Author: Msgr. Charles Pope

We have been reading the Genesis account of Creation in Mass, and so I’d like to ponder with you the awesome mystery of size and numbers as we look outward to all creatures great and inward to all creatures small.

Outer Space: As we look out on God’s universe, we cannot even fathom how huge and magnificent it is; we cannot comprehend its immensity. If one were to make a scale model of the Milky Way galaxy and reduce each star in it to the size of a grain of sugar, the model would have to be about 2000 miles wide and 1000 miles high—and that’s just one galaxy! There are billions of galaxies in the universe, which is ever expanding. Even the nearest star in our galaxy is about 25 trillion miles away from us.

And we are whirling around and outward! Earth rotates at a speed of about 1000 miles per hour (at the equator) while itself revolving at roughly 67,000 miles per hour around the sun. And our entire solar system is rotating around the center of the Milky Way galaxy at more than 500,000 miles per hour. And the Milky Way galaxy is flying outward and away (according to Doppler shift) at 1.3 million miles per hour! All creatures great … praise the Lord, for He has made them all!

Inner Space: What is equally amazing is the universe that exists, hidden from the naked eye, in what we might call “inner space”: that tiny, almost invisible world of microbiology. In just a drop of pond water there may be hundreds of thousands of bacteria and microorganisms, a veritable universe unto itself. Indeed, in every human body there are trillions of microorganisms in a kind of microbial fauna. About 80 different types of microorganisms live in the mouth alone. Every square centimeter of the human bowel contains as many as 10 billion organisms. Every square centimeter of our skin contains about 10 million individual bacteria. Even on our eyelashes are colonies of helpful bacteria and microorganisms that help keep the harmful ones away. These massively numbered civilizations—universes, really—of microorganisms are only recently known to us, thanks to the invention of powerful microscopes. To those in this “micro-world,” our bodies must seem as massive as outer space seems to us. If a microorganism could think, it would consider our bodies a universe too large to comprehend. Just as there are trillions of stars, there are trillions of microorganisms. To a microbe on our eyelash, a bacterium on our toe seems light-years away.

All creatures great and small – Outer space is magnificent (from the Latin magnus meaning large or great), but “inner space” is also a vast world—tiny to us, yet massive in its numbers. The abundance of life in these tiny worlds boggles the mind. To the microorganisms that accompany me, I am a universe too large to comprehend, yet I am only one of over seven billion humans on this planet. And I (even we, collectively) am not big at all. I am an infinitesimally small speck on a larger speck of dust called Earth, rotating around a fiery spark called the Sun, in a galaxy of over 200 billion other fiery sparks. And the Milky Way is just one galaxy (about 100 million light-years in diameter) of over 125 billion galaxies in the known universe!

It’s time for wonder and awe! We’ve moved between contemplating inner space and outer space in a matter of moments, but really, we cannot comprehend numbers like these. God does all this with a simple word—and it is so. He knows the depths of our souls and the details of the tiniest forms of life that cling to us. Every hair on our head is numbered and known to Him. He knows the farthest fringes of the universe. He made the stars and calls them by name. Ah, the Lord!

He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling; Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice; When he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!” shining with joy for their Maker (Baruch 3:33-35).

As the old hymn says,

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Another of the great hymns says, O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the works Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee. How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Do not forget to meditate on God’s wonders. It is a great antidote to pride. God has done indescribable and marvelous things, some of which we can see and more which we cannot.

Beyond these, many things lie hid; only a few of his works have we seen (Sirach 43:34).

Many groups have a tendency to use words that make sense to their members but are unintelligible to outsiders. I have sometimes had to decode “Church-speak” for recent converts.

For example, one time I proudly announced, “RCIA classes will begin next week, so if you know anyone who is interested in attending please fill out an information card on the table just outside the sacristy door.” I thought I’d been perfectly clear, but then a new member approached me after Mass to inquire about the availability of classes to become Catholic and when they would begin. Wondering if she’d forgotten the announcement I reminded her what I had said about RCIA classes; she looked at me blankly. “Oh,” I said, “Let me explain what I mean by RCIA.” After I did so, I mentioned that she could pick up a flyer over by the sacristy door. Again I got a blank stare, followed by the question “What’s the sacristy?” Did I dare tell her that the classes would be held in the rectory?

I’ve had a similar reaction when announcing CCD classes. One angry parent called me to protest that she had been told by the DRE (more Church-speak) that her daughter could not make her First Holy Communion unless she started attending CCD. The mother, the non-Catholic wife of a less-than-practicing Catholic husband, had no idea what CCD meant and why it should be required in order for her daughter to receive Holy Communion. She had never connected the term CCD with Sunday school or any form of religious instruction.

Over my years as a priest I have become more and more aware that although I use what I would call ordinary terms of traditional Catholicism, given the poor catechesis (another Church word, meaning religious training, by the way) of so many, the meaning of what I am saying is lost. For example, I have discovered that some Catholics think that “mortal sin” refers only to killing someone. Even the expression “grave sin” is nebulous to many; they know it isn’t good, but aren’t really sure what it means. “Venial sin” is even less well understood!

Other words such as covenant, matrimony, incarnation, transubstantiation, liturgy, oration, epistle, Gospel, Collect, Homily, compunction, contrition, Sanctus, chalice, paten, alb, Holy Orders, theological, missal, consubstantial, one in being, Monsignor, narthex, ambo, and Eucharistic, while meaningful to many in the Church, are often only vaguely understood by others in the Church, not to mention the unchurched (is that another Church word?).

Once, at daily Mass, I was preaching based on a reading from the First Letter of John and was attempting to make the point that our faith is “incarnational.” I noticed vacant looks out in the pews. And so I asked the small group gathered that day if anyone knew what “incarnational” meant; no one did. I went on to explain that it meant that the Word of God had to become flesh in us; it had to become real in the way we live our lives. To me, the word “incarnational” captured the concept perfectly, but most of the people didn’t even really know for sure what “incarnation” meant, let alone “incarnational.”

Ah, Church-speak!

During my years in the seminary the art of Church-speak seemed to rise to new levels. I remember that many of my professors, while railing against the use of Latin in the liturgy, had a strange fascination with Greek-based terminology. Mass was out, Eucharist was in. “Going to Mass” was out, “confecting the synaxis” was in. Canon was out, “anamnesis” and “anaphora” were in. Communion was out, koinonia was in. Mystagogia, catechumenate, mysterion, epikaia, protoevangelion, hapax legomenon, epiklesis, synderesis, eschatology, Parousia, and apakatastasis were all in. These are necessary words, I suppose, but surely opaque to most parishioners. Church-speak indeed, or should I say ekklesia-legomenon.

Ah, Church-speak! Here is a list of many other Church words for your edification (and amusement): Church words defined.

At any rate, I have learned to be a little more careful when speaking so as to avoid using too many insider expressions and older terms without carefully explaining them. I think we can and should learn many of them, but we should not assume that most people know them.

The great and Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that he discovered early on that he often got credit for being learned when in fact he was merely being obscure. And for any who knew him in his later years, especially through his television show, he was always very careful to explain Church teaching in a way that made it accessible to the masses. It’s good advice for all of us: a little less of the CCD and RCIA jargon and little more clear “religious instruction” can help others to decode our Church-speak.

I am not saying that we should “dumb down” our vocabulary, for indeed it is a precious patrimony in many cases. But we need to do more explaining rather than merely presuming that most people will know what our terms mean.

This video has a lot of gibberish in it, but it illustrates how we can sound at times if we’re not careful!

Here’s another funny one:

Such a small but highly significant thing, the chin paten. It is used is to catch a host or piece of a host that might otherwise fall to the ground. It is another reminder of the real, true, and substantial presence of Christ in even the smallest particle of the host.

Today, the chin paten (also called a communion paten) is also symbolic. When one sees one today it is a pretty clear sign that it’s a more traditional parish. Their use has declined over time, especially when communion in the hand became widespread beginning in the 1970s. Today chin patens are always used in the Traditional Latin Mass; they are part of the emphasis on reverent reception of the Eucharist and they also contribute to the overall ambiance. Some parishes even use them in the Ordinary Form.

Given that background, it is fascinating to learn that chin patens are actually rather new “inventions.” In fact, their use was barely tolerated when they first emerged about 100 years ago. Let’s take a look at some history.

First of all, I’d like to give a little credit to the researcher. Fr. George Stuart, an archivist for the Archdiocese of Washington, is a great collector of things great and small—surely a handy trait for an archivist! Among the projects with which he has assisted was the compilation of an excellent manual for the Archdiocese entitled Liturgical Norms and Policies. As part of his research, he investigated the history of the many liturgical practices and implements, among them the chin or communion paten. In a footnote, Fr. Stuart notes the following:

GIRM 188 lists the communion plate among the things on the credence table. The only other mention of the communion plate in the GIRM is at 287, in connection with reception of an intincted host. See also ADW, Liturgical Norms and Policies, 2010, 6.40.5.

It is interesting that the communion plate has been in use (in place of the traditional communion cloth) only for about 120 years, and as recently as 1918—even in Rome—it was “tolerated, but not recommended.”

In 1887, a priest asked the editor of a journal about the legitimacy of its use; he was careful to state that the altar server held the plate indirectly by a wooden handle, and not directly. (The literature indicated a concern over whether such patens required consecration as sacred vessels.)

The editor responded, “We do not think that there is force in the objection that the acolyte who carries it by the wooden handle is usurping the position of a deacon or priest. But neither can we recommend this special contrivance. It is novel, having been introduced but recently into certain dioceses. It is unnecessary; for the Church still continues to prescribe the use of the cloth only. But we cannot say that it is a practice to be abolished as wrong, for the Sacred Congregation has not forbidden it in dioceses in which such a custom has been established. Yet we do not think that it is right to introduce it into a church without the sanction of the bishop.”

The editor quoted a response of the Sacred Congregation of Rites from 20 March 1875. “Substitute for the Usual Communion Cloth,” Irish Ecclesiastical Record 8 (1887) 370-372. See also “Communion Cloth or Plate,” American Ecclesiastical Review 56 (1917) 49-57, 194-195, 293-296; “Communion Plate Tolerated,” ibid., 59 (1918) 307.

Within a few years, however, the use of the communion plate was not merely tolerated, but required. In 1929, the SCS [AAS 21 (1929) 631-639] “ordered that a small metal plate, gilt on the inner surface, must be held beneath the chin of persons receiving Holy Communion. No shape was prescribed, but for convenience it is better that there are two small handles at each side. Should it be the custom for the server to hold the plate, one long handle is more convenient. The plate should be about the size of an ordinary paten used at Mass, and without a rim, so that it can be purified easily.” Peter F. Anson, Churches, Their Plan and Furnishing (Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1948) 183.

Since they were held by lay people, whether servers or communicants, communion plates were not consecrated, for (with the tolerated exception of sacristans) only those in orders could touch sacred vessels. The rubrics of the Roman Missal of 1962 listed among the vessels placed on a side table the “patina pro fidelium communione,” but omitted the house cloth altogether (n. 528).

At age fifty-five I can say that I can only barely remember the use of the altar rail cloth. It was a cloth draped along the inside of the altar rail that was flipped over the rail just before communion (see photo at left). As the communicants knelt, they were expected to scoop up the cloth and hold it under the chin at about shoulder height. Its purpose was to catch a falling host or any small fragments thereof. I never could figure out how it was that any small fragments didn’t end up on the ground once the cloth was released! But we didn’t ask a lot of questions in those days and the practice was already fading. Chin patens were the main tool at the time, and were usually used even if there was an altar rail cloth as well.

I also remember the altar rail cloths looking wrinkled, and seemed to me to detract from the beauty of the rail itself, which was often exquisitely carved marble or wood.

It is fascinating to think that chin patens were seen by the editor of a prominent Roman Liturgical journal as a “contrivance,” the implication being that it represented a loss in reverence and a kind of reductionist solution. Today, we consider them to be just the opposite!

Another interesting point is the insistence that such patens, if consecrated, not be touched by an ordinary server. Hence, a server had to use a wooden handle so that he did not actually touch the paten. Older priests tell me that the practice of not allowing non-clerical hands to touch consecrated vessels was honored more in the breach than in the observance. After Mass, numerous lay people (e.g., sacristans who put things away, women who cleaned and polished) touched them. Generally, the norm was only followed in the Mass itself. After Mass, practicalities kicked in. Even in the Extraordinary Form Masses I celebrate today, while we are always very careful that only the priest or deacon touches the sacred vessels during Mass, after Mass is another story! 🙂 It just has to be.

I’m interested in learning what is done in your parishes. Communion (chin) patens are rare today outside the Traditional Latin Mass, but they are still used. I haven’t seen a communion cloth in decades, but perhaps some of you have, perhaps at a Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

A final thought: I have often thought that altar cards must have been considered irreverent when they first emerged, considering that the central altar card blocks the Tabernacle or sometimes the altar cross. How strange, really. Today altar cards are used only at the Traditional Latin Mass and once again they are part of the ambiance of that Mass. But, to be honest, I have always had trouble with the way the Tabernacle is blocked. Yet to celebrate a Latin Mass without them would almost be thought nontraditional.

Reverence is an interesting thing; there are lots of twists and turns. Don’t get me wrong; reverence does exist and we should follow the norms, but there have been some fascinating changes over time.

In this video from 2008, Pope Benedict is giving Holy Communion. The communicants kneel and receive on the tongue, which Pope Benedict preferred even though it is not required of the universal Church. When I watched the clip, I noted with some amusement that the Monsignor who is serving in the video had improvised a communion paten by turning a ciborium lid upside down. I admit that, in a pinch, I have done the same!

The last vestiges of the once impressive institution known as the “university” are disappearing as our culture continues to crumble. Perhaps it is poetic justice, since the universities themselves have been a central cause of the cultural collapse that is burying them.

The recent riots at the University of California at Berkeley and on other campuses are the result of a decades-long process that has increasingly sought to silence opinions or facts that are at odds with liberalism. Most universities have become indoctrination centers that tolerate little if any dissent. Ideas are not considered. Rather, the usual approach is that of excoriating dissent from liberal or progressive orthodoxy with ad hominem attacks, calling those who disagree bigoted, intolerant, hateful, or (fill-in-the-blank)-phobic.

The discussion and critique of different ideas is a proper notion in a university, but more often today, the person or group holding an opposing idea is attacked, stereotyped, or ridiculed. Protests are a long tradition on college campuses, but protests were once held to show opposition to a speech as it was actually happening or to the ideas that were being presented. Now, protests are aimed at preventing speeches from occurring or ideas from being articulated.

This, of course, is completely counter to what universities should be doing. Once upon a time, young people were sent off to college in order to expand their minds. Ideas from widely divergent positions would be presented and critiqued using principles of philosophy, theology, logic, history, and science. Even Catholic universities, which existed to hand on the faith, would ponder all sorts of views while also vigorously defending or critiquing them based on Catholic teaching. The point of a college education was to become aware of the wider world and to be trained in critical thinking.

Today, most college campuses are a witch’s brew of hypersensitivities, political correctness, language police, “safe zones,” and all sorts of intolerance masquerading as “diversity” and “inclusiveness.” Despite the talk, though, such settings are anything but diverse or inclusive, when one considers the increasing list of views and topics that are banished.

This problem has been growing for decades and it is evidence of what Pope Benedict XVI called the “tyranny of relativism.” When we can no longer point to a reality or a set of truths that all can agree upon as first principles, a struggle ensues that cannot be resolved with an appeal to reason. The one who prevails is not the one who is best able to appeal to reason or principles, but rather the one who has the most power, money, or influence, or the one who shouts the loudest or is better able to intimidate. In this way, relativism has led to the kind of tyranny we see on college campuses today.

Add to this a strangely opposite “daintiness,” such that people are offended by even the most modest rebuttals. “Safe zones” that proliferate on campuses presuppose some sort of deep psychological damage caused by being exposed to different or challenging ideas, and that there exists some sort of right not be offended or challenged. Not only is this fanciful, it is poor training for life.

This has been brewing for decades and has turned universities into exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to be.

In the world of Catholic universities, a line was crossed in 1967 at the Land O’ Lakes conference, at which the assembled leaders of Catholic institutions of higher learning concluded that Catholic identity and faith were inimical to “academic freedom.” As a result, the large majority of Catholic universities shifted to secular models that were not merely neutral to the faith, but often hostile to it.

Universities first began emerging during the high water mark of Christendom, in the 12^th and 13^th centuries. Perhaps the greatest example of what universities once were can be seen in St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. It contains a pondering of the great questions of that time. A premise or idea is stated, objections are set forth, voices from antiquity are quoted, a response is presented, and then each objection is respectfully answered. As a genre, the “summa” is a kind of written summary of academic debates common among the students and teachers of the day. At the time, it was recognized that the quest for the truth is often facilitated by lively debate, interaction, and ongoing discussion. Even ideas that one opposed were helpful because they assisted in refining one’s own view and better articulating it.

