It’s funny, in a strange sort of way, how memories seemingly long gone, pop back into my mind from childhood every now and then. That happened to me the other day. It was of a moment in my early life of a powerful conversion. Permit a brief story which, according to me, illustrates the power of God to transform us through love.
It happened when I was in seventh grade, 12 years old, or thereabouts. To my mind, children and early teenagers, are some of the cruelest people on the face the earth. Some of the most hurtful and taunting things come from children’s mouths, directed toward each other. At this time in my life, I was no exception to this widespread tendency. I remember being both devastated by ridicule, and dishing it out with gusto.
One of the most dreadful chapters of my life in this regard was the ridicule and taunts I heaped on a classmate, Gabriel Ridell. Gabe, as we called him, was developmentally disabled to a slight degree. Somehow we knew it was because he had “water on the brain,” and could even see a tube just behind his hairline that was used to drain the water that accumulated there. Whatever his particular issues, the bottom line was that he had some social and cognitive challenges, and went to special education classes at our local school.
Poor Gabriel, we treated him horribly. I and others lived for the moment when he boarded our yellow school bus each day at his stop. I and others called out: “Gabriel….Ritard….Gabe the Reeetarrrrd.” I wince as I even think of it. Gabe, quite outnumbered, knew little to do except turn and shake his fist at us and say “I know you are! But what am I?!”
So awful was our taunting and ridicule that the Bus driver had him sit in the front seat near her, and occasionally she would pull over and tell us to be quiet, and that we should be ashamed of ourselves. In the afternoon, as he would leave the bus we taunted him, calling out the window with our usual venom. We thought we were so cool, but were mere merely cruel. Let me be more specific, I was cruel.
But one day, on the way home, something remarkable happened. Gabe’s stop was near the end of the bus route, and I, and he, and just a few other kids were left on the bus. I was well prepared to call out evil things from the window as he stepped of the bus, but something caused me to stop. There was a woman standing there, with the same red hair as Gabriel. Gabriel caught sight of her and called loudly and with joy through the open bus window: “Mom!!” And, as the door opened, Gabriel dashed out of the bus and into her arms. She hugged him tenderly. As the bus began to pull away, she took him by the hand and began to walk home with him; he overjoyed, she, a loving mother with her son.
I was dumbstruck, and sank in my seat. And suddenly, in a moment, I began to weep for my sins, utterly convicted of my cruelty, (I weep even as I type these words). Gabriel, whom I had depersonalized and so ridiculed, was deeply loved by his mother. He was lovable. The sight of this changed me in an instant. I never saw Gabriel the same again.
The next day I told Gabriel how sorry I was, and asked his forgiveness. When others began their taunts I told them to be quiet, and that Gabriel was cool, and we should leave him alone. I can’t say we became great friends, for we were in different grades and went to different classes. But I remained his friend and defender on the bus, and learned something of his story: how his mother had either been attacked or had fallen when she was pregnant with him (I cannot remember now which). His brain injuries stemmed from that time.
I wonder what of us all, now. What if we could somehow see the tender love that God has for everyone we know? Would it not change us, transform us, even in an instant? Yes, it would. I know that by experience. Merely observing Mrs. Ridell’s love for her son changed me in moment. Love can do that, that’s what love does. We would surely begin to love, understand, and befriend, even the difficult and troubling people we know.
Why not ask for the gift to see something of God’s love for others? I don’t suppose we could take a large dose of it, all at once, for surely we could not stop weeping for our sins. Perhaps even to ask that our eyes be gradually opened to the tender love of God for everyone around us, is best. And surely, even in this gradual way, we will begin to experience the gift of tears, and capacity to weep for our sins of indifference, of hardness, of inconsideration. And also, to experience joyful weeping in how delighted God is over our acts of kindness and consideration. Whatever the tears, fear them not, for they are healing tears, born in godly sorrow and joy.
Yes, seek the transformative power of a revealed and observed love. And if it comes to you, by God’s mercy, you will never be the same again.
In the secular world a “mystery” is something which baffles or eludes understanding, something which lies undisclosed. And the usual attitude of the world toward mystery is to resolve it, get to the bottom of, or uncover it. Mysteries must be overcome! The riddle, or “who-done-it” must be solved!
In the Christian and especially the Catholic world, “mystery” is something a bit different. Here mystery refers to the fact that there are hidden dimensions in things, people and situation that extend beyond their merely visible and physical dimensions.
One of the best definitions I have read of “mystery” is by the theologian and philosopher John Le Croix. Fr. Francis Martin Introduced it to me some years ago in one of his recorded conferences. Le Croix says:
Mystery is that which opens temporality and gives it depth. It introduces a vertical dimension and makes of it a time of revelation, of unveiling.
Fr. Martin’s classic example of this to his students is the following:
Suppose you and I are at a party, and Smith comes in the door and goes straight way to Jones and warmly shakes his hand with both his hands. And I say, “Wow, look at that.” And you say, puzzled: “What’s the big deal, they shook hands…so what?” And then I tell you, “Smith and Jones have been enemies for thirty years.“
And thus there is a hidden and richer meaning than merely what meets the eyes. This is mystery, something hidden, that is accessible to those who know, and are initiated into the mystery and come to grasp some dimension of it, it is the deeper reality of things.
