Pastor's Corner for the week of November 9, 2014

Pastor’s Corner
Week of November 9, 2014

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am currently residing in a dormitory and cannot use the usual video or spoken format for The Pastor’s Corner. Still, I wanted to make a post with something for you to think about during this upcoming week. 

One of the things I was taught at an early age was to read with a critical eye. Not everything in print can be taken at face value and while we expect modern day journalists to hold some form of integrity and desire to be objective, the truth is our modern day press is incredibly biased, and in the case of American media, entertainment driven. 

Have you ever thought about who decides what is newsworthy? There can be thousands of people dying at the hands of evil tyrants, wars, starvation, etc. and our headlines are all about the latest tirade of Miley Cyrus or some other entertainer. Quite frankly I find this incredibly embarrassing and don’t believe it at all reflects the values of many Americans. I find myself switching to the BBC News more often than not. While they too have their obsession with the Royal Family, their coverage of world news events is much better than the American networks. 

When it comes to reporting on the Catholic Church, and more specifically, Pope Francis, we need to be especially aware of media bias. Recently my dad phoned me with a concern about an apparent “controversial” remark Pope Francis had made about how God likes change. A non-Catholic friend had asked him what did he mean. The press was trying to put a spin on his remarks as if he is going to change some of the moral teachings of the Church in order to fit in better with the world. I informed my dad that I had just read the homily where that quote was taken from and I assured him that the press, as usual, took his comments completely out of context. 

The Pope was addressing the hardness of heart of the Pharisees, a group of religious “know-it-alls” who used their teachings to confine and control people rather than open their hearts to the grace and joy of conversion. Below you will find an excerpt from the Pope’s homily which was at the end of the recent Synod on Families gathering where all kinds of false reports were coming out from the mainstream media. Here is the link to the entire homily if you would like to read it. It is very inspirational. 

We have just heard one of the most famous phrases in the entire Gospel: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt 22:21). 

Goaded by the Pharisees who wanted, as it were, to give him an exam in religion and catch him in error, Jesus gives this ironic and brilliant reply.  It is a striking phrase which the Lord has bequeathed to all those who experience qualms of conscience, particularly when their comfort, their wealth, their prestige, their power and their reputation are in question. This happens all the time; it always has. 

Certainly Jesus puts the stress on the second part of the phrase: “and [render] to God the things that are God’s”. This calls for acknowledging and professing – in the face of any sort of power – that God alone is the Lord of mankind, that there is no other. This is the perennial newness to be discovered each day, and it requires mastering the fear which we often feel at God’s surprises. 

God is not afraid of new things! That is why he is continually surprising us, opening our hearts and guiding us in unexpected ways. He renews us: he constantly makes us “new”. A Christian who lives the Gospel is “God’s newness” in the Church and in the world. How much God loves this “newness”! 

“Rendering to God the things that are God’s” means being docile to his will, devoting our lives to him and working for his kingdom of mercy, love and peace.

Here is where our true strength is found; here is the leaven which makes it grow and the salt which gives flavor to all our efforts to combat the prevalent pessimism which the world proposes to us. Here too is where our hope is found, for when we put our hope in God we are neither fleeing from reality nor seeking an alibi: instead, we are striving to render to God what is God’s. That is why we Christians look to the future, God’s future. It is so that we can live this life to the fullest – with our feet firmly planted on the ground – and respond courageously to whatever new challenges come our way.

This is just one small example of why it is so important to go to the actual text and to read things for ourselves, not being so quick to believe everything in the media. 

There are many websites that post the texts of the Pope’s homilies, speeches, etc. I will list those at the end of this column. 

In an atmosphere of the constant barrage of media headlines vying for our attention, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking time out for prayer and reflection. 

Come spend some time with our Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament where the headline is always: “I love you. I died for you. I have time for you. I will help you know what I ask of you. I will give you true peace.” Only then can we put our busy lives and all the headlines in their proper context. When this happens, our own lives become “newsworthy” testimonies for God and His love for people. 

Have a blessed week! 

in Christ,

Fr. Jim Northrop

Pastor

Vatican Website: www.vatican.va

EWTN News: www.ewtnnews.com

Zenit News: www.zenit.org