Caritas Christi Urget Nos - Latest Comments in General

Re: Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time

comets — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:10:53 -0000

Good homily again.

My thoughts are probably consistent with yours.

The first reading (2 Thes 2) seems to be saying that we must judge what we hear from people who claim to be speaking in the name of the Lord in the context of what we have previously been taught by the law and tradition. We must watch out for people preaching falsehoods.
The second reading (Mt 23) condemns people who follow just part of the law. Without getting too political, it is like those politicians who get reelected by being anti-abortion, while ignoring “judgment and mercy and fidelity”. Jesus said we need to be clean on the inside as well as the outside. That is definitely a lesson for us all.

Re: Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time

comets — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:21:03 -0000

Jesus said elsewhere in the gospel that he came not to bring peace, but to cause division. Because if we believe that he is Lord, then we must follow him and live our lives differently. And that upsets our families, our friends, etc. We have to be willing to have some of our relationships fractured. I ask you, Fr. Pat, in your expereince, are there priests who experienced some sort of division in their families when they announced a desire for the priesthood. As much as we look up to priests, we also look forward to grandchildren. Becoming a priest obviously seems to be a sacrifice in some respects, not only for the man, but for his parents. Any insight?
Many of us who went thru RCIA (and therefore came from other religions) went thru a certain degree of division. Is it worth it? Of course it is.

Re: St. Pius X, pope

comets — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:09 -0000

The reading makes a point of saying that one of the guests at the wedding was not properly dressed at the feast. You blogged about the Eucharist. I have also always thought of the Eucharist in connection with this reading. I take the "not properly dressed" part to mean that we should not be taking communion if we are "not properly dressed" spiritually.

Last November, the U.S. bishops voted in favor of a document calling on those in a state of serious sin to refrain from receiving Communion.

I have thought that if I am in such a state of sin I should skip communion. I've only done it occassionally. (Years ago when I had a baby with me I would walk out with my child and people would not know that I did not feel in sync with God at that time.

What are the guidelines or advice that you can offer? Generally, my serious sin might have only been an argument with my family that I hadn't gotten over yet. I know that is what Reconciliation is for, but it doesn't always work out for me.

Re: Tuesday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time

comets — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:41:58 -0000

These were good readings. The problems described in the readings (thinking of oneself like a god) are still present. Some readings aren't as easy to place in today's context. Wasn't Moses guilty of some pride that kept him from entering the promised land?
I liked the part of the reading about how we think we are wiser than David. That is so easy to do. "We" can make the lame walk (false legs for amputees); we can "cure" some cancers either by drugs, radiation, or removal of tumors. We can send man to the moon.
We need to always remember to give God thanks and praise. We can do things only because he has given us something.
One of the prayers that I pray most often (and it is tied to pride) is I thank God for having me be born to the parents that I was born to, and in the country that I was born in. No matter how smart or wise I may think myself, it was not my wisdom that had me born here. This helps me realize that I am not better than all those people in the third world countries. Was it I who determined where I would be born? No. Was it they who decided to be born poor? I think not.
The Gospel today is reflective of today as well. Church is not "needed" for the rich. My wife taught RE a few years back and she actually had a child tell her "my dad says we don't have to go to church because we're rich". Sometimes the rich are the poorest in faith. That really brings clarity to Jesus' saying "the last will be first and the first will be last".

Re: Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

petrohd — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:38:13 -0000

"Leap of Faith"...I know that phrase well....I did a talk to a teen group I help with on that very same topic of how I changed majors in college not knowing what the future would hold....but with faith and with a lot of prayer, I made it through and although I am not quite in the "career" i had studied for, I still apply what I learned in college in a lot of different ways. Thanks for bringing that to light.

Re: Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

comets — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:23:26 -0000

I happenned to go to Mass up the road at Sts Peter and Paul today. The priest there had an interesting take on the gospel about the Canaanite woman. He spoke of how the country of India has long had a caste system. This system keeps people from different groups from having anything to do with each other. He told a story that seemed apocryphal to me. Mahatma Gandhi was frustrated by the caste system of India and apparently he read the Gospels and came across the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman. It peaked his interest and he set off to find out more about Jesus. He came to a church with the hope of talking to the minister after the service, but as he entered, one of the ushers stopped him and told him to go worship with his own kind. According to his autobiography, he said, “If Christians have caste differences also,” he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.”
To turn this back to Fr. Pat's homily, how many times is someone's only contact with the Catholic Church when they cross our path? We may not be able to bring someone to Christ singlehandedly, but we may be able to put road blocks in their way by our actions.
Great our the days when people say "great is your faith". For that reason, we should not hold back thanks and praise from each other. We can all use that encouragement at times. And in case I haven't mentioned it before, thank you Fr. Pat for this blog, because it really helps me think about the Lord and put together (hopefully) coherent thoughts on a somewhat daily basis.

This is also one of the Gospel verses that I think of when the subject of "dress code" comes up in church. On the one hand, we want to make it clear to people that they should be respectful of God and the holiness in the church, but we don't want to turn people away if they can't afford or don't have nice clothes. It's a hard topic to breach, and it would be nice if others could realize and respect the holiness of the Mass.

Re: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

comets — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:02:11 -0000

I agree with what you said. It is always difficult for a parent to watch a child die. Maybe such people can take comfort in the life of Mary.

Very appropriate first reading today from Revelation.

Re: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

petrohd — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:43:45 -0000

short but to the point and well done!

couple of Mary's titles came to mind while reading this....Mother of Sorrows and of course Our Lady of Lourdes....

Good job!

Re: St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

comets — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:36:06 -0000

“For Him Who Has Ears To Hear” was the debut release by gospel singer Keith Green back in 1977. That was my favorite album when I first became a Christian two years later. I thought of that album and its songs when I read the 12th chapter of Ezekiel, which was today’s first reading. Ezekiel says “they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear.” The album title probably comes from Mark 4:9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear”, but Ezekiel got me thinking of it none the less.

Today’s gospel from Matthew, the parable of the debtors is one that I like. As opposed to so many parables that are a bit difficult to understand, this one seems easy to follow. Because God has showed us mercy, we should show our fellow man mercy.

Re: Saturday of the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time

comets — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:04:09 -0000

I may have went off the path on this one. What I meant to say (or should have meant to say) is that if we look at all that we as a people have been able to do on our own (although we may not have been on our own since we are a people of faith) then we should be able to believe that we can do much more (even move mountains) if God so commands us to or allows us to. It may even have been through our faith that we have been able to do the things that we have done. Didn't mean to indicate that we can do these things on our own or that they compare to what God can do.
But I got a response out of you so I know that you read my post. :>)

Re: Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time

comets — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:01:17 -0000

To love God like a child is to love him unconditionally. A rich man asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter the kingdom. Jesus said to give your money to the poor (something like that) and follow me. And the rich man was sad because he could not do that.
Jesus told his disciples to not take posessions with them. I think he did not want us to get tied down by them. How many preachers are tied to TV ministries, radio ministries, or just the simple building fund at church? How many people, when they are deciding whether to follow Jesus, worry about what their parents or friends will think?
That's why we are to go to Jesus like little children. Children are trusting to a fault. If Jesus says follow, they say "okay", not "let me check with my friends or parents". That's a danger that we have to deal with, as many young people have been drawn to charismatic people "like children" only to end up in dangerous cults. We need to pray for discernment. It can be so hard sometimes.

Re: Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

comets — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:33:46 -0000

The story of Jesus walking on the water reminds me of a comic book that I read as a kid. I used to like horror comics, and stories that had a "Twilight Zone" type of twist at the end. There was one story of a boater who comes across a man walking on the water. He asks the man to tell him how he can walk on the water. The walker refuses. The boater pulls out a gun and forces the water walker to give him the ability to walk on water. The walker relents. The boater is then able to walk on water. The twist at the end was that while he could now walk on water, he would sink on dry land.
I thought about this while listenning to the homily today. Peter walked on water, but his faith wavered.
In other gospel stories, Jesus says that we must be willing to leave everything and follow him. What a metaphor for that my comic was! If we want to have the faith in Jesus we must be willing to leave our old lives behind. What better example of this than not being able to walk on dry land anymore. What was a horror ending in my comic, is a way of life for so many people who have been the saints and martyrs of our church. For once you have faith in Jesus you really have to be willing to not go back to where you came from.

Re: Saturday of the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time

fatherpat — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:04:14 -0000

I appreciate your many comments, but I have to say, you are totally missing the point on this one. Moving the mountain is not about us, never ever ever about us, not us individually and not us collectively. Moving the mountain is about faith in the One who can do anything he wills, faith in God. These are all inspiring examples of human progress, but they are nothing compared to what God can do, if our faith would be even as tiny as a mustard seed.

Re: Feast of St. James, Apostle

comets — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:16:09 -0000

Drinking the chalice. I am reminded of the history of the church which was written by Eusebius sometime between AD 200 and 300. This told of many founding fathers who "drank of the chalice" and became martrs and saints. People who thought that they would be condemned if they denied the Lord.
How many of us today are strong enough in our faith to stand up to a terrorist who might come up to us someday and say "deny Jesus and live." It is really easy to justify our denials. But if faith is only something that we proclaim when it is convenient, then what kind of faith is it?
I am reminded of a story that illustrates a pet pieve of mine with the Catholic Church.
During Lent, if St Patrick's Day happens to fall on a Friday, the church will grant dispensation so that people can eat meat. Obstaining from meat is too much of an inconvenience then. A fellow parishioner told me once that he went to openning day for the White Sox some years back and realized once he got there that it was a Friday in Lent. He called the parish and got the pastor to give him permission to eat meat, because "you have to have a hotdog at the ball park". These are examples of people not drinking the chalis that Jesus drank. These are examples that are hard for some of us RCIA taught Catholics to understand. Our lives are not supposed to be easy.

Re: Saturday of the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time

comets — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:00:24 -0000

So we don't think that we can move mountains?
There have been plenty of examples in US history where we (collectively) moved mountains.
In WWII, Germany had taken France and a number of other countries. It looked like Great Britain would fall. Roosevelt had a hard time getting the congress to go along with loaning arms to Britain. Who wants to load to someone who will probably not be able to pay you back? Gernany was a mountain that was moved.
In the 1980s, the Soviet Union was a mountain of a country. Many people did not like Reagan's tough talk with "the evil empire". They thought it was an unmovable mountain.
In the time of Lincoln, many people thought that the institution of slavery was a mountain that could not be moved. They sought to keep slavery from expanding, but didn't think that they could end it where it existed. Abolitionists kept fighting and moved that mountain.
Roe vs Wade as the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion is a mountain. Many think that this mountain can not be moved. But how many thought that any of the other mountains that this country has faced would have been moved?

Re: Ss. Joachim and Anne, Parents of Mary

comets — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:33:34 -0000

The parents of Mary were not known in the Bible, so we have inferred what we know about them now. In a similar (if a bit warped) way, when people get to know me and think that I have a different sense of humor and can be very outgoing, I tell them that if they knew my father they would understand me better. And if they had know his mother they would understand him better.
In the same way (or backwards way) we know about Mary and we determine what her parents would have been like. Of course, my parents are very different, so maybe Mary took after Joachim or maybe she took after Anne. It's a question that can't probably be answered, but it might make an interesting conversation over a cup of coffee.

Re: Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

comets — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:24:56 -0000

This is a good Gospel. I have to remind my wife and myself of it often. We have to ask ourselves, "what is important in life?" I look at men around me who make more money than I have, better cars, etc. But when I go to my kids' ball games and concerts often these other men (whose kids are in the same activities) are not there. It is okay to leave some money on the table. We don't have to play the "whoever dies with the most money wins" game. I've known a lot of good men thru the years who give money to charity. But I believe that often times it is more important to give of your time. Spend time with your children and even other people's children (as a coach or mentor). One of the things that Hillary Clinton got grief for years ago was her statement (and book) that it takes a village to raise a child. This world would be a better place if children knew that others cared for them and watched out for them.

Re: Thursday of the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time

comets — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:13:22 -0000

The Hebrew word for charity is tzedaka. The 's' in sedeq is actually pronounced 'ts' or 'tz'.

This reading in Jeremiah is one of my favorites. It is very prophetic and hopeful.

And the reading from Matthew regarding Jesus laying down his life is something that I think of every time that I see a World War II documentary or some other war movie where people are basically risking their lives and laying them down for others. We wonder sometimes why God would die for his people. Sometimes when we look at others who have done that very thing it is more real and more believable.

Re: St. Martha

comets — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:18:12 -0000

How we act sometimes betrays a bit of how we believe. The Jewish religion still believes in a resurrection (although many Jews do not). At the time of death, Jews do not embalm the deceased. That's why a Jewish funeral is almost always a closed casket. They want the body to be ready for resurrection. Likewise, that's why so many people are (or were) against cremation of remains. It seems to betray a lack of faith in the resurrection.

From www.americancatholic.org, I read the following:

"The Catholic Church's practice of burial goes back to early Christian days. A strong belief in the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, as well as the belief in the resurrection of the body, support the Church's continued reverence for the human body. From early Christian days cremation was viewed as a pagan practice and a denial of the doctrine of the Resurrection. That's why cremation was expressly forbidden by the Catholic Church until recent years. "

Re: St. Ignatius of Loyola

comets — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:05:44 -0000

St. Ignatius spent his convalescing time reading about Christ and then wrote about Christ. As I read that, I thought that I might have liked living in that old time. Now, we can spend all of our free time watching garbage on TV or surfing the internet. In case you are wondering, I have decided to replace some of that garbage time by reading your and commenting on your homilies. We'll see how long that lasts.

I read in wikipedia "When lay people have undergone the Exercises, this is usually under the guidance of a spiritual director who is a member of the religious order of Jesuits. In contemporary experience, more and more lay people and non-Catholics are becoming both retreatants and directors of the Exercises." Is this something that would benefit those of us lay people at St. Raphael? Is there a book in the parish library that would show me what this is about?

Re: St. Alphonsus Liguori, priest and doctor of the Church

comets — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:57:45 -0000

Father Pat. Whenever I visit a college campus and see the open air "fire and brimstone" preachers telling students that if they don't change, they will go to hell, I think of Jeremiah. Your quote:

Jeremiah receives word from the Lord that he is to crank up his preaching to have Israel turn from their sinful ways. “Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them for their evil deeds.”

seems to be describing people like Jed Smock, who is a famous campus preacher. Most people think that these preachers are upsetting, teaching bad theology, and just plain mean spirited. I am pretty sure that Jeremiah and other prophets were accused of being upsetting, teaching bad theology, and just plain mean spirited. I think that I have a much better understanding of why prophets were hated when I hear Jed speak.

Thanks for your writing on Alphonsus and Jansen. I had never heard of them before. I didn't realize that there was a belief in our church at one time that was so close to Calvinism.

Re: St. John Vianney, priest

comets — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:18:21 -0000

Interesting quote from St. John Vianney. “Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.”

It really ties into the gospel reading from yesterday about the loaves and fishes. No one really had a lot left over, but when all the left overs were gathered together it made a huge amount.

Today's gospel can be used to talk about the importance of lay involvement in the church. In talking about "the laborers are few", Jesus could have been talking about the shortage of priests today. We have a strong parish at St. Raphael, partly because of the willingness of lay people to step up, along with the talents that are being used.

The reading from Ezekiel is one that I thought was from the New Testament. If we warn the wicked man (or non believer) and he does not change his ways, then he will surely die. However, if we do not warn the wicked man, not only will he die, but we will be held responsible. This is a verse that is a big part of the reason that some Christians are so serious about evangelizing and spreading the Word. It does give us "an out" in that we don't have to warn the same person day in and day out. The story of the "lost sheep" seems to indicate that we should not forget about them, but Ezekiel is mainly concerned about people not even trying to impact the wicked man in the first place.

Re: Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

comets — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:57:20 -0000

Good homily. I could relate to the beginning part about cooking. As the oldest of 3 boys (no girls) with a father who was not a cook (and who didn't get home from work until too late to cook anyway) I understood that someone has to step up. I too injoy cooking probably because of that beginning.
As for the loaves and fishes, I know that people have debated how the small amount of food that the disciples had could feed the masses. Some people think that possibly not everyone who followed Jesus that day went empty handed. There may have been people who had food for themselves, but not having an abundance, they were not about to share. When the disciples passed out the bread and fish, this could have gotten the crowd to give of their own food. Whether we believe in the strictest form of the miracle, or the explanation I put forth, it was something that changed the people one way or another.
And to tie this to action today, if we think that we can't help the poor because we don't have enough money or time, we should know that if EVERYONE gives a little, then together with the Lord and other parishioners we can do mighty things.

Re: St. Ignatius of Loyola

petrohd — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:23:52 -0000

I read this homily with interest as I am a graduate from St. Ignatius here in Chicago and have always been interested in Ignatian Spirituality...as a matter of fact, the first Theology on Tap speaker we had was Fr. Pat McGrath who spoke about Ignatian Spirituality....so good job!

Re: Easter Friday

Paul Snatchko — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:34:49 -0000

I listened to the Podcast. Very nice touch at the end having the kids stand and do the call and response.