Archive for the ‘The Apostles’ Category

Lessons for our Mission’s Journey

July 14, 2024

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus sent his apostles on a journey with a mission for the Kingdom of God. He sent them out two-by-two, to preach repentance, liberate souls, and cure the sick. Jesus ordered the apostles not to carry sacks, nor food, nor money, nor second tunics. He did, however, instruct them to wear sandals and take a walking stick. We as Christians are also on a journey through this world and tasked to do important work for Christ’s Kingdom. So what lessons can we learn today’s gospel reading? Like the apostles, we are not meant to go it alone. We are expected to rely on God and others. And we are to take along only what will help and leave behind whatever will hinder our holy mission’s journey.

Jesus sent his apostles in pairs in part so that they would have one another for support. They gave each other companionship, encouragement, accountability, and the support of prayer. Married spouses are to be such helpmates to each other, but even the unmarried should have spiritual friendships in their lives. Help each other along the way to both holiness and to heaven. Encourage each other, lovingly summoning each other to go further in faith. Pray together, regularly entrusting your prayer intentions to each other. Prioritize Christian partnership in your life. Jesus’ apostles were not expected to journey nor fruitfully labor alone, and neither are you.

Why did Jesus command the apostles to carry “no food, no sack, no money in their belts”? Without these provisions the apostles had to depend on God and the people they would meet. Jesus teaches not to be anxious about material things; about what we will wear, what we will eat, or what we will drink. It is good for us to work to meet these needs, however, our worry is worthless. On their mission, Jesus put his apostles in a place where they needed to trust in God’s providence. One of the great goods from the practice of tithing today, besides the help it provides for Christ’s Kingdom, is that it exercises and deepens our trust in the Lord, giving him the opportunity to prove himself provident towards us. Today’s psalm declares, “The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase.” Ask him and peacefully trust him to provide, what you need for your body—and more importantly—what you need for your soul.

Why were the apostles forbidden to take along a second tunic? Because traveling without that outer garment, prevented them from sleeping in the chilly outdoors. They needed to find nightly lodging and having sandals and walking sticks help them find it quicker amongst those whom they were sent to serve. Consider what things are helping you and which are hindering you in the holy work of your Christian journey. St. Ignatius of Loyola calls this his “First Principle and Foundation” in his Spiritual Exercises. He writes:

“God created human beings to praise, reverence, and serve God, and by doing this, to save their souls. God created all other things on the face of the earth to help fulfill this purpose. From this it follows that we are to use the things of this world only to the extent that they help us to this end [or goal], and we ought to rid ourselves of the things of this world to the extent that they get in the way of this end [or goal].”

St. Ignatius of Loyola calls us to discernment and holy detachment, If Jesus Christ would urge us to discard our own hand or eye if they were leading to our destruction, how much more should we pick up or put down habits or possessions based upon how they impact our holy mission’s journey!

In conclusion, to review the lessons of today’s gospel reading: seek Christian support from others, peacefully trust and rely on God, and seriously discern what will help you to better do what our loving Lord is calling you to do.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles | Leave a Comment »

Witnessing to Christ

January 13, 2024

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

St. John the Baptist once saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ …I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. …The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

John was not afraid to acknowledge Jesus Christ before others. John said, ‘I am not the Messiah, I am not Elijah, and I am not the prophet of whom Moses spoke.’ But he affirmed, “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord!”’ And John proclaimed Jesus as one far greater than himself, acknowledging him as the Son of God. St. Vincent de Paul observed, “Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.” John the Baptist is humble because he maintains the truth about himself and acknowledges the truth about Jesus.

John is humble and, standing in the truth, is willing to fraternally correct others. He admonishes those in the crowds, Pharisees and Sadducees, tax collectors, soldiers, and even King Herod, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” He corrects them because he loves them. If John had hated them he would have turned his back on them like Jonah did the Ninevites, hoping to see them destroyed. If we love someone, we will warn them of grave dangers to their body or soul.

Sometimes John the Baptist, when witnessing to others, shared his own spiritual experiences. John’s ministry and message were not his own inventions. He speaks of how he received his mission to baptize from heaven and testifies to what he beheld when he baptized Jesus. God still gives us signs and messages and works new miracles among us today.

Later, as John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples, he watched Jesus walking by and said again, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In the Old Covenant, lambs were sacrificed to atone for sins and to celebrate communion with God. John calls Jesus the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world. So those two listening disciples (that is, Andrew and likely John the son of Zebedee) follow Jesus, who turns and asks, “What are you looking for?” They reply, “Rabbi, (teacher), where are you staying?” And Jesus welcomes them, “Come, and you will see.”

So they went and stayed with him that day, and came away convinced that Jesus is the Christ. Andrew went to his brother Simon saying “we have found the Messiah” and brought him to Jesus. The next day, Jesus found Philip and said, “Follow me.” Philip then went to his friend Nathanael (also known as Bartholomew) and persuaded him to “come and see” Jesus of Nazareth too. When his future apostles encountered Christ they happily invited their friends and family members to come and know him better.

So what lessons have we received from St. John the Baptist and Jesus’ first disciples? To humbly acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and the great things he has done in you and for you. To be unashamed to acknowledge Christ before others. That if you love a person, to tactfully alert them to grave dangers to their soul. (They might not listen to your loving appeal, but it is better to warn someone unfruitfully than to regret never making the attempt.) To share your own spiritual experiences, visions, and miracles, showing others that God is personally active in our world today. And to invite your family members and friends to come and see Jesus, encountering him in private prayer and the Gospels, and most especially with us here in his Church.

Posted in Baptism of Jesus, Homily, St. John the Baptist, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles | Leave a Comment »

Encounter Him & Return

March 4, 2023

2nd Sunday of Lent
Fr. Victor Feltes

What a grace for Peter, James, and John to see the Transfiguration of Jesus. Can you imagine? It was like a preview of the glory we all hope to share in heaven. Jesus shared other special times with Peter, James, and John. Earlier in the gospel, we read that Jesus only allowed Peter, James, and John to be with Him in the house of a synagogue official whose daughter he raised from the dead. These three apostles were also with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Before the Transfiguration, Jesus told His disciples that He must suffer greatly, be rejected by the elders, the chief priest, and the scribes, be killed, and be raised from the dead in three days. They did not want to believe Him because they thought they could protect Him. Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does but as human beings.” The disciples had to learn that Jesus was not an earthly king, as they were expecting. They needed the special graces from Jesus so they could continue to follow Him and believe in Him. During the Transfiguration, God the Father said, “Listen to Him.” He revealed His glory to the disciples in order to strengthen them for the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

Let us review the events of Jesus’ Passion and Death, Peter denied Jesus three times. James, like the rest of the disciples, ran away. John was the only one who continued to follow Jesus during His Passion and Death on the Cross. He stayed with the women who followed Jesus. After the Resurrection and Pentecost, Peter, James, and John became great witnesses to Jesus. Peter became the first pope and was later martyred. James was killed by King Herod for witnessing Jesus. John wrote the fourth gospel in the bible, the Gospel of St. John.

How many times in your life have you let Jesus down or disappointed Him? We do this many times because we meet Jesus every day in our lives. The most intimate way we meet Jesus is when we receive Him in the Eucharist. It is the time when we are the closest to Jesus. We meet Jesus in the readings from the Bible as they touch our hearts. The Bible is not just about reading the life of Jesus, it is also about listening to His words. He is speaking to us about our lives. We meet Jesus in a very special way in all the sacraments.

Baptism makes us sons and daughters of God and heirs of heaven. Confirmation makes us the temples of the Holy Spirit. By the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God brings us, sinners, back to the path of holiness. By receiving the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in Faith, we are spiritually, and, if God wills it, physically, healed but most importantly our sins are forgiven. The Sacrament of Marriage unites a man and a woman together for life according to His laws. In the Eucharist, we receive Christ’s Soul and Divinity into our body. With Holy Orders, a man becomes a Priest, an altar of Christ, and by the Power of the Holy Spirit, offers the Sacrifice of the Mass and serves as a shepherd of Jesus’ sheep.

We can share experiences like those of Peter, James, and John when we spend some extra time with Jesus in prayer during Lent. Maybe, we may want to fast for one day, taking only water, thus releasing spiritual energy, which in turn, can lift our thoughts to a higher level.

Posted in Homily, Repentance, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles, Transfiguration | Leave a Comment »

Plant Using Your Tiny Seed of Faith

October 1, 2022

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Today the apostles beg our Lord, “Increase our faith.” They feel apprehension at Jesus’ teachings. Christ asks extraordinary things of his disciples, and they fear their faith is insufficient. The Lord replies, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Realize that faith (like courage or love) is not necessarily a feeling. You can be courageous, even while feeling fear, by doing the right thing anyway. You can be loving, even while feeling strong dislike for your enemies, by willing their good anyway. And you can be faithful, even when you feel apprehensive like the apostles, by acting on your trust in God anyway.

Perhaps you feel nervous when you fly on an airplane, yet you buy your ticket and board the flight because you believe commercial jet is a very safe way to travel—and it is. If you were a business traveler, taking dozens of flights each year, your anxious feelings would calm and come to better resemble your sincere conviction about the safety of flying. Faith is like this, too. You may or may not have feelings of great faith, but when you choose to trust God and do the faithful thing you are acting in faith. Exercise your faith and your faith will strengthen, because you will see that God is faithful, and then your emotions touching on faith will naturally follow.

Jesus says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” you could miraculously transplant a tree with your command. When I was younger, the first time I read Jesus’ answer, I was discouraged by it—“I’ve never performed a miracle like that. How microscopic must my faith be!” But I had misunderstood him. Jesus’ reply is meant as an encouragement. Our Lord is saying, “Even if your faith is tiny, it is more than enough for you to fulfill my will.” What is God’s will for you? What does he want you to do? If you do not know this already ask him to reveal it to you. And “if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

On another occasion, Jesus said “the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” So using your tiny seed of faith, plant in the field of your life as the Lord commands you. It may take awhile for the results to sprout but be patient. As the Lord said to Habakkuk, “The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.”

