You must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus
On the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke to the Jews: ‘The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.’
Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.’ He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation.’ They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptized. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.
We have just completed a forty-day journey through the desert as seen through the eyes of a simple man on a pilgrimage. Our own walk may have been very different than his or perhaps we did not walk at all. It is of no consequence because now we have a reason to be hopeful. We have a reason to be joyful. We have a reason to want to announce the good news that death has lost its sting, that sins have been forgiven. We should be walking with a spring in our step for Jesus Christ has Risen Today! Yes, we are two days away from the day which we memorialized the Resurrection with great ceremony and ritualistic celebration. The Church asked us to reflect, fast, give alms, and repent for forty days. Today she bids us rejoice for fifty days - From Easter to Pentecost - and to be ready to tell everyone we meet why we are so happy. The pagan world welcomes Easter as the time when the cold and gray of winter are banished. They give a bunny the power to bring candy to children. They play hide and seek with eggs. This is all great fun, even politicians in Washington get into the act. At the White House, there was an Easter Egg rolling contest. Easter, for pagans, fades into nothingness when the sun rises on Easter Monday. It was fun while it lasted, but now there is work to be done. The childish things like bunnies and hard-boiled egg hunts are put back on the shelf and the serious business of business returns. For a Catholic especially we realize that the festive season has just begun. In the words of a song that is sung on Holy Saturday at the vigil Mass, "We will sing to my God who has delivered us from death, into life into freedom through the sea."
Let me exhort you. The death of Jesus on the cross was for you, personally. The resurrection on Easter Morning was for you personally as well. Jesus did not destroy death for the world, He did it for you. How can you be silent about that? These next weeks between now and Pentecost, give vent to the joy. Let everyone you know how happy you are about the gift that Jesus gave you. Your joyful face should cause people to wonder why you are so happy. If they ask, tell them, tell them, tell them. If they don't ask, tell them anyway by the way you live your life, with joy. Be a little kinder, be more gentle, be helpful, let the love that is bursting through the walls of your soul escape into the wild. The joy is the Spirit of God in you. Don't hold it in, dispense it freely. People will notice and more importantly, you will notice the difference in how people treat you.
Brothers and sisters, the world is in darkness this day. The pagans have not a clue that they are loved beyond measure by God who knows them better than their own mother and father. They see the grave and live their life in abundant poverty of spirit. Give them the gift or at least make them wonder why you are so different than they are.
Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. ‘Here is this man working all these signs’ they said ‘and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that he made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation – and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.
The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’
We've crested the mountain and below us in a sweeping vista is the city of Jerusalem. It is a site that fills me with awe, a site that fills me with wonder, and a trophy for this long, hot walk. Uriah tells us that tomorrow, Sunday, we shall enter the great city. He has sent word ahead and we will be greeted as if we were conquering heroes! The Master after admiring the view turned around and gathered us together. His smile was warm as He faced us. He told us that after tomorrow He would no longer be with the group as he had urgent business in Jerusalem. He told us that each of us was beloved of God because we were true believers and had followed a hard road to get to this point. He told us that our future was secure if we but believed in the Son and were His ambassadors and field hands. We were to bring the Light of Christ to all we met who traveled the hot dusty roads through the valley of death. He warned us to not depend on our own strength for if we did we would surely fail. He bid us to talk to the Father and to cast all of our cares upon Him because He cares for us. He told us that as we go through life day by day we should also pray for what we need and that what we need would always be provided. He told us that in heaven we had many brothers and sisters who eagerly listen for our requests for help and they will always intercede for us with the Father if we but ask. The saints live in the constant light of God and they behold Him as He is. They see too, the Son who watches the hands of the Father and is always ready to do the Father's will. And these same saints basque in the glow that the Father has for the Son and in in doing so they see the infinite love that is the Holy Spirit. He told us that upon our entry into Jerusalem we would look for Him but not find Him. He will see them again on Thursday eve at a room that Uriah will show them. With a single tear glistening in the sunlight as it flowed down His cheek. He turned his back on us and looked forward, with apparent anguish, at the City of Jerusalem.
The Law does not allow us to pass judgment on a man without hearing him
Several people, who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one actually laid hands on him.
The police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you brought him?’ The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.’ ‘So’ the Pharisees answered ‘you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.’ One of them, Nicodemus – the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them, ‘But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgment on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this, they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’
As I walked along today, the heat was just as hot as always but I did not seem to mind it so much. Uriah says we are getting closer to our destination and the mountains are finally in what appears to be in walking distance. He says before we can get to the mountains we have to go through territory that once was a large salt lake. He says if you like sand, you will love salt. He also cautions us to stay away from plants that appear to be succulent and ripe with water as they will lay you low if not kill you outright. He says once we get through this purgatory the way will become easier and cooler. There will be streams of cold water flowing and the heat of the desert will become a distant memory. So, I spent the day thinking about my childhood. I lived in the country and worked on the family farm. But my Dad wanted me to have free time as well so he did not make me a slave of the land. I helped out, of course, but he let me be a boy and I was able to hang out with my friends. As the sun was poaching my noodle and the prospect of spending several days walking through salt, my mind wandered to the old swimming hole at St. Francis' Creek. It was more than a creek, it was almost as wide and deep to be called a river. We used to fish there and there were times when I was the one that provided the dinner for the household by bringing in a bunch of catfish. Mom took care of all of the cleaning and cooking and I swear that when it was put before us along with cornbread and greens, it was a little bit of heaven! But we guys used the creek for swimming. You can imagine that our swimming attire was lacking but our birthday suits never went out of style during those carefree summer days so we didn't care. I felt the breeze hit me as I swung out on the rope trying to get as close to the center of the creek as possible and then I let go of the rope and felt weightless for a second and then relished the feeling the of icy cold water pulling me down as I splashed down like a space capsule sending water high into the sky! It was time that I will always remember with great fondness.
When the Master spoke today He spoke on how Jesus made a big splash Himself when He was on earth. He brought attention to Himself and the Pharisees and the Temple management was running scared. Considering the procurator, Pilate, was not very fond of the Jews and in fact had killed some of them on the Temple grounds, well, they just did not need a messiah coming on the scene to stir things up. So they sent temple militia to arrest him and haul him before the Sanhedrin. Off they went, but then they heard Him speak and they were amazed as was the large crowd. The prudence of a soldier was woven into the temple guards and they returned to the high priest and his cronies without the so-called messiah. But it was not just the presence of all of the people that would have protested his arrest and have caused a riot which Pilate would be only too glad to quell. No, it was what was said, the words were powerful and unlike other messiahs that cropped up from time to time, this Jesus did not advocate violence. How they would get rid of the cursed Romans without bloodshed was beyond their way of thinking. But He did not even advocate war against Rome of the emperor. So, the guards came back empty-handed. In the council, Jesus had few friends. But He had Nicodemus, the man who had visited Him in the night, you know when it was safe. It was he who said that before a man could be condemned there had to be an opportunity for the man to state what his teachings and there must be witnesses to an infraction. This annoyed the powers in the Temple who just wanted to rid themselves of this Jesus. He was making a splash with the people and large gatherings were hearing His message. He was making a big splash but the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes all wondered if the splash would come at the cost of Jewish blood. They made note the sentiments and loyalties of Nicodemus, he would not be summoned when the time came for the Sanhedrin to deal with this charlatan. They began to plot in earnest against Jesus and a gaggle of Pharisees followed Him wherever He went. The sun began to set for the man called Jesus. Once the temple management wanted you gone, it was only a matter of time before you were stoned (mercifully) or crucified (unmercifully). The followers of Jesus would take note that the Pharisees had sent a team of their best goaders who would do their utmost to trip Jesus up. They never failed, never. But this Jesus would be the one to spoil their record and even when they were rejoicing at the sight of Jesus dying in public view on the cross, they would later come to understand that in spite of their wishes that the mission of Jesus, the Messiah foretold of old, had been accomplished in spite and not because of them. One interesting thing, one of the Apostles, Judas Iscariot by name was more worldly than the others and he could see the writing on the wall. Far be it from him to be on a losing team. He began to ponder ways to profit from betraying The Christ.
There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem, there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people – blind, lame, paralyzed – waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.
Now that day happened to be the Sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’ He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.”’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while, Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.
We have spent Sunday and Monday at this oasis and the Master does not seem to want to leave today either. I for one am glad we are getting a few days of rest. Jerusalem grows ever closer and the Master's feet seem to be dragging.
