Come Home For The Holy Day!

First Sunday of Advent

Year B

Isaiah 63:16, 17, 19; 64:2-7; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37

O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.
Isaiah 64:7

Have you had the experience of watching a potter make a clay vessel?  It’s fascinating.  I’m amazed at the wisdom and knowledge of the potter who knows exactly what is needed to make the vessel as he chooses.  This is the image that is before us today in Isaiah’s message.  The ways of a potter would have been common experience amongst the people of his day.  It is this image the Church has chosen to use to usher in the beginning of this Church Year as we begin the holy season of Advent.

Isaiah not only pictures God as the potter, but also as our father.  With this tender image he reminds us that we are His handiwork. 

In the beginning God made man of the dust of the ground.  One might see in this the clay which is spoken of by Isaiah.  He formed man into His own image and likeness.  Then He did the same with woman, making her in many ways the same as man, and yet different.  Together, they reflect the apex of God’s creation.  God made them beautiful and holy.  They were, in every respect, vessels of honor to God.

But sin marred the original design, and our Father, the potter, was in need of re-working the clay to be once again what He intended.  This He did by sending His own Son who took on flesh and became everything the potter had in mind. 

Jesus taught us that through faith in Him and Baptism we could become again what we were intended to be- the children of God.  But the enemy of our souls who brought the defect into the clay through the temptation that leads to sin does not rest.  He is ever twisting the truth so that the way of salvation is obscured.  So it is that many who profess faith and godliness remain other than what God intends.

We must remember that a Christian is not a good person who is trying to become better.  A Christian is a dead person who has been brought back to life!  We are not merely revised, we are revived.  We are not refined, we are remade, and reborn.  The difference is vast. 

Those trying to be better are largely doing so in their own strength, according to their own understanding, and in a way that is agreeable to them.  They are largely responsible for their own achievements and so are tempted to pride to take the credit for what they become.  In some cases they may couch this in religious language but at their core they are self-congratulatory.

The true Christian has had an experience whereby he comes to understand that he is nothing apart from God.  Recognizing his complete lostness and inability to do anything about it, he calls

 

out to God in desperation for His mercy.  Receiving freely the grace of God, he begins to put that grace into action through virtue and good works.  He takes no credit for any of this for he knows that the grace belongs to God and it is solely because of this grace that he is who he is.  He is humbled and thankful.  He gives all the glory to God.

This is probably easier to see in the adult convert than in one who was baptized in infancy and has grown up as a child of the Church.  But it’s still the same in principle.  Such a one recognizes what they would have been apart from God’s grace- dead in sin- and they give thanks for the divine life that was imparted to them through the sacraments and the teaching of the Church.  In this way they are able to consciously enter into a vibrant and deep relationship with God.

This raises a critical point.  Christ intended that we would come to Him through His holy, catholic, Church.  The Church possesses the complete and full teaching given by our Lord and His apostles.  She has the authority that comes from them as well.  Through her come the sacraments which impart divine grace, enabling us to live holy.  Her traditions guide us, her saints inspire and pray for us, her treasures enrich us, and her life sustains us.  She is our mother [Galatian 4:26].  As St. Cyprian famously stated, “How can he have God for his Father who does not have the Church for his Mother?”

It is for these reasons that we invite all to begin this season of Advent by taking a new look at the Catholic Church.  Whatever your thoughts or experiences have been, take another look. 

There are human failings in the Church, as there are anywhere.  But there is also divine life here.  God has chosen imperfect vessels to perfect imperfect vessels.  The means the potter uses to rework the clay is in the hands of earthen vessels themselves [2 Corinthians 4:7].  Through our interaction with each other, the potter is perfecting us.  He is making us to be truly holy.

This brings us to Advent.  The world has already forged ahead to Christmas.  But just as there is no Easter without Lent; there is no resurrection without the cross, so there is no Christmas without Advent; no birth without labor.  Let me encourage you to turn a deaf ear to the allure of a painless transition to Christmas.  It’s no mere secular holiday.  It is, instead a Holy Day.  And that requires preparation.

