[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, March 18 LUKE 18:9-14 I want you to pray with an attitude of someone who understands that sinfulness is part of your history. Prayerthoughts a. Are there times in my life when I feel so completely satisfied with what I am doing that I forget about God? b. In Jesus’ parable, the Pharisee is judging another. I often find myself judging others for whatever reasons. I should determine some people that I judge harshly and say a prayer for them. c. The Pharisee was doing what the Law required him to do but he was doing it to “brag.” Are there times when I “brag” about my accomplishments? d. Jesus deliberately chooses a tax collector in the parable because they were extortionists and ritually impure. They were even shunned by the Israelite people. Are there some people in my acquaintance that I shun? How can I be more open to all people in my life? e. The tax collector recognized that he was a sinner. Do I recognize that I have a tendency to sin in the way I act and think?   f. The reason for the parable is the teaching that as children in the Lord’s Kingdom, we should be humble enough to recognize our own sinfulness and thus stay away from  judging others. Have I truly learned that lesson in my life? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will list some people that I have shunned for whatever reason, and make a resolution to pay more attention to them. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  DO WE REALLY NEED GOD?           As we read Jesus’ parable today, we might begin with this question: why were the Pharisee and the tax collector there at the synagogue in the first place? In Jesus’ mind, the Pharisee was there to brag about his good life because his feeling was that he, the Pharisee, was really pretty good, and he really needed nothing. The tax collector was there because his feeling was that he, the tax collector, was not so good, and he needed help. Jesus obviously tells this story to influence his listeners—us—for the better, and therefore it becomes very personal for us—bringing us back to our question that we began with: why do we go to our own synagogue, our Church?           Jesus wants us to center in on the reasoning of the tax collector in his story. He went to church because he knew he needed God: he was a sinner. The stress was totally on his need for God. Jesus wants us to see that the tax collector knew that he absolutely needed God because without God, he was a miserable sinner.  It is the same sentiment that Hosea in the first reading was trying to get across to the Israelites: “Come, let us return to the Lord,” he says, because we have sinned.           As Jesus intended, the question becomes very personal: do I, do we know that we need God.  It is really the question that Jesus worded before: will God find faith on the earth? Because if we have that faith, if we need God, we will show it. We will show it in many ways of worship—not only at Mass which admittedly is an important part of our Catholic lives because we absolutely need the presence of Jesus’ redeeming grace. But we will also show it by worshiping God in nature, by understanding how God is with others, by spending quiet moments with God in prayer, and the like.           The prophet Hosea in the first reading proclaims that it is loyalty that the Lord requires, The question then becomes, “how loyal are we to our God.” Or in terms of the Gospel, do we really need God in our personal lives? We will say that we do, of course, but do we? If we had a choice between something that we really have a passion for or spending time in prayer with our God, what would we do? The fact is that if we are convinced that we absolutely need God in order to function, there would not even be a question of how we would behave toward God: we would go to our Church for Mass. No doubt, even do more than that—perhaps go to Mass more than once a week, spend time in extra prayer or the like. But the important question is: are we really convinced of how important God is in our lives? When the Lord comes, will he find faith on the earth?           And so we ask the question, why are we here in Church. Do I have to go to Church?  The answer is NOT “yes” or “no.” It is another question: “How much do you need God”? MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Boom Clap” — Charli XCX THE GLITTER IN THE DARKNESS The Gospel MATTHEW 6:22-23 [Jesus said:] “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

Gospelthink: I tell you that you must be a light for this world. Do I allow too much darkness–sin, bad faults–into my life?

“Boom, Clap, the sound of my heart. The beat goes on and on and you make me feel good. Come on to me now. No silver or no gold could dress me up so good. You’re the glitter in the darkness of my world. Just tell me what to do. I’ll fall right into you, going under, cast a spell, just say the word. I feel your love.”

There are many “darknesses” in life, that is, many negatives that can overpower us as we grow and live. They can become so overwhelming that they govern the way we talk and act, and especially the way we think of ourselves. In fact, the reason why many of us need some type of counselor or someone with whom we can be honest, is to help us with the darkness that we feel. Jesus knew, of course, that sin was the ultimate cause of the darkness in our lives. He expressed it during his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel with the image of light actually becoming darkness. Then, he tells us, how great will the darkness be. What is needed is an understanding heart that can discern what makes up our “darkness.” In our love endeavors, whether romantic or otherwise, a good image that could possibly describe true love is that idea of “overcoming darkness.” True love will involve people who are able to attack the bitterness that the other may feel. As Charli XCX expresses it in her song “Boom Clap,” the other becomes the “glitter in the darkness of my world.” In the love relationship, each becomes the means that the other needs to overcome the feeling of the negatives in our lives. There are many characteristics of true love. One of them will always be the ability of a person who shows love to another to gently erase the feelings of emptiness and being lost that the other person may have. A person who is truly expressing romantic love of another will give such healing for the one loved. A Christian who is trying to love all, as Jesus taught, will always work at making everyone around them feel a little better.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son is the example of perfect love in our human world. He wanted most of all for us to be people whose light was true love of all. Give us the grace to understand our own darkness and help us become people who will help others overcome their darkness. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: If true love exists, both people in the relationship will help with any darkness either may feel. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World from the Second Vatican Council comments as follows: “Man is divided in himself. As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, between light and darkness.” (Quoted by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, n. 1707.) In your opinion, why is the statement true? 2. Jesus and his gospel proclaimed by him are the light that God offers to his people. In your opinion, what is Jesus’ main message in the Gospels and why? 3. In your opinion, what is the meaning of Jesus’ statement: “If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light”? 4. Text analysis: “No silver or gold could dress me up so good.” What is the meaning of the statement? 5. The song speaks of “feeling good” about a love. Psychologists often point out that lovers can never trust completely their feelings and emotions. Why is the statement true? 6. Text analysis: “The darkness of my world.” What are some of the “darknesses” that are part of people’s lives? 7. What is the best way to overcome the feeling of darkness? 8. In Jesus’ mind, sin causes darkness. What is the most difficult sin that young people must work against? What is the most difficult sin that older people must work against? 9. Name some characteristics of “true love.” 10. How do people in romantic love help to overcome the feeling of darkness in their partner’s life? 11. In your opinion, do most Christians follow Jesus’ directive to “love everyone”? Yes or no and why? 12. What does the song “Boom Clap” teach young people?