Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Lent, March 27th, 2022

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

Today we hear about the miraculous multiplication of bread and fishes by Our Blessed Lord. It is the only one related by St John. The other Gospels tell us that such a miracle happened twice.

In St John the multiplication of bread is the first part of chapter 6. It is followed by Our Lord joining the disciples who make their way over the lake during the night. He is walking on the water and then brings them to the shore. The next day many of those who had benefited from the multiplied food, come again to Our Lord whom they want to make their king. He follows up on the miracle by teaching them about him being the true bread of life that has come from Heaven. Ultimately he announces that he will feed his children with his own body and blood. “Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it?” (Jn 6:61) “After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him.” (Jn 6:67)

St Paul in today’s Epistle explains the same reality as Our Lord on this occasion. Christ says: “It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life. But there are some of you that believe not.” (Jn 6:64-65) St Paul explains, speaking about the two sons of Abraham: “Which things are said by an allegory… Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he, that was born according to the flesh, persecuted him that was after the spirit; so also it is now.”

The earthly, sensible reality is certainly real. It is not itself an allegory or an analogy or a figment of our mind. But it always contains an allegory because it points to something more, something higher: All creatures are a trace of the Creator. The human soul is even an image and a likeness of God, as the book Genesis says: “And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness… And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:26.27)

The miracle by which Our Lord multiplied food to feed several thousand people, is a historical fact. But it is also an allegory of the Holy Eucharist. We receive the Eucharist in the manner of food. But it is not meant to feed our body, but our soul. It is the greatest of the seven Sacraments because it contains sacramentally, truly and really and substantially the giver of grace himself. Anyone who does not discern this invisible reality from the physical host, eats it for his own condemnation, as St Paul teaches us on Maundy Thursday and on Corpus Christi: “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.” (1Cor 11:29)

The perennial philosophy, that of the Scholastics and in particular of St Thomas Aquinas, is called realism. It takes things for real, and for what they really are. This includes different levels of being, hence the fundamental and necessary distinctions of actual and potential; material and formal, and substantial and accidental. Every time one aspect is lost, or over- or under-stated, catastrophe looms over our heads. For ideas have consequences!

This realism of thought and ideas also allows us to be truly humble. It is easy for anyone to discern true from false and affected humility. True humility comes through many humiliations which we accept willingly instead of puffing ourselves up. It consists in holding our place in life which God has assigned us, and not as we wish or dream it.

Holy Church is a most perfect and sensible teacher and educator. Only we need to make ourselves better aware of what she teaches and shows us. This is true with regards to humility also.

Take the rites of Holy Mass for example. The priest through sacred Ordination possesses a power that is beyond that of the Angels, that of bringing down Our Lord sacramentally on the altar in the Consecration of bread and wine.

Still, he has to make himself small, again and again. A number of times he must bow down or genuflect.

In the Confiteor he has to confess that he is a sinner. Although having been made similar to the Eternal High Priest, he remains a human being and therefore an imperfect tool for God’s service.

At the end of the Offertory he turns to the people and humbly, with a subdued voice, says “Orate, fratres – Brethren, pray that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty.” He thereby admits that it is not of his own doing, but by that of Holy Church, represented by those assisting at Mass, that the great work and the miracle of the unbloody reenactment of the Sacrifice on the Cross happens.

Before the solemn conclusion of the Canon the priest says in a slightly audible voice, striking his breast: “Nobis quoque peccatoribus - To us also, Thy sinful servants, confiding in the multitude of Thy mercies…” Even in the middle of the silent sacred action the priest confesses that he is among the sinners.

To prepare for the Communion of the Host, the priest bows and says thrice, again in an audible voice, the words which so pleased Our Lord when he heard them from a Roman officer: “Domine, non sum dignus… Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.”

These are but a few examples of how Holy Church teaches her servants and her children to pray and to behave. We seek not an earthly glory, but a heavenly one!

We should realize this better on this Sunday when we hear of the multiplication of bread. The crowds get it wrong, totally wrong. They seek to make Christ their earthly king so they need not worry about food again. The Samaritan woman did the same when Christ started to teach her about the true life, promising her living water. “The woman saith to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.” (Jn 4:15) Our Lord promised her life everlasting, she cares about food and drink… It is similar to people winning a jackpot (not that I encourage anyone to play those games!): What are they going to do with heaps of money? Some go crazy, others lead a bad, sinful life of pleasure. What is the use of it? Ten days ago on Thursday we have read the parable where Our Lord compares a rich man who feasted sumptuously every day and a poor beggar named Lazarus, full of sores (cf Lk 16:19-20) and whom even the leftovers from the rich man’s table are refused. Both die and receive their just reward. The rich man is buried in Hell for his lack of charity, and Lazarus finds himself in the bosom of Abraham, in Heaven, for his sufferings endured patiently. “For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Mt 16:26; Mk 8:3)

Let us study and consider what God’s thoughts and ways are, and then go by them, and not our own devices! Let us conform our will to God’s will which is perfect and holy. Let us lead a decent life according to our condition, and strive for no other glory but that of Heaven.

