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Prepared enough

Can we ever be prepared enough? That depends on two things: first, what we are preparing for, and second, what is the timeframe. 

My trip to Japan is scheduled for the spring of 2025. I have a 450+ day streak going on Duolingo, a language learning app, in order to prepare me for seeing, hearing, and hopefully, understanding the language. The trip is a two-week cruise roundtrip from Tokyo and I plan to spend two nights in the city before boarding the ship. Because I know those first few days I’ll be on my own, being able to communicate the basics will be important. I’ve watched a number of YouTube videos that say just learning the very basics is sufficient since “most” people know English. But other videos that indicate Japanese people are not comfortable speaking English because they don’t use it on a daily basis and feel they don’t speak it well. Will learning the words for please and thank you be enough? 

While I have traveled to other non-English speaking countries, this is the first that uses a character-based alphabet. Correction, three character-based alphabets; and yes, a single word can be written using more than just a single alphabet. Oddly enough, some of the initial words I learned are borrowed from English. While the pronunciation may be a bit more exaggerated, coffee, curry, and cake are relatively the same, just spelled with characters instead of letters. However, as I was learning the sound of the characters, two characters they put together sounded like taco, or at least that’s the way my brain interpreted it. Phonetically it would be more appropriate to represent the word as tako. Instead of those sounds representing the popular Spanish dish, rather it is the pronunciation for the Japanese word for octopus. While I don’t intend to order octopus while I’m there, being prepared will help me avoid thinking I’m ordering tacos and end up with a dish that is nothing like that. 

I’m less than 6 months away from my trip, and while I am looking forward to it, I’m also getting a bit fatigued with the daily language lessons. I’ve started to wonder if it will all be worth it? A work colleague of mine spent the New Year’s holiday there without any of this preparation and told me I’d be fine if I didn’t learn the language. Yet my personality won’t let me stop doing the lessons, even if I know I won’t be able to finish all of them. I’ll probably be waiting at the airport for my flight to Tokyo, using the app on my phone to do a few more Japanese language lessons. 

As I was pondering if I was wasting my time learning the language, I was struck with the thought that if I’m putting all this effort into preparing for a trip that will only last two weeks, how much effort am I putting into preparing for eternity? Yet that is precisely what life is all about: learning about God and His children so that we can spend forever with them in heaven. The Church, Mass, the Bible, and the Catechism are all there to support us in our life’s journey. We practice the language of Love while we are here on earth so that we can better understand heaven when we get there. Love is an action we take in recognition that each person is a reflection of God. In living our faith, actions of Love like the spiritual and corporal works of mercy are teaching us how to think and speak in this eternal language.

Unlike taking a planned trip, we don’t know how long our time on earth is. Even if we live 100 years, have we prepared enough for heaven? Can we prepare too much for heaven, or is that even possible? Perhaps it’s more my personality, but like learning Japanese, I don’t think I will ever be too prepared for heaven. If we get a bit fatigued with our daily preparations for what may be decades before our earthly life ends, we need to remember that our preparation is building a relationship with God. No matter how prepared we think we are, we will only be able to truly appreciate heaven once we get there. And it will be worth all the effort we put in because we will be there with God.   

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Necessary means

Last Sunday’s Gospel is a reminder to us that Jesus not only came to heal us, but He will go to whatever means necessary to do so. Each healing, like each person, is unique, since we all suffer differently.

The healing of the deaf man in Mark’s Gospel (Mk 7:31-37) has a number of curious details. I’ve read a few commentaries on it, but in reflecting on it this time, I was struck by how different this healing is. It’s not uncommon for friends to plead to Jesus to heal another. Way back in the beginning of Mark’s Gospel is the healing of the paralytic, whose friends cut through the roof to lower him down to be in Jesus’ presence. (Mk 2:1-12) There are no details indicating that Jesus touched the man or interacted with him in any way more than forgiving him of his sins. Yet for this deaf man, Jesus removes him from being among the crowd. Some say it illustrates that we need to be away from the noisy world to be able to hear God speaking, which is a valid point.

Perhaps leaving the crowd had a more practical purpose. If someone who has not experienced any noise suddenly hears a cacophony of sound, I would think that would be greatly overwhelming. Perhaps the person would respond by removing themselves from a situation that was too noisy. Take a moment and think about what a gentle, compassionate, and caring Savior we have! Jesus is going to take us to a place where our healing can be well received and appreciated. How would you react if you never heard a sound and Jesus says a few words to heal you and the first thing you ever hear is a multitude of people talking at once? Maybe some of your friends who brought you to Jesus whoop with delighted excitement at your healing. If you never heard that before in your life, you might not realize that noise is a good thing. You might actually prefer the silence of deafness because that’s all you know. 

In another healing account earlier in Mark (5:25-34), Jesus heals the woman suffering from a hemorrhage not because she asked Him to, but simply because she believed and touched a piece of His clothing. Jesus can heal, seemingly, without any effort at all. Yet in this account, Jesus not only touches the man, but “He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue.” Notice the text doesn’t say that Jesus merely touched his ears, but inserted His finger into them. I must admit when I hear this Gospel passage, I do recoil at the mention of Jesus’ holy spit. Yet Jesus found this step necessary to heal the man. How many of us would want healing if it meant being spit upon? 

The effort Jesus uses to heal the man doesn’t stop with these invasive actions. Jesus groans. Thinking of situations that I would groan would be either from a tremendous, physical effort, or something requiring complex, mental gymnastics to think through. Healing this man sounds like it took much effort from Jesus, the Son of God! Perhaps, here too the groaning had multiple objectives. It may have required much prayer from Jesus to the Father, but it also may have been a way Jesus could communicate with the deaf man as he was being healed. Since Jesus had His fingers in his ears, maybe the man could feel Jesus groaning until the point he could actually hear it as well. Every action that Jesus took to heal this man was unique to his condition.

Jesus knows what we need and how we need to be healed. He also knows when we’re ready to be healed. Let us continue to pray, not only for our own healing, but that of others as well. Let us be open to Jesus’ methods because they are truly for our specific needs.  

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Unclean hands

How often do you eat with unclean hands? What about receiving the Eucharist? Do you wash not only your hands but also your soul?

As the Gospel was being proclaimed last Sunday, I got the sense of the Old Testament foreshadowing the New Testament and that I just needed to ponder it more to see the bigger picture. When we consider the rituals that the Pharisees referred to, the washing of hands before eating as well as “purifying” or cleaning specific items, they are good hygiene practices to follow. The people of that time were not aware of the microscopic bacteria and germs that could cause them to become sick, but God knew. In requiring them to purify, or wash, their hands before eating, He was creating a habit for them that would reduce or even prevent disease. This physical habit should have also had a parallel for the spiritual health of a person. As they were “purifying” their hands, they should have thought about how well they kept the Commandments. Humans, however, have a tendency to be shortsighted and only look at what is being asked, relegating a healthy physical habit into a spiritual ritual instead of a spiritual reflection. In addition, one gets the sense that the Pharisees were scandalized to see that not all of Jesus’ followers adhered to this requirement.

As the Eucharist is a meal, how do we come to the table, which is the altar, with clean hands? Here again, the parallel is not literally having washed our hands (although that is always a good practice!), but rather preparing ourselves to receive in a worthy manner. In a sense we need to “wash” our souls before we receive Holy Communion. The most obvious way we can purify ourselves is through the sacrament of reconciliation. This is imperative if we are in a state of mortal sin, however, regularly receiving this sacrament can keep some of the lesser sins from growing into greater ones. Reconciliation is such an amazing sacrament! When we take the time to prepare for it by reviewing our thoughts, actions, and omissions, as well as truly being contrite for how these offenses have separated us from God, we can receive His mercy and be “washed” with grace. After a good confession, our souls are like the day we were baptized! 

If we aren’t in a state of mortal sin, there are probably plenty of venial sins that are causing our relationship with God to be strained. During Mass there are two ways that we can “wash” our souls. The first is the Penitential Act, when the priest asks us to call to mind the sins we have committed since our last Mass. As a congregation, we admit that we have sinned and ask God’s mercy through a general prayer. The priest gives a general absolution for these minor sins before we proceed with the Gloria. The other way we take ownership of our sins against others is at the sign of peace. This is the closest way the Church can encourage us to forgive others. It recalls Jesus’ teaching, “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24). At the sign of peace, here again is a physical action that has spiritual parallel. It may be impossible for us to actively forgive someone who is many miles away at that moment, but we can recall the hurt and ask God to help us forgive that person or to help that person forgive us. If the person is near us, we can take the first step at healing the relationship by offering them the sign of peace, that is to say, “I forgive you,” or “I seek your forgiveness.” These two times in the Mass allow us to recognize the effect of our daily actions towards God and those we interact with, and seek God’s mercy and grace.

It’s not just an Old Testament ritual that instructs us to prepare to receive the Eucharist, but even Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians boldly warned them about not purifying themselves before receiving Holy Communion. “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Cor 11:27-29) What does unworthily mean? I believe the list of actions Jesus indicates from Sunday’s Gospel reading that defile a person are what makes a person unworthy to receive Holy Communion. (Mark 7:21-23)

We are a people of unclean hands, but God, through His Church, has provided us ways to wash ourselves and our souls clean. Let us use these opportunities to grow our relationship with God rather than just performing a spiritual ritual.

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Say it again

Did Sunday’s Psalm sound familiar? I thought it sounded repetitive last weekend as well. Actually Psalm 34 has been used the past three Sundays and always with the same response. “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”

While the past four Sundays have been from the sixth chapter of John, commonly known as the Bread of Life discourse, the initial Sunday was the multiplication of the loaves. It was this miracle that John expands upon in the following three Sundays and the mirroring of Psalm 34 imitates the pattern. Some of the stanzas are different, but the response remains the same. If we just take it at face value, we may think that Psalm is used because it is talking about bread and one does taste bread. But we’re not talking about any old bread, we’re talking about a discussion in which Jesus indicated it was His own flesh. According to Bishop Barron, in the original text Jesus emphasized the eating of His flesh by using a verb that conveyed the gnawing eating method of an animal to illustrate the act of consuming. The Church in her wisdom uses Psalm 34 to mimic the emphasis for us today.

Have you ever eaten a meal so quickly that once it was over you realized you have no recollection of how it tasted? It can be disappointing to realize that we really didn’t enjoy eating that meal! So how do we taste the goodness of the Lord? Is it merely the flavor of the consecrated host before it dissolves in our mouth? Is there a way we can gnaw on Jesus? According to Merriam-Webster, there are nine definitions for taste as a verb. Some of them indicate eating in small quantities. Yet if Jesus overemphasized the act of eating, I don’t think the definitions that equate to nibbling would be applied. I think the most appropriate definition for taste is, “to become acquainted with by experience.” We need to experience God in order to appreciate His goodness to us. 

As Jesus bluntly reiterated eating His flesh, how could we deepen this experience of God as if we are gnawing on His goodness? I’m sure there are areas in all of our lives that we grumble and wish the situations were different — in our home, our family, or in our work, but what if instead of grumbling about why it isn’t meeting our standards, we appreciated what we do have within all aspects of our lives? “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be always in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:2) Before the psalm talks about petitioning God for assistance, it urges His praise and glory. When we turn away from our egos and wants, we can see better to thank God for all that He has provided to us already. We can then expand our vision to see the small blessings that come our way each and every day. Praising God for all sizes of blessings on a regular basis will grow our relationship with God so that we can truly share Him with others, “… let the poor hear and be glad. Magnify the Lord with me; and let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:3-4) In sharing our experience with Jesus with others, we can help them to taste and see God’s goodness in their lives.

Just to be clear, experiencing God does not mean that we won’t have challenges and the psalm is very direct about that. “Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. He watches over all his bones; not one of them shall be broken.” (Psalm 34:20-21) God does not prevent us from difficulties, but He does walk with us through them, providing the support we need to get us back to a place of peace. 

With 150 psalms, I’m sure there were others that the Church could have used to accompany the Gospel readings for the past three weeks. Yet it found using this short Psalm with its repetitive response as the perfect fit. We have already repeated it as the refrain several times during the last three Sundays. It’s now up to us to continue that refrain in our praise of God to others. 

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Take versus receive

As Catholics, do we take Communion or do we receive Communion? Is there a difference? If there is one that is correct, which is it? 

A few weeks ago I was assisting in training a small youth class on the Eucharist and the leader used the phrase take Communion. It felt awkward and uncomfortable for me to hear that. As she is a convert to Catholicism, I thought perhaps it was her Baptist roots showing. I gently corrected her phrasing to use the word receive. However, I’ve been second guessing myself for the past three weekends at Sunday Mass. We have been hearing the Gospel from John chapter 6, known as the Bread of Life discourse. Each week the homilies have included reminders of how the Gospel ties into the Eurchastic prayer taken from the synoptic Gospels where Jesus says, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it: for this is My Body which will be given up for you.” Take?? I thought we received Communion? I feel like the only time I would use the word take in conjunction with Holy Communion is when a person is making a call to a homebound person or someone in the hospital. It’s like we’re taking Jesus to visit that person, just as you might do with a mutual friend.

I love exploring the meaning of words and their etymology, so I looked up both words in Merriam-Webster. If it was a matter of the number of meanings, take would win hands down with over 20 verb meanings! I think the most used definitions come first. My perception of the word take is one of aggression and the first meaning bears that out: to get into one’s hands or into one’s possession, power, or control: such as to seize or capture physically. The word receive, on the other hand, only has a mere five verb meanings, however they contain the concepts of welcome, greet, and believe. My perception of the word receive is more of opening oneself to what is being offered or given and has a sense of humility in the action. In regards to etymology, however, they both mean the same thing, although they come from different sources: Old Norse and Latin. 

I searched for videos about receiving Communion at a Catholic Church to see how different content authors gave instruction. Receive was used by all, not just in the title but also in discussing the etiquette and actions for the proper reception. In one video by Fr. William Nicholas, he describes several ways of what not to do! In one description he uses the term snatch, which for me would be akin to using the word take in reference to Holy Communion. His video starts out by reminding us the third precept of the Catholic Church is, “You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter Season.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2042)

So why does Jesus tell us to take while the Church teaches us to receive? In John 20:22, Jesus does use the verb receive with His Apostles, but in a totally different way, “He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.” Jesus commands us to take in regards to the Body as it is a physical thing that can be held and take is the proper action verb in the physical realm. However, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, which is in the spiritual realm, we cannot perform any action to acquire the Spirit, but rather we must be open to receive the Spirit. It is Jesus, Himself, who is in the consecrated host we receive at Holy Communion. If He is giving us a direction to take Himself within ourselves, it makes sense that He gives us the command in such an actionable way.

Lastly, I did a search to see if there were any commentaries about Catholics using take versus receive in regards to Holy Communion. Oddly enough, there wasn’t much out there, but I did find a response on the Catholic Answers website that indicates both terms are correct. However, “traditional Catholic piety has encouraged use of the word receive to emphasize that Communion is a gift from Christ to the individual Catholic.”

I think words do matter and we need to be careful how we present concepts to those receiving instruction in the faith. Even if both terms are correct, receive is the preferred choice of the Catholic Church. 

Mary at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington DC

No singular purpose

This week the Church celebrates the Assumption of Mary into heaven. It’s a perfectly placed holy day to remind us of who we are and where we are going.

August means summer is just about over and, for those who have children, another school year is about to start. All too soon we will be replacing shorts and t-shirts with long pants and cozy sweaters as well as finishing another calendar year. The older I get the faster time seems to pass. The culture that surrounds us seems to live on emotions alone which can change faster than the wind, and produce just as much chaos and turmoil as any windstorm or tornado. While there is value in living in the moment, we also should not be hyper focused on solely how we feel as the barometer of our life. One can’t seem to escape the headlines or sound bites indicating an epidemic of depression. Too many see their value based on fleeting ideals of their career, their bank account, their status in society, or even their popularity on social media. Yet the Church reminds us Catholics to stop and remember the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our baptism welcomed us into the family of God. Our purpose is not a secular one based on what we can measure here on earth, but rather how we reflect and imitate the love of God to each other. From the first chapter in Luke’s Gospel, Mary sings God’s praise to Elizabeth. Instead of reflecting on the message she received about her own miracle, she rushed to assist her kinswoman Elizabeth. One could argue that Mary’s purpose was to be the Mother of Jesus during His time on earth. But her motherhood didn’t end when Jesus died on the cross because He gave her a new role as Mother of the Church. 

Parenthood is not just a title, but a multi-faceted job that takes one’s whole self, requires sacrifice, can be painful and yet produces a joy that can only be experienced and not explained. Aspects of Mary’s spiritual motherhood can be found in praying the Litany of Loreto, which has over 50 titles for her. There are 15 titles that include the word “Mother,” 7 titles containing “Virgin,” and 13 titles with “Queen.” Some titles describe how she intercedes on our behalf and others are comparisons that paint a more tangible perspective of a mirror, a tower or a vessel. Praying and reflecting on the litany reminds us that God has not placed us here for a single moment in time, but rather at a particular period of time to accomplish His will in many different ways. While we can evaluate how we respond to God’s will and how much we have pursued a relationship with Him, we cannot be the final judge of how much we accomplished as that is in the hands of God.

The feast of the Assumption reminds us that there is more to life than the daily grind. Eternal life with God is possible if we have a relationship with Him now and seek to do His will as Mary did. God brought Mary full circle at the end of her life by bringing her, body and soul, into heaven. This is not something she could achieve as a mere creature created by God. This is a supreme gift from Almighty God as a blessing to Mary for fulfilling His will on earth. At the moment of her conception, she was preserved from original sin and at the hour of her death her body was spared any decay or corruption by being assumed into heaven. Mary is enjoying now what we hope to, God willing, after our resurrection from the dead. 

The summer draws to a conclusion and the daylight hours grow fewer. Another year ends and our time on earth is shortened. Yet our hope is in the Lord as our source of light and life. Our journey is not through this time but towards God as we seek to know Him as our Father and love Him by choosing His will over ours. May the Blessed Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, intercede for us with her motherly wisdom. 

Who is stealing from whom?

I’m not sure what’s going on in Christian music today, but on my journey to visit my Mom on Sunday, I heard two very different songs about thieves. As catchy as both the tunes are, both are poor theology. 

I’ve heard these songs for awhile now and every time I’d hear either one, something just didn’t seem to make sense in my brain. Usually I listen to Christian radio when I’m driving, so I’m not fully concentrating on the lyrics, as there are too many other drivers around me that I need to pay more attention. The first song, by Tauren Wells, is Take It All Back. The refrain sounds quite powerful, both in the music as well as the lyrics:

I’m calling the angels down
I’m storming the gates of hell
Tell the devil he don’t own my soul
I’m taking back what the enemy stole
I’m raising the battle cry
I’m holding the banner high
With the power of the Holy Ghost
I’m taking back what the enemy stole

The song evokes the age-old battle with Satan that is a result of our sin, which is often portrayed as chains or shackles that bind us. And in many spiritual ways that is true. But it’s also a choice. Can the opportunities to sin appear to be something good rather than evil? Absolutely! However, it is still a choice that we make and we are responsible for our words, actions, or the lack thereof. The lyrics of the song imply that the Devil has stolen the person’s soul, basically taking what did not belong to the Devil and certainly without the consent of the person. Sin separates us from God. It’s only when we turn back to Him, when we repent and lean on His mercy that we can receive the grace God wants to shower on us. The Devil cannot hold our souls unless we give him permission to do so. Satan will try and trick us and think that we can’t escape, but we can call on the Triune God for help — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We can call on our guardian angel or even St. Michael, the Archangel, in our battles with the tempter. I know the song wouldn’t pack the same punch if the lyrics were, “I’m taking back what I gave up.”

The other song is equally catchy, but has even worse theology! The song by Crowder is Grave Robber and the refrain for this one is: 

I got stolen by the grave robber
Picked me up from that rock bottom
Washed my soul in that Holy water
Brought me back to life 
One more stone rolled away
One more sinner been saved by grace
This dead man, he ain’t dead no longer
All because of that grave robber 

In the first song we had the Devil stealing a person’s soul. In this song, we have Jesus stealing a person from themself! What?! Jesus is not going to force you to choose Him, and He certainly will not take you against your free will. He wants a relationship with you. Jesus will give us life in abundance, and He rejoices when a hardened sinner repents and turns to Him. Jesus gave us the parable of the Prodigal Son, so that we can know that God is constantly seeking for us and at the first sign of our return, He is there to bless and celebrate us. This song, however, makes it seem like Jesus is just snatching up unsuspecting people and forcing them to believe in Him. While it’s true that we cannot save ourselves, our salvation does rely on our participation with God. If we turn away from God and want nothing to do with Him, He will continue to love us and seek a relationship at any small, micro possibility that can open us up to Him. A thief or robber takes what is not His and without permission. Since God created us, technically we are His. But God has also given us free will and will never force us to turn to Him. We may be required to make a choice for His will or our will (sin), but we always have a choice. 

Just because a song is on Christian radio does not make it a good song, no matter how much the tune sticks in your head. Neither the Devil nor Jesus is a thief. We have free will to choose. It’s up to us to choose a relationship with God and to do His will. 

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Wheat and weeds

A daily Mass Gospel reading last week was that of the wheat and the weeds, Mt 13:24-30. As I thought about the reading, the oddest juxtaposition came to mind: Peter and Judas. 

Peter is mentioned many times in the Gospels, sometimes not in the best way, but always very loyal to Jesus. He is quoted many times throughout the passages, and I would suspect many could at least paraphrase something Peter said. But what about Judas? Besides his treachery that led to Jesus’ crucifixion, the only other recorded moment of him is his objection when perfumed oil was used to bathe Jesus’ feet. He thought it should be sold and the money donated to their cause. The commentary indicates that as the money keeper, he was thought to be pilfering from the donations that came their way. Yet, Jesus called Judas to be one of His intimate set of followers. Judas heard all the parables and teaching opportunities that Jesus presided over. He saw most of the miracles that Peter saw. And Judas had a personal relationship with Jesus while He was in the flesh. Have we ever had a moment of weakness when we thought that if we could just see and talk to Jesus in His human form, it would make believing easier? Well, Judas spent three years traveling with Him and despite all he observed, he still allowed greed and pride to rule his actions and ultimately betrayed Him. 

In the parable, the farmer instructs his farmhands to not pull up the weeds, lest they disturb the roots of the wheat and bring that up with the weeds. Instead the two are allowed to be cultivated together and the care that is given to wheat — water and fertilizer — is also being utilized by the weeds. Likewise, God does not just bless good people who “deserve” it, as if anyone is good enough to deserve God’s blessing, God blesses those who seek a relationship with Him as well as those who run the other way. “That’s not fair!,” may be your reaction! Yet, if the weeds do not receive the same care that the wheat gets, the consequences could be worse than the two growing together. Perhaps the weeds would start feeding off of the wheat? Or in trying to obtain the water and nutrients that the wheat received, the amount would not be sufficient enough for both and neither the wheat nor the weeds would ever mature for a harvest. And worse yet, in the competition for the food, with neither having a sufficient quantity, both would perish. During His earthly ministry, Jesus gave all 12 Apostles and many other followers opportunities to know God in a way they never thought possible. It wasn’t only being instructed by Him, but they talked with Him, ate with Him, laughed with Him, and cried with Him. Peter and Judas were both wheat and weeds growing up in the presence of Jesus.

While parables are a helpful tool in teaching spiritual concepts in a more concrete manner, they are imperfect. Weeds cannot change what they are, however, as humans we can change the kind of person we are. We can turn away from what separates us from a relationship with God and seek to do His will. Our sinful nature makes us weeds that should be tossed into the furnace. But through God’s mercy and Jesus’ sacrifice, we are able to become wheat that can be received into the heavenly barn at the final judgment. The choice is ours to make, as God gives us free will to choose for Him or for ourselves. 

Both Judas and Peter betrayed Jesus that last night; one by selling their location to the Pharisees and the other by denying he knew Jesus. Both regretted their actions. Judas’ despair drove him to hang himself. Peter’s sorrow was forgiven in his encounter with the resurrected Jesus. Peter had faith in God and Jesus. And it is our faith and the actions that flow from our beliefs that make us wheat instead of weeds. 

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Temptation everywhere

I have resisted writing a blog post about this, I prefer to focus on a relationship with God and ways we can look to improve it. However, I feel like I need to examine how the other one can tempt us in such small and innocent ways that can add up and be damaging to our relationship with God. 

Recently as I was reviewing my life, my attitude, and my choices in everyday living, it felt like there was a disconnect. When I tried to figure out why I was making the choices I was, it was like there wasn’t a good answer. For example, I would tell myself I was tired and put a chore off for another day only to stay up past midnight watching TV. Even as I saw the time getting later and later I would tell myself that I should be getting to bed soon, but would promptly put it off for just a little bit longer. It’s not a sin for me to stay up late, but if it impacts my work and attitude, maybe it’s a lack of taking care of the body God gave me. It may not be as dangerous as taking drugs or drinking to excess, but it’s still less than what God wants for me. Even though it was my choice, I really couldn’t figure out why I was making these types of choices. I began to wonder if this is how Satan tries to get a hold into our life and disrupt our connection with God.

I believe that God made all things good. I also believe that God gives us all the choice to either love Him or our own egos. Lucifer, the angel bearer of light, decided he was going to love his own ego over the God that created him. But that makes him miserable and he wants all of God’s creation to choose against God, not necessarily for him, Lucifer — aka Satan or the Devil, but as long as it’s against a relationship with God. If Satan tried to tempt me with drinking alcohol in excess, it would be a losing battle, as I fall asleep after a small glass of wine. However, Satan seems to look at our weaknesses to figure out how best to tempt us, especially when it doesn’t seem like a temptation.

Oddly enough in this past Sunday’s homily, Fr. Armando commented that we are “born into a battle.” The reference of a battle between good and evil is appropriate, since Satan often operates in ambush tactics. When we are worried or frustrated, those are soft spots for his attacks. If we struggle with health issues, financial issues, or relationship troubles with those around us, watch out as we can easily be led astray and make poor choices that affect not only ourselves and those in our families, but can hamper God’s efforts in walking these difficulties with us. Let’s be clear: God does not tempt us, ever. God allows us to be tempted because we have free will, the option to choose Him and His will over ourselves and our egos.

What makes Satan’s tactics so effective in such miniscule ways, is the secular culture that promotes a victim mentality (i.e. it’s someone else’s fault and not ours) as well as being led by how we feel. Feelings and emotions can change minute by minute, depending on what our circumstances are. It can be challenging to make solid decisions when we are polarized in either happiness or sadness. Society seems to expect us to be ecstatically happy all the time, and if we’re not we need to do whatever we can to be that way and to look at whatever is impeding that feeling as the enemy to be conquered. The irony is that it is often our own choices that have created the circumstances and our ego is the enemy. We can claim that “the Devil made me do it,” however, it was only a whispered suggestion that feeds our egos, similar to the one Adam and Eve heard in the garden, of how they can become god-like, that they can be in total control. We each make the decision to eat the forbidden fruit in our lives, and we need to take responsibility for that. However, we can ask God to help us when we are challenged or tempted. He may not remove the temptation, but He can help us walk through the challenge we are experiencing. 

Temptations are everywhere, but if we are mindful about how Satan operates, we can seek God’s protection and guidance. There will be battles that we fall as a result, but there is always God’s mercy to help us stand up to fight another day. Our focus should always be on God as the center of our lives, but awareness of how Satan operates to disrupt our focus can be a weapon in our daily battles.

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Why do good?

There is an old idiom that says, “You reap what you sow.” Even Jesus remarked, “Any sound tree bears good fruit, while a decayed tree bears bad fruit.” (Matt 7:18) However, when you look around society today, we  struggle to see where that natural justice is taking place. It can be very discouraging and make us wonder why we should try and do good in our lives.

Psalm 73 shows us that even in ancient times, there was a similar feeling:  

But, as for me, I almost lost my balance; 
My feet all but slipped.
Because I was envious of the arrogant
When I saw them prosper though they were wicked.
Psalm 73:2-3

When we see those openly mocking God and living in ways that go against His teachings being acclaimed and considered social heroes, it can cause us to doubt ourselves and our beliefs. Then if we speak out against their words and actions, we quickly become the target of viciousness and spite! It’s like the tables are turned and we are the transgressors, because we speak contrary to their words and deeds. When the world seems to be upside down and the opposite of what it should be, it can be very easy to slip and lose our footing! 

The analogy of plants and trees may have a deeper meaning than just the surface of the words. It takes time for seeds to grow into plants. And it takes time for a tree to produce the blossom before it becomes a fruit. We can’t expect immediate repercussions to occur each time a person says or does something evil that is celebrated in our secular society. And likewise, we can’t expect to be showered with blessings just because we do a singlar good deed. For most plants and all fruit trees, they don’t produce a single item, but rather many. When we reap what we sow, it is not just a single instant of our lives that determines what we reap, but rather the whole of it. If our entire life parallels a single growing season of a tree, how much fruit would be on it?

Another consideration we need to keep in mind is that our world is very materialistic and repeatedly glorifies what is objectionable to God. Jesus tells us we need to pick up our cross and follow Him, not pick up our bouquet of roses and dance happily down the yellow brick road. It may appear that the wicked are prospering, but that is the image they hope to portray. They may even be deceiving themselves by focusing on the accolades they receive. We are called to live in this world, but not to be OF this world; which is to say that we do not look at our time on earth as the only existence we have. As Catholic Christians, we believe in heaven and the resurrection of the dead, and the consequences of our actions during our lives will impact more than just however many years we live on earth. We also recognize that our actions also impact the lives of those with whom we live, work, and interface.

Lastly, we are all sinners in some way and we will need to atone for those sins either here and now or in purgatory. When we practice doing good, we learn how to be aware of those around us. Sometimes good is actually doing something or helping another. Other times, it can be in not doing something, like repeating a piece of gossip that we’ve heard. When we follow Jesus’ example, we are training ourselves to be the bearer of good fruits. We may stumble from time to time, but we can, through the mercy of God, repent and do penance for our faults to lessen the impact of our sins. By having a relationship with God, He can prune away the dead, sinful branches within us, so that only the healthy, life-giving plant remains.

It’s very tempting to compare our situations with others who seemingly have it easy, even though they rail against the will of God. However, if we strive to always have a relationship with God, repenting when we falter, He will prosper us, if not in this time and place, then surely in heaven where we will see Him face to face.