What's in Your Ritual?

In a recent conversation, a friend said (more or less), “What the Seven Sacraments have in common is death.”  Each Sacrament calls us into the cross, into suffering, into dying to self.  Ultimately, they call us into resurrection life- but only AFTER death.  No shortcuts, end runs or free passes.  Jesus is clear.  “The man who holds onto his life will lose it.  The man who loses his life for my sake, shall live.”  In case we miss that, Jesus also says, “Pick up your cross and follow me.”  Simple, unqualified and without nuance.  Where did Jesus carry His cross?  To Calvary, where He gave up everything that was within Him as a man, complete death to self.
In the Catholic Church, we are blessed by the gift of the Sacraments, rituals that are laced and loaded with meaning.  Every word, every action within the ritual has meaning and is designed to point us and anchor us to the reality!  But, that reality is a hard reality.  In Baptism, we enter into the family of God, but we reject the enemy and all his evil ways.  Death to self.  In Matrimony and Holy Orders a man covenants himself to his bride, pledging to place her ahead of his own fleshly desires.  Death to self.
Yet, let’s be honest.  Most Catholics are hardly aware that the ritual calls them into such a radical reality.  And even when they do, they often dare not go onto that ground!  I’ve lived much (if not all) of my life avoiding the cross.  And this is what it looks like.  It’s easy for me to trust God in the places where I trust Him.  But, oh, I will pass on trusting Him with the areas of my life where I think He has abandoned me, rejected me and failed to come through for me.  “Thank-you very much,” I say in my flesh, “but I’d rather trust me with this.”
And here is the sad, sad reality that occurs, either by my ignorance, or by my will.  The ritual no longer reflects and points to a reality.  Instead, it becomes a routine, just another mindless check-box item to take care of in a busy life.  Baptism carries the same weight as my birthday, or brushing my teeth.  I am not speaking here to the conferral of grace within the Sacrament, but the human experience and understanding.
Yet, the only place I truly experience life, is where I’m willing to die.  The only vibrant Catholic, the only vibrant Christian, the only vibrant church, is the one that is willing to pick up a cross, drag it to Calvary, be crucified upon it, and die.  And having done that, we shall find only one thing.  Jesus. His life.  His freedom.  “So I set before you life and death.  Choose life.”  So, what’s in your ritual?

When Your Foot Goes in the Jordan

In the book of Exodus, Joshua and 12 spies crossed the Jordan River into the land that God had PROMISED to Israel.  For all but Joshua and Caleb, the report back was a big “No thanks.”  The giants were too big, the natives too many, and the armies too strong, blah, blah, blah.  Fear ruled the hearts of Israel instead of trust, and into the desert they went- for 40 grueling years.
For those 40 years, Joshua sat outside the Tent of Meeting where Moses met with Yahweh.  For those 40 years, Joshua waited patiently for the thing that he knew should have already been.  For those 40 years, Joshua pitched a tent every night instead of living under a roof.  So, when the Lord spoke to Joshua about entering the Promised Land, he was ready.  No more fear.  No more deserts.  No more dust in his face.  No more lack.
But, oh, wait just a minute.  What about the obstacles?  “Darn it, the Jordan River is flooded!  How will we get across?  Jericho is a fortified city!  How can we possibly win?”  Joshua didn’t know how to cross a flooded river, but he knew that God did- because God told him they were going across!  As for Jericho, God would deal with that as well.  Because Joshua knew God’s voice, he trusted.
My life, and yours too, probably, is a lot like ancient Israel, fearful and mistrustful of God.  We do what they did- avoid their deepest fear in favor of another spin in the desert- cactus, scorpions and thirst.  We are more willing to make friends with the enemies of our heart and souls (sin, despair, fear, abandonment) than we are to step into the River.
To put your foot in the Jordan River is to face the enemy that lurks deepest within you.  Each of us has a deepest fear.  It’s the place within us that we trust God the least.  The voice that protects this fear sounds like, “God won’t come through for you here.”   “You’ll try and fail, and then you will know that you are all alone.”  “You can’t trust God with THAT!”  It is a dark, lonely, shame-filled place.
Find that place, and you’ve found your Jordan River, your barrier to the Promised Land.  1 John 1:5 tells us that “God is light; in Him there is no darkness”.  Invite Jesus into that darkness.  Have the courage to ask Jesus to speak to it.  Trust Jesus to minister to that hurt, and darkness will flee.  The flooded Jordan will recede before you, and you will pass into your own promised land as if on dry land.
I recently put my foot in the Jordan.  I stepped into my deepest fear and the most mistrustful place of my heart toward God.  Jesus has met me every step of the way.  I’m fighting some battles along the way, but He has met me where I didn’t believe I could be met.  He showed up where I was sure he wouldn't.  His light has dispelled the dark place of fear and mistrust in my heart.  And, I can honestly say, “My life will never be the same again”.  The sweet milk and honey of intimacy with our Lord in the parched desert of my wounded heart?  I can’t even describe what happens in my soul.
So, where is your Jordan River?  What are the giants that threaten you?  What are the strong fortresses that you believe are too strong for you to overcome?  Be Strong and Courageous- Joshua 1:8

Who's the Master of Your Heart?

At the end of chapter 7 of Luke’s gospel, Jesus is the guest in the home of a Pharisee.  Jesus is reclining at table, when a woman, a reputed sinner, enters the home and bathes Jesus’ feet with oil.  The Pharisee is, of course, appalled.  We all tend to wag our finger at the self-righteousness of the Pharisee, but there’s another level to this story.  This is the story to the brokenness that is in each of us, and a key that helps to unlock the grace of God’s healing.
In each of us, there are parts of our hearts that we have given to the Lord…and places we haven’t.  Where we carry hurt, where we’re wounded, where we resist God, where we are out of communion with Him, these are places we have not given to the Lord.  These are places of pain that we all experience- fear, abandonment, rejection, despair, hopelessness, hurt from others.  To protect ourselves from this pain, we build structures around our pain to protect ourselves.  Those structures often look a lot like the Pharisee in our story- rigid, hardness of heart and skepticism.  So, this story is the story of God’s redemption and healing, and how to get there.
As I read the story, I found myself asking, “Why is Jesus at the Pharisee’s house?”  It doesn’t appear that Jesus has a particular affinity for this Pharisee, and the Pharisee has no affinity for Jesus at all.  The Pharisee thinks to himself, “If this man [Jesus] were a prophet….”.  So, he is testing the proposition that Jesus might be a prophet.  But, when he speaks to Jesus, he calls him by the rather generic term, “Teacher”.  Yet, Jesus is “reclining at table”, apparently relaxed and quite comfortable.  Then, it hit me.  Jesus is waiting.  He is waiting for HER.
Jesus could have met her anywhere, in the street, in her home, anywhere.  Why here?  Not, as you might be inclined to think, to shame or humiliate her.  Instead, Jesus was drawing out her heart, to help her desire Jesus (healing) more than anything else, to press through shame, self-condemnation, rejection, isolation into healing, into the presence of Jesus.
The Pharisee, and what he represents, stands between the woman and Jesus the healer.  The healer was in the house, waiting, reclining at table.  When we pray for healing, we sometimes say, “Come Lord Jesus, into my hurt and pain.  Heal me.”  We might do better to realize that He’s already inside the house, reclining at table, waiting for us to come in.    It is we who have to step into the interior of our own house, walk through the door of condemnation, rejection, or abandonment, whatever that door is for us.
And waiting on the other side, right there, is Jesus, the healer of my heart and the lover of my soul.  He embraces my brokenness and ministers to my hurt and pain.  As we bring the abject brokenness of our lives to Jesus, he gives us a new identity, the truth of who we really are, the value of our relationship to Him.
In each of us, there are parts of our lives and hearts that belong to God.  And there are parts of our lives and hearts that belong to a Pharisee who we may think is protecting us.  But he is not.  And in each of us is the woman, sinful and hurting, with only a Pharisee standing between us and the grace of healing.

The Death of Convenient Catholicism

Convenient, Comfortable, Cultural Catholicism is dead in America.  The body may still be warm, perhaps even a post mortem twitch or two.  But it’s dead.  Soon enough, and perhaps sooner that you think- you’ll agree.  Why do I assert such a thing?  Simply put, there is no longer a place for it in the culture.   Soon, “Catholic “will be incompatible with comfortable or convenient.  You need only follow my premise to its logical outcome to understand why.

First, the New Evangelization is under way in earnest in this country.  The Church’s leadership, and numerous apostolates, anchored in the person of Jesus Christ in fidelity to His bride, the Church, abound.  Jesus is remaking His Church, transforming the faith-life of countless Catholics.  The New Evangelization is breeding Catholics who love Jesus, are bold in their faith, and courageous in their convictions.  The call in the New Evangelization is serious and not for the faint of heart.  And if I’m right, we will need every bit of that mettle.

Secondly, our own government has become hostile to all who subscribe to differing beliefs.  The HHS mandate has effectively pushed the matter of faith out of the public square and into the confines of “private life”.  Religious liberty has been deeply damaged.  The IRS scandal has demonstrated that the government will use its legal muscle to pursue political ends.  The fact that any specific demographic would be targeted is unconscionable.  And then, there is the rest.  Homeland Security is running terrorist drills with Christians and homeschoolers as the terrorists.  The FBI, who was apparently too undermanned to keep an eye on the known radical Muslim brothers in Boston, did find the time to visit some of the same people harassed by the IRS.  

A Texas business woman, who applied for tax exempt status for two political organizations, not only found herself under scrutiny for those, but subsequently the target of IRS audits of her personal and business returns.  Then, the FBI paid her several visits regarding her “political” activities.  In the end, she also found herself visited by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, since her company holds a license to manufacture firearms, even though it doesn’t.  

Our own government has clearly crossed the threshold of a willingness to intimidate its own citizenry in order to achieve its purposes.  The Church’s voice will speak for the rights of individuals, for the common good, and against injustice and evil.  The trajectories of our culture and (apparently) our government are incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The government has already put pressure on the Church.  The Church (and Christianity in general) is already viewed as an obstacle to be overcome.  Catholicism will soon cease to be a prop, and then, the convenient, cultural, comfortable Catholic will find it too inconvenient, too dangerous, and too uncomfortable.

A smaller and more vibrant Church is being birthed in our midst.  And She will be the light in darkness.  She will share in the trials and persecutions of which Paul spoke.  She will shake off her slumber, and will run and not grow weary.  These are exciting times for the Church, but it will look different than we expect, perhaps quite different.

The American Death Camps

Margaret Sanger was a fan of Adolf Hitler’s eugenics program, a plan that would rid “Aryan” Germany of the socially and genetically inferior.  Hitler’s program began by marginalizing and restricting the rights of Jews in the early 1930’s.  As the years passed, the marginalization of those seen be inferior, increased.  By the time Hitler’s “Final Solution” was implemented, the culture was anesthetized to the persecution of these groups.  It was easy to hide the murderous atrocities “in plain sight”.  The horror was so great that even many Jews did not believe what was occurring in the death camps until the evidence was overwhelming.

The stench of Margaret Sanger’s own special death camps is wafting in the wind of the American landscape.  Just as the atrocities at camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka occurred, for a time, with little public notice, and under the cover of “greater good”, so has been the case with America’s abortion industry, and men like Kermit Gosnell. 

Kermit Gosnell, who butchered live born babies by snipping their spines with scissors, who put live babies in plastic bags to die, who allowed babies to drown in toilets, and who stored the bodies dozens (and perhaps hundreds) of aborted babies in his clinic,  is not an aberration among abortionists.  Reports are beginning to pour in about similar practices and conditions across the country.  This horror has been occurring in our cities and communities for decades, right under our noses.  The reality has been there for anyone to find if they cared, but also “hidden in plain sight” by euphemisms and political and legal maneuvering.   

 And this, of course, brings me to a question to which I, sadly, cannot answer.  Will we, like Germany, refuse to believe the horror of the Auschwitz’s and Treblinka’s in our own country?  Will we even have the courage to look at it?  Or, will we turn a blind eye and a cold shoulder to those on the margin and unable to protect themselves?  The choice is ours.

"Dreamliner" or "Dreamliner Experience"

We all know the worst seat on a plane-  the middle seat in the very last row of coach,  the non-reclining one gainst the bulkhead.  Directly behind your head is the…well, head, where the aroma of blue bathroom juice swirls in the air.  Add the constant rattling of accordion bathroom doors and cattlecar service, and you have a sensual experience worth forgetting.  Oh, to be a first class passenger, sitting in a cushy wide seat, with warm hand towels, complimentary drinks and the intimacy of personalized service.
Now, the new Boeing Dreamliner is a beautiful airplane.  She oozes grace and style, even sitting on the tarmac.  She is a technological marvel.  She is arguably “THE” airplane!  Yet, if you hold the boarding pass for the middle seat in the last row, it won’t be a “Dreamliner” experience.   Give me a first class seat on a commuter jet instead- anytime!
You see, the sensual experience is an important thing.  As Catholics, we should understand this.  The Catholic faith is meant to be lived sensually, where the lived experience in our body connects to our soul and spirit.  Viewing Michelangelo’s frescos on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a sensual experience of art that moves the soul.  The soaring architecture of cathedrals is a sensual experience of architecture that inspires awe.  Matt Maher’s music is a treat for worshipful ears.  Incense touches our sense of smell.  Yes, Catholicism is, and is meant to be, a sensual experience.
But, when you ask fallen away Catholics why they’ve left the Church, it’s almost never a matter of theology.  It’s about the experience.  Common complaints are bad preaching, bad music and uninspired liturgies.  The architecture of many churches is pitiful, and sacred artwork almost non-existent.   Essentially, nothing in their EXPERIENCE of the Church connects them to their soul and spirit.
You might be crying, “Foul.” at this point.  “We have the Sacraments, and we have real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.”  On behalf of my non-Catholic brothers and sisters, I have only one response to that- “Dreamliner”.  She may ooze grace and style.  In Pope Francis’ words, “a tidy Church… a Church that is nice to look at.”.  But, if the experience of her is the center seat on the back row, many will opt for a first class experience on a commuter jet.
It is to our shame that we excuse poor preaching, pathetic music, uninspired liturgies, bland architecture and amateurish artwork (think banners) because we “have” the Sacraments.  We do not own the Sacraments- they are a gift from Heaven.  Because of the Sacraments, because of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, because the sacrifice of the mass is the source and the summit of our faith, we should accept nothing less than the best.  It should be a sensual experience of music and word and sight that agitates the soul to worship, directing our entire being toward a more intimate communion with God.
The Catholic invitation should not merely be to “Fly the “Dreamliner”.  The Catholic invitation should be nothing less than “Have a “Dreamliner Experience”.  Big, beautiful, bold, expressive, and every seat first class.

God is My Enemy... Part II

It’s a scary thing to admit that you’ve made God your enemy.  I can almost hear the internal denials as I write this.  But, that makes it no less true.  Every man makes God his enemy, and every woman, as well.    Pope John Paul II put his finger on it when he said, “...the key to interpreting reality...Original Sin, then, attempts to abolish fatherhood...”  The implications are staggering, but create an amazing lens through which to view our relationships with God.

I make God my enemy, following the Holy Fathers’ logic, because I do not believe that God is a good Father.  Because we do not believe in His goodness, we do not trust Him.  For a woman, her mistrust may look like a belief that God does not “see” her- she is invisible to God.  For a man, it is often a belief that God will not come through for him if he surrenders it to God.  In that case, a man’s failure is complete- he didn’t have what it takes on his own, and he didn’t have enough for God to respond to his plea for help.  When you think like this, the thought creeps in, “Well, who needs a God like that anyway?” So, how does a man (or woman) arrive at such a place in their heart? 

First, they have forgotten where they live. Especially in this modern world, we tend to think that “Life’s a Beach!”, and the beach is bathing suits, manicured white sand, umbrella chairs and pina coladas.  And indeed, life is a beach, or more accurately, a BEACHHEAD.  Like Normandy Beach on D-Day- bombs, mines and bullets, blood, death.  The world you and I were born into is a battle zone, the result of sin.  The enemy has been dug in and waiting since he was cast into the world from heaven (Revelation 19).  His singular purpose is to kill your soul and condemn you to his own fate- eternal isolation, eternal abandonment and eternal loneliness.

Second, people forget who they are.  The enemy projects his ill intent and malevolence onto God.  This leads us to mistrust.  Since we do not trust God, we do not trust what He has to say about who we are.  God says that we are beloved sons and daughters, but we do not belief because of the difficulty of our person circumstance.  Instead of viewing our circumstance in light of God’s nature, we belief our circumstance reveals God’s nature.

In this desolation, it is important to understand God’s nature.  Is He the punisher and withholder, the maker of trouble?  In Genesis, we learn that God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, a place of perfection.  They were “naked and unashamed” because purity and holiness was their experience.  After the fall, shame and the awareness of being naked came in.  They went from being physically “uncovered” and spiritually “covered” to physical covering and spiritual exposure.  Despite the loin cloths that we see on Church crucifixes, we know that Jesus was stripped naked when he hung on the cross.  Jesus was tortured, shamed and humiliated, including the indignity of being naked before others.  This act of selflessness untwists Adam’s sin, restoring us to righteousness (right standing).  Jesus sacrifice demonstrates that God holds nothing back, not even His own divinity. 

It is the enemy that has made your trouble in this broken world.  As you grasp this truth, you can examine your life from a different perspective, through a completely different lens.  The painful memories and experiences of your life will look different.  You might even find yourself thinking, “Now I get it.”  As these lies are revealed, you are ready for healing.  Say to Jesus, “I see now where I have believed wrong about you, where I didn’t trust you.  I repent, and I reject the lies about you, and the lies about myself.  Jesus, I invite you to speak your truth to me.” 

In the deepest, darkest recesses of your heart, where you’ve been hurt, God can heal, God can restore.  I’ve seen it and experienced.  Burdens and lies, carried for decades, wash away in an instant under the touch of Jesus’ hand.  There is hope, despite hopelessness.  There is healing, despite hurt.  Because, as it turns out, God is not my enemy, nor yours.