Sunday, November 18, 2018

Don’t Abandon the Faith!



Dear Parishioners,

If you feel like me at this point in our Catholic Church’s history, you are probably, at a minimum, confused and frustrated.  What’s going on here?   Where is our spiritual leadership?  Silence and continual delay in taking concrete actions do not help matters.  Clarity is woefully lacking on moral issues and theological teaching.  Help!  I’m falling!

To me, this is indeed a diabolical spiritual crisis of the greatest proportions.  How do we deal with a spiritual crisis of such magnitude?  I recall a story from Jesus’ ministry where the disciples could not cure someone and they looked to Jesus for the reason why they could not perform the miracle:

“I brought [my son] to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”  Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?  How long will I endure you?  Bring him here to me.”  Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured.  Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”  He said to them, “Because of your little faith.  Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Mt. 17: 16-20)
It was the lack of faith that Jesus pointed out as the reason for their inability to act. “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk. 18:8) We seem to be living in a time where supernatural faith is missing-in-action. At a time of spiritual warfare, this is certainly not a good situation. Faith must be nurtured before it is lost entirely.

Our faith tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, continues to remain with the Church He established.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20)  He is truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist, in the Sacred Scriptures, in all the Sacraments, and in His Mystical Body, the Church.  Undoubtedly, there will continue to be tribulations now as there was from the very moment when Jesus established His Church on St. Peter, the Rockwho had denied Him three times!  Need we also be reminded that eleven of the twelve Apostles were missing from the foot of the cross, and Judas—one of Christ’s hand-picked twelve—turned traitor?

Clearly, supernatural problems require supernatural solutions.  Prayer and fasting are a must.  Praying the Rosary daily has been continually requested by Our Lady:

The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families . . . that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.  Sister Lucia dos Santos (of Fatima)
The Blessed Mother’s intercession is absolutely essential to the solution:

Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother.  Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today.  All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.  St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
I believe that the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph in the end.  Getting to that point, however, is definitely not for the faint of heart.  

Keep the faith!


Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor



Tuesday, November 6, 2018

“Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil!”





Dear Parishioners,

In my 4th grade classroom—many, many moons ago—a certain incident occurred where the religious sister in charge tried to get to the bottom of an apparent theft.  As I recall, something was allegedly taken from her desk and no one in the class wanted to own up to it.  Her solution to finding out the culprit was to have each of us look at the crucifix and acknowledge our guilt or innocence before the Lord.  Tell the truth and shame the devil! she exhorted us.  Funny how I still remember this day with its many details and the moral teaching (honesty, truthfulness, integrity) she tried to convey to her young, impressionable students.

I think that this lesson can be applied in various situations today, beginning with ourselves.  We should make an examination of conscience each and every day of our lives.  This might be best suited to (but is not limited to) bedtime.  Looking honestly at our actions of the day, perhaps kneeling before a crucifix, keeps us humble and focused on what I have done and what I have failed to do—words we recite during the Confiteor at Mass.  This daily examen can help us prepare properly for a thorough confession of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

In addition to frequent confession, I urge people to be brutally honest in confession.  If we were standing (or more appropriately prostrate) before God on Judgment Day, instead of being in the confessional, there will be no rationalization, no justification, no ambiguity.  No one is ever going to make Almighty God the fool.  While the priest is the minister of the sacrament, God is the Ultimate Judge.  Imagine what it is like to see ourselves as God sees us and not as we want to present ourselves to others.  God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart.  (1 Sam. 16: 7)  Still, we should be ever confident of God’s abundant mercy, when we are honest with Him and with ourselves.

The home is the first classroom and parents are the first teachers.  Do as I say and not as I do never made any sense to me.  If you want your kids to be honest, then do not lie to them.  If you want your children to do the right things, then you need to set the example.  Children, like sponges, absorb many things.
   
Another situation calling for honesty and integrity is in the daily workplace or school.  Have I become complacent with little white lies, gossip, “borrowing” things from the workplace/school and not returning them, etc.?  Do I hide or compromise my religious beliefs in order to be politically correct?  Can I be trusted?  Ponder these words of wisdom for a few moments:  The true test of character is what I would do even if no one ever found out.  In truth, God sees everything.  Yes, everything.

At this point in history, we need much more honesty and integrity in the Church universal.  When the US bishops meet next week in Baltimore, will there be truth and transparency regarding the never-ending priest sex abuse scandal, or will we see some well-crafted statements prepared by attorneys or media experts?  Will any guilty bishops actually be held accountable?  Tell the truth and shame the devil.  We need more thorough answers and not silence in response to all of Archbishop ViganĂ²’s allegations.  Tell the truth and shame the devil.  Is any sign of remorse or admission of guilt forthcoming from the disgraced Archbishop McCarrick?  Tell the truth and shame the devil.  I could go on and on.

Admitting guilt, taking responsibility, and telling the truth often require courage and adherence to a properly-formed conscience.  While it may be easier to lie so as to protect one’s image and reputation, the truth will come out in the end.  

Better that it occurs now, before eternity is spent in company with the Father of Lies.

Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor