Fast Fridays: 30 Minutes for God

Welcome to "Fast Fridays," weekly gathering by videoconference for reminder that God is in our life -- even on a Friday evening.

We will take thirty minutes Fridays 6:00-6:30 to refresh, enliven and re-dedicate ourselves to God.

It is "fast" because we will spend no more than 30 minutes, and because your host, Michael Bromley, fasts on Fridays.

• The discussions are not apologetics -- we're not here to argue or defend one belief or another; we are here to celebrate the faith we bring to one another;
• The discussions are not catechism; but they will be led by my experience and point of view as a Catholic, as well as to draw from the Catechism of the Catholic Church;
• Here for where the idea came from: Fast Fridays: How it got started;
• Fasting serves as a penance for sins, reminder of our dependance upon God, and to "help us acquire mastery over our instincts" (CCC 2043).

Sign up for Fast Fridays Click here to join the Mailing list, which will remind you about the Meetings, give a recap of the prior week's discussion, and provide you with the MS Teams URL to join the Discussion

God bless, and I hope you will join us!

- Michael

Friday, Aug 23: Avoiding Sin

Last Friday we defined sin as "separation from God." Given so, then avoidance of sin requires proximity with God.

Jesus teaches us how to avoid sin:

The "occasion of sin"

In the Beatitudes, Jesus advises that we avoid sin by distancing ourselves from it. In what seems harsh advice, in Mt 5:29-30, he says,

"If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”

The "occasion of sin" is that moment, location, situation, or disposition

Prayer

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus tells the sleeping Peter, John and James, Mk 14:38:

"Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

If we have time, we may also discuss the different types and terminologies of sin (venial, grave, mortal, etc.)

Friday, Aug 16: Sin

We discussed the Father and the implications of both a living God and a God who is "Our Father." It's stunning to even think about.

Yet, very little do we think about our relationship with the Father -- if we did, we wouldn't sin, now would we?

Would you, for example, do that in front of God? Uhh, yes already are doing that in front of the Father, we're just pretending he's not there.

When I was little, I had a strange notion that I was being watched every minute of the day. I never recall being comforted by the thought, but I do distinctly recall growing into the notion that it'd be really embarrassing if someone were actually watching me all day. From there, I just forgot about it. Much easier that way.

To ask people what is “sin” is to enter the fascinating world of self-justification and rationalization. Have you ever defined “sin” yourself, or for yourself?

Let's discuss!

Agenda:

• sin definition
• a fallen world
• sinful by default ("you have to opt-in to Jesus")
• types of sin
• the Cross'

Discussion Aug 16:

Sin is:

• breaking away from God = going opposite direction from God

• following natural impulses,

• it's easier

fixing it?

• bring yourself to God

• something to expect on the other side

• so don't have to expect

• "if you don't expect much from this world, then you'll be pleasantly pleased when you get to the next"

discussed:

• eye of the needle = not a needle but a passage/threshold for animals for sale in ancient Israel

• sell everything and follow me
  • D: can't just stay at home and pray
  • God wants us to do things
  • in the things we do we

Joan of Arc: if God wills it

Friday, Aug 9: Confirmation bias

We have been thinking over what it means to be "childlike" in terms of being believing in a -- the Father, which as we encountered over the last two weeks is the essence of childhood.

We will briefly review the last two weeks' thoughts, with this addition about "the Father" and "Our Father"

• Note: the Old Testament speaks of the 'living God" (as we discussed about the "Jesus prayer", "son of the living God") but not of "the Father," to whom the Son introduces us. God's revelation is incremental and must accommodate our biases and sinful nature (which we will discuss today). However, there is a hint in Exodus, as God calls Israel his "first born son" (Ex 4:22: "So you will say to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD: Israel is my son, my firstborn.")

This week we will encounter the things that get our intellect in the way of our childlike faith, including

• concupiscence
• limits of reason
• Three-fold sins, sins of
  • the flesh
  • the eyes
  • pride

How we separate ourselves from childhood when we sin, as if we are the Father.

casuistry

• = self-deception through insincere reasoning or sophistry
• from CCC 579:

This principle of integral observance of the Law not only in letter but in spirit was dear to the Pharisees. By giving Israel this principle they had led many Jews of Jesus' time to an extreme religious zeal. This zeal, were it not to lapse into "hypocritical" casuistry, could only prepare the People for the unprecedented intervention of God through the perfect fulfillment of the Law by the only Righteous One in place of all sinners.

scripture to consider

We have been discussing Matthew 11:25 and the confirmation bias of the pharisees that led them, even though "wise and learned" to hide God from themselves. God does not hide things from us: instead, what we don't see is hidden, hidden by our concupiscence and biases

• • The easiest example in scripture is when the pharisees see a plain miracle by Jesus and then complain he did it on the sabbath, as in
    • Matthew 11:6, Matthew 12:2, Mark 3:2,
  • or when Jesus goes home and was rejected by the people he grew up with: Luke 4:15
  • the Apostles, too, are blind to the Lord before them (many examples)
• But the Lord himself warns us directly about not seeing him. In the quasi-parable of the "Judgment of the Nations" (Mt 25:31-46), Jesus tells of the Son of Man "upon his glorious throne," sorting out the goats from the sheep, and tells the goats, Jesus tells "those on the right" (the sheep),

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'

Then "the righteous" sent to the left (the goats) will protest

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

The limits of their reason, they biases and sinful state kept them from seeing God in every brother and sister.

Session recap

We did a little catching up for a new member, and so reviewed the ideas of the last couple weeks regarding "the Living God", "the Father," "Childlike," and "Wings of Faith", all of which were the foundation of our discussion tonight.

Childlike = having a father, thus when we are arrogant and "independent" we are actually orphaning ourselves from God.

Another big idea was that God is everywhere, and puts no limits upon us -- we place those limits upon ourselves. So when God "hides" knowledge from the wise and the learned, he is not hiding it from them, they are unable to see it due to their arrogance and pride. The "childlike," instead, are open and curious and so can see what Jesus was showing them. This brings up a question: can someone be only childlike in faith and have no reason? No!! That's called my dog. The Lord wants us to reason, he just wants us to reason

We discussed how, as the sense of pain signals danger, God's "curses" are not imposed by him but upon ourselves. God didn't punish Adam and Eve -- by disobeying God they punished themselves.

We wrapped up discussing how our "concupiscence" and pride get in the way of seeing one another as brothers and sisters, all of us as children of God.

Friday, Aug 2: "Childlike" (Matthew 11:25)

Continuing with the idea of "Our Father" as well as Matthew 11 and Luke 10, we will discuss the what it means to be "childlike" -- i.e. to have a father. Here for my blog post on Matthew 11:25: Blog:Salvation is for the "childlike"? Matthew 11:25

When approaching Scripture, we quickly encounter the limits of reason. For example, Matthew 11:25 has confounded me:

At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." (Mt 11:25)

Without trying to be ironic, it makes no sense to me that only the "childlike" can see God. Well, if it says it, it says it, and we just have to go with it -- we can call these the "mysteries". However, we mustn't surrender reason. Stay at it, try to understand, for the more powerful our reason, the stronger our faith.

Using the Two Wings of Truth: Reason and Faith

See Two Wings of Truth: gifts of faith and reason

Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves - Saint Pope John Paul II

DNA / Reproduction

• DNA teaches us the nature and purpose of reproduction: maintaining the health of the species; self-correction of mutation; encoding inherent knowledge and/or behaviors
  • Socrates on reincarnation: The Slave Boy Experiment in Plato's 'Meno' (thoughtco.com)
    • he understood innate knowledge ("all learning is recollection")
    • but could not explain it other than through reincarnation
  • DNA carries knowledge across generations

"childlike"

• What "childlike" faith is: trusting, loving, in awe of, obedient
• What "childlike" faith is not: unthinking, simplistic, unlearned, unwise

The way to understand Matthew 11:25 is that "childlike" doesn't mean simplistic, unthinking, it means having a father. The implications of accepting a father are huge! See my post on Salvation is for the "childlike"? Matthew 11:25 for some views of what it means to accept the Father.

Note: Christ is Son of God; we are God's adopted children

• does that make sense?
• let your Wing of Faith fly on that one!

Prodigal children

Childlike
believing
trusting
adoring
faithful

Tempted by the snake, Adam and Eve gave up our inheritance as children of God, so, like the Prodigal Son, we must come back groveling to the Father.

• Prodigal son:
  • he wanted the inheritance now
  • he looked at the now and not at the eternal
  • he partied it up: me, me, me
  • destitution broke his pride and he returned in humility

Friday, July 26: the Living God

Friday, July 26, we discussed the idea of a "Living God" -- we take it for granted today that our God is "living" and "personal" -- these are not obvious concepts to the ancient world, for whom the notion of "Our Father" was unthinkable. (Even some modern religions find the idea of a "living" and "personal" God abhorrent.)

The "living God" is expressed in the "Jesus prayer," which was used similarly to today's Rosary prayers as a meditative prayer. In fact, beads were used to count recitations of the Jesus prayer, which might be recited 100 times or more at a time.

The "Jesus prayer"

Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

"The living God"

• what a "living God" is not:
  • an object or statue
  • ritualism and superstition
    • those are forms of idolatry, which means placement of anything above God.
• what a "living God" is:
  • present
  • personal

When we kneel before an altar, or pray with a Cross, it is not idolatrous, as we are praying to a representation of the living God and not an object which is seen as a god unto itself. (The Eucharist and transubstantiation is different, but we did not discuss that.)

Our Father

• contemplating "Our Father"

We discussed how, when Jesus gave us the "Our Father" prayer he was changing our relationship to God, instructing us that we, collectively, have a Father in Heaven, and we are his children if we so choose.

To the ancient world, the notion that God was "the Father" was shocking. The "Desert Fathers and Mothers" were early Christians who escaped worldly attentions to live in isolated prayer in the lands outside of Alexandria, Egypt, and in the Holy Lands. One Desert Mother was so firmly moved by the notion of "Our Father," that should would spend three days sobbing in gratitude and wonder over those two words -- and she could never make it through the Our Father prayer!

Btw, here for the "Seven petitions" in the Our Father prayer. (Protestants refer to it as "Lord's Prayer": it is the same.)

Christ reveals the Father

Matthew 11:25-27

At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

Luke 10:21-22

At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

We had a wonderful first Fast Fridays! discussion. Thank you so much for attending, and for thoughtful, inspirational discussion. Michael blew it on one thing: we didn't open or close with prayer! That will happen going forward.