For Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

Photo I took at the Chris Tomlin
"And If Our God Is For Us" tour.

For whoever is not against us is for us.” –Mark 9:39-40

The Gospel message today has an ecumenical undertone to it.  The Lord tells the disciples that when they see someone driving out demons in the Lord’s name that they should not stop it.  The Lord tells them that whoever is not against them is for them.  This is an interesting topic to reflect upon especially in our 21^st Century global religious crisis.  

  

There are seemingly endless numbers of denominations of Christianity in the world today.  The Gospel message retains most, if not all, of the truth known to the Apostles in the early Church.  The ecumenical spirit of the Church calls upon every Christian to remember that we are all children of the Lord and should put aside difference and focus on the primary person that ties us all together and that is Jesus Christ.  While I will maintain that the Holy Catholic Church does teach the fullness of truth, I accept the teaching of Pope John Paul II when he said that other religions and denominations have some element of the truth within them.  

The evangelical spirit of the Church can learn from our Protestant brothers and I also believe that our protestant brothers can learn from our grasp of the tradition and the history of the Church.  The leaders of our Church recognize this as we are in the midst of what the Church calls the New Evangelization and, within the American Church, the Catholics Come Home campaign.  These initiatives call upon the faithful to reconnect and rediscover the richness of the Church’s teaching and her history.  These movements have proven most necessary as the Western culture embraces a sensationalized notion of secularization.  

The public forum must have the Church’s presence.  Our schools must also allow the same freedom to the students who profess faith as to those who do not as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.  The Church teaches dignity and respect for all people founded in objective morality and responsibility.  The absence of objective morality has been seen in the rise of school violence and also in the public political discord within our governmental leaders.  

The Prince and Me (2004)

The movie, “The Prince and Me,” presents an interesting exchange between the Crown Prince and the political and social leaders of his country.  During a heated exchange, the Prince calls for a break and makes a statement about how their discussions, and at times arguments, are about people.  The people who work and live dependent upon their decisions.  He states that they have to care for their opposition as much as themselves.  He basically presents an empathetic approach to gain compromise which benefits the people in the end.  

The same must be done within ourselves.  Prejudices, misgivings and misunderstandings must be put aside and we must adopt the greatest commandment of the Lord as a rule for our lives:  We must love the Lord our God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves.  Returning to the Lord will allow us to grow as people and as witnesses to the cross of the Lord.  And through it all we can know that whoever is not against us is for us.  

Draw Near To God

God resists the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.

So submit yourselves to God.

Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.--James 4:6-8

The great theme of the scriptures for today is humility.  Many commentaries and homilies this day will focus on how the greatest will become the least and the least will become the greatest.  They will be great homilies for the Lord gives us great counsel about humility.  I just think that I should reflect more on the reading from St James, as it clearly finds its roots in the message of Jesus in the Gospel this day.  

Sometimes, I find myself surrounded by temptation and sin and really there would be little which  I can do to extricate myself from it because I am deployed.  However, when conversations become too raunchy or scandalous, I have found on occasion to tell my subordinates and seniors alike that what they are saying is wrong.  To some, I have become a paradigm of professionalism.  However, I don’t think that I am in such a position.  There are greater leaders than me and I don’t count my seat when it comes to the leaders meetings.  The Gospel for today speaks very personally to me because a couple of times this deployment, I have been asked (because to accuse would imply disrespect and my soldiers are, thankfully, more professional than that) whether I prefer some of my guys to others.  I have resolutely and repeatedly replied that I am not.  I remind them that I ask only a single standard uniformly applied to all of my troops.  I do not accept anything less than the standard and when soldiers do come up just a bit short, we talk and work through the deficiencies to improve them.  The questions about my favoritism have begun to recede as I have been given more responsibilities that take me away from regular supervision over my men.  The men have also given me great affirmations in my absence.  For all this, I give glory to God alone for his gifts.  

I do not believe that it can be understated that conversion is a daily process.  It is a daily process which requires humility.  The scriptures tell us today that God gives grace to the humble.  The first step in conversion has to be humility.  It is humility which allows us to admit to ourselves, and to God, that we have sinned and require his grace, forgiveness and love.  The second step to conversion is surrender.  The Lord wants to have a relationship with us in our lives and in order to allow him to work within us and through us, we must surrender our own will to his.  And thus, St James tells us that we should “submit [our]selves to God.”  This is not easy and in today’s sin-saturated culture, we find comfort in the words that we should “resist the Devil, and he will flee from [us].”  The Lord will answer prayers, provide spiritual healing and power, and guide our hearts as we turn from sin and turn to God.  Our comfort from the scriptures today tell us, “draw near to God, and he will draw near to [us].”  

And with this scripture today, I pray that we can all learn to take a step back and rediscover what God calls us to.  God universally calls each and every one of us to live a life of holiness.  Holiness happens.  And it begins with humility.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.” –Gospel of St Mark

“Who do you say that I am?”  In Today’s readings, the Lord asks the disciples, and us, a very blunt question.  Who do you say that I am?  This question should be a question we ask ourselves every morning and every night.  The response should be every time, “You are the Christ.”  The courage shown by St Peter should inspire us to live the Gospel truth and share the joy of the Lord with vigor and fortitude.  Often times, I have found that I do not ask myself this question, nor do I answer.  However, my actions always show my responses.  On days when I am strong and faithful, my actions demonstrate that I proclaim Jesus is the Christ.  On days when I am struggling and weak, my actions also demonstrate that I proclaim that I am my own lord. 

The reading from St James offers a lesson in both humility and equality.  The humble man knows himself.  The humble man also acknowledges the people around him and demonstrates his respect for the dignity of each person.  St James tells us that when it comes to the dignity of the person, their clothes, their connections, their wealth are not determining factors in their worthiness.  St James directly instructs us with this divine word that we should not judge people based on outward appearances.  We can then take from this that we should view people as Jesus does.  Each person is a creation of God and within themselves carry an imprint of holiness.  Despite how people may behave or appear, love and brotherly affection are desired. 

As Christians, it is imperative to remember the words of Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?”  We answer this question by how we treat the people around us.  Jesus sees the sick, the homeless and hungry and he brings relief.  And so are we all to bring relief.  Sometimes, people are not actively seeking relief but rather a means to an end.  It then becomes our prudent responsibility to support the organizations and people who make it their task to provide for the sick, homeless and hungry. 

Charity is not just writing a check.  Charity is love.  When love is the motivation and the source founded in God, then love becomes the source of miracles for the people.  Love becomes the hope for the hopeless.  It is a great gift and blessing of God when hope is given to those who need it. 

I have often been the scourge of hope for some who have come across my path.  Thanks be to God, I have been told that I have been hope at times as well to others.  May God have mercy on my soul for the sins I have committed and be source and guide so as to not repeat my mistakes of the past.  It is my hope that God will use me to his greater glory and not my own.  I pray that God reveals his will to me, and maybe he already has.  I wish to have eyes to see what it is I am to do.  After 30 years of life, my life should become more focused and less aimless.  Purpose and meaning are to be had each day.  This day, I know that I have been given tasks and work to do.  However, even now my heart longs for more. 

The wishes of my heart are wishes and desires that only God can fulfill.  I know this and I hope and pray that I can have the strength and humility to surrender my life so that God can do what he has planned for me.  I pray this for all of my friends and people I meet along the way.  I pray that they will first and foremost, come to know the Risen Lord, and seek his will in their lives.  It is my strongest belief that God is source of happiness and that all life finds its origin from God.  It is my humble prayer that He may be glorified and made known.  I pray that I have the strength to live in such a way that the people may know my response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?”

Be Doers of the Word

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 

he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.

He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets

what he looked like. James 1:22-24

Today, I wish to offer my prayers for the people of the Ukraine as they struggle to have their voices heard.  I also offer my prayers that there may be peace and dialogue in that country and many others around the world.  I pray for the people in Africa who struggle with war and fight to simply survive.  I pray for Christians in the Middle East and in Africa and around the world who have come to know what real struggle is and embrace the comfort of the Gospel.  May God grant them treasure and everlasting life in their witness.  I pray for the people in Israel and in Palestine; may they come to know the love of God and love for each other.  Much more locally, I pray for my soldiers and for the people who find their paths, virtually and physically, with mine.  May their footsteps be filled with the grace of God.  

The readings for this day speak to us all.  This is a continuation of the introduction of the letter of St James.  The Apostle asks us to take the Gospel and live it out in our lives.  The readings call us to witness to the faith.  If I am to call myself Catholic, then I must live in a manner which unequivocally expresses this reality.  The Gospel gives a demonstration of love where Jesus restores a man’s sight.  While we may not be able to spit and give sight to the blind as easily as Jesus, we can still be miracles in the world.  Our world is filled with blogs and web pages and social media, which are not necessarily bad things, but if we do not remember that we deal with people at every end, we can seriously distort each other’s dignity and undermine what we are called to do:  Love.  Love requires that we care for each other in such a way that we communicate tangibly with each other.  

One of my little interests is to read comments at the end of news articles.  It is astonishing to me how callous we can be when we share words with a computer monitor that we would never consider expressing in the public square.  I have noticed that most people tend to avoid confrontation as much as possible.  Disagreement of ideas is also not a bad thing as such disagreements often can create productive dialogue and allow people to compromise and exchange ideas.  Creative differences treated with humility allow us to remember that people are people and have dignity and are entitled to respect.  

One of the many salacious news topics is marriage.  While I am fully supportive of the Church’s definition of marriage and believe that we cannot legislate morality, we also should not legislate things which compromise the moral fiber of the Church.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are objectively disordered in the human psyche and this definition is in complete accord with how I accept the Church.  What is often lost in this teaching is that our brothers and sisters who struggle with these issues are people who are to be respected and their dignity affirmed.  Some of our well-intentioned defenders of the faith sometimes even paint with a wide brush that ‘marriage equality’ proponents are seeking to destroy the institution of marriage may also be missing a humanistic piece of the puzzle.  Let me share a short anecdote.  My soldiers often complain about the decisions (or lack thereof) of our higher headquarters.  I often have to remind them that the leaders and support staff are not sitting around a table discussing ways to make our lives miserable.  They are merely doing the best they can with the perception and resources they have available.  The same goes in our dialogue with marriage.  We can faithfully defend the Sacrament without compromising the dignity of those who disagree with that definition.  We have to defend our Church and defend our beliefs.  Our course of action should include open and honest discussions where we can find a viable solution which does not compromise the integrity of the Church and also respects the free will of people.  The Church and the government need the voices of the people to come together and collaborate on a resolution which allows the Church to continue to serve the people as she has for centuries.  The people should also find peace and support for the decisions of civil leaders and through the mercy and grace of God, may those decisions not impair the Church.  

This time is a time where the faithful people must become doers of the word and not just hearers.  The modern day saints may not necessarily be found in the monasteries or seated upon a Cathedra but rather they will be found working in a factory or raising children who believe.  Saints find holiness in the ordinary and thus live extraordinary.  One of the things I easily forget is that in my own Confirmation, I was sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  These are the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, fortitude, piety, counsel and fear of the Lord.  God has already blessed me with the gifts to be a doer of the word.  It is as simple as accepting the gifts and using them to glorify the Lord.  And this has to be predicated upon our faith.  We must pray first and foremost for the will of the Lord and for his guidance.  And we must continue to pray, pray until we are tired and then pray some more.  And through it all, we must overflow with love for people.  If we cannot love one another, then we risk deceiving ourselves and forget who we are.  I believe that it is absolutely essential that we know who Jesus is.  When we know Jesus, then we can know who we are.  We are the children of God.  We are called to live.  We are called to holiness.  We are called to love.

Brandon Loved

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Some movies have a way of artistically telling a story.  Love stories have always captured my attention and my heart in a longing way.  A Walk To Remember does these things for me and more.  I watch that movie and every time I feel an affinity for Landon Carter because I relate to him in so many ways.  I feel like I have betrayed friendships for popularity, though I have never been that popular.  Sometimes, movies can help us to understand ourselves better.  Nicholas Sparks’ treasure in this movie also moves me spiritually.  There is nothing more beautiful than watching a soul embrace Jesus and eternity with love and hope.  The character Jamie reminds me of my sister, Jennifer.  She passed two and half years ago from cancer.  I remember her telling me that she wanted her kids to be Catholic.  While she would describe herself as Catholic, the world would probably disagree.  However, she loved life and she loved her kids and family.  She loved.  Jesus asked us all to love and it is with joyful hope, albeit sad joyful hope, but hope all the same that she shares in the inheritance promised in her baptism.  Jesus loves us all.  Dare we believe that all men should be saved?

If I can learn from this movie, from my sister, from my Lord to love, then count a miracle.  I think that it can be said that “Brandon is not patient, Brandon is not kind.  Brandon is jealous, Brandon is pompous, Brandon is inflated, Brandon is rude, Brandon does seek his own interests, Brandon is quick-tempered, Brandon does brood over injury, Brandon does rejoice over wrongdoing and does not rejoice with the truth.  Brandon does not bear all things, does not believe all things, does not hope all things, does not endure all things.”  And this is the root of my own failings.  A simple confession here can be evidenced with a laundry list of sins that have preceded me.  But with Jesus comes love and mercy.  And with hope and faith and love, I believe that Jesus proceeds me with forgiveness.  In coming to know my Lord more, I should hope that I can forgive myself and be forgiven by those who have been victimized and scandalized by my lack of love. 

Come Holy Spirit into my life and capture my heart and let me learn to breathe again.  And one day perhaps it will be said that “Brandon is patient, Brandon is kind.  Brandon is not jealous, Brandon is not pompous, he is not inflated and he is not rude, Brandon does not seek his own interests, Brandon is not quick-tempered, Brandon does not brood over injury, Brandon does not rejoice over wrongdoing and rejoices with the truth.  Brandon bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  Perhaps by the strength of Jesus, I will have a walk to remember.  Perhaps by the strength of Jesus I will have faith like the Saints.  Perhaps by the strength of Jesus, I will live like I am not afraid.  Let it be said one day that with the grace and strength of the Lord:  Brandon loved.  

Building Faith

No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. James 1:13-15

Today’s readings continue on a discourse on faith building.  The message from the letter of St James stresses the theme of perseverance in fidelity to the Lord.  The Gospel today is echoed in the first reading.  Jesus continues using bread to teach the disciples, and us, to hold on to truth even if that truth is not necessarily comprehendible to us.  In returning to the message on building strong faith, St James reminds us that God does not give us temptations but rather temptation comes from our own desires.  The implicit message here for us is for control.  In order to be good people and good Christians, we must achieve self-mastery over our desires.  The Western culture has been saturated with sexuality and the internet’s ability to provide pornography on demand.  This has led to great difficulties for achieving self-mastery because technology has enabled our desires to be met with relative ease.  However, the Church continues to stand as a moral compass for the people who find their struggles.  We must remember that the Church is made up of many sinners, and, while our sins are very personal, our humility and fraternity will allow us to build each other up in order to be better Christians and to achieve greater holiness. 

The joy of the Gospel is the gift of life which Jesus brings to all who follow him.  While we are forgiven and free in Jesus, this freedom comes from the rejection of sin and the promise of the contrite heart.  We must continually seek each day to renew our hearts through the grace found in the Sacraments.  Confession and the Eucharist are two Sacraments which the Church invites us to frequent.  From my own situation, as the deployed soldier, frequenting the Sacraments is difficult but not impossible.  Self-mastery is even more difficult, but it is not impossible.  The grace of God and love of Jesus Christ are readily available to me, and all of us.  It is our own dispositions that determine whether or not we accept these gifts. 

Building faith is a very personal journey and is also one that is not private.  The Church exists as a community based upon the example of God, himself.  The Trinity is our guide and paradigm for building faith.  Taking time to pray and building a relationship with the Lord is the foundation for friendship with the Lord.  When we come to see the Lord as our brother and our friend, the strength of our faith grows.  May God ever be present to us all and may we extend to the Lord our hearts in pure love and fidelity that God may perfect in us what he has always willed for us.  May we live faithfully and courageously the Gospel joy.  May the world always know that God reigns supreme over all things.  And through the ministry of the Church May God grant us pardon and peace through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Testing Of Your Faith Produces Perseverance

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,

when you encounter various trials,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

And let perseverance be perfect,

so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacks wisdom,

he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,

and he will be given it.  James 1:1-5

I would like to reflect upon the readings for today.  The Gospel is the key to our understanding and friendship with Jesus but my first thoughts are from the introduction of the Letter of St James.  St James tell us to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials.  I, for one, usually do not count it all joy when I encounter a trial.  Joy, as a matter of fact, is hardly an emotion that comes to mind when I encounter a trial.  But the Church teaches us that we should imitate Jesus.  And Jesus tells us that his ways are not our ways.  So it becomes apparent just how much I fail at my own friendship with Jesus and my own spiritual journey in becoming faithful to his commands.  However, the opening of this letter offers encouragement for me, and for any who read it.  It is the testing of our faith that brings perseverance so that we may be perfect.  I’ve often disliked the idea of having my faith tested.  I’ve given myself reasons to reject this notion.  However, I think that it has been one of the greatest sources of my own pride and arrogance to reject this altogether.  I have been tested often and I often fail.  But the beauty of the faith and the perfect love of Jesus allows me to be reconciled to the Church and reconciled with my Lord.  It all begins with asking for forgiveness, acknowledging I have failed, and in contrition, renew my vigor to live holy.  The letter tells us to ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly.  Realizing just how these words impact me is great because I often make myself on my generosity.  It is through this that I am made humble in comparison to the Lord.  I give people things but I cannot give people breath or life.  The Lord generosity shows to me that I am often selfish.  That is not to boast or to diminish my own efforts but highlights my own shortcomings.   However, I have come to appreciate that God seeks to form me in such a way that I can fulfill his plan for me.  But the plan for me has been difficult for me to discern because of my own selfish nature and my own sinfulness.  Vocational discernment is all about being close to God and discovering for ourselves what we believe we are called to do and what God call us to do.  I’ve often counseled friends that discernment is made clear when our will and God’s will become indistinguishable.  However, in my own life, I find that as I am in the desert and away from my home and church, it has been difficult to allow God into my life.  But with the grace of God I may be found and with the help of the Lord, I will answer his call to what is for me in my life.  

I Am Nothing If I Don't Have Love

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Though it has been a little over a month since my last blog entry, I have spent a great deal of time contemplating an entry.  Today, I find myself reflecting on love on the day after Valentine’s day.  Being deployed and single is both a blessing and cross at the same time.  I enjoy listening to my married soldiers talk about their wives and post stories about their lives on social media.  

I usually reflect on a reading of the day and today’s Gospel came from St Mark.  St Mark told a great story of feeding four thousand people.  Jesus was moved with compassion and pity for the people who followed him because they were hungry.  So in a miracle, Jesus feeds the people.  He loved the people.  And this brings me to the passage from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  

Saint Paul, from my studies, was prone to being rather outspoken.  This passage speaks to me because it brings back to my mind both God and love.  It is really easy to try to justify sinful behavior and selfish thoughts because I am deployed.  But in all of this where in my life is found God and love.  I read this passage and both contemplate the word “love” and the name “Jesus”.  I think to myself, ‘If I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have Jesus, I am nothing.’  When I think about the last time I prayed, I struggle to find a qualitative example.  I know I thank God quite regularly for many things, not the least the gift of waking up.  But conversation with God.  The actual stop and listen and just be in God’s presence.  Is this the absence of love in my life?

I had a particularly difficult separation from a woman I readily admit loved deeper than I thought I could.  But the love St Paul speaks of is reciprocal.  God loves me and I have to love him back.  This is an relationship that lasts as long as I am willing to invest in it.  My love for her was different.  It did not resemble my relationship with God.  In many ways I traded my relationship with God for her.  I wrote some time ago that a relationship with another person has to begin with a relationship with God.  And I still believe that, though in practice, I failed quite miserably.  And I allowed myself to become miserable.  I lied to myself to think that my deployment would allow things to fix itself without any real effort from me.  And any relationship sinks without effort.  

It is a real goal of mine to be a man of consequence.  I want the things that I do, the posts that I write, to have meaning.  I hope that they reach another person and help them open their heart to God and start the relationship I don’t have with the Lord.  To achieve my goal requires rediscovering who God is and who I am.  And I begin with God.  I think God will remind me and allow me to rediscover who I am.