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The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  What does that mean?  What is the letter of the law?  It is a strange expression that comes to us from the scriptures.  I think there are two ways we could understand that phrase, but Paul is only talking about one of those two meanings in this part of his letter to the Corinthians.  “The letter of the law” can refer to a strict literal/material interpretation of the rules – I think that’s how we generally understand the phrase today.  For example, some people say that since the commandment reads, “thou shalt not kill,” it must be obeyed in all circumstances: you shouldn’t kill someone in self-defence, or when defending your family; war can never be justified if it involves killing people.  Another example would be a literal interpretation of, “thou shalt not bear false witness.”  Following the letter of the law, there are no circumstances in which it is okay to lie – even a lie that could save someone’s life would be wrong.  For example, lying to a bully about where their victim is hiding would still be lying and would still break the commandment.  On the other side of that there are the people who think the “spirit” of the law is more important that what the law literally says.  They claim to know what the spirit is, so you have to either agree with them or take their word for it. read more

Today we celebrate the great sacrament of our faith.  The Eucharist is unique as far as sacraments go, because it is the only one whereby God, our Lord Jesus Christ, becomes present in an abiding way.  All the other sacraments happen in a moment, when the power of the Holy Spirit transforms our minds and hearts in a definitive way.  When we are washed by the waters of Baptism, the Holy Spirit is present in the waters during the precise moment we are being washed – but we do not say that the water in the baptismal font has become the Holy Spirit.  When we go to confession, the Holy Spirit transforms the sin we confess and expose to his mercy into grace for our conversion and healing – but our ability to sin remains.  When we are anointed with oil, sealed with the Holy Spirit, at a confirmation, ordination, or anointing of the sick, the power of the Holy Spirit is present and active through the oil at the moment the words of the minister are spoken.  After the sacrament has been given, however, the oil is not the Holy Spirit.  The sacrament of Marriage enables spouses to give themselves fully to one another in a way that mirrors the exchange of the Divine Persons in the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is the Son’s total gift of self to the Father, and the Father’s complete outpouring of Himself into the Son.  The Holy Spirit empowers and seals the total gift of self between spouses at their wedding, but He does not replace their human bond. read more

I don’t know if you’re like me, but when I was growing up I used to ask a lot of questions.  I don’t remember doing it, but my mother tells me I did and she’s right most of the time.  I stopped asking so many questions at some point, so she must have been right about the answers she gave me too… most of the time.  Some of the trickiest questions kids ask their parents have to do with God.  Where is God?  What is God like?  Who made God?  I love substitute teaching for grade school religion classes here at All Souls.  They are genuinely curious about God, about the Catholic faith, about how the liturgy works, about the sacraments.  It’s refreshing for a Catholic Priest to know that there are some people who want to learn about the faith.  It’s also refreshing because when you have to answer a child’s question about God you have to keep it simple – and God Himself is simple, so if you can keep it simple, you will benefit from what you tell them.  Life is like that: as we grow up, as we experience more things, as we are regularly confronted with considering more details and a bigger picture, as we are faced with people who think or respond in different ways, we become increasingly aware of the complexity of existence. read more