Mustard bushes grow very large and the mustard it produces has a very potent taste. Given time, what you plant in faith will change the landscape and the flavor of our world. When you go on to see the incredible transforming results which faith allows you may become inflated and vulnerable to pride. People through whom God has accomplished great things may be tempted to think their serious sins are therefore no big deal, or may abandon serving the Lord before their days on earth are done. For this reason, Jesus follows his parable about faith and the mustard bush with another parable about a servant and his master.

Jesus asked his apostles, “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?” Jesus here is not describing how the world ought to be, but describing how their familiar, ancient world actually operated; where the stronger dominated the weaker. It is like when Jesus told them, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.”

The apostles would not expect a slave’s master to be much grateful to his slave, and they would judge a slave to be most prudent in his position to remain humble and obey his master. “So should it be with you,” Jesus says, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” Indeed, apart from God we can do nothing, and keeping a humble servant’s attitude protects us from dangerous pride and presumption and helps us to fulfill what Christ commands. But the Master who is our Lord differs from other masters of the earth.

At the Last Supper, after he had washed his apostles’ feet, Jesus asked them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Although our Lord, being God, is rightfully entitled to all we have and are, he is grateful for our labors. If we do not let up our efforts, when our hard days on this earth are complete we can look forward to hearing him say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your master’s joy!”

So while your faith may feel small, it is more than enough to do Christ’s will. If you do not know God’s will already, seek and ask to know it. Then plant your seed of faith in action and patiently watch it grow. And when you see the great things our Lord achieves through you do not let up your efforts slip, knowing that his reward for you is eternal joy in Heaven.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Faith, Homily, Humility, Mustard Seed, Parables, Service, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles | 2 Comments »

Associated Priests

October 30, 2021

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

For the past four weeks, our second reading has come from the Letter to the Hebrews. This New Testament book shows Jesus Christ as our great, faithful, and merciful high priest: holy, innocent, and undefiled, yet patient and compassionate. He is able to personally sympathize with us in our weaknesses because, though sinless, he shares in our humanity and struggle. Jesus Christ is a priest forever offering his one perfect sacrifice to God the Father in a priesthood which does not pass away.

As the Catechism teaches, the redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; but this sacrifice is made present for us at Mass. The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ; Jesus’ priesthood is unique, but it is made present for us through the ministerial priesthood which he founded at the Last Supper. Jesus commands his apostles, “Do this in memory of me,” ordaining them priests of his New Covenant. Yet only Christ is the true priest, while they are merely his ministers.

Besides the unique priesthood of Jesus Christ and the ministerial priesthood of his ordained bishops and priests, there is the common priesthood (that is to say, an equally-shared priesthood) of all the faithful, which is ours through baptism. Sharing in Christ’s identity as priest, prophet, and king, each of us have holy sacrifices to offer, each of us have holy truth to proclaim, and each of us have holy power to wield. The Second Vatican Council noted, pastors “know that they themselves were not meant by Christ to shoulder alone the entire saving mission of the Church toward the world.” The ministerial priesthood is at the service of your priesthood, so that you — sanctified, strengthened, enlightened, and formed — can be as Jesus Christ and his saints for this place and time.

The scribe in today’s gospel approaches Jesus and asks: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus answers that the first in importance is this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” And the second is this: “‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” We must be entirely devoted to God, lovingly serving his kingdom according to our personal gifts and callings. And yet, even when we’re giving our all, we remain limited creatures. For instance, time spent doing one thing cannot be spent doing something else. And we are not pure, angelic spirits but physically embodied creatures, beset by weakness and fatigue.

I have experienced this these past four years as your pastor, having two parishes and a school, celebrating thirteen or fourteen Masses a week, with usually five Masses to offer on the weekends. Plus there’s confessions, funerals, anointings, and weddings; school activities and CCD; answering correspondence and completing paperwork; writing for the bulletins and the Sunday homily; and meetings or appointments on most weeknights. I mention this not to brag or complain, but to show why this is grinding and draining and why I do not do more — there is only one of me. I would like to do more than these things I do, but I feel I can’t – not without some help or relief. That’s why I have been working with our parish councils for several months seeking a good solution.

Today, I can announce good news: St. Paul’s and St. John the Baptist’s parishes will soon have an additional priest. This associate priest will assist me, your pastor, in serving you. His name is Fr. Chinnappan, a priest from India, who presently happens to be Fr. John Potaczek’s associate in Mauston. Fr. Potaczek will have a new associate, but Fr. Chinnappan will officially begin ministry here with us, with lodging at St. John’s rectory, on December 1st of this year.

This means that our current weekend Mass schedule will not need to change next year. We’ll have more flexibility in scheduling funerals and more opportunities for confession. Weekday Masses will become Communion Services much less often than before. And visiting priests will no longer be needed for helpouts. Fr. Chinnappan is excited to teach a religion class at St. Paul’s School next semester, and now there will typically be at least one priest around at both parishes for each night of CCD.

I look forward to the unique gifts and perspective Fr. Chinnappan will bring to St. Paul’s and St. John the Baptist’s. I trust that you will make him welcome, and be patient with us who serve you. For myself, I am most excited to have more opportunities to engage, teach, and evangelize, drawing souls more closely and profoundly to Christ here at our church and school. I have some new ideas in mind, and I want to hear your ideas and any offers to help. Jesus wills for you and I to be one hundred percent devoted, with all our heart and mind, soul and strength. Let us serve Jesus Christ, our priest and king, as saints for this parish according to our own unique gifts and callings.