In terms of faith there is also a higher meaning that mystery brings. And thus Le Croix added above, It [mystery] introduces a vertical dimension, and makes of it a time of revelation, of unveiling.
Hence we come to appreciate something of God in all he does and has made. Creation is not just dumbly there. It has a deeper meaning and reality. It reveals its creator, and the glory of Him who made it. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1).
Indeed, there is a sacramentality to all creation. Nothing is simply and dumbly itself, it points beyond and above, to Him who made it. The physical is but a manifestation of something and Someone higher.
In the reductionist world in which we live, such thinking is increasingly lost. And thus we poke and prod in order to solve the mysteries before us. And when have largely discovered something’s physical properties we think we have exhausted its meaning. (We have not). In a disenchanted age, we need to rediscover the glory of enchantment, of mystery. There is more than meets the eye. Things are deeper, richer and higher than we can ever fully imagine.
Scripture, which is a prophetic interpretation of reality, starts us on our great journey by initiating us into many of the mysteries of God, and his creation. But even Scripture does not exhaust the mystery of all things, it merely sets us on the journey ever deeper, ever higher. Mysteries unfold, they are not crudely solved.
For the Christian then, mystery is not something to be solved or overcome, so much as to be appreciated and reverenced. To every person we know and everything we encounter goes up the cry, O magnum et admirabile mysterium (O great and wondrous mystery)! Now you’re becoming a mystic.
So, a guy goes to the doctor and says, “Doc! I’ve eliminated 99% of the fat from my diet, I’ve stopped drinking, no desserts or candy, and I only eat meat once a week! Will I live longer?” And the Doctor says, “No, it will only seem that way.”
Some years ago I read a book by a doctor who was summarizing the latest findings of medical science. But in the memorable opening line of the book he issued a “pastoral” caution, writing: Americans enjoy the best health and the longest lifespans in our history. Yet…we worry more about our health than ever before [1]. He went on to urge the reader to keep things in perspective, and to remember that health is about a lot of things in combination, not just one or two things. To reduce it simply to what a person weighs or what they eat, or how much exercise they get, is to fail to realize that there are many people who are overweight, but healthy, thin but quite ill, who eat all the wrong things but are quite healthy, who get little exercise but stay fit. Again, health is about a lot of variables interacting in a myriad of ways, to include genetics and even intangibles like one’s sense of well-being.
Anxious about food! I like you have come through the Christmas holidays, of which food is a very big part. Not just the food itself, but many of the parties and rituals surrounding it. And, as I, like you, sat at a few tables I noticed how anxious many are about what is being eaten, and what effects it might have.
Pass the Salt! To illustrate, a few nights ago, sitting at one restaurant table of a good number of friends I noticed how much of the conversation was nervously opining on what was good for you, or what was loaded with fat, or how this might have too many calories, or too much of this or that. Mischievously I asked in a rather audible voice if someone would please pass the salt. This led to a variety of largely negative reactions from laughter, to actual shock. “You know Father, you really need to stay away from that salt!” Reassuring them that my blood pressure was normal, I wondered aloud why we have all become so very anxious about food, that we don’t really seem to enjoy it. Everything is guilt ridden, and we so often moralize and even scold one another.
I wonder what it’s all about? I wonder if, a hundred years ago, people sat about anxiously opining about and discussing food’s effects, or if they just gratefully dug in with a little gusto?
It is a true fact that most Americans are overweight. Hence moderation is a good goal for most of us. But all the guilt and fear mongering is, on the one hand not very helpful, and the other hand, seems to lack appreciation for God’s gifts. There are a few Biblical lines that come to mind here about food that I would like to recall in order to make this point.
1. Let no one pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink ….why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world? “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” These are all things destined to perish with use; they accord with human precepts and teachings. While they have a semblance of wisdom in rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, they are of no value against gratification of the flesh. Col 2:16, 21-23).
Most generally, when Paul is talking about food in his letters, he has in mind the rather complicated situation of that time, when certain foods (especially meat), sold in the public markets had been dedicated or offered to the pagan gods. Christians seem to have been divided over whether they could eat such food. St. Paul was of the school of thought which permitted Christians to eat such food, since the gods to whom such foods had been dedicated were naught, and the Christian himself had not made the offering. But there were other Christians who were very alarmed and scandalized by any Christian eating such food. While insisting on Christian freedom to eat it, St. Paul also cautioned charity and advised that if eating such food (dedicated to the gods) in the presence of a fellow Christian would cause grief or scandal, one should, in charity, refrain. He says elsewhere Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall (1 Cor 8:13).
Now while the context of this passage is specific, its principle is general: charity and freedom in matters of food. Thus, we ought to avoid some of the more extensive moralizing and scolding that goes on at many tables today. There may be times when, due to a special relationship with a person, we may wish to remind or encourage them in good practices. For example, they may wish us to exhort them and help them lose weight, or avoid foods that are problematic for them (e.g. sugar in the case of a diabetic, salty food is the case of hypertension). But the general norm to be observed, according to this passage, is charity, respect for freedom, and the gratitude and joy that are proper to receiving God’s gift of food.
Another thing the passage eschews is an attitude of moral superiority in matters of food. For some, who have read up on nutrition, or have recently lost weight, or who have success in staying thin, are forever preaching and moralizing and proffering unwanted advice. St Paul speaks of what they say as having the semblance of wisdom, in rigor of devotion and self-abasement, and severity to the body but he goes on to warn of the pride that underlies many such methodologies, and plagues the dogmatic preachers of them, for: they are of no value against gratification of the flesh. In other words, the real enemy proceeding from the flesh (the flesh is our sin-nature, not the body per se), is pride. Better to be overweight and humble, than thin but full of pride.
Further, even if we interpret “flesh” here to mean merely the body, rigorous practices, inflicting severity upon the body, often set up opposite reactions. We see this in a lot of the yo-yo dieting common in our culture. Shaming or fear mongering the overweight into dramatic and severe programs is seldom helpful in the long run.
2. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. (Rom 14:2-4)
Here is similar advice as to what is above in the first quote, but there is also a much clearer condemnation of pride insofar as food is concerned. Notice too, that things are a bit reversed here from our experience. For, it is those of the expansive diet that tend toward pride. But the “no meat” group also fall prey by “condemning” those who do eat meat. (Remember the context wherein most meat from the local markets had been declared sacred by the pagans to the gods).
But again note that Paul emphasizes freedom and charity. In other words, Paul says, “lay off on all the food moralizing and respect your brother’s freedom, don’t let food become a matter for either ridicule or lots of excessive rules.” Hence, toward those who follow careful diets, (e.g.vegetarian diets), there ought to be no scoffing of them for this. But neither is all the moralizing and demonizing of entire food groups (and those who eat of them) proper either.
3. They [certain heretics]….order [others] to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim 4:3-5)
Here again, Paul’s main concern in religious, and thus he warns of certain gnostic tendencies and perhaps teachings of Judaizers too, who forbid entire food groups as intrinsically evil. St. Paul is clear, all foods are clean (cf also Jesus at Mk 7:19) and should be received with thanksgiving from God who made them.
Again, the demonizing of certain food groups in our culture, either by vegetarian or the “healthy eating police” is to be questioned by a passage such as this. That some need to moderate regarding certain food or even wholly refrain from them due to medical conditions is granted. But the problem isn’t the food per se, it is the medical condition. St Paul says elsewhere: As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself (Rom 14:14).
Some question the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat in Lent based on this text. But note an important difference, we do not abstain from meat because meat is bad or evil, but because it is good. Thus it is a worthy sacrifice to set it aside for a time. We do not reject meat, we enjoy it. That is why it is a sacrifice to abstain from it.
So food ought to be enjoyed. And, to be critiqued are the modern tendencies to fret excessively about foods, categorically demonize them, scold others who enjoy them, moralize and give frequent and unwanted advice to others for their food choices, and especially doing this at the very time of communal eating. Frankly, some of these tendencies, especially when done in at the table, are rude and insensitive. If someone asks for salt, cheerfully oblige him. You are neither his doctor, nor in possession of his medical records. So smile, and as you pass the shaker say, “Ah, salt! The spice of life!”
Disclaimers:
Some will say, “But Father, but Father! You must speak more about gluttony, it is a sin!” Yes, but another time. If you insist, then here: “All things in moderation!…including moderation (for there is a time to feast).“
Someone else may say, “Really Father, you must say more about obesity, and how deadly our American eating habits are in terms of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. You must give equal time to such important considerations!” Ah, yes again, but please understand, this post IS equal time. I rather doubt that anyone who has read this post hasn’t had an earful of warnings from many segments of our culture about all the medical complications of obesity.
Hence, this post IS the balance, wherein I say merely, Relax a little and enjoy life too. Food is good, excesses cause problems to be sure. But don’t work so hard to stay alive that you forget to live.
It is the first day back to work for many of us after some delightful holy days, during which we have been able to reflect on eternal and heavenly realities.
And in this New Year we are going to have many blessings but also some important challenges. Among the challenges we will continue to face and must battle are significant and persistent threats to religious liberty. These issues affect not only Catholics, but people of many religious backgrounds. However, the Catholic Church is particularly targeted and threatened because we have stood so vocally and firmly in opposition to many cultural problems in America such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research, the gay rights agenda, gay “marriage,” and so forth.
As the wider American culture continues to move away from biblical teachings and norms, our Catholic adherence to this age-old wisdom has come to be seen by many as obnoxious, and we are considered to be an influence that must be strongly resisted. Rather than understand our concerns as a principled stance rooted in biblical norms that we cannot simply set aside, many in the wider culture, have chosen to describe our stance as bigoted, reactionary, hateful, and broadly intolerant.
As such, many see the repudiation of our religious rights and liberty as righteous and as a vindication of their cultural agenda. But the rejoicing in some circles and the active attempt by some to suppress our religious liberty is short-sighted. For if the government can deny the liberty of one group, all are threatened. If the government can attempt to legally force a large segment of the U.S. population to act contrary to their conscience, no other segment is safe either.
As we have discussed before, the threat to religious liberty is both real and growing. This New Year of 2012 will be a critical year for religious liberty issues since a number of important issues are on the table.
Over the Christmas Octave, all priests in the Archdiocese received a letter of concern from Cardinal Wuerl, which stated in part,
We have all heard much over the past few years about the cause of reforming health care in the United States. Until now, federal law has never prevented Catholic institutions like the Archdiocese of Washington from providing for the needs of their employees with a health plan that is consistent with Catholic moral teachings. However, the Department of Health and Human Services is currently considering adopting regulations that would threaten that freedom.
Under the proposed HHS regulations, virtually all Catholic hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, and charitable organizations would be required to provide coverage for sterilization procedures and contraception, including drugs that may induce abortions, unless they stop hiring and stop serving non-Catholics.
The letter goes on to reference A Letter from Catholic Leaders and Health Care Professionals, which expresses grave concern that the HHS mandates in the new healthcare legislation are too sweeping and contain no real religious exemption. The letter states, in part,
As written, the [HHS] rule will force Catholic organizations that play a vital role in providing health care and other needed services either to violate their conscience or severely curtail those services. This would harm both religious freedom and access to health care.
The HHS mandate puts many faith-based organizations and individuals in an untenable position. But it also harms society as a whole by undermining a long American tradition of respect for religious liberty and freedom of conscience. In a pluralistic society, our health care system should respect the religious and ethical convictions of all. We ask Congress, the Administration, and our fellow Americans to acknowledge this truth and work with us to reform the law accordingly.
Real and subtle – Please understand that the threats to our religious liberty are very real, but also at times subtle. For much of it is carried out in incremental ways, hidden in the deeper details of legislation and emerging from the interpretations of various judges. As such, it requires the Church and other religious organizations to fight on multiple fronts in a wearying number of often arcane (but very significant) legal minutia.
At some level, the erosion of religious liberty is happening simply due to the repeated quality of the multiple legal maneuvers. The Church and other religious entities may win an individual battle in one case only to face multiple appeals and/or similar battles in other jurisdictions.
Keeping the faithful organized and alert and having the legal and financial resources in place to meet every challenge is difficult, and this is part of the erosive technique of the extreme secularists.
Here are just some recent examples of the kinds of cases and issues that emerge:
In 2009 the Baltimore City Council passed a bill regulating the speech of pro-life pregnancy centers by requiring them to post a sign listing services they do not provide (abortion and contraception) or face a daily fine. Abortion clinics and other such pro-choice centers faced no similar requirement. (Montgomery County soon approved a similar regulation.) The ordinance has been declared unconstitutional by a federal court, but even though the courts may overturn these sorts of laws, such legal actions place a huge time and financial burden on these charitable organizations and are a distraction from their mission.
600 Catholic hospitals are finding themselves under increased scrutiny since they provide care in accordance with Catholic religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the federal government to investigate Catholic hospitals for declining to provide abortion and emergency contraception. The ACLU alleges that Catholic hospitals are violating federal laws by adhering to their religious beliefs.
The District of Columbia government informed Catholic Charities that it would no longer be an eligible foster care and adoption partner, since as a Catholic organization Catholic Charities was devoted to placing children in homes with both a mother and a father. Moreover, when district residents filed an appeal to bring the issue of marriage before voters so that they could have a voice in the debate, their request was repeatedly denied by the D.C. Board of Elections.
Last November the same thing happened in Illinois. The Church there would have been required to provide adoption services to same-sex couples, based on a civil union law that had been passed. “The decision not to pursue further appeals was reached with great reluctance, but was necessitated by the fact that the State of Illinois made it financially impossible for Catholic agencies to continue to provide these services due to the legal cost of continuing the battle.”
There has also been a growing trend of government intrusion into the institutional and administrative life of the Church. One of the most disturbing examples of this was in 2009 when a bill was introduced in the Connecticut legislature that would have allowed the state of Connecticut to mandate the structure and organization of Catholic parishes (and only Catholic parishes—it applied to no other denominations). The measure, which ultimately failed, would have removed many administrative and pastoral responsibilities from the pastor and placed them instead in the hands of committees whose membership was defined by the state legislature. Here, too, though we won, that such an intrusive principle could see the light of day was disturbing and fighting it cost the Church and Catholics a huge amount of time and money. Christians cannot speak of their values publicly? Medina Valley Independent School District allows the class valedictorian to deliver a graduation address. The speech is written by the student and delivered in his or her own name and is a means to provide a personal reflection on what has helped him or her attain success, and to give an encouraging word to fellow students. Last year, valedictorian Angela Hildenbrand, a Bible-believing Christian, was valedictorian. Many knew that Angela would give thanks to God for blessing her work as a student, and that she might offer a prayer. Alleging that hearing a prayer would cause serious and irreparable harm, lawyers at “Americans United for the Separation of Church and State” (AUSCS) filed suit for an agnostic family. A federal judge … issued an order that no prayers could be offered, and also that Angela could not utter certain words in her speech, including the phrase “bow your heads” or the specific words “prayer” or “amen.” The reality is, the judge’s order, not a prayer Angela might offer in her speech, violated the First Amendment. A student is given the stage to speak about her values and priorities and to thank whomever she wishes for helping her succeed in school. Because she’s a private citizen (not a government agent), her speech is protected by the First Amendment Free Speech Clause. For the government (including a judge) to censor her private speech is unconstitutional. On June 4, the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion to reverse the district judge’s ruling.
