Faith

The Apostles desire to have more faith and ask Jesus to increase their faith.  It would be great if 'faith' were some sort of measurable quantity which could be observed and standardized.  Faith has a lot more to do with relationship and trust.  The apostles who traveled daily with Jesus were often shown to be lacking in faith.  While the blind, lame, sinful, and sorrowing seemed to put a great amount of faith in Jesus.  St Paul in his letter to the Hebrews suggests that faith is those things hoped for, yet remain unseen.  Such a stance serves to increase our relationship in the one who has given us the promise vis a vis 'faith.'

Mary is often shown as a woman with tremendous faith.  Certainly it appears that Mary has a deep understanding of salvation history, and even more so, an intimate love of God and the covenant.   Her ability to say 'Yes' to God the Father comes out of nourishing and nurturing a relationship with God throughout her life.  Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist of the 1950s, proposed that men and women encounter a moral development throughout their lives.  We begin with a moral response which strives to avoid punishment.  The highest level, is to do a good action simply because it is good.  Kohlberg suggest that very few of us ever reach the higher level.

I like the martyrs.  To be a martyr takes faith and faithfulness; completely trusting in God's love and mercy.  These are to be sure people of faith who have the capacity of inspiring faith in others.  For these men and women have sought out the vision of God and made it a part of their own conviction.  The Kingdom of God is not simply a theological construct but truly a place of light, happiness, and peace.  So we have these faith-filled people who determine to be light in the midst of the darkness they encounter, and an occasion of Christ to those in their presence. 

I spent part of the afternoon at our Diocesan Youth Summit.  A great time was had by all.  Hopefully our young people were able to experience "Church" in a different venue outside of Sunday Mass. Certainly the oldsters cannot help but be moved by the energy of 1,500 young people gathered together.  Everyone there takes away an encounter with God, and his Son Jesus, coming to touch that which is holy in some way.  Hopefully reflecting on the day can be an experience of faith in all involved.

Mustard seeds, wheat, sowers, and a room full of teens, can help us understand the work of God in our world today.  Reflecting on these sacred, and not so sacred, moments can possibly help increase our faith.

Where there is darkness let me bring your light

Today we celebrate the feast of one of the best known and beloved saints, Francis of Assisi.  While we see him as a patron of creation and animals, known for inviting us to be "an instrument of peace," there is so much more to his preaching and teaching.  The entrance antiphon of today's Mass summarizes his life with the instruction, "Francis a man of God, left behind his home and gave away his wealth to become poor and in need."  Francis lived during the twelfth century, born into an aristocratic family, came to a moment of conversion after returning from war.  Having a vision of Christ, Francis of Assisi gave away all of his possessions and lived a life of open poverty and humility.  Seeing him beg, and giving away what he received, many thought him to be mentally ill.

Francis of Assisi had a genuine love and care for the poor and the oppressed.  His outward witness of charity attracted others to join him in this new lifestyle.  In 1209 Francis began what would become the Franciscans.  Francis and his followers imitated a radical Gospel poverty and engaged in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  In addition to caring for the poor and sick, this new group also preached and taught about the values and message of the Sacred Scriptures.  For Francis all of creation was reminiscent of the love and mercy of God.  He received the many gifts of God with joy and clearly returned what he had received with increase.

Even today the Franciscans continue the works of their founder, and more importantly the Lord Jesus Christ. In the spirit of St Francis, Franciscans today continue to care for the poor, sick, an anawim, in addition to engaging in a more prophetic ministry in challenging those systems that maintain poverty, oppression, and injustice.  But that does truly reflect our faith and the baptism we receive.

At times we forget that our baptismal promises are not a private matter, but a spring-board into a life of charity and discipleship.  The scriptures really are counter-cultural and call us to reflect the image of Christ in all peoples.  The more we are able to articulate the love of God, the less we have violence, war and the indignities which plague  human life.  Francis was zealous in his stand for truth and righteousness,  His love for all creation was evidenced by his expression of care and compassion.

It would be good to look at the humility and simplicity of Francis' life.  For Francis this was more than a small dose of fasting or the wearing of black.  Francis embraced the cross and with it all which it implies.  Our faith is a counter-cultural faith which bears living witness, even today.

Guardian Angels

For many of us as catholics the image of the Guardian Angels has been a great comfort.  In grade school we were taught that our Guardian Angel would protect us against Evil and be a helper and guide to us. So much so that we could pray that our angel might intercede for us.  The idea that we have a Guardian Angel has been constant teaching of the Church for many generations.  Angels, we are told, are servants and messengers of God, servants of the divine, who hold a unique and important role in God's household.

Throughout the Sacred Scriptures men and women have been visited by Angels who either delivered messages from God, or offered comfort and support.  Some have even been known to wrestle with Angels.  But make no mistake about it, these are not divine beings that we are to worship or adore.  In several passages of Scripture, as persons would kneel, or demonstrate some other posture of veneration, they are quickly reprimanded.

The understanding of Guardian Angels invites us to look at the much larger concept of God's Divine Providence.  From the beginning of time, and especially after men and women discovered Sinfulness, God continued to interact within human history.  More so, God lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry with ever good thing.  God led the people of Israel out of slavery, and when in exile, continued to care for and nurture them. 

To be sure as catholics we have come to understand that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our life of faith.  When we look back at our faith tradition, prior to the Incarnation, we see that God always tended to his people in some form or another.  This is part of the reason we are quick to praise and thank God for his goodness to us.  It is important to consider and reflect upon the very intimate relationship which we have with God.  I believe it is in Jeremiah's writings whereas we are told that God has carved our names on the palm of his hand.

Our Guardian Angel recalls for us that God always has our goodness and salvation in mind.  I believe that it is in a letter to St. Timothy that we are told even when we are unfaithful, God will remain faithful.  God has given us an angel to be our friend on our journey to the New Jerusalem. 

Word of God

Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Jerome.  A monk and scholar, St Jerome translated the Sacred Scriptures into Latin.  That in and of itself is an outstanding accomplishment, but equally as impressive is Jerome's love and devotion to the Word of God.  The monastic tradition teaches about the importance of Lectio, or reading and meditating on the scriptures.  St. Jerome's work helps us understand the importance of the scriptures in our faith.

Our families have stories some of which immerse us in joy and comfort, while others recollect the pain and frustration of our family journey.  Some folks attempt to read the bible from cover to cover.  The first few books are fine, but then comes Leviticus, and other texts having to do with laws and regulations.  This method would be akin to going into a library and attempting to read each of the books from the stacks.  The scripture stories are meant to remind us of our part of God's love, and his tradition of faithfulness.

While we might read the scriptures for information or direction, it is an excellent source of prayer and meditation.  We might not realize how much of the Mass is directly or indirectly taken from scriptural texts.  Men and women of faith are invited to prayer Christian Prayer, or the Liturgy of Hours, a compilation of Psalms and scripture texts.

The Word of God draws us into an even closer relationship with God the Father.  The Sacred Scriptures asks us to reflect upon our faith tradition, connected to the faith story of men and women throughout the generations.  In whatever translation we read, the Scriptures reminds us that we are a people of light, happiness, and peace. 

Make Friends With Dishonest Wealth

It would seem that Jesus is giving a wink and a nod to dishonesty.  The quirk some passage from Luke applauds the dishonest steward for being dishonest.  But perhaps we can look at this in a different way.  In particular in light of the Prophet Amos who recognizes that greed and the accumulation of power have warped a once holy people and set them against the covenant. 

In an odd way when dishonest folk know that their dishonesty has caused them all sorts of problems, then they begin to look at virtue, mercy, and life.  What is really true begins to become clear.  I remember a man asking me to come to his house on a particular evening.  He was very upset, he and his wife had been having some real difficult times, and he thought that I might be able to resolve their differences.  When I pulled up to the house there was a U-Haul backed up to the garage, and the wife was putting clothing and some furniture in the back.  Yes, maybe I could do something.  Sometimes when we have done wrong, and the consequences begin to expose themselves, we begin to look for help.

Money, power, authority, are fine things as long as they do not control us  Where your treasure is there your heat will be.  It is so very important to become acquainted  with the covenant relationship which we have with God.  Then we can orientate ourselves with whatever is true, perfect, and good.

St. Matthew - apostle

While St. Matthew does not occur in the Gospel stories, or at least frequently, we understand that he was part of this close group of Apostles.  More so as one of the Evangelists  Matthew shared the Word of God and made present the message and ministry of Jesus Christ.  This is part of what St. Paul would refer to as 'ministry' as he speaks to the Ephesians.  Matthew's words help to build up that edifice of the temple, which is the Body of Christ.

Matthew begins his Gospel with this lengthy genealogy of David's household, from which Jesus is connected.  The text itself is flawed, as are some of the individuals named there.  This is certainly not a listing of 'saintly' people.  But that is sort of the point.  Jesus Christ comes into a broken humanity, calling to himself imperfect people, to preach, proclaim, and make present the 'Good News.'  It is Jesus who will perfect men and women through the Paschal Mystery, bringing salvation and peace to all peoples.  Not only are we called to participate in this mystery of faith, but we also are ministers, disciples if you will, of the faith we profess.

Matthew is called away from his 'tax collector' job to follow Jesus.  He is not called out of the world, but will be sent into it so as to proclaim the Gospel.  There are folks that would like to see the Church, and its members, somehow removed from the culture so as to practice faith without the distractions of the world.  Even monks and nuns will tell you that escaping from the world is neither good nor is it desirable. We are to live out our baptismal vocation by sharing the story of our faith  life. 

St. Matthew makes the story of our salvation known through the Gospel he authored.  In our daily wanders we share the Good News in a variety of ways.  The manner is not always based in religion nor religious words.  It is using our gifts and talents to build up the Body of Christ.  Imperfect as we might be we have a calling to share our faith and faithfulness.  St. Matthew teaches us that by saying 'Yes' to Jesus Christ we can make his grace and blessing present to a broken world.

St Andrew Kim Taegon

The story of St Andrew Kim, and his companions, is a remarkable one at best. 

 

http://catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=20

These are men and women who took the foundation of Baptism and Confirmation most seriously, and displayed it by their lives.  In the early 19th century Korea came under new leadership.  The emperor at the time despised and distrusted Christianity.  He launched a persecution against the Christian churches, and slaughtered thousands of Christians.  St. Andrew Kim, a convert with his family, eventually became a priest and ministered in Korea.  He and several dozen of his parishioners were tortured and put to death.

These are folks that did not fear suffering or death.  Like Jesus and many of his faithful followers death was not seem as a barrier to life.  Rather Andrew Kim, and many like him, welcomed the opportunity to suffer in the Body of Christ.  To take up ones cross as not simply a theory or nicety, but a living witness which demonstrated the deep commitment one had for the message of Christ.  St Andrew Kim shared his faith in celebrating the sacraments and dying for the faith he professed, as well as the people he served.

And today we have folks who choose soccer over church, and are inspired by the media and not the gospel message.  Martyrs remind us that we are challenged to be counter-cultural in our faith life today.  Sadly today many believe religious practice to be more akin to rainbows and unicorns than the Paschal mystery and standing for truth and righteousness.

St. Andrew Kim, and many others, taught the world that it is essential to profess faith by our very response to what we say we believe in.  May the good works begun in us be brought to completion.