Fatherhood and Obedience

"the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.'
He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. " (Matthew 2: 19-21)

St. Joseph,

Thank you for being such a wonderful example of fatherhood. May I always use you as an example of a perfect father. One who protects his family. One who loves and teaches his beloved child.

And one who is fully obedient to God.

I ask that you pray for me. Please ask your adopted Son to please give me the grace to be fully obedient to Him.

Thank you again and may your shining example of love and humility lead me to Him.

Recognition

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Oh God, may I always recognize You in all people. Keep me focused on You. Give me the grace to love You in all people.

And allow me to forgive them as You have forgiven me.

Thank You!

Alleluia, Alleluia, He is Risen

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

Thank you, Lord. I gaze in awe at Your presence.

May I be made worthy of Your sacrifice.

The True Vine

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

O God, without You, I am nothing. A withered branch. With You, I am saved. Remain in me. I need You. Nourish me, Make me grow.

Thank You Lord for all that You have given to me.

Very Good

"God looked at everything He had made and He found it very good." (Genesis 1: 31)


Can God hate?

No.

Thank You God for Your wonderful creation. My Potter. I am in Your hands. Mold me. Transform me. Make me Your own.

Render to God

"In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not. " (Genesis 4: 3-5)

What does God want from us?

He wants our best.

Faltering Faith

"Beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand..." (Matthew 14: 30-31)

When I worry, When I doubt, I need to remember to trust in the Lord.

If my faith starts to falter, If Iwander from Him and start getting lost, I need to remember Peter and ask Christ to save me. Such a short simple prayer.

He'll do it immediately.

Thank you, God.

Obedience...

His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2: 5)

So many times we are so busy talking that we don't bother listening. We are called to serve God and do what He wants.



Lord, I have heard Your blessed mother. What do You want me to do today?

Remembering 9/11

"How is it possible to commit acts of such savage cruelty? The human heart has depths from which schemes of unheard-of ferocity sometimes emerge, capable of destroying in a moment the normal daily life of a people. But faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it."

"To those affected by this immense tragedy I hold up the light of the Gospel and pray that by the prompting of the Holy Spirit they will be led to an ever closer union with the Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of His cross and resurrection. To all I solemnly repeat the Gospel injunction not to be conquered by evil, but to conquer evil with good (Rom 12,21), to trust in the power of God's grace to transform human hearts and to work fearlessly to shape a future of justice, peace and security for the children of our world. "

--Pope John Paul II in the days following 9/11

The above words were written by Pope JPII shortly after 9/11. One was in a letter to Cardinal McCarrick in Washington, D. C., offering his condolences and the other was in a speech to his General Audience on 9/12.

There is a darkness. A shadow so black that all that can be found is coldness and hatred. It's a darkness that prevails because Christ has not cast His light on it.

It's a darkness in a person's soul and it's a darkness that can kill thousands of people. It's a darkness that can cause buildings to collapse.

Yet from this evil came an immense good. The faith that came alive in the days after 9/11 was a good so astounding showing that God can take something truly evil and bring something beautiful out of it as He so often does!

I can't believe it's been five years since that horrible day. I remember my heart being filled with so much emotion. Fear. Sadness. Anxiety.

The two words that rang through my head for around two weeks as we were inundated with television coverage were, "mercy and justice."

May God show mercy on all involved in the 9/11 attack and may His justice always prevail.

The Seven Gifts

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2: 1-4)

Today, June 4, 2006, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Pentecost. This, in essence, is the birth of the Church. It's when Christ sent down His Holy Spirit to renew the face of the Earth.

Unfortunately the Holy Spirit can sometimes be the Forgotten Person of the Trinity...at least for me. However, many times in my life, I have been very strongly filled by the Holy Spirit. It's quite a feeling to have Him rush through you. It takes your breath away.

In my life, I have been taught that the Holy Spirit gives us 7 Gifts which help us daily with our faith:

1. Wisdom
2. Knowledge
3. Understanding
4. Fortitude
5. Piety
6. Counsel
7. Fear of the Lord

In prayer, as Christians, we can ask the Holy Spirit to come down and give us these gifts...however, be prepared!

For with every gift we grow closer to God. And as we grow closer to Him, the more we realize just how truly distant we are from Him.

In preparation for Confession, I have asked the Holy Spirit to reveal my sins to me. (That's a tough one) and He reveals them to me in spades.

