Community in Mission

May 23, 2013May 29, 2015

Reflections on a Lesser-Known Saying of Jesus

There are a few lines at the end of today’s gospel that I would account as among the lesser known sayings of Jesus. They occur at the end of Mark 9:

“Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” (Mark 9:49-50)

Some argue that these were separate sayings of Jesus just stitched together here, but I think otherwise. The who logic of the saying seems cogent and unified to me.

Perhaps a few observations about salt are first in order and then a look at the fuller saying here.

1. First of all salt was valuable. Some were even paid with salt (which is where we get the word salary).
2. Salt was connected with healing and purity. Saltwater was applied to infections and wounds. It helps heal affliction of the skin. New Born babies were washed salt water, etc.
3. Salt was connected with preservation. In the years before refrigeration salt was one of the commonest ways to preserve meat and fish.
4. Salt was connected with flavor. It adds spice to life, it brings out the flavor in a food.
5. Salt was also connected with worship and covenant. Scripture says, Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings. (Lev 2:13) So, the use of salt was ordered first for the meal offerings, afterwards it was ordered for “all” offerings, including the “burnt offering:”
6. Scripture speaks elsewhere of a “Covenant of Salt.” For example, Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? (2 Chron 13:5) “The covenant of salt” refers the imperishable and irrevocable quality of the engagement made between the two parties to the covenant.
7. The use of salt to signify and ratify what was sacred was widespread in ancient culture. There is a Latin attested by Pliny the Elder and Virgil too: Nulla sacra conficiuntur sine mola salsa (Sacred things are not made without salted meal).

And all these things are caught up in Jesus’ use of salt as an image. Sadly today salt, a necessary ingredient for life, has been demonized as almost a poison. But none of this thinking was operative in ancient minds.

To apply the image of salt to the Christian life we should see that the Christian is to purify, sanctify and preserve this wounded and decaying world by being salt to it. The Christian is to bring flavor to life in a world that is so often filled with despair and meaninglessness.

And now we turn to Jesus’ words:

1. Everyone will be salted with fire – two images of salt and fire come together here, but the result is the same, purification. We have already seen how salt purifies. And fire does the same thing through the refining process. Precious metals come from the ground admixed with iron and many other metals. Subjecting them to fire purifies the gold or silver separating it from the iron and other metals.

Both salt and fire purify by burning, each in their own way. Hence the Lord marvelously brings both images together telling us that we will all be “salted with fire.”

And indeed, it must be so. We must all be purified. Scripture says of heaven, Nothing impure will ever enter it (Rev 21:27). And thus St. Paul speaks of purgatorial fire to effect what ever purification has not taken place here on earth:

If anyone builds on this foundation [of Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—yet as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor 3:15-15)

And the Book of Malachi also reminds us of our need to be purified, to be “salted with fire:”

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. (Mal 3:2-3)

Yes, we must all be salted with fire, we must be purified, both here, and if necessary (as it likely will be) in purgatory.

2. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? – In other words, we have to let the salt of God’s grace have its effects or we, who are to salt for others, become flat, tasteless and good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (cf Matt 5:13).

What does it mean that salt goes flat? We are not used to salt going flat. But salt in the ancient world was frequently less pure. It came from the sea and was admixed with other things. And, as the compound broke down the salt could go flat (tasteless) or become bitter. In this case it was useless except as pavement.

The image is a powerful portrait of a Christian who has become debased, flat. The fall is steep: from a worthy, esteemed, necessary and helpful place (like good salt) to ignoble pavement trampled unappreciated beneath the feet of people, people they should have blessed with savor and sweetness. And thus Jesus says, if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Matt 5:13)

Alas, consider the condition of this world because so many Catholics stepped back from being salt and light. Increasingly the world is therefore hell-bound and sin-soaked as never before.

And the contempt for Christians, Catholics in particular, of the world has indeed reduced us to less than pavement dust in their estimation. We can lament their lack of appreciation for our faith, but a lot of it is due to our own lack of saltiness. Salt gone flat is good for nothing, nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Right or wrong, fair or unfair, this world thinks of us as flat and bitter to the taste.

We have a lot of work to do to recapture our role of adding spice and flavor to life. The good, the true, and the beautiful must be reintegrated to the lives of Catholics who have too easily cast them aside.

Fr. Robert Barron speaks of 70s Catholicism as the era of “beige Catholicism” where all the zest, color, edginess, and zeal of the Catholic faith was painted over and Catholics sought to blend in, even disappear. Welcome to the results of “salt gone flat” Catholicism. Little by little we must recover our salt, our zest, pep and even stinging quality. Flat Catholics are good for nothing.

And if the salt will not be salt, there is no salt-substitute for it. Thus Jesus asks rhetorically: if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Again there is no substitute for Christians. If we will not be light, the world is in darkness. If we will not be salt the world will not be purified, preserved, or have anything good or tasty about it at all. The decay of Western culture happened on our watch when we collectively decided to stop being salt and light.

3. Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another. – In other words, allow the salt, allow the purification to have its effect. And only if we do this will we have peace with one another.

Our divisions and lack of peace are caused by our sins. Thus, to accept the purification of being salted with fire is our only true hope for peace. When the Lord burns away my envy, I no longer resent your gifts, I rejoice in them and come to appreciate that I need you to complete me. Thus there is peace. When the Lord burns away my jealously and greed and helps me be grateful for what I have, I no longer desire to take what is rightly yours, neither do I resent you for having it. And there is peace. When the Lord burns away my bitter memories of past hurts and gives me the grace to forgive, an enormous amount of poison goes out of my soul and I am equipped to love, be kind, generous and patient. And there is peace.

