black2

October 26

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, October 26, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

LUKE 18:9-14
He Went Away Justified

Prayerthoughts

a. Are there times in my life when I feel so completely satisfied with what I am doing that I forget about God?

b. In Jesus’s parable, the Pharisee is judging another. I often find myself judging others for whatever reasons. I should determine some people that I judge harshly and say a prayer for them.

c. The Pharisee was doing what the Law required him to do but he was doing it to “brag.” Are there times when I “brag” about my accomplishments?

d. Jesus deliberately chooses a tax collector in the parable because they were extortionists and ritually impure. They were even shunned by the Israelite people. Are there some people in my acquaintance that I shun? How can I be more open to all people in my life?

e. The tax collector recognized that he was a sinner. Do I recognize that I have a tendency to sin in the way I act and think?

f. The reason for the parable is the teaching that as children in the Lord’s Kingdom, we should be humble enough to recognize our own sinfulness and thus stay away from judging others. Have I truly learned that lesson in my life?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will read 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

DO WE REALLY NEED GOD?

+ One of the constant discussions concerning attendance at Church in the Catholic circle is whether one “has” to attend Mass—with that language—“has to attend Mass”

- I believe that it’s very important to spend some serious time with that thought

- it brings up the whole question of the obligation of going to Church on a weekend under the pain of mortal sin

- and as we consider it, perhaps we should consider this: if the Pope would take away the Sunday obligation to go to Mass, how many of us would go to Mass on a weekend?

- or the more general question: why do people go to Church?

+ Some possible answers of why people go to Church

- we’ll go to hell if we don’t go because it’s a mortal sin: fear is the motivating factor

- that is, God is keeping track, and I won’t get to heaven if I don’t go to Church

- some people are motivated by the fact that we want something from God, and if I’m going to ask God for something, I’d better do something in return

- some are motivated by a desire to do the least that I have to do—if it isn’t a sin, then I’m going to spend time at doing what I want to do

- the stress of those statements is a selfish one

- not unlike the Pharisee in the Gospel today

- it is good to analyze Jesus’s thought as he tells the story in the Gospel

+ First of all: why were the Pharisee and the tax collector there at the synagogue in the first place?

- in Jesus’s mind, the Pharisee was there to brag about his good life because his feeling was that he, the Pharisee, was really pretty good, and he really needed nothing

- the tax collector was there because his feeling was that he, the tax collector, was not so good, and he needed help

- Jesus obviously tells this story to influence his listeners—us—for the better, and therefore it becomes very personal for us—

- and it brings us back to our question that we began with: why are we here in our own synagogue, our Church right now?

+ Jesus wants us to center in on the reasoning of the tax collector in Jesus’s story

- he went to church because he knew he needed God—he was a sinner

- the stress was totally on his need for God

- Jesus wants us to see that the tax collector knew that he absolutely needed God because without God, he was a miserable sinner

- as Jesus intended, the question becomes very personal: do I, do we know that we need God

- Jesus’s question last week in the Gospel may be the most important question of the Gospels: when Jesus comes, will he find faith on the earth?

- because if we have that faith, if we need God, we will show it

- and we will show it by our most important prayer—what we are doing right now—the sacrifice of the Mass

+ The question is: do we really need God in our personal lives?

- we will say that we do, of course, but do we?

- if we had a choice between something that we really have a passion for or spending time in prayer with our God, what would we do?

- the fact is that if we are convinced that we absolutely need God in order to function, there would not even be a question of how we would behave toward God—we would go to Mass and even do more than that—perhaps go to Mass more than once a week, spend time in extra prayer or the like

- but, the important question: are we really convinced of how important God is in our lives,

- when the Lord comes, will he find faith on the earth?

+ And so we are back to that original question:

- and the answer will never satisfy a person who actually is measuring how much time they have to give to God

- do I have to go to Church, is it a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday?

- and the answer is NOT “yes” or “no”

- it is another question: “how much do you need God”?

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Black Adam" -- final session

MAKING THE FIRST MOVE

The Gospel

JOHN 14:15-18

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you."

Gospelthink: I promise that the Holy Spirit will be with you.

Ostensibly Adrianna's friend, Ishmael revealed himself as the leader of Intergang and kidnapped Adrianna's son Amon who had stolen the crown of Sabbac. Ishmael finally tricked Adrianna into giving him the crown and was about to kill Amon which sent Teth-Adam into his final rage before he willingly gave up his power. The Justice Society took Teth-Adam to a secret underwater black site, and as they returned to the city, they found that Ishmael has become the Sabbac who is terrorizing Kahndaq once again. The people rallied behind Amon, Adrianna and Karin but were unable to save the city. As Fate fought Sabbac, he released Adam from his prison and came to join Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Cyclone to free the city. Adam finally killed Sabbac, and declared that he had become Black Adam to be the protector of the city.

It is significant that in the story of Black Adam, while Teth-Adam was voluntarily being held in exile, that normal people rallied the people of Kahndaq to fight against the evil of the Intergang. Usually, in the DC Comic series and in stories told in movies and television, it is the super-power who is the hero. Indeed that is the final case in the movie "Black Adam," but it was "normal people" who began to take their city back. Then they needed help, but it began with them.

It is the story of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels. Jesus knew that we could not keep the commandments by ourselves. It was too awesome a task. And so, he makes a point of saying to us to keep his commandments which becomes our directive as we embrace the faith in Jesus, but we cannot do it alone. We absolutely need divine help no matter how committed to the task we may be. We need the "super-power" to help us in our task.

The beauty of our faith is that once we have made the commitment to follow the Lord's commandments, we are given the Holy Spirit at the same time who will give us the aid that we need in order to carry out our task. We do not need to "wait" till things are so bad that the super-power must come. We are given that super-power, the Holy Spirit, at the same time that we make the commitment to obey Jesus's words.

The "problem" is not the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given to us, nor in the knowledge of what Jesus's commandments are. They are automatic in the sense that once we understand our faith, we have them. The problem is our own action in following the Lord's directives. We remain sinful human beings, and often our following of the Lord's directives simply is not what it should be.

As Amon and the people of Kahndaq had to turn to action before their super-powers would help them, you and I must be devoted to follow the Lord's ways. And the Holy Spirit will automatically be there for us.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son promised the Holy Spirit to us if we would follow what he taught, and we believe that it is so. Help us initially to put into practice what the Lord has directed us to. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Everyday people give hope when evil has taken over, but they need help in order to achieve their purpose.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 58 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. In your own words, describe the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Wisdom, Understanding, Reverence, Courage, Awe, and Right Judgment).
3. It is Catholic doctrine that there is only one gift of the Holy Spirit as such, namely love. In general, have Christians honestly learned the lesson of love? Yes or no and why?
4. In what way can we "normal people" who do not have a lot of power help humankind?
5. In your opinion, what are the three most important commandments of Jesus? Why did you choose these?
6. What does the movie "Black Adam" teach young people?