A Penitent Blogger

“The nations are sunk in the pit they have made”

2009-11-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

Why is everything so wrong?

Why is the world having all of the problems it has?

Why do we have so much difficulty in this life?

Today’s readings tell us why.

In today’s first reading (1 Maccabees 6:1-13), a powerful king dies in frustration, anxiety, and regret: realizing too late that his evil deeds have brought evil upon him.

I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.

The Responsorial (Psalm 9:2-3, 4, 6, 16, and 19) also makes clear the cause of worldwide trouble.

The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.

And in the Gospel (Luke 20:27-40), a group of wise men is befuddled because they are clueless about the life of the world to come.

Life in this world is troubled because so many people in this world, especially so many of those who are powerful in this world, have been too narrow in their understanding – failing to recognize the fullness of reality, let alone the truth of God – and have been misguided, selfish and sometimes outright evil in their actions.

We are all caught in this tangled morass of intellectual darkness and piled-up sin, even those among us who by the grace of Christ are relatively pure of heart, enlightened in spirit, sinless in thought and deed.

Yet, by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we can not only endure all the troubles of this world but even in world that seems to be sinking into a soulless twilight and confused frustration, we can shine like the angels of heaven.

A nice Jewish girl

2009-11-21T07:12:00.000-05:00

Today's memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple, like all Marian celebrations, is ultimately about Christ her Son, the Savior of all. It reminds us that our Lord’s coming was a culmination of a long history of God’s relationship with his chosen people, that our Lord was born into that unique tradition and covenant with God, and that He was born into the very best of that tradition: of a woman specially devoted and dedicated to the Lord from the very beginning.

May we give thanks for the long history of God’s salvation among us and may we ourselves become ever more devoted and dedicated to the Lord through the power of His grace.

(from a previous post)

Rededicate

2009-11-20T06:38:00.002-05:00

We made choices.

We made accommodations.

We made compromises.

We made mistakes.

Today’s readings invite us to be cleansed and to rededicate ourselves and our lives to God.

In the first reading (1 Maccabees 4:36-27,52-59), Judas Maccabees and his brothers rededicate the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated by enemies of God and their collaborators.

We too can be rededicated.

In the Gospel (Luke 19:45-48), our Lord cleanses the Temple after it had been encroached upon by convenience and commercialism.

We too can be cleansed.

No matter what we have done, no matter what bad choices or compromises we have made, we can be forgiven, cleansed, and rededicated by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

"If this day you only knew what makes for peace"

2009-11-19T06:17:00.001-05:00

The words our Lord speaks to Jerusalem in today’s Gospel (Luke 19:41-44) he speaks also to us.

If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.

For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.

They will smash you to the ground
and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

What makes for peace is fully recognizing and embracing Christ.

Bad things happen in life, no matter what we do, but if we are united with Christ as we go through life in this world, then we have a deep peace that nothing in the world can take away.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

Avoidance

2009-11-19T06:09:00.001-05:00

Irreligious people sometimes call people who take their faith seriously “religious fanatics,” mindlessly lump them all together with suicide bombers, and falsely blame religion for causing more deaths than any other manmade cause throughout history.

Irreligious people have avoidance issues with the facts: the substantial differences between serious adherents and fanatics of a particular viewpoint (religious and irreligious), the abundance of suicide-murderers from various social and other contexts (not just theistic), and that history’s greatest murderers by far – whose death counts run well into the millions – were irreligious men: Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, et al.

Today’s first reading, however, (1 Maccabees 2:15-19) may seem to be a problem for our apologia, for in this passage a hero of our Judeo-Christian faith slays a fellow Jew for religious reasons. This is the beginning of an exceptionally violent campaign that soon sweeps the nation: inflicting death on many more of his fellow Jews and forcing young men and boys to undergo very painful procedures.

The end result of this bloody campaign was the first Hanukah.

But while these events had a strong religious element, the bottom line was really just power and control: religion was just a tool cynically wielded by the Hellenistic empire to consolidate its control over the diverse people under its rule.

Jews who remained faithful were executed. The people and their faith were going to be exterminated.

It was truly a matter of survival and self defense in extremis.

But what does this all mean to us?

First, that sinful humanity is violent (with or without religion). True religion mitigates this bloodthirstiness, but even true religion can be perverted into a weapon.

Second, that the world can be a dangerous place for people who take their faith seriously.

Third, that we should do everything we can to avoid the state of affairs in today’s first reading: so that none of us should ever have to defend ourselves and our faith with extreme measures.

People who take their Christian faith seriously have too often been complacent in this modern age of religious liberty. Irreligious people try to chase people of faith out of the public square. Expressions of faith are prosecuted: from the display of a crèche to the teaching of the Bible itself.

Inexorably, some fear, people of faith are being pushed into the corners of society. When that is done, what would follow then is too terrible to contemplate.

We can avoid this state of affairs, with God’s help: by being attentive and thinking ahead, by asserting ourselves peacefully and reasonably, by avoiding internecine squabbles, and by holding firm to the faith and the love God has given us.

(from a previous post)

Family values

2009-11-18T05:58:00.000-05:00

The term “family values” has taken much abuse over the years: used by politicians and others as a vague expression for self-promotion (“I’m the ‘Family Values’ candidate”) or a specific socio-political agenda (often incomplete).

We have also seen in recent decades many people – even our own children – reject the family values of faith that we have tried to pass on.

Today’s first reading (2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31) presents us with an extreme example of faith being successfully passed on within a family even in the most horrific circumstances.

Why was this mother successful?

First, it must be deeply and seriously recognized that faith is ultimately a gift from God. We must do all we can to share the faith and to raise our children in the faith, but ultimately it is God’s work through grace – not ours.

Second, the faith that we pass on must be a real family value: a value reflected in everything we say, do, and feel. If our children do not see the value of the faith reflected in our own words, thoughts, and feelings – if they do not feel that our faith makes a strong and positive impact on our lives and in our hearts – we may not less effective witnesses of the faith to our children.

We need to pray for the children among us and pray for ourselves, that the value of our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in His Church may be fully reflected in what we say, do, and feel and that all our children may embrace it fully by the grace of God.

Basilicas and Apostles

2009-11-18T05:31:00.001-05:00

Today's optional memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of the Apostles Peter and Paul is first and foremost yet another opportunity to celebrate the great faith of these two men and their special roles in Christ as foundation stones of the Church.

It is also an opportunity to appreciate the Basilicas themselves.

One of my favorite parts of Saint Peter’s Basilica is the Altar of the Chair, dominated by Bernini's magnificent sculpture group towering above it: the Cathedra Petri – the “Chair of Peter.”

Four great Fathers of the Church – Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Athanasius, and Saint John Chrysostom – each extend a single finger to hold a majestic chair aloft; on the back of the chair is an image of Christ entrusting the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to St. Peter; inside the chair are the venerated remnants of an ancient chair said to have been used by Saint Peter himself; atop the chair two cherubs hold a papal tiara; and above it all is the glory of the Holy Spirit.

In this recent picture, the Successor of Peter sits beneath the “Chair of Peter.”

One of the most interesting features of the Basilica of Saint Paul’s "Outside the Walls" is the atrium: a common feature of ancient basilicas (an opportunity to “decompress” after walking in off the street and to prepare for entering a very special building).

Here, the gentle garden and covered walkways are centered on a statue of Saint Paul wielding the sword of God’s word.

Places of worship can be lesson books in themselves: witnessing both to the details and to the power of faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(from a previous post)

In 1818, she took a little trip...

2009-11-18T05:28:00.001-05:00

...a little-known Frenchwoman, up the mighty Mississippi river.

She had nearly died from disease during the long ocean crossing. Now this petite 49-year-old would barely survive this hazardous river voyage.

But she would recover, settle in the Missouri territory, and would start teaching school out of a log cabin.

It was not exactly a complete success: her teaching style was foreign and her English was terrible.

In the end, however, most people recognized that the children were getting a good education and that the Frenchwoman's heart was in the right place.

She would establish convents and schools up and down the Mississippi. She also worked to help Native Americans. After 34 years of serving God on the American frontier, she would die at the age of 83 on this very day in 1852 in Saint Charles, Missouri.

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne was canonized by the great Pope John Paul II on the 3rd of July 1988.

(from a previous post)

Faithfulness - no matter what

2009-11-17T05:58:00.001-05:00

In today’s first reading (2 Maccabees 6:18-31), an old man suffers a painful death rather than even appear to violate God’s covenant.

It is very unlikely that you or I would ever face torture of such a horrific intensity and magnitude or even its "modern" equivalents.

We may thank God that we may not be put to such a test, and yet we should take the opportunity of this reading to reflect on the challenges to our faith that we ourselves face.

Sadly, whereas the faithful men and women of old so often remained true to the law of God despite the most painful of tortures, you and I too often choose to break the rules of God rather than endure a little discomfort: from the discomfort of resisting the temptations of the flesh to the discomfort of being unpopular.

It is just a little thing, we rationalize, it doesn’t really mean anything – I still love God and that won’t change just because I... (fill in the blank).

(Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, be merciful to me - a sinner.)

The old man in today’s first reading died a slow, painful death rather than eat pork in violation of the law God gave to Moses and he did not even have the example of Christ, as you and I have.

May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – who suffered, died, and rose again for our sakes – give us the grace and the strength to be absolutely faithful to him and his truth, no matter what pain, discomfort, or loss we may fear or endure.

(adapted from a previous post)

Sold into a loving marriage

2009-11-17T05:47:00.000-05:00

When she was four years old, Elizabeth was essentially sold to a rich family.

When one of the family's sons reached manhood, Elizabeth was given to him for his wife, even though she was only 14.

As it turned out, the young man truly loved Elizabeth and she loved him. They became partners in life, prayer, and even work. When work called her husband away, Elizabeth would run the family business - thus great power and riches were placed in the hands of a still young girl.

Tragically, on one of those trips, Elizabeth’s husband would die, making her a widow at the young age of 20.

Powerful people quickly plotted against her. Elizabeth fled and devoted herself to the care of the sick. In a few years, Elizabeth would herself be overcome by sickness and weariness in the service of the Lord, dying on this very day at the age of 24.

Very soon, sick people would visit her grave and be healed. News quickly spread throughout the Church. Within four years, in 1235, Elizabeth of Hungary – wife, mother, princess, and servant of the wretched – was declared a saint.

(from a previous post)

"He kept calling out all the more"

2009-11-16T06:05:00.000-05:00

Some of those who say they want to protect “freedom of choice” want to give us no choice.

Some of the promoters of “embracing diversity” want us to be silent.

Today’s Gospel (Luke 18:35-43) offers us an example to follow in these days.

The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”

We need to be prudent in what we say and do and we need to be properly respectful of every human being, but we also need to be faithful, repent and be purified by the grace of Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit speak out all the more

"Everlasting horror and disgrace"

2009-11-16T05:47:00.000-05:00

I’m sorry I failed to post anything yesterday.

Sunday’s readings reminded us about the end of the world, which many fear.

The readings may also have reminded us of things in ourselves and in our lives about which we are not proud, especially this phrase from the first reading (Daniel 12:1-3): “everlasting horror and disgrace.”

Yet, no matter what we have done and no matter what we may fear, the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is infinitely more powerful.

May we pray always for that grace and that mercy.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

After the death of Macbeth

2009-11-16T05:02:00.001-05:00

One of the gems of the English language, this short speech by Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play captures powerfully the darkness of godless despair.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Macbeth was a great warrior who consulted with pagan witches and murdered his way to the throne of Scotland, stabbing to death his liege lord Duncan while he slept in Macbeth’s own house.

In time, Duncan’s son Malcolm would return to claim his father’s throne and Macbeth would die in battle.

There would be many more changes.

After Malcolm’s first wife died, he married an Anglo Saxon princess, whose family had just been exiled by the Norman Conquest. Malcolm was devoted to her and Margaret bore him several children.

From Margaret would descend nearly all of the subsequent kings of Scotland and also – beginning with the famous King James – all of the kings and queens of the United Kingdom to this day.

Margaret was also a strong woman with an intense Christian faith. Through Christ, she knew the true significance of life, with all of its sound and fury.

She worked with Malcolm to drive out paganism and to expand and reform the life of the Church in Scotland. She was generous to the poor, loving to her family, and deeply devout in her prayer (she had once hoped to be a nun).

Margaret, woman of faith and mother of kings, died in Edinburgh on this very day in 1093.

Saint Margaret of Scotland was canonized in 1251.

(from a previous post)

Lonely never again

2009-11-16T04:50:00.001-05:00

Nobody knows what happened to the little girl’s parents. Nobody is even sure where they were from.

She was five years old and absolutely alone in the world.

The Benedictine nuns who ran a local school took the little girl into their care and named her after their abbess Gertrude. The abbess’ biological sister (also a member of the abbey) ran the school and took special care of little Gertrude.

With such special care, little Gertrude truly grew in wisdom and grace. She would join the abbey, would be blessed with amazing visions and would write tremendous works of spirituality.

Saint Gertrude died in her mid-forties on November 17 at the very start of the 14th century. Today, November 16, the Church throughout the world celebrates the memory of this saint who had once been a lonely little girl.

(from a previous post)

Persistence

2009-11-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

In today’s Gospel (Luke 18:1-8), our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ tells a story about a woman who is persistent in seeking justice.

This reminds us of our need to be persistent in prayer as well as persistent in seeking true justice and peace in the world.

But our Lord adds to the end of this story the following question:

But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

This reminds us to be persistent in our faith.

It also reminds us that none of this persistence is easy for human beings.

We need to pray always for the grace of persistence in faith, persistence in justice, and persistence in prayer itself.

God through Science

2009-11-13T06:37:00.002-05:00

Today’s first reading (Wisdom 13:1-9), written thousands of years ago, speaks perfectly of many in this most modern of ages.

Indeed, there are many people who embrace Science as a rejection of God, effectively setting up Science as an idol – a false God that they worship and obey.

Today’s first reading reminds us that true Science is a way to know the Creator, if we do not close our minds and hearts.

All men were by nature foolish
who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen
did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works
did not discern the artisan....

For from the greatness
and the beauty
of created things
their original author,
by analogy, is seen.

But.... they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see,
because the things seen are fair.

But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

Many children

2009-11-13T05:57:00.000-05:00

Frances' parents had thirteen children in all, but education was very important to them, so they had Frances go to school at a convent.

When she came of age, she wanted to become a nun herself, but she was rejected for health issues.

A priest suggested that she try teaching at an orphanage.

She proved to be wildly successful, caring for many children. In fact, when the orphanage closed several years later, the local bishop asked Frances to found a new religious order to care for poor children.

Her reputation continued to spread so much that the Pope himself soon asked her and her order to serve as missionaries.

That is how Frances found herself, around fifty years old, with six other nuns in a very strange land, working among the poor and displaced. The girl who had been rejected as a nun and went on to start her own order established as many as 67 school, hospitals, and orphanages on three continents.

Still working in her mid-sixties, Frances contracted malaria and then died in that strange land to which the Holy Father had personally sent her: dying in Chicago on December 22, 1917 and being buried in New York City.

Just over twenty years later, on this very day, Frances was beatified. When she was canonized in 1946, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was the first American citizen to be formally declared a saint.

(from a previous post)

"Do not run in pursuit"

2009-11-12T06:22:00.001-05:00

In today’s Gospel (Luke 17:20-25), our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ says important things about the end of the world, about His Kingdom, and about the conduct of our lives.

We all have heard of people who speculate or make definitive-sounding statements about the imminent return of Christ. Sometimes these people attract followers and create their own cult: with tragic results to those who did not heed our Lord’s warnings in today’s Gospel:

There will be those who will say to you,
‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.

But this warning is not only for those looking for the second coming of Christ (which all Christians are), but also for those who are looking here, there, and everywhere for the person, place, or thing they think will give them perfect happiness or be the Answer to their lives.

For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.

The Answer is Christ. Perfect happiness comes only in and through Christ.

And we as Christians, as members of His Church, have Christ among us, by the gift of His grace.

But, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we do not always recognize His presence fully.

We need to pray for a greater outpouring of His grace in our lives, for by His grace we can fully recognize – intellectually, emotionally, spiritually – the presence of Christ.

Perhaps this grace will come after a long journey, perhaps it will come quickly, but when it comes, when we fully recognize the presence of Christ, it will be illuminating beyond imagining.

For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.

Dad was a businessman turned politician

2009-11-12T05:41:00.000-05:00

John followed in his father's footsteps into the business world, but then decided to take another path.

He would not be a businessman and a politician like his father.

At the age of 24, John decided to become a monk.

Even as a student monk, John’s talent and piety made a tremendous impact, as he provided spiritual counsel to leading citizens.

Not long after he was ordained a priest, John was put in charge of several monasteries.

He became an archbishop before he was 40.

John’s ministry was very successful: promoting reform, spiritual renewal, and Church unity. His work for unity, however, had many enemies.

On the sixth anniversary of his becoming a bishop, a mob broke into his house. John Josaphat Kuncevyc was beaten, axed, and thrown into the river on this very day in 1623. His body was found 5 years later – miraculously incorrupt. Saint Josaphat, Archbishop of Polotsk (Lithuania) in the Byzantine Ruthenian rite of the Roman Catholic Church was canonized in 1876.

(from a previous post)

A message to the President

2009-11-11T05:48:00.001-05:00

It is also a message to all Senators and members of Congress.

It is a message to Justices, judges, Cabinet Secretaries, and all high-level officials.

It is a message to heads of state and government and to legislators everywhere.

It is a message to all public servants who exercise authority over others.

It is a message to every one of us who has some role in government or who are exalted in any way: in society, in business, in the Church, or in a family.

It is a message from God in today’s first reading (Wisdom 6:1-11): a message to all of us.

Hear, O kings, and understand;
learn, you magistrates of the earth’s expanse!
Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude
and lord it over throngs of peoples!

Because authority was given you by the Lord
and sovereignty by the Most High,
who shall probe your works
and scrutinize your counsels.

Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom,
you judged not rightly,
and did not keep the law,
nor walk according to the will of God,
Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,
because judgment is stern for the exalted–
For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy
but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.

For the Lord of all shows no partiality,
nor does he fear greatness,
Because he himself made the great as well as the small,
and he provides for all alike;
but for those in power
a rigorous scrutiny impends.

To you, therefore, O princes,
are my words addressed
that you may learn wisdom
and that you may not sin.

For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed
shall be found holy,
and those learned in them
will have ready a response.

Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed.

Thanks to those who serve

2009-11-11T05:30:00.000-05:00

Today, the eleventh day of the eleventh month, commemorates the end of the First World War. It is a day of remembrance of and appreciation for the sacrifices of all veterans who fought for peace and freedom.

We remember in prayer those who have died in military service.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace.
Amen.

I would like to extend my personal appreciation to all those who have served and most especially to all those who now serve.

May God watch over you

with his unconquerable mercy.
May the Lord bring true peace and freedom

to the places where you serve

and to the people you protect.

(from a previous post)

Army brat makes good

2009-11-11T05:28:00.000-05:00

Martin was what is affectionately known as a "military brat."

His dad was an army officer and the family moved around a lot, depending upon where his father was assigned.

It was no surprise that when he was old enough, Martin joined the army too.

Martin's unit was eventually deployed far from his family. During that deployment, Martin became interested in the Church.

One day, he found a half-naked beggar shivering beside the road. Martin tore his weather gear in half and gave it to the man.

After Martin was honorably discharged, he embraced a life of prayerful solitude. He developed a reputation for holiness and a community of monks gathered around him.

When the bishop of a nearby city died, Martin was asked to replace him (they had to beg him to accept).

Martin proved to be a very effective shepherd: ministering to the needs of the people, aiding Churches in other areas, and yet retaining the ascetic lifestyle of a monk - living in a small cell just outside of town.

Martin died an old man after a long life of service to God and his people and was buried on this very day in the year 397.

His reputation continued to spread even after his death and Saint Martin of Tours would be one of France’s most venerated men of God.

(from a previous post)

Useless servant and hero

2009-11-10T06:41:00.000-05:00

“I was just doing my job.”

That is what heroes often say: especially firefighters, police officers, and soldiers who risk their lives to save others.

True, it is their job, but even fulfilling one’s job seems unusual in this world of instant gratification and self-centeredness, let alone risking death or injury.

Likewise, as the Lord tells us in today’s Gospel (Luke 17:7-10), we are totally insignificant in the shadow of Almighty God and obeying His Commandments, while necessary, is nothing to boast of.

Yet, against the backdrop of this world of selfishness, even being an obedient useless servant can be heroic.

Attila confronts Leo and friends

2009-11-10T06:14:00.001-05:00

This 17th century bas relief marble altarpiece by Alessandro Algardi in St. Peter's Basilica portrays Pope St. Leo the Great repelling Attila the Hun from his attack on Rome in 452. Attila raises his arm in fear as the Apostles Peter and Paul appear with swords in the sky.

(from a previous post)

The "go to" guy

2009-11-10T06:13:00.001-05:00

He wasn't from the big city, he was relatively young, and he was only a deacon, but Leo was the bishop's "go-to" guy.

Leo could do it all: helping with thorny theological problems, administering church matters, and even traveling to aid churches in strife-torn lands.

Leo was on one of those trips when the bishop died. It was no surprise that Leo was chosen to be the new bishop.

Leo faced a number of challenges, inside and outside the Church. Yet he always remembered his primary duty was pastor.

He improved the organization of the Church and continued to help churches in strife-torn lands.

At one point, strife seemed about to spread to Leo's own city.

At the center of the strife was an exceptionally violent man: the epitome of barbarism. The government went to Leo to help.

Leo went out and talked to the man face-to-face. The man who was terrorizing the civilized world turned away and spared Leo's city.

Leo's sermons were so magnificent, they became widely published.

When he was unable to attend an ecumenical council, he sent a letter that clearly set out the truth of the Christian faith. When the letter was read, the bishops at the council stood up and exclaimed, "Peter has spoken through Leo!"

Leo died on this very day in the year 461, having proved to be a very worthy successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome: a great teacher of Christian truth and pastor of souls, who successfully faced down heretics and even Attila the Hun.

Later centuries would refer to him as Pope St. Leo the Great.

(from a previous post)