The Paraclete: Illumination of the Truth, the Way and the Life

“A man is not really convinced of a philosophic theory when he finds something proves it. He is only really convinced when he finds that everything proves it.” – G.K. Chesterton

A Jewish scholar who became a Christian and who knew the Old Testament very well and all of the traditions of the Jews, said that at the time of Christ the rabbis had gathered together 456 prophesies concerning the Messiah, the Christ, the conqueror of evil who was to be born and to enter into a new covenant with mankind. Suppose the chances of any one prophesy being fulfilled by accident, say the place where he would be born, was one in a hundred. Then, if two prophesies were fulfilled, the chances would be one in a thousand. If three prophesies were to coincide in Christ, that would be one in ten thousand. If four, one in a hundred thousand. If five, one in a million. Now if all of these prophesies were fulfilled in Christ, what would be the chance of them all concurring at the appointed moment, not only in place but also in time, as was foretold by the prophet Daniel? Take a pencil and write on a sheet of paper the numeral 1 and draw a line beneath it. Under the line write 84, and after 84, if you have time, write 126 zeros. That is the chance of all of the prophesies of Christ being fulfilled. It runs into millions and millions, trillions and trillions. – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (“Through The Year With Fulton Sheen”)

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”- Acts 2: 1-4

Jesus promised that after His Ascension He would send the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to His Apostles. And along with the arrival of the Holy Spirit came an illuminating and complete understanding of Jesus. (In the words of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: “Just as the Son has revealed the Father, so the Holy Spirit reveals the Son.”)

In another dramatic fashion, that understanding also descended upon Saul, a persecutor of Christians. To coin a phrase: He was blinded by the light; literally, while on his way to Damascus. When He recovered from this life changing experience, at the hand of his savior, Saul’s sight was restored beyond the physical. For it was now Paul, not Saul, who emerged from the traumatic but transfiguring event. Essentially, Christ having heard the cries for mercy from His followers rescued them from the merciless Saul by sending the merciful Paul. The persecutor of Christians is now the protector of Christ’s Church.

The Apostles of Christ were like Saul; not sharing in his hatred, but in his doubt. Saint Thomas, alone, was proof of that. He would not believe in the Resurrection unless He was satisfied with physical validation. For Thomas, seeing was believing. The Apostles never truly understood the significance of the Resurrection. If they had understood, they would have been at His tomb awaiting what Jesus had promised. Yet their doubt scattered them and sent them into hiding. Even though Jesus appeared to them and, as well, to many others on a number of occasions after His Resurrection, the apostles still were not completely convinced. For they returned to their professions. Only when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost was their understanding of the Resurrection complete, and their doubt vanquished. So convinced were they then, that they feared not even death in spreading the Good News of Christ. And through an immeasurable faith worked wonders in His name.

The Jewish scholar was a doubter too. I wager that his original purpose in the study of the Old Testament and Jewish traditions was not to prove but disprove Christ’s true nature. But, as scientists of various disciplines will attest; many theories are proven true by the failed attempts to prove them false. This Jewish scholar, influenced by the common sense of first principles, could not help but come to the reasonable conclusion that Jesus is who He claimed to be; the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. So convinced was he by his findings, that he, too, took up his cross and followed Christ.

Whether knocked from a horse by a blinding light, or having one’s heart enkindled by the perfect love of the Holy Spirit, or persuaded by common sense reason, many have come to divine understanding. Those who permit themselves to be overshadowed by the Third Person of the Holy Trinity are blessed, for they will find what they have been seeking their entire lives; the way, the truth and the life.

For in knowing Christ, who is all-encompassing, we know not one truth, but all truth. Therein is well placed our conviction. 

Mom Forever In A Song

I offer this post written in 2016 on this Mother’s Day 2023. Though the years have passed since my mom’s passing the words and sentiments within this post hold as firm today as then and always, for no greater aspect of and role in life is there than Motherhood. The firmness of the road ahead for any new life is determined by a stable family life best served by the commitment and love of both dad and mom. Of which mother assumes the heart of that family.

