What’s the Goal of Christianity?

I just graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and now it’s only a couple of weeks until I start training to be a Catholic missionary next year. As it gets closer, I’ve been thinking a lot about what my goals are as missionary. Just like anything else, if we aren’t goal oriented, we often lose track of our purpose and waste time. Now as for specific goals, I have an idea from my experience as a student leader active in ministry, but I’ll be waiting until training for more clarity on that. Specifics aside, I have a good idea of general goals, so here’s what I’m thinking:

Ultimately I’d like, by God’s grace, to be able to introduce friends that I’ll meet to Jesus and show them how to live in relationship with Him, learning to put Him more in the center of our lives every day. Only Jesus can redeem us, so it is essential that I share the importance of personal conversion, baptism, and an active life as a member of Jesus’ Church in relationship with God.

I know firsthand that our lives are a lot more depressing without Jesus. When times were tough in my youth, in junior high and early high school, I would often either try to get away from and forget about difficult things by playing hours and hours of video games. I would strictly have worldly goals like being popular, getting to date all the “hot” girls, and being really rich. These are not necessarily bad things, but if they are all that we are clinging to, there isn’t much substance there. In the end, they become idols that replace God. I wanted these things because I wanted to be loved and to be happy. But with Jesus, we are always loved, we always have hope and happiness- yes even in the most difficult moments!, and God gives us all of the strength that we need.

By living in relationship with God, we can have our deepest desires met. At the backbone of everything that we want is the desire for God. I think about this so much and I’ve realized that nothing in this world could satisfy me other than God. I cherish being able to just stop whatever I’m doing and speak with God and share what’s on my heart with Him and His promises comfort me. Have you ever experienced this too? The best times are often during deep prayer in adoration.

Keeping Christ at the center helps us to put the most important things first in our lives. Ultimately there are things that will distract us from true happiness and blessedness in living as God’s children. We can avoid these things by maintaining a daily prayer life, studying the scriptures, and frequenting the sacraments.

Our hope must be in Jesus alone, since He is our only “way” to the Father. He bridged the gap between God and man after we had severed it through our sin. Placing our hope in someone or something else is foolish since only God lasts.

Jesus offered us a new chance by coming to us (God seeks us!) and offering Himself as a sacrifice for us all at Calvary. Now, by dying to ourselves and being reborn in Jesus through baptism we can be saved too (1 Peter 3:21). He invites us to become a part of His Church (Matthew 16:18-19, Matthew 28:19-20), participating in the same sacraments that He instituted for us 2000 years ago. It’s a daily struggle but this is how we can go forward with Christ in our eternal walk of life.

So that’s the general plan. Please pray for me, I’ll need it

Why Can Only Men Be Catholic Priests?

The male only priesthood is a common critique of the Catholic Church, but I’d like to show you that the Church’s position on this is as charitable as it could be.

First off, like all things, we need to look into the purpose of the priesthood. What is it for? Where do priests get their authority? In Israel, there was a tradition of priesthood (for what it’s worth, almost all ancient civilizations had some sort of priesthood): the entire Levite tribe were priests, offering sacrifices of animals to atone for Israel’s sins. They also proclaimed the Word of God and gathered the community in prayer. Israel was actually unique in that only men were priests, while other contemporary pagan religions had female priests, too. Jewish priests could get married and have families. But nearly everything changed when Jesus came along. Jesus was a celibate man and He is our eternal high priest, in the line of Melchizedek (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 5:10). Only God Himself could offer a perfect sacrifice in order to give us the grace of the possibility of redemption, which He did at Calvary. So you might ask what role do priests play nowadays? St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers.” So though priests today offer a sacrifice, it is in the place of Jesus, with Jesus doing the actual sacrifice- a re-presentation of the sacrifice on Calvary. (Note: not a re-sacrifice, but a re-presentation of the one eternal sacrifice) This sacrifice is keeping the command of Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper:

And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took the bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the chalice after supper, saying, “This chalice which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” – Luke 22:14-20

Though that passage was a bit long, if you have never read or heard of it, I’m sure that it will be helpful. Anyways, we see that Jesus tells the Apostles to celebrate this Eucharist (which means thanksgiving, it is the “breaking bread” part of the mass) themselves. These Apostles would become the first bishops of the Church, and they continued just as Jesus said,

“They held steadfastly to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” – Acts 2:42

You can also see evidence of the mass in the early Church in Acts 2:46, Acts 20:7, Acts 20:11, 1 Cor 10:16-17, and 1 Cor 11:23-26.

So we see that the priesthood is important, and that mass should be celebrated even every day from these readings. One distinction that I should make is that Jesus gave the authority of the priesthood to the Apostles, who were bishops. Bishops have the fullness of the priesthood of Jesus, while priests don’t. Priests do not normally celebrate the sacrament of confirmation, for example. Priests only have the authority to celebrate mass because their local bishop has given them that authority.

Is the priesthood a political position? Nope, this is religion not politics. Sure, priests and especially bishops have more “power” than the laity, but again, this is because of Jesus’ will. The priesthood is primarily a sacramental/theological position in order to guide the Church, of course. Like all power, the perfect use of it is in service, not selfishness. This is the example that Jesus Himself gave,

“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” – Matthew 23:11-12

So why are Catholic bishops and priests only men? Jesus picked 12 men to be His Apostles and first priests. Jesus instituted the sacrament of holy orders. Therefore even if the Church wanted to ordain women, the Church only has the authority that Jesus gave Her.

Therefore, our issue is not with the Church but with Jesus. Why wouldn’t He pick a few women? Some people say that Jesus was limited by the social norms of His time. No, He wasn’t: He is God, and God is never limited. He broke plenty of other social norms: Jesus not only talked to non-Jews (gasp!), but he talked to women too (WHAT?!). He freakin started His own religion, for crying out loud. I’m pretty sure He wasn’t limited by the social norms of the time.

Another great case for why Jesus didn’t want women to be priests was that He passed over the single most perfect fully human person ever when He chose His inaugural priest team: the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let’s look at her resume… virgin, not too young or old, immaculately conceived, sinless, oh yea, and the MOTHER OF GOD. If Jesus wanted to ordain a woman, this was the perfect situation. No other human being will ever be more qualified than the Blessed Virgin Mary to be a priest. And He passed on her.

Why are priests celibate? Actually, not all priests are. Many Eastern Catholic priests can be married, and certain protestant priests or ministers that are already married and convert to Catholicism are allowed to be ordained and still be married. But Roman (the distinction is the rite) Catholic priests are celibate because Jesus was celibate. This allows them to focus more on their parish or community.

Maybe the final point to highlight is that priests act in the place of Jesus when exercising their ministry. The fancy Latin phrase for this is In persona Christi, or in the person of Christ. Because of this, it is only fitting that only fulfill this role, since Jesus was a dude too.

In conclusion, the priesthood is not a political position. Yes, priests and especially bishops have authority in their parish or diocese, but it is mainly theological authority. The priesthood was instituted by Jesus in order to celebrate the mass. Jesus chose only men, and so bishops can only ordain men. This also follows the tradition of the Jewish priesthood. Roman Catholic Priests (not all Catholic priests from different rites do this) are celibate because Jesus was celibate and it allows them to give more for their parish or community.

Prayer: A Waste of Time?

There are many people who have given prayer an honest try and become frustrated with it because they don’t experience something. So what is the purpose of prayer? What should happen?

What do you expect to happen when you pray? Do you expect to feel physical sensations?  Do you expect to hear God? Do you expect to have clarity with all of your problems? Or with even just one? The more that I think about it, we have unrealistic expectations about prayer. This is a big reason why we get frustrated with it, and I can definitely relate. All of these things can happen, but they are the exceptions, not the norm.

So why should we pray?

“The spiritual life is not primarily about certain practices of piety and techniques of prayer, but about a relationship. It’s about responding to the One who has created and redeemed us, and who loves us with a love stronger than death, a love that desires to raise us from the dead. Much of that is true of human relationships is also true of our relationship with God. Human relationships of friendship or marriage need time, attention, and care for them to continue and to grow. The same is true of our relationship with God. We have been called to union but we need to respond.” – Ralph Martin, The  Fulfillment of all Desire

Prayer is the primary means of developing a relationship with God. Let me compare it to a regular friendship. You come to meet someone by being introduced by a friend. In a similar way, we come to know God by being introduced by a friend. We come to actually know someone by talking and spending time with them. Likewise, we come to know God by hearing His Word in scripture and by conversing with Him in prayer.

How do we listen to God in prayer? I have often struggled with this idea. I’ve always been waiting for Him to speak to me or to put images or words in my head. But God likes to enter into the world quietly. One example of this is how Jesus could have descended from the sky when He came, but instead He chose to be born by a woman: a baby who was completely dependent on His parents. In prayer, God enters in very discrete ways. He has absolutely put words or phrases in my head or even images, but in a much less profound way than you’re probably imagining. The goal is not to have this happen, but they can be pretty sweet gifts at the time, helping me to direct my attention one way or another.

But prayer is just boring! I guess I haven’t addressed this yet. I have experienced boring prayers. Boring prayers are usually when I’m not actually praying, I’m just pretending. But sometimes we will have a dry time and we will have a lot of difficulty entering into prayer. In these times we especially need to remember to ask Jesus to help us.

“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” – John 14:13

Why is it so hard to enter into prayer in the first place? Remember, in prayer we have free will, just like any other time. Often I find myself just sitting there waiting for God to come and take over my prayers so that I don’t have to do anything, I can just revel in His glory. But that never actually happens. I actually have to concentrate in order to do that. I need to place myself in His presence. There is a very significant difference between simply thinking about issues of your life and offering them up to God in prayer and asking for His help. I fall into this trap too much, be careful of it. Ask Him to help you to pray. It can be very helpful if you’re having difficulty concentrating to pick a passage from scripture or spiritual reading and reflect on it. A very simply way to start praying is to repeat Jesus’ name to yourself. Sometimes I can tell that the Holy Spirit is especially present and good emotions come up (gratitude for His mercy, awe at His majesty, sorrow for sin, desire to be more faithful, etc.), and from that point on my prayer becomes insanely easy where I completely lose track of the world. That’s the whole point of prayer I guess, to be with God in that intimate way.

“For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” – St. Teresa of Avila

There is a place for oral prayers in growing in our relationship with God, as well. If you let them be boring and repetitive, then you’re wasting your time. But if you “chew” on the words that you are saying, they can be as powerful of a prayer as you can say, especially prayers based in scripture like the Our Father, that Jesus taught us.

“A single Our Father said with feeling has greater value than many said quickly and hurriedly.” – St. Francis de Sales

I’d encourage you to pick at least one time every day to designate for prayer, and hold yourself to it. Just as you only learn to swim by swimming, you only learn to pray by praying! Then from there, find ways to pray at all times (1 Thess. 5:17). Just throwing up a random “thank you Jesus” every once in a while is a good start. The end goal is to constantly have Jesus on our hearts in all that we do.

To conclude, prayer is important because it allows us to get to know God and enter into a relationship with Him. Just as you can never be friends with someone you don’t talk to, you and God aren’t going to be very tight if you never pray.

What are you putting first in your life?
material things <<< human relationships <<< your relationship with God

Also see:
The Battle of Prayer
15 Steps to Pray Better

If I could be remembered for one thing..

I don’t care if I’m the smartest. I don’t care if I’m the most popular, the richest, the best looking, or the most talented.

I want to be remembered for being someone who loves passionately. God, friends, life. I want to be remembered as someone who lives a vibrant life of hope, always looking to encourage others.

Talking about it doesn’t do anything. Gotta go live it.

What next?

So you know Jesus, and you’re working on making Christ the center of your life? This was common in the early Church, so for the last bible study of the year I left Sts. John and Peter’s letters give us encouragement:

2 John 4-10 – Love one another, follow the commandments, be wary of deceivers. What are some of the difficulties that we face as Christians? How can we overcome them?

1 Peter 2:11-17 – Put God first. Why is it important to be subject to human institutions? How is this balanced with living as free men?

1 Peter 3:8-22 – We are called to persevere in doing what is right, even when it can cause us to suffer. Jesus gave us this example.

1 Peter 4:1-11 – Avoid sin and remain in love. Remember, this is not so that we can judge others.

1 Peter 4:12-19 – Rejoice if you are reproached. Remember, this is an opportunity to glorify God. How can we maintain a cool head while others are attacking us?

Some inspiration:

Jeremiah 29:11-14 – God has big plans for each of us. Remember, are our plans based on what others expect of us, or what glorifies God the most?

Romans 8:18-39 – Everything that sucks about life is because of sin, anyways. Heaven is going to be wayyy better.

Since it’s the end of the year, if I was going to leave you all with a couple bits of advice:

1. Pray every day. Even Jesus needed to.
   
2. Find some friends who will support you in your faith journey. Nearly all great saints came in twos and threes.
3. Live life. Go out of your way for others.
4. Don’t listen to the devil when he gives you doubts, tells you that you can’t make a difference, and tells you that God doesn’t care about you.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask God for what you need. We’re not perfect. Some days we need Him to tell us that He loves us. Some days we need emotional healing. Just because we’re men doesn’t mean that we don’t need help.

No Time Like the Present

Two of my friends have passed on to heaven in the past month.

College kids. Wow. And totally out of the blue. Praise God for faith. I can’t help but think of the divine mercy image and repeat to myself “Jesus, I trust in you.”

It reminded me that the Christian faith isn’t just for the nice times. No, it’s actually more appropriate for when things ARE NOT okay. Because at times like this when I could easily despair that I lost them forever (with the agnostic outlook), I know through my faith that they are with God in heaven and that this isn’t the end but just the beginning of the glories of life!

Sometimes I forget that people die. But with all of the horrible events in the world news like the bombings in Boston, it’s helped me think more about the necessity to live every moment the way that I’d like to die.

I don’t think that I love enough. I don’t think that I go out of my way for others enough.

Life isn’t about picking the safest path, but about living in boldly to glorify God.

Pope Francis gave a fantastic reflection on this theme today:

“(The parable of the talents) makes us reflect on the relationship between how we use the gifts we have received from God and his return when he will ask us how we have used them. … This tells us that our awaiting the Lord’s return is a time of action … time to make the most of God’s gifts, nor for ourselves, but for him, for the Church, for others. [It is] the time in which to always seek to make good grow in the world. Particularly in this time of crisis, today, it is important not to be locked up in ourselves, removing our talents, our spiritual and material riches, everything that the Lord has given us, but to open ourselves, to be compassionate, to be attentive to others.”

I know that I could do a better job of honoring God with the gifts that He has given me. Often I am too selfish and think about what I want instead of what others need.

“In the square today there are many young persons. To you, who are at the beginning of life’s path, I ask: have you thought of the talents that God has given you? Have you thought of how to put them at the service of others? Don’t take your talents away! Bet on great ideals, those ideals that enlarge our hearts, those ideals of service that make your talents fruitful. We were not given life so that we might hold it back, jealously, for ourselves, but it was given to us so that we might offer it. Dear young persons, you have great souls! Don’t be afraid to dream of great things!”

Don’t be afraid to dream of great things! This was something that I have had some trouble with. For the longest time, I thought that my life had to follow a certain calculated “safe” path. But slowly God has revealed to me how I should not take my life for granted as much. I chose to become a Catholic Missionary, and I’m incredibly excited for that next adventure starting next year! In addition, I have seen many friends discern vocations to the priesthood and religious life. It’s been so inspiring to see their courage and love of God that inspires them to make such radical choices! But dreaming of great things isn’t just becoming a priest or missionary.. there are great people like Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati who simply lived with charity towards all in the midst of regular lives!

“We will be judged by God on charity, on how we have love our brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and most needy of them. Of course, we always have to keep in mind that we are judged, we are saved by grace, by an act of God’s gratuitous love that always precedes us. Alone we can do nothing. Faith is foremost a gift that we have received.”

He’s saying this over and over again because I need to hear it over and over again. Often it is the hardest for me to be charitable in the “normal” times of life: making dinner with my housemates, riding the bus, conversations with family. I have to remember to treat those situations as opportunity to serve God as well.

“Looking to the final judgement must never frighten us, rather, it urges us to live the present better. With mercy and patience, God offers us this time so that we might learn every day to recognize him in the poor and the small, might strive for the good, and might be vigilant in prayer and love. The Lord, at the end of our existence and of history, may then recognize us as good and faithful servants.”

The Mercy of the Lord

As I read scripture and encounter Jesus, it amazes me how His words still challenge me, even though I’ve read and heard the same words time and again for years now. One of the biggest challenges that He presents me with is the call to be merciful.

Jesus’ entire life is an exhibit of the perfect mercy of God, and sometimes that is lost of me. Jesus didn’t have to come into the world, He didn’t have to become a man, He didn’t have to be born and grow up as a child, He didn’t have to give His life for us.

Besides all of those big points, there are all of the different examples of Jesus showing mercy to individuals:

• The woman caught in adultery, John 8:1-11
• Healing the leper, Matthew 8:1-4
• Calming the Storm at Sea, Matthew 8:23-27
• Healing a paralytic, Matthew 9:1-7
• Healing the blind man, Bartimaeus, Mark 10:46-52

There are countless instances like this, so I just listed a few. Jesus went out to the “poorest of the poor”, as Bl. Mother Teresa would call them. Jesus heard them call His name, and when they had faith and asked that He would heal them “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean”, and Jesus healed them. This ought to encourage us all to call on Jesus to heal us, whether it is a physical illness or not. We just must have faith, and ask.

But Jesus wanted more than just to have mercy on us all, He also wanted to teach us to follow His example. We see in Matthew 10:7-8, we see Jesus commissioning the Apostles, “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” We see a similar theme in John 13:34-35, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The most striking scene that I can think of is the washing of the disciples’ feet, where Jesus said,

“Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” – John 13:12-15

The challenge for us is to be humble enough to put others before ourselves. This means everyone: even when it is inconvenient, when it is uncomfortable, whenever. Remember how Jesus healed a leper? Do you know what leprosy is? It’s a super contagious skin disease can be transmitted by just touching someone with it. These people were banished from society in Jesus’ time. And what did Jesus do? Not only did He allow a leper to approach Him, but Jesus touched Him! Jesus could have gotten leprosy, too! He was willing to take that risk. What risks are we willing to take?

The Corporal Works of Mercy:

• To feed the hungry
• To give drink to the thirsty
• To clothe the naked
• To harbor the harbourless
• To visit the sick
• To ransom the captive
• To bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy:

• To instruct the ignorant
• To consul the doubtful
• To admonish sinners
• To bear wrongs patiently
• To forgive offenses patiently
• To comfort the afflicted
• To pray for the living and the dead

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and  you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and and you visited me.” – Matthew 25:34-36

“Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” – Romans 13:8-10

“Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.” – St. Augustine