[00:00] Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever. Today's Gospel is from one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible, the 10th chapter of St. John, where Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd. We hear Him say in the Gospel, "I am the Good Shepherd. A Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep," John 10:11. So all Catholics would admit that Jesus is the Good Shepherd; however, not everyone has

[00:33] a good opinion of Christ's sheepfold, which is the Church, or even of His vicar, who is the Pope. People will say that they love Jesus, but they just don't trust the Church because of scandals, confusion, corruption, because of lack of unity or charity, etc. We, of course, need to be careful because this view of "I love Jesus, but I don't trust the Church," or "I can't obey the Church," is essentially the position of Martin Luther

[01:04] and Marcel Lefebvre and others who create divisions and schisms in the body of Christ throughout the centuries, and they actually still do it today, sadly. So we'd just like to offer today, 10 guidelines or guide rails for what I think is a healthy way to look at the Church and to be faithful to Jesus in these difficult times. Not everyone will appreciate what I have to say, but that's okay, and that's nothing new. The first way to look at the Church in a healthy way and be faithful to her is simply one to

[01:37] embrace reality. The Church is the body of Christ. She's the bride of Christ, but in this life, she is a messy bride because we, her members, are still sinners; we're still messy ourselves. It would be best to let go of any overly idealistic thinking we might have about how the Church should be, or how we think that it was in the past. This type of thinking can be more rooted in nostalgia and sentimentalism, two things which

[02:09] aren't bad in themselves. I myself am nostalgic and a bit sentimental, but those things often don't help us to go forward spiritually, and they often don't accurately reflect the past, the reality of the past. Like when the Hebrews in the desert were nostalgic for the good old days in Egypt. I don't know if you remember reading about that. We hear about their desert grumblings in Numbers 11:5-6, where it says, they're

[02:40] saying, "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there's nothing at all but this manna to look at." So forget about the slavery, forced labor, children being thrown into the Nile River, now they're overcome with nostalgia for good old Egypt.

[03:11] If we let go of a fixation on the past, an excessively idealistic or unrealistic expectation in the present, regarding the Church, regarding the pastors of the Church, regarding the people in the pews, if we do that, we'll actually be more at peace, and we'll be able to be more helpful to each other and even to those outside of the Church. Jesus tells us that it is inevitable, inevitable, that scandals will arise, Luke 17:1.

[03:44] St. Paul even adds in 1 Corinthians 11:19, he says, "For there must be factions or heresies among you, so that those who are genuine or approved among you may be recognized." So in other words, problems in every age bring out, they manifest the true disciples from those who are counterfeit or those who are just superficial. So let's not be overly shocked, discouraged, or outraged that sin and scandals will arise

[04:17] in the Church. Which brings us to our second point: learn to focus on what's good, not on what's negative. St. Paul says in Philippians 4:8, and this is the New Jerusalem Bible translation, he says, "Let your minds be filled with everything that is true, everything that's honorable, everything that is upright and pure, everything that we love and admire, with whatever is good and praiseworthy." St. Paul is saying that we need to dwell on what is good in our thoughts, not on what

[04:51] is bad. Yes, we need to recognize some of the problems and the needs in the Church, and if it's within our power to correct what we can correct, but we don't need to dwell on what's wrong or what we don't like, because if you dwell on the negative, if you dwell on the darkness, it'll make you miserable, like chewing on a lemon all day long. And there's a risk also that the darkness will swallow you alive if you focus on it

[05:21] too. So learn to focus and dwell on what is good in the Church and about the Church, and learn to focus more on Jesus Himself. Focus more on the Solution with a capital S, not on all the little problems that there are here and there and everywhere. A spiritual directee of mine recently shared with me that in prayer, she heard our Lord, not audibly, but He spoke to her heart, and He said, "There's nothing that you can do wrong

[05:53] that I can't fix." I think it's true. Focus on the problem solver, not on the problems. Third church survival guideline: trust in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides the Church throughout the storms of life, and yes, sometimes we get seasick riding in the boat that is the Church, the bark of St. Peter, but better to stay in the bark and get sick, than jump into the ocean and try to swim for yourself

[06:26] in the midst of the storm. Even when you're sick, don't jump ship. And don't criticize the captain, don't attack or bad-mouth the Pope. Enough of that. We've had enough of that over the past couple of decades. That tears down the body of Christ; it doesn't build her up. Number four: acknowledge the limits of your own understanding and of your own vision. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own

[06:58] understanding." St. Anselm said, "I believe in order that I may understand," not "I understand, therefore I believe." Reason and logic are good because they come from God. God Himself, the second person of the Blessed Trinity is called by St. John the Logos, which is translated the Word. But the word in Greek also means reason too, but we get the word logic from as well. So human logic and reason are good, but they take second place to God's plan and His ways.

[07:36] And He says so. In Isaiah 55:8-9, He says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Also, our thoughts and our reasonings are subordinate to divine revelation, and divine revelation is authentically interpreted by the living magisterium, not by Father Terrence, sadly,

[08:10] not by the great university professors, not by your favorite Catholic YouTuber, not by armchair quarterbacks, or in some cases, armchair clerics. Whenever you hear someone telling you why the magisterium is wrong about a certain teaching, be very, very, very careful. Generally speaking, those people are the ones that are the most susceptible to falling into heresy themselves.

[08:41] So be humble and acknowledge the limits of your own understanding. Fifth church survival guideline: know your faith, know the catechism. So form yourself from Catholic venues and media outlets which honor the teachings of the Church and which honor the Pope and speak respectfully about him. But above all, above being knowledgeable, strive to be charitable. St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, "To make love or charity our aim."

[09:17] And he adds, "We know that all of us possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by Him," 1 Corinthians 8:1-3. So knowing your faith is very important, but charity is indispensable. Number six: avoid websites and other forms of media and social media which are full of

[09:50] venom or criticism towards Holy Father, the Vatican, Vatican II, the New Mass, or the Church in general. Their venom and their cynicism will poison your soul, so avoid them, no matter how pro-life or pro-Catholic they may proclaim themselves to be. Seventh guideline: don't be quick to react to everything that you hear.

[10:20] News media, mass media, social media—they're always trying to get a rise out of you, believe it or not, meaning they are vying for your attention and often for your money too, actually for your money. And so they'll tease us with salacious or shocking or eye-catching articles or headlines. It's a bait-and-hook tactic. You rarely, if ever, get a full picture of the Church news that they're sharing with you. So don't be quick to judge.

[10:51] Our religious institute was commissioned in 2013, and those who were against the commissioning used the mass media as a weapon to bash, and attack, and smear the Pope and the Vatican. It was unchristian, it was unjust, and actually a total distortion of what was going on, but many otherwise good and faithful people believed the anti-Vatican, anti-Pope Francis propaganda. So I know firsthand how the media, even the supposedly Catholic media, can present one

[11:24] side of the story and work to distort and deceive people. Proverbs 14:17 says, "A man of quick temper acts foolishly, but a man of discretion is patient." And Proverbs 15:18 adds, "A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention." So don't be quick to react to everything that you hear regarding the Church.

[11:55] Number eight: avoid looking at the Church and at other people, and the leaders of the Church with the eyes and the heart of a critic. Avoid living in a bubble of criticism, where your friends and your family and you or your religious family constantly criticize the clergy, or the Church, or the faithful. Fault-finders seldom find anything else, is what they say. That's what they always find.

[12:26] Inside those bubbles of criticism, there's usually an underlying disease of spiritual pride, which is more deadly than any of the sins of the flesh, and which can be very Pharisaical as well. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18. It seems fitting here to mention also what G.K. Chesterton once said about the difference between the optimist and the pessimist. He said, "The optimist thinks everything is good except the pessimist.

[12:57] The pessimist, in this case the critic, thinks everything's bad except himself." As best as you can, avoid having the heart of a critic towards your mother, who is the Church. Ninth survival church guide. You are the company that you keep. People whom you regularly spend time with have a strong influence over your character, your attitudes, your choices, your behaviors.

[13:27] Over time, you tend to absorb their values, habits, ways of thinking and reacting, often without even realizing it. You are the company that you keep. So hang out more with people like St. Thérèse of Lisieux. That's a suggestion for you. Sit at her feet. Learn from her and her teachings. Read up on her spirituality. Her spirituality cultivates more of a sense of interior freedom and peace, and she really

[13:59] highlights the goodness and the love of God, and we really need to have that highlighted in our life. She's a wonderful, simple, and very challenging remedy to all the toxic spirituality that's out there. I think every pope, from Pope St. Pius X onward, has actually confirmed that and praised her teaching, pre-Vatican II, post-Vatican II. She stays the same. Tenth church survival guideline, one of our favorites to mention from time to time, one

[14:31] of the most difficult. Become a true reformer of the Church by reforming yourself. Hardest one, right? It's what the saints did. That's what the saints still do. They reform themselves. Jesus says, "Why do you look at the speck that's in your brother's eye, but don't notice the beam that's in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you'll see clearly to take out the speck that's in your brother's eye," Matthew 7:3-5.

[15:05] We usually also say, "Well, not only can I see the beam in their eye, but I can also see the speck in their eye, too." I can see it all. The Lord says, "No, that's not what I'm telling you." True reformers take the beam out of their own eye. St. Francis did not set out to reform the Church. He set out to become like Jesus, and he worked on reforming himself. And in reforming himself, God found him trustworthy, and He said to him, "Francis, go rebuild My Church."

[15:37] The reformers that God appoints are those who are reforming and conforming their lives to the life of Christ, and who are humble and obedient servants of Christ's Church. Anyone who appoints himself to be a reformer of the Church is as trustworthy and as dangerous as the renowned Augustinian biblical scholar, Father Martin Luther, was in the 16th century. So those are just some suggestions for spiritual survival and thrival, you could say.

[16:12] In the Church nowadays, even though thrival is probably not a word, we'll look that one up, but I don't think that's actually a word. Let's not only love the Good Shepherd, who is Jesus, but let's love His sheepfold as well, the messy sheepfold, which is the Church. And we love the Church by becoming more and more like Jesus and Mary, and may Our Lady grant us the grace to become that, more like her and more like her Son. Praise be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.