CALLED TO HOLINESS
David Sanders O.P.
Fifth Sunday of the Year
7th February 2010
fr David Sanders considers where we can find God and where he finds us.
We often pigeon-hole people. We are certain we know them and we fix their identity. We treat them more like things than people. Then suddenly we see in them a new dimension, a surprising depth, a different person.
And if we do this to people we do it even more to God. We may treat him as an impersonal deity, an abstract entity, something that can be manipulated by our religious formulas. But the God of the Bible whom we worship is a personal God who cannot be pinned down or easily defined. God is other, mysterious, different – that is what makes him holy. But where do we encounter this holy God?
Isaiah tells us that he encountered this holy God in the temple, he saw him through the smoke of incense in the midst of the liturgy. He had a vision of the all-holy God seated upon his heavenly throne and surrounded by the worshipping seraphs. And this is how many people see the holiness of God: in a sacred place, served by priests, and cut off from the outside world. And many want to keep it that way. Holiness should be kept safe in its own sacred world and not be allowed to interfere with the secular.
But when we come to Luke’s Gospel today, the Holy One of God has come out of church and is there in the workplace. Jesus is teaching from a fisherman’s boat and then commanding Simon to put out into the deep and to begin fishing again. In fact we encounter the holy God when he comes to where we are actually living our lives – to the priestly Isaiah, it is in the temple and to Simon the fisherman, it is among his nets.
But notice in both cases the ordinary, familiar world is broken open. The sacred boundaries cannot confine the transcendent presence of the holy God in the temple ritual for as the angelic hosts assert ‘His glory fills the whole earth’. Isaiah is seized by this new fascinating presence he had not expected to encounter.
And Simon no doubt had paid his regular visits to the Temple in Jerusalem and had been awestruck by the sacred atmosphere there. Now he was back in a world where he was in control. He knew at least when it was a good time to catch fish. But he had been fascinated by the words of this teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, as he preached to the crowds from Simon’s own boat. And, like Mary before him, he consented to what seemed the impossible. He obeyed the word to put out into the deep and fish when his own senses told him to expect nothing. The huge catch of fish, almost bursting the nets, which followed was for him a sign of the presence of the holy God in Jesus. ‘Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man’
But the call of the holy God does not conform to what we expect. The sinner is not banished, just purged for action. Unworthiness cannot be used as an excuse to keep to safe old ways. Isaiah is not allowed to stay in the temple and Peter cannot remain on the shore. They are both sent out into the sinful world. God calls us not to just savour his holiness in the safety of the familiar but he sends us out into the deep, into the unknown, to make his glory manifest to a hostile world. Isaiah is sent to preach justice to an unrepentant Israel and Simon is sent to preach the Gospel to a society where many felt lost and set apart from the holiness of God.
God calls the prophets and apostles in dramatic ways but he also calls each of one of us. He breaks open our familiar defences and transcends our limited expectations. We cannot plead our sinfulness as an excuse not to obey his word. He invites us to put out into the deep wherever we are. And he goes on calling us even when we think we are safe. Only by responding to his call and encountering his holy presence we will finally discover the true identity for which he created us.
February 7th, 2010
Among the many books written by Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), one stands out as an enduring little classic, The Wounded Healer. For those who knew him, this book is especially powerful because, without expressly intending to, it describes so well the man himself. It was because of his own wounds that he was able to touch the lives of so many people. “By his wounds we have been healed,” St Peter wrote of Jesus (1 Peter 2:24). However, there was a different reaction to Nouwen’s book from a fundamentalist Christian who reviewed it and announced that a Christian minister should not come before people as a wounded healer but as “a prophet of God and as a helper in their afflictions.” These different reactions show a gulf between Christians that is probably deeper than most of the issues that divide Christians Churches.
Are you helped by someone who defines himself as a helper? Can you feel cared for by someone who defines himself as a prophet? If the Christian life were only a matter of external prescriptions, then probably yes: in the way that you can get help from an accountant or a lawyer. But since it touches the innermost places in us – the very springs of our thoughts and actions – this approach is less than helpful. Hear Nouwen again (in Out of Solitude): “When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not-knowing, not-curing, not-healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares…. By the honest recognition and confession of our human sameness we can participate in the care of God who came, not to the powerful but powerless, not to be different but the same, not to take our pain away but to share it. Through this participation we can open our hearts to each other and form a new community.”
In the first reading at today’s Mass, God’s call made Isaiah aware of his own weakness and unworthiness, exactly as Jesus’ call to Peter made Peter blurt out, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” If Christians do not carry the precious knowledge of their own weakness and sinfulness, then all their attempts to help you are nothing but an ego-trip: by ‘helping’ you they are feeding on your strength and making you weak; by ‘loving’ you they are seeking ways to snare you and make you dependent on them; by ‘caring’ for you they are preening their own image.
Back to Henri Nouwen: “We tend to look at caring as an attitude of the strong toward the weak, of the powerful toward the powerless, of the have’s toward the have-not’s….[But] the word ‘care’ finds its roots in the Gothic ‘Kara’ which means lament. The basic meaning of care is: to grieve, to experience sorrow, to cry out with.”
February 7th, 2010
Robert Moynihan at Inside the Vatican writes:
“I asked God to send me a preacher. God sent me a quarterback.” —Bob Tebow
(Tim’s father)
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.’” —Mark 16:15
by Stefanie Stark
JACKSONVILLE, Florida, February 6, 2010 — Across the country tomorrow, many families and friends will gather around their flat-screen televisions to watch the Indianapolis Colts battle the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl XLIV airing on CBS. But the football player who has dominated the headlines is not the Colt’s Peyton Manning or Saints’ quarterback, Drew Brees. Instead, it is a player who has not yet been signed to the NFL: recent University of Florida graduate and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow.
The 22-year-old Gator quarterback has been called the next Brett Favre and is well known not only for his incredible talent as an athlete but also for the public witness to his faith by writing Bible verses in his eye black during games.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that CBS is scheduled to air a pro-life ad during the Super Bowl that features Tim’s mother, Pam, discussing her decision to refuse her doctor’s advice to have an abortion and to have Tim.
The ad was funded by the Christian organization Focus on the Family and, according to Tim Tebow, the central message is “Celebrate family. Celebrate life.”
On the other side of this so-called “controversial” ad are the “pro-choice” groups such as National Organization for Women (NOW) and Planned Parenthood, who have called CBS’s decision to air the Tebow commercial “an outrage” because they believe “it sends the wrong message.”
These women’s groups have launched their own televised campaign demanding that CBS pull the 30 second Tebow ad.
At this point, it looks as though the network will continue with its plans to run the ad.
There are also rumors today that a second Tim Tebow ad, an uncut version of the one scheduled to run during the Super Bowl, will air during the pre-game show.
Why are many outraged over a gifted athlete and his mother with a moving, pro-family message, while so many other outrageous things seem to be accepted with no protest at all?
I recall just a couple of years ago, sitting with my own family, including small children, watching the Super Bowl XXXVIII Half-Time show where Janet Jackson shocked us all by revealing her bare breast. And what about the sexualized Super Bowl commercials that we have become accustomed to watching year after year? I don’t recall a similar “outrage” over these ads compared to the Tebow commercial.
In a public statement about the controversy surrounding his commercial, Tim Tebow said, “Some people won’t agree with it. But I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe…And, unfortunately, in today’s society, not many athletes do that, stand for something… The reason I’m here is because my mom is a very courageous woman, and I’m very thankful for that.”
Tim Tebow’s 22 years of life have been anything but ordinary. He was born in the Philippines to missionary parents, Pam and Bob Tebow. His father once told Sports Illustrated, “When I was out in the mountains in Mindanao, back in ‘86, I was showing a film and preaching that night. I was weeping over the millions of babies being [aborted] in America, and I prayed, ‘God, if you give me a son, if you give me Timmy, I’ll raise him to be a preacher.’”
Tim was born after a very difficult pregnancy in which his mother contracted amoebic dysentery and temporarily fell into a coma.
Her doctor advised her to have an abortion.
She refused.
And Tim was born as the youngest of five children.
The Tebow family were and remain a family of evangelical missionaries, and that spirit of evangelization, which every Christian is called to, has been carried onto the field in a bold and surprising way by Tim Tebow.
Tim was homeschooled by his mother, like his older siblings, and played football with a local high school in Florida. He led his Nease High School Panthers football team all the way to a State Championship win.
Tim’s high school coach said, “I’ve never met a tougher guy…Tim is a true servant-leader.”
His father was quoted as saying, “I asked God for a preacher, and He gave me a quarterback.”
Tim Tebow, throughout his college career, participated in a prison ministry, as well as in missionary work in the Philippines, primarily at an orphanage that his dad started there.
The young quarterback met President Barack Obama in April last year, when the 2008 University of Florida national champion team was honored at the White House. The president said of Tebow, “Tim’s an inspiration to so many, a guy whose true strength comes not from the gym but from his faith.”
Obama went on to say, “He puts faith, family and academics above football. And that’s incredible when you think about what he’s done on the field.”
And earlier this week, Tebow met the president again when Tim was invited to offer the closing prayer at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Not a bad start for the recent college graduate.
Coincidentally, just before I sat down to write this report about Tebow’s pro-life ad set to air during the 44th Super Bowl, I received a phone message from a dear friend. She called to say that a baby is about to be born to a teenage mother, currently in prison, because of something I said to the teen months ago, two days before her scheduled abortion.
I told this young mother, Krista, that her pregnancy was not a cluster of cells but a life — a child, created perfectly by God, with a God-given mission and a purpose.
She was scared and ran away to have the abortion but said that, ultimately, she could not do it because she was convicted by the truth.
I cannot wait to hold this baby when he is born, kiss him and say, “Welcome to the world, Little One!”
Each of us is given opportunities to evangelize, to proclaim the Good News, and to speak out for innocent life.
Sometimes those moments come when you least expect it, like my encounter with Krista, and sometimes they are planned, like the Tebow ad.
How many mothers planning an abortion might instead choose life because of the witness of Pam and Tim Tebow this Sunday? Only God knows.
But I am proud of Tim Tebow for using the platform given to him because of the gift of his athletic talent as an opportunity to share his Christian faith, embolden other Christians, and speak out on behalf of the unborn. All of us, you and I, have the same obligation, regardless of our station in life. Are we fulfilling it?
It seems to this writer that Tim Tebow’s father got even more than he wished for: a quarterback and a preacher. Instead of separating his athletic career from his faith, reserving it only for Sundays at church, Tim Tebow has managed to successfully marry his outward life with his inner faith. Maybe each of us Christians, whether Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox, should take a page from young Tebow’s playbook.
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“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” —Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, philosopher, physicist and writer, 1623-1662)
February 7th, 2010
Medicating a Madman
There are myriad theories out there about Hitler’s health. Some say he was a drug addict, others say he was the victim of a hypnosis gone wrong. Then there are the strange hypotheses about his genitalia. A new book, however, debunks most such ideas. Drugs and illness, the authors conclude, had little effect on his actions.
For a mass murderer, Adolf Hitler had a downright fatherly relationship with his personal physician. “My dear doctor, I so look forward to seeing you in the morning!” the Nazi dictator told his doctor, Theodor Morell, whom he trusted implicitly. In fact, Hitler was convinced that Morell had saved his life on several occasions. “My dear doctor!” the despot said to Morell in November 1944, “if we both make it through the war in one piece, you will see how generously I’ll reward you!”
February 7th, 2010
USPS New 44-Cent
Stamp Celebrates a Muslim holiday.
President Barack Hussein Obama has directed the
United States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID
MUSLIM holiday season with a new
commemorative 44-Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.
REMEMBER to adamantly & vocally
BOYCOTT this stamp, when you are
purchasing your stamps at the post
office.
To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom this stamp honors.
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan Am Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the
Military Barracks in Saudi Arabia !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001 !
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks!
February 7th, 2010
To the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Greetings and Apostolic Benediction.
1. It is helpful to recall, when new dangers threaten Christians and the Church, the Spouse of the Divine Redeemer, that We–like Our Predecessors in bygone days–have turned in prayer to the Virgin Mary, our loving Mother, and have urged the whole flock entrusted to Our care to place itself confidently under her protection.
2. Thus, when the world was rocked by a terrible war, We did not simply preach peace to citizens, peoples, and nations, nor did We merely work to restore to mutual agreement–under the standard of truth, justice, and love–those whom strife had divided. On the contrary, when all human resources and human plans proved ineffective, in many letters of exhortation and in a holy crusade of prayer We invoked heaven’s help through the mighty intercession of the great Mother of God, to whose Immaculate Heart We consecrated Ourselves and the whole human race.[1]
3. By now, of course, that war is over, but a just peace does not yet prevail, nor do men live in concord founded on brotherly understanding. For the seeds of war either lurk in hiding or–from time to time–erupt threateningly and hold the hearts of men in frightened suspense, especially since human ingenuity has devised weapons so powerful that they can ravage and sink into general destruction, not only the vanquished, but the victors with them, and all mankind.
4. If we weigh carefully the causes of today’s crises and those that are ahead, we shall soon find that human plans, human resources, and human endeavors are futile and will fail when Almighty God–He who enlightens, commands, and forbids; He who is the source and guarantor of justice, the fountainhead of truth, the basis of all laws–is esteemed but little, denied His proper place, or even completely disregarded. If a house is not built on a solid and sure foundation, it tumbles down; if a mind is not enlightened by the divine light, it strays more or less from the whole truth; if citizens, peoples, and nations are not animated by brotherly love, strife is born, waxes strong, and reaches full growth.
5. It is Christianity, above all others, which teaches the full truth, real justice, and that divine charity which drives away hatred, ill will, and enmity. Christianity has been given charge of these virtues by the Divine Redeemer, who is the way, the truth, and the life,[2] and she must do all in her power to put them to use. Anyone, therefore, who knowingly ignores Christianity–the Catholic Church–or tries to hinder, demean, or undo her, either weakens thereby the very bases of society, or tries to replace them with props not strong enough to support the edifice of human worth, freedom, and well-being.
6. There must, then, be a return to Christian principles if we are to establish a society that is strong, just, and equitable. It is a harmful and reckless policy to do battle with Christianity, for God guarantees, and history testifies, that she shall exist forever. Everyone should realize that a nation cannot be well organized or well ordered with religion.
7. As a matter of fact, religion contributes more to good, just, and orderly life than it could if it had been conceived for no other purpose than to supply and augment the necessities of mortal existence. For religion bids men live in charity, justice, and obedience to law; it condemns and outlaws vice; it incites citizens to the pursuit of virtue and thereby rules and moderates their public and private conduct. Religion teaches mankind that a better distribution of wealth should be had, not by violence or revolution, but by reasonable regulations, so that the proletarian classes which do not yet enjoy life’s necessities or advantages may be raised to a more fitting status without social strife.
8. As We reflect on this subject, from a vantage point that enables Us to transcend the tides of human passion and to love as a father the people of every race, two matters come to mind which cause Us great worry and anxiety.
9. The first of these is that there are some countries in which Christian principles and the Catholic religion are not given their proper place. Great numbers of the citizens, especially from the ranks of the uneducated, are easily won over by widely published errors, particularly since these are often colored with the appearances of truth. The seductive allurements of vice, which tend to corrupt minds through all sorts of publications, motion pictures, and television performances, are a special menace to unsuspecting young people.
10. There are writers and publishers whose goal is not to turn their readers to truth, virtue, and wholesome entertainment, but to stir up vicious and violent appetites solely for the sake of gain, and even to assail and defile with lies, calumnies, and accusations all that is holy, beautiful, and noble. Unfortunately, the truth is often distorted; lies and scandals are published abroad. The obvious result is damage to civil society and harm to the Church.
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4980
February 6th, 2010
Dr. Jeff Mirus:
We’ve just added to our library a noteworthy essay by the immensely popular author and philosopher Peter Kreeft. It seems he’s been asked time and again to help people learn to think critically. Most CatholicCulture.org users probably manage, as it’s an important part of thinking Catholic. But for the short course, see Critical Thinking for Christians.
Another author who can help us think Catholic is the widely-published English novelist, historian and essayist Piers Paul Read. Though I discovered Read late, I think him important enough to call to your attention. See today’s In Depth Analysis: A Catholic Writer Worth Knowing: Piers Paul Read.
I’m also pretty sure it is time to take a fresh look at the documents of the Second Vatican Council. I believe the Church is finally on the verge of being able to make good use of them. See A funny thing about Vatican II….
Meanwhile, Diogenes has stepped forward to clarify the position of John Carr, the justice-and-peace director for the USCCB. Carr has been strongly attacked by several Catholic groups, but perhaps not quite with full justice: credit where credit is due.
And on a more humorous note, Di also comments on Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson’s assertion that homosexuality was only discovered about 125 years ago, which explains why Christian teaching on the subject has “changed”: it’s only sinful if you don’t take pleasure in it.
Some of us will be snowed in this weekend; our forecast in Virginia calls for 18 to 24 inches. But if for any reason you have some spare time, it’s a great weekend to reflect on the universality of the Church by honoring Japan’s Nagasaki martyrs on Saturday’s Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions.
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- The survival of Japanese Catholicism is one of the most moving stories in the entire history of the Church. For over two centuries the people had no priests but lived the faith as best they could, in secret, not daring to keep written materials but handing down their beliefs by word of mouth. (James Hitchcock, The Nagasaki Martyrs) You can read more in this article from Catholic Culture’s Library, The Nagasaki Martyrs.
- Stop for a moment today to pray for Christians who are persecuted throughout the world.
- Read more about St. Paul Miki and Companions at these websites: St. Paul Miki; St. Paul Miki’s Martyrdom; St. Paul Miki and Companions.
- Read Pope Pius XII’s Encyclical Meminissee Iuvat on prayers for the persecuted Church.
February 6th, 2010
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Today we see the Twelve returning from their mission (see Feb. 4). Obviously they were the worse for wear! He told them they needed to rest: to rest and to be silent.
He himself knew that same need. Scattered here and there through the gospels are verses that tell us volumes about Jesus by their very silence. “When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place” (Lk 4:42). Another is Mk 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” See also Luke 5:16, “He would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.” And Luke 6:12, “He went out into the hills to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.”
“The apostles had no time even to eat.” That sounds more like today! There are things that never change, despite all the change we see in our world. We need rest and silence. Have you noticed that watching TV doesn’t really relax you? At the end you usually feel just empty and wasted. Rest, the art that the animals practise to perfection, is one that we have to learn all over again.
February 6th, 2010
From http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/inside-look-at-queens-terror-case-and-nys-islamic-afghani-diaspora/
Great piece over at the Northeast Intelligence Network who rightly calls out Islamic advocacy groups (CAIR, ISNA, et al) and “governmental acquiescence to Islam” regarding the circumstances of the Queens terror plot. While Hagmann defends the NYPD and FBI in this case, neither are exempt from acquiescing to Islamist demands. To the contrary, both are complicit and have partnered with and/or employed the very same Islamic advocacy groups Hagmann rightly suggests are the problem.
It’s Hagmann’s description of the Islamic Afghani diaspora growing in the NYC borough of Queens, NY that caught our attention and should catch yours as well. Excerpts below.
By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director | NIN
A taste of Kabul in America
To fully understand how serious this threat is and how it developed, a virtual trip to Queens is necessary.
Recent demographics put the Afghan population in the greater New York area at approximately 20,000. Based on my own investigative and surveillance experience in Queens and the surrounding area, it seems that there are at least that many in the Flushing area in the Borough of Queens alone. It is common to see groups of young Afghani men sporting full beards and traditional Islamic attire walking to the Hazrat-I-Abubakr Sadiq mosque for daily prayers. At times, it seems that Americans are the outsiders and treated with suspicion if not outright contempt by the immigrants. Attempts to gain information about any of the Afghan nationals from within the group are exercises in futility. American values seem to have been replaced by the values and culture imported from the streets of Kabul. Tolerance of their culture is demanded, while intolerance for American culture and values is evident.
Disdain for America, the elevation of Osama bin Laden to a hero’s status and support for the Taliban and the 9/11 attacks are all elements that can be easily found in this relatively small area of New York. In the week after the 9/11 attacks, the Hazrat-I-Abubakr Sadiq mosque played host to groups of supporters of the Taliban as fear of retaliation against the Taliban in Afghanistan grew within this immigrant community. Publicly, Muslim religious leaders denounced the Taliban while supporters were relegated to the basement at that location.
February 6th, 2010
Catholic . . . or not – must see! If you are Catholic, watch it. If not, watch it anyway. I’m sending this video out quickly with the hopes that it will get as far as it can before it is pulled by the “Powers that be.” Please watch this video as soon as you receive it, then forward it, please. It tells all. Turn on the speakers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVN2MMuiedI&feature=sdig
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February 5th, 2010
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