That's what I want

I want Truth...

I want a church that does not bend truth to be morally relative. There can be only one Truth—not many different versions of “truth” that contradict each other.
 
I want a church that tells me I’m wrong when I think I’m right.
 
I want a church that does not change its teachings to fit the times or whims of some. (Romans 12:2)
 
I want a church that does not tell me my sins are okay just because “everyone else is doing it” or humans have “evolved” and “progressed” in their thinking. Just because the world says it is right, doesn’t make it right, and we can’t live a life of faith in that way. (James 4:4)
 
I want a church that will call me out on my sins, and not turn a blind eye.
 
I want a church that challenges me to lift myself to higher standards, not a church that lowers its standards to meet my selfishness.
 
I want a church that demands my time and effort, and challenges my will power and openness to grace.
 
I want a church that doesn’t let me off scott-free in my laziness and selfishness.
 
I want a church that will tell me it is gravely sinful and offensive to God to use contraception.
…to have pre-marital sex.
…to live with someone before you’re married to them.
…to get divorced.
…to have an abortion.
…to live for money and careers.
…to skip Mass on Sunday.
…to disobey your parents, laws, or anyone in authority.
…to lie.
…to covet or be jealous of the blessings of others while overlooking my own blessings.

I want One church...

I want a church that teaches one Truth and professes one faith, and admits that it will never have the authority to change them because the Truth came from Jesus Himself and not from any man.
 
I want a church that is fully united (Philippians 1:27), with a visible head and other church authorities, just like Jesus established.
 
I want a church that is visibly run by sinners, one that has a very imperfect past, and is not afraid to admit it. Wars, scandals, prying on the innocent—these are not events to shake my faith in a church, but rather strengthen my faith in it. What other institution in history could basically decimate itself from within and yet reign strong? And better yet, while fully holding on to the Truth? Not changing Truth to excuse even the sins of those who are in positions of authority? Not even the darkest of times could change the truth because the Truth is always True, even if people deny it. A broken church full of sinners that is able to remain unchanged in doctrine, Truth, and practice is truly a church ever graced by God, and surely the “gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

I want a church that is a family. My brother is Christ and my father is God the Almighty Father. The family doesn’t end there—but I want a church that gives thanks and honors the fact that our Brother gave us His Mother. Yes, I want a church that gives me a Mother to point me in the right direction, to comfort me, to guide me. And yes, I want a church that is both a family here on earth of brothers and sisters in the Lord, and a family in Heaven, all fully alive, praying for us and all connected in the Spirit.
 
I want a church that is truly a family. Where the head of this church can be called Papa. Of my place of worship, I want the one who teaches the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, passed onto him, to be “Father.” I want Brothers (monks/friars) and Sisters (nuns). My church should be one big family.
 
I want a church that doesn’t make me the center of my faith—I’m not the rock that my faith is built on, I’m not my own authority. It’s not just “me and Jesus” but the whole Body of Christ, and my concern is not just with myself and my own salvation, but for other sinners and their salvation (Galatians 6:2).
 
I want a church that I can be confident has supplied me and all of its followers with the necessary inspired Word of God: the full Bible. I want to know that what I consider to be Sacred Scripture includes every book necessary and is not missing anything.
 

I want a Holy church...

I want a church that teaches me how to truly worship, and not just “hang out” and “relax” on Sundays. Where Sundays are truly the Lord’s days and not my own. Where I fully humble myself, showing my humility and unworthiness with my body language and actions.
 
I want a church where almost everything we say and do at Mass is purely from Scripture and not made up based on what is current or fun. 
 

Church in Austria

I want a church that does not throw out ancient traditions because they are no longer “cool” or “what the people want.”
 
I want a church that tells me I need to pray, and often, even (especially) when I’m busy.
 
I want a church that teaches me to fast and sacrifice—to deny myself of bodily and earthly comforts on purpose for the sake of exercising my own spiritual muscles and for the sake of sinners.
 
I want a church that instills a true fear of God in me, and not one where Jesus is just my “homeboy” and “best friend.” He is also my Judge, Who counts my sins and Who will determine my salvation.
 

Cathedral in Moscow, Russia

I want a church that produces saints. Ordinary saints and proper Saints that lived radically in love with Christ and neighbor. Ones that I can imitate to grow closer to God. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

I want a church that understands that I am human. I see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. I can better understand the glory of God through all of my senses, not just with my mind. (Romans 1:20)
 
I want a church that plays on my sight. One that adorns everything in beauty, creativity, and majesty, which all evoke my sense of something special, something holy, something greater than myself. One that is filled with pictures and statues to help me to understand and remember.
 
I want a church that plays on my hearing. Speak to me the written and spoken Word of God. Assemble choirs in such perfect harmony that I believe in angels. Play music that is so beautiful and reverent that it brings tears to my eyes. Let me hear, “I absolve you from your sins and you are forgiven,” so I may know with confidence that Jesus gave this power and it is through Jesus that I can be forgiven each time. (John 20:21-23)
 
I want a church that plays on my sense of smell. Bring out incense to let me know that I am in a holy place and that I am in the presence of Something Divine. (Revelation 8:3-4)
 
I want a church that plays on my sense of taste. We have been commanded to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:9). We have been commanded to eat the bread from Heaven, which Jesus said is His own flesh and blood (John 6). We have been commanded to eat this bread-flesh and drink wine-blood this in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:14-20). So, feed me (John 21:15,17).
 
I want a church that plays on my sense of touch. Christ became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He made Himself touchable and tangible, so too should His church be. Give me things to hold. Give me things to help me pray. Give me things to understand.
 



I want a Universal church...

Mass in Africa

I want a church where the teachings,
prayers, and worship are the same all
around the world, because we are all part of
the Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

I want a church that I can visit anywhere in
North America, Europe, South America, Asia,
Africa, or Australia, and the only difference will
be the language. Everything else will be familiar
to me, from the gestures to the structure of the 

Palm Sunday in India

Mass, to the symbols and prayers, and
everything in-between. Even in an exotic
culture, I want to feel completely at home
surrounded by family.
 
I want a church that levels the entire world
with the same church calendar, Holy Days,
beliefs, and practices, no matter the language
or cultural differences.

I want a church that will teach me how to

Women praying the Rosary in China

interpret Scripture the right way—with the
full inspiration of the Holy Spirit, combined with
unwritten traditions of the Apostles and earliest
Church fathers, and thousands of years of
learning and upholding the right interpretation.

I want a church that doesn’t leave Biblical
interpretation up to me (really, what do I
know? Even if I live to be 100, I can’t learn more than
Christ’s church), but to those in proper authority, to teach everyone the one and true meaning of each book, chapter, and verse.
 

I want an Apostolic church...

Priest Ordination

I want a church that has a fully unbroken line of apostolic succession. One where Jesus Himself breathed the power of the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles (John 21:22), our Church fathers, who through a continuous laying of hands, conferred this Holy Spirit to all Church leaders throughout history to the present day, to give them ecclesial authority. (2 Timothy 1:6; 1 Timothy 5:22; Hebrews 6:1-2)
 
I want a church that was founded by Jesus Christ and built upon the rock that He established as the cornerstone. (Matthew 16:18)
 
I want a church that was not founded within the last 500 years by any regular Joe with his own personal interpretation of the Bible and his own set of rules and truths.
 

College of Cardinals

I want a church that is not a democracy, where leaders are not chosen by individuals to fit their whims and twisted understanding of Truth, but by qualified individuals who have received the Holy Spirit.
 
I want a church that doesn’t mirror part of its Sacred Scripture off of another religion that denies that Jesus is the Christ—I want the whole Old Testament. The one used by the Apostles and earliest Christians.
 
I want a church that I can be confident is teaching me the Truth, because that Truth remains unchanged from the very foundation.

 

The Nicene Creed, written in the 4th century, still recited at every Mass:

 

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, 

maker of heaven and earth,
 of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God, 

born of the Father before all ages. 

God from God, Light from Light, 

true God from true God, 

begotten, not made, consubstantial 

with the Father; 

Through him all things were made. 

For us men and for our salvation 

he came down from heaven, 

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate 

of the Virgin Mary, 

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified 

under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried, 

and rose again on the third day 

in accordance with the Scriptures. 

He ascended into heaven 

and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 

He will come again in glory 

to judge the living and the dead 

and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the Lord, the giver of life, 

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, 

who with the Father and the Son 

is adored and glorified, 

who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 

I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins 

and I look forward to the resurrection 

of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

.

Help! My loved one is not Catholic anymore!

Venerable Fulton Sheen (source: CatholicGag)

I came across two great blog posts by a very passionate (and sometimes blunt) priest. I particularly love to hear what he has to say when it comes to lax, lukewarm Catholics or "American Catholicism." He's never afraid to say what needs to be said, even if many people find his words to be a little harsh. Sometimes the truth hurts.

These two blog posts go together: one is called, "Help! My children aren't Catholic anymore!" and the other is "Help! My kids still aren't Catholic!"

His ideas have been on my mind a lot lately. I know many people, some of my own family and close friends included, who still claim to be Catholic, but don't live it. I'm thankful that they remain in the Church, but it still hurts nonetheless to see them as Catholic by name only. On the flip side, I have also seen many people, again friends and family included, who have fallen away from the Church all together. Many of them left the Church and sought some non-denominational, "new-age," trendy, "nice" Christian church. This pains me too because they don't understand what they have left...

If I may, some quotes from the aforementioned blogs (emphasis my own):

What’s the problem? The problem is not now. The problem is back then. The problem is how we have educated a whole generation of young Catholics. We’ve driven them off with being nice. The Catholic Church over the last fifty years in the USA has become just another nice American institution. Nice like McDonald’s. Nice like Disneyland...We’ve made catechesis nice...[T]here is another aspect to the gospel which we’ve quietly forgotten. We’ve forgotten that part about, “If anyone would be my disciple he must take up his cross and follow me.” Or that part which says, “The world will hate you as it has hated me.” or “Broad is the way that leads to destruction, but narrow is the gate and few there be that find it.”...So our children aren’t dumb. They grow up and they figure that if it’s all about being nice that you don’t have to go to church to be nice. You can be nice without church. You don’t have to be Catholic to be nice. You can be a nice Methodist if you want. So if they want to be nice they just go along being nice without church, and they believe that because that’s actually what we taught them even when we didn’t know that is what we were teaching them.

Because we never told them it would be difficult and that it would require discipline and that they should have some backbone and determination if they were going to make it in the spiritual life, they learned that lesson, and therefore when it did turn out to require a little bit of grit and determination and difficult things like confession and self discipline and prayer–they went scooting off because they thought it was all about being nice and praise and worship songs that made you feel good and a warm comfy sermon from Father about loving each other more. 

There is another huge contributing factors to the hemorrhage from the Catholic Church. It is indifferentism, and the indifferentism has three aspects. First is the aspect that it doesn’t really matter what church you go to...The unique claims to Catholic truth have been watered down or denied completely. So if we have been telling our kids for the last fifty years that all the other Christian denominations are pretty much the same.

Indifferentism also applies in a second way: we became indifferent to the importance of doctrine. Doctrine didn’t matter. Experience was everything. Warm, fuzzy experience. In fact, not only did doctrine not matter, but it was considered divisive...If we were taught to be indifferent about doctrine, then the logical conclusion is that doctrine doesn’t matter, and if doctrine doesn’t matter then it doesn’t really matter what you believe, and if it doesn’t really matter what you believe then you can make up your own religion and believe pretty much whatever seems right and good to you and makes you feel like a nice person. Consequently, the next generation didn’t really see any solid reason to remain Catholic.

The third aspect of indifferentism is simply being indifferent. Careless. Complacent. Worldly. Lacking in passion. Lukewarm. Boring. 

One more excellent, motivating link: "Why the world doesn't take Catholicism seriously"

Just some things to think about.

Is there Biblical support for NFP?

I think that most people would agree that it’s just “a Catholic thing” to teach Natural Family Planning (NFP—that is, a married sex life without any artificial contraceptives). But why is that? Why have other Christian denominations fallen away from a practice that is both reason-able and Biblical? Why do many Catholics even deny this teaching, despite the fact that it is reasonable, Biblical, and Church teaching?

 

First, let’s use a little bit of reason and common sense before we dive into the Bible. Most people, especially couples who have or want children, will agree that male and female fertility is a gift from God. I mean, really! What an amazing gift! The ability to essentially make something out of nothing, and that something happens to be a completely new, unique human infused with the God-given soul. Gift! But if those fertile days in a woman’s cycle are a gift from God, then those infertile days are a gift, too. God is the Author of creation and the Author of the laws of nature. Therefore, God Himself wrote the laws of female fertility: providing around 100 hours a month of fertility, with the rest being infertile. Phew, thank goodness! Imagine how many MORE people would be on this planet if men and women were both fertile 24/7! Yes, these infertile days are a gift indeed.

 

So when a married couple uses NFP, they are following the manual that God wrote. “To avoid conception, use these days. To achieve conception, use these days.” It’s that simple. It’s in complete cooperation both with the laws of nature by the Great Author, and with God’s will because He may just decide to give you a baby at that moment anyways. A bowed head in submission is always an open vessel to grace (think: Mary).

 

So why do people shy away from NFP? One reason is a true lack of faith, not willing to put one’s future in God’s Hands. Instead, the contracepting couple wants control. They don’t fully trust in God’s grace to always provide for whatever situation He gives. A second reason is the selfishness of the flesh. NFP requires daily communication between husband and wife, as well as a little self-control on those fertile days. Instead of practicing self-control and prudence, the contracepting couple just wants what they want when they want it. This is a selfish desire of the flesh, to make it so that each is available to each other every day without any apparent consequences, submission, or communication.

 

Regarding the selfishness of the flesh, St. Paul says:

"For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace. For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  Romans 8:5-8

I think that explains well what I just said, regarding living for the flesh, lack of faith in God (and yes I have seen the NFP push turn to hostility), not submitting to the law [of nature] that God wrote, and of course in the end, going against nature is not pleasing to God.
 

St. Paul also said:

“Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural.” Romans 1:24-26

Contraceptive sex is unnatural, especially when the pill (or some other hormone) is involved, because it takes a natural bodily function (which we already said is a gift from God) and turns it backwards and mutilates it. The truth is that we are not meant to have as many babies as humanly possible, but the lie that many have come to believe is that we must go against the laws of nature to avoid it. That we must sterilize ourselves, bowing down to contraception and its power instead of the Creator of fertility/infertility and His power.

"They promise them freedom, though they themselves are slaves of corruption, for a person is a slave of whatever overcomes him." 2 Peter 2:19

People make themselves slaves to their contraception. Women set alarm clocks to take their pills right on time, make sure to never leave the house without them, order their lives around them, and thus become slaves to them. Men blame the woman for an “unexpected pregnancy” when she has not fully submitted herself to the laws of the pill. A contracepting couple’s sex life revolves around that which promises them a supposed freedom [from children, responsibility, lack of control], but the contraception itself becomes a burden and a corruption to marriage as the couple revolves their entire intimate life around it.
 
We can see that there are Bible verses that can be applied to speak against contraception, but sometimes that’s not good enough for some people. While reading through 1 Corinthians the other week, I stumbled upon one single verse which seemed to light up the page, and one I re-read constantly. This verse seems in full support of NFP, especially the Creighton Model (okay, I’m biased!) because it not only teaches you how to use NFP (how to find ‘good’ or ‘bad’ days depending on your goal), but it also teaches S.P.I.C.E. That is, it teaches you to explore, love, and nurture the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Communicative/Creative, and Emotional side to your spouse and marriage. In other words, your married life isn’t just about your sex life, and NFP (Creighton Model!) teaches you to foster, all of the dimensions of your partner and vocation.
 

“Do not deprive each other, except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, to be free for prayer, but then return to one another, so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control." 1 Corinthians 7:5

 

 

1. Do not deprive each other – The Catholic Church is not prudish. The marital act, according to the Church, is beautiful, proper, and necessary. In each act, the couple consummates their marriage again and renews their vows to each other.
2. except perhaps by mutual consent for a time – mutual consent implies that essential communication about those fertile days, which may be the days that you want to “deprive each other…for a time.”
3. to be free for prayer – here’s part of that S.P.I.C.E. again. Avoiding sex doesn’t mean that the couple should sit on opposite sides of the room or watch TV until each falls asleep. Avoiding sex doesn’t mean avoiding each other. That time can be best spent by focusing on your partner or spending time for prayer and spiritual growth with your spouse.
4. but then return to one another – Again, the Church isn’t against sex. Why do people think that?
5. so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control – not having any self-control in your sex life is the by-product of the Prince of Lies. We are not the sum of our “animal instincts,” but we are human, made in the image and likeness of God, and thus with our will and His grace, we rise above to a higher level from self-denial (“..he must deny himself..”) and thus a more perfect [spiritual] union with God.

 
 
Questions? Curious about NFP? Are you trying your best to ignore God’s tugging at you to turn to NFP? I was in your shoes. Contact me. I want to help.

To feel the agony of abandonment: Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about my revelation from the Divine Mercy chaplet about Jesus’ Mercy and Passion, especially at His agony from the moment of abandonment in the Garden.

 

It was a blessing that I came to this understanding when I did, because that set the stage to open my heart to graces in similar times of need. I can read about and meditate on Jesus’ agony in the Garden. I can imagine how alone He felt. How disappointed He was that His beloved friends could not stay awake with Him. How He was far from His loving family. How His humanity just wanted to be comforted and embraced by friends and family, but the only embrace He would receive was the kiss of deception from a supposed friend. How He must have realized (or probably already knew, but rather proved) that humans are not 100% reliable because “the flesh is weak,” but the only constant that remains, no matter what, is God. That is why Jesus prayed, prayed hard, and then prayed harder when His anxiety grew. That is why even when His friends abandoned Him, He returned to God and found only His consolation. Humans don’t mean to, but they will often hurt and disappoint.

 

Since my re-version to my Catholic faith and my re-dedication to Jesus Christ, I can admit that I have changed. I have a fire and a light in me (Matt 5:15) that I can’t hide, but I don’t think this change has settled well with people who do not share my passion. And for that reason, I have lost some old and good friends.

 

It is painful to my heart to see my once-friends show up in the “People You May Know” list on Facebook because they silently chose to “Un-Friend” me. It is painful to try and keep in contact with other people and get the strong feeling like they don’t want to talk to you anymore. It is painful to be told that I make someone’s conscience uneasy, and so their only choice is to cut off all ties with me. It’s painful for me to hear vile words and accusations spewed at me for my religious beliefs from someone who once so tenderly called me “friend.” Even among my own Christian brothers and sisters, I have been attacked for “not being Christian” and “unable to be saved” just because I am Catholic.

 

At times, I get a glimpse of what Jesus felt in the Garden.

 

Listen, God, to my prayer;

do not hide from my pleading;

hear me and give answer.

I rock with grief; I groan…

For it is not an enemy that reviled me –

that I could bear –

Not a foe who viewed me with contempt,

from that I could hide.

But it was you, my other self,

my comrade and friend,

You, whose company I enjoyed,

at whose side I walked

in the house of God.

Psalm 55:2-3,13-15

 

LORD, the God of my salvation, I call out by day;

at night I cry aloud in your presence.

Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry.

For my soul is filled with troubles;

my life draws near to Sheol…

Because of you my acquaintances shun me;

you make me loathsome to them;

Caged in, I cannot escape;

my eyes grow dim from trouble.

All day I call on you, LORD;

I stretch out my hands to you…

Because of you friend and neighbor shun me;

my only friend is darkness.

Psalm 88:2-4,9-10,19

 
But I have come to understand that my humanity is frail; it is easily hurt by others. We were made for pure happiness which this world cannot offer, so I know I am made for Heaven instead. My only consolation comes from God. So my prayer increases. My love for God increases. Though my heart is heavy, I bring it all to Him, Who will never disappoint me. Who will never abandon me. Who will always love me, especially as I draw closer to His will and farther from the ways of the world.
 
This is why this prayer, from St. Faustina, has become one of my favorites and one I can say with confidence, even if it’s with a heavy heart.

O my Jesus, nothing can lower my ideals, that is, the love which I have for You. Although the path is very thorny, I do not fear to go ahead. Even if a hailstorm of persecutions covers me; even if my friends forsake me; even if all things conspire against me, and the horizon grows dark; even if a raging storm breaks out, and I feel I am quite alone and must brave it all; still, fully at peace, I will trust in Your Mercy, O my God, and my hope will not be disappointed.

To feel the agony of abandonment

I have become a very firm believer that when you pray and meditate, and ask for understanding and knowledge, it will be given to you. When I started praying the Rosary every day, I would ask the Blessed Mother to teach me something about one of the Mysteries that I was to meditate on. Sure enough, every single time I asked Her, I came to know something new. Even when you meditate on the same 20 Mysteries every few days, you can learn something new if you just ask.

Such was my experience with the Divine Mercy chaplet. Jesus said to St. Faustina:

At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion." (Diary, 1320)

I believe that when we think of Jesus' Passion, we automatically focus on a few key parts: the horrific scourging at the pillar; thorns plunged into His sacred scalp; a bloodied, weak, flesh-exposed body carrying a heavy cross up a hill; large nails being plunged into those Hands and Feet; and of course, after all that, enduring the pull of gravity while nailed to a cross. These events are so brutal that it is still very difficult for me to wrap my mind around them, but these are all physical Passions. It's what we think of and relate to most, being physical beings. So then for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why Jesus wanted us to meditate on His Passion, "particularly in [His] abandonment at the moment of agony." Jesus' emphasis on this phase of the Passion must have been particularly important and painful, but I still couldn't shift my focus from the physical pains.

And one day, after a few days of asking for understanding, my answer was given to me. The worst moments of Jesus' Passion must not have been those unfathomable, physical beatings... it must have been the emotional, spiritual, and mental pain. This seems so strange to us in a culture where we do all we can to make ourselves comfortable and pain-free: taking Tylenol at the first sign of a headache, resting after a sports injury, buying ergonomic chairs to sit in at work. We like as little pain and discomfort as possible, which is why we focus so much on the physical pains of His Passion. But I don't think that was His worst experience.

Meditate on His moment of abandonment, as He says, and you will get it too. Put yourself in His shoes: He knows what is ahead. He knows that one of His best friends just turned Him in and sentenced Him to a gruesome death. He is the most afraid and anxiety-filled He has ever been--He was a pure and blissful God who clothed Himself in humanity so He could not only understand our physical pains, but our emotional, spiritual, and mental pains as well. When you're this afraid, don't you just want to surround yourself with loved ones? Don't you just want the full presence of someone else to ease your mind? How sad then He must have felt to repeatedly return to His friends and to find them fast asleep each time.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.” He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.  Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.” Matthew 26:36-46

At that moment, Jesus was completely abandoned and alone in the world. His beloved parents were not around. His friends couldn't muster enough will power to stay awake with Him through His agony. Every individual soul that He loved personally, who just a week ago exclaimed, "Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest!" would soon be shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!," spitting in His face and kicking Him down.

What a dark night in that Garden. Meditate on it. You will open a treasure box of understanding about His role in our salvation, how He is able to relate to our suffering and intercede for us, and most importantly, you will come to a greater understanding of His Divine Mercy. He knows how weak and dependent we are--He knows first-hand.

O my Jesus, nothing can lower my ideals, that is, the love which I have for You. Although the path is very thorny, I do not fear to go ahead. Even if a hailstorm of persecutions covers me; even if my friends forsake me; even if all things conspire against me, and the horizon grows dark; even if a raging storm breaks out, and I feel I am quite alone and must brave it all; still, fully at peace, I will trust in Your Mercy, O my God, and my hope will not be disappointed.

What is a smile?

What is a smile? Is it not a physical manifestation of an internal emotion of joy and happiness? Without the smile, we would not be able to understand the invisible emotions.

What is a hug or a kiss? Is it not a physical showing of love? Words fall helplessly short when trying to tell someone that you love them, so we resort to the physical world. How else can you explain love? How can you show it? How can you relay the invisible feelings you have within you?

What does it mean when someone dances? I mean really, unabashedly dances, with eyes closed and no musical rhythm guiding their steps. Is it not a physical manifestation of a deep, fully-alive feeling, and bursting joy? Haven't you ever been so happy that you can't say it, you can't write it, you can't express it other than your pure, shameless dance?

Why do I ask these questions?

My point is that there are many things--emotions, thoughts, feelings, etc--that are purely human which are inexpressible and indescribable without the physical world. Our faces and bodies are physical tools that we use to express those invisible mysteries that we all hold within us. This is how humans were designed by God, to use the physical world to reveal (although it's impossible to do so completely) that which is invisible, indescribable, and mysterious.

God Himself is the greatest Mystery. Because He knows how He made us, physically-dependent creatures, He made Himself into the physical. God's Word, which had never been seen and hardly understood, became Flesh for us to see, hear, and touch. Jesus, the Incarnation (Word made Flesh), came to us to bridge the gap between the purely physical and purely mysterious, between man and God.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth." John 1:1,14

Through Jesus' parables, He related our physical world that we are familiar with, to greater mysteries, like Heaven, Hell, repentance, and receiving grace. Through Jesus' healing miracles, he showed us that our physical bodies are curable, but so are our souls! And how much greater it is to heal the eternal soul!

God did not just play to our physical senses only once in the Incarnation. Jesus left His Apostles with commandments and ways to continue to manifest the invisible, spiritual, mysterious world in our physical world. Of course, Christ's greatest gift to us is the Eucharist, His Flesh and Blood, which are "true food" and "true drink" (John 6). These simple foods, when infused with the Holy Spirit, become our spiritual food for everlasting life. Through communion with the Body of Christ, we become part of the Body, His Mystical Bride, which we see physically as the Church.

Aside from the Eucharist, Christ also gave His Apostles the ability for forgive sins. "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23). Again, God knows how He made us. We should use this physical world to relate our sins, to show remorse for them through penance, and most importantly, we need to hear the words, "You are forgiven." Thus, He instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. After spending years of just trying to ask for forgiveness through silent prayer, and never being sure of that forgiveness, I can tell you that one trip to the Confessional does what a million years of silent plea for forgiveness cannot do. I know that through the Sacrament, I received that grace of forgiveness and grace to help me where I need it. We are human and understand best through physical manifestation.

Christ gave us so much more through His foundation of the Church on St. Peter and the Apostles. The Catholic Church has so much symbolism, so much physical manifestation of the mysteries of God, it may well be impossible to know it all even down to the little things. But the seven Sacraments, in particular (two of which I just mentioned) are great gifts to us, because through simple, physical things, we can better grasp the eternal mystery. Water is just water but when we use it to mark our faith with the Name of the most Holy Trinity, we are given the invisible grace of becoming a child of God!

Do a little research sometime and you'll find that everything in the Catholic Church has some sort of meaning or parallel to that invisible truth which is hard to grasp. We don't just do or have things "just because." Christ's Bride is so rich with these physical manifestations, that we are just so blessed to be ever-surrounded! The more you discover, the more you will fall in love with this faith, and the more you fall in love with this faith, the more you will fall in love with Christ. Loving the faith and loving Christ is an uninterrupted circle, because as a married couple become united as one, so Christ and His Bride the Church are One. To love one is to love the other.



My Great-Grandfather's Eulogy

Seeking and recording your family's history was much harder before ancestry.com and other websites started showing up. I'm very grateful that some of my distant family members took the time to research my Grandmother's family (on my Mom's side) in the early 1990s. Through the book that they made, I got to see the names, birth places, and other extra information of some of my ancestors. However, I think the thing that I love most in this entire book is the eulogy for my Great-Grandfather Aloysius.

Great-Grandpa Aloysius Meinert died in 1957, so obviously I never knew him. But after all of the spiritual changes I have experienced this year--my love that is on fire for the Lord, my return to the Confessional, my love for the Eucharist and all the Sacraments, and my deep love and pride in the Catholic Church--I can't help but wonder, after reading his eulogy, if he has been praying for me all this time. I sure think so. I don't think "family" ends after a small number of generations. I'm certainly very blessed to come from a very long line of very strong and devout Catholics.

"THEY THAT ARE LEARNED SHALL SHINE AS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT AND THEY THAT INSTRUCT MANY UNTO JUSTICE, SHALL SHINE AS STARS FOR ALL ETERNITY"

(Words of the prophet Daniel, 12 chapter, 3rd verse)

If we were to ask ourselves a question, "Who are they who have instructed many in the way of justice?," immediately there is brought forth in our mind an obvious answer, "those who have given their lives to the service and the salvation of their fellow man." When we think of one human being instructing, guiding many others along the pathway of justice, down the road of righteous conduct, we cannot help but to think of the religious Sister, who day after day diligently labors in her classroom to mold and form the tiny souls entrusted to her care. That indeed is an example of one instructing unto justice. When we think again of a human being helping others get to Heaven, immediately we picture the good and diligent parish priest, working in his parish, preaching, teaching, administering the Sacraments because all these are ways of bringing the justice of God to the children of men. But yet, must we stop there, with nuns and priests, in seeking the full number of those who have instructed many unto justice? Can we deny the fact that the wonderful Catholic father is less deserving of the title, "instructor of many unto justice"? 

No, I am afraid we cannot, and this morning I would like all here present to appreciate the fact we have gathered here not to weep and lament, as those who have no hope, but to pay tribute and learn from the example of one, who instructed many in the way of justice.

Those who knew Al Meinert knew him for what he really was. He was a quiet man, a simple man, living close to the earth from which he made his livelihood. Yet underneath that simple, unimposing exterior, there was a tender and a gentle, sincere heart, that loved his wife and family but, which above all else, loved his Lord and God above all other things. Religion to Al Meinert was not sissy stuff, for women and children, but for everyone, and especially for him. He never talked religion or wore it on his sleeve where people could see it to talk about it, but he had it where it counts--in his heart--and he showed it where it matters. Here at this altar for Mass, there at that Communion rail for strength, and there at that Confessional for mercy. He was religious in the same way he lived, a man's man in God's world.

And that spirituality, that holiness which he had in his own heart, brought others unto justice. The example he gave his wife and children, was not just one they saw but one they saw and heeded, and it brought all of them to the feet of God, where they learned well the lessons of His love. The whole family learned to love and appreciate the Mass. They learned to come frequently and gather their strength from the Sacraments, because from their earliest years they had the example of a father who did not say, "Do as I say," but, "Do as I do."

As far as the possessions of the world go, Al Meinert was not a wealthy man. He did not drive a big, expensive car. He did not live in an elegant, luxurious house; so when God called him before His judgment seat last Wednesday noon, he could not say, "Father, look at the wealth I have acquired; consider the famous name and the great renown I have achieved." No, Al Meinert could not say that to God; he had not much wealth to offer to God. All he could say was, "Father,You have given me a fine wife and eight children. There they are; they are not rich nor famous, but my wife is a wonderful wife, a devoted and devout Catholic mother. My children, I have tried to train them in the way of Your Commandments; I have given them the best religious training I could afford. I have tried to make them love You--and I think they do. My hands are not full of gifts, Lord, but my hands are clean and my conscience is clear. I have tried never to shirk my duties as a husband or a father." Yes, Al Meinert, had not much in a material way to offer to Almighty God, but what he offered, he offered fully, and God knew he had instructed many unto justice, and I am sure that after the sun went down on last Wednesday, the star of Al Meinert appeared in the heavens.

We know and realize the family is sad and heartbroken at the sudden loss of a dear husband and devoted father; but yet, can we, in their bereavement, remind them of an important thing? What they do, how they live, will be the success or the failure of their father's life. The only great monument a busy father can build to stand after he is dead is the monument of his family left behind. The life they live in the future, the example they give to their own children will be the yardstick by which their father will be judged. Your father is gone but his loving wife remains and all the children will try to work hard and diligently to help her with her many tasks.

We preach a sermon at a funeral, not only to say a word of praise for he deceased but also to speak a word of caution or warning for the living. From the sudden, untimely death of Al Meinert, all of us, the living, can learn two important lessons.

While all of us are quick to assure ourselves many years to save our soul, none can be foolish enough to be that hopeful. Our Lord has warned us that "He will come as a thief in the night, when we least expect it," and then we must be ready. Youngness of years, robustness of health is not insurance against a sudden and unprovided death. Such a realization should point out to us, the living, that each moment we should live so that if sudden and accidental death comes to us, we are ready, as was the deceased, to stand before the judgment seat of our Heavenly Judge.

The second lesson is also a fruitful one; for the last few weeks, Al Meinert, like all the people who live from the soil, was worried about the weather, wondering whether the abundance of rain would prevent the planting and cultivation of the crop. Such was a great concern. Today he is not one bit concerned about the crop, whether it is good or bad, because today with him, only one thing counts, and that, the condition of his immortal soul. So with us, we can be concerned about many material things, good things, but with all our concern really only one thing counts, and that with God, the condition of our own soul. We might have the best crop, the biggest and best farm, the most success, but if, in the sight of God, we have failed to save our own soul, our whole life has been a failure. This truth, gruesome to face but as real as today, faces all of us this morning.

Your father has gone on to another life to prepare for his family in that heavenly country a new home. He is that star you can see shining in the heavens on the clear night. You, his family, are going to have to guide your life by that star. Keep that star ever in front of you; remember the good example your father gave you; never let his star grow dim in your heaven; never let his memory grow faint in your life. But look upward, forward to the time when all of you, his children, his wife, will be gathered together with him in that heavenly home for all of eternity.

Amen.

Funeral Eulogy by Father R. Kaiser          June, 1957

 

 

 

My Great-Grandpa Aloysius Anthony Meinert

Thoughts On My Trip Back Home

My husband and I just got back from visiting my home state of Indiana for about two weeks. It was a wonderful but too fast of a time at home with loved ones and just returning to where I left my heart. Of course, I have to throw this in!

Back home again in Indiana
And it seems that I can see
The gleaming candlelight, still shining bright
Thru the sycamores for me
The new mown hay sends all its fragrance
From the fields I used to roam
When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash
Then I long for my Indiana home

It was our third trip home since moving to Montana, but this trip was different because we are different. It was our first trip home since we have re-committed ourselves to our faith. It was our first trip home since we’ve really prayed, read, and spoke together about God. It was our first trip home since going to Confession, ridding ourselves of all the habits and sins that we confessed, and understanding the evils and eternal implications of sin. We see and feel more with our souls than our bodies, and that made this trip home very different.
 
I got to see, with a new perspective and understanding, the environment that I grew up in. The life that shaped my Catholic faith, instead of the other way around. It was an environment of typical American Catholicism, where my life, the culture, and everything/everyone around me, dictated my faith, instead of my faith guiding my life and leading me to be counter-cultural. It was an environment where I never understood Jesus’ words, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19) Obviously, no human wants to be hated and rejected, and it’s easy to slip into the comfort zone where you can keep your faith but camouflage it enough so that no one challenges it. But honestly if you’re not seeing any sort of hardship for your faith, then something is wrong; you’re too conformed to the world and not to the Truth.
 
The whole time I was home, I couldn’t help but notice that most people around me seemed so lost, and by that I mean, completely consumed and concerned with “worldly” things. Even those who believe in Jesus Christ were not on fire with love, but more or less just lukewarm, proclaiming Christ with their lips (if they did at all) rather than their heart and actions, because their hearts were elsewhere. I recalled constantly the parable of the sower from Matthew 13:
 

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

“Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

 

I thought particularly of the seed sown among the thorns, and I felt like that is what I saw all around me. Material possessions, money, education, staying busy, pleasing the body, comfort, careers, success—all these seemed to be the things that everyone revolved around. It hurt my soul to see it for all of its ugliness for the first time. “No one can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (‘mammon’ meaning ‘wealth’… Matthew 6:24)

 

Yes, it hurt me to see this, but it still gave me hope. The seed, the growing plant of the Word, is still there in most people, and I know that. I could see it in the smiles, in the love that people showed to one another, in the way that people were still drawn to God even if they didn’t feel anything or had doubts. The seed, the hope, the Holy Spirit’s fire is there, but there are just so many weeds that choke it, never letting it reach its full potential. You can get rid of the weeds. But first you have to see the weeds. What is it that you put most of your time, effort, or thought into? Is it several hours of TV each day? Is it food? Is it the internet? Are your thoughts consumed by how much you have to do? Things you didn’t get done? Ways to make your appearance or your house look nice? Diets and exercise? New cars? If you made a pie chart of your day, how much of it is filled by all this extra, unnecessary “stuff,” and how much of it is somehow related to God?

 

There are plenty, plenty, plenty of weeds in one’s life, and you can’t pull them out all at once. It takes baby steps, so that you don’t become the rocky soil from the parable. It’s always best to start with prayer, to begin building that bridge back to God and to ask for wisdom and guidance (“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7). Based on my own experience, I would also recommend reading good books, especially ones by Fulton Sheen. He helped me (and my husband!) in more ways than I know. His words helped to shine the light on those weeds in my life so that I could see what I couldn’t see before. In seeing the weeds, I saw the sin (that which takes me away from God), and I changed my life. Anyone can do this, too, but it has to come from within you. But the graces you’ll find of faith, true joy, and peace, are greater than any bodily enjoyment you’ve ever sought before. One after another, the pursuit of worldly pleasures always ends in disappointment, but the pursuit of the spirit never disappoints because eternal life with God is always the final fulfillment.

 

“As the appeal to the spiritual relaxes, the demands of the flesh increase. Living less for God, human nature begins to live only for self, for ‘no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will sustain the one, and despise the other.’ The regrettable aspect of it all is that, with this increased sin, there is decreased sense of sin. Souls sin more but think less about it. Sinners become so calloused that they have no yearning for redemption. Having lost their eyes, they no longer want to see; the only pleasure left to them in the end is to mock and sneer at those who do.” (Fulton Sheen, Victory over Vice)