I had difficulty coming up with the words that would best do justice to this Mother’s Day post. I searched my mind but found none worthy. Yet the words not found in thought were found in the heart.

After a nine month stay at a convalescent hospital, recovering from paralysis due to Polio, my mom would sing me to sleep each night. The fears of a disabled five-year old then, and the challenges ahead not yet conceived, were tempered by the security and confidence instilled by Mom’s comforting protective loving voice. The trials of any day melted away with every lyric of the song which she chose as a lullaby that bound us to each other as she lie beside me until I gave way to peaceful sleep. I offer that song here in tribute to my mom’s memory.

“Goodnight Sweetheart – (performed by Rudy Vallee, 1941)

Goodnight sweetheart
‘Til we meet tomorrow.
Goodnight, sweetheart
Sleep will banish sorrow.

Tears and parting
May make you forlorn.
But with the dawn
A new day is born.

So I’ll say goodnight sweetheart
Though I’m not beside you.
Goodnight sweetheart
Still my love will guide you.

Dreams enfold you
In each one I’ll hold you.
Goodnight sweetheart
Goodnight.

To my mom I offer a “Goodnight Sweetheart.” Throughout my life I have found comfort, security, encouragement and love within her affectionate arms. I ask now that she has  found perfect peace and joy, of which she is so worthy, in God’s loving eternal embrace.

How blessed is the person whose choice of a mother would be that of God’s too.

No Fear Among the Humble

“Do not look at the faces in the illustrated papers; look at the faces in the street. See what great and reasonable number of them are strong, humble faces, full of humor and hard work, faces with sad eyes and humorous mouths.” – G.K. Chesterton

Today’s media who go out to the streets, if they go out at all, to put their finger on the pulse of the people, find not a rapid pulse among the majority but one of calm. This is the pulse of the common man and common woman who reveal their common sense in what they declare. They are not caught up in the latest fads or rage of the day. They are not rattled by the endless dim of madness about them. For they believe in a power greater than themselves, and they know that power is neither the media nor the state.

The Empty Tomb

“Pilate said to them, “The guard is yours; go secure it as best you can.” So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard. – Matthew 27: 65-66

“The king lay in state with the guard about Him. And the most astounding fact about this spectacle of vigilance over the dead is that the enemies of Christ expected the Resurrection, but His friends did not. It was the believers who were the skeptics. It was the unbelievers who were credulous.

None of the apostles expected a Resurrection. They had to be convinced. They had to be convinced the hard way, as Thomas had to be convinced. Believe me, the skeptics of today cannot compare with the skeptics of those days, namely the apostles. They were the doubters, and when they were convinced they proved that they believed by having their throats cut for the cause of Christ.” – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” He is not here but has been raised.” – Luke 24:5-6

And as the risen Christ had overcome death, so too, the apostles would rise above their fear. Having again seen and eaten with their master, a presumed illusion had become reality; restoring their faith. The cowards would become heroes. They were now prepared to let go of the lives they knew and give them over to and for Christ; completely. All that was Christ was conferred upon them by Him. They would do what He had done. And through the apostles the gospels would be proclaimed throughout the world resulting in a growing, vibrant, Holy and living church.

As a result of the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday all that was is changed forever. Suffering once seen as a dreaded error of life now has a valued purpose and meaning; for it is the precursor of a greater good; and in the case of Christ, the greatest good. His success is our success. The entrance to heaven that had been denied to all humanity by the disobedience of one man, has been reopened, and access reinstated to all humanity by the obedience of the One man.