I have spent a lot of time in the pool of water here in the oasis where the chill of the spring seems to be taking the pains of my aging body away. Of course, the effect is temporary. But even temporary relief is good. I remember in my youth, it seems so long ago now, then I would go into the drugstore and coming out with a shopping bag that contained a large bottle of Bacardi light rum, some Okeydoke popcorn and some Coca Cola. My buddy and I would order pizza and do what we could do to empty the bottle of rum! By contrast, today, I go into the drugstore and come out with, capsules, nostrums, and remedies designed to keep this ancient body moving. So, I could sympathize with the poor guy at the pool of Bethesda. He was there but had no one to shove him into the water once it was disturbed and ready to dispense its healing powers. So, he would always be the bridesmaid and never be the bride as he saw one of his fellow patients collect the cure from the pool. I felt sorry for the man.
The Master filled us in on the background of the story. It seems that when Jesus entered the enclosure where the pool was that He had left the Jewish world and entered the world of the Greeks. All over the Greek world were pools that were said to have curative properties. The Greeks believed that the pools were inhabited by spirits that once in a while, when the mood struck them, that they would churn the water up and the first person into the pool would be cured of whatever ailed them. So, when Jesus entered the area of the pool he was leaving Jewish thought behind and entering the world of Greek superstition. In doing so and by affecting the cure Jesus was showing that He was the living water and not some spirit that lived in a pool. It was a challenge to the Greeks and then to top it all off he told the patient to pick up his mat and go home. When the man did so, the Pharisees caught sight of this man "doing work" on the Sabbath by carrying his mat and they confronted him. He told them that the person who had healed him had told him to pick up the mat and go home. They asked him who was the one that cured on the Sabbath? The former patient did not know because Jesus had slipped away before the man could thank him. As he was walking, I guess still carrying his mat, he happened upon Jesus and he took a moment to thank Him and asked Him His name. He then returned to the Pharisees and told them that a man named Jesus of Nazareth had cured them and they began to take notice of this Jesus and the stirrings of a plot against Him began.
The Master said that when you challenge the culture you are living in just as Jesus challenged the Greek traditions of spirits in the pools you are bound to make enemies. He pointed out how the Pro-Life people who prefer life over death and protest the murder of innocent children in the womb are held in special contempt by the people who fight to make it law that the blood of babies can be shed with impunity. These people with the blood of the innocent on their hands are sponsored by the devil who is the author of death and lies.
Master pointed out that the guilt of the Pro Murder people in the state of New York was greater because of the law that was recently passed that now allows innocent blood to be spilled up until the very moment of birth. Even Hitler and his cronies would not do this. He mentioned how the Catholic governor of the state who was giddy with joy as he signed this bill into law.
The Master said that He would imagine that the patience of the Father was growing thinner by the day. He said that America was once the crucible of what was good and proper and good has fallen on hard times where the love of truth has been exchanged for New Age practices and thought is good only because that tickles the ears of the people. Justice was becoming something for the rich and the powerful who have lost sight of just who they are and have begun assuming the power of God, taking control of life and death into their hands even though they cannot restore life nor do they understand death and what the shedding of innocent blood is doing to their souls. The fate of these people, unless they repent, will be horrible on the last day.
He told us no matter what, always side with the right even though it appears that evil has the might. The right will eventually win out over evil because God is righteous and His victory is assured. Besides, it only took one man, who was sent and empowered by God to Ninevah and by the call of Jonah the great city put on sackcloth and drenched itself in ashes and withered themselves with fasting so that the hand of God would be stayed and the righteous punishment so richly deserved would not come crashing down upon them.
One voice joined to another and another will eventually be heard. Link hands and form a living bridge against the raging waters of the advocates of death and destruction. Raise your voice against their plans and Be not afraid of what you are to say, because what He did for the Prophet Jonah the Spirit will do for you. You will be given what to say and so the Holy Spirit will speak for you and your voice will be heard.
The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified.
Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
It is hard for me to put into words just how hot the desert can be. The sun is unrelenting in its attention to you. You do not really sweat because as soon as your body forms the sweat it evaporates without effect. The sand gets into everything. If you have the slightest hole in a sack at the end of the day besides what you yourself placed in the sack you will find sand. We use the sand to clean our dishes - it does that very well. It is a little known fact that Saudi Arabia imports camels and sand from Australia. I know, its like the Eskimos importing ice cubes. But it is true. Don't tell Benjamin, my camel but camel meat is a staple in Saudi Arabia and the world's largest herd of wild camels happens to be in Australia. As far as importing sand, the sand from down under possesses special qualities that the Saharan sand does not have and it is used for sandblasting. Again I have to see if you want beachfront property but do not like the noise of the ocean, this horrible but beautiful desert is the place to come. Here you find your place in the scheme of things. Spending hours in the hot sun with your only view being the ass of the camel in front of you gives you time to reflect on who you are. The Master said it best. First, he read the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. Then he went on and said:
"So, brothers, we have two men in the temple. Being in the temple is a good thing, a laudable thing. It is an action that pleases the Father. But in our case, one of the men is filled with pride and tells the Father just how much he does for Him and how he cannot be compared to the miserable sinner behind him. The Pharisee made a good beginning in coming to the temple but the lost it when he spoke with such pride of all the things he had quote, done for God unquote."
"What made him think that God had any need of his fasting or tithing or refraining from unseemly conduct? Fasting and other works of self-mortification are not for God. He takes no pleasure in the suffering of His people, but He does commend them for their efforts to subjugate their bodies and minds to God's will. The actions of the Pharisee were useless because of the pride he took in completing it. He thought that the mere actions made him better than others while that was far from the truth. Mind you, the Father still loved the Pharisee but the Pharisee loved himself and admired himself more than he loved and admired the Father."
"The tax collector, now what can we say about him? He had a more humble view of himself and knew his life needed many changes to become a whole man, that is to say, "Holy." He entered the temple for some reason. Tax collectors did not spend a whole lot of time in the temple. They spent their time collecting money and going to parties. So, our man, for some reason, felt compelled to come to the temple. Perhaps he had a change of heart and was wanting to repent. We don't know what inspired him to come on this day but when he came he knew his place. He remained far off, in the back of the temple and he would not even raise his eyes. He poured out his soul to the Father with the simple words, "God be merciful to me a sinner.""
"Every person has dignity. Every person from the Queen of England to an untouchable privy cleaner in New Delhi is dignified by the fact that the Father loves him with an unquenchable love that cannot be described with human language. But the one truth that all of us have to learn is that the sum total of a man is what God sees him as, nothing more or nothing less. God's vision of you is true and He sees all down to the depths of the farthest reaches of your soul. So, remember that God can say "I AM" and only He has the right to say "You are."
I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’
Once again, my journaling fell by the wayside yesterday but the way was long and hot. The camels were moody and we made little progress towards our goal of Jerusalem. The Master was not too perturbed about our lack of progress, as a matter of fact, he seemed to welcome it.
Disaster struck us today and I am still upset by it. Jack was an older member of our team and he was a retired policeman. He had always wanted to go up to Jerusalem and over the objections of wife and kids, he joined us knowing full well what he was getting into. He was a slim man, very bright, he had been promoted to a detective during his stint as a cop, and for a man of his age and what he had been through, he looked like he was pretty fit. He never complained and I learned that he had beaten cancer three times! He did his share of the work and was assigned one of the smaller camels to tend whose name was Sandy. Uriah stormed into our tent well before the sun had even thought of rising and kindly and gently asked us to get up. Actually, he spoke to the camels with more love, but we were used to it and took it all with good humor. Everyone was up and doing the needful except John. He was still abed and Uriah, an evil gleam in his eye approached the supine figure bent down and was going to yell in his ear when he noticed something and told Matthew to get the satellite phone and call for an air ambulance. John was alive but it appeared that some cataclysm had claimed him during the night and he needed help. We all stopped while Uriah made the patient comfortable. Matthew came by about twenty minutes later and reported that the Life Flight helicopter was about thirty minutes out and he had activated the distress beacon that Uriah carried to guide the pilot. John was a pasty white and there was a tinge of blue about his lips. He was not responsive and Uriah said while there was a pulse, it was hard to find and it was kind of weak. Water was brought and Uriah tenderly mopped the brow of the stricken pilgrim with water to keep him cool. The Master came by and was concerned about John. He knelt next to the man, place His hand on John's forehead and John's body seemed to relax. He was no longer quivering. He was still unresponsive but his pulse was stronger. A tear appeared on the Master's face and he walked slowly away from John. The helicopter eventually arrived and the paramedics took John away, Later that day we were informed by radio that John had passed away. It shook us a bit because this could have been any one of us.
The Master addressed us after dinner.
"Brothers, one of our number has left us because the Father has called him home. Be of good cheer in spite of our loss for our loss is John's gain. We will no longer be able to see him or talk with him and in the years that follow we may even forget what he looked like or forget his sense of duty or humor. This is as it is for the human being looks after self before others. John, when he departed, did so in peace. I believe that dozens upon dozens of the people that John helped came to escort him to heaven. With so many friends pleading his case how can the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit keep him out of heaven? But it is more than that. You will find in your last hour that you are called upon to trust God and to let go. Your love for God will make this easy. On the other hand, if you despise God, hate the thought of being with Him forever, then you will go into eternity kicking and screaming, but you will go at a time and place of the Father's choosing. As for John, you can be assured that this day because of his selfless life, his giving attitude, his humor, his thoughtfulness and the fact that he never held a grudge, that he beholds the Father, not through a glass but face to face!"
This was a lot to digest and most of us went to our beds early and spent time in prayer and remembering John and praying to build up all of the qualities that will make the transition from earth to heaven easy. My last thought was, "Imagine, inhaling on earth with your eyes closed and exhaling in heaven in the sight of Jesus and the Saints."
May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the Mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen.
This post is dedicated to the Memory of Jack Needham
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
We were lucky today. Before dawn today a great wind came up and one of the things even seasoned desert travelers fear came up a sandstorm! My first thought was of Benjamin, I rose and began to dress quickly so I could do something to help the camel that I was in charge of. I was just getting ready to leave when Uriah, our leader, stopped me and asked where I thought I was going. I told him that I was going to help Benjamin and find a safe place for him to weather the storm. Uriah almost died laughing when he heard this. He said. "You idiot, the camel is happier than you are right now. If we had to we could load up and march on. The camel is perfectly adapted to whatever this cursed desert can throw at him. His hooves are large so he has no trouble walking in the soft sand and his eyes are protected by his eyelashes. If you go out there, you will take the chance of breathing in the sand into your lungs and perhaps somewhere down the line get an infection. No, sit and meditate and enjoy this brief respite. It will be over soon and I will be all over you to get that stinking camel loaded so we can make up the time we are wasting because of this ha-boob, which is a word that means sandstorm." He walked away still laughing over my ignorance. It gave me pause though to think about how the camel received everything he could need from God to live in the space allotted to him. He was perfectly adapted. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation when God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young girl named Mary and with her consent, the Savior was sent on His way to become a man and to save us from our sins. May Mary, the Mother of God forgive me, but she like the camel is perfectly adapted to her role in the story of salvation. She, by a favor granted by God, was born without original sin. This was a necessary thing that God did because the mother of God could have no connection with evil, not even the stain of original sin. So, while we were drawn out of the pit of sin by the work of Jesus, God, drawing on the benefits of the sacrificial death of Jesus beforehand, He caused Mary to be carried over the pit of sin that the rest of us all fell into. So God saved Mary and was her needed savior. While the winds were howling I broke out my Bible and read the account of the Annunciation. I was struck by one phrase and that was "Hail Mary, full of grace." The angel did not bring a supply of grace to Mary, he recognized that her soul was filled with it. When something is filled, you cannot fit in anymore. The angel Gabriel simply was greeting the woman and saying what was in his view. How do we know that Mary was full of grace? That is simple, she was humble and selfless and immediately took on the work that God had asked her to do. She could have refused without any consequences what-so-ever but she didn't because her whole heart was turned to God and refusing God anything would not be something she would want to do. She was, like the camel, forgive me gentle mother, adapted to her role. Today, I believe her to be physically in heaven and always beside her Son. I pity those who take little notice of her because they miss the opportunity to receive graces from Jesus through her. Jesus loves His mother so much that He cannot refuse her anything. For her part, her eyes are on the hands of her master, her Son, and the spiritual mother of us all. The haboob came to an end and Uriah was as good as his word. He was all over us to get the camp struck and us on the move. I could imagine John Wayne playing his part if this were a movie because one of his favorite sayings in the morning was, "Let's get a move on. We're burning daylight." And so I put my back into breaking camp and loading the camels, breakfast will happen at lunchtime today. Another day which would pass like so many others. Funny, isn't it? I now have a greater love for the Blessed Mother because of a camel named Benjamin.
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’
I wasn't able to write in my journal yesterday so let me recap what has gone on yesterday and today. Yesterday was a lost day. We were at a small oasis and the Master said he needed to be alone for a while to pray so we did not break camp, we stayed in oasis the whole day while the Master was by himself. He sat under the coolness of a palm tree near the waters of the oasis. Uriah, our team leader, used some of this time to have us make needed repairs to the saddles we use to load our camels down. But by lunchtime, all of the work he could think of was done and he told us to rest for the rest of the day. The Master was still in his place by the water. None of us dared to interrupt Him while He was in prayer. He neither ate nor drank that day and He sat there all night. Around the campfire, we spoke only softly because we did not want to disturb the Master. When bedtime came we all silently departed and took to our beds in silence. I had a hard time sleeping that night so I spent time in prayer. My soul needed this time more than my body needed rest I guess. I audited carefully my life to date and I found myself lacking in many ways. It jolted my soul to realize that the person I thought I was, actually was an airbrushed caricature of what I really was. I glossed over my many mistakes and sins and yet held others strictly accountable for them. My vision was clear and could detect other's errors at a thousand yards, yet I could not see how I had failed my family, my friends, and my Church so blatantly and with no remorse. Tears began to fall from my eyes and it was in this state that sleep claimed me. I awoke it seemed only moments later to the call from the leather lungs of Uriah getting us out of bed to start another day. The Master, looking well and rested even though he did not come to His tent at all, took breakfast with us and He made the meal memorable with His wit and charm.
Twelve hours later we stopped again for the night. It was kind of an odd place, a windswept dusty plain that had the look of utter devastation and loneliness. The only thing good about it was there was a supply of dead wood from the scorched plants about so making the fire tonight was easier than usual. The Master recounted to us the story of the Prodigal Son. We, being Christians, know that story well. The young son abandons his family, loses all he has and comes back with his tail between his legs ready to beg for forgiveness. He decides he will offer his father his services as a slave for his food. The father for his part had spent the time since his youngest departed from home watching for his return, he saw him while he was far off. The father abandoning his dignity ran to the son and immediately treated him once again as the son that he was. He threw a party, it was a good day for all, except for the fatted calf of course who fulfilled his destiny at the dinner that day. Meanwhile, the elder son, who had stayed with his father, came in from a hard days work in the fields. He heard that his stupid younger brother was home again and that dad was throwing him a party. He was outraged. He refused to go in. Once again, leaving his dignity behind, the father came out and pleaded with his son to come in. The elder son, who momentarily forgot his place, vented his spleen against the father and pointed out that he had worked like a slave and yet there was no party for him. The father reminds him of his love and tells him that everything he has belongs to the elder son. But he as the father has to rejoice because the younger son, after being lost to the family has returned. He was dead and now lives again.
As I said the story is a familiar one. The master talked at some length about it. He gave us an insight into the story that I had never considered before. He pointed out that both sons, each in his own way, were disobedient to the Father. The younger son told his father, "The heck with you, I want to go out and see the world while I am still young enough to enjoy it." The father, of course, could have refused, but he did not stand in his son's way. But the question then comes how did the elder son sin against his father? Did he not stay and work his fingers to the bone to make his father even more wealthy than he already was? Didn't he do this without complaint and did he not serve loyally all those years while his sibling was consorting with lewd women and drinking cheap wine? The answer was, of course, he did all these things but what he said to his father showed that his appearance to others did not match what was in his soul. In his own way, he showed he was working not for the father but in fact for himself by making the farm a success he was doing so to preserve his future and to necessarily please his father.
So one son left and came back willing to be called a slave and the other son stayed and worked and felt like a slave. The father loved his sons without measure and he forgave them each their respective sins which were sins of disrespect due to him because he was the Father. And the father showed himself to be righteous because he did not stand on ceremony. He did not wait for the boys to appear before him. He surrendered all dignity he was due and went out to them. He forgave them. They were lost and now they were found. But the question remains, did the elder son join the party?
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.
SUNDAY EDITION IS PUBLISHED WHEN I FEEL LIKE PUBLISHING IT. IT EXPRESSES MY OPINIONS ABOUT THE GOINGS ON IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO AGREE OR DISAGREE BUT DO SO IN A RESPECTFUL MANNER.
Texts from the third day of the Vatican summit on child protection emphasized transparency, including:
-- The church must be transparent and open in facing the sexual abuse crisis, and the first step in true transparency is to admit wrongdoing and how it was dealt with, says Sister Veronica Openibo, congregational leader of the Holy Name Sisters.
Sister Veronica hits the bullseye with what she says. For too long the management of the Church has lost sight of what their job is. Their job is not to "protect the church or her reputation" for that job is the job of the Holy Spirit. However, words are just words and I should know because I am a wordsmith and can manipulate words to emphasize any point of view. The words our bishops and cardinals speak now have to be followed up with action. This action must be taken without regard to the rank of the perpetrator. If they thought so little of their vows that they abused another vulnerable human being, well, then they must be rendered harmless and they must never be allowed into a position of trust in the Church again. We do not see much action right now, hopefully, the hand wringing and rhetoric will now stop and the scandal can be addressed with action. What do you say, Pope Francis?
-- German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising says counteracting sinful behavior requires traceability and transparency within the church.
Really Eminence? I can see why you are in the position that you are. You have a great grasp of the obvious. Could you do me a favor and perhaps mention this to the Holy Father when you see him next? He does not seem to have a clue at how to move on this issue.
-- If bishops are really serious about fighting clerical sex abuse, they must join forces with journalists, says Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki.
This would be a good idea but for one fact. The journalists from all media have a bias against the Catholic Church. Sexual abuse, as bad as it is in the Church is only the tip of the iceberg. Sexual abuse is a symptom of the miasma we find ourselves in. Little bit by little bit over the years our respect for life and for one another has sunk to new lows. We do not see ourselves as children of God but just as interchangeable pawns in the game of life. This is exacerbated by the press, TV, and all other forms of news sources who no longer just report the news but wordsmith the news to point to a value that they want to push. The point they want to push is usually the one that sells more papers or gains more viewers and generally, these are positions that are opposite of what the Church teaches and that is what makes it popular. In America beating up the Catholic Church is second only to baseball as a national pastime.
-- "Too often we have kept quiet, looked the other way, avoided conflicts" and been "too smug" to confront the "dark sides of our church," Archbishop Philip Naameh of Tamale, Ghana, tells fellow bishops.
Let the confronting begin! When a person has cancer develop in their body, in order for them to regain their health the cancer must be, in some way, be removed. The process of removing cancer can be painful and can cause scars but in the end, the person who has been cured lives a longer life and actually has more appreciation for the act of breathing in and breathing out while walking, talking and thinking.
For our Church, the time for surgery has arrived and we must excise the corrupted parts of our Church and we must cut deep and cut true. We have to be fair, we have to make sure that there is credible evidence against a malefactor but once it is proven the process should proceed immediately and the perpetrator should be laicized without delay so that the harm that this person has done is cut off and healing can thus begin.
PELL DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE ACCORDING TO THE JURY AND BILOCATES
Twenty Alibi Witnesses showing that reported abuse was impossible ignored by the jury.
Anti-Catholic bias suspected major factor in conviction because of Pell refusing communion to gay activists, also he was a major supporter of Right to Life - both offenses angered non-christian people.
EDITORIAL
What is the Church? One answer might be that it is the Pope and the Cardinals, the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Nuns, Sisters, Brothers and the people in the pews. This answer is not satisfactory. The Church consists of all of these people but all of these people form the People of God. No matter what title that they might have, no matter how much power they think they have, no matter whose ear they have, none of us are any greater than God. The Church is His. It does not belong to the clergy or even the pew-dwellers. it is His.
Today we are facing (again) a scandal that will not go away. Common ordinary Catholics are starting to look outside the Catholic Church and running away to receive their spiritual nourishment. Without a doubt, each of them will be welcomed with open arms by any Protestant denomination that they fall victim to. There they will receive the word that the Church, the Bride of Christ is nothing more than the Whore of Babylon. It is a sad fact that some will actually believe this and turn away from the True Church and accept something less than they are entitled to. They will become Christians of the Book and begin to believe in strange doctrines such as sola scriptura - where if it is not in the Bible, it has no place in your faith life. Sadly Sola Scriptura is not found in the Bible. They might be taught that once they accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior that they cannot lose that salvation. They will also be taught that works are not needed in spite of the fact that in the Gospel of Mark we are told that the goats who did nothing went to one place and the sheep that took care of their brothers went another. They will also be taught that the letter of James doesn't really mean what it says. Four times a year they will participate in a memorial of the last supper, crackers and grape juice will be distributed and the remnants will be fed to the birds because after all, they are just crackers.
