‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.
‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone around his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
If you have come expecting a rant against the Catholic Church you are bound to be disappointed in this post. I am a Roman Catholic and I will always be a Roman Catholic and that is in spite of the foibles displayed by the all too human men that are in charge of our Church. Look at the founder of our Church, he Himself had no shortage of traitors. There was Judas who offended so deeply that in his own mind he thought his sin was unforgivable and he went out and hanged himself. Then there was Peter, the Rock on which Jesus was going to build His Church. The first chance that Peter got to stand up for the Lord, he did stand up and he walked away after looking the Master in the face. He left and wept bitterly at his betrayal of Jesus.
In our Church today, there exists an issue. The sinfulness of an abhorrent nature committed over the decades has come back to haunt us. Shocking tales of sexual mistreatment of children, adolescents, young seminarians, and lay people perpetrated have risen from the grave as if they were zombies looking for victims to devour. The metaphor does not really work because it casts the renegades as victims and they were hardly that. One by one over the course of time, the molesters are being unmasked and being removed from the ministry. This is a good thing. But we cannot forget those who made possible for this tragedy to continue and grow ever larger. The people of high rank that covered up these atrocities against the People of God need to own up to what they have done and the need to leave the ministry.
Jesus makes it clear as to what will happen to those among us that have sinned in this manner and fail to repent of it and accept the consequences, they will not be among that number, when the saints go marching in.
You must not stop anyone from working miracles in my name
John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.’
Unity is the one thing that is missing from the Christian faith. It is, of course, this situation can be laid at the feet of Mr. Martin Luther and those that came after him who tore the Church asunder. But this reflection is not a rant about his actions or even the actions of others who, like Luther, came and built churches in their own images and likeness to suit their own tastes and beliefs. No, this is about all of us together, you know, unity.
In spite of all of our differences, we have one Lord above who has saved us.
We worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
God loves each of us, knows each of us by name, knows what is alive in our hearts and wants to be a personal friend.
Our prayers and worship rise up to God and we are heard and He always answers.
If this is true, then does it really matter what church we belong to? Wouldn't it make sense that God would make different flavors of Christianity to fit the needs of His people? This sounds good but it is not God's will that each person is his own church. It is not His will that each person interprets the Holy Bible on their own, there needs to be an authority to stabilize the Faith.
It is in the Catholic Church where this authority rests. The Sacred Tradition of the Church includes the Holy Bible and centuries of learned and faithful people have come together and given us the Bible we have today and the Church is the authority that tells us what it means based on the teachings of Jesus, the teaching of the Apostles, and the writings of the Church Fathers. So it does matter what church we belong to.
Now once I was a rabid Catholic. I just knew that all Protestants were on an express trip to hell because they had walked away from the True Faith and were following a tradition where every man is a pope. Then God refreshed my vision and showed me men and women of different Protestant faiths that loved the Lord and did good and lived worthy lives outside of the Catholic Church. How would a loving God turn such people away? The answer is that He wouldn't. Jesus Himself says it best, "Anyone who is not against us is for us."
So, I now believe what the Bride of Christ believes. Yes, it is preferred that we all be one and be united in the Catholic Church but for those, through no fault of their own, are outside of it, they too shall have a share in the inheritance that God gives to His sons and daughters. This being said, I have to mourn that some of my separated brothers and sisters, all of whom love the Lord and live in a way that is befitting a son or daughter of the Great King, are on this very day attempting to bring down the Bride of Christ and liken the Church to the Whore of Babylon. This is a blasphemy that cannot be reconciled with the love of God. These blasphemers are not our brothers and sisters. They carry the flag of Christ, but they do not honor Him. For those people, I can only pray. The tears of Jesus in the Garden on the day before He suffered were caused by our sins and His realization that His greatest wish would not be honored by His children, they would separate and separate again and again. He will restore what needs to be restored when He returns. We look forward to that day when once again all of us that call Jesus Lord will be of one mind and one Spirit. AMEN!
Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me
Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death, and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.
They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms around him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
You may notice an anomaly today. Normally I reflect on one of the two or three readings for the mass of the day. Today the two reading mesh together so well, I thought we should touch on both of them. The theme of the readings is service, serving the Lord and serving one another. Ecclesiasticus, you know the same writer who brought you "vanity, everything is vanity" says that when we service the Lord we will be tested as gold is tested in fire. He points out that if we look at the generations that came before that none of the ones were balked of their reward. This is an odd use of the word balk. It means to stop short, to hesitate. So God will not hesitate to give you your reward. Jesus says it very plainly to us. He says that those that want to be first must make themselves last and the servant of all. Can you really understand what this means? To be a servant to all removes all rank, titles, and brings all of mankind to one level. Imagine, you as a servant is, in God's eyes. equal to the Pope or the Queen of England, or the President of the United States. You as a servant have the same dignity as those people when they are acting as servants themselves.
When Queen Elizabeth stands before God at the end of her life, after God asks what in the world she was carrying around in those purses over the years, will ask her how she served His people, the powerless, the ones at the bottom rung who are looking up. When we stand before God, He will ask us the same question and we had better be ready to answer. If you think that you are going to escape this earth without being a servant, well, I am sorry for you for there is no greater calling than to be a servant, to befriend someone in need, to cause a smile to appear where formerly there were only tears. You do not have to do great things to be a good servant, small things done with great love as Mother Teresa says is all that is required. One act of love will build on another and another and yet another and soon the job of bringing smiles into the world becomes a labor of love and you begin to see how doing this makes you yourself happier.
God knows this and He knows that His children will be happier when they bring happiness to others and in doing so, imitating Him. The crosses we carry become lighter when we do not focus on ourselves but on others because we can always find someone worse off. But, you say that you see an exception here, what about on that day, when in great pain and death is approaching, is there anyone lower than you at that moment? At that moment, at the moment of your greatest weakness, you are stronger than you ever have been before. The pains you suffer on that day when applied to the poor souls in Purgatory will be the source of many who will end their time there and be taken up into heaven. In your last moment, you will be surprised at seeing those you have helped come to your aid because you were a servant to them.
So, being a servant is our highest calling. Make use of the opportunities that come your way. Remember, small things done with great love are a powerful testimony to others about how God is working in your life. Remember too, accept thanks from those you serve, acknowledging them gives them the dignity that they are born with. Be willing also to accept help from others. It is the human way in this twenty-first century to be self-made, to be strong, to be beholding to no one, seeking nor giving no quarter. It is to these towers of strength that our friend Ecclesiasticus gives the vanity speech.
Always be ready to acknowledge that you are needy when you are. When you do this you are acknowledging your human frailty and your dependence on God and therefore on your fellow creatures. It is not a thing of shame to need help, think of it as cooperating with God in building up His kingdom and being a source of grace for the other person. Then, when you can, pay it forward. Give of yourself and do not worry about the cost. Give love and you will receive love.
When Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd was struck with amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’
Faith – it is
something that we all profess to have but do we know what it is and how it
works? Faith is not an emotion although
it can be based on an emotional experience.
Faith is knowing that something is true even though now you cannot see
it. It would be like looking out of your
window and seeing that a violent storm was raging but taking your sunglasses
and sunblock with you anyway because you know that even when you are standing
in this pouring rain that the sun will shine again. [1] Faith is a choice we make every day. Faith is trust in God and trust in His
promises despite the situations we find ourselves in. We may be going through a divorce, a child
may be sick in our household, our spouse may have a debilitating or terminal
disease, any number of things can try to rob of the notion that God loves us,
but it is our trust that allows us to keep our faith. Look at the Christians that were slaughtered
in those lands that were infested by ISIS.
One group was lined up and the kept praying and praising Jesus. One person in the line was not a Christian or
a Muslim and he was told that if he immediately converted to Islam that he
would be allowed to live. He saw the
faith of the Christians to his left and how joyful they were, and he said to
his captors, “Their God is my God.”
Faith
sometimes is thought of being between “Jesus and me.” While there is a personal dimension to faith,
there is the fact that it is also a tool that allows us to testify with our
lives, our minds, and our voice that Jesus Christ is Lord. We always must be ready to answer questions
about why we have faith in such a strange proposition that God came to earth as
a man and died for us. We must share
what having this faith has done for us in our lives, how it has made things
better for us despite the apparent contradictions of sickness or pain or of
misfortune that have entered our lives. A
Christian can be joyful in all circumstances, even when disaster strikes because
he or she knows that they, personally, by name, are loved by God as no other
creature is and this love will conquer all things and will strengthen them for
what is to come. Share your life, share
your faith.
[1] Stephan Curtis Chapman - Heaven in the Real World
Opinion and Analysis of News From and About the Catholic Church
Published When I feel like it!
THE SEX ABUSE CONFERENCE
I am not sure if the conference that was held in Rome has done any good or not. It certainly did not try to pass the blame on the press or anyone else. As a matter of fact, we can thank the secular press for bringing the whole mess to light because it is obvious that the Church leadership in 2004 blamed the press and buried their heads in the sand and allowed the crisis to mature or should I say fester?
That the Church was not paying attention to this as it should can be ascertained by the fact that Cardinal Bernard Law who was run out of Boston on a rail because of the way he protected and transferred renegade priests was in fact given an important position by Pope St. John Paul II selecting bishops.
Speakers at this week’s conference included a Nigerian nun who pointed out actions of the Journalists at the Boston Globe broke this story wide open. Victims of the predator priests are now coming forward and telling their stories and the Church is starting to really listen. This would not have happened if the Church were left to investigate the issue themselves. I believe that there would have been more circling of the wagons and attempts to point the finger of blame elsewhere.
The conference was called to discuss the protection of minors from the predatory practices of the renegade priests. But we know today that as bad as child abuse is that our Church is guilty of far more than just the reprehensible abuse of children. What has come to light now is the abuse of seminarians by the now disgraced Theodore McCarrick who was found guilty of abusing seminarians and children over many years. The judgment against the pompous pervert is said to be “res ludicata” which means that no further appeals are possible. He is now out of a job and the Church will no longer be providing wages or allowances for him so the 88-year-old may be in a financial pickle, but don’t bet the farm on that.
The Holy See took this action before the conference in order to make public “new” policy of the Church which was stated by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who is quoted as saying, “The Holy See’s announcement regarding Theodore McCarrick is a clear signal that abuse will not be tolerated. No bishop no matter how influential is above the law of the Church.”
How I wish I could believe this. Would McCarrick have suffered any penalty at all had the Pennsylvania crisis not hit? Why in the world did Pope Francis pluck this man out of a mandated life of penance and prayer that his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI had sentenced him to? How many other bishops and cardinals are out there whose secret life is buried under years of bureaucratic secrecy? You must wonder if those doing all the talking now are doing so to obscure things that happened in prior years that they themselves participated in or covered up?
The Magisterium has over the years attained unofficial notoriety as being a haven for homosexuals and not ones that have accepted celibacy and are living a chaste life in accordance with their vows but rather men that have pursued an active gay lifestyle in violation of their vows and right under the nose of the Pope.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston is demanding a report from the Vatican that will show who knew what and when they knew it. This report will help to rip the veil of secrecy and help to disband the “good ‘ole boys” network of sexually active gay ministers. Mind you, I do not judge gay people. They live life according to the light that they have but I do object to them being in offices that can further the shocking and sinful crisis that we find ourselves in.
We need to let the light in. The dusty, dark, recesses must be lit up, the dust and dirt removed and the people that caused it need to be shown to the door. Is this likely to happen? I don’t know if it can. Cardinal Reinhard Marx testified that “Files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible were destroyed or not even created…Instead of the perpetrators, the victims were regulated, and silence imposed on them. The stipulated procedures and processes for the prosecution of offenses were deliberately not complied with, but instead were canceled or overridden.”
A Catholic sister told the bishops. “This storm will not pass by. Our credibility is at stake.” CNN reporter Daniel Burke stated after hearing Sister Veronica speak that “A num just read the riot act to Catholic Bishops over clergy sex abuse.”
Okay, what are we pew dwellers to think about all of this? First, I must ask if we can trust our bishops and cardinals and what they say and do? I know we have to guard against painting with a large paintbrush because I am certain that there are those who are as shocked as we are over the events that came to light this year. I am sorry, but while I respect the Holy Father as a good man with a humble heart, I do not think he has been or is a good leader. Everything starts at the top in this Church of ours and quite honestly wheel spinning seems to be the national pastime of Vatican City. The Church does NOT belong to the magisterium. They are supposed to be the servants with the Pope being the servant of the servants of God. I think some of the men have become full of themselves and think that they can cause thunder but, it is nothing more than a popping balloon.
The conference was a big nothing, it was all talk and we have had all of the talk we need on this. The Bishops in the United States made children safe from the likes of me and my fellow choir members, but no one has ever peered into the murkiness of the behavior of our bishops. We need a lay committee with the powers to subpoena records of all the dioceses in the United States. No records would be off limits to the investigators and they would report to no one except the Holy Father and they would be tasked to watch where the money went, to whom it was paid and why it was paid. The Church in and of itself has no resources that have not come from pew dweller like you and me. The money is supposed to support our parishes and to fund charitable causes. It is not supposed to be a slush fund to pay hush money to sexual conquests of priests and religious.
Pray for our Church. This scandal has to end, and it will end if we take it and address the problems head-on and let the cassocks fall where they may. The bride of Christ is being abused by her caretakers and we need to see that it stops.
Thank you to CNN and National Catholic Reporter for some of the facts you see here.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’
Jesus gave us a lot to think about in this reading. I don’t know about you but I certainly have a hard time turning the other cheek when someone offends me. My first reaction is to take action, to plan revenge, to go after the culprit and give to him what he has coming to him! This is how a normal human being reacts to being the victim of some sort of offense against his or her person. It is quite natural and it has been this way since Cain killed Abel. But for us, it needs to be different. We need to take the initiative when we can to defuse the situation. We need to be the first to ask for a truce and to propose a solution to the issue that is fair to both sides. This means neither side gets all that they want but each gets some of what they want.
What turning the other cheek does NOT mean is to become a whipping boy for your opponent. You are entitled to defend yourself against the attack of another because you are a child of God and have that dignity within you. For example, a wife does not have to stay and “take it” from an abusive husband. A child with special needs does not have to take the abuse of bullies. You get the idea. We should not look for trouble, but when it finds us we should exhaust our efforts for a peaceful solution before physical action is taken. Sure, we are going to think this through when you are caught in a dark alley with a man intent on robbing and rolling you! Jesus meant for us to be people of peace. We need to respect and love all people. We do not have to take a beating from them nor do we have to allow ourselves to be used as a doormat!
Forgiveness for us must take the place of vengeance. But self-defense is always appropriate provided our response is measured and we do not hang around to “finish the job.” To forgive someone is not one of those things that are optional for a Christian. It is a requirement, a command by our Lord and Savior Jesus. If we forgive we will be forgiven. If we don’t we won’t. Jesus forgave from the Cross. Can we do any less?
So, you want to be a canonized saint. Make sure you put this document with your will so that your heirs will know what to do. The most important thing is that you be dead, so take care of that first. Then make sure your heirs do the following:
1.WAIT for FIVE YEARS. The candidate has to have been dead for five years. This is to allow time for “cooler heads to prevail. It allows more objectivity.
2.GET YOUR FRIENDS TOGETHER. The cause is started in the diocese where the candidate lived. A promoter group, for example, the parish, religious congregation, or pious association asks the bishop to open an investigation. The bishop asks Rome who sends a letter of “nulla osta” or “no impediment” and a tribunal is formed.
3.PRESENT THE FACTS and WRITE ‘EM UP and GET ‘EM TO ROME.The tribunal calls witnesses to recount the facts of the candidate's life and how the candidate exercised Christian virtue especially; prudence, justice, temperance, faith, hope, and charity. Documents are gathered and sent to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the Candidate has made it this far, he (she) is entitled to the title “Servant of God.”
4.WIN THE ELECTION.The documents and evidence are examined in Rome by nine theologians. If the Servant of God gets at least five votes the congregation presents the results of the Pope who will give his approval (or not) and authorizes a public decree which is publically read and distributed.
5.PERFORM A MIRACLE. For beatification a miracle, verified after his (her) death is necessary. This miracle is investigated and if it is shown to be a miracle, a decree is read. The candidate is now called “Blessed.”
6.PERFORM AN ENCORE. For final canonization another miracle occurring AFTER his beatification. It is investigated as was the virtues and the first miracle
Oh, I almost forgot about expenses. There are costs involved in the canonization process. Documents need to be prepared, canon lawyers engaged, and you probably will want a ceremony or two. Here is an accounting from a canonization that took place in 1913 – The amounts are in Italian Lire. The prices have gone up since 1913 I am sure. A 1913 dollar is the equivalent of $3.36 of today’s dollars.
Please
understand, all of the above can take years and years and there is no
guarantee that you will make it all the way through. The process is meant
to provide us with examples to follow.
Pope John Paul II made it clear that it is the goal of EVERY CHRISTIAN
to become a saint, as a matter of fact, the saddest fate for a human being is
to go through life and end up not becoming a saint. Canonization is optional,
becoming a saint is required!
Watch over the flock, not simply as a duty but gladly
Now I have something to tell you elders: I am an elder myself, and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and with you, I have a share in the glory that is to be revealed. Be the shepherds of the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it. Never be a dictator over any group that is put in your charge, but be an example that the whole flock can follow. When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the crown of unfading glory.
All of the prelates are gathered together to address the problem of clerical sexual abuse of church members by renegade priests and even some bishops and cardinals! We are pretty well versed on the tale of the disgraced and defrocked former Cardinal McCarrick who although under sanction by Pope Benedict and who was instructed by the same to live the rest of his life out in prayer and repentance, was given a high office by Pope Francis in spite of his predecessor's sanctions. Although I have to say that all of the Cardinals should have known better by this time because they should be able to remember when the scandal broke back in 2004, it appears the same offenses of transferring priests who were sexual predators went on, hush money was paid, and the predators went on with life as if nothing had happened.
Clues as to how to form a culture come from the top. It is very unfortunate indeed that the Holy Father choose to send signals that it was okay to employ sexual predators for day to day tasks and that a blind eye could be turned towards their offenses if need be. The Church in America did not read nor act upon the signals that Francis was sending as strongly as the rest of the world did. The American bishops worked together and while there is more work to be done even here in America, the rest of the world followed Francis' lead and it was business as usual coupled with a large dose of smoke and mirrors to blind outsiders to what was taking place right under the noses of the bishops.
We cannot expect much from this four-day conference and I am sure that our expectations will be met. But let us hope that this marks the beginning of the end of this sordid time of scandal in the Catholic Church. Let us hope that all of the Cardinals go home and tackle this problem like a dog eating meat and that the miscreants are identified, tried, and removed from their ministry. We have this final chance to get things right and I hope that our humble but inept leader, Francis, rolls up his sleeves and does what is right for the Church to include removing men from office who only are in it for themselves.
I would never leave the Catholic Church because she IS the bride of Christ and she remains holy in spite of any scandals we humans can throw at her. Besides, the Catholic Church is the one place where the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ is available to me every day of the week in the Eucharist. Our leaders are fallible men and boy have they fallibled this up. We need to pray for the Church, for her leaders and for the preists, deacons, and religious that they may turn the Church around and start being guardians of the flock instead of a secret society protecting the powerful.
God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Be the terror and the dread of all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven, of everything that crawls on the ground and all the fish of the sea; they are handed over to you. Every living and crawling thing shall provide food for you, no less than the foliage of plants. I give you everything, with this exception: you must not eat flesh with life, that is to say, blood, in it. I will demand an account of your life-blood. I will demand an account from every beast and from man. I will demand an account of every man’s life from his fellow men.
‘He who sheds man’s blood
shall have his blood shed by man,
for in the image of God
man was made.
‘As for you, be fruitful, multiply, teem over the earth and be lord of it.’
God spoke to Noah and his sons, ‘See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you, birds, cattle and every wild beast with you: everything that came out of the ark, everything that lives on the earth. I establish my Covenant with you: nothing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’
God said, ‘Here is the sign of the Covenant I make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all generations: I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth.’
For some reason, the GLBT community has adopted the rainbow as their symbol. They fly rainbow-colored flags at their events and demonstrations and use it as a device to let everyone know that they are of the GLBT community and believe in all of the things that being in the community entails. Many of those things are against the law of God. Please, do not get me wrong. I do not judge these people because what they do is between themselves and eventually God. I will leave them to His merciful hands because Lord knows I am a sinful man and sin is sin no matter what form it takes so I am probably even more liable because I have a better understanding of the law of God and how it affects my life. But, I want my rainbow back!
The rainbow as we see in our reading served as a reminder of the Covenant between God and all on earth. While this is the Old Testament, and today we know what causes a rainbow scientifically, it still should evoke not tales of the bedroom but it should remind us of a sovereign God who loves us, each and every one of us because we are made in His image and He has given us the earth to master and care for. The rainbow is God's symbol and I want it back! It is not a symbol of gay pride or of gay unity. It has been co-opted for this use but it is not a legitimate use of the symbol. The rainbow is meant to display the love of God and not the love of carnal things. I want my rainbow back!
Okay, I've ranted enough. Am I homophobic? No, I don't think so. I do not hold what people do in private against them and I certainly would not discriminate against a person who I knew to be homosexual. All I want to say is that the rainbow means more than what this group has attached to it and it should be restored to its former position.
At the end of forty days, Noah opened the porthole he had made in the ark and he sent out the raven. This went off and flew back and forth until the waters dried up from the earth. Then he sent out the dove, to see whether the waters were receding from the surface of the earth. The dove, finding nowhere to perch, returned to him in the ark, for there was water over the whole surface of the earth; putting out his hand he took hold of it and brought it back into the ark with him. After waiting seven more days, again he sent out the dove from the ark. In the evening, the dove came back to him and there it was with a new olive-branch in its beak. So Noah realized that the waters were receding from the earth. After waiting seven more days he sent out the dove, and now it returned to him no more.
It was in the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, in the first month and on the first of the month, that the water dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the hatch of the ark and looked out. The surface of the ground was dry!
Noah built an altar for the Lord and choosing from all the clean animals and all the clean birds he offered burnt offerings on the altar. The Lord smelt the appeasing fragrance and said to himself, ‘Never again will I curse the earth because of man, because his heart contrives evil from his infancy. Never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done.
‘As long as earth lasts,
sowing and reaping,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
shall cease no more.’
Well, forty days and forty nights in a large vessel with a bunch of wild animals and finally the saga was over. They were on dry land so Noah and the rest of the party were able to open the door and get out into the fresh air. It had to have been a great relief to get out of the stench of the whole animal kingdom which had been cooped up for so long. We see why Noah was chosen and why there was an extra clean animal available to him because the first thing he and his family did was to worship the Lord. The Lord for His part noticed this and gave his promise that night would follow day as long as the earth shall last.
So out of chaos God once again establishes order and Noah and his family begin the job of populating the earth as do the animals released from the arc. This is a very colorful story but what relevance does it have to those that sit in the pew in today's world? Is it more than just a story, perhaps a fairy tale? Did this really happen?
Almost all of the civilizations around the time of Noah have in their history a story of a great flood so the Hebrew writers may have adapted those stories into their religion to help keep the people in line. Or, the story may have happened exactly as written. There are physical indications of a great flood in the area so we cannot write it off as just a story. I think for us in this twenty-first century, that this tale should serve as a warning. It should show that God is patient and kind but is also a God of action when He needs to be.
What we need to do is to look at where we as a people are going. It is not a pretty sight. I am filled with horror as I see a Catholic governor almost dancing with glee as he signs the first law that permits the murdering of babies at the time of birth and even after the child is brought into the world! In Biblical times, children were killed to sacrifice to false gods such as Baal. And this was one of the reasons for the flood of Noah. We have chosen to sacrifice our babies to another false god whose name is "Convenience." We have been killing babies under the guise of "Woman's Health" for decades now. At this time we are slipping more and more into depravity and I have to ask, "Will God be able to ignore the situation much longer?"
We need to repent. We need to stop the bloodshed. We Catholics have a large power base and yet we allow atheists, pagans, Wiccans, new agers, and gays to move their agenda with scant protest from us. Our silence will be our downfall. "God bless America" is what we ask for in that wonderful patriotic hymn, but we have lost track of which god we are asking the blessing from.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. The Lord regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. ‘I will rid the earth’s face of man, my own creation,’ the Lord said ‘and of animals also, reptiles too, and the birds of heaven; for I regret having made them.’ But Noah had found favor with the Lord.
The Lord said to Noah, ‘Go aboard the ark, you and all your household, for you alone among this generation do I see as a good man in my judgment. Of all the clean animals you must take seven of each kind, both male and female; of the unclean animals you must take two, a male and its female (and of the birds of heaven also, seven of each kind, both male and female), to propagate their kind over the whole earth. For in seven days’ time I mean to make it rain on the earth for forty days and nights, and I will rid the earth of every living thing that I made.’ Noah did all that the Lord ordered.
Seven days later the waters of the flood appeared on the earth.
Just a short article today. We read above of God getting really angry at man and at the evil he was carrying around in his heart. He decided to reboot the human race and used Noah and his family as the catalyst for the new race of man. A few things that I have to point out:
There was something special about Noah and his extended families that joined him on the arc, they are were married and each was one man and one wife. This was in an era where polygamy was the rule.
God could have eliminated the unclean animals at this time and made life simpler for the future generations but it appears that the unclean animals had a purpose too.
We often hear that they went in two by two, but actually, the clean animals could not do that because they went in there were seven of them - one had to go in alone.
Insects, where are the insects?
We know the rest of the story, the rains came and the earth was covered and everything not on the arc died. Then the people on the arc, after the rains, and after the dove did not return to the arc, they eventually were able to let the animals go and they themselves started to work the land again. God gave us the rainbow that told us he would never destroy the earth again by flood.
For us in the twenty-first century, does this story have any impact on us? Well, it does show that God can lose patience with us and that he can send chastisements to his children to wake them up. With all of the evil in the world, I can't imagine why He hasn't sent us a wake-up call. Or has He? What do you think?
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘I have acquired a man with the help of the Lord’ she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for the Lord, while Abel for his part brought the first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favor on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head? But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?’ Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out’; and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.
The Lord asked Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I do not know’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s guardian?’ ‘What have you done?’ the Lord asked. ‘Listen to the sound of your brother’s blood, crying out to me from the ground. Now be accursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. When you till the ground it shall no longer yield you any of its produce. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth.’ Then Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today you drive me from this ground. I must hide from you, and be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth. Why whoever comes across me will kill me!’ ‘Very well, then,’ the Lord replied ‘if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for him.’ So the Lord put a mark on Cain, to prevent whoever might come across him from striking him down.
Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Seth, ‘because God has granted me other offspring’ she said ‘in place of Abel, since Cain has killed him.’
The Family is the building block of our world and it was so from the very beginning. A family is like a capstone in an arch, it feels pressure from all directions and yet it holds together and makes the structure stronger. While I think we can agree this is a good simile, even the first family had its challenges. Two brothers in two different lines of work, one a farmer and the other a shepherd. Both of them get together and make a sacrifice to God. Caine brought produce and Abel brought a lamb. They sacrifice and in some way it is shown that God accepts the lamb of Abel and rejects the produce department that Caine brought. Then they went for a walk and Cain gave Abel a stone shampoo and killed him and left his body to rot. God asks Cain where Abel is. Cain pops a smart answer to God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" God then reveals that He knew what happened to his brother and threw him out of the family. Cain was afraid that when he went among other people that they would see him and kill him on sight. So God put him in the first witness protection program and marked him in some way so that he would be safe.
But how did this come about? Surely one sacrifice to God wouldn't precipitate this kind of violence against one's brother, would it? There were things going on in the background that we are not a party to. We get a hint of this when God tells Cain that if he does well he could lift up his head and be proud. So there was something in Cains life that was spoiling his relationship with his brother and with God.
I bear the mark of Cain in some respects as we all do. Our family life is not perfect. The Brady Bunch is a fictional family so are the Waltons and Aunt B in the Andy Griffith show does not exist either. We have to deal with the family that we were born into and what goes on in the background of family life can resemble the story of Cain and Abel, just without the physical violence.
Be kind to your family, be ready to forgive and forget. Do not resentments build up in your relationships with them and remember that they are beloved of God just like you are! Be aware that you are not dealing with those who are burdened with perfection. They will have their issues and foibles to contend with just as you will. Overlook their issues as much as you can unless doing so puts you or your family in danger. God built the family as the building block of society. Remember yours and solidify it with prayer even if you never see them in the course of your life again.
Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
It would have been so simple for the authorities to repudiate the Christian thing that I believe it is the work of God that caused them to mess it up. The temple gang knew that they had problems because they could not produce the body of Jesus to show that the pious faker, the blasphemer, the pretender to the throne of God was dead as a crucifixion nail could make one. The authorities paid the guards to say that they fell asleep and that the comrades of the criminal came in the night and stole the body away. That story was completely plausible and to their minds solved the issue at hand. They could not have been more incorrect because Jesus did appear to people and the fact that he rose from the dead was believed more than the paid for official version. The Jesus movement was here to stay and it would not be able to be stopped no matter how hard they tried to do so.
It makes a difference that Christ rose from the dead. No other leader of a religious movement could ever claim that he had survived death, a death on a cross that was presided over by the official execution squad who made very sure that the person on the cross was certifiably dead as he could be and that this fact was officially recorded by the Roman occupiers of Israel as a legal execution ordered by the procurator himself. All was legal and correct except that the pesky Jesus rose from the dead and defeated sin and death for all time.
For us, the fact that Jesus rose from the dead makes all the difference to us. Had He not risen from the dead, if we, today, could make a pilgrimage to see His bones, well, it would not be worth going to see them for it would prove that He was nothing but a charlatan, a deceiver, and a corruptor who was in the savior business for reasons known only to Himself.
The news that death has been defeated is news even more joyful than the news that Jesus was born! It means that our lives do not end when we take our last breath on this blue rock we call earth. It means that our life continues in the kingdom of God and that one day our souls will rejoin our bodies as we are resurrected from the dead and take our place in the kingdom.
We need to always be ready to explain why we see the world so differently than do our unconverted and unchurched friends. We need to be ready to lead them to the empty tomb to show them that He is not there but He has risen as He said. If we do not believe this then we must remove our baptismal garment and don the clothing of a jester for there is no one as sad as us.
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