Daily Postings

As we read the gospels, we can see how gentle Jesus was with people.  Gentleness and grace is a sign of a cultured person.  Jesus was never rude, and treated people with just delicacy. “I have a little something to tell you,” he said to the Pharisee whose evil thoughts Jesus could read.  And then he told a parable that hit home, but by way of a parable, not be a crude accusation.  Jesus had an uncanny patience with people because he knew that it takes a long time for people to change, and he waited for years for the apostles to change and did not have the satisfaction even at the end of his life.  But, that was ‘okay;’ he knew they would in time.  Peter was specially chosen by Jesus, but Peter was crude, and had a big mouth that was often offensive, even to Jesus, but Jesus overlooked it so many times, because he knew in time he would change.  As human as we are we are never tolerant of others’ shortcomings, and we pressure and pressure others to be what we can feel comfortable with, and that is so unlike Jesus.  When we love someone we try to be understanding, realizing that they have to put up with our odd ways, as well.  Gentleness and grace is a sign of a cultured person.

We live in the presence of God all day long.  Jesus is ever by our side and in our hearts, as a friend, a companion, and a partner, but a partner only as long as we allow him.  Let him be your partner, and bring him in on everything you do.  Together you cannot fail.  Think of him from time to time, and be grateful for his friendship.  More importantly, listen to his quiet, gentle voice that speaks to your heart.  Be gentle with others, especially those he as given to you as family, so they can share that peace and joy.  This is the secret to true peace and happiness.

Lately I have met another person troubled with anxiety and panic attacks.  I never realized how widespread this is.  Basically it is an emotional obsession, and a person has to have a strong will to break the obsession, and get on with life.

As I mentioned in another message, when I was a young seminarian I was tormented with anxiety attacks.  It is a horrible experience to endure especially for any extended period of time, but it can be overcome.  In the other message I discussed what I did to stop my anxieties, but with some people it may be more difficult

The origin of anxiety attacks is fear, fear of what might happen to us or to those we love, or fear of some widespread impending danger.

I think the ultimate remedy when nothing else helps is total abandonment to God.  This may sound like an unrealistic fantasy, but it is a genuine reality.   Four times in my own life I was in the most troubling circumstances.  Once when I was promised a chance to go to

Rome for my studies, only to find out that the superior general of the order had forgotten about his promise.  The whole future course of my life was at stake.  I made up my mind I would let God take charge of my life, so I made the very difficult decision to abandon my life to God’s will.  When I did my life changed dramatically, and I was given assignments that could have destroyed me, but in the process I learned a lot, and learned how to cope with so many complex and frightening circumstances.  Only twenty-five years later, after very complicated and troubling assignments, that I managed to survive, did I realize that God had been preparing me for a very special assignment.  But, all along the way, I was never prey to anxiety or panic attacks. 

Finally, when my health broke and I had to retire from active work as a priest, and I was left without resources, did I realize that I might not live much longer.  The strange thing was I had not anxiety or panic attacks. I had long ago turned my life over to God in ‘holy abandonment’ as spiritual writers would call it.  Shortly after that, I wrote and published “Joshua,” which I had known for almost five years God wanted me to do.  I also realized that the whole rest of my life, as complicated as it was, was the necessary training God put me through to prepare me with what I needed to write “Joshua” and all the twenty some books I was able to write after that.

Now that I have written all those books and have reached another phase in my life, this could be the most frightening, but the strange thing is I am not subject anxiety or panic attacks.  I am just calmly waiting to see what else God has in mind, and I have the strong feeling that he is going to keep me working right to the end, and will have to postpone my retirement till later on.

So, try abandoning yourself to God, and let him do the worrying.  He’s good at it, because he’s got a whole warehouse of solutions.

The word ‘church’ conjures up different images in different individuals’ minds.  From a Christian perspective, the first time the word was used, it was by Jesus.  It was on the occasion of his chatting with the apostles, and he was wondering what the rumors were about him.  “Who do people say that I am?” he asked.  The apostles answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist come back to live; others say you are one of the prophets come back.”   Then Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”  Simon blurted out, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God.”  And Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of John, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.  And I say to you, You are Rock, and on this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail again it.  And I give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth, I will bind in heaven; whatever you loose on earth, I will loose in heaven.”

That is a passage that many people will read, and become immediately nervous about what it could possibly mean, and just get past it and never really analyze it because of what it could possibly mean.  Others will read it, think about it, and realize that at that point, God Himself spoke to Simon and revealed to him the true identity of Jesus.  Jesus himself said Simon was blessed by his Father at that moment. Then Jesus continued, “And I say to you, you are Rock and on this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”   At that point Jesus did not have a huge following.  The whole crowd in Galilee had just walked away from him, and he had not really done any intensive evangelizing in Judea, so his mind was clearly looking into the future, long after he was gone, when his followers vast in numbers and nationalities.  That is what he was envisioning.  It was the time when he was long gone, and from then on the Church would be built on the Rock. And not even the powers of hell will be able to destroy it. Then Jesus continued, “And I give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatsoever you bind on earth I will bind in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth, I will loose in heaven.”  Clearly, Jesus was passing on his own authority to Rock, to make rules and change rules, to do what was necessary to prudently guide the Church.    It is also clear that Jesus intended that one person would always be at the head of his Church, and the other apostles would work together with him. But it was to Rock that he gave the ultimate authority.

Later on when he told the apostles, “Go out and teach the whole world all that I have taught you, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Those who accept you and believe you will be saved.  Those who refuse to believe will be condemned. (Not just those who do not  believe, but refuse to believe.)  And I will send the Holy Spirit upon you to bring back to your minds all that I have taught you. He will be your teacher and guide you until the end of time.

If the apostles were to be with the Church until the end of time, then they must be here today as well.  So, there had to be a way in which Jesus authority that he passed on to the apostles could be passed on to those whom they chose.  And Paul shows us how that was done. When he called Timothy and chose him as a successor, he placed his hands on his head and called down the Holy Spirit, and in that simple ritual passed on to Timothy the power and authority that Jesus gave to the apostles.  And all the apostles did the same to those they chose to succeed them.  And that has been done in the Church for the past two thousand years, and every bishop can trace his consecration back to one of the apostles.    That’s a lot different from a person getting an idea he wants to start a church and then goes off and gathers a group of people and starts his own religion.  Only God can start a religion and tell us how he wants us to worship him.

And there were other things that Jesus taught.  He gave power to the apostles and their successors to reconcile sinners to God, and that power has to still be with us.

He promised to give us his flesh and blood as the food of our souls, and at the Last Supper, showed what he meant, “This is my Body, this is my Blood.”  At the official sacrificial meal of the Old Testament, where the sins of the people were taken away, he established the official sacrificial meal of the New Testament in his blood, in which our sins are forgiven.  He taught that when we eat his body and drink his blood he comes and lives within us, and we become one with him, and he becomes one with us.   

St. Ignatius of Antioch who knew Jesus and was taught later by the apostles and succeeded Peter as bishop of Antioch, wrote, “The Gnostics abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not believe the Eucharist to be the Flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And let all those who have been baptized and confessed their sins, and believe all that we teach approach to receive the Body and Blood of the Savior.

Jesus also taught that after death the good will rise again on the last day and their souls will be reunited with our bodies, and will live forever in heaven.

Jesus also taught that we must be born again of water and the Spirit in baptism, and St. Peter writes that when we are baptized we become partakers of the divine life of God.

If Jesus promised that the Church would exist until the end of time, and that the apostles would always be present to guide and teach, then they must be here today, and the Holy Spirit is still guiding the Church as Jesus promised.  Jesus gave authority to the Church to teach.  He never told anyone to write a book or said that a book has the authority to teach.  So is it proper to reject what Jesus established as the authority to teach and choose a book instead? 

When the Council of Nicea ( 325 A.D.)   formulated the Nicene Creed, and stated that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, what has to be understood is the Council’s definition of each of those words.   The Council stated that so the Church could be identified as what Jesus established.  “One” means that it is united in faith and all believe the same teachings.  “Holy” means that the Church as the creation of Jesus for the sanctification of sinners, it is the channel of all the gifts of Jesus’ redemption, and the vehicle of divine life through the sacraments.  It does not mean that its members are holy, nor does it mean that the religious leaders are holy.  God never blessed religious leaders with holiness and they, like everyone else, has to struggle to be faithful to God. “Catholic” means universal.  When Jesus sent the apostles out into the whole world to preach the gospel,, they did just that, and by the time of the Council of Nicea, the Church was in every known country at that time.  Groups who began to teach and believe teachings contrary to the teaching of the Church, as the gnostics, and the Arians and so many others, were mostly local, in small areas or limited to certain countries, which was one  indication that they were not authentic members of the Church that Jesus instituted.  “Apostolic” means that the Church has to be able to trace its existence not only to Jesus but to the apostles, and that the bishops were legitimately called and consecrated by the same laying on of hands and communicating the the Holy Spirit as the apostles did to Timothy and Polycarp and Titus and the other bishops chosen by the apostles.  Each bishop has to be able to trace his consecration through a line of bishops that goes all the  way back to the apostles. 

Now, this is what the Church according to the mind of Jesus, and is what Jesus taught and the apostles taught.  It was not something the Church arbitrarily made up.  Many groups today talk about Jesus in a superficial and comfortiing way to attract people, but avoid insisting on what Jesus taught because that makes people nervous, and they want to avoid dissension.  But, is that faithful to Jesus.  St. Paul told the bishops he consecrated to teach solid doctrine “in season and out of season.”

A family had a dog that they got tired of because of all the fuss involved in caring for it, so they put it in a fenced in area in the yard with a shed, and just threw some food out to it, mostly scraps left over from meals, and never paid attention to it.  As time went on the dog which was only about two years old, began staying in the shed, and wouldn’t even come out to eat.  The grownups just threw the scraps inside the pen and left.  This went on for weeks. 

One day one of the children, a six year old daughter, named Maria, went out into the yard.  It was a happy, sunny day.  The dog was not her pet, and she never had much to do with it, so thought of the dog never crossed her mind.  But, this day when she went into the yard, and didn’t see the dog, she wondered what happened to it.  She went into the pen and walked in. The dog was just lying in the corner, not asleep, just lying there with his eyes wide open as if in deep thought, or maybe just sad.  When Maria approached, the animal began to growl softly, which frightened Maria so she backed away.  The dog had never acted like that when it was in the house. 

The girl could not understand, so she just talked to the dog for a while and then went outside to play.  For the next four or five days the girl did the same thing, and the dog showed no reaction.  On the sixth day, Maria went into the pen and called the dog by its name, Sammy.  Maria had brought some food she thought Sammy would like and in an aluminum bowl he was familiar with.  She tapped on the bowl with a stone and called the dog again.  When the dog heard the familiar sound of the bowl, he appeared in the doorway and just stood there and looked out at Maria.  When she bent down to put the bowl on the ground, Sammy slowly and timidly walked towards the bowl.  He smelled it and looked up at Maria, and hesitatingly began to eat, but looked up as if for approval, then continued eating.  Maria just stayed there and talked to him, but was afraid to touch him. 

For the next two days, Maria followed the same routine.  Finally, the following day, when the dog finished eating, he walked over to Maria, who standing there watching, and looked up at her. She bent down and petted him gently. Then the little animal licked her hand and she reached out and hugged him.  From that day the dog’s personality changed completely.  He was friendly and playful and fun.  All that was lacking in that animal’s life was love.  Being deprived of love does strange things to animals, and they can become hostile. 

It is the same with people.  When a person is deprived of love, strange things happened inside, and they begin to die, and the feeling of being unloved can turn to hatred, and can lead to dangerous antisocial reactions.   This can even happen on the international scene, and shows that no matter how powerful or sophisticated world leaders may be, they respond to very primitive instincts.  A little psychology can go a long way in resolving many tense international crises.

 I went to a rehab center today to visit my cousin George.  He’s eighty-four and had just had his second joint replacement.  I accompanied him to the exercise room to chat and watch, and what I saw was remarkable.  People in their eighties and nineties, with some younger, were working themselves into shape, and it was not easy, but what surprised me, the exercise was renewing their strength.  It made me think, when I was a young seminarian I was introduced to spiritual exercises.  We were told that the mind and the soul has to be exercised as well as the body, in order to keep our minds and hearts focused on God and on spiritual things, otherwise our awareness of God and things of faith fade from our consciousness and as time goes on, the spiritual world no longer seems real.  So we did spiritual reading each day for at least a half hour.  Often it was readings from the gospels, and as we read, Jesus became more and more real.  And then during our hour of meditation each day, as we relived Jesus’ life in our contemplative prayer, Jesus became even more alive to us, which eventually developed into a beautiful friendship that not only inspired us, and gave us strength, but provided comfort in difficult and painful times.

When there were times in our lives when we were not faithful to those spiritual exercises, thought of Jesus and spiritual things which were always so beautiful and real, gradually began to fade, and lose their sharp image in our minds.  I think that is a problem with many people.  They may be good people, but it is not just being good, because being good can be fruitful or a purely natural activity unrelated to God.  If our goodness comes just from a kind heart, it may not necessarily be inspired by love of God.  We see that kind of natural goodness in people who do not believe in God.  But, our goodness as Christians must be an expression of our deep awareness of God in our lives, and a manifestation of our love of God which inspires us to live out that love in what we do and how we treat people, and how we want to make our community a better place to live.

Probably the most famous spiritual exercise is the Spiritual Exercise of Saint Ignatius who founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, over five hundred years ago.  The famous exercise to rehabilitate the souls of his canditates for the priesthood was a strenuous retreat in which an intensive study of Jesus’ life and live-in with Jesus together with prayer and contemplation for a period of thirty days brought the soul to an intimacy with Jesus that was a spiritual Olympic training.  That same process was repeated frequently in the life of Jesuits, sometimes for even longer periods of time.  In fact for three years before they are ordained to the priesthood, they go through that intensive exercise for that whole period of time.    A program similar to that will be conducted by Deacon Gary Riggi who works with me.  We will announce when that session of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius will begin, plus all the relevant information.

As a Christian I believe that as a republic our government has been empowered, not by God, but by the people to represent them, and in the execution of that empowerment, has the responsibility to protect and defend that rights which the Declaration of Independence recognizes as coming directly from God, which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  I believe that it is the responsibility of government to oversee all those matters that pertain to the common good, and that laws should be made always with consideration for the common good of all, and the common good  and protection of the country.  I believe that as a free people, laws should not be made that restrict or deny the rights of some citizens for the benefit of others, particularly the wealthy or the powerful.  I believe that the citizens have the right not only to earn a living, but to invest their resources in business ventures for the purpose of increasing their personal wealth and resources, and that they have the right to the fruits of those resources, and should not be unfairly or unjustly deprived in any way, particularly by inequitable taxation by the government, of the use of this honestly earned income. 

I believe as a Christian in the sovereign right and jurisdiction of God over his creation, and that, in his benevolence, he allows us the illusion of thinking that his human family can be separated by artificial barriers we call borders, and that we are responsible only for those who are legally citizens within those borders, and to think that we are free from responsibilities to our brothers and sisters in other countries.  I believe that we have a responsibility before God, in times of crises when refugees fleeing starvation and destitution, to treat with civility and compassion those who come across our borders, not to beg, but to work for their living.  And I firmly believe that it is a serious sin against God to demean these destitute people by branding them as criminals. I also believe that our elected officials have a duty and responsibiliity to maintain an orderly process of immigration in order to avoid the chaos which has recently occurred because our government tacitly welcomed mass immigration because of our country’s severe shortage of labor, due greatly to our millions of abortions over the years.

I believe that as citizens we have a sacred responsibility to love and defend our country, and to come to the defense of our country when it is attacked by hostile forces.  I believe that trust in God and persistent negotiations are far preferable to war, and that war is not always the best solution.  It most often destroys more lives than it saves, and through the hatred that it generates, sows the seed for future wars.  Even the price paid by the victors and the permanent damage done to millions of their families, is a cost that is rarely considered those eager for war.  And yet, I further believe that there are some who do not believe it is ever justified to take a human life, and that that conviction in conscience must be respected by the government, and that those of such a mind cannot in justice be forced to bear arms.  That conviction in conscience, however, should not exempt those individuals from their duty to assist in the defense of their country through a humanitarian or medical role.  I believe that we have a responsibility to support our government by paying our just taxes, and that it is a violation of the virtue of patriotism to dishonestly avoid that responsibility.  I believe that as a people we are not exempt from the divine commandment of charity to our neighbors in need, and that we still have the responsibility to care for them either personally or through religious communities, or charitable institutions.  However, I believe that it is beyond the financial capabilities of individual and community groups to care for the fifteen percent or more of the national population, not as equally blessed by the Creator as are the majority of the population, either mentally, psychiatrically, or physically, and among them the honest poor and who are not employable for many reasons.   I believe that they have a right to a dignified and respectable living and that the government has the obligation to make that possible, as the elected instrument of the people, on whom that responsibility ultimately falls.

I believe that at various times in history when there are catastrophes affecting whole populations and causing them to migrate to other lands, as is happening today throughout the world, neighboring countries have the responsibility to realize that controlling mass movement of destitute and starving peoples cannot be expected to move in orderly fashion across borders while people are desperate to stay alive and keep their families from starvation.  I believe that they can a blessing  especially when they fill a vast void in a country’s labor market, and are for the most part paying taxes.  They then become an important asset to the host country.  I believe that among them there will always be a miinoity, who are not employed or are not paying taxes, and are a burden, but they should not be held responsible for a country’s  massive debts or deficits, and that the responsibilities for that problem should be faced honestly and laid at the doorstops of the sixty-two percent of the biggest corporations, according to the Government Accounting Office, that have not paid taxes in the last five years, and the forty million business people, according to the Internal Revenue Service, who have avoided paying taxes in the last three years. I believe that all countries should be, and most have been, responsive to the needs of people suffering from natural disasters.

I believe as a Christian that all human beings on the face of this earth are brothers and sisters, and that no matter what country we belong to, most are decent people, trying hard to live decent lives. I believe that each country’s leaders should not prejudge other countries as friends or enemies, and treat them accordingly.  I believe that we should make every effort to reach out to establish friendly relations with all countries, and let the relationships unfold through the natural course of events.  All relationships are difficult and such must be expected, but with prudent persistence and strength, most obstacles between countries can be overcome, as each country has needs that their leaders must eventually face and realize that they can be met only with the help of friendly countries.

As a Christian I believe that most criminal justice systems are short-sighted and destroy more people than they help, and rather than be Christian in the way they treat inmates, they are no more creative in their solutions to critical community problems than would be expected in a totally pagan country.  It is fiercely denied but yet it is true, that penalties for crimes, even non-violent crimes, and those involving drug and alcohol abuse are vindictive, and not crafted for rehabilitation, and have destroyed the potentially productive lives of tens of thousands of young people who were first imprisoned many years ago as teenagers, and are still in prison.  As a Christian I believe we should make every attempt to rehabilitate perpetrators especially of non-violent crimes, so they can be taught how to live as productive citizens in their communities.  I believe that the death penalty is evil because it attempts to deny God jurisdiction over the life of beings he has made with infinite love.  I believe that no government has the right to take life, as the government receives its authority from the people and people have no jurisdiction over life so they cannot give to the government a power that they do not possess.  Only the one who creates life can take life.  And in executing a person the state denies God the right to continue his work of salvation in that person.  That is one of the few direct sins against God himself, and those who vote to supposedly give the state the power to execute are also guilty of each execution.

I believe that abortion is evil, as it destroys a human life, and can in no way be justified, even though tragic circumstances often lead a person to precipitously make a panic decision to terminate a pregnancy.  I believe that abortion is responsible, and has been responsible in other countries, for a drastic drop in the native population, and for a severe shortage of labor, especially skilled labor and as such is a threat to the economy and the national defense.  I also believe it is possible for an elected official to be opposed to abortion, while still believing that it is not feasible to continually struggle to overturn the abortion law.  I believe that it is the responsibility of the clergy to persistently teach the evil of abortion and that having failed in that responsibility in the past, it is a strange anomaly  for the clergy, after having failed in their responsibility, to now force that responsiblity on the government. That responsibility still rests on the clergy, since the present law does not mandate or force people to have an abortion but places the responsibility on the individuals and the doctors.

I believe that as Christians and as citizens we have a responsibility to use our gifts, talents and resources not just for ourselves and for our families but to act as the heart of God in sharing with others the riches he has given to each of us, so that after our lives in this world, the lives of many others as well as the world itself will be more richly blessed because we have passed through here.

As intelligent beings, we exist for a purpose, each having a personal destiny.  Our lives, therefore, must be governed by moral principles.  As Christians who have committed our lives to Jesus, we have taken upon ourselves the added responsibility of not living according to human values or personal interest, but to embrace the model that Jesus set forth for us, a model which is far above what is merely human, a way that he expressed when he said, “Come, follow me, for I am the way, the truth, and the Light.”  As his followers every aspect of our life should be guided by his teachings, and no aspect of our life is exempt from those principles. Our actions, public and private, even our thought life, and the voluntary desires of our hearts, must be modeled after the beauty of Jesus’ life, his thoughts and his feelings towards God, towards people and towards all God’s creation.  This is not easy, and progress in following Jesus’ example will always be painstakingly slow and faltering, as we have committed ourselves to follow a way of life that is often contrary to human inclinations, as well as contrary to human values.  But, success in following Jesus is not measured by perfect adherence, but by endless struggle, in spite of continual failings.

Since our commitment to Jesus encompasses not just our own personal life, but our social life, and our public life, we have a responsibility to develop for ourselves a system of values compatible with our fidelity to Jesus’ teachings.  This applies also to the political world, since for Christians, Jesus’ principles must translate into their political philosophy as well, if their Christian committment is to be authentic. This leads logically to a Christian Political Manifesto, which will be tomorrow’s message.

Lately, I am becoming more and more aware of how many people are suffering horrible anxiety.  My heart goes out to them because it anxiety attacks are extremely difficult to cope with, and they just keep coming waves.  I suppose for the most part it’s a problem that comes from maturity and having experienced so much in life.  So many new things remind us of old happenings and we immediately see the dark side and the problems involved, and the negative things that can result.  Or old problems still haunt us, and even though they are only fantasies, they stir up emotions and bring on panic attacks. 

A famous spiritual writer, Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, discusses this and similar problems in a letter to one of the persons he counseled.  It is worthwhile sharing what he has to say, “The trouble is… the fact that you cling so fast to these doubts and fears.  You concentrate upon them too much, instead of ignoring them and casting yourself upon God in utter self-abandonment, as I have consistently exhorted you for so long past.  Only through this holy and happy self-abandonment can you ever enjoy an enduring peace full of perfect trust in God, through Jesus Christ.  Yet, once again, what do you have to fear in this self-surrender especially after so many plain signs of God’s great mercy to you? You seek for conscious support in yourself, and in your works and conscience, as if they provide more assurance and stronger support than God’s mercy and Jesus Christ’s merits, and under the assumption that these cannot lead you astray. 

“When we reach the lowest depths of our nothingness, we can have no kind of trust in ourselves, nor in any way rely upon our works, for in these are to be found only wretchedness, self-love, and corruption.  Such complete distrust and utter scorn of the self is the one source from which originate those delightful consolations of souls wholly surrendered to God – their unalterable peace, their blessed joy, and their unshakeable trust in none but God. Would that you knew the gift of God, the reward and the merit and the power and the peace, the blessed assurances of salvation that are hidden in this abandonment; then would you soon be rid of all your fears and anxieties!”

While his thoughts seem rather heavy because we don’t speak like that today, his insistence on abandonment of our lives to God has deep meaning.  People who have come close to God, and have developed an intimacy with God, know the peace and joy that comes from that intimacy.  This intimacy brings with it such a comfortable feeling by being in God’s presence, turning your life over to God, or abandonment of oneself to God, as he words it, is not something morbid or depressing, but a natural response that comes from the realization of your intimacy with God, and with Jesus.  Worries, fears and anxieties dissolve when you feel God’s embrace.