Posted in Catholic Church, Homily, Jesus Christ, Sacrifice, Service, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles | 1 Comment »

Does Jesus Have an Arc?

September 19, 2021

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games (2014)

When I was growing up, my dad read a lot of science fiction novels and he once made an observation that I’ve remembered ever since. He noted how science fiction stories always feature some futuristic thing (like cloning, time-machines, or space travel) but if a sci-fi story only talked about the technology, it would be boring. “Every good story,” he said, “is a story about people.” It’s true. All great stories, be they found in literature, television, or film, are stories about people – interesting characters living through events.

What do Katniss Everdeen, Sir Thomas More, and Paddington Bear have in common? They are all film characters with the same kind of character arc. A character arc refers to the inner journey of a character throughout the course of a story. A character may go here or there, and do this or that, but their character arc is their transformation as a person. There are three main types of character arc: Positive, Negative, and Flat.

Positive arc characters change for the better. They originally believe lies about themselves and the world, things like “I’ll never find true love,” or “I can’t be a warrior.” But by the end, they’ve found the truth, embraced it, and triumphed. Most of the stories you’ve seen or heard are stories like this. Negative arc characters, on the other hand, change for the worse. They come to accept lies and wickedness. Villains’ origin stories are like this. Michael Corleone from The Godfather or Walter White in Breaking Bad are famous examples of characters with negative arcs. Katniss Everdeen, Thomas More, and Paddington, however, are characters of a third type; characters who do not change.

Flat arc characters possess the truth and live it out from the start of their stories to the end. These characters also experience struggles like the others, but rather than being transformed themselves they transform the people and world around them. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, from beginning to end, knows that the tyrannical government is evil and is willing to sacrifice herself for others (as for her little sister, Prim). In A Man for All Seasons, 1966’s Best Picture winning film about a real-life Catholic saint, Sir Thomas More is a man of virtue who endures persecution for refusing to swear a false oath against his conscience and God’s law. And throughout the Paddington movies, young Paddington remains consistently earnest, honest, polite, and friendly while enhancing the lives of the people he meets.

When we consider the Gospels and the Book of Acts as stories (indeed, true stories and the greatest ever told) what kind of arcs do we find? What kind of arc does Jesus Christ have, and what sort of characters are his apostles? Though Jesus is born as a baby and grows into adulthood, though he ministers and is put to death as a suffering servant and returns as triumphant Lord, Christ’s inner self remains the same. The Person of Jesus Christ is divine, the eternal Son of God, a flat arc character who remains the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” He knows the wickedness of the world and sacrifices himself for others. He only speaks the truth and makes no compromise with evil, despite its persecutions. And his love converts the hearts of others, healing and saving the world around him. Jesus is the model, the pattern, the archetype, of every true hero.

What is the character arc of his apostles? The Gospels do not hide their flaws. We catch them arguing among themselves about who is the greatest. They still believe the world’s lies about who and what’s important, which produces the disorders St. James describes: jealousy, envy, and selfish ambition, greed, fighting, and slavery to passions, with every foul practice. But by the Book of Acts, the apostles’ positive arc has led each of them (except Judas Iscariot) to see that the greatest of all is not the ruler over peoples but the one who cares for even little ones. Jesus’ apostles have become new men, loving servants of all in the likeness of their Lord.

We human beings love stories. That’s part of why Jesus so often taught in parables. But why do we love stories so much? And why do we root for the underdogs, such as Rocky Balboa, Forrest Gump, or Joan of Arc? We love them because we are in a story ourselves, God’s great underdog story, in which you and I are characters. Our lives are important subplots to Christ’s overarching saga. We are co-authoring with Jesus our own character arcs within it.

Will you rise higher and higher in a positive arc, finding the truth in Christ’s Church, embracing the truth and living it out? Will you eventually become like Jesus and his greatest saints, who hold to the truth in a flat arc, blessing and transforming all around them? Or, following lies into darkness, will a negative arc lead you to final tragedy and disaster? If you are on this downward path, realize that a vast audience in heaven looks on, longing for a plot-twist which you can accomplish with Christ. But do not delay, for you do not know how many more pages of the book or minutes in the movie remain before your life’s eternal epilogue. This Sunday’s gospel antiphon acclaims: “God has called us through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let us whole-heartedly play our part in Jesus Christ’s heroic saga, that we may also share in his story’s glorious happy ending.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Literature, Movies, St. Thomas More, Sunday Homilies, Television, The Apostles | 1 Comment »

Three Ways to Strengthen your Faith

April 12, 2021

Divine Mercy Sunday

St. Thomas the Apostle, a martyr for Jesus Christ, is famously nicknamed “Doubting Thomas.” He gets a lot of flack for being slow to believe because of today’s reading from the Gospel of John. One week after Easter Sunday, Jesus appears in the Upper Room once again. This time Thomas is there and Jesus says to him: “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Yet the Gospels show that other disciples were slow to believe as well. The last chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel summarizes Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances in this way:

“When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. But later, as [the apostles] were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.”

