"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

Reality Show Star Goes to Jail

June 2, 2008
by Chris Pham

Juarez, Mexico- Many reality show stars ride their lottery ticket to fame and riches after their television success. But not Azeneth Gonzalez.

Ms. Gonzalez was a finalist on La Academia in 2003- a popular reality show similar to American Idol. It airs in Mexico on the nation's 2nd-largest network.

La Academia contestants have spent 109 weeks at the top of the Mexican Top 100 songs list. That's not too shabby for a country of over 100 million.

Sunday night, she spent her free time singing and talking to kids at the Reto de Juventud- a juvenile detention center in an impoverished, dangerous area of Juarez. Juarez residents have been gripped with fear lately with nearly 600 confirmed murders year to date and a murder rate 10 times greater than many large American cities. To make matters worse, over 150 women have been reported missing.

Despite the danger, Ms. Gonzalez journeyed to the juvenile detention center with only 2 friends in an old sedan without air conditioning. Just as she does with ALL of her ministries, she prayed for nearly an hour before arriving.

Over 100 inmates were there for her talk/concert. Inmates at Reto De Juventud are mostly males aged 15-18 with sentences as short as a few days to as long as several years. Many have been convicted of serious crimes.

The night began with the song "your will" in which the lyrics ask, "Christ give me the strength to continue!" After some singing, Ms. Gonzalez spoke out against crimes such as theft as well as legal activities such as viewing pornography. Many of the inmates wore expressions of boredom, resentment, and ridicule.

As the night progressed, the inmates began loosening up and even sang along with Ms. Gonzalez after she insisted that "there are enough people here to sing loudly". She even offered to sing Christian songs that the inmates requested. By the end of the night, the frowns turned into smiles and laughter as the boys belted out songs they knew. The boys even joined arms and danced- in a jail!

Not all music stars get too wrapped up with themselves to forget those in need. Azeneth Gonzalez is one of them. Instead of driving a Ferrari to the movies Sunday night, she rode in a cheap car into a dangerous neighborhood to help strangers.

Several adult attendants had tears in their eyes during the dancing. The inmates sang a song called "mustard seed" which references a passage from Matthew Chapter 17, which suggests that faith can move mountains. Some Christians believe it, some don't. One thing was evident Sunday night- faith is enough to move bored, lonely, hopeless boys into joyous dancing.

Click below to see a video of this story.

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

Am I Going to Heaven or Hell?- Faith and Grace

This week's discussion is about how are souls are saved. There is commentary following the Gospel reading. Most of the commentary relates to the 2nd reading from Romans. We will discuss sin, God's help, and Faith as the way to salvation.

Reading 1
Dt 11:18, 26-28, 32

Moses told the people,
"Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign,
and let them be a pendant on your forehead.

"I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse:
a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today;
a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today,
to follow other gods, whom you have not known."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 31:2-3, 3-4, 17, 25

R. (3b) Lord, be my rock of safety.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me,
incline your ear to me,
make haste to deliver me!
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.

Reading II
Rom 3:21-25, 28

Brothers and sisters,
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his blood.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Gospel
Mt 7:21-27

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
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.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined."



Help Wanted

Paul says that "ALL have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God." What does that mean? We have sinned. In doing so, we have hurt God. Out of great love, God created us knowing the risk that we might not love him back. For God, the risk was worth it. It was worth giving us life and an opportunity to love him. Before he created us, he knew that we would find joy in knowing him and loving him. This generosity and love is the "glory of God". It's bad to be deprived of this love.

When we sin, we walk away from the "glory of God". The true purpose of our lives is to love God in response to his love. So in sin, we turn our backs to God and say, "no" to our true purpose. Saying "no" to our true purpose "deprives us of the glory of God." Saying "no" to our true purpose means we say "no" to true love.

"All have sinned." We have problems and we need help. But God "makes no distinction." In other words, God does not discriminate. Rather, he wants to help ALL of us and he knows that we have sinned. We are given help even though we haven't done anything to deserve it. We are screwups. We need help (grace).

Grace

In the 2nd reading, Paul says that sinners are, "justified freely by his grace". What is grace? Our Church describes grace as "undeserved help from God".¹ Grace is also described as "a participation in the life of God."² This is God's gift to us; he wants to help us by letting us participate in his life. We cannot be saved without "undeserved help from God." We are saved ONLY because God wills and desires it. God is the one moving towards US. He chooses US. He takes the initiative and he CHOOSES to reveal himself. In this reading, "justified freely by grace" means that we are saved ONLY because God wants it to happen and he makes it happen. It is a real relief to know that it is God who saves US and we don't have to depend on ourselves for salvation. However, we have to respond to God's love properly.

Recap:

1. Because of sin, we have turned our backs to the best friend we could ever ask for. We have turned our backs on the ONLY PERFECT FRIEND we have.
2. God knows we have messed up, so he gives us "undeserved help" because he loves us. We cannot be saved without God's help.
3. God helps us by allowing us to participate in his life.

Responding to Grace

Our perfect response to God's grace is faith in Jesus Christ. Why is it important to have faith in Jesus? How is faith in Jesus the perfect response to the "undeserved help" that God gives us?

Imagine that you are married to the perfect spouse. You cheat on your spouse (that's what sin is- cheating on God). Your spouse catches you in the act. Instead of divorcing you or getting revenge, your spouse, says the following: "You have cheated on me and I forgive you. I accept this suffering. I forgive you because I love you. Will you accept my forgiveness?

God offers this same generous forgiveness to us. We have cheated on him by sinning. Instead of divorcing us, he forgives us. He says, "you hurt me, but I'm going to make up for your mistakes". I am going to become human and then I am going to die for your sins. Will you accept my forgiveness?

This is why it is important to have faith in Jesus. God offers us help. We MUST accept this offer from our loving creator. This is why faith in Jesus is the perfect response to God's undeserved help. Faith in Jesus in necessary for our salvation. If he goes so far as to die for us, we had better take notice of his love and we must accept it. We must respond perfectly by saying "yes, I have faith in Jesus. Yes, I accept your forgiveness my God."

Faith

So we need to have faith in Jesus in order to save our souls. How do we have faith? Faith is an act. In faith, we say to God, "I don't understand you completely, but I give myself to you. I want to do your will."³ "Faith is a willing expression of agreement to the whole truth that God has revealed"⁴ In other words, faith means that we willingly accept ALL that God gives us and to teaches us.

To trust another human in this way would not make sense. Why should you agree with EVERYTHING that someone says and then submit to the will of someone else? That's why many of us are afraid to give ourselves to God completely. We have never met anyone we can completely give ourselves to. We have never known a person whose every word we are willing to obey and agree with. So we think that God is like every other person we have known. We think that God is probably flawed just like everyone else so we don't want to trust him completely. So we think it would be irresponsible and just plain to dumb to have this type of faith and surrender to a person. It WOULD be dumb to do this, unless the person is Jesus. It makes complete sense to give ourselves completely in submission and obedience to our loving God and ALL that he wishes to teach us. It is necessary to put our faith in God.

Faith is an action. The action is this- we give ourselves completely to God. We hand the steering wheel over to God.

• Well, I want to go to the local bar, but God doesn't. He steers me away from the bar.
• I want to go to the pornography store. God steers me away from pornography.
• I want to look at my refection all day long. God steers me away from my vanity.

Well, I don't want to give the steering wheel to someone else. But I do it because we are talking about God here. He's the only person I trust to do the driving.

Justification

Faith is a surrender of our will and intellect to God.⁵ Faith means saying, "hey God, I trust you more than I trust myself. You can drive from now on." We have to give our will and our intellect to God. In the second reading, Paul mentions that we are "justified". Justification means "to cleanse us of our sins and to communicate to us the righteousness (perfect morality) of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and baptism"⁶ And so, by giving our will and intellect to God, we are justified- our souls are saved. Again, we are saved when we accept God's love and we let HIM run our lives instead of running it ourselves.

In order to be saved, we must let God be the boss of our lives. So how do we know if we have actually done this? Faith is an act.⁷ How do we know if we have "given our will and intellect to God" (faith)? Well if you took a shower for the first time in your life today, you would notice a difference in the way you smell. You wouldn't need anyone to tell you that you smell different. It is the same with an act of faith. Faith is easy to see. Once you have made an act of faith and have given yourself to God you will know it, just the same as you would know that you smell different after the first shower of your life. Those who've made an act of faith know that they've done it. If I don't know it, I probably haven't done it. Remember that it is faith in Jesus that saves us. That means that without faith in Jesus, we are not saved. This is serious stuff. I want to go to be saved. I want to go to HEAVEN! Handing the steering wheel to Jesus is not just some fancy poetry. It is real. It is something you can see. Do you want to know what it looks like?

Pictures of Faith

There are fantastic examples of acts of faith in Hebrews, chapter 11. We must read this chapter so that we can see what faith looks like. We need to imitate these people in Chapter 11. Hebrews 11:24-25 says that by faith, "Moses when he had grown up, refused to be known as Pharoah's daughter; he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin."

As the son of Pharoah's daughter Moses would have been rich and no woman could have refused him. Most men would like to be in this situation (unlimited money, power, and women). But Moses trusted God. He gave his will and his intellect to God. You can SEE that he gave his will to God because Moses probably wanted the pleasure of being Pharoah's nephew, but he refused. Instead of trusting his own will, he did God's will instead of his own. You can SEE that Moses gave his intellect to God because Moses put blood over his door for protection against the angel of death. Whose intellect, could possibly understand how lamb's blood would protect from the angel of death? Moses didn't understand it, but he surrendered his intellect to God. He made an act of faith.

We must remember that it is necessary to follow the commandments in order to be saved. This is mentioned in the Gospel reading. If we have truly named Jesus as the boss of our lives, keeping the commandments will be easy because Jesus will help us. I have attached a link to a previous edition of "Mass Excitement" in which I discuss the commandments. If you haven't read it already, I suggest that you do since following the commandments is necessary for salvation. We don't want to be like the fool in Sunday's Gospel who listened to the words of Jesus, but did not act on them.

The Point

• We have sinned. We have turned our backs on God.
• God wants us to be happy. He wants us to go to heaven. So he gives us "undeserved help"
• Jesus' death on the cross is the means by which God helps us. We MUST accept his help
• In order to be saved, we must have full confidence in Jesus's help. We must believe EVERYTHING that he tells us.
• Having faith in Jesus means to let him have complete control over our lives. He becomes the decision maker instead of us
• It is impossible to please God without faith. In faith, we give our minds and ALL of our will to God.
• An act of faith can be seen. Once we've made an act of faith, we will know it.
• We can see what acts of faith look like in Hebrews chapter 11.
• We cannot be saved if we don't follow the commandments. But if Jesus is in control of our lives, he will help us follow the commandments.
• Since you want to go to heaven, make a resolution today to let Jesus be the boss of your life. Give him complete control!⁸

Real Life

About a week and a half ago, I was talking to a lady who literally grew up in a tropical paradise. When she was in college, she had plans to graduate. She went on a mission trip in the desert where many poor people lived. The desert was ugly and the weather was not like it was in paradise. There in the desert, she felt God's call to stay forever. She did not want to stay forever in the desert. Leaving school, and moving to the desert to work without pay makes no sense at all.

But she surrendered her will and intellect to God. She gave the steering wheel to Jesus. More than 20 years later, she is extraordinarily happy. She is picture of peace, joy, and happiness.

So you don't have to talk to God in the burning bush in order to make an act of faith. Any guy or gal can do it. That includes me and you.

Mass Excitement

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1- CCC 1996
2- CCC 1997
3- CCC 26
4- CCC 150
5- CCC 143
6- CCC 1987
7- CCC 154
8- It should be noted that baptism is necessary for salvation. (CCC 846; Mark 16:16; John 3:5) CCC 1987 says, "The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins, and to communicate to us "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and through baptism.

True Intimacy With Jesus

This week's commentary is on the source, and summit of the Christian life- The Eucharist. There is commentary following the 1st reading and the Gospel.

Reading 1
Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a

Moses said to the people:
"Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,
has directed all your journeying in the desert,
so as to test you by affliction
and find out whether or not it was your intention
to keep his commandments.
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,
and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.

"Do not forget the LORD, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
that place of slavery;
who guided you through the vast and terrible desert
with its saraph serpents and scorpions,
its parched and waterless ground;
who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock
and fed you in the desert with manna,
a food unknown to your fathers."


