Faith's Mid-Term Exam

Readings for Sunday, October 19/ 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalm 96:1, 3-5, 7-10
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5
Matthew 22:15-21

God acts in strange ways sometimes. One day I was at the seminary in the chapel and felt convicted that I needed to simplify my life a bit, so I prayed for the grace to spend less time on the computer, internet, and my phone. I concluded my prayer, went upstairs, sat down in my chair and swung around to work at my desk. In this swing I hit my knee on the desk, causing my solid glass picture frame to come crashing down directly on the screen of my laptop. Prayer answered! Not how I had expected and much more expensively than anticipated, but prayer answered.

For the past couple of weeks there has been a Synod of Bishops (a gathering of Cardinals, Bishops, lay men and women, and various professionals from across the globe) in Rome to discuss “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” That’s a mouthful of a title, but the basic idea seems great – how can the Church help families today to thrive in life and in faith. And so they had hours and hours of discussions on a whole host of topics, but interestingly enough, when the secular media read the document that was released half-way through the Synod as a summary of their discussions something entirely different came up – ‘The Church is Okay with Gays!’, ‘Ground-breaking changes in the Church!’ and ‘Church finally coming out of dark ages!’ And my first thoughts were basically (pardon my language) ‘What the hell does any of that have to do with the family!?’ Nothing! And with those announcements came a great uproar from all sides. Some greatly in favor of such changes and other in shock because they Church cannot make such changes. But in the midst of all of this, we have to realize one thing: this is a test. Do we trust God to work through all of this? It’s a test.

We don’t often think about God testing us these days. It’s not part of our concept of God and yet it is very much God’s concept of Himself. It happens all throughout the Scriptures, over and over again; testing the love of the people for God. We see one instance in our first reading from Isaiah about ‘the anointed, Cyrus.’ Such a description would have caused a great scandal among the Israelites because the anointed was the Messiah, the savior of God’s people, but Cyrus wasn’t even a Jew. He wasn’t even a believer! “It is I who arm you, though you know me not,” the Lord says of him. Talk about a test – the savior of the people chosen by God wouldn’t even believe in that God himself? Wow.

And it’s not just the Lord who puts us to the test, right? Sometimes we put God to the test, though we aren’t necessary supposed to do so. But that’s what happens in the Gospel this week. For the past few weeks, Jesus has been on the offensive, asking questions and speaking parables. But this week they come after Him with questions, beginning with that of the tax to Caesar. It was a good question because either way He answered it meant rebellion; to pay the tax was to rebel against the Jewish culture and apparently acknowledge an earthly ‘god’ in Casear, to not pay the tax was to rebel against Caesar and surely merit death. And to this quandary Jesus poses the question about whose image is there. In the coin, we see the image of Caesar and are challenged to give to Caesar what is his, but the next step is the catch – but we must give to God what belongs to God. The coin was in Caesar’s image, but what is made in God’s image? Us – you and me. And that’s the problem.

It’s hard to ‘give to God what is God’s’ because means that we must give God our entire self. Our mind, our heart, our will, our desires, our hopes, our dreams. It goes against one of our deepest desires, which is to have control. To have control means we can have some comfort in knowing what to expect of the future, we can put our trust in our own work and not have to interact with anyone higher (or so we think). So the real question here is do we trust God that much? Each night for the Church’s official Night Prayer there is a response that echoes the Psalms and the Lord Jesus on the Cross which says, “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” I had prayed those words well over a thousand times but then one night I prayed them and looked at the crucifix and realized what was in the hands of the Lord: nails. “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” Into your hands I place my life, my will, ever wish I have for the future, there to be nailed with your hands to the Cross and there to die, trusting that the resurrection reality you have in store for me is that much greater.

With the Synod there were three main responses and to each of them the invitation is to trust. For those who are afraid that the Church is making all sorts of seismic shifts and changes, it is an opportunity to trust that the Lord who gave the Church the Holy Spirit to lead us in all truth and promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her will be faithful to us and protect us from the influence of the evil one. For those who are excited about the prospect of radical change in the Church, it is an opportunity to trust that the Lord who gave us the law of Love 2000 years ago has not abandoned us and that the Law that sometimes feels harsh, or exclusive is meant not to weigh us down but to lift us up into heaven. And for those who have no concern one way or the other, this time is a chance to trust that all of these things being discussed and the decisions to be made have a great importance in the life of the Church and the world.

God works in strange ways sometimes, but in those strangest of times we need only remember that it is likely a test to measure the extent of our love for the Lord. It is a test to see just how much we are willing to place our will into the crucified hands of Jesus. It is a test to see how firm we our in awareness of the Spirit’s action all around us. As we come to receive Holy Communion today it is an opportunity to unite ourselves to God not only in the flesh, but also to let our will become more conformed to His. Do we love God that much? 

Perfecting the Sinner

Moses receiving the Law of the Lord

Readings for Sunday, February 16/ 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Sirach 15:15-20

Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Matthew 5:17-37

“Blessed are they who follow the Law of the Lord.”

I hope that all of us can point to times in our lives when we followed the Lord’s commands in some way and experienced blessings as a result. It’s not like a treat for playing nice with God, but more a reality that when we do things according to His plan it works out better for us because that’s how things were made to work in the first place. But as much as I know that in my head, sometimes when I hear that phrase, “blessed are they who follow the Law of the Lord” part of me wants to call shenanigans. I don’t know about your lived experience of the faith each day, but mine isn’t easy. There are many times when I feel anything other than blessed by trying to follow the Law of the Lord because doing so is difficult. Anyone who thinks that being a Christian is easy clearly hasn’t given it a genuine effort. Think about the challenging words we just heard from the Gospel. It’s relatively easy to avoid murdering someone, but to avoid even getting angry with them? Not so easy.

In the Gospel we heard the Lord say to His listeners and to us, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” He takes the requirements of Law and rather than strip them away, He goes even deeper. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was caught up in the externals. The hearts of the people were not yet ready to be what God wanted them to be so He gave them externals to help shape their hearts, or at least that was the intention. And so if you don’t kill someone, you’re a good person. If you don’t commit adultery, you’re a good person. If you do the right ceremonial washings, house cleansings, etc., you’re a good person. It was so much in the external. But with the coming of Christ everything changes.

With Jesus’ death and Resurrection, He has redeemed us and given us the grace – His life within us – to be able to live not only by externals, but even by the deeper realities they were meant to bring about. No longer is it enough for us to simply not kill, we have to not be angry with others. No longer is it enough to not commit adultery, but we have to look upon others with a pure heart. It is the grace of Jesus Christ that enables us to do these things. The concessions that were there ‘because of hardness of heart’ for the Jews have been taken away and we are called to enter into that real relationship with Christ that goes to the heart. That’s the most important part for us now: the transformation of the heart. We can do all of the external things such as going to Mass, praying a rosary, reading the Bible, and doing acts of kindness, but if we never come to know Jesus Christ and let Him change our hearts, then we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We should do all of those externals, but we need to make sure that they correspond to an internal disposition of our hearts, that we open ourselves to His grace.

Now I’m saying all of this about opening to God’s grace and relying upon Him to help us do the things we’re supposed to do, but at the same time I look at myself and realize that I celebrate Mass daily, go to confession regularly, spend time in prayer each day, and try to serve others as Christ calls me to, and yet I still sin. A lot. It frustrates me quite often, which is why I sometimes get frustrated with those words from the responsorial psalm. And yet, the thing is that I know God still loves me and sees the effort I’m giving. Elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus tells us to ‘be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” He calls us to perfection, but He also knows that often we will fall short. The most important thing for us to remember, though, is that we have to keep getting up and following after the Lord. If we do our best to remember that the unimaginable glory of Heaven awaits the righteous and always strive to act like Jesus wants us to, then things will work out and we will indeed be blessed. It’s about keeping our eyes on Christ and trying to be perfect, knowing that it takes a whole lifetime for His grace to make that happen.

There’s a beautiful quote that I came across yesterday in the Liturgy of the Hours that summarizes this well. It’s from Blessed Isaac of Stella and it says this:

The more any way of life sincerely strives for the love of God and the love of our neighbor for God’s sake, the more acceptable it is to God, no matter what be its observances or external form. For charity is the reason why anything should be done or left undone, changed or left unchanged; it is the initial principle and the end to which all things should be directed. Whatever is honestly done out of love and in accordance with love can never be blameworthy. May he then deign to grant us this love, for without it we cannot please him, and without him we can do absolutely nothing, God, who lives and reigns for ever. Amen.

O Emmanuel

Latin: O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

English: O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” (7:14). Remember “Emmanuel” means “God is with us.”

Reflection taken from Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

O Rex Gentium

Latin: O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

English: O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (9:5), and “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (2:4).

Reflection taken from Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

O Oriens

Latin: O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

English: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” 

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1). 

Reflection taken from Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

O Clavis David

Latin: O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israël, qui aperis, et nemo claudit, claudis, et nemo aperuit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

English: O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, AI will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6). 

Reflection taken from Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

O Radix Jesse

Latin: O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

English: O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and A On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1). 

Reflection taken from Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

O Adonai

Latin: O Adonai, et dux domus Israël, qui Moyse in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

English: O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, “But He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (11:4-5); and “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic; yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, he it is who will save us.” (33:22).

Reflection taken from Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

O Antiphons/ O Sapientia

Today we begin the 'O Antiphons'! These antiphons are prayed immediately before the Magnificat during Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours from December 17-23, marking the octave of celebration leading up to the joyous nativity of the Lord. Each antiphon points toward a different title of the Messiah, prophecies spoken by Isaiah, and the nearness of Christmas. Also, as noted by Professor Robert Greenberg, these antiphons seem to have been arranged with a purpose in mind: if you take the first letter of each Latin title in order of their closeness to Christmas, you find the phrase 'ero cras,' which in Latin means "I will come tomorrow." Pretty neat! For more info, check out Fr. William Saunders' post HERE.

Beginning with this post, I will be posting each of the antiphons and maybe an accompanying musical setting for reflection as we close in on these final days of Advent.

O Antiphon for December 17:

Latin: O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

English: O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation. 

Reflection: Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).

The Joys of Heaven

In the Office of Readings for the Breviary this morning, there was a beautiful reflection by St. Thomas Aquinas on the joys of Heaven that really made me pause and think for a bit. So often my concept of Heaven, though it is necessarily communal, is rather personalistic in reference to simply beholding God's face. As most children tend to think of Heaven as a place characterized by their favorite things - perpetual games, cotton candy and other such things. The thing that really struck me was St. Thomas' words about our relationship to others there and how our joy perpetually increases. Rather than try to summarize it and fail to show the beauty of it, I'll simply quote it:

"Again, eternal life consists of the joyous community of all the blessed, a community of supreme delight, since everyone will share all that is good with all the blessed. Everyone will love everyone else as himself, and therefore will rejoice in another's good as in his own. So it follows that the happiness and joy of each grows in proportion to the joy of all."