21st Sunday, Popes & Modernism

 Today’s readings give us an insight into Peter the first pope and papal infallibility. The first reading from the prophet Isaiah reflects the special authority given by Jesus to St. Peter, as head of the Church. Eliakim is given authority over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, while Peter is given authority of Our Lord’s new Church. Eliakim shall be a father to the people of Jerusalem; the word pope means “father”, and he will be a father to all Christians.

Isaiah mysteriously seems to even foreshadow the clothing of the future popes. It states, “I will clothe him with your robe and gird him with your sash and give over to him authority.” How interesting that popes would eventually wear robes and a sash (which today we know as a cassock and cincture).

In Isaiah, the Lord places the key of David upon Eliakim’s shoulder. Peter receives the keys by the Son of David, who is the Son of God Himself. As Jesus said, “I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.” The handing over of the keys is symbolic for the passing on of authority. Eliakim speaks more clearly about the authority as he states, “he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.” Jesus gave to Peter, the first pope, the authority to bind and loosen. He told Peter, "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". Here Peter was singled out for the authority that provides for the forgiveness of sins and the making of disciplinary rules.

Peter alone was promised something else also. Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven". In ancient times, a walled city might have one large gate; and that gate had one large lock, worked by one large key. To be given the key to the city is—an honor that exists even today. It meant whoever has the key has free access to and authority over the city. The city to which Peter was given the keys was the heavenly city itself.

When Peter declared who Jesus is: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” he made an infallible statement. Our Lord makes it clear, that no one revealed this to Peter, except the heavenly Father.

Popes have made infallible statements throughout history. There are two most commonly noted. It was in 1854 when the Pope definitively defined and required the faithful to believe in Mary’s Immaculate Conception and in 1950, when the Pope declared Mary’s Assumption. Pope St. John Paul II made an infallible statement binding all to believe it, when we wrote Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, in 1994, which formally forbade women from becoming priests and required the faithful to believe only men can become priests, which has been a universal and constant teaching from the beginning.,

Some falsely think the pope cannot sin nor make a mistake. The pope’s words and his writings can have errors in them, unless he formally exercises his papal authority.

For a papal infallible statement to be made, the pope, as the universal shepherd in exercising his authority, he must: 1. Declare the teaching he is proposing as a constant and universal teaching of the Church; 2. the judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful; 3. and it must concern faith and morals. If one of these is not present, then it’s not an infallible statement.

For example, if the pope were to attempt to declare the following statement, “I hereby decree binding all Catholics to believe that climate change is caused by smog.” This would be invalid for two reasons. First, because it does not involve faith or morals (it involves science). And second because it is not a constant universal teaching of the Church.

This past Friday was the feast of Pope St. Pius X, he is known as the Pope of the Eucharist. He lowered the age for First Communion to 7 years old (the age of reason). He also advocated frequent Communion.

Up to his time, children didn’t make their First Communion until they were about 12 years old. And people rarely received Holy Communion, out of fear of offending the Lord, even though they were in the state of grace.

He is also known for battling against the modernism heresy. Modernism is called the synthesis of all heresies. It claims there is no objective truth and that the deposit of faith (Sacred Tradition & Sacred Scripture) can change according to the times. Modernism also denies the miracles of Jesus and say they were just symbolic. For example, some say the miracle of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fish wasn’t a real miracle, because the people just share their food with each other, which contradicts scripture.

Because of the modernism heresy, Pope Pius X required all cardinals, bishops and priests to sign an oath against modernism. By condemning the heresy, he was using his authority of the keys, to warn those who fail to return to the truth faith, risk being “shut out” from the gates of heaven.

The oath was done away with in the 1960’s by Pope Paul VI. However, today this heresy is rampant again. Many in the Church are advocating change to the teaching of homosexuality, they want to no longer consider it disordered and even view it as good, which contradicts multiple scriptures in the Bible.

Today, some are wanting women deacons and women priests, but this has never been the case in the Church. As I mentioned earlier, Pope St. John Paul II reaffirmed that it Sacred Tradition, passed down to us from Jesus and the Apostles makes it impossible for women to be priests or deacons.

Some modernists say the morality of the death penalty has changed. But the Church’s teaching has been constant and universal from the beginning.

Another error today is the idea that all religions are paths to God and are equal. But, they are not. By making this claim, they are forgetting Jesus is the only way to the Father. He is the one mediator between God and man. He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one come to the Father, but through Him. And Jesus established the Catholic Church which has every means necessary for salvation including all 7 sacraments.

One of the primary roles of the pope is to safeguard Church teaching, which is what Pope Saint Pius X did when he proclaimed the truth and condemned the heresy of modernism.

The pope is to confirm the bishops and priests and laypeople in the faith. He is clarify it and remove ambiguities that cause confusion. The keys given to Peter and passed down through the long line of popes gives us confidence, that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church.

Today, we look to the popes in the past, who are canonized saints, like Pope St. Pius X, and Pope St. John Paul II, ask them to intercede for us in our confusing time. And let us pray for our pope, Leo XIV, the successor of St. Peter, whom Jesus founded His Church. May he use his role as the chief shepherd of the Church to confirm the people of God in the faith, by using his keys to condemn heresy when it is rampant, and proclaim the truth to bring as many as possible to salvation in Jesus Christ.

And may Mary, Mother of the Church, help us to faithfully follow the Church’s teachings, handed down to us from Peter and the apostles.

20th Sunday Canaanite Woman

 

This weekend’s Gospel is about perseverance in prayer, humility and faith.

In the Gospel, the Canaanite woman approached Jesus trusting Him to help her daughter. She said, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” Despite her cries, Jesus did not answer. It seems that Our Lord did not pay attention to her. However, because of her faith, she would not give up until Jesus helped her.

And then to make matters even worse, Our Blessed Lord said something, which appears to be harsh. He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Could it really be He was unconcerned for the woman’s daughter, because she was not a Jew? Or was He only expressing what the Jews were thinking at the time? Despite His words to His disciples, she came and knelt before Him saying, “Lord help me.” What great faith she had! What humility! What perseverance!

Jesus continued to pretend to not want to have anything to do with her, and said something, which sounds insulting, “It is not right to take the food of the children, and throw it to the dogs.” Was Our Lord really insulting her by calling her and the Canaanites, dogs? During the time of Jesus, the Jewish people looked down upon the Gentile people, who weren’t Jewish. They often referred to the Gentiles as dogs. Our Lord was stating, it’s not right to give to her (a non-Jew), what was meant for Jews because that is what the Gentiles were thinking.

The Jews are God’s chosen people. Yet, Jesus was about to show all those who were present-- Jews and non-Jews are now accepted into His kingdom. She continued to persist in her pleading and she said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”

Our Savior only pretended to not want anything to do with her, or the Canaanites, because those listening did not want anything to do with a woman, who is a non-Jew, from the land of Canaan. One of the reasons why Jesus didn’t reply to her immediately was to allow others to see her great faith and her humility, which many of the Jews didn’t have. He also wanted to use her as an example, to show others that not only was He concerned for the non-Jews, but they can even be an example for the Jews. Perhaps Jesus even wanted His Disciples to also intercede for her; instead they told Jesus to send her away.

Everything comes to a climax when Jesus exclaimed, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” Our Lord rewarded her for her perseverance by complimenting her unshakable faith. How wonderful is the revelation of her great faith, perseverance, and trust--- many of the Jews didn’t have. Her persistence was answered by her daughter being healed and her persistence led to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ love for everyone, Jews and non-Jews.

The noble mothers who appear in the Gospels are always seeking the best for their children. They know how to appeal to Jesus for assistance and favors. Recall that it was the mother of James and John who approached Our Lord to seek the first seats in heaven. The woman in today’s Gospel is a perfect model of constancy in prayer, a model intended for all those who tire easily when praying to God.

You would be surprised at how many times women have told me, that they had been praying for their husbands their whole life, so that they would become Catholic. About 10 years ago, a woman told me she prayed for her husband everyday. She said three years before he died, after they had been married for nearly 60 years, he joyfully became Catholic.

I had a conversation today with a police officer friend, Brandon, who lives in Wichita. His partner, Kyle, was shot 3 years ago and has had a long road to recovery. Brandon said he and his wife pray the family Rosary everyday and for three years they have been praying for Kyle and his wife and their family to become Catholic and he said, they just announced that they want to become Catholic. The persevered in praying and their prayer was finally answered.

We are reminded of saints like St. Monica, who prayed many years for the conversion of her son, St. Augustine. She was so distressed because her son was living an impure life with multiple women and he believed in false doctrines of another religion.

Once when St. Monica approached a bishop asking what she could do to help her son to become practicing Catholic, the bishop told her, “Go your way, as sure as you live, it is impossible that the son of these tears should perish.” From then on-- she stayed as close as possible to her son, Augustine, and she prayed and fasted for his conversion. When he finally turned away from his loose living and false ideas, he was baptized Catholic, became a priest, a bishop, a canonized saint and even a doctor of the Church. St. Augustine would later write, “If I did not perish in error, it was due to the daily tears of my mother, who was so full of faith.”

Today, there are many parents greatly concerned about their children. A parent’s greatest fear is that their child may not go to heaven. And when they see their children no longer coming to Mass, beginning to live a life of sin, no longer thinking about God or caring about their own salvation, the tears of parents fall upon the pillow at night, so concerned for their loved ones.

Yet, the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel, so concerned about her daughter and St. Monica, so worried about her son, and the holy women who prayed everyday for their husbands, invite all of us to keep persevering in prayer, to not give up, to trust and to believe God can-- and will touch the hearts of our family members, who have lost their way. And to pray for our non-Catholic friends, that they may become Catholic. Don’t be afraid to simply ask, “Have you ever thought about becoming Catholic?”

We want our friends to have all the beautiful and amazing things we have as Catholics: the Eucharist, the true presence of Jesus, Confession- to be able to have our sins washed away and all the sacraments. We have Our Blessed Mother, and how special She is and She and the saints help us in so many ways.

By our daily persevering prayer, our fasting, every time we attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, our rosaries, and because of our tears—God will answer, though He may pretend at the moment as though He is not listening.

However, in fact, He is helping not only our family members, but helping us to grow in our faith, teaching us to persevere, and is so pleased by our humility, as we come before the Lord on bended knees when we cry out, “Lord help me!”

Assumption of Mary August 15th

 

Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. Pope Pius XII, in Munificentissimus Deus (1950), defined that Mary, "after the completion of her earthly life" (note the silence regarding her death), "was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven."

Eastern Catholics are more apt to believe Mary didn’t die when She was assumed into heaven. After all, Adam and Eve would not have died if they had not eaten the forbidden fruit. When it would have been time for them to go to heaven, they would have been assumed without dying.

Catholics from the west, like St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. John Damacene believe Mary died. Perhaps, the reason why She may have died was because She wanted to experience death like Jesus, Her Son, to be as perfectly conformed to Our Lord as possible. In other words, She wanted to die, like Her Son, out of love for Him.

Here we can picture the event of Mary entering heaven. Upon entering the gates of heaven, Her own body became suddenly glorified as She received a transformed and resurrected body. Her clothes became dazzling and with an immense glow, Her veil, mantle and dress are arrayed in gold, sparkling like the sun.

Though She knew the Trinity better than any human being, and perhaps, at times, had a tiny glimpse of heaven in one of Her ecstasies, She was immediately enamored and overcome by the beauty, the glory, the power and the majesty of God in heaven. Her eyes welled up in tears as She gazed upon the multitude of angels and saints, and, to Her shock and amazement, they all bow down in humble reverence to Her, the Queen.

There, next to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of heaven, is Her faithful spouse St. Joseph, whose glory shines for all to see. He appears in bodily form. Just as St. Francis de Sales suspected, his body did not undergo corruption and was assumed body and soul into paradise.

Jesus takes Mary’s hand and walks Her to the throne of God the Father. Upon arrival, She kneels before Him and bows. He takes Her left hand and lifts Her up. There, before Her, are three large golden thrones. On the left is the throne of God the Father, next to His is the throne of Jesus and to His left is the throne of Mary. The three take their seats and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, hovers above the three thrones. There is total silence in heaven, as all know the Father is about to speak.

Jesus and God, the Father stand. Between the two, a royal crown studded with gems suddenly appears and is placed on the head of the Virgin. At the moment the crown is set, a burst of light comes forth from above and twelve stars appear and glisten like that of a giant halo.

The twelve stars above Her head apply to both the twelve patriarchs of the tribes of Israel (original people of God), and the twelve apostles (renewed people of God). The twelve stars also represent Her Queenly dignity and Her rule over angels and saints.

She is clothed with the sun, meaning She is surrounded by God’s power and protection and shines with grace as the Mother of God. The moon under Her feet represents Her Virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Her power over created things.

The Father spoke, “Behold, O creatures of heaven, this is the handmaid of the Lord. The Queen of heaven and earth. She is my daughter, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Her and do whatever She says. In Her hand I place the scepter, in which I have bestowed my entire ocean of Mercy, from now unto eternity. Those who love, honor and ask for Her intercession will find a loving and caring Mother. She is the image and model of the Church founded by my Son. She is my daughter. She is the Mother of the Redeemer and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. What I say, I decree, unto eternity.”

The host of angels and saints sing the most beautiful and elegant hymns praising and giving thanks to God and the Virgin Mary. Exceedingly high notes are mixed with tones that correspond in perfect harmony. To those on earth, if the singing could be heard, it would cause ecstasies of rapture. “Praise to the Virgin! Praise to the Queen! Praise to the Blessed Trinity for whom She was created and has exalted above heaven and earth!”

Today, let us give thanks to God for Mary’s Glorious Assumption into heaven. She is the new Ark of the Covenant, because within Her womb if Jesus, the new and everlasting covenant. As the book of Revelation states, “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen within His temple; and there were flashes of lightening, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. A great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

How beautiful these words describe Mary in heaven of heaven and earth assumed into heaven.

19th Sunday, Take Courage, It is I, Do Not Be Afraid!

 

Take Courage it is I, Do not Be Afraid!

Sometimes we expect God to suddenly shout to let us know He answered our prayer by overwhelming us. But God usually does not work that way. Jesus comes to us in simple ways.

In the first reading, the Lord was not in the fire, nor the strong heavy wind, nor the earthquake. Rather, He was in the tiny whispering sound in the silence of the cave. Jesus comes to us in the silent movement of the heart.

Just think of all the things we worry about: parents worried about their children, people worried about their health or that of others, farmers worrying about the weather or their livestock, or crops, or financial worries, worries about relationships, worries a job, about so many different things.

From time to time, we all feel frightened like the disciples in the boat and like them we cry out in fear. But just as in today’s Gospel, Jesus comes to us and says, “Take courage; it is I! Do not be afraid.”

Was Jesus ever afraid? Did Jesus ever worry? Yes, He did. And what did he do when He had worries and how did He cope?

On two occasions in the Gospel we see Jesus afraid. On each of the two occasions he prayed to his Father and in prayer he got the strength to continue and face the difficult situation. In Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion, He prayed to His Father to let the cup, pass Him by. Jesus’ prayer was answered because He got the strength to face His passion, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

On another occasion, also thinking of His passion, Jesus said, “Now my soul is troubled.” (John 12:27)On this occasion He prayed to His Father and recovered His strength during prayer. When troubles and worries come our way, we turn to Jesus.

Have you ever been afraid of something and didn't know why? I had this experience as a priest. When I was ordained and began my first assignment at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Wichita, I was terrified to stand before such a large number of people. At times, Masses had over 1000 people in attendance.

As I began the homily, fear would become more intense. I remember grabbing the pulpit so hard that it caused pain in my fingers. At every Mass, I had this tremendous fear, most especially during the homily. This continued every day up until about 8 years ago, when I went on a retreat and decided to do the St. Ignatius prayer method.

Before I began the prayer, I said this simple prayer, "Jesus, why am I so frightened to stand before a group people, most especially when I give homilies?"

As I began to pray, I pictured Jesus and Mary standing in front of me. They were looking at me and I was looking at them. Then I remembered something that happened when I was a child, that I hadn't thought of for many years.

When I was in 4th grade the school had a play. I had no part in it, except I was just in the background with most of the other kids. That is until the day before the play began, our music teacher came up to me, and said, "Jeff is sick and he can't do his part in the play. Will you play his part?"

I was horrified because Jeff was one of the main characters, and said, "Mrs. Lewand, I can't memorize all those parts by tomorrow." She said, "You don't have to. The other main character, Tim, knows both his part and your part too. He will whisper what you are to say and then you just say it out loud" I said, "Oh, that's great. That will be easy!" The next night as the play began, Tim said his part and then he said my part, and I repeated it.

However, there was a big problem. Tim didn't whisper. He said my part out-loud and then I repeated what he said. What do you think the audience did? They laughed every time I spoke. As the play went on, I became more and more embarrassed. When the play was over, I went behind the curtains and cried my head off.

The teacher came up to me and said, "Why are you crying? Everyone loved the play. You did a great job!" I responded, saying, "No, I ruined the play because everyone was laughing."

As I remembered this event that happened so many years ago, I felt all the emotions that went with it. Most especially, I was embarrassed and angry and felt stupid.

But because I was in the presence of Jesus and when all these emotions died out before Our Lord, I had peace.

To my astonishment, Jesus healed me from the fear I had through my whole life.

Now I am no longer afraid to speak before a crowd. I had this problem of fear from 3rd grade until I was 56 years. And I was healed, thank you Jesus!

Just as Jesus invited Peter to step out of the boat saying, "Come!", Jesus invites us to give Him our fears.

According to scholars, the apostles were in the boat from noon until at the fourth watch of the night, most likely they were battling the storm for 10 to 12 hours because the storm was preventing them from making it to shore. They must have been exhausted and afraid they were going to die. Amazingly, Peter had the faith to ask the Lord to walk on the water and he got out of the boat and began to walk, until he saw how strong the wind and began to sink, crying out, "Lord, save me!"

Jesus stretched out His hand and helped him into the boat and immediately the wind and waves suddenly calmed.

This is what we are to do, to have the faith to step out and trust Jesus, and ask Him to take away our fears, knowing He till take us by the hand and give us peace.

The way the prayer method works, is you invite Jesus to come into fear or memory and to heal it. You can use the prayer for other emotions such as anger, sadness, or any traumatic event you may have experienced.

When troubles come our way, we may be tempted to forget that God is still with us. It is strange really, but that is what happens to so many people when they get upset. They think God doesn't pay attention. But that is not so. God is always with us. We cannot always rely on our feelings, and we can rely on them still less when there is something bothering us. As the storm in our heart is raging, Jesus is walking towards us, just as He walked on the water toward the Apostles.

The truth is that Jesus is with us always, whether or not we feel His presence. Jesus was standing by me all those years whenever I gave a homily or stood before any crowd and was fearful. But, Jesus waited for me to invite Him to remove that fear, and heal those emotions caused by the play, when I was a little child and He did. I did not even know what was causing the fear until Jesus helped me to recall the memory.

My friends, all you have to do is picture in your mind what is reality, that Jesus and Mary are always with you and looking at you, and all you need to do is invite them to come into whatever emotion or event from the past that needs to be healed. And allow yourself to experience those emotions such as fear, guilt, sadness, embarrassment, anger, etc.

Don’t ever forget that Jesus and Mary are always with you no matter what your feelings tell you. Jesus and Mary will not abandon you.

Remember to trust Jesus in time of fear, worry and anxiety, as Saint Padre Pio said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

Saint John Vianney - August 4th Sermon on the Dignity of the Priest

 

Today is the memorial of St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests. He lived from 1786 to 1859. In a sermon on the priesthood he said.

"Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you? No. Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord? No. The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host. You might have two hundred angels there, but they could not absolve you. A priest, however simple he may be, can do it; he can say to you, "Go in peace; I pardon you. " Oh, how great is a priest! The priest will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven. If he understood it on earth, he would die, not of fear, but of love. The other benefits of God would be of no avail to us without the priest. What would be the use of a house full of gold, if you had nobody to open you the door! The priest has the key of the heavenly treasures; it is he who opens the door; he is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth. Without the priest, the Death and Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail. Look at the heathens: what has it availed them that Our Lord has died? Alas! they can have no share in the blessings of Redemption, while they have no priests to apply His Blood to their souls!
The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you. After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without priests; they will worship beasts. If the missionary Father and I were to go away, you would say, "What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord is no longer there: we may as well pray at home. " When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion.
When the bell calls you to church, if you were asked, "Where are you going?" you might answer, "I am going to feed my soul. " If someone were to ask you, pointing to the tabernacle, "What is that golden door?" "That is our storehouse, where the true Food of our souls is kept. " "Who has the key? Who lays in the provisions? Who makes ready the feast, and who serves the table?" "The priest. " "And what is the Food?" "The precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. " O God! O God! how Thou hast loved us! See the power of the priest; out of a piece of bread the word of a priest makes a God. It is more than creating the world. . . . Someone said, "Does St. Philomena, then, obey the Cure of Ars?" Indeed, she may well obey him, since God obeys him.

If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel. The latter is the friend of God; but the priest holds His place. St. Teresa kissed the ground where a priest had passed. When you see a priest, you should say, "There is he who made me a child of God, and opened Heaven to me by holy Baptism; he who purified me after I had sinned; who gives nourishment to my soul. " At the sight of a church tower, you may say, "What is there in that place?" "The Body of Our Lord. " "Why is He there?" "Because a priest has been there, and has said holy Mass."
What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands. Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto. But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious? The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus. When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ."