The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

How familiar are you with the bible? How much are you aware of what it says, what it teaches? Do you know why it even matters that we are familiar with the Word of God? What has kept you from knowing more about it?

What an amazing encounter we hear about in today's gospel. It makes not only for a compelling story, but raises all types of questions about who the friends were, their relationship with the paralyzed man, and the very amazing scene of his being able to walk again. Wow.

It may also be the case that if you are thinking about going to confession, you may be worried because it has been a long time and you may have forgotten what to do. There are plenty of resources, but I'd suggest what the US bishops have on their website as a guide.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice.

I try in my life over and over again to get better are being able to listen. Truth is, I like to talk. But what I am ever so slowly learning is that when I do not listen, I miss the chance to learn more about another person. And especially when it comes to prayer life, I lose even more. I lose the ability to learn about God when I talk too much.

When you hear you have a test, it is usually the case that there is a little (or a lot) of anxiety that comes with knowing this. As a child, you probably took them in school. We can be subject to a medical test. There are instances where our job gives us a sort of test. Becoming certified or earning an academic degree often involves a test. And for some, it involves a lot of suffering too.

In today's first reading we hear about how Jesus was tested in what he suffered. That Jesus is flesh and blood, as we are, and as Jesus shares in our suffering in every way we did makes our relationship with him to be one we are better able to understand, especially if we are going through difficult times or a difficult illness.

When the United States Bishops were discussing how to help Catholic schools present the faith in theology classes, they focused (rightly) on a problem: It was not clear that children understood that Jesus was God. In trying to emphasize the love of Jesus (a good thing) they focused so much on his being a person, there were times when it became the case for some that Jesus was only human.

Soren Kierkegaard posed an interesting question that captures the real heart of the problem. Do we simply admire Jesus for the good he did, or do we follow and worship Him as the Son of God? And so as you think of your relationship with God, ask yourself how it is you worship the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

For when we are able to focus on the revelation from God's Word that God is love, and we consider the Trinity in its fullness, it is then we see clearly how this is possible. And in recognizing God is love, we too realize as those made in the image and likeness of God, we too are called to love God and neighbor.

What is man that you are mindful of him,

What is interesting about the human being is that each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God. Think about what that means for a minute. You reflect God in some way. In the lives of great saints, that reflection was clear and strong. In others, not so much.

But whether we are aware of it or not, each one of us does reflect God in some way. While I may get discouraged because I struggle with this or that thing, this or that sin, even over and over again, I am still made in God's image and likeness.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,

Why are you baptized? What does it do? Why is it important? And why did Jesus, the Divine Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, why was it he was baptized? It is perfectly understandable to see that Saint John the Baptist might have had more than a few questions about his baptizing Jesus.

The section you might hear from Isaiah (you could also hear the reading from the Acts of the Apostles) is one of the Servant Songs, usually seen as a foreshadowing of Christ and applied to his ministry and person in the New Testament. The celebration of the baptism of Jesus today becomes important insofar as it is something that is the ideal that we are called to imitate.

It is most interesting to start paying attention to those things you notice first in your day-to-day life. For, there are certain things we notice that can tell us something about our priorities. And there are other things that only catch our eye when we develop an attitude of actually focusing or looking for something that reflects our priorities.

Can you work on setting the types of priorities this year that will make a difference in your spiritual life? Can you seek to notice those areas where Jesus is calling you to something more? So much depends upon whether or not you look in the right places. Like those following the star to seek out Jesus, we need to notice the important signs in our lives of where Jesus is present.

There are days, in fact sometimes many days, where being encouraged to "Rise up in splendor" seems like something too far away to be real. There are days when it may even feel impossible. But for the prophet Isaiah, the promise is real and the command possible. We can rise up in splendor even in the darkest times.

This is about what it is we choose to focus upon in our lives. Do we think about the wonderful and powerful ways in which Jesus has come into our world, has loved and cared for us, and has healed not only our brokenness but that of others too? Or do we give into the despair that arises from the darkness that is all around us?

There are a number of questions that can sometimes arise about the Catholic faith from those who believe that only the Bible is the source of anything worthy of belief. There are instances where it can appear that Catholics just pull certain things out of thin air. For some Christians, the idea that we need to confess certain sins, which we call mortal sins, to a priest can be one such thing that does not seem to have biblical basis. And yet, today's reading shows us exactly how it is we have this notion or idea.

Saint John tells us that there is some sin that is deadly (mortal) and some sin that is not deadly (venial). Moreover, he implies that for the type of sin that is mortal, it is the case we need to do more than pray, since Saint John tells us we should not pray. So what should we do with this deadly sin?