A reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew. Jesus said to his disciples, If your brother should commit some wrong against you, go and point out his fault but keep it between yourselves. If your brother listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, however, summon authority so that every case may stand on the word of two or three witnesses. If your brother ignores them, refer it to the church.
If he ignores even the church, then treat him as you would a gentile or a tax collector. I assure you, whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you, if two of you join your voices in prayer for anything whatsoever, it shall be granted you by my father in heaven. For two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst. And this is the gospel of the Lord.
In the name of the father, of the son, and of the holy spirit. Amen. A book has just been published with the following title, intoxication, life in pursuit of artificial Paradise. The author is Ronald Siegel, School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Now that book, I only read a review of it.
His theme his theme, his what he's trying to prove, it's an argument. There it's one argument, is this, that man, that's the human race, pursuit of happiness through chemicals, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, opium, marijuana, cocaine, etcetera, etcetera. Now listen, is a universal and inescapable fact of life. Now this book has already caused a good bit of controversy. Now, Doctor.
Siegel's solution to the problem is this: that society ought to provide safe, non addictive drugs. The present ones, he says, are very unsafe. Now for some of you that may be a startling thesis, but let me tell you, in the review that I read, they quote at least three or four other completely separate authorities who agree with this. Not that they have read this book, but there's been a good bit of research done on this subject. I'm going to give you just one.
Doctor. Andrew Weil, University of Arizona, College of Medicine. Notice where this stuff is coming from, coming from the schools of medicine. He says, I quote, There is not a shred of hope. Now that's pretty strong language.
There is not a shred of hope from history or from cross cultural studies even to suggest that human beings can live without psychoactive substances, meaning drugs. That's my preference. I don't know whether it's true. I think there's a great deal of truth in this. Absolutely, I have no doubt about it.
I've seen plenty of people, I would say that there's some sitting in those pews right now, who can't begin their day till they have a cup of coffee. They say I'm not even fit to talk to till I've had my coffee. That's caffeine. Of course, I'm completely objective to this. I'm separated from it.
Now, the point I want to make is this. We celebrated the feast of the assumption of Our Lady yesterday, and there are so many things. You know, these feasts are tremendous. There's so many things come to your mind that ought to be said that people ought to be bringing into their daily lives, not textbook stuff. Now there's I'd like to just bring home of the absolutely most obvious aspects of the assumption of Our Lady is that she went to heaven, body and soul.
The word I wanna point out there is heaven, paradise. Now notice notice what Siegel calls his book, intoxication, half drunk, Life in pursuit of artificial paradise. You can put Marx on that, you know. You can put Lenin there. You can put a lot of these French sociologists of the last century, Boyer, Bach and Company.
It doesn't have to be a chemical substance, you know. But men are and women are in pursuit of paradise. You know, our constitution says life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, whatever happiness is. That's a that's a lark. The point is we forget that as Catholic Christians, we are working, working, suffering, laboring for heaven.
Never forget it. Christ never promised us heaven on earth. The the the disciples got some idea of their kingdom on earth, but believe me, after the resurrection, he set them straight. Our kingdom, Christ said, is not of this world. And we talk a lot about the cross of Christ, and you can't escape it.
Can't escape it. Christ said it. If you wanna follow me, pick up the cross and follow in my footsteps. He said footsteps, not in the path, footsteps. And carrying the cross is no fun.
But then Christ said, if you do that, you will find your burden light and sweet. That is really that is really a oxymoron if I ever heard one because it's absolutely contradictory of the world. Because to be a Christian means you're unworthy, and that means you know where you're going. You're not wandering. It's alright to talk about ourselves as pilgrims, but remember, when the pilgrims started up in Northern Europe and traipcied across France and across the Pyrenees and got down into Spain, to the Santiago, the Compostelo, they may have been wandering, they may have been sick, they may have been neglected.
It it was a long, hard, laborious trip. That's the reason they had a hospital there in San Diego De Compostela, which is now a beautiful hotel. Because so many of them, when they got where they were going, they were really done in. But they knew where they were going. They weren't wanderers in a they they were pilgrims.
They were going with a goal that they know was a certain goal, that it would be there if they got there, but they had to get there. And that it's alright to call ourselves those, but don't lose the sight of the fact that you're not a wanderer. You're not discovering your goal. You know your goal. It was given to you at baptism.
You were committed to it, and you're trying to live up to it. Trying to. That's all god asked of us is perseverance, as mother Teresa said. Not success, perseverance, putting one foot in front of the other. And so it's the greatest mistake if Christians see only the burden of the cross and don't see that it's their way to heaven or paradise or any words you wanna use.
I don't care. We have an immortality that god has promised us that will be the complete fulfillment of our every potentiality. And that's a fact. If it isn't, we are the most awful, dis illusion people on God's earth. Because if that isn't true, then let us indeed go out and eat and drink and be merry.
Or somebody says life is tough and then you die. I saw that on a car sticker. Life is tough and then you die. Because practically it makes no difference whether you like it or not. Life is going to be tough.
It's all right to look at it from the ages of 15 to say 35, but when you look at it from 85 it's a little different if you're in a nursing home. And so let us not lose our goal. We are pilgrims. That's for sure. We are suffering.
That's for sure. Christ said, if you do follow in my footsteps, you'll suffer, but you'll bear it. And my cross will even be sweet and light. But let us keep in mind the vision of heaven, of paradise. And that paradise is not going to be bought by chemical substances.
People will try because all these chemical substances do is to deflate you from your goal, from being a true pilgrim, working your way towards a true and certain goal. That's all they can do. But don't for a minute underrate what I've said. These things are with us to stay. It's a matter of handling them, and it's a matter of knowing where you're going.
You are not wanderers. Not if you follow Jesus Christ. His footprints are right in front of you. In the name of the father, and the son, and holy spirit. Amen.