The Roman Catholic Church follows a liturgical calendar in the US in which the readings for daily mass are recommended by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. On Sunday January 29, the Gospel was taken from Mark 1:21-28.
In this passage Jesus expels an evil spirit from a man in a synagogue at Capernaum, and the people asked one another "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
How can we apply Jesus expelling unclean spirits to our daily living? Anxiety is the common evil spirit that penetrates our hearts, distracts our minds, and possess our actions.
As Fr. Don Ours (Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Dallas, TX) said in his homily, from this verses we learn that we are not powerless any longer. "A new teaching with authority." Jesus Christ has authority. In the gospel of John 5:20-30, clearly states the authority of Jesus as the judge in the Universe, from a power stemming from the Father.
Jesus, the new teaching with authority expels impure spirits when we invoke him, when we believe in His word and establish our relationship with Him, and acknowledge His authority over us.
In Mary,
+Mateo
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The routine of perfection
Many of my closest friends live a devout Christian life. Many others live a righteous non-religious life. What we all share in common is the challenge of daily routine. The apparent dullness of our daily chores may lead us to wishful thinking, and even loneliness. I truly believe –and have experienced- that the only way to reach the fullness of life is through Jesus Christ –even if those who follow Him, do not know that they are in fact following Him (Mt 7:21).
Our jobs –especially after the excitement of recruiting and the first paycheck—may turn into an unbearable routine.
A job will always turn into a dull routine unless we acknowledge that through such work we are co-participants of God’s creation. Through our jobs we become creators of goods and services which themselves can praise the Lord by their perfection, i.e. by the perfection we create them with.
Just as the trees, the wind, the birds, the rocks and water are perfect and please the Lord, because they are His, and therefore He created those things with splendor; also our buildings, bridges, documentation, provisions, sweeping and ironing will please the Lord, if we do these things in imitation of His love. That is perfection.
This perfection is a Christian perfection. Therefore, creating things perfectly, in Christian terms, is to make them with great love and joy. The more love we put into things, the more perfect they will be, and the closer we will be to Our Lord.
It is easier not to dislike our work (or the routine of it) when we think of the unemployed, of those who are hungry, and homeless. This is however, not enough to love our work. To love our work means to love our neighbor, to become reliable, to think that my co-workers are counting on me. In fact, they are counting on me despite my limitations. Is this naïve? No. This is bold. To love is bold
JHS
+Mateo Andres
Our jobs –especially after the excitement of recruiting and the first paycheck—may turn into an unbearable routine.
A job will always turn into a dull routine unless we acknowledge that through such work we are co-participants of God’s creation. Through our jobs we become creators of goods and services which themselves can praise the Lord by their perfection, i.e. by the perfection we create them with.
Just as the trees, the wind, the birds, the rocks and water are perfect and please the Lord, because they are His, and therefore He created those things with splendor; also our buildings, bridges, documentation, provisions, sweeping and ironing will please the Lord, if we do these things in imitation of His love. That is perfection.
This perfection is a Christian perfection. Therefore, creating things perfectly, in Christian terms, is to make them with great love and joy. The more love we put into things, the more perfect they will be, and the closer we will be to Our Lord.
It is easier not to dislike our work (or the routine of it) when we think of the unemployed, of those who are hungry, and homeless. This is however, not enough to love our work. To love our work means to love our neighbor, to become reliable, to think that my co-workers are counting on me. In fact, they are counting on me despite my limitations. Is this naïve? No. This is bold. To love is bold
JHS
+Mateo Andres
To my Protestant (and Catholic) friends: John 19:26-27
As a Roman Christian (Catholic) it is sometimes troublesome to explain my devotion to Our Blessed Mother.
It is difficult to talk about Her (Mary) without getting lost in the beauty of Her eyes that look at us so tenderly; Her brown skin that she wore to unite the Indigenous peoples of America and the foreign conquerors. And above all, it is hard not to think of Her during the months of pregnancy. Her body was the temple of Our Lord Jesus Christ. No one ever knew Jesus as she did; no one dedicated her life to Him, as Mary did.
We (Roman Catholics) adore Our Lady as a child adores her mom. In actual terms of spirituality, however, we venerate her, and adore God alone, in the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.
Why do Catholics venerate Mary? Because Jesus said it so: <> (Jn 19:26-27)
(Jesus said this, just as He said that the bread is in fact His body, and the wine is in fact His blood, not a mere ritual, but an actual happening. This the Catholic Mass.)
We come close to Mary to breathe more easily in times of hardship, when we are too ashamed, and think we are not worthy of Him. We come to Her as the bridegroom in Cana. (Jn 2:1-11) We go to Jesus through Mary as a sign of humility and poverty of spirit. He is always there ready to embrace us, but sometimes, many times, we need a little push. As in Cana, Jesus might say “my hour has not yet come” and in such case Mary will pull of His cloak and ask Him to do it anyway, for us, for Her.
To venerate means to honor. We honor Mary, we pray with her to Jesus, by honoring the mystery of Her life. We say “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” These words –in Lk 1:28, 31, 42- honor Mary’s life and holiness. “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death, Amen.” We ask her to pray for us, to pray with us to Jesus.
We speak to Mary because she is a person, just as Jesus Christ is a person. We as humans ought to be friends with real persons, that is why we can be friends with Christ, and Mary and the saints. Therefore we Catholics, strictly speaking, do not pray to Mary, we pray with Her, and we in actuality speak to Her, we honor Mary as the Mother of the living God, as the human being She was, and the saint that She is.
As we can see, the Catholic devotion to Our Lady is the most Christian of all devotions. Through Mary, we make Christ the center of our lives.
JHS
+Mateo Andres.
It is difficult to talk about Her (Mary) without getting lost in the beauty of Her eyes that look at us so tenderly; Her brown skin that she wore to unite the Indigenous peoples of America and the foreign conquerors. And above all, it is hard not to think of Her during the months of pregnancy. Her body was the temple of Our Lord Jesus Christ. No one ever knew Jesus as she did; no one dedicated her life to Him, as Mary did.
We (Roman Catholics) adore Our Lady as a child adores her mom. In actual terms of spirituality, however, we venerate her, and adore God alone, in the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.
Why do Catholics venerate Mary? Because Jesus said it so: <
(Jesus said this, just as He said that the bread is in fact His body, and the wine is in fact His blood, not a mere ritual, but an actual happening. This the Catholic Mass.)
We come close to Mary to breathe more easily in times of hardship, when we are too ashamed, and think we are not worthy of Him. We come to Her as the bridegroom in Cana. (Jn 2:1-11) We go to Jesus through Mary as a sign of humility and poverty of spirit. He is always there ready to embrace us, but sometimes, many times, we need a little push. As in Cana, Jesus might say “my hour has not yet come” and in such case Mary will pull of His cloak and ask Him to do it anyway, for us, for Her.
To venerate means to honor. We honor Mary, we pray with her to Jesus, by honoring the mystery of Her life. We say “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” These words –in Lk 1:28, 31, 42- honor Mary’s life and holiness. “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death, Amen.” We ask her to pray for us, to pray with us to Jesus.
We speak to Mary because she is a person, just as Jesus Christ is a person. We as humans ought to be friends with real persons, that is why we can be friends with Christ, and Mary and the saints. Therefore we Catholics, strictly speaking, do not pray to Mary, we pray with Her, and we in actuality speak to Her, we honor Mary as the Mother of the living God, as the human being She was, and the saint that She is.
As we can see, the Catholic devotion to Our Lady is the most Christian of all devotions. Through Mary, we make Christ the center of our lives.
JHS
+Mateo Andres.
A true story
He came from the sea, looking for a poem; trying to find unimagined wonders.
The traveler was amazed with the water. No water like this, not in the region of his ancestors. He cannot remember his way back; he does not need it –what he searches for is not in the past.
He dives into the depths of his heart, he finds nothing but light. Then, the birds call his attention as his feet touch the shore. A shore of sand and pebbles that make him feel the tenderness of his feet, and his skin against the wind.
O yes, the brightness of the sun as he never saw it before. Thin, tall walls describe the path he will walk in this foreign land.
He wonders, however, how foreign is a land for which he has longed since birth?
Are longing and knowing the same thing?
Is it not longing produced when we are deprived of something that became –or perhaps always was—so natural to us?
I long for that which was always there, and now it is no more. Truth is, some things in ourselves are older than we are; some things within us were missing –and were present—before we were who we are.
Love and hope, and fear, were in me before I called it me. And it is not mere chronology. Love, and hope, and fear in me, were created when I was created, but they were created, in me, old. I was born anew but love and hope (and all) were born old. And nevertheless, their oldness is renewed at every breath, at every tear, at every scream.
How can love and hope be old if they renew me; if they come anew with the hours, and the days, and the seasons?
I was born knowing love and hope. Even if I do not know how to love, or how to hope, I have known them since birth. Even if I could not call their names, I know love; and I know hope.
Had I not known them from before, I could not recognize them when they come, or miss them when they are gone.
Love and hope are older than my soul, and yet, newer than my latest thought.
JHS
+Mateo Andres
The traveler was amazed with the water. No water like this, not in the region of his ancestors. He cannot remember his way back; he does not need it –what he searches for is not in the past.
He dives into the depths of his heart, he finds nothing but light. Then, the birds call his attention as his feet touch the shore. A shore of sand and pebbles that make him feel the tenderness of his feet, and his skin against the wind.
O yes, the brightness of the sun as he never saw it before. Thin, tall walls describe the path he will walk in this foreign land.
He wonders, however, how foreign is a land for which he has longed since birth?
Are longing and knowing the same thing?
Is it not longing produced when we are deprived of something that became –or perhaps always was—so natural to us?
I long for that which was always there, and now it is no more. Truth is, some things in ourselves are older than we are; some things within us were missing –and were present—before we were who we are.
Love and hope, and fear, were in me before I called it me. And it is not mere chronology. Love, and hope, and fear in me, were created when I was created, but they were created, in me, old. I was born anew but love and hope (and all) were born old. And nevertheless, their oldness is renewed at every breath, at every tear, at every scream.
How can love and hope be old if they renew me; if they come anew with the hours, and the days, and the seasons?
I was born knowing love and hope. Even if I do not know how to love, or how to hope, I have known them since birth. Even if I could not call their names, I know love; and I know hope.
Had I not known them from before, I could not recognize them when they come, or miss them when they are gone.
Love and hope are older than my soul, and yet, newer than my latest thought.
JHS
+Mateo Andres
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A Trinitarian Interpretation of Humanity, Inspired by the work of Douglas Meeks
Douglas Meeks is a professor of theology at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. The following post is an interpretation of segments of chapter 5 (God and Property) of Meeks' book God the Economist.
When we understand God as the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the love between them, the Holy Spirit), we can understand humanity as a community of individuals. The reason for this stems from the assumption that human concepts of authority derive from human concepts of God. When God is conceived as an indivisible, immutable unit, incapable of suffering and isolated from human beings, authority will be shaped in the image of this conception of God, especially when the existence of God becomes irrelevant in the context of human authority.
If we accept the assumption that human concept of authority is shaped in the image of human conceptualization of God, then the vision of an immutable, indivisible God will shape authority into a state authority concerned with an efficient allocation of resources (at all levels), and not with livelihood. Please note that by state authority I mean all sorts of political arrangements, from socialist governments (now outdated) to the welfare states of contemporary western Europe. Furthermore, in this context by livelihood I understand enabling humans to achieve their potential, which is the enjoyment of their capabilities, without being bound to them.
Nevertheless, once we conceive God as the unity between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, humanity becomes a community of individuals with distinctive functions and interests, that belong to one another. In this conception, no function is more important than the other, and there are no fixed roles. This is, the janitor cleans while the professor teaches, and yet these functions are essential to communal livelihood, as well as individual livelihood. Neither the professor nor the janitor is more important, and the janitor -if livelihood is the goal of society shaped in the image of the Trinity- can become a professor in as much the professor could become a janitor.
The reason for this stems from the notion of Trinity. The Father creates, the Son redeems, and the Holy Spirit enables the work of the Son; the Three are One, and their relationship is dynamic. This is, the workings of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are dependent on one another. Therefore, a society that shapes authority conceptualizing God as the Trinity will assure livelihood in community, for authority will be conceived as a figure that is dynamic in their components, and such components, human beings, depend on one another. All humans are one community. The next question is, how to translate this theologically based argument into secular terms without annihilating individuals of other beliefs?
In Christ,
Through Mary,
Mateo
When we understand God as the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the love between them, the Holy Spirit), we can understand humanity as a community of individuals. The reason for this stems from the assumption that human concepts of authority derive from human concepts of God. When God is conceived as an indivisible, immutable unit, incapable of suffering and isolated from human beings, authority will be shaped in the image of this conception of God, especially when the existence of God becomes irrelevant in the context of human authority.
If we accept the assumption that human concept of authority is shaped in the image of human conceptualization of God, then the vision of an immutable, indivisible God will shape authority into a state authority concerned with an efficient allocation of resources (at all levels), and not with livelihood. Please note that by state authority I mean all sorts of political arrangements, from socialist governments (now outdated) to the welfare states of contemporary western Europe. Furthermore, in this context by livelihood I understand enabling humans to achieve their potential, which is the enjoyment of their capabilities, without being bound to them.
Nevertheless, once we conceive God as the unity between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, humanity becomes a community of individuals with distinctive functions and interests, that belong to one another. In this conception, no function is more important than the other, and there are no fixed roles. This is, the janitor cleans while the professor teaches, and yet these functions are essential to communal livelihood, as well as individual livelihood. Neither the professor nor the janitor is more important, and the janitor -if livelihood is the goal of society shaped in the image of the Trinity- can become a professor in as much the professor could become a janitor.
The reason for this stems from the notion of Trinity. The Father creates, the Son redeems, and the Holy Spirit enables the work of the Son; the Three are One, and their relationship is dynamic. This is, the workings of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are dependent on one another. Therefore, a society that shapes authority conceptualizing God as the Trinity will assure livelihood in community, for authority will be conceived as a figure that is dynamic in their components, and such components, human beings, depend on one another. All humans are one community. The next question is, how to translate this theologically based argument into secular terms without annihilating individuals of other beliefs?
In Christ,
Through Mary,
Mateo
Thursday, March 3, 2011
On the Natural and Healthful Attachment to Material Things
As an economist (and there is only one kind of economist in contemporary society, the microeconomics-based one), I understand that markets work under certain assumptions that are oftentimes met, if only in the long run. I also understand and agree with the notion that people behave with the purpose of maximizing their utility, that is, of maximizing the utility they gain from things (goods, services, relationships of any sort). This means, people seek to make a use of what they consume and produce.
Furthermore, this notion, that of the homo-economicus, is not contraire but consistent with a Christian life. When we seek to obtain things to make use of them, we are considering things as what they really are: means to attain a purpose. In a Christian life this idea entails: things are means to get to Heaven and to praise the Lord, Jesus Christ.
We buy a bible not for the bible itself, but for the word in it, in fact, the Word in it. We work to speak and develop a language to communicate the grace of God, not for the language itself. The only purpose we can seek for itself is God because He is the origin of all causes, He is the origin of creation.
We should, we ought to be attached to things as much as they are facilitators of our holiness. Their obtention and accumulation, as well as the things themselves do not take our peace away when we see them in their true light, that of means that have a purpose because we love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Through Mary,
Furthermore, this notion, that of the homo-economicus, is not contraire but consistent with a Christian life. When we seek to obtain things to make use of them, we are considering things as what they really are: means to attain a purpose. In a Christian life this idea entails: things are means to get to Heaven and to praise the Lord, Jesus Christ.
We buy a bible not for the bible itself, but for the word in it, in fact, the Word in it. We work to speak and develop a language to communicate the grace of God, not for the language itself. The only purpose we can seek for itself is God because He is the origin of all causes, He is the origin of creation.
We should, we ought to be attached to things as much as they are facilitators of our holiness. Their obtention and accumulation, as well as the things themselves do not take our peace away when we see them in their true light, that of means that have a purpose because we love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Through Mary,
Monday, February 28, 2011
From the Catholic Book of Prayers
For we walk by faith, not by sight, Saint Paul said on his 2nd letter to the Christians of Corinth, (2Cor 5:7).
Today I want to share with you my sisters and brothers one prayer I love. We will discuss human will in the next couple of days.
"Prayer to Bring Christ into Our Day"
Lord Jesus, present before me in the Sacrament of the Altar, help me to cast out from my mind all thoughts of which You do not approve and from my heart all emotions which You do not encourage. Enable me to spend my entire day and night as a co-worker with You, carrying out the tasks that You have entrusted to me.
Be with me at every moment of this day and this night: during the long hours of work, that I may never tire or slacken from Your service; during my conversations, that they may not become for me occasions for meanness toward others; during the moments of worry and stress that I may remain patient and spiritually calm; during periods of fatigue and illness, that I may avoid self-pity and think of others; during times of temptation that I may take refuge in Your grace.
Help me to remain generous and loyal to you this day and this night, and so be able to offer it all up to you with their successes which I have achieved by Your grace and their failures which have occurred through my own fault. Let me come to the wonderful realization that life is most real when it is lived with You as the guest of my soul. Amen
In Christ,
Through Mary
Today I want to share with you my sisters and brothers one prayer I love. We will discuss human will in the next couple of days.
"Prayer to Bring Christ into Our Day"
Lord Jesus, present before me in the Sacrament of the Altar, help me to cast out from my mind all thoughts of which You do not approve and from my heart all emotions which You do not encourage. Enable me to spend my entire day and night as a co-worker with You, carrying out the tasks that You have entrusted to me.
Be with me at every moment of this day and this night: during the long hours of work, that I may never tire or slacken from Your service; during my conversations, that they may not become for me occasions for meanness toward others; during the moments of worry and stress that I may remain patient and spiritually calm; during periods of fatigue and illness, that I may avoid self-pity and think of others; during times of temptation that I may take refuge in Your grace.
Help me to remain generous and loyal to you this day and this night, and so be able to offer it all up to you with their successes which I have achieved by Your grace and their failures which have occurred through my own fault. Let me come to the wonderful realization that life is most real when it is lived with You as the guest of my soul. Amen
In Christ,
Through Mary
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