Young people once emerged from universities acquainted with the great ideas, equipped with the skills to critique ideas and philosophies, and educated in both Latin and Greek. It was not a perfect system, but it edified and expanded the students; it gave them the tools to engage in critical thinking.

Such an atmosphere seems long gone on most college campuses today. Rather than expanding the students’ universe of ideas, it has narrowed them. Many young people emerge from their college experience less mature and less prepared for life than when they entered. In fact, many universities today do precisely the opposite of what they were founded to do. The horrifying moral atmosphere that exists on most campuses is another dagger to the life of the mind and to proper human formation and maturity. To be sure there are exceptions, Catholic and non-Catholic, but they are rare jewels among the rubble.

It is a very sad situation, with only a few exceptions that shine brightly in an otherwise bleak sky. Be sober, fellow Catholics. Search diligently for those universities that still fulfill their mission to raise up young adults to higher and better things.

In the Gospel today the Lord describes metaphorically what a Christian is and what He expects of us. Note five things about what God says:

I The Definitiveness of His Proclamation – The text says, You are the Salt of the earth. … You are the light of the World. … But if salt goes flat it is good for nothing. … No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.

The Lord is definitive in two ways. First, He says, “You.” He is not talking just to people long ago or to the person next to you. He is not merely talking to your pastor or the Saints. He is talking to you. You are salt. You are light. You. It’s too easy to say, “Look at what the Lord is saying to those people long ago near the lakeside.” It’s not long ago; it’s now. It’s you.

The second way that the Lord is definitive is in saying that both images depend on us; if we are not salt and light then no one else will be and we will have utterly voided our worth.

1. The metaphor of salt: You are either salt or you are nothing; in fact, you are good for nothing. As Christians, we have signed up to be specialists. This means is that if we go off and do something else instead, we are nothing and are good for nothing. It’s an all-or-nothing scenario. Jesus says that if you have decided to be His disciple you are either going to do that or else be nothing. You may go on to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, laborer, or social worker, but the Lord has plenty of those (and so does the devil). Your first and only mission is to be a true and uncompromised Christian; everything else is mere commentary. You may be a great doctor, but if you don’t do it as a clear and visible Christian you are nothing. You may be a skilled social worker, but if you don’t do it as a Christian you are good for nothing. Any non-believer can be socially useful as a doctor or social worker, but only a Christian can be a Christian. If you don’t do “job one,” you are nothing. If you supply your children with every good thing, but do not act as a Christian witness to them and bring them to Christ, you are good for nothing. Any parent can provide his children with material things, but only a Christian can give them Christ. Got it? You’re either salt (a true Christian) or you are nothing.
2. The metaphor of light: The Lord says that you are the light of the world, not merely a light. What this means is that if we do not shine, the world is darker; no one can take our place. If we don’t shine by living our faith and proclaiming it, the world is in darkness. Buddha can’t help. Mohamed can’t pull it off. Science and humanism can’t substitute. Either we are light or there is none. Some may call this arrogant, but I just call it Scripture. The Lord said it, not us. We are either light or else the world is dark. And if the world is getting darker, whose fault is that? We need not go far. Too many Christians fulfill Isaiah 56:10, which says, Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. You may be an exception, but too many Christians are not.

Therefore, notice the definitive pronouncement the Lord makes here. We Christians are either with the Lord or we’re nothing. We’re either light or the world is in darkness.

II The Dynamics of Salt – When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth, what are some of the lessons we can learn? Consider these four things:

1. Salt seasons. Christians are called to add spice to life, to bring beauty, joy, and hope to the world. Joy is the surest sign of a Christian. Even our keeping of the Commandments is a source of joy, as we experience God’s power to put sin to death in us and bring forth order, self-discipline, and holiness. Hope, too, ought to distinguish us from a world that is often cynical and thinks sin is inevitable. To this world we are not only to declare that the Commandments are possible and bring joy, but to demonstrate it in our lives. We are to be zesty, passionate, alive, and free from sin in Christ. Yet, sadly, we Christians are known more for what we are against. Too many Christians are not spicy; they do not really add flavor. They are more like bored believers, depressed disciples, fearful faithful, and frozen chosen. In our best moments, look what spicy things the faith has contributed: Art, music, churches, hospitals, universities, the scholastic and scientific methods, and holidays (a mispronunciation of Holy Days). Our tradition and Scriptural teaching of justice, mercy, love, and the dignity of the human person has blessed the world. Do you bring spice to the lives of others? Do you bring hope and joy? Scripture says, Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15). That means that people notice hope in you! Do they? How?
2. Salt preserves. Before refrigeration, people often used salt to cure or preserve meat. The salt killed bacteria and other microorganisms that caused rot and decay. As Christians, we are called to prevent further decay in this sin-soaked world. The truth that we proclaim is meant to preserve people from the decay of sin and overindulgence. Chastity, justice, generosity, and the proclamation of the truth, are like salt that preserves this world from decay. We must be salt. If we are not, nothing else is. You are the salt.
3. Salt heals. In the ancient world, salt was used on wounds. It helped to stop bleeding, killed bacteria, and prevented further infection. So, too, the Christian faith. Through our doctrinal and moral teaching, and our living of it, we are called to bring healing to this world, which is wounded by sin, strife, war, jealousy, anger, bitterness, retribution, promiscuity, unfaithfulness, greed, and countless other errors. The Word of God and His plan is a healing medicine for what ails this world.
4. Salt burns. Yes, salt stings when applied to wounds. We Christians aren’t just sugar and spice and everything nice. When salt is applied to wounds it burns and often brings out loud protest. The truth stings, too. The truth of the Gospel can be irritating to a world that is wounded by sin. But despite the protests of the world, the sting is a healing one. It is driving out the disease of the world and preventing further infection. Just because people protest the Church and howl in complaint at the truth of the Gospel does not mean we have done anything wrong. In fact, protests often show that we are doing exactly what we must.

III. The Destination of Salt – The Lord says that you are the salt of the earth. He did not say that you are the salt of the Church. For salt to be effective it has to get out of the shaker! Too many Christians are bold in the pew but cowards in the world. They will speak of the faith in the relative security of the Church and among certain friends, but don’t ask them to preach to their spouse, their co-worker, or even their children; that’s too scary. And don’t even think about asking them to knock on doors, or to go to the local mall and witness, or to stand in front of an abortion clinic.

Salt in the shaker is useless. It has to come out of the shaker in order to make any difference. You don’t salt salt. Witnessing to fellow Christians may have a limited benefit, but it is not really the true destination of salt. The salt has to go forth. When the priest or deacon says “The Mass is ended go in peace,” he might as well be holding up a salt shaker and shaking it!

It’s long past time for the salt (you and me) to go forth. Consider these observations about life in our country today:

• In the last fifty years there has been an increase of more than a 500% in violent crime.
• There are more than half a million abortions each year.
• Since 1970, the divorce rate has quadrupled. The overall number of divorces may have declined recently, but it is due more to people not getting married in the first place.
• More than 40% of children today do not live with both their biological parents. Since the 1970s, the percentage of children living in single-parent homes has tripled.
• As the family has broken down, here is what has been happening to our young:
  • a quadrupling in juvenile arrests,
  • a 400% increase in births outside of wedlock,
  • one million teenage pregnancies annually,
  • three million teenagers treated annually for sexually transmitted diseases,
  • a 200% increase in the rate of teenage suicide,
  • a drop in average SAT scores,
  • two-thirds of high school students have experimented with illegal drugs.
• In the schools, one cannot pray or mention religion, yet condoms are freely available and all sorts of aberrant and alternative lifestyles and philosophies are openly promoted.
• Parental consent is required for a child to go on a field trip or to get an aspirin, but in many states abortion referrals can be made without parental consent.
• Our neighborhoods are devastated by poverty, injustice, crime, and despair.

All of this has happened on our watch. It’s time for the salt to work. The world needs the salt to get out of the shaker and do its work of seasoning, purifying, and preserving.

IV. The Details of Light – Jesus goes on to say, Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Let’s consider four things about this light:

1. The CAUSE of the light – Notice that little word: “Let.” We are to yield to Christ, to allow Him to shine through us. He is the cause of our light. Let your light shine. There’s an old gospel song that says, “When you see me trying to do good, trying to live as a Christian should, it’s just Jesus, Jesus in me.”
2. The COST of the light – The light is to shine, but there is no shining without burning. Shining costs us something. It may be Christ’s light, but it shines through us. This means sacrifice. It means letting Him use you. It means not always sleeping when you want to. It means not just sitting at home and saying, “Ain’t it awful.” It means getting out and getting involved. It means getting “out there” and risking a few things. It means being visible, targeted, and identified with someone (Jesus) who is hated by many. And in a world that prefers the darkness to light (cf. John 3:19-21), it means being called harsh, out-of-touch, and hateful. There is no shining without burning.
3. The CONCRETENESS of the light – Letting our light shine is no mere abstraction. Jesus speaks of deeds. Shining involves concrete behavior. Your light shines by the way you live, the choices you make, the behavior you exhibit. It shines when Christians get married and stay married, stay faithful to their commitments, and are people of their word. Our light shines when we tell the truth instead of lying, live chastely instead of fornicating, are courteous and respectful instead of rude. It shines when we respect life, drive safely, and shun reckless and risky behavior. Our light shines when we clean up our language, give to the poor, and work for justice. It shines when we refuse to purchase pornographic, violent, or other degrading materials. Our light shines when we love instead of hate, seek reconciliation instead of revenge, and pray for our enemies instead of cursing them. It shines when we walk uprightly and speak the truth in love, without compromise. That’s when our light begins to shine.
4. The CONSEQUENCE of the light – God is glorified when our light shines. We do not act or get involved merely to vent our own anger or to fight for our own sake. We are light to glorify God. It is not about our winning, it is about God shining and being glorified. When we do get involved, too often we seek merely to win the argument rather than to glorify God. Often we act in order to garner praise rather than to have God glorified. We need to pray for good intentions, for it is possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. The desired result is God’s glory not our glory.

OK, now pass the salt and turn on the light!

In the video below, things are not as they initially appear. Our eyes are easily deceived. Further, we tend to make rash judgments. Enjoy being fooled for a moment and then consider the need for deliberation and a patient spirit until all or most of the facts are in.

Here are some appropriate references from Scripture:

Call no one blessed before his death, for by his end shall a man be known (Sir 11:28).
Remember, the sins of some men are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later (1 Tim 5:24).
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now (2 Cor 5:16).

Enjoy the video!

Part of a healthy, well-ordered love is correction of the sinner. Admonishing the sinner is one of the spiritual works of mercy. St. Thomas numbers fraternal correction among the works of charity.

Getting correction right is often difficult. Too often our ego gets in the way or our anger taints this necessary work.

Parents have the particular responsibility of punishing their children. To be sure, punishment should come after teaching and necessary warnings and admonishments.

The purpose of punishing youngsters is to teach them. It is to help them to experience, in a small way, the consequences of bad choices so that they do not suffer far worse repercussions and have to “learn the hard way” in the future. Thus, punishment is an act of mercy and love.

Just as with correction, in punishing children there is the danger that parents can intermix their own anger, ego, or desire to control.

This week we celebrated the Feast of St. John (Don) Bosco. For his feast, we read a letter in which he warned of punishments tainted with anger and offered advice and caution for those (such as parents) who undertake the necessary but “dangerous” act of punishing children. Here are some excerpts from his advice to his fellow Salesians:

My sons, in my long experience very often I had to be convinced of this great truth: [That] it is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself, and to threaten a boy than to persuade him…. We must be firm but kind, and be patient with them.

I give you as a model the charity of Paul which he showed to his new converts. They often reduced him to tears and entreaties when he found them lacking docility and even opposing his loving efforts.

This was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalized, and still others to hope for God’s mercy. And so, he bade us to be gentle and humble of heart.

It is difficult to keep calm when administering punishment, but this must be done if we are to keep ourselves from showing off our authority or spilling out our anger. See that no one finds you motivated by impetuosity or willfulness.

… Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better. There must be no hostility in our minds, no contempt in our eyes, no insult on our lips. We must use mercy for the present and have hope for the future, as is fitting for true fathers who are eager for real correction and improvement.

In serious matters it is better to beg God humbly than to send forth a flood of words that will only offend the listeners and have no effect on those who are guilty (Epistolario, Torino, 1959, 4, 201-203).

Far be it from me to add to the words of this saint except to recall that truth and charity must work together. Without love, the truth can bludgeon and thereby wound both charity and truth. But without truth, love can be too soft and permissive. It can spoil and consign others to unloving and lonely experiences such as selfishness, addiction, and error.

Punishment has its place, but special care must be taken to avoid venting our anger lest we punish too severely and/or humiliate the one who needs our care. When this happens, punishment, which is meant to be an act of love, becomes a countersign of love. May love be at the root of any punishment. Correct with care!