GRACENOTES: Week of February 5, 2012
I am Catholic. Baby, I was born this way. No really I was pretty much born into it and raised to follow the faith. But even as I got older and was made aware of the dark sides of my religion, the Crusades and even more unsettling (and disgusting) the stigma of molestation created by wayward priests who buckled down under the pressure of celibacy, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the beauty in the tradition and spirituality of Catholicism. This isn’t to say Catholicism is the be all, end all. It’s just what’s right in my heart for me, which may or may not be the same for you.
We can go on and on about the existence or non-existence of God but that would get us nowhere. What we can agree on is life is a funny, puzzling thing and we all need a little spiritual guidance to get us through it every now and then, and that’s getting somewhere.
Whether you are a Catholic who missed out on mass because you were busy with all the festivities surrounding the Super (Boring) Bowl, or a non-believer looking for that extra spark to help light your way, I’ve decided to put together a little rundown of yesterday’s mass. Cliffnotes for Christ if I may, Gracenotes.
This isn’t to be preachy in any way. I just know that when I go to mass, it helps me get through the week and hopefully what I learned from it will help you get through yours. It’s like, when you find the secret to getting a six-pack, you share the secret with your friends so that you can all look sexy together. This is to help us get our spiritual six-packs.
Let’s get sexy, shall we?
FIRST READING: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
When I hear Job, I can’t help but think of Mrs. Doubtfire: “I AM JOB! (excuse me?) I AM JOB!” In case you’re wondering who Job really is, he was a guy from the Old Testament who was considered a righteous man, whose righteousness was put to the test when Satan screwed him over, stripped him of everything he had, his wealth and his health, just to see if Job would turn his back on God.
Job gets really emo in this passage: “I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me… O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.” Job would’ve definitely blasted the AFI and donned the black eyeliner at this point. It’s comforting to know that thousands of years ago there was a grown man tossing and turning at night, asking himself the same thing many of us ask ourselves at some point: “Why me? I’m getting too old for this shit.”
PSALM 147: Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
This reading was from Paul’s first letter to the church of God in Corinth, Greece, the same letter that the famous “love is patient, love is kind” passage comes from. This passage isn’t as epic as that one though. It just talks about the predicament Paul is faced with: whether he’s preaching the word of God willingly or out of necessity.
GOSPEL: Mark 1: 29-39
Jesus is badass in this passage. Remember the scene in one of the bad Matrix movies, where Neo has to heal a bunch of people that show up at his doorstep? This page is taken straight out of Jesus’s book.
Jesus went to his friend Simon’s house because his mother-in-law had a really bad fever. He healed her, and soon the whole city got wind of it and showed up at their doorstep. Some were terminally ill and others were possessed with devils. It was like a Zombie Apocalypse. What did Jesus do? BAM! Saved. Next? BAM! Saved. Next? BAM! Saved. Next? He was the One, both a physician and an exorcist.
The next morning, Jesus got up to pray on his own. Simon went out looking for him, and when he found Jesus he was like, “What the fuck, man! This is getting out of control! They all want to see you! What do we do?” Then Jesus said, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.” In other words, “On to the next one.” Then he traveled all over Galilee putting out fires left and right, healing lepers, exorcising demons, and spreading the word.
MESSAGE!
What does it all mean??? According to Father Pham, it’s all about being SELFLESS. Father Pham put it into perspective saying no matter how poor you think you are, everyone is capable of helping others in one way or another. Father Pham illustrated this point with the story of the Lion and the Mouse.
The Lion was about to eat the mouse, but the mouse begged for his life and promised he’d repay the Lion if he set him free. This was a ridiculous notion to the Lion and it amused him so much, he set the mouse free. Then one day, the Lion got caught in a hunter’s net. While the hunters went away to grab the truck to haul the lion in, the Mouse came back with a bunch of his friends and they chewed on the ropes to set the lion free.
No matter how small you think you are, there’s always a way to help a brotha out!
In the First Reading, Job was down on his luck, couldn’t sleep at night thinking about how pitiful his living conditions were. In the Second Reading, Paul was struggling with the conundrum that he preaches the gospel, but if he preaches the gospel hoping for a reward in the end, then he doesn’t even deserve the reward. In the Gospel, however, Jesus was the epitome of selflessness. He was physically and mentally exhausted after taking care of all those people in the first city, but he dusted his shoulders off and moved on.
Instead of wondering what I get in the end, I should start considering what I can give others while I’m still here. Helping each other out for the sake of helping each other out. Altruism at its finest! Whether you consider yourself the lion or the mouse, we can all do our part to help each other survive. It’s all a matter of chewing on the ropes when one of us gets stuck.
Nibble, nibble, nibble, nibble, nibble, Yeah!
Nibble, nibble, nibble, nibble, nibble, Yeah!
We’re sexy and we know it.
