Sunday, May 29, 2016

The Mystery of My Call to the Priesthood and Corpus Christi



All attached is my homily from this weekend at St. Mary's in Greenville.
 Please feel free to share and comment. May God be with you.
- Deacon Zach Weber


http://www.mysteriumvitae.podbean.com/e/corpus-christi-homily-52916/?token=720c47a9cea5f4839dd936004b8037db

Friday, January 8, 2016

The Mystery of Constipation with 2 Broken Legs

Constipated . . . full of . . . well you know

Often I meet people who truly desire, who truly want to love and serve Jesus Christ. However, what they seem to struggle with "the all or nothing attitude, disposition, commitment" that Jesus and His bride the Church requires. Internally, in the sense of their spiritual life, they are constipated. I've been there before so I am not pointing fingers at people, but I am pointing at the disposition of being spiritually constipated. People seem to have so much "crap" keeping them weighed down that they remain on the fence of keeping their faith 100 - being all in.  Sometimes this struggle is very visible. The struggles of spiritual constipation are mostly seen in the eyes after someone makes a bold claim that they are all in or take a stand for the faith, but then you see them falling into temptations . . . making decisions that are contrary to the heart of Christ and then they see you. The person immediately seems to think we are here to judge them without mercy, but rather they freeze in some way or another, they freeze looking spiritually full of (well you know).



I offer you a meditation if you struggle with spiritual constipation. It is best to review your own life before reviewing the life of another.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, struggled with spiritual constipation in one way: vanity. Can you believe it? A saint who struggled? If you are under the assumption that saints have always lived perfect lives then I encourage you ask God right now to reveal to you the truth of the mystery of true sainthood and daily sanctification. Seriously do it! That would be more powerful than this story.

As the story goes, young Ignatius was a young soldier and he eventually found himself bedridden from taking a canon ball to the shin, which broke his leg.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pray for Us!!!!
Anyways, he was bedridden for almost a year. While he was on his bed he would imagine and meditate upon his return to the battlefield while sweeping a lady off of her feet and they would ride off into the sunset. That was his dream. Providentially, his sister came to visit him and gave him a book on the saints. He meditated on the lives of the saints. He thought, why can't I be the next Saint Francis of Assisi or St. Dominic? (I hope you ask yourself that same question.) He would meditate on sweeping a woman off of her feet and then on the lives of the saints. Suddenly, he found that he would be in much longer meditation while meditating on the lives of the saints compared to his own fantasies of focusing on his own ego in being the knight in shining armor. We all too need to let our ego die if we truly desire be formed into the saint Jesus created us to be.

If the dragon in this picture is not our ego then all we do in life is in vain.


Once he was healthy, he came up with many meditations (search for The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola). They are so worth checking out. However, once he could walk, he saw that his shin bone set unevenly and people would be able to see a little nub of the bone. He was so vain, that he had his leg broken again . . . without pain killers!!!! OUCH! He was bed ridden once more and had now broken his leg twice. While being commissioned to his bed and coming up with his own meditations on the 2 banners . . . the 2 standards. . .  he came up with a meditation that we should all be looking at daily.

St. Ignatius overcame his own vice of vanity with meditating heavily and often upon the 2 banners.

All vices (sin) squeeze us so we cannot be free to live virtuous lives.


He came up with the meditation of the 2 Banners. (Also known as the 2 standards) At the end of the days battle, we all either live for Christ or for Satan. We all either live under the Banner of Christ and his church along with Mary and the saints and angles of heaven or we live under the darkness of the Banner of Satan with all the evil forces that belong to him. This meditation will hopefully help you discover where you need to focus the light of Christ in your life so you can more fully carry the Banner of Christ and be healed from your own weakness that causes you to fall under the Banner of Satan. It is our job to keep it 100! We must be all in ourselves then we can minister to others who find themselves spiritually constipated. We cannot give what we do not have and we must refuse to ask others to do what we ourselves do not practice.

Check out this resource for further info:
http://predmore.blogspot.com/2009/09/sp-exx-two-standards-banners.html
http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/the-two-standards

A video to help you look at the 2 Banners - the 2 Standards



The Banner of Christ is held the highest when we go to confession with a true and contrite heart and then receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ at Mass.

St. Ignatius says you either hold 2 banners in life as you march into the battle of daily life - Either you carry the banner of Jesus and his Church or you carry the banner of Satan and all of his dark lies. There is no grey in that. It is black and white. Yes you can struggle in carrying a banner, but the idea is ask yourself:

  • DO I REALLY DESIRE HEAVEN? 
  • DO I REALLY DESIRE THE FULLNESS OF RELATIONSHIP? 
DO I WORRY ABOUT THE OPINION OF OTHERS TOO OFTEN?
  • AM I OPEN TO BEING FAITHFUL TO GOD NO MATTER WHAT?
  • DO I LIVE FOR MYSELF OR FOR OTHERS?
  • DO I LIVE FOR CHRIST OR SATAN?
AM I OBSESSED WITH HONOR, ACCLAIM, AND ESTEEM?
  • IS JESUS THE CENTER OR AM I THE CENTER?
  • AM I ATTACHED TO THE WORLD AND ITS ALLUREMENTS?
  • AM I FREE?


So meditate on that and don't sit idle . . . you may become constipated  . . .

It is good to meditate on this. Black and White. Jesus or Satan. Heaven or Hell.

The Church needs more spiritual athletes . . . more spiritual soldiers.





Living in the Mystery (and under the Banner of Christ),

Zach Weber