Lent - Day Fourteen - Lost and Found

Alternative Gospel	Luke 2:41-51a ©

Mary stored up all these things in her heart

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

  Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

  ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

  He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.

Lost

It was one of those days where the work seemed lighter than usual. It was the same thing that we had been doing for the last couple of weeks, that is walking in the desert dragging stinking ornery camels behind us only to end up in a place that looked like the place we were in twelve hours ago.  But today the sun, although brutally hot seemed to step back a bit and did not weigh so heavily on our backs and the camels, except for Goliath, seemed cheerful in their own way.  Goliath, of course, was not happy with his load and I had to help my brother adjust it to Goliath's liking before the spit would stop flying.  Our walk was easier and the brothers were all in a good mood.  We stopped for the night in yet another nameless, featureless place where we set up camp and the cook got busy preparing the daily dinner.  It was about this time that I found that I had a problem.  It pulled my canteen out of its place in my belt and found that the cap, which had been held on by a stout chain, was nowhere to be seen.  A canteen without a cap is useless and in a race would be beaten by useless by less than half a step.  I could not imagine what had happened to it.  Perhaps it was a manufacturing defect coupled with a bit of carelessness on my part that has placed me in a dilemma.  If I had lost it outside, well, there would be no hope because the desert is a vast place with no point of reference to guide one to follow his path back.  Besides, the sand eventually swallowed everything and it would not have remained uncovered long.  I was beside myself.  I did not have a spare canteen so while I could fill it in the morning, walking would cause it to empty by our noon break.  I went to my space and tore through my belongings without luck.  I went mournfully to my cushion and sat down.  I jumped right back up because I sat down upon something and in the desert that something would deliver a powerful and potentially deadly sting.  I jumped up ready to stomp on the desert creature that dared to invade my bed.  What I saw was the dark black cap to my canteen sans the chain which somehow had fallen off.  I was relieved that I had found it. 

The Master told the story about the Boy Jesus who when twelve years old, went up to the Temple with His parents.  They all worshipped in accordance with The Law and as was custom the caravan reformed with the men in one group and women and children in another and they began the journey back to their home.  Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary and Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph.  They discovered he was not with either and not among their friends and acquaintances.  The two of them broke camp and spent the next three days searching for Jesus.  They finally decided to go to the Temple and pray to God for the return of their son.   They entered the courtyard and what did they see?  A group of elders engaged in lively discussion with their boy.  This should have been a proud moment for the Holy Family but they had just spent three days searching for Him and they fretted over the penalties that they would merit had the lost the very Messiah over whom they had been placed in charge. Mary asked the Boy why He had done this.  Jesus gave what sounds like a "smart" reply to His parents and said that didn't they realize that He had work to do for His Father?  Then without further delay, he left the elders and went with Joseph and Mary and lived under their authority.

It is good to live under authority.  People who live by themselves and have no one to answer to can develop squirrelly tendencies.  They have to answer to nobody except themselves so that they develop a misguided sense of importance.  That is why it is not good for man to live alone.  We all benefit when we place ourselves under authority of some kind.  We are meant to be a social animal and without the hints that being among our kind provides we lose our way. Sometimes it is not possible for a person to live with others and be comfortable.  It is rare, but it happens.  These people are the most vulnerable to become dislodged from the corporate behavior pattern.  This too, is why it is important for us to come together to worship so that we can see our fellow Christians and talk with them, be with them and refresh our spirits by engaging in social congress with them.  It is why the Eucharist binds us together into one local church that extends ever outward until we are united to all Christians who receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.   This unity brings us strength and reminds us that as good at is to have an "It's just Jesus and me relationship" that such a relationship is only one part of the Christian experience. 

So as the campfire dwindles and sleep invades my eyes I thank God for helping me find what I had lost and I thank Him too for restoring the cap to my canteen. 

Lent - Day Five - Temptation and Grace

Gospel	Luke 4:1-13 ©

The temptation in the wilderness

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’

  Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God,

and serve him alone.’

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says:

He will put his angels in charge of you

to guard you,

and again:

They will hold you up on their hands

in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’

But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

We arrived at the oasis late on Saturday night.  We tended the camels, put up our tents, and ate a wonderful dinner and sat around the campfire together.  Some of our number, myself included left the circle and went to the neighboring caravan where a party was being held and to say that we joined in would be the understatement of the decade.  The wine was flowing, the dancing was beautiful and after a hard day of labor, it was great to let loose.  That is where the problem came in for me.  My head was dizzy with wine and I saw her.  Her face was the face of the woman of my dreams, her nose was perky and her eyes shimmered in the light of the bonfire. Her movements to the music were like the moves the cobra uses to confuse and hypnotize his prey.  I was hypnotized and approached her.  She smiled at me and pulled me into the circle.   I began to move in time to the music always watching those dark, mysterious, shimmering eyes.  A shudder went through my body and I reached and touched her face with the back of my hand and felt cool, smooth flesh and I looked and her smile beckoned me to do more.  I had been in the company of bearded men now for five days and had not seen a woman in that time so I would have been interested in her even if she had a humpback, harelip, and smelled like a goat.  I was entranced.  She danced and I followed her every move and she got closer and closer to her tent and with a coy smile, she entered it.  I made the move to follow so as to sample the treasures this desert blossom would provide.  Then, something made me stop.  I was a married man, I had no right to sample the charms of this desert flower, the Master had explained how sacred was the bond between man and woman when they married that no one on earth could break that bond asunder.  I turned on my heal and ran from the party, the men sitting around who had been watching me laughed and pointed their fingers at me.  The vixen came out of the tent when I failed to enter and something made me turn and look at her.  I then saw that her beauty concealed danger.  And being laughed at or not, I made my way back to our caravan and with my head still spinning I took my place at the fire.  I noticed then that the Master was looking intently at me. He gestured to me and I came to Him and we adjourned to a private place away from the others.  We sat facing one another and I looked into His eyes.  There was no disdain or even judgment in them only a love that ran as hot as lava and as deep as the ocean.  I felt compelled by my conscience to tell Him everything that had transpired, how I had allowed myself to be tempted and how I willingly would have violated my wedding vows had I stayed at the party for even a moment longer.  He said this to me:

"My son, I understand what happened to you for I was tempted sorely by the devil himself after a fast of forty days.  He offered me food, power, and treasure and I can honestly say that for just a moment, I thought that I might accept a small piece of bread for I was very hungry.  But then I realized that should I do so, my mission here would be over because the devil would have won.  He quoted scripture to me, and I spouted it back to him.  Eventually, I wore him down and he departed in disgrace.  What you did, drinking until drunk and then allowing the devil to tempt you with a loose woman was sinful because you made the choice yourself to drink and to consort with a prostitute and you walked that path with full knowledge that it would have you away from God.  Your punishment should you have had to stand before The Father would be terrible.  But I, your Master, offer you forgiveness if you grant me your word that you are sorry."

Tears formed in my eyes and I told the Master that I was heartily sorry for all my sins and with help of God's grace, I would sin more and stay away from things that were sinful.  He said that "This is all that is required.  Go and sin no more. I absolve you of  all of your sins."

One of my companions who had accompanied me on the excursion to the party sat down next to me and told me how all of the men in the other caravan were laughing and wagging their head at me because I did not prove my manhood by entering the tent of the woman.  He said that he did and was going to regale me with what happened when he happened to see the Master looking intently at him, gesturing him to come and visit.  My friend looked at the Master and shook his head, left the fire and retired to his tent to sleep off the wine.  The Master sat back in His chair, visibly saddened.  I looked at him, He saw me, our eyes met and the universe was made a better place by His smile.  Tomorrow was Sunday, we would rest here at the oasis and no labor other than the preparation of meals and the tending to the camels would be undertaken.  Considering the amount of wine I had consumed, this rest would be needed and would be a good thing.  I fell onto my cushion.  I heard the voice of Samuel speaking to one of his fellow camels and then I fell into a restful and very deep sleep.

All Are Called

ACTS 10: 34 - 38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying: 
"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly          
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites 
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 
what has happened all over Judea, 
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached, 
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good 
and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 
for God was with him."

The Catholic Church is called Catholic because it is universal, that is, it is for everyone. Headquartered in Rome, the Churchs' ongoing mission is to preach the Good News of Jesus to the whole world.  For approximately fifteen-hundred years her voice was the sole voice that cried out in the wilderness.  Then, tragedy struck.  A man named Martin Luther tore the Church asunder and founded his own brand of Christianity and stepping away from the Church that Jesus founded, he led people astray.  Some of those people who broke from the Church did not agree with everything that Martin Luther taught. They broke away from him and founded their own church that was more comfortable with the way they thought that salvation was wrought.  Everything was fine but then a few more people broke away from the churches that sprung up in the wake of Martin Luther's rebellion because their view did not correspond with the view of the person that founded their former brand of Christianity.  Today, because of Martin Luther, Christian denominations number about thirty-thousand, each professing a different version of what they say is Christian truth. 

Through it all, the Catholic Church remained faithful to her founder and His teachings. Jesus wanted one Church and one people and He expressed this desire at the Last Supper when He prayed that we be one as He and the Father were one. The next day, Jesus, of His own free will took up His cross and died for the sins of all.  This is an important thing to remember; He did for all of us.  He knew from the beginning that the Church would remain faithful to Him and His teachings. But, He knows the ways of man and He knew that there would be discord and division.  His plan allowed for this to happen because He knew men of good will would sometimes wander off the path he made for them and He knew that the Father loved all of His children and so He would accept them all. 

I've wondered about the ultimate fate of each of the great reformers in the Protestant revolt.  Did Martin Luther give up his salvation because of the stubborn pride that caused him to create a schism in the Church?  What about some of the others?  I have no doubt that in their hearts they were men of good will but did they realize what they were doing?  Are these men that drew so many away from the Church in heaven or are they in hell teaching religion to Hitler and Stalin along with the Rev. Jim Jones?  I do not know about their fate just as I do not know the ultimate fate of Judas who betrayed the Lord. Come to think of it, while I suspect, I do not really have a clue as to where Hitler and Stalin or Jim Jones are spending their eternity.  I leave this up to God and his judgment, justice, and mercy for I will have enough to answer for when I stand before Him. 

Peter makes it very clear in our reading that Christ opened heaven for everyone who calls Jesus, Lord and who acts uprightly.  So, I've said this before and I will say it again.  The people who populate all of the denominations that are NOT Catholic can attain heaven just as a Catholic can.  The difference is that the occasions of Grace are just not as prevalent in the Protestant world as they reject the seven sacraments and they believe that the Eucharist is a mere memorial to Jesus and not the Real Presence that it is, discounting the teachings of Christ in the Gospel of John. 

We Catholics have advantages that our Protestant friends do not have.  This makes it easier for us to live a Christian life and to be true followers of  Jesus.  Because our separated brothers and sisters do not have these advantages it simply means that we need to pray for them and pray that one day all unity is restored.  For Jesus, Himself said that there will be one Shepherd and one flock.  The victory is already His. 

One day I will draw my last breath and leave this earth behind. I will know at that moment that I am not ready or fit for heaven yet. I will choose Purgatory so I can make turn my whole heart over to God.  I would hope that there would be someone to pray for me to lessen my time.  Please, pray for those in Purgatory, remembering your relatives and friends and especially for the soul that has been their the longest and has no one on earth to pray for them.

How To Become A Canonized Saint

Sainthood - is it for me?

What is it that God wants of us? What is closest to His heart? What dream does he dream for us?  

God's fondest wish for us is to be with Him in heaven forever. He wants to share the perfect happiness that we mortals cannot even begin to understand how very wonderful it is!  That is why we are on earth.  Okay, then the question becomes if God is so gungho for us to be with Him in heaven then why did He place us on earth?  Well, go back to the very beginning. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Paradise, which I've always thought of as kind of an earthly type of heaven where everything was perfect. He put us there because he wanted to see if we would want to be in relationship with Him by our own free will.  Well, we know how that turned out.  Using our free will we turned away from Him and he immediately planned and began to implement our return to relationship through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. 

The people who have died in God's friendship and live with Him in heaven are called saints. The media latches on to the Church's formal recognition of certain people as having lived heroic Christian lives through canonization. The last one you may have heard of was the canonization of Father Junipero Serra, the missionary that helped bring Christianity to California. There are literally thousands of canonized saints that have been enrolled by the Church.  But does that mean that only those that the Church recognizes and has canonized are in heaven? Certainly not!  Besides the thousands of canonized saints there are untold millions of people, men and women just like you and I that have lived holy lives and are with God in heaven. The point here is that there is nothing more glorious than a soul entering heaven to be with God forever and nothing so sad and forlorn as a soul that through a life wasted on rejecting the Father's friendship ending up in a place without God.   I believe that we will be welcomed with great joy into heaven by Jesus and the Saints, all of them!  

Okay, let's say you are the type of person that only wants the best/ None of this anonymous sainthood for you. You want the full treatment and full recognition of the Church that you lived a life worthy of being emulated by the faithful.  How do you go about it? Well, I could spend some time discussing canon law but I won't. Here in layman's terms is a rather whimsical view of how get your life recognized as being saintly.

The Canonization Process – Very Simplified

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 FIVE YEARS.  Candidate has to have been dead for five years.  This is to allow time for “cooler heads to prevail. It allows more objectivity. 

.       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.

.      PRESENT THE FACTS and WRITE ‘EM UP and GET ‘EM TO ROME. The tribunal calls witnesses to recount the facts of the candidates 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.”

       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 publicly read and distributed.

.       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.”

   PERFORM AN ENCORE. For final canonization another miracle occurring AFTER his beatification.  It is investigated as was the virtues and first miracle were and the matter is sent to the Pope who can make the final decision if the Blessed candidate is to acquire the title of Saint.  

There you have it!  It is a simple and straight forward process and you will really get to  know who your friends are if they stick it out.  Oh, I almost forgot - you should make some provision to pay the expenses involved in the process.  Here is what you should allow for:  

For decoration of the Basilica, lights, architectural designs, labor, and superintendence — 

Lire 152,840.58 

Procession, Pontifical Mass, preparation of altars in Basilica —  Lire 8,114.58 

Cost of gifts presented to Holy Father —  

Lire 1,438.87 

Hangings, Sacred Vestments, etc.

Lire 12,990.60 

Recompense for services and money loaned — 

Lire  3,525.07 

To the Vatican Chapter as perquisites for decorations and candles Lire 18,000.00 

Propine and Competenza    (unforeseen expenses)                            Lire 16,936.00      

Other incidental and unforeseen expenses —  

Lire   4,468,40 

Total Lire 221,601.05

Total US 1913 Dollars        $42,816.87

Lawyers and Documents     $20,000.00

Total US$                            $62,816.87                                                                                               

Grand total in 1913 US$    $62,816.87   which is approximately 

$209,601.05 in 2010 dollars.

Let's remember, too, that prices may have gone up since 1913!

This whole process can and in some cases has literally taken hundreds of years.  The church is very careful who she canonizes as a saint.  There are a lot of rules that are not mentioned here, for example a "devil's advocate is appointed who brings out the less savory incidents of your life, if he can find any. 

This may be irreverent but I think of canonized saints as those that made the All Star team, and are people we should imitate and respect.  Remember too, that for every canonized saint there are thousands of millions of saints that for whatever reason did not go through this process.  The total number of saints in heaven is known to God alone.  I hope you will be the first human to count them all when you get to heaven.

Amazing Grace - Should A Catholic Sing the Hymn?

Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound 

That Saved A Wretch Like Me. 

I Once Was Lost, But Now am Found 

Was Blind But Now I See

This hymn, written by a Protestant, reformed slave trader, is a staple of Christian music that is sung in just about every Christian denomination and is also quite a popular hymn in the Catholic Church.  The question of the day is simple.  Is it appropriate for a Roman Catholic to sing this song as it is written?  Some critics of this song say that it teaches patently Protestant teachings.  In the very first line of this song we call ourselves "wretches."  The classical definition of a wretch is a person who is both unfortunate, unhappy, and base, mean and/or despicable. This, some say, is a very Martin Luther-ish and John Calvin-ish view of the human condition whereas we Catholics believe that humans are not totally depraved as the "reformers" taught, but rather, as taught in Genesis when God created man, He saw us humans not only as good as he had seen all of His other works of creation, he pronounced us "very good."   I think, and I may be wrong about this, that when we Catholics sing and call ourselves wretches we are calling ourselves poor sinners, going outside of the classical definition of what a wretch actually is.  Of course in some hymnals the words are changed to a more Catholic "that saved and set me free."  In either case I think that if we exclude the classical meaning of wretch and go with the thought of poor sinner, we are okay.  Quite honestly probably most of the people in the pews are not thinking so deeply about the meaning here anyway. 

What about the concept that the song teaches about when grace is received?  It says that it is received "the hour I first believed,"  If we did not have God's grace before we believed, we never would have come to believe!  Jesus Himself told Simon Peter that it was God that made it possible form Peter to know Jesus as the Messiah.  The same principle is evident at the Annunciation - The Angel Gabriel says, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace."  The fact that she was kept free from the taint of original sin through the grace of God made it possible for her to be completely open to God's will for her life.  The grace came before she accepted God's proposal.   Again here, the average Catholic is not going to be thinking like a Calvinist or Lutheran here. I believe that the pew dweller knows that God's grace has been with him/her self since Baptism and when singing this hymn that is what comes to mind. 

To my way of thinking the rest of the song is innocuous from the point of view of Catholic doctrine, although I would imagine that is only because I am educated less robustly than the experts. 

My favorite verse is the fifth verse, "When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing His praise, then when we first begun."   This verse says a lot.  It speaks of the eternal love of God and how we as Christians will be transformed into what God has always wanted us to be and we will praise Him forever. 

So what is my final verdict on this hymn?  It is not a Catholic hymn. The author's intention was to make a song exhorting the principle of saved only by grace. However, the song as sung by Roman Catholics is understood by them in the light of their Catholic upbringing.  The song does have a place in Catholic liturgy as far as I am concerned because of the way Catholics have been trained to think about how salvation is gifted to us.  The Catholic hymnal would be complete without this song but its inclusion does not harm and many of the concepts are universal and those that are not are filtered by Catholic singers to fit Catholic thought properly.