Unearned Luck

Photo by Gavin Spear on Unsplash And the L ORD 's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander  in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation  that had done evil in the sight of the L ORD was consumed. -Numbers 32:13 Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? And with whom was he provoked forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. -Hebrews 3:12, 16-19 The generation, "that had done evil in the sight of the L ORD ," had been the oldest generation and the one who had spent the most time in Egypt. Throughout Exodus and Numbers, the

Photo by Raphael Koh  on  Unsplash Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. -Matthew 18:5-6 Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions. -1 Timothy 1:6-7 Then there's this bit of tripe from last Sunday's bulletin: "As Christians our ultimate goal is to be Christ-like, to reflect the dazzling glory of Christ in all of our interactions, and so bring honor to God. In pursuit of this goal, the more clearly we see the way to our own transformation in Christ." Obviously, this is supposed to tie in with Sunday's Gospel reading about Christ's transfiguration in Luke 9:28-3

Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." -Acts 1:6-7 He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. -Ecclesiastes 3:11 This afternoon at Mass, Father began his homily on the need for patience with God by relating his recent frustrations trying to return from his three-day vacation in Colorado. In the end, he and his traveling companions drove seventeen hours to get home in time for him to say his Masses today. Traveling seventeen hours in a vehicle with three other people does require patience of a kind. The boon patience receives in this scenario is knowing that there will be no need for patience in seventeen

In the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. -Romans 4:17 If you wish to read this with the footnotes in place, please click:  Is God's Being Love?        Love is understood to be many things: an emotion, a feeling, an action. There are many kinds of love: philio , caritas , and Minne . Yet, in the Bible, love is action. “Rebekah loved Jacob,” and so helped Jacob obtain the birthright from the elderly Isaac. Mary Magdalene loved Jesus, and so she washed his feet and perfumed his head. Jesus Christ loves all mankind, and so He died on the cross to release mankind from its slavery to sin and death. St. John the Evangelist, however, states simply, “God is love.” Since God is simply subsistent being, St. John is stating that being is love, since the source of all being is love. To begin, being and subsistent being need defining. Being is that which is or “ an e

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever. 1 John 2:15-17 Perspective is important. A perspective from which catechesis could be taught is that of God as our loving Father. The Ten Commandments, for example, are clearly moral proscriptions against specific thoughts, actions, mindsets, and understandings. Applicable to everyone everywhere and at all times, the Ten Commandments are the foundation of the Moral Law. Besides, you don't get much more direct and, arguably, negative than, "Thou shalt not..." And this is exactly how they are taught, too. So negative do catechists deem the Commandments' formulations, many at

Photo by Yuvy Dhaliah on Unsplash Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. -Joshua 2:1 Perspective is important. Even more important is knowing the others' perspective. I watched Zack Snyder's 2006 film, 300 , in the theatre and loved it, especially the reveal at the end. Everyone else, from critics to friends, lambasted the film for being unhistorical, fantastic, unrealistic,.... I couldn't understand their criticism of the movie, since I was assuming they had seen the same ending I had. It wasn't Clue . It seemed, though, they had missed the significance of the ending. The final scene of the movie provides the perspective for the entire rest of the movie. Nothing we had been watching was an historical reenactment of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae. It was, inste

Photo by David Straight on Unsplash Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body....Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. -1 Corinthians 6:13b, 18-20 Most of us are familiar with the willfulness of a child, who has just begun to walk. Filled with the power of independent locomotion, the toddler suddenly loses all fear and any need for obedience. "No, Daddy'" becomes the fa

Photo by Zhipeng Ya on Unsplash Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil; for it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly. Sirach 11:21 While I have worked very hard to achieve success at various times in my life, I have never worked for success in my spiritual life. It's been my idea, that if I pray for it, then God should grant it. This has seemed only natural. If I want to be healthy and stay in shape, then I have to eat right and exercise. Obviously, God is not going to just make that happen for me. Since I can't see the spiritual side of my life, though I haven't done much more than pray to God to make good things happen. This strategy has proved very frustrating. God has not miraculously removed my habitual sins nor has he miraculously caused me to trust entirely in His Divine Providence. He has been surprisingly obtuse. Or so it has seemed. Rather, God has been teaching me,

Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so  the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you. -Amos 5:14 It's Ash Wednesday. Lent 2019 is upon us. We now have 40 days in which to reflect upon how closely our thoughts, actions, motivations and priorities are aligned with the faith Jesus Christ handed on to us. We have this time, too, to do penance for the discipline of our souls and to make reparations for our past sins. As we undertake these endeavors,  Ostrov ( The Island ), a 2006 Russian film, may help. It's look at sin, forgiveness, repentance, reparation and atonement provide sufficient fodder for the entire season. Despite the limits of the medium, Ostrov  beautifully portrays how widely and deeply both our sins affect the people against whom we sin and our virtues affect those we help. To this end, the film asks two questions: "Why did Cain kill Abel?" and "What is the appropriate Christian resp

Photo by John Torcasio on Unsplash Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:1-2 Overcoming sin and conforming our wills with God's Will is very, very difficult. We all know this. This is not news. What can we do? To be successful in overcoming our sins and conforming our wills, knowing our triggers is important. In other words, how are our lives usually going, when we most easily fall into sin? It's usually part of a pattern. We get sick of sinning like a fool. We resolve to change our lives and begin taking part in the sacramental life of the Church. We turn more often to prayer, es

Photo by Jean-Philippe Delberghe on Unsplash Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. -1 Peter 5:8-10 The LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nought?...touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face." -Job 1:7-11 St. Pe