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Thank you for visiting. I hope you will enjoy the variety of topics to enhance your spiritual life. You can read them below or download them and read at your leisure. I have also added my Sunday Homilies.
CURRENT TOPICS: Notes on Scripture Studies for “Paul” below
and Notes on Hosea, The Unwanted Prophet
ENJOY!
2nd Sunday Advent – Matthew 3:1-12, John the Baptist
The word “baptize” is the English translation of a Greek word that means to immerse completely in, or to plunge into. The “old self” drowns and the “new self” arises. John’s baptism was a symbol of and an expression of dying to sin, of saying no to sin, of repentance of sin.
Why water? Because water makes you clean. Sin is like dirt or pollution. That is why repentance is the necessary first step in salvation. You don’t have to be sinless to be saved, but you do have to hate sin, because sin is against God and you have to love God more than sin. Repent is the one-word summary of the message of all the prophets of the old Testament, especially the Baptist.
Repentance is not just a feeling of regret and sorrow about your sins, because feelings are not under the control of our free will or choice. It is not just mental awareness, or knowledge of our sins, because that’s like an x-ray, not the operation, as Peter Kreeft explains. And it is not just doing some good deeds to make up for your sins, because nothing we can do all by ourselves can save us; we can’t change our own hearts and we can’t get out of the hole we fell down into without God’s help.
The essence of repentance is not a feeling or a knowing or a doing, but a choice of the will, a free choice. It is turning around 180 degrees, metanoia, from facing the darkness to facing the light. John the Baptist calls us through baptism to repentance, faith, and proof of positive, good works, hopefully works of love.
The third step is the clearest to see. Repentance and faith are invisible; they happen in the spiritual soul. But love happens in our deeds, in our lives, in how we treat other people. The works of love make our invisible faith visible. No one but God can see our repentance and our faith; but everybody can see our love. “They will know we are Christians by our love,” and “faith without love is dead,” writes Saint James in his letter.
Today is our Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. We have several Candidates who will be going through this Rite:
Tyler Fullilove, Billy Majur, Bradley Hast, Rhett Channing, and
There will several others who will join us at the Easter Vigil.
All Souls Day 2025 All Souls Day 2025
“Go Back To Where You Came From”
Amos, The Unwanted Prophet: Part Four
The one institution in Israel most severely affected by this loss of integrity was “the gate”. “The gate” referred to is the place of entry and exit to a walled village or city where the elders of that city gathered periodically to make decisions or dispense justice. It was in these meetings at the gate that the need of the weak and poor were heard and defended against the whims of the wealthy and powerful.
The new king of Israel had recognized that his people would continue to look to Jerusalem as their religious center and as the place where major sacrifices were to be made. Thus, Jeroboam initiated a series of religious reforms to provide alternative worship centers for his people and turn their allegiance to his regime. Although these reforms made good political sense at the time, they became the basis for the subsequent criticism of Israel and of those kings who continued to promote the sins of Jeroboam. Now over a century later, Amos, a man of Judah, stands before an audience of Israelites at Bethel and challenges them to repent and reject not only Jeroboam’s sin but also the royal shrine that serves a focal point and an economic engine among them (V. H. Matthews, The Hebrew Prophets and their Social World, 2012, p. 83).
“Father, Father!” Joshua shook his father, Amos. “Are you OK?”
“Yes, son,” Amos replied, trying to collect his thoughts.
“Another dream?” Joshua asked a little frightened, realizing how much he depended on this father.
“Yes,” Amos responded, “Another vision,” he emphasized. “I saw a basket of rotting fruit.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Joshua said a little confused.
“I realized that the basket of rotting fruit was our Northern brothers, Israel,” Amos said slowly and clearly, “but I was made to know that this rotting fruit was ripe for destruction.” Amos clearly emphasized the last part, ‘ripe for destruction.’
He continued, “In the vision the shadowy figure of Yahweh himself was seen already at work destroying a temple and slaughtering its visitant!”
“So, father, we are too late,” Joshua said frightened.
“Yes and no,” Amos replied. His son looked confused. “These visions show both what is happening and what will happen.” Joshua still looked confused. “As I have learned from past visions,” Amos carefully explained, “the Lord God can relent with carrying out the vision.”
“So, there is time,” Joshua said hopefully.
“Yes,” Amos simply replied. “But I do not believe that our Northern brothers will change, especially when someone from the South delivers the message.”
“Is that why Yahweh has picked you,” Joshua hinted, “because he wants to destroy the North?”
“Son,” Amos replied, “we always have to believe that the Lord God wishes the best for us, especially the poor, the anawim, that are trapped in even God’s punishment on the rich and unjust.”
“What do we do now,” Joshua asked.
“We deliver the message,” was all Amos could answer. “And then we wait.”
The next day, after Amos had delivered his message, they were on their way back to Tekoa.
“We delivered the message,” Amos said.
“Father, you were wonderful,” Joshua reassured him. “They were cheering you on for a while.”
“That is because they didn’t know where it was heading,” Amos smiled.
“They left, one by one,” Joshua added with disappointment.
Amos begins to repeat the litany like cadence that he had used for the other nations, only this time for Israel.
“For bribery and injustice toward the poor,” Amos intoned.
“Death and destruction,” Josua answered.
“For good people being sold into slavery,” Amos said.
“Exile of survivors,” Joshua added.
“For visits to the temple prostitutes,” Amos continued.
“Destruction of altars at Bethel and Dan,” Joshua answered.
“For idol worship,” Amos shouted.
“Bethel destroyed,” Joshua shouted.
“Abuse of the Nazirites,” Amos shouted all the more.
“Death and destruction,” Joshua screamed.
“For silencing the prophets,” Amos said quietly.
“Yahweh’s punishment will be carried out,” Joshua fatefully said.
Go Back To Where You Came From pt 4
Go Back To Where You Came From pt 3
Go Back To Where You Came From pt 2
Go Back To Where You Came From pt 1