Showing our Faith
Friends in Christ, we see today in the Gospel, this Royal Official who seeks out the help of Christ to heal his son. This is a man who is very important, in Greek, he is a basilikos, which could even be a petty king. But he is a royal official of great standing for sure.
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Christ Jesus was then known as the son of Joseph the carpenter, and Jesus surely did work that trade. Also, in the scene today, Christ is at Cana, which is nearly 20 miles away from where that royal official lived. So this important official travels 20 miles to beg the help of a poor carpenter in Cana!
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It would have been a scandal to those who saw this – this aristocrat swallowing his pride and humbly seeking such a poor man’s help. But he did not care what others thought; he wanted the help of Christ for his son, and he believe in Jesus.
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There are sometimes today, very well-known, popular and powerful people in this world, who are Catholics, and who nevertheless humble themselves and go to Mass on Sundays, and go to Confession to kneel and confess their sins. There are not many, but there are some such people These people, like this royal official who seeks out Christ who are undeterred by what others might say – this is an inspiration. We should imitate this.
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God has lowered himself from his Infinite Power of heaven to descend to – to unite himself to – our lowly, sweaty, dirty, sinful humanity. If God has done this for us, we must never be embarrassed to let others see our unwavering faith in Jesus Christ.
Holy Purity
Latin Mass: 4th Sunday of Lent
Beloved in Jesus Christ,
today St. Paul speaks of the two sons of Abraham allegorically; one represents the person who is in the bondage of sin; the other signifies the one living in the freedom of Christ.
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The struggle between this bondage and freedom comes in many different ways, but one way, which is a struggle for many people, is in the struggle for Holy Purity.
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Holy Purity is the greatest gift that a man and woman can give to each other in marriage; without pure, wholesome love, marriage becomes corrupt.
Holy Purity is also the great gift of joy for single people living in the world. Keeping a courtship pure and good, is the difference between a restless, manipulative relationship, and a rewarding friendship.
Living as a single person, or married, or widowed in the freedom of Holy Purity, leads to an inner harmony and contentment of soul – all this, because of God’s life in us, his holy grace.
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Everyone has weaknesses; for those whose struggles are temptations of the flesh, Holy Purity is the Pearl of Great Price that Jesus describes in the Gospels; it is that prize for which we would sell all that we have to get.
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The Catholic psychologist Dr. Allers was speaking to an 18 year old young woman, who was plagued by a habit of sexual sins. Dr. Allers[i] mentioned the saints as a model to help her; the girl said, ‘if I were to be a saint, I would want to be a great saint!.’ So he asked her: ‘If you could give up your sexual sins, would you be able to become a great saint?’ She immediately answered, ‘yes!’
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Holy Purity is the Pearl of Great Price – it is worth striving for, and it IS achievable, even in this world.
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The devil tries to take away our purity in 3 cases. He tries to pollute married love by bringing lust between man and woman.
He tries to corrupt friendship between boys and girls, because he wants to ruin their hearts.
And he also wants to infect the daydreams and thoughts of single people, in order to lead them by the hand into the sewer.
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Dr. Kevin Majeres,[ii] who studies the psychology of addiction says, ‘Purity is always a victory – but if it is a victory, that means it usually follows a battle.’
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But the saints teach us how to win this battle: For St. Benedict, the devil once put in his imagination a woman whom he had seen before; he felt so tempted to sin, that he threw himself into a thorn bush. His bodily wounds cured the wounds of his soul immediately.
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St. Bernard, once looking into a girl’s beautiful face, felt such a strong temptation that he ran and plunged into the icy water of a nearby pond.
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Well if we ourselves wish to be victorious when the devil tempts us, we can’t be lazy – we must use some weapons.
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3 things we must do.
The first, is that we must avoid dangerous situations. A boy and a girl should enjoy each other’s company in public places, with groups of friends, and avoid being alone, until they are married or at least engaged. It is good for the boy or girl to speak to the other and say, ‘I want us to be pure and good, so that our friendship is happy. So let’s be careful.’
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We should block out bad websites with software on our computer or iphone. Avoid bad magazines or songs or bad friends.
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The 2nd thing we must do, is immediately ask God’s help when we feel we are in danger.[iii] This takes practice, we must train ourselves to immediately say: ‘Jesus help me, Mary rescue me.’
Now we don’t pray that the temptation goes away; we pray that we will accept the suffering and endure it for God’s glory.
If we fall, we ask God’s pardon with the plan to go to Confession. After all, that’s why Jesus died on the cross, to save us from our sins.
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And the 3rd thing we must do, is to avoid idle time; avoid daydreams, focus our attention on our work and duties. Those who treat addictions tell us that we must keep our mind on the real world, and not slip into the false world of daydreams. This is a strong help for people struggling with impurity or depression.
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We should remember that the Devil is like a coward, a bully. If we stand up to him, he will back down. Even terrible thoughts, are not sins if we resist – they are only temptations – which all the saints had.
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If a person has habitually given into impure sins, he has become an addict. Experts say that in this case, the chemical, Dopamine, in the brain has been stimulated too much, causing the addiction. In this case, the person must pass through a time of enduring more intense cravings, but these eventually fatigue and fall away.[iv] They will weaken, provided we don’t act on them.
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In the first weeks there are symptoms of withdrawal such as sadness, anxiety, or impatience, but this is a sign of progress. Surges in desire can’t last if we don’t act on them. If we weather the storm it will dissipate, and our passions will be reshaped in a healthy way.
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The key to victory is to outlast the temptation: 5 minutes, 10 minutes, an hour – soon it is weakened. The more desperate a desire seems, the closer it is to collapsing.
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Holy Purity is a state of peace; it is the Pearl of Great price, and it is possible for everyone.
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So let us give the Lord many victories over our temptations in these days leading to Easter. And let us never fail to call on the Blessed Virgin in our needs, because Mary will always help us be victorious, and to be beautiful and pure disciples, of Jesus Christ.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. John of God]
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[i] The Psychology of Character, p. 315.
[ii] Some information used in this homily is from his website: Purityispossible.com
[iii] When a strong passion is formed, it is easy for an ‘automated script’ to begin to play, taking a person down the path of impurity, forgetting all of the consequences and even forgetting God. Experts call this ‘tunnel vision,’ and it must be broken off at once by directing our mind to prayer and other concrete activities.
Hypocrisy
Friends in Christ, today the Lord gives us this example of the Pharisee whose prayer is really nothing but showing off, there is no sincerity in it at all. Such hypocrisy doesn’t fool God.
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Those who lack any real character or virtue sometimes simulate what they lack – they practice hypocrisy. These persons however, are actually very weak; instead of working to be virtuous, they try to promote a good reputation by mere outward show, hoping to receive respect or praise that they do not deserve.
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All hypocrisy is at least a venial sin, but it can be mortal. Our Lord today strongly warns against pretending to have sincere faith, while really twisting the Gospel of Christ. The Pharisees that he describes, pretended to be men of prayer, but they were leading the people away from real religion.
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If a Catholic leader or bishop or priest puts himself forth as a teacher of the Faith, but actually leads people into error or false doctrine – this is where hypocrisy becomes mortal sin.
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Hypocrisy is also a mortal sin if a person is supposed to be a role model, like a parent or coach, but who justify their sinful behavior to those under their charge. This is the case in which Jesus says it would be better if they were drown in the sea with a millstone tied around their neck. Parents for example who do not go to Mass, and when their child asks why, they reply ‘It isn’t necessary.’
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Hypocrisy is also a grave sin if a false front is presented in order to manipulate or dominate others, or use them for some selfish goal.
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Hypocrisy can be a venial sin; for example if a person feigns goodness to avoid distressing loved ones, or to avoid disgrace for one’s sins of weakness.
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It is not hypocritical for a parent or a priest to teach the true moral life even though they often fail themselves, but the person should teach with humility, aware of his or her own sins.
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In the Holy Gospel, Jesus makes it clear, that rather than being fake or pretentious, God wants our humility. Our sincerity.
Everyone who exalts himself will ultimately be humbled when the truth is revealed at judgment, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted on judgment day.
Keeping the presence of God
Friends in Christ, the ancient scribes often expanded the Law to include many details, but they also tried to sum up the law in one sentence or phrase. Today Jesus does just that; he sums up the spirit of the Christian life by saying: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love of God and love of neighbor.
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The great spiritual writers will tell us that one of the most important ways that we love God, is by trying to be aware of him all day, of ‘maintaining this sense of the presence of God.’
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There are times when we pray, for sure. But we also wish to cultivate this presence of God in our daily doings.
