Hello followers! I know it's been a while since I've blogged, so this entry will be a quick touch and go about things on my mind since the last time I've blogged. But before I get started, let me just say that the title of this post is nowhere near original, it was borrowed from Greg Cote's blog in the Miami Herald website. Disclaimers aside, let's get this started!
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About a month ago, I saw God. He didn't shine a light upon me. He did not speak to me with a booming voice from beyond the clouds. He didn't even pull a miracle out for me. He showed Himself in a spot when I least expected it.
I was driving home from work, and as I was driving on the turnpike, I noticed that my car was overheating a bit. As soon as I braked at the off-ramp, my car completely broke down. I got out of the car, opened the hood, and awaited my father to bring some coolant, when I see an SUV pull over on the road ahead of me. A woman and man stepped out of the car, headed towards me, and offered to help move my car off to the side of the road. I was really shocked. I never thought a pair of Miamians would help a stranger with his car. I was having a horrible day up to that point. But God showed Himself to me at that moment - through the kindness of these strangers. He reminded me that He was there for me, no matter how crappy I was feeling.
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Last night, I realized that I have been missing a crucial aspect to my life. I realized that I hadn't been to mass in about a month. I know that to you, the reader, this may not seem like such a big deal. But it is to me. It was not that I feel pressured to go because it's something I have to do. I miss going to mass because it's something that I want to do. I miss it because it is a refresher for me. Whenever I go to mass, I leave it feeling as if I have been re-baptized - born again, if you will. It helps to remind me that whatever I do in life, it is done with a higher purpose in mind.
I haven't been able to go because of so many things going on in my life right now. And most of these things are actually positive things. Regardless, being away from the mass for such a long time feels as if I moved away and grew homesick. I need to go back "home" again so that I feel a little closer to being complete.
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So, Gator quarterback Tim Tebow admitted that he's a virgin. Whether he's telling the truth or not is not what this entry is about. It's the uproar that happened throughout the nation in the news, blogs, radio shows, etc. There is a double standard in this country (duh). We constantly like to bash and ridicule people who do not fit the mainstream. That is evident in the people making fun of Tebow's virginity, or calling him a liar, because people in college "just cannot really be that popular and virgins." It is evident in our movies, where we poke fun of virginity, as is the case with The 40-Year Old Virgin and the American Pie series.
I am of the belief system that says it actually takes strength to be a virgin. Take away the loser image for a second. Just think about it. Let's say Tebow is not lying. You don't think that he's been tempted? You don't think that he's had to rise above all the women who throw themselves at him. I guarantee that if he wanted to, he would be able to sleep with any woman in the Gainesville area. But he chooses not to, because he believes in something better. Tim Tebow is strong-willed, strong-hearted, abd courageous.
By the way, just because I think these great things about Tim Tebow, I still hate the Gators. Thank you
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Grace Above Weakness
My priest, Father Bob Vallee, sometimes emails the church his thoughts about the passages we will read. He reads what he emails us and expands on it. I thought this week's homily was so great I decided to post it. For a little context, the passage he refers to is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. Enjoy!
"One of the most amazing passages of Scripture, in my view at least, is today’s second reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Paul writes: “In order that I might not become inflated and arrogant, I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to beat me and keep me from becoming proud. Three times I begged the Lord to take this from me. But he said, ‘My grace is enough for you, for in human weakness the power of God reaches perfection.’” This is a very beautiful and yet somewhat enigmatic passage. Notice that Paul does not tell us what exactly this “thorn in the flesh” might be. We can be pretty sure as to what it is not. It is not pain or persecution, trials or tribulations. Why? Because Paul just told us that he willingly boasts of what he suffers for the sake of the Gospel. So what is it that so torments Paul? One thing is sure, it something that Paul sees as a weakness and something not to boast of but to be ashamed of.
There are many possibilities as to the nature of this “angel of Satan.” Let’s look at three.
First, Paul could be referring to some sort of a character flaw on his part. He had several to deal with. His worst problem was that he had a terrible temper and an acidic tongue. When Barnabas, in Acts, asks him to take back John Mark, Paul says he is a baby and should go back home to his mommy. In Galatians, he writes, with a somewhat poisonous pen, “how stupid can you be!” Later in Galatians, Paul writes, “Henceforth, let no man bother me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord’s passion.” One thing is certain, Paul was not so good at playing nice with the other children.
The second possibility is that Paul could have been talking about some sort of physical problem which may have gotten in the way of his preaching the Gospel. For example, it is believed that Paul stuttered. This, of course would have affected his ability to preach the Gospel. In the 20th chapter of Acts we read that Paul was preaching, “on and on” and a young man got so bored that he fell from a third story window and died. Paul had to go down and raise him from the dead. My homilies are not always great but I have never killed anyone. Which is all for the best, being that I am not at all confident about the raising from the dead part afterwards. Also, when Paul describes his fits and seizures, some modern doctors have surmised that he was perhaps an epileptic. Of course, is always a bit dangerous to perform such anachronistic diagnoses.
The third and, I think, the most interesting possibility is that Paul is alluding to some sort of moral flaw, some sort of sin he struggles with. We have already seen that he has a bit of trouble with wrath and pride and envy. But maybe it is something else. A French psychologist wrote a book in the 1980s which analyzed all of Paul’s comments about women and suggests that Paul does not like them very much. Not to put too fine a point on it but that Paul perhaps struggled with desires which ran contrary to nature. Of course, there is no way to know being that Paul doesn’t say.
The point is that it does not matter what Paul’s “weakness” is. We all have weaknesses and stuff about ourselves we are ashamed of. The point is God’s response to Paul’s weakness. Because God addresses our weaknesses with the same words. God tells Paul: “My grace is enough for you, for in human weakness the power of God reaches perfection.” We don’t have to be perfect. In fact, the fact that we are not perfect is precisely what forces us to realize our need for God’s grace. Ignatius of Loyola wrote: Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me.
"One of the most amazing passages of Scripture, in my view at least, is today’s second reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Paul writes: “In order that I might not become inflated and arrogant, I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to beat me and keep me from becoming proud. Three times I begged the Lord to take this from me. But he said, ‘My grace is enough for you, for in human weakness the power of God reaches perfection.’” This is a very beautiful and yet somewhat enigmatic passage. Notice that Paul does not tell us what exactly this “thorn in the flesh” might be. We can be pretty sure as to what it is not. It is not pain or persecution, trials or tribulations. Why? Because Paul just told us that he willingly boasts of what he suffers for the sake of the Gospel. So what is it that so torments Paul? One thing is sure, it something that Paul sees as a weakness and something not to boast of but to be ashamed of.
There are many possibilities as to the nature of this “angel of Satan.” Let’s look at three.
First, Paul could be referring to some sort of a character flaw on his part. He had several to deal with. His worst problem was that he had a terrible temper and an acidic tongue. When Barnabas, in Acts, asks him to take back John Mark, Paul says he is a baby and should go back home to his mommy. In Galatians, he writes, with a somewhat poisonous pen, “how stupid can you be!” Later in Galatians, Paul writes, “Henceforth, let no man bother me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord’s passion.” One thing is certain, Paul was not so good at playing nice with the other children.
The second possibility is that Paul could have been talking about some sort of physical problem which may have gotten in the way of his preaching the Gospel. For example, it is believed that Paul stuttered. This, of course would have affected his ability to preach the Gospel. In the 20th chapter of Acts we read that Paul was preaching, “on and on” and a young man got so bored that he fell from a third story window and died. Paul had to go down and raise him from the dead. My homilies are not always great but I have never killed anyone. Which is all for the best, being that I am not at all confident about the raising from the dead part afterwards. Also, when Paul describes his fits and seizures, some modern doctors have surmised that he was perhaps an epileptic. Of course, is always a bit dangerous to perform such anachronistic diagnoses.
The third and, I think, the most interesting possibility is that Paul is alluding to some sort of moral flaw, some sort of sin he struggles with. We have already seen that he has a bit of trouble with wrath and pride and envy. But maybe it is something else. A French psychologist wrote a book in the 1980s which analyzed all of Paul’s comments about women and suggests that Paul does not like them very much. Not to put too fine a point on it but that Paul perhaps struggled with desires which ran contrary to nature. Of course, there is no way to know being that Paul doesn’t say.
The point is that it does not matter what Paul’s “weakness” is. We all have weaknesses and stuff about ourselves we are ashamed of. The point is God’s response to Paul’s weakness. Because God addresses our weaknesses with the same words. God tells Paul: “My grace is enough for you, for in human weakness the power of God reaches perfection.” We don’t have to be perfect. In fact, the fact that we are not perfect is precisely what forces us to realize our need for God’s grace. Ignatius of Loyola wrote: Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me.
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