Called to Serve

"What we do for ourselves, dies with us; what we do for others lives forever and for God for eternity."  (My Pastor loosely quoted)

We are living in a very self-serving society.  We are bombarded with enhancing our self-esteem, demanding our liberty and our personal rights.  Seldom are we encouraged to reach out to others--to serve others.   We are constantly told if we have this or that "thing" we'll be happy and we deserve it and the happiness it brings.  Yet many people are depressed; they aren't happy.  Though many people are seeking personal freedom, the freedom they are promised by others is often not realized.  At times the very thing they are pursuing to achieve this freedom is in reality enslaving themselves.  

It may seem to be a contradiction but those who reach out and serve others are the ones who really achieve freedom.

As Christians we believe God has called us to love and serve Him and others.  God gave us a free will and He wants our love and service and He wants us to love and serve others.  Yet, since He gave us a free will we have to make the decision whether we will serve Him and others or whether we will choose to serve ourselves.    

Those American Catholics who were catechized prior to Vatican II probably remember the answer in the Baltimore Catechism to the question "Why did God make us?"; i.e., "To know, love and serve Him in this world and to be with Him in the next."  What wisdom there was in that answer.

Have you ever noticed how truly happy those people are who reach out and voluntary serve and help others.  Really it is human nature in the positive sense to do this--parents who do whatever they can to assure their children are raised well;  spouses who demonstrate their love for each other daily; priests, religious and others who give their lives for others; siblings who love and help each other; etc.; etc.; etc.

When our pastor stated what I quoted above, I thought to myself he said a mouthful.  I am convinced the more willingly we serve God and others the happier we will be and the impact we'll leave will go on for generations and possibly eternity.

Life Worth Living

'"Vanity of vanities and all is vanity" except to love God and serve Him alone,'  My Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis

I encountered the above quote from Thomas a Kempis in the mid 1950s, while still a teenager, when I purchased this Catholic clerics classical book of meditations.  This quotation which is based upon Ecclesiastes 1:2 has stuck in my mind ever since.

I find it fascinating that this observation that the majority of scripture scholars conclude was written in Ecclesiastes around 250 BC, and Thomas a Kempis wrote his "Imitation of Christ" sometime in the 15th century, and that this fact remains true to this day in the 21st century.

Thomas was born in the town of Kempen, Germany either in 1379 or 1380 and died on July 24th, 1471.  His correct name was Thomas "Haemerken" with various spelling versions depending on the country writing about him.  His father was a "blacksmith" which translated in Germany depending on the area was spelled "Haemerken"--his mother was a school mistress.  Since he was from Kempen he became known by the Latin name Thomas a Kempis, i.e., Thomas from Kempen.  He wrote many books and transcribed many copies of the Bible, but his "Imitation of Christ"
is the most popular and it is second in printing only to the Bible.  He is recognized throughout the world as "Thomas a Kempis".

The reading from Ecclesiastes (1:2, 2:21-33) was the first scripture reading for this Sunday's Mass, August 4th, 2013; the other scripture passages were Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 and Luke 12:13-12.  The latter dealt with greed or misplaced priorities.  Our pastor made the following observation worth repeating.  "The things we do for ourselves die with us; whereas, the things we do for others lives forever."   He added, "Especially if we do them for God."  He went on to say by "others"  he is not referring to our family members as they are extension of ourselves; rather those things we do for "our neighbor", our neighbor as exemplified in Jesus' parable of the "Good Samaritan".

One last thought, over the years I've come to believe and endorse the maxim:  "Expect little from others; demand the most from oneself.  

When I remind myself of the above, I find myself surprised as I recognized how much good others actually do and humbled realizing how little I do.

     


                

Sodom and Gomorrah and the Mercy of God--
During this time of the year, every other year, passages from the book of Genesis are read at the weekday Masses.  One of the many interesting scripture accounts is the story of Abraham and his encounter with The Lord regarding Sodom and Gomorrah.  I find it most intriguing that The Lord  was willing to not destroy Sodom and the other cities in the plain if only 10 innocent people could be found.  (Genesis 18:16-33)

I have been unable to find the approximate population of Sodom at the time; but if the population was only 100 people, ten people would only represent 10% of the population, if 1,000 people only 1% and if 10,000 people only .1%

This incident tells me how loving and forgiving God is.  Not only that but that the faithfulness of good persons influences the mercy of God.  It supports what Saint Paul wrote in Colossians 1:24 that "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's affliction."  Thus it leads me to conclude that good people through the merits of Jesus' suffering and death are able to join Him in His redemption of others.

This conclusion supports the value of good people offering up  their pain and suffering for Christ, in union with Christ for the benefit of others.  After all, if a person is in the "state of grace", i.e., in union with God their is life flowing between God and the person.  As Jesus stated, He is the vine, we are the branches.    

Discipleship

The Mass Scripture Readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C deal with "discipleship".   Specifically, 1 Kings 19:16-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5-1, 13-18 and Luke 9:51-62.

I listened to the reading of these passages and my Parish's Pastoral Vicar's homily on them at Mass this past Sunday, and I read meditations on the topic in the June issue of the monthly periodical "the WORD among us" and the book "In CONVERSATION with God, Volume Four".  These printed meditations basically provided a more extensive insight into what my pastor summarized so well.  

In a few sentences he had stated, being disciples of Christ we can  not force others to accept/believe what we do; we can only invite them.  Regarding our own behavior/faith journey--i.e., being "followers of Christ", he went on; there are three characteristics to consider (so well exemplified in Luke 9:57-62).  1.  We are not to expect human recompense for following Jesus.  2.  We can not place any conditions on our following Jesus.  3.  There is no turning back if want to be followers of Jesus.

In light of the last point, the statement of Jesus in verse 62 regarding a person plowing would have resonated with the people to whom He was speaking.  It was noted in the meditation "In CONVERSATION with God" that Jesus' audience would have known that any farmer who took his attention off his plow in the hard Palestinian soil would quickly find his furrows out of line.

Though the three points noted above are logical; knowing this does not make it easier for a person.  One can only pray that with the Grace of God one will persevere.             

I'm Back

Dear Faithful Readers.   I took a two and one half months sabbatical as I had many things going on.  I expect to find myself in the same boat mid-September through mid-October. 

One thing I did during the Spring sabbatical was to go on a two and one half days "Opus Dei" silent retreat which I may write about in the future.

I'm happy to be back!

Supremacy and Survival

I recently read a book lent to me by a friend titled "Supremacy and Survival" (subtitled:  "How Catholics Endured the English Reformation") by Stephanie A. Mann, published in 2009 by Scepter Publishers, Inc., ISBN 978-1-59417-079-9.  It is a discussion  , based upon historical research and  from her Catholic perspective, as to what transpired in England during the Tudor and Stuart reigns in detail continuing up to Pope emeritus Benedict XVI's recent visit to the British Isles.  My friend told me that he found it a "quick read" which is true if you are somewhat familiar with British history from the "War of the Roses" which resulted with the victors, i.e., the Tudors, ruling England.  What a reader may find confusing are all the key figures and twists and turns Stephannie Mann includes in the book.  Fortunately her book includes four helpful tools:  1.  the family trees of the House of Tudors and the House of Stuart (which followed the Tudors);  2.  a bibliography of the 56 people she identifies as the Important historical Figures;  3.  definitions of the Important Theological and Political Terms referred to in the book;  and 4.  a chart of 410 Years of Historical Events from 1485 to 1895.

I studied English History quite extensively in my undergraduate years when I was quite young and I have always been fascinated by it.  One thing the author pointed out is that historically the "Whig" or progressive party's understanding of English History has been what most people have been taught though there were a few historians who looked at the events from a different perspective.  This has changed around 1984 when more historians began seeing the historical events from the less popular perspective.  These historians are frequently referred to as :"revisionists".

When I studied English History in college, most of the  historians I read presented history from the "Whig" party perspective.  The author of this book is kind, fair and balanced in her discussion of the subject and I found reading her account of English History refreshing and provoking.

Why read this book?  For one thing it's very well written and written (with the handy tools she provided) for anyone with an interest in the subject.  There are others reasons, one for example is after reading this book it is easy to understand why our United States Forefathers wrote the Constitution amended with the Bill of Rights (Freedom of Speech, Religion, Assembly, Press and [to] Petition the Government), as they did.  This is especially currently of interest when it appears some of our constitutional rights may be in jeopardy.  It also helps a person to understand the "suspicion" that groups of people have toward each other.  As a person who believes in a God Who is involved in human history, this book hints at the evidence of Divine Providence.  As a Catholic this book illustrates to me the resilience of the Catholic Church and of the perseverance of those Catholics who remained faithful for 300 years till they obtained the beginning of their emancipation in 1829 which to this day has yet to be fully achieved.  (A Catholic cannot be the monarch nor prime minister.)

Reading this book their are a few ironies that come to light.  For example, as most people recognize, Henry VIII's split from the Roman Catholic Church resulted from his desire for a male heir;  ironically the three most successful rulers of England following Henry VIII have been women--Elizabeth I, Victoria and Elizabeth II.   Another irony, Queen Mary, often referred as "Bloody Mary" had a peaceful, apparently joyful, death, whereas Queen Elizabeth I as she approached death suffered nightmares to the point that she was afraid to sleep and "Near the end she was speechless and could barely signal her agreement that James VI of Scotland succeed her". (p. 69, Supremacy and Survival)  What is most ironic to me, is that under some of the early Protestant Stuart Kings of then Great Britain, though Catholics were prohibited from practicing their Faith and Catholic priests were martyred; possibly for political or diplomatic reasons many of these same kings married Catholic women and housed a Catholic Chaplain for these queens, allowed Catholic Mass and maintained and adorned a Catholic chapel within the palace.  It is also reported that they had Catholics within their inner circle, at times more than Protestants.  Eventually Charles II on his deathbed in 1685 converted to Catholicism..  His eventual Catholic descendants became "Pretenders to the Throne" , the last in line being a Catholic priest and cardinal, Henry Cardinal Stuart who if crowned would have been Henry IX.  He lived in Italy and died in Rome in 1807.

In conclusion what can a person say other than:  history is so interesting yet we must be sure it is reported accurately, without prejudice to the extent this is humanly possible.  Recognizing that even people with the best intentions may let their bias influence what they write or say  therefore the reader/listener need the point of view of the speaker/writer.  Regarding Stephanie Mann's book, I believe she produced an accurate of her subject matter, than again like Stephanie I am Catholic.        



 

Easter Seasonal Meals

Following are three meals which I enjoy during the Easter Season.

1.  Pate Paques.  This is a light meal consisting of "Pate Paques" (Easter or Paschal Pate) and a green salad.  The pate paques consists of seasoned ground pork or ground pork and veal, capped with halved hard boiled eggs enrobed in a puff pastry dough and baked in an oven.  A person can season the meat with shallots, parsley, chives, salt, pepper and any other season you may like.  This pate historically was only available during the Easter season and thus its name and found in the central region of France than known as "Berry".  Tourist enjoyed this pate so much that today it is known as "Pate Berrichon" and is available all year round.  A green salad goes well with the pate.  A nice chocolate molten lava cake for desert would round this well.

2.  Rack of Lamb.  A seasoned rack of lamb with rosemary or other herb accompanied with baked half tomatoes garnished with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and au gratin potatoes, baked sliced and garnished gruyere cheese, onions and garlic makes this a satisfying meal.  A fruit tart such as a raspberry tart would end this meal well.

3.  Maultaschen.  Another light meal, Maultaschen  is a "Swabish Art" dish; orignated in the Baden-Wurttemberg state of Gerrmany--Southwest Germny.  Maultaschen is what we would call a large ravioli, i.e, flour dough envelopes filled with chopped meat and brains and spinach.  It can either be served with a sauce or as I prefer it, in a broth.  I suspect a person can use whatever ingredients in the ravioli the person wishes and the sauce/broth would be determined by these ingredients.

Enjoy and I wish you a Blessed Easter Season!      . 

Debt To Our Jewish Ancestors of Faith

'And he (the other criminal) said, "Jesus remember me when you come in your kingly power."  And he (Jesus Christ) said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."'           (Luke 23:42-43)

The above is a most comforting scene from the Passion of Jesus.  This criminal's prayer sums up the Faith so many of our Jewish benefactors have passed on to us.  As many of us begin Holy Week today recalling the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior; we may wish to reflect on those  who during the pre-Christian era received and protected the Faith in the One, True God--our Jewish ancestors in Faith.  We must not forget that after Adam's fall that it was through these People of Faith; trusting in God's promise in the coming Messiah--Christ--the Faith was transmitted.  The early part of this week is a good time to meditate on Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, the Prophets and all those Jewish (Old) Testament figures to whom we owe so much.  This Faith that motivated John the Baptist and the Faith and Trust that allowed the young Virgin Mary and the humble Joseph to respond to God's call.  All this culminating in the Incarnation of God, Jesus, Our Lord and Savior--a Jew--redeeming the World.

If we have any Jewish friends or acquaintances, wouldn't the next couple of days be the ideal time to thank them for preserving the Faith in the True God and gently invite them to be open to the greatest wonder of God, i.e., that being that the One True God is a "Triune God".

May the graces that burst from Heaven during this most holy week of the year penetrate the hearts of all of us, those we love, those we don't know and those we do not love.

I pray that we all hear Jesus' comforting voice say,  "Truly, I say to you, today you are one with Me and soon you will be with Me in Paradise!"