Community in Mission

February 16, 2016

Prayer and Fasting or Just Prayer? A Consideration of a Biblical “Disagreement”

With the renewed interest in demonology, Jesus’ instruction that demons must be driven out with prayer and fasting (cf Mk 9:29, Matt 17:21) is frequently quoted. And many people are acquainted with this text in this form.

But a problem emerges for some people when they go to their Bible to look up those texts. Some Bibles include the reference to fasting while others do not. For example, the two most common Catholic Bibles, the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) and the Revised New American Bible (RNAB), render Mark 9:29 differently.

This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting (RSVCE).
This kind can only come out through prayer (RNAB).

And in Matthew 17:21, which recounts the same incident that Mark 9:29 does, prayer and fasting aren’t mentioned at all in either the RSVCE or the RNAB version. Older Bibles such as the Douay Rheims (DR) and the King James (KJV), however, do:

But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting (DR).
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (KJV).

So what is going on here?

The ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament are remarkably consistent, especially considering that they were handwritten by scribes, who might accidentally skip or misspell a word. But there are some discrepancies. Most textual variations are easily resolved by comparing several ancient manuscripts to identify misspellings and/or dropped words. There are some variations, however, that are not as easily resolved, especially when it is a case of one erroneous manuscript being copied numerous times and distributed. But even in that situation, a little detective work can usually find the root problem and distinguish between an erroneous text and a correct one.

But there are times when certain textual variations cannot be resolved and biblical scholars either do not agree or cannot be certain as to which is the most authentic version. Mark 9:29 is one of those texts. Some ancient manuscripts include the words “and fasting” (και νηστεια) while others do not.

For the benefit of the technocrats who are reading this, the following manuscripts support the translation that includes both fasting and prayer: P^45vid ℵ² A C D K L N W Γ Δ Θ Ψ ƒ^1,13 28. 33. 565. 579. 700. 892. 1241. 1424. 2542. ℓ 2211 ???? lat sy^h co (sy^s.p bo^ms). These ancient manuscripts, however, support the translation that does not include fasting: ℵ B 0274 k.

While the manuscripts that favor including fasting are far more numerous, it is not necessarily a question of mere numbers. This is because not all ancient manuscripts are considered to be of equal value. Most modern scholars favor the translation that excludes the reference to fasting because the manuscripts that do not mention it are ones that they weight more heavily. So even though many manuscripts do include the words “and fasting,” the earliest and “best” manuscripts do not include it. Critics of this current consensus view object to the presumption that fasting reflects a later concern of the Church. They also think that the most common “go-to” source (Metzger’s A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament) has been too influential. Welcome to the wonderful world of biblical textual criticism (analysis)!

The issue with Matthew 7:21 being wholly lacking in most modern Bibles has a similar explanation, though in this case the consensus is even stronger because the oldest and best Greek manuscripts lack the verse. And even those manuscripts that do, seem to show it in the margins as more of a side comment or a reference back to Mark 9:29.

So, all of this goes toward explaining why some of our modern Bibles report Jesus as saying that certain types of demons must be driven out by “prayer and fasting,” while others simply say “prayer.”

But is this just an academic exercise? What are there pastoral considerations?

The main pastoral (and liturgical) question would seem to be this: “Is fasting required to drive out demons or not?” The ambiguity of the textual evidence (as described above) allows that reasonable people may differ as to whether strict fasting is required and to what extent it is helpful. There are certain considerations to be made.

Even if certain demons are best driven out by prayer and fasting, we must never forget that it is God who drives out demons, and He doesn’t need our fasting to do so. Any prideful notions about the effects of our fasting should be strictly avoided.

Indeed, we ought to have a kind of humility regarding fasting. Fasting is certainly recommended, and the Lord Himself says that there is a time for fasting (cf Mk 2:20, Luke 5:35). But fasting can also be a source of pride (Lk 18:12, Lk 5:33). Fasting done out of pride or superiority isn’t going to drive out any demons; in fact it will likely attract them.

In longer exorcisms (which can go on for months), fasting may need to be mitigated or else assigned to members who are not part of the team directly involved in the exorcism. Physical strength is often needed to withstand the grueling work of major exorcism.

With such precautions in mind, and in spite of the textual variations in the “prayer and fasting” text of Scripture, the instinct of the Church is that casting out demons is best assisted by both prayer and fasting. The current Rite of Exorcism (2004) says,

The Exorcist, mindful that the tribe of demons cannot be cast out except through prayer and fasting, should take care that these two most effective remedies for obtaining divine help be used, after the example of the Holy Fathers, both by himself and by others, insofar as is possible (De Exorcismis # 31).

The Older Rite (1614) also advises,

Therefore, he will be mindful of the words of our Lord (Mt. 17:20), to the effect that there is a certain type of evil spirit who cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting. Therefore, let him avail himself of these two means above all for imploring the divine assistance in expelling demons, after the example of the holy fathers; and not only himself, but let him induce others, as far as possible, to do the same (De Exorcizandis # 10).

Why or how does fasting add power to prayer? One reasonable (and biblical) answer is that prayer and worship should generally involve sacrifice. Scripture says,

Understand these things, you that forget God; lest he snatch you away, and there be none to deliver you. The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will show him my salvation, says the Lord (Psalm 50:22-23).
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God (Heb 13:15-16).
You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread … And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors (ex 23:15-16).

There has developed in Western world the strange notion of worship and praise without sacrifice. In many sectors, worship has devolved to little more than a form of entertainment, wherein the whims and preferences of the faithful are expected to be catered to. Worship, by this notion, should be brief and should take place in comfortable, air-conditioned churches with padded pews and convenient parking. The “message” and liturgy should not be intellectually or morally challenging; rather they should be encouraging and pleasing. The music and “style” of liturgy should meet the preferences of those assembled.

Missing in all of this is the concept that liturgy and prayer should involve sacrifice, that they should “cost” us something. Yet Scripture clearly links prayer and sacrifice and indicates that they should, to some degree, be found together. Sacrifice is a way of establishing greater sincerity in, and integrity to, our worship. Indeed, worship without sacrifice too easily becomes lip service or turns God into a kind of divine butler, whom we expect to wait on us. God surely does supply our needs but He is no butler; He is God, who is worthy of our worship and the sacrifice of praise.

It is in this sense that prayer and fasting belong together, especially in the difficult work of driving out demons. Prayer and fasting become the sacrifice of praise that confounds and disturbs the evil one to no end. Scripture says, And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, for I will offer in his tent sacrifices of praise with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD (Psalm 27:6).

It is the instinct of the Church that prayer is good, but that prayer with sacrifice (fasting is sacrificial) wins through, especially in that most difficult work of expelling demons and repelling the enemy.

The question of how best to translate Mark 9 and Matthew 17 is a legitimate one. But the long experience of the Church ought not to be neglected. And experience teaches plainly enough that as a general norm,

This kind cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting (Mk 9:29).

February 15, 2016February 15, 2016

Wise Counsel for Cultural Warriors

The following three nuggets of wisdom come from Ecclesiastes and are especially appropriate for those of us who engage and struggle with our troubled culture. They can help us to keep things in perspective.

Do not in spirit become quickly discontented, for discontent lodges in the bosom of a fool (Eccl 7:9).

We certainly do live in times that challenge our sense of well-being. There is much to lament in these times: broken families, confused sexuality, secularism, and growing hostility to the teachings of our holy faith.

And yet we must not yield to the temptation to become too sour. As the proverb says, we ought not to become too “quickly discontented.”

At the center of every Christian heart should be a deep and abiding gratitude to God for his many—indeed countless—gifts. Every life, every family, every community, every culture, and every nation experiences a mixture of many beautiful blessings along with struggles and hardships.

The proverb here warns us against “discontent,” a word that is derived from the Latin continere, meaning to contain or hold. Thus to be discontented is to refuse to hold within us the joy and gratitude that we ought to have for so many rich blessings, even in the midst of difficulties.

Every day, trillions of things go right and only a handful go wrong. It is no exaggeration to speak of “trillions” of things going right when we consider that every aspect of every cell within our body, every molecule that makes up every cell, and every atom that makes up every molecule are all functioning by the grace of God.

And beyond our bodies is a vast ecosystem with myriad complex interactions such as photosynthesis enabling plants to produce oxygen for us to breathe, the Gulf Stream moderating our temperature, the Van Allen belts protecting us from the harmful radiation of the sun, Jupiter and Saturn out there catching comets, and the Earth carefully maintaining its nearly circular orbit thus keeping the temperature change between the seasons relatively small. Our sun remains stable, unlike many other stars, and we live in a relatively quiet section of the Milky Way galaxy, largely free from the space debris that flies about in most other areas.

And troubled though America is, people are still (literally) dying to get here. Our roads are paved and we have a reliable electrical grid, a stable government, and a good market system.

We ought to be filled with immense gratitude as well as wonder and awe at the countless blessings that God bestows on us from moment to moment.

To become quickly discontented, or worse, to allow discontent to lodge in our hearts, is deeply foolish. First of all, it is foolish because it is so myopic. Refusing to see or to reflect frequently on our manifold blessings is a kind of self-imposed blindness.

Consider a rich man who thinks himself poor. Only a fool would close his eyes and refuse to see the millions he actually has in the bank. Why live as a poor man, always running from creditors? A man with such resources who believes he is poor must be blind, a fool, or both.

And this is true for us, who have so many blessings. How easily we become discontented and negative!

Thus, even though there are things about which we must be very sober, there are many others about which we must be exuberantly joyful. If we don’t maintain this balance we are, as the proverb says, foolish.

Do not say: How is it that former times were better than these? For it is not in wisdom that you ask about this (Eccl 7:10).

This is an important caution for those of us who lament the current times and compare them unfavorably to the past. We tend to look back at previous decades and see them as more idyllic than they actually were. All ages have struggles particular to them, but they have blessings too. Some look to the 1950s with nostalgic affection but they forget the nuclear arms race, the Korean War, and the Cold War. The 1940s had the Second World War. The 1930s had the Great Depression. The 1920s were a time of rather widespread immorality and a great deal of organized crime. The 1910s had the First World War. The decade of the 1900s was a time of great economic recession; waves of immigrants were often made to live and work in horrifying conditions. One could continue pointing out the problems in every decade going backward in time. But each of these decades also had its blessings.

Regardless of how the struggles and strengths of the present day compare to those of the past, we are living now. Accept your assignment with humility and seek to influence positively the many difficulties we currently face. And do not fail to be grateful for the many blessings we have today: advanced medicine, high technology, and numerous creature comforts that make life a little more pleasant.

Be actively grateful and gratefully active.

Finally, then, comes the following counsel from Ecclesiastes, which is particularly appropriate during Lent as we ponder the essential goal of our life:

The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man’s all; because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad (Eccl 12:13).

Yes, look to your own impending judgment. Have a healthy fear of God and a sober appreciation of the fact that judgment awaits us all. Prepare for your own judgment and help others to prepare for theirs, insofar as it is your duty to remind and prepare them.

If you have suffered injustice or if you grow weary of these sinful times, remember that God sees all. Others will answer to God for what they have done if they have not repented. Pray that they do repent, for nothing will be unrequited and every idle word will have to be accounted for (see Mat 12:36).

Do not delay your own repentance, either. Tomorrow is not promised, but judgment is.

Jesus our Judge says, For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen (Luke 8:17-18).

Jesus gets the last word!

This video is an allegory of a woman who rejects the offer of truth and order. Truth offers his friendship to her. After being rejected, he warns her, admonishes her, and offers it to her again. But the woman’s rejection of truth persists and great is her ruin.

February 14, 2016September 13, 2018

But Men Have Shown They Prefer the Darkness: A Meditation on the Human Tendency toward Illusion

We live in largely skeptical times, steeped in a relativism, in which many scoff at the idea that we can know the truth or even that there is a truth to be known. Never mind that in so doing they are in fact making a truth claim of their own! But the ability to perceive one’s own logical inconsistencies is not is not a common trait these days.

Nevertheless, despite the tenor of our times, it does not follow that we should overcorrect by declaring certainty about everything, or even most things, we know. Illusion remains a pervasive human problem. And, as we shall see, illusion is more of a moral problem than an epistemological one. The problem of illusion does not mean there is no truth to be found or known; rather, it means that the human mind, and will wounded by sin have a tendency to entertain illusion.

The word “illusion” comes from the Latin in + ludere (to play games or mock), thus “to engage in games or play.” And so illusion is, by extension, a manner in which one tries to trick another, as in optical illusions or magic tricks. But internally, illusion is our own tendency (conscious or unconscious) to play games with ourselves, to play loosely with the facts, to indulge in logical gamesmanship or even entertain outright foolishness.

We are masters at this game. We can lie to ourselves for so long that we no longer even realize that we’re doing it. Yes, our minds are very wily. So easily our greatest strength and gift—our mind—can become the source of our greatest flaws. We can rationalize some of the most awful things by cloaking them in euphemisms and explanations that obfuscate rather than elucidate. Abortion becomes “reproductive choice,” lying becomes “mental reservation,” euthanasia becomes “death with dignity,” mutilation becomes “sexual reassignment surgery,” etc.

And then there are the smaller the illusions that apply to our daily lives. Fr. Thomas Dubay described some of these as follows:

If illusion means unrealized, possibly sincere, even enthusiastic error, there is far more of it in each of our lives than we are prepared to admit. All the way from our petty vanities to suppositions about our motivations, we are subject to all sorts of misjudgments concerning the way things are. There are the illusions of exaggerated self-esteem and its opposite, a weak self-image. There are the hundreds of illusory desires of which St. Paul speaks in Ephesians 4:22, desires for things we imagine we need. There are our illusory fears of things we ought not at all to fear (“What will they think of me? How will I look?”) and the illusory non-fear of things we ought dreadfully to fear. There are the many misjudgments of what is important in life and what is trivial—and who, if he be less than a saint does not err in these judgments many times each day? (Authenticity p. 35)

But where does this tendency toward illusion come from? Although our intellects are darkened by Original Sin and the cumulative effects of personal sin, illusion is more than just an intellectual problem. The roots of illusion are much deeper, in the center of the human person. Though we may not like to admit it, careful analysis shows that illusion and our tendency to entertain error stem fundamentally from sin. Illusion is something that, to some degree, we will; we decide to engage in it as a tactic. In most cases we don’t really want to know the full story or all the facts, or else we are simply too lazy to seek the complete truth.

To illustrate that illusion is more a problem of the will than a failure of our perception, Fr. Dubay uses the following example in his essay (Authenticity, p. 36): One sees a fruit tree in the distance with round, red fruits hanging in its branches. Upon seeing this tree, one might remark to the person standing next to him, very often in a hasty way, that it is clearly an apple tree. But of course it could actually be a plum tree. Rarely will someone humbly admit or say, “It could be an apple tree, but I’m not sure, so I’ll need to get a closer look.”

Our tendency is to draw a conclusion quickly, based only on limited evidence, so that we appear to know what we’re talking about. So we say, “That is clearly an apple tree.” We may do this out of pride, or vanity (to look like Mr. Know-it-all), or simply because we’re lazy and it’s too much trouble to go get all the facts.

Of course this example features a small matter. But we take this tactic with much more significant matters as well. We will often make sweeping conclusions about other people’s motivations, significant events in the news, scientific matters, or geopolitical matters based on very little evidence or information. And then based only on this small amount of information we entertain the illusion that we quite certainly and comprehensively know what is actually going on, what everything means, and what exactly should be done (if only people would ask us). There’s an old saying, “Don’t believe everything you think.” But this doesn’t stop most of us from doing that most of the time!

Why do we do this? Some of the reasons have already been presented, but let’s list them again along with some others.

Haste (sloth) – It’s a lot easier to entertain the illusion that we know all the facts than to actually go out and find them. Certainly we have time limitations and cannot research everything completely, but that is all the more reason to resist the illusion that we know it all and to be more careful in drawing conclusions. We can and should make reasonable conclusions about the data we have, but we should also be open to receiving more information that may clarify or even challenge some of what we think we know. So it’s not a problem of the intellect per se, but of the will, influenced by sloth. We often decide to make hasty conclusions out of laziness.
Vanity – Not only do we like to entertain the illusion that we know everything, we want others to entertain it as well. Because of this we like to impress others with our perceived knowledge and are slow to admit ignorance. Here, too, entertaining this illusion is something we decide to do. Our will (and intellect) are weighed down by vainglory. Sometimes we delude ourselves unconsciously while at other times it is a more conscious effort. Seeking to perpetuate this exalted vison of ourselves we also advance other illusions and errors by sermonizing, opining, and declaring things of which we are not really all that certain. Thus one illusion begets another.
Social Ease – There is another form of sloth in which we pick up popular notions and simply parrot them. This usually wins us approval (more vainglory). We prefer to presume that popular notions are true rather than thinking things through more thoroughly and pondering whether they are true, or untrue, or perhaps need some distinctions applied. But all of this is just too much trouble; it also tends to put us out of favor with the many who would prefer that popular illusions not be challenged. And so we simply slip into the tendency to assume that popular ideas are true simply because most people think so. Behaving this way gives us a sense of social ease and helps us to feel safe even if, deep down, we know that a lot of it is illusion.
Preference for lies (fearing the truth) – The truth tends to challenge us in ways that lies do not. Illusion is often a form of simplification. The truth is usually much more complex. We prefer the simplification that illusion provides. Our fantasy world is easier to navigate (because it is of our own making) than the real world. The truth often challenges our simplified culture, addicted as it is to the sound bite. And thus we introduce all sorts of mental filters and other forms of illusion so that we can hide from the truth, water it down, or outright resist it.
Emotional satisfaction – It is generally easier (or at least more pleasing) to follow the whims of our emotions than to seek out hard facts. The truth might summon us to do something hard such as to resist what our emotions are demanding of us. Especially in this modern age, we live under the illusion that strong emotions, of themselves, convey truth. They do not necessarily do this at all. In fact, they may often be an overreaction of our psyche to the truth. Our passions and emotions have their place, but they can be very unruly and very deceptive.

We live in times in which many speak dreamily about the authority of emotions. Some will say, as if it were profound, “How can something that feels so good be wrong?” Others will claim that because some hard course of action might make someone feel sad or anxious means that that course of action should not be undertaken or insisted upon. Much of this is illusion because it exalts the lower faculties and would have them overrule (rather than be ruled by) the higher faculties such as the intellect and a properly disposed will.

Despite this, many people today prefer the dreamy illusions that emotions can supply. Moviemakers and advertisers know this well. A good tearjerker of a movie or a powerful song can confound reason and make us sympathize with the strangest causes. At the other end of the spectrum, advertisers often use fear to incite us to buy their products: you’re not pretty enough; you don’t drive the right kind of car; your hair is too gray; your life is somehow incomplete and you’re basically pathetic. Just buy our product and you’ll rise in the ranks and not be such a loser. Never mind that most of the fears incited are themselves illusions.

But that is just the point: emotionalism uses illusion to feel better even though illusion is part of the problem that drives excessive emotionalism. The solution is always more of the same: “More illusion please; the truth is mean and it hurts.”

So what is the solution? First it is essential to say that the solution is not to conclude that the truth cannot be known and that we are all somehow lost in illusion. We are equipped to know the truth and to come to love it. And because the problem is in our will more so than in our intellect, the solution is to make the decision to renounce our sinful tendency to indulge in illusion.

How do we do this? First and foremost, we love. If we learn to love God, by extension, we will learn to love His truth. When we love God we start to love the things and people He loves. We love our neighbor, but we also come to love the truth that God has set forth. We love what He loves: the truth that He has set forth in Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Out of love, we zealously seek the truth and joyfully embrace it more and more deeply.

This makes good sense because while we can be deceived, God cannot. His revealed truth is the surest and most certain source of truth. It is not admixed with error, nor is it trendy or changing. The solution to our foggy illusions is the clear light of God’s eternal and time-tested truth. And while some of us may entertain illusion even about God’s truth we cannot stay in this illusion for very long. The Lord teaches infallibly through His revealed Word, the testimony of the saints, and the Magisterium of his Church.

We suffer from illusions, but God does not. Love Him, run to Him, and listen to Him attentively as He speaks through His Word and His Body, the Church. Only this can save us from the fog of our illusions.

N.B. Many of the thoughts in this essay come from Fr. Thomas Dubay in his work Authenticity, cited above. The best thoughts in the essay are his; the inferior ones are mine.

Here is an interesting video on visual illusions:

February 13, 2016February 13, 2016

The Gospel Train Reaches Temptation Station – Stay on Board, Children! A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

“Jesus Tempted in the Desert” by Jaci XIII is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

There’s an old gospel song tradition that speaks of the Christian life as a ride on the “Gospel train.” The Gospel train is not always an easy ride with perfect scenery, but you’ve gotta get your ticket and stay on board.

Mysteriously, the train sometimes passes through difficult terrain. But just stay on board! On his way to glory, Jesus faced trials, hatred, and even temptation (yet without sinning).

Today the Gospel train pulls into “Temptation Station” and we are asked to consider some of life’s temptations. The three temptations faced by Jesus are surely on wide display in our own times. What are these temptations and how do we resist them?

In this desert scene, the Lord Jesus faces down three fundamental areas of temptation, all of which have one thing in common: they seek to substitute a couch for the cross.

In a way, the devil has one argument: “Why the cross?” His question is a rhetorical one. He wants you to blame God for the cross, and in your anger, to reject Him as some sort of despot.

Well, pay attention, Church! The cross comes from the fact that you and I, ratifying Adam and Eve’s choice, have rejected the tree of life in favor of the tree that brought death. We, along with the devil, may wish to wince at the cross and scornfully blame God for it, but in the end the cross was our choice.

And if you think that you have never chosen the tree of death and that God is “unfair,” then prove to me that you have never sinned. Only if you can do that will I accept that you have never chosen the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil over the Tree of Life and that you deserve something better than the cross. Only then will I accept that you have never insisted on “knowing” evil as well as good.

If you can’t, then you’ve made the same self-destructive, absurd choice that the rest of us have. It is not God that is cruel but we who are wicked and are to blame for the presence of the cross. The cross comes not from God but from us. We ought to stop blaming God for evil, suffering, and the cross and look in the mirror instead. The glory of this gospel is that the Lord Jesus entered into this twisted world of our making and endured its full absurdity for our sake. If there is evil in this world it is our choice, not God’s.

Have we finished blaming God? Are we ready to focus on our own issues? If so then let’s look at some areas of temptation that the devil is able to exploit because we indulge them. Let’s also see the answer that the Lord Jesus has for these temptations. For the Lord, though tempted, never yielded.

1. Pleasures and Passions – The devil encourages Jesus to turn stones into bread. After such a long fast the thought of bread is surely a strong temptation. In effect, the devil tells Jesus to “scratch where it itches,” to indulge his desire, to give in to what his body craves.

We, too, have many desires and are told by the devil in many ways to “scratch where it itches.” Perhaps no generation before has faced such strong temptation. We live in a consumer culture that is highly skilled at eliciting and then satisfying our every desire. All day long, we are bombarded with advertisements that arouse desire and then advise us that we simply must fulfill those desires. If something is out of stock or unavailable in exactly the form we want at the instant we want it, we are indignant. Why should I have to wait? Why can’t I have it in that color? The advertiser’s basic message is that you can have it all. This is a lie, of course, but it is told so frequently that we feel entitled to just about everything.

Some of our biggest cultural problems are ones stemming from overindulgence. We are a culture that struggles with obesity, addiction, sexual misconduct, and greed. We struggle with a level of overstimulation that robs us of a reasonable attention span; boredom is a significant issue for many who are too used to the frantic pace of video games and action movies. We have done well in turning stones into bread.

Jesus rebukes the devil, saying, Man does not live on bread alone. In other words, there are things that are just more important than bread and circuses, than creature comforts and indulgence. Elsewhere Jesus says, A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Lk 12:15). I have written on this in another post: The Most Important Things in Life Aren’t Things.

2. Popularity and Power – Taking Jesus up a high mountain, the devil shows Him all the nations and people of the earth and promises them to Him if Jesus will but bow down and worship him. This is a temptation to both power and popularity; the devil promises Jesus not only sovereignty but also glory.

Because most of us are not likely to become sovereigns, and because temptation is only strong in those matters that seem remotely possible for us, I will focus instead on popularity, something we deal with regularly in this life. One of the deeper wounds in our soul is the extreme need that most of us have to be liked, to be popular, to be respected, and to fit in. We dread being laughed at, scorned, or ridiculed. We cannot stand the thought of feeling minimized in any way.

For many people the desire for popularity is so strong that they’ll do almost anything to attain it. It usually starts in youth, when peer pressure “causes” young people to do many foolish things. They may join gangs, get tattoos, pierce their bodies, and/or wear silly clothes. Many a young lady, desperate to have a boyfriend (and thus feel loved and/or impress her friends), will sleep with boys or do other inappropriate things in order to gain that “love.” As we get older, we might be tempted to bear false witness, to make “compromises” to advance our career, to lie to impress others, to spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t really need, and/or to try to impress people whom we don’t even like. Likewise, we may be tempted to be silent when we should speak out for what is right.

All of this is a way of bowing before the devil, because it says that we are willing to sin in order to fit in, to advance, or to be popular. Jesus says, You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.

The real solution to this terrible temptation of popularity is to fear the Lord. When we fear God we need fear no one else. If I can kneel before God I can stand before any man. If God is the only one we need to please, then we don’t have to run around trying to please everyone else. Here too I have written on this matter elsewhere: What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?

3. Presumption and Pride – Finally (for now) the devil encourages Jesus to test God’s love for Him by casting Himself off the highest wall of the Temple Mount. Does not Scripture say that God will rescue Him? The devil quotes Psalm 91: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone. In our time the sin of presumption is epidemic.

Many people think that they can go one behaving sinfully, recklessly, and wantonly and that they will never face punishment. “God is love!” they boldly say, “He would never send anyone to Hell or punish them!” In saying this, they reject literally thousands of verses of Scripture that say otherwise. But they have refashioned God and worship this man-made idol. “God does not care if I go to Church,” they boldly claim, “He does not care if I live with my girlfriend.” The list continues to grow.

The attitude seems to be that no matter what I do, God will save me. It is presumptuous to speak and think like this. It is true that Hell and punishment are difficult teachings to fully comprehend and to reconcile with God’s patience and mercy. Nevertheless, God teaches it and we need to stop pretending that it really isn’t for real. This is presumption.

I have written elsewhere on the topic of Hell and why it makes sense in the context of a God who loves and respects us: Hell Has to Be.

A mitigated form of presumption is procrastination, wherein we constantly put our return to the Lord out of our mind. About this tendency it is said,

There were three demons summoned by Satan as to their plan to entrap as many human beings as possible. The first demon announced that he would tell them there is no God. But Satan wasn’t too impressed. “You’ll get a few, but not many and even those atheists are mostly lying and know deep down inside that someone greater than they made them and all things.” The second demon said he would tell them there is no devil. But Satan said, “That won’t work, most of them have already met me and know my power.” Finally the third demon said, “I will not tell them there is no God or no devil, I will simply tell them there is no hurry!” And Satan smiled an ugly grin and said, “You’re the man!”

Presumption, pride, and their ugly cousin procrastination are widespread today.

Jesus rebukes the devil by quoting Deuteronomy: You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test. We ought to be very careful about presumption, for it is widespread today.

This does not mean that we have to retreat into fear and scrupulosity. God loves us and is rich in mercy. But we cannot willfully go on calling “no big deal” what God calls sin. We should be sober about sin and call on the Lord’s mercy rather than doubting that we that really need it or just presuming that God doesn’t mind.

The train is leaving the station soon. I hope that we’ve all benefited from this brief stop and have stored up provisions for the journey ahead: insight, resolve, appreciation, understanding, determination, and hope.

The journey ahead is scenic but difficult; temptations are a reality. But as the old gospel song says, “The Gospel train’s a’comin’, I hear it just at hand. I hear the car wheel rumblin’ And rollin’ thro’ the land. Get on board little children, Get on board, there’s room for many more!”

Never heard the song? Here’s a rendition of it:

February 12, 2016

A Funny but Helpful Look at Original Sin in A Doritos Commercial

People oversimplify Original Sin in various ways. Some reduce it to the mere eating of a piece of fruit rather than the act of disobedience, mistrust, and ingratitude it really was.

Others miss the subtle but important difference in the descriptions of Adam’s sin compared to Eve’s. Of Eve’s sin, Eve herself is a witness. She said, The serpent tricked me and so I ate it (Gen 3:13). But of Adam’s sin God said, Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it …’ (Gen 3:17). Eve’s sin lay in her allowing Satan to deceive her. Adam’s sin lay in his willingness to allow his wife to tempt him.

A final misconstruing of Original Sin is to label it “the Sin of Adam and Eve.” But Scripture calls it “The Sin of Adam.” For while both our first parents sinned, Original Sin comes to us from Adam who, as head of the first family and primogenitor of us all, conveyed it to us.

I have written more on these topics here:

Original Sin: More than Eating a Piece of Fruit

Why Is Original Sin Called the Sin of Adam and Not the Sin of Adam and Eve?

How is Adam’s Sin Described Differently from Eve’s?

As is typical for my Saturday blog, today’s post is a lighthearted one in which I find something of the Scriptures in a video. Now some object to my taking biblical stories (especially one as dark as the story of Original Sin) and making light of them. But my prudential judgment on such things is that they are acceptable and that sometimes we can best process sad and serious things through humor and playful reimagining.

In the video below we see a playful “what if” scenario. In effect it poses these questions: What if Adam, when presented the forbidden fruit by his wife, found it less enticing than what God offered? What if there had been something to remind him of God’s greater offer?

Of course there was something greater and it was all around him! It was called paradise. Now the writers of this commercial want us to think that if only Adam had had Doritos at hand he would clearly have preferred them to the forbidden fruit. In other words, they present their product a metaphor for paradise. Nice try, and very creative I might add! But God offers even more than Doritos.

In the end, though, the insight is important. Like Adam, we are tempted to forget the blessings of God and become mesmerized by some lesser pleasure (represented by the forbidden fruit). The key is to remember the greater gift of God and His Kingdom, not choosing anything that might interfere with that. Remember the gifts of God!

Enjoy the video and remember that far greater visions await you if you are faithful!

(And by the way, thank you, Frito-Lay, for the affirmation of human life displayed in your recent Doritos commercial (that aired during the Super Bowl)! I am not focusing on that commercial here today because many others have already commented on it quite well.)

February 11, 2016February 11, 2016

The Key to True Fasting

Required fasting is almost non-existent in the Catholic Church today. And even that required “fasting” (for those between the ages of 18 and 59) is really just eating somewhat less than normal (one regular meal and two small “snack-like” meals with no snacking between meals). Not much of a fast, really. Real fasting (going without food for the entire day) is practiced by some today as a personal discipline and it is laudable if a person is able to do so.

Yet even the mitigated fast is “hard” for many, as are most bodily disciplines in the soft Western world. We may think that we just have to get “tougher” and that by the power of our own flesh we can pull it off. I have no doubt that simple will power can get one through a fast, especially the mitigated one that is required. But even a non-believer can diet and fast. What we must seek is true fasting, spiritual fasting, which is far richer than merely forgoing food.

In the Gospel for today (Friday after Ash Wednesday), Jesus gives us an important key to true spiritual fasting:

The disciples of John [the Baptist] approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matt 9:14-15).

Notice the pattern: first comes the (wedding) feast, then the fast. What does this mean? Well, consider the wedding feasts of Jesus’ time. They often went on for several days, even a full week. During this time there was food, feasting, family, fellowship, and did I mention food? Lots of it, and wine, too! It was a time of satiation. But eventually this time of feasting ended and by then, people were filled. They’d had enough food for a while and so subsequent fasting made sense; it seemed natural. What does this teach us and why does Jesus use this image regarding fasting?

Simply put, if you want to be able to fast, spiritually and truly, you have to experience the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. In this great wedding feast—which we are to experience through prayer, scripture, and especially the Liturgy—we are to be filled with Christ. We are to encounter Him and feast abundantly on His Word and His Body and Blood, and to rejoice with Him exceedingly. When this happens we are equipped to fast authentically.

At some point the “groom is taken away” from us. That is to say, the Mass ends and we’re back to dealing with the world and its demands. Or perhaps we enter a penitential season, or we go through a difficult time during which God seems distant, or we struggle with temptation. At times like that, a fast of sorts is before us. But we are able to withstand it and are spiritually equipped to do so because we have been to the wedding feast and feasted with the Groom. Having done this, we are less enamored of the world and its charms; we are filled with Christ and simply need less of the world. This is true fasting.

But let me ask you, have you met Christ and been to the wedding feast with Him? One of the sad realities in parish life and in the Church is that many people have never really met Jesus Christ. They have heard about Him and know about Him, but they’ve never really encountered Him powerfully in prayer or the Mass. They are faithful to be sure. They are sacramentalized but not evangelized. They know about Jesus, but they don’t know Him. To them, the liturgy can be, and often is, a lifeless ritual to be endured rather than an encounter with Jesus Christ. Instead of being a wedding feast, the Mass is more like a visit to the doctor. For them, the majority of the Mass is a “waiting room” experience. Waiting, waiting, and then finally it’s up to get the medicine (Holy Communion), which is great because that means the Mass is almost over!

For many, personal prayer isn’t much better. It’s just another ritual: say some prayers and be done with it. God is really more of a stranger. Fasting is just another rule to follow, more out of obedience (to avoid punishment) than out of love, which seeks purification.

The disciples of John seem to have been of this sort. They were tough and self-disciplined; they knew how to fast! But it was a fasting of the flesh not the Spirit, and their pride seems to provide evidence of this. The only way to fast in a truly spiritual way is to have already been to the wedding feast and feasted with Jesus, the great bridegroom of the Church. Then, having been filled with every good and perfect gift, true fasting can begin.

So what is true fasting? It is fasting that no longer needs much of what the world offers because we have found a better prize: Jesus and His Kingdom. Who needs all that food, booze, power, money, baubles, bangles, and beads? In the words of an old gospel song, “I’d rather have Jesus than silver and gold. You may have all this world! Just give me Jesus!”

We can only say this, though, if we have really met the Lord and been satisfied by Him. Only then can true fasting ensue. As you may expect, meeting Jesus is more than a one-time event. It is a gradual, deepening awareness of Him and of His power in our life and in the liturgy. Make sure you don’t miss the wedding feast; it is the key to the truest fasting of all.

February 10, 2016

An Early Lenten Meditation on Spiritual Warfare

As we begin Lent, we do well to recall that we are engaged in a great and dramatic battle for our souls. The opening prayer for Ash Wednesday Mass makes use of the image of a military “campaign” and mentions weapons and battle: Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. The First Sunday of Lent lays out the tactics of the devil in terms of temptation, and relates how we must be prepared to refute and resist such things.

Every ancient prayer manual and guide to spirituality until about fifty years ago had at least one large section devoted to what was known as Pugna Spiritualis (spiritual battle or spiritual warfare). In more recent decades, many spiritual books have either downplayed or completely deleted references to spiritual battle or spiritual warfare.

Many modern approaches to faith, religion, and spirituality prefer to emphasize consoling themes rooted in self-esteem and affirmation. To be sure, the authentic faith can and does offer great consolation, but the truest and deepest consolation often comes after one has persevered along the sometimes-difficult path, along the “narrow way” of the cross. But too many today, in the name of affirmation and pseudo-self-esteem, are all too ready to excuse or even support grave moral disorders rather than fight them.

It is true that the Holy Father would have us focus on mercy this year. And so we should. But, paradoxically, mercy is a tactic of battle. Satan would “love” nothing more than for us to hold grudges and intensify our divisions through prideful resistance. He would prefer that we despair of God’s mercy or despair that it is even possible for us to live apart from sinful habits. Thus mercy is a tool of tactical genius; it breaks the cycle of negativity and sin and robs Satan of victories and of souls, snatching them back from the downward spiral of anger and despair.

Mercy does not mean saying that God doesn’t mind what you do. Rather, it means that saying that God loves you despite your sins and is extending to you a way out of the misery your sins have caused.

Grace and mercy are marvelously extended to us, but it is repentance that opens the door to these gifts. Repentance, too, is a battle tactic, because it embraces God’s daring move to break the satanic cycle of anger and despair. Repentance (metanoia) most literally means to come to a new mind, to a new way of thinking. Repentance is accepting God as our general and following His battle plans for our life. It is recognizing that sin is awful, but that grace and mercy are still extended to us and that we ought to accept and depend upon them. By unlocking grace and mercy, repentance deals serious blows to satanic plans and powers. To repent is to engage in the battle on the right side of the war.

In our times it is rare to hear spiritual realities being spoken of in warlike terms. Many prefer softer terms and images. Some are even outright offended at concepts such as spiritual warfare. Many hymnals have dropped older hymns that reference being on the battlefield for the Lord, or being soldiers in the army of the Lord.

With spiritual battle having been removed from many people’s spiritual landscape, the idea that the Lord would summon us to battle, or to ask us to choose sides, seems foreign, intolerant, and uncompassionate.

Even more dangerous, these modern conceptions not only distort Jesus, but they downplay the presence and influence of Satan. This is a very, very bad idea. Even if we cease fighting against Satan, he will never cease his sometimes very subtle attacks on us.

Jesus called consistently for prayerful, sober vigilance against the powers of evil and sin. Like it or not, we are in a battle. Either we will undertake the battle soberly and vigilantly, or we will be conquered and led off like sheep to the slaughter.

Contrary to the modern spiritual approaches, Christianity has been a militant religion since its inception. Jesus was exposed to every kind of danger from the beginning. Herod sought His life. Satan tried to tempt Him in the desert. Many enemies plotted on all sides as He worked His public ministry, misrepresenting Him, levying false charges, and conspiring to sentence Him to death (eventually succeeding, though only for a moment).

And as for Jesus, so also for His mystical Body, the Church: Saul, Saul why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4) Jesus warned that the world would hate us (Luke 21:17, John 15:20), that in this world we would have tribulation (Jn 16:33), and that we should watch and pray lest we give way to temptation (Matt 26:41). He summons us to persevere to the end if we would be saved (Mk 13:13). Jesus rather vividly described the kind of struggle with which we live when He said, From the time of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force (Matthew 11:12). Indeed, no Christian until the time that Jesus returns can consider himself dismissed from this great spiritual battle, this great drama in which we exist, this battle between good and evil.

Unpopular theme or not, we do well to remember that we are in the midst of a great cosmic and spiritual battle. And in that battle we must be willing to choose sides and fight with the Lord for the Kingdom of God. Either we will gather with Him or we will be scattered. We are to fight for our own soul and the souls of those whom we love.

In Lent we move toward the awesome battle we call the Paschal Mystery, in which Jesus will conquer Satan’s pride by humility and obedience. We are reminded once again of the great cosmic battle that the Lord waged and that is still being waged today. Though already victorious in His mystical Body the Church, the Lord in His faithful members still suffers violence, rejection, and ridicule. Lent is a time to reclaim territory from the evil one, to take back what the devil stole from us. We are to advance the glory of God’s Kingdom through the fruits of great spiritual struggle, sacrifice, prayer, fasting, preaching, and an extensive missionary campaign to which the Lord has summoned and commissioned us.

The battle is on; the struggle is engaged! To spiritual arms, one and all! Fight the good fight for the Lord.

Still not convinced that we are at war? Let the Lord pull back the veil just a bit and let you look at what’s really going on. The final words of this article will not be mine; they will be the Lord’s. Here is described the cosmic battle that is responsible for most of the suffering and confusion you experience:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus (Rev 12).

Here’s a great video reminding us that the Church is more a battleship than a cruise ship:

February 9, 2016February 10, 2016

How Real Are Your Ashes? Five Meanings of the Ashes We Receive Today

As a boy, I remember wondering why so many people liked to rush to Church to get ashes smudged on their foreheads. Frankly, I had some revulsion at the idea of having dirty ashes smeared on my forehead. I didn’t like it at all and would secretly rub them off when no one was looking. Today, though I’ll admit I still don’t like it too much, I behave myself and don’t rub them off!

I pray that this doesn’t seem impious, but I still marvel at how many people pack into Church to get ashes on their forehead. Sadder still, some who come don’t seem to want Holy Communion nearly as much. In fact, in some of the parishes where I served in the past, significant numbers walked out the door after receiving ashes and did not stay for Communion.

Of course most people who come to Mass are faithful and have their priorities straight. But it still interests me how large the numbers are for something that seems to me so unappealing and also challenging.

Indeed, the sign of ashes is quite challenging if we come to terms with what it really means. We are saying some pretty powerful stuff and making some extensive promises of a sort.

What do ashes signify? Perhaps a brief tour of Scripture is in order:

Humility – Job said, “You [Oh Lord] asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3-6).

Notice that Job does not merely repent in a general sense. Rather, having encountered God, he realizes that God is God, and that he, Jacob, is a creature, mere dust and ashes in the presence of God, who is being itself, who is all in all. Yes, Jacob is a son in the presence of a Father; he is not God’s equal that he might question God or put Him on trial.

Hence in this case the ashes represent not only repentance, but humility as well. The Church’s liturgy echoes this theme of humility in quoting Gen 3:19 “Remember, you are dust and unto dust you shall return” as the ashes are placed on the individual.

A Reminder of death and a call to wisdom – After Adam sinned, God told him, By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19).

As he imposes the ashes, the priest usually recites some form of this passage. And memorable though it is, consider an even blunter form: “You are going to die.”

This is a salient and sobering reminder that we often get worked up and anxious about passing things, while at the same time being unmindful of the certain and most important thing, for which we really must be ready. We tend to maximize the minimum and minimize the maximum. Sadly, like the man in one of the Lord’s parables, we can amass worldly things and forget the final things. To him the Lord said, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:21-22).

Thus, to consider our final end is wise; to fail to do so is foolishness defined.

Ashes are a sacramental that points to the Sacrament – The Old Testament declared, You shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin … For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there (Numbers 19:9, 17).

This text shows ashes obtained from a burned sin offering and mixed with sprinkled water as a cleansing ritual. In the Old Testament, this ritual could not actually take away sin (cf Heb 9:9-13) but it did provide for ritual purity. It also symbolized repentance and a desire to be free from sin.

In the same way, ashes on Ash Wednesday (mixed with holy water) cannot take away sin. They are a sacramental, not a sacrament.

To receive ashes on Ash Wednesday and then not go to confession some time during Lent is really to miss the point. If one really desires to repent and be clean from and free of sin, then from the sacramental of ashes one goes to the Sacrament of Confession. Otherwise the ritual of Ash Wednesday is pointless.

A sign of a true change – Scripture says, When the news [of Ninevah’s possible destruction in forty days] reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust (Jonah 3:6).

Here, too, repentance is symbolized. But the symbol alone is not enough; actual repentance is required. The king does not just “get ashes”; he issues a decree calling for fasting, prayer, and true reform: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3:7-9).

Hence another option for the priest to say as he places the ashes is, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”

It is not enough to get a sooty forehead. True repentance is called for, an actual intent to change. Otherwise the ashes are a false sign.

A summons to faith and a new mind – Jesus said, Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matt 11:21).

Jesus rebukes ancient towns for their lack of faith in what He said. It is good to recall that the Greek word translated here as “repented” is μετενόησαν (metenoesan), which more literally means “to come to a new mind or way of thinking.”

The fact is, there are many ways that we think about things that are more of the world than of God. Our ongoing challenge is to come to a new mind and to think more as God thinks. This is only possible by His grace, working through Scripture and Church teaching.

It is significant that the ashes are smeared on the forehead or sprinkled on the head. We are called to a faith that transforms our mind. We are called to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2).

Hence another option for the priest is to say, “Repent and believe the Good News” as he imposes the ashes.

So, how real are your ashes? Do you intend the things described above as you go forth? Or is it just a ritual, something to do because it’s “sorta neat”? Pray and reflect on the deeper meaning of the ashes.