Monday, October 21, 2013

O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis Virgo Maria




Homily for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish (Union Street and Rosa Road)
16th of October, 2011

Rev. Michael Taylor

And the angel said to Mary:
“Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.” [1]

            So, there comes a time when you’re working on your homily, and you realize that something has happened in the world that completely throws all your hard work out the world. This week, it was the  news that his Holiness Pope Francis was going to consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and that his Excellency, Bishop Hubbard would be consecrating the Diocese of Albany to Mary in solidarity with Pope Francis. So, I thought, if both our Pope and our Bishop is doing something, maybe we should spend some time talking about our Blessed Mother. I think it’s important for us to reflect on this because I know it was the hardest thing for me in my journey to become Catholic and I know it’s one of the first things many Protestants ask Catholics: “Why do you Catholics worship Mary?” [Spoiler: we don’t].
            As I just mentioned, Mary was incredibly difficult for me. I couldn’t understand why Catholics felt so passionately about her. It goes above just an idea. There seemed to be this devotion that I couldn’t understand. I’ve told the following story many times before, so I apologize if you’ve already heard it but it was a pivotal moment in my understanding Mary. When I was in the process of looking at the faith, a friend of mine who was helping me through the process asked me, “Look, Michael, does anything the Church actually teaches about Mary take away from the glory of Christ Jesus?” To which I said, “well, no.” “Then don’t worry about it. You’ll understand Mary when she’s ready for you to understand her.” So I set it off to the side. It’s not that I didn’t believe them. I just set them off to the side to wait for that moment to occur.
That moment of understanding came when I was in seminary. I  was in my first year of theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Chicago. Now, the patroness of the seminary was the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. That meant there was all night Eucharistic Adoration the preceding night, for which seminarians would sign up for various time slots throughout the night. Being new, I thought I’d sign up for 2-3 in the morning, because it seemed like a really holy thing to do. The verdict is out on that. Anywho, it was at that moment in the chapel that I had my epiphany. Now, to take a step back, my own mother had died on December 7th, 2000. And on that cold December night in 2007, it clicked. It was as if Jesus said to me, “Listen, Michael, I know that the loss of your mother is going to be very hard on you, so I’m going to give you December 7th to remember her. But on the next day, I’m going to give you my own mother, and she’s going to help finish the work your mother began with you.” I felt like I was John standing at the foot of the cross as Jesus said, Behold your mother.[2] You see, it really is that simple. I could quote to you from the Church Fathers, and the theologians and the saints, but at the heart of all their writings, at the heart of every Catholic is the undeniable and unshakable belief that Mary really is our mother. And who doesn’t love their mom? This isn’t high theology. She’s mom and we are here beloved children.
Let’s take a step back now. Why do we ask for her intercessions? To understand that, let’s take a further step back and look at why we ask the saints for their prayers anyways. Why don’t we just go to Jesus directly? The first part to understand is the use of the phrase, “pray to Saint ‘so-in-so.’” We tend to only use the word today when we’re speaking about talking to God. It comes to us from the Latin, precari, and originally just meant, “to ask.” So you’d hear, “Pray tell” or “I pray sir, let us pass.” So, when we say “we pray to the saints” we are literally just asking the saints to pray for us. Now, why do we do this? Well we ask one another here on earth to pray for us all the time. If we believe that we are one Church, and that the saints in heaven are just as much a part of the Body of Christ as we are, and in fact even more so, since they stand before God himself, why wouldn’t we want them to pray for us? In fact, it goes back to that familial bond we have with Mary, only the saints are our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. That’s why our Churches have pictures, statues and stand glass windows of the saints. If you went to someone’s house, they’d have pictures of family members. Well, when you come to the House of God, you have pictures of the children of God, and no House of God would be complete without a picture of Mom.
Which brings us back to the idea of consecrating ourselves to Mary. Now first, let’s look at how Mary prays on our behalf. Look back to the wedding at Cana. Mary is the one who becomes aware of the problem. She’s the one who brings it to Jesus’ attention. Now he says, more or less, “Why should we care?” Notice what she does. She doesn’t beg him to do something, she doesn’t guilt him, and she doesn’t say, “Jesus, I’m your mother and I’m telling you to do something!” Rather, she turns to the servants and says, Whatever he says, do.[3] Isn’t that the heart of being a disciple of Christ? Whatever he says, do? And that’s how it works. She brings our concerns, our anxieties, our hopes and dreams to her son, and she presents these problems as if they were her own.
One last thing to consider about the consecration is how we appear before God. When I was a little kid (well to be honest, even now), I had not one shred of artistic talent. So I would bring home something that only with great charity could be called “modern art” and I’d go show it to my dad. Now he would have just gotten done with work and would be trying to catch the evening news before dinner, stretched out on the couch. So he’d look over, smile, say “that’s nice,” and go back to watching the news. But I learned. If I went to my mom and said, “Mom, look what I did! Do you think we should show Dad?” She would walk in with me, and she would say, “James…look what Michael did in school. Isn’t it great?” That was my dad’s clue that it was important. I see the mothers nodding like, “yes, yes this is the way the world works.” Mary does the same thing for us. She brushes off our awkward attempts at prayer, brings them before Jesus, and says, “Jesus, look what your brothers and sisters brought you. Aren’t they great?” To which Jesus looks at, smiles and says, “Yeah mom…they’re pretty great.” Pray to our Blessed Mother if you haven’t done so in a while. Pray a rosary. Pray an angelus. Pray a Memorare. If you don’t know them, Google them. Every mom loves to hear from her children.



[1] Luke 1.30 [Douay Rheims Translation. Most verses will come from Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) unless otherwise noted, as above.]
[2] John 19.27
[3] John 2.5

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Spiritual Warfare (III of IV)


Talk given on Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 at Saint Ambrose in Latham, NY
[The following segments are not meant to be an all encompassing presentation on spiritual warfare, but rather, they are simple reflections from my own understanding and encounter with spiritual warfare. The first lesson was "Know the Way of God." The second was "The devil will attack you by attacking the ones you love." Today's is "The trial comes when we are strong." The fourth will be "The Good Fight."

Third Lesson: The Trial comes when we are strong.
Key Text: Matthew 4.1-11


The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down; for it is written,
'He will give his angels charge of you.'" ( Mt 4.6)
Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God,
And calls himself a child of the Lord…
Let us test him with insult and torture,
That we may find out how gentle he is,
And make trial of his forebearance.[1]
           
Often, the one who is faithful in living out the faith will find themselves subject to a test that would seem to be beneath a mature follower of Christ to endure. They will say, “I should not be tempted by this! I pray daily! I go to mass when I ought to go. I love God and I love my neighbor. Why am I attracted to a sin such as this?” To this I point out, it is written, my son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation.[2] Note that Jesus was tempted at the end of forty days of prayer and fasting. Theoretically, after such an intimate time of prayer with the Father, it should be harder for us to stumble and fall. Yet this is when the devil will always delight to attack us. Think of it and it will make sense. Remember that the devil has no need to cause us to stumble if we are far from God. Indeed, he will seek to make life pleasant so that the sinner does not think to himself that there is greater meaning to life. Yet for the one close to Christ, if a fall is gained by the devil, then he has accomplished two things. The first is that the fall is all the more disheartening for the faithful because they know more than most the significance of the fall. The second is that those who look at the faithful and see their shame will think, “If Christ cannot help this person, what hope is there for me?” This is why the Psalmist prays, let not those who seek thee be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek thee be brought dishonor through me.[3] First, let us remember the virtue of humility. At the beginning, I wrote how we must always remember and confess that we are sinners. In doing so, people will be forgiving when we stumble, because we have never put on false masks. It is why Paul always made his confession, saying, this saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost [sinner], Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.[4]


Pictured Above: The foremost of sinners. 

As regards the three temptations of Christ, we can see certain pearls of wisdom woven throughout the text. The first comes in noting how Christ responds to temptation. He is the Word of God Incarnate. He could have refuted the devil with his own words, and they would have been authoritative, as they are indeed throughout the entirety of the gospels. Yet Jesus chooses to use scripture to defend against the snares of the devil. This is significant for two reasons. The first is that they are worthy of trust in the realm of spiritual warfare, as the Apostle affirms when he said, all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.[5] This is important for us because we need to understand that temptation comes usually when our mind is not clear (for if any of us understood the horror of sin, we would never choose it). Sin has the effect of weakening of the will and the darkening of the intellect. If we have something that is objectively beyond us (Scripture and the Church’s teachings), then in those moments of weakness, we will have something to reach out to, to pull us out of the storm. The light of the lighthouse is not useful because it is within the ship. It is useful because it is on the shore, giving the ship a fixed point by which to navigate the shore amidst the storm. Our Lord sets the example for us by using scripture to defeat the devil.

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it. (Jn 1.5)

The second thing we can from our Lord’s response is how to use scripture. Note that the devil at one point tries to use scripture to tempt our Lord, saying, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ [6] Jesus’ response shows us how scripture is properly used, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.[7] The two greatest commandments are You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.[8] This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[9] On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.[10] People will try to use any means necessary to try and get out of what is proper to them. You can find any verse of scripture or any code of canon law to justify something that you want to do, taking it out of its proper context. One must remember that any reading of scripture must be read in light of the two greatest commandments. The devil failed in his quoting of scripture, because to if a man were to do what was tempted, it would not have been out of love of God, but rather a love of self and a desire to see if God loved the self as much as they loved themselves.
There is something worth mentioning as we reflect upon the temptation of Christ Jesus. We must remember that Christ has already conquered the world. We are assured of victory as long as we remain in Christ, and Christ desperately wants us to remain in his love. It is for this reason that the blessed Paul was able to write with confidence, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.[11] We are not driven out into the desert to fail. Remember it was the spirit that lead Jesus out into the dessert. Rather, we are given to times of trial so that we are made stronger in our spiritual journey. As it is written: In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is putting us to the test as he did our forefathers. Remember what he did with Abraham,[12] and how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia in Syria,[13] while he was keeping the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother. For he has not tried us with fire, as he did them, to search their hearts, nor has he taken revenge upon us; but the Lord scourges those who draw near to him, in order to admonish them.[14]


"I will put this [them] into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They shall call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, 'They are my people';
and they will say, 'The LORD is my God." (Zech 13.9)



[1] Wisdom 2.12-13, 19
[2] Sirach 2.1
[3] Psalm 69(68).6
[4] I Timothy 1.15-16
[5] II Timothy 3.16-17
[6] Matthew 4.6; cf. Psalm 91.11-12
[7] Matthew 4.7; cf. Deuteronomy 6.16: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”
[8] cf. Deuteronomy 6.4-7
[9] cf. Leviticus 19.18
[10] Matthew 22.37-40
[11] I Corinthians 10.13
[12] cf. Genesis 22.1-14
[13] cf. Genesis 29.1-31
[14] Judith 8.25-27; cf. Hebrews 12.5-11: 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Spiritual Warfare (I of IV)





Be Sober. Be watchful.
Your adversary the devil prowls about
like a roaring lion,
seeking one to devour.

I Peter 5.8

Talk given on Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 at Saint Ambrose in Latham, NY
[The following segments are not meant to be an all encompassing presentation on spiritual warfare, but rather, they are simple reflections from my own understanding and encounter with spiritual warfare. The first lesson is "Know the Way of God." The second lesson will be "The devil will attack you by attacking the ones you love." The third lesson will be "The trial comes when we are strong." The fourth lesson will be "The Good fight."


First Lesson: Know the Way of God
Key Text: Genesis 2.16-3.19

Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths,
 where the good way is;
and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” [1]

            Looking at man’s first encounter with spiritual warfare, we find several lessons to gain wisdom from. The first is knowing from whence shall come the fight. This is called learning about the near occasion of sin. If the commandment of God is not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then the last place you should spend time is anywhere near that tree. Why spend time in a place where temptation exists? Consider for a moment the story of David and Bathshe’ba. At the beginning of the narrative, we have the curious verse, in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go forth to battle, David sent Jo’ab, and his servants with him, and all Israel…but David remained in Jerusalem.[2] Notice what has happened. At the time when kings go into battle, King David is found not where he is supposed to be, but rather has stayed home. Had King David gone into battle, he would never have seen Bathshe’ba bathing from his roof. Had Eve not been within sight of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent would not have been able to entice her to look at it. This bring us to the next point of consideration. We must have custody of our eyes, as the Psalmist reveals, I will not set before my eyes anything that is base.[3] Our Lord himself revealed, the eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great the darkness! [4] Thus we cannot be surprised in Eve’s reaction when we read, the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes.[5]


The Latin word for "bad" is 'malus'
The Latin word for "apple" is 'malum'
The reason we think of it as an apple is because of a Latin pun.
           
  Now, one can ask, how can one know where the near occasion of sin is? It is for this reason that we are given the commandments of the Lord. As Saint Paul writes, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ [6] So it is important for us to know the commandments of God. As is written by the Psalmist, how can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to thy word.[7] Now we see how this failed to happen in our Genesis text. When Eve was asked by the serpent, Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden? [8] Eve responded, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” [9] However, the actual commandment from God had been, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.[10] Now we can go back and see how where Eve sees that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is good for food, had she been mindful that the commandment was against eating it, and that in eating it would death follow, she might have been more on guard. This is the first lesson. Know the way of God. Know His commandments. As our Lord said, if you would enter life, keep the commandments.[11] Knowing the Ten Commandments, knowing the teachings of Christ, knowing the teachings of the apostles and of the Church, in all these things we are given assurance that we are on the right path.
            There is a further truth to be gained before we move on though. We must first of all keep in mind that in Christ Jesus, we find the perfection of who we as humans are made to be. The serpent tempted Eve by saying, You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.[12] Yet we know that God created man in his own image, in the image of he created him; male and female he created them.[13] We were already there! Yet we went about trying to accomplish what we were made for on our own, rather than walking with God. Christ, in taking on our human nature, has shown us the way back toward our original calling, our first vocation, to be an icon of God. As Christ Jesus himself said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life[14] and that we shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.[15] Part of knowing the truth is confessing the truth that we are sinners.
In the realm of spiritual warfare, this part is critical. The devil does not tempt sinners who are far from God, for they are already far from God, and separated from him. If he, the devil, can keep us from confessing our faults, he keeps us from turning towards God. As the beloved apostle wrote, he who commits sin is of the devil [16] and again, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.[17] Note that when Adam and Eve have sinned, they cover themselves, representing how we try to hide our sins from one another, and they run from God, showing how we try to hide our sins from God. When God asks Adam and Eve if they’ve eaten of the tree, he already knows that they have. He is wanting them to make a confession, to admit what they have done. As the Beloved Apostle writes, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.[18]
             This is why at the beginning of every mass, we must make our confession before God, the Church triumphant and to one another, that we have sinned. That it is our fault. When we try to blame others for our own sins, we our hiding our own shame, and the garment we too often clothe ourselves in is the fig leaf of hypocrisy, wherein we are angry at the faults of others, rather than looking ourselves. It is easier to be angry at the sins of others than of our own. Thus we should be honest with ourselves. As the Apostle writes, therefore, putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another [19] and our Lord himself said, you hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.[20]
Oh, and go to confession.

Part II tomorrow

[1] Jeremiah 6.16
[2] II Samuel 11.1
[3] Psalm 101(100).3
[4] Matthew 6.22-23
[5] Genesis 3.6
[6] Romans 7.7
[7] Psalm 119(118).9
[8] Genesis 3.1
[9] Genesis 3.2
[10] Genesis 2.16-17
[11] Matthew 19.17
[12] Genesis 3.4-5
[13] Genesis 1.27
[14] John 14.6
[15] John 8.32
[16] I John 3.8
[17] I John 1.8
[18] I John 1.9-10
[19] Ephesians 4.25
[20] Matthew 7.5