P A S T O R ’ S C O R N E R

How many Gods are there? One-I'm glad you know the answer. And if you ever have doubts about what we believe, it's good to go back to our creed to see exactly what we believe. We believe in one God. You might think that's an easy answer; we're not like the ancient Greeks who believed in many false gods on Mt. Olympus. But we can treat other things like gods; we can give them all our time and energy and love. We can get so caught up in the things we see that we forget the God we cannot see. Would you believe that hockey could be a false god? We held our graduation Mass here at 7pm on Saturday. I was thinking "Who schedules a graduation during the Stanley Cup playoff game?" But it looks bad if the pastor does not show up. Later I heard there were people looking at their electronic devices and flashing scores to one another during Mass. Now it's not that God does not love hockey; but he does get jealous when we love hockey more than him.

It takes a real conversion of heart to see what's more important. Maybe we're struck by the challenge and say to ourselves "I want to love God more than hockey." Or at least we're moved to repentance and realize "I need to love God more than hockey." If we're not moved that way, our faith is never expressed in works, our belief never is shown in actions. Because it's not enough just to believe in God. Listen to the words of St. James: "You believe that God is one, you do well. [But] Even the demons believe that-and tremble. …faith without works is useless." (Js 2:19)

Hopefully we realize there's a greater championship going on right now-the battle for our souls. I don't know if I'll win; in fact, I could lose. We might think "But doesn't God love me and want me to go to heaven?" Yes; but he cannot do that without my working with him. So I better get in the game. Christianity is not a spectator sport-God is counting on each one of us do our part.

And defense is not enough. We might think, "I'm a good person, I don't sin." And it's true that God does not want us to sin; but that's not enough. We have to do good and lots of it. We have to play offense: I better score. I need a goal.

Do you have any daily goals to live your faith? They have to be very specific, otherwise faith is some nice idea in my head that never is lived. I have to smile at this person. I have to help this person, in this way; especially that person I don't like. I have to write down what I spend, otherwise I'll never spend it the way God wants. I can only have this many beers when I go out. I can only watch this much TV and these shows. This is when I will stop and pray and for this amount of time. Those are just some examples, each one of us must set these specific goals that express our belief in actions.

According to St. James, faith without these goals, without these works is dead. That means faith with goals is alive! I think that's why we love watching sporting events; it reminds us of how God loves watching us ("my delight is to be with the children of men"). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love to watch us, to cheer us on. They rejoice in our victories, and are there to help us in our defeats. If human athletes work so hard for an earthly glory that fades, how much more should we work for the greatest glory, the everlasting glory of the Most Holy Trinity?

With my prayers,
Fr. Jerome