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Our idea of love in the modern world is 1 cup of niceness and 10 cups of “do-whatever-you-want-and-I’ll-hold-your-hand-as-you-slip-into-self-destruction.”
Too many demand that nobody ever tell them that what they are doing is wrong and too many go along with this.
Consequently, we have very spiritually, emotionally, and physically unhealthy people simply existing because everyone around them has not only told them that their sin is fine, but encouraged them in it, all in an effort to be “affirming” and “loving.”
The Prophet Ezekiel tells us in the most clearest of terms that if you do not try to dissuade a person from their sins, you bring death not only on them, but yourself.
If “you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.” Ezekiel 33:8
St. Paul tells us in Romans that “love does no evil to a neighbor.”
It is evil to encourage people in sinful practices. It is evil to never speak up if we see someone hurting themselves through sin. We are to guide people to Heaven and we simply can’t do that if we affirm sin in their lives just so we seem like the nice guy.
Love speaks hard truths sometimes, Catholic Pilgrims. It must in order to save us from destructive ways. Sometimes the most charitable thing to do is remind people of their dignity, that they were made for more, and that there is a better way.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Sunday.
Today is a day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. As many of you know, I got pregnant out of wedlock with my oldest in my senior year of college. When I went to confirm the pregnancy at the clinic on campus, the first and only piece of advice the nurse gave me was to get rid of my baby because she would ruin my chance at a career. No support, no compassion, nothing but the offer to kill my child. She's sitting right next to me on my right side in this picture. Our culture likes to pretend that women have this inherent right to choice. A choice to do what? End their child's life. People sometimes congratulate me for "choosing life" for my daughter. While I appreciate the intention behind the praise, it's a false assumption that I ever really had a choice to begin with. Nobody has a the right to choose to end an innocent life. Nobody has that right, especially not women whose bodies are specifically designed to grow new life in their wombs. Who does have a right, that too many neglect to see or acknowledge, are unborn children. They have a right to live and not be killed. They are dependent on their mother's body, but as any mother will tell you, even after a child is born, they are still utterly dependent on their mother's body to care for them. There has and never will be a right to choose death for unborn babies. It is a fever dream that anti-children people have cooked up in their minds and this make-believe right has resulted in over 50,000,000 babies having their lives snuffed out--and that's just in the US. So, today, we pray for the protection of these little ones who have no voice of their own. So, let us pray, Catholic Pilgrims, for an end to abortion in our country and in our world. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Continue ReadingIn our second reading today, St. Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth. He says, "To you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ." It was the "called to be holy" part that caught my eye. St. Paul doesn't say we can live however we want while calling ourselves a Christian. He, also, doesn't say that we are straight up holy once we become a Christian. He says we are called to be and, that means, there is some participation on our part where we must cooperate with the graces given to us by God and be obedient to Christ's teachings and the teachings of His Church. God calls us to holiness, but we do have to desire it. If we think that we are just "good to go" because we call ourselves a Christian, it will be difficult to desire holiness. I know that I once didn't even desire it because 1. nobody ever talked to me about it. and 2. I thought calling myself a Christian meant I had an assured ticket to Heaven. Consequently, I didn't try to live any differently. In fact, unless you asked me, you wouldn't have known I was a Christian based on how I lived. To be holy means that we want to live out the virtues--courage, prudence, justice, fortitude, piety, etc,-- for love of God and for love of others. We want to orient our lives to look more like Christ's and make choices that don't follow the easy way. We are called to holiness, Catholic Pilgrims. God will work with our desire to answer that call if we ask Him. Have a blessed Sunday. *Church is Mission San Juan Baptista in CA
Continue ReadingIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Today, in our reading from Matthew, the Trinity is revealed. At the Baptism of Our Lord, the Father speaks of His love for His Son, The Son gives us the Sacrament of Baptism, and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove letting us know that this action is sanctified. It is holy and pleasing to God. This is why we baptize in the Trinitarian formula and every single time we do the Sign of the Cross it is a beautiful reminder of our baptism and the saving grace we received from it. We must continue to cooperate with those graces throughout our life, but it/was our entrance into the family of God. So many things happen at baptism: You become a child of God and an heir to the Kingdom. Original sin is washed away and any actual sins if above the age of reason. Your soul is permanently marked as belonging to God. Your soul is filled with grace--the Divine life. You receive the three theological gifts of Faith, Hope, and Charity. You receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn't need to be baptized, but He was showing us what He wanted us to do--this was the new covenantal ritual, circumcision would not be needed anymore. Baptism is the start of our Christian life with God, Catholic Pilgrims. Through it, we are brought into the life of the Blessed Trinity. Have a beautiful Sunday.
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