KEYS TO THE KINGDOM !

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.

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.

In today's world, it is not the same as in the time of Eliakim or for that matter, the time of Jesus and Peter so we may not understand these two readings as well as we can. Today, the more important you are, the fewer keys you have.  Can you imagine Queen Elizabeth arriving back from an outing and fumbling around in her ever present purse for the keys to Buckingham Palace?  Or can you imagine the President of the United States looking in his pants pocket for the key to the White House?  So we need to understand just a little about keys.  In ancient times, keys were not the small little thing we keep on a key ring in our pockets.  Because of the technology keys were much more cumbersome and they were not something the common person would normally have.  Keys were given to ministers in the employ of the king to keep valuables safe. An ordinary minister would have command of the things he was commissioned to take care of but still under the guidance and supervision of the king or in his absence, the prime minister.  When the king was away or just didn't feel like intervening in day to day things he would appoint a prime minister in his place.  This prime minister was positioned at the apex of the food chain. An ordinary minister could decide on goods that were placed into his care but the prime minister could override any other minister.  The doors that the prime minister said should be opened, would be opened and no one could shut them without his permission.  What the prime minister ordered shut, could not be opened until he said it could. His word had the same effect as if spoken from the lips of the king.

Nothing that is written in the Bible is there by happenstance. It is there for a reason. My pastor, Father Joe says that In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is checking to see what effect His message is having among the people. Somewhat like what a politician would do today.  His disciples share with Him what the current gossip. Then Jesus asks them, who do they say He is.  You could have heard a pin drop.  They were just a bit shy at saying what they thought.  Then, Peter jumps us and says what all of them were probably thinking that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah that Israel has been waiting for.  Jesus tells Simon that his name is now Peter (which means rock) and upon this rock (Peter) Jesus would build his Church. He then gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom and said that what he bound in heaven was bound and what he loosened on earth was loosened in heaven.  

Notice that in the first reading that there is a change of regime and a bad Prime Minister is removed from office by God and a new one is appointed.  That shows that for the kingdom there is continuity of government. The office outlives the person who is holding it. This is the same principle in the Kingdom of God.  The prime minister for the Kingdom of God will continue after the death of Peter and after the death of all the original Apostles.  The new leader, who we call the Pope will have all the authority of Peter and the guarantee that the Holy Spirit will keep the teachings and doctrines of the church pure. 

Protestants have some strange ideas about the Pope.  They think that we believe he is Christ on earth for us. The popes themselves give a lie to this fanciful thought because the popes have been known to go to confession at least weekly. If they thought that they were sinless there would be no reason for them to go to confession.  The pope is Infallible when teaching on faith or morals, and only then.  When he proclaims a doctrine from the Chair of Peter (he might be standing up LOL) the Holy Spirit protects him from teaching error.  Scott Hahn says it best, the pope is infallible but he is not impeccable.  Pope Francis in his daily conversation, in his impromptu comments, in his sermons, speaks with authority but does not speak infallibly. 

Remember too, that the main title of the pope is "The servant of the servants of the people of God."  His rule is one of service and yes, there have been popes that have forgotten this truth and there have been popes that served no one but themselves.  Yet, from the beginning until now no pope, either good or bad. saintly or worldly, has ever taught heresy.  The good pops because they were good and were operating for the good of the church and the bad ones did not have the time or the inclination to bother with doctrine because it took time away from lining their pockets, dating and debauching which is what they were about. 

It is a Protestant belief that every Christian can interpret the Bible for themselves and that the Holy Spirit will guide them to the correct interpretation.  We can see how well that has worked out because today we have thirty thousand or so versions of Christianity each claiming that they have the correct interpretation.  The Catholic Church and her popes through the ages gathered the collection of books that we call the Bible together.  Over the years the Church and her popes stepped in and gave the authoritative meaning of troublesome passages. Protestants say that they are free to interpret the Bible and we are under the yoke of the Church.  Well, the average Protestant gets his Bible interpretation from his pastor who in effect is acting as a pope of the Christian community he is in charge of.  Pastor Bob at the First Baptist might say "X" and Pastor Ben at Fifth Non-Denomination Church might say "Y" about the same passage, while in the pew Mr. Jones believes "Z" and thinks his pastor is full of hot air.  Being a Protestant can be very confusing. 

Who was it that first proclaimed the Gospel to the people of Jerusalem on Pentecost?  It was Peter : 

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. (Acts 2:14)

Who spoke on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration?  It was Peter.  In all of the controversies that came up, there was discussion and argument on each side of the issue right up until Peter spoke.  Once Peter spoke, that was it, deal done! 

So I am glad I am a Catholic.  There is nothing like not having to guess what I have to do and believe to be a good Christian.  It feels good to know that there is a place where the buck stops and ultimate truth is dispensed to refresh the souls of all who are ready to listen. 

 

"Call no one on earth your father"

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,

"The scribes and the Pharisees

have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,

but do not follow their example.

For they preach but they do not practice.

They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry

and lay them on people's shoulders,

but they will not lift a finger to move them.

All their works are performed to be seen.

They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,

greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'

As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'

You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

Call no one on earth your father;

you have but one Father in heaven.

Do not be called 'Master';

you have but one master, the Christ.

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;

but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Some evangelical, fundamentalist, Bible thumping Christians find in Matthew 25 1-12 proof positive that the Catholic Church has gone off the deep end because they call their preachers "father."  It appears when you read the passage that they are correct, but are they?  

If I said "yes" to my rhetorical question, that would end the discussion right here and this would be my shortest blog entry ever.  Sorry, the evangelicals are not correct. But, does it not say in plain English to not call anyone on earth your father?  It most certainly does say that. But, Jesus is using hyperbole or exaggeration to make a point.  The point He is making is not prohibiting the title of father, otherwise, what do you call the husband of your mother?  

In order to understand this passage of scripture you really have to read it from the beginning and see what Jesus is actually telling us.  He tells us the Scribes and the Pharisees make up rules that they themselves do not keep.  It is for this reason, that He says to not call anyone Rabbi which is another word for teacher.  When it comes to the word father, we have to call no man father who does not deserve that title. 

In the Bible itself, there are instances where the word father is used by personages such as Paul.  For example, we have this passage: 

 "I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel" 

(1 Cor. 4:14–15).  (*)

And we hear from Peter, the prime minister of the Kingdom who does not have any problem assuming the role of a father:

 "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark" (1 Pet. 5:13). (*)

We also hear from the Apostle John: 

John said, "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1); "No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth" (3 John 4). In fact, John also addresses men in his congregations as "fathers" (1 John 2:13–14). (*) 

So we can see that the Apostles themselves were not against being spiritual fathers.  The New Testament has other examples from the mouth of Jesus where he refers to "Father Abraham."  So, it is not with the title Father that we should have trouble but we should be wise in who we bestow the mantle of the office upon.  

This is another example of what our evangelical friends miss when they hold to a strict reading of the words of the Bible without taking into account the context of the passage and how the people of that time would have interpreted the story. If we take the Bible and interpret everything according to how we think, act, and learn now we are going to make mistakes.  

For me, I will take the interpretation of these passages from my Fathers in faith in the Catholic Church.  The body that kept the Bible pure is the organization that is fit to translate it.  If we don't trust the Church and begin to interpret the Bible ourselves, we could end up with thirty thousand Christian denominations...oh, wait, we do have that! 

 

It Ain't Gonna Fit!

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich

to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Again I say to you,

it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,

"Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said,

"For men this is impossible,

but for God all things are possible."

OH MY GOSH - HE'S GOTTA BE KIDDING

NO WAY A CAMEL CAN GET THROUGH

THE EYE OF A NEEDLE - CANT BE DONE!

Now calm down, this is NOT what Jesus had in mind. 

This is what he was referring to:

The eye of the needle was a place in a wall that would admit only a camel and rider and that at a very slow pace indeed.  If the camel was laden with merchandise, the rider would have to dismount and remove all of the parcels and only then could the camel and rider enter.  This made it possible for the city fathers to collect taxes on each parcel as it was handed through and prevented armies mounted on animals from invading and pillaging their city.  All in all, quite a smart thing to have in your city wall. Also if your rider was bent on causing mischief, you had time to size him up and summon help before his weapons were pushed through. 

For us, entering heaven will be like this.  Everyone thinks that you die and you go to heaven or hell.  That is not the case.  In heaven, no sin or evil is permitted to arrive with you.  That has to be left outside the gate.  You can't bring in your love of lust, love of gold, hatred, or any other thing that separates you from God.  Purgatory functions as the eye of the needle where we cast off the things that separate us from God.  True, some of us will not have to go to Purgatory but I fear that will be very few of us.  It is very logical.  Say for example for some reason you confessed to me that in third grade you stole my favorite pencil just to annoy me and you threw it away because you thought that was funny.  You confess this to me on your death bed and immediately die.  You end up in Purgatory for that theft and it isn't too long you are brought into heaven.  I die and there is a mix up in the paperwork and they let me into heaven and I meet you.  I still hate you because you stole my pencil and when I see you coming to greet me and welcome me, I wait until you get close and bang I punch you right in the nose.  This cannot happen in heaven and there will be no mix up in paperwork so, in reality, I will end up in Purgatory to get rid of those things that don't belong there.  On the day I finally let go of the anger I have for you, I will mount my camel and right straight through the eye of the needle and will accept your welcoming hug. 

Purgatory is not a "second chance."  If you die in mortal sin you will not go to Purgatory, you will go to hell and hell is forever. Purgatory is where you clean the stain of your sins from your soul.  Jesus died on the cross for us and our sins are forgiven, but we have to pay for the effect that our sins had on the world around us.  You can break a window and the home owner can forgive you, but he still wants to have the window fixed. 

The time for making up for our sins easily is here on earth where we can pray, do penance, do sacrifices, acts of charity, and make up for what we have done.  Failure to do this here will mean we will spend time in Purgatory.  Once in Purgatory, you will be kept there until you have paid the last penny as it says in the Gospel of Mark.  You will have no way to remit even one second of your time there.  You will need to have help from the people that you left behind at home.  If they won't pray for you, who will?  Strangers from all around the world make it one of their ministries to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. Some of us, if left to the mercies of our family and friends could expect quite a long layover in Purgatory.  Thank God for those people who use their time wisely and pray for the poor souls.  They realize two things. First, they realize that they will most likely end up in Purgatory and their hope is that someone prays for them. And second, they know that if they help even one soul leave the purging fires and arrive in heaven even one minute early. they will make an eternal friend who will not forget about them. 

I am sorry to be such a preacher about this somewhat unpleasant subject.  No one likes to think of ending up in a place of pain after death even though the joy those souls feel cannot be described in human terms for they know that they will end up in heaven with God.  That they cannot see Him now is what causes the part of the pains that they feel.  

Please, make an investment today in your future.  Pray for your friends and relatives that have gone before you and pray for the souls that have no one to pray for them.  When you go to Mass, dedicate that Mass to the poor souls.  When you go to Communion, dedicate that grace that comes from the presence of Jesus within you.  Those that you pray for will remember you and will come to your aid when it is needed. 

When Doing What's Right is Just Not Enough

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.

The first reading at mass today sounds like an instruction manual for how to get to heaven!

I once worked for a family-owned company where the lady that owned it decided to turn the firm over to her son and let him the place.  He was a typical spoiled child that had everything handed to him including a beautiful house that he did not have to pay for.  Anyway, the young hopeful would sleep until noon, come in at one or two-ish, and finish up the day promptly at four-thirty on the dot.  The business he inherited was actually a start-up business and his mother assumed he would earn his way by putting in long hours, working hard, and making his mother proud of him.  Alas, as you can see, this was not to be.  The reason I mention him at all is that he once said something that showed the depth of his character in just a few words.  One afternoon, the talk in the office was about honesty.  His words, I remember to this very day.  He said, "I will be as honest as I have to be."   I could never trust him after he said that and it wasn't very long that he and I parted company.

God tells us that we should observe what is right and do what is just. In other words, to have a good relationship with God it helps a lot to be honest in all your dealings. Think about it. This is much easier said than done. Sometimes honestly answering a question can hurt peoples feelings. While we need to be honest, we need to temper our honesty with just a touch of mercy.  Brutal honesty is not necessary but coaching a friend if they are doing something outrageous is an act of kindness. 

God deals with us in this same way.  When we sin against Him, He would be within His rights to hurl a lightning bolt or two at us.  Instead of this God gently tries to point the way for us. He remains calm, cool, and collected and never stoops to making us an offer we could not refuse. If after all is said and done we want to go our way, well, our way it is.  God will wait until we figure out we are going wrong and be there to welcome us back. 

Choose

Joshua made this announcement and then asked the people what they were going to do.  He asks them if they will serve the Lord or if they would prefer to serve the local gods of the Amorites. The people point out to Joshua that the Lord was the One who led them out of Egypt, and who had performed great miracles right before their very eyes. The people pointed out that God had driven the local pagans out of the land that they were now standing on and they tell them that it is their decision to serve the Lord that had done all of these great things for them.  Joshua asks them if they are sure about this because the Lord may not forgive them if they worship the pagan gods of the Amorites or others.  The people almost with one voice declared that they would follow and serve the Lord.  The rest, as they say, is history.  The people try their best, but time and time again they fail and fail big time and end up going into exile and into slavery. Each time they went into slavery they learned to trust and depend on the Lord more and more and eventually their time of servitude would end and they would emerge as the Lord's people again.  

For me, it is the same as what happened to my ancestors in the time of Joshua.  I was young and sinless (more or less) and I learned about sin by experiencing it first hand.  I then went to confession and before God and His Church, I confessed what I had done and promised with the help of God's grace to sin no more.  For a while I kept my promise, fiercely turning away the devil's attempts to lure me back. My resolve would be great but my strength would drain. 

Soon I would hear the siren song of the mermaid on the rocks and I would leave the safety of my boat and swim to the rocks where she would tease me and keep me away from safety until weary from the struggle of the wind and the waves I would begin to sink as the mermaid who was so friendly before laughed at my plight as the waves claimed me.  I would then have no choice but to call upon Jesus, and He would come to my rescue and I would find myself back in the confessional, confessing the same sins that I had committed before and once again I would promise not to commit again.  This time, I was sure.  This time I would make it.  But then after some time had passed I would hear the alluring siren song again and because of the grace of God at work in me, I would resist mightily again but the allure eventually became too great and I would once again swim to the rocks forgetting the lesson of my last swim. 

What we cannot do ourselves in our attempt to serve the Lord, we must give the Lord and plead for help.  Help will come in the form of grace but always remember when we are at our strongest, we are most vulnerable to the siren song and allures of this world.  But be of good cheer, if you turn back with all your heart and at least try to serve the Lord, He will see what you are doing, He will approve and He will help you.  You may sin again, but the sound of the mermaid calling to you will have to be louder each time you resist her charms.  Eventually, the voice of your conqueror will be conquered by the voice of your Father in heaven, His constant love and attention to you will win the day.  

HATE

Finally, my research has revealed something that the world has in such abundance that every man, woman, and child can have and share as much as he or she wants without any fear of running out of it.  That commodity is hate. 

From Barcelona to the United States there are examples of the various flavors that are available to us.  Muslims and Christians can indulge in mutual hate of one another. Here in America whites can hate blacks and blacks can hate whites. And our president can't come out and say that hating a person because of their color is wrong. 

My blog today is short.  Please, pray for one another, pray that this world becomes more tolerant and loving to one another. Life is too short to allow hate to rule us. 

Reading The Fine Print in The Gospel

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.  
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants

who owed him a much smaller amount.

He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,

'Pay back what you owe.'

Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,

'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

But he refused.

Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison

until he paid back the debt.

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,

they were deeply disturbed,

and went to their master and reported the whole affair.

His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant!

I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.

Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,

as I had pity on you?'

Then in anger, his master handed him over to the torturers

until he should pay back the whole debt.

So will my heavenly Father do to you,

unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."

The truth is simple, by Christ's death on the cross we were forgiven of our sins and on that day the gates of heaven swung open wide to admit believers into the bliss of eternal life with God in heaven.  This is truth in its simple yet glorious form, and God will certainly keep His end of the bargain.  

Do you remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the first version with Gene Wilder?  At the beginning of the tour of his candy factory each child had to sign a contract. The contract started with huge print and as it cascaded down the wall the print got smaller and smaller until it was minuscule.  The words, no matter how large or small all formed the basis of the agreement between Willy and the children. God does not use fine print in His contract with us, but we as humans tend to read the "good" things and gloss over the things that obligate us.  

It is true that we are forgiven.  The sins we commit against the dignity of God are forgiven as soon as we confess them.  We, in turn, are expected to forgive our fellow humans for what they do against us.  I can hear them coming now, the "buts."  Some of us are willing to forgive everyone except him or her or this group or that group because the evil that they committed against us was so great.   Those of us who are "But" people are in a whole heap of trouble because we are the unforgiving servant in the reading above and as you can see, it does not go well for him 

Forgiveness is the one selfish thing we can do that is approved by God.  When we forgive someone who has hurt us deeply, we are accruing graces through that righteous act and we are making our soul more God like in its attitude and outlook and we are doing something good for ourselves.  By forgiving even the biggest grievance we have against another, it becomes easier to forgive the smaller things and our life and our serenity is not disturbed as much by the thoughtless acts of others.  We also become more thoughtful ourselves and gain greater ability to put ourselves into someone else's shoes and in doing this we are offended less. Forgiving is a win/win situation for us while not forgiving is a lose/lose. 

God could not make his desires any clearer, but He does repeat Himself so as to make sure we have the opportunity to absorb the requirements he has placed upon us. 

1.  "Father forgive them, they know not what they do"
2.  "Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times."
3.  "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"  
4.  “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
5. So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
6. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

So, I think it is easily seen that forgiveness is one of the most important parts of being a Christian.  The word "but" cannot be used to absolve us from this duty.  It is NOT easy for us to forgive everything.  The word everything encompasses evils that are unimaginable in their scope.  Can we forgive Hitler for the Holocaust? We have to!  Can we forgive Stalin the millions of people he killed? We have to.  Forgiving is not approving what a person has done. The judgement against the Hitler's and Stalin's and bin Laden's of this world will be rendered by God, not by us.  We need not and should not approve what these people have done but we should leave it to God to mete out what payment these evil people should receive. No, it is not easy to be a Christian, if done right, being a Christian will always cause at least a little inconvenience in your life as you look deep inside yourself to see where you and Christ are most alike and where you are not.  Forgiveness is a habit and like all habits, it becomes easier the more you practice it.  When someone offends you, just think of Jesus on the Cross and what He said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do.   There is no law saying you can't use those same words is there?

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE POOR SOULS IN PURGATORY. PRAY FOR YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY OF COURSE, BUT DON'T FORGET THE FORGOTTEN SOULS WHO HAVE NO ONE TO PRAY FOR THEM.  

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;  

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

the Almighty has done great things for me

and holy is his Name."

The greatest love story that was ever written was not Romeo and Juliet, but rather it was the love story between Jesus Christ and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Among the last thoughts of Jesus even while suffering the agony of crucifixion was of His mother.  His disciple John was near the cross along with Mary and Jesus knowing that a widow with no family to take care of her would be in dire straits, He put Mary into the care of John. We cannot even imagine the pain that Mary herself was in watching her Son die in such pain and her pain added immeasurably to the agony of Christ on the Cross. 

From the time of her conception, Mary was preserved from the original sin that stained every other person that lived before us and will stain those that come after us.  She received the gift of salvation and her soul out of the uncounted billions of souls was the only one that was absolutely pristine and free from sin her whole life. God in effect saw the death of Jesus on the Cross before it happened and applied the graces to her at her conception.  She needed a savior and God Himself saw to it that Mary would be a fit tabernacle for the Son of God to reside in.

Mary, one day, finished her missions on Earth and she passed away and she was buried.  Quite a normal story up until now because all people die, that is the one universal law of the cosmos, death comes to all creatures.  When her tomb was later opened, still in the time of the Apostles, it was found to be empty.  The early Church believed that this empty tomb was proof positive that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven to be with her Son.  

How do we know that this happened?  Is it in the Bible?  No, it is not in the Bible but logic tells us that not only was what we believe possible but it is also probable and the Church has declared it a dogma and they don't define dogmas without evidence.

First, the assumption was believed and taught from the earliest times in the Church, during a time when the Apostles still walked and worked among us. 

Next, we have the evidence of the lack of holy relics.  There are no relics taken from the body of Mary.  Relics were prized by the early Church and relics of the martyrs were considered holy objects.  It follows that if a "common" martyr's relic was thought of so highly, how much more veneration would a relic of Our Lady have generated?  Had they been available, they would have been enshrined and we could go to venerate them today.

"At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when bishops from throughout the Mediterranean world gathered in Constantinople, Emperor Marcian asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem to bring the relics of Mary to Constantinople to be enshrined in the capitol. The patriarch explained to the emperor that there were no relics of Mary in Jerusalem, that "Mary had died in the presence of the apostles; but her tomb, when opened later . . . was found empty and so the apostles concluded that the body was taken up into heaven."  (1)

Finally, the assumption of Mary is the promise of future glory for you and I.  What has happened to her, the taking of her body and soul to heaven, is what will happen to us.  Can you imagine on that glorious day when Mary entered heaven, the angels were singing as they hadn't sung since the day Christ was born.  The joy and happiness in heaven multiplied a thousand fold!  The Seraphim that guard the throne of God burned with the fierceness that total joy and total love generates.  The Holy City shined in golden splendor even more brightly and the shimmering of the sky and the streets proclaimed a joy completely unknown before this day as Mary and Jesus embraced in view of the citizens of heaven. From this moment on, heaven was, even more, happier than it had been before Mary arrived.  The joy of Jesus caused a thousand rainbows rich with the colors of brilliant jewels, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and other colors too numerous to name in the sky above proclaiming the arrival of Mary and crowning her as Queen of Heaven, Queen of Angels, Queen of Martyrs, and the Joy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

So yes, today we Catholics revere Mary, the Mother of Jesus on this day that commemorates her assumption into heaven.  And this feast day is a promise for us to remember that one day we will arise and go to the Home of Our Father. Isn't it great to be a Roman Catholic and to be able to celebrate such a wonderful holy day?  Hail Mary, Full of Grace.  

The poor souls in Purgatory rejoice on this day as the time of their own personal entry into heaven comes nearer.  Imagine if you were a poor soul and you had nobody to pray for you, how would you feel if someone actually took the time to say some prayers for you?  Please remember our brothers and sisters in purgatory.  Remember that someday you may be among them and need someone to pray for you.

(1) Taken from: July-August 1996 issue of "Catholic Heritage"  To subscribe write Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN 46750-9957 or call 1-800-348-2440. Published bi-monthly at a charge of $18.00 per year.

The Day I Walked On Water

"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." 

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 

It is a little-known fact but in my youth, I walked on water! In the southwest side of Chicago where I grew up, there was a park called McKinley Park.  Besides a wonderful network of bike paths, it had a lagoon with three small islands on it and I visited each of those islands on foot one frigid January morning.  Oh, come on, you didn't think I walked on water, did you?  It was water I walked on, it was frozen. At one end of the lagoon, there was a pipe that served as the source of the water and my buddy and walked over the ice to this spot. Around this pipe was approximately six feet of open water that for whatever reason was not frozen.  My buddy pointed at something and suddenly I found myself under the ice, my friend had pushed me into the water. God was with me that day because He kept me calm.  I didn't thrash about and navigate away from the hole. I was out of air and pushed myself off the bottom and my friend grabbed me and plopped me on the ice like a marooned seal. I can't say I prayed when I was six feet under water with an ice ceiling above.  Luckily I was in and out of the water in only a fraction of a minute so there wasn't time to imitate Peter and call on the Lord to save me, but He did anyway.  Had I navigated away from the hole in the surface by thrashing around, I would have drowned that cold winter morning and God did not allow that to happen.

You really have to love Peter. He was the first pope, that goes without saying, but if you look at how he behaves, he seems to represent us as if he is the quintessential human.  He was called by Christ and with great bravery, he climbed out of the boat.  He defied the laws of nature and the water supported his weight as he walked towards Jesus.  Then, he looked about and saw how strong the wind was, how the waves were tipped with white caps.  He was in danger!  He started to sink. He cried out to Jesus and Jesus for His part grabbed him and together they entered the boat and the storm ended. 

So it is with us.  We begin a project that we believe God has called us to do.  The first steps are taken and we are pleased with the results.  Then, suddenly, we realize that we do not have enough experience in this.  We panic and say to ourselves that, "I am going to fail."  It is then we choose one of two actions.  We will either allow our human nature with all of its limitations to hold sway and we give up or we call upon Jesus and He tells us, "Be not afraid."

Faith can carry us farther than our human nature could ever hope to. Believing that the Lord will bless our work because He called it us to it will keep us moving in the right direction. We just need to keep repeating the instructions Jesus gave to the men on the boat, "Be not afraid."

Purgatory is a place of Hope. Those that are there will eventually go to heaven.  We can speed that journey by praying for the poor souls, by offering up our sacrifices, by offering up the masses we go to and the communions we receive.  Remember the Poor Souls and they will remember you.  Pray for the poor souls today! 

A Little Can Mean A Lot !

Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."

Do you see it? it's very tiny, drop it and you would never find it again. That's right, above today's scripture is a picture of a single mustard seed. Jesus says this is the amount of faith you need to have to be great, so great that mountains will move at your command. 

All around us are faith filled people and yet I can't remember the time I had to jump out of the way of a mountain that was on its way from here to there. But, of course, mountain moving while it may be interesting does lack a certain usefulness.  But faith can move spiritual mountains and we see evidence of that all the time. 

Mother Teresa - she moved people from curbside and tatters and let them know that they were important, that they were loved, and that they were children of God. 

Father Damien the Leper, stepped on to his island and worked with and helped the outcasts of society afflicted with leprosy and gave them back their sense of humanity.

Mother Angelica, a person who knew nothing about the broadcasting business, put her faith in God and built EWTN, the largest and most well known Catholic television station.

Maximillian Kolbe ran a publishing empire that brought hope and the word of God to millions and he gave up his life for another because he had faith in God's promises to mankind. 

True, the saints among us practice wonderful things and do great works but they are the exception to the rule aren't they?  No, we are all capable of the things these great saints have done in their lives and more. 

This is what Jesus is telling us today. Not just to have faith, but to be prepared to do great things with it.  The great things can be things that confront us in our ordinary mundane life.  Remember that Jesus also said that giving a cool drink of water to someone because of Him will not be forgotten and you shall have your reward. 

Don't get caught up in fear for fear is the opposite of faith. Don't get caught up in the size of your mission because giving a cup of water when it is needed to the person in need is as great of a deed as building a cathedral with just your bare hands in twenty-four hours. 

A little bit of faith can propel you all the way to the side of Jesus in heaven.