Faith and the Impossible

We all have had that situation where we come face to face with the impossible. A great deal of us give up in these situations. That makes sense. I mean if you truly believe it is impossible to accomplish something, then you should give up. It is logical. As Yoda said, we only have two choices, "do or do not, there is no try." Either something is impossible or it isn't. So I am going to try and make another analogy, so bear with me. A general rule of thumb is, if it happened to Luke Skywalker during his quest, then it will happen to us in our journey. So here is a way awesome excerpt from Star Wars. 

Luke: You want the impossible.

Yoda: Raises ship from swamp

Luke: I can’t believe it!

Yoda: That is why you fail.

So why aren’t we all lifting, X-Wings left and right? Perhaps we think like Luke, and believe that, "Yoda" is asking us to do "the impossible." Maybe we believe overcoming our sins is impossible... and so we give up. When I went to confession on Saturday my priest told gave me some great advice "let go of the past" and focus on the first reading. For this lent season he suggested that I focus on God and what he desired for my life. I thought this was a strange thing to emphasize but then I turned to the first reading.

“You burdened me with your sins, and wearied me with your crimes. It is I, I, who wipe 
out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

That's when it hit me, salvation is a progressive act! At times I think that we think that God won't help us if we fall, I know I fall into that kind of thinking alot. But that is not the case. It is actually alot like the gameplay in World of Warcraft. It is alot of work and it takes alot of time, but eventually, you will get to level 80.  And boy when you do, you will look back and laugh at the days when you were level 20. But even then you need to get new armor and face new challenges. 

God knows that we are trying to make it to level 80 and He just wishes that we would ask Him to power level us! If all of this analogy went over your head because you are not a complete nerd and used to dedicate your life to World of Warcraft... then let me just say that, even in our sin, God still reaches out to us... He never stops loving us even and offers His help. He only wants to help us in the most amazing ways. I think this is why my priest told me, to let go of the past. So many times Jesus calls us and says,

"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home." (Mark 2:11)

Jesus makes His intentions for humanity known throughout all of scriptures. He reassures us that He loves us, and when He healed the paralytics sin and paralysis, He demonstrated that He can and will forgive us of our sins. However, whenever Jesus calls us to repentance He always says to us, rise go out into the world, or rise go home, or in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah leave and do not turn back or you will be turned to a pillar of salt. I don't know about you guys, but I really appreciate my human form-- and would really, really, prefer to not turn into a pillar of salt... even if it was ony in a symbolic way (whatever that entails.)

In the battle against Sin, it is in the moment we look back, that we fall again. We have to confess our sins and then fix our eyes on God. We have to have faith that God is doing, "something new!" in our lives! This makes the best kind of repentance! Isaiah reminds us that our salvation is in the future, not our past!

“Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!”(Isaiah 43:25)

This is the Christian definition of hope and faith. If every time we fell, we looked up towards God and truly had faith and hope in His magnificent working in our lives, our conversion would be so much easier! I might make another post on this subject alone, but by getting rid of our sin God brings our soul to a point where, we can better understand the revelation of His love that He made clear to us with his redemptive acts. 

The supernatural character of the series of objective acts with which it formally identifies revelation, it recognizes an immediate action of God’s Spirit on the mind of man, preparing, fitting, and enabling him to apprehend and interpret aright the revelation made objectively in the redemptive acts. Warfield, B. B. (2008).

If we don't use that time to ponder His redemptive acts, then we will miss out on one of the greatest opportunities to grow closer to God. In order that you realize how much you would miss out on, lets just say that the only equivalent to not focusing on God after a repentance would be, if you created a time machine and went back in time to when Yahoo, Apple, or Google were first established... then after you arrived, you DID NOT purchase their stocks. Yes, it's that ridiculous. 

(SIde Note:Did I already say that the last mass was the best mass ever? I mean when I got out I felt like I just watched the entire Star Wars series for the frist time! I mean do you know just about every quote I used in this post has been from mass?!?!-- Sorry back to my point)

What determines how long our conversion lasts is, do we turn our gaze towards our sins and say to God as Luke said to Yoda, “you want the impossible!” Or do we turn towards God and look towards His redemptive acts on the cross and have faith in God during the impossible battles we face?

I think its time now for, yes, yes it is. That's right, it's time for yet ANOTHER reference to last Sunday's Mass. 

Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

It is by pondering spiritual things, God, Jesus, His unconditional love for us, that we trust in God and thus become Dragon Warriors able to accomplish the impossible. It is then that we overcome our sins! As I write this, I am undergoing one of the largest conversions of my life. A shift in the very way I look at life. I wrote about it briefly in my last blog, but let me just say that God's forgiveness, mercy, and love is almost too much. Before I was worried how I would balance doing what God wanted for my life while still embracing my role as a Christian man in society--Then I heard this reading about 3 or 4 weeks ago:

"An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. " (1 Corinthians 7:34)

I began to throw a fit. I wanted an active role in Catholic society where I could contribute someway and forward the grace of God that has bestowed upon me in my own life. But when I read this, I started thinking, "Ok, thanks for stating the obvious and amplifying the feeling that that had been eating away at my soul..." and went into my "kid temper tantrum mode." (This is a mode that I go into when I either I can't understand scriptures or I can't understand God's will for my life) 

Slowly, and very slowly at that, I realized that the passage also had the solution the this paradox. St. Paul did not want us to worry, he instead states explicitly,

"17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them...Keeping God’s commands is what counts.20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. ( 1 Corinthians 7:34)

That passage helped me change my life. I repeated the words over and over, live as a believer. Live as a believer. Live as a believer. I kinda wanna say it again... live as a believer! Ok. I am done, for now. A believer has faith and trusts in God. A believer keeps God's Commandments and if he falls, he seeks forgiveness and tries again. It is then necessary as believers after we fall, that we make the big leaps of faith like Tobit, Tobia, Abraham, and become followers of Christ like the apostles who left everything behind for Jesus. If we take leaps of faith without a worry in our heart, then we can trust in God with the little things too. Ironically, this is also how we conquer sin. =0 

Perhaps we still have lingering doubts. Perhaps we think that God will not forgive us and will abandon us for our past sins... But this is not the message of last sunday's readings!

Once I said, "O LORD, have pity on me; heal me, though I have sinned against you."But because of my integrity you sustain me and let me stand before you forever. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from all eternity. Amen. Amen. (Re sponsorial from Psalm 41) 

Jesus takes the time to forget our sins for our integrity---

"You burdened me with your sins, and wearied me with your crimes. It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more. (Isaiah 43:24-25) 

So, let's take the opportunity of lent to ponder spiritual things. Let's ponder the profound forgiveness Jesus offers us, and ask ourselves, "what does God desire for my life?" Yes repent of your sins, but, don't just lament about the past, embrace what God calls you to now in the present! Have faith that God is working in your life! The new feeling of letting go of your past sins and placing trust and faith in God will completely change your life in unimaginable ways. Who knows you may even come to find that the impossible is entirely all too possible.

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For Citation Purposes:   Warfield, B. B. (2008). The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, Volume 1: Revelation and Inspiration (6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

How to Become a Dragon Warrior

Last night I went to adoration and picked up a book  called, "Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart." It was then that I came to the realization that drinking a large vanilla iced coffee from Mcdonalds, before going to adoration, is a very bad idea. Being completely wired with Coffee, makes it very difficult to focus. And so, I had begun to ask God to help me to pray because I was... wired. At first all I could think about was the fact that I got locked into my prayer closet with my girlfriend and had to break the door down, and kinda chuckled and wondered if God really did lock me in a closet to teach me some sort of lesson.. or if that was just my bad luck. Oh--and just in case anyone wanted to know:

Sorry, back to the main point.The first section I read made a really awesome analogy of the soul as being a lake and if it had ripples in it, then it could not reflect the sky. Our soul reflects God when it is at peace. This video came into my mind when I pictured it. 

At times we become like Shifu and simply let that worry run its course. Master Oogway has a great word of advice for us, "Your mind is like this water my friend, when it is agitated it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle the answer becomes clear."   What we don't realize is that  worry, doubt, and anxiety  takes away the solution to our problems , just like how the ripples blinded Shifu from the Dragon scroll. If we put an end to worry in our life, we could finally see the p eace and grace that naturally comes to us if we place trust and confidence in God. 

God has always desired for the inner peace and building up of our souls.

"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15)"

But, there is something about fear, worry, or doubt that  produces a ripple in our souls that takes away our ability to hear God.  It diverts our attention away from God who is the only one that can bring peace to our hearts. In Old Testament physical manifestations were often signs of spiritual realities. 1 Kings19:11-13 is a perfect example of what takes place in our souls when we doubt:

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  (1 Kings 19:11-13)

These physical anomalies resemble the effects of the worry that plague us when we doubt God. In our minds our thoughts become what Elijah witnessed physically. They become mountains being torn apart and shattered, winds fiercely blowing, earthquakes, and fires ripping away at our peace that comes from trust in God. It is with trust in God that we can see most clearly, this is how we, "let go" of all other things and progressively find the solution to our problem. And so... that's right! It's Star Wars time!

I noticed in prayer that night, that my worry, doubt, or anxiety about the future was not what God wanted for me. (Side note: Yes, yes, an OBVIOUS conclusion for the audience, whatever, the enemy in a film is always more obvious to the audience then the protagonist) But in addition to this I realized that these vices blocked God from entering my life more fully.

Here is why, speaking very generally whenever someone is not at peace--- be it from worry, doubt, or anxiety--- it is because they feel something is lacking in their lives. The underlying assumption then is that once you get whatever it is that you are lacking, you will have inner peace. However, if we think this way about anything besides God, then we are seeking it as an end. In that sense, we desire to fulfill ourselves, the lack of peace that God Himself is meant to fulfill. Thus once we fill whatever arbitrary need we seek, we will once again feel disturbed and out of place because we did not fullfil our need with what we were supposed to fill it with, which is God. We try to fit a square into a circular hole, even though we laugh at kids for doing it all the time! (or I suppose that might just be me and my cruel sense of humor.) 

The devil will always try and distract us from hearing God's voice. He uses many "mountains, fires, winds, and earthquakes" to get our attention away from God. He uses only methods that slip under our radar... but if they aren't under our radar, they don't work as well. And so, I would like to share with you three things that have gotten under my radar, and have driven me further from God (hopefully for the last time): Worry, doubt, and anxiety. Hah not so under the radar now are you!? Ka-bam! Can you handle that? I know you are problably still wondering... But how do I become a dragon warrior...And so... Let me spell it out, with these vices no longer under the radar we finally become Dragon Warriors by focusing on the virtue of trust in God.

Obamacare vs. Constitution Episode I – “The Federal Menace”

Introduction:

Good news everyone, Obama's Healthcare act forcing Catholic institutions to provide Contraceptives in their insurance plans to employees has been revoked.

I would like to applaud the many successful arguments by Catholics that address the violation of the constitution by the mandate forcing Catholic institutions to pay for contraceptives for their employees.. and w hile this is good progess, we still have aways to go! Catholic Laymen, who are not employeed by Catholic Institutions  as well as Catholic insurance agencies   will still have to pay for contraceptives ! 

Catholics will still have to violate their consciences.  The m andate only exempts Religious Organizations, Employers, and Institutions. On the positive side, we know more about Obama.  And so... Here is an argument on the constitutionality of forcing the American public and Catholic Laymen to pay for contraceptives in general.

Politically speaking…

1.)Violation of the Due Process Clause:

"No person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

• Violation: Since the new law would make a fee for the refusal to purchase insurance, which could be anywhere from $750-$3800 per a family, it would deprive people of "property" without, "due process." That's right Jar Jar, your attempts at destroying society has failed again.

2.)Violation of the Ninth amendment:
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

• Violation: The right of the people to refuse purchase of a product.

3.) Violation of the Tenth Ammendment:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

• Violation: The power to force people to pay for contraceptives is not expressively included in the constitution. Thus

— bureaucrat,  but is instead one that is up to a vote by you and me! Yay democracy!

In a case where the federal government tried to impose penalties for not purchasing products, The supreme court reported it as a violation of the tenth amendment:

“Justice   Sandra Day O'Connor  

wrote that the federal government can encourage the states to adopt certain regulations through the spending power (e.g. by attaching conditions to the receipt of federal funds, see (South Dakota v. Dole), or through the commerce power (by directly pre-empting state law). However, Congress cannot directly compel states to enforce federal regulations.”

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Forced_participation_or_commandeering

Financially Unsound Usage of Tax Dollars

There are many different companies that have to profit from this, insurance companies, Insurance agents who handle the policies, the people who designed the policies, the government. Otherwise, how is the policy supposed to survive? This means that the public is going to pay much MORE for services that we already have available at most pregnancy clinics.  Woooaaa, hold on a second there. We are now going to pay roughly 4 times as many parties for this service now? When has that ever been a good idea?

In my next blog I will dive into the effectiveness of contraceptives and consequences of not only everyone having access to contraceptives — which everyone already does have — but also, the effects of government enforcement on the increased prevalence of sex as a consequence in our country. In the meanwhile, here is a website of the Catholic Bishops analysing the affects of Obama's newly purposed plans to keep you occupied.

http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-026.cfm