St. Luke records how at that first appearance in the Upper Room, even after Jesus had shown them his wounded hands and his feet, the disciples were “still incredulous for joy.” And later, when the eleven apostles went back up north to Galilee, to a mountain to which Jesus had ordered them, St. Matthew notes, “when they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.” There Jesus gave them The Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, even though their faith was not yet perfect.

After everything that the apostles had witnessed Jesus do during his ministry; including multiplying loaves and fishes to feed thousands of people, walking on water, and bringing at least three persons back to life, they still felt doubt. Jesus had raised Jairus’ 12-year-old daughter from the dead. He raised the only son of a widow of the city of Nain from the dead. And Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany, from the dead. Yet the apostles still doubted, despite evidence, that Jesus himself had resurrected from his tomb. This seems senseless, but I can’t be very hard on them.

When I was in school, our science teacher once attached a bowling ball to a rope and attached that rope to the ceiling. The challenge was to hold the ball up to your nose (so that the rope was without slack) and then to release it, allowing the bowling ball to swing away and swing back toward your face, without flinching. Now I knew that if I didn’t push the ball away when I released it, and if no one touched the ball while it was in motion, if the whole thing held together and if I stood in place, there was no way that bowling ball could possibly hit my face. But when I saw it coming toward my face, I still flinched and stepped back. What we feel doesn’t always match what we think.

It’s like when you fly on an airplane. You know its the safest form of travel. But maybe you still get a bit anxious as you’re boarding, or when the jet accelerates faster and faster down the runway, and climbs thousands of feet up with nothing but empty air between you and the ground. You’re a little alarmed when you hear the aircraft make its mechanical sounds, or when you’re descending to land and you see everything on the ground getting closer and closer, hurtling by. You feel nervous flying, even though your car trips to and from the airports put your life in greater danger than the flight. I think this is just a part of our present human condition; we can doubt even the things we know with certainty. So how can you nurture and deepen your faith? First, in Christian community. Second, by asking and seeking. And third, by being it into being.

Christian community, both here at Mass and outside of Church, helps sustain our faith and grow it. We Christians are like lit charcoals inside of a cookout grill. If you were to dump and scatter these coals across your driveway, they would cool off entirely, achieving nothing but a mess. But by gathering these lit coals together, they become hotter and remain hot by sharing one another’s warmth. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another.” When St. Thomas was not yet fully convinced that Jesus had arisen, he still remained within the Christian community. Inside the Upper Room, where the first Eucharist was celebrated, Thomas went on to become convinced of the wonderful truth about our Lord and our God. So do not neglect, but prioritize in your life, your Christian friendships and our community.

Another important way to nurture and deepen your faith is by asking good questions about it and seeking out the truth. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were discussing and debating with one another about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Then, though they did not fully recognize his presence, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and set their hearts burning with new faith and joy. Jesus calls us to be childlike but he wants our faith to be mature. He invited Doubting Thomas to investigate and probe him. Jesus says, “Whoever asks receives, and whoever seeks finds.” So ask mature, challenging questions about our Faith, in conversation, in study, and in prayer. Ask good questions and you will find solid answers to strengthen your faith.

And a third way to deepen your faith is by being it into being. What are the true and beautiful things we believe that you tend to doubt? What are some Christian truths you profess but sometimes have a hard time feeling or living out? Maybe it’s the belief that you’re loved. Maybe it’s the belief that you’re forgiven, or that you could be reconciled to God. Maybe it’s believing that you’re never truly alone. Or maybe it’s believing that Jesus is alive and active today in your life and our world. Ask God to show you your half-accepted Christian beliefs and reflect on them. Ask God for grace to accept these more fully and then be them into being, by which I mean, act as you would if you accepted these truths completely. Then you will begin living more like Jesus wills for you.

On one occasion, the apostles pleaded with Jesus, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’” Here Jesus is saying that even if your present faith is tiny, know that your small, imperfect faith is already enough for you to begin doing and becoming everything that he desires for you.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Faith, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Resurrection, Saintly People, St. Thomas the Apostle, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles | Leave a Comment »

Watch “The Chosen”

June 8, 2020

“The Chosen” is a truly excellent dramatized series about Jesus’ early ministry. I highly recommend it. They flesh-out characters and scenes from the Gospel texts in creative but faithful ways. The depiction of Jesus is particularly compelling. You can see the first season’s episodes on YouTube or through this free app.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Jesus Christ, Movies, Reflection, Salvation History, The Apostles | 3 Comments »

“Hi. I’m Jesus. This is my Apostle, Simon, and this is my other Apostle, Simon.”

September 11, 2019

St. Luke’s Gospel tells us,

“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,
James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

Ever notice how many of the Apostles have the same names? With two Simons, two Johns, and two Judases, half of the Apostles share a first name. Something like this naturally occurring is actually not that unusual; for instance, nearly 48% of U.S. Presidents share a first name with at least one other President, and about 68% of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had the same first name as one or more of the other signers.

But how often have you come across a novel, movie, or TV show with two characters bearing the same first name? (The only example that comes to my mind is from the 1980’s sitcom Newhart: “Hi. I’m Larry, this is my brother, Darryl, and this is my other brother, Darryl,” but this was just for laughs—the two Darryls didn’t even have any spoken lines.) Duplicate naming is avoided by the authors of fictional works because this complicates the story, potentially confusing the reader. The fact that we see duplicate names among the Apostles (not to mention the many, many Marys) is just more evidence that the Gospels are not made up texts but a record of history as it happened.

Larry (right) with Darryl and Darryl on Newhart

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True Witnesses to the Resurrection

April 23, 2019

“[S]ome of the [tomb] guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.” And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.”

—The Gospel according to St. Matthew 28:11-15

When I was a grade-schooler, a classmate told me, “Did you know, if you dream that you’re falling and you hit the ground in your dream, you’ll die in real life?” I was astounded and the idea stuck with me. But upon later reflection, I realized the suggestion was nonsense. If someone had died in their sleep because they fell to the ground in a dream, how would anyone find out what they had been dreaming about? The tomb guards’ cover story likewise makes no sense. If they had been sound asleep, how could they identify who (if anyone) had stolen the body?

For the sake of argument, let’s suppose Jesus’ disciples stole his dead body from the tomb. Then the Apostles would know for a fact that the stories they told of interacting with the resurrected Jesus were lies. Church history reports that ten out of the eleven faithful Apostles would go on to die bloody, martyrs’ deaths. Now someone might die for what they mistakenly believe to be true, but who would knowingly die for a lie?

So let’s suppose instead – again for the sake of argument – that the early Christians lied about the Apostles. But if the Gospel writers had been liars they would have spun their tales differently. The Apostles, the founding father-leaders of this new Christian Church, are not presented flatteringly but with their warts and all. They repeatedly misunderstand Jesus’ teachings, squabble for place and prestige, fall asleep in the garden and then desert their Lord when trouble arrives, and even after the Resurrection they are slow to accept it. A liar would neither invent nor include the story of St. Peter repeatedly denying Christ, but all four Gospel writers did. And who is presented as the first eyewitnesses to Easter morning’s miracle? Various women — in an era where neither Roman nor Jewish courts accepted the testimony of females. Liars would have fabricated more culturally acceptable witnesses, but the Gospels record the story of the Resurrection this way because that is how it really happened.

The Apostles were willing to boldly preach across an empire that had murdered their master, for no notable earthly benefit, until they got killed for it. We might have expected them to lay low, leave town, and go back to full-time fishing, yet these self-admittedly imperfect men were transformed after Easter. They became unafraid of death because they had truly witnessed, seen and touched, Jesus Christ alive from the dead. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! And this eyewitness testimony has circulated among the nations to this present day.

Posted in Reflection, Resurrection, The Apostles | 2 Comments »

The Case of the Prophet Caiaphas

April 29, 2017

Once word got around how Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead,

[T]he chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. (John 11:47-53)

Caiaphas speaks the wisdom of this world, recommending evil means in hopes of a desired social end. Yet St. John notes that this earthly-minded high priest prophetically reveals the plan of heaven without knowing it — Jesus has come “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Like Balaam in the Book of Numbers, Caiaphas prophesies despite himself.

After Jesus’ Passion, death, and resurrection, the Sanhedrin convenes anew — this time to address the issue of the Apostles’ continued ministry in His name:

When the court officers had brought the Apostles in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, “We gave you strict orders did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

Caiaphas is threatened by the vitality of this Messianic movement that won’t die and stay dead. He fears the social rebellion and personal vengeance that its followers may seek out. Once again, the high priest’s misplaced concerns unknowingly speak spiritual truths.

The Apostles indeed wish to bring the Savior’s blood upon the Jewish leaders and everyone. When the Old Covenant was inaugurated, “[Moses] took the blood and splashed it on the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.’” (Exodus 24:8) Likewise, in instituting his New Covenant, Jesus “took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Matthew 26:27-28)

And the Apostles’ teaching is not merely filling the ancient Jerusalem found in the earthly Promised Land. In his visions, St. John beholds “the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” and he notes that God’s people “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:2 & 7:14)

Recall what Joseph told to his brothers who had sold him away as a slave: “Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people.” (Genesis 50:20) Remember what St. Paul writes to the Christians in Rome: “We know that God works all things for good for those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28) The case of Caiaphas reminds us that even those who make themselves the enemies of God will be used as instruments to accomplish His ultimate will. At times this truth can be painfully inscrutable to us, but we trust that every evil, even the murdering of God, shall be turned to the good of those who love Him.

Posted in Homily, Reflection, Salvation History, The Apostles | 2 Comments »

Loving Mercy Overcomes Error

January 10, 2017

Reflections on John 1:43-51

philip-and-nathanael     In the early days of his public ministry, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he found his future apostle Philip and says to him, “Follow me.” Philip, from the same town along the northern coast of Galilee as Peter and Andrew, was so awed at encountering Jesus that he tracked down his friend Nathanael (also known as Bartholomew.) Philip told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” (Philip is sharing happy news, “We’ve found the promised Messiah, the Christ, and he’s not too far from here!”) But Nathanael is unimpressed and unconvinced, saying, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip winsomely replies, “Come and see.“

When Jesus sees Nathanael coming toward him he says of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael asks, “How do you know me?” Jesus answers, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!” Jesus replies to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Jesus tells him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Why did Nathanael’s opinion about Jesus, that man from Nazareth, change so suddenly? Perhaps Nathanael was sitting under a particular fig tree when Philip found him and Nathanael, believing that there was no natural way Jesus could have known or guessed this, was instantly persuaded. Another explanation is that Jesus is referring to a memorable dream Nathanael has recently had. It’s strange that Jesus would describe an honest man as a son of Israel—that is, as a son of Jacob—whose duplicitous deeds are detailed in Genesis. But recall how Jacob once had a dream in which he saw the angels of God ascending and descending a stairway to Heaven while the Lord God stood beside him. (Genesis 28:10-19) Jesus alludes to that event in this encounter. Now if a stranger were to tell me about a conversation I thought no one else had witnessed, I’d be intrigued; but if someone were to accurately describe my dream from the night before, that person would have my full attention. Whatever the reason behind Nathanael’s change of heart it was the style of Philip and Jesus’ approaches that made it possible.

The Gospels show us through numerous episodes how the apostles started off as far from perfect. When told that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael replies, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” This story presents Nathanael’s prejudice and how that bias nearly made him reject the Christ out of hand. What did Nathanael hold against those Nazarenes living some thirty miles away? Did he think them unfriendly, lazy, unrefined, impious, unscrupulous? Whatever the reason, he looked down on them and it showed.

Nathanael’s rash dismissal of the Nazarene maligns someone Philip regards as a great and holy man. Yet Philip does respond in anger. Instead, he urges Nathanael to learn more. “Come and see.” Nathanael is persuaded by his friend to give this Jesus guy a chance—a fair hearing—and this modest openness eventually leads to him being won over. Still today, one of the best means for dissolving prejudices of every sort is through experiencing “the Other” firsthand.

As Jesus sees Nathanael approaching he demonstrates a penetrating supernatural knowledge of him. Jesus probably knew what Nathanael had previously remarked in secret but Jesus does not reproach or condemn him for it. Instead, Jesus compliments what is good in Nathanael: “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Though they do not yet see eye-to-eye, Jesus affirms his sincerity. This opens a door to dialogue that not only changes Nathanael’s mind but his entire life, as he goes on to become an apostle for Christ.

We could imagine a pricklier Philip or a different Jesus rejecting and condemning Nathanael for his initial disrespect toward the Christ of God; however, we see both practice tolerance toward him. Christians are commonly caricatured as easily offended but I have found that the more faithful variety show extensive mercy—which is very different than indifference. We are called to loathe error, but to love everyone. True tolerance does not hate others for holding wrong beliefs but loves them while trying to lead them to the truth.

It would be an oversimplification to say that forceful confrontation is never called for. Jesus occasionally denounced others, like “that fox” King Herod, the hypocritical Pharisees, and the evil spirits. Sometimes Jesus manifested his displeasure through bold prophetic acts, like flipping money-tables at the Temple or cursing the fig tree. Yet Jesus possessed perfect wisdom and a clear vision into others’ hearts. “Jesus knew their thoughts” and “did not need anyone to testify about human nature.” (Luke 5:22, John 2:25) We, however, must guard ourselves to be “slow to wrath,” for apart from the Holy Spirit’s prompting, “the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20)

In this era of division, let us promote unity in advocating for the truth. In our disagreements with friends or strangers, online or face to face, let us shun anger, sarcasm, and revilement and presume the other’s good faith and sincerity. This manner of winsome mercy won Nathanael’s mind and heart for Christ and it can be just as powerful today.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Culture, Jesus Christ, Mercy, Patience, Politics, Reflection, The Apostles | Leave a Comment »

The Proof of the Apostles

September 10, 2013

By St. John Chrysostom

It was clear through unlearned men that the cross was persuasive, in fact, it persuaded the whole world. Their discourse was not of unimportant matters but of God and true religion, of the Gospel way of life and future judgment, yet it turned plain, uneducated men into philosophers. How the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and his weakness stronger than men!

In what way is it stronger? It made its way throughout the world and overcame all men; countless men sought to eradicate the very name of the Crucified, but that name flourished and grew ever mightier. Its enemies lost out and perished; the living who waged a war on a dead man proved helpless. Therefore, when a Greek tells me I am dead, he shows only that he is foolish indeed, for I, whom he thinks a fool, turn out to be wiser than those reputed wise. So too, in calling me weak, he but shows that he is weaker still. For the good deeds which tax-collectors and fishermen were able to accomplish by God’s grace, the philosophers, the rulers, the countless multitudes cannot even imagine.

Paul had this in mind when he said: The weakness of God is stronger than men. That the preaching of these men was indeed divine is brought home to us in the same way. For how otherwise could twelve uneducated men, who lived on lakes and rivers and wastelands, get the idea for such an immense enterprise? How could men who perhaps had never been in a city or a public square think of setting out to do battle with the whole world? That they were fearful, timid men, the evangelist makes clear; he did not reject the fact or try to hide their weaknesses. Indeed he turned these into a proof of the truth. What did he say of them? That when Christ was arrested, the others fled, despite all the miracles they had seen, while he who was leader of the others denied him!

