Of What Relevance Can the Birth of St. John the Baptist Have on Us?

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.^[1]

            On 24 June, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of St. John the Baptist.  Perhaps, others may have a similar thought that occurred to me: How is this a continual impact upon me since I already know about John the Baptist?  With the aid of the Church fathers, I want to touch upon this.

            The above-mentioned passage is from the New American Bible.  I want to utilize the Douay-Rheims version because of the word “full,” which it utilizes.  Now Elizabeth’s full time of being delivered was come: and she brought forth a son.^[2]  I had always been taught that a pregnancy was full term at nine months, but my daughter told me, no, that it was actually ten months.  That is fitting because, in Scripture, “ten” means fullness, completeness.  St. Ambrose tells us: “If you carefully observe, you will find that the word signifying fullness is nowhere used except at the birth of the righteous.  Hence it is said, ‘Now Elisabeth’s full time came.’  For the life of the righteous has fullness, but the days of the wicked are empty.”[3]  Of what relevance is that to us?  We are born again in Baptism; and, when our days in this lifetime are full—if we cooperate with the grace of God and grow in Christ—we will bear fruit: We will be the image of our Lord.  Not only that: Because we are progressing towards “full term,” we are bearing fruit in this lifetime.

            Now, fruit is evidence of the fact that we are growing in Christ.  For that reason, many of us look for fruit in ourselves, becoming “fruit watchers.”  Often, we are discouraged because we see more bad things than good—unless we become presumptuous.  For this reason, it is comforting that the Church has included a passage from the prophet, Isaiah: But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.”^[4]  This encourages us that, if we cooperate with the grace of God, and persevere, enduring to the end, we will come to “full term.”  We don’t have to see the fruit in ourselves, we just have to let Christ produce the fruit in us.  Others will see the fruit.  We may not see our lives affecting people, leading them to Christ, but God will ensure it occurs.  St. Stephen, perhaps, did not see fruit in his life, but because of his life and prayers—especially his final prayer—he is still bearing much fruit as a result of the conversion of St. Paul.  It is when the seed dies that the wheat will grow.  We just need to keep “pointing” our minds to Christ, praying that he conforms us to his image.

            Origen explains: “Zacharias is by interpretation ‘remembering God,’ but John signifies ‘pointing to.’  Now ‘memory’ relates to something absent; ‘pointing to,’ to something present.  But John was not about to set forth the memory of God as absent, but with his finger to point him out as present, saying, Behold the Lamb of God.”[5]  We are like Zacharias, in his name, when we remember God.  Remembering God reminds us that we are not yet seeing him face-to-face, that we are a work in progress.  John’s name reminds us to keep our minds upon Christ, living as he lived.  St. John Chrysostom tells us that that “John” can also be interpreted “the grace of God.”  This reminds us that God is continually giving us the grace to be transformed into the image of his Son; we just need to “exercise” that grace.

            St. Ambrose exhorts us: “Rightly also, from that moment was his (Zachariah’s) tongue loosed for that which unbelief had bound, faith set free.  Let us then also believe, in order that our tongue, which has been bound by the chains of unbelief, may be loosed by the voice of reason.  Let us write mysteries by the Spirit if we wish to speak.  Let us write the forerunner of Christ, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart.  For he who names John, prophesies Christ.  For it follows, ‘And he spoke, giving thanks’.”[6]

            John the Baptist was circumcised on the eighth day.  “Eight” signifies new life, new creation—which we attained at Baptism.  Were we given new life in order that we may live as others do, or were we given new life in order that we could live as our Father lives and teaches?  May the birth of John the Baptism remind us who and what we are, causing us to progress to “full term.”  May we be as the Baptist was: The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel^[7]--in our case, when we come to the judgment seat of Christ, the true Israel.

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^[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Lk 1:57–66, 80.

^[2] The Holy Bible, Translated from the Latin Vulgate, (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), Lk 1:57.

[3] Aquinas, St. Thomas. Catena Aurea - Gospel of St. Luke - EasyRead Version (Kindle Locations 767-769).  Kindle Edition

^[4] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Is 49:4.

[5] Aquinas, St. Thomas. Catena Aurea - Gospel of St. Luke - EasyRead Version (Kindle Locations 800-803).  Kindle Edition

[6] Aquinas, St. Thomas. Catena Aurea - Gospel of St. Luke - EasyRead Version (Kindle Locations 809-812).  Kindle Edition.

^[7] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Lk 1:80.

Being Catholic

…in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God…^[1]

            In this passage, St. Paul is telling us what it means to be Catholic.  We must remember that, because of his love, Jesus suffered.  Because the Catholic Church is the Body of Christ, out of love, the Church must also suffer.  Because we, as individuals, are part of this living organism, the Body of Christ, out of love we must also suffer.  This causes us to understand what the apostle is speaking of.

            Through much endurance—of suffering—he exhibits his love of neighbor although they afflict him.  Although he is imprisoned, he exhibits the love of God which abides in him, which impels him.  We see this when he and Silas were imprisoned and the doors opened as a result of an earthquake but would not escape for the sake of the jailer.  In short, this passage teaches us how to be humble, how to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

            Of particular note is “unfeigned love.”  Oftentimes, we consider being nice and tolerant as being love.  This is not necessarily true.  Many times, this will fall under “feigned love.”  Love has to do with what is good, beneficial, for others.  As we see in Jesus, there are times when—because of love—we need to be firm, hard.

            We exhibit God’s power in us when, like the apostle, we commend ourselves “through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts, by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love, and in truthful speech.  We also prove ourselves as Catholics.  In this way, we prove the power of Jesus’ cross and resurrection.  When we act thusly, “the Lord has made his victory known;

has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations.”^[2]  The Catholic Church is then, universally, being the visible Christ to the world.  The Lord is proving that “He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness toward the house of Israel,” and “all the ends of the earth have seen

the victory of our God.”^[3]

           But what is this power of God?  One, we could say that it is our faith, and that would be correct.  However, just saying it is our faith is like putting a veil over it or putting filthy glass in front of it.  If we meditate upon it, I think we would have to conclude that this power that the apostle is speaking of is love.  We are commanded to forgive.  Why?  Because love forgives.  Why does the apostle say that they commended themselves as minister of God through much endurance?  Because they were born again with the divine nature of God, having the power of his love.  St. Bonaventure, I think, puts it in perspective in what he says respecting the deep concern that the angels had for us:

“When for an immense period of time, more than four thousand years, the human race lay in misery on account of the sin of the first man, not one soul being able to soar to his native Country, the blessed angelical spirits, we can imagine, [are] compassionate [of] so great a fall and anxious for the restoration of their own ranks [that] when ‘the fullness of time’ had now come, assembling themselves together, presented themselves before God, and falling down on their faces before Him, devoutly and earnestly pressed upon Him their supplications and said, ‘O Lord, it pleased Thy Majesty to make the rational creature, namely man, because of your goodness, that he might be here with us, and that the restoration of our numbers might be brought about by his presence.  But behold! the whole race is perishing, and not one is saved; and throughout the ages which are past we see our enemies triumphing over all, when instead of our ranks being filled up; the caverns of hell are crowded.  Wherefore then, O Lord, did you make man?  ‘Why are the souls which confess to you delivered to beasts?’  And, if this be in accord with your justice, yet now is the time of mercy.  And, if their first parents unwarily transgressed your commandment, let your mercy come to their help.  Remember that you did create them in your own likeness.  Extend, O Lord, mercifully your hand to them and replenish them mercifully.  The eyes of all look to you, ‘as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters,’ until you will have mercy and deliver the human race by a saving remedy’.”^[4]

            In this, we see the love of God at work in the angels.  We see the love of the angels for the human race although they are more powerful than us and are much holier than we are.  Love has to be the power of God which is at work in those who are baptized into his name.  It is the power of this love which moved the Son of God to become man and exhibit this love to all.  When we exhibit this love to our neighbor, we prove that the power of God is in us.  Anyone can say that they love God, but where is the evidence?  The evidence lies in the love of neighbor.  This is unfeigned love.  This is the treasure we hold in earthen vessels.  Many people say they are caring, loving, and tolerant.  Nevertheless, when things do not go their way, they hate and kill.  This is feigned love.  The power of God causes us to endure “afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech.”  This power is in us by virtue of the Sacraments; nonetheless, we must exercise them.  And, even in the exercise of them, we need the aid of God.  Therefore, we must ask, and keep asking.  We know that God will answer this because this is his will for his children.  This is being Catholic.

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^[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), 2 Co 6:4–7.

^[2] Ibid., Ps 98:2.

^[3] Ibid., Ps 98:3.

^[4] Saint Bonaventure, The Life of Christ, ed. W. H. Hutchings, (London: Rivingtons, 1881), 1–2.

What Are We Attempting to Attain?

Remember how for these forty years the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the wilderness, so as to test you by affliction, to know what was in your heart: to keep his commandments, or not.  He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.^[1]

            What is the goal we are looking to attain?  For most, I would assume it is salvation.  There are many who think that they have already attained this goal; however, Scripture teaches us that there are three aspects of salvation: past, present, and future.  We have been saved; we are being saved; and we will be saved.  This is why St. Paul tells us that we must persevere to the end.  Perhaps, it would be better if we changed, not our goal, but the description of the goal: to be like Christ.  This is, after all, what salvation encompasses.  “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.”^[2]  When we see this as our ultimate goal—instead of just being “saved”—then we start asking for things to that end.

            Remember how for these forty years the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the wilderness…  “Forty years” refers to a completion of time.  We can look at Baptism as the beginning of the “forty years” for that is when the Israelites were “baptized” in the crossing of the Red Sea, being brought out of captivity, out of slavery to sin.  Hence, we can infer that Jesus’ “forty years” began at His Baptism, after which He was driven into the desert to be tempted.  His “forty years” concluded with His victory over sin in His crucifixion and Resurrection.  Jesus’ death is a victory because He did not succumb to Satan and his pomps.  It is a victory because Love abounded.

            …so as to test you by affliction, to know what was in your heart: to keep his commandments, or not.   To “know what was in your heart” means to “prove.”  God already knew their hearts; He needed to prove to them, individually and as a community, what was in their hearts.  Jesus, the Son of God, is also wholly man.  Therefore, He was also tested and “proven” to the Church and the human race.  We learn from St. Catherine of Sienna: “…A man proves his patience on his neighbor when he receives injuries from him.  Similarly, he proves his humility on a proud man, his faith on an infidel, his true hope on one who despairs, his justice on the unjust, his kindness on the cruel, his gentleness and benignity on the irascible.  Good men produce and prove all their virtues on their neighbor, just as perverse men all their vices; thus, if you consider well, humility is proved on pride in this way.”[3]  We see this in Jesus, in His words and actions.

            Another thing of interest which we learn from the saint is when God teaches her: “The Devil…is the instrument of My Justice to torment the souls who have miserably offended Me.  And I have set him in this life to tempt and molest My creatures, not for My creatures to be conquered but that they may conquer, proving their virtue, and receive from Me the glory of victory.  And no one should fear any battle or temptation of the Devil that may come to him because I have made My creatures strong and have given them strength of will, fortified in the Blood of my Son, which will (the will of the mind) neither Devil nor creature can move, because it is yours, given by Me.  You therefore, with free arbitration, can hold it or leave it, according as you please.  It is an arm which, if you place it in the hands of the Devil, straightway becomes a knife with which he strikes you and slays you.  But if man do not give this knife of his will into the hands of the Devil--that is, if he does not consent to his temptations and molestation--he will never be injured by the guilt of sin in any temptation but will even be fortified by it, when the eye of his intellect is opened to see My love which allowed him to be tempted, so as to arrive at virtue, by being proved.  For one does not arrive at virtue except through knowledge of self and knowledge of Me, which knowledge is more perfectly acquired in the time of temptation because then man knows himself to be nothing, being unable to lift off himself the pains and vexations which he would flee; and he knows Me in his will, which is fortified by My goodness, so that it does not yield to these thoughts.  And he has seen that My love permits these temptations, for the devil is weak and, by himself, can do nothing unless I allow him.  And I let him tempt, through [My] love and not through hatred, that you may conquer and not that you may be conquered, and that you may come to a perfect knowledge of yourself, and of Me, and that virtue may be proved, for it is not proved except by its contrary.”[4]  This, we also see in Jesus. 

            It is not that God enjoys seeing us being persecuted and suffer; it is God teaching us what being human really means.  One of the reasons the Son of God became man was not to make us something that we were not created to be but to show us what being human really meant.  Mankind was not created to be prideful, hateful, lustful, etc.  Jesus shows us what being human is all about.  He is the perfect human being.  Yes, by His Incarnation, Passion, Death, and Resurrection, He has made us more than what we were, by allowing us to share His divine nature, but He also shows us how to be human, not brute animals with a will.

            He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger…  He allowed the Israelites to hunger in the wilderness in order to prove to them what was in their hearts.  What was proven to them: They hungered for the temporal, not for God.  They were given food of the earth; nevertheless, they still died.  If they hungered for God, they would have eternal life.  They desired to please their bodies more than desiring God.  This is one of the reasons we fast; this is one of the purposes of Lent.  Allowing our bodies to hunger should redirect our minds on the fact that we need to hunger for God.

            …and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.  Of course, this points to the Eucharist.  We are to fast at least one hour before receiving the Eucharist.  This hour is to turn our minds to the fact that, if we hunger for God, He will give us Himself.

            It was easy for me to join the Marine Corps.  All I had to do was pass a test and take an oath.  However, it took much more than to remain a Marine.  I had to desire to remain a Marine, and I had to be obedient.  In the Church, we do not “join” an organization; we become a part of a living organism, a Body, the Body of Christ.  We are not yet what we will become.  Because of that, we need to be yearning for what we are to become.  This is another reason we should desire the Eucharist: to become what we eat.  If we are just looking for to being saved from hell, we are missing everything.  If we are looking at growing more and more into the image of Christ, yearning for the day it is accomplished, we gain everything, including being saved from hell.  We are still undergoing our forty years in the wilderness.  The Lord, our God, is directing all our journeyings, so as to test us by affliction, to prove to us what was in our hearts: to keep his commandments or not.  If we hunger for Him, He will feed us a food unknown to others so we might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.  Let us ask ourselves again: Are we just attempting to escape hell, or are we yearning and attempting to attain the image of Christ through a cooperation with the grace and mercy of God?

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^[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Dt 8:2-3.

^[2] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), 1 Jn 3:1–3.

[3] Catherine of Siena, Saint. The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena (Kindle Locations 566-571). Kindle Edition

[4] Ibid., (Kindle Locations 1361-1375). Kindle Edition

The Treasure in Earthen Vessels

But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.^[1]

            Numerous are the times that I read a passage without it impacting me.  As I read this verse, it caused me to reflect:  We hold a treasure in our bodies.  What treasure?  The power of God.  It is not a boastful power, i.e. “I have God’s power in me; I can do anything.”  No, it is the power of God that we can love God and neighbor as the Son of God did.  We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.^[2]  Herein St. Paul tells us that that the bishops of the Church are living the life of Christ, with God giving them the extraordinary power to bear persecution for the sake of love of their fellow human being.

            They are not doing this in order to “get to heaven” or to procure a reward for themselves—although that will be the outcome; they do this out of love.  They do this to show the love of God.  For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.^[3]   To emphasize this, he continues: So death is at work in us, but life in you.^[4]  This is what Jesus, the Son of God, did.  Death was at work in Him, but life in us.

            This treasure, this surpassing power, is our faith, the same faith that is in Jesus.  Although we call it “our faith,” it is not from us, but of God.  This surpassing power enables us to love as God loves.  Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence.^[5] 

This is accepting the forgiveness of sins that Christ offers: Faith to fulfill the purpose that God created us for.  This purpose we see fulfilled in Jesus.  Jesus is the perfect human being.  He is the example we follow, crying out to the mercy of God when we falter, imploring for the aid to be conformed to His image.  We want to be conformed to His image, living a life of love, goodness, and justice, living a life for others.  Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.^[6]  

We are born again while in our earthly bodies.  We are not born again so we can be sinners on earth and saints in heaven.  We are born again of the nature of God in order that we may, now, begin to grow into the image of the Son of the God.  This growing is our being conformed into His image.  It is for this purpose that we go to Mass and receive the Eucharist.  Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.^[7]

St. Paul did not tell these things to the Corinthians in order that he would be “somebody” in their eyes.  He did not say these things so that they would be proud of him.  No, he said these things in order that they might imitate him.  By imitating him, they would be imitating Christ, which would cause them to be examples for others, drawing others to the love of God.  This is our faith, the surpassing power that is of God and not from us.  St. Catherine of Siena tells us that the Lord related to her: “…Pure love cannot be returned directly to Me because I have loved you without being Myself loved, and without any consideration of Myself whatsoever, for I loved you without being loved by you--before you existed; it was, indeed, love that moved Me to create you to My own image and similitude.  This love you cannot repay to Me, but you can pay it to My rational creature, loving your neighbor without being loved by him and without consideration of your own advantage, whether spiritual or temporal, but loving him solely for the praise and glory of My Name, because he has been loved by Me.  ‘Thus will you fulfill the commandment of the law to love Me above everything and your neighbor as yourselves’.”[8]  This is the treasure in earthen vessels.

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^[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), 2 Co 4:7.

^[2] Ibid., 2 Co 4:8–10.

^[3] Ibid., 2 Co 4:11.

^[4] Ibid., 2 Co 4:12.

^[5] Ibid., 2 Co 4:13–14.

^[6] Ibid., 2 Co 4:15.

^[7] Ibid., 2 Co 4:16–18.

[8] Catherine of Siena, Saint. The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena (Kindle Locations 2216-2223). Kindle Edition.

Pentecost Is Not Just a Historical Event

            I have always known that the descent of the Holy Spirit was of great importance; nevertheless, it became, to me, more of a historical event than anything else.  For a few years I had followed the TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) group because I knew that Pentecost had to be important event.  What I came to conclude: It was nothing but flowery language, empty promises, and a working up of emotions, not by God but by the individual.  Even after being brought into full communion with the Catholic Church, Pentecost did not have an impact upon me, wherein it gave me encouragement.  Therefore, this year, I have decided to dig into Pentecost more.

            Jesus has ascended, and now the apostles and disciples are waiting.  St. John Chrysostom raises the question: “Why had the Holy Ghost not yet come?”  He surmises: “It was fit that they should first be brought to have a longing desire for that event and, [as a result], receive the grace.  For this reason, Christ Himself departed, and then the Spirit descended.  For had He Himself been there, they would not have expected the Spirit so earnestly as they did.  On this account, neither did He (Holy Spirit) come immediately after Christ’s Ascension but after eight or nine days.  It is the same with us also, for our desires towards God are then most raised when we stand in need.”^[1]  Do we have this longing, this desire?  It must be something that we ask for since it is not something we can work up of our own strength.

            Of course, someone could ask, “Why do we need to yearn for something that we have already received in Baptism?”  In Baptism, we receive Eternal life, divine nature, within us.  Because of this, there arises the need that we abhor sin, desiring to live a life that pleases God, a life that is from God.  We do not look at it something that has been completed but as something that is being completed.  As St. Gregory explains, “We are keeping the feast of Pentecost and of the Coming of the Spirit and the appointed time of the Promise and the fulfillment of our hope (emphasis added).^[2]  He goes on to say, “This then is our manner of keeping festival: to treasure up in our soul some of those things which are permanent and will cleave to it…”^[3]  St. Basil teaches us: “Pentecost is a reminder of the resurrection expected in the age to come...  It is a likeness of eternity, beginning as it does and ending (seven days times seven, plus an “eighth” day) as in a circling course, at the same point.  On this day, the rules of the Church have educated us to prefer the upright attitude of prayer, for by their plain reminder they, as it were, make our minds to dwell no longer in the present but in the future.”^[4]  This is why I say we don’t look at Baptism as something that is completed, over and done with, but is a way of life: dying to sin and rising to live a life of Christ.  However, we must be continuously seeking this, asking for the desire to persevere.

            St. Athanasius remarks: “We also celebrate the days which follow holy Pentecost, showing … through them the world to come so that henceforth we may be with Christ forever, praising God over all in Christ Jesus; and, through Him, with all saints, we say unto the Lord, Amen.”^[5]  For this reason, the Church leads us “little by little, up to what lies beyond [us], and to bring[s] [us] up to the higher truths, adding light to light and supplying truth upon truth.”^[6] 

            “The Holy Spirit came after Christ that a Comforter should not be lacking unto us; but Another Comforter, that [we] might acknowledge His co-equality.  For this word, “Another” marks an Alter Ego, a name of equal Lordship, not of inequality.  For “Another” is not said … of different kinds but of things consubstantial.  And [the Holy Spirit] came in the form of Tongues because of His close relation to the Word; and they were of Fire, perhaps, because of His purifying Power (for our Scripture knows of a purifying fire, as anyone who wishes can find out), or else because of His Substance.  For our God is a consuming Fire, and a Fire burning up the ungodly.”^[7]  This is likened to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”^[8] 

            Although Jesus is not here physically in the flesh, we are not left alone.  We have Christ in the Eucharist, and we have the Holy Spirit.  Although we do not see cloven tongues that look like fire over each other’s heads, we can be assured of the presence of the Holy Spirit because He overshadows the Church and its members.  “Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present. The Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated. It is the celebrations that are repeated; and, in each celebration, there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique mystery present.”^[9]  “The Holy Spirit’s transforming power in the liturgy hastens the coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the mystery of salvation.  While we wait in hope, he causes us really to anticipate the fullness of communion with the Holy Trinity.  Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis of the Church, the Spirit gives life to those who accept him and is, even now, the ‘guarantee’ of their inheritance.    In every liturgical action, the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us into communion with Christ and so to form his Body. The Holy Spirit is like the sap of the Father’s vine which bears fruit on its branches.  The most intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is achieved in the liturgy. The Spirit, who is the Spirit of communion, abides indefectibly in the Church. For this reason, the Church is the great sacrament of divine communion which gathers God’s scattered children together. Communion with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the Spirit in the liturgy.”^[10]  “The mission of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy of the Church is to prepare the assembly to encounter Christ; to recall and manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving work of Christ present and active by his transforming power; and to make the gift of communion bear fruit in the Church.”^[11]

            There have been those who have told me that speaking in tongues was good in that it edifies yourself (1 Cor 14), thinking that St. Paul was saying this is a good thing.  However, when we take what the Apostle says in context, we find that he is telling us to pursue love, to pursue those things that edify others, for their building up, encouragement, and solace.  This becomes clear when we think about the apostles on Pentecost: Were they speaking in tongues for their personal benefit, or for the benefit of the listeners?  It was for the benefit of the listeners.  St. Gregory explains: “They spoke with strange tongues, and not those of their native land, and the wonder was great: a language spoken by those who had not learnt it.  And the sign is to them that believe not (1 Cor 14:22), and not to them that believe, that it may be an accusation of the unbelievers, as it is written, ‘With other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people, and not even [then] will they listen to Me,’ (Is 28:11) saith the Lord.  But they heard.”^[12]

            He continues: “As the old confusion of tongues was laudable, when men who were of one language in wickedness and impiety--even as some now venture to be--were building the Tower (Ge 11:7), for by the confusion of their language the unity of their intention was broken up and their undertaking destroyed, so much more worthy of praise is the present miraculous one.  For being poured from One Spirit upon many men, it brings them again into harmony.”^[13]  It is clear that the speaking in tongues was for the benefit of the hearers, not the speakers.

            The descent of the Holy Spirit is for the purpose of perfecting the Church, which perfects its members, its parts.  Origen tells us: “…the perfect Christian--who is ever in his thoughts, words, and deeds serving his natural Lord, God the Word--all his days are the Lord’s, and he is always keeping the Lord’s day.  He also--who is unceasingly preparing himself for the true life and abstaining from the pleasures of this life which lead astray so many, who is not indulging the lust of the flesh but ‘keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection’—such a one is always keeping Preparation-day.  Again, he who considers that ‘Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us’ and that it is his duty to keep the feast by eating of the flesh of the Word never ceases to keep the paschal feast, for the pascha means a ‘passover,’ and he is ever striving in all his thoughts, words, and deeds, to pass over from the things of this life to God, and is hastening towards the city of God.  And, finally, he who can truly say, ‘We are risen with Christ’ and ‘He has exalted us and made us to sit with Him in heavenly places in Christ’ is always living in the season of Pentecost; and, most of all, when going up to the upper chamber like the apostles of Jesus, he gives himself to supplication and prayer that he may become worthy of receiving ‘the mighty wind rushing from heaven,’ which is powerful to destroy sin and its fruits among men, and worthy of having some share of the tongue of fire which God sends.”^[14]  This is the purpose of Pentecost.

            “[Pentecost is] to kindle to a greater heat and to fill with larger abundance the hearts that were dedicated to Him, increasing--not commencing--His gifts, not fresh in operation [but] richer in bounty.  For the Majesty of the Holy Ghost is never separate from the Omnipotence of the Father and the Son, and whatever the Divine government accomplishes in the ordering of all things proceeds from the Providence of the whole Trinity.  Therein exists unity of mercy and loving-kindness, unity of judgment and justice.  Nor is there any division in action where there is no divergence of will.  What, therefore, the Father enlightens, the Son enlightens, and the Holy Ghost enlightens; and, while there is one Person of the Sent, another of the Sender, and another of the Promiser, both the Unity and the Trinity are at the same time revealed to us, so that the Essence which possesses equality and does not admit of solitariness is understood to belong to the same Substance but not the same Person.”^[15]  Because this is the unity of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is working the same unity in the Church.  Division cannot kindle to a greater heat and filling of larger abundance the hearts dedicated to Christ; only Unity can do this.

            Pentecost is made up of fifty days.  The week is comprised of seven days, ending in the Sabbath.  Therefore, in Pentecost, we have seven Sabbaths, which amounts to the Sabbath of Sabbaths.  Then you add the “eighth” day, which is a new creation.  Regarding Pentecost, St. Augustine surmises: “…We, as it were, return to the starting-point: on which day the Holy Spirit was sent, by whom we are led into the kingdom of heaven and receive the inheritance and are comforted and are fed and obtain mercy and are purified and are made peacemakers--and being thus perfect--we bear all troubles brought upon us from without for the sake of truth and righteousness.”^[16]  Origen tells us that fifty is the number which embraces the remission of sins, in accordance with the mystery of the Jubilee which took place every fifty years and of the feast at Pentecost.^[17]  From the two Church fathers, I think we can conclude: Just as Jesus suffered and died for humanity, and His Bride, the Church, was taken from His side—just as Adam was put into a deep sleep and his bride was formed from his side—the Catholic Church also suffers for the lost because Jesus is Its Head.  This is on account of our being a new creation of the image of the Man, Jesus. 

            God suffers.  We know this because Scripture tells us that He is long-suffering.  We also know this on account that Jesus asked Saul, ““Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”^[18]  We also know that Jesus, the Son of God, suffered as a result of our sins.  God is love, good, and just.  Anything contrary to His attributes causes Him to suffer.  St. Paul instructs us, “…Do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.”^[19]  The Church, being a new creation, sharing in the divine nature of God, suffers likewise.  However, God does not leave us to our own strength, for we have none: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”^[20]  This, God does in Pentecost.  As St. Augustine informs us: “The Lord will give strength to His people fighting against the storms and whirlwinds of this world, for peace in this world He has not promised them (Jn 16:33).  ‘The Lord will bless His people in peace.’  And the same Lord will bless His people, affording them peace in Himself, for, says He, ‘My peace I give unto you; My peace I leave with you.’ (Jn 14:27)”^[21]

            Just as was told Virgin Mary, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,”^[22] the same happens to the Catholic Church on Pentecost.  If it occurs to the Catholic Church, it also occurs to its Body parts, its members.  The Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus, the Head; therefore, He also comes down upon the Body in Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit is Another Comforter.  We do not need comforting in consolation.  We are sent Another Comforter because we must endure suffering and persevere to the end.  This is not just for our salvation; it is suffering and persevering for others also.  In Pentecost, God proves that He loves mankind.  God draws some directly; God draws many through His Church by virtue of Pentecost.  We know that Pentecost is not just a historical event because many are still being brought into the Church and the Holy Spirit comes down upon them.  Let us always live in Pentecost.

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^[1] John Chrysostom, Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Romans, 1889, 11, 6.

^[2] Gregory Nazianzen, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen, 1894, 7, 380.

^[3] Ibid., 378.

^[4] Basil of Caesarea, St. Basil: Letters and Select Works, 1895, 8, 42.

^[5] Athanasius of Alexandria, St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters, 1892, 4, 517.

^[6] Gregory Nazianzen, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen, 1894, 7, 381.

^[7] Ibid., 383.

^[8] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Lk 24:32.

^[9] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 287, Para 1104.

^[10] Ibid., 287–288.

^[11] Ibid., 288, Para 1112.

^[12] Gregory Nazianzen, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen, 1894, 7, 384.

^[13] Ibid.

^[14] Origen, Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second, 1885, 4, 647–648.

^[15] Leo the Great, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, 1895, 12a, 191–192.

^[16] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels, 1888, 6, 7.

^[17] Origen, The Gospel of Peter, the Diatessaron of Tatian, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Visio Pauli, the Apocalypses of the Virgil and Sedrach, the Testament of Abraham, the Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, the Narrative of Zosimus, the Apology of Aristides, the Epistles of Clement (Complete Text), Origen’s Commentary on John, Books I-X, and Commentary on Matthew, Books I, II, and X-XIV, 1897, 9, 433.

^[18] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Ac 9:4.

^[19] Ibid., Eph 4:30.

^[20] Ibid., Ps 29:11.

^[21] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms, 1888, 8, 67.

^[22] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Lk 1:35.

Why Would I Tell My Soul to Bless the Lord; Why Don't I Just Do It?

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!  Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts… For as the heavens tower over the earth, so his mercy towers over those who fear him.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us… The Lord has set his throne in heaven; his dominion extends over all.  Bless the Lord, all you his angels, mighty in strength, acting at his behest, obedient to his command…^[1]

            I recall my days in the Baptist church when the pastor would tell us that, when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, all of our sins are forgiven—past, present, and future.  Our passage negates that premise, as does the prophet, Ezekiel, when he declares: “…If the just turn away from their right conduct and do evil when I place a stumbling block before them, then they shall die … and the just deeds that they performed will not be remembered on their behalf.”^[2]  If someone was to protest, saying, “That was before Jesus died and rose,” I would respond, “God does not change.”  God does forgive all our sins—past, present, and future—nevertheless, not without repentance.  If there is no sorrow over our sins, then we exhibit that we are not born again, that God’s nature is not within us.  It is this nature within us that our passage alludes to.

            Bless the Lord, my soul.  I have, in the past, wondered, “Why does the psalmist tell his soul to bless the Lord; why does he not just praise the Lord?”  The second sentence goes to explain this: All my being, bless his holy name!  This tells us that everything we say and do should go to exhibit the nature of God, His goodness—even our thoughts.  It is only in this way that we can bless the Lord. 

            St. Augustine clarifies: “I suppose that he speaks not of what is within the body; I do not suppose him to mean this: that our lungs and liver, and so forth, are to burst forth into the voice of blessing of the Lord … but this is not the meaning here.  All this relates to the ears of men. God has “ears”: the heart also has a voice.  A man speaks to the things within him, that they may bless God, and says unto them, ‘All that is within me, bless His holy Name!’”  When we speak tell our soul to do things, what we are doing is reminding ourselves that everything we think, say, and do should portray Christ-likeness.   

            The saint continues: “Do you ask the meaning of what is within you?  Your soul itself.  In saying then, ‘All that is within me, bless His holy Name,’ it only repeats [that which precedes it], ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul,’ for the word ‘bless’ is understood: Cry out with your voice if there be a man to hear; hush your voice when there is no man to hear you.  There is never lacking one to hear all that is within you…  When you go to church to recite a hymn, your voice sounds forth the praises of God.  You have sung as far as you could.  You have left the church; let your soul sound the praises of God.  You are engaged in your daily work; let your soul praise God.  You are taking food; see what the Apostle says: ‘Whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.’  I venture to say: When you sleep, let your soul praise the Lord.  Let not thoughts of crime arouse you; let not the contrivances of thieving arouse you; let not arranged plans of corrupt dealing arouse you.  Your innocence, even when you are sleeping, is the voice of your soul.”^[3]  When we turn our minds towards this direction, we are proving that God’s nature is within us, that we are children of God.

            Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts.  We can only remember to bless God if we recall the gifts He has given us.  St. Augustine teaches us: “The rewards of the Lord cannot be before your eyes unless your sins are before your eyes.  Let not delight in past sin be before your eyes, but let the condemnation of sin be before your eyes--condemnation from you, forgiveness from God.  For thus God rewards you: so that you may say, ‘How shall I reward the Lord for all His rewards unto me?’ … You have rewarded good with evil; He rewards evil with good.  How have you, O man, rewarded your God with evil for good?  You who have once been a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious have rewarded blasphemies.  For what good things? First, because you are [existing]--but a stone also is.  Next, because you live—but [an animal] also lives.  What reward will you give the Lord for His having created you above all the cattle and above all the fowls of the air, in His image and likeness?  Seek not how to reward Him.  Give back unto Him His own image.  He requires no more: He demands His own coin (Mt 22:21).  Think … of all the rewards of God [by] thinking over all your wicked deeds, for as many as are your sins, so many are His rewards of good.  And what present, what offering, what sacrifice, can you ever tender unto Him?  What will you reward the Lord with? … Reward Him not from your own.  God does not will to be rewarded from your own.  If you reward Him from your own, you reward sin…. All that you have you have from Him [because] sins only [do you have of] own.  He does not wish to be rewarded from yours; He does [desire] from His own.”^[4]  For example, love has God given us—love is not of our own making—therefore, love for Him and love of neighbor is what He desires—requires—from us.  Justice is from Him; therefore, justice He desires of us.

