I My name is Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension Presents So, years ago I mean, I was in seminary - years ago, like long time ago But it was Christmas Eve and I was a seminarian so I had Mass up northern Minnesota and the Christmas Eve Mass felt like a normal mass.
But the homily was awesome! The thing that stuck out to me is I've always remembered that homily and the old priest, just such a good good man! He just since passed on, may he rest in peace.
Such a holy man! He described a Christmas card that he received
and he said there's a Christmas card he got on the front, there was a fir tree or a Christmas tree that was a little, you know, beautiful, full, and whatever, and was bent to the side and on the front it said:
"God loves you just the way you are" and he opened it up and the inside says:
"He just loves you too much to keep you that way". He loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way. And I thought that sums up in so many... in such a... like a small moment...
In just one sentence essentially, what we believe about the human person in so many ways. Why? Because we believe that every human being who has ever been created on this planet is made in God's image and likeness. That God made every human being out of
the fullness of His grace, the fullness of His love, the fullness out of... The fullness of His joy. And every person is made good, intrinsically good. Now, some people will say that they'll hear that and they'll stop some people here that and don't they don't put the comma there, they put a period there. And what they mean and what they do with that, what they'll do with that is: "Well, God made you perfect,
God made you just the way you are" that, "however you're made,
whatever you experience, however you're built, that God wants you exactly that way" And that can lead to devastating consequences. In fact, I remember, on social media, someone recently said something to me, said: "You know, God made every person perfect" I was like: "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" like, if you're a Catholic Christian, if you are even...
if you're judeo-christian background, you realize that's not true: that God did not make you perfect, that you and I were not created perfect. Yes, we were created in His image and likeness, we're created good, essentially, but we realized that Genesis 1 and 2 leads to Genesis 3, and in Genesis chapter 3 there's the story or the account of the fall. And we know that the consequences of the fall is that every one of us is still good, we've retained our intrinsic goodness, but... we're also wounded. It's this doctrine called original sin. We know some consequences. We've talked about them in other videos:
that we have a darkened intellect: we don't always see things clearly. We have a weakened will: we don't always choose things like we should. We're divided, right? We're divided from God, which leads to death. We're divided from each other: we sometimes can't get along. We're even divided in ourselves. And one of those ways we're divided in ourselves is we have this thing: a fancy term called concupiscence concupiscence though, it means that I'm attracted to evil or there are some things in my life that either I'm attracted to the wrong thing or I'm attracted to use the right thing in the wrong way and this is all of us, like, every single of us, and it doesn't like start when you become 15,
or when you're 21, or when you're 45 We're born with it! In fact, if you want to say, here's the term: the term that people use and abuse so often:
"We're born this way". Now, sometimes, people will say it
as an excuse to justify their behavior: They'll say something like: "I was born this way." So, I have this friend, my best friend.
His name's Nick Nick will say about this "Born This Way" kind of idea: He says: "yeah,... I mean, whoever, since I was a kid, long back, far back as I can remember, he says: "I've always been the cockiest person I know,
I've always been the most arrogant person I know" Just like "I'm kind of full of myself" and then along comes Jesus and he says that we need to be gentle and humble of heart, meek and humble of heart, and he's like: "well, Jesus, I was born this way!" "This is how I am!
You're telling me to not be the way I am?!" "You created me perfect!" "There's nothing I need to repent of!" The very fact that I was made this way
or the fact that I was experiencing this inclination must mean that God wants me to act on that.
That's the natural progression! That if I was made perfect and I was made this way and there's nothing wrong with me Then, if I experience an attraction to anything,
that is now my internal permission to do that thing. Now, here's what we have to pause a little bit: Concupiscence: the fact that I'm attracted to stuff that's not always good for me or attracted to use things that are good
in a way that's not good for myself or for others, That has to be acknowledged for all of us. In fact, I would say: every one of us we have to acknowledge our wounds because we all have them, we all you know. My friend has like the arrogance thing, someone else gonna have pride,
someone else kind of gluttony, some gonna have lust, some kind of anger and we have to admit it too. There's something about acknowledging:
"Ok, I know it's there..." We have to admit it and we also have to accept it like, when it comes to every one of us we all have one or probably more than one
of these wounds that have afflicted us or
have inflicted something on us And we acknowledge it
and admit it
and accept it. So yeah, this is part of my reality! See, that, that's really healthy! That's a healthy way to deal with this to say:
"Okay. These are my particular attractions and, yep, I didn't create them in me I feel like I was born with them.
I feel like they've existed. I didn't want, I don't necessarily even want them,
but they're here. I admit it. I acknowledge it. I admit it and I accept it,
but I don't stop there, a Christian doesn't stop there. Now, some people, there's even Christian teachers
out there, who will say things like: "No, yeah. That's it.That's who you are." "God made you that way, therefore admit it, acknowledge it, admit it and accept it. Period." but what like ancient Christianity and the Church says, and, what I believe God even says, is: "Yes, we acknowledge it
and we admit it
and we accept it" We don't have to hide in shame over our wounds
or hide in shame over our weaknesses but then, the next part, the fourth part is:
then we hand it over to the Lord. What I mean by that is, we say:
"Ok God, what do You want me to do with this?" And if God has said anything about these things, then we're like, "Ok, that's what I need to do." And when it comes to pride, when it comes to gluttony, when it comes to sexual behavior He has said something about all of those things You know, it's so... it's so hurtful for someone to come out and say: In order to build bridges what I'm gonna do is:
I'm just gonna say "Hey, God made you this way!" That is not only misleading,
because it can mislead a person to think like, Ok, I guess means that God wants me to be this way, God wants me to act on this, but also it is seriously theologically incorrect. This is a really important point What am I saying in all this I'm saying that every single one of us is like - what that old priest
said in northern Minnesota - is loved by God! You're loved by God! That you're... God made on purpose! But He's also allowed us to have particular wounds For some people, those wounds have to do with
like an attraction to sin, other of our wounds are actually illnesses. God doesn't like made you with this illness because he wants you to have this illness, No, He's allowed you to have this illness. There's a whole video I have made on
God's perfect will VS God's permissive will, Go check that out.
It's very important to get these terms right. So here's the thing: When it comes to any attraction a human being experiences, submitted to Christ, he can transform that into something incredible And I just invite every one of us, including myself, to not make ourselves the exception. Like, do not make ourselves like:
"Well, you have it, but my particular thing is so deep,
it's so powerful, it's so strong, it's, it's overwhelming!" And I understand that. Like, I get it - I have a human heart too.
I have a human experience as well. That's when I turn to St Paul's letter to the Corinthians - chapter 10 and he says: "Whoever thinks he's standing secure
should take care" not to fail, "not to fall" because that goes on to say that "No trial has come to you, but what is common to all human beings" "God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength" "But with the trial He will also provide a way out
so that you may be able to bear it" No, it'd be one thing I've I said Here's the deal: "At the end of the day, just, you know, acknowledge it, admit it, accept it,
and then hand it over to God. and then just, you know, get your teeth and white-knuckle it through the rest of your life, but that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is: God loves you, just the way you are, But He loves you too much to let you stay that way. Which means that, in whatever wound you have, God wants to say: "Just let Me in." "Let Me in to that wound." That doesn't give you permission
to act however you want but "let Me into the wound because I can make you holy. I can make you new" "I might not take away the wound" "but I can take you and make you into the masterpiece that I have in mind from the foundation of the World" Trust in God! Trust in his love! And, if you ever think like, you know: "God wants me to do this or that thing because he made me this way" No, God loves you the way you are but sometimes and many times,
and maybe all the time, He loves you too much to let you stay that way. From all of us here: Ascension Presents. My name's father Mike. God bless.