Yes, allowing ourselves to be salted with fire is a source of peace for us. And while we may resist the pain of fire and salt, just like any stinging medicine we must learn that is it good for us, painful though it is. Yes, it brings peace, it ushers in shalom.

Everyone will be (must be) salted with fire!

Here are some photos from saltier times. I do not idealize them, but there was a time when Catholics stood out and were anything but beige, a time when, as Belloc says, “In Catholic countries the sun doth shine, and there is music and good red wine. At least I have always thought it so, Benedicamus Domino.”

May 22, 2013May 29, 2015

Practical Advice File: How Wisdom Protects us from our Despoilers.

At daily Mass we are reading from the Book of Sirach, and there are several verses which bespeak blessing but also warning:

Wisdom breathes life into her children and admonishes the one who seeks her…. She puts him to the test; Fear and dread she brings upon him and tries him with her discipline until she try him by her laws and trust his soul. Then she comes back to bring him happiness and reveal her secrets to them and she will heap upon him treasures of knowledge and an understanding of justice. But if he fails her, she will abandon him and deliver him into the hands of despoilers. (Sirach 4:11, 18-19)

There is in this text great reminder and admonishment for all of us about the decisions that lay before us. Either we will heed God’s ways, and walk in the life of his holy wisdom, or our life is all too easily dissipated and despoiled. And we shall see how this is so in a moment.

But first let us consider that to embrace holy Wisdom is to see all things as pointing to, and related to God himself. It is to see created things not as gods or idols, but as things pointing to God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.

Holy wisdom counsels moderation, for the gift is only the symbol pointing to the greater reality. The gift alone cannot supply the fuller reality to which it points.

To reject this holy Wisdom leads to dissipation because it mistakes the sign for the reality and thinks that the gift is the giver. Dissipation and dissolution comes because one embarks on a foolish and futile (and very costly) attempt to make the gift satisfy, as if it were God and giver of the gift. But the gift can never supply what it is merely pointing to, namely the Giver, and the Giver is always so much greater than the gift. And only the Giver can really satisfy, not the mere gift, no matter how great the quantity we try to heap up.

Holy wisdom knows and appreciates this. And, at the end of the day Wisdom saves us a lot of money and from all sorts of dissipation. Fleshly foolishness rejects Wisdom and indulges gifts, even wildly so, well beyond what is reasonable, and this is where dissipation enters in. Let us consider some examples.

Greed – By definition, greed is the insatiable desire for more. On account of it, we are never satisfied, no matter the quantities, no matter how much we heap up, it is never enough, never. And the greedy abandon the moderation that comes with holy Wisdom, a moderation that enjoys the gifts, but look at the giver for a deeper and truer fulfillment.

Abandoning reasonable moderation and the call to be grateful for the gifts that one does have, the greedy person suffers dissipation. The desire for more becomes increasingly insatiable, they will often incur huge debts, spending increasingly, even wildly, on the things they cannot really afford and do not really even need or use. As such their wealth is dissipated the often find themselves in debt and soon enough in bankruptcy court.

This is because they have mistaken the gift for the giver, thinking that mere gifts can fill the God-sized hole in their hearts, greed takes hold of them, and makes their desire for more increasingly insatiable.

Abandoning holy wisdom, the text is fulfilled in them that says they are delivered into the hands of despoilers.

Gluttony – Food is a funny thing. We often think if we just get a good amount of food, our hunger will go away. But instead there is a strange pattern regarding food that the more we get, the more we seem to want.

After a series of large and immoderate meals, our appetite does not decrease, it increases. As one gains weight, the desire for food does not diminish, it grows. Too soon, things go off the hook, weight continues to increase and our health is dissipated. With extra weight and obesity come endless health problems: cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, asthma, and on and on.

Holy wisdom would have us enjoy the food God gives us, but to remember that it is the gift, it is not God. It is on account of gluttony that we too easily fulfill the text of St. Paul that says Their God is their belly (Phil 3:19). And losing sight of the holy wisdom, there is fulfilled in us as our health dissipates, We are delivered into the hands of despoilers.

Lust too can have a wild, “off the hook” quality. Sexuality is very great gift from God but it has his proper place in marriage and must be governed by moderation and reason. Abandoning his holy wisdom many are surely handed over to their despoilers.

On account of wild and uncontrolled lust many lives are dissipated, and destroyed. So many great tragedies come from lust despoiling the lives of vast numbers by things such as: sexually transmitted diseases, Aids, teenage pregnancy, single motherhood, abortion, absent fathers, juvenile delinquency, poverty, and ruined marriages.

Uncontrolled lust Is also powerfully evident in the great tragedy of Internet pornography addiction today. What begins as looking at reasonably normal but sinful pictures, ignites a lust that becomes increasingly dissatisfied with the merely normal and it sinks rather quickly to levels of deeper depravity and debasement. For many, as their lush grows increasingly wild, they begin to look at pictures and acts almost too awful to describe. Many married men carried off by this begin to lose interest in normal relations with their wife, who will not simply conform to or participate in their increasingly debased notions of sexual intimacy. As lust grows increasingly out-of-control some hook up with prostitutes. Others begin to visit illegal sites and eventually the FBI shows at the door. Arrest and jail are in their future. Yet even knowing these dangers and having been warned many cannot stop, so wild has their lust become.

Abandoning holy wisdom in which sex is a gift from God for the particular context of marriage, and for the particular purpose of loving procreation, lust indulged, and Wisdom, having been forsaken, many are delivered over dissipation, disease and countless other costly complications.

Other examples could be given, for example the way alcohol and drugs and other things destroy people’s lives. but allow these examples to suffice to show that these ancient biblical texts are not so abstract after all. They speak to us of a reality that is all too easily experienced if we do not hear the admonition of holy wisdom.

The gifts of God are not gods, they only point to God. God is the real point. Holy Wisdom teaches us and counsels moderation, counsels that we enjoy the gifts of God and then turn to God and gratitude with joy and satisfaction for what he is given, counsels and admonishes that we turn to God in worshipful thanks.

If we will heed this wisdom, happiness will be ours, as will joy, serenity and satisfaction. But if we reject this wisdom and insist on making the gift the god, we will be handed over to our despoilers.

May 21, 2013May 29, 2015

Distinguishing Knowledge from Wisdom and Understanding

In this post I am trying to continue our celebration of the lost “Octave” of Pentecost. Today I want to consider three gifts of the Holy Spirit.

As you may recall, there are seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude and Fear of the Lord. Most Catholics cannot define them well in any sort of articulate way. This is due to poor catechesis but also to the fact that modern English has tended to use several of these terms interchangeably, almost as synonyms, though they are distinct theologically.

There are also secular usages of these terms that have no correspondence to how we mean them theologically. To indicate intellectual understanding of something, a person in modern English may say, “I know” or they may say “I understand.” To most modern Anglophones this is a distinction without a difference. To speak of someone as being of great intelligence, a contemporary English speaker might say, “He has great understanding” or “He is a wise man” or yet again, “He is possessed of great knowledge.” Here too most would not think of these as dramatically different sentences. There are shades of meaning in calling a man wise versus smart or knowledgeable but most modern speakers are losing what those shades of difference actually are.

For all these reasons (poor catechesis, secular misuse and evolving language) Catholics have a hard time distinguishing between Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding.

Let’s try to repair some of the damage.

First, some distinctions:

We are discussing here the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. As such they are given to the baptized and strengthened in confirmed. They exist only in the Christian per se. A man may be said to be knowledgeable in the repair of a car or in the stock market, but we are not referring to the Gift of Knowledge given by the Holy Spirit in this case, only to worldly knowledge. A woman may be said to be wise in the ways of the world. But again, we are not referring to the Gift of Wisdom given by the Holy Spirit when we speak in this way. A man may be said to understand Spanish, but we are not speaking of the Gift of Understanding given by the Holy Spirit when we speak in this way. Hence, there are worldly counterparts to these words which do not conform to the theological meaning of these realities.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural and thus they transcend the ordinary powers of the soul or the human person in general. They are infused by God and no soul could ever acquire them on its own. In these senses they are different from the virtues which can be acquired naturally and can be moved or actuated by man himself. In the case of the Gifts, God is the unique mover and cause. Man is only the instrumental cause. Thus the acts which proceed from the gifts are materially human but formally divine just as the melody an artist plays on the harp is materially from the harp but formally from the musician who plays it. That the soul reacts or responds preserves freedom and merit but the soul merely seconds the divine action and can not take the initiative.
Wisdom and knowledge are distinguished according to their objects. Wisdom pertains to God and the things of God. Knowledge pertains to created things and how they relate to our final end.
Understanding too, meant here as the Gift of Understanding has a rather specific focus: It penetrates revealed truth to grasp its fullest meaning. Hence one may understand Spanish, but we are not referring to the Gift of Understanding in speaking this way. To grasp the purpose, meaning and implications of the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ would be a more proper usage of this word in terms of the Gift of Understanding.
I will also add that there is not a little controversy even among theologians and different schools of thought in Catholic tradition as to some of the specifics listed here. Some modern theologians for example do not fully concur with the Thomistic synthesis presented here and argue that certain insights are lost by a 12th Century context. All well and good, and readers are free to add what they might like, even multiply and subtract but PLEASE don’t divide. I find the Thomistic synthesis most careful and helpful, but that does not mean that other insights are of no benefit.

OK, How about some Definitions. Incidentally, these definitions are gleaned from the Summa and also substantially from Fr. Antonio Royo Marin O.P. in his Book, The Great Unknown, The Holy Ghost and His Gifts

1. The Gift of Knowledge is a supernatural habit infused by God through which the human intellect, under the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit, judges rightly concerning created things as ordained to the supernatural end.

Notice that it is a habit. That is, it does not come and go. But like all habits, it can and does grow in depth and breadth. Grace builds on nature, and as one matures and gains experience, the Gift can and does make use of these human qualities. Because the gift is supernatural it is not a matter of human or philosophical knowledge deduced by natural reason. In other words you can’t simply go to school to get this gift. However, it is not unrelated to human development which school can provide. But this is not its origin. There are plenty of learned and humanly smart people who do not manifest the Gift of Knowledge. This can be due to a lack of faith or to resistance caused by weak faith and sin.

By the Gift of Knowledge the human intellect apprehends and judges created things by a certain divine instinct. The individual does not proceed by laborious reasoning but judges rightly concerning all created things by a kind of superior gift that gives an intuitive impulse. I have underlined “created things” because this essentially distinguishes knowledge from wisdom (which pertains to Divine, rather than created things).

Notice that the Gift is especially oriented to created things insofar as they pertain to our ultimate end. Now created things tend either toward our supernatural end or away from it, and the Gift of Knowledge helps us to judge rightly in this respect.

Looked at another way, the Gift of Knowledge helps us to apply the teachings of our faith to the living of daily life, the proper usage of material creation, knowing the proper utility and value of things as well as their dangers and misuses. By it we are able to determine well what conforms to faith and what does not. We are able to make use of creation in a proper way with necessary detachment and proper appreciation for what is truly good.

2. The Gift of Wisdom is a supernatural habit, inseparable from charity, by which we judge rightly concerning God and divine things under the special instinct of the Holy Spirit who makes us taste these things by a certain intuition and sympathy. In other words The truths of God begin to resonate with us and we begin to instinctively love what God loves, will what God wills. What he is and wills makes great sense to us. His teachings clarify and make sense.

We see things increasingly from God’s point of view through this supernatural gift. The thinking of the world increasingly seems as folly and appreciation of God’s Wisdom magnifies. More and more thorough this gift the human person desires to be in union only with God and His ways. By this gift the world is defeated and its folly clearly perceived.

Our love of neighbor is also perfected by it since the Gift of Wisdom helps us to see and thus love others more and more as God sees and loves them.

Since this is a gift, it cannot be learned or acquired. But, as with the Gift of Knowledge, one’s study of Scripture and Tradition can help dispose one for the growth of the Gift which can and does make use of what is humanly supplied. Grace builds on nature and perfects it.

3. The Gift of Understanding is a supernatural habit, infused by God with sanctifying Grace, by which the human intellect, under the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit, is made apt for a penetrating intuition of revealed truths, and even of natural truths so far as they are related to the supernatural end. It enables the believer to penetrate into the depths of revealed truth and deduce later by discursive thinking the conclusions implicit conclusions contained in these truths.

It discloses the hidden meaning of Sacred Scripture. It reveals to us the spiritual realities that are under sensible realities and so that the smallest religious ceremonies carry tremendous significance.

It makes us see causes through their effects simply and intuitively. This gives a profound appreciation for God’s providence.

This song says, “Take My Life and Let it Be Consecrated Lord to Thee.” It goes on to consecrate the whole person to Christ, including the intellect and will. As such it is an invitation for the Seven Gifts to come fully alive.

May 20, 2013May 29, 2015

A Brief Consideration of the Sequence Hymn of Pentecost: Veni Sancte Spiritus

There are several Feasts of the Church wherein a “sequence” hymn may be sung. The sequence hymn is sung Just before the the Alleluia (Gospel acclamation). The feasts with sequence hymns are these:

Easter – Victimae Paschali Laudes (To the Paschal Victim give praise)
Pentecost – Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come Holy Spirit)
Corpus Christi – Lauda Sion (Praise O Sion)
Our Lady of Sorrows – Stabat Mater (Stood the Mother sad and weeping)
All Souls – Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)

Too many parishes simply omit the sequence hymn. But, for my money, they ought to be sung. Especially the ones that occur on Sunday. (I’ll admit that the Lauda Sion is rather long).

Most Sequence Hymns were written in the Middle ages and were sung just before the Gospel as the clergy processed to the place of Gospel. Sometimes, in larger churches, the Gospel was chanted midway down the nave so it could be heard, and these hymns, for special feasts helped fill the time of that procession. Many prominent feasts of the Church began to have these hymns composed in the period of the 11th- 13th Centuries.

However, after the Council of Trent, in the Missal of Pius V (published 1570), the number of sequences was reduced to four: Victimae paschali laudes sung at Easter, Veni Sancte Spiritus for Pentecost, Lauda Sion Salvatorem sung at Corpus Christi, and the Dies Irae for All Souls and in Masses for the Dead. In the 1700s Stabat Mater for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows was added to this list. Later in the early 70s the Dies Irae was removed from the Requiem Mass of the revised Roman Missal and restored in the Liturgy of the Hours as an Advent hymn, which it originally was. It can still be sung on the Feast of All Souls. And thus we have the list we see above.

Since Pentecost has just passed we ought to sample the sequence hymn for Pentecost: Veni Sancte Spiritus.

The Hymn was likely written by Pope Innocent III (1161-1216). Written in Trachaic dimeter (catalectic), it is widely regard as one of the masterpieces of sacred Latin poetry. It was obviously written by one who had experienced many sorrows but also consolations in those sorrows. The rhyme in this hymn is quite rich and complex. Lines 1 & 2 always rhyme and the third line of every verse ends in “ium”

The sung version of this hymn is gorgeous and soaring. It starts subtly and then builds through the center with soaring notes. It sets us down gently at the end.

Here is the Latin text and a translation of my own, (fairly literal).

VENI, Sancte Spiritus, et emitte caelitus lucis tuae radium.	COME, Holy Spirit, send forth from heaven the rays of thy light
Veni, pater pauperum, veni, dator munerum veni, lumen cordium.	Come, Father of the poor; Come, giver of gifts, Come, light of [our] hearts.
Consolator optime, dulcis hospes animae, dulce refrigerium.	Oh best Comforter, Sweet guest of the soul, Sweet refreshment.
In labore requies, in aestu temperies in fletu solatium.	In Labor rest in the heat, moderation; in tears, solace.
O lux beatissima, reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium.	O most blessed Light fill the inmost heart of thy faithful.
Sine tuo numine, nihil est in homine, nihil est innoxium.	Without your spirit, nothing is in man, nothing that is harmless
Lava quod est sordidum, riga quod est aridum, sana quod est saucium.	Wash that which is sordid water that which is dry, heal that which is wounded.
Flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium.	Make flexible that which is rigid, warm that which is cold, rule that which is deviant.
Da tuis fidelibus, in te confidentibus, sacrum septenarium.	Give to thy faithful, who trust in thee the sevenfold gifts.
Da virtutis meritum, da salutis exitum, da perenne gaudium, Amen, Alleluia.	Grant to us the merit of virtue, Grant salvation at our going forth, Grant eternal joy. Amen. Alleluia.

Here is the traditional Gregorian Chant of this sequence. Enjoy this little masterpiece:

And here is a rather nice modern version of the same text:

Veni Sancte Spiritus
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May 19, 2013May 29, 2015

Five Images of the Holy Spirit From Scripture

It is one of the quirks of the post-conciliar liturgy, that the Octave of Pentecost was dropped. Generally the post-concilar age has tried to emphasize the Gifts and works of the Holy Spirit. But, paradoxically the octave of Pentecost was dropped. The feast, which ranks right up there with Easter, (which has an octave), and the nativity, (which has an octave). But strangely, the octave of Pentecost fell away. And thus, suddenly, on the Monday after Pentecost we are back to ordinary time and green vestments.

Priests however, have options, and I intend to exercise them, celebrating votive masses of the Holy Spirit for every day possible from now until next Monday.

On the blog this week I hope to reflect a bit on the Holy Spirit and His role in quickening the Church and empowering her from mission, the mission to make disciples from all the nations.

In this post I want to consider some of the biblical images for the Holy Spirit, and in so doing, strive to learn more about what God the Holy Spirit does for us. As metaphors, these descriptions do not simply reduce the Holy Spirit to fire, or water, or tongues, but rather, that the Holy Spirit is like unto these things, but also greater than them.

With that in mind, let us consider certain biblical images of the Holy Spirit.

Wind – Scripture says, When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:1)

Note that the text speaks of the Spirit as being like a mighty rushing wind, but does not say He is a mighty rushing wind. For indeed, the Holy Spirit cannot be reduced to mere physical things, even if He is like unto them.

Yet, this text brings us to the very root meaning of the word “Spirit.” For “spirit” refers to “breath,” and we have this preserved in our word “respiration,” which means breathing. So, the Spirit of God is the breath of God, the Ruah Adonai (the Spirit, the breath of God).

Genesis 1:2 tells of this saying the Spirit (ruah) of God was moving over the face of the waters.
And Genesis 2:7 speaks even more remarkably of something God did only for man, not the animals: then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen 2:7).

So the very Spirit of God was breathed into Adam! But, as we know, Adam lost this gift and died spiritually when he sinned. And thus we lost the Spirit of God and died spiritually. St. Paul says plainly, that we were dead in our sins (cf Col 2:13).

And yet in the text from Acts is described a kind of amazing and wonderful resuscitation of the human person as these first Christians (120 in all) experience the rushing wind of God’s Spirit breathing spiritual life back into them. God does a kind of resuscitation and brings humanity, dead in sin, back to life! The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us once again as in a temple (cf 1 Cor 3:16).

And thus this image of the rushing wind, is an image that reminds us that the Holy Spirit brings us back to life and sustains us. If Christmas is the feast of God with us, and Good Friday is the Feast of God for us, then Pentecost is the Feast of God in us. The Holy Spirit, like a rushing wind, breathes life back into us.

Fire – Scripture says And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

The Bible often speaks of God as fire, or in fiery terms:

Moses saw God as a burning bush. God led the people out of Egypt through the desert as a pillar of fire. Moses went up on to a fiery Mt. Sinai where God was.
Psalm 97 says, The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lighten the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. (Ps 97:1-6).
Scriptures call God a Holy fire, a consuming fire (cf Heb 12:29) and a refining fire (cf Is. 48:10; Jer 9:7; Zec 13:9; & Mal 3:3).

And so it is that our God, who is a Holy Fire, comes to dwell in us through his Holy Spirit. And as a Holy Fire, He refines us by burning away our sins and purifying us. As Job once said, But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

Fire changes everything it encounters. Nothing goes away from fire unchanged. Either is it consumed, converted or purified, warmed or mollified or steeled. But nothing goes way from fire unchanged.

And thus God the Holy Spirit, like a Holy Fire, is within, changing and transforming us. Burning away sin, refining us, enlightening us, stirring the flame of God’s love and bringing us up to the temperature of God’s glory. He is kindling a fire that gives light and warmth in our darkest and coldest moments. Little by little we become a burning furnace of God’s love and we give warmth to others around us.

And, as fire, He is also preparing us for judgement, for if God is a Holy Fire, then who may endure the day of his coming or of our going to Him? What can endure the presence of Fire Himself? Only that which is already fire. Thus we must be set afire by God’s love.

So, in the coming of the Holy Spirit God sets us on fire to make us a kind of fire. In so doing, he purifies and prepares us to meet him one, He who is a Holy Fire.

Tongues – the Fire is described as tongues. And thus we learn that one of the chief fruits of Spirit is to help us witness to others. What is a witness? A witness is one who speaks of what they have seen, heard, and experienced.

Of this need to witness the Lord said,

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8).
Again he Jesus says, You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:48-49).
And yet again the Lord said, When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning (John 15:26-27)

Thus the spirit comes as tongues to strengthen us for mission, for witness. And oh how this witness is needed today. Evil has triumphed since the good have remained silent. Pulpits and parents have been silent! The tongues of fire remind us that God wants fiery and bold saints who are courageous witnesses in a doubting, deceitful, and scoffing world.

Many martyrs have died courageously and too many of fear that some one might merely raise an eyebrow at us. Pray for the courage of tongues, the courage to speak.

Water – Jesus often used water as an image of the Spirit. for example:

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39)

And in John’s gospel the giving over of the Holy Spirit is described powerfully even at the moment of crucifixion:

Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. (John 19: 30-35).

And thus, in this flow, of water comes forth the Spirit in a kind of Johannine Pentecost. It is a classic Johannine play on words that he says Jesus “gave over his Spirit” a phrase which can mean “he died” or that he gave us of his Holy Spirit. Mel Gibson dramatically portrays this giving over of the Spirit in the video below.

The Fathers of the Church also see water as an apt image for the Spirit.

St Irenaeus says, Like dry flour, which cannot become one lump of dough, one loaf of bread, without moisture, we who are many could not become one in Christ Jesus without the water that comes down from heaven. And like parched ground, which yields no harvest unless it receives moisture, we who were once like a waterless tree could never have lived and borne fruit without this abundant rainfall from above. Through the baptism that liberates us from change and decay we have become one in body; through the Spirit we have become one in soul….the devil had been cast down like lightning. If we are not to be scorched and made unfruitful, we need the dew of God. (Against the Heresies Lib. 3, 17. 1-3: SC 34, 302-306)
St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, But why did Christ call the grace of the Spirit water? Because all things are dependent on water; plants and animals have their origin in water. Water comes down from heaven as rain, and although it is always the same in itself, it produces many different effects, one in the palm tree, another in the vine, and so on throughout the whole of creation. It does not come down, now as one thing, now as another, but while remaining essentially the same, it adapts itself to the needs of every creature that receives it. In the same way the Holy Spirit, whose nature is always the same, simple and indivisible, apportions grace to each man as he wills. Like a dry tree which puts forth shoots when watered, the soul bears the fruit of holiness when repentance has made it worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit never changes, the effects of this action, by the will of God and in the name of Christ, are both many and marvelous. The Spirit makes one man a teacher of divine truth, inspires another to prophesy, gives another the power of casting out devils, enables another to interpret holy Scripture. The Spirit strengthens one man’s self-control, shows another how to help the poor, teaches another to fast and lead a life of asceticism, makes another oblivious to the needs of the body, trains another for martyrdom. His action is different in different people, but the Spirit himself is always the same. In each person, Scripture says, the Spirit reveals his presence in a particular way for the common good. (Cat. 16, De Spiritu Sancto 1, 11-12.16: PG 33, 931-935. 939-942)

And thus, here is another fundamental image of the Holy Spirit. For all things are dependent on water to both sustain their existence and also to activate and empower their gifts. I cannot speak more profoundly than these two saints and fathers. So I shall let their words suffice.

Dove – We know that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a Dove. Scripture says,

and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22)

Again note the use of metaphor and analogy here. The Holy Spirit is not a bird or a body or any sort. Rather he is seen in bodily form, like a dove.The Holy Spirit is God, is the Third person of the Holy Trinity.

But in saying He is like a dove, we are reminded of the Story of Noah:

After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. (Genesis 8:6-11)

And thus the dove announced to Noah that the bitterness and death that overwhelming sin had brought was now at an end. The dove brought Noah a sign of peace and that the promise of God to cleanse the world was now fulfilled. Now Noah, having passed through the flood in the safety of God’s ark may walk in newness of life.

And so too for us. In the Holy Spirit is peace, is shalom. The long reign of sin is ended and grace is now available to us. And we too, having passed through the waters of baptism may walk in newness of life. The Holy Spirit descends on us like a dove, bringing peace, promise and every good grace.

And thus we have these five images to ponder the Holy Spirit’s work in us. Surely there are other images and ways of describing His work but these speak powerfully to us for now. Please add your own reflections.

Here is the Johannine “Pentecost” wherein the Lord gives over his spirit in both senses of the phrase. (Note the effects on the solider especially). Just as from Adam’s wounded side came forth his bride, so now from Christ’s wounded side, comes forth his Bride, the Church. Here is the fulfillment of John 7 quoted above.

May 18, 2013May 29, 2015

I have Come to Cast a Fire on the Earth – A Meditation on the Feast of Pentecost

What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost. A feast like this challenges us, because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus had said to Apostles, and still says to us: I have come to cast a fire on the earth! (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, about a transformative, refining, and purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in this world.

The Readings today speak to us of the Holy Spirit in three ways: The Portraits of the Spirit, the Proclamation of the Spirit and the Propagation by the Spirit. Let’s look at all three.

I. The Portraits of the Spirit – The Reading today speaks of the Holy Spirit using two images: rushing wind, and tongues of fire. These two images recall Psalm 50 which says, Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest. (Psalm 50:3).

Rushing Wind – Notice how the text from Acts opens: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.

This text brings us to the very root meaning of the word “Spirit.” For “spirit” refers to “breath,” and we have this preserved in our word “respiration,” which means breathing. So, the Spirit of God is the breath of God, the Ruah Adonai (the Spirit, the breath of God).

Genesis 1:2 speaks of this saying the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And Genesis 2:7 speaks even more remarkably of something God did only for man, not the animals: then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen 2:7).

So the very Spirit of God was breathed into Adam! But, as we know, Adam lost this gift and died spiritually when he sinned.

Thus we see in this passage from Acts an amazing and wonderful resuscitation of the human person as these first Christians (120 in all) experience the rushing wind of God’s Spirit breathing spiritual life back into them. God does C.P.R. and brings humanity, dead in sin, back to life! The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us once again as in a temple (cf 1 Cor 3:16). It has been said that Christmas is the feast of God with us, Good Friday is the Feast of God for us, but Pentecost is the Feast of God in us.

Tongues of Fire – The text from Acts says, Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.

The Bible often speaks of God as fire, or in fiery terms. Moses saw God as a burning bush. God led the people out of Egypt through the desert as a pillar of fire. Moses went up on to a fiery Mt. Sinai where God was. Psalm 97 says, The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lighten the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. (Ps 97:1-6). Scriptures call God a Holy fire, a consuming fire (cf Heb 12:29) and a refining fire (cf Is. 48:10; Jer 9:7; Zec 13:9; & Mal 3:3).

And so it is that our God, who is a Holy Fire, comes to dwell in us through his Holy Spirit. And as a Holy Fire, He refines us by burning away our sins and purifying us. As Job once said, But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

And he is also preparing us for judgement, for if God is a Holy Fire, then who may endure the day of his coming or of our going to Him? What can endure the presence of Fire Himself? Only that which is already fire. Thus we must be set afire by God’s love.

So, in the coming of the Holy Spirit God sets us on fire to make us a kind of fire. In so doing, he purifies and prepares us to meet him one, He who is a Holy Fire.

II. The Proclamation of the Spirit. – You will notice that the Spirit Came on them like “tongues” of Fire. And the reference to tongues is no mere accident. For notice how the Holy Spirit moves them to speak, and ultimately to witness. The text says: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

So behold how the Holy Spirit moves them to proclaim, not just in the safety of the upper room, but also in holy boldness before the crowds who have gathered.

Notice the transformation! Moments ago these were frightened men who gathered only behind locked doors, in secrecy. They were huddled together in fear. But now they go forth to the crowds and boldly proclaim Christ. They have gone from fear to faith, from cowardice to courage, from terror to testimony!

And how about us? Too many Christians are silent, dominated by fear. Perhaps they fear being called names, or not being popular. Perhaps they are anxious about being laughed at, or resisted, or of being asked questions they don’t feel capable of answering. Some Christians are able to gather in the “upper room” of the parish and be active, even be leaders. But once outside the “upper room” they slip into undercover mode. They become secret agent Christians.

Well, the Holy Spirit wants to change that, and to the degree that we have really met Jesus Christ and experienced his Holy Spirit we are less “able” to keep silent. An old Gospel song says, I thought I wasn’t gonna testify, but I couldn’t keep it to myself, what the Lord has done for me. The Holy Spirit, if authentically received, wants to give us zeal and joy, and burn away our fear, so that testifying and witnessing are natural to us.

Note also how the Spirit “translates” for the apostles, for the crowd before them spoke different languages, but all heard Peter and the others in their own language. The Spirit therefore assists not only us, but also those who hear us. My testimony is not dependent only on my eloquence, but also on the grace of the Holy Spirit who casts out deafness and opens hearts. Every Christian should remember this. Some of our most doubtful encounters with others can still bear great fruit on account of the work of the Holy Spirit who “translates” for us and overcomes many obstacles that we might think insurmountable.

III. The Propagation by the Spirit – In the great commission the Lord said, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matt 28:19ff). He also said, as we have noted, I have come to cast a fire on the earth and How I wish the blaze were already ignited (Luke 12:49).

But how is the Lord going to do this?

Perhaps a picture will help. My parish church is dedicated to the Holy Spirit under the title: Holy Comforter. Above the high altar is the Latin inscription: Spiritus Domini, replevit orbem terrarum (The Spirit of the Lord, filled the orb of the earth). (See photo, above right, of our high altar).

And yet, we may wonder how He will do this.

But the walls of my parish Church answer the question. The clerestory walls are painted Spanish Red, and upon this great canvas are also painted the lives of 20 saints, surrounding us like a great cloud of witnesses (cf Heb 12:1). (See also, video below). And over the head of every saint is a tongue of fire.

THIS is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the earth. It is not “magic fairy dust,” it is in the fiery transformation of every Christian, going forth into the world to bring light and warmth to a dark and cold world. THIS is how the Lord casts fire on earth, THIS is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the orb of the earth: in the lives of saints, and, if you are prepared to accept it, in YOU.

In the end, the Great Commission (Matt 28) is “standing order No. 1.” No matter what else, we are supposed to do this. Parishes do not deserve to exist if they do not do this. We as individual Christians are a disgrace, and not worthy of the name, if we fail to win souls for Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Lord is going to fill the orb of the earth, but only through us. The spread of the Gospel has been placed in your hands (scary isn’t it?).

In the Past two years, my own parish, after a year of training, stepped out into our neighborhood, and went door to door and into the local park. And we announced Jesus Christ, and invited people to discover him in our parish, and in the sacraments. And we were in the local park and the market last week doing sidewalk evangelization.

Before we count even a single convert, this is already success because we are obeying Jesus Christ who said, simply, “Go!” “Go make disciples.” And, truth be told, we ARE seeing an increase in my parish. Our Sunday attendance has grown from about 450 to 520, a 15% increase. We are growing, and our attendance, while average for a downtown city parish, is going in the right direction. God never fails. God is faithful.

Spread the news: it works if you work it, so work it because God is worth it. Go make disciples. Ignore what the pollsters tell you about a declining Church and let the Lord cast a fire on the earth through you! Fires have way of spreading! Why not start one today? The Spirit of God will not disappoint.

I know this, my parish has a future because we are obeying Jesus Christ, we are making disciples. How about you and yours? If parishes do not obey, they do not deserve to exist and can expect to close one day, no matter how big they are today. I, in my short 50 years on this planet, have seen it: parishes once big, booming, and, (frankly), arrogant, are now declining and some are near closure. It happens to the best, if they do not evangelize, if they do not accomplish “Job 1.” The Lord wants to light a fire. Why not become totally fire? Let the Spirit propagate the Church through you (I am not talking about the person next to you, I am talking to you).

Happy feast of Pentecost. But don’t forget that the basic image is very challenging, for it means getting out of the “upper room,” opening the doors, and proclaiming Christ to the world. Let the Holy Spirit light a fire in you, and then, you can’t help but spread light and heat to a cold and dark world.

Let the evangelization of the whole world begin with you.

This video features details from the clerestory (upper window level) of my parish of Holy Comforter here in DC. Notice the tongue of fire above each saint. The paintings show how the Spirit of the Lord fills the orb of the earth, (see photo above), through the lives of the lives of the saints (this means you). It is not magic, it is grace, working in your life, through your gifts, and your relationships, that the Lord will reach each soul. The cloud of witnesses on the walls of my Church say simply, You are the way he will fill the earth and set it on fire. Let the blaze be ignited in you!

The song says: We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, looking on, encouraging us to do the will of the Lord. Let us stand worthy, and be faithful to God’s call….We must not grow weary…!

Here is another video I put together which has scenes from the Pentecost event and is set to Palestrina’s Dum Complerentur. I like this musical version since it is sung in dance time. The Latin text to the motet is below the video along with its English Translation.

Dum complerentur dies Pentecostes,
erant omnes pariter dicentes, alleluia,
et subito factus est sonus de coelo, alleluia,
tamquam spiritus vehementis,
et replevit totam domum, alleluia.
–
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place, saying: alleluia.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, alleluia,
as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting, alleluia.

May 17, 2013May 29, 2015

Power Gone Wrong – As seen in a Superhero Cartoon Clip

We tend to demonize the word “power” in our culture. But of itself, power is simply the capacity to act, a kind of energy to accomplish what must be done. Power in this sense can lead to magnificent and creative solutions to difficulties, wonderful breakthroughs and great progress.

God gives us all a certain degree of power to act. We have capacities, abilities, talents and charisms. And these powers, these capacities interact with our will and freedom. It is here that power can bring about great good or go terribly wrong.

Power gone wrong leads us to dominate and impose our self on others in a self-serving way. And power used in this way can lead to unimaginable human suffering and misery and the wars, conflicts, genocides, killing fields and high death tolls of the last century show. As many as 100 million people were put to death in that bloody century in the name of many secular ideologies, of ushering in secular “utopias” and the quest for raw and dominating power.

In the video below we see power gone wrong. A man comes to apply for the job of “superhero” and he is put through certain tests to discern if he has the temperament to handle power for good.

The first few tests seem to go well. But suddenly his use of power goes to his head and he gratuitously kills someone he is supposed to protect. Things go off the rails quickly and the result is utter destruction.

How did this happen? As already stated his power has gone to his head. He has forgotten that he has power for others, not for himself.

It frequently happens in history that those who stage revolutions for the “good of the people” or to end injustice, rise to power and then usher in their own reign of terror. Secular utopian notions of the last Century and their leaders while claiming to be “for the people” often created worse oppression and dictatorships than they claimed to replace. Iron curtains fell and a loss of freedom ensued, as killing on a mass scale was ushered in all “for the sake of the people.” Hitler killed millions, as did Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and others.

There is a subtlety to the video as to how the power goes to his head. For on the face of it his turn to darkness is quite sudden. But I would suggest it is not and that we could see it coming.

How? In the fact that our “hero” uses deadly violence to solve every problem presented in his test sequence. It is not enough for him to rescue the victim, he must destroy the threat. Finally a threat sees his prepared response and back down. He has won without destroying. But by now he has a lust to kill. He must get the kill! But the kill has evaded him by retreat. Thus he turns his lust for power, his lust for the kill on the one he is supposed to protect. From there it is all downhill. No one will limit his power, tell him what to do or keep his blood lust in check. Power has corrupted him. He is addicted to it and must use it.

Here is power gone wrong in miniature, in a cartoon that well illustrates the dark side of power. Power is not wrong, but power can go wrong when it interacts with our sinful nature and its use is no longer measured, or its object is no longer helping others but merely serving the self.

May 16, 2013May 29, 2015

What is the Christian Understanding of Freedom and how is it different from the World’s fake freedom?

One of the terribly destructive philosophies is a false notion of freedom. The sinful world, going all the way back to Satan’s deceit in the garden, thinks of freedom as being able to do whatever I please. In effect those who hold this, flaunt their false notion of freedom saying in effect, “I will do what I want to do, and I will decide if it is right or wrong. No one will tell me what to do.” It is freedom in the abstract, freedom for its own sake, rather than for the sake of being able to do what is right.

That this notion of freedom is false is evident from its fruits. For although many, in modern times, claim to march under the banner of freedom from being told what to do, it becomes clear that many of them end up it a terrible state of increasing slavery and bondage.

For this era when a false notion of freedom is exulted is also an era of increasing addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex, and a general lack of self control. And with greed and materialism, whatever we have is never enough. There is thus a bondage to things, a kind of incapacity to live without endless numbers of things and creature comforts. Therefore we also see increasing bondage to credit, both personally and nationally. We simply “cannot” stop our runaway spending. There is also an increasing lack of ability to make and keep commitments and many feel “compelled” to divorce, leave the priesthood and religious life.

None of this shouts the freedom that so many boast of. Rather there is evident, bondage, inability, compulsion, addiction, and an out of control quality to modern life.

You will thus know by its fruits that false freedom is not true freedom. It masquerades in the “sheep’s” clothing of liberty, but underneath it is the ravenous wolf of bondage. Many cry “Liberty!” when they really mean “libertine” and “licentious.” They are headed straight for bondage. St. Augustine said,

For of a perverse will, was a lust made; and a lust served, became custom; and custom not resisted, became necessity. (Confessions 8.5)

The Catechism also says,

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).

And thus we arrive at the definition of true freedom which is “the capacity to obey God.”

And what are the fruits of true freedom? An increasing liberation from the power of sin, the increasing capacity to do what is right and just by the power of God. True freedom brings greater self control, the ability to moderate one’s desires and have them submitted to right reason. True freedom brings serenity, for one’s life is in greater balance and harmony.

By true freedom, the innumerable sorrows of false freedom listed above are largely avoided and one’s life is simpler, more focused, and one enjoys the results of a disciplined and reasonable life. Sorrows and suffering are not eliminated but are diminished for many of their sources in excess, addiction and compulsion are removed. True freedom ushers in, by God’s power, the life that Jesus Christ died and rose to give us.

So what do you want, the fake freedom of the world, or the glorious freedom of the children of God? (Rom 8:21)