Christmas The Center of History
Decisions
Advent and Christmas
Gospel of Plenty
Evangelization
Generosity
The Gospel of Plenty
In spiritual counseling, one of the most difficult spiritual errors to correct regarding Christianity is the error of a “Gospel of Plenty”. Sometimes it is referred to as the “Gospel of Prosperity” or the “Health and Wealth Gospel”.
Here is the core of the error: Many believe that if we are good Christians, God should reward us in this life. The opposite also occurs, with the belief that God is punishing us when bad things happen. [Read more…]
The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride
This is how Jesus began his ministry:
… Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
Repent and believe in the gospel. This is what Jesus is calling us to do. In the first reading, God sent Jonah to make a final attempt to save the great city of Nineveh by calling the Ninevites to repentance or to suffer total destruction. The Ninevites repented and were spared. John the Baptist called for repentance. God wants us to repent.
[Read more…]
Why Do Catholics Baptize Infants?
Catholics are often challenged with the question, “Why do we baptize infants?
The answer is, “To give them Life: Eternal Life.” We also have Jesus’ commandment to his disciples,
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Mat 28:19-20
By “All nations” Jesus means everyone (Not just adults).
Holy Family
“God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.”
(Sirach 3:2)
God shows us that we need family to learn to love and to have and raise children. God gave Jesus a mother, Mary, and an adopted father, Joseph. And God gave Jesus a family tree with cousins and aunts and uncles. In some places in the Gospels we hear of Jesus’ brothers and sisters. However, that language is an accident of translation. There is no vocabulary in Hebrew for brothers and sisters of a nuclear family. In fact, the word for first cousins and brothers and sisters is the same word. It is quite likely that in Nazareth Jesus lived within a home of an extended family of cousins. Jesus was shaped in a robust human family.
Christmas: The Center of History
Human history is divided into two parts: before and after the Messiah. The zero point, the center of our history is the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The center of our history is Christmas.
The Old Testament deals with all human history from creation of the universe, the creation of our first parents, and the history of our salvation prior to the birth of Christ. The New Testament of the Bible begins with the birth of Jesus and the coming of the kingdom of God down to present times. We live in New Testament times.
The Immaculate Conception
Consider your own redemption. God always wanted to call us back to him, to live with him in eternal friendship.
We cannot separate the Immaculate Conception from the premise of our own Baptism. By our Baptism we are cleansed of our Original Sin. John the Baptist’s baptism was not our Christian Baptism. John’s baptism was an outward sign of an inner reality regarding the repentance of those who listened to John’s message. John called people to repentance, and the ancient cleansing baptism with water in the Jordan was the outward sign of their desire to be cleansed of their sins.
Jesus’ Baptism is a sacramental gift of life. Christian baptism gives life. By our baptism we are restored to eternal friendship, eternal life with God. By our baptism we become just like Mary. Mary was born without original sin. Mary did not sin. Mary could not die. When we are baptized we become like Mary, so we can share divine life with her in God.
Feast of All Souls 2014
Today’s feast of All Souls, and yesterday’s feast of all Saints are connected by the same promise of eternal life with God. Yesterday, we acknowledged how happy we are that some of our race, the “Saints”, have been assured that they made it to heaven and received the Promises Jesus made to the Just, the “poor in Spirit”. We venerate the Saints because they are looking upon the “Face of God” for all eternity. We know they are saved. The Church holds them up as excellent models for us to follow.
Repay to Caesar What Belongs to Caesar
From the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we hear,
God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
We are made in the image of God. We are made to share divinity with God. We were made, like Adam and Eve, to live forever with God, sharing eternal life with Him. This is God’s plan of Salvation for us.
Making Disciples
A father tells his two sons to do their chores. The first refuses, but later does what his father asked him to do. This son had a change of heart, and the change was to be obedient to his father.
The second son replies, “Yes, sir”, but then does not do what his father asked him. This son was rebellious. His answer to his father was just to look good.
This happens all the time in some parishes. We prepare the children to be disciples of Jesus Christ, their First Communion, their First Confession and Confirmation. They all say, “Yes”. Then they disappear. But it is not the children who disappear. It is their parents who do not believe that attendance at Mass is important, even though God, the Father, has told us in his commandment to keep holy the Sabbath, Sunday, and to worship Him on Sunday.
Stop Stealing Paperclips!
We heard in the first reading,
Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed. (Is 56:1)
Each year as school starts, I become very concerned for the students returning to school; it is a concern for their honor and virtue, for their faith and their souls. They will be faced with new temptations and challenges. My hope for them is that they will do as their faith instructs them, to “Observe what is right and do what is just.” But this concern is not just for the children, but also for their parents.
[Read more…]
Priorities
In the world there is chaos. It is up to us to bring order out of chaos. In order to have order and peace we must mature in our priorities, get our act together, and learn to control the chaos in our lives, with the Grace of God. This is wisdom. We need wisdom.
It is easy to discover and measure the maturity of a person by their values and priorities, and how well defined these are; Which ones are more important? Perhaps it is their faith and their hope for eternal life. Perhaps it is their family. Perhaps it is their work. Maybe it is sports. Perhaps it is simply pleasure.
It is a tragic situation when a person has no demonstrable or defined values or priorities to guide them through the chaos of their lives. In their immaturity they are lost, living in chaos. They lack wisdom.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Lust
Last year, about this time, we initiated a series of homilies to examine the Seven Deadly Sins. We have already done five of these: Anger, Envy, Avarice, Gluttony and Sloth. (You may listen to or read these homilies by clicking on the homily link on the parish website.) We still have two more to examine: Lust and Pride. Today we will examine the Deadly Sin of Lust.
Sin is almost always a personal, selfish decision that separates us from God. All sin is serious, but some sins are more deadly than others, the Mortal and Capital sins that kill our souls, separating us from eternal life with God.
Confession and Excommunication
God wants very much that we come to share the divine life of the Trinity. St. Paul states boldly: “You are in the spirit if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.” But not all choose to be in the spirit, or in the divine life with God.
A couple of weeks ago, it was reported in the press that Pope Francis excommunicated the mafia, its leaders and those who support their activities.