Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30 | 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 | Matthew 16:13-19

Blessed birthday, Mater Ecclesiae!

Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive. (1 Kings 8:30)

See you in a few days.

Monday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Genesis 4:1-15,25 | Psalm 49(50):1,8,16-17,20-21 | Mark 8:11-13

The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head? But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?’ (Genesis 4:6-7)

Food for thought, for when we encounter setbacks in our daily life, or competition from others.

Cain’s offering was not favoured by God because it was unworthy in some way, and not because Abel managed to curry favour with God behind Cain’s back.

Similarly, when our contributions at work or home are rejected, it isn’t necessarily a matter of falling to second place in a bootlicking race. It could well be that we just didn’t put in enough effort, or simply couldn’t care less about what we did – that would certainly reflect itself in the quality of our final product.

Unfortunately, Cain chose jealousy and murder over self-assessment and striving for improvement. We should take a lesson from today’s reading, and be better-disposed towards ourselves and others, but especially to the Lord our Creator.

Lord, open our eyes to the areas in our lives where we fall short of Your expectations. Grant us the humility to accept that we are imperfect, and the drive to improve ourselves daily in Your sight. May everything we do be to Your glory. Amen.

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Ecclesiasticus 15:16-21 | Psalm 118(119):1-2,4-5,17-18,33-34 | 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 | Matthew 5:17-37

If you wish, you can keep the commandments,
to behave faithfully is within your power. (Ecclesiasticus 15:16)

It’s a timely reminder, as we approach the season of Lent, that we have been given free will, as well as the knowledge of good and evil that was the subject of this past week’s readings.

It would therefore be untrue to claim that we were ever “forced” into doing that which displeases God. Every action we take, every interaction we have with others, is entirely within our control. Even if the other party turns out to be an incorrigible jerk, how we react to their unpleasantness is our responsibility to bear.

Which is why we’re often reluctant to quash the opposite of love.

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I see it happening on almost every online service I use: a bully and his pulpit inevitably makes an appearance, and unless he’s quashed quickly, his spew invariably sours the experience for everyone in the community.

One site I frequent, Quora, is dedicated to questions and answers, and one of their cornerstones is the BNBR (Be Nice, Be Respectful) policy. It’s a good idea in theory, but it has been sneakily subverted by folks who bait others anonymously with provocative questions like “Isn’t it obvious that vaccines cause autism?”, and insulting comments like…well, I’ll not pollute my blog with them.

Sometimes, they’re shut down promptly by the Quora admins, but human fallibility often leads to a one-sided insult-fest, until the peaceable party finally cracks, and crosses the BNBR line too.

This is why I’ve employed a comment-filtering service on this site since the beginning. If you’ve left a comment, and wondered why it didn’t show up immediately, rest assured that I’ve seen it, and while I’m ruthless with spam, I’ll approve cogent writing.

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The bully pulpit appears in real life, too.

I’ve been quite lax in opposing such unpleasantness in my life, hewing to my own misguided version of BNBR. I cannot in good conscience continue to let it slide any further.

Lord, give me the strength to do the necessary for the common good, even if it hurts me personally. Amen.

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Jesus reminds us in today’s gospel to not dissemble in our faith, to let our “Yes” be a firm “Yes” and “No” not be “Well, under some circumstances…”

So let us go forth in our lives saying a firm “Yes” to God, a firm “Yes” to loving our neighbour as ourselves, and an adamant “No” to those who would disrupt this love for whatever reason.

Amen.

Saturday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Our Lady of Lourdes
Genesis 3:9-24 | Psalm 89(90):2-6,12-13 | Mark 8:1-10

The Lord God called to the man. ‘Where are you?’ (Genesis 3:9)

Indeed, where are we in relation to our Creator?

Are we hiding, like Adam, in fear that He will see our naked selves, blotchy with the stains of sin?

Or are we boastfully erect like the Pharisees, arrogantly blind to our faults?

Or are we standing quietly before Him, neither hiding or prideful, cognizant of our weaknesses but wanting to be close to Him, to serve Him?

He knows everything about us, our falling to temptation, our succumbing to sin.

There’s no point in hiding, no sense in holy bluster.

We are imperfect, but we are still loved by the One who made us.

Can we bring ourselves to love Him in turn?

Friday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Saint Scholastica, Virgin
Genesis 3:1-8 | Psalm 31(32):1-2,5-7 | Mark 7:31-37

Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.’ (Genesis 3:4-5)

A friend asked me yesterday to help his programming team rescue an important project for his company. While my current livelihood hinges on consulting opportunities like this, and he did indeed sound desperate for my help, the details he was able to relate gave me pause. Instead of agreeing on the spot, I arranged to meet up with him and his team next week, to better understand their struggles.

I’ve pulled consulting rabbits out of hats several times over the years, and I’m always up for a challenge, but when others’ companies are at stake, it behooves me to be very careful. I have to ensure that my eyes are opened, knowing both the opportunities to broaden my horizons (and wallet), and the dangers of overstepping my abilities to adapt and learn.

I have to “eat the fruit”, so to speak.

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I have known Catholics who practise their faith by taking Matthew 8:8 and twisting it subtly:

Lord, do not come into my house, do not come into my heart, just fix this for me, can? Thank you hor!

This sort of God-as-personal-manservant attitude might have worked in the Garden of Eden, where He oversaw all of creation, and Adam and Eve really didn’t need to know much about Him at all.

But this is a world of skepticism and secularism, where treating God as a “convenient miracle worker” simply won’t work, especially when our desires and His plans for us collide. When that happens, nothing happens, and we end up looking foolish for calling on a “nonexistent deity”.

Refusing to know God is no longer an option, if we want to keep our faith.

It’s especially appropriate that today also happens to be the feast day of St. Scholastica. Perhaps we should consider “going back to school”, refreshing our memories with the repository of ecclesial knowledge that is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There is much to be gleaned from its pages, and we have an obligation to form an informed relationship with the One who made us.

Because when Jesus said Ephphata to the deaf man, he was really commanding all of us to “be opened”.

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As I was finishing up this blog entry, wondering what to put in the title, I suddenly remembered a song from The King and I, and the words became obvious.

I think you already know which one I’m thinking of.

Getting to know You, getting to know all about You.
Getting to love You, getting to know You love me.
Getting to know You, putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
One God in three.

Getting to know You, knowing that gift You gave freely
When I am with You, letting myself freely say
That I have noticed, my life is now bright and breezy
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I’m learning about You
Day by day.

Amen.