Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gospel. 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

at
Labels: ,

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

at
Labels: ,

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

at
Labels: , ,

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

at
Labels: , ,

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

at
Labels: , ,

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


at
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, December 2, 2012

From WCU: Gospel For Today

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (C)

"Don't do drugs."  Everyone is told this message many times over growing up, from teachers, counselors, police officers and parents.  Let's imagine one students goes to a college with very low tolerance for drug use, where very few students abuse drugs, and it's not really part of the culture; so this student successful avoids drugs throughout their college years.  Another student attends a university known as a party school, where a large part of the student body abuses drugs on a regular basis as part of campus social life; this student also avoid using drugs, though they have to constantly and consistently resist temptation and say no to their peers.  

Both students have done good.  But which would you describe as more heroic?  Obviously the second student, who had to pluck up the courage to say no.  The first student is in a situation where it is easier to live a virtuous life.  This is the type of situation we would want to create for ourselves.  But the difficult situation faced by the second student is also an opportunity to increase in virtue.  That student is surrounded by sin and so must exercise greater discipline to remain pure.  Thus an occasion of difficulty and duress can be looked upon as an opportunity to exercise heroic virtue and thus draw closer to Gd.

In today's Gospel reading, Christ leaves his followers with a warning.  The situation sounds dire indeed...  "nations will be in dismay... people will die of fright."  Christ encourages them to "be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent..."  He is speaking of the situation on earth before his Second Coming.  But he could be speaking to any of us, any generation (for indeed, no one knows when the Lord may return).  Each generation has faced trials and tribulations, some more dire than others.  

But the Lord says, "when you see these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand."  Remaining pure and holy through times of trial is a great occasion to draw closer to God.  It is through difficulty that we are redeemed.  How can we do this?

We must first learn to rely on the Lord.  One of the reasons Jesus says it is so difficult for a rich man to enter heaven is because people who have easy lives are not used to relying on others and asking for help.  And that is precisely what we need to do to invite God into our lives -- rely on him and ask for his gracious help.  Difficult times can teach us this lesson.

When we ask the Lord to strengthen us in difficult times, how does he respond?  Not by making us cold and hard hearted, to protect us from being hurt.  No, he does the opposite.  He increases our capacity for love.  In his first letter to the Thessalonians (today's second reading) St. Paul prays, "May the Lord make you increase and about in love for one another and for all... so as to strengthen your hearts..."  Love makes us vulnerable, it is true, but it is the only path to true strength.  A Christian overcomes trials and difficulties by love.

What does love gain us?  In addition to strengthening our hearts, St. Paul says it will make us "blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones."  In short, love gains us God; which is to say, it gains us everything.  

Advent is a season of expectation.  The name Advent means "coming."  We look forward to Christmas when we celebrate the first coming of our Lord at his birth over 2000 years ago.  That first coming is an historical fact.  So too will be his Second Coming.  Our entire lives should be a season of advent as we wait in joyful and loving expectation for that day.  There will be difficult times between that day and now.  Jesus assures us of this.  It will be hard.  But if we stay close to God, if we live our lives full of love and humility, joy and courage, we will remain close to him and by our heroic witness do glory to his holy name on that day.  Come, Lord Jesus!

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


at
Labels: , ,

Sunday, November 18, 2012

From WCU: Gospel For Today

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B)

I'm sure you've seen the cartoons of the old man walking through the city streets holding a sign saying, "The End is Near!"  No one takes him seriously.  But that's what Jesus tells us in today's Gospel reading.  He speaks of the "days [of] tribulation" and the sun being darkened, the stars falling from the sky, and the Son of Man coming in the clouds to gather up the elect from the ends of the earth.  The End Times.

It sounds like a Hal Lindsay book (or a Kirk Cameron movie), doesn't it?  Our Evangelical and Fundamentalist brothers and sisters tend to be a bit more concerned with the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ than Catholics typically are.  But each year at this time, as we approach the end of the liturgical year, our readings start to focus more on the end of all things.  

We are preparing the Advent, which will start in two weeks, after the final great celebration of Ordinary Time, next Sunday's feast of Christ the King.  The word advent comes to us from the Latin for "coming," and it refers not only to Christ's first coming as a newborn baby at Christmas, but also to his second coming in glory at the end of time.  Like the first Christians who believed Christ would return during their lifetimes, we continue to look forward to the second coming of Christ to this day.

