Archive for the 'Mercy & Forgiveness' Category

Three Movies to See

theophilus September 21st, 2009

I had an incredibly grace filled weekend of movies.

Last Sunday, our homily was on William Wilberforce, a British legislator, who combatted the slave trade at the turn of the 19th Century.  I had read Amazing Grace, a book about his life and efforts, but I had never seen the movie.  So, I stopped into Blockbuster on Tuesday and found it.  While I walked out, I noticed the recent movie about Pope John Paul II, starring Jon Voight and Cary Elwes, so I picked that one up as well.  While watching Amazing Grace on Friday night, we saw a preview for The Ultimate Gift, which looked promising.  So on Saturday, I picked this movie up.  We watched The Ultimate Gift on Saturday night; and I finished up my movie weekend by watching Pope John Paul II on Sunday.

So, in one weekend, I saw a movie (Amazing Grace) about a man who started an effort almost single-handedly that ended up transforming the world.  It took him 20 years to do it but he succeeded in ending the slave trade and ultimately slavery in the British Empire – without a shot being fired.

Then I watched a surprisingly humorous movie (The Ultimate Gift) highlighting the gifts we are all given, most important of which may be forgiveness, redemption, and mercy.  But we all know that the Ultimate Gift is love and this movie reminds us how multi-layered this gift is in our lives and how often we reject it.  Watch the movie and find out for yourself.

Finally, I ended the weekend watching a movie (Pope John Paul II) about a man who recognized God’s hand in his life at every step and followed his will.   He was courageous and steadfast; approachable and full of Christ’s light which he shown to the world.  He was always one of the brightest minds in the room, but could reach everyone with Christ’s message.  And all the while, he underwent immense suffering, both physical and emotional.  The totality of his life is epic.

I am inspired and ready to go kick some serious butt for the Lord this week.  Get these movies and I guarantee you will feel the same.

Coach Pitino & Being a Devout Catholic

theophilus August 19th, 2009

I was trying not to read about Rick Pitino and the story surrounding his one-night stand and his paying $3,000 for the woman to get insurance/have an abortion.  I just didn’t want to read about another celebritized fallen man.  It’s just too sad and spirit-draining, especially considering he’s married and a father to five kids.

But, I broke down the other day and read some of the articles.  It didn’t help that my hometown Cincinnati Enquirer devoted a great deal of attention to the story (Louisville is right down the road/river from us).

Other than some details that made it clear that Coach Pitino operates in a different world than most of us (come on, how many of us are handed the keys to a swanky restaurant by the owner at closing time and told to lock up when we are ready to leave?), what struck me most from the AP article was this paragraph -

“Pitino is a devout Roman Catholic who does little to hide his faith. Longtime friend and adviser Father Edward Bradley is a fixture near the Louisville bench and often leads the team in pregame prayer.”

He is “devout”; he does “little to hide his faith”; he is close to a priest.

And yet he, this married father of five, this “devout” Catholic, this apostolic promoter of our faith, had random sex with a woman he didn’t know and then paid for her to either get an abortion or get insurance knowing full well that she was going to get an abortion.

And yet, my point here is not to pontificate on the quality of Coach Pitino as a person. father or husband, or even as a Catholic.

My point is that by his actions he has damaged the Church; he has made it more difficult to bring others to Christ; he has laid the seeds for others to be weakened or turned away in their faith.  He may be sincere in trying to live his faith devoutly; and he may use his leadership, charisma and zeal to spread the Gospel to his players and those who he influences.  But his words have been emptied by his actions; they have been rendered meaningless.  And he makes our job that much harder because he is so high-profile.

If you truly live your faith, it becomes a lifestyle and other people notice.  They may not understand it or agree with it, but they notice it.  Eventually, they may even try to model it.  And that is how we bring others to Christ.  We don’t have to use words; we just need to make our faith a part of every aspect of our lives.

But if we do, we must always be aware that not only is Christ watching us, but others are watching us as well.  And they may very well turn their back on Christ if their model is a hypocrite.

I’ve been praying for Coach Pitino because the well-being of too many lives are at stake because of his actions; he influences too many, most notably his own children and the young men under his tutelage.  I’ve been praying because he can be a great apostle for Christ.  But he can’t compartmentalize his faith; he cannot segregate his actions.  His whole life must be lived for Christ, as must our’s.

