February 10 2023 - St. Scholastica - Trusting in God's plan

The first chapters of the book of Genesis reveal God’s magnificent plan for creation. In the first chapter, the days of creation follow the divine logic: the light, the earth, the heavens, dry land, sea, vegetation, stars, the fish, the birds, the animals, and finally mankind.

In chapter two, we read of God’s plan for humanity. Humanity is to fulfil the purpose for which we were made: tending creation and obeying God—trusting God. 

Sadly, in chapter 3, we read of Adam and Eve stepping out of God’s plan, man’s rebellion. Instead of surrendering to God’s plan, trusting in God, obeying God’s commands, man and women choose to believe in a lie: that they can be happy without trusting God—that they can close their ears to the Word of God and still be able to hear correctly.

In the Gospel, the effects of Adam and Eve’s Original Sin are on display: a man deaf with a speech impediment. He cannot hear the words of his loved ones; he cannot communicate rightly as man was created to do.

But, in the Gospel, God’s plan of salvation is also on display. Through Jesus Christ the impediments to wholeness are healed, right relationship with God and neighbor is restored. 

Today, we honor St. Scholastica, twin sister of St. Benedict. We do not know much about her life, save that she was a consecrated virgin. The one story we do know comes from St. Gregory the Great, and illustrates the great trust in God that we are meant to cultivate.

Scholastica loved when her brother would visit her in the monastery and engage in the holy conversation of the saints. Well, on one occasion, the conversation ran long and Benedict announced he had to return to his monastery. 

Maybe she knew it would be their last such visit because she was coming to the end of her life, but Scholastica closed her eyes and began to pray. A torrential down pour of rain, thunder and lightning swept through making it impossible for Benedict to go home. ‘May God forgive you, sister. What have you done?’ ‘Well,’ she answered, ‘I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen.”

Scholastica trusted that if God wanted to send the rains, He would. She surrendered to God’s Will and God deemed it good to send rain so that the holy twins could continue their holy conversation. Her love for God and her love for her brother when combined with holy trust wrought a miracle.

As we prayed in the collect today, “following Scholastica’s example, may we serve God with pure love and happily receive what comes from loving God” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, deliver her from evil, and aid her in her mission.

Through the intercession of St. Scholastica, may all those whose lives and welfares are threatened by storms be delivered from all dangers.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

5th Week of Ordinary Time 2023 - Tuesday - Catechesis on Creation

 The weekday readings for weeks 5 and 6 of Ordinary Time this year are taken from the book of Genesis. 

Yesterday, had it not been for the memorial of St. Paul Miki and his martyred companions, we would have read the glorious opening verses of the Bible, and the first four days of Creation—the creation of light and time and space and land and sea. 

In today’s reading, God introduces into creation the spark of life—the life that fills the sky and ocean and land. 

The Catechism has a wonderful section on God’s creation of the visible world, helping us to understand these verses’ relevance for our faith. 

Firstly, Catechism says, Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The world began when God's word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history are rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun

Secondly, each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "And God saw that it was good." Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.

Thirdly, there is beauty in creation that invites us to contemplate it and study it. Those are certainly two joys of being endowed with human intellect.

Fourthly, there is a hierarchy of creatures from the less perfect to the more perfect with man as the summit of the Creator's work. To man, God endows with many gifts, but also many responsibilities. God “destined all material creatures for the good of the human race.” We are given dominion over the earth. It is not a sin to chop down a tree to build a house or make paper for a book or to keep ourselves warm. But we also have a special duty to make use of God’s creation according to God’s proper laws for God’s glory and not merely our own.

Finally, we heard of the sabbath. Creation was fashioned with a view to the sabbath and therefore for the worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation. As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over "the work of God", that is, solemn worship.

We do well, even at this time of year with its grey days and cold winds to marvel at the glory of Creation, to be filled with wonder and awe at the beauty and structure of creation, to give thanks to God for all he has made, for all life, including our own, and to seek to make use of the gifts of creation to serve God in every way we can for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, deliver her from evil, and aid her in her mission.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may establish and preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

February 6 2023 - St. Paul Miki and martyred companions - Make disciples of all nations

 

Christianity didn’t come to Japan until the tail end of the 16th century, particularly through the efforts of the great Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier. Paul Miki was a native Japanese who had entered the Jesuit Order. He studied intensively the teachings of the Buddhists so that he could debate the Buddhist priests in order to convert them. 

By 1587, around 200,000 Japanese had entered the Church. Seeing Christianity as a threat to his sovereignty and to his nation, in that year, the Japanese emperor ordered the banishment of Christianity from Japan and the expulsion of all missionaries.  The edict was not very well enforced, which allowed many missionaries to remain in the country preaching the Gospel, though at the risk of their lives.

In 1596, the emperor increased his persecution of the Church, he began to arrest Christians in the south-central region of Japan called the Kansai region. They were forced to march 600 miles from Kyoto to Nagasaki. There they underwent some of the most brutal tortures in Church history. Those who did not apostatize were hung upon crosses and then skewered with spears. 

Paul Miki was among that first group of martyrs which also included 6 Franciscans from Spain, Mexico, and India, 3 other native Japanese Jesuits, and 17 lay Catholics comprised of catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men and innocent children. 

These Christian missionaries took to heart the Lord’s instruction in the Gospel: “go and make disciples of all nations”. 

Though Christianity was almost entirely wiped out from Japan, today there are about 1-3 million Japanese Christians, a half a million or so of them Catholic. A half a million out of a population of 123 million—less than one half a percent of the population. We have some work to do, no?

But then again, we have our challenges here at home, too. Again, St. Paul Miki studied Buddhism in order to convert Buddhists. The American Church likely needs to get a lot more serious about studying the prevailing philosophies, so that we can meet people are with the truth of the Gospel. What do our neighbors wrongly believe about Catholicism that is keeping them from conversion; what missionary activity in our own land is the Lord calling us to undertake?

May the example and holy intercession of St. Paul Miki and his martyred companions assist us in our task, and the Church in every land, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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Our Savior’s faithfulness is mirrored in the fidelity of his witnesses who shed their blood for the Word of God. Let us praise him in remembrance of them:

The martyrs freely embraced death in bearing witness for the faith, may we receive the true freedom of the Spirit. 

 The martyrs professed their faith by shedding their blood, may we have a faith that is constant and pure. 

The martyrs followed in your footsteps by carrying the cross, may we endure courageously our earthly trials and all the misfortunes of life.

The martyrs washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb, may we be helped by their prayers to avoid the weaknesses of the flesh and worldly allurements.

That all missionaries may have courage and strength in their witness to the Gospel, for an increase in vocations, and that more men and women will take up the missionary call.

For the sick and suffering among us, for those who care for them, and for all of our beloved dead, especially X, for whom this mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

 

Septuagesima Sunday 2023 (EF) - Run as to win

Septuagesima Sunday marks the beginning of the period of pre-Lenten preparation on the traditional calendar that tells us that Ash Wednesday is only 17 days away. 

Our scripture readings give us some important principles for our pre-Lenten preparation.

Firstly, in the Epistle, St. Paul urges us to seek heaven with the effort of the most disciplined athlete: “run as to win”. Many of us are certainly becoming less physically athletic as the days go by. But St. Paul isn’t talking about being physically athletic, but simply borrowing a principle from the athletes. Discipline. Discipline is needed in the Christian life. 

Like an athlete, the Christian is to develop a training routine, a schedule for the spiritual practices that we will need to be observing during Lent. While all of us are called to Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, our individual routines and disciplines are unique. What kind of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are needed at this time in my life, with my unique faults and vices and weaknesses? Where is God calling me to train? And train not for mediocrity, but real spiritual greatness? 

Another dimension of spiritual discipline is to prepare for inevitable obstacles. Now, again, I’m not a big runner, but experienced runners, marathon runners, who are in decent physical shape, say that 90% of the race is mental. And those of us who are honest, now how our mind likes to play tricks on us during Lent. 

There will be inevitable thoughts like “does God really care if I keep my commitments? What’s so sinful about chocolate anyway?” That’s why making a plan now is important. Map out Lent, if you want Holy Week to be a little more penitential than your first week of Lent, fine, but come up with a plan now, and stick with it. 

Also, be humble. You’re a sinner. You’re likely going sin during Lent. So, don’t let a stumble, even a set of stumbles cause you to give up on your Lenten observances. Repent. Renew your commitment. And keep on running. We are all works in progress. Lent isn’t for the perfect, but is a stage in our perfection. 

“Run as to win” Paul says. Marathon runners, in order to keep their motivation up throughout the long, strenuous race, they’ll imagine the satisfaction of crossing that finish line, the adulation of friends and family. 

And there’s a lesson there too. We engage in Lenten observances not for worldly fame, or to prove that we are holier than anybody. It’s about heaven. The penances of Lenten assist us, and assist others in reaching heaven. 

The Gospel passage may be a little confusing at first. Why do we have this Gospel parable about the latecomers receiving the full day’s wage today? Perhaps it is because during Lent, the Church will be praying especially for the latecomers, those who will be entering the Church at Easter. There is of course no jealousy or complaining or grumbling, but rejoicing when new laborers join our company--the company of Christ.

During the Church prays and does penance especially for those who will be entering the Church at easter. There is no jealousy or complaining over those who experience conversion later in life—who become heirs of the promises of the kingdom through baptism at Easter. Rather, we encourage them, in this, their first Lent, by our own example, by cherishing the grace we have received, and making good use of our time, to pray and repent.

Over the next 17 days, make a plan, be realistic, be humble, be serious. This can be the best Lent ever, where graces are won that will echo into eternity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023 - Salt of the earth

 I remember as a kid, my dad telling stories about working in the salt mines under Lake Erie when he was a younger man.  Morton Salt has about 3 miles of salt mines 2000 feet underneath our great lake.  This salt is an important source of revenue for the State of Ohio, and the salt is utilized in a number of ways: particularly as a seasoning for our food and on our roads during the winter.

Immediately following the Lord’s teaching on the beatitudes, which we heard last Sunday. The Lord says that his disciples must be salt. Talk about bringing us down to earth. In order to attain heaven, you must become salt. 

Salt was used in a number of ways in Jesus’ time, just as it does for us. 

First salt is used as a seasoning. So, too, Christians are to be a sort of seasoning to an otherwise bland world.  There is nothing more interesting—no one more full of life than a true Christian saint filled with the life of Christ. 

This week we celebrated Catholic Schools week, and daily over in the school, the students learned about some of the patron saints of Christian Education, saints like Thomas Aquinas, John Neuman, Angela Merici, Elizabeth Ann Seton, holy men and women who bristled with energy and joy and charity. The saltiness of the saints has changed human history. So become salty—using your unique gifts and talents to serve the Lord.

How else is salt used? Salt is necessary for life. Even the most stringent nutritionists have to admit that salt is a necessary component of the human diet. The ancients, too, understood, salt was necessary for good health.  Similarly, Christians need to be salt in this way. The health, the survival of a society depends on Christians—doing what Christians do, infusing societal life with the life and goodness and truth and beauty of God. Our mission isn’t just to come to Church, our mission is to infuse this neighborhood with the saltiness of Christ for its own survival. Salt helps regulate a body’s heart rate, digestion, respiration, brain activity, and blood pressure—and without Christians living out the mission in a particular area, the society’s ability to pump blood, think, breath, digest will soon fail.

Salt is also a Preservative: In the days before refrigeration, salt made preserving food possible for times of famine. Christians will have the job of preserving what is good and holy in creation, opposing spiritual decay. Seeing many of the strong Christian values in our country begin to fade, Christians need to take up again this call to preserve. Christians must preserve the nation, marriage, family, the young from spiritual rot. 

Salt is also a Purifier: The salt in the oceans of the world act as a natural cleaning agent, and most water purification systems use salt as a "purifier." Christians are to be the world’s purifiers: opposing the corrupting powers of malice and perversion and greed. Each of us too need to seek the constant purifying of our minds from the world’s corrupting influence. We purify our minds through study of God’s word, interiorizing the doctrines of our faith, the example of the saints.

Salt also has a destructive power.  As a kid, I’d run to the kitchen to get a salt shaker when I found a slug in the garden…a little morbid, yes…you surprised?  In the ancient world, when an army would conquer their enemy, they’d knock down the walls, raise the city to the ground, then really to rub it in sometimes they would cast salt upon the earth so that nothing would ever grow there again. Are Christians to be a destructive power in society? In a sense we are! We are to be a force against the powers of evil, the manifestations of the Antichrist.

You see, the antichrist is like that slug, and he is powerless when Christians really get salty. So all the ways in which human life is violated and discounted, all forms of hatred and violence, we are meant to interrupt them and get in their way.

Another use for salt: as we know all too well, living here in Cleveland, Salt is used for the melting of ice. Salt makes things flow that are frozen.   The Church’s task is to loosen up a world frozen in its own self-regard, frozen in violent and perverted ways.  When we are faithful to Christ, we have a melting influence.   Think of the power of one saint, how he can melt hearts that have been frozen against Christ. Many souls have been converted to Christ because they saw Christians selflessly engaged in acts of charity. When the Church is faithful, we can have that melting influence in a neighborhood or state or country to get things flowing in the right direction again.

Finally, just like it’s used on our roads, in ancient times salt was also used to prevent people from slipping on slippery paths.  Christians are called to help souls from slipping into damnation—promoting the teachings of Christ on a societal level which give stability to civilization, pointing out when fellow Christians begin down slippery paths away from God. We call them fallen Catholics because they have slipped. 

You and I are called to be salt. But the Lord warns that salt can lose its flavor. Perhaps maybe you have lost a bit of enthusiasm for the Christian life. Perhaps Christ is not the vital force in your marriage, that he should be, or the reason you get up in the morning. Maybe you don’t feel like you are having a positive influence on your neighbors, or the fallen away members of your family.  

The solution: Pray, pray, pray.  You cannot be salt without constant prayer.  A priest who does not pray is worthless, husbands and wives who do not pray will not have the strength and power to faithfully live out the Christian responsibilities of the marriage sacrament.  Young people who do not pray will not have the strength to withstand the nearly unending torrent of evil from our culture.  

Salt: an ordinary substance with tremendous potential, many uses, vital to life and civilization. We must become salt by bringing Christ into our workplaces, into our conversations, into our civic life, in our family life. Be salt, my friends, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

February 3 2023 - St. Blaise - Blessing of throats

 

St. Blaise was a saintly bishop and martyr in the early Church, for this alone he can be honored by the Church. But his notoriety as patron saint of illnesses of the throat came about when he healed a boy who had fish bones stuck in his throat and near death. After this healing miracle, the Bishop was imprisoned because of the Christian persecution.  The boy’s mother brought him food and candles while he was in prison.  This is why candles are used in the throat blessing.

So, after the final blessing of Mass today, you may come up to receive a personal blessing of your throat if you wish.

It is quite fitting though, isn’t it, that we bless throats? This time of the year our throats are susceptible to coughs and colds. The throat is susceptible to other illnesses, some very debilitating and even deadly.

We rightly ask God’s protection of our throats especially for the special role our throats play in our Christian life. We are to use our throats to sing God’s praises every day. We are to use our throats to give encouragement to each other in remaining faithful to Christ. We are to use our throats to spread his Gospel—to build up the Church by proclaiming Christ’s truth.

Scripture, more than once, gives a warning to those whose throats are an open sepulcher. In other words, those who use their throats to pour forth the powers of sin and death into the world. 

The candles which are placed around our throats, as part of the St. Blaise blessing, are to remind us that what comes out of our throats must be the light of Christ.  Yet, the candles are also crossed, to remind us that it is by His holy cross, ultimately, that we are delivered from all evils.  

St. Blaise’s miraculous healing of the young boy was not sorcery or harnessing of occult powers, but was due to the fact that the bishop united his life to Christ, bore his share of the cross of Christ, and became an instrument of Christ’s healing in the world. 

May we do the same, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and aid her in her mission.

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

For an increase in the virtue of hope, especially for the hopeless and despairing and for hardened sinners.

For the sick and suffering among us, for those who care for them, and for all of our beloved dead, especially X, for whom this mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

4th Week in Ordinary Time 2023 - Wednesday - February Hope

 Back on the first day of August we celebrated the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori, the great moral theologian who wrote extensively on the virtues. God made us to be virtuous. And so St. Alphonsus teaches, “It is part of the love of God to acquire and to nurture all the virtues”. And so effort is to be given to obtain the virtues, grow in the virtues, and strengthen the virtues. 

The virtues are like muscles in the body, and athletes will tell you that if you want to strengthen a particular muscle, you have to focus on it intentionally. So, St. Alphonsus encouraged that each month we focus on one particular virtue. 

In January he recommended working on the virtue of faith. In February we move on to the second theological virtue, the virtue of hope. 

Faith, hope, and love, the theological virtues are the foundation of a solid relationship with God and the Christian life. And so you’ll never advance in the Christian life without solid hope.

Simply, the theological virtue of hope means to trust that God will be true to his promises. Trust is very difficult for a lot of people. We speak of trust issues. Instability in the family life and the increase in divorce have wounded a lot of people’s ability to trust. Global instability shakes our sense of security. Changes in the church, constant changes to the liturgy, church leader’s weak moral guidance, and betrayal by church leaders have caused many to lose their trust. 

But hope, hope is vital, because change and chaos are inevitable. And hope helps us to remain rooted in the promises of God which do not change. This is why the symbol for hope is an anchor, hope anchors us to solid ground, the solid ground of the promises of Christ—that believing in him, following him, eating his flesh and drinking his blood, carrying your cross with him, laying down your life for him, leads to eternal life.

Christ is our hope. And when you are solidly anchored to Him and His promises, you will have peace and tremendous strenth "in your struggle against sin" as Hebrews puts it today. When you build your house on the solid rock foundations of his teachings, your house will stand the inevitable storms of life. 

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said: “Place all your hope in the Heart of Jesus; it is a safe asylum; for he who trusts in God is sheltered and protected by His mercy. To this firm hope, join the practice of virtue, and even in this life you will begin to taste the ineffable joys of Paradise.”

Strengthen hope this month by meditating often on Christ’s promises found in the New Testament. Meditate on the goodness of God, the heart of Jesus who would never deceive you, who has conquered sin and death and promises eternal life to those who follow him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and aid her in her mission.

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

For an increase in the virtue of hope, especially for the hopeless and despairing and for hardened sinners.

For the sick and suffering among us, for those who care for them, and for all of our beloved dead, especially X, for whom this mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord