Pssst! Do You Know "The Secret"?

I would like to cordially invite all in the Toronto area to my next FX: The Faith Explained Seminar, "The Secret: A Catholic Response", this Wednesday, May 2, at 7:30 PM at St. Justin, Martyr Parish (this talk will immediately follow the 7 PM Mass).

The Secret , a book written by Rhonda Byrne, has rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists, and features a companion DVD. Oprah Winfrey has promoted it on her TV Show, and many Catholics have been swept up in the hoopla as well.

What is "The Secret?" It's something Bryrne "discovered" called the "Law of Attraction", and she alleges that anyone can tap into its power to bring untold wealth, great relationships, and just about anything one might desire into their life.

Should we as Catholics be concerned? Is there anything in "The Secret" that is inimical to our faith? Find out this Wednesday! Until then, we would do well to meditate on this not-so-secret "Law of Attraction":

Jesus said, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32).

It's Earth Day and I'm Back!

Hello, Faithful Readership!

I know that some of you were probably wondering if I'd fallen off the face of the earth, seeing as how I haven't blogged in so long.

Last week was one of the craziest weeks I've ever had...I was giving retreats for high school students, and had virtually no time to myself. But now I'm back with a vengeance! There will be blogging galore from here on out, and I promise I'll make up for lost time.

Speaking of falling off the face of the earth, today is Earth Day! So, why not celebrate like I do - by treating other folks like dirt!

Just kidding, of course. I have no problem with those who want to care for God's creation, as we all should.

But I often find it strange that those who are most concerned about saving the physical creation are often those least concerned about saving the crowning achievement of God's creation, the human person.

This attitude is typified by politicians like NDP leader Jack Layton, who was out riding his bike in Toronto today promoting Earth Day. He is passionate about being "green", yet at the same time, he is a staunch advocate for the destruction of human persons through abortion.

Father Frank Pavone, the founder of Priests for Life, was at the bedside of Terri Schiavo, as she was being starved to death not long ago in Florida. Terri was being euthanized by the order of a judge. Her only "crime" was that she could not feed herself, so she was fed through a tube.

Terri's food and water supply was cut off, so she died of starvation and dehydration: a long, painful process that she consciously experienced. No one would destroy even a dog in this manner; in fact, if one did, our enlightened society would likely insist such a one serve a prison sentence.

Father Pavone placed his hand on Terri's forehead to pray for her, and as he did so, his hand brushed a vase of flowers that someone had sent her. The vase was full of that which had been denied Terri - water. The flowers were allowed to drink deeply and live, but Terri was not.

How tragic. My friends, of course we should care for the environment. But if we're more concerned with saving the whales than saving people - or worse, if we want to save the whales while assenting to the destruction of people - then we have failed miserably at our task. As Jesus once said about other matters, we should have done the former without neglecting the latter.

The Petrine Privilege (Part II)

Recently, I posted on the case for John 21 being part of the original work. Given as it was the Gospel reading for Friday Masses, it seemed a good time to revisit this text, because it is one that has many implications for the papacy.

Other texts like Matthew 16 are often cited in this regard, but John 21 has one of the strongest proofs for the ongoing role of the office of Peter in the universal Church. Even non-Catholic scholars recognize this.

Fishing, of course, wasn't just the former trade of the apostles; it represents their evangelistic mission of being "fishers of men". The unbroken net conveys unity. Elsewhere, when Jesus provides a miraculous draught of fish, the nets begin to break from the strain; here, the nets are intact.

The fact that it was Peter dragging the net ashore is a metaphor for his leadership in bringing the Church safely home to Christ, even to the shores of heaven itself. Interestingly, although the catch was so big that the disciples struggled to bring the nets aboard and that it almost sank their boat, Peter now easily drags the net ashore all by himself. The verb used to describe Peter's dragging of the net is the same one used by Jesus in John 12:32 when he says that as he is lifted up from the earth he will draw all people to himself.

By far the most puzzling aspect of the passage is the reference to the 153 fish. First of all, this is an authentic eyewitness detail. On a secondary level, many commentators have proffered various theories to explain what this number means. Most of these interpretations suggest the idea of the universality or completeness of the catch.

So, we have Peter, alone, dragging the unbroken net of a universal catch to the shores of heaven. This is clearly a reference to his position as leader of the Church on earth.

When you add to all of this the threefold charge of Jesus to Peter, "Feed my Sheep", that immediately follows, the picture is complete. Peter is singularly (in the Greek) given this responsibility to shepherd the universal Church. Keep in mind also that this is recounted in the Gospel in which Jesus describes himself as the "Good Shepherd" (John 10). Before his Ascension, Jesus reaffirms Peter's unique leadership position, passing the earthly reins of the Church to him.

The Petrine Privilege

The lectionary readings for Mass the last couple of days have featured the account of the healing of the crippled beggar at the the Jerusalem temple by Peter and John in Acts 3.

Peter says to the man, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!" You know the rest...if you don't, read Acts 3!

Well, Peter is at it again...healing, that is. Not Rocky himself, of course, but his successor, John Paul II, who is more alive than ever with God (and Peter) in heaven.

A few nights ago, on the evening of April 2, Pope Benedict celebrated a memorial Mass, marking the day JPII went home to the Father's house. Sitting in the front row was a 46-year-old nun named Sr. Marie-Simon-Pierre, who believes she was healed of Parkinson's disease, the same ailment that frustrated The Great Communicator himself, through the merits and prayers of John Paul.

Of course, as the cause for his canonization moves along, this healing will be stringently examined as evidence that John Paul is actually interceding from heaven on our behalf, before the Sapphire Throne.

But with a successor of Simon Peter obtaining a healing for Sister Simon-Pierre, who can possibly doubt it?

Trained actor as he was, John Paul always did have a flair for the dramatic.

Zach's Master

O.K., I'll admit it - I was wrong (actually, this happens more often than not)! Tiger Woods didn't win the Masters (He did finish 2nd, though). Zach Johnson won...and it was well-earned.

I was even more glad he won after what Zach (pictured, surveying his future endorsement deals) said on Sunday. After finishing the final round, he noted that it was Easter Sunday, and that he could feel the Lord's presence with him every step of the way. Later on, at his press conference, he stated that his desire had been "to glorify God".

It was a touching scene to see him embrace his wife and infant son after the tournament. Not only was Zach choked up, but so were some of the other players! It's obvious the guy is very well-liked and respected by his peers. Way to go, Zach!

The 31-year-old Johnson was called "a fantastic young player with a bright future", after his first major championship win. Here's a scary thought: Tiger Woods already holds 12 majors, including four Masters wins, and he's the exact same age as Johnson. Wow.

That young man just might have a future in golf, too.

You're in Good Hands with Jesus

Father Joseph Singh, pastor of St. Justin's, once again did not disappoint in his Easter homily.

He told the story of a young girl who was embarrassed by her mother's grotesquely disfigured hands. Whenever her friends came over to play, she asked her mother to wear gloves to cover them.

The little girl grew up, and her mother became ill and died. At the wake, her body was displayed in an open casket, arms folded across her chest, gnarled hands clutching her rosary. As the daughter approached the casket with a pair of silk gloves to cover her mother's hands, her father stopped her.

"It's time you knew the truth about your mother's hands", he said. "She never told you this while she was alive, because she didn't want you to feel guilty. When you were a baby, there was a fire in your nursery. As she rescued you, your mother put down the flames in your crib with her bare hands. That's why they look the way they do."

Those hands - that moments before had appeared so hideous to the daughter - now seemed so beautiful.

The first thing Jesus showed his disciples after his Resurrection were his hands. The hands that still bore the piercings of the cross. The hands that had been disfigured while he was rescuing God's children from the fires of hell.

How beautiful those scarred hands had become. How beautiful they are.

Paid in Full

Yet another sterling sermon from the pulpit of St. Justin's this Good Friday. Some highlights from Fr. A. N. Onomous' homily:

In the passion story according to John which we have just heard, the last words that Jesus said on the cross before he bowed his head and gave up the spirit is "It is finished" (John 19:30). Three words in English, but in the original Greek it is just one word, tetelestai. This word is from the Greek teleo, which means to bring to completion, to carry out into full operation, to bring something to its appointed goal.

Scholars obtained greater insight into the meaning of this expression a few years ago after some archaeologists dug up in the Holy Land a tax collector's office that was almost intact, with all the tax records and everything. There were two stacks of tax records and one of them had the word, tetelestai, on the top. In other words, "paid in full." These people don't owe anything anymore.

So, when Jesus said "It is finished," what then is finished?” It is the debt we owe God by our sins—from the sins of the last human being right back to the first sin of Adam and Eve which ruptured Man’s friendship with God, losing the inherent gift of sanctifying grace, bringing death and disharmony into creation, and closing the gates of Heaven. Jesus in his humanity can pay the debt of sin on behalf of mankind, and in his divinity, Jesus can repay the debt for sin on the level of the infinite; for all sin is an offence against an infinite God.

The Jews of Jesus' time saw sin as a debt that we owe God, a debt that must somehow be repaid. Jesus used that kind of language and often spoke of sin as debt, and forgiveness as a cancellation of debt. He told the parable of the unforgiving servant whom his master forgave the debt that he had no way of repaying but who went out and insisted on getting back the small debt that his fellow servant owed him. This was a way of teaching us that when we are forgiven by God we must in turn forgive our neighbour.

He taught us to pray "Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us" (Mt. 6: 12; cf. Mt. 6: 9-13) – the parallel is found in the Gospel of Luke 11: 2-4 -- which simply means "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Jesus clearly used the language of commerce to speak of the spiritual relationship between God and us and between us and our neighbour. So on the cross he says, "It is paid in full."

In John 3 Jesus spoke of the necessity of being "born again", "of water and the spirit" through baptism. As the Nicene Creed states, "We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins". This is how we intially access the infinite funds of Grace that pays our sin debt. But what of sins committed after baptism? As Father Onomous explains, John's Gospel goes on to recount the Resurrected Jesus' institution of the sacrament of Reconcilation, or Confession:

21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on [the apostles] and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven" (John 19:21-23).

Avoid sin, of course - but if we fail, God’s Himself waits in the Sacrament of Penance, where, when we confess our sins with real sorrow and desire to amend and change our ways, Christ through the priest cleanses our souls anew, and continues his redeeming work begun on the Cross, and continuing for us until we enter into eternity.

It is only those who have recieved such forgiveness that can truly call this Friday "Good".

Masters Week in The Master's Week

It's absolutely diabolical that my favorite golf tournament, The Masters, is taking place in Holy Week, the true Master's Week.

The links action gets underway today among the famous azaleas at Augusta National. And, having proved quite the prophet regarding my Final Four picks, I'm sure you're all waiting with bated breath for my announcement of who'll take the year's first major.

Drum roll, everyone!

The winner will be....Tiger Woods.

I know, I know: he's everybody's pick. I'm not exactly going out on a limb here, but how can you not take him, even given the choice of him or the field? By the way, if El Tigre can pull it off, taking his fifth Masters, he'll be 3/4 of the way home to a second Tiger Slam, holding all four major championships at once. I predict that he'll win in a Sunday showdown with "Lefty", Phil Mickelson, with whom Tiger has split four of the last five Green Jackets.

The other one went to Canada's own lefty (and my favourite golfer), Mike Weir, in 2003 (pictured here with Tiger, just before Woods would slip the Green Jacket over Weir's shoulders). Unfortunately, Mike's struggled for consistency of late, as he adjusts to a new swing coach. But he always seems to perform well at majors - Augusta especially. He's my dark horse pick.

And don't forget about Canada's other star (and currently our best golfer): Stephen Ames. Ames blew away the field at last year's Players' Championship, the PGA Tour's unofficial "fifth" major, was great in this year's Match Play tournament, and says he's now hitting the ball better than he ever has, under the watchful eye of his own new coach, Sean Foley.

Now I just have to figure out a way to watch the final round during the Easter family dinner at my in-laws'. That might be tougher than winning the Masters itself!

We're Oil Ready for Easter!

If you'll pardon the pun...

I just returned from the Chrism Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral in Downtown Toronto. What an experience!

This is the Mass where all of the oils for sacramental usage are blessed: the Oil of the Catechumens, the Holy Chrism oil, and the Oil of the Sick (for the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick - see James 5:14-15).

It's also the Mass where all priests of the archdiocese renew their wedding vows (to the Bride of Christ, that is), reaffirming their priestly vows and their obedience to our new archbishop, Thomas Collins (pictured).

Speaking of our new shepherd, he offered up another sterling homily, without notes and very passionate. In speaking about the oils in sacramental use, and our sacramental, incarnational Catholic faith, he noted that "We're not angels...in more ways than one!"

The sacraments are physical signs that give grace. And we need that grace badly, because indeed we are not often angelic in our behavior. Which is why God provided us with priests to not only anoint us for physical healing, but far more importantly, to make us spiritually well in the sacrament of Confession.

When it comes to physical and spiritual healing, no one, of course, was better at it than our Lord. Do you remember my recent post about typology being fulfilled in the liturgy? Tonight's Mass had a fantastic example of fulfilled prophecy:

The first reading was from Isaiah 61, the very words Jesus quotes in tonight's Gospel account from Luke 4, when Jesus reads this text in his hometown synagogue of Nazareth:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Not only does Jesus quote from Isaiah 61, but he specifically says that this Scripture was fulfilled in the very hearing of his listeners! They were watching salvation history unfold before their very eyes.

And before ours too, at each and every Mass: the Lord himself not only speaks to us in the Liturgy of the Word, but becomes physically present - body, blood, soul, and divinity - in each Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Word of God goes from written text to living word in the Mass - Jesus, the living Word of God, alive in his Eucharistic body.

But maybe the most fascinating part of Jesus' quoting Isaiah is the part he leaves out - in Isaiah 61, the servant is to "proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeange of our God."

I believe Jesus omitted that intentionally, because the day of vengeange of our God will arrive at the Last Judgment. So, from the time of Jesus until that Day, it is the Age of Grace. The acceptable year of the Lord's favor. That time is now.

So get it while the gettin's good - there's no better time than Holy Week to go visit one of those newly rededicated priests, make a good confession, and hear the words "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".

And those words will be fulfilled in your hearing.

The Week That Changed the World

Holy Week begins today with Palm (Passion) Sunday, which always makes me think of a great poem by G.K . Chesterton, The Donkey:

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.