No, the headline is not a new formula for the Trinity.  Mary is a creature as are we.  But I use it to highlight a certain insight that coalesced in my mind while watching a program about Marian doctrines today.  I don’t believe any of this is necessarily new to me, but putting it together in this way is not something I can recall considering before.

Jesus as true God gets His divinity from the first person of the Trinity and as true man gets His entire humanity from His mother (of course our entire existence is God’s gracious gift).  Nothing new here for Christians (I hope).  Jesus is the fullness of divinity (He is no less God than the Father) and He is the fullness of humanity (He is just as human as His mother).  Now this last point needs to be one upon which we must expound.  To be fully human, as God desires, is to be without sin.  It is not “only human” to sin; rather, it is “inhumane” to sin.  When we sin we take away from our humanity.  This makes sense if our exemplar is Christ.  We are to emulate Him in His human fullness.  God created man for Him not for sin.  When our first parents sinned they died spiritually — human nature became fallen.  This was not the intent from the beginning.

So my key insight is that it follows then that the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and Mary’s perpetual sinlessness make perfect sense.  Jesus, true God and perfect man, gets these attributes from His parents.  Mary, fully human in the Lord, provides this perfection to Jesus.  Mary is the true mother of the Son of God.  Women are not mothers to their children’s natures but rather they are mothers of a whole person — body and soul.  So it is with Mary.  Like with all conceptions, man supplies the body and God supplies the soul.  Mary is true mother — not of the Trinity — but of God (which is who Jesus is).

It is sad that the rift the Reformers began and which has since been substantially widened has become such a major force for disunity among Christians.  It is certainly not God’s will (“how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord^* should come to me?” — Lk 1:43 … “behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed” — Lk 1:48) and what mother wants to see her children (““Behold your mother” — Jn 19:27) at odds (or worse)?

One last point: In our troubled times, in which marriage and family is under attack, why would some Christians not uphold this beautiful example of the importance of father and mother?  Ignoring, or worse, denigrating, Mary only strengthens the case of those who seek to tear down God’s plan for humanity.  As for God, yes, He made male and female and contains the ideals of the sexes.  But we lose out when we don’t acknowledge God as Father (yes, He is Creator, but Jesus refers to His “Father” often and tells us to call God “Our Father” — Mt 6:9 and see Lk 11:2) so it must be important, yes?

“Full of grace” (Lk 1:28), daughter of the Father, mother of the Son, spouse of the Spirit, pray for us.

Today’s Old Testament reading (Gen 22:1b-19) continues our working through Abraham’s story in Genesis.  It is the very familiar episode of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son with Sarah, Isaac.  Father, son, and two servants head for the mountain and arrive after three days’ journey.  Father and son go up the mountain with Isaac carrying the wood of the sacrifice.  Abraham builds the altar and, as he is about to kill his son, is stopped by an angel who reveals this to be a test.  Abraham sacrifices a ram instead.  Then God tells Abraham that his descendents will be many and a blessing to all nations.  Finally, the four go back home.

I love Abraham’s instantaneous reply to God at the beginning of this narrative (the subject line).  In fact, I think some other translations capture it even better: “Ready!”  Is this not how we should respond to the Lord?  No hesitation.  No challenging.  No rangling.  Just “Ready!”  “Here I am”!  What do you need from me?  How can I further your agenda for me?  How am I to best serve you and your children?

May we be so open to the Lord through prayer and the Word that we never miss His call and, once heard and understood, neither ignore nor defy it no matter how difficult it may seem.  For if it is from God, He will supply the necessary means to accomplish it.  We will find true happiness no other way.

For today’s Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, the second reading (2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18) features Paul writing to his friend and colleague Timothy as Paul anticipates the imminent end of his earthly days.

I will let Paul do most of the talking in these five passages that strike me as particularly important:

How we feel some days:

• “I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation”

What we should desire to honestly say on our deathbed:

• “I have competed well; I have finished the race;
  I have kept the faith.”

The way we get there:

• “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
  so that through me the proclamation might be completed”

The courage to persevere:

• “The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat”

The final reward:

• “[The Lord] will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom”

Keeping the faith while proclaiming the word in an ever more threatening environment in which we feel beaten down is possible only through the Lord giving us strength through grace.

As Scripture is “‘not a written and mute word, but the Word is incarnate and living'” and it is most assuredly “not…a dead letter” (CCC 108) these words are exactly what we need to hear in these ever more troubling times.

Doxology:

• “To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

The first Scripture passage that comes to mind issues from the lips of our Savior:

“Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words…I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” (Mt 10:14-15)

Another passage was close behind:

“The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.  For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.  Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.  As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.  While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.  Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another.  Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.”  (Rom 1:18-28)

The bolded sections characterize well the Supreme Court and all those advocating for the ruling that finally came down.  The ruling does not stand up strictly on legal merits and it certainly flies in the face of what the “Catholics” (Kennedy and Sotomayor) presumably purport to adhere to.  I pray for their conversion of heart although the scandal they have caused may not be undone until the end of time when we will see its complete effects.

(Find the decision and the various opinions here.)

I can’t say I’m very surprised at this, though.  The cultural slide has been a long one, although its steepness is accelerating at an exponential rate.  Any country that can kill its children by the tens of millions should expect no better.  (Roe v. Wade was another legally and morally awful ruling, much like today’s, that we are still paying  for and which tens of millions paid for with their lives.  June 26, 2015 goes down with January 22, 1973 as days of infamy in America.)  And any people who would put into office the most pro-abortion president in our history, and then double down by re-electing him, deserves what it gets.

It is important to remember that “any human law that does no comport with the natural law is not a law at all but an act or tyranny that does not bind in conscience” [D. Brian Scarnecchia, Bioethics, Law, and Human Life Issues (Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, 2010), 41]  Scarnecchia then refers to Aquinas in the Summa Theologica: “laws may be unjust through being opposed to the Divine good: such are the laws of tyrants inducing to idolatry, or to anything else contrary to the Divine law: and laws of this kind must nowise be observed, because, as stated in Acts 5:29, “we ought to obey God rather than man.”

As I watched the coverage, I could not help but see the rainbow colored signs declaring “Love Wins!”  I agree with this statement.  Love won on the cross, Love overcame death, Love wins in the end (I’ve read Revelation).  And Love is the primary author of Scripture and the head of the Church.  Anyone who has a problem with the Faith has a problem with God.  Take it up with Him.  Seek the truth.  Because “our hearts are restless until they rest in [the Lord]” (St. Augustine, Confessions).  “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8) — the only authentic love.

I end by saying that this is only the beginning.  I have been reiterating for some time now that Catholics and other Christians of good will who are perched comfortably on the fence must decide on which side they wish to fall.  Of great encouragement to me are the Lord’s words in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (Mt 5:11-12)  Whatever the consequences I hope you will say with me, I will serve the Lord (see Joshua 24:15).

Today’s reading from an evangelist (Mt 7:21-29) continues to give us Jesus talking to His disciples during the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus’ focus is on who will inherit the Kingdom of God.  Those who listen to and act on His words build their houses on a solid foundation but those who do not, build on sand and their houses ultimately collapse.

Near the beginning of this passage Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”  So much for “once saved, always saved” (our actions matter!).  And, also, so much for “cafeteria Christianity.”  The Word cannot be parsed.  As St. John of the Cross said, “In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), [God the Father] spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word – and he has no more to say.” (CCC 65; also see CCC 102)

This is why it is so ignorant (at best) to attempt to justify one’s wrong actions by taking God’s Word out of context, twisting it toward one’s own ends, or adhering to one part of it while disregarding other parts.  Let us neither be fools nor listen to fools who would lead ourselves or others astray in this way.  Rather let us be mindful of the one Word and the important concept of the content and unity of Scripture: “Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart.” (CCC 112)

May we always adhere to the Word, who is God (see Jn 1:1), who is “the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6).

Today’s excerpt from an evangelist (Mk 4:35-41) tells the story of Jesus and some disciples in a boat in the midst of a storm.  Jesus is awakened by these men when they begin to fear for their lives.  Jesus calms the sea and sky and questions their faith.  They are awestruck at Jesus’ power.

It did not strike me until today the connection between this passage and the scene of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane immediately before His arrest (Mt 26:36-46 and Lk 22:39-46).  Recall that Jesus brings His closest friends, Peter, James, and John with Him.  He asks them to “watch and pray” while He goes through His greatest trial yet being “sorrowful even to death,”; an event in which He experiences “sorrow,” “distress,” and “agony.”  Three times Jesus returns to find them sleeping but chalks up their weakness to fleshly reasons.  Yet when Jesus is needed, even though asleep, He responds immediately to His disciples needs, calming their fears in a matter of moments.

The disciples think they are facing death in the boat so they call on Jesus and He makes the situation better.  Jesus is really facing death and He has no one to support and pray for Him.

Jesus is there for us even when we are not there for Him.  Let us strive always to be attentive to Him and to others.  May we never be caught asleep on the job.

This passage, found at John 17:11, is one option for the Communion Antiphon for the daily Mass this week.  Today, in reading this verse in preparation for receiving the Eucharist, Jesus’ call struck me in a profound way.  I have studied the Holy Trinity in the past (I took a course on it in grad school and taught a class on it earlier this year).  We can certainly say something about God as three Persons.  But as the early triinitarian controversies and lengthy treatments (witness Augustine and Aquinas among many others) of this matter show us, it is a subject that can be plumbed to infinite depths and a concept of which our darkened human intellects can only conceive in a limited way.

All that being said, one certain thing we can take away from our understanding of God and Three and One is that this oneness is complete.  Three Persons, One divine nature.  Jesus elsewhere says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14:9-10)  While we cannot comprehend this completely now, and hope to have the chance, by God’s grace, to contemplate Him for all eternity, we know from the Lord’s own words that there is a relationship unique here in all reality. And we are asked to approach this relationship with each other!

Now, as baptized Christians we are incorporated into the Body of Christ.  “One” is the first mark of the Church our Savior established (cf. Mt 16:18).  Division comes from the devil.  Should we not want to follow Jesus’ command to be one with all our fellow human beings?  Solidarity among Christians in faith and practice — living the true faith in our relationship to God and man — is something for which we must continue to strive.  Never should we give scandal because we who profess to be Christians do not provide good example.

This ties in directly to evangelization.  Ecumenical efforts (i.e., among Christians) and interreligious dialogue (i.e., among those of different religions) should strive to bring everyone to the fullness of truth so that all humankind can truly “be one.”  We are to continue to work and pray to see the day when every person can say the Lord’s Prayer from the heart (“Our Father”) and thus bring forth God’s reign (“thy kingdom come”).

In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 6:7-15) Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount by teaching His hearers how to pray; He gives us the Our Father emphasizing its petition about forgiveness by repeating it more forcefully at the end of this passage.

I would argue that it is difficult to find a more challenging passage than the one highlighted here.  The Lord’s Prayer is the most popular Christian prayer (as it should be coming from Jesus Himself) but this fact makes it so familiar that the pray-er can easily breeze through it with little thought about the seven petitions in this passage.  I am always glad to receive the reminder in this Gospel reading.

It can be very difficult to forgive, especially when a person is hurt in a deep and profound way.  But we must, whether we feel like it or not or whether the offender asks for it or not.  When our judgement day comes, do we want to face our Lord, a perfectly innocent man who could forgive with His dying words, with obstinate refusal to forgive?  We can expect not to be forgiven ourselves if we keep this attitude until our dying breath.

Let us throw off and keep off all hatred and grudges.  They only harm us — not the person these sentiments are directed toward.  Christ’s command is thus good not only for our eternal destiny but also for our well-being here on earth.

For yesterday’s Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the second reading was taken from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (3:8-12, 14-19).  In chapter three, Paul speaks of his commission to preach God’s plan to the Gentiles.  It is from this passage that the headline of this post comes.

I have to admit that, while I have certainly read this line before, its significance had not struck me until I heard it proclaimed at Mass yesterday.  Paul declares that it is through the church that we know God’s wisdom.  This only serves to bolster the Catholic contention of the importance of the Church.  Of course, Catholics go to Matthew 16:18 to show that Christ intended to establish an institutional Church (“you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church”).  But the key verse, often overlooked, is 1 Tim 3:15: “the household of God…is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.”  God’s wisdom is truth and His truth is wisdom.  And it is from the Church Christ established, that institution that Jesus clearly intended to found and that which His Spirit inspired Paul to write about, that Paul gets his authority.

It is from the heart of the Church that we get true wisdom, the Sacred Heart that was pierced and from which the Church sprung (see CCC 766), with water and blood symbolizing the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist.

This 19th century image of Jesus with His Sacred Heart exposed is one of my most treasured possessions.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

The first reading (Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3) for today’s Memorial of St. Barnabas features this companion of Paul and his work in Antioch.  The Church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch where he rejoiced in what God had done there and encouraged them further, bringing many more to the Lord (see above).  He goes to find Saul in Tarsus and, bringing him to Antioch, they both teach there for the next year.

The name Barnabas, according to Acts 4:36, means “son of encouragement,” a name given to this Joseph by the apostles.  This, combined with this passage which declares him “a good man,” should give us insight into why he was so effective an evangelist.  I’m reminded of the C.S.. Lewis compilation “The Joyful Christian.”  It is not hard to imagine a humble man, kind and generous, on fire for Christ, constantly upbeat and enthusiastic.  Is this not a formula for the disposition of the modern day evangelist?  Shouldn’t we want to be the “good man” or “good woman” who is always encouraging others to follow the Lord and affirming them when they do?  The kind of person who makes others better for just having spent time with us?

May we, like St. Barnabas, always strive to be who we are: “very good” (Gen 1:31) so that our light will shine before others (see Mt 5:16).