Archive for the 'Jesus' Category

The “Obligation” of Mass

theophilus October 20th, 2009

I finally did it this Sunday – my son was in RFY and the rest of my family was seated in the pew – before the procession began.  First time in a long time that I can remember preceding Father in on Sunday, instead of the other way around.

The great thing about getting to Mass before it began was that I actually got to settle myself down and pray.  And as I prayed, I observed my fellow parishioners coming into the worship space.  And I mused why the place, while crowded, wasn’t packed to the rafters.  After all, we have 3,000 families and 10,000 parishioners, and “only” four Masses.

And I recalled a conversation I recently had with someone who was about to go on vacation.  His wife was spending some time trying to figure out what Mass they would go to while they were out-of-town.  He couldn’t understand why she was doing so; after all, aren’t we excused from the “obligation” of going to Mass when we are on vacation.

I looked at him and said, “you know, some don’t consider Mass to be an obligation.”

And that’s the way I feel – now.  I used to feel that it was an obligation, one of which I could dismiss without good reason.  I didn’t have a clue about the Mass; I missed the whole point; I didn’t fully get what was going on.

Not anymore.

I go to Mass now with the fervent expectation that Christ is going to rock my world.  I know that when I leave, I am going to be healed, strengthened, emboldened, and – at peace.  I know that, at least for that moment, I am united with him and he with me.  He has a hold of me and he will not let go of me – unless I shrug him off and decide to go with my own plan.  I feel the Holy Spirit within me.  I know that the Blessed Mother and the communion of saints (living and dead) have my back.  I know that I have witnessed beauty and grace; I have seen first-hand the love of God.

How could I have been so blind for so long to what was occurring right before my eyes everytime I went to Mass?

How could I have permitted myself to be apathetic, distracted, even angry, while participating in this gift from God himself?

The celebration of the Eucharist is supposed to be the center of our lives.  Sunday Mass is the point in which all we are, all we have done, and all we are expected to be come together.

And I’ve also realized The Church is not the building in which we worship.  The Church is the body of the faithful – one, holy, catholic and apostolic.  As such, our faith and Christ’s gift to us cannot be confined to a physical structure.  After Mass, we must take Christ “out there” to the world.  We must show the face of Christ to all through our thoughts, words,  and actions.

We all must be apostles and win souls for Christ.

And I’m not necessarily talking about talking to people about Christ.  Yes, if approached about our faith, we need to be prepared with an accurate answer.  If we see someone in trouble, we can ask them to pray.  Rather, what I’m talking about is a more subtle approach.

Our parish has a program where parishioners offer to pray for the youth going through confirmation.  I am praying for ten of these kids.  There is a suggested prayer that has a great series of phrases in it -

Help them to live their lives so that others know they are yours.
Help them to spread their faith.
Help them to use words that bless.
Help them to have hands that heal.

Others know who we are by the way we live our lives.  Do you live your life so that others know you are Christ’s?  Do they look at you and see to whom you belong?  Do they look at you and say “I want some of what he is having”?

Participate in Mass with reverence and awe.  Allow Christ to summon you, blow your mind, consume your heart and awaken your soul.  It doesn’t matter whether you are angry, apathetic, disillusioned, or just don’t get it.  Pray to Holy Mary and your Guardian Angel to allow you to see the mystery and the truth unfolding before you each and every Mass.

May the churches be full.  And may we all truly worship God as one Church, with Christ as our head, and the Eucharist as our transforming and redeeming bond.

Holy Father’s Monthly Intentions

theophilus October 6th, 2009

It is a tradition for the Pope to express his Monthly Intentions for the Church.  There is a General Intention and a Missionary Intention.  If you pray a Morning Offering when you wake up, you probably offer your day in part for the special intentions of the Holy Father this month.

October’s General Intention is – that Sundays may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist.

I was thinking about this intention on the way to Mass this Sunday.  We pass a Protestant church on the way to St. Max.  This Sunday, I started to think aloud and said rather poignantly while pointing to the full parking lot – “hey guys, the real thing is down the street . . . come on and join us.”

My wife then looked at me with bewilderment, hushed me, and then rebuked me by reminding me that my little girl’s best friend attends that church and I shouldn’t be saying such things.  But then she got to the crux of the matter and said “what, do you think they’re going to go to hell because they’re not Catholic?”

“Whoa there honey – I said no such thing.”

I happen to believe that our salvation does not depend upon us being Catholic.  God is going to extend his mercy to us through his Son to more than those who have accepted his call to join in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.

But, it is only in that one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church that we can receive Him, come into communion with Him, experience the Real Presence of Him.  Even the good, holy Christians that attend the Church we passed last Sunday would agree that they do not acknowledge the Real Presence.  It’s only Catholics that accept that Christ, through the Holy Eucharist, is truly present with us and invites us to be one with him, to be one with each other through Him.

And that is what I do not get about those of the Protestant Christian faiths.  Why deny yourself this divine gift?  Why reject Christ himself?  There is a strength, a saving grace, a spiritual high that I get with communion. Christ gives us the gift of Him through Holy Communion; and we either accept it as part of our birthright and who we are, or we reject it.

In the Anima Christi, we extol the virtues of receiving communion -

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Separated from Thee let me never be
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

Sanctification, salvation, inebriation, cleansing, strengthening, listening, protection, union, defending – all from the Real Presence, all from Holy Communion.

There is a prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas that goes something like -

“O Sacred Banquet, where the body of Christ is received, the memory of his passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us.”

Again, why deny yourself this gift, dining at this sacred banquet.

Yet, other Christian faiths deny themselves this grace.  And I guess that is what the Holy Father is pointing out with his general intention this month. 

That Sundays may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist.

Let us pray for our fellow Christians this month.  We shouldn’t jump to “what, do you think they’re going to go to hell because they’re not Catholic?”  Instead, we should be grateful that they share our belief in the Risen Lord, while also praying that they may gather with us at the table of the Eucharist to truly celebrate Christ our Lord.

And we can pray that our fellow Catholics embrace this special grace that is there for the taking if only they will accept it.

Your Job is That Important!

theophilus July 12th, 2009

How many of us have just gone through life doing our own thing; until, BAM, we get the powerful tugging of our soul that tells us we are supposed to do something else?

Today’s gospel (Mark 6) tells the story of the Apostles being sent out two-by-two to proclaim the Kingdom.  At some point, whether they were fishermen, tax collectors, or hangers-on, they were hit square between the eyes by the calling of Christ and they followed our Lord.

And then today’s first reading (Amos 7) has the prophet Amos telling the priest Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.  The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”  Amos was a simple shepherd and arborist, yet God called him and he followed.

Like the Apostles and Amos, we are called!

We cannot think that we are just an accountant, machinist, carpenter, lawyer, assistant, sales person, first-responder, soldier, account executive or however we choose to define what we do for a living.  No, we are disciples of Christ, children of God, given life to bear fruit in the building of Christ’s kingdom here on earth.

No part of our lives can be separate from Christ.  Nothing we do, say or think can be considered distinct from our place in Christ’s universal Church.

We don’t have it easy in this regard.  Christ physically called the Apostles, so it would have been pretty hard for them to miss the point of what they were being called to do.  God got pretty personal with Amos, so it was rather hard for him to ignore his calling.   It would be easier if we were so divinely inspired, but most of us are not.  We must rely on our faith and the drive of the Holy Spirit that has led us to whatever it is that we do.  We must then do that job as if God himself gave us that job and Christ himself is our boss.  If you cannot feel that way about your jobs then it is time to look for something else.  And if you are unemployed, then it is time to look deep within your soul and figure out what it is that God expects of you at this moment of time.

God is in control; he has a plan for each of us.  We must listen and figure out what it is that he intends of us.

It may not be going out Noah’s Ark like (i.e. two-by-two) or prophesying to the head of your government, but God does call you to do something.  And that something is instrumental in building Christ’s kingdom.

This week, do your job, treat your family, contribute to your community, and live your life as if Christ’s kingdom hangs in the balance.  The way you live your life is that important.

Weekday Solemnities

theophilus June 24th, 2009

It was only recently that I started to understand the difference between the different types of days on the Church calendar.  I couldn’t tell you the difference between solemnities, feasts, memorials, optional memorials and ferial days. I thought feast days were all the same.

So, as I began to learn about the Church calendar, I started to understand its structure and what the Church is trying to teach us as the year unfolds.  I also began to understand why solemnities are reserved for the most important days during the year.

Most solemnities are well-observed (Easter & Christmas) or fall on Sunday (Epiphany, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, Christ the King).  Holy Days of Obligation are also solemnities (Mary, Mother of God; Ascension; Assumption; All Saints; Immaculate Conception).

But there are a few solemnities that do not fall on Sunday and are not Holy Days of Obligation.  These are St. Joseph (March 19), the Annunciation (March 25), Sacred Heart (Friday after 2nd Sunday after Pentecost), Sts. Peter & Paul (June 29), and St. John the Baptist (today, June 24).

All of these days are important to us and allow us to spend time thinking and praying about great people in the life of Jesus and the Church, as well as great mysteries that form the foundation of our faith.

With today being one of these most important of remembrances, we should spend some time thinking about the life of St. John the Baptist, what he meant to Christ’s ministry, and what he means to us today.

He was the voice crying in the wilderness.  He prepared the way for the Lord.  He was the fulfillment of prophecy.  He taught repentance, conversion, salvation and forgiveness.

This is a great day to go to Mass, pray the Rosary, read the story of St. John in Luke 1.  It is also a great day to think about whether you are listening to God through the people he has sent into your life; whether you need to get to confession to ask for forgiveness; whether you need to change things in your life; whether you are accepting the gift of salvation from Christ and are serving him.

Are you doing God’s will as St. John did?

Today, place yourself on the banks of the Jordan River and listen to what St. John has to tell you; listen to what Christ has to tell you.

St. Paul to the Americans

theophilus June 12th, 2009

As we come to the end of the Year of St. Paul, I’ve been wondering what St. Paul would write to us if he was sending an epistle to the Church in America.

While I think this question can be redundant because St. Paul’s epistles are timeless for every Catholic in every time, today’s Mass reading from 2 Corinthians 4 is especially instructive for us today.

Let’s face it, we’re going through some uncertain times; times that would have seen familiar to the people of Corinth.

Do you feel “afflicted” – from today’s reading, we learn that so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them that they would not be “constrained.”

Do you feel “perplexed” – so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them they should “not be driven to despair.”

Do you feel “persecuted” – so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them that they would not be “abandoned.”

Do you feel “struck down” – so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them that would not be “destroyed.”

While some may feel afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, all must know that we are not constrained in our afflictions, must not be driven to despair in our perplexity, are not abandoned in our persecution, and cannot be destroyed when facing supposed defeat.

As long as we keep Christ as the center of our lives and serve him as he deserves, we will overcome anything that is thrown at us.  We must have faith, hope and love, while yearning for the peace and joy that is Christ’s grace to us when we truly believe in him and serve him.

I think St. Paul would tell us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves or fearful or uncertain, and to get on with the business of serving Christ in whatever way he calls us to do so.  While not touchy-feely, I think his would be good advice and exactly what we need to hear.

Wow, Now That’s Amore!

theophilus May 28th, 2009

Sometimes when St. John starts talking about “love” in his gospel, my eyes glaze over and I don’t even try to figure out what he means.  Yea, I know it’s something important and profound, but I tend to take all of this talk about divine love with the same attitude that I watch a Nicholas Sparks’ chick-flick with my wife – with unenthusiastic indifference.

So, it was to my surprise that this morning I really decided to dive into the gospel reading for today’s Mass (from John 17) and found some absolutely incredible passages from Jesus’ prayer to God as to what he wanted and desired -

“that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you”

“that they may also be in us”

“that the world may believe that you sent me”

“I have given them the glory you gave me”

“that they may be brought to perfection as one”

“that the world may know that you sent me”

“that you loved them even as you loved me”

“they are your gift to me”

“I wish that where I am they also may be with me”

“that they may see my glory that you gave me”

“I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

All of these things are what Christ wants for us – for you, for me.  He loves us so much, he wants us to have unity with him and our God; he wants us to have faith; he wants us to have eternal, divine love; he wants us to JOIN him in eternity; he wants us to see his divine glory.  The most astounding passage of all is where he acknowledges to God that WE are God’s gift to him – think about it, he considers you and me to be a divine gift to HIM.

How can we walk away from such love?  How can we not soak in this love each and every day?  How can we not seek to do our best to return this love in every thing we do and every word we say?  How can we continue to commit the same sin over and over again, knowing we are weak but refusing his loving mercy and forgiveness which is there for our asking?

Christ gave us himself on the Cross; he gave us himself through the Holy Spirit; he gives of himself in the Blessed Sacrament.  He shows his love in the sacraments and the events of our daily lives.  He loves us.  He means those things in his prayer to God; they aren’t just empty words mouthed to hear himself talk.  They are pure, unadulterated, incredible love for all of his flock.

His love has been accepted and returned by Mary and the saints.  We should emulate them on a daily basis by offering our love to him.  What will you do today to show your love for him?  Think about it as you work, study, think, pray, play, interact with others; think about it as you contemplate giving into the temptation in front of you, or skipping out on a chance to spend some time with him.

Christ loves you; do you love him?  Do you show you love him?  Do you experience joy and peace from his love?  Do you show his love to others?

Soak in this amore; it won’t take long until you are doing things for Christ; living your life for Christ; doing so because you love him; showing his love to everyone around you.

Remember, Christ considers you to be a gift from God to him; so make sure you are proved worthy to be such an esteemed and divine gift.

Keeping Your Word

theophilus May 26th, 2009

If you are a man of honor and integrity (and most men are), you want to keep your word to others.  You want to have the reputation of getting the job done and being dependable; whether it’s your family, friends, community or job.  You don’t want to let others down.

But do you take the same attitude with Christ?  He has a plan for each of us.  He asks something of each of us every single day.  As a member of his body, we are called upon daily by him to do something, big or small, to help build his kingdom.

Yesterday for Memorial Day Mass, our priest talked about all of us being “Soldiers of Christ.”   He spoke about each of us having a duty to Christ to do his will; to stand up and join the battle.

Ask yourself these questions.  Do you strive to do your duty as a treasured son of God?  Do you strive to do his will?  Do you strive to keep your word to him in living your life?  Do you put your body, heart and soul at his disposition?

Today’s first reading is about a man who answered these questions with a resounding affirmative.  In Acts 20, St. Paul is giving one last sermon to the Ephesians.  He concludes by stating – “Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace. . . . And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”

There you have it.  St. Paul had no regrets; he knew he had done what he was called by Christ to do.

How about today’s Gospel from John 17.  Here we have Jesus praying to our Father in heaven – “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.  They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”

Talk about a great performance review -  “They have kept your word.”  His apostles and disciples had answered the questions the same as St. Paul.

How about today’s Saint of the Day – St. Philip Neri.  He lived in 16th Century Italy at the height of the Reformation and the start of the Counter-Reformation, when Catholic faith and devotion were rapidly declining and in need of someone to help reverse the plunge into the abyss.  St. Philip responded to Christ’s call as well by doing great things to reinvigorate the faithful throughout Italy, most particularly in Rome.  He enflamed the laity and fostered a great love among all for the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Paul; the Apostles; the first disciples; St. Philip Neri – all became worthy Soliders of Christ.  They kept God’s word and fulfilled their duty to Christ.  They gave their lives to be used according to the Lord’s will and then, more importantly, kept their word to him.

Can the same be said of us?

Weeping or Rejoicing?

theophilus May 21st, 2009

Do you ever get the feeling that everyone is rejoicing; while you’re stuck with a feeling of anxiety mixed with a spark of hopelessness?  That somehow, you’re left on an island, solitary and alone, worried about the future; while everyone else is regaling in the excesses of the present?

Recently, I’ve actually been talking to a great number of people who share this view.  They fear that the world has gotten more dangerous, the economy more uncertain, their futures less promising, and their religious freedom less secure.

Yet, if we are to believe the polls and media, and many of our political and cultural leaders, things have never seemed more hopeful.  We are being told that we should embrace, not fear, the Teutonic shifts threatening to overthrow the way we live our daily lives; that we should join the chorus celebrating these shifts as great progress, just like everyone else.

If you’re one of these “unenlightened” folks, guess what?  Today’s (non-Ascension Day) gospel (from John 16) has a message for you.

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

Jesus was talking to his disciples on the eve of his Ascension.  He was discussing with them the meaning of the words he had just shared with them – “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” I can’t blame the disciples for not exactly grasping what Jesus was trying to say there; but, his followup – “you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices” – is easy enough to understand.

There are going to be times when you will be on the David side of the fight; when you will stand up for what you believe in and will be laughed at, ridiculed, demonized and demeaned.  You will be told that you are a fool, short-sighted, unenlightened, hateful, counter-cultural.  You will watch others revel in their power, influence and good-feeling, while you are stuck wondering what can possibly come next.  You will grow especially wary when even those you think should be on your side line up with the rejoicers.

The question to ask yourself in these circumstances is – do you truly believe you are standing on the side of reason, faith and truth; that you are doing God’s will and serving Christ as he deserves; that you are living as you should as a son or daughter of God?  If the answer is “yes” than you can take comfort from John 16.  It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing, even if everyone else is “rejoicing.”  What matters is whether your thoughts and actions are in uniformity with God’s will – even if it means that you are left to “weep and mourn.”

And if you hold onto Christ’s hope and God’s will for you, especially when it’s the unpopular thing to do, you will find that you are not alone.  Others feel the same way.  Even better, you will also find that one of two things will happen.  You will find out that you are wrong and you can join in with the happy crowd; or you will find out that you are right.  In either case, you will find that one day “your grief will become joy.”

My Child’s Perspective on Lent

theophilus March 4th, 2009

I was cooking dinner last night and my first grade daughter was helping me.

We were talking about her day when she told me that she was excited that there were only 34 days until Easter.  I asked her how she came to that conclusion.  She said there are 40 days in Lent and we were on the sixth day, so there had to be 34 days left.

I then went into an lengthy explanation about how there are different views on the actual length of Lent.  She then asked me how I measured Lent.  I told her from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday, which would make Lent actually 42 or 43 days long.

She looked at me with a quizzical look on her face, so I told her that it didn’t matter the actual length of Lent; what mattered was that we refer to the 40 days of Lent so we use the season the way Jesus used his 40 days in the desert.

At this point, her quizzed look turned to one of enlightenment; and she replied, “maybe, the extra days of Lent are the ones Jesus used to travel back and forth to the desert.”

All I could think was that I bet no one has really made this observation; and that she may just be right.

A little gem from the mind of a child.

We should be more like little children.  We might actually start seeing some new perspectives on our faith.

Start of Lent & Lenten Plans

theophilus February 24th, 2009

In the past few days, I have been thinking about my Lenten plans.  Usually, I coast into Lent and figure out what I’m going to do sometime around the 2nd Sunday.  But this year, I decided to actually plan ahead of time so I can make the most of the forty days.

If you don’t have a plan, you need one; especially this year.  With the world full of chaos and uncertainty, we need to get in tune with Christ.  Lent is the gift we have been given to do just this very thing.

The best website I’ve seen so far to help me form and stick to a Lenten plan is from Catholic Culture.  Their Lenten Workshop has a Personal Program component that leads you through fasting, prayers, almsgiving, good works, education, and self-denial.  It is the perfect primer for anyone that wants to do more than just give up sweets, eat fish on Fridays, and fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Make this a meaningful Lent!  With all that is going on in the world, it shouldn’t take a genius to figure out that God is calling us back to him.  Let us pray that he opens our eyes to his deeds and our ears to the sound of his call (cf. this week’s alternative opening prayer). Let us invite the Holy Spirit into our prayers so he can lead us to what we should do.

This season is about our relationship with Christ.  Let these 40 days bear fruit worthy of his love for us.

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