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski.

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Lent, March 20th, 2022 – Quaerens requiem… seeking rest

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

Today Our Lord teaches the Apostles about the devil and Exorcism.

Lent was the immediate preparation of the Catechumens for Baptism which they were to receive at the end of the Easter Vigil before receiving Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist during the following Mass. Therefore it is normal that there be prayers and readings during Lent which refer to the devil and to the manner of driving him out and keeping him out of our lives because Exorcisms are an important part of the Baptismal ceremonies.

The order of Exorcist is the third minor order.

The Exorcism is a Sacramental of the Church. Sacramentals are established by the Church. They are somewhat similar to the Sacraments. They work “ex opere operantis Ecclesiae – by the operation of the Church” and thus normally give us grace from God, through the doing of the Church.

Exorcisms are used in many blessings. When Holy Water is blessed, the salt and the water are each first exorcised. Oil is also exorcised before being blessed.

Most noticeably Exorcisms are performed during the Baptismal ceremonies. The salt which the catechumen receives on his tongue is exorcised, and then two Exorcisms are done over the infant, one outside and one inside the church. When an adult is baptized, the Exorcism outside the church is threefold, and different for male and female catechumens!

Finally there is also the rite of exorcising those who are obsessed by the devil.

Through the sin of our first parents Adam and Eve, because they allowed themselves to be seduced by the devil, the hellish spirits have obtained a certain power and dominion over mankind. Our Lord calls the devil “the prince of the world” (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). This is why the devil was not acting outrageously in proposing to give to Our Lord “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” (Mt 4:8-9). They belong to him in a certain way, namely in as much as God concedes the devil some power of seduction with regards to us human beings. Power over society, political power is very prone to fall to the devil’s seduction because it is difficult to command with humility.

It is important, especially in today’s circumstances where all hell is obviously loose, to note that this power of seduction is not total. And seduction does not mean sin! Only if we formally, by the consent of our will, accept the seduction and give in to whatever evil is suggested to us, then we commit a sin. The devil tempts us, he wants to seduce us so that we fall into sin – but never ever can he make us commit a sin without our consent.

Our Lord teaches that “when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water, seeking rest”. Water equals life – you don’t need to be a Buddhist to know and believe that! Even our human body consists of more than ¾ of water, it seems! The true life is found in Our Lord God only, and this is why Christ promises to the Samaritan woman “living water” (Jn 4:10). The devil does not possess the true life. He is certainly living, but he is dead with regards to the divine life which he has forfeited. Thus Hell is called the second death (Apc 20:6.14; 21:8). Similarly a human being in the state of mortal sin is alive according to his body, but dead according to the life of the soul, the life of grace.

The unclean spirit finds a certain consolation or relief, some kind of distraction from his perpetual pain, when he is allowed to obsess or possess a human body or soul. Thus it aspires to this relative peace and rest and tries to get back to where he has been cast out from.

In my experience with the doings of the devil, mainly in Africa, I could see first-hand how prudent and important the Church’s prescriptions regarding Exorcism are. First, all natural causes that could explain the person’s bad condition need to be excluded. Then the person needs to receive the Sacraments because they are much more potent than an Exorcism. I never needed to perform the great Exorcism in Africa because in none of the more serious cases presented to me, the person persevered, or could be brought to put order into their life so they could receive the Sacraments. It is very important also that there be no curiosity when dealing with demons. An experienced exorcist in Altötting, a great Marian shrine in Bavaria, asked the devil during an Exorcism about the theft of church silver that had occurred there some time earlier. As a consequence of his curiosity he fell sick soon afterwards and became unfit for his priestly functions!

If a person has been delivered from demonic possession or obsession, that person needs to take great care, as Our Lord teaches, not to become the prey of demons again. It is similar to sin: A person who has fallen into a certain kind of sin, is more prone or inclined to fall back into that particular sin again. This applies most particularly to the sins of impurity which leave a profound trace in the flesh and in the memory. It is similar also to physical health: When a particular organ is prone to fail, or is frail, then the person concerned needs to take the appropriate measures to keep out of trouble in this regard, more than in other areas.

Let us contemplate the profound truth contained in Our Lord’s words: “seeking rest”. Is this not our most profound aspiration also? The great Doctor of the Church St Augustine writes, in the very beginning of his “Confessions”: “our heart is restless until it rests in Thee” (I,1). “Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them”, Holy Church prays for the faithful deceased.

How intensely should we not aspire to rest in Our Lord! But rest is only good and sweet after intense labor. If we truly aspire to eternal rest, then we must combat courageously and according to the rules, as St Paul has made clear on Septuagesima in the Epistle. This outlook regarding the battle which our life is, is so much more important in the circumstances which make our life more difficult than usual. Where the fight is strongest, the glory of victory will be the greatest! But of course it is tiring and extenuating when the fight is just dragging on and on… Even if we feel worn out, let us not get worn down by the duration and by the intensity of the fight. It will be over in “a little while”, as Our Lord tells the Apostles (Jn 16:16).

Most importantly, let us never forget that it is not so much us who fight, but Our Lord in and with us, and we with Our Lord. St Catherine of Siena was subject to fierce and long-lasting temptations against purity. When they had stopped, she complained to Our Lord: Where have you been all this while, during this big battle? I have been in the middle of your soul, Our Lord replied, keeping you from falling!

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski.

Sermon for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, March 13th, 2022

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 

“Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God.” (Jac 4:4)

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

In today’s Epistle St Paul exhorts us to persevere and to progress on the way of holiness: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification… For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification.” Ten days of fast are past, and there are 30 more to come!

The Gospel presents us with Our Lord’s Transfiguration. This episode reminds us of the infinite abyss between earthly and heavenly things, between that which will perish soon and that which will last forever. “Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.” The Apostles had no means of putting into the right category what they had just witnessed – similarly as we have seen on Quinquagesima Sunday when Our Lord announced that he would suffer, die and rise again from the dead.

We are here on earth as pilgrims and strangers (cf 1Petr 2:11), our true homestead is Heaven (Phil 3:20). Our Lord will explain, just before he goes away to suffer and die for our sins: “I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil. They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world. Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.“ (Jn 17:15-18) And again: „If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.“ (Jn 15:19) Therefore St James writes: “Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God.” (Jac 4:4) We are never right in wanting to ease our position by going along with the ungodly principles of this world. Roncalli’s “aggiornamento – updating the Church” was not only doomed to failure – it is simply against all Our Lord has told and taught the Apostles.

St Peter, an impetuous man, a true elephant in a porcelain shop, says at the moment of Our Lord’s Transfiguration: “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”

In the chapter preceding today’s episode, Our Lord promises the Papal Primate to St Peter. Right after that we read: “From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Mt 16:21-26)

By the way, it does not follow from these words that it is licit to call Bergoglio “a bad pope and a devil”. St Peter clearly was not the Pope at that time. Those who make such approximate use of the Gospel should also define what they mean by a “bad pope”. And no Catholic in his right mind would ever call the one whom he considers to be the true head of the Church, a devil. Our Lord himself does not call the traitor Judas Iscariot a devil, but his friend… As long as there is life, there is hope for conversion!

Like Peter we are in constant danger of wanting to build tabernacles here on earth; to bring down the heavenly gifts and fix them here for us, in our vicinity. Certainly it is good “to leave the Church in the village”, as we say. But we easilyforget that God’s gifts are free; and that they are meant to lift us up. We are not to bring down God. We must lift ourselves up to God. There is no Heaven on earth, but there will be a new earth and a new Heaven (Apc 21:1) after the restoration of all things in and through Christ.

Our greatest problem is that we think the wrong way:

We only know the things of earth by experience. That which pertains to Heaven, we only know through Faith: “We see now through a glass in a dark manner.” (1Cor 13:12) Thus we easily commit the mistake to refer all things to that which is closer to home, to that which comes under our five senses. It was the Hebrews’ mistake when God fed them miraculously with the manna, but they still got fed up with it, literally: “We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free cost: the cucumbers come into our mind, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing else but manna.” (Num 11:5-6) Let us beware of making the same mistake with regards to the true manna, Holy Communion!

But the lasting goods do not come directly under our senses: Faith, Hope, Charity, grace, the divine life… Still, they are by far more important than the visible, touchable earthly good which will perish, and which we will need to leave behind altogether when we die. In a similar manner our soul is much more important than our body, and still we tend to care much rather for our body than for our soul.

The next step in our wrong thinking is trying to push God our way, rather than us going God’s way. Peter wants to build three tabernacles on top of Mount Tabor. He wants to freeze that moment, he wants things to remain that way. Cunningly he adds: “if Thou wilt…” because of course we know who is the boss – God. But rather to let go and to hand ourselves over into the hands of this best of fathers, we usually try to persuade God how it should be. Poor us! Stupid us!

Let us therefore keep an open mind with regards to God’s will. We need to bend our will to God’s will, and not try to bend His sovereign will. God will let us do our own will, mostly – but it will not be for our good, we will pay a price for our deviations. It is better that we go against our self-will and our natural inclinations, and not against God’s holy will: “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven!” In the garden of olives, Our Lord “going a little further, fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Mt 26:39)

Let us make ours this invocation from the prayers of the Church: “In kindness turn our wills towards Thee, even though they resist Thee.” (Secret, Saturday 4^th week of Lent)

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski.

Sermon for the 1st Sunday in Lent, March 6th, 2022

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

On the first Sunday of Lent we see Our Lord being led into the desert by the Holy Ghost.

There he was fasting during 40 days and nights, i.e. he did not eat or drink anything. He was able to do such a total fast because his human nature is intimately united with the second divine person, the Word of God. Thus he is able to transcend the human necessities which we, as human persons, experience in our nature.

 

true and false fasting

There have always been human beings who are imitating this prodigy. Either – and this is more commonly the case – they cheat; some die while they try to do the impossible; and some do it with supranatural help, i.e. with the help and assistance of the devils who are always ready to operate prodigies in order to impress credulous minds.

Those pagans who call themselves Muslim, do a rigorous fast. There is nothing objectionable in this. What is objectionable is the fact that finally it is not truly virtuous since they eat and drink as much as they like (or as much as they can) between sunset and sunrise. So they behave like angels during the day – they do not allow themselves even a drop of water, no difference whether they live in a very hot or in a temperate climate; and like animals during the night hours. This manner of brutalizing the human nature is a quite certain sign of the devils’ delusions by which he tries to ensnare the humans and do as much harm as possible.

Holy Church prescribes a fast which is in keeping with human nature. If followed correctly, it is very virtuous to fast in this way.

One full meal is allowed during the day, usually around noon. Two snacks are allowed, no further eating between meals. One can always drink water which does not break the fast (not even the Eucharistic fast). Other liquids – light tea or coffee etc. – can be taken as long as they are not meant to replace what is wanting in food.

The ecclesiastical fast is only prescribed for grown-up people in the force of their age – neither children and teenagers, nor elderly people are under an obligation to fast. Sundays are never days of fast or penance. Holy days of obligation that occur during Lent (St Joseph, Annunciation) are days of fast (and abstinence), according to the Code of Canon Law. Abstinence from meat and meat products is prescribed on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays and Saturdays in Lent (and all Fridays during the rest of the year).

 

temptation

Our Lord, after having fasted from food and drink for 40 days, was hungry. The devil used this occasion in order to tempt him.

Christ could only be tempted from without, i.e. by the devil and the world. He could not possibly be tempted from within, i.e. by his human nature because it was not the fallen, but the intact human nature, totally unspoiled from sin.

But he did accept to be tempted by the devil who wanted to find out whether or not this Jesus of Nazareth was the true Son of God made man. Our Lord did not give away his great secret. Only his holy life, his holy teaching and his miracles would prove his divinity, together with his sacred Passion, Death and Resurrection which he foretold the Apostles last Sunday.

Our case is different from Our Lord’s in many ways although he shared the same human nature – body and soul. We are much rather tempted by our fallen nature and by the world. The devil never sleeps, and he is always meddling in our temptations – but they are not normally primarily his doing.

You may or may not know the story of one of the holy desert fathers. One day he was shown how his kind were beleaguered by innumerable demons. The life of a religious, and in particular that of a hermit, is very tough in this regard also. On the other hand he saw a big city where some demons were just hanging around lazily without bothering to tempt the citizens. Thus the holy man was given to understand that those who resolutely follow the way of perfection have to sustain many temptations by the devil; but that those who live in accordance with the principles of the rotten world, are more or less left alone by the evil spirits because they are already his safe prey. St Ignatius of Loyola says exactly the same in his rules of discernment of the spirits.

 

holy desires

My dear Catholics, St Paul today tells us that we need to see to it that we have not received God’s grace in vain. Now is the acceptable time to have great and holy desires. Our Lenten resolutions must be magnanimous, but foremost they must be efficient. “Many resolutions have we taken, few have we kept”, and old Way of the Cross says. The way to Hell is paved with good intentions, i.e. with good but ineffective resolutions.

Generally we should take two or three resolutions: one concerning prayer, another one or two concerning sins and the opposed virtues. Taking a multitude of resolutions is a safe way for them to be ineffective, as I am telling you continuously with regards to the particular resolution in connection with Confession.

Undertake to heal those wounds of your fallen nature that are most obvious, or those you find most difficult to come up against. If you cannot find anything worthwhile, ask those around you: they can easily tell you what your faults are... Thus you will make the most of this Lenten season, of this particular time of grace.

Our Lady has never refused anything to God. The Saints have learned to ever better fulfill His holy will. Let us endeavor to follow their footsteps. Thus we will learn to follow the bloody footsteps of Our Lord during his earthly life, and particularly during his sacred Passion. After having suffered with him and for him, we will also reign with him on the day of eternity.

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski