theophilus November 12th, 2007
Have you ever caused someone else to sin? Have you ever failed to stop someone from sinning?
If we have, then Christ wants to have a word with us.
In today’s gospel (Luke 17:1-6), Christ warns “[t]hings that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.” In other words, do not cause another to sin. There is no such thing as just letting things be.
And yet this lesson can be one of the most difficult to put into practice. We don’t want to mettle or interfere. A man’s life is his life. Everyone has a different moral code and makes different choices. What is good for me may not be good for someone else. Continue Reading »
theophilus November 11th, 2007
I went to Catholic elementary school for 4th-6th grades. It was then onto a Catholic high school. And then a Catholic college. I had always gone to Mass on a rather frequent basis. My parents cared about my Catholic upbringing.
And I’m ashamed to admit that my catechist training (i.e. my education on the basics, truths and details of our faith) was poor – ignorantly poor. Today’s reading illustrates how poor it was.
Today’s first reading is from the 2nd Book of Maccabees. Up until three years ago, I didn’t know there was a 2nd Book of Maccabees – I didn’t know there was a 1st Book of Maccabees. I didn’t know that the Catholic Bible has six books that Protestant bibles do not – Wisdom, the two Maccabees, Sirach, Judith and Tobit. I had never really read the Bible and had never really paid attention to where the Mass readings were coming from. Continue Reading »
theophilus November 10th, 2007
In church history, we don’t need to look far to find true heroes. One of them is a made-for-Hollywood hero out of the 5th Century. Pope St. Leo the Great, whose life the Church commemorates today.
He was pope for 21 tumultuous years - challenges to his authority, threats to the Church, and immending invasion from Attila the Hun.
It’s the latter episode that especially strikes me. Attila was on the outskirts of Rome when Leo went out to challenge him. It was a classic Western-style stare-down, except Leo’s only weapons were the power of his words. Attila blinked and Rome (and Christianity) were saved.
Courage, guts, steel – the very things we Americans expect out of our heroes. Continue Reading »
theophilus November 9th, 2007
Today, the body of the Church celebrates the dedication of an actual church – the Lateran Basilica in Rome (or St. John Lateran). The Basicila was built by Emperor Constantine and is considered the mother church of Christianity. It is the Cathedral of Rome, “The Pope’s Church”, and used to be the pope’s residence.
But why do we celebrate a church? Afterall, it’s just a building – right?
We shouldn’t think so.
Our church should be our second home. It should be the center of our faith and our spiritual life. It is the house of our Lord and contains his very presence within its hallowed walls. Continue Reading »
theophilus November 8th, 2007
Just before Holy Week, I always like to stand in front of the board in the Gathering Space and look at the faces of the RCIA candidates. I want to know each of their stories – what brought them to make this life-changing, life-affirming decision.
And there is a part of me that is jealous. I was baptized as a baby, so I kind of grew into my faith. But those who convert – they come to Catholicism through a journey of hope and discovery. They make the conscience choice that this faith is what is to define their life. What a great journey that must be.
For some RCIA candidates, I’m sure the journey involved great sin, horrible choices, and tremendous pain. Yet, they are finding their way to Christ and in the process are being healed. Continue Reading »
theophilus November 7th, 2007
I had a post ready to go for today but decided not to post it. After writing it, I thought it too political and there are enough outstanding bloggers out there who can cover the political stuff better than I – so it’ll go into my “parking lot”.
But I do want to relate a couple of thoughts. My wife read “Sleeping in St. Louis” from Monday and had a suggestion on how to live out my musings about doing good things without others knowing about it.
A lot of parishes offer EFT or ACH for automatic withdrawals of weekly contributions. No envelopes, no cash. Easy enough. But the trick is to be able to pass the basket without feeling awkward or feeling like a million eyes are upon you wondering why you aren’t giving anything to support the parish. If you do the automatic withdrawal, I’ll guarantee you that you will grow in your charitable giving.
Also, my little girl (the kindergartner) asked me tonight if it was ok to call me “Dad”. I nipped that little inquiry in the bud and convinced her that she can call me “Daddy” for a long time to come. But, I realize that God gives us little reminders along the way that tempus fugit – time flies. Time may fly but let’s not allow it to get away from us – especially when it comes to our kids.
theophilus November 6th, 2007
I think one of the hardest things that men deal with are personal relationships. We have our wives, children, parents, siblings, old friends, neighborhood and church friends, work colleagues, business associates, and so forth. Each type of relationship plays a different role in our life and requires a different part of our personality and who we are.
And sometimes, (or is it often), we just get those relationships screwed up. Or we are good at some relationships but bad at others. And we are left feeling isolated and disgruntled.
But there is help. And we don’t have to go to Borders to find it.
One of the great things about scriptures is that there are many places where the Bible serves as an instruction manual on how to live – giving concrete advice on how we should live our lives.
When it comes to relationships, today’s reading gives such advice (Romans 12:5-16). Continue Reading »
theophilus November 5th, 2007
I had a few minutes to kill one summer morning when I was in Downtown Cincinnati. I happen to be passing St. Louis Church and decided on a whim to step in for some quiet reflection.
No one else was in the assembly, except for this man in one of the pews, sitting in front of the sanctuary. He was asleep and had a suitcase next to him. It was obvious from his appearance that he wasn’t stopping in for a quick prayer before going to the airport. He was there to get some peace and quiet and some sleep – to escape his life on the street. Continue Reading »
theophilus November 4th, 2007
Imagine a great and holy man comes to town. You, a man despised by polite society, decide to go down to see him. You realize that you can’t get a good look at him because of the crowd. You are short of stature and try jumping and nudging your way around, but it’s no use – you just can’t see over and around the masses.
And then you see the tree and you decide to climb it. This tree ends up becoming your tree of life – your tree to salvation.
For upon that tree, you see him! And, more importantly, he sees you - and calls you by name! Continue Reading »
theophilus November 3rd, 2007
One of the reasons I love writing this blog is that I can really think through the things I write – I can challenge my preconceived notions and long-standing assumptions by putting them on the screen.
Yesterday, I wrote about my difficulty in believing in the existence of Purgatory. Today, I think I may have a different perspective.
What changed?
I thought about the question of Purgatory pretty much the entire day, especially during morning prayer and Mass. But, it was during my Rosary that I realized that maybe there is a place for Purgatory. Continue Reading »
