then his spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, «Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people». Then he left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.
“He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign?’” He sighed from the depth of his spirit. Another way of expressing this deeply personal response of Jesus might say: He gave a deep groan. What was contained in the sigh, in the groan? Is it the sound of disgust? Of impatient anger? Of dismissal?
The groan in the heart of Jesus is the sigh of rejected love. It is like the pain of parents who desire so much for a child, but experience the rejection of their love and the poverty of waiting for a child to awaken to love and to receive rather than reject all that they offer. The child makes demands, but remains blind to love.
The heart of Jesus, full of divine love, comes to call everyone to “believe in the gospel,” the good news of the nearness of the Kingdom of God . But in order for that good news to be received, a change of heart is necessary: “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus groans and sighs in the face of rejected love. His heart will not rest until those he calls respond to the love he gives.
Nowadays, Jesus is also asked for some heavenly signs: that He let us see his presence in our world or that He tells us in a clear cut manner how we are to behave. The Roman Pontiff makes us see that Jesus' negative to give a sign to the Jews —and, consequently, to us, too— is due to the fact He wants to change the «world logics, oriented to look for signs confirming man's desire of assertiveness and power». The Pharisees did not want just any sign, but one showing Jesus as the Messiah they wanted. They were not waiting for the Messiah coming to save them, but for the Messiah who was to give them the certainty they were doing things the right way.
In short, when the Jews in Jesus' time, or to-day's Christians, ask —one way or another— for a sign, what we are actually asking for, is for God to act according to our own way, that which we think is better and which also stands by our way of thinking. But God, who is omniscient and omnipotent (this is why in The Lord's Prayer we say “your will be done”), has His own ways which, more often than not, we find it difficult to understand. But He, who allows us to find him when we are truly looking for him, if we ask him to enlighten us, He will give us to understand which are his ways and how we can, today, distinguish his signs.
In the light of today’s gospel, we might ask: where do I insist on having proofs of God’s power according to my way of thinking? Where might I be blind to the already-present power of the Kingdom of God ? In what way may Jesus be sighing in the face of my rejection of his love and presence?
Gospel text (Mk 8:11-13): The Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then his spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, «Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people». Then he left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.
“He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign?’” He sighed from the depth of his spirit. Another way of expressing this deeply personal response of Jesus might say: He gave a deep groan. What was contained in the sigh, in the groan? Is it the sound of disgust? Of impatient anger? Of dismissal?
The groan in the heart of Jesus is the sigh of rejected love. It is like the pain of parents who desire so much for a child, but experience the rejection of their love and the poverty of waiting for a child to awaken to love and to receive rather than reject all that they offer. The child makes demands, but remains blind to love.
The heart of Jesus, full of divine love, comes to call everyone to “believe in the gospel,” the good news of the nearness of the Kingdom of God . But in order for that good news to be received, a change of heart is necessary: “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus groans and sighs in the face of rejected love. His heart will not rest until those he calls respond to the love he gives.
Nowadays, Jesus is also asked for some heavenly signs: that He let us see his presence in our world or that He tells us in a clear cut manner how we are to behave. The Roman Pontiff makes us see that Jesus' negative to give a sign to the Jews —and, consequently, to us, too— is due to the fact He wants to change the «world logics, oriented to look for signs confirming man's desire of assertiveness and power». The Pharisees did not want just any sign, but one showing Jesus as the Messiah they wanted. They were not waiting for the Messiah coming to save them, but for the Messiah who was to give them the certainty they were doing things the right way.
In short, when the Jews in Jesus' time, or to-day's Christians, ask —one way or another— for a sign, what we are actually asking for, is for God to act according to our own way, that which we think is better and which also stands by our way of thinking. But God, who is omniscient and omnipotent (this is why in The Lord's Prayer we say “your will be done”), has His own ways which, more often than not, we find it difficult to understand. But He, who allows us to find him when we are truly looking for him, if we ask him to enlighten us, He will give us to understand which are his ways and how we can, today, distinguish his signs.
In the light of today’s gospel, we might ask: where do I insist on having proofs of God’s power according to my way of thinking? Where might I be blind to the already-present power of the Kingdom of God ? In what way may Jesus be sighing in the face of my rejection of his love and presence?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
On this Valentines Day weekend - Let’s exam what the word “LOVE” really means
(John 15:13)No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
What does that word, “love” really mean. The modern world has been corrupted by the devil who twists that word around to mean “sex,” or a feeling, or an emotion, but this is not love. Love is not an emotion. Love is not a feeling. Love is not sex. Love is a choice. We choose to love. Notice how the devil has even perverted that wonderful gift of God. God has given us free will. It is one of the things that makes us in the image and likeness of God. Animals do not have free will. They work on instinct. If you put a plate of food in front of a hungry dog, will the dog think, “should I fast today to show my Master how much I love him?” No, the dog will eat the food because the dog does not have free will. The dog is not made in the image and likeness of God. God gave us free will so that we could love. Love is a choice. The devil has even perverted in our evil society, the use of that word, “choice.” Choice is a good thing because it allows us to love, it makes us in the image and likeness of God. But we can choose death over life. We can choose sin over love. To have a choice means to have the ability to love. It also means to have the ability to murder innocent children by abortion. If you have been scarred by the tragedy of abortion, know that God loves you and invites you to healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Archdiocesan program called “Project Rachel.” But even outside any moral or ethical consideration, from the moment of conception, a genetically unique human being is created that will never be seen again.
When our immortal soul, given to us by God, is fused with our body, we become a human person who is very precious to God. Will we choose to love God or will we choose to love ourselves? When you cast your vote on election day, you have the freedom of choice. You can choose someone who will respect human life from its very beginning, or you can choose someone who sanctions the destruction of the yet to be born and the newly born. Love is a choice. You have a choice to make. “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever HE chooses shall be given him.” “The test of love” Fulton Sheen says, “is found not in emotion but self sacrifice.” All the Sacraments call us to share in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The sacramental words spoken by a man and a woman on their wedding day, in the power of the Holy Spirit, create an irrevocable bond between man and woman that cannot be broken except by death. This is why marriage is a holy sacrament because it shares God’s divine love and God’s divine life with us mere humans. But marriage like all the sacraments, involves the cross; it involves dieing to oneself, for that is the definition of love. From the Cross, comes the Resurrection, from dying to self comes new life, from the total self giving of the spouses in mutual dying to self comes children. Marriage between a man and a woman serves a unique place in society by allowing for the procreation and education of children within the context of the family. While recognizing the heartbreak that some husbands and wives are unable to bear children or must do so as single parents, the ideal of the family must still be promoted for the common good of the society. Governments did not create marriage, God created marriage. Therefore, governments do not have the right to change its meaning.
We can choose lust or we can choose love. You will be making a choice on election day. Will you choose to strengthen the true definition of love and marriage or will you choose lust and selfishness? Jesus said , “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It sounds simple enough, if love is simply an emotion that makes feel good. Because then whatever makes me feel good is love. But that is not what Jesus came to reveal to us. Love is a choice. Jesus chose to die on the cross to save us from our evil choices. So do we love God with our whole heart? Do we love with our whole body? Every part of our body? Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? Have you kicked God out of your temple by the bodily choices you have made? Do we love God with our whole soul? Does every choice of the will bring us closer to that image and likeness of God in which we were created? Does our free will choose grave evil and eternal damnation or do we choose righteous and life? Do we love God with our whole mind? Does our mind feed on the things of God or do we fill it with suggestive or pornographic images that degrade the image and likeness that every human being bears? Do we pick and choose those doctrines of Jesus’ Catholic Church that we like, and consider the rest as unreasonable? When I was younger, there was a very popular movie called, “Love Story” and the famous line from the movie was “Love means never having to say you are sorry.” We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Would you like it if somebody you loved NEVER said they were sorry for hurting you? Do you think maybe that is the reason why people stay away from the Sacrament of Confession because they really love God?
What does that word, “love” really mean. The modern world has been corrupted by the devil who twists that word around to mean “sex,” or a feeling, or an emotion, but this is not love. Love is not an emotion. Love is not a feeling. Love is not sex. Love is a choice. We choose to love. Notice how the devil has even perverted that wonderful gift of God. God has given us free will. It is one of the things that makes us in the image and likeness of God. Animals do not have free will. They work on instinct. If you put a plate of food in front of a hungry dog, will the dog think, “should I fast today to show my Master how much I love him?” No, the dog will eat the food because the dog does not have free will. The dog is not made in the image and likeness of God. God gave us free will so that we could love. Love is a choice. The devil has even perverted in our evil society, the use of that word, “choice.” Choice is a good thing because it allows us to love, it makes us in the image and likeness of God. But we can choose death over life. We can choose sin over love. To have a choice means to have the ability to love. It also means to have the ability to murder innocent children by abortion. If you have been scarred by the tragedy of abortion, know that God loves you and invites you to healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Archdiocesan program called “Project Rachel.” But even outside any moral or ethical consideration, from the moment of conception, a genetically unique human being is created that will never be seen again.
