From the Pastor:
As is often the case, there are themes and connections to what we experience each day. Recognizing these can be helpful because they point to something greater that might be occurring. This is true in almost every sector of life and every occupation. It is especially true for our spiritual life. There are connections and themes within every Mass and from one Mass to the next. The past few weeks have proven that to be true.
This Sunday, Jesus warns us in the gospel passage not to disregard God’s commandments for human traditions. We know how easy it is to do this. In the busyness of life and the confusion of varying emotions, we can lose sight of what God teaches us. The more we reflect on Jesus’ words and our own experiences, the more we recognize that Jesus is revealing to us a theme, a truth about ourselves that human history confirms – we “disregard God’s commandments but cling to human traditions”.
As we question ourselves, wondering why we do this, we look for connections. Our second reading today gives us the answer. We drift from God’s commandments, and even consciously reject them, because God’s words are not “planted” in our minds and hearts. We have heard them, and allowed them to pass through us instead of “planting” them like seeds in the soil. When something is planted, even the smallest seed, it takes root and grows. In taking root, it both anchors itself more firmly and receives the nourishment needed to produce fruit.
When we fail to do this, our minds and hearts become Satan’s playground. We lose connection to the reality of this world and the next world. Jesus tells us not to deceive ourselves in thinking we can gain salvation without actually living according to God’s teachings and commandments – “be doers of the word, not hearers only.” One of the sins Jesus specifically mentioned last Sunday and this Sunday is unchaste conduct. He says unchastity is evil and defiles the person. It has brought more evil into our world than almost any other sin: lust, fornication, adultery, divorce, pornography, human sex trafficking, abortion, etc.
Each of these evils is today an epidemic of its own. We’ve all been affected by these evils, either directly or indirectly. The connection the sin of unchastity has to so many other evils points to the need for self-control. Without the rudder of self-control and the compass of God’s teachings, we are hopelessly lost. Without these, we become slaves to our passions and blind to the reality of the world in which we live. Notice how routine it has become to end the life of another human person simply for the convenience of self. Women and children are bought and sold as human sex toys.
It should be obvious to us that we need to subordinate ourselves to Christ, meaning to place ourselves under the governance of Christ and conform ourselves to His order. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2339) says the following: “Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy.”
Sincerely,
Fr. Miller