No one is out of reach

The going-out-of-business sale that Borders is having initially made me drool. I'm a bibliophile, as my wife can attest, and I was genuinely excited at the thought of buying books at a good discount. Alas, Borders' prices were already inflated--for the first few weeks of the sale, it was still cheaper to buy books on Amazon.

Shelves in such a sale are subject to natural selection: only the popular survive. Some books are spread around the store, seemingly in a desperate attempt to get rid of them.

One of those books was the tell-all by the currently-Episcopalian, formerly-Roman Catholic priest Alberto Cutie called Dilemma. I never would have known the book existed had it not been in the bargain bin at Borders (and the religion section, and the biography section). Cutie (pronounced with an accent on the last syllable; I don't know how good looking he actually is) served in Miami, had a local Catholic radio show in Spanish, and later was featured on EWTN. In short: a very high profile priest. His profile grew even larger when a secret relationship came to light; Cutie left the priesthood, then left the Catholic Church and married his lover.

Now as to the title... no one is out of reach. No one. Not an extremely popular Florida priest/media personality. Who got into radio/TV to bring souls to Christ! Not even a dynamic preacher named Fr. Corapi, who could fill a convention center at the mere mention of his name. Not the founder of a widespread youth ministry program, the very popular Msgr. Dale Fushek. I won't bother with the details of each story, they're already well-covered.

The falls of high-profile clerics really get under my skin. It's partially a naive incredulity, as if they wouldn't sin. That's plain nuts. Another part of it was their mission. How could they carry out the ministries they did if they weren't saints? (more naivete on my part) A third part was plain disappointment. I thought highly of Corapi and his preaching. I marveled at his conversion story and seeing that grace is, in fact, more powerful than any sin. When I volunteered with my parish youth group, I experienced the Life Teen youth ministry program (Fushek). He started the program to draw teenagers into the Catholic faith and to a deeper relationship with Jesus. The departure of one teen from his parish sparked a movement that touched the lives of thousands!

Throwing Cutie into the mix, how many souls did the three of them bring to Christ? How many people--I'd guess in the tens of thousands--were brought to Christ? And think of those converts and the lives they, in turn, touched and brought to Christ? Praise the Lord for the work that Jesus did through those three men!

Now go from three Spirit-filled priests to three ex-priests. Two left the Catholic Church (Cutie and Fushek) and the other opted for a brand over the priesthood (Corapi)? It drove me crazy. I tried to distill the reason from the frustration. Was it pride? Some other sin? Was it because of the fame? Or something the public never saw?

The only thing that gave me peace was that single thought: no one is out of reach. That might sound odd or anything but peaceful. Still, we humans cannot escape our fallen nature! The devil will tempt us, yes, but sometimes he doesn't have to work very hard. We will be tempted until our death, whether the temptations be small or large. God promises His grace to all who ask, yet we could be drowning in an ocean of grace and still refuse it.

Lastly, I cannot close without acknowledging my own sinfulness. I have plenty of weaknesses and shortcomings. I don't consider myself very far advanced on the path to holiness. I am a sinner, no better or worse than Cutie, Corapi, or Fushek. The challenge to all of us is perseverance in the Catholic faith! The minute we give up or stop trying, the easier we fall.

The Cost of Discipleship

Sunday’s reading continued our walk through the Gospel of Matthew. It consisted of the three short parables of the Kingdom of God: the treasure in the field, the pearl of great price, and the fisherman’s net. Previously, my main focus in these stories was the value of the Kingdom. I always pictured the treasure in the field as a pirate treasure chest, filled with gold and jewels. Who wouldn’t want something as valuable as a treasure chest? Similarly, the pearl of great price is something glamorous… a pearl of immense value and beauty. What great images of the Kingdom, especially for the materialistic culture we live.

This time, however, the cost of the Kingdom was highlighted. The Kingdom is no less beautiful or valuable. In fact, it was because of its great value that the two characters (the farmer & the merchant) sacrificed so much. They both went and sold all that they had! ALL. The merchant didn’t sell most of what he had, bought the pearl of great price, then jumped into his fancy carriage and returned to his mansion. The farmer didn’t sell some of his things, bought the field that contained the treasure, and then met with his stockbroker to monitor his 401(k).

In the parables, Jesus reminds us that there is sacrifice to following Him. Embracing the Kingdom necessarily involves turning our back on the world, to the point of giving things up and suffering. It’s counter intuitive, to be sure—suffering and self-denial point us to happiness? Those silly Catholics…

Even with the promise of suffering, there’s still a nagging question underneath Jesus’ invitation to follow Him: what if it’s true? Just imagine… what if everything He promised will happen? He worked all those miracles…

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9, quoting Isaiah 64:4)

Parabolically Speaking

Today's Gospel reading selected three parables about the Kingdom of God from Matthew 13 (24-43). Coincidentally, they occur immediately after the parable of the sower (on which the title of this blog is based). Three more parables come after this reading, making Matthew 13 an awesome catalog of parables on the Kingdom of God.

I don't want to offer an idea on the content of the parables but rather on the concept of a parable. God knows us so well! He knows how we tick. If Jesus would have started preaching, giving various facts about the Kingdom of God? Sure, we'd listen. Jesus didn't go with a mere description, however. He painted a picture, using analogy and images to teach. Isn't that awesome? We have a hard time picturing something we've never seen (the Kingdom) and abstractions only help so much. Not so with this story! We can picture a field of wheat, we can picture having an enemy, and even if we're not a farmer, we have some vision of what a harvest is. In the other stories the examples are similar. Maybe we can't conceive the potential power of the faith, but we can look at a seed and know that, however small it is, it can grow into a tree. And who among us hasn't found a "pearl of great price" here or there? A dream house? A retirement account that Trump would envy? A 6-speed Dodge Viper V10 with 600 horses and the racing stripes down the middle? I digress, but we all know how the merchant felt when he saw something of immense value.

Parables teach so well because we can relate to theme. Jesus taps into our imaginations, our intellects, and our emotions teach us. Now that is a teacher who knows His students.

Men's Retreat reflections

Last weekend, I was blessed to go on the St. Mary's Parish men's retreat. I've gone on the retreat for three years now and it never fails to uplift me. Located somewhere east of here that has a lot of trees, the scenery is stunning! Last weekend, we had perfect weather and a nice, clear view of Mt. Hood both days. The fellowship is great, the food is always amazing (and plentiful), and it's a "journey out into the wilderness" to encounter God... away from cell phones, Facebook, work, and TV.

Each year, something different has struck me. Last year, the Bible verses that stood out to me was John 8:31-32: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." This hit me between the eyes! The primary obstacle in my spiritual life at the time was laziness. I prayed for God to set me free from that laziness. That, instead of drifting through the world, I stand up and make a commitment to a stronger Catholic life. Temptations vary, and we must never forget that the temptation to do nothing--while not something evil like killing someone--can be disastrous to our spiritual lives.

That realization led to a renewed appreciation for my favorite of St. Paul's letters, Ephesians. At the end of Ephesians, he exhorts the community to put on the armor of God. After all, "we are not contending against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12) I heard a reading of Eph 6:17 before, that "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" should be used by us to attack the sin inside of us. Very, very powerful image after that retreat.

This year, the focus turned out to be a little different. Laziness is still a struggle for me, but not as much as last year (by the grace of God). This year the spotlight was on leadership. Fr. Mitch Pacwa (from EWTN) was our speaker on the retreat and he was phenomenal. Our retreat closed with a talk on the history of the Catholic Church in the last 50 years since Vatican II. Fr. Mitch highlighted a lot of the movements within the Church. Nearly all of the movements that reignited the laity were started by the laity. And the future of the Church is bright! The Spirit is no less present to us than it was to the Apostles.

The fruit from all that was excitement. I was even more excited about the Theology on Tap that is happening in Mt. Angel. I saw the good men that were on the retreat and saw that the Church is strong. And I thought, yeah, why don't I try to start blogging and writing about these things again?

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Round 2

Another blog! I tried my hand at a blog a while ago but stopped due to laziness. Unfortunately, someone took my previous title, "Tilling the Soil" so I just made it longer. My approach is a little different this time. Before, I wanted to blog for other people… a desire to share with a dash of vanity. Maybe people will see how smart I am! haha! What’s different is that I will be blogging for me now. I want to write more—emails and Facebook posts aren’t exactly “writing.” I figure that the more I write, the more I exercise those little gray cells (as Poirot would say). Thanks for reading, though. I'll do my best to make it worth your time.