When our immortal soul, given to us by God, is fused with our body, we become a human person who is very precious to God. Will we choose to love God or will we choose to love ourselves? When you cast your vote on election day, you have the freedom of choice. You can choose someone who will respect human life from its very beginning, or you can choose someone who sanctions the destruction of the yet to be born and the newly born. Love is a choice. You have a choice to make. “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever HE chooses shall be given him.” “The test of love” Fulton Sheen says, “is found not in emotion but self sacrifice.” All the Sacraments call us to share in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The sacramental words spoken by a man and a woman on their wedding day, in the power of the Holy Spirit, create an irrevocable bond between man and woman that cannot be broken except by death. This is why marriage is a holy sacrament because it shares God’s divine love and God’s divine life with us mere humans. But marriage like all the sacraments, involves the cross; it involves dieing to oneself, for that is the definition of love. From the Cross, comes the Resurrection, from dying to self comes new life, from the total self giving of the spouses in mutual dying to self comes children. Marriage between a man and a woman serves a unique place in society by allowing for the procreation and education of children within the context of the family. While recognizing the heartbreak that some husbands and wives are unable to bear children or must do so as single parents, the ideal of the family must still be promoted for the common good of the society. Governments did not create marriage, God created marriage. Therefore, governments do not have the right to change its meaning.
We can choose lust or we can choose love. You will be making a choice on election day. Will you choose to strengthen the true definition of love and marriage or will you choose lust and selfishness? Jesus said , “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It sounds simple enough, if love is simply an emotion that makes feel good. Because then whatever makes me feel good is love. But that is not what Jesus came to reveal to us. Love is a choice. Jesus chose to die on the cross to save us from our evil choices. So do we love God with our whole heart? Do we love with our whole body? Every part of our body? Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? Have you kicked God out of your temple by the bodily choices you have made? Do we love God with our whole soul? Does every choice of the will bring us closer to that image and likeness of God in which we were created? Does our free will choose grave evil and eternal damnation or do we choose righteous and life? Do we love God with our whole mind? Does our mind feed on the things of God or do we fill it with suggestive or pornographic images that degrade the image and likeness that every human being bears? Do we pick and choose those doctrines of Jesus’ Catholic Church that we like, and consider the rest as unreasonable? When I was younger, there was a very popular movie called, “Love Story” and the famous line from the movie was “Love means never having to say you are sorry.” We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Would you like it if somebody you loved NEVER said they were sorry for hurting you? Do you think maybe that is the reason why people stay away from the Sacrament of Confession because they really love God?
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. - St Augustine
Gospel text (Mk 8:1-10): A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples and said to them, «I feel sorry for these people because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. If I send them to their homes hungry, they will faint on the way; some of them have come a long way». His disciples replied, «Where in a deserted place like this could we get enough bread to feed these people?». He asked them, «How many loaves have you?». And they answered, «Seven».
Then He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves and giving thanks, he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute. And they distributed them among the people. They also had some small fish, so Jesus said a blessing and asked that these be shared as well. The people ate and were satisfied. The broken pieces were collected, seven wicker baskets full of leftovers. Now there had been about four thousand people. Jesus sent them away and immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
Whom is the Lord calling to? The text says: «So Jesus called his disciples» (Mk 8:1), that is, He calls me and you, not to send “them” home hungry, to give them something to eat. Jesus sympathizes with them —this time in a pagan land— because they are hungry.
Sheltered in our little world, we may say we can do nothing about it. «Where in a deserted place like this could we get enough bread to feed these people?» (Mk 8:4). Where shall we find a true and firm word of hope while knowing the Lord will be with us every day till the end of time? Today, the Lord simply asks us how many loaves have we. Whatever we have, this is what He needs. The text says «seven», a symbol for the pagan, just as twelve was a symbol for the Jewish people. The Lord wants to reach us all.
Give Him your prayer: it is a loaf of bread! Give Him the Eucharist you have celebrated: it is another loaf of bread! Give Him your decision to reconcile with those you love, with those that have offended you: still another loaf of bread! Give Him your sacramental reconciliation with the Church: another loaf! Give Him your little sacrifice, your fasting, your solidarity: and still another loaf! Give Him your love for his Word that soothes and gives you strength: more bread! Give Him whatever He asks from you, though you may believe it is not worthwhile.
As St. Gregory of Nyssa says: «He who splits his bread with the poor becomes a part of He who, for us, wanted to be poor. The Lord was poor; do not be afraid of poverty».
Gospel text (Mk 8:1-10): A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples and said to them, «I feel sorry for these people because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. If I send them to their homes hungry, they will faint on the way; some of them have come a long way». His disciples replied, «Where in a deserted place like this could we get enough bread to feed these people?». He asked them, «How many loaves have you?». And they answered, «Seven».
Then He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves and giving thanks, he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute. And they distributed them among the people. They also had some small fish, so Jesus said a blessing and asked that these be shared as well. The people ate and were satisfied. The broken pieces were collected, seven wicker baskets full of leftovers. Now there had been about four thousand people. Jesus sent them away and immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
Whom is the Lord calling to? The text says: «So Jesus called his disciples» (Mk 8:1), that is, He calls me and you, not to send “them” home hungry, to give them something to eat. Jesus sympathizes with them —this time in a pagan land— because they are hungry.
Sheltered in our little world, we may say we can do nothing about it. «Where in a deserted place like this could we get enough bread to feed these people?» (Mk 8:4). Where shall we find a true and firm word of hope while knowing the Lord will be with us every day till the end of time? Today, the Lord simply asks us how many loaves have we. Whatever we have, this is what He needs. The text says «seven», a symbol for the pagan, just as twelve was a symbol for the Jewish people. The Lord wants to reach us all.
Give Him your prayer: it is a loaf of bread! Give Him the Eucharist you have celebrated: it is another loaf of bread! Give Him your decision to reconcile with those you love, with those that have offended you: still another loaf of bread! Give Him your sacramental reconciliation with the Church: another loaf! Give Him your little sacrifice, your fasting, your solidarity: and still another loaf! Give Him your love for his Word that soothes and gives you strength: more bread! Give Him whatever He asks from you, though you may believe it is not worthwhile.
As St. Gregory of Nyssa says: «He who splits his bread with the poor becomes a part of He who, for us, wanted to be poor. The Lord was poor; do not be afraid of poverty».
Friday, February 11, 2011
Are standards of right and wrong mere products of time and culture?
“We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.” - Pope Benedict 16
(Gn 3:1-8)Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
Everyday in the local newspapers, we read about couples getting engaged, planning to get married in the Catholic Church. But how many seriously take counsel from the writings of the Popes and the wealth of the extraordinarily beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church on married life and human reproduction? Praise be to God for His glorious plan for man and woman!
The innocent eyes of Adam and Eve were opened to the world of sin and disobedience when they disobeyed God. Now in a sinful, secular world, which by its nature rebels against the will of God, married couples and those preparing for marriage desperately need to have their eyes opened (Gn 3:7) to the glory of God's beautiful plan for marriage. God's plan draws upon the original innocence and intimacy of man and woman before the fall. Yet God's plan far exceeds his original plan for Adam and Eve. It has been redeemed in Jesus to a new, risen, glorious innocence and intimacy of man and woman made into new creations in Jesus.
Married couples and those preparing for marriage, put your relationship in the hands of Jesus. Let Jesus touch your eyes and ears, and open them to hear God's will for your marriage. Jesus "has done everything well" (Mk 7:37), and He will make your relationship better than you could ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20).
(Gn 3:1-8)Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
Everyday in the local newspapers, we read about couples getting engaged, planning to get married in the Catholic Church. But how many seriously take counsel from the writings of the Popes and the wealth of the extraordinarily beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church on married life and human reproduction? Praise be to God for His glorious plan for man and woman!
The innocent eyes of Adam and Eve were opened to the world of sin and disobedience when they disobeyed God. Now in a sinful, secular world, which by its nature rebels against the will of God, married couples and those preparing for marriage desperately need to have their eyes opened (Gn 3:7) to the glory of God's beautiful plan for marriage. God's plan draws upon the original innocence and intimacy of man and woman before the fall. Yet God's plan far exceeds his original plan for Adam and Eve. It has been redeemed in Jesus to a new, risen, glorious innocence and intimacy of man and woman made into new creations in Jesus.
Married couples and those preparing for marriage, put your relationship in the hands of Jesus. Let Jesus touch your eyes and ears, and open them to hear God's will for your marriage. Jesus "has done everything well" (Mk 7:37), and He will make your relationship better than you could ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20).
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Prayer may not change things for you, but it for sure changes you for things
“There are some people who, in order not to pray, use an excuse the fact that life is so hectic that it prevents them from praying. This cannot be…Prayer does not demand that we interrupt our work, but that we continue working as if it were a prayer…It is not necessary to always be meditating, nor to consciously experience the sensation that we are talking to God, no matter how nice this would be….What matters is being with Him, living in Him, in His will. To love with a pure heart, to love everybody, especially to love the poor, this is a twenty-four hour prayer.” -Mother Teresa on Prayer
Gospel text (Mk 7:24-30): Jesus went to the border of the Tyrian country. There He entered a house and did not want anyone to know He was there, but He could not remain hidden. A woman, whose small daughter had an evil spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet. Now this woman was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus told her, «Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs». But she replied, «Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs from the children's bread». Then Jesus said to her, «You may go your way; because of such a reply the demon has gone out of your daughter». And when the woman went home, she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Today, we see the faith of a woman that did not belong to God's chosen people, but trusted Jesus could cure her daughter. That mother «was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter» (Mk 7:26). Pain and love bring her to insistently beg, ignoring scorn, delays or indignities. And she gets what she is asking for, as she «went home, and she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone» (Mk 7:30).
The Syrophenician woman is a good mother; she was begging something good («she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter») and she begged rightly («and came and fell at his feet»).
Our Lord wants us to use insistently the petition prayer or prayer of faith. There are, indeed, other kinds of prayers —meditation (i.e. the Rosary or Lectio Divina), contemplation (i.e. Eucharistic Adoration), worship (i.e.The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass), prayer of thanks—, but Jesus insists very much on our often using the petition prayer. Why? Many could be the reasons: because we need God's help to attain our greatest aim; because it expresses hope and love; because it is a clamor of faith.
In response to God’s love, it is important for us to humble ourselves before him and to put all our faith in him as the Syrophoenician woman in today’s Gospel does. The Syrophoenician woman has complete faith that Jesus can drive the demons out of her daughter. She humbles herself before him when she asks for only the leftovers of his blessings in saying, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”(Mk 7:28). Jesus cures her daughter because of these humble words. It is common for us to strive to be the center of attention, but Jesus shows us to do otherwise in the Gospel. In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the district of Tyre as a sort of celebrity. Instead of calling for attention in this situation, he “wanted no one to know about it”. We should all follow this example and practice true humility before both God and God’s people.
Gospel text (Mk 7:24-30): Jesus went to the border of the Tyrian country. There He entered a house and did not want anyone to know He was there, but He could not remain hidden. A woman, whose small daughter had an evil spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet. Now this woman was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus told her, «Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs». But she replied, «Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs from the children's bread». Then Jesus said to her, «You may go your way; because of such a reply the demon has gone out of your daughter». And when the woman went home, she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Today, we see the faith of a woman that did not belong to God's chosen people, but trusted Jesus could cure her daughter. That mother «was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter» (Mk 7:26). Pain and love bring her to insistently beg, ignoring scorn, delays or indignities. And she gets what she is asking for, as she «went home, and she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone» (Mk 7:30).
The Syrophenician woman is a good mother; she was begging something good («she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter») and she begged rightly («and came and fell at his feet»).
Our Lord wants us to use insistently the petition prayer or prayer of faith. There are, indeed, other kinds of prayers —meditation (i.e. the Rosary or Lectio Divina), contemplation (i.e. Eucharistic Adoration), worship (i.e.The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass), prayer of thanks—, but Jesus insists very much on our often using the petition prayer. Why? Many could be the reasons: because we need God's help to attain our greatest aim; because it expresses hope and love; because it is a clamor of faith.
In response to God’s love, it is important for us to humble ourselves before him and to put all our faith in him as the Syrophoenician woman in today’s Gospel does. The Syrophoenician woman has complete faith that Jesus can drive the demons out of her daughter. She humbles herself before him when she asks for only the leftovers of his blessings in saying, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”(Mk 7:28). Jesus cures her daughter because of these humble words. It is common for us to strive to be the center of attention, but Jesus shows us to do otherwise in the Gospel. In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the district of Tyre as a sort of celebrity. Instead of calling for attention in this situation, he “wanted no one to know about it”. We should all follow this example and practice true humility before both God and God’s people.
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