Building the City of God

I did not have an opportunity to write before the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord, and thus I did not get to wish my readers “Merry Christmas!” Not a problem, though; I’ll do it today!

Merry Christmas! And Merry Christmas tomorrow! Saturday, too!

How is this possible, you ask? Well, it is because the Christmas season begins on December 25 and lasts a total of 12 days…until January 6! (Where do you think the song came from?) Our culture (even our Christian culure) has forgotten that December 25 marks the beginning of our joyous celebration; not the end.

Only on Sunday will I cease to wish people a Merry Christmas. Maybe you’ll consider joining me in returning propriety to our seasons of worship!

God Bless!

St. John Damscene (or St. John of Damascus, whose feast day is today) was one of the most brilliant catechists in our Church’s history. He is most famous for his role in the Iconoclasm controversy that racked the eastern portion of the Church in the eighth and ninth centuries. His catechetical abilities were put to use while he defended the Church against a deeply heretical belief: that God frowns on the use of statues and sacred art in worship. St. John reminded the faithful all creation is from God and, thus, is inherently good. He affirmed the centuries-old belief and practice of using those objects and images to lead a person deeper into the mysteries of the one, true God.

However, his teachings were not limited to this aspect of Church doctrine alone. In fact, he wrote one of his most poignant passages on his own journey toward ministry, on submitting to the will of the Lord. That passage, written in The Statement of Faith, was meant to remind readers that God will provide nourishment for every believer’s spiritual journey; to let them know that God intended them to grow into specific ministerial roles.

“You nursed me with the spiritual milk of your divine utterances. You kept me alive with the solid food of the body of Jesus Christ, your only-begotten Son and our God, and you let me drink from the chalice of his life-giving blood, poured out to save the whole world for us.

“You loved us, O Lord, and gave up your only-begotten Son for our redemption. And he undertook the task willingly and did not shrink from it. … Now you have called me, Lord…to minister to your people. I do not know why you have done so, for you alone know that. … When I open my mouth, tell me what I should say. By the fiery tongue of your Spirit make my own tongue ready. Stay with me always and keep me in your sight.”

This author has experienced exactly what is written above! God calls people into His Church and nourishes their spiritual growth, especially through the sacraments. That nourishment is meant to strengthen them for whichever ministry to which they are called; and it continues to nourish them while they serve in that ministry.

God is so good, because He never abandons His faithful servants. He always sends His Spirit to guide them “along the straight path,” in the words of St. John Damascene. With our eyes focused on Him, and while receiving the grace contained in the sacraments, we will never go astray!

God Bless.

I was perusing the lectionary readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King this morning. As my eyes scanned the final sentences from the Gospel passage (Luke 23:35-43), I became keenly aware of my need to beg the mercy of my Lord. So many times in my life, I have fallen into patterns of sin and deserve to be “condemned justly;” to be given a sentence that corresponds to my crimes (cf. Romans 6:23).

As this liturgical year comes to a close and we prepare for the advent of Our Lord, let us all take stock of our sinfulness. After that honest evaluation, let us all exclaim, as the good thief did, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Let us receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and have hope in the infinite mercy of our God!

…This will be my final post before Thanksgiving, so I pray that all of you are blessed and well-fed! Enjoy the holiday, and give someone else a reason to be thankful!

And…Pope Benedict XVI gave an Angelus address yesterday that was quite similar to my own post from Friday (see below).

God Bless.

The idea of “the end” is not something that is easily pondered or explained because it is many-faceted. It includes our preparations for “the end” and eternity; it includes death (which is never an easy topic to discuss); it includes the transient (Purgatory) and final destinations (Heaven or Hell) after death. Nonetheless, it is a concept that must be dealt with, and it is a subject that has been front-and-center in my spiritual life throughout the past week.

Several circumstances have created and sustained the recent focus: conversations with my wife, philosophical reading, and the current stage of the Church’s liturgical cycle (which encompasses Mass readings and the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours). Every day, God has revealed to me new things about Himself, about me, and about what He expects of me. Thus, the acute presence of such subjects and the revelations from God have created a need for me to write.

When it comes to this subject, several things are certain, and they are not pleasant concepts. First, death is certain; we cannot escape the end of our earthly lives, our human history. Second, each of us will be judged by our Creator at the time of our own death and receive “eternal retribution” for the manner in which we lived our lives. Third, there is a possibility (based on the second certainty) that we will be sent away from God for all eternity, to “immediate and everlasting damnation” (CCC 1022).

The preceding paragraph, although it is real and authentic, does not contain the most important and hopeful expressions on this subject. Indeed, there is Hope as the end of human history and each person’s particular judgment approaches! (That is not to say that I know when either of those things will happen.) We have the opportunity to strengthen our case for reception into the “blessedness of heaven” (CCC 1022).

In the present, we have not just one, but countless opportunities to accept the “divine grace manifested in Christ” (CCC 1021) that our loving Father pours out to us! Throughout each day, week, month, or year, God will give us innumerable situations in which we can choose to do His divine will. If we recognize, and act, on those opportunities, we will gain favor in His sight; and, the likelihood that we will be sent away (Matthew 7:23) from Him will be lessened. (Clarification: this is not to say that God will let us into Heaven simply because we did a sufficient amount of “good works.” Rather, it is to say that when we recognize His will, we fall more in love with Him and want to continue doing His will evermore.)

I pray that all of us will take the opportunities that are presented to us: today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our human history. I pray that I will be joyful rather than scared at my judgment, and I pray the same for you!

God bless.

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a wonderful solemnity on which we get to celebrate the lives of the non-canonized saints of the Church, the people who are in Heaven without any official recognition. These saints, though acclaimed less than the likes of St. Augustine, St. Thomas, St. Francis, or Mother Teresa, are not less holy or less a part of the Eternal Celebration. Indeed, they have reached the same final glory to which all of us aspire! So let us celebrate their holy lives!

God Bless.

The readings for today’s celebration of Mass can be found here.

After reading them, praying over them, and proclaiming them during today’s liturgy, I felt the utmost need to write a brief reflection. Thus…

As usual, St. Paul’s words to the Church at Rome are meant to help them see the contrast between slavery to sin and true freedom provided by God. As I read this poignant passage, I realized the abundant grace the the Almighty granted me more than three years ago (and has increased every day since). God pulled me out of sin and away from things of which I am now ashamed; from certain spiritual death!

The Responsorial Psalm deepened my realization of just how blessed I have been. I have delighted in the law of the Lord and have experienced the freedom He provides. I have seen prosperity where I did not know it could be found. And, I have truly felt that God has been watching over my endeavors rather than allowing me to be like chaff driven away by the wind.

Yes! The Lord’s wish from today’s Gospel has been made real: I have been set ablaze for Him! Further, I have prayed that I will not keep that flame for myself; that I will faithfully pass the flame to others; that God’s glory will be forever proclaimed here on earth!

My prayer today is for each of you! I pray that your lives will be blessed in abundance, that you will turn from sin, that you will be set aflame for the Lord, and that you will go forth as missionaries to the world!

God Bless!

My son is no longer a pagan! He was welcomed into God’s family this past Saturday through the Sacrament of Baptism. For a few short years, he is as holy as can be since he has not the opportunity or the capacity to sin. Hooray!

The Baptism was absolutely beautiful, and the godparents, my wife, and I were joined by dozens of family and friends. The celebration was overwhelming and inspiring for this first-time father. I am anxious to celebrate with my son as he receives other sacraments in the future.

This month’s word was chosen in light of the beginning of my son’s sacramental life in the Church, which will take place in just over a week.

The Catholic Word of the Month is BAPTISM.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Baptism is too elementary to discuss. More importantly, don’t make the mistake of thinking that Baptism is mundane or unnecessary. One who thinks and believes these things ought to reconsider.

Baptism is the very beginning of our relationship with God. It is the sacrament of primary importance because it allows us access to the rest of the sacraments. Without Baptism, we have no access to sanctifying grace, which helps us fulfill our eternal destiny, eternity with God in Heaven. Finally, Baptism makes the one who receives it a new creation: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). (See also 1 Peter 3:21)

Fr. Alfred McBride wrote of the subject so much more eloquently:

Baptism is a sacrament that initiates a person into membership in the Church. Baptismal grace forgives original sin and all personal sins. It is the first sacrament that a Christian receives and it unites the candidate to Christ, who died for our sins and rose from the dead fro our salvation.

No one ought to think of his/her Baptism as “an expression of inward faith.” On the contrary, Baptism is the sacrament that instills the seeds of Faith within us. Then, as we live from our Baptismal graces, and the grace received from subsequent sacraments, those seeds of Faith bear fruit in our lives.

Let us pray that baptized Christians will recall the mighty power of their baptisms in their daily lives. Let us pray that God will grant an abundance of grace from this precious sacrament so that we may become holy in this life.

God Bless.

Our modern Church is marred by scandal (in the moral sense, not political) and sin. One does not have to look far to find an example of how our culture and our humanity has been torn down. It is quite deplorable and disheartening.

However, we need not live in anguish or despair. Great hope abounds, primarily in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In that setting, God grants penitents an abundance of grace to overcome enslavement to sin. Confession has the potential to heal broken individuals, and thereby heal a broken Church and culture.

There is one problem, though. Not enough people are availing themselves of the sacrament. It is sad, but there are a few primary reasons. One of the most prevalent of those reasons is that a confessor was rude, judgmental, uncaring, or all three. Thereby, many people have been traumatized by “bad” confessions.

Thus, the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori ought to be proclaimed to all sinners, penitents, and confessors.

“If all preachers and cofessors would discharge their duties as they should, the whole world would be holy! Bad preachers and bad confessors are the ruin of the world; and every preacher and every confessor is bad who is not devoted to his office, who does not study to improve himself in it, who does not fulfill it to the very best of his ability” (Circular Letters, p. 12).

The previous quote proves to readers that, despite his intellectual rigor and busy schedule, St. Alphonsus was a man who preached the mercy and love of God. Few other men would have arranged to pay the debts of some one who persecuted him so fiercely. It is no wonder that he is heralded by the Church as the Patron of Confessors.

On this feast of St. Alphonsus, let us pray that confessors will allow the love, mercy, peace, and joy of God to work through them in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us also pray that more Catholics will seek out that love, mercy, peace, and joy by going to Confession.

God Bless.

This morning, I had the unbelievable pleasure of taking my six-week-old son to Mass. Although he cannot even begin to grasp what is taking place before him on the altar, I believe that blessings will come to him simply by being in that setting. And, I hope that he might have a “head start” on becoming a saint!

On the other hand, I am capable of tuning in to God’s sacred presence in the church. (Whether I do it all the time is a separate issue.) Such a thing happened again this morning. Somtime between the priest’s homily and the Eucharistic prayer, my son and I locked eyes with each other and engaged in a loving, familial stare.

As that happened, God spoke to me. He reminded me that He looks upon me the same way I look upon my son. God also reminded me that I should become locked into that loving, familial gaze with Him more often.

Indeed, a parent’s love for his/her child can teach us so much about God’s eternal love for us, His children.