Monthly Archives: March 2021

Prayer for Wayward Politicians

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I have never thought it proper for me to use my position to endorse a particular politician. I have focused on teaching principles of Catholic social teaching, and thought that was not only more correct, but more effective. However, I do not believe that any faithful Catholic could object to this, and I think we all agree, there are many politicians who need prayer. Some people might get together and pray regularly for certain public officials who especially need it. Who knows what might happen. God clearly loves to take terrible sinners and make them great saints. https://www.catholic365.com/article/9502/6-sinnersturnedsaints-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them.html

Who then can be Saved?

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Dear Folks,
Our Gospel today (John 3:14-21) is cause for rejoicing but also raises some questions.
We rejoice in “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the word might be saved through him (John
3:16:17).” We read elsewhere that God “wills everyone to be saved and come to knowledge
of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).” This is great. God is not simply an objective judge who is
content to send us to hell if we don’t measure up to some arbitrary standards. God wants us to
be saved, wants it very much.
Then things get interesting. “Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever
does not believe has already been condemned, because he does not believe in the name of the
only Son of God (John 3:18).” This is serious. What does that mean? Does it mean that all
who are not explicitly Christian are going to hell? Does it mean that affirming the right
doctrines guarantees me salvation? The Catholic Church would say no.
“And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to
light, because their works were evil (John 3:19).” If, by God’s grace, one chooses light as
best as one can understand it, that may be saving faith. The Second Vatican Council’s
Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) says, “those who have not yet received the
Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways (LG 16).”
“Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, since he
gives to all men life and breath and all things (cf. Acts 17:25-28), and since the Savior wills
all men to be saved (1Tim 2:4). Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the
Gospel of Christ or his Church but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and
moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their
conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation (LG 16).” We see in 1 Timothy 4:10
that “we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who
believe.”
Make no mistake, anyone who gets to heaven does so by the grace of God through the one
sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Without Jesus’ sacrifice, none of us would be saved: we
would all be toast (extra crispy). There would be nothing we could do about it, nothing at all.
It is possible to believe in Jesus like I believe that Carson City is the capital of Nevada. I
believe it’s true, but it doesn’t affect my life in any way. That is not faith in the Christian
sense. It is possible to go to church, say all the right things, and still have more faith in sin to
make me happy, that is, prefer darkness to light. On the other hand, if one has been taught
such a bad imitation of the Christian faith that one cannot see the goodness, beauty or truth of
it, one would not be blamed for rejecting that caricature. I suggest that people who believe a
feeble imitation of the Gospel are far more common than most people think.
So, whom should we evangelize? Everyone, with no exception, including ourselves. Our
faith is imperfect, and we can all wander off if we are not attentive. St. Paul said, “I drive my
body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified
(1 Corinthians 9:27).” If he was not smug, how much less should we be? That shows the
seriousness of his warning that “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to
fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).” We should never despair of anyone, and we should never be
complacent. We may someday find that a small act of sharing light may make all the
difference.
Lent is serious.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Basic Housecleaning for the Soul

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Dear Folks,
We never outgrow reviewing the basics. This week we read the Ten Commandments (Exodus
20, see also Deuteronomy 5). Pope Saint John Paul said that the Ten Commandments formed
a foundation, and the Beatitudes were a structure to be built on that foundation, reaching
higher and higher with no limit. To have a sound structure, we must regularly attend to the
foundation.
We begin: “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of
slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in
the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the
earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.” The first principle is Who is
God and who is not. We want to be in charge and do things our way. From the beginning,
there has been temptation to do things our way rather than God’s way (see Genesis 3 about the
Fruit Incident, and Genesis 11 about the Tower of Babel). It forbids carving idols, not because
God hates sculpture (He doesn’t: see Exodus 25:17-22; Numbers 21:4-9), but because of the
danger of thinking they could possess God. This goes back to who is in charge. This was a
problem with the Temple as well. There was a sense that God was uniquely located in the
temple (see Psalm 18:7), and some people thought that as long as the temple was in Jerusalem
God would take care of them no matter what they did. Jeremiah said, “Do not put your trust
in these deceptive words ‘The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the
Lord!’ (Jeremiah 7:4).” If they didn’t do things God’s way, there would still be
consequences. Imagine thinking that a St. Christopher medal would protect me so I don’t
have to drive carefully: it isn’t going to work.
Do not take the name of the Lord in vain. Nowadays, cancel culture has sometimes raised
language policing to ridiculous levels, but it is true that how we talk matters. Our talk should
always contribute toward reverence for God. Keeping holy the sabbath day means that we
break from the usual routine to focus especially on God. Of course, central to that is
worshipping at the Eucharistic Liturgy. When people need to get tasks done and not doing
them would cause hardship, we remember it is supposed to liberate, not strangulate. Sometimes people must work on Sundays, but still, it is important to find some way to break the
usual pattern so it is not just another day.
Honoring Father and Mother is a particular case of respecting authority. That is part of the
recognition that our understanding and our perspective is limited. It also means putting what
we think and what we want in second place. In our society, that is a radical idea.
Do not kill. This means respecting all life, from conception to natural death. It includes
standing up for the lives of others and helping those who cannot sustain themselves. This also
means respecting each person’s dignity. This is a huge job. Where people are viewed as
objects or commodities, standing up for life is a battle. We have a lot of work to do.
Do not commit adultery. God made marriage, sexuality, and family core to what it is to be
human, and they are sacred beyond words. Revering how God made us is an enormous part
of protecting human dignity. We have a lot of work to do, and it begins with learning more
about theology of the body. You shall not steal. The right to property is a part of human
dignity, and we are called to honor that. You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor. This would include passing on rumors and memes that are harmful and that we
don’t know are true (but we want them to be because they match our prejudices). Even
recognizing that much would be a great step forward for our society.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife (or husband) and you shall not covet your
neighbor’s stuff, two distinct but related commandments. If it is sinful to do something, it is
also wrong to enjoy fantasizing about doing it. There is a part of our brain that doesn’t
distinguish between fantasy and reality (which is why we are sad when a fictional character
we like dies in a story). It may seem harmless because it is in our heads, but that is the most
crucial territory of all. When we entertain ourselves by fantasy about doing bad things, it
rewires our brains to believe, bit by bit, that it is not so bad, that it is good and friendly, and
then, even if we do not act it out, it means our hearts are less and less in doing what is right.
Much housecleaning to do.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim