Superior Priest

Cost of Discipleship

04SEP22 (22cO23). Jesus is not a good recruiter. He tells us not about all the good things of discipleship, but all the things we need to give up. The cost of discipleship is high. It is not a small call of what maybe we happen to give, but a call of all.

Humility is the Mother of All Virtue

28AUG22 (22cO22). Humility is the virtue opposed to pride. Pride brought down Satan, Adam & Eve, and can easily bring us down. We pray for humility by recognizing the reality of our dirtness as well as our inestimable value. The Mass gives us plenty of moments of humility in prayer, let us engage in those prayers and grow in humility and combat pride so we may be the best of friends to God and neighbor.

Salvation is Discipleship, Which Requires Discipline

21AUG22 (22cO21). Will only be a few be saved? We are the chosen few right? Everyone else won’t be saved, but we will. Actually, we need to strive! Enter through the narrow gate. It is not enough to just know Jesus or be an acquaintance. Jesus wants us to be disciples. The way we become disciples is through discipline. There are many ways that that we are disciplined. Mass, fasting, penance, service, confession, and learning. Let us not assume salvation, but strive for salvation and the Lord will provide.

The Christian life is Combat

14AUG22 (22cO20). St. Catherine of Sienna said “Without war there is no peace”. Combat and war is division and difficulty. We seek peace in this world, but not as the world gives. We may be in tension with ourselves and that is ok as long as you never give up. Pray for that blazing fire.

Assumptions About Holy Days

11AUG22. Conversation with Megan McMechan the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Community at the Chapel of Hope in Yokosuka Japan. We talk about Holy Days of Obligation and about the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I will offer two links.

Ideas about how to celebrate the feast day from a Catholic mother: https://www.elizabethclareblog.com/celebrating-the-assumption-of-mary/

More about Eastern Catholic Church: https://www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/sites/default/files/files/2014-08-17_weekly%20column.pdf

Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

07AUG22 (22cO19). “With great power comes great responsibility” was popularized by Spider-man. It is certainly a truth we understand in our moral, ethics, and law. The Gospel today indicates this understanding with greater punishment for those who are more blameworthy. Catholicism makes the distinction between Mortal and Venial sins. We are to avoid sin and pursue goodness. If we fail and turn away from God in a serious way it seriously hurts us and we must turn back to God.

The First Principle and Foundation

31JUL22 (22cO18). What are we made for? What end (Telos) are we made for? To fulfill our purpose is happiness. We are made for God and love. When we seek the things of this world as our end we are disappointed. St. Ignatius of Loyola beautifully wrote “The First Principle and Foundation”. It is an amazing statement that is a challenge to everyone.

There Are Half-Dead All Around Us

10JUL22 (22cO15). We are called to be disciples by love. Love of God and neighbor. It is not be avoidance of sin, but by action. The only way we know how to properly love is by prayer which will help us to be formed in God’s image of authentic love in difficult circumstances.

Sent Into the World

03JUL22 (22cO14). We are sent forth from this Mass into the world, to be in the world, but not meant to be part of the world. It is ok if we don’t fit in. We should not be normal, but we also shouldn’t be weird. The letter to Diognetus https://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010522_diogneto_en.html is a great reminder of how we are supposed to live in the midst of the world. The US has been a strange place for us Catholics. We are grateful for 1^st Amendment right for the free exercise of religion, but we have always been a little in the minority. Now we live in a wanning Christian culture. We are sent for to be lights in darkness.

Discipleship is Difficult Love of Neighbor

26JUN22 (22cO13). We are called to follow Christ in discipleship. This means to walk closely with Jesus and to become like him. We are called to freedom to love our neighbor. I was challenged with this in college with abortion in a moral and ethics course. It challenged me to think about what I actually believe. Roe vs. Wade has been over turned and although we will not be deciding supreme court decisions or legislation, we are influencing the culture of life by our discipleship. We influence the culture of life by our actions. Here are a few actions 1. talk about support and not condemnation in family. 2. Support Pregnancy Help Centers for crisis pregnancy. 3. Prenatal and Postnatal healthcare for difficult pregnancies and births. 4. Have Pro-family attitudes at work. 5. Have Pro-family attitudes at home acknowledging that the most important job and role in the world is motherhood. 6. Support foster care. 7. Support adoption. 8. I did not mention in the homily but is supper important get the father involved. Most of the burden is on the mother, we need to do a better job of calling on the men to be fathers and take responsibility. The world is a dark and difficult place. It needs light and hope and love. Let’s be those disciples that do so.