Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

From WCU: Gospel For Today

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (C)

Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.
Acts 13:14

Many of you know I am on the road this weekend.  While I like certain things about travelling - seeing new places, eating different foods, meeting new people - there are also aspects of travelling I don't like.  I suppose I am a homebody at heart; I like my own space where I can be comfortable, I like my routine.  Most of all I like being around my loved ones.  

So when I travel I like to take a bit of home with me.  Many people do.  I know some who always travel with their own pillow because they can just never get comfortable on hotel pillows.  We take our magazines or books to read.  We take along our own music; and of course our laptops and tablets so we can stay connected on email, Facebook, etc.  

Then there are those things we simply cannot be without.  We take care to pack a toothbrush, whatever vitamins or medications we take each day, shampoo and soap, etc.  We would never dream of being on the road without these things because we know that travelling is no excuse not to take care of ourselves.  We may be taking a vacation from our jobs or from school, but we cannot take a vacation from our health and hygiene.  So when we travel, we plan ahead to make sure we have everything we need for the journey.

This applies to our spiritual health, as well.  You don't stop saying your daily prayers simply because you are away from home.  And of course the highest form of prayer that we do as Catholics is the Mass.  When we attend Mass we do not simply pray alone but we join in the whole Church as she prays to God as a united people.  We offer God the most perfect offering of His Son in the Eucharist.  And we do this not only with those fellow Christians sitting in the pews around us, but the those worshiping at every Mass around the globe, past, present and future.

Our participation in Mass is so important that the Church places us under a serious obligation to attend on Sundays, the Lord's Day.  How serious is the obligation?  It is not absolute - legitimate reasons for missing Mass include illness, taking care of someone who is ill, and travelling.  

Travelling?  Yes, only under certain conditions.  If you are travelling in an area where it is physically impossible for you to make your way to a Catholic Mass on Sunday, then your obligation is lifted.  But simply being away from home is not itself an excuse.  There is no "vacation" from being part of the Body of Christ.

I stumbled upon an article on this subject recently from Michelle Arnold.  She is a staff apologist for Catholic Answers in San Diego, CA.  She often deals with variations of this question: "Is it a sin to miss Mass if I am on a cruise?  If I am camping?  If I am on vacation, etc?"  

In the article she relates two different questions she received on the same day.

The first question came in from a young woman who lived in a sparsely Catholic area in Europe. She wanted to attend Mass on an upcoming holy day of obligation, but her only option to get there was to buy a train ticket she could ill afford. She wasn't asking if she could skip Mass; she was asking how to get to Mass when she was facing a real choice between train fare and food.
The second question was from a gentleman who was spending a weekend in my hometown of San Diego, California. He and his wife had family here, so they made regular visits and thus knew the city well. But this time the schedule was crammed. Between a baseball game, golf, and dinner with the in-laws, he just couldn't seem to find a good time to go to Mass. He skipped, and his question was whether or not his obligation to visit family had been sufficient cause to miss Mass.
Juxtaposing these two questions was like switching on a light. It is the difference between the desire to go to Mass while impeded from doing so and the choice to give more weight to lesser obligations than is given to the Mass. The first inquirer really wanted to go to Mass but was facing significant hurdles in getting there; the second inquirer seemed willing to go to Mass if doing so didn't interfere with more desirable activities.
She writes that the bottom line is this:  it is not that hard for most people to get to Mass most of the time.  I agree with her.  The key is to make Mass - and by extension your worship of God - a priority when you schedule your travel itinerary.  Don't make it an afterthought that you try to squeeze in around everything else you'd like to do.  

Today's Gospel reading speaks of Christ as a shepherd.  Those of you who know me and my recent foray into sheep breeding (two lambs born in our flock thus far!) may have been expecting me to wax elegant about shepherding and sheep this week.  I admit, it was tempting.  I will say this, though.  Sheep never take a vacation from being sheep.  They always need a shepherd, especially when they are in an unfamiliar pasture.

I may be a shepherd myself at home with my wee flock; but whether I am home or on the road I am always one of His sheep.  And this Sunday morning I'll be right there with the other sheep, listening to His voice.  I may be in different pews, surrounded by strange faces, but that's still my flock.  It's where I belong.

Jesus said:
"My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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From WCU: Gospel For Today

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (C)

Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast."  

What an ordinary thing to say.  But it is reported in today's gospel reading from John that Jesus did just that.  Of course this was no ordinary breakfast encounter.  This was an encounter with the Risen Lord.  The apostles had seen their Lord, teacher, master and friend die on the cross, and then seen him again appearing in their midst, with those comforting words, "Peace be with you."  

I'm sure they were still not sure what to make of it all.  And so they went back to fishing.  They went back to business as usual.  They carried on.  And when Jesus appeared to them again, they didn't even recognize him.  "The disciples did not realize it was Jesus" speaking to them as they fished, according to the gospel account.  And when they did realize who it was (because John pointed it out to them), the first thing the Risen Lord said to them was, "Come, eat breakfast."  

Sometimes we forget just how ordinary Jesus was.  He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, that is true.  He is eternally begotten of the Father, the Divine Logos, the Word made flesh -- but he was made flesh.  He was fully human, as well as being fully divine.  He was like us in all things but sin.  And that means that while he walked on earth with us, he got hungry.  And he ate breakfast.  And he no doubt combed his hair, and sweat when he worked hard, and needed to clip his toenails once in a while and did hundreds of other little ordinary things that you and I do each day.

We forget how like us Jesus is.  And like us, he knows betrayal.  Jesus knows what it feels like to be abandoned by his friends, to be disappointed by the ones you love most, and to feel let down.  After all, he was betrayed by one of his twelve hand picked followers, the ones closest to him.  He couldn't count on them to stay awake and pray with him on the hardest night of his life.  He watched them all abandon him -- even deny that they knew him -- at his darkest hour.  The suffering Christ endured on the cross for us was notonly a physical suffering.  Christ had a broken heart.  

That means he knows what your broken heart feels like.  He knows the pain of being abandoned by friends, betrayed by loved ones, and let down by those you count on.  These are, sadly, rather ordinary experiences of human life.  And Jesus went through them.  And that's pretty extraordinary.

Even more extraordinary is Jesus' example of forgiveness.  "Do you love me?" he asks Peter three times -- once for each time Peter denied him.  "Do you love me?"  "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you," Peter replies.  He is forgiven.  Healing has been found.  And Jesus takes this sinner, this man who publicly denied him, and makes him chief shepherd of his flock.  

This is the example Jesus leaves us.  "Forgive us our trespasses," he teaches us to pray, "but only as we forgive those who trespass against us."  He wants us to be a forgiving people.  If you have trouble forgiving someone who wronged you, ask Jesus for help.  Ask for his mercy to flow through you and make up for what you are lacking.  This does not mean being weak or letting people walk all over you.  It means being merciful.  It means not carrying hatred or bitterness in your heart.  It means being extraordinary.