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.

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.

Who is the Patron Saint of Runners?

theophilus May 3rd, 2009

I ran a half-marathon this morning.  Had a very strong run; a run I hadn’t expected to have because my training over the past few months has been sporadic and inconsistent as I’ve battled a wet and cold Midwestern winter and spring.

But on one of my final training runs this week, I realized that I was dwelling on all of the miles I hadn’t run, instead of the miles I had run.  And that is when I realized that I couldn’t do a darn thing about the miles missed; it was too late to make them up four days away from a race.  What I could do was focus on the miles I did put in and use them as the springboard for a good race.

And I couldn’t help but think; that is what Christ wants us to do in life.  He wants us to forget about the mistakes made and the opportunities missed; and focus instead on the things we do right and the future ahead.  We can either let the faults of the past weigh us down and keep us from doing his will; or we can ask for and accept his forgiveness and mercy and use him as the impetus for being the disciples we are supposed to be.  It’s why Christ gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation; to accept and atone for what we did wrong and then to move on.

I also thoughts of two things in my race today.  The first is that the course passed three Catholic churches.  I said a little prayer and made the sign of the Cross as I passed each of them; thinking of Christ inside on this blessed Sunday morning.  I then noticed that I started running a lot faster; as if the Holy Spirit was giving me a little push.  The other thing I noticed is that I couldn’t think of a patron saint for runners; so I think I am going to start a movement to have St. Peter and St. John named as such because of their foot race to Christ’s tomb on Easter morning.

St. Peter and St. John pray for us; and may my muscles be able to move in the morning.

The Paralytic Man is Us

theophilus February 22nd, 2009

Today’s gospel about the paralytic man being lowered through the roof has a very simple message – “Child, your sins are forgiven” says our Christ (Mark 2).  That is the message for us as we head into Lent.  Our sins are forgiven.

I used to not have much use for confession.  Now, it’s indispensable for my well-being.  It’s gotten so that now I really can’t stand the fact that it’s so hard to receive this sacrament in most suburban parishes, as they tend to reserve this reconciliation necessity to a tidy 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon before 4:30 or 5:00 Mass, when most family men are attending to their, ah, families.

In any case, for this Lent, find a confession period in your town that fits into your schedule.  Drive 30 minutes if you have too.  Don’t worry if the confession seems like a drive-by (and I’ve been to my share of these) and don’t worry if you think your sins are too great or too insignificant.  The goal is to get yourself right with God; to accept his grace and redemptive power; to turn your life so it corresponds with what God expects of you; to get yourself walking with Christ.

And if you are unsure as to what to say, pray to the Holy Spirit to speak for you as you share your faith and your faults with the priest in the confessional.  He is there in the presence of Christ; he is there for you.

Also, remember the words of Isaiah from this morning’s first reading (Isaiah 43) – “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!”  Christ forgives us and in the process forgets our past.  He is doing something new in each of us.

Lent starts this Wednesday.  Are you ready?  Confession is a good place to start.

The Pope & the Speaker

theophilus February 20th, 2009

There are two churches on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. – St. Peter’s on the House side, St. Joseph’s on the Senate side.  In their tabernacles, the real presence of Christ surrounds the Capitol.  Some Catholic Congressmen choose to acknowledge his presence both before the tabernacle and with their votes.

Their votes are joined by like-minded members of other faiths who realize that our laws need to be predicated on a moral and natural law that just so happens to come from God.  It also just so happens that these laws are embodied in the teachings of Christ.

It is not an issue of the separation of church and state; our founding fathers drew this very connection between the basis of our laws and the moral and natural law promulgated by God.

Believing as I do in the primacy of natural and moral law, I often wonder how some politicians can take policy positions that are diametrically opposed to Church teachings, say on abortion, and still sit in church on Sunday.  Isn’t there any sense of guilt or that something just isn’t right?  Don’t they question that maybe the Church is onto something and that, yes, their eternal lives may be at stake?  If they actually go to confession, do they fail to do even one moment of examination of conscience?  How do they rationalize what they do and say on the national stage?

Do they truly look themselves in the mirror?  I’m especially thinking about those who started out their political career pro-life and “grew” in their understanding of the issue concerning “a woman’s reproductive rights.”

The Speaker of the House had an opportunity this week presented to very few of us – a member of the Catholic laity meeting privately with the Holy Father.  For most of us, it would have been a moment of profound humility and interior reflection.  But, it appears that she decided to take the opportunity to “educate” the Pope, instead of accepting personal, spiritual direction from the direct apostolic successor to St. Peter.

What she may have failed to realize is that the Holy Father was probably most concerned with her soul, and those Catholic politicians who take similar culture of death positions.  Very few really know, but I bet she presented herself at this meeting failing to realize that she, like us, is a member of his flock, for which he is accountable to God.  She probably tried to ignore her abortion positions the same way we try to ignore certain sins while in the confessional.

And we have all been like her in one way or another, for we are all sinners and in need of understanding and redemption.  We have all done things in our lives that we have ignored, rationalized or just lied to ourselves about.  I, for one, didn’t go to confession for years because I didn’t want to face the hard questions I was getting while at Mass about my life choices.  I was in the pews on Sunday but hiding from Christ all the same.

Politicians need our prayers, because it is so easy to get spiritually lost while in power.  The soul tends to get buried underneath an avalanche of rationalizations.

Nothing is hopeless with God.  Christ can reach even the most virulent of the culture of death crowd.  If he can reach the “Roe” of Roe v. Wade, he can get through to anyone.

I would venture a guess that the Holy Father included the Speaker in his private prayers this week.  We are called by Christ to do the same.

Noah & Our Culture of Death

theophilus February 19th, 2009

I love the story of Noah, especially the part about the rainbow.  It’s the perfect Old Testament story about redemption, mercy, salvation.  Noah shows us how to live as a real man of God; listening, following, obeying, trusting, not being afraid.

But I often miss key points of Noah’s story, specifically those that come after the flood waters have receded.  These points made by God to Noah (Genesis 9) shed some light on what God must really feel about our culture of death.

“For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting . . . from one man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.”

“For in the image of God has man been made.”

“Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.”

“See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you.”

The sanctity of human life is paramount to God and he holds each of us individually accountable.  Why?  Because we have been made in his image.

Yet, we have a prevailing culture that cuts short life in the womb, with some wanting to cut it short at the other end as well.

God wants us to be fertile; yet we short-circuit our fertility, our very ability to allow God to act through us to create life.

God wants us to hold up our side of his covenant with us; yet too many of us want the trappings and pleasures of this world instead.

Unlike Noah, too many refuse to listen, follow, and obey God.  Too many refuse to trust God and not be afraid.  Too many turn our backs on the grace-filled, divine covenant that God seeks to renew with us each and every day, most notably through the Mass and confession.

In today’s gospel (Mark 8), St. Peter proclaims to Jesus, “You are the Christ.”  We cannot proclaim the same if we embrace (or even tolerate) our culture of death.  We must be strong men of God, like Noah, and take personal responsibility for our covenant with God; a covenant that finds a culture of life at its core.

Next time you see a rainbow, remember that God put it there as a sign personally to you; a sign of his love for you; a sign of his covenant with you; a sign that he expects you, yes you, to take personal accountability for promoting a culture of life.

Promoting life may go against the social whims of the time, but do you really think that Noah cared a whit of what the rest of society was saying about him as he went about building the ark?  He trusted God and did his job.  So should we.

Are We Doing God’s Will? Yeah, right!

theophilus January 27th, 2009

Let’s look at the state of the national and global economy, culture, political systems, families, communities and workplaces.

Do we really believe that we are even close to doing God’s will?  Do we really accept our divine filiation as his children?

Yeah, there are many in this world who truly offer themselves over to God and allow themselves to be used in accordance with his will?  But can the rest of us, as a whole, say the same things?

Today’s readings have got me thinking.  Hebrews 10 discusses Jesus’ declaration that he had come to do his Father’s will.  The refrain for the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 40) proclaims “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”  Today’s Gospel (Mark 3) gives us the reassurance from Jesus that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

There it is in neon lights.  We are here to do God’s will!

I don’t know why God’s will is so hard for us.  His will is what leads us to eternal life.  His will is what leads us to peace and joy.  His will is what leads us to the happiness of the saints and to doing great works here on earth.

Yet, we rebel, reject, ignore and often ridicule his will.  We replace it with our own will and do so under the painfully, mistaken assumption that we know better than he does what is best for us.

And the problem for us is that he gives us the freedom to turn away from him.  He never turns his back on us; but he allows us to turn our backs on him.  And he leaves us to deal with the resulting consequences.

That is until we turn back to him.  He always gives us an out from the disaster of our choices.  He always is ready to shine the light on the path back to his son.  No matter how far off that path we may find ourselves and no matter the severity of our sins, he always welcomes us back into his fold through his mercy, salvation, redemption and forgiveness.

The good news for us is that our kind have been doing this sort of thing in every age way back to Adam & Eve.  The better news is that societies and cultures always seem to find their way back in some form or another.  It may be painful, but we always seem to find the path once again.

But we have to take the first step by following God’s will and unifying our will with his.

He is inviting us back to his feast; will we accept the invitation?

Let’s Talk About Sin

theophilus January 14th, 2009

Are you a slave?

Today’s first reading is from Hebrews 2 in which the writer teaches that Jesus came to “free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.”

The “slavery” being discussed is the slavery to sin.

I bet most of us tend to think we are living relatively unsinful lives.  We’re all basically good people, trying our best.  We are all sinners, but hey, we tend to think to ourselves, how much sin is too much sin?

I think one of the major ways that the Church and our culture has failed us is in not talking enough about sin and destructive behavior.  No one wants anyone to feel uncomfortable, so we tiptoe through life trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings.  And we speed through life without examining our own life.

In doing so, we do two things that separate us from God.  First, we fail to realize that there are real consequences to our actions, both human and divine; and, second, that our time here is primarily meant to prepare us for eternal life.

I remember a time when I thought I was doing ok with God as long as I didn’t cross one of the ten big ones.  I sometimes felt guilty when I slept in on Sunday, or uttered a G*# D#%*!  I sometimes told a small lie, and looked longingly at that sports car in the parking lot.  And when I was a bachelor, I always somehow forgot to call my mom on a regular basis.  But, hey, nothing was so major in this list that led me to believe that I was endangering my eternity.

But then, God started opening my eyes.  First, he re-introduced me to the Seven Capital Sins – Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth.  And I realized that at one time or another, I was violating one of the seven.  Nothing major (or so I hope), but enough to be destructive to practically all of my relationships and how I lived my life.

I then realized that I was holding onto these sins for one reason or another and allowing these sins to hold me back from my Father and separate me from Jesus.  They are sins of selfishness and I was succumbing to them.   What caused me confusion was that I was doing so in ways that our culture deems acceptable.

God then took me one step further.  He reminded me of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and that these works are really not considered optional- feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, burying the dead, counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing sinners, comforting the afflicted, forgiving offenses, bearing wrongs patiently and praying for the living and the dead.

It is then when my spiritual life took off.  I stopped relying on others to do what I did not want to do.  I started rolling up my sleeves and doing some heavy-lifting.  And I started making a conscious decision to take the help that God was offering me to rid my days of the destructive thoughts and actions that were holding me back.  I started caring more about what God wanted than what the culture said was acceptable.

There are still days when I do not want to be bothered.  There are still days when I fall back into my destructive behavior (especially when it comes to my temper, pride and appetite).  But I’m not as far away from God as I was when he started opening my eyes.

I am becoming less a slave to sin and more a fruitful servant of God.  And I realize that I had been experiencing “success” without peace, and life without joy.  Now, I find my days becoming more peaceful and joyful, even if I still have a long way to go.

We are all called to be saints; we are called to take our rightful place as Children of God.  But we cannot achieve either if we are a slave to sin.  It’s time to truly acknowledge our faults, stop holding onto our destructive thoughts and behavior, be willing to accept Christ’s mercy and forgiveness, and be reconciled through Confession.  We will then be ready to cast off our shackles and start living our lives the way God has planned out for us.

You will see the difference in your relationships; in your work, in how you view the world, in how you deal with uncertainty and set-backs, in how you view yourself.  Most importantly, you will see the difference in your relationship with our Father and with our Saviour.

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