Pentecost...It's All There!

Gerber baby, Ann Cook Turner at 91
https://wgntv.com/2017/11/21/the-original-gerber-baby-turns-91-years-old-today/

Pentecost is often spoken of as the "birth" of the Church. It's an apt metaphor: The Church, which had been growing en utero you could say, in the persons of Mary, the Twelve, and the small community of disciples, now emerges into the world. And when she does, we can already glimpse all of the distinguishing features by which she will be known as an adult.

The Church’s most obvious feature is that she is Charismatic – she has received the Gift, the Holy Spirit, and the manifold gifts He bestows, as evidenced by the charisms of tongues and preaching. Receiving the Holy Spirit as the common Gift of the Father and the Son (Acts 2:33-36) also immediately distinguishes her as Trinitarian. She is not a political body or social service but a living Tabernacle, making pilgrimage to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.

The Church that the Spirit rushed upon in tongues of fire is also Marian, Apostolic, and Petrine. We find her gathered in prayer with the Mother of Jesus – the Church's strong, silent backbone. Just as the Spirit overshadowed Mary and formed Christ within her womb, so He overshadowed the nascent community. birthing them as the Body of Christ into the world.

She is built upon the Twelve. The apostolic "office" left vacant by Judas' defection and death had to be filled before she began her mission to the world (Acts 1:15-26). And it was Peter, designated first among Christ’s apostles (Mt 10:2; 16:17-20), who lead the Church in this first act of apostolic succession. It was Peter who stood up “with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and address[ed]” the crowd (2:14).

And the sermon that Peter preached that first day, identifying how Jesus fulfilled the words of the Psalms and Prophets, established the Church as Scriptural – she constantly reflects upon and proclaims God’s written word. She is also Christocentric in her reading of Scripture; it all speaks of the Lord Jesus. But Peter’s preaching was not an end in itself. It led the crowd to cry out, “What shall we do?”; and Peter’s response that they must “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:37-39). The Church is not just Scriptural but Sacramental.

Even though all who received baptism that day were Jews, the fact that they had traveled to Jerusalem “from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5), intimated the acceptance of the Gentiles. It was a Catholic Church.

After almost two thousand years, the Church has grown and matured; Even though all who received baptism that day were Jews, the fact that they had traveled to Jerusalem “from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5), intimated the acceptance of the Gentiles. It was a Catholic Church.

After almost two thousand years, the Church has grown and matured. Her doctrine, liturgy, and works have continued to develop, to deepen; but for anyone who gazes closely at her “baby picture” –the Pentecost narrative – she is easy to recognize. The Catholic Church of today remains the Mystical Body of Christ, gestated throughout the earthly life of Mary and Jesus and born into the world on Pentecost.

"He Must Increase; I Must Decrease"

Those were the words of John the Baptist when his disciples came to him concerned that Jesus had started to attract larger crowds than John.  It's such an awesome thing to say, "He must increase; I must decrease" (Jn.3:30) - so incredibly noble.  It sounds so spiritually "romantic" ... but then you yourself are called to live it, and all of the air goes out of the tires.  

Each of us is going to experience times, probably many times, in our efforts to serve God when all of our plans come to nought.  As best we can tell, our hearts are in the right place; and we are using our abilities as we believe the Lord wants, but our efforts do not appear to meet with success.  But when we look around at our brothers and sisters we see just the opposite - their efforts to tell others about the Lord Jesus and to be of help to others are flourishing.  We have to beware of the Enemy at moments like that; he would love nothing more than to encourage a spiritual jealousy in our hearts.

St. Paul encouraged the us to keep our heads on straight, guarding our thoughts with "the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph.6:17).  And what does the word tells us?

• “My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity.  Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great. Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him.” (Sir.2:1-6) 

• Not to say that any of us find ourselves in this position, but when other Christian preachers were trying to outshine Paul in proclaiming Christ, his attitude was, "What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice" (Phil.1:18)

• "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mt.20:28)

• "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty." (Lk.17:10)

It's not our kingdom that we are building.  It is not our names that we wish to magnify.  The trials we face, the setbacks are not truly defeats; they create opportunities for us to persevere in loving the Lord, in expending ourselves for love of Him.  These are the moments when He grows our souls, transforms them to be more like His - poured out on the Cross for love of the Father ... and us.  Trials in our efforts to serve purify us.  They provide opportunity to overcome, to burn away, any residual desire we have to build our kingdoms, to make a name for ourselves, with the Fire of Love - the Holy Spirit who made saints of John the Baptist and Paul.

Come Holy Spirit, 

Love of the Father for the Son,

Love of the Son for the Father,

Soul of the Mystical Body,

Font of Life,

Fire of Love,

Sweet Anointing from Above.

Evangelism - It's FISHING, Not Hunting

Photo by David Falconer

When I was in high school one of the adult leaders at my prayer group, Bob Capstick, shared his philosophy of evangelism with us.  Bob was a holy, exuberantly joyous dude; so whenever he spoke I took it to heart.  Bob reminded us that Jesus called the apostles to be "fishermen."  And a good fisherman puts bait on the hook, his line in the water ... and then he waits for the fish to bite.

When I first became serious about following Jesus a couple of years before, I was reading the works of Billy Graham and Hal Lindsay.  They have very different emphasis, but one thing they both stressed was the "sinner's prayer," the gist of which says, "Lord Jesus Christ, I am a sinner.  I believe that You died and rose from the dead to save me.  I accept you as my Lord and Savior.  Please come into my heart and save me.  From now on I belong to You."  The goal of both men seemed to be bringing people to the point of praying that prayer.  Once it was sincerely prayed a person was "saved" (note the past tense).  The work of evangelization was done.

I naturally wanted to share with others the incredible joy and meaning that was coming to me through the Faith and so, I put the emphasis on trying to bring others to that point of "accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior."  Very early on I also experienced what charismatic Christians refer to as the "baptism," or "release," of the Holy Spirit;" so I adjusted the goal of my evangelistic work to bringing people to the point of accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and giving the Holy Spirit permission to penetrate every area of their lives and release His gifts and charisms.

A couple of things struck me as very inadequate though.  For one, I felt like all of my relationships had an "ulterior motive."  Granted, I wanted to help people arrive at a good place, the "best place;" but my relationships with them felt empty.  There was a feeling in my gut that, like the God I believed in, I should love them right where they were.  I should be an authentic friend.  The second thing that felt inadequate was how I was all about getting people to this spiritual climax of accepting Jesus into their hearts and getting baptized in the Holy Spirit, and then ... what?  What else was there to the Christian life?  Did we reach this spiritual high and then spend the next forty to sixty years just keeping the status quo until we either died or were raptured?  (And "no," I no longer believe in "the rapture;" but that's a different post.) 

Bob Capstick, the gentleman I mentioned at the start of the post, helped show me the beauty of the wider view, a Catholic view of evangelism and the spiritual life.  As embarrasing as it is to now write, I had been looking at evanglism as hunting.  I was out locking my sights on someone, wanting to "pull the trigger" of leading them in the sinner's prayer or laying on hands to pray for the release of the Spirit.  But Bob helped me to understand that it was good to follow my heart's desire of wanting to build friendships and have fun with people; I didn't have to be in a hurry to get them to recite a certain prayer.  God made us to love, to be in genuine relationships with others.  I could just be honest about who I was -someone who loved Jesus immensely - and what I did - enjoyed reading Scripture and theology, talking to groups, etc.   And if/when people wanted to know more  or need someone to pray with them, then they will feel comfortable asking me. And from time to time, I feel inspired to offer a friendly invitation, or even a challenge.  But it's real; it's relational.  (Plus, I have a longer list of people I consider friends.)

The Catholic viewpoint also helped me to see that the sinner's prayer, and gifts and charisms of the Spirit, and even the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, were just the beginning of the spiritual life (Heb.6:1-2).  God is in it with us for the long haul, with the end of the journey being when we become living manifestations of Jesus.  And that can happen in this world!  There was this whole branch of theology, mystical theology, that I never knew existed until years after I became serious about living as a Catholic Christian.  The Christian life isn't about peaking early; it's meant to be, and it can be, a constant ascent.  It grows through the years, as we pass through different periods - going out into the world, learning to lay down our lives for the ones we love, uniting our struggles to Jesus' own , experiencing new breakthroughs, falling and getting back up.  Salvation is not a one-time, over-and-done experience.  It's ongoing.  It can be lost and regained through the Sacrament of Reconciliation; and it can be progressively deepened.  Through all of its stages Jesus is there to feed and strengthen us with His very Self in the Eucharist.

That's the Catholic life - a beautiful, sometime grueling, full, genuine life.  It is the abundant life that Jesus came to give (Jn.10:10).

Grandma's Spaghetti - It's How I Share the Faith

It is a snowy New Year's Eve Day, so the kids and I are staying home and enjoying Grandma Virginia's spaghetti as we watch the flakes fall.  I have loved her spaghetti since I was a little guy, and have never found its equal.  She passed on the recipe a few months before her death.  

Photo by Alessio Sbarbaro

My dad and I both make it now.  And, I don't mean to brag, but my mom and siblings say that mine is best.  (To be fair, it is the only that I do better than my dad.  He's da man.)  So what is my secret?  Why does mine consistently turn out better than his?  Because  I  FOLLOW  THE  RECIPE.  My dad always tries to "jazz it up" by adding this or that.  But it doesn't need it; it's already perfect.  His changes inevitably change the flavor, and we're disappointed because we all came to the table expecting Grandma's culinary masterpiece.

I was thinking about all of this yesterday as I ran to the store to grab a forgotten ingredient.  I was tempted to substitute with something else I had at home, but decided it wasn't worth taking the chance.  And then it struck me that I am a "Catholic cook."  What I share with others about Jesus and his teachings - I really strive to pass it along in its purity.  The Lord Jesus is the Word of the Father, and the body of Truth that He entrusted to the Apostles contains everything that God wants to say to humanity.  I know that I cannot improve upon it.  If I try to add to it or subtract from it, I am doing those with whom I share a monumental disservice.  I share the Faith in the same manner I prepare Grandma's spaghetti - I follow the recipe.  It's not that I'm a slave to it; I want to enjoy, and I want others to enjoy, the delicious feast that results from following the recipe!

In the presidential debates this past October, one of the participants chided the other that the United States cannot return to the "social policies of the 1950's."  If you consult that participant's website to see which social policies he was referring to in the debate, he spells it out:  any move to stop abortion on demand, prevent employers from being forced to pay for contraception and abortifacients, or to stop American tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood (which aborts over 300,000 of our children a year.)  This same gentleman expressed his belief that our culture should change its definition of marriage.  And you will meet many people who identify themselves as "Christian" who agree with him.  The problem is, when they do so they are presenting a truncated version of the Faith.  I hear statements such as, "I'm Catholic," or "I'm a Christian, but I don't believe ..."  They're messing with the recipe, leaving out ingredients ... and the end result is moral heresy.

In the face of this kind of cultural shift the Catholic Church, and Catholic individuals such as myself, can do nothing but stand up and continue to articulate as clearly as we can what Jesus and His Church have always said.  It's not my Truth, or the Church's Truth; it is Jesus'.  So many elements are being presented as if they shackle and restrict our freedoms.  But my nearly three decades as a committed Christian confirm the observation made by G.K. Chesterton, "The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild" (Orthodoxy, 1908).  The "rules," the ingredients, that many people seem intent on discarding from the Faith aren't so much a fence meant to keep the kids from branching out and enjoying themselves as it is a fence meant to keep dangers from intruding into the children's play area.  (Although a fence that keeps the kids' play from spilling over from the yard onto a busy highway is a wonderful tool as well!)

None of this is to say that I am against sharing the Faith in new and exciting ways.  (People tell me that I get pretty animated when I share; and you are, after all, reading this on a blog with links to websites, videos, etc.)  But the methods or terminology we use in sharing the Faith do not modify the content, the ingredients.  They are like an interesting serving bowl or a super effective spoon for getting the spaghetti out of the bowl and onto people's plates faster.

Spaghetti and the delicious, filling New Evangelization.  "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord" (Psalm 34:8).  Happy New Year everyone!

Do You Have to Read the Bible to Get to Heaven?

Photo by David Ball

A good friend that I am blessed to share conversations with on many a morning raised an interesting question in connection with yesterday's post, where I challenged readers to put themselves into deeper contact with Jesus by, among other suggestions, reading the four gospels.  My friend had recently heard someone pose the question on talk radio whether it would be better to a) live a virtuous life but never read the gospels, or b) to have read the gospels but go through life acting like a jerk.  

The priest to whom this question was put responded that for Catholics reading Scripture and being virtuous  are not meant to be mutually exclusive.  He continued by saying that Christians were not simply called to be good, but to be godly; and that to be godly you needed to know the God you were called to imitate ... and He speaks to us and we read of how he lived as a man in the pages of Scripture.  Now, let me flesh that out a bit more, because he makes a point that is important but too little understood among Catholics - that we are not called to be good, but supernaturally good.  After that I'd like to bullet some thoughts as to why it is so important for Catholics to read and study Scripture.

The general cultural impression - and due to poor instruction over the past 40 years,  too many Catholics and other Christians share it - is that the way a person enters heaven is for God to simply place the good and bad he or she has done on the scale; and if the good outweighs the bad, then they stroll through the pearly gates.  Common idea, but absolutely not the belief of Christianity.

Heaven means sharing God's own divine life.  That is something completely above human nature, something to which we creatures have no right.  On the natural level, it is impossible to earn, no matter how virtuous our actions might be.  God's life is simply on a completely different plane of being.  He can only stoop down to offer it to us and, if accepted, draw us up into it.  That is what the priest was trying to point on when he said that we were not just called to be good, but godly.

This comes to the heart of the Gospel message. Our first parents were given the gift of divine life in their souls at their creation.  At some point however, they rejected it.  Instead of wanting to live as God's children, learning right and wrong from a heavenly Father, they wanted to determine right and wrong for themselves.  They reverted to the life of creatures - and broken creatures at that.  God the Son entered the human race for the purpose of regenerating it from within.  He lived as a human child of God, filled with the divine life, from cradle to grave.  He is the breakthrough.  And if we will accept His invitation (of Baptism) He fuses us to Himself and raises us up into His own life and relationship with the Father.

The good actions that we perform after that point have a supernatural value because they are the actions of children of God - performed through the power of the only Son.  But we have to cooperate with Jesus' desire to reproduce His life and actions in us.  Heaven is the name we give to the family life that God and His children will share for eternity.   Again, apart from Him we are merely God's creatures; but united to Jesus we become children.    

I know, now you're asking yourself, "But what about all of the people in the world who are not Christians?  Is there no hope for them?"  Yes, there is.  (But if you want the details you're going to need to click here and check out paragraphs 839-848.  I want people falling in love with not just Scripture, but the Catechism!)

Now, if we Christians are supposed to be living the life of Jesus, a divine life, it stands to reason that we want to be as closely united to Him (present and acting in the Sacraments) and to His mind (manifested to us in the pages of Scripture and the Tradition and teachings of the Church) as absolutely possible.  God became a human being to speak to us and show us what are lives are meant to be.  It is a Divine Revelation!  You wish God would speak to you?  Open the Bible!  Why expect Him to manifest Himself with a booming voice if you won't pay any attention to the 73 whole books He's already written to you?!

Why start reading the Bible?

• It is "inspired." In Greek, the term literally means "God-breathed."   God Himself produced this work, through the human authors.

• He took over a millenia crafting it, for the purpose of speaking to you today. 

• You are able to study the words and actions of Jesus, Whose life you are supposed to be living.

• You might discover that the image of God you hold in your mind is just that, your image of God - it does not match the Reality.

• We discover God's vision of what is right and wrong.  And that's important, because serious sin can drain His divine life from our souls.  "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Prov.14:12).  Translation - "Be in the know."

• The Church never grows tired of quoting St. Jerome (from back in the 400's), "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ," or as I like to paraphrase him, "To whatever degree we do not know Scripture, it is to that same degree that we do not know Christ."

• We - literate people, with Bibles in our homes - are the envy of almost every century of Christians to have come before us.

Can a person enter Heaven without having ever physically read one of the gospels?  Yes.  But do you have any excuse for not reading the Bible?  An excuse that will hold up with God? "Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required" (Lk.12:48).
 

Faith - Things I Want to Share

I chatted briefly with a very sweet young lady earlier today.  She had read the first few pages of The God Who is Love and said that she might want to ask me some questions down the line.  You guys know me; that sounds like an absolute blast.  Not really knowing anything about this young woman's faith as she grew up or what specific thoughts or questions she has, it got me thinking, "If I could share anything I wanted about God/faith with someone, what would it be?"  So here is my "wish list," the thing I most want to tell others who are serious about growing in faith:

• Never say that you are "not holy enough" to start a relationship with God; that's like saying you're "too dirty" to take a bath.  God loves you now; and He will give you the power to change, to live like Jesus (aka, "be holy").

• Faith is a relationship with a Person (or more precisely, with three divine Persons in one nature).

• It is unlike any other relationship in your life; this is the Being holding you and everything you know in existence - your ability to think, act, and simply be are utterly dependent upon Him.

• We live in a culture that, while it continues to have many positive points, has started down a path that contradicts God on some of His (and nature's) most fundamental truths.  If we grew up in this culture, then we're probably in for more than a little "culture shock" as to what God desires for our lives.

• The Christian Faith is not a matter of individual interpretation.  We are not able to pick and choose which elements of it are appealing to us.  God became a man, Jesus, and He claimed, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life."  To reject some element of belief or morality is to reject Jesus.  It's all personal in Christianity; it's all relationship.

• If you believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, then it stands to reason that you believe He is the greatest teacher the world has ever known.  No decent teacher throws his students a textbook and says, "I'll see you at the final exam."  When Christians try to go it with the "Bible alone," they're setting themselves up for mistakes.  Jesus never penned a book during his time on earth.  

• Jesus founded a Church and promised to be with her shepherds, guiding them as they taught the world.  The New Testament came through them.  It was never meant to stand alone.  Jesus, the teacher, guards against misinterpretation of His words and offers us guidance in today's changing world through His shepherds, the Pope and Bishops.

• God fills the deepest longings of our hearts.  Once you've come into contact with Him, nothing else will ever really satisfy you again.

• I am a Catholic - but not because I wanted to be.  There were doctrines I did not want to believe in (seriously, who wants to go to Confession?); but once I understood that it was what Jesus taught ... there was nothing more I could say.  I want to live my life in union with Him.  And you know what?  As much as I might not want to go to Confession beforehand, it turns out that it really is good for the soul; Jesus knew what He was talking about! 

• Faith = relationship = loving and trusting everything Jesus did and said.

So there you go, the things that are really on my heart to share with others - my Christmas wish-list.

Who Does God Use?

My greatest joy has always been to speak, and more recently to write, about the Faith. I am not however, a professional theologian nor a philosopher - heck, I don't even play one on t.v. I do not feel particularly dismayed by that though - my favorite religious works were written by a couple of fisherman, an accountant, and a physician. Whatever our educational and occupational backgrounds, if we will just slow down enough to "sit at Jesus' feet" and listen to Him for awhile each day (speaking in Scripture, through His Church in the Catechism, during our Rosary meditations) then we're bound to learn some incredible things, things we will be dying to share with others.

Almost a decade ago, I had the great pleasure of listening to Dr. Scott Hahn speak. The most vivid memory I have of that day was hearing him talk about when Peter and John were hauled before the Sanhedrin, and quoting this verse: "Observing the self-assurance of Peter and John, and realizing that the speakers were uneducated men of no standing, they were amazed. Then they recognized these men as having been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). That is the key to being instruments of God. The shepherd boy in Israel, an unassuming young woman of Galilee, three poor shepherd children in Portugal - it is those who place their hearts before God, very simply, that He uses to communicate with the world.

You know, I often get the impression that we are hesitant to share our enthusiasm and Faith insights with our young. "Oh, kids can't get into the Bible; it's a completely different world." "The Trinity? The hypostatic union and the intricacies of moral theology? That would be gibberish to teens!" Really? Are we talking about the same teens whose high schools offer chemistry, physics, and even calculus? The same kids who read and take tests over works of Shakespeare? And to hear an eight year-old boy explain The Lord of the Rings' Middle-Earth, or a fifteen year-old girl elaborate on the ins-and-outs of vampires and werewolves ala Twilight, I'm pretty sure they could place themselves back into the times and customs of David or Paul.

I praise God for youth ministers and programs like LifeTeen, for priests who challenge their flocks, and catechists with RCIA and adult ed. programs - but it ain't cuttin' it my friends. It's you and I who have to be raised up and empowered to share Truth if this cultural battle is to be won, if the deterioration we see all around us is to be turned back. The Church in the West could be the sleeping giant of the world. If we would awake, we could see a manifestation of Christ come to "full stature." "It was He Who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to build up the body of Christ, till we become one in faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, and form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature." (Ephesians 4:11-13)

We must live who you are, share what we are excited about with our coworkers and friends. When someone asks if we are reading anything good, we can let them know, "I started going to this Bible study; I never realized how interesting it could be..." When someone asks you to pray for them, take a chance: "I will; but is it alright if I pray with you, right now, too?" And if they are willing, take their hands in yours and speak the simple, heartfelt words that come to mind. Let your loved one experience the Spirit loving and praying for them through you. We don't need to manufacture opportunities to share our Faith, if we're just honest about who we are and what animates us, every conversation can become an open door for God to enter others' lives. Reebok will have nothing on us (Isaiah 52:7)!

But it all comes back to spending time with Jesus - gazing upon Him in the Eucharist, in Scripture, in His Church. It is only by being fused to Him that we "uneducated men [and women] of no standing," become powerhouses. Only by sitting at His feet will we be able to simultaneously tear down what is false, and build up the Kingdom in its place - "conducting ourselves with innocence, knowledge, and patience, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love as men with the message of truth and the power of God; wielding the weapons of righteousness with right hand and left, whether honored or dishonored, spoken of well or ill" (2 Cor.6:6-8).