A GRAIN OF WHEAT

I’m the kind of guy who believes in miracles, and not the kind that are normal occurences. I’m the kind of guy who believes in crying statues, bleeding Hosts, and the stigmata. I’m the kind of guy who believes in gaurdian angels, and I keep mine busy. I’m the kind of guy who believes that Moses really did see a burning bush; An angel really did appear to Mary to announce the coming of the Messiah; Zeccheriah really saw an angel in the Temple; Bernadette Soubiroux really did see the Blessed Mother; Saint Francis really did see the crucifix speak to him.

Why does no one believe in miracles anymore? Have we grown too modern and skeptical to believe? I think that most of us are far too intelligent to believe such fantasy. The modern world wants to categorize and explain everything, but that is not within our ability. We are ignorant beings created by God, so how can we explain the mystery of the Holy Spirit? We have grown too proud to believe that God can manipulate the physical world. He created it. He can and does perform miracles. Get over it.

Now do I think that every stain on the wall or pattern in a sandwich that looks like Mary is a miracle? No. That kind of stuff is only a miracle for online auction companies. But I do think that God performs very real miracles, whether we are too proud to admit it or not. There is not enough human intelligence in the world to stop God from performing miracles. Miracles are a gift, and while believing in them is not necessary for salvation, they give us just a small glimpse of the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to stop trying to rationalize everything and just have faith.

 -God bless.

I have been reading about Saint Francis of Assisi lately and I must say that something about the humble saint has really struck a chord deep within me. I never knew much about the little man from Assisi, a man who preaches to birds and kisses lepers, except that he was fond of animals. I think that is how most people know him: the lover of animals. That is a real shame, I think, because there was so much more to him. I never knew what a treasure we have in Saint Francis. I’ll lay out just a few of those.

Saint Francis’ commitment to follow Christ was, by our standards, extreme. He went from being the son of a wealthy merchant to not knowing, or even worrying about, where he would get his next meal. He took Jesus’ call to poverty very seriously. And there are too many examples which show just how commited he was to following Christ. He would beg for food going door to door and even if he was given something, he would only accept scraps. He also did the most vile thing imaginable in that time: he consorted with lepers. He traded in his expensive clothes for a simple brown habit tied with a rope around his waist.

Francis was also a peacemaker, which for that time was very odd. The Church was at war with the Muslims. And what did Francis do? He mounted a missionary expedition to the front lines of the fighting where he managed to gain entrance to the palace of the Sultan of Egypt, Melek-el-Kamil, and preach the Gospel to the Sultan. This, you understand, was so counter to the typical attitude of Christians. Christians during that time period did not even think it was a sin to kill Muslims, and here was Francis, with no sword, no spear, no horse, preaching the Gospel to the enemy in order to save them.

Francis knew something that we still can’t figure out: every single thing in existence is created by God. We are all related. True, the Church offers salvation, but we shouldn’t horde it for ourselves. Francis understood that the only way to serve God is to love all of His creation. We should reach out in love and try to bring our brothers and sisters into the fold of the Lord. It is amazing to me that Francis attracted so many people without sacrificing any of his beliefs. How often do we sacrifice our beliefs in order to be accepted? Francis only cared about the things of God.

There is too much information about Saint Francis to put into one blog. I just wanted to point out some of the characteristics of this great Saint. To have his focus on the Lord would be a blessing indeed. Saint Francis teaches us not to let worldly things interfere with our love of God. But how often do they interfere? Too often, that much is certain. Francis saw the world so differently than we do. He saw that nothing was his, or mine, or yours. Everything belongs to God. That realization made it possible, and I dare say necessary, for him to become detached from material things so that he could focus only on God.

 Saint Francis’ Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Amen.

I am so tired of people who have the “nowadays” faith. You know what I mean. “Nowadays contraception is very practical” or “Nowadays divorce is a fact of life”. Is the faith of long ago no longer the faith of the people? Have we abandoned all sense of faith? Do we no longer believe that the covenants we make with God are indeed binding and that failure on our part to maintain these covenants will result in some very dire consequences? We are so modern and practical that we have effectively thought our way out of having faith.

Poor justification for our actions is a result of the modern tendency to make everything relative. Often when we hear of relative morality we think of very drastic examples, such as the “If it feels good, do it” crowd. But we commit the same folly almost daily. How many women say that the Church is wrong about birth control because birth control wasn’t very common when the teaching was put forth (not true, birth control has been around for a very long time)? Or how many people say that these days it is good to live with your future spouse so that you can see if you are compatible? We want to view Church teachings through the prism of modernity, but these teachings are eternal and universal. God is not subject to the rules of time, and neither are His expectations of us.

It is time that we return to the simple faith that we are meant to have. We must be like children. Sound familiar? We need to be innocent and trust that God’s Word has provided all that we need to know for salvation. We must not inject our own opinions into Church teachings. The Law of God has not changed over time, so why do we feel compelled to try and change it? There are no “penumbras” with God’s Law. It is what it is. If only we could be like children and walk with love and obedience.

-God bless.

Nothing to write on the small group discussion from yesterday. I didn’t go because we couldn’t get a sitter for our son. My wife went, but she hasn’t yet filled me in on everything. But there is always next week.

Alright, my small discussion group session certainly did not unfold as I thought it would. The topic, which is meant to make the Lenten season more real, is called “Lenten Longing”, which I suppose means the longing for God that one experiences in the “desert”. I really like this topic because I think that it naturally leads one to closer self-examination and scrutiny. Ultimately, time in the spiritual desert should bring one to realize that one is utterly dependent on God for everything. This is a very deep and serious topic, yet the discussion was very superficial and not even close to the heart of the matter.

Most people in the group, I think, really misunderstood what is meant by the “desert”. Most of the people who offered some form of conversation seemed to equate the spiritual desert with a physical dilemma. For example, if I were to say “I had a very hard time at work. No one was taking my suggestions seriously and this was the desert for me” you would be inclined to correct me, or just roll your eyes. The desert is a very real place where you come face to face with yourself as you really are and it is usually not dependent on outside forces. It diminishes the reality of Christ being tempted in the desert if we are to call our trivial misfortunes a “desert experience”. In fact, I would venture to say that a person who has experienced the agony, harshness, solitude and blessing of the spiritual desert would never equate such trivial, worldly happenings with the eye opening experience of seeing yourself as you really are; as God sees you.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that a severe physical occurrence cannot produce an utter dependence on God. I’m simply saying that those experiences are not in and of themselves what we call “desert” experiences. The desert, although very real for Christ, is a spiritual experience for us. We need to move past this over-concern for our materialistic pursuits and see what really matters. We need to see that our utter dependence on God is very, very real. Every breath we take is a gift, and that is not just some sentimental thought. The fact that we continue to exist is a constant gift from God, because He hasn’t just given us life once, it is a constant gift.

I don’t want to seem like I’m splitting hairs, but I think that it is important for us to understand the significance of the desert experience. The whole point of this class is to grow closer to God, to grow stronger in faith, and to deepen our spirituality. In order to do these things, we have to move from the surface to a deeper level of understanding. And trust me, I understand nothing. I am not a theologian or a spiritual master, but I do think that there is more to trusting God and loving God than worrying about who was mean to me.

On Sunday we begin our small discussion/prayer group again called BeCome. This session will be on…well, I’m not too sure. It was supposed to be on finding your inner mystic, but we were sent the wrong books. But I’m sure it will be a great class, as it always is. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on anything interesting. I’ve been on vacation this week and haven’t really felt up to writing. Sorry to all of my dedicated readers, which is only myself. Does that mean that I spend all this time talking to myself?

When did prayer get so complicated? When I was a kid I would get on my knees and say a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers and feel like I had communicated with God. Now that I am older, and perhaps wiser (or not), I am painfully aware that my prayer is completely deficient. In prayer, I often feel a lot like a child; I have come before the Father with nothing but my own needs and desires. It is sometimes difficult for me to just rest with God because I often feel like I should be “doing” something. I never realized that resting was such hard work.

I know that my spiritual life must mature with my physical life, but the growing pains can be tough. I guess I’m in the awkward adolescent stage. I’m no longer sure how I should approach God, except, obviously, as a sinner. But by no means am I complaining of this awkwardness. It is precisely because it is uncomfortable that I know I am on the right path. Anyways, I’m sure that no one arrives at the desired Destination in this life. It seems to me that life is a continual struggle to resist sin and move toward God.

I think that line of thought, the constant movement toward God, is what prayer is. It sounds so simple, but we can only go as far as God will bring us. Of course, that opens up an entirely different set of thoughts. Is prayer our doing, or the doing of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit of course. So in this light, it is not I who prays, rather, it is the Lord who draws me into prayer. I hope that in time the Holy Spirit will lead me into fruitful prayer where I am not concerned about trivial matters, such as what I’m supposed to “do”. I guess that coming before God and being open to the movements of the Holy Spirit is the best that I can hope to achieve.

Some presumptuous notes on suffering:

Suffering brings us closer to God. When we are forced to quit fighting and let God fight for us, we are brought closer to Him.

Suffering keeps us on the path to Heaven. Without a constant reminder that we are not where we want to be, we will become complacent and cease to move forward.

Suffering lets us share in the suffering of Christ Jesus. It allows us to experience, on a very small scale, what the Lord endured for us.

Suffering is a means of escape. When we find that nothing in this world will permanently alleviate our suffering, we are free from the trappings of this world. We put all reliance on God.

Suffering connects us to all humanity. When we pray for relief from suffering, over time that prayer evolves into prayer for the whole of humanity.

There is nothing like going to confession early on a Friday morning. We all know the significance of Friday and it makes confession extra profound for me, since I have nailed Jesus to the cross on so many occasions. What I really like is seeing everyone (about ten people) gathering for morning Mass. Fridays are so hectic and the quiet of the Church is a stark contrast to the rat race being ran outside. Although I can’t stay for Mass on Fridays, at least I can confess my sins and pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament and really prepare my soul for the battle that awaits. TGIF!!!

-God Bless

How did you pay for your last vacation? What kind of car do you drive? What kind of car does your neighbor drive? How much do you make a year? Where do you buy your clothes?

I surely hope that you are saying, “None of this is any of your business”. I truly hope that you do not place undue importance on money and material things. You aren’t the kind of person that sees poor people as failures, are you? And I know that you don’t keep score with family and friends; who drives the newest car, who has the biggest house, who visits the nicest places, who has the biggest television? Surely none of that matters to you.

The reason I bring this up is that you hear from many people that America is founded on Christian values, but these same people are fierce advocates of consumerism. How can the one be reconciled with the other? Can a Christian be a constant consumer? No. Let’s be honest. Over-consumption is bad for the human person, the family, and society. We have all been conditioned to think that buying something on credit is as American as apple pie. And unfortunately, it is. Being in debt is the new status symbol. Nothing says that you’ve made it like having a stack of credit card bills. What’s worse is that not only are we going into debt, but we are helping our kids go into debt as well. I mean come on, does your child need to finance his/her first vehicle? Do you really think that credit card will only be used for “emergencies”?

Let me just come out and say it: Consumerism is not Christian. Neither is trying to keep up with the Jones’. And looking down on the poor is so far removed from Christianity that you might as well be worshipping a golden calf. That is essentially what most people are doing anyway; they worship money. Instead of using money wisely to provide for their family and then provide for those who can’t provide for themselves, most people abuse the privilege of having money. They spend and spend and spend until there is nothing left, but at least they can say that they have nice things. Many of these same people who are considered successful by the standards of society are cheating on their spouse, lying on their taxes, or some other form of debauchery. How is this successful? How can we call a man who makes $200,000 a year but has a mistress in three states a success?

I am a banker and I am constantly helping people reorganize things after they spend too much. Rich and poor alike have the same mindset: If you want to be happy, spend, spend, spend. You want to spend? Spend some time praying. Spend time helping the poor. Spend time with your family. Spend some time with God and see how much He loves you. Spend all you want. Just don’t spend money because at the end of the day it really isn’t worth much.

-God bless.