Fear of the Lord

Readings for Wednesday June 30, 2010

First Reading: Amos 5:14-15, 21-24
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50
Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34


When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go then!” They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district. (Mt 8:28-34)

Whenever I read this gospel passage, I can't help but ask myself what exactly was it that made the people ask Jesus to leave? Was just the pure shock of what happened? Did they misunderstand His intentions? Perhaps the swineherds misinterpreted their story which caused fear among the people. Or perhaps it was just fear of the unknown that caused them to ask Jesus to leave. And we can be sure that since He was asked to leave, that He did. This is important, because this illustrates the point that God never forces Himself upon us, He will always meet us where we are at, but it is always our choice whether we run from Him or embrace Him.

I think another thing that gospel passage illustrates is fear of the Lord. We all should have a fear of the Lord, but not an unhealthy one like the people in today's gospel. They had such a fear that their only solution was to drive Him away. This kind of fear does not allow for a the close personal relationship that God wants us to have with Him. The kind of fear that we should have with God is a healthy one. One that helps us recognize who He is and who we are. A fear that help us be obedient to our Creator at all times, not just when it is convenient. I also believe that the thing that we should fear the most is not being with God, now and after death. That is one of my biggest fears, I do not want to spend eternity anywhere other than heaven. This fear is not something that should hold us back, but rather drive us to know and love God, and to follow Him where ever He leads.

Let us always remember that fear of the Lord is not a bad thing as long as it is healthy and not misguided. As it says in the book of Proverbs: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with in our lives and for all you provide us with. Lord, help us to have a healthy fear and to never doubt or stray away from you. Lord, we love you and thank you for your love. We pray for wisdom and understanding, may we grow in faith and virtue. We pray for all of our priests and religious, that they may be strengthened in their ministries and in their vows. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Finish Well

Readings for Tuesday June 29, 2010

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

First Reading: Acts 12:1-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19


I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Tim. 4:6-8, 17-18)

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, apostles of the Church. But what exactly is it that makes these two men so special? One thing is that what we see from the readings today is that both of the came to the realization of who God is and who they are. They both realized that Jesus is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. He is our Lord and redeemer, and we are each called to pick up our crosses daily and follow Him. What is interesting is that both of these men had a very rocky start with Christ. Peter was just a fisherman who followed Christ when it was convenient. Paul was a devout Jew who sought to persecute the early Church. I guess that you could say that both of them came a long way in their lives.

Even though they both had rough starts, they both had strong finishes. Both fought opposition, persecution, ailments, ridicule, imprisonment, and eventually martyrdom. But both saw their struggles as a blessing, not a curse. Both had , as Saint Paul put it, "competed well ... finished the race ... [and] kept the faith." This is the lesson that we can learn from each of these men. Even though we might get off to rocky starts in our own life, it is never too late to turn things around and turn towards the Lord. We are all in this race of life, and we are each called to compete well and finish the race. For it is by finishing the race well that we each receive the great reward of heaven.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, you are our Lord, help us to build our lives on your solid foundation. Lord, thank you for your great love and mercy, help us to go out into this world and show this same great love and mercy. Lord, we pray for all the persecuted, may they find their strength and comfort in you. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Can You Handle the Truth?

Readings for Monday June 28, 2010

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martryr

First Reading: Amos 2:6-10, 13-16
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50
Gospel: Matthew 8:18-22


When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” (Mt 8:18-22)

In the movie "A Few Good Men", there is the infamous court scene where Tom Cruise's character has Jack Nicholson's character on the stand and he is demanding "the truth." Then Jack Nicholson's character says the great line, "You can't handle the truth!" This very popular line could probably be said to many Catholics today.

Many times in the Christian faith we want to downplay the challenges and difficulties that come about from living a life devoted to Christ. We prefer to hear the good stories of how Jesus is our friend, how he heals, and the miracles that he works. While it is important to realize that God wants us to know Him, and that He is capable of all things; we cannot only look at God as a nice guy who gives us things. We need to realize the truth ... that He is our Lord, our Creator, and our Redeemer; the man whose life, death and resurrection opened a door that had previously been shut by mankind. Although many of us have trouble handling the truth, we must realize that it is not something meant to inhibit us, but rather to set us free.

In today's gospel, Jesus does what He has, and always does ... He tells it like it is. I am sure that as is the case today, many of His disciples had trouble with His teachings. From today's gospel we learn two important truths. One is that if we follow Christ, it will not be a life of comfort; "foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." The second truth that we learn is that God asks us to put Him first. This means that we seek to follow Him and Him alone. He is meant to be the most important person in our lives, even more so than our spouses, children, family and friends.

When it comes to these truths, we can honestly say that they are hard teachings, and many of us have trouble handling this truth. But it is important to remember that it is the truth that sets us free. God's ways are meant to get us to heaven and to help us live the life that we were created to live. We each have a choice in this life, we can run from the truth or we can embrace it.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with and for all that you do. Lord, help us to embrace your truth, which is meant to bring us life, not to take away. Lord, you are such a good and loving God, help us to follow you no matter what, for you always have our best interests in mind. Lord, we love you and praise you. We pray for all those who have fallen away from the Church, may they be led back home to your glorious truth. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Suffering

Readings for Friday June 25, 2010

First Reading: 2 Kings: 25:1-12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137
Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” (Mt 8:1-4)

Why does God allow someone to have such a terrible disease like leprosy? In the gospel today, we read about Jesus' healing of a man with leprosy, but the question is why was this man living with the awful disease in the first place? Many ask the question, how can a loving God allow such terrible illnesses and diseases? Why do some people battle cancer and go through chemotherapy only to still lose the battle? Why do some people go through life only having mild physical afflictions, while others overcome serious disabilities? While we know that it was because of the fall that pain and death came into this world, but the truth is that we will never fully understand why God allows pain and suffering in this world. Although we will never fully understand it, I do think that there have been some pretty sound explanations for why God allows suffering in our lives. I once heard Fr. John Corapi talk about suffering, and I think that his explanation is the best that I have heard so far. He says, "God allows suffering so that a greater good can come out of it, and if you don't believe that then just look at the crucifix."

I think that Fr. Corapi is very wise in his teaching on suffering, I think that today's gospel is a great illustration of this. In today's gospel, we see that Jesus heals a leper. But a very important thing that we also see is that the leper never demands, but only submits to the will of Christ. In this instance, the good that came out of this man's leprosy was that he went deeper into his faith of God. He had real faith, and humbled himself before God, and because of this Jesus worked a miracle and completely cured him of his leprosy. Now this is not just an instance of physical healing, but of spiritual healing as well. This man with leprosy was at one of the lowest points in his life, and instead of cursing God, he submitted to Him. By curing his physical ailment, Jesus also had an impact on his spirit as well, and while we never hear of what became of this leper, my bet is that his life is forever changed and that he spend the rest of his life following Christ.

God allows suffering so that a greater good may come out of it. Jesus was not afraid to show us this with His life, death and resurrection. As His disciples, we cannot believe that we will be free of suffering in our lives, but the one thing that we can control is our attitude and how we look at the suffering that we go through. Many of us are burdened by physical or emotional suffering, but what we must remember is that Christ's promise to us is that if we will persevere with Him in this life, then there will be a great reward for us ... eternal life with no more pain and suffering, only love.

Father above, we thank you for this day. Thank you for our lives and for all that we have. Lord, you have blessed us so much in our lives, help us to never take any of this for granted. Lord, we know that we are each called to carry crosses, help us to rely and trust in you during these difficult times. We pray for all those who are battling physical and emotional difficulties, may they see their suffering as a blessing, rather than a curse. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Placement

Readings for Thursday June 24, 2010

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
Second Reading: Acts 13:22-26
Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Lk 1:57-66, 80)

If you have ever played chess or have seen it played, you know that the game is all about placement. Where you place your pieces and how you go after your opponent are important things in this game. Just randomly moving your pieces without a strategy is not the wisest or best way to go about winning. It is important to think about where your pieces are, how you want to use them, where you want them to be, how you will attack, and how you will defend. It is certainly a game of strategy and of placement.

I don't know if God is a chess player or not, but I do know that He knows all about strategy and placement. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. John the Baptist is one of the many examples of God's perfect placement. He called John to go before Jesus and preach a baptism of repentance. So why send John ahead, why not just Jesus? Why it could of been just Jesus preaching this baptism of repentance, it was not God's plan. God knew that it would be better to place someone before Christ to help prepare the way. John built up anticipation and hope that the Messiah was coming very soon, and would be revealed to the people at any moment. John came first to help not only prepare for the ministry of Jesus, but also to prepare the hearts of the people.

Today's celebration of the birth of John the Baptist reminds us of two important things. One is that in order to first encounter Christ, we must first humble ourselves, admit that we sin and do wrong and acknowledge that we need Him. John came into this world to proclaim the Savior, to give people hope, and to help people recognize their faults and their need of Christ. The second thing that we are reminded of is that each of us has been placed here for a purpose. We are the "hidden double edged sword", the "arrows in the quiver" and the Lord has great plans for each of us. Maybe we realize our purpose and calling now, and we know that we are where God has placed us. Perhaps we are not sure of our purpose and calling, if this is the case then do not worry, because God is just waiting until you are in the right place to begin revealing His plan to you. We must always have patience and trust in God's plan for us, just as John the Baptist did.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with. Help us to make this day all about you, and to live for you and let your light shine through us to the rest of the world. Lord, you are our God and we are your people, help us to never forget that. We pray for all those who have fallen away from the Church, may they be brought back home. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Good Fruits

Readings for Wednesday June 23, 2010

First Reading: 2 Kings 22:8-13, 23:1-3
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
Gospel: Matthew 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” (Mt. 7:15-20)

By their fruits you will know them. This statement begs the question, what kind of fruits are your life producing? Today's gospel is pretty straightforward, the "good trees" bear good fruits, while the "bad trees" bear bad fruit. Reading this gospel passage should make us all look inside ourselves and at our own lives. What do our lives say about us? What kinds of fruits are being produced by how we live our life? Are we striving to follow God's will and to love Him first? Are we striving to sacrifice daily and carry our cross in this life? Are we seeking to help others before ourselves? Are we trying to produce good fruit?

Think about your life, what fruit are you producing? If you are not producing good fruit, what can you do to change that? Remember, it is never too late to turn towards God and follow Him. In the first reading today, the king realized after hearing the book of the law that he and all of Judah were not following God's way and that their lives were not producing good fruit. So they turned back to God and made a promise to Him that they were no longer going to follow their ways, but rather His. We must always remember that it is never too late to give ourselves to Christ and to let our lives begin to produce good fruit.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with in this life and for all that you give. Lord, help our lives be a reflection of you, help others to see you through our works and our lives. Lord, we are here by you and for you, help us to never forget that. We pray for all those in need of conversion, and for all those who have fallen away from the Church. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Road Less Traveled

Readings for Tuesday June 22, 2010

First Reading: 2 Kings 19:9-11,14-21,31-35,36
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 48
Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12-14

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”

During each summer most of us attend at least one high school graduation party. A time to celebrate the accomplishment of these students. It is the ending of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. When at these parties I always like to ask what are their plans for the summer and the fall. Many will say that they are going off to college, others plan on working for a while first, and still many others are not even sure where they are going or what they are going to do. The reality is that most people do not go off to get a college degree. According to the census bureau, only about 35% of Americans have an Associates Degree or higher (only 27.4% have a Bachelors Degree or higher). There are many reasons why people do not go off to college and get a degree. Many times money presents a challenge, and many people are not sure of how to make college work with limited resources. Now I am not saying that a college education is the end all be all, but I do think that having an education to achieve your goals is important. The number one reason why I think that most of our population does not seek out higher education opportunities is because it is hard. It is a narrow gate that not many pass through. Most of the opportunities in this life that are really worthwhile are typically the hardest and the ones that are the least sought after.

The reality is that like our example of getting a college degree, our faith is a hard thing. In fact it is one of the hardest things, because it requires so much of us. It involves dying to ourselves, seeking God's will above our own, humility, willingness to be a servant, and love. These are not easy things, and they are certainly not things that the majority of people seek out. But what most people fail to keep in mind that living by following God's path, although it is a hard path to follow, is the path that leads to life. God wants us to live a full life here on earth and in heaven. We have a choice, we can choose our own way, which most people do choose their way which only leads to destruction; or we can choose God's way which leads to life.

The gate truly is narrow, and most people will not choose this hard and difficult way; but we must always remember that it is the path that is the most worth it.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, we praise you and thank you for all that you give and all that you do. Lord, thank you for our lives, help us to always choose your way instead of our own paths. Lord, we know that your way, although it is not easy, is filled with many blessings. We do not want to seek out our own life, but rather lose it so that we may gain life. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.