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Before his conversion, St. Augustine was trying to find God in so many external things; but as he says, he finally found the Lord, within himself. We can speak to Our Father in heaven any time, he hears our slightest whisper and our most secret thought, as Teresa of Avila said. (See How to Pray Always, p. 107)
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She goes on to say, ‘those who are able to have this presence of God, are walking on an excellent road, and they will drink from the fountain of life’
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If we can cultivate this awareness of the Lord all day, that he is with us, everything will change. St. Teresa says, when once a person acquires this recollection, he would not exchange it for all the treasures of the world.
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God is living in us, and we can speak to him and love him. But he lives also in our neighbor; in our neighbor, he is living or wishes to live. It is as if people are living tabernacles of God’s presence.
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A young mother who is busy with her children should not say, ‘For me, union with God is not possible.’ She is surrounded with tabernacles, with little temples of the Holy Spirit! Her little ones are baptized? Then God is living in them.
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Our work-mates, the foreman, the customers, the boss – they are, or are potentially – bearers of Christ. Each of them is a child of God with a divine destiny, therefore if we love God we will love our neighbor.
Turn from sin
Friends in Christ, back in the 4th century in the city of Antioch there lived a woman named Pelagia. Pelagia was the most famous actress of that city, with many admirers; she lived a scandalous life, and she was considered a harlot. no one ever stopped talking about her.
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One day, the holy bishop Nonnus was with some other bishops, when they saw, riding by on the street, Pelagia. She was dressed in a provocative manner, with many fans following her.
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Seeing this, Nonnus said, ‘brothers, how many hours a day does this woman spend on making herself beautiful to please her admirers, and yet Christians spend such a small amount of time and effort to make their soul pleasing to Christ Jesus. She promises to please her lovers, but haven’t we promised to please God?
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Later that day, Nonnus knelt and prayed with all his might for Pelagia.
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When Sunday arrived, the Bishop spoke a homily at Mass about the Last Judgment, and the need to seek God’s mercy. Now it happened that the Lord had guided to that Church, none other than Pelagia, the Actress. Never before had she entered the house of God and never before had she even thought of her sins; but suddenly her heart was pierced with God’s love.
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Her tears flowed in such a flood that she could not control them. She threw herself on the floor and holding the feet of the bishop said: ‘I beg you Father, pour out on me your goodness and make me a Christian. All the people were amazed and said that they had never before seen such faith as in this harlot.
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Pelagia DID change her life. She left for Jerusalem and there became a hermit dedicated to a life of prayer, and many miracles accompanied her until her death. She is now called, ‘St. Pelagia.’
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Friends, today Jeremiah warns us to change our ways. To turn from sin. And the Psalmist says to us: ‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.’ We are being called ourselves, to reform our life during Lent.
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The first part of Lent emphasizes repentance, conversion of life, atoning for our sins. The 2nd part of Lent will bring our minds to contemplate all that the Lord Jesus has done for us in his Passion.
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Now is the time for us to listen to that voice, that quiet voice of our conscience, and listen to what the Lord is asking us to give him this Lent. ‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.’
The New and the Old Law
Friends in Christ, today Our Lord tells us that he came, not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. St. Thomas Aquinas says (tour of Summa, p. 171) that the Old Law was meant to repress passion and prevent sin, yet it could not give the grace that one needs to reach heaven. The needed grace and power to attain holiness came with the New Law, which is the Law of Christ.
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The Old Law CAN refer to the 10 commandments, which are requirements in the moral life. Jesus told the rich young man that to be saved, he had to keep the commandments.’ The moral law, given by the commandments, could never be abolished, but it has been raised to an even higher level of love by Christ.
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The Old Law can also refer to the ceremonials and rituals of the Old Testament – in particular circumcision – and these are no longer essential. Circumcision was merely a sign of God’s covenant; but the New Law has fewer rituals and gives real power. Circumcision was replaced with Baptism, which is not a mere sign, but confers the power of grace – enabling one to actually live the commandments.
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St. Paul says that the Old Law was like a teacher for children, guiding the human race along in preparation for Christ. (Galatians 3:24) As we know, children usually act simply out of obedience and rules. But when grown up, they are to learn to do what is right out of love.
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Some adults continue to see the moral life as simply following rules. They ask, ‘Is this a mortal sin?’ Upon hearing ‘it is not a mortal sin,’ they will happily commit it. Such a person is trying to follow rules, rather than loving God. A person who is living the Law of Christ, seeks to be holy in all things – not simply ‘stay within the rules.’ We are living the Law of grace when we act out of a desire to please our Heavenly Father.
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Even Catholics must be careful not to fall into a mindset of the Old Law – of simply following rules, rather than loving God and neighbor. Young people sometimes ask, ‘How far can I go on a date?’ But this is to see morality as following rules. The virtue of chastity does not ask ‘how close to sin can I get,’ the virtue of chastity wants to always be pure and good in order to please God.
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During this season of Lent, we can’t help but consider the sins and mistakes of our life; but the New Law of grace gives us hope, because we can begin again, and do all our actions for the glory to God.
We can’t live without God’s mercy
Friends in Christ, as we move toward the half-way point in Lent, we are given this gospel today about God’s mercy, about forgiveness.
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Because of our sins, which offend the infinite goodness of God, we acquire a debt that we cannot possibly pay; if we could see with supernatural eyes the goodness of God, we would die of horror at even our small sins, not to mention our mortal sins.
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Jesus teaches us that God WILL forgive our sins, even this great debt – but we must forgive others too. ‘If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you.
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St. Peter asks Christ, ‘how many times must I forgive someone?’ He suggests to Jesus, ‘maybe 7 times, we should forgive them?’ It was Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgiven his brother three times. Rabbi Jose ben Jehuda said, ‘If a man commits an offense once, forgive him; if he commits it a second time, forgive him; if he commits it a third time, forgive him, if he commits it a fourth time, do not forgive.’ So Peter thought he was being generous. He takes the Rabbinic teaching and doubles it, and adds an extra; but Jesus’ answer is that the Christian must forgiven 70 times 7 times, meaning: there is no limit.
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So Jesus tells this parable; I think it is unfortunate, that in this english translation, they have left out the numerical amounts, which are presenting the Greek. In the parable, the first servant owed his master 10,000 talents. That was over 10 million dollars. William Barclay tells us that at the time of Christ, even a wealthy province like Galilee had a total revenue of only 300 talents! Yet this servant’s enormous debt is forgiven by is master. This is the debt we owe to God, and he will forgive it in the Blood of Christ.
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Yet this man in the parable refuses to forgive the tiny debt that his fellow servant owed him, 100 denarii, about twenty bucks. If we seek God’s mercy, we ourselves must be merciful, and how can we live, without the mercy of God?
St. Frances of Rome
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of St. Frances of Rome. St. Frances was born in 1384. She was of nobility, married at the age of 12, and although her marriage had been arranged, it was a happy one, lasting for forty years. But there were sorrows. They lost two children to the plague.
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In those days Rome was a horrid place, with violence, disease, and poverty; wolves were even known to roam the streets. All of this made Frances and her husband very sensitive, especially to the needs of the poor.
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Marvelous things surrounded the life of Frances. Once when the army of Naples demanded their son as a hostage, Frances went to church and dedicated her son to the Blessed Virgin. When the troops arrived and put her son on a horse, the horse refused to move. The soldiers, seeing the hand of God in it, returned the boy to his mother.
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But marvels through her life did not stop with external signs. Her prayers and her life became such an example to the wealthy ladies of Rome, that many in her social circles gave up their worldly lives to help the sick. These women eventually began the Benedictine Oblate Sisters, and after her husband’s death, Frances herself joined this order.
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Having lived in this Benedictine Order, the Mother superior wrote this about Frances: With peace of soul Frances always accepted the will of God and gave him thanks for everything that happened. She endured the slander of those who reviled her, and did not show the least hint of aversion toward them. She habitually prayed to God for those against her.
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The superior also said this: ‘God made Frances so lovable that anyone with whom she spoke was immediately captivated by love for her and ready to help in everything she wanted. Divine power was present and working in her words; in a few sentences she could bring consolation to those who were anxious, calm the restless, pacify the angry, and reconcile enemies. Frances seemed able to calm the passions of every type of person with a single word, and lead them to do whatever she asked. For this reason people flocked to her from all directions. Nevertheless, she openly rebuked them for their sins and fearlessly reproved what was evil.
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St. Frances also had the special privilege of a visible presence of her guardian angel. She is the patron saint of automobile drivers, taxi drivers, the death of children, and widows.
Faith in Christ or the world?
3rd Sunday of Lent
‘Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and house shall fall upon house. He that is not with Me, is against Me.’
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Friends in the Lord, It is impossible to follow Jesus with a divided heart. If our house is the Catholic Faith given to us by Christ, then we cannot allow into the house of our heart, ideas or beliefs that contradict the Faith of Christ.
‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be brought to desolation, and house shall fall upon house.’
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We all know people who wish to say they are Catholic, but while they keep one foot in the Church, the other is in the world. Today we speak not of human weakness – sins that occur because of temptation or passion – we speak of temptation against Faith; of knowingly going against Faith.
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A young man recently told me – he didn’t ask – he told me – there is nothing wrong with gay marriage. This is a Catholic. He doesn’t seek truth from his religion, but from elsewhere. So yet again, I went through the explanations of the obvious, trying to appeal to his common sense, if not his religion.
– two boys can’t make a baby, I told him.
A man has half of a reproductive system, a woman has the other half; together, they form one reproductive system. Sexual love is ordered toward new life, it’s the purpose of marriage, family. This is not rocket science. Yes, sometimes the biology doesn’t work right, and a couple can’t have a child; but their gifts of sexuality are ORDERED toward children, this is their purpose. Our sexual faculties are meant for a purpose. If their use is not ordered toward new life, it is perversion. ‘There is no such thing as gay marriage,’ I told him.
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A look of shock swept his face. ‘What about all those people getting married?’ I reiterated: ‘The State can issue its papers, it doesn’t matter; such marriages don’t exist.’
‘You can’t be serious,’ he said, ‘those aren’t marriages?’
‘Those marriages are imaginary, make-believe,’ I said.
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Friends, I always leave such conversations sad; not because the world is crazy with crazy ideas, but because there is no Faith. The Church has always taught that Faith and Reason go together, they always match up. Yet today, the use of reason or logic seems to have no effect. I also read straight from the Holy Scriptures to this young man – no effect.
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I later spoke about this incident with my nephew, who is a very intelligent young man. I said, ‘Peter, I try to explain what seems so obvious to people, but the latest ideas have complete control over them. And they won’t listen to the clear teachings of holy scripture either. Nothing.
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He said to me, ‘Uncle, I’ve found the same thing in speaking with people, and I have concluded that the problem is, they need to decide if they are followers of Jesus Christ; in reality, most are not.
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I’ve thought about what he said, and I think he is correct. Reasoning and explanations, the Scriptures, can help strengthen Faith, but if there is no Faith, all the explanations in the world are meaningless, because their Faith is in something else.
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A strong Catholic for example, can listen to all kinds of explanations against the Faith, but he is completely unmoved by their arguments, why? Because he has Faith. Faith comes first. Faith is the ground for one’s world-view. If a person, deep-down, believes that the spirit of the world has it right, that the world knows the way of happiness – if the person, deep down thinks the Catholic Church needs to make changes to follow the REAL truth – the World – well then, that person has faith in the World, not in Christ. We can say that he has joined a new Denomination: the Church of the World. He has concluded that the Church of the World REALLY has the answers for happiness, and this faith underpins his whole view. That is the religion of the world, a different religion than Christianity, and they have joined it. Millions have joined it.
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George Weigel[i] says, that many explanations have been given for the collapse of Catholicism in the west; but the primary reason, is that many people ceased to believe that the Gospel is true. There are some who chose to reject only one teaching of the Catholic Faith – but in doing so, they lost their Faith entirely. By picking and choosing in matters of Faith, one allows the Evil spirit in. As the Lord says: ‘that spirit then brings 7 other spirits more wicked than the first, and the last state of that man is worse than the first.’ St. Augustine says, ‘a person will possess the Holy Spirit in proportion to his reverence and adhesion to the Church of Christ.’
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The core problem we have, is that many have switched their faith, and joined the Church of the World, and that faith is what informs their world-view. They really believe it.
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Cardinal Ratzinger[ii] in his Introduction to Christianity says, Faith is that firm ground upon which we choose to stand. Faith is our response to the Divine Word that has come into the world. It is our response to Jesus. Faith means knowing that what cannot be seen, is more real and important than what can be seen.
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The Church of the World teaches that what can be seen and experienced is all there is, and so the most important thing is that everyone should enjoy himself without restriction.
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We must pray for an invincible and supernatural Faith which will rule our life; then we will say with St. John, ‘This is the victory which overcomes the world: our Faith.
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‘What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?’ What does it profit a man to be accepted by his peers and praised, for conforming his opinions to the world, but to end in hell.
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At death, the Church of the World sends no ministers to comfort the dying. There is no comfort to be had. There is no future for them.
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But the dying Christian is blessed with Jesus and Mary there, who dwell with them and their Faith – their Faith in the world to come, which is waiting for them.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Mary Madelene]
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[i] Evangelical Catholicism, p. 51.
[ii] Introduction to Catholicism, p. 43.
