Working In Faith

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help" - Hebrews 4:15-16.

One of the amazing things about Jesus is that he knows what it's like to be human. As St. Paul tells us in the above quote, Jesus knows our weaknesses, because he felt them himself. He himself was tempted in every way that we are tempted. Of course, He remained sinless because of His divine nature, but that doesn't negate the fact that He did experience these same temptations.

So rather than have a leader that sits on a high throne, oblivious to what his subjects are really experiencing, Jesus has been there. He's been amongst His people and felt the things that they (we) feel. He knows how hard it is for us to resist temptations, and how hard it is for us in struggling against sin.

So we needn't feel ashamed to come to Him and say "Jesus, I messed up", or "Jesus, I have a hard time with this." He knows what temptation feels like, and knows that it's difficult to resist. He wants to help, to give us love - the kind of love that strengthens us against sin. In His compassion He reaches out to us and offers to help us get back on our feet.

So don't be ashamed. Jesus knows life is hard sometimes, and he knows we struggle. But He's always there to lift us up. Just ask!

Here's an article from Catholic Exchange about St. Gianna Beretta Molla, one of the Chirch's newest saints. I find her story very moving.

The U.S. bishops have been in the process of making their every 5 year visits to the Pope to report on the state of their dioceses. The latest group are the bishops of San Antonio and Oklahoma City. In his addresses to them, Pope John Paul II reminded them of some things that become more and more pertinent every day -

U.S. Catholics Exhorted to Recover Devotions

John Paul II Cautions About Factions Within Church

"let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy" Hebrews 10:22-23.

Who can we trust more than Christ? He has shown us the depths of his love by giving up his own life that the rest of us might be saved. Jesus told the Apostles that there is nothing greater than to give up your life for the life of a friend. It is th eultimate expression of love. And Jesus proceeded to do just that.

Who do you know that would do that for you? Who would endure the torture and suffering of the scourging and crucifizion, taking on every sin that ever was and ever will be in order for the sake of your soul? Only Jesus.

When we give in to worry about our future, we deny that great gift. If we get down on ourselves because of things we do that are sinful, we ignore the great gift that Jesus has given us.

We are saved, once and for all. All we have to do is love and follow Jesus. He is trustworthy, as the Scripture above says. More trustworthy than you or me. Jesus loves us with completely, inspite of our faults.

We can put our trust in Him - He wants to lead us to Heaven, and will if we give ourselves over to His gracious and sacrificial love!

The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us to help us live out our mission as Catholic Christians. The Spirit guides us, strengthens us, and generally keeps us on track as we navigate through our lives.

How often do we ask for help from the Holy Spirit? Through the mystery of the Holy Trinity is God being present with us throughout each day. He's always there. I know from my own experience that when we get wrapped up in the issues of the day we tend to rely too much on our own wits, and fail to ask God for help. It's only with His strength and help that we can be sure to respond to people and events as Christ would have.

The Holy Spirit is a constant source of strength and guidance. Remember that God is with us, each day, in the person of the Holy Spirit, waiting for us to open ourselves to Him.

Here's a beautiful prayer I came across that might help. It's a bit long to use in a moment of crisis, but perhaps you can use it in your prayer time to ask for the Holy Spirit's help:

"O merciful God, fill our hearts, we pray, with the graces of your Holy Spirit; with love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.

Teach us to love those who hate us; to pray for those who despitefully use us; that we may be the children of your love, our Father, who makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

In adversity grant us grace to be patient; in prosperity keep us humble; may we guard the door of our lips; may we lightly esteem the pleasures of this world, and thirst after heavenly things; through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of Anselm, 1033-1109)

A few odds and ends:

You may be aware the the Vatican released a new document called "Redemptionis Sacramentum", which aims to clarify what is supposed to be happening in Mass. The document is in response to numerous complaints received from around the world about practices taking place that didn't appear to jibe with what should be happening. In most cases, I think, these things were probably done with good intentions, but nonetheless took away from the proper reverence and respect we should have for the Mass and expecially for the Eucharist. This article from Zenit explains it further.

Yesterday the Pope canonized 6 new saints, all of whom had a special calling to support family and religious life. Of particular interest to me was St. Gianna Beretta Molla, whom the Pope called "Messenger of Divine Love". She was a doctor and mother, who sacrificed her own life rather than abort her fourth baby.

Check out the Zenit site to read more about her and the other new saints.

As you well know, a controversy is brewing about politicians who call themselves Catholic, but support policies that are not compatible with Church teachings and doctrine.

The big issue is whether or not they should receive communion if their actions and words directly oppose the Church's stand on, say, abortion.

Here's a couple of articles from Catholic Exchange that lay it out clearly - who should receive, and why they shouldn't if the actively and publicly oppose doctrine:

Who Should Receive, Part I
Who Should Receive, Part II

In this week's Commentary on the website, I talk about how we can keep our working lives in balance with our faith life, family, and the other obligations that come along with living in the 21st century.

In the midst of all those things, it's sometimes hard to keep in mind what exactly it is that God needs us to be doing. Here's some help from the book of Micah:

"He has showed you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. Pretty simple to read, and a little tougher to live.

This ties in to what Jesus tells us about the greatest commandment - to love others as He has loved us. If we truly love as Christ loves, then doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with Him becomes much easier. It enables us to shed the worldly concerns we carry around and concentrate on living as God wants us to.

Is it easy for us to love like Jesus? Not at all. But if we stand humbly before God and empty ourselves of ourselves, we make room for Him to take root in our souls. Then, we can walk in faith and in union with Christ.

In today's gospel reading (John 15:1-8) Jesus instructs us that He is the true vine and we are the branches. He goes on to tell us that branches that don't remain with the vine will whither and die away. His point is that we, the branches, must remain in Him, the true vine, other wise we will die and be tossed aside.

I don't know about you, but I sure don't want to be tossed aside. As I have matured in faith and inched my way into mid-life, the thought of not being connected to God is pretty scary. Especially when the time comes for this life to end.

So how do we stay connected to God so we don't end up as compost?

As Catholics, we must take part in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. That's our sure way to be directly in touch with Jesus.

We must also pray and read Scripture. Praying gives us an open line to God and allows us to hear Him speak to us. Scripture gives us regular help in living a holy life.

And finally, we must make every effort to live out a Christian life. It's not enough to show up for Mass once a week. Each day we must make a conscious decision to take every step with God. Through prayer, He will reveal as much of His plan as we need. Making the decision to live out what is revealed and to walk daily with God - no matter what - opens our lives to grace, strength, and courage that can only come from above.

These things are the spiritual food that will nurture our little branch, and enable the true vine to flourish.

Here's the scenario - we're kneeling down praying after Communion, we finish our prayer, and then look up to observe our fellow parishioners on their way to and from Communion. We begin to notice little things, like someone wearing a t-shirt that's inappropriate or a skirt that's too short. Then the interior critic kicks in and we begin noticing the faults of more people.

Is that what our mind should be focused on after receiving our holiest meal of the week? Of course not (and let me say I am very guilty of doing this).

Here's an article from Catholic Exchange that could help silence that internal voice and get us back to focusing on God.