One of my parishioners has taped to her office wall a drawing done by one of her children. It has written on it (by the teacher) things that the child appreciates about the parent. One of the things in the list says "you are nice to me sometimes". We had quite a laugh about the "sometimes" part. She mentioned to me that it was completely true though -- there were times when she and her husband could not be "nice to her" because they loved her.
I know that I have said this many times, both in writing and in personal communication, that parents cannot be both good parents and friends to their children. Your children do not need you as a friend, they need you as a parent. If parents are going to be responsible to God and fulfill their calling of teaching their children the Catholic faith, then they must realize that being "nice" to their children is not the goal. That does not mean that they should be "mean", but that "niceness" is not actually a trait of good parenting.
When parents are teaching and guiding their children, their goal should be to point them to Christ in a loving manner. Sometimes that means doing things that are not very "nice". I recall once hearing a story about a couple whose children had all left the Catholic faith that they were raised in as soon as they hit 18 years old. The person telling the story said, "it is so hard to believe, they were so nice as parents". I immediately thought, "maybe it was their 'niceness' that actually caused the children to stray from the path." Being a good parent means disciplining the children; it means telling them "no" more than once in a while (and sometimes when "yes" is OK, but "no" is for their better good). Those types of things are not "nice".
Niceness does not allow a parent to tell their children (especially when they are teenagers) that they cannot do something. Niceness does not allow a parent to spend time explaining to a child the problems with a certain behavior of theirs. Niceness may be fine when it comes to how we play a board game together, but it has little to do with parental authority. Now, do not get me wrong; I am not saying that a parent should be harsh and cruel in their instruction of the children. It is the attitude of "niceness", however, that causes a parent to choose the path of least resistance, and avoid any kind of conflict (even if it means that the child will continue in gravely sinful behavior).
This same principle (though there are nuances that are too detailed to outline in this brief post) can be applied to how a priest should minister to his people. Yes, he should be kind to them, and show a gracious attitude. Yet if he is always a "nice" priest then he will never tell them about sin in a homily, and he will avoid speaking to them about the sins that they refuse to repent of in the confessional. Niceness will not allow a priest to be clear about what sin is. It is probably the case that nice priests have bigger congregations, and that they rarely have people complain (or just leave), but the "non-nice" priest, however, can sleep at night because he knows that he spoke to his people (with gentle love) about what they truly need.
I know about a young man who told his Dad recently that he was glad that he had been tough on him. He said that he needed it, and was finally starting to realize the blessing that it was in his life. Although he did not use the term, he was saying that he was thankful that his Dad was not "nice" to him, but instead had showed him love. What a remarkable testimony. Parents should make it their goal to love the children enough to be able to avoid the niceness that leaves a child in his sin. It is certainly not a nice thing to tell a child that he is sinning and must stop, but it is truly loving.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
More Important
Which is more important -- eating right, or wearing the most popular clothes? Which is more important -- having a high paying job, or having genuine peace? Which is more important -- helping someone in need, or taking time to rest? When we compare things like this, it makes us dig deep and ask some significant questions about what really matters to us, and about how much effort we will put into things. These are questions that we usually do not think about unless forced to do so. Some comparisons are fairly easy (though I bet there are some people whose priorities lead them to worldly answer to the questions above), and some are more difficult. Each of the comparisons above makes us think about what our priorities are.
On a daily basis, each of us is forced to make decisions based on what we consider to be more or less important in our lives. Sometimes we will answer those questions with a view to short term happiness, but if that is our sole consideration, then we are seriously missing what is, by far, a greater happiness and joy. In fact, what we are doing in answering the question of "importance" is not as simple as "what I want". It also carries with it the issue of what impact the importance of a particular thing has on either the greater number of people or the more long term impact.
Let me throw out a couple of other comparisons. Which is more important -- getting your children to their team practice, or getting your children to Church on Sunday? The amount of effort a parent puts into both will determine which they consider to be more important. Let us switch it up a bit and ask another question. Which is more important -- getting a good education for your children, or instilling the Catholic faith in their hearts? Some might say they want both, but if you had to choose which would it be? I have never had a Catholic say that he thought sports teams more important than eternal salvation, but I have had parents tell me that they were going to miss Mass because one of their children had a "game" on Sunday, and they would be cut from the team if they missed it. Their priorities are obvious.
Here is another comparison: Which is more important -- giving financially for the support of your home parish, or buying the newest video game (pair of shoes, electronic device, etc.)? If I were to take the statistics as a testimony of what people think in this regard, then I would have to say that people think that tithing is quite insignificant. Did you know that only a small percentage of Catholics obey the Church precept that requires (yes, requires) us to give to the support of our parish? Yes, some are financially limited, but almost everyone can give something (and that means that the majority of "almost everyone" is in active disobedience).
Let us try one more (and this one comes up quite often). Which is more important -- to go to work when you are not in the mood, or to go to Mass when you are not in the mood? Did you ever think about this? I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people talk about how essential it is to go to work whether they want to or not ("I need the paycheck"), and yet, when it comes to the Mass, they will allow the slightest little inconvenience to prevent them from attending. Which do you consider more important? Most do not have to pick between, but which one are you willing to exert more energy to accomplish?
There are many things that I have mentioned that are a false dilemma. We are often able to do both of the options, and do them faithfully. That is not the question I am putting forward. What I am aiming at is to encourage each of you to consider how much effort you put into these tasks and responsibilities. If you really exert yourself more for your career than you do for your God, then which one do you care about more? Jesus said in many ways that our actions reveal our hearts.
It reminds me of a story about the man who was in process to join the Catholic Church. When he first heard about the Eucharist, he thought it sounded a bit like silly kid's stories. Then when he came to believe in it, he told others that he would give up anything to be able to receive the real body and blood of Jesus just once in his lifetime. He was revealing what he put as his highest priority. So then, what are you revealing?
On a daily basis, each of us is forced to make decisions based on what we consider to be more or less important in our lives. Sometimes we will answer those questions with a view to short term happiness, but if that is our sole consideration, then we are seriously missing what is, by far, a greater happiness and joy. In fact, what we are doing in answering the question of "importance" is not as simple as "what I want". It also carries with it the issue of what impact the importance of a particular thing has on either the greater number of people or the more long term impact.
Let me throw out a couple of other comparisons. Which is more important -- getting your children to their team practice, or getting your children to Church on Sunday? The amount of effort a parent puts into both will determine which they consider to be more important. Let us switch it up a bit and ask another question. Which is more important -- getting a good education for your children, or instilling the Catholic faith in their hearts? Some might say they want both, but if you had to choose which would it be? I have never had a Catholic say that he thought sports teams more important than eternal salvation, but I have had parents tell me that they were going to miss Mass because one of their children had a "game" on Sunday, and they would be cut from the team if they missed it. Their priorities are obvious.
Here is another comparison: Which is more important -- giving financially for the support of your home parish, or buying the newest video game (pair of shoes, electronic device, etc.)? If I were to take the statistics as a testimony of what people think in this regard, then I would have to say that people think that tithing is quite insignificant. Did you know that only a small percentage of Catholics obey the Church precept that requires (yes, requires) us to give to the support of our parish? Yes, some are financially limited, but almost everyone can give something (and that means that the majority of "almost everyone" is in active disobedience).
Let us try one more (and this one comes up quite often). Which is more important -- to go to work when you are not in the mood, or to go to Mass when you are not in the mood? Did you ever think about this? I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people talk about how essential it is to go to work whether they want to or not ("I need the paycheck"), and yet, when it comes to the Mass, they will allow the slightest little inconvenience to prevent them from attending. Which do you consider more important? Most do not have to pick between, but which one are you willing to exert more energy to accomplish?
There are many things that I have mentioned that are a false dilemma. We are often able to do both of the options, and do them faithfully. That is not the question I am putting forward. What I am aiming at is to encourage each of you to consider how much effort you put into these tasks and responsibilities. If you really exert yourself more for your career than you do for your God, then which one do you care about more? Jesus said in many ways that our actions reveal our hearts.
It reminds me of a story about the man who was in process to join the Catholic Church. When he first heard about the Eucharist, he thought it sounded a bit like silly kid's stories. Then when he came to believe in it, he told others that he would give up anything to be able to receive the real body and blood of Jesus just once in his lifetime. He was revealing what he put as his highest priority. So then, what are you revealing?
Saturday, May 18, 2019
What is Our Problem Today?
In a conversation with another priest recently, he made a comment which struck right to the core. We were speaking about many of the current problems that the Church is having to undergo. We also spoke much about how people are responding in many different ways. He pointed out to me (since he knows my particular weaknesses) that all the problems are not doctrinal. Yes, there are doctrinal problems (and many of them are rampant--even among Catholics), but that is too simplistic an explanation of what we are dealing with.
The real heart of the problem is a spiritual issue, rather than a doctrinal one. My tendency is to examine things in a doctrinal way. It is certainly easier to consider things as doctrines: "either you believe in this doctrine or not". The spiritual corruption that is spreading like wildfire today, however, is much more slippery and harder to get hold of. To say that someone is wrong spiritually is not as easy to pinpoint, and it is much more difficult to remedy. You can tell when a person is spiritually damaged, but how they got there and how they can overcome it are not that easy.
It is precisely because people are spiritually damaged that we hear so many doctrinal errors and not the other way around. Yes, it is true that doctrinal errors will damage you spiritually, but that is not what the majority are experiencing today. Spiritual laziness has led to compromise in morals, lack of appreciation for things that are eternal, disrespect for God and His commands, and a general reorientation to worldliness. When people become spiritually corrupted, they become confused and will often fall for any foolish idea just because it sounds good (like global warming).
We are dealing with a spiritual and moral problem, and it has been increasing for a couple generations now at an astronomical rate. It was not as noticeable in the past as it is now, and that is what makes it hard to overcome. It has become so deep-seated in people that they often cannot even see their spiritual problems (and even think, sometimes, that their spiritual problems are actually a good thing). We can spend our time working to correct doctrinal issues (and some of that is necessary), but if we fail to work on the spiritual and moral problems that we have (which are much more difficult to diagnose) then we will just return to some other doctrinal errors in the end.
I was once asked, "how do I overcome this challenge in my life?" My answer was "increase your devotion to the Lord". The person I was speaking to stood there and stared at me for a bit with a look that made me wonder if I had just spoken in Chinese. It may seem overly simplistic, but our level of devotion always impacts our lives (in more ways that we usually expect). "Seek first His kingdom and all the rest will be added unto you" (but we do not like that, do we?). People want entertainment and a pat on the back, but not reverence for Christ and encouragement to repent.
This increased spiritual compromise has spread like a disease to the point of where there are more infected by it than not. It is like living in the days of the Black Plague, but instead of physical boils and fever, we have spiritual symptoms. The problem is, most are either ignoring the disease, or they are trying to solve it with the very same things that are causing the problem. Maybe, a few centuries from now, they will refer to this as the "Spiritual Black Plague". Whatever they call these days we live in, I suspect it will be remembered with sadness.
Numerous clergymen are compromised in their faith and practice (morally, liturgically, and doctrinally). Mass attendance is decreasing. Tithing is not what it used to be in most parishes. In general, Catholics do not know enough about their faith to distinguish it from Protestantism. We cannot blame it all on the abuse of Vatican II (we can blame quite a lot on that, but not all of it!). So then, where do we go from here? As a priest, I am going to buckle down, and work first on increasing my own holiness and that of those under my care. Every one of you should do the same in your sphere of influence and work to find a renewed spiritual vigor in your soul. There are no gimmicks or tricks to fix this. There is Christ and His grace, and to Him we must turn; will you go there with me?
The real heart of the problem is a spiritual issue, rather than a doctrinal one. My tendency is to examine things in a doctrinal way. It is certainly easier to consider things as doctrines: "either you believe in this doctrine or not". The spiritual corruption that is spreading like wildfire today, however, is much more slippery and harder to get hold of. To say that someone is wrong spiritually is not as easy to pinpoint, and it is much more difficult to remedy. You can tell when a person is spiritually damaged, but how they got there and how they can overcome it are not that easy.
It is precisely because people are spiritually damaged that we hear so many doctrinal errors and not the other way around. Yes, it is true that doctrinal errors will damage you spiritually, but that is not what the majority are experiencing today. Spiritual laziness has led to compromise in morals, lack of appreciation for things that are eternal, disrespect for God and His commands, and a general reorientation to worldliness. When people become spiritually corrupted, they become confused and will often fall for any foolish idea just because it sounds good (like global warming).
We are dealing with a spiritual and moral problem, and it has been increasing for a couple generations now at an astronomical rate. It was not as noticeable in the past as it is now, and that is what makes it hard to overcome. It has become so deep-seated in people that they often cannot even see their spiritual problems (and even think, sometimes, that their spiritual problems are actually a good thing). We can spend our time working to correct doctrinal issues (and some of that is necessary), but if we fail to work on the spiritual and moral problems that we have (which are much more difficult to diagnose) then we will just return to some other doctrinal errors in the end.
I was once asked, "how do I overcome this challenge in my life?" My answer was "increase your devotion to the Lord". The person I was speaking to stood there and stared at me for a bit with a look that made me wonder if I had just spoken in Chinese. It may seem overly simplistic, but our level of devotion always impacts our lives (in more ways that we usually expect). "Seek first His kingdom and all the rest will be added unto you" (but we do not like that, do we?). People want entertainment and a pat on the back, but not reverence for Christ and encouragement to repent.
This increased spiritual compromise has spread like a disease to the point of where there are more infected by it than not. It is like living in the days of the Black Plague, but instead of physical boils and fever, we have spiritual symptoms. The problem is, most are either ignoring the disease, or they are trying to solve it with the very same things that are causing the problem. Maybe, a few centuries from now, they will refer to this as the "Spiritual Black Plague". Whatever they call these days we live in, I suspect it will be remembered with sadness.
Numerous clergymen are compromised in their faith and practice (morally, liturgically, and doctrinally). Mass attendance is decreasing. Tithing is not what it used to be in most parishes. In general, Catholics do not know enough about their faith to distinguish it from Protestantism. We cannot blame it all on the abuse of Vatican II (we can blame quite a lot on that, but not all of it!). So then, where do we go from here? As a priest, I am going to buckle down, and work first on increasing my own holiness and that of those under my care. Every one of you should do the same in your sphere of influence and work to find a renewed spiritual vigor in your soul. There are no gimmicks or tricks to fix this. There is Christ and His grace, and to Him we must turn; will you go there with me?
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Do Not Worry
"That is the worst car accident I have ever seen that someone actually walked away from". These words were spoken by someone who worked in salvage car lot. He was standing next to me looking at my son's car. Yes, my son walked away from the accident with only a concussion and 17 stitches around his right eye and no broken bones. (Yeah, "that's gonna leave a scar".) To give some perspective, the passenger door was bent inward until it was on the driver's side of the car (my son had a bruise on his lung from it). The passenger seat was completely crushed into a space about 5 inches wide. My son was driving and, yes, he survived. Technically, he had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and he had to take a few days off work, but you could say he "walked away from it".
I got the call this last Saturday; just a short time before I was heading out to say Mass. "Are you Mr. Seraiah? Your son has been in a car accident and he asked me to call you." The 45 minute drive to the hospital, that was truly agonizing. I had no idea what I was going to encounter. I had called my wife and she met me at the hospital. On the way over I prayed; a lot. I did pray a few times that God had not chosen this to be the day that my son was to leave the world for eternity. Yet, even more so I prayed that whatever we were going to experience (broken bones, scars, loss of limb, etc...) that the Lord would be there with us through it. The more I prayed this, the harder it was to pray that he would "be OK".
When we pray that someone will be "OK" it is not wrong; certainly not. Yet, it was clear to me in those moments that I had to prepare myself that my son might not be OK after the accident. Sure, he was coherent enough to ask someone to call me, but that did not mean that everything would be OK. The danger is that we are not only praying that someone will be OK, but also somewhat demanding that it be so. We cannot ever demand from God the outcome that we prefer. Instead we have to ask for the outcome we prefer, but be willing to accept that God's wisdom may be different from ours (and often is).
I realized on that drive that whatever our future held for us (and especially for him) that it was all in God's hands. He had chosen that day for us, and He had already determined that He would be there with us. It was that wondrous truth that helped me to keep my composure when I walked into that emergency room. When he reached up and asked to hold my hand, I took his hand with the knowledge that God was present in that room with us, and that He would always be with us -- regardless of what happened. Now, please do not get me wrong; I was not a steely-eyed, cold-hearted machine. Yes, I got emotional quite a few times that day. My emotions, however, did not run rampant; they were under the care of the all powerful grace of our Redeemer.
All this pushed my mind to think of many of the warnings about what the future holds (prophecies of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita, etc.), and the clear signs of the times that things are degenerating at breakneck speed lately. Here we are heading toward a future that seems to be quite frightening, and we do not know what is coming. We have no idea what we are going to experience. Will it be cuts and bruises? Will it be loss of life and limb? Will it be the second coming? We do not know, and yet, we do know something that is more significant than knowing what those trials will be like. We know that Jesus said He would be with us always.
If we truly believe this promise of our Lord, then it will impact our behavior. There are times when we have to grieve, but we are supposed to grieve with hope (cf. 1 Thess 4:13). In fact, we are supposed to do all things with hope; even drive to the hospital to be with an injured son. We are not supposed to grieve with the hope that we will get what we want, but rather the hope that God will take care of our loved ones who pass on to be with Him, and also take care of us who remain so that we can be confident in serving Him.
Are you concerned about the future? If you are not, then you are likely missing something; we have a lot to be concerned about. Should we genuinely worry? No, of course we should not. That is because Jesus has said very specifically that we should not. We do not worry, precisely because it is Jesus Who said not to. When He told the Apostles not to worry, He had just recently warned them about the coming persecution that came upon the Church in the first century where some of the Apostles, and many of the clergy and laity gave their lives for their faith. It was not an empty "hey, don't worry about it". It was an encouraging "thou shalt not worry, because thou hast nothing to worry about with Christ on the throne". Let us take confidence, and keep our hope, in Christ, Who remains with us even when things do get bad.
I got the call this last Saturday; just a short time before I was heading out to say Mass. "Are you Mr. Seraiah? Your son has been in a car accident and he asked me to call you." The 45 minute drive to the hospital, that was truly agonizing. I had no idea what I was going to encounter. I had called my wife and she met me at the hospital. On the way over I prayed; a lot. I did pray a few times that God had not chosen this to be the day that my son was to leave the world for eternity. Yet, even more so I prayed that whatever we were going to experience (broken bones, scars, loss of limb, etc...) that the Lord would be there with us through it. The more I prayed this, the harder it was to pray that he would "be OK".
When we pray that someone will be "OK" it is not wrong; certainly not. Yet, it was clear to me in those moments that I had to prepare myself that my son might not be OK after the accident. Sure, he was coherent enough to ask someone to call me, but that did not mean that everything would be OK. The danger is that we are not only praying that someone will be OK, but also somewhat demanding that it be so. We cannot ever demand from God the outcome that we prefer. Instead we have to ask for the outcome we prefer, but be willing to accept that God's wisdom may be different from ours (and often is).
I realized on that drive that whatever our future held for us (and especially for him) that it was all in God's hands. He had chosen that day for us, and He had already determined that He would be there with us. It was that wondrous truth that helped me to keep my composure when I walked into that emergency room. When he reached up and asked to hold my hand, I took his hand with the knowledge that God was present in that room with us, and that He would always be with us -- regardless of what happened. Now, please do not get me wrong; I was not a steely-eyed, cold-hearted machine. Yes, I got emotional quite a few times that day. My emotions, however, did not run rampant; they were under the care of the all powerful grace of our Redeemer.
All this pushed my mind to think of many of the warnings about what the future holds (prophecies of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita, etc.), and the clear signs of the times that things are degenerating at breakneck speed lately. Here we are heading toward a future that seems to be quite frightening, and we do not know what is coming. We have no idea what we are going to experience. Will it be cuts and bruises? Will it be loss of life and limb? Will it be the second coming? We do not know, and yet, we do know something that is more significant than knowing what those trials will be like. We know that Jesus said He would be with us always.
If we truly believe this promise of our Lord, then it will impact our behavior. There are times when we have to grieve, but we are supposed to grieve with hope (cf. 1 Thess 4:13). In fact, we are supposed to do all things with hope; even drive to the hospital to be with an injured son. We are not supposed to grieve with the hope that we will get what we want, but rather the hope that God will take care of our loved ones who pass on to be with Him, and also take care of us who remain so that we can be confident in serving Him.
Are you concerned about the future? If you are not, then you are likely missing something; we have a lot to be concerned about. Should we genuinely worry? No, of course we should not. That is because Jesus has said very specifically that we should not. We do not worry, precisely because it is Jesus Who said not to. When He told the Apostles not to worry, He had just recently warned them about the coming persecution that came upon the Church in the first century where some of the Apostles, and many of the clergy and laity gave their lives for their faith. It was not an empty "hey, don't worry about it". It was an encouraging "thou shalt not worry, because thou hast nothing to worry about with Christ on the throne". Let us take confidence, and keep our hope, in Christ, Who remains with us even when things do get bad.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Our Local Diocese
I truly rejoice at being able to serve as a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and I thank God for my Bishop Steven Lopes. I also want to say, emphatically, that I rejoice that we are located within the boundaries of the Diocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau. We at St. George have a wonderful relationship with our local diocese and it is a great encouragement to us to have such deep and sincere support from them and especially from Bishop Edward Rice.
We may have some different traditions than the other parishes in the diocese, but it is clear in many ways that they know that we are all brothers and sisters in the One, Holy, Catholic Church. Just today we received our copy of The Mirror, the diocese's newspaper, and they included an article about St. George's new building that was very supportive. If you would, please offer up some prayers for Bishop Rice and his diocese.
We may have some different traditions than the other parishes in the diocese, but it is clear in many ways that they know that we are all brothers and sisters in the One, Holy, Catholic Church. Just today we received our copy of The Mirror, the diocese's newspaper, and they included an article about St. George's new building that was very supportive. If you would, please offer up some prayers for Bishop Rice and his diocese.
Suffering to Survive
The last couple day's readings for Mass (and the next couple as well) give us the passages from the book of Acts where the first "persecution" came against the Church. This was in the earliest days of her existence, and that should cause us to pause and think about it. In the beginning stages of a new organization's existence it needs stability and security. A direct persecution on the Church in those days would seem to the casual observer as a disaster. It may appear that God was not doing His job of protecting His new "baby" flock, but we all know that is not the case. God was still protecting His flock, but He was also doing something else so much more powerful; He was teaching it by experience.
In a small, fledgling community, every problem seems magnified. There are fewer people so it is harder for problems to be missed, and thus, it is normal for everyone to notice every little issue. In a parish of 1000 people, one grumpy person will not likely get noticed by most parishioners unless he is extremely vocal. In a parish of 25, one grumpy person can hurt the entire community with just a few words. Thus, a full persecution coming against the Church in the first century would seem to be devastating. Yet, the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. The Church was not devastated; it actually grew!
The Church is never promised an "easy ride" and there are many ways that the Lord can help us to learn that fact. Sometimes it is through simple challenging events, and other times it might be through some sort of persecution or trial. Whichever it may be, Jesus always knows what is best for us, and chooses the exact circumstances to strengthen us in our faith. I am reminded of the illustration of a butterfly. When it is first emerging from its cocoon, if we intervene and help it, then it will be too weak and will die early. It is the very struggle and effort of releasing itself from the cocoon that gives it the strength it needs to survive. The Church is exactly like that; it needs to suffer to survive.
You have probably heard the quote, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church". Whatever the trial may be, it is good for a parish to experience it because the Lord, in His great love for us, uses these things to teach us and strengthen us. Sometimes it is just to make us reassess who we are and what we are doing. Sometimes it is to draw the community together in a way that they were not before. And other times it may happen so that we can more deeply appreciate a blessing that comes after the trial. Whatever God is doing in each situation it is always for our good.
For a small, new, parish, a trial of this sort may seem to "too much" for some. It can make people at times feel like giving up and just moving on to another parish (I know, I have seen it before). Yet, that will create three new problems. The first problem is that the one who leaves will not learn from the trial itself, and will only go forth in ignorance. The second problem is that the one who leaves will think that he can find a parish that God does not send challenges to (which is never the case). The third problem is that those who remain can be discouraged because of the loss of parishioners that used to be there; their absence is noticed, and the reason for their departure is often difficult to discuss appropriately.
This is also true for larger established parishes. They will also endure various trials that the Lord allows to come their way, but these trials will usually not be as noticeable unless they are very large. This means that it is important that the priest take advantage of these difficulties and use them to teach the people what it means to stick together and help one another through the hurt.
It is not just a "problem of a fallen world" that a local parish will experience suffering and persecution at times. It is an intentional action by God to allow these things to help us grow and serve Him with greater devotion. You can see it in what happened to the Church in the first century; persecution led to the spread of the gospel. What will God use our coming trials and challenges to bring about? We will only know if we trust Him and remain faithful.
In a small, fledgling community, every problem seems magnified. There are fewer people so it is harder for problems to be missed, and thus, it is normal for everyone to notice every little issue. In a parish of 1000 people, one grumpy person will not likely get noticed by most parishioners unless he is extremely vocal. In a parish of 25, one grumpy person can hurt the entire community with just a few words. Thus, a full persecution coming against the Church in the first century would seem to be devastating. Yet, the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. The Church was not devastated; it actually grew!
The Church is never promised an "easy ride" and there are many ways that the Lord can help us to learn that fact. Sometimes it is through simple challenging events, and other times it might be through some sort of persecution or trial. Whichever it may be, Jesus always knows what is best for us, and chooses the exact circumstances to strengthen us in our faith. I am reminded of the illustration of a butterfly. When it is first emerging from its cocoon, if we intervene and help it, then it will be too weak and will die early. It is the very struggle and effort of releasing itself from the cocoon that gives it the strength it needs to survive. The Church is exactly like that; it needs to suffer to survive.
You have probably heard the quote, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church". Whatever the trial may be, it is good for a parish to experience it because the Lord, in His great love for us, uses these things to teach us and strengthen us. Sometimes it is just to make us reassess who we are and what we are doing. Sometimes it is to draw the community together in a way that they were not before. And other times it may happen so that we can more deeply appreciate a blessing that comes after the trial. Whatever God is doing in each situation it is always for our good.
For a small, new, parish, a trial of this sort may seem to "too much" for some. It can make people at times feel like giving up and just moving on to another parish (I know, I have seen it before). Yet, that will create three new problems. The first problem is that the one who leaves will not learn from the trial itself, and will only go forth in ignorance. The second problem is that the one who leaves will think that he can find a parish that God does not send challenges to (which is never the case). The third problem is that those who remain can be discouraged because of the loss of parishioners that used to be there; their absence is noticed, and the reason for their departure is often difficult to discuss appropriately.
This is also true for larger established parishes. They will also endure various trials that the Lord allows to come their way, but these trials will usually not be as noticeable unless they are very large. This means that it is important that the priest take advantage of these difficulties and use them to teach the people what it means to stick together and help one another through the hurt.
It is not just a "problem of a fallen world" that a local parish will experience suffering and persecution at times. It is an intentional action by God to allow these things to help us grow and serve Him with greater devotion. You can see it in what happened to the Church in the first century; persecution led to the spread of the gospel. What will God use our coming trials and challenges to bring about? We will only know if we trust Him and remain faithful.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Spiritual Suicide
It was St Francis De Sales who said "the only thing worse than spiritual murder, is spiritual suicide." It is possible to destroy another person's faith, but why would someone want to destroy their own? It is hard to believe that anyone would do this; yet people do all the time. Spiritual suicide happens when someone makes choices that lead to the destruction of their faith in God. You may wonder what types of choices those might be. The best example of spiritual suicide is the devil himself. His downfall was pride -- in some way he thought more highly of himself than was right.
When a person heads down a path that ends up destroying his own faith in the process it will usually come from some sin that is similar to the devil's pride. If a person lifts himself up in his own eyes, and is unwilling to budge, then he has moved his faith to himself and away from God. This is often the case when someone believes that he knows more than others, and that his opinion is always the best. The result is that he quickly becomes sinfully stubborn (the old English word "froward" is quite appropriate here). Presuming upon the perfect accuracy of your own opinions will always lead you down the path of rejecting God because you are trusting yourself above all else; hence: spiritual suicide.
People who are stubbornly prideful will often assume that everything is "black and white" and that their position is the only one possible. Now, I will not deny that some things are actually "black and white"--Jesus is divine, that is a "black and white" issue--yet there are many things that are very gray. The problem with making a presumption about your opinion being of the "black and white" category, is that we do not know everything. Only God is omniscient, and the only time that we can be dogmatic is regarding dogma (that is why we call it "dogma"!). When a person does not have all the information on a subject, it may look black and white until they delve deeper. Yet if someone is unwilling to accept they he can be wrong on a non-dogmatic subject, then he has reached the peak of selfish pride and is committing spiritual suicide.
So then, let me ask the question in another way. What do you do when you believe that you know something that no one else recognizes to be true? Maybe it is something that you believe happened, and no one else thinks it happened. Maybe it is an interpretation of something that no one else agrees with. Whatever it may be, how do you deal with it? As a protestant, I can think of many times when I would find myself or someone else in this situation. Taking the cue from Martin Luther, we would always dig our feet in and "take our stand" (ready to die for our personal opinion if need be). Is this the position of finite people who know that their knowledge is limited? No.
When you appear to be the only one with a particular opinion on a subject (or maybe it is just you and a couple other people who only heard from you on the subject), you must walk very carefully. To stand dogmatically on something that is only your opinion might be correct, but it also might not be. There are basically three options at this juncture. Either, first, you are a genius/saint (just one of those brilliant people who sees truth when no one else can see it); or, second, you are deceived by someone or something (which is not your fault exactly); or, third, you are being stubborn and refuse to listen to reason. Many people think that they are in the first category (but that is a remarkably prideful stance to take). Most of those who are the "only one" are in the second or third category.
We must acknowledge that there are times when we need to dig our feet in, and there are times when we need to respond humbly and let something go. Yet, how does one tell the difference? Back when I was a protestant, we had no standard of measurement other than our own opinion (except for the few times when we would allow someone else's opinion to influence us). As Catholics, however, we do have a standard. We have the standard of both divine and ecclesiastical law. Divine law is what is laid out for us directly by God Himself (which is supported in ecclesiastical law). This includes things like the ten commandments. Ecclesiastical law includes those things that are not specifically laid out in divine law, but that are declared by the Church (and are in complete accord with divine law).
This does not mean that the Church can merely make up any rules it wants ("all Catholics must wear green colored shoes on the third Wednesday of the month"). Yet, God does give to the Church the authority to enact certain laws that declare how we are to obey the divine law. For example, we obey the third commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy by going to Mass and by refraining from servile work on Sundays. The Lord did not technically say "go to Mass" but the Church makes application of this divine law with its own ecclesiastical law.
Because of this authority granted to the Church, we are obligated to obey the Church in all her commands. Therefore, even though God never actually said anything specifically about what you can put down a sacrarium, the Church sets very specific rules (and even threatens excommunication to those who ignore some of those rules). Therefore, if something is clearly declared either in divine or ecclesiastical law, then we can be sure that it is as it says; obedience to God and His Church is essential for our salvation. When we are outside those two categories of law, we may have an opinion, but it is nothing more than that: opinion.
So then, we can summarize this by saying that we have the standard of Church dogma -- but sometimes that is not enough (because it is only so specific) and so we have to go outside that and ask for the wise input of others. When neither divine or ecclesiastical law makes a clear declaration as to the subject we are dealing with (and there are many subjects they do not touch on), then we can attempt to go to wise people who are faithful to the Church's magisterium, and see what their opinion is. If we have done that, and even they do not agree with us, then we have to make a choice. We can give up our opinion and move on, or we can hold it, quietly, and pray that God will help whoever is in error (us or them) to be corrected.
If you ever find yourself asking "why am I the only one who sees this?" you should proceed with extreme caution. To hold a position that is not held by anyone else cannot be done with pride or superiority. We cannot look down on others who disagree, since there is always the possibility that we are the one who is wrong. The answer to the question: "why am I the only one" could very possibly be "because I am wrong". No, the majority does not determine truth (contrary to popular American ideas), but if God is going to use a single individual to bring a "new truth" to the world, that single individual needs to be humble, patient, and respectful to others.
The wrong position to take is to become a personal martyr and choose "this hill" to die on (regardless of how many people you hurt in the process). Those who do this are unwilling to listen to reason, and will usually end up finding other "hills" to die on. They will see themselves more and more as "the last faithful man standing". There is no spiritual good in this at all; it is what I referred to above as "spiritual suicide". Yes, there are times when we need to die on a hill, but that is always for something that is a definitive position of divine or ecclesiastical law (rejecting abortion; affirming redemption by Christ alone, etc.). Personal opinion or interpretation (especially when none of those in authority over us see it the same way) is never of this nature--that is the protestant way of doing things; not the Catholic way.
Anyone can hold a personal opinion that no one else holds, and do so in a humble way. If you are holding it, however, in a way that harms others (especially if it harms a large group of people, like your home parish), then you are doing so in a sinful manner. We do not cause harm in order to bring about good. So, then, if you wish to believe that the moon is made of cheese, and that there are a race of aliens who live at the bottom of the sea, fine and dandy. Do not, however, do so with a selfish and prideful heart. Trust in the Lord, and ask Him to enlighten both you and those who disagree with you. In this way, God's truth will always win out.
When a person heads down a path that ends up destroying his own faith in the process it will usually come from some sin that is similar to the devil's pride. If a person lifts himself up in his own eyes, and is unwilling to budge, then he has moved his faith to himself and away from God. This is often the case when someone believes that he knows more than others, and that his opinion is always the best. The result is that he quickly becomes sinfully stubborn (the old English word "froward" is quite appropriate here). Presuming upon the perfect accuracy of your own opinions will always lead you down the path of rejecting God because you are trusting yourself above all else; hence: spiritual suicide.
People who are stubbornly prideful will often assume that everything is "black and white" and that their position is the only one possible. Now, I will not deny that some things are actually "black and white"--Jesus is divine, that is a "black and white" issue--yet there are many things that are very gray. The problem with making a presumption about your opinion being of the "black and white" category, is that we do not know everything. Only God is omniscient, and the only time that we can be dogmatic is regarding dogma (that is why we call it "dogma"!). When a person does not have all the information on a subject, it may look black and white until they delve deeper. Yet if someone is unwilling to accept they he can be wrong on a non-dogmatic subject, then he has reached the peak of selfish pride and is committing spiritual suicide.
So then, let me ask the question in another way. What do you do when you believe that you know something that no one else recognizes to be true? Maybe it is something that you believe happened, and no one else thinks it happened. Maybe it is an interpretation of something that no one else agrees with. Whatever it may be, how do you deal with it? As a protestant, I can think of many times when I would find myself or someone else in this situation. Taking the cue from Martin Luther, we would always dig our feet in and "take our stand" (ready to die for our personal opinion if need be). Is this the position of finite people who know that their knowledge is limited? No.
When you appear to be the only one with a particular opinion on a subject (or maybe it is just you and a couple other people who only heard from you on the subject), you must walk very carefully. To stand dogmatically on something that is only your opinion might be correct, but it also might not be. There are basically three options at this juncture. Either, first, you are a genius/saint (just one of those brilliant people who sees truth when no one else can see it); or, second, you are deceived by someone or something (which is not your fault exactly); or, third, you are being stubborn and refuse to listen to reason. Many people think that they are in the first category (but that is a remarkably prideful stance to take). Most of those who are the "only one" are in the second or third category.
We must acknowledge that there are times when we need to dig our feet in, and there are times when we need to respond humbly and let something go. Yet, how does one tell the difference? Back when I was a protestant, we had no standard of measurement other than our own opinion (except for the few times when we would allow someone else's opinion to influence us). As Catholics, however, we do have a standard. We have the standard of both divine and ecclesiastical law. Divine law is what is laid out for us directly by God Himself (which is supported in ecclesiastical law). This includes things like the ten commandments. Ecclesiastical law includes those things that are not specifically laid out in divine law, but that are declared by the Church (and are in complete accord with divine law).
This does not mean that the Church can merely make up any rules it wants ("all Catholics must wear green colored shoes on the third Wednesday of the month"). Yet, God does give to the Church the authority to enact certain laws that declare how we are to obey the divine law. For example, we obey the third commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy by going to Mass and by refraining from servile work on Sundays. The Lord did not technically say "go to Mass" but the Church makes application of this divine law with its own ecclesiastical law.
Because of this authority granted to the Church, we are obligated to obey the Church in all her commands. Therefore, even though God never actually said anything specifically about what you can put down a sacrarium, the Church sets very specific rules (and even threatens excommunication to those who ignore some of those rules). Therefore, if something is clearly declared either in divine or ecclesiastical law, then we can be sure that it is as it says; obedience to God and His Church is essential for our salvation. When we are outside those two categories of law, we may have an opinion, but it is nothing more than that: opinion.
So then, we can summarize this by saying that we have the standard of Church dogma -- but sometimes that is not enough (because it is only so specific) and so we have to go outside that and ask for the wise input of others. When neither divine or ecclesiastical law makes a clear declaration as to the subject we are dealing with (and there are many subjects they do not touch on), then we can attempt to go to wise people who are faithful to the Church's magisterium, and see what their opinion is. If we have done that, and even they do not agree with us, then we have to make a choice. We can give up our opinion and move on, or we can hold it, quietly, and pray that God will help whoever is in error (us or them) to be corrected.
If you ever find yourself asking "why am I the only one who sees this?" you should proceed with extreme caution. To hold a position that is not held by anyone else cannot be done with pride or superiority. We cannot look down on others who disagree, since there is always the possibility that we are the one who is wrong. The answer to the question: "why am I the only one" could very possibly be "because I am wrong". No, the majority does not determine truth (contrary to popular American ideas), but if God is going to use a single individual to bring a "new truth" to the world, that single individual needs to be humble, patient, and respectful to others.
The wrong position to take is to become a personal martyr and choose "this hill" to die on (regardless of how many people you hurt in the process). Those who do this are unwilling to listen to reason, and will usually end up finding other "hills" to die on. They will see themselves more and more as "the last faithful man standing". There is no spiritual good in this at all; it is what I referred to above as "spiritual suicide". Yes, there are times when we need to die on a hill, but that is always for something that is a definitive position of divine or ecclesiastical law (rejecting abortion; affirming redemption by Christ alone, etc.). Personal opinion or interpretation (especially when none of those in authority over us see it the same way) is never of this nature--that is the protestant way of doing things; not the Catholic way.
Anyone can hold a personal opinion that no one else holds, and do so in a humble way. If you are holding it, however, in a way that harms others (especially if it harms a large group of people, like your home parish), then you are doing so in a sinful manner. We do not cause harm in order to bring about good. So, then, if you wish to believe that the moon is made of cheese, and that there are a race of aliens who live at the bottom of the sea, fine and dandy. Do not, however, do so with a selfish and prideful heart. Trust in the Lord, and ask Him to enlighten both you and those who disagree with you. In this way, God's truth will always win out.
Friday, May 3, 2019
...to admonish Pope Francis for heresy...
The title of this post is a quote from a 20 page document that was recently issued (the link is below). It outlines the apparent heresy of Pope Francis (on a number of points) and calls upon the Bishops of the Catholic Church to do something to resolve this grave problem.
So then, we have now come to this. This is indeed sad. Not sad that they did so, but sad that they had to. I have already said that I refuse to try to protect him anymore. It is obvious that we have a "less than faithful" Pope; Archbishop Vigano has shown that to us and no one has even attempted (with any cogency) to refute his claims. Now it appears also that we have a Pope who is an open heretic. I did not want to write those words, but this is where we are, and this is what the Lord has allowed for us.
I think of the same experience when Obama was chosen as the President of the USA (twice! how embarrassing is that?). I kept telling people, "God often gives us the leaders we deserve, and not the leaders we want". That is also the case in the Church, and with all the compromise (and failure to repent of it) that is prevailing in the Catholic Church, we should not be surprised that this is what we have come to. Francis is the product of the moral and theological degradation that occurred after the abuses of Vatican II took hold throughout the Church. "Garbage in, garbage out".
I have been trying for a few years now just to teach the truth as clear as possible (without coming across as accusing or attacking the Holy Father), so that my people will hear what is good and right, and know how to reject the errors of Pope Francis. Although I have seen good results in my own parishes, nothing appears to be happening to stop the steady stream of errors and confusing statements that the Pope makes. It must be the Bishops. Hence, the following paragraph from the document:
We (everyone who is not a Bishop) need to be in prayer. We need to bathe this in prayer. We need to drench this in prayer. We need to be hammering on the gates of Heaven, pleading with our Lord to have mercy on us at this time. Pray for your Bishop; that is what I am doing right now.
Here is the link to the document in case you do not already have it.
So then, we have now come to this. This is indeed sad. Not sad that they did so, but sad that they had to. I have already said that I refuse to try to protect him anymore. It is obvious that we have a "less than faithful" Pope; Archbishop Vigano has shown that to us and no one has even attempted (with any cogency) to refute his claims. Now it appears also that we have a Pope who is an open heretic. I did not want to write those words, but this is where we are, and this is what the Lord has allowed for us.
I think of the same experience when Obama was chosen as the President of the USA (twice! how embarrassing is that?). I kept telling people, "God often gives us the leaders we deserve, and not the leaders we want". That is also the case in the Church, and with all the compromise (and failure to repent of it) that is prevailing in the Catholic Church, we should not be surprised that this is what we have come to. Francis is the product of the moral and theological degradation that occurred after the abuses of Vatican II took hold throughout the Church. "Garbage in, garbage out".
I have been trying for a few years now just to teach the truth as clear as possible (without coming across as accusing or attacking the Holy Father), so that my people will hear what is good and right, and know how to reject the errors of Pope Francis. Although I have seen good results in my own parishes, nothing appears to be happening to stop the steady stream of errors and confusing statements that the Pope makes. It must be the Bishops. Hence, the following paragraph from the document:
Yet in so grave and unprecedented an emergency we believe that it will no longer suffice to teach the truth as it were abstractly, or even to deprecate ‘confusion’ in the Church in rather general terms. For Catholics will hardly believe that the pope is attacking the faith unless this be said expressly; and hence, merely abstract denunciations risk providing a cover for Pope Francis to advance and to achieve his goal.As the document says, it is not our place to "declare" Francis a heretic, but it is our place to say "this is what we see" and to ask our Bishops (as the document does) to do something (anything) about this. That is where the rubber hits the road. Who will be brave enough to step out and do something? Will this just be one more motion that is ignored and swept under the rug? If Francis is a heretic, that is certainly what he and his cohorts want to have happen. If he is not a heretic, this should be easy to resolve; if he is, then we must do something now for the sake of the holiness of the Church (how many souls have already been lost because of something Francis said or did?).
We (everyone who is not a Bishop) need to be in prayer. We need to bathe this in prayer. We need to drench this in prayer. We need to be hammering on the gates of Heaven, pleading with our Lord to have mercy on us at this time. Pray for your Bishop; that is what I am doing right now.
Here is the link to the document in case you do not already have it.
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