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The Litany of Humility – Praying Through Lent

March 21, 2018

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What is Humility?

Many people think that humility means that we think badly about ourselves. That, however, is not what humility really is. Humility is seeing ourselves as we are. We recognize our lowliness before God. Knowing that we are not perfect, we accept the fact that we are flawed, and we trust that God will do the work in us that needs to be done (so long as we allow him to). In humility, we also can recognize our good qualities, virtues, and talents, and we thank God for these gifts.

Humility is, in a sense, self-forgetful. It involves focusing on ourselves less, rather than focusing on our bad qualities.

Humility and Lent

Some important things we emphasize during Lent are doing penance, practicing self-denial, giving to others, and repenting of our sins. These are all ways to cultivate humility. We focus less on ourselves and more on others. We turn to God seeking his grace to help us become more virtuous.

The Litany of Humility is a prayer than invites God to give us the grace we need to grow in humility. It is a way of reminding us of what humility is. Praying the Litany of Humility is often very difficult, because it is very hard to let go of ourselves and put others first. However, in its very difficulty, it can be a powerful prayer to bring us closer to Christ.

The Litany of Humility is attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930) who served as the Secretary of State for Pope St. Pius X.

Do you constantly worry about what others talk or think about you? Do you ever feel frustrated or empty when you’re not the center of attention? The Litany of Humility is all about our Lord assisting us in humbly following in his footsteps and taking aside, or at least offering up to Him, all those fears and doubts that come when we are self-centered.

Although this prayer is wonderful to pray regularly, it is an especially poignant prayer and meditation for the Lenten season.  Our ultimate example in humility is our Savior Jesus Christ, who willingly suffered in silence on our behalf each one of the things listed in this litany.

THE LITANY OF HUMILITY

O Jesus! Meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.

Clearing Up Some Misconceptions

Some of the lines in the Litany of Humility may seem unhealthy to modern ears. Therefore, it is useful to examine these petitions in more detail to see what they really mean.

For example, human beings are created for love. We are created to love others, and our desire to be loved is part of being human. That is why God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone. The Litany of Humility does not mean that we are supposed to be isolated and not care at all about having loving relationships. Instead, it means that we shouldn’t desire excessive love. We should want people to love us in a healthy way rather than always seeking more and more to an unhealthy degree.

It is normal for us to want people to seek our opinion, to prefer us to others, and to approve of and praise us. While this is normal, these desires can be unhealthy. Ultimately, what matters is that we decrease and Jesus increases, as John the Baptist said (John 3:30). Decreasing in the eyes of other people allows Jesus to increase in us.

Just think of the peace that can come if we truly desire the things we pray for in this Litany, and if we are truly freed from the fears mentioned in the prayer! We can spend so much time worrying about what other people think of us, and this can steal our joy. When we start to consider first of all what is good for others, regardless of what it brings to our own reputation, we are less distressed when we do not get the recognition we feel we deserve.

Ultimately, while the Litany of Humility can be difficult to pray, it is about finding freedom and peace in God instead of relying on other human beings for our happiness.

The Humility of Jesus

Jesus Christ Himself gave His life for us in the most poignant example of humility that we can imagine! The Creator took on our flesh and our sins for our salvation, to be born in a manger and die on a cross between two thieves!

As St. Paul once wrote, “he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him” (Phil 2:7-9).

The last petition of the litany of humility strongly suggests what holiness includes: loving God and neighbor above all else, putting others’ needs before ours. We are not to worry how we “rank” in godliness. Otherwise we might as well be like the Pharisees our Lord scorned who took more delight in the trappings of religion, rather than in love of God and neighbor, so that “all their works they do in order to be seen” (Matt 23:5).

This Lent, may we pray to receive a true spirit of humility. When Easter comes, may we be closer to God, and may God be greater in our lives than he was on Ash Wednesday.

 

What are the Differences Between Catholics and Christians?

May 2, 2016

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Initially, it may be confusing to understand how Catholicism relates to Christianity. When you ask Protestants what religion they are, most of them will say, “Christian.” When you ask Catholics the same question, however, nearly all of them will identify as “Catholic.” Yet Catholics believe in Jesus and read the Bible. So how does Catholicism relate to Christianity?

In fact, there are many kinds of Christianity. There are several kinds of Protestants, and these different types of Protestants do not always agree with each other. There are various branches of Eastern Orthodoxy. Generally speaking, Catholics and Orthodox have more in common than Catholics and Protestants do. Finally, there are Catholics. You are probably familiar with Roman Catholics but there are also Eastern Catholics. There are several types of Eastern Catholicism, and they are very similar to Eastern Orthodoxy but they are in communion with the Pope.

So the answer to the question, “What is the difference between Catholics and Christians?” in short is, “There are no differences. Catholics are Christians.” Indeed, Catholics believe that while other Christians are really and truly followers of Christ, the Catholic Church alone possesses (as a gift from Jesus Christ himself) the fullness of the truth Jesus came to reveal.

Even though Catholics are Christians, Catholics may seem very different than other Christians. Let’s look at some of these differences. Because most of the non-Catholic Christians you will meet are probably Protestants, we’ll focus on how Catholic beliefs relate to Protestant beliefs. While there are many differences, we will look here at two of the major ones: the role of Scripture and the role of good works.

Catholic Mass

Scripture and Tradition

Catholics and Protestants both believe that the Bible is the word of God. Protestants believe that the Bible is the only source of revelation about faith and morals. This is called sola scriptura, meaning “Scripture alone.” Catholics, on the other hand, believe that God’s revelation comes to us in two ways: Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Therefore, Catholics believe that the Church has the authority to interpret Scripture and to decide when an interpretation of Scripture is false. For Protestants, on the other hand, what their pastors or Church leaders say is a valuable source of guidance and can be a lens through which to look at Scripture, but these sources do not have the same authority for Protestants that the Catholic Church has for Catholics.

Because Catholics follow Tradition as well as Scripture, it may seem that Catholic Church does not value Scripture as much as Protestants do. On the contrary, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which sums up the beliefs of the Catholic Church, says (quoting a document from Vatican II),

The Church “forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful… to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,’ by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’” (CCC 133)

It is true that some Catholics do not know the Bible very well. The Church encourages all Catholics to read and learn more about the Bible. One way she does this is by presenting the Bible to Catholics at every liturgy.

The Bible and the Mass

The Bible is an important part of every Mass. First and foremost, the Scriptures are read at every Mass. Over the course of three years, a Catholic who goes to Roman Catholic Mass every Sunday will hear around 15% of the verses in the Bible, and over 40% of the verses in the New Testament. A Catholic who goes to Mass every day, including Sundays, will hear around one third of the verses in the Bible and almost three quarters of the verses in the New Testament.

Furthermore, the entire Mass has Scripture woven throughout. For example, when he elevates the Eucharist, the priest will say, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” This echoes John the Baptist’s words in the Gospel of John: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). In the book of Revelation, an angel says, “Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). The people’s response (“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”) is also Biblical: it is similar to what a centurion tells Jesus when asking Jesus to heal his servant (see Luke 7).

Faith and Works

Another important and significant difference between Catholics and many other Christians is their theology of faith and works. One of the central tenets of the Protestant Reformation was sola fide, meaning “by faith alone.” What this means is that we are saved, or justified, by faith alone and not by works. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that both faith and works are necessary for salvation.

Many people, even many Catholics, misunderstand the Catholic Church’s teaching and believe that according to the Catholic Church, we have to earn our way to heaven. This is not at all what the Church teaches. Our salvation is a work entirely of God’s grace, but God’s saving grace requires a response from us. Faith is essential to that response, but so are actions (works). Actions are not just evidence that we believe. They are a key element in working out our salvation (cf. Philippians 2:12). In fact, the only time the words “faith alone” appear together in the New Testament is in the book of James, which says, “See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (2:24).

Conclusion

Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide are often sources of debate between Catholics and Protestant Christians. Of course, there is far more to these debates than a short essay can convey. Despite these debates, be assured that Catholics are Christians! Like our brothers and sisters who are Protestant, we love the Bible, and we worship Jesus Christ as our Lord and God and trust in his power to save us.

Pope Francis on Climate Change

December 29, 2014

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POPE-FRANCIS

Pope Francis plans to call all catholics around the globe against climate change, something that can anger many of the Vatican conservatives.

According to Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican, cited by The Guardian daily, the pope wants to have direct influence about the vital conference of climate of ONU which will take place in Paris on 2015 and will be the culmination of decades of negotiations that will help to determine the future of the planet.

“The idea is to have a reunion with the leaders of the principal religions so that all people become conscious of the state in which our climate is and the tragedy of social exclusion. If the current tendencies continue, this century will be witness to the climate change and destruction of the ecosystem with tragic consequences”, said Sorondo.

The pope has announced a plan to emit an “encyclical” of the Catholic Church about climate change. However, it will not be easy for Pope Francis to convince 1,200 million of catholics around the globe about the importance of the subject. Even in the Vatican there are some that are skeptic about the impact of global warming.

I am al in favor of the pope and his fight against climate change and hope he has great influence in people around the globe to have a positive effect on global warming.

Waiting for Christmas

November 15, 2014

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Advent-Candles

I grew up in a household that put up the Christmas tree a few days after Thanksgiving. Our tree would be up until sometime after Christmas, usually coming down the first week of January. There was never a defining moment when the Christmas decorations went up or when they should come down. We didn’t talk much about Advent other than we knew it was happening and the church would display those cool purple and pink candles set in a wreath.

It was only several years later after moving out of the house that I really took to heart the meaning of Advent and properly put the focus of Christmas on the correct dates. [Read more…]

Google Filters Porn out of Internet Searches

December 14, 2012

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Recently Google updated its algorithm to remove pornographic images in search results for non-pornographic searches according to a recent FoxNews.com report.

Google tweaked its search algorithm overnight, effectively making it much harder to stumble upon pornographic images. The company says this will minimize the likelihood that a random search for, say, bicycling, would return sexually explicit pictures.

I applaud Google’s efforts to clean up web search and to reduce the risk of exposure to children. While Google doesn’t eliminate porn from search results, it did make innocuous searches less infiltrated with porn which I consider a small victory.

“The effective de-ranking of adult content in an attempt to prevent inadvertent exposure to adult content is a trend we have seen in recent months by the major search engines. New top-level domains such as .xxx are only making it easier for consumers to find exactly what they want but at the same time making it easy for those wishing to avoid content.”

I feel like I am bombarded by sexual images all the time from news stories on the web to innocent searches. This makes the internet a safer place for children and gives parents the ability to teach their kids how to use the internet without having to worry about exposure to dangerous content.

Catholicism DVD Series by Fr. Robert Barron

December 6, 2012

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The Catholicism DVD series by Fr. Robert Barron has taken Catholic parishes by storm. In case you haven’t heard of it you should check out. Below are some clips from YouTube of Fr. Robert Barron.

Buy the Catholicism DVD series right now.

As you can see Fr. Barron is a great evangelizer who makes the Catholic faith easy to understand. You can buy the DVD series yourself or there is a book you can purchase which is a companion to the Catholicism DVD series.

Again, I highly recommend these videos to help you grow in your Catholic faith or even for people who are new to the Catholic Church and want to learn more about the church that Christ founded.

Catholicism by Fr. Robert Barron on Amazon

Book Review: A Dead Man’s Odyssey: A Paranormal Journey into the Nether World

November 24, 2012

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Imagine you’ve just died, but you didn’t quite know it. You try to move on with your daily business, but your curiosity is piqued by finding yourself in a familiar yet very different place. Eventually you discover you are in purgatory and now you must figure out how to get out.

This is the setting in which A Dead Man’s Odyssey: A Paranormal Journey into the Nether World takes place.

The author, George T. Horvat, has written a real page turner in which the reader becomes strongly connected to the main character, George. It’s easy to connect with him because you feel like you are connecting with the author himself. Horvat makes the book feel personal, as though you are living right along with George in the story. George shares intimate details of his life which further makes him seem very relatable.

The book also presents some interesting food for thought regarding the afterlife. What will purgatory be like? Horvat’s depiction of purgatory is an interesting one. Everyone is in their own purgatory, taken back to what resembles a physical place from some point in their own life. The amount of sin needing to be purged is measured by the length of one’s shadow. As time passes, one’s shadow grows shorter. Physical bodies are restored to a state of perfect health yet one cannot remember the good times in life, left only to dwell on the bad.

There are shortcuts to getting out of purgatory. People are allowed to interact with each other, but they cannot touch other or else they will have to start over their time in purgatory, unless they already know each other, then by touching you can reduce the other person’s time in purgatory or send them to heaven depending on whose shadow is shorter. There are the Vacant Ones whom one cannot touch at all without being sent back to the beginning of their time in purgatory. There are many twists and turns in the story always leaving the reader wanting more which Horvat delivers.

At first I was skeptical about the book. I’ve never read religious fiction before thinking it would be hokey, but I decided to give it a shot and I am glad I did. Consistently review after review about this book remarks how the reader could not put down the book. My sentiment is the same: I could not bear to put it down. Page after page I just wanted to find out what was next.

I appreciated how this book stimulated me to think about the afterlife and what it will be like. Even if you do not believe in purgatory the book makes you think about your own beliefs regarding this teaching. This book is a real gem and I look forward to more books from George T. Horvat.

Buy A Dead Man’s Odyssey: A Paranormal Journey into the Nether World by George T. Horvat today!

Transcendental Meditation Uses A Mantra Linked To Lucifer

December 29, 2011

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A lot of people are asking about Transcendental Meditation and if it is okay for Catholics to use this practice. Well, someone in our forums is actually a former practitioner and he is warning Catholics to beware. If you want to meditate using a mantra as a Catholic it’s best to use a mantra that is centered on Jesus. You could also do something like mindfulness meditation which usually consists of focusing your attention on your breath or something like that rather than using religious mantras. That being said, the Catholic Church has such a rich tradition of prayer you really don’t need to look anywhere else.

Catholic “Mantras”:

  • Jesus, I trust in You.
  • Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.
  • Jesus.
  • I love you Jesus
  • Thank you Jesus
  • Praise Jesus
  • Holy, holy, holy

Whether or not this warning is completely true, why not just focus on Jesus?

This one is from our forums: Wednesday, December 28, 2011
MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGIS TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION USES A MANTRA LINKED TO LUCIFER

Hirim is a word known to Freemasonary and is associated with Satan according to Fr. Siano F.I in the recent issue of the weekly Il Settimanale di Padre Pio. Hirim is mentioned in the official list of mantras of Transcendental Meditation.

I was reading an article on Freemasonary in the magazine Il Settimanale di Padre Pio. It mentions a name for Lucifer. This article is one of a series on the same subject. The word ‘hiram’ is connected with Satan. The word seemed familiar to me.I was wondering if it was the same word used as a mantra in Maharishi Mahesh Yogis Transcendental Meditation.

I was a teacher of Transcendental Meditation(TM) and completed a five months course for teachers at Pattaya, Thailand. We had to sign a document saying that we would keep the mantras secret . The mantras are given out according to a persons age. When someone would come to learn TM they would have to fill a form with personal details. They would be asked their age.Then according to their age I would give them the mantra during the ritual of initiation the puja.

Many of the TMers I knew were Freemasons and members of the Theopsophical Society, which projects itself as a liberal,open minded, tolerant organisation but it is evil and their members hate the Catholic Church.

Last night I checked the list of mantras of Transcendental Meditation at an internet shop. The mantras are no longer a secret. I found the list of TM mantras. It is the same list which I used as a TM teacher

One of the mantras given out is hirim.

Fr. Siano F.I an Italian priest with the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate(F.I) has done studies on Freemasonary and he shows in well referenced articles their link with Satan. Last Sunday at the Church Santa Maria di Annunziata in Rome I browsed through the recent issue of Il Settimanale di Padre Pio which I read regularly. Again Fr. Siano mentions the word hiram and Lucifer in the headlines of the article.

I recall on my teachers training course the German instructor saying that the mantras are meaningless words but they have a value at another level of consciousness.

I recall seeing a video on the course in which Maharishi is asked his opinion about a person’s strange actions. He is told that perhaps the spirit who is in that meditator prefers to act likewise.

In another video Maharishi also praised a meditator who had experiences which definitiely were related to a Hindu deity and the realm linked to the deity.It was not Christian.

On the teachers training program I was not allowed to go for Mass on Sunday.Privately I would often pray my rosary.

I am aware that TM has opened my unconscious to realms in which I have to protect myself daily with praying the rosary, going for daily Mass and not sinning.

Here is the list of the mantras with the word hirim.

Official Mantra List in the Practice of Transcendental Meditation:

eng
em
shirim
hirim
shiam
shiama
shrim
ram
ayima

The mantra I used wasshirim.

When I was learning the advanced TM technique the TM-Sidhi program and I had not started ‘hopping’ I informed my teacher naively that I was praying for success. This made him extremely angry. He thought I would never ever learn the advanced meditation technique.

This was all a long time back before I went to Medugorje in the mid 90’s. The other TM teacher once realized that I was being lost to the TM Movement, even though at that time I did not know it, she said that I should beware that a lot of people are praying for me and they want me to leave TM. I thought it was odd that she would make that remark.Since it was so uncharachteristic of her. I was wondering what was the source of her knowledge which made her make that remark.

Many years later when I was talking to my bishop he mentioned casually at dinner that it is only after we die that we will realize who had been praying and making sacrifices for us. I laughed I knew he was hinting at me.

Our Lady was with me constantly. She did not leave me.

Lionel Andrades
Catholic layman
Former Teacher of Maharishi Mahesh Yogis Transcendental Meditation

Thank you for your posting. There are many groups that seek converts by at least initially telling people that they are a Philosophy of life and can practice their own religion and the new Philosophy side by side. One other group that comes to mind is the Soka Gakki, who tell you that you can chant their mantara and practice your old religion, but slowly isolate you to their group alone.

TM and Yogic courses, as well as some Quasi Buddhist groups will approach and rob you of your faith by slowly engaging you, until they control your life.

LARobert I agree with you.

Today morning as I was walking near the Vatican on one of the side streets there were so many posters on meditation (Meditazione).A Buddhist teacher will come to Rome as he does every year to teach simple techniques of meditation.
The poster says the courses are free and one can learn how to relax and improve all areas of life and discover the Self.
This disovering of the Self is not a Catholic teaching and it is commone to the Orient.
Also in the later stages one will have to accept other philosophy from the religion of this meditation teacher dressed like a Buddhist monk.
Soon one will have to accept reincarnation and reject the Catholic concept of Heaven and Hell which exists for all eternity.
Also one would have to reject the possibility of being in contact with demons or other entities and that this is not the Self.

Hello Lionel,

Hirim is not a biblical word.

Hi’ram, King of Tyre, friend of both David and Solomon,

The name means Consecration

2Sa 5:11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house.

1Ki 5:1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram always loved David

Hiram a man of eminence and the principle architect sent by king Hiram to Solomon

Ki 7:13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.
1Ki 7:14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naph’tali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill, for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon, and did all his work.

I’m not sticking up for ‘free masonry,’ But Hiram may be the architect and not satan, there was a king of Tyre who later was said to have the evil spirit of satan:

Eze 28:12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
Eze 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God…

Eze 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you…

Eze 28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought forth fire from the midst of you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

and

Isa 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

Isa 14:13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north;

2Cr 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

But Masonry like your T.M. tolerates your beliefs til?

Masonry is willing to humor those brethren who go along with the local and tribal cults so long as they realize that the sectarian doctrines of these cults are simply necessary
evils. Pike explains:

But Masonry teaches, and has preserved in their purity, the cardinal tenets of the old primitive faith, which underlie and are the foundation of all religion. All that ever existed have had a basis of truth; and all have overlaid that truth with errors . . . Masonry is the universal morality which is suitable to the inhabitants of every clime, to
the man of every creed. [Albert Pike, <Morals and Dogma>, p. 161]

Masonry is not about the Gospels, It’s enlightenment through their teachings, seems like a form of ‘Gnosticism’ to me.

T.M comes from Buddhism, hindu ideas.. all self enlightenment. Outside of Christ.

Christianity= Only Jesus Christ can change our nature.

It’s always been my feeling to meditate on the Scriptures, that has brought me to deeper meaning.

Chanting things I don’t understand? Kinda like ‘speaking in tongues’ I see no value in it, groaning in the spirit

Christians groan, because we see both the limitations of this body and superiority of the body to come. We are earnestly desiring our new bodies!

Rom 8:23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (also 2Cor 5:2).

Not allowing to attend Mass, what were your thoughts @ the time?

Thank God you prayed the Rosary, when we pray the Rosary we pray the Gospels, possibly prayer kept you from falling away.

then again Eastern Religions Reject the infallibility of accepted scripture: Teachings should not be accepted unless they are borne out by our experience and are praised by the wise

I’ve been torn against the RCC myself only to eventually find my way back…

Yes we can open doors in the spiritual realm which greatly affects us here. Even in praying over people we can take on their demons.

Amen! How do you feel about teaching others to meditate on Scripture? I can’t do it often, usually it takes 20 minutes of just plain quiet for me to fall into meditation, but when I did it was a generally a good experience because I was reflecting on Scripture.

God bless,
John

Piece of the Pie

April 11, 2003

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It seems to me that everyone wants a piece of the pie, but not too many people want to do what it takes to get it. They try to cut corners or devise other ways to get at this pie, but in reality these people are only fooling themselves in thinking that they are going to get any of it. Jesus never told us it would be easy to make it to heaven he told us that the road is constricted and the gate is narrow and that those who find it are few (Cf. Mt 7:14). It seems that people around the world scoff at religious leaders telling them to shape up and repent or be denied the fruits of true discipleship. But this has been the history of mankind.

For instance, take a look at the Old Testament books of the prophets. Time and time again God spoke through the prophets of Israel to the people and warned them that if they did not repent of their sins and turn back to obeying God’s laws they would face punishment. Several times the chosen people did not listen. They fell away, rejected God’s message and kept on with their lifestyles. One of the few times a large group of people listened to God were the ones that were not even the chosen people of Israel. The book of Jonah gives us that story.

In the book of Jonah the man Jonah himself refuses God’s calling of him to prophesy to the people of Ninevah, the traditional enemy of Israel. Jonah, as legend has it, is thrown overboard from the ship he is on and swallowed by a whale. Eventually he heeds God’s calling and goes to Ninevah. Ninevah was a wicked city that did not worship Yahweh, the god of Israel, and Jonah greatly feared going there. When Jonah prophesied to Ninevah that if it did not repent of its sins that God would destroy it they repented much to the surprise of Jonah. Everyone, from the king to the lowliest and even the animals humbled themselves and God, seeing this, did not destroy them.

But isn’t this how it is? Those open to a conversion experience of the Lord will have one and rejoice, but those that feel they have a special right of passage because they are born into a system take for granted all the opportunities for conversion. That was the message of the story in Jonah. Many of the Jews of that period were vindictive and complacent thinking that because they were God’s chosen people they were the only ones God would protect and have mercy upon. It was an intolerant nationalism which pervades our modern world to this very day.

Jesus warns us of complacency as well. There is no such thing as going to heaven because you think you deserve it. There is no pick and choose as to which laws of God you should and should not follow. Yes, our God is a god of compassion and love, but he is also a god of justice and reward each of us accordingly. God is a jealous god, but is always there for us if we simply turn to him!

Turning away from sin is to turn from ourselves and put God in the center. At the middle of sin is “I” and making ourselves our first priority is the root of sin. Look at Adam and Eve. Eve took the fruit from the tree because she wanted it. God had strictly forbidden her not to eat it and yet out of her own curiosity she did it regardless. We are warned in 1 John about denying our own sinning. Here I quote 1 John 1:8-10:

“If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

We must be willing to acknowledge that we sin against God and our fellow people not only in what we do, but also in what we fail to do. However, God loves us and is here for us if we turn our lives to Him and discern His plan for us. Why do people mock others that have extraordinary faith with love and dependence of God? This is what all Christians are called to! God has always spoken to us through other humans and scared texts. Certain people have been chosen as the true authentication of this divine communication. For Israel it was the priests and the scribes and for Christians today it is the successors of the Apostles, the ones sent out who succeed the ones who witnessed Jesus Christ first hand. If this assured system did not exist, how could we declare which beliefs of being Christian are authentic or not?

Truth is not discerned by opinion of what certain texts say rather it is by people put in the proper authority by God. How many leaders of church groups can authentically retrace their authority on Christian matters back to Christ himself? Only Catholic and Orthodox bishops can! Our bishops have maintained throughout the centuries authentic Christian doctrine only expounding on beliefs already held and reaffirming the principles of our faith. This matter of bishops tracing their authority to Jesus and his Apostles is called apostolic succession. Apostolic succession even has its roots in Scripture at the beginning of the book of Acts (the title “Acts” is short for “Acts of the Apostles”. Cf. Acts 1:15-26). Within that story the remaining 11 Apostles choose another disciple of Jesus to be counted with them ‘ in other words Matthias, the one who was eventually chosen, was put on the same level of authority as the other 11 Apostles themselves. The same phenomenon has happened throughout the centuries as each generation passes the faith to the next.

This is not to say that these people are impeccable about everything that comes out of their mouth, but they do carry much more authority over the Christian faithful in matters of faith and morals. Jesus promised he would protect them and always be with them (Cf. Mt 28:20ff). He also promised that when two or three gather in his name he will be there with them (Cf. Mt 18:20). Jesus is still here protecting his church and with the church when it gathers in his name.

Our Christian faith is something that was passed on from Christ to his disciples and is handed down to us today. Jesus did not say write books and hand out copies of them saying, “Go, interpret this to all nations and bicker amongst yourselves as to the truths of my teachings. The Holy Spirit will be with you affirming your thoughts about my teachings because no matter what you say, even though it is conflicting, it is the truth about me and the gift of salvation I will give to you.”

Instead Jesus prayed for unity (Cf. John 17:11), he taught us our faith by his lips and that it is a way of life not something that is an activity at which to drop off the kids. He taught us that the way is hard. How many times did he tell his disciples that in order to follow Jesus one must carry his own cross, one must give up everything for Jesus? Jesus never said he was going to be popular nor did he say that what is popular is right. He never tells us that being a disciple of Jesus starts with a one time event of accepting him and that the rest of your life will be easy. The rewards of discipleship are not of this world.

St. Paul tells us in his second letter to Timothy that one day people will make up their own doctrines to satisfy themselves and move away from the truth (Cf. 2 Tim. 4:3-4) deviating from the pillar and foundation of truth. He teaches us that these people are only in it for themselves (Cf. 1 Tim. 6:3-4).

This is why I write to you so that you may better understand Jesus and reflect upon our global surroundings. If Jesus’ teachings are subjective to each individual then why did he bother coming in the first place? There has to be one unified truth which has its authority from God. Jesus came to teach us to love God first and foremost, to love our fellow humans on this planet as much as we love ourselves (Cf. Mt. 22:37-39) because God shows no partiality (Cf. 2 Chr. 19:7) and he came to die for us so that we may share in the glory of his Father. The only thing Jesus asks you to do is listen to him and to the ones he sent out carrying his message.

For those that do love God first and foremost above all things and love each person as much as they love themselves that piece of the pie that we all crave will be theirs. For God so loved the world that he sent his only son that those who believe in him may have eternal life (Cf. John 3:16).