Would the Real Pope Please Stand Up?

Excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI's homily

MASS FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE PONTIFICATE OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

St. Peter's Square
Sunday, 24 April 2005

"How could 115 Bishops, from every culture and every country, discover the one on whom the Lord wished to confer the mission of binding and loosing? Once again, we knew that we were not alone, we knew that we were surrounded, led and guided by the friends of God. And now, at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it? All of you, my dear friends, have just invoked the entire host of Saints, represented by some of the great names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind. In this way, I too can say with renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. And your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany me."

Pope Benedict is.... AWESOME.

This week's Gospel, speaks of the beginning of Jesus' church. There is commentary following the Gospel only and the other readings are at the bottom. This week's commentary includes some new material and some excerpts from previous writings. This week's commentary is shorter, and Mass Excitement will probably be changing to a shorter format for the sake of readers.

Gospel
Mt 16:13-20

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Peter and the Papacy

In Matthew 16: 13-20, Jesus named Peter "Rock". His original name was Simon. It's because Peter was the only person who recognized Jesus for who he was that Jesus said he would build his church on Peter and give Peter the keys to heaven. Every man suffers from a big ego. So, before Peter had a chance to toot his horn, Jesus told him that “Blessed are you Simon, Son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

In other words, “very good Simon, but you didn’t figure this out with that 3 pound brain of yours. Rather, my Father revealed it to you.” This revelation from God and Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity is so important to Jesus that he says, “upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

What does Jesus mean by, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against "my" church. First of all, Jesus is saying the church he builds on Peter is "my" church. Whatever Jesus says comes true and he says that gates of hell shall not prevail against his church. He is talking about the Catholic Church and the only Church that existed for the first 1500 years after Jesus' death. Jesus gave the keys to Peter. The “key” or “keys” is a symbol of authority in the first reading, and in Revelations 3:7. In this Gospel, the language explicitly says that Peter is given authority.

At first glance, it looks rather strange that Jesus would “give the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” to Peter and allow him to “bind and loose” whatever he wishes just because he was the only person who knew Jesus’ identity. But, we should remember that Jesus is the greatest teacher of the faith ever because he is the only one who knows the Father COMPLETELY. Knowing who the Father is COMPLETELY is what makes Jesus such a good teacher. In a similar way, Peter was the first pope because he was the only one of the apostles who could recognize Jesus for who he was.

This has very important implications for us. We should listen to what Peter says. In John 21:2, it says “there are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.”

Personally, I want to know what “other things” Jesus did. It just so happens that there were 11 apostles who knew Jesus well (11 because of Judas). Peter was the first pope, and the other apostles were the first bishops and priests of the church. If we read the Catechism, we’ll find the other knowledge that God has passed to his church through his best friends on Earth and through continuous divine revelation. Peter has a successor today united with the bishops at our service.

Protection From Harm

In Matthew 7:25, Jesus says, "The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock." This passage is very similar to the Gospel because it says the house did not collapse because of "rock". The Catholic Church is built on rock. Ultimately, we profess that we believe in one Holy, Apostolic, Catholic Church in the profession of faith. As Catholics, we must believe EVERYTHING that the church teaches. That's right, we cannot call ourselves Catholic unless we believe EVERYTHING that the Church teaches with zero exceptions. Year after year, and century after century, the church is assaulted with heresies, such as, "Jesus was not really human", "Jesus was not really God", "there is no such thing as hell". How do we know who to listen to? God is practical, and he gave us our church leaders to teach us what teachings are RIGHT and which are wrong. Jesus knew that "rain" would fall, "floods" would come, and "winds" would strike the house (our church) and yet it would not collapse. Because Jesus has built the church on Rock, " and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it".

The Church teaches us that the Pope is the leader of the church. If we reject the teaching of the Pope's authority, we reject the teaching authority of the Church which was established for our benefit in the first place. On the other hand, an acceptance of our pope is an acceptance of a gift that God wishes to give us- the successor of the Rock which God has built his church on- Pope Benedict the XVI.

The Point

• Unlike John the Baptist ("there has been none greater than John the Baptist") and EVERYONE else, God revealed to Peter who Jesus was, and so Jesus named him the first pope.
  
• The Catholic Church is Jesus' church and Jesus gave the authority to Peter (a sinner), and to his successor, now Pope Benedict XVI (also a sinner).

• Jesus taught many other things that were not written in the Bible and his best friends Peter and the bishops know him best, we must have faith in them and the teachings of our church
  


• If we reject the teaching of the Pope as the leader of our Church, we reject the teaching authority of the Church and therefore we reject the Church itself, which is built on the Rock that Jesus himself chose.
  

Real Life

When I lived as a missionary, I used to go to this pond on the Lord's ranch which some of you are familiar with. I LOVED going to this pond. It was my favorite place to pray. It is a little bit bigger than a football field and surrounded by flat desert with beautiful brown mountains not far away. There are always animals there including ducks and other birds, coyotes, and lots of rabbits. I liked the pond most of all because of how quiet and isolated it was. Because of the silence, lack of distraction, and holiness of the place, my prayer seemed great there. I felt as though I made leaps towards God in those times of prayer.










I no longer live there, so I can't go there to pray. About 2 weeks ago, I walked to a park near where I am staying (I live 1,700 miles from the Lord's Ranch pond) and I sat on a park bench. It was cloudy and the weather was around 80 degrees with a breeze. I closed my eyes in prayer and I pictured the pond at the Lord's Ranch. I pictured the ducks, and I imagined the tranquility with the mountains in the distance. Indeed, the park where I was was also very quiet and I felt that God was telling me this: "you like the peace and tranquility at that pond don't you? Stick with me, and i will give you peace and quiet wherever you go". It felt fantastic and I remembered that my peace comes not from a place, but from the God of heaven who wishes to speak to us.

God loves us. >>>>that's a video on the right



Reading 1
Is 22:19-23

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
“I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash,
and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder;
when he opens, no one shall shut
when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,
to be a place of honor for his family.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8

R. (8bc) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth:
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

Reading II
Rom 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

"Olympic Gold" - Training by Prayer

Olympic Gold This week, the world is watching the finest athletes show the fruits of lifetimes of training and discipline. The hard work might culminate in glory on top of the medal stand or the agony of defeat. One Swedish weightlifter threw his medal away- leading spectators talking steroids and javellin throwers criticizing his throwing technique). For us normal folks, the Olympics means just another week of getting fatter on our couches and assuring our girlfriends that we are superior basketballers, soccer players, and water poloers* than those so-called Olympians. Also, the Olympics is a great time to show that democracy is better than communism by dominating the communists in the trampoline event (yes, that's an actual event). At the Olympics, China hopes to prove its emergence as a world superpower by conquering the most dangerous territory in the world- the badminton courts.

*(you owe me a 5-cent royalty for every time you use the word water poloer)

But seriously, this week's commentary will focus on a relatively unknown champion of prayer, the Canaanite woman. There is commentary following the Gospel. The other readings are at the end.


Gospel Mt 15:21-28 At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.



The Source of Evil

The Canaanite woman (Canaanite) shows her faith immediately when she names the cause of her problem- a demon. A couple of months ago, I wrote that sin is what we should fear.³ It is not the devil that we should fear because he is no match for God. It is our COOPERATION with the devil that we should fear. Ultimately, he cannot force us into hell without our consent. But, knowing that this world is ruled by the devil and that "he is author and instigator of all evils"¹ IS important. It is important because many of us think that we are enemies of each other. I used to go to abortion clinics to pray, thinking that the abortion doctors were our enemies. I soon realized that they are VICTIMS. They have been deceived by the Father of Lies and are in need of our prayers. And that goes along with Jesus' command to "love our enemies". The Canaanite knew what afflicted her daughter. She could have blamed her husband, her physician, or the beef salesman at the marketplace. Instead of naming them as enemies, she knew that "our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.²

^{3 http://massexcitement.blogspot.com/search/label/fear}

Enemies

This is a very important distinction because we Christians have difficulties with people all of the time. If we think that our brothers and sisters are our enemies, we will treat them accordingly. In some cases, we end up killing our brothers and sisters because we see them as enemies. Another reason why it is important to identify the enemy is so that we can defend ourselves against him on our way to heaven. Jesus calls the devil the Father of Lies. The devil's first words to Eve were lies which ultimately lead to her death and and the death of billions of humans through sin. How can knowing this information help us in our relationship with God? Our relationship with God depends on what we do. He has already died on the cross for us and will always love us to the maximum. During this life, we can choose how to react to God's love and this will determine the quality of our relationship with him. We love him back by following his commandments. The devil wants us to spend an eternity in hell with him. His game plan is to tell us not to believe what God says. Here is why it important to recognize the devil and his works in this life, and here is how we can recognize his lies:

Recognizing Lies Easily

If someone (always a victim of the devil's lies) tells us to do something that is against Jesus teachings and against the Church's teachings, we can recognize it as a lie and an attempt of the devil to send us to hell. Some saints have been known to be masters of discerning whether something is coming from the devil or from God and here is a simple and powerful way to tell where something is coming from. When people tell us that :

• we don't have to attend church
• we can get divorced if we want
• it's okay to have pre-maritial sex as long as you love the person
• you don't have to pray in order to know God
• it's okay to hoard our wealth rather than share it

We can recognize immediately that these are lies spun by the devil and thus we can quietly and confidently ignore these lies. God wants us to know his enemy and how he operates. The Canaanite knew this. Another important thing to note is that this conversation she had with Jesus was a prayer. Isn't that what prayer is- a conversation with God? And so who does the Canaanite run to when her daughter is in trouble? She asks not her friends, doctors, or WebMD to help, but rather she goes straight to God with her concern. We should learn from this and seek God in prayer when we need help. Let's look at modern-day prayer

Praying Today

For almost all of my life, I prayed before some meals and sometimes at night for 30 seconds. This prayer had very little effect on my relationship with God and I never felt like it made us any closer. We are reminded in this Gospel that prayer is a conversation with a person- Jesus (and the Father, Holy Spirit - God). Now what if I started calling my best friend for 30 seconds every other day and before some meals for 30 seconds? What would happen to our relationship? It would dwindle down to nothing just like the people we send Christmas cards to once a year without talking to them. My friend would get pissed if I rarely spoke to him and for only 60 seconds at a time maximum. God wants MORE than a pretend relationship like this.

Dry Prayers

What if every time my friend came over to my house I picked up a book off the shelf and started reading it to him? He would probably get annoyed and it would not be as a good as actual conversation. This is what it sounds like to God when we recite prayers like the "bless us oh Lord for these thy gifts...." and "our father who art in heaven..." without even thinking about God. These prayers in themselves are good and I pray them myself routinely. But these prayers are not enough. God is a person. He wants a relationship. We have to spend TIME talking to him just like any other friend. When I started to pray at length to God, I found that it got better and better. So did our relationship. It reminds me of playing the violin. After I play for 30 minutes straight, it gets easier and easier and soon I am in rhythm. Not much later, I get on fire with the violin and it sounds great! The same goes for prayer. If we want to know God, we have to talk to him at length. Just like with any relationship, we have to work hard like the best Olympians- not like couch potatoes.

The Point

• All evil originates from the Devil. He is our enemy- not our brothers and sisters
• We should pray for our Earthly enemies. They are victims of the devil's lies.
• EVERYTHING we hear that is against Jesus and the Church's teachings (they are the same) is a lie. We shouldn't do what liars tell us to do
• Praying for 60 seconds per day is not enough
• God is a person. We have to work at our relationship with him and spend time talking to him
• formal prayers are not enough for a relationship with God. God desires sincere conversation with him.
• 8 hours of prayer a day is not necessary, but prayer often improves as the conversations get longer.

Real Life

During the last 11 months, I spent a lot of time visiting jail inmates and the poor. Every time we participated in these ministries, we prayed a long exorcism prayer to St. Michael asking for protection against the devil and his angels. This prayer was recommended by Pope John Paul II. The man who suggested this prayer during our ministries was very aware of the devil's hatred of the ministries we participated in. Anyhow, we missionaries were constantly aware of the enemy and said prayers against him. A few months ago, I was doing my regular jail visit in Juarez. When we entered the secured area near the cells, we heard the VERY loud screaming of a young lady in custody. She was wrestling very frantically with some cops and screaming "release me, release me!!!!!!" Even after they put her on the ground by herself, she continued to scream and scream. This was very unusual. Not long afterwards one person in our group was preaching to the inmates when suddenly, I saw some people carry out one of the inmates by his hands and feet as he yelled and struggled. At that point, it seemed clear that the devil was very upset with our presence that day. This type of thing (the nature and quantity of screaming and carrying a guy out of the cell) was very unusual. Soon after the man was carried out, we prayed right outside of the cells and asked the inmates to join us in a prayer out loud. I felt grace and soon I was weeping. I noticed that many of the inmates were weeping which was unusual. God was doing something great for all of us on that day. When one of the missionaries laid hands on the inmates, they started staggering, as though they were about to faint and they all cried. I think the devil was mad that we were there that day because God had plans to deliver tremendous graces. Actually, that day, we were short-handed for the first time in my memory. Perhaps God wanted to remind us to rely on him and would provide us with the help we needed. Just this past week, my mom lost her purse and she was very upset. She started crying so, I pulled out my copy of the exorcism prayer almost immediately after I prayed it, she found the purse.

God Loves Us!

Click here to view and print the prayer http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/3543/exorcism.htm

Pope JP 2 recommends the prayer
http://www.tldm.org/News6/exorcism.htm

1- CCC 2854
2- Ephesians 6:12
3- http://massexcitement.blogspot.com/search/label/fearr

Reading 1 Is 56:1, 6-7 Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants— all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

Reading II Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

"$30,000 Worth of Food"- Dependence and Faith in God

This week’s readings are a continuation of last week’s message which reminded us that NOTHING is more important than the kingdom of heaven. God shows us that he knows what we need the most and he will provide for all of our needs. There is commentary following the 1st reading and the Gospel.

Reading 1
Is 55:1-3

Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread;
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.

The Desert

God wants to remind us that we are seeking things which “fail to satisfy” rather than coming to him. God insists that we come to him so that we “may have life”. How is that we are seeking things that fail to satisfy? Let’s look at Exodus chapter 16 where the Israelites are stuck in the desert without food. In this chapter, the Israelites grumble against Moses and Aaron. Some complained that if they had stayed in Egypt, at least they would have died with food in their bellies. In response, God gave them manna, which was a mysterious bread that appeared out of nowhere. He proposed a very good deal- he would give them food every day as long as they would not store any food up overnight. It was a very fair deal to the Israelites.

Can you imagine if McDonald’s announced that they would give free food to anyone who wanted it as long as they didn’t store it over night? That’s a pretty good deal. But the Israelites did not listen to Moses. Some of them kept the food over night and it became spoiled and full of worms. God also commanded the people, to take 2 days worth of the manna on the 6th day and that on this day it was okay to store it up over night. God promised that on the 6th day, the manna would not spoil over night. It remained fresh just as promised. The 7th day was meant for rest and the Israelites were told not to go out to gather the manna because there would be none on the 7th day. Yet once again, the Israelites disobeyed God and went out to look for the food. They found none.

Those crazy Israelites look kind of dumb don’t they? God parted the Red Sea and saved them from Pharaoh’s army. He fed them food from Heaven in a miraculous way. Yet they would not listen to God’s promises nor have faith that God would provide for them. God promised to feed them just enough each day, yet each night they would try to store up the food. The bible is full of stories like this where God gives simple instructions which are inevitably disobeyed. The result is usually some sort of tragedy. The first of these instances is in the garden of Eden. But these stories are not meaningless, distant tales of long ago. WE are the modern day Israelites. We are the modern day Adams and Eves. Was God’s word in the first reading meant just to be read 2500 years ago? No! God is speaking these words to us now! “Heed me and you shall eat well!”

Storing Manna Overnight in 2008

In Matthew 6:25-34 (a passage certainly meant for us Christians) God promises that he will provide for all of our needs. Do we listen or do we behave like the Israelites trying to store up food that doesn't last? Do we "come to God heedfully" as described in the 1st reading, or do we "spend our wages on things which fail to satisfy"? Sadly, most of us are not listening to Jesus' suggestion that we be dependent on him for EVERYTHING and that he will give us EVERYTHING that we need. Like the Israelites, who disobeyed by storing the manna over night and looked for food on the Sabbath, we Americans are also obsessed with survival. We show our obsession with material things by consuming HALF of the world's wealth. 1 out of 20 people in the world is American, yet we consume half of everything! We consume and store up not just food, but EVERYTHING for ourselves! Can you imagine living in a college dorm where one of the tenants uses half of the food, water, and electricity? That would be absurd! Yet despite the incredible surplus the Lord has given us, we can't get enough. We work on Sundays as we go "looking for manna" that just isn't there.

The reason God did not want the Israelites to store the food overnight is because he wanted the Israelites to be dependent on God and to know that EVERYTHING comes from God and that God provides for ALL of their needs. God is a very effective teacher, but it still takes trust in order to have a real relationship with him.

God goes on to say that "I will renew you the everlasting covenant (promise)". That promise normally refers to the promise of the Messiah who would come from the house of David. Isaih is a prophet, and this reading is coupled with this Gospel because Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise made to David. Jesus is the only person who can provide for ALL the needs of his people. It is his voice saying, "come to me heedfully, that you may have life".

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18

R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reading II
Rom 8:35, 37-39

Brothers and sisters:
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel
Mt 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.

Jesus Feeds

The Gospel reading transitions perfectly from the 1st reading. It says that Jesus was in a deserted place. 5000 men and probably at least 5000 more women and children left whatever they were doing to be with Jesus. Now, there were no street lights in those days, so they probably went to be with Jesus right in the middle of work day. This shows that these people had strong faith in Jesus. Strong faith usually precedes many of Jesus' miracles. Since the men had probably left their jobs and the women had left their houses, they showed great faith in Jesus rather than concern for Earthly things. They must have traveled far because the place is described as deserted and then one of the disciples suggested that they should leave to go buy food for themselves. If the villages were close by, there wouldn't have been a discussion, it would have been easy to walk down the street to buy food.

The point is that these 10,000 or so people who went to see Jesus left what they were doing and walked a long way because they had faith in him. His disciples, on the other hand, were still struggling with their faith. Now why would the disciples have been struggling with their faith in Jesus? At this point in the Gospel of Matthew, they had already seen Jesus cure a blind man, heal life-long hemorrhaging, heal a paralytic, and control the weather. By this point, they should have known that Jesus could do anything he wanted.

Today, we are just like the disciples. We have seen miracles and we know very well that God can do what he pleases. The disciples told Jesus to "dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” In Mark's account of this miracle, the disciples ask Jesus, "are we going to buy $30,000 (200 days wages in today's dollars) worth of food and give it to them to eat?"¹ Instead of asking this, the disciples could have remembered all of the miracles that Jesus had done and asked, "Jesus, will you provide us with food please?"

In the Gospel, Jesus tells them that "there is no need for them to go away." His response to their hunger was similar to the 1st reading, " You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat.... Heed me, and you shall eat well". Jesus gave the people what they needed. This occasion is the only one of Jesus' miracles that is mentioned in all 4 Gospels. It is an important passage for us and it's an important message from God. This miracle foreshadows Jesus' supreme gift to us- his own body and blood at the Eucharistic. This Sunday, Jesus will again fulfill his promise to give us ALL that we need- the Eucharist- Jesus himself. We've got to have faith. As the responsorial psalm says, "The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs."

Concluding Thoughts

The gospel message this week is not that we should quit our jobs and become priests and nuns.² God wants our hearts in the right place. Through this week's readings, he wants us to ponder the following:

• what things am I seeking which fail to satisfy?
• am I too concerned with storing up things for myself?
• in the beginning of the day, week, and year, am I concerned with growing closer to the Lord, or filling my life with more things?
• do I have faith in God, or am I relying on myself for everything I need?
• after all I have seen God do for me and others, do I act like I trust him completely?
• do I ever think about the many who are without food?

Real Life

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Tampa Airport. I was hoping to give up my seat in order to get a voucher for a future flight. I prayed and asked for God's will to be done even though I wanted that voucher. It turns out, I was unable to get the voucher because there was no need for me to give up my seat because some people didn't show up. I was a little bit disappointed. The flight left late and so I missed my connecting flight from Atlanta to my final destination- Charlotte. I was standing in this 2.5 hour-long line when I heard that all flights were full and I would not be able to fly to Charlotte until 30-something hours later. I felt sure that the Lord would take care of me. About 1.5 hours after getting to Atlanta, the 2 businessmen in front of me told me that they were going to rent a car and drive to Charlotte. They had just met each other in line. They asked me if I wanted to go with them. I was very pleased and agreed to go with them.

We stopped for lunch. Despite the fact that Southern cities are usually 2-10% Catholic, both of these men turned out to be Catholic which was very surprising. They paid for the rental car, the gas, and for my lunch. I tried to give them money, but they would not accept it. One of the men asked me to pray for his son who was going to Iraq. The other man gave me contact info to a good priest who was once his spiritual director. I think that God wanted me to meet these men. If I had gotten my way with the voucher, I would have taken the later flight from Tampa to Atlanta. I would have never met those men. I probably would not have made it to Charlotte until the next day, and a hotel would have been expensive. But God got me to Charlotte and he fed me. He keeps his promises to us.

God loves us.




===========Mass Excitement #23==========
1- Mark 6:37
2- Some of us are supposed to do EXACTLY this

Are You Ready for the Kingdom of God?

This week's readings are about the rule of Jesus. We are reminded of who Jesus is, what he came to do, and how we can hear and respond to him properly. We are also reminded of what happens when we DON'T respond properly. There is commentary following the Gospel only. This week's commentary is shorter than usual, so it's a great opportunity for those of us with a short attention span.

Reading 1
1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12

The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.
God said, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you."
Solomon answered:
"O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king
to succeed my father David;
but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?"

The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.
So God said to him:
"Because you have asked for this—
not for a long life for yourself,
nor for riches,
nor for the life of your enemies,
but for understanding so that you may know what is right—
I do as you requested.
I give you a heart so wise and understanding
that there has never been anyone like you up to now,
and after you there will come no one to equal you."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130

R. (97a) Lord, I love your commands.
I have said, O LORD, that my part
is to keep your words.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
For I love your command
more than gold, however fine.
For in all your precepts I go forward;
every false way I hate.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, I love your commands.

Reading II
Rom 8:28-30

Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers and sisters.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.

Gospel
Mt 13:44-52 or 13:44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

"Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old."

The King and His Kingdom

What is this kingdom of heaven that Jesus describes in this Sunday's Gospel? First of all, kingdom comes from the word baseilia which means kingship, or reign.¹ So kingdom means the rule of someone, namely the king. In this case, who is the king?

In Luke 19:38, the disciples sing "blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord" as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. JESUS is the king of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven (the reign, the kingship) is declared throughout the Gospel. Who better to announce the kingdom of heaven than the king himself? What does he announce? In Mark 1:15, Jesus says, "the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." So the kingdom of heaven is the announcement of Jesus' reign over all. Yet he makes this announcement in humility. Let's look at Jesus' humility for a moment.

The Humble King

God is humble and he displays his humility in many ways. For one thing, he does not think that he is so great that he wants nothing to do with us. Some people do actually believe they are so great that they want nothing to do with us. But God himself is humble enough that he gives us life for OUR benefit- not his. He certainly wants something to do with us, because he MADE us according to his plan. So, God is humble. You can see it visually if you picture the God of the universe born as an infant in a barn. He rode into town not in a Mercedes convertible, but rather on a donkey. He is humble. Some people who are not humble, feel as though they are too good to talk to the common man. But Jesus talks to us through the bible, through church, through prayer, and other means as well. In Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus does more than talk, he announces, "here I am! I am here to save you (his name means "God saves"). This is more than just an announcement- he is offering to save us.

Salvation Through Faith and Baptism

The 2nd Reading assures us that "all things work for good for those who love God." Paul goes on to say that "those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified." So who is Jesus calling? He is calling me and you. He wants to justify us. That means he wants to forgive us our sins and communicate to us the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and baptism. God wants to forgive us through faith in Jesus and through baptism. What does it means to have faith in Jesus? It means that we willingly give ourselves over to God. Faith means we give our intellect and our will to God. Faith means we give Jesus the steering wheel. Faith means we submit to EVERYTHING that God wants to teach us. Faith means we let God take charge of our lives even if it hurts. Jesus wants to save us through faith in him and baptism.

In humility, God announces to us the kingdom of heaven. God wants to save us. This is the message of the proclamation of the kingdom of God. Remember that Jesus said, "repent, and believe in the gospel." The proclamation of the Kingdom of God is very easy to understand. Jesus says, "here I am to save you. Turn away from your life of sin, and turn to me. Although you are very lowly, I am humble. In my humility, I love you." This is really good news. It is great news that the only person who truly knows us, loves us and wants to be with us. He is offering us healing, peace, and salvation.

Gospel

This news is so good that when we receive it, we are willing to give up everything we have in order to receive it fully. In the Gospel, the persons sell all that they have. The message of this week's Gospel is not necessarily that we should sell our cars and houses. The message is that NOTHING is MORE important than the kingdom of heaven. Remember that the kingdom of heaven is the reign and the kingship of Jesus. He is a great king who loves us and it's NOT okay to turn our backs on him as he makes his invitation of love to us. We are reminded of this in the Gospel where the "wicked" are thrown "into the fiery furnace". God is concerned about us. He does not want us to be thrown into the furnace, so he asks us to stop sinning and to turn our lives over to him. Let's look at an example of how to answer God's call.

1st Reading

This Gospel message is seen very clearly in the first reading as well. It gives us a picture of someone who responds to God's call properly. As God mentioned, Solomon could have asked for a long life or riches. But Solomon had the attitude of the guy who found the pearl or the treasure in the field. Solomon knew that nothing was more important than serving God so he asked God for help to serve God's people. God granted his request because "all things work for good for those who love God". There is much to learn from Solomon's prayer as well. His prayer is very humble. His request for wisdom is already an admission that he is not very wise. He says, "I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act". Just 3 weeks ago in the Gospel, Jesus said that, "although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, you have revealed them to the childlike."³ Solomon did not have childlike intelligence- he was smart. He had childlike HUMILITY and dependence on God just like a child who depends on its mother. God answered his humble prayer. We should pray just as humbly as Solomon. It takes humility to admit that we are wrong (sinful) and then to give the steering wheel to our Lord Jesus in pure submission. This is God's call for us to give our lives to HIM.

The Point

• Because of God's humility and generosity, he gave us life and he cares about us enough to talk to us
• Jesus wants us to know that he desires our salvation and he gives us the opportunity to be saved
• Jesus wants to save us through faith and baptism
• Faith in Jesus means to give our intellect, will, understanding and all that we have to God. Faith means to believe in all that God teaches us. Faith means to allow God to be the absolute ruler or our lives
• The forgiveness of sins is necessary for salvation and Jesus offers us our first forgiveness and life in him through baptism
• God loves us and wants to save us. To ignore and to reject his invitation is to willfully enter hell by our choice
• In order to hear God and to get to know him better, we need to be humble in our prayers and actions

Real Life

Back in his high school days, Father Richard Thomas S.J. was the wealthiest boy in his school.(According to Fr Harold Rahm, his former high school teacher). He went to a private Catholic school in Florida where virtually every student was and is from affluent families. So Father Thomas was quite wealthy although Fr. Rahm said he couldn't' tell by the way he dressed and Fr. Thomas never talked about it. Fr. Thomas even had a girl he liked in high school. It's likely that Fr. Thomas was being prepared to take over the family business and to live a prosperous life.

