Archive for January, 2008

Hiding the Light

theophilus January 31st, 2008

Do we hide our faith from others?  Are we “closet” Catholics? 

Are we concerned about what others might say and think if they knew we prayed in our office – or spent our lunch hour going to Mass – or stopped in for a quick visit to the church on our way home from work?

Do we let people see and know about our faith?  I’m not talking about active evangelism – I’m talking about making our faith such a part of our lives that people just know that we are Catholic and walking with Christ.

Today’s gospel is from Mark 4 and touches on this theme.  Jesus explains -

“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.”

Our faith is the lamp – the light.  But, how many of us put it under a “bushel basket” or “bed” where it is hidden?  How many of us place it on the “lampstand” where Christ wants it?

We don’t have to be expressive about our faith – going overboard to ensure everyone sees our devoutness.  But, we shouldn’t be afraid to let people in on the secret – that we follow Christ.  They should be able to see Christ through our example and how we live our lives.

And, if we let our faith shine for others to see – maybe they will find their own path to Christ and have their own light enflamed. 

Personal Assessment Time

theophilus January 30th, 2008

It seems like there are thousands of tests on the web – assessing our IQ, our relationships, our career, and so on.

In today’s gospel (Mark 4), we get to take an assessment to measure our faith.  In the gospel reading, Christ is telling the parable of the sown seed. 

So let’s ask ourselves, what happens to us when we hear the Word?  Are we the one’s who:

1. allow the seed to be sown on “the path” – so that as soon as we hear it, “Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.”?

2. allow the seed to be sown on “rocky ground” – so that when we hear the word, we “receive it once with joy” but we have “no roots” so we “last only for a time” and then “when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,” we ”quickly fall away.”?

3. allow the seed to be sown “among thorns” – so that we are “the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.”?

4. allow the seed to be sown on “rich soil” – so that we “hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”?

We are all called to be #4.  To hear the Word and allow it to sink into our very being – guiding our every thought and action.  Getting us to grow more in love with Christ and our neighbor – and to be of purposeful service to him and the people around us.

But, we are human – we sin – we forget – we let the “world” interfere and we end up closer to #2 or #3.  We try to let the word take root but then we do face adversity or distractions – and then “tribulations and persecutions”, ”wordly anxiety”, the “lure of riches” and “the craving for other things” get in our way.  Next thing we know, we’ve neglected our relationship with Christ – we’ve forgotten about our life-purpose – we’ve stopped living the way God intends for us.

Lent is a week away.  It’s going to be a great time to assess where we are at in our relationship with Christ.  And what we need to do to provide the rich soil so that the seed can grow and bear fruit.

God has provided us all rich soil in our lives.  He wants the seed to grow.  But, we also have free will – and the thorns, rocks and hard soil that comes with it.  God has also provided us with the ability to enrich the soil in our lives, even if our ground is a worn-out path.  It’s up to us to decide that we will cultivate our lives and provide good ground for Christ to work in our lives.

So, take the test before Ash Wednesday - focus on your relationship with Christ during Lent – take it again after Easter.  See how much you have grown. 

Dancing with the Stars – Davidian Style

theophilus January 29th, 2008

I watch “Dancing with the Stars”.  I hate to admit it but I like it.  My wife lured me in – my little girl insisted I watch it – and I got hooked.  I am actually looking forward to the next season.

And I am comforted by the realization that anything that can be good enough for tough athletes like Emmitt, Jerry, Helio, Apollo, Floyd, Stacy, Layla, and Evander can be good enough for me.

So, I read today’s first reading with a slight and knowing grin.  We hear from 2 Samuel 6 that -

“Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD
with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.”

David – he was one of the great and tough men of the Old Testament – he was a man’s man.  And he was “dancing . . . with abandon.”  He was engaging in “shouts of joy.”

About what, you ask?  About, “the LORD.”  About, “bringing up the ark of the LORD.”

David was excited.  He was euphoric.  God was a big deal.  This celebration – centered on God – was something to shout about.

But, when I’m at Mass this Sunday, will I be like David?  Or, will I be like I usually am?  My mouth opening in song – inaudible to the person next to me.  My mouth opening for the responses – mumbled beyond recognition.  Will anyone see a smile crack my face – much less “shouts of joy”?  Probably not.  Will anyone see animation in my actions – much less “dancing with abandon.”  Probably not.

And why not?

Because we have been conditioned as Catholics that Mass is something to be endured, tolerated, gotten through.  It’s a tried and true attitude that translates into a belief that we may have to be here, but we don’t have to like it.

But, this attitude means we miss so much.  We miss the joy of the Mass, the happiness that comes from celebrating – yes, celebrating – with our fellow believers.  The hope that comes from allowing Christ to enter our very being.  The liturgy is pure poetry, with rhetoric that rises to the very essence of our soul.  The music can take us to places we cannot go at any other time – in any other place.  The prayers can be our communal and universal conversation with our creator and saviour.

We SHOULD act with abandon and shout and dance with joy every time we go to Mass.  And I emphasize “should”, because we all know we won’t.  We’re too concerned with how we sound – and how others view us. 

And, what I have found is that I cannot hear anyone singing if I am actually focused on singing.  I cannot hear anyone else’s responses if I am focused on my own responses.

But, again will I be euphoric this Sunday?  Well, if I am, I will end sitting in another part of the church from my wife, who will probably be hiding somewhere in embarrasment.

Yea, my singing really is that bad.

But, we can still be joyful and glad we’re there – which is precisely what Christ wants from us.  And we shouldn’t be embarrassed to show it.  Afterall, when we are at Mass, we are home – we are with family.  And that is absolutely something to be joyful and glad about.

Measuring Up to One’s Gifts

theophilus January 28th, 2008

Aquinas - CrivelliPope John Paul II – Mother Teresa – Padre Pio . . .

Great people who were recognized as such in their own times.  They were declared de facto saints long before their deaths – just a matter of waiting until the proper time for their canonization.

Every era has these blessed servants – people embodying Christ so completely that they become living examples of all that we are called to be.

For the people of the 13th Century, that man was St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast day is today.

Most of us know St. Thomas through the Summa Theologica, which some of us may have read (or pretended to have read) in some theology course or another.  This treatise is one of the bedrocks of Catholic theological teaching.

St. Thomas, born of a noble family, joined the Dominican order and was known for his brilliance, humilty and holiness.  He was always the smartest guy in the room, but acted as if he was the most simple-minded.  There was no room for sin in his life.  He gave everything he could materially and in carrying out his priestly and teaching duties.

He developed a entire school of thought that still carries the day in Western philosophy – the ideas of reason and natural law – that faith and reason did not conflict with each other.

He simply was a great man – who was recognized as such in his own time.

Usually, we can look at the saints and draw something from their lives that we can relate to our own.  To look at them and proclaim, “I too can be a saint.”  With St. Thomas, the opposite is true.  99.99% of us will not approach his intellect, his piety, his purity, his excellence – nor should we attempt to do so.

St. Thomas provided us with a way of thinking about life and fulfilling our faith.  He was a necessary component in providing the rational underpinnings of why we believe what we believe.  Most of us will not be called to do something so brilliant – so fundamental to future generations.

And maybe that is what we are to take from St. Thomas’ life – he did what he was called to do – and he did it completely and to the very best of his tremendous talents.  Christ asked a great deal from him – God gave him the gifts commensurate with his calling – and St. Thomas delivered. 

Like St. Thomas, Christ asks something of each of us – God gives us the gifts commensurate with our own calling – and we must deliver.  We must do what we are called to do – no matter how great or insignificant we may think our calling.  We must fulfill our calling completely and to the very best of our talents – no matter how numerous or limited we may think they be.

And in the process, we should pick up a copy of St. Thomas’ writings.  We will learn so much about who we are and who we can become.  We will gain insight into what Christ wants for each of us.  And our faith and life-purpose will be that much clearer.

Painting: St. Thomas Aquinas (Demidoff Alterpiece) – Carlo Crivelli (Venice, 15th Century)

Seeing the Light in Us

theophilus January 27th, 2008

How do people see me?  What do they think of me?

Have you ever asked yourself these questions?

We go throughout our days engaging with others - whether they be family, friends, colleagues, strangers.  We have thoughts about them – we have perceptions about them – even if we notice them for just a moment as they are walking by.

But, have we ever thought about how they must perceive us?  Sometimes, we get concerned about what people think about us – say, when our kids are throwing a tantrum in public.  But, do we really think about how we are perceived on a day-to-day basis – especially by those who are closest to us?

For some reason, I’m thinking about these questions as I read through today’s first reading from Isaiah 8 and gospel from Matthew 4.  The gospel tells how Jesus quotes a passage from Isaiah 8 in relation to his ministry.  “[T]he people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”

Christ is the light.  But how many of us have truly seen this light and let it shine within our soul?  How many of us have let this light shine from within us so that others may see it?  Christ works through us.  He makes himself known through us.  He wants us interacting with others, engaging them, and bringing them to him.

This world – our world – our lives – are filled with people walking in darkness.  If we really paid attention to the people we come into contact with during the course of our day, we will notice those who seem sad, depressed, lost.  We will see the one’s who seem to making the wrong choices, over and over again.

And that’s where we come in.  When others see us and draw up their perceptions of us – what do they see – what do they think?  Do they see the Light of Christ?  Do they see the goodness and grace that Christ sends through us to them?  Do they experience peace and joy from coming into contact with us?

Let’s think objectively about how people see us – and resolve that what they see is the love of Christ. 

In today’s gospel, Christ calls after Simon and Andrew to “[c]ome after me.”  Let us not only go after Christ, but let’s show his light so that other’s go after him as well.

So, think again, how do others see you? 

The Children of Christ’s Revolution

theophilus January 26th, 2008

This is the day we commemorate the lives of St. Timothy and St. Titus.  They were both missionaries, bishops, and companions of St. Paul.  Without guys like St. Timothy and St. Titus, St. Paul’s job would have been a heck of a lot harder.

What I find especially inspiring about their lives is that they were the children of the revolution started by Christ.  They took the spark ignited by Christ in his human ministry and helped fan it into the flame that will burn bright until the end of times.

It was this second generation that allowed the apostles to spread the gospel beyond Jerusalem and Judea.  They were the one’s who helped the apostles spread the message to new lands.  They were the one’s who handed down the word to the third and succeeding generations – a line that leads directly to us.

And the thing that really made this generation special was that they probably didn’t know Christ firsthand.  They had to rely on their faith and the witness handed down by those who were of Christ’s generation.

But, aren’t we all children of Christ’s Revolution?  Aren’t we all called each day to bring Christ to all the folks we come into contact with in our daily lives?  Isn’t the revolution that Christ started in his human ministry needed now more than ever?

We all should live our lives as if we were that second generation – full of the fire of the Holy Spirit – with a life-purpose directly in accord with Christ.

That second generation must have lived in exciting times -  but so do we.  And we must recognize such and renew the fire within us – the fire of Christ’s Revolution.     We must become the children of Christ’s Revolution for our own generation.

Our Road to Damascus

theophilus January 25th, 2008

St. Paul Conversion - CaravaggioLots of great things happen on New Testament roads.  The Road to Jericho brings the Good Samaritan.  The Road to Emmaus brings the first encounter with Christ resurrected.  The Road to Damascus brings the Conversion of St. Paul – the feast of which we celebrate today.

Imagine that you are doing something in your life that you have made your life-purpose – your reason for existence – and you do it zealously well.  Now imagine that, in literally a flash, Christ appears to you and lets it be known that you have had it all wrong – that you are on the wrong path and he wants you to get on the right path – without hesitation – without looking back.

What would we do?

I think the answer is quite easy – we would immediately change our ways and get on the right path with Christ.  But what if Christ is being more subtle with us than he was with St. Paul? 

In a way, St. Paul was lucky – he was a very smart man but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Christ was speaking directly to him.  Understanding Christ’s will was the easy part for St. Paul – executing Christ’s plan for him was what would take every ounce of his tremendous spiritual strength.

For us, the hard part may be trying to recognize Christ in our lives – and trying to figure out what he wants from us.  He may not appear to us in a flash of light, blinding us, directly speaking to us.  He may be subtle – guiding our lives with a soft hand.  And, it is up to us to grow so in-tune with Christ that we recognize his guidance of our lives. 

Before Damascus, Saul was not in-tune with Christ.  After Damascus, St. Paul became so close to Christ that he became one of the fundamental bedrocks of the Church – and remains so today.

If we are on our own Road to Damascus – and we all are at some point in our lives – we need to ensure that we are listening and watching for Christ.  He will tell us what we are to do with our lives.  Even if we are screwing up left and right, and our lives are misguided and pointless, Christ will find a way to bring us back to his road – his path.  He did it with St. Paul – he will do it with us.

We just need to keep listening.

Painting: The Conversion on the Way to Damascus – Caravaggio (Italy, 1573-1610)

The Devout Life

theophilus January 24th, 2008

Today’s first reading in the liturgy continues the saga of David.  In the reading, he’s basking in the glow of his victory over Goliath and receiving the adulation of the Israelites.

Of course, all of this attention makes King Saul envious and we find him plotting David’s death.  That is until Saul’s son, Jonathan, steps in and mediates a reconcilation between Saul and David.

What is remarkable about this story isn’t Saul’s ingratitude and murderous envy, it’s Jonathan’s reaction to it.  Jonathan was David’s best friend.  He was also the presumptive heir to the throne - that is until God annointed David, through Samuel, as the next king.  Jonathan could have been envious himself.  He could have conspired with his father to kill David and lay a right to claim the throne upon his father’s death.  Instead, he put God before self and protected his friend.

How would we have reacted if we were Saul?  How would we have reacted if we were Jonathan?

Envy, friendship, courage, humilty, gratitude, temptation – all play a part in our lives and our emotions.  They either draw us toward God or pull us away.  They are forces that either control us or we control them.

St. Francis de Sales, whose life the church commemorates today, wrote a book called the “Introduction to the Devout Life”.  I bought a copy of it about a year ago and have been picking and choosing from it ever since.  It’s not a book to read through like a novel – it’s a book where you read one of its 2-3 page chapters and mull it over.  The book lays out a thought process that enables us to draw closer to the life that God wants us to live – the “devout” life.  And the book is aimed at ordinary folks like me who are just trying to do a good job at work, raise our families, and give back to our communities. 

I encourage everyone to pick up a copy.  It’s a wealth of wisdom on how we can make the right choices and avoid the wrong choices in our lives.  This wisdom will help us be more like Jonathan and less like Saul.  It will help us lead a devout life – a life that is there for the taking for anyone desiring it.

The David in Each of Us

theophilus January 23rd, 2008

Through the end of this month, the liturgy’s first reading is focused on the life and times of King David.  His life story is my favorite Old Testament tale and one in which I think all men can take inspiration. 

He succeeded and failed on a great scale.  He was a man of tremendous strengths and crippling weaknesses.  He did God’s will throughout his life and yet committed grievous sins.   God took the good and the bad from him – and created in him the family from which our Saviour would come.

Yesterday’s reading tells the story of how the prophet Samuel was sent to Bethlehem to annoint the one who God would choose as the next king of Israel.  Samuel finally came to David, who was still a mere boy.   God let it be known that David was his choice and Samuel annointed him.  Out of all the men that Samuel evaluated that day, David was probably the least likely to be seen as the next king -yet that is whom God chose. 

How many times have we thought we were not good enough to carry out a task?  Welcome to the mind of David.  How many times have we thought someone else was not good enough to carry out a task – merely because of how we perceived them?  Welcome to the mind of Samuel.  The lesson is that God chooses who he wants to do what tasks.  It’s not up to us.  If he wants us to do something, we better get to it – even if we don’t think we can do it.  If he wants us to get someone else do something, we better not second guess him.  We need to trust God’s will.

So, what is the first thing that David is called to do?  Defeat Goliath, of course.  This story is in today’s first reading.  And the lesson for us is that we better do God’s will even if we think it is an impossible task.  God will give us the resources to get it done.  We just need to listen and obey.

Throughout the next week or so, we all should look afresh at David’s life and figure out how our attitude measures up.  Do we trust God?  Do we do his will?  Are we man enough to be a great man of God – scars and all?

Putting on the New – Doing God’s Will

theophilus January 21st, 2008

El Greco - St. AgnesThere seem to be two messages in today’s readings – one about doing God’s will, the other about discarding the old and putting on the new.  But, aren’t both messages part of each other?

In today’s first reading from 1 Samuel 15, King Saul is taken to task by the prophet Samuel for not completing the job God had given to him (i.e. completely defeating the Amalekites).  Saul completed only half the job and the consequences were severe – “Because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he, too has rejected you as ruler.”

In today’s gospel from Mark 2, Christ discusses the old v. new cloaks and the old v. new wineskins.  We best not mend “old cloaks” or use “old wineskins”.  Instead, we need to put on new cloaks and use new wineskins.  In other words, we must cast off our old way of doing things (that is, if we are not doing God’s will) and start doing things a new way (i.e. God’s way).

If we are like Saul and we are not doing God’s will and following Christ’s path (or doing so only half-way) then we have to cast off this old way of doing things – this old way of thinking.  It’s simply not good enough.  We need to put on the new cloaks and use the new wineskins by doing and thinking in a new way – by doing and thinking in accordance with God’s will for us.

St. Agnes, whose life the church commemorates today, understood this concept.  She lived in a time when Christianity was still the new kid on the block.  She was being forced to conform to the old way of doing things.  She refused – and was martyred for her beliefs.  She understood the new way – she understood God’s will for her – and she conformed to God’s will completely – no half-efforts.

May we always emulate her example.

Painting: Madonna and Child with St. Martina and St. Agnes, El Greco (1541-1614)

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