Faith and Romance- Divine Mercy Sunday

Yes, I'm going to talk about romantic love a little bit this week. This week's readings speak of faith. But what is faith? How can I be a better believer? And oh, is it okay to make out with your girlfriend? I'm going to talk about that too. There is commentary after the 2nd Reading and the rest of the readings are after the commentary.

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Reading II
1 Jn 5:1-6

Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one that testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.


Science and Faith

Why does faith in Jesus Christ conquer the world? First of all, faith is certain (Catechism of the Catholic Church 157). Faith is certain because faith comes from the mouth of God. God is the creator of Earth. He created me and you and everything else. He understands the reality behind and in everything. He is the only person who understands EVERYTHING perfectly. He is the one who wrote the laws of science. If you look at scientific laws like the “laws” of physics, motion, gravity etc., you will recall that no human invented these laws. No human invented gravity for example. Mr. Isaac Newton merely OBSERVED gravity, he didn’t INVENT it. All science and all truth originates from God.

Faith is an adherence to God and complete reliance and belief in ALL that God professes (CCC 150). At first glance, it seems crazy to believe EVERYTHING that someone says. But God is not like any mortal we’ve met. He is the one who created everything. From a logical standpoint, it makes sense to trust the knowledge and teachings of the one who created everything, everyone, and all of the laws of nature and science.

But this scientific reason for believing is still not reason enough. Ultimately, our faith (which comes as a supernatural gift at baptism) allows us to believe EVERYTHING that God professes. Is it irresponsible to do this? It is VERY irresponsible to do this with ANYONE other than God. We are hesitant to believe everything that someone says because we have been lied to so many times. For instance, we are hesitant to believe some salesmen because are salesmen are paid to sell, not to tell the truth. We are sometimes hesitant to believe people who claim to love us because many times in the past we have been hurt and lied to by people who claimed to love us.

Trusting Bus Drivers and God

But, God is unlike ANY human and the ways of God are far above the ways of man (Isaiah 55:8). The reason we believe in the truths of God is “because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, who neither deceive nor be deceived.” (CCC 156) This gift of faith in his authority is something we receive at baptism. Now why should we trust someone in this way? Well, I trust my life to the judgment of bus drivers and taxi drivers all of the time, even though I don’t know them. But, God is someone that we can come to know. In looking at what he does, we can see WHO he is. God humbled himself to become a lowly man (Jesus). Then God suffered true human humiliation, torture, abandonment and death as a service to us. In his actions, we can see his pure motivation, which is simply- to love us. Ah, now only God is capable of loving PERFECTLY and COMPLETELY, and so it makes perfect sense to trust God much more than we trust bus drivers or taxi drivers who also hold our lives in their hands.

Yes, I trust my life in the hands of bus drivers and even more so, I trust every word out of the mouth of God. Reality and logic backs up my belief in God. It makes sense to trust a person who never lies, and has my best interest at heart at all times. It makes sense to put faith in the one who created everything and who knows everything.

Conquering the World

And so this is what is meant by John in the 2nd reading when he says that faith conquers the world and that the one who believes in Jesus is victorious over the world. If we rely on the ONLY person who loves us perfectly (God) and we have faith in the only person who knows him completely (Jesus) WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR. We needn’t fear death (we will rise along with Jesus) we needn’t fear poverty (Jesus lived happily as a poor man) we needn’t fear abandonment or humiliation (if we are abandoned or humiliated we have a chance to imitate Jesus). And so with this well-placed confidence, we will be “victorious” as St. John says. This is how even today, faith in God conquers the world.

In a practical sense, faith in God is practically achievable. Baptized Christians already have the faith given to them by God through baptism. We must cooperate with our faith by believing everything that the Holy Catholic Church professes to us. We are talking about the same Church started by Jesus Christ 2000 years ago and whose Pope can trace his office back to Peter himself who used to hang out with Jesus and fish with Jesus. Yes, I’m talking about the same Peter who was the only guy who recognized Jesus for who he was.

St. John is extremely practical in the 2nd reading when he says, “love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.” That’s easy to understand isn’t it? We must love God with all of our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. We must musn’t lie, steal, cheat, or kill etc. Our reliance upon God will bring us victory. With victory comes joy, fulfillment, truthfulness, security, and HEAVEN among other things.

Believing Without Seeing

In the Gospel, Thomas refuses to believe unless he sees first. So why is it that “blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”? Believing in God without seeing is a blessing because, God is always right and good. However, our own “eyes” are not 100% right or trustworthy . Life has taught us that some things are more (or less) than they seem. We are often sure of OURSELVES only to find later that we were wrong.

This problem originated in the garden of Eden. God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit. Yet they thought the fruit was “pleasing to the eye” and they sinned against God and against themselves. So the truth is, we cannot trust our eyes completely. We cannot even trust our own judgment completelely. The only person worth trusting in all things is God. So blessed are those who believe without seeing. Blessed are those who believe EVERYTHING that God professes through his Catholic Church even if they “have not seen”.

Real Life

Once upon a time, I loved a girl. We liked each other a lot. Not long after we started dating, we were kissing, hugging, and holding hands. We didn’t commit any sin so far as I can tell, but it seemed like we grew more and more physical until we started to get dangerously close to sinning. Soon, I started to get concerned. I noticed a strange movement in my heart. I felt a small fear that God would take the “fun” out of my relationship if I consulted him. And so I had a brief time of distrust in God’s plan of chastity for me. I remember thinking “God, I don’t want you to take this physical intimacy away from me!” I also noticed that thoughts of sexual immorality began to pass through my head a lot more since I became physically intimate with my girlfriend. This also bothered me.

I went to confession and asked the priest about this. He told me that I should talk to my girlfriend about my concerns. The priest told me that I should decide along with my girlfriend where to draw the line when it came to physical intimacy.

So I talked to this young lady whom I loved. She told me that she had been concerned about this exact same issue. She also told me that she had been avoiding confession because she was afraid of the same thing as me-that God would take something away from her.

Ultimately, we decided that we would never kiss again unless we were married. I felt at great peace about this decision. I remember thinking “I would rather nudge my girlfriend towards heaven rather than hell.”

Chastity is part of our Catholic faith and it is discussed in detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Why does God want us to be chaste? Why does he want us to believe EVERYTHING he professes about chastity? Because he loves us. He wants us to be happy. We are his beloved. And, he wants us to go to heaven.

God loves us.

Reading 1
Acts 4:32-35

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

How to Be the Greatest

Are you important? Are you great? Do you want people to think you are great? What does it mean to be great? This week's commentary will explore this. The readings are after the commentary.

Love Compared to Recognition

Last night, I read Matthew 20:20-28. This passage is the story of the lady who asks Jesus to let her sons sit at the right and left of Jesus. Jesus responds "you do not know what you are asking..." He then tells the disciples,"whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve..."

The mother, along with her sons, wanted recognition. Even the other disciples wanted recognition, for they were offended at the 2 who sought to sit at the Lord's side. The disciples and the mother thought that greatness meant to be recognized. But Jesus said that to be great is to serve, not to be recognized. Being great means to give the most. Perhaps that means to love people who are hard to love. Maybe that means to give everything we have to someone who cannot repay us and will not thank us. To be great means to be a servant.

Serving Someone You Don't Like

Think of a person you don't like. Perhaps this person annoys the heck out of you or is just difficult. Yes, THAT person. What does this person do to annoy you or cause you difficulty? What is his/her name? Are you willing to serve this person? Are you willing to be perfectly loving towards this person with no promise of recognition or even gratitude? As Christians, we are called to do this.

The soldiers and most other people who Jesus was giving up his life for, did not even like Jesus. They made fun of him. They even hit him and spit on him. They tempted him. They hurt him. Even Jesus' friends abandoned him. Was Jesus still willing to love them and SERVE them? He WAS willing. Jesus was not RECOGNIZED for who he was (King and Lord of all). He was looked upon like a piece of trash. Jesus' people felt he was so inferior that he didn't even deserve to live. Yet he was still willing to love these same people with no promise of human recognition or even gratitude. That is service, and a picture of greatness.

A True Follower of Jesus

That is what Jesus meant when he said, "you do not know what you are asking" in Matthew 20. To be great means to give EVERYTHING to God. Are we willing to do this? I have to examine my life and ask myself, "do I live to serve myself? Or do I live a life of sacrifice for love of God and a life in service for anyone and everyone?"

* At work- do I work to serve myself or to serve God and others?
* With people- do I do things in order to serve myself, or do I GIVE and SACRIFICE myself for the benefit of others?
* My relationship with God- do I obey God because I want him to reward me, or do I obey him as a gift of of love to him?


Do I do things in order to be recognized or repaid, or do I simply SERVE and love?

God's Wisdom Versus Our Wisdom

Let's look at the contrast between Jesus' sincere gift of himself and the disciples' desire for recognition. With this in mind, we can better understand Paul's words in the second reading, "Christ crucified is foolishness to people [gentiles]. But to those who are called, Jew and Greeks alike, Christ [crucified is] the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." We human beings desire recognition and it looks foolish to pass up recognition and to focus instead on loving someone who cannot return the favor. But God's love is brilliant, pure, and perfectly REAL. What looks like weakness (Jesus does not fight back against physical abuse or insults) is really just love in its highest and truest form. God's wisdom is perfect and our common way of thinking is foolish in comparison.


The Call of the Commandments

The responsorial Psalm for this week (Psalm 19) says that "The law of the Lord is perfect......giving wisdom to the simple". This helps us to understand the first reading which lists the 10 commandments. We've heard the commandments since we were kids. Telling the truth (commandment 8) is a perfect way to speak and if we always tell the truth, we will be "wise" even if we are "simple". Paying for music instead of illegally downloading it for free may seem "foolish" yet it can be a loving act towards the musicians who worked to create it (commandment 7). If we take a look at the commandments, we will see that they are a detailed description of what it means to love PERFECTLY-that is, to serve and to be great.



Jesus does not impose the commandments upon us. He GIVES the commandments to us. He SHARES the commandments with us. If we want to know God's motivation for giving us the commandments, we need only picture Jesus carrying the cross. Despite ridicule, pain, and being abandoned, he carries his cross. He loves us and he wants to give us EVERYTHING. That's why he gave us the commandments. He wants us to live as he lives.He wants us to be happy and loving towards God and toward one another. We are given the commandments because God is perfectly wise and he wants to help us live lives of joy and peace. The commandments help us to do this. The person who obeys the commandments is happy and holy.

Real Life

I had a friend who loved me perhaps more than any other person has ever loved me. One day, my friend told me that maybe I should think about moving to a far away place in accordance with God's will ("he" was talking about a specific place). I knew that my friend enjoyed my company and I certainly enjoyed his. Yet, my friend believed that it was God's will for me to go to this far away place perhaps never to return. Eventually, I decided to go. In response, my friend told me that he thought it was the right decision.

I later realized that my friend loved me with a very special love. He loved me with the love of God. He was willing to give up whatever pleasure and benefits he got from having me around (forever) in order to let me do God's will. My friend loved both me and God perhaps more than anyone else I have met. This love reminds of God's love. God's love is self-sacrificing and self-giving. It is beautiful. It is real.

God loves us!

for more commentary on the commandments paste this into your browser

http://massexcitement.blogspot.com/2008/05/are-you-missionary-for-god-or-devil.html

Reading 1
Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
"I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.

"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.


Reading II
1 Cor 1:22-25

Brothers and sisters:
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.


Gospel
Jn 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in his name
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.

"Oh, Baby! I've Found Real Love" - Sincere Love and Knowledge of God - ME#15 June 8, 2008

The theme of this week's readings again is faith. Again, God wants us to know what real faith is. He compares the real faith of Abraham and Jesus with the superficial faith that "like the dew that early fades away."

This week we will discuss what real faith is vs. "pretend" faith. The readings give particular attention to real faith vs. insincere sacrifice. The first reading talks about how the Lord desires love and knowledge of him rather than sacrifices.

Today, I am focusing on real love vs. "pretend" love and knowledge of God. There is commentary following the 1st reading only.


Reading 1
Hos 6:3-6

In their affliction, people will say:
"Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth."
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
for it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.

"Pretend" Love

Now why does God want real love rather than sacrifice? Not long ago, a well-known pro basketball player publicly confessed to adultery. It was reported by news agencies that a few days after he confessed to everyone and his wife, he bought a $4,000,000 ring for her. Now would he have served his wife better by remaining faithful? Instead he betrayed her and then bought a ring. I imagine that in her heart she resented the gift. Any woman who loves her spouse would prefer real loyalty over cheating and jewelry. We are talking about the person we will spend the rest of our lives with. Is jewelry going to keep us united "til death do us part" or is real love the answer?

Our situation with God is the same. We are going to spend ETERNITY with him. He desires love, not sacrifice. In the same example, didn't this basketball star SACRIFICE $4MM of his hard-earned money to buy the ring? He did, but God doesn't want this type of sacrifice. He wants REAL love. Now if a mortal woman can see through insincerity, God SURELY can. He can see through all of our insincere acts! In our modern lives, it is laughable that we would offer 10% of our income to God while committing adultery, fornication, theft, and total ABANDONMENT of our poor brothers and sisters. Sin is an offense against GOD first and foremost. Now how can we expect to make up for our infidelity to God by giving him a few bucks? In this reading, God says that such faith is "like the dew that early passes away." In other words, such faith amounts to NOTHING. God desires love, not sacrifice.¹

In Jn 15:14, Jesus says that "if you love me, you will keep my commandments". Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him, the word that I spoke. It will condemn him on the last day." Here, Jesus is so generous to explain what it means to love him. Jesus makes it easy on us. He explains very simply what we should do rather than sacrifice to him in an insincere manner. We are supposed to follow his commandments to love him and each other.

Learning About God

In this reading, the author says, "let us strive to know the Lord." God also says it is "knowledge of God" that he desires. Why does God want us to know more about him? I have found that EVERY time I learn something new about God, I am learning more about who he is. And each time, I am reminded that he is love. It is a wonderful thing to know God and that is the point of our lives.

Imagine that you love your wife. Imagine that you found some old pictures of her volunteering at an orphanage. You never knew that she did that. Next, you look into your closet and you find that your wife has ironed ALL of your shirts perfectly. You come home from work and you discover that she has spent 2 hours cooking you dinner. Wow! She loves you and you are starting to understand that in a new way. With God, we experience this new found love at the highest level. As we grow in "knowledge of God", we find that out of love, he created us so that we could experience REAL life and REAL love. We find that he loves us so much that he lowered himself by becoming human because he loves us. We find that in response to our infidelity to him, he doesn't kill us. Instead he DIES for us. Knowledge of God increases our love of him.

The Price of Ignorance

In Romans 1:24-32, Paul shows how "ignorance of God is the reason (principle) of all moral deviations."² In other words, Paul shows how we do really terrible things against God because we don't know him. Jesus echoes this on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Here is Romans 1:24-32 where Paul talks about unbelievers:

Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26
Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural,
27
and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.
28
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.
29
They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips
30
and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents.
31
They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32
Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

The people who do these things are called unbelievers. Unbelievers can be baptized Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or Muslims. Unbelievers are those who do not follow the law of God. "Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper." That means that people who don't know God are left with their own insufficient minds and end up doing very bad things. So what happens to them in this passage?