We live in an area surrounded by Protestant Christians, many of whom have rather different understandings about the end of time than the Catholic Church has traditionally held.  Many of you have no doubt heard of "the Rapture," an event in which all the faithful Christians will supposedly be taken up into the sky to meet with Christ, after which they will be removed from the earth while the period of tribulation takes place -- a horrible time of trials and testing, giving sinners one last opportunity to repent before the end of time.  

We hear about this from many of our Protestant friends, but we don't hear about it at all from our Catholic pastors.  Why is that?  Well, there is a good reason.  It's not what the Church believes about the Second Coming.  Truth be told, it's not what most Protestants believe, either.  The idea of a pre-tribulation rapture was unheard of in Christianity until the 1800s, when it was formulated by a man named John Nelson Darby, an early leader of the Fundamentalist movement.  

Darby is the father of what is known as Dispensational theology.  Darby's theology was picked up by a man named Scofield who published Darby's view in his Scofield Reference Bible, which was sold widely across America and England.  And so Darby's view of the Rapture became more widely held, especially among Fundamentalist and Evangelical Protestants; it has even found its way into more mainstream Protestant circles.  But it is utterly foreign to Catholicism.

If you'd like to read a bit more on different Christian's views on the Rapture and the End Times, and what the Catholic Church teaches about them, I refer you to this brief article by Catholic Answers.

So what do Catholics believe about the end of the world?  Most importantly, we believe that it will happen.  Not just an end to our little planet Earth, but an end of all things, of all time.  We live in a finite universe.  All of creation had a beginning, and it will have an end.  Our story will come to a close.

We do believe that Christ will come again, as we pray each time we recite the Nicene or Apostle's Creed.  We believe that the Second Coming will occur at the end of time (not at the beginning of some thousand-year earthly reign of peace here on earth).  And we believe in the general resurrection -- that is, at the end of time all the dead will be raised from the earth.  The righteous will be gathered together with Christ, while the unrighteous... not so much.  

As the first reading today from Daniel attests, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace."

And most importantly, we don't pretend to know precisely when this will take place. We don't comb through books like Daniel and Revelation, looking for some secret code or formula that will tell us the precise day and hour of the Second Coming.  If you see or hear of anyone doing this, don't give him the time of day.  For Christ himself has said, "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mk 13:32).

But that day is coming.  Of that we can be sure.  And whether the end of time will be tomorrow or billions of years from now, we each will face our own "end time" in our lives comparatively soon.  Any of us could die this hour, or eighty years from now.  But we will die, and we will face our own judgment, in anticipation of the final judgment to come.  

Are you prepared for that this day?  This is the message for us as the Church year draws to a close, as we think of the end of all times, and look forward to the advent, to the coming of our Lord in glory.  May we be among those standing ready to welcome Him in joy and in love.

 

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


at
Labels: , , , , , ,

From WCU: Gospel for Today

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B)

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

Sometimes the points Jesus make seem so straightforward, one has to wonder why his disciples seemed so befuddled most of the time.  This passage appears to be one of those instances when our Lord was so plain spoken.  His point is obvious.  If Bill Gates gives a million dollars to charity, it may be the equivalent of you or I giving only a dollar, in terms of its impact to our finances.  However, if a homeless man has only $5 to his name after a day spent begging on the streets, and he chooses to buy two items from the Wendy's dollar menu and put the other $3 in the collection basket at the church, his sacrifice is much more significant, because it represents more of a hardship for him.

It's not hard to see the difference between the two gifts.  Bill Gates is never going to miss that million dollars.  But the $3 the homeless man gave could have bought him breakfast and lunch the next day.  This is what Jesus meant when he said the rich men were contributing "from their surplus wealth."  They were giving what they did not really need anyway.  That's not what we are called to do.  We are supposed to give the first fruits of our labor to God -- not the leftovers.

I think most of us get this.  We can see how the $3 gift from the man who has nothing means more than the million dollar gift from the man who has everything.  We get that, we really do.  But...

But isn't there a part of us, perhaps a big part, that says, "So what?"  

What does it matter how much it cost the giver to make the gift?  What does it matter if the donor was giving from his surplus or not?  The end result is that Bill Gate's million dollar gift can do far more to help people in need than the poor man's $3.  Wouldn't any charitable organization much rather have the million dollar gift?  In fact, if a few more billionaires like Bill Gates would make million dollar donations, then charities would not have to rely so much on small donations from poor people who probably can't afford to give anyway.  They'd be better off.  Wouldn't this actually be a better scenario?

From a purely pragmatic, secular, material vantage point, that is probably true.  But since when was Jesus concerned about purely material, pragmatic things?  

We are getting ready to enter into the season of Advent, which, like Lent, is a penitential season.  These seasons of penance in the Church year are marked by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  Why do we do those things?  We pray to help us grow in holiness.  We fast to purify and discipline ourselves, so that we can grow in holiness.  And we give alms to help those in need, right?  Well yes, that is part of it.  But almsgiving is grouped alongside prayer and fasting for a reason.  Like prayer and fasting, the deeper, spiritual meaning of almsgiving is to help us grow in holiness, as well.

Almsgiving is a two sided proposition.  On the one hand we give to help others.  But that gift is simultaneously a sacrifice which helps us to sanctify ourselves.  Living the Christian life, becoming more Christ-like, involves making sacrifices.  It involves self-giving.  This applies to all aspects of our lives -- we freely and joyfully give of our time, our talent, our love, and our material goods.  If we only give of our surplus, then we may be achieving one of the goals of almsgiving, helping others, but we are neglecting the other goal, that of sacrifice; and so our gift is of no spiritual benefit to us.

When we give freely -- not just from our excess, shrewdly calculating what we can afford -- we foster a sense of detachment from our worldly goods.  That is an excellent spiritual practice.  It reminds us that our material possessions don't really belong to us.  They belong to God; we are only borrowing them for a while.  We don't actually need those things.  We will not find joy and happiness in material possessions.  

I recently read a homily from a priest who was making a point about why the Scriptures say it is so hard for a rich man to enter heaven.  It is not because there is anything wrong with being rich, per se, this pastor said.  But rich people are far less accustomed to relying on God.  It is much harder for them to trust and ask others for help.  They are too self-reliant, and this bleeds over into the spiritual realm.

The woman in today's first reading gives us the opposite example.  Elijah comes to her and asks for a cake of bread.  This poor woman only had a small handful of flour and a few drops of oil left to make bread with -- enough for her and her son to have one last small meal before they starved.  Why didn't Elijah find the town baker to ask for bread?  Surely someone like that would have been far more likely to have an extra loaf on hand he could give.  He'd never miss it.  But that's not the point.  Elijah asked the poor woman who had nothing.  And she gave to Elijah from her poverty.  Elijah told her "Do not be afraid," and because she trusted in God, the scriptures tell us she and her son were able to eat for a year after that.  She did not fear.  And the Lord provided.  

This is the spiritual practice Jesus wants us to foster in ourselves.  Give freely from what you have.  And do not fear.  The more you give to help others -- not only money, but of your time, your love, your talents as well -- the more you give, the more you empty yourself, the more you will be filled with the spirit of Christ.  The more you will grow in holiness.  You will learn to rely on the Lord.  You will learn to trust in Him for your needs.  And only then will you find peace.

God bless!
Matt

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


at
Labels: , ,

Sunday, November 4, 2012

From WCU: Gospel For Today

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B)
click here for readings
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"  Jesus replied, "The first is this.. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  The second is this:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no other commandment greater than these."

The above is from today's Gospel reading (Mk 12:28b-34).  My question for you is this:  When Jesus says there is no other commandment greater than these, is he doing away with the commandments given to the Isrealites by God through Moses?  The answer is no, he is not.  Jesus himself said he did not come to abolish the old law, but rather to fulfill it (Mt. 5:17).  Rather than doing away with the Ten Commandments, what Jesus does in today's gospel is to get right to the heart of them.

The Ten Commandments are a great gift to mankind.  I have heard people grumble that Christianity is all about the negative, telling people what they cannot do, and the Ten Commandments are the perfect example of this with all their "Thou shalt nots."  My response to this is to laugh and point out that it was much more efficient for God to tell us the few things we can't do than to list out all the great multitude of good things we can do.  Besides, knowing one's limitations can be freeing.

Imagine a playground for children that's set in the center of a small desert island in the south Pacific (I don't know why anyone would build such a thing, just go with it).  The ocean currents are swift and dangerous, and so to keep the children safe, they have to stay huddled in the center of the island, for fear of getting too close to the shore and being swept away.  Now if someone comes along and builds a fence around the perimeter of the island, the children can freely enjoy the whole island without fear.  God's commandments are like that fence.  They are not restrictive, but freeing, because they establish the safe boundaries for our lives.  Stay within the perimeter of the commandments and you are free to enjoy all life has to offer without worry of being swept away by sin.  It is only when we "jump the fence" that we are in danger.  That's not freedom; it is spiritual suicide.

Jesus today shows us that God's commandments are not in fact based in negativity; they are based in love.  First and foremost is the love of God.  The first three commandments deal with this love.
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
All of these have to do with our right relationship with God.  The rest of the commandments deal with how we relate to our neighbors.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  This means...
4. Honor your father and mother.
5. Don't murder.
6. Don't commit adultery.
7. Don't steal.
8. Don't lie.
9. Don't covet your neighbor's spouse.
10. Don't cover your neighbor's goods.
The fourth commandment can actually be considered a "hinge" between the first three and the last six.  Jesus teaches us to call God our Father, and so the first father we must honor is the one "who art in heaven."  Human parents derive their authority (and their position of honor) from the divine parent, God.  And so we honor our fathers and mothers here because they are the first reflections of God for us as children.  While we acknowledge God as our Creator, we know our parents had a hand in it, as well (we call the act of conceiving children procreation after all, because we assist in God's act of creation).  They brought us into being, they teach us the ways of the Lord, instruct us in the faith, and show us what it means to be good and loving Christian people, with the hope of eternal life for us.  And we honor them for doing those things.

And what if our human parents don't do those things, or don't do them well?  We still honor them, perhaps not so much for what they are, but for what they ought to be; for what they could be in cooperation with God's grace.

We honor them not because we have to, but because we know it is right to do so.  We honor them because we love them.
And that, dear students, is the motivation behind all of the Commandments -- love.  When we break any commandment, it is a violation of love.  We commit an unloving act, either against a fellow human being or against God himself.  We do harm to a relationship (and to our own dignity).  This is why we call Confession the Sacrament of Reconciliation -- because through it we are reconciled with God and with our neighbor.

St. Augustine once summed up the whole moral law in this way:  "Love God.  Then do as you will."
What he meant was not that it is okay for us to do anything at all, so long as we say we love God.  What he meant was that if you truly love God you will not want to do anything that would damage your relationship with Him.  You would not want to do anything that was against Love.

This is why Christ implores us to love God, not just a little, and not just on Sundays.  We need to love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength.  It should be a fierce love.  And likewise with our neighbors -- we don't just love them when it is convenient to do so, but we love them as we love ourselves, which means constantly and consistently wanting nothing but good for them.  Our love of self should motivate us to become saints, so that we may enjoy eternity with God, in communion with the other saints and angels.  We want our neighbors to be there, too, so we should be helping them to become saints in this life.

It's all about love.  Love of God.  Love of neighbor.  Love of self.  (In that order).  Put that into practice and things start to make sense.
God bless!
Matt
--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
www.WCUCatholic.org
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723
Join our FACEBOOK Group!
at
Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

From WCU - Gospel For Today


TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B)


Why do bad things happen to good people?  Or to put it another way, why is there evil in the world?  The "problem of evil" has always been a stumbling block for some in their faith (and has indeed kept many away from faith).  If God exists, and he is all knowing, all powerful, in control, eternal and constant; if he is good and just and merciful as we are told; if he truly is Love -- if all this is true then why does evil exist?  We ask this question every time we hear of people dying in natural disasters on the news, or hear of another terrorist attack in the Middle East.  We ask this question when we suffer a loss in our own lives of a family member or a friend.  We ask this question when someone we love is battling a horrible illness.  We ask it when we have a broken heart.  We ask it whenever we suffer.  

 Religions throughout time have battled with this principle question.  Different religions have had their own approaches to it.  There have in the past been many dualistic faiths, believing in two different Gods, one good and one evil, battling it out in a cosmic struggle of which we on this earth are only a small part.  But not Christianity.  We believe in one God, who is Love.  We believe in Satan, yes.  "The devil," who is a fallen angel, Lucifer, and his many fallen angels who serve him.   But he is not a rival god.  He is a creation, and even he and his angels only wreak their havoc by the permissive will of God.  

 Why is this so?  Why would God allow evil to come into the world?  It is tempting here to point out that evil came into the world not through God's doing, but through our own.  Adam and Eve had it pretty good in the Garden of Eden until they chose to disobey God's will and eat of the forbidden fruit.  But you have to ask why God permitted the serpent to lurk in the garden, or why he even planted that tree there in the first place!

 There is a phrase in Christianity; the "Fortunate Fall," or "Happy Fall."  We hear it in the Easter liturgy.  It sounds like an oxymoron.  How could we describe the Fall -- where sin and evil entered into human existence and became part of our lives -- as happy or fortunate?  The reason lies in the person of Jesus Christ.  "O fortunate fall that won for us so great a savior," as the phrase goes.  If we were not fallen we would have had no need for God to show mercy on us by sending us His Son, and we never would have known Christ.

 But there is another meaning behind that phrase.  Having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve began to know both good and evil.  From that point on in our human history, evil has been a part of our existence.  It is all around us.  But so, too, is good.  And we have a choice as to which we will allow to reign in our lives.  And because we have the option of evil, our choice for good becomes more meaningful.  After all, there is no heroism in choosing to do good when that is the only choice you can make.  The presence of evil actually elevates the good to a higher level than before.

 To put it another way, it makes our love for God real.  I'm sure you have heard the phrase "fair weather friend."  It means someone whose friendship you can only count on in the good times, who won't be there for you in times of trouble or need.  What kind of a friend is that?  Not a good one.  A good friend, a true friend, loves you for who you are, good and bad, and sticks by your side through trials and suffering.

 Are we fair weather friends with God?  Do we only love Him when things are going well for us?  If all we experienced in our lives was joy and happiness then we would never know the answer to that.  But that's not how life is.  We all experience suffering at different stages in our lives.  And if we, like Job, continue to love and praise God through suffering, then we know that our love for Him is real.

 And so too is His love for us.  And this is where Christianity reveals its beautiful and mystical answer to the "problem of evil."  Many in the Jewish world were waiting on a Messiah who would come and rescue them from all their misery and problems; a Messiah who would make all their pain go away.  But that's not how God chose to do things.  His plan was much more loving.  Jesus came not to abolish suffering, but to suffer with us.

 From today's first reading (Is 53:10-11):  "[T]hrough his suffering, my servant shall justify may, and their guilt he shall bear."

 From the second reading (Heb 4:14-16):  "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way..."

 And from the Gospel (Mk 10:35-45):  "For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

 Jesus asks James and John in that same Gospel passage if they can drink the cup he has to drink, or be baptized with his baptism.  He is referring to his passion on the cross.  We think of "passion" today in terms of romance, but the word actually means to suffer (which those of you with experience of romance no doubt can appreciate).  And so the word compassion actually means "to suffer with."  

 God sent His Son to have compassion -- to suffer with us.  And so we are called to have compassion with Christ.  We must accept the invitation he made to James and John and drink from his cup.  Through our baptism we are united in Christ's suffering and death.  And so as Christians, any time we suffer, we know that pain and hardship is linked forever with the suffering of Christ.  It becomes a redemptive suffering.  It burns away the punishment due to our sins, it makes us holier people, and draws us closer to God, if we allow it.  

 We have a King who is a servant.  We have a Lord who is Love.  We have a Savior who suffers with us.  Through all the trials in our life, our compassionate God is by our side.  
at
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, October 14, 2012

From WCU - Gospel For Today

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B)

Our first reading today is from the book of Wisdom.  This text is intriguing because of the way it speaks about Wisdom as a person, rather than a trait to obtain.  Traditionally, the Church has understood Wisdom to be another name for the Holy Spirit.  So when we hear today's reading, when we hear "wisdom" we should think "Holy Spirit," which is to say God Himself.

I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.  I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her...  Beyond health and comeliness I loved her... Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.

The message in this passage is clear.  One should prefer the wisdom of God above any earthly joy, whether that be riches, or beauty, or even our health.  But there is a surprise twist at the end -- if we do value God above all these earthly treasures, we will actually get those treasures as a reward!  We will receive "all good things" and "countless riches."  Sounds good to me!

But is it as simple as all of that?  Is that the actual meaning of this passage?  That interpretation sounds very much like a pseudo-theology popular among some evangelical and charismatic Protestants called the "Prosperity Gospel."  It has its roots in the 1950s revival movement, but really became popular after it was adopted by televangelists in the 1980s and by the early years of this century it was being preached by many evangelical missionaries.  If you google "prosperity gospel" or "prosperity theology" you will find many articles about it -- and many articles about why it is so wrong.

The message of the "Prosperity Gospel" movement is relatively simple; obey God's will, live a good, moral, upright Christian life, and you will have success, riches, health and prosperity.  In short, "all good things," and "countless riches" as the book of Wisdom says this morning.  Like most heresies, there is just enough truth in this teaching to make it attractive.

The truth, as taught by the Catholic Church, is that the underlying goal of our moral life is to achieve happiness.  If we live moral lives and follow God's law, we can achieve a natural happiness in this world.  And aided by God's grace, through the Sacraments, we can even hope to achieve supernatural and eternal happiness in the next world.  This is the goal and purpose of our lives.  God did not create the moral law arbitrarily.  He is the author of our beings, he made us a certain way, and he knows what is best for us.  The moral law, as taught by the Catholic Church, is rooted in our human nature.  It's like an operator's guide to being human.  So it is only reasonable to expect that if we live good moral lives that we'll have an easier time of things.  We'll avoid certain troubles, live happier lives in general, and draw closer to God.

But that's not the same as saying we will be wealthy, successful in business, beautiful and healthy.  It does not mean we will never have troubles, suffering or sorrows.  It certainly does not mean we will never know pain.  Just look at the example of Jesus Christ.  No one has ever followed God's will more perfectly, and yet no one has ever suffered so much.  Does this mean the book of Wisdom is wrong?  Not at all.  For one who truly values God's wisdom above all earthly treasure will no doubt feel that "all good things" have come to them, even if they do not have a penny to their name.  This is because that person rightly understands that earthly possessions are not the highest good.

Look at today's Gospel reading from Mark.  Imagine yourself in the position of this man who approached Jesus.  You have followed the commandments of God all your life.  And you have benefited from it. Indeed, you can describe yourself as having "countless riches" like the author of Wisdom.  

You discover Jesus, the Messiah, walking down the road and so you run to him and ask him, face to face, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  

And then, you are truly blessed, because the Lord Himself looks at you and instructs you that all you have to do to gain eternal life is one simple thing.  Just one thing.  "Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor... then come, follow me."  

At these words your heart breaks.  You cast your eyes downward and sadly walk away from Jesus.  Because you cannot bring yourself to do it.  You value your riches far too much, even more than you value eternal life.  You may have been following God's commandments all your life.  But you lack his wisdom -- even when it's staring you in the face.

What is the ultimate good?  What is the source of eternal happiness?  Only God Himself.  We find some measure of joy in earthly pleasures, and that is fine.  God made them for us, and he made us to enjoy them, so it is good that we do.  The mistake is to confuse these earthly gifts with the Giver.  We call them "goods" only because they reflect God's goodness.  But, as Jesus says in the Gospel today, "No one is good but God alone."  When we come to understand this, we would give up any amount of these finite goods in order to obtain the infinite good of eternal life with God.

When we possess God -- which is to say, when we allow God to fully possess us -- then we can enjoy the earthly goods that we have in a healthy and proportionate way.  And more importantly, like the psalmist, we can even learn to be be glad "for the days when you afflicted us, for the years when we saw evil."  For times of trial and suffering can themselves bring us closer to God, and therefore we should give thanks for the hard times, as well.

This is true wisdom.  When we value the Love of God above all things, we learn to see all things through the lens of his love.  We give thanks to him for the good times in our lives and the successes we have.  And we can endure the sufferings that befall us because we know that through it all we have a loving Father who will give us the strength needed to overcome.  Even if we lose everything we have in this life, we still bless the Father's name for we know no one and nothing can separate us from the treasures he has prepared for us in heaven, as long as we stay true to him.  

God bless, and have a wonderful Fall Break.
Matt

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


at
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)