Catholic Latte

Reflecting on this weekend’s Gospel (Mt 16:13-20) about Jesus and Peter at Caesarea Philippi, Fr. Eric reflects on the Biblical basis for the teaching authority of the Pope and bishops in the context of the Catholic Church. Issues discussed include the importance of both Scripture and Tradition, the need to become familiar with the entirety of the Bible, and the principle of infallibility.
Other topics include the responsibility of the teaching office of the Church to govern with a keen sense of stewardship in Jesus’ place, and how to respond to our fears about the mantle of divine authority being entrusted to the frailty of the human condition.
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On the surface, Jesus appears to be uncharacteristically mean to the Canaanite woman who is the primary subject in this weekend’s Gospel (Mt 15:21-28), particularly in how He denies repeatedly her requests for Him to heal her daughter. However, Fr. Eric discusses how the Lord’s various refusals to this woman’s petitions are intended collectively to lead her away from a misconstrued and misguided conception of who He is and what it means to be in right relationship with Him; and thereby guide her into a deeper stance of intimacy with Him.
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Reflecting on this weekend’s Gospel (Mt 14:22-33), Fr. Eric shows how Jesus leads us often into the midst of storms as a means of preparing us to give witness to the reality of Christ as Lord and Savior.
Other topics include Christ’s total dominion over the forces of evil and wickedness in the world, the need to become fully convicted of our need for salvation in Christ, the fact that our salvation in Christ appears often precisely when we find ourselves on the brink of destruction, and the theological significance of the Paschal Mystery.
Fr. Eric also reflects on the Lord’s exhortation not to give into fear or panic based on the fact that He is Lord and Savior, Christ’s loving attention to those who have the courage to give themselves completely to His purposes, and the distinction between worldly perceptions of success and failure as opposed to seeing these things from a divine perspective.
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Reflecting on this weekend’s Gospel (Mt 14:13-21), Fr. Eric shows how the great miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish helps us to delve deeper into the mystery of Christ. Topics include how the true nature of Christian charity, Old Testament anticipations of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, the Lord’s concern with the totality of the human person, Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
 
Fr. Eric also reflects on the modern decline in reverence and belief in the Holy Eucharist, and how we might seek to turn things around on a local level through our sense of personal witness.
 
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This weekend’s Gospel (Mt 13:44-52) closes off a series of seven parables in the Gospel of Matthew dealing with the subject of the Kingdom of God, including the Parables of the Sower (13:1-23), the Weeds and the Wheat (13:24-30), the Mustard Seed (13:31-32), the Leavened Bread (13:33), the Hidden Treasure (13:44), the Pearl of Great Price (13:45-46) and the Net Cast Into the Sea (13:47-52).
 
Focusing on the final three parables, Fr. Eric speaks about the importance of being a person of infinite desires and self-gift as a prerequisite to obtain the fullness of the divine life, and the willingness to rest in Christ as a sign of recognizing His importance and centrality. Other topics include the nature of the Final Judgment, and the need to pass on the deposit of faith with integrity and responsibility.
 
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Focusing on this weekend’s Gospel (Mt 13:24-43), Fr. Eric expounds upon the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat (Mt 13:24-30), the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mt 13:31-32) and the Parable of the Leavened Bread (Mt 13:33) to articulate what the Lord teaches us about preparing for the end times.  Topics include the need to acknowledge that our time here on this earth is necessarily a time of pilgrimage and spiritual warfare, the Lord’s confidence in the good in this world to triumph ultimately over that which is evil, and the need to prioritize a healthy respect for the natural process of development and growth over a desire to be perfect right away.
Other topics include the invitation to be small and hidden; the importance of the interior life when it comes to cooperating with God’s transformative grace; and the significance of seeing the end times as  a time of harvest and completion, as opposed to an arbitrary end of all things.
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Even though the primary focus of today’s Gospel (Mt 13:1-23) is the Parable of the Sower, Fr. Eric focuses on the issue raised by Our Lord in the middle of the Gospel, where He address the question as to why He speaks in parables to begin with (Mt 13:11-15). Fr. Eric discusses the importance of reading the parables with humility, docility and obedience; rather than trying to achieve a certain mastery or synthesis with regards to who God is and what He’s all about. Other topics include Jesus’ great miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6:31-44; Lk 9:12-17; and Jn 6:1-14); and the need to read the parables from the perspective of an intentional disciple, rather than the wise and intelligent.
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Rather than delve into a lengthy exegesis of this weekend’s Gospel (Mt 11:25-30), Fr. Eric focuses on the first half of the opening line, where the Lord says: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.”  Topics discussed include the singularity of purpose that Christ has in seeking the glory of His Father, which we are called to imitate in our aspirations towards authentic Christian discipleship.
The example of Our Lady of Lourdes is used to show how we are called to emphasize the primacy of being over doing in our worship of the Lord.  Fr. Eric also references the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to emphasize how we’re called in a sacramental way to participate in the work of salvation by uniting the sacrifice of our lives to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, thereby underlying the significance of aligning our sense of being and purpose with the person and mission of Christ.
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One of the more tricky concepts in the spiritual life is how to actively trust in the Lord.  We know intuitively that we’re supposed to allow God to carry the day; but what does that mean for us, practically speaking? Fr. Eric reflects on the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-23; Mk 4:1-20; and Lk 8:4-15) to illustrate some key principles that we might observe in our practice of actively trusting in Christ, focusing especially on the various ways in which we tend to inhibit the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 
Topics discussed include the significance of guarding our hearts in the sense of being mindful of how different activities affect our interior sense of peace and recollection, the danger of having a superficial faith built on religious experience and emotional highs, and the importance of not allowing ourselves to get so caught up in the things of this world that we have nothing left for the things of God.
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At first glance, today’s Gospel (Mt 10:37-42) might seem like an angry diatribe on the part of Our Lord; whereas, in reality, Jesus is offering us a relationship of real love, intimacy and friendship. In the aftermath of yesterday’s priestly ordinations in the Archdiocese of Toronto, Fr. Eric discusses Christ’s self-revelation as God; His desire to be involved in the intimate details of our lives; and the exhortation to share in His mission by taking up our part of the one salvific, redemptive Cross which has been reserved exclusively for us.
Other topics include the proper relationship between master and disciple, as exemplified by the image of Jesus and St. Simone of Cyrene (Mk 15:21-22; Mt 27:32; Lk 23:26); and the reality that the ultimate “reward” for our troubles is intimacy with Christ, which itself is the essence of holiness.
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