How then account for the fact that these men, who in Christ’s lifetime did not stand up to the attacks by the Jews, set forth to do battle with the whole world once Christ was dead – if, as you claim, Christ did not rise and speak to them and rouse their courage? Did they perhaps say to themselves: “What is this? He could not save himself but he will protect us? He did not help himself when he was alive, but now that he is dead he will extend a helping hand to us? In his lifetime he brought no nation under his banner, but by uttering his name we will win over the whole world?” Would it not be wholly irrational even to think such thoughts, much less to act upon them?

It is evident, then, that if they had not seen him risen and had proof of his power, they would not have risked so much.

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Enduring Despite Scandal — 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year A

July 17, 2011

I know of a man who was called and chosen to lead, to preach, and to be a minister on behalf of Christ. Good and powerful things were done through his ministry and he was respected by many Christians. However, despite outward appearances, this man was a sinner (a great sinner,) and when his sins became known he brought great scandal to the Church. It was revealed that he had repeated stolen from funds collected for the poor. It also became known that he had betrayed Christ, his people, and his vocation in a vastly more terrible way. So terribly, in fact, that Jesus said, “It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”  (Better for him if he had never lived life outside his mother’s womb.) This man, who preached the gospel, who worked mighty deeds, who drew crowds to Jesus Christ, was the Apostle Judas Iscariot.

Could you imagine being one of those Christians who had been evangelized by the Apostle Judas? What if he had preached the gospel and ministered in your hometown? Imagine how your faith might be shaken by his sins. How tragic it would be if any Christians had parted ways with Jesus Christ, the apostles and the Church because of the scandal of this one man.

Though the one, apostolic, and Catholic Church is holy, she does contain sinners. Jesus said that there would be weeds that grow alongside the wheat. It has always been this way, and so it shall be, until the separating harvest at the end of the age. There have been terrible sinners among the Church’s popes and priests, her lay men and women; children of the evil one. Yet, these sinners, should not make us forget about the Church’s many canonized and uncanonized saints, the children of the kingdom, through whom far greater good has been done.

Like the mustard seed Jesus described, His Catholic Church, which began as a speck in history, has grown into the largest of plants, a peaceful dwelling place which brings together all peoples. And like the yeast in the dough that Jesus spoke of, the works and teachings of His Catholic Church have raised up the whole world for the better. For instance, the Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization in the world and she has been the defender of universal human dignity through the centuries. The modern world accepts the concept of universal human rights as a given because the Catholic Church first championed human dignity by her teachings and deeds. Despite the sins of some of its members, let no one say that the Catholic Church has not been a source and a force for good in the world.

We see that Jesus foreknew what Judas was freely going to do. Jesus said, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?” “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” (He said this in reference to Judas.) Why did Jesus, who knew all the while what Judas would freely do, permit him to remain in their company? One could rightly say it was because the Father had ordained it so, or that it was necessary to fulfill Old Testament prophesies, or so that the Son of Man and Savior of mankind would experience the human suffering of betrayal by someone who knew Him well and should have loved Him. Perhaps there are one thousand true reasons for it in God’s providential plan, but I am convinced that one of these reasons is this: So that in the future, whenever one of Jesus’ own betrayed Christ’s Church, be they a member of the clergy or laity, it would not destroy our faith in Christ.      Ultimately, the only person our Catholic faith depends upon is Him, and Jesus will never let us down.

For those who have been alienated from the Faith because of scandals, let us pray whatever the offense, that no Judas shall keep them away from Jesus Christ and His Church.

Posted in Catholic Church, Faith, Homily, Human Dignity, Saintly People, Social Justice, St. John the Baptist Parish, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles, Unity, Wheat & Weeds | Leave a Comment »

Why Twelve Apostles? — Wednesday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

July 6, 2011

Yesterday, Jesus said to His followers, “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Today, He summons twelve disciples from the crowd to have a special role and authority among His people. Each is named an “apostle,” a title which is a Greek word, meaning “one who is sent.” Jesus shall send the apostles into the world to be the foundation stones of the Church. Why did Jesus choose twelve Apostles, rather than ten, twenty, or one hundred? I think that reasons are found in the history of God’s people and in the symbolic meaning of numbers.

Yesterday, Jacob wrestled with God and his name was changed Israel. This man, Israel, had twelve sons and through these sons, descended the twelve tribes, the people of Israel. By choosing twelve, Jesus establishes the people of God anew; He constitutes a new Israel. The number twelve is also three times four. Three is the Trinitarian number of God and four is the number of the created world; as in north, south, east and west, or the four corners of the earth. Twelve, the number which is three times four, denotes how the Triune God shall reach out to all nations to form a new people of God, a new family, a New Israel, the Church.

Our Church, its bishops, priests and deacons, like the sons of Israel and the twelve Apostles, frequently prove that they are human, yet our Church is more than just an organization and the ordained are more than just functionaries. Our clergy derive their special role and authority from Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and our Church is intended for all. They are our fathers and the Church is God’s family.

Posted in Catholic Church, Homily, Jacob, St. John the Baptist Parish, The Apostles, Typology, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »