Lent - Fish Sticks and Cheese

"If only my people would hear me,

and Israel walk in my ways,

I would feed them with the best of wheat,

and with honey from the rock, I would fill them."

Let's travel once again back in time to that bastion of learning, Saint Joseph and Saint Ann School deep in the heart of Brighton Park in the City of Chicago.  Lent at SJSA was a test of strength.  We all, kids and sisters alike, had to "give up something for Lent."  For kids, what could you give up?  Adults could give up cigarettes, I am not saying that the nuns smoked, but who knows? Us kids, almost everyone, boy or girl, gave up candy.  I hated the idea of giving up candy for forty whole days.  What I wanted to give up were the fish sticks and the lump of cheese that they fed us on Fridays in the SJSA Lunch Room.  Friday fare was the same the whole year round because we as Catholics were not allowed to eat meat on Friday, it was a church law.  So every week at lunch the fish sticks would be cooked up. If I were a fish and I tasted like these fish sticks, I would certainly be embarrassed.  I mean really to live my whole life as a fish, to fulfill my destiny and end up tasting like bait?  Oh, the shame of it.  To round out the platter we got a dollop of mashed potatoes and a lump of official US of A Government cheese which we called "The Rock."  This cheese was so dry that you had to use most of your half a pint of milk to get it to go down.  I thought it would be better if I gave up lunch on Friday.  Sister Emerita said that we could not give up something we hated.  So I gave up candy just like everyone else. 

Lent is the time when we are to turn back to the Lord.  "Giving up" is a good discipline.  It is good to say "no" to you body once in a while but perhaps a review of how we are living our life, where we are missing the mark would be better.  Then, once we see ourselves as we really are, we can view our lives more realistically, more like God sees us.  We can use this self-knowledge to turn around, to repent, to being anew.  Lent is a word that simply means spring.  Spring is a time when nature awakes from the sleep of winter. Lent, for us, can be a time when we do the same.  

Lent - I've Never Been Good At Math

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,

"Lord, if my brother sins against me,

how often must I forgive him?

As many as seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times 

but seventy-seven times."

Okay, I will  admit it, I've never been good at math.  It all started around 1960 or 1961 when my alma mater, St. Joseph and St. Anne School decided to teach it's inmates, I mean students, "The New Math."  Even today when I think about The New Math I shake my head and wonder why humans have a tendency to want to fix things that ain't broke.  Back then I was considered stupid by the good Sisters of Saint Joseph and the transition from arithmetic to The New Math seemed to prove them correct in their assumption. In first and second grades, after my father gave up trying to help his dope of a son and my mother took over trying to help me understand math.  She was able to make wonderful progress.  Through her tutelage  I was able to master the art of adding and subtracting which included the concept of borrowing. Then, without warning came The New Math and everything went to hell in a handbasket.  In the modern world given the same circumstances, I would be recognized as having a learning disability and modern techniques would be used to help me understand what to my mind was gibberish. Sister Emerita, if you are out there somewhere, none of my employers over the last forty-something years has asked me to subtract two negative numbers, just saying.  Today I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide with the rest of humanity.  

In today's Gospel, we are told to forgive our brother seventy-seven times. That is a number I can wrap my hands around.  On a number line, it is seventy-seven places to the right of zero, it is not a prime number, it is odd, and only twenty-three places on the number line from one-hundred.  But, Jesus is not giving us a math lesson here. He is giving us a life lesson.  Peter is being generous and asks if he should forgive a person seven times.  That was a lot back then where the law was still an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  Peter may have been trying to score some points with Jesus by appearing generous.  Jesus wasn't having any of it.  I can imagine Him turning to Peter and saying ""I say to you, not seven times 

but seventy-seven times." 

The number seven, of course, is "God's Number" it is a number of the day that God rested from His work of creation when He saw that all of what He made was very good.  What Jesus is telling us to do, is to forgive an infinite amount of times. We are to strive to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.  We are to forgive as many times as the Father forgives us.  We can throw sand in the face of God every day of our life and repent just before we die and be forgiven. There is no circumstance in life that precludes forgiveness.  I know, I know, it is hard to forgive what he did, what she said, what they did.  We are called to forgive and to bring ourselves the peace that forgiveness of those who offend us will bring here on earth.  It is not easy to be a Christian.  It is not easy to forgive.  But we must imitate Christ who, from the cross, said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing."   If Jesus can do that from the Cross, can we not do it as well as safe on the ground, eating an apple, we watch Him die?

Third Sunday of Lent - Heart Attack!

When I graduated from High School, part of the program, actually, the administration's last attempt at controlling our class, was to sing "The Age of Aquarius"  which was made popular by the Mammas and the Pappas, if my mind serves me right.  If you are not familiar with the tune, it is a tune that glorifies astrology.  The age of Aquarius is supposed to usher in a time of peace and tranquility.  Well, I graduated in 1970 so we see how well that worked out, peace and tranquility indeed!  But Aquarius is the water bearer. Today's first reading tells of the Hebrews who have a lack of water and they were concerned about this. Moses is at his wit's end.  Here were a people who had seen the Red Sea open up allowing them to pass over dry land with water like a wall on the left and on the right.  This was a people who had been eating free food, manna in the morning and quail at night. Now, they were thirsty.  They begin grumbling and forgetting what God had already done and had the unmitigated gall to ask Moses if he had dragged them out to the desert just to see them perish from thirst.  Moses went to God and told his tale of woe about the stiff-necked people. God provided water when Moses struck the rock. The issue here was one of trust.  The people, who had been given abundance and plenty still failed to trust in God when the going got tough. The people needed water.  This was not an optional thing as they would die without it. God was well aware of their needs and would have met them without all of the grumblings. 

Are we any different than the Hebrews at Meribah? On the day of Massah when our fathers tempted God although they had seen His works?  In our lifetime have there been times when we have had needs and have forgotten the times when God has been there? Do we grumble as the Hebrews did in the desert?

It is more than a matter of trust. It is a matter of giving up control.  We want control of our lives, every day and every minute.  As one who has had a heart attack, I can tell you that each of us will come to a point when all control is lost. Here is my story. 

If you ever want to beat the crowd in the emergency room simply follow these instructions. Step one, Be a past middle-aged man who is overweight. Step two, go up to the counter and say just two words, "Chest Pain."  The doors swing wide open and the medical community descends on you in force and in little more than two minutes you are in a bed with a central line in and hooked up to a monitor and munching on an aspirin.  All control was wrested from me. I sunk into a moment of self-pity, which was my version of what the Hebrews did at the rock, Then, recovering my senses I turned my plight over to God. I have to tell you it was hard to give up the illusion of having complete control as just one hour before I was seemingly in charge of my life, then, suddenly, I was not in charge or control of anything. Strangers all dressed in white were coming in, checking this and that, injecting medicine all without asking my permission. I prayed and turned it over to God. Things improved for me from that moment on.  By this I mean my mind stopped racing and I knew that no matter what happened from this point on, good or bad, I would be okay. For a few moments, I was just like the Hebrews. When I sunk into self-pity I forgot all of the things God had done for me in my life to that moment.  Long story short, four stents later I was sent home after a couple of days in the hospital.  The doctor said that there had been no damage to my heart.  He likened it to getting a scratch on a new car.  The car still worked, it just had this scratch. 

Water, a simple thing. Our bodies are about sixty percent water. Water refreshes the body when we drink it.  It cleanses the body when we wash with it. It cleanses the soul at Baptism.  Water is just another example of God's love and care for His children. Don't be surprised if when something happens in your life and you lose control. Your first reaction may well be to grumble and say "why me?"  Later, when you come to your senses and you realize that God is in control, you will surrender to Him, secure in the knowledge that he will not disappoint you. 

Lent = Being Forgiven

`Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.'"

We all know the reading about the prodigal son.  We know that the father spends his time watching and waiting for his younger son to return.  We know how he is greeted and how he is treated.  Let's face it, the kid was a brat. He wanted what was his, all without working for it and he proceeded to lose it all. We know how he was treated once he returned,  This is a wonderful example of God's mercy, He will always take us back. But what about the older son? Let's put us in his position. Once his brother left, he was left to do all of the work. It was hot, hard, dirty work.  As the older son, you had to handle twice the workload while your brat brother was dancing with a hootchie coochie dancer and sipping cold drinks turning his liver into a hunk of wood.  But, you loved your father and you did what you had to to keep the place going.   Suddenly, this lowlife comes running home and instead of being thrown off of the place, your father welcomes him back and throws him a party.  What nerve!  You reveal your bratty side and refuse to welcome your brother back.  Your father, just as he had done for the older son, does not wait, he comes to you and tells you of his love and he affirms that although his brother is back, all that the father owns is his older sons.  He will have his reward for his loyalty.   It is now up to us to extend the olive branch to our brother and to reunite the household of the father. 

The young son and the elder son both were forgiven much. The younger for being absolutely stupid and the elder son for being so disrespectful to the father.  But the father, he showed both sons the way it was going to be in his household.  There would be no division.  He also affirmed the older son by confirming that all that he had was his.  He proved to be a loving and just father. 

Second Sunday of Lent - Hardship and Triumph

Paul writes in his Second Letter to Timothy 

Beloved:

Paul writes in his Second Letter to Timothy 

Beloved:

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel

with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life,

not according to our works

but according to his own design

and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,

but now made manifest 

through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,

who destroyed death and brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel.

Hardships and suffering for being a Catholic in the United States of America actually do exist. Fundamentalist Evangelicals of the Jack Chick, the "Christian" that produces those hateful little comic books that spread nonsense about the Church and Lorraine Boettner who published an error-filled tome with the clever name "Roman Catholicism" form the sources of Anti-Catholic Thought in America which allows the prejudiced to trot out those antiquated lies about the Catholic Church  that have been their stock in trade for years. 

In the 1960's the world marveled as a Roman Catholic was elected president of the United States.  The fear for the "Old Time Religion" boys was that Kennedy was going to invite Pope John XXIII to move into the White House and dictate policy. We know that this did not happen. 

In prior years Catholics were kept from certain jobs and were considered second-class citizens. Even today when Christians, in general, are looked down upon by the liberal left wingers and proponents of abortion and so-called gay rights, Roman Catholics seem to receive especially harsh treatment. It is a fact that at one time most of the mainline Protestant churches were aligned with the Catholic Church in its stand against abortion and even birth control. Today, some of these same denominations now see no issue with birth control and abortion as a matter of choice. Some denominations have admitted gay clergy, and see nothing wrong with same-sex marriage which is an affront to the Law of God. The problem is that these denominations have abandoned doctrine based on the law of God for doctrine based on popular vote. The Catholic Church stands alone in maintaining the pure doctrine from Apostolic times until today. Yet, it is quipped that Anti-Catholicism is the last allowable prejudice in America. 

I don't want to make it seem like it is too bad for American Catholics because it isn't.  Today, while there is certainly still an undercurrent of prejudice against Catholics, it is a war of words and as the old cliché states, "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me."  We are still free in the USA to practice our religion as we see fit and no one can stop us. In the rest of the world, not so much. 

In parts of the world Muslim fundamentalists, spouting a strange interpretation of Islam are carrying on genocide against any group that does not believe exactly as they do. This includes Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and oddly enough Muslims who believe differently. For the Catholics in the middle east, the luxury of attending mass has been taken away from practicing Catholics as over three-hundred-thousand Christians, including many  Catholics, have been chased from their homes by ISIS.  The passage from Paul was written for these refugees.  These martyrs were peaceful people. They were people just like you and me. They had their homes, their families, their dreams. They also had Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and it is in His name that they suffer. Children have seen their fathers killed, some of them crucified in imitation of our Lord.  Mothers and fathers have buried their children who have been killed by ISIS because they professed the name of Jesus.  Please pray for the people chased from their homes and those that have been the victims of genocide in the war-torn middle east. 

God weeps when people of any religion kills in His name. We must remember that we know how this story will end.  The Transfiguration of Jesus prefigures His return to earth to bring His children to glory. God is Love and on this Sunday we heard the words of God approving of his Son, Jesus when he said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him."   I think we should do as God suggests.   

Lent Day 10 - How To Be Like God!

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies,

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father,

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Do not the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,

what is unusual about that?

Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Jesus does a whole lot more than to give us instructions in our reading today.  He describes God. Here is what God does for all of His People. 

• He loves those that persecute Him.
• He blesses his enemies.
• He allows the sun to rise on the bad and the good.
• He cares for His enemies. 

What Jesus is asking us to do is to be like God and do the things He does.  We already know that in order for us to be forgiven, we need to forgive. To forgive someone that has done us harm, or even great harm, is very hard for us to do.  I believe that it is possible to forgive even the most grievous injuries if we but take it a step at a time. To begin the process we should pray for the person that has offended us.  We should ask God to bless them every day and in every way. It will NOT be enough to pray for them just once. In most cases, multiple prayers will need to be sent to our Father and we will need to be receptive to the grace He sends us. Eventually, the ice in our heart will begin to melt and we will be able to begin to entertain the thought of forgiving the offender. It may take years for spring to appear in our heart but we should keep up the offensive and God's grace like a gentle spring rain will help melt away years of resentment and hurt.  When you forgive someone, do you have to tell them?  In a perfect world, it would be a good idea to mend the broken relationship.  Here, again, we have to evaluate the situation. Would contact with the other party be beneficial or would it just open up wounds that have scabbed over?  The important part is that you grant them a complete pardon for any wrongs committed against you from the day of their birth to the current day.  You release all claim to revenge and reboot the relationship, the later you can do at the very least in your heart and then later, when you think it is the time approach the person and offer an olive branch. The final step after forgiving is forgetting.  Jesus not only forgives our sins, He forgets them.  We must do the same.  Forgiveness is not something that you give and hold over the head of your adversary.  If you keep reminding someone that you forgave them, well, that means you really haven't. 

Is every offense against us forgivable? The hard answer is yes, This is because our Father in heaven has forgiven every offense we have ever committed against Him.  I heard a speaker one time tell a story about how once when someone cut him off in traffic he got red in the face, spitting mad, and uttered every obscenity he could think of against the man.  That was bad enough. He then said, what if the same thing happened and the offender was his mother and he uttered all of this graphic language at her? The offense would be greater because one's mother is a person of more dignity than a stranger. It is the same with God.  When we offend Him, we are offending the highest dignity that there is. What does God do for us?  We confess He forgives, He forgets. 

The last line of today's reading assigns us our task; "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  Saint Francis of Assisi, at the end of his life, said this to his brothers; "Brothers, let us begin now, for until now, we have done nothing."  

  

Lent - Day 9 - The "F" Word

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,

and there recall that your brother

has anything against you,

leave your gift there at the altar,

go first and be reconciled with your brother,

and then come and offer your gift.

There is not a whole lot that I can add to this reading.  Jesus kind of says it all.  Forgiveness is more important to the second person of the Holy Trinity than worship. What makes forgiveness hard is that sometimes, we have to swallow our pride and make the first step.  It is even harder when you are actually on the "right" side of the argument.  

Jesus tells us that our relationship with God and with our fellow creatures occupy the level!  How can this be?  Well, our Baptism made us adopted sons and daughters in the household of God.  We in effect are princes and princesses.  We are called to be ambassadors for our Father's Kingdom.

When Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, God did not wait for Adam and Eve to appear.  He knew that there had been a sin committed and He went looking for Adam and Eve, He did not wait until they came to Him.  

So, for us, we are called to imitate our Father.  We are called to make the first step.  Are you ready to do this?