From the apostles and succeeding disciples to the present day priests, the consecration of the Holy Eucharist continues in the presence of the ever vigilant Paraclete. The Paraclete is the love of God that binds the Father to the Son and the Son to us all. The Paraclete guides, protects, inspires, consoles and sustains. And through that continual Eucharistic consecration, Jesus keeps the promise He made that comforted and encouraged his apostles then; and comforts and encourages all today, who take up their cross and follow Him. “And remember that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” – Matthew 28:20

The stone that sealed the tomb of the Savior was found fallen away. And the place where His body had been laid was empty and free of darkness. For that which harbors not life, but death, had not the power to contain “The Light Of The World.”

For This I Came

“For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” – John 18:37

All things have a purpose. Suffering is no different. Its purpose and value are that suffering opens the way to a greater good.

On this celebration of GOOD FRIDAY, we observe the greatest good that can come from suffering.

The Week That Changed the World

As we enter Holy Week we remember that two years ago we and the world entered a most unprecedented period of duress rooted in a pandemic from which many trials and challenges have sprung forth. Yet the lessons of Holy Week provides a hopeful model that there is light at the end of the tunnel. For the lamentation of Good Friday gives way to the Joy of Easter Sunday.

Palm Sunday–

“Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.”- John 12:13

Holy Thursday–

“And taking bread, he gave thanks, and brake: and gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me.”-Luke 22:19

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many.”-Matthew 26:28

Good Friday–

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”- Luke 23:34

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying: Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani?” That is, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”-Matthew 27:46

“And Jesus crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”- Luke 23:46

Holy Saturday–

” Command therefore the sepulchre to be guarded until the third day: lest perhaps his disciples steal him away, and say to the people: He is risen from the dead: and the last error shall be worse than the first…Pilate saith to them: You have a guard: go, guard it as you know.”- Matthew 27:64-65

Easter Sunday–

“Who saith to them: Be not affrighted: you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he is risen, he is not here, behold the place they laid him.”- Mark 16:6

“For this was I born, and for this came I into the world: that I should give testimony to the  truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice.”

“The Promise”– by, Alan Malizia

Upon a cross a debt was paid,

and promise made,

for tortured souls enslaved.

From an empty tomb,

as if a womb,

emerged the promise kept.

And by it we are saved.

A Blessed Holy Week to all. Know that the agony of Good Friday is but the requisite for the ecstasy of Easter Sunday.
-Alan

And the Greatest of These

Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love

Act of Faith

O my God, I firmly believe
that you are one God in three divine Persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I believe that your divine Son became man
and died for our sins and that he will come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths
which the Holy Catholic Church teaches
because you have revealed them
who are eternal truth and wisdom,
who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
In this faith I intend to live and die.
Amen.

Act of Hope

O Lord God,
I hope by your grace for the pardon
of all my sins
and after life here to gain eternal happiness
because you have promised it
who are infinitely powerful, faithful, kind,
and merciful.
In this hope I intend to live and die.
Amen.

Act of Love

O Lord God, I love you above all things
and I love my neighbor for your sake
because you are the highest, infinite and perfect
good, worthy of all my love.
In this love I intend to live and die.
Amen.

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13

Who am I to argue with St. Paul?

With faith, all things are possible. Even if it is just to get us through the most challenging of times.

Hope is no more apparent and ready to act than when all seems hopeless.

And what of love? It is the greatest of all three acts, for no greater evidence of love is there than upon the cross. In that three-hour endurance of the wages of evil sin by the sacrificial lamb we find that there is no love without sacrifice. And no greater act of love in the history of mankind was there than that day on calvary, for all debts from “The Fall” came due and the Son of Man and God paid them in full. And with that payment the sing of death was eradicated for all time.

The Carpenter’s Son

“And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said to them: How is it that you sought me? Did you not know, that I must be about my father’s business?” – Luke 2: 48-49

Jesus, at the age of twelve, during the Passover, was missing for three days. When His frantic parents, who thought he was with relatives or acquaintances, had returned to Jerusalem, they found Him in the Temple discoursing with the elders. As He said, He was in His Father’s house tending to His Father’s business. All, save for His earthly parents, did not understand His meaning. For often it was said among those who knew the family: “Is this not Jesus, the son of the carpenter, Joseph?”

When God, the Father, sent His Word into the world in Christ, He sent Him by way of the womb of a sinless women. But, why to a surrogate Father who was a carpenter? Why not to a man of some other vocation?

My cousin, Ralph, is a carpenter. He once constructed a new deck overlooking the back yard of our house. He first tore down the old existing deck and replaced it with a new and improved deck that served better than the first. After he had finished the deck, and as we stood upon it and admired his work, I paid him and shook his hand in gratitude for the wonderful job completed. Have you ever shaken the hand of carpenter? It is a strong firm hand of rough texture. It is a hand of one who knows hard work. But also a hand that validates the skilled craftsman. A hand that attests to a keen creative mind of one who is disciplined to the laws governing his trade. A hand that demonstrates the characteristic of one who possesses an eye for the aesthetic. A hand that transforms an idea into a reality.

Christ spent the first thirty years of His life obeying. In that He was obedient to the nurturing and direction of His earthly parents. During that period of time he learned and practiced the art of carpentry; as was the profession of Joseph. He knew the purpose and proper use of the tools of carpentry of His time; including the predecessors of the hammer and nail.

Christ’s hands were also strong and rough. Made so by His apprenticeship. Yet, His hands healed, as well. Not solely in the repair of worn furniture, leaking roofs and broken plows, but, of most importance, the restoration of a malfunctioning mankind. Broken bodies, empty hearts and tortured hopeless souls were made anew. His were not the soft hands of one who handles money or fine cloth. His work in the practice of carpentry was hard and demanding, requiring much physical strength. God sent Him not to be raised by a money changer nor a trader in goods. He was sent to one who would train Him in hard labor. For the true mission that lay before Him would be hard and laborious, as well. Joseph was a skilled craftsman in the use of the instruments of his trade. He cut and shaped the wood according to the image that he had in mind for a particular item that he was commissioned to make or repair. The parts were then firmly joined by hammer driven nails resulting in the desired product of that image.

The Son of God, too, was a craftsman. Except one of a divine nature. The knowledge, skill and discipline of His earthly trade would be implemented in the mission for which God had commissioned Him to accomplish. Christ was God’s idea and reality. As in carpentry His mission required some tearing down and rebuilding. The then unmerited altered and tainted truths being taught by the learned, which were once truths revealed in perfect purity by God to His creatures as the guiding principles of life, had to be torn asunder. And by the power of divine sacrificial love, God’s reinstated truth would be secured in the longing hearts of the contrite, as the carpenter’s hammer drives nails in fastening. By this action the son of the carpenter set the stage for the Son Of God.

In an absurd divine irony, the son of the carpenter, who often tore down to build anew, would, Himself, be torn down by the very tools of His trade. Hammer and nail that joined two pieces of wood now has fixed the hands and feet of the Son of God to the tabernacle of His own making, formed from the successful execution of His very mission.  And on that tabernacle of pain and suffering  the Son of God would achieve for mankind what no son of a carpenter ever could; redemption. The hands that once pierced to restore broken woodwork have now, themselves, been pierced to restore a broken world.

By that redemptive act, Christ would forgive the sins that have since, The Fall, separated man from a complete and loving relationship with God. And in three days hence, He would renew a never-ending relationship between God and mankind.

The work done by a good carpenter can last a lifetime. But the work of the Divine Carpenter lasts forever.

Bethlehem No More

A prayer from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

Most appropriate for the season of Lent.

No, Mary! Bethlehem is not come back. This is not the crib, but the Cross; not birth, but death; not the day of companionship with Shepherds and Kings, but the hour of a common death with thieves; not Bethlehem, but Calvary.

Bethlehem is Jesus, as thou, His sinless mother, gave Him to man; Calvary is Jesus, as sinful man gave Him back to thee. Something intervened between Thy giving at the manger, and thy receiving at the Cross, and that which intervened is my sins. Mary, this is not thy hour; it is my hour – my hour of wickedness and sin. If I had not sinned, death would not now hover its black wings about His crimsoned body; if I had not been proud, the atoning crown of thorns would never have been woven; if I had been less rebellious in treading the broad way which leads to destruction, the feet never would have been dug with nails; if I had been more responsive to His shepherding calls from the thorns and thistles, His lips would have never been on fire; if I had been more faithful, His cheeks would never have been blistered with the kiss of Judas.

Mary, it is I who stand between His birth and His approaching redemptive death! I warn thee, Mary, think not when thy arms come to clasp Him, that He is white as He came from the Father, but red as He came from me. In a few short seconds thy Son shall have surrendered His soul to His Heavenly Father, and His body to thy caressing hands. The last few drops of blood are falling from that great Chalice of Redemption, staining the wood of the Cross and crimsoning the rocks soon to be rent in horror – and a single drop of it would be sufficient to redeem ten thousand worlds. Mary, my mother, intercede to thy Divine Son for forgiveness of the sin of changing thy Bethlehem into Calvary. Beg Him, Mary, in these last remaining seconds the grace of never crucifying Him again nor piercing thy own heart with seven swords. Mary, plead to thy dying Son that as long as I live. . . Mary! Jesus is dead. . . . Mary!

AMEN!

There once was a man who loved dogs. So much so that he was in great sorrow and distress that they behaved so badly. Chasing cars, harassing the neighbors’ cats, tossing over garbage cans and strewing the contents over the yards of the residents, and the like. To try to reestablish the honor and esteem of dogs he, through faith, obedience and surrender became as dog. For then they may listen and respond to him if he became one of their own. He in receiving his wish lived among them as a dog for a period of time. During that time, he imparted on them that what they were doing was unbecoming of dogs and that they were capable of better. With change in behavior, attitude and heart they would reclaim their esteem and honor. And for his efforts, in the end, they turned on him and tore him to bits.

And so, it was with Jesus. He was sent by God, as His Word, to be His Word as a man. For whom better to communicate God’s promise of redemption and reconciliation with man than the Son of God as the Son of Man. The new obedient Adam to replace the old disobedient Adam. And the ransom for this necessary turn of history of man was death. To be paid by the Creator for the salvation of the creature and a restored relationship between both. No mere man could do what was needed to be done. It took God to remedy the aftermath of “The Fall” from grace. He took to the cross of redemption and stood in for us. Why do I say us? Because on the cross were the sins of men and women from the past, that present and for those yet to come. And like Sampson who pulled down the walls of the Philistine temple, Jesus reached back and forward in time and pulled upon Himself, the Temple of God, all the sins that were ever committed in the sight of God. Thereby destroying sin. And by His death, defeated death itself. Never again would sin keep the penitent man or woman from Paradise.

To understand this is to come to grips with the gravity of sin. Sin is grave and intense. We mistakenly believe that no one else is harmed either by an indirectness or in mutual consent. But as a pebble dropped in a pond sets off ripples that can reach the far ends of shore around it. So too does sin reverberate its effects to all corners of the world whether we choose to believe so or not.

So, Mary, Blessed Mother of Our Lord, Bethlehem is no more. As Simeon prophesied, “A sword will pierce your heart”, and with that the lance of a centurion, St. Longinus, pierced the heart of the Savior. And the hands of he who knew no better, could be easily replaced by our hands who do know better. The wood of the crib is now the wood of the cross. For He came into the world not as we do. We came into the world to live; He came into the world to die.

Lent and The Paradox of the Cross

LENT

The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday; with the participants being marked with ashes and the words “Repent and believe in the Good News” are prayed. The expectation is to imitate the example of Jesus’ prayer and fasting in the desert by our prayers, fasting and charitable works. Lent is a time for all followers of Jesus to examine their consciences and reflect on changes each can make in their lives and resolve to incorporate them, not just during the Lenten season, but as a permanent improvement as they strive to grow spiritually and perfect their souls in Him. “In this sense, Lent is a movement from one point of view to another, or, perhaps, from one interpretation of life to a different interpretation.” – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Lent is a forty day preparation for Easter Sunday; beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending at the Triduum (the three-day period which includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday). As discussed above, this forty day observation is in commemoration of Jesus’ isolation from all, when He allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil. And through Satan’s failure to win Him over to sin, ensures that Satan can never defeat God. For the  great deceiver can never deceive the One who is incapable of deceiving or being deceived.

THE PARADOX OF THE CROSS

Jesus carried the cross an estimated distance of 650 yards. Which is a little less than a quarter of a mile. The same distance many may walk leisurely in the morning with a cup of coffee in hand or in mowing one’s lawn on a warm summer day. But for one who had just been scourged within an inch of His life, undergone intensive interrogation, suffered abuse and had little if any sleep or nourishment, that distance must have seemed like that which one would run in a marathon.

[Pheidippides, a Geek messenger, legend sates, was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon(in which he had just fought), in 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming “Victory,” before collapsing and dying.} 

It has been debated whether Jesus would have been able to carry His cross that distance considering the state of His condition. Historians tell that those condemned to crucifixion would carry the cross-bar and not the stem of the cross. Still the weight of the cross-bar was between 80 to 110 pounds. It has been shown that even a healthy man of Jesus’ presumed stature would not be able to carry the cross-bar the distance from the beating, on a path, known as the Via Dolorosa or the “way of suffering” (which was a narrow street of stone, probably surrounded by markets and crowded at the time), to the crucifixion site at Golgotha.

Along the way a centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, forces a North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross; after the third fall of Jesus. Jesus follows along still bleeding and sweating a cold clammy sweat of shock, until the journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha ends.

To answer the debate of how Jesus could have carried the cross under His dire condition one must look beyond the physical. Jesus is referred to as the “Son of Man” and the “Son Of God.” He was both human and divine in nature. The cross he carried was made of wood, but, in truth, was composed of the sum total of humanity’s sufferings from the trials of body, mind and spirit. All of which were derived from original sin. Jesus was not sent by God to overthrow Roman Rule, but rather “to turn the world upside down in order to turn it right-side up”(G.K. Chesterton), through the conversion of human hearts from sin in order to reconcile God with His people.

To accomplish this reconciliation there must be a sacrifice. For a soul can only be cleansed of sin by the shedding of blood. And for all mankind to be forgiven, God would have to offer Himself in sacrifice. A life not to be taken, but given. It was only the unimaginable perfect love of God that could make the burden of man’s sin, which was the substance of the cross, manageable enough to be carried by Jesus. By divine love alone can the unbearable be borne ; and men and women set free from the burden of sin.

Simon was at first forced to carry Jesus’ cross. And when the journey was done, Simon may very likely had to again be forced; but this time to leave His side. For when the cross that lay upon the shoulder of God lay upon his, the role of his own sin became apparent in this act of deicide. And he too felt the cross made manageable, for his burden, along with that of humanity, had already been borne by this savior, and was now lifted from all  through divine pardon. Simon was the first of many who are called to take up their cross and follow Christ.

So the cross itself is a contradiction-a paradox. It has both a vertical stem and horizontal cross-bar. Vertical represents life, while horizontal represents death. And hanging in the intersection is Jesus the Christ. Who through His death and resurrection has triumphed over death and removed its sting. And in so doing fulfills the promise made to us all; that by following Him we too will do the same.

And with His last breath the Son of Man uttered His last words, culminating that for which He came into the world; “It is finished”. He then bowed His head in death. Three days hence, in the rising of the Son of God was heard “THE WORD” proclaimed, as was once uttered by the dying Pheidippides; “VICTORY!”