Pray for those who are suffering because of the small percentage of renegade clergy that has sullied the name of the Roman Catholic Church. Remember as well that our Church enjoys the fullness of the Treasury of Faith and that includes the greatest gift we have ever received, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes Christ to transfigure us
My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the savior we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.
This morning we almost had a tragedy and it was just the luck of the Irish that kept it from happening. One of the brothers whose turn it was to make breakfast started the fire which had gone out during the night. He went over to the bag which held the cooking utensils and noticed that it had not been sealed properly the night before. He opened it and reached in and got the coffee pot and the pot used for making cereal. As was his custom he grabbed a towel and was going to dust the inside of the pot but something made him look inside it first. Inside was one of the deserts most fearsome creatures, a deathstalker scorpion had taken up residence there during the night my companion was just inches away from getting what could be a lethal injection of the neurotoxin that this delightful desert creature uses to kill its prey.
The tiny beast was ready and willing to dispense a jolt of his special elixir but to his credit, the man holding the pot did not panic. Instead, he went to the edge of camp and catapulted the creature out of the pot as hard as he could. The little guy had an experience most deathstalkers do not receive, the experience of flight! Now, in spite of the colorful name of this creature, death to a healthy human, while not unheard of, is unlikely if they are stung by this scorpion. From what victims say it is not an act of mercy to survive the sting as the potent venom causes great pain. Children and the elderly are most vulnerable but it is considered a medical emergency if you are stung by one of these and in our present situation, medical help and the antivenom that is required is so far away that any dying that the victim would be doing would be done by the time any help could arrive.
So it was on this cheery note that our day began and in our morning prayers, we thanked God that our friend was spared the agony of a sting from this scorpion. After breakfast, as usual, we broke camp but it took a bit longer because we were carefully checking to make sure that the little fella hadn't brought any friends of his own. No other examples of this miniature death machine were found and as the sun rose above the horizon, we began our trek.
While walking today, I began thinking of death but not death itself with all of the pains that might be attached to it but rather what happens after death. Physically, once the blood stops pumping your body begins it's the journey back into the elements that it is made of. Tissues break down and in no time the only thing left of bodies that are not specially embalmed such as the Egyptians of old will be our bones. And years from now, even those bones will return to dust. All that was "me" will be gone. The flesh that I work so hard to keep animated, the brain that fuels my thoughts and emotions will be no more. Yet, through this all, I survive not as a memory on a tombstone with a date of birth and date of death and if I were rich enough some clever saying to mark my time on earth. What will remain of me is any of the good that I accomplished. My mark will not be a long obituary story nor a small death notice. My mark will be the seeds of love I planted while I, a body and a soul, walked and talked on this earth. My soul will be in heaven. I will be next to those I love and those that love me and we will glorify God together in songs of worship and praise.
This reward, this new life after death is as certain as gravity and as we are counter-culture people, our ways will receive persecution for "forward thinking" men and women who only can see what is in front of them and who take no notice of God, His laws, and His rewards. They will be furious when we point out that their way of life is contrary to the Word of God. They will tell us to follow our God in our own way and to leave them alone. If that was only possible. They do not live and let live as they want us to do, they pursue through the rule of law to make their rights to sinful things the law of the land. They will do all that they can to enforce their rights while limiting ours. But these people who are the most pitiful creature on earth are the enemies of Christ and the Cross. They existed at the time of Christ, at the time of the early Church, at the time of the great revolt of the Protestants, and exist until today. Our Church is built on rock and in spite of the scandals of the moment it will survive and thrive because Jesus said so.
Paul tells us that our real homeland is in heaven. We cannot keep silent about this because God wants a bountiful harvest and wants as many as possible to join Him in the never-ending feast. So, stir up your spirit, gird your loins and announce the Good News by the way you live and by the people you love.
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