Author: Msgr. Charles Pope

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Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth: A Reflection on Common Sins of Speech

070813One of the greatest gifts of the Human person is the capacity to speak. It is also one of our greatest weaknesses. The Book of James says,

We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect!, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, and thus we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.

Consider how a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:2-18)

Perhaps the most common sins we commit are related to speech: gossip, idle chatter, lies, exaggerations, harsh attacks, uncharitable observations and remarks. With our tongue we can spread hatred, incite fear and maliciousness, spread mis-information, cause temptation, discourage, teach error, and ruin reputations. We can surely cause great harm with a gift capable of such good!

Note how James says in the quote above that we have learned to tame just about every wild animal, but the tongue, such a small part of us physically is barely able to be tamed. One may conquer many sins by God’s grace, but speech is usually the last. It almost seems that a different and lower part of our brain has a life of its own when it comes to speech. We can be halfway through saying something before we even realize how stupid and sinful we are being. Every now and then we even forget who we’re talking to or that what we say might get repeated.

Scriptures speak very artistically of the sinful tongue. Here is a list i found from James Melton [1]. The List is his, but the commentary is mine. Beware the

  1. The Lying Tongue – Speaking false things with the intention to mislead. Proverbs 12:22 says,  The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
  2. The Flattering Tongue – a lying or exaggerating about the good qualities of others to ingratiate ourselves to them. This is a form of lying. Psalm 12:3 says, May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue
  3. The Proud Tongue – There is a saying that a proud tongue comes with two closed ears. The proud tongue is boastful and over certain of what it says. Neither will those of proud tongue be easily corrected or reasonably qualify or distinguish their remarks.  Psalm 12 :4 condemns , those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
  4. The Overused Tongue – Those who say far too much, especially about that which they know little. Ecclesiastes 5:3 says a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
  5. The Swift Tongue – Those who speak before they should, before they even have all the information. Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter any thing before God…. And James 1:19 says, Everyone should be swift to hear and slow to speak
  6. The Backbiting Tongue – Those who talk of others behind their back. Here is the secret and quiet injuring of a person’s good name to others. Calumny is to outright lie about another. Detraction is to call unnecessary attention to the known faults of others so as to harm their reputation. Proverbs 25:23 says, As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger! Leviticus 19:16 says, You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not jeopardize the  life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
  7. The Tale Bearing Tongue – Those who spread all sort of unnecessary and usually hurtful information. Much personal information that ought not be shared is spread by talebearers.  Proverbs 20:19 says, He that goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets, therefore keep no company with one who opens his lips. Leviticus 19:16 says, Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people.
  8. The Cursing Tongue – Those who wish harm on others, usually that they be damned. Psalm 109:17 warns, He loved to pronounce a curse– may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing– may it be far from him.
  9. The Piercing Tongue – Those who speak with unnecessary harshness and severity. 2 Timothy 4:2 says, Proclaim the message; persist in it in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 1 Tim 5:1-2 says, Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
  10. The Silent Tongue – Those who do not speak when they should to warn of sin, call to the kingdom, and announce the Truth of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 56:10 says, Israel’s  watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark. In our age the triumph of evil and bad behavior has been assisted by our silence as a Christian people. Prophets are to speak God’s word.

So our speech is riddled with what it should not have, and devoid of what it should have. How wretched indeed our condition. Well did James say: Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect!

There are many cautions to learn when it comes to speech. Here is another list of Scriptures on speech, mostly from the Wisdom Tradition. Read and Heed:

  1. Be swift to hear, but slow to answer. If you have the knowledge, answer your neighbor; if not, put your hand over your mouth. Honor and dishonor through talking! A man’s tongue can be his downfall. Be not called a detractor; use not your tongue for calumny (Sirach 5:13-16)
  2. He who repeats an evil report has no sense. Never repeat gossip, and you will not be reviled….Let anything you hear die within you; be assured it will not make you burst. But when a fool hears something, he is in labor, like a woman giving birth to a child….Like an arrow lodged in a man’s thigh is gossip in the breast of a fool…..every story you must not believe…..who has not sinned with his tongue? (Sirach 19:5-14 varia)
  3. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few….Do not let your mouth lead you into sin…..Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God (Eccles 5:1-6)
  4. In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery (Proverbs 28:23 NLT)
  5. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses (Prov 27:6)
  6. He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity (Prov 21:23)
  7. He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. (Prov 13:3)
  8. A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much. (Prov 20:19)
  9. A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will perish (Prov 19:9)
  10. A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free (Prov 19:5)
  11. A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue. (Prov 17:27-28)
  12. When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise (Prov 10:19)
  13. Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. (Prov 18:6)
  14. Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended (Prov 22:10)
  15. The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful. A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly. (Prov 12:22-23)
  16. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. (Prov 15:2)
  17. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit (Prov 15:4)
  18. A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. (Prov 18:2)
  19. Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. (Prov 12:18)
  20. A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret. (Prov 11:12-13)
  21. The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse (Prov 10:32).
  22. The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil (Prov 15:28)
  23. The prudent man does not make a show of his knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness. (Prov 12:23)
  24. Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3)
  25. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. (Psalm 34:13)

Help Lord! keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth! Put your word in my heart, so that when I do speak, it’s really you.

