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Inevitably, when I write about a controversial topic—two specific ones come to mind—I’ll get someone in the comments crowd that spouts off, “Jesus ate with sinners!”
As soon as I see the comment, I drop my head and sigh.
Yes, Jesus ate with sinners, He sure did. If He didn’t, the only person on earth He would have been able to eat with would have been His mom.
When I was working at a juvenile detention center, I would engage in different activities with the teens. Sometimes, we’d go on group picnics, sometimes we’d have a baseball game, and sometimes, I’d sit and chat with them in an office.
Never once in all my time of doing that, did I do it because I was condoning the behavior that had landed them in detention. In fact, I spent a good majority of my time trying to teach them how to turn from their bad ways and become a productive member of society. I never minced words with them and pretended like their behavior was okay.
Yes, I was meeting these teens where they were at, but the point was conversion, not toleration of past behaviors.
Too many people see Jesus’ dining habits as acceptance of any and all behaviors. They forget that Christ is about transformation.
Sometimes, though, when dealing with certain crimes, I would feel righteous anger. For example, the one time I was advocating at a court trial for a 13-year old girl that had been sexually assaulted by her dad’s friend—a grown man.
At the trial the guy took the stand, even admitted to what he did, and the jury still found him not-guilty. It was a small town and everybody was friends with the guy. I wanted to throw chairs and upend tables after the verdict was read. I was so angry at the injustice and what a heartless loser I would have been if I hadn’t been angry.
Today, in our readings, Jesus has righteous anger over what is going on at the Temple. Desecrating a holy space is abhorrent; Christ is not going to tolerate it.
There is a time, Catholic Pilgrims, to gently meet people where they are AND urge them to repent of their sins and be transformed by Christ. There is also a time to have righteous anger—especially when grave evil is being committed in front of your face—and say, “This is not happening.”
Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
*Church: St. Anthony of Padua in Istanbul.
In 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.
Continue ReadingMy husband and I were talking to our daughter on the phone the other day and as we were talking, my husband told her about all the different Masses we had been to in one week. We went to our first Latin Mass the Sunday after Christmas. Then, we went to a funeral Mass in San Jose. The day after that, we went to a bilingual Mass at Mission San Juan Baptista--my 12th California Mission. And this past Sunday, we were back at our base chapel with all the familiar faces of our friends that we live with on base. It never ceases to amaze me how good it feels to just walk into a Catholic Church and know that I belong. I don't even have to know anybody. It's always nice when I do know people, but, even when I don't, I feel a great sense of belonging. As the Catholic Pilgrim, I've visited literally hundreds of Catholic Churches in the 16 years since I converted. I've been to Masses where the people spoke French, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, and Spanish. Latin can now be added to the list. I've been to Mass in enormous cathedrals and in small caves. I've attended Mass outside with over a million Catholics and I attend daily Mass on base where sometimes it's just my son and me. In all of these different circumstances, I sense the universality of the Catholic Church. Even when I'm surrounded by people that don't look like me, I feel such a connection because of our Faith and our one shared Feast at the altar--the Eucharist, which is Jesus Christ. What a blessing to be part of this one, big, universal family, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
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