Truth will set you Free

Today one of the major news organizations had a fluffy piece online about the Pope's wardrobe.  Many of the comments offered the question as to the newsworthiness of the article (agreed) with many others defaming the Catholic Church.  In many ways the popular culture does not know what to make of the Pope, the Church, or it's spirituality.  Certainly it would seem logical that if a groups policies or practices was not liked by some, that the organization would change to make things agreeable for everyone.  So many treat the Pope like a celebrity, and the Church like a multinational corporation.  Neither comparison even comes close.

The daily reading today follow Jesus before his ascent into Jerusalem and the passion and crucifixion.  There is a dialogue which occurs here between the religious leaders Jesus.  Jesus challenges their hostility with their lack of understanding and faith in God.  While they decry Jesus' assessment of the situation, Jesus counters with if they had faith, they would not be trying to kill him.  Their violent tendencies comes from a lack of faith.  Jesus invites them to 'come up higher' so as to know and appreciate the truth.

When we can come to understand what Jesus is about, and live by his teaching, we can come to know truth, and understand the role of the Church.  We are less concerned about the vestments that the Pope wears, and are more concerned with servant leadership, stewardship, compassion, and peace.  Saint Hugo of Saint Victor considers that our vison of faith should be so through the prism of truth.  As such we discover the positive virtues of patience, kindness, compassion, love, thanksgiving, and care.  To be sure this is the mission and ministry of Jesus, and certainly is of the Church.

Truth allows us to own the godliness that is properly ours and the good we have inherited through Jesus Christ.  His words are to be possessed and pondered, not refuted.  May the good God has begun in us be brought to completion. 

The one without sin throw the first stone

The woman caught in adultery is a powerful story of the love and mercy of Jesus, and our communion with God.  During Lent we have been singing the Kyrie.  It is a beautiful beginning to celebrate the Paschal Mystery which brings us salvation and peace.  I would love to be able to spend more time with this chant, perhaps even spending some time kneeling before the Eucharist and the cross.

To be sure the woman who kneels before Jesus does not know what to expect. She recognizes her sin, she does not need the Pharisees to pronounce it to everyone in ear shot.  Maybe she is repeating 'Lord have Mercy, Christ have Mercy,' over and over again.  What she does not expect is for Jesus to offer her forgiveness and reconciliation.

Maybe this is why we are reluctant to be honest about our sins and sinfulness.  We do not know what might happen next.  I have always fantasised about yelling, "You did what," from the reconciliation room, I have always seen the close connection between the sacrament of reconciliation and that of healing.  Again and again Jesus restores peoples to God and their communities through his love and compassion.  The expression of Kyrie helps us to appreciate our own brokenness and the need for God's grace and forgiveness. 

In the Mercy Me song, I can Only Imagine, the author ponders what our response might be as we stand before Jesus in the Kingdom.  Kyrie seems like a probable response as we consider how we have responded to God's invitations to love, and our treatment of one another.  Even more so, we come to realize how destructive we can become, to ourselves and others, when reconciliation and forgiveness are absent.

Jesus does not see a sinner dragged before him, but a woman, a child of God, who has sinned, and is fearful, ashamed, and very alone.  Throughout Jesus' ministry as he encounters men and women in need, he does not seen the affliction as much as he sees the effects of sin on a humanity.  Remember Jesus looks up and sees that "they are like sheep without a shepherd.  He knows our wounded and afflicted hearts. 

Kyrie teaches us that we can always be forgiven when we fall or wander far from godliness.  Even when we bump heads God will always take us back.  This faith and confidence allows us to approach our Lord again and again, so that we can live as children of the light.  When we feel all shame-faced, confused, and find ourselves rolling in the dirt, Jesus will take us and restore us to salvation.

Pope Francis

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, has become the Holy Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.  It is absolutely awe-inspiring that he has taken the name, Francis.  St. Francis, besides being a popular saint for his love of animals and all of creation, was a man of great humility, prayerfulness and piety.  Even at that time men and women centered their lives on obtaining and having stuff.  St. Francis brought true reform to religious life of the time.

More than ever today our Church needs to counter-cultural in its teaching and proclamation of the Gospel.  While some might scoff at the papacy, we are a Church that has deep roots in the sacred scripture, and in human history.  The Pope really is that 'Holy Father' who is to guide the Church with a shepherds care.

Commentators and news-people always have a difficult time understanding and reporting on the Pope, and the Church itself, because its work involves the spiritual realm.  Yet much of what it needs to do challenges the basics of the world today.  Church teachings challenge the comfortableness of those who are in power and in the political sphere.  The Church as an advocate for the poor and anawim make many people very uncomfortable.

Some folks I am sure thought that Francis would change the Church by Thursday morning, throwing out moral teachings and tradition.  Pope Francis will continue to make the radical good news available to the whole world.  As a Church we pray for and with the Holy Father, and the Body of Christ, the Church.  We ask that God continue to pour out his Spirit on t he Church, so that it will by a sign and symbol of God's presence to the world.

A Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son story has to be one of my favorites from Luke's Gospel, and during the season of Lent.  The two parts that stand out for myself, are the dire desperation of the son, as he longs for the food which the hogs are eating, and the intense unconditional love of the father.  This is sort of like one of those good confession moments, when we realize the depth of our sin, we are always surprised by the unwavering love of God the Father.  The story makes clear that God has, and will continue to, give us his unconditional 'Yes'  This strong affirmation of us, as children of God, hopefully can draw out an unconditional 'Yes' on our part as well.  God loves us more than we can imagine.

Lent is the time to ponder the new life that God wants to give us.  St. Paul will reiterate that through Jesus Christ we have become a new creation.  We are called to make a faithful response to the Father's love.  Such a response is the difference between the Kingdom, or condemnation.  Those who make faithful responses can lead peoples out of the desert, bring healing, instill peace, and create a place where communion and revelation of goodness and truth are made known.  This sort of response requires a mature faith.  We have to have a spirituality that is deeper than a finger bowl. 

The younger son struggled with sin and evil, and discovered the love of his father when he returns home.  The older son followed rules and regulations, and most likely never took a risk in his faith, and perhaps never really experienced a love relationship with his father - only a 'legal' one.  Our challenge is to struggle with the messiness of life and to search the heart of God. The best way to know this sort of love is to continue to contemplate, reflect, pray, to the one who gives us life.  More so, we come to know love when we act in love and mercy, and have the same passion for life, as the Father in heaven has for us.

It is all to easy to get used to being with hogs, or sitting by a well with an empty bucket, or even being bound up, in a tomb.  These experiences can begin to seem normal.  Jesus Christ offers us that these are not normal, nor desired by God the Father who runs down the road to greet us.  Hogs are great over coals, with tangy barbecue sauce, but not good dinner companions.  Jesus shows us a way of piety and righteousness that leads us to the Father's house. 

Then I will be your God ... you shall be my people."

Moving towards the end of Lent we are witnessing more tension between Jesus and the authorities, as well as seeing an increased emphasis on conversion and discipleship.  In today's Gospel Jesus expels a demon, yet is challenged on his authority to do so.  The entire mission of Jesus has been to cast out evil, and to reveal God's plan of salvation and peace.  This is about the time when we yearn to eat that chocolate, have a beer, or engage in any one of dozens of things we may have given up for Lent.  Perhaps this is why the prophetic words we find in sacred scripture are all the more blunt during these last few weeks.

In the early Church the catechumens stood in a dark Church, with Baptized Christians - soon to be their brothers and sisters in Christ - and listened and watched as the bishop pour blessed oil on the font, and rubbed it into the stone.  He then prayed a prayer of exorcism over the font and the water.  The soon to be Christians then pronounced their baptismal promises three times, turning towards the west they renounced Sin and Satan, and to the east, proclaimed their faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This commitment against Sin and Evil was very important part of the life of the Christian.  The neophyte was to be a child of the light.

Maybe we have lost that sense of Sin and sinfulness in our lives today.  If we were to talk about casting out demons we might smile and even snicker a bit.  But today we as a people of God, and as a Church really need to be diligent in its stand against evil, and yearning for the truth and goodness.  One of my seventh graders this morning asked about the time frame of eating meat on a Friday.  "What happens is I begin eating a hamburger at 11:56 p.m. ..."  Our whole thrust has to be about an interior conversion.  We have live lives of integrity and faith.  This is much more important that how straight we kneel, or folding our hands at the proper angle to the vertical of our spine.

I reminded the seventh graders today (as I have for the last few years) matters of justice, peace, respect for life, and human dignity, are the foundation of the scriptural teachings.  In our Church today too, our commitment to faith is really about making the Word of God, and our profession of faith, something that is real.  We are not contemplating a theology but a relationship which we have with the living God, and our brothers and sisters.  We must be perfected as our Father in heaven is perfect.

We Want A Modern Pope?

Over the last several days there have been articles and news reports contending that catholics want a 'modern' Pope.  The language used of course is that we as a Church need to move into the 21st century.  To be sure the structure of the Vatican is a tad antiquated, in addition to the fact that using modern technology the Cardinals could have elected a new Pope using Skype, texts, and email.  But this is not exactly what is implied in the news accounts.

The desire is that the Church, like our society today, would be open to the possibility of abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage as an alternate life-style choice, and married clergy.  If we would simply follow along with whatever seems to be popular, right, or good, then we would become more relevant.  Folks like to point out that Jesus loved and accepted everyone, therefore so should the Church.

And yet what is so often forgotten is that the Gospels do spell out a moral lifestyle, which includes embracing the cross, and avoiding  sexual promiscuity,  greed, selfishness, and self-righteousness.  Jesus offers the woman caught in adultery forgiveness, and tells her to avoid this particular sin.  The story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful example of conversion and discipleship.  Jesus kindness and compassion does not advocate dishonesty and injustice, but moves him to change his lifestyle.  More so the Gospel Jesus offers a litany of if part of your body is your downfall, then one should remove it. 

Throughout the centuries the Church has stood with the poor and the anawim.  The radical nature of the Church has challenged the likes of kings and queens to change their policies and politics to allow justice and peace to flourish.  The Thomas Mores, Francis of Assisi's, Dorothy Days, and Oscar Romero's, of the Church not only advocated a counter-culture, but did not back down to popular pressure which recommended going along with the flow of society.

Lumen Gentium, of the Second Vatican Council, reminds us, "This was to be the new People of God.  For, those who believe in Christ, who are reborn ... are finally established as 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation... .'"  This image creates for us a vision that the Church is supposed to be the unfolding and revelation of the Kingdom of God.  The Paschal Mystery challenges us to proclaim good news to the world.  We are not passing out smiling Jesus pictures to everyone, but standing on a conviction to what is true, right, and good.  Our faith is not about being nice or making us feel good about ourselves.  It is about creating a space of justice and peace, standing strong for the weak and vulnerable, and leading people away from oppression and Sin.

More so the Church is to be prophetic in the world today.  Why can't we believe like everyone else?  Because we are not like everyone else.  The Pope is the voice and face of the Gospel.  Standing on the foundation of the Apostles and the holy men and women through the centuries, the Church continues to carry out the mission and ministry of Christ.  In the end one wonders who is really of out of step.  Is it a Church that protects life and liberty, or a society that can look the other way in the face of mass starvation and violence? 

Perhaps we do need a modern man who can challenge the modern Sin and Evil which seeks to harm us.

Repent and Believe in the Gospel

Sometimes when I ask the young people about Sin and confession, they usually sheepishly admit having been away for a real long time.  Some counter with if Jesus loves everyone, why do we have to go to confession.  To which I respond that it is for the same reason spouses and friends have to ask for forgiveness, and forgive each other.  Then of course there is the "I haven't killed anyone."  Murder seems to be the standard by which we determine if we should go to confession.

For the prodigal son, he had realized how much his father really loved him, and how 'dead' his life had become since he distanced himself from his community.  It was with a contrite and repentant heart that he returns to his home; overwhelmed by the compassion and love that he experiences as he comes back.  But on his return he understands how much he is worth to his father.

Perhaps this is why the entire ministry of Jesus centers on the Paschal Mystery, in which we encounter reconciliation and forgiveness of Sin.  Jesus tels his disciples to go out to baptize and gives them the authority to forgive sins.  In the Gospel stories we see a parade of people, the Samaritan woman, the woman who anoints Jesus' feet, who have experienced forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, and now have the joy of living a new life.  Sin had hobbled them to behaviour and actions which were not life-giving, and had distanced them from the Father's love.  Now through reconciliation they had communion with God and the community.

The priest stands in the confessional as a mediator of God's people.  He does not judge the sins he hears, but rather reassures the penitent of God's love and the forgiveness of sins.  In the early Church the faith community prayed over the people involved in doing penance.   While the intention of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is decidedly not spiritual direction, for my part I end up doing a thirty second spiritual direction.  But how powerful that i to hear a voice saying, "And  I forgive you your sins, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit... ." 

Our faith challenge is to reject simplistic solutions (cut the tree down) and to cultivate our spiritual life so as to stand strong against Sin and Evil.  And the closer we are drawn to God the Father, and the life of his Son, the easier it is to move from Sin and sinfulness.  The parable today really shows us a different way to respond to the challenges of this life and the promises of the Kingdom.