Catholic Social Teaching

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has dedicated his papacy to speaking out on behalf of the poor and the marginalized. Because of it and because of the gift he has for expressing himself in memorable ways, he has earned the attention of the news media who are quick to broadcast what he says. As a result, we are hearing more references to what has come to be called, “Catholic Social Teaching.” It is important for us as Catholic followers of Jesus to understand what it means when that phrase is used so that we do not misunderstand the Pope’s words, especially since they can be so often distorted by the news media.

The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, offers a very helpful definition: “Catholic social teaching is the body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of social justice, involving issues of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state.” Though it is a more recent development in the teaching of the Church, its roots go all the way back to Jesus and His teaching. In fact, what we call, “Catholic Social Teaching”, is nothing more than the gospel commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves applied to our life together at every level of social life whether it be the family, the city, the state, the country or the world. The central question that the social teaching of the Catholic Church asks is, “How should we organize our life together as a community to best reflect the values of the gospel?”

While the People of God have always sought to apply the gospel to the plight of the poor and defenseless, what has come to be called “Catholic Social Teaching” began in 1891 with Pope Leo XIII and his encyclical letter called Rerum Novarum - On the Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor. At the time this letter was written, the world was experiencing the social change that came with the Industrial Revolution. People were leaving their rural communities and flooding into the cities to find work in factories.  They were required to work long hours in unsafe conditions many times alongside their children. As a result, communism and socialism were becoming more popular as a means of fighting for the rights of workers. In this context, Pope Leo XIII sought to strike a balance between criticizing the injustices of the modern industrial society and the tyranny that comes with communist and socialist ideologies.

With the publication of this groundbreaking encyclical, Pope Leo XIII established the feast we celebrate today - The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. It is an opportunity for us to remember that, no matter what government is in place and no matter who is running it, Jesus Christ is ultimately in charge. He is guiding the affairs of the world and, in ways that we cannot begin to understand, is bringing all things together for the good of all. It is a reminder that there is an authority that is greater than the state, namely the truth that is to be found in Jesus Christ. Finally, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate the fact that we do not have a lasting home here on earth. Ultimately, the society of perfect justice and peace which we seek is in heaven. As Jesus tells Pilate in today’s gospel reading, “My Kingdom does not belong to this world.”

We cannot begin in an eight minute homily to cover all the aspects of the Church’s social teaching. There are a few points, however, that we can make that, I hope, will give you some understanding of what we mean by “social justice” and that will make you interested in reading more about it on your own.

One central concept that was especially important in the teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II is “solidarity”. Solidarity is simply the Christian virtue that draws us out of ourselves and our own concerns to take into consideration the needs of others. It helps us to see that we are all in this together, that what is good for you is good for me. Solidarity teaches us that we should not be seeking to benefit one class of people at the expense of another. Rather, we should be working for the “common good”. Imagine what the world would be like if each of us would take time to see things from another person’s perspective. Imagine how much more peaceful our society would be if we would let go of our fears and prejudices and and work together to solve the world’s problems. Solidarity, as it is understood in Catholic Social Teaching, is that virtue that helps us seek the good of both the worker and the employer, of both the immigrant and the native citizen, of both the conservative and the liberal, of both the environment and the economy.

Another central concept of Catholic Social Teaching is “care for the environment”. Pope Francis has brought this to the fore in his recent encyclical, Laudato Si, On Care For Our Common Home. Care for the environment is closely linked to solidarity because all of us have a stake in the earth’s health no matter our nationality, political allegiance or religion. Unfortunately, the debate about climate change sometimes distracts from the Pope’s central message that all of us are responsible for ensuring that our planet and its resources be kept safe for future generations. Even if science were to be prove that climate change is not caused by humans, we would still be required as Christians to use less of the world’s resources, to eliminate pollution and to live in a way that will ensure that all people have access to clean water and air.

Finally, it is not enough to have good intentions. Rather, our actions must lead to real results in bringing about the common good. Unfortunately, many programs and laws purporting to help the poor have actually hurt them. We have to apply our intelligence and to work together so that our good intentions can translate into good results. People of faith and good will often disagree about how best to safeguard the environment, protect the rights of workers or educate the young. However, we should never demonize those who disagree with us. Instead, in solidarity, we should work together for the good of all.

Religion is central to the life of society because it points us to an authority that is greater than the state. That is why oppressive regimes have always singled out religion for especially fierce persecution. However, Christ is King and He will judge. We look to His Kingdom of love as the standard for achieving peace and justice in our world today. If we make Him King in our hearts, King in our homes and King in our communities, then all the evils which bedevil the world will be gone. As followers of Jesus Christ, it is up to us to take the lead. 

Viva Cristo Rey!

At the beginning of the twentieth century, much of the world was in tumult. Peoples were restless, governments were being overthrown and wars both large and small were being waged.

Mexico was no exception. In 1911, its longtime president was overthrown in a bloody revolution which eventually brought into power Plutarco Elias Calles. A sworn enemy of the Catholic Church, he worked vigorously to erase any trace of the Church and her charitable work from the nation of Mexico. In 1917, a new constitution was drawn up which prohibited the Catholic Church from opening schools, outlawed religious orders, and took basic civil rights away from the clergy including the right to vote or to speak freely on public affairs.

With the new constitution in place, a full blown persecution of the Church was underway resulting in the massacre of thousands of priests, religious women and members of the laity who refused to comply.

One outstanding victim of this persecution was Blessed Miguel Pro. He began his studies for the priesthood as a young man in Mexico. However, because of the persecution of the Church, he was forced to complete them in Belgium. Upon his ordination, he returned to his native country to find his people forced to celebrate Mass in secret with many of their priests either killed or imprisoned. Blessed Miguel Pro worked vigorously to bring the sacraments and preach the gospel to the small group of Catholics who continued to worship and live their faith under these difficult circumstances.

Unfortunately, Father Pro did not manage to evade the authorities for long. He was arrested eventually in November 1927 and charged with the attempted assassination of a former president. Without any trial, he was condemned to execution by firing squad. With the same courage he showed in ministering to God’s people, he stood before his executioners, held his arms out in the form of a cross and shouted “Viva, Cristo Re!”, that is, “Long live Christ, the King!” as the bullets rang out.

This past Friday, November 23, marked the eighty-fifth anniversary of his martyrdom. In 1988, Blessed John Paul II traveled to Mexico for his beatification giving him the title of “blessed”.

Like so many martyrs before him, and so many martyrs since, Blessed Miguel Pro witnessed with the shedding of his blood that Jesus Christ is King. There is no higher authority than Jesus Christ and there is no law higher than God’s law. No authority can force believers to break the commandments or to obey an unjust law. We remain loyal and patriotic citizens of our beloved country but our first allegiance is to Almighty God and the unfailing truth of His commandments. Though worldly powers wield vast wealth and powerful armies, in the end Jesus Christ prevails.

Today reading from John’s gospel contrasts the real power of Jesus with the transitory and illusory power of human authority.

Jesus is standing before Pilate having been accused of everything from blasphemy to plotting to overthrow Caesar. Pilate believes that he has power over Jesus, that he can crucify Him or set Him free. However, Jesus makes it clear to him that he would not have that power unless it had been given to him by God. Though Pilate judges Jesus to be innocent and wants to let Him go free, he is unable to because of his fear of the crowd. He appears to have the power to set Jesus free, but in reality he cannot.

On the other hand, Jesus has the power to set Himself free. At His command, all the angels of heaven could come down and release Him from Pilate’s grasp. Yet He hands Himself over freely to be crucified so that by His death we might be freed from the grasp of sin. As we read in today’s second reading from the book of Revelation, “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood...be glory forever and ever.” Jesus uses His power not to dominate others but to set them free.

After the example of Christ our King, we must work not to gain power, wealth and influence for ourselves, all of which are illusory and fading. Rather we must sacrifice ourselves for the needy. We must give to those who cannot repay us. We must speak out tirelessly against the unjust laws that fail to protect the life of the unborn, fail to recognize the dignity of all workers, fail to treat the sick and dying and fail to secure the rights of migrant workers. When we commit ourselves to the powerless, the weak and the marginalized as Blessed Miguel Pro did, then we show ourselves to be citizens not only of our great country but of the Kingdom of Heaven. By doing so, we enrich our homeland and make it a place where all people can enjoy freedom, prosperity and happiness.

The martyrs throughout history have witnessed to one basic fact - that there is a law and authority greater than any man-made law or any human authority. The law and authority of Christ our King, Christ who created the world and holds it in existence, is the measure of when and whether a law is just and when and whether an authority should be obeyed. Jesus is the Truth we are to obey at all times and in all circumstances. His is the dominion, the power and the kingship. Like Blessed Miguel Pro, we must obey God no matter what the cost. In doing so, we lift the world up from slavery to wealth and addiction to power so that we can all live freely and enjoy the beautiful gifts this life has to offer.

Endowed By Our Creator

The founders of the United States had a very basic and important insight about how governments should rule over peoples. Thomas Jefferson articulated it in the Declaration of Independence when he wrote that we are "endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights." The rights that we hold dear as a free people - the right to free speech, the right to worship and the right to free assembly, among others - are not given to us by the government. Rather they are given to us by God. It is because we are made in the image and likeness of a good God that we have these rights. The government cannot give them to us and neither can any government take them away from us. They are ours because of who we are as human beings. All the government can do is recognize them and protect them.

Government, therefore, is not the ultimate authority. The ultimate authority is God himself.  

The same is true with our laws. If they are to ensure that we live well as a society, then the laws that governments enact must be reflections of the truth and justice of God.

We are all familiar with the law of gravity. We call it a "law" because it is a foolproof guide to how the world works. What goes up must come down. And we know that if we try to ignore the law of gravity by jumping from a bridge or dropping a boulder on someone’s head it will have disastrous consequences. 

Just as there is a law of gravity, there is also a moral law, a law that guides how we should live as human beings and the choices we should make. It is as foolproof a way of guiding our lives as the law of gravity is. If we ignore it and act contrary to it, then it will also have disastrous consequences for ourselves as individuals and for our society as a whole. The laws enacted by our government, if they are to truly benefit us, must be taken from this moral law which comes from God. Just as the government cannot give us our rights or take them away, so it cannot create laws that are contrary to the law of God and expect them to serve the common good. It would be like trying to walk off a cliff or jump from a bridge and hope to come out of it unharmed. Sadly, we have seen over the past decades how laws and policies that are contrary to God's law have damaged the family, young people, the economy and our society in general.