Advent has become the time for us to prepare for our festivities.  We buy gifts, we bake cookies, and we send Christmas cards.  This is fine in its place.  But the preparation that is most necessary is that of our hearts.  Are our hearts ready to receive Christ at Christmas?  Each year, our Lord has prepared special blessings for us.  But we will only be able to receive them if we are prepared.  Don’t get ahead of things.  Take your time.  Slow down.  Listen attentively to the tiny voice inside that beckons you to draw near and prepare for all that God has intended for you.

It’s popular to think of being home for the holidays.  But we want to invite you to come home to the Church for the Holy Day.  Listen to Isaiah trumpet his message afresh.  Our Father is intent on lovingly shaping each one of us for all that He intended us to be.  To aid and guide us, He has provided His Church- the Catholic Church.  Take a look inside.  Join us as we prepare for the great feast of Christmas.  Come home, and be blessed!

The King Is Coming!

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Year A

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; Matthew 25:31-46

 

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.  And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
Matthew 25:31, 32

While the coronavirus and the election continue to dominate the headlines, the Church had another bout with heartache recently as the report about Theodore McCarrick was released from the Vatican.  If you have been blissfully ignorant about the situation, it became apparent in recent years that McCarrick, who had risen to the position of Cardinal Archbishop, had been involved in a number of moral indiscretions, some of which involved minors, but most involved the abuse and manipulation of his own seminarians.  Men who were answering the call of God to become holy priests were being compromised.  McCarrick was defrocked and has been allowed to live out his remaining days in obscurity, if not infamy.  One hopes for true penitence in the heart of this man. 

His situation reminds us that no matter what people may look like on the outside, or how powerful or influential they become, we all have our date at the judgment seat of Christ where we will give an account of our life to the only true, impartial, and just judge in the universe.  Today’s reading reminds us of this event.

As the Church year draws to a close we see Jesus as He appears in the Revelation.  He is the glorious, conquering King who comes, as the Creed says, to judge the living and the dead; and of His kingdom there will be no end.  Our Lord’s judgment is just.  It is final.  And it is perpetual. 

I have often heard people say, “I don’t like all that hellfire and brimstone preaching”.  And the question I want to ask in return is “When was the last time you heard any.”  We have become soft on sin, which makes judgment outdated, and damnation positively unthinkable. 

One of the reasons we don’t understand judgment is because we don’t understand sin.  We think that everyone sins and nobody is perfect so what’s the big deal?  But to sin against an infinite God is, to an extent, to sin infinitely.  Think about that for a moment and you are on your way to beginning to understand why it’s a big deal.  This is what makes redemption so powerful and so wonderful.

Rather than leave us to our fate our Lord Jesus Christ became human in order to save all of humanity.  So it was that we could see that He really would rather die than to live without us.  Nevertheless, in spite of such a magnanimous effort, He has left us to decide for ourselves whether or not we will receive His offer of salvation or reject it so we can have the passing pleasures of sin.

Today’s Gospel reading reveals a number of things that are vital.  First, that our Lord Jesus Christ is no longer the humble carpenter of the Gospels but the conquering King of the Revelation.  Second, He is the judge of all.   Third, that He will judge us by our works.  And finally, that there is eternal reward or punishment depending on the outcome.  Let’s explore this further.

As we have noted, our Lord Jesus Christ is King of the Universe.  However, the great majority of the world appears to be in ignorance or denial.  But there will come a day- known to God alone- when He will return as He promised. At that point all time stops and we will all give an account for how we have lived to that moment.  This is exactly the same thing that happens if we die before His return.  The difference being that after death we face the Particular Judgment where we are one on one with the Lord and at the end of time will be the General Judgment, which, as we see in today’s Gospel, will involve everyone.

The Lord will judge us by our works.  Here the Lord judges by how we have treated the poor and the outcasts.  But it’s not an exhaustive list.  It’s illustrative.  Mercy, compassion, love, charity, etc. demonstrate a heart given to God.  The opposite shows a heart still ruled by self.  The Lord will judge us by our works to show us the true state of our hearts.  True, there are those who can perform works of charity for the wrong reasons.  But then, as I said, this is not an exhaustive list.  In other areas their true heart will be shown.

The only people who will be going to heaven are saints.  These are the ones who have believed in our Lord Jesus Christ and come to love Him.  They are not yet perfect, but they are on the road and they have entered on a life of grace through faith and baptism.

Those who have no interest in God will not be forced to be with Him and worship Him forever, which is what will be taking place in  heaven.  These will find their rightful place in hell.  In the midst of such overwhelming love and grace, they have sneered at God and mocked Him to His face.  Self-centered, they have spent their lives in pursuit of their own pleasures.  They will receive their just due in the end.

I certainly do not write those words with any sense of relish or smugness.  Actually, quite the opposite.  They are fearful to ponder.  But they are the reality and perhaps if people hear it they will have a change of heart and turn before it’s too late.

Fundamentalism?  Fear mongering?  No!  It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, plain and simple. 

Please remember, the Lord’s judgment is eternal.  We will either be in heavenly bliss or hellish torment forever.  This is the message from today’s Gospel.

Why did Jesus tell us this story?  These were some of His final words before He went to the cross.  It’s the last great teaching recorded in Matthew’s Gospel.  The stakes are high and our Lord wants us to have the whole story so we can make an informed decision.  He longs for our salvation, but He will not force it on us.

Some may say, “Well if that’s how God is then I don’t want Him”.  How foolish!  We are in no place to judge God.  We have nothing to offer and nothing with which to bargain.  Don’t gamble your soul away because your pride got the best of you.  Rather, listen to the heart of love which beckons you to come home.

The final words of this Gospel and, for our purposes, the final words of the Church year are sobering. “And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."  What will you do?  Choose today because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

 

 

The Investors

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Psalm 128; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30

For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Matthew 25:29

“Use it or lose it!”  We’ve all heard that before.  Maybe it refers to an exercise program to build muscle, a class to learn a skill, increase knowledge, or learn a foreign language.  In virtually every way we understand that we must continue to put into practice what we have or we run the risk of losing it altogether.  There is a famous quote attributed to a number of musicians and composers.  It states, “If I miss one day of practice I notice it.  If I miss two days of practice the critics notice it.  If I miss three days of practice the audience notices it.”  So it is in the spiritual life.  If we cease to practice, we cease to perform, or at least we cease to perform well. 

Our Lord is hitting on the same idea in today’s Gospel.  He tells one of many parables intended to catch our attention and ensure we will continue in the things we have learned. 

As we are drawing to the end of the liturgical year, the Church offers us exhortations regarding the last things.  Our focus in this Year A is on St. Matthew’s Gospel and, this week in particular, chapter 25, where we are given a series of parables regarding the return of our Lord to be the judge of the living and the dead.  Today He offers us the Parable of the Talents.

A talent was a measurement of weight and, more specifically, an amount of money.  A rich master entrusts his servants with a certain amount of money based on their ability.  His top man gets 10 talents, his next gets 5, and the last gets one.  They are expected to work hard at trading and investing so the master will receive a return on the money he has deposited with them. 

The first two are successful.  They double each of their investments.  The last is not.  He is lazy and buries the talent in order to be able to keep it safe and return it to the master when he comes back. 

When the master returns he calls for an accounting.  The first two are rewarded according to what they have produced.  The last is rebuked, removed from his position, and cast into prison.  Furthermore, the talent he had was given to the one who had earned 10 talents for the obvious reason that the master could expect the best return on his investment from this person.

In our first reading today we see a similar principle.  The ideal woman is praised for her diligence and productivity.  She benefits her husband and family and so is a blessing to them.  The Church sees in her a portrait of Herself.  She is the Bride of Christ actively laboring for the salvation of souls.

In the second reading St. Paul is reminding the Thessalonian Church that they were taught to always be on the alert and ready for the return of our Lord.  Otherwise, He will come like a thief in the night.  They are exhorted to remain alert and sober so they will be ready at whatever hour the Master arrives. 

We are being called, then, to an accounting of our own spiritual condition and work.  Are we ready?  Are we being diligent?  Are we seeing a return on the Lord’s investment?  Are we remaining vigilant, awake, and sober?

Right now there are so many things vying for our attention.  One dare not consult the news for fear of being assaulted with more.  But this has always been the trick of the enemy.  The particulars change, but the strategy remains the same.  Get us so distracted and distraught that we have no time or energy to be doing the work to which we have been called.

When Jesus came He called people to follow Him as His disciples.  He still calls us today.  Then He gives us a work to do.  We have the privilege of becoming co-laborers with Him in the kingdom of heaven.  Through our prayers, sacrifices, and efforts, souls are reached with the love of Christ.  As we remain faithful, we will see a number come to faith in Christ and become disciples themselves.  We all have a part in this.  Priests are most prominent because they preach the gospel and offer the sacraments.  But we all have a place from contemplative monks and nuns faithfully at prayer to those engaged in family life and business to the janitor, the cook, the sanitation worker, or the elderly in a nursing home.  Everyone plays a part and to the degree we engage in our respective duties the kingdom goes forward.

Furthermore, there are great and wonderful rewards to the diligent and faithful.  St. Paul says that no eye has seen, no ear heard, nor has it entered our hearts what God has prepared for those who love Him [1 Corinthians 2:9].  We can be certain that our heavenly rewards will be more than we could ever hope or imagine!

But there is, unfortunately, another side to the story as well.  For those who have forsaken the Master’s business and have hidden the grace that was given to them, a fearful judgment awaits.  Take heed dear friends.  It is so easy to fall into this complacency and not even notice.  If the Lord is not the daily focus of our lives then it is likely we are as this “wicked”, “lazy”, and “useless” servant.  The grace deposited with us at Baptism will be removed and given to those who have been busy about the Master’s work.  May it not be so of us!

Rather, with so much to be gained, let us be busy about our Lord’s work just like Jesus was even as a boy of 12.  Infinite grace is available to aid us in our own ongoing battle against sin and our striving for holiness.  The same is waiting to assist us in our various ministries.  The poor, the sick, the forgotten, and the lost all await our service.  Many will reject our efforts, but not all.  For there are many precious souls just waiting for someone to bring them the love of Christ.  The hour is late and the time for our Lord’s return draws near.  So let’s not waste another moment. 

If you find that you have become distracted and discouraged, shake yourself awake!  There’s much to be done and we need all available hands.  If we are faithful we will have the joy of hearing, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.  Come, share your master's joy.”

 

Of Grief And Death

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 63; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 
1 Thessalonians 4:13

“This life is a dress rehearsal for the real thing.”  I don’t know who said that, but it’s true.  Think about it; we were created to be immortal.  This life is temporary.  It will last for maybe 70, 80, or even 100 years.  But then we enter into eternity.  How we live here determines how we will live there.

Our readings today refocus our attention on this vital truth.  Wisdom calls us to take heed and seek her.  Jesus reminds us to always be ready for we do not know the timing of His return to be the judge of the living and the dead.  We may add that no one knows the time of their own death. 

St. Paul lays out for us some things to ponder in this regard.  He teaches us that the Christian does not view death like those who have no hope.  Death is grievous whenever it occurs.  There will indeed be weeping and mourning.  Our Lord wept at the death of His friend Lazarus so there is nothing wrong or out of place with such.  But we do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 

St. Paul is writing to an infant church to encourage them in the face of death.  Wherever the gospel was preached it was done with the anticipation that the Lord would return soon.  It may well be that the Thessalonians were wondering about those who died before the Lord’s return.  Would they be able to be partakers of the glory of that time?  Paul’s answer is an emphatic “yes”.

He begins with directing our attention to the resurrection of Jesus.  When Jesus died, He truly died.  When He was raised He did not return to this life.  Rather, He was raised in resurrection life.  He is demonstrating that life that is destined for all who believe in the resurrection.  St. Paul reasons that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again then we should equally believe in our own resurrection.

He goes on to recount what will happen in that great day.  Those who have died, believing in Jesus, will rise from the dead when the Lord returns.  They will be caught up, body and soul, to meet the Lord in the air.  Then we who are alive at that time will also be caught up to join them.  Then we will always be with the Lord forever.  This is the source of comfort that Paul offers these infant believers.

I think in our own day we are in great need of this same reminder.  Last week we remembered the dead.  On All Saints we celebrated those in heaven.  On All Souls we prayed for those still undergoing their purgation.  In this month of November, the Church directs our attention to think about death, even our own death.

This may seem morbid to some, but it was a regular practice for many of the saints.  To think about death is not morbid.  In fact, it can become a source of joy.  The Christian loves the Lord so much that the best we can think about is the day when we can see Him face to face.  Then we truly will live happily ever after.  Every fairy tale is a mere reflection of this vital truth.  It is written into the hearts and souls of every person and is our true longing.  If we haven’t been deceived and distracted by the things of this world we can see it clearly.

How should we view death? 

First, death comes to all.  We will all die someday.  It could be soon.  It may not be for several years.  But we will all die.

Second, death for the Christian is welcome.  It is a wonderful thing.  True, as we mentioned, there is grief for those who remain in this life.  But our weeping is temporary and we can be comforted and encouraged as we turn our attention to what awaits us.

Third, death puts life into perspective.  What will be important in light of our last day?  How will we give an account of our lives when we see Jesus?  Then let’s live that way now. 

Finally, death will bring us to our own particular judgment.  We must give an account to God for the stewardship of our lives.  Those who have lived contrary to God’s ways will be lost.  Those who have obeyed in faith will be saved.  This is very sobering, but necessary.  Too many give no thought to their eternal destination.  God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [2 Peter 3:9].  But He will give us what we have freely chosen.  This is perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of it all.  How does a good God send people to hell?  Because they have freely chosen it and He will not force them to go to heaven and love Him forever.

Death for the Christian, however, offers great hope and anticipation.  We don’t know what heaven will be like, but we have been given some hints.  We know it will be glorious, full of love and joy.  Best of all, we will see God face to face.  We will know Him as He truly is.  No more, will we know Him only by faith.  For there, faith becomes sight.  What a truly glorious day that will be!

We all know people who have died.  Perhaps some were very close to us.  It’s a sad and difficult time.  But there is comfort to be found as we meditate on these truths of our faith.  We do not believe merely for this world, but we believe we will enter into glory in the next.  Forever we will be with our Lord and those who have gone before us in the faith.  Therefore, console one another with these words!

The Glorious Triumph of The Saints

Solemnity of All Saints

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Matthew 5:8

There’s a battle raging!  It began in the Garden at the dawn of time.  It will end when our Lord Jesus Christ returns in power and glory to judge the living and the dead and to establish His kingdom forever.  You and I are participants in this battle.  We are also, in another sense, the battlefield.  The forces of heaven and hell are the combatants and the earth literally hangs in the balance.  Today, we celebrate those who are already victorious.  We know some of them- the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Patrick, St Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, St. Therese, and many others.  But there is a countless host whose names as yet are unknown to us.  They are the ones primarily in view on this Solemnity of All Saints.

Who are they?  “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”  So we hear in our first reading today.  They are those described by our Lord as “clean of heart”.  How did they get that way?  “They have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”  In other words, they were made this way by grace.  Only grace prevails over sin.  St. Paul writes, “Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more,” [Romans 5:20]. 

How does one come by such grace?  In other words, how does one triumph in this battle and inherit the glory of heaven?  To properly understand, we must go back to before the beginning.

In eternity past, Lucifer was a glorious angel in heaven.  But Lucifer was arrogant, prideful, and rebellious.  He persuaded a third of the angels to join him in a coup.  They were vanquished, of course.  Their penalty was to be cast down to earth where they roam restlessly, awaiting their final damnation.

When God created the heavens and the earth, it was all good.  His crowning moment was to create human beings, made in God’s own image and likeness.  He created them to live in glorious, intimate communion with Him.  But the Man and the Woman were deceived by the Evil One and they chose sin over paradise.  Thus, the battle began.  It was, and is, a battle for each soul.  Our Enemy continues to deceive us with his murderous lies.  God continues to reach out to us to redeem us by His grace.

In the fullness of time, God became human in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He lived the life of every person, suffered and died for our sins, and rose again, victorious over sin and death.  He ascended into heaven where He awaits the moment of the consummation of time.  He left us with this promise- that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

It's a wonderful story, and most of us have heard it.  But we don’t always grasp its meaning.

When Jesus chose the way of the cross He wasn’t just undergoing the means of our salvation, but He was demonstrating how we come to it.  The cross is death to our flesh, which becomes a means for the reviving of our souls.  It is here the Enemy goes to work.  He is constantly telling us, as he told our first parents, that God doesn’t really mean what He has obviously said and that there is something more to be discovered if we will only throw off the “bondage” of God’s word.  If we listen, we are doomed.  If we turn away, and trust in God, we will be saved. 

Our text refers to the “clean of heart”.  No one of us qualifies.  To be a saint and to gain heaven is impossible.  This is why we need God’s grace.  It is the only means by which our hearts can be cleansed from all sin and made fit for heaven.

God uses the ordinary events of life to try us as to whether we will choose heaven or hell.  Trials, tragedies, and the like, are intended to purge us of the dross of self-love so that we can be perfected in the love of God.

The Enemy is relentless, and we must be equally relentless if we hope to attain the prize.  There are all kinds of subtle lies of the Enemy that abound in our day.  We are told we must be happy and to do so we must be rich and be able to indulge every pleasure conceivable.  So many are laboring so hard for the wrong things.  In the end, only the love of God matters.

Those we celebrate today have attained that victory.  They are our heroes, our champions, and our examples.  What’s more, they themselves are ceaselessly offering intercession on our behalf that we, like them, will overcome and join them in eternal splendor and glory.  These were largely unknown while they lived on earth, but they will be greatly known for eternity.  They rightly discerned that this life was temporary and living for the things of this world was a deception.  They set their eyes on heaven and endured faithfully till the end. 

The Church offers us this feast to remind us that death comes to all.  What will be our lot afterward?  Don’t be deceived.  The things that seem so important now will dim greatly in comparison to the glory that awaits us.  But what if the glory is lost?  The agony of hell will be to spend eternity thinking about the countless times God reached out to us with His love and grace, and we refused it in order to gain a fool’s gold.  Don’t give in to the lie.  You will not be the exception to either death or the judgment that follows.

Rather, look to the saints!  They were people just like us, but they chose the hard path of the cross.  They were ridiculed, vilified, tormented, and killed.  But in their patience they possessed their souls.  Eternal life was their reward.  It can be ours as well!

Ponder the saints today.  Who are your favorites?  Who are your patrons?  What aspects of their lives stand out?  Ask for their prayers and imitate their virtues.  Here you will find the wonderful road of grace which they trod. 

Let these words from the Letter to the Hebrews provide our marching orders as we continue in this battle: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God,” [Heb. 12:1, 2]. 

May God be glorified in His saints!  Amen!