            St. Augustine goes on to clarify: “If you … choose to reward Him from your own, you will lie.  He who speaks a lie, speaks of his own (Jn 8:44).  If he who speaks a lie speaks of his own, [then] he who speaks truth speaks of the Lord’s.  What is ‘to receive the cup of salvation’ but to imitate the Passion of our Lord? ‘I will receive the cup of Christ; I will drink of our Lord’s Passion.’  Beware that you fail not.  But, ‘I will call upon the Name of the Lord.’  They then who failed called not upon the Lord; they presumed in their own strength.  [Return to the Lord], remembering that you are returning what you have received.  So then let your soul bless the Lord, as not to forget all His rewards.”^[5]

           For as the heavens tower over the earth, so his mercy towers over those who fear him.  “Observe the heaven.  Everywhere on every side it covers the earth.  [There is no part of the earth not covered by the heaven.  Men sin beneath heaven, they do all evil deeds beneath the heaven, yet they are covered by the heaven.  From heaven is light for the eyes, air, breath, rain upon the earth for the sake of its fruits, all mercy from heaven.  Take away the aid of heaven from the earth; it will fail at once.  [As] the protection of heaven abides upon the earth, so does the Lord’s protection abide upon them that fear Him. You fear God; His protection is above you. Perhaps you are scourged and conceives that God has forsaken you.  God has forsaken you [only] if the protection of heaven has forsaken the earth.”^[6]

            As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.  How far is the east from the west?  It can be far; nevertheless, it can be near.  We live on East Burgess Road; but, as soon as you cross Palafox St., it becomes West Burgess.  Therefore, what is the psalmist referring to?  Let’s listen to the explanation of St. Augustine: “When sin is remitted, your sins fall [and] grace rises; your sins are, as it were, on the decline [and] grace, which frees you, on the rise…  Your grace is born; your sins fall.  You are, in a certain manner, made new.  You should look to the rising and turn away from the setting.  Turn away from your sins; turn unto the grace of God.  When your sins fall, you rise and profit.”^[7] 

            When St. Augustine said, “You should look to the rising and turn away from the setting,” he was referring to a practice in the early Church wherein the catechumens, prior to being baptized, looked toward the west while they renounced Satan and then turned away towards the east, towards Christ.[8]  This is also why the main doors of most Catholic Churches are facing west.  You enter, leaving Satan and the world, going east, towards Christ.

            The Lord has set his throne in heaven; his dominion extends over all.  As St. Augustine states, “Who but Christ has prepared His throne in Heaven?”  This brings up another question: Why did Jesus ascend in His manhood?  Is it not because, by virtue of His work on earth and His death and resurrection, man can overcome his enslavement to sin, ascending into an image of Him?  Do those in His kingdom resemble Him or the world?

            Bless the Lord, all you his angels, mighty in strength, acting at his behest, obedient to his command.  Blessing the Lord and obedient to his command goes together.  It is impossible to bless the Lord and be disobedient.  It is for this reason that the psalmist continues: Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, his ministers who carry out his will.  Bless the Lord, all his creatures, everywhere in his domain.^[9]

            We must constantly remind ourselves to allow our soul, the inner man, to control our physical bodies.  If we believe God is who He says He is—GOD—must that not require obedience?  Many people justify their sins by saying, “I’m not perfect; God knows my heart.”  It is true that we are not perfect.  It is also true that God knows our hearts; however, we do not know our own hearts.  The prophet Jeremiah warns us that the pride of our hearts beguiles us.^[10]  He also reminds us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?”^[11]  Sinful man believes he has a good heart; nevertheless, he does not know his own heart.  Many people thin that, because they believe in Jesus and have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, God will not hold them accountable for their sins.  They believe they have a good heart.  Judah, the southern kingdom, believed they were serving God; nonetheless, God told Jeremiah, “This people’s heart is stubborn and rebellious.”^[12]  We will be better off believing our hearts are sick, repent, and ask the Physician to heal us; and then command our souls, “Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!  Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts.”

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^[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Ps 103:1-2, 11-12, 19–20.

^[2] Ibid., Eze 3:20.

^[3] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms, 1888, 8, 503–504.

^[4] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms, 1888, 8, 504.

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] Ibid., 508.

^[7] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms, 1888, 8, 508.

[8] St. Cyril’s Catechetical Lectures, lect. xix. Tr. p. 259.

^[9] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Ps 103:21–22.

^[10] Ibid., Je 49:16.

^[11] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Je 17:9.

^[12] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Je 5:23.