[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, September 2 LUKE 5:33-39 I told my followers that a new time is coming. Prayerthoughts a. Spiritual practice includes some type of fasting, whether from food or things (such as television, Facebook, etc.). Do I spend too much time with created things? b. Jesus gives a new meaning to fasting. It involves not the old idea of restraint, but the new idea of love of God. When I am asked to fast (by Church law), do I spend the time when I am fasting to turn to God in prayer? (This is the task of the meditation.) c. The bridegroom, Jesus, is never taken away from us in the sense that the Lord is always with us. Do I acknowledge the Lord’s presence during the day as often as I should? d. Jesus’s approach to life is something new. How do I describe the Lord’s law in general? e. New wine is poured into fresh wineskins. I must adjust my life to what the Lord wants. At this time in my life, what should I change the most? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will spend ten minutes of “fasting” from something that I like, and spend the time in some type of prayer. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE NEW TEACHING OF JESUS  + Jesus’ response to the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel today was a statement that Jesus was establishing a new teaching, a new and up till then, unheard of, concept             – what he called the Kingdom of God                         – defined as a time of God’s presence on earth that was to culminate eventually with union of God in heaven                         – and while here on earth, it had to be understood as different from the religious teaching of the scribes and Pharisees                                     – such a teaching did not go over well with the scribes and Pharisees obviously                                                 – Jesus was intimating that their religious beliefs—that which they had given their lives to—was inadequate or lacking in some way             – Jesus in this Gospel tells them that although there may be some elements that are the same, for the most part, you can’t put “new wine”—his teaching—into “old wineskins”—the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees  + As we apply this thought to our situations today,             – generally, we are not into any fights about our religious beliefs                         – for the most part, the people that we know are all Christian in one form or another—they accept the new teaching of Jesus Christ concerning the Kingdom of God                                     – it is an embarrassing fact that we do fight about beliefs even as we profess the same basic ones  + With our situation today, I believe that we as spiritual people, believers in the Kingdom of God             – have more of a disagreement with what might be called the teaching of the world                         – a teaching that would involve the acceptance of too much pleasure, power, and money                                     – those are the “wineskins” that we would like to pour our wine into, so to speak                                                 – in general, our human natures want what the world has to offer—the teaching of the world, if you will                                                             – and it is a difficult task to keep our human natures in control  + We need to hear over and over again the different directives of Scripture             – for example, Paul today saying that we must remain servants of Jesus, stewards of the mysteries of God, not worried about the judgments of earth, but only worried about God’s judgments                         – and at the same time, withholding our judgments of people             – we need to spend the time of prayer that we are today                         – to keep us attuned to what Jesus wants,                                     – and what the Kingdom of God is all about  + You and I profess the new teaching of Jesus,             – the belief that we are all working to establish the Kingdom of God in our lives right now             – that teaching is at odds with the teaching of the world             – our call is to be aware of that, and continually work to keep our spiritual balance as we live in the world. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Stay with Me” — Sam Smith SELF-CONTROL IN LOVE The Gospel MATTHEW 15:18-22 Jesus said: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person.”

Gospelthink: My direction to you is to purify your mind and then you will live well. Am I trying to do that?

“I’m not good at a one-night stand. These nights never seem to go to plan. I don’t want you to leave, will you hold my hand? Won’t you stay with me? ‘Cause you’re all I need. This ain’t love, it’s clear to see, but, stay with me. No, it’s not a good look: gain some self-control. Deep down I know this never works, but you can lay with me so it doesn’t hurt.”

Sam Smith’s song “Stay with Me” is a beautiful, but sad song. The man has tried to make a “one night stand” work, but he realized that they never go according to plan. He wanted it to work with all his heart, but he knew that it was not love. He even tells himself that he must gain self-control, but he does not want the hurt, and so he begs his friend to stay. Jesus knew human nature very well, and therefore he understood the feelings of young love, even in his day. One can sense his understanding from the way he treated the sinners that he worked with. He did point out to his followers, however, that they must control the feelings of evil that come from the heart, mentioning unchastity and adultery in particular. God placed the drive for sexual pleasure in the heart of man and woman, and therefore it is something good, even “very good” as the book of Genesis describes human creation. But a follower of Jesus must learn the virtue of self-control in the area of human sexuality as well. If we do not have it, we end up only following self-desires and something good can turn to something evil. We end up using a sacred gift to be only a means to feel good. But perhaps there must be a disclaimer to this discussion. Granted, Jesus warns about the unchastity and adultery that often is the result of evil thinking. But Jesus also must have known about the intensity of sexual feelings that can rage out of control. The intensity is brought out very well in Sam Smith’s song and video. The Christian must indeed practice self-control in this area, but it is often very difficult, even to the point at which the couple may not even feel that it is wrong because of the overwhelming love that they have for each other. Determining guilt is often complicated in sexual matters.    The control of our sexuality is very easy to talk about, but it is not at all easy to practice. Self-control is a virtue that the Christian who is discovering romantic love must pray for and practice from early on.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you have created us to be sexual creatures, aware of who we are and having the ability to interact with others on a sexual level. Give us the grace to follow what you want us to do as we work with romantic love. Be with us, we pray.

+++++GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We must work for self-control as we look for romantic love. THE GOSPEL 1. Project: the presenter may want to define the list of evils presented by Jesus here in terms of today’s language. 2. Of the seven evils presented here, which one in your opinion is the “most evil”? Why? 3. Given your answer to number 2, what can you personally do about it in our world? 4. What is your understanding of the word “defile”?   THE SONG   1. How would you define a “one night stand” in today’s culture? 2. Why do “one night stands” never seem to go according to plan? 3. Text analysis: “You are all I need.” Why would someone make this strong a statement? 4. Text analysis: “No, it’s not a good look.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 5. The person in the song is “begging another.” Why is this not good for a human being?   THE MEDITATION 1. What are the different signs that a love relationship is real love? 2. In general, from your knowledge of the Gospels, how did Jesus treat sinners? 3. In general, do most young Christians have a “good” understanding of sexuality as they grow? Yes or no and why? 4. Young people often do not follow the directives of Jesus in the sexual area. In your opinion, do they think that there is sin involved in premarital sexual relations or in living together before marriage? Yes or no and why? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2390-2391. 5. What is the best way for a young person to learn the importance of self-control in sexual matters?  6. What does the song “Stay with Me” teach young people?