• Their own lust destroyed their bodies
• Perverted sexuality (homosexuality) became common.
• Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity. (maybe he is talking about STD's and lack of fatherhood)
• Not only did they do HORRIBLE things, they gave approval to others who did.

The World Today

Does this all sound familiar? It sounds like the place where we live. Instead of following God and his natural order, we have become perverted. Instead of sex being a way for a husband and wife to participate in creation, it has been lowed to another form of entertainment by many. Giving approval to those who do terrible EVILS reminds me of abortion. We are talking about an act which ends with blood and death EVERY time. This is an act which if we would avoid, would result in long lives for millions of newborns each year. Not only do we as a nation kill our babies, we GIVE APPROVAL to those who do the killing. We vote for pro-choice politicians even though as Catholics our unified pro-life votes could make abortion illegal forever in this country. Paul isn't just talking about idolaters of the 1st century in this reading from Romans. He is talking about unfaithful Catholics of the 21st century.

Just the same, in the 1st reading, God said, "What can I do with you Ephraim?" Today, God says the same thing to us, "What can I do with you El Paso, TX? What can I do with you Lexington, KY? What can I do with you Maine? What can I do with you America? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away."

It is a sad state of affairs and personally, I don't want to be counted amongst the unfaithful on judgment day.

As you can see, ignorance of God is truly "the principle of all moral deviations." Can you see why God desires knowledge of God rather than sacrifice? Many of us who hear this message might be scared. After all, how do you get to know God? Do we have to get PHD's in theology? Of course not. Because God loves us, he makes it easy for us. Gaining knowledge of God is as easy picking up that dusty bible from the shelf. If we do not do this, we will be left to figure out life with our own pea-sized brains. Now every time we decide to watch "American Idol", ESPN, or some movie instead of reading the bible, we are making a pitiful decision. It is a daily decision in which we can get to know our God and spend eternity with him, or we can decide to be distracted by 2 hours of entertainment every night until the day we die.

Instead of staying ignorant, I hope that we will sing together, "Oh how I'd like to be in that number, when the saints go marching in!"


The Point

• God is a person, not a thing or a book. He desires a real relationship with sincere love and boundaries
• God wants love first and foremost. We can love him the same we he loves us, his Son and the Holy Spirit- by loving unconditionally as described in the commandments.
• Faith desires understanding.³ Because of our faith, we must learn more about God. God wants us to know more about him.
• The better we get to know God, the more we understand that he love us and so we will fall in love with him more and more.
• Ignorance of God causes death and destruction of all kinds. We can see it now.
• God is calling us to read the Bible. Each day, we choose to watch television and other forms of entertainment instead of growing in knowledge of God. Many of us spend more time flossing our teeth than we do reading the Bible. It is an atrocity!

Real Life

Last Sunday night, my friend and I went to a large juvenile detention center in Juarez. She sang to the inmates and shared with them the good news of the Lord. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. Many of these teenage boys, were against what she had to say at first. She spoke out against stealing (a way of life for many of them), pornography, and other sins. They laughed, jeered, and ignored her at first. But as the night went on, the Holy Spirit took over. Instead of telling you about it, I want you to see for yourself.

Click below to see video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8184G8FUovA


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 50:1, 8, 12-13, 14-15

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your holocausts are before me always."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for mine are the world and its fullness.
Do I eat the flesh of strong bulls,
or is the blood of goats my drink?"
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Reading II
Rom 4:18-25

Brothers and sisters:
Abraham believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become "the father of many nations, "
according to what was said, "Thus shall your descendants be."
He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body
as already dead - for he was almost a hundred years old -
and the dead womb of Sarah.
He did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;
rather, he was strengthened by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.

Gospel
Mt 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Mass Excitement #15

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1- If we are obedient to God and have no plans or intentions to sin, God is quite pleased by sacrifice (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2099)
2- CCC 2087
3- CCC 158

3- CCC 158