Why you need to go to Mass tonight

You are loved. Beyond all else.

 Last Sunday I preached about how while the liturgies of Holy Week, in particular the Triduum, get ramped up, the message is actually simplified. The basic kerygma of the Faith is laid out in all of it’s splendor and glory, in all of it’s suffering and demand: God refused that agony, misery, and death (eternal, mind you) should be our only destiny. St. Irenaeus reminds us that “the glory of God is man fully alive,” and so He took steps to make that reality… brutal, horrifying steps. For tonight, He is arrested, stripped of His human dignity (let alone the homage due His divinity) and tortured. Tomorrow He will be executed. For us. Because we are loved.

 Tonight’s liturgy, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, is one of the most beautiful and moving of the Church’s entire tradition. As we recall that heartbreaking night, the last peaceful with His closest friends, our Lord expresses His breathtaking love for us. On His hands and knees, Jesus washes the feet of His friends and kisses them. In their foolishness and ignorance, they don’t understand why or what’s about to happen. I can only imagine that as He is doing this, images are flashing through His mind, not only of the pain and suffering which He is about to endure, but the guttural fear and suffering that His brothers and sisters will endure. This is His last chance before Hell is unleashed to show remind them of how much they are loved.

His thoughts, though, were not only of them. Each of us, individually and particularly, in all of our woundedness and pain, were present in His mind. His declaration of love washes out far beyond that upper room, it races down through the centuries to touch each of our hearts. But how so? It was on that night, as darkness consumed the sky, that Christ instituted the two greatest gifts He could give His family, His Church: the Gift of the Blessed Sacrament and of the Holy Priesthood. At this last supper, Christ ordains His brothers to be the first priests and charges them to keep Him present within the Church throughout the ages by celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Doing so, Jesus fulfills His promise that He will be with us “to the end of the ages.” This condescension, into the priest as in persona Christi and present in the sacred species of the Blessed Sacrament Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, is far greater than even the Incarnation itself. It is in these two gifts, of the Priesthood and the Blessed Sacrament, that He might continue to touch His people and be touched by them, speak words of love and call them onward. It’s in the Priesthood and the Blessed Sacrament that we are consoled by His very heart, even as we watch evil and darkness cloud the sky once more.

 You are loved. Beyond all else.

Go to Mass tonight. Make an Act of Love to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and pray for your priests. Why? Because. You. Are. Loved.

Don’t Break Our Father’s Heart

Right now I’m looking over the scriptures for today’s Mass, prepping for my homily. So the thought crossed my mind, why not just jot down my notes here! Before reading further, click the link and read the First Reading for Mass today, as that’s where I feel called to focus.

Kinda tough to get through, huh? I hard a enough time just listening to it… This exchange between Samuel, the People, and God is absolutely heartbreaking. It was for this people that God had wandered through the deserts with Abraham. It was for this people that God railed against the might of Egypt and cared for them as His own children. It was for HIS people that He poured blessing after blessing out upon them. The Lord has been their shepherd, their provider, their navigator, their leader… their Father… And what happens today? As we read, they looked up at their Father and provider, who had chosen them, and replied to Him through Samuel, “We don’t choose you, we want another.” Samuel doesn’t understand their answer, he thinks he may have done something wrong, that somehow they are displeased with him. But in consoling Samuel, our Lord tells us the gut-wrenching truth, and you can hear in his voice the pain that only a father knows, “Grant the people’s every request (Even after being stabbed in the heart, they are still His children!). It is not you they reject… they are rejecting me as their king.”

How often have we chosen to ignore prayer? How often have we chosen the easy way morally, rather than the hard way that leads to holiness, which is communion with God? What areas of our life have we basically told God, “I don’t want you. I want another”? Where have we broken our Father’s heart? As the altar is prepared for the Holy Sacrifice, take those idols, those false kings of your hearts, those easy loves and have your guardian angel lay them upon the altar in contrition and in love. Do this, knowing that what you will receive back from the altar is Love itself, Power unlimited, Guidance without cost. You will receive your true God. Amen.

 

Please Don’t Assume, Pray for the Dead!

The Beatific Vision from Dante

David Bowie. Alan Rickman. Robert Loggia. Maureen O’Hara. Over the last couple of months a number of celebrities have died. A lot of ink has been spilled and digital paper run off expressing the sorrow of their passing and how some of their deaths mark the end of era (which is true!).  In that same vein, though, it’s been interesting watching the social media feeds and reading how these people and their contributions to society have affected individuals’ lives, actually having done so or otherwise. Seeing it more in the “Facebook” arena rather than professional publications, curiously I read again and again how people say such things about deceased celebrities or family members as, “He’s in a better place now,” or, “Heaven got another good one…” As a Catholic priest, I note these sentiments quite often, more so with family or friends who mourn the loss of a loved one. These automatic emotional responses, de facto canonizations, concern me a great deal, most especially when it leads to souls not being prayed for!

This is always such a touchy subject for many… and I don’t begrudge people a fond remembering or hope of peace for the departed. I’m certain you understand what I’m driving at here… The truth is not everybody goes to Heaven, and fewer still will avoid the purification of Purgatory. To immediately claim that all who are “generally” good, whatever that means, are owed an eternity of perfect bliss immediately upon death (only people like Hitler go to Hell) is absurd. And whats more, such proclamations are so disconnected from the actual person who lived that when we declare somebody to be in Heaven simply because they died, it is not for the sake of the deceased but for our own emotional satisfaction. To automatically assign someone to Heaven can, 99.999999% of the time, mean rejection of the dead’s freedom; a dismissal of the soul’s decisions during life. It should be noted that these expressions and sentiments are by far and away in our culture the norm.

Here’s the rub with me: when we just assume that someone is in heaven or we sooth others with such absolute ideas all that is taking place is a shallow emotional anesthetic for the living, and the dead are not prayed or cared for. Let’s be clear about what I’m saying: Not all people go to Hell nor should we assume someone is in Hell. That kind of declaration is just as illusory and detached from the deceased’s freedom of will as simply stating that they are in Heaven. The recognition of someone’s eternal destiny lies only within the competent authority’s jurisdiction, namely that of the Church and not in individuals. Notice my choice of wording there, “recognition of someone’s eternal destiny.” The Church, as well as God with some theological nuance, does not send souls to Heaven or Hell. God has placed that eternal decision before each and every one of us (and He assists us in choosing for Him and happiness during this life with His grace). In opposition to declaring someone to be in Heaven or in Hell, the Church holds firmly to the free will that each soul received from God. She refuses even to definitively say that Judas is in Hell!  This freedom is part of what makes us in the “image and likeness” of God (Gen. 1:27) and He will not revoke that gift, even should we choose against Him. What a travesty it is when we do so by our assumptions of someone’s eternal destiny. However, we do recognize some to be in Heaven because of miraculous signs that God allows to communicate that this person is in fact in Heaven and is to be emulated or still has a particular role in interceding for the Church Militant. But until a person is canonized a saint, we must not assume that they are perfectly united to God! The only safe assumption is that the deceased person, who had some goodness and virtue was imperfect and sinned, is in need of purification. We must pray for the dead!

You see, Purgatory is not a “divine waiting room.” It is a place of purification and as such is not pleasant. There is real suffering. I’ll get into the nature of Purgatory tomorrow, but for now, suffice it to say we really don’t want to shoot for it! The freedom that was granted to the soul on earth is perfected in eternity so there are no more decisions for or against God after death; a soul is either going to Heaven or Hell. However, if that soul has loved God and neighbor as He commanded, yet imperfectly, meaning not meriting Hell, that soul is destined for Heaven but is in need of being purified of attachment to sin before entering. Hence, Purgatory. This is one of God’s greatest mercies; despite being imperfect, if we loved Him He will have mercy. But for the souls in purgatory, because their will is perfected in eternity, they cannot pray for themselves. Let me say that again, the Souls in Purgatory cannot pray for or help themselves. They need us. If our love and care for the dead meant anything in life, that love means infinitely more after they have died. If we knew that a loved one was suffering or need help while they were alive, we would help them, would we not? How much more so can we help them after they have died! We cannot abandon them after death! To do so is one of the gravest sins against charity!

In short, love should impel us to pray for the dead. Assumptions and wishful thinking at the very least only help us feel better and at worst disregard the help that the dead so greatly need. Whether it’s Alan Rickman, a beloved friend or family member, or simply the recognition that there are souls in need of our help, prayers for the dead should be a consistent theme in our prayer life. We need to bring this back to Catholic culture. Praise God for His merciful gift of Purgatory, and even more for the gift of allowing the prayers of the living to assist souls there! It’s something one day that each of us will probably be extraordinarily grateful for!

Hac Nocte Christus Natus Est!

This is the Christmas proclamation for the Feast of the Nativity and it’s worth checking out (this is from the Missal):

“The twenty-fifth Day of December when ages beyond number had run their course from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created heaven and earth, and formed man in his own likeness; when century upon century had passed since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood, as a sign of covenant and peace; in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; in the thirteenth century since the People of Israel were led by Moses in the Exodus from Egypt; around the thousandth year since David was anointed King; in the sixty-fifth week of the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the year seven hundred and fifty-two since the foundation of the City of Rome; in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Octavian Augustus, the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to consecrate the world by his most loving presence, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and when nine months had passed since his conception, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.”

This Night Christ is Born! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Eternal Love: Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

           What would you do to save someone you loved? There are lots of different routes we could take. We could talk to them and try to subtly bring up the danger they were in. We could beg, plead, and even shout for them to get out of the situation, to ask for the help they need. We might grab and shake them, trying to rouse them into action. We might even try to take some of the hit that is coming for them. What would you do to save someone you loved?

            In a poor way of speaking about it, that is the question that our feast today answers. We celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross. It’s a symbol of the kind of love that the greatest art, music, and literature can only shadow in their depictions. It’s a love that humanity stands in awe of; it is simply divine.

            You see, the love that our God has for us as Creator and creation, as a Father to his sons and daughters is THE love that all human love imitates. The love that brothers and sisters have, that parents have for their children, that husbands and wives share, it all pales in comparison to the that terrifying and awesome love, in biblical sense of those words, that the God of the Universe has for us. But we know that someone loves us, not simply by words they use to express it, but by their actions. The same is true for the all-powerful love of God.

            When we celebrate the cross we celebrate an historical reality, a tangible sign of infinite love, a love that sacrifices itself and pours itself out to the last drop. And to the last drop I mean quite literally. The cross is not some antiquated, mythical, romantic conjuring. It is the most terrifying and brutally painful device of torture devised by the Roman Empire. To endure to the cross was despair. The nails driven in at the hands and feet were done at particular points to pierce the greatest nerve endings. It made it nearly impossible to hold oneself up, which was necessary because to hang there allowed the lungs to fill with fluid. Yet, to pull up, to breathe the one on the cross had to pull and push against the nails which had pierced their nerves. After hours, sometimes days, after experiencing exposure to the elements and no longer being able to endure the pain the crucified would suffocate. If the process needed to be sped up, the knees were broken to ensure suffocation. What would you do to save someone you loved? Christ answered this question by mounting the Cross.

          And to peer deeper into His love, the cross was not forced upon Christ but chosen, as is made clear time and again by Christ in the Gospels. He knew what was coming, and he embraced it. That’s important to understand. It’s not as if the Father told the Son, “You drew the short straw.” Although language is inadequate, it is more that the Blessed Trinity looked at humanity, suffering from sin and evil, enveloped in despair of the grave, and meeting each other’s gaze, the Father and the Son both knew what needed to be done. Descending from his eternal throne, the Son of God ascended the cross to proclaim his eternal and undying love for each and every one of us.

            We ask ourselves, “What would we do to save someone we loved?” I think that question can only be answered when we understand how each of us has been loved, and what has been done to save us. This feast should bring us to tears, yes in sadness for our sins, but more so because we are loved in spite of them. If we ever doubt that we are loved, if we have ever thought that we have committed sins so great that God simply could not love us, look to the cross, which Christ endured knowing your specific sins and imperfections. Look to the cross, which he laid down on and as he gave up his last breath had you on his mind and love in his heart. Amen.