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It’s Day 268!!
God, who is GOOD, founded a Church that is GOOD
Yes, there are weeds among the wheat
There are sinners among the saints
There are times when people have abused their power and teaching
AND YET…
The Church has continued to teach the truth consistently in season and out of season
Sometimes the Church needed to be louder when it was too soft
Sometimes the Church was needed to be softer when it was too loud
AND YET…
The Church has ALWAY taught the truth
Why?
Because the Church is divinely inspired and divinely founded by Jesus Christ
The soul of the Church is the Holy Spirit
Even though there are sinners in the Church, the Church is holy
We can trust the Church
THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
There are 5 precepts
Let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we know that we do not know how to pray as we ought. And we also know that our hearts are not the kind of hearts that they should be. We have cynical hearts. We have skeptical hearts. We have hearts that have been hurt, hearts that have been hurt by life, by this world, by strangers, hearts that have been hurt by those close to us. And many of us have hearts that have been hurt by your Church. And we ask that you please, those hearts that have been hurt by the people around us and by the Church, let them be healed also by the people around us and by the Church. Those that have been wounded by your body, help us to also be healed by your body. Lord God, help us to not just sit in our sickness, to not just wallow in our wounds, but above everything else, to rise above by the help of your grace and to once again become people who can trust, people who can trust in your love, people who can trust in your teaching, people who can trust in the fact that you continue to guide and to guard your Church today as much as you did in the first days of the Church. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”
So there we have it!!
Paragraph 2037 says, “The law of God entrusted to the Church is taught to the faithful as the way of life and truth. The faithful therefore have the right to be instructed in the divine saving precepts that purify judgment and, with grace, heal wounded human reason. They have the duty of observing the constitutions and decrees conveyed by the legitimate authority of the Church. Even if they concern disciplinary matters, these determinations call for docility in charity.”
One of our RIGHTS is belonging to the Lord as a beloved adopted son or daughter
We have the RIGHT to be instructed in the truth
Every real relationship has real rights and real responsibilities
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND!!
There are commandments that are placed upon us that we have to do
That is a real responsibility
Sometimes we may see that being instructed in the way of God’s commands to be a burden
Sometimes we can feel that is the challenge
AND YET…
The Ten Commandments aka the Decalogue come out of relationship
IN FACT…
In the Old Testament it says, “Lord, how I love your law.”
Why?
Because God has revealed Himself to us
God has brought us into a relationship with Him
Because of that, God actually CARES
When we talk about the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, or the precepts of the Church, this all comes from the relationship that God has brought us into and with each other
It actually matters to God how we live
It matters to God that we know how He wants us to live
It should matter to us too
We should look at this and say, “Lord, how I love your law. I, as a baptized Christian, have the right to be instructed in the divine saving precepts that purify my judgment and, with grace, heal wounded human reason.”
We don’t just have the right to know the truth
We also have the duty and responsibility of observing the Church’s teachings
Paragraph 2038 says, “In the work of teaching and applying Christian morality, the Church needs the dedication of pastors, the knowledge of theologians, and the contribution of all Christians and men of good will. Faith and the practice of the Gospel provide each person with an experience of life ‘in Christ,’ who enlightens him and makes him able to evaluate the divine and human realities according to the Spirit of God. Thrust the Holy Spirit can use the humblest to enlighten the learned and those in the highest positions.”
There are some great minds in the history of the Church
There are some really powerful people
Think of St. John Paul II
Think of St. Theresa of Calcutta
She was very wise, but not necessarily in book knowledge
What was her role?
She founded a religious community that lives among the poorest people in India
That’s a pretty low spot
AND YET…
When St. John Paul II looked at St. Theresa of Calcutta, he saw a saint and learned from her
Saints learn from each other, regardless of their roles or position
Paragraph 2039 says, “Ministries should be exercised in a spirit of fraternal service and dedication to the Church, in the name of the Lord. At the same time, the conscience of each person should avoid confining itself to the individualistic considerations in its moral judgments of the person’s own acts. As far as possible conscience should take account of the good of alo, as expressed in the moral law, natural and revealed, and consequently in the law of the Church and in the authoritative teaching of the Magisterium on moral questions. Personal conscience and reason should not be set in opposition to the moral law or the Magisterium of the Church.”
We need to do whatever we can to avoid setting ourselves up as me vs the Church
The Church teaches this, but I believe the contrary thing
We need to avoid that
We can avoid that by asking questions
“Ok, Lord. What is your Church teaching? Why is the Church teaching this? How am I called to live this out?”
Ask those questions in the spirit of docility, love, and trust
Not in a spirit of skepticism or cynicism
This is why we need the filial spirit toward the Church
The Church is my mother, so teach me and guide me
THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
Paragraph 2041 says, “The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor…”
So where is this in the Bible?
It’s not necessarily in the Bible per se, although there are hints there
This is what the Church has formulated as the discipline that is the bare minimum required
If we are not doing these 5 things, we are not spiritually alive
Paragraph 2042 says, “The first precept (‘You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor’) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.
The second precept (‘You shall confess your sins at least once a year.’) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.
The third precept (‘You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season’) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.”
Paragraph 2043 says, “The fourth precept (‘You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church’) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.
The fifth precept (‘You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church’) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities.”
Let’s listen to Fr. Mike reminiscing about Christians back in the day and the Eucharist…
There are two days of fasting and a couple days of abstinence in the Church
Fasting are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Abstinence are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and all the Fridays in Lent
It used to be required to abstain from meat on ALL Fridays of the year (My wife and I still do this anyway)
Back in the 1960s the Church decreed that all Fridays are a day of penance and we get to choose our penance on those days, except for Fridays during Lent
All of these precepts are doable by virtually any person at any given time
That is why these are the minimum requirements for our spiritual lives to be alive
When it comes to providing for the needs of the Church, the Church is not asking for all of your money
In the Old Testament a tenth of everything you had was to go to the Lord
The Catholic Church says to give according to your ability
Which means that you get to decide, even if it is a tenth of a tenth
You decide but you have to give something
The Church is holy and divine and also lives in this world
Let’s listen to Fr. Mike talk about Matthew Kelly…
Imagine if every person in every pew performed the 5th precept and gave according to their ability
Imagine the good that your local parish could do
There is a struggle that may of us have in parting with our money
Maybe we don’t trust the people who are taking the money
Or maybe we just don’t think about it
Most people are not necessarily stingy
They are just not generous because they have not thought about it
Let us pray that we take those first steps, nunc coepi, take up our cross, follow after the Lord, and begin with these small ways that the Church has said we must do in order to have a faith that is alive
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
Parting is such sweet sorrow!!
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