Category Archives: Church

Jesus is Coming

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Dear Folks,

Today we get into the Apocalyptic chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Matthew (chapter 24), Mark (14) and Luke (21) all have a chapter that starts with the destruction of the Temple, and winds up talking about the Second Coming of Jesus.

The destruction of the Temple would have been a horrible thought for Israelites. It was the center of their national identity and their relationship with God. Going to the temple was a sacred act, and there were hymns celebrating the trip (See Psalm 122). I saw a video of the tearing down of St. Jean’s church in Muskegon, a church that had been there since 1885.

Those who were attached to it were surely grieving. The destruction of the Temple would have been a far worse trauma. It had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B. C., and Israel had ceased to be a nation for over a generation, being slaves in exile. The destruction of the Temple in A. D. 70 was also a huge trauma, and the letter to the Hebrews

spends a lot of time helping Jewish Christians on how to understand the faith in light of the destruction of the temple. The Gospel of John will teach powerfully, that Jesus is the new Temple, and we have everything we need.

A critical apocalyptic text is Daniel chapter 7. It speaks of “coming on the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man.” Jesus frequently referred to Himself as the Son of Man, and when interrogated by the high priest if He was the Messiah He said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven

(Mark 14:62).” The closer He got to the cross, the more open He was about His identity.

“Apocalypse” is from the Greek word for “removal of the veil.” “Revelation” is from the Latin equivalent. Apocalyptic literature will use strange images, and sometimes numbers to show the meaning of what is happening at the time. It is often written in times of persecution, and the basic message is that it may appear that God’s plan is failing, but if you could see past the veil of appearances, that plan is unrolling and on the path to success.

Therefore, however discouraging things are, don’t give up. However bad things get, don’t get slack. However corrupt other people become and how horribly they behave, we are called to be faithful. Remember that what we see is not all of reality, and not the best part. Our story is part of a much larger story. Even if civilization collapses, God will be able to do great things, and the kingdom will still be winning. Jesus said, “heaven and earth

will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Mark 13:31). Nothing of the earth is guaranteed. The truth of the Gospel is. Our job is to grow strong in our faith such that whatever happens, our faith in God will rule our lives.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

How Deep is our Faith?

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Dear Folks,
There are some people in the Bible who deserve more recognition than they usually get. Our first reading this Sunday; 1Kings 17:10-16, tell the story of the Widow of Zarephath, and I consider her one of the great heroes of the Bible.
Consider her situation. She had gotten married and had a son (I’m guessing recently, since the son was apparently still too young to help collect sticks). Her husband died. Widows didn’t have a lot of options financially, but she did the best she could. Then came the drought, and therefore the famine. She now had no one who would hire her, nothing left to sell, no one from whom she could beg anymore, and now her food was almost gone. She was getting ready for her and her son to have one last taste of food before they starved to death. Imagine the heaviness of her heart as she ponders all her hopes and dreams being crushed, the horrible fate that
was looming.
Then this scruffy looking strange man comes and asks for a drink of water. Immediately she goes to get it. Even in her current situation, her hospitality goes so deep that she doesn’t hesitate. The he calls after her asking for some food.
Oh.
Any other time it would not have been a question, of course she would feed a stranger. Not so easy today. She explains the situation, and the reasonable expectation was that he would respond, “I’m so sorry. I’ll go ask someone else.” Instead, he has the nerve to say okay fine but first feed me. I don’t imagine she put much stock in his promise “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.” There was nothing about him to tell her he could work miracles, and it would be more likely he would say anything to get what he wanted, even scamming a starving widow. I expect she figured she and her son were going to starve to death and nothing could change that. She had one last decision to make in her life, and that was to be generous to a stranger. She chose to be generous. She had so little to give, but gave with great love. God rewarded her, and I consider her one of the underappreciated heroes of the Bible.
I would also mention Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15-21). They were Israelite midwives who were being oppressed in Egypt. They defied the mightiest king in the world to save the babies
from slaughter. They succeeded because they were clever and had tremendous courage. They had a terrible situation and responded in faith. Their faith went that deep.
In our Gospel this Sunday, we see the contrast between the Scribes and Pharisees, whose faith was just on the surface and the widow giving her small coins whose faith was deep enough to give when she had so little.
Challenge for us: how deep does our faith go? Will it still work when we are at the end of our rope, worn down to nothing, crushed by life? May God grant us the grace.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim 

Going the Second Step

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Dear Folks,

This weekend we see a man asking what to do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-30). It’s a great question and Jesus gives him a two-part answer: first, let go of sins, second, let go of things that would be good in their place, but are holding him back from the kingdom.

