Close Encounters with God

Like foolish children, Adam and Eve ran away from home with God in Eden and, in their foolishness, took us with them into godlessness. Without God, we live our lives in utter wretchedness. But do not despair (John 14: 27). God loves us, misses us and wants us back (See, God's Guarantee). Our salvation, however, requires that we cooperate with God. We have a role to play in our own salvation. God will not, through the use of omnipotence, drag us home against our wills kicking and screaming like recalcitrant children. God respects the exercise of our free will even when the exercise of our free will is self-destructive. God gives us the freedom to help ourselves or to hurt ourselves. God treats us as mature adults because God wants us to become mature adults. So God invites us to come home. He does not force us to come home. Furthermore, God personified his invitation with the Incarnation of His Son, Jesus (John 14:6). His passion and death on the cross is our guarantee that the Invitation is real. The invitation is on the table and God is waiting for our response. The invitation is the good news of great joy. Our role in the mystery of salvation is to accept, ignore or reject the invitation. This is the single greatest decision each of us must make during our lifetimes. Choosing between God and godlessness was the choice that Adam and Eve faced. Our choice is no different than theirs. The choice that they faced is, now, the choice that we face. They bungled it; will we? God has given us a lifetime to decide; but, because we are mortal, our time is running out.

The "playing field" on which we live is not even. It is tilted away from godlessness to God. God "cheats" for our benefit. Because God wants to save all of us from living our lives in wretched godlessness (1 Timothy 2:4), God has "stacked the deck" and "rigged the game" in our favor. God has sent His Holy Spirit to tug at our souls (John 14:26-27) and our curiosity urges us to explore and discover the Source of the tug. Hence, we are naturally inclined to seek God. "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you" observed St. Augustine. Sometimes, however, we ignore the tug of the Holy Spirit. We snub the Holy Spirit, however, at our own peril. Our happiness depends upon and arises from our yielding to the tug. Our vocation on earth is to explore the mystery, majesty and magnificence of God. Hard as we may try, we cannot escape our vocation (Matthew 7-11).

The exploration of the tug of the Holy Spirit to its Source is an enterprise that we must engage in ourselves. Nobody else can do it for us - not even our Church. This does not mean that we cannot explore in the company of others. It just means that each of us must participate in the enterprise of exploration. Each of us is the pilot of our own soul. Why? Seeking God transform us. Unless we do it, we cannot be transformed. Through the exploration of the mystery, majesty and magnificence of our living and loving God, we, in cooperation with God, repair the kingdom of God within us that has been damaged by sin. Through the exploration, we become holy.

Therefore, what is the principal job of our Church?

Every member of our Church has but one job to do. It is the job of the least in its rank and file and the job of the greatest at the top of its hierarchy. It is the job of priests and religious who have the luxury of seeking God full time (See, Mary). It is the job of the laity whose secular pursuits deprive them of the luxury of pursuing God full time (See, Martha). The job of our Church is:

1. to proclaim the good news of great joy to the world. Our God has invited us to come home to live our lives in abundant and eternal happiness with Him and His family. The invitation is the good news of great joy. We must make God's invitation known to our neighbors throughout the world. Let us finally bring to an end our exile in wretched godlessness.
2. to cheer for those who have accepted God's Invitation, to help make up the minds of those who have not yet done so to accept before it is too late (Matthew 20: 1-16) and to change the minds of those who have already rejected the invitation.
3. to teach those who have accepted God's invitation how to get there from here and help them as they make their way. God has given us a way to escape from godlessness. God has established landmarks that define the road that takes us from wretched godlessness to happiness with God (Isaiah 35:8-10). At a landmark a close encounter takes place between us and our God whether we "feel it" or not. Moreover, only by passing through the landmarks can we tell that we are heading in the right direction. Passing through them brings us closer and closer to God. Furthermore, it is by our example - by walking the way from godlessness to God ourselves - that we teach others how to get there from here and put ourselves in a position to help them as they make their way.

In short, the exploration of the mystery, majesty and magnificence of God is primary. Everything else is secondary. Anything that interferes is suspect.

The Catholic Church has helped those who seek God to find God for more than two thousand years. Venerable is a word that does not even come close to describe it or its mission. Only the Jewish religion has performed this mission longer than the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has discovered, explored and mapped the landmarks that define the road that takes us home to eternal and abundant happiness with God. The Catholic Church wants to share what it has learned with us. Are you not interested in learning how to get there from here?

The ride from godlessness to God gets rough whenever our Church deviates from its job. Think of a theme park. There is a foreground and a background to a theme park. When the background of a theme park, in arrogance or by negligence, intrudes into the foreground, the experience is ruined. What goes on behind the curtain, that is, in the background, is essential; but the background must have the humility and "the smarts" to defer to the foreground which is the mystery, majesty and magnificence of God. What wonders await us when the Holy Spirit is given the freedom to guide us in our exploration of the mystery, majesty and magnificence of God! Just get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit do His job! When the tug of the Holy Spirit upon our souls is allowed to engage our curiosity, progress on the road home from godlessness to God is swift and profound. The decline in the number of people seeking close encounters with God in the Mass, in Confession, in works of charity and at the other landmarks has happened because the background has intruded upon the foreground and the intrusion interferes with the natural process of our seeking God and God seeking us. Make way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:3). Allow the Holy Spirit to draw us to God! Get out of the way and let God do the work.

Are you doing your job? Have you ever proclaimed the good news of great joy to anyone? Have you ever told anyone that it is not too late to accept God's invitation to come home to live our lives in abundant and eternal happiness with Him and His family? Have you ever told your children? How about your siblings, parents and spouse? How about a stranger or an enemy? Have you ever encouraged anyone to accept the Invitation? Have you ever declared that you have accepted the Invitation and would want them to follow in your footsteps? When they ask, 'How do we get there from here?', have you answered them? Have you ever talked about the landmarks that define the road that takes us to God from godlessness? Have you ever declared that you are walking along the way from godlessness to God and asked them to accompany you on the journey? Have you ever asked them to journey together with you from godlessness to God? Have you ever experienced the joy and richness of having a close encounter with the living God at one of His landmarks? (Mark 11:22-24). Have you shared such experiences with others? Have you ever helped someone as they made their way? Are you teaching and helping others by walking the way yourself? Now is time for us to do our job. Now is the time

The Dance

Have you discovered the places where God dances with us?

Our earthly vocation is to explore the mystery, majesty and magnificence of God. Unsettled are we until we start to seek Him. It is wrong, however, to think that the road that takes us from godlessness to God is a one way street. As we seek God, God is also seeking us. The children are seeking their Father and the Father is seeking His children. Through the Holy Spirit, a magical dance is taking place. The music is playing. The dancers are converging. Through the mediation of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, the Father and His Children have been reintroduced and reconciled to each other on the dance floor. Our Father, at the behest of His Son, has extended His hand and is inviting us to take hold of it and dance with Him. He does not extend His hand to grab us. He will not pull us into the dance against our will. Yet, if we but reach out to Him, He will rush to us (Luke 15:20). What wonders are in store for those who choose to dance with God!

How do we take hold of God's hand and dance with Him? God has established landmarks that define the road home from godlessness to God. They are many and include works of charity, the Sacraments such as the Eucharist and Confession, prayer such as the Rosary, etc. At each landmark, we dance with God. Passing through the landmarks assures us we are heading in the right direction. Passing through them takes us closer and closer to God. The Catholic Church has discovered, explored and mapped the landmarks and, for more than two thousand years, has shared what it has learned with us. Venerable is a word that does not come close to describing it or its mission. Only the Jewish religion has performed this mission longer than the Catholic Church (See, Same Side - Different Team). It is time for you to start visiting the landmarks. Now is time for you to start dancing with God!

Make your life a sacrament. Dance with God in whatever you think, do, and say (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19)

The guarantee God gave us of His love for us.

God loves us, misses us and wants us back. How do we know that God loves us?

God has told us that He loves us. This statement has the most credible of Sources, to wit, God. The Source of the statement alone is sufficient for us to credit its truth. God does not lie. God, however, knew that we would doubt even His statements. So, God gave us more. He gave us a guarantee to overcome all of our doubts. The guarantee that God loves us is this:

• God descended from His home in heaven to dwell amongst His children on earth as an equal to them in their humanity not above them as God,
• God offered no resistance to them but willingly submitted as they inflicted all manner of horrible evils upon Him causing Him unimaginable suffering that ended in His death,
• yet God continued to love them nonetheless and forgives them without demanding that they first satisfy any conditions.

Our hostility to God did not change His love into hate (Matthew 5:43-48) (Proverbs 24:10). We did not reduce His love for us. We did not diminish it. We did not strip Him of it. It never wavered. Its ardor never cooled. Immutable is His love for us. By His Passion and Death on the Cross, God gave us a guarantee -- much more than mere words -- that there is nothing we can do to Him - nothing - that would make Him love us any less. Miracle of miracles; joy of joys; wonder of wonders! Rejoice and be glad! Thanks be to God! The Cross convinces us that God loves us. The Cross is irrefutable proof of His love for us.

Take up your Cross and follow me

Love is the ladder by which we climb above and transcend our circumstances.

In the face of suffering and tragedy, the pseudo-wise often can be heard to say, "We all have crosses that we must bear" or similar language about the Cross (Luke 9:23). Not only is such a remark not consoling, it manifests a serious misunderstanding of the Cross.

The Cross does not communicate the message that God wants us to suffer. The Cross communicates the message that God wants us to love. If you do not understand this, you do not understand the Cross

God's passion, death on the Cross and forgiveness thereafter is God's guarantee -- much more than mere words -- that nothing we can do to Him - nothing - would make Him love us any less. Think about that. God's love for us does not rise or fall depending upon us. His love for us is immutable. It never changes. It is ours for the taking. He does not force it upon us against our will. But if we want it, He will give it to us. St. Faustina exclaims "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You" (Diary 187). Call His gushing blood and water to mind whenever you are troubled and trust in Him.

When God tells us to take up our Cross, God is telling us to love regardless of the circumstances in which we are enmeshed. Love is the ladder by which we climb above and transcend our circumstances. Love is practical advice not from a doctrinaire ideologue but from a practical God who is personally and intimately concerned with the welfare of each of us.

Even the less than perfect can seek God!

God loves us even though we are less than perfect - far less than perfect. Our imperfections do nothing - yes, nothing - to lessen God's love for us (See, God loves you and me and the Cross is our guarantee). We are all sinners. We are all less than perfect. Yet, we can seek God even with our imperfections. In the seeking of God, God perfects us. To seek God, there is no requirement that we first possess a minimum level of holiness. It is in the journey toward God that we grow in holiness. "Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity" God told St. Faustina. When the sheep get lost, God does not write them off as a business deduction. Nor does God sit in the rectory and wait for them to come home on their own. God goes after them. God wants the worst sinner to turn around and seek Him. God, however, does not with His omnipotence force the sinner to seek God against his will. God only invites; the sinner must accept. But once a sinner accepts God's invitation to return home to a life of eternal and abundant happiness with God and His family, God will remove all obstacles that stand in the way. (Matthew 9:11-12). Our job is to make known the good news of great joy throughout the earth: God wants us to come home. Our job is to facilitate the journey home of those who seek God. Our job is not to be an obstacle in the way. Are you an obstacle or a facilitator? Do you make the journey from godlessness to God hard or easy? Do you sit on your high horse and sanctimoniously crack the whip to drive those who seek God home? Or do you get off your high horse and help them carry their burdens?

Repairing the damage done to the Kingdom of God within Us

The kingdom of God within us (Luke 17:20-21) has been damaged by sin. To repair the damage and restore it to its former glory, God, our Father, has made available to us a carpenter, His son, our King. He has his own tools and materials: the hammers, nails and wood of the Cross. They have been re-purposed for construction rather than destruction; for life rather than death. To get the Carpenter to the work site, however, requires affirmative action on our part: we must receive Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass.

Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist is a landmark on the road that takes us home to a life of abundant and eternal happiness with God and His family. Passing through this landmark tells us we are heading in the right direction and are approaching God. By receiving Jesus in the Eucharist a prodigious mystery takes place within us. Through the Eucharist, we work hand-in-hand with God Himself at the task of repairing, rebuilding and resurrecting His kingdom within us.

The choice between God and godlessness is the only choice that really matters in our lives. Adam and Eve faced this choice and bungled it. At Mass, God gives us a Do-Over. Will we repeat the mistake of Adam and Eve by failing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist? Or will we erase their mistake by finally accepting the great Gift of the Son that God the Father wants to give us? We have a do-over. Let's not bungle it.

The Vocation of Mankind is to Explore the Mystery of God.

We seek God by passing through the landmarks that define the road that takes us home to a life of eternal and abundant happiness with God and His family. Yet, the number of pilgrims on the road home has declined. Fewer and fewer go to Mass. Nobody goes to Confession. Our so-called "advance" through modernity obscures our precipitous descent into a dark age of religious thinking. We have become religious illiterates. We have forgotten why we seek God as Catholics. Seeking God as a Catholic without an understanding of the reasons for doing so is like separating a plant from its roots: without roots, the plant soon withers and dies - and so does religious practice. Hence on these pages we try to expose the roots of our faith. They are the reasons for practicing our faith. On these pages the mind of an 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). If a teacher of the faith is reading these pages, you are witnessing the fruit of the seeds you have planted. They have taken root, sprouted and bloomed. We apologize to our teachers of the faith for any errors. We are but humble rocks in the service of God. But know that the rocks themselves are starting to sing (Isaiah 55:12)!