Lent - Day 4 -The Tax Man

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.

He said to him, "Follow me."

And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,

and a large crowd of tax collectors

and others were at table with them.

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,

"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

Jesus said to them in reply,

"Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

It was not cool to be a tax collector in the time of Jesus. But why is that?  Back in the time that Jesus was alive and on the earth with us, the tax collector was seen as a collaborator with the hated Romans.  The Romans did not have their own men collect taxes from the local population.  They hired locals to collect the taxes for them.  They paid the local citizen to collect the Emperor's money and paid a small salary to the person willing to do this job.  The Emperor wanted X amount from the people in the province.  Just like today, people kept wads of cash lying around waiting for the government to claim it, not!  The citizen of Israel hated giving their money to the Romans because they were occupying the nation.  In spite of all of the good things that the Romans did, such as bring water to Jerusalem, paving roads and other things, the Jews were not happy paying their hard earned money out to the Romans.  Further, the tax man, when he accepted the job, agreed to supply a certain amount of taxes to Caesar and anything above and beyond that was theirs to keep.  Levi, or as we know him better, Matthew, was a very successful tax man indeed.  How do we know this?  Well, he had the funds to throw a lavish party and to invite every form of riff-raff that served as his closest friends.  We see that even at this early moment in the ministry of Jesus that He was being watched by the Pharisees who took umbrage with Jesus because He was spending time with sinners.  He rightfully says that He does so because the healthy have no need of a doctor but the sick do. 

Let's focus on the calling of Matthew. Jesus was fully aware of the fact that Matthew was a tax collector. Matthew had been chosen to be one of the closest followers of Jesus and later would be called an apostle.  What is surprising is that Matthew did not hesitate, he left everything to follow Jesus.  He was a rich man and I am sure that when he tendered his resignation the Romans were surprised indeed. 

Matthew left all he had to follow Jesus.  He gave up a life where there was no doubt that he would have the comfort of friends, a life where he did not have to worry about what he was going to eat, drink, or what he was going to wear, all to follow the Jesus fellow. What he received in return was a life where nothing would be assured.  This was how strong the message of Jesus was to Matthew. He gave up the things of this world for those of the next. 

Jesus has come into your life this lent and has issued a special call.  He says, "Follow Me."  He calls each of us to step out of our comfort zone and to walk with Him.  As in the case of Matthew, there will be a cost.  Leaving the warmth of our little cocoon and to venture outside in the cold world will make you uncomfortable. But the wonders you will see, the lives that you touch, will make it all worth while.  |Heed the call of Jeus as He calls you with those two words, "Follow Me.:"

Lent Day 3 - Sin and the gnashing of Teeth

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:

"Against you only have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight."

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

For you are not pleased with sacrifices;

should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;

a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

Whatever happened to sin?  Do we sin anymore?  I don't think that we sin any less!  Sin has disappeared from our conscious thought and escapes our attention.  When I was a boy, my sins were always before my eyes,  This was because I was in the charge of God's most cherished employees, the Sisters of St. Joseph.  They made sure that we, meaning the boys in the class, were always aware of our sins. Oh, sometimes a girl would be caught doing something wrong, but it just was not in their nature to go against sister's wishes. Once in sixth grade, I had sinned most grievously.  I pointed out to sister that she had picked only her favorites for speaking parts in the class play.   Sister Margaret Jean was not one to suffer such brashness and insubordination quietly.  I guess that she turned her other cheek for some things and not for others.  I was quickly and efficiently dealt with.  She just about flew over to where I was standing, you never, ever, spoke to a sister while your butt was in contact with a chair.  She grabbed me and placed me out in the hall facing the wall.  Then for next several weeks, while the other kids went to practice her play, I got to stand in the hallway facing the wall until they came back.  The finishing touch, meant to put me in my place, was that she gave me a "D" in school spirit on my report card.  To show you how rare that was, it was once thought that to get a "D" in school spirit, you had to be caught with bottles of gasoline with rags stuck in the necks and a lighted match in hand ready to burn down the school.  Going against the "Teacher's Pet" system was almost as serious.

A sin of any type comes between God and us.  If you think of the punishment of the rebellious angels was when St. Michael, my patron saint, by the way, swept them from heaven into hell, the major part of their punishment was forever being unable to see God.  There was a barrier placed between them and God.  This barrier caused great sorrow.When we sin, we too create a barrier between us and God.  If we sin in a minor way the barrier is not total.  If we commit a major act of rebellion the wall we build shields us from the Face of God.  If we die with this wall in place, our choice becomes permanent and God will honor our choice to be without Him in eternity.  A preacher once was preaching about sin and hell and he yelled out, "And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" A voice of an old lady in the back of the church piped up and said, "But pastor, I don't have any teeth."  Without missing a beat the pastor replied, "Teeth will be provided !" 

I might be dead wrong about this but I think we have lost or sense of sin. In the olden days, especially during Lent, the lines at the confessionals were long.  Today, not so much.  I got myself in trouble on the Catholic Answers forum once.  I mentioned in a reply to another member's question that I thought the sacrament of confession was underused by Catholics today.  I was given a "major violation" and was told that it was none of my business if someone went to confession or not.  The self-righteous moderator missed the whole point of what I was saying.  I no longer participate in Catholic Answers forum because of this but my contention still is that the sacrament of penance is underused today.

Lent is a time to clean up the cobwebs that have gathered in our soul. But confessing to a priest, can't I go directly to God and ask for forgiveness?  Of course, you can and it is a brilliant first step. But the way Christ wants us to do it is to confess to Him through the priest who is acting in persona Christi. You see, sin is not a private matter between you and God.  We are all part of the Body of Christ and any sin, no matter how private, hurts the Body and needs to be healed. But, you say, "It's been years since I last went!"  So what? Mention that to your confessor and he will be even more gentle with you because he knows how hard this is for you.  Oh, the act of confession was never meant to be easy.  It is a very humbling experience to be in confession and to give voice to what God already knows.  Getting it out on the table is the first step in getting your imperfection healed.  Do not be afraid of seeing who you really are.  Remember, what we are is how God sees us and he sees us, imperfect as we are, and loves us anyway.  Whisper to God and listen for His reply.  His reply to you, the prodigal son or daughter, will always be, "I love you, welcome home!" 

Lent Day 2 - Take Up Your Cross

Jesus said to his disciples:

"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected

by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world

yet lose or forfeit himself?"

It is not a question of whether or not we are going to have to carry a cross in life, no that is not the question at all.  The question is s how are we going to react to the cross or crosses we are given to carry? No man or woman has gone through life without a cross to bear. In this world that we live in a cross, pain and suffering are things to be avoided at all costs. Mind you, I am not a person who would volunteer to wear a hair shirt, or put rocks in my shoes, or kneel on rock salt while saying my prayers. But I can see the value in suffering if it comes to us.  All too often we waste the pain and outrages that happen in life.  We do not have to go looking for suffering, but when it comes we should not waste it.  We should offer it up to God in reparation for our sins and the sins of others. Jesus tells us that if we reject the crosses we are given, we only win in the short term.  

Taking up our crosses can take many different forms.  Matthew Kelly gives this illustration.  You open the refrigerator and see the last can of soda.  Your body says, "Yes, Yes! Grab it, I want that." To discipline your body you tell it, "No. We will have water."  This saying "no" to yourself is a good way to discipline yourself.  This is a cross that you pick up voluntarily.  

But what about those crosses that come unbidden?  What do we do about those?  You receive a diagnosis of a chronic, life-changing disease, or you watch a loved one in great suffering but you are unable to do anything for them, what do we do about these crosses? We accept them of course.  We do as St. Paul tells us to do and we join them to the sufferings of Jesus on the cross.  We bear what we can bear patiently and ask the Lord to help us to bear what we seemingly cannot.  Suffering of any sort reminds us that we are but a creature and allows us to rely on God for the strength to come through it all.  We remember, we have a God that has been through great and tragic suffering.  Jesus, in his early life, suffered the death of his father Joseph.  He consoled his mother on her loss.  Jesus felt the pain of betrayal when Judas Iscariot gave him up in the garden and again when Peter denied Him.  Jesus suffered a brutal beating at the hands of the Romans and was nailed to a cross and felt the loneliness of death.  He has been there and he defeated all of these things including death. 

Finally, remember that Jesus will help you bear any cross that is given to you. Be open to the help he sends through others.  Be patient and know that He is God.  

Ash Wednesday

For many of us, myself included, Lent, is sometimes viewed as an inconvenience.  After all, there is the inconvenience of not eating meat on Ash Wednesday, all of the Friday's of Lent, and of course, you would not think of eating meat on Good Friday.  There is the requirement of fasting.  There is nothing crabbier on this earth than Michael The Lesser when he is hungry.  Luckily, due to my advanced age, I am exempt from fasting. Lent can be very inconvenient indeed.  I remember once when I was a child, about ten years old I would say, my father, took me to the Chicago Auto Show.  We looked at all of the cars and trucks and were amazed at all of the new features that were coming out. Could cars get any more modern?  Well, the time came to have a little snack.  My father, knowing my love of hot dogs bought me a Vienna Weiner - they are about the best hot dog you can get.  It came with all of the trimmings including hot peppers. I took a big bite of the hot dog, enjoying its steamy goodness, the soft steamed bun, the bite of the hot pepper, the taste of the mustard and relish all combined and made me think that this was what heaven had to be like!  As I swallowed that first bite my father, who did not practice any religion, reminded me it was Friday and that I was eating meat. He laughed.  I ran, not walked, to the nearest garbage can and spit the crumbs still in my mouth out and threw the rest of the sandwich into the trash.  My father thought it was hilarious! I was serious about my religion at age ten. So, that is one time when Lent was most inconvenient for me.  I no longer see Lent as an inconvenience, at least most of the time.  I see it as a chance to go on a journey, to walk next to Jesus.  To walk arm in arm with Him as he leads me through the desert of my life.  As we walk he points out improvements I can make and things that I should notice. And all through this journey with Jesus, I am carrying ashes with me. 

Ashes, what a strange thing to use at the start of a journey.  After all, ashes are really not good for a whole lot. As a matter of fact, they are what is left over when something has been completely consumed. Ashes are dirty, they get into everything. They change what was white into something that is gray or even black.  Ashes, why should we carry dirty ashes upon a journey?  And more than that, why should we carry ashes along with us on this most important of journeys?  The ashes we receive on this holy day are a reminder that we too are little more than ashes ourselves. We are reminded that God created us out of the dust and that someday our earthly body will return to dust. When we think of this we should really examine our lives. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out of it. We busy ourselves with the things we think we need. The ashes we receive on this first day of Lent remind us not to value so much the things that decay. It is true, that we need some basic things to stay alive in this world.  We need food, but do we eat too much?  We need water but do we waste this precious commodity?  We need a place to keep ourselves warm but do we need to make a statement by having much more room than we need? We need clothing, but how much do we need? You see, everything that we consider a need is matter and it decays.  The stuff of earth is around just for a little while and then it is gone.  We fight and scramble for the things of this world and when we die, someone else gets all of the things we considered our treasure. Ashes, useless, dry, dirty and dusty ashes serve as a reminder of where we have been and where we are going.  So it is good that we start this Lenten journey with ashes on our forehead.  Maybe we should move those ashes from our forehead to our heart.

Looking for Alleluia

I grew up in the 1960's which was the period of time between the Old Church and the Vatican II Church. So I have seen Lent from both sides of the street. Early in my career at Saint Joseph and Saint Anne School, I was a good do-be.  I rose early enough to get to daily Mass to please God for my devotion to Him but more importantly to ingratiate myself to the good sisters of Saint Joseph who infested, ahh, I mean who taught us bright and willing baby boomers. We were all well trained and entered and exited the pews with military precision, each one of us genuflecting while the next child waited for his or her turn. After genuflecting we either moved to the end of the pew waiting for the sit-down signal or if we were exiting the pew we began moving towards the communion rail where we would kneel to receive communion or execute a smart about face, kid style, and make our way to the exit. There were a whole lot of other things the prudent student would observe.  First and foremost, of course, was the position of one's head. It was kept facing towards the altar. A kid's head facing left or right or God forbid facing backward was certainly not praying for the success of the mission of the Sisters of Saint Joseph or to pass that day's spelling test.  No! It was either preparing to talk or actually talking to one's neighbor.  The nun in charge of security immediately went to the offender and reminded him (it was never a girl) what he should be doing.  If the miscreant happened to be amongst the first three children in the row, the guard, I mean sister, might just assist the child by grabbing both of the kids ears and re-training his gaze onto the altar again.  The other thing the sisters insisted upon was good posture whilst kneeling. A boy with his butt resting on the seat of the pew while kneeling could expect quick rebuke and assistance from the sister who observed the sloppy posture. It was never a girl that would offend with sloppy posture because girls always did what was right, at least while sister was looking.  I think that the worst Catholic service to be at when you were a kid was the stations of the cross. I say this because first of all, they were so long!  Secondly, it was the closest thing at SJSA to a gym class because you knelt and stood and knelt and stood some more until you thought it would never end.  The only good thing about it was that we got out of school forty-five minutes early.  All eight grades participated in this ritual.  It was awe inspiring to see hundreds of kids silently participating in a troop movement that used all of the exits of the school, culminating with every grade silently in their places ready to go in five minutes.  I think the only boy that loved the stations of the cross was Jackie Gleason.  No, not the Jackie Gleason of the Honeymooners, this was a boy who did EVERYTHING perfectly. He walked with his hands out of his pockets. He had the straightest posture possible. He was always smiling. He ALWAYS got one-hundred on his spelling tests and he knew how to diagram sentences like a pro. He was forever volunteering for whatever would get him more brownie points. He always knelt straight and true and the sisters pointed out all of his good qualities when correcting a boy in need of correction. Needless to say, he was hated by all of the boys in class but was exempt from playground retribution because not even the worst bully in the school would want to bully a living saint, besides, he played all sports well. 