This video features the ladies, but men gossip too. This is an excerpt from Music Man:

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Are We "Down with the People" or Up with the Cross? A Call to Courage in Preaching the Cross

070713Some forty years ago the Venerable Bishop Fulton J Sheen admonished the priests of his day in these words:

We become real priests when we empty ourselves, and no longer seek our [own] identity, and where we are lifted up to the cross, not going “down to people.” Too many of us today feel we have to be loved…[thinking] the young will not love us unless we talk like them, eat like them, drink like them, clothe ourselves like them. No! They will not love us simply because we go down, they will love us when we lift them up. Else, the world will drag them down…. (Retreat for priests, “The Meaning of Being a Priest)

I remember those days of the seventies when priests, religious sisters and adult parish leaders wore jeans, sandals, and flashy sweaters. The men grew their hair longish, and the parish leaders recast “Sunday school” as a “rap session.” (Rap in those days did not mean anything related to music, it meant “to talk” but in a way that was “real” and “down with the struggle”).

The goal, it would seem,  was not for the clergy religious or adult leaders to teach, but rather to “relate” and to “facilitate a discussion.” I remember it was considered “hip” (i.e. cool, popular etc) to have the class sit on the floor in a circle. The “teacher” was “one of us” and would often start by saying something like “I do not have the answers, but together we can explore the questions.”

Even those of us in our rebellious teens knew there was something amiss here. I wonder if the “hip” priest, nun or youth leader knew that we laughed at them behind their back. Frankly, they DID look strange trying to dress and act like us. And though we humored them, we knew we had them in our back pocket. They were not to be taken seriously, and we didn’t.

I will not excuse our violations of the 4th commandment, but it was hard not to laugh and even mock them behind their back. We used to particularly laugh at one cleric who showed up with a guitar strapped to his back. And thought he did a pretty swift “Peter, Paul and Mary” gig, he did not. And when he left the room, convinced that he had “reached us,” we would “imitate” him derisively (I am sad to say) playing our air guitars and changing the lyrics to the silly songs he sang.

Of course, one might argue we would still have done so had they taken the traditional role of standing before us, commanding respect, and being in the role of teacher, rather than “fellow searcher.” Perhaps, but at least in the second scenario something would actually have been taught that we might later remember when we got over our “too cool for school” schtick.

Ah the Seventies, a sad and “dorky” time that endured well into the 90s and is still operative in some places today.

I think most younger priests today, who had to endure a lot of that silliness are clear that, as Sheen says, going “down to the people” is not an ultimately effective pastoral approach. Most younger clergy are clear enough that people, young and old, are appreciative when we dress and act as clergy. Religious Sisters too, are far more respected and appreciated when they wear the full habit and exhibit the qualities of dignity and grace that go with their honored state. It is no mistake that the traditional orders attract vocations, while the secular-clad, aging “hippie” orders are all but dead.

But, while the externals may be more intact today than in the dorky 70s and 80s, the desire to be loved is still a deep wound with which many clergy, religious, parents and lay leaders struggle. At the end of the day we must always ask, do I fear and serve the Lord or do I fear and please man?

We serve a Lord who, while popular at times, made a journey to the cross that few, even among his 12 were willing to follow or found pleasing. They were looking for a Messiah who was “down with the struggle” on their terms and who would usher in a new worldly kingdom of power and prosperity. Yes, this is what it meant for them that Jesus be “down with the struggle.” But Jesus went up to the cross and few would follow him there. Only St. John, Mother Mary and several other women made it there.

Those of us who lead, Clergy, Religious, parents, and lay leaders must point to the Cross and be willing to lead others there. As for pointing to what is popular and “hip” and what will make us seemingly “loved” and accepted, any newscaster or Hollywood star can do that.

It is true that we ought not engage in all or nothing thinking, or set up a false dichotomy. To be up with the cross and not merely “down with the folks” is not an absolute conflict. Pope Francis has surely reminded the whole Church that we need to be out among the flock, and out in the public square.

But here is the key, we must be there are Christians, as Catholics, as followers of Jesus, who, who charity but also with clarity announce the Gospel. And key to the Gospel to to point the Cross as the way to glory and healing.

And we preach the cross not as an abstraction, but as focused on some very real and sometimes difficult choices. We preach a cross that includes turning away from the pleasures of sin and the flesh, to embrace, chastity, self-control, openness to life, even in difficult circumstances. The cross means there is to be no abortion, even in rape and incest, we are to work out our marital difficulties instead of splitting. We hold up the cross in calling the unmarried to perfect chastity, to homosexuals there is the call of perpetual continence. We preach the cross of enduring persecution, forgiving our enemies, humbling ourselves through confession, of atoning for our sins and obedience to the Commandments. We hold up the cross when we insist on generosity to the poor, and the forsaking of greed and the accumulation of so many unnecessary things. We hold up the cross when we remind others of their duties to family, community, the Church and the nation.

The Cross is not an abstraction and we who would lead must be up with Jesus and the Cross if we are ever to be “down with the people” and “down with the struggle” in any effective way.

We who are the leaders of the Church, have the mission to reflect the teachings, wisdom and way of our founder Jesus Christ. Many today mistakenly think our job is to find out what the majority of people think, and reflect that. No, this is not our job. We are to be Christ and his voice, his wisdom and his teaching in this world. This goes not only for clergy but also for parents. We are to preach his gospel, the whole counsel of Christ in season and out of season, popular or unpopular. We point the way of Christ.

And Christ had this “crazy” way of the Cross. The cross is like a tuning fork for us. It is the “A 440” that helps us to know if we are in tune with Jesus or just reflecting the world, if we are just “down with the people” or up with Christ on the cross.

Many that Good Friday told Christ they would be believe if he came down from his Cross. But he he would not come down from that cross just to save himself, he decided to stay, to save you and me. Had he been down with the people where they wanted him, he could not have saved them, or lifted them up.

A few quotes from scripture to finish:

  1. Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it….If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mk 8:34-38)
  2. Jesus said, “I do not accept glory from human beings” (John 5:41)
  3. Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Cor 1:20-25)
  4. You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (Gal 3:1)
  5. If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Gal 1:9-10)
  6. We speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else… (1 Thess 2:4-6)

Are we with Christ, or just “down with the people?” If we are with others, as we should be, are we there with Christ? Do we preach his way of the cross, or do we seek merely to please men?

Are we up with Christ and the Cross, or merely down with the people and the pillow of popularity and the esteem of men?

Here is a favorite video of mine that both illustrates the silly 70s, but also shows the dark side of “tolerance.” Meet Prof “Stanford Nutting” (i.e. stand for nothing):

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Practical Principles for Proclaiming the Kingdom – A Homily for the 14th Sunday of the Year

"STP-ELP19" by Lyricmac at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
“STP-ELP19” by Lyricmac at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

In the Gospel today, Jesus gives a number of practical principles for those who would proclaim the Kingdom. Lets look at them each in turn.

I. Serious – The text says, At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.

The Lord describes here a very serious situation. There is an abundant harvest, but there are so few willing to work at it. Consider first the harvest in our own day. Look at the whole human race and how many don’t yet know the Lord. There are over 6 billion people on the planet. 1.1 billion Catholics (many of them lukewarm) about 750 Million other Christians. This means that more than 2/3rds of people on this planet don’t know and worship the Lord Jesus. Here in our own country 75% of Catholics don’t go to Mass.

There are many today who shrug and presume all of this is no big deal and that probably everyone will be saved. Never mind that Jesus says explicitly the opposite, namely that many if not most are heading down the road of loss and damnation (e.g. Matt 7:13; Luke 13:24, etc). Our myopic presumption and false optimism is unBiblical and frankly, slothful.

The Second Vatican Council has this to say,

Those can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience. Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel. She knows that it is given by Him who enlightens all men so that they may finally have life. But very often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasoning and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, “Preach the Gospel to every creature”, the Church fosters the missions with care and attention. (Lumen Gentium 16)

Note that the council Fathers say that “very often” people are deceived by the Evil One. Do you see that? VERY OFTEN. In other words the notion that the great mass of “ignorant” humanity is not walking into heaven. Rather they are deceived and have let themselves be deceived.

Jesus himself said, This is the judgement: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

Yes, the need is urgent. We need to be serious about this. There are many today from our own families and among our friends who have left the practice of the faith and exist on a continuum from indifference to the faith to outright hostility and ridicule of the Holy Faith. We must work to restore them to the Church and the Lord. Otherwise they may likely be lost.

Scripture also speaks of many who walk, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. (Eph 4:17-19)

There is work to do! And we must be serious. Sadly too many have not. The decline of the West has happened on our watch. Too many have thought that evangelization for somebody else. Welcome to what the silence of the saints has produced.

Note too that while this translation says, “ask the Lord of the Harvest” the Greek is more emphatic and personal. The Greek word is δεήθητε (deethete, from deomai) which means to beg as if binding oneself. In other words we are so urgent in this request that we are willing to involve our very self in the solution. This is not a problem merely for the Lord or for others. It is so serious that I am willing to go myself! Do you feel this way about evangelization.

Time to get serious! Many are being lost.

II. Sobriety – The text says, Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.

We must be sober that we are being sent into a word that is inimical, hostile, to the faith.  Of this hostility we ought be neither despairing, nor dismissive of it,  but sober, clear about it.

Yes,  there is an enemy, he is organized, influential and powerful. Nevertheless we are not counseled to fear, but to sobriety, which means means to be aware but unafraid. Scripture says,

  1. And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:3 -4)
  2. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (Ps 23:4-5)
  3. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. (Luke 21:12-15)
  4. For the accuser (Satan) of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night (Rev 12:10)

Therefore we must be sober but fear not and be not discouraged. There is an enemy and the conflict is real, but the victory is already ours.

And old song says,

Harder yet may be the fight,
Right may often yield to might,
Wickedness awhile may reign,
Satan’s cause may seem to gain;
There is a God that rules above,
With hand of power and heart of love,
If I am right He’ll fight my battle,
I shall have peace some day.

III. Serenity – The Text says, Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. …Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.“

Note well then how the Lord counsels us to shake off the dust in the face of rejection. We ought not take it personally. We ought to remember that it is Jesus they are rejecting, not us. Further we ought to be serene in the knowledge that just because someone is angry at us, does not mean we have done anything wrong.

Yes, we are to be serene and secure in the truth of the message and not consumed with how people react. We need not be strident and argumentative, we don’t have to raise our voices or fearful, angry or resentful. All we need to do is serenely preach the truth and leave the judgment up to God.

IV. Simplicity –  The text says, Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.

One of the things that keeps many of us from fully preaching the kingdom is that we are encumbered and hindered by so many things and activities. The Lord here tells us to travel light, then we shall be unencumbered, available and free. Too often today, spiritual truths are neglected and crowded out by worldly concerns. They’ll get their kids to soccer or basketball but Sunday school and Mass goes neglected. Likewise, many of us are too wealthy, too invested in this world. As a result we are not free to preach, we have too much to lose.

Note that the Lord calls us to simplicity in three areas:

  1. Purse – The Lord says, carry no money bag. For riches root us in this world and make us a slave of its ways. Riches are bondage, poverty (free from greed) is a kind of freedom, since those who are poorer, have less to loose. Scripture says, But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
  2. Possessions – The Lord says carry, no sack, no extra sandals. And in this regard we are encouraged to resist the tendency to accumulate possessions. These things too weigh us down. On account of them we are forever caught up in the latest fashions, upgrades, and deluxe models. For our stuff there is also insurance, maintenance, upgrades, etc. Too much stuff roots us in the world and distracts us from more essential things. Too much stuff, it’ll wear you ought, carrying around too much stuff. The Lord advises: travel light, simplify. Scripture says elsewhere, Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. (Proverbs 15:16)
  3. People – The text says, greet no one along the way. Here too we have to admit that some folks in life do not help us in our Christian walk or duty. Instead they hinder us, tempt us or simply get us to focus on foolish and passing things. The Lord has something for these 72 to do and he wants them to get there and do it. This is not a time to stop along the way and chat with every passerby. The same is true for us. We ought to be careful of the company we keep and ponder if our friends and acquaintances help or hinder us in our task of proclaiming the Kingdom. Scripture warns: Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor 15:33) And again,  I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men…I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber — not even to eat with such a one. (1 Cor 5:9)

Thus, the Lord counsels, travel light, simplify. Our many possessions weigh us down and make life difficult. Look at the opulence of today, yet look at the stress. Simplify, travel light. Also, avoid complicating and compromising relationships.

V. Stability – The Lord says, Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.

In other words find out where home is, where the Lord wants you, and stay there. Stop all this modern running about.  Develop in-depth relationships and stability. In the old days, long term relationships served as the basis for the communication of the truths of faith, not just between individuals, but across generations and in close-knit neighborhoods and communities.  Today with all the moving around things are more shallow.

But Lord counsels that we stay close to home, frequent holy places. We ought to do everything we can to find stability and roots. It is in stable contexts and deep roots, deep relationships that the Gospel is best preached. Many parents today seldom have dinner with their children, indeed, with all the running around there is little time at all to teach or preach the faith!

Scripture warns,

  1. She is loud and wayward, for her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market (Proverbs 7:11-12)
  2. Like a bird that strays from its nest, is a man who strays from his home. (Proverbs 27:8).

VI. Sensitivity – Jesus says, Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.‘

In other words, be gracious and kind. Simple human kindness and a gracious demeanor goes a long way in opening doors for the gospel. Eat what is put before you. In other words, wherever possible reverence the local culture, build on common ground, find and affirm what is right. Don’t just be the critic. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Sure there are ways we can be gracious. Little kindnesses are long remembered and pave the way for trust and openness.

That the sick should be cured is clear in itself. But in a more extended sense, we see how kindness, patience and understanding are also healing. We must speak the truth, but we must learn to speak it in love, not merely in confrontation or harsh criticism.

Simple kindness and sensitivity are counseled here: eat what is set before you.

VII. Soul Saving Joy the text says, The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.“

They have the joy of success that day. There will be other days of rejection and even martyrdom. That’s why Jesus counsels to have a deeper source of joy: merely that they have been called and have their names written in heaven.

There is no greater evidence to the truth of our faith than joyful and transformed Christians. Mother Theresa said, Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

Thus the Lord counsels that we cultivate joy at what he is doing for us, how he is delivering us and giving us power over the demons in our life. There is no greater joy than to remember what the Lord has done for us, that he has saved us and written our names in heaven. Yes remember! Have so present in your mind and heart what the Lord has done for you so that you are grateful, joyful and different! This is soul-saving joy. A joy that will save your soul and others too.

Here then are seven principles for proclaiming the Kingdom. Now lets get serious. There is work to do. Many are being lost. Time to cast our nets!

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Losing life to gain Eternal life: A Short Paradigm of Life as seen in an animated video.

070513The video below is a kind of paradigm (or pattern) of life in its various stages and challenges. It begins with the summons of early childhood and the teenage years: that the we ought to take life by the horns, and that the world is our oyster. The video ends with the solemn reminder of the Lord that we must ultimately loose our life to gain and save it.

Consider the stages of this video. Our little hero has heard the great call of life, symbolized by the challenge to fly a kite! Now any of you who have ever flown a kite will testify that it is not as easy as it looks. “Romancing the wind” requires subtlety and careful finesse, and there are many unpredictable factors that come into play. Flying a kite is not a bad paradigm for life! Thrilling but complicated.

In the distance our little hero sees that others fly kites, high and noble and he aspires to their example. Yes, here is the beautiful idealism of early childhood, where a young boy seeks to imitate his father and everything seems possible.

But quickly our little hero learns that there is more to life than admiration and wanting to do something. He must put in his time and learn the careful moves of kite flying (life).

The animators show him as learning in stages, first on the level ground of elementary learning where he makes mistakes but learns, and repairs the damage. Then on a small hill (let us call it high school) where he has learned some of the moves of romancing the wind (life) but still is not quite ready. And then he graduates (steps up) to a higher hill, let us call it college or vocational school, and maturity. And finally he catches a breeze!

And now at last he has mastered life. His kite soars and he is in the groove, he is soaring high, he has romanced the wind and is at the top of his game!

But as life in this world often goes, he gets carried away. Instead of having authority over his life, events begin to overtake him, and he caught in the eventual snare that this world has for us all.

In effect he is caught in a whirlwind and this world begins to carry him away on its own terms. Things are out of control and ruin is looming! The world which our little hero had sought to master has mastered him and is leading him to ruin!

Sound familiar? So easily does this beautiful world lure us into its snare. So easily does it seek to possess us and carry us off, just like our little hero in the video.

St Augustine said, Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. (Conf 10.27)

And thanks be too God our little hero sees disaster come and he lets go! Somewhere in his depths he realizes that there is something more important than this world and the glory it offers. And so he lets go trusting in that “something greater” that will come. In letting go he fulfills the text of Jesus who said:

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Matt 16:25-26)

Yes, and here is the final stage of life we must all discover, “letting go.” A man’s life does not consist in possessions (Lk 12:15) And thus, we must learn to let go of life’s demands and learn to wait for God and the true Kingdom that is ours.

Our little hero learns that, having mastered life, he must now learn to let go, lest it carrying him away to certain death. It is a hard lesson and he sits sulking on the hill, but still alive and aware that he must now reach for something even higher that the highest breeze of this world. He must reach for heaven. And to to that, he must let go of this life’s glories and demands.

He must lose this life and his grip on it, to gain the next.

Enjoy this video, a little paradigm of life, yours and mine.

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Not Magic: A Meditation on the Fruitful Reception of Sacraments

070413-pope-1A fundamental principle of the seven Sacraments is that they have a reality that exists apart from the priest’s holiness or worthiness. They work ex opere operato (ie.. they are worked from the very fact of the work). One need not doubt therefore that a sacrament is in fact given just because a bishop, priest or deacon seems less than holy or worthy. Neither can the disposition of the recipient un-work the work. For example, Holy Communion does not cease to be the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ merely because the one who steps forward is unworthy or even an unbeliever. The Sacrament has a reality in itself that transcends the worthiness of the celebrant or recipient.

However, sacraments are not magic in the sense that they work effects in us in a manner independent of our disposition or will. Sacraments, though actually conferred by the fact that they are given, have a varying fruitfulness dependant upon the disposition, worthiness and openness of the recipient. One may receive a sacrament to great effect or lesser effect depending on how well disposed they are to those effects. This is referred to as the fruitfulness of the sacraments.

To illustrate fruitfulness let’s take a non-sacramental example. Imagine two men in the Fine Arts Museum and lets us also imagine that they are looking at a Rembrandt painting: Apostle Peter Kneeling of 1631 (See photo upper right). Now one man is a trained artist. He knows and understands the use of shadow and light. He can observe and see the techniques of brush strokes. He knows of Rembrandt and his life and times. He also knows the Bible and a good bit about hagiography. He knows about St. Peter, the significance of the keys, of Peter’s penitence and how he finally died. The second man knows none of this and is actually rather annoyed to be in the “boring” museum. All he thinks is, “Who is that guy and why is he sitting on the floor?….Why don’t we get out of here, go to a sports bar, and hook a few brews or something more interesting?”

Now, both men are actually standing before a Rembrandt painting. It has a reality in itself apart from what either man thinks. It is, in fact, what it is. But the experience of beholding the painting is a far more fruitful experience for the first man than for the second. The first man gains a lot from the experience, the other gains little and may in fact have an experience that is adverse or repelling.

It is like this with the sacraments. They have a reality in themselves that is objective and real and they actually extend the graces they announce. But how fruitfully a person receives them is quite dependent on the openness and disposition of the recipient. Sacraments are not magic as though they zap us and change us independently of our disposition.

Consider some examples:

  1. Two people come forward to receive Holy Communion. One comes forward with great piety and mindfulness to what and Who she is to receive. She has recently made a good confession and is in a state of grace. She prayerfully, mindfully and devoutly receives the sacred host and returns to her pew to pray. The second person comes forward inattentively. Instead of thinking of what she is about to do she is irritated at the priest for going long in the homily and distractedly considering what she is going to do when she leaves here. She has not been to confession in many years and may in fact be in mortal sin. She receives the Sacred Host with little thought or devotion and heads for the nearest door. Both in fact receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. Objectively the sacrament is conferred. But one receives fruitfully and the other has little or no fruitfulness. In fact, if she is in state of mortal sin, not only did she not fruitfully receive a blessing but she may have brought a condemnation upon herself (cf 1 Cor 11: 29). So the sacrament is not magic and does not zap the second woman into holiness. A sacrament worthily received in a mindful manner to a person well disposed can have great effects, but proper and open disposition including faith-filled and worthy reception are essential. The more open and disposed one is, the more fruitful the reception.
  2. Two people go to confession. One carefully prepares by examining his conscience and has a true contrition (sorrow for sin and a firm purpose of amendment). In examining his conscience he does not merely consider his external behaviors but looks to the internal and deeper drives of sin within him. He seeks to reflect on his motivations, priorities, resentments and the like. He goes to confession once a month. Once in the confessional he makes a good confession and listens carefully to what the priest says and accepts his penance with gratitude to God. The second man makes little preparation only coming up with a few vague sins on his way from the car. He comes yearly to confession to make his Easter duty and after a year can only figure he has said a few bad things and been a little grouchy, and looked at a few dirty pictures. In the confessional he mentions his sins only in a perfunctory way and pays little attention to the exhortation of the priest. Now both men receive absolution but one receives the sacrament for more fruitfully than the other. The first man will likely experience growth in holiness and spiritual progress if he routinely approaches the sacrament in this manner. The other will probably be back next year with the same list or with worse things.
  3. Holy Matrimony is a sacrament received once. As such its graces are received at once but unfold throughout life. Hence, two are made one on the day of the wedding but the couple’s experience of this may vary and hopefully grow as time goes on. Through daily prayer, weekly communion, personal growth in holiness of the spouses, consistent work at their relationship, the graces of matrimony will be experienced more fruitfully as time goes on. But it is also possible to stunt or hinder the fruitfulness of the graces of matrimony through neglect of prayer, sacraments, interpersonal growth and communication.

Sacraments therefore are not magic acts. They convey a reality, but internal disposition, worthy, mindful reception and faith are all essential factors for the sacraments to be received more and more fruitfully. Perfunctory and mindless reception yields little fruit. Devout, mindful and worthy reception yields increasing fruit. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold (Mark 4:20).

More can be said on this topic and I invite your comments and questions to fill in the details.

 

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If You don’t think you have the fear of death, think again. The Bible says it is the chief doorway that Satan uses.

070413-pope-2In Sunday’s Mass (Feast of the Presentation) there was an excerpt from the Letter to the Hebrews which describes our most basic and primal fear. The Hebrews text both names it and describes it as being the very source of our bondage: The Fear of Death

But I am not convinced that many of us understand the phrase as richly as possible, for “death” here is as much an allegory as referring to the actual and singular event of our passage from this world. In order to unlock the secret of the text I want to suggest to you an interpretation of the text that will allow its powerful diagnosis to have a wider and deeper effect.

Consider then this text from Hebrews:

Since the children have flesh and blood, [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Heb 2:14-15)

Now this passage is clear enough that the first origin of our bondage to sin is the devil. But it also teaches that the devil’s hold on us is the “fear of death.” This is what he exploits to keep us in bondage.

When I explore this teaching with people I find that it is difficult for many to understand it at first. For many, especially the young, death is rather theoretical. This is especially so today when medicine has so successfully pushed back the boundary of sudden death. Every now and then something may shake us out of our complacency about death (perhaps a brush with death) but as a general rule the fear of death is not something that seems to dominate the thoughts of many. So what is meant by the “fear of death” and how does it hold us in bondage?

Well, what if we were to replace the word “death” with “diminishment”? To be sure, this is an adaption of the text. The Greek text (φόβῳ θανάτου – phobo thanatou) is  translated as “fear of death.” And yet, understanding death here also as “diminishment” can help us to see what this text is getting at in a wider sense. It doesn’t take long to realize that each diminishment we experience is a kind of “little death.” Diminishments make us feel smaller, less powerful, less glorious.

What are some examples of diminishments we might experience? At one level, a diminishment is anything that makes us feel less adequate than others. Maybe we think others are smarter, or more popular. Perhaps we do not feel handsome enough, pretty enough, we’re too tall, too short, too fat, wrong color hair. Maybe we hate that others are richer, more powerful, better spoken, better looking. Maybe we are older and wish we were younger and stronger, thinner and more energetic again. Maybe we are younger and wish were older, wiser, richer and more settled. Maybe we feel diminished because we think others have a better marriage, nicer home, better kids, or live in a better neighborhood. Maybe we compare ourselves to a brother or sister who did better financially or socially than we did.

Perhaps you can see how the fear of diminishment (the fear that we don’t compare well to others) sets up a thousand sins. It plugs right into envy and jealousy. Pride comes along for the ride too since we seek to compensate our fear of inadequacy by finding people whom we feel superior to. We thus indulge our pride or we seek to build up our ego in unhealthy ways. Perhaps we run to the cosmetic surgeon or torture ourselves with unhealthy diets. Perhaps we ignore our own gifts and try to be someone we really are not. Perhaps we spend money we really don’t have trying to impress people so we feel less adequate.

And think of the countless sins we commit trying to be popular and fit in. Young people, and older ones too, give in to peer pressure and do sometimes terrible things. Young people will join gangs, use drugs, skip school, have sex before marriage, pierce and tattoo their bodies, use foul language, gossip etc. Adults too have many of these things on their list. All these things in a quest to be popular and to fit in. And fitting in is about not feeling diminished. And diminishment is about the fear of death because every experience of diminishment is like a mini death.

Advertisers too know how to exploit the fear of death (diminishment) in effectively marketing their product. I remember studying this in the Business School at George Mason University. What advertisers do is to exploit our fear of diminishment. The logic goes something like this: you are not pretty enough, happy enough, adequate enough, comfortable enough, you don’t look young enough, you have some chronic illness (depression, asthma, E. D. diabetes), etc. So use our product and you will be adequate again, you won’t be so pathetic, incomplete and basically diminished. If you drink this beer you’ll be happy, have good times and friends will surround you. If you use this toothpaste or soap or cosmetics, beautiful people will be around you and sex will be more available to you. If you drive this car people will turn their heads and so impressed with you. Message: you are not adequate now, you do not measure up, you are not perfect (you are diminished) but our product will get you there! You will be younger, happier, healthier and more alive.

Perhaps you can see how all these advertising appeals plug into greed, pride, materialism, worldliness, and the lie that these things will actually solve our problem. They will not. In fact appeals like this actually feed our fear of diminishment and death even more because they feed the notion that we have to measure up to all these false or unrealistic standards.

It is my hope that you can see how very deep this drive is and how it enslaves us in countless ways.

This demon (fear of death, fear of diminishment) has to be named. Once named and brought to the light we must learn its moves and begin to rebuke it in the name of a Jesus. As we start to recognize and name the thought patterns that emerge from this most primal of fears we can gradually, by God’s grace, replace this distorted and “stinking thinking” with proper, sober and humble thinking. A thinking rooted in God’s love for us and the availability of his grace and mercy.

The text from Hebrews above is very clear to say that this deep and highly negative drive is an essential way in which Satan keeps us in bondage. The same text says that Jesus Christ died to save us and free us from this bondage. Allow the Lord to give you a penetrating and sober vision of this deep drive, this deep fear of diminishment and death. Allow the light of God’s grace and word to both expose and heal this deepest of wounds.

This Video pokes fun at the fad-centered culture that is always trying to make us feel inadequate:

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Those who seek to eliminate faith for the sake of freedom, get only tyranny

070313On the Fourth of July, in the United States of America we celebrate freedom. In particular we celebrate freedom from tyranny, and a government that is not representative; freedom from unchecked power and unaccountable sovereigns.

Distorted and faithless notions – Yet, as Christians we cannot overlook that there are ways of understanding freedom today that are distorted, exaggerated and detached from a proper context. Many modern concepts of freedom treat freedom as something that faith limits, not enhances.

Alexis De Tocqueville said Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith. In America today we are seeing the erosion of all three in reverse order.

Those who want to eliminate faith remove the ultimate basis of morality. For if God, and what he has set forth in Natural Law, and the Scriptures be not the basis of or law and freedom, then we are and there is no real basis to determine right and wrong, it is all just opinion and power struggle. We are our own absolute rulers, answerable to no one. This is dangerous.

And just as it is a bad idea for the inmates to run the jail, so absolute self-governance turns to tyranny. We tend to turn on each other and engage in deadly power struggles.

Welcome to the secular setting wherein freedom is eroded because power struggles have replaced the recognition of a higher law that binds us all. Welcome to the tyranny of relativism, and the bondage and litigiousness of unbelief.

Among the sources of growing and intrusive law is that some refuse to limit their bad behavior, some refuse to live up to commitments they have made, some abandon self control, some insist on living outside safe and proper norms. Many insist that the solution to protect them from others who abuse their freedom, is more laws. And many are successful in getting increasingly restrictive laws passed.

Yes, without a commonly held morality and a salutary fear that we will answer one day to God, bad behavior multiplies and freedom erodes into lots of tedious laws. In this climate, an increasingly powerful and intrusive State seeks to keep a lid on the immoral behavior resulting from the faithless notion that I will never answer to anyone.

Hence, those who seek to eliminate faith for the sake of “freedom” get only tyranny. Even unbelievers ought to be grateful that most people have a vigorous sense that they must answer one day to God. But without God, those in power, and those who act wickedly, think they will never have to answer to anyone and their sociopathic behavior gets more severe and tyrannical.

Those who claim that the truth of the gospel limits their freedom might also consider that the world outside God’s truth shows itself to be far less than free than it claims:

  • Addictions and compulsions in our society abound.
  • Neuroses, and high levels of stress are major components of modern living.
  • The breakdown of the family and the seeming inability of increasing numbers to establish and keep lasting commitments is quite significant.
  • A kind of obsession with sex is evident and the widespread sadness of STDs, AIDs, teenage pregnancy, single motherhood (absent fathers) and abortion are its results.
  • Addiction to wealth and greed (the insatiable desire for more) enslave many in a kind of financial bondage wherein they cannot really afford the lifestyle their passions demand, and they are unsatisfied and in deep debt.

The so-called “freedom” of the modern world, (apart from the truth of the Gospel), is far from evident. The Catechism says rather plainly:

The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin.” (CCC # 1733)

In the end, the paradox proves itself. Only limited freedom is true freedom. Demands for freedom apart from faith lead only to hindered freedom and outright slavery and tyranny.

Ponder freedom on this 4th of July. Ponder its paradoxes, accept its limits. For freedom is glorious. But because we are limited and contingent beings, so is our freedom. Ponder finally this paradoxical truth: The highest freedom is the capacity to obey God.

Note that in the video this song about Freedom, often sung in reference to various political and social struggles, roots the freedom in Jesus. Some seculars eliminate the 2nd verse today, but they thus undermine the basis for freedom. For if there be no Lord to whom we point as the basis of justice, Those who cry for freedom are simply being arbitrary in their notion. Without God and the justice he puts in our hearts, why should the desires of the oppressed have any more merit than the wishes of the oppressor? It is a mere matter of opinion, for there is no outside source for morality or justice. Unbelievers cannot really point to any basis other than popular opinion or raw power to usher in their view. Their notion of freedom without faith ends only in the tyranny of power struggle.

Enjoy the video, especially the second verse:

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Look to Jesus. A Meditation on Having our Moral Compass Set on Jesus

070213One of the great tasks in our spiritual and moral life is to fix our point of reference. Simply put, is Jesus Christ our point of reference, or is our reference point where we stand viz a viz others?

Many, today, in order to assess their moral state, consider their position in relation to the vast numbers of people that surround them. Perhaps they will consider that there are some who are surely holier than they are. Yes, surely internationally known figures (like Mother Theresa was), surely they  rank up there way above us. Perhaps too in a more local way, many will see the holy ones who attend daily Mass or frequent Eucharistic Adoration or other devotions, and conclude that these sorts of people rank ahead of them in holiness and moral excellence.

But then comes the dark side of such relative moral ranking. For many of the same folks will also think of others as behind them and with relief say, “Well, I may not be perfect, but at least I am not like that drug dealer over there, or that prostitute, or that corrupt businessman or politician.”

And thus, most of us who use this point of reference will rank ourselves somewhere in the middle, and feel reasonably content. But this sort of contentedness is not the sort of assessment that helps us to be zealous to grow in holiness. And, more problematically, how I rank among others is not a valid standard, or meaningful assessment.

For indeed, we must find and fix our true point of reference on Jesus. He is the Way we must walk, he is the Truth to whom we must conform, He is the Life we must live. Jesus must be our moral reference, our moral compass.

Someone say, “Lord have mercy!” For now the standard shifts from a mediocre, middle of the pack, “at least I’m not as bad as so and so” reference point, to the very person of Jesus who also added: “You must be perfect, as the heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mat 5:43).

Thus, when Jesus is our standard and point of reference, we can rightly and with true humility and hope cry out “Lord, have mercy!” For with our sights fixed on Jesus, pride cannot long endure, and true humility begins to flourish.

For looking to Jesus, we know it is going to take boatloads of grace and mercy to ever close the gap between his holiness and our present unseemly state. Only grace and mercy will help us meet the standard that is Jesus himself.

To illustrate, go with me to the upper room, to the Last Supper. And as Mark’s gospel relates,

As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.” They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely it is not I?” (Mark 14:18-19)

“Surely it is not I?” And thus we see, none of us can be certain of our innocence in the presence of Jesus, in the presence of holiness Himself. Yes, in the presence of Innocence Himself, none of us are sure of our own innocence. Somehow, when Christ is our reference point, we see our truer state, and in a salutary grief and sober awareness of our capacity for sin, we simply and sincerely cry out: Kyrie, eleison! Lord, have mercy!

But now you see that we are thus equipped to trust Him, and to learn to depend on his mercy. He is not just the one who gets up over the top, or supplies what we lack. He is the one who has brought us back to life when we were dead in our sins! He is the one on whom we must wholly depend.

Too easily and smugly we rank ourselves among others, and too easily we falsely justify ourselves in this way. We grade ourselves on a kind of “moral curve” and thus become so easily prideful, self assured, and lacking in gratitude.

But when Jesus is our reference point, as He should be, we know our need to be saved. And perhaps we cry out the words of an old gospel hymn: “It’s me Oh Lord, Standin’ in the need of prayer!”

And looking to Him in this way, we may feel grieved, or overwhelmed, but in the end these are salutary, for they set the stage for, and usher in a kind of joyful humility and an immense gratitude, for what Jesus has done for us.

Knowing our unfathomable need for grace and mercy, how grateful we are to receive it! And being grateful, we are changed, we are different. Gratitude is a kind of joy. And when gratitude rushes into our chastened hearts, an awful lot of poison goes away. Anger, fear, resentment, ingratitude, greed, disappointment, desire for revenge, envy, jealously and so many other poisons, begin to vanish. And the joy of gratitude begins to usher in serenity, peace, love, generosity, forgiveness, mercy, contentment, and so many other gifts.

Yes, look to Jesus! Your neighbor is not the standard, not the point of reference, Jesus is. And while this look may bewilder at first, is is also a look that will save and bless us. Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!