-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at www.usccb.org
-check out this week's LinC Letter at www.parishlincletter.blogspot.com
-I will be celebrating mass at 5:30 on Sat and 11:00 on Sunday
Division
This summer the people of the world and especially we in the United States have been bombarded by the divisions among us. Holy War attacks by ISIS, violent racial conflicts, personal rancor between politicians, guerilla warfare executions of innocent law enforcement, gender-confusing impositions upon our school children......that's enough. All of it reveals and reminds us of the radical divisions within the human family. In fact, re-reading these sentences gives me a new understanding of the biblical image of the "tower of Babel". People are not engaging in passionate debate and dialogue, they are living on philosophical islands exchanging violent missiles in order to annihilate their enemies.
What's funny is that all of this division is born of a beautiful sounding concept: tolerance. Tolerance is a Socio-political Trojan horse, the love child of radical relativism and plain old sin. Sin is the devil's work of separating individuals(no longer human creatures) from God and one another. Relativism is the declaration and embrace of the notion that there is "no objective or revealed truth" beyond any one individual's perceived needs.
So, tolerance is the plan sold to us reasonable minded people. It appears to be the only way to survive. Tolerance demands that everybody identifies their own needs, identity, and pathway to personal fulfillment , happiness. Nobody, no God, no church, no laws can judge me (judgment is the only crime in relativism). Tolerance is the obligation of everyone to accept your feelings and stay out of your way in making yourself happy. After all, "the pursuit of happiness" is the American way, it's my right.
The way of diversity, tolerance, and relativism has broken our families, countries, and world into "Division".
Jesus prophecied that he Would bring such division on the earth in this weeks gospel. He knew that the appearance of "truth and love" in the flesh would be met by the powers of this world and they would annihilate/eradicate it from the face of the earth.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ over death and division – (remember my againstness homily) is the only path to healing the world. Division = death. Unity= life.
