"Holier Than Thou"

This article brought this subject to my attention this morning. The subject, however, does not have a limited audience. It's a lesson that has to be learned throughout the world. It's a lesson that has to be learned by every single person.

The election of Pope Francis brought about many, many reactions. Some were pretty extreme. The extreme ones involved kicking and screaming. At one extreme, people were screaming about His Holiness being "too holy." At the other extreme, people were screaming about His Holiness being "not holy enough."

Whoa.

In reply to the first, one has to give them a little bit of slack. The media's portrayal of the pope is never very kind. The image presented is a "holier than thou" image. There are pictures of the pope praying and quotes from the pope, which, out of context, sound judgmental and harsh.

But this Pope is not a "holier than thou" man.

Exhibit A: In the first minutes of his papacy, before extending his blessing over the world, he asked for our blessing, bowing his head to receive it.

Exhibit B: This morning, after praying before an icon of our Blessed Mother, he told the confessors at the church to "be merciful, the souls of the faithful need your mercy."

He hasn't been pope for 24 hours and he has shown to us the importance of humility and mercy.

But how do we respond to those who accuse Pope Francis of not being holy enough?

Dare we point to the same examples?

Holiness is not praying 15 decades of the rosary a day. It is not adhering to only the 1962 missal. It is not about how long you can kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is not how well you can (carefully and haltingly) explain a little bit about the mystery of the Trinity.

Holiness is about intention. 

Now, before all of my more traditional readers wig out and declare me a relativist heretic, let me explain.

I do not mean that you can do whatever you want as long as it is done with the right intentions. What I do mean to do is echo Christ, who says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 7: 21-23)

Let's reflect for a moment on what doing God's will looks like. Christ says blatantly that it's not about doing stuff. Expelling demons? Doesn't do it. Mighty works? Nope. What did Jesus do? Jesus is Love Incarnate.

He loved with humility.

He scolded the Scribes and Pharisees who militantly followed the letter of the law. He rescued the woman who was going to be stoned to death for adultery. He ate with tax collectors. He did all things with humility and love.

And no matter how many times I have heard people accuse Catholics of being "holier than thou," I have never once heard anyone say that of Jesus.

No matter the level of your devotion, you will probably be "more pious" than someone else in the world. But you should never assume that you are more or less holy than any other person.

How do we convey that? By being ever-humble and ever-merciful. Nothing says "non-judgmental" like showing a little mercy. That's what Jesus did. Remember: we can judge the morality of an ACTION. But we can never, EVER judge the morality of the PERSON doing the action. Ever.

Whatever you do, do it with a humble heart. Love everyone. Everyone. No more hate talk. No more condescension. Go ahead with your devotions. Pray. Fast. Give. But do not, under any circumstances, judge another person.

HABEMUS PAPAM!!!!!

His name was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.

His name is Pope Francis.

He is the first Jesuit pope.

He is the first pope from the Americas. (Buenos Aires, Argentina, to be precise.)

He is incredibly humble.

If you don't believe me, here is what he said:

"Good evening.

As you know, the duty of the conclave was to appoint a bishop of Rome, and it seems to me that my brother cardinals have chosen who is from far away. Here I am.

I would like to thank you for your embrace, also to the Roman Catholic Church and the bishops, thank you very much. And first and foremost, I would like to pray for our bishop emeritus, Benedict XVI

Let us pray together for him so that he is blessed by the Lord...

Let us begin this journey together... this journey for the Roman Catholic Church. It is a journey of friendship, of love, of trust, and faith. Let us pray always for one another. Let us pray for the whole world. Let us have a big brotherhood.

I wish that this journey for the Church, which we will start today... will bear fruits for the evangelizing of this beautiful city.

I would like to offer you my blessing. But I would like to ask a favor first. I would like to pray to the Lord so that the prayer of the people blesses also the new pontiff. Let us pray in silence your prayer for me."

Deo Gratias!!!!! LET US HAVE A BIG BROTHERHOOD!!!!!!

A Fast-Free Lent

I am Catholic.

I am twenty-two years old.

And I am not fasting or abstaining this Lent.

And you know what? It's harder than fasting and abstaining.

I wish I were fasting and abstaining. Really. But two conditions prevent me from doing so: hypoglycemia & anemia. Under doctor's and chaplain's orders, I am not allowed to fast or abstain. By doing those things, I am willfully endangering my well-being. Passing out might not do permanent damage, but an eighth concussion very well could.

Some people envy me. They think I'm taking the easy way out or I got lucky. I did, in a way, but not the way they think.

I got lucky, because not being able to fast and abstain with my fellow Catholics is ten times harder than actually fasting and abstaining would be. For someone who is very people-oriented, not moving with the crowd is very, very difficult for me to do. I fear people judging me. By being forced to eat normally during Lent, it refocuses me on the reason that we're supposed to fast and abstain in the first place: to turn our minds and hearts toward God.

The only One who knows my intentions is the One to whom it actually matters. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks or says about me and my dietary peculiarities. It only matters if I take the opportunity for humility and gratitude and allow it to help me grow closer to the Person who suffered so much on my account.

It's easy for me to do things for the unimportant people that I can see. It's much harder for me to do things for the Three Important Persons that I can't see.

It's a message given fairly directly in today's gospel from Matthew 6:

	"Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
	Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
	But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
	so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
	And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
	But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
	And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
	But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
	that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."