.    

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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From WCU: Gospel For Today

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY)

Today's first reading is from The Acts of the Apostles.  This is a unique book in the New Testament.  It is not a gospel account of the life of Jesus.  It is not a letter written to a church or an individual.  It is a history, written by Luke, of the earliest days of the Church.  This is the beginning of our story, the story of the Catholic Church.  Reading the book of Acts shows us two things: we see the continuity of the early Church and today's Church, in the apostolic mission, the ordaining of bishops, priests and deacons, the celebration of the breaking of the bread (the Eucharist), baptisms, and even a Church Council; it also shows us the continuity between that early Church and Jesus Christ.

In the reading today from Acts 5:12-17 we hear of gathering crowds.  People are bringing their sick and lame out into the streets, hoping that they might be healed if only they might be touched by the shadow of....  not Jesus.  Peter.  

It reads like a scene from one of the gospels, where the crowds are pressing in on Jesus in expectation of a healing miracle.  But this time it is not the Christ, but the one whom He left in His stead, the one to whom He gave the keys to His Kingdom; Simon the fisherman, now called Peter.  He is the chief shepherd of the flock of Christ.  And it is not because of anything special about Peter that the crowds come to him.  It is because the graces of Christ flow through him.  

So, you see, they still come for Jesus.  They are not called "believers of Peter," but "believers of the Lord."

They come to Peter because as one of the Apostles he has the authority of Jesus Christ.  It is the same authority that Christ possessed of the Father; the authority that allowed Christ to heal, that allowed Him to forgive sins, that allowed Him to teach as He did.  That authority has been handed on to the Apostles.

In today's gospel reading from John we read of Christ appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection.  "Peace be with you," He says.  "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then He does a magnificent thing.  Our Lord breathes on them.  We must remember that the root word of "spirit" means "breath" (as in "aspirate").  Jesus breathes on them and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

God alone has the authority to forgive sins, for when we sin, it is God whom we offend.  Jesus possessed this authority from the Father.  And now Jesus passes it on to men.  

The Apostles are still with us today.  Not the same men, in the flesh, as we read of in Acts.  But their successors are with us.  Just as Jesus sacramentally passed His divine authority to the original Apostles, so they passed that authority on to others, and they to others, down the line of Apostolic Succession to the present day bishops in our Church (and the priests and deacons ordained to aid them in their ministry).

Just as it was in the earliest days of the Church, Jesus Christ is still alive and still ministering to us through His chosen men.  Our faith should be as strong as those who came to Peter and the others for healing and reconciliation.  St. Thomas in today's Gospel refused to believe in the Resurrection until he could touch the wounds of the Risen Lord.  Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."  

That is you and me.  We have not seen the Risen Lord.  But we have seen those who carry out His ministry, with His divine authority, still today.  Hold fast to the bishops.  Hold fast to the Catholic Church.  As St. Ignatius of Antioch (a disciple of St. John, ordained bishop by St. Peter) wrote in the year 110, "Wheresoever the bishop appears, there let the people be; just as wherever Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."

---
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
Today is also Divine Mercy Sunday.  Jesus said in a vision to St. Faustina that whoever would not enter in through the door of His Mercy must pass through the door of His Judgment.  To accept Christ's mercy means three things:
1. You must ask for it.
2. You must yourself be merciful to others (allowing Christ's mercy to flow through you).
3. You must trust in Jesus.

If you are unfamiliar with the devotion to Divine Mercy, take a few minutes today to familiarize yourself with it. Here is one helpful link:

St. Mary's will have a Divine Mercy Holy Hour at the parish today at 3:00pm.  And this evening at 7:00 at our student center, in place of our usual rosary before Mass, we will be praying the Divine Mercy chaplet.  (If you are unfamiliar with this prayer, come anyway, we will have guides).  

This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it!  
God bless!
Matt

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Gospel For Today

EASTER SUNDAY

He is risen! Alleluia!  Allow me to wish you a Blessed Easter by taking you back to Holy Thursday.  I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament immediately after the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper; the Sacrament had been removed from the sanctuary and taken to an altar of repose.  Like many churches, our place of repose was decorated with flowers and Easter lilies, making it a reflection of the Garden of Gethsemane, where our Lord spent his final hours before his Passion.

I was reflecting on this, putting myself there in the scene, waiting in the garden, keeping watch with Jesus.  As I meditated on this, a thought entered my mind:  He is there now.  

This was not merely a reenactment of an event which happened long ago.  Christ was there, is there, now, waiting in the garden to be arrested.  When he says, "Stay here and keep watch with me" (Mt 26:38), he is speaking to you and me.  

How can I say Christ is still there at Gethsemane?  Isn't he in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father?  Yes, of course he is.  And that is precisely why he is still in the garden; why he is still suffering on the cross; and why he is even now risen from the tomb.  Christ lives and reigns from eternity.  And eternity gives one a very unique perspective.

Most of us have a very wrong view of what eternity is.  We tend to think of it is just a really, really, really incredibly long time that stretches forever before us without end.  When we think of eternity that way, and imagine heaven as us sitting and adoring God in awe and wonder for endless centuries, we cannot be blamed for thinking, "how boring."  No wonder we don't try very hard to get there.

But eternity is not "a really long time."  Eternity is completely outside of time.  From the perspective of eternity, all time is the present.  We cannot fully understand what that will be like from within time, but it means that there is no past and there is no future.  All time - every moment - is eternally now.

So from his perspective in eternity, Jesus is waiting right now in the garden for the soldiers to arrest him.  He is hanging right now on the cross, bruised and bleeding, struggling to draw one final breath.  He is emerging from the tomb, risen and glorified, the conqueror of death.  He is living through it all, right now, for you and for me.

Today is Easter Sunday.  It is the day in the liturgical year when the Church celebrates in a special way the Resurrection of our Lord.  But in truth, we celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday, just as every Friday is a day of penance in honor of our Lord's death. Every Mass is a memorial of his Passion.  We do not simply remember it as something that happened once long ago.  We believe that the celebration of the Mass truly makes present Christ's sacrifice for us, so that we may participate in it (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1362-1372).   This is only possible because God allows His Church to sacramentally "tap into" eternity.

As I thought of Jesus, from his perspective in eternity, perpetually living through the events we recollect during Holy Week, it occurred to me that this will one day be our perspective as well.  The human soul is immortal.  We will live forever.  That is not in doubt.  The question is what kind of life will it be?  

Every moment of Christ's life is eternally present to Him.  We only know the highlights.  His Incarnation; his being born of the Virgin.  His preaching in the temple.  Turning wine into water at the wedding in Cana.  Restoring sight to the man born blind.  Raising Lazarus from the dead.  The Last Supper.  His trial before Pilate.  His death on a cross.  His rising from the dead.  His ascension into heaven.  Jesus walked with us for thirty-three years.  How many hidden moments were there that we will never know of?  Each of these moments is eternally present to him.  For Jesus, each of these moments was a moment infused with grace.  He never wasted a single breath.

Can you say the same?  I certainly can't.  I have no shortage of wasted moments, missed opportunities, and times in my life that were certainly less than grace-full.  I am reminded of a lyric from Jack Johnson; "If I had a minute for every hour that I wasted, I'd be rich in time."  

In eternity, every moment of your life will be forever present to you.  You can go back and relive them all.  Whether this is a good or bad thing depends entirely on how you lived your life, the choices you have made.  So consider that as we celebrate Easter today.  Jesus Christ is risen TODAY.  This is the day - TODAY - that the Lord has made.  Live it, and every day, the way you want to live forever.

God bless, and Happy Easter!

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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From WCU: Gospel For Today

PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Today is Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday.  These two names reflect two very different aspects of today's liturgy, which is unique in that two different gospel readings are proclaimed.  In churches all over the world today people will gather outside the parish doors, or in the fellowship hall, parking lot, or otherwise out of the church proper to begin the liturgical celebration in joy and triumph.  We will read from Luke 19:28-40, of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on an ass.  As he rides along people spread their cloaks out on the road for him, and "the whole multitude of his disciples" praises God with joy and sings, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord."  

After the gospel reading we are given blessed palms and asked to lend our voices to the praising crowd, as we sing, "Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!"

Inside the church, though, is another matter.  Turn a page or two in Luke's gospel.  Now we hear of the Last Supper, Jesus's arrest and trial, his passion and his death.  We participate in the gospel reading this morning, reading aloud the words belonging to the gathered crowd.  With the crowd, we shout, "Crucify him!  Crucify him!"  Our voices are the ones that choose Barabbas over Jesus.  Our voices, that moments ago sang his praises, now condemn him.

Isn't this exactly like the human heart?  Aren't we all too often like Peter, swearing that we would never deny our Lord, but then before the cock crows find we have done it not once, but multiple times?  

Why does the Church ask us today to be the voices that call for Christ's death?  I know some people who literally break down into tears as they shout those words at Mass; it breaks their heart.  We do this because we are the ones who crucified Christ.  We are the ones who are responsible for his suffering and his death -- you and me, and every other person who has ever sinned, which is to say everyone.  We need to be reminded of this not simply so we can express gratitude (though we should), but so that we can feel true sorrow for our part in Christ's passion.  It should break your heart.  It should hurt.  

But Jesus doesn't just suffer because of us; he suffers for us.  Christ is not only crucified for us; he asks us to join him on the cross.  "If you would be my disciples, you must take up your cross and follow me."  Being a Christian means you must suffer on the cross as well.  Jesus did not come to end all suffering; he came to transform suffering into a means of salvation. The way this is achieved is to join our suffering to his.

When we are baptized, we are sacramentally joined to Christ's death and resurrection.  From that moment on, each occasion of suffering in our life can draw us closer in communion with our Lord's passion.  This all sounds rather grim, I know.  But the Passion is not the end of the story.  Palm Sunday is followed by Easter.  When we join our suffering to the Lord's, we join with the one who conquered death.  The more we die with Christ, the more we will rise with him.  This is the great joy of the cross.

Hanging from the cross, beaten and bruised, thirsty, humiliated, and in excruciating pain, our Lord uses one of his last breaths to exclaim, "My God, my god, why have you abandoned me?"  Did Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, really feel abandoned by God?  No.  Our Lord was quoting from Psalm 22, which we hear at today's Mass.  The psalm is prophetic.  Composed by divine inspiration hundreds of years before the Crucifixion, the psalmist speaks of being mocked, having his hands and feet pierced, surrounded by evil doers, and having lots cast for his garments -- all things that describe the suffering of the Christ.  But then the psalmist proclaims, "But you, O Lord, be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me.  I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you..."

Jesus was never and could never be separated from God.  And God is never far from those who suffer with His Son.  The closer you come to the cross, the closer you draw to God.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel, and the Suffering Servant.  

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Gospel For Today

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT (C)

"I am..." For us, this is an incomplete statement.  We can finish the thought in so many different ways.  I am a campus minister.  I am a husband.  I am a father.  I am a brother, a son, a friend, etc.  These statements all tell you something about myself; my occupation, my vocation, my relationships.  All of these things make up part of who I am, but none of them are the totality of who or what I am.

I could be very specific and give you my name.  "I am Matthew."  This tells you who, but not what, I am.  I could be very general and say, "I am a human being."  This tells you what I am in the most basic terms.  The statement "I am" can be read as "I exist as..."  Other aspects of my existence may change over time -- my relationships may change, I can change occupations, or even change my name if I were so inclined.  But I cannot change the fact that I am a human being.  That is the nature of my existence.

A human being is one who has his "being" -- that is to say, his existence -- as a human.  We are speaking of human nature, that thing which all humans, young and old, short and tall, black or white, male or female, possess in common which makes them distinct from orangutans and elephants and porcupines.  To speak of a thing's nature is to speak of the type of existence it has.  When you read the word "tree" you have an image in your mind of what a tree is, even though I have not written of any specific tree.  We know that there are all manner of trees -- junipers, oaks, ash, beech, maple, willows, etc -- but we also know that all of these things have something in common, their "treeness," that makes them different from bushes and vines.  

So it is with we human beings.  We all share our type of existence in common.  And it is this common human nature that makes up the backbone of our moral law.  Catholic moral tradition is rooted firmly in the natural law, which takes as its basis our human nature.  Put simply, when we act in accordance with our nature, we are doing moral good.  When we act against our nature, we do harm to our human dignity, and do a moral evil.  So this idea of "nature" or "essence" is very important to our lives even though natural law is not taught much in schools anymore, outside of a few philosophy courses.  

All this is very interesting, you may be thinking, but what does it have to do with today's scripture readings?  As I said to begin with, when we begin a statement, "I am," there are many different ways we can finish it, the most fundamental of which is to tell our nature, or what we exist as.  "I am a human person."  

So how does God complete that statement?  What is God's nature?

In today's first reading from Exodus Moses has an amazing encounter with the Living God in a burning bush.  God speaks to Moses directly.  He tells him, "I am the God of your fathers," and says He has heard the cry of the people of Israel in Egypt and He will rescue them from their slavery.  Moses asks a very simple, but important question.  "If I go to the people of Israel and tell them 'the God of your fathers' sent me, and they ask me your name, what should I tell them?"  In other words, who are you?

God's answer is short and profound.  "This is what you should tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you."  God gives His name as, "I am who am."  In Hebrew (which has no vowels), this is the tetragrammaton YHWH, the holy name of God which devout Jews dare not pronounce and even to this day cannot be spoken within Catholic liturgies.  

For us, as I said, "I am" is an incomplete statement.  We must qualify our existence by saying what we exist as.  "I am Matthew," or "I am a husband," or "I am a human being."  For God, "I am" is a complete statement.  God does not "exist as" anything.  He exists, period.  "I am who am."  He is existence.  By revealing His name to us in this way, God is giving us a very intimate glimpse into His being.  We learn something about God's unique nature.  The divine nature is existence itself.  To be God is to be existence.

What does this tell us about God?  If we look around us in this created world, everything we see has two things in common.  1) It exists, and 2) it does not have to exist.  All that we can observe, including you and I, has a dependent existence.  We could just as easily not have existed and the cosmos would get along just fine.  In fact, there need not be any cosmos at all when it comes down to it.  We have a borrowed existence, and so the question arises, borrowed from where?  Or from whom?  

But since God's very nature is existence, He cannot not exist.  His is the only existence that is not dependent upon something else.  Therefore he must be eternal, never having a beginning and never having an end.  Everything that exists does so only because it shares in God's existence, in His being.  In this way we each have a share in the Divine Life.  And we continue in our existence only because we are sustained by God's love.  A great theologian once said that if God every stopped loving you, for one brief moment, you would vanish out of being.  

In a few weeks time we will hear in the scriptures of the arrest of Jesus, of His trial and subsequent crucifixion on Good Friday.  He will be accused of blasphemy.  How did He blaspheme?  It is because He made such statements as "I AM the bread of life," and "I AM the way, the truth and the life."  He said, "I tell you, before Abraham was, I AM."  

By making such statements, Jesus was identifying Himself, for those who had ears to hear, with the eternal God who is existence itself.  Christ is YHWH.  He is the Great I AM.  He is life.  And either he is wrong and guilty of blaspheming.  Or He is right...  and if He is right...  well, then that changes things.

Understanding this is why the Apostles could meet their deaths with joy in their hearts, for love of Christ.  It is why countless disciples and converts risked their own lives to live for Him.  Christ is the One who spoke to Moses in the burning bush, who gave spark to all Creation, entered into Creation itself to redeem it.  Realizing this means a paradigm shift.  It means making fundamental changes in your life.  It means repentance and conversion in the light of His love.  It means nothing can ever be the same.

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

From WCU: Gospel For Today

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (C)

Today's gospel reading from Luke relates Christ's temptation in the wilderness.  It's a familiar story to Christians.  Jesus enters the desert to fast for forty days, and while there Satan tempts him.  He encourages Christ (who is fasting) to turn a stone into bread.  Jesus rebukes him, saying, "Man does not live by bread alone."  Satan then offers to make all the kingdoms of the world Christ's if he will give him worship, and Jesus again refuses, because he will only give worship to God.  Lastly Satan tells Christ that if he really is the Son of God he should leap off the highest parapet of the temple and let God's angels protect him.  Christ refuses and says we should not tempt God.

As I said, it is a familiar account to most Christians, and a perfect reflection to begin our Lenten journey of forty days of fasting.  Jesus was able to resist the temptations offered him by the devil because he placed his faith and trust in God first.  We can, like Christ, do the same when faced with our own temptations.

But there is a sentence in this gospel passage that especially strikes me.  I don't want it to go by without notice.  It says, simply, "He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry."  

The story of Jesus' forty days in the desert has two components.  One is that he was able to resist all the temptations Satan had to offer, from a single loaf of bread, to all the kingdoms of the world.  The other is that he was able to deny himself a basic good -- food.  His denial of Satan is the fruit of a disciplined will and trust in God.  His denial of his own hunger is the spiritual exercise that strengthens that will in the first place.

Let us not lose sight of this in our own Lenten observance.  Every year around the beginning of this season I hear people encouraging others to take a different approach to what they give up for Lent.  These well meaning folks say instead of giving up chocolate, or coffee, we should try giving up gossip, or anger, or jealousy, or lust, or selfishness.  These things, they say, would make a true and pleasing sacrifice to the Lord.  That is what the Lord truly wants of us, for us to become better, more holy people after his own heart.

And to a certain extent I agree.  We should give up gossip and jealousy and selfishness and those things, to the extent that we struggle with them.  We should give them up, however, because they are sinful.  Giving up sinful things is something a Christian should strive to do all year round.  Lent is a season of repentance and penance, yes.  And if the graces of this season encourage you to let go of some of these sinful inclinations then that is a wonderful thing.  But that's not quite the point of the Lenten fast.

Why did Jesus give up food for forty days?  Is food sinful?  Is it bad to eat?  No, quite the contrary.  Food is necessary for life.  It is a good.  That's why the abuse of food (gluttony) is a sin.  And that's why giving it up can be a worthy sacrifice.  After all, in order to be a true sacrifice, the thing we sacrifice must be good.  Think of the ancient Israelites making animal sacrifices to God. It was an unblemished lamb that was offered, not the runt of the litter, not the lame and the sick lambs.  They offered their best as a sacrifice.

Likewise, when a priest makes his vow of celibacy it is not because marriage is bad.  On the contrary, it is only because marriage is such a great good that freely giving it up can be such a noble sacrifice on the part of the priest.  

My wife and I, before Lent, were having a dinner table conversation with our children about what they were each going to try to give up this year.  My wife reminded them, "It should be something that you will be happy to have back again at Easter."  That's a good way of thinking about it.  For it to be a true sacrifice for us, it ought to be something good we will miss. It should be a little hard for us to let it go.  What we do when we make this kind of Lenten fast is to both offer something good to the Lord, and also discipline our own will.  If we can tell ourselves "no" in small matters, then we will be able more easily to tell Satan "no" when he tempts us in greater things.

If you have decided to give up something sinful during Lent, I am not saying don't bother!  That's a worthy goal and I encourage you in it.  Seek out the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) and pray for God's assistance in conquering that sin.  But I also encourage you to think of something good that you can also offer to God this year.  By denying yourself a good thing, you will strengthen your spirit and build the discipline necessary to continue resisting the temptation to sin long after Lent is over.

God bless!
Matt

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Gospel For Today

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (C)

Anyone who has ever been to a Catholic wedding will recognize today's second reading, from 1 Corinthians.  It is full of some of the most quotable lines of St. Paul's writings. 

"If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal."

"If I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

"Love is patient, love is kind... It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

"So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

If you'll forgive the pun, what St. Paul does here is get to the heart of the matter.  Our best actions, our most eloquent words, our noblest deeds, our strongest faith -- all of these things can be spoiled by a lack of love.  If I had to summarize in one sentence what God wants from us, I would have to say, "He wants our hearts."  He wants us to love.

This helps to explain what Christ meant when He said He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Mat 5:17).  Think about these things.  The Commandments say to not commit adultery.  But Jesus says, "everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mat 5:28).  Likewise the Commandments say not to kill.  But Jesus tells us to not even to be angry with our brothers (Mat 5:22).

The Commandments say "Thou shalt have no gods before me."  But Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind..." (Lk 10:27).

You see how Jesus' teachings do not contradict or do away with the Commandments, but rather get to the heart of their meaning.  Christ goes on to say in the same passage from Luke that you should "love your neighbor as yourself."  It follows if you love your neighbor, you will not desire to lie to him, steal from him, kill him, seduce his wife, or covet his possessions, etc.  Just as if you love God with all your heart, you will not take His name in vain, disobey His commands, or worship false gods (by treating other things as if they are more important than God is).

This is why St. Augustine could summarize the whole of the moral law in one sentence.  "Love God; then do as you will."  He did not mean this in a modern day, relativist sense.  Some mistakenly interpret Augustine today to mean we have permission to do whatever we wish, so long as we love God.  This is not true.  There are some things which we may never do because they are contrary to our nature, contrary to the way God made us.  We call these mortal sins.  They are beneath our dignity and actually cause us spiritual damage when we do them; things such as murder, adultery, fornication, blasphemy, dishonesty, theft, and the like (things which violate the Ten Commandments).  What St. Augustine means is that if we truly love God, we will have no desire to do these things.  In fact, the thought of them abhors us.  So if you truly have love of God in your heart, you are free to do what you will, because you will only desire to do what is pleasing to God.

So how do we increase our love for God and neighbor?  We decide to love.  Today.  

Think about this: Jesus commands us to love.  This means that love is an action, an act of the will, something we can make up our minds to do.  It is more than just a human emotion.  If love were simply an emotion, Jesus could not have commanded it of us.  You cannot command someone to feel an emotion.  Telling someone who is sad to "feel happy," is ineffectual.  If we could choose to feel happy, no one would ever feel sorrow!   You cannot choose to feel frightened, or joyous, or frustrated.  These are things that happen to you, not things you can choose.

But love is different.  You can choose to love.  God would never command us to do something impossible.  Love is an act of the will.  And it is like anything else we do -- it is a skill we can practice and improve over time.  When one first begins to love it can be shaky, haphazard, and require great effort.  But over time, with practice, it can become effortless and graceful.  The great practitioners of love do so with marvelous achievement!  (Think of the saints as our "Lovers Hall of Fame").

One final -- and essential -- fact about love.  God is love (1 Jn 4:8).  This is the crux of St. Paul's teaching.  We can perform mighty deeds and achieve all that is great in the eyes of man.  But if we do it all without love, we do it without God.

God bless!
Matt

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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From WCU: Gospel For Today

THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (C)



In today's first reading from Nehemiah  Ezra reads the Law of God to the people of Israel.  We are told that "he read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law."

What struck me as I read this passage was the reaction of the people upon hearing God's word proclaimed by Ezra.  "Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD, their faces to the ground."

As I read of their reaction, I could not help but contrast it in my mind to the response that millions of Catholic faithful will give upon hearing the word of God proclaimed to them at Mass today; that is, a half-mumbled and rather apathetic sounding, "Thanks be to God." Ho-hum.

We are taught that the Scriptures are the word of God, divinely inspired by our Almighty Creator for our instruction and sanctification.  A gift from the Maker of the Universe.  Do we realize how precious this gift is?  Or have we allowed it to become pedestrian and uninteresting to us?  Do we take it for granted?  Is there truly any gratitude, wonder and awe in our "Thanks be to God?"  

I confess, I don't hear it at Mass from those around me in the pews.  And I often don't feel it myself.  We need to be better.

Those who heard Ezra proclaim the law to them fell to their faces, all because their God had spoken to them through this holy writ.  We have that same gift with us today; but we have so much more.  Today's Gospel makes that clear.  Jesus stands before the synagogue and reads from the prophet Isaiah.  "Today," he tells the assembly, "this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."  Jesus is the Word of God.  He is the perfect Image of the Father.  God was no longer communicating with His people simply by inspiring prophets and scribes; He took on flesh and blood to come among them and speak with them directly.

If hearing God's law proclaimed is reason to fall prostrate, what do you do when you encounter that God face to face?

I was told a story once by a priest that has stuck with me for years.  He was talking with a Muslim student at a school this priest was assigned to as chaplain.  The priest was talking about the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  The young Muslim man listened and then waved him off, saying, "That is what you teach, but you don't really believe that."

The priest was taken aback, and asked the young man how he could make such a statement.  The answer was simple.  "You claim that the bread and wine become the body and blood of your God.  But I see you all at Mass go up to receive Communion.  You shuffle forward like you are waiting in line at the bus station.  If I truly believed that was God on the altar, I would not be able to get up off my knees."

The priest was humbled.  We should be, too.  The young man has a point.

Am I saying we need to all fall prostrate on the church floor when we hear the Scriptures read at Mass?  No, that is not what the Church asks us to do.  But we ought to ask ourselves honestly if our attitude, our posture, our expressions truly reflect what we believe in our minds and hearts.  Wen we say, "Thanks be to God," when we hear the Word proclaimed, are we truly thankful?  Is their gratitude in our hearts and in our voices at the gift of God's word in the scriptures?  

When we kneel down before the Blessed Sacrament, are we kneeling in homage to our very God, to whom we give worship?  Or are we kneeling because.... well, that's what you do at this point in the Mass?  

When the priest asks us to lift our hearts to the Lord, and we respond, "It is right and just," are we just saying the words, or do we take that opportunity to actually raise our hearts to God?  

When we say "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy," are we just repeating what the priest or the cantor says, or are we asking our Savior to have mercy on our souls?

My point is only this.  Let our words and our actions mean something.  When we participate at Mass, let us truly participate in our prayers, our words, our postures.  We are given an amazing and earth-shattering opportunity to come into the very presence of the One who made us and give Him worship.  Even more amazingly, He offers to us forgiveness and healing, should we ask it.  And even more amazingly, scandalously so, He offers to us Himself, to be taken and consumed into our very bodies so that He may live in us, and we in Him.

That Muslim student had a point.  How can we get up off our knees?  I don't know who he was or where he is.  But I like to think he's a Catholic now.  We could use more people like him in the Body of Christ.

God bless!
Matt

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Gospel For Today

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Here's a quick question...  why do we get baptized?  According to our Catholic faith, as taught in the Catechism, our baptism confers the forgiveness of sins (original sin, and actual sin).  It also causes us to be reborn in the Holy Spirit, united with Christ and His Church as children of God.

So here's the follow up question prompted by today's feast.  Why was Christ baptized?  Believing what we do about the effects of baptism, Jesus would not need the graces offered by God through the baptismal waters.  He was without sin; and he already was perfectly united with God as His only begotten Son.  So why was Jesus baptized?

In praying the Morning Office today, I found answers to that question in the intercessory prayers, which I would like to share with you this morning.

Christ, you made your light shine on us by revealing yourself; grant us the spirit of humble service to all people.

Christ's baptism is a revelation, a manifestation of his divinity.  In today's Gospel reading, John the Baptist said, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming.  I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  Elsewhere John also said of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."  Through his baptism, Jesus was revealing himself as the one of whom John spoke.  This manifestation is linked to the feast of Epiphany, which we celebrated last week, when Christ was manifested as king of all nations by the visitation of the magi from the east.

Christ, you humbled yourself and received baptism from your servant to show us the way of humility; grant us the spirit of humble service to our fellow man.

Christ was baptized for our benefit, not for his own.  It was an act of humility for him, just as his incarnation, being born of human flesh, was an act of humility.  Jesus allowing John to baptize him is similar to when Our Lord washed the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper.  He is showing us that a true leader is one who serves other.  One cannot be holy without being humble.

Christ, through your baptism you cleansed us of every blemish and made us children of your Father; bestow your spirit of adoption on all who seek you.

Christ was already without sin.  Christ was already the begotten Son of the Father.  Through his baptism, he has made this sacrament the vehicle by which we become the Father's adopted children and are cleansed from the dirt and grime of sin upon our souls, so that we may be more like him.

Christ, through baptism you have consecrated creation and opened the door of repentance to all who prepare for baptism; make us servants of your Gospel in the world.

In a manner of speaking, when John poured the waters of baptism upon the head of Jesus Christ, it was not Christ who was baptized by the water, but the other way around.  The waters of the world were baptized by Christ.  God blesses his creation and transforms it in to a vehicle of his grace and mercy.  Those of us who repent and come to the waters of baptism drink from the fountain of grace that erupts from Jesus Christ.

Christ, through your baptism you revealed to us the Holy Trinity when the Father called you his beloved Son and the Holy Spirit came down upon you; renew the spirit of adoption among the royal priesthood of the baptized.

Again, Christ's baptism is a manifestation; not only of Jesus's divinity, but of the Blessed Trinity itself.  In this scene in the gospel today we have all three actors, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit on the stage.  The Trinity was not a concept known to the Jesus; it is a facet of God's inner life that is revealed to us only through Jesus Christ.  At his baptism, we receive a glimpse of the Holy Trinity, an intimate look at God never before revealed to us.  

And so let us celebrate this last feast of the Christmas season, this feast wherein all the waters of the world are made holy, the doors of forgiveness thrown open to all who repent, and God the Trinity is made manifest to us.  

Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son.  Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling.
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

For more information on the Baptism of the Lord, click the link below:
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2013-01-13

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Gospel For Today

SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.  Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you...

That is taken from today's first reading (Is 60:1-6), and aptly sums up the significance of today's feast.  They all gather and come to you...

Christmas is a time of great joy, for it marks the arrival in human history of the Messiah, the great savior that the Jewish people had been waiting for.  Not all of the people of Israel would recognize him, but some few would.  Those who understood the meaning of the scriptures, chiefly Isaiah (which is why we read so much from Isaiah around this time of year).  God had been preparing his Chosen People to receive His Son for generations, through prophets and angels.

But we should not limit ourselves to looking upon Christ as the Jewish savior.  Seeing him as the Messiah only of a certain ethnic tribe, not all of whom even recognized him when he came, makes Jesus seem rather provincial.  For that is not the whole story.  Christ came to the Jews, as foretold, but he did not come only for the Jews.  There were others in the world who were looking for the arrival of a great king.

...behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

This is from today's Gospel reading (Mt 2:1-12).  The magi were a priestly caste from Persia.  You can see in their name the root for our word "magician," but these were not men who pulled rabbits out of hats at children's birthday parties.  What they did do was to watch the stars for signs of importance.  And around the time of Christ's birth, they saw something of great importance; something that astounded them enough that they traveled a great distance from their homes to come to a small, backwater Roman province and pay homage to a humble child born to a carpenter and his young wife, in place of no political or military significance.  

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.

The magi were great sages and religious leaders among their people.  They did not receive prophecy from God, or a message from an angel.  There is no evidence to suggest they knew anything of the Jewish scriptures.  But they sought knowledge and truth; which is the same as seeking God.  They looked to the heavens for signs, the stars and planets, as best they knew them.  They looked to nature itself, made by the hand of God.

What did they see in the sky?  There is a wonderful DVD called The Star of Bethlehem which I encourage you to watch if you can.  It details in astronomical terms just what was going in in the sky over that part of the world in the time leading up to Christ's birth.  The motions of the stars and the physical forces which govern them all were set in place at the very moment of creation.  From the beginning of time God ordained the day of the arrival of His Son on earth, and decreed that the stars themselves would proclaim his arrival.

The magi, gentiles not counted among the Chosen People, saw these signs.  They recognized something special about this king being born.  He was King of the Jews, but more than that.  He was their king, as well.  His kingdom would have no boundaries, and his reign would have no end.

Epiphany means "manifestation."  It is in this visit by the magi, paying homage to the Christ child, that the universality of his lordship is first manifested to us.  As St. Paul proclaims in today's second reading (Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6), "the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus..."

It doesn't matter if you are Jewish or a Gentile.  It doesn't matter if you are black or white, European or Asian, or any other ethnic group.  If you are an Anglo-Saxon, Jesus is your Lord.  If you are German, Jesus is your Lord.  If you are Cherokee, Jesus is your Lord.  African-American?  Jesus is your Lord.  Chinese?  Jesus is your Lord?  Polynesian, Aborigine, Inuit, Egyptian...  Jesus is your Lord.  Even if you are a white-bread American teenager from a middle class suburban family, you have a king, Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ.

There is nowhere and no one that Christ's reign does not encompass.  His reign extends across the globe and into the heavens.  He is your king, too.  Come, let us adore him.

--

Have a blessed Epiphany!  For more information on this celebration, including some traditional Epiphany activities and blessings, check out this link on CatholicCulture.org.


--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Gospel For Today

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH
click here for readings

This is a season of feasts and celebrations!  Beginning this past Tuesday, on Dec. 25, we entered the season of Christmas with the great Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.  The Christmas season traditionally runs to Epiphany (January 6 - hence the "Twelve Days of Christmas"), but the Church has in more modern times extended the celebration of Christmas to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January 13).  So don't be too quick to take down your holiday decorations!

The eight days which consist of Christmas Day and the week following are considered the Octave of Christmas, which is celebrated as one great continuous feast day in the liturgical year.  Within the Octave of Christmas we have many individual observances, which I think are telling.

Starting Dec. 25 we celebrate the birth of our Savior, the entrance of God the Creator into human history; not arriving on a chariot with a great army to be seated on a golden throne, but born as a helpless, dependent baby into a human family with a mother and a father. a manger filled with straw, where animals slept.  The world was made new and things would never be the same.

Immediately following this joyful celebration, we have on Dec. 26 the Feast of St. Stephen.  Stephen was the very first Christian martyr, the first person to die for his faith in Christ.  You can read about him in Acts chapter 7.  As he was being stoned to death, his final words were to ask God to forgive those who were killing him.  Some people may not feel that celebrating the death of the first Christian martyr fits the "tone" of the Christmas season.  It's supposed to be a time of joy and peace, right?

But I believe it is a perfect fit for this season.  Stephen's martyrdom tells us exactly what is demanded of us who rejoice at the Lord's birth in Bethlehem.  Now that the Christ has arrived in this human scene, we must be prepared to follow him -- even unto death.  Do you or I have that kind of commitment and devotion to Jesus today?  Are we willing to face those who would stone us because of our beliefs?  Even if it is just the metaphorical stoning of social pressure and derision?

On Dec. 28 we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents.  This is the day the Church honors all of those young people who were killed by the order of King Herod in his attempt to destroy the Christ child whom he saw as a threat to his reign.  He ordered all boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding area under the age of two to be massacred.  The magi would not divulge to him where Jesus was, so Herod had to cast a wide net to catch him.  He failed.  But he slaughtered countless innocents in the process.  The Church recognizes that these innocent babies, too, gave their life for Christ in a way, even though they did not consciously know it.
Sadly, Herod's spirit is still alive and with us today, as an even greater number of innocents is slaughtered through the holocaust of abortion.  1.5 million lives are snuffed out each year in our country alone.  Who knows how many worldwide?  Do we have the courage of St. Stephen to continue to stand up and speak out for those without a voice; the most vulnerable and innocent among us?  Can we take the stoning that today's culture may throw our way for being pro-life?

And today, Dec. 30, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family.  This is especially important in our time, as the family itself is under attack.  The foundation of the human family is marriage.  Many today mistakenly believe marriage as the union in which a husband and wife form a couple.  But that is not true.  It is a union in which a husband and wife form a family.  The purpose of every marriage is to engender children.  This is true even for those married couples that are unable to conceive a child.  There are other ways to share the spirit of selfless love that is parenting with the world -- adoption, foster parenting, community involvement, devotion to nieces and nephews, etc.  None of us are allowed to live selfish, self-centered lives because of a lack of children.  Every marriage is a vehicle for God to potentially bless with new life, and must be lived out in that spirit.

For the great majority of marriages, that means children; conceiving and bearing them, and raising them in a loving household.  This requires stability, which is why marriage is a life-long commitment.  Marriage creates a new family, and the family is the basic building block of human society.  Families make the culture, not the other way around.  Governments are established to protect and serve families, not vice versa.  But marriage and the family are under attack in a very real way in our society.

It began back in the 1930s when the Anglican church decided to allow, with limitations, the use of contraception.  Their decision -- the first time any Christian body had allowed contraception for any reason -- said that it was permissible, only within marriage, and only for grave reasons.  But contraception is an evil, and once it had its foot in the door, it was not long before it came all the way in.  Now, contraception is considered "smart and safe" in our culture, the "responsible thing to do," and the Catholic Church alone stands as the only Christian body who continues to oppose it.

What does this have to do with marriage?  Marriage, sex, and children have always been considered part of the same one good.  They could not be separated, for they belonged to one another.  The acceptance of contraception started to divide them.  People started to see sex as something one could enjoy without children.  And if one could enjoy sex without worrying about children, there was no real need for the lifelong commitment of marriage.  These three aspects of the same reality started to be treated as interdependent and unrelated pursuits.

No fault divorce soon became common in our culture.  Abortion was demanded as a back-up for when contraception failed.  Sex is no longer seen as something one must wait until marriage to enjoy, but something which should be tried out before marriage (like taking a car for a test drive).  Children?  Only if you want them, and only when you are ready.

Today one can have sex with no children (and indeed children without sex), sex without marriage, marriage without children, and children without marriage, and we are taught to view each option as an equally valid choice.

The end result is that today in America 51% of all new births are out of wedlock.  For the first time in our history more children are born to unmarried parents than to married parents.  How many of those children will never know their father, or see him only every other weekend?  More than half of all marriages end in divorce, with multiple marriages being far too common - even expected.  The birthrate in many western nations is falling below replacement level, which means the population in most European countries is actually shrinking.  The only factor keeping American births above replacement level are minority birthrates, which are higher than for whites.

And now, more and more people -- Catholics included -- no longer believe that gender has any bearing on marriage, and people of the same gender should be free to enter into marriage just as a man and a woman.  This is advocated for under the banner of fairness and equality, but it is only conceivable today because our culture has lost sight of what marriage truly is.

Today, we celebrate the Holy Family.  Mary and Joseph were married for the explicit purpose of raising a child.  Their marriage was devoted to their son, the Son of God, our Savior.  They were devoted to each other and to Him.  He was obedient to his mother and father.  This is the model family for us.  Please join me today in praying for the intercession of the Holy Family, for the healing of families in our world today.  And pray that Christians would have the courage of St. Stephen, and St. Thomas Becket, whose martyrdom we celebrated on Dec. 29, to stand up for our faith and convictions; to stand up for the family.

Please also say a prayer for my wife and I, who started our own family on this day twelve years ago, as we entered the sacrament of marriage.  She has been like a fruitful vine in my home, and given me children like olive plants around our table (Ps 128).  I am a blessed man, and give thanks to God each day for the family He has given me.

God bless, everyone!  And Merry Christmas!
--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723
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Sunday, December 23, 2012

From WCU: Gospel for Today

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (C)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Indeed, the Lord is near.

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday.  Gaudete is Latin for "rejoice," and the name comes from the opening word of the Entrance Antiphon of today's Mass.  Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete.  Dominus enim prope est.  Which means, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Indeed, the Lord is near."

This joyful theme is repeated in today's readings.  In the first reading from Zephaniah (Zep 3:14-18a) we are told, "Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!  Sing joyfully, O Israel! ... The Lord, your God, is in your midst."

In our responsorial psalm today we acclaim, "Cry out with joy and gladness, for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel."

In our second reading (Phil 4:4-7), St. Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice! ...  The Lord is near."

Today is a festive day indeed.  In the penitential season of Advent, a season of preparation, we pause and express our great joy and excitement for we know that the one we are preparing for is just around the corner.  His arrival is imminent.   In today's world, it is as if a family member you have not seen in a very long time sends you a text message saying, "the plane just landed, I'll be home soon."  His arrival is closer to being a reality.  It changes from something you simply long and hope for, to something you can actually see on the horizon.  Excitement and anxiety builds.  Last minute preparations are made.

What last minute preparations do we need to make for Christ's arrival?  That is the question put to John the Baptist in today's gospel (Lk 3:10-18).  His answer seems simple. If you have two cloaks, share with the person who has none.  To the tax collectors, he tells them to stop taking more from the people than the law asks for.  To soldiers, stop extorting people.  In other words, behave yourself.  These are lessons parents teach their children: share, be fair, play nice.  

The heart of John's message is this: be generous; be selfless; think of others before yourself.  Be satisfied with what you have.  

We prepare for Christ's coming by "being on our best behavior" because, as John describes it, Jesus is coming to clean house.  "His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

One may find it a bit unusual to read about burning in unquenchable fire on a Sunday that is supposed to be about rejoicing.  How is eternal punishment joyful?

We rejoice because we can avoid that fate.  This is John's message.  Repent, ask for forgiveness, and change your selfish ways.  Begin living for others, and you may save your own life.  For those suffering from oppression, hardship, and injustice, the coming Reign of Christ is indeed a cause for rejoicing, for all will be set right.  The wicked shall be punished, while the lowly and righteous shall be exalted.  

For those whose hearts are turned to God, today is a day for rejoicing.  St. Paul's tells us to have no anxiety at all.  In everything, give thanks to God.  "Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

John the Baptist tells the soldiers to be happy with their wages. St. Paul tells us to be thankful in all things.  Can we make those sentiments a reality in our lives?  As children, we look forward to Christmas often with more anticipation about the new toys we expect to get, than excitement over the birth of Christ.  Suddenly the games and gadgets we already have look tired and old.  They fail to satisfy us; we long for the new toys that Santa will bring.  Even as adults we are groomed by society to feel a certain amount of dissatisfaction this time of year.  As the year draws to a close we are expected to make "New Year's Resolutions" and think about how we can make things better for ourselves.  I want to get a raise next year.  I want to loose weight.  I want to make better grades.  

Improving ourselves is a noble goal, of course.  But the biggest improvement we can make is to be thankful for what we have now.  Do we recognize the gifts God has already given us in our lives?  Are we satisfied with them?  If we are, then, like St. Paul, we need feel no anxiety.  We know we are being cared for.  We know we are beloved of God.

So today, be joyful.  Be calm.  Be thankful.  And stand ready to accept the gift of God's peace that He longs to give you.  The Lord is near.  Gaudete!

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723


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Monday, December 10, 2012

From WCU: Gospel For Today

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (C)

And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ...  Phil 1:9-10

What do you want for Christmas?  That's what everyone asks this time of year, as we prepare for our holiday gift giving.  But among all of our holiday preparations, are we preparing ourselves to receive the only gift that matters?

In today's Gospel reading we encounter the figure of John the Baptist, whose role as the last great prophet was to prepare the people of Israel to receive Christ.  "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low.  The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Lk3:5-6).

Christ did not come to straighten out the hair pin curves on 107 between Cullowhee and Cashiers.  When John the Baptist is talking about making winding roads straight and filling in the valleys, he is talking about the roads and valleys of the human soul.  Are we prepared to receive Christ?  John may have been speaking to first century Jews at the time, but the message is still pertinent to us today.  Are we ready to receive Him?

I don't think the answer to that question can be a simple yes or no.  Preparing the way of the Lord in our hearts is not a one-time event, some activity we can do and then have it over with.  If we are not prepared, we need to get prepared.  And if we feel we are prepared for Him, we still need to continue working on it, making sure we stay that way.  It is an ongoing process.

I really like St. Paul's prayer in the second reading today, from his letter to the Philippians.  His prayer is that they may be prepared for "the day of Christ," which is to say His Second Coming.  He wants them to be pure and blameless when they meet Christ.  And the path he maps out for them is to increase in love, which will lead to more knowledge and better perception.  This love, knowledge, and perception will then allow them to "discern what is of value."

Discernment is a crucial aspect of our lives as Christians that often gets neglected.  Do we actively try to discern what is of value in our daily lives?  We participate in, and are influenced by so much each day.  Just think about what you see on Facebook, Youtube, on Pinterest, your email, your favorite blogs, television, what you hear on the radio, from your friends, your family, your professors, magazines, billboards, newspapers, movies, the list goes on and on.  Even beyond the media and the people in our lives, the general culture influences us.  From campus to the coffee shop, to the mall and museums, everything around us potentially molds and shapes our perceptions and thoughts.  

In the midst of all of this, we Christians have a great measure -- and that is Christ himself.  We have our very Maker, God Incarnate, Emmanuel (God is with us), the one who proclaimed boldly not the have the truth but to BE the Truth.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  He says, "Be not afraid," and also, "Come, follow me."  In Christ, and through His Church, we have a yard stick against which to measure every aspect of our lives.  If we increase in love of Him, as St. Paul prays, our eyes will be open so that we may "discern what is of value" amid everything we see and hear.

This does not, as some might fear, mean rejecting everything in the world.  It does mean, as Paul puts it in another letter, that we should "test everything; retain what is good" (1 Thes 5:21).  Everything can and should be tested against the mind of God, expressed in Christ, through His Church.  If it measures up, we should keep it.  If it fails to pass the test, it should be rejected as false and unworthy.  

This is true for small and large things. Every year around this season I hear some grumbling about "pagan" holiday traditions; things such as Christmas trees, wreathes, kissing under the mistletoe and yule logs are said to be of non-Christian pagan origins and therefore should not be endorsed.  Even the date of Dec. 25 is criticized as being the date of the pagan Roman festival to the God Saturn, celebrating the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun."  I say, so what?  We do not know the precise day of the year on which Jesus was born.  It is still an important enough occasion that we wish to celebrate it.  If people were used to celebrating the birthday of the Unconquerable Sun on Dec. 25, let's test that and retain what is good.  We retain the festival, the celebration, the joyful spirit; we reject the false Sun god and instead embrace the true Unconquerable Son, the Rising Star, Jesus Christ.  

The instruction to test everything and discern what is of value is even more important in our personal lives.  In choosing what it is we allow into our homes and into our minds, are we being discerning?  Are we testing everything against Christ and his love?  In choosing what we watch, what we read, the music we listen to; even the food we eat; even the friends we associate with; are we testing these things against what we know to be true in Christ? 

Only be doing so, by making Christ our rule and measure, can we begin to prepare the way for Him in our hearts, making straight the winding paths of our soul, and filling in the valleys.  The truly mystical thing about it all is that we need Christ in order to do this.  In order to prepare ourselves to receive Him worthily, we need to let Him into our hearts right now, as we are.  Christ is the end of the journey, but He is also the beginning.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is the source and the summit.  He is the true Christmas gift.



--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723


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