Enemy of the Cross of Christ: Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time (PHIL 3:17—4:1; PS 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5; LK 16:1-8)

It is easy to feel defeated when we put so much time and effort into a campaign to save lives and protect human dignity, only to be rejected by popular vote.  It is easy to feel defeated when portions of society brazenly celebrate death in the form of Amendment 3.  

We must remember that even if things had gone our way on election day, the battle would have continued.  The true enemy, the enemy of the Cross of Christ, is not of flesh and blood.  The enemy is cunning, baffling, relentless and persistent.  The enemy of the Cross of Christ will stop at nothing to see our spiritual destruction and the undermining (if not outright demise) of the Catholic faith.

The enemy seeks to separate us along the dividing lines of identity groups, economic class, and other secular definitions of what it claims defines a human person.  The reality is that the enemy doesn’t care about the Truth.  The enemy only cares about self.

The political system is the domain of the enemy.  The media is the domain of the enemy.  We can and should fight the enemy on its turf in an attempt to save lives and protect human dignity, but that is not where we are going to win the war.  Ultimately, this war will not be won in Jefferson City nor Washington DC.  This war will only be won on the battlefield of the heart.  

The Church has the battle plan for this type of warfare.  That battle plan can be summed up in one word: Solidarity.  Pope Saint John Paul II defined solidarity as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good”.  

Solidarity, as described in the Catechism, enabled the Church to impel souls to the heroic charity of monastic farmers, liberators of slaves, healers of the sick, and messengers of faith, civilization, and science to all generations and all peoples for the sake of creating the social conditions capable of offering to everyone possible a life worthy of mankind and of a Christian.  

Solidarity was the heroic virtue of many of the saints we venerate, including Maximilian Kolbe and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.  Both had the opportunity to escape death camps, but instead chose martyrdom by witnessing to the virtue of solidarity.  

Solidarity is now the key to protecting human dignity from womb to tomb and unchaining the millions who are imprisoned by the delusional shackles of the enemy.

What must we do?  First, keep praying.  But also, I encourage you to actively reach out to others, especially those in our parish, who feel marginalized.  I encourage you to help them fulfill their desires to have healthy interaction and nurturing relationships within our parish as a whole.  I encourage you to help them exercise their right to participate in our community and fulfill their duty to seek the common good, irrespective of any apparent differences as defined by social norms.  

When we allow ourselves to be defined by false identities of social norms, when we allow those false identities to define our sense of human dignity and self worth, it becomes very difficult to see the Truth.  In that situation, it is very common to reject the Truth (sometimes in a very severe manner) when we are confronted by the Truth.  

But that shell can be melted by love.  It was melted for me, largely by this parish community.  If that shell can be melted for me, it can be melted for the others in our community that desperately need the healing light of Christ in their lives.

In Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Pope Saint John Paul II said, “Solidarity helps us to see the ‘other’...to be made a sharer, on a par with ourselves, in the banquet of life to which all are equally invited by God. Hence the importance of reawakening the religious awareness of individuals and peoples.”  

This is our opportunity to reach out and walk with someone on their journey with God.  This is our opportunity to be an instrument that makes God’s love visible in the life of another.

According to one parishioner, there are those in our community that feel marginalized, and are afraid to come forward.  If that describes you…if you sit among us, but feel unwelcomed, feel as though you don’t have a place, my heart truly bleeds for you. But, please know, you are not alone, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

To echo the infamous cry of Pope Saint John Paul II, “Do Not Be Afraid”.  I don’t care what your politics are.  I don’t care how you identify yourself.  I don’t care how society has defined your dignity and worth.  Please come forward.  Let me see you.  Let me hear your story.  Let me know how God is at work in your life.  Let’s together find true peace and healing that can only be found in the love of Christ.   

Abortion and a whole slew of other intrinsic evils may now be enshrined in our state constitution under the guise of reproductive health care, but the battle is far from over.  As Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “Evil may have its hour, but God will have His day.”  

Now, perhaps more than ever, is the time to be a source of healing and of God’s merciful love to those who have fallen for the lies of secular humanism, those who have been victimized, marginalized, and imprisoned by the enemy of the Cross of Christ.  Now is the time to meet them on the battlefield of the heart, not as a judge, but as a conduit for the conforming love of Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God!

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Follow The Greatest Commandment: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Dt 6:2-6; Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28b-34)

When the scribe asks Jesus which commandment of the law is the greatest, one might have expected Jesus to reply with the First Commandment…which is ”I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.”  In fact, I suspect it might have been quite a surprise to the group of listeners that Jesus doesn’t mention any of the Ten Commandments.  

I think that is because the Ten Commandments (along with the precepts of the Church) represent the bare minimum requirement to have a relationship with God.  Objectively speaking,  if we don’t live the Ten Commandments, we fall into in a state of mortal sin.  In a state of mortal sin, we are cut off from the grace of God by our own sinful actions.

At the same time, simply living the Ten Commandments won’t necessarily make us holy.  I think this is the perspective Jesus brings to the conversation when He refers to the She’ma as the greatest commandment.  She’ma is the Hebrew word for hear or listen. The She’ma is the great prayer from the Old Covenant that was as important to the first century Jews as the “Our Father” is to Catholics.  Our reading has the She’ma translated in english: “Listen O’ Israel, the Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

As it indicates in the Catechism, the call of Christ in the life of the Catholic is to a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward evil actions. At the same time, a life in Christ entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace.

Have you ever wondered what the world might look like if we truly followed the greatest commandment?  If we were to truly put God first?  If we were to put God before money?  If we were to put God before sports?  If we were to put God before our careers?  If we were to put God before our lust?  And perhaps the toughest, if we were to put God before politics?

There are so many things we don’t get right about loving God.  On the one hand we say that we love God and we want Him in our lives.  But on the other hand, we often tell God that He has to stay here in the Church and that He can’t rule over the other aspects of our lives.  

Some of us proudly declare ourselves to be pro-choice, ignoring that the giving and taking of life is really for God alone.  In Church we’ll say “Thy will be done”’, but once we leave here we start singing the tune “I Did It My Way.”

If we have such disrespect for God and His law, it is no wonder that we have troubles loving our neighbors.  If we can’t give the creator of the universe, the creator of each and every one of us, the proper respect, I guess it should be of no surprise that we have troubles giving our neighbors their due respect, let alone truly loving them exactly as God made them and as God has asked us to love them.

Have you ever wondered what the world might look like if we chose to focus on the best in each other as opposed to findings and exploiting the smallest flaws?  If we were to truly show respect and love for those who seem to be different from us?  To reach out to and embrace those who feel marginalized?  To truly accept people exactly as God created them as opposed to telling them they are not good enough unless they “transition” into what society says they should be?  What might the world look like without that prejudice, bias, and hatred?

Although, to be fair, what Jesus actually said is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  It is pretty evident that the current level of self-love out there is pitifully low.  Just look at all the self-destructive behaviors and lifestyles that people commonly lead.  All of the variety of dysphorias, all of the variety of addictions, all of the variety of anorexias; not to mention the other psychological disorders…many of which stem from a deep interior self-hatred.  A hatred of what God created.  A hatred of that which is in the image of God.  A hatred of that which God declared is good.  A hatred that is fueled by the standards of our secular society.   Considering all of that, should we be surprised at the deterioring state of our society?

We must always remember that our dignity is not found in the secular definitions of the human person.  Our dignity is not found by “properly classifying” someone in a prison that was formed by some identity think-tank.   Our dignity is found only in the fact that we were created in ‘the image of God’:  the human body, animated by a spiritual soul, at the very moment of conception.  The whole human person, from womb to tomb, is intended to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, in the body of Christ.

We must allow Divine Love to totally consume us.  We must allow Divine Love to transform us from the image that has been defined by the secular order to the pure ‘image of God’, purging us of anything and everything that is not of God.  Any false identity that has been placed on us by society must be renounced and surrendered to the Lord.  Any false values that conflict with the ultimate Truth of  Jesus Christ, must be renounced and surrendered to the Lord.

This transformation, not only allows us to have a life that is truly happy, joyous, and free, but more importantly, prepares us for the ultimately communion with the Holy Trinity.  

The Christian life consists in living to the full the grace of Baptism, in the total gift of self to the Love of the Father, in order to live like Christ, in the fire of the Holy Spirit, and through His love for others.

There is one moment mentioned in the Catechism that we should all look forward to participating in.  The Father's power 'raised up' Christ his Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son's humanity, including His Body (that’s us), into the Trinity.

