A Review of "At the Heart of the Gospel"

Christopher West is a masterful author. His book, "At the Heart of the Gospel" reveals his ability to explain and defend his ideas, as well as his ability to develop his ideas more precisely in response to constructive criticism. This book is a result of the sabbatical that Christopher West took in 2010. In his introduction he explains: "I reflected prayerfully on the challenges my work has received, seeking to glean as much as possible from what various authors were saying.This book is the fruit of those reflections" (p. 3). West truly produced a masterpiece here.

His main premise in this book, at least, what I took to be the main premise (there are many things that you argue are a "main premise") is that without properly understanding human sexuality we cannot truly understand the Incarnation or the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church,which is so often portrayed in Sacred Scripture as a marriage. With this premise, West makes it easy for us to desire to study the Theology of the Body. If we understand this premise, we cannot help but desire to know more!

West does a great job discussing the 2 extremes that are often taken by people regarding human sexuality. The first, which many Good Christians inadvertently take, is that we should try to crush/repress our sexual desires in order to be "holy". West does a good job explaining that this "Wound of Puritanism," as he calls it, does violence to the human person. It also implies that the body is evil, which can't be true if the Word became incarnate. West also says that this extreme facilitates the other: that of understanding our sexuality apart from our desire for holy love. I love what West says: "When believers demand a holiness free from eros, the secular world, for its part, quite happily demands an eros free of holiness."

Perhaps my favorite part of West's book though, is not even directly related to human sexuality. West does a good job discussing one of the finer, more subtle points of Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body, the need to overcome concupiscence. West discusses the fact that avoiding sin is not virtue. Jesus gives us a "New Law" in the New Testament, that of living a life of virtue, not just of avoiding sin. There is a difference between not doing something that is wrong, and doing something that is right. As West says, "In effect, if all we've been given when it comes to Church teaching is a list of rules to follow, then we have yet to 'pass over' from the Old to the New Testaments" (page 81-82).

My only 'bone to pick' so to speak is not one of doctrine but one of style. West ends up quoting quite copiously from his previous books, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I thought that he would find new ways to explain himself after spending so much time reflecting on the criticisms of his work. Also, West spends a lot of time on some foundational principles. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but if you have a basic understanding of Theology of the Body, parts of this book will seem a little dull/slow. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, regardless of your understanding of Theology of the Body. Christopher West has done an incredible job making the teachings of Blessed John Paul II both relevant and accessible.

I especially appreciated this book since I am a Theology teacher at a Catholic High School. It has really helped me in teaching Theology of the Body to my students! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

You can read chapter 1 here You can find more info about this book and the author's bio here You can find the author's website here.

*I received this book free from WaterBrooke Multnomah Publishing for this review.

My Take on the Question of Modesty

So maybe it is the circles I run in, but the whole question of modesty seems to be blowing up all over my social media. For a while, Jessica Rey's presentation about the Evolution of the Swimsuit was impressing some of my friends and more recently I have seen a few other posts, including this one by Rachel Held Evans. And just a few weeks before that, Marc Barnes over at the Bad Catholic Blog let loose a torrent of posts on the issue of modesty. Although I have only read one of them (Modest is Not Hottest) I highly recommend all of them because I hold his blog in the highest esteem.

But I digress. On to my actual post which is, more or less, a response to the post of Ms. Evans for www.qideas.org. I agree with many of the things that Ms. Evans said, in fact, but there are a few points on which we might disagree.

One of the mistakes that we tend to make on the issue of modesty is reducing modesty merely to a style of clothing. Yes, modesty affects the way we dress, but it is so much more! Modesty is a virtue and a Fruit of the Holy Spirit. If we have the virtue of modesty then it will inform the way we dress, but to say that to be modest all we need is to dress differently then we miss the whole point of modesty.

This is where I think the teaching of the Catholic Church on modesty is so incredible. And I think that when we teach on modesty it would be good to actually look at those teachings. The Catechism of the Catholic Church devotes a small section to the "Battle for Purity." It is here that we read some of the most important teachings on modesty. "Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden...Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. There is a modesty of the feelings as well as the body... Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing ideologies." And it goes on. All of this can be found from paragraphs 2520- 2527 in the Catechism. It is a very quick read.

