The Healing Power of Jesus

Satan has deceived the world to believe that he does not exist, that there is no sin and that there is no hell.  Nevertheless, Jesus tells us something to the contrary.

“I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10: 18).  He was a murderer from the start; he was never grounded in the truth; there is no truth in him at all: when he lies he is drawing on his own store, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8: 44). 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the reality of Satan with these words:  “The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite.  He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature.  He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign.  Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his  kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries – of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature – to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history.  It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 395)

This Sunday’s Gospel passage is one of numerous examples where Jesus not only confronts Satan, but he is victorious over him. 

“In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’  Jesus rebuked him and said, ‘Quiet!  Come out of him!’  The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him” (Mark 1: 23-26).

Our personal struggle with Satan and with evil is very real indeed.  Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians how we are to fight this battle.

“Put God’s armor on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics.  For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness of this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens.  That is why you must rely on God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground” (Ephesians 6: 1-13).

And what is God’s armor for you?  We have to develop a very serious spiritual life and make frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession.  We have to avoid moral relativism when it comes to the formation of our conscience and we have to remove from our soul any manifestation of sloth and spiritual tepidity. 

Only by putting on God’s armor will we be able to persevere.

Aside from the real spiritual warfare that we experience with Satan, he can also make havoc on our weaknesses and wounds.

The damage that dysfunctional families make on the individual is astounding. 

Modern psychology recognizes that traumatic events that are too agonizing to deal with can be buried deep in our soul as a way of coping with the pain that the event or events may cause us.

It is true that these buried emotions will affect our behavior unless we deal with them properly. 

Bitterness, anger, resentment and discouragement can be healed.  Jesus will heal us if we turn to him.  If we want to experience peace and happiness in our lives we need to turn to the Lord. 

However, too many times we escape from the pain caused by our wounds, weaknesses and addictions by turning to sexual sin, drugs, excessive alcohol and over eating.  Sometimes we seek escapes in excessive work, sports, entertainment and even shopping. 

Jesus will bring about profound healing in our lives if we were to do three things every day: 1) spend 20 – 30 minutes each day in silent  meditative prayer at home or in front of the Blessed Sacrament; 2) go to Mass every day or as often as possible; and 3) pray the Rosary every day.  These three moments of peaceful prayer will allow the Holy Spirit to enter into the deep recesses of our soul and heal us with his loving presence.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Psalm 95: 8). 

Accompanied by a deep spiritual life where we experience God on an intimate level, spiritual guidance by a qualified spiritual director is an important tool in our journey towards inner healing.  Sometimes it may be useful for spiritual direction to be accompanied by therapy from a qualified psychologist who can complement the work of the spiritual director for an adequate period of time. 

Openness is essential.  It is important that we do not live in denial or find relief by simply complaining to our friends about our personal problems.  We need to deal with the things that cause us suffering and pain. 

“In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’  Jesus rebuked him and said, ‘Quiet!  Come out of him!’  The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him” (Mark 1: 23-26).

The audio podcast will be posted on Sunday afternoon. 

Building the Culture of Life

Most people are appalled by the continuous slaughter of innocent children through the horrible scourge of abortion.  Abortion is a horrendous menace and tragedy, but it is the manifestation of an anti-child, contraceptive mentality.  Contraception is the gateway to the culture of death. 

In their 2001 revision of the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities A Campaign in Support of Life, the United States Catholic Bishops speak of the connection between abortion and contraception when they write: "It is noteworthy that as acceptance and use of contraception have increased in our society, so have acceptance and use of abortion. Couples who unintentionally conceive a child while using contraception are far more likely to resort to abortion than others. Tragically, our society has fallen into a mentality that views children as a burden and invites many to consider abortion as a 'backup' to contraceptive failure. This is most obvious in efforts to promote as 'emergency contraception' drugs that really act as early abortifacients".

The practice of abortion is a destructive force.  This practice countenances the murder of innocent children and destroys the lives of the women who succumb to abortion.

Blessed Mother Teresa once said: "But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself.  

And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?

How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.

By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.

Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. "

More than 53,908,072 children have been murdered through abortion since January 22, 1973.  

If we can kill inside of the womb, what is to keep us from killing outside of the womb? If abortion does not shock us, nothing will. 

There is a direct connection between the civil rights movement and the pro-life movement.  Unborn babies have civil rights too because they are persons with equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the 14^th amendment of the United States Constitution. 

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

If laws are permitted to exist that do not give equal protection to all citizens, what will keep the worse kind of tyranny from trying to emerge in our country?

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law.  When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined.  As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights" (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2273).

It is important that we commemorate the life, legacy and struggle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Since the civil rights movement of the 1960's much has been accomplished in order to guarantee civil liberties for all Americans.  Unfortunately, there is still much to be done. 

Nevertheless, the noble desire for true civil rights for all will never occur until we understand the fundamental right to life that all human beings have from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. 

Alveda King, Martin Luther King’s niece and pro-life advocate stated in a recent LifeNews.com article by Andrew Bair, that her uncle was strongly pro-life.  “Were he alive today, he would be working to secure peace and justice for those in the womb and healing for a nation that is still pained by over 53 million missing lives,” King says.  “The toll abortion has taken on the African American community is enough to shock the conscience of every American.”

Bair reports that “according to the US Census Bureau, African Americans comprise 12.4% of the American population; however, over 30% of the nation’s abortions are done on black women. Recently released data from the New York City Department of Health shows the Big Apple hitting a 40% abortion rate. 

As if that number wasn’t appalling enough, when the data is broken down all racial lines, around 60% percent of New York City’s abortions are done on black women. In other words, 1,448 African American babies are aborted for every 1,000 born. Among black teens in New York City, that number jumps to a staggering 72% abortion rate or 2,360 abortions for every 1,000 babies born.”

Bair also reports that “the Department of Health has reported that in the city of Philadelphia nearly half of all black babies are aborted.”

Blessed John Paul II warned us when he said, "A nation that kills its own children has no future."

As we mark another sad anniversary of the legalization of abortion in our nation, let us not be discouraged.  Look at those who gather at pro-life rallies all around the country; the majority of the participants are young people.

According to an article from LifeNews.com, a 2011 poll “finds a majority of Americans still consider themselves pro-life when it comes to the issue of abortion compared to those who say they’re pro-choice.”

In his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae, Blessed Pope John Paul II urged us to build a culture of life.  Parents and the clergy need to teach young people about chastity.  The intimate sexual life of a man and woman, which is a beautiful gift from God, only takes place within the beauty and sacredness of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.  The Church is right when it declares that contraception is intrinsically evil and that it is gateway to the culture of death. 

Chastity; sacramental marriage; openness to life:  these are the key components of the culture of life and the key elements that we must teach, cherish and protect in our homes, in our schools and in our parishes. 

Let us continue to stand together at local abortion clinics with love.  Yes, it is true that our God is an awesome God and that people do change.  Let us continue to witness and to pray.  Let us also continue our work at the homes for unwed mothers and the crisis pregnancy centers.  Let us be witnesses of hope and joy. 

There is never a need for abortion.  There are plenty of people that will adopt any child. 

The souls of more than 53,908,072 aborted children in this country alone since January 22, 1973, cry out to you never to cease with your efforts to end the horrors of abortion in our nation.  Let us not forget.  Let us not be discouraged.  

The audio podcast will be posted on Sunday afternoon.  

The Greatest Romance

The Christmas season has come to an end.  The liturgical season of Ordinary Time allows us to contemplate the public ministry of Our Lord. 

The simplicity and peacefulness of the hidden life of Jesus has ended. It is replaced by intense apostolic activity.

The quiet of the carpenter shop, the conversations with Mary and Joseph, and the comfort of long intervals of prayer will soon be only cherished memories.  Every word he utters will bring a response.

As we make our way to another Ash Wednesday and the austerity of Lent, the liturgy will help us to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

“So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair.  We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life” (Blessed Pope John Paul, homily, October 22, 1978).

Had Jesus of Nazareth been a Roman or a Greek, certainly his contemporaries would have left behind statues in his honor.  However, because the Jews had a strict understanding of idolatry, their interpretation of the Mosaic Law did not allow them to make any images whatsoever of any human person.  It would have been interesting if we had been left something that would illustrate the physical attributes of the Lord. 

Throughout the centuries, there has been much discussion on the subject.  The Shroud of Turin and Veronica’s veil tell us a lot about his Middle Eastern features; however, our faith is best served by depending on the one authenticated source, the Gospels.

 

The accounts written by the Evangelists depict Our Lord's great capacity for physical activity.  The long hours spent at hard work in the carpenter shop had prepared him well for the grueling task of his public ministry.

He walked many miles under the blazing Middle Eastern sun in order to preach the Kingdom of God.  He slept many nights under the stars, and he spent much of that time in the bliss of silent prayer.  He found little time to eat because of the multitudes seeking his healing touch, and yet when he did find time to rest, he slept so profoundly that not even a terrible storm could awaken him. 

His body was strong and so was his soul.  During the hours of tribulation in Gethsemane, he persevered in profound prayer while the apostles slept.  When Joseph of Arimathea requested his body for burial, Pilate was surprised to discover that Jesus had died so quickly.  Pilate knew that he had encountered a strong Galilean.

Jesus did not display his divinity in the manner of the mythical figures of Greek and Roman literature.  He did not fly from place to place as though he were some sort of superman. Amazingly, in him the supernatural and the natural were interwoven.  His divinity seemed so simple and normal. 

No mysterious beams of light, flashes of lightning, or peals of thunder occurred as he performed his miracles.  Instead, it was enough for him to touch, or be touched. 

Only once did he show the magnificence of his divinity before a select group of apostles.  Even then, during the transfiguration, the experience was brief, simple, and discreet. 

Aside from his physical attributes, Jesus knew exactly what he wanted.  He was one with his mission.  Everything that he did proceeded from his passionate desire to fulfill the will of the Father. 

Unlike the complicated discourse of many philosophers and religious leaders, Our Lord’s teaching is simple and easy enough for everyone to understand.  However, the message is so clear and precise that his words are irresistible to all those who listen. 

Who is this man that has divided history into two parts?  Who is this man that has divided nations?  Who is this man for whom many of his followers have given their lives rather than deny him?  

What do we need to do in order to truly know Christ Jesus?  Above all, we must be open. We need to listen.

In this Sunday’s gospel narrative, two individuals heard the proclamation of John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God.  The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1: 36-37). 

In order to follow, we need to listen. 

Far too many people attempt to live Christianity based upon their own terms.  They do not come to the Lord with open minds and hearts.  Far too many remove pages from the Scriptures and reduce Christianity to their own comfort level.  When we are completely open, the Holy Spirit floods our souls with his loving and peaceful presence.  He cannot enter locked doors and windows that he cannot open.  God respects our freedom.      

Only the open can believe and see.  Only those who listen can follow. 

At our own Baptism, the priest touched our ears and said Ephphetha, be open.  There is something about the modern world that is preventing us from listening to God.  Some even listen, only to reject what they hear. 

The narrow road of the Gospel is difficult to live.  Nevertheless, it is the only road that leads to eternal life in heaven.

Jesus wants you to have life.  He wants you to be happy.  He wants you to have the best possible life here on earth.  He wants to fill you with his divine life, sanctifying grace, so that you may enter into his joy.  He wants you to experience his peace.  He wants you to be with him in eternal life in heaven.  He only wants the best for you.  This is why he wants you to open your hearts to him and let him enter in.

Have no fear of allowing Jesus to enter into your life.  Do not fear the most exciting, most joyful, and the most powerful relationship known to the human person. 

“Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’  They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ – which translated means Teacher – ‘where are you staying?’  He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’  So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day” (John 1: 38-39).

Our relationship with Jesus is a personal relationship; a love relationship of two persons.  Yes, we are a community of believers; but better yet, we are a community of people who are in love. 

"The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly - and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being – he must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ.  He must, so to speak, enter into him with all his own self, he must 'appropriate' and assimilate the whole reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself"  (Blessed Pope John Paul II, The Redeemer of Man).

Break open the Scriptures.  Immerse yourself in the Word of God.  Spend time with our Eucharistic Lord every day: daily Mass and adoration.  Be a part of the people who are always in love. 

“To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek him, the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement” (Saint Augustine). 

The audio podcast will be posted on Sunday afternoon.  

The Epiphany

Every human person will find meaning in life by being open to God.  The Three Kings, were not Jewish, they came from the Orient.  Some scholars believe that they began their travels together from Persia, while others believe that they came from three different regions of the Orient, one of them maybe even being China.

Obviously, the Magi were not part of the chosen people.  They were not Jews.  They were part of the vast populace of people extended throughout the known world at that time who were called pagans, or gentiles. 

The Three Kings of this Sunday’s gospel narrative are men who are left unsatisfied by their possessions of wealth, fame and power, and search for the only one who can satisfy the deepest aspirations of the human heart.  They longed to find the very meaning of their existence.  

After a long and difficult search, they discover the place where he lays, and they encounter the One who has come to redeem us and fulfill our intense longings.  They know who he is because they bring him the most appropriate gifts:  gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for a victim.  They know that he is the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, the only one through whom salvation can be found.

Because the Three Kings were open, they were given the gift of faith.  Through this gift they searched, they found, and they believed.      

Certainly today, one of the most blinding obstacles to the search for meaning and truth is secularism. 

Secularism only concerns itself with the here and now.  It has no use for matters regarding the existence of God, the immortality of soul, or the eternal destiny of man.   

Not all secularists are atheists, but many are, while others are agnostics.  Without a doubt, secularism is only one-step away from complete atheism.

The secularist passionately seeks human progress without any reference to the spiritual dimension of the human person.  The secularist is only concerned with this life and has no concern with religion.  In fact, the secularist attempts to experience human satisfaction through involvement in seemingly noble enterprises that are in essence missing the total picture of man’s true needs. 

Secularism keeps us from searching for God; it keeps us from finding true meaning in life.  Historically, the Catholic Church has never had to deal with secularism until the arrival of our modern age.  Secularism and paganism are very different indeed.

The pagan believes in the transcendent.  The pagan has an understanding that there is an afterlife and the soul is immortal.  The pagan also lives by a moral code that has its roots in divine law.  Nevertheless, for the secularist, there is no God, no eternal life, and morality is arbitrarily contrived without any reference to God. 

The mission of the Church in the secularist world is very difficult indeed simply because the pagan is much more open to truth and can be easily converted, whereas the secularist is usually as hard as a rock. 

Catholics need to be aware of secularism and not allow it to affect their lives.  However, many Catholics have been poisoned by this pervasive system of thought. 

Sometimes the secularist opens up to the true meaning of life through some terrible tragedy such as a dreadful sickness or even death itself.  However, many times the secularist is so closed off to the transcendent that no movement toward God is even possible.

Interestingly, it is noteworthy to observe the pervasive apathy among so many people, even Catholics who attend church on a regular basis.  Could apathy be a practical fruit of secularism?

If our focus is only on the here and now, it is very easy to look upon anything spiritual with a big “so what.”

USA TODAY addressed this problem around Christmas time with a very interesting article about the spirit of apathy in our modern society. 

According to the article, “44% told the 2011 Baylor University Religion Survey they spend no time seeking ‘eternal wisdom,’ and 19% said ‘it's useless to search for meaning.’

46% told a 2011 survey by Nashville-based evangelical research agency, LifeWay Research, they never wonder whether they will go to heaven.

28% told LifeWay ‘it's not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose.’  And 18% scoffed at the idea that God has a purpose or plan for everyone.

6.3% of Americans turned up on Pew Forum's 2007 Religious Landscape Survey as totally secular — unconnected to God or a higher power or any religious identity and willing to say religion is not important in their lives.”

When Jewish psychiatrist Victor Frankl was arrested by the Nazis in World War II, he was stripped of all of his personal possessions.  He had spent years researching and writing a book on the importance of finding meaning in life--concepts that would later  become known as logotherapy. When he arrived in Auschwitz, the infamous death camp, even the manuscript hidden in the lining of his coat was taken away.

"I had to undergo and overcome the loss of my spiritual child,” Frankl wrote. "Now it seemed as if nothing and no one would survive me; neither a physical nor a spiritual child of my own! I found myself confronted with the question of whether under such circumstances my life was ultimately void of any meaning."

He was still wrestling with that question a few days later when the Nazis forced the prisoners to give up their clothes.

"I had to surrender my clothes and in turn inherited the worn-out rags of an inmate who had been sent to the gas chamber," said Frankl. "Instead of the many pages of my manuscript, I found in the pocket of the newly acquired coat a single page torn out of a Hebrew prayer book, which contained the main Jewish prayer, Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one God. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.)

"How should I have interpreted such a 'coincidence' other than as a challenge to live my thoughts instead of merely putting them on paper?"

Later, as Frankl reflected on his ordeal, he wrote in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, "There is nothing in the world that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one's life . . .'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.'"

Thornton Wilder’s famous novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, ends with these words: “There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”

Love is the why. 

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.  They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother” (Matthew 2: 10-11). 

The quest of the Magi reminds us that God is truly with us.  Sometimes during our journey, clarity disappears and we begin to doubt.  Let us remember that Jesus is always with us.  He is Emmanuel, God with us.  Like the shining star, he is present in the tabernacle, just as he was present in the manger of Bethlehem. 

The Solemnity of the Epiphany is not only about three wise men that visited the manger.  Instead, this Biblical event speaks to us about the plan of God for the entire human race.  “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”  

The audio podcast will be posted Sunday afternoon.