Human Intellect and Divine Wisdom

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
    As I get ready to turn 40, it’s incredible to think of the technological advances just in those four decades.  Thinking simply about how we listen to music, we went from records, to 8-tracks, to cassette tapes, to CDs, to Napster, to iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify. 
    The human mind is an amazing organ, and we continue to unlock different ways to utilize the created world.  But, while the brain comes up with ever-new ideas, it is not perfect.  Our intellect, which helps us to understand the world, both natural and supernatural, is fallen like the rest of creation.  Our minds do not always grasp truth.
    We see that in the Gospel today.  When asked who people say Jesus is, the first few apostles echoed the human wisdom, perhaps the best human wisdom, of the day.  “They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”  These Apostles, as good as their hypotheses were, erred.  Even if they were simply echoing what others said, they did not grasp the truth of Jesus’ identity. 

Statue of St. Peter from Galilee

    When St. Peter makes his reply, Jesus quickly identifies that “‘flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.’”  Peter’s response comes, yes, from his intellect, but, more accurately, from his intellect inspired and guided by God the Father.  Peter bases his response partially from what he understands, but also from wisdom from above.
    Those who have responsibility for teaching the faith, as well as we who receive that faith, do well to remember that our human intellect alone does not suffice for passing on the truths of the faith.  From all appearances and human judgments, Jesus was simply another great prophet.  But His miracles demonstrated that He was more than that; He showed by His actions that He was the “Son of the living God.”  But only intellects guided by grace could apprehend that truth.
    When we stick to our own understanding of truth, it is all too easy for our minds, darkened by sin, to assert things which are false.  We may even have reasons and some kind of logic to back up what we say.  But if our intellect is not guided by the Light of God, then we can, all too easily, get things wrong and either not fully grasp what God wants us to know, or even go against what God has revealed. 
    Take, for example, a popular idiom: love is love.  Our intellect, left to itself, might say, “Yeah, that sounds right.”  Dissecting the sentence, it actually doesn’t say much.  Grammatically speaking, it would be as profound as saying “one equals one” or “red is red.”  But it’s all too often used as a way of saying that a person should be able to love romantically or marry whomever he or she wants. 
    Some even use the Scriptures to try to back this up.  They see that St. John says in his first epistle that God is love.  And so, God would seemingly approve of romantic love of another, no matter who that other is.  They might also point to the fact that Jesus upended many of the cultural norms in His day, so we should be willing to do so as well.
    They might point to human history, and point out that there were, in our country, not that long ago, laws which prohibited interracial marriages.  They might say that we are more enlightened now to realize that those laws were wrong (as they were), because every human being has dignity and is worthy of love.  This move to allowing same-sex marriage, they might advocate, is the natural progression of enlightenment and development of human society, so that, as long as two people love each other, they can do whatever they want, and are entitled to the same protections that we have given to marriage between a man and a woman in marriage.  It all sounds quite logical.
    But it fails to take into account the guidance of our loving God in Sacred Scripture.  God, both in the Old and the New Testament, condemns homosexual activity as contrary to His will for human sexuality, and affirms that marriage is between a man and a woman.  And if one retorted that the Scriptures are conditioned by their culture, then why believe any of it as true?  If Scripture is simply one example of the human intellect, unguided by the grace of God, then we’re back to the fact that Jesus is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or a prophet.  He’s just another teacher.  But, as Jesus tells Peter, He’s not simply another teacher or prophet.  If we can’t rely upon the Word of God, then Judaism and Catholicism might as well be tossed aside.

Statue of St. Paul from Rome

   Besides the clear statements from St. Paul that one cannot practice homosexual acts and go to heaven, we also need to look at how St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, teaches about love.  From everyone’s favorite wedding passage in 1 Corinthians: “Love…does not seek its own interests…it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.”  When a feeling of attraction divorces itself from the truth, it is not love, no matter how strong or how well-intentioned.  Yes, God is Love, but Jesus is God, and Jesus refers to Himself as the Truth, so Truth and Love are intrinsically bound up together.  When love separates itself from the truth, it becomes mere infatuation or even lust.  I cannot will the good of the other (St. Thomas’ definition of love) if what I want to do is contrary to what will help the other person attain heaven.  Love would never lead one to endanger the immortal soul of the beloved.  Love would also never go against what Love Incarnate has taught through the Old and New Testaments and through the infallible teachings of Love’s Mystical Body, the Church. 
    Does this mean that God wants us to hate those with same-sex attractions and persecute them?  No.  God calls us to will the good of all others, whether they are like us or different from us.  God calls us, as He says myriad times in the Scriptures, to pay special attention to those who struggle in life and find themselves on the margins of society, as those with same-sex attractions often do.  Telling someone that they cannot get married and enjoy the physical expressions that are proper to marriage does not mean that we hate that person.  Telling someone “no” does not equal hate, otherwise every parent hates their children…sometimes multiple times…each day. 
    When we rely simply on human reason, as good as it sometimes is, we can get things wrong.  This is especially when it comes to God and what He teaches, because our minds are darkened by sin.  In order to get the “God-stuff” right, we also need the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who helped Peter proclaim Jesus’ true identity, and who still guides the Church to teach us infallibly on matters of faith and morals.  

Wasting Time with Jesus

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brad Paisley, one of the great country music singers of our time, has a song he released in 2005 called, “Time Well Wasted.”  He goes through all the things he could have been doing, things that were very practical, like raking leaves, washing the car, etc., but talks about how spending time with his love was “time well wasted.”

America, in particular, has a thing against “wasting” time.  We place work and productivity on a very high pedestal.  And there’s something good about that.  Work can be sanctifying if we unite it to Jesus, and producing new ideas and new products helps to better society.  But the temptation in our prodigiousness, the excess of that virtue of working hard, is working too hard, and missing out on the important things of life.  I remember when I was studying in Italy how things would close down for a few hours around lunch.  Now, I don’t mean to offend, and certainly I don’t want to stereotype too much, but in Europe, Italians are not known for being hard workers in the first place.  But they always make sure to take a break in the middle of the day for pranzo, lunch, and a nice riposo, a nice nap.  And while we might think that’s a waste of daylight, there’s something good about spending time with family and friends to enjoy a leisurely meal and rest.  The work will always be there, but as some people learn in tragic ways, friends and family are not always with us on earth.

Bishop Barron, in his new series on the Mass, talks about how the Mass is the ultimate form of play.  That might seem counterintuitive, given how serious we take the Mass.  But, think about children and how seriously they take playing.  Or think about sports and how seriously we take playing those games.  There are rules, there are expectations, there are uniforms.  So often, we think that the most important thing is work, and we play if we have time.  But play can be more important, especially when we talk about the Mass.

It’s no secret that people don’t go to Mass anymore.  We notice it as we look around, and as we prepare for the transition to two Masses per weekend.  So why are Masses so scarcely populated, and not just here in Flint, where people continue to leave the city, but around the United States and around the world?

Jesus, after His disciples had returned, invited the apostles to go off “to a deserted place and rest awhile.”  The ones whose very title, “apostle,” means one who is sent out, need time to rest with Jesus.  And what do we do at Mass, if not rest with Jesus?  We worship God, and that is most important, but just like the Jews on the Sabbath, we rest, and worshipping God allows us to rest from our labors, not because we are lazy, but because we imitate God in resting from His work of creation.  I think that part of the reason for people not coming to Mass is that they expect the Mass to provide something that it’s not meant to provide.  If you want to be entertained at Mass, then you will surely be disappointed, because the Mass is not a movie or a show.  If you want an emotional or spiritual high, then you may be disappointed, because the Mass is not meant to appeal to every personality style and temperament every week.  If you want music that speaks to you each and every time, then you’re putting way too much pressure on the Mass, because Catholic music, truly Catholic music, is meant to be adding dressing to Scripture.  Can we be entertained at Mass?  It happens; some priests are funny, and others, like me, are just funny-looking.  Can we get an emotional or spiritual high?  It can happen, and praise God when it does!  Can music touch our hearts in a way that mere words cannot?  Sometimes the words put together with a certain musical setting hits us right in the feels.  But Mass is meant to help us worship God and rest in Him.  

I know that’s a tough message.  I know it’s not the message we want to hear, because we want to be entertained, we want the high, we want the feels.  But too many sheep have wandered away from the fold because what they want from the Mass is not what the Mass is meant to give.  Sometimes even priests have mislead and scattered the flock by overly inserting themselves in the Mass, making the Mass a performance of their personality, instead of celebrating the Mass as the Church asks.  And I also know that sometimes, despite my own best efforts, my homilies are boring.  Our sound system could also use some updating. 

But I invite you to come to St. Pius X each weekend after your weekly work of spreading the Gospel to rest with Jesus and to worship Him, who brought us near by His blood, and who reconciled us to God through His Body through the Cross.  Sunday sports may sound more enticing.  The lawn may need mowing and the laundry may need cleaning.  The kids may be a handful and may be noisy.  But come to Mass anyway, to rest with Jesus.  And since you all already do come to Mass, tell your kids, tell your godchildren, tell your friends that Jesus knows you need a rest–not entertainment, not an emotional or spiritual roller coaster, but rest.  Receive the Body of Christ.  Taste the fountain of immortality.  Waste time with Jesus and worship Him who gives you the precious gift of rest in Him.

Whose Authority?

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last week I announced that I was going to DJ the St. Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance.  A number of people wondered if I was serious; and though I might get some help, I certainly am!  A number of people asked if the dance was only going to have country music; it won’t.  I do also appreciate other genres of music.  The 9th grade confirmation class asked if I was going to play “All About That Bass,” a current song that is not, despite its title, about a certain register on an instrument or in a voice.  

Musical taste is always a funny thing.  Some people only listen to one kind of music.  Some people listen to many.  Some have genres that they’ll never listen to (like rap or country), while others go back and forth between different styles.  What I love about country music is that, more often than not, the words are profound, funny, or insightful.  What I dislike about many current songs, be they rock, rap, or R&B, is that you can’t even understand the words the artist is singing.  And if you do find out, well, you probably wish you didn’t understand them again.

Music shapes us.  When we listen to a song and we come to know it, it impacts us.  Sometimes the impact is small, especially at the beginning, but it often grows.  When we actually memorize a song, it becomes almost a part of us.  I often chuckle at students who tell me they hate memorizing poems or dates in history, but then can sing me all the words to “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift.  Where do most of the fights occur about the Mass (though not all of them)?  Music.  We hear hymns or other music and they become a part of us.  We are changed by what we listen to.

Moses tells the Jews in the first reading that they need to listen to this prophet that God will send who will be like Moses.  When God wanted to speak to His People at Mount Sinai, he spoke from a cloud, with earthquakes, fire, trumpet blasts, and thunder.  And the people were so scared that they told Moses that they only wanted to hear from God through Moses.  And so at this point in the Book of Deuteronomy in our first reading, Moses promises them another prophet who will also speak for God, to whom they will need to listen.  

Jesus, of course, is the fulfillment of the promise.  Though He is more than a prophet (He’s the Son of God), He speaks for God the Father and reveals God the Father by all He says and does.  And He is not scary (at least not at most times, though Peter, James, and John do find wonder and awe in the presence of God at the Transfiguration), and God speaks through Jesus: just what the people wanted.  And the people recognize that Jesus is speaking with authority, unlike the scribes.  Even the demons obey the words of Jesus; even they recognize His authority. To have authority, one must be the author.  Our English word “authority” even includes the word “author.”  Jesus speaks with authority because He is the Author of everything; He is the Author of Life; He created the world. 

To what or to whom to we listen?  To what or to whom do we give authority?  There are all kinds of businesses, groups, and persons that want us to listen to them and to recognize authority in them.  How easily we can buy into the lie that if we don’t have the newest phone we won’t be happy?  How much would Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC love us to base our life on their reporting?  How much would the New York Times or the Washington Post love us to view the world through their lens?  How much do certain TV shows or songs try to convince us that what they say is right is right?  There’s nothing wrong with buying a new phone, or watching cable news, or reading newspapers, or even watching certain TV shows or listening to songs in and of themselves.  But some of them (more and more I would suggest) are trying to change our life.  They are trying to claim what only belongs to Jesus: the authority of obedience.

Is it a wonder that so many people think sexual acts outside of marriage are not wrong?  We see it (even if not graphically) on primetime television and in popular music.  Is it a wonder than women are treated simply as toys to entertain?  So many movies, shows, and songs treat women as if their only purpose in life is to satisfy the libido of men.  But the more we listen to the world, and the less we listen to Jesus, the more our problems will increase.  Because Hollywood, the media, artists, and businesses don’t care about our ultimate happiness.  They may want to do more than just make money, but I can assure you that Apple, Clint Eastwood, and Taylor Swift don’t truly care about me.  They can’t because they don’t know me.  Jesus cares about me.  He wants me to be happy and be fulfilled.  He knows me, even better than I know myself.  He knows me because He created me, and sustains me in love.  And He invites me to listen to Him, to acknowledge His authority, because He is my Author, and wants to have me with Him forever in heaven, enveloped in love.  But I have to listen to Him.

I enjoy listening to music.  I enjoy watching movies and TV.  But I have to guard my ears and my eyes to make sure that I am not giving more authority to music and shows than I give to Jesus in determining the direction of my life.  To whom do we listen?  Whose authority do we recognize?