My wife made an interesting observation on this issue last night. She said, "There is a difference between a woman who wears a bikini at the beach and spends the day with her family, goes swimming, etc, and a woman who wears a bikini and prowls the beach and flirts with anything that moves." Modesty cannot simply be about the way we dress, it is, more importantly, about our attitude and how we act. You can wear a hajib all you want, but if you then proceed to go out and act overtly sexual, it doesn't matter what you wear. As a high school teacher I see this especially at school dances. Girls (and boys for that matter) get dressed up and look classy, but their manner of speech and dance can be far from modest. This is why the Catechism tells us that, "Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person." Its not just about how we look.

That being said, both Ms. Rey's and Ms. Evans' posts seemed to focus on what we wear. So I want to touch on that a little bit. Ms. Evans speaks about "three extremes those of us who value modesty should take care to avoid" and of those three I would like to comment on two.

"We turn modesty into objectification when we hold women responsible for the thoughts and actions of men." To a certain degree, I agree. We cannot hold women completely responsible for the thoughts and actions of men. That would deny free will on the part of the men. But it seems that Evans wants to absolve women of any responsibility for the thoughts and actions of men. She writes:

Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart, so ladies, be sure to dress more modestly.” Instead he says to the men, “if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away”!

This line of thinking says, "I am not my brother's keeper." This is the very sentiment of Cain. After killing his brother Abel, he says to God, "Am I my brother's keeper" (Genesis 4:9). We do have a responsibility for those around us. No man is an island unto himself. St. Paul writes on several occasions urging us to take care that we do not lead those around us into sin. He writes, "it is good not to drink wine or eat meat or do anything else that causes your brother to stumble" (Romans 14: 13 ff. See also 1 Corinthians 8: 7-13; 1 Timothy 4:12). Even Christ Himself speaks to the issue. Right before he says, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away," He says, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42 ff). So there seems to be a dual responsibility, the one who causes another to sin is partially responsible as is the one who actually commits the sin. That being said, protecting men is not the reason women should act modestly, nor vice versa. Rather, we should act modestly to protect ourselves.

Modesty serves two purposes (and this is how I teach modesty in the morality class at my school): First, it protects you from being used.
Second, it protects others from sin.

Notice that the primary purpose of modesty is to protect us, not others. I speak, think, and dress modestly because it is good for me. Remember what the Catechism says, "Modesty protects the intimate center of the person." Modesty is like a gun. Yes you can use it to protect others, but the reason you got it was to protect yourself. If you don't want to be at the center of someone's disturbing fantasy, then be modest.

Evans' second point is that, "We turn modesty into objectification when we assume that there are single standards that apply to all people in all cultures." Ms. Evans I absolutely agree with you on this point. And I agree that "We don't stop lust by covering up the female form; we stop lust by teaching men to treat women as human beings worthy of respect." But I also reject what I understand to be your conclusion. Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems like you are saying, "Different cultures understand modesty different and so we can't make any rules about it." My idea, and that of the Catholic Church, is that yes, while modesty differs from culture to culture, we live in a fairly specific culture. Those cultures in which topless women are the norm seem to be more of the exception rather than the rule.

The Catechism says, "The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an institution of the spiritual dignity proper to man" (CCC 2574). Within the United States, I think it is fair to speak of an "American Culture." And within that culture I think it would be reasonable and responsible to speak about what activities and fashions are modest or immodest on a very objective level, rather than on the subjective. Specifically what "rules" should be followed is another question entirely, but I think that it would be good to start a discussion on that matter.

And so Ms. Evans, while I think your article was very well written (far better than mine), and while I think that you spoke some very important truths into this discussion, it seems to me that you missed one very important aspect of modesty and immodesty. Immodesty does not affect others first, it affects me first. It took me a while to pinpoint my exact disagreement with your point of view, but in the end it is this: You seem to brush off the lust of others as their problem. But if someone were to lust after me (which is far-fetched indeed) it does not just hurt them, it hurts me. I should be outraged if someone were to objectify me, because I am worth so much more than that. This is why I am modest, because it is good for me!

So to summarize, modesty is about who we are, not what we look like. What we look like is only part of who we are. This was one of the things I really liked about Jessica Rey's presentation. Towards the end she says, "Modesty isn't about covering ourselves up...its about revealing our dignity." Modesty reveals to the world that we are Christ's, and perhaps more importantly, it allows Christ to shine forth through us. If this is what we want, then yes, we must dress differently from the culture around us, but we must also speak, think, and act differently. We must get to the point where we can say with St. Paul, "It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me."

God love you!

The Catholic Church and Same-Sex Marriage

The purpose of this post is not to explain the Catholic Church's stance on Same-Sex Marriage or relationships. This point is really more of a reflection for myself and what I think the Supreme Court's decision means for us as Catholics.

This decision will no doubt make our calling as Catholics more difficult. We tend to associate law with morality, and so by overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, the Supreme Court has, in effect, stated that same-sex relationships are morally permissible. However, as we well know, morality and law do not always match up because we as human beings are not perfect. So by striking down DOMA, our job to proclaim the truth has become much more difficult.

But at the same time--and this is definitely how I prefer to look at it--our job has become easier. Think about it in terms of light and darkness: the darker the night, the more a single light can make a difference, and as long as a light shines, the darkness is never complete.

So the truth has been hidden. Did this not happen to Christ himself? Earlier today, Mark Hart Tweeted, "In John 18:38 a government official asks God, 'What is truth?' Then Truth got crucified.'" But when the world did its best to destroy Truth Himself, Truth revealed itself even more powerfully: Christ Resurrected and revealed himself to many and His Apostles spread His Gospel message throughout the world! Even His very death revealed the Truth to at least one person (Matthew 27:54).

Although the Truth may be hidden from our minds, we cannot hide the Truth from our hearts. This is why St. Augustine said, "The truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. Let it loose, it will defend itself." We cannot hide the Truth from our hearts because we are made for Truth who is Christ Himself, (John 14:6) and, to quote St. Augustine again, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

And so even in the enveloping darkness I have confidence in Christ and I truly believe that the "Light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it" (John 1:5) or if you prefer the words of the Lord to St. Peter, "the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against [the Church]" (Mark 16:18).

From 1969-1970 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote a book entitled, "Faith and our Future." In this book he wrote, "The Church will become small will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes...she will lose many of her social privileges... It will be hard-going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy.

"It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek... But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

"And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already with Gobel, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man's home, where he will find life and hope beyond death." (Emphasis Added)

I love the very last part of this (long) quote. So often, especially in the United States, we forget that the Church is not a social power but a spiritual one. The early Church was hated with a burning passion. St. Paul, when he was still Saul, killed Christians as a sort of hobby that stemmed from his religious fervor.

During this time period, only Christians who truly loved the Church and their faith were willing to be Christians--it was too dangerous for it to be otherwise. It wasn't until Constantine converted to Christianity that conversions became a "popular" thing rather than an act of faith. Since that time there have been several periods of history during which the Church was, in one sense or another, purified of all those who called themselves Catholics but were only so in name rather than in belief. This is not to say that Catholics are perfect. On the contrary, we know we are all sinners. It is not so much our actions that unite us, but our beliefs that do. However there seems to be an increasing number of people in our society that call themselves Catholics while at the same time believing in things other than those taught by the Catholic Church.

Perhaps this is a time of purification for Holy Mother Church. Perhaps this is a time where we will see those who do not value the Church and Her teachings fleeing from her. But that also means that those who do love the Church, no matter how small in number, will have an even stronger bond. And we must never underestimate what we as a small group of faithful men and women can do to spread the Gospel--just look at the early Church.

This is a time when our faith will be tested. When we as Catholics in the United States will have to stand up for our faith. This is not something that we are so accustomed to. Religious liberty was a founding principle of this country, but now we will be called bigots for what we know to be true. But this, too, can be seen as a good thing.

Conventional wisdom tells us that the things that we suffer for are the things that mean the most to us, but the things that come easy are often taken for granted. This is true for our faith as well. We have become so comfortable in our faith that we have come to take it for granted. We have started to believe that being a Catholic is easy, which is quite contradictory to what Jesus tells us in the Bible. If we truly belong to Christ, then the world will hate us because it hated him first (John 15:18). Perhaps we will even be found worthy to suffer for the sake of Christ (Acts 5:41).

And so the decision of the Supreme Court today gives us a wonderful opportunity: the opportunity to preach the Gospel to a society sorely in need; the opportunity to truly be a city on a hill, a lamp in the darkness, to truly be a witness for the Gospel even as the early martyrs were. This is an opportunity to cling more closely to Christ, to put our hope in Him, and to proclaim our beliefs more passionately. This is a time when our faith will be purified, as gold is refined by fire, and when we must rely on those who we hold dearest to us. So let us leap into this new challenge, confident in our Lord and ready to proclaim Christ to the yearning human heart!

God Love You!

Run So As to Win

Tragedy struck today in Boston. Innocent people violently attacked for no reason. And as I watched live news coverage all I could feel was anger and sadness. I think, though, that the anger outweighed the sadness.

I was angry at whoever was responsible. Angry because they are a coward. Angry because they destroyed innocent human lives. Angry because they lashed out at people they never knew for no good reason. Angry because they caused people so much pain.

It was similar to the way I felt after the tragedy in Newtown. I remember going for a run after Newtown and running myself ragged, using the anger and the pain as fuel for my workout, running faster and longer to stop myself from weeping at the senseless loss of life.


But the longer I watched the news today, the more articles and pictures I saw, the more the sadness began to outweigh the anger. I was sad because of the suffering people were enduring. Sad for those families who lost a loved one. Sad for those who could not contact their loved ones. Sad because so many in our world seem to have lost their way.

But with this great act of violence and anger, we see courageous acts of love. We see people putting themselves in harms way to rescue those who were injured. We see reports of other marathon runners running straight to local hospitals to donate blood for the injured. We see people forgetting about themselves and thinking about those around them.

It is at times like these that we see people forget their differences and live out true love. We forget about our differences and remember that we are all united in our frail humanity. We stop seeing race, age, color, and gender and see one another as beloved children of the Father.

Even more so, though, it is times like these where we have an incredible opportunity to see God's love at work in our world. God, who in His great and merciful Providence saw fit to give us a free will always seeks to provide us with grace in times of suffering. It is in time following the greatest suffering, the greatest tragedies, that we see God's loving hand most at work, bringing healing and comfort, consolation and peace.

The greatest example of this is, of course, the Cross. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ was perhaps the greatest act of injustice ever committed--Creation violently overthrew its Creator. The God who is Love allowed us to persecute and kill Him. And yet out of this great tragedy, this great injustice, God brings the salvation of the world!

St. Paul reminds us that, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20). Today, we were forced to watch helplessly as sin reared its ugly head and struck publicly and violently into our world. But we have Hope because sin strikes out our heel, but Christ strikes at his head.

So let us continuously pray for an outpouring of God's grace and mercy, especially upon all of those affected by this terrible tragedy. Let us raise up an army of voices calling for the Lord's healing touch. And let us look with the eyes of Faith to see the good that the Lord will bring out of this great injustice. In honor of all of today's victims, let us "Run so as to win" not just a perishable crown, but the imperishable crown of salvation (1 Corinthians 9:24-25) so that when we meet our Creator face to face, he will say to us, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

My prayers will be with all of those families affected by today's events, especially with those families whose loved ones have passed away. I pray that the Lord would find a way to bring them peace and consolation.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Memento Mori!

God Love You!

The Easter Triduum

So I see some of my Youth Minister friends blogging very consistently and I always feel a little ashamed of the frequency of my blogs. Then I remind myself that as a teacher in the classroom instead  of a Youth Minister in a parish, my schedule may not be as suited to frequent blogging as some of my Youth Ministry colleagues', and that makes me feel a little better. But this has been the ninth day in a row that I have not had school and I haven't blogged so apparently it has nothing to do with my schedule and everything to do with the fact that most of my friends are just better than me.

Regardless, I have wanted to write a post each day during the Triduum about little things that occurred to me, and I am finally getting around to it.

I love this time of year. Ever since I really dove into the Catholic Church about 7 years ago, the last few days of Lent and the Easter Triduum have always been my favorite days of the year. It isn't about any family traditions or Easter Egg Hunts or fancy meals. For me, its all about the "nervous" tension of leading up to Easter. It is like when you are reading an exciting book or watching a great movie and, as they say, "the plot thickens" and you can't wait to see what happens next. That excited waiting never ceases to overcome me.

It seems a bit strange, since I know exactly what happens next. The story has been the same for the last 2000 years. I've read it in the Scriptures over and over again. I have heard it in the Liturgy every year. And yet every year its like its happening for the first time. And maybe this is what God wants us to experience. I mean, isn't this the whole point of Lent? The Christian life is one of continuous conversion, but isn't Lent an incredibly geared towards this? Our 40 days of sacrifice are meant to help us re-prioritize, center our life around Christ, and prepare a place for Him in our hearts. So every year we sacrifice as Christ did in the desert before the beginning of His ministry. Every day, but especially during Lent, we are baptized into Christ's death so that we might also share in His resurrection.

I read a post today my friend Jason did for Lighthouse Catholic Youth (which you can check out here) and he talks about this idea that every Easter we should think of Christ risen now not just 2000 years ago. And if we truly enter into Lent each year, then we will experience the joy Easter more fully each year. But if we haven't sacrificed with Christ, if we don't die with him, what do we expect to gain on Easter Sunday? Its that age-old adage: "You only get out of it what you put into it."

And so each year, as I strive to conform myself to Christ more fully during Lent, I get more and more excited as Easter gets closer and closer. The nervous tension builds as I look forward to the glory of Easter. And it all comes to a head during the Triduum, the celebration and commemoration of the last three days of Jesus Christ's earthly life. Holy Thursday comes and we see Jesus wash the feet of His Apostles.

One thing that will never cease to amaze me, apart from the humility and love needed just to wash the feet of 12 men,especially in that culture, is the humility that it took for Jesus to wash the feet of one man in particular: Judas Iscariot. Can you imagine? Jesus clearly knew that Judas would betray Him (Matthew 26:25). But instead of waiting for Judas to leave the Last Supper, He washes his feet along with the other Apostles. If this is not proof of God's unconditional love? Jesus humbled Himself to serve even the man who would betray Him.



I wonder what was going through Judas' mind when Jesus was washing his feet? Was he having second thoughts? Did he feel remorse yet? Did he recognize his mistake yet? My mother-in-law likes to talk about "killing people with kindness" and I can't help but thinking this is what Jesus was doing. Not in a "I am going to love you to make you feel bad" kind of way, but in "I love you in the way that only I can because I am your Creator" kind of way. Regardless of what Judas was going to do, Jesus loved him as much as He loved the other Apostles, as much as He loves us today. (On a side note, this thought often gives me Hope when my sins try to fool me into thinking that God doesn't love me the same.)

And then Good Friday. Someone wished me a "Happy Good Friday" and all I could think was that "Happy" and "Good Friday" don't belong together. Good Friday should make us uncomfortable. Good Friday should leave us longing for Christ's presence. We should feel a profound sense of loss on Good Friday as we remember Christ's sacrifice, as we ponder the mystery of the God-man lying dead in the darkness of the tomb.

I love what Mark Hart, AKA the Bible Geek, Tweeted about Good Friday. He said, "The miracle of Good Friday is that there was no miracle. Legions of angels stood-with swords sheathed-as the Son took our place." What a great insight! Even Peter, who had a limited understanding of who Christ truly was, didn't want Him to suffer the Cross (Matthew 16: 21-22). How difficult it must have been for the angels to stand idly by and watch the King of Kings be murdered by those He had created.

And on Holy Saturday we wait. We wait eagerly to shout "Alleluia!" We wait to praise the risen Christ as He conquers death. We wait to sing joyfully and rejoice in the presence of our Savior. And finally. after being patient, after enduring sacrifice after sacrifice, after dying with Christ, we share in the glory of His Resurrection.

Today, we celebrate the Risen Christ. Today we celebrate the event without which our faith would be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). Today we celebrate that Love has conquered death. We celebrate life that Jesus Christ gives us: life more abundantly.

So today, and for the rest of the Easter Season, REJOICE! Sin has lost its power, death has lost its sting, and Hell has no victory! Rejoice in the Victory Christ won for us!

God Love You!

From Mountain to Mountain

Shiny things. No matter how old we are, they seem to fascinate us. We seem to attribute the love of shiny things to small children, but think about it; shiny things always catch our eye. Coins on the street, disco balls at roller-discos, diamonds, etc.As I write this, my wife is literally waving her wedding ring in front of my face. There have been several times where we have caught each other just staring at it because it is so shiny.

This obsession with all things shiny is something that makes us like animals. If you've ever watched the show, "Finding Bigfoot" on the Discovery Channel then you know that Bigfoot LOVES shiny things! Bigfoot "hunters" who are trying to get conclusive proofs of his existence (what else do we need besides Roger Paterson's Video, right?!) typically hang shiny things, like CD's, near their cameras in the woods to draw the Bigfoot in. 

Shiny things are also a very easy way to hunt a raccoon. In the book, "Where the Red Fern Grows," they stick shiny things in a log in between two nails, and when the raccoon grabs the shiny coin, and closes his tiny little fist, he can't pull his paw out from between the nails. Instead of letting go, the raccoon is so fixated by the shiny thing that he stays there and it is easy for the hunter to kill him. (if you haven't read this book, stop reading this and go check it out of your local library. Or perhaps buy it on your Kindle/iPad, whatever you do these days. But really, it is awesome. It actually made me cry.)

This attraction to shiny things is virtually universal. Even in Biblical times people loved shiny things. The Gospel today shows us that. Jesus goes up the mountain and is Transfigured in front of Peter, James and John. Luke relates that, "While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white." (There must be some joke about the Jesus being the first Stephanie Meyer vampire, but it is really difficult. Being that we are talking about Christ though, I will do my best to not trample upon His Holy Name.)

So when Jesus is Transfigured and dazzles before the three Apostles, Peter offers to build a tent for him. He says, "It is good that we are here, Master." The Transfiguration was a very clear presentation of Jesus Christ's Divinity.  Peter was more than willing to be of assistance to Jesus during this time. But really, how many people would have been unwilling? I mean, hey, this guy Jesus is clearly very special, right? Here he is miraculously transformed and sparkling (again, no "Twilight" jokes). Maybe Peter thought he could get some sort of reward for being helpful. But like I said, how many of us would not leap at the opportunity to do something nice for someone who is clearly full of power?

And yet, it is not upon this mountain that Christ will manifest his Divinity most perfectly. It is on Calvary, when He is crucified for the sins of the world, that Jesus most perfectly manifests his Divinity. It is not the dying that shows us his Divinity, but rather the salvific nature of that death. What mere human could have saved mankind from their sins? Only Jesus Christ, God made man, could have done that. And yet ironically, at the moment of the most perfect example of his Divinity, there is no one there to offer help or assistance to Jesus. Like fair-weather friends, His Apostles had abandoned Him during the time of his greatest suffering.

As we begin the second week of Lent, let us not be fair-weather friends of Christ. Let us not be there for Him in His glory and flee from Him in His suffering. St. Paul says, "Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4). In order to receive the gift of life that Jesus Christ offers us, we must also share in His sufferings.

Let us re-commit ourselves to our Lenten sacrifice again this week. As Christ continues his fasting in the desert, let us also fast and unite our sacrifice to His, so that we might share in His eternal life. Let us share in the sacrifice of Calvary so that we might share in the glory of the Transfiguration.

God love you!

If God is so Good, why is Bacon so Bad?!

For some reason whenever I think of Bacon, I think of it as something manly. There is something about bacon that men are just attracted to. In fact, in college there was this girl who went around to all of the male dorms and made bacon in the kitchen just because. She became known as "bacon girl." 

(In case you missed it, I went to an incredibly strange college--I'm still not convinced it was real) 

Just thinking of bacon makes my mouth my water. My best bacon experience by far was this past summer. There is this restaurant in California called Slater's 50/50. Its called that because their burgers are made with 50% ground beef and 50% ground BACON!! If that wasn't awesome enough, it gets more awesome!

Every month, they have a special burger. In August, they serve a burger that is so spicy that the cooks have to wear gloves and masks and the patrons have to sign a liability waiver; if the sauce gets in your eyes, you could go blind. Now I know you're thinking, "That's both stupid spicy, and has absolutely nothing to do with bacon." Patience young padawan...

So in July, right before I left California for Wisconsin, Slater's 50/50 sells the Ultimate Bacon Burger:

This messy looking work of art is the Paradise for bacon lovers. It is a 1lb patty--weighed after it was cooked--made of 100% ground bacon. Then they put slices of bacon on it. Then, a poached egg. Then, "Bacon-Island" Dressing. And finally, they slather bacon grease on the bun before toasting it. Finish that off with Slater 50/50's famous Bacon Brownie, and it is a recipe for the best "Fat Tuesday" meal ever (if only I was still in California!)

So here I am, about one week into Lent, mouth just watering for Bacon. So bear with me as I draw a belabored analogy between bacon and Lent. If you noticed the title of this particular blog, it asks why, if God is so good, bacon is so bad. Bacon is incredibly unhealthy for you. Even in small doses, it is just full of fat. Therefore, although God is good, it is in our best interest to not eat large amounts of bacon. We sacrifice the wonderful, delicious, savory, heavenly flavor of bacon, in exchange for better health. 

Lent is very much the same. We sacrifice something that is good for something better. Lent is a time for sacrifice. Typically we give something up for Lent. For some reason, chocolate seems to be the favorite "thing" to give up for Lent. So what do we get that is better when we give up chocolate? Well traditionally, we give the money saved from our sacrifice to charity. So if we give up chocolate we get the opportunity to develop virtue.

Our sacrifices are not meant to be ends in themselves. Our sacrifice is supposed to lead us to something greater. This is always how we sacrifice in the Christian life. We sacrifice for a purpose. During Lent, we sacrifice in order to unite ourselves with Christ. We fast in order to prepare ourselves in order to better celebrate the Resurrection. We fast in order to help us live in the freedom that Christ won for us.

This Lent, let us continue to sacrifice for the sake of Christ. Let us continue to unite our fast to His. Let us continue to look to receive the eternal good that comes from sacrificing the temporary good. Let us continue to seek the life that Christ offers us, life to its fullest. 

God love you!

Why We Hate The Catholic Church

Why do we hate the Catholic Church? Is it because She is patriarchal and misogynistic? Is it because She is "outdated" and needs to "catch up with the times"? Is it because She is homophobic? Is it because She refuses to allow a woman to do whatever she wants with "her own body"? Is it because She is hypocritical?

No. None of these things are why we hate the Catholic Church. In fact, the Catholic Church is none of these things! (Sorry if you accidentally found this page and thought you were going to read another incredibly biased anti-Catholic rant filled with misleading rhetoric and misinformed opinions) Venerable Fulton Sheen--that beloved, Emmy-winning Bishop who was the worlds first televangelist--once said, "There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive to be the Catholic Church."

We are constantly bombarded with strong, anti-Catholic rhetoric in our media, whether it is direct or indirect. Our media is slowly training us to look at people who are pro-life, believe in marriage, and refuse to poison their bodies with drugs as "backwards," "prudish," and "intolerant." People are slowly but surely being trained to hate the Catholic Church (Whether this is deliberate or not is another question, but I think it is impossible to deny that the values the Catholic Church holds dear are being dragged through the mud in our society and those who continue to hold to them are disdained).

So why do people hate the Church? The answer is simple. People hate the Church because She forces them to acknowledge their own shortcomings, weaknesses, and failures. We spend so much of our lives trying to be independent, trying to make our own way, that we don't want to acknowledge our helplessness. We spend so much time covering up our mistakes and blaming others that we don't want to have to ask for help or forgiveness. We spend so much time building up our own egos that we don't want to be reminded that we could never have done any of it on our own.

In the Catholic Church we encounter Jesus Christ Himself, and there is no other encounter that could ever make us feel more inadequate, more helpless, or more feeble. Christ is so perfect, so holy, that we are immediately and acutely aware of how unworthy we are to even be in His presence. Why else do you think so many of the Saints called themselves such great sinners? Why else did Blessed Pope John Paul II see the need to go to Confession ever, single day? Encountering perfection forces us to see just how imperfect we are!

Take the readings from this Sunday, for example. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah was pleased with himself until he encountered the Lord in a new way. He was happy with his life until, "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne... Then I said, 'Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!'" Immediately, Isaiah is struck by his own inadequacy, his own imperfection, his own unworthiness.

The Second Reading is from one of the many letters of St. Paul. St. Paul is one of the most prolific writers in the New Testament.  He also has one of the greatest stories of conversion and dedication to the Lord! It is St. Paul who dedicates so much of his life to spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles and who will endure so much pain for the Lord. He writes:

 "Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers..." 2 Corinthians 11: 24-27.

And yet St. Paul, despite how learned he is, how much he suffers for the Lord, and how he dedicates his entire life to the Gospel message, writes in today's Second Reading, "I am the of the Apostles, not fit to be called an Apostle." St. Paul's writings are filled with his own proclamations of his weaknesses and his unworthiness.

And finally, today's Gospel written b y St. Luke expresses so beautifully and clearly the helplessness and inadequacies of St. Peter: "After [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.' Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing...'" So we have Simon Peter and his coworkers, all professional fisherman, who have worked all night long and not caught a single thing! This must have been very strange for them. They relied on a good catch of fish to feed their families and so it is not as if they were fishing at random. They knew where the fish were, they knew where their they could always catch something, and they must have tried those spots at different times during the night. And now we have Jesus, a carpenter, telling them how to do their job. I would have loved to see Peter's face. I can't imagine the exasperation he must have experienced. He must have been thinking, "Really? You're going to tell me how to do my job? C'mon man!" But he doesn't say that. Instead he says, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."

I can't imagine what Peter's co-workers thought. I can't help but wonder how much convincing it would have taken for them to lower the nets again. Its not recorded in the Gospel, but these men probably didn't know Jesus well, they didn't know what he was capable of. They were exhausted from a hard night's work, they had already washed the nets, they just wanted to go home. I am sure that it must have been difficult for Peter to convince them that they were not just wasting more time. (On a side note not really related to the topic of this particular blog, this is a great example of how we are to live in the world. Peter was not ashamed of his faith in Christ, he was not afraid to proclaim it publicly, even among his co-workers. What if they hadn't caught any fish? Peter would have been ridiculed among his coworkers for putting his faith in 'a mere carpenter.' But Peter was not afraid to be faithful to Christ, even though doing so could have made his life more difficult and could have made those he worked with think less of him.)

So they go out into deep water and "When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing." So after all night not catching anything, they lower their nets once and catch more fish at once then they ever had before! They must have been amazed. They must have been astonished. And even more than that, they must have been humbled. How many of them had been filled with doubts at the command to drop the nets once more? How many of them had sneered at this poor carpenter telling them how to do their jobs. And yet with him they do their job better than ever before. St. Peter is immediately struck by his own inadequacy, as well he should be. He is forced to realize that without Christ he can't do anything, even that which he considers himself to be an expert at doing! When we are faced with this notion today, we often get angry, but St. Peter (who has quite the hot temper) does not get angry. Instead, "he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, 'Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.'"

Instead of being angry about his own inadequacies, he humbly acknowledges them saying, "Lord I am not worthy to be in your presence!" How difficult it is for us to acknowledge this today! We don't want to be weak, we don't want to be unworthy, we don't want to need help. We want to do everything on our own.

This is why we hate the Catholic Church. Our Holy Mother Church shines forth the light of Christ so strong and so bright, that we see even our smallest inadequacies and they anger us instead of leading us to humbly acknowledge our need for Christ! We have been so trained to think that we have to better than others that we don't want to see our own deficiencies. We want to constantly believe that we are better than those around us and if we are then we don't need to improve ourselves. But Jesus calls us to so much more! He calls us to "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5).

We hate the Church because She has the Light of Christ. And in that light "There is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light" (Luke 8:17). We spend so much time hiding our inadequacies from one another, hiding our sins from one another, hiding the fact that we are brokenness from one another, that we even begin to trick ourselves into believing that we are without blemish. But we cannot hide from the Truth in Christ's presence. The holiness and perfection of Christ acts as a sort of mirror that forces us to face the truth that we have been hiding from for so long: that we are broken and imperfect and we can do nothing on our own.

But this truth is too much for many! They refuse to acknowledge their weaknesses and react in anger to the Light of Christ. "The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil" (John 3:19).

Brothers and Sisters, let us acknowledge our own weaknesses humbly before the Lord. For then, like St. Peter, our lives will become more fruitful and we will truly become Fishers of Men. Let us go before the Lord confidently, embracing the Light of Christ and asking the Lord to use his grace to make us more perfect each and every day. Let us be like St. Paul and say: "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness... I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 11:30; 12: 9-10). Let us embrace this beautiful paradox of being strong when we are weak, for the Lord our God says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness."

God Love you!