Luke 3:1-6
Every one of us is faced with the same question today, which is this: "Where do YOU find Hope for your Spiritual Journey?"
We are blessed in this parish with a prominent reminder and example of our Spiritual Journey: the journey of our RCIA* group. For many weeks and months they prepare themselves for a significant adjustment to their spiritual lives, as they seek to align their lives ever more closely with the will of Jesus. That is exactly the same journey that all of us are on! Our journey takes an entire lifetime! However, there are significant times in our lives when that Journey takes on added meaning, or when new opportunities are presented for a "course correction." Advent is one of those important times.
Advent looks forward to the Future, and because of that it also reminds us of our Past. Advent is a time of Hope - a hope of being delivered from a Past that may have separated us from Jesus Christ.
And Advent is the time for that "course correction" that I mentioned.
In today's gospel John the Baptist is referred to as asking us to "clear a straight path" for the Lord, and to fill the valleys and level the hills for the coming of the Lord. We are being asked to recognize the presence of the Lord, and to follow him wholeheartedly.
Those crooked paths, or giant potholes, or large barriers that show up in our spiritual lives are serious obstacles that prevent us from recognizing and following the Lord. They stem from an epidemic of evil all around us. Road signs that reflect the epidemic are the words selfishness, pride, and indifference.
It is sad that so many people close their minds to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. They forget that it is the Spirit that inspires Scripture, and it is the same Spirit that is with the teaching office of the Church until the end of time. Those who pick and choose what they want to accept and reject from Scripture and from the teachings of the Church, are being indifferent to the Holy Spirit!
What does the Church teach us? You know your Catechism; you know that a Mortal Sin has been committed when three things are present: grave matter, full awareness of the evil of the act, and full consent of the will (CCC 1855, 1857). You know that many things are objectively Evil, such as Homosexuality acted out, Masturbation, Contraception, Abortion, and such things (CCC 2357; 2352; 2370; 2271).
All of the Seven Deadly Sins are still raging in our society, and in many of our individual lives.
But one of the biggest offenders is indifference. Just take a look at what kind of entertainment you seek out, and you will find the Seven Deadly Sins. A large proportion of movie videos, magazines, motion pictures, and TV programs are based on the Seven Deadly Sins. You will find sex, violence and revenge, greed, excesses of all kinds, lack of respect and general arrogance. Many people have become totally indifferent to what is good, true and beautiful.
I admit that I myself have fallen prey to the subtle influence of some TV programs. One of my favorite programs used to be (and I stress, used to be) "Golden Girls". But if you think about it for just one moment, that program literally celebrates fornication and adultery! I no longer watch that program.
Indifference is even possible here at our Eucharistic celebration. Some people come forward for Holy Communion who have not been to Confession for months, ignoring St. Paul's words that "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor 11:27, NAB).
- There is a powerful episode in the movie The Godfather, Part III. Perhaps some of you will recall
the scene when the Godfather, Michael Corleone, is forced to visit the distinguished Cardinal
Lamberto in Rome, to tell him the bad news that a legitimate business deal involving the Vatican
Bank has gone bad. The bank is run by an Archbishop in Rome, and a coalition of Catholic businessmen.
The Cardinal listens to the Godfather, and then says something quite profound. [Take rock symbol.] He picks up a stone like this one from the fountain and says: "Look at this stone. It has been lying in the water for a very long time. The water has not penetrated it." Then he smashes the stone against the fountain. "Look," he says peering at the smashed insides of the stone, "perfectly dry. The same thing," the Cardinal continues," has happened to men in Europe. For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity; but Christ has not penetrated; Christ doesn't live within them."(1)
- 1. We can live like rocks [show rock] and through our indifference prevent Christ from penetrating our hearts.
- 2. We can create our own crooked paths, or dig our own valleys, or make our own mountain obstacles, by picking and choosing which Truths of God we will accept or reject, becoming indifferent to the good, the true, and the beautiful.
- 3. Or, we can be obedient to and respectful of church teaching, by simply understanding that God is only out for our good, and that only by embracing his laws will I be set free! Has Christ really penetrated your life? Where do YOU find Hope for your Spiritual Journey? We need to be reminded of the Good News that Jesus is our Model and our Hope! He was obedient all the way from his childhood in Nazareth to adulthood on the Cross [gesture]! And by being faithful to the Truth, by never compromising with Evil, he won for us a most precious gift, our salvation.
- by regularly examining our conscience and by regular confession;
- by being more selective in choosing our entertainment;
- by investing time to learn and reflect upon the teachings of the Church;
- and finally, by preparing properly to receive Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist.
Notes:
(*) RCIA = Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
(1) "Out of the Ecstasy & Onto the Cross" by Rev. Dr. Gerard McGinnity, Our Lady Queen of Peace Publications, Achill, Ireland, 1996, p.159.
(2) Mario Puzo's The Godfather: Part III, produced/directed by Francis Coppola, Paramount, 1990.
by Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha
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