The Feast of the Holy Family and the Church

Our Lord--because he is the Head--has deemed that the Church should celebrate this feast day during the Christmas season, during the season of Light.  Yes, each individual family is important; however, we need to look higher when reflecting upon this feast day.

Christmas is about the true Light coming to the human race, God becoming man for the salvation of mankind. Now, the Son of God, the God-man, still dwells among us.  He promised that he would remain with us,^[1]  and he does: in the Eucharist.  Christ remains present to the world in the Catholic Church, the holy family of God.^[2]  “As in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”^[3]   “Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we take part in Christ’s Passion by dying to sin (emphasis added) and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life (emphasis added); we are members of his Body which is the Church, branches grafted onto the vine which is himself: [God] gave himself to us through his Spirit.  By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature.…  For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.”^[4]   This means we are a holy family. 

This also gives us Hope, and impresses upon us the significance of each of us to one another and the significance of each of us to the world.  Christ came to die and save sinners.  The Body of Christ is doing the same thing.  Otherwise, it is not the Body of Christ.  Because the Body of Christ is doing this, that entails that we, the members, are also doing likewise in some way—because we are holy members of the holy Body.  In some way, by us living holy lives, God is hallowing his name and drawing people to himself.

When thinking of the human family, we would probably first think of the Father and mother and, finally, the children.  In the Holy Family, it is the Child that is preeminent.  It is the Child, the Son of God, the true Light, the God-man, God becoming man, that makes the Mother, the Blessed Virgin, important and makes the father (for lack of a better term), Joseph, important.  This Child still does this today.  During this season of Light, Christmas, the Child is illuminating his Body, the Body of Christ, the holy family of God, just as he did the Blessed Virgin and Joseph. This Light, the Christ, still shines in the world of humanity today.  Jesus is present in the Eucharist--body, blood, soul, and divinity.  This is why the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life,^[5]   the Church.  By Eucharist, we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.^[6]  

  Now, in the Eucharist, the host, there are many grains.  These grains represent each and every person in the Body of Christ.  “In the Eucharist, the ‘many’ become ‘one’ and the ‘one’ incorporates the ‘many’—the People of God.”^[7]    “St. Augustine says that as at the Eucharistic Table our Savior offers us to eat and to drink his body and his blood, we should also offer to him our body and our blood by giving ourselves entirely to him, being ready to sacrifice our life for his glory, should it be necessary.  These are the beautiful words of the holy Doctor: ‘You know what this banquet is, and what nourishment is offered you at this table. Since Jesus Christ gives entirely his body and his blood, let no one approach without giving himself entirely to the Lord.’  A little water is mixed with the wine to represent the mixture or the union that takes place in the Incarnation of the Word between the divinity and the humanity, and also to represent the intimate union that is effected in the sacramental Communion between Jesus Christ and the person who communicates—a union which St. Augustine calls Mixtura Dei et hominis (‘A mixture of God and of man’).  Hence. the priest, in the prayer which he recites while mixing the water with the wine, beseeches God to grant that, as his divine Son became partaker of our humanity, we may be made partakers of his divinity.”^[8]    We are offering ourselves with our Lord that God’s will be done, for the salvation of others.

As a result of the Child making each of us important, he illuminates Light through us, through our obedience to him, through our desire that His will be done, that His kingdom come, that He hallow His name through us.  This is what He did through the Blessed Mother and through Joseph, and this is what He is doing through His Church, His Body.  

In the Church, you will find all the characteristics of husband, wife, mother, father, and children.  Jesus is the salvation of mankind.  Therefore, Christ being Savior, He saves humanity through His Body, the Church.  It is He who kept His Mother holy and pure in order that she could give birth to Him.  He is still doing that today in some way, in order that Mother Church may give birth to holy children by way of the Sacrament of Baptism.  “Salvation comes from God alone; but, because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: ‘We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation.’  Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.”^[9]   

  We see an example of this in Hannah.  Hannah is barren; she prays for a child.  When God gives her a child, she offers that child back to God, for service to Him (cf. 1 Sam 1:20-28).  This is what the Blessed Virgin does with Jesus, and this is what

Mother Church does in Baptism (cf. Lk 2:22-24).  “St. Augustine admirably summed up this doctrine that moves us to an ever more complete participation in our Redeemer’s sacrifice which we celebrate in the Eucharist: This wholly redeemed city, the assembly and society of the saints, is offered to God as a universal sacrifice by the high priest who in the form of a slave went so far as to offer himself for us in his Passion, to make us the Body of so great a head.…  Such is the sacrifice of Christians: ‘we who are many are one Body in Christ.’  The Church continues to reproduce this sacrifice in the sacrament of the altar so well-known to believers wherein it is evident to them that in what she offers she herself is offered.”^[10]  “God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him.”^[11]  

  People will immediately object, citing the sins of those in the Church. That is exactly that: sins of those in the Church.  The Catholic Church, the Body of Christ has no sins, but those in her do have sins.  It is for this purpose that our Lord, the Head has given us the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It is He, through the Holy Spirit, that manifests sins in order that there may be repentance and forgiveness.  This is Him "pruning" the vine (cf. Jn 15:1-10).  Some sins He manifests internally, by way of the conscience; others, He manifests externally, publicly.  We see this occurring with St. Peter in Antioch (cf. Gal 2:11-14) and with the man in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 5:1-5).  Christ knows which way better benefits the Body.  Both ways are for the good, that good may result, for the salvation of the Church, the Body, and for the individual.

Because of workings of the Holy Spirit and as a result of the Sacraments, the Lord, through the Church, is also the provider and protector of those members within the Church.  The Church disciplines her children.  She instructs them, "punishing" them when necessary.  God is the Father of the Church; therefore, He gives "fathers" to us, by way of bishops and priests.  They provide and protect us by giving us the Sacraments.  

At twelve years of age, Jesus did not go with his Mother and Joseph, electing to remain in the temple (cf. Lk 2:41-52).  Twelve is a number of completion, of maturity.  For example, there were tribes of Israel and Jesus appointed twelve apostles.  This does mean our children are mature at age 12.  We know better.  People mature at different ages.  There are many adults who are immature.  At 12, Jesus was about His Father's business; nevertheless, that entailed him submitting to his Mother and guardian father.  If the Creator submitted--obeyed--the creatures He created, should we not also submit to our parents, especially the Church?  Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.^[12]  When we submit to the Church, obeying her, we begin to be transformed into the likeness of Christ, increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.  It is this what really makes the Feast of the Holy Family relevant to us.  Is it not fitting that the next feast day is Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church?

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^[1] 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), Mt 28:20.

^[2] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 413, Para 1655

^[3] 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), Ro 12:4–5.

^[4] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 481, Para 1988

^[5] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 334, Para 1324

^[6] Ibid., 336, Para 1331

^[7] John D. Zizioulas, The Eucharistic Communion and the World, ed. Luke Ben Tallon, (London; New York: T&T Clark, 2011), 14.

^[8] Alphonsus de Liguori, The Holy Eucharist, ed. Eugene Grimm, The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, (New York; London; Dublin; Cincinnati; St. Louis: Benziger Brothers; R. Washbourne; M. H. Gill & Son, 1887), 35.

^[9] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 46, Para 169.

^[10] Ibid., 346, Para 1372.

^[11] Ibid., 91, Para 358.

^[12] 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), Lk 2:52.

Christmastime

            Christmastime is so sublime that I cannot understand it.  I understand that it is when our Savior was born, became man—the God-man.  However, what was it that caused Zechariah to rejoice over a baby, seeing that it was not only the redeemer of Israel but of himself also—when he would be dead?^[1]  What was it that caused Simeon and Anna to rejoice and gladly go to their graves because they had seen the Baby?^[2]  Mostly, in our minds, we are celebrating a historical event, when it would be more efficacious for us to see in the birth of Christ what God is doing for us now.

            “The notion of joy is altogether fundamental to Christianity, which by its very nature is and claims to be evangelium, gospel, joyful news.  Yet it is true: The world mistrusts the gospel, mistrusts Christ on this very point; and it abandons the Church because Christianity would deprive people of joy by imposing its endless demands and injunctions.  Granted, this much is correct: The joy of Christ cannot be recognized as easily as the superficial pleasure that may result from some entertainment.”^[3]  God is happiness.  Nonetheless, we don’t want to find that happiness; we desire to find happiness in that which we can sense, i.e. that which we can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell.  For this reason, God became flesh, coming into this world as a baby.

            “The Word became flesh.  Alongside this Johannine truth there has to be put also the Marian truth as rendered by Luke.  God has become flesh.  This is not only an immensely great and remote happening; it is something very close and human.  God became a child who needed a mother.  He became a child, someone born with tears on his cheeks, whose first utterance is a cry for help, whose first gesture consists in outstretched hands searching for protection.  God became a child.  Nowadays, we also hear it being said, in contrast, that this, after all, would be nothing but a sentimentality better put aside.  Yet the New Testament thinks differently.  For the Faith of the Bible and the Church, it is important that God desired to be such a creature who has to depend on a mother, on the sheltering love of humans.  He wished to be dependent in order to awaken in us love that purifies and redeems.  God became a child, and every child is dependent.   To be a child thus contains already the theme of the search for shelter, the elementary motif of Christmas.  And how many variations has this motif seen in our history!  In our days, we experience this anew and in disturbing ways: The child knocks on the doors of our world.  The child is knocking.  This search for shelter is profound.  There is indeed an atmosphere of hostility toward children, but is this not preceded by an attitude that altogether bars any child from entering this world because there would be no more room for him?  The child knocks.  If we would receive him, we are to rethink thoroughly our own attitude toward human life.  Here we are dealing with fundamentals, with our very concept of what it means to be human: to live in grandiose selfishness or in confident freedom that knows its vocation to be united in love, to be free to accept one another.”^[4] 

              The Church, because Jesus is the Head, sees the necessity of keeping Christmas not only as historical but current, efficacious.  “In one of his many Christmas Homilies, St Leo the Great exclaims: “Let us be glad in the Lord, dearly-beloved, and rejoice with spiritual joy that there has dawned for us the day of ever-new redemption, of ancient preparation, of eternal bliss. For as the year rolls round, there recurs for us the commemoration of our salvation, which promised from the beginning, accomplished in the fullness of time will endure forever” (Homily XXII).”^[5]  Our salvation is not a historical event that occurred in the past and is completed; it is ever-new, becoming more and more mature, in which the maturity is accomplished when we see Christ face-to-face.  It is for this purpose that we are pilgrims, having not arrived in our “country.”

            “Surely, we ought to keep still greater festival when we see the Son of God born and come down from heaven to visit us, urged to this by the bowels of his mercy: Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us (cf. Lk 1:78).  We were lost; and behold him who came to save us: He came down from heaven for our salvation.  Behold the shepherd who came to save his sheep from death by giving his life for their sake: I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep (cf. Jn 10:2).  Behold the Lamb of God, who came to sacrifice himself, to obtain for us the divine favor, and to become our deliverer, our life, our light, and even our food in the most Holy Sacrament!”^[6]

               “St. Maximus says that for this reason, amongst others, Christ chose to be laid in the manger where the animals were fed, to make us understand that he has become man also to make himself our food: ‘In the manger, where the food of animals is placed, he allowed his limbs to be laid, thereby showing that his own body would be the eternal food of men.’  Besides this, he is born every day in the Sacrament by means of the priests and the words of consecration; the altar is the crib, and there we go to feed ourselves on his flesh.  Someone might desire to have the Holy Infant in his arms, as the aged Simeon had; but faith teaches us that, when we receive Communion, the same Jesus who was in the manger of Bethlehem is not only in our arms, but in our breasts.  He was born for this purpose, to give himself entirely to us: A child is born to us, a son is given to us.”^[7] 

             “All the Way,” a song made famous by Frank Sinatra, although not a Christmas son, can be so:

When somebody (God) loves you
It’s no good unless he loves you...
All the way (Incarnation, Life, Passion, and (Resurrection)
Happy to be near you (in the Church and Sacraments, especially the Eucharist)
When you need someone to cheer you
All the way

Taller than the tallest tree is
That’s how it’s got to feel
Deeper than the deep blue sea is
That’s how deep it goes if its real

When somebody needs you
It’s no good unless she (the Church and us as individuals) needs you
All the way

Through the good or lean years
And for all those in between years
Come what may (God showing us his love and sanctifying us)

Who knows where the road will lead us
Only a fool would say (we don’t know what today or tomorrow will bring, but we know it’s for our good)
But if you (us) let me  (God) love you (us)
It’s for sure I'm (God) gonna love you (us)
All the way

All the way...

So if you (us) let me (God) love you
It’s for sure I'm (God) gonna love you
All the way
All.. The ... Way...

            As stated previously, we often reject God’s love because we seek happiness in the externals, things that are pleasing to the senses.  We desire to possess them, thinking they will make us happy.  Once we possess them, we find that they don’t satisfy us, that it is that which we do not possess is what we want.  That thing which we do not possess—although we think we do—is God, completely.  When we “see” that he is happiness, we then no longer desire to possess anything else, for we have the All-in-All.  When we “possess” God wholly, it is so overflowing that we must give.  We then realize that God is so abundant that he cannot be possessed yet is possessed.  Let us see this in the Eucharist and desire it.  That Hope, if we keep it, will not be a wishful hope but a concrete Hope.  Merry Christmas!

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^[1] 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), Lk 1:67–79.

^[2] Ibid., Lk 2:25–38.

^[3] Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year, ed. Irene Grassl, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 400–401.

^[4] Ibid., 404.

^[5] Benedict XVI, General Audiences of Benedict XVI (English), (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013).

^[6] Alphonsus Liguori, The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ; Or, The Mysteries of the Faith, ed. Eugene Grimm, The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, (New York; Cincinnati; St. Louis; London; Dublin: Benziger Brothers; R. Washbourne; M. H. Gill & Son, 1887), 238–239.

^[7] Ibid., 239.

Discouragement and Hope

Is it not yet a very little while

until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,

and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book,

and out of their gloom and darkness

the eyes of the blind shall see.

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,

and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

For the ruthless shall come to nought and the scoffer cease,

and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,

who by a word make a man out to be an offender,

and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,

and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,

no more shall his face grow pale.

For when he sees his children,

the work of my hands,

in his midst, they will sanctify my name;

they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,

and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,

and those who murmur will accept instruction.”^[1]

            Discouragement.  I know what has occurred in Baptism; I know I should be more and more growing into the likeness of Christ on account of the Church and Sacraments our Lord has given her—especially the Eucharist.  Nevertheless, what appears to be the reality is that the opposite is occurring: I am not growing, rather it appears I am regressing.  This often raises discouragement in me.  I cannot prevent this feeling of discouragement from occurring.  That is not within my power.  Nonetheless, how to handle this discouragement, God, by his grace, has given us power.  That power lies in the Hope which he has placed in us.

Note that I have emphasized the word “appear.”  There are times when I feel “spiritual” (righteous), and then there are times when I feel I am the worst sinner in the universe.  Regardless of how I feel when it comes to spiritual matters, what appears to be reality is not reality.  I may feel spiritual, may feel righteous; however, that is not the truth, is not the reality.  The reality is what God is saying he is doing in us.  Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction.^[2]  The harsh things we read in Scripture we must also apply to ourselves—and not wag our finger at non-believers--in order that we may repent.  If we dismiss them as if they do not apply to us, we will not repent.  They are written for our instruction, not for the instruction of the non-believer.  The Law was given to Israel for their instruction, not for the instruction of the pagan nations because the pagan nations did not believe in the God of Israel.  The pagan nations had their own gods—which were not gods at all.  Israel, by obeying God’s Law, would have drawn the other nations to God.  This applies to the Church also, of which we are members.

The reality of what is actually occurring in us is what our Lord is proclaiming through the prophet.  Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?  “Lebanon” means very white; mountain of snow, (intense form); the white (mountain).^[3]  This should turn our thoughts to Baptism.  “Very white” should cause us to think of the righteousness Christ has caused us to be when he—by the hands of man—has placed us in him and himself into us.  However, “Lebanon” is not yet fruitful, for the passage states, “Is it not yet in a little while until…”  The New American Bible translates this: Surely, in a very little while…^[4]  The word “surely” emphasizes that it definitely will occur.  Therein lies the Hope God has placed within us.  Lebanon, at the time, did not appear to be a fruitful field; nevertheless, the “seed” had been planted, and what was to be in the future was coming to pass at the time.  Although we do not yet see the fruition, it will come to pass.  Hope that is seen is not hope.^[5]

Notwithstanding this, there exists danger.  Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, “Our faith and our love are ever incomplete as long as we walk this earth, and they are constantly threatened with extinction.”^[6]  This is confirmed in Scripture, wherein St. Mark writes, “But he who endures to the end will be saved.”^[7]  Now, we know that this endurance to the end does not mean to endure as the rest of mankind must endure the common trials which confront all of humanity in daily life—although all of those “common” things are sent by God in order that we may repent and turn to him, to turn others to him, and for sanctification.  Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance (emphasis added)  and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.^[8]  “Endure” means to suffer patiently something painful or difficult.  We suffer, desiring to be rid of the concupiscence and sin within us.  We yearn to be as Christ is.  God puts this yearning in us.  This yearning is Hope.  He places his divinity in us at the time of Baptism, and his spirit wars against our fleshly desires.  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.^[9]

Pope Benedict continues in his meditation: “For this is, in truth, the time of Advent.  Nobody can claim, ‘I am redeemed once and for all.’  In this temporal world, we do not find redemption as a completed fact of the past, nor redemption as a completed, final fact of the present; rather, redemption is found only in the manner of hope.”^[10] 

This hope will come to past on that day.  That day will either be Advent, when Christ comes to us, removing us from this mortal life through death, or when Jesus arrives in his Second Coming, Second Advent.  Whichever event it will be, it should be a day we can look forward to, not dread.  St. Ambrose gives us this encouragement: “Death is given for a remedy, because it is the end of evils.”^[11]  He goes on to say: “We see, then, that this death is a gain and life a penalty, so that Paul says: ‘To me to live is Christ and to die is gain’ (cf. Phil 1:21).  What is Christ but the death of the body, the breath of life?  And, so, let us die with Him that we may live with Him.  Let there then be in us, as it were, a daily practice and inclination to dying, that by this separation from bodily desires, of which we have spoken, our soul may learn to withdraw itself and, as it were, placed on high, when earthly lusts cannot approach and attach it to themselves, may take upon herself the likeness of death, that she incur not the penalty of death.  For the law of the flesh wars against the law of the mind and makes it over to the law of error, as the Apostle has made known to us, saying: ‘For I see a law of the flesh in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity in the law of sin’ (cf. Ro 7:23).  We are all attached; we all feel this; but we are not all delivered. And, so, a miserable man am I, unless I seek the remedy.”^[12]  Hence, we can look forward to Advent, regardless of how it occurs, for it is the end of sin for us, allowing us to be transformed perfectly, being as Christ is.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit.^[13]  Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit^[14]  Our hope, which will not disappoint, is that day when Christ transforms us, removing all sin. 

            Advent is a short season, for Christ’s coming is near.  Our hope is near.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand ...  behold, the Judge is standing at the doors.^[15]  The Judge is also the Physician.  Lebanon will soon be fruitful.  Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?  In that day, the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and, out of their gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.  The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.  On the day of our Lord’s Second Advent, the Church will be holy.  So, for us as individuals and as a Church, Advent is a season of penance (discouragement) and rejoicing.  We are discouraged because of sin; nevertheless, we rejoice because of the hope within us.  For this reason, we are in the day, not in the night.

We are not in the night because of the light of Hope.  Returning to the thoughts of Pope Benedict: “In this temporal world, we do not find redemption as a completed fact of the past, nor redemption as a completed, final fact of the present; rather, redemption is found only in the manner of hope.  God’s light illuminated this world in no other way than in the lights of hope, put by his loving kindness as guides on our way.  How often are we saddened by this: we long for more, we desire the full, complete, incontestable reality here and now.”^[16]  This keeps us looking forward to Christ.  It is this Hope which keeps us from “drunkenness.”  This “drunkenness” is not referring to an over-indulgence of alcohol but is that state wherein we lose hope, looking for our happiness in the world and its material things.  We arrive at this conclusion from the fifth chapter of 1 Thessalonians:

            But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.  For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.  We are not of the night or of darkness.  Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.  Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.  But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.^[17] 

            St. John Chrysostom teaches: “Here [the apostle] shows, that to be in the day depends on ourselves.  For here, indeed, in the case of the present day and night, it does not depend on ourselves.  But night comes even against our will, and sleep overtakes us when we do not wish it.  But with respect to that night and that sleep, it is not so, but it is in our power always to have it day, it is in our power always to watch.  For to shut the eyes of the soul, and to bring on the sleep of wickedness, is not of nature but of our own choice.  ‘But let us watch,’ he says, ‘and be sober.’  For it is possible to sleep while awake: by doing nothing good.  Wherefore he has added, ‘and be sober.’  For even by day, if anyone watches but is not sober, he will fall into numberless dangers, so that sobriety is the intensity of watchfulness.”^[18]

Chrysostom explains: “’They that sleep,’ he says, ‘sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.’  The drunkenness [the apostle] here speaks of is not that from wine only but that also which comes of all vices.  For riches and the desire of wealth is a drunkenness of the soul, and so carnal lust and every sin you can name is a drunkenness of the soul.  On what account then has he called vice sleep?  Because in the first place the vicious man is inactive with respect to virtue.  Again, because [the vicious man] sees everything as a vision, he views nothing in its true light but is full of dreams and oftentimes of unreasonable actions.  And, if he sees anything good, it has no firmness, no fixedness.  Such is the present life.  It is full of dreams and of fantasy.  Riches are a dream, and glory, and everything of that sort.  He who sleeps sees not things that are and have a real subsistence, but things that are not he fancies as things that are.  Such is vice and the life that is passed in vice.  It sees not things that are--that is, spiritual, heavenly, abiding things--but things that are fleeting and fly away and that soon recede from us.”^[19] 

The Church fathers in many places inform us that wine was given to us by God for the sake of cheerfulness.  However, over-indulgence in that which is lawful leads to debauchery.  Likewise, beauty in the world should give us a taste of the beauty of God.  Beauty should always turn our minds to God, praising him.  Beauty can also “intoxicate” us, leading us to the point we want to possess it as our own.  “I want” means “I lack.”  Because we feel that we are lacking something good, we have made it to mean “I desire.”  When we say we lack, and it is not a need, we fall into sin.  We have allowed our senses to “intoxicate” us.  It can “intoxicate” us to the point that we get upset if we don’t possess it, or we rationalize, saying, “But I don’t love it.”  “I want (lack)” can show us clearly the concupiscence in us.  “I want;” therefore, I should have it.  We reveal that we act as though we “sit in the seat of gods.”  Our minds are no longer looking to God and his greatness, praising him, but has turned in on ourselves: “I like it; I want it.”  We are no longer “sober;” we are “drunk.”  That which we truly do lack—that is, holiness—we do not feel that we do lack; we do not yearn for it.  Our Lord says to us what he said to St. Peter: “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?  Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”^[20]  If we feel at a loss what to confess at the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we can always confess our inordinate desires and confess that we do not yearn for that which we do lack.  The inordinate desires arise from the pride which is in us, and this pride keeps us from being humble, desiring that which only God can give us: holiness.  Because we often fail because of concupiscence, the giving into of these desires should cause discouragement within us.  That would be a good thing.  Then, that discouragement should cause us to pray.  However, that discouragement should not cause us to despair or to give up.  Because we are repenting and confessing, praying, we can rejoice because we are assured that, as long as we endure in prayer, he is healing us.

This Hope which God gives is our helmet of salvation.  Chrysostom states: “And for a helmet the hope of salvation.”  For as the helmet guards the vital part in us, surrounding the head and covering it on every side, so also this hope does not suffer the reason to falter but sets it upright as the head, not permitting anything from [outside] to fall upon it.  And while nothing falls on it, neither does it slip of itself, for it is not possible that one who is fortified with such arms as these, should ever fall.”^[21]

            Discouragement is not a bad thing as long as we utilize it properly.  God has allowed us to be discouraged in order that we may be aware that we have not “arrived” yet, we have not yet attained our goal.  We utilize discouragement properly when we allow it to turn our thoughts back to him in prayer.  We do not utilize discouragement properly when we allow it to turn into despair, thinking that God is not performing in us what he has promised.  This is falling into unbelief.  We rectify unbelief when we cry as the father did, “I believe; help my unbelief!”^[22]  Because of this prayer that we pray out of desperation, we can actually rejoice because God instantly restores hope.  St. Paul tells us, “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.”^[23]  Oftentimes, we become slothful, thinking, “God knows I…,” causing us to not pray.  It is because of this that the apostle reminds us to persevere in prayer.  We persevere in prayer because of the hope within us.  We go to Mass because of the hope within us.

            St. Peter exhorts: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.^[24]

            In his first epistle, he explains: By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (emphasis added). In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.^[25]

            Therefore, gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope (emphasis added) fully upon the grace that is coming (emphasis added) to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.  You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.  He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake.  Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.^[26]

            Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same thought, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer by human passions (emphasis added) but by the will of God.^[27]

            Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh (emphasis added) that wage war against your soul.^[28]

            This is impossible for us to do by our own strength.  Therefore, we must persist in prayer, understanding that, although we will not completely overcome in this lifetime, God is assuredly making us progress in overcoming.  In this, we can rejoice, albeit at the same time being discouraged because it has not come to fruition.

---

^[1] 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 29:17–Is 30.

^[2] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Ro 15:4.

^[3] Stelman Smith and Judson Cornwall, The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, 1998, 158.

^[4] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Is 29:17.

^[5] 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), Ro 8:24.

^[6] Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year, ed. Irene Grassl, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 385.

^[7] 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), Mk 13:13.

^[8] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Ro 15:4.

^[9] 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), Ga 5:17.

^[10] Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year, ed. Irene Grassl, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 385.

^[11] Ambrose of Milan, St. Ambrose: Select Works and Letters, 1896, 10, 179.

^[12] Ibid., 180.

^[13] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Ro 15:13.

^[14] 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), Ro 5:5.

^[15] Ibid., Jas 5:8–9.

^[16] Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year, ed. Irene Grassl, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 385.

^[17] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), 1 Th 5:4–8.

^[18] John Chrysostom, Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, 1889, 13, 362.

^[19] Ibid., 362-363.

^[20] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Mt 26:40–41.

^[21] John Chrysostom, Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, 1889, 13, 363.

^[22] 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), Mk 9:24.

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

^[24] 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), 2 Pe 1:3–11.

^[25] Ibid., 1 Pe 1:3–7.

^[26] Ibid., 1 Pe 1:13–21.

^[27] Ibid., 1 Pe 4:1–2.

^[28] Ibid., 1 Pe 2:11.