If you are attending Easter Vigil Mass - write me and I will send you a free copy of a commentary on those readings. This is good for everyone especially Catholics and non-Catholics.

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BIBLE TIDBIT BELOW:

What is the significance of a cock crowing when Peter denies Jesus. Why a rooster?

It is Bob Salmon who saw this and I am passing this on to you all.

We have to back up to the garden of Gethsemene when Jesus warns his apostles to stay awake and pray, here is what Luke records:

Luke 22:40 And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." 43  44  45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

We see similar warnings in scripture like in revelation where Jesus is speaking of his second coming he says this:

Revelation 16:15 ("Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!")

What does this mean to stay awake but to keep alert in your spirtual life that you might not fall away from the faith. The garments mention in Revelation signify the same thing. All throughout scripture whenever someone lost their garments it means that they fell into sin and lost their righteousness. Think of Adam and NOah.

But this verse has ties back to the garden of gethsemene as well

Revelation 16:15 ("Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!")

 Now listen to St. Mark who records this events after Jesus is arrested in the garden:

Mark 14:51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body; and they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Because he runs away from Christ, the symbol of the lost garment signifies loosing his righteousness. 

Now back to Peter who was told by Jesus that he would deny him three times. After that third time that the Peter denies Jesus and the cock crows, Peter remembers what Jesus had said . So what is the significance of the Rooster crowing. What does a rooster crowing mean for everyone in the world. It means that it is time to get up. Peter, you have fallen into the sleep of sin - wake up!!

Peter and the Papacy Part 1

Whenever there is a change in the Papacy this gives us an opportunity to share our faith but we usually have to defend our faith at this time as well. The Papacy in the minds of common folk is thought of as a relic from medieval times when the Pope took over real Christianity and made it a political power. What does the Bible say?

The Bible says two things: First that Peter had a special role in the government of the Church and Second that this role would continue on through those who succeeded him.

How did Peter have a special role in the early Church?

This is something impossible to miss if you read the New Testament with this question in mind.

Peter is listed first in all of the lists of the apostles though he wasn’t the first chosen.

Peter speaks the most of all the apostles combined.

Sometimes Peter speaks for all of the apostles.

Sometimes it just says Peter and the apostles.

Jesus prays specifically for Peter alone.

IN Acts of the apostles it is clear that Peter is in charge

- He recognizes that the office of Judas needs to be filled

- He preaches the first Gospel on Pentecost

- He performs the first miracle

The most important thing that distinguishes Peter from the rest of the apostles is that Jesus gives to Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is the classic verse to point to show that Peter is given special authority.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

There is a lot going on here but concerning Peter and the government here is what you need to know.

1. Peter is the Rock

The name Peter is Greek and it means – rock – So Jesus was really saying – You are Rock and on this rock I will build my Church. So Peter is that rock that Jesus will build his Church on.

2. Christ is building the Church

It is Jesus who does the building. So many people today look at the Church without faith and see it as a human institution; this couldn’t be further from the truth. This is a divine institution as St. Paul says in:

1 Corinthians 3:6-9  ⁶ I planted (the seeds of the Gospel) , Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor.  ⁹ For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

3. The Church can’t be destroyed

The Douay-Rheims Translation says “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Now there are many groups today that claim the original Church of Christ was destroyed and that in these modern times Christ has rebuilt his Church in them. This is not true. The Church of Christ can’t be destroyed because it is being built by God himself. Listen to St. Paul again:

Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who is against us?

He means that if God is fighting on your side – who could the contender possibly be? There is none. Now in the book of Acts we see the testimony of a Jewish man who is talking about why Christianity should not be persecuted.

Acts 5:38  if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought; ³⁹ But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God.

This Jewish man said that if this work – meaning the Gospel and the Church are from God, then it can’t be fought because it would ultimately be fighting God.

4. Peter alone is given the keys to the kingdom of heaven

This point is a kind of bridge that not only points out Peter’s authority but also that Peter would have successors in that same authoritative role.

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

These Keys are given in context of the Kingdom of Heaven, which God promised to establish in the Old Testament. The Kingdom of David prefigured this Heavenly Kingdom, which is now ruled by Christ the King

Luke 1:32 He (Jesus) shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.

Jesus now sits on the throne of David and is ruling over the Kingdom of Heaven, and like David and those kings who would come after him, Jesus has put in place ministers of his Kingdom, like any Kingdom would have. In the Kingdom of David there was an office called the Mayor of the Palace who literally had keys that could open and shut all the doors. He would be similar to the Vice President or 2^nd in command. He answered to no one but the king himself and was given great honor by all.

We see in Isaiah 22:22-23

What is happening is that the mayor of the palace Shebna is being punished for his sins and is being replaced by Eliakim. It is here in Isaiah that the transfer of power is recorded:

²⁰ In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, ²¹ and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³ And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.

Listen to what Jesus tells Peter and then listen again to what God tells Shebna

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Isaiah 22:22 And I will place on his (Eliakim’s) shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

We see the keys and then the power of the keys to bind and loose, we also see the keys being associated with an office that when one person leaves another takes his place. This is called succession. One person leaves and another takes their place. Pope Benedict XVI is the 265^th person to hold this office that was established with Peter and the promised of Jesus are just as true today and they were where 2000 years ago.

The Poor in Spirit and the Apostles

In the Gospels we read about when Jesus sent out the apostles two by two. Yet when we consider this part in particular:

Gospel Mk 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.

Now when we read the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 10 he says to not take a staff or sandals.

Now there are those who would tell us that these two statements contradict one another. But this is not true. You know the gospels can all be read in about 4-6 hours if you read them straight through. Is this all Jesus did; 4-6 hours worth of work? Did Jesus only send his apostles out one time?

Certainly not. One time he sent them out with sandals and staff, another time he sent them out without sandals and staff. So when you should hear stories that some tell of the supposed contradictions in the gospels, believe none of it. But this isn’t what I wanted to focus on.

Why does Jesus send them out with nothing?

This was on the job training. Jesus is pushing them out into the street with training wheels and is telling them – you need to trust that you will be taken care of.

St. Bede says that preachers today should likewise trust in God, that they should take no thought for supplying their needs in the present world, and he should feel certain that these will be satisfied. These temporal things should not be a concern of his or he might start providing less of eternal things to others.

This is a great example of the beatitude – blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There is no better way to be detached from material things than to simply give them up. We can’t take them with us when we die and they tend to tie us down to earth. So Jesus here is helping them live out that particular beatitude. Religious take a vow of poverty which accomplishes that first step toward perfection and eternal life. Jesus here is helping the apostles to live that out.

The purpose, I think, of at one time sending them with staff and shoes and another time saying – even leave the staff and shoes behind is this:

He is meeting the apostles where they are in their spiritual life but calling them continually to something deeper. God meets us where we are, but continually asks us to love Him more than we love the world.  When Jesus first meets Peter, he doesn’t tell him that he will be crucified upside down. He hints at it slowly until 40 years later, Peter is glad to do so.

We all know how important shoes are and a staff would be used for support but also for defending yourself. To give these up would be a big step to both them and us.

In a spiritual sense St. Augustine has an interesting insight into why they were told at that one time TO wear sandals. (these sandals were padded under the foot but open to the air on the top) he says this: Mark, by saying that they are to be shod with sandals or soles, warns us that this mode of protecting the feet has a mystical signification, that the foot should neither be covered above nor be naked on the ground, that is, that the Gospel should neither be hid, nor rest upon earthly comforts.

So just as with sandals on that are open so as to see their feet, yet padded so as to not touch the earth; living the gospel is the same way: Our life is Christ is something that we should never hide, and at the same time our life is one that should not be attached to this earth.  

These kinds of insights come from commentaries, especially from the ones that I have compiled that are for sale to the RIGHT. These are not my own commentaries per se, but are a compilation of 4 commentaries put together into one, beginning with the Church Fathers to present day.  

Summary of our Faith - In the Bible

In the past we have looked at summarizing the faith so as to see the big picture. We as Catholics should be able to present the faith to someone if asked, especially if we have children we need to be constantly living the faith but explicitly teaching the faith to them as well.  We can summarize our faith for someone but then back that up with the Bible as well.

I would say this - we are made for a relationship with God, but because we offend him with sin this relationship is severely damaged. So God the Father sent his Son to repair that relationship through His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, from where he gives us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is received by those who believe in the work of the Son of God and are baptized. Now that we have received the Holy Spirit through baptism, we can now live a new life in fellowship with the Father which is maintained by the sacraments and prayer. 

How does the Bible present all of this?

If we know our Bible History, we know that on Ascension Thursday right before Jesus was taken from the apostles it says this:

Acts 1:4-5   And while staying with them he [Jesus] charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me,   for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

So the apostles are to wait for the promised Holy Spirit by whom they will be baptized.

Acts 2 says this (and I am paraphrasing) - Nine days later the Holy Spirit arrives and transforms these frightened fishermen into fearless witnesses for Christ. Those who hear them preaching think they are drunk but Peter says - We are not drunk but have received that promised Holy Spirit, spoken of by the prophets. Jesus was the Christ which was proven over and over by miracles and you all had him killed. But God has risen him up and he now sits at the right hand of the Father from where he has poured out on us the Spirit which was promised.

This part that you just told us corresponds to the Creed. We say this is what God has done in the past. Now how do we get in touch with that thing that happened in the past today?

The first step is to believe the message. Do I believe that what Jesus did back then was for my benefit? Now some people say – Yes I do believe, and they think right there and then they are saved. This is not the case. If an emergency worker knocked on your door and said there is a tornado headed this way and I can take you to safety, and I said – I believe you can take me to safety. I still have to follow the emergency worker to actually be saved. The same thing is true with Jesus, and we see it happen in the church in Acts 2.

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

Now that they believe in the work and person of Christ, it is then applied through Baptism, just as Jesus said:

Acts 2:38, 39 And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him

So I believe in the work of Christ which corresponds to the Creed in the Catechism, and I now receive the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments…this is so we can walk in newness of life, or as the Catechism calls it – Life in Christ.

Amen to that, listen to St. Paul

Romans 6:3-4   Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

So the reason we receive the sacraments which communicate God’s very life to us, (such as baptism) is so that we might walk in a new life, a life in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:1, 2, 16-25 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  …But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. … Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Finally this new relationship with God is maintained by prayer.

Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit;

1 Thessalonians 5:17   Pray without ceasing

Philippians 4:6-8   Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, … will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

So we see that even in the Bible, this outline which the Catechism presents to us is present, and is summarized in

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The Catechism in Brief (3 times)

In this year of faith, many people are being encouraged to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC. Let me encourage you as well. I am a kind of person though that likes to step back and see the big picture in things, especially our Faith. Now you probably know the 4 parts of the CCC: The Creed (that we say at Mass and during the Rosary) the 7 sacraments, the 10 commandments, and the Our Father. If you know those then rest of the CCC is just one big awesome commentary on those 4 sections. But each of the 4 parts has an introduction.So I went through the 4 parts of the Catechism and summarized those introductions to give you 3 birds eye views of the CCC.

If you would like a free copy of this in PDF form. Please write me at catholic4areason@gmail.com and I will send one to you to print.

I recommend memorizing the first two summaries before diving into the big Catechism. The underlined parts refer to specific subsections of the CCC.

SUMMARY 1 

I. We are designed for God, and God came to meet us and we should respond in faith to Him by believing  in what he has revealed as summarized by the articles of THE CREED.

II. In the Creed we confess the new Passover of Christ which is in hope communicated and celebrated by the Church in the liturgy; especially THE SACRAMENTS.

III. The Sacraments empower us by the Holy Spirit who calls man individually and in community to live by grace in the love of God and neighbor as summarized by THE 10 COMMANDMENTS.

IV. Prayer expresses that personal relationship with the living God that we are all called to, but we need to be taught what to pray and how to pray especially the greatest of prayers THE OUR FATHER.

SUMMARY 2

I. We have a desire for God and we can know that he exists by reason.

The church warns that even naturally there are obstacles to clear reasoning.

We can really speak about God though we can’t exhaust the mystery.

God has revealed Himself to people especially in the person of Christ.

This revelation has been carefully handed on, especially in the words of Sacred Scripture.

We respond to God’s revelation by faith individually and as a community.

II. The Liturgy is the work of the Holy Trinity, especially the new Passover of Christ.

This is communicated to us in the Sacraments.

There are essential features to a liturgical celebration and yet there is diversity as well.

III. Man is made in God’s image for happiness. Man is made free to choose good and avoid evil. Feelings contribute to our actions. Conscience judges these actions. We are called to practice virtue and avoid sin.

Society resembles the Trinity and people need to participate in it on various levels in a just way.

God gives us laws to live by and gives us the grace to live by these laws. The Church is the mother and teacher that sustains us and instructs us concerning these laws.

IV. From the Old Testament through the New Testament into the Age of the Church we have all been called to prayer.

There are many sources of prayer to the Trinity and there are many schools of prayer.

There are 3 expressions of prayer and many struggles in prayer. Jesus’ high priestly prayer sums up the whole of salvation history.

SUMMARY 3

I. We have a desire for God and we can know that he exists by reason.

The church warns that even naturally there are obstacles to clear reasoning.

We can really speak about God though we can’t exhaust the mystery.

God reveals himself and his plan of loving goodness where, in Christ, all people by the grace of the Holy Spirit are to share in the divine life as adopted “sons” in the only begotten Son of God.

God has revealed himself to man by gradually communicating his own mystery in deeds and in words; CCC 69 First to Adam, then Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David.

Finally, God has revealed himself fully by sending his own Son, in whom he has established his covenant forever. The Son is his Father's definitive Word; so there will be no further Revelation after him. CCC 73

Faith is a personal adherence to God which involves an assent of the intellect and will to God who has made himself known through his deeds and words. CCC 176

We must believe in no one but God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. CCC 178

The Church professes with a united voice the one faith that was received from the one Lord and that was passed on by the one Apostolic Tradition.

II. The Father is the source and goal of the liturgy. Christ’s work in the liturgy is sacramental. The Holy Spirit prepares the Church to meet Christ. He recalls, manifests, and makes Christ’s work present so as to bear fruit.

The New Passover of Christ is now made present in the sacraments which he gave to the Church to nourish, strengthen, and express The Faith. Through them the Holy Spirit applies to the faithful the New Passover of Christ and are necessary for salvation and are a foretaste of eternal life.

In general the liturgy is celebrated by Christ through the ordained and baptized. It involves signs and symbols, the reading of God’s word, songs and music, as well as sacred images. The Church commemorates Sunday’s and other liturgical seasons and days through the year. The liturgy is celebrated primarily in the hearts of believers as well as in church buildings.

The Liturgy is celebrated by the Church according to various liturgical traditions because the mystery of Christ cannot be exhausted by any single liturgical tradition. CP 247

III. Man is made in the image of God for happiness. This is reached through conforming ourselves to the beatitudes of Christ and fulfilled in heaven.

We are given the gift of freedom to choose the good and avoid evil. We are responsible for our own actions. Though our freedom is wounded by sin Christ set us free to make us coworkers with him in the world.

The sources of morality are the object, the intention, and circumstances that make an act good or evil. Only when these three are all good can an act be called good.

Our feelings are neither good nor bad but can contribute to our actions. If they contribute to good acts they are good, and if they contribute to bad acts they are bad.

The moral conscience drives a person to act or not. Our conscience must be formed according to the teachings of the Church and reason. When there is a moral choice we should follow our conscience. While erroneous judgments might be made, these might or might not excuse the person from guilt.

Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. CCC 1833. The four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The Three theological virtues are Faith, Hope, and Charity. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. CCC 1845

"God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all" (⇒ Rom 11:32).CCC 1870 Sin is “a word, an act, or a desire contrary to the eternal Law” (Saint Augustine). There are two kinds of sin, Mortal and Venial. The repetition of sins - even venial ones - engenders vices, among which are the capital sins. CCC 1876

We are designed to live in community which has some resemblance to the Holy Trinity. The destiny of the individual and the community is the same and that is heaven. When society has fallen into sin it is called to convert back toward God.

The authority of the community comes from God and must be exercised for the common good. The common good involves: (1) respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person, (2) the development of the spiritual and temporal goods of persons and society, (3) and the peace and security of all. Christians have a responsibility to promote the common good.

Justice in society requires that we have respect for the human person, even those that differ from us because we are all in this together.

God gave us the moral law to lead us to heaven and avoid hell. Natural law flows from man being created in God’s image and likeness. It expresses that original moral sense which enables one to discern by reason the good and the bad (CP 416). In the Old Testament many of the laws that God gave were accessible by reason and it prepared us for the New Law of Christ. The New Law of Christ fulfills the old law and is powered by grace from the sacraments.

The grace of the Holy Spirit confers upon us the righteousness of God. Justification includes the remission of sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner man which has been merited for us by the New Passover of Christ. CCC 2017, 2019 Grace is the participation in the life of God that saves us and makes us holy. God in his goodness may reward our good deeds that we perform only by his grace, this is merit. All Christians are called to holiness.

The Christian moral life is nourished by the liturgy; especially the sacraments. The Church’s five precepts help conform the Christian to Christ. Once this conformity is fulfilled in the Christian, he now becomes another Christ drawing others to the Gospel of salvation.

IV. "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God"

God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and man.

Jesus' filial prayer is the perfect model of prayer in the New Testament which he taught his disciples to pray with a purified heart, with lively and persevering faith, with filial boldness.

The Holy Spirit instructs the Church in the life of prayer, inspiring new expressions of the same basic forms of prayer: blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise. CCC 2590, 2591, 2620, 2621, 2644

By a living transmission -Tradition - the Holy Spirit in the Church teaches the children of God to pray using as wellsprings the Word of God, the liturgy of the Church, and the virtues of faith, hope, and charity are sources of prayer. CCC 2661, 2662

Prayer is directed to God the Father in the name of Jesus as taught and aided by the Holy Spirit. The Church prays to Mary and with Mary who shows us the “Way” who is her Son.

The Church invites the faithful to regular prayer: daily prayers, the Liturgy of the Hours, Sunday Eucharist, the feasts of the liturgical year. CCC 2720

The three expressions of prayer are vocal, meditation, and contemplative prayer.

The struggles of prayer include not having time to pray or that it is useless and without success. Distraction, dryness, and acedia all call us to constant vigilance of Heart. As children of God we need to trust God and persevere in prayer at all times.

The prayer of the hour of Jesus, rightly called the "priestly prayer" (cf ⇒ Jn 17), sums up the whole economy of creation and salvation. It fulfills the great petitions of the Our Father. CCC 2758

Prudence

Today we are going to talk about the cardinal virtue of Prudence and where example of it can be found in the Bible.

To begin, what is a virtue?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in the Glossary that a virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. So they are habits of doing good.

The Catechism in the glossary also has the Cardinal virtues defined –four pivotal human virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance; the human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and will that govern our acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith'

 

Let’s begin with prudence; what is it and where do we see examples of it in the Bible

 

CCC 1806    Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it.

 

This virtue is called the charioteer of all the virtues. A charioteer is one who drives a chariot of course. So how do we acquire this virtue? Where do we get it from?

We get it from listening to good people and putting what they say into practice. For example the Bible specifically Jesus.

Listen to the Book of Proverbs:

 Proverbs 1:8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and reject not your mother's teaching; ⁹ for they are a fair garland for your head, and pendants for your neck.

Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. ²¹ Bind them upon your heart always; tie them about your neck. ²² When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

And as we read the book of Proverbs, and Wisdom, and Sirach they are filled with very good day-to-day advice and tell us how to be good and avoid evil.

 

Let me continue reading that Chapter 6 from Proverbs

 

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, ²⁴ to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adventuress. ²⁵ Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; ²⁶ for a harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread, but an adulteress stalks a man's very life. ²⁷ Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸ Or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched? ²⁹ So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. ³⁰ Do not men despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry? ³¹ And if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. ³² He who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself. ³³ Wounds and dishonor will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. ³⁴ For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. ³⁵ He will accept no compensation, nor be appeased though you multiply gifts.

 

So this is the trouble that one goes through on the outside when you commit adultery. Jesus talk about the inside.

 

Matthew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' ²⁸ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

 

So now that we are informed from a reliable source we can use prudence to help us avoid a situation that might lead us to commit adultery and other such sins.

 

We have all heard people say to us after we make a poorly thought out decision – why did you drive through a snow storm just to pick up a  movie – that wasn’t smart. This person should have been more prudent and thought through the risks before acting.

 

Prudence is really a call to constantly keep a clear mind about you. St. Peter puts it into perspective.

 

^RSV 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers.

 

He is saying that we are only here for a moment so in a spiritual sense – stay awake.

 

Proverbs 14 gives more advice on prudence.

 

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes everything, but the prudent looks where he is going.

¹⁶ A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is careless.

¹⁷ A man of quick temper acts foolishly, but a man of discretion is patient.

¹⁸ The simple acquire folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Remember Solomon from the Old Testament – God appears to Solomon in a dream and says – ask of me what you will – and this is what Solomon asks for:

1 Kings 3:9 Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to govern thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this thy great people?" ¹⁰ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

This is Solomon’s prayer for Prudence and God was pleased by this prayer.

We end with the words of our Lord.

Matthew 7:24 "Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; ²⁵ and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; ²⁷ and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

We need to take our Lord’s advice and make our decisions based on his commands and wisdom and this will lead to happiness.

Liturgical New Year Party

This Sunday begins a new liturgical year, and while you may have never done this in the past, I want to encourage each of you to celebrate this special time in one way or another.

For the past few years my wife and I have hosted a liturgical new year party on the liturgical new years eve, which is on Saturday.  

I am going to tell you how we celebrated just to give you an outline but I do hope you do something.

We kind of invited everyone and asked them to bring a dish so while my wife did a ton of cooking the night before and the day of we still needed more food for all the people and they were happy to bring it. 

At every hour, on the hour we sang a verse from "O come, O come, Emanuel." While the singing would interrupt the party for a moment my hope is that it would kind of jolt peoples conversations out of the routine and make them focus for a minute on the liturgical season to come - Advent.

Advent is such an important and paradoxical time of year. While the world is punching each other out for a pair of shoes or pepper spraying their fellow shoppers over a sale on phones, we are preparing for the second coming of Jesus. Yes advent is first in preparation for the second coming of Jesus and then secondly about the about the first coming of Jesus. You can hear it clearly in the readings at Mass. Just think, we have an entire liturgical season dedicated to the end of the world, and that is how we start our liturgical year. Only when we are finished preparing for Christ second coming do we recall the promise and fulfillment of Jesus' first coming in his birth.

Advent is not primarily about getting ready for Christmas, it is about getting ready for the second coming of Christ when he will raise all of the dead, some to eternal life and some to eternal death. The elect will be gathered together from the 4 corners of the earth and enter into eternal life forever. Now how do we know that this will happen in the future, it is because we have God's promises that it will. Just as we have his promises that he would come the first time and die for our sins so that we would be saved, which happened and began on March 25 the Incarnation and 9 months later we are celebrating his birth on December 25th. Christmas has its own season which is celebrated until Epiphany when the wise men come.

So again I am recommending that in anticipation for a new liturgical year we gather, party, eat, sing, and talk about holy things.

Listen to St. Paul he says - Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

He says think about these things - I recommend talking about these things. We can focus on the bad all day. Let's begin a new liturgical year, this year of faith, talking about and celebrating our faith with our friends and family with a party. 

How many of you celebrate or celebrated New Years eve? For what? Is that helping you get to heaven? No it is probably making you late for Mass on January first which celebrates Mary as Mother of God, a holy day of obligation. I am just recommending transferring that party to this Saturday and celebrating our faith.

If you do celebrate this event. Let me know how you did it, I would be interested.