But Fr. Thomas gave all of that up to become a priest because he heard the Lord's call. It was a major disappointment to his father. As a Jesuit priest, Father Thomas made a vow of poverty which he took very seriously. He refused to use air conditioning even if it was freely available because he was supposed to be poor like the people he served. Whether he was in desert or in the high heat and humidity of Louisiana, he sweated it out. People in the El Paso/Juarez area still talk about Fr. Thomas all of the time. They still love him very much. Many people believe that he will one day be counted amongst the saints.

Even in this modern day, some people hear the voice of God calling, they give everything else up, and follow Jesus.

God loves us!

==============Mass Excitement #22=================

1- Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2816
2- CCC 2816
3- Matthew 11:25

"There IS a Hell and It's Not Empty!" #21

This weeks' reading speak of judgment, hell, and forgiveness. There is commentary following the 1st Reading AND the Gospel.

Reading 1
Wis 12:13, 16-19

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.


1st Reading and Psalm -The Just Judge

The first reading describes God as lenient and talks about how he judges with lenience. Let's go through an exercise for a moment. Think of 3 really bad sins you have committed. Please do this now.

Example sins just to refresh your memory:

• Renouncing God, cursing God, involvement in other religions, denying your faith
• Sins against your parents
• Abortion, assault
• Sexual sin, adultery, pornography
• Stealing, lying

Right now, think of 3 really bad sins you have committed during your life.

Those sins were terrible weren't they? You probably don't want to commit them any more. Now after committing those sins, did God kill you? Probably not, since you are reading this. We should remember that at any time during our sins, God could have lost patience with us and just erased us from existence or sent us to hell. Yet, he hasn't done this yet. He hasn't done it yet, because he judges with leniency. As this week's Psalm says, God is "slow to anger".

The first reading reminds us that God has taught us by his deeds. God teaches us by example. He gives life to us despite that he has nothing to gain from it, rather he only wishes to share. By God's example of generosity, we know to help the poor man on the street even though we have very little to gain from it. God offers us forgiveness for our sins, and in doing so, he teaches us to forgive our friends, family, and even the biggest enemies of God.

Our Hope, His Loyalty, Our Prayers

The reading goes on to say that we have a reason for hope. Our hope is that we turn away from our sins. What this means is that although God is the almighty judge and he does punish sinfulness, he gives us easy access to hope. We can give up our sins and live in peace and love with him and the entire family of believers. Our hope is that we turn away from our sins and to God instead.

In this week's Psalm, David says that God is "abounding in fidelity". That means that God is loyal. How do we know that he is loyal? Again, we can look at the sins that we committed and the fact that God has not abandoned us. Like a faithful spouse of an faithful spouse, he wants us to remain together forever even though we offended him terribly. His mercy and generosity shows that he IS LOYAL forever.

This Psalm says that God is good and forgiving. David then asks God to hear (hearken) his prayer. Remember that our hope is that we repent (turn away) from our sins. When we do this, we must turn towards the Lord, because he is good and forgiving. Many of us turn to our friends when we screw up instead of God. We ask our friends to hear our stories in hope that they will agree with OUR side of the story. Instead of asking for forgiveness from God, we ask for sympathy from our pals and in doing so, we wallow in our sins and we ARE NOT forgiven. Instead of doing this, let's take our sins to God the way David did and receive the forgiveness that we need and hope in.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16

R. (5a) Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O LORD,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward me, and have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.

Reading II
Rom 8:26-27

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God's will.

Gospel
Mt 13:24-43 or 13:24-30

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him,
'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

He proposed another parable to them.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"

He spoke to them another parable.
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."


Judgment

This gospel is VERY simple and straight to the point. In Jesus' parable, the children of the kingdom go to heaven, and the children of the evil one go to hell for eternity. Who are the children of the evil one? Jesus describes them as, "all who cause others to sin, and evildoers". Are we evildoers? Do we cause others to sin? I remember once before, I knew a girl who was using a guy for money. I advised her to get all she could get. I caused her to sin. In another example, a friend of mine advised his buddy that because he is extremely wealthy, he should not have a girlfriend. He then suggested that his buddy could have sex with lots of girls instead of having just one girlfriend.

Some people might say, "people have their own choice". But make no mistake, our friends and family listen to what we say. As an example, do you ever see certain movies because your friends recommend them? Have you ever visited a doctor or dentist because of someone's recommendation? Of course you have. Our words are POWERFUL enough to lead someone to heaven or hell. We should be more careful about what we say to others.

We cause others to sin all of the time, especially our best friends. We tell them to watch terrible television programs. We allow our children to do whatever they want! We sing songs that glorify sin!⁴ The singers of these anti-heaven songs are causing others to sin! According to Jesus, what happens to those who cause others to sin? THEY GO TO HELL!


God the Merciful Judge

We have to remember that as Catholics, we don't believe in just certain passages of the Bible, we believe in the whole thing. The whole message of the Bible indicates that although hell exists, God is merciful. God does not want us to go to hell. He leaves it up to us. Our hope is repentance, just as in the first reading. We believe that God is slow to anger and he is forgiving. Just look at the good thief whom Jesus forgave only moments before the thief's death. This thief admitted to committing a crime that deserved death. In America, almost all men who are executed are killed because they are either murderers or rapists. This thief committed terrible crimes and Jesus forgave him because the thief was sorry for what he had done. Remember that Peter sinned terribly against God by denying that he knew Jesus. Jesus' reaction was to forgive him. It's important to remember that although we CAN choose hell, it's not the choice that God wants for us.

Jesus Warns Us

On MANY occasions, Jesus warned people about the existence of hell and the road that leads to it. Some examples include:

• Matthew 5:22 - "Fiery Gehenna"
• Matthew 5:29 - "Your whole body thrown into Gehenna"
• Matthew 10:28 - "….both body and soul in Gehenna"
• Matthew 13:42 - "They will throw them into the fiery furnace"
• Mark 10: 45: "thrown into Gehenna"
• Matthew 22:15 - "into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

Some people argue that God is loving and there is no hell. This argument is completely illogical and totally wrong. Just like the teaching of the Eucharist, the passion, and forgiveness, Jesus repeats his most important teachings. This warning about hell is an important teaching to Jesus and to us as well. In an act of love, Jesus warns his friends of danger. After all, a fake friend will pass his alcoholic friend a drink, while a real friend would knock the drink out of his friend's hands and then warn him about alcoholism. Just the same, Jesus loves us. He did not come to condemn us. He came to save us.²

Hope

In Matthew chapter 20, Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard. There are complaints when those who showed up at the last minute still got a full day's pay. Part of the message of this parable is this: even though we have all sinned, it is NEVER too late to say sorry to God and to turn away from sin. As David says in the psalm, giving us permission to turn away from sin, is "good ground for hope". Let's put our faith in Jesus, who came to save us.

The Point

• Despite years of sinning, God has not killed us. He wants to forgive us
• God is a generous, lenient judge. We can see this by looking at Jesus' life
• A huge source of hope is that we can turn away from sins and receive forgiveness
• We know that God is loyal because despite all we have done to offend him, he sticks with us to the end.
• We nudge our friends and family towards the path to hell with what we say to them
• Hell exists and God wants to warns us not to choose hell
• It is never too late to turn away from sins. As Catholics we believe that in order to go to hell, we have commit mortal (serious) sin and persist in it until the end.³ So, there is always hope and always an opportunity to be saved all the way until the end of our lives.

Real Life

I have mentioned this incident before, but I would like to tell this story in more detail.

About 6 months ago, I went to a Catholic retreat. There, I saw a priest with a huge beard who gave several talks. I was very intrigued by this man as soon as I saw him. There was something special about him, and I wanted to meet him. So, I waited in a long line for confession and there were 3 priests available to hear confessions. I made sure that I got to see the guy with the huge beard.

When I sat next to him and looked into his eyes, I felt like I was looking at Jesus. It wasn't just because the guy was a priest and he had a beard. As soon as I sat down with this man, I knew that he LOVED ME. I just knew it. It was radiating from his whole being. For a very brief instant, I was a little bit scared, because I felt like he could see my bad spiritual condition. But because of his love, I almost immediately felt total peace and comfort. I felt as though I could tell him anything.

After confessing about 3 really bad sins and telling him that I was ashamed of these sins, he said, "those are pretty big sins". I raised my eyebrow at that surprising comment. He went on to say, "those sins are like drops in the ocean of God's mercy. Listen to me very carefully, God is going to forgive you now for all of the sins you have ever committed. Do you understand I said, "yes". I closed my eyes and felt a light touch on my head. It felt very strange and tingly, so I peaked through my eyes and saw that the priest was not touching me. It was literally the hand of God touching my head! During the absolution it felt as though a mountain was being lifted off of my back. While my eyes were closed, I could see the ocean of mercy that the priest spoke of. It was incredible.

Before the retreat had started, I was hoping that God would speak to me regarding my vocation and the purpose that he had for me for my whole life. Rather than reveal that to me, God granted me forgiveness. It reminded me of the story of the healing of the crippled man in Mark 2:1-12. The man wanted to be healed of his condition. Jesus didn't say to the man, "I heal you in the name of God!" No, rather he said, "your sins are forgiven". He gave the man exactly what he NEEDED, not what he wanted. Just like the crippled man, God gave me EXACTLY what I NEEDED instead of what I wanted, and soon afterwards it was easier for me to walk the path God had for me, just like this crippled man

On this particular occasion with the huge-bearded priest, God gave me exactly what I needed and exactly what he wants to give to all of us. He wants us to have real HOPE that comes through turning away from sin (repentance)

God loves us!

=======================Mass Excitement #21=====================

1- there is no #1 sorry
2 - John 3:17
3 - CCC 1037
4- I was recently at an abortion "clinic" and one of the visitors drove off listening to a popular song called "promiscuous girl" in which the singers celebrate promiscuity.

"How Can I Hear the Voice of God?" #20 - The Bible and Tradition July, 13, 2008

This week’s commentary is about the Word of God. We will talk about how the Word of God still manifests itself to us today. Again, this week’s readings are the good news of the Lord. In these readings, we are reminded that God wishes to give us EVERYTHING that we need for salvation in a PRACTICAL way. There is commentary following the Gospel reading. The 1st and 2nd readings, and the psalms are at the very end of this document.There is a video included in the “Real Life” section (5 minutes). This week’s Mass Excitement is a little longer than usual, but I think it will be worth your time.

Gospel
Mt 13:1-23 or 13:1-9

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

The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

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

Gospel

When we hear “the Word of God” we often think of the Bible. Indeed, the Bible is the “speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.”¹ Since the Bible is a way by which we can hear God speak, we should read it. The Bible gives us nourishment and strength because it is the Word of God.¹³ It makes more sense to read the Bible and receive advice from the one who created us rather than from late night TV talk show hosts, our friends, or the internet. Now, back to this particular Gospel. Let’s look at how we receive the Word of God from our Church.

In this Gospel, Jesus answers the disciples by saying that “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom heaven has been granted to you.” Notice that Jesus says “granted”. That means that the disciples did not FIGURE OUT the faith and the meaning of the parables on their own. There understanding had been GIVEN to them. And why would Jesus give knowledge to these particular men? Is it because they were holy? No! The Bible tells us that they were sinners who struggled with their faith. They even fell asleep, leaving Jesus to be captured and condemned. Jesus did not give “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” to them because they were already holy. Jesus can give it to whomever he chooses. He often chooses sinners, the unskilled, and people of low intelligence to do his will. His apostles are examples of this and so are we.

Jesus said to the disciples, “whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me.”² In other words, Jesus gave them authority and the knowledge to teach the Word of God. Jesus was fully aware that he had given the disciples knowledge of the faith and he entrusted it to them. All of this, he did intentionally and with purpose. Last week’s gospel said that “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” This reminds us that it is impossible to know God without the Father’s revelation or the consent of the Son. Jesus did give his consent and along with it the knowledge and ability to preach the Word of God in its entirety. That’s why Jesus says in this gospel that “blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” A lot of holy people for many years wanted to know the Word of God, but they couldn’t until “the Word became flesh”. In other words, it was impossible to know the Word of God entirely until the Word himself (Jesus) came into the world.


It Takes Revelation

You can see that it’s true that NO ONE knows Jesus except the Father when you look at John the Baptist. Jesus said that “among those born of women, there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”³ That may be the highest compliment any man has received in the history of mankind because it came from Jesus! Yet despite how “great” John the Baptist was, even HE didn‘t recognize who Jesus was! In Matthew 11:2, John sends messengers to Jesus asking if he is the Messiah. So clearly, John didn’t know who Jesus was. Only Peter knew who Jesus was and he didn’t figure that out on his own either. Rather, Jesus said to Peter, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” So it is true that “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” It takes the consent and the power of God to know God. So, who does God reveal himself to?

The Word of God and the Church

Most people think of the Bible when they hear “the Word of God” and again, the Bible truly is God’s word. Yet, most protestants believe that the Bible is the ONLY source of authority. That is flat wrong and illogical. After all, did Peter and Paul have the New Testament to guide them with authority? No! The new testament had not been written yet. So Peter and Paul DID NOT rely on the Bible as the sole source of authority. They had to rely on God’s continuous revelation (transmission of truth)to them. Paul is the author of most of the books of the New Testament. But he could only write because he depended on Peter’s leadership and the continuous revelations that Peter received from God. God gave Peter a vision (a transmission of truth) and only because of this transmission did Paul learn from Peter that God desired the salvation of everyone and not just the Jews.⁴ In another instance, Paul wasn’t sure whether the gentiles had to be circumcised or not, so he went to meet with Peter and the others. After a lot of debating, Peter (the disciple who recognized Jesus) stood up and told everyone that the “yoke” of circumcision was unnecessary for salvation. With that, “the whole assembly fell silent”.⁵ It is clear in the book of Acts that Peter was the leader of early church. So it was through the apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, with Peter as the head that shared the FULL truth of the Word of God to the early church through continuous “living transmission” from God. This continues to this day through the successor of Saint Peter and the successors of the first bishops like Paul and others. Getting the Word of God from our Church leaders has been something we’ve relied on since the time of Jesus. This is the way Jesus wanted it set up because he gave Peter the power to "bind and loose".

The Word of God Continues to Speak

Our Catechism says that we continually receive the Word of God through continuous revealing (divine transmission).⁶ We call this divine transmission “Tradition” with a capital “T”. Tradition is what we know, not what we do. “[Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.⁷ Again, “[Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God. Since the resurrection of Jesus 2000 years ago, God continuously reveals all that we believe to our church leaders. That is, continuous divine revelation has been used by God since the time of Jesus. Remember the example of Peter and Paul.

So God gives us Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Church’s teaching authority to give us the Word of God. What does this tell us about God? It tells us primarily that God loves us immensely and that he is highly practical. He doesn’t just throw a THICK instruction manual at us without sending us someone to explain it. He started the Church with Peter and the apostles. He gave the apostles and Peter all they needed to spread the good news. He asked the apostles to teach what they had learned. “In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church, the apostles left bishops as their successors.”⁸ So even today, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God offers us the bishops and the successor of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI to guide, teach, and protect us.

Many people object to the infallibility of the Pope’s teachings because he is just a man and thus a sinner. We must remember that Peter was a sinner as well and yet the Father revealed to him the true identity of Jesus and that made Peter a superb leader. It is an honor to have the Pope as our leader. Despite the fact that he is a sinner, his definitive doctrines are infallible thanks to the grace of God.

Sacred Scripture and Tradition as Teammates

It is important to know that the teaching authority (Magisterium) of the Church is not superior to the Word of God.”⁹ Sacred Scripture and Tradition work TOGETHER to reveal the same truth.¹⁰ The Magisterium SERVES the Word of God. The Church’s teaching authority is a gift from God which helps us to penetrate our faith “more deeply with right judgment, and apply it more fully in daily life.”¹¹ In other words, we have serious problems understanding the Bible without someone to explaining it to us. Making mistakes in interpretation can be catastrophic for our faith and relationship with God. For example, an incorrect understanding of salvation has lead some baptized believers to think that good works are unnecessary for salvation and that we are saved by faith alone. This leads some baptized to believe that they can sin all they want and still enter heaven. Another great example is Jesus’ teaching about his body and blood in the Bible. As a service to the Word of God, the teaching authority of the church tells us that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. We Catholics know that center of our faith is the Eucharist because the Eucharist is Jesus. Where would we be without Jesus in the Eucharist? So church’s teaching authority is here because we are dummies and sinners and we need interpretation and protection from ourselves.

In the end, the way that God reveals his Word tells us about him. Namely, it tell us that he loves us and he keeps his promise that he is with us always until the end of the age.¹²

The Point

• All of the apostles including Peter, understood the Word of God because God has revealed it to them. They are the ONLY worthy teachers because they have received ability and authority directly from God.
• Because Jesus gave authority to them, whoever rejects the bishops and the Pope, rejects Jesus.
• After centuries of prophets, none was greater than John the Baptist, but even he did not know who Jesus was. Only Peter knew because the Father revealed Jesus’ identity to Peter. Thus Peter was the outstanding leader of the early Church and Pope Benedict is his chosen successor.
• We have received the Word of God through divine revelation to church leaders like Peter and Paul since the beginning of the Church. This continues today just the way Jesus wanted.
• Holy Tradition contains the entire Word of God
• God gave us authoritative teachers to protect us and to teach us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• We should read the Catechism and encyclicals by our Pope. http://www.papalencyclicals.net/all.htm
  
• The teaching authority of the Church is not superior to sacred scripture. It is there to serve sacred scripture.

Real Life

This past week, I went to Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, KY 40 miles from Louisville to discern God’s will. As soon as I got there, the monks and priests were praying the psalms. As I sang along with the monks, God made it crystal clear to me what his will was for me through the power of his word which was written 2500 years ago (Psalms). I was well over a 1000 miles from El Paso hoping that God would speak to me, and he did through the same book I had with me in El Paso. God’s word is alive and powerful!

I made a video of my trip there. Click below to see it.


1- CCC 81
2- Luke 10:16
3- Matthew 11:11
4- Acts 10:9
5- Acts 15:6-12
6- CCC 78
7- CCC 81
8- CCC 77
9- CCC 86
10- CCC 80
11- CCC 93
12- Matthew 28:20
13- CCC 104

What to Fear

This week, we are talking about:

What is sin?
Why are we sinful?
What should we fear?

There is commentary following the gospel, but most of the commentary relates to the 2nd reading.

Reading 1
Jer 20:10-13

Jeremiah said:
“I hear the whisperings of many:
‘Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!’
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.’
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
for he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35

R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!"
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Reading II
Rom 5:12-15

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.

But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.

Gospel
Mt 10:26-33

Jesus said to the Twelve:
“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Commentary

We all know the story of Adam and Eve. But in the 2nd reading, Paul discusses our first parents so it’s important that we understand what happened.

It’s very important to understand sin because without God letting us know what the problem with sin is , we cannot understand it completely. If we better understand sin as God teaches us, we will take our decisions seriously and do all that we can to avoid sinning. Sin is bad because it is offensive to God. We should stop sinning for the right reason, because it hurts God and it is offensive to him and causes separation between us and God. Below is an easy explanation:

Quitting For the Right Reason

In a very simple analogy, let’s imagine for a moment that I am married. I cheat on my wife. I now have an STD (sexually transmitted disease). So I approach my wife and tell her that I have been cheating on her and now have an STD. I tell my wife that because the STD is causing uncomfortable symptoms, I have decided to quit cheating.

Now how would she react to this incident? She would get mad, sad, and then angry because I don’t’ want to quit cheating on her for the right reason. The worst part of my cheating is not the disease that I caught. The worst part of my cheating is that it HURTS MY WIFE and it HURTS ME! Cheating is offensive to my wife. Just the same, we have to quit sinning for the right reason. We have to understand what sin IS and what we are to do about it. To understand sin, we have to acknowledge that it is an offense against God and that’s why we should be sorry for sin. Natural consequences like STD’s should not be the reason to stop sinning.

Let’s look at Adam and Eve in order to understand better. Adam and Eve were born holy.(CCC 399) But after listening to the serpent, Eve ate the fruit and then Adam did the same.

Lack of Trust

The sin of Adam and Eve was a sin against God. In the first sin, “man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command.” Here we see a clear description of sin and what is at the root - lack of trust. Adam did not trust God who told Adam that if he ate the fruit, he would die. Adam did not believe it. He did not trust the word of his creator.

Another example: God loves me, and he asks that I tell the truth at all times. For example, my wife asks me if I watered the plants while she was out of town. I lie to her because I forgot to water the plants. So, what happens? She finds out the truth on her own. She is sad and understandably upset. She begins to wonder what else I lie to her about. She begins to wonder what sort of man she has married. We start arguing and I start wondering why she loves her plants more than she loves me and I start wondering what sort of woman I have married. As you can see here, sin creates lots of problems and mistrust immediately.

In this example, I know it’s a sin against God to lie. But I thought to myself, “hey God, it’s okay to lie to my wife about the plants because she is not going to find out and it’s really not a big deal. I know you told me to NEVER lie, but I’m not so sure you are right about this. I am going to take matters into my own hands here because I know my wife very well.”

At the heart of EVERY sin is disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.¹ In this example, I would have been better off listening to God and telling the truth. Disobeying God is an offense against God, but I must keep in mind that God wants what’s best for me and my wife. He wants me and my wife to be happy. That’s why he commands me to tell the truth.

We are Christians and we believe in God. When we sin, we say with our actions that WE DO NOT TRUST God. Now that is a terrible statement to make to God and we all know that actions speak louder than words. We should use our actions to praise God, not to curse him.

Sin Goggles

In case you didn’t know, wearing “beer goggles” means you are drunk. The alcohol distorts your senses including your vision. And so, you are wearing “beer goggles”. Sin works in the same way. In Genesis Chapter 3, Adam and Eve sin and their immediate reaction is to hide. Had God done anything to Adam or Eve that they should fear him? Of course not, God was only loving to them both. He was thinking about Adam when he made Eve because he said, “it is not good for the man to be alone.”² Also, God had lovingly given everything to Adam including life and power over all the animals and food and drink.

Yet Adam and Eve were afraid of their loving God after they sinned. They suddenly had a different view of God. That’s why they hid after they had sinned. They had on “sin goggles”. Because of the “sin goggles”, Adam immediately saw Eve in a different way as well. He complained to God, “The woman whom you put here with me- she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” Eve because of the fear and shame that sin brought, also joined in the blame game by pointing out the serpent.

When I sin, I not only become ashamed but I also become afraid. I become afraid of God and afraid of others. I even start to become suspicious of God and his love. I am sure that no sin, not even the smallest, is worth committing.

Original Sin

In the 2nd reading, Paul says that, “through sin, death came to all men.” He is talking about Adam and his sin against God, which resulted in Adam’s eventual death. Yet, “death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam.” That means that people continued to be sinful after Adam and they also died. In order to explain what this means, I’d like to use another example:

Someone told me that there was a hidden camera study done a while back. Kids were told to wait in a room. They were also told not to look in a certain area of the room. Every kid in the test would wait for the adult to leave the room and would then look at the one place they were told not to.

And so, our nature is partially corrupted because of the sin of Adam and Eve. We are drawn towards sin. It is important to be aware of our sinful nature. Because of this, we understand our need for salvation. Also, all people are connected to each other. And so, when one of us sins, all of us are hurt. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, we suffer. The good news is that because Jesus became human, we are also connected to HIM just as we are connected to Adam. And so we benefit and are saved by Jesus’ death on the cross. In Romans 5:18, Paul says, “just as through one transgression (one sin) condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all.”

Fear- Commentary on 1st Reading and Gospel

In the first reading, Jeremiah says, “the Lord is with me……Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!” In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Fear no one.” The readings discuss fear.

And so as a common person, here are some things I fear:

• I’m afraid to lose my job or to fail at school
• I’m afraid my wife/girlfriend will leave me
• I’m afraid I won’t be able to pay the bills
• I’m afraid that my friends will make fun of me
• I’m afraid people will find out the bad things I have done
• I’m afraid of being unwanted
• I’m afraid of dying
• I’m afraid of being ugly

To this Jesus, says “Fear no one.” Getting killed, losing our jobs, losing our boyfriends/girlfriends, or being humiliated, is not what we should fear. Jesus assures us that God is watching and protecting us constantly. “Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” God even keeps a watch over the birds. If God keeps his eyes on birds, he certainly keeps his eyes on us as well, and so we have nothing to fear- except one thing.

We must fear “the one who can destroy both soul and body”. Jesus is talking about the devil. What does the devil want man to do? He wants man to disobey God and to sin. He started with the first man Adam and he wants EVERY man to do the same. He even approached the man Jesus. The devil wants the exact opposite of what God wants. God wants us to “have life and have it more abundantly.”³ The devil wants us to disobey God the same way HE does and the devil knows that sin leads to the death of “both soul and body in Gehenna.”

The good news is that the devil is no match for the creator of the universe so truly we can have confidence in our almighty and loving Lord. However, it is important that we recognize “the broad road which leads to destruction”. ⁴ Although we needn’t fear anything in this world especially our petty concerns, we must recognize that our humanity is corrupted and we are drawn towards sin. We must constantly rely on the Lord for help by asking him to help us. As our lives become holier, we won’t have to rely on ourselves for protection. We will say just as Jeremiah said in the first reading, “the Lord is with me like a mighty champion”. We will grow in confidence that God will protect us from “the power of the wicked.”


The Point

• We must quit sinning for ONE reason. God loves us and we should respond by LOVING him, not by offending him. Sin is bad because it is an offense against God.
• Every sin is a statement to God that WE DO NOT TRUST HIM. We tell God that we know better than he knows.
• Sin immediately causes fear and shame. (is that true for you?) Sin even causes us to be suspicious and distrustful of our God, ourselves, and others as well.
• Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, our nature is corrupted and sinful.
• Because of God’s death on the cross, he paid the price for Adam and Eve’s sin and ours as well.
• We have many fears, but the only thing to fear is sin.

Real Life

Here is a prayer we can share:

Lord,

I am a sinner. Because of my sins, I have spent my life afraid and ashamed. I have been afraid of the future. I have been afraid of what I did yesterday. I have been afraid of what others think of me. I have been afraid of criticism. I need your help Lord. Shelter me, protect me, teach me and forgive me. I know you are with me Lord. You are walking with me. I am confident with you at my side. With you at my side, the devil will tremble and flee. I want to be with you for the rest of eternity. I am not afraid any more. I pray that the rest of my life will be pleasing to you. Stay with me Lord forever….




==============================================Mass Excitement======================







1- CCC 397
2- Genesis 2:18
3- John 10:10
4- Matthew 7:13