The mechanism for this is ultimately through the Eucharist and authentically living the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church.  But, the Sacraments can only be as efficacious as our disposition toward receiving them, willing them with the right intention, and ultimately surrendering in true conformance to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

If we prefer to put the standards of the secular society above the Truth of Jesus Christ, the Truth as He teaches it through His Holy Catholic Church; then we are not following the greatest commandment.  If we choose to embrace the lies of human secularism over the reality of the Catholic faith, particularly as it relates to preserving human dignity in the image of God; then we are not following the greatest commandment.

Freedom and choice detached from Truth is not freedom and choice.  If we are to obey the greatest commandment, then we must be willing to be fully conformed to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  Only the Truth will set us free.

At some point each of us should ask ourselves why we are Catholic.  If the answer isn’t to completely surrender our entire personal identity over to be completely transformed into the image of Christ, then we should ask we.  That is how we pick up our cross and follow our Lord to the Kingdom of God.

Thanks be to God!

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Name Your Prison: Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time (EPH 4:16; PS 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; LK 12:54-59)

How far are we willing to go to be a prisoner of Christ?  How much do we long to see the face of the Lord?

These are pertinent questions that often surface when we contemplate the fallen nature of humanity.

One of the realities of the fallen nature of humanity is that it is likely that we are going to be prisoners of something.  Addicts are prisoners of the object of their respective addiction.  Anorexics are prisoners of whatever it is they compulsively avoid.  Codependents are prisoners of whatever relationship they are codependent on.  These are just a few concrete and common examples of prisons that we see in our society.  Perhaps many of you have experience with these prisons at one level or another.

That said, there are prisons that are not as obvious as the examples I cited.  People often become prisoners of their fear, of their resentments, of the lingering effects of past trauma, of their biases, and of their passions.  

The reality is that the world, the flesh, and the devil offer an almost limitless number of opportunities to be imprisoned by those things in our lives that have become idols….often times, we do not realize they have become idols and that they have become prisons for us.  To paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, they become a prison that locks us into our own ego.

The good news is that Jesus Christ has the key to our prisons.  We just have to surrender our entire will and our entire life over to the care of Jesus….to be a willing prisoner of Him.  We must be willing prisoners through grace, living by everything He teaches through His Holy Catholic Church.

This grace must inform and direct every aspect of our lives.   To the point that we are true prisoners of the One Sacred Heart.  Prisoners through one hope, one faith, one baptism.  Prisoners in one Church, one Lord, one God and Father.  Prisoners of the one and only Truth.

There are certainly times in our lives when we are tempted to think we know better than the Church.  Especially those times when we fear we may lose something if we were to live that aspect of our lives in accordance with Church teaching.  In those times that we fall to that temptation, we allow ourselves to be imprisoned by fear.  If not fear, then perhaps were imprisoned by pride, unforgiveness, anger, or any number of potential prisons.

I believe determining what imprisons us comes down to a discernment of spirits.  Whatever it is in our life:  A decision to do or not do something related to a personal choice.  A decision on how to vote for something or someone.  A decision of how to interact with someone else in a conversation or how to participate in interrelational activities.  Whatever it is, we must always examine and challenge our motives.

Am I reacting out of the spirit of fear, the spirit of anger, the spirit of revenge, or some other source of negativity?  Or, am I truly responding with the love of Christ?  Does what I am about to say or do align with Church teaching?  Or, is my motivation detached from the teachings of the Church?  Will my statement or action damage or deny the human dignity of others, putting what I think I need over the greater good of the children of God?

Being a prisoner of Christ means that we must always be willing to lay down our lives…even to the point of adopting a spirit of martyrdom.  A spirit of martyrdom does not necessarily mean we will become a martyr by losing our physical lives.  It can simply mean we are willing to lose our egos.  It can simply mean we are willing to lose anything and everything in our lives that is wrapped up in our egos.  We can make that sacrifice in faith that it will extend the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in this world.

To again paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, anything we give of ourselves to Him, we will receive a hundredfold in return and we will find true life.

Let’s pray for that grace.  Pray that, as true prisoners of the Lord, His Will will be done through us and we will see His face.

Thanks be to God!

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Your Moment of Seventy-Two: Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist (2 Tm 4:10-17b; Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18; Lk 10:1-9)

Our Gospel reading gives us a glimpse into how Jesus may have initially organized His Church.  After selecting the 12 Apostles, Jesus selects 72 disciples and gives them a mandate for a mission that they need to carry out.  Like John the Baptist before them, they are to go out and prepare the way of the Lord for each of the places Jesus intends to visit.  

This event parallels the Book of Numbers where the Holy Spirit comes down on 72 elders at a place called Tabarah during the 40 year journey of the Israelites in the desert following the Exodus from Egypt and shortly after they began to receive Manna.  

This outpouring of the Holy Spirit results in the 72 elders of Israel prophesying.  Prophesying in this context was likely in the form of speaking in enraptured enthusiasm.

I think the experience of the 72 elders gives us a perspective of what it was like for these 72 disciples.  As Jesus sends these 72 disciples on their mission, they are gifted with the charism of prophecy in order to convey a message of enthusiastic love and mercy...ultimately, the truth of who Jesus is and why He comes to us.  Jesus sends these 72 disciples to be an enthusiastic witness to the Good News and to prepare the hearts of the people they encounter to receive Jesus Christ.  I can picture the 72 disciples singing today’s psalm, “Your friends make known, oh Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.”

The moment of the 72 elders and the moment of the 72 disciples come together in the Mass.  The Mass is called the Mass because of the Latin phrase “Ite missa est”, which means “Go, it is the sending”. This is the very end of the Mass, where I proclaim, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”  To which each of you respond, “Thanks be to God”.

This is your moment of 72.  You have received your daily Manna (the supernatural bread from heaven), the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Eucharist.  You have been strengthened with grace to exercise the charisms you received at Confirmation.  The charisms you received explicitly for this mission:  to spread His word and do His work.  Or as it says in the Catechism, to truly be “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

This is your moment of 72.  Though we may be sent out amongst the wolves, we have nothing to fear.  To paraphrase Pope Francis, as long as we don’t venture beyond the Church’s teaching and the community of faith we carry, then we will always be one with the authentic Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit will ensure our success, just as He did for the 72 disciples.

This is your moment of 72.  Right now, Jesus longs to call someone in your life to Himself in the Eucharist.  This is your opportunity to be Christ to someone in your life.  This is your opportunity to be an instrument of God in the life of another person.  This is your opportunity to prepare the way to a relationship with Christ and the ultimate blessings that come with the Eucharist and the other Sacraments.

This is your moment of 72.  To paraphrase Saint Luke, whose feast day we celebrate today, to paraphrase the words of Jesus Luke captured from the time of the ascension, The Holy Spirit has come upon you and you have received great power.  Now go, be my witnesses to the ends of the Earth.

Thanks be to God!

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Cursed by the Law: Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Gal 3:7-14, Ps 111:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6; Lk 11:15-26)

 “Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the Law”.  Strong words from Saint Paul, early on a Friday morning.

I believe the statement Saint Paul is citing refers to the Old Covenant sacramental system.  As he later points out, praise Jesus, most of those rubrics do not apply to us under the New Covenant.  At the same time, it would be a mistake to believe there isn’t a message in the reading for our own sanctification.

In any relationship, there is a bare minimum that we must do if we are to keep the relationship in tact.  Think of some of the relationships you have been in: high school classmates, college friends, perhaps even cousins you grew up with.  These were important relationships at the time, but over time many of them have become distant strangers  Even in the most unhealthy relationship requires things of us if we are to continue to be in that relationship.  The same is true for our most important relationship, our relationship with God.

We must realize there is a bare minimum requirement for us to have a relationship with God.  This primarily falls under the Ten Commandments as well as the Precepts of the Church.

Objectively speaking, if we choose to break one of the Ten Commandments or if we choose to not follow one of the Precepts, then we have committed a mortal sin.  At that point, we have brought the curse mentioned by Saint Paul upon ourselves as we are no longer in a state of grace.  Because we are no longer in a state of grace, we have been effectively cut off from God.  We are no longer in a relationship with God, until that relationship has been repaired in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The Ten Commandments come up in our cycle of readings on a fairly regular basis, but rarely have the opportunity to hear the Precepts of the Church.  We rarely take the opportunity to meditate on what the Precepts mean to us and to our relationship with God.

As the Catechism says, “the Precepts of the Church are meant to guarantee the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit and moral effort, in the growth of love of God and neighbor.”

The Precepts are:

• You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.
• You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
• You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion, at least once a year, during the Easter season.
• You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.
• You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.
• You shall provide for the material needs of the Church, according to your ability.

If you are not practicing the Precepts, let us begin anew today.  Let’s renew our resolve to strengthen our faith by diligently practicing the Precepts of the Church.  In doing so, let our strengthened faith stoke the Flame of Love within.

Thanks be to God!

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Seeking and Finding Grace: Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Gal 3:1-5; Lk 1:69-75; Lk 11:5-13)

How many times does it feel like we ask, but we do not receive?  Or we seek, and we do not find?  If I am being honest, I find myself in that situation more times than I care to admit.  I think there are some common challenges most of us have to being able to truly find and receive grace in our lives.

The first challenge is that we struggle to believe that Jesus can truly work miracles in our lives.  In a recent homily, I asked the questions:  Can we really expect Jesus to heal this land, if we reject Him in the Eucharist?  Can we really expect Jesus to heal this land, if we reject His authority in the Catholic Church?

When it comes to a macro situation like healing the United States, we have limited control over the millions of Christians that on the one hand pray for Jesus to heal our land, but on the other hand reject the miracles in their midst; namely, His true presence in the Eucharist and how He leads us through the Catholic Church.

But, apply this to your personal life.  Where are those situations where we reject Jesus?  Do we have negative opinions of the Church, of Pope Francis, of Archbishop Rozanski?  Do we ever let those opinions go a little too far?  Are there teachings of the Church that we tend to ignore, or perhaps outright reject?  These have a way of whittling away our faith without us even knowing about it.  They can become impediments to finding and receiving grace in our lives.

The second challenge is that we haven’t truly given Jesus Christ Lordship over the situation.  Early in my faith journey, I remember having a conversation with one of my mentors at the time.  I tried to end the conversation on an optimistic note, even though I was far from an optimistic person at the time.  I ended my sentence with “God willing.”  The response I received was burned into my soul.  He looked straight into my eyes and said, “God is willing, are you?”

To be able to truly find and receive grace in our lives, we must fully surrender our entire life and our entire will over to the care of God.  When we try to hold on to controlling the people, places, and things in our lives; it can become a source of fear, anxiety, resentment, and anger.  All of these can become impediments to finding and receiving grace in our lives.  We must simply learn to let go and let God.

The third challenge is that we have forgotten how to receive love.  This is largely due to how we have been programmed by our American society.  We’re programmed to be highly individualistic  We’re programmed to get up, shake off the dust, and get right back on the horse, pretending that nothing ever happened.  We don’t allow ourselves to be vulnerable.  We don’t allow ourselves to open our hearts, to allow our hearts to be healed.

This impacts our spirituality and results in impediments to finding and receiving grace in our lives.  We must learn to be more vulnerable, and to open our hearts more that grace may enter more freely through that pathway of love in order that we may enter more deeply into the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.

Let’s make that our focus.  Knock at the door of the Sacred Heart.  Leave everything not of God at the street.  Allow Him to totally consume you in the Flame of Love.

Thanks be to God!

Who do “They” Say Jesus Is?: Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest (Eccl 3:1-11; Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4; Lk 9:18-22)

Who do “they” say Jesus is?

There are probably a million or more answers to this question as people define their personal Jesus based on ideologies they embrace.  They want the “seal of approval” of Jesus over what they believe to be true and how they want to live their life.  

This happens in a formal way in the tens of thousands of non-Catholic ecclesial communities that are out there.  Each of these denominations have unique and often conflicting doctrines of faith.  Some of these doctrines are critical to the salvation of a soul.  Their image of Jesus is marred by the theology they preach, because they need a Jesus that represents the theology they want to believe is true.

It also happens informally in our lives.  Sometimes we see this in a very visible way.  Take for instance, a “Catholic” politician that supports anti-life legislation and regulation.  They often create an image of Jesus that allows them to compromise on the objective truths of the faith in order to reconcile with what they refer to as the “will of the people”.  One might say, they choose Barabbas over Jesus.

That said, none of us are immune to the risk of adopting a false image of Jesus.  Anytime we try to justify putting our will before God's will or try to justify putting what we want to believe before what the Church actually teaches, we are in danger of developing a false image of Jesus.  What are those things in life that cause us to choose Barabbas over Jesus?  Definitely something we can all take to prayer.

This is precisely what makes the second question so very powerful.  Jesus isn't just asking for a personal reflection of who one person thinks He is.  I believe this is our first example in Church history of the Pope making a proclamation with the college of bishops.  This isn't just a fisherman named Simon providing a personal answer to a question.  This is the Church making a declaration through Peter.  In Matthew's account of this event, Jesus says that it is the Father that reveals this Truth of who Jesus is.  The Father revealing this Truth through the Church.

Ultimately, that's how we come to understand who Jesus really is.  The Father continues to reveal the authentic Jesus Christ to and through the Catholic Church.  Very practically, obviously, through His true presence in the Eucharist.  But, also in all aspects of our life.  How we face personal moral decisions in our daily life.  How we chose and live out our life vocation.  How we vote.  How we relate to others.  Whatever the situation is, we must always understand who Jesus is in that situation and, in a very substantial way, understand “what would Jesus do”.  The answer to those questions are always found in the Catholic Church, because that is how He is revealed by the Father.

This is why Jesus stressed the importance of listening to the Church in the Gospel of Matthew.  This is why Saint Paul referred to the Church as the pillar and bulwark of Truth in his letter to Saint Timothy.  

Listening to the Truth taught by the Catholic Church will ensure we choose Jesus over Barabbas.

Thanks be to God!

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Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?: Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs (1 Cor 15:12-20; Ps 17:1BCD, 6-7, 8B, 15; Lk 8:1-3)

“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

You may recall that iconic line from the 1989 Batman movie.  I don't know if screenwriters intended any real meaning to the phrase.  I do know what comes to my mind when I hear it.  The same thing comes to my mind when I read about the exorcism of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel.

While demonic possession is extremely rare (praise God), other forms of demonic influence are far more common. Let's face it, it doesn't take an exorcist to see the effects of the demonic all around us, certainly in our culture, our society, and our politics, but perhaps also in the life of someone close to us.

According to Saint Augustine, a demon can influence a person’s cognitive abilities, influencing their sensory powers.  The demon “creeps stealthily through all the avenues of the senses,” impacting their perception of the people, places, and things in their lives.  This is what we refer to as demonic obsession.

Demonic obsession can often appear as a mental or psychological disorder. To be clear, demons are not the cause of these disorders; however, they work feverishly to make sure the conditions do not improve, in spite of psychological or psychiatric care.

When I meet with someone I suspect might be suffering from demonic obsession I lead them into a guided mediation based on their primary negative emotion.  We ask the Holy Spirit to reveal a memory associated with the emotion.  Very often, the Holy Spirit reveals a traumatic event from their past.  We tend to not deal with the traumatic events in a healthy way.  Some of us would rather sweep them under the proverbial rug and pretend they never happened.  But demons love to use those events as a foothold to influence us.  This is what we call an entry point.  It isn't until we bring the light of Christ into the memory in order for Jesus to heal the wound and fill their mind with His truth, that the demon loses its foothold and the person is freed of the spiritual bondage.

Other entry points include contact with the occult (no matter how innocent it may have seemed at the time), religious cults (particularly Freemasonry organizations, such as the the Shriners), oaths, resentments, rebellion (especially against the teachings of the Church), and sexual sin.  

Once upon a time, I danced with the devil in the pale moonlight, but I was delivered.  Too many others are still suffering.  If you feel someone you know is currently dancing in the pale moonlight of spiritual bondage, there are helpful resources available.  I'd be happy to connect you with them.

All that said, it is extremely important to remember, we have nothing to fear from the demonic presence in our midst. If we are truly living out our baptismal authority through the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, then we have nothing to be afraid of.  The fact of the matter is the demons fear you as a sacramentally active member of the Body of Christ.  

As Pope Saint John Paul II once said, “The Church, expert teacher of humanity and holiness, shows us ancient and ever new instruments for the daily combat against evil:  prayer, the sacraments, penance, careful attention to the Word of God, vigilance and fasting.”

Brothers and sisters, continue to truly live the sacramental life of the Church.  Persevere always be in a state of grace.  Be victorious in the spiritual battle.

Thanks be to God!

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Be the Bee that Sets the World on Fire: Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (1 Cor 9:16-19, 22B-27; Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12; Lk 6:39-42)

Saint Paul makes it clear in the first reading that he puts it all on the line to be a missionary disciple.  He surrenders his whole life and his whole will to be an instrument of the Gospel to win souls for Christ.

Faith tells us that if we truly surrender to the Lord in faith, then He will strengthen us in all things.  Yet, many of us are hesitant to follow in the footsteps of Paul to be a missionary disciple to the world around us.   

Saint Catherine of Siena famously said, "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."  God meant for us to be missionary disciples, but too often we fall to the lies that have been fed to us by the world, the flesh, and the devil.  The lies that have become planks in our eyes preventing us from seeing the true invitation of Christ and preventing us from being fully trained to be like Him.  The lie that we are not good enough.  The lie that we don't know enough.  The lie that we don't have anything to offer.  Lies, upon lies, upon lies.

The truth is that each of us have a story of how the love of God is made visible in our lives.  That story can be a  source of strength for someone else struggling in their faith.  That story can be an invitation for someone to re-engage in their faith if they have been away for a while.  That story can be an opening for spiritual healing a person that desperately needs it.  That story can introduce someone to Christ that may otherwise never have an opportunity to hear the good news.

As the Eucharistic revival continues, we will become more acquainted with the phrase "maintenance to mission".  This transition will be our invitation to remove the planks from our eyes that often prevent us from engaging in missionary discipleship.  

Saint John Chrysostom said, "The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others."  We need more bees in the vineyard...bees that are willing to spread the pollen of the Eucharist to others. Missionary disciples that can build relationships, create trust, and accompany others on their spiritual journey to a deeper relationship with Christ in order that they may become missionary disciples in their own right.

That is our spiritual invitation today. Contemplate how Jesus Christ is calling us to be missionary disciples in this moment of Eucharistic Revival.

Be the bee, and set the world of fire.

Thanks be to God!

Live-Stream Recording

The Longest Journey: Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (1 Cor 8:1B-7, 11-13; Ps 139:1B-3, 13-14AB, 23-24; Lk 6:27-38)

Two themes jumped out at me from the Mass readings today.  The theme of knowledge from the letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, and the theme of love from the Gospel of Luke.

It reminds me that one of the longest journeys we have to make in life has a distance of about 13”...the average distance from a person's head to their heart.  Living life in our head as opposed to through our hearts limits us in many different ways throughout many different aspects of life.  But, it is particularly problematic when we intellectualize our faith life as opposed to internalizing it and living it out through true Eucharistic love.

My spiritual life was stagnant for a good number of years.  I attended Bible studies, book studies, and veraciously studied on my own; however, it wasn't until I started to internalized that knowledge and began to live it out in action that I began to grow closer to the Lord.

Book studies and Bible studies are good things that we need in our lives, but those are the beginning of the journey, not the end.  They give us tools that we can apply to life, but like any tool, there has to be action for the tool to be useful.

But, our actions need to be more than just going through the motions.  Our participation in serving our neighbor is certainly worthy acts of charity.  But, how often do we get caught up in the work of those services and miss out on the true purpose of what it means to serve our neighbor?  What more can we do to make our service to others a true encounter with Christ for the people we serve?  What more can we do to use service to lead people home to the Eucharistic heart of Jesus Christ?

Those are questions I don't have answers to, but I know the answers are out there.  

A couple months ago, I had the opportunity to help out at Saints Peter and Paul.  We are all busy doing good work, serving those in need, providing a good, nutritious meal to the homeless and hungry.  At one point, I looked up and noticed one of our students sitting at a table having a conversation with one of the homeless women.  Here, we were all being a bunch of Martha's, busy doing charitable service.  But, this student took a moment to be a Mary...to have a true encounter of love with someone who needed it.  It was impactful, and it left me wondering how can we bring more Mary's into the mix with our Martha's.  Maybe each of us can pick ten random names from the parish directory to give them a call, have a personal conversation, get to know them a little, and invite them to join us in community through the Mass and the many events of the parish.  

Just a thought to ponder this month.  A thought that can hopefully help us start the journey from our head to our heart.  To use our acts of service to create relationship, build trust, and ultimately lead people to a deeper relationship with out Eucharistic Lord, that is how we will win souls for the Immaculata.

Thanks be to God!