Latin Mass: 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
Beloved in Jesus Christ, At Holy Mass, the priest always effects the ‘double-consecration.’ That is, the Sacred Host and the Precious Blood are consecrated separately, in two separate actions, and this follows the words of Institution given by our Lord. Continue Reading →
Friends in the Lord,
The saints tell us that throughout the earthly life of Christ, he had before him always, the Passion that he would undergo for us. As the God-Man, his Divine Mind always saw, not only all of creation – always there, in his mind – but also the Passion that he would endure.
Knowing this, we can consider what Our Lord says today, when asked: ‘What is the greatest Commandment?’ – What is it, Lord, that God asks most of us? –
As Jesus answers, he is teaching this scribe before him how to live, yes, but he has in his mind as well, his Passion. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ He did this.
Christ IS Divinity; from his Divine perspective, all events are ONE, before him. And so those words he FEELS as he says them, as if uttered at every time in his life, as if said on the cross. ‘You shall love the Lord with all your heart.’
Jesus will give all, he will pour out all in his offering to the Father. The night of his Passion, when Peter denies that he even knew him, Jesus looks at Peter, and those words are in his heart: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself – and he does; he still loves Peter. Christ will fulfill these commands perfectly; giving all and loving even his neighbor: who betrayed him.
But the Divine Mind of Christ is not in any way limited to the events of his earthly life; on the cross, he has in his mind each one of us as well. Each of us. We are all his ‘neighbor.’ This Savior dies for each one of us in particular, knowing our whole life, our deepest thoughts and joys and failings.
All he asks is for our love in return, that we will love the Lord with all our heart, and mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourself. Because if we do, he will be able to say to us: ‘You are not far, from the kingdom of God.’
Friends in the Lord,
In the Gospel today, some of the people said of Jesus: “Its by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that he drives out demons.” They begin to say that he is in league with Satan, and that this is where he gets the power. But our Lord explains that if it were really Satan who was casting out demons from people and curing them of possession, Well, that would be crazy; Satan does not work against his own kingdom. He doesn’t work against his own kingdom, but the devil does wish to attack God’s kingdom, and he does it by division.
Diabolos, diabolical – these words mean to ‘divide.’ The devil’s game is division. He wishes to stir up rancor and discontent among people; he tries to divide families, pitting one person against another; he wishes to divide husband and wife, stirring up resentment and distrust and argument. Division is his game. When we see politicians trying to pit one race or group against another, stirring up envy, and trying to divide people instead of unifying them: this is diabolical. But it does not end there.
The Devil wishes to divide the interior of the person. When people try to live a double-life there is no interior peace. The boy who pretends to be good, but secretly he is doing bad things – he will be an unhappy child. The person who puts up a good front on the outside, but in reality is not following the Lord, or is involved in sinful things – this person will have no peace. We say that he has no ‘unity of life.’
Unity of life is to live the same way on the outside as on the inside; to do as the Lord wills in all areas of life; it is to be rid of those little ‘compartments’ in the heart which are not touched by the gospel.
To avoid the divisions of the devil, we must seek peace on our inside, and try to bring peace on the outside, to others. The Lord desires that we promote harmony in our families, setting aside our own preferences for the good of peace. Scripture says: ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. (Rom 12:18) St. Paul says, ‘Pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. (Rom 14:19) Division is of the devil, peace is of God. So let us be at peace, on the inside and on the outside.
Friends in Christ,
Today in the Gospel, Jesus says that the least in the kingdom of God are those who teach others to break the commandments. This is called scandal, or giving bad example. (see Tour of Summa) Giving scandal happens when by our words or our actions we lead others to do bad things. Giving bad example is a sin against charity, because we hurt the soul of our neighbor. Scandal is opposed to the good virtue, called fraternal correction, which means helping a person to turn from their faults.
Examples of scandal:
Suppose that a lazy boy is passing the afternoon with a friend, and this friend is a conscientious student. The lazy boy says, ‘I don’t think I’ll do my homework tonight, the teacher doesn’t really care if we do it anyway.’ Now he hopes the other boy will do the same thing, so that he won’t be the only one without his homework. This is scandal, or giving bad example.
Two kids are in the store, and one steals something; he not only breaks the 7th commandment, but gives bad example for the other child.
Two ladies are eating lunch at a restaurant; one lady thinks: ‘I should probably suggest that we pray before we eat;’ but out of worry of what the other might think, she says nothing. Bad example has taught the other lady not to pray.
Scandal is a venial sin if we don’t fully intend to lead another person to sin, or if it is not a serious matter. Giving bad example is a mortal sin, if it is a serious matter, and we want to tempt the other person to commit sin.
Now if a person is not really bad, but ACTS bad, this too is giving scandal. This can happen when a person who is good, wants to fit in, and so acts bad like the others. Joe’s co-workers ask him to golf on Sunday morning, so he is careful to go to Mass Saturday evening. But while golfing, one of them says ‘the ol lady wanted me to go to Mass, but what a waste of time.’ Joe smiles as if he agrees, because he wants to fit in – but in doing so, he gives a very bad example, because he led him to THINK that he skipped Mass also.
Some kids act like druggies or pretend to have had sexual exploits just to fit in: in doing so, they give scandal, even if they do not do those things.
Now the more innocent is the person that we lead into sin, the greater our sin. This is why Jesus says that whoever leads a little one into sin should have a millstone tied around his neck and thrown into the sea.
We should try to please the Lord by giving good example, then, not only will we have a good reputation, but the aroma of our holy life will lead others to Christ.
Friends in Christ,
Today is the Annunciation of the Lord, or we sometimes say the Annunciation of Mary. The angel announces the Good News to the Virgin, ‘you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.’
In the Breviary today, we read a beautiful letter by Leo the Great where he says; ‘to pay the debt of our sinful state, he says, a nature incapable of suffering was joined to a nature that could suffer.’
The Son of God stooped down from his heavenly life, and ‘took on our lowly human nature, to save it. Christ took the nature of a servant, without sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his Divinity.’ This is what happens in the dear Blessed Virgin, 9 months before Christmas.
The Incarnation, the fact that God himself, the creator of all things, would enter his own creation, and unite himself to – to the material world – well, this is the scandal, the shock of Christianity that the world cannot tolerate.
In then Cardinal Ratzinger’s famous book: Introduction to Christianity,[i] he speaks interestingly about this. He says that most people will admit that there is some form of ‘supreme being,’ or God, but it is absurd that this being should concern himself with us, or come down to us. They say that we are naïve to think this; that these ideas are left over from a primitive, ancient world of ignorant people. Our tiny and unimportant planet, this speck of dust in the universe, shows that we are nothing; it is absurd that a supreme being would concern himself with us, with our sins, or our problems.
The future Pope says, on the contrary; God reaches down to the smallest, because to him, nothing is too small. this is true greatness: that the great would stoop down to the little.
Why would a chief executive of Exxon, such an important person, have any interest in helping a poor, dirty, street person in the gutter? Well, if he does, we would call this great. Is not God greater because he compassions his creatures? The world errors in thinking of a Creator in a worldly, narrow way; they project the idea onto God, that the powerful are not loving. Is God not greater, if he wishes to stoop down to this speck of dust, and take concern over each of our problems, unite himself to us, walk and suffer our own life with us? He did it, because he is infinitely good.
‘And Mary said, ‘May it be done unto me, according to thy word,’ and the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory.
[i] Introduction to Christianity, p. 101
Friends in Christ,
Today we read in the Book of Kings about Naaman the Syrian; Naaman came down with leprosy – bad news; no cure for it. So he goes to Elisha, the prophet to seek a cure. Elisha tells him he can be cured, all he must do is go and wash in the Jordan river. That’s all? Naaman was indignant at this. He expected some dramatic ritual or incantation;
This situation can make us think of the world today. Many don’t have leprosy of their bodies, but of their soul. People with enormous guilt over many, sometimes terrible things in their life. So they seek dramatic ways to try to be rid of the guilt.
I have heard that on some retreats people write down their sins on papers, and then burn the papers – Does that solve their guilt-problem? Not at all. Some will go on Oprah and tell all their sins, others will go to a psychoanalyst. While psychiatrists can help resolve problems of the psyche, they cannot remove the guilt from sin. Others try to have a ‘born-again’ experience, or seek faith-healers, or even cut themselves. Like Naaman, people believe that removing their guilt and starting fresh in life, requires something unusual.
But in reality, Christ has already provided a simple way to free people from the sin that weighs them down. Children learn about it in 2nd grade: it is called Confession. Our children go every month to confession, and they actually enjoy it. It is a fresh start every time. The hope is, that this habit will stick with them when they are older; when they are in college, or adults, and have committed a serious sin; when they feel desperate or lost – then they will remember: ‘I will go to confession and be cured!’ This is why it is called a ‘sacrament of healing.’
‘But a priest is just a man, he is a sinner,’ they say. Regarding this, St. Augustine said:[i] Tell them: Augustine is a priest, and he will himself have to give an account to God. If he is a bad man, he will know it. But even if he is good, I don’t put my trust in him.’ God gave us the priest, not to prove holiness, but as an instrument by which the mercy of Christ could reach the people. So we should use it often.
‘Are you a born-again Christian?, they ask. ‘Yes. Every time I go to confession
[i] Friends of God, p. 421
Latin Mass: 3rd Sunday of Lent
Beloved in Jesus Christ,
In the 4th century, there lived a young woman named Paesia[i] whose parents had died, leaving her their large home. For a while she made her home available for the local priests as a place for them to pray and live, but in the course of time her resources were exhausted. Continue Reading →
Friends in Christ,
Today Our Lord tells a parable about those going to receive the produce from the master’s vineyard; these men are killed, and when he sends his own son, he also is killed. The parable is aimed at the Chief priests of the Lord’s time, who themselves did not recognize the Savior and put him to death. Those who had come before the son to receive the produce; some say that these are the prophets of the Old Testament, which had foretold the Messiah.
But Christ was foretold not only by the prophets, but by the types and signs of the Old Testament. One of these types is found in our first reading today: Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Jacob.
Joseph, is the dear son of his father Jacob,
Jesus is the Beloved Son of his Father in heaven.
Joseph was sent by his father to his brothers,
Jesus was sent by HIS Father to his brothers, us.
Joseph was stripped of his garments, thrown into the pit, and left for dead,
Jesus was stripped of his garments, and thrown into the tomb.
Both Joseph and Jesus were sold for pieces of silver,
Joseph was sold by Judah, Jesus was sold by Judas.
There are many other parallels, all of which should lift our faith, knowing that all was foretold long ago. Toward the end of Lent, we will walk with Christ in his Passion. In his life and especially in his Passion, Our Lord fulfills all the types and symbols which have come before.
In ancient times, Joseph saved the known world from starvation, by feeding them wheat;
Jesus saves an entire world with ‘wheat:’ the Bread of Life.
In Egypt, Joseph was placed at the right hand of Pharaoh to rule his nation,
Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, to rule creation.
When they saw him alive, Joseph’s brothers did not at first recognize him,
Jesus’ disciples did not at first recognize him in the resurrection.
And most importantly: Joseph forgave and embraced his brothers, even though they betrayed him,
Jesus also forgives his brothers – us – even though we have betrayed him.
Friends in Christ,
Today we hear about the rich man who ends up burning in hell. He seems surprised to be there.
Despite the great importance of where we will end up, there are many who give not a second’s thought about the next life. There are those who are very talented, and who carefully plan their future, but when it comes to their eternal future, they are quite foolish. In the example Jesus gives in the scriptures, the rich man did not commit crimes that we would say are horrible. He did not murder or rob a bank. This man lived a quiet life, he had friends; he was respected in society. It is true that he neglected poor Lazarus, but he did not curse him, or kick him. What then was his sin? The rich man thought nothing of God nor of his neighbor. He only thought of pleasure, of feasting – of himself.
You know, some people argue with God, they may even yell at him: ‘Lord, why did this happen to me?!’ Many wrestle in their relationship with God, but there is a desire to know his will and love him. On the other hand, there are others who actually ignore God. Not a single prayer, no calls for assistance. No gratitude for blessings, or for his creation. Ignoring the poor and those who need them. Such persons live as if they were atheists.
When Jesus was knocking at the rich man’s door, he did not recognize him. ‘If you neglected the least of my brethren, says the Lord, you neglected me’. St. Paul says, ‘How shall we escape judgment, if we NEGLECT so great a salvation; (Heb 2:3) Today this is common – neglecting our salvation – because we don’t care. We care only about pleasure in this life. All one has to do to end in hell, is ignore God.
We know from our own experience, that it is one thing to be shouted at, or chastised, or your motives questioned; but if you really want to feel a person’s hatred, it is when they ignore you. To be ignored, to be treated as if you do not exist – Can we do this to the Lord who created us? God forbid!
‘How shall we escape judgment, if we neglect so great a salvation,’ says St. Paul. Far from neglecting, let us in these days of Lent, love the Lord with all our heart and mind and soul, and our neighbor as ourself.
Friends in Christ,
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph, this ‘quiet man’ of the gospel. Through all the gospels, Joseph says not a word. He is there for Mary in her need; a protector of Jesus in danger; he quietly did God’s will in many difficult things.
We may wonder about the early life of Joseph; there are apocryphal writings which tell us some things, it is not certain, but could be. Some of the mystics, like St. Catherine Emmerich and others had visions of the early life of Mary and Joseph. I was looking at a book[i] which ‘stitched together’ the different legends and visions to give us a sort of picture. They tell us that when the time came for Mary to meet her husband, the high priest called to the temple the young men who were of the line of David. Mary was worried, because she had made a vow of virginity, but God reassured her about the choice of her husband.
It is said that Joseph was born near Bethlehem, the 3rd of 6 brothers. His parents lived in a large country home with a bubbling fountain in a court, and surrounded by lovely streams. At his birth, Joseph was a beautiful baby, and it is said that by age 3, he already knew God by faith. An elderly tutor instructed the children in their lessons on a porch, that went around the upper floor of the house. Joseph’s brothers used to tease him and often tried to hurt him. Each boy had a small garden, and his brothers sometimes went into Joseph’s, and tore up the plants that he liked best. When he was praying once on the porch, they snuck up behind him and pushed him over. But in such cases he did not get angry, he only continued his prayers.
His parents sometimes complained that he was too quiet and lacking ambition. They wanted him to be prosperous, but he sought only to do manual labor and have time to pray. When he was 20 he left home to earn his living in the country north of Jerusalem. He worked as an assistant to a carpenter, and did many odd jobs there; his family still scolded him for his simple ways, but he continued, and even moved to small house near the Sea of Galilee. Wherever he lived his sincerity and kindness were loved by all.
One day, his being a descendant of David, he was summoned to the temple. He appeared there with the other young men who were dressed in festive robes, seeking the hand of Mary; each was given a dry branch and told to pray. Joseph alone, did not feel himself worthy to be the husband of Mary, but as instructed, each came forward and laid their branch on the altar. When Joseph, the last in line, was about to place his branch, all of a sudden it blossomed into a beautiful lily-flower, and for a moment, a white dove sat on his head. The quiet Joseph was the perfect choice, because he would be not only the worthy protector of Mary and the Holy Family, but would come to be known as the faithful protector of the Universal Church.
Pray for us St. Joseph, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
[i] Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics, p. 63.
