As Christians We Are Suppose Follow the Teachings of Jesus

This may sound rather obvious but I believe that many modern so called “Christians” either don’t know or choose to ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ. Over the past few weeks we have heard from Jesus many truths about: How many times are we suppose to forgive? The answer is there is no limit. What is it like to be united in Christ? Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” What are the consequences of the life you live? My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. How are things ordered in the Kingdom of God? Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.  The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” How shall you treat your brother and sister? You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. What happens when you ask God to assist you in doing His will? “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” What happens if you do not forgive others? If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” What happens when you do not take care of those whom are needy? ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome,naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,what you did not do for one of these least ones,you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Jesus teaches us many ways to live. Are you living as He has taught?

Fr. Longenecker, What the Hell Are You Doing?

Got your attention didn’t I. I have been following Fr. Dwight Longenecker’s blog Standing on My Head for quite a number of years. In fact I linked to it from my previous blog and again on this blog. Father Longenecker is a superstar in the Catholic blogosphere. He is a very intelligent man and has written some wonderful and insightful pieces. So when I heard he chimed in on Father  John Corapi and his problem I was astounded at what I read. It appears  to me that Father Longenecker has fired a shot across the bow of those Catholics who, how shall I say are of the more “orthodox” leaning. Before I get into his piece I want to begin by saying I have ranted and railed against “clericalism” for many years.I have seen silly things like women kissing the hands of young priests and parishioners supporting pastors when they have said and done stupid things. Any person who takes himself too seriously whether he is a priest or not is going to set himself for a fall. In addition and even more important it runs contrary to Christ’s teaching on servanthood and humility. I don’t know Father John Corapi personally. I have seen him on tv and  in videos and have a cd by him on the Easter Triduum. (which is excellent by the way.) I know his conversion story is pretty remarkable and I like what he says about the wish-washy half-baked cafeteria Catholics of which there are millions, and bishops who fail miserably in doing their jobs to shepherd their people to the truth. I also know that he did not favor the joker who currently occupies the White House. I don’t know if he possesses a “shadow side” as Father Longenecker suggests is a common characteristic with priests.  He goes on to make this summation of the situation: What’s to learn from it? Simple lessons really. First of all, don’t believe what you see. Even the  best holy man has got a shadow side. The good ones admit it. Secondly, just because of this don’t drift into cynicism. You weren’t supposed to put your trust in those guys anyway… I’m sorry but this rather lame. If we cannot put our trust in those who shepherd us, as if its a crap shoot as to who is telling the truth or who is a “shadowy man,” then how in good God’s name are you going to evangelize this pagan, secularized society that has the ear of so many young people? I put my trust in Jesus Christ and those who have been called to act in “persona Christi,” if they fall I pray for them. If they lead people astray I condemn them for being “outside of the Church.” Your post is divisive and sounds as if you are taking a “stealthy”shot at Father Corapi. The Church needs more people like him, who tell it like it is. By your standard of measure we cannot trust what Bishop Sheen has told us, he may have a skeleton in his closet. So my question to you is  “What the hell are you doing”?

The Invitation

“Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John(although Jesus himself was not baptizing, just his disciples), he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to pass through Samaria.So  he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

This passage of John in which Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman is so loaded theological imagery and spiritual insight.

Let’s start with the location: Jesus is at a well. We know from Genesis 24, Isaac & Rebekah meet at a well and later are betrothed. Moses meets his future wife there in Exodus. This well where Jesus stops to drink is the very same well where Jacob encounters Rachel. Jesus is searching for a bride, but unlike the men of the Old Testament, his seeks more than just a woman, he seeks marriage of all of us. He come to the well with an invitation. John also tells us that this well is located in Samaria. When Assyria overran the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC,the people of Samaria were exiled, later 5 towns in Northern Israel were repopulated with both exiles and Samaritans, who inbred with the Assyrians.These “half-breeds’ were hated and resented by the Jews and they were not allowed to worship in the Temple. John shows you just whom Jesus is after. The woman does not know what this encounter is all about but as it unfolds comes gradually to know whom she is talking with.

“His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”(The woman) said to him, “Sir,you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

The scene plays out; Jesus does not care that she’s a Samaritan (he doesn’t care if you are a sinner either), He is indeed greater than Jacob, He brings eternal life, the everlasting flow that never fails to quench your thirst. The invitation is sent. But before it is received the Samaritan woman (like all of us, must get her spiritual life in order):

Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

Please note the five husbands for the five towns that were repopulated. The Samaritan woman starts to “see” (like our first awakening in the spiritual journey) The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.

Now Jesus starts his spiritual exercise:

Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;  but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;  and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.“

The woman no understands the invitation: “The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.”

Jesus completes the invitation with his revelation of the Truth: Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”

The rest of the story tells us of the marvelous transformation of the Samaritan woman, who in terms of the spiritual life has grown to know and understand Jesus and bring his message of truth to everyone she knows. It is a message og evangelizing that we too must share.

Tribute to my Sister-In-Law

My sister-in-law passed on yesterday. I would like to take this time here to share my thoughts about her. I will not use her name, because it is a private moment for me. I have only seen her a handful of times in the past twenty years. We are miles apart, but there are many memorable things  about her that were beautiful. She was petite, from West Virginia, she had a wonderful smile, a great sense of humor, and she was very charming. She loved my brother and her daughter and her career. She loved life and when she was diagnosed with colon cancer six years ago this past Friday, stage four at the time of diagnosis, she fought hard and long with dignity and grace. I last saw her about two years ago at my niece’s wedding and she looked terrific. She was a little thin but was vivacious and and upbeat. Never once did she seem glum or down about her illness. Her last six years have been a roller coaster of chemo treatments, surgeries, tears of joy and tears of pain. She certainty suffered by all accounts that my brother and sister relayed to me. I did not discuss her spiritual life, but would always include that prospect of hope that God brings in any note I sent to her. God bless you. I hope to see you again one day.

Closest the Moon Has Been in 20 Years

S. Patrick’s Prayer

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgement of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me.
God’s host to save me

From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and souls,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation

What Does it Mean to Deny Oneself?

I remember once seeing a bumper sticker that read “Jesus said it, I believe it, enough said.” It occurred to me that perhaps this person takes Jesus’ words to heart but does he deny himself as Jesus said. Denying oneself means this to me; that I am not the center of the universe, that I relinquish any authority to that position, that I step off my throne and give it up to the rightful owner, God Himself. Denying oneself means that my life is not about me, its not about pleasing me, its not about the priority of my thoughts. Jesus picked up his Cross and willingly obeyed His Father. This day reflect on giving up being first in line and follow Christ. You know what that means, in terms of sacrifice, you know the price it will cost, so does Christ.

Stumbling My Through Lent

As a blogger of Catholic thought, Lent is without question the time when the deepest introspection and prayer occur. Lent is when we turn away from the external world and take a peak at our own personal ugliness. In modern times that’s not a good idea because many people equate uncomfortable feelings with something bad and thus avoid it. This is why we fill our days with noise, so as to ignore what we don’t really want to see, ourselves. The picture to the left is a painting from Fra Angelico,the 15th century Dominican whose paintings I have grown to love so much. This painting is titled “The Mocking of Christ” which is in cell# 7 in the Convent of San Marco in Florence, Italy. I have been privileged and honor to see it in person. It is the image that I like to begin Lent with – the Mocking of Christ.  Matthew 27:30-31 “They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.” I am reminded that nearly everyday I too mock him and spit upon him with my sinfulness. I am also reminded that the Creator of the Universe, who overlooks each sunrise and sunset, who is responsible for each single heartbeat I take, in an act of unfathomable humility, allowed His creation to slap and spit on Him. Lent is about death and life, ours and Christ’s. We stumble through life and we will stumble through Lent, but with great strength through God’s grace we try with all our might to keep our gaze on the Cross,

Father Barron on Pope Benedict’s New Book

Pope Benedict and How To Read the Bible

By Rev. Robert Barron

 

The second volume of Pope Benedict’s masterful study of the Lord Jesus has just been published.  The first volume, issued three years ago, dealt with the public life and preaching of Jesus, while this second installment concentrates on the events of Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.  As was the case with volume one, this book is introduced by a short but penetrating introduction, wherein the Pope makes some remarks about the method he has chosen to employ.  What I found particularly fascinating was how Joseph Ratzinger develops a motif that he has preoccupied him for the past thirty years, namely, how biblical scholarship has to move beyond an exclusive use of the historical-critical method.

The roots of this method stretch back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, to the work of Baruch Spinoza, Hermann Samuel Reimarus, and D.F. Strauss.  The approach was adapted and developed largely in Protestant circles in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuires by such figures as Julius Wellhausen, Albert Schweitzer, Rudolf Bultmann, and Gerhard von Rad.  Upon the publication of Pius XII’s encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu in 1943, Catholic scholars were given permission to use the historical-critical method in the analysis of the Bible, and a whole generation of gifted Catholic historical critics subsequently emerged:  Joseph Fitzmeyer, Roland Murphy, Raymond E. Brown, John Meier, and many others.

At the risk of over-simplifying a rather complex and multivalent method, I would say that historical criticism seeks primarily to discover the intentions of the human authors of the Bible as they addressed their original audiences.  It endeavors to know, for instance, what the author of the book of the prophet Isaiah wanted to communicate to those for whom he was originally writing his text.  It wants to understand what, say, an Israelite community in 5^th century B.C. Palestine expected, hoped for, or was able to hear; or it seeks to grasp, for example, the theological intentions of Matthew or John as they composed their Gospels.   Accordingly, historical criticism is extremely sensitive to the cultural, political, and religious setting in which a given biblical author operated as well as to the particular literary forms that he chose to utilize.

Now it would be foolish to deny the value of the historical-critical method.  When employed by responsible and faithful scholars, it has yielded tremendous fruit.  One of its principal advantages is that it grounds our interpretation of the Bible in the rich soil of history.  The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are not predominantly mythological in form.  By this I mean that they do not trade in timeless, ahistorical truths; rather, they convey how God has interacted with very real people across many centuries. Relatedly, the historical-critical method has allowed us to see through some of the distorting layers of interpretation that have been imposed on the Bible throughout the tradition and to return to the bracing truth of the texts themselves as they were originally meant to be read.  Again and again, in both his pre-Papal and Papal writings, Joseph Ratzinger has affirmed the permanent value of this approach to the Scriptures.

However, he has also remarked the shadow side of this method and has consequently cautioned against a one-sided use of it.  The first problem he notices is that the method, precisely in the measure that it concentrates so exclusively on the intention of the human author, can easily overlook the intention and activity of the divine author of Scripture.  To be sure, Catholic biblical theology does not have a naïve appreciation of God’s authorship of the Bible, as though God simply dictated his words to robotic human instruments.  Nevertheless, it holds to God’s inspiration of the whole of the Bible and hence defends the claim that God, in a very real sense, is the principal author of the biblical books.  What follows from this claim is that the Scriptures as a whole have a coherency and are marked by discernible patterns and trajectories—all traceable to the intention of a supernatural agent.  A significant limitation of the historical-critical method is that its hyper-focus on human authorship tends to leave us with a jumble of at best vaguely related texts, each with its own distinctive finality and meaning.  We have, in a word, what Isaiah meant and what the author of the book of Job meant and what Mark and Paul meant—but not what God means across the whole of the Bible.

A second and related limitation is that the historical-critical method, precisely by looking so intently at the meaning of the biblical texts in their time, tends to leave them locked in history and hence unable to speak across the ages to us.  We might uncover fascinating truths about what the Psalms meant for their original audience, but unless we discover what, through God’s spirit, they mean for us now, they are simply relegated to the status of ancient poems.

And this is why Pope Benedict wants to recover what he calls a “theological hermeneutic” that can be used along with the historical-critical method of interpretation.  This theological approach is similar to the method that the church fathers used in interpreting Scripture.  It takes with utmost seriousness the inner coherency of the Bible, born of its divine authorship, and it assumes that God’s word is given ever new illumination through the theological, dogmatic, and spiritual tradition of the church.  In point of fact, Pope Benedict proposes his now two-volume study of Jesus as the fruit of both the historical-critical and theological methods of reading and hence as a model for future scholarship of the Bible.  Benedict’s books are filled with important insights about Jesus, but I have a suspicion that the most lasting contribution he has made through this project is a re-shaping of the way we read the Bible itself.

Still Defending the Beanfield

I haven’t posted in over a week. Its been a combination of a couple of things. First a lingering sinus infection and second a little dryness in the spiritual life. It is quite normal to experience times when the internal flow comes to a trickle. There isn’t the energy or the dynamics to move things. This can last for a day or two or even a week or two. You have to caution yourself because Satan likes to take advantage of you, when he sees that your enthusiasm has waned. He can put ideas in your head that God no longer loves you or that the joy of life is gone. It is a time to say small but powerful prayers. Always remember this: God is faithful to the righteous, those who stand with Him. Next week we begin the Lenten season. It is an opportunity to delve into oneself in a spiritual journey that begins with penance and sacrifice. It is though we are talking each little step that Christ took while walking the hill to Calvary. Here are some ideas for Lent that I have done from past years:

1. step up the prayer life – ask God for the grace right here and now for a good Lent, one that will draw you nearer to Him and placing you closer to the Cross

2. step up reading the Scriptures – the Magnificat or Liturgy of the Hours, read God’s word daily to strengthen your resolve

3. step up going to Mass – take every opportunity to receive the body of Christ. Feed that soul that needs Him so desperately

4. fast – skip a meal from time to time and…

5. write a check for what you would have spent on a night out and give it to a charity like Food for the Poor or Catholic Charities

6. do something for somebody else, even better do it without their knowledge

7. Read the Catechism daily – part Three, The Life in Christ is an excellent read for Lent as is part one the Profession of Faith

8. Spend an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, either at your Church’s time of exposition or if they have separate Adoration Chapel, many are open 24 hours.

9. Fix your eyes on a Crucifix and meditate quietly on Christ, his suffering, his love and mercy, his grace and his Glory

10. Go to the Stations of the Cross – this reflection done weekly can keep you focused on the Passion of Christ

11. Go to Confession – take this time to reflect on your sinfulness and make a good confession, this time the graces will be enormous and aid you in your journey

I pray that everyone who reads these words Christ will take personally by the hand on the Road to the Cross. God Bless.