The Pelosi Heresy

Far too often in the public sphere, we have seen this watered-down, tamed, and inert kind of Catholicism, most recently with Hilary Clinton choosing Time Kaine as her running mate. Tim Kaine claims to be a "traditional Catholic" who is "personally pro-life." Of course, he doesn't let that interfere with his legislative career. Kaine is a firm supporter of a woman's right to chose, better known as a woman's right to kill - he has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood, a gold star from the murder industry. Though it has not been as publicized, Kaine is also a staunch supporter of gay "marriage." What kind of Catholic is this?

Among other names he deserves to be called (spineless flip-flopper among them), Tim Kaine is a Pelosi Catholic. I choose the name Pelosi simply because the former Speaker of the House is one of the mots prominent of this type of Catholic, though there are others: Biden, John Kerry, and the late Ted Kennedy just to name a few.

Their error is both grave and scandalous; they believe that it is possible to separate your private life from your public life, to be a faithful Catholic at Mass but a partisan abortion promoter in Congress.

This doesn't work. Christ tells us that "No man can serve two masters.... You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24), or in this case you cannot serve both God and party. One or the other will end up being your priority. And I am not saying that this problem is limited to the Democrats. Many Catholics who operate in the public sphere, regardless of their political affiliation, are guilty of this. But the issue here is that these Catholics are in such prominent positions and flaunt such flagrant contradictions. When the New York Times writes articles like "In Pelosi, Strong Catholic Faith and Abortion Rights Coexist," the faithful must respond.

We are not simply condemning a sin. We are proclaiming to the world that this is not Catholicism!

In times past, we would have called such a trend a heresy.

It is a heresy because you cannot separate what you believe from how you live. There's that famous quote of St. Francis, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." And this is the truth. Will people be inspired by your faith if you leave it on your lips and it never reaches your hands? How often did Jesus rebuke the Pharisees for merely sermonizing instead of authentically living their faith.

A popular excuse from people like Tim Kaine is that they don't want to impose their views on others. Sure I think abortion is murder, but I'm not going to interfere if someone else makes that their choice. But that is not consistent with the Message of the Gospel! Jesus imposed His views on others *gasp. When He saw the adulterous woman about to be stoned, Our Lord did not shrug His shoulders and rationalize that while He was personally opposed to this punishment, it would be intolerant of Him to try to stop it. No, Jesus stepped in front of the raised stones and rebuked the self-righteous condemnation of the crowd. Neither did Jesus allow the woman to continue in her sinful ways, accepting her different "lifestyle." After sending the crowd away, Jesus said to her "Go, and now sin no more" (John 8:11). That is not tolerance, that is love.

It is impossible to build a wall between your private faith and your public life.

While I cannot speak for Kaine, Pelosi, or any of the rest of their equivocating ilk, it does appear tht they are only Catholic when it looks good. Our country has not yet fallen so far that being a person of faith does not look good, just so long as that faith remains uncontroversial. Tim Kaine did a fair amount of mission work in his youth, and that ought to be applauded. And the truth of the matter is, that looks good. But the masses and the media and the party officials have decided that the right to have an abortion and gay "marriage" ought to be as sacred as the name of God. Hence Pelosi Catholics, despite the word "Catholic," are both abortion promoters and foes of traditional marriage. And complicity in the murderous evil of abortion blots out a whole lot of good.

Is this really Christianity? Faithful when it's convenient, pagan when it's not?

Father David Knight writes in His Way (a book that I can't recommend enough) that this is instead what he calls civil religion. "Civil religion is a religion whose morality is simply a reflection or an echo of what the 'nice' people in one's culture think, say and do." And that is what Pelosi Catholicism amounts to.

The scandal of this Pelosi heresy is great because of their position and power. Think about what good could be done if we had a truly faithful Catholic vice-president! God does not expect a lower standard of Catholicism from those in power. "And unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required" (Luke 12:48). Children and even some adults look up to people in power. They become role-models. What message does it send our youth if abortion activism appears to "coexist" with the Catholic faith? It is these heretics who lend credence to the idea that support for traditional marriage is merely something for "conservative Catholics." Once more from the Gospel of Luke, we read that "It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin" (Luke 17:2). Woe to those who lead others into sin by their examples!

Of course, this rebuke is not limited to those with Secret Service details. Each and every one of us, myself most certainly included, must reflect upon our lives and ensure that there is no contradiction between our private faith and our public lives. Embrace the fullness of the Gospel! Catholicism is not a la carte. We cannot pick and choose. Being Catholic means that we also have to follow those teachings of Christ that we might not necessarily want to, those that make us uncomfortable, and even those that hurt a little like loving your enemy or praying for those who persecute you.

Remember that pretty much every one of us is an example for someone else whether we are a manager, a teacher, a parent, or even an older sibling. Your life is not just your own. Make sure that your conduct leads others, particularly the vulnerable, towards God instead of towards sin and bondage.

Brothers and sisters make your faith controversial! Counter the message that certain high-profile Catholics are sending. We are not of the world and so it is only natural for the world to hate us. If you're living comfortably in your faith in the midst of the world, chances are you're doing it wrong.

Deus Vult!

The Problem with Protestantism

Since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has become more open to ecumenism. She has begun a dialogue with a variety of Christian denominations, most notably the Anglicans and Lutherans in an attempt to find common doctrinal ground. While this communication is very good in itself, and we should certainly pray that fallen-away congregations might once more be united in Mother Church, we must also be aware of the message that this can send, particularly to the youth. Unfortunately, this dialogue can be interpreted as approval rather than bride-building. Particularly in this age of moral relativism, people have come under the impression that any group just so long as it is Christian, or even just religious, will lead them to salvation.

But that is a lie. The Catholic Church is one as we profess in the Creed. There is no other Church. All other faiths are just a shadow of the Truth, they might contain a semblance, but never the whole thing. 

There is but one Church. We read in the Vatican II document Lumen gentium that the Church is the "instrument for the salvation of all" (LG 9.2). The Catechism states that the Sacrament of Baptism is "necessary for salvation" for all who have heard the Gospel message (CCC 1257).

We are playing a very dangerous game when we are not clear about the Truth that other Christian denominations are not just another path to salvation among many.

Ever since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of the Wittenberg cathedral in a supreme act of pride, Protestant denominations have been multiplying like, well, like Catholics. Including all the different separations within the denominations, there are something like 30,000 Protestant churches. Just because one man did not feel like reforming the Church from within as have so many saints since the days of Paul, there remains to this day a rift in Christianity between Catholicism and Protestantism, the Truth and imitation. 

Note that I am not attacking Protestants personally but rather the theology of Protestantism. There's a difference.

There are several very real problems with the Protestant faith. Chief among these are the absence of Apostolic Succession, a reverence of the Blessed Mother, and the Sacraments. 

There is a clear breach in Apostolic Succession in every Protestant faith whether it was founded by a lay person or by a fallen clergy. Apostolic Succession has two parts: tradition and authority. The Catholic Church has an unbroken line of bishops, cardinals, and popes going all the way back to when Jesus said to St. Peter "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). This is why we can trust that the Catholic Church is true. And this lineage of tradition leads to authority. The Pope in Rome can speak with the backing of Apostolic Succession and respond to the challenges of today as Christ's vicar on earth. 

Some Protestant churches hardly even have people that can be called clergy. Pastors can get online degrees and then go off to lead congregations. Others allow votes to decide their course instead of the Word of God. Even denominations with hierarchies are insufficient because they are not valid successors of St. Peter. Their words have no authority. 

And all of this leads to confusion. Without authority derived from Christ or even a hierarchy to establish order, many pastors are free to do as they please, as long as the congregation does not revolt. They simply interpret the Word as they see fit. Some unfortunately exploit the power and influence of their position. For some this means greed and money laundering from the offering plate without oversight. Others twist the Word to mean whatever benefits them leading to godless ultra-progressives like the Unitarian Universalist Church or file and hate-filled groups like the Westboro Baptist Church (which isn't even Baptist). Some Protestant churches can't even follow their own rules like the United Methodists who just recently elected their first openly gay bishop. 

This is not to say that priests or even bishops cannot be guilty of the same flaws. The difference is that the structure of the Church means two things: they cannot change tradition and there is a higher authority with the power to rebuke them.

Outside of the Catholic Church and Apostolic Succession, the Truth can be hard to find and often comes packaged with lies.

The most negative comments I have ever received about my writing came when I published an article on Catholic365 about the importance of a devotion to Mary. And the attacks weren't from atheists or pagans but from Christians! Any Protestant attack on Catholicism always includes the claim that we worship the Blessed Mother and then goes on to demean her importance. This, of course, is enough to get the temper up of any red-blooded Catholic. We love our Mother - in his early stages of conversion, St. Ignatius of Loyola nearly killed a man for insulting Mary.

But perhaps instead of just defensively explaining the reasons behind our rightful veneration of Our Lady, we should question why the Proddies feel that they have to make this attack so consistently. Why are they so threatened by Mary?

St. Louis of Montfort writes that "An infallible sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God's true friends is that the heretic and hardened sinner show nothing but contempt and indifference for Our Lady. He endeavors... to belittle the love and veneration shown to her." Sounds just like the standard line of Protestant attack.

If you truly love Jesus, you cannot help but love His Mother.

A serious issue with Protestantism of today is that it shows a lack of reverence and sometimes even an "indifference" towards the Mother of God.

Thankfully, this is not the case for all Protestants. Some show a very healthy and commendable love for Our Lady. My grandfather was an Episcopalian, but in the years before his death he faithfully prayed the Holy Rosary.

The single greatest failure of Protestantism is that it lacks the Sacraments. Martin Luther himself began dismantling the Sacraments very early on. When he was done, only Baptism and Communion remained. And even then he denied the True Presence!

Now some denominations (or non-denominations) don't even pretend to have a communion service. The Unitarians don't even have baptisms (or a creed for that matter). The Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life" (LG 11). Without the Eucharist our faith would be empty!

And that is the problem with Protestantism. It is empty. It can only ever offer fellowship and a chance to pray in a group, not the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35).

What would you or I be without the Eucharist? The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of God Himself sustains us along our spiritual journey, gives us strength through grace.

That is why we must protect and educate our youth. Teach them that it's not all the same to God whether you go to Mass on Sunday or a non-denominational praise and worship service. That the "communion" offered at another church is not the same as Holy Communion.

Not all denominations are the same, but there is only one Church.

Certainly a great number of Protestants are authentically trying to journey with God. But some Protestant churches are worse than others. And these we must be watchful against.

Too many denominations openly approve of the massacre of innocents that is abortion! They condone murder and trample every teaching of Christ. Some go so far as to attack the pro-life movement. For so many years, abortion has been thought of as just a "Catholic issue" simply because only the Church had the courage to stand in the breach and defend life. Make no mistake, any "church" that supports or is even indifferent to abortion is not Christian in any sense of the word. They are collaborators.

Too many Christian churches have backed away from defending marriage. They allow openly homosexual clergy, "open" in the sense that they revel in their sinful behavior, take pride in it. They perform gay "marriages" eagerly, without a thought to what example this sets to young people honestly struggling with homosexual attractions. These are cowards who when the world said "Move" they replied "How far?"

 The problem with Protestantism is that they are, to varying degrees, away from full communion with the Truth. You will only find the fullness of Truth, of life, within the arms of the Church.

Therefore, when we are engaged in ecumenical ministries, let us not forget the flawed reality of Protestantism. Let us engage in a Crusade for Truth to bring our Protestant brothers and sisters back into the fold. Spread the fullness of the Gospel where it is lacking in their chosen faith. Bring them home.

DEUS VULT!

The Fight for Marriage

The latest movie in JJ Abram's reboot of a classic franchise, Star Trek Beyond, will be coming out in a couple of weeks. From the looks of the trailer, it will be pretty good: a lot of action, a lot of special effects, and the sense of wonder that has attracted so many multigenerational fans. But there is something in this movie that you won't see in any of the trailers but you might have seen in the news. Sulu, the pilot of the Enterprise, comes out as gay. This is such an unnecessary and superfluous departure from the tradition of the original series that even George Takei, the actor who first played Sulu and a gay-rights activist in real life, condemned the move.

This leaves many people asking: why? Even without having seen the movie, it's probably pretty fair to guess that Sulu being gay contributes nothing to the film. We ask the same questions when we see the gay couple in Modern Family, Oscar in The Office, or the token homosexual characters in virtually any other TV series. 

The reason for this entertainment trend is quite simple. There is a concentrated effort to normalize homosexual behavior. And that effort is successful. The US Supreme Court ruled last summer that gay "marriage" is a constitutional right. The number of people who identify as a homosexual has more than doubled in the past decade. And if you dare say that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, you will instantly be branded as an intolerant, hateful bigot. 

This is not really a fight for rights. There's no such thing as a right to marry whomever you want just like there is no such thing as a right to abortion. Both are artificial creations of a political and activist Supreme Court bench. Just like we saw with Ginsberg's criticism of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (which is literally a violation of Canon 5.A.1of the Code of Conduct for US Judges), Justices are far from above engaging in partisan politics, which certainly casts suspicion on the strict constitutionality of their decisions. And even if there was ever a fight for the rights of homosexuals, it has no real need to exist now. It is no longer legally or socially acceptable to discriminate against people who struggle with homosexual attractions. And that's a good thing. Contrary to popular belief, the Church does not hate homosexuals. We recognize first and foremost that they are people and therefore have an unalienable dignity. Struggling with homosexual attraction is not in itself a sin. Engaging in the behavior, however, is. 

The issue here is that there are forces actively trying to attack the traditional institution of marriage. The move towards normalized gay "marriage" is not a move towards equality, but rather a move towards the degeneration of marriage. While we certainly have a problem with divorce and adultery in our country, gay "marriage" does so much more to undermine the foundations of marriage. It lowers marriage to mere sexual attraction instead of self-giving love. 

The great lie of gay "marriage" is that sex is the greatest good. 

It is not. 

God is the greatest good, and He created men and women for each other, not for themselves. If sex is the greatest good, then why did Christ die on the Cross for us? The Cross is the greatest act of love. Our culture has deluded itself from divorcing procreation and self-giving from sex. This divorce has led to many of the evils that we see today. 

We can see the insanity and illogic of the gay "marriage" army in its foot soldiers and apologists. If you've ever made the mistake of pursuing the comment section of a Catholic post about gay "marriage," you will see the same arguments over and over again: "It's not hurting anyone," or "Let people love who they want," along with a string of straw-men and name calling. These arguments barely deserve that name, they are frenzies of emotion, not logic and certainly not Truth. The fact is people are hurt by the normalization of gay "marriage." The participants are hurt because they are in a state of sin. They follow their passions and end up in a mere shadow of real married love. Children the "couple" adopt are also hurt. Studies have shown that children raised by same-sex parents are significantly disadvantaged and, more importantly, they grow up being taught that love is only an emotion or attraction. 

Accepting gay "marriage" is not a victory for love because a homosexual couple cannot love each other the way a married couple ought to. That's the truth. That is why we defend the sanctity of marriage. As I have said before, love is so much more than sex. Married couples are called to a higher, procreative, and unitive love which cannot exist between a homosexual couple. 

Marriage is meant to be unitive. Marriage is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity: two people become one. That is why Adam exclaimed "flesh of my flesh" when he saw Eve, his wife. 

Sex and married life are also meant to be procreative; "go forth and multiply" was a command, not a suggestion. This, of course, does not demean the married love of couples who cannot have children because of medical complications. Their intentions and potential still point towards the creation of new life. But this does condemn homosexual "marriage" because it is physically incompatible with procreation. 

The gay "marriage" agenda is neither meek nor innocent. It is fanatical and cunning. It is engaged in a ware against the institution of marriage, against the family. This lobby uses shows like Modern Family to suggest that homosexual unions are normal, "modern." Sodomy was not such an issue even a few decades ago because our culture held some degree of Christian values, values that are rapidly disappearing today. The culture has become a crusader for the sake of sin. 

This is dangerous because we are walking a slippery slope. In the Bible, sodomy is always associated with incest and bestiality, and for good reason. Once one becomes "acceptable," the rest will soon follow. If a man can marry a man, why can't he marry his sister, or a cow, or a tree? If sexual attraction is the only justification we need, it becomes very difficult to argue against these grave moral evils. 

Brothers and sisters, we must mount a defense of marriage. We are on the brink of becoming another Sodom and Gomorrah. With Christ as our Commander and the Truth of the Gospel as our fortress, we can defy the powers of this world that will only be appeased by the utter desecration of marriage. 

You who are married, live in communion with the Church. Let your love and fidelity be a testament to the Truth. You who are single, honor sex as an expression of love for marriage alone. Court with an eye towards marriage, don't simply date and break hearts for the fun of it. You who have children, teach them. They need to learn the truth about love and marriage and they need to hear it from you! Be careful with what you let them watch and read. One of my favorite priests likes to say that giving unrestricted Internet access to a child is the same as leaving them alone in an adult bookstore. The Internet is morally neutral. It is a tool that can be used for good or for evil. But it also gives a voice to people who more often than not attack the traditions of the Church. They abuse their arbitrary influence and lead others into sin. Even be wary of seemingly innocuous cartoons. All too many are beginning to subversively spread a pro-gay-"marriage" message (as I understand it, Steven Universe and Adventure Time are among these, just to name two).

But most of all, in order to defend marriage, we must love. Show the world what love is - not an emotion, not an attraction, but self-sacrifice for the good of the other. Love those who struggle with same-sex attractions; help them bear their Crosses. Remember that an oft forgotten spiritual work of mercy is to instruct the ignorant. Spread the truth about marriage. It is not loving to allow someone to remain oblivious to the truth about marriage, it is tolerant and selfish. 

The only way we will defeat the forces who are trying to destroy marriage is by living an authentic witness to the true nature of married love. 

Deus Vult!

Sell What You Have

How often have we heard the story of the rich young man in the Gospels? Mark relays the encounter as such:

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.'" He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go and sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" (Mark 10:17-23)

Many of us might find ourselves in the same situation as the young man. We grew up with the Ten Commandments, probably memorized them. And we follow them (or at least we like to think we do). We haven't killed anyone or missed Sunday Mass (as long as the game isn't on), so that makes us perfect, right?

We cannot view holiness as a To-do list. Christianity is about a journey. That's what our Baptist brothers and sisters fail to understand with their notions of being "saved."

Nevertheless, it seems that this young man was making good progress on that journey. He "ran up" to Jesus, not with an ailment to be healed, but with an honest desire to grow closer to God. We read that "Jesus, looking on him, loved him." This man could have been a great saint in the Kingdom of God; he could have been another Apostle. But then Jesus asked "too much" of him. There are a few variations in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). In the Gospel according to Matthew, we read that "Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor" (Matthew 19:21).

This is not an exceptional call. Jesus asked the same of everyone who followed Him: "So likewise everyone of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

But what is the response of the rich young man? Silence. None of the Gospels record him as saying anything in response. He had nothing to say. The rich man "went away sad, for he had many possessions" (Mark 10:22).

He could have been a follower of Christ were it not for his love of his possessions.

It's all too easy for us to sit back and shake our heads at this young man. What a pity. But that idleness is not acceptable. We cannot divorce ourselves from the call of Christ. The Word of God is not a story book. Everything in the Bible is living and effective. So when Jesus says "Everyone of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33) or "sell what you have" (Matthew 19:21), He was not just speaking to the crowd or the young man. He was speaking to you and I!

We live in a culture where wealth and its accessories are ends in themselves. The American dream is no longer owning a house in which to raise a family, it is to own the most toys, the latest smartphone, the nicest car on the block. People, human beings, are viewed as units of labor by capitalists and socialists alike. The rich drink champagne on private islands while people starve to death. Modern slavery leaves millions in bondage. Children are literally butchered by Planned Parenthood and their allies so that their body parts might be sold for a profit. The words of Christ, "sell what you have" apply very much to us, brothers and sisters.

But this teaching is too hard. Christ can't expect us to give so much. This must only apply to monks and nuns.

Father David Knight wrote a book called His Way, a real punch-in-the-gut kind of book after the spirit of St. Josemaria Escriva, that says otherwise. Writing about lay spirituality, he identifies the call of all Christians as one of martyrdom. Now, this isn't the kind of martyrdom that you might be thinking of, at least not necessarily. The word "martyr" literally comes from the Greek word for "witness." Therefore, we are all called to witness to the Gospel in our daily lives.

That goes whether we are religious or lay people. We all have the spirituality of martyrdom. But then Father Knight makes an important distinction. Within the spirituality of martyrdom, there are different life-styles. There is the monastic life-style - what we typically think of when we read "sell what you have" and then there is the life-style of the laity - secularity. Father Knight writes that "The lay Christian's life-style is secularity; and his spirituality is martyrdom."

Secularity means we live in the world but are not of the world. We walk the streets just like everyone else, but we will not submit to the prevailing winds of the culture. Lay secularity reaches people where they are. Through our interactions with people in their daily lives, we have the opportunity to live out an authentic witness to the message of the Gospel, a martyrdom.

Now I am hesitant here, for I do not want to fall into the Protestant heresy of interpreting the Bible by myself, but after reading some of the commentaries of the Church Fathers on this passage, I can say that I believe Christ's instructions that we sell what we have and give it to the poor, does not necessarily mean that each and every Christian must sell their houses and go out and live on the streets of Calcutta - not to diminish the vast importance and value of such a life-style in anyway!

The two important words in Christ's message to the young man (and to us) are "sell" and "give."

The real evil in riches is not the mere possession of them. St. Hilary of Poitiers writes in his commentary on this passage that "To have riches is no sin; but moderation is to be observed in our havings." Likewise, St. John Chrysostom writes: "What He spoke was not condemning riches in themselves, but those who were enslaved by them."

What all Christians must sell is not necessarily their possessions themselves, but rather their attachment to them. Renounce the spirit of possessiveness, understand that everything you have is nothing.

I once heard this story of a young priest who was visiting an older monsignor. The priest had everything he needed for the journey in a suitcase which he brought to the monsignor's office.  He was surprised by the lack of possessions in the older man's office. He probably could have fit everything that the monsignor had in his suitcase with room to spare. "Monsignor," he asked, "why do you have so little? I have more with me in this suitcase, and I'm just passing through." The monsignor smiled and said "So am I."

We were not made for this world, we are just passing through. Therefore we can never really own anything of this world. In every account of the rich young man, Jesus follows the command "sell what you have" with its reward: "and you will have treasure in heaven." The only things of value are spiritual treasures, grace. The important things in life are not the balance of your bank account or your designer clothes, but the souls you bring back to God, the relationships you have with God as their foundation, the love you show your neighbor.

You might think you're getting off the hook here. Great, now I don't worry about selling all that I have in order to get into heaven. Phew. All I have to do is pretend that my brand new car and flat screen television have no value while I enjoy them.

In fact, I believe that we are being called to do much more than simply sell all of our physical goods. It is not enough to merely whisper your rejection of riches. "For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). If your faith does not cause you to make real changes in your life, if it does not bring you to action,, then your faith is dead. You have not experienced a real conversion, you've merely decided to accept an idea. Faith calls us to live differently.

This is the "give" part of Christ's command. Start with the small things. Effective conversions consist of baby steps. Maybe instead of buying that five dollar latte, you donate the money you saved to your local pregnancy resource center like Birthright. You could hold off on upgrading your home's entertainment system to ensure that you have more time to bond with your friends or your children instead of staring at a screen. Pay attention to who you buy from or even which charities you've sent checks to just so they'll stop calling. Avoid those companies that donate to Planned Parenthood, anti-marriage lobbies, and other groups that violate Catholic social teaching. Be wary of charities; many, many organizations send checks to Planned Parenthood or fund embryonic stem cell research, both grave evils. United Way and the March for Dimes are two big supporters of the abortion lobby.

Make sure that you spend your money in a way that reflects your faith. I once heard that you can tell what someone worships by looking at how they use their wallet and their calendar. Ask yourself, are the things you buy helping you to become a better person? Or do they distract you from your journey with God? That means you definitely shouldn't have a Playboy subscription.

Work. not to become wealthy, but to support your family. Do not become blindsided by visions of yachts and Mercedes. There are cheaper ways to have fun on the water, and a used car can get you places just as easily. I'm not saying that you can't spend money on pleasures, just don't let the pursuit of such pleasures hinder you from loving your neighbors.

Use the money that you spare to help the poor. Eat out a little less so someone else can eat. Buy a less expensive car to give another man clothes to put on his back. Consider giving money to the Church. There are collections during Mass for a reason. The Catholic Church has very real material needs. There are churches to be built, parishes to be renovated, salaries to be paid, and programs to be funded. It's fallen out of popularity, but consider tithing to the Church.

The Gospel gives us a great role-model for a Christian attitude towards riches. Zacchaeus the tax collector, unlike the rich young man, makes the right response to Christ's call. He was a wealthy man, but he also took advantage of those he taxed. Tax collectors were already some of the most hated people in Jesus' time (not unlike today). Zacchaeus would have been even more despised by his countrymen. But one day, Jesus passed through his town. And Zacchaeus wanted to get a look at him, maybe he was curious about what this new rabbi had to say, maybe he had an authentic desire for something more than his life of sin, or maybe he just wanted to catch a glimpse of a celebrity.

Either way, being a short man, he climbed a tree to see Jesus. Now, Jesus came by, and much to Zacchaeus' surprise, He stopped and asks him to get down. Jesus wanted to dine with him. Our Lord did have a thing for breaking bread with sinners.

So Zacchaeus "came down quickly and received him with joy" (Luke 19:6). And when people expressed their anger that Jesus was eating with such an unclean man, Zacchaeus responded by saying "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over" (Luke 19:8). Without Jesus even asking it of him, Zacchaeus did what the rich young man could not. He rejected his riches so that they might not be a hindrance to following Christ. The Gospel does not say that he gave up everything that he had and become a monk. Instead, he gave significantly to the poor, made reparations to those he had wronged, and began to deal fairly with people. He embraced a life-style of secularity within his spiritual call to martyrdom.

I don't think its a coincidence that the story of Zacchaeus closely follows that of the rich young man in the Gospel according to Luke. The short sinner did what the "virtuous" young man could not. Which one will you be?

Brothers and sisters, remember that following Christ is so much more than donating you possessions or writing checks to charities. The real reason the rich young man could not follow Christ is that he was not following the greater commandment of "love your neighbor as yourself." If he had done so, he would have sold everything down to the clothes he was wearing to help his fellow men because Christ asked it of him. In our journey towards spiritual perfection, let us strive to an openness to the will of God, and a love for our fellow man that surpasses our love for riches.

DEUS VULT!