While praying, I ask Him, "What is keeping me from You?" And the answers come to me. And sometimes (most of the time?) they are answers I quite frankly don't want to hear.

All in all, the Holy Spirit has blessed me with the above gifts.

And I am forever thankful.

Come Holy Spirit
Fill the Hearts
Of Your Faithful and
Enkindle in Them
The Fire of Your Love.

On Witnessing

But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." (Acts 1: 8-11)



To the ends of the earth...

Today, May 25, 2006, the Catholic Church celebrates Ascension Thursday. It is the day (40 after Easter) that we celebrate the above passage when Jesus Christ ascends into Heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father.

If you notice in the above passage, Jesus' final words to them before He ascends is to "be witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and to the ends of the earth."

What does it mean to be a witness? Well, for the apostles, they lived a life of Christ and preached the Gospel and all of them (save one) had pretty horrific deaths.

Is that what God wants from us?

Yes.

He wants us to be a witness for Him. This means that we must live a life of Christ. We must preach the Gospel (using words if necessary). We must follow His commandments obediently and we must bring others closer to Him.

But even more so, we must sacrifice our lives for God. We must die to self. It's no longer what I want to do. It's what God wants me to do.

It's in that sacrifice that we are with God.

Happy Ascension Day.

Christ in Me

"If we consider the final part of the short spiritual autobiography that Saint Paul gave us in his Letter to the Galatians. Its concluding words contain the heart of this biography: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). I live, but I am no longer I. The "I", the essential identity of man - of this man, Paul - has been changed. He still exists, and he no longer exists. He has passed through a "not" and he now finds himself continually in this "not": I, but no longer I."

--Pope Benedict XVI during his Easter Homily

I went to a great talk yesterday by a priest friend of mine. He mentioned in his talk that we should read the Pope's homily (sermon) from Easter on line and how profound it was. I read it and was really just blown away. Pope Benedict XVI is one of the true great Christian intellectuals of our time. Reading this one homily on line was better than any blog I've read from any person. I invite all people who read this to click on the Pope's homily and read it. It is quite meaningful to all Christians.

In the above quote, the Pope is talking about Baptism. In Baptism (and throughout our entire lives), we must die to ourselves and be reborn in Christ so that it is not "I" who lives in me but rather Christ who lives in me.

And if Christ lives in me, there can be no room for hatred...no room for jealously...no room for sin.

Only Love.

May all who read this follow Jesus obediently to eternal life in His resurrection.

Making All Things New

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted. As the days grow warmer here in Michigan, there's a lot more activity in my life. My daughter wants to go to the park every day with her Daddy and there's all the outside stuff like mowing the lawn, etc.

Lately, I have been watching EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) and have actually been fascinated by the programming. On Monday nights, there's a show called the Journey Home which has a former Evangelical as the host. He has different guests on his show who talk about their journey into the Catholic Church.

A couple nights ago, he had a gentleman who mentioned that the Catholic Church makes wonderful use of Typology. He then explains about the parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

I had never heard this word but started researching. In the previous posts, I have mentioned the following parallels:

Jesus and Adam
Mary and Eve
Jesus and Abel

All of the above were different typologies that I had learned (although I didn't know the word). There are many more and I just find the whole thing fascinating as I learn more and more.

That's all tonight...I hope to continue writing soon.

Here are some links regarding Typology:

That Moses Thing

Typology

"Every Person is Christ for Me" - Mother Teresa

When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. (John 21: 4)

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. (Luke 24: 13-16)

If Jesus were to appear to you today, would you recognize Him? What would you say to Him? How would you act?

I don't think He'll have a name tag that says, "Hello, my name is Jesus Christ." (Although that would make things very easy for us.)

No, I would hazard to guess that we would not recognize Him if we saw Him. We only know that He is God. And that's all that's important.

Since we don't know what Christ looks like, how do we resolve the dillemma of recognizing Christ if we ran into Him?

The answer is really quite simple.

We treat every person as if they were Christ.

Alleluia, Alleluia, He is Risen!

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. (John 20: 1)

Today we celebrate the feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It marks the beginning of the Easter Season which will last for the next forty days.

Side Note: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon past the Vernal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

On this day, we celebrate the day when our Lord God rose from the dead and kicked open the doors of Hell.

In His resurrection, He defeats Satan once and for all. There is no war between God and Satan. God won.

On this day, we celebrate the moment when God offers His creatures a shot at redemption. The chance at eternal life that was lost to us by Adam's sin.

Thank you, my Lord and my God.

Where Are You?

The Lord God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3: 9)

Every day, God asks us that question.

Where are you?

Where are you in your relationship with God?

Where are you in your relationship with your loved ones?

Where are you on your journey to the cross?

During Lent, I've been reflecting about the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the image of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, I have a mental picture of those who are around Him. I think about the scene and how it reflects the world today.

All of us are on a journey to the Lord's Cross. All of us are present in the Lord's Passion and as He hangs on the cross dying, the question that we have to ask ourselves is, "Where am I?" What group of people am I associated with right now at this very moment.

Where are you?

1. The Pharisees

Their hearts are hardened to the Lord. They know about God but don't love Him.

2. The Romans

They mock what they don't understand. They don't know God and would rather berate Him than love Him.

3. Peter and the Apostles (except Judas and John)

Less than a day beforehand, they had dinner with Him. He washed their feet. And yet, when Jesus was on the cross, they were nowhere to be found. When their faith was shaken, they ran. They denied God out of fear.

4. Mary, John and Mary Magdalene

At the foot of the cross. With Jesus. Risking their lives to be with Him and comfort Him in his most trying time.

God wants us to risk our lives to be with Him. He wants us to live our lives as though we are the ones at the foot of the cross. Gazing at His presence with so much love for Him that we will be there for Him as He's destroying death.

The mission in preaching the Gospel is to bring others to the foot of the cross. To deliver the Good News of our Lord so that others have the love of Mary, John, and Mary Magdalene. To bring people to the Tree of Life which is the cross and to know that Jesus died for our sins so that we may have eternal life.

In my life, I feel as if I've been in at least three of the above groups. I am on a journey. There is a path that leads to the foot of the cross. If I follow God's plan for my life, my journey will end there. It's my choice to stay on the path. If I stray, I must get back on the path. If I deviate from His will, God will ask me the same question He asked Adam when Adam deviated from His will:

"Where are you?"

Hardly Human

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish? My God, I call by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I have no relief.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the glory of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted and you rescued them. To you they cried out and they escaped; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm, hardly human, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me: (Psalm 22: 2-8)


Is it possible to recognize Christ in everyone? If all men (and women) are created in the image and likeness of God, then why can't we see it sometimes. For some people are truly evil. Some people are truly wicked. Some people don't deserve to be loved. Murderers. Rapists. Prostitutes.


Some people truly despise and hate God.



Do they still bear His image?

Yes!

And they are still worthy of loving even if they don't deserve it. (Even if they will not turn from their wicked lifestyle to a life of God...Even if they lose their chance at salvation.)

When we are born, we are born with a certain innocence. Unstained by the world (with the exception of original sin.) At that point...at birth, we probably resemble our Lord and Saviour more than any other time in our life.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, the world lashes out at us and scars us. It beats us and wants to destroy us.

Eventually for some, the beating by the world (perhaps it's an abusive husband or neglectful parent or callous friends) disfigures them and they become of the world. Hateful. Prideful. Angry.

And then they become like a worm. Hardly human. Christ's image in them is so scarred and bruised that we don't recognize it.

And we scorn them some more.

And they become more bitter...and angry.

All of us are scarred. All of us have had the image of Christ in us mangled to the point that it may not be recognizable to others.

What are we to do when this happens?

Christ commands us to turn the other cheek.

Christ commands us to love our enemies.

Christ commands us to pick up our cross.

Christ commands us to follow Him.


Preach the Gospel. And if necessary...use words. (St. Francis of Assisi)

At the pillar, Jesus was whipped and beaten. Ridiculed and mocked. He was despised--for no reason. He became hardly recognizable.

But He was still God.

He was not angry.

He was not bitter.

He was not prideful.

He just silently preached the Gospel.

Remembering Karol

"When you wonder about the mystery of yourself, look to Christ, who gives you the meaning of life. When you wonder what it means to be a mature person, look to Christ, who is the fulfillness of humanity. And when you wonder about your role in the future of the world look to Christ."

"As the source of love, God desires to make himself known; and the knowledge which the human being has of God perfects all that the human mind can know of the meaning of life."


"Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life..."

"People today need to turn to Christ once again in order to receive from him the answer to their questions about what is good and what is evil. Christ is the Teacher, the Risen One who has life in himself and who is always present in his Church and in the world. It is he who opens up to the faithful the book of the Scriptures and, by fully revealing the Father's will, teaches the truth about moral action."

Today, April 2, 2006, is the one year anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. When I think about him, I recall the time that he was shot by a Turkish gunman at near point blank range back in May 1981. I remember--as a kid--hearing reports that when he arrived to the hospital that he had already forgiven the man who had shot him.

A few months later, he walked into the prison cell of the man who shot him. He sat down with this man who had pointed a gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger with the intention of killing.

And the Pope loved him.

And the Pope recognized Christ in him.

And the Pope forgave him.

What a great model of Christian love.

Be It Done Unto Me According To Your Word...

Eve's NO!

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. (Genesis 1: 6)


Did you ever wonder why we (meaning Catholics) venerate Mary? (not worship...we do not worship Mary...no matter what some Protestants may have been told) I think if you asked most Catholics, they really couldn't give a good answer.


The above Bible passage is a continuation from my previous post. It's Eve's response to Satan as he tempts her with the Tree of Knowledge. She looks at the tree and even though God tells her not to eat it, she eats it anyway.

Then she gives it to her husband to eat too.


And then man falls.


Note that Man falls through Adam's sin and not Eve's. Paul affirms in the New Testament that Adam's sin is what caused the downfall of man and not Eve's response to Satan. It's only after Adam eats of the fruit that they realize that they were naked.

(Side Note: They were always naked! When they ate from the fruit, it's the first time that they took their eyes off of God and on to themselves...and felt shame.)


Unfortunately, it was Eve's initial, "NO!" that led to Adam's sin which led to the Fall.


Mary's YES!

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1: 26-38)

Today, March 25, is the Catholic Feast Day of the Annunciation. If you're Protestant and you're not sure what that means, it's the day that the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she has found favor with God and will bear His Son. This is the logical day to celebrate it as it's nine months before Christmas Day.

Imagine how Mary must have felt. She was probably around 13 years old...although the age doesn't really matter. Single but betrothed and a virgin. And an angel appears to her and says you're gonna have God's Son. Her whole life was about to change. She lived in a small town. People were going to talk. Perhaps snicker at a pregnant young girl. Rumors were probably going to spread. And she had no clue as to how Joseph was going to respond to all of this.


What's her response?


"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

(Side Note: Her "How can this be..." is not a question of disbelief of God as Zechariah did, "How shall I know this?" for which he was struck mute. Hers is more of a "What's it gonna take to make this happen..." statement. At least that's how I've been taught it.)


And at that moment, her "Yes!" sets the foundation for the restoration of mankind.

Her "Yes!" was necessary to fix Eve's "No!"

So as Man falls through Adam's Original rejection of God (caused by Eve's "NO!"), Man is redeemed through Jesus Christ's obedience to God (caused by Mary's "YES!").

This is why Catholics hold Mary in such high regard. We call her the "New Eve" as Jesus Christ is called the "New Adam."

This is the understanding of the Catholic Church today and it's the understanding of the early Church Fathers all the way back to the first century.

We need to hold her as a model. We need to live a life like hers. When we hear what God wants from us--no matter how much it affects us...no matter how inconvenient it may be.

We need to say "YES!"


The Hail Mary

Hail Mary! Full of Grace! The Lord is with thee! (Luke 1:28)
Blessed are thou amongst women
And blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus (Luke 1: 42)

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now...and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

The Greatest Lie

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 bad."

(Genesis 3: 1-5)

Satan lies.

He lied to Eve and lies to us now today. He tempts us. He wants to take us away from God and wants us to put ourselves in the center of our lives in place of God.

Because he hates us.

He wants us to argue with God. He wants us to argue with our neighbors. He wants us to go to war. He wants us to kill if not with weapons then with our words. He wants division.

He envies us as he envied Adam and Eve. For we are with God and he is not. Through his envy, he wants to take us away from God. Not by turning ourselves to him but rather by turning ourselves inward to ourselves.

Recognize the lies and reject Satan. Avoid him and ask God for help.

Unfortunately for us, what Eve did not realize was that Satan was lying to her the whole time. The truth was that she already was like God as He created her in His image and likeness. The truth was that she already had knowledge of what was good and what was bad.

Satan lied and said that man will not die but rather become like god, the ironic Truth is that God fixed the mistake by becoming a man and dying.

Because He loves us.




Thank You, God.

I love You.