1st Reading

It was the Lord who rescued the Israelites from slavery and then protected them in the desert from serpents and scorpions. Once God gives himself to us through the Eucharist (Gospel) we are reminded that only HE protects us from sin (scorpions and serpents). It is HE who rescues us today from “slavery” to sin. He does this by being present to us through Holy Communion. The Gospel explains this in detail. God protects and loves us today just as he protected and loved the Israelites.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

R. (12) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
1 Cor 10:16-17

Brothers and sisters:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.

Gospel
Jn 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

Gospel

Jesus says twice that whoever eats his flesh will live forever. He says that his flesh gives life to the world. He says that his flesh and blood are true food and drink. What is it that makes it true and how does his flesh gives us eternal life? What does all of this mean, and why is this important?

Food For Eternity

The Eucharist is called the source, and summit of the Christian faith. Why? Do you believe that God is literally the creator of the universe? If so, remember that with God’s Word, came the creation of the universe.¹ God needed only to speak, and things were created. That’s how powerful his word is.

At the last supper, Jesus said, “this is my body, and this is my blood”. He meant it literally and you can see this clearly in John 6:66. Whatever God's word says, happens.This is the same chapter as Sunday’s gospel. It says that after hearing Jesus say that he was the bread of life, “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” If Jesus was speaking symbolically about being the bread of life, and about eating his flesh, they would not have left. They left because he meant it literally and they probably didn’t understand him.

When Jesus becomes present on the alter at Mass, he is there literally and we celebrate his life, his sacrifice, and his very presence at mass. I will discuss 2 major effects the Eucharist has on us.

Strengthens Our Relationship with Jesus

Holy Communion strengthens our bond with Christ.² That’s because Communion is a physical and spiritual bond between us and Jesus. Many of us have seen a painting of Jesus hugging a person in heaven. Someone was with me when I saw this painting, and he said, “that would be awesome to hug Jesus”. Well, we don’t have to WISH to be with Jesus. Jesus comes to us in an intimate way as he literally enters our bodies at Communion. Just as in marriage where husband and wife are joined flesh to flesh, we are joined flesh to flesh with Jesus. Is it not intimate when a husband’s flesh is joined to his wife’s? Jesus offers us the same intimacy with him at Holy Communion. This makes us closer to God. This is why Jesus says in this gospel, “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” He means this literally. It is through the Eucharist that our relationship with God is strengthened.

Protection Against Sin

The longer we go without food, the weaker we get. It is the same spiritually. The longer we go without God, the weaker we get spiritually. The world beats us down and draws us away from Christ. Through Holy Communion, we “receive free and undeserved help from God” (grace).³ So God gives us himself literally and physically to help us even though we don’t deserve his help. God’s grace at Holy Communion increases our generosity towards others. That means we are more tolerant and loving towards others. Again, Holy Communion, which we experience every Sunday, makes us more loving towards others. How does that work? As we draw near to Christ, he “revives our love”. We are so close to Christ that he rubs off on us.

Because of Christ’s holy presence, we are forgiven our venial (less serious) sins.⁴
Not only are we forgiven of our venial sins by Jesus’ presence, but we are also protected from future mortal (serious) sins. Our friendship with God increases at Holy Communion, making it more “difficult to break away from him by mortal sin.”⁵ The Eucharist brings us closer to God. It makes us more loving and more Christ-like. Jesus in the Eucharist forgives us our venial sins and protects us from serious sin. This is why Jesus calls his flesh “true food and true drink” in this Gospel. The Eucharist is the ONLY food ever known to man that brings man closer to God and protects him from sin. This is also what Jesus meant when he said, “whoever eats this bread will live forever”.

In summary, the Eucharist is true food and drink which gives us eternal life because through Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist, he increases our generosity towards others, forgives our sins, and protects us from committing serious sins.

Preparation For a Meeting With Jesus

Holy Communion is not just a meal that we imitate in order to remember Jesus. In participating in Holy Communion make an act of obedience. We say yes to Jesus’ invitation to “do this in memory of me.” We make a statement when we take the Eucharist. Before we approach Jesus we say, “Christ has died, Alleluia, Christ is Risen, Alleluia, Christ will come again, Alleluia! In a statement of humility, faith and worship, we say:

• “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.”
• “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed”.
• “Amen” - in response to “body of Christ”. Amen means “true” or “I agree”.

In Celebrating Jesus’ coming and his presence at Mass, we speak our beliefs to God and everyone present including:

• Jesus I believe you have power over sin, have mercy on me, please give me peace.
• Jesus, I am not worthy to be in your presence
• Jesus, thanks for coming (Eucharist means act of thanksgiving)
• Jesus, I believe you are truly present

At Mass, we make statements about what we believe. In response to our great faith, Jesus gives himself to us truly and completely.

But why would Jesus choose after his death on the cross to become present in the Eucharist?

• To protect us from sin- He knows that we need help against sin. He wants to give us a hand because he cares about us. He asks us to “make disciples of all nations”.⁶ He knows that we can’t do it alone. We are sinful and we need his help to do his will.
• To be our strength- Jesus tells us to “love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves”. In order to do this, we need help. We can‘t do it on our own. Jesus says that, “I am with you always until the end of the age”.
• To help us see him- he comes to us in a tangible way, through bread in wine so that we might understand that he is with us that he is our ONLY lifeblood.

Preparation for Jesus

Everything that God does, he does out of love. That’s why he comes to us in the Eucharist in his COMPLETE presence. Committing a mortal (serious) sin is just like cheating on God. Approaching Jesus at Mass having committed an unconfessed mortal sin is like cheating on your wife with some girl and then bringing that girl home with you to meet your wife. God gives us himself as an act of generosity and of love. If I show up holding the hand of my “wicked girlfriend” (mortal sin) it is a SUPREME insult and profanity to God. Remember that in our participation in the Eucharist at mass, we speak our belief in the saving power of Jesus. Imagine saying to Jesus, “yes I believe you are here” (by saying “Amen”) while cheating on God and bringing the adultress to meet Jesus. That’s why Holy Communion forgives venial sins and not mortal ones. In mortal sin, we voluntarily turn our backs completely to the Lord. We cannot kneel at his feet where we belong, while also turning our backs to him. We cannot say we believe in Christ and that we love him while at the same time preferring something of the world over him.

The point is, we must NEVER approach Jesus in the Eucharist having committed an unconfessed mortal sin. If we do this, we profane God, we insult him and we will be judged accordingly.⁷

The Center of Our Christian Lives

The Eucharist is called “the source and summit of the Christian life.“⁸ Everything that is good about the church is in the Eucharist because Jesus is the Eucharist. Jesus is the center of our lives and thus the Eucharist is the center of our lives.


The Point

• Jesus is the creator of the universe. What he says, happens. He said, “this is my body and blood“, so it happed and continues today.
• Because of Jesus’ actual presence, our friendship with him is strengthened at Holy Communion
• The Eucharist increases our charity and generosity. Because we consume Jesus, we become like him.
• Holy Communion forgives venial sins and protects us from mortal sins because in Holy Communion we are drawn to the Lord and our relationship is strengthened so it becomes more difficult to break away from him.
• At Mass, we speak our belief in ALL that Jesus said and commanded. The Eucharist is a statement of our faith.
• Jesus gave us the Eucharist to protect us from sin, to strengthen us for our mission, and to be completely present with us in a way we can see with our eyes.
• Receiving Jesus while having committed an un-confessed serious sin, is another sin against the very body and blood of Jesus

Real Life

Father Richard Thomas S.J. was a well-known Jesuit priest who died 2 years ago. He was asked to speak by Christians from all over the United States and was even a requested speaker by protestant believers. He was asked to speak in Europe and the middle east. He had at least one master’s degree and perhaps even more than that. According to a former teacher of Father Thomas, Father Thomas was the wealthiest kid at Jesuit High, a private school in Tampa, FL.

Father Thomas was known to pray all day long. He would pray while he was working. He would thank God for everyday things like going to the bathroom. He would ask God to help him with seemingly non-religious things like landscaping and fishing. I am sure that he asked God what he should say before his sermons.

On one occasion, a group of people requested him as a speaker at a convention of some sort and he was a key note speaker. The people had paid for his travel expenses to speak because of his tremendous reputation as a speaker. Father Thomas addressed the audience, saying “God hasn’t given me anything to say today.” Then he sat back down. The people who had requested Father Thomas as a speaker were very disappointed.

Years later, Fr. Thomas told a close friend about this incident and Father Thomas said that God was testing his obedience that day and it never happened again. We can only serve the Lord if we are humble and obedient.

============================================================

1- Genesis chapter 1
2- Catechism of the Catholic Church 1391
3- CCC 1996
4- CCC 1394- this whole paragraph on the forgiveness of sins and protection from serious (mortal) sin is paraphrased from CCC 1394
5- CCC 1395
6- Matt 28:19
7- 1 Corinthians 11:27
8- CCC 1324

Power Awaits You This Sunday!- Pentecost

In this week’s Mass, God wants to give you supernatural gifts to further his kingdom. I will discuss that power that God wants to give you and how to get it. Commentary will follow each reading.

Reading 1
Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”

1st

On Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles. The descent of the Holy Spirit is such a big deal that this Sunday, your priest will describe Pentecost as the “beginning of your Church when the Holy Spirit made known to all peoples the one true God.“

• In Luke 24:49, he says, “behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you”
• In Acts 1:4, Jesus told them to “wait for the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak”
• In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells the apostles that “you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you.”

As you can see here, this descent of the Holy Spirit is a promise from Jesus. He refers to it many times. It seems clear to me that this day is very important to us Christians. Jesus mentions the coming of the Holy Spirit several times just as he had mentioned his own death and resurrection 3 times in the book of Matthew. Obviously, it’s a big deal to God and to us.

Dumb Disciples

In this first reading, the disciples are hanging out together when all of a sudden, they hear a loud wind. Personally, I think they had no idea what to expect. After all, Jesus tried to explain his death and resurrection to his disciples on several occasions, yet they clearly did not understand. You can see their lack of understanding very well on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:21 when they say, “we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel”. Jesus told them several times that he would rise from the dead and they didn‘t understand nor believe. Just like we are today, the disciples were, for lack of a better word, DUMB. Jesus knew that very well.

Look how poorly equipped the disciples were:

• On the road to Emmaus, they were walking with Jesus and they didn’t even recognize him.
• In Mark 16:13, the 2 disciples saw the risen Jesus, but when they told the others, these others did not believe.
• In John 20:24, 10 disciples tell Thomas about Jesus and his visit to them, and Thomas refuses to believe it.

The apostles constantly had problems like falling asleep when Jesus needed them the most, and making promises they couldn’t keep.¹ Now after the descent of the Holy Spirit, things changed. The usual dumb, faithless apostles (we are exactly the same as them today) were given supernatural gifts and suddenly become new men:

• They were given the ability to speak multiple languages.
• Peter’s first speech converted 3,000 people.
• Soon after the descent of the Holy Spirit, Peter healed a crippled man.
• Peter’s knowledge of the scripture suddenly seemed extraordinary like Jesus’²
• Instead of being scared to claim Jesus as a friend, the apostles showed an unheard of confidence. Before the Sanhedrin (the same guys who had just killed Jesus) the apostles had this effect on the Sanhedrin: “observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they [Sanhedrin] were amazed”. ³

Before the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles had serious problems understanding and had serious problems with faith. Jesus told them that he would help them out with the Holy Spirit and that they would receive power. It happened just as he had promised.

Your Opportunity

Like always, Jesus kept his promise when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. But the Holy Spirit was not just for the apostles. The Holy Spirit is for everyone. In Acts 8:15, Peter and John went to the Samarians and “prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit. For it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”

The point is, God wants to give the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit to EVERYONE. That means YOU. Is it possible that God would do something supernatural for you this Sunday? Do you believe in the supernatural? If not, Catholicism might not be the religion for you since Catholics believe that a man died and then rose from the dead, multiplied fish, and made blind people see. Of course we believe in the supernatural! God wants us to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as the disciples did at Pentecost.

Holy Spirit Does it All

God taught me 2 major things through the 1st reading:

• We can do NOTHING without the power of the Holy Spirit. (without the power of God).
• We can do ANYTHING WITH the power of the Holy Spirit and God wants to give us the Holy Spirit today and forever.

The fact that we can do nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit is NOT bad news. As Catholics, we should feel a tremendous relief that we don’t have to depend on ourselves to change the world. We should be glad that Jesus is pointing out exactly how dumb and in need we are. After all, are we smarter or holier than the apostles? Of course not! We are just as dumb, and have the same lack of faith as the apostles. So God reminds us of this in a generous and loving way. God knows who he is. He is our loving, all-powerful Father and he wants us to depend on him for EVERYTHING. People who think that their power comes from themselves have a tendency to start their own churches (e.g. Joseph Smith and Charles Russell- founders of Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses Churches)

Everything that God does, he does out of love. He wants to protect us from ourselves. When we start thinking that we are holy people capable of saving the world, he reminds us in this gospel, that all that we have and all we can do, comes from God. We should stick with him, because he has promised to stay with us forever.⁴

The next time you are about to pat yourself on the back for a good deed you have done, remember that you would have never done it without the help and love of God.
Beware if you think you have come up with something new about the faith by YOURSELF
The next time you are sad, lonely, scared, or you just need help with something, ask the Holy Spirit to help you. After all, do you believe that God keeps his promises?

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

2nd Reading

The second reading is much more straightforward than the 1st. Paul says that God gives all kinds of different gifts, but they all come from the Holy Spirit. “God produces all of them in everyone.” Paul says that “to each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” So that means that our gifts are supposed to benefit someone. But who? In the context of this reading, Paul is talking about THE BODY, so he is saying that our gifts are here to benefit the whole body of Christ. All of our gifts belong to God. What this means is that if you are an engineer, your work belongs to God. If you are a good singer, it is a gift from God and belongs to God. You are supposed to use it for God. If you are a nurse, your 36 hours per week belong to God and so does your paycheck. If you are a professional basketball player, your skills belong to God and were given to you by God FOR God.

Since we spend 40 or more hours per week working, I’d like to discuss how we can do our part for the body of Christ through our work.

Doing Our Part

No matter what we do for a living, we can do it for God through sharing the fruits of our labors. Imagine if you gave 90% of your income to an orphanage in Ethiopia. Your donations are enough to pay for the electricity, water bill, school books, food, vitamins and healthcare of 145 children. At 90%, you realize that you are not working for yourself. You are working for your “family” of 145 kids in Ethiopia. Those kids might not even know you, but they love eating, having clothes and reading books. Would God be pleased with such a tremendous sacrifice like this? Of course!⁵ Through charity, you are no longer working for yourself, but for God and the body of Christ (we are the body). If you are working for God and doing a lot for charity, you might even feel a new sense of purpose to your work. Of course, being very charitable would be easier if we lived in the wealthiest country in the world. Oh never mind, we DO live there! If we are not sharing our wealth with others, we have NO excuse. We have an awesome opportunity to do God’s will no matter what our jobs are. The door is open to us.

Now, most of us are not going to give away 90% of our incomes. But in Luke 21:1-4 Jesus admires the woman who gives away a few pennies, because that was all she had. God truly wants us to give all that we have. I don’t know how much that means, but God does know. Ask him.

Remember that our faith is not just something we hear or read in book. Our faith is a call to ACTION. Does your life look strange compared to the average American life? Do you ever get persecuted because of your loyalty to God? If not, it’s time to make some changes. If your life looks like the same as the typical American family, it could be that your faith is the 13th most important thing in your life. God asks us to love him with all our mind, heart and strength. That means he wants us to put him 1st. If we put God first in our lives, we are going to live uncommon lives. We are going to give to people without asking for anything in return. We are going to pray for the relatives that hate us and the boss who annoys the heck out of us. We are going to donate much of our time and money to the less fortunate. We are going to be resented for defending the innocent (elderly, unborn etc).

What the Average Person Should Do

In this reading, Paul says that each one of us is part of the body of Christ. The typical work week is a big part of the average Christian’s life. So what are we supposed to do with it? We are supposed to give it to the Lord. Despite what the investment and retirement planning firms say, saving for retirement is not what brings peace of mind. There are tons of people with plenty of money during retirement and they ask the same question that all people ask: Isn’t there more to life than this? There IS more and only through doing God’s will can we enjoy peace of mind. We need to start living what we believe.

Gospel
Jn 20:19-23

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.”


Gospel

No Commentary


Real Life

Normally in this section, I write about some story that happened to me or to someone else I know. But this week, “Real Life” doesn’t have to be a story you read about. You can write your own story after this week’s Mass.

When I received the gift of the Holy Spirit in December of last year, my whole life changed. I started to have a strong desire to read the bible, especially the book of Acts. I was suddenly able to understand the bible in a much deeper way and all of a sudden, I found that I had gifts I never knew about. The power of the Holy Spirit descended on me through “the baptism of the Holy Spirit”. Typically, at the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, someone or some group of people lay hands on you just as described in the book of Acts.⁶ Everyone prays for the Holy Spirit to descend on you. Then the power of the Holy Spirit envelopes you and the Lord gives you some gift(s). Jesus said that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Do you think that Jesus is telling the truth? See for yourself.

Before Mass this week:

• Ask the Lord to show you what sort of sins are in your life. You need to know the sins you have before you can renounce them and if you want to renounce the one who encourages you to sin (Satan)
• After examining your conscience, go to confession and if you tell God that you don’t want to sin anymore and you mean it, you will be very open to the gift the Holy Spirit and everything he wants to give you.

At the end of Mass this week, your priest will say this blessing at the end of Mass: “May he bless you and give you the gifts of the Spirit for ever. May that fire that hovered over the disciples as tongues of flame burn out all evil from your hearts and make them glow with pure light”.

It’s not necessary, but you might want to ask your priest to meet you after mass and to lay hands on you as he says this blessing. Before any of this occurs and even during the blessing, you should pray that God give you gifts both natural and supernatural. After this, you can write a “Real Life” story to your friends.

Common responses to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit include:

• An increased desire to evangelize
• Increased sanctity and holiness and more power and control over sin
• Increased ease and desire to pray
• Increased ease and desire to read scripture.

You may feel the effects immediately, or gradually, or both. I am excited for you.

May God bless you with the power of the Holy Spirit forever.


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1- Matthew 26:35
2- Acts 4:22
3- Acts 4:13
4- Matthew 28: 18-20
5- assuming this is indeed his will for your life.
6- Acts 8:15

"Are You a Missionary for God or the Devil?"

The commentary is below the readings.

Reading 1
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17

Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,
they sent them Peter and John,
who went down and prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
for it had not yet fallen upon any of them;
they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid hands on them
and they received the Holy Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
1 Pt 3:15-18

Beloved:
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear,
so that, when you are maligned,
those who defame your good conduct in Christ
may themselves be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good,
if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

For Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.

Gospel
Jn 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples:
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."

Gospel

In this gospel, Jesus talks about how we can love him by keeping his commandments. He also says that in keeping his commandments, we will be loved by the Father and Jesus, and that Jesus will reveal himself.

Is Jesus proposing a deal? Is he suggesting that he will only love us if we obey the rules? Absolutely not! The idea that we can earn God's love is completely wrong and is a popular misconception among Christians. God does not hate US when we sin, but in sinning, we often begin to hate ourselves. We then think that the distance growing between us and God is because God is pulling away from us. He isn't. When we sin, WE pull away from God.

Unconditional Love

The point is, God loves us no matter what- even if we don't obey the commandments! After all, Jesus was praying for the people who sinned greatly against him. "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."¹ Jesus' love is not in response to how GOOD we are. It is free of charge no matter how bad we are!

When Jesus is mocked by the soldiers, he did not open his mouth. When they made fun of him and tested him while he was on the cross, he didn't tell them to "shut up!" On the contrary, Jesus' heart is broken when we sin.

God's Love Flowing Through Us

So if Jesus is not proposing a deal with us, then what does he mean by "whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I'll love him and reveal myself to him."? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."² God literally spoke his Word to Moses. "The gift of the commandments is the gift of God himself and his holy will. In making his will known, God reveals himself to his people."³ God is sharing himself with us through the commandments.

"In keeping the commandments, the Savior himself comes to love, in us, his Father, and our brethren."⁴ When God gave us the commandments, he gave us a piece of himself. When we keep the commandments, Jesus' love flows through us to our brothers, sisters, friends, family, to God the Father. In other words, the commandments allow us to participate in God's love. In following the commandments, we get to be Jesus. Is Jesus happy? I think so. If we follow the commandments, we'll be happy even if we are made to suffer. (2nd Reading).

The Invitation

The commandments are not rules here to spoil our fun. The commandments are INVITATIONS to enjoy the love of God. We need to hear that again- the commandments are INVITATIONS to enjoy the love of God. In faithfulness to the commandments, we can see who God is (God reveals himself as promised). Who is God? He is love.

Here is an example: Jesus commands us not to get divorced.⁴ Why? It's because Jesus is saying this: Even if you cheat on me (worship other Gods), even if you beat me up, and even if you are ashamed to say you know me⁵, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU!

Jesus will never divorce us, so he doesn't want us to divorce each other. If we listen to this, we get to love like Jesus does (unconditionally). Can you see that Jesus' commandments are invitations to LOVE LIKE HE DOES? If so, you and I need to act like we believe it and live the commandments every day!

2nd Reading

The author says that we should "always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope." As Christians, our hope is God. The author of this reading goes on to say that we should "keep our consciences clear." In this week's gospel, Jesus tells us HOW to keep our consciences clear. All we need to do is follow his commandments and our consciences will be quite clear.

When we follow his commandments, God reveals himself to us. So, how can we give an explanation of our reason for hope? We must first obey the commandments. After all, how can we tell someone about God if we don't even know him? The less we obey, the less we know him. How can we share God's loving commandments with someone if we don't obey the commandments ourselves? We can't. You can't give someone something that you don't have. We can't explain our reason for hope, if we don't follow the commandments.

Empty-Handed

Let's look at what happens when we try to tell someone about God while disobeying the commandments. I know lots of people who were once Christians and have since left. But why did these brothers and sisters of ours leave the church? My ex-Christian friends have told me:

• One friend left (or stopped going to church) because a priest was very mean to her.
• One left Christianity because some so-called "Christians" told her that she should forget about her non-Christian parents because they are going to hell.⁶
• One left partly because his dad claimed to believe in Christ and yet he was convicted of a felony and went to prison (leaving the family with little hope)

This reading says that if we want to tell someone about our "reason for hope" we must "keep our consciences clear." In other words, it is impossible to bring others closer to Christ if we ourselves are far from him.


Missionaries

Someone recently told me that my job as a missionary,⁷ "was not the path for her". Well guess what? Everybody is a full-time missionary whether they know it or not! Either our faithfulness to God is drawing others to God, or our lack of faithfulness, is driving others AWAY from God. That means we are either missionaries for God, or missionaries for the Devil! When we obey God, we are missionaries for him. When we disobey God, we are missionaries for the devil. Just look at the above examples of how sinfulness drives others away from God.

Have our actions (whether good or bad) ever influenced our friends? I think it would be better if we keep our consciences clear.

What God Wants

Many people tell me that they feel like they wanna do something else for God besides going to work and Church, and occasionally doing charitable work or donating. It is good to have this desire. More important than this desire to do extra stuff, is that we understand that God wants us to first OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS.

If we obey his commandments, we shall participate in his incredible, unconditional love. We shall get to know God better. If we truly try to obey his commandments, we will be so happy, fulfilled, and excited about God that nothing will be able to stop us from figuring out what else God wants us to do with our time. God will shows us very clearly what he wants us to do besides work, church, and occasional charity.

First things, first. We must accept the invitation to love and obey his commandments.

The Point

• God wants us to obey the commandments. Even if we sin and disobey the commandments, he still loves us.
• The commandments are commandments to love one another. So, a look at the commandments is a glance at how God loves us.
• When we obey the commandments, God and his love flows through us.
• Each commandment is an invitation and an opportunity to love the way God loves- unconditionally
• God wants us to share him and his love with everyone. We can ONLY do this if we first OBEY his commandments
• If we try to evangelize while disobeying the commandments, we will drive others from God and the Devil will use us to evangelize for THE DEVIL.
• We are missionaries. EVERYTHING that we do, is either bringing others to God or driving them away from God.
• If we want to do something for God, we must obey his commandments.

Real Life

One of my friend's friends killed himself during high school. In his suicide letter, he said that if just one person would have smiled at him or spoken to him on the day of his impending suicide, he wouldn't have done it. Never underestimate the power of a loving smile and the power of empathizing.

There was a boy who was going home from school one day when some fellow classmates knocked the books out of his hands. As he was picking up his books, another classmate came to help him. Soon thereafter, they became good friends. At graduation, the boy who had his books knocked out of his hands gave a speech. In his speech, he talked about what a great friend he had. This friend came to help him one day when some bullies knocked his books out of his hands. He went on to say that the reason he was carrying so many books that day was because he had planned to kill himself that day. He had cleaned out his locker because he didn't want to burden his family with the cleanup after his death. His loving friend unknowingly saved the boy's life.⁸

Jesus said, "I give you another command, love one another."

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1 Luke 23:34
2 John 1:1
3 Catechism of the Catholic Church 2059 & related to Ephesians 1:9-11
4 Mark 10:11-12
5 Peter was ashamed of being associated with Jesus in Matthew 26:69-75
6 This is my opinion of why she left the church. My friend might not agree with me
7 She said that "what you are doing is not the path for me"
8 This is how I remember the story, though I probably screwed up some parts

The Purpose of Your Life is......

The Mass readings are below the commentary.

This week’s liturgy is a true gem and it reminds me of the parable of the buried treasure in the field. A person finds the treasure, and with great joy, he then sells all that has so that he can buy the field with the treasure. In the Gospel, Jesus wants us to know the purpose of our lives. After we understand it well, we want to “sell it all” and do what Jesus wants.

The Ultimate Question We All Ask

I don’t care if you are a Hindu from Bangalor, India, a Muslim from Iran, or just a hillbilly Christian like me from Kentucky/Mexico. Everyone has at some point asked this question: What is the point? What is the point of my life? Why the heck am I here and what am I supposed to do with my life? Should we ask the magic 8-ball? Na, our Creator has the answer.

In this beautiful Gospel, God wants to tell us the answer to the most important question of our lives. ARE YOU READY?!!!!!!

Jesus describes “eternal life” in the Gospel. When he says “eternal” he is not talking about length, he is talking about quality. Eternal life is this- “that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent-Jesus Christ.”

God’s Plan for Us

What the heck does all of that mean? God is perfect and blessed. He is beautiful! In his plan of pure goodness, he created man to make man share in God’s own blessed life. God did this, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. This is a supreme act of love. First of all, God gives us life.

In our ignorance and weakness, we are scattered (divided) by sin, and God calls us back to him so that we can be united as a family of believers. God calls us back by sending his only Son to save and redeem us.¹ God is a perfectly loving person. He is SO loving, that he wants to share his perfect love with someone- me and you. We have screwed up our lives, but God has sent his Son to help us come back to God.

We have received that good news and so, Jesus tells us to “ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” ²

Again, Jesus is talking about the PURPOSE OF OUR LIVES. Those who know and love God are supposed to share the love of God with others. We are supposed to teach others to obey the commandments (Matthew 28:18-20)³. Then, Jesus makes a promise. I am going to be with you FOREVER. That’s why Jesus is such a good manager. Like any good manager, he goes beyond telling us what to do. Better than any manager, he STAYS with us forever.

AWESOME, that means that not only do you know the meaning and purpose of your life (to know and to love God), you have the most powerful person in the universe as your bodyguard and teacher! Yesssir! Awesome! Again, what is the purpose of our lives? Our purpose is to know and to love God. How do we love him? That’s easy, put his commandments into practice.⁴

How do we get to know God? There are many ways. The best way to get to know him is the same as the best way to love him- obey his commandments. Obeying is the best way to get to know him because in obeying the commandments, we become imitators of God and so, we get to know what his perfect love is like. We get to know GOD by honoring our parents, by telling the truth always, by being thankful (instead of envious) etc. The commandments give us a sneak preview of God’s perfect love. In other words, we get to know him better.

God is our creator and he is perfect, blessed, and holy. He wants us to experience the same love he experiences. We have already messed up our lives, and in order to help us live the perfect, blessed, holy life that he lives, he has sent his son to rescue us. Jesus asks us to obey his loving commandments and spread the good news of God’s love in order to fulfill his plan for us. God does us a loving service to tell us what we are supposed to do with our lives- we are to know him and to love him.

The Enemy

Jesus calls Satan the father of lies.⁵ Whatever God wants, Satan wants the opposite. God wants us to know, love and serve him⁶. In response, Satan wants to put a blindfold on us, he wants us to hate God, and he wants us to serve anything or anyone other than God.

We have an idea of God’s game plan- send Jesus to save us. Let’s look at the Devil’s game plan.

Commandments are For Tired, Miserable, Bored Unhappy Christians

The devil is extremely crafty, manipulative, and smart. He knows that the best way to get to know God is to follow his commandments. So he tries to get us to dislike the commandments. How does he do that? Well, he tells us that obeying the commandments is not fun. Satan tells us that following the commandments is boring and we will be unhappy. However, Satan does not talk to us audibly with his own voice. He uses our friends, media, books, internet etc. Here are examples:

• Jesus says, forgive one another. Donald Trump says, “get even” in his book The Art of the Comeback.

• Jesus says, whoever looks at a woman lustfully, has committed adultery in his heart. Hugh Heffner, the founder of the most popular pornography magazine ever “Playboy“, seems to think that what he is doing is some form of art. The question is, would I want my sisters and daughters in these magazines? Absolutely not, so why should I be looking at someone else’s sister/daughter in an impure way?

• Jesus says that you can’t serve God and money. Rapper “50 cent” says we should “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”

The Liar

The world that we live in, is in violent opposition to the love of our God, who has a loving plan for each of us beginning with the gift of life.

In the Gospel of John (8:31-44) Jesus was talking to Jews “who believed in him” He said, “you belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. There is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar, and the father of lies.”⁷

First of all, Jesus is talking to those who “believe in him”. This is some tough criticism and he is giving it to people who already believe in him. Do I profess to believe in Jesus? I do. So Jesus is talking to me and you in this gospel! Jesus says that “you belong to the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires.” Ouch! The scary thing is that we often don’t even know that we are carrying out the devil’s desires. We already talked about this last week how in sinning we are being missionaries for the devil. We sin willingly, but we need to remember that when we sin, we are serving the enemy of our God. Our God loves us.

The Devil’s Counter-Attacking Plan

A powerful weapon the devil uses is lying. The father of lies tells us things like, “the baby in the womb is not a person.” We believe what he says (as he speaks through others, media, books, magazines, the internet)⁸ and go on to kill our own children. This is part of the reason why Jesus calls the Devil a “murderer from the beginning”. His lies are so powerful that they have enough influence to KILL. The central point of this discussion is that God is perfect and loving and he has purpose for our lives starting with the day of our birth. The devil knows how beautiful and generous this gift is from God. Naturally, he attacks LIFE just as any military commander would try to stop the main objectives of his enemy. God’s objective is to keep giving us life. The abortion of 50,000,000 American babies since Roe v Wade is the devil’s masterpiece of horror, anguish, pain and death. This is in contrast to God’s beautiful gift of life. The devil IS cunning isn‘t he?!!

Jesus calls himself the way, the truth and the life. Since the devil is opposite Jesus, he is the wrong way, the lie, and the death. Do you believe this is true?

We’ve got to recognize the voice of the Devil when we hear it, and we’ve got to turn away from him- refusing to do what HE wants us to do. How do we recognize the voice of the devil? Anything contrary to what the Bible says⁹ and what the church teaches is a lie and is exactly what the devil wants us to think.

ANYTHING contrary to what the Bible says and what the Catholic church teaches is a LIE and is exactly what the devil wants us to think.

The Attack on Sexuality

I once asked my brother, “why does the devil attack our sexuality so much?” Why is it that sin is knocking on my door through my sexuality? I told my brother that if the Devil concentrates his efforts on sexuality so much, then sexuality must be important to God. It makes better sense to me now. Sexuality is the means through which we accept God’s supreme gift. That gift is life and all of it’s beauty. Life is first necessary before we can actively know, serve, and love the Lord. The devil had me convinced for many years that sexuality is about entertainment and pleasure. What a LIE! This lie helps in his battle against God.

A Picture Of Satan

Imagine this image in your head. Jesus extends his hand. With his word, babies are created and they are floating towards a crowd of people. Jesus says, “here is life!“ The devil is in front of this crowd between Jesus and the crowd. The devil has a sword and uses it to chop off one of the baby’s heads. The devil has a large picture on his back and it is a picture of a man and woman having sex. Many of the people in the crowd are hypnotized by this image. Others are yelling, “we don’t want the babies, we don’t want the babies!”

After contemplating these thoughts, I became a little bit angry. I realized that the devil has duped me for a long time. He told me that sex was about having fun, not about having babies. This way, he got me to oppose the birth of children- God’s greatest blessing. I am angry at the devil and I want to fight him. I even felt like I was suiting up for a war against him. The truth is, we are ALL in this war whether we know it or not. Which side are YOU on?

The Point

• God is love and he wants us to experience his love. That’s the reason why he made us.
  
• God’s great gift to us is life. The purpose of our lives is to know, to love, and to serve God. This is our perfect response to his gift of life.
  
• The best way to know, love and serve God, is to follow the commandments. By doing this, we get to KNOW him, we express our LOVE of him, and we SERVE him.
• Jesus tells us to go out and spread the good news, but he also says that he is coming with us on our mission.
  
• The Devil does not want us to know the purpose of our lives. So, he lies to us through the television, books, friends, and other means.
  
• Since God’s great gift to us is life itself, the Devil is violently opposed to life. He attacks life through promiscuity, pornography, abortion, and contraception- anything it takes to stop life.

Real Life

This past week, my friend and I went to Washington D.C. to fight against the organization Planned Parenthood via a protest outside of their clinic. Planned Parenthood is responsible for over 100,000 abortions per year in the U.S. Remember that earlier, I quoted the Catechism which says that we are “scattered and divided by sin”. It’s true we are. But for a little while last Friday afternoon, I felt a real unity at the protest. I was with Baptists, Evangelicals and Christians of many denominations. We were united in one cause: to stop the killing of innocent children. In sin we are separated, but in doing God’s will we are united in love. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and there was beautiful green grass in front of that clinic of death. It was a warm day of about 75 degrees. My heart grew warmer as we joined an African American preacher in singing:

“There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the blood, of the lamb. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the lamb”.

In the middle of our singing, a man came by and told us nicely to stop singing because we were disturbing some students. In retrospect, I am reminded that this war between God and the Devil is very real. That man probably wasn’t even aware whose side he was supporting.

There were only 50 of us outside of that clinic last Friday afternoon, but within 24 hours, the story had reached CNN, FOX news, and other agencies. Using 50 people¹⁰, God delivered his message to an audience perhaps in the millions. I believe Jesus when he says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…and behold I AM WITH YOU UNTIL THE END OF THE AGE.” Jesus keeps his promises. If you believe that, lift your voice. At mass this Sunday when the Eucharistic minister says, “This is the Body of Christ” say AMEN! When Jesus said he would be with us to the end, he was serious.

Our God is an AWESOME God.

Reading 1
Acts 1:12-14

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven the apostles
returned to Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a sabbath day’s journey away.

When they entered the city
they went to the upper room where they were staying,
Peter and John and James and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James.
All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8

R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
1 Pt 4:13-16

Beloved:
Rejoice to the extent that you share in the
sufferings of Christ,
so that when his glory is revealed
you may also rejoice exultantly.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
But let no one among you be made to suffer
as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer.
But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed
but glorify God because of the name.

Gospel
Jn 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.

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1- CCC 1 - The 1^st 2 paragraphs of this email are based on CCC 1 & 2 with direct quotes

2- Matthew 28:18-20

3- Also, see last week’s Mass Excitement entitled “Are you a missionary for God or the Devil?”

4- please read last week’s Mass Excitement #9 if you want to know how and why to obey the commandments.

5- John 8:44

6- Notice I include “to serve” here. To know and to love God perfectly, is to serve him.

7- John 8:31-44

8- Visit www.plannedparenthood.com where they call a baby a “pregnancy” which you can terminate and where they claim that there is no such thing as post-abortive trauma or that it is rare. Personally, everyone I’ve ever spoken to who has had an abortion has experienced significant emotional trauma afterwards.

9- the Bible must be read in context of the entire book. Otherwise, it will not make sense, will cause confusion, and may lead us to

10- I am sure there were many others who made this protest happen, yet did not attend.

Final note: This week’s message of the liturgy speaks of the purpose of our lives. In the 1^st reading, you can see that the apostles have understood the good news of God. They entered the city with joy and “devoted themselves to prayer”. In the second reading, God wants to remind us that after we hear the good news, and we act accordingly, we will suffer as Christians. Thanks be to God, we get to imitate Jesus in all that he does.

By the way, I encourage you (if you know how to draw or paint) to draw the image I described of the Jesus, the devil, and the crowd. Ask God what to do with his painting/drawing.