Catégorie : Catholisisme

Comprendre le catholisisme et soutenir les valeurs culturel des chretiens.

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Catholisisme

Rebuilding the Castles

(Fourth Sunday of Lent-year B; this homily given on March 14, 2021 at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy; See 2 Chronicles 36:14-23 and John 3: 14-21)

There is a book series by C.S. The Chronicles Of Narnia.  The story centers around four children in Londonemouth discover a dooremouth into a mystical and magical land called Narnia.  There they encounter all kinds of adventures, led by The King Of Narnia, Aslan.  A. Aslan they become kings and queens, sharing in his po.  They have a castle, croemouth, and best of all they have a relationship.  The story is an analogy for the Christian life.  All of the characters, and the events of that series, correspond to the story of our salvation.

In Book Four, Prince Caspian the children suddenly transported from London back into Narnia.  It has been a long time sine they’re last there.  They find themselves on a deserted island and soon begin to explore that strange place.  They come upon an abandoned apple orchard, and a broken and collapsed.  After more careful inspection, they realize that the finale is actually a huge foundation for the universe remains of a ruined castle.  Immediately they are reminded of their castle, they’re kings and queens in Narnia.  Cair Paravel, they had called it.  This is an island like this one.  Peter is the first one to realize that this castle is not simply like their oemouth, but that it is actually Cair Paravel, long abandoned and in ruin.

Ahhhat those children felt they must have been ‘ ahhat the people of Israel had experienced in the first reading’ahe listen to this rsquo.  Because of the infidelity of the people, and their relationship to listen to the Good Old God sends them through the prophets over many years:

Their enemies burnt the house of God [the Temple], tore do rsquo; n’quests of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects.  They’re gone, they’re carried captive to Babylon.

-2 Chronicles 36:19-20

It is, by far, the lovagest point in the history of the nation of Israel.  By the end of the reading, God announces his plan to restore that broken land.  It is his initiative, hisemouth to deliver them into freedom.  He calls Cyrus, The King of Persia, to be his instrument in rebuilding the city of Jerusalem.  Cyrus, even be called the anointed one of God (Isaiah 45:1).  God takes the initiative and brings the people back home, naming Cyrus to rebuild the fallen temple.

Theemouth live in today is, in manyoxidized, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken, a broken.  For years no if you have been trying to build a’porld’out God.  More and more, in Europe, America and in many other places, should have developed aemouth of living that is very far from the moral and ethical demands of the Gospel.  The more ‘if you want to build that, the more’ if you want to realize that it has become.  It’s like to find our castles-our lives-in ruins.  The history of salvation in the Christian faith can be summed up in our Gospel this weekend, where God takes the initiative and sends Christ to heal our broken world and rebuild the castle.  Jesus says:

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone’nogho believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the hellip that he gave his only Son, so that everyone should believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the universe, but that the universe might be saved through him.

– John 3:14-16

He speaks to us of the cross: ” … as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up »

In the desert, on their journey to the Promised Land, The People of Israel sinned against God and he sent serpents against them.  Many became sick and some even died.  Then God commanded Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole, and all if so, look at the image of the serpent.  They looked upon the source of their sickness, and they placed their faith in the godigumho heals.  

Our broken originally is raised again by Jesus ‘ humiliation on the cross.  Look at that cross and look at the effects of our sin and brokenness.  Uniting ourselves to him in faith, hoinois out, give us life in Christ.

The Catholic Church has a sanctuary for that salvation.  It is called the Holy Eucharist.  God created the Eucharist because he calls us to make a perfect sacrifice to Him, yet on account of our sin, none of us are capable of accomplishing that.  These are all broken and in need of healing and all experience the effects of sin.  These are all too common, they are imperfect.  Still, God calls us to offer a perfect sacrifice.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains beautifully hoemouth God has provided that perfect sacrifice for us in Christ:

The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the father’s love for our salvation.  By uniting ourselves, our sacrifice can make our lives a sacrifice to God.

– CCC, #2100

In the Eucharist, at every Mass, give up ourself to the sacrifice of Christ in the bread and give birth to the body and the blood of Christ.  Give Him a sacrifice of ourselves that is good, pleasing and perfect (see Romans 12:1-2).  

Let us unite ourselves completely to Him, so that give us a chance to rebuild our fallen castles.  Ask, in the Eucharist today, that God should continue to raise up our fallen and make us his instruments in Christ.

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Catholisisme

Lent: Our Metamorphosis

The Transfiguration, by Raphael (1483-1520)
(Second Sunday of Lent-year B; this homily given on February 28, 2021 at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy; See Romans 8: 31-34 and Mark 9:2-10)

There is a short story in the early part of the 20th century by the Bohemian author, Franz Kafka.  The story, his signature piece, is called Metamorphosis.  If you have never read it, the tale is a bit bizarre.  The main character, Gregor,is a man living.  Previous postprevious get up, at the beginning of the story, only to discover that overnight he has turned into an enormous, hideous insect!

