Boy Meets World

It has been a while since my last blog entry.  This one is inspired by a particular episode of “Boy Meets World.”  The episode is the one where Cory ends up kissing another girl which leads to his breakup with Topanga.  This episode resonates with me because I am single and have some breakups in the past.  However, I have never cheated.  But it does make me wonder about some of my lesser traits and how I can improve upon them if God calls me to date again.  Sometimes, I wonder if I am even going to date again.  

Discerning God’s will requires a relationship with him and to hear him.  Right now I don’t hear God.  I think that it is difficult for me right now because it seems right to me to focus on what I have to do for the Army and my guys.  I’ve sacrificed some of my regular practices.  It seems easier to do without the Mass and the sacraments.  Such a lesson for Catholics.  Choosing to not frequent the sacraments is very detrimental to a healthy faith life.  

It is my hope that when I get home that I can make a few retreats in a short period of time.  Retreats are a great tool for God to find us again.  I need to be found.  I want to be found.  I definitely want to hear God talk to me again. 

Eventually, in the “Boy Meets World” universe, Cory continues to make mistakes but Topanga find each other again.  God will find me.  I just hope that I have a heart to hear what he has to say.  

Do Not Fear When the Tempter Calls You

Just as through one transgression

condemnation came upon all

so, through one righteous act, 

acquittal and life came to all. - Romans 5:19

This is the First Sunday of Lent.  The readings discuss temptation, sin and redemption.  These come at a time where I need to hear them most.  But “sins run deep, grace all the more abounds.”  Without a priest to minister to me, I reflect and pray for God to speak to me about these readings and share with me his wisdom. 

Temptation is inescapable for me and I suspect that it is also inescapable for all men.  I cannot walk into our latrines without encountering obscenities drawn on the walls.  Overcoming temptation lies only as far as I have strength to resist.  I have found great truth in that I have a willing spirit but my flesh is so very weak.  

But there is no shortage of hope.  God has called many men to resist temptation and to live holy lives answering his call to priesthood.  There are those priests who courageously answer this call to serve my brother and sister soldiers as chaplains.  They bring the sacraments, their counsel and their mere presence to inspire us to live faithfully.  

The readings give source to this hope.  The first reading tells the story of how God created man and also how sin came into the world.  In the garden, the Lord placed the first parents and provided them with all they needed.  They were charged to care for the garden.  In the midst of this, the serpent, the deceiver, crept in and engaged Eve in discussion about the garden.  In the first lie told, he led her to believe that God had some selfish reason to deny the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.  In buying into this lie, Eve makes a grave error in adding to the word of God.  They eat the fruit which God wanted to protect them from and took upon themselves the responsibility for their words and actions.  

I have heard many debates on who sinned first, but I will defer to the Apostle Paul.  He tells us that sin came into the world through one man.  With this, I will adopt the notion that Adam sinned first in allowing the serpent into the garden.  But Saint Paul gives us great insight into sin.  Saint Paul tells us that all hope was not lost in the sin of one man, and the subsequent sins of the many.  He tells us that through the gift of Jesus Christ, in his passion and death that our sin was acquitted and we have been given life.  The letter to the Romans repeats this message many times so that we may hear many times that we are forgiven and free.  The Apostle gives us great hope with his message.  

The first reading tells us that sin is real and came to and exists in the world.  Saint Paul tells us in the second reading that though there is sin, there is redemption in the great gift of Jesus Christ.  And the gospel message for this Sunday gives us a very real lesson in spiritual battle.  Jesus went into the desert knowing that he would be tempted.  So there it happened.  Satan came to him and suggested that he turn stones into bread, then dared him to jump and have angels save him, and finally offered him the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his worship.  Though he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he resisted this temptation.  This is a lesson for us.  It was only after he was tempted that he commanded the devil to leave him.  Jesus could have commanded the devil to leave him upon his arrival but then we would be devoid of this holy example of conquering temptation.  Thus it is fulfilled that he was like us in everything but sin.  

God gives us his grace to resist temptation.  And yet, inspired by his confidence that we can live holy lives, he still gives us his Sacraments to further strengthen our resolve.  The Church has been entrusted with salvation of souls.  For when we fail to live as we should and love as God has loved us, God gives us the Sacrament of Confession so that we can repent of our sins and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, give us the counsel and wisdom to continue to overcome our sinful nature.  

In uniting ourselves with the universal Church, God also calls us to the Lord’s banquet.  We offer ourselves and our humble gifts in union with the gift of the Lord’s body and blood transubstantiated from bread and wine.  The only offering acceptable to the Lord becomes our strength and hope for salvation.  Our participation in this gift of the Lord leads to our gift of self.  

This Lenten season calls us to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  These three are all demonstrated in the Lord told to us in the gospel today.  He prayed and fasted and gave us inspiration to conquer temptation and sin.  He fulfills what we cannot.  He became sin so that we could become righteous.  We are bound by our baptism, strengthened by grace, and fulfilled by the Lord to answer his call to holiness.  

Temptation will come and continue to come us and yet, by the grace of God we can choose to resist, we can still be forgiven, free and holy.

Are You Ill or Are You Well?

Those who are healthy do not 

need a physician, but the sick do.  

I have not come to call

the righteous to repentance but sinners. - Luke 5:31-32

My soldiers are very interesting people.  Small injuries have sent people home from this land and my soldiers are very paranoid about going to see the doctors here because they do not want to be sent away.  I say it is very interesting because few want to go to war-torn countries but, once here, the bonds of brotherhood in the unit forge an allegiance and loyalty that is so fierce that being sent away is a punishment that few want to bear.  However, my soldiers at the same time trust in my leadership and hope in the decisions that I make.  The burden of my position requires my constant attention to their needs and weigh them against their wants.  

I think that there is a similar thought in the Gospel today.  Jesus tells the Pharisees that he eats with the sinners because the sick need a doctor not the healthy.  This imagery casts Jesus in the role of healer and physician.  It also casts the Pharisees in the category of the healthy.  I think that it is often missed that as Jesus corrects and teaches the Pharisees, they are still faithful to the Law.  The statements they make are often misguided and they do not see the Lord in their midst.  But how often to we make the same mistake?  Are we much different from the Pharisees?  Do we not know the laws and commandments and yet still find a need for the confessional?

Thus it is the wisdom of the Church given in the scriptures, especially the prophet Isaiah, that “the Lord will renew your strength and you shall be like a watered garden.”  Jesus came to call sinners, us.  We are called to be renewed by the Lord.  I have often wondered what it would be like to dine with the Lord.  But we have that opportunity every time we go to the Mass.  We can participate in the feast of Heaven in the Eucharist.  I feel it more so now that I have come to a time in my life where the shortage of priests and being far, far from home.  

An interesting piece of the Mass today comes from the Gospel Acclamation:  “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live” (Ezekiel 33:11).  This brief statement from scripture and skillfully placed in the Mass is another call to reconciliation.  The scripture reminds us that the Lord takes pleasure in humility and rejoices when we turn back to him.  This Lenten season, it cannot be stressed enough the value that exists in the Sacraments.  Confession and the Eucharist provide us strength and grace to continue to faithfully serve the Lord and each other.  

The Sacraments also help us to participate fully in the season at hand.  This is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  The Mass is our prayer joined with the prayers of the faithful but it is also in our personal prayer where we also build holiness.  The words that pour from our souls complete mission that sends us forth from the Mass.  The weakness in our flesh is purged through fasting.  This season calls us to strengthen ourselves for the coming of the Lord.  The conversion we experience through prayer, fortified by our fasting is evidenced by almsgiving.  It is when we give to others with our time, talent and treasure that we fulfill the commission of Christ sown in our baptism.  

This day, let’s call to mind all those who need our prayers.  Let’s also call to mind what we can do for others and make good on what we can and the rest entrust to the good grace of the Lord.  And, especially in this season, let’s call to mind how we can fast to strengthen our souls.  And in our act of faith, let’s us have the strength and courage to answer the Lord when he says to us, “Follow me.”  

Be Merciful, O Lord

Have mercy on me, O God,

in your goodness; in the greatness

of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and

of my sins cleans me...

A heart contrite and humbled, 

O God, you will not spurn. - Psalm 51:3, 19b

The readings from today are directly about fasting.  But even more so, they are about mercy.  The readings today describe to us some acts of mercy:  releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke, setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke, sharing bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked, not turning your back on your own.  

The Holy Father reflected on mercy vis-a-vis the priest.  He stated, “true mercy takes care of the person, listens to him attentively, approaches his situation with respect and truth, and accompanies him on the path...” (en.zenit.org)  While the Holy Father was, more or less, speaking about priests, I believe that this statement, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, also speaks to us about how to be merciful.  Jesus speaks to us in the Gospels about mercy all the time.  In particular, I think about the beatitudes and ‘Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  

In my personal experience, I have come to know what is mercy but throughout my life I have missed seeing it.  Too often, I thought that mercy was a weak concept and discarded it.  Then having experienced a conversion to the Catholic faith, I learned about mercy and what Jesus described as mercy but I still missing something.  The Holy Father has clarified that for me and you and directly to our priests.  In order to be merciful, we must care for others.  Their needs must become our needs, or at least we must feel for them.  Listening to people has become quite a difficult task today with the rise of technology that has degraded some people’s ability to talk and listen.  But for the person who is in need of mercy, we need to recall what it means to listen attentively.  Attentive listening is not just hearing words, but discerning the person’s choice of diction, tone, and posture in order to respond in a kind and loving manner with respect to the total aspect of the dialogue.  The hardest part of mercy is approaching with respect and truth.  Being merciful to someone who has wronged me is difficult.  I try not to hold grudges or maintain aggression.  The Holy Father tells me that it begins with respect and truth.  To get to that point, I have to reflect and consider where that person is coming from.  

I often tell my soldiers during difficult situations that people are not deliberately setting them up.  The soldiers will get particularly loud in their complaints about mail.  “Sarge, why don’t we have mail today?  We didn’t get mail yesterday or the day before.”  I tell my troops that the leadership does not sit in a room and think of ways to make them miserable and they reply that they know that.  I keep reminding them that they do not because their attitudes do not reflect that.  I have to respect their feelings but I have to bring truth to them.  I may not always know the full situation of what is going on but I tell them what I do know.  The first piece is that our mail is handled directly by people.  I tell them first that people do make mistakes, but they get fixed eventually.  The second is that people are machines and do not work as quickly as we have become accustomed to with our technological age.  

The final piece of the Holy Father’s statement is that the merciful person accompanies the person being shown mercy.  What does it mean to accompany them on the path?  I think it means that when somebody is to be shown mercy, it is not a simple ‘you are forgiven, now go’ kind of action.  I think that forgiveness is act but mercy is a behavior that embodies the whole person.  Mercy is a way of life.  However, I think the Holy Father is very wise in his statement to the priests because one of his points was that “Mercy means neither indulgence nor rigidity.”  He clarified this by saying that mercy is not being lenient because that does not help the conscience of the person.  Mercy is also not being rigid either because it is cold and lacks compassion.  We need to reflect on how we are merciful in our own lives, because the time is always right to be merciful.  

May God always show us mercy so that we can always know what mercy should look like.  And in your great compassion, Lord, let me be merciful.

Whatever You Wish...

 Jesus said to his disciples:...

“If anyone wishes to come after me, 

he must deny himself and take up his cross daily

and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, 

but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. - Luke 9:22, 23-24

Day Two of Lent is nearing its end.  The Lord calls us in this season to repentance, contrition and penance.  The Lord also calls us to renewal, rejuvenation and love.  Lent is a time to get to know the Lord.  Today, in particular, the Lord gives in the readings an opportunity to see the beginnings of the love and open our hearts to understanding.  

The excerpt from the readings that first caught my eye is from the Gospel.  The message is clear and is forged in my mind as to what it means to be a follower of Jesus:  take up the cross and follow.  However, I will begin my reflections with the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy.  Moses explained the law for the Israelites and for us.  

The law of God has never been to restrict man but to offer freedom for the soul.  The law of God offers man everlasting life.  The reading tells the Israelites, and us, that “set before [us is] life and prosperity, death and doom.”  What stands out to me is that the law seems to not quite be a law but rather guidelines for the people of Moses.  They are not offered a mandate but given a choice.  This choice given by God is indicative and is a prefiguring of the love of God.  The choice is not meant to drive fear into the hearts of people but to bear witness to the truth.  The truth is that we can have life and prosperity in the love of God.  

The Gospel then tells the disciples of the same choice given to the Israelites, and also to us.  Jesus goes further than Moses and explicitly states that following him is not mandatory but is a voluntary choice.  Jesus has always demonstrated for us what it is to love and to be a gentleman.  He also teaches for us what it is to be a good evangelist and leader without extortion or proselytizing.  Jesus, however, gives the disciples something they did not expect:  He tells them that he must suffer and die.  The disciples must have also been confused by the Lord’s statement that on third day he will be raised.  We have the luxury of centuries of catechesis and direction of the Holy Spirit.  

What do we know of suffering?  I think about a movie that is not exactly Christian in nature.  In the movie “X-Men Origins:  Wolverine,” one of the antagonists tells a side character that, after that character states that he is not afraid of dying, “how would you know?  You’ve never tried..”  I find that quote rather interesting in light of the what the Lord asks of us.  To follow unto death, though no living person can ever understand what death means.  However, love commands that we trust what the Lord has told us and what we believe he has done.  He has conquered death.  Lent should be a time where we contemplate death and what its promise means for us.  Death is our participation in the Lord’s plan for our salvation.  Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it cannot bear fruit.  The Lord calls us to courage and salvation.  He is the way.  And in the cosmic scheme of things, what really is there to have the whole world and yet lose the self or the soul.  

May God look upon his servants and see the faith of the Church.  May God grant us pardon and peace.  May the Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.  

Sacred Silence...Jesus Messiah...Ashes

We implore you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin

who knew no sin, 

so that we might become the righteousness

of God in him. -2 Corinthians 5:20-21

“He became sin who knew no sin that we might become his righteousness.”  This jewel of sacred scripture describes for us the love of God.  It is also the lyrics to a Chris Tomlin song called “Jesus Messiah.”  “He humbled himself and carried the cross.  Love so amazing...”  Those are the words that follow in that song.  It is interesting because this song is an anthem for all Christians.  I don’t mean to say that I can speak to the musical interests of every Christian but there are some songs that I believe are being sung around the heavenly throne by the angels and the saints.  Along with the psalms, I believe that “Jesus Messiah” and “Holy Is the Lord” are being sung there right now.  

His Excellency, Charles Chaput OFM, Cap., receiving ashes.

It is interesting that I hear that song in my head on this Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  I did not have the opportunity to get ashes today because I am deployed and to the best of my knowledge, there was not a priest at our base.  I made a less than honest effort to obey the fast and abstinence.  I know that I could have not eaten meat at lunch, but I figured that it would be potentially irresponsible in the event that an emergency should come up and I am not at full energy.  I know there are many priests and bishops who give the dispensation from the fast and abstinence from meat to deployed soldiers because of what we do, but I cannot help feeling like I have let down the Church in some way.  I definitely did not eat as much as I would have normally so there was some sacrifice.  But I certainly look forward to fish fridays.  

The Church asks us to pray, fast and to give alms during this season.  This is not really different from any other Church season but Lent approaches Holy Week and Easter and sacrifice gives us the opportunity to prepare our hearts and souls for the joy of celebrating the Paschal Mystery.  Prayer is our gift to communicate with the Lord.  The Lord opens his ears and heart to our needs and joys.  He wants to share in our joys and our sorrows.  We fast so that we can help our bodies to know what it is to need.  The Lord taught us to fast so that we can see that we are dependent on more than just food.  “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word of God (Matthew 4:4).”  Sometimes the pangs of hunger remind me of my own mortality, as if I needed another reminder of that.  It is the joy of dying that allows me to remember that I have a God who loves me, “who became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).  And we give alms out of joy for what the Lord gives us.  Alms is not always money but can be our time or our talent.  The grace of God is meant to be poured out upon us and overflow into the world.  

The scriptures also call for us to be reconciled to God.  Prayer is our invitation and the sacraments are a gift and a tool in order to be reconciled to God.  It is our frequenting of the sacraments that allows us to overflow with God’s grace.  There is great peace and joy in telling the Lord, in the sacrament, ‘Lord, I’m sorry... please forgive me.  Come and set me free.” 

I guess I am in a musical mood because those words come from Tom Booth’s song, “Sacred Silence.”  There is beauty in music and there is beauty in the sacraments.  There is beauty in being forgiven.  

Today on Ash Wednesday, go to Mass if you can.  Listen to the words of the priests.  I cannot begin to talk about what I could expect from a homily today.  We hear the words of the Lord and we will hear about the value of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  This is not trivial but can get repetitive over time.  But remember, these are things we need to call to mind as often as we can because they help us in our relationship with Jesus.  There is nothing more important and valuable than our relationship with Jesus.  Lord I’m sorry...Please forgive me.  Come and set me free...

Lent Prep

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,

live soberly, and set your hopes completely

on the grace to be brought to you at the 

revelation of Jesus Christ.  Like obedient children,

do not act in compliance with the desires of your 

former ignorance but...Be holy because I am holy. - 1 Peter 1: 13-14, 16

The time of Lent is upon us.  Technically in the West, it has not yet arrived, but from Europe onward, it has.  I believe sometimes that deployments are really long and extended Lenten seasons.  For me, they tend to be times of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  I pray for my safety and the safety of men, but I also pray for the safety of the family and friends left behind.  I am forced to fast from the luxuries and conveniences of home.  And I tend to be able to save a little bit of money so I usually send some home to my family.  

Lent is upon us again.  This week there will be discussions back home about what people gave up and how long some can go without chocolate or Facebook.Some will not endure the 40 days and others will break this Lenten fast with a joyful celebration and indulgence in that which they gave up.  Today’s readings are here to help usher us into this Lenten season.  ‘Gird up the loins of your mind’ according to Saint Peter.  He is telling us to strengthen our minds.  Giving up things for lent do require willpower but being holy as the Lord is holy requires the grace of the Lord in addition to willpower.  

The season of Lent calls us to holiness through humility.  We are called to salvation through holiness.  Lent is not some obstacle or silly rule but is a practical exercise in fidelity, obedience and sacrifice for the sake of personal sanctity.  This is not a time for giving things up, even though those are beneficial practices, but rather this is a time for building a relationship with Jesus Christ by removing the things that distract us most from pursing the Lord.  

The biggest distraction for me is sin.  Lent is usually a time where I tend to focus more on my failings and shortcomings and usually will head to confession once or twice a week.  However, right now that is not an option.  I don’t have a resident priest and I am not allowed to leave.  All is not lost because my relationship with the Lord is dependent by a man in persona Christi, though it is very essential to my faith, my relationship with the Lord is entirely dependent upon my own willpower and desire for the Lord.  I love to say the Act of Contrition in confession.  I went to a priest who had a card put out with an alternate Act of Contrition.  It went something like this:  Father, I have sinned against heaven and earth and am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Have mercy on me, a sinner.   The prodigal son comes home.  We make a vow to sin no more.  But as humans, we forget this promise very quickly.

 

It is through our own fault, most grievous fault.  But God tells us through the scriptures, over and over again, that he forgives us.  Even when that became too much for humans to continuously seek forgiveness from God, the Lord Jesus then delegated this ability to forgive to the Apostles when he breathed on them and commissioned them to go out into the world.  The Apostles, through their successors, remind us of a few things.  They remind us that sin is real.  This is a hard statement at this time in the world where it is becoming increasingly rare that people take responsibility for their decisions and actions.  I know I am growing increasingly frustrated by civil authorities who absolve people of their crimes because of bad parenting or because they are rich and don’t know any better.  But at the same time, I am called to remember the mercy of God.  God has been very merciful to me in my life.  

God has allowed me to know a few bishops in the Church.  The more I came to know Jesus and the more I came to understand about the Church, the more I began to pity the office of the Bishop.  To whom much is given, much is expected.  Even more so for a bishop.  The Lord gives a shepherd who is to stand humbly above the people so that he can see and guide the faithful to Jesus.  

The bishop is responsible for the souls of his people.  His salvation depends on salvation of his people.  It is very difficult indeed for the one who wears the miter to hide.He is not meant to hide.  He is to stand out in front of the people.  He is to live courageously the joy of the Gospel.  May God bless our shepherds with grace and poise to do the will of the Lord and to lead us to the cross.  

And in this Lenten season, may we be drawn closer to the cross of Christ and rebuild our relationship with him as we take away the things that distract us.  We must be strong.  As St Peter said, we must gird the loins of our minds.