Why go to Mass?
The kingdom of God within us has been damaged by sin. We go to Mass to fetch the carpenter-King who will help us rebuild it.Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? Mark 6:3And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20-21But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. Mark 9:1And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19)Look at these facts:
- The occupation God chose for his Son was carpenter
- Jesus taught us that the kingdom of God is within us
- Jesus taught us that He returns to us hosted in the bread and wine of the Eucharist and we must receive Him within us in memory of Him.
Coincidences? I do not believe in coincidences especially when they come from God. He could have been a hair stylist, a shepherd, a jockey, a soldier or even a priest. Yet, the occupation that God chose for His Son is that of carpenter. He could have located the kingdom of God elsewhere. Yet, the location that God chose for the kingdom of God is within us. He could have re-entered the world hosted in something else. Yet, the host that God chose to convey His son back into the world is the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Why? The reason for these choices is revealed when we realize that God does not communicate with us in His own language but condescends and talks to us in a simple language that all of us can understand. By casting His son in the role of a carpenter, by placing the kingdom of God within us and by calling upon us to bring His son within us in memory of Him, God is trying to tell us something. It is up to us to open our eyes and figure out what that something is.
The passion, death, resurrection and ascension of the Son of God did not mark the end of the work of salvation. By virtue of these events, God opened the door to our salvation. Each of us still must cross its threshold under our own volition. That is why, after his ascension to heaven, God did not take a vacation. More work needs to be done. The kingdom of God within us has been damaged by sin. We can leave it in disrepair or rebuild it. On our own, however, we cannot succeed. We need help. Because God loves us, He is eager to supply us with all of the help we need. To rebuild the kingdom of God within us, God makes available to us a carpenter, His son, our King. By receiving the Eucharist at Mass, we fetch Him and bring Him to the most important construction project in which any of us will ever be involved: the rebuilding of the kingdom of God within us. An intimate, one-on-one collaboration between each of us and our personal savior takes place through the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist we work hand-in-hand with God Himself
With this simple imagery, God reveals the simple logic of the Eucharist.
The Theory of Salvation
God loves us so He invites us to come back home to live our lives in eternal and abundant happiness with Him. This is the good news of great joy. First, accept the invitation! Second, ask yourselves,'how do we get there from here?'. Third, seek God by discovering and passing through the landmarks that define the path of holiness that takes us home to Him. In these three steps is our salvation! The theory of salvation is simple to understand. Putting the theory into practice may be somewhat more difficult.
The motto of 'Worship Wednesdays'
Let us help one person besides ourselves today. Just one person. Who will she or he be? At the end of the day, take stock by asking yourselves, have we succeeded or failed? Have you helped one person? Not ten; not five; just one. Help one person a day and you will change the world! As helping one person a day becomes a practice, you will discover what the potato chip maker discovered, "I bet you can't help but one."
THE PRACTICE OF "WORSHIP WEDNESDAYS" AND THE REASONS THAT INSPIRE IT
"Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair." G.K. Chesterton.
The seeds of faith have been planted in us by the sacraments, the faith of our parents, the example of good and holy priests and religious, scripture and other agents of God. What is planted sprouts, grows and manifests itself in a lush variety of ways (Matthew 13). In our case, the seeds of faith have given birth to "Worship Wednesdays". "Worship Wednesdays" is nothing extraordinary. We simply practice our faith. We celebrate the good news of great joy by giving thanks to God in community each Wednesday at the 7:45am Mass at the Chapel of Monsignor Farrell High School while school is in session. After Mass, we enjoy the company of each other in convivial fellowship over light refreshments. That we practice our faith is good but why we do so is much more important. Practicing our faith without an understanding of the reasons for doing so is like separating a plant from its roots: without reasons, a practice soon withers and dies. Hence on this page are set forth the reasons for practicing our faith. In them, the mind of the ordinary Catholic layman is opened and exposed -- for better or worse. What follows are the views of those in the pews on the lay side of the altar. These are the views of the student not the teacher (Matthew 10:24-25). We apologize to our teachers of the faith for any errors. Nonetheless, as the lyric from the song, "The Curse of an Aching Heart" goes "You made me what I am today, I hope you're satisfied".
AN EQUATION THAT RULES THE WORLD
Love begets love.
Hate begets hate.
This simple equation rules the world!
God made the world. He also created equations that describe it, for example, E=MC2. Another such "equation" is this: "Love begets love; hate begets hate.". Everything that God has done for us and recommends to us in salvation history has been dictated by this fundamental equation. God wants us to love Him so He loves us. God is an arsonist. His match is love. With it He ignites the fire of love within us. Moreover, He wants us to become arsonists of love as well. In reading the summary of salvation history that follows, watch how God faithfully applies this "equation" in His relationship with us.
THE IDEOLOGY OF THEM WHO SEEK GOD
The LORD looked down from heaven
upon the children of men, to see
if there were any that did understand,
and seek God.
Psalm 14:2
Timeout! Let's take a break. Exit the stage and go to a high place. Look down at yourself and upon the other children of men. What do you see? Surely, a lot is happening. When God looked down upon the children of men in Psalm 14:2, He looked for two particular things. Only two particular things were important to Him. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else counted. For what did God look? He looked for men and women who, 1) because of their understanding, 2) sought God. Wisdom is found in men and women who deem important what God deems important. Therefore, the wise ask, 'what exactly is on the mind of men and women who, because of their understanding, seek God?' (Luke 15:18-19). What thoughts are they thinking? They think that 1) God loves them, 2) God has invited them to come home to live their lives in eternal and abundant happiness with Him, 3) They have accepted God's invitation, 4) Having accepted, they ask themselves, how do we get there from here?, and 5) they seek their God by discovering and passing through the landmarks that define the path of holiness that takes them home to Him. History has unfolded before them and rolled itself up to their doorstep. They understand their place in it. A brief recapitulation of salvation history follows so you too can understand your place in it as well.
THE CHOICE OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD IS BETWEEN GOD AND GODLESSNESS
The kingdom of God is not a jail.
God is not our warden.
We are not His prisoners.
We are free to leave or
free to stay.
The choice is ours.
When God creates His children, He blesses them with the gifts of rationality and will. With these two faculties, we make our own decisions for better or for worse. God respects the independence of our decision-making and tries not trespass against it. Thus, when we make the most significant choice of our lives between God and godlessness, we are making the choice - nobody else. The kingdom of God is not a jail. God is not our warden; We are not His prisoners. We abide in God or in godlessness according to our own free choice. "Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love" (CCC 311). We may stay or we may leave. It is up to us to decide.
WHEN GOD CREATED THE ANGELS, HE GAVE THEM IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE FULL SPECTRUM OF HIS BLESSINGS; YET, MANY STILL CHOSE GODLESSNESS OVER GOD.
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
Bookmark of St. Theresa
When God created the angels, He gave them immediate access to the full spectrum of His blessings. They did not have to seek God because they had God. Yet, for some perverse reason, they chose godlessness over God. "This 'fall' consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign" (CCC 392). Why did this happen? St. Augustine could not figure it out, concluding, "I sought whence evil comes and there was no solution." (CCC 385). Yet, only a "difference in potential" had the power to carry them from God into godlessness: they must have deceived themselves into thinking that they would find something greater than the full spectrum of God's blessings in godlessness. "All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." ― C.S. Lewis.
DUE TO THE FALL OF THE ANGELS, GOD DECIDED TO CREATE A RACE OF BEINGS - US - WHO WOULD FIRST CHOOSE BETWEEN GOD AND GODLESSNESS BEFORE GAINING ACCESS TO THE FULL SPECTRUM OF HIS BLESSINGS.
It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but "we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him". (CCC 395)
Once burned; twice shy. Oh, how, the fallen angels broke God's heart. God loved them; but they did not love God. They "... radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign" (CCC 392). Because granting them immediate access to the full spectrum of His blessings did not stop His angels from choosing godlessness, God changed His policy when he created a new race of beings - us. God would not be as generous with us as He was with His angels. We would first make the choice between God and godlessness before gaining access to the full spectrum of His blessings. The old policy was blessings before choice; the new policy would be choice before blessings. Access to the full spectrum of God's blessings would be restricted to only those of us who would seek it. The reasoning behind the change in policy was that the children of God do not appreciate blessings what are simply handed to them. By putting us through the process of seeking the kingdom of God, we would better appreciate the value of God's blessings. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). By placing us amidst a small subset of the full spectrum of His blessings in godlessness and by keeping the full spectrum of His blessings elsewhere with Him, God created a potential difference whose force is supposed to carry us from godlessness to Him.
OUR CREATION, HOWEVER, WAS COMPLICATED BY THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL.
God's laizzez-faire policy tolerating the fallen angels' choice of godlessness complicated our creation. Evil existed. A malign impostor, his minions, hate, falsehood, and fear now populated the world. They threatened the new race of beings -us- that God planned to create. For us to survive and flourish, God needed to figure out how to best protect us from them. Without protection, we would be sitting ducks (CCC 409).
WHY CONFINE EVIL TO A GHETTO OF GODLESSNESS WHEN EVIL CAN BE USED TO BRING ABOUT GOOD?
He permits [evil], however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it (CCC 311).
"God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist."
Saint Augustine
God knew that the world would be hostile to us so the Son, therefore, prayed to the Father "... not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." (John 17:15). The Father always grants the prayers of His Son. Hence, we must conclude that God provided a place of safety. The place of safety is within each of us. "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21). The kingdom of God within us is our personal defense mechanism enabling us to live in a hostile world in safety "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). Hence, the existence of evil in the world motivates us to build the kingdom of God within us. We build the kingdom of God within us when we chose God over godlessness and then start the journey home to Him. This kills two birds with one stone. Building the kingdom of God within us delivers us from evil and carries us closer to our salvation.
ADAM AND EVE MARKED THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE OLD POLICY OF BLESSINGS THEN CHOICE TO THE NEW POLICY OF CHOICE THEN BLESSINGS.
“So hand in hand they passed, the loveliest pair that ever since in love's embraces met -- Adam, the goodliest man of men since born his sons; the fairest of her daughters Eve.” ― John Milton, Paradise Lost
Adam and Eve were the last of God's children to be handed the blessings of the kingdom of God before they made the choice between God and godlessness. The children of this new being called Man would start out with nothing in godlessness, make their choice between God and godlessness and, if they chose God and sought Him, would then be granted access to the kingdom of God. With the children of Man, God would be trying a new approach. The old approach, however, would still be used with Adam an Eve. Like Mary, the Mother of God, Adam and Eve were conceived without sin. God made them perfect (John 1:47) like little children (Matthew 18: 1-5). How could God have made them any less than perfect (Genesis 1:31)? God does not create coach; He creates first class. God is God (Exodus 3:14). By definition, He, like the Pope speaking ex cathedra, does not make mistakes. With unstinting generosity, God blessed Adam and Eve with many gifts including the gift of life, the gift of a companion with whom to share it and the gift of a home in which to enjoy it. God placed Adam and Eve gently into Eden. Eden was a place of truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Until the impostor came, everyone and everything in the world of Adam and Eve was on the up and up, honest and benign. Having no experience with beings malign and their falsehoods, a defense mechanism against them had not evolved within Adam and Eve. There was no need.
THE PARADOX OF PERFECTION
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)
By making Adam and Eve perfect, God made them vulnerable. They were unprepared for their encounter with evil. When the impostor came, it was like letting a fox into a hen house - they did not stand a chance. Even God Himself was not surprised that in the first encounter on earth between innocence and evil, evil won (CCC 412). Pit a hardened criminal against naive innocence and the outcome of such a contest is a foregone conclusion. That the impostor was able to tempt them away from God into godlessness was a fait accompli. "Planned Obsolescence" is a term that aptly describes what God had in store for the innocence of Adam and Eve. But why? Why did God set Adam and Eve up to fail? God isn't stupid. God understood the paradox. He knew that, given the existence of evil, the perfection He created would only be short lived. Yet, God is good (Matthew 19:16-17) and, in His goodness, He still wanted to bestow upon us the gift of perfection. To have prepared Adam and Eve for their encounter with the impostor, God would have had to be, well, less than God. He would have had to introduce Adam and Eve to the concept of falsehood. This would have ruined their innocence (Genesis 3:11) and made them less than perfect. God does not do less than perfect. God would not ruin their innocence; but, the impostor would. Thus, the impostor trespassed against our rationality by confronting us with the impurity of a falsehood without explaining to us that falsehood is a faux truth. This assault on our rationality by falsehood caused Adam and Eve to fall. But God would turn the tables on the impostor (Genesis 50:20). By becoming the champion of falsehood, the impostor now had a face. The dichotomy between a benign God, love, truth and hope and a malign impostor, hate, falsehood and fear became clear. Now God would restore the children of Adam and Eve to the perfection of their parents and thereby solve the problem of preserving innocence and perfection in a hostile world. (CCC 412). God plans to make us "innocent like doves" and "wise like serpents" in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). But how? As children of God, we possess the gifts of rationality and will. God will appeal to our rationality so that we will decide for ourselves to seek God. It is said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). But how? God will do two things. First, God will tell us the truth. But God understands that just telling us the truth is not enough. God told the angels, Adam and Eve the truth, yet they still fell. So God will do something special for us. He will do something wonderful. Besides telling us the truth, God will give us his personal guarantee of the truth (John 14:6). When we make our choice between God and godlessness, we shall be well informed. We shall be in possession of guarantees of the truth! With these guarantees, it will be impossible to mistake truth from falsehood. "...[F]or this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice" (John 18:37).
LIKE CHILDREN, ADAM AND EVE RAN AWAY FROM HOME - AND TOOK US WITH THEM
Their rationality assailed, deceived and confused by a falsehood, Adam and Eve ran away from home like foolish children, --- and took us with them! It was utter insanity for them to abdicate our home with God in Eden and stampede away from Him into godlessness; yet, they did so. It was contrary to our own best interest. In godlessness, we are like fish on dry land. "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you" observed St. Augustine.
BEFORE ADAM AND EVE SET OUT ON THEIR ADVENTURE INTO GODLESSNESS, GOD MADE SURE THEY WERE PROPERLY DRESSED
The doting Father would not let His beloved children venture into godlessness until they were properly dressed (Genesis 3:21). Tender is the care our Father gives to His children even those that disobey Him.
THE CHILDREN FLEE, BUT THE FATHER PURSUES
The children flee; but, the Father pursues (Luke 15:3-7) (Luke 15:8-10). "[God] is not proud...He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him." C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain. God, our Father, is relentless in his pursuit of us. He never ceases to come after us. He wants none to perish (2 Peter 3:9) (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
WHY DOES GOD PURSUE US?
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4). Why does God pursue us? As we stampede away from God into godlessness, why does not God just say, 'Goodbye and Good Riddance'?
We learn the reason that God pursues us when we listen to the truth that God is trying to tell us. The truth that God is trying to tell us is simply that God loves us. Because God loves us, He has given us the good news of great joy. He invites us to come home to live our lives in abundant and eternal happiness with Him and His family. It is up to us to accept the invitation and start the journey home!
Has the thought ever crossed your mind that God loves us? A good Father loves His children and - hallelujah - God, our Father, is good (Mark 10:18) We are the works of His hands; made in His own image (Genesis 1:27). How can He not love us? Think it through and you will come to the same conclusion as St. Faustina: "What a paradise it is for a soul when the heart knows itself to be so loved by God" (St. Faustina - Notebook VI, 1756) (See, also, Exodus 34:5-7).
"For our soul is so specially loved of Him that is highest, that it overpasseth the knowing of all creatures: that is to say, there is no creature that is made that may [fully] know how much and how sweetly and how tenderly our Maker loveth us. And therefore we may with grace and His help stand in spiritual beholding, with everlasting marvel of this high, overpassing, inestimable Love that Almighty God hath to us of His Goodness. And therefore we may ask of our Lover with reverence all that we will. (St. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, Chapter 6)
God loves us. This is the truth. God, however, does not just tell us the truth. God gives us His own personal guarantees of the truth as well. That God Himself tells us that He loves us is reason enough for many to believe. The proposition that God loves us is not coming from some ordinary person whose credibility is doubtful. The profession of His love for us comes from the very mouth of God Itself. But God wanted to remove all doubts about His love for us so He gave us a greater reason to believe. He gave us His own personal guarantees of His love. The first guarantee God gave us is the passion and death of His Son on the Cross. The second guarantee is the forgiveness that followed the passion and death of His Son on the Cross. Do you think God is trying to tell us something? Do you think God is eager for us to believe that He loves us?
HOW DOES GOD PURSUE US?
God respects the sovereignty of our free will (CCC 311 ). We can ride it to hell in a hand basket if we wish. So when Adam and Eve, like children, decided to run away from their Father and their home, God, out of respect for their free will, allowed them to pursue their folly. How easy would it be for God to end our stampede into godlessness by merely overpowering us with His omnipotence! If God but peaked out from behind the curtain that hides heaven from earth and said "Boo!", we would turn around and head back to Him in a jiffy. But as God says: "[B]lessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29). That God does not do these things tells us something about His purpose. His purpose is not just to get us to come home to live our lives in abundant and eternal happiness with Him and His family. He wants to do more than merely rescue us. He wants us to come home under our own power not towed home to God by His omnipotence kicking and screaming. God will not force us to bend our knees or force us to wear His yoke upon our shoulders; willingly must we bend our knees and take up his yoke ourselves (Matthew 11:28-30). God offers us the prize but does not force it down our throats; We must claim the prize. We must claim our place as heirs to His kingdom (Romans 8:14-17). The prize is ours but we must reach out and take it!
If not by His omnipotence, how does God, our Father, who pursues us, plan to get us to come home to live our lives in eternal and abundant happiness with Him and His family? Love. God plans to win us back through love. God plans to get us to surrender to His love. An omnipotent God puts aside His omnipotence to show us the omnipotence of love!
WE CAN BE SURE THAT GOD LOVES US BECAUSE HE HAS PROVIDED US WITH HIS OWN PERSONAL GUARANTEES OF HIS LOVE.
But, how can we be sure that God loves us? "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24)
We can be sure that God loves us (Paragraphs 219, 220, and 221 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church) because God has given us His own personal guarantees of His love for us: 1) the passion and death of His Son on the cross and 2) His post-crucifixion forgiveness.
THE PASSION AND DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD ON THE CROSS IS A GUARANTEE THAT GOD GAVE US PROVING BEYOND ALL DOUBT THAT GOD LOVES US.
Reluctance to suffer is part of our natural instinct of self-preservation
A rational human being is naturally reluctant to dive headfirst or, for that matter, even dip his toe into the boiling cauldron of suffering. Only the certifiably insane willingly do so. Jesus, Himself a rational human being, was not happy about it, praying to Our Father "... Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done...." (Luke 22:42) 6.1. Thus, the notion of us taking up a cross ourselves to follow Him (Luke 9:23) is unappealing, disagreeable and repugnant. 'Look what happened to Him when He did so' we cringe. We run away from such a bloody burden. If this be God's will2, we want no part of it.
Suffering is not the message of the Cross
Suffering, however, is not the message of the Cross. If that is what you are taking away from the Cross, you are missing the point. You are not even close. St. Paul of the Cross said, "The passion of Jesus is a sea of sorrows, but it is also an ocean of love. Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this ocean. Dive into its depths. No matter how deep you go, you will never reach the bottom." The message God wants to communicate to us was, is now and ever will be is that God loves us. God wanted to make sure that we did not misunderstand His message so God decided to communicate it to us in a language whose meaning we all understand. The language we all understand is the language of suffering. There is no ambiguity about suffering. Suffering is a price we only willingly pay for something that is very dear to us. Suffering, therefore, was the means to convey the message, not the message itself. Suffering was the guarantee that God gave us to attest to the veracity of the message. If you look at the Cross and all you see is suffering, you do not have a proper understanding of the meaning of the Cross. (1 Corinthians 1:18-24) (Romans 8:32-35). Further thinking and more prayer about the Cross tell us that the message of the Cross is not that God wanted His son to suffer or that God wants us to suffer. Oh, no! God is not a sadist, never was and never will be. By the passion and death on the cross of the Son of God, God is providing us with a guarantee of His love for us. Suffering is the guarantee. God's love for us is the message. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)
Jesus promises us an easy yoke and a light burden
Indeed, Jesus tells us to take up our cross (Luke 9:23). But Jesus also tells us that "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30) and readers are advised to remember that God is not a liar.
Jesus voluntarily embraced the Cross despite the suffering
Nothing forced Jesus to suffer, ascend the Cross and die. At anytime, He could have desisted, packed His bag and exited stage left (Matthew 26:53-54). He passed though the ordeal of His own free will. He did not take a shortcut around the gauntlet. He who is so much more than man submitted Himself to us who are so much less than God (Matthew 3:13-15) (Isaiah 53). He gave until there was nothing left to give (Romans 8:32). We took until there was nothing left to take 4.
Why did He bother?
Why? Why did He bother?
We treated Jesus as we treat our enemies. We did not welcome Him. We preferred He go away and leave us alone. We threw everything at Him: insults, buffets, blows, scourges, a crown of thorns, and crucifixion. We cooked the golden goose for a meal. We took axes to the tree of life, chopped it down and used its branches for kindling (Luke 23:34). We were His enemy. our goal was to defeat Him 5.
Fortunately for us, God loves His enemies
Fortunately, for us, God loves His enemies! (Luke 6:27-36) (Matthew 5:43-48) (Luke 6:27-38) 6
Nothing we did to Him nor can do to Him diminishes the love God has for us
Despite all the evils and indignities we heaped upon Him, His love for us never wavered. (Proverbs 24:10). Its ardor never cooled. We did not dislodge it. We did not break it. We did not reduce it. We did not strip Him of it. His love for us is absolute. Requited or unrequited, it does not depend on us (Psalm 136). On the Cross, Jesus showed us that He loved us more than He loved himself. Love, not suffering, is the message of the Cross. Love is the victory! Love is the glory! By the Cross, God is preaching an insanity of love - unstinting, unrestrained, profligate, wild, profuse, effusive, and overwhelming (John 13:34-35). (1 Corinthians 13) 7
Wasn't there another way?
Wasn't there another way? Could not God simply have told us (Luke 16:19-31): "My children, I love you and want you to come home to live your lives in abundant and eternal happiness with Me". Wasn't the message enough? Was it necessary for God to take flesh, suffer and die as the guarantee of the veracity of His message? God, obviously, thought it necessary. Apparently there was no other way. Prophet after prophet was sent to the world (Luke 16:19-31) to no avail (Matthew 21:33-39). Our skulls are so thick and our minds so closed to the goodness of God that only something as spectacular, as incredible, as awesome, as extreme, as radical as God taking flesh and suffering as we suffer has the chance of reversing, at least for some of us, our stampede into godlessness and get us to turn back to God.
The lamb of God
God became the lamb (John 1:29); we became the butchers. The butchers tortured, killed and carved up the lamb. And the lamb forgave the butchers. If this does not give us reason to believe that God loves us, nothing will.
When in doubt embrace the cross
Brothers and sisters, Amen, I tell you, when the enemy of God and Man sends doubt to march into your mind with the mission to hide from you the truth that God loves you, grab onto and hold tight to the Cross. The Cross will always preserve you! In the Cross is the truth of God's love for us.
THAT GOD, THE FATHER, FORGAVE US FOR THE PASSION AND DEATH ON THE CROSS OF HIS SON IS ANOTHER GUARANTEE THAT GOD GAVE US PROVING BEYOND ALL DOUBT THAT GOD LOVES US.
If the Cross is not sufficient proof of love, there is more. More evidence is found in the aftermath of His death. After we killed His beloved Son (Luke 3:22), one would think that God would turn angry (but see, the bookmark of St. Teresa of Avila) and take His revenge on us (Matthew 21:33-40). But God's thoughts are not our thoughts; our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). After we killed His beloved Son, God did the opposite of what we would do: God, our Father, forgave us (Luke 23:34) (Luke 15:11-32). If He forgives us this, He will forgive us everything! Forgiveness is the fruit of love (Matthew 12:33-35). By forgiveness, love is communicated without words. There is no ambiguity in forgiveness. Its meaning is obvious. Forgiveness is the irrefutable, unmistakeable token of love and cannot be denied!
AFTER EDEN, THE OLD POLICY OF BEING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD THEN CHOOSING BETWEEN GOD AND GODLESSNESS GAVE WAY TO THE NEW POLICY OF CHOOSING BETWEEN GOD AND GODLESSNESS THEN ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
After Eden, the "game of life" changed (Genesis 3:16-19). The doors to heaven closed (CCC,633 & 637) and, on earth, a new policy was put into place to minimize the likelihood of the children of Adam and Eve repeating the self-destructive mistake of their parents
GOD LOVES US. BECAUSE GOD LOVES US, GOD HAS INVITED US TO COME HOME TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN ABUNDANT AND ETERNAL HAPPINESS WITH HIM AND HIS FAMILY. THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY
God loves us. As part of His plan for our salvation, God, our Father, has caused an invitation to be delivered to us inviting us to come home to live our lives in eternal and abundant happiness with Him and His family. This is the good news of great joy (Luke 2:9-12). Therefore, be not glum and downhearted but rejoice and be glad. You have been invited to return home to live your life in happiness with God. You possess the good news of great joy! [Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who possesses God lacks nothing: God alone suffices - St. Teresa's Bookmark (Paragraph 227 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church)].
THE TRANSMISSION OF THE GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY FROM EDEN TO NOW
We can trace the passage of the good news of great joy from its origin to us. The good news of great joy passed first to the Jews (Paragraph 60 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church) (Deuteronomy 7:6) (Paragraph 171 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church) (Paragraph 218 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). Their mission was to make sure that knowledge of it did not perish from the earth (Paragraph 55 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). We owe the Jews a great debt of gratitude for successfully completing their mission.
In the fullness of time, the mission passed from the Jews to Jesus. From the Jews, God drew a Savior who was both God and Man, divinity and humanity mysteriously and marvelously combined. Jesus took the good news of great joy and expanded its scope. He made it known that all of God's children, not just the Jews, were invited to come home to a life of happiness with God. Jesus is the good news of great joy incarnate (Luke 2:9-12) (John 14:6) (Luke 20:9-15). ["He acted far beyond all expectation -- he has sent his own 'beloved Son'" Paragraph 422 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church]
Jesus then passed the mission to His Church. It is now the mission of His Church (Matthew 16:15-19) to proclaim the good news of great joy and to make sure that knowledge of it does not perish from the earth. "Guarding the deposit of Faith is the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church" (John Paul II).
It is the Church that has passed the good news of great joy to us.
IT US UP TO US TO DECIDE WHETHER TO ACCEPT, IGNORE OR REJECT GOD'S INVITATION
It is up to us to decide whether to accept the good news of great joy, ignore it, or reject it. These are our three options. It is up to us to decide whether or not to go home (Luke 15:11-32) There is a place for you in heaven if you want it. Jesus told us: "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2. But you must claim your place. It will not be thrust upon you. It will not be given to you against your will. It will not fall into your hands accidentally. The horse will be led to the water but will not be forced to drink it. As Jesus freely and willingly accepted His passion and death, you too must freely and willingly accept the gift of eternal and abundant life. You must make a choice. (John 4:7-15) (The Do-Over). Saint Augustine said, "He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent."
WE CANNOT ESCAPE THE NECESSITY OF RESPONDING TO GOD'S INVITATION
Once we have received the invitation to come home to live our lives in happiness with God (Matthew 7:24-27), we are constrained to respond. It is by our conduct - our thoughts, words and deeds - after we receive the invitation that we communicate our response to God. We have three options: 1) acceptance, 2) dithering and 3) rejection. Those who have accepted the good news of great joy have accepted the Truth and are on their way home. Those who have rejected the good news of great joy have rejected the Truth and have chosen godlessness. Those who have yet to take a position are dithering. They occupy a state of indecision. Hopefully, they will make up their minds before it is too late. If they do not, we know their fate: "... because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:14-16). ["It isn't that they can't see the solution. It is that they can't see the problem." Gilbert K. Chesterton]. Dithering is a choice, the wrong choice but, nonetheless, a choice. Heaven is not a place for those who reject the good news of great joy. Heaven is also not a place for ditherers. Take seriously this game of musical chairs that we call life. Don't get caught with your pants down. (Luke 21:34-36) Find your chair at the table of the Lord before the music stops. ["Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils"1 Corinthians 10:21] ["No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24]
WE HAVE A LIFETIME TO RESPOND TO GOD'S INVITATION BUT, BECAUSE WE ARE MORTAL, OUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT
God has given us a lifetime to make up our minds about whether to accept, ignore or reject the good news of great joy (Matthew 20: 1-16). However, because we are mortal, the clock is ticking. Our time is running out. We do not know the hour or the day (Matthew 24:36). So there is a risk in delay. ["Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it." C.S. Lewis in The Case for Christianity]
ACCEPTANCE OF GOD'S INVITATION CHANGES OUR LIVES
Acceptance of the good news of great joy changes our lives. When we leap through the veil of ambiguity to belief in the existence and loving nature of God, we leave the darkness and enter the light. "Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision, the goal of our journey here below. Then we shall see God 'face to face' 'as he is'. So faith is already the beginning of eternal life" (Paragraph 163 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). By His resurrection, Jesus opened the doors of heaven for us and for all those waiting for salvation (Catechism of the Catholic Church #637). Through the opened doors and over heaven's threshold spills the love of God whose glow illuminates and greets us as we make our way home to a life of happiness with God. (2 Corinthians 3:16). In the light of God, we realize that we are not alone. When we cry out, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" (Matthew 27:46), God answers and assures us, as a Father assures his children, that He has not forsaken us. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). We become aware of the presence of God. Despite the debacle of Eden, God has not shaken off the dust from His feet (Matthew 10:14), and walked away to leave us to fend for ourselves. ["After his fall, man was not abandoned by God" Paragraph 410 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church] Indeed, after Eden, we are thrown into the water to sink or swim. However, in the water with us stands our God who, like a lifeguard and father, is ready to give us every aid and assistance if we but call upon Him (Romans 10:9-11) (Matthew 14:30) (Matthew 7:7-8) (Psalm 105:3-4). [for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee (Psalm 9:10)] If we but make the first move and seek Him (Revelation 3:20), God, our Father Himself, will come to greet us while we are still a long way off (Luke 15:20)
Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
Give thanks in all circumstances.
(St. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
AFTER WE ACCEPT GOD'S INVITATION, THE QUESTION THAT ARISES IS HOW DO WE GET THERE FROM HERE
Acceptance of the good news of great joy is not the end of the spiritual journey but the beginning. After the good news of great joy is accepted, the question is 'how do we get there from here?' What is the road that takes us from earth to a life lived in happiness with Him in Heaven? His Church knows 'how we get there from here'. His Church can answer the prayer of the Psalmist who implores God to "cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee" (Psalm 143:8) His Church has devoted itself to helping people get into heaven for more than two thousands years. Venerable is a word that does not come close to doing justice to it or its mission. Through His Church we discover the landmarks that define the road that ascends home to God and pass through them. ["For God of His Goodness hath ordained means to help us, full fair and many" (St. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, Chapter 6) ] . Passing through them tells us we are heading in the right direction. Passing through them takes us closer to God. ["What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step".― C.S. Lewis] All religious traditions have their own landmarks. Two important landmarks for Catholics are the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. As Catholics, we ought to be passing through them again and again as we ascend home to God. They are unavoidable. [But, cf., "Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car." G.K. Chesterton].
GOD FORESAW THAT WE WOULD GET DETOURED AND BE SIDETRACKED WHILE TRAVELING ON THE ROAD HOME TO A LIFE OF HAPPINESS WITH GOD SO, AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE, GOD PROVIDED FOR SUCH A CONTINGENCY
Even after we have accepted God's invitation to come home to live our lives in happiness with Him, we occasionally get detoured and sidetracked. Indeed, Jesus warns us against taking our eyes off the prize: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62) . For those of you who have not ploughed recently, furrows in a field do not stay straight when a ploughman looks back taking his eye off his destination. But, not to worry because God is a realist. He can draw straight with crooked lines (Isaiah 45:2). The furrow that needs plowing is long, some of the soil is rocky and the effort is occasionally hard. It comes as no surprise to God, that a ploughman might stop his plow, unloosen himself from its harness (See, Odysseus and the Sirens)and return to the godless life in which he wallowed before he had put his hand to the plough (Matthew 13:18-23). How does God deal with recidivism? Does God bar a recidivist from returning to the plow after the first detour? How about after the seventh detour? Recall that Jesus also said that we ought to forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). Do you think that God is a hypocrite who does not take the advice He gives? God welcomes the ploughman back with open arms after every lapse. God understands human weakness and has made allowances for it in His plans. In fact, to address such a situation God invented and gave us the sacrament of Reconciliation and the Act of Contrition. Through the sacrament of Reconciliation and Contrition we once again become worthy of the kingdom of God. As long as we do not give up on ourselves, God does not give up on us. When you get knocked down, it is important for you to get up again. Yet, we are recalcitrant. We shun the Confessional. Our Church has the cure for the illness of sin yet we rather be ill than be cured! The cost of the cure is negligible, well within our budgets, only humility and contrition. Yet, the sacrament of Reconciliation is another gift from God that we, like Adam and Eve, perversely refuse to accept. C.S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia said it best, "Oh, Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!".
THE ENEMY IS WINNING AND GOD'S INVITATION IS BEING SUPPRESSED
If you are Catholic and not passing through the landmarks, you are not on the road home. It is sad to say but the appeal amongst Catholics for the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation has diminished. The world is not pounding down the doors of our Churches to get them. The percentage of Catholics going to Mass is dwindling (See, also). The good news of great joy is being suppressed. The enemies of God and man are winning. If the world were to end today, the score would be lopsided in their favor (Matthew 13: 1-23). In fact, Christ Himself lamented our perverseness to St. Margaret Mary saying:
"Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love.... I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament" (Third apparition).
THE SUPPRESSION OF GOD'S INVITATION THREATENS OUR CHILDREN, PARENTS, SIBLINGS, SPOUSE, FAMILY AND FRIENDS
How lucky are we whose eyes are opened to the glory of God in the Eucharist (Psalm 40:4)! Being able to meet God in the Eucharist whenever we go to Mass is like being able to buy a winning lottery ticket whenever we go shopping (Matthew 13:44). But what about the "ingratitude" of "the greater part"? What about their "coldness and contempt" towards "this sacrament of love"? Do we shrug our shoulders and do nothing? Do we count ourselves fortunate and let them wallow in the muck of godlessness? Or do we try to rescue them? Selfishness compels us to act. The stampede away from God into godlessness that began in Eden and has since continued unabated threatens our children, parents, siblings, spouse, family and friends. The threat to them evokes a response in us.
"WORSHIP WEDNESDAYS" IS OUR ATTEMPT TO COUNTER THE THREAT BY PRACTICING OUR FAITH
Paragraph 3 of the the Catechism of the Catholic Church exhorts us to recognize our vocation as disciples of Christ to keep the flame of faith burning saying, "All Christ's faithful are called to hand [the good news] on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer". (CCC, 3). "Worship Wednesdays" is our small attempt to counter the threat posed to our family and friends by the stampede away from God into godlessness that started in Eden and continues today unabated. We do not want them to be swept away. Therefore, we have turned ourselves around to add our shoulders to the push against the stampede. We have joined the counter-cultural movement of those who seek God. Our hope for success is inspired by scripture: " And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). We do nothing extraordinary. We simply seek God by practicing our faith (John 13:35). We invite others to seek God by practicing their faith as well (Matthew 10:32-33). We who are involved with "Worship Wednesdays" have accepted God's Invitation to come home to live our lives in happiness with Him. (Psalm 14:2) (2 Chronicles 26:5). We have learned the landmarks that define the road home to a life of happiness with God. Together in fellowship once a week every Wednesday while school is in session, we pass through the sacrament of the Eucharist - one of the landmarks on the road home. The fruit of the tree of life, once forbidden to us in Eden (Genesis 2:16-17), is, by virtue of our Savior's victory on Calvary, offered to us at Mass in the Eucharist. This is a great gift from God. Simply by accepting it, we triumph. Oh, how simple it is! (John 4:1-15) (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
A True Education
"We will give you an exceptional education and you will have a wonderful experience during your four years here at Monsignor Farrell H.S.. We will show you how to excel in academics, athletics and in your extracurricular activities. You will be well prepared for college. Yet, if you do not learn that God goes to Mass and meets us in the Eucharist, you will have learned nothing and we will have failed you."
Rev. Msgr. Edmund J. Whalen, S.T.D.
Principal