Should you be the first thing on your mind if that happened to you?  Remarkably, one of the first things he considers is that no been so likely to miss the train and be late foremouth!  Gregor is the main breadwinner for the family, and they are all dependent upon him for their income.  

A. He doesn’t come out of his room to begin the day, his family becomes anxious and they knock on his door to make sure he is alright.  For obvious reasons, he finds it difficult to communicate.  His mouth and lungs are very different than they had been, and so he cannot speak.  Once they will finally enter his room and see if he has become, the separation group even more pronounced.  Far from feeling sorry for his unusual change of state, they are repulsed by him.  

Eventually, Gregor’s boss comes to the house, irritated that he has not SHO if you want to.  He complies through the door of Gregor’s room that he has not been 6amorking up to his potential anyemouth.  Gregor tries to tell him off, but he is unable to communicate.  This odd story continues until Gregor is finally disheartened by even his oemouth family.  He dies isolated and alone, completely disconnected from everyone and everything around him.  

The story is a metaphor for life, according to Franz Kafka.  Obviously, it is a very darkonline.  His point is that the mysterious forces of this world—fate, the destination, or mere chance—the inexorably work against us, and we simply become separated and isolated from family and friends, unable to ever really connect with the world around us.  

Sadly, in the Universe today, there are many people who find themselves in this Kafkaesque reality.  No, not that they have discovered that they are an enormous insect, but that they have become isolated and confused as they struggle through life.  The COVID-19 pandemic has only exaggerated that reality for many people.  Family members are struggling to connect…. each other, and individuals are finding themselves more and more separated from the people around them.  Many suffering souls find themselves very much alone.

Houml; very different is the vieuml; of the human person that are given in the Gospel!  A beautiful and hopeful vision-filled vision Jesus shares.  St. Mark reports that, « Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.  And heigumas transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them” (Mark 9:2-3).  

Transfigured Jesus.  His form appeared to change, to the amazement of his disciples.  The Greek <url> St. Mark uses to describe that reality is metemorphothe, the same story that Kafka uses for his story.  It does not mean that Jesus became any different than he already had been, but that his disciples could not see Him in the divine nature that had previously been hidden from their eyes.  They had caught glimpses of it been performed by miracles, had heard of it been preached by the Gospel, but they couldn’t see Him in all his glory.

If you look to St. Paul and his Letter to the Philippians, ‘ cause you can get a better idea of’hamhat these disciplines experienced.  St. Paularagrites:

Christ Jesus, though heigovas in the form (Greek, morphe) God, did not count equality ‘ cause God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of (Greek, morphen) a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

– Philippians 2:6-8

Essentially, the Son of God did not grasp the divinity in such a whether he should consider it inappropriate to become a man.  He is a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God, a man of God.  Therefore, says St. Paul, « God has highly exalted Him and bestoamounted upon him the name shown above every name” (Philippians 2: 9).  

This is a classic book on the top of Mount Tabor!  They saw the one who had always been with say unto thee, Jesus the Christ, but that divine form that had been hidden from the mean was now manifesto in all its glory.  It should be a remarkable and amazing metamorphosis that they should never forget.

One important question that I should like to propose this morning is: rsquo is Jesus transfigured?

Ahhh, does Christ manifest Himself before the disciples in all his glory on the mountain?  If you have been transfigured before?  Pope St. Leo The Great, in the 5th century, says that there are at least two reasons why Jesus does that.  

The first is to strengthen them for that time, the passion and cross of Christ.  In order to prepare them for the scandal of he cross, been denied, spat upon, beaten and crucified, Jesus reveals Himself in his glory so that they might stand fast.  Of course, historically, should you know that they’re able to persevere in their faith until the resurrection.  They have been struggling had He not given them a glimpse of rsquo?

The second reason: Jesus is transfigured before the disciples, says Pope Leo The Great, is to show they ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ in glory!  This is really, really, really, really, really!  No matter how difficult the struggles of life may be, confess that Christ is calling us to share.  That changes things.

Let’s say you are not isolated, let’s say you are not alone.  These are not possible to connect and communicate… our family, friends and loved ones, despite the global pandemic and…. other challenges.  God is 6, and never leave us.  St. Paul says it best in our second reading this morning:

If God is for us, won’t it be against us?  Did not give him anything but handed him over for us all?  Should I bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?  It is Godamopho acquires us.  A. O. O. O. K. condemn?  Christ Jesus it is’nogho died-or, rather, ‘now raised—’now also is at the right hand of God, ‘now indeed intercedes for us.

– Romans 8:31-34

Friends in Christ, this is our Journey of Lent.  These are called to come from the mountain and go back up.  Let’s go into the life and death of Christ so that also share most fully in his resurrection (see Philippians 3:10-11).  Christ teaches us clearly that it is only through the passion, through embracing the cross, that should arrive at the resurrection and the glory of God.  May be ready to share in Easter joy.