This is part of the section of Mark between the stories of the healing of the two blind men (8:22-10). The first man was just called the blind man of Bethsaida; it takes Jesus two steps to heal him, and afterward he goes his way. The second story is about blind Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus; Jesus does it in one step, and ends with him following Jesus on His way. In between we see that to understand Jesus as Son of God centers around the cross. He came to serve, not be served, to suffer and die, not achieve worldly status through worldly means. Following Him does not guarantee worldly power, pleasure, wealth, and honor, but may actually require giving up those things, and even our lives, for the sake of treasure in heaven (See Mark 10:21). To see that is to see clearly, like blind Bartimaeus after he was healed. We see the disciples still don’t get it, as we see by their responses to Jesus’ prediction of the passion (Mark 8:32-33; 9:33-37; 10:35-37). They do not see clearly, like the blind man of Bethsaida after the first healing.

After this section of Mark, we go directly to the entry into Jerusalem and begin with Holy Week. Jesus is very close to His passion now, and that will color the dialog. When He is asked what is the greatest commandment of the law, His answer to love God and neighbor is understood in light of the cross. We remember that for Christians, love is not a feeling, but a gift of self, even to death. We read in John’s farewell discourse: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:12-13).” And then we are to follow in His footsteps.

“So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma (Ephesians 5:1-2).” “I urge you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).”

Learning this in the abstract is challenging enough. Learning it in practice is orders of magnitude harder. That is the challenge of the Christian life. As we go down that journey, reflecting on this section of Mark may help us to see more clearly how God is working in our lives.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Marriage: What is it and Why is it?

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Dear Folks,
For the last three weeks in our Sunday Gospels Jesus talks about children. When the disciples want to know who is most important, Jesus brings forth a child (Mark 9:30-37). When the disciples act out of jealousy toward someone not in their group, Jesus speaks in very strong terms about the seriousness of their example affecting children (Mark 9:36-48). When Jesus is asked about marriage, the next thing He talks about is receiving children and how “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” and how we need to learn from them (Mark 10:2-16). I think He’s trying to get our attention.
I have just finished a book called “Pro-Child Politics” by Kathy Faust. It is a series of chapters on various issues in which our society is sacrificing the well-being of children for the desires of adults. The chapters are written by experts in the field, and they are well written and heavily footnoted, so even if you don’t wind up agreeing with all the things that are said, this is a very
important addition to the conversation, and it will be worthwhile wrestling with the ideas. This week Jesus brings together the question of marriage and welcoming children.
There are currently two views of marriage available in conversation. There is the relational view, that sees marriage as affirming the relationship of the couple (or thruple?) based on their romantic feelings for each other that they label love. In this view, marriage can be anything you want. This is the commonly held view today, and often assumed to be the only one. The other is the conjugal view of marriage, which unites men and women to one another, and to any children they might create, which was the foundation of most of human civilization. It understands marriage as recognized by the government, ideally life long, sexual in nature, exclusive in nature, only two people.
There is a presentation on Formed.org “How to Talk about Marriage and Same Sex Unions” by Trent Horn. There are the books “Getting the Marriage Conversation Right” by William B. May and “What is Marriage?” by Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, and Robert P George that make the case for the conjugal view of marriage, and give evidence that this is the best possible situation for a child to grow up in.
I would also suggest reading “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley (written in 1931, eerily prophetic). It describes a dystopian future in which family has been replaced by government, and children are a manufactured commodity. Also see “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, about the effects of smart phone use on childhood.
How often are children seen as a commodity to be produced, and accessory to one’s lifestyle?
It is important to prioritize the well-being of children not only because they are so vulnerable, but because they are going to be running things someday when we are in the nursing home.
The more they are able to learn virtue, empathy, emotional regulation, deferral of gratification, a sense of right and wrong and similar things, the less violent and more flourishing our society
will be. Notice this is not ruled by their feelings and desires, but a deeper sense of the good.
Where do we go from here?
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Catholic Truth

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Dear Folks,

How to think about people who seek God but are not Catholic? First, there is the question of Christians who are not Catholic, and the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis redintegratio) talks about our relationship with them. Second, there are nonChristian religions and Vatican II deals with that in Declaration on the relations of the Church to non-Christian Religions (Nostra aetate). They are both worth a read.

The Catholic faith is the fullness of truth about Jesus, but there is much that is true that our Protestant brothers and sisters teach, and some things that are true as taught by other religions. God gives everyone the light of natural reason, and so it is not surprising that some true things are taught by groups like Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims. Christians and Jews have received special revelation in addition, and it is completed by the Jesus event.

All who are saved, all who get to heaven, do so by the power of the Sacrifice of Jesus, whether they understand it explicitly or not. “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).” Our salvation is God’s work, not ours. Those who understand who Jesus is and what He is about and choose not to follow Him will be condemned. Those who had not heard about Him, or were taught the Gospel so badly that they could not recognize Him as

the light are another story (and I suggest that latter group is huge). That said, we must not get complacent. We don’t get to sit back and relax. If you read the Gospels (which I highly recommend!) and take them seriously (which I very highly recommend!!) we are warned that we don’t just coast into heaven (See, for example Matt 5:29-30; 7:13-14; 1 Corinthians 9:27).

Jesus wanted His people to be one (John 17:22). I think Satan laughs himself silly every day that Christians are divided and teaching contradictory things. We speak of God’s ordaining will, and God’s permissive will. His ordaining will is that everything and everyone be all good, but He permits us to do evil, and He will bring good from it.

Other religions can be a gift in certain ways: they can help people whom we have not yet reached (though we need to get on that); they provide a challenge for us to better witness to the goodness, beauty and truth of the faith (easy to get complacent when everyone agrees); they can remind us of aspects of our faith that perhaps we have been neglecting.

For example, a few generations back, people told me the Catholic Church did not encourage them to read the Bible. Our Protestant brothers and sisters reminded us of the importance and benefits of reading and being familiar with the Scriptures (and, if you look at

Church documents and history, it is a strong part of the Catholic faith).

Having all of these gifts of the Catholic Church is not a privilege that occasions pride, but a responsibility. “Much will be required of a person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more (Luke 12:48).” Think of all the gifts

we have been given. What will God expect from us?

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

It Begins With Listening

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Dear Folks,

The New Testament teaches us a few Aramaic words, including “Ephphatha,” meaning “be opened.” Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-37). When Jesus does a miracle, we first rejoice, and then we ask, “what is He trying to teach us?

When most people could not read or write, being unable to hear or speak would severely isolate people. Hearing and speaking connect us to the world beyond ourselves. Sin also isolates people from one another and tends to close us in on ourselves. Big Question: Is the focus of attention on ourselves or beyond ourselves?

Most of us don’t listen as well as we think we do. If I’m focused on myself, I’m filled with: How does this affect me? What does it make me feel? How do I respond to it?

In Ann Garrido’s book “Redeeming Conflict” we find habit #2 is “be curious” and habit #3 is “Listen to understand.” We have a tendency to listen to find the flaws and respond. But in the other person’s head, what they are thinking makes sense to them. The challenge is to figure out how it makes sense, how do their ideas fit together, and why do they find them compelling? What are the concerns and motivations that drive them? This allows us to speak to their concerns. I know some people have said some things that were true, but did not speak to my premises and concerns, so I found them completely unpersuasive. I found, for example, that since I think there are some problems with the way liturgy has often been celebrated after Vatican II, they assume that I idealize the time before Vatican II, and so they give me a lecture on all the problems of that time. Since they are arguing with a position that I do not believe, it doesn’t matter if what they say is true, it accomplishes nothing except get on my nerves and waste my time.

Sometimes I have found myself, to my regret, doing that to someone else. A response bursts out of me before I even think about it instead of hearing them out and maybe asking

some questions to draw their thoughts out. This suggests that I was focused more on myself than the other person, and that my need to tell my story had become desperate. It also makes it unlikely that what I say is going to be effective. To become a better listener, I try

to quiet myself and focus carefully on the other person. I also work on telling my story. If I don’t have another venue, it helps to write, even if I don’t share it with anyone. That helps me tell my story in a more controlled manner.

Redeeming conflict habit #5 is welcome emotion, and #6 is tell your story. Once I have listened to the other person, seeking to understand deeply why they think they way they do, I can look at myself and see what I have to tell of what I’m thinking and feeling. I’m more likely to be able to speak in a way that connects. Being a better listener increases my power of speech. I don’t claim to be great at it, but I know I’m better than I used to be, and I’ve connected better with others. I ask Jesus to continue to do for me what He did for the man in the Gospel.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Tradition of the Faith

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ear Folks,

Our Gospel for today from Mark 7 tells of Jesus clashing with the Pharisees about God’s teach- ing and their traditions (See vv. 1-23 for the whole story). We see, “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts… You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition (see Mark 7:7-8).”

The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) says: “[T]here exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. … Consequently, it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore, both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence. … Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church (DV 9,10).”

Some have claimed that the Catholic Church is doing what the Pharisees were doing with re- gard to tradition. We want to look deeper into the issue. Both Catholics and Protestants have the tradition of calling the Bible “The Word of God” but the Bible tells us the first meaning of the term is Jesus Himself (John 1:1). Jesus is condemning corrupt tradition, and the word “tradition” means “something handed down (Greek paradosis, verb form paradidomi).” We see, for example St. Paul tells people to hold to the traditions they received (1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Thess 2:15; verb form 1 Corinthians 15:3).

To understand the Catholic Church’s thoughts about tradition, consider: it doesn’t make sense to us that God would reveal the fullness of truth and then let it get lost. It doesn’t make sense to us that God would protect and preserve the truth in the Church up to a certain point in history and then stop. Hence, we have trouble with the notion that after the Bible was written, the Church as a whole misunderstood it for centuries and centuries until fifteen hundred years later someone got it right. What the Church has taught, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for many generations carries great weight. We must be aware that we can be manipulated by the world around us, and the testimony of generations of Christians is a vital counterweight.

Some people claim all they need is the Bible, however, many groups who make that claim teach contradictory things, and I don’t see any limit to those contradictions. When I was in col- lege, I met a group called Students for New Testament Restoration. They held that God has given us the Bible to teach us the truth, so we should be able to read the Bible and reliably find and know the truth, otherwise we are saying that God did a poor job writing it. Therefore, after they read the Bible and understood what it meant, everyone who disagreed with them was just being dishonest. They didn’t make a lot of friends, but I admired the consistency of their logic.

God clearly allows messy disagreements, but when it threatens to tear the Church apart and have the Gospel get lost the leaders of the Church, appointed by Christ, or their successors, resolve it (see Acts 15).

It is a constant task to stay faithful to the Gospel revealed in Jesus, passed down in the Church under the protection of the Holy Spirit. As usual, God’s grace does not make it easy but makes it possible.

Blessings, Fr.Jim

God Made Us Incarnate

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Dear Folks,
The history of the Church is full of drama, and a lot of it is the challenge of those who would try to change or falsify the Catholic faith. There is room for some legitimate disagreement within the boundaries of the faith, but when one steps out of those boundaries, that is heresy and does great harm.
There was a group called the Gnostics, who believed that we are spirits trapped in bodies, and the bodies were evil, or at best of no importance. The name comes from the Greek word for knowledge, and they claimed that salvation centers around having secret knowledge (that they claimed to possess) and if you had it, your behavior didn’t matter.
Some scholars believe the letters of John were written to fight the errors that would later develop into Gnosticism.
There was another group called the Manicheans, following a guy named Mani. They also believed that the body was evil and to be escaped. St. Augustine became one of them for a while trying to solve the problem of evil (If God created everything where did evil come from?) He later would learn better answers and became a mighty force opposing them. The Catholic faith believes very strongly that we are incarnate beings. We are both body and soul, and Jesus became fully incarnate, fully human. The Gospel of John is considered the most theologically developed, most philosophically elevated of the Gospels, but there are points where it gets especially earthy. Only in John do we see Jesus spitting and putting His fingers in the mud (John 9:6). Only in John does it show Jesus apparently cooking (John 21:9). When Jesus speaks of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, the word for “eat” is “trogo,” the more primal word used for eating like an animal more than for fine
dining. Christianity does not shy away from the fullness of implications of Jesus’ incarnate nature, or ours.
Our service to God naturally involves our bodies. Our faith has always held it honorable to sweat and get callouses doing God’s work. Our worship is also meant to involve the body. We are called to say and sing the words and do the actions, gestures and postures that pertain to our roles. This engages our whole self.
Being physically present is also a part of it. If all one can do is watch the Mass on television, then we remember we are not called to the impossible. However, something precious was lost. During Covid, many people decided they liked watching Mass on tv better. Some people blame the decision to close the churches for this trend. We can argue about what the bishops should have done during the crisis (I prefer to use my time more productively), but I would say that many people’s sense of the power of the Mass was pretty thin to begin with, and this was an excuse. Mass attendance had been declining for decades before, and this just accelerated it. The task now is for us to rebuild.
The first part of transforming the world is always for us to fall more deeply in love with Jesus. I would leave you with one question: how do you bring your whole self to Jesus?
Blessings
Fr Jim

Bread of Life: What is God Doing?

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Dear Folks,Every three years our lectionary takes us through the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of John. Having just finished the Eucharistic Congress, continuing the Eucharistic revival, we are presented with five weeks of following John chapter 6.I’m going to challenge everyone to take advantage of this time.1. Present yourself to God to be changed by this journey. You can imagine that the disciples were changed by this day. In the Eucharistic prayer, I pray for the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine, then I pray that the Holy Spirit will transform us.2. Reflect on the Gospel story throughout the week. All four Gospels relate the feeding of 5000 families with five loaves and two fish. Matthew and Mark also tell the story of feeding 4000 with seven loaves and a few fish. We are really familiar with thisstory. What would it be like for the disciples, who had no idea what was about to happen? The Gospels reveal special treasures when we look at them more closely, and this is especially true of the Gospel of John. I suggest that each sentence is importantand has a purpose. What might it be?3. Try to do some extra learning. If you have not yet read Brant Pitre’s book “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,” Bishop Robert Barron’s “This is my Body,” Scott Hahn’s “The Fourth Cup” or “The Lamb’s Supper,” or any of Timothy O’Malley’s books, this might be an opportunity. On Formed.org there is great stuff.4. The talks from the Eucharistic congress are available on YouTube. There is so much that can be done so easily. Those of us who weren’t able to make it in person can participate to that extent. What if you and a group of friends watch a talk and then discuss it afterward?5. We remember that the Eucharist is about gift of self. The Lord gives Himself to us completely in this intimate encounter, and we are learning to give ourselves. What if we asked the question, “If Jesus could get whatever He wanted of me today, what might it be?” What if we let that question percolate in our minds for a while?6. What if we spent some extra time in front of the tabernacle or the monstrance. We remember that the Eucharist is not a thing but a person, the person of Jesus. As we focus on His presence, He is ever aware of our presence. He is watching you. Now. Yes, now.7. After we receive communion, let us go forth from Mass remembering that Jesus is within us. How does that awareness change how we act?I challenge you to do something different. Something. Anything. How can we open a new door in our minds and hearts to let Jesus in more deeply?

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Out on Mission

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Persecution of the Christians at Rome by Nero. Illustration for The Pathway of Life by T Dewitt Talmage (Johnson, 1890).

Dear Folks,
Jesus sends the disciples out on mission, and they are minimally equipped. Sandwiched into the story of the mission of the twelve, between their being sent out (Mark 6:6-16) and
the return (Mark 6:30-33), is the death of John the Baptist. As with the two healings a couple weeks ago (Mark 5:21-43), when one story is sandwiched into another, it is a hint to look at them together.
The mission of the disciples: depending on whatever people would give them, they would heal the sick and drive out demons. That is a pretty challenging assignment, but one that would not make them enemies (except for the demons). However, they would later be sent out when they would encounter persecution of all kinds, even though they were only doing good. The death of John the Baptist is a foreshadowing of what lies ahead.
John had been imprisoned for calling out Herod on his behavior, and Herod’s wife Herodias saw him as a threat, so she conspired to get him killed. Throughout Christian history, standing by the truth can get one in trouble. In the early Church, there were persecutions
in which Christians would be given a choice: either worship the emperor and be set free, or refuse and face horrible, agonizing death. Many faced death. Worshipping the emperor did not require anything elaborate, just putting a pinch of incense on hot coals and saying, “Caesar is Lord.” They didn’t have to mean it, and they could tell all their friends they didn’t mean it. Still, they refused. Why make such a fuss about such a little thing? First, it was witnessing to a lie. Witnessing to the truth is central to being a Christian. Second, and more sinister, it is a form of grooming. Tyrants and predators know that shifting people’s behaviors, their consciousness in tiny, incremental steps, can lead people to all sorts of terrible places before they realize what is happening. We remember the enemy is very clever (Gen 3:1).
These days, if someone refuses to participate in same sex union ceremonies, or uses the pronouns that we were taught in school, there will be people who will try to destroy him. Some say that not going along with certain theories about marriage and gender does great harm to some people. I say, let’s have that conversation. Let’s talk about what the truth really is, and how we can best help people. Many are not willing. Many would shout you down, assault or harass you, destroy your livelihood, in general try to destroy you instead.
I recommend Matt Walsh’s documentary, “What is a Woman.” It shows people acting like the question itself is out of bounds, inappropriate, somehow mean. People cut off the conversation when he pushes the question. When I got my rudimentary studies in science, math, and philosophy in preparation to study theology, I learned the importance of rigorously define key terms. If we are going to help people, it sure would be good to know what
we are talking about.
Jesus sends us forth to be healers, not usually with miraculous powers, but with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). We must remember that we are being “sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be as clever as serpents and innocent as doves (Mat 10:16).
Blessings,
Fr. Jim