A new milestone for me.

As of today, I have begun teaching for the Catholic Biblical School here in the Archdiocese. I have become an instructor in the 2nd year of that school. This, I think will feed many posts to come here on this blog.

Today, it has struck me as I began to teach on the Gospel of Matthew the idea of God's presence. I think so often we forget or flat out deny, in practice if not in faith, that Jesus is with us. JESUS IS WITH YOU!!! I wonder if we realize what we say three times in the Holy Sacrifice of Mass,
"Priest: The Lord be with you."
"us: And also with you." (which will soon be more properly translated, 'And also with your spirit.')

Of what then should we be afraid? Well, I will tell you. I think what we must be fearful of is the Lord! I don't mean "shaky in the knees" fear but "the kind of fear you had when Mom said don't run through the house with muddy shoes, and you stop halfway through the living room and realize you just came in from the backyard in the rainy and muddy ground" fear. Its the fear of Love, the fear of wounding the lover of your soul. Those of you in a marital relationship or in a dating relationship know exactly what I mean. No one wants to annoy one's beloved. This is precisely how I think the Scripture and thus Holy Mother Church is directing us towards Jesus. When Saint Paul rhetorically and significantly asks, "What will separate us from the Love of God? (Rom 8:35)" I like to think he, with a toungue in cheek attitude, is actually telling us only you and only me! He continues:

"Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in CHrist Jesus our Lord."

Let us have confidence in Christ, then. Let no matter seen by God become a moment that causes us to lose faith in the loving plan of God the Father. As one theologian put it, if we follow Jesus Christ, we must know that follow the one who said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." But, I would add, the one who also said, "Not my will but yours be done."