Corpus Christi Blog

Whoever I may be, Lord, I lie exposed to your scrutiny.

Lord, you know me. Let me know you. Let me come to know you even as I am known. You are the strength of my soul; enter it and make it a place suitable for your dwelling, a possession without spot or blemish. This is my hope and the reason I speak. In this hope I rejoice, when I rejoice rightly. As for the other things of this life, the less they deserve tears, the more likely will they be lamented; and the more they deserve tears, the less likely will men sorrow for them. For behold, you have loved the truth, because the one who does what is true enters into the light. I wish to do this truth before you alone by praising you, and before a multitude of witnesses by writing of you.

The readings which the Church gives us this weekend is about salvation- who is it for and how can one attain it.  Unfortunately, salvation is not a topic many people think about.  Some people don’t really care what happens to them after death, some don’t believe heaven exists, and even more scary is many others don’t think hell exists.  Some reason that if God is a loving and merciful God they he won’t let anyone be damned in hell.  Have you thought about salvation?  Have you thought about the criteria needed to be saved and spend eternity with God?  When some people think about the criteria to go to heaven, they think about being nice or good enough.  They assume they will be saved if they are good enough, or as long as they love more people than they hate, then they will squeeze through the pearly gates.  Instead of assuming we know the answers to these most important questions, let us look at what Jesus says.  And to answer those questions about who salvation is for and the criteria, I have some good news, and some bad news.

All priests are expected to pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day. The Church also encourages the faithful to participate in this form of prayer (the free app ibreviary makes it very convenient). On August 8 , the feast of St. Dominic, I was inspired by the second reading in the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours. St. Dominic, you may recall, was the founder of the Order of Preachers and has been called the great evangelizer (with St. Francis). He essentially went door to door evangelizing and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. He is the one to whom Mary gave the Rosary in order to help him pray along his travels and to teach others to pray and meditate on the life of Christ. The following is an excerpt about St. Dominic from the reading:

Have you been thinking that you want to do more to serve God and His Church, but you don't know what you are supposed to do? Have you wondered how you are called to build the Kingdom of God on earth? Did you want to go to the live Called and Gifted workshop last year but weren't able to make it that weekend?

If you answered, "Yes" to any of these questions, then you are invited to get to know the specific gifts (also known as charisms) that God has given to you specifically at your baptism. Knowing your charisms can help give insight to how God is calling you to serve Him and build His Church. Learning about the charisms has broadened my understanding of myself as a Catholic Christian as well as my appreciation for others and their charisms. This understanding has helped me better appreciate and love God's great design for His Church—how each and every baptized person has a role to play and we (the Church) are missing out if we don't know and use our charisms. The way I see it, as your Pastor, I am to "equip the holy ones (you) for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Therefore, one of the ways I know how to "equip" you is through Called and Gifted.

From a catechetical instruction by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (Cat 18:23-25: PG 33, 1043-1047)

The Church is called Catholic, or universal, because it has spread throughout the entire world, from one end of the earth to the other. Again, it is called Catholic because it teaches fully and unfailingly all the doctrines which ought to be brought to men's knowledge, whether concerned with visible or invisible things, with the realities of heaven or the things of earth. Another reason for the name Catholic is that the Church brings under religious obedience all classes of men, rulers and subjects, learned and unlettered. Finally, it deserves the title Catholic because it heals and cures unrestrictedly every type of sin that can be committed in soul or in body, and because it possesses within itself every kind of virtue that can be named, whether exercised in actions or in words or in some kind of spiritual charism.

Today I want to focus on our 2nd reading from Hebrews 11, the great chapter which describes what faith is. The questions I want you to think about are: What exactly is faith? And am I really living my life by faith?

What does it mean to have faith? What would you say faith is?  Probably most would say, to have faith means to believe in God. Good, that’s true. However, the new atheists would call faith a blind superstition, or an ignorant age-old idea or belief which isn’t true today. They would say it is right and good to only believe in something that can be known scientifically, that can be proven.  And so in response those who do have faith, who do believe in a God would say it is just something they believe in, just something they think is true. But faith is much more than just something one thinks is true or believes in.