Sin and Grace

it’s hard to imagine that our loving God would let any of His children suffer an eternity in hell. Just the idea of it seems to go against the merciful Creator Who healed the blind man and cured the leper. We remember how Jesus cried over the death of His friend and Whose love called Lazarus back to life and out of the grave. This God surely wouldn’t allow anyone, especially a “good person” to end up in hell. It’s hard for us to imagine that and so we don’t think about it very much. We surely don’t want to hear it preached to us on Sunday morning. On Sundays we want to hear music and sermons that make us feel good. We want to leave church in a good mood. Many churches go to great lengths to never speak about hell or the judgment of God. When someone dies, there is never any consideration of the state of their soul. You never hear hell mentioned at a funeral. Everyone goes to heaven, right?

But this is not what God has told us. The Bible is the story of how much God loves us and desires that we be saved from our sins. If we didn’t need to be saved, then the Lord would not have left heaven to become one of us, to suffer, and to die on a Cross. The entire story of Jesus would be reduced to a fairy tale about a nice guy. Yet many people who claim to be Christians believe that good people who are kind and merciful will enjoy God’s eternal presence. You may hear them say, “I’m a spiritual person, but I’m not religious.” Translated, this means, “I think I can get to heaven on my own. I don’t need the Church that Jesus founded.” This kind of thinking is especially attractive to us modern folk because concepts like independence and hard work are dear to us. We think we can do just about anything if we set our minds to it. I can save myself by being kind to others, by worshiping God in the beautiful outdoors, and by leading a “moral” life.”

Sound familiar? It should. All this “do it yourself” Christianity has been around since the 4th century. A medieval thinker named Pelagius started it all. He denied original sin. That is, Adam and Eve sinned against God, but the rest of us didn’t inherit that wound. We’re born good and we can stay in that good state so long as we are moral people. Pelagianism denies our need for God’s saving grace. That’s why the Catholic Church condemned it as a heresy around 1500 years ago. Catholicism teaches that the only path to heaven is by the unmerited grace of God through the sacrifice of Christ. We can do nothing to save ourselves. We’re born with original sin which is our natural state. The grace of God in Baptism cleanses us of this sin. Faith is a gift God freely gives us, but we can’t earn faith through good works. Without God’s grace, we are headed for hell. It’s that simple. And that gloriously beautiful.

Unfortunately, this old heresy is still with us today in varying degrees. Churches that believe that Baptism is a symbol of spiritual rebirth or that don’t believe Baptism is necessary for salvation are Pelagian. If your pastor isn’t teaching you about original sin, you’re in big trouble. If you believe that you can “self-help” your way to God, that you needn’t rely on God’s grace—you’re in big trouble. Faith isn’t a choice, it’s a gift. You can’t be a good ol’ self-reliant American when it comes to your salvation. That’s why this heresy is so rampant. It agrees with our politics. But grace isn’t political. God calls us, we don’t call Him. There are 613 rules under the Jewish law and obeying each one of them perfectly won’t get you one step closer to paradise. Just ask St. Paul. We don’t come to Christ unless we’re first called by Him. We don’t “make a decision for Christ.” Christ makes a decision for us. Love is beyond our choice or decision. We are “in Christ” just like we are in love—head over heels and beyond our control. So un-American. And so perfectly Catholic. Take that, Mr. Pelagius.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you.”

—John 15:16

“Bible Catholics”

“Catholics don’t believe in the Bible.” This is something I’ve heard many times from Protestants. It’s true that we don’t carry our Bibles with us when we go to Mass. That’s because the Bible is already there waiting for us. Scripture is proclaimed aloud to us at each Mass. We hear an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a selection from the New Testament letters and a Gospel passage. So though we don’t carry our Bibles into the Church, we hear it read at every Mass. And we listen to the beauty of Holy Scripture as it is read. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”(Romans 10:17). In our 3-year cycle of readings, we hear a large percentage of the Bible at Mass, not counting our parish Scripture Studies and the reading we do at home.

At each Mass, the Liturgy of the Word is very important. We gather together as a family of God and then we hear the Word of God. After the Gospel reading, the pastor or deacon preaches to us. Most of the time he preaches on the theme of that day’s Scripture readings. Unlike most Protestant preaching though, the sermon we hear isn’t the focus of our worship. The Holy Eucharist, the very real and literal presence of Jesus Christ, is the source and summit of our faith and is the reason we come together for the Mass.

Where does the Eucharist come from? The Bible (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; and John 13). Since the earliest days of Christianity, believers gathered to worship and listen to the Gospel stories before sharing in the Eucharist. The Mass existed for more than 400 years before the Bible did. At the Council of Hippo in 397 AD, the books of the Bible as we know it were fairly well-set. This Council, like the Church Councils before it and after it, were made up of the Pope and the Bishops of the Catholic Church. We reverence the Bible as God’s holy word and we look to His word for our teachings on the Pope, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Saints, the Mass and the Sacraments including Baptism, Confession, and the Eucharist.

But one thing we don’t share with our Protestant brothers and sisters is a belief that the Bible alone is the source of our knowledge of God and of HIs plan for our lives. For one thing, nowhere in the Bible does it say that Scripture alone is the foundation of our faith. Remember that our faith was born many centuries before the Bible existed. Christ did not leave us Scripture, and never commanded anything to be written down. Rather, He left us a Church (Matthew 16:18). St. Paul writes that the Church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). He couldn’t have said that the Bible is that pillar and foundation—because when he wrote his letter to Timothy, the New Testament didn’t exist. Moreover, St. Paul knew the Truth: that the Church is the treasury of all of Christianity and from it, was born the Bible. God’s unfolding plan for our salvation through Jesus Christ was that His Church be the instrument through which His word would be revealed to us. Catholics look to the teaching authority of this Church regarding the interpretation and understanding of the Bible. Our Old Testament also differs from the OT used by Protestant churches. Ours has seven books not included in the King James Version of the bible. This is because the Catholic Church adopted the Greek version of the OT used by most Jews at the time of Christ. Martin Luther wanted to remove any evidence of purgatory taught in the OT, so he deleted those same seven books in the Bibles using during the development of protestantism, including the King James Version.

So yes, Catholics uphold the Bible as the sacred revealed word of God to His people. We love it because it tells the story of His great love for us and His plan for our salvation through His son, Jesus Christ. We reverence sacred scripture in each Mass and we stand in respect whenever the Gospel is proclaimed. Scripture informs our worship, inspires our hymns, and illuminates our prayers. Going to Mass is taking a beautiful journey through the Bible. We share the Eucharist, given to us by Jesus at the Last Supper when He said, “This is My Body…this is My Blood” (Matthew 26). When our Savior tells us something in Scripture, we believe Him. The Bible tells us Who the Eucharist is—not a symbol, not a remembrance—but a Person, Jesus the Christ. Our faith is founded on His Sacred Word.

“And the Word was made flesh, and made His dwelling among us….”

—John 1:14

In His Presence

If you’re a Christian, you can’t help but imagine what it will be like to finally be in the presence of Jesus. We think of it as a wonderful, overwhelming moment of love when all our troubles end and we gaze upon our Savior. Even more overwhelming to imagine is that He will also be gazing upon us, looking into our eyes and our hearts with the Love that only He can impart. There will never be a more perfect love than what we see in His eyes. Surely that will be a glorious day.  

The thing is, you don’t have to wait until heaven to gaze upon Jesus. In my parish, we have Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. What’s that? Let’s look at the words Jesus used at the Last Supper when He instituted the Holy Eucharist. “He took a loaf of bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them saying, “This is My Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” And He did the same with the cup after supper saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My Blood”(Luke 22: 19-20). If we believe the words of Jesus as the Gospels record them, then we know the bread and wine truly become His Body and Blood. This is our Holy Communion at every Mass. Some of HIs Body is reserved in the Tabernacle near the altar. This Presence of Christ remains in every Catholic Church around the world. In Adoration, the Body is placed in a vessel called a monstrance and placed on the altar. We can come into the church and pray in the presence of Jesus Christ.

Let me tell you about my own experience. The first time I went to Adoration was way back in the ’80’s. I was a fairly new Catholic and really had no idea what it was all about, but I went anyway. There were a couple of other people in the church at the time, silently praying. I kneeled down, looked at the Blessed Sacrament on the altar and still had no idea what to do. So I prayed. I read the hymnal. I made a grocery list in my head. It took many visits to Adoration for it to sink into my hard head and heart that the Lord Himself was there in the room with me, sharing His time with me, waiting for me to recognize Him, hidden in the appearance of bread on the altar.  

That began a love affair with Adoration. How could it not? One famous description of what this devotion “feels” like is that you are looking at Jesus and He is looking at you. It really is that heavenly moment that most of us try to imagine, when we are together with our Lord. Sometimes I pray, or read Scripture, or say a Rosary, but most of the time I’m just there with Him, sharing an hour in His presence. Maybe it sounds boring, but it isn’t. When I’m there with Him, I don’t always need words at all. I usually stay an hour or so, but sometimes it feels like five minutes. And yes, I have fallen asleep on occasion. Just like the Apostles who couldn’t stay awake with Him in the garden. In Adoration, it’s not so much about what I do, but just that I’m there. I ask Him to change my heart in that old Catholic prayer: make my heart like Yours, dear Jesus. Take away anything in me that isn’t You.  

Adoration isn’t magic—it’s worship. Because Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist on the altar. Our churches should be filled to the rafter. They surely would be if we were giving away hundred dollar bills. Yet many pass by the Creator of the universe, searching for whatever they think will make them happy. Spoiler: nothing else will. I invite anyone to open the church door and come inside. Come and see the Lord. Come spend a few minutes in the presence of our Savior. He’s waiting for you there in the Eucharist. He offers you peace and acceptance. In a world that’s full of conflict and pain, He is love and healing. Come, let us adore Him.  

“How many of you would say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment.”

      —St. John Chrysostom

(349-407 AD)

Fathers

Our Father, Who art in heaven….” Jesus gives us the most perfect of all prayers when His disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). The image of God as our Father is a constant one throughout Holy Scripture. We are the children of God; He is our Father. The title of “father” is applied to other persons in our lives, other than God the Father. Some Christians cite a verse in St. Matthew’s Gospel as a reason for denying this title to any person other than God. In this verse, Jesus says: “And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). Does Jesus really mean that we are never to use the word “father” except when addressing God? Of course, it seems evident that He is not forbidding us to call our male biological parent “father.” Holy Scripture repeatedly makes reference to biological fatherhood. Most famously perhaps in Exodus 20:12 when God Himself commands us to “…honor your father and mother…” It’s pretty clear that Christ wasn’t talking about our biological fathers when He was discussing our use of the title “father.”

Another use of “father” in Scripture is in reference to spiritual or religious leaders. It is in this sense of the word that Catholics confer the title of “father” to priests of the Church. Scripture has many references in this regard. One review shows 144 occasions in the New Testament when the title of “father” is used for someone other than God. The patriarchs of Israel, Jewish leaders and spiritual leaders are all called “fathers” in the Gospels and the Letters. While Abraham was the biological ancestor of the Jews, Jesus also taught of Abraham’s spiritual fatherhood. He once told a group of Jews that they were not Abraham’s “children” at all and that he was not their “father” because they were not of the same spirit as Abraham (John 8:37-44). St. Paul refers to Abraham as “father” seven times in Romans 4:1-18. When St. John writes to the spiritual leaders of the early Church, he refers to them as “fathers” (I John 2:13-14). “I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him that is from the beginning…” St. Stephen refers to the Jewish High Priests as “fathers” (Acts 7:1-2). Most notably, St. Paul refers to spiritual leadership as “fatherhood” when writing of Timothy as “my own son in the faith:(I Timothy 1:2; II Timothy 1:2 and 2:1). St. Paul writes to the church in Corinth to remind them that he is their spiritual “father”: “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the Gospel”( I Corinthians 4:14-15). Surely Sts. Paul, James, Stephen and John weren’t all in error in their understanding of Christ’s instructions about our “fathers.”

What Jesus was referring to in St. Matthew’s Gospel was the sin and pride of some scribes and Pharisees, who loved to be called “teacher” or “father.” Their pridefulness pointed to themselves rather than to God the Father as the source of their authority. When we understand the fatherhood of our spiritual leaders as subordinate to the Fatherhood of God, we come to a much truer sense of our Catholic priests as our “fathers.” Catholics are following the examples of the Apostles by calling our priests “Father.” In doing this, we recognize and honor a great gift God has bestowed on His Church: the spiritual fatherhood of the priesthood.

“God, who alone is holy and who alone bestows holiness, willed to take as His companions and helpers men who would humbly dedicate themselves to the work of sanctification. Hence, through the ministry of the bishop, God consecrates priests…” Pope Paul VI (1897- 1978)