25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B: A Child Like Jesus

The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time is a moment in the liturgical year that invites the faithful to pause and reflect on the profound teachings of the scriptures. For year B, the readings for this Sunday present a rich tapestry of wisdom, challenge, and encouragement that speak to the heart of Christian discipleship.

The first reading from the Book of Wisdom (Wis 2:12, 17-20) confronts us with the stark reality of the righteous person's life, who is often beset by the wicked. It is a poignant reminder of the suffering that can accompany fidelity to God's law and the courage required to stand firm in the face of adversity. This passage echoes the trials faced by many prophets and ultimately foreshadows the suffering of Christ himself.

The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6, and 8) offers a response to the first reading, providing a prayerful refuge in God's protection. The psalmist's trust in God's saving power serves as a model for our own faith, especially when we face trials or feel surrounded by hostility.

The second reading from the Letter of James (Jas 3:16—4:3) addresses the community's internal conflicts, highlighting the destructive nature of jealousy and selfish ambition. James contrasts this with the "wisdom from above," which is pure, peaceable, and full of mercy. This passage challenges believers to cultivate peace within their communities and to seek God's wisdom in all things.

Finally, the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 9:30-37) presents a teaching moment between Jesus and his disciples. As they journey through Galilee, Jesus predicts his passion and resurrection, though his disciples do not understand. The narrative then shifts to a lesson on true greatness, where Jesus places a child among the disciples, symbolizing humility and service as the path to greatness in the Kingdom of God.

Children are important in life. Without them, no species can continue. This is why the Catholic Church has combated abortion and any dangers against children. Granted, some in the Church have failed to protect them against predators, but for the most part, most Catholics are on the right track in regard to defending children. Jesus says if someone receives a child they receive Him. This is a huge statement. Jesus compares a child to Himself. Children are innocent. While they are conceived with Original Sin, they are innocent. They are blank slates.  This is why adults are to blame when children go wayward. They are molded by adults to be adults. So if they behave badly, it is the fault of adults who associate with them directly. 

This is why we have to be innocent like Children.  There is a difference between being a child and being childish or immature acting in a feral way.  Jesus calls us to be humble and accepting like children are. We must also be patient and accepting of all children. Unfortunately, there are some clergy, religious, and lay people who frown upon children at Mass. They complain about the noises of babies and the antics of small children which can be distracting. Kicking them out or embarrassing their families is not the way to go.  In the early Church, we read in the New Testament how they had households. This means children were present.  Crying children at Mass is a sign that the Church is alive and continues to be reborn just like the sound of a crying baby at birth is a sign that there is new life. 

Any Catholic, clergy or not who has an issue with babies or children at Mass needs to get a mental health evaluation and spiritual direction.  I will be blunt on that.  The kids and their families are not the problem if the children are behaving in their natural state. We must do everything to protect children and be careful what we teach them and what they see from us.  Children are not conceived racists, sexists, rapists, killers, thieves and so on. This is learned behavior.  Again, we must be careful with children and what they see and hear from us.  

These readings collectively urge the faithful to reflect on the nature of true wisdom, the call to live righteously, and the importance of humility and service. They remind us that following Christ may lead to challenges and misunderstandings, but ultimately, it is a journey toward eternal life with God.

As we meditate on these scriptures, we are invited to examine our own lives in light of these teachings. Are we willing to stand for righteousness, even when it is difficult? Do we seek the wisdom that comes from God, or are we swayed by worldly ambitions? How do we embody the servant leadership that Jesus exemplifies?

The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time offers a moment for deep spiritual introspection and renewal. It calls us to embrace the paradoxes of the Christian life: to find strength in vulnerability, wisdom in simplicity, and greatness in serving others. As we continue our liturgical journey, may these readings inspire us to live out our faith with courage, love, and humility.

Former EWTN Priest Dave (Francis Mary) Stone Fathers Child & Accused of Sexual Abuse

https://www.linkedin.com/in/theedavestone

After years of being in hiding and living a "life off the rock," former priest Dave Stone who went by "Father" Francis Mary Stone, MFVA of EWTN has surfaced once again. As with many priests who leave the priesthood out of lust, Stone is in the news in a negative light.  He is going through a big divorce with the mistress Christina Presnell who led him away from the Church and EWTn and has even fathered a child.

Moreover, he is being accused of sexually abusing his own child. Stone, 54 denies the allegations.  He is accused of penetrating his son's anus with his finger causing the boy to defecate due to the size of the finger causing the inferior anal nerves to trigger  peristaltic waves forcing the feces out. Stone was arrested on October 9, 2013 and was out on a $150,000 bond.  Clinical psychologist Alan Blotcky who evaluated both Stone and his ex-wife Christina Presnell wrote in a reported, "Dave's psychological evaluation does not even hint at a person who is capable of abuse. It is implausible.  Stone is fully capable of being a healthy and competent parent."

David Lawrence Stone met Christina Presnell in 1998 when she worked at EWTN.  He was a freshly ordained priest and became a spiritual adviser and confessor to her.  The relationship became flirtatious eventually leading to a sexual one in 2001.  Both kept the relationship a secret until Presnell became pregnant.  She was fired in 2008 by EWTN and stone (Fr. Francis Mary Stone at the time) was put on leave of absence until he announced that he would be re-evaluating his vocation. Presnell has other children from previous relationships.

The situation is disturbing indeed and shows why men considering the priesthood must go through heavy discernment before considering a vocation to the priesthood. Dave Stone when he was "Father Francis" seemed like he was hiding something.  I recall seeing him at a March for Life in Washington DC and he did not say hi to anyone around him. Some recognized him and said hi and he just looked slightly nervous and serious.  It is unfortunate that EWTN has faced many wayward vocations. Other priests have left the Missionaries of Eternal Word.  Both Fathers John Klobucar and Augustine Mary left.  John went on to marry and Augustine (now Fr. James Hedderman)is now a diocesan priest is working in the Diocese of Birmingham. He is serving at Good Shepherd Church in Huntsville, Alabama. Other friars also left, including brother Rafael who was a tall heavy set friar often serving as a lector.

Stories like this can affect the faith of some, but it should not.  Human beings are weak. We all fall, sin, make mistakes etc. The disciples had their share of human weakness recorded in the Gospel. We must pray for one another and pray for those considering a vocation and those who answered one. Being ordained or taking vows does not make one perfect or impeccable. It is sad Dave Stone chose this life, but he is an adult and must now reap what he has sowed. His life was not on the rock and now is on sand. Let us keep him, the friars who left, Corapi, Alberto Cutie and others in our prayers. They may have abandoned God and the Catholic Church, but God has not abandoned them.

UPDATE June 1, 2016:

Stone was found not guilty by a jury of his peers, see: http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/05/jury_decides_on_child_abuse_ch_1.html

Update: 2022

Former Catholic priest, acquitted of abuse, granted custody of son - al.com




Source:

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/03/catholic_priest_ex-ewtn_tv_hos.html

https://www.linkedin.com/in/theedavestone

https://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/ewtn-scandals-problem-priests/

http://www.fisheaters.com/forums/index.php?topic=3453634.0

https://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/fr-francis-mary-stone-of-ewtn-is-now-dave/

Christmas Eve - A Child is Born

The midnight Mass is one of the most well known religious events.  It is often televised.  I recall watching some of it on different channels.
One channel would air the Pope's Mass from the Vatican, another would air St. Patrick's cathedral's Mass from New York City; others would air Masses from local parishes; some programming was even from our separated brothers and sisters in the Protestant Faith.

Regardless of who was officiating the religious service, all shared the same theme: Christ is born unto us.

This night is important.  We are awaiting the birth of Christ the Lord.  The Savior that was promised to the Chosen People, has finally arrived.  The first reading for Midnight Mass is from Isaiah 9:1-6 which recalls how the ancient Israelites were in darkness, lost, bitter and hopeless. They 'walked in darkness' in 'the land of gloom.'  Then a light was shone upon them.  A child was born that would change the downward spiral they were going through.

From this reading, we move into the Responsorial Psalm which reflects the first reading.  "Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord" is the response to each Psalm verse which is taken from Luke 2:11.  This child that is born that would change it all for the better is Christ the Lord.  Christ is the Messiah, the one who brings us out of darkness and the land of gloom that the first reading speaks of.

The second reading is from Titus 2:11-14 and speaks of Christ being the savior - Grace personified - that will teach humanity the right way so that it can remove itself from lawlessness and other vices that keep us from God and from our true dignified selves.

Finally, we read from the Gospel of Luke 2:1-14 which goes into detail the account of the Birth of this Child Christ the Lord that the first reading promises will come; the psalm answers who He is and the second reading tells us what He will do.  In the Gospel, we are told that this Child didn't come in a chariot of gold.  He wasn't born into nobility or wealth.  This child was born in a manger where livestock lives.

Imagine the setting for a moment.

Put yourself there on that cold dark night.  There was no modern medicine that we take for granted today; no IV's, no sedatives, no bandages, running water etc.  Instead, there was just a barn like structure with hay, possibly animal waste, unpleasant animal scents, and so on.  Here is where the child was born.  The God of gods, the Lord of lords; the Savior of the Jews and of the whole world was born in this setting.

We often whine and complain about how and where we live.  Our desire to be happy stems from a false delusion that in order to be happy we must have the "best."  Christ says otherwise in His birth. Each of us was born with nothing but our bodies.  We were wet, sticky and reeking of the scent of our mother's bodily fluids.  Yet in this condition we have worth.  We are human beings made in God's image.  This is why Christ was born in the same manner.  He was one of us in all things except sin. (Heb. 4:15)  This is why we must protect human life from conception to natural death.  
The imagery presented is one of the things that makes the "Christian God" better than any gods man has formulated in an attempt to describe the One God due to ignorance.  God became one of us.  He did this not to rule over us or demand sacrifices, but to show us love and call us to it.  Pope Francis is reminding us of this, especially the clergy.  Unfortunately, there are some in the Church who have adopted clericalism.  Clericalism is a psychological phenomenon in the Church where an ordained member of the Catholic Church feels he is superior to others "below" his "rank."  He believes that he is unique from the others solely because he has Holy Orders.  Religious sisters are not immune to this psychological phenomenon. This way of thinking is an over-zealous attempt at presenting "alter Christus" to the lay faithful.  Pope Francis is reminding us that this kind of thinking is not of Christ.  If Christ was not born to be "over us" as some superior, what gives a priest a right to feel that he is above others just because of his ministry?  This is not of Christ and is vanity.

Christ was born into poverty.  He was born into the 'smell of his sheep,' to use Pope Francis' analogy.  We are called to imitate Him.  Christ is the Child who was born unto us, the people lost in the land of gloom and doom; of where am I going and woe is me.  He is the light that shines the way.  Normally stars are what light up the dark skies, but when Christ was born, He lighted them. The Star pointed to Christ who is the true light.

May Christ continue to be born in our hearts not just tonight or on Christmas day; but every second of our lives.  Amen  


Merry Christmas!      

Plan B for Kids

A judge has ordered that the contraceptive drug "Plan B" be made available to minors over the counter.  This is disturbing indeed.  Parents are upset with the decision citing that the courts are infringing on parental rights and are sending the wrong message to children.  Moreover, contraception is known to have side-effects that can harm a woman and even kill her.  Some side effects include, bleeding, changes in menstrual cycle, bloodclot, headaches, changes in hormonal system, vomiting, breast cancer, liver tumors and endometrial cancer.

Is this what we want our kids ingesting, especially during a time where their bodies are going through hormonal changes?

This judge obviously did not think the decision through.  Moreover, this sends the message to minors that they can be promiscuous without repercussions.  This is a result of judicial activism.  Parents must speak out against this ruling and demand it be knocked down.  This will bring serious harm to our kids and society as a whole.

Ironically, schools cannot give aspirin to children with headaches, but now Plan B which does more harm is free to distribute to them.




Source

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/morning-pill-sold-counter/story?id=18889946

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-the-plan-b-morningafter-pill-and-the-new-war-on-abortion-20130406,0,5330346.story

When Children Die

Some of you who follow me on twitter and also read my blog have been asking where I have been all day. Well on top of my daily schedule of studies, work/ministry etc; I learned that my baby cousin returned to God. 

The news was devastating. Whether the child is my own blood or not, the news of the death of any child bothers me. Children are our most valuable asset as a species. Without children, the human species will die with the death of the last human being. 

The loss of a child 

Nothing can be more painful for a family than to lose a child. Sometimes the pain just does not go away. To go from the joy of conception and birth, to death and burial is hard to fathom. No sane person would want the death of any child to become a reality. Yes, sometimes children can be annoying, impossible to deal with, or just drive us to drink; however, they are our children and we would die for them.  We would move heaven and hell for them.  I can't imagine the pain parents feel when they return home after the death of a child and see their child's things in his/her bedroom. The feeling of loss must be incalculable. 

Why does God allow this? 

This is the biggest question of all: Why does God allow this to happen in the first place? Children die every hour across the globe either from starvation, disease, accidents, abuse, illness or just due to SIDS or some other random consequence. How can an benevolent God allow this? There are no simple answers to this. No one knows the mind of God.  We may have ideas on what might be going on based on what we know from Scripture, Tradition, spiritual essays, the lives of the saints, and even our own spiritual lives.  Nevertheless, the question remains: why?   This question remains because we are finite creatures.  The limitations of understanding why things really happen and what happens after frustrates us.  

Children do not belong to us.  

We do not belong to ourselves.  Children and our very lives are gifts from God.  Yes, parents conceive children and give birth, but the existence of those children are a gift from God.  God as creator can do as He pleases with us.  Naturally, we will perceive death as something bad and negative.  This is because of our human experience and conditioning regarding death.  We are terrified of it.  No one wants to die.  Therefore, death is something we want to escape.  With today's scientific and technological innovations, we attempt to prolong life the best we can.  However, death is part of life.  It is a reality we all must face.  The death of children comes more of a shock because of the fact that they are innocent.  What has a child done to starve to death or die of disease?  What has a baby done to be killed in the womb or outside of it?  What has a child done to be killed by a predator, animal, or gunmen in a school?  These innocent creatures are just starting life and are learning from the guidance of parents, other adults and experience.  Unfortunately, these bad consequences are the result of Original Sin which has distorted nature.  

God is obviously fond of children.  Heaven belongs to them, according to Jesus.  Some atheists might cite Old Testament passages regarding the "bashing of babies' heads on rocks" as evidence that God is evil; however, this is bad cherry picking that does not take into account the semantics of what the author is conveying regarding the period he lived in.  It is not an instruction to kill babies on rocks. 

When a child dies, this does not mean God is evil and wanted the child dead.  It just means that the brief existence of that child has a deeper meaning that only God can explain to us.  The idea bothers us because we are so familiar with the apparent appearance of permanency in regards to death.  We feel that death is the end - literally.  We believe that we are never going to see that child again.  This is not true.  Life continues after death.  

Knowing that children are a gift from God, we must not become selfish and hate God whenever a child is called back home.  They belong to God!  We ALL belong to God!   If we owned our lives, then we could decide when we're born and when we will die or IF we want to die.  However, this is not how it works.  God breathes life into us at the moment He wishes and calls that breath back home when He wants to and for reasons that only He in His wisdom can truly understand while we just grasp some of it.  God cannot be evil for taking back what is His anymore than you can be evil for taking something of yours that a friend borrowed.  Our lives are on "loan," so to speak.   

So if you're reading this now and lost a child, don't despair.  It's okay to be sad and mad.  These are normal emotions that show that you actually do care.  However, it is not healthy to keep them in.  Pray to God, thank God for the gift He briefly gave your deceased child.  Don't try to blame yourself, nor think God punished you; He did not.  God knows what He is doing.  Death is not the end.  Think beyond the limitations of space and time.  There is a reason why our minds can do this despite the fact that we exist in space and time.  We are meant to contemplate eternity and the afterlife.  You will be reunited with your deceased child.  He/she is praying for you.     

She said What?!?

"Contraception paid for by you" poster child, Sandra Fluke recently tweeted a tweet that might make those who call themselves "prochoice" fall over.   In her tweet, she calls an unborn fetus a "child."

This is not the first time "feminists" say the truth.  A "feminist atheist prochoice" twitter user did the same last year which I documented here: http://sacerdotvs.blogspot.com/2011/10/prochoice-atheist-admits-unborn-is.html

They know the truth regarding the unborn. They just suffer from Cognitive Dissonance.  


Check it out:

Thank you @jerrybrowngov 4 signing #California #AB2530 2 stop shackling of #pregnant #inmates in labor.Big step for mother/child health!
— Sandra Fluke (@SandraFluke) September 29, 2012