St. Mary
Minooka
Mission
March 18, 2014
Why be
Catholic?
BASED ON THE BOOK
“Made for
More”
by Curtis Martin
Holy Spirit Prayer
• Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth
your Spirit and we shall be created. And You shall
renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did
instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by
the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and
ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our
Lord, Amen.
Review
• Why is Jesus called the Son of David?
• What was the role of the Prime
Minister? What signs came with this
role?
• What was the role of the Queen
Mother?
• What does it mean for us to be part
of the royal family?
Who recognized Jesus as the Son of
David?
• Elizabeth and John the Baptist in her womb (Luke 1:41-44)
• Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38)
• Magi come from the East to honor the newborn king
(Matthew 2:1-12)
• Even the demons acknowledge Him as the Messiah (Mark
1:23-26) “I know who you are, the Holy one of God!”
• What is odd is Jesus’ response to them
• Reluctant king
• Only went to Jerusalem for religious celebrations and left quickly
• Performed miracles and told them to say nothing
Jesus’ Kingdom
• Jesus came to establish His kingdom similar to David, but
beyond our wildest hopes and dreams
• King, Queen Mother, Prime Minister – intended to support the
profound internal transformation within each one of us
• Kingdom will be sacramental
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•
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Mystical, liturgical, incarnational
Sacred oaths and ritual acts that communicate divine power
Symbolize what they do and do what they symbolize
Gospel of John – Jesus’ public ministry is carefully linked to the
liturgical feasts and Jewish holy days
Three Passovers
• Passover was the most important Jewish holy day and it
celebrated four great events
• 1) Creation of the Universe
• 2) Calling of the Patriarch Abraham
• 3) Exodus led by Moses
• 4) Coming of the Messiah (still waiting)
• Jesus had three years of public ministry
• Let’s look at what He did on each of the three Passovers
during His public ministry
• He established His New and Everlasting Covenant with us
st
1 Passover - Beginning of the
Kingdom - Baptism
• John’s Gospel begins with Jesus’ baptism
• He then performs His first public miracle at the wedding at
Cana
• John highlights these miracles as “signs”, which point us to a
deeper reality they signify (sign of Minooka is not Minooka)
• Sacrament – outward sign of an inward grace instituted by
Christ and entrusted to the Church.
• After the first “sign” at Cana, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the
first Passover.
• He reveals the first of the Sacraments he intends for His
followers – baptism.
Baptism (cont.)
• People believed in Jesus because of the signs He was
performing, but faith was not enough
• Jesus says to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one
is born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
• To enter the kingdom, we need faith and to be spiritually
reborn
• Jesus continues, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
(John 3:5)
• And then Jesus and His disciples started baptizing others, so
he was referring to baptism.
Baptism (cont.)
• Baptism is the covenantal act by which we are reborn as adopted
daughters and sons of God
• St. Peter – “Repent, and be baptized every one of you…” (Acts 2:38)
• St. Paul – “he saved us…by the washing of regeneration and renewal
in the Holy Spirit…” (Titus 3:4-7)
• Tertullian – 2nd century – Church has continued to teach the
necessity of baptism – “no one can attain salvation without
baptism”
• Three types of baptism
• Water
• Blood
• Desire
• Origin – 3rd century – “the Church received from the apostles the
tradition of giving Baptism even to infants”
• Story of couple bringing their baby home from the hospital
nd
2 Passover – the Heart of the
Kingdom - Eucharist
• Begins by feeding 5000 with a few loaves and fish (sign)
• This reminds the people of when God fed the people with
manna from heaven through Moses
• The people want to make Him king, but they are only seeing
the wonders and not the signs.
• He wants to feed their starving souls with the Eucharist
• John 6:48-57 – “I am the bread of life…which comes down
from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. Unless
you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you….”
• The people were confused and scandalized by this
Eucharist (cont.)
• People begin to leave Jesus and He didn’t say, “Just kidding. Don’t
take me literally!”
• He looks at those who are left and asks, “Do you want to leave me
too?” John 6:67
• Peter, the Prime Minister, speaks with faith, “Lord, to whom shall we
go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and
come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69)
• Peter understands the deeper reality – Jesus is the Holy One of God
• He trusts Jesus even if He doesn’t understand completely
• The Lord teaches me how to trust Him…
• The following year it will become crystal clear what Jesus meant by
His body and blood
• My story of the Eucharist -
3rd Passover – the Mercy of the
Kingdom – Reconciliation
• Jesus rides the donkey into Jerusalem (as did Solomon)
• Many people hail Him as king – “Hosanna in the highest”
(Matthew 21:9) (‘hosanna’ is an expression of praise,
adoration)
• This time instead of fleeing, Jesus accepts the throne, but in a
way completely unexpected
• He condemns the religious leaders for hypocrisy
• He predicts the destruction of the Temple (fulfilled in 70 A.D.)
• These do not seem to be prudent moves for someone who
wanted to be popular politically
• Some of the same people who cried “Hosanna” will soon be
crying “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:13-14)
Reconciliation (cont.)
• Before the angry crowds seize Jesus, He shares the Passover
meal with His apostles (Last Supper)
• When Judas leaves to betray Him, Jesus says, “Now is the Son
of man glorified, and in him God is glorified.” (John 13:31)
• This seems counterintuitive, but for us to experience all of
what He has in store for us, Jesus first had to lay down His life
for His Bride, the Church (you and me)
• Through His death and resurrection, the Sacraments of the
New Covenant will receive their power.
• Jesus and the Father send their Holy Spirit
• “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bear much fruit.” (John
12:24)
Reconciliation (cont.)
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•
•
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Jesus is arrested, tried, tortured and crucified
But this is not the end
Jesus rises from the dead – Good News!
As they first hear of the resurrection, His disciples must have
felt horrible that they abandoned Him in His hour of need
• How does Jesus respond when He first sees them, “Peace be
with you.” (John 20:19)
• No judgment – peace
• Jesus came to teach, to heal, to save us from sin, to reconcile
the world to Himself, to build the kingdom and to extend the
mercy of God on earth.
Reconciliation (cont.)
• How can these sinful disciples carry out this mission given to
them by God?
• “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John
20:22-23)
• This fulfills Jesus’ words on Holy Thursday, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do;
and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the
Father.” (John 14:12)
• The Holy Spirit transforms us in a powerful way
• Jesus unites Himself to the apostles and us in an astonishing
way
• They are no longer followers, but united to Jesus in a mystical
way – they become extensions of Him
Saved by Grace
• “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me,
and I in him, he will bear much fruit, for apart from me you
can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
• Through the Sacraments and the Church, Jesus extends His life
into the world
• Jesus makes Himself present today in the Sacraments and
living through us. He gives us what we need every step of our
lives in the Sacraments…
• Baptism – new life, receive the very life of Jesus (grace)
• Eucharist – nourished by His Body and Blood
• Reconciliation – our sins our forgiven and we are strengthened
• Jesus accomplishes all of this through the Church
Catholic - Christianity
• All other religions are about man seeking God
• Catholic - Christianity is about God seeking each one of us in love
through the Church
• Everyone is invited into this Kingdom, which is universal and
everlasting
• We must repent from our self-centered lives and turn to God
• We must believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God and that He has
the words of everlasting life.
• We must be baptized so that we are grafted onto the vine
• We must receive the Eucharist regularly (importance of Sunday
Mass)
• We must confess our sins regularly (Catholics who confess are
healthier)
• Becoming Christian means entering into the New and Everlasting
Covenant
Why be Catholic?
• The 7 Sacraments are personal encounters with Jesus Christ –
we receive grace and the very life of Jesus
• We are united with the bishops, the successors to the
apostles, who are united with the Pope, the Prime Minister,
successor to Peter, who holds the keys to the Kingdom.
• We are under the care of our Queen Mother, Mary, who
intercedes on our behalf constantly to the King.
• And we serve the King of the Universe, who loved us while we
were yet sinners, who guides us home to Him, so that when
we die we can go to our true home, heaven.
Curtis Martin’s conversion story
• Chapter 6 is all about his conversion story
• “Curtis, you will never get your life in order enough to follow
Jesus. What you need to do is give your life to Jesus right
where you are, and let Him reorder it. Jesus is calling you into
relationship, not merely to obedience.”
• Relationships inspire us; rules do not
• Fall in love with the person of Jesus Christ, not just about the
rules and regulations
• Don’t just go through the motions of going to Mass and being
“good”
• Invite Jesus into your heart and let Him transform you
John Paul II - love
• Soon to be Saint John Paul II - “Man cannot live without
love…his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he
does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and
make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.”
(page 102-103)
• What does this look like with Jesus?
• Talk to Him like you talk to your best friend
• Read the Scriptures
• Develop a heart for others
• Serve others by sacrificing your time and your desires
Church Fathers
• Curtis began to read Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of St. John
• He stressed things like the bishop and the Eucharist (page 106107)
• Bishop Fulton Sheen – “There are not over a hundred people
in the U.S. that hate the Catholic Church, there are millions
however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the
Catholic Church – which is, of course, quite a different thing.”
• Many lukewarm Catholics – Revelation 3:16 – “But because
you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of
my mouth.”
Kingdom is a Mixed Reality
• Story of the enemy planting weeds in the field of wheat
• Workers wanted to pull out the weeds, but the landowner
forbids them, telling them to let them grow together and they
will be separated at harvest time
• The Kingdom will have faithful and unfaithful members living
side by side, and they will be separated in the end
• The unfaithful members does not mean that the Church is
invalid or we should run somewhere else; it is actually a
characteristic of the Church
Billy Graham & Mother Theresa
• Both devoted followers of Christ, had lives of prayer, accepted
the Bible, brought Christ to others
• One was Protestant and one was Catholic
• However, Mother Theresa held the same beliefs as the Early
Church Fathers – bishops, Eucharist (adoration each day)
• It is possible to be a faithful follower of Christ even if you
don’t know all that He taught.
• But if you know something and deny it, then you are not being
faithful
• Billy Graham was a loyal disciple, but didn’t know that Jesus
was truly present in the Eucharist. What he affirmed was true,
but he didn’t affirm all the truth
Eucharist
• There is no middle ground – either Jesus is truly present or He
isn’t
• Mother Theresa and so many others believed what the Early
Church Fathers taught unanimously – it is truly the Body and
Blood of Jesus
• Story of Peggy A.
• Matthew 28:18-20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe ALL that I
have commanded you; and lo, I will be with you always, to the
close of the age.”
Do I accept ALL that Jesus taught?
• All Christians agree that Jesus said the Eucharist was His body,
but we don’t all agree what He meant
• Was He speaking figuratively or literally
• Unanimous testimony of the early Christians was that His
words were to be taken literally
• Eucharistic miracles
What do we have in common with
other Christians?
• We are justified by God’s grace; we cannot merit the initial grace
of forgiveness and justification (CCC 2010)
• Bible is the authoritative and inerrant Word of God
• Where did the Bible come from?
• We are called to evangelize all people
• BUT, Curtis says,
• We are called to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist
• To recognize Mary as our Mother in faith
• To learn from the teaching of the successors of Peter and the
other apostles
Life of a Disciple
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Acknowledging Christ as my King means:
I accept His Kingdom; everyone is part of my family
Prime Minister, the Pope
Queen Mother, Mary
I allow His sacramental grace to transform every aspect of my
life
This is the life of the Disciple, to let Christ reign in my life
To follow Jesus means to embrace the Kingdom, full of saints
and sinners
We can’t give what we don’t have (prayer and study)
Then we go out and give it away – His love, truth, mercy and
forgiveness (evangelization)
What can I do?
• Prayer
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Mass more than once per week
Read the Bible 5 minutes a day
5 minute conversation with God each day
Eucharistic adoration (Poor Claires)
Examen at the end of the day
• Study
• Read the Catechism 5 minutes a day
• Read other good Catholic books
• Lives of the Saints
• Spirituality, Theology, etc.
• Evangelization
• How can I share my faith with my family, word, neighbors, etc.?
Announcements
• Kairos – for juniors and seniors in public schools – April 4-6,
2014 (www.dioceseofjoliet.org/ym/ )
• Thoughts for the Day – www.frburke23.wordpress.com
• Cursillo (www.jolietcursillo.org)
• Totus Tuus – coming to St. Mary’s in Minooka. We also are
looking for college age men to be teachers for the summer
program (www.dioceseofjoliet.org/ttjoliet/)
Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola
• Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty,
my memory, my understanding and my
whole will. All that I am and all that I
possess You have given me: I surrender it
all to You to be disposed of according to
Your will. Give me only Your love and Your
grace; with these I will be rich enough, and
will desire nothing more.