Each of us knows how true this is from our personal lives. We have all tried making our own way through life. We have lived under the delusion that life is whatever we make of it, that truth and reality are whatever we decide they should be. However, instead of giving us a sense of control over our lives, this attitude only confused us. We became unsure about what choices were right for us. Our lives began to lose their purpose and direction. It wasn't until we submitted ourselves to God and his plan that we regained a sense of meaning and started to make good choices again. When we put God at the center of our lives, when we make him our King and let his law rule over us, we can go forward with confidence, peace and joy. 

What is true for each of us as individuals is also true for us as a society. Only when Christ and his truth are at the center of all we do can we be assured that history will make real progress toward a future marked by peace and justice. 

The feast we celebrate today - Christ the King - is a proclamation of this central truth: that Jesus is the ultimate authority. Each person, no matter how great, will stand before him one day and be judged for the good or the evil he or she has done in life. We will all be accountable to the one who created us for the choices we have made.

Saint John says it beautifully in the second reading from the Book of Revelation. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Alpha and omega are the first and last words of the Greek alphabet. What Saint John is saying is that Christ stands at the beginning of the world and its history as its creator and also at the end of the world as its judge. All things come from Christ, and all things are leading toward him. Whatever exists exists because of Christ. There is no part of our world and no part of our individuals lives that does not fall under the shadow of his mighty arm.

Jesus is our King. However, his kingdom is not of this world. It is not a kingdom we can see. It does not have an army, a flag or any territory. It is a kingdom of faith whose territory is the hearts of believers and whose flag is the Scriptures. But that does not mean that this kingdom is not real. In fact, history tells us that it is the only real and lasting kingdom that has ever existed. Every earthly power, no matter how mighty, has faded from the scene. Many of them are unknown to us today. But God's kingdom has endured through the centuries because it is based on his law which never fails.

At our baptism, we made vows that we believed in God and that we rejected sin. We promised to place ourselves under the rule of Christ our King. Our presence here today is a testimony to that commitment made in faith. Let us also commit ourselves today to spreading the word about the justice and peace that can only be found in God's word. Only by making Christ king over our hearts will our society stop its descent into wickedness and will we as a country know the true meaning of peace and the freedom that the founders of the United States envisioned for us.

Keeping Death In Mind

When flying back from his apostolic trips around the world, Pope Francis has made it a custom to speak with journalists on the plane. On one flight, a reporter asked him where he found the energy at his age to keep up with such a hectic schedule. The Holy Father replied that he knew his time was short and that there was still much he needed to do. He explained that keeping in mind how little time he had left on earth energized him through all the appearances, speeches and ceremonies that make up his schedule.

It is natural for a man in his 70’s, like the Holy Father, to be thinking about the end of his life. But, the truth is that none of us knows how long our lives will be. What Jesus says in today’s gospel about the end of the world could also be said about the end of our earthly lives: “...of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” For some of us, our lives will be much longer than we imagine. Others of us would be shocked to know how little time we have left.

As Christians, it is important for us to keep death in mind. It reminds us that we are not meant for this world alone but for eternal life in heaven. Therefore, we set our hearts not on the things of this world but on the realities which are eternal. As Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Our short life on earth is a preparation for an everlasting life of joy with our Lord. As people of faith, therefore, we do not look on our imminent death with fear or loathing but with hope. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us: “The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him and an entrance into everlasting life.” (1020)

Inspired, then, by the hope of everlasting life that Jesus won for us by His death and resurrection and by the words He speaks to us in the gospel, let us take this opportunity to reflect on two of the realities that await us after death - judgement and Purgatory.

The first reality after death is judgement. Each of us, at the moment of our death, will stand before the judgement seat of Christ to give an account of our lives. Every choice we have made, the intentions of our hearts and the desires that drove us will lay bare before ourselves and our Creator. There will be no time to make excuses or to try to justify what we have done or have failed to do. We will have no choice but to stand under the light of truth. It is an ominous thought. The fact is that very few of us will have enough good deeds to overshadow the selfish and hurtful choices we have made. Our only hope will be to trust in our Heavenly Father’s mercy. He is more just and loving than any human judge could be. We can trust Him to understand and forgive just as long as we have the humility to see ourselves as we really are.

During our lives, then, we should always bear in mind that we will one day stand before Jesus to give an account of our use of the gifts He has given us. Whenever we weigh a decision we should ask ourselves how we would explain our choice to Jesus. Most especially, we should make use of the Sacrament of Confession as frequently as possible. Admitting our sinfulness and weakness and accepting God’s mercy and forgiveness is a way of settling out of court rather than facing the full sentence. When we confess our sins, God promises not to hold them against us. Also, through this powerful sacrament, we receive the power to avoid temptation in the future and the wisdom to make good choices. If we make it a habit of examining our consciences regularly and confessing our sins frequently, then we will stand before the judgement seat of Christ with that much more peace and confidence.

If we die without serious sin on our conscience, we can be assured of reaching Heaven. However, we may still have some inclination toward sin in our soul. We may still have desires in our heart which make us more susceptible to temptation. In that case, we will require one more act of mercy on God’s behalf before we can enter the perfect life of Heaven. That last act of mercy we call - “Purgatory”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (1030)

The simplest way to put it is - We will all be perfect in Heaven. However, few of us will be perfect when we die. Purgatory is the place where we are made perfect before entering the bliss of Heaven.

The Church has always believed that we can assist the souls in Purgatory through our prayers, our sacrifices and by offering Masses for their eternal rest. This is a beautiful act of mercy we can perform for those who have gone before us. It unites us to them through love and gives us the hope that they will assist us with their prayers once they have reached Paradise. Everyday, we should make it a point to say a prayer for our loved ones who have died and also for those who have no one to pray for them. We should also make a point of teaching our children about this pious practice so that they will pray for us after we have passed away.

As Christians, we keep the reality of our death ever in mind because we look forward in hope to the everlasting life of Heaven. That does not mean that we do not enjoy our lives on earth. Every day is a gift from God. We should thank Him for it and use it to draw closer to Him. God does not want us to live in fear but to trust in His goodness, love and mercy. If we do so, then we can feel confident when we stand before Him because we will not be relying on our own goodness but on His.

The End

What do we believe about the end of the world and the final judgment of mankind?

Just as the world had a beginning in time, so it will have an end. As Jesus explains in today’s gospel, there will come a day when the sun and moon will no longer shine and the stars will fall from the sky. There will come a point when history will have run its course and the earth will be no more.

God has not revealed to us when this end will come. As Jesus tells us, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Therefore, if anyone claims to know when the end of the world will take place they are liars and deceivers. Throughout history there have been those claiming to have secret knowledge of the day and hour of Christ’s coming, but they have been wrong. Only God knows when that day will come, and there will be no doubt when it does come.

As we profess in our creed, at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. Jesus tells us, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” When Jesus came among us the first time at His birth, it was in a quiet way. He was born in a humble manger. It was witnessed to only by Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph and some meek shepherds. However, when Jesus comes again it will be in great glory. He will reveal His victory over evil for all the world to see. There will be no doubt that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Saint Paul tells us that every knee will bend before Him. Even the greatest sinner will be forced to acknowledge along with the greatest saint that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Scripture teaches us that when Jesus comes it will be to judge the living and dead. God has left us His word in the Bible and has guided humanity through the centuries by the teaching of the Church. At His Second Coming, Jesus will call each of us to account as to how we have lived up to our faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us:

                        Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts

                        be brought to light... Our attitude about our neighbor will

                        disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love.

                        On the Last Day Jesus will say: “Truly I say to you, as

                        you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you

                        did it to me.”

The words of Jesus should give us pause. Each of us will have to give an account of the choices we have made in this life. Each of us will stand before Jesus to answer for how we have put to use the blessings He has given us. Every day of our lives we should keep this in mind. As Saint James tells us, “Always speak and act as people destined for judgement under the law of love.” It is true that God is exceedingly merciful and we can trust that He will treat us with love and tenderness. But it is also true that He is a just judge who will bring to light all that is hidden in our hearts both the good and the evil. If we do not want to stand in shame before Him, we must work today to amend our lives and accept the grace to make choices that will be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

Finally, the Church teaches us that the end of the world will come after a time of great upheaval. It will be a time when people everywhere will be rejecting the word of God to put a false optimism in human achievement in its place. When this happens, the Church will be persecuted as “backwards” and as an obstacle to progress. Then all believers will have to decide whether they will be swept up in the tide or whether they will stand up for the eternal truths of the Gospel. Will we abandon our faith for the fashion of the day or will we persevere in the teaching handed down to us from Jesus who tells us that “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away”? How we decide will determine how it will go for us on Judgment Day.

It has been the unwavering teaching of the Church that the world will end and Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. As followers of Jesus, we should stay sober and alert. At every moment of our lives we have the opportunity to accept or reject the grace that God is offering us. By accepting His offer of love and friendship we can be assured that we will spend eternity in Heaven with Him. So we should not fear the end of the world and our final judgment but prepare for it through prayer and good works. We should also await it with confidence because Jesus took on the punishment we deserve by dying on the cross for us. If He has loved us so much, then we can be assured that He will treat us with mercy if we have lived a life of faith. Let us give our hearts over to him without reserve so that we can have the grace to persevere to the end and be examples of hope to a world that has fallen into despair.

Time Is Short

It seems hard to believe that it is already over eighteen years ago that the world was caught up in worry over the "Y2K bug". The fear was that, once the year changed to 2000, the calendars that regulate computers would become confused. It was predicted that the computers controlling the nation's power grids and the world's financial institutions would go haywire and fail. Electricity would be cut off, financial records would be erased and communication networks would fail. Countless millions of dollars were spent to try to upgrade computers and circumvent the "bug". In the end, the year 2000 arrived like every other year, without incident. All the worry and fear were for nothing.

After that, we heard predictions of calamity surrounding the end of the year 2012. It had something to do with the end of the calendar developed by the Mayan civilization that flourished in South America prior to the arrival of the Spanish and also something to do with predictions made by the French astrologer, Nostradamus.  Countless television programs touted how reliable these predictions were, even though so many of them have failed in the past. Thankfully, the year 2012 came and went without incident. No doubt there will be another date in the future for which there will be even more predictions of the end of the world.

All these fears are fed by a sense that we are living in a time of rapid change, and not all of it is for the better. Whether it is the economy, the climate or society in general, things are not as they were in the past. There is great unease in not knowing what lies in the future. Our world feels unbalanced and unstable. It is natural to feel that it is all building up to an unhappy ending. 

Both the Old and New Testaments speak frequently about the end of the world and the coming judgment of God. The first reading from the book of Daniel is one example, as is the gospel reading. We call this type of literature in the Bible  "apocalyptic" writing. The premiere example of it is the book of Revelations which is also sometimes called the "Apocalypse". Though in our popular culture the word "apocalypse" tends to mean a "catastrophe", the original Greek word literally means "drawing back the veil". When the apocalypse happens, as the Bible teaches us it will, the veil which separates heaven and earth will be opened like a stage curtain. God will be revealed in all his majesty and glory along with Christ so that there will be no doubt that he exists and that his word is true. At the same time, the curtain will be drawn back on us as well. The intentions of our hearts, the good or evil of our actions and our innermost thoughts will be revealed as we stand before the throne of our God.

When the authors of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about the end of the world, they intended neither to scare us nor make exact predictions about when the end of the world would occur. In fact, Jesus tells us that even he does not know when these events would take place. Rather this type of literature appears in the Bible during times of intense persecution to encourage believers to not abandon their faith but to remain faithful and persevere. For example, the book of Daniel from which today's first readings are taken was written at a time when Jews living outside of Jerusalem were being forced to give up their beliefs and traditions. The gospel of Mark as well as the book of Revelations were likewise written at a time when Christians were being fiercely persecuted both in Jerusalem and in Rome. They wanted believers to know and understand that God will appear to judge harshly those who have made his beloved people suffer and that, if they remain faithful to him, they will share in his victory.

In today's world, we are fortunate to have the freedom to worship God and live our faith. But that does not mean that we are not persecuted. We only have to watch television for five minutes or read the front page of the newspaper to see our beliefs and way of life being ridiculed. The message is constantly going out that Christianity is backwards and meaningless in today's world. That along with the upheaval in our society and the allure of material things may cause us to question our faith and make us wonder if the sacrifices our baptismal vows require of us are really worth it. It is at those times that we must remember Jesus' words, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Governments come and go. Fashions and popular trends come and go. But we are guided by the light of God's word, and we press on with our eyes focused on Christ and his promise of eternal life. When we do so, we can be assured that we will not stumble and fall for Jesus promises us that those who believe in him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.  

Jesus certainly does teach us that the world will eventually come to an end, and there will be much turbulence and tribulation leading up to it. It sounds terrifying. But, for the believer, the end of the world will be glorious. Jesus will reveal himself to all peoples as the Son of God and Savior of the World. As the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, all God's enemies will be placed under his feet. This includes especially sin and death which will have no more power over us. Though we will be judged for the good and evil we have done, we must remember that it is the Father who offered his Son to death for our salvation who will be weighing us in the scales. If we have made a sincere effort to cooperate with his grace and live according to his word, we can be assured that he will look upon us with mercy for he knows our hearts. Our struggle against sin, the sacrifices we have made and the ridicule we have endured will seem nothing when we look upon the face of God and know that we will spend eternity with him.

Self-Righteous Overcompensation

We are all carrying within us deep-seated hurts and wounds from our childhood. When we were innocent and impressionable, we heard messages from our parents or peers that stuck with us. Or, someone did something to hurt us and the trauma of what happened continues to haunt us and influence the way we think and act.

For instance, we may have received the message from our parents that we were no good. It may have come across in the way they spoke to us or the way they punished us. For the rest of our lives, no matter how successful we become, we continue to hear that message echoing within us - “I’m no good”

Or we might have experienced some failure in our youth and been ridiculed or shamed for it. The memory of our parents’ disapproving faces or the taunting laughs of our classmates were seared into our consciousness. The message - “I am a failure” - stuck with us. No matter what we do, we cannot seem to shake the sense that it is not good enough.

Because of all those hurtful memories from our childhood, we spend our adult lives trying to prove that we are good enough and that we are not failures. We might become workaholics, striving for more and more success to disprove those negative images of ourselves. Or we might become underachievers, so afraid of failing that we are unwilling to take risks.

Whatever form those messages from our past might take, we can all fall into the trap of trying to prove our worth to ourselves and others by overcompensating for our inner sense of inadequacy.

In today’s gospel, we find such attempts at overcompensation on full display. The scribes were powerful men in Jesus’ day. They were teachers of the Law at a time when religion was prized highly by people. While many scribes were no doubt good men who truly cared about the people they served, many were not. They used their power to overcompensate for their own sense of inadequacy. The long robes they wore covered up their lack of self-worth. The places of honor compensated for the lack of recognition from their parents. Because of all the trappings of wealth and influence that were a part of their state in life, they did not know just how poor and powerless they really were.

Jesus is not fooled by their outward display and is quick to see through their charade. He condemns them for using religion as a means of gaining power rather than as a means of serving others.

How differently Jesus speaks about the poor widow. She did not have any of the trappings of wealth and influence that the scribes had. Yet, Jesus sees in her small donation given with total trust in God a greater gift than all the other donations combined.

Like all of us, that poor widow may have lived with memories of trauma and even abuse. She may have judged herself worthless at times and doubted whether she had anything to offer. Unlike the scribes, however, she did not try to overcompensate by enriching herself with this world’s goods or seeking success in worldly things. Rather, she chose to trust in God. She acknowledges her poverty and weakness and, by giving her last penny to the Temple treasury, she recognizes that God will take care of her. In her poverty and weakness, she turns to the One who can truly enrich and empower her - our Heavenly Father.

Throughout the Bible, God holds up the poor and the needy as those who have special insight into the mysteries of the spiritual life. The reason is that they do not look for earthly things to fill up the holes in their heart left by hurtful messages from their past. Rather, they look to their Heavenly Father who alone can heal those hurts.

All of us here today are carrying hidden wounds within us. We cannot change our past or erase the hurtful messages we heard. But we do have a choice as to how we will respond to them.

We can be like the scribes and put on a show for others thinking they will love and accept us because of our wealth and influence. We may end up impressing others and getting some relief from our pain. However, in the long run, we know it’s all an empty show and the feelings of inadequacy inevitably re-emerge.

The other choice we have is to bring those wounds to our Heavenly Father. We can pour out our hearts to Him telling Him how afraid, hurting and lost we are. When we hear the message, “you are no good,” we can call to mind that we were created good by our loving God. When we hear the message, “you are worthless”, we can remember that Jesus died to save us. When we hear the message, “you will never amount to anything,” we can remember that we are called to spend eternity with God in Heaven. Rather than try to overcompensate for our weakness by turning to this world, we can find our healing and completeness through union with our Heavenly Father.

If we do choose the way of the widow, the way of complete trust in God, we will start to look at our inner wounds in a different way. They will still continue to be painful but we will actually come to be grateful for them because they teach us how much we need God. They also help us to be compassionate with others who are also suffering. And like the widow in today’s first reading and in the gospel, our inner wounds teach us to be generous with others because we trust that God will never abandon us and will always provide for us.

No matter how our fathers on earth may have hurt us, we have a Father in Heaven who can heal us. No matter how deep-seated our pain may be, we have a Savior whose Spirit can reach right down to the core of our being to bring healing to those wounds. No matter how poor or powerless we may feel, we have a God who enriches and empowers us. Let us put aside, then, all those ways we try to overcompensate for our helpless and turn to God. He will not let us down. And we will finally find the rest our souls have been yearning for.

Jesus Shows Up Those Who Show Off

We all know people who like to show off.

Some of them take pride in the size of their homes or what kind of car they drive. Some of them brag about their important careers, their accomplishments and how much money they have made. Others like to show off how good they look and in what great shape they are in. These are the ones who update their social media with selfies every hour. And still others are always eager to tell you about all the traveling they have done.

If we are honest with ourselves, we should admit that there are many times when we have acted in just the same way.

What is going on inside of us that makes us want to brag and show off? Quite simply, we believe that we are not good enough. We are convinced that something is wrong with us, that we are not as good and as deserving as the people around us. Therefore, we try to puff ourselves up with material possessions, high powered careers, good looks or lofty accomplishments. We hope that others will think we are important and give us attention. Most importantly, we hope that they will love us because we do not believe that we can be loved just for ourselves.

In first century Palestine, when Jesus lived, people had the same fears and insecurities. Like us, they wanted to be seen as important. They loved being recognized in the marketplace and being greeted with the titles that came from their positions of authority. Because religion was a central part of their culture, they wanted to be seen as pious and good. Therefore, they would pray aloud on street corners and in the Temple not so that God could hear them but so that others would. Also, they used the money donated to the Temple not to feed the poor and not even to maintain the building. Rather, they bought long and colorful robes for themselves so they could strut around like peacocks. No doubt, the people were very impressed by this show and wanted their leaders to be men of great pomp to convince themselves that they too were a great people.

However, Jesus could see right through it all. He knew that the outward show of importance was really a mask for an insecure, frightened spirit. That is why he called such people “hypocrites.” The word, “hypocrite” comes from a Greek word meaning “actor”. Like actors, hypocrites are playing a role. They act important but are really insecure inside. They act holy but their hearts are full of pride and envy. They seem to be interested in the poor but all the while they are really promoting their own interests.

In contrast, Jesus holds up the example of the poor widow. There is nothing about her that would make us pay attention to her. She did not wear fine clothes or live in a luxurious home. Rather, she was the most pitiable of persons - poor and alone. However, because she could not put on airs, she was free to come to God just as she was. Because she did not have the means to put on a show of self-importance, she was free to let others see her as she really was. In fact, of all the wealthy, educated and important people in the crowd that day, she was the freest and most generous. Because of this, Jesus tells us that her two small coins were worth more than everything else that had been contributed that day.

This poor widow teaches us a central lesson about the spiritual life. All of us in one way or another are poor. All the pretenses we make of importance, holiness, wealth, education or physical beauty are just our pathetic attempts to cover it up. The truth is that God sees right through it. There is nothing we can do to impress God. All He asks is that we admit that we are weak and sinful. He asks that we confess our sinfulness and accept His forgiveness. He wants us to be honest with Him about our fears and insecurities. He wants us to entrust them all to Him and allow Him to heal us so that we can love and accept ourselves just as we are - the good, the bad and the ugly. Then we will be able to love others as they are also.

What would happen if for just one day we all let our guard down and allowed others to see us as we really are? I bet that we would discover that others live with the same fears and insecurities that we do. I bet that we would see that others struggle in the same ways we do. We would discover that the person who seemed so superior to us is really no different than we are. And, most importantly, we would see that the ones we judged inferior to us are really far beyond us in maturity and goodness. Perhaps, we would learn that rather than reject us or judge us, our family and friends would love us all the more when we reveal our vulnerabilities to them. We would learn that we are lovable not because of what we have or what we have accomplished but simply for who we are. Our sense of isolation and loneliness would dissolve once we see that we are not alone in our struggles. Then we could take all the energy and time we have spent covering up our faults and weaknesses and put it into doing good for others. How different our world would be if we all for once would stop playing a role and simply be ourselves.

As we gather in this temple today, we have the opportunity to let our guard down, to allow our Heavenly Father to see us just as we are and to enter into communion not only with Him but with all those who have joined us in prayer today. Jesus Himself is our example. He does not come to us in a blinding show of majesty and power but veiled in the elements of bread and wine so that we will not be intimidated. Now He asks the same of us - that we take off the mask we have been wearing. No doubt we will discover that we are loved just as we are. And we will be able to love others in turn, just as we are loved without conditions and without exceptions.

God Chooses The Poor

They say, "If you need something done, find someone who's busy."

However, when God needs something done, he chooses a poor person.

The prophet Elijah could not have found a poorer, more desperate person than the widow gathering sticks outside the gates of Zarephath. She was down to her last morsels and was resigned to the fact that she and her son would soon starve to death. The story of her generosity to the prophet despite her own need has fed the faith of countless believers throughout the millennia and has inspired them to generosity even in the face of destitution.

Jesus likewise chose a poor widow as an example of giving in faith. In sharp contrast to the religious leaders whose fine garments covered over their spiritual nakedness, she abandoned all she had to God. She could have held onto those pennies thinking they would be of no use to anyone else. She could have looked at the religious leaders in their finery and thought that she needed the money much more than they did. Her generosity, instead, was an act of faith that God would provide for her if she would abandon everything she had into his hands. The story of her generosity now enshrined in the gospels has done immeasurably more good down the centuries than millions of shekels donated to the temple treasury could ever have.

It is an enduring truth of God's plan that he chooses the weak. If God has a plan for us - and he certainly does - we can be sure that it does not involve what we perceive our talents and strengths to be. If we think we are good speakers, he may ask us to be silent. If we think we are good organizers, he may call us to suffer under the chaos of a scatterbrained leader. Most likely, God is going to ask of us something we think we are totally incapable of doing or giving, something outside our "skill set".

This was the experience of every great saint. At some time in their lives they felt the frustration of wanting to do something great for God but being called to do something else. He led them to a ministry they thought was less important or that they felt ill-equipped to undertake. Yet they obeyed and drew on his strength to bring to fruition his great design, a plan much bolder and more effective than anything they could have otherwise mustered. God does all this to make it clear that it is his plan that works, not ours, and that it is his grace that proves effective, not our own gifts and talents.

A wise spiritual director once said that God is in the real, not the ideal. We may dream of doing great things for God, but he most often calls us to do small things with great love. He is calling us to take out the trash, pick up dog poo or coach a soccer team with great love. If we  do not think we are good at it or capable of it, we may find ourselves called to it nonetheless. If we think the work is not important or beneath us, then God will certainly teach us humility by leading us to accept it.

God can only use the poor because they have nothing to lose. They are the freest to give. If we want God to use us, then we must give out of our weakness and need and not out of our surplus and strength.

As in all things, Jesus is our example. Though He is the most powerful man to ever walk the earth, He came as a simple carpenter born to a poor family. He did not seek high offices either in politics or in religion. Rather He chose to live among the poor and homeless. He eschewed places of honor to sit in the company of sinners, lepers and outcasts. He came to establish God’s Kingdom not by force but by love. When He was struck, spat upon and crucified, He did not retaliate but forgave. He made Himself poor and weak so that we might become rich in grace and strong in faith. Like the widows in the first reading and gospel, He gave us all He had and it has nourished generations of believers to the present day.

We come to this table today just as we are - with our strengths and weaknesses, virtues and sinfulness, successes and failures. God wants everything that we are - both the good and the bad. There is no need to hide before our Heavenly Father who sees our hearts. We need not be ashamed because He created us as we are and He loves us just as we are. If we can come before Him with simple faith and humility, offering ourselves without reserve, we can begin to see Him do great things in us.

God Will Never Forget You

Albert’s wife had been suffering from Alzheimer's for over five years. She had deteriorated to the point of  not recognizing anyone, including Albert. Every morning at 9:00 he made a point of having breakfast with her at her nursing home. He would sit with her and tell her the stories of their life together - their wedding day, their children and all the other experiences they shared over some fifty years of marriage.

One morning, Albert wasn’t feeling well. He was struggling to get out of bed and get himself ready to go to the nursing home. Nonetheless, he pushed himself as hard as he could not wanting to be late for breakfast with his wife.

Seeing that he wasn’t feeling well, his daughter said to him, “Dad, why don’t you stay home in bed today and rest. Anyway, you know Mom doesn’t remember you.”

Albert replied, “You’re right. Your mother doesn’t remember me. But I remember her.”

What a beautiful example of unconditional love Albert shows us! He reminds us what true love means - that we give of ourselves to others even when we get nothing in return, even when our gestures of kindness are forgotten, and even when others fail to understand why we are trying so hard when it doesn’t seem to be getting us anywhere.

In particular, Albert teaches us something about God’s love. Even when we forget Him, God always remembers us. Even when we neglect Him, He always takes care of us. No matter how far we try to run away from Him, He never stops pursuing us. No matter how hard we try to hide from Him, He never stops trying to find us.

This is what God says through the prophet Isaiah: “Can a woman forget her child? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have carved you on the palms of my hand” (Is 49:15-16).

In today’s gospel, a scribe asks Jesus what the greatest commandment of the Law is. He replies by echoing the words of Moses in today’s first reading: “You shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” In this commandment, Jesus reveals to us the key to a holy life. Those who love God above all things do not sin. They do not lie, steal, or hurt others. They remember the love God has for them and try to reflect that love in everything they do.

How is it possible for us to love God when we cannot see Him?

First of all, we must recognize that the type of love we are talking about is not a sentimental, affectionate type of love that a teenager might experience with his first crush or that we might feel for a puppy. Rather, the type of love that Jesus is calling us to is the type of love that Albert showed to his wife. It is a love that is willing to sacrifice. It is a love that is complete and total, unwilling to make excuses and unwilling to settle for less than total commitment.

Such unconditional love is impossible for us with our sinful, hardened hearts. We cannot attain to such a love of God through our own efforts. It must be a gift from God. So we must continue to pray for it. And we can pray with great confidence because God wants nothing more than that we love Him. Therefore, He will make it possible for us if we ask Him earnestly and insistently.

Like any gift, it must be put to use if it is going to grow. Just so, we must put into practice the love God places in our hearts if that love is to be perfect and complete.

Jesus tells us just how we are supposed to put God’s love into practice when He goes on to tell the scribe in today’s gospel: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus links love of God to love of neighbor. Saint John tells us, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love a brother or sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20).  We grow in love of God, then, by loving our neighbor.

Again, we are not talking about a sentimental type of love. We are not even talking about liking others or wanting to be their friends. Rather, we are talking about putting the needs of others before our own, serving others even when our motives are questioned, and giving without expecting anything in return. This type of love is a decision we make based on our love for God, not on any emotions we feel. It finds expression in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy which include feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, clothing the naked, educating the ignorant and praying for the conversion of sinners. By making daily, intentional decisions to love others, we are showing our love for God. And, in so doing, that love grows stronger within us.

Every Sunday, we gather here to remember. We remember the great love God showed us by sending His Son to die for us. We remember how Jesus gave us His Body and Blood in the form of bread and wine. As we receive this gift of His love we ask Him to make our hearts like His - filled with unconditional, sacrificial love. And we commit ourselves to loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. In so doing, the world will finally be transformed by the love of God.

Heaven Runs On Love

A Catholic school teacher invited her pastor to visit her classroom and answer questions her students had been asking about heaven.

In the course of the conversation, one young man asked, “If God loves us and wants us to be  with Him in heaven, why didn’t He just put us there already instead of making us live on earth?”

The pastor explained it by comparing the situation to a child who was about to inherit his family business. Would it make any sense, he asked them, for the father to give his child the business before he had learned to read and write or before he knew how to add or subtract? No matter how much he may love his son, would it make any sense to let him run the business before he understood the product they were manufacturing and what went into bringing it to market? If he were to give it to his son before he was ready to run it, both his son and the company would suffer.

He went on to explain that it is the same with heaven. It is not just a place but an activity, the activity of loving God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength. To be ready for eternal life in God’s presence, we must learn first to love Him above all things. Just as a son is not ready to inherit his father’s business until he can learn how to add and subtract, so we cannot enter into Paradise until we learn how to love.

Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that the greatest commandment is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It is a commandment that we have heard often and, like the scribe, we can wholeheartedly agree with Jesus that there is nothing more important than love. But what does it mean to love God above all things? How can we know that we have reached such a love?

Jesus answers that question for us by linking our love of God to our love of neighbor. We know that we love God if we also love others. As Saint John tells us, we cannot love the God we do not see if we hate the neighbor we do see. Therefore, our love of God is not measured by those we love the most - our families and friends. They are easy to love. As Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you love those who love you, what merit is there in that? Pagans and tax collectors do the same.” Rather, our love for God is measured by those we love the least. It is measured by the concern we have for the poor who cannot repay us. It is measured by the attention we give to the sick who are pushed aside and forgotten. It is measured by our willingness to forgive those who hate and hurt us. If we want to know how much we love God, it is there that we must look.

Like faith, such love is a gift from God. Loving those who do not love us does not come naturally to us. It is difficult for us to look past our own interests to the needs of others. It can only come as a gift of grace. Nonetheless, it is absolutely necessary if we are to reach our eternal destiny of everlasting life with God.

How can we receive this gift? First of all, it comes to us through prayer. When we reflect on how much God has loved us, when we consider that He sent His only Son to die for us, when we consider all the blessings He gives us, we cannot help but love Him in return. As Saint John says, love consists not in that we have loved God but that He has loved us. We also grow in love by reflecting on how each person is made in the image and likeness of God and on how He loves all people without distinction. As that reality sinks into our minds and hearts, we also find it easier to love others no matter their race, religion, social status or political beliefs. Out of love for God, we can even find it possible to love and forgive those who do not love us in return.

We also grow in love by keeping the commandments. Jesus tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Though love of God and neighbor are the greatest commandments, they do not mean that the others are not important. All of God’s laws,  and in turn, all of the Church’s rules, are meant to teach us what it means to love. As Moses tells the Israelites in today’s first reading, by observing God’s law we grow and prosper in the land He has given us. We can measure our love of God, then, in our willingness to keep His word. If Jesus founded the Church, then we can also say that we can measure our love of God in our willingness to follow what the Church teaches us is necessary to believe. They are all given to us not to limit our freedom or take away our pleasure, but to instruct us in what it means to love so that we will be prepared not only to flourish in this life but to enjoy eternal life with our loving Father.

Heaven runs on love. When we love others from our heart, we bring a bit of heaven to this hurting world. As we grow in our ability to love, we also prepare ourselves for our eternal destiny. The Eucharist we are about to receive is also all about love. It is the Body and Blood of Jesus given to us out of love. He died for all people - both those who would come to love Him in return and those who would reject His offer of salvation. Through this Sacrament, we are strengthened to do the same - to love all persons without distinction and without limits - until we reach our destiny where love reigns supreme.