Grants denied on Religious Grounds – In 2008 the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts brought suit against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops seeking to eliminate a grant to programs that aid victims of human trafficking. Because Catholic programs don’t refer for abortions, the ACLU alleged that public support amounts to the establishment of religion. The Obama Justice Department defended the grant in court. But last month, HHS abruptly ended the funding.
And again – It is now standard procedure in the Obama administration to deny funding to some Catholic programs based solely on their pro-life beliefs. [4]
The latest and most pervasive threat is the new HHS law described above.
As we begin the new year, please take these threats seriously. The extreme secularists presume they can simply wear us down by their repeated and numerous legal maneuverings. And, frankly, they may be right—unless people like you and me are vigilant and unflinching in supporting the Church as she battles these attacks.
And don’t be too sanguine about how we should be willing to endure persecution. We should, but that does not mean we should simply surrender our constitutional rights at the door and let secularists and proponents of the cultural revolution isolate us. We have every constitutional right that any American does and we cannot simply let the Church be silenced by either ignoring the problem or minimizing it.
Are you ready for 2012? There is an important battle underway. Where do you stand? What will you do? To quote Martin Luther King Jr., “My daddy always said, ‘If you find a good fight, get in it.'” Well this is a good fight, a necessary fight. Get in it.
Time, what could be more clear? What time is it? 10:00 pm! Next question. We think at times that nothing could be simpler than time. But time has mysteries about it.
Every New Year I ponder the mystery of time, I guess because time is so much on our mind. And as I ponder time, I am mindful that most of us think we know what time is, until we are actually asked to define it in some meaningful way. Something makes me think of what St Augustine once said about another mystery (the Trinity). And thus if someone asks me to define time I am tempted to say with Augustine: If you don’t ask me, I know. If you ask me, I don’t know. So time, while plain at one level is mysterious at other levels.
I cannot list all such mysteries, but consider a few puzzlements about time.
The Mystery of Time’s Elasticity – We like to think that time is unvarying. 10 minutes here, is the same as 10 minutes there. But science has already disproved that. For example, as an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down. Further, strong gravitational forces also slows down time. On a very large planet with stronger gravitational forces I would age less rapidly than on a smaller planet. Granted, it would take a huge difference in speed or gravity to be able to observe a big difference, but the Law of Relativity does demonstrate that time does not pass equally everywhere. In a way it is almost symbolized by a large, lumbering elephant compared to a tiny little mouse. As the mouse scurries across the floor (pursued by my cat!) the speed is amazing, almost as if the mouse were in a different time frame.
The Mystery of Lifespans – And speaking of animals, why are life spans so different? My cat Daniel is, like me a mammal. He has heart and lungs, very similar physiology in most respects. Yet his clock is set to 15 years, my clock is set to 80 years. Certain turtles can live up to 150 years, Many types of parrots can live to be over 100. Other birds live only 10 to 15 years. Most fish live only a few years, but Carp (a fish) live up to 100 years. And so on. We all see to have a clock, a designated life span. But that life span seems quite variable even among very similar species. We seem to carry the mystery of time in us. I have never heard a satisfying answer to the wide variability of life spans.
The Mystery of Eternity – Lastly there is the mystery of what we call “eternity.” Most people misunderstand the word eternity simply to mean a long, long, time. But that is not what is meant by the word. When the Greeks coined the word eternity, (Aeon) they meant by it “the fullness of time.” That is to say, Eternity is the past, present and future all being experienced at once. I cannot tell you what this is like, but I can illustrate it. Look at the clock to the upper right. The time is 1:15 in the afternoon. That means that 10:00 AM is in the past and 6:00 pm is in the future. But consider the dot at the center of the clock and see that at that spot 10 AM, 1:15 PM, and 6 PM are all the same, they are equally present to the center. We live our life in serial time, on the outer edge of the clock. But God does not. God lives in eternity. God lives in the fullness of time. For God, past, and future are the same as the present. God is not “waiting” for things to happen. All things just are. God is not waiting and wondering if you or I will get to heaven. He is not watching history unfold like a movie. In eternity, 10,000 years ago is just as present as 10,000 years from now. Scripture hints at God’s eternity in numerous passages. For example, But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. (2 Peter 3:8). Psalm 139 says, Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. (Ps 139, 15). Psalm 90 says, For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. (Ps 90:4). And then there is simply the God’s name: “I AM” In this Name, there is no past, no future, just an eternal now, the present tense. Jesus declared to the crowds, “Before Abraham ever was, I AM.” (John 8:58). So here is the most awesome mystery of time, the fullness of time, eternity.
This Solemn Feast Day is that of the Mary under the title Mother of God (Θεοτόκος – Theotokos). She has this title in virtue of Jesus who, though having two natures, is one person. And Mary, though not the mother or origin of Jesus’ divine nature, is Mother of Jesus in terms of his human nature. And since Jesus is God, and one person, not two, she is properly called Mother of God. Thus this title comes to her on account of Jesus Christ.
An interesting aspect of this feast however is how focused the readings are on God the Father. Both the first and second readings as well as the psalm are surely intended to more deeply root us in our own divine filiation (in Christ) and thereby instill in us a deep affection, love and trust for our heavenly Father.
And yet Mary, in today’s feast, has an important and mystical role in presenting us to the Father. Only Jesus can open the door to the Father, but Mary, in her motherly care for us, also desires us to Love the heavenly Father.
How is this seen in the feast today? Note that it is the Eighth Day since Jesus’ birth. On this day, as a Jewish male infant, Jesus is brought by Mary and Joseph to the Mohel, (the Jewish Rabbi or expert in circumcision). At this moment in the Jewish life such an infant is brought to the Lord wherein more than a surgery is performed, but, even more a covenant relationship begins. Jesus, in terms of his Divinity needs no covenant relationship for He and the Father are one. But in terms of his humanity, he and his parents follow the Law exactly.
But, understand this, Mary is also mystically our mother and in carrying Christ this day, she also mystically carries us. How is this so? Scripture says that we are, by our baptism incorporated into Christ. We become members of his body (e.g. 1 Cor 12:27; 1 Cor 6:15; Rom 12:5; and many others). As St. Paul reminds us, when Christ dies, we die, when he rises we rise (e.g. Romans 6:3-4; 2 Cor 4:10). Hence, what happens to Jesus, happens to us if we are a member of his body.
Mary’s prayer for us – Thus, today, as Mary carries him in his humanity to the heavenly Father, she also mystically carries us. And for us, perhaps we can hear her say: “Here is your Father and Jesus, opens the way for you to Him by his blood. Now look upon your Father, with and in my Son and learn to love and trust the Father.”
So, lets accept Mary’s prayer and invitation as she, who is our mother, asks us to love our heavenly Father. We do well to focus especially on the reading from the Book of Numbers and the letter to the Galatians which the Church (also our Mother and typified by Mary) asks us to read and experience. Note that these readings are the very opening words of the Church at the New Year. Thus, to reflect on them will also well prepare us for the New Year ahead.
Consider three basic points in terms of how we are blessed in knowing and being in a Covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father:
I. The Foundation of our Blessing – In the text from Numbers 6 we see that God gives clear instruction that he both wants to bless the people and how He wants to bless them: The LORD said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: And there follows the text of the Aaronic Blessing which we will discuss in a moment.
But note here, it is God’s will and desire to bless his people. This is the foundation of our blessings: God’s will and desire to bless us. God wants to bless us! It is He who initiates every blessing. We should not consider blessings as mere incantations that call down desired ends, and surely not as incantations that some how force God’s hand. God is not a vending machine, whereby we press the right combination of buttons there comes forth the desired product. He is God and the blessings the Church confidently bestows, proceed from his demonstrated will and desire to bless his people, and to bless them in whatever way he sees fit.
Note that after giving the blessing formula to Moses, God adds: So shall they [the priests] invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” See therefore the emphatic: “I will bless them.”
Blessings are not mere rituals. They are a reality that change things. When a Catholic is blessed by a priest at Mass or elsewhere, they must have faith that God actually bestows blessings, received in faith. We may not get exactly what we seek, but God does bless and we are confident in the positive effects of blessings given by the priest since God says, “Thus shall the priests invoke my name upon the people…and I will bless them.
The Final Blessing at Mass – It is proper for us to remember at this point that, while there are some who cannot currently receive Holy Communion for any number of reasons. But that does not mean that the blessing of the priest at Mass is of no avail. It surely provides any number of blessings, whether it be the grace of conversion, of consolation, of patience, or of any number of blessings that may help to open doors to restore a person to communion.
But when the priest says, “May almighty God bless you….” So in fact, do blessings come forth, according to God’s good will and to desire to bless.
II. The Fundamentals of our Blessing – Now then we can note the essential elements of blessing by observing the Words God commands the ancient priests to use. The text says: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! These words are very precious and we ought to look at them in some detail
1. The Lord Bless You: The Hebrew ḇerakah – meaning to enjoy happiness; to experience being favored. In other words and in this case, it is as though God is saying these words to Moses that he wants us to experience His will to bless us and show us favor by his grace and mercy. As if to say, “Tell my people to rejoice for I desire to show them favor and grant them graces and blessings.”
2. And keep you – The Hebrew is Shamar, meaning to keep, to watch over, to guard and preserve. Again as if to say, “Tell my faithful people that they have nothing to fear, for I give them a shepherd’s care. I watch them, guard them and shepherd them rightly.” We know of course that it is God’s will at times to lead us through some difficult passes. But even here, he bestows blessings and allows adversity only to bless us, if we are faithful and follow him. God keeps watch over us. He sees ahead and has already provided the graces we need to make it through.
3. The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! – What does it mean to let God have his face shine on us? It means to know the Father. It means to have Him come and show Himself to you. And when the Father’s face shines on us in this way, we are never the same again. Yes, His face shines on you. You know and experience His benevolence, you know His love. And to the extent that that happens for you, you can never be the same again.
And on account of this, trust and confidence begins to dawn on you, even in dark moments. For now, at such moments, it’s different, for you’ve seen his face, you’ve known his love and favor, and you trust his providence.
This is a very precious gift to be sought. For too many people, even Christians, God the Father is a stranger. He is an old man with beard who runs the universe and somehow loves us, in some abstract way. But fundamentally, He is a stranger for many.
But do you see the gift that the Lord wants to give us today as Mary carries us (in Christ) to the convent relationship signified by circumcision? God wants us to let the light of his face shine on us, so that we personally know him, and love him and trust him. Jesus has opened the way to the Father, and there is nothing more precious to him and Mother Mary, than that we come to experience his love and graciousness for us.
Grab hold of this gift that Jesus died to give you. More of this gift in a moment.
4. And give you peace – And here is the result of experiencing the Light of God’s face: shalom. It is peace to be sure but more than peace understood as an absence of conflict. Rather it is the peace that comes from receiving completeness, soundness, and the deep and abiding experience that everything is alright. This can only come authentically to us as the result of experiencing the light of God’s face, shining upon us. And when it does there comes an increasingly unshakable peace that the world did not give and the world cannot take away. Even in the midst of storms, there is, at a deeper and broader part of us a shalom, a conviction and experience that everything is alright.
Ah, what magnificent blessings God wants to bestow on us! But there is more and we hear of it in the second reading today from the Letter to the Galatians.
III. The Fullness of our Blessing – In the second reading to day from Galatians, St Paul goes on to describe the normal Christian life as a life in the Holy Spirit whereby we experience God the Father as “Abba.” Lets look at the essential part of the text:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman….so that we might receive adoption as sons. As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Gal 4:4-6)
Now Paul uses a strong word: “Proof.” And what is this proof that we are the sons of God? The proof is that we have and experience the Holy Spirit, and, on account of the Holy Spirit, are able to experience God the Father in such a way as to cry out “Abba.”
So, of course the question is, what does it mean to say “Abba?” To cry out “Abba” means to have the grace of divine tenderness. To have in our heart the grace to love God the Father, to love Him with the same tenderness and affection with which Jesus loves him. It is to have a divine affection for God. As sons of God, we are children now, and we share in Christ’s sonship. And thus, by this grace of the Holy Spirit, we come to love God the Father more and more as Jesus does.
And how does Jesus love the Father? Simply put, He’s crazy about Him. He loves the Father with a divine and unspeakable affection. He trusts Him with his whole life; right through to the end, through suffering and death.
To call God Abba is the movement the heart toward God the Father with affection and love, and tenderness. And, as a work of the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit’s role is to transform our heart into the heart of Jesus so that this becomes possible.
And as we come to experience this reality we also realize that we cannot produce this love, trust, tenderness and affection by ourselves. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not just saying the word “Abba.” (Heck, a parrot can be taught to say the word); it is experiencing the reality of God as Abba. That God is my Father and that I love him with a tender affection and trust, and joy.
If you have never experienced this, get on your knees and ask God for it. He is more than waiting for you to ask. This is the normal Christian life.
This is the fullness of our blessing, that God the Father makes his glorious face shine upon us and that we come to know and experience him as Abba, our wonderful and loving Father.
Do you see how this can transform your life? And do you see that this is the normal Christian life that Jesus died to give us?
What an wonderful way to start the New Year of 2012, by loving trusting and experiencing God the Father as Abba, and allowing his glorious face to shine on us!
Today, Mother Mary, on her feast as Mother of God, is not content to have us focus on her. Rather she, with motherly tenderness, carries us, as she carried Christ, to a covenant relationship with the heavenly Father. Jesus, her tiny infant Son, did not need to form this relationship, He already had it. But we, mystically in Him, do need it. And thus she carries us, in Jesus, to the Father and says, “Behold your Father, who loves you, your Abba, who makes his face to shine upon you.”
Jesus alone can open this way, and Mary, carrying us in Jesus, in this eighth day of circumcision, of Covenant love, acts as a Mother, and shows us our Father, through Christ her son and our Lord.
Happy Feast of Mary Mother of God. Look at her, she’s pointing to the Father. There is no better way to start the new year of 2012. We may not know what the future holds, but that’s alright. We know Him who holds the future. And I’ve got a feeling that everything is going to be alright.
In this video, Fr. Francis Martin reflects on these same realities:
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And this songs says, I trust in God, I know He cares for me, On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea; Tho’ billows roll, He keeps my soul, My heavn’ly Father watches over me.
On my evening walks I have already seen Christmas trees by the dozens kicked to the curb. For many, it would seem, Christmas is a done deal.
But for us who believe, just this gentle reminder, that Christmas continues until January 6th. And, I would argue, its power and influence must continue all our life long. For Christ, whose birth in our history and our hearts is celebrated each year, desires to come to full maturity in each of us as well, and through us, to see his Kingdom become more evident.
Rather than multiply my own words, perhaps Howard Thurman’s reflective words are best:
*
** When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and princes are home,
When shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoners,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among all,
At Christmas we celebrate the fact of the Word Becoming Flesh. God’s love for us is not just some theory or idea. It is a flesh and blood reality that can actually be seen, heard and touched.
But the challenge of the Christmas season is for us to allow the same thing to happen to our faith. The Word of God and our faith cannot simply remain on the pages of a book or the recesses of our intellect. They have to become flesh in our life. Our faith has to leap off the pages of the Bible and Catechism and become flesh in the very way we live our lives, the decisions we make, the very way we use our body, mind, intellect and will.
Consider the passage from the liturgy read today, as I write this, December 29, of the Christmas Octave. It is from the First Letter of John. I would like to produce an excerpt and then make a few comments.
The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. (1 John 2:3ff)
I. Faith is incarnational – Note first of all what a practical man John is. Faith is not an abstraction, it is not about theories, abstractions, generalities or merely words on a page. It is not about slogans. It is about a transformed life, it is about the actual love of God and his Commandments. It is about the actual love of of my neighbor.
True faith is “incarnational,” in that it takes on flesh in my very “body-person.” Remember, we human beings are not pure spirit, we are not intellect and will only, we are also flesh and blood. Therefore our faith cannot remain merely immaterial. What we most are, must be reflected in our bodies, in what we actually, physically do as well.
Too many people often repeat the phrase, “I’ll be with you in spirit.” Perhaps an occasional absence is understandable, but after a while the phrase rings hollow. Actually showing up, and actually doing what we say, is an essential demonstration of our sincerity. We are body persons and our faith must have a physical, flesh and blood dimension. Our faith is to be reflected in our actual behavior and the physical conduct of our life.
II. A sure sign – John says that The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Now be careful of the logic here. The keeping of the commandments is not the cause of faith, it is the fruit of it. It is not the cause of love, it is the fruit of it.
Note this too, in the Scriptures, to “know” is usually more than a mere intellectual knowing. The verb used in this passage to denote “know” is γινώσκομεν (ginoskomen). This type of knowing means an experiential knowing as distinguished from a mere intellectual or “book” knowing, more commonly indicated by the Greek word “oida.” So the kind of knowing set forth in this passage (ginoskomen) means more fully, to have a deep intimate personal experience of the thing or person known. It is one thing to know about God, it is another thing to “know the Lord.”
So, what John is saying here is that to be sure we authentically have deep intimate personal experience of God is to observe the fact that this changes the way we live. An authentic faith, an authentic knowing of the Lord, will change our actual behavior in such a way that we keep the commandments as a fruit of that authentic faith and relationship with the Lord. It means that our faith becomes flesh in us. It changes the way we live and move and have our being.
For a human being who is a person with a bodily dimension, faith cannot be an abstraction. It has to become flesh and blood if it is authentic.
John also uses the image of walking: This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. Now walking is a very physical thing. It is also a very symbolic thing. The very place we take our body is both physical and indicative of what we value, what we think.
III. Liar? – John goes on to say Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar. John uses strong language here. Either we believe and keep the commandments or we fail to keep the commandments and thus lie about knowing the Lord.
But all of us struggle to keep the commandments fully! John seems so “all or nothing.” True, but his math is clear. To know the Lord fully, is never to sin (cf 1 John 3:9). To know him imperfectly is still to experience sin. Hence, the more we know him (remember the definition of know from above!) the less we sin. If we still sin it is a sign that we do not know him enough.
It is not really John who speaks too absolutely. It is really we who do so. We say, “I have faith, I am a believer, I love the Lord, I know the the Lord!” We speak so absolutely. Perhaps we could better say, I am growing in faith, I am striving to be a better believer, I’m learning to love and know the Lord better and better. Otherwise we risk lying.
Faith is something we grow in. Many Protestants have a bad habit of reducing faith to an event such as answering an altar call, or accepting the Lord as “personal Lord and savior.” But we Catholics do it too. Many think all they have to do is be baptized but they never attend Mass faithfully later. Others claim to be “loyal” even “devout” Catholics but they dissent from important Church teachings.
Faith is about more than membership. It is about the way we walk, the decisions we actually make. Without this harmony between faith and our actual walk we live a lie. We lie to ourselves and to others. Bottom line: Come to know the Lord more an more perfectly and, if this knowing is real knowing, we will grow in holiness, keep the commandments be of the mind of Christ. We will walk just as Jesus walked.
IV. Is this salvation by works?Of course not. The keeping of the commandments is not the cause of saving and real faith it is the result of it. The keeping of the commandments is the necessary evidence of saving faith but it does not cause us to be saved. It only indicates that the Lord is saving us from sin and its effects.
But here too certain Protestants divide faith and works. The cry went up in the 16th Century by the Protestants that we are saved by faith “alone.” Careful. Faith is never alone. It always brings effects with it. Our big brains can get in the way here and we think that just because we can distinguish or divide something in our mind, we can divide it in reality. This is not necessarily so.
Consider for a moment a candle flame. Now the flame has two qualities: heat and light. In our mind we can separate the two but not in reality. I could never take a knife and divide the heat of the flame and the light. They are so together as to be one reality. Yes, heat and light in a candle flame are separate theoretically, but they are always together in reality.
This is how it is with faith and works. We are not saved by works but as John here teaches to know the Lord is always accompanied by the evidence of keeping the commandments and walking as Jesus did.
So, faith is real. It is “incarnational.” At Christmas we acknowledge that the Word, Jesus Christ, became flesh and dwelt among us, really and physically. So too our own faith must become flesh in us, really, physically in our actual behavior in our very body-person.
I put this video together with a song arranged by Richard Proulx (RIP) of an anonymously composed 15th Century Carol. The song is available at iTunes. The translation is as follows:
