Mark Hart - Friday Evening Session 2 - Defending the Faith

what an honor to be here welcome hi how are you looking good the Lord be with you gotta love hanging out with Catholics we always know exactly what to say that's right I'm always so honored to be here I always joke about this almost every year so if you've heard this before it bear with me but when I get to sit with all these just insanely smart and holy people yes I'm looking at Kimberly these smart and holy people I just feel like the little kid at the Thanksgiving table the card table you know I just get to sit there just I'm just so honored so humbled to be here it was several years ago at the time my wife right about eight years ago my wife and I only had a couple of kids which would say to you I had a little less gray and even less money and I was driving down the freeway I got a phone call and I the phone was breaking up you know it wasn't supposed to be using the phone anyway so it's breaking up and I really couldn't hear what the person on the other end said all I could make out was Diocese Congress in Hawaii and I just said what would you like me to be there and then it kind of came through they said oh that's it's gonna be a youth day and why I said oh yes when can i when can I come when could I be there because you have to understand something when you work full-time in ministry you don't get to go to Hawaii you get to go to Fargo in January you get to go to Baton Rouge in the dead of August when you just become a blood donor instantly because there's so many mosquitoes ready to do what they do best so literally what this happens this is this is a divine appointment this is God throwing me a bone too as good and faithful servants I'm driving in my car that's held on you know that the tailpipe held on by a coat hanger I don't get to go to Hawaii so when I heard this they said like it come out and speak and I said yes they said would you like to pray about it I said okay yes I prayed and I am certain the Holy Spirit desires me to come and to share the gospel with the good people of Hawaii and and as luck would have it and actually while we go to the first slide I want to only give the setting here as luck would have it this was just again His divine appointment my mother-in-law was able to watch our two girls at the time I had amassed enough miles that I could take my beautiful bride Melanie we were upgraded which is just I don't care what anybody says that that's the best thing ever it's just the greatest thing ever so we were upgraded and before you know it we were being whisked away for a second honeymoon to the magical island of Maui so excited got there on a Friday night the seafood was so fresh everything was perfect the wine was perfect the seafood was perfect literally the fish jumped out of the water onto my plates it was astounding nothing could have gone better it was great we can hear the end of each other's sentences because I had mentioned our kids were at home it was tremendous who would sleep that night woke up the next day had a trim had just a great experience tremendous experience praying with people out on the islands and then the next three days had nothing to do we're just gonna build a bask in our the radiance and the sacrament just the three of us she and I and Godfrey to get married the way that Fulton sheen had pointed out and prophesied this was it I was so excited Sunday morning hits literally we left the sliding door open to the balcony you could hear the waves crashing on the shore the gentle breeze coming through the window palm trees moving in unison I literally expected a blue disney bird to descend from the heavens and a very friend Siskin moment and to fall upon the railing I was just waiting I mean this was Sunday morning I was gonna get to go into the throne room of God and hear the word of God proclaimed received the body blood soul divinity I was gonna get to go to Mass and actually hear the homily the parents are always little mice my child never screams in math like well mine is the one that looks like the gathering demoniac in the middle of consecration people say oh it's because she's so holy I'm like that's not why so I'm so excited to go to Mass can't wait oh I can't wait and then my wife it's about 7:00 a.m. on Sunday she gets up to go to the restroom in the other room because it had been roughly 15 minutes so it's time and as I'm lying there the bed does this this is I thought massage beds she put quarters in it or something and then I was reminded it was not holiday in 1978 and then all of a sudden once again the bed and now my little white butt goes shoot when hits the floor and two of the framed pictures on the wall smashing I say we had been magically whisked away to Hawaii during the first earthquake that Mao had seen in 26 years 26 years now I pull myself up my wife shrieks I think she probably fell off the throne and so she she comes running around the corner and she's across the room and this is one of those movie moments where everything sort of goes into slow motion no and I start to run towards her now I was born in the Midwest where you know we had tornadoes and and I remember as a youth I remember they'd say when I tank here's the tornado you go to the door I don't know why probably it's easier to find the bodies that way but so I remember she's running from the other room I'm running to her and there's a doorway between us I thought to myself get to the doorway so I'll rent I run to the doorway I meet her in the doorway and I wrap my left arm around her and in a move that I can only explain as overzealous adrenaline rush and lack of male logical thought guys she'll understand this I went into classic superhero thinking I covered my bride with my left arm and then for some reason I still do not understand I did this like the cover of one of those really trashy novels with the groceries now I have no idea what this is going to accomplish we are on the eighth floor of a 12 story hotel I am literally holding up four floors of terrible artwork horrible furniture concrete rebar glass and Matt caught myself what are you doing and I hope my wife clothes and then in a very eerie moment on a Sunday morning in Hawaii a siren started blaring around the islands and this voice comes over a speaker I don't know where the voice came from we are under a tsunami warning at first foot second I wondered if I was to go down in this hotel knowing that I was here for a Eucharistic Congress could this count as martyrdom I'm thinking no but you know like my only shot okay so this point I'm holding her close and and all the emergency lighting goes on and I'm thinking myself okay what do we do what do we do what I do and then then I keep shaking again now the whole building is shaking now at this moment I said a phrase that I never ever in my life said prior and I've never said again and I pray I never will I literally felt this phrase very quietly escaped my lips should I throw my wife out that window hey hey hey hey hey Matthew seven don't judge you weren't there okay but here's the thought you see we were on the eighth floor yes but ten feet off our balcony was the pool now it's eight floors down but it's only ten feet off and you know I like physics and I like sports and my wife's did kind of an itty-bitty thing and I thought to myself if I get enough momentum and I felt my left hand go to her lower back and I started to she's what are you doing is it nothing but I thought to myself if I could just get enough momentum to sort of shot put my wife into the pool and then luckily you know she looked at me in a moment she looked at me and made my stagger and looks at me and I thought oh I'm sorry so we have to get out of here so I grabbed my cell phone I grabbed my wallet my keys throw in shorts we were running downstairs we're in the parking lot everyone on the island tries to use their phones simultaneously all the cell phone towers just explode and now we're sitting there I can't go back inside the hotel we're under tsunami warning the island is still shaking I have keys to a rental car that I can't drive anywhere because everything's shut down there's no power anywhere and now here we are stranded and in a classic moment that only married couples can understand my wife who I had cashed in miles to bring along on our second honeymoon to the Hawaiian Islands during the first earthquake in 26 years looks at me and says why did you bring me here and truthfully and I can't actually corroborate this I'll ask some of the better scriptural minds but I really believe this is why st. Joseph never says a word in Scripture cuz I'll tell you something when you're sitting you're in Nazareth it's a Wednesday it's your turn to offer the blessing before the meal you've got God to your right and you're across in the Immaculate Conception I don't even know so I just silently look to my wife I just said I'm sorry and then I sat down in the parking lot next to this little rental car and I just sort of lost it and I started laughing and a taste of it I was reminded of this very obscure verse that comes from the book of Hebrews and I love Hebrews this is very obscure verse in chapter 12 and it says I will shake you free of all created things check it out I will shake you free of all created things so that all that remains is what is uncreated all that remains is what is uncreated and I thought to myself this is God's version of shake well before using this is great but I'll tell you something I rejoiced in that moment I rejoiced in the Holy Spirit in that moment because I was reminded again the difference between courage and bravery you know sometimes we use the two terms sort of interchangeably when they really are not interchangeable you know bravery this this idea of bravery something's gonna go charging in and I'm never afraid and courage doesn't mean that we're not afraid courage means we refuse to be mastered by fear the word courage any modulae speaking beautiful word cor like cortisone any Spanish bit cortisone Viva La Raza okay chorus encore hearts core and a sure a which means to act so literally quite literally courage properly understood is the willingness to act from your heart and that was rejoicing at that moment one to be alive but - I was rejoicing that moment because the first time in my very self centered self focused self directed very very intensely controlled because I am so anal in such a control freak the first part of my life that I literally had no thought of myself no thought of my own safety the only thing that went through my heart my mind my soul in that moment was protect your bride it was the only thing that I thought of so much so that I was ready to shop put her eight stories but I was so happy because as husband and father it's one thing to stand in a Church of God it's one thing to stand in a delivery room it's one thing to lay down your face your life before a bishop and be ordained it's one thing to serve and to say I love you but when when danger comes when peril comes that's when we see what we're really made of it isn't smooth sailing that that that shows what kind of a sailor you have it's when the storm clouds come in that's what we learn what kind of a sailor we really are it's when the storm clouds come that reveal our true character it's when the difficulties come it's when these battles come that Tim's talking about when we look around in society and say how can you not see this how can you not see this enemy how can you not see this giant how can you not see the situation it's when it's a darkest hour throughout history it's in our darkest hours our darkest cultures that the greatest saints of our church rise and stand and lead and I would be willing to say that we're gonna see some of the greatest Saints our church has ever known come out of this time period right now now they might not look the same they're gonna have more holes and God gave them probably a covered in tattoo ink some of our greatest saints in fact some of our greatest saints the church will ever know are currently atheists how does that for blowing your ID because if Church histories taught us anything God has not done those she bring to keep running but the Shepherd runs faster but see if we have the willingness to act from our heart we have the witness we say I will fight the battle I will stand but we're reminded in Scripture the battle is the Lord's we're a mite in the scripture that he's the one that has to give the marching orders when in Scripture we would march forward into battle without God's anointing without God's timing without his providence without his sovereignty unless it's God who's initiating it we would be defeated so if you like I are sitting saying I'm ready to do this I'm ready to go wouldn't it be great if we could take this whole army of people back to our parish with us the next time that that one in-law that one family member that one friend or neighbor starts kind of spouting off about theology and politics and philosophy and you're thinking I don't know how to respond to you but I've had Tim staples locked up in my closet for two weeks I'm not certain how to respond to you but I bought this I bought the jump drive and I'm gonna let you listen to Scott Hahn explain to you what I want to say to you right now wouldn't that be great if we could just feloniously kidnap all these great minds and take them home with us because there's strength in numbers and we have a huge army we feel we can battle anyone but I don't know about you I'm very very very rarely challenged when I have a sea of brothers and sisters who believe what I believe right behind me you know what the Lord likes to do to me he likes to trap me on a plane next to someone who's a self-proclaimed atheist who hates the church and then say you can't close the door and say it's going to be a four-hour flight that's what the Lord likes to do to me because the Lord has a sense of humor but you see if we have that willingness that courage to act from our heart then we were reminded once again it does not matter if we have this whole army of people beside us because we come here we are more than a series of parishes we are church we are reminded once again that even though we hail from different zip codes did in countries different diocese that were one church and we're marching together even when we're marching separately amen so that'll be easy we can stand up and originally when I was praying about this talk I thought you know what I'm gonna talk about the Battle of Jericho partly because Vacation Bible School was going on I've been hearing that from the back of the car for the last three months and I thought Jericho but then the reality struck me once again that even though we can learn so much in the Battle of Jericho the way the Ark of the Covenant which prefigures our Virgin Mary goes into the Jordan River and water peels back now again reminiscent of the Red Sea peels back again a mile in each direction as the priests are holding the ark and the people of God are gonna enter into the promised land when even only two of those present only Joshua and Caleb even remembered the Red Sea and that God's gonna say that I won't you take these stones I want to remember this moment you better make stones twelve stones in the middle of the riverbed so that every time the water recesses at the time of year you see those as a memorial take stones for your tribe set them over here on the shore so when you look at it you remember here's the problem we have these mountaintop experiences we have these encounter with God experiences here on campus at defending the faith year after years so many of us come and we remember these we remember these moments these moments with God reveals his face through a talk through worship through through networking and community and fellowship we remember these moments but here's what happens three months from now we forget them three months from now we go home and we're facing these fears these anxieties these struggles these same issues some of the same souls that God put in our family because there's no other way we would love them if they weren't and we could forget you see we're a fickle people you know for the for the Jews one of them gravest dangers is to forget that's why constantly throughout the Torah constantly in the Hebrew Scriptures they're being told remember don't forget what you've seen don't forget what you've heard don't forget what you've experienced remember throughout Deuteronomy pass this on to your children remind them so they don't forget we have to hand this on like Tim was saying because if we forget where we came from then we're we're he's gonna be a mess listen to what he says in Deuteronomy take care to earnestly be on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live but teach them to your children and to your children's children don't forget in fact God is so so pointed on this he literally in the midst of offering us his very body blood soul and divinity says do this in what remembrance of me that there's gonna be battles there's gonna be dark times there's gonna be storms are gonna come up and you're gonna need to be anchored to this memory your need to be anchored to this moment because you're gonna need to draw on a courage that exists within yourself that you can't even fathom so often we go to God with I need you to give me more courage God I need you to pour out your grace give me more courage and God's saying I gave you the fullness I gave you everything you need my virtue the sacraments my courage is within you but you know what you're lacking is the willingness to unleash it the willingness to stand when others sit the willingness to stand when others run away even when you're being challenged by someone who's maybe a great mind and they're rifling thoughts that you rifling questions at you about the Catholic faith and maybe you don't know them maybe you can't recount them maybe you can't recount that scripture verse that catechism paragraph that quote from the saint that early church father and your legs begin to shake my brothers and my sisters we are part of the Roman Catholic Church we have people in the communion the smartest and holiest souls that have ever marched the face of this earth and let me remind you even when your knees are shaking on the foundation we have a 2000 year-old rock beneath us and it's not shaking one bit not one not one however in Hawaii I was shaking so what happens when we don't have a whole army with us what happens when it's just you going home and you're facing that giant that danger you're facing that foe that adversary you see when we are fearful we forget what we need to remember we forget what we need to remember and we remember what we need to forget because that's what fear does perfect love casts out fear if I'm walking with the Lord even though I'm walking the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for he is with me Psalm 23 when I'm walking through the valley if I'm walking with the Lord who do I fear we have nothing to fear as it says in Romans nothing because perfect love casts out fear the st. Paul told the people in Corinth so we remember that even in those moments when our foe our adversary is vast my kids love this picture of David and Goliath they just love it and I love that they love it because there's some really really campy artistic renderings of this moment over the years but I love that my kids love this and we'll sit and talk about this and stare at it now asking why do you like this and they're enraptured by the story and there's a reason that this story stands the test of time but here's one of the dangers I think of being Catholic when we hear stories over and over and over again because of the church's wisdom through the cycle of readings maybe because we tire of reading the same stories we try to go to different stories which is wonderful but sometimes what happens I'm not sure it happens to you it happens to me this is why reading mat reading the readings ahead of mass is so important because when we go to Mass we almost go into mental autopilot oh this is the one where the boys got the loaves and the fish and okay I got that one I know how or it's see you see people start digging for their checkbook to start writing their tithe check start perusing the bullet and I know this one goes father it's not exactly a surprise ending okay I've been to Mass every day for the last 52 years I know how this one ends you know and sometimes we miss the details like are you kidding me now outside of the resurrection the loaves and fish is the only miracle story that occurs in all four Gospels but I have to say something there is true comedy genius in this story here's a young lad carrying some loaves with buns some fish walking beside the Sea of Galilee mining his own business he's just carrying his lunch and he gets surrounded by 12 sailors who want to steal his food now we've painted this picture over the years of this heroic young lad in this virtuous moment yes I have merely loaves and fish but I will give them to you he's surrounded by professional sailors what's in the basket I'm not sure he's virtuous I think he's smart here you go so you hear the story as soon as we forget the stories and what happens is if I said David and Goliath we said oh yes that's that's yes that's in the Bible we're in the front I don't want to start naming chapter and verse I want to seem overly pious or anything it's in the front but if I said David and Goliath and you set up naturally because this is a Catholic Bible conference you said first Jam you'll First Samuel Chapter 17 I'd say yes very oh very good and we hear the story the Philistines rally their forces for battle a champion named Goliath of Gath came out from the Philistine camp he was six and a half feet tall a bronze helmet a bronze corselet a scale armor weighing 5000 shekels and we said yes I know this story is that really where the story begins does it begin there on the plains has begin there on the battlefield now if you've never been to the Holy Land I'm sure gonna be you're gonna be invited to attend a pilgrimage I was talking to Jeff at dinner and he had no he take his pilgrimages out here all the time and I said Jeff will you take your pilgrimages do you go to the Valley of Elah he says oh boy do we have those Valley of Elah where the battle takes place between the Israelite army and the Philistine army this is about 10 15 miles or so outside of Bethlehem the birthplace of David the birthplace obviously of our Lord and if you go back in the story before he shows up on the scene we have to understand the scene that for forty days the biggest baddest warrior the Philistine army has been crossing down off the one embankment this is a huge Canyon from top to top probably almost a mile apart the Philistine camp on the south end on an embankment a ravine in the middle the Israelites on the north end he's been coming down he's been mocking and blaspheming their God for forty days and for forty nights he's been challenging any man to come down and to enter into one-on-one combat with him and everyone in the Israel Army is standing pat because that's what fear does it makes us stand still faith moves you fear makes you stand still and they stood still for forty days and for forty nights now David does not show up on the scene to pick a fight David shows up on the scene because he's told to bring his lunch to his brothers to bring their lunch so he travels out there he shows up on the scene and this has been going on for 40 days and when David walks up onto the scene he hears what's going on he says this is not right are you kidding me who's this guy think he is junior how he's talking about dad he can't talk about my dad like that he can't talk about my god like that but it says David was a man after God's own heart that intimacy was real and true and here you have young David and when we pick up the story we pick it up right there in the battlefield but here's the beauty of scripture and the importance of context this story does not begin on the battlefield this story begins chapter earlier in David's father's house in Jesse's house because when Jesse sent or what God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint the new king because Saul has stopped walking with the Lord when he sends into the house of Jesse we learned something about the mind in the heart of God Jesse brings out his seven older sons he lines them all up Samuel oh this is a good-looking guy he's got to be the one he's gonna be the new King he'd look great in the crown not him well I like this one he's got to look at purple and really bring out his hair this guy's gonna be a good King keep moving how about this one number three he's probably he's probably overcompensating probably really smart just get all the attention is old Rahab this guy right here this we can do this all day Samuel until young David is called in from the very hills that the Shepherd's are most likely called in from the time of Jesus's birth and we're reminded again listen to what it says in four Samuel 16:7 but the Lord said to Samuel do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature because I have rejected him not as man sees does God see because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart for God does not see as man sees because man judges by the exterior appearance but the Lord judges the heart and then he's anointed this is liturgical and sacramental language it's only after that anointing that David's gonna end up being called out to the battlefield sent out to the battlefield he's really going to surf so he's going to serve in obedience to his father hands up on the battlefield that sets the stage why is it so important because when David shows up and he seems indignant as to why isn't anybody challenging this Philistine why are we letting this man say these things he says I'll go fight him he goes to Saul I'll fight him and Soulstice you can't fight him look at you you're a youth he's been fighting since his youth did you see what Saul did he judged by what the exterior appearance he looked at David and went nope but you know what David did David looked across the valley of a lie-down towards the other embankment he didn't see a giant David only had one giant he was named God David looked at a giant know what he saw a dwarf an obstacle a problem and this is how this is the only thing you can think of listen to the gall of this 16 year old and I want you to think of Goliath right now picture the biggest baddest Navy SEAL someone who flosses with barbed wire right who wakes up doing push-ups ok Goliath and then little teenage David you know all they can operate a slingshot he's a musician he's hanging out in the hills you know just kind of strumming the lyre right strumming the harp listen to what he says this is so absolutely insane Saul answered David you cannot go to fight this Philistine listen to what Goliath is when he'd size David up and seen that he was a youth youthful and ruddy and handsome he held him in contempt the Philistine said to David am i a dog that you would come up against me with staff then the Philistine cursed David by his gods and said to him come here to me and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field listen to the teenager response I'm thinking with the d-backs hell on a roll of the eyes but that's just me David answered him you come against me with sword and spear but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted this is so good today the Lord shall deliver you into my hand I will strike you down and cut off your head this very day I will leave your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God this is the biblical equivalent of let's get it on all you need is a ringmaster this one let's get ready are you kidding me this is the best but this is again why context is so important because when we go back to the story remember I said there's two embankments that head into that Canyon there's a clue before David speaks in verse nine of First Samuel 17 it says why have you come out Goliath why have you come out in battle formation I'm a Philistine and your Saul servants choose one of your men and have him come down to me so for forty days and forty nights he's been standing heckling mocking you might say to yourself mark this is great but what does it really have to do with my battle because last time I checked live at going to our lady of the cul-de-sac here in Ohio I don't remember a Philistine standing across the street I don't recall having to dodge a Philistine or an Amalekite to get to the pew on Sunday morning mark I want you to take a moment with me I want you to close your eyes for a second I want you to ask God where does the majority of your prayer and your energy go to what person to what situation what are the fears the anxieties the stresses what are those what are those hems on the robes of the false God that we keep clutching every day out of fear out of desire to control out of fear of surrender what are those hems that we keep grasping for every day is it past guilt past shame for sins indeed we've we've been reconciled but we haven't forgiven ourself or is it just current stress health money family is it future anxieties how is this gonna turn out how is this gonna end is it that one family member that you've been on your knees that you've rolled so many rosary beads over your fingers and you're beginning to lose hope and spouse that child that grandchild is it just looking at the horizon of his culture and seeing how dark and bleak and seemingly hopeless it is what is that giant that giant that you wake up with every morning that you feel heckling you that giant that the enemy uses to go after your joy to go after your hope what is the battle in the war not the great battle in the war but the personal battle in the war that you wake up and you wage war and you fight daily that you're constantly bringing to the Lord in prayer maybe you've surrendered maybe you haven't whatever that giant has asked the Lord to reveal what that giant is to you and then we move on after Goliath has been taunting them send your man down you know what happens in verse 25 the Israelites after forty days and forty nights say this then the Israelites started to say have you seen this man coming up he comes up to insult Israel do you notice the difference you see for 40 days they let the Giant have his way for 40 days they let the giant preach fear and so fear and then on the 41st day he starts to come up into their camp see because that's what bullies do that's what Giants do that's what fears do is that if you don't go deal with your fears your fears will come and deal with you if you don't go deal with your Giants your Giants will come and deal with you if I don't go deal with my Giants they'll come and deal with me those stresses addictions fears anxieties those things we refuse to hand over to God there's things that we think we can fight on our own those moments that we feel like such failures when we tend to forget all that all the moments that God's moved in our life all the encounters all those times that God has shown his faithfulness we forget those times and we're facing our giant we only remember our failures we go back and we kick ourselves because of what I should have done or could have done with my child my grandchild we go back and we rest on those failures instead of trusting in God's promise instead of remembering as God instructs us to do my brothers are my sisters if you don't do with your Giants your Giants will come and deal with you and this is something that I've had to learn you know the hard way that's the beauty of the sacrament the sacraments gonna grow you in ways that you would never desire to grow yourself ever that's the beauty of it the sacrament roots out all that is human and leaves only what is divine it roots out all that stuff inside of us that's not of God it brings it to the surface when my wife and I go do marriage prep the couples will say you're gonna go through a lot of battles but you have to understand that you're gonna have to fight side-by-side you're gonna go through battles and everything that's right about your relay ship everything that's right what God sends you children gets better oh it gets better but boy everything that's wrong what God sends you those little saint making machines it's gonna get exposed it's gonna get harder you see I don't know what your battles are I don't know what your Giants are I know what mine are and I know that we is one battle one family one army we're all fighting side-by-side but you see unless you and I are willing to face our own giants fight our own battles we can't talk about a larger battle plan the marching orders that God really gives to you is come walk with me come walk with me that's the marching order that's the battle plan you need to be in relationship with me intimate relationship with me sacramental relationship with me so that when you are standing across the battlefield when you're falling on your knees in prayer and you're realizing these things that you're struggling with that you're afraid of you remember that I am bigger than those we don't tell God how big our problems are we tell our problems how big our God is that's how we were victorious so we've seen what we're up against but they don't know how big her God is those that have these ideas those are perpetrate these ideas we all have a voice we are looking for that what can I do what's the next thing I do and certainly we need to get into the public square we need to exercise our voting our voice we need to stand in truth we need to come to things like this and be illuminating not only mentally but be strengthened in solidarity solidarity as it says in the Catechism is an eminently Christian virtue you know what tolerances tolerance this Chesterton said is the virtue of those who have lost their conviction tolerance is the virtue of those who have lost conviction but solidarity that's a Christian virtue and we can march forward separate but united but so you'd be so much easier stand and say what's the battle plan what do I have to do what do I have to do and what God's gonna say to you is use what I've given you use the sacraments come to me David had five smooth stones he removed from the riverbed what are your five smooth stones is it daily Mass it's adoration is it just is it Lexi oh is it the rosary five smooth stones to take down any giant five wounds of Christ five decades of the Rosary I'll tell you something I'm coming to believe more and more as a parent this is the most important thing I can hand on to my kids that when we pray the rosary this is a declaration of war on evil this is a declaration of war on evil what what preceded the Israelite army before he went into Jericho the Ark of the Covenant which is that prefigurement the Blessed Virgin Mary and sometimes we have it in our heads that the helmet is such a nice prayer but the rosary is such a nice prayer and it is a nice prayer but you know what it is it's a dangerous prayer because someone who praised the rosary they're a dangerous dangerous soul to the evil one now amen amen now when the angel comes to Mary full of grace we've never heard that before we've never heard that in all of Scripture but when they said we hear blessed are you among women that actually has hasn't has a precedent from Scripture then we hear blessed are you among women we remind to go back to the book of Judges and Jael now the enemy Sisera is coming he's fleeing from Deborah and the Israelites he's fleeing and as he gets to her tent she offers a man come in come in and he's hiding in the tent the enemy leader while all God's army is in pursuit and after he falls asleep Jael this humble meek woman takes a tent peg and drives it through his skull destroying the enemy and you know they say to jail blessed are you among all women and then we fast forward to Judith with John Paul's who wrote about his great parable go forward to Judith and if you've ever been to the Sistine Chapel before you've seen this but if you go forward to Judith Judith goes into the tent of Holofernes and she seduces him she gets him drunk and after he falls asleep what does Judith do takes his sword lops off his head and the other they say to Judith blessed are you among women twice in the Old Testament these humble courageous women act out against evil and they're said blessed are you among women and then we fast-forward to the beautiful virgin in Nazareth blessed are you among women because your yes is going to bring life and it's gonna destroy death that you were gonna be so filled with grace that your yes is going to bring life my brother's my sisters each and every time we ask the Virgin Mary to pray with us each and every time we look through this lens we view life through this lens we go from hopelessness to hopeful in an instant to have these beautiful images of these humble and heroic women to say yes what do they say yes to why were they so courageous because they were acting from their heart exhibiting true courage I'm going to act from my heart God and how do you and I act from our heart when you and I every single day refuse to be mastered by our Giants refused to stand frozen in fear and instead move forward in faith if our marching order is to come and follow me if the divine invitation is to come and be with me to come and have this intimate relationship with me it's not gonna be easy and sometimes it's gonna feel good and here's the problem because we are all like just these big slabs of marble hard-headed hard hearted hard willed for some of us were a really big slab now outside of a Cathedral in Florence for three decades there was this piece of rock called the giant no artist knew what to do with it because the first one that tried to chisel it to sculpt it put a hole right through the middle of it and they looked at this huge piece of marble it was 18 feet tall it was six tons it's at forgotten outside of a Cathedral in Florence for decades artists would look at it survey it nobody knew what to do with it until the early 16th century when a young upstart named Michelangelo saw it and he turned it into David you see in the hands of the Creator the giant becomes the giant-slayer if we allow God daily to refine us to chip away at us to chisel away at us we say how does he do that each and every time you and I go before the god of the universe at Mass you can almost hear the Potter and clay the sculptor on marble going tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink just carving away those rough edges if the people of Nazareth taught us anything it's that the God of the universe could be right in front of you and you might not even recognize them which is why so many of our friends and family members still don't see it because maybe they're hardened hearts your souls reminds like marble right now but my brother's my sisters the more you and I avail ourselves the more we run to the carpenter the more we seek for him to chisel away those rough edges through the sacrament of reconciliation the more that we put our that holy water we remember how blessed we are that someone claimed us that someone brought us into the church the more we remember that this is the highest possible affirmation God could give us if he could give us something better he would but there's nothing better than himself is there any higher affirmation that God can give in to say not only do I think so highly of you I wish to dwell on you and by virtue of my sacraments I'm gonna unleash the hidden greatness of your soul that you don't need another Pentecost for the spirit to fall upon you what you really need is to have that surrender to me to allow the spirit the strength the courage that exists within you to be unleashed into this world in the unleash in this culture of darkness that so badly needs it to come before me once again in total humility not just seeking to have your minds illuminated but to have your souls altered on my altar to come before me to say I don't know what to do next God and even though I walk through the valley of elah or the valley of the shadow of death I'm not gonna fear because I know you're with me I know as long as I have you beside me and as long as I have you within me I cannot be conquered and I will not falter because you know my name and you carved it in your hand that's why Jesus looks into Luke daddy says look don't don't rejoice because of everything you do in the father's name rejoice because your names are written in heaven don't rejoice because of all the great things you do at your parish and your diocese those are all tremendous he says that's not we should be rejoicing about you should be rejoicing not because of what you do in God's name be rejoicing because the father knows yours and he calls you by name because true love works for salvation and God is ready to work on you again the danger of this is that it seems like preaching to the choir sometimes you're pursuing God you're seeking God you're out into the boat you're putting out into the deep especially in comparison to a lot of the people that we might see you're know in our lives and you know what God's saying again today how much further will you go how much holier will you become how holy will you let me make you will you let me unleash the hidden greatness of you we let me continue to chisel away those rough edges to make you a saint because my brother's my sisters that is how we're gonna win this war that we become Saints that we become Saints that we allow God to make us Saints that is the antidote to this cancer that is the weapon of mass destruction our sainthood will destroy evil our yes to God will usher in and declare war on evil the same way the Virgin Mary's did my brothers and my sisters we don't need any more we just have to tap into and take advantage of what he's already given us as prey many when the father does song the Holy Spirit amen Lord Jesus Christ son of the Living God have mercy on us for we are sinners and though lord we are sinners you constantly look through our unworthiness and you declare worth god that you affirm us beyond comprehension seek saying I seek to dwell within you but you are my son you are my daughter that there is no giant no battle no war no stress no anxiety in this world but is stronger than my love for you that can separate you for me I'm gonna pray especially right now for any of those souls in this room that had better in despair that have lost hope for the conversion of a family member a friend for salvation a child or a grandchild but you claim that and that you have spelled out in the name of Jesus Christ because there is always hope in our Lord that we will never ever ever give up that as long as God has placed air within your lungs that he should play soul within your soul that he is actively working for their salvation and Lord God we pray right now for any of our souls who have grown timid or weary or fearful or God that you would unleash your spirit within us that we would act from the heart then we would have the courage to work not only for our own salvation God to allow you to make us Saints but to champion in unison with your holy spirit for others though God thank you for the gift of your church the gift of your word the gift of you want mother married st. Joseph in a special way we ask that you would pray with us when we pray and pray for us when we don't reminding us that we need you God that we need you not only to be a teacher or to be a healer but God we need you to be our Saviour to come and save us again because this battle belongs to you Lord and where you go we will follow we praise your name Jesus we thank you Jesus we praise you

Channel: Steubenville Conferences

Views: 14,617

Rating: 4.7990866 out of 5

Keywords: Steubenville Conferences, Catholic, Franciscan University, Catholic Ministry, New Evangelization

Id: sPUVu39A2EE

Length: 46min 27sec (2787 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 19 2014