The thing that I remember about these pre-Vatican II days is how grim and solemn the mass and decorations were. I remember that we did not do much singing back then. Rather we had an organist with an adenoid issue slaughtering Gregorian chants that we could not understand. I remember thinking at the time that any minute an undertaker was going to be pushing in a casket and a funeral mass would be starting.  Back then, the word "Alleluia" was just another word in a foreign language and quite honestly I do not know if too many people noticed that it was missing.  I knew that the Gloria was missing because the mass was shorter and that was okay by me!

Vatican II came and went and during the Kumbaya period of the liturgy, I was taking my teenage sabbatical from church.  I guess that those early years of change were quite traumatic for some of the adult members of the Church back then. The quiet time where they could say their Rosaries now had become times where they were expected to participate, in English!  I can't get into how in some respects we went too far at that time and threw the baby out with the bathwater.  Imagine my surprise when I returned to the Church and found the priest facing the congregation, the old time choir that handled music was gone and we, the people, who were known now as "the people of God" participated in worship by raising our voices in song.   Can you imagine the first time I experienced the sign of peace?  I have to tell you, it was very hard for me to break years of discipline and turn around in the pew.

Okay, all of the above is the background to the subject of this post which is the word Alleluia.  I hope when you were at church this weekend you enjoyed singing the Alleluia before you heard the Gospel reading. It will be the last time you will hear the Gloria and the Alleluia until Lent is over.  Why is this?  The Gloria and the Alleluia are the songs of the angels in heaven and our singing them is a reminder that heaven has begun for us here on earth through the Church.  So, are we being punished?  No, the Church is not punishing us.  Rather, it is reminding us that while heaven begins on earth, we are still on a journey.  During Lent, we are to walk closer with the Lord in our life.  Over the next five weeks, we are called to think about our lives and how to bring ourselves closer to Christ and to more closely model His life in ours.  As the time goes on we want to shout Glory to God in the highest!  We want to let the Alleluia's ring out. But we can't and this longing increases as the time of Lent extends.  Then, on Easter, when we hear the joyful new proclaimed that Jesus has risen, our Alleluia's will be more heartfelt and more joyous than at any other time of the year.  So as the last alleluia fades from your ear, remember that when you complete your Lenten journey you will be able to praise God with the angels again.  

So, one more time for old time's sake let's sing, "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!" 

Astrology, Fortune Telling, Psychic Readings - Trouble Predicted

Maybe it is a sign of the times we are living in.  I have noticed in my town, right on the corner of my block actually, a psychic reader has hung up her shingle (actually a neon sign) offering psychic readings to all who want them. I know it is a sign of my age that I remember a Dragnet episode where they bust a fortune teller who schemes to steal her customer's money by telling her that it is cursed and must be burned.  The victim seemingly goes to the bank and pulls out all her money. She brings a wad of cash back to the fortune teller. The so-called fortune teller puts it in a bag and after having the lady herself sealing it, she promises that all of the victim's troubles would soon over as the flames burned the curse trapped in the tainted money.  Well, the bag burns and once it is all ashes the victim stands up and says that she feels better. Into the parlor steps, our hero's and they greet the policewoman whose money had been burned.  They find the bag with the real money hidden on the fortune teller and they cart her off to jail for theft by deception.  

That is what is wrong with the world of psychic readings, fortune tellers, and astrology.  It is all a scheme to separate you from your money,  The whole kit and kaboodle are built on a platform of straw that even a teaspoon full of logic show how weak the whole structure is. But if it was just money that was involved I would be tempted to say that those that want to give their money away should be allowed to give it to charlatans if that is what makes them happy.  But much more is involved than money.  What is involved here is your immortal soul. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone" (CCC 2116)

The practices of these dark arts are deeply sinful as they are a violation of the first commandment where we are to worship God alone. All occult practices are tools of the devil and should be avoided at all costs. 

Let's take a look at just one practice that is considered to be harmless fun by many people.  This is the practice of Astrology.  In the ancient world, the pagans believed that the stars were gods. The gods were in control of life through Fate. They believed that their Fate could be discerned by reading the stars.  It is from these pagan pioneers that came our (false) belief in astrology. Logic destroys the power of astrology. First, the stars are so far away that there is no way their "power" could reach us.  Second, even though the astrological chart divides the sky into twelve lovely, equal slices, the fact is that some of the constellations take up more room in the sky and there is no way you can have twelve equal slices.  This throws off the calculations that the fortune tellers make.  Secondly, the stars of the zodiac are visible in the northern hemisphere only.  Even if the stars could influence our world, there is a whole other half of the earth that are outside of their boundaries.  The whole system is a bunch of dingo's kidneys.

Okay, since astrology is bogus, has no real effect on life, what is the harm in reading my daily horoscope?  Let me ask you a question.  Would you pet a cobra? Would you put your head in a crocodile's mouth? Would you cut yourself and pour pure mercury into the wound?  Of course, you would not do any of these things.  When you read your horoscope or have your fortune told, or get a physic reading, or attempt to talk to the dead through a medium, you are doing all of these things at the peril of your soul.  The devil is real and the devil looks for ways to get inside the armor we have built through our spiritual life. He cannot get in unless you open the door for him and engaging in occult practices, even innocent sounding ones such as reading your daily horoscope can open the door to the devil. (Cobra petting anyone?)

The other forms of the occult are no less dangerous and belief in astrology can lead a person deeper into practices best left alone.  Our desire to be in control was born in the Garden of Eden and the rise of the occult and New Age practices is directly connected to our parent's actions on that day.  We have a loving Father in God. He is the creator and the One who set all things in motion.  The actions of the stars as they seemingly move in the universe are regulated by Him.  Put your faith in Him and avoid opening the door of your soul to the evil one. Astrology and all types of divination, talking to the dead, fortune telling are all human inventions,  Trust in God and He will never disappoint you.  

   

Creation in 7 Days or Evolution - Why Not Both?

On one side of the aisle, we have the people who believe that God created the world in seven days while on the other side we have those who believe in evolution.  Those that believe in creationism believe because the story is written down in the Bible for us. Those that believe in evolution have their story showing in the very rocks we walk on.  Who is right and who is wrong? 

I do not think that how this world came into being is something where one can be right or wrong. Both beliefs have points that are well taken and both beliefs culminate in the same point in time, the arrival of mankind on the earth. 

What we are dealing with here is cause and effect, or rather, the ultimate cause and effect. In the creation story featuring Adam and Eve, the cause is easy to see, God created light and created everything from that point including all plants and animals, fish of the sea, creeping things and as His crowning achievement, He created man in His own image. 

In the story of evolution, we are still dealing with cause and effect, or rather, once again, the ultimate cause and effect.  Science has proven that the universe as we know it started with a big bang, an explosion that sent matter to all of the ends of the universe.  The matter in some cases became stars while in other places the matter formed into planets that orbited the stars. In one particular place in the universe, on a rather small planet covered with liquid water, life formed in the primal ooze. Years passed and simple forms of life became more complex and eventually, mankind appeared and took charge of the earth.  Creationists are horrified that this story is believed by anyone. It seemingly removes God from the equation, making Him unnecessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. God is the ultimate source of life and it was he who created the big bang.  I've always thought of the big bang as God creating light.  After all, in Genisis, we are told that everything was a formless waste.  God, in instituting the big bang created light and began the process of creating life.  That was the first day of creation. The Psalms tell us that for God one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day, which is one way of saying that for God a day can be a long time as humans measure time. So for God, a day or even seven of them could be millions of years as our clocks tick away hours.  

As a Catholic, I am free to believe either of the scenarios.  I choose to believe both of them.  I know for certain that God in his love for us set the entire universe into motion. I believe that he is the Ultimate Cause in the universe.  I believe He is a loving Father who always does what is best for His children. How he created the universe and our world is not so important.  What is important is that he did so.