Answering Readers’ Comments

As a columnist I have not always done my best in responding to my readers’ comments, that’s why in this article I shall do what I should have done -reply. Often a reader’s comment deserves much more than a quick or surface answer.

Such is the case with the two comments presented in this article. The first comment from G. Poulin, submitted  Sept. 28, 2020, was written in response to my article: On Becoming a Catholic: A Letter to a Protestant: Poulin’s comment is in reference to my use (or misuse) of the Parable of Darnel found in Matthew 13: 24-30, and is expressed as follows:

The field in the parable doesn’t represent the church, it represents the whole world. The wheat is the church, collectively, and the weeds are the church’s enemies in the world. What Jesus promises is a cleansing of the world for the sake of the church. The parable is not about the internal problems of the church.

The parable, as I used it, was used to exemplify the internal conflicts of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages; specifically, the problems revolving around improper indulgences and corruption made lucid by Martin Luther’s moral observations.  Ok, the Church was “corrupt.” That is, there was corruption within the Church, yet Christ had told us that: “upon this rock, I shall build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18).  Martin Luther’s solution to the “problems within the Church” was to “shut it down” start anew, and that’s what he did.

The parable was used to show that good and evil coexist and need to coexist until the end of time; the harvest is eternal judgment. But until then, we, the participants have some time to choose the right side. The entire parable is as follows:

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good
seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel
All among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and
ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him
and said, ‘Sir,  was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where
does the darnel  come from?’ ‘Some enemy has done this,’ he answered. And
the servants said, ‘Do you want us to go and weed it out?’  But he said, ‘No,
because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it.
‘Let them both grow till the harvest,and at harvest time I shall say to the
reapers: first collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, then gather
the wheat into my barn.’ (Mt 13:24-30).

The commentator, G. Poulin, is not discussing how to deal with the corruption which existed in our Church at that time; he is only correcting what he sees as improper use of the parable in that context, specifically “that the field represents the whole world.”

This writer wholeheartedly concurs with the commentator.  The parable is about the whole world. It is also about the struggle and co-existence of good and evil, and the ultimate truth that at the second coming of Christ the wheat and the darnel will be sorted out. Until then, those of us not united with God have “time” to embrace the truth and have eternal life.

As stated earlier, this writer agrees with the comment, but also agrees with the following contention, the same principle, struggling between good and evil, applies to the Catholic Church at any given time in history. Furthermore,  the parable refers to each of us, as we struggle to overcome sin and stay faithful to God; the parable is about the “weeds and the wheat” within every soul and we all have until the “harvest,” which is either our own individual death or the second coming of Christ to get right with God; time is up when the harvest begins. This is a lifetime task for everyone everywhere in the world, the Catholic Church included.

I want to thank the commentator, G.Poulin, for starting me on this quest because since I started writing about this parable, I think about it all the time in terms of tending to our spiritual garden, and for that, I’m grateful because it has made me more tolerant towards “Christians” with faults.  Sometimes, I remind them to pluck the weeds from their garden; more often, I remind myself to do the same.

The second comment comes from Cyndi Price, April 8, 2021, in reference to the article A Modern Day Miracle,  published  April 8, 2021. Her comment was in response to the following quote:  “Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” (MK 11:24).  And her comment is as follows:  

Awesome inspiration, I often wondered what’s the difference between praying for what I think I want, under the verse you quoted in Matthew, vs. praying for God’s will in my life.

Her comment seems to focus more on the purpose of prayer rather than faith in prayer. It seems that she is asking: “Are we praying for what we want and asking God “to get it for us,” or are we praying the way God wants us to pray; that is, according to his will? What is her question? She is not asking which is the better choice A or B. Note that first she divides, or separates (A) praying for what is in your heart and (B) what is God’s will, then she asks, what is the difference between them? Of course, there wouldn’t be any difference had she not divided them in the first place. Before continuing to answer “Cyndi’s question”, I’d like to review prayer in general.

Through prayer, the Lord’s mercy, love, and grace come to us like a gentle river flowing downstream.  Jesus has no limits on how much grace we receive; we are the ones who set the limits.  When we pray and we are right with God (in a state of grace), then “what is in our hearts” is the same as what is “ God’s will” because he placed the need, desire, or task in our hearts and we should know that “what we want” is the handiwork of God.

So here is my answer to the apparent dilemma presented in “Cyndi’s question:” Pray with all your heart for “what is in your heart,” worry not, trust in God and allow his grace to flow towards you, to consume and comfort you. If these effects elude you, then don’t find fault with prayer, theology, or with God, but look inside yourself. Have you set up obstacles to his grace? Have you placed detours to deflect his mercy and love?

Yes, Cyndi, there is a difference. When “what is in your heart” matches “ God’s will” the result is peace, harmony, a share in something divine and beautiful.  If this is missing,  then what have you done to prevent it?