Fear and Spiritual Paralysis

Much of humanity seems to be afflicted by a kind of spiritual paralysis, something that has infected far too many of the once Christian nations of Europe and the Americas. Sadly, it has also infected many in our Church. And the cause? I wish I were smart enough, or holy enough, to give a definite answer, but I'll instead just pass along my best guess. It's a guess based on what I see, and hear, and sense as I interact with so many others. Quite simply, the cause, as I see it, is fear.

So many seem to fear the world, its ills, and its threats. For instance, the COVID pandemic left much of the world paralyzed in fear. President Putin rattles his nuclear saber and the West trembles. Communist China declares its intent to displace the United States as the reigning world power and we cower, wondering, fearing when and how this will happen. We seem to seek out things to fear. Terrorism, climate change, crime, border crises -- they're all packed together into the collection of fears we've created. I suppose if I believed this brief time on earth was all there is, I too would be overwhelmed with fear. But we are believers, faithful Christians, who trust in the Lord, so why should we be fearful? 

Many Christians believe the absence of faith — that is, faith’s opposite — is disbelief, doubt, or denial. But for me I’ve always considered the opposite of faith to be fear, which so often leads to despair. It’s why faithless people are never truly happy. Lacking faith in God, they cannot help but see life as something that must end, followed by absolutely nothing. And that must be a fearful realization. I’ve always liked  Mark Twain’s comment on fear of life and death: “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is ready to die at any time.” I would only modify the second sentence to read: “A man of faith is ready to die at any time.” But I suppose the two mean the same thing, for to live a life of faith is to live fully.

Mark Twain might have had a clever way with words, but God’s Word, revealed in Sacred Scripture tells us a lot more about faith and fear. Sometime ago I read that the phrase “Be not afraid” (or similar words) appears 365 times in the Bible, presumably once for each day of the year. I can’t recall where I read this, but it was probably on some Bible-Study website written by someone with way too much time on his hands. I also don’t know if this claim is true, and I suppose I’ll never know since I don’t intend to pore over the entire Bible to find out. Anyway, if I wanted to be picky, I’d ask if the deuterocanonical books were included in the count. And what about all those leap years that include 366 days? Are we free to fear every February 29th? 

As you might suspect, I’m not a big fan of such an approach to Sacred Scripture. I suppose there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but it can cause us to focus a bit too much on the numbers at the expense of the message. And it’s the message that’s so important, especially today. So, let’s just say our loving God commands us to be fearless always. In effect, that command, whether or not it occurs 365 times, covers the entirety of the human condition. We must, then try to avoid responding in fear to all that we encounter in our messy lives. 

Looking back to my days as a Navy pilot, I can recall a number of occasions when things got pretty dicey, and I had to follow my training and rely on my experience to deal with potential life and death situations. But do you know what was most interesting about each of these situations? I was so busy trying to keep my crew and me alive that I never really knew fear. If I experienced any kind of fear, it was after the fact when the fight surgeon asked, "Maybe you'd like a little glass of brandy?" I recall thinking that was a marvelous idea.

Maybe, then, as Christians the key to avoiding fear is simply to stay busy doing the work of discipleship. I can't help but recall what St. Paul had to say on the subject to the Philippians:

"Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. [Phil 3:13-14]

Yes, indeed, that's our job: working and pursuing the goal. We must also accept that “Be not afraid!” and “Fear not!” aren't mere suggestions. They are imperatives, commands God issues to all His disciples. But they’re not mindless, arbitrary commands of the sort we humans tend to utter. How often as a child did you hear the words “Because I said so!” when you questioned a parent’s command? Our God isn’t like that, for He is the perfect Father who always tells us why. Yes, He reveals everything we need to know to become true disciples, everything needed for salvation. 

If we are believing, faithful Christians, we should know that our God cares for us, that He loves us with a love far greater than any human love. The Incarnation, and the Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of God’s only Son is, of course, the miraculous proof and manifestation of His love. But God’s love is also an eternal love, one that extends beyond our lives on earth. It is a love that offers us salvation, an eternal life greater than anything we could ever imagine. How did St. Paul put it?

"…no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" [1 Cor 2:9].

Understanding this, we must develop an eternal worldview, one that focuses on the salvation promised to us. Once again St. Paul comes through with another of his wonderful metaphors:

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified [1 Cor 9:24-27].

Yes, indeed, salvation is quite a prize. Why, then, do we fear when as Christians we are offered an eternal life that must overcome all the hardships, the challenges, the sorrows, and, yes, the fears of this short life on earth? Because, I suppose, we're human and are plagued by the effects of sin, especially the original sin of our first parents. We turn to the past and fear repeating the same mistakes, the same sins, we've committed again and again. And we look to the future, the unknown, and fear that which might happen and its consequences. We worry about our children, our grandchildren, forgetting that they, too, are loved by our merciful God. We fear the global effects of sinfulness and wonder how, as a people, we will ever solve the problems we have created. Here's the Good News: We won't. Only God can do that.

We fear all these things and many more because we forget the unconditional love and infinite power of our God. We need only turn to Him as a Christian people, accepting that only He can bring His creation to the wholeness He intended from the beginning. The power of prayer is far greater than any human power, but how many of us truly believe this? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Catholic Church, our Holy Father and our bishops, joined together with the other Christian communities of the world and set aside a day, even better, a week of prayer? We need not pray for specific intentions; far better if we came together and prayed only that God's holy will be fulfilled. St. Paul reminded us of this as well when he instructed the Romans with those now-famous words:

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" [Rom 8:28].

And I suspect our Jewish brothers and sisters might well join us in this prayerful effort. As the psalmist reminds us:

Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God! Let thy good spirit lead me on a level path! [Ps 143:10]
…and

Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your mercy and faithfulness [Ps 115:1].

We must also repent, both as individuals and as God's Church -- no excuses, no rationalizations, no evasions. We need only turn to God, motivated by an honest desire to return His love for us and to change our lives.

Be not afraid, brothers and sisters. God is in charge.

Dealing with Hatred

I can't recall ever encountering so much hatred in our nation as seemingly exists today. Certain groups, apparently founded on and continuing to espouse Marxist principles, simply cannot abide the presence of any contrary beliefs. For example, Black Lives Matter "protesters" who openly support the looting and burning of businesses in American neighborhoods are now invading restaurants, creating physical havoc by upending tables and chairs, all the while demanding that the diners support them. 

This video was taken in Rochester, NY and shows the tormented tots of BLM storming a local restaurant. Don't they sound like little 5-year-olds in the midst of a tantrum because mommy and daddy didn't give them the toy they wanted?

Here's another, in Washington, D.C., a bit more placid but still remarkably stupid. Watch this collection of spoiled white kids who never learned a thing from their equally ignorant professors. Their poor parents paid tens of thousands to colleges and universities that failed to educate their children. How sad for them all...except the schools. As a result all the little ones are able to do is parrot the inane words screamed into a megaphone by their verbally challenged  "leader." Again, how sad. Not an original thought in the group.

These, of course, are among the more "peaceful" of the BLM and Antifa demonstrations now plaguing our nation. Believe me when I warn you that your city or town, your neighborhood, could well be next. These yahoos have no intention of limiting their violent activity to the big cities. Right now, those cities, run by equally stupid far-left mayors and city councils, are the neo-barbarians' best hunting grounds because they know the police won't challenge them. But because they're not very bright, they'll begin to think themselves invincible. That will be their mistake. The folks who live in America's heartland won't tolerate what you saw above in unarmed cities like Washington, DC and Rochester, NY. If the barbarians get really stupid they will suffer stupidity's unintended consequences. One can only hope things do not go that far.

But how should we Christians respond to all this? If we turn to Sacred Scripture and Church teaching, we can find some good answers. 

Some Christians maintain that we must tolerate those who want to do us harm, that any resort to violence is no better than the violence that threatens us. The Church, however, has never taught this and has, indeed, always supported the human person's right to self-defense. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says quite a bit about this right, which for many becomes even a duty. I've extracted only a few paragraphs

2263 The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. "The act of self-defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one's own life; and the killing of the aggressor...The one is intended, the other is not."

2264 Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one's own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow...

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.

2266 The efforts of the state to curb the spread of behavior harmful to people's rights and to the basic rules of civil society correspond to the requirement of safeguarding the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment then, in addition to defending public order and protecting people's safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as possible, it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party.

Church teaching, then, is clear: we have a right to defend ourselves against those intent on harming us. We can also use less than lethal defensive measures to prevent those prohibiting us from exercising our God-given human rights.

Some, however, seem to believe that evil does not exist, or that people cannot be overcome by evil -- that such people are simply misunderstood. They are decidedly wrong, as the history of humanity shows us. Overcome by the presence of evil, men and women soon forget God, who is the personification of goodness and love. They become habituated to the presence of sin in their lives and disorder fills them -- disorder of body, mind, and spirit. We see this in those who have ravaged our cities. They cannot accept the freedom of others. They cannot tolerate that others find happiness and joy in God's creation, in His gifts, and desire to live only in peace. These others they accuse of causing their own self-generated failures. 

What are we to do? Well, in addition to defending ourselves, we must confront evil with the truth. Interestingly, the readings for today's Mass (23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) address this beautifully. 

The psalmist reminds God's people that many will ignore God, and in doing so, will turn to evil. Even their fathers had fallen prey to this failing:

"...your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works" [Ps 95:9]. 

Yes, even living in the midst of God's creation, surrounded by His wondrous works, we can forget His presence:

"You are the God who does wonders; among the peoples you have revealed your might...and no one saw your footprints" [Ps 77:15,20].

Evil exists, and driven by ignorance and self-worship it must be confronted by the truth. In today's first reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us that by warning those who do evil, we are doing God's work:

"But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself" [Ez 33:9]. 

In today's second reading, St. Paul reminds the Romans and us that our attitude toward others -- even those who do evil to us -- must be grounded in love:

"Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law" [Rom 13:10]

And then, in today's Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus doesn't pull any punches. Our attitude and approach to those who stray, who generate disunity in the Body of Christ, must be one of love. But the one attitude we must always avoid is that of indifference. God desires reconciliation and peace among His people, and to allow disunity is to reject the will of God. We must, therefore, take positive steps to restore the unity God desires. 

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector" [Mt 18:15-17].

Here we encounter a deeper understanding of the teaching found in Old Testament, a teaching that immediately precedes God's command to "love your neighbor as yourself."

"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him" [Lv 19:17].

Like Leviticus, Jesus places the responsibility to act on the offended party. So often today, when we are offended or treated badly -- when someone "sins against" us -- we ignore those first three steps and immediately jump to the last. We just toss the other person out of our lives. But Jesus instructs us to make every effort to "win over" our brother. Indifference, then, is not permissible. 

Jesus, of course, took this same approach in His dealings with those who obstinately refused to follow God's revealed Word. He never allowed the Pharisees to get away with their willful and self-centered attitudes and behaviors. And yet, at the same time, Jesus' rebukes and questions were always consistent with His long-suffering desire to bring about the conversion and redemption of all. 

Jesus, then, remains the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep to bring him back into the fold. His teaching here is one of those highly practical teachings to help His Church deal with the reality of the world in which it must thrive. 

St. Paul, who focused so much on needs of the early Church, never tired in reminding us that love must always be joined to truth. Aware of our own weaknesses, we must still:

"...preach the Word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching" [2 Tim 4:2].

Yes, indeed, love married to truth. That is our challenge, but always remembering:

"What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?...No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through Him who loved us" [Rom 8:35,37].

(A friend just reminded me that I had written about fraternal correction some years ago and should provide a link to it. For what it’s worth, here it is: Fraternal Correction)

COVID-19 Bible Study Reflection #13: This Is the Day

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” [Ps 118:24].

We all know these words, don’t we? And I’m pretty sure most of you have sung them, since they form the lyrics of that peppy little hymn written back in the 70s, “This Is the Day.”

What some folks don’t know is that those words come right out of Sacred Scripture, from Psalm 118. And because the psalms were written to be sung, and were indeed sung by Jews, including Jesus and His disciples [Mt 26:30], it’s fitting that we too should sing these same inspired words.

The psalms form a major element of the prayer life of the Jewish people, for they tell the story of God, His People, and their prayerful relationship. Although the Book of Psalms forms an integral part of the Old Testament, we encounter many references to psalms throughout the New Testament. In fact, included among the “Last Words” of Jesus, spoken from the Cross, are several direct quotes from or references to the specific psalms. [See Ps 22:2,16-19; 31:6; 69:22]

The Church considers the psalms an extremely important part of its liturgical prayer, so important they’re included in the Liturgy of the Word throughout the liturgical year. And if you pray the Church’s daily prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, you’ll find yourself immersed in the psalms.

As you might recall, we addressed the psalms in one of our earlier reflections (Reflection #8), in which you were encouraged to include them in your daily prayer and Scripture reading. One of the wonderful things about beginning to read and pray the psalms is that you encounter so many familiar expressions and phrases and find yourself saying, “Oh, that’s where that came from…”

I’ve always believed the psalms offer us a unique view of the ever-changing relationship between God and His People, between God and you and me. That relationship changes constantly not because of God, but because of us. The psalms are filled with questions, our questions, the kind of questions you and I ask of God every day:

Why did this bad thing happen?

Has God abandoned us?

How does He want me to live?

Will God protect me and those I love from evil?

How should I relate to others, especially to those who despise me?

Will God forgive me?

These and so many other very human questions are all found in the psalms, along with many of God’s answers.

The psalms can sometimes outrage and offend us because of the attitudes expressed by the human writers, attitudes we don’t expect to encounter in prayer. And yet, are these attitudes really so different from those you and I sometimes harbor secretly in our hearts? The difference between the psalmist and us is his willingness to express them openly in his prayer, to lift them up to God as if to say:

“Lord, this is how I feel in the depth of my heart. If I am wrong, correct me. Help me to deal with all that afflicts me. Teach me Your ways.”

I really believe it’s this deep humanity found in the psalms that makes them so readable, so captivating, and brings us back to them again and again. They overflow with human emotion, every emotion you can imagine: anger, empathy, fear, despair, faith, uncertainty, joy, sadness, hope, loss, gain, revenge, forgiveness, happiness, hatred, love…it’s all there in the psalms. The transparency with which these raw emotions are displayed for all to see can shock us, for so many of us are accustomed to hiding our passions beneath a protective veneer. In the psalms it’s all out in the open, up close and personal.

We should, then, savor the psalms as we encounter them in the liturgy; but too often we just breeze through them, don’t we? We join the cantor and sing the response; then go on to the next reading. And yet, throughout the Liturgy of the Word, only in the Responsorial Psalm is the congregation actively, vocally involved. How often do we really listen to the words we pray, the words we sing? These words are the Word of God and offer countless insights into God’s love for us and the response He seeks from us They must, then, be important.

Let’s return to the beginning of today’s reflection, to those words from Psalm 118:

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.”

Here the psalmist sings of the present -- not the past, not the future. “This is the day,” he prays; and because the Lord has made this day, and because all that the Lord creates is good, this day must also be good. This, then, is reason to rejoice, “to be glad.” The present is a gift, not a time for worry or for fear.

Jesus tells us the same thing, doesn’t He? Recall His Word from the Sermon on the Mount:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear…Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself” [Mt 6:25,34].

Talk about counterintuitive and counter-cultural words! We all worry about tomorrow, don’t we? In fact, we have built multi-billion-dollar industries focused on just that. Consider, for example, the insurance industry, completely dedicated to lessening our worries about what might happen tomorrow. In today’s increasingly complex, materialistic, and unpredictable world, we insure almost everything — car, home, life, health, businesses, even pets — out of fear that these might be taken from us, leaving us with nothing but our immortal souls.

And here’s Jesus telling us those souls are far more important than everything else [Mt 16:26]. Don’t worry about tomorrow, He commands; focus instead on today. Does this mean we should cancel all our insurance policies? No, I think we can continue to pay the premiums. Indeed, in a sense I suppose a few insurance policies can help us respond more positively to Jesus’ command not to worry. I’m certainly not going to question an industry that tries to free us from some earthly worries. I’ll let the moral theologians tackle that one.

The future – our earthly future -- will always remain a mystery. In truth, we can only guess what will happen. And the past? Well, it’s already happened. It’s gone and irretrievable. Although we shouldn’t dwell on the past, we can learn from it and avoid mistakes already made – a good reason to make a daily examination of conscience, a good reason for the sacrament of Reconciliation.

I suppose we’re stuck with the present, aren’t we? It’s really the only part of time – the time of our lives -- over which we have some control. The present is where we are. The decisions and choices of the present can help us overcome the faults and confusion of the past and lead us to the future God desires for us. “This is the day…” He challenges us, “Rejoice!”

In our hearts we know this is true. We should rejoice. We should be glad about it. And do you know why? Of course, you do. Because we are loved. We are loved by our God who created each of us, who gave each of us the gift of life in a unique act of love. He wants us to rejoice in that gift, even in the midst of life’s challenges, even as we face the uncertainties of the future. So often, though, our response is littered with many of those emotions found in the psalms. And it’s here that we encounter the vast disparity between God and us. God only loves!  He can do nothing else because of Who He is. As St. John reminds us, “God is love” [1 Jn 4:8,16]. He despises none of His children, even those who have fallen prey to the worst of evils. He extends His forgiveness and His mercy to all. We need only repent and accept His gift of grace.

What does all this mean? How do we deal with it? How do we live this life that God’s given us?

First, let’s get back to the basics. We were created in God’s image and likeness. And because “God is love,” we were created to love, to be imitators of God, to be as generous and as giving of ourselves as God is. We were created to do good and reject evil.

We encounter this plea to be imitators of our God throughout Sacred Scripture. In the Torah, we hear this command, this call to holiness:

"Sanctify yourselves and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God, am holy" [Lv 20:7].

It’s a call repeated throughout the New testament. For example, Jesus instructs us:

"So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" [Mt 5:48].

Jesus also teaches us to live the Beatitudes: to be humble, merciful, meek, compassionate, and righteous [Mt 5:3-12]. He commands us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, comfort the sick, visit the imprisoned – to see Him in all who are in need [Mt 25:31-46]. But that’s not all. Jesus also tells us:

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments" [Jn 14:15].

In His Sermon on the Mount He reveals the depth of meaning, the spirit of the Ten Commandments, and later goes on to instruct us that "The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments":

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" [Mt 22:37-40].

Now that’s a lot of stuff we’re asked to do. But it's not impossible. For with God, and fueled by His grace, all things are possible. And that’s the key: we need God’s help.

Remember, too, we are called to do all this because of God’s promise to us, that we are His children, adopted sons and daughters who will share in Christ’s glory. St. Paul describes it well

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Sprit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him [Rom 8:14-17].

Note that suffering, too, will accompany us on our journey. But we do not suffer alone. It is a suffering with Jesus -- "To take up our cross daily and follow Him" [Lk 923] -- in which He shared our burdens and out suffering [Mt 11:30].

The fulfillment of God’s promise, though, is beyond our imagining:

"What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, I have prepared for those who love me" [1 Cor 2:9].

Living a grace-filled life, then, is not impossible. Through prayer and the soul restoring grace of the sacraments, God provides us all we need to live holy lives. When our journey on this earth is over, when we stand before the Just Judge, we all hope to hear the words of the Lord saying:

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" [Mt 25:34]

Let us, then, learn from the past, not worry about or fear the future, and live this day in faith, filled with God’s grace. Let us rejoice and be glad!

COVID-19 Bible Study Reflection #8: Prayer in the Psalms

Note: This reflection was originally written on June 20. I simply neglected to post it here on the blog. I trust you will find it of some value in your prayer life.
__________________________

Once again, I offer another reflection, one I hope will help us – and I include myself as well – get through these challenging times. As always, we ask the Holy Spirit to be with us, to guide and inspire us. That’s important because without the Holy Spirit, we can do little indeed. 

Today we’re going to look at prayer, the Spirit of prayer, especially as it’s found in Sacred Scripture, remembering that it’s only through the Holy Spirit that we can “pray as we ought” [Rom 8:26].

I’ll begin by saying I’m not an expert on prayer. Indeed, my own prayer life, my own time with God, is sometimes pretty messy. I think of all the fits and starts, the spiritual dead-ends, the dryness, the challenges – and all of it so often focused more on myself than on God. How, then, can I talk with you about prayer when my own prayer life falls so short of the mark set by the saints? Well, I actually prayed about this and decided that maybe the Holy Spirit wanted me to share those problems with you too. Maybe He knows how these same things trouble your prayer life, and that you’re not alone. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit’s a lot smarter than you and me. And as Luke tells us, Our Lord Himself promised His disciples:

“…the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” [Lk 12:12].

So, let’s just agree that the Holy Spirit is the source of any good resulting from this reflection, and that all the not-so-goods come only from me. With that we can press on and open ourselves to the movement of the Spirit.

Here we are, in the middle of Ordinary Time. Lent and Easter are behind us, and Advent and Christmas still far ahead of us, so perhaps this might be a good time to reflect on how we’re doing. The Church, of course, knows that Ordinary Time can sometimes seem...well, so very ordinary. And so, during this quieter liturgical time, it repeats many of the Lenten readings. It wants us to know that prayer and fasting and almsgiving aren’t just Lenten practices…no they’re Christian practices, and should be an active part of our ongoing, daily spiritual lives. The practices of Lent, for example, should result in permanent change; they should bring about our continued spiritual growth. 

Too many of us, though, tend to spend much of our lives drifting to and from God, as if our spirituality is a kind of seasonal thing, not realizing that God wants constant spiritual movement toward Him. Yes, He wants us to do extraordinary things even in Ordinary Time, and it’s all wrapped up in God’s call to love Him and each other. How did St. Paul put it?

"If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal" [1 Cor 13:1].

Wow! …So, our prayer and all we do mean little if they’re not grounded in love. Let me read something else Paul wrote, in his 2nd Letter to the Thessalonians:

“We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing”  [2 Thes 1:3].

Now, out of all the verses in the New Testament, why do you think I chose this one? It was the words: “…because your faith is growing abundantly.” It’s all about growth, isn’t it? It’s all about growth in faith, growth in prayer, and growth in love. In other words, it’s about growth in holiness. But how do we measure it?

In the Night Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours there’s a point at which we are asked to make an examination of conscience, to review the day and our place in it. It’s a wonderful habit to develop and practice. Just take a few moments at the end of each day to call on the Holy Spirit, asking Him to remind us of how we journeyed through the day – what we have thought, and said, and done. It’s a prayer in which we place ourselves at the feet of Jesus and lay bare our soul in repentance and thanksgiving.

What did I do today to advance God’s Kingdom on earth?

Was I a willing ambassador for Christ in my interaction with others?

Did I see the presence of Jesus in all who crossed my path today? 

Did I submerge my own needs and wants and focus instead on helping them?

What I said and did today – did it lead people to salvation or turn them away?

How will I do things differently tomorrow?

Honest answers to these and other questions help us focus on our spiritual growth. The direction we’re heading becomes either painfully or gratefully obvious. We can then ask the Holy Spirit to show us the best path to spiritual growth and let Him lead us. 

Maybe this would be a good time to pause for a moment, turn to the Holy Spirit, and reflect on our personal growth in holiness. Like St. Paul, let’s set high expectations for our growth in holiness, and continually thank God for the grace He mercifully provides.

Holy Spirit, clear my mind of everything but Your love for me and my love for You. And in that love place before me that which You call me to do, that which will help me grow in holiness.

A few years ago, in a course for catechists and Catholic school teachers, I asked the participants write down an answer to this question: “When, outside of Mass, do you most often pray?” 

The most common answer? When I ask for God’s help in times of trouble or in solving some problem; in other words, Prayers of Petition.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with asking God for something, so long as it’s not something bad for us. But if that represents the full extent of our prayer life, we really don’t have much of a prayer life at all. 

Jesus and the Apostles Singing a Psalm

So, let’s look at prayer in many of its forms by turning to the Bible. Interestingly, virtually every form of prayer can be found in the Bible’s own book of prayer, the book we call the Book of Psalms. In each of the following I have offered only a single example of each type of prayer, in most instances just a single verse. But the Book of Psalms is filled with prayers and I recommend reading and praying with this wonderful book daily. 

Prayers of Petition – God works wonders for those He loves:

“Know that the LORD works wonders for his faithful one; the LORD hears when I call out to him” [Ps 4:4].

Prayers of Adoration, Praise, Blessing – We bless and praise God, not just once in a while, but always:

“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be always in my mouth” [Ps 34:2].

Prayers of Thanksgiving – We offer God an endless proclamation of Thanksgiving for all that we have, even our very being:

“Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his mercy endures forever!” [Ps 107:1]

Prayers of Longing and Yearning – We yearn for God just as the deer yearns for the running waters of a stream:

“As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God?” [Ps 42:2-3] 

Prayerful Suffering – We express our sorrows, our pains in the light of God’s will, and unload our burdens on Him:

“Listen, God, to my prayer; do not hide from my pleading; hear me and give answer. I rock with grief; I groan… My heart pounds within me; death’s terrors fall upon me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me; shuddering sweeps over me” [Ps 55:2-3,5-6].

Prayers of Repentance – In a spirit of conversion we renounce our sin, express sorrow, and return to the Father, the only one who can heal us:

“Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions. Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me. For I know my transgressions; my sin is always before me” [Ps 51:3-5].

Prayers of Marvel and Wonder – Ps 104:1-35 – We marvel at the glories of God’s creation and celebrate with joy all that He has done:

"Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and splendor, robed in light as with a cloak. You spread out the heavens like a tent; setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters. You make the clouds your chariot; traveling on the wings of the wind. You make the winds your messengers; flaming fire, your ministers" [Ps 104:1-4]. 

Meditative Prayer – The very first two verses of the Book of Psalms are designed to lead us to meditative prayer:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” [Ps 1:1-2]

In the same way, Luke offers us the example of our Blessed Mother: 

“…Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” [Lk 2:19]

Contemplative Prayer – Loving contemplative immersion – Christ-centered contemplative prayer is a divine gift, a gift of growth in mental prayer, given when we are ready, not before. Through loving contemplative prayer, we “Taste and see that the LORD is good” [Ps 34:9]. In other words, we experience for ourselves the very goodness of God.

Both St. Peter and St. Paul tell us that when we pray so deeply, words are not only unnecessary but unable to describe what takes place. Here's how St. Paul described it to the Romans:

“…the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings” [Rom 8:26].

Prayers of Delight and Joy – We delight in the Lord, in His goodness and His works, and take joy in His love for us:

“I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds. I will delight and rejoice in you; I will sing hymns to your name, Most High” [Ps 9:2-3].

Prayer in Song (Hymns) – Most of the psalms were written as poetic hymns; they were the songs of a people to their Beloved. This is why the Church has given music such a key role in her liturgy, particularly when it comes to the Psalms:

“Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds! Sing praise to him, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds! Glory in his holy name; let hearts that seek the LORD rejoice!” [Ps 105:1-3]

Indeed, the last thing Jesus and the apostles did at the Last Supper before going to the Garden was sing:

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” [Mt 25:30].

Jesus and the Apostles had just completed the Passover Meal, which traditionally was concluded with the singing of Thanksgiving Psalms; e.g., Ps 114-118. 

Prayer of Amen – The prayerful affirmation of God’s will in all things. Here we say “Yes!” to God and for all that He does – just as Mary said “Yes” to the archangel Gabriel and Jesus said “Yes” to the Father in the Garden. St. Paul’s famous instruction to the Romans is, in a sense, a trusting “Amen!” to our God:

“We know that all things work for good for those who love God,* who are called according to his purpose” [Rom 8:28].

Consider, too, the Great Amen we sing at Mass in response to the Final Doxology prayed by the priest: 

"Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever…AMEN"

The word “doxology” literally means to speak of glory, to openly praise God’s glory. And so, we shout, “Amen!”, as an affirmation of our complete Faith in God’s goodness.

Liturgical prayer is the prayer of the Church – the Mass, other sacramental prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, and other liturgical rites. It is the Church’s prayerful communal worship, the ecclesial prayer that the Lord Himself established. And not surprisingly our liturgies are filled with prayers from the Book of Psalms. 

That’s quite a list of prayer forms, isn’t it? And so, don’t hesitate to turn to the Psalms in prayer when you need some inspiration and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that He inspired David and all the other authors of these sacred hymns – living proof that He understands our needs even better than we understand them ourselves. 

Perhaps I’ll expand on the subject of prayer in our next reflection.

God’s peace.

The Absent Republicans

As you may have noticed, if you read this blog, I am by no means a fan of Donald Trump. But I cannot imagine a worse scenario for our nation than the election of Hilary Clinton. For no other reason than the makeup of the Supreme Court, it is critical that she be kept out of the Oval Office. I am, therefore, appalled that so many notable Republicans have not only refused to attend their party's national convention, but that some have actually declared they will not vote for the party's candidate. Whom do they think their lack of support will benefit?

A few moments ago, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, during an interview with Fox News anchor Stuart Varney, in effect said that Trump must pay more attention to these reluctant Republicans (including, by the way, Sununu himself) who are important figures in the party and the government. Governor Sununu thought Trump should have scratched the speeches by family members and replaced them with speeches by a few of these reluctant non-supporters. He went on to suggest there was far too much family focus at the convention. Actually, the speeches by Trump's wife and son made me a bit more inclined to like the man himself. But the irony, apparently lost on Sununu, was his claim that he couldn't attend the convention because he was campaigning for his son, who is running for governor of New Hampshire. Remarkable isn't it?

Anyhow, my first reaction, and that of Dear Diane, to Sununu's comments was, "Who does this man think he is?" We the people are the important ones here, not those who are elected by the people to do the people's business. The people are sovereign in these United States of America. Politicians are servants of the people, or at least they should be, and the only thing that should motivate them is the good of the people, the good of the nation. If their little noses are out of joint because they lost an election or were treated in a less than friendly way by another politician...well, too bad. As we used to say in Naval aviation: suck it up and fly the mission. That's what you're paid to do. I suggest our reluctant Republicans do the same.

Enough! This is why I despise politics today.
____________________

A timely postscript for those Christians who are considering a vote for Hilary Clinton. The readings for today's Mass include the opening verses of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah:

The word of the LORD came to me: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you" [Jer 1:4-5].

This reading was followed by a selection from Psalm 71 which included:

You are my hope, Lord; my trust, GOD, from my youth. On you I have depended since birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength; my hope in you never wavers" [Ps 71:5-6].

Yes, before we were formed in the womb, we were known and loved by God. And in our nation we have slaughtered well over 50,000,0000 infants in the womb, all known and loved by God. This is why, above all else, this election is so critical.

Pray for our nation.

Musing on Thunderstorms

I just came in from talking the dog for her evening walk, in this instance a stroll abbreviated by a fast-moving thunderstorm roaring in from the west. Fortunately little Maddie accomplished her mission before the rains and lightning arrived, so we hustled back home and avoided both a drenching and an electrocution. At the moment it's wet, windy and wild out there which makes one especially grateful for mankind's most advantageous invention: indoor plumbing.

Here in central Florida we're frequented by afternoon thunderstorms, especially during these summer months. This year we seem to be experiencing more than our usual share of these boomers. Indeed, Dear Diane was saying this just the other day, as we watched a seemingly endless succession of lightning bolts streak through the late afternoon sky. The wall-shaking crashes of thunder followed all too soon. It was quite a storm: lightning, thunder and torrents of rain. The only thing missing was hail. As it moved off to attack others, we agreed it was among the strongest storms we had experienced in our ten years here. 

When I was a child in suburban New York and there was the threat of a thunderstorm, I would often sit in one of the big wooden rocking chairs on our neighbor's front porch. Old Mr. Dolan, his grandson, Teddy, and I would rock away, listen to the rain pounding on the porch roof, smell the ozone, watch the lightning, and revel in the thunder crashing around us. It was all very exciting and I don't recall ever being afraid. Perhaps I should have been, but in those days, before instant TV news and YouTube and a thousand Internet sites reporting every odd event on the globe, we just didn't hear much about lightning strikes.

Then, one day, my mother told me of the time -- a few years before I was born -- a bolt of lightning zapped through the open kitchen window of our family's rural Connecticut home and melted the ceiling light fixture above her head. That sure made a believer out of her. What really changed my mind was going through Navy flight training in Pensacola, Florida. It was there that I experienced first-hand the power of these Florida thunderstorms that roll in off the Gulf. I quickly learned to avoid them when flying my trusty T-28 on those steamy summer afternoons. I also lost a friend and fellow flight student who was struck by lightning while walking along the  beach. 

A trusty Navy T-28 Trainer

Recalling that long-ago tragedy reminds me of the late great General Norman Schwarzkopf's comment:

"Unfortunately, if you've ever been in southern Georgia on the beaches in a lightning storm, if you're out there, you're in great, great danger, and you can be killed very, very quickly." 

It's pretty much the same in Florida, General. During our most recent big storm here in The Villages, one home, just a few short blocks away, suffered a lightning strike and the resultant fire caused considerable damage. Fortunately, no one was injured. 

Lightning on the Beach (not a good place to be)

And yet, despite the damage they can inflict, thunderstorms are possessed of a certain beauty. But to appreciate their beauty in its fullness, you must view them from afar. Head west into the wide, open spaces of the plains, or go to sea aboard a ship, and enjoy an unobstructed view all the way to the horizon. Watching these storms race across the landscape (or seascape) as they emit rapid-fire bolts of lightning is spellbinding, a truly amazing sight.

But to experience such storms, up close and personal, is more than humbling. They bring with them a sense of helplessness, a realization that, despite all the precautions one takes, these powerful storms are uncontrollable and largely unpredictable, striking their targets randomly. Before them, our science and technology can do little more than warn us and offer us some level of protective shelter. 

Heavenly Fireworks

From a theological perspective, thunderstorms, along with their far more destructive meteorological cousins, tornadoes and hurricanes, are simply another effect of original sin. With the fall of humanity the preternatural gifts that protected our first parents from illness and death were withdrawn and nature's laws were given free rein, leaving us open to their deadly consequences [Gen 3:16-19]. 

The present storm, raging here and now, is a reminder of our own frailty in the face of God's creation. Yes, we can send men to the moon -- well, okay, at one time we could -- but a well-placed bolt of lightning can destroy the rocket before it even lifts off the pad. God allows these spectacular displays of natural power to let us know that He remains in charge, that you and I are creatures, not the Creator. But like the pharaoh's heart in Exodus, the hearts of modern man are too often hardened by their own perceived power despite the obvious manifestation of God's omnipotence:

He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land [Ps 105:32]. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; thy arrows flashed on every side. The crash of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; thy lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook [Ps 77:17-18].

Homily: Wednesday, 3rd Week of Oridnary Time

Readings: Heb 10:11-18 • Psalm 110 • Mk 4:1-20

There’s an entrance antiphon from a Sunday in ordinary time that always strikes a chord within me when I hear it. It’s taken from Psalm 18:

The Lord became my protector.  He brought me out to a place of freedom; he saved me because he delighted in me.

Sometimes we just say words like these, these official prayers of the Church, without really thinking much about what we’re saying. But here I’m going to ask you to think about them, to pray on them, especially those last few words: “…he saved me because he delighted in me.”

Do you ever think about that? Do you ever ask yourself: “Why did God save me?” Why did He give His very life for you, opening the way for you to enjoy eternal life? And not just for you, but for me and you and every single one of us.

The other day I read that anthropologists estimate that about 100 billion human beings have lived on earth and about 7 billion of them are alive today. Now that’s a lot of people; but every single one of them is loved by God. That’s right; God delights in each one of us. And because He delights in us, He wants us to share eternal life with Him.

Just think of your own life. Who in your life delights in you? Who loves you deeply? And whom do you love? In whom do you delight? Your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your closest friends? Consider how such human love manifests itself. Consider how we strive to please the other, the one who loves us, the one we love; how we want to do whatever makes the other happy. Well, multiply that by infinity and you approach God’s love for you.

Yes, He saved you because He delighted in you. And how are we to respond to this love? It’s really pretty simple: He wants us to do His will.

Just consider today’s Gospel passage. You’ve all heard it many times before. But the important point for us is that the sower plants His seed, the Word of God, everywhere. The Lord doesn’t discriminate as he sows that seed. Indeed, He’s downright extravagant, almost reckless as He tosses it about. It falls on the path; it falls on the rocks and stones; it lands amidst the thorns and brambles…but some seeds, perhaps only a few, fall on good, fertile soil and take root.

Jesus is simply asking us, “I have given you my Word. How have you received it?” What kind of soil do you offer? Jesus wants to plant that seed. He wants His Word to take root within you; He wants it to bear fruit. And He wants you to become a sower of seed too. He wants this because He delights in you, because He loves you beyond your imagining.

Again, how do we respond? What must happen in each of our individual lives to make that soil fertile? Do we need to dig up some rocks, uproot some thorns? Is addiction or resentment or hatred or lack of forgiveness polluting our soil? Have we let the world, and the prince of this world, lead us into sinfulness? Do we worry constantly about worldly things, lacking trust in God?

If these or other sins are damaging your soil, making it unreceptive to God’s Word, it’s not the end of the world…at least, net yet. Listen again to those wonderful soul-saving words we heard in our first reading from Hebrews – words taken from the prophet Jeremiah:

“Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more” [Heb 10:17].

Because God loves us, because He delights in us, He has saved us from our own sinfulness. Just remember, it’s He that does the saving, not us. God gives us the gift of life, and lets us struggle and learn and become stronger, always forgiving us, always leading us. He leads us to Himself, guiding us along the path to perfection, but our perfection is in His hands, not ours. He does the perfecting in our lives, if only we let Him, if only we respond in love to all that God places before us in life.

Let God work within you. And let Him do the work. He wants to do it, because He delights in you.

A Word for Meditation

Sometimes the psalms can seem a bit strident, filled with calls for the wrath of God to inflict vengeance on the oppressor. As one who has never really been oppressed in life, I suppose I shouldn't judge those who have suffered greatly at the hands of others. But reading such sentiments can make it difficult to think of some of the psalms as Christian prayers, even though they form the basis of the Church's daily prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours.

As we make our way through the psalms the differences between the Christian and Jewish worldviews become readily apparent. For example, reading the psalms will bring two very different concepts of justice into stark contrast. As C. S. Lewis points out in his Reflections on the Psalms (p. 10 and 12),

"The ancient Jews, like ourselves, think of God's judgment in terms of an earthly court of justice. The difference is that the Christian pictures the case to be tried as a criminal case with himself in the dock; the Jew pictures it as a civil case with himself as the plaintiff...Christians cry to God for mercy instead of justice; they [the psalmists] cry for justice instead of injustice."

Once the modern reader of the psalms understands this difference, he can more easily come to terms with the tone of many of the psalms. In today's Office of Readings, for example, we find a man oppressed by his enemies and betrayed by one who was once his friend [Psalm 55]:

"How close was the friendship between us, we walked together in harmony in the house of God."

Seeking justice, not from man but from God, he cries out in hope:

"I will cry to God and the Lord will save me." 

And the expected result?

"God will hear and humble them...you, O God, will bring them down to the pit of death."

This is not the Christian cry for mercy, but the ancient cry for justice. With the proclamation of the Good News, the fulfillment of the Law by Jesus Christ, we come to a whole new understanding of justice and of our relationship with our enemies:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you..." [Mt 5:43-44]

And yet, even amidst the curses and cries for vengeance, there are wonderful things to be learned from the psalms. For instance, in the psalm we have been discussing [Psalm 55], we are left with some solid food for meditation:

"Entrust your cares to the Lord and He will support you. He will never allow the just man to stumble....O Lord, I will trust in you."

Good words for Christian and Jew and all God's people.